text:
How to re-enable the "Clear Defaults" option for applications?
I'm not able to change the default application for voice recording on my Samsung Galaxy S (running the factory installed Android 2.2).
The current settings define the one that was provide with the device (called Voice Recorder) but the "Clear Defaults" button on the Applications Management list is disabled.
Is there a way to re-enable the button? I'd try uninstalling the Voice Recorder application but the corresponding button is also disabled. Could this kind of locking be set by the operator or is this the Galaxy S default behavior?

What action is it set as the default for, a hardware button? How does your phone open the Voice Recorder app?  I thought the only way to open the app was by clicking on the app, but in this case there would be no defaults to clear.  The only time there are defaults is if the Voice Recorder can be launched by some other means (eg. a hardware button, context menu, form field...).

A user needs to press the app icon, but an app can start an activity (such as voice recording) automatically. At this moment, Android was supposed to present a list of apps that could handle that voice recording intent (or call directly the app the user defined as the default one). In my case, no matter how many voice recording apps I have, the system always activate the bundled one.

Just curious, since it's just an app icon, what difference does it make what it brings up.  Can't you just put a shortcut of the app you want to launch on the home screen?  I realize that you shouldn't have to do that and I don't blame you for asking but I'm just trying to understand this crazy Samsung UI.

I should have said this in first place. I'm not starting the Voice Recorder from the Applications menu, but from inside another app. So if I start it programmatically, there is no way to force an specific app to handle the intent ("record audio"), that's supposedly up to the user to decide. Problem is, as a user I can't define which Voice Recorder should handle the "record audio" request.

This button is normally greyed out when there aren't any defaults set (and possibly when there are no other applications to change the defaults to).  If you install another voice recording app, you should be asked which you want to use the next time a voice recording event is triggered.  This normally doesn't get triggered when you start up the voice recorder manually, it has to be triggered.

This is exactly my problem. I have installed many other voice recorders and the button (for all of them) is still grayed...

Did you ever actually select a default app?  I'm not sure what triggers voice recording, so if it was never triggered (again as opposed to manually opening the app) then you never got the opportunity to select a default.

For example, it's possible to use GMail without it being the default "send mail" app.  Manually opening it doesn't set any defaults.  But the first time you click an email address in the Browser, it will ask you which email client to use and whether you want to set it as default.  At that point you could make GMail the default.

I've seen this dialog on other devices (Xperia X10, Droid 2) but this Samsung S never asked for a choice and just assumes that the pre-installed apps (for every category/intent) are the defaults. So I don't have to choose a different default or to reset the current ones.
I'm afraid this may have been set by the telephone operator and not by Samsung, and if that is the case is there a way to change this other than rooting the device? Thanks for the patience. :o)

Unfortunately you need root to remove a system app, I don't think there's an easy way to "hack" the defaults to change them either.  The good part is that the Galaxy S is really easy to root, unroot and install custom ROMs, and almost impossible to brick.


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How do I perform a full pre-rooting backup of an Android phone?
The question arises because the best-rated backup application (Titanium Backup) requires root. So what would one use instead when getting a really complete backup is essential? Is there a file manager-type application available that enables copying the whole file system on the phone somewhere (to SD-card, online or wirelessly - doesn't matter which?)
(Samsung Galaxy S9000)

Possible duplicate of Full Backup of non-rooted devices

As far as I know, you can only make a full/complete backup of the phone with root.  Because you need root in order to run Titanium Backup (which only backs up apps and their data) or you need root in order to flash ClockWork Recovery which lets you perform a Nandroid backup (full image backup of the entire device).

Can you not backup anything? Apps? Data? Nothing can be backed up before rooting?   If you screw up rooting are you completely ruined?

@AlexB That's the thing.  You can't do a full backup without root. Your contacts, email, calendar, etc. are synced to the cloud.  You can use SMS Backup to backup your texts. Market will auto download your apps. Your pictures are on the SD card.  But if you just want to pull everything off the /system /data, you need admin access (root).

Context to the comment above: whatever is in /system and /data isnt that (subjective, ofcourse) important. It's only stuff like wireless access points, your accounts, and so on. Mails and contacts should be in the cloud. Apps that save stuff to /sdcard (TitaniumBackup is one) will come right back after a clean install because /sdcard is not wiped in a factory reset, only the system partitions. So yeah, bite the bullet and get root now so you can get full backups in the future.

you don't need root to flash CWM.

You need root for a full backup because the system partition (among other areas) cannot be accessed with user permissions.
adb shell will allow you to browse /system/ though not /system/app/ and other areas.  adb pull will let you pull /system/app/ though other files will fail with permissions errors.
Backing that up is essentially useless without root, however, because you can't restore the files!  /system/ is read-only and cannot be remounted as RW without root.

In my not-rooted phone I was able to pull (through adb) all the system folder. What I wasn't able to pull was data folder.

@Diego I just tried it with mixed results, I'll update my answer.

@MatthewRead what about CWM and its Nandroid backup? Some state CWM can be installed/flashed on non-rooted phones, as long as the bootloader isn't locked. Any experience with that?

I can confirm adb pull doesn't work with system. Even on a rooted phone, probably because the adb daemon can not run as root. I will try again after changing permissions as root.

@jiggunjer Yeah, I think it will depend both on your ROM and version of Android.  Some manufacturers seem a little more lax.  I think the end conclusion holds regardless though :)

If you're running 4.0 or above you can use adb backup. Follow the instructions here.
After you're rooted, Titanium Backup Pro can restore the data that you need from that file.

It's extremely important to note that you must run adb backup with the --nosystem flag (or similar), because otherwise it will try to backup /system and it will fail. It won't be a complete backup without root, period.

@bigbadonk420 It doesn't say so in Ryan's answer that I've linked. Why does it fail? (Also why would you want to back up /system?)

See http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/29635/how-do-i-know-when-adb-backup-is-finished/29855#29855 - as for your question why you would want to back up system, I'm a bit confused. There's some pretty obvious reasons why you would want to.

Obviously it's not so obvious as I don't get it. If you're rooting you probably don't want to restore that and factory images are available on forums. Also your comment would be more useful here as that's where the actual instructions are. It's not a good idea to have tiny bits of information spread around.

Look up what stuff is actually stored on /system and then you'll see why it's obvious that some people in some situations might want to keep it. Wifi keys, to name one thing.

WiFi keys? You're the one who should look at it. System is mounted read-only.

So where do you propose Wifi keys are stored? Also, it being mounted read-only is irrelevant in regard to backing up without root, it still wont work.

If I'm not mistaken it's stored in /data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf. I'm sure about the filename, but not about the path as I don't have a phone with me. But it's definitely on /data
You're right that system being mounted as ro is irrelevant for backup not so for adding information during run time.

So, can you backup /data without root? Because if not, I don't see what you're on about. If you can, great, but if you want a nandroid backup you still want /system for it to be a complete backup, so tl;dr no complete backup without root.

YES YOU CAN!!! Have you actually read the answer that I've linked to? I didn't mention nandroid anywhere at all. System is totally irrelevant as it doesn't contain any user data. The question was for data that you can back up with TB, and that doesn't include system.

God you're obnoxious. No, the question was about not using TB.

Thank you for name calling. The question ask for something because TB requires root.

Richard, I think the question was asking how to "perform a full" and "complete backup", of "the whole filesystem". I do not think that your link provides such an answer.

@Sepero ADB backup allows you to back up all your data.

I think you meant to say, "ADB backup allows you to back up only your data". But yes, you can back up all of the data too. I don't know what would prevent you from downloading one portion of data and allow another portion. It would seem an odd point to make. I just think it's just too bad adb backup can't "perform a full" and "complete backup", which would include the /system.

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sort: votes


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Disable application update notification
How can I disable certain application's update? I'm using Brut Google Map v4.6.0.4686. Since there is a new version in the market, the update notification will appear from time to time. How do I disable it?

I only receive notifications the first time an app has an update.  After that it just sits in the market's "My Apps" list with red text showing there's an update, even if the app is updated more times after that.

Try rebooting your phone, it'll reappear again

I reboot my phone lots.  What version of the Market do you have?

I think it's version 4. The one before Google changed the whole UI market. I'm using CM 6.1

I don't think there's a way to disable market update notifications for a single app right now.
In order to disable update notifications for all apps in the Market, open the market app, press the MENU button, choose SETTINGS.
In the Notification drop down, select DO NOT NOTIFY ME.

Thank you. Indeed I can disable market>menu button>settings>Notification checkbox.

I'm running cm 6.1 as well and I have a bug in my market that if you have, may solve your problem. My app updates get stuck sometimes and I've noticed if I cancel. An update the app no longer shows up as needs to be updated, or even installed, although it stays in my dl list. You could try starting the update then cancelling mid download. For me these apps in limbo don't give the update notification.

Seriously? I think I've had (sort of) similar experience, my internet connection had a problem during the update process, so, the app cannot be updated which causes the app to disappear from the list (I think Android uninstall the app before downloading the update).

Yeah, I'm serious.  It might just be a bug on my phone. The market is very wonky for me.  Every single time I update my apps, at least one gets hung up and I have to cancel it.  When I do it shows up as a new app, not installed even though it is still installed.  Strangely enough, even though it says it's not installed and stops giving me update notifications its still in my downloads list.  All I have to do to actually update it is to click on "install."

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/


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Delete purchased application from the list
I've bought some application and I feel that I don't want to use it anymore and I've uninstalled it. However, when I opened Downloads tab in the Market, it is listed there even though it's not installed. So, how do I remove it from the list?

If you did not purchase the app (i.e. it was free), it should be gone.  If you did, then it's always there because you have purchased the right to download it.

Yeah, I know that, but how do I get rid of the app from the list (if it's possible)?

I do not think it's possible.  Beyond using a different Google account, but then you don't get your other paid apps.


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How to factory reset without data loss and undue pain?
I ran into a serious SMS bug, which knowledgeable users seem to be saying means the SMS message database is corrupt (source 1, source 2).  This is consistent with my current experience.  In my case I lost all ~1000 messages and still have some issues after that.
So I want to factory reset my phone.  While I have not rooted my phone, I have performed significant customization, and have somewhere around 150 apps installed, including a few paid apps (UltimateJuice, ...).  What things do I need to explicitly backup?  What can I do to minimize the pain?  I don't care about save points in games.
Surprisingly, I cannot find any good documentation of this using any obvious Google search terms.  (I am aware of How do I perform a full pre-rooting backup of an Android phone?, which doesn't really offer an answer to my question.)
For Google cloud things such as contacts, do I need to backup the cloud version just in case, so the phone doesn't wipe them from the cloud?  Fortunately, most of my personal notes are stored in cloud applications like Catch and Evernote.  I presume these should be unaffected.
As far as I can tell the BackupMySettings option is not available for my phone (Samsung Epic running 2.1).  My paid apps come back from Market anyway, right?  I guess I could pay $4 for MyBackupPro if it really made things simpler, but there would need to be some way to NOT backup the corrupted SMS database files.  Also I am assuming carrier-bundled apps such as Swype will automatically work.

P.S.  I have Marigold Android Backup and backed up to the SD card (except SMS/MMS).  I also have mIQ but I'm not sure I trust that to do a restore.  Factory resetting the phone will not affect the SD card, correct?
P.P.S.  I have AppBrain.  Is that automatically remembering all apps I have on the phone, so it will suggest installing all of them if I just install AppBrain?  Or will it only do that for apps installed through AppBrain?

You don't need to backup your "cloud" contacts.

AppBrain will make it easy to restore your apps. After the reset, install AppBrain first(ish) and use it to get back all the apps you had before. (Sync before you reset.)
Market will remember your paid apps so you'll be able to get those without having to repay.
Your Google app data (e-mail, contacts, calendar) are backed up to the "cloud" already, so you shouldn't have to do anything special with them. If you REALLY want to you could export them to a CSV file, but you shouldn't have to.
You probably don't need to, but I would copy the contents of the SD card to a temporary location. Just in case.
As for other apps that keep data only local...I can't speak to those. I know that for myself everything important has a backup somewhere else. (Yay Dropbox!)
Unfortunately (or, actually, fortunately), I don't have any personal experience with a factory reset. Everything I've read says that it's really not that bad, excepting those apps that don't have dynamic storage strategies.
Good luck!

For Google cloud things such as contacts, do I need to backup the cloud version just in case, so the phone doesn't wipe them from the cloud?
If you set your contact list to sync with Gmail's contact list, you do not need to backup your Gmail's contacts list; just like every cloud-based services you would need to change how you think about where data is stored, Gmail's contact list is NOT a backup of the phone's Contact list, the Gmail's version is the primary reference copy and the phone's contact list is just a local cache of the online version.
Unfortunately (or, in your particular case, fortunately), SMS storage is not a cloud service. If you do a factory reset, you lose all your SMS messages. Therefore, you need to do manual backup of your SMS messages. There are multitudes of SMS backup apps in the Market, both free and paid; I don't know which ones plays wells with the SMS bug since I don't experience the bug myself.
Hard resetting the phone will not affect the SD card, correct?
Yes. Your SD card is your own data, Android will not touch the SD card in any way when doing factory resets.
My paid apps come back from Market anyway, right?
Yes, Android Market purchases are tied to your Gmail account, and you should not need to repay any of your paid apps as long as you used the same account. However, if you purchased apps outside of Android Market, you may need to contact the developer of those app or the alternative market where you made the purchase and ask their policy on this.
P.P.S. I have AppBrain. Is that automatically remembering all apps I have on the phone?
Yes, including those you install directly from the Market. Just make sure you sync your app list with AppBrain before you do a factory reset.

While you're not currently rooted, then, assuming you can get your device rooted, I can recommend Titanium Backup.
The basic version is free, and allows you to back up whichever apps and settings you want to your SD card.
I have used this myself when upgrading from 2.1 to 2.2, and it kept every single app setting in the condition it started.
If this sounds interesting, an easy and painless way to root your device, is by using z4root, which lets you one-click root on a lot of devices, including the Galaxy S, which Wikipedia tells me the Epic 4G is a variant of.

Well, Titanium Backup is a great choice for you. Besides that you can backup your data, settings and APN to some safe place or move them to your SD card. Although, it is not necessary don't keep your SD card in while doing a factory restore.
As mentioned earlier, your data is already stored in Google Play account, so you do not need to pay multiple times for the app you purchased. The other issue would be backing up games and other data so you do not have to start from the scratch.

Factory restore? Do you mean "factory reset"?

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


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Changing SIM card reset/lost stored google password
For troubleshooting reasons, T-Mobile gave me a new SIM card.
After swapping the card, my phone did not know the google password, I had to enter it again.
I tried to research the linkage (is it stored in the SIM, does the phone reset the stored password for a new SIM, etc.)
I am pretty sure that it does not happen on removal of the SIM, because I had taking my old SIM out several times, to ferry data from my old handset.

I believe it's linked to the SIM for security, but not stored on the SIM (so you can take it out).

I just changed the sim card in my phone and got the "sign in error" when the phone forgets the password, but then when I put my original sim back in, it didn't remember my sim card. I wonder if the password is reset when a new sim card is inserted.

@pydave It is, yes.


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How can I filter out Foursquare status updates in 'Facebook for Android'?
I have installed Facebook for Android on my android phone.
A friend of mine is disappointed to see all the random stuff going on in the news feed.
He's particularly not interested in the Foursquare status updates.
Is there an ability to filter the news feed?
I know that Facebook, when viewed in a webbrowser, has the ability to select 'Hide all by foursquare'.
I'm using version 1.5.1 of 'Facebook for Android' (version released in Januari 2011).

For all that they've improved the Facebook app for Android lately, it's still woefully underpowered. I don't see any way to filter anything within the app.

Guess we'll have to wait a bit then... Thanks for your reply!

You'll need to filter it through the web interface, then you won't see them in the fb app.

I have found that the web interface works, but I don't use it that often. I prefer the Facebook app.


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How to get Android Market on Archos 70I
I have an Archos 70i and am still unable to get Android Market on it. I want to get a flash player and other apps which I believe is available on Android Market. Can anyone help me in simple English, please? I do have Appslib already but this is lacking the apps i want.

You probably need to side-load a Market.apk file that's been hacked to work with your device.  This will require root.  You could also load a custom ROM with the Market already on it.  I recommend searching XDA.
That said, you won't be able to get Flash unless you have/get 2.2.  Flash requires Android 2.2+ as well as an ARMv7 or better processor.  The 70 series is supposed to have an A8 Cortex based on ARMv7, so that part's OK.

As of March 10 you can install the 'ArcTools' from the AppsLib.
This will let you install the Android Market - and thus also Gmail, Flash and all the things which are unavailable otherwise.
Did this yesterday on my Archos 101 and this worked without problems . I know now have the official Facebook, the TweetCaster program - to name but a few programs I was really missing.

Edelcom, I loaded it and AppsLib informed me that the eLocity is an unsupported device.

@fredi: Where you able to install the Android market ? If so, could you please accept an answer ?


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Can't install apps through Android Market website?
When I try to install an app from the Android Market website, I get this error:

"There are no android phones associated with this account. Please sign in with a different account."

I tried fixing it by following this, but it didn't help. I can see the list of apps that are already installed on my phone though.
Did anyone else encounter this problem? Any hints on how to fix it?
thank you!

Probably obvious, but are you signed into Market with the same Google account you have on the phone?

Where do you see the "list of apps"? On the web market?

I am signed in with the same account, yes. And I can see the "list" here https://market.android.com/account under "orders" tab.

made it... after going to market account -> settings -> edit, i chose "show in menus" and now it works.

Awesome. Glad you got it sorted. Don't forget to accept this as the answer (when the two days are up).


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Dial 7 digits in an area requiring 10 digits
My area code(402) is going to be requiring everyone to dial 10 digits soon because we're getting an area code overlay(your next door neighbor could have a 531 area code). However, at first everyone will have a 402 area code.
I would like to only dial 7 digits, and for the phone to see 7 digits and prepend 402. So I would tap buttons for 867-5309 and it would dial as if I had tapped 402-867-5309. Is there a way to make my Incredible do this?

Do you really directly dial numbers often enough for this to be a problem? Surely most of your phone calls are made using pre-saved Contacts in the address book?

My old Palm Treo had a setting to do this.  You could tell it to prepend certain numbers on all 7 digit dials, and a different one on all 8 digit dails...  Unfortunately I don't know of anything in Android to do this.

@GAThrawn: I am directly influenced by my Palm Centro which has it in the same way that @Matt does.

My old pre had this too! oh Palm, why must you have been so horribly marketed?

Try the Dialer One app. It is a pretty good 'Phone' replacement app. Under 'Advanced Settings' there is an option to specify 'Phone prefix'. This prefix will be added when you long click the call button. I tested by setting the prefix to '402'. I typed '8675309' and then long pressed the call button. It prefixed '402' and the number became '4028675309'. You can press the call button again to call the number.

A bit of overkill just for this, but if you're using Google Voice GVoice Callback is a great rules-based dialing app.  You can use regexes in the rules, so it would be easy to add a rule to prepend 402 to any 7 digit number.


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How to fix out-of-sync calendar?
I'm using a rooted Samsung Galaxy S (Vibrant) running stock FroYo from T-Mo.
I sync my calendar on the phone with my Google Calendar.  I have several different calendars on Google, shared with different groups of people, and all are set to sync with my phone.  Everything has been perfect since I got the phone 4+ months ago.
Two days ago, within 30 minutes of adding a calendar event where everything looked fine, when I went to add another event I noticed that most of my calendar events were missing.  I usually use Jorte, and have been doing so with no problems.  I checked the stock calendar app and it's displaying a different sub-set of events.
Looking at both calendar apps plus Google calendar on my PC I see:

some events appear on the PC and in both apps (very few)
most events are missing on one app or the other
for a given calendar, some events will appear on one app but not the other (even on the same day)
there are events appearing on the stock app that don't appear on either the PC or in Jorte (for a calendar I have read-only access to)

It seems to me that something has corrupted the phone's cache of data.  Could this be possible?  How would I fix it?  This is a huge PITA -- I depend on my calendar for everything.
Thanks for any help you can give!

First thing to try is to clear the data and cache for both apps and their storage (Settings -> Applications -> Manage applications) and then re-sync (possibly in the app, or in Settings -> Accounts and sync).

Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!

Glad it worked!


text:
Handle private/company wiki from an Android phone
I'm currently using the Oddmuse wiki to document things, both personal and work related. What I'd like to do is to find an Android app along with a wiki engine which enables me to read and make changes to the wiki with my phone. Using only the browser is unintuitive and hard to use.
How can I do this? I'd rather use MediaWiki or DokuWiki, but I don't know of any apps which can both display and let me log in to edit the wiki.

I've also looked and have not seen anything available at the moment.

Hi. I'm late for 3.5 years and your question exactly match what I want too. Have you probably resolved this problem somehow already? I've just found the status page http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Apps regarding the Wikipedia app, but it seems that there is currently no any chance to get this app work for a custom wiki. :(

I am falling in love with ikiwiki. ikiwiki uses MarkDown which means you can use any text editor to edit your pages.  You can push changes to your server using SVN or git (many other options are also available).
Check out ikiwiki and see if it may be able to provide you with the solution for which you are looking.


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Does rooting a device and installing a custom ROM SIM unlock it as well?
I'm a bit confused about this topic. I have a T-Mobile myTouch 3G which I've recently replaced with a Nexus One so it's kind of standing there. I was contemplating rooting the myTouch and installing an alternative ROM but I also wanted to unlock it so it can be used with other carriers.
Now, the real questions:  When rooting and installing a custom ROM, will that also unlock the phone so it can be used with other carriers? Or is that a baseband feature?

See also: What is the difference between: Rooting, Jailbreak, ROM, Mod, etc.?

No, rooting your phone will not let you use it on other carriers. If you have a good standing account with tmobile, and I believe you have to have been a customer for like 9 months (or something like that), you can call them and tell they you are going out of the country and want to be able to use an international sim card. they will give you the code you need to unlock your phone so you can use it on other carriers.
You will not get 3G data speeds unless the carrier uses the same bands that tmobile does. for example, AT&T does not use the same bands, so you will only get EDGE.

thanks @Ryan.. that's pretty much what I gathered online too.  I wanted to confirm though.  And so, where exactly are the sim lock settings stored on the phone? Do you know?

you will have to key in a # code in to your phones dialer.


text:
How can I change the volume increment from the volume buttons?
On my Samsung Fascinate, the volume buttons change the volume by 3-4x the amount that I would like them to. Is it possible to adjust this amount?

The situation seems to be improved in the Android 2.2 update.

You could try flashing a custom kernel with Voodoo Sound.  I don't know if it changes the volume increment but it may provide better values for those increments, and certainly a much better sound experience overall.

I'd like to avoid doing anything that will void my warranty.

That's valid.  The Galaxy S phones are super easy to revert to stock and nigh-impossible to brick though, so you can make it like it never happened ;)


text:
Where are the SIM Lock settings stored on an Android phone?
After getting more involved with the "aftermarket" community, I have this question that's been on my mind for a while now. Since rooting and flashing a custom ROM on an Android phone doesn't give one SIM unlock that means that the SIM lock settings must be stored somewhere else in the phone's memory.
My theory goes that the SIM lock information is stored in or along with the baseband. Is this true? And if so, are there any "alternative" or "aftermarket" baseband firmware images? And finally, who makes the baseband firmware - the carrier, or the phone manufacturer?

Any idea why this question was voted down?  It's strange this SE site.. I wonder if it's going to actually be successful past the beta with such attitude..

I have no idea why.  Someone liked it, someone else didn't.  There are numerous discussions at meta.SO about downvoting in general but in the end, downvotes part of the system so don't take it personally. If you want to know why something was downvoted, feel free to ask like you did, although I wouldn't hold your breath for a response ;)  If you'd like to discuss the strengths/weaknesses of this site or the SE system you should do so on the meta site where such discussions belong.

I suspect it's because this question would also apply to an iPhone.. eg it is not Android specific in any way

But @Jeff, doesn't the title (and the mention of "an android phone" in the question) imply that I'm interested specifically in android devices? Of course, maybe this is common to all phones but I though that the sim-lock configuration was something stored in the phone's firmware hence android related. Of course, @Matt's answer proves me wrong.

The SIM lock stuff is in a separate ROM chip that is not part of the normal phone storage, AFAIK.  It's manufacturer/device dependent.  Definitely nothing to do with the baseband (and you can certainly flash other basebands).

So my hat is in with the not-Android-specific people, but I think it's ontopic because the average Android user may wonder about this.

Is there any way to display this setting?  Short of installing a SIM card from another carrier, how can one determine whether an Android phone is SIM locked?

Normally there's a code you can punch into the dialer, but it's manufacturer/carrier/handset specific.

I saw a professional in China unlocking HTC handsets via JTAG. A side effect with the unlock was the S-ON.
The SIM lock is stored in the Radio NVRAM, is not changeable, but they did the unlock by flashing a patched HBOOT with S-ON and that will report a different SIM lock status (my unlocked phone still says SIMLOCK in fastboot mode - another proof of that is that the fastboot mode now contains a Chinese URL)

Then your chinese unlocker flashed an hboot that ignores the security bit.

That's what i wanted to say :)

Is HBOOT specific to HTC phones? How can I get SIM lock to be ignored for a Moto E4 (that was on Sprint) which does not even ask for a SIM unlock code?


text:
Android-based remote software to log in to OSX desktop?
I have an Android phone that I'd like to use to control an iMac running Snow Leopard.  Like everything else they do, it seems Apple has their own take on how a VNC server should work, so their "remote desktop" does not seem to play nice with e.g. AndroidVNC.
I've tried some other stuff like gPad and gMote, both of which have dedicated server-side software.  They work fine, but I can't run them at boot time, only at login -- so if I'm not logged in to start with, I have to pull out the mouse and keyboard to switch users / log in, which defeats the purpose.  If I can "daemonize" the server software for one of those packages, great, but I'd be surprised since they have a tray icon / UI to control them.  I've looked into launchd a little bit but I'm not sure I can take an arbitrary user-space / GUI-having binary and run it "headless", as a system account.
I don't strictly need the display-back -- this is more for a home theater kind of setup -- but I wouldn't mind.  I guess my questions are either a) can I run something on my phone that will use the built-in remoting service (from boot time!) or b) can I make one of the existing server applications (gPad, gMote, whatever) run at boot time?
ETA: Free is better, obviously, but feel free to mention for-pay stuff, I guess.  And like I said, this is mostly for home-theater stuff, so wifi/LAN-only solutions are not a problem.

Does it need to be a free solution? And are you doing this just on your local LAN or do you also want to be able to control your computer from anywhere you're online with your phone?

Gee, AndroidVNC has worked fine for me with both Leopard and Snow Leopard, both with the built-in VNC server and with Vine Server. Good luck.

I ended up going with TeamViewer, but thanks for all the suggestions!

You should try LogMeIn - Ignition for Android.  I find it much faster than VNC when accessing my Macbook from my Windows PC.  I'd image it works just as well with Android.

PocketCloud is excellent and free to use for one computer at a time.


text:
How to turn off USB sharing on Android (Archos 70) - Installing Android Market
I'm trying to install the Android market to my Archos 70.
1. Load the update.img to the root of your A7HT.
2. Turn off USB sharing and you will be prompted to install an update.
3. Click install and A7 will reboot
4. Install the update and eventually go back to the setup screen
5. Go into settings, turn on WiFi and connect to your router
6. Once it is connected:
a. Open any of the Google apps (market, Gmail, Calendar)
b. Go through the Google setup screens.
c. Upon completion install: contacts.apk and GoogleContactsProvider.apk.

http://wiki.archosfans.com/index.php?title=Archos_7HT_Firmware_Knightsdominion_V3_Google_Market
How do I turn off USB sharing? I've disconnected and unmounted the Archos from my machine but it doesn't ask me to update; I've also tried rebooting it.

It could be referring to USB debug mode. Go to Settings -> Applications -> Development to turn that off.

I don't belive that's what it's referring to. I had checked those settings and it was already turned off by default.

OK.  In that case it does sound like simple disconnection from the PC.  Are you currently running the exact same software (OS version, kernel version, etc.) that they were in the guide you're following?

You shouldn't need to do this for the Archos 70.  Do you have the Archos 70 Internet Tablet or the Archos 7 Home Tablet?  The link you have is for the Archos 7 Home Tablet, which is an older model.  If you in fact have a Generation 8, Archos 70, here's the link you want: http://forum.archosfans.com/viewtopic.php?f=63&t=42067  All you have to do is open the apk file on your tablet.


text:
Can I install non-market apps on my AT&T phone directly (without a PC)?
I've installed non-Market apps on my AT&T Captivate using adb, but it'd be nice if I could download an APK directly and install it locally.  I've heard of "App(s) Installer" and about a hundred variations on similar names, but it looked like those were just intended to work on devices with a working package installer (e.g. not one that's had the ability to run unsigned apps stripped out).
I've rooted the phone -- is there some way I can either replace the existing package installer with one from e.g. another Galaxy S phone on another carrier, or maybe just an app that asks superuser permission before installing the APK itself?  Is this something I could just do directly from (su'd) terminal on the phone?  I'm sure somebody has thought of this already but I'm having trouble finding an answer on the web... maybe I just don't know exactly how to ask.
ETA: please note that this is original AT&T firmware. The carrier is blocking non-market app installs, I think by modifying the package installer.  I'm aware of the setting to enable unsigned apps, but on my phone it has no effect.

How was the package installer "stripped out"? On my Galaxy S, you can just use a file manager and click the .apk file, and you'll be prompted to install. Do you not have the Unknown sources option checked in Settings -> Applications?

See comment above about AT&T; short version, they're jerks and go to great lengths to cripple app installation. Hence, my question.

Turns out I was right to suspect that this has been done before. The fix I was looking for was  Super One Click. It has a fix to allow non market apps. I think what it does is to change the config file that the settings dialog ("Allow Non Market Apps") normally sets. My guess its that AT&T just took out the UI for the option.
Anyway, works perfectly and I strongly recommend it for anybody stuck under AT&T'S thumb!

I don't own a Samsung Galaxy S, and certainly not a user of AT&T, but on my Samsung Spica (Samdroid Mod), if I dropped an .apk file in /data/app/ or /system/app (warning: you need to be rooted to write to these locations, so you will need Terminal Emulator or Root Explorer) Android will immediately recognize and install the apk. Assuming AT&T has not blocked this method of side-loading, then it probably will work on SGS as well.

I'm pretty sure this is what I was asking for.  From the phone, it sounds like I can run e.g. Terminal Emulator and put the .apk in that dir to install it. Will try ASAP.

No, on stock AT&T ROM you cannot install applications from unknown sources. You have to root your phone, and install a 3rd party ROM. This is because AT&T removed the "Allow Unknown Sources" option in the settings.
The only way around this is to install a ROM that allows unknown sources. (or you can use ADB as you mentioned in your original question)

Well that sucks :-/  Was hoping maybe somebody had worked out a way to e.g. replace some libraries with ones from a non-crippled phone... Without flashing a whole new ROM.  That's probably my next move

Well, technically, you can probably replace /system/app/Settings.apk from a rom for your phone, if you have root access. That is where setting is that AT&T removed.

If the app you want is in the Market but blocked by AT&T, you can do this:

Turn off your phone.
Pop out the SIM card.
Turn your phone back on and connect to a Wi-Fi network.
Open the Android Market, search for, and install the previously carrier-blocked app.
Turn off your phone.
Pop the SIM card back in.
Turn your phone back on.
Enjoy!

(source: http://lifehacker.com/#!5758134/how-to-easily-install-carrier+blocked-apps-like-pdanet-from-the-android-market)

Yes, you can, as long as your phone has an option called “unknown sources" under the option "Applications" of the "Settings” and the option is marked.
Go to the Application launcher, click on Settings then on Applications and then check the option "Unknown sources" to activate this functionality.
If your phone does not have this option, then you can't install applications from outside the market.

AT&T is infamous for disabling that option, so your answer isn't really helpful.

By "outside the market", does that mean only the official Android market? Can other Android app markets be used?

To use other markets you need to install the app that give you access to that market so if your phone does not come with that app and does not have the option of "Unknown sources" enabled this will be impossible.


text:
Deleted files causing my phone to function incorrectly?
I accidentally deleted files from a folder located on my Android phone and now my phone isn't functioning properly. If I replace those files will my phone now function correctly? Should I replace the deleted files?

Depends on the file. You'll probably get better answers if you give more information.

On the phone internal storage or the SD card?

In most cases, yes.  You should try it at least.


text:
Data Vault apps with Unlock Pattern
I'm currently using the Wallet app to keep my bank acct#s, CC#s etc. safely on my phone. However, entering the password when I need to unlock the codes is kind of an annoyance. Specially when you wanna look up a number to fill up a form.
So, I'm looking for an alternative that uses unlock patterns instead. I know the pattern is potentially less secure than the password but, it's something I can live with :)
What are the alternatives available?

There is a bit of an issue there. The app should use some form of encryption like blowfish or AES. Your password acts as the key to this, so an unlock pattern may not generate even close to the uniqueness needed and would never be considered

Good point. I would think that if you enforce a minimum 4point unlock pattern that there's still sufficient room to build a secure key from it. BUT.. I guess no program manager would be open to build a sensitive data app with dumbed down security :)

Yes you could from 4 points, but you would also be able to figure out how the generated it from 4 points, the amount of possible codes would be something like 5! a really really low number.

I use a combination of keepassdroid, wavelauncher and clipstore, which allows me to access my password manager from any app without having to close it, and copy my password to the clipstore before returning to the app I was in. Sounds more complicated than it is!
Alternatively, many like lastpass for automatic password storage and entry.
But if you really want something gesture based, maybe biowallet along with it's separate biowallet browser might be of insterest. You can assign a signature, which is infinitely more secure than point to point gestures.


text:
Application to take and share pictures automatically
Are there any applications that can take a picture and upload to several different services automatically, like Facebook, Twitter (using a third party service), a WordPress blog, etc?

Similar to What's the most effortless way for “cloud” back up of photos taken with an Android phone?. PicPush and PixelPipe are two options among many.

On June 2, 2012, PicPlz announced that they would be closing permanently as of July 3, 2012

PicPlz.
Not only does it give you a number of effects you can apply to your images (like Hipstamatic) but also automatically posts to  Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr, Posterous, Foursquare, and can backup to a Dropbox folder.

You can post photos to twitter (using a third party service) and facebook with tweetdeck.

TweetDeck is your social browser for Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare and Buzz.
TweetDeck is your mobile browser for staying in touch with what's happening on Twitter,  Facebook, Foursquare and Buzz. TweetDeck makes it easy to stay up to date and organized no matter where you are.
(A Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare or Buzz account is required)


text:
How can I group apps together in the menu view?
The menu view of the phone lists all of the apps I've installed.  All of them.
The phone came pre-installed with 2.5 pages of apps, and I'm up to 5.  I've had the phone for 3 weeks...
Is there any way to group them into folders in order to reduce the clutter?
Note (1): I am using a Samsung Galaxy S with Froyo
Note (2): My phone's GUI is in Hebrew, so I may be getting the terms wrong.  This is what I mean by "menu view":

follow up question, is there a way to auto arrange icons say in alphabetical order?

That screen is meant to be just a list of your apps. As you're using Samsung's built-in TouchWiz interface, one thing you can do is move those apps around, so that they're in an order you like and related apps are on the same page. Just press the Menu button, and press Edit and you should see little (-) signs appear on the apps, now you can drag them around to change their order, or drag them to the left or right edge of the screen to move them to a different screen.
However the better way to do this, is by arranging the apps on your home screen, rather than the apps list.
You can have up to 7 home screens on a Galaxy S, and you can add things like Folders to the Home screens to further organize your apps. Think of the home screen as being a bit like the Windows desktop, you can add/remove/organize shortcuts to apps here and even delete them as much as you like and it won't cause any problems.
To copy an app's icon from the App list to the Home screen, just long-press on it for a second or two and then the view should change from the APP list to the home screen, and you can drop the icon wherever you want. Add folders to the Home screen by long-pressing on an empty bit of the Home screen, then select Folders, New Folder. As long as the folder was open when you left the Home screen, you can drag an icon from the Apps list to there the same way. To move an app around the Home screen, long-press on it, and then drag it to where you want, or drag to the Remove bar at the bottom to delete the icon.
On a Galaxy S with TouchWiz you can add or remove Home screens (up to 7 of them) by going to the Home screen, pressing Menu, sleect Edit and then either press the (+) sign if available to add, or drag a screen to the Remove area at the bottom to remove. If you have Froyo (Android 2.2) you can also do a pinch zoom out on the Home screen to swap between screens, or add/remove screens.

My phone's in English, but hopefully you can find the equivalent menu options on yours.

Wow. I've been using Android for a year now, and only just discovered home-screen folders thanks to your answer. :)

@Graham Glad to hear it, I always think it makes getting out of the bed in the morning worthwhile if you manage to teach someone else something they didn't know, and also to learn something new yourself!


text:
Where does Runkeeper keep its data files?
I was recording my path with Runkeeper for hours until the battery ran out. Now when I try to "Resend" the path to Runkeeper online it fails after a while.
I need to find the path file so I can import it onto my PC.

data files are usually kept in either /data/data/[packagename]/ or they could be stored on the sdcard.
[packagename] will be something like com.fitnesskeeper.runkeeper.pro. The data file your looking for will probably be in that directory (well, one of the sub-directories any how).
As for if they store the data on the sdcard, most developers do not follow the recommendations to store the data in /sdcard/Android/ so if they are on the sdcard, I couldn't tell you where to even look. I would suggest, after you look in /data/data, to look for the [packagename] some where on the sdcard, or look for something with runkeeper in the name.


text:
How can I sort contacts by date added?
Is there a way to sort contacts by date added, or at least see contacts that have been recently added? I'm running android os 2.2.

for 2015, "Recent Contacts" is the perfect solution.

This is useful if you want programmatic and CLI access to your contacts in sorted order.
If you're on Android then most probably your phone contacts are synced with your Google account's contacts which you can access using Google Contacts. Now, using the Google Command Line Tools you can return contacts in order of filing if no other sort method is set.
For example, use the following command to get all contacts in a text file in recently added order:
google contacts list ".*" > output.txt

Cheers.

This worked a treat. Just make sure you run this from cmdline like so c:\googlecl\google contacts list ".*" > output.txt - if you are in interactive mode it will print to screen, which is less useful.

wait hold on - this does not seem to order by date (?)

This does not work anymore - googlecl does not work anymore since 2015.

GoogleCL development has continued, and it seems to be working, but is definitely in beta https://github.com/vinitkumar/googlecl

As most of the applications mentioned did not work anymore two approaches worked for me now (Aug 2020):

Recent contacts app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ibtidah.tav.reco
Following the approach of Owen Miller on Quora (https://www.quora.com/Is-it-possible-to-organize-Google-contacts-by-date-added) just getting the results via the api explorer at https://developers.google.com/oauthplayground/ and using the api url
https://www.google.com/m8/feeds/contacts/default/full?max-results=25&start-index=1&orderby=lastmodified&sortorder=descending

Update 2022-03
Contacts API is being deprecated. Migrate to People API to retain programmatic access to Google Contacts. See https://developers.google.com/people/contacts-api-migration.
Steps to use the api:

Open the playground website: https://developers.google.com/oauthplayground/
Open Step 1, expand "People API v1" and click the url below (https://www.googleapis.com/auth/contacts) then the blue button "Authorize APIs" (login with your Google account if not done already and grant permissions)
Open Step 2 and just click the blue button "Exchange authorization code for tokens"
Open Step 3 and put the url https://people.googleapis.com/v1/people/me/connections?pageSize=25&sortOrder=LAST_MODIFIED_DESCENDING&personFields=names,metadata into the "Request URI" field and click the blue button "Send request"
Find your results on the right in the "Request / Response" textarea.

pageSize=25 limits the shown contacts to 25
sortOrder=LAST_MODIFIED_DESCENDING sorts the results by last modified date, descending
personFields=names,metadata limits the returned results to contain only names and metadata [plus basic info]

See also

https://developers.google.com/people/api/rest/v1/people.connections/list for parameters
https://developers.google.com/people/api/rest/v1/people.connections/list#SortOrder for possible sort options.

I like your second approach, but I ran into an issue with it. Somehow the sorting is messed up because it is using the wrong updateTime field to sort on. I found a solution in this SO question
To the Request URI you can add:
&sources=READ_SOURCE_TYPE_CONTACT

Short answer: I made an app for this called Quis, and would love to hear if it solves your problem :)
Longer answer: Android doesn't save the date you added contacts, unfortunately. However, there is a trick: you can sort contacts by their "raw ID" in the database, which roughly increase over time. It's not perfect, meaning that it will more or less work for recent contacts, but definitely won't work for contacts added years ago since a lot of things probably happened since then – new phone, Google merging/syncing contacts, and various third-party apps messing with the contacts database.
I wanted this so badly I actually made an app for it. It stores the date and location of newly added contacts, and also uses the above trick for contacts added before using the app. Would love to hear your thoughts!

I suppose it might vary by carrier, but I only see options to sort by first or last name. (Motorola Droid, unrooted, Android 2.2.1)
I also don't see any apps in the Market that would display contacts sorted by date added.
I'm not even sure "date added" is captured.
If you're syncing with Google Contacts you might be able to kludge something together by applying a group to all of you existing contacts ("Old Contacts"?) then, whenever you review your contacts anyone without such a label is, by definition, recently added.
It is, as I said, kludgy. I don't see any other way to do it.

I see the same on my Galaxy S.

Contacts in gmail also only lets you sort by first/last name.  Doesn't seem to store when the contact was added either.

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


text:
How can I view my Google Contacts groups with my Samsung Fascinate?
My phone's contacts sync with my Google Contacts, but they are all in the same group (called "Google"). I would like for the sub-groups that I have created in Google Contacts to be accessible from my phone, so I can view/organize my contacts by these groups. Is there any way to achieve this?

Do you mean have the groups themselves (for organizational purposes) or just the contacts within the groups accessible?

I mean the groups themselves (for organizational purposes). See my comment on Bryan's answer.

I have edited the question slightly to reflect the clarification.

The Groups tab in the contacts app shows the individual Google contacts groups, including the built-in ones ("Coworkers" etc.) and my custom groups, and they are browsable.  This is on my Galaxy S Vibrant running 2.2, with TouchWiz.

I guess I'll have to wait for 2.2 then--they definitely don't show up on my fascinate running 2.1.

The SGS phones are nearly impossible to brick and easy to revert to stock for warranty purposes, if you want to consider a custom ROM.

It sounds like 2.2 is coming out in a few weeks. If I'm not happy with it, or it gets delayed again, then I'll consider rooting. Thanks for the tip!

2.2 is out, and this solution now works!

Go to Contacts. Hit menu --> Display options. Under "Choose contacts to display" tap the account (gmail) and then check the groups you want.

This controls which of my Google Contacts groups are displayed in my list of contacts, but they are still only considered part of the single group "Google". I want to organize my contacts by Google Contacts group.

@Matthew what do you mean by "organize" do you want to sort them in the order of the group they're in? Or something else?

@GAThrawn: Browse by group and send message to group would be the two biggest things.

I don't know if there's a way to do it specifically in TouchWiz, but on my Droid I had to install Groupy to accomplish this.  It works but be careful and test it out first as if you add groups and sync in the wrong order you'll end up with tons of duplicates.


text:
How can I determine the hardware video file decoding capability of my android phone?
I have many video files. I want convert all the files to a playable format for my phone... would H264 or xvid work?
I just want to convert to a hardware decode-able format to save my phone battery.

What phone? If you need a list of formats that your phone can decode using hardware, it is necessary for us to know what phone are you talking about, so we can know what chip uses and what formats are supported.

Since XviD is just an MPEG-4 type, that's a very good bet.  There are probably phones that natively decode H.264 as well, but given its relative newness and Google's recent disapproval of it, it's not as likely.  For more specific information, we'd need the model of your phone.  You can also just Google "Droid X chipset" or "HTC Wildfire specs", for examples, and then when you find the video chip/processor just Google whether it decodes your codec of choice.

the specs just says 'support h264', does it mean hardware decoding?

If it's referring to the chip, yes.  If it's referring to the phone, then it probably means software support.

http://developer.android.com/guide/appendix/media-formats.html
Some devices may play more formats, but these are supported by every phone.


text:
How do I get the new Android Market running on Cyanogen 2.2 HTC Magic?
I'm running Cyanogen 2.2 on my HTC magic.
The Android Market is still the old version and not the one that has been discussed in the news.
http://mashable.com/2010/12/11/new-android-market-coming-soon/
My wife's Samsung Galaxy 5 runs this new version which has stock 2.1.
Does anyone know how I can get the new version running?
Thanks.

I know that CyanogenMod 7 will include it by default, but it is currently in alpha/testing.

Doesn't the Market auto-update?

@Matthew yes, but there is something funky with CM and the market self-updating

There are some flashable .zip versions floating around, but people seem to have mixed success with them. Generally speaking, installing the .apk in a traditional manner will cause FC issues.
There's a couple of threads over on the CM forums with links to zips you can try. Here's one such thread for Market v2.2.6 (the first version with the new style). You might need to do a little hunting if you want the most recent version (2.2.11, I believe).
Some people have also reported success using the latest MDPI version of gapps instead of the MDPI-Tiny version, but I'm not sure how likely that is to work.
As with most other modifications, I'd recommend making a NAND/Ti backup before you do this. I flashed a newer Market on my EVO but it caused a bootloop the first time I tried. I think I ultimately ended up clearing my data/ and cache/ partitions, then clearing my dalvik-cache, then flashing the new Market. You might not have to do something that excessive to get it to work, but it seemed to do well on my phone.

Thanks. I'll check it out. Ideally I was hoping for auto-update of the app but I guess that isn't possible.

@sickgemini: I don't know if the auto-update works in CM at all, to be honest. My phone's Market has never updated itself...


text:
Contacts stuck in favourites widget on HTC Legend
Until recently, I was able to remove contacts using this method. Now those methods don't work. I can remove a person from the favourites group, but that only removes them from the widget until I restart. When I visit the contact profile I see them listed as being in the favourites group, but when I go to edit, they are not listed as a member. Removing the contact from my "Starred on Android" group doesn't work either. Is there any other way to remove contacts?

Sounds like you need to delete the widget, clear the data and cache for Contacts Storage, re-sync, and re-add the widget.  That should get rid of bad data that is likely screwing things up.

Thanks for the suggestion, but I actually solved by going to the group, then editing the group's members; rather than going to the person, then editing the person's group

That's strange.  Oh Google ...


text:
Why does it take so long for a program like Mapdroid to use the GPS to track you on a map
I was in London last week (which is outside my country, so I did not use roaming to connect to the internet to be able to use the maps application from Google). In stead , I used Mapdroid to find my way around the center there.
Mapdroid, for those who don't know this program, lets you download maps and than use them without data connection. The only thing you need to do is turn on the GPS.
This works great apart for the fact that it can take between 5 and 10 minutes for the program to mark you location. If it does, it can track you fine , and it keeps tracking you on the map.
But I am just wondering why it takes so long before Mapdroid knows where you are.
Is it a hardware thing (I have a Samsung Galaxy S phone running Froyo).

I think this is a GPS-thing. They are slow when you start up on a new location.

It's most probably a hardware problem. See this question on the i9000's GPS quality: How can I fix the GPS on my Samsung Galaxy S?

This shows the difference between AGPS and GPS. AGPS (Assisted GPS) uses a small amount of mobile data to establish a rough location fix (about 1km-100m accuracy) based on the cell towers near you. This gives a faster initial location fix than just GPS. Since you had roaming disabled, AGPS wasn't available and getting a location fix on just GPS can take a while, especially on some firmware versions of the Galaxy S.

5-10 minutes seems awfully long.  Using a GPS receiver like a Garmin in a car takes maybe a minute at the most.  Usually they only take longer if line of sight is poor.  I tried Mapdroid in Vancouver and it took quite a while to sync up. It never took me 5 minutes or more though.

Exactly right.  The SGS has GPS problems up the wazoo.

Most GPS devices (including Android) "cheat" by using their previous known location to get faster first fix. If you turned off your GPS device, and then moved to a very far away place, and turn it on there, the GPS have to locate from zero information and it will take about 5 minutes for any GPS device to get a another first fix.

I've actually been writing an application that uses GPS, so I can shed some light on this.  onik is correct about the AGPS vs GPS.  Additionally, though, GPS can be affected by a number of factors which can reduce accuracy or the ability to receive a signal at all:

GPS accuracy is affected by a number
  of factors, including satellite
  positions, noise in the radio signal,
  atmospheric conditions, and natural
  barriers to the signal. Noise can
  create an error between 1 to 10 meters
  and results from static or
  interference from something near the
  receiver or something on the same
  frequency. Objects such a mountains or
  buildings between the satellite and
  the receiver can also produce error,
  sometimes up to 30 meters. The most
  accurate determination of position
  occurs when the satellite and receiver
  have a clear view of each other and no
  other objects interfere.

As well with AGPS is DGPS (Differential GPS). (But I do not believe phones have this, only AGPS).

Like the AGPS, the DGPS uses a fixed
  GPS location (such as a cell tower) to
  send information to the GPS receiver.
  DGPS, however, looks at both the
  satellite and the fixed location
  adjusts for any difference between the
  two, and then sends that information
  to the receiver. DGPS is particularly
  helpful when atmospheric conditions
  interfere with reception.

Source/more information.
In short, make sure you are outside and have a clear view of the sky.  The initial lock will sometimes take quite a bit of time, but subsequent locks shouldn't be nearly as bad.

Galaxy S has a notoriously bad GPS. I Changed from S to now S3, and there is a HUGE difference. The S3 is extremely fast to get a GPS lock, and incomparably more precise. So don't expect wonders from a Galaxy S.

See http://android.stackexchange.com/a/25533/15713


text:
Can someone provide a list of the things to ideally do when rooting?

Possible Duplicate:
How do I root my phone?

I have found some decent guides on how to root your Android device on various forums, but I would interested in hearing what everyone hear feels is the ideal checklist when rooting.  For instance, when I did my first root recently it was something like this:

Download and run z4root.
Download, install, and run Boostrap Recovery
Create a backup of the current ROM
Download, install, and run Titanium backup
Install apps that need root to run
... etc

If there is more to add, please let me know.
NOTE: Additionally, if this question is too device-centric, let me know and I will either edit it or close it.  Thanks.

Yes, I think you should edit the question for a specific device as methods vary significantly between devices.

Actually, scratch that, this one is totally covered here: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/1184/how-do-i-root-my-phone/1185#1185

While the question FoleyIsGood points out does not completely cover "good practices", it is intended to be a canonical question with a complete answer.  As such, feel free to add your knowledge to that answer and we will do the same; dividing it up seems like a bad idea.


text:
How come my my HTC Desire Z sometimes doesn't notify me about a new SMS?
My HTC Desire Z has developed an issue (well several, but just one for this question) where it doesn't always notify me of a new message. When a new message arrives, I expect:

the phone to beep (well ring tone), and
there to be an indicator in the notification area until I look at the message or clear notifications.

This does happen the majority of the time, but sometimes neither of these things happen. But if I open the Messages app, there is the new message. This is really quite annoying, so does anyone know ways to fix this? Are there alternative SMS apps that might be different, or is this functionality an OS thing? Would using, say, CyanogenMod fix it, or at least be worth a try? Is it possible that the formatting of particular contacts would cause such a problem? Any other ideas?
Version info:

Phone: HTC Desire Z (Vodafone UK)
Android: 2.2.1
Kernel: 2.6.32.21-g540976a htc-kernel@and18-2 #1
Build Number: 1.72.161.1 CL296256 release-keys

I am having the same problem. I am not very technical at all and this problem is very annoying! In addition to not always showing a new message, when it does the notification tool bar doesn't clear as it used too. I have checked for updates and there don't appear to be any. Could you tell me more about the Handcent SMS app please? Or any other suggestions on how to fix the exisiting problem?!

I am having the same problem. I removed Handcent because it was performing abysmally slow. I guess we'll all have to lean heavily on HTC for an update. At least messages don't take minutes to send anymore.

Since you're still receiving the messages, the app must just be buggy.  You could try using the Handcent SMS app instead.

I've switched to that now, and I'll see how I go.

This has solved it for me :) Since switching to Handcent I haven't missed a test message, and additionally my phone hasn't crashed, which previously it was doing rather regularly. Thank you.

Great! Glad it worked.

Wow, that so didn't solve the problem.

@PP01 Feel free to post a "real" solution.  In lieu of one, Handcent is obviously a useful workaround.

Actually Handcent is rubbish. I had to remove it because it was severely slow. Ultimately HTC need to repair the messaging system. Like I said, at least messages don't take a full minute to merely send (like they did before Christmas). Point is, we want to know how to make the stock messaging app notify about messages correctly: not just use a 3rd party product - it's a suggestion but certainly not an "answer".

@PP01 This isn't your question. Not to mention you can't make buggy software magically work correctly, and this sounds like a bug. I've also never heard anyone complain about Handcent. If this isn't what you want, then post your own question.  (Link to this one and explain why you're not interested in a workaround, so that it's not closed as a duplicate).

I've got news for you: lots of people read this site. Lots of people have similar problems (and I am experiencing the same problem). So not everyone that experiences the same problem posts the same question. Oh, and by the way, you've heard someone complain about Handcent now: me!

I don't see how that's relevant.  This question has been answered to the asker's satisfaction and is not likely to receive any more answers.  If you would like this answered to your satisfaction, it's unlikely to happen here.  So I suggest you ask your own question.  And since we are no longer talking about the content of my answer, please take this to Meta if you want to discuss it further.

How much free internal space do you have on your phone?  When my phone has too many services running or doesn't have enough free internal space then services will get killed left and right, therefore the messaging service won't run to alert me of a new message.  Try uninstalling some apps or moving them to the SD card.  You can check for any unnecessary running services under Settings -- > Applications --> Running Services.

I have 846MB of internal phone storage. The running services looks OK aswell - there are 6 services listed, and at the bottom the bar is 2/3 green (Avail: 113MB + 126MB in 16). But I shall check this again when I've missed a message to see if more stuff is in there.

I had this same problem and all I did to fix it was restart my phone!  Worked like a charm!


text:
How can I disable auto-updating of Market apps?
Is there any way that to turn off auto update of Android Market apps? My phone prompts me for available updates and it runs in the background, and I think it's sapping precious battery power.

Yes, change the notification settings in Market -> (Menu button/Action Bar Button depending on device) Settings.


text:
How do I set up my HTC HD2 to dual boot Windows Mobile and Android?
I have read that it is possible to set up the HTC HD2 so that it can dual boot the stock Windows Mobile OS and Android, but I'm not sure where to start. How can I do this?

Here's a quickly googled howto/link collection: http://www.htchd2forum.com/android-on-the-hd2/how-to-install-android . Can't really help more without a more specific problem/question.

If you want to boot HTC HD2 with Andorid you have 2 possibilities:

Use the HTC HD2 Android port that
boot from a SD card.
Reflash the HTC with an Android
custom ROM

On XDA-Developers you can find extensive information, tutorials and practically any information you can need to accomplish your objective.

Here you can find the diferent
forums for each option
Here is the forum dedicated to
the SD port
Here is the forum dedicated to
the NAND port (needs to reflash your
phone)


text:
How do I disable the Market App Fast Web Install feature in my android phone settings?
I do not quite like the Fast Web Install idea of Market app.
I use AppBrain for my app installs and it lets me manually select if-and-when I would like to install or update an app selected from my AppBrain account to my phone.
That is (I noticed) not the case with the Market app. So, if I (or someone gaining access to my google account) were to select an install from Market, it would just get installed on my phone shortly -- no questions asked.
Similarly, I prefer to install apps when the phone has a Pass-Through or WiFi data connection. But, this auto-triggered install can happen any time -- I don't like that either.
I could not find any settings in my Market app that will make it ask before it downloads and installs an app. I would like to control this at the phone (rather than from my Market account login).

The Fast Web Install feature relies on Background Data being enabled.  If you turn this off, (Settings > Account & Sync > Background Data) any apps you select in the Market website will not be downloaded to your phone.
When you switch Background Data back on, anything you (or your nefarious account accessor) have queued will be downloaded.

That will work, but not for me. I don't won't to stop my data connection just because Market app does not let me turn off a web-based install.

Fair enough. I think you may be out of luck in that case. Bear in mind though that killing Background Data doesn't kill your whole data connection, just (some of the) things that happen behind your back.

I know. But, I really don't want to impact any other data activity from my android in the interest of disabling a remotely triggered install. I strongly feel that this should be an option in the phone-end of the mechanism (the market app on my android).

In the preference for the AppBrain application there are settings to enable and disable Fast Web Install.
Menu > Preferences > Disable Fast Web Install.

I have seen AppBrain controls and have in-fact used them as a reference example for my Market App expectations. Using AppBrain app does not stop my Market App from being active and used. I would like to disable the Market App completely (but, without any root operations) and continue to use AppBrain if that is possible.


text:
What is a safe CPU speed for the HTC Dream?
I know that T-Mobile clocked it down to 384 to extend battery life on the G1, and I believe that the processor was designed for 528. With all that said, does anyone have experience with what a good, safe speed is?  I'm new to Android (less than 1 week), so all this is new to me.  Thanks!
Update: the processor is the MSM7201A.

this question will depend on the particular processor, the same processor on the same clock on the same phone model on the same configuration, may be stable for one phone while highly unstable for another. Moreoever, "good experience" is highly subjective.

It depends on your needs:

Do you want to conserve battery?  Then underclock the CPU
Do you want better performance?  Then overclock the CPU

Typically there are different kernels that you can flash for your device.  Different kernels offer different clockspeeds.  Some of them will also under volt your phone to consume less power.  The disadvantage of undervolting is that the phone may not be able to run faster clockspeeds.
Additionally, your phone may not overclock to the same speed as another phone due to one processor being physically different than another processor (no two processors are made 100% exactly alike.  When overclocking you are stepping beyond the bounds and specifications that your phone was designed to run at).  What will happen is your phone will enter a boot loop if it is unable to run the kernel at a specific speed (you'll have to flash a new kernel or revert to a previous Nandroid backup).
I don't know of specific kernels for the G1, but for example there is a set of kernels by ChevyNo1 for the Droid1.  The general steps are:

RUN A NANDROID BACKUP
Choose a voltage: ultra low, low, or normal
Start with the kernel with the lowest overclocked speed
Flash that kernel.
Use SetCPU to set the clock speed to the max.
If the phone remains stable, then choose the next kernel with the same voltage with a slightly faster clockspeed and try to run it at its max speed.
If the phone does not remain stable, then revert to your last Nandroid backup or the last kernel that ran stable on your  phone

Thanks - the more I get into Android the more I realize there is no straightforward easy answer to this kind of question.  I'm running Cyanogenmod 6.1.0 kernel 2.6.35.9.  I think I'm going to just leave it at 528 max, since I'd really rather not accidentally brick it.

@Mingo you shouldn't be able to brick your phone by overclocking the phone.  Worse case scenario you end up in a boot loop.  When that happens, you go into Clockwork Recovery and flash your last backup or another kernel that you know works.

thanks for the follow-up.  Good to know I can't do any permanent damage.  I'm also leaving the phone in "ondemand" mode in setCPU, and I set a temperature profile to avoid letting it get too hot.

@mingo I also recommend setting a profile where you underclock the processor when the phone's screen is off.  But don't set it too low or it might have difficulty reacting quickly when answering a call, waking up, etc.  You can also set some profiles at Battery < x% to underclock the phone to save battery when your phone is getting closer to dying.

I on battery mine is unstable at 633 MHZ on Froyo by laszlo kernel, but on charger it works. Using 595 is stable, you can set it in performance settings, you don't need app with this kernel. I set Minimal on min 122.
As I know this MSM7201A has 2 cpus, not changing frequency, but rather switch between cores.(found this information on Wikipedia) I have this old telephone and found it a bit hard to operate sometimes, but its still powerful enough to run most applications needed, and with those applications on SD ext I can perform almost anything, but the battery life is a bit small. But lets say its first android telephone(2008), full qwerty and lot of fun making it operate.


text:
Can an Android phone be used as a Bluetooth headset/speakers?
Is there a way to make an Android phone (HTC Desire HD) act as Bluetooth speakers or headset?
I'd like to use the phone as wireless headphones whilst watching a movie on a computer (running Ubuntu).

It looks like there are several apps that can do wireless speaker (over Wi-Fi though, not seeing any that do bluetooth), but none so far that do wireless headset.  This Wi-Fi speaker app advertises Linux support: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.georgie.SoundWireFree&hl=en&referrer=utm_source%3Dgoogle%26utm_medium%3Dorganic%26utm_term%3Duse+android+as+wireless+pc+headset&pcampaignid=APPU_fA3EVKPnEPf8sAS-uYKQCA

As of Feb 2011, the Bluetooth API only supports pairing with the Android device as the master.
Reference: Stack Overflow - Use Android device as a headset for another device

Comment by Dennis Mathews to the linked answer - Anyway being a master or slave has nothing to do with what it can or cannot do, the roles in bluetooth are symmetrical - it is the supported profiles that determines what it can or cannot do

Partially solved, because newer APIs can perform it in the future, or specific APIs or some kind of hack can perform it...

Here's a XDA article by Mishaal Rahman that basically says:
Even without A2DP profile on Android (which is not implemented even in Android 8 yet), you can do a low-quality Bluetooth streaming via Hands-free Profile (HFP) to Android from another Android phone (sorry iPhone owners!)
Install Tasker and a AutoVoice plugin on the source phone, and create the following Tasker profile:
Profile: Reroute Audio (192)
State: BT Connected [ Name:BMW 15384 Address:* ]
Enter: Anon (199)
A1: AutoVoice Ctrl BT [ Configuration:Enabling Headset Sound Timeout (Seconds):0 ]

Exit: Anon (204)
A1: AutoVoice Ctrl BT [ Configuration:Disabling Headset Sound Timeout (Seconds):0 ]

Warning: I have not tested this myself.
Warning: quotation about HFP audio quality:

Note: because the Hands-Free Profile is not meant to send high-fidelity audio streams, the audio quality of your music will suffer. This is just the nature of the Hands-Free Profile and there’s nothing you can do about it without either upgrading your stereo’s Bluetooth to bring A2DP support or to stream through another peripheral.

I must be missing something, why do you want the phone to do it?
You'd be better off using a USB Bluetooth chip (they cost less than £5) on your PC and a Bluetooth Headset (I've got a superb one that lets me plug in any headphones I want, 3.5 stereo jack so would take any little speakers as well).

Well as the PC already has Bluetooth and the phone already has Bluetooth and produces decent quality sound, I'd like a way to use what I've got rather than buy a seperate Bluetooth headset.

I stand by my answer - buy a BT headphone adapter about £10 inc shipping. Then you can pair it with the pc and the phone...Leveraging the BT technology as its designed to be used. You'll have much less trouble configuring and finding apps or drivers.

Does the Desire really have decent speakers?

The Desire HD has a lot better sound than the Desire (I've had both), but I'd be using it with headphones. The idea is for when sound out loud when watching a movie would disturb others in the room.

"Don't do that" is rarely a good answer, and it's rarely a good idea to tell people what to do with their hardware. Here's a perfect example where this question is really useful: old Android-based car player. It costs a fortune to replace and still can be a perfect speaker for a newer tablet/phone.


text:
Sync birthdays between iCal and Android
I have an HTC Desire and a Mac (10.6, if that matters) and I sync them via Google Contacts.
Many of my contacts in Apple's Address Book.app have a birthday set, but it does not transfer to Google Contacts and thus not to my Android Contacts.
If I create a new contact on Google Mail/Contacts and set a birthday, it is immediately synced to my Android phone, complete with birthday, but in Address Book.app the birthday is missing.
How can I get my birthdays in sync?
If a proper sync is not possible, it would be nice to have at least a calendar that is synced, but I don't know how to add the calendar that Address Book.app can generate automatically to my Google account to sync.
I have seen icalbirthdays but I don't think it can help me. I would like to avoid kludges like creating a calender from Address Book in iCal, publishing that to a third server and subscribing in Google Calendar...)

That's a tricky one. You say you sync Address Book with Google Contacts. How are you doing that? The setting in Address Book itself?

You might also want to consider asking on http://apple.stackexchange.com as this is also a Mac related question

@Al: Yes, I use the sync provided in Address Book: Accounts, "Synchronize with Google". @Bryan: thanks for the suggestion

Okay, I am admittedly not an Apple guy, but it looks like you might need a third-party solution.
According to some comments I found here, non-support of birthdays is a known thorn. To get around it, the commenter used Spanning Sync but also mentioned SyncMan.
Spanning Sync offers a 15-day trial, after which it costs $25 for a one-year subscription or a $65 one-time purchase. The commenter referenced above did mention that he chose this because birthdays were not being sync'd.
SyncMan offers a 30-day trial, after which you can purchase it for $14.99. On the support page it specifically mentions birthdays as one of the things it syncs that the native Google sync in Address Book doesn't.

I personally used Missing Sync, it's quite a good app for Mac
http://www.markspace.com/products/android/missing-sync-android.html


text:
CM7: How to enable passwordless SSH login on same network?
I'm running CyanogenMod 7 and I'd like to enable passwordless SSH login to my main Linux computer on my network, but only when the phone is accessing the server over the same network. How/where should I put my .ssh/known_hosts file to enable this?

What app are you using for SSH, and does it even support this?

I'm using the SSH that is shipped with CyanogenMod, I wrote a script in Bash which will connect me to my server (ie ssh -p 1024 rfkrocktk@work-laptop), and I simply execute that. The SSH implementation is Dropbear client v0.52.

Try this:

Take/generate a public key of your Android device. Don't you ever hardcode your password into scripts :)
Put it into .ssh/authorized_keys on main computer
Then use "from=" mask to limit IP/hostname to your LAN, like from="192.168.1.*".

If IP range won't work, set up a fixed hostname for MAC address of your device on WLAN. Some AP firmwares, like OpenWRT, allow it.


text:
How can I adjust my screen's color temperature?
Redshift is a Linux application similar to Windows' F.lux, which gives the screen a red tinge automatically at night. Supposedly, it reduces eye strain and helps prevent sleep problems.
Is there any way I can adjust my screen's color temperature to create the same effect on Android?

I use F.lux for Windows and Mac, I love it. It's funny that you asked this, just last night I was wondering if F.lux existed for Android...

Very similar question here: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/5830/automatic-adjust-brightness-through-out-the-day

As a sidenote, here's a question about the claims of F.lux and Redshift at Skeptics StackExchange: "Does the color temperature of a computer screen affect sleep patterns?"

There are a fair few blue light filter apps on the Play Store that may suit your needs. The exact features will vary, but they all fit the general scheme of allowing you to adjust the color temperature of your screen.
Additionally, if your device is rooted, you can actually use f.lux nowadays.

Your link is broken, and I am not able find another. Is there something similar?

Looks like it was de-listed. I'm not aware of anywhere else that hosted a copy, so I re-wrote this to point to other apps on the Play Store. Sorry about that!

Well I know for a fact that there is Cyanogenmod ROM which has "filter options" one of them being only turn on red, I know its not automatic, but there is widgets for the home screen. I'm pretty sure there is a way to do it by app but it would require root access.

Tasker or Locale could probably turn it on, but I'm guessing a gradual change wouldn't be possible.

unfotunatly when selected it completely turns off all other colors

Sorry, but I could not find that setting (CYM11 here). Where's that?

Settings-> Display & Lights-> (go to the bottom) Color calibration, at least that's what its like on my nexus 5

NeyetLight looks like it would do the trick.

Your link is broken.

Twilight works well, although it's just a screen filter, it's automated and very similar to f.lux if you move the color temp to the right more
I love it although it does look terrible, it's all we have, and I am not going to root my phone just to have a true color temp change that's insane, plus it voids my warranty which I need to have and rooting is insanely difficult, DO NOT tell me it's easy i've read the instructions for it -- it's NOT EASY

You can try the Screen Filter app.

Gee whiz, man! Give us a link!

unfortunately it's a no go but thanks for recommendation

Is it just the color?  Maybe you could ask the dev to add color selection.

yeah it's the color , regular LCD color makes your brain think its in sunlight and keeps you awake , more red color suppose to prevent that, i will try reaching the dev thx for the tip

Screen Adjuster by Netman that allows you to control the red tint on the phone.

Your link is now broken.

Current builds of CyanogenMod have a feature called LiveDisplay. It's very similar to f.lux, automatic changes in the evening and all. It actually changes the color temperature of the screen; it's not an overlay.
It can be turned on from
Settings > Display & lights > LiveDisplay > Display mode > automatic.

We have developed an app to adjust the screen temperature. It has no ads, over 200 good reviews, and small file size.

Bluelight Filter is a tiny utility (just 86kb!) to reduce the harmful
  effect of blue light emitted by smartphones & tablets. Blue light
  interferes with the sleep hormone production of our body and affects
  sleep.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.panagola.app.bluef
Affiliation: Developer, Non-profit

It doesn't provide red tint, but for late night, ultra-dim reading I use adjBrightness. It does require a rooted device.

Twilight (free)
Twilight automatically makes the screen redder at night, with options for color temperature, intensity, and brightness. It has a nice Material design too.
Lux Lite (free) or Lux Auto Brightness ($3.80)
From Lux Dash > Triple star icon, you can enable/disable Night Mode and change Night Mode's color temperature. Automatic color temperature changing at sunset requires the paid version.

Red Moon Lite  (free) or Red Moon - Screen Filter (payed).


text:
How do I record all my phone calls?

Possible Duplicate:
Is there a way to easily record a phone conversation in-progress?

What I mean is, to record by default all incoming and outgoing phone call (both sides of the conversation), without having to do any manual action in every call.
Secondly, is this legal?

This question seems to cover pretty much the same ground: Is there a way to easily record a conversation in progress?.  One of the recommended apps (Ultimate Voice Recorder) allows for recording all calls.

Matt H's comment covers the "how".  As for "Is it legal?"...

It depends on where you live.  In the US, it is going to vary by state.  11 states have "Two party consent" laws which means everyone involved in the call needs to know it's being recorded and consent.  The rest of the states (and DC) have "one party consent" laws so if you are recording your own calls you can be the one party that knows and consents and whoever you are talking to will never be the wiser.  Within these two laws there are also many variations that dictate how the recordings can be used for evidential purposes... basically, check the laws of your jurisdiction.


text:
Why does my notification bar get stuck on Galaxy S?
The notification bar on my Samsung Galaxy S with Froyo has a nasty habit of getting stuck.  When this happens and I try to pull it down, the (I don't know what to call it) "dragging bar" appears, but I'm unable to pull it down.
I can access the notifications bar by going to the home screen, tapping the left button and tapping "notifications", but I can't access it any other way.
Is there a way to keep this from happening?
Is there any way to unstick it, other than restarting the phone?
This is the screen before I try to pull down the bar:

This is the screen after, with the notification bar stuck:

(I actually took the screenshots in opposite order, which is why the clock is out of order in the two pictures).

I'd guessed the order they were taken by the clock! Slightly more on-topic, I haven't seen this with mine. Does it unstick it if you swap from the Home screen to the Applications screen, or if you start a full screen app (like a game) and then close it?

@GAThrawn: I thought so, I just didn't want to leave the impression that I was pasting unrelated screenshots because of the discrepancy.

Does it happen regardless of what home launcher you use?  Not sure if that'd make a difference...

I haven't tried any others. what good ones are there?

ADW.Launcher and LauncherPro seems to be the most popular

What Galaxy S model and what ROM?

Mine is doing the same also!! Very annoying! Searching for an answer and came across your thread, would love to know if anyone finds a solution. P.S. this has only started to happen since I downloaded some alarm clock apps, could this be related to the problem?

@Katie Yes, that could be the problem.  Any time you change something and something else changes, there could be a relationship.  Try uninstalling them and seeing what happens.

@Matthew: the model is GT-I9000. The firmware version is 2.2, the baseline is I900JIJPS, the core is 2.6.32.9 release@SEWA_ANRD_SRV2#1 and the build is FROYO.JIJP7

I've had this too, 2.2 firmware. Seems like something that 'triggers' a notification is stuck in a loop or something. I hope anybody knows a solution. Rebooting seems to work most of the time.

Now that you pointed it out, I just realized that this happens to mine as well from time to time. However, in my case (Samsung Spica - Samdroid Mod), a simple swipe to pull the bar down and up again would return it to normal.

A lot of the theories on this seem to be to do with CPU load and RAM usage. Is Samsung's 2.2.1 update available to your network yet? That has a lot of performance fixes in it and really makes a noticeable difference to the performance of the phone, I haven't had one odd pause or lock up since the update came out a couple of months ago.

Update your phone to Gingerbread and this problem will go away. I upgraded my Galaxy S to 2.3.3 and haven't ever since seen this problem, which still happened with 2.2.1 Froyo.

This actually solved the problem for me

I HAVE FOUND A WORKAROUND!!!
First some details. This happens on the Galaxy S when you try to open the notification bar during high load. A reboot will reset it. But if you don't want to reboot:
Do this QUICKLY: Tap the notification bar, just before releasing it tap on the bottom half of the screen, release the finger from notification bar, release the finger from the bottom half of the screen.
This will trigger the notification bar to FULLY OPEN ITSELF!

It works, but requires some practice if you are 30+ years old. :-) BTW: This is really just a WORKAROUND, you still have to reset the phone.

I don't know if this is your problem or not, but I occasionally get this on my Droid X. For me, it seems that it's stuck if I try to slide down from the notification bar and nothing happens. However, if I start sliding down from the "pull-down bar", then it will move with my finger (i.e. starting on top of the "pull-down bar" rather than on the notification bar).
Another possibility is that your touchscreen could have some "dead areas" that cause this. Can you reproduce this in landscape mode as well or is it only in portrait mode? Perhaps an app to test all touchscreen areas might help identify whether or not this could be the culprit.

I have a Galaxy S Captivate, and do see this occasionally. It only happens for me if I try to pull the notifications down while the phone is very busy doing something else, like installing/updating an app.
It goes away for me by simply just pushing it back to the top then pulling down again.

I have this very problem, occasionally it'll make it half way down before sticking, and it's driving me nuts.
Someone pointed out it's most likely to do with RAM usage, clearing of which does seem to help for a period of time but isn't a permanent fix. I've tried changing launchers (from Zeam back to Touchwiz to LauncherPro) and applying a lagfix, both of which seemed to work, again for a time, but it has since come back. I've uninstalled my newest applications and haven't nailed down an exact culprit but there must be something hiding in there as this is a relatively recent occurence.


text:
Automatic adjust brightness through out the day
It does not seem that automatic brightness works well on my Nexus S.
Basically, I want my phone's brightness to adjust throughout the day. Either that, or something that automatically adjusts brightness based on the ambient light sensor.
Anyone have any suggestions?

Appears to be a duplicate of http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/5816/is-there-an-app-similar-to-redshift-for-android

@Al I think this is OK, it's different enough.

How about AdvancedBrightness? It's not automatic - you'd have to configure it accordingly. However, since you said "adjust throughout the day," this may well be a suitable app for your needs. Oh, and it's free and very small (33kb).

Awesome suggestion! I think I'm going with this.

An application like Locale ($9.99USD) will let you do that. At say 9 am you can adjust the brightness to one setting, then add another condition to adjust the brightness to a different setting at a different time.
Tasker should be able to do it as well. It does a lot of what Locale does, plus more. It also supports all the Locale plug-ins. It is also about $5.99USD.

+1 for the Tasker application

I'll give them a try! Too bad Android's try-out window has been decreased. Would of been nice to have 24 hours to try these out.

If you don't mind programming it in, Llama is a free alternative to Locale and Tasker! :) It has date/time of day triggers with screen brightness actions (along with quite a few others!).


text:
Are there any issues with having multiple phone finding applications?
I like to use Prey and have no complaints about it so far.  However, our carrier also offers Mobile Recovery, which does a lot of the same things (GPS locations, etc).  Is there any harm in having both of these apps loaded and running (other than it being somewhat redundant and eating up a little extra battery)?

Other than being redundant and using more resources (you would have two separate services running in the background all the time), you shouldn't have any problems running both at the same time like any other application.  I would see it as not much different than running Locale and Tasker at the same time.  They might do very similar things, but they aren't exactly the same.

I happen to have Lookout, Where's My Droid, Phoning Pigeon, and Prey, all happily co-existing on my Droid. (Mostly because I haven't figured out which I dislike enough to uninstall.)

@Al Everett: Fantastic - location app ennui :)

I'd hedge my bets too -- you'll never know which app is going to fail just when you need it.


text:
Note taking app that syncs with the cloud and lets me create a shortcut to a specific saved note?
I'm looking for note taking app that does the following:

Syncs with a cloud based account (like simplenote)
Keeps a local version of each note (I dont want to have to wait for it to download each time, or not be able to access it if I'm offline).
Allows me to create a shortcut to a specific note
Goes directly into edit mode when the note is opened.  I don't want to have to click "edit" from a Read Only view.

I've already tried all the apps listed here: http://simplenoteapp.com/downloads/ and they all open in edit mode which is nice, but none of them let me create a shortcut to a specific note.  Evernote does do this, however, it opens notes in Read Only view by default and I have a massive Evernote archive so I don't want to keep local notebooks with that app.  Catch and AK Pad also only open in Read Only mode.
Basically if it's in the market I've seen it so I don't need suggestions of apps to check out.  I'm looking for suggestions of apps that you know fit the specific criteria layed out above.

I assume by "shortcut" you mean a shortcut on the home screen?

yes, but not necessarily just on the home screen.  I use some apps that let me place shortcuts in other places like the menu bar and in a popup...  Basically, I'm looking for something that adds the option to the "Shortcut" context menu.

Haven't found one. I've got an app that does 1, 2, and 4, but that shortcut thing is tricky. You should probably contact some of these Simplenote app devs and ask 'em for that feature.

Yeah, I think I may have to do that.  I have found apps that do 1, 2 & 4 or 2,3 & 4, or 1, 2 & 3 but none that hit them all.

I am using Springpad which meets all of your requirements apart from 4. But you can long press and select edit which sort of works like you want it to.

Thanks but there's a lot of solutions that meet 3 out of the 4 criteria.  I've used Springpad and it's a good app but doesn't suit my needs.

Not sure, but maybe Tomdroid. Not sure about 3. Or maybe soon if you ask for it on their site?