text:
Can I get an app package name as a Tasker Variable upon a package updated event?
I'm trying to use Tasker to create custom notifications with AutoNotification with the Event Context of "Package Updated *". But what I really need is to know if when a package is updated, does the updated app package name get passed to a variable? I already know about the intent of Package_Added from this other question, but it doesn't say anything about having an intent of Package_Updated.

You can always employ adb at your service to do the hunting on your own. For example: after a successful update of an app if you immediately execute the following command and follow the section ACTIVITY MANAGER BROADCAST STATE (dumpsys activity broadcasts) you would come across the intent android.intent.action.PACKAGE_REPLACED. You would also observe that the data in that intent contains the much sought package name.
adb shell dumpsys activity

Relevant demo output:

#0: BroadcastRecord{dec5090 u0 android.intent.action.PACKAGE_REPLACED}
    act=android.intent.action.PACKAGE_REPLACED dat=package:com.koushikdutta.backup flg=0x4000010 (has extras)
    extras: Bundle[{android.intent.extra.UID=10185, android.intent.extra.REPLACING=true, android.intent.extra.user_handle=0}

As for using the information in Tasker, setup your profile and tasks like this:

Profile: Event → System → Intent Received

Action: android.intent.action.PACKAGE_REPLACED
Scheme: package
leave the rest untouched

Task: (Actions):

Variables → Variable Search Replace

Variable: %intent_data
Search: package:
tick One Match Only
tick Replace Matches
Replace With: leave this untouched since we want to delete the match
The package name alone would now be available to the value of the variable %intent_data (a local variable). Use it wherever you want.

In order to get the app label, you can either use Tasker's inbuilt functionality or use aapt (latter requires root access)

App → Test App:

Type: Package Name
Data: %intent_data
Store Result In: %label
The app label can now be retrieved from the variable %label.

See Accessing Intent Data for more info on intent handling in Tasker.
Homework: if you follow the output of dumpsys activity carefully you would note that the information that the app has been updated can actually be retrieved from android.intent.action.PACKAGE_ADDED alone.
Related: Get new installed app name with Tasker


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How do I get sound out of galaxy 4 to come through Aux port in my car?
I have a Toyota Sienna.  I am trying to get an audio book located on my Galaxy S4 to play through the Car's sound system.  I attach the cable to the Aux port in my car and turn on my Galaxy 4 audio book. The Sound comes out of the phone but I can't get it to come out of car's speaker system.  When I plug in my iPod tothe Aux port, the music plays just fine in the car's speaker system.  What am I doing wrong?

Have you tried playing the S4 sound through earbuds, headset, or external (wired) speakers?  Does it work?

"I attach the cable to the Aux port in my car" This is probably a silly question, but it never hurts to check: did you also plug the cable into the headphone port of the S4?

Check that the app you are using to play the e-book is correctly outputting the sound to the aux-cable (in case it has some setting to disable/enable audio output to headphones). Alternatively, try some other apps, to check sound output through the phone, to the aux cable, into the aux port and to the car music system. Also, as @Zeiss Ikon suggests check sound output from your S4 to a pair of headphones, external speakers etc.
Most of the times, the volume is also reduced for headphones and Android warns on possible ear damage. So also try increasing the volume.
Try with a different aux cable. Though if the iPod is being connected with the aux cable and it is working, theoretically it should work.

Thanks for your feedback.  It actually turned out to be the aux cable.  Interestingly, the cable I had been using for my iPod (which worked perfectly) would not work with the Galaxy.  I bought a high end cable with the same specs and now it works fine

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
How to Reverse Usb Tethering with VPN [tun0 interface] routing?
I have a big problem and after many days I can't find any solution because I'm not Linux experienced user...
Problem: I'm using USB [Reverse] Tether (Windows share internet with android phone via USB cable) everything working ok (dns, HTTP browser, etc...)
BUT all VPN apps doesn't work! when I try to make VPN connection, it said "waiting for usable connection..." in notification and never be connect :(
I'm on 6.0.1, using Xposed with "Hack Connectivity Service" and "Fake WiFi Connection" modules and I'm sure need some rule in iptables.

How to route [only] VPN traffic throw [rndis0] interface?
How to route [another] app's traffic throw [tun0] interface?

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


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Android Auto: Google Play Music
So this seems like an obvious "yes, of course it has to" but I can't find anything official that will commit to it.
Are all Android Auto consoles guaranteed to support Google Play Music, since it's an Android Auto app?
Perhaps more broadly: When would an Android Auto app not be supported by a given Android Auto console?

Android Auto is just a display interface app on your head unit. It doesn't control what types of Android apps are allowed, and it doesn't actually run the app itself. That's all done by the smartphone connecting to the head unit.
If you can install the app on your smartphone and it supports Android Auto, it'll be there. Thus the only time Google Play Music won't be supported is if your smartphone doesn't support it.

Hey, I appreciate you answering this! I had assumed it would go unanswered. I went ahead and took the plunge and downloaded it, and saw that this was the case.

Shouldn't it rather be: "Thus the only time Google Play Music won't be supported is if this app doesn't support Android Auto"? Your smartphone can surely support given app, but as long as that app's developer won't include Android Auto-enabled functionality inside this application, it won't work with the car.

I mentioned Google Play Music specifically in response to the original question, which was just about the Google Play Music app.


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Show all running services on Samsung Galaxy S3
How can one show all running services on Samsung Galaxy S3?
In system-menu Tinder service for example wasn't shown.

When you go to setting, there are a few options. Depending on which OS version you're running (you haven't provided this but I'm assuming it is a bit old), you can go to the Apps sections and there are 3 tabs 1) Downloaded 2) Running 3) All. You can go to the Running tab to see which processes are running.
Another option is to go to the Memory section and it'll tell you which apps are taking up how much memory on your device. You can also force stop these services here.
Finally there's the battery sections where you can check which app/service is taking up or draining your battery life. You can force stop these apps/services here as well.
It would be best for you to provide the Android OS version so that we can better assist you since the settings and apps occasionally change with each Android OS update.

Thank you. It's 4.2.2. Task-Manager doesn't show all services. I only noticed them because of a notification. The service is shown in Battery menu only!!!

You should be able to find which app is taking up Memory. You can enable Developer options by tapping Build number in the About device section multiple times until a congratulations window pops up. In the developer options, there's another option called Process stats. This will show you how much RAM an app takes up. You can then go to settings -> apps and force stops the apps which take up too much memory. Info: http://www.androidauthority.com/how-to-stop-android-apps-running-in-the-background-664842/


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Why aren't my app icons showing up after installed?
I have Moto X Style phone having Android 6.0.
Today I installed "Stereo Bluetooth Headset SBH52" app on my phone, but I am not able to open this app because there is no app launcher icon in the launcher. In Play Store, it's also showing Uninstall button only. I am able to see the app in Setting > Apps. Here, only Uninstall button is enabled.
I have one more app "Exchange Server" which is there in Apps list, but the icon is not available in the launcher.
I also have restarted the phone. I removed the SD card, then again installed these app from Play Store, but still the issue is there.
Why are there no app icons showing up?

Related/dupe: Why are some apps hidden and how to unhide them

Not all apps have explicit launchers (or app icon).
Take an example from Stereo Bluetooth Headset SBH52 app:

This application will not be visible in your phone's home screen. Access application settings via Smart Connect (LiveWare™ Manager), or via your phone's status bar.
(Emphasis added)

As for Exchange Server (or Exchange Services on Nexus stock ROM), it's only a back-end service used for communicating with Exchange server, with stock E-Mail app as its front-end UI.
Another example is Google PDF Viewer, where it's only prompted when opening a PDF file. (see How to open Google PDF Viewer app?).
If you want to force open the app, you might be interested in List all activities of an app.

@Andrew...Thanks 4 ur reply...
After connecting  "Stereo Bluetooth Headset SBH52" device the app is not launching and because of this some of the feature is not working.
I tried in lower version of Android phone and after installing the app, I am able to see icon in launcher.


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ADB: how to use it over TCP/IP during USB accessory development
I'm using an evaluation board from Atmel (based on SAM D21 Cortex-M0+ MCU) for developing a custom Android USB accessory and related app.
I'm new to Android development, but I understood I need ADB connection for debugging: breakpoint, step into, step over, resume, and so on.
ADB is generally over USB, but the USB port is connected to the accessory. So it can't be used for debugging (I know Android device in USB accessory mode shows two endpoints, one for accessory and the other for ADB, but it will be very complex to manage this USB ADB by the accessory I'm designing).
So I tried to establish an ADB connection over TCP/IP. After some issues with my network devices, I think it works now: I can set breakpoints, step into, and so on.
The problem raises when I plug the Android device to the USB accessory. Exactly in this moment, the ADB connection over TCP/IP to the device seems stopping immediately. After that, I can re-establish another ADB connection (with "adb connect" command), but it is very annoying. Everytime I restart the USB accessory software, it enumerates the Android device and put it in accessory mode, so the ADB over TCP/IP stops.
Maybe this happens because adbd running in the device listens to USB port, even if it was configured to listen to TCP/IP port. Is there a way to definitevely stop the USB listening of adbd?
Maybe is there another solution?
My app crashes immediately when the USB accessory is plugged. I can't debug what happens, because at the same moment the ADB connection over TCP/IP is lost and must be established again manually.


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The amazing expanding "android files"

Guys, I've got a Galaxy S7 Edge (Exynos version) which just received an update over the weekend from Samsung. Since then, I've had a really weird issue with the phone suddenly telling me that all the storage is used up and I need to delete/remove apps even though I had over 7gb free just a while ago.
I finally managed to get screenshots from Storage Analyser showing the status at 7.39am this morning and 10.19am - at 7.39am, I had 7.5gb free in internal storage and "android/inaccessible files" was using 8.63gb, however at 10.19am my space fell to 51mb and "android/inaccessible files" was a whopping 15.59gb! Bear in mind I hadn't installed any additional apps over this period...
Any ideas what I can do? I can't seem to see what the additional 7gb was utilised by, is there an app I could use to snoop further? Thanks!
[update] - I used another app - "DiskUsage", which proved more effective and told me the system app "Voice Service" was acting up and taking up 7GB of cache files! I cleared it which solved the problem, but anyone have any ideas why this is the case?

Many apps accumulate junk (ads and stuff) or even updates when you think they are off. They sit idling by, and suck on your battery too. I've used some "cleaners" but by and large they do the same thing.
Try force stopping the app when you aren't using it. If you never use it try disabling it. Some of these things will boot right back up after a restart, reset, or turning your phone off and back on.
Some are connected to other things which won't function if you turn it off.  So far I have been able to disable many bloatware apps that did the same as yours. When I accidentally disabled something I shouldn't have, I updated the app on Google play and the system worked again.
Hope this helped.  Crapps. Hahaha


text:
Automatic WiFi disconnect
I am running Android 5.1.1 on my Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime 4g.
My institute WiFi network that I connect to requires a login everytime to use the internet. However, my phone first connects to the network and then disconnects, wwithout my permission, stating 'Sign-in is required'. I have to connect it again, on which ot leads me to the sign-in windoe, where I plug in my credentials.
If it ultimately has to lead me to the sign-in window, why does it disconnect in the first place? How can I solve this problem?

While the phone is connected to this Wi-Fi that needs log-in, it's keeping the Wi-Fi module busy. The phone can't scan for other Wi-Fi networks. Apps might see that there's a Wi-Fi connection and try to use it, expecting to get the Internet but actually just burning power for nothing. The phone also disconnects from mobile data while a Wi-Fi connection is active (though this is just from the way it's designed).
Disconnecting from the useless Wi-Fi connection keeps the mobile data connection alive, so you still have Internet access. Apps aren't trying to use a connection that's useless to them. And it lets the phone keep scanning for other networks, which you might be able to use without log-in.
I don't understand why you want to "solve this problem": everything works as designed. When you use the "Sign into Wi-Fi network" notification, the phone can immediately reconnect and you can sign in and get a working connection. Automatically disconnecting from captive Wi-Fi portals lets your phone keep working before you're ready to sign in, and it doesn't stop you signing in when you're ready. There's no problem at all.
If you want to sign in automatically, avoiding the disconnect and reconnect entirely, we have a very old question about signing into captive portals, but I'm not sure if the answers are still relevant to newer Android versions.


text:
Duplicate Contacts on Marshmallow 6.0
I am using Android 6.0 on C5302 Xperia SP. For some unknown reason, all the contacts in my phone show up twice with a few exceptions. I tried to manually delete the duplicates but that resulted in both the duplicate and the original one getting deleted. I tried out many apps from the play store to merge or delete duplicate contacts but no duplicates were found. Can someone help me out on this.
Under contacts to display option, I just have my google account selected.

*Go to contacts>filter Uncheck everything, then Check the ones under Google tab.
*Go to WhatsApp>Settings>Contacts uncheck "show all contacts".
*Go setting>account>WhatsApp tap the WhatsApp under Account tab and uncheck "Sync        Contacts".
*Go setting>account>then remove Whatsapp.
*Go back to setting> accounts then add Whatsapp, Check "Sync Contacts".
*Go to WhatsApp>Settings>Contacts Check "show all contacts".
That worked for me after playing every kind of settings. Hope works for you too...

Where is this Filter? I don't see any

I just figured this out accidentally.

Go to contacts to display option
Select customise option (spanner icon)
Under your google account, select only my contacts and uncheck other options. Repeat this for other accounts that show duplicates.

there is no spanner option in android 6

@papa The Contacts app can be customized by the phone manufacturer, so it's probably just that you have a different phone to the OP. If you need an answer for your phone, use the Ask question button to ask a new question, and say what phone it's for.


text:
Downgrade Android N beta to M
I opted into the N beta and installed it via OTA. Now I want to downgrade back to M and opted out of the beta. The page says that the downgrade should automatically come via OTA, but my device (Nexus 5X) doesn't seem to see any available updates (downgrades).
Should this be instant or can it take a few hours to get the OTA?

Ok solved it.
I opened g.co/androidbeta directly in Chrome on the device, opted back in and out again. Did it via a Desktop browser the first time and didn't work.

It should be noted that downgrading wipes your device so any data will be lost. Ensure you have backed up anything important before accepting the OTA to downgrade.


text:
Is force stopping an app equivalent to uninstalling it, as far as increasing the performance of a phone is concerned?
Suppose I force stop an app and it stays that way for long. Will this boost the performance of my phone in the same way as uninstalling the app would?

An app you kill does not "vanish" in thin air. It will still occupy room in your phone's storage, just as a pile o' junk.

What if the app is installed in external storage? In that case the space it will occupy will be tiny, and being forced stopped, it should not occupy background space and behave as good as being uninstalled.

I don't understand the downvotes for this question.

In some cases, yes, if your performance issue is not caused by low storage space. The improvement may be temporary, however, as apps can be restarted if they are registered for certain actions or events.

Quite synthetic, but you're addressing the issue. There's just a thing to remember, though: if an app, as you said, is programmed to restart its services, then killing them will only be a waste of battery.

@death mask salesman: This is why i stated in my question - "Suppose I force stop an app and it stays that way for long." I have some apps that simply die when i kill them, so i was wondering if they were as good as dead or not.


text:
Android for work with KNOX 0x1
I have a device supported by Android for Work (Samsung Note 4, Android 6.0.1) but the security policy will not install saying "there is a custom OS installed". Device security status is "Official", but the KNOX counter is on 0x1. From what I can see, the bootloader and firmware are all official, standard region and non-rooted.
Is there any way I can create a security profile that will still work with a 0x1 KNOX counter? What is the relation of KNOX with Android for Work?

No, you can't.
Knox creates a secure and encrypted container  for your work profile. Once created it separates the information stored in your working profile and encrypts it.
The working profile is not accessible from outside its container, unless you enter a given key
The Knox flag is set because

You or someone else rooted the device previously or
Something went wrong while OTA


text:
Auto refreshing the signal
When we go to the area where signal is not reachable, we experience "Emergency calls only" or "No service". But after coming-out from that area we sometime found phone is not receiving signal and still showing "Emergency calls only" or "No service" in-spite of no problem of signal in that area. And in that case I usually do "Flight/Airplane Mode" off-wait-on and phone starts receiving signals again.
So, in order to overcome situation (and also consider a case of network-jam), I think should have some solution like running script that auto refresh signal after every n minutes or an application that provides such function.
So, How can I refresh signal from command-line? (or interested in turning "Flight/Airplane Mode" on and off vial command-line) and how about making script that can do this job as per requirement (for example every 30 minute)?
Also suggest any application available and does such job at specified interval of time.
Note: I use rooted phones

Combine How to turn off cellular radio in Lollipop/JellyBean using adb? with an automation app such as Tasker. Alternatively, you can use other ways provided by automation apps. I think MacroDroid offers toggling airplane mode and so as Secure Settings. Anything would require root access here.

I suggest you try an automation app in this case. For example:
You can use Automate app here.
(Click image to enlarge)

The block for Airplane mode is available under Connectivity category. (Requires root access.)
The Delay block can be traced back to Date & Time.

Configure them as you wish.  Make sure to have the flow run in a recurring manner, such as shown in above screenshot. You can also setup a trigger for full automation or manually start the flow.

You can also try Tasker to setup a home screen shortcut or a fully automated profile in Tasker. The task should have the following action at least:
Code → Run Shell

Command:
while true; do
settings put global airplane_mode_on 1;
am broadcast -a android.intent.action.AIRPLANE_MODE --ez state true;
sleep 2;   # requires BusyBox or Toybox installed and available under $PATH
settings put global airplane_mode_on 0;
am broadcast -a android.intent.action.AIRPLANE_MODE --ez state false;
sleep N;    # where N can be any number of (s)econds or (m)inutes or (h)ours. Make sure to use the relevant suffix, such as Ns, Nm or Nh.
done

Instead of while and sleep command, you can use the Wait and GoTo actions available under Task category.
The commands are drawn from this answer of DavisNT, re-posted here by Andrew T.
tick Use Root

Note that once the task is initiated it would continue to run unless you stop Tasker's service or force stop it or reboot the device.
You can get rid of all the command-line stuff by using Secure Settings with Tasker. It also requires root access however.

MacroDroid is yet another app capable of achieving the task. It has all the relevant actions i.e. to toggle Airplane mode, wait for certain time and run a macro (including current macro) to achieve a loop. Give it a try.
It is to be noted that a home screen shortcut can be made by all the aforesaid apps.

Note that I've not bothered to check the battery consumption caused by continuous execution of those tasks. I just gave hints. Pick the ones most suitable to you and tweak them per your environment settings.


text:
Question about nandroid backus
I am using twrp 3.0.2 for backup and restore on my galaxy s4 i9506 and i dont understand some things.
I wanted to be able to switch between 5.0.1 and 4.3 by having backups of both versions.
So i backed up my phone running android 5.0.1. I then wiped my phone and flashed the 4.3 rom. Now my phone is on 4.3.
After that i made a backup of my phone on 4.3. Now i have the backups of 4.3 and 5.0.1.
When i tried to restore the 5.0.1 backup on the 4.3 system, it would get stuck at the "galaxy s4" boot screen. The 4.3 system would only accept 4.3 backups. (likewise, if i flash 5.0.1, it will also only accept 5.0.1 backups)
Furthermore, when i restore the 4.3 backup with a 5.0.1 system, the "galaxy s4" boot screen will be still be the one from 4.3. (the one from 4.3 has vibration while 5.0.1 doesnt).
This also happens when i try to flash custom roms (it gets stuck at the galaxy s4 boot screen, and it is the same screen as the previous OS). Hence, i am unable to flash any custom rom.
I thought that nandroid backups are supposed to restore the entire system to the way it was (exept internal and external sd cards), i dont understand why it does not. I also dont understand why the galaxy s4 boot screen does not change when restoring or flashing custom roms.
I tried to make this as clear as possible, thanks for reading!

When restoring backups did you wipe any partition or not? Which partitions did you backup and restore in particular?

Yes, I wiped all partitions. I backed up and restored all partitions. Is it wrong to wipe all partitions?

First of all, be advised that Nandroid backups, in some situations aren't able to backup the "boot.img" properly, or isn't able to properly restore the "boot.img", even if it was backed up properly. When either of that happens, you're going to end up stuck like the way you are at the moment. The issue you're facing can also turn up, in case the partitioning structure is different between roms of two different android versions (one being more recent than the other, probably). Difference in the number and type of partitions being created by each backup can also lead to situations in which some data is wiped (upon restoring another), which some traces are still leftover.

I thought that nandroid backups are supposed to restore the entire
  system to the way it was (exept internal and external sd cards), i
  dont understand why it does not.

Nandroid backups rely on the state of other things such as the custom recovery, the "boot.img" and the rom, in order to work properly. Think of it as having multiple variables in an equation; wherein even if one of them isn't working well with the others, its probably not going to be working as smoothly and perfectly as you would expect it to.
Therefore, my first suggestion would be to make a second copy of your existing nandroid backup on your computer (being extra safe here, so as to not possibly corrupt the existing one).
0> Then, open/extract the nandroid backup and see if it contacts a "boot.img". If it does, you're in luck. Otherwise, you will need to source a "boot.img" for your phone from the internet (which may or may not work). Either way, this recently obtained "boot.img" will be used in a moment.
1> Backup your existing boot.img using TWRP as a separate backup, selecting only the boot partition and nothing else for this particular backup.
(This will give you a backup containing your existing "boot.img", which is present on the phone at the moment. Also make note which rom this "boot.img" goes with (4.3/5.0.1), based on what is currently installed on the phone)
2> Wipe all partitions currently existing on your phone using TWRP. Use the fastboot mode to flash the "boot.img" obtained in step 0, above. Please make sure this "boot.img" goes along with the rom you will try to use with it, thereafter.
3> Within TWRP, do a partial restore, restoring ALL partitions existing within the backup except the boot partition (as we have already dealt with that).


text:
How do I disconnect a VPN?
I am using VPN Dragon and Hotspot Shield VPN. When it asks me to trust the vpn, I check the box and connect it, and it works fine. However, there is a problem which keeps bothering me: sometimes the connected vpn dialog stops showing bytes sent and received (Attached screenshot link) and the vpn stops working at that point. I can not even disconnect it using the button in the dialog. The only way to disconnect it is, reboot. I am tired of rebooting.

Can you give us the screenshots for your Notification tray and Quick Settings whenever that key icon (that is, when VPN is activated) shows up in status bar? In Android M, I can click on that key icon and disable the currently active VPN. No need to reboot.

here is the link http://s33.postimg.org/fntdvhr0f/image.jpg

it really doesn't let me "manage" and there is no way to connect again until i reboot

What do you see under Settings app -> More (under Wireless & Networks category) -> VPN?

it takes me to the "add a vpn" settings where i don't see any VPN's it's empty

i am on stock android 4.4.2, Samsung

Sounds like a bug in the VPN app you're using. You should report it to the developer of the app and see what they suggest. It would be helpful if you can come back and post an answer afterwards.

It came out to be a bug

s33.postimg.org is not resolvable, the URL is bad. The whole domain is not resolvable.

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


text:
Remove ransomware-like malware
I downloaded android-6-marshmallow.apk from

marshmallow-google(dot)com

(Warning, ransomware fake malware! Do not install!)
It was a fake application and I couldn't delete that because of the screen below, and I can't go pass through this screen.

How to remove it?

Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.

Because there was shown an add of adult site in mobile tray, I opened it, and you know what happend * ;(

I will start this with the most funniest thing the malware developer did. The developer who created this malware with label Android 6.0 Marshmallow, version 6.0(6) and package name com.xtrlee.fiehan, didn't bother with an Activity or an overlay (was trendy) or with a lock screen (the latest trend as of now) either. They decided to employ a full screen Toast (you read it right). Here's what dumpsys window windows and dumpsys appops reported on Android 5.1 (tested on Android-x86).

That explains to me why the view was not constant but flickering.
Now, contrary to the permissions a typical ransomware would need, this malware comparatively didn't demand anything significant. The dangerous permissions it requested consist of listing out all the files available in your external storage (both internal and external SD card) and listing out device information, such as Android ID, IMEI and other information to uniquely identify your device.
The app is targeted at SDK version 21 (Android 5.0, not 5.1) and would work on Android 2.2 and above (the author must have planned to subdue the whole world). The user's data in my opinion would never be touched by this app as it didn't ask for the permission to write external storage.

Interesting components
As far as what I understood, the malware is definitely not a work of art. It has one main Activity which is responsible for showing the app's icon in app drawer. It also acts funnily. If you launch the app the very first time, the user would be shown a dialog to make it a device administrator. If you cancel the dialog, it would spawn again. However, if the user doesn't act under the next 10 seconds, the dialog is immediately dismissed and the main Activity is disabled.  Automatic disaster aversion, so cool.

This is how that dialog looks like:

The rest of the components are various receivers which helps in device administration and starting the app once boot process completes.
The solution
So, you made a series of terrible mistakes and you think your data is held as hostage. What do you do to save the data and get rid of this supposed update-cum-ransom? Follow any of the approaches noted below:
USB debugging already enabled and authorized
Using adb and root access, you can find the apk under /data/app/, remove it and reboot the device. You can also achieve this from a custom recovery as well. Alternatively, with adb alone, you can force-stop the app.
adb shell am force-stop com.xtrlee.fiehan

If the above command doesn't help, in Android 5.1.x, you can have appops deny the malware permission to show the toast.
adb shell appops set com.xtrlee.fiehan TOAST_WINDOW deny

Use this window of opportunity to go to Device administrator settings and deactivate the ransomware. Post that, you should go into application manager and uninstall that malware.
USB debugging not enabled or authorized
If your device doesn't have USB debugging enabled, your only hope seems to be to boot into safe-mode. Fortunately, the app doesn't obstruct the power menu (not at least in Android 4.3 and above) so you can long-press Power button → long press Power off → tap OK when asked to reboot into Safe mode. Once the device boots into safe mode,

you should open the security settings which usually comes down to Settings app → Security → Device administrators → deactivate the ransomware. If you're shown any dialog that the data would be wiped, ignore it. It's not going to happen anymore at this stage.
you should remove the app from application manager which is more or less the Settings app → Apps → All apps → tap the app's entry → Uninstall.
you should do a  reboot to boot the device into normal mode.

And that's how I removed that malware multiple times on this day.
Recommendation
If you're not a power user, do not venture into the unknown territory. This comes down to

not side loading any app;
keeping Unknown sources setting always disabled;
never granting Device administration privilege to any app (even to ones installed from Play Store) until you've certain the app is safe to use;
taking a minute the report the malicious page/site if encountered to your favorite web search engine. For Google, you can report here.
using your head before the fingers jump in.

@Firelord The virus can override the launcher and anything but the notification bar even without admin rights.

@Firelord Even if my info may not be needed, let me point out that it can obfuscate the power menu as well, when ran on 4.1.2 without admin rights. Hope it'll be useful.

I experimented on BlueStack (Android 4.4.2), and it seems as you mentioned, the app is safe (although that overlay screen is annoying). I don't see anything encrypted, and can kill the app using ADB. Off-topic: I don't see how I can access Device Administration on BlueStack even using ADB, so I can't uninstall the malware, but I don't think there's any problem with following steps on real device.

As always, the site was recently created. In this case, May 19, 2016.

I didn't expect it was a Toast... I thought it's a bugged code. Additional info based on my testing which might be useful, although not necessarily practical: you can still navigate using touchscreen without going into safe-mode, the input goes through the toast, but you have to be very patient to see the screen. I managed to get into Settings - Apps - (this app's info) only by mouse click on BlueStack while that toast is still active.

I uninstalled it into safe-mode, thank you very much,

As you answered before it that there will be nothing gone or erased , it was right, thank you, and I installed after that "Avast Ransomeware removal "


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Automatically switch to Chromecast audio
I have a group of Chromecast audio devices setup in my house. Is there a way for my phone to automatically start casting when I connect to the same WiFi network?
Ideally I want to be able to listen to music through my headphones on the commute home and when I arrive it switches automatically to the Chromecast audio devices.
Is this something that has been done before or shall I start coding?

Do you have root access?

Yes and i'm running CyanogenMod 13 if that's any help

It might be possible with Tasker.

Would it be possible with IF by IFTT?

Right, after some research it's certainly possible with Tasker combined with the (premium) Autocast app or AutoInput (beta feature of tasker.)
AutoInput + Tasker Method
(according to some, can sometimes be unresponsive, but it's free.)
Profile - State - Net - Wifi Connected - input your SSID Task
Action - Launch App - (music app)
Wait 5 seconds (to allow app to fully load)
AutoInput Action - Select cast button
AutoInput Action - Select chromecast
AutoInput Action - Press play


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Mass transfer apps to adopted storage
So now we have excellent adopted storage that lets us use the
SDcard like it should have always worked. So far so good.
However upgrading from Lollipop via titanium backup hits a snag - TB will always stick the restored apps to internal storage even if adoptive storage is the default after data migrate. Sure you can move them one by one but with 100 apps that's a LOT of fiddling. Is there any way to automate this? A console command to rerun the data migrate?
Link2SD does not work with AS as far as I know. App MGR III claims to have 1-click move but at least on the free version it just plops you into the app info page.

Okay, after some semi-random googling I found the app that will do the job. Apps2SD. It's free, requires root but does batch move apps to adopted storage. It's a bit slow too but beats having to do the "transfer to external" sequence for each app hands down.
For the interested, googling for app for adoptive storage doesn't give you anything useful but googling for link2sd marshmallow links to a XDA thread that mentions Apps2SD as a workaround for Marshmallow. It can create mounting scripts unlike Link2SD but Link2SD will then happily use the 2nd partition if you like it better.

I have to second Apps2SD PRO as a solution. Force-moving many apps to adoptable was a breeze. Definitively worth the price.

Titanium Backup Pro has a batch option to move selected apps to/from adopted storage.
It's worth paying for for this and the usual batch backup/restore functionality.


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Does switching my phone from 3G to LTE only matter if I use mobile data?
I have a Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro with Android 5.1.1 and MIUI 7.3.2.0. In my settings I have the option to choose a network type. The options are "2G", "Prefer 3G", and "Prefer LTE". I only use WiFi to connect to the internet so my mobile data is off all the time although my phone automatically turns it on while downloading/sending MMS, then turns it off again). In my APN settings I have set the APN type to "mms" to ensure that my mobile data can only be used for MMS (so only my Messaging app can use data).
Does choosing LTE only affect mobile data?
I read that LTE is a faster network than 3G. Will I notice any improvements in my phone if I switch from 3G to LTE? (faster MMS download?)
Will it consume more battery?
Is my signal strength more likely to increase or decrease?

If you keep your mobile data off, it rather depends on coverage:

Good 2G coverage? Use that. Your battery will last much longer.
Shaky 2G but stable 3G? Use 3G. Same reason: shaky coverage makes the phone permanently switch cell towers, which eats your battery.
2g & 3G shaky, but stable LTE? Well, you guess it.

For a more detailed answer backed by "hard data", see 2G versus 3G: Does it really save battery? Doesn't mention LTE, but you can "extrapolate". Apart from that, with LTE in an early implementation, yur device would need to switch to 3G anyway for phone calls (that was only fixed later).

If I switch to 2G from 3G, will my MMS sending/receiving speed slow down noticeably? Will the audio quality of my calls decrease at all? With 3G I get 4 signal bars; with 2G I get 5 bars (max strength). Is that enough reason to switch to 2G?

No effect on the audio quality as far as I can tell (I didn't notice any). For MMS, I cannot say as I never sent/received any. Do you really deal with that many of them that it would matter?

@Izzi I receive about 2 to 5 MMS per week so it's not a big deal. I just tested the time it takes to send MMS and it seems like 2G might be a little slower than 3G by ~3 seconds so it's not significant. My only doubt now is that I think the 2G frequency supported by both my carrier and phone is 1900Mhz and for 3G it's 850 and 1900Mhz. Since I have support for a lower 3G frequency, will I save more battery by using 850MHz 3G instead of 1900MHz 2G?

I very much doubt it will – but I didn't do any calculations on frequencies. Please follow up to the question I've linked: in standby, it makes not much difference. On call, 2G saves a lot.

Yes LTE is faster. Making the switch from 3G to LTE is a bittersweet change. now get substantially faster data speeds, but may have to keep an eye on usage to avoid overages. If you’ve signed up for a data plan that matches average monthly usage, do you really need to worry about running up your bill? While LTE has its advantages over 3G, there's a downside to faster data speeds. The first thing you may not notice, is how much more you’ll browse the Web. Because pages load faster and the connection is more reliable, you’re more likely to browse longer. That may not be the biggest factor that wastes away your limited data plan, but all that extra browsing can certainly add up throughout the month.

As I said in my question, I only use WiFi to connect to the internet (I don't browse the web using data). I keep my mobile data off since my plan with my carrier only allows mobile data use for MMS. If I use mobile data for something else, I will be charged extra so I keep mobile data off (my phone automatically turns it on only while it downloads/sends MMS)


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mount marshmallow encrypted external sdcard
How can i mount sdcard in linux ?
I have already tried using this command to pull the  key from data partiton.
sudo cryptsetup luksOpen --cipher aes-cbc-essiv:sha256 /dev/sdb2 sdb2  --key-file 1.key

And this error shows up;
Device /dev/sdb2 is not a valid LUKS device.

What kind of encryption? Did you use it as adoptable storage? Then please see: How to decrypt adopted storage?


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Edit PDF from Google Drive
I'm trying to use Google Drive to manage my PDF files. I want to edit them in my Android, possibly using Adobe Acrobat, and I need that as soon as the PDF editor saves the file Google Drive sync the new version of it. I'm using Android 6.0.1 and Drive 2.4.181.13.40 (wow)!
I have been doing that using Dropbox, and it just works. But it seems that Google Drive stops monitoring the file as soon as I open it using any other App. Can't I set Acrobat as a "PDF Editor" for Google Drive files?

If that is possible depends on the Google Drive app. In difference to Windows where every app can access all your files this is different on Android. Therefore it may be that Google Drive just sends the data to the PDF reader app and has no file to monitor...

Yeah, I remember when they've changed this permission thing. I do agree with you about this being a Google Drive matter... Even more because I just tried using Dropbox's "Open with..." and it works!

This has nothing to do with permissions. It is just how the developers implemented the call from Google Drive App to the PDF reader.


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Android not updating from 6.0 to 6.0.1 for Moto G 3rd gen
So...

Moto G3 2015 from UK, purchased as carrier independent
XT1541
Current system version 24.41.33.osprey_retgb.retgb.en.GB retgb

According to the official Moto UK website, Android 6.0.1 was made available to the Moto G3 months ago.

https://motorola-global-en-uk.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/110389/p/30,6720,9390

I have been on 6.0 (it's not called 6.0.0) for AGES but there are no notifications to update to 6.0.1.
Tried:

Factory reset
Cleared cache through recovery

Didn't. Help.
When I go to About Phone and check for new OS software, I am being prompted that my software (6.0) is already up-to-date. This is contrary to the Moto UK website.
It doesn't help knowing that all my acquaintances using the G3 had been automatically upgraded to 6.0.1 AGES ago.
How can I upgrade my Moto G3 from 6.0 to 6.0.1?

I started a parallel topic here on Moto-Lenovo forums.

According to the discussion on the official Moto forum, it seems that the updates are inconsistent.
USA devices are all on 6.0.
Indian devices are all on 6.0.1.
European devices are inconsistently on 6.0 and 6.0.1, even though the devices may be from the same country, purchased SIM free from retail, and on the same network.
Source
https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/MOTO-G-3rd-Gen/Moto-G3-not-updating-from-Android-6-0-to-Android-6-0-1/td-p/3386562

UPDATE UPDATE!!! It is confirmed now that Moto is slowly pushing the update. Comment on their thread here and pressurise them to roll out faster!!! https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/MOTO-G-3rd-Gen/Moto-G3-not-updating-from-Android-6-0-to-Android-6-0-1/m-p/3488829#M7865

One of my phones STILL has 6.0 while the other one is on 6.0.1. This is very frustrating. There are also different security patch levels on the phones that are on 6.0.1.

OTA updates are typically incremental... 6.0.1 can only be installed over 6.0.0, and 6.0.0 can only be installed over 5.1.1, and typically more than just version has to match, the exact build number must match as well. You will not be prompted to install the 6.0.1 update until you are running the 6.0.0 update. If you want to completely skip 6.0.0, then you will have to manually flash the 6.0.1 image which will wipe all data from the device.

Yes I am already on 6.0 (it's not called 6.0.0). I'll edit my question and make the 6.0 more eye-catchy.

@SumanKrishnaSaha Have you tried clearing the cache through recovery?

I have cleared the cache through recovery. Didn't help. I also did a factory reset. Didn't help. Would you have any more ideas please?

What is the exact model and variant? We know that Moto started rolling out 6.0.1 to some Moto G 2015 devices earlier this year, then stopped the rollout with no indication as to why or for how long it would be until it continued. XT1541, XT1543, XT1548, and XT1550 did get 6.0.1, with some caveats... the XT1541 only got 6.0.1 on the retail and Three UK variants, the Tesco UK, Vodaphone UK, and O2 UK variants did not and still only have 6.0.0, just as examples

it's at Moto G3 2015 from UK, more specifically a XT1541 sim-free from Carphone Warehouse. Would you perhaps know about this?

@SumanKrishnaSaha Where you actually purchased it from isn't relevant, the variant does. Go to Settings - About Phone... What is the full System Version displayed?

24.41.33.osprey_retgb.retgb.en.GB retgb

@SumanKrishnaSaha that is the retail version, should get 6.0.1... Have you tried removing your SIM when on WiFi and checking for updates? If that fails, you could just flash the stock firmware image.

No SIM and Wi-Fi didn't help. Not comfortable with flashing the stock firmware image. On a related note, I started a parallel topic here on Moto-Lenovo forums.


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how to change analog clock to round clock on lock screen in lg g3?
how to change analog clock to round clock on lock screen in lg g3.
i am using d851 T-mobile and using android version 6.0 marshmallow.


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Micromax a104 SP flash not detecting mobile and stuck in bootloop
Device Micromax A104. The phone is not rooted neither the usb debugging mode is on.
the phone was fully affected virus or some other bugs. It was hanging and responding very slowly. so i decided to factory reset. I went to recovery by pressing Power+Vol up. the result was an android robot icon with a red triangle mark and saying No command. but by pressing the Power button again i logged into system  recovery. there is selected wipe data/ factory reset selection was difficult because phone was not responding properly when i press the vol down button either Vol up button somehow i manage to select the wipe data/Factory reset and wipe cache partition.
after that i select "reboot system now" then i am stuck in bootloop.
i downloaded stock rom SP flash tool. but my laptop Windows 10 64 bit is not detecting the mobile. i downloaded ADB drivers and installed it manually and by exe files. In device manager it still says Code 10 Error device will not work properly Yellow triangle. tried a several website for drivers .. all failed. I tried in Windows 8 64bit system also. Failed again
Is there any hope left for this mobile??? is there any chance to save this phone?
SP flash tool is latest version and in Ubuntu Linux also SP Flash tool is not able to detect the phone.

Just a suggestion - try using a Windows 32 bit system, preferrably Windows 7. After connecting the phone in Flash mode, check the Device Manager to see if drivers are properly installed.
I'd like to mention that I haven't heard viruses making even the recovery too slow. I am not sure, but you might have to consider the possibilities of your phone having a hardware issue. If under warranty, now is the time to claim it.


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Fix Android stuck on boot animation without deleting data
I tried to do a backup from within my custom recovery (CWM or TWRP) but it failed due to a lack of space. Since then, my phone will not complete the boot process but remain on the boot animation for hours. (In case it matters: it's not a boot-loop in the strict sense as the phone does not go through the boot process over and over again. It's just stuck and doesn't go all the way through.)
I have tried wiping dalvic-cache and cache. I removed the memory card (to see if it had gotten corrupted and was blocking the boot process). I even re-flashed my ROM and GApps, but to no avail.
Since I did not flash anything or really make any changes to the phone at all, I am stubbornly refusing to believe (as many posts and videos on the net seem to suggest) that the only way to proceed in this situation is to do a factory reset (or some other method like an odin flash) which will delete all my precious data. There must be a way to get this phone going again without losing any data.

Stubbornness sometimes pays. Here is what solved the issue for me (and since I did not see this idea anywhere, I'm posting it here): it turns out that the (attempted) backup filled up the internal memory so that there was not enough left to complete the boot process. So I used the file explorer in TWRP 3.0 (Not sure if CWM has one, if not, just flash TWRP) to delete the backup and voilà, the phone boots again.
Obviously, you could also delete something else (make sure you know what you're doing), the point is to free up space on the phone's internal memory. In fact, I actually tried to move the backup to the external SD card but there seems to be a bug that (sometimes) lets the move command fail so what I did was copy and delete instead.


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How to get out of stuck boot animation?(Android One)
I am stuck at the google boot animation of the android one phone(Micromax AQ501). I had just flashed it into custom recovery for the first time. It rebooted for the first time after that and then got stuck. It shows its OEM unlocked. I tried to boot into the recovery mode but it gets switched off on its own.
Please help.

You might have to flash the Factory Image now using SP Flash tool. I have provided a link below, but confirm it's for AQ501. Alternatively, you can also try flashing the stock recovery.img for your phone.
Warning - You might lose data!
Source - http://forum.xda-developers.com/canvas-a1/development/official-stock-rom-canvas-a1-t2887150


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Change SMSC on dual-sim phone
I've got a Wileyfox Swift with two SIM cards, running CyanogenMod 13. I can only send SMS from one card/carrier, not from the other.
My guess is that is has to do with the Short Message service center setting.
Changing the SMSC as described on the CyanogenMod wiki only allows me to set one SMSC - but I think I would have to set both.
Is that correct, and how can I set the 2nd SMSC number?
Others have similar problems: ilogik@reddit

Came across this when I had the same issue. A bit late for the OP, but another thing to look out for.
If you go in to:
Settings> Sim Cards> Preferred SIM for SMS messages> Select SIM card> Ask every time

LineageOS 14.1 does not offer the "ask every time" option :/


text:
Keep Hangouts from opening links inside the same task?
I just opened a link to a friend's Medium post inside Hangouts, and when I view all running apps (the recent-tasks list), the task with the Medium post in it is my Hangouts rather than a separate Medium window. Opening Medium, it's doing its own thing. Opening Hangouts, it shows the Medium post -- I can't go look at other chats or anything without closing the Medium post I'm reading. This is frustrating, as I might want to switch between typing comments in Hangouts and reading the article (for example).
I would like more generally to stop apps from doing "this sort of thing" if possible (though I expect this isn't possible). When Twitter introduced an in-app browser, I turned that off as fast as I could find the setting -- I want to be able to open links and then switch right back to Twitter, letting the link load in the browser while I read a few more tweets. Hangouts appears not to have introduced any setting to disable this behavior. I've noticed a couple other apps do "this sort of thing" as well, though specific instances slip my mind now; a general solution would be great.
I've checked, and this (new?) behavior in Hangouts is identical on my (Cyanogenmod) phone and my (Samsung) tablet.

If you're open to solutions for root users, I saw an Xposed module that could possibly help you. It's called ActivityForceNewTask, but it hasn't been updated since 2015.

I have been long not using Hangout, but is there an overflow menu (3 dots) on the top-right, saying "Powered by Chrome" when you tap it? Recently, Google apps integrated Chrome Custom Tabs on their apps (e.g. Google Now, Google Search), so I guess Hangouts is included.

@DeathMaskSalesman , that module is the app for the job, but I guess it probably won't work with MM and above (as you said, it hasn't been updated since last year). However, for KK and below, I can guarantee it works, and works well.

@AndrewT., No, there is not. The current problem is with hangouts opening the Medium app, not the chrome app (though generally speaking the chrome app is the more common case for this kind of annoyance).

This started happening to me too recently. All links in Hangouts messages, when clicked, open in what appears to be a Hangouts-integrated browser. There is NO option to change this behavior.
It is definitely just an embedded instance of the Chrome browser - if you disable the Chrome app entirely, tapping a link in Hangouts gives you the normal "open with" dialog, and you can choose a default (I like the Adblock browser). But with the Chrome browser disabled you can't browse Google Play or update apps. And if you simply re-enable Chrome, it goes right back to opening links in Chrome and silently wipes out the choice of default that you just made.


text:
Prevent apps opening links in Chrome Custom Tabs (i.e. open in default browser directly)
Not long ago, Google added a new feature called Chrome Custom Tabs since Chrome 45 on Android JellyBean or later.

What are Chrome Custom Tabs?
App developers face a choice when a user taps a URL to either launch a browser, or build their own in-app browser using WebViews.
Both options present challenges — launching the browser is a heavy context switch that isn't customizable, while WebViews don't share state with the browser and add maintenance overhead.
Chrome Custom Tabs give apps more control over their web experience, and make transitions between native and web content more seamless without having to resort to a WebView.
When will this be available?
As of Chrome 45, Chrome Custom Tabs is now generally available to all users of Chrome, on all of Chrome's supported Android versions (Jellybean onwards).

Google has integrated this feature on some of their apps (e.g. Google+, Google Search) and now, 3rd-party apps can also use it (e.g. Twitter, Stack Exchange).
While some apps provide setting to enable/disable it (e.g. Google Search), others don't seem to be possible to disable this. I know I can still open the link in Chrome by tapping the overflow menu (3-dots on top-right) and select Open in Chrome. However, it'd be preferable if it can be disabled on specific apps.
So, my question is: is it possible to disable this feature, preferably on selective apps? (by disable, I mean to open the link directly in default browser, or prompt user to choose a browser)
Note: I'm open to all suggestions, including root solutions, or even uninstalling Chrome in the worst case scenario. However, more practical answers are preferred.

Related: https://github.com/arunkumar9t2/lynket-browser/issues/139

The Custom Tabs help page says:

What happens if the user doesn’t have a recent version of Chrome installed?
Custom Tabs uses an ACTION_VIEW Intent with key Extras to customize the UI. This means that by default the page willopen in the system browser, or the user's default browser.
If the user has Chrome installed and it is the default browser, it will automatically pick up the EXTRAS and present a customized UI. It is also possible for another browser to use the Intent extras to provide a similar customized interface.

That means, if you make some other browser the default one (this can be done via Settings > Apps > Cog menu > Default Apps), any app trying to open a Custom Tab will open the link in that browser instead.
Update: That also means, it's possible to write a "manager" app that presents itself as a browser (handles ACTION_VIEW intent), and on receiving this intent checks whether it has Custom Tabs-related EXTRAS, and depending on some logic opens a browser of your choice using an explicit intent (where the desired app package name is explicitly specified).

Thanks, changing default browser somewhat worked on some apps (e.g. Stack Exchange app), but didn't work on the rest (e.g. Google News & Weather), not sure for the reasons... The manager app is an interesting idea and I'll try to experiment if it works with automation app!

It's because News & Weather (tried v. 2.3.3) specifies the component explicitly in the intent: START u0 {act=android.intent.action.VIEW dat=http://news.google.com/... flg=0x14002000 cmp=com.android.chrome/org.chromium.chrome.browser.ChromeTabbedActivity (has extras)} from uid 10041 on display 0. Bad style, but it's nothing you can do about this :(

I'm using 7.1.1 android. Open Google application or do a search, click the hamburger in the top left and go into Settings.
Go into Accounts and privacy.
Turn off 'open web pages in app'.
This appears to turn off chrome custom tabs.

This disables custom Tabs in the search application only (possibly other Google apps), but not system-wide.


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Device is not finding a new software update
I want to update my galaxy tab 4 to Marshmallow or at least Android 5.0.0. I currently have android 4.4, but when I use Kies3, or from the device, it cannot detect that version. Help?
Edit: This is not a duplicate; that question is something and this is something else. I am asking why I'm not getting the update, that post is an unofficial claim of devices that will get the update. The post doesn't even include my device.

Exact model number of your device please? Or atleast the screen size and if it is a 3G/LTE/Wifi only model :)

@benjaminS SM-T230NU. I want at least Android 5.0

Quote from the linked question/answer: "Just because a new version has been announced doesn't mean it's immediately available for your device. Even when a particular OS update is announced for your device, it is almost always a phased rollout, meaning that it could be days or weeks from the official release for it to be available for you."


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Clearing stuck paused download notifications by Play Store
I was downloading an app from Play Store which got paused due to an error "enable background data". I could get rid of this error, but in the notification center, I still see incomplete and paused downloads which I am not able to erase or remove.
I tried restarting my phone but it didn't fix it.

Did you try turning background data back on for Play Store?

Just wipe the data for the "Downloads" and "Download Manager" apps. That won't delete the files you had already downloaded, but only the download history. Note this is for just getting rid of the notification, it might or might not work for app downloads. It works for normal downloads, however (such as ones through the browser).

If you are on Android Lollipop, you must disable the battery saver to let Google Play download the app.
OR
Stay on the Play Store and wait till it downloads, not even let the screen shut.

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


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How do I prevent apps from automatically closing during updates?
I don't use my Android tablet very often, usually only once every week or two.  Therefore, when I do use it, it likes to pull down a bunch of updates each time.  That I don't mind.  What I do mind is that I'll be using apps and this updating is happening in the background, so all of a sudden my app goes away and I lose all my work.  Is there a way to tell the system, "hey, don't just blow away apps I have running to update them without me OKing it first"?

You can turn off Automatic Update in your play store settings

There is no way you could stop from an app from getting terminated when getting updated.
Because when app is getting updated the apk inside the /data/app/nameoftheapp/base.apk gets updated and a .dex file must be made of the new base.apk
So the current process of the app is terminated and then daemon is invoked and it does it job of installing the app

Is there any way though of deferring the actual install operation (after download) until app is not running or user OKs though?

@BrianKnoblauch I'm afraid , No

@BrianKnoblauch You can use other store like aptoide


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is it possible to install 6.0 marshmellow on a non nexus
im new to this community but is it possible to install android 6.0 on a non-nexus phone with a universal install image
if not please tell

It is definitely possible to install Android 6.0 on a non-Nexus device (there are many other devices running Android 6). But there's no such thing as an "universal install image". Also see: Why are there not generic phone OS installers? / Why must my device be compatible with a certain ROM before I flash it to my device? / Can you install a generic ROM on any device?

I guess, the answer is NO, unless the phone you are using is Nexus or is the exact copy of Nexus (with the same specs, no changes at all).
The factory images that Android releases for Nexus are optimised for Nexus devices only and won't work on others. Trying to fastboot flash such images might brick your device for good.


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Android - Treat external storage as internal storage?
I bought a Blu Dash smartphone at frys. It's a nifty little 40$ phone. The biggest problem is that it only comes with - I shit you not - 100 mb of internal space. I can decide to install apps on sdcard and choose it as default write location, but it still installs some data on internal storage, and gives me the "insufficient space" error when installing apps.
So my question is, can I trick my device into thinking my 7gb sdcard is the internal storage so I can install apps?
Edit: Forgot to mention I'm rooted and know my way around ADB and the like, so feel free to suggest some long convoluted process.

Off-topic. Please read the android tag.

Not directly... only Marshmallow can adopt external storage as internal, but assuming this is the Blu Dash 5.0, you can root it, and use an app like Link2SD or App2SD to move apps to the SD card. You way want to consider a larger SD card though, since you have to partition the card and will lose some normal storage space.
The real problem is that you only have 100mb of internal space available, to use these apps you need to install them normally on internal storage, then move them to the SD card. With so little space to work with there may be several apps which cannot be installed so they can be moved.
This is the problem with buying a phone with only 4GB of space, although the price seems right if it is almost unusable for anything besides a basic phone, it may not be the right phone for you. I would suggest getting a phone with a minimum of 8GB of storage and 1GB of RAM.

I'm rooted and have seen apps like external2internal but I'm not sure how to use them. I've followed videos like the one there, but to no results at all. I have download link2sd but it is looking for a partition that my sdcard doesn't have and I don't exactly know how to partition my sdcard.

@Beck I am not familiar with that app, but if it was so easy everyone would be doing it... Not that I know everything, but I have rarely heard of anyone able to make this (using SD card as internal) work on any device. I would suggest staying within well documented and supported apps like the ones I mentioned above.


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What is this icon that looks like a headphone cable?
My phone got unlocked in my pocket and appears to have changed some things in the Google Now app (although I'm not sure this icon is related to that). I have never seen this icon anywhere before. I am using LG G4 stock android 6.0.
What is this icon and how can I revert whatever change caused it to be displayed?

The icon looks like an aux cable which suggests that your phone thinks that you have plugged in some headphones.
Assuming you haven't, you can try peering into the headphone socket (use a bright light) to see if anything is trapped in there. If there is you can try blowing into the port to see if that will dislodge/remove it, or turn if so the port is at the bottom and tap gently to see if that helps.

That does make sense as google now is set up to launch music app when i plug in headphones, and google now appears as listening for a split of a second and then music app launches. Thank you for your response, it has been all cleared now when i cleaned up headphones jack.

I had the same problem with my LG v10. So I plugged my earpiece and twisted the jack end till the symbol disappeared.  I then unplugged the earpiece and voila,  it was gone.


text:
How do multiple accounts on Play Store work?
I have 2 accounts on the device:
abc@gmail.com - Main Account
xyz@gmail.com

With account abc@gmail.com selected on the Play Store, I've downloaded app XPTO and bought some stuff via In App Billing.
I then uninstall it
Change to account xyz@gmail.com on the Play Store
Downloaded the app with that account.

What I'm seeing is that all bought items by account abc@gmail.com are present, although I've downloaded with the account xyz@gmail.com, is this a normal behaviour?
Besides that whenever I try to buy a new product via In App Billing, the Play Store popup to buy it, shows the account abc@gmail.com and not xyz@gmail.com
Can someone explain this behaviour?

Update:
I've found another thread about this: Change Gmail account to make in-app purchase?

To answer the first part of your question, your list of purchased apps in the Play Store is a union of all of the purchased apps on all of your Google accounts. As long as your abc@gmail.com account is logged in on your phone you will have access to all apps purchased on that account. This does NOT mean that they in any way become affiliated with any other account, as removing the purchasing account from your device will disable any paid app that checks for a license and it will no longer show up as PURCHASED in the Play Store. Migrating paid apps from one account to another is a task that Google has left up to app developers to handle and you have to appeal to them to grant your other account access.
So in summary, the list of purchased apps in Google Play is completely independent of which account you have currently selected within the Play Store.
As far as changing your main account, the only way to do this is to perform a Factory Reset and sign in initially with your other account. The main account is so tightly ingrained in Google services that it cannot be changed without wiping your phone. And this process affects a lot more than just In-App purchases.

That's not exactly my question.
What I asked is why when I install my app with account xyz@gmail.com selected, and I try to buy something inside the app, the account that appears to buy is abc@gmail.com

I figured out a workaround that works for games, however I have a theory that this will also have a nice side effect that will also make the play store allow you to then download normal apps that will associate with the right account. Please try it out and let me know if my theory works: http://android.stackexchange.com/a/150165/15394

I assume abc@gmail.com was the first account you added to the device presumable at the initial Android setup on first run. What Android does is it makes this account the primary account unless removed. All other accounts are secondary to that.
In earlier versions of Android, it was difficult to remove the Primary account, if my memory serves me right. So, I think what you experience is normal.

So, I can't buy any product on that app with the account xyz@gmail.com ?

I haven't checked it yet, but removing abc@gmail.com from the Google Accounts in settings might make xyz@gmail.com the primary account and you could buy with it.

That really strange.. so you can buy an app with the secondary account, but no In App Purchases?

I am not sure regarding in-app purchases.


text:
How to postpone all notifications?
I want to avoid seeing any e-mails, messages, or other notifications in order to focus for a few hours. But I also use my phone to listen to music, so I can't simply put my phone in another room or otherwise avoid looking at it. Is there a way (preferably but not necessarily on an unrooted phone) to turn off all notifications so they don't appear in the status bar until notifications are turned on? It might be acceptable if notifications never show up when you turn notifications back on, but not ideal.
I use a Samsung Galaxy S6 with Android 6.0.1.
Some things I've tried and didn't do what I wanted:

Do Not Disturb Mode: prevents notifications from ringing or vibrating your phone, but doesn't prevent them from appearing in the status bar.
Settings > Notifications: doesn't seem to offer an option to turn off notifications for ALL apps (and them turn them back on), only for each app.
Airplane Mode: effectively postpones all notifications until disabled, but prevents me from streaming music.

Have you tried Notifications Off?

Or XNotifications? It has a "mute" feature for "silent hours". Not sure if it "caches" them to pop-up when mute time ends, though.

Airplain mode would be pretty much the simplest choise - no network - no chats - no emails - no notifications

I have the same problem and I've only just started using this app called Offtime
It has everything you're looking for.
Just select how long you don't want to be disturbed and that's it. You can whitelist the apps you really need to access. Leave the Wi-Fi on. And it'll intercept all the other notifications and swipe them away and show you a summary once the session ends.
Give it a shot and let me know if it works out for you.

Try this app - "AppBlock - Stay Focused"
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cz.mobilesoft.appblock
It allows you to block certain apps for a specified time period and you can schedule in advance.


text:
Samsung Galaxy s4 starts up, then notifications from all apps that they have stopped working
So i've just cleared the cache in recovery mode on my rooted Galaxy S4 (I9515) and i rebooted. And now it takes a long time to get past the splashing samsung sign, and when it does i get a bout a hundred popups saying that apps have stopped working, and after that the screen remains black, and all i can do is hold te power button to get the shutdow, restart etc. menu. How can i fix this without factory reset? Dont know if it matters but i use nova launcher as the default launcher

Your best bet is to flash a stock rom via a PC with Odin. Go to sammobile and download a stock firmware. Preferably for your region. Follow the instructions given on the download site

The launcher shouldn't be the culprit. Did you try to wipe the Dalvik cache, since you also wiped the normal cache?

I factory reset the phone and now it's working again, i don't know what happened but this fixed the problem.


text:
Can you download app to your ad card and still play then
I want to down load app to my ad card so I can download mode apps but it won't let me download apps to it and still play them

Apps have to be installed so the dex file can be created, you can't just "play" it from anywhere... Install normally and use App2SD/Link2SD (requires root) to move it to the SD card

How do you do that

You can install Link2SD. Its an app in the Playstore. But you need a rooted device.
Also if you want to move .obb files to your SDcard, you need to pay for it.
There is also a "How to" in the description of the app in the Playstore.


text:
I turned off some apps that were necessary, now things dont' work
I have a Samsung Galaxy 3, around a year old.  Recently it started spontaneously rebooting all the time (like every ten minutes).  I looked on line for possible explanations, and found sites telling me to delete unnecessary apps that could cause it.
So I looked at what apps I'm running, found lots of things that I didn't know what they are, and turned some of them off.  And now - no surprise - things don't work right.  Symptoms:

When I try to send messages, it (messages) sometimes (not always) immediately shuts down and I can't send them.  Sometimes (not always) I can't read them (beyond the first line that shows in the message list).
I no longer have phone call logs - old logs are gone, new ones not created.
I keep getting messages saying Touch Wiz Home is not working.  What is Touch Wiz Home?  It is on my list of "all apps" but not in the Running list, nor in the Turned Off list.  Same for TouchWiz easy home.  What is the difference between them?
Almost ever time I get a call, it rings maybe once and then I get a message saying I missed the call.  (This may have been happening before as well - I don't get many calls, so I'm not sure.)

I assume I turned off things that I shouldn't have, but I don't know which things.  I don't know how to take screen shots on the phone and post them here, but here's a list of things that are turned off:
BadgeProvider
Best face
Blurb Checkout
Bubbles
CapabilityManagerService
ChatON
com.android.providers.partnerboo...
DirectConnectManager
DirectShareManager
Drive  (google drive)
Dropbox
Dual Clock (digital)
Favorite Contacts
Flipboard
Google Backup Transport
Google Calendar Sync
Google Contacts Sync
Google Play Games
Google Text-to-speech Engine
Group Play
InteractiveKeyguardTutorial
LogsProvider  (that sounded likely, I just turned it back on)
Market Feedback Agent
MobilePrintSvc_CUPS
MobilePrintSvc_CUPS_Backend
Multimedia UI Service Layer
S Memo
Samsung Link
Samsung Print Service Plugin
Samsung Push Service
Software Update
Story Album Widget
TalkBack
Trim
Weather (that's accuweather, which I thought I'd uninstalled - though it shows 0
bytes, so maybe it's just an icon?)
Can anyone tell me what else I should turn back on to solve these problems?  it looks like logs might work again now that I turned it on.  I now have the logs predating when I started turning things off, though not those from the past week.  Progress, maybe?
Thank you!
catteau
p.s.  In the interim I put in a different battery, and I don't think I'm having the spontaneous reboot problem any more.

Turn on all apps names Google
Favorite contacts
Story Album Widget
CapibiltyManagerService
Multimedia Ui Service layer
MobilePrintSvc_CUPS
MobilePrintSvc_CUPS_Backend
com.android.provider...

It says I shouldn't use comments for "thanks" - but  thank you, I appreciate your help!  (how come this forum doesn't want me to do that?)

@catteau not to be rude, but the idea is to keep chit chat that doesn't actually add anything to the discussion to a minimum. So if you find an answer helpful, upvote it, and if it solved your problem, mark it as accepted so if other people stumble on your question with the same problem, they will know how to solve their problem too.


text:
Extract Contacts from ADB backup?
I have a full backup from Cyanogenmod 12. I need to extract the Contacts and add them to Cyanogenmod 13. I found attempting a restore just breaks things because it restores dalvik data and system caches, which are simply wrong between these versions.
How do I either (1) restore only the contacts; or (2) extract the Contacts from the ADB backup for manual restoration?

ADB backed up Contacts? since when? Related: Does adb backup include contacts?

Use titanium backup

@Firelord - Oh my; that would be surprising. I have to ask (in jest): what's the purpose of an adb backup --all if it does not backup all the data?

@jww Probably security/privacy considerations.  This way if the backup file falls into the wrong hands, most of your critical data (contacts, 2-factor authentication accounts, most banking apps) is not exposed.


text:
How can I change background for incoming calls on my Huawei P9?
I've just switched from Galaxy S4 to Huawei P9.
The most annoying thing I've noticed so far is the background color of incoming calls.
At work I have the phone in silent mode. When the phone is inactive, the screen is black (naturally). When I get an incoming call, the background is still black and the information on the screen is minimalistic.
It's therefore very hard to notice the incoming call when my focus is on my computer screen.
Is there any way of changing this without hacking the Android OS?


text:
I see ads on my phone and apps auto install
Usually, I find full screen ads on my Android mobile. Also, apps like task bucks automatically install on my smartphone.

An app. Named proxyserver and proxyhandler keeps on running

You phone is infected. Flash a stock ROM right away.

Goto apps then all apps uninstall any unusual app

This can be caused by either an app you installed or one that comes with your phones ROM, especially if your phone is a really cheap one, such as knock offs from China.

Preinstalled app causing the issue

I experienced this when I bought a phone to fiddle with, a cheap one. Check if you have an app entitled: com.android.systemservice running the service "systemService" This is a trojan and uses Webkit to display fullscreen ads and installs apps without your permission. This is rather common thus can be the culprit.McAfee reported on this here. To uninstall it, you will have to root your phone and use an app such as `System app remover.

Apps you installed

Happens often, especially if you download APKs off unknown sources other than the Play Store. Either uninstall an app you recently installed and check if the adds appear, as user4847410 suggested. Alternatively, use 360 Security, Malwarebytes or anti-adware (play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.keerby.adaware&hl=en)
Proxyserver and proxyhandler can't be the cause as they are core parts of Android.


text:
How can I delete Internet Browser form built-in apps?
I want to turn off completely access to www for my kid (quite smart kid :) ) and this is what I have:

Sony Xperia Tipo, rooted
Android 4.1.2. Cyanogenmod 10

What I need:
1. Ability to remove completely Internet app (not to deactivate it !!!)
My 12 yo kid knows how to use factory settings reset and unfortunately SAFEMODE access as well. I installed Applock (blocks Settings access) and Droidwall (android firewall app) but she restarted phone into SAFEMODE and removed my password protected apps (because they didn't started up in SAFEMODE) then after reboot all internet apps and settings was accessible !!!

Even if you do so it wouldn't affect her as she could get access to net

My idea would be to add applock and droidwall to /system/priv-app so it would be hidden and boot even in sfaemode

Probably easiest solution would be MAC address filtering on your router.

Apart from factory reset, your kid can also plug the phone in and re-flash ROM, voiding all you did before. As suggested by @Chahk, you should MAC address block the device(removing all internet access, not only web), or block ports 80, and 443 (HTTP/HTTPS)

@Chuck: I think it's bad idea... what about free public WiFi Networks and what about 3G/4G/LTE with settings accessibility? I don't want to Block all data traffic because of MMSes using Internet profile...

@TheBro21: i am pręty sure this will be her next try with FlashING ...  but for now she doesn't have enough permissions to install aby software on her Ubuntu laptop

@user4847410: do You know how to do this with CM10? It's enough for me to have it still running and secured with password when in Safemode

@user4847410: IT would affect her somehow - I don't want to cut her off From net completely but only want to control time spent in Internet and use of approved apps  if she is playING online game That I know that's ok but no more than one or two hours per Day and not when she is at school  now she bypasses Locked apps and Access hours entering Safemode.. Fortunately I did't install Google Apps add-on and Internet browser is not campanile with Google Play and no app she can install  she doesn't know that yet she could install everythig copying .apk file to SD Card and run locally

@HubertBieganowski just search the net for moving apps to system

@user4847410: found al ready... /system/app Mover Root From Play Stare did all the worki

@HubertBieganowski I will add it as an answer

You can move apps to the /system directory so they will not be uninstalled after a factory reset. (For example an app that locks the internet browser). However, it is still possible to install apps by using the Play Store, ADB, or root access.
Whatever you do, if you reflash the firmware, everything will be wiped and you can start over again. So the /system partition won't be a solution.
The only thing you can do is not tell the WiFi password, but then there are still open WiFi network.
Simply said, it is not possible.

thi scould be a solution if you could prepare special image with firewall and applock inside the /system partition and already password protected :D

It would be much easier for my kid ti buy anpther phone :D (SIM is not paired with phone....)

You can delete the internet browser from the built in apps, but if the reason behind this is to block or limit your kid from internet access, it will be pointless. Chances are, that your kid knows that you can re-flash firmware, basically wiping the System partition and re-acquiring it.
In comments, you did however mention that your kid does not have permission to install software on the Ubuntu laptop. This is not a restriction to flashing the ROM, because if one does not have root permissions, he can still install software locally, and that should be enough to flash something as far as I can tell.
A solution might be to make some sort of read-only partition, that not even root can edit, and on there, you would have a small program that counts, and limits through something like Xposed. I however doubt that the above would work and/or be practical, as you might need to make the program yourself, and I think that read-only partitions can be mounted as read-write.
Another possible solution would be to go to your router settings and limit the internet access there, however this is only a partial solution as you mentioned that you wanted to set up a counter that counts even when not at home.

If you have any questions regarding the router setup to achieve this goal, you can ask your question at Super User SE, where this would be more appropriate.


text:
How do I disable the Mobile Hotspot feature?
As far as I can remember, some carriers disable this feature. Now, we have a few dozen phones that we want to deploy to some schools and we would like to disable this feature.
How do I achieve this? A few guesses that I have would be to add/edit something in build.prop or some hidden Android API (can't find any here).

Update: I figured it out a long time ago. The solutions here do work gracefully and the phones behave properly. Normal WiFi is not affected (because hostapd only manages the AP). Upon testing, the worst that happens is
2018-12-04 23:12:23.680 3207-3753/? E/SoftapController: Unable to open connection to supplicant on "/data/misc/wifi/hostapd/wlan0": No such file or directory

in the logcat.  At the same time, the mobile hotspot setting switch flips back off automagically.
What I did was just rename hostapd to something else. Moving/deleting/changing permissions would also work.

In addition to the other answers, I'd like to add that you can alternatively remove the execution permission from that file:
su
mount -o rw,remount /system
chmod 0644 /system/bin/hostapd

This approach looks more Unix-styled.
To restore it, do the same commands again, but use 0755 instead of 0644 (i.e. put the execute permission back).

I managed to solve this without deleting hostapd file (with this method you can easily reactivate hotspot functionality renaming hostapd back to its original name).

Root your phone
Open up adb connection
Enter these commands:

su
cd system
cd bin
mount -o rw,remount /system
mv hostapd inactive_hostapd
mount -o ro,remount /system

Reboot your phone and you're ready to go.

If you want hotspot functionality back to your phone, just rename it back to 'hostapd' (mv inactive_hostapd hostapd).
Tested on Motorola Moto C Plus.

hostapd doesn't seems to exists anymore on Android 11.  How could the wifi hotspot feature removed in this android version?

Erase this file (with root): system/bin/hostapd

Without rooting phone:
Install a display overlay app like "AppLock" and block access to "Settings".

You'd need to also block the drop down access to it.  Which would suck from a user experience standpoint.

you wouldn't be able to access the settings to set the hotspot name and password though, provided you cleared those in the first place of course.


text:
Can I use the image built for the Xiaomi Redmi 2 on the Redmi 2 pro?
It seems that the only difference between the Xiaomi Redmi 2 and the Xiaomi Redmi 2 pro is that the pro version has more internal storage and more RAM. So I suppose I can use the same cyanogenmod image that was built for the Redmi 2 and use it on the Redmi 2 pro, is that right?
Would I have any issues? (Like, would it use only half of the internal storage?)

A firmware does already know how to repartition the available storage, so yes, you may have less storage available, for starters.

The 2 devices are incompatible. Something's may work, but other things won't. There are more differences in the devices than just storage and RAM. Most likely the ROM used for one on the other will cause a bootloop (the RAM is different). This is why there isn't a universal ROM for all devices. Do yourself a favor and just don't try it, unless of course you like headaches and a device that won't work. I'm on the mobile app, otherwise I would post this as an answer with additional details and proper references. Good luck.

@Jay please find a different link to use for your phone specs. Its in Spanish and doesn't show correct spec's. Use gsmarena.com or similar website. It will allow side-by-side comparison of the devices.

@HasH_BrowN: sorry, I only realized when I saw your comment! The specs are in Portuguese (I live in Brazil). I'll try to find other links.


text:
Mobile network inactive
I have a Lava iris x 9 ( ANdroid Version 3.4.67) . Initially the issue was everytime a message popup , Unfortunately,the phone stopped . so in order to fix that issue , i have followed many steps from internet inlcluding clearing cache partition , factory reset , clear cash from setting etc..Now that propblem solved but Network is not selected .Mobile network option is inactive when i go to setting to search mobile network manually.Kinldy help to fix this issue. if you wish to get more infor please feel to ask.
many Thanks
Shinu

Sorry , not X9 , it is X8

Dial ##4636## from your dial pad. you will get a Testing Menu

Select phone information
  On the top of the page check for the IMEI is available.
  scroll down and look for a drop down called " Set preferred network type"
   select 'WCDMA preferred' or ' GSM only'from the drop down
  Just below that option you can find a button to toggle radio(Turn on radio / Tunr off radio) ensure the button text is 'Turn off radio' and restart the device.

also consider using the SIM in a different mobile to ensure the SIM is working.
Please Vote if the answer is helped you


text:
Alarm clocks aren't working on Android 6
I recently moved to Android 6 and promptly slept in the next day as my alarm clock (Alarm Xtreme) wasn't waking me up.
I search around a bit, disabled the energy setting stuff for that application and went to bed...only to not being waken up again.
I read some more and some people suggested a different alarm app ("Simple Alarm Clock" that apparently should work on Marshmallow). I set up my alarms and then went on to close the application as I always do (rectangle button, push the application window 'out') only to see the little alarm bell icon in the status bar disappear.
I went back to the Alarm Xtreme application, opened it and sure enough the alarm bell symbol appeared. Closed the app and the symbol immediately disappeared.
What is going on there and how do I fix it? Aren't alarms running in the background anymore? If yes why not?
I don't want to always remind me to open the alarm app before going to bed, mostly because I'd forget it half the time.
Oh also because that is mentioned a lot: My phone is always plugged in when I sleep.

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/33110246/setexactandallowwhileidle-is-not-exact-as-of-developer-reference

@ballzak holy shit that's terrible.

When you say the little alarm status bar symbol, do you mean up the top left? If so, it sounds like that alarm app is running as a Service rather than registering with the system's AlarmManager.
When you swipe the app away from the multitasking view, you are killing the Service. More details
I have only a few suggestions:

Ensure the app cannot be optimised to save battery. Settings->Battery->Battery Optimisation (Overflow menu). Ensure app is displayed in Not optimised section.
Don't swipe the app to close it. This typically isn't needed on modern Android phones. Though really, I'd still not trust the alarm as the system can clean up apps whenever it needs to.
Use a different alarm app. I use Timely on Marshmallow and have never had a problem with it.

well there is a small icon for the app on the left and also a little alarm clock symbol between the 'Vibration' and the 'Network quality' icon. Both icons are disappearing when closing the application. I do expect the left one to disappear, but not the right one.

*edit I hadn't set the setting in the battery manager to allow the Simple Alarm Clock. After I set that both icons stay when I close the application.
For anyone reading: You can find set setting under Advanced Settings -> Battery manager -> Protected Apps

I'll update my answer to make it clear what solved it for you.

Checkout my alarm app Alarm + Task Logger FREE.
Playstore Link
I have developed this app post Marshmallow update and have circumvented the problem of missfiring alarms due to doze mode.
Besides this it offers more features & customizable options than others. Check playstore description.

The problem with my phone was because of DOZE mode. So I had to go to Battery manager and Allow All applications to run while the phone is locked. It solved my problem.

The default Clock app was only vibrating, no alarm sound. When trying the other "Clock" app of Google, it showed the warning: Alarm is muted. Unmute? after clicking it, the alarm was back.
Solution: Use the volume keys on your phone during the alarm to get the sound back.
And I admit, this little seemingly no-brainer took me one year to find out …

Just so you know, if you press a Volume Key and the volume bar appears, there is an arrow on the right side. Press it and 3 sound bars appear, one of which is the alarm one.


text:
Audio through Bluetooth Microphone through Jack (Galaxy S5)
I'd like to receive audio from a phone call through my bluetooth earpiece. But I want to speak into a wired microphone.
Is this possible? Do I need a special app or specific specifications on my wired microphone or earpeice?

Related: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/142693/use-phone-microphone-while-outputting-audio-through-bt-galaxy-s4 No resolution


text:
Can I charge Galaxy Tab S2 while using MHL adapter?
I'm looking at an MHL adapter provided by Samsung. I have a Galaxy Tab S2 and wonder if this adapter would allow the device to charge up at the same time as mirroring the screen to my TV.
I already have a multi-use adapter with MHL + SD + USB. Unfortunately, connecting micro-USB power to the multi-use adapter does not charge the tablet.
I would like to know if I can charge the device at the same time as using the HDMI connection.
Anyone know if this works?

The Galaxy Tab S2 (2016, 9.7, Wi-Fi) specs say that there is no MHL support.
(Which exact device version do you have? Have you tested MHL support in the meantime?)

I would like to know if I can charge the device at the same time as using the HDMI connection

Theoretically yes but practically wouldn't help {see edit below)

Adapter uses MHL 2 standards which provides 5 V DC/900 mA, same as USB 3.0

Further, it says

MHL passive cable
Passive cables allow consumers to connect an MHL-enabled device directly to an MHL TV and do not require external power. Unlike older MHL adapters and cables, the passive cable simultaneously charges the cell phone battery while mirroring.

A typical mobile battery charging (without using fast charging) for a capacity of 3000 mAh requires around 1800 mAh

Galaxy Tab S2 has a battery that is either 4000/5870 mAh (depending on the model), which is much more than a normal cell, and it would take real long to charge. It would take 10 / 14 hours respectively (To estimate charging time required , use the Battery Charge Time Calculator)

Note: This is based only on the power calculations part of it. I haven't used MHL / HDMI
Edit: With reference to your comment, if the screen is in use, the power it would draw in all likelihood would be more than charging, so in effect, it wouldn't help at all. See this answer to get an idea of power used in screen on condition

"it would take real long to charge" In my case the goal is to avoid running out of battery life during normal use. I think that the 'typical' charging would be sufficient. I can see how I might need 'fast charging' were I to use Street Navigation + Music, or 3D Gaming, etc.


text:
Fastest way to set a contact picture on Android
Recently, I got an Android for my father instead of the iPhone he always had.
Well, his main complaint is that his contacts have no picture associated, that would be simple to sync with facebook. I had done that before in the old days for my phone using an app, but now, since facebook removed the capability of apps to access users pictures, all the apps that should do that, such as "Contact photo sync" became useless and are nothing but a swamp of ads.
Now, the only method I found is manually is going to someone's picture on Facebook, doing an export to external application and then choosing "Set as contact picture" in the export selection.
Would be simple if it wasn't for this simple feature missing in pure Android, the contact photo export does not appear in the "export options" as an application (I am using 6.0 on Nexus X5) . So now what I have to do is save the picture on the device, then setting it as a contact picture, having to navigate on multiple windows instead of directly exporting.
I am pretty sure I've seen the "Set as contact picture" before on another version of android, or some branded version.
Ultimately, my question is: how to export to a contact without having to save it on the phone? Are there any apps that would export from the "transference area" directly to the contact picture?

Unfortunately there is no simple, fast solution to this, Facebook has actively made this difficult and even though there were solutions for older versions of Android, they all related to the Facebook API, not Android which was just doing documented calls that are not supported any longer.
However, if your father uses Google+ you CAN sync Google+ and Google account pictures to contacts.
Open Google+ and go to Menu (3 lines) and select Settings, then tap the Google account used on the device, scroll down to Contacts, and in that menu enable "Keep contacts up to date". Note that this will also put your user account and Google account avatar in sync, and most SMS/MMS Messaging apps will use this information as well and display the contacts profile picture in the message stream.
Contacts can also be edited online by logging into the Google account in question and going to Google Contacts page. Again it is not speedy, but it will work, and there is some import/export functionality on this page as well, but I don't believe it relates to profile pictures.


text:
After auto update, Samsung Tab S2 will not reconnect to Samsung Tab S2 9.7 bluetooth keyboard
My Samsung tab S2 had an auto update yesterday. Now, the matching samsung bluetooth keyboard will not reconnect. When I try it comes up with "unable to connect" message.  Keyboard still shows as paired. Tried On/Off Bluetooth and reboot of tablet. Nothing. Any ideas??

I had the same problem on 6/13/16 with my Samsung Tab S2 and matching Samsung keyboard. In my case, the auto-update had apparently made the keyboard unrecognizable to the tablet. I decided to re-pair the keyboard with the tablet. To make the keyboard 'discoverable' by the tablet during its scan of nearby devices, I pressed and held the Bluetooth function key on the keyboard (which = F11 on my keyboard) until the keyboard signaled OK by flashing its blue-green-red light pattern. Once the keyboard was in that state, the tablet could discover the keyboard as a Bluetooth device and connect to it. Hope this helps!

than you, it help. i click fn+f11, but not only f11. That was be big probem but now its working. very, very thank you


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I need authorization from Google before downloading Messenger but it wants me to sign into my Google account. I am signed in everywhere
I need to authorize to download Messenger. It says sign into your Google account, but I'm already signed in everywhere. I don't understand what I'm not doing right.

make new account of play store

You need to relogin as it may be a play services error. just remove your google account/accounts, reboot your phone, relogin to your account/accounts. if it still fails then look for google play services in

settings > applications > google play services

and do a clear data. after restarting, relogin your account/s it should work fine.


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Will i lose device storage if i get a new screen
Last night I dropped my phone on the bathroom floor, there is a tiny crack in the top left corner, but now my screen wont work. Phone rings, home button lights up but screen is dead. If I take the screen to get fixed, will I lose photo's I didn't have stored on my SD card?

No, the screen and board should be different assemblies, so they should be able to replace just the screen only.