text:
Why can't I download anything on my ZTE reef all of a sudden?
I just bought this phone on eBay and got it on Saturday. I downloaded games, music, ringtones etc. from play store on Saturday & yesterday. Now today when I try again to download it says couldn't install on usb or sd card.
Did I mark or unmark something somewhere that could have caused this to happen or is it an internal phone problem? I'm completely dumb when it comes to phones & technology. I have no idea what almost everything on the phone means!!!

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts! Do you have an SD card inserted into your phone? How much storage is left? You can check this in Settings › Storage. If possible, please [edit] your question and include a screenshot of that page. That would help us narrowing down the issue.

I have a 64 g sd catd and have plenty of space left(1.5g)The phone wouldnt even.allow me to take a screenshot. so I unmounted the sd card and am now installing the app. Now that the sd card isnt mounted it let me capture the screenshot, I'm just not sure how to put the screenshot in my edited question?

When editing your question (at least with a web browser), the tool-bar on top of the text field a.o. has an "image" icon. That allows you to upload and integrate images. If that doesn't work out for you for some reason, you also can upload it manually to e.g. imgur.com and include the link; one of us then will see to integrate it with your post. Please do not forget to also include what you wanted to install when the error occured (with link to playstore, if possible).

As suggested in the Android Central forum post follow the workaround to solve the issue,
Temporary Workaround:

Goto Settings-> Storage -> Unmount SD Card.
Now install the app from the Playstore.
Settings -> Storage -> Mount SD Card and start using the app.

The above steps solved the issue for many while this is not an actual fix it should solve the problem temporarily for installing an app.
As explained in this blog post the actual problem and has a fix for that,
Actual Fix:
The problem is caused by a temporary file called smdl2tmp1.asec that is used during some installations (I think of apps that are movable to SD) but does not get deleted for some reason, most notably when you run out of space. Because of this, the system can't create it and treats it as an error, rather than figuring out that it's stale and simply deleting it.
The solution is go and delete smdl2tmp1.asec yourself. From what I can tell, it could reside in two locations:

/sdcard/.android_secure - this is an invisible folder on your SD card, which you can access with any file manager, like ASTRO File manager.
/mnt/secure/asec/ - access to this folder requires root and a program like Root Explorer

Look for smdl2tmp1.asec in these folders and delete any ones you see. Since it's just a temporary file deleting it seems to be a safe enough operation. Once you've done that, all the update problems should go away.

Added a solution from a blog post. That actual fix is to delete the smdl2tmp1.asec temp file which seems to fix the update problems permanently.

could the file have another name?  I'm not finding that exact one.

The file would've been deleted by the system automatically. Did you try to download anything from the playstore? Did the workaround fix your problem? If not fixed tell what are the files you can see under that directory?


text:
How to select all messages Inbox Google?
The new Google email application, Inbox has just been released so I decided to try it.
I wanted to delete all my spam messages but I can't find a button to select all of them without clicking on each one.
Is it possible to select all messages at once?

The "Select All" feature is not available as of now in Inbox by Gmail app. Nor this feature of multiple selecting of spam emails at once available in the web version of Inbox by Gmail. Only Gmail app has the Empty Spam option but not select all. You can also swipe to delete in the new version of Inbox app. But that won't make a big difference if you have hundreds of emails spammed to you.

Take a look at the Features not implemented yet blog post section.

Gmail or Inbox by Gmail?
So, which one should you use? Most of the above can be reduced to just
  a couple key points for each product. But remember that: Inbox is not simply a user-interface change
  to Gmail, it as an entirely new product.

Gmail

Customizable - multiple inbox formats and message organization options  -
Flexible - many message attributes to manage e-mail

Inbox by Gmail

Simple - easy to learn and use
Consistent - the same user-interface on all platforms

Of course there's no reason you can't use both. You could use Inbox on
  a day-to-day basis, or on mobile devices, and then use Standard Gmail
  for more complex activity like creating non-labeling filters, multiple
  message selection, emptying Trash and Spam, etc. Gmail and Inbox by
  Gmail are just tools and you should use whatever helps you manage your
  e-mail the best.
So feel free to continue to use Gmail, switch to Inbox, use both as
  appropriate, or use neither if you prefer your installed e-mail
  client. The choice is totally yours.[Ref.]

UPDATE : This functionality is now available in Inbox by GMail as of 10th Sep 2015. Google has added an option to delete all spam messages in single click via the "Empty Trash Now" button. Read here.
As posted on Google Plus,

Small update: You can now empty Trash and Spam in Inbox. Thanks to
  everyone for your feedback requesting this feature.

You can also do this in the webversion of Inbox by Gmail's spam page. Clicking on the "Empty Spam now" clears up the spam folder. Note that spam left undeleted for more than 30 days are deleted automatically.

It's not available in the webversion too, I can't find it. But thanks. Do you know when this will be implemented?

Have no idea about it, only google knows about when it will be added. Only gmail has this feature right now and there are extension like Smooth checker but only works for gmail. Couldn't find anything which works on Inbox By Gmail yet. Well you can leave a suggestion on the review section on the play store app page.

I've just found out that it's possible to do a multiple selection of emails : https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/inbox/AMKpXXLOoWA but still not all messages yet.

@Maxime Note: Those are for bundled messages(Social, Promotions, Updates etc). Unfortunately Spam messages cannot be added to bundled message automatically. So multiple deletion of messages for unbundled email(in this case spam) is not possilble. Only thing is we need to select every email which is in spam and select the Bin option which is time consuming. As this message suggests, you can request this feature in the feeback option as they are tracking these requests and give us an update in the future. ;)

However I tried creating custom bundle filter to filter those spam message and add those email to the custom label bundled email. But the custom label which I created is displayed under the bundled inbox but doesn't have the option to swipe all at once. Only the pre bundled Inbox labels such as Purchases, Finance, Social, Updates, Forums have options to clear all the emails under that label at once.

Yeah, welcome to the world of half-implemented features which is called Google. I'm so pissed off that such a simple thing is not added since beginning of the Inbox. The product itself seems to not improve anymore. I think it'll soon be pushing up the daisies on the same cemetery on which Google Wave and Google Reader are buried.

@Maxime Thanks for the edit. I've updated the answer. It's good to have this option now. ;)

You can now do a "shift select" style selection to select all the messages between two.
For example, if I have 6 messages in a row that I would like to delete (because they have been filtered or searched, etc), as below:
Message 1
Message 2
Message 3
Message 4
Message 5
Message 6
Then you can first, select Message 1 by clicking its checkbox. Then hold shift and select Message 6 by clicking its checkbox. All the messages between 1 and 6 should then also be selected.

You mean by hooking up an external keyboard?

This is the closest acceptable answer for the Inbox web interface.

source: Stack Exchange

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

authors: Настя Качура

sort: votes


text:
Installed CWM on note 2, but the phone is not rooted
I've used Heimdall 1.4.0 on my mac to install CWM 6.0.4.3 (file name: recovery-clockwork-6.0.4.3-n7100) on my Samsung Note 2 GT-N7100 with android 4.3, the installation went smooth with no issues.
I then booted in recovery mode (volume up, home, power) and installed the zip file containing superuser downloaded from the link on the google play.
I then booted my phone normally, and tried if it was rooted with root checker, installed via google play. It says it's not rooted.
the application superuser starts and gives no errors,
I've done the procedure several times, also installing supersu, and installing other versions of CWM but I always got the same result.
What could I possibly have done wrong? and how can I finally get to root my phone?
thanks,

when you starting the SuperSu Apk app, Option (Root this phone) working?

First make sure the phone really is not rooted - the root checker might be wrong. Use a terminal app, execute su command and see what happens. If you're asked for root permission and the command executes, execute id command. It should say something like uid=0 or similar - the zero is important.

there is no sudo in Android, that's why I posted the exact commands you should try

you're right, I got confused.. I never use su :P.
my id is: 10175 and it remains unchanged if I run id after su, but I get requested no permissions or anything

Well, in that case your phone really isn't rooted. Or at least not fully. do a ls -l /system/xbin/su to see if at least the su binary is installed properly. If not, the problem is with the CWM-installed supersu zip or with CWM itself and would need different approach.

the su file is there... and owned by root:root, if I run system/xbin/su I get the same result, id doesn't change, the prompt does.

You are rooted. AFAIK Samsung bootloaders are already unlocked, you only need to flash the recovery to get the "root"
Now for the problem.
Go to settings->about phone and tap the build number 7 times to enable developer options. Then go to settings->developer options and there you should be an option similar to root access. Make sure you select Apps or Apps and ADB (recommended) in it and you should have root access.
If there is no such option, download and flash SuperSU via recovery and you should have root access later.
And that addition of "255|" in indicates you being in root user mode and accessing terminal as root. So its a positive sign here as well.
Alternatively, in case you failed to get the root to work, you can also flash
some custom ROM like Cyanogenmod via recovery.
But rest assured, you are rooted. Its probably some bug and flashing supersu should probably fix it.

Thanks, I don't have any root option in the developer options, Which Supersu should I install? the instructions I followed include the 0.96, which didn't work, then I tried installing the 2.46 but it didn't work either

try the latest, 2.94. Another thing, in terminal emulator run the command-> "ls /system/xbin" without quotes and tell me output if you can?

it has two files: su and dexdump owned by root

ok, the su file is the superuser binary or the root permissions in rough words. So supersu is properly installed. Check the supersu settings? It has an option to block root calls, make sure its disabled and default "Root access" is set to "Prompt"

I have removed supersu, and installed superuser instead (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.koushikdutta.superuser&hl=en), that's the su that I have

I've used cwm to install 2.96 beta, after booting it asked me to update supersu, and it prompted me to do it via CWM, it rebooted automatically in CWM and asked me if I wanted to "fix root" I said yes, and it booted again, root checker still says I'm unrooted (though it takes a lot of time to say it now) and I get again the supersu update request.

First, dont select that "fix root" option in CMD again, that wont help. Second, it would have asked you to "Update *Binaries". So were you able to install them? You will have to install binaries to gain root, else root wont work....

yeee I got it to re update again, and it did all the same, but now my phone seems to be rooted, according to root checker and according to the other app: device control. Thanks a lot for your help

Glad it worked, your welcome :)

@JaskaranbirSingh "Besides you can only install custom recovery if you are rooted." Sure about that? AFAIK the only condition here is the device must be unlocked; if so, custom recovery can be flashed. Of course that depends on the device, so what you wrote might be valid for the Note 2 (which I cannot tell as I don't have one to check – but obvioulsy OP flashed CWM before getting root to work ;)

Oops, accidentally wrote it lol. Factory ROMs are flashed and no root is needed. That was dumb of me, thanks for correction. And yes, recovery can be flashed without root. Thanks for correction once again :D

Actually I kinda wanted to say that since Sammy galaxy series bootloaders are already unlocked so we only need to install custom recovery and if that's installed.... It kinda came out wrong, thanks again for correction though

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


text:
samsung galaxy s4 pressure
sorry if this is slightly off topic but please could you give your thoughts to this
recently,  I had my s4 in my front pocket and while sitting down in a chair i could feel that I was slightly sitting on the phone
it had a back hardshell case and it was the screen facing down in the pocket
when I took it out everything was fine, can't see any scratches/ cracks
my worry is that because there was some pressure put on it, could there be some damage not visible now that could cause some problems in the future? should I be worried?

No , you don't need to worry at all. As mentioned if there are no scratches/ cracks on your device it proves how tough these devices are in reality.
Here is an example which shows how much of actual force is required to damage any device. Taking the case of a pencil:

Think about how tough your device is ? Galaxy S4 can handle pressure of more than 130 lbs whereas this pencil was just at 80 lbs.
So, no worries your device should be absolutely fine. In this case you also had extra protection with additional hardshell case to it.

No you don't have to worry at all. These devices are designed to withstand huge impractical amounts of pressure that would never occur in a typical day to day life situation. Especially since you said you have a hardshell your device is fine. The only reason you should be worried is if the screen is garbled or if your battery heats up but those are unlikely.


text:
Is it possible to play DVDs (or other "optical" media) from file images on Android?
Is it possible to open DVDs (possibly with all their multimedia features) from a file image on Android ?
(e.g. Nexus Player)
P.S.: Is other optical media handled similar to DVDs from file images, in general?

why not, have you tried connecting any portable DVD player with OTG to your device?

It's from file images

are you looking to extract image file

VLC can
According to the documentation, VLC can play DVD ISO files and display the relevant menus.
Other players might also be able to play the files if you first unarchive the ISO (using ES File Explorer for instance).

it is in the description: VLC for Android is a full port of VLC media player to the Android™ platform. It can play any video and audio files, network streams and DVD ISOs, like the classic version of VLC


text:
How to get disappeared keyboard back?
I am using Android 5 and, on rare occasions, my keyboard disappears or becomes unavailable when I enter editable fields in different apps (browser, FB, etc).  Once that happens, what can I do, other than rebooting, to get the keyboard to reappear once I am in editable fields?

I have seen this on rare occasion. Often simply backing out of the app, and optionally removing it from the list of recently-used apps (which quits an app a bit more calmly than an End/End All), will restore functionality once the app is relaunched.
Sometimes a web page or web-based app, like Facebook, will refresh itself in the background, and that can disconnect the keyboard from the field being edited. Sometimes it's a slowdown elsewhere in the phone.

Usually changing focus away from the text element then refocusing by tapping on it should work but if it doesnt then you can open the app again by removing it from recents and relaunching it.

I have the keyboard disappearance problem and temporarily fixed it by going into Settings -> Apps -> (All Apps) -> Google Keyboard and clicking on "Uninstall Updates". But it keeps automatically updating the keyboard and the problem comes back. So I did not get at the root of the problem.


text:
Locking an individual WhatsApp message
On my SMS messaging app (Go SMS Pro)I can lock individual messages within a thread/conversation so that if I want to delete the majority of my messages from a sender I can still save important ones and prevent them from being deleted. With WhatsApp it seems I can only delete an entire message thread and there is no way of saving individual messages within a thread. Is this correct or have I missed something?
Many thanks

Though there is no official way, there's still a work around.

Star the messages you want to keep.

Then go to chat>Options>Clear chat

It will prompt you with three options.

Go with "Clear except Starred"
And you're good to go.

Yes. That's a useful workaround +1

This is correct
There is no way currently to lock individual messages to prevent them from being deleted according to WhatsApp Support.
You can, however, select several messages to be exported:

Click on Options > Settings > Chat History > Send chat history.

You will then be able to send your chat history via email or through some other application.

As far as I understand there is no option to lock individual messages in WhatsApp. But I do it in a different way.
You can create a Whatsapp group by adding anybody, then remove that person. Now, the group includes one member only; that is you.
Any important messages you can forward to this GROUP so that they will remain there as long as you want. However, it can not be locked with a password. But you can clear other group chats if you want.

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


text:
How can I get the raw text of an email with Samsung's Mail client for Lollipop?
Does Android Mail support the ability to get the raw as-sent text of an email? Alternatively, is there a way to forward an email as an attachment?
I'd like to be able to report spam email to Spamcop.net, but I need all the headers and the raw source of the email, not just a copy of the rendered results. I'd rather not depend on the Gmail app, as I connect to other email accounts as well.


text:
What is the Despair kernal for Nexus 5 and 6?
I'm rooting my nexus 5 with android m and it asks me to install Despair Kernel. I can't find any info on what does the despair kernel actually do. Is it safe? What improvements does it have vs stock kernel? Also what are some other kernels aside from despair?

authors: امیرعباس صادقی


text:
How to turn off cellular radio in Lollipop/JellyBean using adb?
I've been trying to find out how to kill/turn-off cellular radio (on a rooted device) using some command on ADB. My research only found that I should either (using GUI) enable Airplane Mode, or type some code to go to Phone Information and then tap Turn radio off.
But that's not how I want to do it.

I'm looking for a single or a set of commands to do the job here. (Note that I'm aware of using am start and input tap combination, but that's same as emulating the GUI.)

Also, in my OnePlus One (CM12), Airplane Mode as it seems only hides the Cellular icon. As soon as I disable the mode the signal reappears instantly, while signal takes bit longer when Turn radio (off -> on) is used?
Any good reason for this?

Thank you! Your help would be appreciated.

From DavisNT answer on Stack Overflow,

There exist a simple workaround on rooted devices.
To enable Airplane Mode the following root shell commands can be used:
settings put global airplane_mode_on 1
am broadcast -a android.intent.action.AIRPLANE_MODE --ez state true

To disable Airplane Mode these root shell commands can be used:
settings put global airplane_mode_on 0
am broadcast -a android.intent.action.AIRPLANE_MODE --ez state false

I just tested it on Nexus 5 running Lollipop and it seems to work.

Thanks a lot. You saved me the trouble. I was halfway through though with this, but it required reboot. Your technique doesn't require reboot which is great. Thanks again!


text:
Setting up Play Store on a Samsung phone from China?
My mum received a Chinese Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 as a gift from a friend.
Since google is banned in China, there're no google-related apps. Since I don't have the play store, I'm unable to get any apps on it.
The browser version of the play store doesn't work either.
When I try to search for it on google, I never got an official link.
Is there any way I can get it without rooting?

Try to install apps via computer. I doubt this work. Maybe flashing another custom rom will do the job :D

Find a Play Store APK
You can Google play store apk or something similar, find a suitable (trustworthy!) source like this one and sideload the APK.
This does not require you to be rooted, or your bootloader to be unlocked, but it does require you to allow installation of apps from unknown sources (check your Security settings or equivalent)
Flash Google Apps
There are Google App zips for different Android versions you can flash. You can find these by Googling (again!) on reputable websites such as the CyanogenMod wiki page. Pick the correct version that corresponds to your version of Android and flash it over your existing ROM. This will install the entire suite of Google Apps depending on which version you flash. Micro for the minimal amount of apps and full zip for everything Google.
However, this requires you to be rooted and have a custom recovery installed, so the first option might be preferable.

Thanks for your answer! I sideloaded the Play Store APK. However, when I try to open the app after installation, a blank app opens and closes immediately.


text:
If ROM and firmware and OS are the same thing, can one be upgraded without the other?
These terms still confuse me: operating system (Android), firmware and ROM.
From CyanogenMod's website:

Whether you call CyanogenMod a "ROM" or a "firmware" or an "operating
  system" or a "distribution", it all means in this case the same thing.

Does that mean you can't upgrade your firmware without simultaneously upgrading the ROM and operating system? For example my device has CM but says it's Android 5.02 and I was wondering if it's possible to update the OS without losing CM? Also, the firmware is out of date, so should I be searching for the update to the firmware or CM (since the above quote claims it's the same thing)?

They're saying that those terms all literally refer to the same exact thing. They are simply different terms with the exact same meaning, like "car" and "automobile". Upgrading your "ROM" and your "operating system" are the same statement.

What is Android?
Android is an Operating system, like Windows or Ubuntu are Operating systems. It has multiple version release like 1.x, 2.x, 3.x, 4.x, 5.x, and so on, just like Win XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10, or Ubuntu 10.04, 12.04, 14.04, and more.
What is a ROM?
A ROM is a pack of files that are meant to run a device. These files are taken from Android Open Source Project (AOSP), modified to suit a particular Hardware, and then packed into something which is referred to as a ROM. When you flash a ROM, you're flashing an Android release specific to your device.
How does CyanogenMod fit in?
CM is a ROM which is a direct fork of Android Open Source Project (AOSP). In essence, it took what was offered by the AOSP, added its own tweaks, packaged it and named it CM. It's still inherently Android, just a derivative version. The different versions of CM correspond to the Android versions it's forked from. CM11 is based on Kitkat (4.4). CM12 is based on Lollipop (5.0).
What about Firmware?
Talking about firmware, the link you mentioned already says that it is an age old term being misused and is very ambiguous nowadays. Mostly, people use the term firmware to refer to areas in your device which a normal user isn't supposed to reach/touch/edit. They are those areas which your Android OS requires to boot and function normally and satisfactorily. (E.g. If you mess up Modem/EFS partition, you won't have Basesband/IMEI and you won't be able  call or use internet).
They are meant to be read-only (not literally though). Modem, EFS (IMEI), aboot, and so on, are just few names that people consider to be firmware because they aren't usually touched when you flash a typical ROM.
It is to be noted that many OEMs consider the warranty void if you flash firmware. Do check your OEM's policy before considering flashing.

Is that to say you can't upgrade your firmware with simultaneously upgrading the ROM and operating system?

See the list here as an example. You can upgrade or downgrade those firmware partitions as long as the device allows it (I've heard that devices like Yureka doesn't allow flashing some parts, as it will result in hardbrick). You can flash the firmware with or without the ROM .zip, in the same manner you would flash a typical ROM. At least this is how it works in my OPO.
This file (fastboot .zip) is a ROM which can be used to flash your device's current ROM as well as the firmware. On the other hand, this file (flashable .zip) is a typical ROM which can only be used to replace your current ROM. (This is only an analogy. You should only flash the ROMs meant for your device.)

Also the firmware is out of date, so should I be searching for the update to the firmware or CM?

Firmware is usually provided by the OEMs because they interact directly with the Hardware and OEMs know it better than any other party. Unless a ROM demands a firmware upgrade (like Exodus ROM) you shouldn't worry about upgrading it. It could be real problematic if something goes wrong during flashing them. Be ready for wild adventure (aka hardbrick) if you intend to flash firmware. :)

Try this:

Inside your phone, go to "Settings"
Scroll all the way down to the very bottom
Select "About Phone"
Select "CyanogenMod updates"
Look at the very top of the screen where it says "Updates"
Select the circular arrow button to the right of "Updates"
Cyanogenmod updates will be displayed below "Available updates"
Select the downward-facing arrow to the right of the newest update
Back up your phone or any important files while the update downloads
When the download finishes, select "Update"
Wait while your phone auto-updates itself to the newest version.


text:
Should Dalvik Cache be wiped in Android OS that supports ART?
When switching custom ROMs (in ART), is it necessary to wipe the Dalvik Cache?
Wiping the Cache is necessary, but should wiping Dalvik (which doesn't exist in Android Lollipop and afterward) be necessary?
What impact will it cause if we wipe Dalvik (something not present)?
In ART, what does the Dalvik cache contains? (is it an empty folder?)

The Dalvik Cache is still in use under ART, it is the location where the .oat files (they contain the compiled application, compiled during installation ) are stored, they just didn't change the name. Source: 1
So Wiping may be necessary if ART related files were updated. Because it does no harm other than compiling all applications again, I suggest just doing it to be safe.

No, you don't need to wipe it. It is probably still in recoveries because you could need it at some point, or developers just didn't remove it yet.
For me, dalvik cache folder is empty.

Sounds correct to me (+1) – but who tells us that the corresponding menu doesn't figure that and cares for ART as well? Quote: So, for using the ART cache the custom recovery(like CWM ,TWPR ) will need to optimise it to clear the ART Cache also (if only ART is default Runtime) That article being from 11/2013, I could imagine new versions of CWM/TWRP might cover that.

PS: Like the Dalvik cache being in /data/dalvik-cache, ART Cache is stored in /data/art-cache. And according to this post (quoted instructions are in English), it's exactly as I assumed: WIPE Dalvik/ART Cache (wipe cache partition + wipe dalvik cache). Even seems like Philz recovery has renamed the item already to "WIPE DALVIK/ART CACHE".

It's probably best that you wipe it because it is still where the compiled oat files are stored and either way all it does is make the system recompile all the apps. You still have to wait a long time while it does the compiling (Android is Upgrading)


text:
Default music player restarting song on Bluetooth reconnect
When my s4 mini pairs with my car stereo, the headset can control operation of the music layer ok, except when I turn off the car then turn it back on, it has restarted the currently playing song, not paused/resumed.
I have tried different apps - pixel player, double twist and others, to no avail. The others all have issues where they don't receive Bluetooth commands as well as the default player or don't show the correct track info onscreen.
Is there a way to either get the default player to pause on disconnect and resume on reconnect or use a different app that will do the same?
Also, are there any apps to monitor what is going on under the hood with Bluetooth commands and which apps they are being routed to?
I am using a non rooted s4 mini, android 4.4.2.

Yes, poweramp works well when Bluetooth is reconnected. It has got a trial version from the playstore which you can install for testing, if it works then you can purchase it as per your requirements.
Here is the link for Poweramp Music Player Trial version in the Playstore.
The settings which you need to change is indicated in yellow color.

Screenshot (click to enlarge)


text:
Flash Cyanogen version from Omni version
I have Sony Xperia L(C2104)(jellybean). Rooted my mobile, unlocked bootloader and flashed Kitkat 4.4 with unofficial random Omni Rom from internet, which obviously have some bugs(bluetooth, gps etc.). After this Omni version is installed I'm not able to work with any rooted applications(eg:titanium backup)[ROOT ACCESS DENIED]. So now I want to flash some stable cyanogen version OS of Kitkat. Do I need to root the mobile and follow the same flashing steps. Please suggest the steps to follow to flash cyanogen version kitkat in my xperia L which has omni version kitkat now. Let me know if in case need of some more info.

Do I need to root the mobile and follow the same flashing steps[?]

ROMs are not flashed from inside a running Android OS, and so root is not required now. All you need is flashable .zip file that can be flashed from a custom recovery, or a fastboot .zip which can flashed using fastboot. (You do have a custom recovery, don't you?)
Steps to flash the ROM:

Find the ROM of whichever version or name you want to flash,
Download and copy the flashable .zip into the root of your internal SD card,
Boot into custom recovery,
Wipe Data, System and all cache(s),
Select Install zip and follow the instructions there.

These are the most common instructions to flash a ROM. It is possible your choice of ROM requires certain additional steps, so do search on web.
Make a Nandroid backup first using the custom recovery. Please don't ignore it, I can't stress more on this.
Disclaimer: Do it at your own risk!

Thank you so much. The answer about root is clear. The problem now I'm facing are: 1. I'm not able to get into any recovery mode. 2. When I connect my mobile to laptop my internal storage is not getting detected [alternate options to keep zip inside internal storage.?]  . But fastboot command is working when I connect in fastboot mode OR adb commands when I connect normally.  So please suggest how can I proceed.

@user3509556 You can use adb push <FILE> /sdcard/. See adb  parameters. And in fastboot mode, use fastboot flash recovery <FILE> for flashing custom Recovery. Always Backup first. // Which OS are you using?


text:
Exchange contacts don't show up in Contacts app
I use an e-mail service that uses an Exchange connection. I have an Exchange account in my accounts list on the phone. I receive mail properly for this account. However when I add a contact and choose to add it to the Exchange account, it doesn't show up in the general Android Contacts app. When I open the phone app, the contact is saved, so I see the name of the contact.
How can I get these contacts to show up in the Contacts app?
If another app solves this problem, that's OK as well.

In the Contacts app go to the three dots and select Contacts to Display. Make sure the Exchange account is included in the contacts being displayed.

Via the 3-dot menu > Settings > Accounts and synchronisation, I could choose the Exchange account and check the option to sync contacts.

I'm sorry but I was referring to the menu in the Contacts App. I have edited the answer to include screenshots

And sorry about the full resolution images

Open Contacts -> Contacts to Display -> Show all contacts
If you select Show all Contacts all contacts in all the accounts you configured in you phone will be display. If you want to show only the contacts saved in your Exchange account select the configured Exchange account in the Contacts to Display menu selection. A preview of how it might look

Screenshot - Contact Options (Click to enlarge)
Or if you want to display contacts based on multiple accounts select the option Customized List and customize which account you want to display the contacts from and only those contacts will be displayed in you Contacts app.


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Can Google use location information based on Photos landmarks with Location set to off?
I recently updated Google Photos in my Nexus 5 (with Android 5) and I was surprised to see that Photo Assistant has created location-based stories with titles like "A Sunday Morning in X Mountain" (with Google maps attached!) while I had GPS, WiFi and Location setting set to OFF during and arround the time those stories were recorded.
I have made a little research and found here that:

Scroll down below the faces in that same search screen, and you'll
  find a list of locations in which your photos have been taken. What's
  particularly remarkable about this is that it works even if you don't
  have location reporting activated, as is the case for me.
How? Google says its technology is able to recognize known
  geographical landmarks from photos and then use logic (and the laws of
  physics) to infer your location in other nearby photos. If you took a
  snapshot of the Eiffel Tower on February 9th at 2 p.m., for instance,
  Google can safely assume you were still in Paris in that selfie you
  took in front of a bakery 45 minutes later. The accuracy and level of
  detail may surprise you.

Is that true? Is there any Google doc about this feature?
If yes how can I disable features like this? I am not interested in any case having my location data, whichever those are, processed by Google.

It doesnt look like they can do it if your GPS is shut off in your settings.
"If you turn off location completely for your device, it means that apps (both Google and non-Google apps) can’t use your device location and many useful features will be turned off."
As to them checking it in app. Seems like that is something they are trying to accomplish. What i have found to disable it is if you go to Settings->Google Location Settings and uncheck Access Location then they can't access your location even if your GPS is on from that app. That solved that problem for me.
I have found some information for you in the below links.
Google Landmark Recognition.pdf
Turn location on or off for your device

What it is implied is that they process the photos that you have selected to backup with Google Photos and based on the landmarks patterns they find in those photos they find your location. The question is: Should they do this if I have Location=off always - which means that I do want to share my location? Can I disable this behaviour?

Based on the documentation from the aforementioned link. If location is always off, then they shouldn't try to find your location based off of the landmark patterns in photos you have selected to backup with Google Photos. However there is not a specific setting for disabling this behavior to my knowledge.

authors: Фариз Аббасов


text:
How to root a Huawei GL07S phone?
The STREAM X GL07S is a mobile phone manufactured by Huawei.
It is similar (but different) to the Huawei Ascend P2.
QUESTION: How to root the Huawei STREAM X GL07S?

Find a Linux or Windows computer
Download and unzip http://gl07s.nakayuki.net/public/emobile-gl07s-root.zip
Install the Android SDK tools, in particular the commands adb and fastboot should be available (fastboot for Windows is provided in the ZIP).
Connect your GLS07S via a USB cable
Run sudo ./root.sh on Linux, or root.bat on Windows
Three lines of text in Japanese appear. Press Enter
White noise appears on the screen, just wait patiently
One more line of text in Japanese appears. Press Enter
When the command prompt returns, you're done

(Translated from the README in the ZIP above)
Before step 5 I had to add the following line as line 2 of root.sh because my Android SDK is installed at the user level on my Linux computer, you should not need it if you install the Android SDK as admin.
export PATH="${PATH}:/home/nico/android-sdk/tools:/home/nico/android-sdk/platform-tools"

Be patient. The execution lasts for a few minutes, with this output (press Enter when it says 続行するにはエンターを押してください):
$ sudo ./root.sh
adb,fastbootコマンドが実行できるようインストールしてください。このスクリプトはUSBにアクセスできる権限で実行してください。
電源を入れた状態で端末をUSBデバッグを有効にしてパソコンに接続してください。
上記の手順を行った後、続行するにはエンターを押してください。

< waiting for device >
sending 'cust' (233697 KB)...
OKAY [  7.333s]
writing 'cust'...
OKAY [ 15.655s]
finished. total time: 23.002s
sending 'boot' (5298 KB)...
OKAY [  0.165s]
writing 'boot'...
OKAY [  0.824s]
finished. total time: 0.989s
sending 'system' (900228 KB)...
OKAY [ 28.112s]
writing 'system'...
OKAY [ 63.860s]
finished. total time: 91.972s
続行するにはエンターを押してください

rebooting...

finished. total time: 0.201s
$


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Sneak preview of whatsapp messages
I asked this question before , but without proper solution.
I'll try to describe it better maybe someone will guide me the right way.
Let's say you started a conversation in whatsapp with your friend and you're also a member in a few groups. While you are waiting for your friend to reply you opened your email app or your favorite news app , etc. Some members of one of your groups have started to flood your Whatsapp with messages (but you don't want to silent the group). You are still waiting for your friend to answer.
The situation is that while I'm doing something in another app, I can never know if my friend reply without stopping from what I'm doing right now(reading, watching , playing...) and open Whatsapp to check it. Most of the times it is just messages from the groups or someone that maybe I don't want to reply right now.
I think that it is very basic feature that iOS have, why android doesn't have something like that ?
P.S. - I tried NILS app which is the closest app I could find, but it doesn't do a great job.

I remember you asking about this before ;)  All you can do is - disable pop up for group notifications and enable pop up for individual members. Remember that iOS notifications are totally different from Android's.

Yes , but it seems that no one had decent answer for that, maybe my explanation was wrong. I'll keep your suggestion thx.


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After Update Andoid 5.0.2 - tablet not syncing
I have a Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 (Model SM-T530NU). It was updated to the new Android 5.0.2 and now nothing is syncing. Games, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. are not syncing. Does anyone know a solution to this problem?

Have you tried removing and re-adding those accounts?  Can you use the browser?

It maybe possible that auto sync is off.
Follow these steps:

Tap Settings.
Select the Connections tab.
Tap Data usage.
Tap Menu, then select the Auto sync data check box.
Review the pop-up message, then tap OK.


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How can I force version 5.0.1 on Note 4 to only connect to 4G LTE when available?
My Note 4 running 5.0.1 will often connect to 4G rather than 4G LTE when both are available.  When this happens I can turn airplane mode on and off it will then reconnect to 4G LTE, sometimes with 5 bars.
How can I either make it:

Only connect to 4G LTE
Never connect to 4G
Only connect to 4G LTE when both are available
Strongly prefer the 4g LTE connection over the 4G even when LTE has less bars

One or any combination of the above points would be great. I have an unlimited data plan and I think AT&T likes to slow me down because of it. Any ideas?

See this answer. You'll see some network modes. Choose the one suitable to your needs.

Thanks for the suggestion Firelord, I think this may have worked - I selected LTE Only as preferred network type - will let you guys if this works.

Unfortunately, the best I knew was to  see available network modes in that "Phone Information". Could you post screenshots of available network modes there? I need to see something.

I did it wrong the first time facepalm I think this worked now...

Congrats then! Could you post it as an answer so that others may benefit from it in future?

OK so the answer is the following:
In dialer, press ##4636##
Go to 'Device Information'
Scroll down to this 'Set preferred network type'
Click the dropdown
You have the option of "LTE only"
IMPORTANT NOTE
This disabled my incoming calls and they were going straight to voicemail. Not sure if this is a NYC thing or if voice just generally never goes over LTE but i had to switch it back.

It seems that this answer (by Void) worked well for OP. You can setup your device to connect to "4G LTE" only by using the following steps:

In dialer, press *#*#4636#*#*
Go to Phone Information
Scroll down to Set preferred network type: and tap the entry below it.
Choose LTE only.
Optionally: Tap Turn off radio → Turn on radio

Or,
If you cannot access that menu using the code in dialer, then install and launch Elixir 2 → information
→ tap Telephony → Turn WiMAX (4G) on → repeat aforesaid steps 3-5.
An important note by OP

This disabled my incoming calls and they were going straight to voicemail. Not sure if this is a [New York City (high volume - stressed network)] thing or if voice just generally never goes over LTE but [I] had to switch it back.

You may choose any other network type as well if your needs differ from OP.

Worked fine to me

You can use Force 4G LTE Switch app.
It allows to force 4G/3G/2G and also provides "network operators" search shortcut.

Simply use the app "4g lte only switch- speed test" app
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.simplistic.forcelte

Can you add some more detail? The system thinks this is spam due to its low quality and link, but It seems legitimate provided you give more info


text:
I moved some apps to SD, why haven't int/ext storage changed?
The apps were all user-downloaded. Transfer size should have created generous internal storage "breathing room."
Details:
Samsung Galaxy S5 Android 5.0 Via Android App Manager(AAM) reported completion of each move 64GB Samsung SD Card (presumably undamaged) Internal storage 90-95% capacity. Phone was restarted after all the moves. Cleared each cache before moving.
Referred to the following, but it is dated and from a different platform.
Should apps take up any internal storage when installed to SD?
Editorial: Why, if so little storage is gained with a move, are SD cards so recommended as near-crucial in Android? After 6 months, my "Let the buyer beware" factor is growing with each swipe at each of Android's supposed benefits. Seems I need a PhD to embark on just about any change.

I don't want to sound bad or anything but the above linked question still applies....
Really to save space you move things such as photos, videos, music and films to the SD card (This can be done via in app options normally such as within Google play music settings -> manage downloads -> internal / sdcard).
However some apps do store data on the SD card. One such example is a ringtone app. So when you download the ringtone its saved to the SD card. And some games save stuff to the SD card. So you may end up saving a bit of data here or there.
It really depends on the app as the APK's themselves can be quite large and are stored in the system memory rather than the SD card which also has limited permissions too which is also another reason as to why some apps won't move to the SD card.


text:
Is there a way to set a default volume for different bluetooth connections?
I use my phone as my main audio player, with headphones, through my car, and through my speakers at home. When using it in the car I crank the audio on my phone to full volume and adjust volume through the cars audio system for a clearer sound. When at home I use the volume control on the phone and keep my speakers set to max for convenience. So if I go from my car to my house, the initial audio is near deafening.
This wouldn't be a problem except that once you connect to a bluetooth device it automatically starts audio playback, so I can't connect, decrease volume, then hit play. I'm also unable to decrease the volume without bluetooth being connected to something, and it's not convenient or easy to remember to turn down the volume every single time I get out of the car, just in case I play music at home before I drive again. I see two possible solutions but am unable to figure out how to accomplish either.
Solution 1 (preferred): Find a way to set a volume based on what device I'm connecting to.
Solution 2: Find a way to disable the auto-play function, but still allow for volume control once a device is connected.
Thanks for any help in advance y'all!

There are two app in the Playstore you can try A2DP Voume and Bluetooth Volume.
A2DP is an app project hosted on code.google.com
Some features of A2DP:

Captures car location automatically when device disconnects. Automatic car locator. (option)
Each device can be independently configured.
Automatically adjusts the media volume on Bluetooth connect and resets on Bluetooth disconnect. Automatically captures location information on disconnect so you can find where you left your car. Read More

Screenshot (Click to enlarge image)
Bluetooth Volume app feature:

This app is perfect for people that always adjusting the volume on their phone immediately after connecting to Bluetooth in the car. This app will do that for you automatically.
Also has an option to launch a Car Home when you connect to Bluetooth.(You need to install Car Home app to use this feature).

So, I think one of the above apps is what you might be looking for.

Wow nice app @Lucky , it's definitely handy.


text:
LG G R watch doesn't sync contacts
I got my LG G R watch the other day. I set it up, it connects to my phone, etc. I installed apps to it fine. However, my contacts aren't syncing when I swipe to the left twice (I'm on the middle tab)
I have M8 on Verizon with root and VenomRoms installed.


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All the 'msgstore' in the database of Whatsapp are not being restored
I recently got a new Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge and installed Whatsapp in it. I had a previous backup of Whatsapp from my Note 4 so I copied the same from the old phone to the new one. But when I installed Whatsapp and tried to restore all the old chats, it did not restore all of them. The 'database' folder has all the 'msgstore' of all those dates that I want to restore. Need help.

I had a problem almost similar to yours.Whatsapp can only read "msgstore.db.crypt8" OR "msgstore.db.crypt7".
The other databases dates should be formatted to "msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.crypt8".These databases with dates are databases which is for backup (Every 4am).They backup only for 7 days.Do not worry,they contain the same file.It is just incase your current msgstore.db.crypt8 is corrupted,you can change the other 7 from "msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.crypt8" to "msgstore.db.crypt8".
Read more on Whatsapp FAQ https://www.whatsapp.com/faq/?forum=android&entry=20887921&l=fi. (Source)
Or if you want to read directly from here
Summary
WhatsApp automatically backs up your chats every night.
You can initiate a restoration by simply uninstalling and reinstalling WhatsApp.
Click Restore when prompted to restore your message history.
Your missing chats should appear in WhatsApp!

Details
WhatsApp automatically makes backups every day at 4 AM and stores them in the WhatsApp folder of your Android phone. This folder is either located in your device's internal memory or external microSD card. To restore the most recent backup, you will need to uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp.
If you need to restore older messages, check out "Restoring older (less recent) backups".
During the installation process, you will be prompted to restore your message history. Choose Restore to restore your missing chats.
If you are not prompted to restore your messages, it could be that:
Your SD card and/or chat history is corrupted.
Your backup is too old. WhatsApp cannot restore backups that are too old.
You have a different phone number than when you backed up your chats.

In any of these cases, there is no way for us to restore the messages for you.
Restoring older (less recent) backups
Before attempting to restore messages, please note:
Current chat history will be lost upon restoration.
There are only up to 7 days worth of backup files.
Any new messages sent/received after a backup, and deleted before the next backup, cannot be restored.
If you run a manual backup, it will overwrite the most recent automatic backup file.
On newer devices, your WhatsApp/Databases folder is most likely located in your device's internal memory.
You must have the same phone number in WhatsApp that you had when you backed up your chats.

We also recommend:
Make sure you have a file manager. This will be useful for renaming the backup files.
Here are some choices: File Managers and Explorers.
If you do not want to lose your current history (newest messages), create a manual backup by going to:
WhatsApp > Menu Button > Settings > Chat Settings > Back up chats.
This manual backup file will be saved as "msgstore.db.crypt7" or "msgstore.db.crypt8" in your /sdcard/WhatsApp/Databases folder. Save this file as "msgstore.db.crypt7.current" or "msgstore.db.crypt8.current" (depending on the original file extension) so you do not get it confused with other backup files during the restoration process.

Please note: your backup files are saved in the /sdcard/WhatsApp/Databases folder. This folder may be located in either your device's internal memory or external memory.
To restore from a backup, follow these steps:
1.Uninstall WhatsApp.

2.Decide which backup file you want to restore.

3.Rename that file from "msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.1.db.crypt7" to "msgstore.db.crypt7" or from "msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.1.db.crypt8" to "msgstore.db.crypt8".

4.Install WhatsApp.

5.When asked to restore, tap Restore.

You will now be able to see your restored messages. If you want to revert the restoration, simply change the backup filename back to what it was, rename "msgstore.db.crypt7.current" to "msgstore.db.crypt7" or "msgstore.db.crypt8.current" to "msgstore.db.crypt8", and follow these steps again.
Cheers,
WhatsApp Support Team


text:
How to change "Preferred Network Mode" using adb without reboot?
I'm trying to change my phone's (CM 12, Stock 4.2, both rooted) preferred network mode from "GSM/WCDMA" (0) to "WCDMA only" (2) and vice versa (there can be other modes too), using command-line only. Based on this answer I can make relevant changes into Settings.db using the commands:
adb shell
su
settings put global preferred_network_mode 2

However, I can't figure out from the logcat which or how many broadcasts do I have to send and with what extra key values. It is because of it I have to reboot my device to have the changes take effect.
Ultimately, how do I change the network mode without the reboot using command-line only?
Edit: Using aforesaid command in combination with airplane mode isn't working either.

input touch/keyevent is not an option since it would simulate GUI actually.

Related but unanswered: How can I change preferred network type through a script (or terminal command).

Sorry, answered a liitle to early without noticing that you needed a commnad line solution only. Did you check - http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/1468/do-you-know-other-android-keypad-commands-dialer-codes and tried with ##4636##?

@VishnuPrasadKallummel Thanks for the suggestion, and I'm perfectly aware of those codes, but I  need a command-line solution only. Check the text in Bounty's message.

To emulator see this answer adb emu network speed gsm

There are some couple of ifs and buts. I have not tried this, but this is just an idea that comes to my mind which is an extension of my previous answer.
Through this post, I learn that intents can be invoked through adb command prompt.
So, if the device is rooted and has Xposed framework, the above can be done.

+1 I actually came to know about this technique here  when the first time I was researching for my issue, but I think I couldn't recall it back when I offered this bounty. The problem is that I couldn't make it work with Tasker since the latter is executing it but the effects are not observed. However, command-line works and those who might need it, here is the command: adb shell su -c 'am broadcast -a gravitybox.intent.action.CHANGE_NETWORK_TYPE --ez networkType 1'. But thanks for posting this answer.

You can refer to this post
KitKat:
echo "AT^SYSCONFIG=13,1,1,2\r" > /dev/smd0

Lollipop:
echo "AT+WS46=12\r" > /dev/umts_at0


text:
Can't Sync Google Calendar
I have an error while synchronizing my Google Calendar on my Samsung Note N7000 with Android 4.1.2, my Google accout does never Sync
I have a whole load of important meetings that go back to 2014, which are very very important to me.
I want to sync these datas to my GMail account via my calendar on my phone.
However, if I sync my Calendar with my Google Account on the Note, the Sync Fails saying 'sync is currently experiencing problems. it will be back shortly'
Using Samsung Kies does not work because the meetings that Kies syncs are only the one one the Samsung Calendar Applcation. Not the ones I've set up in my Gmail on my phone.
How could I go past this problem?

Try removing the Google account and adding it again.

This seems more to be a comment than an answer.

In my experience this often solved the problem, so I think it's fine as an answer.

Well, I will loose my calendar informations then, won't I ? My Calendar is not synced. I fear deleting the account and recreating it will delete everything


text:
How to set default call audio output to earpiece when connected to bluetooth?
My phone is connected with a bluetooth watch. Which has in built speakers. I can make and receive calls from my watch. Now whenever I receive a call my call audio output is sent to my watch speakers. After picking up the phone I can change it to receive output to my phone's earpiece but this is annoying to do everytime I receive a call. Is there a way to force my phone not to transfer incoming call audio to bluetooth?
P.S. I can disable Phone Audio from my bluetooth profile but then I am not able to make calls or see who is calling me from my watch.

If you cannot see who is calling without the audio profile being enabled then it's an issue with your watch. All android watches I have used can display the caller without using the audio profile. In fact I am surprised that your watch cannot do this.

I can see who's calling. my goal is not to forward audio to my watch by default. is there a way I can stop forwarding my call audio to my watch?

Does anyone have a solution for this yet?

@JacquesBlom I don't have any solution for this yet. :-/

Any solution to that on late 2020? I'd like to have a simple thing. My smartphone should ring with my watch. If I answer the call using the watch, I want the audio to go to the watch. If I answer the call using the smartphone, I want to use the smartphone. Whichever device I use to answer the call does seem an evident answer to which device I have at hand ready to answer the call!

sorry I don't use android anymore but this still surprises me that even after 5 years there's no easy solution to this simple problem.

I was in need of doing this exact thing today. I was forced to figure it out on my own after I couldn't find an answer online. As it turns out, it's easier than I expected.
Open your bluetooth settings, find your device, and click the settings icon for that device. You should see some options for the device. Uncheck the "Phone audio" option.

the problem with doing this is your smartwatch won't get any incoming call notifications or any display when you get a call. because you turned off the whole phone audio channel. in my case I still want to see who is calling me.


text:
backing up apps for firmware upgrade
I really don't want to have to re-install all apps and sign into them after I upgrade firmware. Is there a way to back them up? Any tips that may ease the process are appreciated (I have my photos/videos backed up through google and a lot of apps do sync after I sign into them). The main problem is typing in all the passwords for the various apps is going to be a pain.
Is there a way I can export a list of all the installed apps and automatically download them again?

Did you try these questions: Full Backup of non-rooted devices, How do I back up (and restore) my phone before installing a custom ROM?, How to backup an Android device?.

Titanium Backup PRO Key ★ root(available in the Google Play Store, by developer "Titanium Track") is the easiest way to back up your apps exactly as they are. The pay version ($5.99) should be pretty close to what you're looking for, Titanium Backup PRO Key ★ root.

Thanks, I gave it a look but could you say more as to how you actually use it?


text:
Leanest android mod?
What is leanest android mod out there?
I do not particularly like new Android or Cyanogenmod 12. Too much flashy animations and too much bloatware with tasks running in background.
Or if not specific mod, what are ways of achieving this?

You can disable animations from Developer Options and can uninstall bloatware using System App Uninstaller or Titanium Backup.
The background tasks you mentioned are usually services that can be disabled using Servicely. I've heard that Amplify is also good.
Note: All of the aforesaid apps require root access.

I guess one way of achieving this is by installing ROM with pico gapps package. And then install fdroid instead of google play.

Uninstall bloteware using root apps
disable animations in developer options
remove colors using themes (cyanogenmod)


text:
Snapchat gave me the real name of a user I dont know. How?
A long time ago I added a person to Snapchat. His username (display name?) was O*, and I added him with that display name. Today I received a message from him, but the name that showed up in my notifications was S* R* (his real name). When I opened the message, his regular display name O* was displayed.
What can explain that his real name showed up in my notifications?

It may be a bug in Snapchat. You can send snapchat a contact form explaining how it happened.
But you cannot be sure it is the real user name, unless you asked.
Since it is Snapchat, I suppose you shouldn't. Just ignore the name you saw, and go on with your usual business.


text:
What is accessibility feature in Android?
I've seen a setting named Accessibility in my Android 5.0 and 4.2.1. I don't understand what it is and how can it be helpful to me? I would like to know what does it do?
I noticed that there are options like Greenify and Tasker present inside it. Why are they listed in such setting?
There is more about it that bugs me. I rarely use Tasker on my devices but it works well on 4.2.1. However, I noticed that on CM12 you cannot run a profile using Application context, unless you enable some kind of Tasker's accessibility service. I also found this question related but it is unanswered.
Why is it that Tasker needs this accessibility service in 5.0 but not in 4.2.1? More so, how do I run Tasker with app context in 5.0 without enabling the said service, just like on 4.2.1. I seem to see some lags, though not very drastic compared to this question.

This wasn't helpful either: https://support.google.com/accessibility/android/answer/6006564?hl=en

Seems similar case to mine. Which CM update is this?

I'm using the latest stable build offered by Cyanogen. I don't know whether the problem is with Tasker itself or with CM build, but I just want to run things smoothly. :/

Accessibility is a category of features which are usually used to assist people who are in some way disabled. For example people who cannot see well can turn on Magnification Gesture to triple tap the screen and it will zoom in on whatever screen you are on. Also it can reverse the dark and light colors to help them see and read text better. Also, there are voice options which will read the text on the screen, or flash the Camera flash when the phone rings for people who are hard of hearing. Another common option is one that will read wherever your finger is touching, so you touch a button, it reads it aloud and then if you actually want to click it you would double click right there, which is another option for the seeing impaired.
Tasker has the ability to create certain tasks just like this, which trigger an action when certain circumstance occurs like receiving a phone call, or touching a certain area of the screen. This is why Tasker can be turned on and off from within the Accessibility Settings.
After looking at the actual code for Accessibility Settings in a couple ROMs, including my Team (VanirAOSP) and also CM, I do not see any code to add the package's class into Accessibility Settings, but every ROM usually uses res/xml/accessibility_settings.xml for the Accessibility Settings preference, so I imagine that the Tasker developers are adding the Shortcut Setting into the app themselves now... it is not a CM thing. They must have just started doing it recently, or the Android API just started allowing apps to add to the Accessibility Settings in Android 5.0. I'm not sure which.
So, if it is not something you like then you would probably have to take it up with the developers. I hope that helps you understand Accessibility Settings better and why there is a Tasker setting within it.
Here is the actual change, from AOSP, which occurred on April 11, 2014 which constructs a list of accessibility services to add into Accessibility Settings: https://android.googlesource.com/platform/packages/apps/Settings/+/b4b3082

+1. You explained the feature nicely. However, I would like to know why Tasker needs the service necessary in 5.0 but not in 4.2.1. Did 5.0 has limitations that forced Tasker to depend on this service?  Or, do I have to contact developers for this reasoning?

I don't have the app, but most likely to acquire the permissions that the app needs for certain features to work, because all permissions in an app need to be declared in the app's AndroidManifest.xml file, they (Tasker) would need to add the Accessibility permission to their manifest. The commit I posted then searches and adds all apps, through the package manager (pm), which declare the Accessibility permission to the Accessibility Settings. It will most likely be that way from now on, unless they (Tasker) started dropping features which use Accessibility permissions.


text:
How to change android version Jellybean 4.2.2 to the newest update?
I have a Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom and my current Android version is Jelly Bean 4.2.2. I kept on trying to update the version but it kept on saying that my phone has installed the newest update. How can I change my Android version to the Lollipop one?

Samsung hasn't announced any lollipop update for S4 zoom

Accorrding to GSM ARENA your phone officially supports an upgrade to 4.4.2 Kitkat. However you can try a custom ROM for your phone. Read more about rooting and recoveries(Google is your friend)
As to why it is not updating to 4.4.3, maybe this will clear things out XDA-devs s4 zoom

You can't just automatically "change" your version to Lollipop or Kitkat. Either Samsung needs to send an update to your phone, or your carrier (eg. Verizon, Sprint) needs to send the update to your phone. Otherwise you're stuck with 4.2.2.
If you want the latest version of Android, you'll need to install a custom version like Cyanogenmod: http://www.cyanogenmod.org/
You can post additional questions if you need help unlocking/rooting/installing Cyanogenmod.


text:
My Galaxy Tab 3 requires a cable so what can I use as a substitute?
Is it ok for me to charge my galaxy tab 3 using a samsung phone charger?(only the cable is from the phone, the jack is of the tab)

are you saying that you are using galaxy tab's charger plug and wire of a phone? If yes then there's nothing wrong with it.

If your using the charger that came with the tablet it doesn't matter really.
You can use any charger if you want but it may lead to damage to the battery if you overcharge it. But the cable doesn't make a diffrence.

To use a charger for your device, see the following requirements:
1- The charger plug should fit into your device.
2- The charging source should voltage should be the same in type (DC or AC) and required voltage by your device should be the same as provided by the charger EX: 5V DC Output from charger should be 5V DC input to device.
3- The charger current (measured in Amperes) should be more equal or greater than the required current by your device, EX: device requires 2A the charger should have 2A or greater.
Disclaimer:
1-Use the charger provided by your manufacturer.
2- Use the above instructions at your own risk.


text:
Completely disable hardware and software buttons
I want to completely disable the three on-screen buttons (Back, Home, Recents) and any other hardware button. I am aware that I cannot do this from the application since that would be a major security flaw. How would I do this to a device assuming that I have the device on hand? Gain root access and then how would this go?
Ps: What I am trying to do is to have the app run on my tablet on a kiosk and I do not want the users to pressing any buttons.

Full!screen has a (paid-for) feature where you can automatically hide system bars in certain apps and unhide them in other apps, but there is a free version without the automation.
Alternatively, you can hide them completely over ADB (source) with:
adb shell
su
pm disable com.android.systemui

Or (if you're writing your own app) you can use this code (source):
private void hideNavigationBar(){
        try {
            Process process = Runtime.getRuntime().exec("su");
            DataOutputStream os = new DataOutputStream(process.getOutputStream());
            os.writeBytes("pm disable com.android.systemui\n");
            os.flush();
            os.writeBytes("exit\n");
            os.flush();
            process.waitFor();
            //////////////////////////////////////
        } catch (InterruptedException e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        } catch (IOException e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }

Kiosk Browser Lockdown also has a feature where you can disable all system dialogs (volume, long-press power etc.)

Using the Xposed Framework and Xposed Additions you can remap any button to any action, and in your case the 'No action'.
Combining this to disable all your hardware buttons with this answer,  and you would achieve what you want.
Open the app and follow these steps:

Click on Buttons
Click Add new Key
Press the key you want to disable
Press OK
Click the key in the list and for every condition assign the Disabled action


text:
Are Google Photos' high-quality pictures compressed even if they're under 16 megapixels?
Recently, Google has changed the Google Photos app so that everyone has free and unlimited access to store 16 megapixel files.
The camera on my phone is under 16 megapixels. When I downloaded the app, it asked me whether I wanted to keep the photos in original or high quality.
I would like to take advantage of the free storage so my question is if the photos are originally less than 16 megapixels, is high quality going to be the same as original or would Google compress it more?
Also, what happens to the existing photos on my Google Drive that are less than 16 megapixels? Are they automatically not counted toward my quota or do I need to somehow migrate them to Google Photos? Just that, the majority of the files on my Drive are photos (which are less than 16 megapixels) and since I've downloaded Photos, the space available has not changed.

I just took a picture with my phone (8MP) after configuring auto backup with both Google Photos (with "high quality" option enabled) and Dropbox.
I compared both images and I can't see a difference between them, although the file sizes differ (the image in Google Photos has 1.3 MB and the one in Dropbox has 2.2 MB). I made the same comparison with an older image (when I had the "original" option enabled in Google Photos), and the files are exactly the same.
Seems like Google is really compressing the file, although keeping the image quality.

No, High Quality won't be the same as Original as Google will compress it again using a similar method to JPEGMini. See this and this comparison tests for more information.
Your space available hasn't changed because Photos might be accessing your photos on Google Drive. You don't need to migrate them, just make them available to Photos.

Pictures uploaded using Google applications with enabled free option will be recompressed even if they are less than 16Mpix.
Pictures uploaded using 3rd-party software will be as-is regardless option and will use quota if their size is bigger than 2048px by longest dimension even if they are less than 16MP, even if options is set to free.

Google openly said in its announcement as well as in its help pages that the free unlimited High Quality option will compress photos 16 MP and under - but will still keep the same resolution and "almost" the same indistinguishable quality.

Photos less than 16MP will actually be compressed. Just try it.

The compression does not apply only for photos, but for videos too.
When you choose the "High Quality" option even with a camera of 8MP, you won't be able to upload a video of more than 1Gb. On the other plan (i.e. "Original Size") you can.

There is at least one review of that feature where the testers found that for one of their test pictures, Google Photos reproducably reduced the resolution even though the original picture didn't exceed 16MP.

Original image (3024 x 4032 = 12.19 MP; 7 MB)
Google Photos 'High quality' (2268 x 3024 = 6.86 MP; 2.68 MB)

However, they don't write how many images they tested in total, just that all others did not exhibit this behaviour.
This is enough for me to avoid Google Photos's recompression, which otherwise seems to use very sensible settings and methods.

Basically, the question can be answered by the two customer plans Google offers as of 2015.

Free: Allow Google to process the photos, alter Exif information and be subjected to changes and new features that may or may not affect your photo's metadata and quality
Paid: Upload and retain a byte-original file by using your Google Drive's storage, which is fully integrated with Google Photos as per 2015. Every user has a 15 GB storage for free, of which you will likely already have consumed some of its storage-quota if you have been using Google Drive for a while.

Links:

https://support.google.com/picasa/answer/6558
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Photos

Google in I/O have said that the photos which are less than 16MP will not be compressed and the ones above the 16MP are the only ones which if chosen to be stored under the "unlimited storage" space will be compressed.

Also from my experience I've not seen any change in my drive storage after the new "unlimited storage" option. So it should only mean that the present ones would stay the same.

That was widely reported the first day, but it was a misunderstanding. What they meant was that photos less than 16 megapixels will not have their resolution reduced. They will still be compressed (file size reduced, not pixel-for-pixel original).

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


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How to sync Facebook contacts in Android Lollipop on Moto G (2nd Gen)?
Previously I owned HTC One X on which I had Facebook app installed. In Facebook "App Settings" there was an option called "Sync Contacts". With this option I was able to sync my Facebook contacts with my contacts in Google.
Now I have bought Moto G (2nd Gen) with Android Lollipop. I installed Facebook app but now in "App Settings" I cannot see the option of "Sync Contacts". I still have my HTC One X and its updated Facebook app still shows the option of "Sync Contacts" which is not present in Moto G (2nd Gen).
Am I missing something here? How to sync Facebook contacts in Android Lollipop on Moto G (2nd Gen)?
Update 1:
I tried the solution indicated in this question but I cannot see Sync Contacts checkbox in "Accounts > Facebook". Maybe because the device for which the issue is stated, is pretty old.

@Lucky: As per your linked question I cannot see Sync Contacts checkbox in "Accounts > Facebook". Maybe because the device for which the issue is stated, is pretty old and something might have changed on Android Lollipop.

Could you mention which Android version is HTC One X running on? Also, have you checked the version of Facebook app on each device? (just want to confirm, since update might not apply to all devices)

@AndrewT.: My HTC One X is running Android 4.2.2. The Facebook app on both the devices is of version 34.0.0.43.267. In App Settings at the end I can see a setting "Sync Contacts" in HTC One X but not in Moto G (2nd gen). Weird!

@AndrewT.: Searched a bit more and found this discussion on Android.SE explaining the issue further. It seems this is a spat between Google and Facebook and user's are caught in between. But it doesn't explain why my Facebook app on HTC One X has "Sync Contacts" settings while on Moto G (2nd gen) does not. Is Facebook selectively hiding the option of "Sync Contacts" from (near) stock Android implementations? Or it gets hidden because the stock Android Contacts app does not have the capability to sync other account contacts?

Okay, I should searched a bit more before posting this question. But in my defence the answer was in second page of Google search results.
From this link I gather that:

Facebook contacts will no longer sync with the Android Contacts app
  [on Android OS 4.1 and later].
The Android Contact list is built to provide data portability, and
  Facebook provides contact data that cannot be exported from the
  device.
Facebook contacts can still be accessed on the phone through the
  Facebook app.

It seems HTC had its own custom Contacts app which made the importing syncing contacts from Facebook (and other social networks) much easier. The Contacts app on Moto G (2nd gen) is stock Android and doesn't seem to have this feature.
The artilcle further suggests:

While we cannot guarantee or warranty a third-party application, some
  owners have reported success syncing Facebook contacts using Ubersync
  and Haxsync.

NOTE: The link mentioned earlier refers to Nexus 6 but I believe it applies to other devices also and seems to be the only logical answer as of now.

I believe this applies to vanilla Android or some custom ROMs. For instance cyanogen mod or other close to stock ROMs. Very frustrating that Facebook consistently ignores any standard practices for its app. They think they know best - they really don't. Every other popular social network has a better app than Facebook.


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What are the possible reactions of clicking an ad inside an app?
From famous and "trusted" android apps to not so famous and "risky" apps:

What actions can be triggered by clicking on an advertisement inside
the application ?
Could just that click install a virus to your smartphone or tamper
with your smartphones settings, or maybe the standardization of the
ads by Google Play prevent this from happening ?
I have found a way to prevent URL redirection and that's by not
setting the default Browser app. Therefore, when clicking to an ad,
I get prompt to choose my preferred browser. If I press the back
button, nothing executes or am I wrong ?
Are there other actions apart from URL redirections or redirections
to the Google Play store ?
Does different Android Version behave differently as to clicking an
ad ? if so what's the reaction for every different Android Version ?

P.S:

I am not looking a way to block the advertisements. I want to know the possible actions that can be triggered by clicking an ad.
We also assume that the smartphone is NOT rooted.

About 1., your balance can be deducted. That's certain (I'm a victim :D ). About 2., a drive-by download is possible though I don't know how it will be installed without user interaction.

In addition to answer(s) that you may receive here, perhaps, it would be good if you experience the possibilities on your own. Fire up Android x86 .iso in Virtualbox/vmware and emulate the real world scenario there, or take a complete backup of your phone and then do the testing on the phone itself. Just saying. I would definitely go to such length if I had such burning question. :)

while clicking an ad may install a new hidden app . Hidden app is one that does not create launcher icon of itself and can be harmful to your mobile.

@Firelord I have emulated the process of clicking an ad both in an Android PC emulator and in my smartphone. Using the emulator, clicking an ad always triggered a URL. Using my smartphone, clicking on ads triggered URL redirections and Google Play Links to apps that have to do with phone boosting. The thing I do not know is if this click triggers a process in the background which I cannot see.
P.S: The app I used to click ads was Ookla SpeedTest.

@pgmank Monitor this click process by the events in adb logcat. You'll come to know  if something else is getting executed when you click those ads.


text:
Remove user account in Android 5.0.1 on Galaxy S4
I have a Samsung Galaxy S4 with Android upgraded to 5.0.1. There is a GMail account added that I've linked in order to install a specific application (Google Domain Policy) and now I want to remove that account in order to pass the phone to my co-worker.
I've gone to Settings -> Accounts and the account is listed there (as a Google account). I can tap that and get to privacy and sync settings but I can't see any option to delete the account. I've tried tapping, tapping and holding, double-tapping, swiping and everything else that happened to cross my mind but to no avail.
How on earth do I remove that account from the system if there's no delete option visible?

Click image(s) for larger versions

/data/system/users/0/accounts.db keeps the web accounts info. Remove the account entries from that file, restart and the account would be gone from Settings -> Accounts. This definitely needs root access.

I have spent weeks looking for a solution to this and finally this post helped me! It was so far from obvious and it felt like Google wanted me to keep the account by force lol.
Anyway, what I did was go to Settings > Accounts > Google, clicked the account I wanted to delete, the Sync menu option opened and this is where I always got stuck. Through this, I realized I had to press and hold the menu button on the bottom left side of my S4 to get another menu pop-up with the options of canceling sync or deleting the account.
Finally! Hope this helped.

Mine has no menu button. The following worked for me on a Galaxy Tab: 1st: Settings > Accounts > Google > Sync. 2nd: Disable all syncing. 3rd More > Remove Account.

Thank you this solve my problem.

Nice. But with latest 5.0.1 update, you must tap on bottom left button and not hold it.

In order to remove an user account you need to perform:

Go to device settings (As shown in the question).
click on accounts Tab (3rd in the option list).
Click on Google Account (select the account which you wish to Remove).
First you need to Stop Sync (As done in question "synchr. wylaczonaa").
On Samsung devices these options are shown by pressing and holding the Left soft key beside home Button.(shown using red mark in image below).
Click on Remove Account.

I would suggest read the above steps and you are good to go.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLLwoZhqFVg

It didn't work exactly the same way as in your link but it pointed me in the right direction. I had to go to Settings -> Accounts, then tap the Google account, then press the 'menu' button at the bottom of the phone and only there I have found the 'delete account option'. Probably logical but totaly unintuitive, at least for me (I don't use Android, so I'm not used to its different quirks). In Android 4 on identical phone it was much, much easier. Thank you, anyway, you've pointed me to the solution.

This answer doesn't work.

Please explain the steps in detail, I've undeleted this since you seem willing to do so.  Thanks.

You have to single tap left button. Not press and hold!

Thanks, it save my life..

Setttings- Accounts-Google- Tap the account you want to remove- it will open sync settings for that account- tap the bottom left touch button of your phone (out of three touch button in the bottom, the right one which resembles 3 horizontal parallal bars)- a menu will be appear (sync now and Remove account)- tap remove account.

I just tried several times and finally found the solution with my s4 to remove the GMAIL account.
Settings --->
Accounts---->
Google------>
select the account need to be removed
it will be redirected to sync settings
click menu touch on bottom of the phone
select----> remove account

This might help. You need touch on menu icon i.e in lower left corner to see sync now an remove  account.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=A5P67EFz92s

Might want to outline the steps in your answer in case the video becomes unavailable.

I tried all of the above but nothing works, my phone doesnt have the menu button on the bottom so there was nothing to click on, but here is how i did it.
Settings > Accounts > Tap on Google > Search > Accounts and Privacy > Sign Out
very very cumbersome but finally figured it out! should have been easier than this.

authors: Дмитрий Галинский


text:
Failed updating and uninstalling app with ADB
I installed Better Battery Stats (BBS) v2 from XDA and quickly realized that the actual required version is 2.1. So I tried to uninstall BBS via ADB but that failed because BBS is a system app.
Now when I try to install the new version, I got:
bash-3.2$ adb install BetterBatteryStats_xdaedition_2.1.0.0_B4.apk
3925 KB/s (3671858 bytes in 0.913s)
        pkg: /data/local/tmp/BetterBatteryStats_xdaedition_2.1.0.0_B4.apk
Failure [INSTALL_FAILED_ALREADY_EXISTS]

And when I try to uninstall it, I got:
bash-3.2$ adb uninstall com.asksven.betterbatterystats_xdaedition
Failure [DELETE_FAILED_INTERNAL_ERROR]

Can anyone point out how can I resolve this issue? I just want BBS 2.1 Beta. I am using a Nexus 4 running stock 5.1.1 (rooted).

Did you try using a system uninstaller app to see what happens? // Somebody somewhere suggested to use pm uninstall <pkg> and see what happens. Someone else said that having multiple accounts results in this. Don't know the reasoning but it kinda helped them. // May be you can try deleting the apk from /system manually and the associated data of it.

Can you run adb as sudo? sudo adb install BetterBatteryStats_xdaedition_2.1.0.0_B4.apk  You may need to give full path when you do so though.

Type the following:
adb shell //open adb shell
su //get root permissions
pm uninstall your.package.name //uninstall the app

Hope my answer helps!

Try Adb shell uninstall -k --user 0 packagename

please don't post untested solutions


text:
Recover bricked android device
I have an android device (YotaPhone 2 actually) that is in continuously rebooting state with android logo showing on main screen.
When phone wasn't bricked then was possible to boot into official recovery with usual combination of buttons during startup. After bricking it is impossible to boot into recovery. But still possible to boot to "Downloading" state.
There is no alternative firmware or recovery. They haven't open source of kernel yet, so no CyanogenMod (or something similar) for my device. And therefore no custom recovery (except official one).

I tried to flash several official firmwares (from this ftp)
with official windows flasher (which off course based on
fastboot). No result, still android logo and continuously rebooting.
I tried to use fastboot and flash only recovery. No result.
I tried to erase boot and force booting to recovery. No success.

What else ways do I have to unbrick my device?
P.S. Warranty repair isn't an option because I dropped it onto concrete floor and damaged both screens (LCD one and Eink one).
P.P.S. Payment repair also isn't an option because it costs almost as much as new phone in my case.

About 3., are you certain  fastboot erased boot successfully? If there is no boot then how is your phone still rebooting; it shouldn't be at least showing the Android logo. // This is bit dirty but if you can use still fastboot and have access to fastboot type ROM then erase system, boot, userdata, cache, and recovery partitions through it. Flash them again and see what happens. Did you mean you flash them already when you said about firmware? Did you try other Android versions from that FTP? Note that your data will be lost but it seems your priority is to unbrick only.

Speaking about which: if you don't care for the data on the device, a factory-reset might be an option: fastboot -w (wipe cache and all user-data).


text:
How to boot Android with flight mode (airplane mode) activated
Is it possible to boot up Android so flight mode is activated?
When I set airplane mode before rebooting or creating a nandroid backup the setting will stick.
Are there any files like init.d that are easy to modify where these kinds of boot options are stored?
Another alternative would be a modified Custom Recovery. But I haven't heard of one.
Use case:
Restore an old Nandroid Backup, but before the system fetches all the updates (messenger...) the user wants to restore certain app data so nothing gets lost.
That is only possible when in flight mode.

An indirect possibility would be using tasker, which has the capability of performing actions "on device start" (amongst many others). So you could setup a profile that says: "on device start" → "set airplane mode on". Other automation apps like llama might have the same capability.
Note however that the action can of course only be executed as soon as the app (Tasker/ Llama) is started, so there might be a delay in which airplane mode is turned off (and a network connection available). If you need to safely rule that out: take out the SIM card, and delete the AP config for your WiFi. That way the device would still boot with airplane mode disabled – but had no chance to connect anywhere. Third option would be booting it while inside a Faraday cage (or a lead box) …

the idea isn't bad but not universal at all. you have to plan that plus have to live with the fact that EVERY reboot means flught mode. i'm looking for an 'emergancy' helper. something that works afterwards, you know? thank you.

Removing SIM works always. And in case of emergency, switch off the WiFi router. Alternatively: where do those data backups come from? In case of ADB: have you tried adb restore when in recovery mode? I haven't tried, so I can't tell if that would work.

@Izzy: ADB only works in Android, the same way as fastboot only works in the bootloader.

@JoshHolland Not true, depends on your recovery. ADB does work in most custom recoveries (you can at least adb shell to them, and – sometimes after manual mounting – adb push and adb pull). I'm just not sure about adb backup and adb restore, as that involves the package manager as well which might not be available from recovery for some reason (especially with some partions possibly not mounted).

@Izzy Ahh, hadn't tried with custom recovery.

Thought so :) But, adding a single word to your previous comment, it still might be (sadly) true: adb backup as well as adb restore probably won't work, as both commands require interaction to approve the process on the device ("now unlock your …"). Would be interesting in fact to try that: "press vol-down to approve or vol-up to cancel"? Or, similar to flashing, a list of "No" with a single "yes" to select from? And how to enter the encryption pwd, if any? Morse with power-key? ;) As said: worth a try. There might even be a build.prop tweak you could setup from recovery...


text:
Galaxy S4 poor Video playback Quality
I have a problem regarding S4 Video playback. I got it a few days ago. The problem is whenever I play videos from either the phone memory or from the internet the areas in the video with black or any dark color gets pixelated.
I have tried GPU options in developer mood and I am using MX player with s/w decoding. Despite that the display of the phone is perfectly fine, in wallpapers and in games but it only happens with videos. Currently I am running Kitkat 4.4 do you think that lollipop update will fix it? and either it is a hardware or a software problem? the pic is attached to show you people problem clearly.

Galaxy s4 has resolution of 1920 x 1080 , and you might be playing a video of lower resolution this effects the overall quality of video.

What happens when you try playing it with H/W decoding? Is this problem only for .avi files? .mp4? .mov?


text:
S4 Wont turn on unless removing battery then turns off after 2 seconds
So, my Galaxy S4 turned off randomly today during charge. I attempted turning it back on via the power button but it would not respond.
Then I tried taking out the battery and replacing it, the device vibrates with the Galaxy S4 logo showing up for about a couple seconds, then the screen goes blank again.
I even tried placing a battery from a different S4 - still doesn't work.
Anybody know what's wrong with my device?
Edit: Flat Surface trick doesn't work. It vibrates sometimes but then it turns off.

Have you tried to see if  your battery  works in another S4?
During the boot process, is the power cable connected?  Does it make a difference between the short boot time and whether or not a power cable is connected?

No cable is connected. i tried another battery.

Try booting into recovery mode and seeing if it turns of there
if it doesn't that means your software is corrupt and a factory reset/format cache from recovery mode might fix it
to access recovery mode hold power button+ volume up + home button at the same time while the device is off

your software is corrupt -- In particular, which software is this which can be dealt with a simple reset?

It could be a app or setting that Is causing the system to not function or conflicting with it. no harm in trying , worth a try if nothing else works.

Can you improve your answer by adding details, please.

Try hitting it on a table on the power button or using n air compressor the power button is most likely stuck

I had the same problem. Most likely it's the power button problem, where it's always stucked inside, or depressed in. That makes your phone turns on then turns off by itself. I had the same problem. I found this great video on how to fixes it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l_6fwzuIwA

Consider adding the info from the video into the answer, since 1) not everyone has good internet access to play a video, 2) if the video goes down the worth of your answer would decrease considerably.


text:
Web browser - how to pass true native resolution to prevent sites from serving up mobile responsive design
How can Chrome (or some other browser) be configured to tell websites its resolution is the native resolution of the phone and not a reduced resolution that's adjusted for being high DPI?  "Request desktop site" works for some sites, but not all, and ones that detect the resolution of the phone will show the mobile "responsive" layout.  For example, if I Google "what is my screen resolution" and visit the first site, it reports 360x640 even though my phone is 1440x2560.  I'm running Lollipop if that matters.

Which site you are not able to view in desktop mode? And note that changing the Browser to act like in desktop browser wont change your Screen Resolution..

This wasn't the site I was trying to visit, but one example is www.apple.com - haha.  Yeah, request desktop site doesn't affect resolution, just user agent I believe, so that's why it's ineffective on sites that use media queries which rely on resolution to implement responsive / adaptive design instead of using user agent detection.

It turns out you can use Firefox for Android to do this:

In the address bar go to about:config and then search for pixels.
Select layout.css.devPixelsPerPx and change the value from -1.0 (default) to 1 if you
want sites to think the resolution of your browser is the true
native resolution of the screen rather than a DPI-adjusted value.
If you have a super high resolution screen like a QHD (1440x2560),
you may want to set this to 2 rather than 1, and then if you use the
phone in landscape mode, your resolution will be 1280x720 which
won't make things as small by default as setting it to 1 would.

Using the above in conjunction with "Request desktop site" should do a great job at always showing the desktop site for not only user-agent-detection-based sites but also for responsive media-query-based sites.

For a 720p phone I had to put 0.5 to get the desktop version of a particular website.

Wow, I've been struggling and disappointed for months, trying (and failing) to find a solution to let my high physical resolution tablet displays the web pages with more "screen asset". Some other solutions say I would either need to root my device or use a PC and adb, blah blah blah. Now I'm pleasantly surprised that the solution is as simple as installing a normal app! Thank you @g491 !   Can we do the same change on Chrome too?

@RayLuo I'm not aware of a way to do that in Chrome but I don't know how.  I just tried searching chrome://flags for some things like dpi, resolution, scale, zoom, etc. and didn't see anything. There could be another way but I'm not sure.

Even in Firefox, such setting would only work for some sites (such as this StackExchange.com) but not others (such as visualstudio.com). Why is that? And is there any better method? (Nope, I don't consider the 18 inch Samsung Galaxy View a method in this context.)

Try using Opera for Mobile and setup the Desktop mode in Settings and Turn off the Opera Turbo mode. Now you'll be able to view sites like Facebook, Stackoverflow etc like the same way it is loaded in Desktop web browsers. Some websites redirect to theire mobile website even if you set to Desktop mode.

By "setup the Desktop mode", is this referring to Settings -> User agent -> change from "Mobile" to "Desktop"?  If so, this still has the same issue.

Well you can spoof your browser to act like a desktop version but you can't change the resolution of the device from the browser..those website are designed as responsive desgin so they will display according to the resolution and fits to the view port of the device...Also have a look at How to disable zoom in a mobile webpage?..these settings will have no effect on the Desktop view setting that we make in our browsers

I realized I didn't check the about:config in Firefox and sure enough there was a setting there.  I posted it as an answer to this question for others who may come across this.

is the answer still relevant in 2023?


text:
What does ECC stand for in the image and how to remove it?
What does ECC stand for in the image and how to remove it ?

ECC stands for Emergency call codes like police station, ambulance, etc.
It is even available when you are locked down and if it annoys you then you can remove it by installing different screen locks like
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pandasoft.unloacker.drawinglockscreen&hl=en

How did it come in the first place..it wasn't there earlier !!

Because you might have changed the lock screen recently. For example check this  http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/10/26/y7e9ujet.jpg


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Edit Whatsapp contact name in Samsung Galaxy S3 Neo?
I wrongly saved one of my friend's name. Later renamed it with original name but when I searched contacts in WhatsApp I saw his name is still old one. I can't find a way to change name. I tried to edit via mobile contacts, but edit button in WhatsApp contact is disable. How to change WhatsApp contact that name in Samsung Galaxy S3 Neo?

Screenshots (click images for larger variants)

You can follow these steps:

Rename the contact in your phone book and save.
Go to Settings > Account > whatsapp > sync now (or any similar option)

Most likely, your contact is not synced after you renamed!

Can't it be done by synchronisation of contact over whatsapp contact..
I mean editing contact in phone or sim card and sync to whatsapp then whatsapp replace the old contact and shows the new one.

This may work :

Save your friend's number (copy & paste into a note taking app or write it on paper or just remember it).
Delete your friend's number.
Add new contact with the name you want and enter your friends number.

+1 Nice idea. I didn't think in this simple way :) I changed his whatsapp contacts name now :) but my doubt is why can't we change the name without deleting the contact?

WhatsApp seems to create a read-only version of the contact on many phones, so if simply changing the contact's name in your contacts app doesn't work, you might have to:

Delete the contact
Create a new one with the updated name.

It is to be done from inside Whatsapp and is simple.
1. Open Whatsapp
2. Tap Add Contact icon at the right bottom
3. Select New Contact
4. Select the choice of phone or SIM
5. Enter the Name
6. Enter the phone number
7. Save.