text:
edit : battery drain *MYSTERY*
UPDATE 06/02/2015
i have a Galaxy Grand Duos and i constantly faced battery drain issues. after MANY ideas to what the problem could be, (even by samsung service), i decided to root the phone and flash custom ROM. Tried some, problem persisted.
Finally i installed CM 11.0 without any apps, not even GAPPS just to narrow down what is wrong..
After some time i can tell you that there is something like a (maybe hardware related) BUG that for no apparent reason KICKS OFF and starts draining the battery (30degree slope drop in battery application) CONSTANTLY. I mean no matter what i do, if the phone is sleeping or w/e, that is the LEAST background battery consumption. Of course if i also use the device, the battery drops more vertical in the graph for that period of time.
Then, at some point, for no reason that i can spot until now, [maybe turning on and off the airplane mode, WiFi, Screen Rotation, or somth else] the BUG stops! And from that point forward (until it starts again) the battery drop is totally HORIZONTAL when I'm not using the device, as it is supposed to be! Note that this normal behavior can last for even 2-3 days.
What will be useful : Find what triggers the bug. Find a way to stop it if has triggered.
(*edit 11/2/15- i think i've narrowed it down to how i can turn off this "bug" after it kicks in. The way to do it, might be turning on and off airplane mode and WiFi for some times. The way to see if this worked, is to leave the phone at standby for some time (1-2hr) and check the battery graph. If the graph has become HORIZONTAL for that period of time, then voila i have stopped the drain)
Note #1 : please help..!

Sorry, Couldn't comment because of low reputation points,
Are you sure that airplane mode is doing the damage? Have you tried putting airplane mode in morning time to check, because some apps like antiviruses scans the mobile at night. They are scheduled by default. so that may cause the drain.

thanks for your reply, indeed i checked airplane more and i am not sure it is to blame. As for apps like antivirus running, my device is stripped clean of any apps just to narrow the culprit easier.

It isn't airplane mode.... airplane mode only stops certain hardware from running, making it physically impossible for that to be the reason
You probably have a bunch of other applications running when you go to sleep. but it will always say that Android OS used the most battery, because the operating system handles everything...
try installing cleanmaster or some other application cleaner, it will save a lot of battery.

for that reason i have no apps running, i didnt even put gapps. i tried several roms.
Maybe it wasnt clear(?) that this problem is from the day i bought the phone. stock android, back to factory default, installing other roms, PROBLEM STILL PERSISTS :/
in my latest rom (CM 11) the only difference and a slight HOPE is that this BUG for some reason, for some time, it DISAPPEARS!

It isn't the fricken ROM, any AOSP rom won't drain your battery.... you still a cleaner, because system apps will still drain your battery

Please read my first answer, i have this problem since i bought the phone with stock android, and still have it after resetting factory defaults (on stock). The battery drain im experiencing ISN'T NORMAL BEHAVIOR that a cleaner could make it even better, because i am some strange perfectionist. Sorry but "Cleanmaster" has nothing to do with my problem.

Then get a new battery.. then there is nothing wrong with your phone

already bought a new battery (even though i had my old one checked and it was fine..) just to be 100% sure it isn't a battery problem. Result : -15euro, same problem. If you think about it, it doesn't make sense to be the battery's problem, as the "battery drain bug" kicks in at some time and stays on for as long as it wants (mb 2-3 days) but when it is off i have normal battery behavior for an equal period of time.

another hint to the cause: i think i've narrowed it down to how i can turn off this "bug" after it kicks in. The way to do it, might be turning on and off airplane mode and WiFi for some times. The way to see if this worked, is to leave the phone at standby for some time (1-2hr) and check the battery graph. If the graph has become HORIZONTAL for that period of time, voila! you have stopped the drain

when you are in sleep.. the battery will always drain... you could make it drain a lot less if you had less apps running... to lower the amount of applications running, then you should use clean master... basic computing

I really tried to explain the situation but you clearly have no idea what you are talking about, and you are even trying to give advice to others. Thanks for the effort, but if your knowledge level is "advice giving", I should be a fricking moderator..

@Tax  Actually being in a similar situation (with Nexus 9 which keeps switching itself off during standby because of battery drain), - at some point I saw that cleanmaster caused most of the battery drain. After that, maximal drain is from display, although I manually switch it off. Maybe that is behind the bug - display is using power when actually switched off?

The solution to my problem turned out to be, Buy a new phone.. Anyways, back at my old device, at the battery stats the biggest battery consumer was Android OS, don't know if that helps. And with some more advanced battery consumption statistics apps, I also found out that some of the sensors were fully working 24/7. My conclusion is that I had a defective hardware-like device that Samsung service was incompetent to diagnose and fix.. (or on purpose who knows.. the phone was still under warranty)

authors: მამუკა ჯიბლაძე


text:
USB malfunction and rooting of my Samsung SIII (GT-I9305)
I have a Samsung Galaxy SIII (GT-I9305), and here are my problem(s). It can't be detected by PC via USB (not showing on device manager, odin, kies, not even charging) but it is charging when connected thru a charger. Is the micro-usb port damaged? I don't think so because but it can detect my flash drive via USB OTG. I already tried reinstalling correct drivers, tried different cables, tried different USB port, factory reset both from settings and recovery menu.
How can I fix this?
Also, I'm wondering if I can still attain root access/permission even without USB connection but thru terminal emulator?

This sounds like either only one or even both central connectors of your phone's micro-USB port are broken. Charging only uses the outer ones which let's you use the charger.
If I assume that by detecting your flash drive you haven't accessed it, then it's this.
You are able to root your device (I got the same one) without a USB connection using TowelRoot, FramaRoot or a flashable .zip (visit xda-developers for more info(1) or (2))

thank you for responding sir, but it is not charging if connected to the computer, it only charge when connected directly to a charger. towel root does not work also sir, and even if i have a flashable zip, I won't be able to flash it thru a stock recovery.

You are able to flash it through stock recovery. I did it before and it's working now as well as it has in the past (boot into recovery and select flash update.zip). Whatever you did, TowelRoot or FramaRoot, both worked for me.

wow! I will try sir! Just to clarify, I can flash a flashable zip of superSU? or CWM?

Root + SuperSU. You don't need CWM to root your device. The stock recovery is enough and will allow the installation (at least on Android 4.3)

Thanks!! I'll try, should i rename the zip to update.zip? am I right? I hope this will not give an error "permission denied"

Depending on the revision of your recovery I suggest you to rename it and place it in the root directory of your internal storage.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
How to update my android OS?
Before two months my mobile phone was up to date in Android OS. I have updated my phone Nexus 5 to Android Lollipop.
And After on Month, My mobile phone display was damaged,And i sent it to the LG service committee, because it's on guarantee.
After the mobile service process completed, at once i have made an update process. But it was not installed the latest version of Android(Android 5). Up Till now i do check for update, I display nothing for my query. How to fix this problem?
Do you have any idea about what the service team has done to my phone?

Try a hard reset and then update your phone by going to Settings > About Phone > Software Update
If you would want to do a manual update then you flash your device and then install Lollipop image. For more instructions see this link

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


text:
Songs got deleted and don't know how.
I download a lot of songs on my phone which have been there for a long time and just the other day I went to play something and it said no songs playing? I didn't delete anything either. Is there a way to get them back?

Did you get any kind of error message ?

No :( I even tried downloading new songs and they wouldn't come up on my playlist.

Also, which app do you use for music playback? Where was the music stored - internal memory, SD Card?


text:
App saves to SD card, phone has no SD card slot!
I am currently using to JBTimer app to time Rubik's Cube solves on my Droid Maxx, and wanted to export the data to do some analysis. The app has a few built-in options for exporting, but every single one of them will only export to an SD card which, if you've ever used a Droid Maxx before, you'll know there isn't a slot for in the phone. The app doesn't give any errors or anything, but I can't find the data on my phone when I connect it to my computer. I would really rather not type 300-something numbers into an Excel spreadsheet manually. Any ideas?

Yes, Rob is right. Android is very well designed. You have a SD card that is the memory of your device. If you'd have a SD Slot then you'd have 2 SD Cards. Why this happens? Because it's assumed that Android needs a place where to save pictures, savegames, etc and it has a special partition for each: SD (yes, it's emulated), applications, system files, etc.
This is why when you do a full reset on the device those files are not deleted! Because it's not necessary! Only system files and folders are touched in those cases.

Android provides SD Card emulation for devices that don't have one as well as a pointer to a physical one if available. If you use ES File Explorer on your device (I highly recommend that app!), you will be able to go to /mnt/extSdCard.
No root required, it is only a pointer (you can see the black curved arrow over the folder icon). You will be able to find your saves in there.
It is possible that extSdCard has another name: Sdcard2, etc.


text:
Rooting An HTC desire bravo Phone
help me to root my htc desire bravo
configrations are:
bravo pvt3 ship s-on
h.boot -0.83.0001
microp-051d
radio- 5.09.05.30_2
help me and give me the easiest mehtod i tried revolutionary it says that your hboot version is not supported
i have android2.2 foryo


text:
Is there a way to sync tasker profiles?
I use tasker on all of my android devices.  That includes my work and personal phone and tablet. They all pretty much run the exact same jobs but all I can find is some really rudimentary way of exporting a file to a very specific location.  it's pretty horrible.
Is there a way to sync changes between devices? Possibles add logic to profiles to just let profiles act if they are on specific devices.

Using auto remote plugin for Tasker is a good starting point


text:
How to disable message button on lockscreen?
Hello I want to make this button gone, because I installed lockscreen notifications app, but if I disable in messages app notifications it not notificate when I get new message.

In my device you can change or get rid of them by this way: Settings-> Security-> Shortcuts

Where's no such thing as shortcuts. Only Screen lock, owner info, encrypt phone, set up sim card lock, make passwords visible, device administrators, unknown sources, verify apps, trusted crediantials, install from sd card, clear crediancials

What about Settings -> My device -> Lock screen -> Screen lock? Select swipe, turn shortcuts on and click on the word shortcuts.

No my device.
http://www.part.lt/img/0a3c950b2ab8af6d23f7dda6a046635b829.png /
http://www.part.lt/img/70cf1ff962ad0679e813d6ee9ab8c558390.png /
http://www.part.lt/img/113c97dbaf6b21fb41c44c94dd8d70d8954.png


text:
How does 4ext recovery backup works
Does it read the partition and copy it bit by bit to some file?

Care to explain downvotes?

I didn't downvote, but I might explain: your question is most likely considered "low quality". You don't give much details what you're talking about – e.g. what is "4ext recovery backup"? Without knowing that, the question cannot be answered. Backup apps are different: some work on block level, some on file level; some do full backups, some only cover parts. And depending on that, their algorithms differ as well: those working on block-level do exactly what you describe, others don't.

A backup of any partition works by simply copying an image of it to a file. This is accomplished by using the simple command dd if=<path to device eg. sdcard (/dev/block)> of=<path to file to backup to>.
The resulting file is (as already written) an image of the original partition which can be explored as a drive on any OS, which features mounting an image to a drive (primarily any linux distro).


text:
Can't download anything from Google play
My internal storage has 400+ MB and the SD card has 9 GB left (I know SD card doesn't really matter). I deleted a lot of apps and I still get the message "Not enough space on your internal storage" when I try to download an app that is 7 MB.

Probably related: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/58168/why-am-i-constantly-running-out-of-space-on-my-galaxy-s2

This is not simple to solve. The solution that worked for me requires the device to be rooted, "Terminal Emulator" app and a file manager that can access to your whole file system (like "Root Browser"). I also have the "BusyBox" app installed which might be necessary to use the terminal emulator properly.
The first thing I did was to spot all files associated to the app I couldn't install. In my case, I achieved this in the terminal emulator with the commands
su
find / -name "*[some part of the package name]*"

The first command is to gain root privileges in the terminal in order for the find command to be able to search your whole file system. The second gives you a list of files and locations related to the app you want to install. The text in brackets [ ] must be replaced by a part of the name of package which distinguishes from all others. In my case, the package is the FB Messenger. The APK file is called com.facebook.orca-21.0.0.20.13.apk, so I decided to search this way:
find / -name "*orca*"

Then I deleted all the files and directories listed using the root browser (this is a brutal force method, may be it is not needed to delete them all...).
Finally, I rebooted my phone, let it start and installed the Messenger through Google Play Store. It worked :)
I hope this helps.


text:
Read information from old Kies3 call log backup files
I have discovered that my Samsung Galaxy S3 phone has a limit in the number of items retained in the call log, after which the oldest calls are deleted. Having previously suspected that this could be the case, I have periodically taken backups of the phone with Samsung's own backup/restore program, and have the backups on my Windows computer's hard drive.
Today I needed to check the time and date of a call I made almost a year ago, and saw the log in the phone didn't go that far back. I then started Kies3 on the computer, expecting some support to read the call log file (stored as Calllog.scl) among all the other stuff backed up. This was however overoptimistic - it appears the only thing Kies3 can do is restore the data back to the phone - no way to read it on the computer. Years ago I could read the call logs from my old Sony Ericsson "unsmart" phone, but Samsung seems totally unimaginative in anticipating a user's needs.
The format of the Calllog.scl file seems to be random data. I have had no success with trying to uncompress it, or to find any program that can read it.
Of course I could try to restore the old backup to my phone, but I am afraid the result could be a mess, due to the limited length of the log.
It also seems ridiculous that the log length is so limited considering that modern phones have GBs of storage. At least there could be a setting for the size.
I would be extremely thankful for any suggestions on how to extract information from the backup without restoring it to the phone.
Edit: I seems no one knows how to view the logs, which is not surprising, as I had googled extensively before posting this query. So now my strategy is to use a backup app (one simple and good one seems to be "Call Logs Backup & Restore" by Ritesh Sahu, https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.riteshsahu.CallLogBackupRestore). It produces human-readable xml files (even with style sheet to provide pretty display in a web browser).
My strategy is:
1. use the app to back up my present call log to an external file
2. restore the old Kies backup to the phone
3. use the app again to back up the old calls to a second external file
4. use the app to restore the latest calls (from step 1) to the phone

Seems like your strategy is the best available. May be a good idea to suggest that the user also create a kies backup first just in case. This way there is a fallback option.


text:
How to install ClockWorkMod recovery on a Samsung Galaxy S2 plus gt-i9105?
I have a Samsung Galaxy S2 plus (GT-i9105), running Android 4.1.2 (Jellybean).
I really tried evereything – with Odin, with apps, with other programs. I tried to update with Samsung Kies, but that doesn't work.
I want to install CyanogenMod. I tried with the CyanogenMod Installer, but doesn't work. Now I'm out of ideas. Could you give me any pointers on how to succeed?

Hi and welcome to Android.SE! Have you tried using Heimdall to install ClockworkMod? If Heimdall doesn't let you do so -- what error message does it give you?

First: Cyanogenmod is a customized version of Android and NOT a recovery.
Ok, let's move.
You should root your device first. Once rooted you can install the ROM Manager App from the Play Store, which will guide you to install Custom Recovery.
In order to root your S2 follow this instructions: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2663834
You also can follow this tutorial: http://youtu.be/xBJyQrbEkuc

The asker wants first to install a custom recovery and then to use that to install CyanogenMod.


text:
ADB Debugging on LG Watch R
I got a LG Watch R for a programming project. First, I had a Gear Live that was now replaced. When I follow the guides step by step, I never get the "authorize this computer" like I did with Gear Live. My machine runs on Windows 7. My steps were:

Setup LG Watch R with my Note 3
Dev Mode enabled, enabled ADB Debugging
Plugged the Charging Station in my PC (got detected as "Android Composite ADB Interface" with Samsung as Company
Normally the popup should appear on my Smartphone asking me to authorize the machine
In the CMD, adb devices does return unauthorized

In the device manager, the Watch R is recognized as "Android Composite ADB Interface" from Samsung. I have tried an answer to "ADB doesn't recognize Samsung Gear Live or LG G watch" on Stack Overflow, but it doesn't change much as it is already recognized as ADB Composite.
I'd be grateful for any tips.

I ran into the same problem. It turns out that the watch has to be connected to an Android phone running the Android Wear app; then the "authorize" dialog will appear on the Android phone. After you authorize you can unpair the phone.

Sorry it took so long, but i tried that too - the authorize dialog didnt appear - tried it on my laptop as well. When resetting my Note 3 i get the dialog in an instant.

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


text:
Mi2 broken screen, any way to retrieve photos?
My daughter's got a Xiaomi MI2 stock phone with a screen broken in such a way that it can't be unlocked. She already had a new phone on the way but she's devastated at the thought of losing her photos (no backup).
Is there any possible way to retrieve the photos short of getting the screen repaired?
I've read around quite a bit but every possibility seems to require ADB enabled.
And the Xiaomi MI phone manager can connect but doesn't show any files at all, nor allow backup, so I assume the phone has to be unlocked for this to work.
Oddly, some methods I've tried of retrieving the images (dropbox, windows) activated the camera, where I could see and delete the most recent picture, and also determine the pictures are stored on a path that suggests an SD card, but I understand this is only a virtual SD card so presumably removal is not an option.
So this is my last ditch attempt to avoid a screen repair. Can anyone help, or confirm that I really am out of options for retrieving the photos?
Thanks for your time.

Try running this ADB command (for Windows) adb pull /sdcard/DCIM/* C:/camera_backup. If that doesn't work, it is mostly likely because it requires (1) ADB Debugging enabled and/or (2) a confirmation from the unlocked phone to trust the computer.

You could try and boot the phone into recovery or bootloader mode (using either adb or just turning it off then holding the power and volume up or down keys as it's booting back up) and then use the adb pull /sdcard/DCIM/* C:/camera_backup command (as LyricWulf suggested) to backup all the photos from the phone.
Good luck getting those photos :)


text:
System forgets settings and doesn't allow to install applications after reboot
I have bought BLAUPUNKT ENDEAVOUR-1000 HD month ago, installed couple of games and apps, then moved them to the sd card, it was working perfect, then I turned it off and now wach time you re start, the tablet require new set up (as its brand new) and shows 0.00 KB internal memory, sd card is free, so I can't install anything and my tablet does not remember my settings, accounts etc. Should I try with the place where I have it and the warranty, or am I missing something? Tried with Root explorer, now when I connect it to the pc and try to access on the tablet, system, then the tablet restart by itself.

it's the same problem with my 1000HD in three times and, sorry, there isn't a solve. You must get the warranty and put it on ebay if it's ok after the repair.
It's not a hardware problem it seems to be a firmware problem and it will going on and on. You will get it as good as new from warranty repair an some weeks later - kawoom, same problem. There is no fun with this device. Sorry.
Best regards and so sorry for my english
Marko


text:
Need Help Unbricking Samsung S3 (GT-i9300)
below is a full and detailed account of what I have tried so far and where I think may be problems. I need someone with experience/in-depth knowledge of these sort of issues to give me a hand.
Okay so yesterday I had left my phone, a bit over 2 year old Samsung Galaxy S3 (GT-i9300) running M12 Snapshot of CyanogenMod11, all on it's own for around an hour and a half and when I got back to it it was stuck in bootloop at the "Samsung Galaxy SIII" screen. I successfully booted into recovery (ClockwrockMod Recovery v6.0.4.6) but get the error:
E:Can't mount /cache/recovery/command
E:Can't mount /cache/recovery/log
E:Can't open /cache/recovery/log
E:Can't mount /cache/recovery/last_log
E:Can't open /cache/recovery/last_log
E:Can't mount /cache/recovery/last_install
E:Can't open /cache/recovery/last_install

Similarly when I move into mounts and storage and try and mount anything but storage/sdcard1 I get the message (using /data for example) Error mounting /data!.
Research lead me to believe that my best chance at recovering my Recovery, and from there Android itself was to re-flash CWM. As I wasn't able to get to Android, I tried to reach the bootloader but was only able to reach the Download mode for use by Odin/Heimdall.
I connected my device to my computer (Ubuntu 14.04) and ran Heimdall. Detect picks up the device and I can typically get the PIT, however when I try and flash recovery I get the below:
jake@jake-Aspire-5750:~/Downloads$ sudo heimdall flash --RECOVERY recovery.img --verbose --stdout-errors
Heimdall v1.4.0

Copyright (c) 2010-2013, Benjamin Dobell, Glass Echidna
http://www.glassechidna.com.au/

This software is provided free of charge. Copying and redistribution is
encouraged.

If you appreciate this software and you would like to support future
development please consider donating:
http://www.glassechidna.com.au/donate/

Initialising connection...
Detecting device...
      Manufacturer: "SAMSUNG"
           Product: "Gadget Serial"

            length: 18
      device class: 2
               S/N: 0
           VID:PID: 04E8:685D
         bcdDevice: 021B
   iMan:iProd:iSer: 1:2:0
          nb confs: 1

interface[0].altsetting[0]: num endpoints = 1
   Class.SubClass.Protocol: 02.02.01
       endpoint[0].address: 83
           max packet size: 0010
          polling interval: 09

interface[1].altsetting[0]: num endpoints = 2
   Class.SubClass.Protocol: 0A.00.00
       endpoint[0].address: 81
           max packet size: 0200
          polling interval: 00
       endpoint[1].address: 02
           max packet size: 0200
          polling interval: 00
Claiming interface...
Attempt failed. Detaching driver...
Claiming interface again...
Setting up interface...

Initialising protocol...
ERROR: Failed to receive handshake response.ERROR: Failed to receive handshake response. Retrying...
 Retrying...
Protocol initialisation successful.

Beginning session...

Some devices may take up to 2 minutes to respond.
Please be patient!

Session begun.

Downloading device's PIT file...
PIT file download successful.

Uploading RECOVERY
0%
14%

28%

42%

57%

71%

85%

99%

100%
ERROR: Failed to unpack received packet.
ERROR: Failed to unpack received packet.

ERROR: Failed to confirm end of file transfer sequence!
ERROR: Failed to confirm end of file transfer sequence!
ERROR: RECOVERY upload failed!

ERROR: (null) upload failed!

Ending session...
ERROR: libusb error -7 whilst sending packet.ERROR: libusb error -7 whilst sending packet. Retrying...
 Retrying...
ERROR: libusb error -7 whilst sending packet.ERROR: libusb error -7 whilst sending packet. Retrying...
 Retrying...
ERROR: libusb error -7 whilst sending packet.ERROR: libusb error -7 whilst sending packet. Retrying...
 Retrying...
ERROR: libusb error -7 whilst sending packet.ERROR: libusb error -7 whilst sending packet. Retrying...
 Retrying...
ERROR: libusb error -7 whilst sending packet.ERROR: libusb error -7 whilst sending packet. Retrying...
 Retrying...
ERROR: libusb error -7 whilst sending packet.ERROR: libusb error -7 whilst sending packet.

ERROR: Failed to send end session packet!
ERROR: Failed to send end session packet!
Releasing device interface...
Re-attaching kernel driver...

This happens every single time and my phone is currently a rather expensive and useless brick. I have searched around an can't find any solution to the ERROR: Failed to unpack received packet. or ERROR: Failed to confirm end of file transfer sequence!.
Any help would be greatly appreciated,
Regards, ConDar


text:
Can I root my Cube Talk7x (U51GT-C8) without installing new ROM?
I need to root my device:

Device name: Cube Talk7x (U51GT-C8)
CPU: MT8392 (quad-core)
Android version: 4.4.2 Kitkat
Kernel version: 3.4.64

The reasons for rooting:

I want to use APP2SD with external SD card (on my previous device, which was rooted, I've swapped /storage/sdcard0 and /storage/sdcard1)
I want to mount it with SSHFS (it works, but SSH server can't access external SD card)

I have no MS-Windows machine, but if it's necessary, I can borrow one.

ern0, there is a website that has a download to root this device and it looks like you can do it from the device itself.
If you download http://www.jellydroid.com/framaroot-1-9-0-apk/Framaroot-1.9.0.apk and install it then select install “SuperSU“ and select an exploit in list to potentially root your device as “Barahir” and proceed further.
You should see a success message and then reboot. Hope this works for you.

Unfortunatelly, it's not working, neither method.

I think so you should borrow one MS-Windows machine. If you want to root device properly you should have a MS-Windows machine!
If you got a MS-Windows machine Download iRoot. Install iRoot. Enable USB Debugging Mode in your device. Install Device Drivers on your machine and connect your device to machine. Your machine should be connected to internet while rooting your device.Connect device with USB. In root Tab, Click on root Device. Restart Your Cube Talk7x. This should work from my information.

Well, that's weird I would say you would have got the device rooted using Framaroot, double cross check if you are using the latest version of the Framaroot to root your device?? I somewhere doubt that you are trying to do the same with older version of the Farmaroot, anyway I think it would be better for you to try doing that again using the latest version of  Framaroot 1.9.3 over here.


text:
How do I send a group SMS with google hangouts?
I have a Samsung Galaxy S4 on Verizon if that matters.  Thanks!

In Hangouts start a new conversation by going to the Messages tab and pressing on the "+" button on the top-right.
Select the first contact.  This should open the Hangout conversation screen:

click for larger image
Tap the "Anyone else?" button next to the first participant on the top row.  This brings up the "New group conversation" screen:

click for larger image
Add more contacts you wish to be included in the group conversation by tapping on their name, or typing in their name:

click for larger image
Press the OK button.  This opens up the actual group conversation with all the selected participants.  You should see "Send to group" in the typing area, signifying that you are starting a group Hangout:

click for larger image

You can also turn an existing single-participant hangout into a group chat.  Just open the existing chat, tap on Menu button, select "New group conversation" and continue on from step 3 above.
Now messages you send and receive will be shared with all participants.

This did not answer the OP's question. The question was to send a group SMS message via the hangouts app. Not a Group Hangout message. I would like an answer to the OP's question as well.

Same here. I find it... not so convenient.


text:
Your username and password don't match
I've tried to log in to my Google Account on my phone and tablet, I've tried on a friends HTC and mine are Samsung. On all the devices, I get "Your username and password don't match" and instructions to reset the password. I have tried countless times, reset the password about 5 times and double checked, even quadruple checked. Tried copying and pasting the password, etc. I have tried logging in on the browsewr, it works fine. I have tried enabling access for less secure apps/devices, still nothing. 2 factor wasn't on, I tried turning it on twice, still nothing. Restarting the phone, checking the date, etc. I have tried signing in with a different Google account on the phone and it works like a charm but mine doesn't. I have been searching for hours, checked numerous Stack Overflow posts, Android Forums, etc. There (should) only be 1 Google Account (well, there isn't any in the settings right now). I think this was working before I factory reset it, but not sure.
TL;DR: Correct password, enabled & disabled less secure apps, tried turning off 2 factor, other account works, tried on other devices. Still nothing.
WTL;DR Not working, tried everything.

Go to your Google account settings from a browser and setup an App Password for the device.  I chose the option "Other..." from the app drop down list so that I could easily identify the device should I decide to revoke it later.
The sign-in problem was due to the Two-Step verification process I had previously setup on my account.

Ok so. I have a Samsung Galaxy S first generation. I've been trying to look for an answer but haven't found one. However, after trying different things out myself, I finally got it to work.
This is what I did:
After factory resetting your phone, skip the "add google account" and instead go through the next step and "add an email account" using the same google account details.
After you have successfully added the email account, you can now open the Market or Play Store where it will tell you to add a Google Account. Now you should be able to add the same Google Account without the "Sorry username and password does not match" problem.
Good Luck.
Gabriel

After a factory reset I had similar problem. The following is how I solved this problem:
I went to Google Accounts, then I signed in with the account I wanted to use with the device.
Inside the signing in to Google subsection, I disabled 2 step verification. Then, in the connected apps and sites subsection, I turned on the option to allow less secure apps.

I had the same problem. It worked when I changed this settings: "Allowing less secure apps to access your account"  https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/6010255?hl=en


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Is it possible to set an encryption password different than lock screen PIN?
I set up phone encryption using a numeric password. Android 4.4.4 on OnePlus One (Cyanogenmod 11S). Now on the lock screen, I'm asked for the same numeric password (but instead of a text input field, an on-screen numeric pad is shown).
I would like to understand :

Is it possible to set a different PIN for the lock screen than the one I set before encrypting the phone? (without changing the current encryption password)
Is it possible to change the encryption password without wiping phone memory?

Please, keep in mind -- one problem, one question here. Two questions in one post is a bad idea.
Now:

first question: take a look here or here or in many other places,
second question: no, encryption is irreversible!

Once applied the only way to disable it / change password is to do factory reset (loosing all data / wiping phone memory -- as you write) and perform another phone encryption after that.

For the second question, in contrast to trejder's answer, the encryption password can certainly be changed without initiating data wiping or factory reset.
Short answer on first question is no, because encryption password will always be changed if lock screen password is changed from UI.

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


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Extract drivers from ROM directly?
My girlfriend recently bought a Samsung Galaxy S5 which, after paying over 500 bucks for it, turned out to be a counterfeit s5.
Obviously the scammer didn't get back to us and as much as this is a good lesson to learn (don't be cheap and rely on Kijiji!), we want to make the most out of the phone as well. As such I am hoping to port one of the custom OS on it as the OS that came with the machine is pretty old (Android 4.2 I believe).
The problem is all the hardware signatures were obviously obscured and there is no way (at least I am aware of) to know the exact hardware pieces. My only hope is to somehow being able to extract the drivers out of the existing ROM and see where I can go.
Is there any way I can do that? If not, is there anyway you would recommend to make compiling of custom ROM possible without knowing the exact configuration of the phone (other than having a original factory ROM on hand and obviously the physical unit as well)?

By saying drivers you mean firmware? Kernel? Baseband?

@joaquin I guess I mean the drivers for the radio and baseband and all that. Basically whatever device-dependent component I need to compile the custom ROM.


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How does emulated storage actually work?
I recently bought a Xiaomi Note 4G. An amazing piece of technology. I transferred the apps I had on my previous device to it.
The reason I bought it was partially to have a good gaming experience. But what I witnessed is after you have filled your internal memry with apps and games you cannot free up space: there is no option to move apps to SD, a big disappointment. Even third party apps with root permission don't seem to work, but they hinted that my device uses emulated storage and that it treats both the storage spaces as one.
My question is, then: why can't I install apps anymore if I have 23 GBs of free space? Is there any workaround to this problem I am not able to see? I will be grateful if someone could help out here. Thanks!

It's strange. All works like the same space in Android except for the OS itself.

This does not depend on stock Android, it depends on Xiaomi. Your system is only installed in a partition (system), it does not alterate the whole partition table on your device.
I had the same problem with my MI2S. Only recently I repartitioned the whole phone, giving 10 gigs to the apps' section. It seems like it's the only way. Here are the detailed instructions.
http://xiaomi.eu/community/threads/mi2s-extending-size-of-storage-partition.21391/
Obviously you have to do the opposite, as stillka is removing space from the data partition to give it to the storage one. Giving that you basically have to delete both partitions and recreate them with different size, the procedure is the same, you just have to make your own calculations as you have to give startpoint and endpoint, not size.
I did this procedure twice in a row, because the first time I also removed system1 partition to get another 500 MBs, and I didn't brick my phone nor the first neither the second time so, even if the procedure looks scary it is quite safe. Obviously it means losing every single data you have in your phone, both apps and such and personal data. So, you must use some backup app to save your apps and data and then copy the whole sdcard (including the backup you just did) to your PC, restoring once you recreate the partitions.
Note about chache and system1: you can also delete these partitions (really, shrink them to 3 MB - the minimum to make them ext4 filesystem - as you shouldn't change the original partition table) to gain even more space, but there are consequences.
Cache: some people say this partition is used by Google's Play Store to temporarily store (pardon the play on words) apks files before installing the app to your phone. That means, if you remove it you won't be able to install apps from there anymore, and if you shrink it too much you will be able to instal small apps only. If you use other sources than the Play Store (or, maybe, even Xiaomi's official market) you should be good.
System1: this is for the fake dual boot MIUI uses: every time you update your system through the built-in Updater app, the new ROM is written to the system you were not in, alternating between the two at every update. This is to have a correctly functioning system in your phone, not overwriting the previous system while updating (so, it is like a system backup). If you remove it, you won't be able to use the Updater app anymore, you should every time flash the newer ROM when you want to update. I did not do this as I use MI2S' Sepcial Edition MIUI 6 ROM, and the only easy way to install it without third party tools is installing the regular v5 ROM and update with the Updater app. Your choice.

@Jeffrey Lebowski
the cache is used for storing shell script like commands file while rebooting to recovery mode to do a particular task (eg. Data Reset)
if you shrink it too low it would never be able to store these scripts
And as per as I know  Google's Play Store to temporarily storage is in the Data Partition I maybe wrong though


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Stock Nexus 5 reboots randomly
I cant take it anymore and even with a full insurance plan, Sprint is not willing to replace my phone with a brand new identical phone. It has had this issue from day one. I think it rebooted itself on its first ride home from the Sprint store when I got it almost a year ago. I have just put up with it over the last few months because besides this issue, I love my phone. I'm worried if I reset it I will lose everything. So first question, what can I expect from a factory reset? What will be saved (via Google profile) and what will be lost?
Ok that question aside, let me now explain exactly what it does. It is completly random. The phone will just freeze on any screen for about 5 to 10 seconds, then reboot. It seems to be a pretty fast reboot. Here is the weird part. There is no logical pattern to when the reboot will happen. It could be during streaming netflix, or browsing a website. It could be when the phone is just sitting on table not being used. It can even freeze right after it just rebooted, ie, the phone reboots due to this issue, then as soob as the unlock screen apears, it could freeze again.
Its different everyday too. On a good day, it may never freeze and reboot ( or at least I dont see it happen). On a bad day, it may freezw and reboot 10 times within 30 minutes. It seems to come in cycles. I wont see it for awhile, then a few days later it will be really bad.
I have recently loaded a ram utilization widget to try to see if I notice a pattern, but so far I havent managed to see the ram usage prior to a freeze. At first it kinda seems like an app could have a memory leak issue. That might explain the randomness of the reboot, but at same time, this hypothesis does not account for the immediate freeze after reboot. RAM utilization would not be an issue immediately after a fresh reboot.
I have also tried installing a log viewer,but so far it has not been much help. I need a recomendation on an app to view the correct log file that might give me a clue as to whats going on. I dont know which log file to view though. I know android is based off Linux, but the log structure may be a little different. Even if it is the same, there may not be any useful info in log right at the freeze point. What I probably really need is to look at some sort of crash/dump file. I get the feeling that may be over my head though.
I need help with this please. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Find problem apps by rebooting to safe mode
If your device keeps restarting itself, freezing, crashing, or is slow to respond, it could be caused by an app you’ve installed. You can use safe mode to start up your device with only the original software and apps that came with your phone. If the issues with your device go away in safe mode, the problem is probably caused by a third-party app downloaded on your device.
Use safe mode to find problem apps

Make sure your device's screen is on, then press & hold the Power
button.
In the box that opens, touch & hold Power off.
You’ll see a    “Reboot to safe mode” box.
Touch OK. Your device will start up in    safe mode.
Try using your device normally. Remember, you won’t be    able to use
any installed apps.
If the problem goes away: Restart your device to exit safe mode.
Uninstall recently downloaded apps one by one to see if you can
find the app that’s causing issues.

If the problem still doesn't go away one more option

perform a factory reset

This problem is not a lollipop issue even i had same issue , i gave device to service center where they charged me 300 rs and fixed my power button, there was a issue with power button stuck in because of which nexus was restarting.


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Problem with Notification panel icon(top right icon),android 4.4.4 ?
I own a Android One phone launched last year,Micromax AQ4501 running android 4.4.4, from last week i having this problem where the icon on the notification bar (which has a face )which when touched switches and takes one to setting panel with bluetooth ,brightness ,battery,wifi etc,keeps shifting to the right side such that only half of it is visible and the rest goes beyond the scope of the display,it sometimes gets back to normal automatically  ,other times requires a reboot and one time it completely disappeared and i had to do two finger pull down to bring the setting page.
How can this problem be resolved ??? Is their a virus ??

in the first image the icon has completely disappeared

in the second image the icon has shifted to the right
THE third image shows the default location of the icon.
Please help..

Do you have your device rooted? Are you using xposed framework?


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Apps on SD Card taking up internal storage (
My phone has been claiming the impossible for a while (see screenshot). Namely, it claims that more internal memory is being used than is available, and hence it is rather difficult for me to download new apps.
I believe that some apps that are located on the SD card are falsely being seen by my phone as living on the phone's memory, and it's somehow adding those numbers to the total amount of storage taken up.
If I go into my podcast app, for example, it says it's taking up about a gigabyte of internal storage even though a) that's not possible, b) it's all on the memory card when I go look in the file manager, and c) DiskUsage app shows this memory as being on the memory card, too.
DiskUsage app shows my internal memory as being just less than full, which I can deal with because I can delete a few things; I don't want to have to delete my podcast app's data again, though (it takes forever to get it set up again) every time I want to download a new app.
I tried dialing code #99009# and get an "unrecognized code" error message. My phone's also not rooted and I'm not going there :-/ I'm not that into tech and I think I would just end up wrecking everything.
Any specific advice would be awesome!
Thanks so much!

Note that apps do also take up space in internal memory, even if they are mostly on the SD card. Also, if you go to the apps section of the settings app, and go to the tab 'on sd card', are apps ticked with a colored tick mark, or just grey? Grey means can be moved to sd


text:
How to test wifi adapter?
My VPN keeps disconnecting and I'm wondering if it's a problem with the wireless adapter. Is there a way I can test? I'm using the Xperia Z2 and there's ways to test the built in hardware like the microphone but not for the wifi adapter. Is there an app like StabilityTest that works on wifi?

Try the service code *#*#7378423#*#* -> Testing ->WLAN.
Did you enable stamina mode? This may also cause the wifi to disconnect

Thanks. No stamina is not enabled. Testing WLAN didn't really say much, it just asked me a website to enter than said it could connect. Maybe it would be more helpful for me to run a broadband speed test from the phone.


text:
Google Calendar refresh rate/interval?
How long does it take for the Google Calendar app to refresh calendar events?
(It definitely doesn't seem to use push notifications, but I can't figure out the refresh interval.)


text:
How much internal memory is available for APPs on a 32GB tablet
It is my understanding that 8 GB on a TABLET has 748mb available for apps and the rest dedicated for movies, music, documents etc. Of course there will be the boot, system OS stuff.
Optionally there can be preloaded system apps which will count against the 748mb.
So I assume 32 GB would have 748mb X 4 or almost 3GB for applications. Is this correct ?

This is not exactly correct.
You only need to subtract the space required for the system once.
If you are on Android 4.4 you should have everything minus the system available for any purpose as apps, data and private files share the same storage.
Otherwise I assume around half of the available space can be used for apps and the rest for private data.

Thanks for the answer. I remember running out of app space on Jelly Bean on an 8 GB tablet so they must have removed the memory partition restriction after that. On a Contixo Tablet, they had kitcat 4.4. When I looked at the memory available for apps under storage settings, it said 2.7 BG with a bare tablet. Any explanation for this.

There is the possibility of a mounted partition in /data/media (which is mirrored at /sdcard, /storage/sdcard0 and other locations) which allows two distinct partitions for apps+data and private storage even on Android 4.4 Kitkat.

the internal memory part of 16 GB storage settings said only 2.7 GB. The sd card of another 16GB was taken into account in sd card section but listed no available space of apps as expected. I want all my apps on internal memory. can you point to ang google documents that discuss when they took the restriction off what memory  apps can use.

also bear in mind that i use virtually no storage memory. it's there but useless.

Mystery solved
The real explanation to this mystery is: The playstore app on android 4.2 was somehow broken.
It probably didn't release internal memory space after the download and install. Hence the space ran out. Lot of people complained about this insufficient memory. There was more than one problem causing it. Even Google results about this problem didn't show up for a long time until recently. Even other forums didn't know about the problem.
Since it was my first real tablet and googling didn't get any results to enlighten me so i assumed it was an android limitation.


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Lollipop: secure lock screen menu options
This is just an extension of the previously asked question.
I have upgraded Google Nexus 5 with android 5.0.1 Lollipop.
We can toggle wifi, data, flight mode and other options from locked screen.
Is there any way to secure or customize which of these menu options should be displayed?

Short answer: you can't.
There are several bug reports like this one. I'm using Android 5.1.1 right now and this security problem still exists. This "bug" makes the Android Device Manager useless if your device gets stolen.


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China phone after factory restart in recovery mode stuck on formating data
Can´t get to recovery mode, can´t connect via USB becouse it still rebooting. And it says Fromating /data....
mount system/ error
Can somebody help me?

can you please provide your device name?

It is Lenovo from china Lenovo_S898t+

Please flash stock rom using smart phone flash tool stock rom for your device is here http://androidxda.com/download-lenovo-stock-rom-models
and direct link is here https://drive.google.com/uc?id=0B3H1waZx5Veqa3ItOG1xZWM4U28
please refer http://androidxda.com/flash-stock-rom-using-smart-phone-flash-tool for flashing stock rom

Thank you for your answer. I did find all that things but my self and read all about flashing phone, but my problem is that I cant connect phone to PC becouse when I connect it the phone is always rebooting if there is no batery inside, or is in recovery loop and writing formating/data... mount system/ error. So the PC recognize connection of phone and connected it an in one second phone reboot and rebooting all over again, or connect and disconect and showing recovery loop.


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Hangouts keyboard not showing (Nexus 7 2013 Android lollipop)
I have a Nexus 7 2013 and recently upgraded to Lollipop. I'm having problems with hangouts making it unusable.
When I open a conversation in Hangouts, the keyboard is never available. The text bar at the bottom stays grey (same colour as app background) and never becomes tappable to allow the keyboard to show.
I tried last night clearing the cache on the app and this worked briefly but since re-starting the tablet the problem is back.
This is a huge problem as it is meaning I cant use Hangouts (the main messaging app I use with friends and family) on my device and instead have to hunt for my phone each time.
Does anyone have any experience of this or sensible suggestions?
Thanks,
Ben

Did you ever find a solution? I am having the same problem


text:
Where is the Samsung Galaxy setting for answering lock/unlock?
My friend told me that every time someone calls, he must unlock the phone. He wondered if we could change that setting. I looked in my own Samsung Galaxy and I could not find the setting. Do you know what we could do to resolve the issue so that my friend won't have to unlock his phone every time somebody is calling? I think that the problem is vendor- or operator-specific looking at this thread with a similar issue.

lock options for your device, from the Home screen, touch Menu Menu key > Settings Settings Shortcut > Lock screen > Screen lock.W hen you select the Samsung lock feature, Swipe (or the With swipe lock option), additional features become available by opening Settings Settings Shortcut > Lock screen > Lock screen options.For any other query you can check at Samsung India site.


text:
Is there a way to keep youtube videos etc playing even while closing the lid?
This worked before I reinstalled android with some app that I don't remember which. A common situation is that I start a youtube video, start listening and then put the phone in my pocket. And then the sound stops after closing the phone. I'd like youtube and other selected programs to keep playing. Is there a way to achieve it? I believe there was a program that could do it where a whitelisted youtube etc to keep playing in the background or similar.

For YouTube you would need to subscribe to YouTube Music Key. This allows you to

play music on mobile the way you want to – with or without video, while using other apps or with your screen off.

It also removes adverts from music videos and allows you to download & play videos offline.
I'm not aware of how to achieve this with other apps (which don't support playing in the background).


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How can I see which wifi channel / frequency is used by my android 4.4.2 device?
How can I see which wifi channel, frequency is used by my android 4.4.2 device?

This may help: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/23572/how-to-tell-current-frequency-band

This answer might be helpful for you. However, there are multiple apps could do that. Search wifi on google play. For example, the one I use at work and home is Wifi Analyzer. which graphically shows the channel & frequency for all wifi networks around plus the one you're connected to. I used this app on Samsung galaxy S2. I would post couple of screenshots taken by me but I can't post more than 2 links (new user).

The linked answer is about phone, not wifi.

If you know how to use adb, you can run adb shell iw dev wlan0 link. This gives you the frequency. To know the channel, do a search or use wikipedia to find out.

In regards to what Wi-Fi channel your device is on you'll need to view the settings of the network that you're connected to.
This all depends on whether you have access to the network settings and what type of router it is.  This will help you understand it more: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/how-to/network-wifi/3325316/how-change-wi-fi-channel/

You don't need access to a router (or credentials for the network) to determine what channel it's broadcasting on. You can pick that up just from a network scan. Here's an app that can show you this information, for example.


text:
Unable to upgrade and install WhatsApp
I didn't check WhatsApp in a few days, so I tried clicking into it, I got a message like "This version of WhatsApp became obsolete on <specific date>. Please go to the Play Store to download the latest version".
I clicked the upgrade button and was led to the Google Play Store where I was told to sign into my Google account, but it didn't allow me to.
I uninstalled WhatsApp and rebooted my phone. I tried downloading WhatsApp and I'm still told to sign into my Google account.

Just login to google play store with your email. If you can't, please be clear as to what is the problem.

Could you tell us more about the device which you are using? The model name and OS version?

A quick solution while issue with google account is unresolved, download newest apk from apkmirror and install it. Enable unknown sources in setting first.

What Android version are you using? You could be using an old version of Android that WhatsApp no longer supports.

Download it from the site instead: http://www.whatsapp.com/android/

Try this :

First go to settings-> Find google play store -> Clear Cache, Now Reboot your Phone.
Again go to Settings -> Account -> Add New account [If there is no active google account], Add your Gmail ID and Password - Sign In.
Now go to Play Store-> It will automatically add your Gmail account, Find Whats app in Play store-> Download it, Hope that works!
Even if it not works, then you can download whatsapp from the whatsapp website. [Link is there in the below comment, Follow it].
Check this links too:

1) https://www.androidpit.com/forum/459499/can-t-sign-in-to-google-account
2) http://forums.androidcentral.com/general-help-how/346959-solved-can-t-log-my-google-account-my-samsung-galaxy-s2-plus-gt-i9105.html

Just remove your old account from Settings > Accounts , and add it again and then try upgrading your whatsapp.

authors: Абдуллох Инагамов


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Samsung Galaxy S5 quick message responses limited to 160 characters
My Samsung Galaxy S5's messaging app has a quick-response feature that will cause a new message to pop up on the screen, regardless of lock status, a lot like the app 'Glowfly' used to before 4.4 removed the ability outside apps used to have to mark messages as read.
I'm currently running Lollipop but this was an issue as far back as Kitkat; before that, I used Glowfly.

(On a side note, if anyone knows a cheeky hack to replace this functionality, please do let me know; my device is rooted and I'm not aversed to modifying system files if it guarantees a result.)
You can respond to messages that appear in the quick-view window, but the responses are always sent as text (160 character limit) which is fewer characters than a Twttr feed. Is there a way to configure the Messaging app to send quick responses as MMS or to place splits in automatically, like using the full client does? It seems like a ridiculous oversight, but it's present in 5.0 and has been since at least 4.4, so it's either something nobody's looked at or a deliberate decision.
I quite like the stock Samsung messaging app (read: I hate all alternatives because they're gawdy, spammy or otherwise full of bloatware and nonsense) but I'm open to alternatives provided they can solve this issue. Bear in mind before suggesting a replacement that AFAIK apps outside of the stock Messaging program can't mark SMS messages as read (hence why I'm not just using Glowfly). Naturally any suggestions will need to be able to circumvent this issue.
Finally, please don't explain to me the nature of the Short Messaging Service or just suggest I make my texts more concise. I'm looking for help, not advice.

Have you tried Handcent SMS?  It's not "gawdy" or "full of bloatware".

I mean, I can. Do you reckon it'll sort my issue?

It works for me, it allows a pop up box for quick reply, has more than 150 characters in that pop up, etc.  Worth a try anyway!

I'll hold out for a little while in case anyone has any genius solution for my issue, but I'll definitely give it a look if that doesn't happen.

A "solution" is to use a different app. It's not ideal but the changeover is smooth enough.
The app I've switched to is called Textra. Use it with the program NiLS to configure notifications on your lock-screen that you can reply to. This program also works with programs like WhatsApp, Snapchat, etc.


text:
How do I open a used notification in Android?
Does it have someway to "re-use" the push notifications? I know that exists a way to create a shortcut to only view the used and past notifications. I want something that gives me the oportunity to use again some notification that was gone.
Example:
I have some Instagram Notification:
Fulano liked your photo.(When I touch in this notification, Instagram opens directly in that pho)
So that notification disapear.
I want to see again this notification and I can touch again and see the photo from instagram.
Someone know some application about it?

There may be a fix using the xposed framework, as long as you are on <lollipop

I'm an Android developer and I can tell you that exactly like what you want it doesn't exist because at development time we set how they should work. Platform asks us what to do when we click them, if they should be persistent or not, etc. So what you want is impossible because every developer should then add this feature.
Something possible would be an app with reading notifications permission enabled that look and save any notification on the device and listen for changes in them. And when it detects that the app is gone and only was "used" once, then it shows up again. This app won't function exactly equal as the original one because the original notification comes with data that only the app and Android knows. It could open the app at its best.

You can't put a notification back in your notification list natively, but there is a native settings shortcut to let you see your notification history. New shortcut > Settings shortcut > Notifications


text:
Android L GMail app remove default account
I currently have Android L (5.0.1) installed on my Nexus 5. I thought my phone had a problem with syncing but it turns out that my GMail app keeps trying to sync my email address with GMail. I have an @live.nl email and this email is the same email as I use for my Google account.
So, the GMail app tries to get my @live.nl email from GMail's servers, but since this is a @live.nl email and not GMail, it keeps saying "trying to sync". I have no way of deleting this account without deleting my entire Google account from my device, something I do not want because it stores all my data. I can also not add my @live.nl email because it keeps saying it's a duplicate. It seems like I'm stuck in a loophole.
Does anyone know if there's a way to make the GMail app not try to retrieve my email from the GMail servers? I already unticked "Sync with GMail", but it keeps trying anyway.

The GMail app on Android L (5.0.1 at least) allows you to add GMail, Yahoo, Outlook and also Exchange accounts. http://www.cnet.com/how-to/get-gmail-5-0-for-android-right-now/

So when you first added this account you selected Outlook and not GMail correct?

I updated my phone from Android 4.4.4 to Android 5.0 and once I launched the default Email app it gave me a notification that my accounts have been merged to the GMail app. I did not have the GMail app enabled at that point. I already had my Outlook account working and I had another IMAP email set up. Both worked fine, up until now.

I would create an alias for your @live.nl then use that to login into your @live.nl account.  That won't solve your syncing problems with your current account though.

That will still keep my GMail app trying to sync my GMail email I don't have. It pops up every time I open the app and disabling syncing everywhere won't make it go away.

Sounds like you should wipe the device and reconfigure it under 5.0 the upgrade you did was pretty major.

The upgrade is just one step up. I do not want to wipe the device as I do not want to lose all my information on my phone. It's not just photos, also a lot of apps that have their own data and such that is not synced between devices.


text:
Front speaker extremely quiet on call
Is there any way to boost it? It seems to be louder on the rear of the phone.
I have a GT-I9505 Galaxy S4.

Try these:

You can turn up the volume of a call on your phone by pressing the volume buttons while in a call.
Make sure that you are using the "earpiece" speaker setting instead of "speakerphone." (The latter would cause the volume to be louder in the back.)
See if you can find any debris that is obstructing the earpiece speaker and carefully remove it with a small tool of necessary. (This is unlikely to greatly impact the sound/quality of the speaker.)


text:
How can I maintain stable/smooth performance permanently on a Nexus 7 2012 (wifi) [grouper/nakasi]?
After a day to a few days, the n7's performance will degrade sharply to the point where a reboot is necessary for the device to function properly.
I've tried numerous ROMs, a few kernels, tweaking CPU governors (mainly just to performance) yet no matter what I try it will work great for a while but if I let it sit idle for a day or so load times for doing anything jump up to unacceptably slow levels.
By unacceptably slow I mean on the order of magnitude of 10 times longer than normal or more. UI elements and the UI itself are often unresponsive to very slow and even when it catches up to the first command (ie home button), the next command still takes just as long (ie loading an app).
This is a single user device and has very few apps and fewer running. There is always lots of free ram usually 50% or so.
Right now it's running lollipop (ART) but no difference.
Is there something I can do so I don't have to reboot every day?
How can I diagnose what component(s) specifically need the reboot to begin functioning normally again?

When you say degraded performance, what is your base for measure? I have MultiRom on my Nexus 7 Grouper, with 5 different ROMs (varying from JB to Lollipop) and I haven't noticed any performance issues. Have you looked at what background services and broadcast receivers are running? Also, what what apps do you have installed? Maybe an app with wish-washy permissions.

Also ART has been known to have performance/compatability issues as well. There are some ROMs that will work with ART, but that would be a matter of reading some forums. I use Dalvik because of smooth compatibility. :)

That bodes well. My base for measure is a fairly smooth and responsive UI where it only takes a second or so to do something like go home, open the recent apps screen, or load an app instead of 7-10+ seconds. Have you left a few of those ROMs totally idle for a few days? It may actually be more like 3 days when it starts to suffer. I haven't looked closely just enough to see that only what I would expect to be running is running. I am essentially running pure android + google. Even running totally stock from a factory reset I still saw the same degradation.

So I don't think it's an app-related problem but something between the OS/hardware level. It runs the same on Dalvik as it does with ART.

This is a good write-up: http://androidandme.com/2013/06/opinions/one-year-later-the-nexus-7-has-gone-from-the-best-to-worst-tablet-ive-ever-owned/

May have found the culprit: https://gigaom.com/2013/07/30/got-a-laggy-old-nexus-7-heres-why-android-4-3-will-restore-its-performance/ - notably: Klug says the TRIM command is automatically invoked every 24 hours or so on the Nexus 7 with Android 4.3. It happens when the device is active but not used for an hour during one day’s time and has either 80 percent battery life or is being charged and has at least 30 percent battery life. The maintenance is automatic then, so there’s no user action required. - It's often unplugged and not above 80%

On all my ROMs, I leave the tablet on for multiple days before switching back and forth. I haven't used 4.3 at all,  just didn't like it on any device. Good reading on that "androidandme" link. Have you tried any other versions besides 4.3?

Well I read a number of reports on TRIM and the general consensus on the performance issues that happen. Fragmentation of files, just like on the PC, is what is the culprit. TRIM will actually take a long time to "defragment" your files,  an easier idea would be to back up your data and perform a factory reset or better yet do a complete wipe of the system, then flash your ROM. Almost all the reading said there would be problems if the system wasn't properly "formatted" (no prior files still floating around), prior to the installation of 4.3.

Here are 2 links with excellent info on this 1) and 2)

I think I may have jumped straight to 4.4 from day one and after that I've been on 5.0+ since it was released officially. I have done several FDRs as well as complete manual wipes, re-installs via TWRP. This link (http://goo.gl/cu8wAo) has a noteworthy remark: However, this update does nothing to fix existing sectors that should have been TRIMMed in the past, but were not. To do this yourself, you can try the LagFix app from Google Play (it requires root). This app is a frontend to the fstrim utility, and it will TRIM your empty storage, fixing this problem. - I'll give this a try.

On the TRIM script there is a bug/problem, so there is a fix on the link I posted for the script. As usual read everything.  :)

I set up auto fstrim with Device Control [root] and after a few weeks have not seen the same degradation I was seeing before. I am running CM12 lollipop nightlies.
You can set it up in Extras >Filesystem :

How is it still running after having it set up the auto fstrim?

Should it not be?

No, is it still working great or has there been any hang ups since them? So its a long term fix? I just wanted to know as far as a follow up. I have 2 N7's.

@HasH_BrowN: Been running solid since - highly recommended. You'll maybe still get a slight, and I mean slight, initial lag when first touching the thing but it is miles better overall.


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phone on bootloop with a problem in the cache
My phone somehow got stuck in a boot loop and I can't fix it. I don't know what to do. I cant get pass the start up animation no matter what I do.
I've tried the fast boot commands to flash  and keep getting the error (i dont really know alot about flashing and never done it before but the that what i found suggested in the web..)
FAILED < remote: flash write failure >
I've tried the flash-all.bat file, but the lock state goes back to LOCKED when it reboots the device and I get the error
not supported on lock device
I can unlock the device when I type fastboot oem unlock, but if the device is restarted it goes back to LOCKED.
I've tried recovery mode and I see the below statements:
E:failed to mount /cache (Invalid argument)
E:Can't mount /ache/recovery/log
E:Can't open /ache/recovery/log
E:failed to mount /cache (Invalid argument)
E:Can't mount /ache/recovery/last_log
E:Can't open /ache/recovery/last_log
E:failed to mount /cache (Invalid argument)
E:Can't mount /ache/recovery/last_install
E:Can't open /ache/recovery/last_install
E:failed to mount /cache (Invalid argument)
I've tried wipe data/factory reset
--Wiping data...
Formatting /data...
E:failed to mount /cache (Invalid argument)
Formatting /cache...
E:failed to mount /cache (Invalid argument)
E:Can't mount /ache/recovery/log
E:Can't open /ache/recovery/log
E:failed to mount /cache (Invalid argument)
E:Can't mount /ache/recovery/last_log
E:Can't open /ache/recovery/last_log
E:failed to mount /cache (Invalid argument)
E:Can't mount /ache/recovery/last_install
E:Can't open /ache/recovery/last_install
Data wipe complete
E:failed to mount /cache (Invalid argument)
E:Can't mount /ache/recovery/log
E:Can't open /ache/recovery/log
E:failed to mount /cache (Invalid argument)
E:Can't mount /ache/recovery/last_log
E:Can't open /ache/recovery/last_log
E:failed to mount /cache (Invalid argument)
E:Can't mount /ache/recovery/last_install
E:Can't open /ache/recovery/last_install
E:failed to mount /cache (Invalid argument)

You need to enter the recovery mode and clear the cache. What is the "flash-all.bat" that you are talking about? I take it you attempted to flash a new ROM and then the bootloop happened? What ROM?

the original rom from google ....  and the bootloop happend before....

@RyanConrad. flash-all.bat is a script included in the Google factory images for flashing.

Have you tried WugFresh Nexus Root Toolkit? It's really simple to use.


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Share USB Printer from Android Device to Network
Is there any form of printer sharing FROM an Android device (In my case, a generic AMLogic Android Box, 4.2 or 4.4, full sized host USB ports) to a network? Specific method doesn't matter, CUPS, IPP, Jetdirect, would all work, even something like a drop box service where I send a pdf and it automatically prints.
Searching around, I have not seen anything for this direction, everyone wants to print from Android to an existing network printer, but I would like my Android box to be the server. It seems every other kind of server has been implemented, network shares, screencasting/vnc, keyboard and remote control, etc, but not print serving.
If running it as an underlying linux service is required, what is the best method for this? My searching comes up short.


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Transfer Boom Beach account to another Android device
I had Boom Beach on my phone and I have leveled up a lot. Now I wanted to download it and continue to play it on my tablet. I thought I had signed into my Google Play account on my Boom Beach on my phone, but I hadn't. When I went to sign in on my tablet, it saved the new game on my tablet instead of transferring the game info I had on my phone.
How to sign out of Boom Beach on my tablet so I can sign into it on my phone?

Try to follow this article. According to that, if you haven't upgraded your HQ to lv. 4, you may have a chance to reload from the old account. Try uninstall-reinstalling the game on the tablet.


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Is it safe to install Android L on my Nexus 4 (January 2015)
I have a Nexus 4 that was killed (battery) when Google released android 4.4. It was the bug regarding battery being drained by the WiFi.
It was such a pain to make Google sending me a refurbished one that now I don't upgrade my phone as soon as a new android release is delivered.
I want to be sure it won't destroy my phone again.
According to this, there were bug with the Nexus 5 in the beginning of android L...
So finally my question:
Is it safe to install android L on my Nexus 4 at the moment (January 2015)?
Thank you for your help!

Wait.
I've had positive and reliable experiences running Android 5.0.1 on Nexus 10, Nexus 7, and Nexus 5.
However, my Nexus 4 experiences reboots with Android L and a friend's Nexus 4 outright powers down regularly.
That said, a bugfix Android 5.0.2 is rolling out to Nexus devices right now.  So wait.

Thank you for your answer. It's a shame Google is so lazy regarding the bugs with their own phones/tablets!


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How many clients can be connected to a WiFi Hotspot?
I want to create an application which hosts a sever in my phone and many people can use it after connecting to my wifi hotspot.
Suppose I want to implement it in a classroom with 50+ students, is it feasible?
I want to know how many clients can be connected to the wifi hotspot. Are there any limitations?

It's just another Q&A with no sources, but this would seem to indicate that it's not possible to connect that many devices - http://stackoverflow.com/questions/22680293/can-we-connect-more-than-10-devices-with-wi-fi-hot-spot-in-android

If you search for android wifi hotspot maximum connections, most of the results mention 5, 8, 10,.. but nothing close to 50. The issue seems related to hardware capability, including overheating due to too much activity.

The "normal" wifi hotspots limit it at least to 253 connections by using an IP-address like 192.168.43.x. So far I haven't seen one using 172.16.x or 10.x addresses.

The software limit seems to originate from the /data/misc/wifi/hostapd.conf file which is generated by the system based on /system/etc/hostapd/hostapd_default.conf. Most phones have hard limits of 8 or 10 devices, yet some of them don't seem to have a limit built in. Your milage may vary depending on the device you're using.

Note: Partial answer regarding no. of hotspot connections that can be connected to a device.

Google on the page "Set up tethering or portable Wi-Fi hotspot" has stated:

If your device has mobile data, you can turn it into a portable Wi-Fi hotspot for up to 10 other devices, like laptop computers[.]

See also,

These features depend on your mobile device and your carrier. You may be charged extra for tethering or Wi-Fi hotspot connections. If you have issues, check with your carrier to see whether tethering can be enabled.

As Andrew already mentioned in the comment, the results on web usually tells the limit to 5,6,8,10, but not more than 10.

I could not find any content that states that hotspot could connect more than 10 devices. One person mentioned(I asked) a limitation vaguely here(in the comments).
IMO, you can't connect more than 10 devices, not without a hack. And to hack, you need to know why you can't connect more than 10 devices?

Please, do ping here if you(reader) come to know the reason.

For rooted devices, od you know how to increase this limit? Thanks

I'm sorry. I do not know.

To use hotspot in the house with more than 10 devices, I found something that works with a little money. What I end up using were some old devices that I had laying around the house. What you need are two items: a repeater, and also an old router.
If you have to use a repeater alone, use it in bridge mode so it will not be assigning new IP addresses. The IP address is assigned by the phone in that case, so you will reach its limit. On top of that, the repeater itself will take away one of the spots on your phone as one of the 10 devices.
But what I did is the following: I use the repeater which has an ethernet out and connected my phone to the repeater. Then I plugged in my old router into the repeater routers WAN port and connected it with a CAT5 cable to the repeater.   Placed the old router into DHCP mode bring it with a new network name.  Then I connected all the devices to the old router, and none of them show up on the repeater or on the phone's hotspot.
Basically you're creating a subnet I guess. Works great and honestly, for low bandwidth devices, it runs fine. The speed test was almost the same as off of the repeater itself. If anything, use the high priority/bandwidth devices onto the hotspot directly, and then use the repeater/router for the low bandwidth stuff (smart speakers/plugs/lights)
Also another tip I can say, right now my wireless carrier gives me an unlimited hotspot to all of my phones. I have multiple phones that come in and out of the house. So what I have done is to place all the phones with the same exact SSID for the hotspot, and also the same exact password. Therefore, the Wi-Fi repeater will join whichever phone is in the house.  Personally, this has been a great replacement for the internet in my house since my demand for the internet is not that high. And if you have unlimited internet, I guess you can use this even as a replacement for home internet. Also, this way it distributes the Hotspot data usage to all the different phones.

There can only be a 5 clients at a time on a Wi-Fi hotspot.

Supportable statement through documentation? Please supply a link.

What? My phone (a Micromax A350 running Android 4.4.2) says I can have 8 clients connected simultaneously to my hotspot.

if you are using 3g then you provide wifi for 5 connections and if you are using 4g then 10 clients can use hotspot.

Can you provide a source? Is this device dependent? Will one answer confidently work for all?

and what if you don't have a mobile data connection at all?


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Everything is messed up on my phone
I'm using the stock system on my Samsung GS3, and one day the phone just started restarting itself randomly. It might restart itself once or twice a day, and no pattern was observed. Then all in a sudden in one of those weird self-restarting the phone resets itself. All app data are gone but system settings left untouched.
Then comes the waves of error of Google stuff. As soon as you unlock the screen, all sort of errors popped up randomly, like "Google Services Framework has stopped", "Google App has stopped", and "The process com.google.process.gapps has stopped", etc. The Gmail app doesn't load, and you can't view the list of installed apps in the Play Store.
When connected to a PC, with adb it says it's connected, and I can access the system through adb, but I can't use Windows' explorer to navigate the storage system.
I didn't flash any custom OS. I do have root and xposed installed but there is no special action I did that causes this to happen. The syncing of the Google apps are also messed up, and it seems only apps related to Google are having errors.
Without manually resetting (for real) the phone, is there any way to fix this? Once in a while the phone is still resetting itself and this is driving me crazy.

The reason the system settings are left is because it reverts it like it is a new device. Your Google errors are because of a corrupted GApps package. Reflash GApps. Not being able to navigate through windows explorer, try changing USB connection mode on the GS3. Having the Xposed framework installed opens up all sorts of problems that could rise from compatibility issues. Start by disabling modules, to see if they might be the culprit. If still there uninstall the framework and continue from there. It also could be from an app that has root causing the mischief.

@HasH_BrowN Thanks for the response. I'll try disabling those modules and see if that helps.

@HasH_BrowN It seems that there're so many issues to be fixed, and at the end I just decided to backup and do a factory reset. All is good now. Thanks

First turn airplane mode on that should stop all erros google sync alike.
Then go to settings > account > remove google account.
Then go to where you manage your apps and delete all data + cache of every google app (play store google+ google play services etc).
Also look for an option called something "Redefine preferences" sorry my phone is not on English so may be a little different option but with the same meaning do it then reboot your phone and desative airplane mode see if it's all ok.
If you want you can also do an backup via your PC while on airplane mode so if that steps don't help and you really need to reset you will be OK

Will removing the account also remove my installed apps?

But this only addresses a portion of the OP's question.

No all your old apps and pretty much everything will stay you will only delete google synchronized data on your phone ( e.g gmail emails google contacts etc) but will not delete your google account or what is already sync with it and also if that not work you can try to reset all google apps to factory state should be in the same place where you clear data + cache


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What happens when I tap an NFC tag which contains a URL?
I don't have an NFC 'phone to try it out. A colleague absolutely insists that if you tap an NFC tag which stores a URL then that URL is launched automatically by the operating system.
That doesn't sound right to me and the developer docs says

Reading NDEF data from an NFC tag is handled with the tag dispatch
  system, which analyzes discovered NFC tags, appropriately categorizes
  the data, and starts an application that is interested in the
  categorized data. An application that wants to handle the scanned NFC
  tag can declare an intent filter and request to handle the data.

That sounds like what I expected (a BroadcastReceiver - or possibly a listener?). Can I tell him categorically that he is 100% wrong?
The reason being that he wants me to develop a small system for him and, while I see that I need a minimal Android app to listen for an NFC Tap event and then launch the browser, he insists that no app is needed and that any NFC enabled Android device, fresh from the factory, when tapping an NFC tag containing a URL will launch the browser to that URL.

I just tried one outside the office and it opened the "Open Link In" dialogue with Chrome/Internet/Dolphin as the options. The phone has been factory reset today. Beyond that I can't tell you how it should work, and what changes have been made to this in different versions of Android. I tried it on a Galaxy S4 GPE with Lollipop. UPDATE: Someone in the office tried it on a HTC M7 just there and it opened in the browser with no interaction, only one browser installed.

I cannot test because I don't have NFC tag which contains a URL, but based from RossC's comment, I guess Android receive it as normal URL, then handle it based on its URI scheme, just like when a user clicks URL on native app (not from browser itself). However, that's only my assumption.

@RossC thanks. Can you post that as an answer, please?

Please see my followup question http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/96564/tapping-an-nfc-tag-which-contains-an-url-how-can-i-override-the-default-actio

From trying it on two devices:
Galaxy S4 Google Play Edition: Lollipop 5.0, with multiple browsers. Once tagged the prompt to choose my browser comes up, and then once chosen opens the URL in the selected browser. The device was factory reset that morning.
HTC M7: Stock 4.4 up to date, no reset done, one browser. Opened straight in the browser.

Thanks, Ross! Please see my followup question http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/96564/tapping-an-nfc-tag-which-contains-an-url-how-can-i-override-the-default-actio

'Next bus' NFC tags at bus stops here in London attempt to open in a browser - if you've just got one browser, fine, it'll automatically open in that... no need for permissions, logins or a special app. But like everything else on your phone if you've multiple choices for browser, reader, editor... etc., it'll open a 'complete action' dialogue - and continue this process - until you choose one as default.

The URL is launched using Android's intent system.
You can register a application for all URLs (like a web browser) or for only specific URLs.  For example, you can register for http mybusticket.com/ticketid/* with your bus ticket application and Android will then ask the user which app the user wants to launch (if there are multiple that can handle that URL) when the NFC tag is scanned.
The Youtube app does this for example.  NFC tags are handled mostly the same way.
https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/connectivity/nfc/nfc.html#dispatching
http://developer.android.com/guide/components/intents-filters.html#Receiving


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Fast way to update custom ROM on encrypted phone?
If I add corporate (exchange) account to my phone I am forced to use PIN and now it even forces me to encrypt the phone. I have not done it yet but I need to.
I udate my ROM - cyanogenmod - quite often. Now I have no idea if I am going to be able to do so and if it process of updating is going to take longer.

HTC One XL phone - no external SD card
TWRP recovery
I use Titanium Backup to do backup before update and then restore after update.
Currently I am running CM11.2 but want to try cm12 soon.
Q1) can I still use Titanium Backup to backup/restore?
Q2) How to quickly update cm in future if the phone is encrypted?
Q3) enything else I need to know before I encrypt the phone?

It depends a bit on the recovery you use. But if your device has enough RAM, you could try to install the update via adb sideload.
If you encrypt "your phone", actually only the data partition gets encrypted. You can use Titanium Backup to back things up, but you will be out of luck regarding the data partition (and possibly internal sdcard, see below). If you use TWRP, it offers the option to unlock your encrypted /data when entering recovery, making a full backup possible. Also, using such a USB-OTG device allows you to update via ZIP directly from there!
Depending on your device, also the internal sdcard (and/or external - but you don't seem to have one) will get encrypted. In this case, your recovery will be unable to store the backup anywhere, but if you encrypt your phone you certainly don't want to store your backup unencrypted somewhere on the phone. Therefore, if your device supports USB-OTG, you could just connect an unencrypted usb stick for this purpose - this would be my recommendation.
Apart from that, you can always do "raw" backups directly via ADB by backup up unmounted partitions or even complete block devices. You should be familiar with the partition layout of your device in this case, or simply backup the complete flash (which might take a while). You would typically achieve this (just an example, you might have to use a different device name!):
adb pull /dev/block/mmcblk0

And to restore the backup:
adb push your-backupfile-of-mmcblk0 /dev/block/mmcblk0

But of course you can do this also just for individual partitions, e.g. /system:
adb pull /dev/block/sd.whatever/by-name/System

Check out the fstab.VENDOR file for your device (typically resides in your root directory), you should be able to find the proper device names in there.

I use latest TWRP. So when I update cm would it pick up that the mobile is encrypted? Once it's all running I guess I can use Titanium to do restore, can't I. Can I somehow create new unencrypted partition?

The info, whether your home partition is encrypted or not is stored in the so-called encryption footer. The info where the encryption footer resides is defined via fstab, both for CM and TWRP (of course they should use the same). Now if you update your CM and it uses the same location for the cryptofooter, it will recognize your encrypted home and ask for the password, just as normal. Things only get complicated if they decide to keep the footer somewhere else or encrypt it differently, but this is rather unlikely to happen.


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How to create contacts on SIM card/internal memory?
I'm trying to add new contacts on a phone, but I can only create Google contacts. I really don't want to hand over data to a company that has no real understanding of the meaning 'privacy'.
I just want to create contacts on my SIM card or internal phone memory. On other phones that's possible but for some reason it's not possible anymore.
edit
My phone is a Motorola Moto E with Android 4.4.4
edit 2
interestingly, on my Sony Xperia Z, (same Android version...more or less), I can create a contact on my phone. This is weird.

You may want to add your phone manufacturer and model, since different manufacturers use different dialers, which means the answers can vary.

@onik edited accordingly. But it looks like the default contacts application.

Just a suggestion: have a look at MyLocalAccount from FJ Softwaredevelopment.

This app does represent a local contact account. This is helpfully for devices without local contact account (f.e. Nexus series) if you don't want to sync your contacts with Google servers. These contacts can be synced then f.e. with MyPhoneExplorer to your PC.

authors: Димон Пономаренко


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Why is the amount of time needed to turn the screen on not always the same?
This may very well be a nit-picking type of question about Android devices, and in particularly about the Samsung Galaxy SIII. The concern here, is of a UX nature. When the screen has gone blank to save the battery, and I click the power button, sometimes the screen turns on relatively quickly, othertimes more slowly. This happens also on relatively close carrying outs of such action (e.g. the screen goes blank, I press the power button, and the screen comes on quickly, then the screen goes blank to save power, I press the power button, but this time the screen comes on slowly).
The problematic usability scenario to consider is the following: sometimes, when the screen is taking longer than normal, my brain sends the signal to my hand to press the power button once more, thinking the reason the screen didn't come on is that I haven't pressed the button hard enough (especially since my phone's cover, made of plastic, makes such pressing even harder). However, as my thumb starts to press the button, but before I've completed the action, the screen comes on, and, as I complete the initiated press, the screen goes off again. So I must repeat this again. Sometimes the screen doesn't come on at all during such action because my thumb ends up finishing pressing the button just before the screen turns on, but the phone intercepts the keypress nevertheless and hence stays off. Every time this happens, I don't know if it's because the screen is taking too long to power on, if I haven't pressed the button hard enough, or if I've managed to press the button a second time just before the screen would have turned on, as a second attempt.
So my questions are:

Why is the amount of time needed to turn the screen on not always  the same?
What's the best way to deal with the problem I described from the user's point of view?
What about from the point of view of an electrical engineer/hardware designer7UX engineer?
Is this problem dealt with in newer phones and fixed?

Thanks!!! :-)
Regards.

Here are your answers:

Depending on how many of the CPU cores are asleep (clocking at less than 200mHz for your phone), the system needs to wake up those. This takes time.
If the device is not asleep (doing background work), the screen will turn on very quickly.
Best way to deal with: Don't use the power button to turn on the screen, but rather use the Home button. The Home button will not lock your phone and thus pressing it more than once doesn't have an impact on usability.
The hardware/electrical designer will tell you that conserving battery is slightly more important than quick screen-turn-on times. The UX engineer can't do anything about it. Making sure the system runs as it should does not depend on the hardware configuration (most notably the minimum clock rate/time until deep sleep ).
Newer phones may have a better kernel wake-up configuration, that turns on the screen faster (custom kernels for your phone can do that, too), but I can't promise anything.

It's a trade-off between battery and user experience.
I must admit that Samsung's TouchWiz has plenty problems like that one, which led me to switch to custom roms.

Excellent answer! I wish I could give you some extra up-votes.


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cannot send mms from galaxy lll
I've got straight talk for a provider and needless to say... they are of no help whatsoever. I can send and receive TXT messages and I can RECEIVE mmses but I've never been able to SEND mmses, ie; pics, attatchments, or any mms from this phone.  I've done EVERYTHING. I know this phone and all settings on the phone and the browser, internet options etc. are as they should be. Can anyone help resolve this issue for me?

It might be worth trying to install another SMS/MMS application and see if that works, to try and narrow down the problem. Try using Hangouts, or Google Messenger, or GO SMS or such and see if that works.

It appears you're not the only one with this problem.  However, there seems to be a solution by tweaking some settings.  Not sure if you've tried this because you have not indicated the specific setting changes you've made.  Take a look at this AndroidCentral forum post for additional info.


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My Files is running very slow
When I open up My Files and select All Files the phone is processing for multiple minutes until i can do anything. It says Verwerken... in dutch (Processing). Once done after a moment it does the same.
It is impossible to browse the files on my phone this way. Is there a fix to this? The phone is brand new.

There are probably thousands and thousands of files in 'All Files' especially with no filter at all. Would you not just go by folder for navigating? If there is no filter, every single sound file, dex, image, video, temp file, text file, saved games, apks, EVERYTHING has to be looked up across the entire device. It also depends on how fast / powerful the device is. Mind you if brand new I would expect it to be fastER than a few minutes to be honest. Have you tried ES File Manager or an alternative to My Files which could just be a badly made app?

@RossC On my S4 there is absolutely no problem. What do i have to select otherwise? I can go to images, videos, music, documents and otherwise all files. What i am trying to do is deleting some APK's I downloaded.

Yeah I would definitely try another app then. ES File Manager is a fantastic piece of software (I'm not affiliated with it at all) and might be a better way to go about things. My Files is not something I have on any of my devices, but I have had issues with some file managers (especially CyanogenMod's one which is painfully slow)

I would recommend Xplore file manager. It's great and very light. Been using it from my S60 days.


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How to allow apps to delete SD card content
I have Android version 5.0 on two different devices and on both, if I delete any user content (e.g. photos, music) stored on the SD card it appears to be removed but moments later reappears exactly as it was.
I am led to believe that this is part of the new OS version enhanced security but is there any way that I can stop this so that when I delete something, it stays deleted! Currently I can only do this via USB from my PC.

What App are you using to delete content from the SD card?

@DylanYaga I have used SD Maid Pro, SanDisk Memory Zone and also the native file manager (one is Samsung the other is LG).

Since 4.4 the "WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" permission no longer grants WRITE access to the secondary(external) sdcard. (This is a simplified explanation, 4.4 did not force this change.)
The necessary permission to do so ("WRITE_MEDIA_STORAGE") is only avialable to system apps.
Since 5.0 it is possible to gain write access through Androids storage provider system, this must be implemented by the developer though.

The native file manager app should be able to write to the external sdcard, check if it requests the "WRITE_MEDIA_STORAGE" permission.
SD Maid will support deletion & renaming with the next update (3.1.2.0+) through the systems storage provider.
I don't know about SandDisk Memory Zone.

Thanks, this has clarified the issue - hooray for the next update of SD Maid! I am assuming that this may be able to be fixed for selected apps if I were willing to go down the root option but my devices are too new so I don't want to risk it yet.

If you root your device, apps that support it (e.g. SD Maid) can directly use root to circumvent the restriction. Alternatively you can use the root access to undo the restrictions introduced with 4.4. You would basically slightly alter your ROMs permissions system, there are apps automating it, this effectively allows all apps that can't deal with this to behave as before 4.4.

@darken how would I do this? Is there an article with instructions online? An app to do this? (I'm already rooted)