text:
Software Updates in devices
I want to know what is actually happening when we upgrade a device's software. For example we upgrade a device from Android ICS to Jellybean. We do download JellyBean from the server. Then we will install it. My question is: during installation does it replaces the ICS in memory or it resides in separate memory?
I know the Kernel is same for both ICS and JB. Can we downgrade to ICS from JB?

We do have some previous questions on updates, that do answer some parts of your question. For how do updates get to your device, see Who are responsible for pushing out the OTA updates? and How exactly does operating system update work on Android devices?. This question has more info on the actual update process How do I update the OS on my device?. But I don't think we have anything yet on how the actual files are replaced, etc

Also related are Why aren't the manufacturers updating the phone to the latest Android version when it's available? and Revert Android Update 4.0 to 3.0/3.2

And as a short answer to your first direct question: an update replaces the previously installed version. So before you ask: a factory-reset only resets the device to factory settings (it deletes all user data and user-installed apps), and does not revert to the Android version originally installed.

The new version replaces the old version, just like upgrading to a new Windows version or a new version of Ubuntu on your PC.
Also, it's not the case that the kernel is the same for ICS and JB. ICS uses a Linux kernel based on the 3.0.1 release, whereas JB's kernel is based on 3.0.31. Android-specific patches to the kernel were also added between the two versions, to support new driver features. But you can downgrade a device to an older version if you have a ROM image to downgrade to, whatever kernel versions they use. The only difference the kernel version makes is that if a device wasn't designed to support a particular kernel version, the manufacturer would have to supply device drivers for the target kernel in order to make a suitable ROM.


text:
Limited space and Full SMS memory
I am getting a message that the internal memory space is full. I checked that I have 15MB intenral memory left and 50MB on my SD card.
I also get a message that the SMS memory is full. I deleted some messages but this message doesn't seem to leave!
All these happened when I safely removed the SD card.
What can I do to remove these messages, which I don't believe they are for real. Something nasty must be going on here. Not to mention that before I removed the card the internal memory was about 30MB.
I tried to erese the cache by using memory wipe aplication but nothing really happened.
Any ideas?
EDIT
I tried to move some applications to the SD card through the Application Manager but the option move to SD cannot be pushed, although there is some space in the sd card(~50MB). I tried to move on application with 1MB size in my ~50MB free space SD card...
Does this imply a problem?

As you've correctly tagged your question, did you check the insufficient-memory tag-wiki? Have you followed any of its first-aid hints? As to the limits: the error mostly gets triggered when space drops below 25 MB. And the SDCard does not matter here -- only device-internal storage ("phone memory"). So please check with the mentioned wiki, then update your question with details where you got stuck (if so) -- or answer your question when solved. Thanks!

@Izzy: Thank you very much for your comment and advice! I have already done what's described in your link, but there is something that it's really weird... I'll edit my question in order to provide more information.

I see, thanks for the update. To the problem you've run into, you will want to read the app2sd tag wiki -- not all apps are movable (e.g. not when they provide a service or widgets).

@Izzy: That's the weird part...They are not offering a widget or providing a service...Some of them are LHSee,BarTender,Army Fitness,Funny Facts Free,Fact File,Tourist Language...

That might be. It still leaves the part that the dev must explicitly mark it to be movable (rather, he must define the target storage). Quting the API doc: To allow the system to install your application on the external storage, modify your manifest file to include the android:installLocation attribute in the  element, with a value of either "preferExternal" or "auto". You could try asking the devs to do so (or why not).

@Izzy: This is nice information! How to edit <manifest>? Shall I connect my phone to a PC and try to change(and locate the file itslef) its attribution through any editor?

No, not you -- the dev must do that. That's nothing the end user should touch. The dev might have some good reason for this decision. I strongly recommend to contact him first. Plus, modifying .apk files that way is a little beyond the scope of our site (the Manifest is compiled, so you would need to reverse-engineer and rebuild). // PS: the comments already grew a little long (this is not a forum ;) Maybe I sum up from above comments to make an answer, and you pick issues still left open to make new questions out of them? One question per post is our custom here :)

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
How do I begin to troubleshoot aCal?
I'm running aCal on my Samsung Galaxy S / Gingerbread and it isn't updating. Adding events pushes them out to my CalDAV server, but I don't see any events.
In aLogcat I see an awful lot of errors:

W/ActivityManager(  110): Permission Denial: broadcasting Intent {
  act=android.appwidget.action.APPWIDGET_UPDATE (has extras) } from
  com.morphoss.acal (pid=11107, uid=10003) requires null due to receiver
  com.android.settings/com.android.settings.widget.SettingsAppWidgetProvider

and

E/aCal DavParserFactory(14157): IO Exception when parsing XML

I can't figure out how much of this is aCal, how much is my phone, and how much is bad data from my CalDAV server (Chandler Hub)

It looks like an update to aCal has resolved my issues. So I still don't know how to troubleshoot, but it is working.

I'm having similar issues on a Kindle Fire with iCloud. One quirky workaround is to open Settings | Servers and disable your server(s). Then re-enable them. That seems to force an update.
Edit:
a) Not sure about all calendars.b) Right, it's a workaround, not a fix. But it address your questions:
"I can't figure out how much of this is aCal,"
Likely most of it, aCal being the one common element in both our observations.
"*how much is my phone, *"Less likely, for the same reason.
"*and how much is bad data from my CalDAV server (Chandler Hub) *"Ditto.

That works once, but a) it only syncs one calendar, not all three and b) it doesn't stick.

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


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ADB RSA key popup not showing on Nook Tablet with official CyanogenMod 10.1 Nightlies
I have a B&N Nook Tablet (my only Android device) with CyanogenMod 10.1 official Nightlies installed on it. I am trying to use ADB, I tapped on build number, opened dev options, and enabled USB debugging. When I run adb on my Ubuntu box w/ GNOME, all it does is says my device is offline and on the device, it doesn't give me the RSA popup. I am using ADB 1.0.31, which I got by installing the android-tools-adb package. I have also tried the same procedure with the ADB included in the SDK, and included with the SDK in the ADT Bundle and the new Android Studio. How do I make ADB work?

Could you please tell me the output of "ls -la ~/.android"


text:
Nexus4 not sending touch-tones to other end of connection
Brand new Nexus 4 (shipped 1 week ago), unmodified software/hardware straight from the box (except for APN settings) No new apps loaded. Connected via Bluetooth to an ATT TL92429 cordless phone system. System works fine for making and receiving voice calls. However, if the number called requires touch-tone entries  (eg, voicemail), it appears that only the first keypress is transmitted. After that, the far end of the connection does not receive the tones. This problem does NOT occur if the phone is used directly (ie, not via bluetooth connection to the cordless phone). Furthermore, the same ATT cordless system when connected via Bluetooth to my (antique) Moto E815 does not suffer from this problem, so I suspect the fault lies in the Nexus4 software. I'd be grateful to receive any suggestions/guidance/patches to alleviate this problem.


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troubleshooting email forwards not being sent, but no error message
I'm hoping someone can shed some light on this problem. My co-coworker has an ICS Android and is using the stock email app for our exchange server. When he forwards an email that has an attachment, it keeps getting stripped out. I'll give you some of the steps I've already gone through.
I can send attachments of various types through my phone, granted I'm on JB.
 --should rule out server/global issues
I tried sending different types of attachments, small and large from his phone.
 --not a file-type issue or file-size issue
I verified that the attachment showed on the email draft.
Now that I think about it, I didn't look at his sent. I'll check that tomorrow.
What am I missing here? I'm hoping this is a simple setting issue. Would it help if I tried to get a log? I'm not quite sure how to get the log for the email app.

It would for sure help to name the device, as "stock email app" != "stock email app" (different manufacturers use different apps).

I did not know that... is there an "about" somewhere where I can find the name and version?
I checked app manager, running, Email, the process is com.android.email 53MB
|| I also have com.android.exchange running


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How can I get rid of text I have put on my lockscreen?
I have a Galaxy Tab 10.1 version 1 and i put some text on the lockscreen and have sync updated my device and I can't undo this text. Is there a solution without resetting it?

Go into the Settings app. Choose Security, then Owner info. Uncheck Show owner info on lock screen.


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Screenshots on Nexus 7 are 0 bytes
I am taking screen shots for testing an app. on Nexus 7. Yesterday I could take the screen shots perfectly. Today when I press Power+Volume Down together it makes the screenshot sound but gives me .png with 0 bytes. What happened, and how do I fix this?

I am just running into exactly the same problem, also on a Nexus 7, also when testing an app, also when screenshots used to work just minutes ago.

After disconnecting and reconnecting the USB of my device, the screenshot files suddenly are there again and contain data. New screenshots (taking after replugging) are shown as having 0 bytes again, though.

Related Android SE post

If you take screen shots with the Nexus 7 connected to your computer the screen shot images don't seem to update in Windows Explorer correctly (they show as 0 bytes) and they are not viewable.
The fix is to unplug then plug your USB cable back in and they will show up with the correct size and be viewable.  Either that or unplug your USB cable before taking the screen shots then plug it in to download them.
I guess this is a feature?  It is certainly annoying because I keep forgetting about the fix and wondering why my screenshots are 0 bytes.


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How to create multiple user accounts with password for each in galaxy note 800 with Android 4.0.1?
I have recently bought Samsung galaxy note 800 (10.1") which has android 4.0.1
How to create multiple user account accounts with passwords on it?

Multi-User was added with Android 4.2 -- you're running 4.0, so there's no native way to go multi-user without upgrading your system.
If you have your device rooted, you might want to take a look at SwitchMe Multiple Accounts, which works with Android 2.1 and up. With Android 4.1, you could make use of the User Management app. Both would enable you to have a multi-user feature on your device.

there's no native way to go multi-user without upgrading your system. How to upgrade my system? Which version? - to get native multiple user support.

As I wrote: for native support, you'll need at least Android 4.2. How to upgrade your system is a separate question, where you might want to check When will my device get the Android 4.2 update (Jelly Bean)?, or Where can I find stock or custom ROMs for my Android device?


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Get list of filenames via Tasker
I'm using Tasker and have a step of List Files. I grab that result and stuff it into %files. I then go into a For loop reading %files and under items %files(). However, this is giving me the full path to the files such as /storage/emulated/0/Tasker. All I'd really like is the file name. Is there a step I can do before I enter this loop to truncate the variable results?
Goal would be to just get a list of file names and not the full path.

You can use a Variable Split action with a splitter of / to get the pieces, then use %VAR(<) to get the filename. If the fact that the full filename is in an array already gives you problems, copy the array element into a non-array variable first.
From your comments, it sounds like you have this code:
List files Dir /storage/Tasker/project/test/ Variable %files match *.wav
For Variable %files Items %files()
  Variable Split Name %files Splitter /
  Popup Text %files(<)
End For

It's probably not a good idea to use %files as both the "Variable" and the "Items" portion of the For loop. Try using %file for the Variable, then replace all references to %files inside the loop with %file.
Please correct me if I've not captured your code correctly.

I just used the replace function but left the replace string blank. I chose to replace the directory path with nothing and that left me with an array of filenames.

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


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Is there any old style keyboard (numpad style) available for Android?
I have a smaller screen Android Phone (LG Optimus One P500).
Does anyone know whether there is a keyboard available for Android phones that has an "old phone" style? Like a numpad style? Here's an image example:

The reason I'm asking for this style of keyboard is:

This style uses only 12 buttons. So the buttons are large and very spaced out. You can click on them easily without having to strain your eyes too much.
You can quickly keep clicking away without having to spell out each word because the dictionary will take care of that. So "moon" becomes 4 clicks on the numpad 6. How fast is that?

I sure personally feel that lots of people are used to this kind of keyboard layout (from the times before Android became so popular). I don't understand why I can't find keyboards with this kind of a simple layout but I would be very grateful if someone could help me find an app like this.
Edit: Forgot to mention. I'm not looking for paid apps right now but would consider it if they have a trial.

You're not likely to find a free app that lets you tap each key once, using a dictionary. This feature is called T9 and is patented, so even an open-source project would have to pay a large license fee to offer it.

Buttons Keypad is better than a single screen pad for olden style people and I also like Buttons Pad Phone, instead of single screen.

Well...Look for a keyboard that has a T9 layout.
As an example, I use Smart Keyboard Pro (which is a paid app, but a trial is available) and you can choose from the full, T9 and compact modes for portrait as well as landscape orientation. There are tons of other customizable options and considering that a keyboard that one is comfortable with, is what allows one to at their productive best, I opted to buy the full version.

It's not the T9 style that you're looking for, but I use the MessagEase keyboard. Here's a sample:

As you can see, it certainly has large buttons. It's also far more capable than any other keyboard I've run across. From the keyboard shown, you can enter lowercase letters, uppercase letters, numbers, symbols, cursor movement commands, and more. Some are entered with a single tap, but most are entered with a simple gesture, such as a swipe or circle.
It also features word completion, which you can see in the screenshot, but I rarely use it, since I find my typing speed is fast enough not to bother with it unless I'm typing a really long word. The learning curve is steep, but worth the effort, in my opinion.
(In case anyone is wondering, I have no association with the development of MessagEase, I'm just a satisfied user.)

Try Multiling keyboard. It's free, it supports multiple languages, it have two numeric layout for you to choose from.

You can try GO SMS Pro. It lets you select between 2 different layouts.


text:
Activate Device Administrator via ADB
Is it possible to activate Device Administrator via ADB command instead of tapping
"Setting -> Security -> Device Administrators --> Select App --> Activate"
on handheld?
If it's possible, how?

You should consider accepting вʀaᴎᴅᴏƞ вєнᴎєƞ's answer as it works perfectly!!

Tested and working on Android 7.0 without root:
adb shell
dpm set-active-admin --user current com.company.foo.bar.package/.the.Admin.Reciever

To find the admin receiver of an installed package, use the following to adb shell command and review the output:
adb shell
pm dump com.company.foo.bar.package | grep ' filter' | cut -d ' ' -f 12 | sort | uniq

To give a real world example, here is the command used to activate IBM's Maas360 Android client as a device admin:
adb shell
pm dump com.fiberlink.maas360.android.control | grep ' filter' | cut -d ' ' -f 12 | sort | uniq

Output:
…
com.fiberlink.maas360.android.control/.receivers.GoogleCampaignReceiver
com.fiberlink.maas360.android.control/.receivers.LocalEventReceiver
com.fiberlink.maas360.android.control/.receivers.Maas360DeviceAdminReceiver  <-- This is the one I want
com.fiberlink.maas360.android.control/.receivers.Maas360SecondaryDeviceAdminReceiver
…

Set Device Admin:
dpm set-active-admin --user current com.fiberlink.maas360.android.control/.receivers.Maas360DeviceAdminReceiver

IT WORKS! This must be the accepted answer! I have one question, is it possible to add an extra to that command? I need to request the Samsung Knox license activation right after the administrator activation and I would like to pass the license's key as an extra (so I do not have to store it in my code or on my device)

Note that dpm set-active-admin is not available on Android 5, but you can get a similar effect using dpm set-device-owner

This still works in Android 9.

The command to get the Receiver does NOT work in here. I tried via Termux and via Terminal Emulator. The command returns nothing. If I use SU, then I get some random numbers. Already checked if the package name is right. Android 9

Update to my previous comment: for those who the command to get the Admin Receiver of an app don't work, one can find it, if the app is ALREADY an admin, in here: /data/system/device_policies.xml

It's not possible. The settings code is specifically written to prevent this. The closest  you can come is to bring up the Device Administration Settings page in the Settings app. You can do this with:
adb shell am start -S "com.android.settings/.Settings\$DeviceAdminSettingsActivity"

Thanks Dan,
Little correction : it should be
adb shell am start -S "com.android.settings/.Settings\$DeviceAdminSettingsActivity"
Without single quote

In most shells, that command will just start Settings, not the Device administration settings page. Here's Izzy's explanation of why.

What about disabling? is that possible?

Yes, provided that you've root access. You would have to add the app's receiver and the policy flag in the file /data/system/device_policies.xml. For example, to enable Tasker as Device administrator add the following lines in the said file,
For Android 5.x: Remove the last line with </policies> if there is already a  Device Administrator enabled in the system. Simply add the lines in the file after the line with string <policies setup-complete="true">.
<admin name="net.dinglisch.android.taskerm/net.dinglisch.android.taskerm.MyDeviceAdminReceiver">
<policies flags="8" />
</admin>
</policies>

For Android 4.2.1: Remove the last line with </policies> if there is already a  Device Administrator enabled in the system. Simply add the lines in the file after the line with string <policies>.
<admin name="net.dinglisch.android.taskerm/net.dinglisch.android.taskerm.MyDeviceAdminReceiver">
<policies flags="8" />
</admin>
</policies>

Reboot the device for the changes to take effect.
(Busybox required)  You can use sed or echo or any command that you're comfortable with to write the file with those lines. For any help, see my answer here: How to enable device administrator for specific apps using Tasker?

you can set the Device as owner from Android Studio. First go to the adb location which is at Platform-tools in Android Sdk and then run the adb shell command. I have give the full path and you can adjust at your requirement upon changing adb path and package name
C:\Users\Owner\AppData\Local\Android\Sdk\platform-tools>adb shell dpm set-device-owner package-name/.MyDeviceAdminReceiver

MyDeviceAdminReceiver is the interface.

Note that once an app is set as owner it is very difficult to undo this

hi @Sam I know but fortunately we can do this through coding to undo the owner

This is possible. You can use android's new tool UI-Automator to click and interact with any view or button on the system including hitting "Activate" for device admin. Here's how:

Get UI-Automator running. (go to "Configure your development environment" and setup a new java project).
Write some code to interact with your preferences list and click "Activate". Example:
UiScrollable settingsItem = new UiScrollable(new UiSelector().className("android.widget.ListView"));
UiObject listButton = settingsItem.getChildByText(new UiSelector().className("android.widget.LinearLayout"), "Enable Device Admin");
listButton.click();
(new UiObject(new UiSelector().text("Activate"))).clickAndWaitForNewWindow();
me.celebrateWith(new Beer());
Compile it: ant build
Push the jar file: adb -d push bin/LookoutTest.jar /data/local/tmp/
Launch your settings activity: adb shell am start -S "'com.android.settings/.Settings\$DeviceAdminSettingsActivity'"
Run the automation: adb -d shell uiautomator runtest LookoutTest.jar -c DALaunch
Party.

Will this work even if the current locale of the device isn't English?

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


text:
Backup Notification Led (Pulse Light) Configuration
I recently switched from CyanogenMod to Paranoid Android on my Nexus. I knew I would lose most of my settings, but I felt rather stupid when I realised I had lost all of my carefully defined Pulse Light per-app configurations.
Given that this is quite likely to happen again, I'd like to know
whether there's a way to back up these settings.
I'm talking about Settings > Display > Pulse notification light,
where you can configure how each specific app should blink and which
colors they should use.
I already use Titanium Backup, but I couldn't find any item in its list
which seemed to regard the pulse light.

Though I'm using paranoid android at the moment, I'm relatively confident that any method which works with cyanogen will work on it as well (given that this feature seems to have been forked from cyanogen).

Hmmm, curious, in stock Android (4.2.2) the "Pulse notification light" setting is simply an on/off switch.

@w3d in cyanogenmod it's goes to a separate customization menu, where you can set the color and pattern off each app.

I use Light Flow app to control my notifications light. It has an option to backup/restore settings that I have used when flashing new ROM or doing a data reset.

On CyanogenMod 11 snapshot M8 I have the notification LED setting in
/data/data/com.androdid.providers.settings/databases/settings.db

This is the main settings database and contains most (if not all) of them. You probably don't want to transfer the whole bunch, so you have to extract it.
At first, there were 2 files in my backup: settings.db (the interesting database) and settings.db-journal (its "rollback journal"). The journal contains data that were yet not transferred to the database due to unfinished transactions or maybe for some other reason. Still, before dealing with the database itself, it's better to process the journal. This little (Linux) command did the trick for me:
$ sqlite3 settings.db VACUUM

After this, the journal should be merged into the database and removed. I've found that the LED settings we are interested in are in the system table. This will get them for you:
$ sqlite3 settings.db "SELECT name,value FROM system WHERE name LIKE 'notification_light_pulse%';"

I suppose the most interesting ones are:
notification_light_pulse_call_color
notification_light_pulse_vmail_color
notification_light_pulse_custom_values

I'm afraid I don't know a good way how to transfer those values to your current settings database, though. You should definitely be able to stay with the sqlite3 tool, maybe use its .dump meta-command and then filter it and insert the selected values into your database. This might get messy, though, as the indexes might differ. I'm really no database guy, sorry. Maybe some GUI tool like SQLite Browser might be easier for the job.
Should someone know a good and easy way I'll be glad to update this response.

authors: حفيد عمر ابن الخطاب


text:
How can I use a custom rom.zip from within an emulator?
I have custom rom.zip and I want to try it in emulator


text:
How to disable SMS notification during phone call?
I call somebody, or somebody calls me, we are talking. Now, during the call I got SMS and I cannot hear anything because the SMS notification is playing.
So how to disable this notification when call is active? Thank you in advance.
Samsung Galaxy Ace 2, Android 2.3.
Note: I am interested in setting this once and for good. Not something I have to remember to switch off each time I make/get a call.

Since this is of the Samsung Galaxy family, the following may help you:
On my Galaxy S3, the setting is controlled as 'Alerts on call'.
See: Dialer\Call Settings\Call Alert\Alerts on call - uncheck this and calls will not be interrupted with notifications.

Hah! You saved my life :-) Thank you very much! The naming for Ace2 is this -> Settings -> Call -> Call Alert -> Alerts on call.

We have the same issue with our Wileyfox Swift running stock Android 7/Nougat.
The default/AOSP messaging app plays the received alert through the earpiece during a call, which with our chosen tone was severely deafening let alone annoying.
It seems the default/AOSP messaging app somehow gets around or ignores the "Override Do Not Disturb" setting as shown in the attached screenshot below.
Depending on your firmware the solution may be to simply to toggle the alert options for the app (which has already been kindly pointed out).
If on the other hand this still does not work - like in our case - then another solution is to disable the AOSP Messaging app and install another one.
If you like to keep things standard then Google Messages is worth a try:-
Google Messages
Hope this helps.

(Tap to enlarge)

I have a Note-5 and one must go to Settings/Device/Applications. Then select "Phone" then "Call Alerts" and then set "Notify during calls" to OFF.

For LineageOS 16, I had to go into the Phone app, then Settings -> Sounds and vibration -> Enable Do Not Disturb during calls.
The Do Not Disturb settings can be managed from the device settings (just search for 'do not disturb').


text:
reply with a different account - multiple email accounts
I have an Exchange account, e.g. hub@domain.com, that I forward all my emails to from all my other accounts. But I need to reply to these messages using different accounts, e.g. reply to a work email with me@work.com - how could I do that in Android?
Default Email App in 4.2.2
Hitting reply on an email in my hub account does not let me change the account to send the reply with (e.g. work account). I can go to my work account and compose a new email there and copy paste the original email and subject and receivers manually, but that is cumbersome.
TouchDown
Only supports Exchange accounts, but no IMAP, which I need to set up my other accounts.
Solution?
Is it doable

With the native app would be best solution (is there anywhere to submit feature requests for Email app?)
With any other email app that I have not tried?

FYI, the Gmail app does let you reply from a different account, even those that aren't a Gmail address. If you authorize Gmail to spoof it's FROM adress to look like it's coming from your work email address.

@Chrisii & geffchang thanks for the answers, they solve the core of the issue. unfortunately, im dependent on Exchange 2010 as well, so if anyone knows of any app having the "from" choice feature as well as supporting ActiveSync that would be awesome!

K-9 Mail allows to choose the "from" mail address when composing a message (or replying to a received message). Click the "from" address field and a pop-up menu will appear which allows you to choose the appropriate account.
K-9 supports pop/imap/exchange(via webdav) accounts.
Pictures for illustration
compose window:

account chooser:

Probably should make those pictures smaller, imgur lets you do it.

@Peanut I am not quite sure how to accomplish this. I simply added the pictures via the editor. Stack-Exchange automatically uploads them to imgur. (Of course I could resize the pictures and upload them manually ..)

Ah sorry, I thought you'd uploaded them to imgur yourself. I'll just resize them for you.

@Peanut thanks, sorry for all the inconvenience I caused

@Peanut,Chrissi: if you add the letter "s", "m", or "l" to the end of the URL of an imageur images, you'll get a resized version. See: http://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/25051/resizing-an-image-in-a-post

@LieRyan, brilliant: thanks for the awesome tip

Does this still work?

You can use Kaiten Mail, an advanced version of K-9 Mail. It supports multiple IMAP, POP3, Exchange 2003/2007 (via WebDAV); but not Exchange ActiveSync.
When you reply to a message, you can change the sender. If you click on the header (email address), a "Send as" dialog will popup.

im field-testing Kaiten now, and the "send as" worked; not sure how ill solve the activesync issue though..

I was going to type only Gmail, but answer has to be at least 30 chars long lol. I have all my emails connected to my gmail account, the same that my android phone use. I am sending emails from like 7 email addresses 4 of them are gmail, 2 other are different email provider, the last one is my own server. You can manage all emails on 1 account and selecting email as sender is as easy as picking the from email in a select box. Only problem I have that sometimes in conversation the mobile app doesnt use the from email I used through this particular conversation and I accidantely send it from my personal email, which I dont give to anyone. I actually found this quesrion when I was searching the solution for this problem.


text:
Removing a contact from "Frequently contacted" on Hangout (formerly Google Talk) app
After the recent update to v.1.0.1.678536 on my Nexus S, I see that it is automatically listing few contacts as "frequently contacted", I don't want to see certain people on that list, and there is no way to remove someone from the "Frequently contacted" list through mobile UI.
I have tried the following:
1) From the Web UI, I have set that contact to "Never Show"
2) I blocked that contact from the Web UI
None of these seems to work. any suggestions?

Long press on the contacts name when using hangouts from your phone. you will then have the option to hide the contact.  The contact will then no longer show up in your frequently contacted list. If it is a contact that you don't want in your hangouts list at all, go to your gmail account and delete them that way.

This worked for me, thanks. I already tried the long press but I thought it was going to hide it from contact list not only from the frequent list. That message is not clear at all.

I had a couple of undesirable contacts, on my frequently contacted list, on Hangouts as well.  I was signed into my account and went to contacts.google.com
On the left side, there is a "Most Contacted" option that you need to click on (It is underneath "Circles").  From there it will show you a list of people that you have contacted most frequently.  When I deleted the offending contacts, they were removed from Hangouts.
I have a Nexus 7 so hopefully these tips will help you out.

Thanks for the suggestion! I deleted the contact, but it still kept showing up..I moved that person from "Friends" circle to something else and after a day or so, it went away on its own.

Frequently contacted is simply displaying what it interprets as 'most contacted' it is NOT a separate list that you can delete... If you delete these they WILL be deleted from your main contacts!! Beware!

In your contacts, check if the star near the three dots is dark. If so, tap on it and that contact should disappear from your frequently contacted.


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All my apps crashing upon startup, black screen
I have a Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 with a flashed ROM Gingerbread (Kyrillos) and Kernel (EX Kernel). When i power on my phone it loads up to the lock screen, but it just shows a blank screen And i'm prompted to force close on every single app over and over. The only thing i can do Is access my phone in disk mode on my PC.  I have tried removing the SD Card, Clearing all the cache files in Recovery but it still doesn't fix the problem (Second Time this has happened)
It is very annoying as to why this happens, i wasnt even using my phone at the time, it was just charging.  Is there any possible way of fixing this without a reflash or format?

This looks like a force-close-loop. Have you installed any app lately, immediately before the problem started? You might want to look into the safe-mode tag-wiki for some first aid.

I spent all afternoon flashing, restoring, importing apps etc. I just restarted my phone the first time after doing so and its just done it again. I give up :(

Too fast, far too fast. You did one step too much: "importing apps". Skip that. Flash, yes. Reconfigure, yes. But do not immediately start importing all your apps. First see if everything runs smootly again, then install (import) the first app. Again, watch it for a while, before you continue with the next app. As soon as your problem re-appears, you might have discovered the culprit: remove the last app installed, or restart the process and skip that app to find out if there is more than one involved.

I actually just installed apps via play, no new apps. Will it affect it anyway if i restore my settings from my google acc? i've always wondered that.

If it's the settings which are "borked": sure. Trouble with that Google Backup is: You cannot restore it "on demand", only "on reset". And then only the last state. So if you reset and decide not to restore, there's no such thing as "later" or "next time". You've got to use a "real backup" for that. Hint, if your device runs 4.0+: Full Backup of non-rooted devices. // Wherever you re-install from: one app at a time, the next only if you're sure everything is still OK.


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What Android versions have captive wifi detection?
A captive Wi-Fi or captive portal being a Wi-Fi network that redirects all websites to a page, usually with a form to log in, enter a code, or accept some T&Cs.
My samsung-nexus-10 can detect when I've connected to a network with this behaviour, and brings up a notification to tell me, but my old htc-desire can't. When was this feature introduced?

As best as I can tell on GrepCode, functionality relating to walled gardens (captive portals) was added to WifiWatchdogStateMachine.java in 4.0.1. I can't find it listed in the Android API reference to confirm exactly when it was added, but that would seem to match with your Nexus 10 having the feature but not your HTC Desire.

My HTC Wildfire S has this notification on 2.3.5...


text:
Unrooting Stratospehre
I have a Stratosphere that I rooted a while back, but ever since, it has not been able to perform a system update. It would restart and everything, but then the update notification would still be there.
I tried unrooting it, which at least got rid of the warning symbol when it boots, but it's still stuck on 2.3.5. (Although the update notification has disappeared).
I checked if it was still rooted, and ConnectBot still lets be do su, so it looks like the unroot didn't work.
Why can't I unroot?


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My Camera on my android tablet isn't letting me take any pictures. help?
The camera on my Android tablet doesn't let me take any pictures. It says Insert an SD card before using the camera.
I didnt need an SD card before. I put an SD card in and it still says the same thing!
Is there a solution to my problem that would help? I already tried the solution proposed in Sophix tablet will not work without an SD card, but it didn't solve my problem.

but it worked before i needed the sd card in and i deleted some photos but still wouldn't let me take any photos

You have the same problem as the guy in the question I shared. Perhaps it might help if you tried the unaccepted answer.

i have already tried that but it doesn't solve the problem i'm having on the tablet

Well, while the answer reads "it helps to install a 3rd party camera app", that's only half of the solution -- it doesn't change the behaviour of the original camera app. Have you tried taking photos with one of the replacements? (Might sound stupid, but I've seen strange things already -- so my apologies in advance! :)

yes i have tried that but still doesn't work i delteed pictures aswel and it still says need to insert and sd card before i use the camera and iv'e put an micro sd card in but still didn't work

i have resetted everything and its still not working plus it now nothing works on it, it says 'unfortunately settings have stopped' :(

That looks very much as if you're at a point to do a factory-reset

And which tablet is this?

Same problem here, but I use AVG free antivirus privacy options to wipe out (format) my sd card, then restart my tablet. Problem solved (can take pictures again)

authors: Petr Petrenko Петр Петренко


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Voice activated offline voice recorder
Sometimes while driving or washing the dishes some idea pops up in my head while I am listening to music.
How may I record voice without touching the phone?
(Sometimes while driving in remote places I do not have Internet connection so it needs to work offline)


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Where did the SIP settings go to on my LG Optimus 4X?
About 3 months ago I bought my LG Optimus 4X HD (aka P-880), which shipped with Android 4.0.3. I searched the settings up and down, and was quite surprised there were no SIP settings available. I'm very sure SIP support was added to AOSP with Gingerbread, so it had to be there with ICS!
Did LG remove them from their Android installation? Is there any way to get them back?

Is the SIP functionality really gone for good from the Optimus 4X?
Actually, LG really seems to think their (European?) customers don't need SIP. Most likely official argument will be that carriers either exclude SIP usage from their mobile data plans (at least here in Germany, many do). So they removed it.
Ooops. That was only half true: They removed it from the obvious places, that is. You might not find it in the settings. But luckily, they just removed the link to the settings screen -- all the code still seems to be there!
Ah! Still available! So how to access it?
I found it more accidentally while playing with Apex Launcher. Long pressing on a free space on one of the home screens, like you want to add a widget, opens the expected menu. Select "Shortcuts" here. On top of the next screen you'll find an item called "Activities", which I long ignored -- unfortunately! But after a very interesting chat session with Dan on broadcasts versus intents versus activities, I had to dig into this. And found that:

activities of the phone app (click images for larger variants)
The top entry in the first screenshot clearly reads Sip Settings -- so I added that shortcut to my homescreen. And what should I say? Yesss! It's the long missed settings screen, from where you can configure your SIP accounts (and define whether you want the device to listen for incoming SIP calls)!
So if you miss something that should be there, this might be a place to look for it. Besides, as reputated users as ASE we're always told to watch out for hidden gems in new places -- so you might want to look further:

list of apps with activities (click image for larger variant)
You see, other apps have also activities they made freely available (they might have even more which are kind of "private" to them). The numbers to the right tell you how much activities the corresponding app has made "public". Try them out! You surely will encounter the one or other force-close when you try to start such an activity (as it might expect parameters), but it cannot hurt. You might find other interesting things!
Are there other ways to discover/call such activities?
Sure, Apex is not the only one. There are other apps available on the playstore which let you explore available activities, such as e.g. Package Explorer or Stanley. And you also can use e.g. Tasker to start your discovered activities.
Besides: With that, most of the "shortcut-apps" available on the playstore you won't need any longer this way. Just inspect the Settings app, which seems to declare each and every page it has -- so you can directly jump there from your newly created shortcut!
Does this apply to the Optimus 4X only?
For sure not! This functionality should be available on any device. I just cannot promise you to find the SIP settings on all of them. Or anything else you've seen in above screenshots :)

That sip settings are hidden in "activities" below "Telefon", it took me a while to find it. Creating a SIP Account was possible but it was not stored permanently. After closing the sip settings and opening it again it's gone. Still using Vimtura Vimphone as sip dialer.
LG P880 fw v.20b, Android 4.1.2


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During a Google+ Instant Upload, is it all or nothing?
I'm in the middle of an "Upload All" but I don't see anything online yet? Is it an all or nothing upload? My upload keeps getting stuck on the next to last item. It would be nice if I could see the first 356 of 358 items while the last 2 items are uploaded (or not).

It should show your pictures as they are added (AKA not all-or-nothing). I'd try rebooting your device, also check if maybe your battery level is low (under I think 20% it doesn't upload, similar to dropbox)


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Google+ Auto Backup vs Instant Upload
What is the difference in Auto Backup and Instant Upload?

According to this article, it just looks like a rebranding. http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/google-gains-41-new-features-auto-awesome-photos-hangouts-redesign-1C9929355

You have unlimited storage if you set G+ to resize your photos to 2048px. If you set it to keep the original image size AND the original image has any one side greater than 2048px (I think 4 megapixels is 2048x2048px) then it counts against your 5gb (or 15gb or whatever it is) free limit.

That's pretty good to know @Ian! Do you have any reference for that info?

They're the same thing, auto backup is basically just a new (and more appropriate) name. The only thing that changed is that now it uploads your pictures in original quality (part of the reason why they bumped up everyone's google drive limit to 15GB)

Instant Upload was unlimited storage. Does Auto Backup count against the drive space?


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Configure Android to save pictures/video to SDCard?
The camera settings only save it to the phone or the internal virtual SD card.  I have installed a 32 bit hispeed SD card. How can you force it to save in the external SD card?

If your camera settings do not allow you to change the storage folder, have a look at question http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/12015.

Please [edit] your question to include the device and version of Android.

It varies from phone to phone, but generally in your camera settings you can set a destination. If that's not an option, you can try something more creative with an app such as tasker to have it automatically move pictures that your camera adds to its folder to a different folder on the SD card. If your stock camera app doesn't let you though, there are solid camera apps on the play store that certainly do.

I have Android 6.0 with the standard Camera app. The storage setting is in the half circle control band that appears when the display is stroked slowly from the left. The setting is via an SD card icon on the band. Rotate the band with a finger to find the SD icon. I tested this and it really does change the storage location.

And to move any existing photos/videos to the SD: Settings > Storage  & USB > select SD card > ⋮  Settings > Move Media

If you go to Camera > Settings > Settings you should see save to device or save to internal card
I have these options on my Samsung Galaxy Note III

It depends from app to app, if the camera app you are using provides you the option or not. If the camera app that you got with your phone does not have such option, you can try other camera apps available in play store.


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What backup option shall I chose in the Nexus 7 toolkit to backup everything on my Nexus 7?
The options are:
BACKUP OPTIONS [ALL OPTIONS REQUIRE ADB MODE]

Backup ALL installed apps [-all]
Backup Individual Packages [a single app] ONLY
Backup your Internal Storage [virtual SD Card]
CWM  NANDROID Backup [boot, cache, data, recovery, system]
TWRP NANDROID Backup [boot, cache, data, recovery, system]       [coming soon]
Pull /data folder [excluding /data/media] ONLY to your PC
Pull /system folder ONLY to your PC
Dump selected Device Partitions to PC


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Can I transfer pre-installed apps from a device with a broken screen to a different one?
So I have an Ematic Funtab Mini running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) OS that now has a broken screen that is totally unresponsive. I also have a Craig 7" TouchScreen Tablet running Google Android 4.0, Flash 11.1. I can't access anything on the Funtab, or find any place that can replace the screen. It came with a bunch of kids apps including a full versions of Angry Birds, Cut the rope, Where's My Water and a few more. Is it possible to transfer those apps (and maybe the data, but particularly the apps) to the Craig? I didn't have the Funtab long enough to use Google Play to back up the apps. So, any help in finding out if it's possible to transfer the apps would be greatly appreciated!

Is it really the apps you want to back up, or the data? You can just install any apps from Google Play onto your new device, even apps you paid for.

It's really the apps. The Funtab came with a bunch of kids apps including a full versions of Angry Birds, Cut the rope, Where's My Water and a few more. We didn't have the tablet but a few says before the screen cracked! If GooglePlay was even on it i didn't have time to back up to it.

You can't transfer system apps (that is, the apps that came preinstalled) to another device or back them up. The apps will be built into the Funtab's ROM (or system image), and even if you could extract the files, they almost certainly will have copy protection to stop you using them on a different device.
To make an analogy, imagine you bought a PC and it came with PowerDVD. Now imagine you were to break the PC and buy a completely different one from a different manufacturer. You wouldn't have an install disk for PowerDVD, and the old installation would have copy protection so you can only use it on that specific model of PC. If you wanted to install PowerDVD on your new PC, you'd have to go out and buy it. Preinstalled apps on Android are no different.
If you'd downloaded Angry Birds from Google Play (or most other marketplaces), you'd be able to install it on any device with your account. You wouldn't need to back it up: Google would know that you'd bought it, so they would let you download it again for free. Preinstalled apps don't work that way, though.


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Stop the lock screen! Jelly Bean 4.2.2
How can I stop the lock screen locking itself every two minutes? How can I extend the time it takes to turn off automatically? I'm running Jelly Bean v 4.2.2 on a Samsung Galaxy S 4.

Go to Settings -> Display -> Sleep, and you can change the time out requirement from there.

If you want the timeout increased permanently, you can use the hint given in TronicZomB's answer. But keep in mind that display is one one the heaviest battery consumers -- so if you often forget to turn off your display manually, your battery might last much shorter.
A more intelligent approach would be using some automation software like e.g. Tasker or Llama, and have your display timeout set according to your situation. I use e.g. Tasker for that: when one of my reading apps (RSS, eBook, Web) runs in foreground, Tasker increases the display timeout to 3 minutes. As soon as I exit them (another app or the homescreen comes to foreground), display timeout is reset to 30 seconds.
Of course you can adjust those values to your needs. As a side effect, you will be able to automate a lot of additional stuff. For me, Tasker e.g. automatically activates GPS when I start some related app, and deactivates it afterwards (on 4.2, this will require your device to be rooted). It also switches WiFi off when I left home (and turns it back on when I return), and adjusts ringer/audio volumes when I'm in the office, plus more.


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Google "Play Music" app constantly running!
Why is Google Play Music constantly running on my galaxy s4? I don't use any music app.

I know we're not supposed to ask for clarification, but we need more details. Where is it running? If it's in your notification bar, there's an 'X' you can press to close it. If it's in your recent apps you can swipe it away. If it's taking up your battery usage, it might be syncing in the background for some reason and you can turn off sync for it in your google account settings (Settings -> Accounts -> Google).

@HenriSweers sure we shall ask in those cases -- but not in the answers :) Pat: "Why" questions of this kind are hard to answer. I took your question to really mean "how can I stop that". If I was right with this, see my answer below :)

None of the answers below answers the question. WHY is GPM contantly running? The question does not requests "How to disable it" but WHY.

In my case the  Play Music app leaves an icon permanently in the notification bar.  I can't get rid of it by stopping the music, nor by triangle-backing out of the app, nor by square-X closing the app.  Annoying because I try to keep the notification bar clear so it means "stuff I gotta do."  I have a Moto X 2nd Gen with Android Lollipop.

If you don't use any music app (especially not the one in question), there's an easy cure:

Go to Settings→Apps→Manage Apps
Go to the All tab
Scroll the list until you find Google Play Music
Tap the entry
On the screen which opens on the tap, you'll find a button labeled Disable -- push it.

If the Disable button is grayed out (and cannot be pushed), you might need to first Force Stop the app, and Uninstall updates. If you later decide you want to use the app, and enable it again, updates will be applied once more -- so no worries for that.
Done: You've successfully disabled the Google Play Music app. It will no longer be available in your apps drawer, and should no longer run automatically either. Works fine for me, also for Google Play Books and Movies. Another nice side-effect: Your device will no longer bother you for any updates of those (disabled) apps -- which might even help you saving your data plan for better things :)

I searched this kind of solution for months ! Thanks for the 'uninstall updates' tip.

I had to unistnall the updates, but then I was allowed to disable it.
google play music crashes other apps I was running at the same time.
Great post.

And for a long term solution, please consider leaving a review of the app (play store link).
Certainly, some of the very short, thoughtless reviews that we see on the play store are of no use, but if you've made a decent attempt to resolve your concern (e.g. by reading the description provided for the app  ) and are still not satisfied, then voice your concerns.
And I think the bar should even higher for a pre-installed app.

I have a galaxy s2 with sprint as provider. The Google Play music app came pre bundled with the phone. After noticing that it was regularly opening itself and showing up in the "applications running" widget, I began to research the issue. First I attempted (as advised) to remove updates. This doesn't work, as the app just auto updates itself again with no option to disable this. The app CAN NOT BE UNINSTALLED. I called sprint and was told that since it came bundled with the phone, it could not be uninstalled because other features of the phone rely on parts  the google play music app. They essentially told me that there was nothing I could do about it, and to keep updating it in the hope that they will eventually fix the auto starting bug. I also tried installing other music players in the hope slim hope that this may fix the problem, but this (as expected) didn't remedy the issue. In summary, after extensive internet research on the issue, and a call to my provider, my conclusion is as follows: It still opens itself, it cant be uninstalled, and the update rollback just re updates itself without the ability to stop this (on the galaxy s2 anyway). Looks like we're stuck with this one and can only wait and hope that google fixes the issue in one of the updates. Call me a cynic , but I tend to doubt google is in any hurry to PREVENT the running of one of their apps. The Sprint Samsung galaxy s2 comes completely inundated with bundled google software. I have been a loyal sprint customer for over 5 years, and this, in addition to the sudden and drastic decrease in sprint's signal and gps strength is just another indicator that they are going down the tubes. Hopefully sprint & google get their collective acts together and fix these issues. I'll keep researching, and post if I find a solution.

This would be a decent answer if it were a little less "rant-y".

Agreed, it was a combination of factual info with an overtone of "rant" included for the purpose of insuring readers that there at present is nothing they can do to solve this save pressure the provider to fix this. I never post on these sites and am not familiar with the etiquette


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What happened to camera search on Google Now?
It used to be under Settings, there was a Search With Camera option which would boot up the camera and allow you to take a photo which you could search with.
Since the last google now update, I can't find it.
Has it been moved to another spot or did they get rid of it?

Do you have Google Goggles installed? It's required still for that feature to work in google now.

just installed it. Ah ok, well it still doesn't have it in Google Now but Google Goggles pretty much does that. That's kind of annoying, that they would take that feature and put it into its own app instead of having it integrated into Google Now

Goggles predates the Google Now experience, FYI. After you enable SEARCH FROM CAMERA, all you need to do now is take a picture with the Camera app and Google will automatically perform a search on the image clicked and display results in the notification bar.

@Sparx : yeah looks like they integrated into Google Now, then for some reason, took it out again in the latest version. The Search From Camera feature seem a bit intrusive to me. I would only want to send google images if I explicitly want to use them in a search.

Yeah I ended up removing it personally. It somehow ended up being big battery drain too


text:
How can I replace a carrier-customized system with the original version?
Is it possible to remove carrier customizations by just replacing whole system with the original version from phone manufacturer, just like we can reformat a computer and reinstall the operating system? Rooting, removing undesired apps, and other specific procedures that void warranty or do not ensure a clean stock install are a non-go.

It might be possible in some cases (I know Sony has released blobs before for ROM devs to use), but generally OEM's have agreements with carriers and release only carrier-laden ones. I know you said "without rooting", but you could technically flash a custom recovery and from there flash a "de-bloated" stock ROM from another developer. I know it's probably not really what you mean, but it does technically avoid rooting :P. That's probably going to be your best bet. Another, more ad-hoc option would be to freeze carrier apps (via titanium backup or something similar), and/or use alternative launchers like Nova or Apex to hide them from your app drawer. I don't think you need to be rooted to freeze an app, but I could be wrong. I feel your pain though, had an HTC Evo 4G back in the day. Never have I ever cared less about Sprint's sponsorship of NASCAR.


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Volume controller and screen size controller missing from Youtube app
I have Samsung P-3100 Tab. I have youtube android application installed. I am having the following complaints with youtube player (Probably I do not know how to  get to these, so this question! )
1) If I hold the Tab in Landscape orientation, then the video occupies the whole screen (which is as expected). However, I cannot see the screen size icon on the screen, to change the screen size from "Full Screen" to normal screen Mode. I have to rotate the Tab to Vertical orientation to see see any comments or related videos. (this is very annoying!) :(
2) There is no volume controller on the screen anywhere. Is it because youtube app rely on the volume controller on the Tab?
I am sure other people might have faced the same issue. I googled for this issue but I couldn't find anything helpful.

The question-and-answer format of this site works best if you put each question in a separate question post. If you bear this in mind next time you have several related questions, you'll get better answers.

There isn't a non-fullscreen layout for YouTube for 7in tablets, only for 10in tablets. There's no button there because there's nothing to switch to. The developers evidently think there's not enough room to see the video and display other information usefully at the same time.
You're right about the volume control. Because Android already has separate volume settings for media, notifications, and the phone ringer, and it guarantees the presence of hardware volume controls, it's considered bad design to put additional volume controls on the screen.


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Samsung Galaxy S4, weird model, can I custom ROM?
I just got my S4, on a Canadian network. While everyone seems to have I9500, I have the M919V. It's next to impossible to find any useful information on Google regarding this model. Can I use the same custom ROMs as the I9500 users?
There is a way! Read my answer below!

I have found out more about this variant! Hopefully this helps people in my situation.
This device is on a Canadian network called Wind Mobile. The model M919V can use the same roms as the T-Mobile variant, which is M919.
I have flashed CyanogenMod nightlies on it, it runs awesome, and even for a nightly it is very battery efficient and stable.
Strongly recommend it to anyone.
I had to use ouhds instead of ClockWorkRecovery (they re the same things though). It still goes through Odin, but you will have to follow the instruction online. There are a few sets of instructions that can be found through Google.
These are the instructions I followed:
http://droidviews.com/2013/root-and-install-cwm-recovery-on-sprint-galaxy-s4-sph-l720-and-t-mobile-galaxy-s4-sgh-m919/
*I am not responsible for any damage you cause to your device, just sharing my thoughts/ experience.

No, since your model number differs - meaning you have a carrier bound device - ROMs meant for standard i9500 devices won't be suited to your device.


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Chrome homepage on Android 4.1.1
Is it possible to change Chrome's homepage? I am currently experiencing the problem that whenever I open Chrome, the last opened tabs will still be there. When I close Chrome, I want to close all tabs. When I restart Chrome I want a fresh homepage.
Can't seem to find this in the menu or options.

Because Android apps don't have an "exit" button like PC and Mac programs do, when you leave Chrome (or any other app), it's designed to preserve all the state so that it'll be there for you next time. If it closed all the tabs every time, then whenever you try to "share" a link, or paste some information into email, or even if you take a phone call while you're browsing, you'd get back to the browser to find all your tabs gone. That's why there's no setting to do this automatically.
On a phone, if you want to "exit" Chrome, closing all tabs, then go to the tabs view, press the menu key or the three-dots icon to bring up the menu, and choose Close all tabs. Then hit the back key.
On a tablet, I'm afraid the only way is to close each tab with the little ⊗ button.


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Why alarms in "To-do" applications are shown as notification
I am not sure whether my understanding about alarms is wrong, so I thought of posting this question. I keep forgetting tasks so I thought of installing the best "To-Do" android app. What I simply wanted from the application is this:
If I want to set a reminder, say on May 19th 2013, at 9.00 A.M and I want a a loud alarm that will keep ringing until I dismiss it or snoop.
Every famous app that I tried (Astrid, Wundrelist etc),  provide a reminder feature to be associated with Tasks, but these reminders to go Notification area. Some of the "to-do" apps takes the reminder date/time as alarms, but they again send these alarms as notifications. The problem with notification is that, it only makes a very simple sound (as if a message has arrived), that too only once. I want these reminders to ring as alarms not as notification. Do you know any apps that does this?. For example, the alarm that we can set in clock.( but clock doesn't provide a specific date/time)

Astrid has this functionality. Add a task by giving it a title and then clicking ADD A DUE DATE if you wish. This opens a page where you can tap a due date + time. Click OK after making the necessary changes. Click the blue + sign on the right to add the task to your list.
Now tap the task to edit it - Scroll down if you need to and select DETAILS and then REMIND WHEN DUE & OVERDUE
Choose the options as you see fit and ensure that the RING/VIBRATE TYPE is set to UNTIL I DISMISS ALARM.
Click ADD AN ALARM and choose when you want to be reminded.
To avoid this rigmarole in the future, you can choose to set by default that reminders should ring constantly until you dismiss them. Click SETTINGS > NEW TASK DEFAULTS > DEFAULT RING/VIBRATE and then select UNTIL I DISMISS ALARM
Also see REMINDER SETTINGS where you can choose a ringtone of choice.

I tried this, but it is still a notification that gets notified repeatedly unless I dismiss it. It doesn't sound like an alarm.

Choose the ringtone of your choice to make it sound like an alarm, Pradeep.


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Android-x86 in Vmware workstation fails to start
I need to emulate an Android 4.2 device in Vmware Workstation 7.1.
I downloaded the image android-x86-4.2-20130228.iso from http://www.android-x86.org/download. I tried to run it as a live-cd and also installed it on the VM harddisk (much like described at http://www.walterdevos.be/installing-android-x86-4-0-in-vmware-player). In either case I got the following console screen:

taken from this topic in the google groups. So, you may see the problem occurs not only in my environment. I tried recommended setting from the topic (... nomodeset vga=(any unreal mode such  as 987877 or 5785 etc)) as a possible workaround. Nothing helps.
The question: how to fix the problem and run android-x86 in Vmware Workstation?

Over time new versions of Android-x86 appear, and the problem is solved now by the next available release - build 20130725 with Android 4.3.

Last android iso did not work for me, I had to rely on this procedure,
including a grub config file edition, and the choice of an iso recommended for vmware.


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Internet shortcuts on home screen
I've a galaxy s4 running 4.2.2. Using the stock browser not Chrome. Not always but often when I click on Internet shortcuts on my home screen it doesn't take me to the correct site, but rather to the att / yahoo home page. When it does this all the shortcuts on one home screen won't work but go to another home screen and they do work.  Then sometimes later the shortcut will take me to the correct site.  It happens both on wifi and 4g. Sometimes when i toggle wifi/4g they go back to work. Why do the shortcuts not consistently work? By the way if the launcher has any bearing I'm using Holo Launcher HD.
Thanks!

Could you edit that information into your question? It is more visible that way, and comments are mainly for secondary, temporary purposes. Comments are removed under a variety of circumstances. Anything important to your question should be in the question itself.

"What's up with that?" Pat - I really can't think of an answer. Could you rephrase the question?


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Does the Android OS provide any overheating protection?
Apple iOS devices display the following warning and suspend operation should they overheat:

Temperature
[iDevice] needs to cool down before you can use it.

Does the Android OS contain similar functionality?
(For reference, I'm using a Nexus 7, running stock Android 4.2.2 without root or unlocked bootloader.  However, this question is intended to be device-agnostic.  I have not experienced any overheating—the tablet does get warm under load but by no means excessively so.  I'm just wondering if any protection exists at the system software level in stock Android.)

At least it did not a while ago -- watch the grill-contest on Youtube: Android, WinPho7, iPhone4... What Grills Faster?

Do note that the Nexus 4 will gracefully shut down automatically upon overheating: http://www.apktopsites.com/nexus-4-overheating-problem-what-to-do-and-how-to-prevent-itthe-droid-guy/

The kernel takes care of that along with the appropriate battery driver for that chipset. All batteries do generate an amount of heat, more so when the device is overworking, common on single cpu chipsets - try playing angry birds on 600Mhz MSM7227 chipset - can have a nice fry up on the back of the device.... :D

I once caused the processor on my openSUSE desktop to overheat. The system went through the shutdown sequence normally, with the following text in the log: Critical temperature reached (73 C), shutting down

@t0mm13b, you're probably right--it's probably the same mechanism in Android that triggers thermal shutdowns as the one in desktop Linux distributions; see line 1041 of https://android.googlesource.com/kernel/common.git/+/android-3.4/drivers/thermal/thermal_sys.c

The kernel does indeed take care of it - that's what explains mysterious shutdowns in certain circumstances when the level of heat reaches a threshold - it boils down to the battery driver - if that code ends up faulty - it's thermo-meltdown all the way... just saying :)

Especially if the CPU is overclocked - you're basically asking for it!!!!!!

Overheating protection is kernel's task. Linux kernel does have overheating protection, however it relies on the temperature sensor driver working correctly. So on devices that doesn't have CPU temperature sensor or one whose drivers doesn't work correctly, there may still be a melt down. Note that some CPU also have built in overheat protection circuits that does not rely on software. However those hardware protection mechanism are generally only guaranteed to work when not overclocked and under normal operating condition.

Provided it can read the CPU temperature, the Linux kernel will detect an overheat condition and gracefully shut down the device in the event overheating occurs.  However, Android does not contain built-in mechanisms that selectively disable components or reduce heating in the manner iOS does, such as by dimming or turning off the screen, stopping charging, reducing the power of the cell antenna, or disabling the camera flash.

Within the BatteryManager documentation for Android there is a constant that can be used to check against that is named BATTERY_HEALTH_OVERHEAT. This would lead me to assume that there is a check that the OS does against this value, though I have never personally experienced a warning like this. I did on my old iPad, but being a recent Android convert I haven't had the time to find out about this just yet.

There is an app called Battery Protector by Apphibios. You can set whatever temp you want it to give you an alarm. I think 104f is about where you want to let it cool off.


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Google Play authentication required error
I'm using Android on a Samsung S3. I was initially trying to upgrade WorldMate, but was getting authentication errors. Then I tried to purchase something via Google play, and was given an authentication required error.
I have removed my Google account and re-added it, deleted updates and tried to stop apps being updated automatically but they do no matter what setting I use. I have created a new account and tried via that, but no luck.
How can I stop apps being updated? Is there a service I can stop and put on manual?
Or is there another way to purchase apps/music? All I want  to do is upgrade WorldMate but their support staff have been useless so far...

I'm confused. What does stopping other updates have to do with updating this one app? What are you actually trying to do?

I think it's better inform it to the Google Play store support.

Go to this page:- https://support.google.com/googleplay/?hl=en
Then click top right "Contact US" button.
Follow its on screen instructions.


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Cannot add Outgoing COM port for any android device
My problem is that I need to add outgoing com port to my android device (Nexus 4) Windows 8 x64 connected via Bluetooth.
This is usually done by using Bluetooth settings on the PC and then from "COM ports" tab yo "Add" -> "Outgoing port". However, when I try to add my device it shows me error "The device you have selected does not have a serial port service running". For Incoming port it work fine, but that's not the option I need.
I've also tried to connect Samsung Galaxy S3, Nexus 7 and rooted Nexus 4. Both on Windows 8 x64 and Windows 7 x32. Nothing worked. Then I connected an old phone which uses Symbian 8(?) and it worked fine. Of course the devices are paired before I try do add COM port.
I did good search on Google, but I did not find a way to "turn on serial port service". There's an app (Serial Port API Sample) which supposedly should help with my problem, but it doesn't - I can't get it to work, always showing an error.
I need the outgoing port so I can control my device like a modem by using Matlab.

What error do you get when you run this app? It seems likely that you would need to root the device to run it. Normal apps shouldn't be able to control the modem directly.

This is just based on a bit of research, not my own experience:
Android phones, unlike your Symbian phone which worked, do not expose a Hayes-command modem as a built-in externally accessible service. There may well be such an interface internally for communicating with the “baseband processor”, but in order to control it from another computer you will have to install an Android app and/or modified OS which forwards the commands it receives from an external source. I don't know whether such an app already exists.
(Further questions on how to get the scheme I described working might be better asked over at Stack Overflow as they would be essentially about programming Android.)

Some devices do have serial, cdm, built into adb itself on the device, for example, treating it as a modem device instead of mass storage.

there are some 3rd party app like bluDun and other apps like that are used for as modem service to create a dialup connection

Allow your laptop bluetooth device searchable to others.. then pair from Mobile.. it will help you.. I was facing the same issue but resolved it by doing this trick..
Thanks
Rajiv K Pundir

Pairing isn't the problem here, it's specific to creating a serial port service on the phone.


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How did my device know where I am located even though my GPS was turned off?
So I was testing some functionality levels with Facebook Check-In feature on an Android device (Galaxy S2) and I noticed something strange. Even though my GPS was turned off, When I Checked-In on the Facebook App it showed my current location (along with a pop-up asking me to turn on GPS for more accurate reporting).
Why and more importantly how did my device know where I was located with my GPS being turned off?

Also relevant is How does Google Maps estimate my location without GPS?

either through trianglation or through Wifi if you where connected
trianglation - sends ping requests to Access Points
Wifi - In window 8 it can give a location based on surrounding Wifi network althought I am not awear of android using this


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Razr Maxx HD, How to wipe data with broken screen
My screen is totally destroyed, it's black and unresponsive. The phone turns on just fine, though. I just got my new phone and I have to send this one back now.
I want to wipe the phone before I send it back, but I'm not sure how. I don't care too much about sending back a rooted phone, it seems Asurion doesn't really care about that from what I've read, but I don't want my personal data on the phone when I send it in.
What are my options to wipe the phone without a screen? I've already read a lot of threads on other forums and here on the subject, but everyone seems to say to wipe through ADB shell. Well, I can see the phone in ADB, but I am unable to enter SU through ADB shell. I assume it's because the screen is locked, and I have no way to unlock it. Others have also said to wipe through fastboot in ADB, but I am seeing conflicting recommendations and I'm not sure how to proceed. I'm not that proficient with ABD, so I want to make sure I don't mess this up.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

You can obtain the adb and fastboot utilities as part of the Android Software Development Kit (or separately from third parties, but watch out for Trojan binaries). If you install the SDK, you will need to install the Platform Tools and (if using Windows) the USB Driver for Windows.
Once you have them, from whatever source, this is what you will do:

Reboot the phone to the bootloader (fastboot):
adb reboot bootloader

adb may not work if the phone hasn't previously been placed in USB Debugging mode. In this case, boot the phone to fastboot mode by first powering it off, then powering it on by holding all three of the Power, Volume Up and Volume Down keys at the same time for two seconds, then releasing all three keys, then touching Volume Down twice, then Volume Up once.
Check to see if the phone is in fastboot mode. If it doesn't show anything, wait a few seconds and try again:
fastboot devices

Wipe the user data/cache:
fastboot -w

Ok, I did exactly what you said.  userdata is erased.  Is that the same as a factory reset? It said it erased cache, so does that mean everything I could possibly want erased is gone?  Thanks so much for the info.  I know it was simple, but it was very helpful.  Thanks so much.

Yes, fastboot -w erases both user data and cache, which is the same as the wipe/factory reset. That covers all of your data except for the SD card, which you'll have to place into another device or computer if you want to erase it.

Great, thanks so much.  I almost had to leave the card in because the it broke right on the sd card slot.  I was finally able to pry the card out and get it in my new phone.  So, I'm all set!

I've a SG S2 with the display broken, and with that keystrokes I cannot enter into Fastboot! :(

@DareDevil73 That's because the Galaxy S II is not a RAZR MAXX HD. Didn't you see the question title?

Alternatively, you could use adb reboot recovery. If you don't have Fastboot, this will be the only option. Once you've rebooted into recovery, there will be four options:

reboot system now
apply update from sdcard
wipe data/factory reset
wipe cache partition

Press the - Volume Button twice and then press the power button. Then go down seven times, since all the other options are 'No'. If done right, your data should be wiped. If you want, wipe the cache partition too. Then go up and reboot the system.


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Problems with a linsay f-10hd cosmos locked
so I have this tablet linsay f-10hd
Specs
10.1 "  0S: 4.04 Google Android CPU: 1.5 Ghz CORTEX A-8 1 GB RAM 4 GB Hard Drive Internal Memory Web CameraBuilt in 3-D acceleration, 3-D Effect 2160 P HD Wi-Fi Supported: WIRELESS 802.11 B/G HDMI mini HDMI Support 3 D Vision 2160 P HD Video player: Mp4, Avi you can watch your favorite Movies! USB port to Portable External Hard drive up to 3 TB USB port for 3G use
and I got locked out, forgot my email and password and I have been trying to unlocked it
by doing a hard reset(vol+ and power)which takes me to the android logo
so I try to use adb
adb shell
cd /data/data/com.android.providers.settings/databases
sqlite3 settings.db
update system set value=0 where name='lock_pattern_autolock';
update system set value=0 where name='lockscreen.lockedoutpermanently';
.quit
reboot
adb shell
rm /data/system/gesture.key
reboot
so i start with
adb devices
and get    20080411        recovery
but nothing I get and error.
what can i do

You can use the android recovery by holding the power on and the +volumn buttons at same time releasing the power button as soon as the icon apears on the sceen but still hoding down the +volumn button.Then when the andoid appears press the power button and volumn+ button again and release the volumn+ button first, the recovery program should start up and then you can reset the tablet


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The application Market Feedback Agent has stopped unexpectedly

The application Market Feedback Agent (process com.google.android.feedback) has stopped unexpectedly. Please try again.

I keep getting this error message when YouTube crashes. I click to report the problem, then this error occurs. I tried to manually visit https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.feedback to check for an update but nothing was found. Android version 2.3.4. Neither Verizon, Motorola, nor Google will update it.
How can I fix this problem?

Have you restarted the phone? Have you tried clearing the data/cache for the Play Store and/or YouTube?

@AlEverett It's been doing this for several months. The phone reboots itself nearly every day. Will try clearing cache.

The first step for any of these force close issues is to clear the cache and/or data from the problem app. Whether it's the Play Store or YouTube that is the problem is unclear; you may end up doing both.

Open Settings
Apps
Scroll down to the app you want and tap to open App Info. (If it's a system app (without updates) you may need to swipe left to "All" in order to find it.)
Tap the Clear cache button. If that doesn't work, return and tap Clear data

See also: App <X> isn't working correctly. How can I fix it?

Even after doing this, the problem quickly reoccurs later. I've since given up on Android and bought an iPhone.


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Will a license check fail if I am in a foreign country?
I have an app that performs a license check and will not work if a check doesn't succeed within x amount of time since the last successful check.  Will this license check fail if I am connected to the Internet in a foreign country?
The app in question is Final Fantasy III (com.square_enix.android_googleplay.FFIII_GP).  However, most other paid apps perform license checks, so this is a question of broader scope.

Usually no - however, it's my opinion that this is a rather vague question that can't be accurately answered without knowing the app developer's policy or whether the app is locked to a particular region.

Unfortunately, I really can't consider this a complete answer, since there isn't enough evidence behind it.  Can you provide personal experience with this issue?

It's usually media apps like music streaming apps etc that are region locked (although some EA games are too). Your game should run fine so long as it's able to pass the licence check.

You're right - the application did successfully verify the license through the Wi-Fi at the Hong Kong airport I'm in right now.


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How can I fix internal storage growing for no reason?
Why does internal storage keep growing over the time for no reason? At some point it becomes simply impossible to update apps, due to lack of sufficient memory space. Not even cache cleanup can save it, and I have moved as many apps as I could to SD card with no help.
Apps need to be uninstalled then installed again on every update. Depending on the app this is problematic since they have lots of custom settings, and I have never seen that automatic Google servers backup and restore working whenever I needed it. Fortunately for stock preloaded apps your settings are not lost, since you can just remove updates since stock version, not remove it.
This indicates one of the main causes of this problem at least: app updates are somehow incremental, and performing the above workaround will somehow save some space, with same result of app updated to latest version. So innocent everyday app updates are no reason for causing internal storage to fill up.
What workarounds can I do in order to overcome this problem, besides the obvious ones like removing stuff or buying a new phone? I think I heard about re-partitioning phone memory to make internal storage point to external SD card, but I wonder if it will make things too much slower, for example. Please, point me to good solutions, even if they require rooting.

things on computers do not happen "for no reason". Either you are installing more apps, or the apps you have are writing data/files to the internal storage over time which is filling it up.

I think, it's better use Link2SD app to move apps to SD card 2nd partition. It more effective than ordinary apps moving method.

To find the culprit, you might want to consult similar questions here, like e.g. Something is secretly eating up my tablet memory and I need help finding it or Android “Internal Storage” used but not reported. One more good place to look at are the questions tagged insufficient-memory.

Before you can fix the issue you have to identify the cause. We have a few answers that deal with tracking down storage usage. But usually they target the external storage/SD-card. Here we are dealing with the internal storage, which is usually protected from normal user access and hence it's good (if not required) to have root. But other then that, the tools mentioned in the question should give you a good idea of how your internal storage is used:

Izzy's Answer on "Something is secretly eating up my Acer Iconia A500 internal memory and I need help finding it"
What can I do to manage my phone's internal storage?

Summarizing the answers and comments on a more objective approach. Please edit this and add any verified procedure that objectively may help with this annoyance.

You could try the obvious things like removing unused apps, cleaning up system cache, etc.
If your phone is rooted, Link2SD helps a lot by creating symlinks from original app locations to the SD card. Android will think the apps are on internal storage, but in fact they are just linked there, real location is the SD card. Specific apps, the biggest ones, can be selected for the linking process.
You may try removing updates from stock preloaded apps, for only then updating to the latest version directly. These apps seem to take more and more storage while getting updated over time. That was my case with Facebook for example, one of the most problematic about storage usage. This workaround should not delete app settings, since app cannot and will not get uninstalled at all.

Excellent way to answer your question. +1

"Please edit this and add any verified procedure that objectively may help with this annoyance" -- that permission is extended to a Wiki answer. So may be you wanna convert this one into a Wiki, because edit to someone's answer (non-wiki) would probably be rejected by reviewers even if you've mentioned a note.

I have this problem just now, it keep popup "internal storage almost full". The storage doesn't match with total space, i.e. it shows I used more than 15GB over total 16GB, but all categories  sum up only ~11GB. I tried delete a lot of apps and folder but only 0.5GB free.
Eventually I realized I don't shutdown phone for many days, so I simply shutdown and reboot, and then it able to shows the correct free space 4.41GB!

I had a similar issue, and the only thing I could do was format the device.
I believe this happens when apps take up storage, and then 'forget' they have taken it up, and restore the data.
A factory reset will erase all the data, and if you're rooted you can backup your apps and not lose much data.

Every time an app gets updated, an old copy of the app is retained somewhere. You can see that in settings > apps > select an app, and you can see uninstall updated option. So whenever I have an updated app, I simply delete the old app and install the new app.
I recommend not to use this method which saves data internally. Other apps like Facebook, Whatsapp can be done.

The second phrase is difficult to understand. What are you trying to say? That the user should not use the method for apps that save the data internally, and that it should only be used for other apps like Facebook and Whatsapp?

"Every time an app gets updated, an old copy of the app is retained somewhere." is not true for most apps. AFAIK it's only true for system apps. Your recommendation of uninstalling an app before updating will result in loss of all settings of the app (if those settings are clouded synced, which is also true for most app).


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How to sync Google+ Instant Upload with Google Drive?
I'm using Google+ Instant Upload to automatically sync all of the photos I take on my phone over a Wi-Fi connection. I also use Google Drive to backup my documents, music, pictures and videos folders.
Is there a way to sync Google+ Instant Upload with Google Drive?
Ideally the way it would work is I would take photos with my phone, they would sync to my Google Drive "pictures" folder and then Google Drive on my pc would sync them into my photos library. Is this possible? Will it be added in the future?

There is a thread on Google Groups that covers this issue. By the answer provided by AnaLikesLattes, this is being considered and possible prepared by Google Staff since 5/1/12:
Android Instant Upload to Drive

Hi all,
Thanks for your input. We've heard many requests along these lines, and are definitely looking into potential solutions on our end.
I will do my best to keep this forum updated once relevant features start to become available. In the meantime, please keep posting your requests about the Drive Android app! We're always excited to hear from our users.
Cheers,
  Ana

As far as I can tell, this is not yet implemented and a year has passed.
Since both applications are from Google and they alone can take the necessary steps to have this feature implemented properly, I would suggest to you and any interested person to visit the thread and leave the "feature-wish" there.

App Suggestion
While it would be great to have a native solution for this problem, Oliver Salzburg commented on my post at Google+ about this issue refering the app suggested bellow, that I've just now tested and is working beautifully sending all of my files to my desired destination on the Google Drive.
FolderSync Lite

FolderSync is a application that enables simple sync to cloud based storage to and from local folders on the device memory card. It currently support multiple SkyDrive, Dropbox, SugarSync, Ubuntu One, Box.net, LiveDrive, HiDrive, Google Docs, NetDocuments, Amazon S3, FTP, FTPS, SFTP, WebDAV or windows share (Samba/CIFS) accounts, and support for more platforms are planned.

You don't need more than 5 minutes to complete the 3 basic steps:

Add your Google Drive account
Add a folderpair
Start the sync process

I've just published an app for automatic photo upload to Google Drive with lots of convenient options.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mynextandroid.drivephotosync

It's free so give it a try!

Before this get's any more downvotes: Would you mind elaborating what makes your app special in contract to the build in photo/video sync feature e.g. the Google+ app?

It does not send your photos/videos to Google+ at all (some people prefer to stay out of G+). It aims to be like old Drive app sync feature.

So it doesn't send the photo's to Google+ but "just" to Google Drive? I see how some people may prefer that, but for me it seems to make little to no difference if I upload my personal photos to one or another USA-based cloud provider.

I use Sweet Home, a free app, to upload photos and videos from my Android devices over Wi-Fi at home to my NAS Google Drive folder.  (This is fast 300mbit/s).  Then the Google Drive tool on my NAS (which has Windows OS) uploads the pictures and videos to Google Drive to be able to share and have an extra cloud backup. The Google+ app can be used to easily watch and browse through the pictures.
So I don't use the upload function in Google+, because I can't find an easy way to sync the photos locally after that and uploading right from the mobile device to internet is always slower than locally to the NAS.


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Huawei G300 not fast enough for Google Racer
So on my Nexus 7 (currently clocked at 1300mb RAM) Google Racer works fine. However, when I use it on my Huawei Ascend G300 (only clocked at ~30mb less RAM) it says it is too slow.
This doesn't really make any sense? They have almost identical RAM?

The amount of RAM is not the main factor that determines how smoothly a game runs. The other items on the spec sheet are just as important:

What model of CPU it has (ARM 11, Cortex-A8, Cortex-A9, Cortex-A15, &c)
How many CPU cores there are (some games benefit more from having multiple cores than others)
What clock speed the CPU runs at (measured in GHz)
What model of GPU it has (e.g Mali-400MP4)
What clock speed the GPU runs at (measured in GHz)

and there are many other important factors you probably won't find written down anywhere, such as the clock speed of the RAM, what kind of memory controller it has, and the size of the CPU and GPU caches. The software makes a big difference too: for example, if the power management driver (supplied by the manufacturer) is inefficient, the CPU and GPU may spend most of their time running more slowly than the rated clock speed.
In addition, the pixel size of the display makes a big difference. For example, if you made a tablet with the exact same hardware as a Nexus 7 but a 1080p display instead of a 720p display, you'd find many games would run much slower on this device, simply because there are more than twice as many pixels to process and store in memory.
One of the reasons that unbranded devices are so cheap is that the manufacturers often invest in the 'headline' specs, but then skimp on the other components, or use inefficient software. For example, it's commonplace to use a GPU that looks good on paper, but cripple it by only giving it a very slow connection to the device's RAM, through a cheap memory controller.
The only way you can really tell how smooth your games will run is by measuring on the device: ideally with the game you're interested in, but more commonly using a benchmark such as GLBenchmark that represents an 'average' game. That's why review sites like to include benchmark figures as a big part of the review of a new device.

Running a game smoothly does depend on RAM as well as the capability of your processor and more significantly the graphics chipset employed on your device. Compare all three of these factors and you'll understand hopefully why your Huawei G300 doesn't run the game of your choice as well as your Nexus 7.


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Samsung Galaxy s3 won't boot
My Samsung keep booting up and then after the intro where it should show my home screen it showing a blue flashing Samsung sign with the Led light glowing blue as well. I have tried taking out the battery and holding down volume+home+power button. and holding the home button for restarting it. it's frustrating me

Welcome to the Android Enthusiasts, Erica -- and thanks for sharing your concern! However, we are a Q&A site. To answer your question we need to know it. Could you please update your post to let us know what exactly your question is? Do you get to the homescreen -- or is your device stuck at the "blue flashing Samsung sign"?

Press and hold VOLUME UP and Home(center) button
Press Power until the phone vibrate
Wait until you see the Android logo then release all the buttons.
Select Wipe data/Factory reset with VOLUME DOWN, press Power (right hand-side)
Select YES -- delete all user data with VOLUME DOWN and then press Power
After format, press Power again to reboot phone. (select reboot system now)

Try wiping it from recovery.
WARNING, it removes all data from phone.


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Use Tasker to swipe lock the screen for 10 mins then require password thereafter
i'm looking for a way where i can use the power button to turn off the screen and activate the swipe lock. If the phone is left untouched/unswiped for 10 mins the password lock should come on.
There is one difference between this and similar posts i have seen, my Phone is encrypted so i cannot turn off the password as part of the method of doing this.
At the moment the power button turns off the screen but can be unlocked at the push of any button which often results in unintended phone calls in my pocket, after a certain amount of time left untouched the password lock kicks in.
I've heard an app called Tasker can do something like this, will it also work with encrypted devices?
All i would need it to do is activate a swipe lock on pressing of the power button
Thanks

You are correct: an app called Tasker can do this. The feature you want to turn off/delay is called Keyguard: turning this off disables the password/PIN lock screen. So you could setup a task turning that off on the condition the screen is turned off, then wait 10 min, and re-activate it again.
Additionally, you might want to take a look at the Secure Settings addon for Tasker, which gives you some more fine-grained options towards this (and plenty of other benefits). Using this addon, you could e.g. have your device require the PIN/password unlock only once, and then not asking for it anymore (useful e.g. at home).


text:
How does the Android OS estimate remaining battery time?
Is it known how the Android OS estimates time to failure / remaining battery charge?
I am doing a school project about battery estimation on mobile devices but have not been able to find any information about which techniques are used in the industry.
Several people have written articles about how time to failure can be estimated on an Android device, but I have not been able to locate any official information about how it is actual done.
The optimal answer I would like is a link to a scientific article or tech-spec that describe it.

Where does Android report a time to failure? I've never seen it before.

Do you mean the time the device can run on the remaining battery charge, rather than the time to failure?

Yes that it what I mean. I had the understanding that it was the proper technical word to use.

Have you looked at the source code yet?

time to failure = time left on remaining battery charge

@MichaelHampton no I havent looked at the code, it seems a bit overwhelming to dive into the source just for that. But I'll try to get my question answered at the Androud Developer forum link

Your question applies to more than just Android batteries. Calculation methods depend on the battery type (currently mostly Li-ion in phone devices). If you really want to dive into the nitty-gritty details browse around on Battery university

In the API it is described that the battery percentage is calculated by dividing the current level with the maximum level.
This can be seen in the quote below.
This leads me to believe that BatteryManager.EXTRA_LEVEL is either measured in Milli amps Hour (mAh) or a value between 0-100. This is a simple approach and not the answer that I hoped to find but it is an answer never the less. Now I just need a official source that states the answer. :)

Determine the Current Battery Level
In some cases it's also useful to
determine the current battery level. You may choose to reduce the rate
of your background updates if the battery charge is below a certain
level.
You can find the current battery charge by extracting the current
battery level and scale from the battery status intent as shown here:
int level = batteryStatus.getIntExtra(BatteryManager.EXTRA_LEVEL, -1);
int scale = batteryStatus.getIntExtra(BatteryManager.EXTRA_SCALE, -1);
float batteryPct = level / (float)scale;


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Update Samsung s5300 to android Honeycomb 3.2
Is it possible to update Samsung s5300 to Honeycomb? I've only found that it can't be updated to Android 4.0.

Honeycomb was actually meant for devices with large screens like tablets etc.., There is no Official update for S5300. So you'll have to root your phone and install a custom ROM(such as CyanogenMod) on your phone. Keep in mind that rooting your phone will void your phone of any warranty. Also beware that any error made while flashing ROM could brick your phone and make it unusable.