text:
Auto-rotate only for YouTube app, disabled otherwise
I find auto-rotate really annoying so I generally have it turned off.
Unfortunately, when I'm playing a YouTube video, it's equally annoying when I try to tilt the screen and then remember I have it turned off  :)
I would like a way to have auto-rotate working as usual when a YouTube video is playing, otherwise disabled.
Is that possible? I would like it all handled automatically, I'm not really interested in apps or widgets where I have to toggle a setting manually.
P.S. My phone is a Galaxy Nexus.

I don't know what ROM you're using but YouTube actually ignores my auto-rotate setting regardless of it being on or off. YouTube still goes to landscape mode when I tilt my phone whilst watching a video even if I have auto-rotate set to off.

There isn't a system setting, so the app Smart Rotator is probably the closest thing you can get, but yes, in the beginning, you have to set everything up yourself.

This looks promising, I'll give it a shot...

The link doesn't work anymore, but there is another amazing app that does this. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.snowlife01.android.rotationcontrol

Alternatively, my default recommendation for cases like this: Tasker. Use a profile like this (abstract):
Condition: App (select "Youtube", and optionally other apps you would like to have autorotate turned on)
Task: Display->Display Rotation: Set On
This way, whenever one of the selected apps runs in foreground, autorotate is turned on -- and as soon as that condition is no longer met, autorotate is turned to whatever it was set to before. To make sure to have it turned off afterwards, you can add a so called "exit task":
Exit: Display->Display Rotation: Set Off
Hm, looks like currently I answer every 2nd question with "Tasker"...

Tasker is certainly a Swiss Army knife. It's well worth using.

You don't actually need the exit action, as Tasker restores settings (like display rotation) when the condition stops being true. Every once and a while it gets left on (e.g., if the phone dies with YouTube open), you can fix that with a task to disable on screen on.

Yup, derobert's comment is correct. I just tried it before reading this answer, and I didn't have to add exit task to toggle the auto-rotation back.

@AndrewT. not necessarily, no. By default, Tasker automatically reverts to the previous state. So without the Exit-Task, if auto-rotation already was on, it would not be turned off afterwards. If that's what you want, ommit the Exit-Task. If you however definitely want it turned-off afterwards, no matter what: then you will need the Exit-Task.


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Yakjuxw to Yakju/Takju, will it corrupt or destroy my Galaxy Nexus yakjuxw?
My galaxy nexus is of yakjuxw variant. Will it not destroy my phone if I change it to takju or yakju version? I'm just aware that doing so will delete user files/settings.

I did not have any issue making a similar change myself, using the guides online that walk you through switching your Samsung or Telco branded Galaxy Nexus (on the Samsung upgrade track) to a Google branded one on the much faster Google upgrade track.
Don't skip any steps, and be sure to back everything up, and be aware that you are probably voiding your warranty. I linked to a 4.1.1 upgrade guide; I am sure there are newer ones out, though most of the guide will be identical.

I noticed that the guide is for upgrading to an unofficial version, a guide for the official update can be found in my answer to this question. I used this guide and upgrades up to 4.2 worked over the air with no problems.

thanks. my phone is locked to a network and im on postpaid plan. Is the guide still applicable to upgrade my Yakjuxw to Yakju or Takju? Or is it should be Yakjuxw AND an Unlocked Galaxy nexus?

Other than possibly voiding your warranty, I am not aware of any reason you could not upgrade your phone @peterdums. I could, of course, be wrong. Notably if the carrier has some required pre-installed app to use the service.

I can confirm that you will have no problems if you follow the steps. I upgraded yakju .
Also this did not void my warranty. I had the motherboard replaced sometime after upgrade.

thanks! Is the replacement of your motherboard has nothing to do that your phone was upgraded to yakju?

i don't think so, because i'm using yakju ever since. with no issues.
Now i'm running 4.2. with OTA from google

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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Accessing Port 8888 in Android Web Browser
I'm developing a mobile site which runs on port 8888. I want to see how it looks on my Android phone. How can I use my phone's web browser to view pages on port 8888?

You should just be able to add the port to the end of the domain as you would with a desktop browser, e.g. http://mysite.com:8888. Chrome and the built-in Browser app definitely support this as I use them in this fashion on a daily basis; I'd imagine other browsers would as well since the syntax is defined in the RFC specification.

thanks. I just found out that the problem is on webserver.

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


text:
What are my options for connecting my Android to Ubuntu?
I have a Samsung Galaxy S2 running rooted Jelly Bean 4.1.2. My computer is running Ubuntu 12.10.
Before, in Android 4.0, I simply plugged the USB in, and a notification would pop up, and I was offered a button to Turn on USB storage, and then my 12GB internal SD card and 16GB external SD card were both mounted as external drives. Nice and easy.
Now, to get the same thing, to connect my Android as a mass storage device, before I connect the USB cable, I have to go to Settings -> More Settings -> USB utilities and press Connect storage to PC, then plug in the cable, then press Turn on USB storage. It's a hassle and a half.
If I don't do it this way, when I connect the USB, it tries to connect with MTP. Which causes this error:
Unable to mount SAMSUNG_Android
Error initializing camera: -60: Could not lock the device

If I switch the connection mode to PTP, I get two devices, both called SAMSUNG_Android, only one of which (12GB internal) actually ever displays the contents. The other hangs.
In either case, MTP or PTP, if I have Banshee running when I connect my Android, it causes Banshee to crash. I use Banshee to sync my music collection.
The short story being that currently, connecting my Android to my computer is either complicated or doesn't work very well.
I've been told that USB mass storage is being deprecated, and MTP is the standard going forward. At the end of the day, I don't care if it's MTP, PTP, or mass storage that's used to connect my device. All I care is that it's as easy as it used to be. Plug it in, press a button, both drives are mounted and usable like any other drive.
How do I get this ease of function when connecting my Android to my USB.

As for MTP, you will need some special packages on your Ubuntu workstation (suggest to go AskUbuntu for that part). To switch USB mode automatically, you might want to take a look at Tasker (7 day trial on homepage) plus SecureSettings. Not sure if that specific setting is available, which is why I post this as comment ;)

@Izzy: Thank you for the suggestion. However, it seems that Tasker and SecureSettings have USB tether options, but no USB connection options.

That's a pity! I didn't see them mentioned explicitly (so I was already afraid of that), but thought there might be hope... As there are plenty of Tasker/Locale addons around: Maybe there's another one that can do? There's a list of apps supporting Tasker (plus other material on this) at this AndroidPIT thread (German), to make it easier to isolate/find them on the playstore...

Asked about this on AskUbuntu as well.

Make sure to let us know when you've found an answer, Dave! I just got an Ace 2 last week, and now I'm sitting with the very same problem: It always connects via MTP as soon as the cable is put in. To make it using UMS, I have to go to settings->wireless & networks->usb, select UMS, and then plug in the cable. Each time! No way to make it default... :(

A developer on the XDA forums provided a script that changes the default behaviour so that connecting by USB mass storage is the default behaviour:
#!/system/bin/sh
setprop persist.sys.usb.config mass_storage,adb

I had to use a file manager app that gave me access to the root directory, I placed the script in /system/etc/init.d/, changed the script's permissions to rwxr-xr-x, and then rebooted the phone.
Now I have the full functionality and ease of use I hoped for. I'll probably eventually have to use to something like MTP or whatever, but hopefully in the meantime while proper support is developed by all relevant parties, I won't have to suffer.

New to android - do I have to root the device prior to editing a file in /system..  Shady isn't seeing the root file system.

With the problems I had with different devices and versions of Android, I found that the most effective and the easiest way to access files on my device is to use AirDroid. Although this will not mount the Android device as a file system, but will allow an easy file transfer. All you need is a wireless connection of your phone to your local network. Once AirDroid is started, you get a web interface that you can access from your desktop computer's browser, using the port 8888. AirDroid is a free application on the Play Store and received great scores so far from everyone.

By the way: Your device does not need to be rooted, as far as I know.

Thanks for this tip, but if I connect by Airdroid, can I also sync my music files in Banshee? I'm looking to have all the functionality I had with USB mass storage previous to upgrading to 4.1.2.

AirDroid is a web-based management system for Android devices. There is no sync function as per se, but you certainly can transfer files as you see fit. And if your device is rooted, you have access to all directories and files.

For users who were out of luck with mtpfs, jmtpfs, go-mtpfs or any other libraries which depend on libmtp; try android-file-transfer.
It does not depend on libmtp and thus free from inherent bugs, is the most up-to-date mtp library I have seen on github (as of May 2018), and also can be used with FUSE, although I personally recommend to use its own Qt based GUI to avoid possible FUSE back-front interaction bugs.
Just make sure you DO NOT open your MTP device using any default mechanisms provided by your linux distro, e.g. clicking on Open when the device-connected notification pops up!
github: https://github.com/whoozle/android-file-transfer-linux
PPA: https://launchpad.net/~samoilov-lex/+archive/ubuntu/aftl-stable
Read about MTP on linux: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/MTP
P.S.: I'm only a user of the this application.

As you post the literal same answer not only to multiple questions, but also on other SE sites: What is your association with the application? Note that you must disclose your association, if any.

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


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Tablet PC with IMEI invalidity issue
I recently bought a tablet PC, from a Chinese manufacturer.
Its IMEI is 315589840117903. It's showing invalid in India. Please check with this link:
IMEI Validation Check
How I can solve this problem? I am unable to connect to internet and unable to make any calls.

Check if the IMEI is the same as marked on the tablet(near the battery maybe?

The check digit of the IMEI is invalid, and usually the IMEI cannot be changed, or in come countries it can even be illegal.
For more information, see how the IMEI is formed and the check digit is calculated here, or see a related question here.
There are ways to recover an IMEI on Android devices, but for this you'd need a backup of some files from when the IMEI wasn't invalid.


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Why LG GT540 after boot it disconnects with ADB
Why when my phone LG GT540 is running and seen by ADB after bootup it disconnects (not from PC just from ADB, as PC still can see it it Device Manager) after few seconds after bootup sequence?
The problem is occuring only with GT540, tested other device - HTC - works fine.
The key could be USB drivers, but tried many of them official and handmade.
Also I've tried running phone in "Recovery" or "Safe" Mode - when LG firmware updated my phone via USB with no major problems with connection, hovewer I cant use ADB over this "Safe" mode, can't I?

Have you enabled USB Debugging in the Settings?

Yes, of course.

What device is it detected as after boot? Mass storage? Generic device? Which Windows version?

WIndows 7 64b, http://i47.tinypic.com/1hufy1.gif (tis undetected device is probably a SD Card)

Some people have had their device turn on the mass storage mode by itself.
Verify that you haven't enabled Mass storage only mode in Settings -> SD Card & storage -> Mass storage only, then reconnect & restart adb daemon.

Why to restart adb deamon?

To verify it's listening actively on the port.

It wont help...

Actually after reboot of PC it worked! Thanx!


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Access PC drives
Is there a way to access a PC's drives from a Galaxy Note (4.0.4) through the USB port at the initiative of the phone itself.
Ideally I would write an Android application which would - permissions permitting - access the PC's resources (SMB client for instance).

USB mass storage is off limits, the PC acts as the USB host always. What might be working: Use the USB for a networking connection and use a network FS on top ot it. Probably off limits on stock devices too.

Only by SMB (windows file sharing), another file sharing (eg you can make on PC FTP server, etc), USB connection is always client-server and PC is server.
Unlimited access is possible only theoreticaly, if you manualy boot special OS on PC (any, what will not use disks to run) and emulate android accessory protocol on PC (no software available - need to create), what will handle your applications on phone and PC... Fantastic scenario.


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Is it possible to remove an account from the Gmail app but keep the account on the phone?
I have multiple Google accounts, synced to the phone.
For one of them I don't use GMail and have turned off syncing of mail. However the account still appears in the GMail app.
This means sometimes I accidentally send email from that account without realising.
Is it possible to remove an account from the GMail app whilst keeping the account on the phone?

Don't use official Gmail app. Use other email apps.

Official gmail app uses accounts, provided by Android, so it's impossible. Only if you will use some patched version, what will use private accounts, it possible.

anyone has a patched version to link?


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DroidWall (firewall app) alternative for non-rooted phones
Are there any applications that can restrict specific applications from accessing data/internet for non-rooted ICS phones? DroidWall - Android Firewall provides this functionality but it requires Root access.

That's only allowed for root apps. Droidwall is an iptables frontend (which configures the kernel's netfilter subsystem to act as a firewall). An app needs root privileges to do that. Obviously it would else be very easy to switch the firewall off again.

Are the answers below still correct, or have things changed since this question was written?

Mobiwol is an Android firewall application that does not require root. They somehow use the VPN interface for firewalling (without actually connecting you to a VPN server).

We've used technology available to us from within the VPN packaging
  module offered by Android to be able to gain visibility to your
  applications' network activities

I tried it and it works fine for ICS.
Should be compatible with any device running Android 3.2 or later

The other answers are correct in that setting firewall rules requires root. And if you have root, you could simply deny internet permissions for a specific app without even needing a firewall (Permissions Denied or built-in with a CyanogenMod rom).
However, there is something you can do to partially circumvent the problem. Using Set DNS, you can change your DNS provider for wifi. Set it to something like Open DNS. From there, you can set up rules in DNS to block certain domains. Thus, when on wifi, you could block apps from making requests to a specific domain.
Unfortunately, you can't do this your your cellular connection; In fact, most cell providers override any DNS requests and use their own server no matter what.
If you set up a VPN, you could do the same thing over your cellular connection, but if you have a VPN set up, you could use that server to set up firewall rules anyway.

I would like to create white list for network, How it would be possible by using Set DNS I have rooted emulator.

NoRoot Firewall works as the name suggests. I used it to keep my phone from downloading things by itself. I couldn’t make it persistent on that phone though, so it wouldn’t restart automatically. But while it’s running, it blocks unwanted apps just fine.

I highly agree with No Root Firewall, If you are familiar with using DroidWall's interface No Root Firewall is like the old editions of DroidWall before the category selection stuff, It sometimes freezes and causes temporary security breaks, so it's not exactly full-proof but it works 95% of the time.

Restricting internet access of specific apps isn't possible on a non-rooted device. So, an app doesn't exist.

While I share your opinion: Any idea how Onavo does that? It claims to be able to Restrict specific apps to Wi-Fi (among others). And I read nothing about "root" there -- neither in the app desc nor in the comments.

it's simply not possible for system user to prevent another process from accessing network, it can only be done by root, therefor root is required to do firewall changes to your system.

What about the noroot Firewall? https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.greyshirts.firewall Apparently it uses VPN to be able to block packages. Does it work?

A great firewall app alternative for non-rooted is NetGuard, it's open-source and well maintained and has been around for a while, I use it as well
you can find it on the android Playstore here


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How Can I Pass Bootloader (Huawei Y200 stuck logo/ Boot-Loop)
I have recently learnt a few things about Android and its system. I have a Huawei Ascend Y200, and I flashed it with ClockworkMod specifically for Y200 with a computer and it worked.
I rooted my phone by flashing it and was able to install Superuser.
When checking for swap partition I found out that my ROM doesn't support it. I got ROM Manager it prompted me with a message:

ClockworkMod must be installed, do you want to insall it?

and I mistakenly tapped Yes .
Now I can't get past the bootloader (Huawei logo) - it freezes there.
I tried to reboot into recovery mode by removing the battery and pressing the UP + Power Buttons. I tried reflashing the first ClockworkMod. I was able to see the device on adb lists. I also tried factory reset.
None of this has helped. I still couldn't get my phone to pass the logo (before reflashing)
Further info:

I had access to the device's adb somehow. I reflashed it and now I can only see the adb device when in recovery mode and is stated "recovery" beside the device number and can't reflash, or access adb anymore (cmd promt says waiting for device forever).
Now that I don't have access to the adb device in bootloader (stuck) image, I can't do anything like reflashing ClockworkMod. Every time I plug it in the cmd prompt says device not found. When the phone is in recovery mode, the process in cmd prompt gets stuck at waiting for device, because now it shows as "recovery" beside the device number in the list, so as the device isn't responding to the process and won't restart as before.
Whenever the phone is off, if I plug the USB cable into the phone (with other end connected to PC) it does not charge, and goes directly into recovery mode. I don't see the charging indicator small lamp on.
I can press both UP and Down buttons + Power and I get a pink screen. I haven't really got much info about it.

Some, on the internet, say it's a never ending bootloop. And I've heard I can flash it to skip the bootloader screen and go into fastboot, but couldn't find proper instructions and won't be able to flash it anyway (can't see the device anymore unless in recovery mode but device will respond to any process).
I really need help; how can I pass the boot-loader again?
PS: Now, I've learnt that my phone is in boot-loop and needs to be flashed into a new ROM, or maybe get past the boot-loader also by Flashing.

I had the same problem with my y200.

Go to huaweidevice.com and download the firmware.
Extract the folder downloaded and copy it to the SD card.
Insert the sd card into the phone.
Press vol up & down key at the same time + power button, then a message installing package comes up.
Then wait until the phone reboots.

That's how its done

If you can get into the bootloader, you can issue a fastboot -w command which will erase all data - this normally solved boot loops.
If not, you should be able to install a new ROM using the same bootloader (fastboot), you just need the system.img file (make sure you issue a fastboot -w command before you flash, however).
I believe that this pink screen you talk of could be the fastboot/bootloader mode you need to issue the above commands - you just need the fastboot.exe file, as well as the .dll files that come with adb.exe.

Yes, I can only reach the first bootloader as there are two, and freeze there. if i connect the phone through usb to the computer (when in frozen bootloader), it won't list the device's adb, and if i ran a batch file to flash it it will say "waiting for device" where the phone is not responding.
Now I tried the command " fastboot -w " and it wouldn't do anything as it says " waiting for device " ...

Did you try putting it to the pink screen and using fastboot?

you mean the "fastboot" command??.. Trying now, But as i did now, it installed different drivers. and now I tryed it without checking any devices attached, Nothing happenned it also says "waiting for device".. the device wasn't even attached under adb list.. so it was only prompting it and pending till there's a device responding.. this is the pink screen mode. The other modes does the same now, I can't even see the device's adb even in Recovery mode...

ok there has been a misunderstanding... I now understand clearly how to use fastboot and its a "mode" :) ok, and i can now use fastboot commands, i did clear cache with the command "fastboot -w", but phone still boot loops.. is there anything to do after that? and when i tried to flash a system.img it said "failed (remote: data too large).. so please please just one more step ahead :p inform me with any usefull commands or other than that is there a way to flash it when its too large?


text:
How to enable the DayDream feature in the Nexus10?
I know that in Android JellyBean 4.2 there's a new feature called DayDream. I want to access it in my Nexus10 but don't know how.
How can I enable and use it?

Here's what i need to do:
1st Step: Launch the Settings app, scroll to the bottom, and tap About Phone.
2nd Step:  In the middle of the screen is the listing for Android Version. Tap this item until you see a jelly bean appear on your screen. You can then tap and hold the giant jelly bean until your device vibrates. You should then see interactive beans floating all over your screen. And yes, you can fling them. Go ahead, try it.
3rd Step : After doing, this the BeanFlinger Daydream will be unlocked. You can find the Daydream option by going to Settings > Display > Daydream.
Hope it Will Help to all of the  Users Facing this Same kind of Problem.

For me this only unlocked the BeanFlinger daydream, not the daydream menu itself. Is this really necessary on the Nexus 10?

@onik You're right: this process is not necessary to turn on daydreams, only to unlock the 'hidden' daydream.

Go to Settings -> Display -> Daydream and select your desired daydream. After this, tap When to daydream and select when you want it to work.
Now, when you charge/dock the device, leave the screen on and after a while, the daydream will start. For me, this required me not to lock the screen manually by pressing the power button, and disabling Stay awake from Developer options.

Thnks for your Support. but i am not getting the option Daydream inside  Settings -> Display.

Many Many Thnks to you. but i found my Solution on myself.

Tap Android version from Settings -> About Phone for the few times until big Jelly Bean appears. Then touch and hold this big Jelly Bean. Now, you can see several small Jelly Beans moving on the screen. Finally, you can see BeanFinger option on Settings -> Display -> Daydream.

thnks for your support. but i just found my solution same as you have said.


text:
play.google.com and Google Play app out of sync
Having become fed up with a custom ROM i was using, I reverted back to a previous ROM via a nandroid backup (through CWM Touch).
It would appear that the backup preserved all my installed apps and data (Was under the impression they didn't, so this surprised me somewhat), but since then the 'My Apps' listing on the google play website has been out of sync with what is actually on my phone. I also seem unable to request (un)installation through the web interface.
Help would be muchly appreciated.

Did you check that your Google Account is still linked in Settings > Accounts and Sync?

Yep, i I tried removing the account,  then adding it back through the play store, to no avail.

It may be the link to the Play store was lost. I think if you install an app from, say, the amazon app store, Google Play will not be able to update or uninstall it, as the link is gone. Similarly, restoring an app from a previous rom backup may not create that link.
Titanium Backup can recreate the links (the free version can can't do this). Or you could uninstall the app and try installing it fresh from Google Play.

Where would I find the option? All the references to relinking apps on the android market/google play that i've managed to find required the donate/pro edition.
(I'm probably looking in the wrong place)

Not to worry. Ended up buying a TiBu PRO key anyway. Market Doctor fixe it up perfectly, thanks.

Sorry, it looks like you're right. The re-linking requires the Pro version. I was looking in the summary of the app and it implies it is in the free version as well. Glad you got your problem fixed!


text:
Is it possible to detect a keyboard paddle press plugged in the headphone/microphone port?
I know that some devices headphone ports (maybe all of them? any reference here would be good) have 3 channels, for stereo sound and microphone. So I was wondering if it's possible to detect something like this pedal on these devices.
If it's possible, using the audio recorder would be enough? I'm studying possibilities for an app here, and this sounds promising if possible.

For close voters: While the OP's motivation is for app development, the answer to this question could be of use to general Android users considering certain peripherals.

Well, if this is in the wrong forum I have a totally wrong idea what this is for. I assumed this was better here than in stackoverflow.

Check the [FAQ]. Android development questions are off-topic here; they belong on [so]. However, as I've said, I don't think this question is necessarily off-topic.

Sure you can, there's a product that uses the audio port as an extra button, check this:
http://gizmodo.com/add-a-button-to-any-android-phone-with-this-genius-head-1221431712
Maybe this is more like a comment than an answer, but actually i can't add comments untill i reach 50 points.
By the way, as microphone it's an analog input for the android, you can set a trigger point on certain value to detect an (On/Off) state, for example:
If microphone values are in a range from 0 to 1024, you can set that if input it's less than 100 consider it as Pedal Pressed, if it's greater than this, pedal it's not pressed.
You just need to read microphone input and convert it to it's analog values instead of treating it as audio.

I think you've done exactly the right thing posting this as an answer. Answers are for giving information; comments are for asking for more information.

I've never tried but I strongly doubt it, for reasons that are nothing to do with Android itself. Each manufacturer has their own variant of the headset connector on their phones, but they're all compatible with standard stereo headphones. This implies that the tip and the first ring are outputs (the left and right channel), not inputs.
In contrast, digital keyboard pedals like the one you linked to tend to be wired like microphones, with the output (from the pedal's point of view) on one or more of the connections where the phone is expecting its output to be.
For this reason I doubt you'll be able to do something like this on any kind of phone without some custom hardware. That said, you do get USB foot-pedals for typing (you can configure them as an extra shift key or similar), so one of those might satisfy your need.


text:
Android clearing recent applications list
After exiting the applications on my Galaxy nexus, they appear on the recent applications list. Do they still use CPU/battery? Do I have to remove them from recent applications list in order to save battery?

The recent applications list show only what applications have been recently used, it doesn't check whether they're still running or using memory/CPU. Therefore, this list doesn't affect battery use one way or the other.
Instead, you might want to check Settings -> Apps -> [swipe to the right] to show running applications, processes and services. Here you can see the apps that are using your device and consuming battery, and kill unnecessary processes by tapping the app and then Stop.

What's about cached processes? Do they still use CPU/memory? Should I end them as well?

Android does a really good job at managing its own memory; there's generally no reason for you to micromanage it. It's only in cases of a poorly-designed app or a stuck process that you even want to bother.


text:
Sync problem with Google account
I erased all my contacts in my Samsung S i9000 to import all of them from Google.
Sync has downloaded only around a half of 4500 contacts. Over and over syncing to get the rest of them I get an error 'Sync is currently experiencing problems...'. Sync Gmail and Sync Calendar work well.

After some troubled tries I could save (not sync) all my contacts.
First try was to remove all contacts again and sync with Mac address book (which is also synced with Google) using Kies (Samsung); it always crashed when around 80% sync task was performed. Then I remove all contacts again, created a vcf file containing all Address Book data, copied it to the phone and finally imported data from file.
Just to check sync with Google I added a test contact to Address Book, synced to google and then synced from the phone. The contact was added despite 'Sync is currently experiencing problems...' was displayed again.


text:
How to change privacy level of a Facebook post?
I'm using the official Facebook app and I've used it to update my status. Inadvertently, I made this status update public. Is there any way within the app, or the Facebook mobile website to change the permissions of a post to friends-only or a specific friends list?
The only way I can find of doing it is to either use the full FB website, or use Friendcaster instead. (Since some of my friends have set their accounts to not allow access from third party apps, I've switched back to the official app from Friendcaster).

Right swipe on post to delete it and re-post with new privacy setting...

@SachinShekhar Thanks, that would work if some people hadn't already commented on my post - I don't want to lose their comments. But I wasn't aware of the right-swipe to delete so thanks for that tip!

I'm afraid that the native Facebook app is very limited in functionality. While it has improved (quite a bit) from its initial launch, there are still a lot of things you can't do in the app.
You may be able to do what you need from the mobile-optimized website (http://m.facebook.com) but most likely you're going to need to hop over to your desktop and use the full website in your desktop browser.


text:
Unable to download/ install font apk
I made a font, but I didn't build it, instead I used this website to do it. The apk install seemed fine. I wanted to try it out on SG2, so I sent it to my Gmail account in an email, I tried to download it and the file install couldn't go through because of the parse error pop up. If its an apk file, why isn't this working? Is there something wrong with the font? (Lookout scanned and said it was a safe apk).
I even put it on my 4shared account and tried to download it that way, still get parse error. Did Gmail corrupt it perhaps?

The web app hasn't built a correct APK.
To install a font, you don't need font-to-apk converters. Just put ttf file on sdcard and use a Font Installer from Play Store. For this, rooted device is required. If you aren't rooted, font-to-apk converters are useless.

I don't know how to even begin to root my device. But thank you so much anyways.


text:
contacts, backup, sync issues
Houston We Have A Problem!!
I did something which I slightly regret now.. I updated my Samsung Galaxy S2 ( I already rooted it, hard reset, all works fine on the previous 2.24) it was only recently I decided to update to 4.0.4 that seems to work fine, though all my installed apps seems to have been wiped, the directories seem to be still on the phone.
Now I know I SHOULD have synced everything, but I had copied and pasted the whole phone on to Windows, I can not seem to find contacts.db and all my contacts seems to have been wiped off, again all the files seem to be on the phone aside from all my installed apps, games, etc..
I really do need help in getting my contacts to be found on my backed up folder on Windows to be put back into my android phone and I need this rectified as soon as possible, if anyone can kindly help, due to business, university and many other things with a lot of contacts that I need restored. I eagerly look forward to someones help!!

Did you copy /data partition of your device? It had everything you need now.

First thing: Why did you not have your contacts synced to your Google Account?

It's not as easy as copying back the contacts.db even if you had it: its structure might have changed, and simply replacing the existing file might break things (I had that once). I'm also not sure whether I understand how you copy-pasted your phone (sounds like text copy to me, which you surely didn't mean), so it might be helpful to add some more details on that. Not knowing what is available, it is hard to tell how to restore.

You should be able to find it in /data/data/com.android.contacts - check the folders inside there.
If it isn't in there, then I am afraid I have no idea where it could be stored, as that is the only place that app could store it's files.
Next time, I recommend syncing them with your Google Account.


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How safe are my passwords at after-sales service?
My phone is currently inoperative. Samsung asked me to drop it at an approved repair center, which will handle shipment and reception to/from Samsung.
Being unable to boot my phone, it was impossible for me to remove personal files from it.
I am aware all my files will be accessible to anyone handling my phone, once repaired. But what about my passwords ? I know it's possible to get saved WiFi passwords with root access. Is it possible too for passwords from applications ? (Gmail, Dropbox, Website passwords from Chrome, ...)
Bottom line: How safe are my data/passwords on an unencrypted device ?

Possibly relevant to you: How is the Gmail password stored in Android - and where?

Do you store website passwords in Chrome? Or, you're talking about logged in session of websites?

I do talk about stored website passwords. (I guess logged in session will be expired by the time Samsung will repair my device, isn't it?)

Some websites and services, such as Gmail, have an option to "logout from all other devices" which enables you to end the session stored in your mobile and any other devices you logged in previously. Just login to the service from any pc/device and find that option (if available). I'm not sure if it works with Google account integration into Android devices.

General information
As The Andro Nerd pointed out in his answer, most apps store passwords (and other sensitive information) encrypted. Some even don't store them at all (they use a kind of "tokens", as is available with most Google apps -- or they don't store anything like that).
Unfortunately, only most apps seem to care this way. Some store everything plain text (the stock email app on some HTC devices is known for that, for example: Storing passwords and even directory information plain text for Exchange services. Sources for this allegation can be found in the book mentioned below).
Which apps are safe?
It's hard to really know which apps are save, though some services help you figure it out -- see e.g. ViaForensic's AppWatchdog, where they thoroughly investigate apps for things like that (but with limited ressources are far from covering everything). Some security blogs inform about found issues as well -- and if some well-known app is affected by such a security hole (as e.g. mentioned email app, or Skype), all the blogs in the world will spread word.
How to check it on your own
Knowing the structures how data are saved, you could investigate yourself (if your device is rooted, that is). Andrew Hoog's book Android Forensics and Mobile Security is one good source teaching you how to do that:
Apps store their data below the /data/data, in a directory with the apps package name as name (for skype, this would be /data/data/com.skype.merlin_mecha/). By default, that directory is accessible by the app alone (and, of course, by root) -- which is why it requires root privileges to dig deeper. The basic structure below is as follows:
/data/data/com.example.demoapp
├── cache                Directory
│   └── webviewCache     Directory
│       ├── 027e59a0     Cache file
│       └── 057606c4     Cache file
├── databases            Directory
│   └── example.db       SQLite database
├── lib                  Directory
└── shared_prefs         Directory
    └── example.xml      Config file

Obviously, there are two major places to check:

the shared_prefs directory, containing XML files. As those are plain-text, they should be easy to investigate.
the databases directory. Database files are usually in the SQLite standard, so you can investigate them with either an SQLite command line client, or with a graphical frontend like SQLiteMan.

A thorough information on this topic would go too far here -- but you got the idea, I hope.
Conclusion
I wouldn't be that much concerned with Samsungs official service (though "bad guys" could sit everywhere -- but one should not go paranoid about it. But of course it is a generally good idea to be careful of which apps one uses. Too late for your current case, might be -- but there's always a tomorrow.

Nice one, thanks :) Actually, I'm not so worried about Samsung service, but a bit more about the "approved repair center" which is an independent small company.
Btw, Cerberus is installed on my device and I am hesitant to send a "Wipe memory" command on it. I guess Samsung will at some point connect it to the Internet. The command would be executed at this time, so at the end the intermediate company would get a wiped device ; but I am afraid of the reaction of the guy at Samsung handling the phone...
What do you think ?

Valid point -- at least if you consider your data lost either way. In that case, I'd do it. Not because I'd feel paranoid -- but if I had an easy option and wouldn't use it, and then something would go wrong, I'd blame myself for stupidity ;)

Knowing that the guy at the repair center told me it was likely due to a motherboard fault. If it's true : 1/ the motherboard will be changed, and the old one destroyed (the memory is sealed on it, right?) 2/ it will be repaired, and if the memory remains intact, Cerberus will be able to wipe during it tests process 3/ I get a all new phone and the old one will be securely wiped (I hope) by Samsung for refurbish

Nope I don't care about getting my data back, I already have backups. I just don't want someone else to access it. So you think I should try to remotely wipe it? I'm just scared of Samsung's reaction. (Concerning warranty, more exactly. Cerberus is an app which needs root access, and my device has been flashed many times. I may be on the edge of a broken warranty. Even though European law says I'm not, I don't know what Samsung intergalactic law says ;))

So what's the difference (in terms of warranty)? If they look at it, they'll see it was rooted either way. And if you are living inside the EU, EU law should count -- regardless where they repair the device. It's your right to protect your data.

I meant : seeing such thing happening on the device could cause Samsung to smell a rat (and then check for flash traces).
But that's nitpicking. Remote memory wipe it will be. Thanks for your advice :)

That's a valid point ("wake sleeping dogs") -- but what shall they say? ;) Glad I could help. If you have additional questions, just drop by in the general chat.

Most (if not all) applications will store saved passwords in an encrypted format in their database in their data folder.
As such, your passwords will be safe - they would have to access the database, and then decrypt the stored the encrypted password.
As well as that, they will most likely wipe your device anyway (not always done, depends on the repair).


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Nexus 7 issues with lagging, boot-loops, NFC greyed out, and depressed CPU states
I have a Nexus 7 16GB which behaved wonderfully for a few months.  I used an NFC app once and the tablet began boot-looping, and lagging.  I turned off NFC when I could and reset the tablet.  It was fine for a day or two but then started locking up again.  I've changed the bootloaders to try to recover it, to no avail.  After attempting to upgrade the OS and it totally locked up, I finally RMAed the tablet (PAIN IN THE BUTT!!!, Thanks Asus...) I finally got my tablet back and the same issues have started again.  I do have NFC turned on, but haven't installed the app that caused the issue last time (NFC tag writing apps)
I downloaded CPU Spy and have tracked the CPU states to find that my CPU isn't throttling up very much, and it hardly reaches Deep Sleep either.  Instead, it spends 7+ hours (not touched by me) at 475 MHz.  It doesn't respond to the unlock very quickly, and it often gets stuck in a screen orientation.
The RMA apparently didn't do anything, although they didn't charge me for anything, so they must have found something.  Is there anything I can do to see if somehow software I've installed is causing this?  Any suggestions?  I'm really frustrated.  I've attached the CPU spy screenshot, and have a logcat file as well.  Is there anything more I can do to track this down?

See also my LogCat results: LogCat
EDIT: Further information: I've gotten it to consistently boot now, but it still falls into a 'always on' with "Android OS" being a major draw on the battery.  It will say something like "keep awake for 7+ hours".  I'm attempting to chase down an app which has the 'stay awake' permission and see if it is something like that.
EDIT: updating to Android 4.2 increases the stability, and the battery usage is more specific.  The NFC service is keeping my tablet awake all the time.  Battery use screenshot

Please erase all data and the dalvik-cache (if you have recovery).
Are you using the stock or custom ROM?
This looks to me like a bug in the ROM to do with NFC - this is the only reason the device would lock up like that.
If you are using a custom ROM, I suggest you contact the ROM developer with the logs, if not, check for a software update.
EDIT:
The NFC service will only run if NFC is enabled - if you disable it, and then reboot, it should no longer be active. If it is you can kill it via Settings->Apps->Running.

I've been through the erase process before.  I'm using a stock device, running 4.1.2.  The update to 4.2 fails everytime it attempts it.

Additionally, while the NFC seems to have caused it initially, I'm not using the NFC this time, but have the same issues.

Does it provide any debug data? Why does it fail - does it say?

Is NFC turned on?

NFC is... oops... still turned on yes.  The first time it didn't start having problems till I was writing tags with it though.  I'll turn off NFC again and see if that prevents the slowdown.  I've included the LogCat... If that doesn't contain anything, then I have no debug data.

It doesn't respond when I try to toggle NFC.

Please wipe the data, and then toggle NFC (if it is still set to on). This is increasingly sounding like a software issue. Did you try and upgrade through your phone, or using a computer?

Nexus 7.  OTA update.  I'll try that.  It can't hurt to try, right?

I would suggest you try. Wiping the data will cause all your apps to be erased. Also try to upgrade via a computer.

ROM issue seems to be true.  It was totally stock, but 4.2 seems to be doing just fine now.  Thanks!

No worries, I'm here to help!

Update with on the situation post 4.2 update.  Any thoughts?

@Ryanmt see edit


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How to check filesystem (/sdcard) for errors?
I would like to check my /sdcard, and possibly other internal partitions as well, for errors on the file system level.
I am wondering how this could be accomplished.
I am using a Samsung Galaxy Nexus (toro) with Verizon Wireless.
Update:
This device does NOT have an actual SD card and I believe the only way to do it is through: "adb shell" (BEFORE system boots (i.e. inside of recovery mode), this way /sdcard is NOT mounted and it's possible to perform checks on it in read/write mode)

If you boot the phone with an adb logcat running, I suspect you'll see the phone already does an fsck if required during boot...

according to: Android Media Process (high CPU) | alexus' blog:
~ # e2fsck -n /dev/block/platform/omap/omap_hsmmc.0/by-name/userdata
e2fsck 1.41.11 (14-Mar-2010)
/dev/block/platform/omap/omap_hsmmc.0/by-name/userdata: clean, 53630/1875968 files, 1921615/7493115 blocks
~ #

-n works as read/only, -y is read/write

Perhaps the easiest way to do this, would be to connect your Galaxy Nexus to your computer and use a 3rd-party tool to check the file system for errors.
Please bear in mind that using this method you will only be able to check the mountable storage, and only if your device is in USB mass storage mode.
At current, I know of no way to check the internal partitions for errors - this does not mean there isn't one, however.
EDIT:
Even if you only have an internal SD card, then you should still be able to mount it as USB storage - something has to act as an SD card, for the camera app to function. Something is mounted to /sdcard, and this is what is mounted when you enable USB mass storage.
EDIT 2:
Ok, last but not least - do you have a recovery installed? If so, you can use this flashable zip to do what you want. If not, then are you rooted? You MUST be rooted to be able to this, as it would involve copying a binary to your system.
EDIT 3:
Ok. This CANNOT be done while the device is turned on, in user mode, as the partitions must be unmounted to scan them. This is why that zip is that - a zip. If you cannot flash the zip, there is no other way unless you can find a way to unmount the filesystem's when they are being used.

@alexus Done, and edit made.

nexus does NOT have SD card (even internal) therefor there is NO USB storage there as well, as I mention earlier it has to happened through "adb shell", i dont think any 3rd party tool can access your raw disk through usb mass storage.

That ZIP contains e2fsck binary (I already have e2fsck (1.41.11),I'm looking for syntax how to use e2fsck, and how to find out partitions and such.

You cannot check them while they are in use however, and to use adb the device has to be turned on.

Huh? Check should be possible (as it is r/o). Repair is not, unless the device is unmounted. I'm not sure, but it could be doable from recovery (if you get a command prompt there and have it rooted), or might be via ADB while in recovery mode or "below".

Which I have been saying, or at least trying to.

Izzy: yes, that's what I'm looking for, i.e. to do it through a recovery mode so /sdcard isn't mounted

So just use the zip I linked!

@TheAndroNerd: Thanks, but as I said before I ALREADY have e2fsck, so installing just for sake of it won't answer my question, but I included my answer separately . Thanks again for your help!

That zip doesn't install it - it just runs it, and outputs to a file on the SD card.


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Nexus 7 won't boot up - could it be due to cell phone sitting on top of it?
I've had my Nexus 7 for about 4 months and it's been working well until about a couple days ago. It ran out of battery so I plugged in the charger. It began charging but something weird happened when it turned on. It started having static lines across the screen and it would work for about 3 min and then the static lines would appear. After that it would turn off.
I left it charging for about 6 hrs and now it won't boot up at all. Could this be due to a cell phone sitting on top of the Nexus 7 cover for a couple days? Could it be that the radio frequency from the cell phone messed up the Nexus 7? I'd appreciate some help getting this booting again.

It could very well be due to your mobile sitting on top of it.
There may have been an electrostatic discharge from your phone, that was sent through the Nexus 7, breaking/harming some components.
If you can, I would suggest you take it to the repair center - it would be the only way if this is what has happened.


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Using an OTG cable while charging
Most Android devices have a single port for both connecting to the computer (USB) and charging. I have to use this OTG small cable to transfer data, but also to use a real keyboard. However, when I connect the keyboard, I cannot recharge my device while I work. Since they both use the same port, is there a way to split an OTG cable to introduce power on it, but keep the existing port so I can connect a keyboard ?

possible duplicate of USB charging in host mode

The linked answer has a VC with this as dupe already. Loop...

Yes, it is possible, at least technically.  What you need is a cable called a OTG host cable with power, which is a double-female cable with a male micro, a female micro (which only has the power and ground connected, no data), and a female A, like this one.
Additionally, you also need software support.  I know an appropriate kernel patch is available for CM10 on the Nexus 7 (here), but I don't know about any other devices.

Kali Linux's NetHunter project has support for this in its kernel and runs on Nexus 5, 6, 7, 9 & 10 devices and the OnePlus One.

Links to code are dead, but I managed to find two possible versions of what it could have been. Idk if nowadays this support comes out of the box, but I think that all the device specific adjustments should go in the relative Host Controller Driver if any.

It's possible, some phones support Battery Charging Specification 1.2 and can utilize USB ACA (Accessory charging adaptor) which support OTG + Charging at the same time. (the Acasis H027 is one such adaptor)
My phone (Motorola Moto G XT1032) is not able to auto-detect such an adaptor out of the box, but after modifying the kernel, I was able to charge it and use USB Flash Drive + USB Ethernet at the same time.

Is there a way to tell what devices can do this? I tried Lava SimulCharge on Galaxy Tab A 7" with no luck, my Nexus 5X doesn't work either.

Excellent @Tal Alone. Awesome that you posted this here too. Madushan as he stated you have to modify the android kernel code to make it possible. Follow his link.


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Unable to open Google's secure websites over HTTPS
I can easily open https secured sites on my Win7 laptop (using Google Chrome).
But this is not possible with Chrome version 18.0.1025308 on my ONDA VI30W tablet (running ICS 4.0.3).
What do I need to do? Any suggestion?

I bought this tablet online from a distributor of ONDA tablet in China. I myself lives around Montreal, Québec.
I can open HTTP and HTTPS on any other sites except GOOGLE sites.
I have no access to PLAY STORE as I have to sign in and then  comes up and ask me my google account which I never been able to add to my tablet. I often get "can't establish a reliable connection to the server". I suspect a DNS problem.

Is this from within China (great firewall...)? 2. Do insecure sites open just fine? 3. Have a look at the logs using the aLogCat logviewer app. Maybe this gives you further insight.

Hi, I bought this tablet online from a distributor of ONDA tablet in China. I myself lives around Montreal, Québec.

Hi, I bought this tablet online from a distributor of ONDA tablet in China. I myself lives around Montreal, Québec. (2) I can open HTTP and HTTPS on any other sites except GOOGLE sites. (3) I have no access to PLAY STORE as I have to sign in and then HTTPS://accounts.google comes up and ask me my google account which I never been able to add to my tablet. I often get "can't establish a reliable connection to the server". I suspect a DNS problem. Thanks Marc

That sounds really fishy. Google & China are not so much a love story, is someone playing Man-in-the-middle here? Or trying to eavesdrop on you? Do you have any means to sniff traffic and/or further analyze this weird bug/problem report? I'd really like to get my hands on this, FYI. Just to sort out if it's only a bug or a real malicious intent (like a backdoor or default MitM. Would you mind doing some  research for me (I'll instruct you)?

That sounds really fishy....... are you addressing these comments and questions to me Marc Gagnon??

Yes, I meant the facts you stated. (fishy==suspicious, foul, dubious). It seems interesting hence my call for deeper inspection, just to see whats going on here.


text:
How could I sync ONLY my calendar with Gmail (optionally when a WiFi connection is available)?
On my old Nokia C5, there was a quite smart setting to sync the phone calendar with my Gmail calendar when a WiFi connection was available, every say 30 minutes (using MailForExchange).
I'd expected that a tightly-Google-coupled system like Android would do that task even better, but it doesn't (or I wasn't able to figure out how).
First of all, automatic synchronizing is disabled because I don't want to sync contacts, images, mails, whatever. Only my calendar!
I know that I could sync the calendar when I go to Settings → Accounts and Synchronisation → tip on my Google account → scroll to the calendar entry → sync now.
But that's that deep hidden in menus that it is not really fun.
Is there a way to have a shortcut on the home screen that I could use to directly start synchronizing only my calendar with one tip?
If automatic synchronisation with WiFi could be set up (once again: only my calendar), that would be an extra bonus.
My main aim is to sync only the calendar, nothing else.

Nice question...

EDIT: To only sync the calendar you first have to switch off everything else:
Go to Settings -> Accounts -> YOUR Google Account
and un-check all the sync targets you don't want (Chrome, GMail, Drive, Contacts, ...)
/EDIT
Then you can take care of when to have it sync.
Generally, this is left to 3rd party apps.
You can always pick your favourite 3rd-party app to get that feature, and there is a ton of it. Some samples:

JuiceDefender (free/plus/ultimate/beta, you'll probably have to buy ultimate for the feature you want)
Tasker
Llama (not sure if it supports your use case)
or just search Google Play for 'profile sync schedule' (or similar)

The latter two examples are somewhat complicated to set up but are very powerful. I'd try JuiceDefender.

Tasker? Complicated? Not if the profile is already provided :) If you like that, check my answer #-)

I actually have bought tasker but haven't yet found the time to dive into it (mostly due to laziness and not knowing where to start)

I got the free copy (7 day trial) to start with. On the 4th day I bought it. Never regretted! So you see: took me about 3 days for a "basic start". So admitted, it's not easy -- but once you've got the idea... Btw: There are some nice tutorials around to get you started...

It's now included.

Too complicated. There are lots of automation apps available on the market which you could use to toggle this stuff depending on the connection available. My favorite again here: Tasker. You could create a profile, and call it e.g. "AutoSync":
Condition: State->Wifi: Wifi Connected
Task: Auto-Sync: Turn On
Exit: Auto-Sync: Turn Off
Once set up, you can forget about it -- Tasker takes care for it automatically.
Afterword: Though Tasker is my favorite, it might not be the easiest solution for everybody. Takes some time to get used to it, costs some 5 Euro -- but is really worth both: no other tool gives you so many possibilities and flexibility. If that's too heavy for you, there are some alternatives available: Check the playstore e.g. for Llama, and also watch out for the "other users also installed..." part of the pages.
Oh: If you insist on an optional widget for your homescreen (that's what the "desktop" is usually called here), Tasker allows you to create them for its tasks as well...

This would take care of sync globally though (not only  calendar sync), right?

Yepp. The other one as well, though: Whether you have some widget you tap, or have the setting switched automatically. AFAIK currently there's no way to do that on a per-app-basis. Hm, should be possible on routed phones via iptables...

@ce4 thanks for mentioning this. The main feature I'm seraching for is to sync only the calendar. Automation of that process would be an extra gimmick (see updated question)

Oh, that should be easy: Go to settings, Accounts, YOUR Google Account and un-check all the sync targets you don't want  (chrome, gmail, drive, contacts, ...)


text:
Does Android's "Data Usage" also count uploads?
As per my question above... does the data usage that came into existence in ICS count uploads as well as downloads?

Yes, there's an API for that (the class is android.net.TrafficStats). It was added with API level 8 (Android 2.2).
As you can see below, it offers both Rx and Tx bytes in total, only accounting mobile or per app (added in API level 14, note that with an equal UID count as one). This is an excerpt, see the link below for all methods.

static long getMobileRxBytes()
  static long getMobileTxBytes()
  static long getTotalRxBytes()
  static long getTotalTxBytes()
  static long getUidRxBytes(int uid)
  static long getUidTxBytes(int uid)
  ...

API-Source: http://developer.android.com/reference/android/net/TrafficStats.html
Implementation for the "data usage" view: here
final long foregroundBytes = entry.rxBytes + entry.txBytes;

PS: The carriers also count UDP traffic that just leaves their end but never arrives, such as rtp streams where the phone loses the carrier but the whole video gets streamed anyway.

What does the Data usage view in the Settings app display? Total volume, or just download?

rxBytes+txBytes. I.e., the sum of download (rx = receive) + upload (tx = transmit).


text:
How can I automatically freeze and thaw an app on demand?
I have some apps that I open on occasion. One in particular is a game that likes to push notifications up reminding me to play again.
Is there an app I can use to automatically freeze an Android app when I exit it, and automatically thaw and open the app when I want to open it again? I hate how many apps have background services or receive intents that I don't care for.
With my ROM, I can specifically deny permissions to apps based on certain intents, but that doesn't always help.
I know you can freeze and thaw an app using Titanium Backup Pro, which I have. But that would require manually going in to TiBu and doing the freeze/thaw commands each time.
In an ideal world, I would like a list of apps to be frozen as soon as I exit. And instead of the app listed in my app drawer, I would have a shortcut to first thaw the app and then open it (and have the same icon as the app). I don't care if this takes an extra few seconds; I simply want certain apps to only be running when I say so. Does this exist in any form on Android, whether in a kernel patch, an app, or a simple script?

I know you can freeze and thaw an app using Titanium Backup Pro, which I have. But that would require manually going in to TiBu and doing the freeze/thaw commands each time.

You're wrong about that part. Try this:

look for a free place on your homescreen
long-press there
select to add a widget
scroll to Titanium Backup
select the item to (un)freeze an app
select the app

This gives you a toggle-widget to freeze/unfreeze the selected app.

Didn't know about that, that's awesome.  I might actually use the Freeze feature now!

Yepp! Great for Google Maps: I need it maybe 3 times a year -- but it is constantly running in the background. Next time it causes trouble, I punch the widget I already prepared #-)

This is really neat. I didn't know that widget existed! However, there is still the small problem that it is a widget and not a shortcut, and thus can't be put into folders (why did they have to make it a widget anyway? It looks just like a shortcut!). But I suppose I could still live with it. Thanks!

I noticed that, too. Didn't check if it's available as shortcut as well. If not, put it on your wishlist to the dev -- Joel is quite responsive normally.

@StephenSchrauger I think that widget issue still exists. You can choose to convert a widget into a normal  shortcut which can be dragged into a folder as well using an app like Popup Widget 2. See my answer for its simple usage: http://android.stackexchange.com/a/120930/96277. Of course, this issue is so old that you may have gotten an answer already.


text:
How to set a Contact as "Me"?

Possible Duplicate:
Use existing contact for “Me” in Ice Cream Sandwich

I have a contact for myself with LOADS of info (websites, phone numbers, emails, etc.) and my new Galaxy S3 created a separate "ME" contact that's totally empty. How do I set my old contact as me?
Simple question, simple answer [hopefully].


text:
Flash update.img using flash_image
I want to flash a new ROM using the shell. (Need this later to do per app so there is no other way than shell). Here is what I tried
connected to 192.168.1.9:5555
Pauls-MacBook-Pro:~$ adb shell
root@android:/ # su
root@android:/ # flash_image
usage: flash_image partition file.img
root@android:/ # flash_image boot /mnt/sdcard/_updateboot.img
error opening /mnt/sdcard/_updateboot.img: No such file or directory
1|root@android:/ # flash_image boot /mnt/sdcard/_update/boot.img
root@android:/ # flash_image misc /mnt/sdcard/_update/misc.img
root@android:/ # flash_image kernel /mnt/sdcard/_update/kernel.img
root@android:/ # flash_image recovery /mnt/sdcard/_update/recovery.img
root@android:/ # flash_image system /mnt/sdcard/_update/system.img
mtd: write error (No space left on device)
error writing system: No space left on device
1|root@android:/ # flash_image system /mnt/sdcard/_update/system.img
mtd: write error (No space left on device)
error writing system: No space left on device
1|root@android:/ # reboot

Even if I don't get the No space error it just wouldn't boot (it is a TV dongle, so no HDMI output). Has anyone an idea how to flash ROMs from an ROM?

To avoid the "no space left" problem, you could re-pack your image file as described in Removing files from & repackaging CyanogenMod ROM zip files. Though that might not solve your final issue ("not booting"), it should at least help a bit.

These aren't zips. There are only .img like boot, kernel, recovery, system ... But I will try to modify them maybe it will work.

Might be Yaffs images, in which case you might want to look out for the yaffs2utils or yaffs_tools to handle them.


text:
Contact names not showing for the calls and messages
My Galaxy S3 was working great until I installed a firmware update on 26/11/12. Immediately after, the names dropped off the calls and messages and it is now showing phone numbers only. When I dial somebody or receive an incoming call, only the numbers are displayed not the contact name.
Please help....

could you please make sure your contacts data are still there?

I agree with the sentiments of @ss1271, it seems like perhaps your phone is no longer associated with your google account that most likely contains all of your contacts.

Had the same problem with GF's phone. The problem was caused by an update. There are talks of a possible fix on Vodafone.com.au forum via upgrade but the simplest solution, instead of waiting for fix (which may never come to all carriers), is to do a factory reset.
Make sure to make a backup of your phone before doing it because everything will be gone.
Step-by-step for factory reset is available here.


text:
HTC Desire HD with Nokia E52 IMEI
I recently bought HTC desire HD from E-Bay India.
I'm in India and the guy in E-bay imported UK unlocked Desire HD,
I recently check for the IMEI details and I'm shocked, when I checked, Its showing Nokia E52's details.
May I know why I'm getting Nokia's detail for HTC IMEI ?
Any Ideas ?
And I couldn't able to connect my phone in USB Debugging mode, Is it because of this change in IMEI ?
Some one please help asap.
Regards,
Praveen

There seem to  be only 2 reasons for this: That information is wrong (or you mistyped the IMEI) or the phone was altered (to hide theft, etc.). USB debugging doesn't relate to the phone parts at all (a tab also offers this and needn't have a radio)

I didn't type it wrong because I verified many times, Its an unlocked phone, I couldn't able to connect to HTC sync too :(
any idea, is it because of the imei change ?

Just wanted to point out the possibilities. And yeah, that's possible (HTC sync not working). I'd return it, to be honest.

You mean I should return it to seller ?

Probably, yes. How big is the chance you get it working yourself? The IMEI is obviously fake, so you would need to find the necessary hack-tools yourself and flash a new IMEI (e.g. of one of your old phones). Just my thoughts.

You mean I will get the original HTC's IMEI if I hack ?

Do you still have a link to the ebay listing, is it active? A lot of the phones on ebay are fake/imitation phones. Some even have user interfaces made to look like Android, but are actually running a basic feature phone OS. Tools like HTC Sync and ADB that only work with the real hardware often fail when tried on these devices.

Right now the ADB is working, It was problem with my computer USB port.
But now my worry is about the imei and HTC Sync :(

This is the link to Product: http://www.ebay.in/itm/181009891492?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

Hmm, it does seem to have the right specs and single SIM at least. Fakes are often dual SIM, and driver when you plug them in shows they are using a different, cheaper processor/chipset.

ya, I tried verifying the Item bar codes and all seems to original and UK based but except the IMEI.


text:
Jar of Beans "sd card not exist"
I installed wine and ran "jar of beans.exe". It successfully loaded. I tried creating the SD Card, by clicking "settings", umpteen times. Still, it says "sd card not exist". Moreover there's a button "Start android default" or "Start android aneesh" depending on the name of the android virtual device. I've clicked it many a time, in vain.
Also, I tried executing it with a command in the terminal, It produces errors saying that the processes "adb.exe" and "emulator-x86.exe" weren't found! The interesting thing is that these executables are very much present in the jar of beans extract!
These are the errors to be precise:
    fixme:ole:CoResumeClassObjects stub
    fixme:win:LockWindowUpdate (0x1009c), partial stub!
    fixme:win:LockWindowUpdate ((nil)), partial stub!

    Z:\home\aneesh>taskkill /f /im adb.exe

    Z:\home\aneesh>taskkill /f /im cmd.exe

    Z:\home\aneesh>taskkill /f /im emulator-x86.exe
    Error: Could not find process "adb.exe".
    Process "cmd.exe" with PID 41 was forcibly terminated.
    Process "cmd.exe" with PID 43 was forcibly terminated.
    Process "cmd.exe" with PID 49 was forcibly terminated.
    Error: Could not find process "emulator-x86.exe".
    CMD Version 1.4

    Z:\home\aneesh>CMD Version 1.4

    Z:\home\aneesh>
    Z:\home\aneesh>taskkill /f /im cmd.exe

    Z:\home\aneesh>taskkill /f /im adb.exe

    Process "cmd.exe" with PID 53 was forcibly terminated.
    Process "cmd.exe" with PID 55 was forcibly terminated.
    Process "cmd.exe" with PID 57 was forcibly terminated.
    Process "cmd.exe" with PID 59 was forcibly terminated.
    Process "cmd.exe" with PID 61 was forcibly terminated.
    Error: Could not find process "adb.exe".
    Error: Could not find process "emulator-x86.exe".
    fixme:font:WineEngRemoveFontResourceEx (L"C:\\users\\aneesh\\Temp
    \\7D17DC9D.ttf", 0, (nil)): stub
    aneesh@nb14:~$
    Z:\home\aneesh>taskkill /f /im adb.exe

    Z:\home\aneesh>taskkill /f /im cmd.exe

    Z:\home\aneesh>taskkill /f /im emulator-x86.exe
    Error: Could not find process "adb.exe".
    Process "cmd.exe" with PID 71 was forcibly terminated.
    Process "cmd.exe" with PID 13 was forcibly terminated.
    Error: Could not find process "emulator-x86.exe".

Is there something more to be done?
UPDATE: I wrote to the author Manuel Trebbi about 5 hours ago. Hope I get a timely solution from this humongous and helpful fraternity of android enthusiasts.

Are you referring to the "Jar of Beans" emulator?

Yes. Absolutely. Sorry for swallowing that keyword 'emulator'!

The processes and executables are different.
Please make sure the entire Jar of Beans process is killed, and then start again. Make sure that you kill all add processes.
Apart from that, you will have to wait for the owner to reply.

Go to where you extracted Jar of Beans and create a folder named sdcard.


text:
What browsers are compatible with Adobe Flash Plugin?
Even if Flash Player on Android is no more supported by Adobe, it is still very easy to obtain it (eg, via Aptoide). The problem is that Chrome is not compatible with it. On my Galaxy Note 10 I can use it with the stock browser (it works like a charm). Unfortunately my friend has a Nexus 7 Tablet. We were successfull at installing flash but we can't find any browser that supports it (we tried Dolphin).
Any recommendations?

In reality, almost any browser besides Chrome.

Firefox - it has goot support of web technologies, but it has big memory consumption.
Standard Android browser (it not available on Nexuses with Android 4.1 and higher).
Opera Mobile (not Opera Mini) - it has "specific" support of some web technologies, but normal resources consumption.

Opera Mobile 12.1 was the last version of Opera Mobile which used the proprietary Presto rendering engine. Opera 14 now uses the same WebKit engine as Chrome, and eats memory just as well.

I installed 12 on my nexus 5 but still no flash sound on www.micromusic.net

Try FlashFox for flash support:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=mobi.browser.flashfox

Go install Dolphin, head to their labs and install flash. Its what I use on my Nexus 7.


text:
Dual Booting a Windows 8 Tablet/Smartphone with Android OS?
Is it possible and indeed practical to dual boot a Windows 8 tablet/smartphone with Jelly Bean 4.0 + ? Are there significant restrictions or limitations in doing so? If this is not achieveable as yet - What about running Bluestacks on these devices, just in the same manner that Bluestacks can run Android Apps as an emulator on a Windows PC (if i'm correct)

This would possibly/probably be considered a dupe of Can I install Android on my non-Android device? There are simply far too many devices out there for us to feasibly cover a question for each, and the vast majority of the time the answer is "nobody has done this yet".

@eldarerathis - I did look at that answer previously, but found it to be too broad in his initial question. I specifically want to know about a Windows 8 device being able to run android as well

@eldarerathis - I assumed (rightly or wrongly) that people like XDA Developers and Modders (i'm not sure if that is the correct term) were usually one step ahead of the game

Secure Boot technology on RT tablets would probably prevent dual-booting. But, it can be by-passed I think.

@Sachin Shekhar ok I will (in response to Android x86 below)

You could, but without support it would be difficult.
Android does not 100% support for all apps on intel/amd processors
As well as this, you would have to write a kernal / kernel object to support the specific hardware of the device.
This can be quite difficult if propriety information is unavailable.
You would be better to ask at http://forum.xda-developers.com and ask if someone has ported Android to your device, or a device you would be wanting to buy.

@ The Andro Nerd - Your final sentence regarding XDA and porting makes sense to me. I assumed there would be XDA people on this forum who might provide there 2 cents. What about Bluestacks ?

@Simon am a member of XDA - but I don't make ROM's. Bluestacks won't work on Windows 8 RT - blame windows for this, they don't allow 'desktop' programs running on RT versions of Windows 8.

Ah Ok fine, there are obviously different divisions/arms to XDA, shame about the Bluestacks

Very true, and I suppose you could ask them to try and make a Windows 8 RT/Metro version.

Update: BlueStacks Android App Player Now Has A MS Surface Pro Tablet - Optimized Version
Bluestacks android emulator has now finally arrived to Windows 8 (no RT Version currently available), and works like an absolute charm on Windows 8 PCs, notebooks and ultrabooks alike.
BlueStacks for Windows 8 supports an elegant interface and runs in full screen mode by default. The application is also fully optimized for the 1920 x 1080 HD display of Surface Pro.
BlueStacks for Windows 8 is perhaps the most interesting application to hit the OS so far. It’s a significant boost to the otherwise lukewarm offerings of Windows Store. BlueStacks works on all variants of Windows 8, but not on Windows RT. Testing was carried out on Windows 8 Pro 64-bit.
http://www.bluestacks.com/
The above extract was taken from an article entitled "BlueStacks Android App Player Now Has A Surface Pro-Optimized Version"  was written for Addictive Tips by Waqas Ahmed on 13th February 2013. For more in depth info:
http://www.addictivetips.com/windows-tips/bluestacks-android-app-player-now-has-a-surface-pro-optimized-version/

@GAThrawn No I'm not the author (the authors name is stated at the bottom). I thought if I just provided the link to the article, someone would have told me that was no good (because links may diasppear) ?

It's still copyright infringement, even with the link.  You basically have to treat it like a school assignment -- short quotes and summarizing with a reference is OK, as is writing up your own version from the knowledge you've gained, but outright copying is not.  That said I don't believe we take action on this sort of thing unless the copyright owner makes a claim.  CC @GAThrawn

@MatthewRead Thx for informing, I was unaware.

@MatthewRead If you like i'll just include the first paragraph & then link to the article ?

@GAThrawn Have now re-edited answer.

@Simon looks good, it's actually easier to read and get the important info from it now too.

@GAThrawn To be honest, I got a little excited, because when Bluestacks initially came out I sent them a few emails asking them to develop a version for the Surface tablet - and now they have and if it really works that well, it should be an excellent choice for a tablet

The vast majority of devices aren't capable of supporting both OSes.  However, you can try Android x86 on non-ARM tablets; I've tried it on my WindPad and it works.  It's just like dual-booting with Linux.
Probably the most significant limitations are that some hardware is unlikely to work, as driver support is not comprehensive.

Thankyou for your response. I was thinking more in terms of if I purchased a Windows Surface tablet, or Nokia Lumia or HTC Windows 8 smartphone. I guess your saying it is not practical at the moment or hasnt been achieved yet ?

Android x86 wouldn't work on Surface tablet..

@Sachin Shekhar - Sachin Android x86 is the platform for ICS, Jelly Bean etc ?

@Simon Unable to understand your question..

@Sachin Shekhar - What is Android x86 ?

@Simon Search the web. Its a project which enables Android to run on x86 CPU architecture. Surface tablet doesn't use this architecture, but your PC does.

@Simon: if you follow the link in my post, it'll take you straight to their site.  As the name implies, it supports regular PC architectures (ie, tablets) as opposed to ARM.


text:
Battery consumption
My stats are the follwing:
Android system 37%,
Stand by 36%,
Inactivity 14%,
Voice call 3%.
I touch in android and appears a lot of programs like
alertrecipients,
google backup transport,
error,
?Perso?,
Tasks,
bluetooth test,
popupuiReceiver,
wssyncmlnps,
mobile tracker,
DRM,
definitions,
wlan test,
self test mode,
wipeoutreceiver,
VPN services,
android sistem,
facory test,
preconfig and
service mode.
Can I turn off some of those tasks in managment, or better asked, is there any of those I cannot stop, that is essential to the phone?
Mostly I just need phone, some ocasional pictures and sms, maybe 2/3 times a week use an app!

What? I'm sorry, but your post is completely incomprehensible. (I understand that English may not be your first language.) Fixing the formatting would go a long way, but I really think you need to clarify what it is you're after.

markissimo, helped a lot, thanks and yes its not my native language, sorry for the incovinience.

You can go in settings, running applications and close the ones that you don't need. The application that the system needs you won't be able to close.
Or you can just uninstall the undesired ones as well.
And reformat your question so it makes more sense and it's understandable.

i´ve done that and for now is working just fine with Android system just 4%. At the end of the day ill post here if this have reduced the battery consumption.

After 1 day and 3 hours and follwing your advice i have full battery and android consumption is only 7%, thank you all who helped me.

This was my first cell phone with android sistem (Samsung Galaxy Ace android 2.3), i just have for 4 days, so some questions arose, like this one but is pretty simple to solve, and i hope that can help another people. To solve the problem is going to settings, turn off some applications that i/you dont need, if you like me dont need 3G always working as the GPS or WiFi, just turn them off, but pay attention if you run out of battery the app's will turn on when you turn on your cell phone.


text:
What are the limitations of USB On-The-Go on Nexus tablets?
I'm thinking about using USB On-The-Go to extend the rather limited space on the Nexus 10 tablet. I've read about it, but I'm not sure on where exactly the limitations of this approach are. I know that I need a USB OTG cable for it, but I read some conflicting or vague information about other aspects.

Do I need a specific app? My impression is that I need the Nexus Media Importer, which is a paid app, but is that the only way?
Which filesystems are supported?
Can the Nexus 10 deliver enough power through USB to use a portable hard drive, or does it only work with USB flash drives?
Can I access the external USB drive without restrictions as if it was an SD card, or are there any additional restrictions?

Do I need a specific app? My impression is that I need the Nexus Media Importer, which is a paid app, but is that the only way?

Some apps on Google Play have the ability to read USB OTG data, however an app specifically made for the purpose would be better.

Which filesystems are supported?

Most file systems that Linux supports will be supported.

Can the Nexus 10 deliver enough power through USB to use a portable hard drive, or does it only work with USB flash drives?

No, it cannot. It cannot as the Micro-USB port would not be able to push out enough power, as well as the fact that the battery would drain very quickly if this were to happen.

Can I access the external USB drive without restrictions as if it was an SD card, or are there any additional restrictions?

You can access it like you would on your computer, through a file manager. The app you choose may restrict the access, however.

Regarding the hard drive bit, I have seen reports of some 2.5" external hard drives able to function off however much current the Nexus 7 will supply.

An old question I know, but I have been able to use a Verbatim Store 'n' Go portable HDD with an OTG cable without any power issue. The only disadvantage is that I can't power down the drive before removing it (unlike on PC) so I risk shortening the drive's life. Other than that, it's fine.


text:
Is there a way to automatically load insecure content in Chrome browser for Android?
Similar to this question but for the mobile space...
https://superuser.com/questions/487748/how-to-allow-chrome-browser-to-load-insecure-content
Is there a way to automatically load insecure content in Chrome browser for Android?
I understand that ideally it should be fixed at the web site level but I don't have that ability.

I've been all through the settings and there's nothing about insecure content. I don't know if other browsers might handle it the way you like.

Perhaps this question might help to force apply that flag manually. Might not work, but not hurt to try.


text:
Is Backing up my Android Device to the Cloud using Skydrive or Dropbox Equally as Effective As using dedicated Back Up Apps?
Is it equally effective to backup my apps, photos, contacts, SMS texts etc on my Android Smartphone (which is non rooted) using MS Skydrive or Dropbox compared with using a dedicated Backup App from the Google Play Store eg My Back Up Pro ? Is it the case that, it is as effective but the process is far simpler and less time consuming to carry out if a dedicated application is used.
This applies to general backing up and backing up in order to migrate/transition as seemlessly as possible when upgrading to a new smartphone

You would have to look at the pros and cons.
Pros of Cloud Backup

Off site backup (you will keep your data if your house burns down)

Cons of Cloud Backup

Make take a while to upload all of your data to the server
Make take a while to download the data again

Pros of Dedicated Backup App

Quick (no upload)
Quick and easy access (on your SD Card, so you can easily access it without an internet connection)

Cons of Dedicated Backup App

If your SD Card breaks, you lose all the backups
If there is a fire, you lose your backups
If you lose your phone with the SD card in it, you lose both the phone and your backup

You also have to bear in mind that My Backup Pro (which you mentioned), has the ability to back up to the cloud as well as file backups. You can also set scheduled backups.
With this in mind, I would say that a Dedicated Backup App would actually be better and easier than using a standard cloud service.

Excellent, thanks very much for your advice. Does the same apply for Rooted devices and Titanium Backup Pro ?

The same does apply for rooted devices, although I am not sure if Titanium Backup has cloud backup ability, I have only ever used MyBackup :)

Ok fine. My Backup Pro has the advantage that it can be used on both non rooted and rooted devices if my memory serves me correct

That is correct.

Thanks for confirmation and your guidance relating to the above :)

Titanium Backup AFAIK has Dropbox support. Also keep in mind that non-root backup apps cannot backup everything (e.g. not all app data -- just what's available via "provider" services on the device). So Titanium Backup would be a good choice for both, local and Cloud backup.

@Izzy - Titanium Backup though is only a viable option for rooted devices, and cannot be used for non rooted devices (as far as I am aware). My phone is non rooted so Titanium Backup would be option as it currently stands.

would not be*** rather in reference to Titanium Backup

Yeah, I thought I implied that by first stating that only apps with root permissions can really backup everything -- and then saying "so..." (i.e. "for this reason"). Obviously my phrasing wasn't clear enough -- sorry for that!

@Izzy - Yes that right you did, thanks for clarifying :)

One more thing to keep in mind is privacy: While you mostly have control over your locally stored data, you cannot say the same for Cloud services. For storing personal/sensitive information to the Cloud, you should always consider encryption.
A third option is to have your app creating backups on your sd card, and use another app (e.g. FolderSync) automatically sync the backup directory to your local computer (or NAS device). This way you are a bit safer if your card breaks, and have more privacy. And you have both, a local and a remote backup -- plus even if you need the latter one, download is a bit faster as from the Cloud. If you trust some Cloud service, chances are also good that service is supported by FolderSync as well.

I think you have provided some very sound advice in your answer above Izzy. Another point to consider, is what actually happens if the cloud in which your data is stored suddenly disappears - I guess then its lost for ever. Like the old saying goes "never have all your eggs in one basket"

Exactly. Which in a way is also why I'd take separate apps for "accessing all my data, making backups, encrypt them" and the other half "make a copy to the cloud". Best from two different devs. Though in case of TB, I have no concerns regarding Joel :) PS: But right: Good thing to have a local copy (SD), another one on your PC, and an encrypted one in the cloud :)


text:
Wi-Fi won't stay off
I have a Motorola Droid and have just installed the latest update.
The Wi-Fi network at my workplace is temperamental, so I prefer to simply turn off the Wi-Fi and use 4G.
The issue is, when I turn it off (in Settings ~> Wi-Fi ~> move the slide bar to "off") it shows as off, however the next time I turn the screen on, the Wi-Fi is back on.
How can I stop this?

My guess is that your carrier has installed some sort of "connection optimizer" onto your device with the most recent update. Which actually just means that it will use wifi when it is available because that will result in less overall traffic on their 3g/4g network. On sprint device you can go to Settings->wireless & networks->more...->-mobile networks->connection optimizer to enable / disable this. try poking around your wireless settings to see if you have something like this.

This is strange behavior, and one I have not actually seen before.
Do you by any chance have an app installed that could be turning the Wi-Fi on? Also, how long do you wait between sliding the slider and turning the screen off - it may not have had time to update.
I have only ever since this issue once, and I believe that it was a software issue.
If you cannot fix it, I would recommend 'forgetting' your works Wi-Fi network, so that Android does not automatically connect to it. You can do this by long pressing on the Wi-Fi network in the Wi-Fi settings menu.

The comment on the question:

My guess is that your carrier has installed some sort of "connection
  optimizer" onto your device with the most recent update. Which
  actually just means that it will use wifi when it is available because
  that will result in less overall traffic on their 3g/4g network. On
  sprint device you can go to Settings->wireless &
  networks->more...->-mobile networks->connection optimizer to enable /
  disable this. try poking around your wireless settings to see if you
  have something like this.

This solution worked for me. I have had the same problem as the OP since I upgraded to Android 4.0.4 a couple months ago on the Sprint network. 4G and Wifi would both turn on by themselves at random times, no matter how many times I turned them off.


text:
Gmail for programmers
As a programmer, I really despise any email not written in plain text (MIME type plain/text) and not wrapped at 80 chars width.
However the default gmail app only sends the emails I compose as text/html.
Is there any way, setting and/or app to get my favourite formatting?

Since this is titled, "Gmail for Programmers", you could create a small application that provides the correct intent to compose as "text/html".

Kaiten Mail lets you send emails in these formats:

Plain text (images and formatting will be removed)
HTML (images and formatting are preserved)
Automatic (plain text unless replying to an HTML message)

I'm not sure about the the width though. I haven't seen any setting where I can set it to 80 (or any other value).
By the way, I sync my GMail and Yahoo mail with Kaiten.

Sorry for being a necromancer, but I also wanted plain text in Gmail and have been a long time Kaiten user since 2012 ... Kaiten still sucks big time when it comes to searching -- server-side IMAP search is still largely broken in Kaiten, despite it claiming it works. The Gmail app is heaps better in that regard.


text:
How to show the complete title of an app?
Some apps with a longer title show up on the launcher screen (trebuchet) with a shortened title. E.g. an application with the title "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz" will be titled "abcdefghi..".
The same applies to videos linked with a shortcut to the screeen (I used the app "media shortcut" for this).
Is there a way to show the whole title before opening the app or the video? I have a lot of videos that I would like to distinguish before opening them.

That's the limitation of Home/Launcher app. Try different.

Sorry, there is not way to do this.
I believe that some launchers may wrap titles, but I can't think of any that do.
As per dymutaos' comment:

ADW wraps the titles of apps. They wrap it to a second line, and they make the second line smaller in order to fit within a certain space. Though if the name is really long and doesn't fit within 2 lines, it still gets truncated.

ADW wraps the titles of apps. They wrap it to a second line, and they make the second line smaller in order to fit within a certain space. Though if the name is really long and doesn't fit within 2 lines, it still gets truncated.


text:
What's the difference between 'adb push' and 'adb install'?
Will adb push only copy the file into the target location whereas adb install copies the file into the target location and also sets the proper permission for you?

More specifically
adb push [file] [path]

will take [file] from the PC and copy it to [path] on the android device.
adb install [apkfile]

will copy [apkfile] from the pc into /data/app/ on the android device.
The main difference being that push will let you specify where you want the file to go on the device, and install puts it in a known location (the location "installed" apps exist in).

adb push will copy any file to the phone, whereas adb install will only accept an apk file, and will install it onto the device.

Does "install" mean anything more than copying the apk to /data/app/ ?


text:
I need an app that transfers SMS to SD and can be moved to SD card itself
I just transferred phones from a Motorola Droid 2 to the Galaxy S III.  I usually use Handcent, but forgot to back up my SMS before the new phone was activated.  Now I have all my old SMS logs on the Droid, which can't back up because I have no data stream.
I've found multiple apps that can save SMS to the SD card and downloaded them to the S3, however I can't move any of those apps to the SD card to transfer the SD card to the Droid and install the SMS to SD backup app there.
I've tried using this Guide but even then, the apps won't move to the SD card. I don't want to root my new phone just to get an app transferred off it.
Can anyone give me suggestions for an app that meets that criteria or another solution?

PS: Moving to the SD card only works on the phone you did the move on (you cannot swap the SD card and hope that the app shows up on the other phone: It's for security reasons tied to the phone you installed it and did the move). And normally, this type of questions are considered a bad fit here as per the FAQ, however this one has a definite and final answer: LifeSaver2 (it's completely FOSS and thus won't go away). See my answer below.

Took me a while to figure out the "app on sd" part. For other readers: No longer having a data connection, one cannot install apps from the playstore. And if I'm not mistaken, the Droid² being CDMA, one cannot even temporarily switch the SIM card...

You're a life saver - literally.  Thank you SO MUCH!

You want the old version of LifeSaver2 available from the free & open source Android app repostitory http://f-droid.org
It's available here or via the FDroid market app itself.
To be able to install it you need to enable unknown sources.
If you have no data connection on your old phone: Put the LifeSaver2_1.0.apk on the SD card using your S3 or transfer it via Bluetooth and then side-load it.

You could also just move everything through your Gmail account, using SMS Backup +.
(I recommend using wifi, as it can take a while on a mobile data connection, if you have a lot of content.)


text:
Prevent unauthorized image flashing
I wonder whether there is a way to prevent someone to use fastboot to flash an Android device.
Indeed, while one must be able to turn on USB debug in order to run adb, the bootloader does not offer any protection AFAIK.

The easiest way to prevent someone to do things like that is to not give that someone physical access to your device. Once having physical access, there isn't really much you can prevent a clever hacker from.

You may only make oem lock, but if anybody really need to flash something - he can do unlock  again (with removing anything from device).
And one old rule: if anybody has physical access to device - software protection will not help.

I am aware of that, I only make sure it is not possible to lock the stock bootloader down.


text:
Can't Factory Reset My Device
I have a Chinese MID9000 tablet, and when I tried to install an app it took forever. I checked why and the device said that internal storage had 00.00 bytes when I hadn't even installed anything yet. Everything else functions perfectly except for app installation and the fact that it always acts like it's the first time opening it when I restart it.
So I tried to factory reset it from the settings menu to see if it would fix the issue, but all I saw was an Android laying on its back with light blue circuits running through it for a second, then it flashed to a red exclamation mark. Now I have a 150 dollar piece of tech that is useless.
I don't want to send it back to Newegg because I want to see if there is any way to get it working first to avoid the hassle. I have tried searching for solutions, but everything I found required a Windows computer and I use Ubuntu. Are there any solutions that don't require using a Windows computer?


text:
Send selected text to dialer
Is there an App that registers itself as a Share Command and lets me send a selected text in a webpage or email to the default dialer?
I would like to avoid copy and pasting a number from a webpage or email to the dialer manually...
Thanks in advance!

I was looking for the exact same thing and thanks to your question, I just found the answer! There you go!
Send To Dialer

I guess Clipboard Dialer might be your choice:

This little tool enables you to extract all phone numbers from what ever text is in your clipboard. It will present a list of all numbers it finds giving you an easy way to call, SMS or create a new contact.

Unfortunately it's not what I'm looking for.
Using this tool I have to copy to the clipboard open the app and click dial there. I would like to select the text (phone number) hit the little arrow down button, hit "Share" and select something like "Send to Dialer"...

Nothing I know of that would do that. And basically it's the same, just using the Share app (yepp, app) instead of the clipboard app.