text:
Dynamic launcher with Tasker?
I'd like to use Tasker to switch my launcher: when I'm at work I need certain apps to be easily available, while when I'm home I want Nova launcher with all my apps. How can I do that? Thanks.

This is a bit dirty solution, but gets the job done.
Note: Tested the solution on Android 4.2.1 having default Android launcher and Smart Launcher Pro.
Requirements:

Device should be rooted

I'm assuming:

Your timing for work (i.e. entering and leaving the office) are more or less same for working days. Let's say the timing is 10:OO AM - 06:00 PM, and the rest is for home or other things.
You're using your device's default launcher and Nova Launcher.

Instructions for Tasker:

Make Nova Launcher as your default launcher by using step 2 and 3 from this answer by Josh Holland.
Launch Tasker.
Create a Profile under Time with parameters as:

From: 10:00
To: 18:00

Create a task with action Code → Run Shell, and fill these details:

Command: pm disable com.teslacoilsw.launcher
Timeout (Seconds): 10
Check Use Root, leave other things untouched and save the action

Under the same task create a new action App → Launch App. Under the App Selection window tap All (at the bottom) and choose the default launcher. Save this action with other things untouched.
Create another profile under Time with parameters:

From: 18:00
To: 10:00

Repeat step 4 with details:

Command: pm enable com.teslacoilsw.launcher
Timeout (Seconds): 10
Check Use Root, leave other things untouched and save the action

Repeat step 5 and choose Nova Launcher to launch instead of default one.
Enable both profiles and the Tasker.

You're good to go. Your default launcher will be activated for work time and Nova Launcher will activate during home or leisure activity.
Note that you can change the timings, or the default profile as well. E.g. If you don't want to limit the answer with timings or your timings are not strict but irregular than you may try a profile like State → Net State → Wifi Connected → details of Wifi.

Any solution you find will require root, due to Android's security limitations (3rd-party apps cannot change the default action for intents).
http://www.reddit.com/r/tasker/comments/11swoq/how_to_use_tasker_to_swap_between_launchers/ looks promising, I'll summarise it quickly here.
Requirements:

Tasker
Secure Settings
A second launcher installed
Root access

Install Secure Settings, grant it root access and under Options → Root access make sure Package Manager is enabled.
Go to System settings → Apps, open the entry for your current launcher and press Clear defaults.
Press the home button, select your alternate launcher (probably the "at work" launcher in this case) and select the 'Always' option.
If you have more than two launchers installed, you must proceed with step 5. Otherwise (if you have exactly two launchers installed), skip to step 13.
Open Tasker, and add a new task in the "Tasks" tab (named something like "Disable stock launcher").
Add an action: Plugin → Secure Settings.
Click the edit button next to 'Configuration'.
Pick 'Package Manager' under 'Root actions'.
Click the question mark (?) in the top-left corner and select your stock launcher (or whichever launcher you do not want to use at all).
Make sure the grey toggle in the middle is set to 'Disabled'.
Press the Save button in the bottom-left, then the green check in Tasker.
Press the Test/Play button in the bottom-right; this will disable your stock launcher (or whichever launcher you don't want to use).
In Tasker, go to the profile you want to use your alternate launcher with (probably "At work" in this case).
In the Entry task add a new action: Plugin → Secure Settings.
Edit the plugin configuration: Edit → Package Manager.
Select your alternate launcher (the "at work" launcher in this case).
Set the grey toggle to 'Enable'.
Press Save in the bottom-left, then tick the checkmarks to commit.
For the exit task, do the exact same, except make sure the toggle disables your alternate launcher rather than enables.

N.B. As always with tasks involving root access, there is a small risk of ending up without a usable launcher; as long as you follow the instructions in the Reddit post, you should be fine.

You need to pay for that feature to work on Secure Settings app on the latest version.

Sloth Launcher does exactly what you want.

Removed from the store

UR Launcher Is a dynamic launcher, I am using it on my own but still needs some features, I am also searching for better and better

This seems to have been removed from the play store. Yes I realize this is an old post.

If you are still looking, try CTX Launcher:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=br.com.cenapps.ctxlauncher
You can use Tasker to change shortcuts and widgets shown on screen.
PS: I'm the developer, it's my first app. Your feedback would be appreciated.


text:
My Macbook doesn't import or copy photos from Galaxy S3
There are 663 photos in my camera. I want to share some of them them via computer with my mother who does not have a smartphone.

My phone and computer are connected via USB cable.
The Android File Transfer app is installed and working up to the point of showing me a window on my computer with choices of files to transfer.

However, when I click on DCIM or Pictures nothing comes up. Similarly, nothing happens when I click on Camera.
What am I doing wrong?  How do I get those photos from my phone to show up in my computer? And will they be in both places?  I'd like to keep them in my phone also.
Thank you.

Connect the mobile in Mass Storage (MSC) mode instead of MTP mode. You'll find this setting in Connectivity section. MSC mode will mount the memory card to the PC just like USB storage. You can now copy contents more easily (or)
Use the Samsung's KIES software for handling all the media.

If your phone and computer are on the same network there is no need of USB cable. Just install WeLine(or airdroid) and transfer files between your phone and computer as it is supported on PC and MAC. If you are not on the same network follow the steps below,

First of all, if you are Windows user you should download the USB driver for the Galaxy SIII and install it to your computer. While if you are a Mac user you do not need to install any drivers or software.
Connect these two devices using a micro USB cable.
On your phone's screen the prompt will appear informing you that you have connected to the computer.
Drag down the notification area and select the option you want to use for your device. The options include:

Connected as a media device -> Media device (MTP) -> Use this option if you want Windows Explorer or Mac Finder manually transfer files between PC and your phone or if you want to utilize Windows Media Player.
Connected as a media device -> Camera (PTP) -> Use this option if you want to use your phone as a camera.

Once selected the option as MTP or PTP you can use your device as either MTP media device(file transfer) or PTP media device(camera)

Reference

Does you Macbook supports wifi?

If yes then see this guide by Google to know how to enable Wi-Fi hotspot in your Android device.
If not then no issues. We can use USB tethering here to get the job done. See this answer to know how to setup USB tethering between a Mac and an Android phone.

We're going to use AirDroid to stream the images from Android to Mac for viewing, or optionally choosing to download them into computer for any later use.
Instructions:

Install AirDroid from Play Store.
Enable USB tethering or Wi-Fi hotspot in your phone (connect Mac to this hotspot as well).
Launch AirDroid, go to Tools → Tethering (Others) and you'll be shown a URL which would be:

For USB tethering -- http://192.168.42.129:8888
For Wi-Fi hotspot -- http://192.168.43.1:8888

(The URL might vary depending upon how your device's OEM changed Android's code (details irrelevant here).)
Enter the URL in a browser of your Macbook (AirDroid supports Google Chrome more) and choose Accept on the Android screen.
The default screen would look like:

Using this app now is trivial since options are easy to understand and use.

Anyhow, open Photos icon to see images inside your Android device. You can double-click any image to see in full-screen and use direction keys of keyboard to browse them full-screen.
You can choose to download individual or multiple images by clicking the checkbox on desired images(s) and choosing Download option.

Objectives achieved:

Photos can exists on both sides.
Photos can be viewed without transferring them in computer.
No internet connection is needed to view/transfer images.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
What are CyanogenMod and MIUI based phones?
Recently I came to know about some phones which are based on MIUI and CyanogenMod. I want to know if the meaning behind it is they will get lifetime updates from MIUI and CyanogenMod or something else?

CyanogenMod OS is a custom ROM derived from Google's Android OS.  It is available for large number of devices and delivers updates as nightlies, release candidates, betas, snapshots etc. Frequency of updates depends on the type of ROM flashed onto the device.
MIUI (Mi User Interface) is also a custom ROM which is based on both Google's Android and CyanogenMod but has a home-cooked and customized interface developed by a Chinese firm Xiaomi Tech. It highly resembles Apple's iOS interface. MIUI is available for some flagship phones from popular brands.

All the devices running on CyanogenMod and MIUI gets updates very frequently than others. Updates occur over-the-air (FOTA). As a bottom line they are used as stock firmware replacements.

Well put (+1). Additional details can be found in our tag-wikis for cyanogenmod and miui.

@MANI I am talking about devices that have  tie up between device manufacturer and theses(MIUI & cynogenmod) and come in market MIUI & cynogenmod as stock rom. Also will they be updated until these communties(stock firmware replacements.) are interested in them OR until manufature pays them ? And if manufacture is not paying them then without thier support these CyanogenMod and MIUI roms may have stability issues

Don't have to worry about stability of the ROMs. They are stable and reliable and you will receive updates until the contract between the companies expires.

@user1917769 Here is some additional info for MANI's last comment. Your question is genuine about updates. Before I detail anything I should clear that "Cyanogenmod" is a community ROM only while "Cyanogen OS" is a proprietary ROM (based on former) by Cyanogen Inc. and serving as stock ROM in some phones. Both are usually referred by folks as "CM". IDK about MIUI though.

@user1917769 Anyhow, a community doesn't care for any contract between manufacturer and OS provider. It will continue to build and provide as long its developers are interested to do it. The quality of the ROM (stability usually) depends upon many factors like rigorous code review, multiple testing on devices, etc. Cyanogenmod community has acceptable standard for its official ROMs. Keep calm and flash them. :) On the other hand, a contract between a manufacturer and an OS provider (say Cyanogen Inc.) can bind the latter to provide a well-tested stable ROM for the device("OnePlus One" device).

MIUI is made by the Xiaomi company. It's the skin, based on Android, they use on their devices like the Redmi 2. Xiaomi provides the updates to these devices. Not that officially they are only released in the eastern market, but I've read some news that they are expanding to the American and European market as well.
Cyanogenmod is the first, popular custom version of Android provided by Team Cyanogenmod. It's still actively developed and being released for a serious amount of devices, but his is unoffical for every device except the OnePlus One, but that deal is also over now. See their website for more info

Another device that comes with cyanogenmod pre-installed is the Indian phone brand: yu yureka.

@xangua add yu yuphoria too

MIUI is a highly customized UI that almost acts as a new OS giving you access to all the features of the latest android and many of its own features like themes and lockscreen activated music player and all with the same buttery smooth performance of early iOS versions. It is no surprise in only 5 years it is the fifth largest smartphone company and the largest in its home market.
Cyanogenmod is the next best thing a rom of stock android with all the limiters removed. It is very customizable within the limits of the android version it uses. Performs just as well as any android device with a few glitches since it is much more feature filled than stock. Some of its best features are 5x5 pattern lock and nightly updates.

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


text:
To show Mobile Bookmarks of Chrome in Desktop?
I would like show my bookmarks in my Screen because some webpages work better than any application.
It would be also create an application-like-button for a webpage if possible.
Possible through some widget.
However, I did not find any existing widget.
How can you create an-application-like button for a webpage?
How can you show your mobile bookmarks of Chrome in your desktop?

There should be a bookmarks widget pre-installed with your device. Have you checked that in your app drawer?

By Desktop do you mean home screen of mobile or literally the Desktop used to refer to Windows' PC?

@Firelord Yes, by desktop, I mean the home screen of mobile.

There is further clarification I need: 1)  Chrome at the moment can export a webpage link as an icon to home screen. Is it not enough for you?  2) That app shortcut/widget that you've asked for: do you want a single shortcut which would open a list of bookmarks or do you want individual shortcuts for each of the bookmarked website?

@Firelord I do not know what is the optimum result. I think both would be handy, but the central thing should the control system how you manage both those views. For instance, having icons to some webpage -tools on the mobile desktop, while having a capability to scroll-like icon-menu which allows to see fast on the mobile desktop some linked sites. Those views and items should then be able to be managed on the PC application etc on a webpage.

@Masi, I thought to understand what you're asking for – until you put that last sentence in your last comment. What PC application are you talking about? Chrome on your PC cannot create desktop elements on the Android device, or manage them. That's the domain of the homescreen app.

@Izzy I just spoke about future and extensibility. It would good if you could better combine the views of the Mobile Desktop and Desktop PC. I think the integration of these systems must include control tools about the views, etc. However, just another idea which can be accepted-rejected after many iterations when the basics of the system has been formulated.

Are you asking if it's possible to live display an actual webpage on screen/page x of your device like live desktop from windows 98?

No. I am not asking that.

So you're effectively asking for an application to manage your bookmarks cross-device, with an Android part that integrates with your browser and can be controlled from your PC. No such thing natively, obviously – and asking for an app/software for X is off-topic here (though answers might offer such as solutions). I've never heard of such a combination either – and thus I'm afraid your question is unlikely to receive working answers here.

My final solution to the task. Use Google Keep which integrates nicely to your Internet browsers. During the time of asking the question, I did not know about Google Keep. You get there nice frontend where you can easily add a link and there many links such that the presentation of many links is also nice with the preview of their contents.


text:
How to download gapps
I flashed cyanogen mod 12 on my galaxy s3. Once I did that I flashed gapps but when I went to turn my phone on, every single app crashed and kept crashing literally over and over again. I couldn't do anything but press OK when they crashed because when I tried to, another one just popped up. Is there any way that I can just apk the Google play store or something.

"Just apk-ing the Play Store" is impossible, since there are other files (besides .apk files) that make the Play Store work.

The error occoured because the gapps version you installed didnot match the version of os installed. You can find the minimal gapps edition here.Since you are running cm12 you should download download the one meant for android 5.0.x

Does it matter that I have android 5.1 (cm12.1) and I flashed gapps 5.0

Yes, it does matter. See the CyanogenMod wiki on GApps to pick the matching GApps package.

OK. So I just copied over the gapps 5.1 to my device. So now I install from recovery

@KarimMaggio The instructions and troubleshooting are mentioned in the link Izzy commented. Click here to see them.

You will have to reflash the rom and gapps package.


text:
Looking for a more efficient way to avoid apps that require creating online accounts
Here's an example of a recurring problem: I'm looking for a simple GPS-based pace-keeping app to keep me on track timewise while cycling, running, hiking, etc.  So I find a candidate app via the play store, if it's not free I buy it, then I install it and run it for the first time.  Then I discover that its use requires creating an account at some online site.  I find this unacceptable, so I delete the app, and go back to searching.
Of course, the whole maybe-purchase-install-start-uninstall cycle gets to be very time-consuming when the probability of success (i.e. finding an app that does not require an online account) is low.
In my ideal world, there would be a way to filter search results to exclude apps that require setting up an online account, but I'm not holding my breath for this feature.
Is there a way to identify those apps that require an online account before installing them?

You could Google the app/company name and check their website (if they have one). There's no way to filter apps in Play unfortunately, as developers do not have to flag if their app requires an account to be made.


text:
Play Music Runs Down Battery
NEVER listen to music on my Samsung Galaxy S2 phone, so it is annoying when my battery goes flat and I see that Google Play Music is somehow connected to the net. Like the other Google apps I don't use, I would like to, if not delete the app, at least stop it from running/updating whatever. I did see a similar question somewhere on the site but the recommended settings were not on my phone. Can anyone help please?

What Android version is that? At least you should be able to stop the app in Settings -> Apps.

How would I find out the version?

Again Settings -> About.

Found it! I hope. Model number:GT-19100; Android version:4.1.2; Baseband version :19100BULS3

When I go to settings I can't see an 'app' choice but I do see an App Manager. However, when I click on this and then Google Play Music, I can't see anything offered to delete/switch off/cancel updates and so on. As far as I can see, I cannot select Settings and then Apps

It would appear that a member eidolies made a contribution to this thread but I cannot find it because I have no idea as to how the site works. This is a fact, not a criticism.

Google play music is constantly running or updating. How can I stop it?

It seems that Play Music has come pre-installed on the phone. The only way to disable apps is going to Settings > App manager > All apps > Google Play Music   > Uninstall updates > Disable. Every android phone follow the same thing even though terminology used may be different. If you don't see Disable button then you need to root the phone to gain access as administrator.

Thank you for reply. I'm just a bit too old to try anything technical and because Play Music seems to be permanently updating, I might just change the phone. That said, I am sure that others with more go will be able to take advantage of your advice.

You could ask someone else to help you. Anyway I am always happy to help.


text:
Editing the built-in autocorrect dictionary in AOSP keyboard
I'd like to remove some words from the built-in dictionaries* in my AOSP keyboard (Cyanogenmod 11), to avoid autocorrect from suggesting/applying them.
Is there a dictionary file that can be edited to remove such words?
I suspect it might require root do be able to change it, but I don't mind if it does.
Note: I'm not talking about words added to my personal dictionary, which can be erased using the appropriate interface. I'd like to remove, for instance, the word Said from the French dictionary, which often appears when I mistype sais (a quite common French word). I never intend to use Said, but since it is already in the built-in dictionary, there is no standard way to simply delete it, AFAIK.
* Including languages other than English.

There is a workaround mentioned in this answer. It doesn't help in editing the dictionary but gets the job done.

That question seems to be related to user-added words, not the built-in dictionary. I tried with some words and there is no "Replace..." popup, unless the word has been added by myself. In any case, I edited my question to clarify that.

This other SE answer might be of help if your phone is running under CyanogenMod. That answer, in turn, points to this article where author shows the location of built-in dictionaries on the phone filesystem, as well as the location of built-in dictionary source files in Android open source project.
The rationale (all to be tried) should be grab the source of a builtin dictionary you want to edit, modify that, generate a new APK file out of that, and finally substitute the original dictionary APK with the custom APK.

Seems like a good start, but how do you generate a new APK from the dictionary source file, and how to you substitute the original with it? Edit: this might be helpful http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1027207


text:
How to see if Knox is tripped on Samsung S6 Edge?
I would like to check whether the Knox counter is now 0x1 on my phone.  I booted into download mode, but I see nothing there to tell me.
How can you check the state of your Knox counter on a Samsung Galaxy S6 edge for Verizon?

Boot to download mode and you will see: Knox Warranty Void: 0 or Knox Warranty Void: 1

@SuperThomasLab I did boot to download mode, but there is no line saying Knox Warranty Void:.  Is it gone due to PingPongRoot?  If so, how can I check Knox?

@EilliamKF could you post a screenshot?

@ElliamKF if you post a screenshot of download mode then I can help you.

@SuperThomasLab I will at some point, but I don't have ready access to the phone, it belongs to someone else.

Turn off the device.  While device is off, Press the Power button, Volume Down, and Home buttons and hold until you see a Warning screen, press Volume Up (continue).  At the top left of the screen you'll see "Knox Warranty Void: X (0x000X)" where X is the number of times Knox has been tripped.  Your screen will say Do Not Turn Off Target, to reboot your phone safely at this point, hold the Power and Volume Down keys until your phone screen goes black and starts to reboot.


text:
Add background/shade on app name
I would like to have a background appear around my app name, like in the image below. I have looked around quite a bit and have not been able to find anything to help me achieve this. Are there any settings/ways to have this feature? Or do I have to use 3rd-party app?

The screen showing the app name with dark background from aHome Theme: openSUSE
(click image for larger variant)

The link provided in the question serves a clear solution. The background is a theme to be used as an add-on to aHome or aHome Lite. When clicked, it yielded a page not found, but a simple search would have led you to the right page for the launcher(s) in question to download and install, then allowing the theme in question.

That doesn't work - aHome does not come from the Google Play Store and it does not seem to be functioning properly.

I was able to achieve my intended result  by installing ADW Launcher from the Google Play Store.

Could you mention the link of this app?

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.adw.launcher&hl=en&referrer=utm_source%3Dgoogle%26utm_medium%3Dorganic%26utm_term%3Dadw+l&pcampaignid=APPU_1_9l55VZElxMawBcKwg6gP

You can use a different launcher, I know Nova Launcher can do this. You will have to setup all your apps, folders and widgets again though.

Could you mention the link for the said app?

Can you provide more detail as to how I can achieve this through Nova? I cannot find any settings/features within the app.

Yes, i am also using Nova Launcher. Try the free version before you decide to buy the premium. You can personalize every aspect of your app icon, widget, shortcut etc. But i think you need to be accustomed with the interface.


text:
adb push ... Permission denied
I am trying to push a file to a directory on a physical android device, but I am running into the following error.
>adb push data.db /data/data/com.me.app/databases
failed to copy 'data.db' to '/data/data/com.me.app/databases/data.db': Permission denied

I believe adb has sufficient privileges.
>adb root
adbd is already running as root

Here are the permission details for the path: /data/data/com.me.app/databases
drwxrwxrwx system   system            2014-01-14 10:31 data
drwxrwxrwx system   system            2015-05-23 16:06 data
drwxrwxrwx u0_a224  u0_a224           2015-05-23 15:26 com.me.app
drwxrwxrwx u0_a224  u0_a224           2015-05-23 15:30 databases

I am not sure what to do here. Perhaps I am going about this the wrong way, but I just want to push the data.db file into the /data/data/com.me.app/databases directory on the device.
Does anyone know what I am doing wrong or what I should consider? Thanks.

Put your workaround as an answer here, and accept your own answer so people looking for a similar problem will see it answered when they search for it.

Edit: I found a work-around: AirDroid allows me to upload the file, but the permissions on the file are set to this:
-rw-------

Performing the following commands solves this problem (from Windows 7 command prompt).
>adb shell
# su
# chmod 777 /data/data/com.me.app/databases/data.db

The usual approach, which doesn't require any additional apps:

Push to /data/tmp/;

Copy on the device using adb shell, using cp if it's available on your device or cat if it isn't.
 > adb push data.db /data/tmp/data.db
 > adb shell
 # su # or run-as com.me.app
 # cp /data/tmp/data.db /data/data/com.me.app/databases/data.db

Remembering to change com.me.app to the correct package name for your app.

This approach worked for me. For completeness, I actually pushed an obb file to /sdcard/ and then used adb shell without root permissions to copy this file to the correct package folder for this file (in /sdcard/Android/obb/packagename/ where packagename needs to be changed to match that of your Android app.

I had to create it first: adb shell mkdir /data/tmp/ ; adb shell chmod 777 /data/tmp/ ; adb push file /data/tmp/

I had a variation of this problem so going to leave it here in case someone else googles for it:
./adb push update.zip /sdcard
[  0%] C:/Users/Alex/AppData/Local/Programs/Git/sdcard
adb: error: failed to copy 'update.zip' to 'C:/Users/Alex/AppData/Local/Programs/Git/sdcard':
remote secure_mkdirs failed: No such file or directory
update.zip: 0 files pushed. 41.6 MB/s (131072 bytes in 0.003s)

However in my case the problem was running adb from Git bash Shell (MinGW64). Running it from regular Windows shell worked fine.

authors: Джон Траволта

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


text:
How can I upgrade the OS of my Samsung Galaxy Exhibit from Android 4.1 to 4.4 or higher?
How can I upgrade the OS of my Samsung Galaxy Exhibit (SGH-T599N) from Android 4.1 to 4.4 or higher?
I am trying to install Live on YouTube – by Xperia on my smartphone so that I can live stream videos on YouTube, but it's giving me this error message: "This app is incompatible with your device."
According to the app's Google Play homepage, which was updated last week, the app requires Android 4.4 or higher. I only have 4.1. :( So, I assumed it must be because of that (please correct me if this assumption might be wrong.) Also, when I press Software Update on my device, I get: "This device is up to date." Could it mean that I may never be able to update it anymore because it's too old?

Android updates are issued per device. Once the device is selected for update the update is distributed OTA(Over The Air) from your wireless carrier. Until then you have to use the current installed version of the OS.

I bought the device in the US, but I'm currently not in the US. And I don't have a data package for this phone. Can it receive updates over the internet (as opposed to the phone/data service provider)? I mean, do the updates have to be pushed through the service provider they have a contract with, or can it also be pulled by the user?

The other option is rooting the device along with a custom recovery, backing up the stock ROM, flashing a custom ROM with the 4.4 upgrade. Do your research thoroughly to avoid a brick. Best of luck.

authors: Михаил Матвеев


text:
How to install Google Apps And Services on Lollipop AOSP ROM?
I have a Lollipop AOSP ROM without any Google related service (Google Play is missing also).
To get Google Play working it seems(but I'm not sure) that I need to install:

Google Play apk
Google Services apk
Google Services Framework
Google Login Service

I have also read that I have to convert them into system apps. My device is rooted so it should not be too difficult to convert these apps into system apps, but I have no idea of where I could find the updated version of the needed files. I have only found some tutorial for old kindle devices with an older OS.
Could someone help me to find updated version of needed files for Lollipop 5.1?
Any other solution is welcome.

See: How can I install the Google Apps Package (Play Store, …) on my Android device? and our google-apps tag-wiki :)

The best of Google, right on your devices: https://www.android.com/gms/

You don't install all the APKs individually. Since you've installed an AOSP ROM, what you are looking for is a gapps package that you flash in a similar way to how you flashed your ROM. You can get a minimal gapps package that will install everything you mentioned here.
You need not worry about converting them to system apps. When you flash the package from your recovery, they will be installed as system apps in the system parition.

That's correct (+1). There are even lists for which version of GApps goes with which Android version. The CyanogenMod wiki has a page for that. In the past, there was a corresponding page at goo.im – but that site shut down due to financing issues recently. XDA has a collection as well. I'll update our google-apps tag-wiki a little for that :)

thank you! I have seen this after that I have posted the message, and works fine

Open GApps seems like a good place to shop for a GApps package. I'll report back with results.


text:
Time needed for full device encryption on Android L with 128GB microSD Card
So last night I decided to enable full device encryption on my Android L device (Sony Z3 compact running CM12). Right as I started I realized I had forgotten to unmount and eject the microSD card. I wasn't sure if it would encrypt the SD card, but the screen was still dark after I woke up and I assume that it is.
The microSD card is completely full (has 90% of my music collection on it). Since there's no status indicator during the encryption phase, I was wondering how much longer my phone would be out of commission? I'm hoping it won't take more than 24 hours, but that is a lot of storage and microSD cards can be pretty slow.

Turns out the device wasn't actually encrypting. After a day I reset the device and it rebooted fine. The device is rooted and I've read some places that full device encryption doesn't always work correctly on rooted devices. Also the encryption process apparently has an indicator too (I think?) and my screen was just blank the entire time.


text:
Prevent wallpaper to slide when sliding the home screen
My question is that when I slide my home screen, my background wallpaper also slides. Not giving me a complete view of full wallpaper on a particular screen.
How to fix it?

you need to include bit more info such as 1. Device OS, 2. Which home screen Launcher you are using etc.

if you are using apex you can set the sliding wallpaper off..which has constant background wallpaper and only the home screen slides..

That's the way every android homescreen work. Wallpaper scrolls along with the screen. Stock homescreen doesn't allow us to customize this. You need to get a replacement for homescreen. Like Apex launcher, Smart launcher 2, Solo or Nova launcher etc. They allow you to disable wallpaper scrolling. (or) There's an app called Wallpaper Wizardrii in Play Store to set the wallpaper in the way you want. Give it a shot.

Sure when I get to my PC...

Would like to add to the answer that some phones has multi-wallpaper options as in this answer ..and selecting only image disables the scrolling..in that case no 3rd party apps needed..


text:
backup android-operating system
I am trying to backup the whole android OS with all kernel files, systemfiles, efs-data and more on my rooted samsung galaxy s3 but when I open the the backupfile (.ab)  on my computer i can only see two folders:
 apps
 shared

I used the following adb-switches
 adb backup -apk -shared -all -f ~/Backups/i9300/s320150523.ab

I cannot see any OS-parts in these folders such as libraries (.so files), kernelfiles, efs-folder and so on.
And when looking at the switches using adb-help it seems only be concerned with backup the apps and systemapps, not the OS-parts.
 adb backup [-f <file>] [-apk|-noapk] [-shared|-noshared] [-all]
          [-system|-nosystem] [<packages...>]
        - write an archive of the device's data to <file>.
          If no -f option is supplied then the data is written
          to "backup.ab" in the current directory.
          (-apk|-noapk enable/disable backup of the .apks
             themselves in the archive; the default is noapk.)
          (-shared|-noshared enable/disable backup of the device's
             shared storage / SD card contents; the default is
             noshared.)
          (-all means to back up all installed applications)
          (-system|-nosystem toggles whether -all automatically
             includes system applications; the default is to
             include system apps)
          (<packages...> is the list of applications to be backed
             up. If the -all or -shared flags are passed, then the
             package list is optional. Applications explicitly
             given on the command line will be included even if
             -nosystem would ordinarily cause them to be omitted.)

If it is so that adb cannot backup the whole image - what are the alternatives?
Could an app such as titanium-backup solve this issue?

You need to take a Nandroid backup using a custom recovery to get everything you want. ADB didn't backup because it is not designed to backup the things you want. IDK Titanium can backup things other than apps. Nandroid backup or a partition dump seems to be the only choice for me.

Also, the adb command that you mentioned here does this : -apk -> backup apk files of the apps, -shared -> backup the data  in external/internal storage, -all -> backup all installed apps i.e. all user+system apps data (-apk will make sense now), -f -> custom backup file name (s320150523.ab here). As you can see, it can't really backup the things you desire to grab. Kernel-files, efs-folder, etc are neither apps nor a part of shared storage, so won't be backed up this way.

@Firelord - yes i think I realize this now, thanks!

@Firelord AFAIK TiBu doesn't backup that stuff either. It cares about apps, their settings, and system settings – but not about doing a complete system backup incl. kernel files etc. You're 100% correct referring to Nandroid for that, which is the only backup I know of that cares about "the entire disks" (apart from scripting this with dd  calls yourself ;)


text:
Force 3G mode on dual-SIM Android One phones
I want to forcibly enable 3G mode on a dual-SIM Micromax Canvas A1 (Android One) running Android 5.1 Lollipop.
I've already searched the net for answers, but all I came up with was using *#*#4636#*#* which unfortunately is disabled by the manufacturer.
So what else can I do to force 3G?

The place where people want you to go with the code is "Phone Info". I access this using Elixir 2. Install -> launch it -> Information -> Telephony (tap it once)-> Turn WiMAX (4G) on. Here we go, change Set preferred network type to WCDMA only. // Let me know if it works or not for your device.

So it's a dual SIM phone. Only one SIM can be set to use in 3G mode and the other in 2G. It is your wish which one uses 3G. Common method is to open Settings / More networks / Mobile networks / Network mode (for Sim1 or 2) / WCDMA only.

Your hardware doesn't support 3G network on both SIMs at the same time. So there's nothing you can do at the moment

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


text:
Get rid of Google Now Cards nag from Google Search
It seems that Google recently updated Google Search on Android to set up "Now Cards".  I have no intention of enabling this.  I've disabled it in the Google Search settings, but it continues to nag me to set it up.  How do I disable it and get rid of this nag?

if you type any search term in home screen then you wont see any Now cards being displayed..but if u search in Google Now screen then you will see the suggestion first and then the cards(sports, weather etc) based on your configuration of Google Now

Lucky's comment has a point: why do you need to go to that screen if you want to perform a search? AFAIK, you can just search from any home screen with the Google Search Bar widget. Or, do you want to actually remove that part from the home screen (which I think is impossible unless using other launcher)?

I'm using a Samsung S5 and I prefer to access Google Search by pressing and holding the home button.

@Frotz If you dislike Now cards and you haven't configured then you wont see any Cards. so just igonre the Get Cards message..

It looks like Google has mooted this question by removing the nag.


text:
my android phone is tethered to my tablet. i wanted to put games on my tablet but the games downloaded on my phone. how do i get them on my tablet
My android phone is tethered to my tablet.
I wanted to download games onto my tablet.
The games downloaded on my phone.
How do I get them to
download to my tablet?
I used my tablet to find a game at Google play store.
When i found the game i liked
I hit install. It said installed. Also said it would be added to my device soon. Shortly after, i got notification on my
Phone that the game was succsessfully downloaded. And was not on my tablet.

Welcome to the Android Enthusiasts, Debra! It would help if you could give us a few more details. Can you [edit] your question and explain step-by-step what you did? Then we might be able to spot the culprit and help you out.

Install Superbeam and share the app you want to from your phone to tablet and install it on receiving on your tablet..

You may try Xender app to share the app from Android phone to tablet or vice versa. However, I advise following what Izzy mentioned in the comment.

Download and install Shareit app from play store on both devices. Say your phone and tablet.
Now, say for example you have the game on phone and you want to sent it to your tablet.
Open Shareit on both devices and click send from your phone and click receive on your tablet. The Shareit will create a temporary hotspot to transfer files. Once it's created, search for the game from the next screen from your phone and select it and click send. If your tablet hotpot is created successfully. You will see, the name of your tablet in your phone. Tap that name and that's all. Your game will send to your tablet. After successful transfer click install.
And it's done.


text:
Updating ROM is stuck as TWRP does not see zip files
In the process of trying to install 4.4.4 on my galaxyTab 10.1, I've installed TWRP 2.7.1.0.
At this point when in recovery mode I need to select the Zip to install, but none of the previously downloaded zip files are visible to TWRP.  Neither under the install command nor in the file manager.
I had backed up, removed caches et al. When rebooting in normal operation mode, those files are browsable.  Permissions are set to 777.
So I don't understand where the hang-up is?

This may not be the case but I should mention it. TWRP doesn't see a zip file under Install if the file doesn't have the extension .zip. (Tested on TWRP 2.8.6.0)

As an alternative, you can use adb sideload to push the zip file for installation.

Found the Delta.  And the confusion.
A directory called '0' (zero), which had clockworkmod and TWRP directories where I had copied the files, while the clockworkmod had its own at the same level as '0' with the files downloaded earlier on.
TWRP apparently only sees the '0' directory.

Do mark your answer as accepted otherwise it will lurk in the unanswered questions, until an answer is upvoted here.

Will do in a couple of days (its my own and cannot do so until then)!

Somewhere in TWRP there is an option to show IMG or ZIP. You should change it back to ZIP.


text:
Holding power button doesn't work on Nexus 4
My Nexus 4's power button's hold function is not working. I can lock my screen, but anything which involves me having to hold the power button isn't working.
I'm scared to even wait for my phone to drain all the battery and shut down because I have to hold the power button for it to start. I'm stuck.
Is this a hardware break or a software bug?


text:
Why do I have an SD card but still no storage space?
I have a textbook Android tablet and an SD card, but when I try to download apps like Viber and other apps, they say I have insufficient space and my tablet is saying "Storage space is running out. Some system functions may not work".

How to save files to external SD card on a non-rooted Android? - How to move apps from internal to external storage?

The storage used to store apps is internal storage. Android doesn't allow apps to be installed on the SD card so no matter how big your SD card is. Your tablet will install apps in the tablet's internal storage.
You can move apps to an SD card using App2SD or in the phone settings, but only apps that allow moving to SD will be movable. If the app doesn't allow App2SD, you can't move it.
There is some advanced workaround to use an ext4 partition on your SD card as a /data partition, but it needs to be enabled at the kernel level.

Android versions less than 6.0 don't natively support using an external SD card to 'extend' the internal SD card, therefore, only data can be moved to the SD card if it has been allowed by the app author.
To move this data to the SD card, you can go to Settings > Apps and select the app which you want to move to the SD card, and press 'Move to SD'. If the option is greyed out, it means the author has not allowed 'moving to the SD card'. You can move the data back by pressing 'Move to phone'.

Hmmm... are you sure?  On at least some KitKat devices, when you move an app without any data to the external card using the method you describe, the internal storage is increased significantly.

What I did was enable the Developers in settings, then scrolled down to enable the setting that says to override apps that don't allow transfer to SD card.
Every single app I have, including internal or the ones that came with my Samsung Galaxy J7 2017 (well, most) are on my SD. My internal storage still says it's halfway full. But I believe that is Samsung in itself.
After enabling that setting, you will need to go into app info after installing the said app, then manually transfer from the device or internal storage to external or SD storage.


text:
Replicating "Guided Access" features from iOS on Android
Guided Access is an excellent set of features for the iPhone that allows one to restrict or block inputs to the device.  How can I replicate this behavior with my Android phone?
The features the I am most interested in
(so that I can restrict access to my phone when my children are using it) are:

ability to disable all hard buttons (power, volume up/down, back, home, the button that display open tasks, etc.), and
ability to disable all touch events.

Of course, such an app must also provide a way to re-enable these inputs again using one of them (or said another way, to disable the restrictions).  For example, to disable guided access on the iPhone, one triple-clicks the home button.

Try https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.uDevel.BabyTouch. Not tested though.

@IvanChau Sure. This is the best one that I have found, but it doesn't have the ability to disable hardware buttons.

Lollipop includes a feature called 'screen pinning', where you can lock access to only a specific app; from the app you want to lock to, tap the Recents/Overview button, tap the light teal icon in the bottom-right of the card and follow the instructions onscreen.

What about the ability to disable hardware buttons?


text:
I accidentally uninstalled viber but I cant now re install it on the same device
I accidentally uninstalled viber but I reinstalled it again. Now I cannot setup the old account on the same device. The viber version used by me is 5.3-the latest version. I previously used viber on samsung galaxy tab 2 with os jeally bean -4.0.4.  I send email to the viber forum but that did not solve my problem. I previously used the same version on my tablet. Every time I enter my phone number error message pops up. I was tninking of activating my viber account on another device and deactivate my account . And then using the same number and device I wish to setup the viber account once again. Will that help???

Guys please answer I am extremely in need to set up my account once again

was is registered to your mobile number ?

Go to settings clear cache, etc, n uninstall. Then reinstall as usual. :-) hope this helps.


text:
How can I block unknown contacts from sending messages in Whatsapp?
Are there means of blocking unknown contacts from sending messages? Unknown contact here refers the time when someone sends you messages  (contacts displayed are in the form of letters, and are in similar digits like mobile phone). Unfortunately you cannot reply or save the contacts.
Are there means of blocking this,  only allowing messages from people in your contacts only?

When you receive an initial message from an unknown contact, you will have the option to Report Spam and Block.
If you just want to block the contact, simply tap on Menu Button > More > Block.
So, in other words, When you receive the message on WhatsApp from a number and that number is not yet in your contact, then WhatsApp will show BLOCK option at the top which should allows you to block that number from sending you FURTHER messages.
To block an existing contact on your Android phone, you can try below steps:
1.Open WhatsApp and go to your Chats screen.
2.Tap
Menu Button > Settings > Account > Privacy > Blocked Contacts

.
(This page displays all contacts that you have blocked)
3.Tap the Add blocked contacts icon in the top right.
You may Want to check FAQ for more details.


text:
How does the smart lock feature on Android define a trusted device?
The smart lock feature on Android allows someone to set a Bluetooth device as "trusted" which makes it easy to unlock. See for example: https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/6093922
I tried to add an Avantree Roxa device to play with this, but the log states:
I/Coffee - BluetoothTrustlet( 1549): Device Avantree Roxa is not allowed because it is either insecure or of unknown security and needs user confirmation

What makes a device secure or not unknown anymore? I have paired with this device multiple times to stream audio. There doesn't seem to be a place where "user confirmation" is possible. Anyone knows how this is implemented?

authors: สิงห์สะท้าน ฟ้าสะเทือน


text:
How to play youtube in the background in android?
I have been using PVSTAR+ app which plaeyed youtube in the background and I could listen to youtube while its closed.
Youtube recently updated it's API so PVSTAR+ doesnt work anymore.
it's also have been deleted from the store so I wont get any updates.
Is there an app that play youtube in the background and works now?
And I dont want to use AudioPocket-it can't search youtube.
Thanks.

Check out this post http://android.stackexchange.com/a/90288/81850


text:
Sony Xperia E can't install apps caused by storage problems
I've got a problen with my Sony Xperia E (Android 4.1.1.).
In the settings it says there's still 1.37 Gb free storage but when trying to install an app (about 20mb) from google play I just get an error telling me there's not enought free storage left. I don't have root and I don't want to root my device.
I know this problem has been discussed several times on the internet and here in the forum but I couldn't find a working solution.
I'm hoping anyone can help.
Regards
Nils

Correction please, [android.se] is a strictly Q/A website and not a forum. Anyhow, did you see this 1.37Gb in the Settings -> Storage or Settings -> Apps? You can use an app like Diskinfo(<1MB) that can help you to tell the storage left for app installation (in data).

In Settings -> Storage but I think it should be the same. I'll try later to download Diskinfo.

No, it is not the same. There is a separate storage space reserved for apps installation which is different from the internal storage you use (music, pictures, etc). You can see apps storage space in Settings -> Apps, but Diskinfo would give you some other info as well (if you need).


text:
I cant connect to the wifi even if there is internet connection
I cant connect to the wifi even if there is internet connection.The wifi icon is displayed on the notification bar(with range),and its shows connected tothe link too.i can access net on my pc(on which the modem is connected)but cant connect to any other external devices.i have tried it with various phones,tablets and laptops.but the result is same.please help me

I require some clarification here: 1) First, you mentioned that you can see Wifi icon with range in notification bar but cannot access internet. OK. Then you said cant connect to any other external devices.i have tried it with various phones,tablets and laptops -- do they show the same icon with bars but cannot access the internet, or they can't even connect to wifi at all?

I think you should [edit] and make bullet points like: 1) PC is connected to modem and can access internet, 2) Your device can see wifi icon with range but cannot access internet, 3) your other devices either cannot access the internet, or can't even connect to wifi at all (IDK which one is your case, please clear this out). // If your device can connect to wifi but not to internet, then use the word "access/can't access internet". If your devices cannot connect to wifi at all, then use "connect/can't connect to wifi".

DELETE HOSTS FILE

For advanced users only. For rooted Android devices only.

Open File Manager App.
Browse to root/system/etc.
Delete hosts.txt file


text:
Cataclysm rom and Xposed
First, apology if this question is already answered before, but I can't find this question after searching.
For some reason I'd like to flash Xposed but afaik most of Cataclysm update is on delta update, is there any issue if I flash Xposed and then the delta update is released and apply it?
I know I have to ask this on the rom or Xposed XDA thread, but I guess it would be convenience to ask it in here.
Thanks in advance.

It actually depends on what is being changed in the update. It may or may not affect xposed.
AFAIK Xposed works by integrating itself through patching of a framework library app_process (I am no xposed developer, so I may slightly deviate here from what actually happens).
To go in detail, every app and task is started as a "fork" (or copy in simpler words) of a base process called zygote. This is started by an /init.rc script through app_process inside /system/bin.
In other words, xposed creates an extended app_process of its own.
Ok, but what does it mean?
Simply said, unless the update provided replaces or patches out the app_process or similar to a very large extent, it will affect xposed; else it won't.
Now normally, updates have fixes to system apps and internal framework for bug fixes/new features. app_process is something which is generally not changed much by custom ROM builders and its code still highly resembles original google code (many times there isn't any change at all). So an update affecting xposed is likely rare (as its the system apps/components like systemui or framework-res that contain code for almost all extra features and are hence most common elements to get updates). Especially since its delta update, the chances of xposed being affected reduce even more.
Again, it is not a guarantee that xposed would not be affected, especially when it comes to individual modules' compatibility. As I said, it depends on what and how is being updated. Always have a backup first.


text:
How can I install apps from unknown sources using my Google account on the web?
I was wondering whether or not I can somehow remotely install applications from "unknown sources" i.e not having to copy the .apk file onto my device and then installing.
For example, using the Google Playstore on the web, I can manage all my apps using a browser on my laptop or pc. However those are in-store apps. How would I go about installing out-side the store apps remotely on my device using Google account (if that's even possible), or perhaps any other way without having to physically connect my device or having the .apk on my device.
Note
*Since it obviously isn't possible to do it from the playstore using a browser as it only allows playstore apps to be installed, any app would do. *

If the device is rooted then you may host an SSH server (I use this app) on your Android and can access root shell from anywhere. The said app can copy a file to your device which you can install by using pm install filename.apk with root privileges. The issue that would arise is to know the IP address of your device every time the ISP changes it. That can be solved using some dynamic DNS updater app.

If your device is rooted, you can create Install Job in SureMDM.
Step 1: Create an free account here.
Step 2: Install Mobile agent here.
Step 3: Login to Web admin console here.
Step 4: Click on Jobs on Utility panel.
Step 5: New Job > Android > Install program > Job name > Local File path.
Step 6: Apply the job.
Step 7: You can verify the status of Install Job in the System Log.
It works

The way the Google Play Store works is that they simply tell the device to download the app from the playstore. The device then initiates the download directly from the play store.
It is difficult to replicate this, so instead what applications tend to do is send the apk itself rather than just a link to the apk. AirDroid is one application that lets you install apps from your desktop computer directly to your remotely connected phone.

AFAIK, Airdroid should be launched and running before you can access the device remotely. But if the device is at some remote location, then how can I launch it first, then see what IP address is available, let alone accessing my device for any purpose. Please mention a use-case scenario for the purpose of this question. Airdroid isn't specific to the question only so I think a scenario is definitely required here. It would be really helpful if screenshots can be provided.


text:
How can I unlock my Samsung S5 after too many wrong finger prints?
I have a Samsung S5 with a finger print lock.
After so many attempts (5) it locked and asked for an alternate password which, unfortunately, I did not set up.
Now I cant unlock my phone. I called my server and they advised me to go on here.

Welcome to the Android Enthusiasts! Until answers pop up, I recommend starting with out locked-out tag-wiki, which holds some first aid for situations like this (though I'm not aware we've encountered that fingerprint-special yet). Good luck!

Can you not sign in with google?

I understand how difficult is this situation. I would suggest few options , either you can go for factory reset try this :

shut down your device.
press volume UP+home+ power buttons all together.

This will take you to options where you could find factory reset option. Press volume button to scroll and power to confirm. Unfortunately it will erase up everything.
Or log-in your phone from google account. Hope it helps.

I had this same issue causing major concern I logged into my samsung account, from there down the left side is a list of options one of them is "unlock screen" click that. it opens another window
with a big button saying "Unlock" click that and with 5 seconds my phone unlocked.
hope this helps.

authors: حيدر الخالدي


text:
Is it possible to change navigation buttons after a Cyanogenmod theme has been applied?
I'm currently using a Cyanogenmod theme (Lumin). I only checked the "Style" option in the Cyanogenmod theme selector. I really like how the status bar/ drop down menu looks and other elements. However, I soon realized that the app Softkeyz would not change my navigation buttons because it does not overwrite themes. Would it be possible to have a Cyanogenmod theme applied so I can have things like the custom status bar and custom menus and be able to set my own navigation buttons / softkeys?

The answer is NO,
However there is a workaround, but you will be required to program java. Extract the theme apk with http://www.decompileandroid.com and reprogram the app how you want.
PS: If you cant code in java then the answer is no.


text:
Go back to previous custom rom - adb issue
I decided to try a custom ROM from here.
I downloaded Exodus ROM to my computer, and via ADB transmitted it to the sdcard/0/ folder. I then rebooted and flashed this custom ROM. Everything went well but I don't like this version, partly because it seems old.
The problem is that I don't know how to go back to the previous ROM(Jellybean).
I made a backup of Jellybean to a folder of clockwordmod, but when I flashed the Exodus ROM the Jellybean ROM was not there.
So, what to do? I have it on my computer, but the problem is how to put it back to the phone. The problems are:

The ADB connection is not working via USB cable any longer.
I could download an ADB app from Play Store that uses Wi-fi, but the Play Store is missing in the phone.

How could I possibly solve this issue?
Very grateful for answers.
Edit: I succeeded to downloading it to my phone, that is the zipfile that holds the OS jellybean. But at the bootmenu where I select the zipfile it starts but soon fails (installation aborted).
finding update package
opening update package
installing update
installation aborted*

And then the droid is laying down with a read exlamation above.

The zipfiles contents look like this

but when I flashed the Exodus ROM the Jellybean ROM was not there. -- what do you mean by it? Doesn't it mean the Jellybean ROM backup in the clockworkmod folder wasn't there? // 1) What's the current status of your phone? Can it boot into any OS? 2) I assume yes because of 2.. Why can you not use MTP to transfer Jellybean ROM backup files from PC to SD card?

@firelord - I trying this right now, to download (a custom jelly bean I found on internet) to the downloadfolder via a http-connection. Hopefully it works. The folder /clockworkmod/backup/ was empty. I knew it was there before.

But you also wrote I have it on my computer -- I assume this the backup of Jellybean that you copied into computer as well. Isn't this the case here, or I misunderstood it?

@Firelord - yes the previous rom (jellybean) - an image is in my computer, but I cannot access it. So I am gambling on installing a fresh jellybean right now, from internet. Then later go transfer the image to the phone.

Very strange - I succeeded downloading jellybean zip and flash it but when phone reboots it still loads Exodus OS - but in another shape. I cannot just get it?

Do you know any mirrors that holds jellybean? Thanks!!!

Actually, you can access it if you connect your PC and Android via wifi/hotspot/USB_tethering and run a web/ftp server on PC. In that way, you just need to use a file browser like ES File Explorer, or a browser to download the image from your PC into Android. I know Exodus probably won't be having any browser but an apk (genuine) of Firefox can be arranged for sideloading (enabling unknown sources). // Anyhow, it seems the backup file isn't valuable to you so I guess you would stick with downloading from internet.

[T]he Play Store is missing in the phone.

It is because Exodus doesn't come with Google Apps (aka gapps). You'll have to flash them explicitly. You may try these links to download Gapps:

AndroidFileHost
PA-Google Apps Plus(All ROM's) at XDA

Caution: Always flash gapps package meant for your ROM only. E.g. Do not flash gapps for 5.1.1 over a 5.0.2 ROM, or the vice-versa. You'll end up with bootloops, device stuck at boot logo, and what not!

The ADB connection is not working via USB cable any longer.

Since you've already mentioned that the backup of Jellybean ROM is on the PC as well, you may transfer it to your Android device without using ADB at all.

Connect your phone via MTP into your PC and transfer the files; or,
As I mentioned in the comments, you can host an FTP server on PC (see this answer for know-how) and access it over wifi/hotspot/USB-tethering.
Thereafter, you can use a browser like Firefox(apk available) to access the backup files and can download into Android.
Alternatively, you can host a server (locally; see this answer for know-how) on your Android and do the transfer from PC. But that would be too much to detail here (unless asked).

I don't know how to go back to the previous ROM(Jellybean)[?]

Once you've transferred files from PC into Android (in the folder clockworkmod):

Boot into Clockworkmod recovery;
Find some backup/restore option and select the backup file you transferred. It's best to clear (before restoring the backup) Data, System, Cache, Dalvik/ART cache to avoid any issue.
Reboot the device.

Done!

thanks for answer - wish I could upvote. I succeded in installing the zipfile to the phones downloadfolder but I cannot intall the OS - It sais: installation aborted very zoon after opening update package. I dont know why - is it because the files is in .tar format?

Instead of upvote you may accept an answer. Anyhow, 1) can you mention the link from where you downloaded this ROM? 2) Does it show any info in the error other than "Installation aborted" in the recovery? 3) I seriously advise falling back to backup of Jellybean to avoid these unnecessary troubles. 4) You didn't mention the name of your device.

I updated my question - theres an image of the zipfile. The zipfile is the file I wanted in the first place, that is - from my computer. I transferred it from my local webserver to the phone. My device: Samsung galaxy S3  (GT - i9300).

@java The content in the image are the files that clockworkmod makes as backup. You cannot restore a backup (there is a way but this isn't that case) using Install Zip option in recovery. Just go to recovery -> Backup and restore (or similar) -> choose your backup and proceed. It will show something like verifying files (checksum) and then will restore. Don't forget to clear data,system,cache, etc as mentioned in the answer.

authors: มุต บางอารมณ์


text:
No "flash zip from SD card" option on ClockworkMod Recovery
I am trying to follow the steps outlined in the following article in order to root my Nexus 4 running Android 5.1:
http://www.teamandroid.com/2015/04/16/root-nexus-4-android-51-lmy47o-lollipop-cwm-supersu/2/
Step 13 instructs that I apply SuperSU with a "flash zip from SD card" command; however, no such command is appearing on my ClockworkMod menu. I have an "Install ZIP" option, but I am not sure whether or not this should accomplish the same function.
I am running ClockworkMod Recovery v6.0.4.7 (Touch).

Use the Install Zip → select the zip file you downloaded (possibly this) → choose Yes if asked, and the recovery should flash this zip into your system.
Flash zip from SD card or Install zip are basically the same thing.

To OP: The guide that you linked in the question doesn't mention to update the SuperSu app from Play Store. AFAIK, you'll have to download the app from Play Store after flashing the zip file. Anyhow, follow the guide if it has been proved well for other users.

I actually already had the SuperSU app installed from my previously rooted 4.2 installation. Thanks for the clarification, though -- and thanks very much for the answer! I figured "install ZIP" would be pretty much the same as what the guide was instructing, but I also figured I'd err on the side of caution.


text:
moto G having problems
I bought Moto G(2nd gen)and received it yesterday from flipkart and problems started with it since day one. sometimes when I receive a call, I am not able to hear the voice on the other side, and I even do not hear any voice when I dial a number. I have to restart my phone to set it right.  In addition to it, I am not even able to call someone. Whenever I tried to call, ''call ended'' shows up.

Have you tried calling to multiple numbers?

It has been noticed that moto g had this problem where voice is not clear, or similar issues.
So, In case you are using two sim slots try removing the other one , and then restart it because sometimes it conflicts when using two SIM card. If the problem still stays them go for replacement of device.

Till now I have inserted only one sim. I have tried it both slots one by one. Restarted it multiple times. The network signal strength is full. But "call ended" shows up whenever i try to call.

I think then you must replace it.


text:
Dial number with camera/picture
Is there a way so I can quickly take a picture, highlights the number and I click it so it calls the number? Or I click take picture, and call.
So it just takes the photo, process it, extract number, calls it?

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is the term you need to Google in relation to Android.

Possible duplicate of How can i take picture to call a number

I don't think processing an image and extracting the number and calling it a better idea. the OCR processing will not be 100% all the time and it may call a different number at-times.
A QR-code is more reliable than image processing and can be used for this if you dont want to type the number.
A QRcode Generator site to call to a specific number directly by scanning the code after generating it. Haven't tried it yet.

Check out Google Goggles, It reads all the readable stuff (barcode, words, numbers).
P.S. it will read numbers for you, then you need to copy and dial that by yourself (but it can Google that number for you).


text:
Recover Bluetooth password for pairing with Mitsubishi Pajero 2015
I have lost the password for my Mitsubishi Pajero 2015's Bluetooth Hands-Free Phone System that is already paired with my Samsung Galaxy Note Edge.
Is there a way to know the password used to pair my Note Edge with the Pajero?

Your android device will not have the saved PIN anywhere because PIN is used only temporarily during pairing procedure So I think there isn't a way to reveal your PIN since it is not stored in you device. However you can remove and pair your note with pajero 2015 again.

The PIN is provided during the pairing process by one device or the other. It's nothing you would need to have noted elsewhere.


text:
Disable cell broadcast notifications on Lenovo A 7000
I am receiving more than 100 notification alerts for cell broadcast on my Lenovo A7000 with Android Lollipop. I did not found any settings for cell broadcast.
Can anyone please help me in disabling this to stop these alerts?

As suggested elsewhere Android Lollipop Disable cell broadcast messages – solution

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts! Have you checked the other questions tagged cell-broadcast? Does none of those solutions work for you?

Go to Message Setting -> Cell Broadcast-> Select Provide -> Uncheck the "ETWS Alert".


text:
How does a tablet automatically power on when a power source is connected?
Please imagine a car situation where you have an Android tablet:
http://content.worldcarfans.co/2014/11/24/thumbnails/24486128385597.hl2.jpg
And the following working rules (as expected in most cases):

If the car is OFF, tablet is OFF;
If the car is ON, tablet is ON (automatically);

I have been reading about enabling auto power on mode when the charger is connected: most tablets have the playlpm, lpm, or a specific file that displays the battery charging animation.
The trick is to overwrite these files and force a boot.
Furthermore, I have also checked and tested Tasker, where I was able to achieve this behavior only when USB is connected.
However, I would like to know if there's anyway we can do it if the tablet has no battery attached on it.
Would this same approach work?

I'm aware of phones (Chinese mainly) that doesn't power on (connected to power source) unless battery is plugged in. They don't show any animation, LED blink or any vibration at all in such state; that doesn't mean they don't detect the source since I flashed one of them in such state. IDK maybe firmware has something to do here. Can't say about tablets though.

I managed to solve this situation only by removing the battery.
Turns out that most tablet's automatically power on when they're directly connected to an external power source.

Solved simply by removing battery and shorting power button on lenovo a2020

authors: Саша Хороший


text:
How to setup a Xiaomi Mi Band without an internet connection?
I have a phone with no internet connection and I want to pair it with a Xiaomi Mi Band.
Is there any way to do that since the Xiaomi app asks for online registration? Or at least, can I use the internet just for the activation and then keep using it offline normally?

You must login to your Mi account before pairing Mi Band for the first time. Thereafter you only need Bluetooth connection.
Yes you can use Xiaomi Mi Band offline. It asks for connection only for login. After login it will never ask for internet connection.
Xiaomi Mi Fit App provides for syncing data with Google Fit, WeChat, Facebook and many others. But all that sharing requires internet connection.
I have used MiBand in offline mode for 10 months.

After you connect to your Mi Account (with internet) and connect your band, it will work fine for 1 month.
After that, it is not possible to use the band without connecting to the Mi Account again.


text:
How to disable long press home button?
How can I disable or set password on long press home key button on smartphone?
As you know, with long press of home button, the running process (like sms, gallery, internet explorer, etc.) will be shown that can be kill them to make phone faster.
My question is how can I disable, change, lock or set password on this button to ask permission to show and kill apps, and prevent anyone to see and kill running apps.
My phone is Huawie and is not rooted.

Which model and which Android? Is the device rooted?

I'm aware of Gravitybox app which can disable or change the long press behavior, but it requires root access and Xposed framework installed. There can be non-root solutions which you can look on Google.

Your best bet might be to change what the home button does instead of disabling it all together. You can use alternative launchers such as Go Launcher to change what the home button does. I was also able to find a free app that does it on its own here. I haven't used the latter but it seems useful.


text:
Kill all running apps automatically
Is it possible to kill the running apps (SMS, browser, games ...) automatically by turn off the screen or during a certain period of time?  My device is not rooted.

Related http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/30332/how-can-i-stop-applications-and-services-from-running

The specific device doesn't really seem relevant for this sort of automation.

I'd use Greenify for something like this. It doesn't kill all running apps (as this is counterproductive to Android itself for many reasons), but you can select apps for Greenify to hibernate each time you turn the screen off.
For me this was nice because there were several apps like random game that would run all the time, and Greenify helps this.
Also, where Greenify used to be root-only, it now works in non-root mode, (need to be enabled in experimental features setting, Android 4.1+ required). If you have secure key-guard enabled, try "Hibernate and Lock Screen" shortcut or "Pull up" gesture on Home soft-key. - Greenify description from Play store app page

It does now (tested today), and this is the description from their app page: NEW: Auto-hibernation now works in non-root mode, (need to be enabled in experimental features setting, Android 4.1+ required). If you have secure key-guard enabled, try "Hibernate and Lock Screen" shortcut or "Pull up" gesture on Home soft-key.


text:
How can I NOT Save Contacts to Google?
Due to privacy concerns, I'm moving gradually away from Google. I now need to know some options to save my contacts locally like Android used to allow. I'm mostly concerned with new contacts currently to not complicate this question. I'll move my existing contacts to local storage at a later time.
Info
Android: 4.4.4
Device: Nexus 5
Excluded option: No-GAPPS ROM (this is a valid option, but I need to achieve gradual transition before fully switching to No-GAPPS system.

This is controlled by your Contacts (or People) application, not by the underlying OS itself. The app that ships with the stock Nexus builds is made by Google, and designed to sync everything to cloud systems. It is a result of using a phone made and sold by Google; pretty much all of the stock applications are the Google versions.
You'll want to find a replacement app for managing your contacts. Most third-party ones will allow you to create "phone only" contacts that do not sync to anywhere. There are quite a few options to choose from.
In the longer-term, if you install a custom ROM built directly off of the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) code, and do not install Google Apps, then you'll have the AOSP contacts application instead of the Google one. You should be able to save local contacts using that (I have no tested this myself in a while, however, so it's possible things have changed).
Izzy has also pointed to an app that may allow you to create local contacts regardless of the frontend you choose: MyLocalAccount. It appears to work by creating a sort of mock network account, which you can then "sync" contacts to. In actuality, it's just a local store that is not synced anywhere else.

Pointer: Using MyLocalAccount should make that independent from the front-end used (this app installs a "local contact provider"). Have not tested it myself, though.

MyLocalAccount does the job, but I'd feel better if it was open source. Does anyone know any alternatives?


text:
Battery Saver setting not sticking
In Android Settings, under Battery, there is a setting called Battery Saver.
On multiple devices, changing that setting to On simply results in it changing back to Off within a few seconds.
What is causing this, and how can it be corrected?

Do you happen to be plugged into the charger while testing this?

@TurboFool Good question; the answer is "no".

I can't duplicate the problem on my Nexus 6, unless it's charging. What phone do you have, out of curiosity?


text:
Group texting with Iphone users, my texts get delayed until theirs all stop
I have an S4 with the latest software update (though this has been a problem for a long time before too). And when I am in a group text with Iphone users, it seems that my outgoing texts get stuck in limbo until all of theirs is through.  Sometimes several minutes, so I am always behind in the conversation.  Is there a fix?

Even I own a galaxy s4 and I know that the latest update has been so terrible. I don't think that Samsung is anyway going to push any updates for this but follow the solution below.

You can wipe the cache partition from the recovery mode. (Shut down and reopen by pressing menu, power and volume button at once) then scroll down using volume button to wipe cache partition and power button to confirm. Reboot the device.
Very important go to developer options and switch off all the animations.

Follow some more from. http://www.androidpit.com/galaxy-s4-lollipop-problems-and-how-to-fix-them

Won't that wipe everything?  I don't want to do that.

No it won't delete everything

What messaging app are you using? People experience a lot of variation depending on the app. I think even Samsung will allow you to change your default texting app. May I suggest Google's very own Messenger? Link It's supposed to have pretty good group messaging support.


text:
How to run a script on a rooted android device?
We recently deployed a lot of android devices internally for displaying customized web page only.

Device: RKM MK902
OS: Android 4.4.2 Rooted
Wifi radius 8021x
Dolphin browser with kiosk mode and tab reload add-on (refresh page/30 sec)
Also have code in web page to refresh itself
Tried other apps to refresh browser in scheduled time window. (bad results)

The issue I am facing now is that even I setup refresh interval as 30 sec, but sometimes it still shows "page is not available", but I can access page manually from my desktop.
I am trying to find out if it is wifi issue or web server issue.
What I want to do is that have a script running on the android device accessing the page every 30 sec and log the result. My questions are

how to write a script on android device? what language or what command?
how to run this script on android device?
how to log the results?
how to schedule this script to run?

You Can Download BusyBox which has many common UNIX utilities. You can write a script in shell and can run it on Teriminal Emulator
If you know python you can write and run script on Qpython3
You can use Tasker to schedule script.
You can download Dolphin Browser and can relode tab with Dolphin Tab Relode

{ have no idea about creating Log :(
And I know it is not proper solution but you can try to get solution using above mentioned apps.}

Use plain text editor and save it as .sh. Shell or bash.
Install Terminal Emulator, and type sh "your script path.sh" if you need root access, type su -c sh "your script path.sh"
Log? you mean stdout? It will appear on terminal screen.
Use Tasker or Install Script Launcher

Could you mention the hyperlinks for the said apps in the answer as well?

here you go: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jackpal.androidterm&hl=gb

With Terminal Emulator installed how can I tell the stupid android/linux execute this script.sh ? Terminal Emulator does not appear to create an "association/intent" with .sh files?
I don't want to deal with issuing commands on the CLI, it's the most backwards thing in the whole universe :)  the enter key produce "q" I have to press Ctrl-J (bad memory of Unix from like 50 years ago).

You can use install Busybox, which provides you with many utilities such as awk, file, etc... and Terminal Emulator.

Create a shell file with #!/system/bin/sh as the first line (shebang)
Now place the completed script under /system/xbin or /system/bin and run it from the Terminal Emulator

The information is an excerpt from this article : http://www.pctips4u.com/2016/03/writing-shell-scripts-in-android.html


text:
Is it possible to extend a local bluetooth connection over the internet?
I want to play a game on my phone with a friend who lives in a different city.  The game supports local "ad hoc" play over bluetooth but does not support play over the Internet.  Is there an app that can do this, with or without root?  Or is there a device that my friend and I can purchase that can "extend" a local ad hoc bluetooth network over the internet?  Or is it possible to install an application on both of our computers that will do this?

I think the answer to your question is "maybe", depending on the exact implementation details, and my solution is rather complicated...
Assuming the app uses a Bluetooth PAN*, which Android recognizes as a network device (i.e., one which would you can bridge against)
You could connect both devices to the same VPN, bridge the PAN and the VPN, effectively putting both devices on the same bluetooth network, then connect the two games.
You and your friend may need a custom kernel to enable bridging support (CONFIG_BRIDGE) (looking at the two devices on my desk, neither of them supports bridging out-of-the box) (Busybox has a brctl applet, but I've never used it on Android)
On the other hand, it may be easier to just write the Dev and ask for internet play. :)
If you do this, let me know how it goes!
*It's probably how I would do it, but there are other ways

I'd also guess that the added latency that comes from the bridging involved, and the distance being communicated over, would probably kill the game.

Heh. Possibly. My quick test of pinging a computer from the computer hosting the bridge gives me a 2.00ms average time, while a computer on the other side of the bridge pinging the same computer has 2.13ms . Nothing scientific here, but it seems like the bridge itself isn't a big deal. The Internet latency could be why the Dev hasn't implemented it himself.

The game actually does support internet play, but that version doesn't run on my phone.


text:
Google photos displays pixelated images
Today I noticed that pictures (screenshots, pictures, etc) in my phone (LG F60) are displayed awfully. I use google photo. Until yesterday everything was fine but today i noticed that everything in google photos looks pixelated, like in low quality/ resolution.
Also... I uploaded a screenshot (which looks pixelated on google photos) to imgur, and it looks perfect, the same with every picture I see in the browser, if I download a picture I see it blurry in google photos.
Maybe due to a google+ update?? (Yesterday morning updated to a new version)
Thanks!


text:
why does smartphones start to lag after few years of their launch?
I have seen that every smartphone that used to be flagship device start facing lag after a span of time. why does the same RAM, same CPU becomes slower over the years.
Taking example of Samsung device from S3 to S6.

Samsung claimed S3 as most powerful device on May 2012

but now its not even having power why does it happen irrespective of the android updates.

similarly Samsung galaxy S4 now lags and freezes.

Are the new software updates and apps this heavy that the older device cannot handle?

My S3 was running very slowly after several years, due to apps and other data that was stored on it.  I reset the phone, wiped all the data, set up Android again and it was working fast again, almost like new

For the same reason computers do, which you alluded to:
New OS versions, and new software, all need more, with time. Every new main version of an OS or app is built with a more recent generation of devices in mind. They expect more RAM, and therefore use more, they expect faster processors, and therefore do more, etc. Over time, the demands of the same software, as it's updated, will overwhelm the older hardware.
There's also one other factor, which is that flash memory, over time, loses some speed as well. The more writes to it, the more "junk" (I'm not going to get too technical here) builds up, the more work that has to be done to get around that and clean it up, and the slower it gets. Happens with high-end SSDs (look at the problems the Samsung 840 EVO had), and happens with the lowest of flash memory.
All combined, you can't really expect your smartphone to be running like when it was new by the time your contract is up.


text:
Sharing paid apps between two devices
I've checked the posts saying how a paid Google app can be shared between two devices, but no-one says how to do it. There's all this stuff about using the same Google account, but what does that mean - it takes me no further.
Can anyone help please with easy-to-follow explanation?

You need to link your two devices together with a Google account. Done, hope this helped!
Okay, I'm not going to be that guy...
Here's how to really do it:

Open your Settings app.
Scroll down to find an option called something like Accounts and tap on it.
Now find an option that says Add account.
Now click the type of account, in this case, a Google account.
Now sign in with the same info used to initially buy the app or game.
When you're done, go into Google Play and swipe right to enter the options for the app, or click on the three-line-symbol in the top left.
Click on your current account to switch it out, now click on the account you just added.
Find the application you previously bought, and it will say Purchased.
Download and complete!

Hmmm... I tried this, and it did not work.  Any suggestions?

Don't search the app, go to the menu and My Apps and Games, then Library. You can install from there without paying again.


text:
"There was a problem while playing. Touch to retry" when trying to play offline video
I encounter problems when I play videos downloaded from Youtube. I've downloaded 5 videos. Those videos are added to disk. The downloads were all completed successfully, but when I try to play them, it says

There was a problem while playing. Touch to retry

May I know the reason and how to fix it?

are you playing those files by the default media player on your device ? have you tried using a different player ?

Those videos are added to disk.

How do you know that they are added to disk? and what is mean by disk here? Do you mean external store such as SD card?
If you mean SD card, then that is unlikely as YouTube Offline feature save all downloaded videos on internal storage (and not on disk/SD card), something like below location:
Internal storage/Android/data/com.google.android.youtube/files/Offline/(system generated folder name)/streams

You can check this question for more details on storage of YouTube Offline video location.

downloads were all completed successfully

Again, how did you verify this?
The important point is anything you save will be accessible for 48 hours in the offline section on the left-hand sliding menu, of YouTube App. Even if the file is there, YouTube won't list it if it's already expired. The permission is controlled on their server per account basis, to access those downloaded files.
You can try below quick steps to see if you Offline feature is working:

Download at least 1 video and as soon as you finish download Turn-off Internet (3G/4G/Wi-Fi).
Open YouTube App, and go to offline section on the left-hand sliding menu, of YouTube App.
You should now see this recently downloaded video there, just try to play it. YouTube should immediately start play (remember, we turned off internet in step-1, still app should play video as it is offline and already downloaded on your phone)

Caution: You will lose all Downloaded Offline YouTube videos, when you "Uninstall Updates" of YouTube App.


text:
I accidentally deleted the updates of my google play
I was exploring my cellphone. I came to the uninstall updates of google play. Now I can't open it nor can update my apps. What do I do?

That should be easy to fix, simply make sure you have enabled "Unknown sources" in your Security section of your settings app and download and install this APK file from this reputable source:
http://www.androidpolice.com/2015/04/03/play-store-5-4-10-makes-the-notification-bar-transparent-on-app-pages-apk-download
It's simply a download link for the official Google Play app. When you get it installed, it should update itself automatically if there's a newer version available.


text:
Android Lollipop Trusted Face Missing
So, I've been having this problem; I want to use Trusted face on my HTC One (M8) stock Android 5.1, but in Smart Lock, only these options come up:

Trusted devices

None

Trusted places

None

Trusted voice

On

On-body detection

Off

The option for Trusted face, isn't there, not even grayed out. In my Trust agents, Smart Lock (Google) is activated.
The only things I have done to the phone is root it, install TWRP recovery, and changed the DPI from 480 to 430. I don't think any of these are causing the issue, as I tested the default 480 DPI, and it was working fine on Lollipop 5.0.1.
Anyone know how to fix this? I'm going to perform a backup via TWRP, then factory reset to see if the feature is back, I'll keep you all updated.

You might have luck flashing the appropriate gapps

@Huey Thank you sir, after switching back to Lollipop from Marshmallow (still didn't have Trusted Face) and flashing that file, it finally showed up! If you make that an answer, I'll mark it as such.

authors: พีรายุ ศรีนุ่น


text:
Does Alcatel One Touch Idol 3 show which LTE Band is used (e.g. 12)?
I'm a T-Mobile US customer, and I'm quite interested in getting a phone with Band 12 support, and one that'll actually let me have a better understanding of the network and whether I'm receiving the benefit of having the upgraded phone with the Band 12 support.
As per https://sites.google.com/site/cellularbinder/compatible-phones and the specs of the phoe itself, Alcatel One Touch Idol 3 does appear to support LTE Band 12.
However, does it have the ability to show which band is presently being used, like some other non-Google phones can?  (I currently have a couple of Google Nexus phones, and am quite disappointed that there appears to be no way to see which exact bands of LTE or UMTS do they use.)

I currently have the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3, and yes it does support band 12. In fact, my phone is currently using band 12 over band 4 which is what my OnePlus One was using, since it doesn't support band 12.

One way to check is to download the LTE Discovery app.
Or, open your phone's dialer and type *#*#4636#*#* -- this will open up Testing mode.

Go to Phone information and it will show which band your phone is using.
See screenshots below. First two are from my Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 and the last two are from my OnePlus One. As you can see, the Phone information mode for the OnePlus One does not show the LTE band for some reason. (Depends on the phone I guess.)
Also notice how band 4 is in use on the OnePlus One according to LTE Discovery and there are no bars, whereas the Idol 3 has 2 bars of Band 12 LTE.

Note that these two phones are placed right next to each other.

Click image(s) for larger version

Supporting Band 12 is one thing, but what about VolTE?   Can you make a call on the  Idol 3 and take another screenshot while in the call?

@AjithAntony Yes, the phone itself does support VoLTE, however its not enabled. It needs a software update to enable it. Calls instead, will be done through 2G (EDGE) or 3G(HSPA+) and switch back to LTE once the call is completed. Yes, you can take a screenshot while in a call.

thanks for the update.   I doubt we will ever see a software update to let the Idol do VoLTE on T-Mobile.  This is a problem becuase the point of Band 12 support is to have coverage where only Band 12 is available as it has a better range and building penetration than band 2 and 4.   If there is no band 2 or 4 signal to fall back to then one cannot make calls unless you have VoLTE.

Just to highlight Michael Trinh's answer:  Yes, as of this moment, it supports band 12 data.  No it does not support band 12 calling.  If you are in an area of only band 12 coverage, then you will not be able to send or receive calls or SMS despite the signal bar claiming coverage.


text:
Is it possible to do a factory reset without losing application data?
I need to do factory reset of my phone, but don't want my applications to lose data.
Is it possible to somehow move the apps to SD card and, later, back to the phone?

The question here has further questions that will answer this question for sure.

A quick search provides:
~ Titanium Backup
~ Helium
~ (you guessed it) App Backup and Restore
http://www.androidheadlines.com/2015/02/featured-top-10-backup-apps-android.html
I've used and personally prefer Titanium


text:
What does "svc power stayon wireless" do?
Looking at the reference to svc on my phone there are options for svc power stayon [true|false|usb|ac|wireless]. I'm curious what usb, ac, and wireless do when you use them?
I tried svc power stayon wireless and it seemed the command succeeded, but I don't know what it did, or how to revert it.
I'm on an LG Tribute if that helps.

Executing svc power on the shell will bring the usage:
usage: svc power stayon [true|false|usb|ac|wireless]
         Set the 'keep awake while plugged in' setting.

The command will set whether to keep your device awake (prevent sleeping) or not while it's being charged on specific platform: USB charging, AC power, wireless charging, or all of them:

true will set all flags (usb, ac, wireless)
false will clear all flags
usb/ac/wireless will set that specific flag while clear the other

The same setting usually can be accessed on "Developer options" named "Stay awake", though it's simpler with only toggle to turn on/off.
Reference: source code of com.android.commands.svc.PowerCommand

Is this setting permanent or will get reset when I reboot the device.

@darth_coder I haven't tested the reboot, but I believe it persists. Let me know if it's otherwise...

also will this disable screen lock until the device is flashed.

Does this persist after reboot?


text:
Is it possible to create a plain text file in android?
I see lots of apps that can create "files that contain text", but the files are in their own proprietary format.
I would like to create a plain text file so that if the file is transferred to a computer, it could be opened using a common text editor, like notepad or gedit etc.
Is this possible?

device

Samsung galaxy note 2
running android 4.4.2

The question is equivalent to: What is a useful text editor for Android? Unfortunately it' hard to find a good one. I thought a found one, but it won't open "large" files like 3MB, even when I have 4GB RAM.

You need to install a third-party app to create a text file. There is a swarm of text editors in Google's proprietary Play Store app store and on free/libre and open source F-Droid app store. Choose whichever text editor suits your needs.
Do note that some file manager apps also allow creating a plain text file, so check your file manager first to see if it provides such a feature or not.
You can also create a text file in your phone by connecting your phone to your PC in MTP (file transfer) mode and using your text editor in PC to save the text file in the phone.

If you're serious about wanting to deal with plaintext on Android, I recommend installing Termux and learning how to use the Nano text editor (via Termux). Here are some links to help you get started there. Also, I recommend getting a bluetooth keyboard.

https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.termux/ (download Termux; it's also on Google Play, but the latest version is here; scroll and click the link that says 'Download apk'--not the big button that says 'DOWNLOAD F-DROID', unless you want to install F-Droid and download it through there, which is said to be more secure; if you've never installed an .apk file before, you'll probably need to change an Android setting that lets you do it)
https://www.growspice.com/Termux-tricks-td3491.html (some basic shortcuts that are useful when using Termux, to help you multitask and such)
https://www.growspice.com/A-desktop-user-s-guide-to-Nano-a-command-line-text-editor-td3471.html (How to use the nano text editor.)

Okay, so once you have Termux installed, you basically have a Linux command-line app; no GUI, but you don't really need one terribly. You can install and use all sorts of programs that make your tablet useful--and you can make your own, if you're a programmer. As an added bonus, both Termux and Nano make it easy to multi-task once you learn how (in Termux ctrl+alt+c makes a new terminal; ctrl+alt+up/down moves between them; in Nano, you can move between open text files with alt+left/right).
So, in Linux, to create a text file, you can do it plenty of ways:

touch myFile.txt (that will create it if it's not there)
Type nano myFile.txt edit it, and save it.

Stuff like that. Learning how to use the Linux command-line will be important if you take this approach. You'll want to know commands like this:

ls to show the contents of the current working directory
cd myDirectory to change the directory to myDirectory
Follow just about any command with --help (e.g. nano --help) to learn more about how to use it. man whatEverMyCommandIs also helps (it opens the manpage for it, if available).
rm myfile to delete a file
rm -r myDirectory to delete a directory/folder
mkdir myDirectory to make a new directory
chmod +x myFile to make a file executable
./myExecutableFile to run an executable file that is in the current directory.
exit to exit the shell (note you can type bash to create a new one running inside of the current one, so if you exit, you'll return to the old one)
pkg install myApp to install a program called myApp (if it exists in the package manager); I don't remember if Nano comes pre-installed; if it doesn't, type pkg install nano.
ctrl+c and ctrl+z are useful if you need to force quit a running program.
Press tab to autocomplete stuff you're typing (like file and directory names).
If you can't find a program for your purpose, see if someone has made one with Python; Python works on Termux, and so does pip (so, you've got access to lots of stuff).

There are more Termux-related apps on F-Droid, if you want to be able to do even more stuff with that.

Turbo Editor is what you're looking for.