text:
Can the Nexus 7 send and receive GSM texts and calls?
The Nexus 7 3G is out and I'm wondering whether Android 4.2 tablets are still data-only devices.  Can I install a custom ROM or apk to this tablet so that I can send and receive GSM calls and text messages on it?  If not, why not?  What's missing?
Added: Nexus 7 3G has many hardware features of phones, but not all: It has gps, bluetooth, headphone jack, accelerometer, gyroscope, ambient light sensor, compass and nfc, but does not have a receiver (earpiece), haptic feedback (vibrate) or a rear camera. IF the 8"x5" tablet can be used as a phone, you won't look funny putting it against your ear because it has no earpiece.
Added: The question is about GSM calls and texting, not VOIP or SIP calls or tethering.

You may want to consider sending the texts via your handset. If so, then you can install TabletSMS on your tablet and DeskSMS on your (Android) handset. The DeskSMS service does costs a few dollars a year, but it's worth it for me. You can also use the desktop browser app. They all sync up together. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.koushikdutta.tabletsms
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.koushikdutta.desktopsms

@MarkHewitt that would require two sim cards with two data plans and two shirt pockets. I'm glad this works for you, as well as others who carry tablets and phones all the time. I want to carry just one device.

You don't need the handset with you for this to work. Both just need to be on and have internet connections.

You can sign up a Google Voice number and get GrooVe IP app on Nexus 7. So that you can make phone call on Nexus 7, using Google Voice service. However, we cannot use GrooVe IP to send SMS.

Yes and no. The hardware is capable of sending/receiving GSM calls and texts but there's no way to do with via the stock software. I doubt any after market app would do the trick either, as it appears that tweaks need to be made at the OS level.
There are a couple of devs working on this on XDA. There's no eta, but they should get it done in time. We can only wait.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2025377

Technically there is no reason why the GSM Nexus 7 shouldn't be able to make & receive calls and send/receive SMS messages - it has all the right hardware.
I have AOKP ROM, which is a fork of the Cyanogenmod ROMs, on my non-GSM (Wi-Fi only) Nexus 7 and it comes bundled with the phone and messaging apps.

Do those apps work?

I only have the WiFi version, so I can't test.  Maybe someone else with a GSM version could try?

According to this article entitled "How To Make / Receive Calls On Nexus 7 Using Google Voice" published in August 2012:
The Nexus 7 is a very basic tablet that is meant for doing tasks like surfing the web, socializing on Facebook, Twitter, sending / receiving email, play games, video chat via Skype or Google Talk, etc. In other words, nothing to do with phone calls.
But, if you want to, there is a way to make your Nexus 7 handle phone calls. It’s not particularly straightforward as you will be required to set up multiple accounts and apps and even, in one part of the guide, modify an APK file, but if you take backups prior to strictly following the guide, you should do just fine.
The official thread is available from XDA Developers
In terms of sending texts to and from the Nexus 7, mySMS seems to do the job. (Google Play Store)
Alternatively The Mighty Text Tablet App maybe more suitable.

Hi. My question is about GSM calls, not VOIP or SIP calls or tethering.

@William C: If I uncover more info I'll post it for you. How about the texting situation ?

The easiest way to do this would be to use Google Voice.

You can use Handcent SMS for sending SMS on the Nexus 7 3G.

It just works on its own?

What Matthew is pointing at: As long as the device only supports data connections (and no GSM voice etc.), how will Handcent (or any other app) be able to provide such features? OP is not interested in over-the-net solutions, as he clearly stated.

authors: webknjaz -- Слава Україні


text:
simple photo frame widget
Is there a widget that will show an image you select and quite literally nothing else? No buttons, no switching photos, no sycning or grabbing from remote locations. Just show an image.
EDIT: I'm using Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread)

Just curious, why not make it your wallpaper?

a) I have five screens on my homescreen in my launcher. b) it'd be covered by icons and text and other widgets.

Android 4.1 ("Jelly Bean") has this.  I just went to the "Widgets" section, chose "Photo Gallery", and from the popup, chose "Choose an image", which gave me the chance to (you guessed it) choose an image; after cropping, that image is now just sitting there on my home screen.
Amusingly (or infuriatingly, depending on your mood), tapping the image on my home screen does not, as you might expect, bring up the larger version of it in the Gallery; instead it brings up the larger version of some other image (in my case, one that's in the same album) in the Gallery.

I should have specified, I'm using Android 2.3.4.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
What is "USB storage app" under Storage of App Info?
When I moved an app to the Storage Card on my HTC One V, I found some data moved to USB Storage App. The Storage Card is still showing not used. What's "USB storage app"? Why apps are not moving into the Storage Card, instead moving into the "USB storage app"?

Before moving the app to the storage card
(Click image to enlarge)

After moving the app to the storage card

Can you clarify what you mean by "The Storage Card is still showing not used"?  Are there no files on it?  If it's Android showing no used space, have you tried rebooting?

I uploaded two screenshots to clarify it.

I guess you have to read the "USB Storage App" as the USB storage used by the app itself. So the code of the application.
If your application would for instance start generating cache information, saved pictures etcetera. And if it would save that information on your Storage Card, then the information will be showed under Storage Card.
So under "App" and "Storage Card App" is only the information and code of the application itself, not the information or data it generates. So in most case these 2 numbers will not change over time. And then under "Data" and "Storage Card" information generated by the application can be found. Either on the Storage Card or the internal memory (depending on the application I guess). This is the information managed by the application (local databases etc), so this will probably change over time, depending on the application in question of course.
This is my interpretation of those 4 terms. And if I check for some applications I use, it looks like my interpretation is correct. It is certainly correct for the applications I created myself, so for these apps I know where what information is saved on the phone.

This is an excellent answer you gave. I think the user should accept this answer. The only part that puzzles me is why after moving the application from USB storage (internal memory) to SD card (external SD card), some of the code still remains under App (the code part of the application on internal storage). Is there some reason why some of the code could not be moved? Thanks.

@JohnSonderson I don't really know, but my guess would be that it is because you still need some kind of pointer to the external app part. So maybe the main class of the application remains and points to the other part of the application on the external storage. That way the internal workings of Android stay the same (they can just list all the applications on the internal file system), but some of the code is placed externally.

I have given it a second thought. Perhaps your interpretation is not entirely correct. Please see my answer below.

"USB storage" is the "internal" SD card i.e. the partition on the phone's internal memory that is treated like an SD card for general data storage.
"Storage card" is your actual physical microSD card.
The latter is where the stuff moved via "move to SD" or "move to storage card" gets put.
As for why it does this, Android's system for storing app stuff in user storage hasn't caught up with the concept of having more than one section of user storage.

@JohnSonderson - Are you sure your suggested edit is correct?  The last time I had a device running ICS, the "move to SD" function moved the app to the internal "SD card" partition, not to the actual SD card, as my answer currently states.  Is your edit reflecting the status of ICS (which this question is about) or a later version of Android?

The answer posted by @ndsmyter seems almost correct. The applications under Application manager -> SD CARD are those applications which can, at least in part, be moved to the SD card (and this happens where the checkbox next to the application's entry is checked). At first sight it may seem like "Application" and "SD card app" are for code on internal storage and on external storage, respectively, whereas "Data" and "SD card data" are for application data generated by the application on internal storage, and external storage, respectively.
However, upon further inspection I realized that on my Samsung Galaxy SIII I don't have an external SD card inserted, and despite this, while none of the applications listed under Application manager -> SD CARD have the SD card app field displaying anything but 0.00B, the example below, and many others, shows that SD card data is nonzero even though I don't have an SD card (click the image to enlarge):

So, the only thing I am able to conclude is that these values are not the number of bytes taken up by the application and its data on internal and external storage, but rather how the data would be distributed among these four locations should the user decide to transfer the application to the external SD card (and some portions would still need to reside on internal storage for technical reasons).
Also note that on my device the field names are different. What on the original poster's post is called USB storage app on my system is called SD card app, very confusing.

And just as confusing is the fact that when I change the UI language to Italian, what in English was called "SD card app" now becomes "SD card applications" (applications: plural), which means not even the people that localized the system could figure out what these fields represented.
Regards.

I don't think that because you have no external SD card, you don't have and external partition on your phone. Most phones use different partitions to seperate access to different parts on the system (that's the case on my phone). They are probably just talking about "SD Card" in case you do have an external SD card. The conclusion you've made is almost the same as mine, but how you get there doesn't seem completely correct to me. But it is indeed very confusing :-)

@ndsmyter, on my phone internal memory, referred to as USB storage in the user interface, is mounted on /mnt/sdcard (symlinked /sdcard), and there is also a /mnt/extSdCard directory which is empty, and I think is where the SD card would get mounted if I were to get mounted. Perhaps external SD card counts as USB storage as well, hence the field USB storage in the UI in the OP's post. There seem to be inconsistencies regarding how these fields are labeled across devices.

It seems to be the .android_secure folder on your SD card.

So "USB storage app" presumably manages encrypted/protected apps on the SD card?  Is there a way to have unprotected apps on the SD card?

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


text:
Why would a free app be in the top grossing section?
I was just browsing through the play store and noticed that there are a few free apps in the top grossing section and that's a little puzzling. This might not be the best place to put up this question but I didn't know where else to go .

Perhaps in-app purchases are included in the calculations?

As per Oxford: top grossing means earning more money than other similar things or people.
But as per google app store it may refer to :
Top-Grossing = Sum of all revenue generated from the purchase of the app + sum of all in-app purchases
It also means that app listed in top grossing lists holds people's attention for the most time. So even if an app is free but still if it is getting downloaded the most then it will feature in this list.
Also many of the free versions apps like angry birds, cut the rope etc. provide in app purchase ability i.e you don't need to bye a paid version but to access more features you have to pay some amounts which ultimately boost's apps revenue and ranks app higher in list.

@THelper you are absolutely right.


text:
Clone and distribute Android 4 device with preloaded applications
This may be related to Clone Android Device but I don't think it fits my need. I'm looking to accomplish something similar to Sysprep for Windows, which would allow me to distribute Android devices with preloaded applications and settings, such as:

Intitial data, settings, and connection information
Preloaded applications, with proper licenses/keys for non-free applications
addon / restriction for users

Is there a way to do this?

Restoring a Nandroid backup does solve your problem. Though the source from which the Nandroid backup and the targets on which they are applied are to be same brand and model.

yes they are to be same brand and model, I saw there issue with IMEI and activations keys,

FYI: Google just added a private channel to their play store. I guess more corporate features will come after they took care of the consumer market.

@ce4 probably:-), will be better to convert your commnent to answer ...

You would easily be able to do this via a nandroid backup, and there a apps on Google Play that allow you to restrict the device.
The only issue is licenses for apps - they are linked to the Google Account, so you would have to use the same Google Account on every device if you don't want to pay for every app for each Google Account on every device.
This is fine if it is a generic account, but it may not be wanted if it is a personal account.
If you make a nandroid backup with all the apps, and then restore it to all the other devices, it will have the apps, settings and licenses, as well as the Google Account.
I am going to check on Google Play for the app that allows you to limit ability (I know there is at least one).

What you want to do is make your own ROM using a existing one and add more stuff to it. This site would have helped you http://romkitchen.org/ but its now down.
This thread contains more info, including links to more tools.

I think the OP doesn't want to mod but just have some sort of mobile device rollout management for a series of maybe corporate devices.

@ce4 partially agreed :-)


text:
Host not recognizing my USB devices
I bought a Romanian Android tablet, EvoTab3, with Android version 4.0.3 and kernel version 3.0.8+. I want to connect some devices such as a mouse and flash memory to this tablet that will be the host station, using an OTG cable (mini to USB A). I did the following steps:

USB debugging is ON
Download an app USB host controller that display the info: "S3C USB Host driver not found" " Root hub present, USB Host mode is active!"
I followed the steps from the post Android USB host and hidden devices.

I did not get any results, connected devices are not detected.
Please help me with this problem.

You have to request the correct driver from Evolio for your device, i think this is a pure driver issue.
http://evolio.ro/en/tablet-pc/evotab-3-tablet-pc.html


text:
Really know what is using internal storage

Possible Duplicate:
What can I do to manage my phone’s internal storage?

I am constantly running into the "Low Space" warning so I would like to know what is really consuming the phone's internal storage.
I've checked and removed app after app, moved them to the SD card and done everything else I can think of but can't seem to figure out what is really consuming the phone's internal storage.
I can see the storage used per app but it seems like this not entirely correct numbers or something is not attached to an app and hence invisible to this app list.
So, is there a way to see what is really consuming the storage?

In a way it is, thanks for pointing out to me.

Disk Usage provides a way to find files and directories which consume a lot of space on phone and SD card

I've tried a number of "Disk Usage" apps and maybe it's just me but none of them are really helping me. It seems however like the "Contact Storage" is rather large and it might also be so that it is growing even if I am not modifying any of my contacts.

What does Disk Usage say, and what is your total phone capacity?

You likely have a memory leak in one of your apps, Android 2.3 is prone to this type of an issue but newer versions are less likely to have this issue. A "Hard Reset" of your phone might be an ok temporary fix, but if it doesn't work and the Disk Usage doesn't tell you anything then i recommend finding a good app killer program.

You seem to be confusing internal storage with RAM -- if the phone is running out of space, app killer program won't be of much use.

I agree, it's not a RAM issue, inte Internal Phone storage. Thanks anyway


text:
What is the offical name of the third on-screen button?
I am searching for the official name of the third (right) Android on-screen button.

Android version
On-screen buttons

1-4.4

5.0+

The left and middle buttons are clear:

Left: Back button
Middle: Home button
Right: ???

Please include a reference where the name of the third/right button is stated in your answer.

Related: What is the purpose of the 3rd on-screen button on a button-less phone?

Android 1.0 to 2.3.7 had physical (hardware) keys. Android 3.0 to 3.2.6 replaced these with “soft navigation buttons” in a “system bar”, which is what this question is about. Android 4.0 to 4.4.4 just changed the design of these software buttons slightly. Finally, Android 5.0 to 8.1 simplified the design further. You can see screenshots of the various designs here. The name of rightmost button is “Overview” or “Recents” button, just as the following screen is called.

Anyone can tell that, in which bar these buttons are placed?? Like clock and notifications are shown in the status bar.

@Aashish: I assume this should be something like "soft buttons bar", "soft keys bar" or "soft keys area"

@Robert - when I google "soft buttons bar" then it suggests "navigation bar". So it should be called the navigation bar.

It's called Overview button. I originally came to know about this  from the Screen Pinning settings' description.
Google on Get around on your device (see Get around with navigation buttons) has noted:
Overview: Opens a list of thumbnail images of apps and Chrome tabs you’ve worked with recently. To open an app, touch it. To remove a thumbnail from the list, swipe it left or right.

It looks like this

If your device is running Android 4.4 or lower, your Overview button looks like this

This is called 'Recents' - you can see info about it here
EDIT
As Dan Dascalescu points out, it's now called "Overview".

That is outdated. It's called Overview now. Source: I work at Google and asked the Android team. We're updating occurrences of "Recents" to read "Overview".

Sometimes an obsolete reply is worth an upvote. :)

I don't know if there's an official name, but it's usually called the Task Switcher or Recent Tasks button. If you're writing instructions/manual, you may want to avoid calling it a button since older Android devices don't have a dedicated task switching button (the task switcher on my old phone was accessed by long press on the home button, for example). Instead, try to word it so that it's clear that you want them to switch to another task and leave the specifics for several common ways in various devices on a side track.

Different makes call it different things.
Android calls it the recent apps list (press it, it say's recent apps).


text:
How to prefer networks from a specific country to avoid roaming charges?
I've recently moved to the Geneva area on the border between France and Switzerland. I live in France where I have a French mobile (and home) phone contract, but work just over the border (within a mile of it!) in Switzerland.
The Swiss networks are stronger near my work than French ones, but I can usually get a French signal. I can use several French networks without incurring roaming charges for phone/SMS/internet use, but any of the Swiss ones will cost me a small fortune.
In Android (actually Cyanogenmod versions based on Gingerbread and ICS is what I've tried so far so far) I seem to have two options:
a) Only allow to join my home network and ignore all others, both French and Swiss. In this case I often have no connection at all.
b) Connect to any network, in which case the phone will often choose to connect to a Swiss network and hence incur costs. (And in practice will render me unable to use the mobile data connection since I've disabled data roaming).
Is there a way that I can rank networks in order of preference so that French networks (if joinable) will be preferred to Swiss ones, even if there are Swiss networks with a stronger signal?  I've looked for settings and apps to do this, but without success... other than some rather dangerous looking stuff with the Preferred Roaming List (PRL), which doesn't seem to be exposed to the normal UI.
I guess most people don't live/work on borders so this feature hasn't been that much in demand -- but the network operators unfortunately don't have any cross-country deals to help frontier-dwellers either, so a technological solution is probably needed!

How about using manual network selection method? One downside is that you have to change the network manually when moving to different area, else it will drop your network signal strength to zero and your mobile will be offline.

@Narayanan Of course, but it results in being frequently offline (and usually not aware that that is the case). I accept that sometimes I'll need to use a foreign network, but I'd like my phone to prefer a native one whenever possible, regardless of (non-zero) signal strength.

no, the phone will choose the strongest signal and there are no options since the phone doesn't know where it's connected and this scenario is so rare that it's unlikely to get fixed, maybe consider free roaming or using the work wifi if there is one.

Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please [edit] to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center.

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


text:
Syncing Opera Mobile/Mini with Desktop Firefox
I prefer Opera on Android but Firefox on the Desktop. Is there any way to sync these two?

Apparently not.
(Having questions without accepted answers just bothers me)


text:
Does build number matter when rooting phone?
I want to root a Galaxy Ace S5830, Android 2.3.6 Build Number GINGERBREAD.DXKT5.
I've seen some tutorials that says specific build numbers while some says nothing specific.
Does build number matter when rooting phone?
BTW if you have any tips on how to specifically root this (2.3.6 GINGERBREAD.DXKT5), that would be cool.

It shouldn't matter for a Samsung device, I think it mostly matters when it comes to devices with locked bootloaders.

No, build number rarely matters.
The main reason to note the build number is because of the baseband - but I normally take no notice of the build number.

build number does not matter per se, but it is an easily trackable indication. For example, some devices are available for different carriers. Some carrier has locked bootloader, or other complications, and another does not. But instead of explaining all the tiny details, it's enough to provide the build number - if it's the same, that guarantees that the same recepy will work.


text:
Factory reset a device - settings app does not work
How can I factory reset my Arnova GBOOK tablet/e-reader?
It runs android, and now everything force closes when the device boots, inluding the settings and launcher applications.
I need to use my device - I only bought it today.
Please can someone tell me how I can get my device back? I think resetting may help...
So - how do I reset without the settings app???

if you just bought it, it should all be covered by warranty

I can't find the factory-reset instructions for a device with this specific name. Arnova's devices are named in confusing ways, so perhaps several names are used for the same device in different markets. But can you find a pinhole somewhere at the botton of your device? It should be on the left. Does it say "reset"? Then insert a paperclip and see what happens.
If that doesn't work, you could try the instructions on Arnova's support page:

"If your tablet freezes often or if you get error messages during the start up of your tablet, you can use the recovery mode to reset your tablet to its factory settings, removing all installed applications as well as any data or content.
Your tablet must be up to date with the latest firmware – downloadable from the downloads area of this website.

To access Recovery mode on the ARNOVA 10bG3
To access to the recovery mode:

Hold down the volume button + and press the ON/OFF button.
Once the boot logo ARNOVA is displayed, release the volume button +.

The ANDROID green robot is displayed.

Once the ANDROID green robot is displayed, press simultaneously the volume button + and the ON/OFF button.

The Android system recovery screen is displayed.
a. Use the volume buttons to navigate
b. Use the ON/OFF button to select an option
To restore the default parameters of your tablet:

In the Android system recovery, select Wipe data/factory reset;
Select Yes –delete all user data.
Select Reboot system now.

Your tablet reboots. Redefine your parameters through the wizard.
Your tablet is restored to its default settings.

To access Recovery mode on the ARNOVA 9G3
To access to the recovery mode:

Hold down the Home button and press the ON/OFF button.
Once the ARNOVA boot logo is displayed, release the Home button.

The ANDROID green robot is displayed.

Once the ANDROID green robot is displayed, press simultaneously the volume button + and the ON/OFF button.

The Android system recovery screen is displayed.
a. Use the volume buttons to navigate
b. Use the ON/OFF button to select an option
To restore the default parameters of your tablet:

In the Android system recovery, select Wipe data/factory reset;
Select Yes –delete all user data.
Select Reboot system now.

Your tablet reboots. Redefine your parameters through the wizard.
Your tablet is restored to its default settings.

To access Recovery mode on the ARNOVA 8cG3/8bG3
To access to the recovery mode:

Hold down the volume button – and press the ON/OFF button.
Once the boot logo ARNOVA is displayed, release the volume button –.

The ANDROID green robot is displayed.

Once the ANDROID green robot is displayed, press simultaneously the volume button + and the ON/OFF button.

The Android system recovery screen is displayed.
a. Use the volume buttons to navigate
b. Use the ON/OFF button to select an option"

I could, but you would do well to notice that my device is not listed. As such,  none of those combinations work.

@liamwli: Have you tried them? The problem is that Arnova's naming conventions seem a bit confusing, so the same device could be sold under different names in different markets. And the same method may work for several devices, since they have so many. But I have added another method that may apply to your device (pinhole), see above.

Hi, I finally managed to get to recovery! Power and Vol + until recovery loads :)

@liamwli: See? I'm glad you got it to work!


text:
android device as Digital Media Renderer (the DMR of DLNA)?
So I have this cheap MK802 android devince connected to my old TV, I want MK802 to be as a digital TV box, which could receive pushed media content from DLNA sources.
Are there any good DMR app for android? I tried:

com.bubblesoft.android.bubbleupnp
com.waxrain.airplayer

Both can browse remote DMS contents and play them, BubbleUPNP can control my Windows Media Player, but they can NOT receive push pictures, videos, etc.

What's wrong with my home network?
Are there any better alternative DMR apps for android?
What can I do to diagnose the problem?

Thank you all.

If you can do at least some UPnP operations, there is nothing wrong with your network.
Capability of browsing DMS (aka UPnP pull) does not imply a capability of receiving commanded content from DMS/DMC (aka UPnP push). DMR has a separate set of optional functions for pushing, which may or may not be implemented.
The simplest way of diagnosing is to start DeviceSpy from Intel UPnP Developer Tools (Windows application). That will give you all devices in local network, which do publish some UPnP interfaces. The one you are looking for is AVTransport (UPnP namespace intentionally omitted). No AVTransport means no push. You should see at least a core function SetAVTransportURI there. Don't be surprised if some DMR software does not show up at all. Capability of browsing DMS and playing content from it does not require publishing any UPnP interfaces. DMC does not publish any interfaces itself either, it just knows how to operate other UPnP interfaces.
About the lack of push-capable DMR implementations for Android: push means that the software must be capable of sitting there with an open port and just waiting for commands from any DMC. My wild theory is that this somehow doesn't align with what Android applications can or should do. The fact is that i have BubbleUPnP and UPnPPlay myself on my Android and i confirm that neither implement push. You can try the rest of Wiki list and let me know the result :)

Hi, I upvote for you because the awesome Intel UPnP tool. I found that com.waxrain.airplayer as a matter of fact, implements the AVTransport interface. The author specifically claims its DMR role. I even made it play some avi from a http source using the Intel UPnP Device Spy. The app & android device now shows up on Win7 home network, but still timeout after send .avi through Win7 Explorer "Play To" menu. What further options do I have?

I'm afraid this airplayer isn't very stable with regards to push. I have installed it myself and tried to push a plain MP3 to it from 4 different controllers (Intel devtools one, manually through DeviceSpy invocation, Windows Media Player, Songbird). Didn't succeed, not once. You might have been lucky to get through once. Further options, well try as many other Android DMRs as you can :) Start with the Wiki mentioned.

Argh, i can't even quit the app. Had to kill it :(

UPnPlay works very nicely for me using Windows Media Player 12 "Play to" feature. Recent versions of BubbleUpnP support DLNA push, although it doesn't seem to support remote volume control even though it pretends to. Also has problem if you jump around in the list in WMP. aVia Media Player works ok, but no remote volume control and similar problems if you try to jump around through multiple tracks remotely. Other apps should handle push as well (MediaHouse UPnP / DLNA Browser, ArkMC DLNA Media Center) but I haven't tried them. I couldn't get AnDLNA or WiFi Oh Player to work with push.


text:
What the difference between miracast and DLNA?
can anyone tell me the difference between DLNA and Miracast, especially the technologies underneath?
Thanks!

I'm not quite sure this is an Android related question.

Miracast was introduced in Android 4.2, where else have you seen it?

It is like asking about USB cable or GSM antenna or LiON battery, if the question are not Android-specific issue of the technology, they are generally considered off topic. Although the enforcement for these specific kind of questions have been quite lax, and I've been guilty answering a few such questions in the past.

This article discusses the differences.

May I/we edit the question to address the user experience and use of these as a way to use an external display given an Android device? That is what I am after and is Android-specific.

@user29020 ok go ahead. It's closed anyway

okay since no one is willing to answer this question, I figured something out myself.
Here's the key points:
DLNA:

TCP level, HTTP+SOAP interface based on UPnP technology
pull & push media contents
remote control play/pause/seek

Miracast:

transport layer protocol
AP makes two device handshake, then two device communicate directly via wireless
not only stream video/audio contents, but also mirro device screens from one to another.


text:
Auto-delete certain file extensions on my phone?
How do I make my phone automatically delete certain file extensions? I'm on ICS, rooted.
For example, after connecting my phone to my mac, it will leave a .trashes file and other "." folders on my SD card. I want to make it so that the phone checks regularly and removes those extensions that I define. Another use case scenario is when I'm using an emulator such as GameBoid. I accidentally click on the Quick Save option and now there's a rogue *.ss0 file on my SD card. I want them deleted too.
I just flashed a new rom to my phone so I haven't re-downloaded Tasker yet so I also wanted to know if there's already a working solution around.

It is also possible to use automation apps or a script to delete files at certain interval.
Using Macrodroid:

In the Trigger tab, in Date/Time section, select "Regular interval". Then set the interval the macro should run.
In the action tab,  in the File section, select "File Operation V2", choose delete. Select the directory that should be checked, then select "Specify File Pattern". For example enter *.ssO .
Give the macro a name and save it.

Every X time, the macro will check the folder you selected and deletes the files corresponding with the pattern.
In the example of the macro below, *.ssO files in .dthumb folder are deleted every 30 seconds.

I wrote an app that removes it, called "Trashes".
It can be found on XDA.


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Why is my phone slow?
My phone has lately been really slow. When I turn on the screen, particularly if it has been off for a while, the phone is really sluggish. For example, it might take 30 seconds to respond to my input. Or if someone calls, it might not respond to my answer gesture until after the caller has already given up and hung up.
If I leave the screen on for several minutes (up to five), the phone will eventually start to respond more normally.
The CPU information in the developer options shows that the processor is pegged during all this slowness, and the process system_server is consuming almost all of that CPU capacity with other processes fighting for a little CPU time.
Also, this CPU activity is killing my battery. I'm only getting half the battery life I should be getting.
I recently lost root in an OTA upgrade; in re-rooting I had to do a wipe of the phone. Once I restored everything, the problem came back.
My phone is a Galaxy Nexus running Jelly Bean (4.1.2). I also experienced a similar issue with my previous phone, a Nexus One running MIUI and "ICS". I attributed that phone's slowness to its age, but now I think there must be something else going on.
What could be wrong, or how could I go about tracking down the problem?
Answers to questions posed

My current phone is running 4.1.2. The problem became much worse after the update. My previous phone was the one I said was running "ICS". I put that in quotes because it was a custom ROM that claimed to be 4.0 but which I suspect was actually Gingerbread+.
My RAM typically runs at about 85%. But, I doubt this is too useful since Android automatically kills apps when it needs more RAM and the Linux kernel is designed to keep RAM mostly full so as not to waste it.
Currently, Google Maps is using the most battery, followed by Tasker. I'm quite sure that this isn't typical, however. I can't imagine why Google Maps would be so high, as I don't use it often. Anyway, I turned off the location permissions, so hopefully that'll cure Google Maps. And Tasker doesn't usually consume so much, but when the CPU is pegged it seems to have a harder time operating than most apps. (By the way, I have no location-based profiles in Tasker.)
Upon rebooting my phone, it's OK until the screen goes off for a period of time. Then, the problems resume. They're so severe that it's often faster to reboot than to try to use the phone without rebooting.
Auto-rotate seems to have no effect. I regularly toggle it in the normal course of using my phone, and haven't noticed any difference either way.
Apps would appear to be the culprit since I've experienced the same issue on two different phones and since doing a factory reset. However:

The process that's consuming the CPU isn't an app but system_server, which is a core part of Android.
I have a lot of apps, so disabling them one by one would be a time-consuming process.

I tried re-nicing system_server, but I didn't se any effect.

4.0 is ICS, 4.1 is JB. But anyway, perhaps you could post some more info on how full your RAM is when this happens. You can see this in Apps>Running. And have you looked at which apps use the most battery? Which are those? And how often does this happen? Once a dat? Evevery time you turn on the phone? A few random things to try: - turn off auto-rotate; - update to 4.1.2. If you say the problem came back after restoring, could it be that a certain application, or a combination of certain applications, is the culprit? I would probably force-stop all apps if I were you, then turn on 1 by 1.

@Cerberus: See my edit above.

You might also want to check My device is getting slow, apps start misbehaving/crashing. What can I do? for some useful hints.

This looks like it could be an issue with certain background services malfunctioning. Try observing the background services and disable some of them to see if you might hit the culprit. To do it in a way that is less hit and miss, there are several battery app in the market or you can use ICS native battery monitor to see if there are anything that are consuming more battery than it really should.

Thanks for this answer. I used Titanium Backup to freeze a number of background processes. My phone is running normally now. I don't know yet exactly which process it was, but I'll work that out eventually.

It turns out the offending app was Google Goggles.

I had a similar issue with HD Widgets causing all kinds of problems on my Nexus 7.

Further experience has shown that the actual culprit is any antivirus software.

I've had a similar issue with my new mobile, Razr Maxx running ICS. It turned out to be an overzealous car HUD application that consumed CPU cycles even when not running. Uninstalling it solved the problem. What confused me initially was that Android OS was shown as the main battery drainer and not the app itself. Since you had the same issue with your previous phone, this suggests a misbehaving application that you have installed on both.
I would try turning off GPS and mobile data/Wi-fi and observe whether the battery continues to drain at a similar alarming rate. If it's the internet connection that triggers the problem, this is likely due to an ad-supported application unsuccessfully trying to phone home.

Another very common source of Galaxy Nexus slowdowns is quite a nasty hardware/firmware issue documented here: http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=39154 .
This will probably affect you if you have less than 3 to 4Gb storage free. There are some workarounds but they involve root and thus possible warranty invalidation. I found that clearing out some storage and rebooting does help somewhat, but have not yet tried the workarounds.
In response to Scott's comment, the problem can persist even after you mostly clear out your storage, as long as it has at some time been full(ish). The main fix that I saw proposed was FSTRIM, which is a standard procedure for flash storage but not built into older versions of Android. I did appear to get some benefit from this for a while. The Play Store link is here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.grilledmonkey.lagfix

Thanks, but this isn't my issue add my problem occurs without regard to free space.

This wasn't my original issue, but it's been really helpful with my current issue. Thanks.

Check the running services. You will know what is running unnecessarily. I closed these, and I could immediately see a change in speed.

This is basically the same as using a task killer. It doesn't work. If a service is running unnecessarily, it has to be uninstalled. However, as mentioned in my question, and in the accepted answer, it isn't a simple thing to just look in the process list and realize which app is responsible. -1 for the suggestion that's like a task killer, and for an answer that is less helpful than the existing answers.


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Nexus 10 "shareable" part of Android 4.2?
One of the features of the new Nexus 10 is that it will be "shareable" which, from what I can tell, means that Android will be a multi-user OS. Exactly how Android will handle multiple users I don't know, but I've been craving this feature for a long time.
Any ideas whether this feature will be part of the core of Android 4.2, or if it's just for Nexus 10? I wish I got this on my Nexus 7.

My understanding is that these are features of 4.2, whose underpinnings were introduced in 4.0, which are now 'ready' for release.  See: http://www.android.com/whatsnew/

Any ideas whether this feature will be part of the core of Android
  4.2, or if it's just for Nexus 10?

Multi-user support in Android 4.2 will be for ALL TABLETS. So yes, all tabs with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean will have multi-user support.
Google is officially supporting this only for tablets as of now. However, I'm very sure that custom ROM makers will port it for phones. In fact, there are already a bunch of custom ROMs which do this.

I wish I got this on my Nexus 7.

Nexus 7 is a tablet, so when you upgrade to 4.2, you should get multi-user support.


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SD card won't mount when Xperia Neo V is connected to Ubuntu 12.10
I upgraded my Ubuntu set up to 12.10 and realized that the SD card can't mount like it used to every time I connected my Neo V (running android 2.3.4). It can't be a hardware issue as it mounts successfully via a card reader. It also mounts successfully on Windows 7 too.
For some strange reason the phone charges normally when the USB cable is connected but Ubuntu just doesn't recognize the connected phone or its SD card. How do I rectify this problem? Thanks in advance.

Saw this question on AskUbuntu.

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1065964
Please add your self to the support bug posted above. This is a known kernel regression in Ubuntu 12.10.

Thanks for the bug link. Just I suspected it is a kernel issue. Hope Canonical fixes this real soon.

Change USB connection mode to "Mass Storage Mode".


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Memory settings menu inconsistently shows internal storage half-empty and completely full at the same time
I own a sony xperia tipo that has around 2 gigabytes of internal storage.
Today, I got a warning that my phone's internal storage is full, while using google currents, so I went to the storage menu in the settings, to take a look, and I saw that the calculated amount of used memory in the internal storage section was a tiny bit over 1gb. This didn't sit well with the fact that  the reported free space was only 2mb instead of one giga and a half, as I thought it ought to be.
Trying to update apps that reside in the internal storage fails with an "insufficient memory" error.
I have no idea about what the problem might be and how to solve it, but I would like to try and avoid a factory reset, if that is possible.
Any help is greatly appreciated and thank you in advance for it.
EDIT: Here are two screenshots where you can clearly see that the total used space and available space do not add up to 2.15GB as they should but are only around 1gigabyte.
I have no idea what could be responsible for this phantom gigabyte, but one would think that the amount of memory the OS uses would have been subtracted from the "total space" and from the "phone memory" entry (not shown here) instead of the internal storage.
(I removed some apps to free up a few megabytes of memory)

Perhaps the issue is that Android itself takes up a large chunk of memory? On my phone, I officially have 16 GB, but it says I have only 13 GB in my settings, because the other 3 GB are used by Android. If your phone displays this in a quirky way, that could be it. So I'm afraid I would go by what it says your free space is if I were you.

@Cerberus: wouldn't the os be in the phone memory? I can see 3 different memories (?) here. They are: phone memory(700mb), internal storage and my sd card. Shouldn't the first one be android's host?

I would think the OS was in the "phone memory", yes. But I would also think that the OS would be in the internal storage, because I think phones don't normally have anything else besides internal memory and SD card. So I would say your "phone" memory was really part of your internal memory, and what is displayed as "internal memory" really means "internal memory left after accounting for the OS partition". It is a bit misleading, I know. You could post a screenshot of your settings if you felt like it. But I'm afraid this is not something that can be fixed.

Your phone keeps the thumbnails of all the photos that go through your phone. Connect it to your computer and delete all the contents of the folder called ".thumbnail" in the internal storage. You should find that folder inside the DCIM folder.

This was actually it, even though the folder gets repopulated when i launch image gallery apps.

Devices with internal SD cards / memory (for instance, my Galaxy S3 has 16GB), are split into many partitions.
4GB goes for OS/bootloader/recovery/system/etc
12GB is partitioned into /dev/mmcblk0p15 and mounted on /data
/data contains 4 main folders:

/data/app
/data/data
/data/dalvik-cache
/data/media

/sdcard (aka your user-available storage) is not a real partition, its actually a 'symlink' of sorts to /data/media
So the settings->storage (and a lot of apps, eg; ES File Manager), will report 12GB as your "total" partition size for /sdcard, even though your "sdcard" actually has 12GB - app - data - cache = 10.5GB (in my case) space available to it.
You need to be rooted, and use an app called "DiskUsage" from google play.. It will show you where your used space is going. Hope that helps!

This is my thought too. A tiny /data/data partition ended up being the cause of my own frustrating encounter with a similar error. You'll see errors when the applicable partition is full, sometimes long before "internal storage" fills.

I think this is really an issue with some driver/software or less expectingly hardware. Both me and my wife have the Sony Tipo and at her phone (blue edition) is reporting a wrong amount of free space (177mb free, 1,2 GB used)  were my phone (white edition) is reporting a more accurate amount of free space(1,1 gb free, 0,9 used).
Beside the color of both phones is different there is no difference in sw versions.
The only difference in usage I can imagine is that she is rebooting her phone quite often (daily) and I am only chaging phone volume in the night.
Maybe there is a problem with bad memory blocks on the sdcard, although I do not want to root her phone and don't know whether it is possible to see it another way.

After some searching i discovered that it has something to do with incorrectly removed data. I tried to remove a lot of files lately which were actually not removed from the card when I was looking to it connected to my computer(In Android not visible anymore). Although trying to copy the files did not work. Removing the files using the computer did fix the issue, although I haven't found a confinient way of finding the files which were incorrect. When trying to copy the files using windos 7 it just stops suddenly without an error... (to be continued)

It's probably better to add that comment to your question instead, but you could add a marker... like a BOLD "EDIT #1: ", then "After some...". :)

The internal storage is also used to store system apps, and the data from system apps.
It is possible that most of the space is going to system apps, and Sony is quite bad for including loads of bloatware.

Even if that is the case I find it kind of hard for Sony's apps to cover one whole gigabyte...

You would be surprised - my Mum got a Sony phone, and the entire 1GB memory was gone within a week.

Well, turns out all Sony's apps are stored in the phone memory and alltogether are responsible for something like 4mb total. It must be something else...

Try this... hook your android device on any pc... plug it in and turn on USB STORAGE... and then right click on the device and then choose properties and then choose tools tab... run error checking and then let check both automatically fix system errors and scan and attempt to recover bad sectors... after this go to the root of your memory there would be a hidden folder named FOUND.000... delete that and youll be problem free...

Not a solution, but look at the difference between an apps memory usage when its on the internal memory, then on the phone memory. I have an app taking up 1.39 mb on the internal, move it to phone and suddenly it's 33 mb. Why it hides all this memory I don't know.


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Video showing up as Audio in media library
I use Jelly Bean on my Galaxy Nexus.
I have copied a .avi File to the 'Movies'-folder of the device using mtpfs. I expected the file to show up as a Video in the Media Library so I can use Skifta (a DLNA server) to stream it to my TV.
Instead it showed up as Audio and therefore it cannot be watched. I can view the movie on the TV if I use a DLNA server on my desktop and I can view it on android if I use vlc.
So I am wondering if there is a way to manually manage the media library and add the file as a video or to force the media scanner to classify the file as a video? I have already tried renaming to '.mp4' without success.

Did you ever get any help with this issue?


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Disable open Google Search by sliding up from the home button "feature"?
Galaxy Nexus running Android version 4.1.1.
After a recent update, it seems google has added a feature where you can place your finger on the bottom home buttons, and slide up, to open google search. This feature is extremely useful when I want to interrupt my game play to open a google search while running the streets of liberty city. I am wondering if anyone knows how to disable this wonderful feature.
Thanks.

A simpler solution that doesn't require root access is to go into Settings then Apps. From there, disable Google Search. This will also disable the homescreen searchbar and Google Now features.

Worked like a charm. I wish I could make use of the extra screen space though. Oh well, thanks.

you can if chosing a different path :)

My phone (Android 5.0) no longer has Google Search. Any idea about what to disable now to block this feature?

But again, these solutions require you to be rooted. I don't know how
  only to disable the swipe feature...

...I do!! How about creating a launcher that does nothing, but instead of the home button, use the swipe gesture? Google Now Swipe Disabler does just that! I know I'm a little late, but if you're still wondering, or if someone else comes across this thread, I hope it will help. But the main point of this is to keep ALL of Google Search's features, except the swipe without rooting, or doing any other messy work.

That app is gone for good. For those wanting this way, take a look at alternatives as SwipeLaunch Disabler – or the new app from the original app's dev, Swipeup Utility.

It depends on whether or not you want to remove Google Now in its entirety or just disable the swipe gesture. If you are ok with disabling Google Now, and you are rooted, you can remove the Velvet.apk file (or add .bak after the name) from /system/app. You could also disable it from Applications under settings.
But again, these solutions require you to be rooted. I don't know how only to disable the swipe feature...

The links in the previous answers seems dead.
I just developed an app to disable this annoying feature, enjoy ;-)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ulk.gesturedisabler

Is this only for the Nexus, as its name suggests – or should it work on other devices as well?

To unlock the screen you can swipe from anywhere and to any direction. Ignore the arrow.
Google search will only appears if you swiped up from the bottom of the screen. That's what the arrow is meant for.

This does not answer the question of how to disable the Google Search swipe.


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Why is one folder on my Samsung Galaxy SII not being properly showed on PC?
There is one folder on my device (not in the microSD card) with mp3 files that used to work perfectly but suddenly started to cause a malfunction when I try to open it on a PC. It is said to have no files in it and all of the other folders stop being recognized after this until I reconnect the device. However I can always get access to the folder content through the cellphone file manager system: the problem is only happening when connected to a PC via USB cable.
Does anybody know why is this happening and how can I fix it?
Device: Samsung Galaxy SII.

Maybe the folder is in root directory, which doesn't shows up when connected to PC

I don't think so because it used to show. Then, suddenly, it started to appear as an empty folder. Also, other folders in the same place work normally.

I finally found the solution (actually I even had left it behind...). Sometime after I posted this question I create another folder and after a while it began to have the same problem. Today I realized that both folder had one common caracteristic: they contained characters beyond the basic ASCII Table (one was called "Músicas" and the other, "Vídeos". When I renamed them ("Musicas" and "Videos", respectively), the issue was solved.


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Should I backup .odex files too?
I have recently got an app that permits me to view the contents of my phone memory on my rooted Samsung Galaxy Y mobile phone.
In /system/app folder, I see all the system apps that came pre-installed with the phone, and also I see a .odex corresponding to every .apk file.
What exactly are these files?
I wanted to keep a backup of all these .apk files in my laptop, just in case.
Should I backup the .odex files too? Why or Why not?

You don't need to back up anything under /system since a factory reset or flashing the original ROM will restore everything there.  And if you were flashing a different ROM then the .odex files would likely be useless anyways, since they're for specific app/OS/device versions.


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How can I manually extract my contacts from a backup image of Android?
So I recently made an .img using dd of my Froyo installation on my phone prior to wiping and installing a custom Jellybean ROM. Turns out that the contacts were saved locally and not with Google.
I cannot for the life of me find my contacts anywhere on the images when I mount them. I've also tried attaching the .img as an external SD card to see if it could import and then export the contacts in a virtual android emulator. I just can't find them anywhere. I'm guessing they're hidden in some sql database somewhere in the guts of the OS but I'm out of ideas. Is there a way to boot the .img as the main OS on the Android emulator? Is there an easier way to go about this?

Well, this took a long time. For future searchers, here's what you can do:
Find your contacts2.db file hidden somewhere in Android. Most of the time it's located in /data/data/com.android.providers.contacts/databases. I was lucky and found it in a search through Titanium Backups' tarballs. Nab that file. It has everything in it in a sql database.
I then found this excellent script to extract and convert all contacts into a .vcf format for easy importing into the next device. It's located here on Github and requires two dependencies (on an Ubuntu 12.04 machine in which it was written for): sqllite3 and libsqllite3-dev:
sudo apt-get install sqlite3 libsqlite3-dev

After dependencies are satisfied, save the script on Github as dbconverter.sh. Mark it as executable:
chmod +x dbconverter.sh

use the script like this:
./dbconverter.sh contacts2.db > contacts2.vcf

You will then have a lovely .vcf file for easy importing into your phone.

Chauncellor, your solution worked like a charm! Thanks for this! Also works on Mac too, just download the sqlite 3 here, place all files (sqlite3, contacts2.db and the script) on the same folder and run the script. Pure magic! haha

for people with Homebrew installed, brew install sqlite3 can be used

Many Thanks, this was exactly what I wanted. :)

For those who don't use dd, AppExtractor supports importing contacts from a Nandroid backup.


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Manually updating samsung home app
I have a rooted Samsung Galaxy Y phone. I couldn't help notice that the Samsung Home app in my mobile phone misses a lot of features in comparison to that in more expensive models of Samsung phones.
I tried getting my hands on the .apk file of Samsung home, but apparently, it is not available in Google Play or any of the alternative markets that I know about.
My Question is, will the latest version of Samsung Home even work on my phone, if I am able to get it somehow? (From the /system/apps folder of some rooted Samsung Galaxy S mobile phone)

Check the ADW launcher. An open desktop, lots of functionalities (does not replace the notification bar as it's an integral part of the system


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Reconfiguring volume up and down buttons?
A few days ago, I came to know about apps such as Tasker and Locale. Today, I have purchased the Tasker app from Google Play. I have spent around more than an hour, going around and exploring the app.
I didn't find any option that would reconfigure/reprogram the volume up and down buttons (whereas camera button can be). Instead of having various different gestures and shakes to trigger/change/alter/start something, it would be lot more easier to just press the volume up and down buttons (or may be even different binary combinations of these two buttons).
Is it possible to reconfigure these buttons on automation app such as Tasker and Locale?

For Android 4.3 and above, I would recommend using Auto-Input by joaomgcd.

It allows you to
  create a series of input actions, including physical button presses
  and various taps and swipes, to emulate some sort of macro sequence
  that can be executed inside any app of your choosing. And if you
  happen to be rooted, AutoInput has a Root feature that can literally
  simulate any input on your phone. "Android Police"

So in essence you can use the Volume up and Down buttons to do anything you want and to also make them do different things within different apps.
Here are some links to help you get going:
AutoInput
Autoinput App Projects
Examples of Use of Volume Buttons:
Double Click Volume Up in Chrome To Share Page -
Learn how to react to the volume keys so that you can share your currently opened web page in Chrome
Volumecomboskip - Tasker Profile that Incorporates The Volume up and Down Button To skip songs

I personally see two problems with this answer. 1) The question was posted in 2012 and while OP didn't mention the Android version, it is safe to assume that the Android version used by OP at that moment was below 4.3 and AutoInput supports only 4.3 and above version. But that's not enough for me to vote down. 2) You've not mentioned how to use AutoInput to achieve the goal. I'm willing to revoke my downvote and appreciate your answer if you mention the detailed usage of that app for the  goal.

@Firelord I Realised that it was from 2012, and that the user would have have below 4.3, but I answered for the current times (2015) so people who would find this question would at least have any up to date answer even though the question was old. I personally answered for newcomers on this question, not the actually asker this time because the question was old. I will post the instructions today.

@Firelord I Have given example, but cannot give a detailed walkthrough as I cant use the app due to my android version. I would rather not plagiaris some elses step-by-step walkthrough. I have add examples. This is an answer to you above comment ^^


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How to unblock the caller phone number?
Or: how to stop forwarding calls from given phone number?
Current state
I have two phones, A and B. From A phone I can call whoever I want. From B I can call whoever I want except A -- when I call A, the call is forwarded automatically to voicemail.
It is not about network range, or something, or not enough money. It is most likely B phone number is blacklisted on phone A and such call is blocked (forwarded).
How to unblock it?
And what happened
I suspect that some call blocking app made that mess -- to test it, I actually block phone number A on phone B, and made a call. With the exactly same results as described above.
After that, I removed that phone number, than I uninstalled entire application, I rebooted phone, I checked the system settings (stock blocking: off, blacklist: empty). There is no other blocking app installed (just in case I removed related calling apps, like Skype).
Yet, once blocked, the phone number remains blocked.
How to undo this?
Phone A (the one with such permanent block) is Galaxy Ace 2, Android 2.3.
Updates
Update 1: On phone A in logs I can see all those "unreachable" calls. So they are received. Also there is small tooltip on phone A "forward call" (when call is received).

Found it!
The culprit is this app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vladlee.easyblacklist Calls Blacklist
Listen to this: if you add any number to the blacklist of this app, and UNINSTALL this app after that, the number will be kept hidden and block.
I.e. there is no way you can unblock the number, you can only do this by installing this app again, and removing all phone numbers, and then uninstalling the app.

To be of more general use -- if something similar will happen to you, go to Google Play website, check the history of installed apps (which blocks calls). Install all of them back, and then check their blacklists. Clear the blacklists, and then, with clear list, uninstall them. It should do the trick (hopefully).


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Google Play says "You don't have any devices"
I tried factory resetting so I need to enter my Google account again to my device however it's been more than an hour now and Google Play still says "You don't have any devices". Any ideas how to fix this?

Contact Google...

Are you getting this on the web store or on the device?  It doesn't make sense that it would happen on the device.  Have you tried upgrading Google Play?

@MatthewRead The device works fine. The web store doesn't.

@AndroidQuesito "Contact Google" is notoriously hard though...

Try following (Worked in my case)

Remove Google account from settings
Clear data of play-store and Google services framework
Restart phone Now access play store again.

I know this works but in my case this time it didn't work.

Worked for me. Without removing the google account it din't work.

Worked for me by doing just the first half of step 2, and then downloading any app (which may or may not be necessary). Also see https://android.stackexchange.com/a/55590/204215.

Try to install some apps. directly on device using Google Play, then you will find your device after sometime, happened to me many a times.


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How do I get Google Now's Package Tracking to Work?
In Google Search settings -> Google Now, I have "Show cards based on Gmail" checked. "Packages" is on, and the description says "when an order confirmation email is delivered for an online purchase"
Since turning that on, I've used mutt's bounce feature to deliver two Amazon shipping notices to my gmail account. The email notifications showed up on my phone, but (even a day later) I still haven't been able to get the Google Now package tracking card to show.
How do I get it to work?
Here's the message in gmail:

Update
I'm now on Android 4.2, and (after the 4.2 upgrade) received an email from the Google Play store with a tracking number this morning. Still no delivery status card from Google Now. Will check the Amazon soon again, too (once they ship me something).
Nexus 10
I've got a Nexus 10 as well now (also running Android 4.2, stock, not even rooted), and package tracking also doesn't seem to work there, either.

I have the same problem, running Jelly Bean on SGS3 (Tmobile). I ordered an item from Amazon, Google Now created a card for it without a problem. Item was delivered 4 days ago (UPS). Google Now still shows a shipping card, but when I click on the card it opens UPS site showing delivery confirmation. Why doesn't Google Now card update to show delivery and get rid of the card? How do I get rid of this card? Kind of annoying that it comes up every day for an already delivered package.

@Vanderberg well, now I know where all my missing Google Now cards are: you have them. Maybe we can arrange a trade... :-/

To use those new feature when informations are being pulled from gmail you are going to need the new gmail app there is a flashable zip on xda-developers but its reporting to break some stuff so your best bet is to wait a week or so to get the Jellybean update from google.

That's not true. I don't have the new version of the Gmail app and package tracking is working just fine for me on my galaxy nexus and nexus 7.

I think I had the new gmail app (at least, there was a new version in Play store recently). And now of course I have it as part of Android 4.2. Still no luck (see question update)

I don't think package tracking in Google Now is dependent on the Gmail app version on your phone! This type of data extraction is done server-side and not on the phone.


text:
Are rooted Android phone more vulnerable to Malware Apps than non-rooted ones?
From my understanding, a rooted Android phone mean that the user will be accessing everything on the phone, just like a root user. So, installing a Apps mean that the Apps will also have root privileges.
So, does a non-rooted ones more safer than those rooted phone? (In another word, will rooted Android phone make it a easy target for Apps that are actually malware or virus to attack?)

The user doesn't access everything as root. See Does rooting mean I will always run my device as root? and the dupe it was linked to for more on that (not sure if that affects your question any).

Note that there has been malware that actually attempted to root devices itself.  I'm not sure if that would allow it to work around SuperUser / SuperSU if it was already in place or if those apps would actually protect against it in the manner that the answers explain.

With root privilege, a malware app can certainly do heavy damage, but it doesn't work like that.
Just because an app is on a rooted device, it doesn't mean it gets root privilege automatically. With modern rooting standards, you'll have to permit it. When an app requests root access, a pop-up from SuperUser or SuperSU app appears asking to allow it or not. If you don't know much about the app, simply block access. If you don't pay attention to this, you deserve to experience bad things.
Update:
As a last line of defense, I'd like to add that nobody knows from where nasty malware apps can exploit a loophole. You find un-rooted devices secure, but there're apps which are able to even root a device from inside (There was a positive-purpose app named Root Exploit in Google Market which was later kicked out by Google). So, if you want to be secure, don't install unknown apps. And, if possible, use Play Store only. These suggestions are irrespective of your device is rooted or not.

Note also that SuperSU is now used by many people instead of Superuser, because it is apparently better. I must say I couldn't get Superuser to work any more after an OS update (I think it was 4.1), but SuperSU worked.

@Cerberus I don't see any difference in their core functionalities. Only nice thing about SuperSU: Its pro version adds feature of OTA RootKeeper. Anyway, I have added it to answer. Thanks...

Right, I don't think there is any difference in that regard.

@SachinShekhar, so can I assume that if the device is not rooted and it does not have the SuperSU or SuperUser apps installed, so, when a app wish to gets root privilege, will android pop-up a message saying that 'Oh gosh, the app wish to get root privilege, would you wish to let it have it?'

@Jack Without SuperUser or SuperSU, there'll be no pop-up... no matter device is rooted or not.

Yes, and No.
If an app had root access, then it could cause untold damage - but you have to specifically give it that access.
The SuperSU or Superuser apps allow you to specify which apps have root access, and what commands they run. You can use this to stop malicious apps, and to also determine malicious apps.
So, to conclude:

Root access can be dangerous
Apps can only get root access if you allow them to
You can see the commands the app runs as root


text:
Galaxy S3 Accounts & Sync gone after jellybean update 4.1.1
Just updated my new Galaxy S3 to latest jellybean update 4.1.1 and my accounts and sync disappeared. Tech support said it should be under settings / personal tab but not there.
Any ideas of what happened?

On my Galaxy S3 wich I updated about two weeks ago, there is an "Accounts" part in the settings, right after the "Personal" one, where all my accounts are listed. Do you have it ?
I can also access to the sync settings from the contacts list, then press the menu touch button (on the left of the home button) and choose accounts.


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How can I assign a Windows drive letter to my "portable drive" (Samsung Tab 10.1)?

Possible Duplicate:
Drive letter for MTP connection under Windows

There are a number of Windows file utilities I'd like to use to manage files on my device (Samsung Tab 10.1). To use them, I need to mount my tablet as a drive letter.
How can I do this?

Can you please be more specific with the Windows app you are trying to use. 1. Windows automatically mount if you're connected with UMS (USB Mass Storage) 2. Windows Explorer does great job of browsing file system without a glitch

The question is about assigning a drive letter. I can browse the files just fine.

Doesn't Windows automatically assign a drive letter if device is mounted?

No, it assigns is as a device name, not a letter.

Are you not using Windows Explorer to browse files? In almost all cases, Windows assigns letter.. See My Computer. Auto mounting on NTFS folder is not practical.

This should be asked on SuperUser.com, by the way.

@SachinShekhar:  don't see any particular reason this question can't exist here, since it's certainly an issue with using an Android device. Is it also appropriate for Super User? Perhaps, but that, in and of itself, doesn't make it off topic here. To the OP: I think the duplicate will cover what your issue is - the device is not getting a drive letter because it uses MTP rather than universal mass storage (UMS). Unfortunately, there is generally not a completely reliable way to work around that (especially if you're unrooted).


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How do I root my Samsung Galaxy Ace?
I want to root my Galaxy Ace but don't want to install Custom ROM or CWM!
Just only root so that, I can run some apps which requires root.

Try one click root or you can easily find root guide on xda forums..

It would help if we knew what Android version it is running, and also if you have managed to root it in the month that this question has been up?

@LiamW : I have the same phone, Its running android 2.3.6 Gingerbread with kernel version 2.6.38.6

Everything you need to know about rooting and installing custom ROM on your phone.
a. Rooting for 2.2.1:
Turn on your phone
Enable Debugging at Apliccations>Programming
Connect your phone into PC via cable
Launch Super One Click 2.3.3
Click "Root"
Wait until the program will root your phone
When the process is complete turn off SOC and unplug your phone
Reboot
Now you have root!

Db. Rooting for 2.3.x (NEW METHOD!):
Download file called universal_gb_root_v25.zip and copy it to your sdcard
Turn off your phone
Press POWER+HOME BUTTON
Select update from sdcard, select the file universal_gb_root_v25.zip
After the update completed - reboot
Now you have rooted S5830

OPTIONAL Unrooting for 2.3.x:
Download file called universal_gb_unroot_v9.zip and copy it to your sdcard
Turn off your phone
Press POWER+HOME BUTTON
Select update from sdcard, select the file universal_gb_unroot_v9.zip
After the update completed - reboot
Now you have unrooted S5830[/QUOTE]

ps: its best you read the first link.

Could you give some excerpt of the linked article? We don't favor "link-only" answers, as when the link dies those answers get useless.

Added. But it's best if OP reads the whole link. Threads on XDA are hardly ever moved and there permalink is more or less same :)

I don't argue against reading the original article (I rather agree). But it's this site's policy to not use link-only answers, and I agree with that as well :) Thank you!

No problem. added it and will add excerpts in future answers as well :)


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How to SSH into Android from a different network?
I'm running SSHDroid on my unrooted android device. When my SSH client on ubuntu or windows are on same wifi network as the Android, I'm able to connect to it via SSH.
But what I want to do is, connect to the device via SSH from a client like putty etc. from a computer which is not in the same network.
eg. If i'm on the same wifi network, I can connect via SSH using command

$ ssh root@192.168.1.3 -p 2222

but when I connect via ssh using external IP, it says connection refused.

$ ssh root@112.79.41.234 -p 2222

I also tried using PortForward to forward external port to the internal one. But it doesn't seem to work.
Can anyone tell me how to do it without rooting the device.?

The following resources may help you

http://askubuntu.com/questions/30080/how-to-solve-connection-refused-errors-in-ssh-connection

Quick answer:
You don't need to 'root' your Android phone - both it and SSH are working correctly.

How to solve problem:
You need to better understand 'port forwarding' and 'public IP addresses'.
The 'port-forwarding' needs to occur where the public network ('Internet') meets the private network (WiFi network with Android device).  This is usually a 'router', but could be a larger 'firewall'.
You need to find out and add this detail, if you want any further help ..

While port forwarding will work, I don't suggest it.
It's tied to very firm constraints:

Abandon DHCP and use a static IP in every network you want to work
Set up port forwarding rules on every router
Set up dynamic DNS for every network
Know in which network your Android is

Better have your phone connect to the same virtual private network (VPN) and access it through this. Or use GTalkSMS for an easier setup.

IP address conflict can be turned out, at first check that address conflict was or was not the problem.

how to use arp-scan to see if two pieces of hardware were claiming
the same IP address.

For this, please have a look

https://askubuntu.com/questions/30080/how-to-solve-connection-refused-errors-in-ssh-connection

Regarding your network, check /var/log/messages for ethernet link up/downs (or wlan in case of wireless). If so try changing the cables.
It's not a simple connectivity issue. The ethernet link does not change state; server is reachable via ping; ssh connects flawlessly occasionally, then seemingly randomly does not connect or existing ssh session drops.

Change adapter from DHCP to static.
Try ssh -v ip and check the output

The computer having ssh client is behind the router at my workplace and the android device is using 3G internet. No ethernet here..

You could set up a dynamic DNS updater. This will allow you to access your Android device using the same internet IP address no matter where you are. You will need an account with a dynamic DNS provider [1] and an Android SSH server that includes/supports a DNS update tool [2].
You will then be assigned a fixed IP address by the dynamic DNS provider, which you can use wherever you roam. Network limitations (technical or imposed) may still prevent you from access your device in some circumstances.
[1] For example, DNS-o-matic. There are quite a few free providers.
[2]  SSH Server by Ice Cold Apps explicitly offers support for dynamic DNS. Nothing is mentioned on the SSHDroid page, but you could query them.


text:
Scripting a whole bunch of actions
I am using the stock / vanilla Android on Galaxy Nexus. What I want to do is setup an advanced "profile" kind of tool which does a series of steps one after another depending on what I ask - for instance -
Office cube - Bluetooth off, GPS off, WiFi on, silent mode, kill Good For Enterprise app, start Skype
Car - Bluetooth on, GPS on, Wifi off, loud mode, start Good for Enterprise app
Home - Bluetooth off, GPS off, Wifi on, loud mode, start Skype
The eventual idea is to do this with NFC tags but before that, I want like a "script" that goes about doing this one by one. I guess I have been spoiled by Bash scripts on the terminal?
any suggestions on how I can start going about this?
Other notes - I do have Llama installed and it is great, but I want more control. Also, I am not keen on rooting my phone.
(Note: I am not allowed to create a tag named "scripting" because it doesn't exist and I am new !)

Have a look at at Tasker, it's similar to Llama but with more options. Although you said you don't want rooting: Cyanogenmod has an included profile manager that works great with NFC out of the box. PS: you can switch off root if you don't like it.

Tasker is your best bet for this kind of thing. It will allow you to setup powerful profiles for the kinds of tasks that you are wanting and will allow you to run scripts as well. It should be noted that a change that came with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) restricted the ability to manipulate the GPS settings without Root, so Root would be required if you want that functionality.  You can try Tasker free for a week (Official site, Play Store).

I'm a huge fan of Tasker and join ZnewmaN in highly recommending it. If you're looking for NFC functionality, though, I have also become fond of NFC Task Launcher. It's not as fully-featured as Tasker (the only "context" is tapping an NFC tag and has fewer available tasks) but accomplishes what it sets out to well. I don't think it'll do exactly what you're looking for but is worth checking out.


text:
USB Internet is not working in sleep mode
I am using Micromax Funbook Pro. The USB Internet connection gets disconnected after the system goes into sleep mode after 1 minute. I want to keep the connection alive. Please help.

Are you talking about USB data dongle?

I use the WakeLock app when transferring data, to prevent my device going to sleep. It's simple but effective.


text:
Why do I not get the new YouTube ui on my tablet?
I've got a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 running CyanogenMod 9-20121028-NIGHTLY-p4wifi and I downloaded the latest YouTube app from the Play Store. However, the app still uses the old ui with the 3d carousel, despite reporting a version number of 4.1.23.
I had this same issue when running various versions of AOKP.
Any thoughts?

The latest YouTube update has enabled it :-D


text:
Is there any android smartphone using Atheros chipset?

Possible Duplicate:
How can I find out the make and model of the chips in my device?

I'm now working on a research topic about Hotspot 2.0. However, it's really difficult to find an Android smartphone or tablet using the Atheros chipset.
Does anybody know what Android product is using the Atheros chipset?

Zte Blade uses ar6003 chipset for wifi.. having said that, pdadb.net is your friend to filter out devices that have the specific atheros chipsets.

Related: How can I find out the make and model of the chips in my device?

We don't support individual "searching for X in a device" questions, whether shopping-oriented or just lists (see the [FAQ]).  The question Richard linked is a good option though.

See Sony Ericsson Xperia X10.

That's true. However, it uses MSM chipset. What about ar600X series? Is there any android smart phone using ar600X chipset?


text:
Is it possible to restore a ClockWorkMod backup to an emulator
Is it possible to restore a ClockWorkMod backup to an Android emulator using a PC?

I'm leaning towards no. A nandroid backup can't be used on a different phone because of the difference in hardware. And since the emulators included in the SDK are going to emulate a specific hardware set, I doubt it would work right.

You'd have to make the backup from the emulator.

No. You can however, try to restore parts of it using Titanium Backup.
It allows you to select apps to restore - that way you can get back the data.


text:
How to remove app from wishlist?
How can I remove an app from wishlist? I clicked the add to wishlist button by mistake..
I'm looking for this but i can't find, is there a way?
I tried to unistall  the app, search in the app page and others places like the wishlist itself.

Wait, what? Haw long has a wish list been there?

Since october 17th apparently.. check out this, wishlist wasn't the only thing in the update

Well, i couldn't resolve my problem but after contacting Google's support here some potencial answers for some users.
Clean Google Play and Download Manager Cache
For Google Play:

Visit Menu > Settings > Applications > Manage applications
Tab over to "All"
Select the Play Store app, and then tap "Clear cache" and "Clear data"

For the Download manager:

Visit Menu > Settings > Applications > Manage applications
Tab over to "All"
Select "Download manager," and then tap "Clear data" and "Clear cache"

Uninstall updates from Google play

Go to "Home" > "Menu" > "Settings" > "Applications" > "Manage applications"
Touch the "All" tab
Scroll down and select the Play Store app
Touch "Uninstall updates"

This will revert Google Play to the original version that came with your device. Google Play should automatically self-update to the current version within a few days - there's no way to permanently uninstall updates. However, you can perform the following steps to ensure the latest version of Google Play is updated properly:

Launch Google Play
Switch to the Home screen
Wait 5-10 minutes for the app to self-update
Re-launch the Google Play Store app

After that the support couldn't help me anymore..
I believe my problem is a bug, so maybe in future versions it'll be fixed, anyway when I accomplish this, I'll post here.
EDIT:
Google Play Store updated to 3.10.9 and now each wishlist item has like a remove icon besides it, so you click there and it's removed! Nice and easy.

On play.google.com, the button is missing for a non-available item.

If you go into the play store item that you added to your wishlist and click the same icon that you used to add it to the wishlist it should remove it.

But the button is now the share button, there's no more that flag

@Markissimo The method is same. Play Store has issues regarding this. Contact Google.

This method worked for me.  I did have to reopen the wishlist, but not play store, for the item to be gone.

The button is missing for a non-available item.

I have tried many things (clearing Play data, clearing cache, uninstall, force stop restarting the device) and finally found a solution:
Use Google Chrome and open two tabs.

In the first tab open the new Apps and click Add to Wishlist
In the second tab open the app that cannot be removed from the wishlist
Right click at second tab then click Inspect element
In Elements right click and click Edit attribute at data-docid and data-server-cookie, copy the value in Notepad
An example data-docid is com.noodlecake.blockheads and data-server-cookie is CAIaIwohEh8KGWNvxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Goto 1st page right click at button Added to Wishlist and click Inspect element
In 1st page Elements, use Edit attribute replace all the data-docid and data-server-cookie values with the 2nd page data-docid and data-server-cookie values
Now you can click Remove wishlist on the first Chrome tab.

This worked for me. I had purchased an app but it was still in my wishlist. I couldn't remove it via the Play Store app or website as i didn't see the remove button. Following the steps in this answer allowed me to delete it. Thanks :)

Go to Google play. Search for the application you're trying to remove. When the page loads, you should see a ribbon-shaped icon in the upper right-hand corner. There should be a check mark. Click it. The icon should change into a plus ("+") symbol. Check the wishlist. The item should be gone.

On play.google.com, the button is missing for a non-available item.


text:
Driving Mode isn't working as expected on Samsung Galaxy SII
I have this Samsung Galaxy SII, GT-I9100T, with Android version 2.3.3.
When placed in Dock with my car, the following happens

Whenever a call is incoming, the phone would read me the calling number, even if he's found in my contacts.
Whenever a message is incoming, the phone will sometimes read me their phone number, even if they're found in my contacts.

What can cause this? I've checked the configuration and found nothing helpful, Google wasn't much of a help either.

@liamwli Why have you removed the text-to-speech tag? Is it not related?

It could be possible that the contacts have been entered incorrectly, or it could be a bug with your version of the car mode app.
Please ensure that none of your contacts are duplicated, and also please ensure that the numbers are correct (you may need to add/remove the country code).
Another reason could be due to the country code being displayed when the SMS/Call is incoming, but not being in the contact.

Thing is, the number is read correctly (without country code): "Incoming call from zero-five-two-eight-five-eight-eight....", while it should say "Incoming call from Madara Uchiha" for that instance. There may be duplication, but they are linked, does that make a difference?


text:
Why android is power hungry?
When every android phone is released, all the reviews discuss about battery life of the device, since, they say, battery life in android phones is a critical issue.
Question is :
Why battery life is an important problem in android phones ?
Some say, it is due to the display of smartphones. Some say, Android is inherently power hungry due to some of its OS related features.
Can anyone highlight the reason why Android is power hungry ?

It's not so much Android that is power hungry, but smartphones in general are power hungry. A smartphone basically is a very small laptop computer and as such it has a similar battery-life.

...but what normally uses up the bulk of your battery life on a modern (large-screened) smartphone is the screen. It's usually over 50 % on my Galaxy Nexus.

Why battery life is an important problem in android phones? Have you seen any smartphones that can stay awake for 24 hours of constant usage without recharging? That's why.

Just a few reasons Android uses a lot of power:

Large, Colorful, Bright Display
Constant Wireless Connections
Background Applications
Application/Cloud Syncing
User Input
Garbageware Applications running when no one asked them to
Poorly written applications using more CPU cycles than needed

Basically, everything about your phone that makes it "smart", uses battery power - often a lot.
If you were to dim the display to minimum, turn off all wireless communications and have no applications running and syncing, your smartphone would have outstanding battery life; and be quite useless.

On my device, the Motorola Droid 3, there are pre-installed applications that I do not want, and cannot remove. They periodically run themselves and eat resources. Common names for this kind of software is: Blotware, crapware, garbageware, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crapware

Basically Android need to be interpreted which takes more CPU cycles. Compared to very efficient systems like the Symbian and Meego Android will always use maybe 2 times more power due to most code not being native.

What is interpreted? And even if so, it does not necessarily result in increased power consumption.

Hi, you could add more details, please.


text:
How to troubleshoot a lockup/freeze
I have a GNex running on CN(A) 3.8. It has started to lockup/freeze when the screen is off. So far it occurs mostly overnight while it's charging. I have to pull the battery to resolve. I believe it started a couple of ROM updates ago. I have not gone through the step of doing a factory wipe (but have cleared the cache/Dalvik), etc, but I was wondering what tools does Android have to troubleshoot freezes, etc.
Is there a system log, etc that I can look at to see if there's a pattern of what is occurring at the time of freeze?

There are apps that let you look at the system log, like CatLog.
What I would do is start logging before you charge it at night and then take a look at the result in the morning. The log will probably be staggering but the errors should show up in red.

Thanks. I've switched ROMs (CM10) and that seems to have resolved the issue, but I've downloaded the recommended app in case I want to dig into any future issues.

Just remember to do a full wipe between flashing ROMs. This includes Dalvik Cache which is under advanced options in the Clockwork Mod recovery screen. If you do a full wipe between ROMs and you still have errors make sure the ROM is for your exact phone model and service provider. Have fun! PS I'm also running CM10 on my GS3 and no problems yet!


text:
Why has my GSIII's battery life dropped from 50-60 hours to 16 hours?
I have a GSIII (Sprint) running Android 4.0.4.  In the last three days, I have not made any changes or installed any new software that I know of, but my battery life has dropped such that my phone, when fully charged in the morning, now powers off sometime before I go to bed.  This would make sense if I spent a lot of time using it, but I generally will check a few emails (every 20 min or so) and make maybe 4 calls of 5-10 min each in a typical day.  I have not varied this pattern lately.  I used to have to charge my phone maybe every other day, sometimes when really slow I could squeak 3 days out of it before charging.
Battery usage screen shows 'Cell Standby' taking up 40% of power usage.  I hadn't been looking at battery usage lately, but it strikes me that when I first got the phone (3 months ago) I checked these a few times and Cell Standby was fairly low, around 10% as I recall.
I usually keep the phone on WiFi because of Sprint's crummy network, and the phone was in my house the entire time it was on battery, so was on WiFi for data...and WiFi takes up 3% of the total.  Display takes up 2%.
I remember on my previous phone, the Evo (original) there was a Dialer bug that caused a wake-lock of some sort...I'm presuming something similar here.  Several hard power cycles have not improved matters.
What do I do to stop it, or find out where the CPU cycles are going?
Edit:  taking a look at the battery pane of the settings app reveals that the phone is staying awake 100 percent of the time that the radio is on.  It did not used to do that. Putting the phone in airplane mode lets the phone sleep as usual except for a few times in three hours, as expected.  So, apparently this is a wake lock condition again.

Is your phone rooted? If so, use BetterBatteryStats.

Looking at your edit, this sounds like the infamous l2_hsic problem or something similar. This is a wakelock problem that occurs on the S2 and on the Note 1, but I'm not sure that the S3 has that specific problem. See: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1656705 for a documentation of the problem on the Note. Sounds awfully similar, doesn't it?

Wow, that is a great thread.  This phone is not rooted, I could but it's against company policy.  I am planning on an update to Jellybean in a couple days, I'll see if that contains any hope.

BetterBatteryStats should still work on an unrooted phone, though with reduced functionality. You could try installing it from the Play Store ($2.49) to see if you can see kernel wakelocks without root. There is also a free copy available (legally) from the developer, but that is really intended for those people who can't use the Play Store to buy apps, so I'm not going to link to it here.

Cell standby being high means you have a really weak signal wherever your phone was.  The phone cranks its radio up to maximum power to try to maintain a usable signal.
There are several ways to stop it - none of them ideal:

Put the phone somewhere with a better signal (near a window maybe)
Put it in airplane mode to turn off the radio (but you won't be able to get phone calls/texts)
Switch to a carrier that has a better signal near your home/workplace

As for why it's doing it now, it could be that you're leaving the phone in a different place in your house most of the time, or weather is affecting the signal strength, or sprint is extra crummy in your area lately.

I have very good coverage in one spot in the house.  Leaving it there did not improve the situation.  However, as noted above in my edit, it seems to be a wake lock.

It could be an application keeping the phone awake. On my HTC Desire S I can click any application present in the Settings battery pane and see the time the application keeps the phone awake.

HERE ARE THE AREAS THAT EFFECT BATTERY LIFE - HOPE THIS MAY HELP
Weather Widget on front screen.
- click to open -> Menu -> Setting -> Auto refresh = Every 3 hours
Then go to "Settings" (the lines in read are the Titles seen on the MAIN Settings screen most of which you can go in to and change more settings)
Wifi - Off when not in use
Bluetooth - Off when not in use.
Data Usage
Mobile Data = On
More Settings
Flight Mode - Off
S Beam = Off
Wifi Direct - Off
Near By device ->
Switched Off
Mobile Networks ->
Use Packet Date = On
Data Roaming = Off
Sound (scroll Down to System)
Keytones = On
touch sound = On
Screen Lock Sound = On
Haptic Feedback = Off
Autp Haptic = Off
Display
Brightness - Open -> set to auto
Screen time out - After 30 Seconds
Smart Stay = On
Auto Rotate = On
Touch Key Light Duration = 1.5 Seconds
Screen Mode = Standard
Auto Adjust Screen Power = Ok
Display Battery Percentage = On
LED Indicator
Charging = On
Low Power = Off
Missed Event = On
Motion
Motion Activition = On
Direct Call = On
smart Alert = On
Tap to Top = Off
Tilt to Zoon = Off
Pan to Move Icon = Off
Pan to Browse Images = Off
Shake to Update = On
Turn Over to Mute = On
Palm Swipe to Capture = On
Palm Touch to Mute = On
Power saving
CPU power Saving = On
Screen Power saving = On
Background colour = On
Turn off Haptic Feedback = On
Accounts and Sync
General toggle at top - ON
Dropbox - No Sync
Google mail = Sync Then Open the option to display more
Sync Calendar = On
Sync Chrome = On
Sync Contact = On
Sync Gmail = On
Sync Google Phot = Off
Sync Google Play Books = On
Sync Google Play Movies = Off
Sync Google + = On
Sync Instant Upload = Off
Sync Internet = On
Sync Picasa Web Albums = Off
Facebook - Sync
Samsung account - No Sync
Skype  - No sync
If you use Drop Box go in to the setting here and turn Upload using = WIFI ONLY
Location Services
Use Wireless Network = On
Use GPS = On
Use Sensor Aiding = Off (wasnt to sure what this was so left it off)
Location and Google Search = On
Security
Screen Lock = Pattern
With Swipe Lock = On
Lock Screen Option ->
Shortcuts = On
Information ticker = Off
Camera Quick Access = On (Might as well switch this off as I cant work out how to get by the Pattern Recognition for the camera to auto start)
Clock = On
Dual Clock = Off
Weather = On
Ripple Effect = On
Help text = On
Wake up in Samsung unlock = Off
Make Patterns Visable = On
Lock Auto = 5 Seconds
Lock Instantly on power key = On
Vibrate on Screen Tap = Off
Language and Input
Default = Samsung Keyboard
google voice type = Off
Samsung Keyboard = On -> in to Settings
Predictive text = On
continuous input = Off
Keyboard Swipe = On
Handwritting = On
Voice Input = GRAYED OUT
Auto Caps = On
Auto Punctuation = On
Character Preview = On
Key Tap vibration = On
Key Tap sunbd = On
Voice Commands for Apps = Off
Acccessibility
Auto Rotate = On
Speak Passwords = Off
Screen Timeout = 30 Seconds
Lock Ato = 5 Seconds
Talk Back = Off
Install Webscript = Not Alloweed
Negative colours = Off
Developer mode - EVERYTHING IS OFF


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Google Nexus 4 on Verizon?
I currently own a Motorola Droid 3 on Verizon.
I wish to purchase a LG Nexus 4 directly from Google - will it work on my Verizon Network? Or would it be a waste of time?

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See also Can I use my device on a different carrier?

It would be a wast of time (and money). The phone is not compatible with Verizon's network.
Verizon is a CDMA network, and the Nexus 4 from Google is GSM phone.
In the past Google has met-in-the-middle with Verizon and released the CDMA compatible Galaxy Nexus - this time there appear to be no plans on releasing a CDMA compatible Nexus 4 (possibly due to the slow turnaround time Verizon had on releasing updates to the Galaxy Nexus).


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How can I SSH into my Android without rooting it?

Possible Duplicate:
Is there some SSH server for android?

Are there free Android apps that would let me SSH into it remotely?
Related: Are there Android SSH client apps that would let me SSH into other computers from my Android?

I would totally tag this "ssh", but the stupid Stack Overflow controls don't let me create new tags.

ssh already exists, but I added it anyway

Your first question should be covered by the duplicate. Have you searched the Play Store for your second? There are lots, and very broad "Is there an app for X?" questions are not really a good fit for this site: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=ssh+client&c=apps (also related is Are there any command line ssh clients available for rooted android phones? which asks about scriptability of clients)