text:
Jelly Bean (4.1.2) Support for Proxy Auto-Configuration PAC Files?
I'm managing Samsung Galaxy Note I & IIs running Android 4.1.2 and would like to direct network/browser traffic to a URL filtering service through a proxy server. Can someone confirm (with supporting reference material please) or deny (with supporting reference material please) that Jelly Bean (specifically Android v4.1.2) has support for PAC files to configure proxy settings? I've had more then one person state Jelly Bean has "basic PAC support" yet I can't find anything on the subject.  The goal would be to autodeploy a PAC file onto the devices.
The browsers I want to redirect to the proxy are Internet V4.1.2 (default with version 4.1.2) and Chrome V 25.0.1364.169. Do either or both of these support URL definition of a server based PAC file?  ie. Can they use a URL pointer to the PAC config?
If PAC file support does exist where does the PAC file need to be installed? How is it typically installed? Can someone point me to documentation that reviews the PAC file support.
Thanks for the time and consideration.  Its appreciated.


text:
Why do I get the same "updates available" for apps even though I have already updated that app before on my S3?
I have noticed that my Google Play apps keep notifying me of apps with new updates but when I click on it I see that's it's sometimes an app a old update which I have already installed but the "update" button is still there for apps which I have definitely updated. What is the fix and the cause?
OS: 4.1
S3

When you say "notifying me" do you mean an Android notification at the top of the screen (where missed call/new email icons go)? Or do you mean the apps are listed in the Play Store as being new? There was a recent change to the play store and now it shows a list of the apps you've updated on your phone from the last 3 (I believe) days, headed 'recently updated'.

Just because the description hasn't changed doesn't necessarily mean they haven't updated the app.  Some devs are lazy about that.

I mean in the status bar when it says "new updates available" for so and so apps.  @Compro02l1: I know for fact that an app that said "new update" was not new because I had emailed the dev and the last updated date on their Google Play page had not changed.

I thought this was the case for Skype, but it turns out they aren't updating the version number in their description. If I check Skype under Settings/Apps, then the version number does increase.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
How can i run Wifi direct in my andrioid ICS tablet?
i have an android ICS tablet (no bluetooth) , I want to share files wirelessly...
but in ICS wifi direct is not there.I heard that wifi direct is not any hardware plugin - it is based on OS and can be run in android ICS.
So please if u know tell me step by step instruction.
...

Install and run ES File explorer on both Android devices and connect them both to one Wi-Fi access point. Long press on the file and use Send option and choose scan. After some lag the target device will be listed and just selecting it will prompt for confirmation on the target device. Once confirmation is accepted, the transfer will take place.
You can see ES File Explorer's help page for more info.

If your intention is sharing between multiple Android devices (which is what WiFi Direct is for, amongst others), you might want to take a look at apps like SuperBeam or Fast File Transfer. Both are directly connecting two devices (which both have the app installed) via WiFi, without any intermediate.

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


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How can I type Indian Rupee symbol?
I want Indian Rupee Symbol (₹) font in my android, so I can type it in message or anywhere I would like to. But, I can't find it in my keyboard.
Can anybody please suggest me where can I get it?
I am using Samsung Galaxy Grand and Android Jelly Bean 4.2.2

You should change the title. Having the font and being able to type the character are two different things. AFAIK, all fonts on Android are unicode, and they should all have this symbol.

What keyboard to you use?

I stumbled on this website after trying to answer your question which says CM10's stock keyboard has this symbol.

Google recently released Google Hindi IME (Input Method Editor, a techy name for keyboard) which I now saw with my friend's Nexus 4. It has the requested Rupee symbol:

You can try SwiftKey. It shows the rupee symbol over the key 'X'.

Just make sure you set the language of your phone to "English (India)" otherwise you won't get the rupee symbol (link).

You can also use AnySoftKeyboard, which supports the ₹ symbol now. Just long-tap the $ key.

If you hv swift key no need to pay money just click hold alphabet 'x'  you will get the option for ₹.  Thanks

Would you explain the reason behind posting this answer when the content is already covered here, except the fact that the app is free to use now?


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Samsung Galaxy S III mini - Cannot turn Bluetooth on
I have new Samsung Galaxy S III mini (GT-I8190N) with Android 4.1.2, and I cannot turn on Bluetooth.
When trying to do it from Settings menu, switch toggles from "O" to "I" position, but remains gray rather than green, list of available devices is empty and 'Scan' button is inative, and when going back to Settings menu I see Bluetooth turned off.

Have you tried restarting the phone?

You can try to reboot / remove battery. Maybe resetting to factory settings will help. In addition, if everything else fails, you could try following (read somewhere about it):  turn it off and then back on (the one asking you about using wifi to localize you faster) the bluetooth and wifi are both 802.11 standards, therefore they are controlled by the same chip

Rebooting phone solved the original issue with Bluetooth, and new issue with Wi-Fi not turning on which made me do reboot.


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What is the default Kernel Governor in Stock Samsung Galaxy Mega Android ROM?
I have rooted my phone recently and just installed ROM Toolbox which has several Governors available. It is using OnDemand by default, but I switched to Interactive. I just need to be as close to default settings in order to maintain stability.
Btw, when I am using a third party app to change CPU Freqs, ROM Toolbox in this case, It seems to be a bit laggy. Is this normal?

Are we talking Nexus-stock or manufacturer-stock? The "Galaxy S" tag here leads me to think that this is question is specific to the Galaxy S. If this is the case, coult you please edit the question to specify that you want to know the default governor for the Galaxy S?

running galaxy mega stock rom and using Rom Toolbox to change cpu governors/freqs.

I don't know the default governor for the Galaxy Mega. However, there's an easy way to determine your current governor. Rebooting the phone (Unless you ticked the option in ROM Manager and/or other apps to persist governor selections through reboot) will reset it back to its default setting.
You can find your current governor by running the following command in an adb shell or terminal emulator:
cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/scaling_governor
Chances are your default governor is indeed ondemand. It is commonly used as the default governor on many Android devices, and seems like one that Samsung would like to use.

thanks for the oneliner tip, it's indeed on demand. However, I have disabled the Rom Toolbox overclocking tool. Kinda makes my device "laggy"

Glad it worked! It's also interesting that using the tool didn't work well, but not particularly surprising.


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Lenovo S920 repeatedly shuts itself off and back on by itself
I just bought a Lenovo S920, new set about a week ago. It's been turning itself off and back on every single day since the second day I bought it, at least once or twice every one hour.
An information that might help you figure this out for me, on the second day I downloaded every app I needed & packed about 70% of the phone storage, plus about 50% of my 32GB microSD. Also, my phone has 4GB Internal storage.
Does it have to do with those apps and tonnes of audio/video files? And ultimately, how to fix it?

As that behaviour started when you installed all that stuff, it at least suggests a relation. It could be one of the apps causing this; the audio/video files are unlikely to be the culprit.
I'd suggest you factory-reset the device and start over, but do not install all apps at once; instead only install one at a time and see if all stays stable before continuing with the next.
Once the trouble starts over, uninstall the last app you've installed and see if that cures it; if so, skip that app and continue with the next on your list. If all stays stable then, you know which app is problematic: contact its dev for further advice then.

A helpful thing to investigate before going the "hard way" described above is to "debug" the issue. As you didn't state which Android version your device is running, I will describe an approach that should work for most versions:
You need ADB on your computer (see: Is there a minimal installation of ADB? for how to achieve that), and connect your device via USB. Then start adb logcat -v time -f debug.log from your computer's command shell. Let it run.
As soon as the device reboots, stop the logcat task. Now check debug.log from bottom to top to see what initiated the reboot. If you have trouble reading/interpreting it, upload the log and add a link to your question, so we can help you with it.

Just take it to the authorized service centre and they will fix it. My Lenovo S920 USB connection did not work and in service centre they fixed it saying that the "soldering" of the port disconnected. They corrected it in one hour time. So there could be chance in your on/off switch too. So check with service centre and its safe.

I had a similar problem with my S920 one year back in Jan 2014. It kept restarted itself every hour or so. Though I did not have too much installed on it, I pinned down the problem to the firmware update S114_130626. A restore back to the original S110_130515 worked for me.
However, now that much of my internal storage is being consumed, I notice that it sometimes (once or twice a week) restarts itself. So, perhaps it could be the full utilisation of the internal storage that is causing the problem.


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Does Android support individual sound control per app when two apps with active sound are running?
Does Android support controlling volume of every running app individually in the context mentioned below?
I have podcast app and I would like to run a game while listening to podcast. The game sounds are too high.
The question Is there a way to set app-specific volume? deals with an objective of having per-app specific volume but this question at the minimum deals with two or more apps at a time, providing different sound levels simultaneously.

@AlEverett this is not answer to my question. ITS rather workaround for particular problem the user had...

It's still a duplicate to your question, asking the same thing. May sound harsh, but that's how this site works: if your question is already there, you shouldn't ask it again. Suggestions include upvoting it and/or placing a bounty to encourage new/better/additional answers. I admit, hard for new users – as for doing so they first must build up some rep...

It is not the same question because the user ask about setting of volume to one app at the time. I ask about setting volume of two apps at the time. And while the first question could be answered with workaround, my not.

I did some big changes into the question, yet tried to maintain the meaning. See if that's OK with you.

@Izzy Actually, I agree with Paul that this is not a duplicate of the marked question. Rather, a question I've bountied (which is open) seems to be a duplicate of Paul's question here. Paul was the first to ask it. The one I bountied (which I believe is as an exact duplicate of this one) was actually asked later.

@Fiksdal it's linked now that you've mentioned it. This Q here being from 2013, it makes no sense to re-open and re-close as dupe of something else ;) Thanks for the pointer, though!


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Where and how do I read logs for a specific app?
I know there are a lot of threads about android logs but I can't find an answer to this:
Where and how do I read logs for a specific app?
I have installed the Android SDK, connected my device and launched Eclipse and choose DDMS. Now, the Logcat is being generated but it does not seem to contain logging for specific apps. The colomn Application remains empty. I've tried different apps and different filters in logcat (debug,error etc) but I don't see application names appear.

"Application Name" when it comes down to DDMS and adb means the package name of an Android application. Therefore when creating an DDMS logcat filter, you have to enter the applications package, for example for Google Maps com.google.android.apps.maps.


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Cannot upload arbitrary files using Chrome
Using for the first time latest Chrome (v30.x) on Android 4.0.4 ICS on a 1st Gen. Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet. To my huge surprise am not able to upload any files other than images or camera videos? In any webmail when I click attach a list of apps is displayed that includes Gallery, Camera etc. But the in-built file manager (My Files) is nowhere to be seen. Thinking there was a problem with it I tried many other file manager apps but none of them show up either. In stock Android browser though the in-built file manager is visible and allows me to select and upload files with any extension.
What could be wrong with Chrome and if possible how can I fix it?

As confirmed by OP  this app resolved the problem App Picker Classic. From app description

If you have app choices that are currently hidden - maybe you chose "Always" by accident once, but you'd like to be able to reinstate the app and choose each time - then reset these by clearing the defaults in the application manager of your phone/tablet.

Once you clear the defaults in app settings, and try to upload this app would appear in the choices (in addition to 4 options: Camera, Camcorder, Sound Recorder and Gallery). Using this app you can select the file explorer app on your device to select the file you wish to upload
In addition, this app permits working with some app intents and resolves common URLs.

Note: Solution below did not work for OP but I am retaining it since it worked for me, and may help someone else too
It is possible by Local Storage App which doesn't offer a UI (though it does have) but integrates with Android system to pick all files from within the device and on external SD.
Tested on Samsung Note 2 running custom ROM 4.4.2 using Chrome 53.0.2785.124 in desktop mode ( latest on Play Store)

Local Storage uses the new Storage Access Framework to allow other applications to read or write any file in your primary storage and read from secondary external storage devices (such as SD cards). On Android 5.0+ devices, you can also select entire directories and rename files.

Documentation on App Github says it is compatible with API 19 upwards
Example
Uploading a .pdf to PDF to doc site . Steps are shown sequentially in the panel of screen shots

Click upload
Choose documents option
From the selection panel offered by the App choose the upload file location ( external SD in my case)
Selected pdf file being uploaded
pdf file uploaded and converted to doc

I've installed the 'Local Storage' app but I can't find the 'Documents' option in the 'Choose an action' popup as in your second screenshot :-( Also, I can't find my microSD card (Inserted, other apps can find it) in the app when I manually open it and press the 'OPEN ALL FILES' button.

Thanks a lot!  The 'App Picker Classic' app from your other answer worked! I'll be glad to award you the bounty once you mention that app in this answer.

Unrelated, but how do I check the API level of my device? Does the settings have it?

Oh ok..I didn't know that.  To answer your API query , see what is API, API corresponds to the version you would find in the settings

Link above has the table showing  Android versions and API numbers

i was in stuck with same problem..
using FS File explorer/selector app worked for me..
can you please try this :
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ioapps.fsexplorer

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


text:
How to install/flash a ICS stock rom of any device into a different android ICS phone?
is it possible to flash a stock rom of a certain device into any android device? Like for example if I have a Samsung ICS phone. Is it possible to install the default rom of samsung to a different ICS device?

No, most manufacturers interfaces are proprietary and cannot be modified to work on other devices. That being said, there have been attempts to get interfaces such as Samsung TouchWiz and HTC Sense working on specific other devices, but they are very unstable and not suited for everyday use.
HTC Sense for the Galaxy Nexus (alpha): http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1535715
However, you may also be interested in specific manufacturers apps for your current rom.
S voice: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2293870


text:
Is there a way to control the blink speed of the notification LED on Nexus 4?
On my Nexus 4, when I get a notification the LED blinks. However it is very slow so you can't notice it with a quick glance at the phone.
Is there a way to make the LED blink faster?

Try one of the many LED customization apps in the Play Store - https://play.google.com/store/search?q=led%20notification&c=apps

There is no way to control the blink speed in the OS itself. However, Light Flow provides a plethora of options for colour, flash rate, etc.
There are probably other equivalent apps too.


text:
How to set App Specific Timezones
So I downloaded a new app, but it only works for US Timezones. I live in the UK, and I don't want to either keep my phone on US Timezones or switch it every time I want to use it. I have an Android, running Cyanogen 4.2.2.
Is there any way that the phone automatically switch timezone every time the app is launched, or trick the app into thinking my timezone is US when it's actually UK?


text:
App updates automatically even after uninstall?
I recently uninstalled an app called All in one toolbox from Nexus 7 tablet, but this morning after I finished updating the Chrome browser, in the notifications panel I can see that somehow All in one toolbox got updates, but I can't find it anywhere on the installed apps list

How did
this happen?
Or is this app still present on the tablet somewhere, and if it is, how and where do I find it?
--- EDIT ---
This app was uninstalled by long pressing on it's icon  in the main menu, and then dragging it to uninstall, if that makes any difference.

If you click on that notification, can you still see the All-in-One app in the list of recently updated apps?

unfortunately I've already cleared all the notifications, but if I remember I couldn't see it in any list, neither the one that comes up when I click on that notification, nor any of the other downloaded and running apps list that we can find in settings. What I am worried about it that is it possible for the app to leave some of it's components behind even after I have told the device uninstall it, so that it doesn't show up on lists but it's files and some of it's activities remain behind

Since I downloaded this particular app from google playstore I'm hoping it's nothing dangerous, but if it is indeed possible for an app to linger around unseen even after I have uninstalled it, I should know about it

In app information, clicking an app in the app manager, there are two types of uninstall: Uninstall and Uninstall Updates. by using the launcher shortcut probabily it clicked Uninstall Updates, try to uninstall it again and tell us

This seems to be a bug. Try this:

Open Play Store.
Navigate to My Apps, then go to the All section.
Delete the app from your account (usually by a small X in the top right corner of the list entry).

See diagram below:

If it does not give you the X to delete the app from your account, click on the app in that list and uninstall it from the app's Play Store screen.


text:
How to Bluetooth tether Motorola Droid 3 (Android 2.3.4) to HTC One
I have figured out how to enable the HTC to share it's internet via bluetooth:
Mobile Network Sharing -> Bluetooth Tethering [checked on]
But I am unable to find a way to allow the Droid 3 to consume the internet via bluetooth. I can get the Droid 3 to broadcast using 3rd part apps, btu can't figure out how to consume.
Note, this Droid 3 is my old phone that I am still using in my car as I can't mount my HTC One for non-technical reasons.
This looks like a duplicate of another reverse tethering issue which is a duplicate itself, but the answer listed can't be found.

WiFi tethering may be a better option. On your HTC One, go to:
Settings > More... > Tethering & portable hotspot > Portable WiFi hotspot

actually I don't think I can do that as then I would have to buy the wifi hotspot feature. I'm trying to connect teh two phones for free

In stock android tethering does not cost any money. You should contact your carrier or device manufacturer to find out any modifications they may have made to Android that could cost you money. If your carrier or manufacturer has made modifications to the methods of stock tethering, there are apps that will allow you to tether without paying (I have not used these apps and am unsure of their quality) One of these apps is here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.diyphonegadgets.wifihotspot&hl=en


text:
Galaxy S2 not switching on after being dropped
My Galaxy S2 dropped today and will not switch on. I dropped it on a very soft surface when this occurred. It usually happens and I just press the on button continuously and this usually does the trick. This is not helping and at the moment if I try to connect it to the charger an empty battery signal is flashing on the screen continuously. Any ideas on what course of action I should take? Could it possibly be a dead battery?

Problems after dropping the phones typically come from two reasons:

Physical damage
Brown out (unclean voltage drop)

The voltage drop may temporarily lock up the circuit, so you could take out the battery for some time to let it properly reset. Else inspect the connector springs if they're bent and measure the battery voltage, try a spare battery, etc.

thank you sooooo much :) my connectors just needed cleaning great help


text:
Why the battery attributes are missing in android phones?
on the android shell, when I executed following
>ls /sys/class/power_supply/battery

was expecting, current_now, power_now, charge_now or energy_now but I didn't find any *_now attribute other than voltage_now.
Could anyone help me to configure kernel in order to enable these (current_now, ..) attributes?

No one answered my question, but I found the answer. I earned a badge Tumbleweed..lol
Because, battery drivers do not implement the same.


text:
How to fix "error: device not found" when I try to use ADB
I'm trying to get my phone (JiaYu G3T) working under adb on Windows 8 x64 (worked fine on Windows 7 x64 before reinstalling my OS).
Driver Android Composite ADB Interface, version 8.0.0.0, works fine.
My adb won't list any devices (adb.exe devices).
I tried:

installed Google USB driver
enabled debugging mode in phone
added my device's hardware IDs to the Google USB driver inf file and installed
installed Moborobo (phone works fine in there but adb still won't find the device)
tried switch Settings > Storage > Menu > USB Computer connection to "Camera (PTP)"
tried two different version of adb (1.0.31 and 1.0.26)

Those were some of the advices I found so far.

Maybe you try Koush's Universal ADB driver. In many similar cases, this brought the relief. Unfortunately not in all, but in many at least – so worth a try.

Sadly, that didn't help, thank you for your help though! It claims that the driver is already installed

You might have to uninstall the other one first.

I did and the driver works fine but still no device :/

Sorry, then I'm out of ideas. I don't use Windows.

When you say you "enabled debugging mode", might this be the same problem solved here?

My phone says USB debugging connected, also I didn't really change anything in my phone and it used to work in Win7 two weeks ago. Thank you for you help

Finally it works, I'm using the Google USB driver. The problem is that I have to keep killing adb.exe before doing anything really (e.g. building and pushing an apk to the phone), otherwise it can't find the device.

The drivers that come with PdaNet may work. Give it a shot

Try installing the Microsoft User-Mode Driver Framework (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2685813). It will require a restart.
Worked for me, Nexus 5, Windows 7 SP1.
I tried the Google USB Driver (http://developer.android.com/sdk/win-usb.html) but it didn't fix the issue for me. The Microsoft User-Mode Driver Framework, however, did.

While I was able to adb push from within android OS, I wasn't in recovery mode.
Turns out the culprit was Cyanogen Bootloader. Once I flashed to TWRP, I could use ADB again from recovery mode.

I had a similar issue (with a Nexus S, but I don't think it matters here). I could manually install the Google driver and it started without reporting problems. Nevertheless, adb devices did not list any device. Two things looked suspicious (and are probably related), but I could not use them to get a clue to the solution:

The hardware ID reported in device manager did not containe the part "&MI_01".
The driver installer warned me that the driver would not match.

Finally (and just by fluke) I found the solution that worked for me: somehow my Windows 7 installation had lost the files usb.inf and usb.pnf from C:\Windows\inf. I followed the advice in https://superuser.com/a/515823/341332 to repair the issue (basically: find the missing files in c:\windows\system32\driverstore\filerepository and copy them back), then I uninstalled my Nexus S in device manager and reinstalled it. I had to select the Google driver manually again, but this time: no warnings, the hardware ID ends with "&MI_01", and most important: adb devices now lists my device :-)
I hope this helps others that get stuck like me.


text:
Why are the speakers on my HTC One so quiet?
I just got a new HTC One, and while it is brilliant, the speaker volume is awful. Headphones sound really good, but even with the media volume all the way up, the speakers are too quiet. This means that I often miss navigation directions, etc.
Is there a hidden speaker volume? Ideally, I do not want to install a custom ROM or root my phone, but any suggestions would be useful.

At least related: How can I boost the music volume higher than the max limit? / How can I make my Samsung Galaxy Nexus volume go louder than what stock allows? / How can I increase the maximum speaker volume? / How to increase speaker volume of HTC Evo 3D

Thanks for the links, but I was looking for something that doesnt require a special app / rooting / pointless advice to use earphones. My old galaxy S had good speaker volume. In fact it was so loud i pretty much always had it on silent......

I'm afraid then you're out of luck. But not having that particular device, I of course cannot say for sure.

If the other answers don't work, you can try installing ViPER4Android, it can boost audio as much as you'd like. (though it will require root unfortunately.)

Try checking if BoomSound is activated. It is supposed to improve the sound a lot.You are supposed to see a "b" icon on the top bar when it is activated.
Go to Settings > Sound > Volumes
When using speakers it is enabled by default and it doesn't allow you to disable it. What may happen, though, is that when you have earphones plugged it, you can disable it. If, perhaps you have it disabled, then you remove the earphones and the HTC doesn't detect that you removed the earphones, BoomSound can be disabled.
If that's the case, try inserting the earphone again and enabling BoomSound. Then remove the earphones and see if that works.
I have an HTC M8 and and M9. I have had similar issues before.

I recommend you to check with another identical phone(from a friend, or from the store) Your phone might a defect

Perhaps, if this wasn't 2.5 years after the issue.

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


text:
How to create a POI database for OsmAnd?
OsmAnd is a map/navigation app.
On top of the map, I would like to display "Points of Interest" (POI), for instance my city's best restaurants.
I already have a CSV file containing for each POI: name, latitude, longitude.
How to make OsmAnd use this data?
The wiki page How To Use Your Own POI Database suggests it is possible but does not give any specific instructions.
By reading this unanswered question, I get a feeling that somehow converting my CSV to ODB might be part of the solution.
I would like the database to be easily downloadable/usable by anyone.
For the curious: Actually, my long-term goal is to create a database of all POIs in the Wikivoyage travel guide (maybe split by country if too big).

Just a guess, but worth trying: I did the same with Locus Maps. I created a KML, which imported fine, and could be used as layer there (Locus even supports KMZ containing images and more, so you could use that for a "self-made travel guide").
The article Using KML Files on the same site suggests at least the KML part should work with OsmAnd as well, so I considered placing this as answer (instead of making it a comment). This article even explicitly mentions POIs – which probably is the reason your linked article contained that few details:

You may use any format containing your POIs, if you are able to convert it to osm format.

and

All points inside the kml file are converted into osm points, assigning them some properties like tourism category and museum type.

Note the categories mentioned here match those on your linked article.

Thanks! I have copied the .osm file on that page, converted it to .odb using OsmAndMapCreator, pushed the resulting .odb to /sdcard/osmand, but OsmAnd does not show any POI...

I'm not used to OsmAnd – but could it be you have to "activate" the "additional layer" somewhere in the app? Imagine your card full of .odb files with overlapping info, I would hope there's a way to select which ones to use ;)

I have found how to use it :-) http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/55656/how-to-import-a-odb-poi-file-in-osmand

So the only thing left was to either wait or reboot the device? In that case, I'd report that as bug to the dev, honestly. Doesn't sound normal to me. But glad you managed – and thanks for linking to the answer!

I ended up doing this:

Transform the data from .CSV to .OSM
Download and run OsmAndMapCreator
In OsmAndMapCreator, let only "Build POI index" checked, then click File > Build .obf from osm file...
Select the .osm file
Distribute the resulting .OBF file. Users can easily use it with OsmAnd.


text:
How to import a .obf POI file in OsmAnd
I created this Data.osm file:
<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
<osm version='0.5' generator='GPSBabel-1.4.0'>
  <node id='-1' visible='true' lat='41.890121' lon='12.492265'>
    <tag k='name' v='place01'/>
    <tag k='note' v='place01'/>
    <tag k='tourism' v='museum'/>
  </node>
</osm>

Then I converted it to Data.obf using OsmAndMapCreator.
How to have OsmAnd show this POI on the maps?

Open OBF file using filesystem browser
Use a tool for navigating your phone's filesystem. Navigate to the file you wish to import and choose to open the file with OsmAnd.
On Android there are several tools for navigating to the file, one example is Total Commander.
Obsolete method, pre 2022
The solution below does not work on recent versions (since some time in 2022) but is still here for completeness. It is what was originally suggested in this answer.

Copy the .obf file to your OsmAnd folder, for instance /sdcard/osmand.

In OsmAnd, enable the "POI > Any" layer.

Sometimes it does not work immediately, in such case restart your phone (there might be faster methods but at least restarting works)


text:
Cannot add Facebook account
I am trying to add a Facebook account in my account settings, but as I do so I am sent back to the settings menu. I simply cannot add a Facebook account.
How can I solve this?

Have you tried just logging into the Facebook app on your phone? Does this work?  Do you then see a Facebook setting under the Accounts part of Settings?

I can log into Facebook with the Facebook App and the Facebook Messenger App. In Settings > Accounts, no Facebook is listed. If I select "Add Account" then I see a Facebook option. If I select that option, I return to the Settings.

Having installed and logged into Facebook, is it working? Can you read people's posts, reply, use the messenger etc?  It seems that all the settings you need are available from within the app itself.  Is there some specific functionality you believe you need to add a facebook account to get working?  (When I poke around there, in the phone's settings, rather than Facebook's, it seems to want me to allow single sign on for some S3 group or other, which I don't want anyway!)

The problem lay not with the Facebook App itself, which functions without problem. It is rather with adding a Facebook account in the Android Settings, so I may retrieve my Facebook contacts in my address book. Also, other apps are unable to log in to Facebook (eg. Contact +).


text:
How do I disable full-screen mode in Chrome for Android?
Some time ago, both Chrome and Chrome Beta started going full-screen. That is, I no longer see my status bar. This is a deal breaker for me, as I can no longer see what time it is or if I have notifications.
I have browsed chrome://flags and didn't see anything related to this.
Is it possible to disable this full-screen mode?
Chrome versions:

Chrome (30.0.1599.92)
Chrome Beta (31.0.1650.32)

My phone:

Galaxy Note 2
Android 4.1.2
Verizon
no custom rom or root

According to this post on SO, no... Deactivate “fullscreen” mode on Chrome for Android http://stackoverflow.com/questions/16962033/deactivate-fullscreen-mode-on-chrome-for-android

You can't scroll down just a hair to make your address bar and notifications visible again? (For what it's worth, my Notification bar stays always visible. It's just the address bar that disappears.)

I'm not referring to the address bar. The notification bar actually disappears, resulting in Android losing it's functionality and becoming more like iOS.

Not seeing that. Perhaps it's a property of the Note 2. Samsung loves to monkey with the UI.

I had the same problem, but I saw the exact moment it happened, a message appeared saying "switching to full screen mode". Then I couldn't switch it off. I deleted all data in Chrome, and the problem was fixed. There was no need to uninstall the app, just cleaned the data using the Android built-in Application Manager. It seems some website included code that caused this, and the Chrome for Android simply does not have the settings to revert this. Hope this helps.

Exactly the same thing just happened to me. Restarting the phone put it back to normal.

Excellent! Thanks for the suggestion - worked for me to bring my notifications back! Thanks!

So, occasionally I still get "switching to full screen mode" and lose my status bar. It seems that simply killing the task works as well.

I found that if you go to chrome://flags and click "reset all to default" that it will return your status bar. I wasn't able to find any other ways to do that.

The short answer is no. If you feel that this should be a feature then please file a bug on crbug.com/new and let me know. It should have no effect on scrolling as it keeps all the settings and state exactly the same, if you are seeing problems with scrolling such as events not firing then that is due to the way the compositor works.
The reason why not is that this is a feature on all mobile platforms and we have parity with their way of providing the user with more vertical real estate.

Hi Mike. I'm actually referring to the notification/status bar (with clock) disappearing. It's decidedly un-Android, and seems odd that Google has gone this way. I can enter a bug, but it doesn't seem like a bug. It appears that Google has chosen to "break" Android for just this one app. I'm stumped. Note: The amount of real-estate gained is so minimal, and the amount of functionality lost so great, that I can't imagine this is permanent. There should be some backlash soon.


text:
All apps except WhatsApp cannot work on WiFi
I'm having some strange problem with my Sony Xperia SL. I use Virtual Router Manager on my Laptop to connect my mobile to internet over Wi-Fi. Since this morning, none of the apps are connecting to Internet (Play Store, Instagram, Subway Surfers, Browsers, etc.) except WhatsApp.
I've tried resetting Settings on my phone. Also reset the Wi-Fi modem on my Laptop, but still the same. Any solution?

What about other wireless networks? What about mobile networks? Is your device rooted?

No the device is not rooted. I just can't understand how only whatsapp is working and not other app. Not even opening websites in browser.

what about mobile networks?

Try cleaning cache, e.g. using the All in One Toolbox, then restart your phone.

It's a DNS problem. Try using Google's DNS (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4). Some routers let you change DNS settings.

What made you think it is a DNS server problem? Please back your claim with credible sources.

It might be a wrong configuration on Windows Firewall.

Open your Windows Firewall in the control panel
Check if the firewall is on for Work or Private networks
If it is, then turn it off for this firewall

Now you should be able to connect to the internet again.

If its a firewall issue then why Whatsapp is working?

You may have an incorrect DNS configuration. Check "Obtain a DNS automatically" or use a public DNS.


text:
Handcent SMS - privacy box backup file read
Is there a way to decrypt backup file of Handcent SMS privacy box? File is by default named like:
hcprivacy-loginName-D01M01Y01.z

I've lost my phone but have those backup files on my computer, although they are not in readable form. Inside, there is information I need to get. Please advise...

do you want to open these files with your computer or just restore them with a new phone?

Actually it does not matter. The point is to open a particular message within in which I saved one of my passwords.

try to extract it with winrar or 7zip, then you should be able to read the files in this archive.
if you can't, download another software.


text:
Can there be malicious apps on Google Play?
Do I need to worry about malicious apps on Google Play, or can I trust everything I install, so long as I install it from Google Play?
And if I need to worry, what red flags should I look for - number of downloads, ratings, how old the app is, what permissions it requires?
On a practical level, would you say that it is as safe as Apple's App Store?

Long story short: No software distribution service is 100% safe. Each app should be evaluated individually.

See also: Does Google Audit all apps that enter the market place? and Are the apps safe? How can I make my Android more secure?

@dotVezz Thanks. So Android is as safe as Apple's App Store? I've had an iPad, recently bought an Xperia S, and I was wondering.

Like Izzy said, "We don't compare apples to peaches" (or something). It's likely that the Play Store has more malicious apps than the App Store at any time. But that doesn't make either more dangerous than the other. Merely the presence of a malicious app doesn't undermine the security of a distribution system. In the end, you are responsible to research anything you install on your device.

@dotVezz is technically correct, but this is a good question because it is useful to have some sense of your risk exposure. For example, you are safer installing an app from the Play Store than some random .apk you found on the interwebs. This question might help people understand how much safer.

Oh, @Reid You are absolutely correct! Thanks for pointing that out.

We don't compare apples with peaches. But it's always a good idea to be careful what you install. True, Google Play is to be considered one of the safest sources for Android apps. Still, some malware sneaks in every now and then. So you should use some common sense before hitting the "Install" button.
Things to look at include (but might not be restricted to):

What permissions are required?
Though not always easy to decide, there are some things which can count as indicators – e.g. taking a simple calculator app, it certainly doesn't need access to your contacts, calendars, system settings, etc.
How is it rated?
I'm not talking about "naked numbers", but check the comments. They might give you useful hints on whether it's safe to install. Also, an app installed several thousands of times with no traces of maliciousness in the comments should be considerably safer than an app with almost no installs and no comments.
Should it be a very popular app, but only has few installs?
That's in most cases a clear indicator for malware, hiding behind a popular name. Better keep your hands off those.

Aside of that: In case you're still unsure, pick a good forum and ask. Another good idea is to check other apps from the same developer (just follow the link on his name), and use above criteria on them.

We have a few good "Is this app malware?" questions on ASE already. I think we can reasonably encourage more questions like that, instead of pointing users to other sites.

Thanks for the hint, @DanHulme – I wasn't sure whether to encourage that. Will update my answer accordingly (neutralizing ;) Better? (if so, we could remove our comments ;)

Your third point is so excellent that I could not possibly recommend this answer enough. The Play Store is rife with unofficial clones of varying levels of iffyness and every effort should be taken to avoid them.

Another important tip: If the app has a lot of 5 star reviews, read them and see if they are legit reviews. It is too easy to farm reviews these days, and a lot of fake apps do this to get a high ranking on the play store.

@Munim same applies to low-rated comments. Aside from faked ones ("bought by competition") there are also stupid ones (where users didn't understand what the app was for, or had problems with downloading from Google Play which have nothing to do with the app). This both together was what I refered to with my second point: check the comments (note: check, not count ;)

For those who do still believe Google Play to be "absolutely safe": Scareware: Fake Minecraft apps Scare Hundreds of Thousands on Google Play. Excerpt: ESET has discovered over 30 scareware applications available for download from the Google Play store. The malicious applications, which pretended to be cheats for the popular Minecraft game, have been installed by more than 600.000 Android users. (5/2015)

It is possible for there to be malicious apps on Google Play. However, there are a number of things that you can do to protect yourself:

Check the permissions that an app requests when installing. If it looks excessive for what the app does, then you can email the developer and ask why they need the permissions they ask for. Most developers should be happy to do this, although it may take a while to get a response.
Look at the amount of downloads and reviews. If it doesn't have many downloads then be more cautious. It does not however, mean that the app is malicious, just that you need to check more yourself. If it has a lot of 1-2 star reviews then i'd probably stay clear as well.
If it is a popular app (such as Need For Speed, Riptide GP etc.) that is normally a paid for app, but you find a free version then be very careful. A common tactic by malware authors is to pose as popular apps but actually they install malware on your device.

Essentially you have to use common sense. If in doubt don't install the app. Google does have a system called Bouncer which scans all apps uploaded to the Play Store which has reduced the amount of malicous apps but it is not 100% guaranteed.

I love the third point, but I think the examples used are a bit misleading. It's important to note that Angry Birds actually is officially free on the Play Store. Not to mention PvZ2 has embraced the free-to-play model.

Good point. I've replaced the examples with apps that aren't normally free.

@bmdixon Also, you can check the vendor name, to see if it is the same as the vendor name of the official app.

Anyone who has any experience programming and working on both Android and iOS apps can tell you that there are most certainly malicious apps on the Play store.  Here's the deal:
In order to publish your app to Apple's App store you have to submit it to Apple for review.  Oh, and you also have to pay them $99 per year and jump through some other hoops.  Either way, Apple goes through your app's code line by line (or at least that's what they claim) and verify there is not malicious code.  As a lot of devs can tell you, it's not hard to get an app rejected and not all that uncommon to have to resubmit.  The end result is that the Apple App Store is about as safe as it gets.  Not perfect, but as far as safety it doesn't get much safer.
Now, if I develop and app for Android I can basically just upload it to the Play Store.  I will need to create a developer account, but that's all I have to do.  If my app contains known viruses or malware Google will eventually catch it and remove it from the app store.
The important thing to keep in mind about Android is that it really is closer to Windows in that you can easily mess around and download an app or apps that can steal your personal information, slow your system down due to poor design or ads, and any number of other things.  My best advice is to pay very close attention to an apps permissions and if in doubt just don't install it.  Also, even if you don't usually read reviews on iOS devices, I would recommend that you at least take a look at the reviews for any lesser known Android app you are considering installing.  You can find out pretty quickly if the app has been causing other users problems with their devices.
For this reason, I would not recommend just indiscriminately downloading every single app that looks interesting on Android.  You really should be savvy enough to pay attention and protect yourself.  In addition to programming I have also worked for a few years in the mobile industry and I can tell that I hated to see older users get Androids because they would end up with so much crap on their phone and then wonder why it didn't work the way they wanted.  If this is you, then you maybe you should go with Apple.  If you don't mind paying attention to what you are doing then Android will treat you very well!  Hope this helps.

What about the permissions, though? I wanted to install a Sudoku app, and the top app on Google Play requires access to my "Network connection", "Phone calls" and "System tools", among others. This app has a 100,000 downloads, so it has to be legit, but if legit apps want these permissions, how do I distinguish viruses?

Apple doesn't check the source code, though, see http://stackoverflow.com/a/3188649/492336 for more details on how their review process works.

That's right. Roan's answer contains quite a lot mistakes: Apple cannot check the source code (how should they, you only upload the binary app), also you have to pay a fee to get an Android Developer Account as well. The Play store has automatic malware checks which might be as much of a security check as Apple's process (human testings will have to focus on looks&feel there as you can easily make an app that behaves normally during review...).

It is entirely possible for a malicious app to become available through it. However, the same can be said for any other software distribution system. The App Store is not immune to sneaky devs either.
Never assume that any software distributor offers 100% safe software. Whether you're using Windows, OSX, iOS, Android, Linux, Unix, FreeBSD, or any OS, the only person who should be responsible for your security is you, yourself.
When installing software, make sure that you trust the vendor and the app itself, regardless of how much you trust the supplier. If you trust Rovio, then Angry Birds is going to be just as safe on iOS as it is on Android, or any other platform it's available on.

This advice is hard to operationalize. How are you going to evaluate a given .apk in vacuo? The distribution channel is part of the risk evaluation. Ignoring it because it doesn't give 100% confidence is needlessly pedantic and not very useful.


text:
Port forwarding wireless tethering without using a VPN
There is a very similar question, but the only answer suggests running an openVPN server etc., which is not what I'm looking for. I need to use the phone and only the phone.
So, I need to port forward my phones wifi hotspot to a computer on the network but can't find an option to do it in the standard settings. The port I need to forward is port 80. The reason for this is to be able to access a web-server from outside the network.
The phone is a Samsung GT-I8150 running Android 2.3.6. What can I do to solve this?

If you already know there's a duplicate... I don't want to sound rude, but then you shouldn't open it nevertheless. If you're not satisfied with the answers available to it, the StackExchange way of prodeeding is placing a bounty (and include a description what it is set for), not open a duplicate question.

possible duplicate of Port forwarding for wireless tethering

Isn't it better to formulate the question to my specific needs instead? Since I can't just go ahead and edit and replace his question? Sometimes this "one question per topic" thing is exaggerated. Just a few minutes ago I was told my question was a duplicate because there was an answer to a completely unrelated question that had a link in it that fit my needs. So I'm extra grumpy about the subject at the moment. Ofcourse a troll uses the exact link I provided to point it out officially. :P

If the other question and its answers won't work for you, then the thing to do is make sure you include why in your quasi-duplicate question. I've attempted to make that distinction clear here; you might want to edit your question to reinforce it further. I think (now) the questions are sufficiently different to not close this as a duplicate. Of course, that's not to say that there is a viable solution to what you're looking for.


text:
How can I enable adbd during boot on Cyanogenmod?
I am stuck during the boot process, at first before entering the passphrase for /data and now at the SIM PIN screen. At this point, adb is inaccessible (normally adbd would start up after unlocking /data, etc.).
How can I start adbd during boot? This is a CM 10.2 userdebug build for i9300 with /default.prop (from initrd) containing:
ro.adb.secure=1
ro.secure=1
ro.allow.mock.location=0
ro.debuggable=1
persist.sys.usb.config=mtp,adb

I have also tried the following to no avail:

Edit /init.rc, comment out the disabled line for service adbd.
Edit /init.smdk4x12.usb.rc, add start adbd to the property:sys.usb.config=mtp trigger.
Add persist.sys.usb.config=adb to /default.prop

did anyone get this to work? i have a nexus 10, and im trying to maintain usb debugging after device is reset, but it ask for RSA authentication. how can i remove that?
im trying to do all this without touching the device. like run a script to reset the tablet, after its reset usb debugging is still enabled and no rsa pop up crap..so i can continue my script execution...

Since Android 4.2.2, [USB debugging requires authentication], something that is not possible during boot. To disable this, set the following property in default.prop (inside initrd):
ro.adb.secure=0

Alternatively, copy ~/.android/adbkey.pub into the initial ramdisk of the boot/recovery image at /adb_keys. This preserves the secure feature while granting your key access.
This enables adbd for a short time. It seems that some process is setting sys.usb.config=mtp. To work around that, I applied this patch (perhaps only the start adbd part is necessary, I have only tested the below):
--- init.smdk4x12.usb.rc        2013-10-24 18:47:34.894857300 +0200
+++ init.smdk4x12.usb.rc        2013-10-24 18:47:40.775493943 +0200
@@ -12,10 +12,11 @@
 on property:sys.usb.config=mtp
     write /sys/class/android_usb/android0/enable 0
     write /sys/class/android_usb/android0/idVendor 04e8
-    write /sys/class/android_usb/android0/idProduct 685c
-    write /sys/class/android_usb/android0/functions ${sys.usb.config}
+    write /sys/class/android_usb/android0/idProduct 6860
+    write /sys/class/android_usb/android0/functions ${sys.usb.config},adb
     write /sys/class/android_usb/android0/enable 1
-    setprop sys.usb.state ${sys.usb.config}
+    start adbd
+    setprop sys.usb.state ${sys.usb.config},adb

 on property:sys.usb.config=mtp,adb
     write /sys/class/android_usb/android0/enable 0

You won't be able to get root (su) through this. For that, set:
ro.secure=0

Updating the initramfs block, the initramfs header field and the SHA1 ID (header) of the boot.img is not in the scope of this answer.

On modern lineage, this is automatically done for you with eng variant builds e.g. brunch lineage_us996-eng.

Use this simple one command to get going without stuck!
# setprop persist.sys.usb.config mtp,adb
Awaiting your response!

This will not work during boot (e.g. before disk encryption is unlocked), though it may become active once Android begins to start.


text:
Physical placement of specific sensors in Google Nexus 7 (2012)
I am working on a project that requires me to know where specific sensors are physically located inside the device. I can estimate the location of NFC and light sensor (of course) but what about other sensors like magnetometer, g-sensor? If any of you know about the placement of specific sensors (doesn't have to be very precise) that would help me.

iFixIt usually does a teardown of every gadget with even a modicum of popularity. Did you check there?

iFixit's teardown can be found here: http://www.ifixit.com/Device/Nexus_7

Yes I have seen the video from iFixIt but it doesn't reveal anything but NFC sensor.

If you look at their teardown, step 5 has an image which shows where the NFC chip is, and step 16 has an image showing where the gyro and accelerometer are

NFC Antenna? (Source: ifixit) http://d3nevzfk7ii3be.cloudfront.net/igi/UViY1ZeTrC1JPYso.huge I think it might be that thing that says "NFC ANT" in the big orange box ^_~

Thank you for you comments. Now I am only missing magnetometer.

Here is a labeled photo of the NFC antenna behind the cover. It runs the perimeter of the black cover on the phone's back.

That appears to be for the Nexus 5 not the Nexus 7...


text:
Photos too large
I have Galaxy Xcover and when I take a photo of 2.3 resolution and try to send it to contact in text message, it says "Photo is too large. Packing up".
Is there a way to send a picture that large or do I have to use smaller resolution while sending them?

You're limited by the network's MMS capability.  Most carriers won't allow multimedia messages larger than 300 kilobytes (and thus most messaging apps won't even let you try to send a message larger than that), so the image needs to be shrunk to fit under that file size limbo stick.
If you want to send a larger picture, you'll need to send it via a different method, such as an email attachment or a picture messaging service like Snapchat.


text:
Apply OTA Update for Android 4.3 to AT&T SGS3 i747
My Galaxy S3 (i747) has just informed me that there is an OTA update available from AT&T. I have stock Android 4.1.1 on there right now, but I have the device rooted with Clockwork 5.x.
When I attempted to apply the OTA update, the phone (at first) looked like it was going to apply it, but then Clockwork opened with the error: Failed to verify whole-file signature (along with some other messages) and when I rebooted, Android said something like "The update was interrupted."
So, here's my question, I guess: Is there something I can do with Clockwork 5.x where it can apply the OTA update for me -or- do I need to:

Flash stock AT&T recovery (Will this remove root? Does that even matter?)
Apply the update in the "official" way
Re-download and re-apply Clockwork to re-root the device

If I follow either of these steps, all of my data will be preserved during the upgrade, correct?

I'm fairly certain you'll lose root (and need to re-root) with this update no matter what. And I believe you'd need to flash the stock recovery in order to run the OTA update. But you'll be able to flash CWM back on and re-root afterward.

Any idea where I can find a copy of stock recovery, and/or instructions on how to do that? Would I just use ODIN to apply that? It's been awhile since I've messed around with flashing anything on my phone.

Actually, looking at http://galaxys3root.com/galaxy-s3-unroot/how-to-unroot-att-galaxy-s3-sgh-i747/ makes me think you might not be able to just get the bootloader. But I'm possibly wrong about this!


text:
Bluetooth Tethering issue Galaxy S4 to Samsung Note 10
Hi I tried to tether from my S4 to my Note 10.1, via bluetooth, even though I am able to pair both, on the galaxy note 10.1 it says No Internet Connection.
Would really appreciate your help.

It would be good if you could tell us what method you're trying to use for bluetooth thethering. Tell us the steps that you're taking on the devices when you try.

Plus: which device acts as the access point, which as the client?

on the S4 (Access point): Settings->network connections->more connections-> Tethering -> check the box for "Bluetooth tethering"

Can you add to your question what version of android are on each of the phones and if your phone is rooted?

You need to do 3 things, to get a running bluetooth tethered connection:

Pair both devices as usual and enable Bluetooth on each
Enable BT-tethering on the access point device (needs to be set each reboot):
Settings -> Wireless & Networks -> More..-> Tethering -> Enable Bluetooth tethering`
Activate Bluetooth tethering on the client device:
Settings->Bluetooth->"John's Phone"-> Options"-> enable "Internet access"

If it doesn't work the first time, switch off/on Bluetooth on both devices and retry.
These are the steps as I use them to tether my Nexus 10 to my Google Galaxy Nexus.
PS: If you don't like to manually enable BT tethering each reboot, use Bluetooth Auto Tether to have it enabled automatically during boot.

So, I also forgot to mention couple of points: I am able to connect through tether to the internet (IF MY PHONE IS CONNECTED THROUGH WIFI), but I can't connect to the internet on the Galaxy Note 10.1 if my phone is connected just through my Data plan.

OK, got it. Seems like a routing issue in the network stack, strange behaviour. Have you tried switching on/off/on wifi during an existing bluetooth tether connection? My Galaxy Nexus allows that, it just "works" and routes traffic over whatever connection is primary at the moment (wifi or data plan). However, sometimes it doesn't work right at first and I have to disable/re-enable bluetooth on both devices before it connects.


text:
How to copy text string from nfc tag
I'm trying to copy a string of text from a nfc tag, but the only option I've been able to find is displaying the text with no ability to copy it (its a complex string with letters and numbers). Best case scenario would be to insert the string where the cursor is at the moment the tag is pressed, but I'm okay with somehow getting the string to the clipboard to paste.
If this isn't the right place to ask this question, if you could tell me where I could find the answer, I'd be very grateful.

Are you trying to develop an app that does this? If that's the case, you would probably have better luck on our sister site, http://stackoverflow.com. Questions about development are off-topic here.

NXP's NFC TagInfo app can copy the text from a text record on a scanned NFC tag to the clipboard. There are other apps with similar functionality. Copying text from text records on NFC tags is not something that's built into Android without installing and running an app.

Thanks, I just tried it out and I can in fact copy it to the clipboard. This is a step in the right direction! Is there any way for a phone that does not have this app installed to copy the string to its clipboard / paste to the location of the cursor? Again, thank you so much!

@Kevin Only by installing another app that does that.


text:
Galaxy mini S5570 automatically creates screenshots
It makes screenshots on its own and saves them in the gallery. I delete them but it makes new screenshots.
I stopped an running app that says "screen capture" but it does it again. I can't delete it, it's not an installed app.
What can I do do permanently stop this nonsense?

I believe its being caused by a certain combination of buttons at the bottom of the screen. I haven't found a workaround, but here is something you can do to, at least not to store images (its not much, but something). It creates a directory "ScreenCaptures" to store images in; if you delete it, it will be simply recreated. So, instead, in the same directory, create a file with that name. Every time a screen is captured, it will complain that it cannot be stored, so at least you won't have to worry about deleting those images.

When you say "So, instead, in the same directory, create a file with that name," what is "that name"?

@dotVezz same name as a folder, "ScreenCaptures"


text:
What happens with my messages and contacts after factory reset
Lately i'm having some problems with my HTC EVO 3D.
It freezes all of a sudden, sometimes the screen doesn't respond well to touch etc, and i have to do a hard reset.
Since i believe it is due to a lot of apps i've installed etc, i decided to reset everything, and do a factory reset.
I don't care about the data of my apps or the data on my SD card (video and pics).
One thing i would like to backup is SMS and contacts. So, i'm guessing all my messages and contacts would be deleted when i do a factory reset. But, can you recommend a way to backup my messages and contacts, so i can restore them after the factory reset.

You're absolutely correct with your assumption a factory-reset will delete all your apps and data (as you also can find in the factory-reset tag-wiki).
If you want to backup your contacts and SMS, I'm afraid there's no native way. While the contacts you could sync with Google, the same cannot be said for SMS. But if you take a look at google play, searching for the string "sms backup" you will find a lot of helpful apps. Depending on your preferences, they can backup to your GMail account, or do it locally. Putting both things together, a good choice seems to be Super Backup: SMS & Contacts, which cares for both and can save the backup to either GMail or your SDCard. And of course it has a restore function as well.
Btw: On most devices, you easily can backup your contacts with the native Contacts app. It supports Export to/Import from VCard (.vcf) files (just open its menu from its main screen). No cloud involved. So you'd only need to check for something similar for your SMS, if you're concerned about privacy and want to avoid having them in the cloud.

I'll support the suggestion of Super Backup : SMS & Contacts. It's worked well for my friends who can't use Titanium Backup since they don't have root. Or just because Titanium's UI is impossible to navigate for 99% of the population.

Thank you very much for your reply. I'll try Super Backup, and hope it serves my needs ;)

I don't know about the Evo 3D, but on my Incredible S (on ICS), the stock messaging app had a backup/restore messages feature.


text:
Google Play does not recognise updated firmware
I have updated the firmware on my Samsung GT-s5570 to Android 2.3.4. Google Play does not recognise that I have upgraded and will not install apps that are for 2.3 or higher. Still thinks phone is on 2.2.
HELP PLEASE

How are you certain that is the reason they won't install? I don't believe the Play Store gives you a specific message that tells you that your version of Android is too old. Are you sure it's not region restrictions or hardware incompatibility?

Thanks, app is a simple heater control, say needs 2.3 or higher. My phone was on 2.2 so I upgraded firmware usinh Kies no problem. Google Play it seems only recognises phone model and not firmware status if different from factory default??

Google Play should have no problem identifying your Android version. It can check that when you launch it. Again, did it tell you specifically that it could not be installed because your version of Android was not supported? There are many, many reasons an app may be incompatible with your device; the version of Android you have installed is only one of them. I would wager the app requires some hardware feature you do not have. See also Why are some apps on the market incompatible with my device?

Thanks provided GPlay can see firmware version I guess you are correct. I;ll contact the developers and ask questions.

I have the same phone and the same problem, running android 4.2 (flash), so google play does not watch your Firmware level, but your phone's name.
Just try to find your apps on the internet or try other markets (like GetJar).
Just now I was trying to find a solution for the problem :)


text:
Update OpenDNS IP from Android tablet/phone
I want to use my Android tablet or phone to update my OpenDNS IP since there is no official OpenDNS client for Android. Is it possible?
As a bonus, I'd like to do this automatically whenever I connect to WiFi.

SUCCESS!!
I went through a free web service called dnsomatic (run by the folks at opendns)
It's as simple as signing up for an account and adding opendns to your services. No configuration beyond that.
For Android users busybox versions of wget are way behind and don't have options to use user names and passwords, so we will have to install and use cURL
The guide to install curl can be found here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2362386
Once you have curl you can simply do things like updating your opendns ip
curl -u opendnsusername:password http://updates.dnsomatic.com/nic/update?hostname=opendnshostname

Next you need to setup tasker to run this command when your device connects to WiFi.
Make a net profile that runs a task when connected to your WiFi ip or Mac address.
Press the "+" button in tasker to add a new task and select "scripts" and then "run shell"
Add the line of code above
curl -u opendnsusername:password http://updates.dnsomatic.com/nic/update?hostname=opendnshostname

This will make tasker execute the command when you connect to WiFi

OK, I know I'm way late, but here's an alternative I'd like to share that may be of help.
Just open your browser at
https://email:password@updates.opendns.com/nic/update?hostname=your_opendns_network_label to update your IP -- and that's it. On the email part, use "%40" as an @ and "%2E" as a dot, ie, write "someone%40somewhere%2Ecom" instead of "someone@somewhere.com".
Credits to "rotblitz" at https://support.opendns.com/entries/23217700-Is-there-an-IP-Updater-for-OpenDNS-using-android for this nice tip.
As doing it automatically, sorry, no ideas but the aforementioned Tasker... hey, maybe IFTTT for Android?


text:
Why does Google Wallet depend not only on the Phone but the Carrier as well?
I'm trying to use Google Wallet on a Moto X at Duane Reed.  I'm under the impression that this should work.
However, when I browsed the help file for Wallet, it lists a number of Moto-X compatible devices, but they also list the cellular service.

What is the technological, or vendor relationship that is needed in order to Google wallet work with Moto-X with T-Mobile?
Why is there a dependency outside of the actual phone?  Is the cellular operator working with Google, sharing my PII, and monitoring my transactions?

My goal is to understand the extent the cellular operator is monitoring my on-device actions, and purchases.

It's probably just a business thing, but really, in order to get a definitive answer you'd probably have to ask the carriers/Google why it is the way it is. As an example, though, Verizon has it's own mobile payment platform, Isis. Google Wallet is a competitor, and historically they have not supported it.

The Google Wallet Privacy Policy specifies that personally identifiable information and transaction data are only shared with the carrier if necessary to allow carrier billing (that is, where purchases made via Google Wallet appear on and are paid through your phone bill).
The relationship between Google and the carriers for this purpose is a purely business one. The only involvement of the carrier in the transaction is (a) if carrier billing is involved, as I said above, or (b) if you use 3G to make a payment over Internet, instead of through NFC. As eldarerathis says, several carriers have payment services that compete with Google Wallet, and Google can't afford to fall out with carriers.
If you're worried about privacy from your cellular operator, please do remember that they have the ability to "customize" your ROM, if you buy your phone through them. Software that monitors your on-device actions and purchases might already be installed on your phone, before you even start using Google Wallet

With the 4.4 KitKat update, the Moto X (and any other device with NFC running 4.4) can use Google Wallet regardless of carrier, as stated here. You can also check out the screengrab below:


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push allert to my phone that will ignore silent profile
How can I make my phone check my website in a background every 30s and activate voice alert that will ignore silent mode if website says for example '1'? Pushing from server to phone is also acceptable but I guess much more difficult and is susseptable to hangs when conectivity is bad. So far i;ve been using Light Flow Lite and additional gmail account - sending myself any email there triggers alarm.

If you make a request to a website every 30s, the cell radio or Wi-Fi chip in your phone will never be able to go to low-power mode, so your battery will run down very quickly. Either stick with Gmail or write your own app that uses Google Cloud Messaging for push notifications.

You could try pushover.net, which provides an easy-to-use API for sending notifications to your Android or iOS device.
It should be very efficient, because it's already using Google Cloud Messaging to deliver your push notifications, thus it should not have any adverse effects on the battery life, unlike your proposed solution of manually doing the polling every 30 s.

One possible solution involves the app Tasker (paid app worth every cent; head to the dev's site for a free trial). It's probably the most complete automation solution on Android (see also the tasker tag-wiki), and supported by legions of apps and addons if you need additional features.
Hint to get started: Tasker can do HTTP-GET as well as HTTP-POST. It can write-to and read-from files, play with variables, and more. So for the task you're looking for: HTTP-GET the URL, compare the result with your conditions, and trigger the wanted action. I never tried this myself, so the example below might not be accurate – but it should get you started:

Condition: Time, all 30s
Task:

HTTP-GET the URI
Set sound volume to X IF content ~ 1
Notify-Sound (specify notification text and sound) IF content ~ 1

So basically, this retrieves the URI all 30s, sets the volume to a given value (if content was "1"), and triggers the alert in this case.
You might need to fine-tune this concerning re-setting the original volume, and some other things to your convenience – but the principle should be clear. Good luck, and enjoy!


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Blocking hard and master reset or internet access permanently on Samsung Galaxy phone
I have a porn problem and I want to either disable the ability to do hard or master resets on the Samsung Galaxy phone (the only way to get by certain site blockers of which I have setup an undecipherable password), or simply block all internet access on the phone while still allowing calls to be made. How can this be done so that I will never again be tempted to view obscene material?

I doubt blocking resets can be done. And even if you could block internet access probably a reset would enable it. If your habit is affecting your day-to-day life you don't need a technical solution, you need to talk to a professional.

1.You can install one of parental control apps and ask your friend to set password for you (if you are ashamed you can tell that this is e.g. for your son or sister...).
2.If you have rooted phone that topic is for you ! Made this application as the system app and then unroot your phone.
I think in your case best solution is using both methods above.


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HTC Desire S-Off
My HTC Desire is stuck in a boot loop:
https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/52571/htc-desire-boot-loop
I am trying to set S-Off so that I can use the Windows version of ADB and delete some apps/data off the phone memory.
I don't want to wipe all the data off the phone memory and reset back to factory settings.
I have tried using Revolutionary on two separate computers however, it just remains on the 'waiting for phone to connect' message.  I have tried the phone in Fastbot mode and Recovery.
I can't remember if the phone has USB debug enabled or not as I cannot boot into Android to check?


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Unable to update Nexus 7 2012 32gb from 4.2.1 to 4.3
I bought my google Nexus 7 2012 32gb wifi only today. It has stock 4.2.1 and it is showing that an update to 4.3 is available but whenever i go there it always states that waiting to download-172.1MB.
I tried to restart it and see if it picks up the download but no use, its in the same way. Please can any one help me, i dont want to Root it or anything.

Check the WiFi connection you connected it to if it's working properly.
Go to settings>Apps>All>Google Services framework
and clear the data. Restart your Nexus 7 and see if the update downloads without hitch.

did that its the same.... :( thank you though

it happens to offer an option for search for updates and then after the moment it finds an update it immediately goes to the waiting for download.


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Setting appropriate permissions on SU binary
I recently found a way to maintain root access on my android device using a dropbear SSH server that I modified to run at boot as root using init.d, a lil scripting magic & some config scripts I made. If you want you can check it out here. Anyways for an experiment I removed the su binary and Superuser.apk from the system. I've managed to get them copied back to the system but I don't know the appropriate permissions for the su binary. If I look in Super User app on another rooted phone and go to update it shows -rwsr -sr-x as the permissions on the binary. How can I set these same permission manually & what do they mean?

For setting file permissions, you can use the chmod command. The permissions shown are basically split in 3 parts, each consisting of 3 chars: a triple for the owner, the group, and for "others". Usually, each triple holds definitions for reading, writing, and executing a file; so rwx means "can read, write, and execute", while r-- would say "can only read".
The resulting 9 chars are usually preceded by another one, giving information of the type of the "file": (d)irectory and (l)ink are the most common examples. Again, if no "special condition" matches, a leading - indicates a "normal file".
Based on that, let's take your input: -rwsr-sr-x obviously describes a "normal file" (starting with -), readable (r) by owner, group, and others, writable by owner only, and executable by "others" – while owner and group have a s instead the x for execute. This stands for "suid", elevate the caller to the level of the file owner/group.
Taking advantage of the fact permissions can be set "bit-wise" (x=1,w=2,r=4, suid user=4, group=2), after my long "rant" finally the command which should do the trick:
chmod 6774 su

Should set the permissions your question shows. If I "mis-calculated", you've got all information to re-calculate for yourself now :)

Additional hints from the comments:
Instead of calculating the "bitmask", one can also use symbolic names – as Dan Hulme pointed out, and as explained e.g. on the chmod manpage:

defining whom to grant to: (u)ser / (g)roup / (o)thers / (a)ll
defining what to grant: (r)ead / (w)rite / e(x)ecute / (s)uid
defining whether to (+)grant or (-)revoke

So the following two commands should be similar, provided there haven't been other things granted before:
chmod 6774 su
chmod u+rws g+rs o+rx su

The difference becomes clear in case e.g. before "others" had also write permission: while the first command (using a bitmask) sets the permission explicitly to match the "grants" defined (and thus would remove that write permission), the symbolic one "makes a diff" (in the example, it just adds the permissions specified to whatever was there before, so that write permission would not be removed).

You don't need to calculate the numbers for chmod yourself: chmod u+rws g+rs a+rx su will do exactly the right thing, and doesn't require you to count on your fingers.

Sure that it's not chmod u+rws g+rs o+rx su (not "all", but "o"thers, see chmod manpage)? I always mess that up thinking whether was it "owner" or "others", which is why I prefer using the bitwise stuff, except when only changing stuff for group ;)

@DanHulme checking with the manpage again, a+rx would set "rx" for "ugo" (user, group and others). I'm not sure which confuses me more: calculating the bit-set, or interpreting recursing symbols :P

Yes, using a would make the command shorter, but as you've noticed, it makes it a bit harder to see what is going on, so I almost never use a.

@DanHulme I didn't even know about the a symbol. But thanks for kicking me into checking the manpage again :D The a switch can be quite useful sometimes, for things like chmod a+r public_info.txt.

Sorry, I misunderstood what you were saying. Yes, when I wrote a in my first comment I meant o for others. I wondered why you brought it up!

Thanks for clarification, @DanHulme! With your permission (and credit given), I will include it with my answer, so nobody has to follow up all the comments for understanding.


text:
Why is Google Keyboard incompatible with my HTC One X?
I am unable to download Google Keyboard from Google Play on my HTC One X. It displays message that This app is incompatible with your device. No other information is displayed.
Android: 4.2.2
HTC Sense: 5.0

Is there something wrong with the default keyboard on the device?
Very odd though that would be marked incompatible for you since it is such a basic app and by Google. There are lots of ways developers can put filters on their apps however can even omit specific devices, countries, and carriers if they choose. There are few options you can try from here http://www.howtogeek.com/138500/

The default keyboard is fine. But I wanted to try out other options and Google Keyboard seemed like a nice one. Also my phone is unrooted.


text:
Is there a default/stock sound recorder app?
In most of the Android phones sound recorder has a different look and feel and slightly different functionality. So is the sound recorder is a basic feature of all Android phones?
Can I assume that it will be present in all Android phones or is it specially added by manufacturers and there might be a case where it may not present in some phone devices ?

There is no default sound recorder in Android. Some manufacturers add one to their stock ROMs, but the closest thing on a Nexus device is Google Keep, added in 4.3.
If you assume that a voice recording app is present in all Android phones you'll be caught out.


text:
How can I select the apps to sync when auto-sync is turned on?
When I turn on auto sync it sync all my accounts like Google, Twitter, Facebook, BBM etc.
How can I set auto sync to sync only selected accounts so that only my Google or Twitter account will be sync?

Gee, Bill. I'm surprised you're not using a Windows phone.

@AlE Even Bill knows that Android is better.

Did you take a look at Settings → Accounts & Sync? (I'm not sure about Android 4.1+, but at least on my LG Optimus 4X this setting is there)

Accounts & Sync (click image for larger variant)
As the screenshot shows, here you can define what to sync. Green arrows to the right show what's to be sync'd, gray ones what not. For some apps, you even can tap the app to specify it more detailed.

What version of Android/manufacturer-added skin is that in your screen shot? It doesn't match up with my vanilla Android 4.2. (In fact, there isn't an "Accounts & Sync" option in settings.)

I cannot check with 4.2, as my LG O4X still runs 4.0, and it has "Accounts & Sync" in settings. OP didn't state which Android version he refers to – but you're right, I should state mine with the answer (updating...)

@AlEverett vanilla Android 4.2 & 4.3 have an "Accounts" heading in Settings and just list all your sync accounts under that heading in the main settings screen. You can tap to open those accounts and most of them should have sync options that you can un-tick.

And it's still there with Android 4.4, by the way. Most likely also with later versions.

For Android 4.2+:

Accounts -> Select account -> More (at the top right) -> Sync.


text:
How to check if application on Google Play would work on other (not own) phone?
Is there a way to (at least approximately) check if an application I have found in Google Play store would work on friend's phone.  I'd rather not suggest an app that would not work on friend's phone.
For example is there a way to check if an application would work on Android 2.3, when my phone has Android 4.1.2?

Nowadays Google Play store has (in the web version) "Additional information" section, with table (actually: divs) containing structured information about an app, with the following 'columns': "Updated", "Size", "Installs", "Current Version", "Requires Android", "Content Rating".
While usually the information I want is in "Requires Android" field (e.g. '4.0.3 and up', '2.2 and up') sometimes it is just 'Varies with device', e.g. SoundHound.

Let him try installing it via Playstore. If it's "incompatible by design" (e.g. requires Android 4.x while he has only 2.3), Playstore would refuse to install it and give the hint "not compatible with your device".
Apart from that (and if the app description doesn't give a clue):

check the comments for hints (take care for their date, compared with the "last updated" timestamp of the app; AppBrain lists the history of an app nicely on its "Changelog" tab)
Install the SDK on your computer, and add the corresponding AVDs to it to test out for yourself
Ask for the specific app on a forum, whether anyone can confirm it's running on Android X.X.X / the specific device / ...
Ask the dev (and if doing so, suggest to include such hints with the desc)

I see that some (all?) apps in Google Play have "Additional information" table with "Requires Android" column... though it is sometimes 'Varies with device'

Exactly that's the problem: You can't conclude anything from "varies". And sometimes everything "varies": Android version, size... I wonder whether permissions also vary then. So though you might look there, you not always can rely on that.


text:
Can I damage screen (Nexus 7) by having it turned on and not change for longer periods of time?
I wanted to use an app called TimeWise to have a timer ticking and showing how much time is left in a time-boxed task. However, I am not sure, if having the screen turned on like this (even with very low brightness) for 25 minutes without changing its content other than the counter, cannot damage it. These 25 minutes can be repeated for 4-8 hours. It is likely, that I will change the content of the screen from time to time, so this might be helpful, but I am not sure. Does anyone know if my concern is pertinent, or it is no problem for this type of screen? The device I'm using is Nexus 7 2013 version. Thanks!

Are you talking about screen burn-in?

Talking about any kind of damage, I dunno, what can happen. But yeah, the only thing I know of is something, that I would understand as burn-in, although this is the first time I hear the phrase.

I guess in that case I must have ruined most of my tablets, using them as eBook readers on train (and whereever) – sometimes reading for hours (until "battery low"). But alas, they're still working fine.

Thanks for your reply Izzy, I thought about it this way too, but then - I don't know how other, but when I read on the device, I scroll the text pretty often, which makes the pixels, that are showing white change to black etc., so I thought, that this might be a little different, than leaving the screen unchanged for half an hour repetitively,.

No.  Both versions of the Nexus 7 use IPS LCD displays, which are not vulnerable to burn-in or other detrimental effects from displaying a fixed graphic.
Burn-in in currently used display technologies is a problem limited to organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays, such as those used on the Samsung Galaxy S3 and S4.  The Electroluminescent compounds used to make these displays degrade as they are used (resulting in reduced brightness over time), thus displaying a fixed graphic will result in some parts of the screen wearing at a different rate than other parts.  Compounding this issue is that different colours of OLED degrade at different rates (blue degrades fastest, followed by green, then red).  Here's an example of what this looks like.  The burned-in sections will be permanently darker than the rest of the screen.

I would add that LCD screens are not subject to burn-in; they can suffer from a similar, but not permanent, condition "transient image persistence" - as discussed here


text:
Is there any application that roots all android devices??
i have a requirement that needs a device to be rooted , but i have 4-5 different branded devices and i would definitely want them to be rooted by the same application for simplicity purpose.Please suggest an app that roots all devices to root.

Different devices can have widely varying root methods. The problem runs deep depending on security measures implemented by the manufacturers, software/kernel versions, and even hardware. I'm fairly certain there is no silver bullet that roots every device.

Such an application does not exist.
Rooting an Android device is a complex process that involves two major steps: bypass the securtiy and anti-rooting measures of the device, and install the su command and app. This first step is the major roadblock in rooting a device.
To bypass the security that is put in place by both the Android system and the device manufacturer to discourage rooting. The method for doing this varies wildly by the device in question, the version of Android installed, and software such as a bootloader lock or "security" app installed by the device vendor or the carrier. This variety is why certain devices are yet to be rooted and why some must be wiped before rooting, etc. Though software exists to root a handful of devices by the same manufacturer (ex: Wug's Nexus Root Toolkit which can root the extremely similar Nexus S, Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4, Nexus 7, and Nexus 10), this is only because the devices happen to use identical or extremely similar exploits to enable root. A single app cannot/need not be robust enough to handle every device by every manufacturer.

That is an excellent answer.


text:
How can I turn off the home screen preview of SMS/text messages in my Galaxy Note 2
On an Android device (Galaxy Note 2) with a locked screen whenever an SMS is received it's preview is displayed over the locked screen. This is super inconvenient - anyone who is nearby can see it without even unlocking the screen.Is there a way to disable those previews over a locked screen?

Messaging Apps like Viber has settings to enable or disable these features. You can check how to setup those settings here http://justcode.me/how-to/how-to-turn-off-viber-message-preview-on-lock-screen/

i have been annoyed by this as well!!
even after turning off as mentioned above i was still receiving the notification and preview of the msg
my problem turned out to be an add on sms widget for evernote "sms to evernote" that gives you the option to send your sms to evernote.
It is not obvious from the pop up that it is evernote
there are two options in the "sms to evernote" settings
"Enable sms pop up"  when you enable this you get further options to "hide sms in pop up"
The "hide sms in pop up" option does not work you get the preview regardless
it took me a while to work this out and i hope this saves someone else some time :-)

You might want to format the question to be more on-point, I almost deleted it as a "Me Too!" answer.

Open the SMS app and fire up the Settings option from the Menu button.
In the Notification Settings sub-section there is a Preview Message option. If checked, that will show a preview of the message in the status bar and on  the lock screen.
Uncheck it, and your problem should be solved.

Yes, you can do that using Settings->Lock screen settings and changing there widgets.

You can go to Messaging, go to Settings by pressing the button next to home button, scroll down and disable Preview Messages ... or even better disable notification.


text:
What is the path where GoSMS stores the SMS messages
How say the title I can't find where the sms are stored.
I see this similar question but the replies haven't helped me.
I have gosms and I want delete all messages, but if I do this option with gosms the app crashes because are a lot of messages (about 6000).
I found:
./data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/mmssms.db
./data/data/com.jb.gosms/databases/gommssms.db

But are too small files (a few kb) and with text reader I saw that they contained only some queries. Also when I deleted them if I open gosms I still see all messages. So what is the real path of sms?
Edit:
After a reboot gosms can't find sms anymore, so my problem is solved (
though probably the real sms are still stored somewhere)

Looks like the correct ones to me. "a few kb" does also make sense, considered that a SMS can have max 160 chars. Maybe you could [edit] your question and add how exactly you deleted what from where? I don't think you simply deleted those databases. But using SQL's DELETE command, you might e.g. have missed the COMMIT to make your DELETEs persistent, and thus your changes might have been "rolled back" instead.

possible duplicate of Where on the file system are SMS messages stored?

This could just be a comment to, and a continuation of the accepted answer to the previous question.

@Izzy I deleted the databases using a file explorer (rootexplorer) and I clicked on the button to delete the databases from filesystem

@wbogacz Mmm.. I hadn't considered this possibility

What about a reboot? It could have taken them from cache. Btw: Not a very clever idea to delete the database file, as this way settings could get lost as well. Though the app should re-create the database file as if it had just been installed, it might also crash if not considering this (finding its other files intact, it might not think it has to re-create anything).

Yes, I know the risks of my actions, but finally with a reboot all seems ok :D

SMS messages are stored in data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db. If you can't see it in your root explorer (or it is to small), try rebooting your device or simply - connect your phone to the computer and copy that file (using e.g. ADB) on it and I'm sure you will be able to read it properly .


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Can't save proxy settings after installing AdBlock Plus
I installed the AdBlock Plus app and I need to modify the proxy settings, but the "Save" button is disabled and I cannot do anything. Could you please help me out? I have an LG P970 running Android 4.0 ICS.

Screenshot (click image for larger variant)

I don't see any proxy settings in AdBlock Plus. Are you referring to the WiFi proxy settings, or something else?

AdBlock Plus software depends on root access to modify files. Do you have this? Without it, modifications to internal files are prevented.

The screenshot suggests so. Am I assuming correctly that you try to set ABP as system-wide proxy via Android's native network settings? I might be wrong here as "Proxy settings" in your screenshot is still set to "None". And no, I have no idea whether that would be possible even ;)

Change the proxy settings to manual and fill the settings and it will enable

Its not about adblock i guess.
Its is just that you have to give proxy server ip instead of hostname ( it looks something like 10.X.X.X ). it will enable save button.
So you put that ip in proxy hostname and save button will be enabled.
( It worked for me in my android)

I have a LG G Pad and had the same problem. All I needed to do was type the correct WiFi password again and the Save button was became enabled, allowing me to set my manual proxy settings for Adblock Plus.

I just did it, according to ADP instructions.
Tap on app, which should have an error message about your proxy settings.
When you find your network, hold it until Modify Network appears.

Show advanced options (need tablet in vertical position to see this).
  Look for proxy settings and set to Manual.
  Proxy settings should be localhost.
  Set port to 2020.
  On my page, I had to fill in every line, in order for the save button to appear.
  Hit Save.

On some devices, the Save button will be grayed out until you re-type your Wi-Fi password.

I also had the same issue but not long after I figured the proxy number given was a mirror image I mean the number was not actually typed but instead you had to type the given number in the box. and change the proxy host to localhost but after this you will have an issue with chrome  connecting to the proxy  server. the solution for me to this was I went to settings in chrome and went to advanced, bandwidth and management and selected reduce data usage and enable it.

Simply put do this....
host name : LocalHost
Proxy: 2020
Proxy reason: adblock.com
Proxy setting DHC25 (or watever just not static)
Click save and re-enter ur wifi password and ur done


text:
Samsung galaxy s3 vibrate
I have had my phone for a while and I am always feeling guilty because I haven't replied to text message that I never knew that I got when I have my phone on vibrate. It only vibrates when I pick it up or move it, it's not like my old phone like when you get a message it vibrated automatically but my samsung galaxy s3 doesn't.
Is there anyway that I could have it like that so it doesn't only vibrate when I move it?

If you go to your Messaging app's settings, is there an option for vibrating alerts or anything like that?

If you look under sound settings there should be an option for vibration patterns. The intensity should be configurable from there as well.


text:
assign an animated image to contacts
Is it possible to assign an animated image to contacts in my address book?
So when a person from my contacts calls me it would play an animated image instead of a static image.
I have tried using animated GIFs, but it doesn't seem to work. I was wondering if there is a work-around. Preferably without having to root my phone.

It simply doesn't seem possible. On Android, pictures are shown in ImageView components, and this component does not support displaying gifs. On most Android versions, you can't do it. Maybe a custom Contacts app can have the capability.