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Phone turns off at random
I have a note 1 N7000, and each time the screen began flickering and after that it shut down. This got worse after flashing a cyanogenmod rom. By plugging in the charger the battery seemed empty, but wasn't. After a while the battery indicator used to show charged 70 % or more. Put the charger cable off and the situation repeated after a short time of usage.
Last night it started turning off at boot and wouldn't turn on unless on charge. I flashed a original JB rom since the problem doesn't happen when on recovery/download mode. but now it does it even when connected on charge.
How can I fix this?

It sounds like a hardware fault if it happens on different firmwares to be honest. Can you try a new battery? You'll probably need to go to a service centre with the device. Have you calibrated the battery at all?

Fixed the problem with a new battery! :)

Brilliant, that's an easy fix at least! :) Glad to hear it.


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Why hasn't my Galaxy S3 received the 4.3 update?
The title explains it all. I have an year old Galaxy S3 which runs Android 4.1.1 (stock ROM). Yesterday, my friend received the 4.3 update however, I haven't. Samsung Kies says that the latest firmware is already installed.
Why is it so ?
Is this because the phone was purchased in a country different from where I reside currently ?
Also, how do I update to 4.3 if it is a country issue?

Actually, I believe Samsung has suspended the 4.3 update for now.  Have a look here.

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

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

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

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

It should be noted that this is for Mac..

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

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


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Does the Samsung Galaxy S2 support DC-HSDPA
I have a Samsung Galaxy S2 running Cyanogenmod 10.1.3 which equates to Android 4.2.2.
I would like to know if my phone will support DC-HSDPA or not? Will it just work?
Is there anything I would need to do in order for it to support DC-HSDPA like upgrade the RIL or is it just not capable at the hardware level?

I don't think it would be a problem.

After some testing over the weekend with a service provider who provides DC-HSDPA I can confirm that the Samsung Galaxy S2 does not support the protocol.

I have a Samsung Galaxy S2 and using the Dutch T-Mobile NL network. When I open the app "Network Signal Info" it shows (DC)HSPA+ and the networksymbol shows H+, so it looks like that this phone supports dual channel HSPA+.

They say on the site that it does not support 4G or the faster DC-HSDPA. Having an S2 myself, it would be great if we get a hack for it with the the cfw. Just gotta have hope.

Sorry, but what is cfw?

What site? Can you provide a link?


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Beaglebone Black doesn't obtain 169.254.xxx.xxx IP
If i connect my Beaglebone Black, which runs on Angstrom, to my computer via ethernet cable, It obtains an IP address, which starts with 169.254.xxx.xxx, for communication purposes. And I can communicate with it using TCP protocols. I can see that IP address when I use "ifconfig" command in terminal. But If it runs on Android, it doesn't obtain an IP address. Since there isn't "ifconfig" command in Android terminal, I'm using "netcfg" to see IP information and it shows that Beaglebone doesn't have an IP address. I need to somehow "force" my Beaglebone Black to obtain an IP address (like 169.254.xxx.xxx). How can I fix that?

I found the solution. I can give a static IP to my Beaglebone via shell scripts (or adb):
ifconfig eth0 up 169.254.13.13


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How to multi select emails in browser or Gmail app?
I want to do something like below given question in Android, is it possible to do in browser or Gmail or any other email app?
Is there any way to easily select multiple messages in Gmail?

All I can find in Android is clicking the big letter/image beside each mail. It would be very useful to get rid of groups though. The browser is basically the same (tried chrome, dolphin and firefox). Maybe someone can find a better way though.

Just to check: are you specifically asking about selecting a range of messages more quickly than by clicking the checkbox on each, one at a time?

Yes, currently if I want to select 20 emails, I need to tap 20 times. On Desktop chrome, I will use shift key to do in a fraction of second. I want to similar in Android.

Within the gMail app you can select multiple messages by using the big capital letters in front of a message.

This is definitely the best way, +1 for enlightening us.

Suppose I have 50 emails in my inbox and I want to select 10th email to 40th email, I need to tap for 30 times. If I am on PC. I would first select 10th email then pressed Shift then select 40th email so all 30 emails would get selected. How can I do the same in Android?

As far as I know it's not possible within the gmail app for android.

In the Gmail app press and hold until the email is highlighted (a tick will show where the contacts initial or photo previuosly was shown). You can then select other emails as well using the same method. The top menu bar has actions you can perform for the selected emails.
Pressing the back button undoes the selections.
This is for Version 4.7.2 but has been around for a while (since when I don't know).

I know this solution, what if I want to select 20-30 emails, I have to tap 20-30 times, which is annoying. I want more better solution like we do in Desktop chrome with use of shift key.

@Xyroid - Check Delblanco's answer. It works exactly like a check box in a web app.


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Handeling android emulator via command line
I installed default android emualator in windows xp . Is there a way to launch android browser with a specific url open on it  with help of command line .
Basically I use emulator for testing my website . so if there exist a command for launching emulator from command line  (with browser and url open on it) then i ll create a script which ll take url as argument and launch the emulator for me .
We can do the same with mac (apple xcode emulator) hopefully there is a way for android too.
Thanks in advance

Yes, you can open a browser from the command-line using adb.
Here is an example from SO:
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/3512198/need-command-line-to-start-web-browser-using-adb


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Cant connect S3 with CM 10.2 to adb
I cant get to use adb with my S3 in Windows 7. I am using CM 10.2, when I run adb devices nothing is shown. I also tired adb kill-server and adb start-server
I tried in Ubuntu and worked perfectly. I would use Ubuntu if I could but the windows pc is the one at the office.
What do I need to do for it to work?

You're almost certainly missing the right USB drivers on your Windows machine (not an issue with Ubuntu). See USB drivers for using ADB with Samsung Galaxy S on CyanogenMod.

Finally the issue was missing drivers, the solution was to use the ones that come with the sdk but using another winusb file.
Here you can find the file that did the trick. https://github.com/gu1dry/android_winusb
Just replace the file with the one downloaded and install drivers as described in the android doc.


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Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1 sch-i905 stuck at the load screen
I have a Galaxy Tab 10.1, Model SCH-i905/U from us cellular (image1).
In order to root it, and after an internet search I flashed the device, corrupting files left and right. That's when it can't even start up anymore. It is stuck at the load screen Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1 (image2).
 [4
Click images for larger variants if needed :)
I have tried about every method on different forums and I am unable to find the factory firmware for this specific model or get it back to stock.
I can get to downloading mode and use Odin. The only file that this software show “PASS” on green is PDA_SIGNED_P7105.tar.md5. Before, it was just stuck at the boot screen with yellow triangle.
I followed the method with PDA_HC31_EG01Ba_AP352081user_CP1033580_LTE20110704_0708.tar but that was failed. Then it won't boot up and stays in infinite boot-looping on "Samsung" logo. I can't get to  fast-boot. recovery give me error message in image below:

photos (click images for larger variants)
Update: I've already checked with Where can I find stock or custom ROMs for my Android device? Unfortunately, I still couldn't find a fitting ROM. All hints are welcome!

First place you might wish to look is Where can I find stock or custom ROMs for my Android device?

We are not an email service, youssef, but a site collecting knowledge. I gave you the link where you can find the original firmware. Have you checked that?

At first, Thank you Mr. Izzy for your assistance and feedback, I am sorry if I violate rules by posting E-mail. It’s first time that I am posting in forums.Secondly, I’ve followed the links you gave me and looked over the web looking for info related to this U.S. Cellular device; I can't find any specifics things. Thanks if you can be more helpful, and point me in the proper direction, it would be most appreciated.

Sorry if no matching source was found behind that link. Of course, we cannot claim to have a complete listing (as that's impossible). I'll update your question to reflect the fact (you know, you always can [edit] it); with some luck, there will be someone else to help you out. I'm from Europe, so I'm not that familiar with US services. // To get most out of our site, you might wish to browse our [help] – won't take much more than 10 minutes to get the basics there. Good luck further!

OK, thanks again.if I'm lucky there will be someone!!


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Waking up with Galaxy Gear
I bought GG partly to wake up in the morning (Like with a Fitbit), but so far I have either woken others or I have not woken up.
IS there a good hybrid solutions, like some "Phoene only apps".
I would like an increasing "disturbance", like first only wibrating gear.  Later attamps should start with the same, but move to more effects, from both Gear and Phone.
Also important is that one of the devices go off if the other is out of battery (or in a mode where it doesn't do anything)

What's your actual question?

Is it just me or does this feel like a feature request?

A solution perhaps?  (Sometimes on these exchanges it is illegal to ask certain questions)


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How can I read the chat logs from WhatsApp messenger on my Windows machine?
How can I copy over the whatsApp chat messages to a text editor? Are there any specific files I need to copy? I don't care for the media files, I just need the transcript of chat.
I am using the Motorola G phone.
I have noticed the files are stored using some encryption on the phone. I am able to copy the files from the phones internal memory to my Windows 7 computer.
The files look something like this msgstore-2014-01-08.1.db.crypt
Opening the file in a text editor gives out a bunch of unprintable characters. Since this is encrypted data, I expected that to happen. So how can I decrypt this text file on my windows computer?
Iï#®ÿùuÆÍ\ ¥Ÿ-5r
ƒX«¿œ‰ùjÏ½Ä!Ði°‘Ú¹^¬

The simplest method is to use the EMAIL CONVERSATION option from within a conversation.
Tap the overflow menu (3 dots), the MORE > EMAIL CONVERSATION.
That brings up a popup allowing you to either attach media files or send the chat without the media files.
There's also Whatsapp Toolbox which has similar functionality but requires ROOT access.

The email conversation has worked for me.


text:
Is there a contact book that allows partial access for apps?
In my phone book, I have both personal contacts and work-related contacts, like clients, contractors, etc.
Applications such as 'WhatsApp' are great and easy, but I do not necessarily want to add all contacts to all apps that use the contact book.
Is there either an alternative contact book that allows only certain people (groups?) to be shared with an app while keeping others out, or a privacy setting in the default contact book that allows certain contacts not to be seen by every app?

Do you have root access on your device? What Android version is it running?

Yes I have root access. At the moment Stock, 4.2.2. I'm willing to upgrade/change to another stock (i.e. Cyanogenmod) if that makes things easier.

Even with a rooted phone with Xposed installer running XPrivacy, you still can only limit the access to a yes or a no. Unfortunately, you cannot specify the exact label that the app can read from. (I just tried it with xprivacy)

That's what I had in mind. Other alternatives include LBE or, at least with Android 4.3, maybe AppOps. But all with the same effect: either the app in question can access the contacts, or not. No way to let it have access to "selected contacts", at least I've never heard of such a solution.

@Zlatty , thanks for trying this out. Maybe install a separate Contact app, and run default contacts and "private contacts" in those two. Whatsapp etc will only check one, not reading the other one. On the other hand, this would be an awesome development idea for a new contacts app!

@wolfgang - give it a try and post back!

Wolfgang, is information provided by @piquer useful? Could you please check? Thanks.

The pro version of XPrivacy can do just that. I use it to allow WhatsApp selective access to contact book entries only if I know that the person in question is already registered with WhatsApp.
Blocking contacts by default:

Allowing partial access:

You have to enable/disable contacts one by one in Xprivacy. It would be nice to disable groups.

Unfortunately don't have paid version of XPrivacy right now to check the desired functionality. I see that thread is almost 2 years old. @Wolfgang Haak, could you please check this and verify? Thanks

Use the app in Dual Messenger mode (dual account/secure mode) and turn on the option "Use separate contacts list".

Just a note that Dual Messenger is a Samsung's specific feature. Other manufacturers may have a different name (e.g. Xiaomi's "Dual Apps") and different settings.

I found OpenContacts that allows you to manage a second contact book that will be isolated, so no contacts will be uploaded.
Yes, there is no way to setup partial access, however you can open chats from OpenContacts, directly. It's a good solution if you have business contacts that you use only for calling, SMS and email.

As of 2023 the only vendor-agnostic solution I could find, was to use work profiles. Apps like Shelter help with setting this up.

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


text:
Can I reinstall or upgrade Android?
At the moment I have a rooted Samsung GT-S5570. After I rooted it, I noticed that it started to be slower than it used to be.
I have had this phone for over two years. I update my computer's operating system once a year. I am thinking of doing something similar with my smartphone.
At the moment I am running Android 2.2.1. I think that an upgrade would not be ideal due to old hardware. What is the best option? To reinstall Android 2.2.1 or upgrade to a newer version?
In either case, how do I do it?

If you just want to "refresh" it, you could try a factory-reset, which will essentially revert it to a "blank state" (i.e. remove all user-data and user installed apps), so you can start over with a fresh system. You should however create a good backup beforehand – which is not an easy task with Android prior to ICS (pre-4.0). On the other had, this can be done without any "modifications" (such as rooting or the like).
If you consider updating your device, take a closer look at custom roms like CyanogenMod. There might be other ROMs available which are tuned specifically for your device, and thus giving better performance even with a newer version of Android. This installation process however is a bit more "technical", and in most cases requires rooting the device and installing a custom recovery.

Thank you very much for your answer. I really like CyangenMod. I am just gathering information on how to do it!

Check out their website. They often have pretty detailed instructions, specific to the device (if officially supported). If your device is not officially supported, check at XDA, they often have "inofficial ports" (which is where I've got mine), including instructions and community-support (forum).

If you have a custom recovery such as ClockWorkMod Recovery or Team Win Recovery Project, you can first make a nandroid backup (which saves all of your current data to your SD card). Then you could complete a factory reset (either from Android itself or from your custom recovery). Finally, get an app like Titanium Backup or Nandroid Manager to retrieve your old apps and data.
As for installing a custom ROM, you may want to check out your device specific forum at XDA Developers. Note that custom ROMs may not be as stable as the one you currently have. They could be unstable or even brick your phone. Flash with caution.
Also, since you have root, have you tried deleting the bloatware that comes with the phone (if there is any)? An app like Titanium Backup should do the trick. Your phone should feel faster after that is done.

Thank you very much for your answer. What exactly is a bloatware? Can Titanium Backup back up my contact phone list?

Bloatware is what "bloats" your device: all those apps the manufacturer/carrier/distributor added, and the user cannot remove. For details, please visit our bloatware tag-wiki :) // And yes, there's almost nothing TiBu can not back up. It's the most complete backup solution, and full of additional features. First thing to put on a rooted device!


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i have lost my images by deleting them but now i want them back
last day my pictures were deleted by mistake i have tried to acquire them back by simply logging into samsung account . How can i get my pictures back by using my samsung account ?

This is a quite frequent question here. Please see: How can I recover a deleted file on Android? / Data Recovery - How to Restore Deleted / Formatted Files on HD Micro SD Card / Restore deleted photos / our data-recovery tag-wiki.

What has your Samsung account got to do with it? Do you have your phone set to back up photos to Samsung servers?

I've done this before and this is how I got them back:
First things first:  STOP using your phone as much as possible, specifically you don't want to do anything that may overwrite the area where your pictures are.  When you "delete" something, the memory where it is stored is marked as free to be overwritten by other data.  Until this happens you can recover them because they are still there, just waiting to be overwritten by other data.
Here is what I did:

I did a search and found some free file recovery software for my laptop.  I'm not sure what program I used, but there are plenty that can be found for free if you look.  Maybe someone else has some advice on this part?  In fact, many of these programs can be run off a USB stick and may not even need to be installed.  Just search around.
Using your phones USB cable, plug it in to your/a PC where your deleted file recovery software is installed. Mount the SD card, assuming that is where your photos were stored.  If not then just make sure you have access to your phones internal storage from your PC.
Point your file recovery software to your phone/sd card and start it running.  It should find all your pics, and probably a bunch of other stuff.

This type of software usually allows you to pick the location you want it to check as well as a time frame so you can search files deleted in the last 24 hours, last week, or last month etc.  Depending on the software you download there could be other options such as file types to look for.
If you are a Mac user I'm fairly certain this would work the same way, although I've never tried it with my Mac.
Good Luck!  This saved my kids Christmas pictures and about 1200 other ones last year when I accidentally deleted them, so I hope you have a similar experience.


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Samsung - Change password / log-in method with NFC
I had some NFC tags with my Xperia Sola. It could change settings if I touched the tags with the phone, and it was pretty useful.
Can one use this "technology" with modern Samsung phones?
Both removing/setting the password (with two tags), or just unlocking the screen (one tag) would be awesome.
The first would be better, of course. As I could just get home, touch the tag, and then I can use my phone real easy. When I head out or just leave the house, I can touch the password tag and get it locked like I use it on the street.
Changing the password/lock settings by hand each time is a real hassle.


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How can I remove apps from my "cloud"?
When I delete an application from my Kindle Fire, it remains in the "cloud" in case I ever want to re-download them. Is there any way I can remove/disown these apps so they don't show up in the cloud?

In order to remove the book/app from your cloud, you'll need to visit Visit amazon.com/myk. Log into your account and find the book/app. Click the "actions" link to the right of the title. Under it you'll have the option to delete it permanently. After you do so, you'll have the repurchase the book if you want to read it again.


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HDMI connected on Google Nextbook 8 when no HDMI connected
Recently, my Nextbook 8 has been acting oddly. What it does is switches into HDMI mode, though there is no HDMI cable plugged in.
I first noticed this on Sunday. The screen was refusing to rotate, even for apps that required a different screen orientation. When I figured out that HDMI Switch was on, I turned it off and that fixed the problem. Temporarily.
Now, the screen flashes frequently as it "connects" and "disconnects" from HDMI, which makes using it next to impossible. Sound stutters when it does this, and if it's "connected," I can't watch videos on it.
I've never once connected HDMI to it, and I take care of my electronics. I've never dropped it, I have anti-virus on it that finds nothing wrong, and I haven't downloaded any new apps. I've found nothing online to help me solve what could be causing this, though I've been searching since Monday. All problems I've found through searching have been "HDMI not connecting" issues instead.
Any help would be greatly appreciated in this matter.

I should add that I would like to be able to use HDMI in the future, just not currently.

Sounds like a hardware issue with HDMI port. Is is still under manufacturer's warranty?

Should be. I just got it in November. Funny enough, it stopped after I posted this. I'll have to see if it continues.

I actually had this very same issue.
I contacted Nextbook and it was very hard to get in touch with them by phone or email. Finally I got an email back with some ideas, including doing a reset for the whole tablet.
However, I believe what actually fixed it is that I bought a cheap HDMI to mini-HDMI cable on Amazon to plug into my TV (which works quite nicely) and once I plugged it in and out, that seemed to fix the problem of sound not working/screen rotating. I haven't seen the problem happen again, so I think there was just some slight connection problem that is now okay. I hope it works for you.

I had considered trying this. I think I will, and if it helps, I'll comment here. Thank you for the advice. =)

This did indeed fix the issue. Tested all day yesterday after trying plugging in and unplugging the cable the night before.


text:
Using two tablets simultaneously as a dual-screen
I have had a Nexus 7 (2012 version) for quite some time now. Recently I saw an offer for a really cheap refurbished Nexus 7. Since I've been really happy with my tablet, I decided to order an additional one.
Not really having a plan in mind, I'm now looking for cool projects to use my second Nexus 7 for. So my question:

Are there possibilities to use both tablets simultaneously in a dual screen setup, sort of like extending one screen onto the other, for some real multitasking? I know I can just open a browser on one, and edit text on the second, but then there is no interaction between them, like sharing the clipboard or dragging files to one another.
I have been searching, but all I could find was extending screens between some PC OS and a tablet/phone, but not between tablets themselves.


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How to disable lock pattern/pin on lock screen with new Android 4.3 update?
I just did an update on my Galaxy S3 and now it is required that I have a lock on my lock screen. Before the update, I had the simple "Swipe to Unlock."
Now, when I go into
Settings>Lock screen>screen lock, I am unable to select the swipe option. It says "turned off by administrator, encryption policy or credential storage."
Does any one know how to disable any of those so that I can go back to my swipe lock screen? It is really annoying having to type a dumb password in every time i want to get into my phone.

If you've enabled filesystem encryption or have installed a certificate, then the policy is to require a secure screen unlock method. Could you perhaps [edit] your question and add more details about the specifics of your update?

This could also be due to an email account (Exchange accounts can sometimes require device administrators).

Just select the last option in the Security settings, "Clear Credentials".

I have solved this by decryption of memory card.
Samsung Galaxy Phone:
settings-->More-->security-->Encrypt External SD card-->disable.
After disabling go to my device-->lock screen-->Screen lock--> all the features will be enabled.
You will be able to choose your own security now.
Regards,
Hari


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

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

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

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

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

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

And just to confirm, no vold.fstab either?

Editted question, I do have one of those


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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


text:
Change the way artists are displayed in Play Music?
I just got a Nexus 5 running Kit Kat. The music app (Play Music) is beautiful, but not the most effiient in terms of browsing. Right now, in the "artists" view it displays a captioned picture of each artist. I'd like it to display a simple list of artist names. Is there a way to do this?


text:
Samsung Galaxy S2 drops carrier network
My SGS2 is dropping it's network connection multiple times a day without any notification.  The signal bars disappear and it just says NO SERVICE/VODAFONE NZ. No data, no 3G, no 2G, nothing...
I was previously on Gingerbread 2.3.6 and was hoping that CyanogenMod would fix the issue.  I flashed it to CM 10.2 but the same issue remains.  This makes me think it is a hardware issue and not a software issue, however it did not wipe my internal SD card - could there be settings in there that are causing this?
It seems to really love the ground, so I'm wondering if it has just been dropped one to many times and cracked some solder connections somewhere internally?
UDPATE
Installed the GetRIL tool and it said the stock RIL was unknown.
I installed the first RIL on there.  It said that it would backup the stock RIL.  The one I installed didn't work so I installed another one.  That didn't work either.  So I tried to restore the stock RIL but then I read in the FAQ it only restores the last one installed.
So it restored the broken RIL.  And now I have no network and can't figure out how to get the stock one back.  Yay.
Here's the stock details:
RIL: Unknown - 163ecafa01912637fe344ec1f8264d70
Baseband: I9100XXKE7

Anyone know how I can get the stock RIL back?
As an aside: the battery lasts sooooo long without the carrier network
UPDATE
Reflashed with CyanogenMod so I got my stock RIL back.  Still monitoring the network drops.

I assume the phone is rooted. Search for baseband applicable to your device model, country etc. Try downloading an app called GetRIL, which will show you the list of applicable RIL which matches the baseband applicable to your device. This fixed it for me based on my searches on xda-developers. Hope it fixes for you too.

Yep, installed GetRIL then I broke it by installing too many RILs (only backs up last installed RIL) so I lost the stock RIL. :(  Updated question.

I think GetRIL shows you compatible RILs, from which you can choose. Also, you can search for RIL compatible for your phone, country etc. There used to be a list where you could see baseband version applicable to your phone, country etc.

Yea it said my ~~baseband~~ RIL was unknown, but had a recommended one which I tried - if I had hit restore straight after seeing that one didn't work I would be fine.  Luckily I had sent the report to the GetRIL developer so I know the details for my stock RIL but just have no idea how to get my stock RIL back.

Created another question for this specific issue: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/61768/manually-replace-ril

I have had the exact same problem.  CyanogenMod SGS2, baseband I9100XXKE7, checksum 163ecafa01912637fe344ec1f8264d70.  The only difference is I'm with Optus in Australia.
After extensive research, the solution I found was simply a matter of identifying an appropriate Modem+RIL (Radio Interface Layer) to install.  I'm still looking for an appropriate one for me, although I9100XXLS9 has stopped the dropouts, it won't let me make calls.
Unfortunately it seems the best Modem+RIL combo is very dependent on your carrier+phone combo.  I found a discussion about various RILs to use for SGS2 in New Zealand.  You may find what you're looking for there.  I've seen people discussing I9100JJLS2, I9100XXLS8 and I9100PBVLP7 as good modems.
If you look at your other question (How to manually replace ones RIL) you'll see it's pretty quick and easy to flip around between different RILs when you know what you're doing.  Give them a try and see how you go.

After a day of testing, I've discovered I can't make calls on I9100XXLS9, although it's fixed my other problems.  Sorry if that steered you wrong at all, but the rest of my answer should be good.  I'll let you know if I find out more.

This is a warning only for S2 i9100 owners, reading this question after seeing carrier drop in their phone. This thread suggests using GetRil. As far as I understand carrier drop issue, RIL depends on the firmware installed. What is to be changed is the modem/baseband. Now, before you try that out,

*#1234# in your s2 i9100. If the response contains "Phone: Unknown", there is hardware fault and chip RFIC(U100) will need to be replaced as in this link
Other wise, your phone don't have hardware fault. Feel easy. Before you proceed with rest of steps, I suggest, you take it to Samsung Service and they will easily fix it for you. The issue is only software now and could be fixed easily by Samsung. If you try too many things, it could end up affecting hardware as in Step(1) and then that will need chip level servicing which might not be performed by Samsung service in your locality.
Ok. You are willing to take the risk. Now check your baseband version in About->device. In my case, carrier drop was accompanied with baseband unknown. If your baseband is known - a tip, which I haven't tried out is to, first flash the stock firmware from sammobile.com and try flashing different modems/baseband. Think of modems/baseband as like PC drivers. Don't change RIL. It comes with firmware. Also before proceeding with step(3), take a backup of your EFS folder( with apps mentioned in step(5) ) if your baseband is known.
If your baseband is unknown, check if your IMEI is unknown/null.
The baseband/IMEI unknown is result of a corrupted EFS folder. There are mobile apps like GSII repair, kTool( for rooted phones) in play store which will restore your EFS folder. Also there is desktop based EFS Professional ( for rooted phones ) which again will restore EFS folder. They work some times. Some times they don't. They all depend on a good EFS folder backup. If you have an EFS backup from a good phone of exact model/firmware, you can try restoring it.
If Step(5) didn't help, there is also a SRS remote unlock client which has steps for first restoring baseband and then flashing IMEI. You need some credits to use the software though.

Suggestion: You might feel you are geek and could fix this. You might feel like this will be great experience fixing this phone. I felt the same. But unless you are very sure of what you do, please proceed to Samsung service.

I would try to flash the device to stock rom first. This should install the updated drivers. Latest version of SGS2 official rom is 4.1.2 .
http://xperiahtcrootingrom.com/stock-rom-for-galaxy-s2-i9100-official-firmware-variants/

I doubt that would be any help. OP was on stock before, and had the very same issues. The approach recommended by shahkalpesh in his comment sounds much more promising, as problems in the baseband/RIL are the most likely case with the problem existing on different ROMs.


text:
Adding more widgets in 'Widget' Lock screen style of HTC One X
I have HTC One X with Android 4.2.2 and Sense 5.
In 'Settings > Personalize > Lock screen style > Widget' when I click on 'Settings' button I have options of Gmail, Google Now, Google+ posts, My Tracks, Tumblr and Wunderlist. I can add only from these widgets which would be displayed on my lock screen.
How can I add more app widgets to this list?

The only way to add more widget is to install an application that allow their widgets to be used on the lockscreen. Developers need to specify if their widgets can be used on the launcher, the lockscreen or both.
So, if a widget is available on the launcher but not on the lockscreen, I'm afraid that you can't use it on the lockscreen. (But you could mail the developer so he makes his widget available on the lockscreen).

As said in the comments, a Xposed module is available for rooted to user that enable all widgets on lock screen : GravityBox

@RossC I remembered seeing a Xposed module for this, but didn't found it when I wrote my answer, I'll add it thanks :)

sorry I acutally put an answer in as I found a screenshot. Feel free to add it to your own here and I'll remove my one or whatever suits!

I made a community wiki, I think it's better :) (if you want to add your answer, feel free :D)

If you are not rooted then Shywim's answer is correct.
However, if you have rooted your device you can install the Xposed framework.  This allows you to install modules that tweak various aspects of Android.
The module GravityBox (KK) for kitkat and (JB) for Jelly Bean, which you can install via the Xposed Installer has an option "Allow Any Widget" for the Lockscreen.
Article on GravityBox

In this image you can see in the bottom left "Allow Any Widget" under the Lockscreen Tweaks.


text:
Why are there a ton of Logcat processes slowing down phone?
I noticed a major slowdown on 2.2.2 Android, and it looks as though it's caused by too many logcat processes. With adb shell, I ran ps | wc -l and there were about 400 processes, after running killall logcat I ran the ps count again and there were around 200.
Even something as simple as ls would take like 10 seconds before, and after cleaning up all those Logcats it was instantaneous.
Is this a known bug in Android?

I'm not sure what you were doing before this situation was established, but I don't know of such a bug. I just ran an adb shell "ps|grep logcat" against my device, and it returned nothing (crosschecked, not a single logcat process running). Maybe something specific to your device/ROM? Or to what you where doing just before?

It can be caused by an app you've installed on your phone...

Shywim, I don't remember any apps that mess with logcat. Izzy, are you using an app that has Logcat enabled?

It's a known issue with the Applocker app: http://code.google.com/p/applocker/issues/detail?id=8
It creates too many Linux processes, causing devices to slow way down due to lack of memory.


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

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

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

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

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


text:
What programming languages are used in Android OS development?
I know we can develop Android apps in Java and also that the base of Android is Linux. However, I don't know what programming languages are used in the Android Open Source Project.
I try to find out the answer to this question many times but was still unable to find out an answer.
Any idea?

As mentioned on its Wikipedia page, Android's core is developed in C and C++, and Java is used for the UI. You can see this for yourself if you browse the Android source code. For example, Google Git provides the source for browsing without the need to download gigabytes of data.

As you told in question itself, Android is Linux based.
So obviously the core is developed using C.
On top of this, Java is used for UI (ie: Android).


text:
How can I increase my samsung galaxy fit's battery life?
I'm using Samsung Galaxy Fit(S5670) and running official 2.3.6 version. My battery's capacity is 1350mAh. Can I increase this capacity to 1500mAh or 2000mAh?

In my fridge is a bottle of beer, with a capacity of 0.33 litres. How can I increase its capacity to 0.5 or more litres? // I'm not making fun of you, just giving you a "picture" to grab the idea. You cannot increase the capacity of your battery, you only can replace your battery with one of higher capacity, as Keshava writes.

Can I increase this capacity to 1500mAh or 2000mAh?

Did you mean increasing capacity from 1350mAh to 1500mAh on same battery??
It's not possible.
If your phone supports a battery with capacity 1500mAh or 2000mAh, you can buy a new battery with these increased capacity.
Check manufacturer's website for details of phone and batteries.

Ok, I will check on it.


text:
Device admin policy and multiple users
If I add my work Exchange email account to my Android 4.4 tablet, it sets the device-administrator "erase all data" permission. Does that apply to all users on the device, or just to that one user?
I.e. can I prevent a remote wipe from wiping my personal data by setting up a separate Android user account on my device for work stuff, or will it still wipe the entire device?
Whatever the answer, does the same apply to other device administrator policies?

As the policy says: this enables the administrator to erase ALL data. As it's a device administrator (and not a user admin), this applies to the entire device.
Idea behind this is to protect sensitive corporate data, which might be contained in your Exchange account. In case the device gets lost, your IT admin can trigger the "data self destruct". Sounds like using atomics to kill a fly to me (wouldn't it be enough to destroy all those Exchange app data?); but of course you could have copied sensitive data to any other part of the device.
Besides, that's usually not the only policy installed with an Exchange account. In most cases it also includes that you have to use certain lock mechanisms (e.g. you no longer can use a pattern, but have to use a PIN or password), and in some cases even other stuff. Which is one of the reasons I'd never accept such an account on my device.


text:
Is there a video player that supports the orientation flag?
My camera takes videos that save the orientation of the video. I'd like to have them play with the correct orientation on my phone. Is there a player (paid or free) that does this?

I'd say all videos players, but in doubt I tested :

AOSP Gallery : works.
The new "Photos" app that comes with Google+ : works.
MX Player (free) : works.

I'm tested AOSP Gallery and MX Player: both ignore the orientation flag on videos. How are you getting them to work?

I recorded two videos with the aosp camera : one in portrait, one in landscape. Gallery and Photos don't switch the orientation automatically, MX Player does. (For MX player, I installed it just before the test and didn't go in the settings)

Hm. Okay. Thanks. I just discovered the "rotate" button in MX Player, so I will use that!


text:
Where are dialer's "All Contacts" coming from?
Stock Moto G running 4.4.2, initially set up using Motorola Migrate to transfer my data from an HTC Desire S.
I have Google, Skype, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts on my phone, and all the correct contact details from all those accounts are shown in the People app. Happy days.
The fun starts when I open the dialer, and select "All Contacts". Here I see all sorts of ancient contacts who did once exist on my previous phone(s), some of whom I may have called at some point but most of whom I never have. They don't exist in the People app, or in the Call History, or on my SIM card—indeed, if I tap one of them to look at their details, there's an "Add to My Contacts" button there.
Some of them are contacts that I used to have on my phone 1 or 2 phones ago and long since deleted, others appear to be old details for contacts that I have since updated or renamed.
Where have these ghosts come from, and how can I banish them?

Within settings of your phone there will be an option called accounts & sync you can sync or unsync the contacts of the app you need

That wasn't the problem, everything was syncing correctly. I've just figured it out though, see my answer below.

SOLVED: It appears these contacts were in the "Other contacts" on gmail.com. I'm not entirely sure how they got there or why there is no such group in the People app where I can see or edit them, but at least I can delete them now!

Seems that Gmail keeps a record of everybody you've ever talked to via email. My "other contacts" is full of crap as well...


text:
How do I update my ROM to the CyanogenMOD M series releases using the internal updater?
All versions of CyanogenMOD released it the last couple years have an internal over-the-air style ROM update mechanism found under Settings > About Phone > CyanogenMOD updates. Using the Update types setting you can select whether you want to see only stable updates or nightly builds.
However, these two release lines are not the only options one might want to install. Notably absent is the ability to select the M series of releases. Technically these are basically milestone tags in the nightly line, but using them is recommended over nightlies for some users.
The M series builds do show up in the updater under the nightly list when they are first built, however that list seems to only show the latest three available builds. How can I select the most recent M build for installation after three or more nightlies have been built after the M build is released?
For example, CM 11 M2 was released earlier this month, but I was traveling and now over a week has passed and the updater on my devices only show the nightlies from the past couple days. Please note that I know how to download the files for my device and flash them manually, but I would like to use the built in tool.


text:
Why are there so many partitions in /dev/block/mmcblk0
This is my partition layout printed by fdisk . Why so many partitions and what are they for?
Command (m for help): p

Disk /dev/block/mmcblk0: 2329 MB, 2329935872 bytes
1 heads, 16 sectors/track, 284416 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16 * 512 = 8192 bytes

              Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks  Id System
/dev/block/mmcblk0p1   *           1          63         500  4d Unknown
Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary
/dev/block/mmcblk0p2              63          71          64  45 Unknown
Partition 2 does not end on cylinder boundary
/dev/block/mmcblk0p3              71         634        4500  46 Unknown
Partition 3 does not end on cylinder boundary
/dev/block/mmcblk0p4             634      284672     2272311   5 Extended
Partition 4 does not end on cylinder boundary
/dev/block/mmcblk0p5             634        4384       30000  49 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p6            4384        5946       12500  50 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p7            5946        6202        2048  51 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p8            6202        6586        3072  52 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p9            6586        6842        2048  53 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p10           6842        6970        1024  54 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p11           6971        7098        1024  56 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p12           7099        8192        8751+ 55 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p13           8193        8577        3072  4a Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p14           8577        8961        3072  4b Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p15           8961        9089        1024  74 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p16           9089       10208        8957+ 75 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p17          10209       10240         256  76 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p18          10241       10369        1024  47 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p19          10369       10497        1024  34 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p20          10497       10657        1280  36 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p21          10657       11744        8701  71 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p22          11744       12256        4096  48 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p23          12257       12288         256  73 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p24          12289       12544        2047  26 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p25          12545       83968      571391+ 83 Linux
/dev/block/mmcblk0p26          83969      234368     1203199+ 83 Linux
/dev/block/mmcblk0p27         234369      272768      307199+ 83 Linux
/dev/block/mmcblk0p28         272769      275424       21247+ 19 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p29         275425      275456         256  23 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p30            634        4384       30000  49 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p31           4384        5946       12500  50 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p32           5946        6202        2048  51 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p33           6202        6586        3072  52 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p34           6586        6842        2048  53 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p35           6842        6970        1024  54 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p36           6971        7098        1024  56 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p37           7099        8192        8751+ 55 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p38           8193        8577        3072  4a Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p39           8577        8961        3072  4b Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p40           8961        9089        1024  74 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p41           9089       10208        8957+ 75 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p42          10209       10240         256  76 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p43          10241       10369        1024  47 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p44          10369       10497        1024  34 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p45          10497       10657        1280  36 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p46          10657       11744        8701  71 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p47          11744       12256        4096  48 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p48          12257       12288         256  73 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p49          12289       12544        2047  26 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p50          12545       83968      571391+ 83 Linux
/dev/block/mmcblk0p51          83969      234368     1203199+ 83 Linux
/dev/block/mmcblk0p52         234369      272768      307199+ 83 Linux
/dev/block/mmcblk0p53         272769      275424       21247+ 19 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p54         275425      275456         256  23 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p55            634        4384       30000  49 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p56           4384        5946       12500  50 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p57           5946        6202        2048  51 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p58           6202        6586        3072  52 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p59           6586        6842        2048  53 Unknown
/dev/block/mmcblk0p60

  6842        6970        1024  54 Unknown

I don't think this is a question for end-users (maybe for power-users), but even if: what which partition is for is pretty device dependent IMHO. You could use the mount command to isolate some of them (those which are currently mounted). What is the purpose (issue you need to solve) behind the question? With that, we might be able to offer additional help.

Usually you can get some human readable partition names using:
 find /dev/block -path \*/by-name -exec ls -l {} \;


text:
Internal SD-card hardware erros. Is there a way to move partitions to external sdcard?
I have a device with hardware errors in the internal sd card and want to move /data entirely to the external sd card.
I was thinking that it should be possible to create a partition in external sd-card and use it instead of the default partition for /data/ so that only system partition (which is read only ) will remain on the internal SD-card and this will reduce the chance of errors.
How can I change the initial mount options to make android mount /data from external SD card. ?
EDIT:
One solution is fstab modification,In Linux PC it's quite simple,  modifying /etc/fstab. will it work on the equivalent fstab for android ?

Not mentioned in my answer: but if your device is still under warranty, I'd rather send it in for repair.

On Android it's not that easy to modify the "fstab", as that's often stored inside the boot-image (see Wikipedia on "initrd" for a more detailed explanation).
However, depending on the device, there might be alternative solutions. Some of them would be:

DirectoryBind binds "directories located on external_sd to directories on internal memory (/sdcard). This way You can transfer large application data directories to external_sd." (in other words, you could compare that with "symbolic links", pointing to the external SDCard). See also this article.
Swap Internal and External sdcard. According to the linked article, this should work for ANY Android Phone or Tablet. This solution is comparable to your "editing of fstab".
Root External 2 Internal SD is an app to swap the cards. From its description, it does the same as described in the previous point.

There might be more solutions around, but these are the ones I've heard of. Hope one of them can help you out!


text:
Treat certain WiFi networks as mobile/cellular
I plan to be putting a Nexus 7 (will be rooted) in my car and tethering off my Nexus 4 (rooted). However I only get 1.5GB data per month on my mobile and don't want it to download my Spotify playlists, update apps etc whilst using my phones WiFi.
I'd like it to treat it as a mobile network and know that Android has the Mobile hotspots option but as of testing it did absolutely nothing AFAIK.
Open to pretty much all options.

Maybe disable auto-sync on the tablet? (found on Settings -> Data Usage -> Menu (3-dots overflow))

Problem is disabling that will disable it syncing over WiFi automatically too :/ I already the auto sync stuff (Spotify, G+ Auto Backup, Play Store) set to sync over WiFi.

It looks like the standard approach didn't work for you, did you find anything that worked that apps actually did respect?

Unfortunately not!

What's the device and what version of Android? It seems (touch wood) to work for me so far, I'm on Android 5.1.1 on a Sony Z3 phone (unrelated, on 5.1.1 the menu item name seems to have changed, it's called Network Restrictions not Mobile Hotspots).

If you go to Settings > Data usage and open the menu, then select Mobile hotspots you can select Wi-Fi networks that should be treated as mobile hotspots.
This should restrict the data usage when connected to these networks.

Data Usage and Mobile Hotspot screens (click images for larger variants)

This doesn't seem to work :/ see my comment on GAThrawn's answer.

As your tablet and phone will both be running Android versions newer than 4.1 then this is all built in, and the devices should automatically let each other know about this when they connect, which will let apps know that they should limit the traffic they use.
However you can also manually tell them that a particular wifi connection is a hotspot rather than broadband connection, just in case the auto-detection hasn't worked.
On the device that will be connecting to the wifi (your Nexus 7), if you go into Settings -> Data Usage and then  the "..." overflow button you should see an option called "Mobile Hotspots".

Data Usage Menu (click image for larger variant)
In here should be a list of all the wifi networks that the device has connected to recently, with a tickbox alongside that you can select to say that the network is actually a mobile hotspot. This tells your phone to treat that wifi network as if it is a mobile data (eg 3G) network instead of a broadband connection.

Mobile hotspots (click image for larger variant)
(cribbed from my previous answer here)

I mentioned in my question that this (from my testing) did absolutely nothing. Spotify still downloaded my offline playlists, apps still updated, photos still auto-uploaded to Google+.
I tried this on my Nexus 4 (I don't have the 7 yet) and ticked my home WiFi and left it like this for weeks, no effect at all.


text:
Can an intent to open the camera specify a prefix to the names of any photo's taken?
I understand that there are apps that make renaming easy but would it be possible to specify the photo name actually before taking the photo? If so would this also work with an app that allows the user to take multiple photo's before returning to the app, rather than the one photo most apps allow. Sorry for the newb question!

Yes. The app that starts the intent (i.e. the app with the "take photo" button) is responsible for choosing a file name and creating the file. It then puts that file's URI (its path) in the intent. The camera app then opens that file, writes the photo to it, and gives a result back to the first app.
The upshot of this is that it's up to the calling app (the one with the "take photo" button) to give you a way to set the file name, if they want to do that. The file name will take effect whatever camera app you use.
The intent protocol doesn't provide a way for the calling app to ask for more than one photo, so there's no way for an app to offer this feature without launching the camera app several times in succession.
If you're interested in the details, the official Android developer documentation describes it, with code examples.

You could try  Preset camera  I found this on Google Play and it claims:
Summary (I've left in the spelling and punctuation mistakes as they appear on the Play Store):
You can preset the settings about picture. Frames,filters,the name of the folders,the name of files.
After you preset the settings,pictures you take will be reflected to the setting.
This application is very convenience when you take a picture in continuous, or take a picture of fixed location or object.
You have no stress to edit the pictures because your settings reflect to all the pictures you take automatically.

As I can't tell if you want to do this programatically (which is outside the remit of this site), here is the answer to it in code:  Stack Overflow Android - Taking photos and saving them with a custom name to a custom destination via Intent


text:
SIM Card not detected after encrypting device
I have a Samsung Galaxy Pocket Neo (Model GT-S5310B) running Android 4.1.2
The device is not rooted and the update notifier tells me I have the latest available version installed.
Today I tried encrypting the device (I did a full encryption). The encryption went smoothly and with no problems, but during boot up I noticed that the device only asked for the decryption password to continue.
My SIM card is password protected, and every time I restart or power up the device it first asks me the sim card password and THEN asks me the device password.
At first I thought that, as my device is now encrypted, the prompt for the sim card would come later. But as I logged in, I noticed the notification icon telling me that there was no sim card pluged in, and indeed, any option related to telephone would yield the same notification "Please insert a SIM card".
So I decrypted my device and thankfully,  everything is back to normal.
My question is: Why does the device encryption make it not detect my SIM card?
I might also add that I maintained encryption on my removable memory, it doesn't seem to affect the SIM detection, only the encryption of main memory affects the SIM card detection.

First, maybe your SIM card is old or broken.
Second, did you do the encryption phone correcly with notheng special?

user61456 comments: First, maybe your SIM card is old or broken. Second, did you do the encryption phone correcly with notheng special?

Is your phone sim-locked? Maybe additional encryption crosses some encryptions that are already there. It would be really helpful if you could introduce us to steps you made to encrypt/decrypt your device because the reason probably lies there. If after decrypting back it works all right it's definitely not SIM card itself faulty.


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Make device available in ADB (Windows 8)
A while back, I asked this question about the ADB. I now have another laptop running windows 8.1 and the problem is the same. Please look at the previous post for details.
Please help


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Restoring purchase of premium features after reinstall
I was searching for a nice-looking Android app that can keep track of my expenses and I found Expense Manager. The app itself is free and it looks like it suits my needs, but it also has some premium features that I want. They can be unlocked through an in-app purchase. Before I pay money for them, I wanted to figure out how I can restore this purchase in case I ever have to reinstall the app after a factory reset.
Is there a standard procedure to restore this in-app purchase? Does it happen automatically? Do I have to do it manually through Google Play?

Applications often have a Restore In-App Purchase option in the settings.
Other applications may ask you to "buy again" the item, but you're not actually spending any money again.
It is often mentioned how you can restore your purchases in the application's description on Google Play or in the help category of the application (if any). You can always contact the developer for more information.
(Note that we are talking about Non-consumables purchases, it means purchases that are permanently associated with one's google account. More Information.)

I cannot find any sign of a 'Restore purchases' button. There's no documentation available as far as I can tell. How can I find out whether a purchase is a consumable or a non-consumable?

It is straitforward in theory : a virtual currency is a consommable and something lile a "remove ads" purchase is non-consomable, but in fact it all depends on the way it is programmed by the developer(s), so your best bet woild be to contact them.

I did contact the developer a few weeks ago, but unfortunately I did not hear back from them. If there's no other way to find out if the developer implemented premium features as a non-consumable, then I guess there's no way for me to find out beforehand.


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rooted china tablet black screen after boot need help megafeis m700
i have a Megafeis m700 tablet i rooted successfully but changed boot animation and now after it boots it goes to a black screen back lighting is still on. when giving command to reboot recovery i simply get the android whit his shell open but no menu just android on his back with red ! please someone help me I've been in front of this computer I've tried everything i can find.


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Installing stock ROM - at 65% get error assert failed: write_raw_image("/tmp/oemsbl2.img", "oemsbl2") Status(7), Installation Aborted
So, that is the problem. I tried to search at google but no luck, only responses were boot.img, and those are not the same.
updater-script:
assert(package_extract_file("boot.img", "/tmp/boot.img"),
       write_raw_image("/tmp/boot.img", "boot"),
       delete("/tmp/boot.img"));
set_oemsbl_size(494552);
assert(package_extract_file("oemsbl.mbn", "/tmp/oemsbl2.img"),
       write_raw_image("/tmp/oemsbl2.img", "oemsbl2"),
       delete("/tmp/oemsbl2.img"));
assert(package_extract_file("amss.mbn", "/tmp/amss.img"),
       write_raw_image("/tmp/amss.img", "amss"),
       delete("/tmp/amss.img"));
assert(package_extract_file("splash.img", "/tmp/splash.img"),
       write_raw_image("/tmp/splash.img", "splash"),
       delete("/tmp/splash.img"));
set_appsbl_size(66328);
assert(package_extract_file("appsboot.mbn", "/tmp/appsbl.img"),
       write_raw_image("/tmp/appsbl.img", "appsbl"),
       delete("/tmp/appsbl.img"));

Status(7) in an error meaning that the check for your device (with assert) failed. Are you sure you are not trying to install a ROM from another phone/model?

Yes, I am sure. The funny thing is that If I reboot, the ROM boots normally and.the phone is working. Isn't that odd?  I can't find anywhere answer to this problem.

Yes, it works. It is just a read error, but the installation is complete. On Blade 2, I had the same issue. nandbackup from CWM didn't work - this is a stock rom flashed thru CWM, and it works :)
It is very likely a CWM issue.

Yes!!!!
I have a blade2 880+ with CWM 4.0.1.5 installed.


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Can't save contacts in Sony Xperia
I have a Sony Xperia with Android OS 4.0.4. Until recently it worked fine but now my SIM contacts are all gone. I can't save in sim either.
While saving in contacts I used to get option whether to save on SIM or on phone – but now I don't get the SIM access: this options simply no longer shows up. I tried it with another SIM, but the problem persists.

Is there anything you changed recently? Some updates? Some configuration changes? Is the option gone completely, or did it just cease working? Any error message displayed?

No error message, I just don't get the option to save on SIM. Earlier I got a drop down list to select sim or phone.

OK, I've edited your question to point that out. Still open: did you change anything (configuration, updates, apps) between "it worked" and "option disappeared"? Any other information which might prove helpful for finding the culprit?

Don't think I did anything silly. I just casually used the phone to play games, I might have changed something on the setting in between, i can't remember.

Without any clear indicator, a factory-reset is the only thing coming to my mind. But maybe someone else turns up with a better answer. Good luck!

my be you have removed contact-provider app or try *#*#INFO#*#* on your dial-pad flow phone information for copying sim contact

I have the problem to save the contact on the contact list
they said you have to clear data of
 Setting->App ->All ->Contacts
then restart the phone.
I tried it, it worked,
but I've to do it everytime I save a new contact?!!!

Question asked 7 year ago. Sim is old. Those sim can save 256 contacts only.

Something else is at play here. If SIM can't hold any more contacts the phone doesn't suddenly make all SIM contacts disappear. OP had this problem.

@aliz, would you mind providing a link to where this question was answered previously?


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Is there a real solution for "can't connect to camera" issue on 4.3?
I upgraded my Galaxy Notes 2 from CyanogenMod 10.1 to 10.2 (= android 4.3). Unfortunately the camera has continous problems - I end up twice a week or so with a cannot connect to camera popup when trying to shoot a picture.
Many people seem to have this issue. A similar question some time ago did not get any answers. I even found a somewhow-working-workaround in the form of a permission-setting app (I cannot find the source anymore but will look around if someone is interested).
All this make the camera app more or less unusable.

does anyone know about a working solution?
would there be a way to install the previous version (which worked without any problems), without downgrading to 4.2.x, obviously.

In my case was just an app. "Lantern" - flashlight using LED. After uninstalling that app the camera was OK again.


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Asus ME302KL tablet halts on loading
I have a problem with my Asus MeMO Pad ME302KL
It halts on loading screen - Asus logo and loading spinner and loads forever, until the battery goes off completely.
Holding the power button for 10 seconds reboots it.
Holding the reset button (the one in the hole) for 10 seconds just reboots it.
Tried to enter service menus:

Holding the power button and volume down - after 10 seconds the tablet shuts down, after 5 more seconds shows system information. Asus logo and some text on the left. Does not react to any actions, except for holding the power button for 10 seconds and goes to reboot.
Holding the power button and volume up - after 10 seconds the tablet shuts down, after 5 more seconds shows "service menu". First for half a second there appears a standing android with spinning blue thing in front of him, and after half a second there appears a lying android with open bonnet and a red exclamation mark and nothing else on the screen. Does not react to any actions, except for holding the power button for 10 seconds and goes to reboot.

UPD: Tried to hold the reset button while on the "service screens" and it just goes to reboot after 10 seconds. Also have removed the SIM and SD cards.
UPD2: Before the lethal shut down I've installed a couple of games, ~5 I guess. I'm not sure, if it installed any updates, at least it did not ask m e about it.
UPD3: With use of fastboot re-installed this system https://mega.co.nz/#!QFEFFRCR!XV2tziLIueLET2aBXWBaXUp5qY5vw7vS740yYxgKO7M and absolutely nothing has changed :(

When did this start happening? Was it after a system update?

It could. I'm not sure, if it installed any updates. At least it did not ask me anything about it.

Found the combination to enter the recovery mode. Holding the power button and volume up - after 10 seconds the tablet shuts down, after 5 more seconds shows "service menu". First for half a second there appears a standing android with spinning blue thing in front of him, and after half a second there appears a lying android with open bonnet and a red exclamation mark (error) and nothing else on the screen.
Then you have to hold the power again and press the volume up - the menu appears.
Cleared the cache and device started normally. That's pretty weird, as I've re-installed the whole system and cleaned the cache with fastloader. But it works now :)


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Laggy dialer app
I have an Xperia P with latest update (Build No. 6.2.A.1.100, Android 4.1.2). It's phone app becomes horribly slow as the size of call log increases. Also, whenever there's an incoming call, it usually takes around 4 to 5 secs to respond after the call is accepted. There is a great time lag during dialing too. I tried clearing app data from settings but of no use!
The problem goes away when I clear the call log. Also, the scroll lag disappears while operating in landscape mode.
Does anyone know of any workaround for this? Currently, I'm using Ex-Dialer (the best dialer app I've ever seen from performance perspective) as a replacement for stock dialer (I'm not rooted and stock dialer is still installed in my phone) but I really don't want to use it or any third party app. One of the reason is that the Ex-Dialer contact list doesn't show Facebook thumbnail images for contacts.
Please help!

authors: Mâjęįd Šäwāłhå


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Do i really need to factory reset/data wipe for cynogenmod?
im new here, the question is in the title. I would like to use cynogenmod for when im listening to music, so that i can change the track just by using the volume buttons. I don't plan on installing custom ROM on my phone since there is none available.
Im using Samsung Galaxy Ace II (rooted) V. 4.0.4

I'm not sure what you think Cyanogenmod is, but it is a custom ROM. It replaces the whole OS on your phone. You need to factory-reset when flashing it because the built-in apps and settings are (or might be) saved in a different format to stock Android: if Cyanogenmod tried to read the settings saved by stock Android, it would go wrong.
If all you want is to change track using your volume keys, you don't need Cyanogenmod for that: just install a music player app that offers that feature.


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Added simulated external display in Developer Settings and can't boot now
Got my S3 Mini with CM11 stuck at boot after adding external display simulation in Developer Settings. Just after that UI froze and I had to reboot. After that it freezes on "Android is upgrading" popup and the progress circle isn't even running.
I tried going to Safe Mode but the only difference is that the progress circle is running all the time but nothing happens for another hour.
Logcat says something like this:
I/DisplayManagerService( 2137): Display device added: DisplayDeviceInfo{"Nak┼éadka nr 1": 720 x 480, 60.000004 fps, density 160, 160.0 x 160.0 dpi, touch NONE, rotation 0, type OVERLAY, FLAG_SECURE, FLAG_PRESENTATION}
E/gralloc ( 1671): gralloc_alloc: gralloc_alloc_framebuffer (google) failed, Out of memory
E/FramebufferNativeWindow( 1671): fb buffer 0 allocation failed w=480, h=800, err=Out of memory

Is there any way to remove the additional display without having to do data wipe? I have full access to ADB and recovery. Just this one thing stops Android to boot further.

You can try wiping cache and dalvik before entering the safe mode. A similar problem is addressed on an XDA thread here.
If the above doesn't work, you can restore the previous backup (hopefully a NAndroid one). If that doesn't work, you can try flashing CM again. Finally, if none of the above works, you can do a full data wipe and factory reset and flash + restore again.
Yet another approach is manually editing the developer options database via ADB as discussed here.
adb shell
sqlite3 /data/data/com.android.providers.settings/databases/settings.db
delete from global where name="overlay_display_devices";
reboot

If the above doesn't work, then as said in above XDA thread, delete the developer settings manually as follows (all system specific settings will be reset), first mount /data in recovery:
adb shell
cd /data/data/com.android.providers.settings/databases/
delete settings.db
reboot

If nothing works, the problem could be something different than the secondary display.

OMG this is great! Since noone answered I've done full wipe soon after the question. I was looking fo exactly such a solution (modyfying DB) which probably works. I'll reproduce the error and report later. Thank you! :)

Use the following command to disable the display overlay via ADB
adb shell settings put global overlay_display_devices null

Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please [edit] to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center.


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Default Phone Dialer
I use Samsung Galaxy S2, Currently running on 4.1.2 JellyBean. I have downloaded an App called, 'Espier Dialer iOS 7' and I want that to be my default Dialer. I tried to goto Application Manager > Clear Defaults for Phone and tried to make this app my Default Dialer application, but the selection only shows 'Phone' and 'Skype' Any help guys?

You shouldn't need to clear the defaults of any application.
If you install a new application that handles an intent for which you've already set a default, Android will "clear" that default so that the next time you fire the intent (e.g., dialing the phone) you will be prompted with the "choose an app to perform this action" menu.
It sounds to me like the app you've installed doesn't handle that intent, and that for you to use it you will need to explicitly launch the app.

I am sorry to make you guys take a big trouble to try to solve my problem, I have now sorted out this problem by downloading Espier Launcher 7 and now the Dialer works as a plugin and all is set. Thank you for your valuable and precious time, guys!


text:
What are the consequences of flashing a modified rom with Knox enabled bootloader on a Knox enabled samsung phone?
For instance I want to flash OmegaROM v21 on my Samsung Galaxy S4 GT-i9505. OmegaROM v21 is a modified Samsung edition of Android 4.4.2 Kit Kat.
According to the information in the xda-developers forum, the ROM contains a new Knox enabled bootloader. As what I understand by reading the related related research thread in the xda-developers forum and the information provided by Samsung, this will have the following consequences:

The bootloader will detect the unsigned Android kernel and because of that,
The Knox warranty flag will be set to 1.
On the boot screen it will be visible that the Knox warranty is void.
It is not possible to reset the Knox warranty flag
It is unlikely, that there will be a hack for resetting the Knox warranty flag because it is stored at a very low level, maybe in an eFuse or in the TrustZone of the ARM processor.
I will not be able to flash an older ROM. (Why? Because it will need an old bootloader and the new one disallows that?)
I will not be able to use Knox enabled apps.
I will not be able to use Knox enabled infrastructure.
I will not be able to use Knox enabled DRM.
I will be able to flash new and modified / unsigned custom ROMs
I will be able to use normal apps, infrastructure and DRM.

Are my assumptions correct, and will I be able to use DRM based services like Spotify, Amazon Lovefilm, Google Play Music, etc?

From everything I've read about the "Knox enhanced boot loader" , and what is and isn't possible with it, all of your assumptions seem spot on. Another route you may want to try,  is Safestrap. It's by far the safest method for installing custom Roms, as it bypasses the bootloader and there's no chance in tripping the Knox flag, unless you flash a Rom on the stock side. If you haven't heard of Safestrap,  Just a quick Google search will point you to it.


text:
how can I get the Call & SMS log for an individual contact?
I have recently upgraded to an Android 4.0.4 phone, used to have 2.3 and one of the features I used very often is missing.
In any contact I could look to see a list of calls & sms, including when I last called, received a call, had a missed call, or sent or received a text from that contact and from what number, i.e., Mobile, Mobile work, Home, Work, etc.
This was especially useful for checking when I last had contact with somebody, such as clients, allowing me to decide if I needed to call or send them a text.
This feature has obviously been removed, however is there any third party apps available that could either stand alone, or preferably integrate to allow me this much used & needed feature back.

Possibly a duplicate of How to view all calls logs for a contact?

Just looked at the "possible duplicate" and to some degree it is, however I already recognise that in 4.x I can not by default, I used to be able in 2.x, so surely there are apps out there that can provide this feature, my question, which the other post did not really answer, is what are they, I have already spent hours searching for them, some go part way to providing the feature that has been removed, but I have not found one yet that gets close. Surely an app or two exist?

I thought that I may get some answers here, as it is, after many hours searching and trying various apps out, I have found a few apps that provide solutions myself, the best two of which I will list below.
I was looking for an app to show "call" & "sms" "history"/"logs", so using these search terms I found many, the best stand alone one I found is called "My Log" from "Intangible Solutions" which is able to search and list all calls and sms for any given number or multiple numbers in a very clear and easy to read format. The drawbacks is that it is heavily add supported and takes a little while to specify all the contact's numbers, as you have to select them one at a time, having said this, the results are brilliant.
The other I found via an associated app call "Call log+" which I tried and initially dismissed as it only gave me call log similar to the one found in the standard "Phone" dialler, however I later went back to it's associated app "Contacts+", which includes "Call log+", "Messages+" and "Dialler+", and then also installed "Merge+", "Emoji for Conacts+" and the "Contacts+ Widget" to get the full collection, which can replace the standard "Phone", "Contacts" and "Messaging" functions with much better versions, that do far more. The "Contacts+", which includes "Call Log+" does everything I wanted, in that I can instantly see a call log for any contact. The fact that "Contacts+" does a whole lot more beyond this is also fantastic, but it does exactly what I wanted, so job done.
I hope this may help others looking for the same missing (removed) feature, which because of how I use my phone, I would find hard to live without.


text:
Why do games keep crashing on my phone?
I have Samsung Galaxy Ace. I'm installing apps from Google Play or just download them on my PC and then transfere them with Bluetooth. Now my problem is that some games crash or be white on some spots, for example there is main menu and play, and thay play is a just white square and it starts the app so it is just a graphical bug. But game like Blood Zombies HD just keeps crashing with report/force close. I have lot of free memory on my phone and on SD card and my phone had needed requierements and no backround apps running. And like a half of games on Google Play have same force close/report thing. So please answere me to fix this problem

Is this a new phone? Sounds like you might need to take it back to the shop.

Is it a custom rom with all dexed/deodexed apks?

I'm sorry to say this, but the Samsung Galaxy ace has a lower end processor as well as a small amount of ram. Although your device meets the requirements, its specifications don't allow it to run well. Games like blood zombies HD require higher performing devices with a satisfactory GPU. Your phone cannot handle games like these.

I completely agree with Solar.
Generally a simple game like 2048,Smash it do not require any Graphics processor to process the game so it runs very smoothly.
Whereas high end games like Asaphalt 8 ,FIFA 2014,Blood Zombies hd require some serious graphics to be processed during the game play. Although some times the game may even start but later your phone will not be able to process the graphics with just 200 MB of RAM and no GPU on board the device. Your game is starting only because you are having high processing speed i.e.1.2GHz
If you want to play Blood Zombies HD you need to have the following
1)1.2 Ghz processor to run the game smoothly(Single core ok but quad core would be good)
2)Hd screen with 720x1280 screen resolution.(if at all you really want hd or else you can ignore)
3)GPU Adreno 305 or any other processor from other company like Nvidia.(As your phone has a separate graphics card it will handle all your games with ease)
4)2000 mAh battery to last the phone for 1 day (if it's less ok but your game itself will consume the whole battery)
5)Good touch screen (or else you will end up where touch will not respond to your input during the game)
6)Last but not the least 2-3 GB on board storage space(The os will occupy around 500 MB -1Gb storage space and you will not only play 1 game or use a single application you must have some space for other apps as well)
Note:-With present phone you cannot do that level of game which you want to play. If you want then go for another phone with the above features(based on the region /country you could many budget phones).

Scroll up on the top right corner click the manage apps button and then click clear then press on setting disable all the useless app, restar your phone and then you are ready to go

This is essentially just a troubleshooting step. Please keep troubleshooting to comments. If you stick around around on the site and participate, you'll very soon have the reputation necessary to comment on posts.


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How do I switch off loading of pictures in Chrome for Android?
In the Android browser one could switch off loading of images to save bandwith, battery and time when the images were not needed.
There seems to be no obvious way to do this under Android 4.4.2 KitKat with Chrome now that it has replaced the old browser.
Does anybody know a way?

You can do it with several 3rd-party browsers, but I don't think you can do it in Chrome. Possibly a root app to do it.


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

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

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

@caffinatedmonkey Did not work.

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

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

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

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

Use PTP option instead of MTP USB PC Connection.

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


text:
Why are my messages hidden under the keyboard in the Hangouts app?
Whenever I respond to an SMS or a gTalk/Hangouts message, it is hidden under the keyboard. Afterwards, if whomever I am talking with responds, their message is hidden further below. This is causing me to constantly scroll the conversation up to see what's the latest message is.
When looking in a thread, and pulling a keyboard to type something, everything looks fine. This only happens after initiating a conversation by sending a message.
My device is a Verizon Galaxy Note II running CyanogenMod 11.

I have the same problem on my Galaxy Note 3.

So is it a Samsung issue... Note issue? What or version are you running?

Apparently, this is also an animation issue. According to an answer for my dialer app, setting the animation to .5x fixes a lot of spacing/hiding issues on the phone.
To fix it, do the following:

Go to Settings > Developer Options
Change Animator Duration Scale to 0.5x

Many props to Abid Rahman K for figuring it out!


text:
Is there a way to backup contents of internal SD, while preserving the file's modification date?
I'm having problems with my internal flash storage (namely not being able to create folders in root, which prevents some apps from working, plus periodic unmounts), and I have tried unsuccessfully to run fsck on it, so I figured I would back up my data, format the internal flash storage, and restore. Running adb pull /storge/sdcard0 will, however, replace the files' modification date, which will be an issue with photos, for example, since the Gallery depends on those dates to sort pics. My question is if there is a way to preserve that data.

I have managed to do it by creating a tarball with the sdcard contents, formatting, then using the --delay-directory-restore option.

There are several ways you could accomplish that:

if you have sufficient free storage available, archiving the contents (zip, tar, whatever other archiver) and then copying the archive file would be a way. Pulling the archive would change the archive file's timestamp, but contents would be preserved as-is, and restored with their original timestamps. This could be done either from a terminal app, or via adb shell. On one device I've checked, tar and gzip are available, and even bzip2. Successfully tested on another one, and adapted to your specifications: tar czf backup.tar.gz /storge/sdcard0 run from a location with sufficient space would create the archive, which you then could pull.
you could utilize a sync app like FolderSync, and simply sync all the contents to your computer (via SFTP, Samba/Windows-Share, or any of the other supported protocols). After having formatted the storage, you could sync it back the very same way.
if your device supports an external SDCard, you could copy your files over there, which also should preserve timestamps

There might be even other possibilities, but these are the ones coming to my mind first.

Try using the -a option to copy all file attributes:
adb pull -p -a /sdcard/
(The -p is for progress indication.)

where to see list of available options such as -a -p and so on

any suggestion on pushing backup back to /sdcard/ on a new phone?

Over ssh, we can also use rsync with the -a option:
rsync -a /sdcard/ <destination>


text:
Google Play Language Setting
I am currently using Samsung Galaxy S2. Recently I found that there are a lot of different language application in the Google play store. I can understand both English and Chinese but It seem like I am getting application of different languages. For example, in the bottom list in google play lifestyle top new free app, it show me application of languages that i don't even know how to read it.
Is there a language setting where i can display app that shows only English?


text:
avoid Bluetooth DUN authorisation with paired devices
I have two Android phones - one has 4.0.1 ICS and other has 4.1 jelly bean.
I have enabled Bluetooth tethering on ICS .
I have also paired both the devices via Bluetooth.
Now what I want is that when I connect jelly bean phone to ICS for network access(via DUN) ,the ICS phone should allow it without asking user's permission again and again when I try to connect.
(this is similar feature seen in Nokia phones ,auto connection)
how do I do this ?


text:
What can I do after breaking the screen of my phone?
I dropped my phone on the concrete. Now, I have a crack and my screen is pitch black. I tried rebooting it and charging it, but it won't come on. I want to know if I can change the screen and if it will come back on or what?

Replacing the screen isn't really a job you can do yourself: it's very fiddly and usually needs special tools. You can take it to a repair shop and they can replace the screen (if they have the replacement screen for your model of phone), but this is usually expensive. Because the screen is one of the most expensive components of the phone, and labour costs are expensive, replacing the screen might cost as much as replacing the whole phone.
You don't know what else might have been damaged by hitting that concrete. If the broken screen is the only damage, then replacing it will make the phone work again. But if the phone's internal components have been damaged too, it may not be possible to replace them. The repair shop should be able to tell you when they've examined the phone.


text:
Insufficient storage when installing app on Android ICS phone
My Android ICS phone has 42MB available (according to Settings->Storage). I am not able to install some new apps (e.g. O2 wifi, size 4MB) or update some existing apps (e.g. TouchPal X, size 19MB) though I have been able to install other small ones (e.g. Terminal Emulator, size 1MB and Cache Clear 5MB). I've tried using Cache Clear to clear the caches. I've tried 'pm set-install-location 2' to default the install location to external storage (currently it's 0 i.e. auto) but it's rejected it with the comment 'killed'. I've moved all the apps (that I'm allowed to move) to the sdcard. I'm not able to root the phone (ZTE V790) as I haven't found any instructions & software that works. I'm at a loss what to do.

Checking the insufficient-memory tag-wiki will get you started on the issue. In short, that error usually is triggered when internal storage drops below ~25 MB (which it for sure does for you with the 19 MB install). Find some first-aid in the tag wiki as well.

On an older phone of mine this was an issue with the app store. Insufficient storage error was fixed after an update. One app, HuffPost, had poor coding and gave me that warning. Many updates later they fixed it.
You can use Gemini App Manager to move app to the SD card that Android won't allow you to: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.seasmind.android.gmappmgr
Edit: Found a root guide. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2138234

Gemini app Manager seems to require a rooted phone before apps can be moved to sdcard that Android won't allow to be moved. That root guide doesn't work for me: on that thread I previously posted that I think that it only works for Gingerbread ZTE V790 phones.


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Factory reset after purchase
After purchasing a phone from the store should a factory reset be done to erase anything that the store or someone might have put in?

If the phone is new and in the box, then it has probably never been turned on. You can tell because the first time you turn it on (after fully charging the battery), it will go through the initial setup process, inviting you to enter or create a Google account, and showing some pop-up tips about adding shortcuts to the home screen.
If it's second-hand, then the shop or the previous owner should have factory-reset it already, but you can tell in the same way. If you turn it on and get the initial setup process right away, then you're already starting from a fresh state. If you just get the home screen, with no setup screen inviting you to enter or create a Google account, then you need to factory-reset from the device settings.

While with a used device, the previous owner or at least the shop should have factory-resetted the device, they don't always do: my very first Android phone was such an example. In those cases, you should also make sure to check the SDCard, if any was inserted, to remove any unwanted files. To do so, you could even remove it from the device, attach it to your computer using a card reader, and completely delete all its contents. After safely unmounting, put it back to the factory-reset device. Also check the internal SDCard, if any.