text:
How do Mobile Access Points work?
I have this data plan that gives unlimited mobile browsing.  It only works with the browser, so http and https.  If I tried to use the Maps or Youtube app, it won't connect.
I enter the APN settings with the provided server, port (80), username, password to connect.
There's a few proxy apps like ProxyDroid that let me use Maps, Youtube, Gmail, etc. with that same data plan.  I just enter those APN settings into the ProxyDroid settings.
Can someone tell me what the proxy is doing to give me access like this?

If you have an (W)LAN network connected to an ADSL modem at your home, a mobile access point is like that ADSL modem; a mobile access point (AP) translates between the protocol of the mobile network to the protocol of the wider Internet. Imagine the mobile network as a LAN, and access points are the nodes in the LAN that have direct access to the Internet, all communication between the inner network and the outer network must go through an access point.
Access points can have rules about what data can pass through it, how it works is similar to how a firewall works. At a minimum, the firewall will have rules on which ports that applications can connect to. By default, HTTP uses port 80 and HTTPS uses port 443, but any protocol can use any port number as long as both the client and the server agrees on which one to use. A more aggressive firewall will also inspect the destination of a data packet, and an even more aggressive one could inspect the actual content of the packets, as long as they aren't encrypted.
The job of a proxy is to tunnel a data transmission through a remote server; so if you configured your phone to use proxy 123.123.123.123 at port 80 or 443, the firewall will have no way of distinguishing between this and normal HTTP/HTTPS connection, especially with HTTPS proxy as the data is encrypted from the client to the proxy. The remote proxy server, which is ideally located in an unrestricted network, will then relay the data to their true destination.
The network operator can block a proxy by blacklisting their IP address and configuring their firewall to block any access to the IP address of a known proxy, but since there are 4 billion IPv4 addresses and the IP addresses used by some proxies change all the time, it is difficult if not impossible task to blacklist every proxy in existence. Anyone can also create their own proxy server using their own home connection or purchase a server that they use for proxying, this makes it impossible to filter all proxies.
Most networks that blocks only for browser connections does that to limit usage of bandwidth sucking applications, like torrents; so, as long as your proxy usage doesn't burden the network too much and you're not using it to access illegal materials, they usually wouldn't hunt you down for it.

Someone remembered my question, thanks! The ProxyDroid app is on the phone itself and is connecting directly to the same AP.  My initial thought was that the AP checked the DST port to make sure it's port 80/443 and that ProxyDroid merely modified the destination port from say 565 (for youtube app) to 80 so it passes through.  I assume that the apps that work accept connections at port 80.

The ProxyDroid app has a setting for the port.  I put in 80 thinking that this meant only port 80 was allowed so ProxyDroid would change all packets destinations to 80.  But then I realized that port 80 is what most (all?) APNs use to connect to it.  So how does ProxyDroid know that only http/s is allowed?

@Jack: ProxyDroid not only modified the DST port, it also modified the DST IP address to the proxy server, and encapsulate that packet with the original DST IP and port so the proxy server knows where to relay the packet to. In any case, ProxyDroid didn't even need to be aware that it is an HTTP connection or some other protocol. When done correctly, any applications in the phone can connect to any port on the destination server. The only difference is that the destination server sees the packet as coming from the proxy server's IP address instead of from your mobile phone's IP address.

Which proxy server are you talking about? I'm confused because the carrier's APN settings are what I input into ProxyDroid.  I'm not aware of any other server.  Would whatismyip.com show me the difference if I tried it with ProxyDroid on and off?

@Jack: The proxy server is defined here: https://lh4.ggpht.com/zNeB5uOqoKPv3POM-_gBrvtz9xPZhOUbzJrqFRR4r2nKllhCVpS7ijiGfnrC3h14nO8 and yes, whatismyip.com should show you a different IP address.

Yea like I said, it's the exact same thing.  If I go to settings > wireless and network settings > mobile networks > APNs and I create a APN with IP 12.34.56.78 with username: wapuser1, password: wap those are the exact same settings I put into ProxyDroid.  Well whatismyip.com shows me the same IP address with proxy on or off.  I turn the proxy on, check that youtube works and go to whatismyip.com then turn proxy off check that youtube doesn't work (nothing loads) and go to whatismyip.com but both are the same IP.

Do you know if the Shark app on Android captures packets after the proxy or before it?

I would gues that access point is sending you PAC - proxy auto configuration. If you ignore this you can browse freely.

So you're saying the proxy ignores this file?


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mobile phone calls on Huawei MediaPad

Possible Duplicate:
Can I receive calls of cell phone number with a tablet?

I have Huawei MediaPad tablet. I saw in it specification that it supports GSM network. But I cannot find application to make phone calls. When I inserted SIM card and called to my phone, the call was terminated without notifications or reasons.

The fact that a device supports GSM networks doesn't mean it has call capabilities. I own a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 which also has GSM capabilities but no calling. The GSM chip is just used for mobile network data and SMS services.

What I need to have call capabilities?

Something like Skype, Viber, or Tango are options. Otherwise this might not be the right device for you.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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Unable to uninstall apps
I am unable to uninstall any application on my Samsung Galaxy S. I have tried all possible ways (settings-applications-manage applications-uninstall and with the edit option). These applications are the normal ones downloaded from market.
But whenever I reboot my phone those applications are still there in my phone and its as if nothing has changed.
Also I keep getting this "settings.google.application has stopped unexpectedly" and am not able to open any of my apps.
I tried formatting my internal SD card by connecting it to the PC but that also didn't work.

Sounds like you may have to do a factory reset.

Did you try to uninstall the apps with root permissions?

(converted from a comment to an answer)
This might be a file-system problem.
I once got an overfull yaffs2 files system on /data to get frozen and wasn't able to delete/move/update anything. By executing 'dmesg' in a terminal or via adb you could clearly see it, was full of yaffs panic msgs.
Formatting was the only option (aka. factory reset).

As to ADB: see Matthew Read's answer to Help Uninstalling Stubborn Application.

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


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waiting for device Superoot Galaxy Nexus
I decided to super root my galaxy nexus I9250 and i followed this tutorial.  I did it up to 7 in which the command promt tells me <waiting for device>
How do i proceed?  the device is connected

Did you perform step 5 correctly?  Reboot your phone and try again.

yes im on the bootloader, my screen has the android logo with its belly open

This is often a driver issue. I'd check the Windows device management list and see if you have an unrecognized device or anything of that nature. You can also try fastboot devices to make sure it's being recognized (if you don't get a result from that command then it's not being seen by fastboot).

Yea i think it is a driver issue because I tried looked in Windows device management and i tried to re-install but my computer won't recognize the phone.  it shows (Unknown device), it just installs and fails.  How would i solve?

You could try the Galaxy Nexus Root Toolkit. It has a driver setup of feature of some sort, and I think it provides instructions for manually setting it up if the automated install fails. I don't know much beyond that, unfortunately.

Yea it didn't work :( it just says Unknown Device under the device manager and the drivers are up to date.


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How do I change the number identification format (to associate with a contact's number)?
I have a Sony/Ericsson Xperia Arc phone with Android 2.3 In my country, I can receive calls with the following number patterns (it's the formatting used by my operator):
12345678
0aa12345678
0bbaa12345678

However, my system won't identify the second and third options as being a number from the same contact. That's the behavior that I want: if some contact's number is 12345678, the phone software should always match with the contact if the 8 number from right to left match.
Is this possible?
EDIT
The 'aa' and 'bbaa' fields are just numbers. An example of a number could be:
01122223333
aa is a kind of region code and bb is the operator's code.In this case, if I have 22223333 in my contacts, it won't match. If I have 0441122223333 in my contacts, it won't work either. But it should (and I think that some cheap cell phones sold by operators have this behavior in my country).

Just for curiosity: Which operator in what country do you talk about?

TIM operator in Brazil.

Do the numbers that you receive calls from that look like the second and third examples above actually include letters or are you using bbaa as an representation/variable?

Just edited the question to make it more clear. Thanks.

Give a try to Rocket Dial free or pro available in Play store. In the setting you will find to change the no. format according to your choice.

Try using the format +bbaa12345678 in your contacts (so you replace the 0 by a + sign).

It works for receiving calls, but then I cannot use this number to make calls. My operator gives me an "invalid number" error.

Maybe try +55bbaa12345678?

Doesn't work either. :(


text:
Can I make and receive phone calls using a tablet with a SIM card slot in it?
I have an Android tablet without telephony capabilities. I can put in a SIM card. When somebody calls my SIM card number (mobile number), can I receive this call? What application do I need?

Have you tried it to see what happens? Some Android tablet builds actually have the phone app installed.

What tablet do you have? (Ok, I see from the duplicate question... Huawei MediaPad ?)

No, you usually can't receive calls with an tablet which doesn't provide this functionality. The SIM card slot is only for mobile data communication and there is no way that you just download an App which enables GSM phone functionality (AFAIK).
You can use VoIP though.

I have GSM in my phone spec.

Hmm, can some ROM be flashed which has telephony support?

@user14416 GSM means 2G network

Assuming you have a Huawei MediaPad as mentioned in your other/duplicate thread. Then the Huawei's own website states in the FAQ section:

Can I make phone calls using MediaPad?
Android 3.2 (Honeycomb) does not provide a function to make calls, but
  you can download and install applications from Hispace to make phone
  calls. Note:

As determined by operators' rate plans, most systems do not support voice calls even with calling applications installed. With the
  universal MediaPad version, calling is supported.
Calling is not a default function of Android 3.2 (Honeycomb). Downloading and installing applications are users' personal behaviors.
Internet telephony is supported.
Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) supports all calling functions.

Source:
http://www.huaweidevice.com/worldwide/faq.do?method=getFaqInfo&questionId=7564


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Aborting Bootloader process
I wanted to superroot my Samsung Galaxy Nexus I9250 and then I got to the bootloader and couldn't solve my problem.  The problem was that the driver installed on my computer was an unknown device and wouldn't read my phone or something (code 43).
How can i abort the bootloader process and just my phone get back to factory settings?

So are you basically just looking to reboot your device?

well now I am, just so I can use it and superroot it later

Hold the power button for a few seconds or remove the battery.  What does this have to do with factory settings?

well doesn't the bootloader erase everything?  and wouldnt removing the battery destroy information or something?  If removing the battery is a safe way or returning the device back then ill do that.  and the holding down the power button won't work for some reason

If you're literally sitting at the bootloader screen, the volume buttons will scroll between boot options and the power button will select. Simply use the volume buttons until it has "Start" selected and then press the power button to select it. This will boot your device normally.
If for some reason it's stuck at the bootloader and won't accept input, removing the battery should be fine provided that you aren't in the middle of executing a fastboot command of some kind. Note that if you're getting a response of <waiting for device> from fastboot that it is not doing anything on the phone's side. That means that it cannot communicate with the phone, and as such the bootloader itself is basically idle at that point.
Since you noted in a comment that you were concerned about the bootloader erasing things: the bootloader process in and of itself doesn't do this. The purpose of the bootloader is to allow you to boot into various different modes of the phone (such as recovery and a normal boot). In the PC world a bootloader is often used to dual boot two different operating systems, with the bootloader menu being what allows a user to select which OS they want. The only time that your data will be erased is when you execute the fastboot oem unlock or fastboot oem lock commands or if you explicitly erase a partition in some other way (fastboot erase, for example). Simply booting into your bootloader does not affect your data in any way.


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USB connection problem
I have a problem with my Samsung p1010, I started backing up my files prior to having it updated in a Samsung service center.  After updating it, my files were gone, lucky i had it backed up.  However, when I connected my device into my PC, it did not detect it like before.  I cannot open the folder for the tab, and the tab just went to connecting to MTP or something.

try to re-install the USB driver using samsung Kies...

Go to settings -> wireless and network -> usb settings. Disable usb debugging if prompted, and select the usb mode you want. Kies for syncing with the kies application on the desktop, or mass storage for mounting the /sdcard and /sdcard/external_sd partitions.

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


text:
Nook simple touch screensaver in USB mode
I have uploaded my own screensaver to my Nook Simple Touch, but when I connect it to my computer via USB, the screensaver goes to one of the stock ones. Is there anyway to make it so that when in USB mode, my Nook displays my custom screensaver instead of stock?

Whenever you connect your Nook in USB mode your USB storage from Nook gets unmounted and mounts in your computer. After its unmounted the OS can no longer find your screensaver. That's why Android doesn't want you to keep widgets in USB storage. Similarly apps moved to USB storage no longer works while connected to your computer.
If you move the screensaver to internal partition then it will work even when mounted to computer. For this your Nook must be rooted.

my Nook is rooted. Could you explain to me how to get it onto the internal partition?

If yo have ES file manager I'll tell you the steps with it or  kindly look at http://forum.cyanogenmod.com/topic/36443-most-convenient-way-to-copy-files-to-cyanogen-nc/ for second reply from Scott Wilkins. I'm not sure if you have cyanogen or not and if it will work without cyanogen.


text:
Can I make my phone recognize numbers in both international and local forms as equal?
In an earlier question, I asked how to handle international phone book entries while traveling internationally.  The simple answer was simply to store phone numbers in their international form, which works like a charm, except for one thing.
Incoming text messages don't always get assigned to the proper contact.
I may send a text to contact Bob, who's phone number is +52 333 555 12 12 (a Mexican number).  He gets the text just fine, but when he replies, the message appears to come from simply 333 555 12 12.  As a result, I end up with two conversations, one to 'Bob', and one to 333 555 12 12, which isn't associated with any of my contacts.
Is there a way to make my phone recognize these numbers as the same (without creating duplicate entries for all of my contacts--one with the +52 and one without)?

Is the issue same as this but in reverse?

Yes, it seems to be.  I'll try the solution there, though, and see if it helps.

Did you ever solved this issue?

Nope... haven't found a solution yet. :(

Dirty trick, but just associate both the numbers (with & without extensions) to the single contact..

@Power-Inside: Yeah, that would be the "without creating duplicate entries" part of my question.

Propably not an easy and fast solution:
If MIUI supports your Phone, then install MIUI which is not like the many roms (unstable, cluttered, for "freaks"). If it doesn't support your phone, you could still search for an unofficial version here or on XDA-Developers.
You have the possibility to go into the Dialer-Settings and set a default country-prefix. If you stay in Mexico you just set the default prefix to +52 and the incoming SMS should have the +52 assigned. If your next stay is in Krungthep Mahanakhon (=Bangkok) then you just set it to +66. This works for me.

Where do I find the default country prefix setting?


text:
LogCat shows exception in SyncProcessorQueue every 5 seconds
I just started noticing this in my Logcat, it seems like every 5 seconds I get this exception caught. Does anyone have any idea what app or part of the OS it could be? I can't imagine whatever this is constantly running and throwing exceptions can be good for my battery, this occurs whether the screen is on or off.
Phone is moto Atrix, android 2.3
I wonder what is com.google.apps.dots?
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593): Caught unexpected error
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593): java.lang.NullPointerException
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.provider.BlobStore.addToPossibleStores(BlobStore.java:98)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.provider.BlobStore.getPossibleStores(BlobStore.java:108)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.sync.CleanUpSync$OldAttachmentAndBlobCleanUp.syncSelf(CleanUpSync.java:138)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.sync.BaseSyncNode.syncSelfInternal(BaseSyncNode.java:121)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.sync.BaseSyncNode.sync(BaseSyncNode.java:104)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.sync.BaseSyncNode.syncNextChild(BaseSyncNode.java:196)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.sync.BaseSyncNode.sync(BaseSyncNode.java:107)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.sync.BaseSyncNode.syncNextChild(BaseSyncNode.java:196)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.sync.BaseSyncNode.sync(BaseSyncNode.java:107)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.sync.BaseSyncNode.syncNextChild(BaseSyncNode.java:196)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.sync.BaseSyncNode.sync(BaseSyncNode.java:107)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.sync.BaseSyncNode.syncNextChild(BaseSyncNode.java:196)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.sync.BaseSyncNode.sync(BaseSyncNode.java:107)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.sync.SyncNodeProcessor.syncNextNode(SyncNodeProcessor.java:34)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.sync.SyncProcessorQueue.process(SyncProcessorQueue.java:134)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.sync.SyncProcessorQueue.process(SyncProcessorQueue.java:114)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.sync.SyncProcessorQueue.access$200(SyncProcessorQueue.java:31)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.sync.SyncProcessorQueue$Processor.run(SyncProcessorQueue.java:236)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at java.util.concurrent.Executors$RunnableAdapter.call(Executors.java:444)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at java.util.concurrent.FutureTask$Sync.innerRun(FutureTask.java:306)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.run(FutureTask.java:138)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1088)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:581)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:1019)

I think that might be related to Google Currents, from what I've seen in other logs. Do you have that installed?

@eldarerathis, yes it is installed. Thanks for the heads up.

It has the package name right there--
"com.google.apps.dots"
Everything after that are the classes and related classes to that error.
com.google.android.apps.currents is the package name for Currents.
If you can get rid of that package, it should solve the issue.
--

Maybe there's an update already in Play Store that fixes up the null pointer exception...

As per this thread, it's related to Google Currents. Either disable the automatic syncing feature of Currents or uninstall Currents completely to get rid of this error.
I don't think it's a "bad" error though and should not cause any other problems (such as battery drain, etc.)


text:
ICS - Automatically syncing all exchange account folders
The standard e-mail client of ICS offers greater flexibility in choosing the sync. settings for individual folders of an exchange account.  I use an exchange server for my e-mail and use several sub folders on a regular basis.  Is there anyway for me to set that all folders automatically sync using the account defaults (push at all times)?  As it stands, I have to individually change the sync options for each individual folder by entering it and changing the settings.  This is very time consuming and something I'm keen to avoid in the future with new folders.
Many thanks,
Rich


text:
Why doesn't my Galaxy S2 see my keyboard/mouse?
I have a Samsung Galaxy S2 and Android 4.0.3. It recognises all the mass storage devices but doesn't seem to see a mouse and keyboard. The mouse was for sure working with Android 2.3 but now it is transparent to the phone, which acts as if no devices have been plugged in. I've seen some Youtube videos where it was all working perfectly fine. What might be causing it?
On one forum I've read that the version of firmware that I have (I9100XXLPQ) doesn't support mouse and keyboard but I tried to research this information and confirm it with no success. Can anybody confirm/deny it or give some website I could consult?

what BT profile does your does you Keyboard and Mouse use. if they are using HID then switch them 2 SPP if possible then try.

But they are not visible to the phone when I plug them in, so how do I change the interface from HID?

Try flashing your SGS2 with the siyah kernel. It proved effective for me. Grab the latest version of the kernel from the official site
I am able to connect flash drives, mouse and keyboard. Yet to test with external HDD with and without external power. Please post if you come up with any other device that can be connected


text:
What are the limitations of syncing PC settings (Firefox) with my Android?
Is it possible to sync the Firefox settings (including add-ons) on my PC with my Galaxy 10.1 tab?

You cant sync addons or settings between the PC and android due to differences in the platform. The only things which can be synced are bookmarks, passwords, history and even open tabs. Firefox 11's addon sync works only between the PC versions


text:
How do I remove the search bar in ICS?
Is there a way to remove the search bar from all of the home screens in Ice Cream Sandwich?   I have a Nexus S, which already has a hard-button for search, so the search bar is redundant.  Long pressing on it doesn't seem to do anything useful.

You can't remove it from the stock launcher, it's a permanent fixture. You can, however, install a custom launcher which is based on the stock one like Apex Launcher or Nova Launcher.
You can also disable the Google Search app completely if you want to, but then you won't be able to use it at all (also discussed on Google Groups).

Disabling the Google Search app completely doesn't require root; I just did it.  But as far as I can tell, the only way I can search now is to either open the browser and type my search into its bar; or else long-press the search button and speak my search terms.

@offby1: Thanks, I'll update the part about needing root.


text:
Cannot restore Kies backup after firmware upgrade
I backed up my Samsung Galaxy S2 on Kies before updating to Ice Cream Sandwich. After the upgrade I tried to restore, but the restore fails each time I try.

Does it provide you with any kind of specific error message when it fails?

I am having the same problem, the error message is not detailed; it just says the restore failed.
I have tried just selecting contacts rather than the full range of backed-up items but it has the same failure. Hoping there is a work-around before i resort to doing it all manually.

I had the same problem; this is what worked for me:

from the phone clear the app cache (I used app2sd)
restart phone
restart computer
start Kies
connect phone to computer
run restore again

Done.

Disable usb debugging in settings -> applications -> development.
Select samsung kies in settings -> wireless and network -> usb settings.
Try connecting the device again.


text:
Android NIC MAC address changed automatically
This is very puzzling but my android phone's NIC's MAC address seems to have changed on its own (or at least this is what it's showing).
I have a MAC filter in my LinkSys router and I have given access to only my computer and android phone. I had connected my phone to the access point just a few hours ago. When I tried to connect it now, I couldn't. So I rechecked the MAC filter list (FC:A1:3E:77:57:76) , and I surprisingly found it to be different from what my phone (FC:A1:3E:77:57:F7) was showing. Is this some bug in android? Does this happen? Or maybe the address in my router got changed (which isn't plausible).
PS: Please don't say that somebody must have broken into my router and changed it there, because that's not possible. I use WPA2, and anyways the signal cannot reach outside since outside is very far.
Edit: I guess it's a fault with my LinkSys router, since more weird things are happening. The router is assigning the same IP address to my computer and android phone. Can someone please migrate this question to Server Fault?

Did you install a custom ROM on your phone or anything of that nature? What kind of phone is it, and what version of Android is it running?

Version is 2.1 Samsung Galaxy GT-15503. And no, I haven't installed anything of the sort.

Changing MACs and multiple assignment of the same IP don't seem particularly related.  Is your firmware up to date?

My android 11 moto g used to randomize my phones mac every time I forgot the network and reconnected which I need to continuously reconnect to the coxwifi hotspot for the 30 min trail.  That’s how they track it. One trail a month. But I had bypassed that and could do it for ever.  Until a year or two later and android stopped doing it.   The settings haven’t changed just the max is

Android introduced MAC randomization in Android 8.0, years after this question has been posted (Android 2.x).

Problem is with your phone and not router. Your phones software keeps assigning new MAC addresses every time you turn your wifi on. If you are using MAC address filtering then it will need a static address.

Phones don't assign new MAC addresses every time wifi is turned on.


text:
View Android phone's call log from PC
My Android phone's screen suddenly stopped working - gone totally blank. I am getting lots of incoming calls, but am unable to view who is calling or pick the call. Also just before it stopped working, I had put it in Silent Mode with Vibration. So I have to listen to vibration to know that someone is calling, and there is no way I can turn Sound On now.
I want to access my phone's call log from PC by connecting using USB cable. There are many softwares, but they require to be installed on phone also. While I can install the software on the phone using MobileGo, but I may not be able to read the port no. on which the software is listening.
Is there any software which I can install just on my PC (like MobileGo) and directly access phone's Call Log? MobileGo has many useful features but this one is missing.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Are you rooted? Which phone? What version of Android?

I am not rooted. Phone Model is Motorola Fore XT 535. Android 2.3.x I guess (can't verify now)

You can also install the software directly from the Android market. But you won't be able to start it easily. You can use ADB to start the app as described here
I recommend MyPhoneExplorer. You'll also need to install the desktop program and then start the app on your phone as mentioned in the link above.
Be mindful of any optional toolbar that might ask to be installed on your desktop though.
UPDATE: I didn't need to start the app on my phone, merely connecting the cable was enough. Galaxy S2 on Gingerbread 2.3.3 (rooted, but that shouldn't be a factor).

Thanks. I was able to install MyPhoneExplorer client on the phone. I have gone through the adb command to start an acitivity on the phone, but it requires package name and activity name. Using MobileGo, I was able to find package name, but how do I find which activity? I gave this command in adb shell:  am start -n com.fjsoft.myphoneexplorer.client.apk, but it says Bad Component Name .. I guess because I have not specified Activity Name.

I was able to run the PhoneExplorer client on my phone using this command in adb shell: am start -n com.fjsoft.myphoneexplorer.client/com.fjsoft.myphoneexplorer.client.MainActivity. I came to know about the activity following the steps in this link: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5728903/reading-activity-names-from-apk-file-in-android. Finally I installed MyPhoneExplorer on my PC and was able to view the Call Log! Thanks a ton! Sparx, you have been of great help.

One last question, I had mentioned that I had put my phone in Silent Mode just before the screen problem happened. How can I now turn Sound On on the phone using my PC?

If your screen alone isn't working, I expect your volume keys must be - just press the side volume keys while your phone is on. When connected via the cable the phone will be on so one can probably increase the ringer volume then.

If you were rooted, I'd suggest androidscreencast - https://code.google.com/p/androidscreencast/ | it allows a user to control the android device using the PC/mouse but it needs root.

adb shell input keyevent 20 << will simulate pressing vol up. More details here - http://thecodeartist.blogspot.in/2011/03/simulating-keyevents-on-android-device.html

Complete your user profile - that will give you some points instantly. Also, look for a tick mark next to the answer. Clicking that means you accept that as the best answer.

You can install any software from the Market / Google Play. Log in using the account used on your device and you can install any software.
The app will be automatically downloaded (pushed) and installed onto your device when the device is online.
Via USB I think you can only access such information in case the USB debugging is enabled on your device. With it enabled you have access to the file system and further options via Android Debug Bridge (ADB).
But as your device is defect it would be much simpler to just buy or lend a cheap device and use it instead...

Use Android Device Manager. Install the device both in your android phone and your machine (pc) . Then sign in using your details and you can view all the details in your PC. That's like basically remotely controlling your device.
Hope this helps.

If you're referring to Google's "Android Device Manager" that comes up at the top of this search then you're mistaken as to what it does.  You can find/erase/lock your device but there is nothing like basically remotely controlling your device.  If you're referring to another app, can you provide the link and more information?  (also, what do you mean Install the device...?)


text:
How to recover from a bad flash?
I've killed my phone. I tried to install CyanogenMod following a tutorial, but now my phone won't start. How can I recover it? Is there a tool can I can use to reflash it?

We need more information.  What tutorial?  Where did things go wrong?  What happens when you turn on the device?  Can you get into recovery or the bootloader?

@SameerSharma Look at the tags.

Probably you werent running the specific firmware on which the CM port for your phone was designed to be installed on. Check if you had missed any steps in the tutorial.
If your phone gets stuck at the bootlogo or bootanimation, you can try to do a factory reset from the recovery mode. If the problem still persists, try flashing the stock firmware and then installing CM.
If your phone does not respond at all while attempting to switch it on, its hard-bricked. The only way to recover it is by using jtag. You need to disassemble the phone for this method, so it's better to take it to a service centre. Here the bootloader is rewritten to the device using a riff box. Watch this video to see how it's done: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_zaehAFjME


text:
How can I delete multiple emails on the HTC One X?
I just got the HTC One X and I cannot find a way to select all my emails and delete them in one go. I have to select them one by one the delete them, after which I have to repeat the process again the clear the trash bin. I had the HTC Desire before and that did it with no problems.
Has anyone found a solution or am I missing something?

What email client are you using? The default one?

You should do the following:

select one e-mail (check mark next to the mail)
click on "menu" (top right corner) and "select all"
now you can delete all emails

Unfortunately not able to locate any select all option in menu for using gmail. Thanks
Anuj


text:
Removing desktop panes on Galaxy Tab 10.1
I have a brand new Galaxy Tab 10.1 and I can't figure out how I remove some of the desktop panes.

Do you mean home screens? If so, see this question: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/4594/how-to-remove-home-screens-on-a-vodafone-845 . There's also this one, which is about HTC Sense, but some of the solutions may help: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/4676/how-to-reduce-number-of-screens-on-htc-sense-android-phones

To remove some of the desktop panes, you will have to use an alternative launcher. Unfortunately, I am not familiar with Honeycomb so I can't give you any recommendations besides looking in the Play Store.


text:
Is touch accuracy based on a phone's hardware or the application?
Many apps on my phone, especially browsers, have awful touch accuracy. I wondering whether touch accuracy was based more on the design of the app, or the hardware of the phone. Some apps work better than others, but I also found that some phones had better touch accuracy for the same kinds of apps.
Does touch accuracy depend more on the phone's hardware than the design of an app?

I'd say both and which of software or hardware is more important depends on the type of input.  Back in the Nexus One days, some apps (most notably keyboards) tried to compensate for its lack of true multi touch, with mixed success.

Well the hardware needs to be properly aligned, so that where it senses your touch matches up with what you see yourself touching.
There are also general algorithms the system applies to make decisions about where the center of your touch is, since your finger is not a perfect point, and so on.
Finally, and app needs to decide what to do with a touch.  When an app uses simple widgets like buttons it's fairly simple to map the touch position to a widget.  In the browser, however, it's much more difficult.  Determining the position of a control rendered dynamically via HTML (and JavaScript etc.) is a fairly complex task.  You'll find that most touch browsers, even on other platforms, have varying levels of difficulty with touch accuracy.
So it depends on both hardware and software, but the variance you're seeing between apps is probably all due to the apps.


text:
When the GPS is enabled but not in use, does it drain battery?
If the GPS is enabled (in the notification view at the top, the GPS icon is enabled), but the app doesn't use it, does it drain battery? I understand that GPS drains battery because it requires a different component to be charged up. Or does the fact that the GPS is enabled only mean that the App can use it?

The GPS icon in the status bar means that an application is currently using the GPS so it is draining the battery. GPS does not however drain any battery just because you have it enabled in the settings menu.

Could you please clarify what you mean exactly when you say "The GPS icon in the status bar"? In this partial screenshot, do you mean the icon circled in red or the icon circled in blue?

The one circled in red, the other one doesn't exist in stock Android (and neither in my manufacturer's skin)

Technically, the GPS icon is shown whenever the GPS chip is being used. If it isn't being used, it won't be shown.
Poorly designed apps may however keep trying to use the GPS feature just because it is enabled and thereby drain your battery. Example - keeping one's phone inside one's pocket or basically without having sight of GPS satellites will cause the GPS chip to keep searching thereby draining the battery.

I'd like to add that the cellphone component will also drain a lot of battery when it enabled where there is no network.


text:
How can I replace the apps in the SGSII's stock launcher dock?
When I turn on my Galaxy S2, on the very bottom, there are the default icons for "phone", "email", "web", and "applications". On the Galaxy Tab (running Android 3.2), if I want to free up any of those apps and replace them with my own, I simply press and hold like any other app and just delete and replace with my own.
On the Galaxy SII Skyrocket (running 2.3 Gingerbread), I press and hold and nothing happens. Is there a way for me to change the shortcuts in the dock on the SGSII, similar to the way I can on the Galaxy Tab?

Try to keep your questions to one question a piece, or at least several extremely related question. I will say, though, that Honeycomb was only released for tablets. There are no phones that have or will receive an update to Honeycomb.

If you have the Ice Cream Sandwich update, pretty much all you have to do is hit the Menu button from the home screen, select Edit, and then long press the application you want to change.
For Gingerbread, click the Applications icon, then follow the same procedure (Menu button, edit, etc.)

Use an alternative launcher like Launcher Pro / ADW / Zeam / Go Launcher etc.
They allow you to customize the icons that you want at the bottom of the screen in addition to many, many more useful features.

You can click on the Applications icon, then bring up the menu and there should be edit in there. You will now be able to drag icons back and forth, remember to press the menu button again to save it.


text:
ICS stock email client consumes too much traffic for POP3 accounts
I have two different POP3 accounts under two different domains. I was using my Samgung Galaxy S2 (I9100 unrooted, unlocked) with stock Gingerbread (2.3.6) and my monthly data usages for emails were ~100 MiB. But, after upgrading stock ICS (4.0.3 I9100XWLP7-Turkiye), in a single day it was ~50 MiB. Due to this reason I've switched K9 client. But, it constantly deleted all of my account settings in a random interval. After realizing it's a known bug for a long time, I've desperately returned stock email. After several tries, a friend of mine advice to "mark all messages as read" immediately after setting accounts to prevent excessive traffic usages. At first, this doesn't make sense to me, but he explained that some old Windows-based email clients were acting in that way (unread messages were constantly downloaded over and over again). Interestingly, it worked. But, after using it for a while (precisely 1-2 days), "Onavo Count" started to warn me again about that email client consumes too much traffic. While investigating the problem, I've noticed that for a single check, it consumes 1-3 MiB traffic even though I've marked all messages as read. And now email client reached ~300 MiB traffic usages in total (I've only 1 GiB/month data plan).
As a summary:

I was happy with Gingerbread email client.
ICS client consumes too much traffic for each check.
K9 was tried. It's very buggy.
I don't want to add my POP3 accounts to Gmail to avoid excessive traffic usages (using push notification and such).
I don't want to pay an app due to such thing (why should I use Android if even I can't read my emails properly!?). I was happy with stock client. If there is way that I could use it, I prefer that way.
I don't want to root my device due to such problems
As a last attempt, I could even write my own client which could optimize traffic usages (check only header on 3G connection, download all emails on WiFi etc.)

Any help?
EDIT: Seems something is not right with Onavo Count. It frequently warns me about email client (now ~650 MiB) even though I've increased check interval "5 min" to "once a day". And what's more, Onavo Count reports my total traffic usage as ~6 GiB now (still increasing). But, according to ICS's built-in data monitor and my operator I didn't used that much traffic (only ~1 GiB). But again, this doesn't changed the fact that email client consumes too much data (around ~200 MiB which means x2 after upgrading to ICS, it's verified by both ICS's built-in data monitor and my operator reports).

Frankly I have no idea what's causing this. My best guess is that Samsung screwed up something. Gmail with push with about 30 emails a day consumed 19.91MB in the past month. I use the stock ICS email client with push too so I don't know how pop3 should consume. Have you tried removing the accounts?

I have the same problem too. I have done a call to the Samsung Support, and they tell me that this is the way the new email client work. They suggest to use IMAP and not pop3. Any way I think is a real bug!!. The problems is not to find a Bypass (use IMAP, or add the accout to Gmail, or other), but ask that Email client work in the correct mode as they do on Gingerbread.

This is not an issue of your email client. This is the way POP3 works. In Gingerbread's email client, you'd had set leave copy of email on server. So, your ICS email client is downloading all past emails from server. Unfortunately, POP3 doesn't allow selective downloads. Your mails are being fully downloaded (not just header) with attachments too. That's the reason of high traffic. You should now un-check leave copy on server (to make sure, it'd not download an email repeatedly after its removed from local cache). After full download, everything will become normal.
If you can, I'd recommend to use IMAP instead of POP3. IMAP syncs everything (e. g. email read status) with server-client. If you delete an email locally, It'd be deleted from server too (provided its in configuration). So, you can keep emails on multiple devices in sync. IMAP allows you to download email header only, download attachments on demand etc. So, it can save your data.

I had same settings for both Gingerbread and ICS - leave a copy of email on server. I believe, the problem is instead of invoking "LIST" command which pulls emails' unique identifiers to check whether there is a new email or not, ICS simply downloads all emails.

As to "selective download", you're right. I've confused by LIST command meaning at first. After looking a corresponding RFC article, it's clear now. As to solution, recently we've become a Microsoft Office 365 partner and moved our company emails to Office 365. So, no more POP3. I think, it's the only way to go for our current position.

You might consider adding your pop3 accounts to gmail anyway, but then turning off sync for gmail.  That way, I assume, your phone won't automatically check your mail, but you'll still be able to retrieve new mail "by hand".

With Gingerbread, check interval was 5 min and I didn't have any problem with that (traffic usage was up to only ~100 MiB/month). So, if I have to add my accounts to Gmail, I don't need to disable sync. The problem is that I don't want add my accounts to Gmail either.


text:
'Failed to access device' when trying to root Samsung Galaxy S 2.3.3 with Heimdall
I want to install CyanogenMod on my Samsung Galaxy S. In order to do that it needs to be rooted first of course. For that I followed the the explanation on the CyanogenMod wiki to the letter.
However, when I execute heimdall flash --kernel zImage in the command prompt I get the following feedback:
D:\SGS\Heimdall>heimdall flash --kernel zImage
Heimdall v1.3.1, Copyright (c) 2010-2011, Benjamin Dobell, Glass Echidna
http://www.glassechidna.com.au

This software is provided free of charge. Copying and redistribution is
encouraged.

If you appreciate this software and you would like to support future
development please consider donating:
http://www.glassechidna.com.au/donate/

Initialising connection...
Detecting device...
ERROR: Failed to access device. libusb error: -12

I'm unable to find any information about this error :-(.
Type: Samsung Galaxy GT-I9000
Firmware: 2.3.3
Baseband: I9000XXJVO
Kernel: 2.6.35.7-I9000XWJVH-CL184813
OS: Windows Vista
Alternatively: where can I find a clear, non-confusing, guide on how to root a Samsung Galaxy S? There seem to be hundreds out there but so far I didn't find any that worked for me with working links and clear explanation.

Did you reboot into the bootloader (Download Mode)?

Problem solved in the mean time but yes I had, tx

See the following page for downloading the required files:
http://www.theandroidsoul.com/how-to-root-xwjvh-android-2-3-3-rom-for-galaxy-s-i9000/

Install Samsung Kies but dont keep it running while flashing as it will interfere with the process. Required only for the drivers.
Download CF-Root kernel. File name – CF-Root-XW_NEE_JVH-v3.2-CWM3RFS.zip.
Unzip the above file. You will get the .tar file – “CF-Root-XW_NEE_JVH-v3.2-CWM3RFS.tar”.
Download Odin. File name – Odin3 v1.7. Extract the zip file to get Odin3 1.7.exe. Run Odin by double clicking on it.
Switch Off your phone. Wait for vibration to confirm complete switch off.
Boot your phone in Download Mode — Press and hold “VolumeDOWN + HOME key + POWER button” together.
Connect your phone to PC now. You’ll notice “Added! !” message in the message box.
On Odin, click the “PDA” box and select the .tar file you got in step 2 — CF-Root-XW_NEE_JVH-v3.2-CWM3RFS.tar
Do NOT select any “.pit” file in the “PIT” box, and make sure “Repartition” button is NOT checked.
Leave the “Auto Reboot” and “F. Reset Time” buttons checked.
Click the Start button on Odin to begin installing the CF Root kernel.
After the CF Root is installed, phone will restart.
Your phone is rooted now. Note that surperuser app is there.

Phone rooted in about 3 minutes with the clear guide! Tx a bunch!

Answers that are just links to outside resources are not considered good answers. When that link ceases to function this answer will have no value whatsoever. Please at least summarize what someone will find when they follow that link.

@AlEverett:The answer would be too long if I post the entire page here.

Which is why I said "summarize".

For anyone else who wants to know. I had the same problem.
My Solution: Was to use another computer; worked for me!!


text:
Self tracking for Android?
I would like to do self-tracking on Android (ICS). Specifically: enter physical tension spots (forehead, hand, back, etc..) every hour or so, and then see plotted graphs and statistical insights on the accumulated data over days.
As an added bonus, I want to manipulate the data from SL4A scripts (e.g., read data and plot using PIL in Python, or jquery plot in webkit).
Is it possible? None of the Android apps listed in that site seem to do what I want.

The same site has a set of posts for Android based tools - http://quantifiedself.com/guide/tag/Android

@Sparx i already looked into that url before posting here; none of the apps mentioned in that page does what specifically i asked in the question.

What about entering the data in an Excel spreadsheet and then plotting the graphs?

"Is there an app that does X" questions are generally not considered a good fit here. Please review the [FAQ].


text:
Phone boots very slow and restarts by itself
My problem is when I turn on the phone, the Google logo stays stuck and after unknown minutes boots in with the software animation, but very slow and then starts over again! First a little history of my upgrades with this phone.
My friend bought me Nexus S T-mobile version for US 6 mounts ago, and the phone was with Gingerbread 2.3.4. After reading many post from xda-developers , I decided to upgrade because I can't upgraded 2.3.6 OTA. After many hours I finally upgraded it to 2.3.6.
Then ICS came out, and again, I upgraded to 4.0.3. Then, a few weeks ago, I got the 4.0.4 OTA notification. Happily I taped yes. And then before two days ago, my phone just died. I don't know how and why.
I have 115 installed application, no music inside, no ROOT - just pure stock. I was in my college room and I left my phone on the desk right in front of me and after few minutes when I looked at the phone, the Google logo was there. I didn't give the phone to anyone to picks or anything. When I get home, I turn the phone on and still the Google logo just was there doing nothing and like I said before, after unknown minutes the phone boots in with very slow animation of the ICS software. I decided to install Clockwork Mod recovery 5.0.2.0 and root the phone. After reading many tutorials I installed CWM recovery successfully. Then I tried to downgrade to 2.3.4 and successfully I did that to.
Now after doing all this things to this phone, after so many hours in pain, the phone is nothing like one week ago. The booting is very slow, the animation is veryyy slow, and I don't know what to do anymore... I think this is hardware problem.
[edit] I send it to Samsung and they send me a new one, so definitely is a hardware problem.

I would flash an stock ROM, followed by an factory reset and if the issues remain it's likely a hardware problem.

+1 for coming back to your post and share the real reason with us!

No problem. Thanks for your time helping me. :)

After flashing a new firmware it is advised to perform a factory reset (all your data will be lost, so take a backup.) While the phone is off:

Press the VOLUME UP, HOME and POWER buttons together till it vibrates. Now it has entered RECOVERY MODE.
Navigating using the volume buttons highlight the option wipe data/factory reset and press the HOME button to select and confirm it on the next screen.
Finally select reboot system now to restart the phone

I did that, I did everything, from reseting from recovery, adding older firmware, flashing... Nothing helps. I want to know if someone had this problem and is this hardware problem so I will know what to do... :(

Then it is probably a hardware issue. Since it's only 6 months old, try to get it replaced under warranty.

And btw is it carrier locked? Sometimes that could cause a problem

No, it's unlocked. But did I broke my warranty with unlocking the fastboot? Can I lock it again so I can return it to the store?

Flash the stock firmware(which will unroot the phone) before you give it to the store and pretend that you never rooted or flashed firmwares and everything happened on its own

Thank you, I appreciate your help and I decided now what to do! Thank you again :]

Note: I removed the part about wiping cache since the wipe data/factory reset does that too.


text:
Default calendar doesn't show any calendar; not able to create a new one
My tablet runs Android 4.0.3. The stock calendar app complains that there's no calendar available, however I'm pretty sure that my calendar exists because I can read it online through other devices. I can even sync it with my Windows phone. Moreover, I don't see any button to create a new calendar. In my settings, sync calendar is enabled, and there is no problem with my Google account; I can successfully use Gmail and Play. I must be missing something... without any calendar, the calendar app is useless, uh?

Have you tried the usual?

The only one thing I didn't try is reinstallation, because I can't find the Calendar app on Play store

Well, sure. It's a built-in app.

The only other thing I can suggest is to remove and re-add that Google account. Either that or a factory reset.


text:
What is the best way to get the Android SDK reference offline on my Android device?
I want to study the Android API on my phone during my frequent and long metro rides (where I cannot connect to the internet).
What would be the best way to make the documentation available (I would appreciate being able to use a search option and an index)? Is copying all the documentation files from my PC to my Android device the best thing to do? Is there any serious app that could provide these features?

It seems like you could do this with something like storing web-pages for offline reading, unless you're trying to get the documentation in some specific non-HTML format.

You can download the documentation of Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) by the SDK Manager.
SDK manager-->Android 4.0.3 (API15)-->Documentation for Android SDK
It will download all the documentation in <android-sdk>\docs of your PC.

I guess it's the best thing to do. I hope I can use the search function using this method.

You can search for files, even with the integrated google search, if you install Solid Explorer a new nice File explorer app for android (no I don't work there/know them etc) From the description: Indexed search, also available from the system (that means that you can search for files from the Google Search widget/app)  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=pl.solid.explorer

Yes, you can use the search and it works same as the time you are online.

It's not the solution you are looking for exactly but an alternative way would be to use the code completion feature of the AIDE app, an Android IDE running on Android.
Plus you can code during your metro rides and even meetings :)

Ah yeah, AIDE is a very nice app too, +1 for your idea !


text:
Does FriendCaster have problems with the privacy settings of my friends?
I am fed up with the official Facebook application and want to switch. FriendCaster seems to be one of the very good choices. However I saw in reviews and other websites that FriendCaster will not show everything in the news feed because it might not have access to my friend's information due to privacy settings.
Is this true?
Would I not see everything with FriendCaster which I would have seen in the official Facebook app?

Yes, there is a privacy setting that will prevent FriendCaster from being able to retrieve posts or other info from your friends if they have it enabled. Specifically, according to OneLouder's support site:

[I]t is possible that some of your friends have set their privacy
  settings to block access to their profile, wall, photos and status
  updates from third party apps like FriendCaster.  This setting is
  found in "Account --> Privacy Settings --> Apps and Websites".
In “Info accessible through your friends” you can see checkboxes for
  the items that are available to apps.  As an example, If your friend
  has “My Photos” unchecked here, they won’t appear in FriendCaster.
Unfortunately Facebook has this restriction in place and unless your
  friend allows third party apps we can't get around it at this time. If
  your friends are using that setting, the info will only appear on
  Facebook itself.


text:
Android added a plus sign before the number, making an undesired international call
I cannot repeat this bug, but I can see it in my call log. Last Monday I called a friend with a number beginning with 328 (Wind provider, Italy). According to the log, I called a number starting with +328 which was an international call to Belgium, and in fact some people answered me in French.
I tried to repeat the bug, but without success. I only know that in some (rare) occasions the plus sign is automatically added to the call. This is causing me trouble because I don't want to pay for undesired international calls.
How can I avoid this? I know that I never manually dialed the number, I always choose it from my contact widget menu.

Wouldn't this depend on your carrier?

The best way to avoid this is to add your country's international prefix (It's +39 for Italy if I'm not mistaken.) This way your network providers treats it like it would without the prefix ie. it will be a domestic call if you're in the same country, but it will still work if you're calling from a different country.

As a workaround, you could include the country code of Italy in all your contacts. This has the additional advantage that these numbers will still work the way they are supposed to even when you are roaming abroad. I'm not sure if either Android or the cellphone network handle this case intelligently.


text:
Stopping Dolphin Browser Mini from reloading (Question about memory and cache)
After opening certain amount of pages in Dolphin Browser Mini  (and I think Dolphin HD), the browser dismesses pages from memory as described here: Can I make the browser stop autmatically refreshing pages that haven't been displayed for a while?
The page includes a solution, which is using Swapper 2. Can anyone please explain how it works (not technically but the general idea) / what is it's limitations?
I was thinking of getting a 2GB tablet, since I thought it would be necessary for "multitasking", but this solution seems to work flawlessly for this problem and 2GB of RAM could be totally unnecessary, and hence the question.

Off in the world of real computers, with very fast memory and orders of magnitude slower storage--hard disks--there is the concept of virtual memory.  Basically, each application gets what seems like a very large amount of memory, an address space.  Behind the scenes, this address space is broken up into pages that are transfered between real, fast, memory and a part of the hard disk called swap space (i.e. slow memory) by the operating system and as needed.  In Linux, this swap space can be one or more specially formatted partitions and/or one or more files, or swap files.  The operating system is smart enough to keep track of where it's storing what.  It also ensures that before a program tries to read/write from a place in memory, that the page being accessed is first moved to real memory.
For example, if you're using your word processor and open 10,000 documents, exhausting main memory, some of the less recently accessed documents may be transfered the swap space to give way for the ones you just opened.  If you switch over to your browser, perhaps all of the memory used by the word processor will be shunted to the swap, replaced by the working-state of the browser.
Again, this is done automatically by the operating system, with no real involvement from programs.  According to your programs, they're running on a machine with a very large amount of memory.  According to the user, when this swapping occurs, there will be brief delays as the operating system moves data between the two types of memory.  Back in the Windows 95 days, it was pretty clear when the swapping was occurring as the hard disk light would be pretty much solid for a few seconds.
So, fast forward to phones.  On a phone running Android, there is usually no hard disk.  Instead, you have main memory--RAM, or that fast memory mentioned above--and some form of non-volatile storage.  It turns out that type of memory is slower than RAM, but not nearly as slow as a hard disk.  Although it would be tempting to use some or all of this non-volatile storage as swap space, I suspect manufacturers and Google, observed that one property of this non-volatile storage is that it degrades with repeated writes, and so opted not to use it.  This means that instead of having seemingly limitless memory, activities on Android only have access to RAM.  When the Android framework tries to start an activity and the operating system says sorry, out of memory, Android responds by killing activities until it has reclaimed enough memory.  This is why you notice Dolphin Browser actually reloading pages when you switch from and then back to it:  Whatever you switched to tried to use so much memory that Android had to start killing activities.
So, Swapper.  What swapper does is dig into the operating system and re-enable virtual memory by creating a swap file on your SD card and telling the OS about it.  The OS then makes all programs (including the Android framework) feel that they each have a lot of memory, and handles moving data between real memory and the swap file.  This is why Dolphin doesn't get killed as frequently with Swapper enabled.
As the Swapper page on Google Play explains, this could have a detrimental effect on whatever non-volatile memory the swap file is placed on.  If you're using an SD card, when you start getting write/read errors, you can just swap it out.  If you're using a phone with built-in non-volatile memory, it's a different story.  I'm not 100% sure what sort of impact repeated writes has to this sort of memory, but it's a risk you should be aware of.


text:
How to change the Messaging and keyboard apps to stock ones on LG Optimus Net P690 running Cyanogenmod7?
Is it in any way possible to replace CM7's boring messaging interface with the stock messaging app from the LG stock roms (the one with chat bubbles), also, where would I be able to get a keyboard similar/exactly the same to the stock LG keyboard on the Optimus Net?
This is what the stock keyboard looks like (I couldn't find a picture in portrait mode, sorry): .
I found a ported stock LG keyboard, but as you can see in Cyano, there is a useless smilie button and every single button is bigger than what they're supposed to be from the LG keyboard.
Could someone help me/direct me to how I might be able to replace the messaging app and keyboard from CM7 with the apps I'm looking for? Thanks!

Download the apk files of the stock keyboard and messaging apps and copy them to the current directory. You can also copy them from /system/app/ directory in the system.img file(use magiciso to mount it) present in the stock firmware file(usually .tar) Start an adb session and execute the following lines:
Mounting system partition as read-write:
$ adb shell mount -o rw,remount -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock03 /system

Removing CM's apps(change the names):
$ adb shell rm /system/app/CM_messaging_app.apk
$ adb shell rm /system/app/CM_keyboard_app.apk

Installing stock apps(change the names):
$ adb install stock_messaging_app.apk
$ adb install stock_keyboard_app.apk

I would recommend 'hacker's keyboard'( https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.pocketworkstation.pckeyboard&hl=en) over the stock keyboard apps though.

I've tried your method with installing multiple versions of the stock Gingerbread Mms.apk, though for the Mms apps I found, it always fails to install. What could be causing this?

what error message are you getting?

When I try to install the apk manually (for testing purposes if it would work before mounting to the system) I get application not installed messages. I then tried mounting it to the system/app/ folder via the terminal then my messaging app just vanished altogether.

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


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Enabling AdHoc Networking on ICS to Connect to AdHoc Devices
I'm looking for a way to connect my Galaxy Nexus (Android 4.0.x) to my laptop via adhoc wifi. (The laptop will act as my wireless NAS.)
The WiFi Ad Hoc enabler for Android does not work on the Galaxy Nexus. (The statistics at at that link show 0 successes and 13 failures for GNex owners who tried it. However, it works for many other devices.)
I also see this advice:
You need a modified wpa_supplicant file in /system/bin.
What modifications are needed to the wpa_supplicant file in /system/bin?
I see a couple proposed solutions for other devices, but nothing for the Galaxy Nexus.
https://android.stackexchange.com/a/19133/12444
https://android.stackexchange.com/a/4147/12444
http://www.slatedroid.com/topic/2973-ad-hoc-network/
However, I see this response: "patching the wpa_suplicant isn't generic and frankly I'd call that method useless."
What is the best solution? Can anyone shed more light on the problem here?

If you can tether mobile data of your Galaxy Nexus over Wi-Fi, you have full-featured ad-hoc network. If you are not sure, install Wireless Tether (root access is required).
After connecting Laptop to this MobileAP, look for IPs of client and Default Gateway (ipconfig /all cmd command works fine with Windows; Fing can also be used). IP of Default Gateway is IP of your Android device. You can use these IPs in any networking service you want. It works.
Another Approach
In ad-hoc networking, it doesn't matter which point is broadcasting SSID. So, you can make your laptop virtual router too. Connect your Galaxy Nexus to it & do whatever you want.
To make your laptop virtual router with NAS support, I'd recommend you to install Connectify Pro (not free). There's a nice free alternative too: mHotspot. After connecting your Galaxy Nexus to virtual hotspot created by it, you can use any networking service over it.

My laptop is running Ubuntu, so neither Connectify or mHotpost will work for me. I don't want to tether the mobile data connection. I want to use my laptop as a wireless NAS (to stream or download files from my laptop to my phone). I don't think you have given me any solution (unless I misunderstand).

@MountainX You do have the solution. Wireless Tether app provides access control to block internet sharing with clients. So, your mobile data usage will not be affected.


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How do I clear learned words?

Possible Duplicate:
How to clear the keyboard autocomplete suggestions

I want to clear the learned words on my Android 2.3.4 phone. They are not found on the User Dictionary but I can see them being suggested whenever I'm typing.

How is this an exact duplicate? The linked supposed duplicate only had one answer and the answer doesn't even work since, as I stated above, the learned words aren't found on the User Dictionary at all. I think it's a little different since he didn't confirm if it existed in the User Dictionary or not.

If you are using swipe, go to settings> locale and text> swype settings and then click on reset swype's dictionary
Also you can navigate to Settings > Applications > Manage Applications. Then once there, you will need to scroll down and find the keyboard app. Click on that, and then tap the “Clear Data” button.
when the list of learned words appears, long press on one and you may be given the option to forget it. This works on samsung galaxy note 3.

Thanks! It worked. But shouldn't there be a way to clear just the learned words instead of the everything including the settings?


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What occurs in the background when an application such as Skype is installed e.g. logs, synchronization, etc?
When I install an application, what happens in the background, where is the application installed, where are its preferences stored, where is information such as usernames and passwords stored, etc?

where is the application installed

The .apk file is put into /data/app (see: Where in the file system are applications installed?)

where are its preferences stored

This depends on the application. If it uses the SharedPreferences classes then they go in /data/data/<app's package name>/shared_prefs, but they could feasibly be stored anywhere the app can write data to (i.e. all of /data/data/<app's package name>, the SD card, etc).

where is information such as usernames and passwords stored

This also depends on the app. Most often, probably somewhere in /data/data/<app's package name>. They could also use AccountManager APIs (the app must request this permission) which I believe will use the /data/system/accounts.db database.

Thanks. Do most applications document where they store user data? Is this available somewhere on the Android Market?

@PeanutsMonkey: I don't think that I've ever seen an app that provided any kind of publicly available documentation for that, so I'd guess (but it's just a guess) that it's uncommon.

What is the best way to find out?

@PeanutsMonkey: Email the developer.

Really? Thought there would be more governance around apps being distributed via the Market.

@PeanutsMonkey: Google has been relatively vocal about their hands-off approach to the Market. They don't vet or test any of the apps up front aside from running a background process on the server that checks for known malware. I've also never heard of any app store requiring developers to enumerate where and how they store every piece of data in their app and then release it publicly through the store. That seems like it would be a fairly obnoxious requirement since 99% of users probably won't ever care or ask for that kind of information. They may not even understand what to ask.


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Use Nook Tablet in the UK
I will be visiting the U.S. this month and I was thinking about buying the Nook Tablet from Barnes and Noble whilst over there as I am looking for a Tablet to primarily read books on but also browser the web and watch videos.
Two questions
Will the Tablet work in the UK when I get back? By "work" I mean will I be able to browse the web, watch videos on the device and read books that are already on the device?
Can you put your own books on there? I have a number of books already in mobi format, happy to convert them if necessary.
Thanks

AFAIK the nook tablet doesnt have 3g support. So country specific problems are not applicable. You can use wifi wherever you want.
With the kindle app or another app that supports .mobi it is possible. Otherwise you can use a program like calibre in your PC to convert them to epub.


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Does ICS Gmail display unread message counts for labels other than Inbox?
Up to Android 2.x, in the labels view the Gmail app of my Nexus S displayed the number of unread messages next to labels with unread mail. I recently upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.4 on the same device and now Gmail no longer displays unread counts for labels unless I access the list of messages for a certain label. Is this a new Gmail feature? Is there some way of viewing those unread counts in a way similar to Android 2.x?

Yes, at least 4.0.4 stock image on my Galaxy Nexus does, though if more than 999, it just displays 999+ (same as inbox).

My Galaxy Nexus with stock ICS 4.0.2 does show unread counts on my labels, like this when I click the labels icon at the bottom of the screen:

Possibly more important than the version of Android you're running, is the version of GMail that you're runnning. The GMail app was last updated on 4th April 2012, I'm running v4.0.5 which I'm pretty sure is the latest version. Check which version you have by going into Settings -> Applications and finding GMail in the list. Visit the GMail page in the Play Store (on your phone) to update, if not.

I've played with my version of Gmail a bit and found that it does indeed display unread counts like yours and ewanm89's. It looks like by default Gmail doesn't sync labels, hence it can't show how many unread messages there are. To activate syncing, I had to tap MANAGE LABELS in the screen you posted and manually enable syncing for the labels I'm interested in.


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Calendar sync with Google Calendar notification time
Events sync-ed from Google Calendar have a default notification time of 10 minutes in advance. Sometimes that's not enough.
Is there any way to automate this and have the default be something else?
Thank you.

In your Google Calendar on the web you can set a default notification period for the events you subsequently set up on the web calendar.  In the calendar app provided with Gingerbread I don't see any similar default setting but you can set a notification for each event you set up.
FYI Google has numerous problems with alarms in Gingerbread.  One is that if you subsequently change an alarm that was set up in the web calendar using the web calendar that change may not sync to the phone.  Another is that eventually notifications will start coming late and there is no known fix (in spite of Google presumably knowing about it for almost a year although they've only apparently actually acknowledged knowing about it for about six months).

You can also create default notification for each calendar (group of events)(the default group is simply "Event").

open calendar
select menu (top left)
scroll down to settings
under your email select your calendar (click on show more if you have more than one otherwise select "Event")
choose a default color and notifications.

Each of your email/ "calendar" can have its own defauls color/notifications.
This will only be a template, you will still be able to set the color and  nofications when you create/edit a particular event.


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What's the difference between real dual-touch and fake dual-touch?
I have a Xperia X10 Mini Pro and by some ungodly reason it's dual touch feature is not working. I have searched around the net and I have seen here and there people use terms such as real dual-touch and fake dual-touch.
I don't really understand what's the difference here? Can the dual-touch ability be faked and how is that possible?
By the way, if anyone can tell is it possible to activate the dual touch feature in my phone I would be super thankful.

I have 2 questions. Is your phone rooted and what ROM are you using (EX custom ROM, Gingerbread Stock, etc)?

It's rooted. I use GingerDX.

Multitouch touch screen digitizers handle (2,3,4...) or more input fingers at a time at the hardware level.
Single touch devices handle only one finger at a time even if 2 or more are present. If you touch with a 2nd finger, the detected touch will "jump" from the first finger to the second finger location.
Install a touch screen visualizer or test application like Z device test.
You can watch a video how it looks with one finger on youtube (which has fake dual touch and has some flaws).
So what a fake dual touch driver does is this:
It basically detects "jumps" of the finger and assumes it comes from a second and just keeps reporting a fixed virtual event (coming from the last known position from the (now vanished) 1st finger touch) while the 2nd touch is from your actual finger and reported regularly.

The difference between real dual-touch and fake dual-touch has to do with how the screen is built. Real touch screens have an additional layer to allow for additional inputs. There are ways to emulate dual-touch with software. This is helpful in the case of your particular phone.
This XDA forum page has a list of updates for particular ROMs including 2 stock ROMs which enable fake dual touch.


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Why can I not pull an IPv6 address from T-Mobile?
I saw that T-Mobile has enabled IPv6 for its network, and I wanted to try it out.
I dropped off my WiFi network, changed my APN to the IPv6-enabled APN (epc.tmobile.com) and was unable to pull an address.
Turns out that they don't support it on this phone (a T-Mobile G2, a.k.a. HTC Vision/HTC Desire Z) yet; they say that only two phones work.
So, I have a couple of queries which led me to post this question:

Is the IP engine for the EDGE and HSDPA radio actually on-chipset in this phone?
IPv6 was of course a known thing on the horizon when the phone was released, so if the previous question is a “yes”, then is it at least part of the radio firmware that can be upgraded?

I've removed the last question; we can't speculate as to why people are boneheaded about IPv6.

The chipset in the G2/Vision/Desire Z doesn't support IPv6, even though the option appears in the OS and T-Mobile is IPv6 enabled.


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Why is my Kyocera Echo taking 6 minutes to boot?
I have a Kyocera Echo that now takes about 6 minutes to boot. I haven't rooted it or tried to perform any 'hacks' on it. I've had it for a few months now. It's running Android 2.3 if that helps. I am not sure if it is meant to take this long to boot. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Backup your data and perform a factory reset( settings > privacy > factory data reset). Then restore the data.


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Why does Gmail force close when I open it?
Every time I open my Gmail app it force closes. This is the message I get:

The application Gmail( process com.android.gmail) has stopped
  unexpectedly. Please try again.)

If it helps I am using the Samsung Galaxy S II running Android 2.3.

Go to Settings>Applications>Manage Applications, then find the Gmail app in the 'All' tab. Click 'Force Stop' and 'Clear Data'. Restart the app and see if the error occurs again.


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How to read my email in a threaded view?
I am subscribed to quite a few newslists for which the flat view is subpar in terms of readability and clarity.
Hence I am looking for a way to read them in a tree view mode like the desktop application Thunderbird does.
I have tried the standard Google Mail reader and K9 Mail unsuccessfully.
How can I achieve this?

"Find me an app that does X" questions are generally not on-topic here. (Please review the [FAQ].)

See: http://meta.android.stackexchange.com/questions/353/are-questions-looking-for-apps-on-topic-as-in-i-need-an-app-that-does-xyz-o and the [FAQ#questions].

I think the underlying question here could have some potential, albeit with some work. Presented as "How can I view my emails in a threaded format?" this would be okay with a bit of additional information (such as what email client you're currently using, which ones you've tried that are insufficient, etc; basically a little legwork so it isn't just a weakly bounded app hunt).

@eldarerathis In the end it still would be asking for an app. It would be asking for an app just without explicitly saying that I ask for an app. Kind of absurd.

@k0pernikus You never know if there isn't a non app solution for the problem you are trying to solve. So asking for an app that does X is not the same as asking how can I solve X. Edit your question and it well be reopened eventually.


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What is the difference between deleting and clearing downloads?
If I select on a download I am given the option to delete or clear the selection. What is the difference? If I select clear, do it mean I still have the option to delete? If so where from?

Clearing downloads will only clear it from the list of downloads.
To delete files that have been cleared from the list, you would need to do so directly from the SD card's download folder, either with your computer or using a file manager like Astro.


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If I download and install a non-market application and then proceed remove it, does it mitigate any security issues?
If I downloaded a non-market application and installed it and discovered it may be malicious, does removing it from the list of applications completely discard it and help mitigate any security issues? If not, does resetting the phone back to its factory settings mitigate any security issues?

I don't know that there's a definite way to answer this. It would be almost entirely dependent on how exactly the app was attempting to infect your phone and how successful its attempts were.
In the simplest case, maybe the app is sniffing data or something of that sort. For that case, uninstalling would basically remove the threat since the app would be gone. Nothing is left behind when you uninstall, including the /data directories for the app.
Slightly more complex would be an app that put a malicious payload somewhere on your system's publicly writeable storage. In that case removing the app would not necessarily be enough, depending on what exactly the payload did and how it was designed. Uninstalling could potentially cause the malicious code to become inert on reboot since the app may need to fire up a service on boot, but that's hard to say. Formatting your SD card and doing a factory reset would probably clean it up in its entirety.
The most nefarious case would be an app that gained elevated privileges on your device, either through an exploit or effective social engineering in which you grant access yourself. In that case a factory reset would not necessarily be enough, since the entirety of the /system partition would be unaffected. If the app were to stick a payload on /system then the only way you could really be sure you're clean is if you completely wiped all of the internal memory of the device and then reinstalled a new ROM, I would say. Even worse would be if it somehow managed to write a malicious bootloader or something of that nature, since in some circumstances it's possible to write to the bootloader partition from userspace (given proper permissions).

Thanks. When you say 'gain' elevated privileges, what do you mean exactly?

@PeanutsMonkey: Basically if the app finds an unauthorized way to get root. There was at least one instance I recall where an app included a root exploit (gingerbreak, if I'm remembering right) and used it to grant itself root permission without any user interaction.


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Motorola Atrix Android 2.3.X Corporate Email Account Already Added or Exists
I have a Motorola Atrix phone running Android 2.3.6.  I had just performed an update to my firmware and can no longer access my corporate email account via the "Email" app.  I tried to re-add the account but would receive errors stating that the email had already been added (or email already exists).  Everything on the Internet leads me to believe that I would have to perform a factory reset of the phone.  Where did the email account go and how can I add the email if the phone says that it already exists or it was already added?

I am answering my own question.
The original email configuration still exists on the phone, but it cannot be accessed via the "Email" app. Accessing the "Email" app will just prompt you to add the account again (along with other account types like facebook, twitter; then it denies you stating that it already exists). Instead click on the "Messaging" app and then you will see the "disappearing" email account in addition to "Universal Account" and "Text Messaging". Select the original account and edit the account properties. On the account properties page you can "Remove Account". By removing the account you can then go and add it again successfully.
I have heard that others are doing a hard reset which is not necessary.


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How can I move apps to the external SD card on LG Optimus 2X P990?
I have put a SD 16 GB in my LG Optimus 2X P990, but it seems that the phone won't save on it. Is it possible to save/move apps to the external SD card? Or even set it to do it automatically? I have already formatted the SD card twice, and it still is not working properly.

Try App 2 SD, it should be able to move at least some of the apps.
To set it to automatic, you will need the android SDK (to use adb). From here, those commands should work (worked for me on my Samsung Galaxy Ace):

adb devices
Probes Android devices connected to the PC. Do this first to assure that the phone is being detected.
adb shell pm getInstallLocation
This results in a numerical value to state where the default install location is (0: phone, 2: external).
adb shell pm setInstallLocation 2
This sets the default install location to the external storage.


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What is the Streaming Decryption setting in Google Drive?
I notice a "Streaming Decryption" option under Encryption Settings. For me, it was not selected by default. The description under this setting is a little unclear:

Decrypt documents into a stream incrementally.

So my question is what does this mean and what does it do? Does it mean that a given document is only partially decrypted (if there is such a thing) while it is open? Should the average user pay any attention to this setting? I found this HowTo on CNET but it does not explain the setting.
I don't recall whether this was a setting under the former (i.e. pre-Drive) Google Docs app.

It sounds like only the portion visible on-screen is decrypted, possibly to limit damage if the unencrypted data is intercepted or recovered?

That sounds reasonable. It seems a side effect of that could be a reduction in the amount of data being transferred.

Goggle Drive gives you some security options regarding your documents:

You can choose to encrypt all offline documents (that is, documents
stored on your device);
And can also choose to decrypt documents incrementally as they are
streamed to your phone, by selecting the Streaming Decryption, thus having just a small portion of the document decrypted when accessing it. Kinda like watching a compressed video.

Sadly enough couldn't find any official documentation to support my answer on Google, but here's some relevant links:
Access and Edit Files with Google Drive
Google Drive - View files offline in the Google Drive Android app

What this means is that Google decrypts as it streams so that if a file is cut off from streaming midway through, there is still a secure decrypted part remaining thus limiting the damage to the file if it is intercepted.
This Guy works For Google so i think he know whats he saying (GApps)/
Websites used:
http://www.quora.com/Google-Drive/What-does-Settings-Streaming-decryption-do-for-the-Google-Drive-Android-app


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What is Phablet?
How to define a phablet?
I first read this word in article about "ZTE building some Galaxy Note-style phablets". This is something larger than a smartphone, but smaller than a tablet. But where is the boundary? What features would a device have (apart from size) to be considered smartphone/phablet/tablet ?

Phablets are basically tablet / phone crossovers. Best examples are Samsung’s Galaxy Note and LG’s Optimus Vu.
As per ComputerWorld:
A phablet is a phone with a screen so big that it can be used as a tablet.
There are no defined boundaries whatsoever in terms of screen sizes; so any tablet with phone (telephony) capabilities might also be termed a phablet.

Although I don't doubt upon this, I'd love to here what other people have to say about the "phablet" concept. :)


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Mobile network turns on by itself after Android 4.0.3. update
I'm having HTC Sensation and I use wi-fi on a regular basis instead of mobile network (bad data plan). For the old Android version there was no problem, I just switched of background syncing and set option "Sync only via wi-fi".
After the update mobile network turns on automatically...
I couldn't find exact duplicate of "Sync only via wi-fi" in the update.
I went to Settings->Wireless&Network->Usage->Menu->Usage Settings -> "Restrict background data", but two problems still arise:

Can't get rid of Notification "Background data restricted"
Mobile network turns on automatically when decides to sync.

Any advises?

Maybe turning Data Enabled to off (Mobile network settings on CM9) might help. In that way, it'll sync only when WiFi is available.

At Mobile network settings I have:
Data roaming OFF
Data roaming sound OFF
Access Point Names
Network Mode
Network Operators
Enable always-on mobile data OFF
CM9- what's that?

I think this might help. ICS introduced capping the Data Usage. There must be an option called as "Data Usage" which shows you a graph of your data usage. There's an option called as "Mobile Data". Switch that to off.
Might be wrong. I'm on CM9. Worth a try anyhow.

CM9 - CyanogenMod 9. It's a custom Android ROM.

Can anyone please tell, why has someone, DOWNed my answer? You could suggest an edit ya know.

I don't know If we are talking about same "Data Usage":
Settings->Wireless&Network->Usage->Mobile Network OFF
This was the first thing that I did, nevertheless, this morning woke up with no credit and half updated Facebook statuses.


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How do I synchronize my FireFox Bookmarks from my PC to both my android devices?
My web browser is Firefox 11 on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS and I have a lot of well organized bookmarks that I would like to synchronize with both my Android Devices (Galaxy 10.1 tab & Galaxy S Phone).  I want to maintain my PC as the book mark server.  I wasn't sure where to ask this question "Ask Ubuntu" or here.

By far the easiest way to do this is to use Firefox as your web browser everywhere, and then use Firefox's built in sync functionality. This will (optionally) sync not just your Bookmarks, but also your History, your Saved Passwords and your Preferences, and let you see the recent tabs you've had open on different machines.
Start by installing Firefox for Android, then on your PC go into Firefox's Options, click the Sync tab and run through the wizard to set up sync and the encryption key.
Then open Firefox on your Android device and you should see a prominent option to set up sync that will involve copying a short authentication code between your phone and PC copies of Firefox. After that it will start pulling all of the info down from your PC to your phone (you may want to make sure you're on wifi for this first sync).
For a clearer guide, with pictures, see this page on the Mozilla support site How do I sync Firefox between my desktop and mobile?


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Cant answer the phone
Often when someone phones me, the phone just locks up. I can't slide the ring up to answer.
Sometimes the ring moves a little.. sometimes not at all. I just can't do anything until the caller stops ringing. The phone becomes responsive again and I have to call them back.
I have just upgraded to 4.0 from 2.3 and the problem is still there. I haven't rooted the phone or done anything special to it..
Apart from this the phone is always responsive and I don't really have any other problems.
How can I sort this out?
Phone: HTC Sensation-xe

Sounds like they screwed up the threading.  The phone process normally has high priority but it shouldn't be so high that it prevents you from interacting with the phone.

Try to install the rocked dial and in settings try to make it default app for receiving calls. Settings>caller ID

Can you catch the error message using adb logcat when connected to the computer?

HTC has inbuilt answering. By moving the phone into a vertical position it answers the call, if you face it towards the ground it rejects it.

@avirk, installing rocket dial does seem to have done the trick, I've had no lock up for several days now. Please make your comment an answer so I can accept it!

As user said my comment helped him and post it as answer.
Try to install the rocket dial and in settings try to make it default app for receiving calls.
Settings>caller ID
Also you can use free version of HD Caller ID which has option to overtake the default caller screen.

Thanks. although the rocket dial app does seem to be quite messy - the default dialer shows for a second before rocket dialer kicks in - it does seem to have fixed the problem.

In caller ID settings you will see an option Set the time delay for showing caller ID and set it to No delay by default it has set to one second.

Your welcome :)

I updated my answer you can check it :)

Is the phone connected to a PC/charger while you were trying the call? Try to have a good 'earth ground' at all times when handling a phone with capacitive screens.
I had the same problem when my phone was connected to the PC/charger.
If that wasn't the problem, try using a different dialer app from the market and see if that brings up the problem.

No, its not connected. Doesn't a dialer app only affect outgoing calls?

I've read the ICS ROMs on Sensation XE were buggy. Hence they delayed the ICS ROMs for (original) Sensation to fix the bugs. (Assuming you're using stock Dialer.) Update to the latest build of ICS that's been released for your device.

I just have.. No difference.

Your best option will be to root and use a custom ROM and kernel...  it's the touch screen drivers locking up

I had the same problem with my Droid 2. For me, it was a precursor to the hardware for touch interaction going haywire: it was registering other touches on the screen in a line on the right side. I was able to view them by opening a drawing program, or popping up the gesture screen in Dolphin HD. Random touches would appear up and down in a straight line.
This happened more frequently when I'd been outside working, or the phone got warm through other means.

It has happened to me on my Nexus S, running stock Gingerbread and now stock Ice Cream Sandwich, that occaisionally when I try to answer the phone the touch screen is unresponsive. I find that if I press the power button to turn off the screen (which silences the phone as well) and then turn it back on I can answer the phone.

Its not Android problem its HTC Problem. I have experienced same problem few times. All you can hope is an upgrade of HTC Sense from HTC. Ring was introduced by HTC because there was problem with earlier approach of dragging up. Try to kill few unwanted process in your cellphone so that your becomes even more responsive.


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Updating HTC Sensation to Ice Cream Sandwich is stuck in a boot loop
I'm trying to update my unbranded HTC Sensation to an Ice Cream Sandwich stock ROM (from here).
I've followed the various instructions where I install the ROM, then flash the phone with the HTC Sensation firmware from here, which matches my phone's CID.
The phone is now stuck in a boot loop, but I can't find any help out there for why it's doing this. Could anyone suggest an answer?

I found the answer quicker than I thought I would, it turns out I was using the wrong firmware version. You need to check the ROM that the firmware is for, and apply it after the ROM is installed.
So my ROM is Sensation_3.32.401.5_deodexed
Which meant I should've chosen (from here):

Firmware from 3.32.401.x & 3.32.401.10x RUU
  --- MD5 checksum: 74A8E07D40A42DA1B4B56C224C42E692 *PG58IMG.zip ---
  --- Only for 3.32.401.x & 3.32.401.10x based ROMs

You can also set your CID to "Super CID" in this case you can install any ROM which is for an HTC-Sensation.

Open a new CMD/Terminal, navigate to your abd & fastboot folder and type:
adb reboot-bootloader
// wait until the phone reboots into fastboot mode
// check if the device is online
fastboot devices -l
// write the Super CID
fastboot oem writecid 11111111

This will write the "Super CID" (11111111) to your phone.(Don't forget to save your old cid with fastboot oem readcid)
Hope this helps someone.


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Does firmware affect GPS accuracy?
I am from Philippines, and using European firmware for my Samsung Galaxy S2. Does that affect the accuracy of my GPS? For example, my location is usually off (at the wrong location) when I use Foursquare. But sometimes, it's usually right in Google Maps.
Should I be using firmware for Philippines instead?

Firmware definitely won't affect the quality of GPS reception (atleast in case of original ROMs, as homebrew ROMs might have some bugs - EVEN then it's either the fact that the GPS fix might take longer than usual or the GPS doesn't work at all. Not associated with accuracy.) What affects GPS reception is the quality of the signal. You tend to get a better and a faster GPS fix if you're in the open rather than in a closed building.
I've seen that Foursquare and Google Maps always point at the same location. (No brainer.)

For me, Google Maps has better accuracy than Foursquare. If I go to Foursquare, it's off. When I open Google Maps, it corrects itself. (Eventually, it becomes correct in Foursquare). Thanks for your input! :)


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How can I prevent lag when recording video on HTC Desire S?
I have lags after recording and playing back videos on my HTC device. Look at this video capture:
˃ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmOAr476DHc&hd=1
I thought it had something to do with autofocus but it is only available in shoot mode. Maybe it is still active in video capturing mode but without ability to let user change settings so they can only be changed in shooting mode? This happened with stock Sandisk 8GB Class 4 SD card and happens with Sandisk 16GB Class 4 SD card that i bought recently.
HTC Desire S
Android 2.3.3 (stock)

Enable USB debugging, plug your phone into a computer via USB for a couple of minutes and disconnect. - source
You can also try a faster memory card, as ^ has adviced.
Keep some reasonable amount of free space on phone memory, move apps to SD card if necessary. Android often suffers performance issues when internal memory is low (much like any OS, really).
If nothing else works, try a factory reset and record it again. If there are no lags, it might be because of any resource-intensive apps you have installed.

Have you tried using Kingston Class 4? If you can find Class 10, even better!
Source