text:
Moto G WiFi reception severely affected by Bluetooth
I suspect this may just be a hardware fault that I have to live with or have repaired, but let's see...
My stock 1st-gen 16GB Moto G running 4.4.4 has been working flawlessly for almost a year. A few days ago, we had some WiFi interference issues in our house, which isn't unusual as it's a dense residential area.
I managed to resolve those, but noticed my phone still wouldn't connect. Using WiFi Analyzer (which is an invaluable app btw), I could see that it was detecting hardly any signal at all, while the same app on my Nexus 7, which was connecting fine, showed a good signal from both the access points in my house (not to mention various surrounding houses).
I thought there may just be an unresolved interference problem, but when I took the phone into my office the next day, I had the same problem there.
After a bit of Googling, I read that similar symptoms on Nexus phones could sometimes be worked around by putting the phone into Airplane Mode, then re-enabling the WiFi. Sure enough, that seemed to the trick for me too.
On further investigation, putting it into Airplane Mode, turning on the WiFi, and then turning on Bluetooth too, caused the WiFi to drop out almost immediately again. Here's an example of what I can see where I'm sitting right now, before and after enabling Bluetooth:

As it happens, in this case the WiFi stayed connected when I turned the Bluetooth off, as the one AP I could still see is the one I was connected to. But it would probably have disconnected soon afterwards.
Has anyone else experienced a similar issue? Is a factory reset likely to fix it, or is it really a hardware issue? I can live with it if it is, as I rarely use Bluetooth (and even more rarely do I need WiFi access at the same time), though I'd obviously be concerned about any knock-on effects further down the line.

In my Moto G 4G running Android 4.4.4, the Wi-Fi was reporting "Not in Range" despite being across the room. I turned off bluetooth and everything came back to normal.

This may be a bug with BLE, and in that case upgrading to 4.4.4 will probably solve the issue.

Sorry, should have said, have been on 4.4.4 for several months. Have added this info to the question.

@scottishwildcat This issue was reported along with the "Bluetooth share has stopped working" error, so I thought it was fixed in 4.4.4. I'm currently running cm11, 4.4.4 and not having this issue. Nevertheless, the "bad WiFi connectivity with Bluetooth enabled" has been reported lots of times on the Internet, so I doubt it's your device.

Interesting, thanks. I guess I'm just a bit suspicious because of how suddenly it started happening.


text:
Is it possible to create 100+ tasker profiles from a spreadsheet?
I'm looking to create multiple tasker profiles that trigger based upon DOB of a client and send a SMS wishing them a happy birthday.
That's easy enough, but replicating the same thing time after time over 100 times is pretty time consuming. Does anybody know of a way to achieve this externally to Tasker and then just importing them in? I have all the DOB and names in a spreadsheet so I'm hoping it could be simple.
Or, is there a way for Tasker to check DOB in your contacts folder and auto send an SMS if the date matches?

Tasker imports/exports are usually in XML format. You can export your Excel file to XML, but it'll need a lot of formatting to become tasker-readable. The template is listed on the sidebar for r/TaskerFiles/.
If you have the DOB in the correct field in Contacts, you can trigger a task off your calendar (in Beginner Mode / Tasker version 4.5u1m for Android 4+ : Create a profile with State > App > Calendar Entry). You can select a specific calendar, and there's a calendar that just contains the birthdays of your contacts.
That's the trigger. After that, you'd need to retrieve the name of the contact (which should be contained in the calendar event title), match it to a phone number, and then disable the trigger so you aren't sending SMSs all day while it's someone's birthday.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
What do the application icons in the upper-left hand side of the notification panel mean?
On my Samsung Galaxy SIII, I am used to controlling which applications are running at any given time by holding the Home hardware button and then swiping any apps I want to close from the list of running apps that shows up. In the following screenshot, I have held down the Home hardware button and closed all running application by tapping the icon that shows up in the lower-right hand side consisting of a list with an X in front
of it:

(click the image to see its larger variant)
However, what puzzles me is that no applications are running, therefore shouldn't those icons in the upper-left hand side of the notification bar disappear so as to tell the user that these apps are no longer running? Perhaps I have missed the purpose of those icons in the upper-left hand side of the notification bar.
Perhaps someone could explain what they mean.

It's worth noting that the "recent apps" list just shows apps (strictly, tasks) that you've used recently, not running apps. Clearing the list doesn't really achieve much.

OK, I figured out, those icons do not correspond to which applications are running,
but rather, to those applications which have awaiting new information for the user.
When the user drags the notification panel from the top of the screen, those same
icons appear next to the name of the application sending the notification and the
message posted by such application also appears next to the application name in
the list. This should answer the question.

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


text:
Can't add hotmail.com address into Gmail 5.0
I tried under KitKat and Lollipop on my Nexus 4 but I can't add my old account. I also tried both manual and automatic setup, but same result: credentials are incorrect.
Any solutions about this? Should I have entered different parameters during the manual setup?
EDIT:
POP3 with default parameters: server hotmail.com, port 110, security STARTTLS
IMAP with default parameters: server hotmail.com, port 143, security STARTTLS
Exchange, which doesn't give the possibility to change any parameters

What parameters did you enter during the manual setup? Knowing what parameter you tried will help prevent us from suggesting ones you already tried.

See updated original post.

Do you have two-step verification enabled on your hotmail account? If you do, that extra layer of security can trip up GMail. You'll need to create an "App Password", which should be a setting in your Hotmail settings.
From Microsoft's Two-step Verification FAQ:

Some apps (like the mail apps on some smartphones) or devices (like
  the Xbox 360, for example) can't prompt you to enter a security code
  when you try to sign in. If you get an incorrect password error with
  an app or device, you'll need to create a unique app password to sign
  in. Once you've signed in with your app password, you're all set to
  use that app or device. You'll need to create and sign in with an app
  password once for each app or device that can't prompt you for a
  security code.

Sign in to your Microsoft account.
Under Password and security info, tap or click Edit security info.
If you're prompted for a security code here, enter it and tap or click Submit.
Under App passwords, tap or click Create a new app password.
A new app password is generated and appears on your screen.
Switch to the app or device for which you need the password, and enter the app password displayed on the screen.

For more info about signing in to specific devices, see App passwords
  and two-step verification.

It worked, that's great! Thanks. I can finally uninstall the Outlook app.

Note: For me the Gmail app defaulted to "hotmail.com" for the server. I had to change this to imap-mail.outlook.com and smtp-mail.outlook.com respectively. I also had to use SSL/TSL for IMAP and couldn't use STARTTLS.

Try these steps as seen @ how-to-set-up-hotmail-on-android:
...
...
1) Tap on “Email” in your app drawer
2) You should see the Email Setup screen. Type in your email address and password. Tap Next.

If you encounter an error, repeat Steps 1 and 2 (DON’T press Next). Move on to Step 3.

3) Once you’ve typed in your details, tap on “Manual Setup”.
4) Select “Exchange” from the list of options.
5) Fill out the fields as indicated below in the Account Setup window:
Domain\Username: delete the “\” and type in your full email address
Password: type in your Hotmail password
Server: type in “debug-m.hotmail.com”.
    If that doesn’t work, repeat Steps 1 – 4 and use “m.hotmail.com”
    If that doesn’t work either, repeat Steps 1 – 4 and use “blu-m.hot mail.com”
Make sure the Security Type is “SSL/TLS”

6) Tap on “Next”.
7) Choose whatever options you want (how frequently it should check for email, how much it should sync etc.). Tap on “Next”.
8) A little loading icon may appear as it syncs your email account.
9) Congratulations! Your email is all set up and you can now set a name for the mailbox.
Your account should be completely set up by now. It should be syncing your email as you read this very sentence. Once again, this setup has only been tested on @hotmail.com and @hotmail.co.uk accounts.
...
...
Alternatively, you can always create a new GMail account and integrate your hotmail one with it (Allow you to seen your hotmail emails inside the GMail interface) as seen @ guidingtech.com and then add the GMail account.

I tried to accommodate these steps to the GMail app but it didn't work.

authors: 와이비케이YBK코리아뉴스


text:
How to disable haptic feedback for (software) keyboard?
On my Samsung Galaxy SIII, when the screen is unlocked, by default when the user presses
any of the hardware keys Menu (the key on the left) or Back (the key on the right) the
phone virates slightly and then if the user keeps holding such buttons then the phone
emits another slight vibration corresponding to the long press, and the same happens
when the user long-presses the Home hardware key (the key in the middle).
Since I didn't like this bahavior I went to Settings -> My device -> Power saving mode (turned it on) -> Turn off haptic feedback (made sure this checkbox was checked). This
disabled the slight vibration occurring when the above-mentioned hardware buttons are
pressed, but the phone still vibrates slightly when the buttons on the software keyboard
are pressed.
Is there a way to disable haptic feedback for the software keybaord as well?
Thanks.

You can also reduce haptic feedback (for GUI elements like menus, not for the virtual keyboard) or turn it off completely in Settings / My device / Sound / Vibration Intensity / Haptic feedback. There is a slider that can be set from off to various strengths to maximum. This is at least when having Android version 4.3.

This should work:
Go to Settings > Language and Input.  Click the settings icon on the Samsung keyboard, go to Advanced and uncheck Vibration.

Good, glad to have helped :)

I've also noticed the sound made when tapping the keyboard can also be turned off from this screen, which was also helpful. Thanks again.

You are a life saver.  I was about to throw this dumb phone right out the window.  Keyboard vibrate is so obnoxious, can't believe any sane person would have forced that on us as a default!


text:
notification alert without unlocking screen on Lollipop
Before my phone got upgraded to lollipop, I was able see that I had a missed call,SMS text, other app notification without having to unlock my screen.
Now I have to unlock my screen just to see if I have any notifications, how do I bring back the old ways?

Than you have to change notification settings in your android phone.
GOTO :  Settings > Sounds & Notification > App Notification
In Settings > Sounds & Notification
you can set the all notification setting like , sound , notification light etc.
I hope this help you to solved your problem.

Go to Settings > Sounds & Notification > When device is locked > Show all notification content
Hope this solves your query


text:
Can't get rid of an Adfoc.us redirect virus
My Android seems to be infected with a very nasty virus. Sometimes when I open links to totally safe pages (like stackoverflow) from my mobile I got redirected to a page called adfoc.us (adfoc.us/serve/?id=25497650908175) that then tries to download files like MoboMarket.apk that seem to be malware.
I tried running MalwareBytes but it only detected the .apk files that were downloaded. I tried running Avast, but I did not detect anything.
What else can I do to solve this problem?

This could be a problem with your internet connection, instead of the phone itself. What kind of connection are you using?

It has happened when I've been using wifi and when I've been using 3g. It happened when I was in holidays and here in London, so I think it's my phone.

I'd suggest a factory reset.

Would that make me lose all my applications data?

Yes. You should back up anything important first.


text:
List of purchased apps and app install/uninstall history log anywhere?
My device was damaged and since then I've had to order a hardware replacement.
Given that all purchases and application installs/uninstalls via Google Play Store
are carried out in connection with my Google account, I would like to know whether
there is a way to:

How can I view a list of apps I purchased, perhaps arranged in reverse chronological
order according to purchase date? The Google Play Apps site displays all applications I've ever installed, including free ones. WHen I go to My apps on the Android Google Play Store applications, I don't see the apps I paid for which were on my old device (same Google account).
Is there an application with a graphical user interface which displays all the
history of installed/uninstalled applications linked to my Google account?
This thread seems to suggest that this is possible via the DOS command-prompt on Windows using the adb (Android Debug Bridge) tool, or even on Android with BusyBox. But I am looking for a GUI application, possibly one that uses info stored on the Google account in the cloud rather than in a log file on the device.

Thank you for your help.

The first half of your question is answered by How can I get a list of all my paid (only) apps in the Play Store?

Thanks. I noticed that when I go to Google Play -> Apps menu -> My Apps menu item I get two filters called INSTALLED and ALL. When I click on ALL I can see not only the applications on my phone but also those applications which were on my old phone which were installed using the same account, including both free and purchased apps, but if any of such paid apps are deleted from this Google Play ALL list then I have to use the My Paid Apps application to find them again.

I didn't purchase my applications using Google Wallet, but used money from phone top-ups instead. Too bad the My Paid Apps application has to be installed to retrieve all purchased apps in a single list and this behavior is not available in the Google Play Store mobile application.

I've also looked for the second part, but its nowhere to be found. I'm afraid google just doesn't want such a feature. You can find your google play store search history, but not the install history.

See How to export a list as Text of all Play Store Apps that I have ever installed for a possible solution.

To view a list of apps purchased in the play store click on the menu icon then account. Under account you will see order history.

That only covers a part of the question and already answered on this site (List of purchased apps and app install/uninstall history log anywhere?). OP is also asking for install/uninstall history log. Consider adding answer to the missing portion. If you cannot you may like to delete the answer as it does not help and instead may invite down votes

No . OP is asking for purchased apps

The OP is asking for both, its in the Title.

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


text:
How to remove pattern lock on android 5.0 on mu Nexus 4
I upgraded my phone nexus 4 to Android 5.0 lolly pop, it was over the air upgrade.
Before upgrading i had set pattern lock to my phone, after upgrade it is using the same but in settings/security the options to disable the pattern lock is disabled (option none).
Also swipe to unlock the device option is also disabled.
Pin, Password and Pattern are enabled. please let me know to disable the lock.
Thanks,
Harish S

Go to Settings >> Security >> Device Administrators. See if anything other than Android Device Manager is checked. If something is checked, it's possible it's forcing a higher level of security.
Uncheck it if there is, and check the screen lock options again.
Also try Settings >> Security >> Clear credentials.

authors: محمد الزهراني


text:
Internet complaining about Outlook.com
I have a Galaxy SIII Neo. I use Outlook.com as an email server, and every time I reload it, Internet complains about security issues. How do I tell Internet Outlook is safe and to stop annoying me with that message?
Edit:
First of all, it doesn't always happen, and I can't reproduce it now. It seems to be correlated with auto-reloading after a long time off the Internet app. It had an analogue on my older mobile, with two fundamental differences:

I have the impression it happened much less often;
The old version had a "Continue" button underneath, meaning I could just tap and ignore the problem, though it sometimes popped up again shortly afterwards.

Update:
I got it again. Here it is:

«You have attempted to reach col126.mail.live.com, but the server provided a certificate issued by an entity that is not trusted by your computer's operating system. This may mean that the server has generated its own security credentials, which Chromium cannot rely on for security information, or an attacker may be trying to intercept your communications.
You cannot proceed because the website operator has requested heightened security for this domain.»

What exactly has «my computer» to do with this since the computer doesn't complain at all (though it used to…)?
And Chromium? What is it? I knew about Chrome, but Chromium is new.

Here is the analogue I had on the older mobile, as gotten on my mother's:

My mother's mobile speaks Italian, so let me translate this:
«Security notice
Problems with this site's security certificate
This certificate was not emitted by a reliable organism»
(buttons "COntinue", "See certificate" and "Cancel"). The original English is probably closer to something like «issued by a trusted authority».

What message do you see?

@danhulme something about security issues and the site maybe creating its own credentials. I'll add a screenshot once I get home. :)

What are you using to access your email? The Browser, Email app, GMail app?

It's called Internet.

@DanHulme see the edit too.

So the default internet browser then. Why not try the included Email app?

I'd look through the internet settings for Samsung's default internet browsers, but I don't own a Samsung (stock Android's default browser is Chrome) and I'm not encountered such an issue there with my Outlook account.

@TrishLing because I didn't really know it existed :). Anyway I would like to see my mails instead of a bunch of empty folders as I see now. How do I download the mails? And I remember I once set up Mail on my computer and it moved mails around online, which I definitely don't want. Do I risk that and how do I avoid it if so?

See the update everyone: I got it again. It really seems linked with auto-reloading Hotmail after a long time outside the internet app.

It has become much less frequent, but I'd still like to know how to completely eliminate this behaviour and what the message means.


text:
Can't get custom boot animations to display
I have a U.S. Sprint LG G3 and I've been trying to make a custom boot & shutdown animation for it, but I'm having quite the trouble.
I have no problem getting boot animations I download from here to work. I was also able to use this person's site to turn the vertical octopus gif in that thread into a boot animation. Phone is rooted only, no custom rom; no problems placing the files and setting permissions correctly.
But I'm not having any luck with this gif: http://i.imgur.com/08thhjx.gif
That site has a 3MB file limit, so I'm trying to create the images and bootanimation.zip myself. I've tried splitting the frames out with both Irfanview & ImageMagick. Then resizing from 480x480 to both 960x960 and 1440x1440 - then expanding the canvas to 1440x2560 and filling the new background in with black. Again, I've performed these manipulations with both IrfanView & ImageMagick.
I've tried jpg's and png's with varying levels of image compression as well as both 24 and 32 bit png's.
In the desc.txt file I've tried 30, 45, and 60 frames per second. For the part line I've tried:

p 1 0 part0
p 0 0 part0
c 1 0 part0
p 1 0 part0 (repeat this line x10)

And the zip I create uses Store compression (no compression), created with WinRAR.
No matter what I've tried, the animation never displays, just black screen. I've tried connecting with adb and running the bootanimation command. When I have a working boot animation that I've downloaded, the command echos the string bootanimation at the prompt, and my phone screen flashes black for a split second. When I try the command with my custom animation in place, nothing is echoed at the prompt - no error messages or anything - and nothing happens on the phone.
Here's a dropbox folder with a few versions I've tried - jpgs, larger png's, and smaller png's, with different variations on the desc.txt file. None of them will display. Maybe I'm missing something simple, or maybe there's some problem with the images I'm creating..

Did you add a crlf after the last line in your desc.txt file?  I could not get mine to play until I hit return after the last line to let the file end on the new line.
Hopefully this is all you need to do too.

I tried it both ways, with both dos and unix line endings.


text:
Accepting Calendar invites not showing in calendar
My company uses Gmail as our email and calendar. When I receive an invitation and accept it on my phone (Samsung Galaxy S4) it never puts it in my Google calendar. I have to wait until I get to my computer to accept. This occurred on my S2 as well. A co-worker has the same problem. When I accept it opens my browser and shows that I've accepted but never makes it to my calendar. Any ideas on how to fix this?


text:
Contacts app: Groups: ICE - emergency contacts: What is the purpose of this stock integrated group?
On my Samsung Galaxy SIII, when I go to Contacts -> Groups there is a special stock group called ICE - emergency contacts. I have looked for the meaning of ICE on Wikipedia but was not able to find a definition that pertains to mobile phones or contacts. So I would like to ask the following questions:

What does ICE stand for (and what is ICE)?
What is the purpose of the ICE - emergency contacts group. According to this post, on the Samsung Galaxy S4 this creates special buttons on the Phone app's Keypad tab, but after adding the emergency contacts on my Samsung Galaxy SIII I don't get any extra buttons on the dialler.

Here are the screenshot of the Contacts -> Groups screen displaying the ICE - emergency contacts and the unaffected phone dialler once the emergency contacts have been added.

Click for full size
Thanks.

EDIT:
In the screenshot above the emergency contacts may not be showing up because the
dialer is the regular dialer invoked from the Phone application's Keypad tab.
When the lock screen asks you to enter a PIN number, the lock screen also
displays a message saying SIM card is locked - Emergency calls only, and
below that the user can click on the text Emergency call to bring up
the Emergency dialer application which looks similar but is
a separate application as shown below:

As the picture on the right shows, once I click the button on the lower-left hand side
of the emergency dialer, even though I have Mobile Network Data enabled as shown below,
given that I did not top-up my phone, I get the "Unable to call personal emergency contact. Network not available." message. I'm not sure whether that was supposed
to bring up a list of my ICE contacts. Perhaps someone can verify this for me.

As far as I understand, this means that even if I find myself in an emergency situation,
if I haven't topped up my phone then I will still be unable to call my emergency contacts,
although perhaps one can still call some other numbers such as 911 or their equivalents
overseas, whatever those may be. I haven't tried this, because I don't want to bother
anyone with a purposeless call, but would like to know if such numbers work even when
the phone hasn't been topped up.
Once the PIN number has been entered, the lock screen on my phone changes to the following
and it is not possible to access the emergency dialer application:

Thanks.

EDIT:
I've now topped up my phone and was able to figure out the following: even when the phone has credit with the network operator, if the phone has just been booted then by default the PIN number will have to be entered to unlock the SIM card at the "Enter PIN to unlock SIM card" message, otherwise it will still not be possible for anyone to access the numbers in the ICE contact list. For as long as the SIM card lock feature is enabled, which I believe it is by default, and the SIM card is locked, the only numbers that can be dialed from the Emergency dialer screen are 911/112-type calls. It is possible to disable SIM card lock in Settings -> More -> Security -> SIM card lock -> Set up SIM card lock -> Lock SIM card [ ].
There is also a separate PIN that can be enabled in Settings -> My device -> Lock screen -> Screen security -> Screen lock -> PIN (Medium to high security). When this setting is enabled (by default the Screen lock feature is set to Swipe (No security)), the device owner needs to enter the SIM card's PIN at the "Enter PIN to unlock SIM card" message once the device boots, if the feature is enabled, followed by the screen lock PIN at the "Enter unlock PIN" message, and, every time the phone goes blank, to access the Home screen the screen lock PIN needs to be entered again.
Only once the SIM card is in an unlocked state can calls to members of the ICE list be carried out in addition to 911/112-type numbers. The "Emergency dialer" can be accessed from both the SIM unlock screen, in which case pressing the "person with ambulance light" button in the lower-left hand corner displays the message "Unable to call personal emergency contact, as well as from the screen unlock screen, in which case "person with ambulance light" button in the lower-left hand corner displays the list of ICE emergency contacts which can be reached.
Regards.

Are you using the "Emergency Dialer" in your second screenshot? As in, the one that should be reachable from the "Emergency Call" button on your lock screen. Perhaps it only shows the ICE contacts if you open the dialer via that entry point. The wording of the other question you've linked to seems to imply that may be the case.

Thanks. The dialer I was looking at was not the emergency dialer. I have updated my post with further screenshots. However I was not able to verify the following: 1. is it still possible to dial 911 and other emergency numbers from a phone that hasn't been topped up? 2. From the emergency dialer, does tapping the button in the lower-left hand corner bring up the list of ICE emergency contacts? 3. What does ICE stand for? Thanks.

I've found the following Wikipedia article useful. Apparently ICE stands for "In Case of Emergency". However, I thought it would be reasonable to be able to make at least a collect call from the ICE list in the case where a topup/refill has not been effected. Regards.

ICE is short for In Case of Emergency

Thanks. I think though, what was confusing me, is that there are two types of emergencies which one may run into. The first is a medical emergency where the user has, say, passed out, and ICE contacts provide a way for others to reach those who need to be informed about it. In this case the data network needs to active (the user must have paid to top up the phone) and it is others who need to bypass the lock screen using the ICE feature.

In the second case, the user may not have passed out but may find themselves in a dangerous situation. In this case, presumably, even if the user has not paid for service (topped up their phone), the user may still be able to use the dialer to dial 991 in North America or another number such as 112 in Europe. Regards.

You need to expand on this to be really useful, especially since OP already found the meaning of it.

@John Sanderson The North American emergency services number is 911.


text:
I forgot my password
I had set a security password on my Samsung Galaxy S Duos mobile and unfortunately forgot the unlock password. I tried hundreds of times to unlock my phone with many possible passwords but was unsuccessful in each of my attempts. Please help me unlock my phone and send me the master code (if any) to unlock the phone.

Go to https://www.google.com/android/devicemanager
Provided you have your phone set up with your Google account, it should show up on that page. Choose the LOCK option. It'll ask you to set a new pincode (and message if you want). As soon as you hit "lock" after entering in the new pin, the phone will lock with the new pin. Now just try to unlock your phone again.
That feature is really supposed to be a way to remotely lock your phone if it gets lost/stolen and doesn't already have a pin/password lock on it, but its a handy little workaround for resetting your pin if you forgot it.
...
...
Another option is through Samsung's Find My Mobile site.
The guide for your model shows two possibilities:

Lock my device: Locks your device by setting a 4 digit PIN to prevent
other people from operating your device.

Unlock my screen: Initializes the security lock settings such as the screen lock pattern, password and PIN to unlock the screen of your device.
Since this function initializes the device's screen lock setting, you must set the screen lock setting again. The screen lock set by the device or remotely set by the Lock my screen function will be released.

...
...
If none of this works, I'm afraid you may be looking at a factory reset.


text:
Timer not showing card on Android Wear
Some time ago the native count down timer app used to show a card with time remaining and an ability to pause/resume the timer. This card couldnt be dismissed and would stay until the timer was running. Now the running timer won't display any card or time remaining. Is there any way to get this functionality back?

This appeared (to me at least) to be introduced when I installed v5.0.1 of android (on to my LG G watch). As soon as the timer is set the card usually, but not always, disappears and even more unhelpfully, on occasion, the timer no longer appears to work! This unreliability has meant that I have had to stop using it.


text:
Hands-free mode not working on Samsung Galaxy SIII
I've activated Hands-free mode from the configurable set of switch-buttons
at the top of the notification panel on my Samsung Galaxy SIII, and such mode
also appears activated under Settings -> My device -> Hands-free mode. Such
entry reads: "Incoming calls and new notifications will be read out automatically".
However, I've tried sending myself e-mail messages and also received some WhatsApp
messages, which triggered the Whistle Default notification sound and made the
front Blue LED blink until I swiped down my notification panel. As I was saying,
however I didn't hear any voice coming from the phone reading out the notifications
aloud, so it seems like this feature is not working for me.
What am I doing wrong?
Thanks.

I've got the same phone running android 4.4.2. My phone does not speak email messages. It only speaks sms text, caller id info, and two other notifications. If you consult the help manual on the phone, the usage is a little clearer.

I've searched the user manual application installed on my Samsung Galaxy SIII but could not find anything on Hands-free mode. Could you please provide a more specific URL. Also, how did you manage to upgrade to 4.4 KitKat? My device upgraed automatically to Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, but later did not upgrade to any further version. Thanks.

I searched "hands free" from the help app. The result showed up under notifications. Depending on your cell carrier, you may have maxed out the software. I can't update my further.

Perhaps you have a different app then mine. I don't get any results when I search for "hands free". Do you have a URL?

I don't have a url, but,  you should be able to find the manual on the Samsung web site.

I found the PDF user manual for the Samsung Galaxy SIII on this link from this site but stil could not find anything on hands-free mode. Plus the model name is the GT-i9600, not sure if Samsung put a link for the wrong mobile device. Thanks.

This link also has nothing on hands-free mode.

Perhaps this because the manual calls this feature "Driving mode". The manual says: "Activate Driving mode to provide audible notifications for incoming calls, messages, or event details." As you point out, the information read out in this mode is somewhat constrained. Thanks.


text:
Android device manager..password not accepted
I locked my phone from another device using the ADM now my phone wont accept the password to unlock, been trying for 4 days.
The ADM is not downloaded on my mobile as an app is this the problem?

Nope. I had the same issue and google support gave me no answer but factory reset, as did the samsung representative i spoke to. I have  a galaxy note 3. You can try unlocking from "find my phone" on samsung website if you have a samsung phone and have the services set up... or try reseting password through another phone with ADM... but if not, you'll have no choice but to factory reset, which is what i had to do.
Sorry if that didn't help you


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Automatically restrict apps background data using Tasker
I've been using Tasker for a couple weeks after receiving this recommendation, and I have a few beginner questions. Here is one of them.
I've set up a profile to lock the phone after 10 seconds of darkness (cases where phone is in pocket or turned face down). I would also like to save some power by activating the "restrict background data" option while the phone is not being used. It's under Settings -> Power saving on my phone (Samsung Galaxy S5).

(Click to enlarge)
My questions are:

Is this a good idea, or do the disadvantages outweigh the benefits?
Is there a way to toggle the Restrict background data option using a task in Tasker?

"Restrict background data" seems to restrict apps from accessing the network unless they're in the foreground, i.e. visible on the screen.
On Tasker version 4.5u1m for Android 4+, I don't see anything relevant in the Net action category, which is where I'd expect to find something about network access. The Settings action category is just for showing settings dialogs, so it wouldn't be there.
You could turn that "restrict background data" setting on, and then auto-launch any application that you want to update/sync given a particular parameter (e.g. launch music app when headset inserted, only changed to something like launch google play when I'm signed into a wireless network). Basically you'd be using tasker to put something in the foreground, not switch the setting.
You can also limit syncing, which is one kind of background data.

Nice idea for a workaround, thanks. I will try it and see if it's sustainable


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Does clearing app data have side effects?
If I clear my app data in Settings does it delete any information?

Data is information....

Clearing an app's data will make it lose its data, essentially removing progress in games, etc. It will seem to the app as if you just installed it.
On a side note, the question and its title don't match


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my HTC doesn't have lollipop, can you explain
Lollipop is not on my HTC and I do not know why, lollipop is 5.etc but my htc is on 3.etc

Android 3.x is Honeycomb and is exclusive for Android tablet. Are you sure it's the Android version, not the Sense version? Anyway, old devices won't get official update support by vendor since it's considered as wasting time and resource to provide update for all their old devices; not every device will get new Android OS.

Which HTC model is it?
Android 5.0 has not been rolled out across all devices yet. Try undergoing a software update from the settings menu to update to a newer version of Android.
Alternatively, if you take a look on the XDA Developer Forums (http://www.xda-developers.com/), you can look for an Android Lollipop 5.0 custom ROM specifically for your device. You can then flash your device and utilise the new features provided in Lollipop.
N.B. Before flashing a new custom ROM, make sure you have a rooted device and an active recovery bootloader such as CWM (https://www.clockworkmod.com/) in case something goes wrong.


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Nexus 7 Error: Failed to mount /cache
I had a problem with my Nexus 7 (2013, 2nd gen) tablet.
I restarted my tablet and when it was rebooting again, it showed "Google" logo and then stood there.
I wait it (around 20 minutes) but it did not do anything else.
Trying factory reset... [failed]
I have check many videos that suggesting apply a hard reset or factory reset, so I tried to do this.
Once in Recovery mode, I notice that some error messages appear at bottom of screen, they are:
E:failed to mount /cache (invalid argument)
E:Can't mount /cache/recovery/log
E:Can't open /cache/recovery/log
E:failed to mount /cache (invalid argument)
E:Can't mount /cache/recovery/last_log
E:Can't open /cache/recovery/last_log
E:failed to mount /cache (invalid argument)
E:Can't mount /cache/recovery/last_install
E:Can't open /cache/recovery/last_install
E:Failed closing /dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/misc (I/O error)
E:failed to mount /cache (invalid argument)

Then I selected wipe data/factory reset option and execute it. It started to formatting /databut then similar errores were flushed (here I copy log):
-- Wiping data...
Formatting data...
E:failed to mount /cache (invalid argument)
Formatting cache...
E:failed to mount /cache (invalid argument)
E:Can't mount /cache/recovery/log
E:Can't open /cache/recovery/log
E:failed to mount /cache (invalid argument)
E:Can't mount /cache/recovery/last_log
E:Can't open /cache/recovery/last_log
E:failed to mount /cache (invalid argument)
E:Can't mount /cache/recovery/last_install
E:Can't open /cache/recovery/last_install
Data wipe complete.
E:failed to mount /cache (invalid argument)
E:Can't mount /cache/recovery/log
E:Can't open /cache/recovery/log
E:failed to mount /cache (invalid argument)
E:Can't mount /cache/recovery/last_log
E:Can't open /cache/recovery/last_log
E:failed to mount /cache (invalid argument)
E:Can't mount /cache/recovery/last_install
E:Can't open /cache/recovery/last_install
E:Failed closing /dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/misc (I/O error)
E:failed to mount /cache (invalid argument)

Here I show an image of recovery error messages
Trying unlocking device... [failed]
Some pages and forums suggest to flash and install another ROM, I have selected Cyanogenmod and following steps shown inCyanogen wiki page. The first step is unlocking device, this process starts formatting /data and then formatting '/cache', but again it cannot be mounted.

Finally...
How can I fix these issue?

Have you tried Wugfresh Nexus Root Toolkit? Most of time Nexus devices can get fixed easily with the toolkit.

The problem is the cache partition is an invalid format. Select "wipe cache partition" from the menu to fix it.

@bain, Thank you for your comment. After select Wipe cache partition, it throws the same error message E: failed to mount /cache (invalid argument) and as your can think cache partition cannot be wiped or formatted if it is not mounted before.
Do you have another idea?

I had the same issue but I pressed  the Power Button along with Volume down solved the issue

Try booting into fastboot and run fastboot format cache and then fastboot erase cache.

It does not work, format neve ends.

Do you get any error messages when running the commands?

I was seeing a very similar issue but in my case the "Formatting ..." step was not followed by a failed to mount message. In my opinion there is a hardware issue with your unit -- if the format fails such that the resulting partition can not be mounted, there's not much that can be done except attempt a warranty repair.

Thank you, before this error I replace the touchscreen, then I used it only some days and then this issue appear, Do you think that some hardware connection could be failing?, In this case, I should open it again and that everything is properly plugged.

Possibly -- I would have thought that the storage in question was soldered to the logic board without a socket (it is according to the iFixit teardown).

And if you reflash the phone through a Flash Tool?


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Running android apps directly on ubuntu or gentoo
I wonder if is it possible to run android applications DIRECTLY on a Linux distribution like ubuntu or gentoo?
I mean running the apps on linux without the help of virtualbox,simulators like genymotion, on google chroom...
is it possible to compile a linux kernel in such a way to do this?
if so, is there any guide to to describe the process step by step?
any help is appriciated

No, it isn't. Even if you were running Linux on an ARM-based system, or only wanted to run apps for Android-x86, so that you didn't need an emulator, you'd still have the problem that the GNU userspace doesn't have the same facilities and libraries that Android has. The Android framework, the standard library used by all Android apps, doesn't exist for GNU/Linux, so the apps would not be able to run. It's nothing to do with compiling the kernel in a particular way.

what you said is resonable . but I searched and found some research project such as wiki   or someone had claimed, he could compile ubuntu kernel to run android apps [stackoverflow] (http://stackoverflow.com/questions/26031710/need-help-porting-android-on-top-of-ubuntu-to-run-android-apps)

He asked the question because he couldn't get it to work, and there are no answers. Your research seems to support my answer.

Has this changed since then?

@PavelŠimerda No, why would it have changed? The GNU and Android userspaces are both completely different.

Yes, there is, though right now it's still experimental. It's called Anbox, and it uses kernel features to share the kernel between the distro and the Android system.
Oh, and no need to recompile the kernel at all.

Ubuntu 14.04 and later
Anbox has >=4GB RAM recommended hardware requirements.
The anbox-installer is DEPRECATED.
Please find updated installation instructions for Anbox (64-bit architecture only) at https://github.com/anbox/anbox/blob/master/docs/install.md.

Install necessary kernel modules
In order to add the PPA to your Ubuntu system please run the following
  commands:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:morphis/anbox-support
sudo apt update
sudo apt install anbox-modules-dkms

These will add the PPA to your system and install the
  anbox-modules-dkms package which contains the ashmem and binder kernel
  modules. They will be automatically rebuild everytime the kernel
  packages on your system update.
After you installed the anbox-modules-dkms package you have to
  manually load the kernel modules. The next time your system starts
  they will be automatically loaded.
sudo modprobe ashmem_linux
sudo modprobe binder_linux

Now you should have two new nodes in your systems /dev directory:
ls -1 /dev/{ashmem,binder}
/dev/ashmem
/dev/binder

Install the Anbox snap
Installing the Anbox snap is very simple:
snap install --devmode --beta anbox

In order to update Anbox to a newer version you can run:
snap refresh --beta --devmode anbox

Type "anbox" in the Dash and click the Anbox icon to start the Anbox Application Manager. In the Anbox Application Manager you will see a row of application icons. Click on an icon to launch it. The Android application will launch in a new window and you will be able to run it.
Anbox doesn't come with Google Play Store pre-installed and does not even have a package installer, so the only way to install additional applications in Anbox is through an Ubuntu software package named Android Debug Bridge (adb). You have to download the .apk file of the app you want to install, open the terminal, change directories using cd to the directory of the .apk file, and then install the app with a command that looks like this:
adb install /path/to/file.apk

Downloading an .apk file from a warez website is a miserable security risk, however some applications allow you to download the .apk file from the application's official website, for example WhatsApp Messenger for Android.
Then maybe the app will install or maybe it won't install if the app requires additional dependencies that are not installed in your operating system. For example WhatsApp requires Java as a dependency. I already had Java installed in my Ubuntu, so I tried to install WhatsApp.
adb install WhatsApp.apk

I got an error message that said error: cannot connect to daemon. I closed Anbox and reopened it. I got another error message that said write: Broken pipe. I closed Anbox and opened it again and got the same error message. Anbox is buggy just like the anbox-installer script says it is. I closed Anbox and reopened it again and finally WhatsApp installed in Anbox.

When you open WhatsApp for the first time it shows you a screen with a message that says:
WhatsApp will send an SMS message to verify your phone number.
Enter your country code and phone number.

WhatsApp also asks if you want to give the app permission to access the files on your device which is another security risk in my opinion. I think it's OK to give WhatsApp permission to access the files on my phone, but I don't want to give the app permission to access the files on my computer. Permissions are a matter of fundamental importance in Linux. You should be very careful about giving permissions to an application that it doesn't already have by default, and the telegram-desktop snap package in Ubuntu 16.04 has better support than WhatsApp including Telegram Calls voice calls which are currently available to users around the world.


text:
Why does the Google Maps app need my phone call permission?
Is there any way this is justified?
Seems like Google is becoming an evil spy to me, cause this is not the first time their apps need ridiculous permissions.

Related: New access permissions for google maps 9.1.1 (no legitimate answer yet)

Write to Google. See if they can help you. Because I found nothing on Internet.

@MANI How can I reach them?

If you receive a call, an app may wish to know this. It could then free some of the phone's resources (CPU/RAM) to allow the call to be answered quickly, along with lowering or muting the navigation voice, etc. Those permissions may also be related to allowing the app to call a particular location, or even put there for a feature not compatible with your phone or fully released yet.
Individual permissions encompass access to many different things, so not every permission is explicitly used for malicious purposes. That of course doesn't mean you shouldn't be cautious.
If you really don't trust an app, use a permission manager. Your phone may have one already built in, with no root required for pre android 4.4.2 devices. Or just download one from the app store. They will allow to you disable individual permissions for specific apps. For example, most games have no business with your GPS, so disabling it won't hurt anything. Be careful, because as I stated before, some permissions are beneficial for particular purposes.

Looks like a grate app, but crashes the moment I open it. :-\

What version of Android are you running? There are alternatives on the market and others off the market as well.

Android 4.4.2 on a Galaxy S5

Yes it appears that 4.4.2 has the built-in permission manager removed. "APK Permission Remover" may be what you are looking for, however I haven't tried it myself. If you try it, let me know if it works.

Permissions manager doesn't seem to be able to remove permissions from built-in apps.


text:
iSMS folder in the SD Card
I recently installed the app 'Empty Folder Cleaner' from playstore. On running the app, I noticed that the majority of empty folders removed were from the parent folder called iSMS, in my external SD Card. Inside the parent folder, the empty folders were images, videos, etc. Does anyone have any idea regarding that? Is it some sort of a mischievous thing?
P.S - I'm running on Android 4.2.2(rooted), Sony Xperia C2305.

There are several apps named "iSMS" in Play Store, could you provide a link to which one do you use, or have used before? (I probably already know the answer, but I need some clarification)

Use an application backup app to backup all your apps,(App Backup and Restore) is one app that i know of.
uninstall all the apps from your phone, (Please be careful and remove only the apps that you installed yourself, removing system apps could prove problematic)
delete the Folder that you dont want on the sd card, like the iSMS folder you said
restart your phone.
start all apps that you have on your phone, (you have removed all apps, the only ones remain are system apps)
check if the folder was created in your storage media.
if it was, then there is a system app creating the folder.
if not, then one of the 3rd party apps downloaded from the play store are creating this folder
all apps having the "modify and delete contents of your sd card" can create folders in your sd card, during reinstallation, check the app permissions carefully.
installing each one by one and.opening and checking the sd card for the folder, you will eventually find the culprit app.


text:
Not enough storage error when trying to update an app
I have a Nexus 4 with more than 500 MB free storage space:

Click image for larger version
Now I would like to update Chrome, but I get the error, that there is not enough free space to update it:

Click image for larger version
I would say this is bug. How can I fix it?

I also find it weird. Having free spaces 20 times the size of an app is still not enough to download and install it. What I do is manually move some of the App's data folders in internal storage (Android/data and Android/obb), to external SD card (usually huge games that are taking lot of space), and move them internal storage only when I want to play them. Move them back later.
Not to mention other methods such as clearing your cache, uninstalling unnecessary apps, moving apps to sd card (if available).

Good method. However a set back comes into play regarding less techie users. This issue needs to be highly addressed.

You may want to give this a try:
How to fix insufficient storage issue

First I did it already and second: I do not understand why I should delete anything, if there are more than 500 MB of free space.

the app you are downloading might be 50 MB, but sometimes the app downloads its own data via network, which could be multiple MB/GBs.


text:
Boot to lock screen with encryption
After upgrading to Android 5 on my Nexus 10, I've now gone the extra step and enabled encryption. One thing that bothers me though: It doesn't boot to lock screen any more.
I get asked my lock screen code early in the boot process - which is fine - but then after the boot, the device is immediately unlocked. I'd like to boot to the lock screen instead.
Is that possible with a (rooted) stock ROM? I wouldn't mind messing with system files to achieve this, but of course an option somewhere or an app would be nicer.


text:
Bluetooth Phone Audio with phone mic still active
I need to bluetooth the audio output from a Galaxy SIII in phone mode to a cochlear implant processor using a bluetooth adapter plugged into the processor with 3.5mm jack.  But still need to use the mic on the phone for the audio input on a call.  I am willing to get a new phone to obtain this functionality to split the audio in/out.  I purchased an HTC Bluetooth Stereo clip.  It works for streaming media on the phone to the implant, but the phone mode audio will not stream to the adapter.


text:
USB storage damaged-it may need reformating Samsung galaxy SHW-M110S
Accidently i removed battery from my celphone while the phone was intializing the internal memory. and now getting a notification that it may need reformatting but i am more concerned with the data i had on my phones internal memory.
How to recover data.
and please suggest how to get the problem fixed as it is also unable to show internal memory. it shows as unavailable.

W already have a bunch of related questions on this topic here. May I suggest you start with our data-recovery tag-wiki and the questions tagged data-recovery? Especially follow up to Recover deleted content from userdata partition, as that's what your question basically is about. Then please return and let us know how you solved your issue, or where you're still stuck. Thanks!

You shouldn't post email in your question. I know you want an answer quickly, but that would defeat the purpose of SE. Nobody would know if you got your question answered or not, plus anyone else with your situation wouldn't know what to do. Follow what Izzy suggested in his comment. In the future make sure you make backups.

I believe you would have to reformat the partitions using odin (for samsung). It may have wiped out said partitions and erased the data on that partition. I am not sure if there is a way to recover, this is where a nandroid backup comes into play.


text:
receiving calls/text if mobile data is off
when I travel where only my phone network is available, I want to turn my data to off so I don't get any updates. If i do that can I still receive calls and texts from others?

This is a duplicate probably

Yes!
Turning Data Off only disconnects Internet connection. It doesnt effect Calls/Texts.

Yes you will still be able to send/receive phone calls and texts. If you are using any messaging apps that rely on internet then those won't work Your "radio" or "modem" is what controls the phone and texting. You just won't have any internet.


text:
Intent to select Android Security Screen Lock type
The Screen Lock on Android phones has been a point of contention for me for years. The only alternative I've discovered is to us a Tasker plugin called Secure Settings, which has an option to enter a PIN/Pass, or to clear the PIN/Pass.
Are there not specific intents available to allow direct change of the screen lock type, i.e. None, Slide, PIN, Password, etc? Basically, a better, conditional-based means of Google's Smart Lock feature.
Scott

With Tasker and the SSP, you can also enable/disable pattern lock, or turn keyguard on/off completely. The latter worked fine for me even with "Slide" on ICS; but with my O4X upgraded to JB, I found no way to disable "Slide"; "Keyguard Off" no longer works for that, be it Tasker's own or SSP. But that might be worth a try for you.


text:
What folder on android does show as a media device?
When I connect my phone to my car via USB it says connected as media device.  Then when I go to browse with my car nothing is in the folder.
I use Google play music and know the folder it caches my downloaded playlists.  I want to make a symbolic link to that folder from the folder my car is seeing.  Does anyone know what folder is mounted by default?  Or maybe a better way to play music in my car?
HTC One M8 Converted Google PLay Edition.  2014 Mini Countryman w/out MINI Connected.

First, that depends on the protocol. AFAIK, when using PTP, only the DCIM folder (with your photos) is shown, while in MTP mode, it should be your entire SD card(s).
Second, I doubt whether a symlink would work here – at least not when it points to the internal storage (below /data, where Play Music usually puts its stuff).


text:
Change ROM of Galaxy Nexus Yakju with CyanogenMod of Maguro
I have a Galaxy Nexus "yakju" model and I want to replace the stock Android with CyanogenMod, but I have found only this page which talks about the "maguro". After some research it looks like it will not be different (only where the phone is sold and who update it) and looks like "maguro" is the generic name to mean the Galaxy Nexus phone. My problem is that i'm not really sure if i'm right or not.
Can I flash CyanogenMod without problems? Or could it brick my phone?

To be confirmed by a Nexus user, but AFAIK it is as you guessed already: I'm sure "Maguro" is the codename for the device. What I'm not 100% sure about (but only 99%) is that YAKJU refers to the version of the currently installed firmware. So all together, I'm 99.5% sure you're safe to use those images. What never hurts is making a full backup first (before flashing the new ROM), best a Nandroid backup (from recovery) so if things go wrong you can go back to your current configuration.

The Galaxy Nexus is something of an unusual beast. Because of some regional differences in the factory images (notably, the presence of Google Wallet on the US image) Google distributes multiple firmwares for one model of hardware.
When determining if CM is supported on your device, you want to ensure the phone model is correct. In the case of the GSM Galaxy Nexus, this is "maguro". You can flash a maguro image and it will work correctly. There is no "yakju" or "takju" when referring to CyanogenMod because they build for the device hardware: maguro.
In total, there are three hardware variants of the Galaxy Nexus, but five firmwares. They are:

maguro: The GSM/HSPA+ GNex. This shipped with one of the following images:

takju: Devices sold via Google in the US. This firmware contains Google Wallet pre-installed.
yakju: Devices sold via Google internationally. This does not contain Google Wallet.
yakjuxw: Devices sold via Samsung.
All of these are interchangeable. Any maguro model can run any of these firmwares. The firmware you have determines where updates come from (Google or Samsung), so it was common for people to install takju or yakju firmware on devices that originally came with yakjuxw, in order to get updates faster (i.e. from Google).

toro: A separate model, made for Verizon. It uses the "mysid" factory image.
toroplus: A separate model, made for Sprint. It uses the "mysidspr" factory image.

You can find all of these factory images (except yakjuxw) on on Google's site.


text:
How can I prevent the AT&T update software from using my 4G connection?
Is there any way to prevent the AT&T update software form using my 4G connection (i.e. using Wi-Fi only when available)?
By default it seems to use the 4G connection when there's no Wi-Fi connection, as the screenshots below show. I use Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III with a rooted Android 4.1.2.

Following saloalv's answer, I tapped on "Android OS" (which is the process listed as being the one who used my 4G connection): I don't see any "restrict background data" option.

I do see the "restrict background data"  option for other processes though:

Open data usage in settings, tap on AT&T software update, scroll down and tap "restrict background data".

Thanks. I added 3 screenshots at the end of my answer: I don't see the "restrict background data" option for Android OS (where AT&T software update seems to be somehow encapsulated) :/

@FranckDernoncourt seems that either this is part of android design, and system apps don't have that setting, or AT&T did something to make sure you can't restrict background data. This procedure would have worked for an user app though


text:
How to alter files on external SD after 4.4 KitKat upgrade?
I am unable to alter files on the SDHC card since I accepted KitKat on my Samsung Galaxy Mega Plus. It is not rooted. How may I make that external SDHC read-write without esoteric things like Rooting the phone? Which file manager apps permit file moves and deletes?

What app are you using? Apps not optimized for this new security feature won't be able to read or write to the SD card

Without root: no chance. That's a so-called "safety feature" introduced by Kitkat, which you can only work-around with root, sorry.

@Izzy though you can install custom roms without rooting. But I get the point though.

@saloalv Well, kinda the same – as those "custom ROMs" usually come rooted :) But yes, some manufacturers (such as Huawei) even solved the issue in their (non-rooted) stock ROMs. Unfortunately only few did so...

@Izzy key word "usually" ;)

@saloalv: Is there a file management app which will write to the SD card? You allude to the existence of one in your first comment, may I ask if you can name one?

@K7AAY I'm pretty sure ES File manager ( https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.estrongs.android.pop) can do that

@K7AAY for me, with kitkat even the internal sdcard has different permissions now, and my device doesn't support a physical SD card, so it might be that es file manager has found a kitkat internal sdcard workaround, but not an external one.

Nope. ES File Manager did not permit writing or deletion.

authors: د.عبدالله التويجري


text:
Install GMail 4.9 on 2013 Nexus 7 with Android 5 "Upgrade"
How can I install gmail 4.9 on my Android 5.0 tablet?
I just (ignorantly) upgraded to Android 5.0 on my 2013 Nexus 7. Unfortunately, doing so also upgraded my gmail to version 5.0, which I do NOT want (because the 5.0 layout gives me less information than the 4.9 layout, and there is no way to change it to the more compact and useful screen of 4.9).
I have downloaded to my tablet Gmail 4.9 (1271612) APK Download, but when I try to install it, I only get the message "App not installed". I have disabled gmail (evidently, there is no way to uninstall it), and I "Allow installation of apps from sources other than the Play Store".

There are two ways that I know of. The android package manager won't allow you to install a lower version of the same package.
Solution 1:
Root your device, install lucky patcher, open toolbox, choose "patch to android", and install the patch that allows the package manager install older versions of the same app
Solution 2:
Using the app ApkEditor, clone the 4.9 apk so that it creates a duplicate app that can be installed in parallel with the default Gmail app. This duplicate app also can't be updated from the Google play store.
If you want, I can provide you with a modified apk to install in parallel, though remember, you shouldn't be trusting a stranger on the Internet. Just comment below.

Thank you, saloalv.  —  Yes, please, I would really appreciate a modified apk. Especially since it "can't be updated …".  —  After seeing several posts with the words "root" and "brick" in close proximity, adding in the confounding variable "Lollipop", and being myself an Android noob, Solution 1 is out of the question for me.  —  But I would like to try Solution 2. The "APK Editor" website says, "However, to use it well, we need a little bit professional skills. Don't be afraid, some examples are given in the help page." Well, I definitely don't qualify, and I am certainly afraid.

@RockyScott with the help of logcat I noticed it's not possible to install both gmails in parallel, since the content providers still have the same name. The app I'm using apparently doesn't change that

Thanks again, saloalv. I don't have the reputation to give an up-arrow, but I have marked the question as answered.


text:
Where is Chrome's "Merge tabs and apps" option on Android Tablet running Lollipop?
System:

Nexus 9 32GB Wi-Fi
Android 5.0.0 Lollipop LRX21R
Chrome 39.0.2171.93

While researching this myself, most questions I found are about how to disable 'Merge tabs and apps,' but I haven't found one that fits my problem, I'm trying to enable it.
For example, OMGChrome explains how to disable this as follows:

Open Google Chrome for Android
Open the menu
Select "Settings"
Tap "Merge tabs and apps"
Set the slider to off

Reversing these steps, for me, is unsuccessful. The "Merge tabs and apps" option does not exist for me, as far as I can tell.

This is a feature that I'd like to have, but don't know how to get.

You really did merge this quickly. Thanks again

The "Merge tabs and apps" option should be inside the "Basics" header. However, as of current writing, it seems Google didn't add this feature for Android tablet. The same case was reported on Android Central's forum, and the reply was

It looks like that feature is only on Chrome on phones. It may be due to the fact that Chrome on tablets already has visible tabs, while Chrome on phones doesn't.

Chrome 39.0 setting on Android phone

Chrome 39.0 setting on Android tablet

Thanks for your reply! That sounds like it would work, but when I navigate to the 'Basics' tab, I still don't see that option. Here's a screenshot: http://imgur.com/ejMhUSq

I didn't expect that... and I just found this forum thread regarding Chrome on Android tablet. I'm afraid it's impossible to have this feature on tablet...

authors: ธนกร ศิริโกเมน


text:
Can I charge my battery in another phone?
My phone made a weird noise yesterday when I had it on a connector to my schools computer to charge it. I plugged it in last night but it wouldn't charge. My sister has a phone of the same model. Would I be able to charge my battery in her phone? I think that the cord that I was charging with melted or something and I believe that there is not damage to the battery itself. Would it harm her phone at all if I put mine in to hers and charged it?

As long as its the same phone and the same charger or charger port (micro usb), i don's see why anything could go wrong in charge. Try to charge it in your sister's charger and tell if it works or not.

Thank you so much! We were in suspense while turning it on to make sure nothing would go wrong, and it worked perfectly! It was at 8% and I need to upload my data to the cloud and 8 wouldn't do it. Thank you!


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Can update.zip update-script be used to copy build.prop to an SD card?
I made the unfortunate mistake of lowering the dalvik heapsize to 64m and now my tablet is stuck in a bootloop . I've tried to make my own update.zip (including signed ones) and all fail to load in recovery mode, saying "Installation Aborted".
Is there any way to use update.zip to pull build.prop from the device? My computer does not find it on ADB so this is my only option.
**Edit:
I've now got a copy of the original build.prop from the stock ROM. I'm now having trouble getting that back on to the device, as it keeps halting at the extract section. I'm wondering if there is something wrong with the permissions I'm using or do I need to specify in the updater-script to delete build.prop?
mount("ext4", "EMMC", "/dev/block/mmcblk0p6", "/system");
package_extract_dir("system", "/system");
set_perm(0, 0, 0644, "/system/build.prop");
show_progress(0.100000, 0);
unmount("/system");

Since my recovery doesn't show output for ui_print(); I've used show_progress(); to see how much of the code gets run. It successfully mounts and runs anything, except extracting the package, where it just hangs up and says "Installation Aborted".

Can you download the ROM for your device? You could (which is read as maybe) dirty install over your ROM (not wiping the system and data, so you apps and info remain intact)……Or you could pull the build.prop and go about it the way you mention in your question.

I've downloaded the factory ROM, but for some reason I can't put build prop on the device. It keeps returning "Installation Aborted" as before. It can successfully mount the partition and set permissions, but can't copy the file. This is the update.zip that I've been trying: http://cdn.yard.cu.cc/ext/update.zip

What chmod are you using? Did you consider the dirty install, which would replace the build.prop

It would set these before modification set_perm(0, 0, 0777, "/system/build.prop"); then set these after modification set_perm(0, 0, 0644, "/system/build.prop");. I'm wondering if I need to delete the existing build.prop before attempting to write the new one? I'd expect the old one to be automatically deleted when I attempt to write the new one.

I fixed the problem by backing up using the stock recovery, then reflashing the factory firmware. I then went back into stock recovery and restored my user data.
The reason why it wouldn't accept my update.zip files is because they weren't signed by Archos.


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There is insufficient space on the device
My phone is rooted and I have android terminal installed. How can I fix this " There is insufficient space on the device" when installing from Google play. However when I install from Apk file it works fine and gets installed.

Which app and which version

Any app,  I get this error,


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Make back button black on Nexus 4 Lollipop?
I would like to make the three on-screen buttons pitch black, their appearance is redundant anyway. Is there a way to do that on a Nexus 4 running Lollipop?

Changing soft keys will require root access on Lollipop (or any other version). You can root your Nexus 4 using Chainfire's steps. An app called SoftKeyZ will allow you modify soft keys on your phone.


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Is it possible to run multiple instances of Skype?
In windows I'm using multiple accounts of Skype simultaneously using MultiSkype Launcher. Is there any way that I can use multiple Skype accounts or at least two accounts simultaneously without switching between them. I'm using unrooted Xperia L with Android Jellybean. I can't root my phone. Is there any solution?
Thanks in advance.

With ApkEditor you can recompile an app with another package ID, allowing it to be installed in parallel with normal version

I was able to install a second instance of Skype with APK Editor Pro by editing both the provider and the package name, but the second instance would randomly freeze and crash very quickly. I'm not sure why.


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Does rooting a phone expose the phone to security risks?
I have a very simple question. If I root my phone, will it be easier for malware to run on my device and cause more damage (due to the nature of the extended set of operations that applications with root access can perform, and the downside of being logged in and running applications as root on Linux systems).
Thanks.

EDIT:
Even when an application is rooted, it can still be configured to disallow installation of APK files from unknown locations (locations other than the Google Play Store). This increases security since it makes it impossible that a web browser download install a malicious app even though the device is rooted.

Yes and no.
If you carelessly install apps to your phone without reviewing permissions, then yes your system is more vulnerable to malware and such.
But if you "read the fine print" and are conscientious about what you install, then no your system should be just as safe as not rooted.
You can also control permissions with the native AppOps or you can use a third party app. A excellent example of that would be My Android Tools. You can enable/disable Activities, Broadcast Receivers, Content Providers, and Services. So even if an app has an undesirable permission you can still control what your apps, while rooted, are doing (even in the background). Not only can you change the settings for user apps, but also system apps. It even has an option to backup the settings before any changes are made, in case of any issues.
Once rooted the Android becomes very interesting. The sky's the limit.

If you don't have AppOps in Settings (because its a hidden setting) you can download a shortcut to it from the PlayStore. There are several apps to accomplish this, just pick one you like.

Thank you for your answer. I looked for the AppOps application under Application manager -> ALL but couldn't find it, so at least on my Samsung Galaxy SIII it does not appear to be a "native" application. However I can see several results for AppOps in Google Play, not sure which of these applications is the best. Thanks.

According to this article, on newer Android phones it is also possible to enable/disable running processes by clicking on an application in Application manager from settings and then clicking on the Disable/Enable button, but my Samsung Galaxy SIII (Jelly Bean 4.3) has an Uninstall button in that very position.

authors: Морфей Мудрый


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How to downgrade from Android 5 to 4.4.4 on an encrypted phone?
After certain troubles with Android 5 (see How to fix file permissions on Android 5 so that a certain app can access certain files?) I decided to go back to 4.4.4 on my Nexus 4 for the time being. Thereto, I restored a backup I made prior to upgrading using the TWRP 2.8.2 restore function. The restore in itself went well, and after reboot the familiar 4.4.4 boot animation came up.
But when I entered my encryption password, I immediately (no discernible delay) got a "Try Again" message. I retried several times, but my password wasn't accepted. It was definitely the correct password I entered, for in TWRP, it works.
I now restored Android 5 from a backup I made immediately before restoring Android 4.4.4, and my password is accepted again, but of course the Android 5 problems are back as well.
So: how do I properly downgrade to 4.4.4 on my encrypted Nexus 4? Thanks.

In L, take a backup of things you want to save (photos, videos, app data, etc)
Go download a stock rom for your device, such as this one
In TWRP, wipe data, system, cache and dalvik cache
On your computer use fastboot to flash the system.img
Reboot
You should now boot into kitkat, without any encryption.
Restore any backups you might've had. Note that if you simply backed up the /data partition, that might cause problems when restored.
7b. If you did create a backup with twrp, you can still restore in a safe way
with titanium backup pro, assuming you root the device.

Thank you for your answer but it didn't work. On Step 5, I get a black screen when booting. Maybe it doesn't like the wiped data partition? In theory, if I do the full fastboot -w update image-occam-ktu84p.zip instead of just flashing system.img in Step 4, Step 7b should work as well, right? I might try that when I have more time.

When flashing boot.img, system.img and userdata.img in step 4, it works. I also had to do a factory reset, so the full 16 GB internal memory were recognised instead of just 8 GB.

@AlexanderKlauer the data partition hadn't had the right size?

yes, about 8 GB were missing. With an 8 GB model, everything would have been fine.


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Android phone will not show all WiFi access points
I have a LG-D686 running its stock factory installation of Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean; modified somewhat by the vendor to support a dual-active SIM card transceiver. Normally this phone has had no difficulties finding and connecting to WiFi Access Points.
However, I now work in an office whose WiFi Access Point is not showing on my Andoid phone.
This is what I know:

The office WAP is not an ad-hoc wifi hotspot. It is an always-on Linksys LAPAC1750 Pro.
The office WAP is visible from my Windows 7 work laptop and from other colleagues' iPhones. I've not checked if anyone has an Android Jelly Bean phone in the office.
My Android shows up most but not all access points in the building. There are approximately 15 - 20 access points visible from my Windows laptop using Xirrus Wi-Fi Inspector; depending on the time of week. Android Wifi Analyzer shows that as much 80% of laptop-visible WAPs are visible on my phone.
The office WAP has a decent signal; more than most WAPs that are showing up.
If I create a non-ad-hoc wifi hotspot on my laptop (using Connectify); this hotspot will be visible if the laptop is not in the office and invisible if the laptop is in the office!
No obvious and evident differences between visible and invisible WAPs other than the office access point is the only one in this building using channel 12.

What might I do to resolve this WAP visibility problem?


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App Dock moved inadvertently
Basic Android Samsung Galaxy 4 on ATT
No special launchers
Not rooted.
Just a normal out of the box Samsung 4.
Somehow I have moved the 'app dock' to the middle of the screen.
Tried long pressing the 'apps' button to drag it back to the bottom, but you cannot long press the apps button.
Tried long pressing the other buttons and it looks like I'm able to drag them to the dock at the bottom, but when I release, they snap back to where they were to start.

Reboot in safe mode if available.

Did you unlock your home screen?

Could you provide the screenshot and posted the link?


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Disabled my camera app. Can't find it anymore!
I disabled the camera app on my phone because the front-facing camera wasn't working. I had intended to re-enable it in a minute or two but when I went to my home screen it was not there, and it wasn't in the setting-all apps place either. I went to the play store and did not find the same camera that was previously on my phone either. Where did it go and how can I get it back??

What type of phone do you have? Was it the original camera app that came as default on your phone when you got it?

Open Settings> Apps> Disabled& find the Camera app. You can enable it there. This is the common way to enable disabled apps on all android phones. Comment if any problem persists.

I'd like to add that if you try this method but you see the camera as enabled, disable it and enable it once again.You should see your camera after that.


text:
Root a Moto G running 4.4.4 KitKat
I have a Moto G. I need to root my phone to use some apps.
Can anyone given me the steps to root a Moto G running 4.4.4 KitKat (the most safest and easyist way).

Related: The easiest way to root a Moto G (XT1032) Android v. 5.0.2

How to Root Moto G
There are are three simple steps only

UNLOCK BOOTLOADER
FLASH CUSTOM RECOVERY [I USED CWM]
FLASH SUPERSU

DONE
Yeah ...you don't need to downgrade your bootloader which is very risky
Procedure

UNLOCKING BOOTLOADER :- i thinks its already explained well at different sites and motorola's site also [ i used this guide Moto-g-unlock-bootloader-and-root only for unlocking]
FLASHING RECOVERY-

You need 3 things
(a) motorola usb drivers [download from here ]
(b) adb drivers (download from here ]
(c) Custom recovery (download from here ] i used cwm without touch OR USE PHILZ RECOVERY (4.4.4) CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
Real procedure:-

install motorola usb drivers
extract adb drivers anywhere in your computer
copy recovery.img [i renamed it to only recovery] into adb tools folder
boot your phone into fastboot mode by pressing volume down key and pressing power key simultaneously , and then releasing power key .
connect your moto g to your computer through data cable
go into adb tools folder => while pressing shift key => right click => and click open cmd here !
type [fastboot flash recovery recovery.img] and press enter { IGNORE Mismatched partition size' AFTER FLASHING RECOVERY }

DONE  just press volume down and then volume up to boot into cwm

FLASHING SUPER SU
DOWNLOAD THIS FILE FROM HERE
PUT IT IN INTERNAL MEMORY

PROCEDURE => IN CWM =>INSTALL FROM SD CARD => CHOOSE SUPER SU => RESTART
It will ask 'root is broken' WHEN REBOOTING FROM CWM. CHOOSE YES
DONE !
I recommend these apps you should install first after rooting

Greenify (getting awesome battery backup )
xposed installer
gravitybox
tinted status bar (i love this module..make your android like ios7)
Titanium Backup

Couple questions: Can one use the Play Store SuperSU instead of installing the linked file with the custom recovery?  Is the only reason for using the custom recovery to install the SuperSU program from a file? Sorry I'm confused what exactly the custom recovery does differently, and what does the linked SuperSU do differently? Thanks!

Think of the SuperSU application as being a sort of graphical front-end for the su binary.
Because of the way directory/file permissions are configured on Android, you need to have the su binary on your /system partition in order for it to work. Putting elsewhere will not suffice, because it will not have the permissions it needs to actually allow processes to switch users.
Normal applications (without root) cannot write to/system, so the SuperSU application itself cannot simply install su where it needs to be. This is the reason why you will not have root if you install SuperSU from the Pla


text:
How can I view an XLXS file attachment to a gmail message?
I received an email message with an XLXS file attached.  I can see the attachment icon in the email message in the gmail app and it appears that I can download the file but it is not viewable in Downloads the way attachments that I download from Yahoo mail are.  It seems to get saved to some file storage area labeled as Miscellaneous files, but I can't view the file.  How do I view it?

It appears you don't have an app that can view excel spreadsheet (.xlsx). Solution: Download an app that can view them, such as Google Sheets, then try to open the file again


text:
Samsung Galaxy Pop got stuck while updating to Jelly Bean
My Samsung Galaxy Pop (GT-S5570) got stuck while updating to Jelly Bean with Cyanogenmod 10.1. It sticks at the Samsung logo at the start. What can I do to get it working again?

Did you perform a wipe before flashing? Which ROM has been on the device before? Can you still boot into recovery?

A common mistake - wipe cache an dalvik-cache from recovery and reboot. Should be okay then.

I would go to the forum section of your device with whatever site you use and find the links for Odin and Samsung's official Kit Kat release for your device and flash that using Odin. Then you will be stock once again then accept the update and all should be fine.


text:
no sound via mobile network call
Last days I have strange behaviour:
No incoming/outgoing sound during calls via mobile network.
After reboot a couple of calls work find and then sound just vanishes.
Viber/skype calls are working just fine.
No external or suspicious applications were installed (actually no new applications were installed for the last months)
dmesg shows nothing related to audio system.
How I can fix the issue? What information I should dig in my phone?
I've Nexus 4 with cyanogenmod (20141205-nightly-mako) [actually before was 20141105-nightly-make and this thing started after almost a month of usage, then I tried to update, but it didn't help].

Cyanogenmod nightly builds are not suitable for everyday use. If you use them, you should expect behaviour like this, and even worse bugs.

Well, but it worked before for about a month

If bugs always manifested themselves right away there wouldn't be so many of them.

Yes, it may have worked, but they are called nightlies for a reason. It is the compiled source code built in to a new package, every night. I am a software engineer for my day job. We introduce sometimes hundreds of new bugs, with just one feature change. We then have to go through and fix those bugs. But, the priority of them differs, and if we are in "feature" mode, bugs wait until all the features are complete, then we address the bugs. If you don't want bugs, use the stable builds.

I'm not against bugs. This was just a question to get some directions to dig and find the root of such behaviour. And it's great that somebody ere is able to help me. Thank you for your answer and comments!

There seems to be a pretty bad bug that affects Cyanogenmod right now
https://jira.cyanogenmod.org/browse/CYAN-5728
A workaround provided in the thread:
from a root terminal (adb root/adb shell or terminal emulator/su)
pm disable com.google.android.gms/com.google.android.gms.checkin.CheckinService

+0.5 for linking to the issue, and +0.5 for your name, so 1 upvote for you :)

+1 for linking to an issue (that was affecting "stable" milestone builds) rather than just condemning someone for using nightlies. (I personally resolved it by upgrading to lollipop factory image and was relieved that it wasn't just my phones hardware crapping out)

This Problem usually comes with 250MB plus version of google Apps package. If the problem persists, try installing nano version of arm based GApps. hope it will solve the issue.

A friend of mine who also faced the same problem and finally resolved the issue for me. The phone thinks earphones are plugged in due to which ear piece doesn't work. So take a pin and clean the earphone jack. Should resolve your issue.


text:
Hands-free/Driving Mode: How to change the reading voice's language (and voice: male/female etc...)?
Is there a way to change the language and voice for reading out the information on hands-free mode. Even better, it would be nice if the language and voice for the alarm could be set on a per-alarm feature. Anyone knowing if and how this can be done, please don't hesitate to reply.
Thanks.

Go to settings > language and input > text to speech output.
There you can select one of your installed voices.
You can install voices from the Play Store.
My personal best and free is IVONA (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ivona.tts&hl=de)

Thank you for your answer. Also, I would like to know what the difference is between the options Samsung text-to-speech engine and Google Text-to-speech Engine. How do these engines differ from each other? Thanks. The main difference I see is that different sets of languages are supported, but maybe there are also other differences.

The samsung one is made by samsung and the google one by google. Both are standard TTS engines. If my answer was helpful you can accept it by checking it.

I've tried activating hands-free mode and setting the language to Samsung text-to-speech engine Chinese, and set an alarm with a message in Chinese to go off, but when alarm went off the voice was in English and the message I wrote in Chinese as part of the alarm was not even read out at all. So this is not working for me on my Samsung Galaxy SIII. Do you know what the problem could be? Thanks.

Did you try Google TTS Chinese or IVONA TTS Chinese

I don't see an entry for Chinese under Google TTS (although several other languages are listed). The reason I am a bit hesitant about installing IVONA Text-to-Speech HQ from Google Play Store is when I try to install it it requires the "In-app purchases" permission, which makes me a bit uneasy. Why is it requesting this permission? Is it safe to install? Thanks.

I've installed IVONA, but I see a message on Google Play Store about rebooting the device or reloading the TTS engine before using IVONA. How do I reload the TTS engine without rebooting? Thanks.

OK, I've installed IVONA Text to Speech, but when I click on Install voice data, it brings me to the URL http:///mobile.ivona.com/?set_lang=en which displays various voices but none in Chinese. Any ideas on how to proceed? Thanks.

OK, on my Samsung Galaxy SIII, now I've tried the Samsung TTS Italian voice, but phone data and alarm data was still being read out in English. Then I've tried installing IVONA Italian beta TTF, but this time, neither the alarm nor incoming phone calls were being read out at all, despite hands-free mode being enabled. So, I couldn't get your solution to work.

OK, here is the thing. Suppose I set Settings -> My device -> Language and input -> Text-to-speech options -> Preferred TTS engine -> Samsung text-to-speech engine -> Language -> Italian (Italy). If I also set Settings -> My device -> Language and input -> Language to Italiano then when the alarm rings the message is read in Italian, but if instead I leave Settings -> My device -> Language and input -> Language set to English (United States) then the TTF settings are ignored and the message is still read out in English.

As a bilingual person, I would have preferred if I could set the TTF language directly alongside the alarm message, perhaps with a default suggested based on a setting somewhere under Language and input. Regards.

There I can't help you... Sorry.


text:
How to use Android phone desktop fix-rotated?
I have Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos GT-i9082 Duos Android 4.2.2 mobile phone. Normally whether I open "Screen Rotation" or not, the desktop holds itself as vertical. (Picture 1) Today, in faulty maybe, I captured rotated desktop screen (Picture 2), and I thought, why couldn't we use our phone screen fix-rotated? Is there a option to select that? Can I rotate it without any app. installed?

may be rooted device can done

By "fix-rotated", did you mean landscape mode (as seen on 2nd image)? Android phone usually has "locked screen rotation" setting, although it's location vary by phone model. Also, it might be impossible on some phones to force landscape mode.


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folders of apps not downloaded created in my memory card
I use Sony Xperia Z phone
Recently i noticed that in my phone some empty folders of applications like hike and hookup are created. I did not download these applications...so how these folders came in my memory card. I had recently mounted my memory card in my friends phone which had these apps.. is it possible that these folders got copied from his phone to my memory card ? please help.

Yes exactly. Applications create (not copy) required folders as soon as a memory card is mounted. There is nothing to worry about and you can delete them manually. As an extra note - these folders are created for saving media files received and backup files.

Thank u Mr. Mani for ur reply. But i have one more querry. To check the above, I put a new memory card in my samsung galaxy note phone which has hike as well as hookup apps. Here in this memory card no such folders were created. So is it that these empty folders are created in some phones and not in others because i tried this on 3 memory cards and none of them got such empty folders created. Pls help.

Latest google restrictions doesn't allow accessing memory card for saving data or installing by almost all the apps. Maybe the previous phone allows that.

Sorry i did not understand this. Could u explain in simple language please.

Latest versions of android doesn't support apps to be installed on memory card and also doesn't support moving applications to SD card. Previous versions support these things.

authors: ณรงต์ศักดิ์ ไฮ โสประโคน


text:
boot process recovery or rom
When I power my device (htc one m8) on and press the volume down key I get into recovery.
Now which part of the booting process checks if this key is pressed and uses the correct partiton (boot or recovery).
Is this the bootloader?
If yes, is this the 'same' bootloader as formerly found in the aosp tree?

The initial input is read by the bootloader to see which partition to boot. Vol- will trigger bootloader, while no input will trigger ROM partition. The bootloader is initially installed by your OEM. No matter what version of Android you have, you still have the same bootloader until you either update your bootloader or install a custom bootloader. The OEM bootloaders are likely based off the AOSP tree, depending on your specific phone (I am not sure for the M8).

Is the selection menu where I can choose between fastboot, recovery and so on already the recovery or is this still the bootloader

The bootloader has a selection screen when you boot while holding Vol-. It should look like this on your HTC One M8: http://i.stack.imgur.com/48pSP.png

From the bootloader, you choose which boot partition to load, hence the name boot loader.


text:
Disable automatic connection to weblogin networks
As far as I know, Android never had the option to disable automatic connection to specific Wifi networks, and always, stupidly, makes Wifi higher priority than 3G. Yet this kind of feature is crucial in urban areas with abundant open web login networks in cafés etc. Even Symbian on my old Nokia 5800 XpressMusic had the option to order networks manually, so that 3G could have higher priority than certain Wifi networks. iOS6, as a worse substitute of this ordering, also used to have the option to disable automatic connection to specific wifi networks. But that is gone since iOS7, so switching to Apple does not solve my problem. Has anyone figured out a hack, a third party app or so, to get this crucial feature on Android phones?
(I currently have Motorola RAZRi, and am extremely frustrated, since the one and only Jelly Bean upgrade 1.5 years ago made it unrootable and slow, and Motorola has provided no upgrades since then. I'm also frustrated by Android's region locking, not allowing me to install my bank's app while living abroad. Since iOS region locking -- while still evil like all DRM -- is softer, only based on the AppleID account, not the device itself, I'm considering switching to iPhone unless this Wifi issue can be solved more satisfactorily on Android.)
Internet searches turn up nothing, only other questions of the same fact, and answers saying "the asker is an idiot and this is standard behaviour on all mobile devices and how things should be". Maybe this attitude stems from different culture -- the US culture from where the tech companies offering substandard products come from -- where there are perhaps few weblogin networks? But in Europe the situation is different. It is frustrating to have internet stop working on the street, because instead of 3G, the phone has connected to a web login network radiating from the nearby café, e.g., the very common _TheCloud in the UK. At the same time, having wifi enabled is crucial, because even at my home in the centre of an important university town there is in practise no 3G -- not to even speak of LTE, for which I would not pay on this island that has worse signal quality than the third-world countries I've visited. In many cafés in particular there is no 3G reception, and a frequent need to use _TheCloud. The option of manually forgetting a network after each use is a purely unusable alternative, moving the task of remembering from the device to the user – yet IT should ease our lives, and have an option that needs to be set only once and forgot!

It's not only android, but the banks don't want people outside their zones to try logging in, as it makes it easier for intruders to try to access accounts. If my bank (which operates exclusively in Canada) started seeing logins from around the world for my account, they'd likely be paranoid and block the connection anyways. Not all do, but food for thought

I may misunderstand, but my android never automatically connects to any AP I have not accepted previously.

The whole point is to not automatically join networks I do occasionally, even frequently, use, but that require weblogin. The phone should not have internet randomly disabled on the street, whenever one of these rather ubiquitous networks is in range, until I manually disable wifi (usual solution), manually forget the same network for the 1000th time, or manually web-login.

The phone should remember, not forget, that I don't want to join automatically a network that I sometimes use, but that is disabled until further actions (web login). I should not be required to remember to forget every time I use the network. It is the job of the device, to do this kind of manual tasks for me, to help my life.

Fair enough. I really misunderstood.