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How can I control my phone remotely?
As a new Android user, this question has had me thinking quite a while. Is it possible to create an app or is there an app available that will do the following;

Remote access to your device
Impossible to remove from your phone (rooting, flashing, w/e)
Turn your phone into 'Lost Mode' and make sure it can only be used remotely and disables all but the useful services to find your phone (camera, gps, etc)

OR

Impossible to remove from your phone (even after reinstall, etc)
Remains in the background whilst the person is using your phone as theirs (stolen, swiped and reinstalled)

It's important to note that a factory reset will eliminate pretty much any method of protecting or wiping your phone remotely.

Google's Android Device Manager service can do all of that apart from the remote control, though unless your phone has a new enough OS to have it installed by default (instead of pulled down as part of the Google Services updates) it's difficult to remove rather than impossible.

Find your lost phone with Android Device manager
Remotely lock Android devices

Making an app "impossible to remove" is, of course, impossible to accomplish. Nothing is impossible to remove.
For other features you're looking for, I'd recommend looking into AirDroid or Cerberus.


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S4 doesn't detect any WiFi
I helped my fried to convert from Iphone to S4. I helped him with initial setup and gave some quick crash course. I visited him after a week and answered a few of his questions. I again visited him today after a week. But his Galaxy S4 GT-I9500 has developed a problem.

The WiFi would stuck on "Turning on" if Bluetooth is switched off.
The phone won't detect any WiFi. I tried with multiple AP with different settings and even without security.
It detected the APs for few seconds once during this troubleshooting time of three to four hours.
Resetting didn't help.

The phone is currently running Android 4.2.2. Any idea on how to make it detect the AP? I'll be trying to flash Android 4.3 via Odin tomorrow. I couldn't do it via Kies as it would say an unknown error occurred.
UPDATE: So I've pushed WiFi Analyzer and playing randomly with WiFi Settings and WiFi analyzer brings WiFi back for good. But same problem after factory reset. And again repeating above actions fixes it.

I should say it works because it can detect other Bluetooth devices.

I'm not sure. Is there any reason that you're focusing on Bluetooth here?

So I've pushed WiFi Analyzer and playing randomly with WiFi Settings and WiFi analyzer brings WiFi back for good. But same problem after factory reset. And again repeating above actions fixes it.

Alright, I guess that axes my hypothesis.  I went ahead and added that info to the question.

The problem was hardware related. WiFi chip was changed in the service center. Now it is working OK.

Is it using a custom ROM or a modified stock ROM?
Flashing DjeMBeY's pre-rooted S4 ROMs has issues with Wi-Fi, esp. for those higher than MGA. They have a Wi-Fi fix, but I still encountered issues (e.g. intermittent mobile data, loss of audio / sound). So, I downgraded back to MGA.
Hopefully reading the thread in XDA might give you some ideas. Do share your answer if you find something useful, or a solution.

It is running stock ROM. Updated to 4.3 via ODIN still same issue. Tried two 4.3 ROMs, one for UAE where the device was originally purchased and one for Nepal where it is being used.

@roxan Have you done factory reset, clear cache, clear dalvik cache? Then, flashing stock 4.3 ROM?

Yes. Tried resetting from Settings menu. Tries clearing cache and installing ROM from ODIN. BTW there is no option to clear dalvik cache on stock ROM.

@roxan What if you flash a new stock 4.2 ROM? observe it first. then if it's ok, then maybe you can do an OTA update?

Well 4.2 stock ROM already had the problem. I don't want to download another 1.5GB until I can see some logic behind this step. Internet is very expensive and slow here :)

@roxan What is the version? XXUBMGA?

I've tried I9500XXUEMJ5_I9500OJVEMJ5_XSG.zip I9500XXUEMJ9_I9500ODDEMJ5_NPL.zip and I9500XXUEMJ8_I9500ODDEMJ5_NPL.zip

@roxan I wasn't successful with MJ5 (4.3). How about you try MGA (4.2) first?

What do you mean by you weren't successful? Do you also have a similar problem? OK I'll once try with 4.2 next time I go there solely based on your reputation here :) . BTW what is MJ5 and MGA?

@roxan MGA refers to the last 3 letters of the ROM (e.g. MJ5 in I9500XXUEMJ5 of I9500XXUEMJ5_I9500OJVEMJ5_XSG.zip)  I used djembey's prerooted ROM (MJ5 version), but I had issues with mobile data. It kept turning off every once in a while, even when I flashed the correct modem.

@roxan I hope other folks can try and help, but it seems you're getting input from me only though. I went back to MGA (lower 4.2 version) because I couldn't get 4.3 to work properly on my phone).

I went there again. WiFi stopped working after working for few days. I think it is hardware problem.

@roxan Have it checked if it's still under warranty. :)

Despite being only few weeks old, the warranty can't be claimed. It was bought from a different country.(UAE->Nepal). Will still try to see if someone can take it back their to claim warranty.

source: Stack Exchange

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

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How do I uninstall MultiROM?
I have a rooted Nexus 4 with stock Android on it.  I decided to try out the MultiROM app on the play store.  I am now trying to uninstall it, however the MultiROM app does two things:

It installs a recovery called TWRP
It adds a 'boot' menu which lets you select between the OSes

I was able to undo #1 by reinstalling ClockWorkMod ROM.
However, every time I boot up, the OS selection screen still appears.  Note that the OS selection screen only has 'internal' on it.
How can I remove this selection screen and remove MultiROM completely?

Just flash the original / stock ROM for your phone. But first, make sure to clear data / factory reset, wipe cache, and clear dalvik cache.

Do you mean the stock images here? Will doing that unroot the device?

@Shah That link seems right. And yes, flashing stock ROM will unroot your device. You'll have to root it again. But this process will definitely remove multiROM.

Uninstalling MultiROM - Source AddictiveTips
The developers have provided an easy way to get rid of MultiROM and get things back to the way they were before. All you have to do is flash the appropriate MultiROM uninstaller file for your device from recovery, and MultiROM will be removed from your device. Do note that this will also remove all secondary ROMs that you may have installed.
MultiROM Uninstaller for Nexus 4
MultiROM Uninstaller for Nexus 7 (2012)
MultiROM Uninstaller for Nexus 7 (2013)
The MultiROM-modified TWRP recovery will still remain on your device, but that shouldn’t be an issue; you can simply ignore the Advanced > MultiROM submenu, and use the rest of the recovery as the regular TWRP. Though if you want to remove that as well, you can easily flash a recovery of your choice.

Note: the first file (for Nexus 4) is hosted in a site with links leading to .exe versions of the ZIP file, so be extra careful and make sure to click the right link (fake "Download" links abound) to obtain the .zip file.

Its very easy.. you should go to TWRP recovery >> Advanced >> Multirom >> Configure Autoboot >> Select "Disable" & You will not see that Boot menu during startup.

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


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Any changes to files in root directory (/) are gone after reboot
On linux, "/etc/fstab" contains the directives how a partition should be mounted (fs type, flags etc.). On Android how it is determined?
On my Nexus 7, I see a file called "fstab.flo" in "/" which contains similar information as fstab does. Just to determine that this file is used by Android during booting, I commented the line corresponding to the mounting of /data partition (With root permission). And booted the device. However, that does not bring any change. Device booted fine, and my changes to that file are no longer there.

Sure not. All changes made there are gone with the next boot: you are just modifying a file on a "temporary file-system" here, which is created on boot, and "gone" on shutdown.
For persistent changes, you would need to change the boot image. As you compare with Linux on a PC, think of a initrd.img (initrd aka "initial RAM disk, or initramfs). The root file system is loaded from this during the boot process (step 3, kernel).
Please excuse me for not going into more details: but how that's done is beyond the scope of this site (which targets end-users, not developers); and beside that I have no practical experience in this specific field.

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


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How to use an Android phone or tablet to make a projector presentation?
I have planned for some time to use a smartphone or tablet to give scientific presentations via projector, instead of using a laptop. I'm now thinking about buying a new Android smartphone, if I can be sure that in the end I'll be able to realize this goal with it. So my main question is: What do I have to look out for in order to get a device with which I can give projector presentations?
I apologize that this question is not exactly about a concrete problem I'm faced with right now – I just don't want to purchase a costly device only to find out later that I can't do with it what I want. I therefore did some thinking and research about the possible problems, and ask you for advice on how to avoid a concrete problem to occur in the first place.
Here are some issues that occurred to me:

In my experience most projector installations in lecture halls still only provide access to a VGA connector. I know that VGA as an analog signal requires D-A conversion from a digital signal, but I'm confused about how much effort this takes: Some converters have the shape of a box which needs an extra power supply, others are very small and don't need extra power. What is the difference between these different types of devices, and which kind do I need? Please note that the links are only meant as examples, I'm not asking specifically about these products.
Again in my experience, most installed projectors do not yet support Full HD, but still need signals at resolutions like 800x600 or 1024x768. At least some HDMI-to-VGA converters appear to support downscaling from Full HD to VGA resolutions. Since I probably can't control this from the smartphone/tablet: How does it work? Can I trust that the optimal resolution is automatically negotiated between the adapter and the projector? Can I expect a decent-looking result from the downscaling, or will it be all washed out? Practically speaking: Is there a specifically named feature of such converters that I should look out for when choosing one? Again, the link is only for reference.
Android apps normally have screen output optimized for the fixed, physically small screen built into the device and not the flexibility that is provided by changing the screen resolution or resizing a window on a Desktop OS. Is it a realistic goal to achieve a good presentation experience from a mobile device similar to the one from a laptop? E.g. it appears not to be possible to get Adobe Reader for Android into a proper one-page-fullscreen mode. Is there presentation software that does this better? I'm mainly thinking of presentations in pdf format.

And maybe there are caveats I'm not even thinking of?

Update 2017
Much has changed since the writing of this answer. The old answer (see edit history) is no longer the best answer to this question.
I'd recommend getting a Chromecast and using it with a VGA adapter. This gives you the benefit of giving the presentation wirelessly, instead of leaving your phone tethered to a cable.
Most modern Android phones have this capability, but double check before you purchase if this is something important for you.

Make sure that the phone that you get has a micro-HDMI port, in addition to the traditional USB port. This will allow you to transfer video more easily.
As you noticed, there are two types of converters- the tiny ones, and the large bulky ones with a power supply. The difference is, as stated on the link you sent, that:

Unlike passive adapters Ligawo converter has a power supply, thereby allowing a built-in signal amplification and processing of the image. Provides the signal source sufficient current through HDMI This converter can also be used without power supply.

So yes, the larger ones with power supplies would probably be better in terms of signal quality, and could still be used without being plugged in. However, due to their bulk, the better signal processing (I'm not an expert on signal processing, so I don't know how large of a difference it would make- I've used the small kind, although with a laptop, and it worked perfectly fine) might not be worth it- it's up to you to decide which type is right for you.
As of how the resolution is scaled, it should work automatically for all, if not most, converters. Just double check if it says something like "Input resolution HDMI up to 1080p possible 480p - Output Resolution VGA" (from the link you sent). It shouldn't be a problem to downscale to a specific amount that you want- in the Settings -> HDMI -> HDMI Format, you should be able to change the output resolution. For more info, look here- it is two years old, but the features should still be the same with new phones running JB/KitKat.
As of the software to run, there are many free and premium solutions available in the Google Play store that will work well. If you prefer presenting with PDFs, PDF Reader or Office Suite 7 should work. However, PDFs are a somewhat unconventional presentation format (although they can work), so you should consider using actual presentation software for a better experience. Google Drive for Mobile would work well, since you could edit your presentation on a computer (or your phone) and then present it on your phone, plus it is free. You could also use Presentation Pal, or Office 2012: Presentations, or some other presentation software- there are lots out there, and there's bound to be one that works good for you. All presentation software in the play store should work well for your purpose.
I hope this helps!

Thank you very much, this is very helpful. For instance I didn't realize that it is possible to control output resolution on Android (haven't had a device with video out yet). But you don't speak from actual experience with connecting an Android device to a projector, right? I have this feeling in my gut that things that work with a laptop won't necessarily then... Do you know whether there are HDMI resolutions ("XYZp") that correspond to classic VGA resolutions like 800x600, 1280x1024? – Regarding "actual presentation software" – I do all my stuff with LaTeX/beamer, so it's always pdf. :-)

I haven't connected my phone to a projector or TV (it doesn't have HDMI out) but after doing a little digging around the web, I think it is straightforward, if not commonplace, to connect a phone to a TV. (See here and what I previously linked to). I'm not sure how different it would be with a projector, since their both just different types of displays.

I'm not sure if there is a direct correlation between HDMI resolutions and VGA resolutions, however, I would think that you could set the output HDMI resolution to whatever works best on you projector. Also, PDFs are fine (since it's Latex, you don't really have much of a choice), but if you can't find a PDF app that suits your needs, consider using a PDF to "XYZ Presentation Software" Converter.

It appears that the ability to select the output signal is not a standard Android feature; at least on my new Nexus 5 there are no "HDMI settings".

@A.Donda I apologize if that didn't work, I guess the tutorial I found only applies to the Droid X (although they didn't say it is manufacturer-specific, which puzzles me). I hope that you find some workaround or manage to survive without it, and again, I apologize for not realizing that it was manufacturer specific. I wasn't speaking from experience, I was trusting the internet, which well.... isn't always a good idea.

No problem, your answer was still helpful. :-) As soon as there is a stable version of Cyanogenmod for the Nexus 5, I'll install it, and I'd expect many more configuration possibilities there.

there is a micro-usb to VGA cable available. from phone to projector input, this might help. Havent tried. going to try very soon since i have a similar requirement..

You can use a Samsung Galaxy Beam as a projector if you have got such device. There must be second hand editions of it somewhere on the Internet if you don't want to pay a lot for a brand new one.

I collected some information relevant to this question in an answer to How to connect your Nexus phone to a VGA projector? – which is the question I actually wanted to ask here, but was told it is too much subject to change to induce answers of interest to future generations. ;-)
In short:

It appears there is no real difference between HDMI-to-VGA converters and HDMI-to-VGA adapters, because also those devices that claim not to need a power supply actually need extra power under many circumstances.
There are no "HDMI settings" on stock Android, though manufacturer-specific Android versions as well as "Custom ROMs" of course may include them. Additionally, there are Android apps that appear to be able to change the output resolution.
It appears that the biggest obstacle to getting a VGA signal from an Android device via an HDMI-to-VGA converter is the circumstance that HDCP seems to be enabled by default for all content, and there is no (simple) way to disable it, at least on stock Android. Standard converters simply do not output a VGA signal if the input is copy protected.


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Android lost some apps - how do I dl Whatsapp again?
My HTC Evo 4G piece of trash all of a sudden deleted some of my contacts and apps - including the app market (google play?).  How do I get Whatsapp back - which I paid for through paypal - if I can't access the market store?  Google play asks me to sign in with a gmail account - but I didn't use a gmail account when I bought the app so it doesn't show up when I sign in.

So you didn't use your GMail account to sign in, and payed using Paypal? For even one of the two, it cannot have been Google Play where you did that, as it required logging in with your GMail account long before the first version of WhatsApp became available. And they never accepted Paypal for payments. So you must have been in a different universe then.

You can pay for Whatsapp with PayPal on their own site, so it must have been from there.  You can download the app here...
http://www.whatsapp.com/android/
and, as it says on that page...

If you already paid for the service you will not be asked to pay for it again.

If you bought it with Paypal, it must not have been through the market.   Suggest you contact the developer for advice.


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Photos synch google+,picasa,gallery
I'm trying to upload on google+ photos all my old pics so I have it backupped and ordered there, but unfortunatly I encountered some strange behavior.
Here is what I did:

Uploaded from my pc with picasa all my album to google+ (checked the date were correct)
On Google+ web everything is ok (date and order of the album)
On google photos app on my Nexus-4 everything is fine as well.
If I go on picasa web album some album have incorrect date (seems they have the date of upload instead the date when pics were taken, but it's the same album on G+!!!)
If I synch picasa album in my gallery on Nexus-4 pics have the same problem with date.

Anyone has the same problem?
Also, if I turn off google phots synch and I clear the gallery app data all the picasa album disappear but if I do refresh from gallery they appear again and I didn't turned on google photos synch.
Again anyone with the same problem out there? Any solutions?

Turned out that apparently on g+ the albums take the date of the most recent picture of that album, while on picasa web album there is a date for the album, I don't know why but sometimes the date for the album on picasa is the same as the one on g+, others times is simply the date when you created the album.
Anyway it is possible to change that date from the web interface of picasa by selecting an album and editing his property, It's a bit annoying if you have a lot of them but finally now I have all my picasa album properly ordered in my gallery on android. :)


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How to transfer data from android device using MTP and having the ext2/3/4 file format to computer on Windows XP
I'm trying to learn. I have an android tablet from Kocaso. Apparently to transfer files from my computer to the tablet you need to use MTP.
This seems to imply that I need something for Windows XP to detect the file format ext/2/3/4 of the device so I can transfer stuff like a good old usb key.
So what do I need exactly?

This is one of the reasons MTP was introduced for: independency of the file system format used "behind it". You can compare it to using "standard SQL" to retrieve data from a database via an ODBC driver: your application does not need to know whether there's a MySQL, Oracle, PostGreSQL, or whatever database behind it. As long as it sticks to standard SQL commands, it simply works.
Similar issue with MTP. Other than with using UMS, your computer doesn't access the file-system directly, but uses a kind of "command layer". On the Android device, MTP then plays the role of our above ODBC driver, translating everything to the underlying file system.
So as long as your computer knows how to deal with MTP, you don't have to even think about what file system is used. It should simply work.
But on the other hand, MTP has proven tricky sometimes: it requires extra drivers on Windows, and doesn't work out of the box on MacOS or Linux systems (also extra installs and adjustments required here). So there are alternatives you might wish to take a look at for file transfer, such as using apps like Airdroid, FTPServer, DavDrive, or similar.

This reads as chinesse language to me hahaha , all i know is i cant transfer files to my android device like a good old usb key and theres no simple way around it!

OK, so let me put it into simple terms: Using MTP, you don't need to care about the underlying file system, the "driver" on the device will deal with that. And even if your OS would understand the underlying file system, the device wouldn't give it direct access with MTP.

Why did they make this so much more complicated usb keys NTFS file format wasnt good enough jeez.

I wasted my time understanding the interface of the Wifi transfer app, then tried and payed for the pro version which ironicly does not work, hope those programs you recommanded arent a waste of my time.Thank you for your answer.

At least they are all available for free. Everything else is quite subjective. So if they solved your issue, please don't forget to "accept" the answer by ticking the check-mark next to it :) Besides: Android never used NTFS (that's a Windows-specific file system) but rather FAT for the cards. And yes, FAT has a bunch of restrictions. I only wish they'd left the choice to the user, and not force MTP on us: though I see its advantages, it doesn't come without trouble.

Airdroid seems to be read only, cant tranfer files with that. DavDrive and ftp server, oh boy, so now i have to learn how to use FTP from scratch....seems time consuming.Got a link to a complete tutorial?     For future referance if you get a Kocaso tablet and dont have windows 7 or 8 and/or extra money to get a micro sd card, your basically screwing yourself over, no simple way to transfer files to these android device!

Take a look at FileZilla, which is a graphical FTP frontend. Works like any file manager you might be used to, so no need to "learn FTP commands" (though it doesn't hurt doing so I've heard ;)

let us continue this discussion in chat

People who designed MTP and those file formats had in mind that in the future, it woudnt be cheapsakes like me with a android device.i mean windows XP and no sd card im a cheapsake indeed.
Answer to my question is using the wifi transfer app from the playstore.
Then using this method refered here How can I split files on the computer and then assemble them on android device?.
Now i will be able to transfer whatever i want on my android Kocaso tablet.


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android missed call notifications not going
I have a Samsung Galaxy S6012. Long time back (I do not remember when) I've got a call. Even though I answered that call, it was put as missed call. Since then it shows a missed call alert in my phone.
First I removed that particular number from the list. Still the same alert was there. Then I removed the entire log history – still the same missed call alert. I have restarted the device many times but all my work went in vain.
NOTE By "missed call alert" I mean a numeric ① being displayed on top of the phone icon:

This is the phone I have http://mobile.cdn.softpedia.com/phone-pics/Samsung-Galaxy-Music-Duos-0.jpg The phone icon is at the bottom left side.If any missed calls then I get a number(like 1,2) at the top like this https://i.stack.imgur.com/bOfXd.png

a number on the phone icon? are you using a custom launcher, or an app for that?

@geffchang the default phone icon,I do not use any app or custom launcher

@geffchang see this http://img.podnova.com/icons_avideo/124/848/848552.jpg I am getting similar type means a phone icon like this http://cesaualberta.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/phone-icon.jpg and a number 1 which is placed at the top like the other picture

@Izzy not exactly the same icon,So rollback the question

You can [edit] your question yourself anytime, it's yours – so my apologies if you didn't want the image integrated, and no hard feelings if you revert this. Alternatively, you could also add a note there that it's something like this (and not exactly this). I'm pretty sure, even though not the exact same image, it helps people visualize the facts immediately – as opposed to reading the text multiple times and trying to imagine. So I would keep it, and optionally comment on it.

@Izzy ok then I will follow your way.I will not edit the question.Thanks

Why is there an SMS icon with an unread count in the question?

@Archer I gave this is an example.Like the image shown(numeric 2 shows 2 unread messages) In my phone icon numeric 1 is shown always


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Where is the default ringtone stored?
I recently brought a Sony Xperia C. One of my friends like a few default ringtones of the phone. I tried to search in the internal as well as sd card memory but couldn't find the ringtone.
Where exactly they are stored? Can I send it to my friends using another android phone?

related http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/28300/how-to-manually-upload-ringtones-and-notifications-to-droidx

Default ringtones are usually stored in /system/media/audio/ringtones. You might be able to access this location using a file manager.
Keep in mind that, residing on /system, this place is read-only at best without root-access: so while you should be able to copy from here, you cannot place any files into this directory. If you want to manually add ringtones to your device, rather create a similar directory on your SDcard (/sdcard/media/audio, with sub-directories for ringtones, alarms, notifications, etc.). This location should be recognized automatically by the Android system.

I can not locate/system in my data card or memory card, do i need to root the phone to access it?

You need a file manager that let you do so. Some lock you to the SDCard. You definitly should not need to root for that (though there might be other good reasons, read access to /system isn't one of them).

okay, i got root privilege for my phone, and finally removed all default ringtones & alarms & notifications from /system partition.

/dscard/media/audio worked but only after a reboot. Is there a way to avoid rebooting?

@CiroSantilli六四事件法轮功包卓轩 yes. Triggering the media scanner by other means than a reboot.

On an LG phone, they live in /product/media/audio/ringtones

The ringtones are stored under the folder system > media > audio > ringtones. You can view the folders using any file manager this one.


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How does Android multiuser system work?
If each app on Android gets its own UID, then how are phone users identifed? Do they own some different UID or something? Or are they in special group "users"?

The human users of the phone don't correspond to different Linux users. The human users are identified only within Android itself, not to apps. Android provides a completely separate environment to the app for each user - a little like a Linux chroot - so the app doesn't have to worry about separate users. When a new user runs the app, it just looks like a fresh install on a new device, because it's given a brand new data directory, separate from those it's given for other users.


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Chrome disappears/hangs after reboot?
I'm using Android 4.1.2 that's rooted.
Because Google Chrome has a big size, especially the cache (which is troublesome to delete it every visiting a new site), i moved my Chrome to SD Card by using Titanium Backup.(In my phone chrome is a system app so i deleted it and reinstall the Playstore version)
But now, when i reboot my phone, my Chrome will either crashes or disappears entirely at startup. Is there any way to solve this?
If that's impossible, is there any way to move cache to SD Card? Because that what makes my internal memory loses much space.
My phone is Oppo Find Way (U7015) - it's only released in china and southeast asia :)

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts Stack Exchange! The question-and-answer format of this site works best if you put each question in a separate question post. Please edit your post down to one question, and create new posts to ask any further questions. You'll get better answers that way.

Or just remove the second part: A reboot is needed when a reboot is needed, not when the day changes. I reboot my devices only when something "got stuck", which doesn't happen more than once or twice a month usually. On some devices, even much less frequent.

@Izzy I was going to leave this for a separate question, but there is a reason why a manufacturer might recommend this: they (think they) have introduced a memory leak in a core system component such as a driver. In that case, a reboot every so often may be the only way to stop the device running out of memory.

Thanks for your suggestion, i already deleted the second part :) Thanks for letting me know :D

@DanHulme Agreed, and that's probably overlapping with my "getting stuck". "every so often" = "when it's needed" ≠ "every 24h". I doubt there's a definite time table ;) // user46097: You might wish to take a look at our app2sd tag-wiki, which also lists available alternatives concerning your app-move.

So if the manufacturer/device aren't stating that the device needed to be rebooted at a definite time table, it's okay to let my device run for days or months without rebooting right?
@Izzy: Okay then, i'm going to ask if it is possible to move cache to SD Card, but i guess i'll leave it as a different question lol

Let's say if everything runs fine, you definitly do not need to reboot. When in doubt, it doesn't hurt. And yes, make that a separate question – after having read the app2sd tag-wiki. If you still need to ask then, that is :)


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My Nexus 4 crashes after every app start
I haven't used my Nexus 4 in a while, and all of a sudden all apps crashes on their start up, including the Google Play Store app.
I have tried to upgrade the OS to KitKat (via Settings => About This Phone => System Updates), but it's stuck updating to 4.3; I have a view with "downloading Android 4.3 update" which doesn't progess.

Screenshot (click for larger variant)

com.google.process.gapps has stopped

added explanation, though this is jus a work around for all aps crashes.

I see. The update is probably failing for the same reason as everything else. Did it start happening the first time you used the phone after a while?

yes. after 2-3 month of no use

Have you rooted flashed ROMs etc...


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Access desktop files from ADB connected device
Is it possible to access the desktop files from Android device ?
 The device is connected to the desktop through USB.

Yes, its possible. But, not with ADB. ADB server runs only in Android (Device or Emulator). On PC, you get ADB client only.
With USB, you've got a network. Install a FTP, Samba or SSH server (like FileZilla Server) on PC & use a FTP, Samba or SSH client app (like AndFTP) on Android device to pull files from PC.
You can do the same over air, too. Just connect PC & Android device in same Wi-Fi network & do the same. If you don't have Wi-Fi router, use Connectify or mHotspot (assuming its Windows PC) to make a virtual hotspot.


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Email won't stay deleted (IMAP)
Phone: Samsung Galaxy S4
App: default mail app (Android or Samsung, don't know which)
Issue: I have an IMAP email account and when I delete an email and then check for new messages later, or at the scheduled sync frequency, those emails reappear in the account - they won't stay deleted.
I can't use K-9 mail as it doesn't support Exchange Server and I have an Exchange account as well. The problem account is set up as IMAIL. I don't see any options anywhere to change server settings for deleting emails on the server as well. Any ideas?

Looks to me that the problem is with your IMAP server configuration...

I had lots of (similar) issues with the default mail app using my IMAP account, and was glad I was able to switch to K-9. Sorry to be of no further help.

IMAP settings are fine. I've removed the account, reset the phone added it again and no luck. If it wasn't for the need for Exchange support I'd move to K9 but it isn't an option sadly

In my opinion there is an issue with the default mail app on the Samsung Galaxy phones.
I have recently switched from iPhone to Galaxy Note 3 and was really disappointed with the mail app not properly deleting emails from the server using imap. I know what I am doing and have it successfully working on other DROID and ios devices.
My work - around is to not use the trash can icon to delete mail but instead to use the move icon and choose to move the mail to the INBOX.trash folder.
Or you could just use Maildroid as there is much more control over what you want to do.
I am back on the default mail app now and happy with my work - around as the samsung email app works best with the Galaxy Gear smart watch.

This might seem silly to ask, but is your auto-sync to gmail setting on? Assuming your email's IMAP settings are correct, then the issue is with your phone. In the case of the default email android client, you need to have auto-sync on for each added email account. Once that is checked on, your emails on the server will reflect any changes made on the phone.


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Delete application folder in Android device
Hi I am using Samsung Galaxy S3. In my device I created a folder in Application menu to have a bunch of related apps.
At a point of time I uninstalled all the apps in that folder. Now I cant delete the folder that I created.
How can I delete a  folder that is created in Application menu?

Samsung likes to monkey with stuff. Have you tried long-pressing the folder?

What's you Home Launcher?


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Nexus 5 Noise with Bluetooth
With the phone and Bluetooth paired in my SUV there's a scratchy tapping noise every time I make or receive a call. Any idea how to get rid of this tapping noise? The phone is right up front with me in the open (not in my pocket) so I don't think its a distance issue.  I've had other older model Android phones pair without this noise.

This could be the noise that is generated by the Radio waves in your speaker/amplifyer. If you cannot give an example of that sound it is really hard to debug. I wanted to post that as a comment, but my reputation is to low for that...


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Copy Android setup to many phones
I've just taken delivery of a load of Galaxy S3 (mini) phones at my place of work.
Rather than configure them all individually, I'm looking for a way of setting one up (with our branding, security policies, required apps, etc), taking a copy, and then pushing that copy to all of the other phones.
Samsung Keis is OK for content only, but not really appropriate for this task it seems.
Can anyone recommend a way of achieving what I require? Thanks.
Edit - I should add that, as these are company phones, my employers are not to keen on the idea of rooting the phones.

Do you have root access to the devices, and a custom ROM installed (e.g. ClockworkMod or TWRP)?

I don't. With them being company phones they are not to keen on me doing this, so I'm ideally looking for a solution that does not requite me to root the phone. Thanks.

That's a pity. A Nandroid backup might have been the easiest way to achieve this. You might investigate into ADB backup, though. But I'm pretty sure there's a more decent way, probably some enterprise software.

Hint for a starter: our adb tag-wiki

Have you looked at Mobile Device Management solutions? Most of them can do security policies, required apps and some forms of branding without needing any complex changes to the phone (they normally install and run as Device Administrators), they can also run regular checks on the settings, instead of doing it as a one-off. See this question for some examples: Which program allows remote management of Android devices?

Hmm, could be a possibility. We do use the Meraki MDM software, but that is not advanced enough to offer things like branding. It's good for pushing apps/credentials though.

Here's another one: How to Remotely Mass Deploy Android Apps to Devices (just found it in my bookmarks; I knew I had it somewhere ;)

Might want to take a look at Android For Work


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Can a wifi hot spot be set invisible to just one specific android device?
The wifi hotspot i usually connect to has suddenly become invisible to just my android phone but is visible to everyone else. Is this possible or is there something wrong with my phone?

It's possible to block a certain device from connecting to a Wi-Fi hotspot. Just not sure if the hotspot would be hidden for the blocked phone though.

that is the dilemma!..its not visible to me but is visible to everyone else and all the other wifi hotspots are visible to me except the one in question.

Maybe it's configured for a channel your device does not support? In certain areas, there are limitations concerning which channels are permitted by law; so there could be a kind of "enforcement" in action on your device.

@Izzy that could be it but i have been using the same wifi hotspot for quite some time now and just yesterday it went out of range. and i can connect to the same wifi hotspot from other devices plus all the other wifi hotspots are still visible and connectable on my phone.

Then check on those who are able to join which channel they are using. And where the device is able to connect, check as well to see if there's an overlap (which would rule this out again).

@Izzy any idea how do i find out which channel the wifi hotspot is using?i have tried a few apps namely wifi analyser and a few more but none tell the channel on which the wifi signal is being broadcasted.

@Izzy just found out that my wifi doesn't display any wifi hotspot that uses 5GHZ frequency..guess my phone doesn't support 5ghz frequency

my phone supports the following protocols: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, 2.4 GHz, dual-band, Wi-Fi Hotspot. so does dual-band means it supports 5Ghz as well?

Not necessarily, it seems: What Is a Dual Band Router? explains it like "two antennas", so you could use e.g. 802.11g and 802.11n simultaneously (and not necessarily at different frequencies). I'd say that rather gets interesting with the device's hotspot features, serving different clients at the same time. // as for the channel: Wifi Analyzer and WiEye show it both.

thanks for all the help..the wifi hot-spot has been shifted from 2.4Ghz to 5Ghz frequency  which is not supported by my phone and hence the hotspot isn't visible anymore. guess its time to buy a new phone.


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How can I recover files from a phone that won't boot?
I have a Galaxy SII, and it is stuck on the boot screen. How can I recover the files on the phone?

Is your phone running the stock android? Or did you flash any custom ROMs?

Does the phone still boot to recovery mode? Try holding down the power, home and volume Up button to start the device.

I had the same problem with stock Nexus 7 2012 GSM.
The relevant documentation for this is

https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/4596836?hl=en the Recovery mode section
https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images section Flashing instruction (it helps you get familiar with adb and fastboot)
https://developer.android.com/tools/help/adb.html ADB manual

First of all, the bootloader has to be unlocked.
fastboot oem unlock

Unlocking the bootloader deletes user data on the device (as a security precaution). If you haven't unlocked the bootloader before, you are now out of luck. Try to find if you have backups. (Contact data may be synced with your Google account, you might have Dropbox installed, G+ backups photos and so on).
Assuming unlocked bootloader, you can flash a custom recovery which will allow you to access data on the phone.
I tried ClockworkMod, but after I booted into it, adb listed my tablet as unauthorized device, similarly as this person describes. He solved the problem, I did not.
Therefore I next tried TWRP recovery.
fastboot flash recovery path_to_twrp.img

With TWRP, adb devices listed my device with recovery permissions (whatever it means) and I could copy out my data
adb pull /data .

In addition TWRP seems to enable MTP on the device. That is another possible way to get data out. I haven't experimented with it, because I did adb pull first and I got my data that way. Additionally, in my experience, MTP clients for Linux are rather flaky.

I had to go to adb sideload then cancel in order to get my device into recovery mode with TWRP/adb.

You will need the Android SDK and your phone's appropriate drivers so you can use Fastboot ADB and pull the files manually. Here's how to get into Fastboot mode:

Pull battery and reinsert
Hold VOL DOWN, press and release PWR button (continue holding VOL DOWN)
You should see a menu with the following options: Fastboot, Recovery, Clear Storage, and Simlock; select Fastboot.

Here is a fantastically detailed guide for how to recover files (post #22):
http://www.galaxyforums.net/forum/galaxy-s2-help/6232-screen-cracked-need-recover-very-important-data-3.html
To address the custom recovery question: if the OP is running 4.2, he/she is most likely running a custom ROM and therefore a Recovery, as the latest official build from Samsung for this device was 4.1.2 (at least on the Sprint and AT&T versions).
Hope this helps!

This answer is not appropriate considering the question. You can't get ADB without being able to boot. He may have a custom recovery which supports ADB, but we don't know if that's the case. I don't think the Galaxy SII even supports fastboot - and aside from that, file recovery over fastboot alone isn't really feasable (as far as I know).

If the phone boots to recovery mode or download mode, more possibilities emerge from there. ADB may even be possible.

@inquisitive_ibex It would be great if you could provide documentation for both getting the SII into Fastboot mode (Is it the same as Download Mode?) and also for pulling files over fastboot. I'm having trouble finding anything regarding it.

@inquisitive_ibex Please edit your answer. Unfortunately, the comment system isn't good for formatting steps =). Also, please provide links to information about pulling files over fastboot.

@dotVezz Pulling files over Fastboot is rather tedious as the list of files and their locations need to be specified beforehand. I think best, least tedious way is to pull /system and /data directories. adb pull \system [desired comp directory] adb pull \data [desired comp directory]

@inquisitive_ibex, can adb pull be used in fastboot mode? It doesn't work for me.

@dotVezz Hmm... Does adb devices show your device's serial number? If not, could be a driver issue. I am 99% positive I have used this method before, but I've been on HTC and Motorola devices. Please excuse me if I have completely mislead everyone! :(

Are you sure? We're encroaching on territory I'm not familiar with but I thought that Download Mode was a Samsung-proprietary replacement for fastboot. You can't just use fastboot in Download mode - you need Heimdall or Odin. Additionally, I have no problems with fastboot devices When in fastboot mode, nor adb devices when in recovery or fully booted. I'm fairly certain that the adbd process doesn't start in fastboot mode.

@dotVezz Please see edited answer above. Should clarify everything. :)

I'm excited by your enthusiasm (and hope you keep it up! We need more answerers around here), but your answer states that fastboot is necessary, gives instructions to get into fastboot mode (admittedly, because of my prodding), but then there's a link to a solution that doesn't need fastboot. It also assumes that OP can get into Recovery Mode - we don't know if he can (Maybe say "If you can..."). Finally, simply posting a link and saying "Here's the answer" isn't the best way.


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Wifi auto rejoin issues on Nexus 5 / Android 4.4
Here's a problem I've been experiencing with my new Nexus 5:
I leave my home wifi (which I was connected to). I then go to work where there is a wifi network I've previously joined. However, my Nexus 5 won't automatically rejoin the work wifi. If I go to the wifi menu and try to tell it to connect.... it does nothing. It sees the network and says it has a good strong signal, but it simply won't connect to it. If I turn airplane mode on and off (or restart the phone), it will join the work wifi.
Same thing happens in reverse (leave work wifi, won't auto rejoin home wifi). Or if I just walk out of range of the wifi network and walk back into range of it.
I did not have this issue on Android 4.2.2 with my Galaxy Nexus.
Is there a way to fix this? Or is it some sort of software bug in Android 4.4?

This might be relevant: http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=58230

This might also be relevant (answer #13), might be because wifi profiles transferred from my Galaxy Nexus? https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=61945#c13

It appears that this was an issue from Google's syncing of wifi profiles from older phones. For some reason, when my new Nexus 5 acquired the wifi profiles from my Galaxy Nexus, they exhibit this issue.
The solution here worked but you must be rooted. You must delete all the wifi profile data (requires root) and then re-join the wifi networks again.
adb shell
$ su
# rm -r /data/misc/wifi/
# reboot

Then rejoin your wifi networks in the wifi manager. When you leave the range of the wifi and come back, it should reconnect as normal.


text:
Display media from HTC One on a computer display
The title says it all. I am wondering if I can display slideshows among other things on a computer display.
I know that it has to be a DLNA compatible device, which I believe most of computer displays are not, and I also know there's this companion HTC Media Link HD device (which is a wi-fi dongle kind of thing).
I have a Mac OS X 10.8.2 Macbook Air, and an old Linux laptop, and some time to kill on a cold November weekend, so what I am asking really is whether there is a way to turn my Macbook or Linux laptop into a DLNA compatible device so that I could play slideshows on 24" display without investing any extra money.

You don't necessarily need DLNA for that, nor HDMI. WiFi and the right app might do as well. Take a look at e.g. Remote Gallery 3D, you cannot only have a slide show on your PC, but even manage your photos remotely. The app runs a web server on your device, which then can be accessed via any web browser (i.e. completely OS independent). Only requirement is Flash capability. For a presentation, also have a look at Youtube.
This way you can even take your photo gallery with you when visiting friends or family: no installation on the PC required. So as long as WiFi is available, you're fine. The app is free, so it comes without investing any extra money, as requested ;)

Alternatively, you could setup a DLNA server on your Android device (BubbleUPnP would be a good choice for that). Nex, you would need a client to access it from your Mac (take a look at this Wikipedia list to pick one). Start the server on your Android device, then start the client on the Mac. The Client should automatically find and list your Android device, and let you browse your media. What features are offered (just pick single entries, make a slideshow, have background music played along) depends on the client chosen.

A third variant would be investigating in Airplay. As that's Apple's own stuff, your Mac should surely support it. There are a bunch or apps supporting Airplay you could chose from; not having a Mac, I cannot be of assistance in this area.

Fazit by ILIV:

BUbbleUPnP is a very nice software. I'm having a lot of fun trying out various combinations. One thing I learned this morning is that I can use VLC to browse and play all content on my phone: video, music and pictures. Video playback intermittently stucks for a split second, very rarely, but it does. That is unfortunate, but I'm wondering if it is a VLC or BubbleUPnP issue, or maybe it's just that two don't get along well.

I also found out yesterday that I can display photos from Gallery via XMBC quite easily, including slideshow in a dumbed down version, i.e. no sound and fancy transition effects. Video and music can also be streamed from XBMC to HTC One, but this always puzzled me.. I mean, who wants to watch videos on a tiny screen or listen to music for too long on a batter powered device when they're at home and their computer/HTPC device is right there. Anyway, yeah, XBMC was a very easy to configure solution. Thank you for the tip, I will try Remote Gallery 3D too.

If you prefer a DLNA based solution, I could update my answer to include that as well. No big magic involved, and no "extra money" either.

Unfortunately, Remote Gallery 3D failed to work. And yes, if you can explain how DLNA (or rather UPnP in caxe with XBMC) can be configured that would be amazing.

See my edit. DLNA is basically a lose description for UPnP, and simplified one could even say it's a "lose synonym". A buzzword to sell stuff, it just defines the minimum standard for media use via UPnP. So if your device is capable of UPnP, it at least supports DLNA, usually much more.

Thanks, BUbbleUPnP is a very nice software. I'm having a lot of fun trying out various combinations. One thing I learned this morning is that I can use VLC to browse and play all content on my phone: video, music and pictures. Video playback intermittently stucks for a split second, very rarely, but it does. That is unfortunate, but I'm wondering if it is a VLC or BubbleUPnP issue, or maybe it's just that two don't get along well. Anyhow, great answer Izzy. Thank you very much for pushing me into a right direction.

Glad it helped! And thanks for your feedback, which holds very useful details. I hope you don't mind if I include them into my answers (with credits to you, of course) :) // Besides: Thanks especially for the hint to VLC! I wasn't aware VLC can handle DLNA. Very good to know, that's something I can use to check my DLNA server :)


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How can I update to Android 4.4 manually?
I have Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1' with Android version 4.1.2. Is it possible to manually to update to Android 4.4, and if yes how?

It is not currently possible for non Nexus devices. For this you will have to wait until Samsung release a version of Android KitKat for your device or until a developer release a ROM based on Android 4.4 for your tablet (CyanogenMod for example).


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Enabling MTP in HTC Desire S
My use case scenario is following: push some data from pc to smartphone and have an app there that detects and read that data.
I know that there is MTP protocol that allows both pc and mobile device to access storage simultaneously. In that case I could just drop some files on mobile's sd card and have File Observer set to detect changes in file system and then subsequently read that data.
The problem is enabling MTP on HTC Desire S. I read that HTC Android 4.1+ versions support this protocol. I tried newest official ROM for the phone (4.0.4) but there was only Usb Mass Storage option when connecting to pc. Now I am on Jelly Fire Bean, 4.2.2 and still I can find no trace of MTP support. Might it be that this is a hardware limitation of the phone or have I not tried the correct ROM yet?
Alternatively, is there any other way to fullfil my use case scenario? The constraint is that communication must go through the (USB?)cable.

An alternative would be to use adb push resp. adb pull to initiate a file transfer between computer and Android device. For this, you don't even need the entire Android SDK on your computer, a few files suffice (see: Is there a minimal installation of ADB?). On a Linux system, you could even mount the Android device using adbfs (see here), and thus access it like a "normal drive" from command line (e.g. via cp/mv) as well as from graphical interfaces.


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Reactivating a Phone Without Service
I recently got an old HTC Droid Incredible 2 with Verizon, that doesn't have service anymore. I wanted to give the phone a "clean slate" so I did a factory reset. However, when I booted it up again, it said that it needed to make a phone call (through Verizon) in order to re-activate, and will not let me proceed without doing this. I have pretty much no idea what I should do now. I could try rooting it and installing CyanogenMod or something, and hope that it would work, but I'm not sure if an unactivated phone can do that. What should I do?

Is USB debugging enabled on the phone after a factory reset? If it is, you should be able to root it.

Have you tried removing the SIM card under the battery to see if that helps?

I finally figured out how to fix this. I don't know if this is the best way to do this, and if this is unique to just this phone, but here's what worked for me:

Rebooted the phone
Unlocked it at the lock screen that popped up
When I came to the activation setup pages, I pulled down the notifications shade
"Quick Settings" >> "All Settings" >> Home Button

I'm not sure how exactly this worked (glitch or bug, maybe?), but it did. Thanks for all the help!

Good to hear you figured it out. Now root that phone :)

That phone would most likely be tied to Verizon, if it's from a contract. You would first need to root and unlock the phone - so that it can be used with other networks - before you can flash CM on it.

Verizon is a CDMA carrier, so there's not really a concept of "unlocking" most of their phones. Some also have GSM radios, but many do not (don't know about the OP's specifically).

@eldarerathis The dinc2 is indeed an un-lockable, GSM-capable phone, but unlocking it probably isn't the issue here, and definitely not required to flash CM.


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Moving cache to SD Card? Is it possible?
Is it possible to move app cache which is stored o Internal Storage on android to sd card? I have limited space on my device, and I want to free up some space (Well, actually the cache is taking most of my internal space) by moving my application cache to the SD Card.
Well, i know that cache can be deleted easily, but it's a pain to delete it every few hours to ensure that there's no "Low Memory" notification hanging..
There's also my Browser & Chrome cache, which could fill my Internal Storage in a matter of minutes.

it is possible, but you will need to get a root.
FolderMount allows to transfer not the apps but their cache. This program requires root access. If you don’t know what root is then go here and here to read about how to gain root access.
Cache transfer is performed in a few simple steps:
Open FolderMount and press “+” in the top right corner.
Name an app that has leftover cache in the internal memory.
Press “Source” and indicate the folder with the app’s cache. It is located in Android/obb/the folder with the app’s name.
Press “Destination” to choose a folder on the SD card for the transfer.
After every field is filled out, press the check mark in the top right corner and select the “pin” next to the Name field.

Read here http://droidguides.com/applications-to-sd/

FolderMount becomed a GREAT facility to move out some things and bypass the main problem with Internal/External storage. Not all phones does swap them, and sometimes Internal memory is fullfit with garbage while SDCard remains free. Actually, space for app's and some other things are a total shame. Who needs 8gb free while you cannot install anything else because of factory partitions?

Taking a look at our app2sd tag-wiki, there is a solution to that – but it requires your device to be rooted. Simple2Ext (S2E) offers to move apps, their data, and some cache to the SDcard.
Alternatively, as cache resides on its own /cache partition, you could also use DirectoryBind to move that to SDcard entirely. Again, this requires root.

According to Google Play, S2E requires custom firmware.

@intuited you mean root? it is S2E different than other x2sd app's?

@erm3nda quoting from the description: "S2E works only with CyanogenMod7, CyanogenMod9 and CyanogenMod10". So: custom ROM. Apart from which, S2E hasn't been updated for about 4.5 years. The last CM was CM13 (now: LOS 13/14). I'm not sure if this app still works on recent versions (note my answer was posted in 11/2013).

You Should clean cache regularly, a Lot of cache can make your device Slow, you can use Auto Cache Cleaner Free to Clean all the cache quickly, you can also schedule an automatic clean up too!
Android maintain caches and removes un-needed caches
however, I've read in Google developers docs that the App should maintain the Cache itself and the developer must not rely on Android to maintain the cache
but some Apps doesn't maintain cache as needed, and so you need to clean them, usually Cache shouldn't be more than ~25MB per App, and shouldn't be more than ~75MB in all the device (however, it Depends on the number of apps..)


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How do I flash a Samsung device using the distribution on samsung-updates.com?
I'm hoping to flash the stock rom back onto my device so I can update the PRL. I downloaded the file on samsung-updates.com. The file that I download was found "Firmware archive" for Sprint's SPH-L720 (Galaxy S4).
A comment said the SPR was for regular users and the XAS one was for engineers. Not exactly sure what that means, but I downlaoded the SPR file changelist 1927016

SPR-L720VPUEMJA-20131030154609.zip

Now when I look inside I have two files,

L720VPUEMJA_L720SPTEMJA_L720VPUEMJA_HOME.tar.md5
SS_DL.dll

What does these files do? Why do I do with the .dll? How do I flash my device with it? Do I simply load the .zip into Clockworkmod and boot up? Should I, or should I not wipe cache and Dalvik after I do that? I've already backed up my current version of CM and data using CWM.

Is SPR-L720VPUEMJA-20131030154609.zip stock ROM? If yes, you can use the Odin tool to flash that ROM.
I assume have already installed Samsung Kies (so phone drivers are installed). With this done, open Odin (don't change any settings). Load L720VPUEMJA_L720SPTEMJA_L720VPUEMJA_HOME.tar.md5 into the PDA section into the ROM. Put your phone into Download Mode (Vol Down + Home + Power), and plug it into Odin. Odin should be able to detect that phone. When it does, start the flashing process.

No, I don't have Samsung Klies installed -- I'm using Linux. And, I don't have the Odin tool either? Can I just flash this ROM using CWM? I'm on a rooted phone already.

Take a look at Heimdall then, which is a pendant to Odin, but also runs on Linux/MacOS.

@EvanCarroll I'm not really sure if you can flash stock ROM using CWM recovery. Odin / Heimdall (as mentioned by Izzy) are the recommended tools for flashing stock ROM.

You should use Hemidall for this, it is far less error prone and sites like the one you mentioned tend to have the files set up to do that. If you are unrooting you need the stock recovery also so CWM is out.

You need the Samsung USB drivers, which come with Kies, however, for anyone using Odin/Hemidall you need to kill ALL kies processes on your PC as they may interfere with Odin/Hemidall and cause unexpected results.


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Google Now says it's not available in my country
On my Xiaomi M2A, Google Now complains that it's not available in my country.
I know for a fact that Google Now is available in the Netherlands, because it works fine on my Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet.
So apparently, Google Now thinks it's in some other country (possibly China, since that's where I ordered this phone). But the phone has been configured to use the Dutch settings everywhere I could find. (Silly enough, the message is actually in Dutch).
So where does Google Now get the idea that it's somewhere else? And (more importantly), how do I tell it that it is, in fact, in the Netherlands?

Well, I'll be damned.
It seems that Google Now refuses to run on a rooted device, but it just doesn't say so.
The vendor had installed an app to enable rooting of the device. I'd played around with it, but root access was disabled after the first upgrade of MiUI. I didn't really miss root access, to be honest, so it let it be. Ziggo (my cable TV provider)'s TV-watching app did refuse to let me watch TV, though, because it claimed that I wasn't using "an original operating system".
Recently, I tried uninstalling the (Chinese) root manager app -- I can't read Chinese anyway. Uninstalling turned out to be impossible, but after clicking around a bit, and disabling most things I saw, suddenly Google Now became available! And Ziggo suddenly allowed me to watch TV on my device!
So apparently, Google Now refuses to run on a rooted device! Ziggo's TV-watching app was more honest: at least it told me it refused to operate on a rooted device..

Since Google Now isn't actually available in my country, I did some looking around, and found this "hack" in a blog :
http://thenepalidroidguy.blogspot.com/2014/02/how-to-enable-google-now_6.html
In case that the link dies, these are the steps described there :

Make sure you have an active internet connection and follow all the
  steps below carefully.
Step 1: Turn on Airplane mode in your device. Now turn on Wifi and
  connect it to your Wifi network.
Step 2: Go to Settings>Location  & switch to "Device only" mode
Step 3: Install this app from Playstore (Fake gps - fake location)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fakegps.mock
Step 4: Open the app and set the location to "Miami" (I chose Miami
  but you can select any other places in the USA which would get
  guaranteed Google Now support). It might ask you to enable mock
  location first, do that from the developer options in the settings.
  Now go back to the Fake gps app and set the location to Miami by
  searching Miami and hitting Play icon on the bottom.
Step 5: Go to Settings and tap in "Google" under Accounts. Then select
  "Search". Go to Accounts & privacy> Google Account and sign out.
Step 6: Go to Settings>Apps>All and look for Google Play Services. Tap
  on it and Disable it. It may ask you to uninstall updates and restore
  to factory version, do it. You might have to deactivate Google Play
  Services form the Device Administrator first.
Step 7: Go to Settings and tap in "Google" under Accounts. Then select
  "Search". Go to Accounts & privacy> Google Account and sign in to your
  Google account.
Step 8: Google Now setup screen should come up. Select I'm in. (It's
  obvious).
Step 9: Now it may prompt you to Re-enable Google Play Services, do it
  and an update might be available for Google Play Services, update it
  from Playstore. Then Turn off Airplane Mode. Uninstall Fake gps app
  and choose the location service mode of your choice under
  Settings>Location.
Step 10: You did it. Enjoy Google Now!

Whilst this may theoretically answer the question, it would be preferable to include the essential parts of the answer here, and provide the link for reference. Otherwise, your answer becomes useless in case the link dies. For further hints, please see: How do I write a good answer.


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nfc tag compatibility with google nexus 5
does anyone know if samsungs tec tile 2 (note the 2!) are compatible with the google nexus 5? in fact, does anyone have a list of compatible nfc tags?
(i thought the whole idea of nfc tags is that they are compatible, but it appears that the tectile 1's are compatible with even the newest samsung phones)

According to this article Tectiles 2 tags are based on the NFC Forum Type 4 tag standard (though the article does not mention an exact chip). Also Samsung explicitly released Tectiles 2 for use with devices that have non-NXP NFC chipsets (like Galaxy S4). This means that these tags are compatible to all current Android NFC devices including the Nexus 5.


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Is there a way to change device type on Google Play
I have an HTC One V, but I rooted it and installed CyMod 10.1. The problem I am currently facing is that the device shows up on Google Play as HTC One V which came with 4.0, whereas my phone now has 4.1.
Since it shows up as One V (4.0) many of the downloads show up as non-compatible with my phone and hence I cannot install them.
Is there any thing that can be done to remedy this?

I think you mean to say "it shows up as 4.1". Is that right?

@geffchang it doesn't is what i mean

I'm not sure if this will work, but try Market Helper: codekiem.com/2013/02/13/market-helper/ Please feedback if it works, so I can put it in as answer.

You need root to install Market Helper, BTW.

@geffchang I have altered my build.prop file already, so the job's done but you can answer with Market Helper because i am pretty sure it'll do the job.

You can try Market Helper; requires ROOT.

Market Helper is a tool for Android that helps users to be able to
  change/fake their rooted devices to any other devices. For example, it
  can turn your Nexus 7 into Samsung Galaxy S3 in a few seconds. No
  reboot is required.

If you're just looking to install apps from Google Play, you can download the apks directly using APK Downloader; all you'll need is the package name or Google Play URL. Then just move the files to your device and install normally.
As a One V owner as well, I recommend looking into RhythmicRom. Google Play correctly detects my device as Android 4.2.2 and it's smooth and stable.


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Picture converted to very low quality while sharing on Google +
I'm using a HTC ONE X with Android 4.2.2 and HTC Sense 5.0
I took a screenshot from my phone : the picture has the same resolution as my screen which is 720x1280.
Then I share it on google plus :

go to 'Galery' app ( don't know if its the standard android one or an HTC specific app :/ )
choose my picture
touch 'share'
chose in the list 'Google+' which open the google+ app to choose the circles I want to share with.
confirm.

The picture shared is then 180x320 !
All text is unreadable so the sharing doesn't make sens anymore :/
Does anyone know why ? And how to prevent this ? I'm connected using wifi connection so there's no need to scale down the picture I can upload the full size...

This issue is described here http://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/google-plus-discuss/MkRuXZQQHnc and it happens even on my One X. I think the bug is probably in Google+ app which Google is refusing to fix. And somehow this only happens with screenshots, others pics taken from camera upload just fine.

It seems like it fixed by itself...
Now  can see the full size picture in my post on Google + without doing anything more.
My guess is : it uploaded a sample sized version of the picture in order to share my post instantaneously while the full picture was still uploading ...
Anymore informations on this from anyone would be nice.
Thanks :)


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Why is ART not available on Nexus 7 (2012) or Nexus 10 running Android 4.4?
I just updated my Nexus 7 to Android 4.4 KitKat and was looking forward to testing out ART, but that option isn't available. I got word that the Nexus 10 also lack this option, but I can't find any info as to why that is.
Anybody have anything to share? Of course, they would need an AOT compiler for that platform, but how big of a difference is there between Nexus 7 and Nexus 4? They are both ARMv7, although Nexus 4 is A5-based and Nexus 7 is A9-based (according to my research). Why would that make a difference?

(Disclaimer: Pure speculation) This may have something to do with the fact that the 2012 Nexus 7's CPU is a Tegra, and the Nexus 10's is an Exynos. Perhaps Nvidia and Samsung have something to do with it - but I have no idea if it would be a technical thing or a political thing.

That is however rather strange, since on custom ROM builds ART works well on Nexus 10.

I'm posting this from an LG Optimus 4X HD running Cyanogenmod 11 (Kitkat). I'm using ART with no problems and this phone has a Tegra chip.

I just submitted a bug report to Android issue tracker. Maybe we'll receive some feedback from developers: https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=62375

I don't think the Android Open Source Project Bug Tracker is the appropriate place to submit such "feature request". It's something Google has to arrange and has nothing to do with AOSP (nor its bug tracker).

Could you suggest a better place for such request? It's not actually a feature request, but a potential bug report if ART was omitted by mistake

AFAIK there is no better place. Google doesn't have public bug trackers for their commercial products. Even if you would consider this as bug report, it would be a bug report for a commercial Google product, and not for AOSP.

I understand that this is a bug for a commercial distribution. But I think that this place is appropriate for such an issue as there is no better place and most of android AOSP developers work for Google.

Because I stumbled across it: The ideal place for such requests is likely the official Nexus Forum at Google's Product Forums.

It looks like the current OTA update to 4.4 is missing the runtime switcher for the 2012 version of the Nexus 7.

Thanks, but that I already know :) Was more curious to if someone had stumbled across an explanation to why that is.

It's a bit odd alright and typical of Google and the OEMs there's a dearth of information. Best guess is a gradual roll out due to issues with it. Many apps are not up to date for ART (whatsapp doesn't work under it at all for example). Kitkat is fragmenting already.... I really wonder why I expected something different this time. If I find out anything later from my buddies in Google I'll let you know.

Apparently ART is only available for Snapdragon-based devices. I can switch the runtime on N4, N5 and new N7 which are all based on Snapdragon but not on the first gen N7 (Tegra 3) and N10 (Exynos). It is plausible to make such restriction (because it can break the system) if the devs aren't tested it enough on devices other than Snapdragon.
And we all know that ART is still experimental and not production ready. Therefore, "fragmentation" doesn't apply here.

However, AOSP based roms do have that option and it seems to work for them. soo...

First of all, this is all going to depend on what you're operating on. If you're on a OTA update (stock ROM), it may or may not be included (which I can't tell you if it is or not, based on that I've never used a stock rom), but if it is included, it'd be under the developers options menu. Custom ROMs, like the one that I'm using, do include the option to switch to ART on the same device you're asking about (specifically, grouper, or the 2012 Nexus 7), but that's not to say all custom roms will include the feature. It all depends on what the developer of the ROM has included in it.
Google's OTA update might not have this feature included because of, at this time, it is still a work in progress. If it's not in the developer's options yet, be patient, wait a while for them to implement the use of ARM more universally, and then make the switch. If you don't know how to get to the developer's options menu, then maybe your knowledge base of android should be aged some before rushing into asking "why it's not included" when it very well could be.

From AOSP Issue Tracker #62375 which was posted by Max Romanovsky, it's working as intended due to space limitation in /system partition:
Post #19

I believe this is WAI (ed. Working As Intended) due to flash space limitations, but over to anwarg to confirm.

Post #87

As per #19, there were space limitations in the /system partition for Nexus 7 (2012) and Nexus 10. The AOSP builds have more room because they only include the AOSP apps. Also, including ART along sided Dalvik as a developer option in 4.4 required not stripping .dex files from system JAR and APK files, which added additional pressure on top of just adding the libart.so related files.

However, Nexus 7 (2012) and Nexus 10 can be upgraded to Android 5.x Lollipop which runs on ART exclusively:

Factory images for Nexus 7 (2012)
Factory images for Nexus 10


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Google Account activation: What should I consider concerning privacy?
In order to be able to use google-play-store, I will need a Google Account, and activate this on my Android device. Does this give Google access to all my private data? Is there anything I can to to protect my privacy, and still use Google services?
Background: Not only recently, I've read a lot about Google collecting everything they can get hold of. While there are terms of service, it's not entirely clear to me where my data will end up. It's also reported that their latest changes weaken users' privacy, and that they are going to use my name and profile to sell ads to others. To me, this looks like really worrisome development on a system I originally thought to be "open".

On activation of a Google account on your device, you will be asked whether you want to backup your data to the Google cloud. While this must be explicitly supported by the apps to take effect for their data (which only a few do), and thus will never be a complete data backup, many of your most private data will be affected here – amongst others your WiFi APs including their (plain text!) passwords, which even might lead to other issues beside privacy. But even if you answer this with "No", your contacts, calendars, and more will be automatically sync'd with the Google cloud without you being explicitly asked for.
So here are some things you might want to consider. The list is definitly not complete, I certainly have missed some points (and might add some lateron).

"Do you want to backup …" (see above): This includes data of some apps which support it, a list of apps installed on the device – but also sensitive data such as configured WiFi APs with their passwords in plain-text (open issue #57560)
In the sync settings of your Google account, de-select what you don't want to sync. Do this before entering any of your private data (contacts, calendars, etc.), and remember you will have to re-do this after a factory-reset. Side-effect: the less you sync, the less this can eat your data-plan.
Consider switching the default storage in your contacts/calendar/... app from "Google Account" to "Device"1
Android 4.4+: Install an alternative SMS app and make it the default one (in Settings→WiFi you can chose which app to be used for SMS) to avoid your messages being mixed into Hangouts. To be on the safe side, you can also disable SMS support in Hangouts.
Android 4.4+: Install an alternative Gallery app2 to avoid your images being mixed with Google+ (looks like the separate gallery app will be gone soon as well). Side-effect: again savings on your data-plan for not automatically syncing all your photos (alternatively, photo sync/instant upload can also be turned off in G+ settings AFAIK).
Avoid services like Google+ which are quite intrusive to privacy. If that's not an option for you, check their settings thoroughly, and opt-out from intrusives whereever possible.
Disable Google Maps and replace it by a good alternative. Apps like the open-source OsmAnd, OruxMaps, or Locus Map not only offer you much better offline capabilities, but also save your device's juice by not constantly running in the background even without being explicitly started by you.
If you followed all above suggestions, you now might as well think about disabling Google Now – it no longer can tell you it's "10 minutes to your parents", or "you need to start to work earlier because of higher traffic", as it doesn't know where (or who) your parents are, and where your work place is (or what the traffic conditions are). And cannot give you advices like "buying this because your friends like it".
Just discovered: Google Settings › Smart Lock for Passwords. Enabled by default, it saves passwords of your apps and websites to Google's cloud (your account). Not sure if it honors the initial "Do you want to backup …" setting.

There are several more things you can do for your privacy, not being restricted to Google's services. If rooting is an option for you, things like Xprivacy are definitly worth a look. A good starting point are our privacy tag-wiki and other questions tagged "privacy".
PS: Turning WiFi off when you don't need it (with 4.3+, remember there's also the "keep scanning for networks even if WiFi is switched off" setting in Settings→WiFi→Advanced to be considered) could even protect you against being tracked by advertising trashcans...

1 There are alternative sync possibilities like OwnCloud, Funambol, and others available
2 QuickPic is a good candidate here

While this contains an excellent guide for protecting your privacy from the omnipresent Google Big Data Cabal, it feels like it's saying "Here's how you should act based on my opinions." It feels like an opinion piece - and although I agree with everything you say, I think it could be presented less subjectively.

That's why I explicitly wrote You might decide to follow all, some, or none of them. Sure, the answer should match the question. But I of course can re-phrase it a little if it sounds too offending :) // Done. Better? :)

Man, I never thought I'd find myself disagreeing with Izzy =(. My only concern involves the question itself; "Must I be worried about privacy?" begs a subjective answer and is perhaps very slightly alarmist. A question which encourages an objective answer may be something like, "What should be considered regarding privacy?" I want to suggest making an additional question along the lines of, "How can I protect my privacy?" and answer it with all the steps you've outlined here - as they're really good, but the question, "Must I be worried?" doesn't necessarily warrant "Here's how you do it."

Of course, I'm just one guy with an opinion. I don't mean to rain on your parade at all =)

No, @dotVezz, you're absolutely right: I've got a bit over-agitated while investigating the latest development (especially the what's-new-with-Kitkat). I'm really grateful for your critics, and absolutely agree postings here should be more neutral than the original version of this post was. Thank you for helping me fixing/improving it! And no, it was not only the question itself (removed the "big rant" from the answer as well).


text:
How to root Samsung Galaxy S4 GT-I9500 with build XXUBMH1?
The latest build for Samsung Galaxy S4 in South Africa is XXUBMH1. I followed this guide to rooting S4s but it doesn't work on this build.

How can I root this phone, preferably without having to load a different version of the firmware first?
(Bonus) How can I find such information without trawling through many pages of discussions on forums.xda-developers.com?

If it's relevant, I'm running Ubuntu 13.04.

It those "standard" hacking tools like towelroot and framaroot and such, aren't working for you, you could try doing it the manual way:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2684210

I found this application quite useful https://towelroot.com/ download and run on your device and it roots your device for you. Its been recommended by XDA.I ran it on my s4 I9505 and worked perfectly.


text:
Extract DB from accidentally formatted /data
I had to factory reset my Samsung Galaxy Note i717 (1stGen AT&T), and I forgot to backup before formatting /data.
I need to extract the messages DB from it, because I have many important messages from my phone that I require.
So far, I have (after rebooting into CWM):
$ adb shell mount
rootfs on / type rootfs (rw)
tmpfs on /dev type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,relatime,mode=755)
devpts on /dev/pts type devpts (rw,relatime,mode=600)
proc on /proc type proc (rw,relatime)
sysfs on /sys type sysfs (rw,relatime)
/dev/block/mmcblk0p26 on /cache type ext4 (rw,nodev,noatime,nodiratime,user_xattr,acl,barrier=1,data=ordered)
/dev/block/mmcblk1p1 on /external_sd type vfat (rw,nodev,noatime,nodiratime,fmask=0000,dmask=0000,allow_utime=0022,codepage=cp437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,errors=remount-ro)
/dev/block/mmcblk0p28 on /sdcard type vfat (rw,nodev,noatime,nodiratime,fmask=0000,dmask=0000,allow_utime=0022,codepage=cp437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,errors=remount-ro)
/dev/block/mmcblk0p25 on /data type ext4 (rw,nodev,noatime,nodiratime,user_xattr,acl,barrier=1,data=ordered)

Then I unmounted data from CWM, and then:
$ adb shell dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p25 of=/external_sd/data.backup bs=4M
512+1 records in
512+1 records out
2149580800 bytes (2.0GB) copied, 226.108215 seconds, 9.1MB/s

$ adb shell ls -l /external_sd
drwxrwxrwx    3 root     root         16384 Mar 18  2013 2
drwxrwxrwx    3 root     root         16384 Apr 20  2013 Android
drwxrwxrwx    3 root     root         16384 Dec 14  2012 DCIM
drwxrwxrwx    2 root     root         16384 Mar 20  2013 DriveDroid
drwxrwxrwx    2 root     root         16384 Dec  5  2012 LOST.DIR
drwxrwxrwx    2 root     root        360448 May  1  2013 TitaniumBackup
drwxrwxrwx    3 root     root         16384 Dec 16  2012 clockworkmod
-rwxrwxrwx    1 root     root     173194344 Apr 25  2013 cm-10.1-20130411-EXPERIMENTAL-quincyatt-M3.zip
drwxrwxrwx    3 root     root         16384 Dec  5  2012 data
-rwxrwxrwx    1 root     root     2149580800 Nov 14 10:43 data.backup
drwxrwxrwx    3 root     root         16384 Dec 22  2012 media
-rwxrwxrwx    1 root     root        102400 Apr  8  2013 mmssms.db
-rwxrwxrwx    1 root     root       7686144 Feb 16  2013 recovery.img

Next I DL'ed the backup file to my computer:
$ adb pull /external_sd/data.backup
8224 KB/s (2149580800 bytes in 255.223s)

$ ls -l
total 2099204
-rw-r--r-- 1 haneefmubarak haneefmubarak 2149580800 Nov 14 02:56 data.backup

So now what I have is an image of my /data partition (ext4). How can I file-carve for the messages (SMS) DB file? I have a nandroid copy from a while back that has some of my old messages (I set my SMS to never delete), would that help?
Model: SGH-I717
Manu.: Samsung
Carrier: AT&T
ROM: CM 10.2
AOSP: v4.2 Jelly Bean
code: quincyatt

I recommend you taking a look into our data-recovery tag-wiki, which explicitly mentions file carving and gives a few references.

@Izzy Well, this question isn't about how to generically file-carve, but rather on how to file-carve for Android DB files, especially Android SMS DBs.


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My new phone isn't listed as a device in the Android Device Manager, how can I register it?
I broke my phone a couple weeks ago, thankfully I was paying the $7/mo for insurance and was able to get a replacement in the mail a few days later.  This new phone isn't registered with my Google Play account (https://www.google.com/android/devicemanager?hl=en&u=0 doesn't list it) and I can't remotely install apps through https://play.google.com/store.
Everything else is working fine, it's sync'd with my gmail/chrome just fine and I'm able to install already-paid for applications on it without a problem.  The only thing it seems I can't do is install apps remotely through the play.google.com/store website, which makes sense given it's not registered as one of my devices.
Am I missing something obvious?  In the past my devices have always been registered automatically, as best I could tell anyways.


text:
With Android 4.4 (KitKat), my notification icons are always gray. Am I in trouble?
With Android 4.3 and earlier, gray/white signal icons in the notification bar informed about connection trouble concerning the Google Services (see e.g. What does it mean when the connectivity icons in the status bar go white/gray?). If everything was OK, they were either green (before 4.x) or blue (4.0+). Now they seem to be permanently gray/white. Am I in trouble, or did I miss something?

You are (not) in trouble. Or at least you cannot tell anymore by simply taking a look at the notification bar. With Android 4.4 (KitKat) came a few design changes; one of them was to turn those notification icons permanently gray, officially to be "less distracting".
So how can you tell if there are issues with your connection to the Google servers? According to an AndroidPIT Blog, you now have to check with the Quick-Settings, where problems are indicated by icons turned red/orange.

I think the icons show in orange rather than red but other than that you're correct.

I have not yet seen them, so my information is rather "2nd hand". But it could also be a question of shade: some report their icons are "permanently gray", while others speak of white. Thanks for the feedback, I'll update my answer accordingly.

I have a dual-chip Moto G running kitkat (4.4.2), upgraded today. On a certain wifi that would be always gray up to ICS, now the notification bar shows wifi and GSM1 gray and GSM2 orange (although mobile data is disabled on both), and if I open quicksettings, everything is orange! Why is so?

@ThatBrazilianGuy maybe you make that a separate question, that's quite a bit specific (and I don't know to tell)?


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How to recover stock firmware on the Galaxy Note 3
How do I restore stock firmware.  I have firmware upgrade encountered an issue.  Please select recovery mode in Kies and try again.  I am using KIES 3 because I have a Samsung Note 3 N900A and it won't connect.

So, just to confirm... You can't connect your Note 3 with Kies 3?

Restart your phone in ODIN mode by pressing Volume Down + Home + Power
Register and download your stock firmware from sammobile.com
Unzip the downloaded firmware
Download ODIN from xda-developers
Don't uninstall Kies as you'll need the driver
Open ODIN and connect your phone to computer (Phone should be in ODIN mode)
When your phone is detected it will be listed under comX
Under PDA select the extracted firmware you downloaded (Select the file with .tar.md5)
Only the checkbox for PDA, Auto reboot and F. Reset time should be checked
Click start to start your flashing
Your phone should reboot with stock firmware

Note: You'll lose all the offline content from your phone

Thanks for the information about SamMobile.com. I'd been looking for a place to download stock firmware. Happy Easter to you, too!

Download a n900-cwm-recovery-6.0.4.7-kk(0125).tar
Open Odin
Add the file from step #1 and click start

WAIT TILL PASS##


text:
Windows doesn't recognize Nexus 7 in recovery mode
So I have the Nexus 7 (2012). When the tablet is on and USB debugging is enabled, ADB recognizes it. But when I shut it off and put it into recovery mode, then press power and volume up to sideload, Windows/ADB does not recognize it. If I navigate to usb_driver it says it can't find a driver there. I'm trying to update it to KitKat using the OTA update.

Sounds like a driver issue to me.

why does it work when the tablet is on?

I think it uses different driver in fastboot mode normal mode and recovery mode.

well recovery mode uses the adb driver, and when its on it should also be using the adb driver. Anyways i might of fixed it, i force installed the adb interface driver to it. Now it is recognized in command prompt adb

The device is presenting itself using different device-IDs, depending on the mode (normal/recovery/fastboot) used. I guess that's what roxan was pointing to. Being a Linux user, I'm not sure how Windows deals with this (different driver, or same driver with different parameters, or something completely different).

Being a recently Windows converted user I can say that it asks driver for each and every step.

related: Android 5.0 Lollipop device not detected via USB

Use this link [https://developer.android.com/studio/run/win-usb] to install the Google USB drivers. All other solutions mentioned here are outdated and do not work for Windows 10.

The problem is that you're missing the adb recovery driver. You might consider trying Koush's universal USB driver installer -- it solved this very problem by installing the missing drivers.

Does not work for Windows 10. See my comment to original post.

I had a similar problem with my Nexus 5. Windows 8.1 and adb recognized the device until I put it in recovery mode, then it disappeared. I finally said "let me pick from a list of device drivers" and chose the "Android Composite ADB interface." Then adb recognized it and I was able to sideload an update.

I just spent way too many hours trying to fix this same problem when trying to sideload onto my Nexus 6.
What finally worked for me:

Apply update from ADB in the recovery menu.
Once the phone was waiting for the files

I unplugged the phone from USB
then re-plugged it back into the computer.

Then it was there in the device manager and when I did a device check through adb on my console
I ran the adb sideload command and it is currently optimizing my apps

Hope this helps anyone having this problem on their nexus devices.

Does not work for Windows 10. See my comment to original post.


text:
Nexus 5 USB not working on LinuxMint
I tried to connect my Nexus 5 to a USB on a LinuxMint (OS) PC.
At first it worked; it asked me to choose MTP or something else. Now, it's not giving me any feedback. I tried resetting - still getting nothing.
I think it's the phone, because I'm only getting a message of charging, not of being connected to the PC.

What OS are you using?

LinuxMint, I think the MTP support is just sucky because a windows laptop responded as it should.

Rephrased question so it doesn't get closed.

I ended up using AirDroid.
This is by far the best solution to wirelessly connect an Android to a PC (you can even make accessible only inside your LAN, so it's pretty secure).
Seems that solid MTP support is not going to happen for Linux.

Have you tried changing the connecting USB cable?
From other forums I found out that there are charging only or charing + data cables.
It could be that something happened to the data part of it so you see it charging when connected, but the phone can't be mounted because there is no data transfer. That's why I was sure the problem had to be elsewhere, phone or computer
My previous answer suggested to move the cable to another USB port which previously worked, but it suddenly stopped working again and I had to look for another solution. Wiggling it the first time must have restored the data connection for a bit..