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replaced screen now having issues :( galaxy s4 i9505
Good afternoon guys and gals please bear with me as i'm new to this forum anywho i've recently replaced my screen on my galaxy s4 after attempting to replace just the shattered glass and failed! went to go power on the phone for the first time with the new screen and everything was great............................................. .................... for about 5 minutes the screen has freaked out big time on the odd occasion will display properly most of the time its just freaking out. Ive managed to do a factory reset using the android device manager and that seemed to help it out for 10 minutes until it returned to freaking out. Could this be software related? As it booted up fine before the freaking out and is still allowing me to use the touch screen as i can hear the phone unlock. Or should i be contacting the person i got the screen from asking for my money back? My phone was completely fine running wise until i had to change over the screen. i hope you guys canhelp me out as im stuck in a rut as to what to do
galaxy s4 i9505 international variant running stock touchwiz

Your display issue is almost certainly a bad connection on one of the ribbon cables that connect the display to the circuit board.  One of the two cables you had to disconnect didn't get fully seated in the connector, leaving some traces intermittent.  Assuming the connector wasn't damaged when you disconnected the old screen, you may be able to restore correct operation by disassembling to the point where you disconnected the screen and digitizer cables, then carefully following instructions to reconnect those ribbons, followed by completing the reassembly.
You should also be able to install the battery and power up the phone to check things before fully reassembling, which will save time if you have to take several tries to get a good connection.

many thanks for the answer ive disassembled the phone ready to see what outcome i could get if it was a faulty screen just followed your suggestion and sadly its no better i did manage to get a video of it booting up to show you what it looks like now but after many attempts of carefully trying to get the connectors in (which they do) im about to give up on it all and await what this guy who sold me the screen says. I have no idea if he carefully removed the screen from his old s4 before sending it to me so it might be that hes damaged the ribbon connector when disassembling on his side??


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Manually Stop a Running Task
Is there a way to stop a specific Tasker task from running?
I can see the task in the Run Log but even when I go to the specific task that is running but there isn't a stop button.
This happens whether the task is manually started from a shortcut or from a profile.
On the other hand, there is a stop button when starting the task directly from inside the task editor.

Hi! I request clarification. Why do you want to do that? May I suggest you give the actual problem in  hand. Why use the task at first place if you don't want it to run?

Lets say there is a task that runs on a schedule but i want to interrupt it today. E.g. backup, timer, etc

In that particular case, you can create a new task and use the action stop to stop a particular task. You can either execute it manually if the intended task is already running so that the latter stops, or bind the new task to a profile such as If today then stop XYZ task.

Haha clever. I like that. And can also make the particular task accept name of task as a variable. Would be nice to be able to kill task in the Run Log though.

Firelord, I suggest reposting your comment as an answer so that it can be accepted and the question closed.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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How to install a language pack into a now-defunct 3rd-party keyboard?
There's this keyboard I really love called 8pen. I made the mistake of uninstalling it without checking and then later realized that it had been pulled from the app store, and the developer seems to have ceased all activity since 2013 . . .
I have the app now (version 2.6.0.1), but it will no longer download language packs from the developer and therefore doesn't have predictive text, which was one of the app's original strong points.  Presumably it can't download the language packs because the download servers have been unplugged.
Is there some way to get into the app's file system and install a language pack by hand?  I would just want English.

Confirmed to work on Android 5.1.1 with 8pen version 2.6.1 and 2.7
Since mid-2014, 8pen ( is only accessible from your purchases in Google Play) language packs no longer install for the keyboard since the servers are no longer operating. Luckily, one of my roomates hasn't updated his phone since he downloaded the English dictionary.
Using Android File Manager I copied the original dictionary file
Android/data/com.eightpen.android.eightpen
and loaded it onto my Nexus 7 which has 8pen version 2.7 installed. After clicking to "download" the language pack, it successfully read the new files and the dictionary is operational.
Unfortunately while trying to figure all this out I uninstalled by 2.7 version and can't get it back... but the same method is working on version 2.6 on my Nexus 6.
While this is not the most elegant solution, you can download the file you need from here and copy the folder needed into Android/data. I've included a README with detailed steps. Happy 8penning!
(Now to figure out how to get version 2.7 back.)

This is not an answer that attempts to solve.

I am back with an update! While I cannot confirm this works with version 2.7, you can get the English language pack to work on version 2.6! Using Android File Transfer I successfully copied the original language pack into Android/Data. I am new to this forum so I am unsure how to share the appropriate files for copying.

Start by editing your old answer and insert your new answer. Add a disclaimer that it works with version xx on Android version xx device xx. Hyperlink the app you used to play store and state why you choose that app. Mention all detailed steps.If required upload photos to provide clarity. Use markdown formatting (see help on the extreme right). Mention sources, preferably technical or blogs where you read this and hyperlink them. If it is your own idea outline the logic. Look around for answers from people whose reputation is 1000+, to get a good idea. Don't fret, start

1.I don't see Android File Manager on the play store. Give the correct name and hyperlink 2. "Loaded into nexus 7". How.Mention the location where you copied the files and original files using {} for formatting (click on that icon and paste your text  3. You can consider adding README text in the answer properly formatted. Use Bold,serial where needed.+1 from me for attempting

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


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How do I reverse "sync turned off" in my Google account?
Under the Settings -> Accounts -> Google, there's an account in the Accounts section and under that it says "sync turned off."
When I tap on it there is a list of services that can be synced (e.g. App Data, Calendar, Gmail, Google Play Books, etc.) and I can manually tap one of those to sync it now.
How do I enable automatic sync?
I don't see any option to "sync automatically" (only "sync now") from within the account nor from the Google Accounts page.
It used to sync automatically, and I'm not sure what happened or why it doesn't anymore.
How do I get that back?

Go back to the Settings menu, and in the Wireless and Networks section tap Data Usage.  Then press the menu button and in the popup menu check the Auto Sync Data box.
You can then return to the Google account page mentioned in the question, where the list of services is, and select the newly visible checkmarks next to which ones you want to automatically sync.

Even more hidden is this... For Moto G 2015...
Go to:

Settings
Data usage
Scroll down to Gmail
Select Gmail
App settings

Select one of your gmail accounts and there you'll find a check box to turn sync on,  you'll probably also find you can change notification settings msg tones etc everything you lost ages ago and almost gave up on finding the answers to ;)  !
Totally ridiculous

On your mobile device, open Settings.
Under Personal, touch Accounts.
In the top-right corner, touch Menu More.
Check or uncheck Auto-Sync Data.

This is also correct - depends on your version of Android.

Does this setting appear even on latest Android versions (6,7 etc.)?

Go back to the Settings menu, and in the Wireless and Networks section tap Data Usage. Then press the menu button and in the popup menu check the Auto Sync Data box.
You can then return to the Google account page mentioned in the question, where the list of services is, and select the newly visible checkmarks next to which ones you want to automatically sync. Remember to disable "Background data restriction" under Data settings sub-menu. Also don't forget to switch to more stable network connection like 3G, 4G poor network also causes syncing failure. Finally check if the core system apps that helps in synchronisation do really startup during booting (incase you anable auto start killer by some task killer apps).

For me it's:

Settings
Personal > Accounts
Press Menu key
You will see checkbox (when it's selected it means it will auto-sync your data)
Check it
You will see popup with more info about auto-sync and confirm button
Press OK

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


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How to tweak camera/screen for Whatsapp web QR scanner
This is NOT a duplicate of Why I can't scan the WhatsApp QR? or Can't scan QR code for WhatsApp web due to camera inverted or tilted on Galaxy Y Duos.

I'm using CyanogenMod 11 (snapshot M12) on HTC One X
I have the latest WhatsApp 2.12.250

I'm trying to scan the WhatsApp web QR code on my computer. On my Android Whatsapp, I'm able to get to the point where the scanner is active, and the green scan bar goes up and down, but it never manages to capture the QR code on my computer screen.
I tried to scan the same code using the ZXing Barcode Scanner, and it only works when I turn on "Use auto focus", "No continuous focus", "No exposure".
The camera lense on my HTC One X is slightly scratched up, and the camera pictures has long been foggy. I suspect that the combination of my crappy camera and the computer LCD screen is preventing me from scanning the QR code.
So, since I can't change the camera setting in the Whatsapp QR scanner, is there any tip on how I can maximize the scannability of this web QR code?

first of all, make sure you have a high speed internet connection.
If so then do -

hold still your phone in landscape mode and try to scan for atleast 10 sec..
(worked for my galaxy-y duos)

I have an LCD screen, too, that's why I'm here .... and this actually worked! Great trick.

for crapy phones, i just cut the QR code a paste in paint, zoom in and capture perfectly

I had the same problem with an old Lenovo phone with a very crappy camera. I had to take a screenshot of the QR code, then I put it in GIMP editor and zoomed in to about 200%. That was enough for me to successfully scan it.

If that works, why doesn't zooming the image in the browser with Ctrl-+? Were you using an LCD display?

I had issues with this due to my wide angle screen. If I moved the QR code to my 4:3 screen all of a sudden the scan would work normally. So, perhaps you can either change the resolution of your screen to one that is of a different ratio or take a screen shot of your QR code and then stretch it slightly (not just resize) to change it's height to width ratio until the WhatsApp scanner manages to read it.


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What's the difference between "Contacts" and "People details?"
In Settings -> Accounts -> Google, when I tap on my Google account, I see a "Sync settings" page with a list of different Google services that can be synced (App Data, Calendar, Drive, Gmail, Google Play Books, etc.).
This list includes both "Contacts" and "People details."  What is meant by "People details" and how does this differ from "Contacts?"
Are there any negative outcomes I would expect from disabling sync of "People details" (i.e. what would break?)

Contacts under Accounts, helps in syncing Google-Contacts (Phone contacts saved )
More on Contacts sync adapter here
People details deals with information regarding Google play games and Google+ (Game buddies and people in your circles on Google+)
More on People sync adapter here

This is a little bit of a guess since you didn't specify your device... Contacts is normally part of the stock Android operating system while People is usually part of the launcher or service provider software. They are virtually the same app with different skins or interfaces. The People apps usually also incorporate all of your contacts, including social media. Contacts will most likely only show Gmail and phone contacts unless you alter the settings.
Hope this helps!


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No passwords stored in Webview
I have an ASUS tf101. Have rooted it and installed SQLite Editor. Have found the Webview file. There is listed some web adresses, but under passwords the fields are blank.
I desperately need one of these passwords, but why are they not listed there?
The password for the spesific site was typed in the browser just a few weeks ago.

Webview file for which app?

Just use the Forgot Password option for the website. The passwords are encrypted and you can't find them like that.


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How to update rooted android (nexus 5)
I have rooted Nexus 5 device with Android 5.1.1.
Now system shows updates are available. But on restarting it shows error screen, virtually making it impossible to update.
Is it possible to update rooted android OS, and if yes how (without wiping out any data)?

Is the bootloader unlocked?

Updated, it was 5.1.1.

You have to use the Android SDK, specifically the command fastboot, to flash the stock system.img and stock recovery.img.  Only flash the boot.img only if a custom kernel has been flashed, if not, this isn't required.  With USB Debugging enabled in Settings - Developer Options, you'll need to boot into the bootloader.  You'll also need the factory image for the current version of stock you are running.
You'll need to use the commmands:
fastboot flash system system.img
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
fastboot flash boot boot.img

Rooting modifies /system, which OTA's will check and fail.  Also, any other recovery except for stock recovery will also fail to flash the OTA.


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Sony xperia m4 aqua memory
I would like to ask if there is a way to bypass limitations of internal memmory delegated for applications as my mobile operator I bought phone from added some useless bloatware which after removing apps that were possible to remove brings me only to 1.8GB of space for applications.
As I would really like to play some of new games which have size of additional data as big as 500MB it is impossible to have many applications installed, because all data is stored into internal memory instead of memory card.
Reason is, application partition in internal memory is mounted as /storage/sdcard and external sd card is mounted as /storage/sdcard1
Because of this, there is no way to move applications to sd card (only manually, but they cant find their data, because they defaultly search in /storage/sdcard mountpoint) as it will move them just to other partition of internal memory.
My question is, is it possible to bypass this problem without actually rooting phone? Will there be software udate that will change method of mounting or solve it in some other way (like creating symbolic links to external card as data folder of application)?

This probably can't be done without root. It's a system limitation based on security considerations. If you are willing to root, I can probably help you. There is no way to change mountpoints without root.

Well, I might try to root it, but it would be really good if I made a rom backup 1st. My bootloader is locked, but its status is unlockable. Problem is, I dont have code.

Rooting is the way to do a rom backup. You can also use factory images.

I'll put up some terminal code for you to enter once you root.

I have custom rom from operator (Orange) full of bloatware, so with root I would be able to delete it right? Also, is it possible to unroot it and restore back to original state as I bought it? Just in case I would need to use warranty service.

Fastboot your phone. Boot, not flash, a custom recovery before rooting. Use the Nandroid backup option. Copy the resulting backup somewhere safe. Now, flash the custom recovery, root, and delete the bloatware apps right from the system/app directory. No root uninstaller apps required. In case you still want to change the mountpoints, I'll have some terminal code ready for you.

To make Nandroid backup, do I need custom bootloader? Because my original one is locked and I dont have unlock code for it. Or is there a way to flash it with custom one without unlocking it?

I can't help you on this. You can try out XDA for unlocking your bootloader. There is nothing called a custom bootloader for your device.

It appears as if your device is very difficult to root currently. However, you are welcome to try my method. It technically isn't supposed to require root, but lollipop has some issues with symlinking on unrooted devices.

i dont really need to link obb files tho, but data of applications (new games, converter and such) so will try to soft link their folders to sdcard1. Hope it will work from adb shell

On the contrary, you need to link the obb files, they are the extra days you were talking about

Enter the following commands in a terminal emulator after you have rooted and installed busybox:
su
ln -s /storage/sdcard1/Android/obb/ /storage/sdcard/Android/obb/

Copy the games extra data (.obb) files to Android/obb/ folder on your SD card from your computer. This may or may not work with games downloaded from Google Play, I have not tested it.

Using this command gives me permission denied. Looks like root is the only option to fix this problem. Thank you for assistance.

You can upvote comments and answers. Please contribute.


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Facebook Messenger consumes a lot of battery even if no messages are sent/received
I recently installed Facebook Messenger and it seems to be consuming a lot of battery, even if no messages are sent/received in a day.
Below is the battery usage for reference. As you can see Messenger used 12% of battery even though I did not use it the entire day, exceeding even the screen usage.
Is there a way to fix this? Uninstalling the app is my last option as sometimes I do want to send/receive messages on it.

You may use Faceebook Lite.

@alb3rtano0012: Facebook Lite is alternative for Facebook app, right? Or am I missing something here.

It's a lightweight alternative, an official app, and includes messaging too.

I see two ways: You either hibernate the apps or kill their wakelocks which means you won't receive notifications from them at all as long as they are not in focus on screen. Use Greenify for them. Else, use an approach where they would be killed when in background but would also be pinged to sync momentarily so you can at least receive notifications at particular intervals. This one can be done using DS Battery Saver or perhaps with Tasker too.

@alb3rtano0012: Went with Facebook Lite. Looks really ugly. But does the job.

Both the Facebook and Facebook Messenger apps are notorious for excessive battery use. Seriously, social media is nowhere near important enough to warrant killing your phone battery. One way to help is to make sure that location reporting is turned off for both apps. You should actually go through all of the settings for both apps and disable every single thing you definitely don't need. All of the battery-sucking features are enabled by default.
Of course, the best thing to do is kick Facebook's apps to the curb and just access it through the mobile browser... but that's just my opinion,

social media is nowhere near important enough to warrant killing your phone battery.  -- You hit the nail right on its head. made me reconsider uninstalling the Messenger app

Here are my opinions.
Firstly there is an application called "WatchDog Task Manager". You can install this application (or use the free version) and configure it so it kills processes exceeding certain thresholds. This can be set for the parameter of CPU or battery usage. This is primarily for CPU.
Another application you could configure is "SnapDragon BatteryGuru". Now this is highly opinion based, but I used this on my Samsung, HTC One M7 and M8 and noticed improved battery life. This application monitors your daily habits for battery and places certain application rules for when it syncs. This could assist in restricting FB (or even Messenger) from hogging battery.
You could also go to the extent of installing "Memory Booster" which has several additional add-ins such as task killers and battery saving technics. I would not really believe this suitable, but it is a worthy mention.
Of course there are many other applications that you could look into that apparently help boost your battery life. The key to boosting battery life is minimising applications that actively have "wakelocks". More on wakelocks can be read here: What are wakelocks?
Feel free to comment on this if I have missed anything or your disagree with this. If you believe this a sufficient and correct answer, please mark it so.

Not entirely relevant as an answer (hence the comment) but you could also apply the use of applications like AutoMateIT and Tasker to help end processes and save battery consumption.

From whatever I have read online, user's should not install any app which kills tasks or free memory. These things should be left to Android itself.

@Naveen This is correct, the act of doing so is not really required. However in your situation it doesn't seem tinge working and therefore may be beneficial. I advise you to to try Watchdog and tell me how it goes.

I highly recommend Greenify to take care of these battery sucking applications.


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How do I export links from my bookmarks to Dropbox
I have collected many bookmarks on my Samsung Galaxy S3. Many of these I wish to use on my desktop computer. How do I export all the links from all the bookmarks on my phone and put them where Dropbox will upload them to my desktop computer?

Even though I could not see the links from the mobile phone on the desktop, once I

Did you find a solution for this? Also, where are the bookmarks/links you're trying to export -- are they on the home screen? in a browser?


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Disable touchscreen area (root available)
My rooted Xperia Z1 on Android 5.1 has a broken touchscreen area in the upper half of the screen.
I was able to partly solve the problem by following this SO question:
Resize screen for Dead touch zone
My problem is: The broken area constantly sends touch events. By that, I am not able to input any touch events myself.
How can I filter any touch events in the upper half of my screen?

you can use wm size (WIDTH)x(HEIGHT)
the difference between size and overscan is that any input outside the screen area will be ignored if you use size to change the display resolution
first you have to know the resolution and the display density of the device. In the terminal/cmd enter adb shell dumpsys display | grep mBaseDisplayInfo to show display related info.
in my case it's

real 1080x1920
density 480

the equivalence for wm overscan 0,0,a,b is wm size (WIDTH-a)x(HEIGHT-b). In my case wm overscan 0,0,30,0 --> wm size 1050x1920


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Samsung Galaxy s4 won't boot
I have a Samsung Galaxy s4 which is rooted and has cyanogenmod and cwm recovery installed on it, which I have been using for several months with absolutely no issues, until today. All of a sudden, my phone shut itself off, and now it will not boot. When I try to turn it on, all I get is the Samsung logo for about a second, then it goes black. I managed to get into download mode, but going into the recovery (which professor google told me I could do with power + home + volume up) did not work.
Taking my phone in to get it repaired/replaced is not an option, since my warranty is void (and I can't just trick them by unrooting it and flashing the stock rom because of that knox flag that is tripped as soon as you mess with the bootloader).
If all else fails, I will do whatever it takes, although I would prefer to recover some data from the phone first (contacts, pictures, etc)
I have a USB cable to connect it to my computer (windows), and I also have a microSD card I could use to load something onto it if that could possibly fix anything.

Have you tried re-flashing your custom recovery? Perhaps try TWRP?

I solved my own issue, and am now posting the solution I found as an answer.
The battery had died without me realizing it. I originally tried to charge the phone for about half an hour (before posting the question)  but had no luck. I then tried again later on using a different charger which did work.


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How do I back up SMS without using (broken) touchscreen on Nexus 4?
I have a rooted n4 with USB debugging enabled. The touchscreen is smashed, totally. There is an image on the screen, but it is not possible to enter any commands via the touchscreen. The device otherwise works normally. I can see what's on the screen, it connects to the wifi, etc.
So, for example Ritesh SMS backup won't work, because it needs me to tap commands on the phone. I tried the following solution
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/12266374/backup-full-sms-mms-contents-via-adb
but it won't work because the phone pops up saying 'do you want to give adb shell su permissions', I can't tap yes as I can't tap anything...

You can use keyevents to execute the desired touch on the screen. ADB Shell Input Events. Alternatively, if the device supports OTG then you can buy an OTG cable, and then use a standard mouse to execute touches on screen.

Thanks, that led me in the right direction: I was able to make adb shell; then input tap xxxx yyyy work for me.

Note for Non-Nexus 4 users: if your device supports OTG, buy an OTG cable (comes very cheap) connect  a standard PC mouse  and the device to it and use the mouse to navigate the device.

Since the USB debugging is enabled and authorized, you can make good use of KeyEvents. Use input command to simulate up, down, left, and right navigational turns and enter.
Command:
adb shell input keyevent KEYCODE          # adb shell input: give further options

Examples:

adb shell input keyevent 22                # navigates one block rightward
adb shell input keyevent KEYCODE_DPAD_DOWN # navigates one block downward
adb shell input keyevent DPAD_LEFT         # navigates one block leftward

Relevant key codes:

19 -->  "KEYCODE_DPAD_UP"
20 -->  "KEYCODE_DPAD_DOWN"
21 -->  "KEYCODE_DPAD_LEFT"
22 -->  "KEYCODE_DPAD_RIGHT"
23 -->  "KEYCODE_DPAD_CENTER"

(See more key codes here - by Rene Barbosa)
To simulate ENTER, use key code 66. 23 works too.
Use the key codes in combination. For example, when SuperSU app asks me to allow or deny root privileges to an app, I use the key codes 19, 20, 22 and 66 to simulate a tap on OK.

You can always use adb shell input tap X Y but you need the correct X and Y coordinates for the tap. You'll have to enable Pointer location under Developer settings as first step. Since the touchscreen is not working, finding the right coordinates is a hit and miss here. You would succeed with trial and error, should you choose this method.


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Do every Android version store the PIN/passwords at the same file?
I find a hateful peculiarity of Android its nagging usual changes between versions in the paths for some system files and configuration variables. Even when I assume it is expectable on newborn operating systems.
I have read that the PIN number for unlocking the screen is stored (cyphered, I pressume) at /data/system/password.key .  So, for example, if I do:
# rm /data/system/password.key

... I will be able to delete it (of course priorly mounting the partition system as read/write, booting via Recovery, connecting via ADB shell, on a rooted device... blah blah blah).
Could this change work on every version of Android? Or this storage file is version-dependent?

According to this source

Android stores this pattern in a special file called password.key in /data/system/. As storing the pattern in plain text wouldn’t be very save, this time Android stores an salted SHA1-hashsum and MD5-hashsum of the PIN or password. The numeric PIN and the alphanumeric passwords are processed in the same way...
Due to the fact that the hash is salted this time, its unfeasible to crack the password with help of a dictionary attack. For cracking the password it is important to get the salt and enough time for attempting a brute force attack. The salt is a string of the hexadecimal representation of a random 64-bit integer.

From this page it seems you are correct in believing that the password is located here in at least the 2.2 versions of Android and later.

And I can confirm (by my experience) that Android 5.0.2 also stores Password/PIN in the same file.

@Firelord, do you know if your Android version is 64 bits?

Confirmed for my 5.1 64 bit Android version.

Confirmed for my 4.3 Android. Or, at least, such file exists (it has 0 bytes long because I have no PIN defined).

Well, if we are going to believe that Spreitzenbarth (he seems and experienced programmer), and as long as his last post ( http://forensics.spreitzenbarth.de/2015/08/12/breaking-the-screenlock-a-short-update/ ) about the matter dates May 2015, I agree with Ch3mical Joe: every Android version stores the hash of the password into the same file.


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Unable to disable password on Android screen lock
I would like to disable the PIN/Password of my Android screen lock but I am unable to  do that as the relevant option is greyed out. Please see screenshot:
(Click image to enlarge)

Please read the subtitle of every remaining button...
"Because you've turned on an accessibility service, your device won't use your screen lock to enhance data encryption."
You need to turn off accessibility services before you can change any settings here.
Settings-> System section-> Accessibility->
Turn off each process using the accessability services until you are allowed to change your password again.
A second cause may be what Journeyman said, but you seem to be running an older android version that doesn't support that.

Yeah, man... That's exactly what it was. Accessibility.

It looks like your options for a non-secure lock screen are grayed out due to a security restriction. If you have, say, a work email account on your phone it probably requires to password protect the whole phone for security reasons. If this is the case, a possible solution would be to use a different mobile email client like Touchdown which only locks the app itself instead of the phone.

This is making an assumption, yet you have posted it as an answer. Can you validate this statement? See the answer from Ethan - do E-mail accounts have the availability to act under the accessibility service and prevent the "no password" option being selected?

@MichaelNancarrow - To answer your question: YES, email accounts do have the ability to disable non-secure lock screen options. For instance, if you use the Outlook or similar app or sync your Exchange account through the stock email app you will probably be required to have a secure lock screen. This has nothing to do with the accessibility service. As shown in the screen capture above, the two lock screen options the OP wants to use are "Disabled by administrator, encryption policy, or credential storage". We should wait for the OP to clarify before you criticize.

I have had that happen because I had a second/guest account setup (and that was a pain cause I use a third party lockscreen and I had two lockscreens to contend with). Remove the guest account, and that option should reappear.

This can happen because an app has added a user certificate to the credentials and requires a screen lock as part of it's security policy. MITM proxy apps or VPNs that support https do this. Once the app is removed often the user certificate is left along with the restriction making the option to remove the screen lock appear disabled.
To fix this go to settings->security->credential storage then select 'clear credentials'. this will remove user certificates and security restrictions which will allow you to remove the screen lock. If you select 'trusted credentials' to display the list, the CA certs from the installed android package should be reloaded.
This worked for me on Android 4.1.2.

Go to settings - fingerprint and password - smart lock - on body detection - turn it off

Go to Settings → General → Security → clear credentials. Now, you should be able to select any of the screen lock options.


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Allowing requests for Google Voice Search with a Bluetooth headset when the device is locked?
I enabled

Allow requests with device locked
  For Bluetooth devices
  For wired headsets

in Settings for Google Voice search.
However, none of my devices ( Sky Vega racer3 and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1)
seems to be responsive to "Okay Google" using either a wired headset or my bluetooth headset.
Both of my devices respond correcctly to "Okay Google" with or without any bluetooth devices or wired headsets when the device is not locked.
None of my devices has a lock screen.
Ultimately, what I want to do is to be able to send Hangouts messages or ask for the time while I'm riding my bicycle without having to pull my cellphone out of the pocked and turn on the screen.


text:
Android boot loop after fresh install
Phone: Nexus 4 with the latest android 5.1.1.
Accidentally I broke my screen and turned off my phone. After a month my screen was replaced and then I got stuck in the boot loop at the start.
I've made factory reset in both android recovery and TWRP recovery.
I've tried to install popular ROMs (Chroma) and google factory images: all from the latest LMY48M to the old ones. Installation was OK, but after install I have a boot loop (flying dots, or rotating circles, etc - I have been waiting for hours).
I made it to start the system - only with the oldest factory image: JDQ39 (4.2.2)
After android started and some configuration made (wifi, google account), after some time, phone tells me about system update 4.3. I agreed and got stuck in the boot loop again.
I know that there are tons of stuck in boot loop questions, but usually solution is to clean cache, factory reset, or reinstall. And I have boot loop stucking after factory reset and fresh install. Do you have any ideas how to fix this?
I think, I can live with 4.2.2, but maybe it's possible to get 5.1 working back?
P.S. All installations (adb sideload of ROMs or ./flash-all.sh for factory images) where finished successfully. The only error I got was unable to mount /usb-otg in TWRP while factory reset (anyway it said that reset was done). But I think it's not the reason, isn't it?
Update:
I've tried all factory builds from official source. They come with script that manually run fastboot to flash images:
fastboot flash bootloader bootloader-mako-makoz30f.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
sleep 5
fastboot flash radio radio-mako-m9615a-cefwmazm-2.0.1701.07.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
sleep 5
fastboot -w update image-occam-lmy48m.zip

It always finished with success - no errors. But after restart - boot loop freezes.
Also, I've always made a factory reset before flashing factory images. I've tried both via original recovery.img and via TWRP (with Dalvik cache)
Update2:
Here is my adb logcat on start of working 4.2.2. I've managed to get it only after turning on USB debugging. My question is - will the USB debugging mode reset after wiping data? I want to try install 5.1.1 factory image again and to collect adb logcat data. But if USB debugging option is resetted, then I will have no result again.

Can you run adb logcat during boot and post the output somewhere? To get adb to work during boot, you may need to copy the contents of the file <your home folder>/.android/adbkey.pub to /data/misc/adb/adb_keys (create it if it doesn't exist).

Do I need to run adb logcat exactly when I am in a stuck loop boot? When loop boot was stucked, I have no devices in adb devices

Ah. That's odd. Are you sure it doesn't flash back to the Google screen every so often? If you do manage to get it to work, the timing of the adb logcat shouldn't matter. Just upload the output somewhere and it should be reasonably helpful.

@keepcalm, no, it doesn't flash back to the Google screen every so ofter. Just spinning the dots. I've run adb logcat before I started the smartphone. It says: - waiting for device -. Then I try to boot smartphone and nothing happens, still waiting for device. But adb connection worked for me when I made adb sideload from twrp

Ah. You might need to install drivers (assuming you're on Windows). This one should work.

Did you flash the latest bootloader and radio images? I suggest that you flash the latest factory image with radio,bootloader and everything manually.

@keepcalm, I'm on Ubuntu. I've installed adb 1.0.32, because at first, 1.0.31 version from repo didn't allow to sideload. With adb 1.0.32 I can get adb connection but only in Recovery Mode.

@TamoghnaChowdhury, I've installed factory images with ./flash-all.sh script. It flashes everything - radio, bootloader, recovery and system. Then I've tried custom builds (ROMs - adb sideload filename.zip) and after installing the same effect again. I had different types of boot loops (circles, dots, chroma-logo) but it was always stucked

@Evghenii, have you tried running adb as root - like sudo adb devices. Alternatively, you can try following the steps in this article.

@keepcalm, progress has been made! I've turned on 'USB Debugging' and now I see a huge logcat while starting. Is this logcat useful - I mean I'm on 4.2.2 now, and there is no bootloop stucking. Or I need to get that log exactly when I get bootloop stucking (for 4.3+)? If I make a factory reset and install 5.1.1 one more time, then usb debugging option will be resetted, won't it?

Yes. Factory resetting clears the USB debugging flag

The bootloop needs to have happened on the boot you're collecting info for. I think you should be able to enable ADB on first boot by editing /system/build.prop to contain the lines persist.service.adb.enable=1<new line>                                                 persist.service.debuggable=1<new line> persist.sys.usb.config=mtp,adb

@keepcalm, Am I understanding correct the steps I need to do: 1) Another factory reset, 2) fastboot 5.1.1 factory image, 3) fastboot twrp. 4) in twrp mount /system folder and edit file build.prop on my computer. 5) adb logcat and start booting. 6) collecting results of logcat

@keepcalm, Also, I've made updated of my post - there is a link to gist with my logcat (on working 4.2.2, but maybe it will also help)

@Evghenii yep - if you edit build.prop to contain those lines, and put ~/.android/adbkey.pub in /data/misc/adb/adb_keys, you should be able to get a logcat on first boot. Your 4.2.2 logcat isn't much use I'm afraid, but 5.1.1 might be worth a shot.

@keepcalm, ok, thanks. I think I will try this on my weekend and report here

@LarryCinnabar I'm in a very similar predicament now.  If you see this comment, I'd be interested to know how the situation progressed.

Do a factory image flash using fastboot,taking special care to update the partition data,bootloader and radio images. Partition data means the ebr/mbr/preloader partitions. The manual flash implies that you must flash each partition manually, just so that you are sure that everything was flashed correctly, even if the script executed without errors.This should resolve the issue. If it doesn't, maybe a flash using Qualcomm MSMDownloader will work. It would help if you could upload the names of the images in the factory image archive, so that I can find out which partitions may be causing the problem

Can you please, be more specific about update the partition data? I've updated my post, and showed how I've tried to do a factory image flash

authors: محسن غفارزادگان


text:
App Won't Load After Link /data/app to 2nd SD-Card Partition
Lenovo S920
Android 4.2.1
Basically, I want to link my /data/app to /system/sd/app (2nd SD Card partition).
I have mount my 2nd partition on boot to /system/sd/app correctly.
Here what I got when run "mount":
rootfs / rootfs ro,relatime 0 0
tmpfs /dev tmpfs rw,nosuid,relatime,mode=755 0 0
devpts /dev/pts devpts rw,relatime,mode=600 0 0
proc /proc proc rw,relatime 0 0
sysfs /sys sysfs rw,relatime 0 0
none /acct cgroup rw,relatime,cpuacct 0 0
tmpfs /mnt/secure tmpfs rw,relatime,mode=700 0 0
tmpfs /mnt/asec tmpfs rw,relatime,mode=755,gid=1000 0 0
tmpfs /mnt/obb tmpfs rw,relatime,mode=755,gid=1000 0 0
none /dev/cpuctl cgroup rw,relatime,cpu 0 0
/emmc@preload /preload ext4 rw,nosuid,nodev,noatime,discard,noauto_da_alloc,data
=ordered 0 0
/emmc@android /system ext4 ro,relatime,noauto_da_alloc,commit=1,data=ordered 0 0

/emmc@usrdata /data ext4 rw,nosuid,nodev,noatime,discard,noauto_da_alloc,data=or
dered 0 0
/emmc@cache /cache ext4 rw,nosuid,nodev,noatime,discard,noauto_da_alloc,data=ord
ered 0 0
/emmc@protect_f /protect_f ext4 rw,nosuid,nodev,noatime,nodelalloc,noauto_da_all
oc,commit=1,data=ordered 0 0
/emmc@protect_s /protect_s ext4 rw,nosuid,nodev,noatime,nodelalloc,noauto_da_all
oc,commit=1,data=ordered 0 0
/dev/block/mmcblk1p2 /system/sd ext2 rw,relatime 0 0 // Mount correctly
/dev/block/vold/179:97 /storage/sdcard1 vfat rw,dirsync,nosuid,nodev,noexec,rela
time,uid=1000,gid=1015,fmask=0702,dmask=0702,allow_utime=0020,codepage=cp43 7,ioc
harset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,utf8,errors=remount-ro 0 0

Look at /dev/block/mmcblk1p2 /system/sd ext2 rw,relatime 0 0. It looks mount fine.
Here what I got when run "ls -l /data/":
-rw------- system system 131072 2015-09-17 15:23 3D.bin
drwxrwx--- bluetooth net_bt 2015-09-17 14:51 @btmtk
-rw-rw---- nvram nvram 34466 2015-09-17 14:31 AllFile
-rw-rw---- nvram nvram 14600 2015-09-17 14:31 AllMap
-rw-rw-r-- nvram nvram 30 2015-09-17 15:05 BT_Addr
-rw-r--r-- root root 80 2015-09-17 15:05 Test.log
drwxr-xr-x root root 2015-09-17 15:16 aee_exp
drwxrwx--x gps system 2015-09-17 15:05 agps_supl
drwxrwx--- system system 2015-09-17 14:31 amit
drwxrwxr-x system system 2015-09-17 15:05 anr
lrwxrwxrwx root root 2015-09-17 15:12 app -> /system/sd/app
drwx------ root root 2015-09-17 14:31 app-asec
drwxrwx--x system system 2015-09-17 14:49 app-lib
drwxrwx--x system system 2015-09-17 14:31 app-private
-rw------- system system 1048576 2013-09-17 07:00 appbank
drwx------ system system 2015-09-17 14:33 backup
-rw------- system system 0 2015-09-17 14:31 combo_t32.cmm
drwxrwx--x system system 2015-09-17 14:49 dalvik-cache
drwxrwx--x system system 2015-09-17 14:49 data
drwxr-x--- root log 2015-09-17 14:31 dontpanic
drwxrwxr-- drm system 2015-09-17 14:33 drm
-rw------- root root 42 2015-09-17 15:05 etm.backup
-rw------- root root 1238 2015-09-17 15:05 link2sd-debuggerd.log
drwxr-x--x root root 2015-09-17 14:31 local
drwxrwx--- root root 2015-09-17 14:30 lost+found
drwxrwxrwx shell shell 2015-09-17 14:31 mdl
drwxrwx--- media_rw media_rw 2015-09-17 14:31 media
drwxrwx--t system misc 2015-09-17 15:05 misc
drwxrwx--- root nvram 2015-09-17 14:31 nvram
-rw------- system system 4194304 2015-09-17 15:17 piggybank
drwx------ root root 2015-09-17 15:23 property
drwxrwx--x system system 2015-09-17 14:31 resource-cache
srwx------ system system 2015-09-17 15:17 server
drwxr-x--- root shell 2015-09-17 14:31 ssh
drwxrwxr-x system system 2015-09-17 15:35 system
drwx--x--x system system 2015-09-17 14:31 user

Look at lrwxrwxrwx root root 2015-09-17 15:12 app -> /system/sd/app. It looks linked fine.
Here when I run "ls /system/sd/app":
com.UCMobile.intl-1.apk
com.altermyth.bima.tablet-2.apk
com.android.chrome-1.apk
com.android.vending-1.apk
com.appstar.callrecorder-2.apk
com.bbm-2.apk
com.bookmark.money-2.apk
com.cilctel.crono-1.apk
com.estrongs.android.pop-2.apk
com.evernote-1.apk
com.facebook.orca-2.apk
com.google.android.apps.books-1.apk
com.google.android.apps.maps-1.apk
com.google.android.apps.plus-1.apk
com.google.android.calendar-2.apk
com.google.android.gm-1.apk
com.google.android.gms-1.apk
com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox-1.apk
com.google.android.inputmethod.latin-1.apk
com.google.android.play.games-1.apk
com.google.android.talk-1.apk
com.google.android.tts-1.apk
com.google.android.youtube-1.apk
com.hellotext.hello-2.apk
com.instagram.android-2.apk
com.keramidas.TitaniumBackup-1.apk
com.mxtech.videoplayer.ad-2.apk
com.opera.browser-2.apk
com.opera.browser.classic-1.apk
com.shazam.android-2.apk
com.skype.raider-1.apk
com.supercell.clashofclans-2.apk
com.trello-2.apk
com.twitter.android-2.apk
com.whatsapp-2.apk
com.yahoo.mobile.client.android.mail-1.apk
jackpal.androidterm-2.apk
jp.naver.line.android-2.apk
net.openvpn.openvpn-1.apk
org.rojekti.clipper-2.apk
os.tools.scriptmanager-1.apk

It seems fine when I first linked it, but after I reboot. It didn't work.
How to fix this problem?
UPDATE:
I test link an *.apk file to /data/temp/ folder.  temp folder is in internal storage. So, it isn't 2nd partition. I just want to make sure that link is work in internal storage, but it seems link failed shown like this:

Look at com.dotgears.flappybird-1.apk
When I do ls -l in /data/app:
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2015-09-23 07:58 com.dotgears.flappybird-1
.apk -> /data/temp/com.dotgears.flappybird-1.apk

Any idea what is going on?
UPDATE:
It seems whatever I copy an *.apk file to new location. It seems failed. It actually not failed but somehow when I properties my *.apk that I copied to new location. I click on it, it show nothing. Like, their icon didn't show, version: N/A, size: N/A, Package Name: N/A

After rebooting, any mounts you have made which your ROM isn't configured to automatically do will be lost. You could write your own init.d script, or you could use an app, like Mounts2SD, which will set it up for you and comes with a nice interface to boot.

Yes, I know about it. That's why I have played with init.d. So when  I reboot I got my 2nd partition mounted correctly. But some how, the system don't load app from linked directory /system/sd/app. I know there are a few app that could solve my problem, but I just want to do by my self for experiment purpose. :) Do you have any clue about my problem?

It might be that the mount happens too late in the boot process - I couldn't really say, but you could try mounting the second partition directly onto /data/app in your script, rather than using a symlink from /data/app to /system/sd/app.

I don't won't mount directly to /data/app. Because I have several folder to link to. I do some new experiment above. Please check my update. Maybe you have and idea that could help me.


text:
how to unlock android 5 if pattern is forgotten?
I had forget my pattern lock and now my mobile asks for it. I tried for 100 times but neither it ask for google account nor something. Even I cant format by using power button and volume. Plz help

Device specifics are required before we can answer this question. A factory data reset will not work in Lollipop as the pattern lock is not reset

Reboot the phone and Clear the flash memory.
but in this Situation You will lost all the data which is stored in phone memory.

That will not work on Lollipop with its enhanced security.

Reboot the phone and it will come back to lockscreen again. Where is the scope of clearing the memory (be specific, every memory is flash memory  in phone)?


text:
move apps to internal memory from system memory?
I have LG e405. How do i get downloaded apps /any app from system/phone memory to goto internal memory?there are heaps more that i need to know but most apps and things seem to have disappeared from phone , now no room to reinstall them? This 3rd or 4th time has happened. Ok will not be far away, thanks

You have to go into your application manager in the settings. Clicking on each individual app will bring up the status and information screen for that app. Some apps will have the option to 'Move To External Storage'. Press that and let it do its thing and the app will be on your SD Card.
Keep in mind that not all apps can be moved to external storage. This is a specific functionality of applications. You'll find fairly regularly that applications do not have the move functionality.

If you mean internal memory as in the internal sd card, you can use the app manager option in settings to do it, unless your phone ships with merged storage. In that case, you will need to root and use a dedicated app like Link2SD to move apps to the external inserted microSD card.

Hello that i am getting to but i have to add 2nd partition?? I also need to.root? My ph but so far unlucky. got "link2sd" now but supose toupdate"link2sd

Sorry,i think i messed up somehow but trying again.That i am doing/trying now.seems i need 2nd partition and to be rooted?which i have not figured out how to do yet? The apps so far,move2sd,link2sd card,1more?.was stuff that just dissappeared?along with an unroot your ph, app??anyway i thankyou ,now I've link2sd but seems i need to update (thanks google shop?) Wish had known before,link2sd + is able to move apps without root ? So will give things ago and see and thanks for help let you know how it goes,

No. Link2sd needs root.


text:
How can I change my pictures' and videos' date on my phone by their filenames?
Yesterday, I moved a bunch of old pictures and videos to my phone, using a FTP server I installed on my phone. Everything went fine, but today I discovered that the date of all the copied photos and videos was set to yesterday. As a result, my photos and videos are now showing up in the wrong order in the Gallery app.
(Click image to enlarge)

Luckily, the date and time is still preserved in the filenames. Right now, I want to restore the photos' and videos' date using their filenames.
I'm interested in a way to do so. I don't really care whether it's by using an app or script or something else.
I'm aware of the fact that I can copy the files from my computer to the phone again using a different protocol, but that is not what I'm looking for.

I ended up writing a rather dirty script to do this. For this to work, I'm assuming you have a rooted device, and the directory that contains the pictures and videos is /sdcard/DCIM/Camera. If otherwise, change the script.

Download BusyBox and install it. This is needed for executing Linux shell commands.
Create a script called script.sh, containing this block of code, and put it on the root of your sd card.
cd DCIM/Camera
echo "Navigated to `pwd`"

ls

for f in *.jpg *.3gp *.m4v
do

  [ -e $f ] || continue    ## testing if the file exists
  NEWDATE=`echo $f | sed 's|IMG_||g' | sed 's|VID_||g' | sed 's|_||g' | \
  sed 's|.3gp||g'  | sed 's|.m4v||g' | sed 's|.jpg||g' | sed 's|........|&\.|g'`

  echo "Touching date $NEWDATE into $f..."

  touch -t "$NEWDATE" "$f" ## using touch to insert the new date into the file

done

Start adb shell, and execute:
su
mount -o remount rw /sdcard

to make sure you can actually edit the files
Move to your sd card:
cd /sdcard

Execute the shell script:
sh script.sh

Now start the Gallery app, and wait. Especially if you have a large file collection, it may take Android a while to sort everything and update the cache.

If the EXIF data is correct, you can use jhead. Note that this only works for JPEG files.
First, check if the files still have correct EXIF data using:
jhead <file>

Then use jhead's -ft option:

-ft Sets the file's system time stamp to what is stored in the Exif header.

jhead *.jpg

Sounds good, but is there a binary for Android anywhere?

You can easily change timestamp of images with many image viewers. For example in FastStone Viewer: Tools -> Change Timestamp -> choose the creation date from EXIF. You can select all your images before and apply this function on all of them at once.
My only idea about videos is a script, that parses a name and sets the file attribute.

Do you know any app that can do that directly on android? Ty.

This is an app you can make yourself, or I can do it for you if you so wish. It involves file manipulation using the Java File API or Unix shell tools, whichever you prefer. I think that if you have any programming experience at all the Java API documentation is a good place to start. Or, if you have Windows, you can use an extension to Windows explorer called QTTabbar (qttabbar.sourceforge.net) which has an option to copy files while preserving the last modified date. I suggest copying the files from your computer to the phone using a USB cable.


text:
Cannot save Clash of Clans progress
I have a Sony Xperia Z1 on Android 4.4 KitKat and a Google Play Service, but when I want to save my account, it's not possible. Why?
I even made a second Google Play account to save my progress on Clash of Clans, but nothing happens: loading ring just rotate for a while and then nothing. Please help me, I don't want to lose my progress.
I tried to make more than one account, but nothing works.

Do you have an  Internet connection when loading clash of clans?

yes , Tamoghna Chowdhury 2  i have a good connection but i dont know why that happens

Could you please elaborate? Are you using a modded version of clash of clans? Then Google play games isn't supposed to work.

am using the newest version , should i UNunistal  play games and then unistal it again???

You cannot do that. Play games is a system app.

oh yes i forgot ,,,but am afraid of losing my progress in the game ):

Did you download Clash Of Clans from Google Play? If not then it can fail because of a licence check. (Reply with @username please)

@Numbermaniac, my comment is specific for the OP. I am well aware that in some phones Google Play Games is not a system app


text:
Google Cardboard with 4.5 inch smartphone
Has anyone tried the Google Cardboard (the carton equipment and the relative software from Play Store) with an android device of 4.5 inches like Moto G 1st gen? (I have the LTE - XT1039 version, so, it has gyroscope)
I am asking because I am about to order some of this equipment and I doubt that in less than 5" display the eyes will have the ability to focus and get a clear image...

I don't think your phone has a gyroscope. Unfortunately, Google Cardboard requires a gyroscope - it might be worth testing the app before ordering any bits of cardboard.

@keepcalm the moto G 1st gen has a gyroscope

Ah. It would seem that the LTE model has a gyroscope, while the non-LTE model does not.

Oh, sorry I forgot to mention that I have the LTE version, and I tested the application and it works... so, I should have a gyro! Yet my question is mostly oriented on the screen size...

I won't go for it on a phone with a 720p display, at least 1080p is a must for Virtual Reality. The 4.5 inch phone will work and fit, just pick out the right cardboard. I'd recommend the Moto G3 with 1440p for VR, its actually perfect, your phone is a bit out of date. But if its all you need in a phone, don't bother switching.

"at least 1080p is a must for Virtual Reality" -- can you support this fact with something credible?

Finally I tested the cardboard with my Moto G and it was working all good... Only the Magnet did not always respond to actions (maybe because the case is made for a bit bigger devices, so it was far from the correct spot). Apart from that, the resolution that jon_woot mentions here is actually a bit of an issue. Because the display gets very close to the eyes and the lenses make pixels even bigger! So Maybe 1080 is a must after all. Overall, the testing experience was pretty good! Gyrospcope working!


text:
A random floating ad is always on top
In the following image, you can see a floating ad and it looks like an average ad by Google. Problem is, it's always on top. In the image, you can see it over my Settings app.
(Click image to enlarge)

I did not install any new apps on to my device (OnePlus One running CM12s - Android 5.0.2), and the single ad keeps popping up randomly in different positions on the screen. (Since today morning.)
Following is a screenshot of the webpage that opens up, when I select 'opt out'.

From where did this come from, and how do I get rid of it?

Go in to Settings -> Apps, and then swipe across to 'Running'. If there are any unfamiliar apps there, tap on them and choose Force Stop and press OK. If the floating banner goes away, you've found the culprit.

Is there a reason you're not using an adblocker? It is rather easy to nuke them off  instead of hunting down the source.  Also, is the device rooted?

Related http://android.stackexchange.com/a/122715/119358

You've got some kind of adware. Check your running apps and stop any apps that are unfamiliar-looking. Be sure to checked cached processes as well.


text:
New full-screen share UI - move app to top
In Android 5's new share UI - full-screen, with "prioritized" apps - how do I move arbitrary app into the top, priority section? Not my app, just one that I use often.
Say I want to move "Drive" to the top section.
Is there a way to remove G+ from the top section?

argh .. I realized it's a YouTube's own chooser thingie.

It is prioritized according to frequency of use. Whichever apps house most for sharing will eventually go to the top of the list, and they will be sorted in alphabetical order.

hmm .. I use one of the apps several times daily, likely > 200 times since the UI change and it still lonely sits at the bottom ...

I did say they are alphabetically sorted.

The app I want to use happens to be at the bottom of the second section. Additionally, I haven't used any other apps that offer share intent.

Well,that's how it was supposed to work anyway.


text:
What's the difference between flashing Gapps on system partition vs installing from play store?
So I'm finally diving into the custom ROM world after experiencing some issues on CM12.1 on my OnePlus One. I have a question though that googling couldn't answer. If I flash only the essential Google stuff : play store, play services, etc, and then install the rest of Google apps from the play store, how would that be different from flashing the full Google apps package? Apart from, of course, using space that would have otherwise been used on the system partition.
I'm especially interested in this as there are a lot of Google apps I never use. I'm aware of the existence of smaller sized Gapps packages but none have the combination of apps I want.

You can go ahead and flash Gapps Pico (Google system Base, Google play services, Google play store) which contains apps that are essential for Google Play-store support. You can later install other Google apps which fit your need.
You can refer to the image below to find if there is any package that fits your need.

Click to enlarge. source:androidrootz
Alternatively, if you are not satisfied, you can install the Complete Gapps package and simply uninstall whichever apps you don't need by Root Uninstaller

Yes, I'm aware that smaller Gapps packages are available. What I wanted to know was whether this approach (pico Gapps + play store install) would lead to reduced functionality compared to flashing all Google apps. Is there a particular reason  why Google apps are flashed in the system partition?

@chaalu You can't uninstall system apps (by normal means), which is good for apps like the play store/services etc. But not apps like Google Earth (unless you don't mind) No other differences, really.

@chaalu Flashing gapps from recovery just installs the app as System-app which restricts uninstallation by clicking on uninstall in settings. As far as I know, no other difference, really.

@chaalu, the functionality wouldn't be reduced. But your question asking that particular reason is good. Consider editing your question and ask it there.

Flashing Gapps is just a process, with the same outcome. You would flash Gapps regardless of which downloaded Gapps package you want. Typical you flash your 1. ROM 2.Gapps at the same time so when have at least Play Services and Store. Most ROM's only have their apps for the OS, not Google. So from a lot of trial and error with of flashing ROM's without Gapps or the "wrong" Gapps it is a pain to recover if you are doing this as a standalone process (without a computer). The way your Gapps are configured far as the system or not is not an issue, you are rooted so you can change that how every you want.
Answer your question, Yes you can just uninstall whichever you wont or add later. You can flash over the top of your first flash and it will add the missing Gapps. So download a couple to have on hand.
There is only one reason to flash your Gapps over installing one by one from Play Store or third-party that I can think of. I just did an Android 7.01 update on custom Rom and I had to flash the Gapps with a patch for the 7.01 to work due to the early release.


text:
TWRP patching /system
I recently flashed a stock system image to take an OTA update and have only booted to TWRP since. (I didn't flash it) I did root, though.
When I was browsing /system I found that reboot-from-recovery.p was renamed to reboot-from-recovery.bak
My question is was this done by SuperSU or TWRP? and could this be the only modification?
Thanks.

It's done by TWRP.
If you're rooted, SuperSU modifies /system as well to put files there to give you root.

Is that the only change? Can I reverse it by, say, flashing "undo-perm-recovery-signed"?

Yeah you could, but the reason TWRP renames that is so that when you want to boot to recovery, you'll boot to TWRP and not stock Android recovery.

Many Thanks. But it seems like a pointless thing to happen when TWRP is not even flashed.


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Restrict Data consumtion by playStore Over WIFI
My Google Play Store application has gone haywire.It is downloading heavily without even notifying anything about what it is downloading and the rate has gone up by 2.5 times in past 2 days.I tried everything to stop it.I selected do-not auto update apps in play store settings and turned off all kinds of Sync.But it still isn't working.
Is there any way i can restrict data consumed by my google play store on WiFi?
I have a rooted device.

How's the speed of your Wi-Fi? Are the Google Play Services and Play Store running latest update? // You can consider AFWall+ in combination with Tasker so that Play Store would  connect to Wi-Fi if only it is in the foreground.

you can start clearing data cache for play store app in .. settings>apps>all apps>play store>clear data.
It would probably solve your issue if it still lingers than remove your google account from settings>accounts>google account>remove this account.
Add again the same account with your credentials.. it would solve the issue.


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How to enable lock screen widgets in HTC One M8?
Update: turns out I was simply being blind, because I'm running Android lollipop... I do have a default widget though, which I don't seem to be able to change or remove.
(Click image to enlarge)

I have recently bought a new phone, a HTC One M8, and I am trying to customize everything. One thing I am used to is lock screen widgets, but I can't seem to enable those. The option simply isn't present in the settings menu.
(Click image to enlarge)

Does anyone know how to fix this?

That interface looks to be of Lollipop. Is the device really running Kitkat?

@Firelord oh dear, I believe you are completely right ^^ That does leave me with one question though: my phone does have a lock screen clock/weather widget, can I remove or change that?

@Luca_Scorpion hi and welcome to [android.se], consider putting the edit as an answer instead to resolve this thread. Self-answering is encouraged. As for the next question on your comment, I think it's impossible, just like Google Search bar on some devices. Perhaps there's a hack/workaround, but I didn't research it.

Turns out, as commented by Firelord, that I am actually running Lollipop instead of Kitkat which means I can't add any lock screen widgets :(
Either way, thanks for the help!
Luca

On my phone I slide my lock screen to the right, and tap the plus button. If you can't find this on your phone, it probably doesn't exist. You can get apps from the app store that customise your lock screen though.


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Will the Android M developer preview get an OTA update to the stable release version?
If I install the Dev Preview 3 on my Nexus 5 right now, will I get an OTA to the stable build or will I have to flash it as well?

No, you need to flash it since Google only provides the stable release as downloadable image on Factory Images for Nexus Devices.
From Official Android Developer site,

Note: Developer Preview 3 includes final APIs and near-final system images available by both download and OTA. At the full public release of Android M later in Q3, final system images will be available by download only, so you'll need to flash manually to your test devices.


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Remove the white background on app drawer on Android 5.1
Is there a way we can remove the white background that shows up forever behind the icons on Android. I read somewhere that Android 6 Developer options may provide that. If someone figured it out on Android 5, please advise.

Are you using the stock launcher?

Related: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/98337/set-the-background-image-of-the-main-menu-in-lollipop/

This is very much possible, but you will require a custom launcher. For the sake of this, we'll use Nova Launcher.

Install Nova Launcher and set it as the default when going back to your Home screen.

Go to the "App & Widget Drawers" screen in Nova settings and scroll down to find the options shown in image. Make sure the switch for "Card background" is set to off.


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OPO Root Mac OS X- SuperSU Binary Not Installed
Wondering if anyone is able to help me. I've been trying to root my OPO, but unfortunately RootChecker keeps coming back that the root access hasn't been installed properly, and SuperSU says "There is no SU binary installed and SuperSU cannot install it. There is a problem ... You need to manually re-root...". I've been using a few guides, but have primarily been trying to root using terminal https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/like-a-boss-how-to-root-your-oneplus-one.58493/ and have also tried the One Toolkit made by Consistant at XDA.
Steps taken so far:
Unlocked bootloader (checked it is unlocked, code shown below)
(bootloader)    Device tampered: true
(bootloader)    Device unlocked: true
(bootloader)    Charger screen enabled: false
(bootloader)    Display panel:
OKAY [  0.006s]
finished. total time: 0.006s

Flashed TWRP custom recovery.
Flashed SuperSU.zip
I have also tried flashing SuperSU whilst booting TWRP through my mac (as in the guide).
Phone details:
CM 12.1-YOG4PAS1N0
Android v5.1.1
Any ideas? Thanks for your help.

This is rather odd. Few days ago when I installed 12.1 all I did to root was (my bootloader was already unlocked) boot into TWRP recovery (version was 2.8.6.0) -> flash the Beta SuperSU zip -> once successfully installed I booted into Android -> it showed Android is upgrading and that's it. Launched my SuperSU and it worked fine.

Yeah, the odd thing is that when I've booted back into Android, it spent a couple of minutes optimising the apps as you'd expect, but then it stated that the binary wasn't installed.


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Nexus 5: How to automatically toggle Live Display in Cyanogenmod 12.1 nightly at a specific time?
I have a Nexus 5 with the last CyanogenMod nightly (12.1 20150917). I have a bug with the live display. Since the auto mode doesn't switch automatically, I have installed Automate, an app that uses the Android API to do tasks.
To fix the bug, I would like to create a task to switch in the night mode at a specific time, but unfortunately, there isn't the Live Display in Automate. Is there a way to set the night mode through the terminal?

A user named r3t3ch provided the following solution on Reddit which I'm reproducing. Their answer was tested on a Moto X with CM 12.1.
To change [night/live] mode (Auto=2, Off=0, Day=4, Night=1):
adb shell settings put system display_temperature_mode 2

To change color temperature:
adb shell settings put system display_temperature_day 6500 settings put system display_temperature_night 3400

To change color calibration:
adb shell settings put system display_color_adjustment "0.8991 0.8689 1.0"

The Night mode set block should be able to toggle night mode.
There's no block for changing Live Display, but it might be possible to change the system settings for it, using the System setting set block, see the Reddit post here for the possible setting names and values.


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Can i make a shortcut on my homescreen to "unmount USB storage"?
I frequently connect a USB drive to my Sony Xperia M to listen to music. The only trouble is that i have to go through several steps to un-mount the USB when im done. I have to go to Home->Settings->storage->unmount usb.
This would be made easier if it where possible to have a homescreen icon/widget that i could tap on that would automatically unmount the usb.
Is this possible? or do i need to make my own app to do this?

Use QuickShortcutMaker or Activity Launcher to find the activity com.android.settings/com.android.settings.Settings$StorageSettingsActivity and make the shortcut. See if it works.

You can add "Storage" shortcut with standard Android tools. Long press on screen -> Add -> Widget -> Settings -> Storage.

@Alex.S Which Android version and device are you using? I did try your method before posting my first comment but Storage option under that Settings widget isn't available in my Android 4.2.1 or even 5.0.2.

@Firelord I have this option on LG G2 with 4.4.2 but it is not available on another device with 4.4.2 and 5.1. Sorry for confusion.


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App drawer doesn't allow scrolling by letter on Android M Dev Preview 3
I just flashed the newest Dev Preview of Marshmallow, but I found the App Drawer looks different than most screenshots.
Mine:

Screenshots:

Is there a setting I need to set?

You're comparing the older Dev Preview 1 to the newer Dev Preview app drawer.
From an article on AndroidPit,

App drawer has been fixed
While we commend Google on trying a new, vertical-scrolling app drawer, the alphabetical dividers on the left and negative space at the end of some sections was a bad idea. The new Android M removes these and is faster to navigate because you have more app icons on screen. It still scrolls vertically though.

The old app drawer (left) and the new Android M developer preview 2 app drawer (right). / © ANDROIDPIT

AFAIK, there's no official way to revert back to the older version, unless you are OK with flashing Dev Preview 1 (and stuck with it).
Alternatively (though I haven't tried it, so do it at your own risk), based on another article on AndroidPit, try to replace Google App with older version, specifically the Android M Preview 1.

Install the new APK app for Android Marshmallow
Once you've installed Google Now Launcher (OP: already installed by default on Nexus), you need to download the Google App APK file. To do this:

Make sure your device is set to accept downloads from unknown sources. To enable this, go to Settings > Security then tick the Unknown sources box.
Next, download the Google App APK file to your device, which you can get directly by clicking here. Open the APK once you've downloaded it, then follow the instructions to install Google App.

Note: you probably need to uninstall Google App's update first. Also, by installing from unknown source, Google App can't receive automatic update from Play Store anymore.

That's a good answer, thank you! I didn't know you could scroll by letter in the new one, that's what I need!


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Boot animations support in LG-G2 CM12.1
I am running Cyanogenmod 12.1 in LG G2. I would like to change the boot animation.
Does the system support this feature?

If you change Theme (Settings > Theme), you can select boot animation as one of the attributes from that theme to update.
I use the boot animation from one theme and other attributes (icons, fonts, colors) from others.
In Play Store, you can usually see a small preview of the boot animation in the screenshot section. Search for "12.1 theme".


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How do you input Cantonese characters in Android?
I am able to use handwriting to input Chinese characters.
However, I would like to input Cantonese characters
(which are slightly different from Chinese characters).
How do I do this?

Use Cantonese Input. Install the keyboard and add it as an input method. You can then use any of the following to input characters:

Pinyin (Yale, Jyutping and Cantonese Pinyin standards)
Cangjie
Handwriting
Voice
Stroke

You can first try the solution provided by Huey. Alternatively you can also try these,

Install Google Handwriting Input and enable it.
Select the Cantonese language under the Configure languages option.
Now select Download languages (Download size around 12MB)
Now choose Select Google Handwriting Input and select the Cantonese keyboard.

Now you will be able to use the Cantonese Handwriting input and write in Cantonese.


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How to Flash Android 5.1 in Moto E XT1022
I've update my Motorola Moto E with Android 5.0.2 in Soak Test. Here's my S/W version. . Somehow I was unable to got Android 5.1 update. thus I've decided to install it manually.
I've found Moto E 5.1 Stock ROM Here! But, my problem is how to follow these steps mentioned in website.  I mean what is Custom Recovery (TWRP), what is Factory Reset (System, Data, Cache, Dalvik)* and How to Flash ROM?. How to do this?.Thanks in advanced for any kind of suggestions, help or tutorial link etc...

Please refer to XDA for such tutorials. They are dime-a-dozen.

Thanks @TamoghnaChowdhury. but, can you please provide me a perfect link. I'm confused b/w lots of tutorials.

A custom recovery is a replacement recovery software for your device. It basically has a backup feature and a system for installing unsigned updates (flashable zips).
Factory reset is a wipe of your user data and cache partitions. It does not affect other partitions, and can be done via stock recovery.
Flashing a ROM can be done in two ways: fastboot or some flash tool for stock ROMs, and for custom ones, by flashing a ROM zip through a custom recovery. For the installation of a custom ROM, not one of its updates, these partitions should be wiped: system, data, cache (app data cache), and dalvik cache (app code cache). Further information depends on the particular variant of the device you are on.


text:
Overwrite /system/bin/su using adb
Can't overwrite su file in /system/bin/ my stupid classmate put a prank on me and inserted a different su binary coming from his linux pc instead of the already existing su in /system/xbin/
I want to overwrite it myself since even him can't do it
here's the adb shell su return:

/system/bin/su: not executable: magic 7F45

Is there a way to replace this one with the already existing su in /system/xbin/? I've been trying to chmod the su overwritten su file for 3 months now.. I can't even chown cause IDK what are the users and IDK how to list all of them. Help. Thanks in advance.
P.S.
-can't load custom rom since I'm still on the way of rooting phone
-can't load stock rom for I'm using a very rare tablet (Arc Mobile 727M) can't find a good alternative for stock rom

What is the device? Maybe you can get around it if you can flash a stock ROM

Arc Mobile 727M (one with the TV, and Dual Sim)

Has it a custom recovery installed? If so, have you tried from there?

like I said I can't since I'm still on my way of rooting it... I asked my classmate to install the custom recovery but instead put a prank on me -_-
also a custom recovery won't actually replace the overwritten su without a custom rom or stock rom

Can't you specifically run adb ./system/xbin/su?That should work.

yeah I can but some apps can't detect it as a working su since it refers to the overwritten su which can't be run in arm

Andrew, if su binary in xbin is proper, then run,
adb shell
/system/xbin/su -c mv /system/bin/su /system/bin/su-dead

then reboot and open terminal emulator and run su.
Did this device come pre-rooted? If not then what prevents you
from repeating the process you used to root?

no it's not pre-rooted, thanks btw rooted my phone already...


text:
Wanted: A shell script to automate upgrades
I have a rooted Nexus 5, but this question would apply, I think, to any rooted device running Android 5.x and higher. Note also this is a question about a script to run on a osx/linux to manipulate the phone, not a script to run on the phone itself.
Rooted devices can't be upgraded using the OTA method, because that checks to see whether there is a stock recovery and won't install if there isn't one. So very time Android is upgraded, it's necessary for the owners of rooted devices to find and download the new factory image, flash it (which will destroy the custom recovery) and then reflash a custom recovery and finally reflash the superuser tool of choice.
Now that Google has committed to monthly security upgrades I'd like to automate this process. This needs a shell script or similar on OSX.
The middle part is easily done by tweaking a copy of the flash-all.sh script that comes with all factory images: something like
fastboot flash bootloader bootloader-hammerhead-hhz12h.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
sleep 5
fastboot flash radio radio-hammerhead-m8974a-2.0.50.2.26.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
sleep 5
fastboot update image-hammerhead-lmy48m.zip
# -w flag removed from line above so that itjust upgrades and does not wipe all the apps. data and so on
# now flash the recovery
fastboot reboot-bootloader
sleep 5
fastboot flash recovery twrp-2.8.6.0-hammerhead.img

(obviously I can and should replace the particular file names with variables to suit)
I'd like to improve this script by adding a line or two at the beginning to download the most recent factory image from the Google site -- and that is what I don't know how to do. There must be some variant of curl or wget which will do this. But is there a way to choose the most recent available file from a particular site, download and then unzip and untar it automatically?

Out of curiosity: why are you rebooting the device at all after flashing a partition?

That's what the original script does, so when I added the lines to flash the recovery I thought it was the safe thing to do. To be consistent I should add one more line to reboot into the new recovery so that I can flash superSU from there.


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Google contacts party deleted, how to restore?
My phone has since this morning forgotten about a part of my contacts: it only displays some of them in my contact list, or only displays their email address and not their phone number. I don't know what triggered this and there doesn't seem to be a logic behind it: I see and don't see contacts related to different accounts.
Now luckily my WhatAapp conversations with many of the deleted people are still there, so I can re-add them to my contact list manually, but this of course doesn't work for people that I have not talked to on WhatsApp recently.
The thing is, in my phone, contact sync with my main Google account is turned off (has to do with my limited data plan). This means that I sometimes sync manually, but I had some contacts in my phone that weren't synced with Google and part of them are now gone. Is there any way to restore these?
Also, which of the following will syncing my Google contacts do?

Overwrite the contacts in my phone
Add to my phone the contacts that are in my Google account without deleting any contacts in my phone that are not in my Google account
Delete all contacts that are just stored on my phone and not in my Google account?

Any other suggestions are also appreciated, but please be very clear because I'm new to this.

If you sync your google contacts it will add the contacts present in your google account to your phone, without deleting or modifying the other contacts (option b).
The reason might be that, you accidentally deleted all the contacts in your phone and restored the partially synced contacts from your google account.
How to restore? - I think you already restored the available contacts using your google account. You can't restore beyond those contacts, unless you had the other backup source (like you can backup your contacts using inbuilt option for contacts backup)


text:
Automating adb commands
is there a way to run adb shell commands via windows?
I would like to run a batch script such as this
adb shell
mount -o rw,remount /system
exit

Currently when i run the batch script it only runs the first command adb shell

Wrong syntax :)
adb shell "mount -o rw,remount /system"

would do in your case (i.e. passing the command you want to run on the device to adb shell in double-quotes; the "exit" is not needed here as it is "implied"), provided your device's ADB daemon runs in root mode. You can even run multiple commands at once this way, e.g.:
adb shell "mount -o rw,remount /system && echo 127.0.0.1 foobar.com > /system/etc/hosts && mount -o ro,remount /system"

Commands connected with && here, meaning: only execute the next command if the previous one succeeded. If you don't want that dependency, use ; instead to connect them.
For how to use a multi-line command (so called "HEREDOC") with Windows (or any other OS), SuperUser is the better place to ask (in case the Wikipedia entry is not sufficient ;)

Thanks. Do you have anything better than this? Concatenating three commands is not my idea of scripting commands over adb. I would be interested in something like the OP describes - a text file with commands to be run over adb.

@jww then create a script and run each command separately (with the script stored at your PC), or run the script itself on your device.


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Internal SD card accessible through PC even after encryption
I recently bought a OnePlus Two. The first thing I did after getting the new phone was a full encryption under security settings.
But even after that, the files in my internal SD card, such as  WhatsApp media files, images and more are accessible via a PC.
How to prevent this? Am I missing something?

[tag:internal-storage] is a broad thing. I believe you meant [tag:internal-sd] card.

Yes. That is what i meant. Thanks for the correction.

You can't prevent that. It is because your device is mounted to the computer via MTP. It's supposed to be visible. However, whenever you boot up, a password will be required to decrypt your device before any data can be accessed, so you need not worry. Also, MTP connections won't display any data if the device is locked. This is a security measure. In Lollipop, not even a factory reset can remove your lock.

do you mean to say the the data is already encrypted and MTP is decrypting it on the fly and so i am able to view it on my PC..?In that case setting the default USB mode to charging will cater to my concern, I believe. One cannot ensure that the phone is switched off while its being stolen.

Very close, varun: it's not MTP doing the decryption, but Android itself (otherwise your apps couldn't read their data either, or even start). As Tamoghna already pointed out, to access your data via MTP requires the device to be unlocked first (i.e. a "unauthorized person" had to bypass your lockscreen in the first place); so changing the default USB mode doesn't matter here anyhow: having unlocked the screen, that person could also change the USB mode again. Just take care to "secure" your lockscreen (PIN/pattern/password).

A curiosity. What would happen if I dirty flash my ROM with a custom one now. The data on the internal SD card would not be accessible, I suppose.

No, the new system will recognize the partition as encrypted and ask you for the password to decrypt it on bootup.

okey....great..that clears all my doubts..:-)

@TamoghnaChowdhury which password do you refer to? Since the unlock can be done with different methods I guess the password doesn't correspond to the PIN code. So, how do one manages to mount the encrypted partition on another device? (being it an Android phone or any other linux machine with SD-card reader) Who generates the encrypting password?

@Kamafeather, you're correct on the first part. Only the Android device will ask you for the correct password/PIN/pattern (this information is retained); other devices will think the SD card is corrupted or unreadable. You can mount the card via your Android device with MTP, though. There might be software which can decrypt the SD card offline, I wouldn't know.

That was my worry: totally loose access to the SD if the device (acts as unique dongle) breaks. It invalidate the SD feature of being a removable/portable disk. At this point I wonder if the /data/misc/vold file would be created even with a non-adopted encrypted storage; then one could root temporary the phone just to copy it and back it up for (maybe) mounting the SD to other devices .

My 2 cents: the moment you encrypt some storage via the default mechanism, you adopt it. Makes sense that the data becomes invalid otherwise (true of any device using hardware security for encryption, like TPM for BitLocker on Windows). They might have changed this in the meantime from Lollipop to Nougat - none of my devices accept SD cards so I can't check.


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How can I share a post from Facebook on Android with other apps?
Facebook for Android doesn't seem to have any ability to provide a permalink for a post, or a share possibility for other apps. It only allows to send via Facebook Messenger, which obviously is useless. Also Facebook's save feature is useless if I want to use for example Pocket.
Did I miss something? Is there any hack? Alternative application?

Have you tried sending it to yourself via messenger? since the facebook can actually make you send yourself a msg... try doing that, that might be the answer.
P.S. I can't comment cause I still don't have 50 reps.. hate that kind of thing here...


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Phone "last seen" on WhatsApp after it was lost - how is that possible?
I recently lost my cell phone. The following has happened:

At 6 PM I used it for the last time. I sent a WhatsApp message, and I asume I left WhatsApp open.
At 8 PM I realized the phone was gone.
Strangely enough, at 9 PM I was "last seen" on WhatsApp, according to multiple friends I have as contacts.

How can this bee, when my phone is protected with a six digit pin code? I see two possibilities:

Someone has stolen or found my phone. But how could they get past the pin code? Is it possible to bypass for someone in the business of stealing cell phones?
WhatsApp has for some reason registered me as online even though the phone has been in sleep mode (or whatever you call it when the screen is black but the phone is not turned on).

Which of these two is the more plausible? Is there a third possibility?

Have you considered the possibility someone you know (and who could possibly know your passcode) is in possession of the phone? Are WhatsApp notifications visible on the lockscreen?

@Huey Thanks for the reply. Nobody except from me knows the passcode. The notifications are visible on the lock screen, or at least I think so. See my anser for more details.

I found my phone again - I had just misplaced it. I can be very sure that no one touched it while it was lost. I therefore conclude that WhatsApp can indeed register you as "last seen" even though the phone is just in sleep mode.


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Android Factory Reset: My phone shows weird options when I enter recovery mode, and no button selects anything
I checked different tutorials to factory-reset my phone, and this one applies to my phone's model. I had once factory reset this phone successfully, but I have forgotten what had worked for me..

I powered my phone off.
I pressed Volume-Up + Volume-Down + Power buttons together, and the screen showed me two options: Recovery Mode and Factory Mode.

First I tried to enter the Factory Mode by pressing the Volume-Down button, that showed me these options:

At this point the Volume-Up and Volume-Down were navigating between the options and the power button was doing nothing. Their combinations also did not work.

So I pulled the phone's battery out, and did the entire thing again, but this time, I entered the Recovery Mode. But to my surprise I was given the following:

Select Boot Mode:
[VOLUME_UP to select. VOLUME_DOWN is OK.]

[Recovery    Mode]
[Fastboot    Mode]    <<==
[Normal      Mode]

BUT at this point none among the volume buttons or the power button are doing anything.
What should I do?

What is your device? Is it a Mediatek, by any chance?

@TamoghnaChowdhury Nope. It is QMobile Noir A50.

If you want to factory reset your phone, just go to Settings->Backup and Reset->Factory Reset. You will be asked to confirm. Now, your phone will reboot and wipe data (do a factory reset).
I will assume that your volume buttons work correctly otherwise. If this is a repeated issue, it might be a faulty bootloader in this regard. If you have to reboot to recovery, you can use adb reboot recovery from the terminal with your phone connected in USB debugging mode to your computer. It should succeed, unless you have a corrupted recovery. In that case, you should take your device to a service center.

Hope it's not too late...
You should try another button instead of power button.
The power button doesn't work on my phone either, but in my phone, it makes me press "Home" to make a choice.


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Getting rid of the Google Search bar in home screen? (stock Android 5.1.1)
I've got a Nexus 5, freshly factory reset, with stock Android 5.1.1. When searching around how to disable the Google Search bar on the Home screen, all solutions I find recommend to go Settings→Apps→All, find the 'Google Search' app and disable that. But in my App list, there is no 'Google Search'!
Yet the Google bar is most definitely on my home screen. How do I get rid of it?

How to remove the Google Now search bar from Nexus 5

I would suggest checking out action launcher 3 as a replacement to stock google now launcher, it has this option and you can keep your swipe right to get google now.

Link for the app?

You can use any custom launcher app like Nova, Apex or ADW. They will have an option to disable the Google search bar. I suggest Nova.

Lightning Launcher is also a good alternative, very fast and customisable. If you are looking for something closer to stock, try Nova Launcher.

Google Search needs to be disabled. It will not be in the first column where ordinary programs are listed. Scroll the screen sideways to the "All" column (past the "Running column) and you will find Google Search or just Search hiding somewhere. Remember what you are disabling so that you can restore it if it was the wrong app. After stopping a small disabled widget might still be there. You may need to restart the device to see it gone.


text:
Why won't Android switch between wi-fi and 3G seamlessly?
I don't even know whether this is a good question. But it's annoying me and I don't get why it works so badly for me, and it's annoying me that I don't get it.
Point is, when switching from one mobile cell to another, you don't notice, right? The internet connection just continues. There's no noticeable interruption. Even if the cells use a different technology, like HSPA, GPRS and whatever there is. But when switching to wi-fi or back, there's a dropout. A loading web page will say that there is no connection available and stop trying to load. An online game will kick you out immediately, probably discards your progress and asks if you want to reload the game (like Clash of Clans).
When switching between connection types, there's a hard drop. Being able to freely use hundreds of wi-fi access points during a trip is completely useless! While I think the whole purpose of public wi-fi access points is a strong and reliable internet connection, the result is exactly the opposite! (unless you stay in one spot with strong connection to one of them of course).
I asked myself why this was the way it worked when I had my first smartphone, with Android 2.3. I'm using my fifth now, with 5.1.1, and the problem is still exactly the same. How is this possible? Doesn't anyone care? Isn't there some internet connection layer in Android that applications communicate with, regardless of connection type? Or why is there no option to use mobile and wi-fi connections simultaneously? I would be okay with it if switching network type would cause a small delay, but instead it's just immediately dropping dead, destroying partially loaded stuff.
I can think of several solutions, none of which anyone seems to have worked on. Maybe the apps shouldn't be programmed to whine that much about connectivity. But still, if the connection you're using (either cell or wi-fi) just doesn't have any throughput for a second, that's no problem at all. Unless it switches to another type! Even though that might be done in a second as well. How do apps even know the difference? IMO, they really shouldn't. Or is it the case that Android always turns off mobile data as soon as it starts connecting with wi-fi, even though the connection isn't established yet? That would be extremely stupid.
Meanwhile, my 'workaround' is a terrible one: just switch off wi-fi while I'm moving. But obviously I forget that pretty often, or forget to turn it back on when I'm home.
Can anyone shed some light on the matter for me?

Are you looking for a recommendation for an wifi-turnoff app? Would an automation tool like Tasker or Llama do, which can check for proximity, can perform timed actions, etc?

No android update will sove a problem that is a) not a problem and b) not related to android.

TL;DR: When you switch internet connections you get another IP address, the online services have to drop and re-authenticate because it is the only way to know who you are from a new IP. It has nothing to do with Android.

It has nothing to do with Android, and everything to do with how TCP connections and IP addresses work.
When you switch cell towers, the cell provider servers re-route your cellular communications (including your internet traffic) to the next tower, but the provider servers KNOW you are you (from the IMEI of your phone and your SIM card), and the fact you switched cell towers is not transparent to the internet. You remain with the same IP address (most of the time), and all your connections are kept alive.
This same effect can be achieved with your home wi-fi, if you have a repeater in distinct rooms and just move around. The DHCP of your home router will remember your machine (from the wi-fi MAC address), and just redirect your traffic to the other repeater.
When you switch from 3G to WIFI, you are getting your traffic to another network device, another network entirely. Your IP address changes. The services you were connected to have no chance to tell you are you. And it is a good thing otherwise anyone on the net could impersonate you on facebook (or any other online service for the matter). "Whining about connectivity" is actually caring for your security and online identity.
So you have a hard drop. The apps have to re-authenticate themselves, to show that it is still you, and not another person.
The same issue would happen if you were traveling with a PC laptop and jumping from hotspot to hotspot.

With REST you're not having that problem. There's still a small pause tho.

@ott-- but the specific APP must implement REST. Not the case for the vast majority of apps as of this writing.

Not every app can implement REST. But for the rest (sic) they have missed the bus.

Thanks! That explains it. So apps will never be able to /keep/ the connection, because you can't have the same connection over multiple networks. They could, however, make a new connection in the background and for the user make it look like everything keeps flowing, but that's more complicated or restrictive to build.

@MarijnvdZaag there are some techniques to "keep" (mind the quotes) the connection alive when switching networks, but that means using some tricks to recognize server/client even when IP changes. Read about REST, that ott-- mentioned above. But as a rule of thumb, switching IP (or gateways) means re-connectiong all the services. Some are just more seamless than others

I agree and disagree.
I have a voip app. On iPhone the handover is fast enough that you can continue a call. On android the call is dropped while the app reconnects.
The aggressive wifi to mobile handover option has no effect. Reading on the option it would seem to merely drop the wifi in favour of mobile data at a higher rss.

Enable and open Developer Options and toggle the option that says "Wi-Fi and Network Always On" or "Aggressive Wi-Fi to Cellular Handover" for faster switching.


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SIM card not detecting after android 5.1 update moto g 1st gen
I updated  my 1st Gen moto g today but after that the phone is not detecting  the SIM card. I have  tried with other cards too but it won't work.
EDIT: Its system default update for lollipop 5.1

Was this an official update or a custom rom you flashed yourself? If it's an official build,  then the manufacturers would soon come up with a fix.  If you flashed a custom rom yourself maybe you should check the blog where from you downloaded the rom to see if other users too have the same problem.  In the meanwhile you may try a factory reset.

For a temporary fix I am now using the second sim slot since the phone has dual sim support.


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Create new image file of 750 x 380 px on Android phone
I need to create a blank 750 x 380px image on my android phone - then paste some images and text onto the blank image. Simple as this sounds - spent over 72 hours searching the Web with no way to this. Pixlr and all other mobile image editing apps can only edit existing images - but won't allow you create new ones with fixed canvas size. Suffice it to say I haven't got access to a computer now and must do this on my Samsung android mobile. Help guys - I'm about to really really freak out.

First- don't freak out. That would be silly.
Second- we are all using Android devices, which means that Google Search is built in and pretty simple to use.
See the answer below.

Don't freak out. That would be silly.
I just tried (for your question) an app named PhotoSuite 4 Free. I was able to start a new project, specify its pixel dimensions and add a text layer. Seems to be what you're looking for.
(Click image to enlarge)