text:
How do you restart the download manager service?
I was using my Nexus 7 (android 4.2.2) through the hotspot on my phone and the download manager was trying to download a large app update. I pressed and held the notification to get to the app info for download manager and disabled it. How do I re-enable it?

Have you tried going to Settings->Apps->Manage Apps and see if you can find the Download Manager there? Might either be in the alphabetic order, or moved to the end of the list. Tap its entry, tap the "enable" button.

It should be under Settings -> Apps -> All at the bottom of the list (if you have multiple apps disabled, it will be sorted alphabetically below all the enabled apps). Just click on it and click the enable button.

Thanks guys. Why don't you post an answer then I can accept it rather than a comment.

How come you didn't accept @Al E. answer? You had the information you needed, plus it credited the commenters.

Go to Settings > Apps then scroll to the right.
You'll see a few tabs:

Downloaded
Running,
All
Disabled (if any of your apps are disabled)

In the Disabled tab find the Download Manager and enable it.

Izzy says:

Have you tried going to Settings->Apps->Manage Apps and see if you can find the Download Manager there? Might either be in the alphabetic order, or moved to the end of the list. Tap its entry, tap the "enable" button.

bassmadrigal says:

It should be under Settings -> Apps -> All at the bottom of the list (if you have multiple apps disabled, it will be sorted alphabetically below all the enabled apps). Just click on it and click the enable button.


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What information is available to an app from the magnetometer?
I would like to know what other functionality is provided by the magnetometer inside android devices besides allowing applications to display a compass. Can an app do anything else with it besides display compass functionality?

Programming related questions are off-topic as per FAQ

This question is not about programming. It's about what programmers can achieve, that is, about what the device can do.

Edited and reopened

Magnetometer reports the magnetic strengths on the three axes of the phone. Can work as compass , metal detector and can also be used to increase mapping accuracy.

The magnetometer measures magnetic field, so it can do anything a magnetometer can do. Other than compass, the magnetometer can be used as a metal detector for instance.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Is there a way to use a different account with YouTube?
I'm having problem using YouTube. I use different Gmail accounts for email and YouTube and I would like them to be separated.
Is there a way to tell YouTube to use a different account from the "system" one?

Yes, add both your account to Settings > Account, then you can choose which account to sign in to on the YouTube app.

Make sure to sign out first

Swipe left, and tap on Sign In

You should be presented with an account chooser

So I added the new account but on the youtube app I don't see the option to switch. It keeps logging in with my old account

@dierre: I've added some screenshots, what YouTube app version are you using? Very old version does not support multiple account, IIRC. These screenshots are from 4.4.11, the latest available on Google Play at the moment.

ok so, the thing now is that when I click login I just got an error "Cannot perform this action". Really weird stuff. BTW I'll accept it. Would you like to start a chat to help me solving the problem?

@dierre: try clearing the cache?

@LieRyan, you really shouldn't use blur on your screenshots. Instead, completely color over them. There are algorithms that can de-blur information, and in your case, I can see with my own eyes your two email addresses (if i squint, or if I adjust brightness and contrast in an image editor).

@Lie: Could you reduce the size of those images. They're huge.

@LieRyan: so this is weird. I just downgraded my version of the app on my Nexus 7 and finally it asked with which account to log in.

Thank you. Works perfectly on the latest version as of today (5.0.21). Had to clear cache and restart YouTube for it to work. Cheers!

I have YouTube app version 5.3.32 and the only way I could change accounts was to clear the data from Settings > Apps > YouTube and when launching the app again it asked which account I wanted to use.

Log-in to Youtube with your other account and then add it to Google account. So Next time  you can choose either one from Gmail (there is option to switch accounts in Gmail).

No, you cannot add an account to the YouTube app and we are forced to use one account. I really do not understand why they haven't added that yet...

Since some previous versions, you can add new account directly from YouTube app (as with other Google apps).

Open the drawer menu by tapping the 3 horizontal bars on the top-left (or swipe from left edge to the right)
Tap the current user/name on the top
Tap Add account.
You'll be redirected to add account wizard, follow the instruction.
After that, you can select the account you want to be logged-in from YouTube app directly.

Reference: YouTube Android App basics (tested on version 10.18.55)

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


text:
Mount external sdcard after upgrade to Jelly Bean 4.2.2
Yesterday I installed a custom rom on my Samsung Galaxy S2. Before I had ICS 4.0.3 installed. Now my external sdcard does not mount automatically on the phone. How can I get this working?

Won't mount where -- on your device, or on your PC? Any error messages? Please give a few more details, it's hard to help without them :)

Thanks. I've clarified the question. Hope this makes it clear.

OK, first part done. Second part was the "error messages". Can you e.g. get a grep on some logcat (e.g. using adb logcat from your PC; if you don't have the SDK installed on the latter, see e.g. Is there a minimal installation of ADB? for an "easy way")? If you cannot find your way through those log messages, you could e.g. upload them to pastebin and link from here.

It turns out that the location or link to the external sdcard has moved from /sdcard/external_sd to /extSdCard, while the /sdcard/external_sd was blank. So I thought that the card was not mounted, but in fact it was.

A lot of sdcards are formatted as ExFAT (extended FAT32 - which is better than FAT32 in a number of aspects for flash media, including support for larger than 4GB files). Unfortunately, this is a licensed and proprietary technology and custom ROMs can't legally include support. If you have a card reader for your computer, you can use that to back up the contents of your sdcard. Then you can right click on the drive in My Computer and select format. Select FAT32 and let it do its thing. When it is finished, copy the contents back to the drive and put it back in your phone.
If you don't have access to a card reader, then you will either need to use another phone to back up your content on the card, or possibly, see if you can still enable USB Mass Storage in recovery (most likely under the Mounts and Storage menu depending on the recovery used). If you can't do either, then you can just format the sdcard from within recovery, which will put the filesystem to standard FAT32 and make it readable in your custom ROM, although, this will erase all the content on the card.


text:
open keypad on default when calling?
I was wondering if there's a way to automatically expand the keypad when I'm calling someone? I know that it likes to  have a picture of that person there, but I don't really take pictures of anyone and store them to my contacts. I want to hide that contact picture and have the keypad open instead. I looked around the settings and there doesn't seem to be an option?
Thank you.

I don't think there is any option for that . Probably a third party app (Dialer/Call) would.


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My Sony Xperia S started rebooting after i installed Beats Audio Installation
I was looking through the Google Play Store after I rooted my Sony Xperia S The other day, and came upon the app "Beats Audio Installation" & Downloaded it and then when i opened the app and finished the setup, it started Rebooting and you cant go to your regular screen, etc. You can only see the boot loader (Green animated android logo) and Sony Logo in the beginning and it keeps rebooting. Please Help!
Booting into safe mode using vol- when switched on doesn't work it still reboots as soon as it goes on. Any one had an issue regardless "Beats Audio Installation" please let me know how you fixed it.

Wipe data and cache from recovery and reboot.

If i have to enter Recovery on Xperia S by holding vol+ once led lights up on boot up it don't work. is there any other way i could enter recovery or may be even wipe Data and Cache?

i got my self wondering in other forums that were last dated 2010.. I tried launching recovery mode but it wont work because my phone don't have a physical home button i also tried hitting vol+ camera button and power, and i may be should release power after screen lights up but it does not light up so i am holding the three buttons and it vibrates once than three times and over and over again until i let it go, it goes on and reebots again.
Any further help Would be very much appreciated.

Remove battery wait for 5 seconds and reinsert and then try to boot your phone to recovery.
You can also try methods posted on this blog : [link] (http://www.teamandroid.com/2012/09/13/how-to-enter-recovery-mode-android-phone-tablet/)


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Use Applications on post-boot mounted SD card?
In order to increase free space on /data , I moved some 15Mb of application files to an ext2 partition on external SD card  that is mounted on /data/HWUserData/mnt
Specifically, I moved

/data/data/com.opera.browser/lib/*

to

/data/HWUserData/mnt/lib

and symlinked.
This worked fine until reboot, as the SD Card partition is not mounted at boot time - The Phone now says that Opera is not installed.
Is there some way I can tell android to rescan, or redo what ever it needs to do to detect that opera is installed and integral once again after mounting the sd-card? Does it have to do with the dalvik cache?
Another issue/solution is getting the sd-card mounted at boot-time, I know, but that is not this question.

Reading this discussion may help: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/36779/how-can-i-symlink-the-cache-folder-on-boot

From this XDA discussion:

Create a script in /etc/init.d to do it. You'll need to remount / to
  read+write first though.

And solution:

Thanks for your help! I'm quite firm in shell-operations, I just
  didn't think I could just put a script to /etc/init.d! :)
I'v created a shell-script named 07sdcard and with the content: Code:
#!/system/bin/sh rootrw ln -s /mnt/external1 /sdcard-ext rootro
Works geat! :)

As far as I understand, (and this has been my experience), any changes to / will be reset on reboot as the root image is unpacked.

/etc is actually simlinked to /system/etc which will remain unaffected by a reboot, although, reinstalling/upgrading the ROM will most likely wipe out any customizations.

Also, to add to the instructions. Once the sdcard is auto-mounted on boot, you can use other apps to help you clear up space. S2E is a great one, although, it is only officially supported on CM. Link2SD is a bit more to set up, but I think it supports many different ROMs.

on the Huawei U8350 (Android 2.2.2) there is no /etc/init.d and no init scripts in /etc - the init scripts are in the root.


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Nexus 4 does not ring for calls on google talk or viper when screen is locked
Nexus 4 does not ring for calls on google talk or viper when screen is locked. Directly when the screen is unlocked, I see the caller calling, even if he already long time ago stopped ringing!
The Nexus 4 is running 4.2.2.

So after some search and posting on some other forums, it turns out that it is a bug.
I'm quoting here from  Rizy7 @ Android central forums:
"Known problem with Nexus 4 WiFi.. Google have been made aware but nothing has happened so far.. Hopefully in the next update it will be fixed. To get around the problem you either need to get a new router, set a static arp on your router or you need to change some system files which means you need a rooted device."
Source : http://forums.androidcentral.com/google-nexus-4/267885-nexus4-wont-ring-when-calling-google-talk-screen-locked.html#post2699201


text:
Volume limit specific app?
Is there an app that will let me set a maximum volume on JUST Spotify? Spotify at 100% is a LOT louder than YouTube at 100%. I never want to listen to Spotify at 100%, but occasionally I do want to do so for a YouTube video.
I'm asking because a few times, I've accidentally pressed and held the volume up button when listening to Spotify--I think I may have already seriously damaged my hearing that way.

Here's a video that will show you how to set the volume per app. It uses the Tasker app to do this.

Volume Limiter
I stumbled upon your question googling the same thing

I've tried that app... unfortunately, it doesn't really limit the volume; it lets it go as high as you push it and then forces it back down a couple seconds later. Thanks though!

Can you expand on your answer here? How does this app solve the problem?


text:
Are all Xperia Play Optimized games compatible with the Xperia Z/ZL's native DualShock 3 support?
The Xperia Play is a one-of-a-kind phone that supports a physical keyboard for mobile gaming. Many games on the Play Store have been optimized to take advantage of these inputs.
Now, I've seen some videos showing that the Xperia Z & ZL have support for the DualShock 3 (the PS3 controller) without the need of rooting (1, 2). However, I was wondering: are games compatible with the Xperia Play keyboard automatically compatible for controller play on the Xperia Z/ZL? Or both types of optimization are completely different?

Are you trying to get Xperia Z/ZL games to work on Xperia Play? Is that what you're trying to say?

The other way around. I'm thinking on upgrading to an Xperia Z but was wondering if all those Xperia Play games I bought will work with the controller.

User poo-tang provided an answer in the xda forums:

Xperia Play games don't work this way so won't be interchangeable. These new games are HID (Native Android built in virtual controller/mouse) supported (only available on Android 3.1 and up) Xperia Play uses Sony framework only. The games are coded for one or another (sometimes both if developer has added support for both)


text:
How does NFC Task Launcher toggle Power Saving and how can I get Tasker to do it?
So I've noticed that NFC Task Launcher can toggle the Power Saving mode for the Galaxy s3.
Obviously then, this is not a secure setting that requires root access (eg. turning GPS on / off).
So is it possible to automate this (the turning on and off of power saving mode) in Tasker (without rooting my phone)?  I've tried to use the Load App functionality but the most I can do is open up the Power Saving control panel.
I'm thinking the toggle is most likely an Intent that NFC Task launcher is calling but I don't know what the intent is as I can't seem to find any documentation about Samsung specific system functionality.
My objective is to create a tasker profile which toggles Power Saving mode when I turn the screen on and off, instead of using NFC to trigger this event.

You can create the task in NFC Launcher, install Autoshortcut (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.joaomgcd.autoshortcut&hl=en-GB) and then you can call the NFC launcher task within Tasker via the Plugins>Autoshortcut>Configuration>Run Task.
I just got my unrooted Note 2 setup to disable powersaving when on USB power and enable it again when I unplug it :-)

To make Tasker work with NFC, you can use a NFC Plugin: Locale NFC Plugin does work with Tasker (according to the app description, and as generally Locale plugins do work with Tasker), and should enable you to do what you've described.

Hi Izzy, I'm not trying to get Tasker to work with NFC, I'm trying to get Tasker to execute something that the NFC Task Launcher can do, which Tasker cannot do.

Sorry I'll be a bit more specific, so NFC Task Launcher allows me to turn Samsung's power saving mode on and off, but only if I use bluetooth, Wifi or NFC to trigger it. For me, I would like to toggle power saving mode but when the screen turns on and off

You might want to update your question to make that clear :) So the problem is Tasker not being able to toggle that power saving mode? Maybe it can with the Secure Settings plugin (I cannot test, don't have that device, so it's just a guess)? If you want that app directly supported by Tasker, you might want to ask the dev to implement a specific Tasker plugin.

Secure Settings might be able to do it but I don't want to root my phone. I'll edit my question to make it more clear.

Secure Settings does not require root for all actions. Best I can tell, the Enable or Disable Samsung Modes action only requires a Samsung ROM (which you have if you have a stock Samsung phone).


text:
How do I view/mount nandroid file on device?
From Android's terminal, I tried to mount a nandroid img:
losetup -f

gives "/dev/loop0".
However, when I try losetup /dev/loop0 /sdcard/nandroid/... data.img it says no such directory. Same thing when I try to mount the file.
According to this it should be doable, but it seems there must be some trick to mounting it in Android? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loop_device

I don't think you should need to use losetup, however, if you are using Android 4.2, the path to your sdcard may be the issue. In Android 4.2, that has been changed due to support for multiusers on tablets. You would likely need the full path rather than the "shortcut" that has been set up for simplicity by Android. That path would be /storage/emulated/0/nandroid/...data.img.
But, I believe Android will support mounting it directly with the mount command (it is what I have used a few times in Linux, although, I've never tried in Android).
mount -o loop /storage/emulated/0/nandroid/...data.img /mnt/wherever
Keep in mind, you will need to be root and the directory you want to mount it to needs to exist before you run the command. And when you do mount it, if you mount it over a directory that has content in it, it will prevent access to that content (it isn't gone, but unaccessible until it is unmounted).

Won't be that easy, probably, unless something changed. See: Does Cyanogendmod Kernel support loop devices?. Other source of interest: SO: How to mount the android img file under linux?. I would be interested to know whether anybody tried it on Android and succeeded -- and if so, what pre-requisites are needed, whether it works on every ROM, and with every Nandroid backup (regardless of the CWM/whatever version used).

Maybe you want to verify your theory and catch the bounty? :)

I'll have to do some digging once I get home. I know there is unyaffs for windows which can unpack a yaffs image (it might be yaffs2, I'll have to double check). And once I get an image, I'll try various methods of getting it mounted on my N4 (I should be able to grab a yaffs image from my N1 and probably an old ext3/4 image from my backup of my dead HOX). But I don't have a Mac to test any theories on that, although, I would expect most Linux solutions would work on Mac with some alterations...

That would be great! No prob if you cannot cover everything - any additional insight will be helpful/useful! And yes: unyaffs is there (I have used that on Linux), but that unpacks the entire tree, which is why I didn't mention it (we want to mount the image, right? ;) I'm also curious if the fstype is detected automatically, or if the user has to know (and provide) it... Looking forward to your update then - and thanks in advance!

12h left for the bounty. Any chance for new details on your experiment? :)

Due to crazy crap happening this weekend, I'm not going to be able to get to it. But I should have a bit of extra time next week and I'll see what I can come up with. No worries on the bounty. It is more the curiosity that is driving me to do this, not points :)

OK, so I advance you the bounty now anyway (no other candidate available here, as I cannot award it to myself ;) Looking forward to your results!

I hope it doesn't look impatient if I ask how far you got meanwhile?

Hm, doesn't look like you've made it, @bassmadrigal :( Guess other things are keeping you busy. Hope you will find a little time one day ;)

If you don't insist to mount them directly into the local file system, but just to access their contents, you might want to take a look at Nandroid Browser:

Nandroid Browser has a really simple purpose: Extract and use single files from your nandroid backups.

Browse your nandroid backups
Save files anywhere
Send files
Open Files

Currently supports nandroid backups stored as yaffs2 images (.img) as wells as ext4 images (.ext4.tar).

A second candidate turned up after I found the first: Nandroid Manager:

View basic info about your nandroid backups.
Explore contents of nandroid backup.
Extract files from nandroid backups.

(more features listed).
Needless to say that those apps of course need root. But if you have a Nandroid backup, you surely will have root as well, right? :)


text:
How to Remove this battery symbol of head in Android 4.0.4 device Sony Xperia MT27i?
0.4 device Sony Xperia MT27i For development use.
I describe one screen the here, and display my question:

Image Screen with red mark (click image to enlarge)
I want to remove the icon from my device screen. How can I do that?

Its power saving symbol and you have to disable from Setting  for remove symbol.


text:
Bootloop using Sony Xperia Arc S (LT18i)
Hey guys so I'm in boot loop. Yes I know there are many guides all over saying how to fix it but I have tried many of them and they didnt work.
What happens is I start the phone, it shows the boot image and then restarts after a time.
I can boot into the Recovery mode by spamming the back button when the Logo comes. And can install zip files from the SD card.
I also have tried flashtool to restore it to stock but when i try flashing it detects my device "Device connected in flash mode" but when i try toflash it, it gives an error "Error flashing. Aborted".
Any help?

Have you tried to clear the caches (e.g. from within the recovery menu)? A last ressort would be a factory-reset, if wiping cache & dalvik does not help.

done all of those as well

Including a factory reset? Then maybe you've flashed an incompatible ROM?

I have just repaired the boot loop of my Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc (LT15i, boot loop caused by activating Bluetooth !!) just by unlocking the bootloader of my phone - by following these steps:

I retrieved the IMEI-Number of my phone. It's on the sticker under the battery - it's the 15-cypher-number beside the serial number.
I went to http://developer.sonymobile.com/unlockbootloader/ - selected my phone type, input an email address, and received a unique link from Sony by doing so.
Following this link I could type in my IMEI number (without the last cypher !! - that means only 14 cyphers - and without the hyphen).
The website emitted a code and a software line like this one:
fastboot -i 0x0fce oem unlock 0xTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

(All the T's stand for the code, the rest has to be typed in like this.)
I copied the above line in the program fastboot (check elsewhere to learn how to work with this program and your phone). I typed in the above line given from the Sony website. After a few seconds the bootloader was unlocked.
I restarted the phone, and then Android 4.0 was working again !!

Download flashtool and the phone firmware. Start application and press lihtning button. Choose your downloaded firmware and press flash button. Follow instructions and wait untill flash finish.

Provide the corresponding links.. The answer is too generic that it applies to all Android devices on Earth.

Try reflashing your custom ROM and clear Dalvik and Cache and do a factory reset after that . And make sure you are flashing a ROM compatible to your device.

Repair via SUS.

Install SUS
Connect your phone
Select your phone from SUS
Follow the instruction
website no longer avalibale


text:
Is it possible to reproduce munsell colours on an android device?
Given a wide variety of devices, is it possible to address the colour spaces such that a accurate reproduction of munsell colours are shown?
If it is possible, what applications can best be compared against a printed colour book to check an individual device's colour reproduction?

Nearly all Android devices use the sRGB colourspace with 8 bits per channel, though some cheaper or older ones use 8 bits per channel in the framebuffer when the screen actually has a much lower bit depth, so it's not always possible to tell the real colour reproduction capabilities of the screen from the software configuration. If you have a table giving the closest sRGB equivalent to each Munsell colour, then the only question is how close you need it to be.
I don't know of any colour calibration tools, and a quick search on Google Play didn't find any, so it's likely that no such software exists for Android. In any case, actually adjusting the on-screen colours to match the printed swatch would need you to have root on the device. Your best bet may be to use a paint tool or colour picker tool to show on the screen each colour you're interested in, and compare with the swatch that way.


text:
Unlock when sliding out physical keyboard
I got a Xperia Mini Pro with a physical keyboard. When I slide out the keyboard, it still have to slide on the screen to unlock it. Can I get to the password prompt with the keyboard movement alone?

That would be unsecure, wouldn't it? a) you could accidentally "slide open" the keyboard with the device in your pocket, and run something randomly; b) some "unauthorized person" could bypass your lock screen easily (when using a PIN/password/pattern lock).

Well, I mean that it should show the password promt when I open the phone, not that I have to open, slide and enter the password all the time.

AFAIK they are both connected, and you cannot get rid of the "simple slide" alone (without de-activating the other as well, disabling "keyguard" with e.g. Tasker).

Can't you just start typing your password? For example with Gnome lockscreen, if you simply start typing, the slider will automatically open itself and all your keypresses will still be captured by the password prompt even before the prompt is visible.

I actually don't know. And I cannot check as I don't have that phone any more. The most recent version of Android that it got is 4.0, so I presume that this question has no relevance any more.

Yes it's possible with tasker + secure settings plugin.
I dit it in a harder scenario (altough I'm an sk17i owner too) I used the above combination to unlock, force landscape, and wake up an alcatel dual sim phone paired with a Nuu minikey sliding bluetooth keyboard.

Could you say exactly how you did it?


text:
ADB shows unknown device
I've been developing in several Android devices since now but this one has me totally puzzled. ADB in Windows detects the device just fine, but I cannot make ADB recognize this device in Linux (Ubuntu 12.04).
$ adb devices
List of devices attached
????????????    device

Device is in USB debugging mode.
lsusb shows it as Bus 003 Device 005: ID 18d1:0003 Google Inc.
/etc/udev/rules.d/51-android.rules file has the following line: SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="18d1", MODE="0666"
~/.android/adb_usb.ini has 0x18d1 in a line by itself

What I've attempted so far:

Restart ADB server - no luck
Start ADB server as root - no luck
Add this line SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="18d1", ATTR{idProduct}=="0003", MODE="0666", GROUP="adbusers" to 51-android.rules and add myself to adbusers group. Restart udev and ADB - no luck

Any hint welcome, thanks in advance!

Strange. This HowTo seems to use exactly the same device for Eclipse on Ubuntu without any trouble. What device is it? According to the linked post, some Chinese no-name tablet? // You might also check this wiki, which also mentions the same vendorID.

@Izzy yes, it's a Chinese device, a prototype. I worked this out trying different USB ports until it ultimately worked... Strange...

So you got it solved? Don't hesitate to answer your own question then, even if the answer seems trivial (most solutions do when you've got them, but only few do so in advance :) I had a case driving me crazy until I noticed I forgot to turn USB Debugging on #D

Yes, but I don't know why it won't let me answer...

But you did answer :) So it was simply plugging the cable into a different hole? Too easy to think of, that almost matches my USB Debugging thingy :)

Yup, looks like I was logged out for no reason. And yeah, it was as simple as plugging it in another USB port... although it just makes no sense xD

OK. So just remember to accept your solution in 2 days :)

Yes Izzy, don't worry, I know how SE works, I'm usual in SO ;)

Changing USB port made ADB recognize the Android device.

Kill adb server using using

sudo

and start it again with sudo.
If you start adb server with sudo in linux it will detect.

Thanks, but no, it does not. I've already tried your suggestions as mentioned in the question: "Start ADB server as root - no luck"

I had similar problem and its gonna fixed with same. without accessing as root. :). well try another port.

Thanks for your help, but as you can see this question is already solved ;) The green tick below the number of votes means the answer is accepted :)


text:
Photos Look "Washed Out" when attached
I have Galaxy sIII and now when I attach photos, regardless if I do so by txt, Facebook or email, though they look wonderful on my android phone, once sent they look terrible, washed out, bland and so on. I recall dimly that when I first got the phone, I could select the size or something on those lines of those photos, now i cannot. I have tried settings, I have tried everything I could think of (at least for a not very techno astute girl), and still no luck. Where should I look? How can I fix this. Please help.

Where are you looking at the photos when they look bland? Is it on the same phone, on your PC, or somewhere else? Please edit your question to include this information.

Make sure that you are taking the photos at full resolution from the camera and also that compression after uploading isn't enabled.
To be absolutely sure upload few photos on Dropbox and view them on PC. Check it's resolution on your PC.

The Galaxy SIII has a better display than typical computer monitors.  It has a wider color gamut, which basically means it can accurately display more colors.  Without color management of some kind, to convert between the color spaces of different output devices, you will get the washed out look on displays with a smaller gamut.  It's a double-edged sword, as pictures optimized for smaller gamuts will look over-saturated on the SIII.  That's a common complaint among SIII reviewers.
There are apps for doing color management, but I haven't personally tried any of them.  Another option is to do the conversion on a desktop application, like photoshop.


text:
Enable Picasa albums in Android gallery
I can't enable Picasa sync.
I checked out this question but on the 3rd step I can't download my image. Screenshot:

I've enabled all Google syncronizations and installed the G+ app.
I use Android 2.3.5 and HTC Wildfire S.

@Al Everett thanks, you added screenshot to post

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


text:
Can't find Wifi Direct option in settings
I have Sony Live with Walkman mobile phone, Android version 4.0.4.
I can't find WiFi direct option in settings. There are only mobile networks, tethering/portable hotspot and two more useless options are there.

Not a direct answer to your problem, but I find Gesture Search invaluable in finding hidden settings that aren't where I expect to find them.

NO, it didn't helped but I thinks that probably the wifi Direct also depends on hardware configurations

Is it dependent on hardware support?

Actually there isn't any option like that. Its missing. There were lots of complaints about 4.0.4 Update for Live with Walkman that Wifi Direct is missing.
look at here.
Also look at this review of update..:
First of all thanks for the wonderful update and congratulations.
Few things i would like to share with sony:
1. We cannot uninstall Appextra from the phone at all and should have that option
2. Phone dialer is laggy it takes almost 3-5 sec to open the dialer plz fix that
3. really time to update the kernel to 3.0 as i have ssen the ICS running on kernel 3.0 with same hardware specification as Xperia 2011 portfolio has and the phone runs better than it is currently running on 2.6.32.9-pref version
4. Wifi Direct option is missing as its a feature of ICS 4.0.X fix that in next update so that we get that option as well
5. please provide us option to move some of the internal app to sd card as it will save more space on phone memory.
6. when tried to update the inbuilt application such as liveware manger Error Unable to do that it says “An existing package by the same name with a conflicting signature is already installed.
7. Google talk application sometimes says we are offline even though we are not.
8.live wallpaper gets force close all of a sudden many times.
9.screen shot option is complicated and should be in the same way as it was in GB
10.photos when viewed from xperia gallery should provide more detail info for the photos and videos as it shows in galary app.
11. A normal sound recorder application should be their to record voices or conversation
12. A file manger application should be their.

May be sony will fix it in next update.

Try going onto your wifi settings page. When your on the list of available connections there may be a button at the bottom of the screen titled "Wifi Direct".
..That's how it is on my S3 anyway

How does that answer the OP's question, the OP clearly stated I can't find WiFi direct option in settings plus, also stated Android version 4.0.4...

No there is no such button anywhere as I mentioned but I found the button in one of my friend's samsung galaxy tablet which has same version of android(4.0.4). as of mine.

The older versions of android has it in 'more settings'.. since the update my phone has moved it to the wifi settings. I know plenty of people who are unaware of where it moved too and I had to direct them! I missed the bit where he stated the Android version..
Sorry for trying to help 't0mm13'...


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Can I install Android on my Samsung Omnia W8350 - windows 7 phone?
I have a samsung omnia w 8350 with windows 7.5, I want to install Android OS on the phone, can anyone help?

See this question for more info on installing Android on non-Android devices, with links to some known installs and projects, including for an older Omnia: Can I install Android on my non-Android device?

Doubtful. A Google search suggests that even getting custom Windows 7.5 firmware installed is difficult, let alone a wholly different OS. In theory it should be possible, but I think you'd be better off getting an Android phone instead of waiting.
From XDA:

So far, we haven't even gotten custom WP7 ROMs to run on the Omnia W. In fact, we don't even have a flashing tool to replace the stock ROMs with.

I only know of one Windows phone that got Android on it (HTC Photon) and it was because the hardware was basically identical to an Android-based phone (HTC Legend) that was put out by the same company, it was a simple port.
The reality is that the phones hardware likely doesn't have proper Android support. This could require writing drivers from scratch and creating many interface layers (like interacting with the camera). Many times this is extremely difficult even if the phone does run Android due to the code being closed source. In fact, many times manufacturers will change the drivers to interact with the OS differently than Vanilla Android, so just trying to get a custom ROM working on the device can be a nightmare. This is why many devices aren't supported with 3rd-party ROMs like CyanogenMod or AOKP. The developers just can't reverse engineer things to work properly.
So, it wouldn't be as simple as installing Android, because you would have to fully port Android over to the device and be a highly skilled programmer to do so. It would most likely require a lot of reverse engineering and debugging just so their custom drivers would work. Simply put, it just isn't worth any developers time to try and attempt this. Their time would be far better spent starting with a device that already has Android running.
And even if they were to get some basic support, you would likely have many functions of the "smartphone" not working, such as GPS or wifi. Your money (and sanity) would be much better spent with getting a device that runs the OS you want.


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I mounted Android on Ubuntu. Can I create subdirectories using mtpfs?
I use Android 4.0 and followed a tutorial to mount my tablet on Ubuntu using mtpfs when the device is connected via cable.
It works almost perfectly. I can copy files and even whole directories to the device through Nautilus. However, when a directory contains subdirectories I get an error when a subdirectory is being copied ("Error creating directory: No such file or directory"). Other files are copied fine. In the same way, I can't create subdirectories in a directory directly via Nautilus.
What causes this? Is this expected? Any workaround?

What device are you using?

Oh man, it's a cheap tablet from a manufacturer called "Evertek". :P The model name is Genesis GT-7240. It's a pretty sweet model for $100 bucks btw. Heh. I connect it to the desktop using a Micro-USB. Site: http://everteksa.com/prod_gt7240_pt.php


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Modify 30 second incorrect PIN delay
How can I modify/disable the 30 second delay after trying the incorrect PIN 5 times?
Device is a nexus 7 rooted running SmoothRom 4.4

This is possible to be done (infact, anything is possible in android. Thats the beauty and power Android has being open source :) ). You will need to edit android source code.
First, a little info. This text is a string that resides inside frameworks_base/packages/Keyguard/res/values/strings.xml in android source code.
The actual string declaration is:
<string name="kg_too_many_failed_attempts_countdown">Try again in <xliff:g id="number">%d</xliff:g> seconds.</string>

Now for how to edit this timeout.
The lockscreen controls are controlled by a library KeyguardSecurityContainer which resides in frameworks_base/packages/Keyguard/src/com/android/keyguard/KeyguardSecurityContainer.java
You need to edit this library.
The method that controls this timeout is showTimeoutDialog().
Although the code may slightly vary according to rom and android version.
For instance, in CM 12, its declared like this->
private void showTimeoutDialog() {
//This is likely the variable you need to assign your new value to
        int timeoutInSeconds = (int) LockPatternUtils.FAILED_ATTEMPT_TIMEOUT_MS / 1000;
        int messageId = 0;

        switch (mSecurityModel.getSecurityMode()) {
            case Pattern:
                messageId = R.string.kg_too_many_failed_pattern_attempts_dialog_message;
                break;
            case PIN:
                messageId = R.string.kg_too_many_failed_pin_attempts_dialog_message;
                break;
            case Password:
                messageId = R.string.kg_too_many_failed_password_attempts_dialog_message;
                break;
            // These don't have timeout dialogs.
            case Account:
            case Biometric:
            case Invalid:
            case None:
            case SimPin:
            case SimPuk:
                break;
        }

As you can see, you will need to assign your new value to variable timeoutInSeconds.
NOTE: Currently my laptop battery is quite low to compile and test the rom with edited or changed values. So this method is untested. Please perform any modifications at your own risk and after you have proper backups. At best, it could be a change in variable that controls the timeout (since I merely gave the this a quick reading). But this is the library that controls keyguard actions.
Also, on side note there might be some third party app that allows you to do this (although currently I do not know of any such app. But in case it exists...). I told you a direct way to mod your lockscreen guard.
Hope this helps.


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What app allows me to block "probable" spam calls
I receive 2 or 3 calls per day from random spammers. I have tried blocking the numbers, but it is no use as they just call with new numbers. Is there anyway to avoid this? I suppose the end solution could be changing my number with a new sim card.
I have tried the app MrNumber, and I have tried a few other apps, but they all suffer from the problem of only blocking single numbers. Spam callers have too many number to utilize. Are there any apps that come with an extensive black list pre-installed? Or some method of detecting what other people have marked as spam?

FYI: We find it's better to describe the problem you're trying to solve rather than asking us to help you find an app.

Enable your call blocklist and use whitelist method (block call from strangers)

A friend just recommended Call Control to me for this very reason. I'm starting to get spam calls on my cell phone and it disgusts me. Plus there's a black list feature as well.

Try True caller, it comes up with the preloaded blacklist and spammer numbers and keeps on updating..it has some interersting features too..

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts! Your answer would be more valuable if you included a link to the app.


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Why doesn't my phone charge?
Okay, so I already ordered a new battery, but in the mean time. Why won't my phone charge?

I have tried every charger/cable in my house and car (over 10 chargers and around 15 cables).
Double checked the setups with my tablet to make sure they work.
Checked battery temp with a WiFi tether app, shows 27-28 degrees centigrade. Moving so I know it works.
Restarted the phone, reseated the battery.
Replaced the battery with a brand new one.
It is even hesitant to charge when the phone is off. It would show initial charge symbol, then go to the charging animation for 5 seconds and restart. This is the only way to get any juice into my phone by the way.

Update:
If I take the battery out while it's on the charger the screen flickers. At this point if I wiggle the cord I can get the flickering to stop, but I can also get the phone to turn off. So, I bet the solder points on the USB are faulty...

MicroUSB ports on phones are delicate and can be prone to losing a proper connection to the power on the circuit board if you're not ultra careful about making sure to not stress the connection point (like having the phone plugged in and the cable is taut).
My Wife has already gone through 2 phones and a laptop due to using them while the power plug is stretched and basically over time causing the power connection to come off the circuit board.
This sounds like the issue you're having and the only solutions are if you take the phone apart and re-solder the loose connection (requires ULTRA fine soldering skills) or take it in for repair and they'll likely have to replace the mainboard.

I already tried the soldering method with my brick of an iron, so I bought a new USB board a few days ago. I'll keep you posted.

Yep, after ordering the wrong one I got the correct one before the weekend and it's been working ever since!

That's great, I'm glad you're able to fix the issue!

Open your car charger and at the back of the USB socket solder together the two middle contacts. These are the D- and D+ signals. Most Galaxy phones don't like an open circuit there, so now you have made a nice loop. Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Serial_Bus

But it happens with all chargers... including my computer. Leading me to believe that it is a phone side issue.


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Galaxy Nexus ICS Does't remember wifi Passwords - ICS 4.2.2
Anybody else have this issue?  It's freaking annoying as every time i revisit somewhere and want to use their wifi, i have to get the password and enter it in again.
Any suggestions on how i can resolve this issue?

Likely the wpa_supplicant file is corrupted. If you are rooted, you might be able to use an app like Titanium Backup to wipe the data for it. If you aren't rooted, I am not sure what all you can wipe. You can try and wipe the Settings database (Settings -> Apps -> All -> Settings -> Wipe Data, which might include the file, but I don't know for sure (this will obviously erase all your Android settings)..
But you should be able to fix it by performing a Factory Reset/Data Wipe (Settings -> Backup and Reset -> Factory Data Reset). Google should remember your apps and automatically install them once you type your password back in, and all your sdcard content should stay untouched.

Thanks for that... i'll try a factory reset when i have an internet connection fast enough to redownload everything.  Sucks to have to set everything up again though :(

I did the wipe data on the settings app, and that seems to have fixed it.  Thanks so much Bassmadrigal :)

Glad it worked out for you.

@Gregorius You don't need internet connection to backup, reset, restore, you can do it with adb as in the guide here: http://www.howtogeek.com/125375/how-to-create-a-full-android-phone-or-tablet-backup-without-rooting-or-unlocking-your-device/

@NoBugs, that wouldn't help, because it would back up his issue and then restore it. He'd be left with the same problem when he did this.

@bassmadrigal It absolutely helps - I fixed a Dell Android tablet with this never-remembering-wifi problem with backup, reset and restore.

@NoBugs, it had to be related to something else. If you back up a corrupted file, erase it, and then restore the corrupted file, how is that file magically fixed?

@bassmadrigal From what I understand adb backup backs up all apps and their settings. There is no setting in any app for Never-remember-wifi-accesspoints, it's likely a system file or glitch on last update or... who knows, if you don't have root.

The wpa_supplicant.conf file resides on the data partition. Unless it doesn't back up your saved Wi-Fi networks (I've never tried it since I've always been rooted), that file will be backed up as well. If it is the file that's corrupted, using adb backup and restore won't help.


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How to monitor child's SMS messages?
Is there any way to have my son's phone set to where any text message that he receives or sends comes to my phone too.

I would consider this a serious interference with the privacy of your son, if he isn't aware of the fact that you are monitoring his personal text messages.

I use DeskSMS on my phone, which will forward all texts to an email address of my choosing (which could then be received on another phone) and also allow responding through email, but it will appear to that person as a standard text from your phone. I found it really handy when I was working in a secured office that didn't allow personal cell phones. I could leave my phone in my car and still be notified of any texts and still respond to them, and the person wouldn't have any idea I was using email to respond.
In using it on your son's device, it is relatively easy to disable, so if your son doesn't want you to see things and is technologically inclined, he could probably find ways around it. But I think if the kid is smart enough, just about any app is able to be bypassed. It isn't made for monitoring, but it would work just the same.
I believe there is a $5 yearly charge (I am pretty sure it comes with a 30 day trial), because of the costs involved in running the server that processes everything.

A similar approach to the one suggested by bassmadrigal would be to use the app SMS Backup + that 'backs up' SMS to a Gmail account. You can then view them via Gmail on any device.

Does it back them up as they are being received or is it something that has to be run manually on the phone?

It backs them up as they are received. I think there is a configurable delay period (i think the minimum is 1 minute). I almost never open the app manually.

Not exactly to your phone, but there are several "child care" apps available in the playstore which can be used to monitor activities. Take e.g. a look at Care4Teem, Best Parental Control Android, or ParentalFlux Parental Control. Most of these kind of solutions offer a dashboard on the provider's website, where you can check logged acitivities such as calls, messages, etc. Some additional monitor the location and even allow for "geo-fencing" (sending you an alert when the kid leaves the "permitted zone").

Yes, you can spy on your son's phone without him knowing with the help of mobile tracking software. I have been using this spying app for watching my kids to be sure that they are where they supposed to be. Through this tracking app you can spy on his text messages, calls, every activity on his cell phone. Another thing regarding privacy - as you are really concerned about your son and you take care of him, you have the right to monitor his SMS messages. I think software will help you.

"…you have the right to monitor his SMS messages." Just wanted to clarify that this is not true in Germany (and in other parts of Europe and likely other countries with a sane privacy law). A child could sue you if you do so without its consent

Actually, is some countries, it's allowed as parents have complete right over child's property before they are 16\18 (depends where you go). In other words, the parents are free to monitor whatever, whenever they want. A child can by that not sue their parents, because the child has almost zero rights in therms of ownership.


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I'm seeing duplicated images and videos on Gallery
I'm facing a strange situation on my Nexus 4, with Android version 4.2.2. I've being using it for the past 2 months without any issues whatsoever (other than a "regular" battery performance), but since last week I started seeing some duplicated albums with images on the Gallery. So, some images and videos appear twice, both with the same album name, but on a different "physical" folder, one on the folder /storage/emulated/0/ and the other on /storage/emulated/legacy/. I'm absolutely positive that this issue started only last week and the "duplicated" images existed before this issue ever appeared. I haven't installed any custom ROMs, I'm not rooted and haven't installed any apps in the las week (other than Google Translate, but I find it hard to believe that this is related). If this is a duplicated, please feel free to close it and point me to that discussion. If you need any more details, I'll update my question.

That's not duplicates. If you are the "device owner", /storage/emulated/0/ is your storage area (where your files etc. reside). /storage/emulated/legacy/ is a symbolic link, always pointing to the logged-in user's storage. That is, if you are the device owner, and you are logged in, both locations are identical. If some apps show the contained files as "dupes", they obviously have problems interpreting symlinks.
While for the gallery, this sounds pretty strange (if we are talking about the stock gallery, and not a 3rd party app): the very same Android developers who designed the multi-user capabilities should have been aware of that. Still, this is not the first time I heard about it. I cannot find the other issue currently, but a solution is as follows:
Go to Settings→Apps→Manage Apps, and scroll to the Gallery app. Open its entry, tap "Clear Cache" and "Delete Data". Tap the back key, and repeat the same for the "Media Storage" app.
Don't be afraid about losing data: the Media Scanner will re-collect them at its next run. You can trigger the scan by either...

powering off/on the device (bah!)
going to Settings→Storage and safely remove the SDCard, then mount it again (OK for one-time use :)
using a helper app like e.g. SDrescan or Rescan SD Card! (if you need it more often)

Once the Media Scanner is finished, all your media should re-appear in the Gallery app. Hopefully without the "dupes" :)

I understand the they are not actually duplicated, I had seen it like that on some file explorer apps; but, in fact, I am now seeing them twice on the stock gallery app, wich had never happened before and is quite annoying.

I've read before that the stock gallery sometimes did things like that (just remember that now). I cannot find the issue currently, but it was exactly the same thing with the storage being linked. If I remember correctly, the solution was to delete chache & data from the corresponding apps (gallery, media-stuff -- don't remember the exact places), as the media-scanner then refreshes them fine.

I couldn't find a solution for this exact issue either, wich is why I posted a question here :-). I'll try deleting cache now and will let you know if this fixed the issue. Many thanks

You're welcome! If cache alone doesn't help, try deleting data as well (I guess you'll have to). As said, the media scanner should re-collect it again at its next scan (unmount/remount SDCard to trigger it). Unless, of course, you delete data from other (unrelated) apps ;)

It worked. I had to delete the data + cache (deleting cache only wasn't enough). Thank you very much, I'll accept this answer, but can you add that comment on the body of the answer?.

I certainly will, thanks for the feedback! Would you please let me know where you deleted it from? Just the gallery app?

I deleted cache + data from both the "Gallery" app and "Media Storage" (though I tested deleting them both, not one at a time).

Yupp, exactly. I just remembered it was a combination in the other case as well. Seems to fit. Thank you again for your feedback -- I will include this now with my answer. Glad we could solve it!

Yup, as I said, it was quite annoying seeing those duplicates there. Thank you very much for helping me.

Hello @Izzy. I have this problem constantly reoccurring. Why is that?

@Boris_yo "constantly reoccuring" after having applied above "fix"? And with exactly the described locations? Then the only explanation I could offer is a buggy media scanner. No idea how to fix that (apart from a software-update, if available, which might fix it).


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Nexus 7 charges very slowly, even with 2 amp chargers
I'm facing a rather painful issue with the battery life/charging issue with my Nexus 7 (4.2.2)

When idle and plugged into my 2A charger with the stock USB cable, it charges VERY slowly. I'd say under 10% per hour.
With just light usage over the course of an afternoon/evening, the charge got dropped to 50% (after charging it overnight and more).

I'm sure that something is wrong because no tablet should be performing that way (comparing to my other tablet, an iPad)
Update: I plugged my iPad1, iPhone5 and Nexus 7 into the same port on my Macbook Pro Retina. I've added a (mashed up) screenshot of all the 3 cases below and it's clear that the Nexus 7 never even demands anything above 500mA on a 2A port despite using the stock cable (and another microUSB cable). I'm now guessing this is a Nexus 7 firmware/software issue. Any fixes? That extra operating current should be 1600mA so it totals to 2.1A (="2A" ports).

Full resolution screenshot
Details:

Android v4.2.2 (stock image)
Settings => Battery

Screen (77%)
Android OS (6%)
Tablet idle (6%)
WiFi (5%)
Maps (4%) (Maps isn't even running ... weird!)
Android System (2%)

I mostly use Chrome, Currents and Play Magazines so it's just light reading. I'm surprised those apps don't show up on the battery energy audit list (which is great compared to iOS BTW).
Question: What can I do to charge this device faster and use less battery? My expectations are anchored by my other tablet (an iPad) which charges a lot faster (2A charger again) and uses about 20% each day for casual reading vs 50% each day on the Nexus 7.

Maps is always running, even if you never start it (it runs a service started at several events). To avoid that, you can disable it. Screen being top-consumer is normal. For the charging, I suspect a hardware defect (most likely the cable; but could also be the charger of contacts on the device itself). Can you test with different cables and power sources (e.g. charing via USB from your PC)? Based on the results of that, we might get closer to a solution.

If this is a new problem, do you have HD Widgets installed by chance?

@Izzy: I've updated the post with data from an experiment.

@Mr.Monkey: No HD Widget. Didn't even know what it was till I read your comment

Oh -- you just plugged it to a computer's USB port? That might explain things: The Nexus obviously detects the 'data' pin connected, and assumes it is not permitted to draw more than 500mA (which is the proper USB spec). And instead of trying "different cables and power sources" (as I suggested), you rather tested different devices :) OK, that proves your source is able to provide more power (for the iPad) -- but not whether the Nex has a problem. As said, to me that looks as if it simply "sticks to the specs" -- in this case.

Not necessarily an answer but I ended up using the stock charger that came with the Nexus 7 itself. I leave it plugged overnight. None of my other "2A" chargers can charge it quickly nor can my computers. This sucks because now I have only a single rapid charging station, next to my bed (vs my office, my living room etc). Standard protocol or not for charging, this kills my user experience compared to how my iPad just works without a headache.
For battery consumption issues, I disabled auto-update in Google Play as well as disabled auto-update in Google Currents and Google Magazine. Seems they were downloading a lot of data in the background killing my battery life.
Anyways, now that I tinkered with it the overall experience is much better.

Are you really surprised that your MacBook can charge your iPad using off-spec current, but not your Nexus 7?

@Dan Hulme: Yes

Two things to consider:
1 Depending on the charger, the Nexus might not recognize it as a 2A charger. It does not actually measure its capacity, but relies on some properties of the otherwise unused data-lines of the USB connection to the charger. Shouldn't be the problem if you used the charger that came with the Nexus.
2 It is possible that the Nexus is confused about the actual state of the battery. This can be re-calibrated, but is a rather involved process - especially if you don't have root on the device yet. However, guides can be easily found with Google.
Where does this leave you:

If you haven't used the charger that came with the Nexus, do so and see if problems persist.
If the charger is not the problem and you still have warranty send the device in.
If you are out of warranty try recalibrating the battery stats.

Is there an app that runs on the phone and tells me the charging current or other information? That would shed light on #1 in your post. Haven't rooted the device but if it possible to see if it's indeed confused about the internal state? If yes, then I can proceed with rooting=> recalibration

Not aware of any apps. Probably easiest to just put a power-meter between you wall outlet and the USB charger.

:( ... ok. I might return the Nexus 7 back to Google. Usually I would have debugged this problem, but too busy recently. I wish it had worked out of the box ...

I've updated the original question with additional data from a quick experiment. Any ideas?

Try some magic numbers: *#*#4636#*#* shoud give you a menu where you can select battery info (should include charge voltage etc.). No additional app needed :) And as for the re-calibration: No app needed (that batterystats.bin thingy is a myth (see here and here). A proper calibration just involves to do a full, uninterrupted charge once your battery dropped below the 15% marge, rawly.

Well there you go, ignore the battery calibration bit. But, the other point still holds. You have to use the charger that came with the Nexus. It may not recognize the Macbook port as being able to supply more than 500mA. The cable does not matter. Have a look at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Serial_Bus#Power

@user4188  Check out "Battery Monitor Widget"  It will give you a lot of information: including usage (mA and mW), voltage, available %, %change / hour, batter temp.

I had the same problem before with my Nexus 7. I changed the display sleep option in the settings and fixed it. It was set to 30 minutes and it drained the battery really fast.


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When enabling Bluetooth, is there a way to prevent it from attempting to connect to the two most recently used devices?
Device: LG Nexus 4 (16 GB)
Android version: 4.2.2
I connect my phone via Bluetooth (A2DP) to three devices on a daily basis. Since Android only tries connecting with the two most recent devices, I have to go into the Bluetooth settings and manually select the device I actually want to connect to.
Also, while the first two are attempting a connection, I'm unable to select the third device. I have to wait until those connections fail before it lets me manually choose the other.
Have any of you found any ways to get around this or automate it?

If you are using ICS or Jelly Bean, there are free apps called Bluetooth Auto Connect and Auto Bluetooth that will automatically connect to devices you specify. From the looks of it, it was designed because some devices don't auto connect to any Bluetooth devices (let alone two). It will likely work for your phone as well, if you are running Android 4.


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Add static IP settings to custom rom
I'm trying to store default static ip settings in a custom rom.
I write the SSID and Password to /etc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf and that works well for Wi-Fi
But how do I add the static IP settings (gateway, fixed ip) for Wi-Fi (and Ethernet)?

Why would you want to do that? If you do, the device may not be able to connect other wifi networks...

I want to do that because I want to set up a couple of android devices with the same rom and the same static ip settings. I don't want to reduce the manual configuration as much as possible. One step is setting up the static ip settings.

manual configuration? IS there no dhcp on it? :o that is an odd one! Like as I have mentioned in my previous comment, what if you went to a public wifi hotspot - it will fail. :)

static IP addresses have higher precedence over dynamic...? me fcekn memory is gone now... le sigh

I'm using the devices for a signage system and it's okay that they won't connect to public hotspots then. Would be great though if it's still possible to deactivate the static ip settings at some place...

What android version is your ROM? :)

It's currently Android 4.1.1

You might have to manually specify that in /data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf - yes, if you're rooted, that is where it is stored.

as for static ip - that is stored within the settings database, rather more correctly - Settings Content Provider. As you have indicated, you have made this custom rom? yes? compiled from scratch? there should be an overlay directory in your build - add in the static IP and gateway into the config.xml file found in the overlay directory.

Didn't build it from scratch. That means I don't have an overlay directory (Am I right?)
I modified and repacked an existing rom. I used the wpa_supplicant.conf to store the ssid and password. But I don't know how to store the static ip, gateway etc. in there...

(I'm repacking the system.img)

Ahhhh okie, fair enough... yes you're correct you dont have the overlay directory... Am afraid you'd need to build it from scratch to shovel into the Settings content provider to insert the static ip, gateway etc, or write a simple oneshot program to run on first start to insert the values.

First start option sounds good :) Any resources, tutorials, links about this method? I tried before to write xmls to /data/data/... but failed.
(THANKS alot by the way!)

Save the following in one of the init scripts in the ROM
ifconfig eth0 192.168.1.100 netmask 255.255.255.0
route add default gw 192.168.1.1 dev eth0
setprop net.dns1 192.168.1.1
ip addr show
ip route show

Where eth0 in this case, is an ethernet adapter attached via USB.

I had a problem where my Samsung S3 Mini (Jelly Bean 4.1.2) worked 100% on my Wi-Fi router but failed to connect to the Internet with my Wi-Fi repeater - stuck on "obtaining IP address..." message. I have now set a static IP and it works 100% on both the router and the repeater. If you need multiple static IP options then check out "Wi-Fi Static" application.
I found the answer courtesy of Motorola, and repeat it below, at https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/answers/prod_answer_detail/a_id/68989/p/7901,8013,
To setup a Static IP Address on your Motorola Xoom, follow the steps below:
Touch Apps
Touch Settings
Touch Wi-Fi settings
Touch Add Wi-Fi network
Enter Name under Network SSID, and touch Save
Touch and hold the "network name", and touch Modify network
Select Static under IP settings, and enter the specific network information

Tip: You can also adjsut your security and Proxy settings.
Touch Save

You can set ip with ifconfig and gateway with route when you are rooted.  I  used it to change  the tcp buffer.


text:
Android does not boot because of missing apk files in system/app folder
I moved the question from https://stackoverflow.com/q/15872848/1665807

I have a rooted Huawei u8825d phone.I want to know if there were no apk files in "/system/app/" folder.
So,I moved these apk files from /system/app/ to internal sd-card.When I tried to reboot the phone,it didn't succeed.I hanged up with a white screen.
Then I tried to push the apk files from the internal sd-card into the /system/app/ folder by using "adb".
D:\MTH\update>adb devices

List of devices attached

78F5FD6420D5 device

D:\MTH\update>adb remount

remount failed: Operation not permitted

Then,in another way,
D:\MTH\update>adb shell mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system

mount: Operation not permitted

This is another way.
D:\MTH\update>adb shell

shell@android:/ $ su

su

Segmentation fault

139|shell@android:/ $

Bad luck. Without the SuperUser/SuperSU app installed, you can hardly su -- and since you removed all system apps from /system/apps, there is none left. This means you're in a "doom loop": in order to get your files back to /system, you need to remount /system. To do that, you need to su, for which you need the files in /system/apps... I'd say you probably will end up flashing your ROM again.

Root access or SuperUser is an apk that resides in /system/app. If you remove it with the rest of the apps, you lose root. As a possible workaround, you can try to run:
> adb root
> adb shell

And see if the shell that adb opens is $ (normal user) or # (root). If you're logged as a normal user, I'm afraid you will need to reinstall root in your phone.
Also, /system/app is like C:\Windows or /bin (in Linux), if you remove the files there, don't expect the device to run, as it won't have the necessary files to do so.

As I wrote above: with no SuperUser/SuperSU running, John will most likely end up having to re-flash. Though the su itself in in a different location (/system/bin or /system/xbin), it usually also needs SuperUser/SuperSU to get a root prompt. And the latter he just successfully removed. One thing he could try is creating a suitable update.zip to be flashed from recovery.


text:
How to use "drag & drop" on websites?
I use the adroid stock-browser and I'd like to play chess using e.g. http://www.shredderchess.de/schachproblem-des-tages.html Unfortunately you have to drag and drop the pawns. I tried several gestures, but I was not able to use the drag and drop feature. Do I have to change any options (where?) or should I use a different browser?

Most likely the best alternative is to download a chess app.

Pair a Bluetooth mouse with your device. YouTube is full of demonstration videos such as this video by Android Tech Tips.
Or use an OTG mouse, as demonstrated in this video by XDA Developers.

Unless the website specifically supports touch screen, there's no way to do so. Unless the website uses a wrapper library like certain jquery plugins that can abstract the differences, the JavaScript code used to support mouse based drag and drop and touch screen drag and drop is quite different and incompatible with each other.

You can use puffin web browser and enable virtual mouse

Can you please link the browser app and mention how to enable virtual mouse? Thanks.

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


text:
Samsung s-planner as interface to google calendar, miss 3-day layout
S-planner app lost 3-days layout after last update.
That made me cry.
I want to solve it with anyway, change calendar app, or rollback to old s-planner version, or something else?
Please point me to any solution.

If you have saved the previous version's .apk, you can re-instate it. That's why I have AppMonster Pro Backup Restore installed and running: it captures each and every .apk installed, so I can always revert to a previous version.
If you don't have the old .apk available, and you are talking about a free app, you can check Android Drawer for a previous version's .apk. Download it, make sure you have unknown-sources enabled in your settings, and launch the .apk e.g. from a file explorer. This should install the (old version of the) app without you losing any data.

Thank you alot. Unfortunately I have not previous apk. and Adroid Drawer did not save "S Planner" too.

If you find someone else who has not updated, he/she could still use AppMonster to catch the .apk. AppMonster saves the files to SDCard, so it should then be easy to pick it up and make it available to you. You could also see if F-Droid or Aptoide have it.


text:
How to move application to SD card in samsung galaxy s duos
How to move application to SD card in samsung galaxy s duos.
I have tried some application from Google Play but did not succeed.
Plz help me

According to our tag wiki, the Duos comes with Android 4.x -- which natively supports to move apps to SD:
Settings→Apps→Manage Apps, sroll to the app you want to move, tapp the "Move to SDCard" button.
If the button is grayed out, the app does not support being moved to SDCard. See Unable to move few Apps to SD Card for details on that.
Questions (and their answers) you might want to check for further details:

How to install APK files on SDCARD?
Other than portability, are there any other advantages (or disadvantages) to storing apps on external storage?
Can I force move to sd card applications that don't want to be moved there?

EDIT: Googling around revealed several technical reviews stating that app2sd is not working on the Duos. Only known working solutions include either rooting the device, or using the Android SDK, see e.g. How to move almost all Android apps to SD card (no root required): here a comment reports to have successfully accomplished the task using a terminal emulator instead of the SDK. Putting things together, a How-To could basically look like this:

install a terminal app from the playstore (e.g. Android Terminal Emulator)
start the app
enter pm set-install-location 2, followed by the Enter key (if that throws an error other than "permission denied", try pm setInstallLocation 2 instead. In case of a "permission denied", you would need to root the device)

To my knowledge, this would only set the default installation target to the SDCard, but not move any apps itself. The howto there further describes one could then move apps manually. I have not tried this (I don't want to move things to SD), and so cannot confirm anything -- but it might be worth a try.
And again, the comments there are not all clear. While one claimed success, another user writes:

I can confirm this procedure cannot be done for Samsung S Duos.
  Even checked with Samsung Customer Care and they confirmed that Android 4.0x will not support movement of apps from the phone memory to External SD.

Same is, btw., claimed by LG support (something like "not our fault, blame Google"). But as other users say they can use app2sd fine on their 4.x devices, I cannot believe that it is ICS's fault, as the options are still shown fine even on my 4.1.x devices.

There is no button Move to SDCard in my Application manager

Is there no "Move..." button next to the "Delete data" in the "storage" section of the app details page? Just checking on my LG, I cannot find it either. Must be something done by the manufacturer/provider that it is removed from some devices, as ICS still should have it. In Manage apps, what tabs do you have there? // I just googled a little, and found that some manufacturers (like e.g. LG) intentionally disabled this functionality. Could very well be your SGS Duos is affected by this as well :(

Further checks in several tech reviews confirm that app2sd does not work on the Duos. Only known work-arounds include rooting the device. Similar issue to my LG Optimus 4X as well, by the way, as I found out on the way :(

I do know it was removed in Jellybean by Google (at least in 4.2, I can't remember if it was still there in 4.1). The goal is to push manufacturers to use one big solid partition so you can share your "sdcard" and application space. On devices that have separate partitions, it definitely can severely limit available space on the phone for apps.

That goes to be political, but IMHO this decision should be left to the user. Nevertheless, I still see the option on my 4.1.1 tablets. But as they also still use UMS (instead of the "favored" MTP), this might as well be a "speciality" of this one manufacturer... I just googled for "app2sd android 4.0", but an official statement from Google I didn't see in the result list.

study the whole answer PATIENTLY  and i am sure this will help
i will tell you how to swap your internal memory and external memory
ex. if you have a 8gb sd card, then your internal memory will be 8gb and the external will be 2gb
YOU DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK AND I TAKE NO LIABILITY IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG
HERE IS THE PROCEDURE
for this your phone must be rooted
download root external 2 internal app from play store.
allow the superuser request when you open the app.
go to settings
here
select Default SGS3 roms
select send rescan
select use per default
then go to the ext.sdcard device access
there u will see  /dev/block/vold/179:49
change it to /dev/block/vold/179.33
go back on clicking the enternal 2 internal on the up left of the screen
select at boot (if not selected)
then click on external>internal
then on **at boot if init.d....
TADA
THATS IT NOW GO TO SETTINGS AND SEE YOUR STORAGE
BUBYE
"THIS IS APPLICABLE ONLY FOR GALAXY S DUOS"

How does this answer the question and help the OP move an app to their SD card?


text:
Sony Xperia Tipo JB installation unsuccessful
I was trying to install JellyBean on my sony xperia tipo and have suddenly come to a halt.
I was following this tutorial.
The only thing that differed here is I obtained the latest JB from Cyanogenmod.
I have successfully installed till the recovery image installation (CWM). Post that I tried selecting the zip which I had downloaded but the installation aborts.
Unfortunately it is not meant for tipo and I have come to a halt. I want to know what is the appropriate CM for Xperia Tipo and how do I transfer that appropriate cm_xx.zip to internal storage in the recovery mode.

Have you tried some simple Google-Fu? Lot's of hits on the first page, e.g. How to Update Sony Xperia Tipo with CM10 Jelly Bean and, from our friends at XDA, [Xperia Tipo ST21i OFFICIAL THREAD ROOT, ROMS and MODS index.

I wave gone through some of those.. But i want to know how i can transfer a file to /sdcard location in the fastboot mode if possible . @Izzy

AFAIK fastboot does not support that. Available command set in that mode is quite limited. Just enter the fastboot command without parameters to check for yourself: it allows to list devices, flash an image, erase or format a partition, reboot -- nothing more (see e.g. Wikipedia). So short answer: You can't do that.

any suggestions how to get things back to normal if the above thing is not possible? @Izzy

fastboot flash to directly flash an image from your PC? Besides, googling the term "fastboot" has this Cyanogen Wiki entry as first hit. Unfortunately, they only deal with recovery there. Have you tried booting to recovery, and then using adb push to copy the image file to your device? According to your original post, you've successfully installed CWM, so chances are goot for that.

i tried pushing using adb, but adb says "No devices found"

If you're on Windows, this might be a driver issue, on Linux a missing entry in your udev rules (devices use a different ID in recovery mode). But the comments already get quite lengthy: the tipo supports microSD cards. The PC supports card readers. Put the card in a reader, copy the files to it, remove the card safely, put it into your tipo, done. Use CWM to flash. Task completed.

Appreciate the Help @Izzy

Glad you've solved it! And +1 for your answer. In two days you can "accept" it, so it's recognizable as having a "workable solution" when browsing a list of questions ;)

I was able to solve the question:
The problem was i couldnot find the driver for the device.Did it the manual way by selecting the Android adb interface driver.
And then used
adb push <local> <remote>

to push the file on to SdCard.
More references on the same can be found here .