text:
Samsung Galaxy S5 turns on when fully charged and never turns off
I just 'upgraded' from the Samsung Galaxy S4 to the S5. Both use similar Android 4.4.2 Touchwiz software, but the new one has some odd behavior. I set smart screen sleep (or timeout, how it's called) to on and put it to one minute. I do have the Developer Options revealed, but the "Stay awake" is not checked.
I'll describe some situations:

Phone unplugged, unlocked -> Sleeps after 1 minute idle.
Phone unplugged, locked -> Sleeps after 1 minute (or even less) idle, no matter if I have notifications or no.
Phone plugged in, unlocked -> Sleeps after 1 minute idle.
Phone plugged in, locked, manually woken up (pressing some button) -> Sleeps after one minute.
Phone plugged in, locked, woken up by some notification -> Rings, displays the notification, and never sleeps until I press the lock / power button.

I tried to minimize the problem by minimizing the notifications I get while it sleeps: turned off WiFi, blocked messages, etc. But there is still one problem. I charge my phone overnight. Plug it in at evening (22:00), at about 1:00 (night) it finishes charging. The "Battery full" notification appears, and also the popup saying "Close the charging cover for water protection" fires up. And after that, the phone does not timeout. And when I wake up, the phone is very hot. I bet it's not OK. And also, from my knowledge, static images burn into OLED displays. I really don't wanna break my phone by charging it at night.
What I have tried:

Restoring and leaving developer mode off.
Resetting to factory, twice.
Tried letting it on silent with and without vibrate.
Tried putting some apps to block notifications.
Tried changing all the power, timeout and sensors options.

Nothing stops it from lighting up and never lighting down at night, and overheating itself. Any ideas?

AFAIK this is a 'feature' of the new Samsung bootloader. There's no work around outside of modified kernels etc and even then nearly all, if not all, custom ROMS have similar issues. It's worth noting that leaving it plugged in all night isn't great for the battery whether on or off.

A custom ROM would make me loose all the cool sensors and features, so.. Nope for now. But I found a workaround, see my answer.

Cool, but you don't necessarily lose them if you have the Touchwiz framework in place in the ROM, obvioiusly with CM and AOSP you will. But I never use them, and the speed difference is enough for me to never, ever use TW again. BUT as with all these things it's user preference!

Wow, do you know any roms that are based on tw framework? I'd be interested in trying custom firmwares, without loosing the fingerprint sensor and the gestures. Anyway, for now I'll stick with the (towel) root'd kk stock, but a custom fw that keeps the sensors would be dead cool for the future. xD I had CM on my GS4 and it was a major speedup, but sacrificed the gestures. I don't wanna loose them on this one cause' they're pretty cool.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s5   Under 'development' (most ROMs) and 'Original Development' which is more 'from scratch or specific code written by devs'. Full of ROMs!

I had the same problem and today I did find what was causing my problem.
It just started yesterday, 2 weeks after I got the phone. And the ONLY thing that was different is that I started using a generic AC charger that arrived yesterday.
When I suspected it was the charger this morning, I switched back to the white Samsung charger that came with the phone - and when the battery was fully charged, there was no 'beep', just a notice on the notification list. Screen did not light up. So I suspect that the generic charger I had just received was overcharging the battery, and the phone must be designed not only to do an audible alert, but to keep repeating that audible and screen-on alert until the phone is unplugged.
I have the phone charging on the white cable/plug that came with it, and I have a spare for travel. That's the charger I used up until yesterday - and never had a problem. So I think this resolved my problem with the Battery Full alert - and I will update again if it turns out that my problem is not fixed.

Wow i am also using a generic AC adapter, never tought it might be the problem. Currently solved by installing a TW based custom rom. (xTreStoLite) Thanks.

I am answering my own question, because i somehow solved it. I downloaded the Battery Doctor app (the one featured by Clean Master) and created a scheduled profile for night that has timeout set to 5. Also enabled 'charging screensaver'. It's ok now. Battery doctor takes over the TouchWiz uselsss popups and notifications, and forces it to stand by after 5 secs. It's all OK now :).
This is the app I am using: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ijinshan.kbatterydoctor_en&hl=en

Excellent, you should accept your answer, but I'd recommend a quick edit to add in a link to the app you are using! This will no doubt help others!

OK, I add the link now. I tried accepting my own answer, but it forces me to wait 9 hours from posting time (7 hours from now on).

I just had this problem too. The solution without having to download any outside apps is to go to "developer options" then uncheck "stay awake while charging"
Not sure why they would have this as a default setting...


text:
How do I erase my work location from Google Now?
I'm between jobs and, as a result, no longer want Google Now to keep telling me when I should leave for work, how long it will take me to travel there and that I'm running late.
I can remove my work location from Google Maps by logging into it on my desktop PC and selecting Settings → My Places.

However when I start Google Now and then select Magic Wand → Places it still shows me a location for my work. I can select it and erase the address, but I am unable to get it to accept nothing as a location.

Is there any way I can tell Google Now that I no longer have a work location?
So far I've tried:

Clearing the Google Search app data and cache but my incorrect work setting still remains.
Telling it that I no longer wanted to be notified about getting to work but it applied that setting to all my calendar appointments and I stopped getting any notifications for anything in my diary.
Setting my work location to the same as my home. I still get notifications for going to work, except that they now happen at 9am and tell me that it'll take me 0 minutes to get there.
Launching Google Maps on my phone, pressing the user icon (next to the directions button to the right of the search field), tapping and holding Work, clearing the field and submitting it. Although Google Maps now says Enter work address (implying that the field is empty) this change isn't reflected in Google Now as it still shows my work address.

Anything else I can do?

Thanks to a pointer from Pam, I waded through a number of potential solutions until I found one that seems to work:
[update] Although the steps appear to work, less than 24 hours later Google Now will automatically re-add your work address - even though you've not got it listed in Google Maps.

From Google Now home screen tap your "menu" button to open the settings (for my Galaxy S3 its the far lower left button.)
Tap "Settings" and then turn Google Now to "Off."
A confirmation box appears. Check the button that says "Also turn off Location History."
Click "Turn Off."
At the next screen, click "Turn On"
Click "Yes, I'm in."
Your "home" address should show as your current GPS location.
Scroll down until you see a "magic wand" symbol in the lower right corner and tap it.
Click "Places" (it should show a #1 next to it.)
Your Home address should appear (you can tap to edit this if not correct) and "Work" should be empty.

You will have to re-enter any other personal settings but at least you can now edit your "work" location (or just leave it blank)

Less than 24 hours later and Google Now has "helpfully" re-instated my work location. The steps above may work for a short while, but they don't last.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Making calls with Google Voice on Nexus 5
I'm wondering how (if possible) I can use the Google Voice technology on my Nexus 5. I have it downloaded on my laptop and it works great, but I'm unable to download it on my Nexus 5 (the app is incompatible which is strange considering it's the flagship model).
Is there any way for me to get Google Voice on my phone?

The Google Voice app is compatible with the N5 (I have it installed on mine). How are you trying to install it, precisely? Are you located outside the US? Also, if you're looking to use it to make a VoIP call from your phone, similar to a PC, you should be aware that it does not support that.

Ahhhh I am outside of US (Canada) I tried downloading it on the play store. But if it doesn't support VoIP call I have no reason for using it.

The app is probably region locked to the US, I'd wager. Hopefully VoIP via Google Voice will be coming to Hangouts soon, since they added it to the iOS app a little while back. Until then, it's just kind of a waiting game, unfortunately. There were a few third-party apps that would allow you to make VoIP calls using Google Voice, but Google blocked their access about a month ago.

You should already have it pre-installed and enabled on your phone. Try saying "OK, Google" from the home screen. The steps here should give you an idea of how to enable it if it doesn't work.

That's not Google Voice, that's Google Now. Google Voice is a completely different service: http://www.google.com/googlevoice/about.html

Oh. Thought you wanted to be able to say "OK, Google: Call ".

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

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


text:
How do I disable an app from running at startup
I have a genymotion virtual device which has an app which runs at startup which make the device crash giving me no access to the device.
How do I disable the app from my computer. (I am using virtual device)?

There are many options available. Some applications I know:

Comoro mobile security
Autostarts
ES Task Manager
BootManager (a module works within XPosed framework)

Autostarts also let you stop waking applications which listen on events I.e. when device gets connected to internet or a call is answered.

I cant access my device in the first place forget install an app in it


text:
How do I get my old WhatsApp account on my new phone?
I lost my old phone yesterday and it had my WhatsApp account on it. Today I bought my new phone and I was wondering how I could get my account back. I have both my the number for the account and the WhatsApp code for that account also.
How can I get my account back?

Have you seen Migrate whatsapp from phone (old expired number) to another one? Does that apply to your situation? I guess you told your provider to "expire the old device" (as you consider it lost), so it should fit.

As referred in the Whatsapp FAQ:

In the unfortunate case that your phone gets lost or stolen, we can
  help make sure that no one can use your WhatsApp account.
As soon as possible you should call your mobile provider to lock your
  SIM card. Then, it will not be possible to verify the account on that
  phone again as you need to be able to receive SMS or phone calls to
  verify an account.
After you have locked the SIM in your stolen phone, you can use a new
  SIM with the same number to activate WhatsApp on your new phone. This
  is the fastest way to deactivate your account on the stolen phone.
  WhatsApp can only be activated with one phone number on one device at
  a time.
If you are not ready to activate WhatsApp on a new phone with the same
  number we can deactivate your account. Email us with your phone number
  in the full international format as described here. Please note that
  we are not able to help you locate your phone. Remote WhatsApp
  deactivation from another device is not possible.
Important: Even with the SIM card locked and phone service disabled,
  WhatsApp can be used on Wi-Fi if you do not contact us with an account
  deactivation request.
More important details about deactivated accounts:
When your account is deactivated, it is not completely deleted. While
  your account is deactivated: Your name is still on your contacts'
  Favorites / Select Contact lists. Your contacts can send you messages,
  which will remain in a pending state for up to 30 days.  If you
  reactivate your account before it is deleted, you will receive any
  pending messages on your new phone and you will still be in all of
  your group chats.  If a deactivated account is not re-activated within
  30 days, it will be completely deleted. Note: Since your chat history
  is stored on your device, we cannot retrieve your previous messages.

authors: Максим Торееа


text:
Is it possible to install Nexus factory reset images on other Android devices
The device I want to install Nexus onto is the Onda VI10 tablet.
I found some Nexus factory images here, and I would like to install them. Is this possible?

Welcome to  Android Enthusiasts! This happens to be a question frequently asked on our site. Have you tried our on-site search? See How do I search? for help using it. See e.g. Why are there not generic phone OS installers? / Is there any custom rom which can be installed on any android device

Short answer:
No.
Long answer:
Nexus factory images, as so kindly implied by their name, are complete snapshots of the software installed on a Nexus device prior to leaving the factory.
Due to the device-specific nature of Android, e.g. it needs specific drivers for it to run on any one given device, it is generally impossible (or illogical, as it seems) to run a build of Android for a specific device on another device.


text:
Recovering data from broken android phone which is sent for replacement
Sent broken android phone to Sony customer care for replacement.
I had the device encrypted with a 4 digit numeric pin. I erased it.
I found when searching on Google that data can be recovered easily from an erased android phone. But, if it has some kind of encryption turned ON, then it is a little hard to recover.
I had peace of mind that no person can look into my personal stuff and business stuff, my credit card details etc. But, today in the morning I was surprised when Google Plus notified that a photo was uploaded from the phone. Its an old phone screenshot which I took one day before 7th July, 2014 ( The day when I returned the phone ).
So, what I want to know here is, is Google photo upload got stuck somewhere for 6 days as today is 13th July, 2014 OR some person from sony staff was able to decrypt my phone? I am a little worried about my personal stuff now. Had so many accounts linked there and now I will have to log in into each google account one by one and sign out all devices.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
EDIT: Also, I had my LastPass account with offline login associated with that.
EDIT: Phone info as requested by @davidbaumann: Sony Xperia Z2 with latest version of Android which I think is 4.4.2 KiKat.

Cann you add information about the phone?

I voted to close (move) to SE Android as that would be the appropriate site (unless this question was in some way about how the android device works with a computer). Please do not post there, this will be moved.


text:
What can i do to update the android version of my android device if there is no available update available for my device?
my device is ondo vi10. it is a android tablet i bought from a IT Fair. The current android version is 4.0.3. What are some ways i can update it?

If there is no official update available, your only option is to flash a custom ROM on your device. This operation is potentially dangerous if you don't know what you are doing and you may brick your device. The tricky part is not the installation (which is selecting the ROM into a software and uploading via USB, or even simpler, booting in recovery with the new software on SD Card - dead simple, a button combination). The tricky part is to find a correct new ROM/software/image for your device. ROMs are not available for less known devices such as "Ondo" vi10 (did you want to say Onda?). But there are ROMs available for some other --identical-- devices. With the same camera, cpu, chipset, ram amount, etc. And that will work on your tablet. Do some research, see what other people used with that tablet. I'm sure someone "flashed" some custom firmware on that Ondo/Onda before.

Hahah! Yupp i want to say Onda (Sorry typo) thanks alot. hmm i cant really find any other similar devices with flashed custom firmware.


text:
Why is there no option for USB INTERNET in WIRELESS & NETWORK SETTINGS on my Nexus 5?
I own a Nexus 5 with Android KitKat 4.4.2. I have been trying to do reverse tethering without root as is supposedly possible from Settings → Wireless & Networks → More → USB Internet. But I can't see any USB Internet option in Wireless & Networks. Why not ??
Can someone assist me with this ? I am having a PC with Windows XP.

So you are basically trying to use the computer's internet connection on phone or you want to browse the internet on comp using the phone's data network?

I am trying to use internet on my mobile after connecting it to PC (reverse tethering) .... And i want to do it without rooting the phone ... This should be possible with USB Internet ... But that option is not visible ... why ???

This option is called "Internet Pass-through". I think is only present in HTC devices by default. I don't remember this option on my nexus when I had KitKat. Do you have any screenshot of where you have noticed this?

See this question. This option should be visible in my Nexus 5, but it isnt

Hmmm, as I said those are device specific. This is the first time I'm noticing it on a Micromax device. It is not present in Google's KitKat or any other Android OS by default. Chcek this - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1371345&page=155

In Android 4.4.x you should be able to find the USB Internet option under:
Settings --> More... --> Tethering & Portable Hotsport --> USB Tethering

If you want to later on configure your network sharing settings so that your device can benefit from the shared internet connection, please read this stack answer.

OP asked for reverse tethering – you showed "tethering". Please follow the link to see what's the difference and why your post doesn't answer the question. Hint: it's the direction.

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


text:
Is it possible to remove text from under the icons on the home screen?
I'm familiar with all the icons on my home screen. I think it would look better, at least to me, if the text from under those icons is gone. Is this possible?
I'm willing to root my device for this, but not switch to an alternate home screen launcher app.
I am using Moto-G with Kit Kat.

You could install a different launcher, Nova Launcher has this functionality under Nova settings > Dock > Remove Dock Icon Labels or similar... The same for the desktop icons also.

He's not willing to use another launcher, @RossC

Yes this can be done on the Google launcher itself . But you will have to root your phone. You will not only be able to hide the text but be able to tweak even more stuff. But let's just stick to hiding the text for now.
Download Xposed GEL Settings
It is an xposed module and requires the xposed framework. If you don't know what that is, here's a video to get you started off with the  Android Xposed Framework.
If you still have questions, do ask.

I looked all over for an Xposed mod but couldn't find one anywhere to do it. Good find.

Try this http://market.android.com/details?id=com.abcOrganizer.lite&feature=search_result
Once installed, long press on homescreen to add a shortcut, add a "FolderOrganiser" app shorcut and it asks you whether you want to "add text below" icon.

Found one way around this. I only tested this with GO Launcher that supports renaming apps.
If you tap + hold the app icon, then tap "Rename", it allows you to erase the name then save it without a name. I found this to be the easiest, lightest way without having to download additional apps that are overbearing with stuff we really weren't looking for to fix our problem.


text:
Nexus 7 system update notification
My Nexus 7 permanently displays a 'system update downloaded. Touch to install' notification' that I can't seem to clear. I've touched the notification to install but am just taken to apps. Can anyone help me get rid of this notification, please? Many thanks.

Did you try going to Settings->About Phone->System Update and trying to update the phone from there?

Is your Nexus 7 rooted?

Download the updated image and manually flash it instead. That is what I did with mine.


text:
Failed to start emulator: No such file or directory
I downloaded the Android SDK bundle for Linux because I want to start making some apps, but I've run into a couple of problems here. When I tried to create an emulator through the AVD Manager, and I tried to run it, I got the following error message:
Starting emulator for AVD 'AVDTEST'
Failed to start emulator: Cannot run program "/home/luke/adt-bundle-linux-x86_64-20140702/sdk//tools/emulator": java.io.IOException: error=2, No such file or directory

If you look, you will see that there is an extra slash before the tools directory, so I'm asking if anyone knows where I can go to change that path.
I tried running the emulator explicitly from the command line, but, even though I can clearly see that the file is there, and I am now providing the correct path, I still get the no such file/dir error.

Change the SDK directory path from Eclipse settings to the root of your SDK path. Also, chmod the files to executables.

I can not find a settings option in eclipse, that's why I asked this question.

In the SDK manager, the ADK path is already displayed as: /home/luke/adt-bundle-linux-x86_64-20140702/sdk

Window -> Preferences -> Android and browse to the SDK folder. Update sdk and the Eclipse ide if it still doesn't work.

Thanks, but like I said, the Path to sdk is correct, its that extra slash that is messing things up, I'm wondering where I can go to change that specific path (i'm checking for updates now, although everything should be the latest version, because i just downloaded them both today)

yeah no updates to perform

Go to your sdk path and try starting avd manually

You're talking about via the command line right? I tried that earlier, check the edit on my post


text:
What ROM will turn my Verizon HTC One M8 into the same thing as the unlocked dev version?
I have an HTC One (M8) from Verizon, but I don't live in the US.  I'd like to find a ROM that will make my phone have the same settings as the unlocked Dev Version that you can buy directly from HTC.
I tried searching the XDA forums, but I do not understand most of the features described by the various roms, and they all seem to use code names and jargon.  Which ROM will just give me a simple clean install as if I had bought the unlocked dev version?

This looks like what you want. Basically, any ROM that says it's a "GPe" rom or a "Google Play edition" rom will be what you're after. To get the Google Apps you'll need to flash a GApps package such as the ParanoidAndroid ones - you can just choose the "stock" package. Flash those after flashing the ROM and you'll have a pre-rooted, dev version ROM.

Thanks. Does this mean that I won't get updates when new versions of the OS come out? I'll have to find roms and download them again?

@avi yep you'll get a notification of an update but you can't install it. You need to install a new  ROM each time. It's... tedious.


text:
Where can I find Google Play services?
I have a Samsung Galaxy Ace and when I try to use my apps, it says "This app won't run without Google Play services, which are missing from your phone".
Where can I find those Google Play Services as they are not in my menu nor in any of my settings? I had them before but now I can't find them..!

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.gms&hl=en_GB

Google Play Services can be Disabled (Turned Off), and it is possible you did so. To find out if this is the case, and to re-enable, use Settings>Application Manager, and find the List of Apps either 'All', or sometimes it is split into 'Disabled' (Turned Off). The 'All' or 'Disabled' lists are to the far right panel of this tabbed interface - scroll far right. If not in a Disabled list, the disabled apps are at the bottom of the 'All' list. Find it alphabetically to re-enable (Turn On).

Simply Google: Google Play services to install it. This has worked for me many a time and you can even update it via this method.

In addition to the answer by wbogacz, if you cannot find Google Play Services yet you think that you've not uninstalled it, then follow this solution:

Enable USB Debugging, install ADB drivers in your PC for your device, and make sure that your device is getting detected in the output of the command adb devices. (Consider Minimal Installation of ADB.)
Alternatively, you may install a terminal app like Terminal Emulator for Android or Terminal IDE.

Connect your phone into PC and run:
   adb shell

The command will let you enter into ADB shell.

The following  pm command will find all enabled packages in your device and grep will output gms for com.google.android.gms i.e. Google Play Services.
   pm list packages -e | grep gms

The following pm command will find all disabled packages in your device and grep will output gms for com.google.android.gms i.e. Google Play Services.
   pm list packages -d | grep gms

Alternatively, you can run the last two commands in Terminal Emulator app.

If your system has the Play Services installed, then the output of one of the last two command should be:
   package:com.google.android.gms

If the package is enabled, then you can find it easily in Settings → Apps → All Apps → Google Play Services. In your launcher the app name would be Google Settings.
In case you cannot see it in any said location yet it is enabled, then type the command:
 am start -a android.intent.action.MAIN -n com.google.android.gms/.app.settings.GoogleSettingsActivity

The command will launch the Google Settings UI.

If the app is disabled, then you can enable the app using the command:
 pm enable com.google.android.gms

Repeat step 3. to launch this app.

If you do not see any output in Step 2., then possibly your device doesn't have Play Services installed. In this case, AFAIK you have to flash a Gapps package.


text:
Can't exit recovery mode after intalling HD revolution 71.1
I started with a HTC ONE m7 with HD Revolution 12 and Android 4.2.2.
Downloaded and installed Android_Revolution_HD-One_71.1.zip.  Install seems to go fine.  After installation it asks me to fix permissions.  Also wiped from TWRP before installation.
After installing and rebooting I can only get to TWRP v2.5.0.0 or the bootloader mode that shows:
TAMPERED
UNLOCKED
HBOOT-1.44.0000
RADIO-4A.14.3250.15
OPEN DSP-v26.120.274.0202
eMMC-BOOT
May 3 2013, 20:01:28-1
FASTBOOT USB:
Bootloader
Reboot
Reboot Bootloader
Power Down
or HBOOT:
Fastboot
Recovery
Factory Reset
Simlock
Image CRC
Show Barcode
What now?  Everything I try takes me to either the Recovery Screen or the TWRP.
:?

Try updating TWRP to 2.6.3.3+

My PC's not seeing the phone as a drive so there's no way for me drop installation files on it?

Have you tried mounting as a storage device from within recovery?

Just tried the mounting options under TWRP---Cache (x -checked) and Data (x-checked) and System and USB-OTG (Both unchecked).  Still not seeing anything on the PC

Is there some sort of USB Fast boot I should be doing from the PC side?

Thanks for the tip Jonny Wright.  I was able to instal 2.6.33 thanks to this youtube vid:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HWj_1KHbuY.  Reinstalled and booted up normally.  Now in setup up redoing apps and email.  Thanks!!

@ThomasBright Glad to read you were able solving your issue! Could you please answer your own question, describing the steps you've taken (and giving the Youtube link as a reference)? This would help other users with similar trouble to identify this issue as being solved, and directing them to the solution. Thanks!

Sure IzzY!   Per Johnny Wrights recommendation I was trying to update TWRP to 2.6.3.3.   Plug in the phone to the PC via USB and make sure the phone is in FASTBOOT USB mode from the bootloader menu.   I installed "Minimal ADB and Fastboot". Running that from the command line (cmd.exe) you type "fastboot flash recovery " then drag the file.  (watch the youtube video-it will make more sense).  I my case it was the 2.6.3 TWRP .img file.  That pushes the update to the phone.  I already had the HD 71.1 zip on the phone.  I installed that via the TWRP install and from there it booted up normally.

Summing up the solution from the comments, as neither OP nor the "solution provider" posted an answer:
Per Johnny Wrights recommendation I was trying to update TWRP to 2.6.3.3:

Plug in the phone to the PC via USB and make sure the phone is in FASTBOOT USB mode from the bootloader menu.
On the PC, I installed "Minimal ADB and Fastboot". Running that from the command line (cmd.exe) you type fastboot flash recovery then drag the file. (watch the youtube video – it will make more sense). I my case it was the 2.6.3 TWRP .img file. That pushes the update to the phone.
I already had the HD 71.1 zip on the phone. I installed that via the TWRP install and from there it booted up normally.

In my case, removing TWRP and reinstalling it solved the issue:

install stock recovery to replace the installed TWRP
install TWRP again so it replaces the stock recovery

After that, my device booted up normally.


text:
Will installing Cyanogenmod speed up my Galaxy S?
I recently purchased a used Samsung Galaxy S Captivate. While it seems fine for my purposes, it would be nice if it were just a bit faster, in terms of loading different pages more quickly. From what I've seen, Cyanogenmod claims that it's faster than many stock roms, since it doesn't use the company's extra interface, which, in this case, would be TouchWiz. However, Cyanogenmod would also bring my operating system up to Android 4.4, and I'm not sure how much additional power that would take. I'm also open to using older versions of Cyanogenmod, if that's feasible.
Would it be better in terms of performance to keep my phone at the stock rom or to install Cyanogenmod?

Actually it's said 4.4 is well suited for "smaller devices" (not using as much resources), so that should even be on the "pro list" – especially in case the device is currently running JellyBean. But having neither that device nor Kitkat, I cannot give a definite answer, sorry.

Chances are this phone is out of warranty by now, so there is nothing preventing you from trying CyanogenMod and seeing if the phone feels faster. You can always revert to the stock ROm if you find CM not to your liking.

In theory, your phone should perform considerably faster with CyanogenMod 11, because KitKat was designed with entry/mid-level phones in mind; requiring only 512 MB of RAM to run. (See this page about Project Svelte for more information.)
CyanogenMod also adds a whole slew of features like Heads Up Notifications and Privacy Guard on top of the AOSP code, so your phone will not only be fast but also be very useful.
Keep in mind, however, that CyanogenMod (along with others such as PA and OmniROM) are third-party ROMs, and therefore lack the various "enhancements" that the manufacturer has made in the stock ROM; so don't be surprised if you see that the camera doesn't perform as well, the battery drains faster than usual, etc.

+1 for mentioning the theory and the actual reality for custom ROMs (not all of them of course)

Never do that. Perhaps it helps to increase your speed but it consumes much more power.
If performance in CPU increases, undoubtedly,the power usage will increase dramatically. Try to keep your factory ROM and looking for some good free app in the market for increasing the speed.

Why not do  it? You haven't explained any reason not to? If anything Kitkat should use LESS resources on the device. Apps for increasing speed are notoriously bad, and task managers are absolutely rubbish. Also if CyanogenMod doesn't suit the OP there are other roms available from AOSP that should be better than Samsung's awful resource hog Touchwiz.

Can you name any sources for your arguments? They don't sound convincing. Performance enhancements are not made by heavier CPU use, but by cleaning up/rewriting code so it behaves "friendlier" to resources like CPU, which makes it snappier and more battery-friendly – just the opposite of what you write. Are your claims based on personal experience (then please elaborate), on some tests published somewhere else (please name the link), or are they "just assumptions without a base"?


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If I install a ROM that doesn't exactly match my phone, will it work at all?
As you know, manufacturers of popular mobile phones often times will release a modified " clone " version of their mainstream models. Often these clone models will be re-released models that are designed to be a downgraded version of a high end phone, usually released for prepaid network. These dumbed down androids will have the exact same hardware as their big brothers, but will be lacking in some performance features such as a smaller lower resolution screen, or a weaker camera. But the are essentially their own kin. They'll have the same chipset, the same sensors and I/O devices, but will be cut down much like an entry level laptop. The problem with these phones is that the manufacturer rarely publishes software updates for them because they aren't very popular and most of the time it's impossible to find third party roms for them for the same reason. So, how likely is it to work if you download and install an OS made not for the prepaid, but for it's big brother?
Say you have a Motorola XT957C3
This phone is a prepaid, entry level version of the Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX. is uses the Texas Instruments OMAP3040 chipset, just like its cousin, and it has the same Broadcomm WLAN chip, the same Wolfson Audio hub, the same accelerometer and gyro, even the same battery and power IC.
( note that these figures aren't factual, I'm just making an example )
The only differences are purely aesthetic. A smaller display, lack of a front camera, less internal memory etc. etc.
How likely is it that installing a ROM for the Droid RAZR will work on this off-model phone? What other than basic drivers does the OS need to work right? And what about the baseband software? Would it be the same as the one on its brother?

You'll brick the device.

...most likely. In the best case, not all features will be available (e.g. no radio, or no camera – or no screen).

The Kernels alone will cause nothing to work, let alone the fact it's built for another device. DO NOT FLASH it OP, unless as @Izzy said you don't need the screen, phone, memory, radio, camer etc.

If they were that similar and software from one could just run on the other with no changes, then the manufacturer would release updates for the budget model at the same time as the high-end one. They wouldn't have any reason not to if they didn't need to make extra changes or do extra testing.

Possible duplicate of Can I install a ROM made for a different device?

The answer is almost definetly no.
Although there might not be much difference between the models, there are bits that are different. These bits won't work. Other bits may depend on these bits, and they won't work either. The baseband and radios might work fine, but the rest of the mismatched components will lead to, at best, a soft brick. I have a Moto G LTE second gen, and accidentally flashed a ROM from its non-LTE brother. Almost exactly the same apart from the radio, and a different model number of processor (both Snapdragon 400s though). I ended up with a brick that was very hard to sort out (not helped by the fact my nandroid backup was corrupted).
Also (correct me if I'm wrong), I believe that a number of ROMs will refuse to flash if they detect the wrong device. I found that out when an old copy of TWRP kept feeding a zip the wrong information. Don't try and test it out though :)
In short, flashing ROMs on devices they weren't intended to be flashed with is a bad idea, no matter how similar in specs they may seem.

No. Most of the time recoveries wont even allow you to do this. But it definitely won't work. This is because the build prop for your ROM doesn't match your devices config. I would recommend asking them to build for your device or you can build the ROM yourself.

It is worth an attempt to try it. However you will risk the chance of bricking the device. Most of the time roms are created for specific phones because they have specific radios that work with the carrier. Among other aspects.
It would be very important to know exactly what phone you had and what ROM you intended to use.

It is worth an attempt to try it NOOOPE it isn't. Dangerous advice, with the exception of merged ROMs for a few select devices any difference in model means different kernel, drivers and so on. If it is not for a device it should NEVER be flashed on the device. Do NOT flash it if it isn't for the EXACT device model. Unless the OP doesn't want calls/touchscreen/radio/camera and any functionality.

As Ross wrote: possible (or rather highly likely) dangers outweight possible gain by far. So NO, that's not a good advice for a novice user, not even for the average user. Users capable of dealing with the side-effects (for whom it might be worth a try) would know to at least avoid the most dangerous combinations without asking here :)

Dear mods:  Could you please delete this answer?  It may cause readers to take a silly gamble and to unnecessarily brick their devices.


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Bootloop Sony Tablet S
I had a problem with my Sony Tablet S (Android 4.03) i tried to unnistalled some app and then alot of messages pop up one after another teeling that "x" application has fail, so i try to reboot, but since the tablet get stuck on the loading screen when try to initialize.
Anyone can help me to solve it without lost all the apps and info? thanks.

Have you checked our boot-loop tag-wiki, which includes some first-aid on the issue? If so, what have you tried, and where are you stuck?

@Izzy thanks, yes i have seen it, and also i could fix the bootloop (just did a reset to factory) i couldn't save the data, but at least i can use the tablet again

Thanks for the feedback, Dmitry. Would you mind making your experience an answer, including the steps you've taken? That could help future visitors (even more if you include links to where you picked details from ;) Thanks!


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Is there a simple offline contacts manager for android?
I don't want to sync all my contacts with my Google account. I would like to just keep my contacts on my phone and back it up myself. I have disabled contacts syncing in the accounts settings on my phone, but when I try to add a new contact through the 'Contacts' app, it tells me that my new contact will be synchronized with my google account.

Which Android OS version is your phone running? Also, the answer will depend on which "Contacts" app you are using. These vary between different phone manufacturers, so please add which phone model you have.

When adding contacts to the phone via Google's built-in Contacts app, it will give you a choice how to save the contact.  While adding a new contact, tap the "Google contact" to expand the drop-down for more choices on where to save it, and choose the option to store it only locally:

Keep in mind that various phone manufacturers such as Samsung, HTC, Motorola, etc. load their own versions of some system apps, including the "Contacts" app.  Your Contacts app may look differently, and have this option elsewhere (or may be completely missing it.)

You can go to App Drawer > Select Phone > Tap on the three dots > Select "Import/Export" > And then select "Export to storage". This will back up all your contacts on your phone itself. You can later on import from this backup if needed. However, you need to do this manually every time you modify your contact list.

It may well be the option Chahk describes in his answer is not present on your device. I've noticed some devices coming without a "local account". If that's your case, there's e.g. MyLocalAccount creating one for you.
For other contact tools, you might wish to take a look into my list ;)

In addition to the other suggestions, you can have a look at DecSync and DecSync CC Android app for keeping contacts (and calendars + task lists) on your device in simple text files.
It registers as a contacts provider and the underlying storage files can be backed up or synchronised via a 3rd-party app like Syncthing.


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VPN software to connect to a Remote Access Server
I have a Galaxy S2 from Virgin Mobile. My home network is Windows Server 2012. I'm using RAS to connect to my home network from other locations on a Windows 8 laptop. I have several SharePoint sites within my home network that I'd like to test from my phone. Most of the software I find on Google Play when searching VPN is to mask my browsing history or act as a proxy server. I'd like to VPN into my network from my phone.
I also have a Netgear Nighthawk R7000 wi-fi router, but I'd rather only use that if it's my only option. Doing some searches seems to say that Android is not supported for that router anyway.
What free or paid software can I use that doesn't require my phone being rooted?
If my only option is to root, what's the best ROM for my phone?
Then..
What free or paid software is best for a rooted phone?
Thanks!

Unfortunately, the first and third part of your question (asking for an app) is expressivley off-topic here (but you might wish to check this list). For the middle part, please see Where can I find stock or custom ROMs for my Android device?. (one more hint: Don't ask multiple questions in one post; Q&A sites like this work best with one question per post ;) Good luck!

Ok, thanks for the tip and the links.  The native VPN client on the phone worked fine.  I forgot that it existed.  Never needed it until now.

Thanks for the update, spex5. Would you mind making that an answer, including a few basic steps on how you enabled it? That would be pretty helpful to other users. Thanks!

I found that using the native VPN client on Android is sufficient for this (I have 4.1.2).  From the home screen, hit menu, settings, more settings, VPN, Add VPN network, put in the host name / ip address of your RAS.  Default is PPTP, which worked for me, you will be prompted to enter your domain credentials.
Currently, I am going to try to the Paranoid Anroid ROM for my phone.  http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s2/orig-development/rom-paranoidandroid-4-2-beta3-t2603784  Running stock now.  Phone is getting old.  Hopefully this will extend it's usable life.


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How to securely/permanently delete sensitive information on a Galaxy S5?
My S5's screen died about a week ago and as a result the phone will be getting swapped. It has some pretty sensitive information on it (such as numbers, credit card info, photos, etc.) that I want to get rid of:permanently. Lately I've been overwriting the internal memory using "dd if=/dev/urandom of=/sdcard/junkfile" in ADB and was wondering if this would be enough to make sure my data is gone for good. I've also wiped it about 5 times.

You've done great so far. Now, write junk files again and encrypt the device over ADB Shell:
/system/bin/vdc cryptfs enablecrypto inplace PASSWORD
(Your device may need to be rooted for this)
Now, feel free to wipe.

And for full paranoia-mode, write the junk file again after that :)

Repeat 3 times.  :p


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Where does Facebook cache video?
Few days ago, I played a video in Facebook app. Today, I tapped the same video just to know that the video was cached locally.
From where can I get this cache?

You can find your cached videos under /data/data/com.facebook.katana/files/video-cache.
Note: To open that path, you need a rooted phone and a  root explorer app.


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Why do I have trouble seeing files from Windows?
I have a Nook HD+ with kivy installed. When I connect the device with USB I can use Windows Explorer to see the directories and copy files to the Nook. But the log files it generates don't show up in Explorer. I've installed BusyBox so I can copy files around, and copying one of the logs to the base program directory works fine - ls -l shows that the permissions and owners are the same as the other files in the directory. But I can't see them from Windows.
I don't know which version of Android, if someone can tell me how to see it I'll add the information to the question.
Edit: shutting off the Nook and turning it back on seemed to clear things up. I don't know if it will show any new modifications to the directory, but I got what I needed for now.

What's the "base program directory"?

@DanHulme it's the subdirectory of kivy where I've stored the source files for my app.


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Would updating my rooted Sony Xperia Z brick it?
I updated my phone, rooted it and then realized the current version isn't the latest, so I would like to update it. Is there any chance my Xperia Z would brick? Or do I have to unroot it first?

Do you have a custom recovery? There is a chance it won't allow you to install it with a custom recovery, you'd need the stock one. You will lose root possibly but can re-root anyway.

@RossC No I don't have a custom recovery. By the way, I'm using custom fonts so when my root is lost after the installation, the font will be using the default font, right

I'm not 100% sure. It most likely will install the stock font, but I'd need someone more knowledgeable to confirm that. I guess it depends on what's included in the OTA update.

No.
Instead you may lose your root access in turn, because some system settings go back to default when updating a device, which will probably include your superuser.
Your personal data and installed apps will not be affected.

Thank you for your answer. How high are the chances of losing root access? Also, my personal data won't be affected, right?

Very. And here is the reason why.


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Application folder naming convention
I was just wondering why the naming of some folders on android is such:
com.dropbox.android
com.android.browser

Further to answer from @PratapPatil who has given the Android details.
This is a convention in programming, specifically here Java.
The Java Tutorials package details give details and examples.
With programmers worldwide writing classes and interfaces using the Java programming language, it is likely that many programmers will use the same name for different types. In fact, the previous example does just that: It defines a Rectangle class when there is already a Rectangle class in the java.awt package. Still, the compiler allows both classes to have the same name if they are in different packages. The fully qualified name of each Rectangle class includes the package name. That is, the fully qualified name of the Rectangle class in the graphics package is graphics.Rectangle, and the fully qualified name of the Rectangle class in the java.awt package is java.awt.Rectangle.
This works well unless two independent programmers use the same name for their packages. What prevents this problem? Convention.
Naming Conventions

Package names are written in all lower case to avoid conflict with the names of classes or interfaces.
Companies use their reversed Internet domain name to begin their package names—for example, com.example.mypackage for a package named mypackage created by a programmer at example.com.
Name collisions that occur within a single company need to be handled by convention within that company, perhaps by including the region or the project name after the company name (for example, com.example.region.mypackage).

For an alterative angle on this the StackOverflow quesion is around naming a hobby project.  The naming could be something like rossc.android.exampleproject  since I don't have a domain of my own.

Every android app has access to a file space in the /data partition that is private to the app. This is where the sqlite databases and user settings (shared preferences) reside. Developer of the app does not have to worry about the naming convention or the location of the files they want to store as far as this private space is concerned.
However, when it comes to storing data in SD card (public space) by an app the app needs to make sure that the folder created by the app is unique and not used by any other app or by the device user. Android OS (AndroidManifest) identifies an app uniquely by their package name. Which you can even find the playstore urls. Example: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dropbox.android
Therefore, developers choose to use these package names to create folders to avoid conflict with other apps. This way does not guarantee that there will be no conflict but it prevent it to a large extent.
Another reason is this: when user moves the the application data to SD card the data from the application's private space is moved to the public space (SD card). This private space is named in the following way:-
Example: /data/data/com.dropbox.android.
So this is moved to /sdcard/something/com.dropbox.android

Correction: If every app used its own name, it would prevent collisions, as two apps with the same name cannot be installed at once (they are, for Android, the same app).

Even more precise: Always prevents collisions as long as both apps are from the Play store. If you had an app and downloaded one with the same package name from outside the play store, I think it'd replace the previous one on installation. Not sure what warnings the system might give.


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Setup VPN access through SSH
I have a Samsung S4 with last kitkat update. I would like to set it up so that I can access my University services. For that, when I use my laptop, I just set up a ssh tunnel like:
ssh -D 8081 -f -C -q -N work_machine.edu

I wonder if this can be done in android and how, or if there is any app for doing this. I had a look to some VPN apps but found anything useful.

The command you typed just does dynamic port forwarding through SSH connection. That's equivalent to SOCKS5 proxy. But you need to redirect your traffic towards this tunnel using VPN or iptables. Latter requires root access.
One such free and open-source app which makes use of VPN is SocksDroid. SSH tunnel can be created using some GUI or CLI app like Termux. For more options see How to set up a socks5 with Android cli?


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how to restrict the user to access only my application in the tablet?
We are giving tablets to our customers with our own app installed in it. I only want the customers to work with our app only. I don't want them to watch video in youtube or chat with whatsapp. How do i restrict them to use only my application? Is there any way to monitor?

This happens to be a question frequently asked on our site. Have you tried our on-site search? See How do I search? for help using it. One more hint: check out our kiosk-mode tag, which is where most of those questions are.

Since Android 4.2 tablet can have multiple users. At least I have seen this in Nexus 7.
You need to do the following:

Protect your default user account on the tablet with a password
Create a restricted user account and give the user access to apps that you want them to have

Note: Multi-user is not available on Android phones or with older Android OSes.
You cannot protect your tablet from being factory rest by user and having access to all.

How to create the restricted user account and give the user access to apps?


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Why are my Astrid and Tasks reminders late sometimes?
Samsung GT-I8160 Galaxy Ace II
Stock Android 4.1.2

I used Astrid for a couple of years, and now I use Tasks. But both of them has the similar issue: sometimes reminders are late. What may be the reason? How it can be fixed?

Could you be a little more specific about "late"? Do they show up a certain amount of time after the set time (e.g. always one hour late)? Do they only show up next time you start the app? Or is there some other pattern of lateness?

@DanHulme, I can't catch some pattern: here are various tasks (repeated or not) with various lateness (minutes or hours). They show up without any activity for my part, just late.

Reminders for tasks with due dates and due times should wake up the device and fire at the exact time. If this is not what you are experiencing you can add an item to the issue tracker with more details and I can look in to it.
If a task has only a due date without a due time then other factors come into play, but in most circumstances the reminder should fire at the default reminder time found in the reminder settings preferences.

Done


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How to identify the cause of entering Safe Mode?
I have a Motorola Xoom 3G tablet running Android 4.04 (latest system release) that has been stuck in 'safe mode' for some time now no matter how many times I restart the device.
I have been through the apps list and uninstalled anything I could remember installing recently but still the problem persists.
The device is primarily used as a wifi hotspot with my 3G internet around the house which still works fine - but I would also like to use the screen as an ereader from time to time - which the permanent 'safe mode' message gets in the way of.
Is there any way of tracing the cause of this safe mode loop?
Alternately is there a way of just getting rid of the 'safe mode' message while leaving it in safe mode?

I just performed a factory reset - lost all of my data and the device is still booting to 'safe mode' ... GRRRrrrr

No removable battery, I guess, so taking that out for a while is no option. Have you tried poking the reset hole with some paper clip or the like for at least a couple of seconds?

Turned out to be a hardware fault in this particular circumstance a faulty connection between the flex cable that connects the volume buttons and the motherboard... Reseated the connector and 'safe mode' was gone next time I restarted.
Found this by trial and error - don't know of any way to narrow down the cause with the help of software.
So wish I had checked that connector before I went and wiped everything... Doh!

I had the same problem. Spent a night to fix it. First i thought it to be a software issue.. browsed and tried infinite fixes. I tried re seating flex cable that connects the volume buttons and the motherboard.I tries to factory reset through boot loader. Thought of flashing a different ROM. Dint work out for me.
Here is what worked for me.

Open the back panel of the tablet.
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Nexus+7+Power+%26+Volume+Button+Cable+Replacement/9926
Flip up the retaining flap on the 'power and volume button ribbon cable' connecting to the mother board. DO NOT PULL OUT THE CABLE NOW.   Be ready to pull out the cable.

3.Press the power button to switch on your tablet.
4.The moment you see Google logo, pull out 'power and volume button ribbon cable'. This will disconnect volume down key, which forces the tablet into bootloader.
5.Now the tablet is ON in normal mode.
6.Plug the 'power and volume button ribbon cable' into its mother board socket.
7.Close the panel and enjoy using your tablet.
Be very careful with 'power and volume button ribbon cable'. A slight twist or bend will short the connections inside the cable.
P.S : After powering on, Try not to switch off the tablet. The volume down key might malfunction again and your tablet might go back to boot loader. Charge it before the battery dies out. In worst case, you'll have to repeat the above steps again. Messing with the power keys cable is not always a good idea :D
The volume down key and power key combination lets you to go into boot loader. So when volume down key is malfunctioning, your tablet might go for a toss. This could be for various reasons ,
a.Volume key is abused
b. volume key cable is damaged
c. Mother board is unable to supply enough power to volume keys.
d. volume keys socket in the mother board is damaged.

Make sure you booting your Device only pressing Power Button , without pressing any additional button like Volume Up , Volume Down , Home button
If the device keeps going automatically to Safe Mode , probably one Application is causing this or is a Hardware problem...
Note
Don't flash any custom rom or kernel ,  that your Device doesn't meet the hardware requirements


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Setting Up Live Wallpaper with Tasker
I'm trying to set up a Tasker widget to switch between a static wallpaper and a live wallpaper.
I have no problem with coming up with the action for the static wallpaper, but I am unable to change my wallpaper for the live wallpaper. Hope someone with experience could help me out here.
I am using the latest version of Tasker and the live wallpaper I wish to set up is Koi Live Wallpaper running on a rooted 4.3 stock rom Samsung S3.
Thank you in advance.

To set a LW the only thing needed is a task with an action of shell command and this command in the command text box:
service call wallpaper 2 i32 1 s16 "com.maxelus.poweroflifelivewallpaper" s16 "com.maxelus.poweroflifelivewallpaper.WallpaperService"
The first argument is the package of the LW, then the other one is the service.
For example, the shell command for AudioGlow is:
(Click image to enlarge)

This command sets live wallpaper:
service call wallpaper 2 i32 1 s16 "[package name]" s16 "[class name]"
This command allows to get name of active live wallpaper:
service call wallpaper 4
And this command disables it:
service call wallpaper 5

Hi thanks for the response. So far, I've only manages to get the package name but not the service name. It's there a way to get it?

I would suggest you to use Rom Toolbox Lite as its very popular and very useful too.
In it, Go to App Manger --> Click the App (AudioGlow) --> and choose Advance Freeze. Here you can see all the Activity name and service below it.

Cool, I'll take a look into that. Thanks again, Abhioxic.


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Does Android L Developer Preview fix the mm-qcamera-daemon problem?
I have a Nexus 5 running on Android 4.4.4 Kitkat, and the mm-qcamera-daemon problem appeared today for the first time (I don't have the usual culprits like Snapchat or Skype).
Does Android L Developer Preview fix this issue?

Since this is a developer preview not intended for full-time, normal use, you may find the cure is worse than the disease: even if this problem is fixed, there might be new problems that are harder to live with.

@DanHulme Well, yeah maybe, but I can't think of a worse problem than the battery being discharged extremely quickly.

The battery being discharged extremely quickly such that the CPU melts. That's not likely on a dev preview, though. But deleting all your data, not being able to access the cellular network, or being unable to use a particular app are all more likely outcomes which would be problems for everyday use.

@DanHulme Thanks, I'm gonna stick to KitKat at least until the official release. Also I thing I found the culprit in my case, because I remember that earlier in the day this app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nionsoftware.flashlight malfunctioned, and must have caused the problem.

Unfortunately I was still getting this issue (seems to come and go) under android L, so to answer your question, no, it's not fixed.
See https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=70755 for others who are reporting the issue still exists.

Fast forward to October 2014 and December 2014, Google's Android devs claimed that it has been fixed and added a few layers of protection on Android 5.0 Lollipop, though your mileage may vary.


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Where can I find SharedPRefs file on my MotoG device ? It is with KitKat BTW
Generally for SharedPRefs file the path is like : data/data/com....application..package..name/shared_prefs/filename.xml.
But when I tried to navigate through the same path on my MotoG device, I don't see anything like this after
/data/..... :(
Can you guys help me please....

This is because your phone is not rooted. By default, only the application itself can access files in /data/data/com.whatever, so that casual users don't edit the files and break the app. To see these files, you need to root the device and use a file explorer tool that can use root (this is usually called a "root explorer" app or feature).

Thank You, how can I root my phone ?

That's a completely different question, depending on several factors usually. A good start would be reading our rooting tag-wiki :)

Cool...started reading it now...Will take it up from here on...Again...Thanks :)


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Change network time (Fake)
In android you have a option to change your GPS location to a fake location.
Is it possible to "fake" the network time, so my app thinks that the actual time the fake network time is?
My phone is a Huawei G700-U10, and the Android version is 4.2.1
And I have root my device. So I can acces SuperSu.
Thanks

As you've got root on your device, that should be possible by synchronizing time via NTP. For details, see e.g. Time server for Android. Remaining question, though, is whether this would really override other time settings of the device (e.g. using your mobile network provider's time, which Android might use by default – see NITZ and Where time information is received from the network?) if they differ too much. This might be avoided by:

In Settings→Date & Time, disable automatic time adjustment
Install one of the apps mentioned in Time server for Android to take care for it
Setup your own "fake-time-server"
make that "fake-time-server" the one to be used by the app from 2.


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Invalid WI-FI Networks showing in "WI-FI Networks" list
In my WI-FI list, I see 5 password protected WI-FI networks that appear to be in range. The problem is, I know these networks are not in range. It appears as if I was in range at some point and when I got out of range they did not go away. They show as available at home, at work(20 minutes from home), at the cottage(2 hours north of here) and anywhere else that I go.
I have never connected to these and I do not know the password to any of them. If I press and hold on them, the only option I have is "Connect to a network" so I cannot "Forget" them as I was never connected in the first place.
What could have caused these to start appearing in the list? Is there a way to get these out of my available "WI-FI Networks" list?

Do you have root access on your device? While I cannot answer the "why", I might be able to show a way to make them "go away" then.

I do not have root access on my device.

A pity. With root, you could use a "scalpel" to solve that (editing a single file – /data/system/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant, if I remember the path correctly). Without root, just "atomics" for all I know (i.e. a factory-reset would cure it; I don't know of any way to edit/reset the wpa_supplicant without root apart from that).

So the file wpa_supplicant is supposed to hold the wi-fi networks that are currently in range?

Looks like I've missed that part of your question. All networks you've connected to in the past are stored in a file called /data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf (I've just checked the location again). Those you've not been connected to are not saved to that file. No idea where those are stuck – but I've had a similar case with one of my devices as well in the past. I don't remember how I've got rid of them; but you could try switching to airplane mode for a few seconds, that might trigger some "purge".

Airplane mode did the trick! Post is as an answer and I'll accept it. I've turned WI-FI on and off, restarted the phone, and just about everything else I could think of without any luck in this. I never thought Airplane mode would do anything different than turning these off. Maybe the combination of all of these being off at once? Thank you so much for your help! This has been driving me crazy for a few weeks.

Quite confusing. Turning WiFi off/on alone should be sufficient, let alone restarting the phone. Would be interesting to know what airplane mode adds to that. But hey, as long as it works (and is even less nasty than a reboot), let's gladly accept it solves the issue :) Answer placed as requested. Enjoy!

While all networks you've connected to in the past are stored in a file called /data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf, networks "just seen" around (but never connected to) are IMHO not stored to any file, but just "cached" in memory. So a simple trick to get rid of them is to enter airplane-mode for a couple of seconds (or a minute if seconds are not enough). With WiFi being disabled, the system should see no reason to "stick" to that "cached" information, and thus "forget" the unknown networks. As soon as you return from airplane mode, it would need to "rebuild" its cache again – but those "stickies" should be gone for good (until next time, maybe, but then simply repeat the action).

This worked great. I only needed to leave it on for a few seconds. Thanks for the help!


text:
How to display my heart rate on the Samsung "Android Wear" Smartwatch?
I have a Samsung Gear Live Smartwatch that says it has a heart rate sensor.
How can I see the output of this sensor?

There are two applications that come preloaded on the device which can do this for you, "Fit" and "Heart Rate".  You can start these apps by saying "Ok Google" or tapping the screen to bring up search, followed by the command "Start Fit" or "Start Heart Rate" which launch the corresponding app.  Heart Rate's sole purpose is to show this information, so the button to start monitoring will be available immediately.  Fit also tracks other fitness data, such as steps you've traveled, so you'll need to swipe to the left once to get to the heart rate section and expose the button which will start the reading. Both of these apps will request that you stay still for 10-15 seconds as a reading is taken, and it is important to note that they only measure your heart rate when you ask for it, there's not a passive reading being taken.
As a shortcut, you can just tell Google to "Show me my heart rate" to skip the "Start Fit" or "Start Heart Rate" commands as well as the button press to start the reading.  This will automatically launch the default heart rate measuring app and start taking a reading.  You can configure which app does this by default by using the Android Wear app on your connected device.


text:
What causes Android to have slow WiFi performance?
I have a Samsung Galaxy SII (GT-I9100 with Android 4.0.3) and a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1(GT-P7500 on Android 4.0.4). They both perform awfully slow on WiFi for internet related Apps.
Either Facebook, YouTube, Any web browser (Chrome, Mozilla, Dolphin and native) perform like if the WiFi connection was a slow one. Frequent time-outs in Play Store, videos taking forever to buffer, etc.
I Know for sure that at least at home the router/modem is not the issue, as I can have two laptops running Windows consumming WiFi at normal speeds, i.e. each one streaming a video on YouTube without pauses for buffering, but at the same time, one of my androids woul not even be capable of playing the same video, or take, say 1 minute to load a page that on my laptop loads in 2-3 seconds. The same happens in other WiFi Networks I connect them to. My devices have developed this behavior from 10-8 months ago and it has slowly worsened over time,
Is this something related to the Android Operating system? Could it be one of my apps? And if it is one of the apps, how can I identify and kill it?
It does not seem to be a disconnecting from network problem, I get steady connection indicator.
Note: I consider myself almost a lean user: I don´t keep a lot of apps and dont usually leave running the ones I use (i.e. I close the browsers, the facebook app, etc, and constantly check whether apps are running with the app manager).
Note 2: These devices sometimes work faster on 3G, wich doesn't make much sense because here in my country the provider is not very good and many of the cell towers(antenas) are clogged with a too many users. In these cases I normally get the normal, expected lag of such network.


text:
Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition won't play video fullscreen
My galaxy note 10.1 (2014 edition) tablet used to be able to show netflix and youtube and other video links fullscreen. Now, the video quality drops dramatically and skips to black screens between some frames quite often. Some video streaming pages (the FIFA world cup website) will not even run fullscreen at all on my tablet. They go full screen, then stay black. Sometimes audio plays without video, sometimes nothing plays.
Is this a common issue? Is there an easy way to fix this? Or do I need to somehow have my tablet reloaded (where could I do this?)?


text:
SMS Problem - Moto G update 4.4.4
A problem appeared in my Moto G after the update to 4.4.4. Hangout app stop work with SMS. Beside that I can't activate the factory SMS app.
I tried to install some alternative SMS apps and all of them crash when I try to send some message.

If I send a normal Hangout everything works flawlessly, but if I select the SMS functionality the app crashes.
I check the Logcat and this exception is raised:
07-14 14:09:29.970: E/CallISmsApp(11124): android.telephony.CallISmsApp$NeedRetryException: getService ISmsApp is null!
07-14 14:09:29.970: E/CallISmsApp(11124): at android.telephony.CallISmsApp.getISmsApp(CallISmsApp.java:63)
07-14 14:09:29.970: E/CallISmsApp(11124): at android.telephony.CallISmsApp.calculateLength(CallISmsApp.java:133)
07-14 14:09:29.970: E/CallISmsApp(11124): at android.telephony.SmsMessage.calculateLength(SmsMessage.java:302)
07-14 14:09:29.970: E/CallISmsApp(11124): at com.google.android.apps.babel.views.ComposeMessageView.a(SourceFile:82)
07-14 14:09:29.970: E/CallISmsApp(11124): at com.google.android.apps.babel.views.ag.run(SourceFile:190)
07-14 14:09:29.970: E/CallISmsApp(11124): at android.os.Handler.handleCallback(Handler.java:733)
07-14 14:09:29.970: E/CallISmsApp(11124): at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:95)
07-14 14:09:29.970: E/CallISmsApp(11124): at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:136)
07-14 14:09:29.970: E/CallISmsApp(11124): at android.app.ActivityThread.main(ActivityThread.java:5086)
07-14 14:09:29.970: E/CallISmsApp(11124): at java.lang.reflect.Method.invokeNative(Native Method)
07-14 14:09:29.970: E/CallISmsApp(11124): at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:515)
07-14 14:09:29.970: E/CallISmsApp(11124): at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(ZygoteInit.java:785)
07-14 14:09:29.970: E/CallISmsApp(11124): at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit.main(ZygoteInit.java:601)
07-14 14:09:29.970: E/CallISmsApp(11124): at dalvik.system.NativeStart.main(Native Method)

I never developed something using SMS but it seems the service is inactive. That means the problem is with my SMS functionality of the device, not the Hangout. And before 4.4.4 all was well!
How to resolve this issue?

I see this issue quite frequently.  Hangouts will crash if you disable stock Messaging app, but you can't re-enable the Messaging app if you've disabled it before upgrading the OS.
In order to resolve you need to go into Settings -> Apps, tap the three-dot menu button, and select the "Reset app preferences" option:

This re-enables all previously disabled apps, including the ones you couldn't re-enable before.  Hangouts should also stop crashing now.


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How can I output VGA or HDMI video from a Droid Razr M?
I know that one can install command-line linux distros on android. I also know that the screen resolution can be changed. I have a laptop screen with vga input laying around that I was hoping to turn into a small netbook for school with my phone as a processor. However, I have the droid razr m and I can't find (online) any way to output video so I can use the laptop screen. So my question is: How do I output the phone screen to VGA/HDMI as cheaply as possible?

You'd probably need to build a transcoder yourself. If the Razr M supports MHL output you might be able to find a commercially available MHL-to-VGA converter.

Do u think this is good? goo.gl/fh29ll

That doesn't convert to VGA, it's for HDMI, and as I said, it depends on whether the Razr M supports MHL.

Ya hdmi will work for me too

I don't think there is a way to do this with this phone. The Droid Razr M doesn't support MHL, and its Android version is too old to have the feature of mirroring the screen to a Chromecast. You could still use Chromecast to send specific video (i.e. from movie players, presentation apps, or YouTube) to anything that has HDMI input, but not to mirror the whole screen.
Note that the phone's screen itself doesn't use a high-level protocol like VGA or HDMI, so you can't simply take the screen off, cut its ribbon cable, and wire a VGA screen in its place.


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Can you stop your phone vibrating when changing to vibrate mode (without disabling vibrate altogether)?
Samsung S4 running Android 4.4.2
I use the Llama app to manage my profiles depending on where I am (work, home, cinema, etc.).
This works well until Llama doesn't know where I am and can change between my profiles depending on where it thinks I am.
This is very annoying when every time Llama changes to a profile set to use vibrate mode, my phone (the OS not Llama) vibrates to say it is in that mode.
My question is therefore can you stop your phone vibrating when changing to vibrate mode (without disabling vibrate altogether)?
I know you can go to Settings > My Device > Sound > Vibration Intensity to turn off vibrate altogether but I only what to disable it when vibrate mode is being enabled if at all possible.

I solved this problem using an Android app called VibraFix, but this app requires root.


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Google Music Play reports "Can't download music right now. Will try again later."
I have a rooted Galaxy Tab 2 running Android 4.2.2 and Google Music version 5.6.1609P.1258283. I try to download albums and all goes well for approximately 5 albums. After that, Google Play Music reports:

Can't download music right now. Will try again later.

Later never comes, and any attempt to restart the download fails with the same error message. I have plenty of disk space.
I have a decent amount of Unix/Linux experience, so I started an attempt to diagnose. I checked logcat as root and it gave me this:
# logcat D
...
E/DownloadTaskImpl(12712): IOException: id=[3202, DEFAULT], remoteId=7b000cd1-13b5-3f89-8117-65e65dff70d0, owner=KEEPON, priority=100, seek=0
E/DownloadTaskImpl(12712): Download failed because of IO Error: The target server failed to respond
...

I get the IOException every time I try to restart the download. I logged this issue with Google support, but never got a response.
Any suggestions are welcome.


text:
android samsung note 2 unsync gmail and other accounts
My phone was stolen and I want to unsync my gmail and other associated accounts in it. Is there a way for me to do that even if my phone is not with me?
Thanks in advance!

Change your password online.

Related: How to prepare in the event of stolen phone


text:
What is the zygote process still doing in Android L?
I am trying to figure out the specific differences in the Dalvik and ART runtimes.  I realize that ART no longer uses the Dalvik VM, however, one of the first things I noticed after installing the Android L preview was that the zygote process is still running.  If they truly got rid of the Dalvik VM, wouldn't that render the zygote process useless?  Furthermore, upon inspecting the source code released via AOSP, a large portion of Dalvik still remains.

Hard to know, it's a developer release and FAR from complete. There's a lot of Kitkat / Jellybean stitched into it at the moment just to get it working and booting.

Being still a "developer preview", it might indeed make not much sense to speculate (though I follow Dan's explanation). It might be as Dan described, or it might be a "left over" not yet "fully obsoleted". When it still runs on L-Release, that's a different thing.

Zygote isn't really bound up with Dalvik, it's just an init process. Zygote is the method Android uses to start apps. Rather than having to start each new process from scratch, loading the whole system and the Android framework afresh each time you want to start an app, it does that process once, and then stops at that point, before Zygote has done anything app-specific. Then, when you want to start an app, the Zygote process forks, and the child process continues where it left off, loading the app itself into the VM.
Although this method was originally designed for Dalvik, there's no reason ART shouldn't behave exactly the same way. It doesn't have to JIT-compile apps while they're running, but it still has a lot of app-independent Java stuff to load (i.e. the whole Android framework), so it makes sense to use the same fork-when-loaded method to start new processes.
It's natural on such a large project that there would be other left-overs from Dalvik that are still useful in a post-Dalvik world, so you shouldn't be surprised that there is other code that was originally written to be part of or to work with Dalvik, that is still around for ART to use.

Matches my understanding of Zygote (being a non-dev). From the "user view", it probably makes it easier to think of Zygote as "application server", acting as an "abstraction layer" between the apps and the OS (somehow like HAL does to abstract hardware): it doesn't matter what's "below" (Dalvik or ART), the interface deals with "stuff"?

It might make it easier to think of Zygote as an application server, but it's not a very accurate description. It's just the part of the OS that starts apps, and it's very much on the OS side of the app-OS boundary.

Thanks, so at least my "basic understanding" was correct (I'm aware "application server" is not accurate, but easier to understand by a "normal user" – so let's make it "application service", to bring it further on the OS side ;)

What exists in the source code are not "left-overs", and we are not at the post-Dalvik era! Dalvik bitcode is still the IR being used. Even with the highest setting, not everything is AOT-compilied, and there are still some stuff that need to be interpreted. So, for these, there is DalvikVM. Also, devices with low storage, will be using less AOT more interpretation. Lastly, zygote inits heaps of frequently used classes, which  can save space as they can be shared between multiple applications.

@Paschalis you are confusing JIT compiling with DalvikVM. Just because newer versions of the ART do JIT (just-in-time) compilation, doesn't mean Dalvik is still around. Oracle Java does JIT compilation as well, doesn't mean it uses Dalvik

edit my previous comment: b̶i̶t̶c̶o̶d̶e̶ -> bytecode. D̶a̶l̶v̶i̶k̶V̶M̶ -> ART's Interpreter. DalvikVM is not used. But its interpreter and JIT are merged into ART.

DalvikVM used to do interpretation and JIT. ART does AOT, JIT (>=Nougat) and interpretation. A compilation (be it JIT or AOT) takes Dalvik bytecode (oracle takes Java bytecode) and transforms it. An APK contains just dalvik bytecode, and when dex2oat compiles it, filters decide what to AOT (and at runtime, the profiles decide what to JIT).


text:
Emulator with Google Play Certification
I am looking for an Android emulator that has been authorized by Google to include Play and other apps. One I am looking into is called Andy.
Is Andy authorized to use GApps? If not, are there any emulators authorized to do so?
Thanks

Android package GMS will be only available on devices certifieds by google.. I think it will be hard to find officially

I'm using the images provided by the Android-X86 project. They run fine in Virtualbox, and ship with Google Apps pre-installed. For details, please see:

Android emulator for Windows (on our sister-site for Software Recommendations)
How to install Android in Virtualbox at HowtoGeek
Android Emulators at IzzyOnDroid (my site; scroll to the end of the page for emulations OF Android, as the list starts with emulators running on Android ;))
find Android-x86 ISO images on their Google Code site


text:
How can I re-arrange sharing application icons?
When I click on Share from within an application, say an RSS reader, I will see a multitude of choices. See screenshot.

How can I re-arrange it so that my often used applications such as Hangouts and GMail can be moved to the top of the list of applications?

With the built-in "Share" menu, that's not possible AFAIR. However, there are alternatives available – I know of two: AppChooser and AndMade Share:

AppChooser (list view / grid view) and AndMade Share (source: Google Play; click images for larger variants)
I'm using the paid variant of AppChooser, and am quite happy with it. As above screenshots show, you can sort the list alphabetically. You can also hide items you don't need (they still show up if you select "ALL" at the bottom). If you didn't order them alphabetically, items are listed in a "last recently used" manner – which keeps your frequently used apps at the top of the list automatically. Works great, I'm using this for quite a while now.
AndMade Share has a paid variant as well. In the third screenshot above you can see its advantage: you can sort your list manually as you like. Which one to chose, is rather a matter of taste :) Both hook into the "share intent" – so on your first "share" after installing one of them, you will be asked whether to use the built-in share menu or your new alternative. I did so, and made AppChooser Pro the "always use" default variant – never regretted that or turned it back :)

authors: Юрий Воробьев


text:
How to increase RAM by swapping memory from Internal Phone Storage..?
I have Micromax Canvas Music A88. I just want to allocate memory from internal phone storage to RAM.
Memory Detail :
RAM: 512 MB
Internal Memory: 2 GB
I want to transfer 500 Mb from internal storage to RAM...
Can anyone help me how to transfer...??
Note: I don't want to swap from micro sd card

You cannot increase RAM! Only you can swap ROM for application usage..answer given below is for ROM

I wouldn't do that ,swap memory on android phones is pointless you will make your phone slower and decrease the life time of your internal storage ,I will post a better answer when I log in from my PC ,on the other hand zram is a good alternative for android with low ram but it needs to be compiled in the kernel and the best compression algorithm to use with it is LZ4 ,like I said I will post a more detailed unswer later this is just to comment and give you some key words to Google

Community bump prevention: this question was closed because the question seems to have been abandoned (OP hasn't visited the site after posting the question, and no answers have score above 0). If anyone can evaluate the existing answers, feel free to vote accordingly and reopen the question (or mod-flag the question requesting for reopening). For anyone else having the same issue, please post a new question and refer to this question as additional context.

@AndrewT. The OP seems confused about the difference between RAM and flash memory. The software linked in the answer is about compressing the contents of flash, but the answer seems to think it can be used to create a swap partition. That's pretty pointless on Android device flash memory. Leave the question closed, or delete it.

You will need Root access for this!
(First You Need To Take Backup from CMW/TWRP)

Download MT657x Data Repartition Tool3.0A
Install app and choose the size you want to swap (e.g 1GB) from internal sdcard.
Select OK.
Reboot to recovery.
Wipe cache/dalvik cache.
Factory reset.
Restore Backup.
Reboot .
DONE


text:
Allow "unknown sources" from Terminal without going to Settings App?
I have a corrupted Settings app in CyanogenMod and have a possible idea to restore a backup of it (App and Data) in Titanium Backup. But it's currently set to not allow "unknown sources" so Titanium cannot actually restore the old Settings over the current (corrupted) one.
I have a Terminal app installed on the phone. Is there a command in Terminal to essentially 'tick' that "unknown sources" setting, since I can't open the Settings app itself? (It gives this.)

I'll comment here if this helps others (I see someone has starred it): I googled further and it appeared that the relevant file to modify in the file system is data/data/com.android.providers.settings/databases/settings.db and is an SQL file, and you can edit the SQL tables by using an sql editing app like Sqlite Editor. For instructions see: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2784173. I'm too busy doing other things to make this into an official answer, if someone does (and preferably tests themselves to confirm), I'll gladly upvote it and mark as accepted answer! :)

For newer android software use:
adb shell settings put secure install_non_market_apps 1

Hmmm, F-Droid still could not install apps after this :-(

As mentioned in the comments by OP, SQLite Editor is fit for the job. Following solutions tested on Stock Android 4.2.1 and 4.4.2.
Instructions for  root users:

Install and launch SQLite Editor from Play Store.
Under APPS, tap Settings Storage → settings.db → global.
Tap install_non_market_apps  → click pencil icon (at the top) to edit it and change the Value to 1.
The changes took effect immediately in my device. Otherwise, restart and Unknown Sources would be found enabled.
(Source)

Instructions for non-root users:

Install ADB in your PC, connect your device, and enter:
adb shell settings put global install_non_market_apps 1

Unknown Sources would now be enabled. (Source)
Change the last command's value to 0 to disable the Unknown Sources.

Note for non-root users: USB-debugging needs to be enabled from "Developer Options".

If you can somehow obtain a zip style backup of the settings app you can try to manually push it from a computer through ABD (Android Debug Bridge) from your bootloader/recovery (If it is unlocked)
More info here.
http://teamw.in/ADBSideload

For rooted users: to enable unknown sources use Terminal Emulator with these commands:
su
settings put global install_non_market_apps 1

This is an exact copy of another answer of this question, except you used the global flag. Does your device not run the command using the secure flag?


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HTC Desire 816 -How to use a particular sim for data usage and restrict the other?
I have got an HTC Desire 816 phone. I am not able to restrict the data usage to only one sim. If i enable the data usage for the Slot1 sim, the Slot2 sim also gets enabled for data usage. Any idea how to restrict this?

In the dual network manager, you can specify which sim to use for data network connection.
In Settings > dual network manager > Preferred data network > select either slot 1 or slot 2.


text:
Android App unavailable for download in Isle of Man
I'm having the same problem as the BBC iPlayer app for Android where our Android app is not available for download in the Isle of Man, from the Google Play store.
As IoM is part of the UK, it should be available already as the UK is a selected territory.
Does anyone know of a workaround apart from our users travelling to the UK and downloading it?

And apart from that, Issues with the Google Play Store (or any other app marketplace) from the point of view of a developer or publisher are off topic here, sorry.

I read that some internet providers on the Isle of Mann route their signal through Ireland disallowing the download of the software by IP address.
I'd recommended checking to see if you can download it through WiFi or finding an APK of the latest version and just installing it.
EDIT: Just provide the APK direct to them


text:
Is there a way to know the actual permissions of an app now before installing?
I'm not a fan of the current so-called "simplified" permissions in the Play store, and would like a way to check the exact permissions of an app before installing. This need not be a tool that does the installation itself, I just need a site or app that helps me look up the exact permissions from the app before I install it. Is there such a tool available?

You don't need an external tool for this. On the versions of the Play Store with the new "simplified" permissions dialog, you can still find a full list of permissions from the app's store page (the screen with the icon at the top, description, screenshots, &c.). Scroll down to the bottom of the page. Under "Additional Information" you'll see "Permissions" with a link "View details". Click this link to see a dialog with the list of individual permissions.
However, if you do want an external tool, AppBrain is an alternative web front-end to the Play Store, and lists the permissions individually for each app. From there you can click through to install the app from the real Play Store. Not all apps appear on AppBrain, but many of them do, especially the popular apps.
There's also a resource offered by Izzy, a good friend of this site. His website offers a curated list of apps, searchable by permissions. It also gives a fuller description of each permission, and highlights interesting combinations. Because apps are added to his site by a manual process, it's a very small list compared to the huge number of apps on the Play Store, but consists of a good range of recommended and popular apps in different categories.

Not all apps appear on AppBrain → You can make them appear (see my answer ;)

Your last suggestion in your answer is by far the best. 99% of the time nobody gives a flying f about the permission itself - its what th3y intend to do with that permission that is of concern! Example: you install an app that requires contact permissions but you never know why and so you just assume is cause it needs to access contact info to share info with a contact thru the app but instead it uploads all your contacts to their servers without your permission! Omg I just had am idea oh never mind. I seem to be swearing more than usual lately, is really pissing me off

In his answer, Dan already pointed to my list of apps by real-life topics, which offers some extras as well. Currently, it only covers a small subset of what's available on Google Play, though (for some numbers: ~10,000 apps = ~1% of Google Play, including roughly 5% of the apps available in Aptoides (curated) main repository, and a third of the apps available on F-Droid – with some overlappings).
One more resource to mention for apps not covered there is Appbrain, which is a different front-end to Google Play Store. So you should find all apps there, and they also show "concerns" (what Dan put as "interesting combinations") – a very useful thing to be warned about potential danger. If an app is missing from their list, you can easily make it appear by copy-pasting its package-name (or full Google Play URL) on this page. It might take some minutes then, but it will eventually be available (usually within 10..30 minutes).

Update:
Galen recently also introduced his app "StripSearch". I've used it a little (and had an intensive discussion with him – partly playing "beta tester" ;) This app not only shows you the permissions before installing an app – it even allows you to filter your app searches by permissions, e.g. to exclude unwanted ones (privacy concerns) or specifically require others (such as using the real flash-light when in need of a flashlight app, practically excluding those using the display or other means). Runs pretty well, definitely worth a try. You can find StripSearch at Google Play.

While this isn't used for viewing permissions (better off following the advice given by the other answers), I feel that I am obligated to endorse
XPrivacy , an Xposed module for restricting permissions. If you are ever worried about extensive permissions, use this. Its completely open source too!

I think that a mixture of XPrivacy and PlayPermissionsExposed will do the trick. They are part of the popular Xposed framework. For GB devices, you can use liudongmiao's Xposed Installer GB at the XDA developers forum.
Make SURE to read the instructions. I'm not responsible if you do not.
If you run into any problems, please feel free to comment.
PS: The XPosed framework needs root, unless you manually decide to flash in recovery. If you are not willing to do so, look at the other answers.


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Is it possible to to set a fixed NFC P2P RF speed for the Initiator?
In NFC P2P communication, the RF speed of the LLCP connection is set by the Initiator. The possible speeds are 106kbit/s, 212kbit/s, 424kbit/s.
Android always choses the fastest possible speed.
For example I would like to set the speed to 212kbit/s.
Is it possible to set a fixed RF speed rate on Android side?

From a user perspective: No, that's not possible.
From a developer perspective: Maybe. Android does not directly provide an API that lets you choose a particular communication scheme/speed (the idea behind peer-to-peer mode is that the two devices automatically choose the best scheme that's suitable for both of them). Consequently, there is no way to do this without somehow modifying the operating system.
You could, for instance, create your customized OS and adapt the Android NFC stack to only use certain modes (for NXP's NFC stack, see the NFCIP-1 speeds enum in phNfcTypes.h:955 and the methods setP2pModes() (in NfcService.java:1083) setP2pInitiatorModes() (in NativeNfcManager.java:352) and setP2pTargetModes() (in NativeNfcManager.java:358).
On a rooted device, there could be an even easier approach (i.e. one that does not require building the complete OS): While there is no public API for setting P2P modes, there is a hidden method setP2pModes() in NfcAdapter (in NfcAdapter.java:1373). However, in order to call that method, your app needs to have the WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS permission (which is only granted to system apps).


text:
S2 randomly restarting / draining the battery
For the past month my S2, SPH-D710, Android 4.1.2, will randomly restart throughout the day.  I took the battery out for awhile and that didn't change anything.  Sometimes it happens when I'm looking at it, sometimes it will happen as soon as I plug it into a charger.. at which point it appears to completely drain the battery.  Seems to be only one of my chargers though.  Other charger is fine.  There is no clear pattern to all this.  These issues don't happen all the time.  Sometimes I'll go through an entire day with no problem. Warranty expired on the phone. I have never installed a custom ROM on here.  Is this something that might be fixed with a custom ROM or is it completely hardware?

Get a new battery and see if that helps, or borrow one from someone to test it.

These are cheaper than I expected on Amazon.  I might try that.

Should be an hardware issue.
In my case was the oxidation of the motherboard cause by the sweat cuase i kept the phone on my arms while I was running.

Come to think of it, it does happen more so on days that are particularly humid..

Good thinking, that'd never occur to me!  @spex5 put it in rice to dry out out fully and see if that helps, then maybe try a battery!

Thanks for all the great suggestions.  I'm going to try these out when I get a chance and I'll report the results back here.

Thanks everyone for your feedback.  In my case, there seemed to be no coming back from the dead.  Tried the rice, tried a new battery, tried a hard reset.  Nothing fixed it.  Ended up getting a new phone.


text:
How can I decrease the ringtone/notification volume on my Oppo Find 7?
I recently got this device and so far ColorOS is virtually indistinguishable from stock Android.  The only problem is that the ringer and notification sound are insanely loud, even on the very lowest setting before silent, as is the System volume.  Is there any way to fix this?

Alright, I've figured out that you can do this by rooting and editing the system table in settings.db (/data/data/com/android.providers.settings/databases).  I used SQLite Editor for this.
I am not completely certain which of the two did the trick, but I edited both volume_system and volume_notification and now my texts are a reasonable volume.

You are my personal Jesus Christ. This (by extension) helped me get over (or rather under) the ridiculous lower limit of 85% on font size.

@SixthOfFour Hahaha, that's great.  Glad to help!

Honestly, the font size has been the most severe annoyance ever since I got my first mobile phone back in '94. I don't want 12pt Helvetica Bold on my phone, not even on the 5.1" screen I have today. 12-14pt is what I use on my 30" computer monitor. I've learned to live with that annoyance. Now I can unlearn it. Thanks a gazillion!


text:
Use camera from web page?
Is it possible to use/control the camera from (or at least initially from) a web page? I'd like to come in as a web page (not an app) but then be able to take a picture or pictures and package them into some web service calls.

Yes, websites can use the WebRTC extension to access the phone's camera, with the user's permission. Not all browsers support this extension, but Chrome for Android does.

There are different approaches to achieve that goal:

using a "Cam Server" app on the Android device, and have it uploading pages to a web server
same, but streaming
same, with integrated web server (so no separate upload)
having a fully integrated and programmable solution

For all four approaches you'll find matching apps. For the latter, I think e.g. of Paw Server, including a web server with scripting support. For "Cam Servers", you might wish to take a look into this list.