text:
Google play services are lost and a notification said it has been set to stop
Today on my one day old new Android smart phone I tried to update goggle play services and it stopped updating and could not find update page anywhere in the play store and then I got an error message that said google play services is now in stop  and so I looked in my google play store account apps and it was deleted and also it was deleted in my settings app list so I searched for google play services hoping to reinstall but when I tapped it a new app is there called play services info and I also checked on my computer if the app would be in play store but it was the same new app play services info. With no google play services I cannot access many important apps. How can google play services be put back in the google play store so I can download it to be able to use many important apps.

I tried to post this question yesterday and later found a resoluton

I did a factory reset and then I checked my settings app list and google play services was back, but it is only enabled and the force stop, clear data and clear cache are not working but all that matters is my apps that require Google play services working I can use again like messenger, Gmail and more. Since the factory reset to google play store it is still not found there and when it comes time for an update for google play services then my apps will not work and I am good for now but need to solve the issues that are critical to my device.


text:
Phone is killing important background/sync processes (Wiko Lenny 3) – what to do?
My friend recently bought a Wiko “Lenny 3”, which runs Android 6.0.1
After a short while of using it, it seems that this phone is configured by the manufacturer to very aggressively kill background apps, even ones that should be left running.
For example:

Apps that should be running in the background and syncing/polling for messages, such as K9-Mail (email client) or the Signal messenger, apparently aren’t left running.
Often, when opening K9-Mail or Signal, 10 or more emails/messages/texts will suddenly “arrive” all at once, many of which are hours old by then, so those apps clearly weren’t working in the background like they should’ve been and only got the chance to poll when they were manually (re-)opened by the user.
This means that even basic availability and message reception (part of the whole point of a phone, one would think) is not working reliably!
We put a calendar widget (belonging to Google Calendar) and a news app’s widget (SPIEGEL ONLINE) on the home screen, both of which are just blank after the phone is started and are only “resurrected” by fiddling with them manually (still haven’t figured out a reliable procedure).

If a live wallpaper is set, then after some time of using the phone (filling the RAM with other apps, presumably) or after rebooting, the phone’s wallpaper will be reset to the default, static one (Wiko logo).
This also depends on whether the live wallpaper is set from the home screen (where it already disappears e.g. just from opening the “recent apps” screen) or from the settings (where it lasts longer, but still not permanently).
Curiously, this only seems to affect live wallpapers that aren’t pre-installed (Phase Beam etc.), such as Galactic Core or Pixel Rain.
Videos:
Live wallpaper cleared by “recent apps”
Live wallpaper cleared by opening Firefox

A large part of the marketing/“bonus features” for this phone seems to revolve around battery life and “optimizing” performance.
It includes a pre-installed “Phone Assistant” app (cannot be disabled!) where different levels of battery saving can be set up, background apps can be killed and so on.
This app also puts a “One Clean” icon on the “all apps” screen whose function seems to be killing all currently-running user apps (it plays an animation and announces having freed XXX MB of memory).
Tapping this “One Clean” icon always resets the wallpaper to the static default if a (non-pre-installed) live wallpaper was set, which is why I think all this has to do with an overly aggressive background app policy (even the live wallpaper process gets killed).
Demonstration of “One Clean” (clearing live wallpaper again)
Unfortunately, even whitelisting everything in the “Phone Assistant” and disabling as many battery saving/“optimizing” features as possible didn’t alleviate the problem.
(I haven’t tested this, but I suspect that the built-in email, calendar etc. apps pushed on you by the manufacturer, most of which can’t even be disabled, are spared this violent treatment, so many people owning the phone might not really notice these issues.
Just an idea.)
Because of these issues with the manufacturer-provided setup, I’m very eager to install a custom ROM on the phone.
However, none of the popular ones (e.g. Cyanogenmod or Paranoid Android) seem to support this phone and I certainly don’t want to brick it!
Does anyone have any experience with a phone that behaves like this?
What would be the best course of action?
Is there a (comparatively) risk-free way to try a custom ROM or can I do anything from within the manufacturer-provided installation?

1 Apologies for linking the German page; for some reason the page seems to be available in every language except English.
If you find an English version, do tell me.

Edit (2016-12-27): It seems that these issues with Wiko phones are becoming more well-known and affect an entire line of models (Wiko phones on Android 6 (Marshmallow) with only 1 GB of RAM).
Even those low-tier Wiko models which came with Android 4 on release and were only later updated to Android 6 seem to then exhibit the problems I described (non-functional widgets, background/synchronization issues etc.) due to Wiko’s messed-up implementation – even though there were no issues before the update.
See, for example: http://ludditus.com/2016/08/10/the-verdict-on-wiko-robby-two-weeks-later/

I have no device with MM at hand currently, but have you tried to exclude those apps from "doze mode"? AFAIK there's an item in the power savings settings ("Energiesparmodus" or something like that). Only few apps are excluded by default. Apps that are not excluded the system might decide to "doze" (put to sleep).

@Izzy Hm, so far, I haven’t modified that much within the Android settings themselves and more suspected the pre-installed “Phone Assistant” stuff. I’m not sure I found exactly what you’re talking about, but I have now set the apps I talked about in the question to “not optimized” in the battery performance settings and will try and see if that helps.
https://i.stack.imgur.com/EeFIf.png

Yepp, that was exactly what I've meant. Fingers crossed – let us know the results!

@Izzy Unfortunately, there seems to be no difference (rebooted and played around for a while). Live wallpapers still get cleared and the widgets still have the same issues. Can’t tell yet if there’s any improvement with the messaging apps.

Strange. Last idea I can come up with would be checking the logs for any clues.

I experience the same issue. The plan was to buy a cheap phone which would process background tasks, I went for a Wiko. I wasted my money. http://stackoverflow.com/questions/37745793/application-is-sleeping-when-one-phone-gets-locked-but-not-on-another-phone

Hi, I had the same problem, and after a lot of googling I found a post on xda that suggested to set ro.tinno.whitelist.set=false in build.prop, but that didn't work for me, maybe because I deeply modified the stock ROM (by removing most of the vendor apps, including the task killer). What actually worked for me was inspired by @Pbordin's solution : set ro.tinno.low_memory=false. Please try one, then the other, then both, and report. If this works for you, I'll turn this comment into an answer.

Does your phone have a (top-level) setting called "DuraSpeed"? This was the case for my Wiko Y81. Adding exceptions for Signal and other apps I'm running allowed me to solve the same issue you described.

I bought a Wiko Lenny 3 in France 3 months ago. I immediately loved the device as I was primarily using it as a development device with Android 6.0. I write code for a living. I noticed OneClean and PhoneAssist and their brutal, rude and unasked for ways. My background services would get killed whether I had powersave mode on, or not, battery optimized settings or not... I tweaked and tweaked but got nowhere.
And then...
I just today installed Engineer Mode from the PlayStore (it has a yellow and black wheel as an icon).
After launching the app, I chose the secret code for OneClean, there's only one in the list and it says OneClean. Clicking it gives you a menu, I unticked "Low Ram enable" and ticked "Background Enable" and raise "Background service limit from 6 to 8".
After doing that I rebooted and launched Orbot which would never stay on, IT STAYS ON. I am able to have background services running. So far so good.
Try it....

Thank you for the hint on Engineer Mode – an interesting angle I didn’t know about before. However, any improvement gained through this method is marginal at best – eventually, the phone still kills important background processes at some point, so this is not a complete solution.

i've just found a working solution for the same issue affecting my Wiko Fever.
Went to "Phone Assistant", "Charge management", "Advanced settings", "App"; then in the gear icon on top right corner, I selected "Background app whitelist" and added the applications that i want to keep alive. Doing this, no more unexpected background tasks kills.

I’ve already done this; all interesting apps are on this whitelist. As stated in the question, “Unfortunately, even whitelisting everything in the ‘Phone Assistant’ and disabling as many battery saving/‘optimizing’ features as possible didn’t alleviate the problem”. So this is not an effective solution, or at least it doesn’t work on the Lenny 3.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
how do i clear up space because my phone is almost full?
Can i sweep the storage. Is this data i don't want or the data that runs my phone. Not sure exactly what my huawei phone stores in storage. Whats miscellaneous?

Pointer: Check our insufficient-memory tag-wiki for hints :)

The storage you sweep refers to stuff like cache or minor app memory. Most of the time, these are things you don't need on your phone that store excessive memory in order to make the phone run a little faster.
Miscellaneous refers to the files on your phone (think of as a file manager) and stores things like your downloaded files from the internet, movies you downloaded, and really anything in your internal storage directory. Some of these files (like .android) are necessary to run your device. The things you installed from chrome or app data only effect those parts of the device and are therefore safe to clean.
Most of your storage is probably made up of apps, music, and photos. I would remove some of those in order to save the most data. For photos, use google photos and put them on the cloud instead of storage if you take a lot of them. This way, you will have the most storage as you can.

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


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Android instantly reboots on incoming call
I can't even see the caller ID on the screen, when my phone soft reboots. It began when I did factory reset 2 days ago. No software installed besides system default apps.
Phone: BLU Life One X (2016) rooted with Android Lollipop (5.1)
This is what I get from logcat when there's incoming call.
E/ActivityThread(  538): Service com.google.android.gms.car.CarService has leaked ServiceConnection fmj@16cdbf61 that was originally bound here
E/ActivityThread(  538): android.app.ServiceConnectionLeaked: Service com.google.android.gms.car.CarService has leaked ServiceConnection fmj@16cdbf61 that was originally bound here
E/ActivityThread(  538):        at android.app.LoadedApk$ServiceDispatcher.<init>(LoadedApk.java:1116)
E/ActivityThread(  538):        at android.app.LoadedApk.getServiceDispatcher(LoadedApk.java:1010)
E/ActivityThread(  538):        at android.app.ContextImpl.bindServiceCommon(ContextImpl.java:1895)
E/ActivityThread(  538):        at android.app.ContextImpl.bindService(ContextImpl.java:1878)
E/ActivityThread(  538):        at android.content.ContextWrapper.bindService(ContextWrapper.java:539)
E/ActivityThread(  538):        at android.content.ContextWrapper.bindService(ContextWrapper.java:539)
E/ActivityThread(  538):        at android.content.ContextWrapper.bindService(ContextWrapper.java:539)
E/ActivityThread(  538):        at ivw.a(:com.google.android.gms:120)
E/ActivityThread(  538):        at ivw.a(:com.google.android.gms:137)
E/ActivityThread(  538):        at fmj.h(:com.google.android.gms:76)
E/ActivityThread(  538):        at fmj.<init>(:com.google.android.gms:64)
E/ActivityThread(  538):        at fpn.i(:com.google.android.gms:551)
E/ActivityThread(  538):        at com.google.android.gms.car.CarChimeraService.onBind(:com.google.android.gms:165)
E/ActivityThread(  538):        at com.google.android.chimera.container.ServiceProxy.onBind(:com.google.android.gms:165)
E/ActivityThread(  538):        at android.app.ActivityThread.handleBindService(ActivityThread.java:3028)
E/ActivityThread(  538):        at android.app.ActivityThread.access$1900(ActivityThread.java:178)
E/ActivityThread(  538):        at android.app.ActivityThread$H.handleMessage(ActivityThread.java:1558)
E/ActivityThread(  538):        at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:111)
E/ActivityThread(  538):        at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:194)
E/ActivityThread(  538):        at android.app.ActivityThread.main(ActivityThread.java:5643)
E/ActivityThread(  538):        at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Native Method)
E/ActivityThread(  538):        at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:372)
E/ActivityThread(  538):        at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(ZygoteInit.java:960)
E/ActivityThread(  538):        at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit.main(ZygoteInit.java:755)
E/AALService(  298): [ERROR] Kernel does not support AAL, please enable CONFIG_MTK_AAL_SUPPORT in kconfig.
E/MPlugin (30062): Unsupported class: com.mediatek.common.telephony.IOnlyOwnerSimSupport
E/ActivityThread(30062): Failed to find provider info for com.tinno.mobilesafe
E/ActivityThread(30062): Failed to find provider info for com.tinno.mobilesafe
E/GesturePhoneService(30850): onCallStateChanged, bUpsetSilentOn=false bUpsetSpeakerOn=false bProxAnswerOn=false
E/MPlugin (30062): Unsupported class: com.mediatek.common.audioprofile.IAudioProfileExtension$IDefaultProfileStatesGetter

E/AndroidRuntime(30062): *** FATAL EXCEPTION IN SYSTEM PROCESS: main
E/AndroidRuntime(30062): java.lang.NullPointerException: uriString
E/AndroidRuntime(30062):        at android.net.Uri$StringUri.<init>(Uri.java:470)
E/AndroidRuntime(30062):        at android.net.Uri$StringUri.<init>(Uri.java:460)
E/AndroidRuntime(30062):        at android.net.Uri.parse(Uri.java:432)
E/AndroidRuntime(30062):        at com.android.server.telecom.Ringer.startRingingOrCallWaiting(Ringer.java:326)
E/AndroidRuntime(30062):        at com.android.server.telecom.Ringer.updateRinging(Ringer.java:226)
E/AndroidRuntime(30062):        at com.android.server.telecom.Ringer.onForegroundCallChanged(Ringer.java:187)
E/AndroidRuntime(30062):        at com.android.server.telecom.CallsManager.updateForegroundCall(CallsManager.java:1784)
E/AndroidRuntime(30062):        at com.android.server.telecom.CallsManager.updateCallsManagerState(CallsManager.java:1810)
E/AndroidRuntime(30062):        at com.android.server.telecom.CallsManager.addCall(CallsManager.java:1609)
E/AndroidRuntime(30062):        at com.android.server.telecom.CallsManager.onSuccessfulIncomingCall(CallsManager.java:330)
E/AndroidRuntime(30062):        at com.android.server.telecom.Call.processDirectToVoicemail(Call.java:830)
E/AndroidRuntime(30062):        at com.android.server.telecom.Call.setCallerInfo(Call.java:1418)
E/AndroidRuntime(30062):        at com.android.server.telecom.Call.access$000(Call.java:76)
E/AndroidRuntime(30062):        at com.android.server.telecom.Call$1.onQueryComplete(Call.java:178)
E/AndroidRuntime(30062):        at com.android.internal.telephony.CallerInfoAsyncQuery$CallerInfoAsyncQueryHandler.onQueryComplete(CallerInfoAsyncQuery.java:366)
E/AndroidRuntime(30062):        at android.content.AsyncQueryHandler.handleMessage(AsyncQueryHandler.java:344)
E/AndroidRuntime(30062):        at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:111)
E/AndroidRuntime(30062):        at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:194)
E/AndroidRuntime(30062):        at com.android.server.SystemServer.run(SystemServer.java:352)
E/AndroidRuntime(30062):        at com.android.server.SystemServer.main(SystemServer.java:233)
E/AndroidRuntime(30062):        at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Native Method)
E/AndroidRuntime(30062):        at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:372)
E/AndroidRuntime(30062):        at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(ZygoteInit.java:960)
E/AndroidRuntime(30062):        at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit.main(ZygoteInit.java:755)
E/ActivityThread(  578): Failed to find provider info for settings

Also the call is not being logged to missed calls history.
I have already tried to

Factory reset (from settings)
Hard reset (from recovery)
Change SIM card

what do you do in recovery "factory reset"? do you only reset data or wipe cache and dalvik cache also? if you don't, try doing it also. plus if you are using custom rom, check its forums if someone else got same error

I wiped all kind of caches including dalvik. Unfortunately, I got AOSP unmodified, couldn't find any occurrences of this kind of errors.

Does the device ship with some CallerID software? I remember a similar case from the past having comparable results. Disabling the CallerID stuff cured it. Check the settings of your telephony app if you can find something like that. If it's there, simply disable it (at least the "internet lookup" parts, i.e. online phone book lookups: the error message starting with UriParse seems to suggest as much).

@Izzy thanks for reply. I can't find any option to disable the caller id information. The thing is that calling worked perfectly few weeks ago before the factory reset. I have no idea how can factory reset ruin the calling feature.

Sorry to read that. Unfortunately I don't remember the details – just that it was some "external service" (some Yellow Pages or the like) one needed to untick.

Here's the solution, if anyone encounters the same problem. It's because of the ringtone. The URI of the ringtone is always null (Thanks BLU!) and code is trying to resolve it with no success (nullpointerexception). The solution right now is to set phone to Vibrate mode. This is the only way to fix the problem. I'll try to decompile the dialer app and fix the error.

does changing ring tone solve problem? if yes then please post it as an answer so that it can help others too. but I still don't understand how error can be in com.google.android.gms.car.CarService. i searched this service belongs to Google auto. do you have any auto app installed? and if this is manufacturing defect then all BLU phones should have it not just yours.

Just in case, the settings app is crashing when trying to change the ringtone. Already posted the solution as answer. Thanks.

The answer was not obvious. It's because of the corrupted telecom.service (dialer) app. BLOX 2016 always had issues with ringtones, but I guess they completely ruined it in some of their updates. The only way to get around is to install TWRP and flash a new ROM backup. You can find those on XDA forums BLU Life One X thread.
The other solution is to set the phone to Vibrate mode and never change it back to ringer.


text:
Cyanogenmod 13 get rid of Google bar
I recently updated my Galaxy S5 to Cyanogenmod 13 and have this annoying Google search bar on the top of my home screen. I used to be able to get rid of this in CM 12 but can't find how to do it in CM 13. Is there any way to remove it?

Using Trebuchet (the default launcher)? Long press empty space on homescreen, tap the little up arrow on the bottom, then find this and turn off.

Screenshot captured on my own Nexus 6P with CM13.


text:
Messnger shared content
I'd like to remove the pictures that are in messenger's shared content. Both of us have tried deleting the conversations and the shared content still shows up after we send a message to eachother.  We have also both tried blocking eachother, uninstalling messenger & Facebook from our cell phones. Please help thank you.

Have you tried deleting those particular images/messages (not the whole conversation) from your chat by Pressing and holding the message > Delete


text:
How to remove a broken contact
I've got a broken contact on my phone. It was an imported contact and I tried to merge it with an existing one. But when I did it, the contact remained visible in my Contacts app. However it's broken: when I try to open/delete/edit/merge it, nothing happens.
I tried to google the solution but I only found guides about how to get contacts from my broken phone but not about getting broken contacts from my phone.

Try: 1. Merging contact on your G mail using web browser 2. Deleting that contact on phone 3. Sync G mail contacts


text:
How to know my nexus device is file encrypted?
From android n new feature called file encryption is supported.
How to identify if my device is file encrypted.
If i create any new file inside /data parition using touch . Will i will see that file when i do ls -l.
Will file name will be shown as secured name when doing ls -l after creation of file, if the device is file encrypted.

If you have 'Developer options' enabled you may see a 'Convert to file encryption' option. If you see this option it implies that you are not using file encryption. Clicking this option shows a warning stating:

Convert data partition to file-based encryption.
!!Warning!!. This will delete all your data.
This feature is alpha, and may not work correctly.
Press 'Wipe and convert...' to continue.

I don't think that any devices that are upgraded to Android 7.0 will use file encryption automatically as it requires wiping your device in order to turn this on. Any new devices (such as the new Nexus devices coming later this year) should use file encryption by default.


text:
Verify that an APK has been built from given source code
For the same app, I have:

an APK from an app store,
what is claimed to be the source code for the same version. With a pretty usual Gradle build script and structure.

I want to check whether the APK was really built from that source code or not.
How to check that?
Notes:

The APK is not obfuscated.
I have no reason to trust anyone's signature. I only trust the source code.
I already built the app for myself, but now I want to know whether the APK was OK or not.
Preferably with Linux command-line tools, but any tool is OK.

I've not tried that, but you should be able to use Apktool for this purpose: Reverse-engineer both .apk files, then run a diff against the resulting directories. Only difference then should be the signature (which cannot match for obvious reasons). Thinking about it: simply unzipping the .apk files and doing a binary diff should do the same. Both would of course require having used the same library versions etc. when compiling in the first place :)

@Izzy: "same library versions": API version is written in the manifest and libraries version in the Gradle script, so that part should be OK, I guess. A list of files/folders that can be ignored would make that a great answer (bonus for the actual command lines).

I could do that if I were on my computer at home, which I am not currently. But for that to be a "honorable answer", I would need to try it out myself first :) In case I forget (and nobody else did it before me), feel free to send me another ping (e.g. in chat) in about 8..10h :)

@Izzy The diff method seems neat... but what if the guys of the app store obfuscated the APK while compiling it?

IMHO that's where Apktool comes into play. Have you checked the link? Also take a look at LibRadar which uses this. AFAIR it helps in de-obfuscating (something must, or LibRadar would have a hard job detecting those libraries).

I was just gonna say MD5 checks. It may not help with signatures, but it can show if there is a difference. Once they are both in a compiled or decompiled state, of course.

@DanBrown: Do you mean that the store's APK and the one I compiled myself must be exactly the same, byte-by-byte? That supposes no build timestamps/etc are included.

@NicolasRaoul They aren't, AFAIK.

@DanBrown So what files within the APK do you suggest performing checksum comparisons on? Thanks!

@NicolasRaoul you should probably do it on a decompiled format. You'll only need to rip apart the APK. Make sure libraries and app versions are the same between apps

You can only do this with
reproducible builds:

"A build is reproducible if given the same source code, build environment and build instructions, any party can recreate bit-by-bit identical copies of all specified artifacts."

So the app developer or the app store needs to be on board in order for it to work.
Otherwise your only option is to build it yourself.
One example of a developer who currently does this is Open Whisper Systems:
https://github.com/WhisperSystems/Signal-Android/wiki/Reproducible-Builds

Very interesting! So, are you sure comparison can not be done without without the developer being on board? Unfortunately (but understandably) most open source apps do not use Docker or similar for builds, they are just built on whatever system the maintainer happens to run.

Doesn't have to be the developer, just as long as whoever builds the app from source makes it possible to recreate their build environment exactly. Dependencies can be a massive pain when setting up these types of builds.

"recreate their build environment exactly": Is it possible to guess? For instance, if for some reason building on Mac or Linux produces a different APK, can I guess whether the app store's APK has been built on Mac or Linux?

It's not possible to guess and have results that are meaningful. Eventually this will get easier to implement and you'll see more and more open source projects doing it.

One great thing about java and APKs is you can completely decompile the APK to java source code.
However, the resulting source code isn't guaranteed to be identical.
One good way to try and match up the resulting source code with a known revision is to check what modifications were made directly before and after the known commit in the repository, and see if those modifications are also present in the decompiled source.
To decompile, use dex2jar and JD-Gui.
edit I just noticed you wanted linux tools. My only experience is with windows, but I'm sure similar tools exist for linux.

If I understand correctly, your method is to check what the latest change in the source code's repository was, then decompile the APK, and check manually whether the latest change is also found in the decompiled code too, right? Interesting approach, but that will not tell me whether a call-home or embedded ad has been added to the APK version, right?

This is an approach I have used in the office to try and match up an unknown APK to a source revision, which has been good enough if you know you can trust the developers. But as you say, it is probably still possible for an untrustworthy party to sneak something in. I am hoping someone will provide a more definitive answer, would be useful for me too.

How about compiling the source into the APK yourself, then decompiling it back into source code and comparing that to the decompiled source from Play Store APK? Have anyone tried this?

@SergiyBelozorov sorry I can't answer this, I don't really work with android any more, but it sounds like a very good idea.

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


text:
Overflow menu in Stock Browser
The stock browser in Android doesn't show the menu/ 3dots (Overflow menu) to change the settings at all. I tried about:debug but those 3 dots doesn't come up to change the settings. I use Karbonn Machfive android mobile.


text:
unable to flash ROM in HUAWEI phone
I have a H30-U10 Huawei phone that is not turning on. when I press the power button, it freezes on the logo screen and stuck at there. The current ROM on the device is H30-U10 V100R001C900B127. Also, I tried to flash same ROM and higher versions. But, I get following error:
dloading module MBR.....
dload:update partition MBR failed
Update /sdcard/dload/update.app failed

The entire process I did is based on this tutorial. How to solve this?

Can you get into fastboot in the bootloader and attach the output of fastboot oem get-bootinfo and fastboot getvar all to the original question please?

I tried to get into fastboot but my PC does not recognize the phone.

You need to correct your driver issues so your computer can properly communicate with the phone before much of anything can be done. Without working fastboot and knowing the technical state of the device  there isn't much that can be done right now.

I am not familiar with your device model but owned Honor 6 earlier- for any upgrade please remove the external SD- for some unknown reason this was a common problem in Honor 6. Now that you can't access the device, change the external SD and copy the dload file on that and try See if that helps


text:
How to Play Pokémon Go in High Accuracy GPS -mode with Oneplus 2 of CM13?
It is possible to play Pokémon Go in GPS only mode in Oneplus 2 of CM13 as described in the thread Can you play Pokémon Go on Oneplus 2 with CM13? However, the application does not work in the high accuracy mode with the device. I would like to understand which technology Wifi/Bluetooth/... is disturbing the game and GPS, in order to understand how to play the game in the high accuracy mode.
I have not seen the same problem with Samsung Galaxy Phones of CM13.
Fig. 1 Output in High Accuracy Mode

Test configurations tested in High Accuracy Mode

Fresh installation of the OS - no difference
Clean memory before starting Pokemon or not - no difference
Bluetooth on and off - no difference
Power saving mode on and off - no difference
Google Wear installed but no devices connected to the application; tested also as uninstalled - no difference
All internet gadgets (Pebble, Xiaomi Mi Band 2) disconnected from the phone - no difference
Using own local wifi network or not - no difference
...

System: CM13
Phone: Oneplus 2
Pokémon Go: 0.33.0

This is Pokemon's server side problem. You cannot do anything here but wait that the company improves. Now, the situation is better.


text:
Multiple copies of files on SD card
I use Sony Xperia C1505 which I got three years ago. The phone had been repaired multiple times because od Jack not working and system crash but everything seemed fine since the last repair which had been six months ago.
The problem is that every time I connect phone to pc using USB cable, some files duplicate but I can´t delete any of them (the phone says "Failed to delete file")
All copies of music are working though. Some of photos are "broken files" but when I reload the SD card, everything is fine.
My gallery now has more that 4K of pics instead of 1K. It still ceeps multiplying the files everytime I connect the phone.

I tried restarting phone several times, moved everything from SD card to PC and deleted everything but the problem stil persists...
I am scared to delete the copies because I don´t want to lose any of them
P.S.: I apologize for my english, it is my third language

Can you check the details of those duplicates, if they really point to the same directory? I vaguely remember a similar issue where the media scanner was going nuts and didn't see that /sdcard was just a symbolic link to /storage/sdcard0, thus showing the same file twice (one for /sdcard and one for /storage/sdcard0). Since Lollipop and multi-user, there are now additional symlinks pointing to the same source, which might explain the multiple copies – or, if the scanner got really nuts, it might even include the thumbnails separately.

Yes, every single copy is in the same folder and even has the same name, it doesn´t even behave like a copy. When I tried selecting them, if I selected one copy it said "1 selected" but if i did select the another copy of the same it said "0 selected"
I deleted one copy and it was fine but really, deleting three thousands of pictures...

OK, looks like the media scanner messed up its database. I'd try to clear the media storage (see the middle of this page: go to Settings › Apps › All, find "Media Storage", chose "clear data"), then reboot (on device startup, the media scanner will be triggered to run, and should – this time cleanly – build up it's database). Note: If you've customized ringtones/notification sounds, you might need to redo that afterwards as the association might be lost.

Glad this solved it! So I will make it a complete answer. Please check that (in a few minutes) and mark it "accepted" (by ticking the green check-mark next to it), so other users with the same issue can identify it as solution. Enjoy!

This looks like the media scanner messed up its database. I recommend to:

clear the media storage (see the middle of this page for details with screenshots):

go to Settings › Apps › All
find "Media Storage" and tap the entry once to open the app details
chose "clear data" (to empty the media scanner's database)

reboot

On device startup, the media scanner will be triggered to run, and should – this time cleanly – build up it's database.
Note: If you've customized ringtones/notification/alarm sounds, you might need to redo that afterwards as the association might be lost.²

² Applications identify those sounds by an ID, not by directory and file name. With the new buildup database, those IDs no longer match.


text:
On android, how can I unzip more than one zip files at once?
In PC you can choose more than one separate zip files and extract to "zipname" folder all by selecting at once, how can I do the same in Android.
I've tried ES file explorer, Z Archiver etc but they all seem to work only for multipart zip files and not for multiple separate zips.

Either you install some advanced File explorers like ES File explorer/File commander, Or You could install Applications like 'RAR'.

Okay, so just tried another app RAR by Rarsoft and it did the job perfectly, though extracted all the zips to same folder....enough for me.

@beeshyams Oh actually, I thought it'll make the question look a spam one cause I myself answering just after minutes of asking it. Now added.

If you are the developer , you can mention in answer, that's fine 2. Even if you are not, self answering the question is encouraged here, and linking the app helps people easily locate on play store. Thanks

Solid Explorer works like a charm. You can try it out, but it's a paid app.
You select all the files, like on a desktop and choose the extract option. The contents of the zip file are extracted to the respective folders.


text:
How do I root Cubot z100?
I've seen some tools for the pc which say you just need to click a button and they'll give you root access, and I tried one of them, rootkhp, but I had no luck. If I recall correctly, when I rooted my last phone (Galaxy Mini 2 GT S6500) I needed to download some drivers, while this tool didn't tell me to do that. I did the 7 clicks on the kernel version to activate developer mode, I activated usb debugging, connected the phone to the pc and launched the program, clicked on root, it said something like "Your phone did verify, please wait" and after some time it said "Your phone successfully rooted, you can now close this notification". I closed it, closed the program, disconnected the pho e but I couldn't activate root only functions on my apps. I tried again after rebooting, no luck. Do you know how to root the Cubot Z100?

if you are going for an automated one-click software, i would try one of these:
Kingo Root : kingoapp.com
King Root : kingroot.net (similar name, different developers)
iRoot : iroot.com
360Root : root.360.cn (this one is chinese only)
one of them should work, try one, uninstall, try other... good luck! if none of these work, i would wait more untill rooting your model becomes more known/common.
Also i found this page https://www.skyneel.com/cubot-usb-driver that seems to have USB drivers for your model


text:
What does /mnt/asec directory contain?
What does /mnt/asec directory contain in Android? Can someone explain in brief?

Thought Google would have an official definition on Android Developers, but surprisingly not. So with a lil bit of Google I dug up this:
Android Security Internals: An In-Depth Guide to Android's Security Architecture
Look around P80 for related content. From what I understand, ASEC (Android Secure External Cache) was implemented in a time when Android devices come with limited storage and has to resort to external storage (i.e. SD card) for apps, and its purpose is to securely store part of the apps so as to prevent corruption and piracy by copying SD card contents.
Wikipedia also has a bit of intro here.

It's actually used to achieve "Move to SD card" feature.
Take a sample app called com.sample.app.
When an app is installed, a new folder will be created by the app name /data/com.sample.app which contains the app's private data. Similarly, the APK itself is contained in /data/app/com.sample.app1.apk
When we move the application to external storage,

It will not be moved to /mnt/sdcard/ partition. Android will create a
new folder under /mnt/asec partiton called /mnt/asec/com.sample.app.
It will also copy the APK from /data/app/com.sample.app1.apk to
/mnt/asec/com.sample.app/com.sample.app1.apk

Thanks for your answer. I have few more queries.                                                Does /mnt/asec partition is tmpfs mounted. Also if the application is moved to sdcard, it will always exist in /mnt/asec partition . it will never be moved to sdcard partition. Is my understanding correct.

On one hand, when I browse my rooted android through adb shell, I get here:
/data/data/com.sample.app

Then ls -al gives :
drwxrwx--x u0_a25   u0_a25            2018-10-28 23:52 cache
drwxrwx--x u0_a25   u0_a25            2018-10-29 00:36 files
lrwxrwxrwx install  install           2018-10-29 09:48 lib -> /mnt/asec/com.sample.app-1/lib
drwxrwx--x u0_a25   u0_a25            2018-10-29 07:45 shared_prefs

On the other hand, through USB connection, I get two mount points:
mtp:/Y330-U01/Phone storage/
mtp:/Y330-U01/SD card/

The following directory mtp:/Y330-U01/Carte SD/.android_secure/ looks empty. Is it actually empty ?
When plugging directly the SD Card on the PC (via USB micro SD adapter) the directory .android_secure/ appears to contain:
com.sample.app-1.asec
So in my opinion /mnt/asec is a mount point for /mnt/asec/com.sample.app-1/ mount points, leading to .android_secure/*.asec secure disk image files (or kind of...)

This is how it appears on API_19 emulator: /init.rc:    mount tmpfs tmpfs /mnt/asec mode=0755,gid=1000


text:
Storage problem in Marshmallow
Since the day I started using format as internal in marshmallow, my phone's ( Lenovo k4 note) memory is totally doomed. Everything I install goes only to the actual internal storage of the phone. There is no option to transfer stuff in the SD card. My phone always shows 'insufficient space' every time I try to download new stuff. Right now my internal memory says 0 bytes free of 10.3 GB and my SD card shows 8.7 GB free.
How can I use that? Please help.

Format as internal sets the SD card up in such a way that to apps it appears as internal storage, effectively replacing you internal storage:
How does the "Format as internal storage" feature work in Android 6.0+?
So of course you internal storage appears full (As everything is now stored on the SD Card), and of course you have no options to move stuff to your SD Card (As everything is already there, and it is being used as internal storage).
Your SD Card is 16GB I'm guessing? Of which 7.3 is used up by apps, games, pictures, etc (Your 'internal storage'). Your internal storage is reported as full as it can't be used.


text:
Galaxy S3 Can't boot to teamwin recovery
I'm trying to Install CyanogenMod on my Samsung Galaxy S III, while using this guide
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Install_CM_for_i9300
For that end I need to install a new recovery mode.
Everything seem to work fine, until I'm trying Manually reboot the phone into recovery mode, the newly teamwin recovery( (Flashed with heimdall ), when I try that (holding vol up+powr+home in the download mode after flashing the new recovery mode) it gets me to "downloading do not turn off target" screen. if I reboot and try again the "vol up+powr+home", this time it gets me to the stock rom recovery.
How can I boot to the teamwin recovery after flashing it with heimdall ???
I have GT-I9300 with stock Android 4.3 not rooted!

Flash again and this time boot directly into recovery. Don't let the OS have a chance to overwrite it.

I did tried boot directly into recovery after done flashing, while i'm in the odin  "download mode" and yet it does not boot to the  teamwin recovery mode, instead it boots to  "downloading do not turn off target" screen...

This is where it gets me
http://www.siz.co.il/my.php?i=nycgjygeoz3z.jpg

Post your solution as an answer yourself, and mark it as accepted. That'll be of use to others later.

..,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Problem solved. Full Process to the solution can be found at AndroidForums. Basically, it seems it was a broken download (image file corrupted): I downloaded a fresh image from twrp.me and repeated the installation process, now everything works.

Thanks for self-answering the issue – but please, do as beeshyams suggested.


text:
Arduino heart rate sensor bluetooth terminal upon event command
I have an Arduino uno r3 set up as a pulse/heart rate monitor, I have a HC 05 bluetooth module set up so i can connect with my android phone, i get the reading on my android phone in a "heart rate is 86" and it shows a new reading every few seconds.
Is there a way I can set up an event via the Bluetooth terminal or other app, to make it possible to sound an alarm or other android command upon a specified heart rate.

what Bluetooth terminal are you talking about?

Bluetooth Terminal by Qwerty is what i'm using

Comments are meant to be temporary. Please [edit] your question.


text:
Saving a picture from a text message to my phone (asus, zenfone)
how do I save pictures to my phone that I receive through a text message?

Have you tried long-pressing on the picture?

I can think of four options:

Try long pressing on the picture (either in the message list or after tapping on it in full screen mode).
Press the physical or software (Three dots) menu button and select something like: 'Download' or 'Save to phone'
Tap to view the image full screen and screenshot it, then crop it using the gallery app
Download a different sms app that allows you to save pictures, then set it as default (e.g. Google Messenger
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.messaging&hl=en


text:
Too much draining of battery at night
I have Samsung Galaxy core gti8262 rooted.
And smoothly running on custom rom. I am having the battery issue in night my phones battery drains suddenly from 80% to 40-35%.I don't know why is this happening only at night,never happened this in day time!
Anyone tell me about this why is this occurring???

can you check battery logs in system settings? use an app called "GSam battery monitor" from play store. it will give you good details of which app is using your battery and how much.

Probably because of Google back up happening? It happens late night / early morning when phone is idle and connected WiFI. Disconnect WiFi to confirm if the drain is due to this


text:
Cannot SIM unlock Samsung Galaxy S7 with Rogers (Canada)
My dad got the Samsung Galaxy S7 back in May and wanted to SIM unlock it shortly after because he travels a lot due to work. No rooting, just unlocking the phone to use with foreign carriers. At the time, he went to a local store that provided him with a code but it wouldn't work, they told him something along the lines of "this phone is too new and cannot be unlocked yet". I was really busy at the time so I couldn't provide more assistance unfortunately. He phoned Rogers (his phone provider) and was told that they could provide him directly with an unlocking code but he had to wait 3 months from the time of the purchase. He thought that was a much safer way to do it, so he waited.
Fast forward to now, and the code he was given wouldn't work. According to him, even after following the steps in this page from Rogers he gets a message that says "INCORRECT NETWORK UNLOCK ENTERED". He also attempted to get it unlocked at a local store (from the foreign country he's currently working at) to no avail. I believe they even tried a factory reset, and the SIM unlock still wouldn't go through. As time goes by he is getting more frustrated and I don't know how to help since we're in different countries. Is the phone hardlocked after many unsuccessful attempts? Can such a thing occur even after a factory reset? Also, do you think it would be possible to get the phone sent to warranty for this problem?

After a several incorrect unlocking attempts (5-10, I think most Samsungs are 10) the device will "hard lock" to the current carrier and can only be unlocked by sending it in to the manufacturer for reflashing, this is not an ODIN thing, you can't do it yourself, it must be done by Samsung.


text:
Last Update CM13 - Nexus 5X
Yesterday I updated from this snapshot version 2016-04-18 17:30:08 to the last one 2016-08-20 00:21:07 (bullhead)
Everything looks in its place, but yesterday the device was keeping restarting, today it's stable.
I tried to reboot it by myself and when boot it says:
There’s an internal problem with your device. Contact your manufacturer for details.
Any solution?

So, did you try to contact the manufacturer? And CM updater uses recovery to flash the zip so...

Well, true.. it's the same thing. Btw no, I can't contact the manufacturer.

I have found a soulution here but it's for Nexus 6P and Android 5.1 but I think it will work in your case as well.

Android System
There's an internal problem with your device. Contact your manufacturer for details.

The problem occurs because of a check that Google implemented in Android 5.1 (and it seems stayed in after) which compares /system/build.prop with the values found in /vendor/build.prop.
If they differ you get that error message. All one has to do to get rid of the error is to change the 3 values in /vendor/build.prop according to the values in /system/build.prop.
On the link you can find a flashable zip. The magic is in the update-binary file:
/sbin/busybox egrep "^ro\.build\.(date(\.utc)?|fingerprint)=" /system/build.prop \
    | /sbin/busybox sed -e"s/^ro\./ro.vendor./" \
    > /vendor/build.prop

So you need:

install TWRP on your device
send vendor-build-prop-fix-signed.zip to your device
reboot into recovery mode
flash the zip but don't wipe anything
reboot your phone

If it's not work (but it should be work), you can try this method.
It says you should download and flash/install the vendor.img which matches your ROM's base.

The last sentence is the one on point. Update the vendor image and ignore the warning. CM uses a single branch for all devices so even when on the latest vendor image the warning will still pop up.


text:
Nexus 10 not booting, showing Google and lock icon when turned on
This is odd. My Nexus 10 has been working great a quite a while now, but now, suddenly, when I turn it on, its quickly shows a Google title in the middle, and a lock icon at the bottom (in landscape mode only). The lock looks like a padlock and it looks open (not fully closed). Nothing happens when I wait. I can turn the tablet off by holding the power button for about 5 seconds. The tablet then stays off, until I press the power button for about 1 second. "Google" and the open padlock icon then reappears.
I've image-googled for anything about not booting and lock icons and whatnot, but I can't find anything that resembles this.
I've had an ipod touch years back and after my toddler tried to log in a few times, I lost access to it, and lost all my data. This made me not wanting to try Apple again. I seriously hope I'm not dealing with something like this here now again...

You seem to have got an unlocked bootloader. How, I don't know (I don't use nexus devices) but all your personal data is probably gone (wiped for security reasons) try reflashing a stock  ROM

So if the lock icon was closed before and just opened somehow, you should find out what happens.
Now the lock is opened, so your boot-loader is opened. Have you opened it?
There are BL-unlocking apps available but all of them need root permission so I think this is not the cause. But I'm sure the device did not open its BL.

I lost access to it, and lost all my data. This made me not wanting to try Apple again. I seriously hope I'm not dealing with something like this here now again...

On the Nexus devices if you open the device's Bootloader all data will be deleted. It's a security concern. The Android documentation doesn't provide a lot of elaboration, stating simply:

The procedure must be confirmed on-screen, and deletes the user data
  for privacy reasons.

Once the bootloader is unlocked, the rooting process is quite easy so all of the information on /data essentially becomes accessible. This could be emails, contact information, or many other pieces of personal information that you likely don't want in the wrong hands. Therefore, it makes sense to wipe all of this data during the unlocking procedure.
TL;DR: If the device bootloader was opened somehow, all of your data will be gone.

First, thanks for taking the effort to help. I never knew about unlocked icon. What's possible is that my 7 year old, after watching "instructional" videos on youtube, obsessed with trying to run "Windows 10" on the tablet, is that he ended up running something that "unlocked" the boot loader, which apparently causes the erasing of all data. I don't know if that is accurate. He assured me that he didn't download an apk and sideloaded anything. I told him off about side loading before. Somehow he did something that caused the tablet to no longer boot.

If the data is gone, that's ok at this point. I would love for this tablet to somehow fully boot again. Since it refuses to boot, I've since been trying to reload firmware on it. I can see CM13 is available for instance. The problems now is for adb to recognize the tablet when plugging it in when activating the power+volume_up menu (which shows: "Downloading... Do not turn off target !!"). I was hoping to flash an img file using fastboot. I'm doing this on Linux (I do not have Windows handy). I've adjusted udev and adb_usb.ini, to no avail. "adb devices" comes up empty every time.

lsusb:
Bus 004 Device 005: ID 04e8:685d Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd GT-I9100 Phone [Galaxy S II] (Download mode)
/etc/udev/rules.d/51-nexus.rules:
ACTION=="add", SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ENV{DEVTYPE}=="usb_device", ENV{ID_USB_INTERFACES}==":ff420?:", MODE="0666"


text:
Updating to N from custom ROM
I'm currently rooted and have PureNexus 6.0.1 install on my N5X. If I want to update to N, can I download the OTA file and just sideload it? I've looked at instructions on websites and they don't mention anything about a custom ROM, so I don't know if it is safe.

Of course not. PureNexus is not on N yet.
If you mean the official one, the only way in for you now is back things up and flash it with fastboot. That will also update bootloader, radio and other components to match.

I don't want PureNexus, I want to flash stock. So I can just flash the OTA zip?

@ElectronicGeek Still don't understand? The OTA is for from stock to stock. No custom ROMs could ever be cross-OTA'd.


text:
What is Mobile Device Management and How can I use for my enterprise?
What is Mobile Device Management and How can I use for my enterprise?
What is the benefits of using MDM?

All MDM products are built with an idea of Containerization. The MDM Container is secured using latest crypto techniques (AES-256 or more preferred). All the corporate data like email, documents, enterprise application are encrypted and processed inside the container. This ensures that corporate data is separated from user’s personal data on the device. Additionally, encryption for entire device and/or SD Card can also be enforced depending on MDM product capability.
Secure email: MDM products allow organization to integrate their existing email setup to be easily integrated with MDM environment. Almost all MDM products support easy integration with Exchange Server (2003/2007/2010), Office365, Lotus Notes, BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) and others. This provided flexibility of configuring Email-over-air. Secure Docs: It is frequently seen that, employees copy attachments downloaded from corporate email to their personal devices and then misuse it. MDM can easily restrict/disable clipboard usage in/out of Secure Container; forwarding attachments to external domains can be restricted, downloading/saving attachments on SD Card. This ensures corporate data is not left insecure.
Secure browser: Using secure browser can avoid many potential security risks. Every MDM solution comes with built-in custom browser. Administrator can disable native browsers to force user to use Secure Browser, which is also inside the MDM container. URL filtering can be enforced to add additional productivity measure.
Secure app catalog: Organization can distribute, manage, and upgrade applications on employee’s device using App Catalogue. It allows applications to be pushed on user device directly from the App Store or push an enterprise developed private application through the App Catalogue. This provides an option for the organization to deploy devices in Kiosk Mode or Lock-Down Mode.
Additional MDM features
There are plenty of other features depending on which MDM product is chosen:

Policy Enforcing: There are multiple types of policies which can be enforced on MDM users.

Personal Policy: According to corporate environment, highly customizable
Device Platform specific: policies for advanced management of Android, IOS, Windows and Blackberry devices.
Compliance Policies/Rules

VPN configuration
Application Catalogue
Pre-defined Wi-Fi and Hotspot settings
Jailbreak/Root detection
Remote Wipe of corporate data
Remote Wipe of entire device
Device remote locking
Remote messaging/buzz
Disabling native apps on device

Source

Mobile Device Management (MDM) is a term that is used to define managing mobile devices such as mobile phones, tablet and laptop computers remotely. MDM is available on-premise or as cloud instance.
MDM helps your Enterprise to manage devices of employees remotely by administrator and provide security to the Enterprise data in the devices. MDM have the following features:

Security: MDM provides security by encrypting Enterprise-related files on the device. If the device appears to be stolen or missing, then the device can either be locked down or wiped out to protect data. Full-wipe wipes the entire device and selective wipe wipes Enterprise-specific data from the device.

Security can also be achieved through several in-built security policies in MDM. These policies can be ranged from setting the password complexity to restricting WiFi, Bluetooth and mobile data.

An ideal MDM will support multiple platforms, such as iOS, Android, Windows Phone and Mobile, Windows PC, MacOS, WatchOS, Blackberry etc.
Scalability: An MDM should be able to handle any number of devices at a time.

Other features include

Mobile Application Management: Includes features like deploying apps remotely and whitelisting or blacklisting apps.
Mobile Content Management: Allows an Enterprise to send documents to employees while encrypting document, password protecting the document, and requiring authentication to access the document.
Mobile Expense Management: Helps an Enterprise to calculate network usage in the Enterprise as well as below every department and employees.
Kiosk mode: Disables all buttons and user interface except that of an app or a webpage (set via MDM console) thus helps securely use the device as Kiosk.
Mobile Email Management.


text:
How to unlink a device from my google account
I gave my android to my daughter.  She cannot link the device to her own google account because it is linked to mine.  How can we unlink the android from my account without her loosing her data

You unlink your account and you lose your data. Then let her link here account and use it

What do you mean by unlinking your account, and that your daughter can't link her account? Usually, you just remove your account by going to Settings>Accounts>Google>Tap on account, then remove account. Then just add your daughter's account. If it's something else, please post more specifics.


text:
Unlock Samsung Galaxy S Duos (GT-S7562), forgotten PIN code, hard reset is not an option
We need to unlock Samsung Galaxy S Duos (GT-S7562), but the PIN code is forgotten. "Forgot Password" options are not visible. There are important files inside the phone.
How to unlock this phone without wiping out all the data?

Usually, when you set screen lock on your phone, you're asked to setup a back up option as well. On lock screen, it will give you an option for back up options. If not, then the only option is to Factory Reset it. You can also get in touch with Samsung, to see if there's a way to unlock it.

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


text:
Unable to use Google Play Service in Samsung SM-A7009
I have a Samsung SM-A7009 with SDK API version 21. The device (SM-A7009) is targeted for the Chinese market, where Gapps service is usually not accessible. Gapps are not installed by default on this device. I have successfully installed Google Service Framework, Google Account Manager, and Google Play Service as a normal third-party app (not system apps). But Google Play Service setting can't run with the following error from logcat:
E/AndroidRuntime( 6610): FATAL EXCEPTION: [bif] processing com.google.android.gms.GOOGLE_SETTINGS_OPERATION
E/AndroidRuntime( 6610): Process: com.google.android.gms.ui, PID: 6610
E/AndroidRuntime( 6610): java.lang.SecurityException: You need MANAGE_USERS permission to: query user
E/AndroidRuntime( 6610):    at android.os.Parcel.readException(Parcel.java:1540)
E/AndroidRuntime( 6610):    at android.os.Parcel.readException(Parcel.java:1493)
E/AndroidRuntime( 6610):    at android.os.IUserManager$Stub$Proxy.getUserInfo(IUserManager.java:629)
E/AndroidRuntime( 6610):    at android.os.UserManager.getUserInfo(UserManager.java:528)
E/AndroidRuntime( 6610):    at android.os.UserManager.isManagedProfile(UserManager.java:482)
E/AndroidRuntime( 6610):    at xyc.a(:com.google.android.gms:2071)
E/AndroidRuntime( 6610):    at ydc.f(:com.google.android.gms:88)
E/AndroidRuntime( 6610):    at ydc.d(:com.google.android.gms:84)
E/AndroidRuntime( 6610):    at com.google.android.gms.tapandpay.settings.TapAndPaySettingsIntentOperation.b(:com.google.android.gms:21)
E/AndroidRuntime( 6610):    at gzl.onHandleIntent(:com.google.android.gms:96)
E/AndroidRuntime( 6610):    at com.google.android.chimera.IntentOperation.onHandleIntent(:com.google.android.gms:95)
E/AndroidRuntime( 6610):    at bie.run(:com.google.android.gms:1873)
E/AndroidRuntime( 6610):    at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1112)
E/AndroidRuntime( 6610):    at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:587)
E/AndroidRuntime( 6610):    at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:818)
V/ApplicationPolicy( 1053): isApplicationStateBlocked userId 0 pkgname com.google.android.gms.ui
W/ActivityManager( 1053):   Force finishing activity com.google.android.gms/.app.settings.GoogleSettingsActivity

Did the ROM have done special settings to prevent Gapps from running on this device? How can I run Google Play Service without root, also without flashing a new custom ROM?
The following list is more information about the device.
[ril.product_code]: [Not Active]
[ro.build.product]: [a7ltectc]
[ro.product.board]: [MSM8939]
[ro.product.brand]: [samsung]
[ro.product.cpu.abi2]: [armeabi]
[ro.product.cpu.abi]: [armeabi-v7a]
[ro.product.cpu.abilist32]: [armeabi-v7a,armeabi]
[ro.product.cpu.abilist64]: []
[ro.product.cpu.abilist]: [armeabi-v7a,armeabi]
[ro.product.device]: [a7ltectc]
[ro.product.locale.language]: [zh]
[ro.product.locale.region]: [CN]
[ro.product.manufacturer]: [samsung]
[ro.product.model]: [SM-A7009]
[ro.product.name]: [a7ltectc]
[ro.product_ship]: [true]

My sympathy to all who imported devices from China but want to use GAPPS...
Found this CWM recovery for the exact model. Not verified by me but members from local forums reported fine.
Unlock bootloader with CROM first (download page in Chinese).
Flash this recovery with Odin, boot into it, make a nandroid backup (just in case) and install a compatible GAPPS package (uninstall what you've installed first), no root required. You can also easily obtain root with it when needed later.


text:
How do i reset my frozen phone without losing all my data
My Lg g4 shut off on me and won't turn on. It freezes on the lg screen. I know i can reset it but i have over 1000 pictures that weren't backed up and i cant afford to lose them. The past year of my life is on the phone.I need a way to turn on my phone without losing everything. There has to be a way

Well, unfortunately you can't really recover your photos. If they were on a SD card it would be a lot more easier but it seems like the photos are in the internal storage.
There is still 1 thing you can try:
Your recovery! Find a way to boot your phone into the recovery. I assume your phone is still startable (not bootable). In most recoveries is an option for browsing the storage. If that's the case you just need to copy your photos to an external storage.
But what if your recovery doesn't support such a feature?
But you must have tried the first option first because this option is more risky:

Download TWRP (twrp.me) <- You will love that thing ;D (EDIT: This will only work if your bootloader is unlocked!!!)
Copy the TWRP zip to your external storage
Boot in your recovery and flash the zip
Reboot into your recovery (should be TWRP now) and now I believe there is a way to open the doors to your internal storage for your computer. Otherwise there is an option for browsing your phones internal storage (on the phone)
Last step! Copy the whole thing over there ;D

Hope I helped ya! ;D

TWRP was my first thought, too. Only drawback here: If the device's boot loader wasn't already unlocked, OP won't be able to flash or even boot (e.g. via fastboot boot twrp.img). And unlocking the bootloader usually implies a factory reset – which makes this a hen-and-egg thing.

@Izzi right but there might be an locked-bootloader-recovery out there (maybe?) on XDA like that one for Sony. I'll do some research

I doubt that. It's the device that rejects write attempts to the recovery partition if the bootloader is locked, nothing much the recovery-devs can do about that.


text:
Why CM13 of Oneplus 2 resets itself Setting Show pattern dots?
I found out that CM loses often its setting about the visibility of security dots in the lock screen.
This is frustrating because I am using 6x6 net with a difficult pattern. It is challenging to pass the login.
Cases where I have seen that CM forgets the setting

Install any app of unknown sources etc Amazon underground
Leave the setting of unknown sources open

I managed to pass the code without the dots after 20 attempts. The phone had reseted the setting Show pattern dots.
Other changes in the phone

I see only the dot pattern in the lock screen, nothing else; before, I saw Camera and Phone at the bottom bar in Fig. 1

Fig. 1 Lock Screen now, Fig. 2 Settings in Lock Screen View 1, Fig. 3 Settings in Lock Screen View 2

Phone: Oneplus 2
OS: Cyanogenmod 13

I am just curious why not use FP instead of pattern?

FP is fingerprint. I do not want to use it. It is less secure.

This issues was an internal issue in OnePlus with Android 6.


text:
How to Read marshmallow encrypted memory card?
Please help on this ..
I am using Marshmallow 6.0.1, in that i am using Memory card as internal storage. Unfortunately my mobile got stuck with booting.
Now, my most of the data are available in the memory card. so i took out the memory card and tried to read from other devices with windows system. But its failed
i googled about this, it says its difficult to read !. It would be really helpful if any one helped on this

Welcome to the Android Enthusiasts! Please take a look at our adoptable-storage tag-wiki and follow up to How to decrypt adopted storage? and Corrupt SD card formatted as internal storage. Both mention solutions to read the card on a PC – provided you have root access on your device to grab the encryption key. Otherwise, you're lost.

The SD Card will only be read from the device you set it to.
I believe if you to a hard reset but keep the data where the key is stored intact, you can still use it regularly.
Take a look at this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-e/general/trick-switching-roms-loosing-adopted-sd-t3314647


text:
What effect does a dual SIM have on the apps and software?
Some Android phones have dual SIMs. I'm curious what difference this makes? For example, are any special apps required? Do regular apps work on dual SIMs or do they have to be a special edition?
Are the standard versions of Android (e.g. Kitkat, Lollipop, Marshmallow) compatible by default?

If they require special software then people here in China (lots of dual SIM phones) will have a very hard time. I reckon the system masks dual SIM to apps via APIs so apps only have to utilize them.

Native Multiple SIM Card Support was introduced with Android 5.1.

First, for apps that don't use the SIM card (i.e. everything but phone apps and the SMS system), it makes no difference at all. Most apps don't need to know or care how many SIM cards your phone support.
Second, for the remaining apps, it depends on the Android version. Older Android versions didn't have support in the Android framework for multiple SIM cards, so there was no standardised way for a phone app to pick which SIM to use. Each manufacturer did things their own way, and the phone included the manufacturer's own phone app. Only that one phone app (or third-party apps written specifically to work with that phone) would work properly and support both SIMs. Other apps might be stuck with the first SIM and not be able to make or receive calls with the other SIM, or they might not work at all.
As Izzy says, Android 5.1 introduced standard multi-SIM support into the Android framework. Now any phone app targeting Android 5.1 or later can access multiple SIMs on any phone that supports the standard way of accessing them. Of course, it's still possible that the manufacturer continues to use their own system instead of supporting the standard Android one, but most have adopted the new system. You should check before you buy the phone.


text:
Leave Korean recovery mode
I tried to enter the recovery mode on my LG G2 smartphone by pressing Volume Up + Volume Down + Power and then releasing Power, as described here. My goal was to clear the system cache, not to perform a hard reset.
Unfortunately, the recovery mode is in Korean (I suppose):

As I cannot read the options, I am afraid of accidentally deleting all my data.
Can anyone tell me which option refers to "clear cache"? Or, if this option does not exist, is one of the options "abort/exit"? The main goal is to leave this screen without erasing my user data.
In case this should be relevant: I think the phone uses Lollipop, but (for obvious reasons) I cannot check this at the moment.

@benjaminS Are you sure that pressing power won't select to currently highlighted option?

Yeah you're right - might be to dangerous. good point. The recovery does look weird though... I've watched a video and pressing any button other than the power button should cancel the recovery

Not helpful, but it's not Chinese. To me it looks like Korean – which makes much sense cosindering where LG comes from. Have you tried contacting their support?

@benjaminS Thank you for your effort. I watched to video too. However, in my case the Volume buttons just scroll through the options and Power (supposedly) selects.

@Izzy I didn't contact support yet, but I'll try now. Thanks for the hint that it looks Korean. This could explain why I couldn't make any progress using Chinese OCR.

Glad my hint helped solving the issue! It basically is the more square-like characters suggesting Korean, together with the fact that LG is a Korean company :)

@Izzy Thank you! I'll try to remember these hints for next time (hopefully: never …).

Thanks to @Izzy's comment that the text looks Korean I could solve the issue:
A Korean OCR online tool recognized the characters in the last option as 취소 which Google translates as "Cancel". Choosing the last option actually restarted the phone (without any data loss).


text:
How to convert my phone in silent mode into general mode automatically for specific mobile number
If my mobile phone is in silent mode and  I want  my phone automatically converts silent mode to general mode  by getting call from specific number like only for my parents or my friends.
     Many time my phone is in silent mode.If their is emergency call then I want even in silent mode I  get an alert on my mobile phone.

Favourite the contacts that you want to hear their calls from the contacts app. Then go to the settings of do not disturb and change that to priority only. So then only the people you chose  will be able to call you.
Hope this Helps


text:
How can I enable USB debugging on Xperia Miro when touch is not working?
I have a Xperia Miro. I am trying to connect mouse with OTG cable, but it is not able to detect.
Touch is totally not working.
How can I solve this issue?

Looks like the Miro doesn't support Usb OTG (source) – though strangely, Amazon offers a special cable for that. Could it be there are multiple Miros? The ST23i is reported to support OTG, which somehow contradicts that XDA information. Which one do you have?

I hope the below thread helps: Broken screen while debug mode was disabled. How can I re-enable adb?


text:
Share intent to used recent or often-used contacts
Some of my Android apps allows me to share to oft-used (or recent?) contacts, which is quite convenient.
What is this feature called? I'm having a hard time finding information about this "direct share" feature on the API developer docs.

(The reason I want to know what it's called is so I can make a feature request to my receipt scanner app people, so I don't have to type receipts@myaccountants each and every time)

It is called Direct Share and described here https://developer.android.com/about/versions/marshmallow/android-6.0.html#direct-share

This release provides you with APIs to make sharing intuitive and quick for users. You can now define direct share targets that launch a specific activity in your app. These direct share targets are exposed to users via the Share menu. This feature allows users to share content to targets, such as contacts, within other apps. For example, the direct share target might launch an activity in another social network app, which lets the user share content directly to a specific friend or community in that app.


text:
Lenovo Vibe K5 Note USB connection issue
Whenever I connect my mobile to Laptop I'm not able to view mass Storage option. Instead of that only getting "Lenovo CD" option which includes USBdrivers and other Lenovo softwares. (MTP option is already enabled). Current Android Version: marshmallow 6.0

I doubt any device shipping with Android 5 or higher still supports USB mass storage. Starting with ICS (Android 4.0), this got replaced by MTP.

Ive found 2 ways to solve this problem.

Goto C:/Windows/INF and search for wpdmtp.inf & right click and install it.
Turn on safe mode in yor phone and then connect it to pc then remove safe mode.


text:
exchange sd on mashmallow
I, probably unwisely, configured a slow sd card in my Marshmallow for storing apps.  Now I want to change it for an ultra or extreme quicker sd card.
How do I prevent the loss of part or all of some apps?
I have an 8 GB Moto E (2nd Gen) with 4G LTE with Android 6.0 patched to 1 Feb2016

By "configured .. for storing apps", do you mean adoptable storage? If so, please follow the link.

You could temporarily move all apps back to internal storage and then take a backup of data in your SD card to a PC. And then insert a new ultra class Sd card. (As far as I understood the question)

@AbhishekK if Pete is asking about adoptable storage, he might have to use the corresponding "migrate data" option – provided the device has sufficient internal storage to accept all those data.

@izzy, I didn't knew that I can actually migrate data back to internal, from the sd card. I thought only reverse was possible.

@AbhishekK as I wrote, within limits. Actually, your comment and mine must be combined to a 3-step-guide: First, copy all you can to your computer (or any other external medium) and verify the copy is fine, second delete all copied stuff from adoptable storage, third use the migrate option to move out the remains. Remember there was a reason you used adoptable storage in the first place (usually lack of internal storage), so it's unlikely everything stored there fits back in. // But we're jumping ahead: Pete hasn't yet stated if our guess is correct.

Thanks guys.  I do not have enough internal storage.   By configured  did mean adoptable storage

I apologize for the delay in joning in.  I have not used this site before and I understood I would be informed if there were any replies to my query.

So i will stick around for a while, although Izzy seems to have given me the answer, and I should not worry about apps being half on adoptable and half internal.

Unfortunately I don't understand "migrate option".  I can't find it in my phone.  And afterwards don't I need to copy back to the new sd card?  I understood new sd cards were reformatted by Marshmallow when they are adopted.

I get the feeling you guys are so far advanced you might have problems communicating with someone as ignorant as I am.

Thanks again, guys, for your kind attention, but I guess you have moved on to pastures new now - so Farewell.


text:
Can you set Google Play and Android OS updates to specific WiFi only?
I know I can set my phone to update only on WiFi. But can I set it to update only when connected to a specific WiFi? E.g. update only when connected to Home WiFi or Office WiFi. This is both for Android system updates as well as App updates via Google Play.
What I specifically want to avoid is to trigger updates while using a 4G hotspot.
If it matters: Android 6.0

For auto sync , see solution here http://android.stackexchange.com/q/35594/131553

This isn't quite what you describe, but recent versions of Android let you designate some Wi-Fi networks as "metered". Those Wi-Fi networks will count as mobile data for the purpose of the data restrictions in the main settings, and for Wi-Fi vs. mobile data settings within each app. Therefore, if you set the 4G hotspot's network as metered, any app you have set to update, download, or sync only on Wi-Fi won't use that network.
From the main settings, go to Data usage, then in the three-dots menu, select Network restrictions. Find the 4G hotspot you're concerned about, and turn its switch on. Note that only networks you've previously connected to appear in this list, so you'll have to connect to the 4G hotspot before you can do this, and hope that nothing updates while you're navigating the settings.

Perhaps you need to mention that the cellular data limit needs to be appropriately set , only then will updates not happen

@beeshyams OK, that's a good point for system updates; for Play Store, you don't need to set a data limit, as the network will respect your "update only on Wi-Fi" setting.


text:
Always-on clock
I have a rooted device with an Amoled screen and Android 5.1 (CyanogenMod 12.1) installed. I would like to also use it as a desk/night clock. I know that with the Daydream (‘screensaver’) feature, I can get this, but only while charging, or docked.

Is it possible to allow Daydream also while on battery?
If not, is there another option?
Optional extra requirement: Ideally, the screen would turn of completely when it is covered.

I prefer ‘simple’ solutions, but am also interested in ones that are more complicated and involve, e.g., some form of automation. (They may also be of interest to others.)

@beeshyams: Can you put your answer in an answer?

You can try Day Dream . It is not on play store but install via Aptoide

were you able to check it out?

No, but it is a good suggestion. Given that it only (officially) supports Android <5 and the fact that it is not on the Play store mean that I will most likely not try it.

I had been looking for this quite some time ago... Turns out you don't need any complicated apps for this. Get Daydream Launcher. Does not satisfy optional requirements but is already awesome.
EDIT: Totally forgot that additional settings (including duration) requires Plus (99 cents). My bad.

The daydreaming does not persist, it stops after a short while (sleep timeout?).

@equaeghe Click the "Daydream" shortcut in launcher to start the persistent daydream.

That is what I did, it does not persist.

@equaeghe Look inside "Daydream Settings" and set "Daydream sleep" to desired time value. If that doesn't work either then I have no idea what's with your device.

I do not have that setting, just one to start daydreaming right away and to select when to daydream (docked, charging, either). The general sleep timeout does determine how long the immediately started daydream will last, but it can't go over 30 min and moreover, I do not want to set this to another value.

Uhh... I mean the "Daydream Settings" shortcut in your launcher.

I did not find this “Daydream Settings” shortcut, there is only the “Daydream” shortcut itself (and the widget, which does the same thing, launch daydream). Can you provide more information about this, perhaps also in your answer?

@equaeghe Ugh, dammit, forgot I have the Plus version, settings is only available for Plus... Sorry, support the dev if you want to, or use beeshyams's solution if not.


text:
Is there any way to get Inbox by Gmail to uppercase suggested reminders?
When I type in the text box to create a reminder, the keyboard (Google Keyboard) automatically uppercases it, but the suggestions are lowercase, and fixing them to be consistently uppercase deletes the associated hints such as links to contacts' emails and such. Is there any way to make the suggestions uppercase?
Running Android 4.4.4 on a Motorola Droid Maxx
 with Google keyboard version 5.1.23.

OK, filled in as much as I could being on desktop at the moment.

Filled in the rest of the details from my phone.

On Marshmallow i dont lose email address because of this

Lose email address? What do you mean? I didn't type an email address to begin with.

Sorry..i meant I have no problems with associated hints such as links to contacts' emails as mentioned in the question, so it maybe something that got fixed in later versions of Android

Oh, right, I totally forgot what I wrote! Sorry!


text:
2 GB RAM or 3 GB RAM, does it really matter?
I am thinking to buy the new Xiaomi Redmi 3S phones that got recently launched in India. This is going to be my first Android phone. Now the phone comes with two variants, Redmi 3S with 2 GB RAM and Redmi 3 S prime with 3 GB RAM, both with Qualcomm® Snapdragon 430
64-bit, octa-core processor and other specifications are identical except the prime version comes with a finger print sensor.
I am a light user, that is, I am not going to play games or watching movies or will use lots of apps. I want the phone for general day-to-day use.
Does it really matter to have 3 GB RAM over 2 GB RAM, giving my using conditions? Will it be OK with 2 GB provided I am a light user? Does it really matter to have more RAM? Is it going to give problems with newer versions of Android?

@AndyYan yes I want to use it for 2-3 years, so what are the issues here for long term use?

Check my separate answer.

Simply because the following facts: You'll start using more apps which may consume more memory, Trends show that new devices are launched with RAM above 3 gigs now; thus your device may stand a bit low among others.

I have a Samsung Galaxy Alpha, it has 2GB RAM. Majority of the time it's perfect without any lags, but once in a while I'm using the google maps turn by turn navigation and listening to spotify at the same time, it slightly becomes laggy, but it'll be OK after some time. Though with the current trends of Apps I don't think after 2 years my phone is will be still the same. Every app update makes it use more resources.

@FaridNouriNeshat The fact that it becomes a bit laggy in that condition doesn't imply that you don't have enough RAM. RAM is not the only parameter at play. Did you check that in that particular situation your device is actually using all the RAM? The lags could be due to other issues.

@Bakuriu It could be for something else, but my RAM is nearly full at those times when normally there's like 300MB left.

Key aspect here light user who

Doesn't play games
Doesn't watch movies
Doesn't use many apps
Uses only for day to day to use

If the usage pattern continues to be same for next few years. answer is no, it doesn't make a difference
While the other answer has pointed out valid instances of certain apps occupying more RAM as as time rolls, IMO it is not very pertinent given that you are not multi tasking , But if you are using RAM hoggers like Facebook which nearly takes up 0.5 GB of RAM, it may result in sluggish performance if another hungry app is opened up
How much RAM does a phone need? gives an interesting take on current trend of high RAM phones and also mentions that Google’s official minimum spec for a 64-bit phone (that’s pretty much every phone these days) is 832 MB RAM, so, you are left with one GB of RAM for apps, even if Android  OS is updated to 64 bit) and you retain your 2 GB RAM device - pretty much future proof !
Edit: Your chosen device OS is 32 bit and occupies 512 MB of RAM and if it is 64 bit  it would require 832 MB of RAM , ( as per table it is dependent on screen size and pixel density- large in your case and pixel density  is less than 300 dpi ). This size is only for the OS , radio (modem) is extra, which is not much anyway. Source : Page 56 of android Compatibility Definition
Bottom line, for your use, it shouldn't matter, since EMUI 7.0 occupies  0.5 GB and you are still left with 1.5 GB, which is plenty. Even if EMUI is upgraded, I doubt it would make a substantial difference

Sure hope his "light" is light enough. I'm conceived as a "light" user by people around me but I use many RAM hog apps that people use, just sparingly and shutting them when not needed.

Also, emphasis on "Google": their vision does not cover so far as MIUI goes, sadly. Even when not in use, MIUI takes up a huge chunk RAM too, sometimes leaving ~1.3GB on a 4GB RAM device.

true- answer is by his usage specifically

"Google’s official minimum spec [...] is 832MB RAM, so, you are left with one GB of RAM for apps" Source for that latter part?

@undo : first part of 832 MB is in the linked article; second part is to explain that if OP sticks with 2 GB device, he still has 1 GB (actually 1.3 GB) left, which is enough and that was what i was emphasising- thanks

@beeshyams Why do you assume that Google's minimum spec is assuming that you run zero apps? I suspect that the spec is for minimum usable hardware, which would include running some non-zero number of applications.

@undo- you are right and since I couldn't locate the Google source for that, to err on the safer side, I took it as only OS- good point :)

@undo- found the document and linked it- it is only OS.  thanks for prodding me to search more

Could you elaborate on since the pixel density is 300 dpi? It looks like a complete non sequitur to me... sure more pixels means that applications will probably have to need more ram to draw on the screen and the same is true for the kernel, but I don't think there is any easy way to compare how much RAM usage changes based on the dpi on the OS, since this will also depend on what the user is doing etc.

@Bakuriu: I am not sure what the relation is (food for another question) but the linked document mentions it as based on dpi  and screen size.  Not sure how it accounts for usage, say gaming Vs reading a PDF document

Not now, but if you plan to use it for >1 year then you need to give it a bit more consideration.
Historically, Android OS updates does not increase RAM usage by much, as far as my observation goes. As of now free RAM at boot time stands at 1~1.3GB for a 720p device with 2GB RAM, lightweight ROM and no Google Apps.
The problem is with third-party apps. As their functions grow they tend to use much more RAM than at the time of release. For example, WeChat typically takes 100~200MB right now. Even if you use few, they will increase usage over time and eat up what remains little by little.
Rewind to 2013: Moto G was a really decent midranger at that time, and 1GB is just enough back then, but multitasking proves to be a burden for it now, with only <500MB remaining at boot and each app taking their share. With no more than 10 third-party apps the auto-killing mechanism will kick in, eliminating background apps, giving a bad experience.
Add MIUI (notorious RAM hog) to the mix, and you have my opinion.

Ok with a higher RAM my phone will do it fine after 2-3 years of use right?

2 years I reckon yes, 3 years - not so much, Snapdragon 430 and MIUI (whatever version it'll be at) will be the bottleneck by then, unless you only use the phone for light tasks like browsing and music. Battery will also be quite worn out.

So I guess I need a change of phone in every 2 years from now on. :p Thanks for your answer.

Or just invest in a more high-end phone (OnePlus 3 seems to be a wise choice right now) so that it lasts a bit longer. Whatever you choose, don't expect smartphones to last as long as feature phones :)

Ya I know smartphones don't last long like feature phones.


text:
How does Android Marshmallow decide which WiFi network to automatically join?
For example I have two networks:

Two networks - one open hotspot network and one closed private network using WPA.
User has access to both networks
User has recently connected to both.
Both networks have the same signal strength.

Which network is automatically joined? Is it random?

no it's not random. usually the connection with secure WPA will be chosen. but it's not depend on just one condition there are many other factors like traffic, device availability etc are considered.

i was writing a big fat answer for you and sadly i accidentally rebooted my phone so it's gone if you are not satisfied with the comment above tell me i will write it again or someone else will

@Spark I was hoping for a big fat answer or some Google documentation :)

There is this file /data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf
Each Network you saved is listed there.
When multiple network blocks are listed in this configuration file, the highest priority one is selected for use or, if multiple networks with the same priority are identified, the first one listed in the configuration file is used.
(copy from http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?wpa_supplicant.conf(5), I think Android behaves the same)

There's something called Wi-Fi priority, adjustable for some phones in Settings - WiFi - Advanced - Wi-Fi priority, and also via some apps and Xposed modules like GravityBox. Android maintains this list of remembered access points and assign priorities to each of them.
I can't find an official definition of how the priorities are (re)assigned (Android Developers only tells me that priority exists), but apparently when you are receiving 2 remembered APs and connected to one of them, then connect to the other, the latter one will receive a boost in priority.
I don't have an idea how "private" networks affect how it works, though.


text:
What's the easiest way to switch multi-window apps?
I got the 7.0 Nougat upgrade yesterday, and loving the new Multi-Window support. However, I can't find a way to easily switch the positions of the two apps.
The quickest way I found to switch them was to do this:

Drag divider all the way up to close Multi-Window with the bottom app as the only app
Hold apps button to restart Multi-Window, putting the only app on top
Select latest app to put it on the bottom

Is there any hidden way to do this in a single step, like a long hold, triple tap, anything like that?


text:
Disable Google Voice typing automatic language detection
I have been a fan of Google Voice typing for a long time.
I use it for 2 languages, English and Italian.
On the Android Keyboard I can switch the language of the spell-checker by pressing the "World" icon. Until a few months ago, that would also change the language of Google Voice typing, i.e. when I pressed the microphone icon and start speaking, Google Voice typing would interpret my words in the language I had selected in the keyboard.
Right now instead, Google Voice typing got "smarter" and doesn't care about my keyboard setting, it just automatically detects the language I'm speaking. Of course it gets it wrong most of the time, and that is very frustrating, in particular because when I speak Italian (my mothertongue) it often thinks I am speaking English instead.
So, does anybody know if I can disable this automatic language detection and revert to the old behavior?
Or do you have any suggestion on a workaround?

have you found a solution? That problem drives me nuts too. My temporary fix is to switch between my usual keyboard (Gboard or Swiftkeys) and Speechkeys, which is not great but does let you select the input language for Google Voice Typing. It's not an ideal keyboard as when you switch it shows you a long list of languages instead of favorites, so I'm looking for alternatives. Would love to hear any updates on your part!

Not really, the only workaround is to speak very slowly and split the words very clearly...

Ha, so you still have the issue. For switching languages, SpeechKeys works but is really ugly and gives you a list with all the languages of the world every time you switch, instead of your installed ones... It would be great to have the feature within the Gboard or SwiftKey keyboards. One way to get their attention is to post reviews in the Play Store. Also just posted a feature request on the SwiftKey forum, in case anyone can be bothered to comment and vote.

Unfortunately at the moment it is impossible to disable automatic language detection and force the speech to text to interpret spoken words with the language set manually in the keyboard.

This is a two-step process:

Settings > Language & input > Google Keyboard > Languages. Here disable English (disable Use System language if enabled) & only enable Italian.
Also in your Google Voice Typing option, set your Default Primary language as Italian.

Now Voice Typing will not pick up English words even if you wanted it to.

I want to be able to do Voice Typing both in Italian and English, I just want to choose manually instead of automatically ( which is usually wrong)

Sure definitely. Choose your language as mentioned in the post.

Go to Settings app of your phone and choose Google Voice typing option. Inside this you have an option to choose your Default Primary Language, as shown in below screen shot:

You can chose your Default (Italian) by Press + Hold the language name. Click SAVE and Google voice typing should pick your Updated default Primary Language irrespective of your Keyboard Settings.

Thanks! I already have this setup as you explain. Unfortunately it still detects language automatically.


text:
Facebook Messenger: no notification when offline on Android
Steps to reproduce:

I go offline (turn off Wi-Fi, turn off 3G)
My friend sends me a message through Facebook Messenger.
I go online.

Expected result: I receive a notification about the message.
Actual result: There's no notification at all.
Extra info: If I'm online when my friend sends me a message, I do receive a notification.
So, how to receive a notification about messages sent when offline?

Update the app. If doesn't work, update the phone. If doesn't work, switch off and on your phone. If still doesn't work, uninstall and reinstall the app.


text:
After dead-zones carrier is dropped until restart
So I'm assuming this has to be a property that can be changed through buildprop, but I thought I'd consult you guys first.
Phone: Unlocked Galaxy S7 (Sprint), Android 6.0.1
Network: T-Mobile
Issue: If disconnected from the GSM network(in a deadzone/tunnel/big building), the device will continue to stay disconnected until it has been powered off or restarted, even if its in an area with known coverage.
I checked the APN while it was "disconnected" and it still detects a SIM is installed and all the carrier settings are good, but it wont reconnect to the carrier unless it is restarted.

Solved it myself after tinkering with it for the last day. While not recommended, it is possible to flash the Galaxy with other carrier's "version" of the android OS. So the old stock Sprint operating system was removed and replaced with a T-Mobile variant which changes all of the settings to GSM on the back-end for me. If you move from carrier to carrier and experience no issues... I highly recommend the "ain't broke, don't fix it route."

First by putting the phone into download mode (home+pwr+volume down)
Connecting the device to the computer, and running ODIN
Installing a T-Mobile variant of the S7 ROM (this will essentially change it from a 930S to 930T)

Downloads included:

New OS, I used "G930TTMB3APG1", but your mileage may vary depending on what carrier you need to change to.
ODIN 3.12.3


text:
Google maps is tagging my photos
It appears that Google Maps app I'd tagging my photos with the Camera and displaying an notification even when I am not using the Google Maps app.

How do I turn this feature off?

Try photos app > settings> remove geo location as i see no option for settings in camera app

I never used Photos before. I ran through the setup screens, went into settings and it was adding geo location by default. I turned it off. I'll update this to see if it works and give it a test run.


text:
Does Samsung Gear S2 watch pair with non-Samsung phones?
I know that Samsung S2 is a Tizen operating system but I don't know if they can be fully functional with Google or Motorola phones?
I currently have an app for Android Smartwatches and I'm considering on developing for Samsung Gear S2, but don't know if the work is worth the reward?

Yes, the Samsung Gear S2 is compatible with a lot of android devices.
The general compability requirements are:

Gear S2 pairs with smartphones running on Android 4.4 and higher with over 1.5GB RAM.

Have a look at Samsungs official device-compatibility website.
Also quoting the Review of the Gear S2 by Techradar here:

In the past Tizen has only been compatible with Samsung smartphones, greatly limiting their potential user base. Thankfully, the Gear S2 is compatible with any Android phone running 4.4 and higher with over 1.5GB RAM. I tested it using a Moto X Style and HTC One M8, neither of which caused any problems.
Although almost all features are compatible with any Android phone, Samsung Pay is only available with Samsung devices. So if you want to pay for your groceries with your watch, you better get a Galaxy or Note (or an Apple Watch and iPhone).
Samsung has also hinted the watch could work with iPhone eventually, but don't hold your breath.