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What are some general tips on improving overall performance of an Android phone?
I was wondering if anyone could share some general tips on speeding up/ improving performance of your phone.  I have had my droid eris for about a year now and it seems more sluggish than ever.  I know the newer android releases give the phone better feedback but I was wondering besides the OS, what other options do I have to generally speed up my phone or other phones.  Are there some cache's or program info I can clear out?  If I remove some apps will I see an Improvement?  If I restore to factory and restore all my apps will that help?  Are there programs out there that might help speed/clean it up?  What Im looking for is to improve the overall performance of the phone.  Whats some tips I could use to accomplish this?

There are some gems here: http://android.stackexchange.com/search?q=performance

Increasing battery life is often equivalent to improving performance: What can I do to increase battery life on my Android phone?

Leave some empty space in the internal memory. When there is less than 10 MB left in the internal memory, Android can become very sluggish. Leave at least 20 MB. In my experience, low internal memory is often the root cause of sluggishness (and random errors).

Use app2sd as much as possible, especially if you have small internal memory
Uninstall big applications that you do not use much.
(!) In rooted ROM, you can use pm setInstallLocation 2 trick to force installing applications on SD card (note that not all applications can be safely installed on SD card).
(!) When system applications are updated, the original version of the applications are not deleted so you can uninstall the update. This takes up valuable space; if you're rooted, you can remove the stock application entirely and reclaim this space. I do not recommended this unless you are already using a Modded ROM since you can no longer use "Factory Reset" to return your system applications to the factory version (at least not without reflashing a fresh stock ROM).

Choose fast applications.

Use Opera Mobile or Mini. The stock browser is a great browser, however it's also quite sluggish (even Google's mobile home page it is sluggish as hell). Opera's touch interface is a bit annoying to use, but it is much snappier than the stock browser.
Choose a fast Home Screen. Some manufacturers equips their phones with pretty, but sluggish home screen. You may want to use a simpler and faster home screen apps. Also, live wallpapers kills snappiness; if you want to use them, use the simpler ones.

Do NOT use Task Killers, especially the automated ones. You should not Force Kill an applications unless you are sure that the application has gone extremely wrong and the application is ignoring a more polite requests to shut down. Force Killing applications may leave dangling resources in system services that cannot be safely cleaned up. Leave the job of killing applications to Application Life Cycle.
You should not need to clean caches, caches are there to speed up applications. If an application's caching causes it to slow down, report that to the developer as a bug.

Cleaning out cache may temporarily help with #1 (low internal memory), however cleaning cache is only a temporary fix. The application will just generate the cache again, and your memory will fill up again. Some applications allow you to adjust the size of the cache, which is much more useful permanent solution than cleaning out cache. Generally you want to give applications as much cache as possible while still having a decent amount of space in the internal memory.
Applications that have big caches (e.g. maps) should cache to the SD card, file a bug report to the application developer if they don't.
Due to the nature of caching, there are times when cache may become inconsistent and this may confuse the application, possibly causing random crashes, slowness, ANRs, or other random behaviors. This sort of thing is rare, but it does happen. Generally, you should leave the cache alone unless you suspect there are erroneous behaviors that may be caused by bad caches.

Upgrading Android may bring performance updates, however higher Android versions tend to be bigger than the previous ones and may cause #1 (low internal memory). If an upgrade leaves you with much smaller internal memory that you cannot install all of your favorite applications and have some space left, you may want to stay at an older version.

Android 2.2 (Froyo) comes with a JIT compiler (Just In Time Compiler) that will increase CPU-bound programs by up to 5x (in my Spica, JIT raises Linpack's score from ~3 to ~9). Sluggish program is usually I/O bound, but helping with CPU-bound processes helps quite a bit.
Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) have an improved task management, the Application Life cycle will kill applications that causes sluggishness and battery usage. Gingerbread also have concurrent garbage collector, which should reduce random stutters/pauses.

Some applications can slow down when they have a large amount of data or a large number of items to manage. For example, the stock SMS app on the Incredible gets progressively slower as it accumulates more messages. The only way to fix that is either replace the app, delete messages, or archive them off the phone (SMS Backup+ is great for this).

items marked (!) is potentially dangerous

You can find few more tips here @http://www.techcredo.com/android/android-tips-tricks-and-tutorials

Another possible improvement could be the removal/modification of widgets. My phone came with a Daily Briefing widget on my desktop that had Weather, Finance, and News. I removed the Finance and News portions and just left Weather; the News portion was constantly updating. I feel that my performance as far as navigating my desktop has improved. The same principle could apply to other widgets as well.


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How to find books by title in Aldiko eBooks?
Can I do that? I found only the way to browse through the catalog and categories. How do I find a title in their collection?

Apparently the catalog has to support it.  I never realized that the default catalogs with Aldiko didn't have a sorting by title as I always use the custom catalog Drinkmalk and it does have a "By Title/Series" alphabetical ordering of books.

hi. I didn't find a way to install the catalog. I read this, but didn't find "Download books" in first step, nor I found any option to add custom catalog.

hmm I found out that my Galaxy S' shipped aldiko is different than the market one.

@Louis the "download books" is on the first main screen of the app.  You may need to grab the latest from the market

source: Stack Exchange

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/

sort: votes


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Is it possible to update HTC desire to 2.2 with unrooted?
I bought a new HTC Desire (will arrive in a few days).
The phone is not branded (or unbranded) will arrive with version 2.1, and I want to update to 2.2.
After a lot of reading I realized I need to create a goldcard. So I bought a 2GB microSD card and I will create the goldcard when the phone arrives.
I also read about rooting the phone, which means (from what I understood) to flash the phone's ROM.
What I want to know is do I have to root the phone in order to update to 2.2 ???
Thanks a lot !!!

Related: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/2696/when-will-my-phone-get-android-2-2-froyo and http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/3911/upgrade-rooted-htc-desire-with-unrevoked3-clockworkmod-to-froyo-2-2

Thanks :-)
but none of these related posts answers my question...

You should get an OTA update to 2.2 without rooting. If you want to root to install a custom ROM then you don't need a goldcard - use unrevoked instead.

HTC provide OTA-update to 2.2 for HTC Desire. You don't need any special (root or goldcard) to update your phone. Just connect your phone to Wi-Fi or 3G

Hey Vitus - thanks for your answer :-).
I read/header about some cases that if you don't update with gold card (even using OTA) some wifi issues appear (http://www.htcdesireforum.com/htc-desire-troubleshooting/wifi-%27error%27-after-installing-android-2-2/)
With that, I must add that I am total newbie in android, so maybe I am missing something out.

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How are the Android Market ratings (stars) calculated?
I was looking at the reviews for an application which was rated as 3.5 stars in the summary.
From reading the reviews, there were few 5's a lot of 1's and very little in between. My "gorilla math" estimate is of the 50 or so reviews I read, it was probably averaged a 2.75 or lower.
How is this rating calculated? All reviews in history? Most recent? Some kind of bad review filter I cannot see?

You're missing the ratings of users who did not leave comments.  A large, significant number of users do not leave comments, but they do rate apps.
This is what a developer will see in their dashboard, a breakdown of all ratings of their app:

So I have an average rating of about 4.57 out of 331 ratings.
However, in the dashboard I only have 6 pages of comments, and each page has up to 20 comments.  So I have no more than 120 comments on my app.  So you'd only be seeing 1/3 of the ratings for my app in particular.

Thanks. I guess the iPhone store works that way too, I had used it as well, but never rated anything. Interesting lesson for how you should decide, because most of the 1 stars was complaining about serious Force Close problems...

Keep in mind, too, the human nature of not speaking up about good experiences. We tend to be much more outspoken when things are not going well. :) I tend to take individual poor ratings with a grain of salt and look at the overall score myself.

count of 5 star * 5+
count of 4 star * 4+
count of 3 star * 3+
count of 2 star * 2+
count of 1 star
Divided By
Number of people rated

The calculation formula was not really the question here (that most likely was what the OP used). It was rather which reviews/ratings are included – see the accepted answer by Bryan.

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


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How can I take a photo when battery <20%?
How can I take photo when battery level is less than 20%? My Samsung Galaxy S always says "battery low" and then closes the camera application when I try to. Is there a way to get around this? Or is 19% not powerful enough to take a photograph (my camera has no flash).

I would not recommended doing so regularly, regularly discharging a battery to less than 20% will shorten the battery's life.

off topic: really? why? What I heard was discharging the battery to lowest possible before charging it helped prolong battery life.

That was only applicable to older chemistries such as NiCad, because they developed a "memory" of the discharge depth - repeatedly recharging before full discharge would decrease the storage capacity. Modern lithium ion cells do not have this memory affect. They loose capacity based on age, temperature (excessive heat impacts life) and time spent at very low charge levels.

@Fitri: just like Saiboogu said, having a low charge level is bad for modern Lithium batteries.

ok thanks guys, I wrote another question here in order to ask more information :)

@Lie Ryan: If that is so, why does the recharge warning is issued at 12% ?

@Edelcom: the point is low battery level is bad for lithium's longevity, it is up to individual applications to determine what level they consider "low"; obviously the lower you go, the worse it is for the battery.

Try downloading and using a third-camera app from the market. The restriction is apparently on the stock camera app, not on the hardware (the camera itself). I downloaded Retro Camera, and it is able to take a picture when my Galaxy S is on low battery. That might not be the app you want, so do a search on the market with the keyword "Camera".

+1 but Retro Camera takes "gimmicky" stylized pictures, if you want something that'll take a more normal picture and has similar options to a normal compact, digital camera, try something like Camera 360 http://www.appbrain.com/app/camera-360/vStudio.Android.GPhoto

This is, unfortunately, not adjustable in the stock version of Android. If you root there are 3rd party versions that modify this low battery level.

I think I've found a solution. It's pretty simple - just try to hold the Menu button. The info about battery disappears and allows you to use the camera.

Try turning the flashlight on it works on the Galaxy Core Prime. Turn the flashlight on first then take your photos.

What exactly does this accomplish?


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When should I start charging my Lithium battery?
The comments in this question say that I shouldn't wait until low battery charge level before I charge, because that reduces battery life (this is contrary to my understanding before that the faster we charge (without waiting for battery to discharge) the worse it will be for battery life). My question is, when I should generally start charging to avoid this effect? 20%?
Interesting question: If we always limit the usage of the battery only 20% and above, won't we, in effect, reduces our battery capacity to 80%, because we will only use the battery in 20%-100% state?

Related: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/1020/does-constant-charging-harm-my-cellphone http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/2997/do-i-have-to-charge-my-phone-before-i-use-it-the-first-time

This is not endemic to Android phones, either. See this post on the Electronics and Robotics Stack Exchange: http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/7992/does-leaving-a-cell-phone-on-charge-all-the-time-weaken-the-battery-and-why

Al Everett's linked question has an excellent answer - very detailed explanation of modern lithium battery care.

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_charge_when_to_charge_table

As soon and as often as you can. Spending time at any extreme of charge (high or low) can damage lithium batteries. High charge isn't that bad, considering how quickly modern devices will drain away from that state. Spending time at lower charge levels will damage the internal structure of the battery though.
Draining to "0" on the device won't actually immediately kill the battery though -- the battery protection circuitry will prevent it from going down to critical levels. But the more time you spend at lower charges, the more cumulative damage you do and the more time you take away from the lifespan of the battery. Do the best you can to avoid this, and you'll likely have a battery that still gives you 70-80% of it's life by the time the device is considered obsolete.

So you mean I should always connect my phone whenever I have access to a charger or a USB port with cable? Boy I thought this reduces battery life.

Yes, connect it every chance you get.  It does not reduce battery life.  That is only on Nicad batteries and you have a li-ion.

Exactly - charge whenever you have an opportunity. The only time you're likely to run into a NiCad (last tech that had significant memory effect) is in cheaper cordless power tools.

... and some digital cameras.  Most of those look like two AA batteries tapped together because they are two nicad AAs taped together.

I haven't seen that in a digicam in awhile - just NiMH. Shouldn't surprise me for the cheaper ones though. I do remember pulling apart a Black & Decker flashlight recently too that had some NiCads. They died on the shelf, it was DOA. There's a reason we have newer tech these days. :)

Good point, I may be been confusing my Ni based batteries.  Now that I think of it I can't confirm that I've seen a NiCad since my old radio shack rc car (that could only turn by going in reverse).

thanks! another question. Should I always try to wait until it's full, or if I need to take my phone somewhere I can just unplug it without hesitation?

No worries about unplugging early - If you can only squeeze in a few percent charge before moving on it's still beneficial and has no downsides.

Lithium Ion batteries don't develope "memory" like Nickel Cadnuim batteries, so charging every day regardless of your discharge level will not affect the battery life.  If my memory serves me right, because of the way that the batteries are recharged it is less strain on the battery if you don't let it get below 40% but I wouldn't worry too much about it.  In that same respect, don't be hesitant to charge anytime you have the opportunity.

Now there's Chargie - a USB stick+Android app combo that limits charging externally (no root needed). Just install the stick between the charger and phone and use the app to select the charge level. Simple as that. Look for "chargie stick" on Google.
Even if you want to charge to 100% - it will go there but disconnect power completely until charge goes down to 97% (a few hours). Then it will reapply charge, but that's way less stressful than normal trickle charging. However, given today's battery capacities, 90% is enough to get you out of most days.
Disclosure: I am the CEO of Lighty Electronics. We developed Chargie and would love people who have had this issue to enjoy our product as much as we do. No spam, just the solution to the problem.

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


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Questions about Samsung Galaxy Tab
I'm going to buy a Galaxy Tab and I'm hoping to find the answers here:

Can I plug in a USB flash memory or an external hard-disk to Galaxy Tab via any USB Converter?
Does Android 2.2 support VPN connections?
Are Android applications free?

1 - No. There is a microSD slot where you can insert cards upto 32 GB in size to extend the memory.
2 - Yes - VPN support is present in 2.1 as well
3 - Some are free, some are not. Some are ad-supported.

Thank you very much, So there is no trick to connect a usb flash memory, like the way iPad does ? http://www.macstories.net/ipad/connecting-a-usb-flash-drive-to-the-ipad/

I mean can i use something like this with its usb cable to connect a flash memory to it? : http://www.aliexpress.com/product-gs/361666970-USB-A-Male-to-USB-A-Female-Adapter-Converter-wholesalers.html

@Saba Jamalian: Android does not yet support USB Host mode (USB OTG); however there are hacks on some hardware that allows it to become USB host http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-bLOc1qnMM Given that Linux kernel already support USB OTG and that the upcoming Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) will be focusing on tablet, it is possible that USB Host may be supported.

My archos 70 suppots usb host. Are you sure the galaxy tab doesn't?

@Matt - Pretty sure...that's an area where Archos has the upper hand.

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


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Why can't I Sync Picasa Web Albums?
Device: T-Mobile G2 (UK) / HTC Hero
OS: 2.1
I would like to Sync Picasa Web Albums, like on this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIfjt3pye5c. However, the option is not present - only contacts, Google Reader, Google Mail, calendar. I've tried visiting Picasa Web Albums site on my phone browser, and re-starting the phone, but it's not there. How can I enable it?
Edit (28th Jan) - I raised a ticket on support.htc.com about this a while ago. Here are their responses...

"Dave": "Do you have the Picasa option showing in the accounts and sync folder of Settings on your phone, please?"
"Dave": "Can you confirm you are running at least Android 2.1 on your handset?"
"Richard": "Christopher, your email has been passed to myself for further action as there has been no activity on it since the 22nd Jan. Picasa is a 3rd party application and you will need to install additional software from the Android Market to enable this functionality. (Picasa Album Sync is not pre-installed on your phone.) "
"Richard": "The picasa sync is not pre-installed on any of the HTC handsets running Android 2.x. I have checked several android phones running 2.1 and 2.2 that we have here and none of them have a Picasa sync option. I will pass on this information to the developers and inform them that a customer has asked for this function to be included on the phones. This may lead to it being implemented in a future update. In the meantime if you want that functionality then you will need to obtain 3rd party software which can provide it."

I'm not sure why Dave asked those questions, when Richard is adament that the functionality doesn't exist. Does anyone have any examples of Picasa working on HTC handsets running Android 2.x?

Don't see it on my 2.2 Evo either so I can't say it's truly on all 2.1 and above devices.

Is it a Gmail or Google Apps account?
I don't have "Sync Picasa Web Album" in my Google Apps account, though I do have it in Gmail.

It's my primary @gmail.com account.

I have a Samsung Intercept, and I also don't see an option to sync Picasa Web Albums with the Gallery app on my phone. I do have the Gallery app, and I can upload photos from the Gallery to Picasa Web Albumns (And to Facebook and Dropbox). But this 'sync' option is not there.

@Chris: Does your Gallery app look anything like the App in the video, with the smooth animation and the flowing icons? The Gallery app on my phone has none of those fancy animations-- it's much simpler looking. I've read elsewhere that there are two different Gallery apps for Android 2.1, although I cannot find a link at the moment.

Do have the stock Android 3D Gallery app? (someone has given this answer already) The HTC gallery app doesn't sync to Picassa in the same way.

@Stefan  No, I have the 'simpler' looking one. The frustrating thing is that I'm 99% sure I previously saw the option to sync Picasa, but never used it.

Tier 1 support personnel very often don't have any deep knowledge of the products they support. More than likely he's working off a script.

This problem affects more then just HTC phones. Samsung Intercept is also affected, as are other models (according to my google searches).

Here's what you have to do:

Go into the Gallery
Long click on a photo, choose "Share" and then choose "Picasa"
On the "upload photo" screen add a new album, then upload the photo (it doesn't matter what album, you just need to add one to create a new folder in Picasa.  This is the trick to linking your phone and your Picasa Web Albums).
After it's done uploading (check on the web to make sure it worked) from the home screen hit the menu button and go to Settings > Accounts & Sync > Click on your gmail address that is associated with Picasa.  Now you should see "Sync Picasa Web Albums" in the menu.

If that doesn't work.  Try restarting after that process, and then if that still doesn't work... :o(

I should mention that I had the same problem as you on my Moto Droid, and this fixed it for me so HTC may be different, but I'll bet its the same problem, an account linking problem.

Thanks for the detailed instructions. Sadly, this didn't work for me. I'm sure it's an account linking problem, but just not sure how to get the accounts linked except for deleting/recreating my account.

Did it let you create a new folder on Picasa from your gallery app?

Matt; 1) I have "Photos" not "Gallery"; 4) I see the new album name and photo in picasaweb, but even after restart I still only see contacts/Reader/Mail/calendar in the Android sync options. I've had a ticket open with htc.com's official support for a month now, with no info.

You need to install the Gallery 3D app. It's not available on the market but here is a link for the APK which you will need to download to your SD card and install manually (use Astro, or similar).
(Dmitriy already gave this answer but I had the link & wasn't sure you'd seen my comment so I've added this as an answer too)

I have a T-Mobile Vibrant and when I was running the Stock Samsung 2.1 TouchWiz I did not have this option to sync to Picasa. But I am now running a 2.2 ROM and I can sync it. I would say to try to log in to picasa via your PC first, and maybe upload a photo, create a gallery, things like that. Then go back in to your device and see if you can sync it.
You will go in to your google account in Accounts & Sync and it should have the option in there to sync. you do not have to add another account on the main Accounts and sync screen.
It will also work with Google Apps accounts, if they have been upgraded to the "full google account" by the apps administrator.

Thanks - I've even tried creating a public profile, and having pictures publically viewable on the web, but no sign of it yet. I can upload individual pics from the "Photos" app to Picasa (all folders I create online are visible on the phone!), but not sync through the OS.

I've tried logging out & logging in on PC & Phone, creating gallery from phone, uploading gallery from phone, etc. Still no success here.

There is an application called 3D Gallery. This application supports using Picasa from the google account. After installing and launching it will ask you for permission to access picasa and then you will browse the online library as if its local with options to copy.

I can't seem to find (Android 2.1). Who's the developer, and is there a link?

@Chris get the APK here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=653503


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Error adding another Google account
Device: T-Mobile G2 (UK) / HTC Hero OS: 2.1
I have a primary gmail account, a second Gmail account, and a Google Apps account. I'd now like to add another Google Apps account.
However, whenever I try, I get a "you don't have a network connection / This could be a temporary problem or your phone may not be provisioned for data services. lease try again when connected to a mobile network, or connect to a Wi-Fi network. If the problem continues, call Customer Care" message. However I've tried this from 3 cities, across a few weeks, from where I'm always able to access internet and Google accounts.
I presume there's no limit of 3, so what else can I try?
Edit - 3rd Jan - I just tried removing an existing (working) gmail account. I can't add the new account, or put back the removed account - new error is "Can't establish a reliable data connection to the server./This could be a temporary problem or your phone may not be provisioned for data services. If it continues, call Customer Care.". This is on WiFi and 3G - whilst the process was trying I received (pull) email! There's something really wrong.

I tried again earlier today, and found it working. Cause of the fix might be: a) enabling multiple login on this account; b) migrating the Google Apps domain to the latest version; c) time, and it fixing itself.

I have 4 Google accounts, so no there's not a limit of 3.  I'm guessing trying two Apps accounts is the problem.  Try adding another standard (gmail) Google account and see if that works.
Edit: I'd try a factory reset at this point.

I don't have another gmail account - can anyone verify?

That's not it.  Just added two apps accounts to my one Gmail account.  Sorry I don't have an answer but at least we eliminated a couple of possibilities.  Have you verified that your internet connection is active at that moment?  Had a problem yesterday where Juice Defender kept knocking mine out while trying to send GV messages.

Agree, I have 3 Google Apps accounts, and one normal Gmail account on my phone, with no problem.

I did a Network reset on my phone, and it fixed this issue!

Can you tell us how you did that? It is worth mentioning that all the network related details, such as saved Wi-Fi passwords and APNs would be removed by doing network settings reset.


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Root no longer root
I rooted my nexus one and successfully used a lot of root-only apps. But one day all these apps stopped working, saying I don't have root. Terminal emulator says "permission denied" for everything again, as if I wasn't root. But unlocked lock is still showed at startup. How would I fix that? I don't want to root again, because I will have to do a large backup then.

Are you stock or do you have a custom ROM?  And if the latter, which one?

Stock, not custom. Just rooted.

Did you by chance have an automatic OTA update?  That would do it.

Probably yes. Do I need to root it again? Or what?

Yes,if you updated, you have to root it again.

To avoid unrooting after OTA update,

Open SuperSU
Go to Settings
Enable Pro (you have to purchase the SuperSU Pro from PlayStore)
Enable Survival Mode


text:
How can I execute command in the terminal as root?
How can I get root permissions in a terminal?

Type su and your terminal prompt should change from $ to #. This is assuming that your device is already rooted.

AND that su is installed.

i try it but this message shown "permission denide"

@mahdi: Is your device already rooted?

no i try it on emulator

is it possible to do root on emulator ?

'Permission denied' usually means the command or program itself is does not have permissions for execution. Use chmod to set the permissions of the file (Google it) and then run

@HXCaine: If you don't have permission to run su, you probably don't have permission to chmod it.

Works, thanks! On FairPhone this will cause the OS to prompt allow SuperUser privileges for the used shell. Approving this will yield a shell in SU-mode. I used Terminal Emulator

Thanks, that was super helpful. (su seems to work by default in the Android x86 iso.)

See the following questions:

What does "to root a phone" mean?
How do I root my phone?
I've rooted my phone.  Now what?

But how does this address the question?

Production phones don't ship with root access, developer phones do. If you have a production phone (likely: you'd know if you bought a dev phone), you have to "root" them first. As @Joe_Casadonte points out, there are some great instructions here and elsewhere (Notably the CyanogenMod Wiki and Android Rom's google group) to get you started rooting your phone. (And if you get stuck ... come back here with your questions!).
Once you've rooted your phone, you can gain root privileges in the adb shell or the terminal emulator with the su command.
Note: it sounds from some of your responses like you haven't yet rooted your phone. So you'll need to start there.

Assuming that:

Your Android device is rooted;
The su binary is located at /system/xbin/su;
The shell binary is located at /system/bin/sh; and
Your Android device has Terminal Emulator installed.

If all the 4 conditions above are satisfied, then:

If you want to enter the shell and become root (superuser uid 0) so you can execute commands without uid restrictions, start the Terminal Emulator app and just execute this command:
su -

In order to disconnect from the uid 0 (exit superuser status), press Volume - and D, or type exit and hit Enter
Alternatively, if you want to always start Terminal Emulator as root, then start Terminal Emulator, go to Preferences, scroll down to the SHELL section, tap the Command line option and modify the command so it becomes this:
/system/xbin/su -c "/system/bin/sh -"

After you change the command, exit Terminal Emulator (close the application) and start it again. Notice how Terminal Emulator's shell interface now shows you root@something by default.

For my 8.1.0 go edition phone. It is /sbin/su -c "/system/bin/sh -". I struggle too much to figure out where is su binary file(in my case su binary not exist in the /system/xbin/ path). I found a path /sbin/ is exist in ROOT directory and su binary is exist in that path. And of course i rooted my phone by magisk manager. Hope this answer will help someone.


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Why is my captivate able to run flash on android 2.1?
I just noticed that my Captivate can play some flash videos, animations, and to an extent, flash games using the stock android browser running android 2.1. It is incredibly slow and takes forever to load, but it does work as far as i could tell (although incredibly slowly and it uses huge amounts of CPU before it finishes loading...almost like it is recompiling the flash application before running it).
My phone status still says that my phone is running 2.1 eclair and I thought that only 2.2 could run flash. Also I haven't downloaded the flash 10.1 application yet either.
What is going on?

Samsung put the "Flash Lite" plugin on the Galaxy S for 2.1.  It supports the basics.  This blog shows some devices that use the plugin: http://www.adobe-flashlite.com/
Edit: Adobe now has a list of devices that can run full Flash.  http://www.adobe.com/flashplatform/certified_devices/

So this is a samsung specific feature? How dose the plugin work? Is it actually recompiling the application before running it?

I don't believe there's any recompilation - full Flash 10.1 is also very slow on my Galaxy S with 2.2.  I've added a link to a blog that lists some devices with Flash Lite.


text:
Are there better alternatives to talk to exchange servers than native Mail app?
The native Mail app lacks (at least for Android 2.1) basic features like move a message to another folder.
What alternative apps do you recommend?

I used TouchDown (30-day trial, $19.99) before Android had built in Exchange and was very happy with it. I'm now using the native client without many problems (I'm not very demanding of it), but I've heard many people mention that it is still worth buying over the native client because of the more advanced feature set. With the 30-day trial, no reason not to give it a try.

I've been evaluating Touchdown for a month, and I think it's fine. I was hoping some people had experienced another alternatives, but since no one proposed another answer, I'll mark it accepted for now.


text:
Trying google mobile android on my pc
In order to try google mobile android on my pc (See this Website) I downloaded the file liveandroidv0.3.iso and used the 'Universal Netboot Installer' software to write the image on USB device. After restarting all works correctly until I get the image 'Live android' but the OS doesn't launch and nothing happens! This can be due of what?
Best,

In other words, i'm stuck at this step :  http://i55.tinypic.com/nnw7li.jpg

Hi again! Worked for me moments ago when i tried again (But with Virtualbox) by setting more virtual memory. Though still doesn't work with CD live boot or USB device!
cheers!

I recommend using the Android emulator if you want to experiment with Android without buying a device.  LiveAndroid isn't supported by Google and it hasn't been updated in quite a while.  It could be that your video card is not supported.
I'd also recommend using VMWare Player instead of VirtualBox if you really want to use LiveAndroid.


text:
How to install a web certificate on an Android device?
To gain access to WIFI at university I have to login with my user/pass credentials.
The certificate of their website (the local home page that asks for the credentials) is not recognized as a trusted certificate, so we install it separately on our computers.
The problem is that I don't take my laptop with me often to university, so I usually want to connect using my HTC Magic, but I have no clue on how to install the certificate separately on Android, it is always rejected.
This is what is stated in their website
> Need for installation of official certificates CyberTrust validated by the CRU (http://www.cru.fr/wiki/scs/)

The certificates contain information
  certified to generate encryption keys
  for data exchange, called "sensitive"
  as the password of a user.
By connecting to CanalIP-UPMC, for
  example, the user must validate the
  identity of the server accepting the
  certificate appears on the screen in a
  "popup window". In reality, the user
  is unable to validate a certificate
  knowing, because a simple visual check
  of the license is impossible.
Therefore, the certificates of the
  certification authority
  (CRU-Cybertrust Educationnal-ca.ca Cybertrust and-global-root-ca.ca)
  must be installed prior to the browser
  for the validity of the certificate
  server can be controlled
  automatically.
Before you connect to the network-UPMC
  CanalIP you must register in your
  browser through the certification
  authority
  Cybertrust-Educationnal-ca.ca Download the
  Cybertrust-Educationnal-ca.ca,
  depending on your browser and select
  the link below :
With Internet Explorer, click on the link following.
With Firefox, click on the link following.
With Safari, click the link following.
If this procedure
  is not respected, a real risk is
  incurred by the user: that of being
  robbed password LDAP directory UPMC. A
  malicious server may in fact try very
  easily attack type "man-in-the-middle"
  by posing as the legitimate server at
  UPMC.
The theft of a password allows the
  attacker to steal an identity for
  transactions over the Internet can
  engage the responsibility of the user
  trapped ...

This is their website : http://www.canalip.upmc.fr/doc/Default.htm (in French, Google-translate it :))
Anyone knows how to install a web certificate on Android?

Is your Phone locked down or do you have access to the filesystem?

I think I can access to the file system, there is the debug mode that give you a root access, but what this have to do with certificates?

So just browsing to that site does not give you some option to permanently accept the certificate?

No, actually the browser asks to ignore the certificate, when I hit yes, it shows a failure page. This happens even on a pc, FireFox fails also to load a page even if I tell it to ignore the certificate, so if I download it separately and double click it, everything works normally

http://abtevrythng.blogspot.com/2010/06/adding-cer-certificates-on-your-android.html Shows how to actually achieve this. Worked fine for me. Try it out.

Rather than stating in your question that you solved the problem, you should create a new answer with the solution, then accept that answer.

For Android 2.2, the certificates (without renaming or converting) can be placed at the root of the sd card.
To install:

Go to the Settings/Security menu, Credential storage section.
Activate Use secure credentials.
Click Install from SD card.
A menu will appear with the available certificates.
Click on each certificate to install.

Those certificates will then be available to the wifi system.

I know this is late coming, but I designed a tool just for this purpose.  I was having trouble with my Droid, so I created this tool: RealmB's Android Certificate Installer. I know it works with Android 2.0 (the OS which runs on the Droid), but I don't know for 1.5 or 1.6.  Feel free to give it a try.

actually I found a tool called wifihelper that do just that and it works for 1.5 and 1.6, check out this post here http://www.martani.net/2009/11/install-wpa-certificates-cer-files-on.html

the martani.net app was complex, so I cannot be sure I used it right; in any case, I followed instructions and it didn't seem to have any effect.
I also tried RealmB's installer, and that appeared to "work", in the sense that when I pointed my phone's browser at the link that the site provides, the phone popped up a dialog asking me what name to give the certificate.  On the other hand, I still cannot connect to my wireless network :-|

I've done it typing in the browser "file:/" plus the name of the certificate file in the SD


text:
Why can't I connect my Samsung Galaxy 3 to my PC after installing the z4root app?
I have a problem connecting my Samsung i5800 Galaxy 3 to a PC. First, I could connect to the PC. I had installed the z4root app in order to root my phone and then after installing it, I could not connect to the PC any more.
The dialog to select how to connect to the PC does not appear, though the beep sounds when I connect the phone to the USB cabel. How do I fix this problem?

I have solved the problem in a direct way. I have restored the phone to the factory state, and it worked. And I am convinced it is because of z4root! I have tried the second time and the result was the same. Be careful when you root the Galaxy 3 Samsung i5800 with z4root.

I had this problem too.  It was not related to any driver on the PC as it worked
and stopped working at some point.  The problem was on the Android phone which
for some reasons had some configuration problems.
To solve that, dial *#7284# on your phone so that it launches the PhoneUtil
application.  Then, switch to the USB -> PDA mode on the phone.  Connect the USB cable
(toggle USB -> Modem and then USB -> PDA modes if it does not work the first time)
The details are explained in:
How to repair the USB connection problem on Android Samsung phones

The solution has worked on a non-rooted Galaxy 3 as well. Thanks

After following the instructions of the linked page, I was able to use the usb debugging feature of my Galaxy S from ubuntu 10.10. Thanks a lot!

Make sure your device is not connected to your PC.
Uninstall any drivers you currently have installed for it.
Reboot.
Install the appropriate drivers from this XDA post (supports more than Galaxy S).
Install Kies from Samsung.com's Galaxy 3 page.
Connect your device to your PC.

This should work, but please note that when you root your phone you do so at your own risk.  Samsung does not support rooting.


text:
Symbolic links in the Android filesystem?
Is it possible to create symbolic links in the Android filesystem? If it's possible, how can I do this?
My Android version is 2.1, I'm using Motorola Defy.

android is not a fileystem. What is the filesystem on which you try to create the symplink? You can use mount in terminal emulator to gather this information

@rds I know that Android is not a file system. I wrote "Android file system" instead of "Android's file system" because I was writting too fast.

but you still fail to tell what it the underling filesystem you have mounted

@rds I would assume all androids use the same filesystem. If not then I would assume the filesystem depends on OS version. If these assumptions are incorrect please say. Is it phone specific?

How can I make a symlink (or equivalent) inside /storage/emulated/0?

In the Android root filesystem there are many shortcuts/links.  I think the original post is about how those are created.  I would also like to know this.  Searching for shortcuts on Google only gives results for adding shortcuts to home screen, but many people want to make a shortcut from one directory to a directory in another location.

Android does support symbolic links, but certain file systems (e.g. FAT or RFS) do not and you cannot create symbolic links in those partitions. If your device uses a filesystem that supports symbolic links (e.g. ext2, ext3, ext4, yaffs2) then you should be able to use ln -s from the Terminal Emulator.

I think this question on superuser answers your question, i.e. that the FAT filesystem on the SD card does not support symlinks.
Just to clarify (and as reflected in the SU question/answers I linked): the Android OS supports symlinks, but the FAT filesystem on the SD card does not.

You're always free to format your SD Card with a modern filesystem (if you don't use it on an archaic operating system, of course)

It is possible to do this via the mount -o bind /old/dir /new/dir command as discussed here
https://superuser.com/a/377737/45344
You need root I guess.

This is the kind of changes which would be lost on reboot.

This is not a symbolic link; it's a bind mount.

You were dealing with /storage/emulated/0/Videos
Android like to make use of the /dev/fuse partition.  I do not think you can make a symbolic link in this filesystem.  On my htc desire 510, I see this:
/busybox df /storage/emulated/0
Filesystem           1K-blocks      Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/fuse              1057284   1040844     16440  98% /mnt/shell/emulated

#
There is some weird stuff going on with /storage

Is this supposed an answer to the question?

/dev/fuse is not a partition, it's a character device which programs use to communicate with kernel in order to mount Filesystem in UserSpacE. @FindOutIslamNow yes partial answer, because Android's FUSE implementation doesn't support symlinks.

thank you very much for this answer!

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


text:
How do I get 3D maps to work
I have Andorid maps 5.0.0 running on a Nexus S but I can't seem to get 3D maps.
I have tried London and New York. Not sure if I am doing something stupoid or what.

are you dragging with two fingers?

3D maps includes 3D models of some cities. London isn't included, yet, but New York is, as are Cardiff and Birmingham on the UK.  You don't need to do anything to view them other than select the map layer, zoom right in, and then swipe down with 2 fingers to angle the view.
(the 3D models appear if you're looking straight down, but it misses the point, somewhat...)

Works fine in Brum. Wasn't zoomed in enough in NY. Thanks

Make sure satellite layer is off, and swipe the screen down with 2 fingers.


text:
How do you import CA certificates onto an Android phone?
I want to connect to my University's wireless using my Nexus One. When I go to "Add Wi-Fi network" in Wireless Settings I fill in the Network SSID and select 802.1x Enterprise for the security and fill everything out.
The problem is that our university's wireless uses Thawte Premium Server CA certificate for certification.
When I click the drop down list for CA certificate I get nothing in the list (just N/A)
Now I have the certificate (Thawte Premium Server CA.pem) and have moved it to my SD card, but it doesn't look like Android automatically detects it.
Where should I put the certificate so that the Android wireless manager recognizes it. In other words, how can I import a CA certificate so that Android recognizes that it is on the phone and displays it in the CA Certificate drop down list.
Thanks for any help,
Tomek
P.S. My phone is not rooted
EDIT: After doing some research it looks like you are able to install certificates by going to your phone's settings > Location & Security > Install from SD card
Unfortunately it looks like the only accepted file extension is .p12. It does not look like there is a way to import .cer or .pem files (which are the only two files that come with the Thawte certificates) at this moment.
It does look like you can use a converter to convert your .cer or .pem files to .p12, however a key file is needed.
https://www.sslshopper.com/ssl-converter.html
I do not know where to get this key file for the Thawte certificates.

I wish this would be unclosed. It has been most helpful to me. Thank you to everyone on this page.

a .crt certificate also works fine

On a HTC device with Android 2.3.5 I had to change the file extension from .pem to .crt. After that I could actually locate it from the Install from SD card option in the Security settings. It can be put in the root of the SD card or in the Downloads folder.

Openssl should also be able to convert between various certificate formats.

I answered a similar question here: https://stackoverflow.com/a/65888246/624814.  Unfortunately I don't quite enough reputation on this channel to answer it.

I've used RealmB's Android Certificate Installer to great success.  You simply upload your PEM encoded (.cer or .pem) file and then point your phone's browser to the link that is provided.  No need for a private key.

That site itself tells if the upload is a valid certificate or not. It gave me invalid certificate error. I uploaded the one with right file permissions on my linux machine and it worked great.

The possible security implications of that site should be pointed out along with the link (or, cite that website itself: How is the security? - Bad, you should only upload files that you feel can be publicly viewed without any side effects.).

This no longer works :( Upload failed

First: Android only understands binary format of CA and only with file format *.crt.
Second: Android only understands user certificates in *.p12 file format.
So You can check whether your CA file binary or text very simple: open it with any text editors^
If there something like 0‚ i0‚ Т          , then it is binary.
If you see something like

Certificate:   Data:        Version: 3 (0x2)        Serial Number:
  96:0e:45:58:68:9a:bf:00        Signature Algorithm:
  sha1WithRSAEncryption        Issuer: C=UA, ST=

Then it is text. It is very simple to convert it to binary by yourself in *nix:
openssl x509 -inform PEM -outform DER -in CA.pem -out CA.crt

Or just ask your system administrator.
Copy both CA.crt and usercert.p12 to your SD card or send it by email (if you have an email client configured on  Android, usually downloaded attachments are stored in Download folder, actually it does not matter).
Go to Security and find option something like this: install certificate from your SD card
First install CA.crt, then usercert.p12
Go to wifi and make new connection, choose 802.1x EAP whatever and select your certificates for CA CA.crt and for user certificate usercert.p12 in my case I entered username as well.

To whoever this might help in the future: I had no problem installing a text format certificate on an SGS4 - but only after I had moved it to the Downloads folder (My Documents wouldn't do) and also only with the option indicated in the question, not by opening the CRT file from a file manager, where Android claimed the file type was unknown (unlike on Nexus 7, where it did work like that).

I had to use the Root Cert, not the site cert when saved from Chrome. From a chrome page: F12 (dev console), Security tab, View Certificate, Certification Path tab, click top-most root node, View Certificate, Details tab, "Copy to file..." button, choose DER format. Opening from google drive let me install the cert. Verify it shows up on phone in Settings, Security, Trusted credentials, User.

http://abtevrythng.blogspot.com/2010/06/adding-cer-certificates-on-your-android.html
Shows how to actually achieve this. Worked fine for me. Try it out.
In this article .cer to .pfx (which is what you need on Android) conversion is given. Simple method is given using which you can convert .cer to .pfx and use it to connect to the Wi-Fi network. Plus you don't need any Key to convert .cer to .pfx!!!

For other people looking for this answer who can't use realmB's solution because they can't access the internet on their phone.
I just changed the file extension of my certificates from .cer to .crt and everything worked fine! Thanks to the users of this xda thread for the solution.

How do you import CA certificates onto an Android phone?

Android's official documentation can be found at Work with Certificates. Note that the certificate must be ASN.1/DER encoded. Once the encoding is correct, just ensure the extension is CRT or CER. If its not (like you named it ca-cert.der), then rename it (to ca-cert.crt).
If you have a PEM encoded certificate, then convert it to ASN.1/DER encoding using (per Dimtry's instructions):
openssl x509 -in ca-cert.pem -inform PEM -outform DER -out ca-cert.crt

If interested, the system Trust Store is burned into the ROM, so you really can't do modify it. When you modify the Trust Store, you are actually tweaking /data/misc/keychain and one of two files: cacerts-added and cacerts-removed. See Nikolay Elenkov's ICS Trust Store Implementation.

That's exactly the solution. Android accept only certificate in "Binary mode". If you have a certificate in Text mode, which is the most common certificate format, convert it simply in "DER Binary" format. After this, push the certificate into the "download folder of the Android device and use the "Install from SD Card" menu to install the certificate.
Works for Samsung Galaxy, Sony Xperia phone, HTC Phone
Works for Android version 3.x and 4.x version
Olivier

I have managed to connect to my university network following the next steps:

Asked the university about certificate that it is used, in my case DigicertCA.
Google it, download it (I have it saved on my Dropbox account), save it in Download folder in phone (in my case Samsung Galaxy S8).
On the phone: go to Settings-> Lock Screen and Security-> Other Security Settings-> Install from Device Storage (Install certificate from storage) - if the certificate is downloaded on phone (Downloads folder in my case it is recognized and appear for selection).
Reboot the phone.
When configuring the network, at CA certificate, select Don't validate after installed on phone.

In my case it worked, hope it helps.

You can access your cer/pem from SD card with correct MIME type to be installed using TJWS (Android edition), so you do not need to upload your certificate to some web site.


text:
Does the Samsung Galaxy S have an FM transmitter?
I seem to recall seeing a review of the Samsung Galaxy S that said it has an FM transmitter (so you can listen to music from it on your car radio, for instance).  However, I didn't see it mentioned anywhere else.
Does it in fact have such a transmitter?

Early promotional material for the Galaxy S said that it had an FM transmitter.  Samsung later removed this from the list of features.  Some models, such as the i9000, have a FM receiver.  It appears other versions also have a receiver that is not supported by drivers;  This XDA thread has more details.
Your best bet is to get an FM transmitter than plugs into the headphone jack, or to use Bluetooth.

If your looking for a bluetooth solution, It might be possible VIA This
But does it have a FM transmitter out of the box, no.


text:
How do I change the default phone number?
The phone is a Galaxy S 2.2.  I set up the phone for my wife using my SIM card.  Now she is using the phone with her own SIM card, but the phone still displays my phone number in the system settings and sends SMS as my number.  There seems no way to remove this number.

We have edited the profile in contacts.
We factory reset the phone.
We have removed my number from contacts.

So far our first Android experience is very disturbing as too many aspects are blocked. There seems no way to remove the registered number in the phone system.

Have you tried asking your service provider?

Perhaps you've already tried this but have you tried assigning a different gmail account to the phone than the one originally used?

This topic might help.

I second Gary's suggestion.  Unless you unlock the phone, you probably shouldn't be switching SIMs without help from the carrier.  Also, what Galaxy S model do you have?

I constantly switch SIM cards between a few of my Android phones and have never seen this issue come up. As far as I am aware, the phone gets the information on the phone number from the SIM card directly.
A SIM card (short for Subscriber Identity Module) is what holds the information such as the phone number and the information to activate it on your providers network. You mention when she sends text that your number shows up. "Cloning" a phone number is not easily possible (if at all) so you definitely need to contact your service provider as they should be able to shed some light on what's going on with your SIM.
Not that this makes a difference, but if you remove the SIM, turn the phone on and go to your system settings and the number should be gone. This will show you that the phone gets the info from the SIM and not stored in the phone anywhere.
I'm sorry to hear that your first Android experience has not gone well, but I'm fairly confident that this is an issue with your SIM/Provider and not the phone itself.

This happens when you take your old number to a new provider's SIM. The SIM still has the provider's original number on it.


text:
How to remove occasional pop-up messages from the provider
My Milestone is producing pop-up messages every half an hour with "your credits are low please add more credits". It is really annoying. Is there any way to block them?

Not without either loading a custom ROM that doesn't have these popups. These are probably "features" added for your carrier, so a more "generic" ROM would probably stop them.


text:
How to put a Call contact using Skype shortcut widget on the home screen?

Possible Duplicate:
Quick Dial Shortcut with skype

Is it possible to make a desktop shortcut to dial a number with skype?


text:
How do I root the Android emulator?
How do I root the Android emulator?  I need root to install an .apk file on the emulator.

If you're not fond of command lines, you can also explore the emulator with the Eclipse ADT plugin. The plugin integrates a couple of development tools like ADB, DDMS, logcat, etc. I find it very interesting to connect my phone with USB (enable USB Debugging) and watch how everything works, and the same can be done for the emulator.

The Android emulator gives you root access, you don't need to root it.  Check out the emulator section on android.com for details on how to do things as root, for example:

-shell
Create a root shell console on the current terminal. It differs from the adb shell command in the following ways:

It creates a root shell that allows you to modify many parts of the system.
It works even if the adb daemon in the emulated system is broken.
Pressing Ctrl+C (⌘C) stops the emulator, instead of the shell.

For example:
$ emulator @Nexus_5X_API_23 -shell

Although you get 'root' access, some folders are owned by system, and root can't see into it. You your device was truly rooted, I hope you can see into these folders.


text:
How to set up a proxy on a Samsung Galaxy Tab?
Dear all,
  Is it possible to configure a proxy server for Https web browsing in samsung galaxy tab?
What if I install an ubuntu on it?
Thanks in advance,

Ubuntu questions should be asked somewhere else.  Ubuntu has had proxy support for a long time and it is basically independent of the device.

My main question is about the android 2.2 installed on samsung galaxy tab by default.

And I only addressed the Ubuntu part.

Try HTTP Proxy Settings.

But does it require a rooted phone?

I don't believe so.


text:
Rooted Incredible WiFi Tethering Not Working
I've rooted my Droid Incredible and installed both the "Wireless Tether" and "Barnacle Wifi Tether" apps but I can't seem to get internet connectivity on any other devices. I can see the connection on my laptop and on my iPad and my devices get ip addresses assigned to them but I can't connect to the internet. Google Chrome reports "Name unresolved" while Safari on the iPad only states that the device isn't connected to the internet. Why isn't this working?

Are "Wireless Tether" and "Barnacle Wifi Tether" designed for the Incredible?

@Matthew Read They weren't specifically designed for it, as far as I know. Wireless Tether was given as an answer to this question http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/1/ive-rooted-my-phone-now-what/13#13 so I'm assuming (bad practice, I know) that it should be working.

Did you download Wireless Tether from the Market or from http://code.google.com/p/android-wifi-tether/ ?
If you are running Android 2.1 you need to take the extra steps listed here:
http://code.google.com/p/android-wifi-tether/wiki/Setup_HTC_Desire_Incredible
If you are running 2.2 then in theory it should just work.
I would first try the latest release candidate here:
http://code.google.com/p/android-wifi-tether/downloads/detail?name=wireless_tether_2_0_5-RC2.apk&can=2&q=
Let me know how it works out.

Latest release candidate did it. Thank you so much!


text:
Is there a way to format numbers' font in Nexus One/Nexus S?
I love to see numbers in Georgia font and would love to see them auto-formatted into that font! If you know such tips, please share!
Update
I want just numbers to be formatted while other texts remain as-is.

Android stores its fonts at /system/fonts/ using TTF (TrueType) format. If you have a program that can edit TTF files (e.g. FontForge), you can replace the number fonts in these .ttf files with your preferred number fonts to change the glyph used for numbers globally. If you're rooted, you should be able to replace these font files with your own modified version.
Note that I have never tried this, note as well that some applications' layout may rely on the system fonts being of a particular size or shape, and this modifications may break the layout in those applications.


text:
Avoid mobile version of YouTube
For some reason, either Vodafone UK or YouTube think they are smarter than my own desires and are constantly redirecting my phone to use the mobile version of YouTube.
This would be fine, except whenever I click a direct video link from somewhere else on the web (even from Google results that I got using the phone itself) I get kicked back to the mobile version's index page, with no assistance to find what I was originally trying to watch!
This even happens when I click the "Desktop" link on either my phone or Chrome through wireless hotspotting, and it's extremely irritating - especially through Chrome as that should be the user agent being "detected", if anything - device neutrality anyone?!
If anyone knows at what level this is happening and/or how to stop it, that would be greatly appreciated.

It is 2018 and I'm struggling with the same issues...

Have you set the default action for youtube links to the browser?  You may need to reset it (Settings --> Applications --> Manage Applications --> app -->  "Clear Defaults") so that you can choose the Youtube app when wanting to view a Youtube video.

Well I don't want to use the YouTube app for YouTube videos, I'm quite happy with the mobile version of the site, except when I'm accessing it via my laptop using my phone as a wireless hotspot, in which case I should be given the proper version of the site.
Also it shouldn't have anything to do with the link actions as I'm not clicking the link on my phone, it's simply passing through my phone.

The YouTube app is great, I recommend that you just give it a try.  Being satisfied with something is no reason to avoid trying something else.  As for using your phone as a hotspot, it sounds like your carrier is trying to force you into the mobile site.  Either that or Google knows your IP address is from Vodaphone.  Have you tried seeing what happens when you go to YouTube through a proxy site, e.g. facebookproxy.co.uk?

If you download Dolphin browser, add the Desktop toggles add-on you should be able to view it as a normal webpage (make sure to enable desktop toggles and delete the "m." in the url)
That would solve the problem on your phone, as regards using it as a hotspot, i assume you tried deleting the "m." in the url? I think its the browser version youtube looks at when deciding what version of the site to serve so i dont know why it would serve the mobile version on your pc


text:
Android 2.2 - How to see applications that run at start-up

Possible Duplicate:
How can I prevent applications from running on startup?

Hello!
Is it possible to see which applications are set to run at startup?
For example, the idiots at Yahoo made the Android Messenger so that it starts on Android Start-up, but provide no way of preventing this behaviour. They always do this kind of dirty tricks...
Anyway, is there sort of an msconfig as in Windows?
Thank you.

If you logout from Yahoo Messenger, it will not automatically login when you reboot your phone.

I know, I killed the process, but I want to see which apps start after rebooting and change that if needed.

I don't know of a free solution, though there may be one.
I do know of Autostarts, currently just under 1 USD, a pretty good price in my opinion. It gives you a list of applications that have attached themselves to different events in the Android OS (I'm not an Android programmer, my wording is likely wrong there). You can then choose to disable that association without actually removing or disabling the application. For your Yahoo startup example -- With Autostarts you can prevent it from launching on startup, but it will still be accessible for you to launch at your leisure later on.
Forgot to mention - this does require root. A bit of searching seems to confirm that there is no way to disable startup apps without root - your only option in that case would be uninstalling them.
I also stumbled on a manual process that I've never personally tried -- You can do what Autostarts does by issuing some shell commands (ADB or Terminal Emulator app).
su pm disable <package name>/<package name>.<activity name>

I believe that would translate to something like:
su pm disable com.yahoo.mobile.client.android.im/com.yahoo.mobile.client.android.im.android.intent.action.BOOT_COMPLETED

But I've never tried this myself.

Thank you, Saiboogu. Excellent answe, I pressed set as accepted 9 times! Hope that counts for something. :)

The info in the answer (talking about price) is not complete: Autostarts is free software (= open-source), also available from f-droid.org, which is important to know for those who don't want to install non-free software (non-community-reviewed, possibly malicious code).

There is an application called Startup Cleaner (Free). Startup Cleaner does not require root, however just like Saiboogu said, you cannot actually prevent application from starting up without rooting. Startup Cleaner register itself at boot time, and then kills applications that you want to prevent from starting up at boot time; and after some time it kills itself.

Thank you Lie, I'll see about Startup Cleaner as well. Thanks.

I've used similar apps, unfortunately they often cause problems and most apps just start up again later.

Yeah, I've decided not to go down that road. I generally dislike "cleaner" apps etc from my Windows OS experience.

which is precisely why I uninstalled that apps as well; though it might be a viable alternative if you don't want to root.


text:
Inquiry about Galaxy Tab
Can I install any of the software that we can install in an desktop PC? Can I use Adobe Photoshop 3, Adobe Photoshop 5? Can printers be connected through USB to this? Does it support any external USB mouse.? Can I insert a pen drive in it.

This should be split into multiple questions.

The Galaxy Tab runs the Android OS, so no, you won't be able to install any software that is made for a PC (unless they have re-made it for Android).
I do not believe you can connect a printer to it, but there may be ways to print wirelessly (I have no experience with this).
No mouse support that I know of as it is a touch screen device.

In addition to Bryan's answers - the very last question - No, you can't connect a USB flash drive.

For file interchange issues you may use Dropbox. This utility is available for MS-Windows, Mac OS X and Linux (and even iPhone); you will get a folder, which is synchronized between any of your machines. It's very comfortable, you can organize your shared file set on a desktop machine, then you have just wait for a while to appear it on your Android device. I think it's more comfortable than using a pendrvie. (Dropbox is a commercial service, but you get 2 Gbyte space for free.)
For iPhone and iPad, which devices have no SD card slot nor any other way to exchange files with computers, it's a life saving solution.
For using desktop software on your Android device, you should try some kind of remote desktop, like VNC. I haven't tried, but it seems that it works.

Here is a review that should clear up all of your questions. Except whether or not it would run Photoshop (ANY version) and the simple answer is no, it will not run any windows or Mac software. I don't even think there is an emulator, but I may be wrong. Either way it doesn't have the hardware to run both an emulator and Photoshop, it would probably not run Photoshop effectively even if there was a native version. There is also no USB port of any kind, not even micro; it charges through a Samsung proprietary cable.

There is a Photoshop for Android, but it's more like a crippled version of MS Paint :P


text:
How to set alarm for all calendar events synced from Google account android
I used to use my events in Google Calendar for reminding me of my events through SMS alerts earlier (when I had a simple mobile). Now I've got those synced up in my Android 2.1 (Samsung Galaxy 3 Apollo) and I would like it to remind me of my events by  alarm instead of SMSes.
Is this possible?

Log on to Google Calendar Online through web browser (I did this on PC. Not sure if these steps are available on mobile calendar site).
Go to Settings > Calendar Settings > Calenders > Click Notification against your specific Calendar.
Remove reminder for SMS and add Reminder for Pop Up.

By the above steps, whenever a new event is added on-line, it will set an alarm notification for it on mobile when synced.
For already created event, change the notification for each event to Pop Up through web browser.

Using stock Calendar apps, you can Press "Menu Button" > Tap "More" > Tap "Settings" > Tap "Set Alerts & Notifications" to set the phone to ring for each reminder you've set for each events.
EDIT:
The stock calendar icon:

press "Menu", then tap on "More":

tap "Settings:

tap "Set alerts & notifications":

tap on "Alert":

This is on Calendar version 7 on 2.1-eclair Samsung Spica

Will that work for existing appointments or only for appointments created after the setting has been activated?

It will work on existing reminders; however, note that events that are not attached with a reminder does not get a notification (I never used SMS alert, but I presume it works the same).

I don't know which is the "stock Calendar" app, but I'm using default calendar app which came pre Installed and it has properly downloaded all my events and even the repeated events properly from Google Calendar. In that app, clicking on Menu directly gives Settings option and I don't see any option for "Set Alerts & Notification". I'm using 2.1 eclair.

@Ismail: I've added some screen shots

The "Set Alerts & Notification" will change the global setting however if you appointments are all set-up in gmail to notify you via SMS I don't believe you can change them all to normal notifications without doing it manually.  If you choose "Popup notification" in gmail, I believe that translates into a regular notification in Android.

From screen shots I can see that your calendar app and my calendar app differs on all screenshots. How can I know which Calendar Version I've got?

I've got a way. I will post answer by the end of day as I get time

I believe you can setup something with Tasker.
Create a new event, based off of state --> "Calendar Entry".
Then create a task based off of it to alert a sound for you or show a dialog or whatever you need for it to do.

I don't think Tasker is a free app. And I'm satisfied with the Calendar app. just that would like it to sound an Alarm for event

Tasker isn't a replacement for you calendar, it's a way to get around having to go back and retroactively set notification manually on all your existing appointments.


text:
How to disable screen lock on my HTC desire Z?
I would like to disable screen lock completely, as anyway there is need to press power button every time + unlock the screen which is anyoing

Try No Lock.  Probably will do what you want.  Doesn't work on all phones.

You should probably accept his answer.


text:
Browse or mount SD card over WiFi on Linux?
Is there a way to browse the contents of my SD card from my Linux (Ubuntu 10.04) machine over WiFi?
I used to connect with a mini-usb cable, or send files through gmail. Surely there must be a way to access the files through wifi.
My main focus is ease-of-use, I don't particularly care about speed or security. Although I do prefer a non-cloud solution due to privacy concerns.
(I have not actively searched for a solution yet. I will do this now, so maybe I will answer my own question. Which, as I understood from Atwood, is proper use of a StackExchange site.)

I use FTPServer ( http://www.appbrain.com/app/ftpserver/lutey.FTPServer ) to browse and copy files to and from my phone over wifi. On Ubuntu you can connect to an FTP server and browse it as if it is a directory.

That's indeed the easiest I think. (Although I'm using SwiFTP now.)

WiFi File Explorer allows browsing of the SD card through a web based interface. Quite nice, but perhaps difficult to copy a large number of files.
http://lifehacker.com/5626268/wifi-file-explorer-manages-your-android-sd-card-from-a-web-browser
On Air (Wifi Disk) 'allows you to easily transfer files over your Wi-Fi connection by accessing it as if it were a drive', but only for Mac I suppose.
SwiFTP is an FTP server, which does what it says.

There is WiFi FTP Server from Google Play store which I plan to download and chronicle setup. It has many positive reviews (4.4 stars out of 5 stars) and 500K+ Downloads.
There is a free version with ads and a paid version that is only $0.99 which is a small price to pay to support the developers (IMHO).
My goal is to have static IP address for phone on Home WiFi network and Ubuntu's cron run a job every morning to mount external storage card, log last access time for 3600 filenames and then umount external storage card.

Are you promoting that app or fell prey to rating? It contains trackers , why not always free and ad-free MiXplorer or open-source SwiFTP? Personally I use pure-ftpd. Btw Android mounts /data as well as (emulated) /sdcard with noatime.

@IrfanLatif It turns out the package is no good for mounting in Linux because you need to use sshfs as per my answer here: How to mount Android external storage over WiFi instead of USB. The atime is displayed (but incorrect because of noatime in /etc/fstab) whereas in Nautilus WiFi FTTP Server shows "Unknown" for atime. The GUI Nautilus does me no good I needed to fuse mount it so I could use CLI commands. Also, FTP has security flaws. SSH is the way to go I think.

SSHFS? That's for SFTP, not FTP if I'm not mistaken. To be able to see Last Access Time is of no use when the original file doesn't have relevant time stamp at all. Yes SSH is far better than FTP, that's why I went that far. I have both SSH and FTP servers running on my device as native service when I turn on WiFi. FTP is chrooted to /sdcard/FTP where I put files that I want to share over WLAN. Other party can access the files even in a web browser, that's the only benefit of FTP.

@IrfanLatif +1 to Q&A. It's a valuable resource.


text:
How to reject call on HTC desire Z?
Is it possible to reject call somehow when screen is locked as the same moment I unlock the screen, I acctualy accept the call?

Actually I solved it with removing screen lock option completely using application "No lock". Thanks

Just to answer this question in case future users have it.
I believe in HTC Sense when a call comes in and the screen lock is there it should say slide up to reject the call and down to answer.


text:
How to set in-call volume
How can you set the in-call volume to be higher for Android 2.2, please?
In the Settings options there's only these options:
Incoming Call Volume (which I presume is the ringer volume)
Media Volume
System Volume (which would probably increase the in-call volume, but all the others as well)
Notification Volume
Thank you.

From searching android forums I see that some people had screen protectors covering the speaker. Could this be your issue?
I also saw reference to the Quick Settings app which has a Voice Call Volume setting. Hopefully you can set that to its highest setting and your calls will at least be set to the loudest setting.

Thanks, Gary. There's no screen protector. I gave forums a search as well before posting only to see some having sound too low and other having it too high... I'll give that app you're mentioning a look and come back. Thank you.

Hey. It's a really useful application, however it does what the side volume keys do. This probably means I must raise the Master level to get better spearker volume, which is something I would have wanted to avoid.

During a call press the volume UP (+) button. You're bound by what levels the manufacturer allows for in the phone & any other law needed to be met within your country.
If you're technically inclined,

Flash your phone with a kernel that
  uses Pershoot audio booster (usually
  OC/UV)

Thanks, Sparx. I had already tried the side volume keys, I'm not that 'amateurish', although the question does look like that at first glance.


text:
What are important things to look for when choosing firmware?
I just got a Pandigital eReader and I'm browsing the firmware options(official and hacks).  What are important things to look for when choosing firmware?  Is there anything important to look for?

Stability
Battery life

You should be able to get an idea from reviews/comments/etc. about how well each ROM performs in those areas.  For an eReader that's really all you need.


text:
How to share internet among 2 android devices?
I have in my possession a G1 and a new Android tablet (the Kmart one, the Gentouch).  The Gentouch uses wifi to access the internet;  the G1 uses a T-Mobile cellular connection.  Ideally, I'd like to somehow cause that G1 to emit a wifi access point, so that whenever the G1 and the Gentouch are in close proximity, the Gentouch can piggyback off the G1's internet connection and reach the internet itself.  Assuming I am willing/able to root both devices if necessary, how would I accomplish such a task?

There are apps on the market that can do this on most rooted phone. Barnacle is pretty popular for this and people seem to like it. Actually the first review for the app is someone doing exactly what you want to do just with an Ipad. Just search for "barnacle wifi hotspot" on the Market, good luck.

"Any" is a little strong ;)

@Matthew Read: That's fair, absolutes are probably not appropriate when it comes to rooting. I'll change it to a more flexible, "most".

@Kyle An upboat for you good sir

Problem:  Android seems to have trouble connecting to Ad-Hoc networks, and the Barnacle supplies.... an ad-hoc network.

All of the wifi enabling apps that circumvent the carriers WAP service use adhoc.

I was able to get it to work by modifying the configuration files for the wifi on the tablet itself.

Nice, good to see you got it working.

Link to the config file needed on the tablet:  http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/4117/how-to-share-internet-among-2-android-devices/4147#4147

For completeness, now I got the tablet to connect to adhoc:
wpa_supplicant.conf edit

ctrl_interface=/data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant
ctrl_interface_group=1010
update_config=1
ap_scan=2

#added ap_scan=2 so it scans all networks including ad-hoc
#this causes priorities to be ignored below.
#it just goes through the networks one by one.
# this can really slow things down.
#I recommend putting a simple file like this with the ad-hoc network at the top
#on your sdcard and then just copy to /data/misc/wifi directory when needed.
#I sure someone could write a script to backup current and swap in adhoc one.

#added my ad-hoc network.
network={
   ssid="YourSSID"
   key_mgmt=NONE
#wep_key0 only needed if you use wep.  "" if ascii / no "" if hex
   wep_key0="1234567890123"
#mode=1 needed to indicate ad-hoc
   mode=1
   priority=25
}

#normal access point network
network={
   ssid="exampleAP"
   key_mgmt=NONE
   auth_alg=OPEN SHARED
   wep_key0=01234567890123456789012345
   priority=8
}

Is this an update to your question or the solution that you've discovered?

It's a solution to make the previous solution work.. not sure what that would fall under. +1 for the details.

It was too long to fit as a comment, so I put it as an answer.

I think its great you added it. I was actually going to ask what changes you made just for future reference.

Originally from user "Junk00" at http://www.slatedroid.com/index.php?topic=3598.15

I ran into the same problem with my archos tab not being able to see an adhoc wireless connection. I was able to effectively connect my unrooted archos (running 2.2) and my rooted droid (also on 2.2) via the bluetooth tether option of the "wireless tether for root" app.  To be clear this allowed me to access the web on my tab through my phones 3g connection. I wasn't able to get it to work when the tab was on 2.1, but I had read about others that had.


text:
Why do some devices ship without the Market installed?
Someone explain to me why some tablet manufacturers use software hubs other than Market.
I bought a Coby Kyros ($160 @ KMart, Puerto Rico) and it brings AppsLib instead, and I immediately noticed that not all apps are there.
I already found steps to root the tablet and install Market, but the question still bugs me.

Google only allows the Market, which is not open-source like the rest of Android, to be bundled with devices that passes their Compatibility Test Suite.  Devices that do not pass are not "officially" Android devices.

Actually, it also seems like they simply don't allow it for devices with only WiFi. I guess one reason could be that they at least used to use the sim card ID to figure out if you lived in a country where the payware part of market should be enabled and a few other things.

"Android 2.3 MAY be used on devices that do not include telephony hardware. That is, Android 2.3 is compatible with devices that are not phones." http://source.android.com/compatibility/android-2.3-cdd.pdf

Yes it may, but as I understand it this was about Market and not about Android. Google, to my knowledge, still don't allow Market on devices lacking telephony hardware. Most of the vendors of such devices have their own Market (or people download the Market apk from elsewhere).

No, all "approved" Android devices can use the Market. The WiFi-only version of the Samsung Galaxy Tab has the Market, for example.

Ok, I read it the other day but it looks like most wifi only Honeycomb tablets include Market so it has either changed or wasn't entirely true.


text:
Show dial/call duration
In Android 2.1 there was the possibility to drag the notifications bar during dialing a number and to be able to see when the phone started ringing (it was starting counting when connecting, then resetting the counter when dialing) and hence be able to "beep" somebody without listening the dialing sound.
In Android 2.2 this function disappeared. Is there a way to bring it back or an app in the market for this?
Thank you!

If i understood you correctly, you want to get notified when a call goes through, not when the other person picks up? You could try Settings -> Call settings -> All calls -> Call status tones -> Call connect tone to get a sound from the speaker when the call connects, so you don't have to hold the phone to your ear. Is this what you were looking for?
Edit: I know, it doesn't answer the title but could help with the problem.

Thank you for your answer, but I don't seem to find the menus from "All Calls" forward...I have HTC Legend. And, basically, I would prefer a visual feedback, not an audio one. I would like to be able to beep someone in "complete silence". But anyway, what happenned to the countdown which was present in Android 2.1? It was very useful.

Could be that the function is customized to my Samsung Galaxy S. Sorry I couldn't help, I've never paid attention to the counter.

@linkyndy There's an app called Spare Parts that might allow you to change the setting onik suggests.

OK, thank you for your suggestions. I will try. Is there any other more "official" way to achieve this?


text:
"Cannot download, not enough space" when "Phone Storage" clearly lists enough space
I just installed Android 2.1 on my Pandigital Novel.  Anytime I try to download an app (via WiFi), I get this error:

Unable to download.  Not enough space on phone.

However, the phone lists the free space as being 125.57MB, about 25 times the size of the file I wanted to install.
I took the APKs I was trying to download and put them on my SD card.  I was able to install them to the device from there proving it does indeed have space.
What should I do?

It's listing internal storage as 125mb free, right?  Not the SD card?

@Bryan: Correct.  It lists the SD card(correctly) as having 8Gb.

hmmm....  I'm not familiar with your device.  It's a eReader/tablet sort of like a Nook Color?  Are you installing apps via Android Market or some other market?  Or via ADB?  The only other thing I can think of to suggest is to run a logging app (or use DDMS with the Android SDK to get a log) and see if it is saying anything else in the logs while installing.

@Bryan: It started life as an eReader.  http://www.pandigital.net/pandigitalnovel - I have the white one.  Then I put other firmware on it: http://www.slatedroid.com/index.php?topic=5098.0 - The very last link in the first post of that(linked) thread.  I am downloading APKs from market websites but not using an app.  I could not get ADB to detect my device.  I will look at LogCat.

Its a lot of stuff that doesn't work if it is not enough free Internal Storage - like receiving tiny SMS.  You could try a one time clean with MemoryCleaner.

This doesn't answer why it doesn't work, but...
As a workaround, if you have an SD card, you can insert it and it will automatically download to the card instead.

that doesn't work.

Another workaround that worked for me in a similar case was to restart my device.
I guess that the application is trying to find a continuous free space of about 5MB and memory is not fragmented efficiently (there are many chunks of 4MB or less). Somehow memory is rearranged after restart but maybe the explanation is different.

I doubt fragmentation is an issue here. It's rather that due to the restart some temp stuff might have been cleared up (e.g. something left in /data/local), and thus some space was freed up. But apart from that: yes, a restart can do that, sometimes :)

Note: the following seems to work only on Samsung devices
Enter the number *#9900# in the dialer (no need to press the Call button) and the SysDump menu will appear, there select the second item (Delete dumpstate/logcat). This will delete some "hidden" system log files you didn't know exists and don't need. They can be up to a gigabyte big and cause mysterious "Cannot download, not enough space" and similar "no space" messages, when the system info otherwise claims there is plenty of space free.
Some suggest a restart after the deleting.

Incorrect code :(

Maybe it works only on Samsung devices?

Unfortunately, the device in this instance does not have any phone functionality.  Can you elaborate on other ways to find these hidden files?

According to this forum message (german), you can try to open the recovery menu and select the "wipe/clean cache" item there to get the same effect. The recovery menu is opened by turning the device off, the turning it on while holding some buttons. Which buttons depends on the device - google it. Also try to find more information about the wipe/clean cache operation, I never used it.

This is a very annoying problem I have also encountered many times.
For some reason, it thinks you don't have enough space even when you clearly do.
Sometimes it can refuse a <1MB app when you have about 100MB free. Or it can allow a <100MB app when you have roughly 300MB free.
I don't think there is a real 'fix' to this.
Freeing up even more space should solve the problem.
You can just uninstall a bunch of apps and see if it works again.
Or you can clean your caches and other files you don't need (like the log mentioned by David Balažic) with an app like SD Maid, 1Tap Cleaner, or whatever app you use.
Cleaning caches/tombstones/logs can easily free up a lot of space for you to install whatever app you like.
The problem will return though once you run out of space again.
The (arguably) best solution would be to have fewer apps installed (I don't like this but it's what works best for me) or buy an SD card and install apps on the SD card (with the help of an app like AppMgr III or similar).
For those with a Samsung device that splits memory in SD card and USB storage, you'll have to find a different way to actually put the apps on the external SD card instead of USB Storage. I believe I read somewhere it is possible by factory resetting the phone and then choosing to install apps on SD or something like that, but I am yet to try that.

I'm experiencing this problem too, and my experience revealed that it's only the latest version of the app store causing the problem.
So every time I want to install or update apps, I first revert the Play Store to the stock version.
I go to the app drawer, long click the Play Store icon and drag it to "App Info" to open its settings (you can reach there via Settings->Apps->Google Play Store), the press "Uninstall updates".
It will install updates in the following short period, until the Play Store app is upgraded again.
Please comment on if there is a way to prevent the Play Store from updating itself automatically (auto-update apps is set to false).
Hope this helps.

Unfortunately,  this can be the bane of many, many devices. Android needs a bit of storage left over, and won't let Google Play fill it up - god knows why, since other stuff can - and that's it.
You are not out of options, luckily. If you rooted the dang thing, you could buy a very large SD and modify the vold file to think it was internal storage.

I encountered this often before even if internal SD's free space was 2+ Gigs.
I tried this. On the terminal, type these lines:
su
ps set install location 1
pm get-install-location

Now, after two months and dozens of additional apps installed, the "not enough space" annoyance has not bothered me.
Hope this helps.

In my experience, I think Play Store won't let you install apps when you are running low on storage.
For example, it won't let you install even an app of about 2MB when the storage is just 90MB. This is possibly for performance issues. No one wants to install a 2 MB app that would load extra MB of data, leading to memory issues.
What I usually do is to back up large apps (even with app data), uninstall the backed-up app, and reinstall after installing the desired app. Another workaround is to get the APK from a trusted source.


text:
News and weather app/widget crashes on startup
Over the past couple of days, the news and weather app won't start for me.  I get an error message and I'm asked to force close or report the issue whenever I try to add the widget to a home screen or launch the app from the app tray.  Does anyone know what's causing the issue, and if so, how can I fix it?

Have you updated it to the latest version?

what is the latest version. I searched the store, but could not find it on there. my stock G2 has "Version 1.2.02-RC2(PROD)"

Try clearing the cache and/or clearing app data.

Thanks, worked like a charm.  I guess it just got in a weird states during my vacation travels.

There's always a few things that I try with a truculent app: http://meta.android.stackexchange.com/questions/91/app-x-isnt-working-correctly-how-can-i-fix-it


text:
Can I import contacts from vcf and NOT sync to Google?
I bought the Nexus S with Android 2.3 and am in the process of migrating my contacts from the Apple Address book. I was able to create and import a vcf file containing all the contacts into Android.
But when I look in the contacts of the phone, I get the message" You don't have any contacts to display". But when I search for a contact, they are found. What's going on?
Can I have my contacts locally on the phone without having them sync with Google first before being accessible?

To import a vcf: Copy the vcf to your phone, then Contacts > Import/Export
To view hidden contacts: Contacts > More > Display options, you have the option of displaying "Only contacts with phones" and under "Choose contacts to display" you can choose to view or hide contacts based on their source. Perhaps your contacts are hidden because they are stored in your phone, but you don't check "Phone" under "Choose contacts to display"
Disclaimer: I use Froyo (2.2) so the menu name might be different.

Thanks for the tip. Found the option Contacts > More > Display Options. Expanding the google account reveals: 'System Group:My Contacts' and 'All Other Contacts'. Checking both options displays the contacts that are stored on the phone.

I had some problems with built in sync so I looked for a more sophisticated solution. After I tested some apps I choose a Android app called ContactSync (the dev provided me a free test license for the app so +1 for free testing) and the name tells it all. It can sync, import and export contacts on various ways like CardDAV or FTP or just local .vcf files.
Works well here and provides some nice features. The dev has a homepage here -> http://ntbab.dyndns.org/apache2-default/seite/contactsync.html

I use b-card.us to import my contacts. it support iOS as well.
Only register, insert data and scan Barcode. You don't need to install an app and its free.

Can you provide a link to the app/website or anything of that sort? That would make this answer much more useful to others.


text:
How can I prevent my device from automatically converting SMS to MMS?
The Galaxy S I9000 messaging app automatically converts long SMS messages to MMS. How can I disable this?

You can't do so with your samsung official messaging application, all of what you can get is a pop notification that you are now in the MMS zone (Converting to multimedia message...).
I would recommend Handcent SMS application, available at the market, and has an option for not converting texts (SMS) into MMS

This answer should be updated: It is possible to prevent this with the offical messaging application. See these two answers. It seems that either restricted or free will work. See this question for an explanation of the creation mode setting.

@Flow : no… Even with the restricted setting, the default messaging would convert to a ᴍᴍꜱ instead of splitting into several ꜱᴍꜱ like a old Nokia would do… Many operators offers unlimited ꜱᴍꜱ for free but have data plan limits for ᴍᴍꜱ.

You need to change the Creation Mode in the messaging app's settings to "Restricted". I tried it on my Galaxy S II and it worked.

In Android 5.1.1 (Lollipop) the option for me (to set to Restricted) was "Multimedia Messages" > "Set restrictions"

In German Nougat, i find Nachrichteneinstellungen->Weitere EInstellungen->MMS->Beschränkungen festlegen=Eingeschränkt, but it still converts to MMS

Update: 1-3 SMS, if bigger->MMS

I have found this feature request with a long discussion in Android issue tracker.
From what I understand this issue was fixed long ago in stock Android starting from Froyo (2.2). But manufacturers don't tend to include this fix in their devices because it will prevent them to make money. Here is one of the relevant comments from the issue:

http://dailymobile.se/2012/02/10/the-top-5-android-anti-features/
  interesting article that features this problem.
Listen, this ISN'T a bug in Android. Google fixed this years ago,
  manufacturers/networks don't want to include it, don't you get it? As
  the article I included above says, who benefits converting your FREE
  SMS to a PAID MMS? Not Google, the networks and manufacturers. They
  don't want to include it, it makes them money not too. So you're left
  with two options if you want to avoid it, root your phone or install
  an app like BigSMS.

The author of the comment recommends BigSMS as an alternative to preinstalled SMS application, but I installed Android Messages by Google and it solved the issue: my long SMS was split on 4 parts and sent without converting to MMS. See also this relevant question: "Converting to multimedia message" when forwarding large SMS.

You need to open the text application, then menu then settings. In settings click creation mode and then change to "free". Your problems are now over.

This was the default for me and didn't work.  Changing to Restricted as Amit suggested did work, however.


text:
How can I enable haptic feedback on my keypad?
How can I enable haptic feedback on my keypad? By keypad I mean the dial pad thing where you input numbers. I can find an option to turn sound on or off for it but not haptic feedback.
I have the xperia x8 by the way.

It seems somewhat buried, but on my HTC Droid Incredible I navigate to Settings > Language & Keyboard > Touch Input > Text Input. Under Other Settings I can set "Vibrate when typing."

I think Gary's answer is correct for the ordinary keyboard, but on my phone, other haptic feedback is controlled by another setting, equally hidden away at:
Settings > Sound > Vibrate feedback (right at the bottom)
For me (HTC Desire HD), this enables haptic feedback on the dialler keypad, as well as on the touch-sensitive home, menu, back and search buttons.