text:
How can I write in a PDF with a tablet and a pen (a.k.a  Is there a Xournal alternative for Android)?
There is already a similar question, which is about the Xoom and note taking. But I'd like to ask this in a more general way:
Given a tablet (and a pen), how can I write - not just adding notes and comments, more like one would write on paper - in a PDF?
The additional writing should be saved within the same PDF file and readable/showable by the most common PDF readers. Essentially I am looking for an Xournal alternative for Android.

Any updates on this topic? (last update more than two years ago...)

So far the closest that I found to Xournal in Android is RepliGo Reader or ezPDF Reader.
They both

Allow drawing of lines, curves, freehand, etc.
Save the annotations/drawings within the PDF file

But in my opinion both Apps do not use the full potential of what's possible with the Thinkpad Tablet and/or xournal. It may be subjective, but my colleguas who have Thinkpad tablet PC's running Linux with Xournal seem to have a better experience "writing into PDFs". I hope that there is more to come on Android.
Alternatives, suggestions are always welcome. :-)
Edit: I am going with ezPDF Reader. It's the best PDF reader for Android IMHO.

+1 for exPDF Reader. Love this app, use it for all of my books in my classes to take notes directly in the book. Who needs notebooks?

I wonder if any of these is suitable for annotations with an active stylus, i.e. supports palm rejection, pressure sensitivity, smoothing etc. LectureNotes has such features, but it seems to import PDF as images ...

@highsciguy, I am just experimenting with ezPDF with an active stylus. It treats my palm as a second pen (if that is what you are asking for).

I have been and am still using ezPDF myself, but it does not have the features mentioned and is much less comfortable for writing than a decent  notebook app like LectureNotes.

I downloaded the newest version of Adobe Reader. That works, as you can write or print text and save it.

Make sure to frequently open the "saved" document with another editor. It is not guaranteed to save properly. Just lost 2h of corrections.

At this time, there does not appear to be a Xournal port or alternative for Android that both utilizes pressure sensitivity of a pen (e.g., in the case of a Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet) and allows for free form vector-based annotation of PDFs in their native format that is quick and doesn't involve clunky interface problems. Nearly every "note-taking" pdf program that features annotation that I have found only uses fixed-width lines that make it look like you're writing with a crayon on the page (very thick even with the thinnest lines), making them virtually unusable for put notes on a document with normal 12 pt font that might include any significant statement beyond "bad", "good", strike-through or circling something.

Has anyone tried "Writepad Stylus"?
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.writepad
It looks great (I'm waiting for my stylus to arrive to try it out.  Argh, the waiting!!)

Well, it doesn't seem to have a annotation to PDF functionality. And when it comes down to just take notes on a tablet with a stylus, Quill is the way to go (it's even free).


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Can I train Google Voice Actions to better recognize my voice?
I'm playing with Google Voice Actions. The idea is great, but I'm having trouble with Google Voice Actions not recognizing some of my words. The mistakes are minor, but are bad enough that the application returns bad results half the time.
Some examples:
* The words "Bee Canyon" is interpreted to be "East Canyon".
* "Road" is interpreted as "route"
I am using a Samsung Intercept M910.
I speak American English, with a typical American (Californian) accent. I'm sitting in a quiet room with little background noise.
Is there a way to 'train' Google Voice Actions so that it will understand my voice better?

I came here looking for more modern android settings, and I think all this is different now.

You could try enabling the "Personalized Recognition" option in the Voice Search settings. This option basically causes Voice Search to store words and phrases that you use on your Google account, and gradually build up a voice library of your speech patterns. You can read the original announcement for it on the Google Mobile blog.
I believe this feature is only available in the US on Android 2.2 or later, but it's possible there may be other restrictions as well.

Thanks for the response. My phone does not have a settings option for "Voice Search", but it does have something similar called "Voice Input & Output", and that option does not have an option called "Personalized Recognition"input & output"). I read the the original announcement, and I don't have anything on my Dashboard called "Speech". I am running on Android 2.2.

The setting won't be in your phone's settings menu, it will be in the Voice Search settings. Bring up the Voice Search dialog (launch the app or hold your search key or however you usually do it) and then press your hard Menu button to get to the app settings.

Thanks for the pointer, unfortunately I do not see an option for "Personalized recognition" (Or "Google Account dashboard"). I only have "Language", "SafeSearch", "Block Offensive Words" and "Show hints", but those are my only options. Maybe this application is different for my phone.

@Stefan: That's possible. You could check the Market for "Voice Search" and see if it lets you install/update from there, but otherwise there might be some reason the option is simply not available for you (again, I know there's certain restrictions, but I don't know the full extent, unfortunately).

@Stefan Go to the Market and search for "Voice Actions" in Apps. Once you download the update, Personalized Recognition will appear in your settings.

@Joe: Thanks for the pointer. That worked! There is an update in the Android Market, but Market never told me about this update before.

I finally got this "Personalized Recognition" working, thanks to @joe's instructions. But phrases like "Bee Canyon" are still being misinterpreted. However, it might take time for "Personalized Recognition" to recognize me. I'll try this feature out for another week and will report back.

The sad thing is I've be using personalized recommendations and other settings since day one and under "Speech" section from https://www.google.com/dashboard I only have just over 300 personalized recognition objects and the most recent was captured "Most recent: on Dec 15, 2011" WTF?!. Also, unfortunately, it used to properly handle words like Ubuntu and Linux!!! Now, with Android 4.1 sick ass Google Now and killer speech recognition .. it does not recognize a lot of my techy words and speak. DAMN WE NEED SOME TRAINING SOFTWARE.

The voice recognition also seems to do a better job with longer phrases and sentences (as there is additional context).  It often does a better job for me if I add extra words (e.g., when searching for a nearby street or service, add the city and the state).

Look up the "voice search"  app,  tap on the three horizontal dots at the bottom right of the screen. Tap on settings> voice history > Enable it.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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Unlocked Galaxy i7500, Reset Will Remove it?

Possible Duplicate:
Will resetting my unlocked phone to factory settings lock it again?

I just purchased and unlocked a Samsung Galaxy i7500 using FastGSM's system. (It cost $20 and it's used up; I can't redo it.)
I know my phone has an option to "reset" it to the default/factory settings. Will doing so re-lock my phone? Is the lock hardware-level or OS/software-level? Can I upgrade the OS now that it's unlocked?
I noticed my app running a bit more slowly after unlocking, too... I just want to understand what level locking is on.

@MatthewRead possible. I would still like sn answer specific to my phone if possible though.

According to the FastGSM page: "Congratulations! Your phone is permanently unlocked and can use it with different network SIM card. It will never relock again even if you do software update." (source)
This means that even a factory reset won't relock the phone. I assume this is because Samsung phones use the /efs partition to store the IMEI and other network data, and the unlock modifies these files. The partition is not modified by updates/resets.

Okay, thanks for interpreting that for me. I had read that prior to unlocking, but I'm not clear on software vs. hardware as it pertains to locking.

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


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text messages beginning with '!' trigger automated responses?
Whenever I send a text message to my friend with an Android phone (further testing has shown this happens with iPhones as well, though not blackberries) that starts with '!', I get an automated response. I've detailed it in full, but to summarize:
Me sending an SMS to my friend:
"!test"
results in me receiving an immediate response:
"message test to XXXXXXXXXXX succeeded"
and my friend receives:
"test"
XXX is where the destination phone number is. I find it concerning because I suspect it is the phone itself that is sending this automated reply, and for anyone who has to pay for outgoing text messages this could be an avenue for a third party to inflate their bill without them even knowing.
Does anyone know what this is, why it's happening, or how to disable it?

That appears to be your carrier's delivery report code. Many (but not necessarily all) carriers implement it in some form or another, but the exact method can vary pretty widely. It's briefly mentioned on the SMS Wikipedia article.
I don't recall exactly when the network sends the delivery report, but I'm fairly positive that it wouldn't be originating from the phone, and therefore wouldn't count against any SMS limit it may have. The device may respond to the provider when it receives the message (though it may not since the carrier may send the report at some other point in the process), but the actual SMS you get back should be originating from the network's SMS gateway, I believe. The phone's OS (or SIM) may have some bearing on whether or not it "honors" the request, but I'm not sure.
I found a (probably incomplete) list of some of the various carrier codes here:
UK
T Mobile: *0#
O2: *0#
Orange: RCT followed by a space
Virgin: *0#

US
T-Mobile: *noti#

Germany
T-Mobile: *T#
Vodafone D2: *N#
O2: *N#
e-plus: *N#

Sweden
Telia: *KV#
Comviq: KV#
Telenor: ##

Brasil
Claro: *N#

Switzerland
SWISSCOM: *N#

Turkey
TURKCELL: *N#

Poland
PlusGSM (Polkomtel): XYZ

Croatia
T-Mobile: *r*

Portugal
Vodafone: *NOT#

Hungary
T-Mobile: *A#

India
Voodafone: *NOT#

Qatar
Qtel: *N#

Belgium
Proximus: *R*
Base: *N#

Greece
Vodafone: *#
Wind: *0#

Serbia
MTS: *!#
Telenor: *!#

Romania
Orange: *NM#

Israel
Orange: *NM#


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Will my alarm still go off if my phone is on airplane mode?
I'm trying to save battery but I need my alarm in the morning. Will it still go off if on airplane mode?
p.s. I have an HTC Inspire.

If you have an alarm app from the Amazon Appstore, you might have the opposite problem -- you might not be able to shut it off.  I had Gentle Alarm and the alarm service ran fine, but to shut it off it opened the app which attempted a DRM check.  The check failed due to no internet and the app closed, leaving the alarm running :P

Yes. Airplane mode (flight mode) only disables your phone's signal transmitting functions, not the functions that don't require a signal to function.
Your alarm will still work.

As @Jasir says. Your alarm will still work in Airplane mode.
Be careful as there is another setting on your phone.
Clock > Alarms > Menu > Settings > 'Alarm in silent mode'
You will need this ticked if you put your phone in silent (saving more battery) and still want the alarm to go off!

Do a quick, simple test on your phone (that's what I did):
Put your phone on airplane mode, then set an alarm for 1 (one) minute into the future.  If done correctly, your alarm should sound off within 1 minute.  Then you know it works!

Alarm clock requires no Internet connection.
So yes, alarm is still on with airplane/flight mode enabled

Actually your phone time needs to occasionally access the network's time server to stay synced and that might affect your alarm.  I didnt wake up today because i set an alarm for 3 hrs, set airplane mode, and it never rang, but i can't really prove this now.

Your phone clock shouldn't go that wrong overnight: even without updates, it should be accurate to a few seconds per year. Most likely something else went wrong with your alarm.


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Multiple Google Accounts and the Market
I have multiple Google accounts like below:

Account A (my primary account).
Account B
Account C

I only have the extra two accounts for gmail (via Google Apps for domains) and don't use them for anything else.
I only want to use Account A on the market. I currently have an annoying issue where the market app keeps using Account B, so I end up downloading things to Account B by mistake.
Is there anyway I can remove these other accounts from the market or set some sort of default account?
Thanks
Update: I know that I can press menu in the market app and select a different account, but this is annoying because it defaults to Account B. My crazy theory is that when looking for updates (in the background), it first checks Account A and then B. Because it checked account B last it leaves that as the active one. Account C has never downloaded an app so it doesn't check for updates.

I'm having the same issue: I started with a single account (A) on my phone, added a second account (B) a few weeks later, and now the market defaults to B. As the OP said, I can manually switch via the menu, but I seem to have to do that EVERY TIME I open the market app. So I doubt that @Blundell's solution below will work, as his method is how I got into this mess in the first place. Has anyone found an app to lock in the default market account?

I don't have the time to try @Blundell's solution right now. But I will try do it in the reverse order so that I add my default account last. Although I don't think this will work as it is currently ignoring my latest Account C.

I have almost exactly the same problem, except I get update notifications from account C, which has never installed an app (I only added the account yesterday, so I'm 100% positive).   I don't know (yet), if I'll still get notifications for B.

This seems to have been fixed in version 3.3.11 and above of the market app.

The only way to remove the other Accounts from the Market is to unsync them from the phone.
Settings > Accounts & Sync > Click the google account > Press Remove Account
Perhaps remove all three, add your Account A, load the market. Then go and add the other two accounts through Accounts & Sync and not through the market.
This should leave Account A as the default.


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Create Defy Kernel Backup
I own a Motorola Defy and it is running 2.2.2.
I was wondering if i could create a backup of my kernel by any means!
Is there any software/application/method which can help me achieve this?
Thanks

Please see this previous "How to backup an Android device?" question http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/390/how-to-backup-an-android-device

As GAThrawn already indicated, the answer to your question is covered by How to backup an Android device?. As far as the kernel is concerned, two of the answers apply:

using adb pull to do a file system copy as described in this answer
create a Nandroid Backup from within your custom recovery as detailled in this answer

Both variants require your device to be rooted, and for the Nandroid backup you will need to have a custom recovery (e.g. ClockworkMod) installed.


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Why do I keep texting myself voice mail transcripts?
I am having an issue trying to assess why I am texting transcripts to myself of the voice mails people leave me.
The Problem: I have an HTC EVO 3D on Sprint, and whenever someone leaves a message I get a notification in my gmail inbox of the transcript via Google Voice (ding #1). Shortly thereafter, I then get a notification (ding #2), and then 2-3 text messages (dings #4-5) on the HTC Sense texting app widget, from myself via my carrier's phone number (that is, the non-Google number). As you can imagine, it is incredibly irritating.
Background: Looking into the Voicemail settings on the phone, and the Visual Voicemail settings, I don't have anything enabled to cause this behavior (I am not signed up for the latter service, and the trial hasn't even been configured). Google Voice isn't to blame for these text messages; they are set up to only push to gmail. The texting app itself is of no use in terms of finding out where it is getting these notifications from; it says it's from my carrier's number, but nothing else.
Please let me know any suggestions you have to:
 - diagnose the source of the 2-3 text messages; they are the truly aggravating "feature" of this problem. I am not sure if this is caused at the carrier, hardware, or software level.
 - turn off the notification (sound) for the 2-3 text messages, or to disable the texts from myself entirely. As you might expect, I still want to receive notifications for other text messages, so muting the app wholesale is not an option. I am okay with ditching the HTC app, so if there is one (hopefully with a workspace display) that can selectively mute users (e.g. myself) that might be an option

Google Voice is responsible for these; they are sent by default. See in the settings:

You can uncheck this box and Google Voice will refrain from sending you SMS transcripts of your voicemails from then on.
Also note, unchecking the box above titled Email the message to: only prevents email transcripts, not SMS ones.


text:
Why does my EVO 3D think I am talking to it?
Occasionally when biking or walking, something must be going on in my pocketses because my HTC EVO 3D keeps thinking my standard headphones are evolving into headphones with an inline mic.
Normally I will be listening to music (Winamp) and the track will start skipping around; this is long after I have locked the screen and it has gone to black. I pull out the device and the headphones icon in the notification bar now have a mouth piece sticking out of them in the icon. I look at my headphones, they certainly haven't morphed in any way. I don't have bluetooth on, no other devices are connected to cause interference.
What is going on with my phone and how can I keep it from happening? I don't mind forcing it to never be an inline mic'ed set of headphones if that option is available somehow; it's incredibly annoying 45 minutes into a ride and I would love to get this locked down.

The connector must be a bit loose (or incorrectly sized) and as it wiggles around in the socket, it hits the connectors in a way that makes the phone think it's equipped with a mic (that is, a TRRS plug instead of TRS). Try another pair of headphones or try twisting and aligning the plug/cord so that there no pull or twist in the root of the cord.

They're a pair of Sennheiser monitors and have a pretty lengthy cord. Normally I pull out the plug and put it back in, fixing the problem forthe time being. Is there any good way of improving the way they sit without changing the headphones?

A friend of mine fixed it by cutting some of the plastic from the base of the jack so that the jack went all the way to the bottom of the connector for sure. Note that these were cheap, if-they-break-who-cares type of headphones, try at your own risk.

I had this problem with a TRS to TRS cable, but not with TRS headphones. It maybe improper sleeve length due to the housing being irregular.


text:
How can I disable Phone, SMS, Market and 3G functionality from Android?
I am trying to convert my old Motorola Droid (running CyanogenMod 7) into a device my kids can use without me worrying about them making phone calls or downloading apps I don't know of.  My needs are:

Disable / uninstall the ability to make phone calls
Disable / uninstall the ability to send text messages
Disable / uninstall cellular data connectivity (should only be able to work on wifi)
Password protect the Market

Is there a ROM out there that already has this, or some pointers on how I can do this myself on Cyanogen?

Re: 1,2,3
Removing SIM card is the safest option, but you could try enabling modified airplane mode in the system settings : http://developer.android.com/reference/android/provider/Settings.System.html
in adb shell you could try :
su
sqlite3 data/data/com.android.providers.settings/databases/settings.db
insert into system (name,value) values('airplane_mode_on',1);
insert into system (name,value) values('airplane_mode_radios','cell');
.exit
reboot

Re.4
Have you tried apps like https://market.android.com/details?id=com.vlobe.smartappcloud.android.parentalcontrol
You could also remove the Market app completely and only install apks via adb.

Why don't you simply remove the SIM module from that phone? Android can work well without SIM.
The only thing that you miss is the ability to protect the market (or any other apps) with a password. One of the following apps could help you achieve the desired result:

Protector
Smart App Protector

The Motorla Droid (US version) is a CDMA2000 phone. It doesn't have a SIM card.

You could flash an incorrect baseband into the phone.  It will knock out the phone radio part completely until a correct baseband is flashed.  At least this is true on my Verizon Droid (Sholes).


text:
My EVO 3D is narcissistic and won't stop taking pictures of itself
My SD card is filling up with screen caps. I mean, it's not a big problem that's taxing my storage. Still, with all the activity in my pockets, my phone frequently like to waste time photographing itself like some webcam girl.
I am running a stock EVO 3D from HTC; no roots, no screen cap apps or anything. I am thrilled that there might be native screen-capping. However, when I have googled to find out how to do it, there are either non-native instructions (it's native), or there are instructions to just shake the crap out of it (which I have tried, and does not cap screens). I admit it is totally possible there is some key-combo I have not found yet; but if there is one, I need to disable/remap it.
My question is two fold;

So assuming the problem is between the keyboard and chair, and assuming that the behavior leading to the screen caps isn't going to change (i.e. me putting my phone in my pocket); How can I get the phone to stop screen capping at random times?
As mentioned in the comment below, hitting [LOCK+Home] will take screen caps with my HTC EVO 3D; can these buttons or this behavior be remapped?

On the one hand +1 for the great title, on the other hand, how to take screencaps on the Evo 3D is in this previous question http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/1759/how-to-take-a-screenshot-with-an-android-phone/14166#14166 Is there anything about the way you hold/pocket it, or a case you use that makes those buttons particularly vulnerable?

(A) Glad to finally know the combination, thanks! (B) Is there a way to remap or disable the screen-capping? I am not using a case, and typically have headphones in with the base in the bottom of the pocket, the lock key not up against anything.

There is a bug on the sensation in which the lock bottom doesn't do its job and when you hit home a screenshot is taken. It could be that the Evo 3D has the same problem... no solution AFAIK

You could try this app: ButtonRemapper (XDA Thread)
It takes a little reading to figure out how to properly configure this to your needs but once it's done it should solve your problem.

Thanks much, unfortunately my phone is not rooted; are there any remapping apps that do not require root?

I don't think so because of security reasons. If I see something I'll get back to you!


text:
Using Android/Desire as a bare bones GSM modem
Older GSM phones could be hooked up to a PC and you could access the baseband chip through e.g. minicom or hyperterminal and give it AT commands, usually through a serial/rs232 or USB connection between the phone and the PC.
A lot of software also exists to use GSM phones as e.g. SMS gateway - which basically works by getting a serial connection to the phone and communicating with AT commands. Can one do the same with a HTC Desire, or other Android phones ?

Wow, that brings back memories. I used to know a scary amount of AT commands by heart and could troubleshoot most modem connection problems by listening to them, but can't say I've ever wanted to revisit those days with a modern phone! Most standard tethering implementations install the phone as a Windows Networking device rather than a modem emulator, no idea if any third party or manufacturer does this.

You apparently can do this with the HTC Vision, at least. I found instructions here which are based on a Linux/Unix environment. I tried the same instructions on my EVO and it hung when I issued the rtask C command, so it appeared to be trying to do something, but not working (maybe because it's a CDMA2000 phone? Not sure). You could give that a try but I have no idea if it works on other HTC devices.

Hmm, ok that's how far I got as well(connecting USB thru virtualbox/ubuntu on a windows host) rtask C hangs it. Though it appears , after a while, as a different device but disabled, with a device guid {36fc9e60-c465-11cf-8056-444553540000}....


text:
How can I monitor my phone's activities?
A couple of times I've found my phone turned off when I don't remember doing so, especially when I have a fully charged or nearly full battery.  Are there any applications out there that will monitor the events that get called and applications that call them so I can log what is happening in the background?  Thanks.

Related: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/14430/how-can-i-view-and-examine-the-android-log

Many events are already logged to the system log on an Android devices.    Apps such as Log Collector can be used to access the log (it allows you to email or SMS the log).   The log data is extensive, and sometimes cryptic, so be prepared to spend some time sifting through it.
You may be surprised as what you find ... I was able to learn that my wifi router was shutting down in the middle of the night by seeing that the phone was syncing over 3G starting at 2am.   Turned out I had set the router to shut down for certain hours and had forgotten.   You'll also get a sense of what your apps and widgets do in the background.


text:
Can I set the schedule for automatic Market updates, e.g. every night?
Is there a way to schedule when the Market updates my installed apps? Ideally I would like to run it late every night, that way I won't have to be bothered with them when I'm actually using the phone.

Great question Suan.

This has been driving me nuts lately.  It always updates right when I'm playing a certain game, and the game stutters and pauses repeatedly during that time.  I can't believe this still isn't an option.

I'm not 100% sure but maybe tasker can do it. If it can't do it directly and if you are rooted, you can use  tasker to kill Market except on night time. That way at night time Market will run and install your apps. At day time market will get killed and no installing of apps.

Doesn't this also prevent one from using the Market oneself? The Tasker function has to be disabled for Market to work.

Yes it would. But you can create tasker profile like check every 30 mins in day time if market is running and kill it if its. In these way You can use Market as well and hopefully apps won't update in that 30 mins period.

I'm wondering if one would be able to write an app, which basically opens up the Market app at a set time, and even better somehow forcing it to "update"...

You can set the Market to only update apps when its connected to Wi-Fi. If you only ever connect your device to Wi-Fi at home, then this setting could do the trick for you?
Market -> Menu -> Settings -> Update over Wi-Fi only

Update: Bringing in info from the comments by Mr. Buster and Power-Inside:
It seems that the "Update over Wifi only" setting was only added to the Market app in v3.3.11. If your Market app is stuck on an older version then you can try to force an update by clearing the data on the Market app, or manually download and install an updated Market APK, as detailed in this previous question.

I personally cannot find such an option.

It's in the Market settings for me, and has been for a while (currently on Market v3.4.4 on a Gingerbread Galaxy S)

@Boris_yo what device and version of android are you using? You really should state these things in the question :)

HTC Desire S, Android 2.3.3, Market 2.3.4

@Boris_yo: best I can tell, the Update over Wi-Fi only setting came along around Market v3.3.11. For this feature you'll need to get Market updated.

But my Market never updated itself or asked to be updated.

@Boris_yo This might be of some help to get an upgraded market.

Upgraded or updated? And how do i do that?

The "update over WiFi only" setting doesn't help the issue when you're connected to slow hotel WiFi and the updates take up what little bandwidth is available.

@cragmonkey for that you have the options that restrict background data usage. Go into Settings then Data Usage, then click the menu option and select Network Restrictions, you can then find your slow wi-fi connection in the list and select it to set it as a "metered connection"which will make Android test that connection as if it's metered and it will turn off background data usage and app updates while you're on there.

no, there is no such functionality in Market. You can set for "auto update" on all your apps, but you cannot specify when they get updated.

He didn't ask if the Market featured this, just if there was some way to do it.

There is no perfect way to do this but there are other ways to 'control' the updates. You can disable auto-updating, or only via Wifi from settings. You could also force stop the Play store app and then later in the day when you are connected to Wifi and not using your device, you open the app again and it installs updates.

Workaround: I disabled the Auto updates completely and set up a reminder which pops up twice every week at 10 pm when I'm not using my phone and enable the Auto updates until I go to bed.


text:
My phone just notified me that Kickback and Soundback were updated, what are they?
My Motorola Droid just informed me that Kickback and Soundback were updated. Clicking on the updates takes me nowhere, and they aren't listed in installed programs that I can see. What are these programs?

These are accessibility apps. One of Motorola's FAQ questions summarizes their purposes well:

KickBack - Check to vibrate the phone briefly as feedback as you navigate the phone’s user interface, press buttons, and so on.
TalkBack - Check to cause an installed speech synthesizer to speak the labels or names of items as you navigate the phone’s user interface.
SoundBack - Check to play a sound as you navigate the phone’s user interface.

Makes me rest a bit easier knowing this. Thanks.

Kickback / Soundback / talkback are Google's accessibility offerings. To turn them on, go to SETTINGS > ACCESSIBILITY.
They allow users with low vision to navigate around Android by reading out and giving noises / vibrating feedback when buttons are pressed or new notifications are shown.


text:
Galaxy S2 synced but no emails show
I have created an exchange account on a Galaxy S2.  Upon creation of the account no errors were thrown or encountered.  Yet when the user open email for this account "refreshing" keeps popping up and going away at the bottom.  No emails ever show up for any folders, but all folders in the exchange account do appear.  When the user sends an email via the GS2 two identical emails are sent.  The exchange server that the account is on has a ssl certificate from a CA installed and working. Other android/apple phones are working fine.  Several different exchange user accounts have been tested on the GS2 even one created just for testing(one email was sent to this account for testing).  I'm perplexed and need a push in the right direction on what to look for to resolve this issue.  Using a different email app shouldn't be necessary and is not an acceptable answer.  The GS2 is Android's flagship phone and it's email client should be sufficient.  I appreciate any help on the matter.
Thanks,
Jonathan

?Not an answer, but did you resolve it. I have Exchange 2003 and that works well on the phone - but other Exchange 2007 and Office 365 accounts show similar results to what you were experiencing

Exchange server/ domain administrator needs to make a change to your Active directory account by opening ADUC, selecting View, Advanced Features, double clicking your account's property, and going to Security.
From there select Exchange Servers and click on the advanced button.  check the Include inheritable permissions from this object's parent and click ok a couple of times.  After that, the phone should start syncing.


text:
How can I get a overview and manage the default applications for file types?
Most OSs show a nice summary about which application will be used to open a certain file type. Android does not seem to have such a function.
How can I track and manage the default applications?

How many players do you have installed so that writing a question here and waiting for an anwser will be quicker than checking them all?

@Mihic, this doesn't matter; the question is about file-type-centric solution. There are many ways how player name can be unknown.

What does players have to do with anything?

As you maybe already know, for each application that currently is a default application for something, say a PDF viewer, you can reset this default in the application settings (Settings -> Applications -> Manage applications -> Your app -> Clear defaults). After this, the next time you perform the action (e.g. open a PDF), a popup will appear, letting you choose a new default.
As far as I know, this is all you can do with stock Android.
There are however, 3rd party apps, that give you an overview of the currently set default applications for common things, e.g. Default App Manager.

Is there any way to do this if you don't know what app a particular file is associated to? My friend has a problem that he have chose the wrong app and hit set as default, and he don't know which app it was!

You can use Default App Manager:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.appiator.defaultappmanager
It allows you to set default app for picture, music, web pages, video, etc...

If there are a lot of them, it might be easier to just clear all default applications. You can do this without installing an app or having to look through a list. Go to Settings, then Apps (in the Devices section). From the overflow menu pick Reset app preferences.
The next time you have more than one app for something, you'll get the app chooser. Any apps that you really did want as default you can set again in the same way you did before.

Ha! This is exactly what I wanted. I never thought to look in the overflow menu.

But this will also reactivate all deactivated apps. Which was a lot of work

Default App Manager will show you all applications that have "Clear Defaults" available in the application settings screen.

After many trial and errors File Expert solved the problem. I couldn't open e-book files ("cannot open file") and programs people advised didn't fix it. Not Astro Manager nor Default App Manager. The last one only lists file types that apps REGISTERED, but if the handler would be registered correctly, I wouldn't search web for help.
File Expert gives you the option to open selected file with selected app. That what solved the problem but no other file manager does that (or at least this one the first I found does that after several app I've tried)

Thanks for your answer, please also provide an link to the app you recommend.

Well, the only thing you need to find it on Google Play is name, but ok, I'll provide developer's name and google it for you:
File Expert from GeekSoft.

It's good practice to include the links of the mentioned software right into the post. It saves some work for the users who try to follow you recommendation.

Can you explain in more detail how to do this? I have downloaded "File Expert with Clouds" and happily it can see all the files in my Dropbox, but when I tap on a file nothing happens. If I long-click it says "1 selected" at the top of the screen and there are some icons, but I'm not finding where it will let me choose what app to open the file with?

More specifically, long-tapping brings up what looks like a trash can icon, a copy icon, a cut icon, a weird icon that appears to select all, and a menu with options for "Details", "Rename" and "Cancel".  Nothing about opening the file anywhere.


text:
Getting crash while deleting mesage?
I am using LG P500 Optimus one, recently upgraded to Gingerbread.  Sometimes when i read any messages and delete the same, Messaging service crashes with a Force Close error, how to rectify this problem.

You are talking about text messages (SMS), right?

yes, text message

Have you tried something other than the default SMS application - like Handcent?

I am not sure if you as end-user could really fix the underlying problem. That's why it's always a good idea to send those bug reports that are (sometimes) shown after a force close occurs.
But what you could try is to delete the application data, but this will eventually result in losing all your messages. Go to the Preferences -> Manage Applications -> Choose the Application -> Delete application data

No, I am using the default messaging application in the mobile, also I have tried the messaging gadget
In the application, everytime I delete a message in that I see only the progress bar rotating
Message doesn’t appear.
While deleting the message directly from message center I get this error.
“Sorry! The application Messaging (process com.android.mms) has stopped unexpectedly. Please
Try again.” (Force close)

Turn off the confirm before delete option. Worked on my Sony Z1.


text:
Android Virtual Calls Assistant?
I want to know if it is possible to do the following:
1. When "Unknown" calls, after a few seconds audio recording starts and asks caller to recall but with identified number this time. Otherwise there is no other way to reach recipient.
2. When not answering for a long time, audio recording starts and tells that recipient is busy.
I want to hire 2 professional voiceovers to voiceover all the above on 2 different languages.
Is this all possible?
Thanks!

You can very nearly do this with totally standard built-in features, most of which actually rely on support from the phone network rather than anything special on your phone. In fact I can't think of a real way to do absolutely everything you're asking without implementing it at the phone network, rather than on the phone.
You can block "Unknown" numbers very easily, but I don't think there's a standard way to play a message saying that the call has been blocked and why. After all your phone would have to answer the call itself in order to play the message, only the phone network can talk to callers without answering the call!
To block unknown callers: on your phone, go into Settings, then into Call Settings, select All Calls, select Auto reject, tick the box to Enable auto reject, select Auto reject list and tick Unknown.
Playing a message to callers after the phone hasn't been answered for a specific time is exactly what normal Voicemail does. Most voicemail kicks in after a small number of rings, but if you want to extend that most networks will allow you to set a longer time before the vooicemail divert happens, but you will probably need to call your network to arrange this. I have had to set this up for phones on two different networks in the past, for one I had to type a complicated *# dialler code into the phone to request the longer delay, on the other the phone company's helpline could arrange this over the phone.

You should read this:
http://androidforums.com/incredible-support-troubleshooting/90570-block-restricted-unknown-numbers.html

@Boris_yo If parts of that page answer your question, you can summarise them and add the info as an answer on here yourself.

Do you know how to block "Unknown" number and immediately forward it to 3rd party voicemail?


text:
How to block ads in Android applications?
Are there ways that attempt to block ads in applications? It seems that it should be theoretically possible, by blocking web requests to certain sites, for example.

The most popular method is replacing the built-in hosts files with one that forces DNS queries to well-known ad servers to result in 127.0.0.1 (localhost).  This effectively blocks most common ads, and most of the Google Ads in applications.
The downside is that applications can tell that ads are being blocked, and can either refuse to run or otherwise degrade their usefulness while the ad blocking is in effect.
Also, root access is required to replace the hosts file.
Beyond that, I haven't seen anything that can selectively block web requests for arbitrary apps.  For some programs that only use internet access for ads, you could use a firewall app to prevent them from accessing the internet or -- if your ROM supports it (like the latest CyanogenMod) -- revoke the internet access permission from the app.
Again, root access is generally required to set up a system-wide app-level firewall or replace your ROM.

Note that there are apps for this, e.g. "Ad Free Android" or "AdAway".  A search turns them up quickly.

IMO It's better to redirect to 0.0.0.0

There are two different apps, AdFree Android and AdAway that block ads, theoretically in all applications.  You must have a rooted phone in order to use these.
AdFree Android works by

...nullifying requests to known host names in the system hosts
  file.

which is essentially an automated solution of modifying the hosts file, brought up by another user here.  It appears that Adaway does the same thing.
If you do not have a rooted phone, you can, at the very least, use the Firefox Browser with the Adblock Plus AddOn (installed via Firefox).

You can use an ad-blocking DNS server such as AdGuard DNS. Unlike the HOSTS file method, you won't need to use an app, nor root your phone.
On Android 9 Pie and later, you can use ad-blocking DNS servers by configuring the Private DNS setting:

Go to Settings → "Network & internet" or "Wi-Fi & Internet" or "Connections".

Select "Advanced" or "More connection settings" → "Private DNS".

Select the "Private DNS provider hostname". Enter dns.adguard.com. (This is the AdGuard DNS hostname. If using another ad-blocking DNS, then replace it with the corresponding hostname.) Press "Save".

For versions prior to Android 9 Pie:

Go to "Settings" → "Wi-Fi".

Press and hold the name of the Wi-Fi network you are currently connected to.

Select "Modify network".

Tick the "Advanced options" checkbox.

Change "IP Settings" to "Static".

Remove the DNS addresses that may be already listed and replace with 94.140.14.14 for DNS 1 and 94.140.15.15 for DNS 2. (These are AdGuard DNS IP addresses. If using another ad-blocking DNS, then replace them with the corresponding IP addresses.)

Press "Save". You may need to disconnect from the Wi-Fi network and reconnect for the changes to take place.
Note that if the "Save" button is grayed out, manually re-enter the current values into the "IP address", "Gateway", and "Network prefix length" text fields. Then press "Save", which should become active by this point.

Aside from the DNS / IP address-based ad blockers, I'd also recommend MinMinGuard (requires a rooted phone and the Xposed Framework). It features API-based blocking, where function calls provided by the advertisement network SDK are blocked.

MinMinGuard is an Ad-remover made with Xposed Framework for Android.
MinMinGuard can completely remove both the ads inside apps and the
empty space caused by those ads. Conventional ads removing apps are
only able to block the ad content, but the space taken by the ad will
still remain unused (black). MinMinGuard successfully removes that
black space, which extends the app window and makes your
user-experience better!
Features:

Totally remove the advertisement. You can notice that
AdBlock and AdAway only stops showing the ad content, but it can not
remove the empty field that was originally taken by the ad.
MinMinGuard can totally remove the empty field!
Lightweight.
Alternative ad removing apps (AdBlock etc) constantly run a background
VPN service, which puts a heavy loading on the system. MinMinGuard
does not need to run a VPN service, so it saves system resources and,
thus, extends the battery life.
Per App Setting. MinMinGuard lets you
choose which apps you want to remove ads from. If you only want to
remove ads from several apps, MinMinGuard is your best solution.

You can also use a firewall or permissions-limiting application (DroidWall or LBE Privacy Guard, for example) to limit internet access for particular applications. These also require root.

To disable ads, you have to understand where the ads actually come from.
There are easy-to-identify ad servers, and those can be easily avoided by editing your hosts file (you can edit hosts file on a rooted phone through ES file manager, or from a terminal session be it local or from your laptop/desktop).
But when the ad servers keep having random subdomains, that can be a real chore to keep chasing those updated servers.
There are applications (previously mentioned) that help to ease that task--but it still is the same solution of getting hit with ads--and then blocking the new servers.
None of those methods work if the ip address gets hardcoded in. That is the trump card.
Another option is to enable a firewall that denies ANY traffic for a specific application.
That means: updates, ads, pushing your stats, etc...don't use your data plan and don't tie up your phone.
Avast! Mobile security (free on marketplace or Play) gives you granular control when you want it.
I have used Avast on desktops and servers, and run it on rooted Gingerbread and CyanogenMod9 (ICS).
Very good appl.

Adblock Plus is now available for Android.
Here's a snippet from Lifehacker's review:

If you love Adblock Plus on the desktop, now you can take it with you on your Android phone. Adblock Plus for Android blocks ads on sites while you browse and even suppresses ads inside of ad-supported applications. Best of all, it's completely free.
Adblock Plus for Android doesn't require root access to your phone to suppress ads, but works best if your device is rooted. If you're rooted, it'll suppress ads over 3G/4G and Wi-Fi with no additional configuration required. If you're not rooted and you're running Ice Cream Sandwich, it'll block ads over Wi-Fi but not 3G/4G. If your device is running Gingerbread or earlier, you'll have to set up Adblock's proxy manually to get it to work. Speaking of proxies, that's how Adblock Plus for Android manages to strip out all of those ads: it routes all of your traffic through their servers, and removes the ads before it gets to your phone.

The article also notes: ".. it's important to note that the only reason so many great Android apps remain free are because the ads support the developers..." If too many people block the ads in Android apps, there will be fewer high-quality free apps.

Although incomplete I have a solution in place that is sufficient for me.
I have configured the dnsmasq dns server in my lan to serve 0.0.0.0 as the response to a specified set of advertising hostnames.
The pro is that I have one solution that fixes this for both my tablet and my phone without the need to root either of them.
The con is that it only works at home on my wifi.

I like the firewall approach. Recently installed the NoRoot Firewall and by trial and error found that if I block access to l[ab]-in-f[0-9]{3}\.1e100\.net (actually, the app doesn't support regex in addresses), ads don't get through.

I had similar problem before and non of the existing apps could solve my problems, furthermore I cannot root my company phone due policy. Then I realized that you can configure proxy for each and every connection (wifi and 4g) separately. So I installed a squid, configured to block most of the annoying ad sites and deployed in docker.
Long story short:
docker run -d -p 3128:3128 --name squid-adblock andrassebo/squid-adblock

Then configure the proxy on your phone to use the hosting machines IP address and 3128 as port.
If you would like to check details or simply compile your own image, the source code is available on GitHub: source and DockerHub: images

The latest Android Market app (I have 3.15 which is the first time I've noticed the option) has an option to allow you to prevent Google or AdMob ads from tracking you and personalizing the ads to your interests. If that's all you want to stop, then it's just a tickbox away.
Open the Market app, pressMenu scroll down to the Other Settings heading where you should see:

Google AdMob Ads: personalize ads based on my interests
Choose
whether to personalize ads from Google and AdMob in mobile apps on
this device. Learn more

Just remove the tick from that tickbox to:

Opt out
If you opt-out, your device identifier information will not be
used by Google for advertising going forward and you will not receive
ads based on your interests or inferred demographics.

I don't think that's to say you won't receive ads at all, just that you won't receive targeted ads.

@AlEverett That is true, which is why I said "tracking you and personalizing the ads to your interests. If that's all you want to stop" it's also worth noting that it also only works for the Google/AdMob/Android default ad services, if an app is serving 3rd party ads that option won't do anything.

I was just adding clarity.

The answer is: theoretically yes, practically no. Several years passed since the question, but adware got even worse.
Best way to "block ads" is to "get rid of code that produces it". This is very hard to achieve, because this would require to get rid of adware roots, which are related to current world's economical model and entrepreneurship. It's like to rehabitate all people around the world, to react ads very drastically and ultimative: "either no ad, either no use of android os/devices". This could happen through children education, via seeding strong idea, like "ads is something criminal like porn/theft/deception and speculation/terrorism/narcotics"... In such way, after several human generations adware would eventually starve, because any "ad-related activity" would refer to organisation which will be considered "codnucting illegal activity" and enormous penalty tax should be applied, and person who publish ad jailed.
There exists other, faster way: It is to create a group, who would develop android alternative firmware, essentially same as android, but with licensing terms explicitly disallowing using of ads, and maybe even some banning/firewall engine, embedded into system and easily tunable by users. Good implementation would be very costly, and it would take time to put it on a very single phone. But that would definetely force android community to react.
That is some effective approaches, but any real action should involve Google, which should "change its mind and become white and fluffy" in order to really get rid of adware in android. This is very unlikely to achieve, with current world's economical model.

Sorry, but this is not helping us to fix the issue at hand immediately. We tend to avoid opinions because we are not a forum. Please consider providing a technical solution to the problem, even if it is just about installing an app and using it to block ads

@Firelord Pease Please, reread question title: there was nothing like "it is just about installing an app".  Also, "this is not helping us" - who is "us"? Are you on behalf of some organisation? Please use correct and understandible wording.

@Firelord Good answer is not about developing app, but more about "undeveloping what was developed by human error". No app would solve this ever. Correct technical solution is: to spend next century in attempt to change people mind in such a way, that people would not participate in developing/using adware. Add ad-related stuff - firmwares, os, libraries, etc - could be just abandoned. Steps could involve politics, informing, education, so on. "Would they be taken or not?" / "Easy solution or a hard one?" - these are out of discussion scope. But it IS a solution, and is ONLY correct solution.

You are right. Current world's politico-economic system which is heavily based on capitalism, is strongly tied to competition and hence advertisement. But in our case, “practically no”? No. I haven't seen a single ad (if I didn't miss one) on my device for past few years. The only thing I do is DNS filtering.

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


text:
How can I retrieve data from an Epic 4G without a working screen?
My epic 4g served me well for 10 months before the screen died out on me. I bought a new one and would like to transfer data from my old phone to my new phone, however, it seems impossible when the old phone has no screen to work with.
Any suggestions on how to retrieve this data and get it on a computer?

What OS version?  Are you rooted?  Did you have USB Debugging enabled?

I believe I had usb debugging enabled. I am not rooted and I have the 2.2.1 os.

onik's right that ADB is your best bet for retrieving your apps, data, etc.  But to get it all, you need to be rooted.  XDA has an extremely simple guide for rooting that fortunately doesn't require the use of the screen, it just requires USB Debugging.
Once you root and start adb shell, try entering su before anything else.  If the prompt changes from $ to # then you have root privileges.  If it fails, adb probably gained root privileges automatically.  Now you can access the full contents of the data partition and other areas normally off-limits.

If you have debugging enabled, you can use adb to pull files from the phone. If you can't remember the names of the files, you can use adb shell to enter the phone's shell and then browse the filesystem with normal UNIX commands, such as ls, cd dir, cd ..etc. Once you have a list of files to copy, use adb pull /sdcard/path/to/file.ext localpath/file.ext.
If you prefer to use a graphic interface, install the full SDK and Eclipse, then use the DDMS view to browse and copy files.


text:
Podcast app with Google Reader integration (Google Listen alternative)
I'm looking for a podcast app that would have the same features as Google Listen without the buggyness...
From what I've seen, most apps that feature "Google Reader integration" only offer importing, not syncing.
Is there an app out there that does podcasts and only podcasts, that I could simply point to my Google Listen folder in Google Reader, and have it sync subscriptions and read status?

There are a lot of apps in Android Market which offer import from your Google Reader subscriptions. The best of them according to Lifehacker is DoggCatcher Podcast Player. BeyondPod Podcast Manager also offers import from Google Reader. But ACast's description claims that the app has integration with Google Reader, not just import (sorry, can't test it myself, this app crashed for me).

Thanks for the suggestions! I had tested all apps you mention except ACast, which seems to do the trick! Only thing it doesn't seem to do is map "delete" to "unsubscribe" for feeds in GReader, but that's not that much of a problem.

I'd have to double-check on the reality of the sync/import part of the question, but you may want to look at BeyondPod. It claims that it will sync read/unread status, but I've not used that capacity. I've used it for years (on WinMo long before Android was available on a phone) and have loved using it.

I've used BeyondPod too and found that it's "sync" feature was lacking, at least at the feed level.


text:
How do I stop the Adobe Flash Player updates from installing themselves?
The Adobe Flash Player 11.0 update keeps installing itself on my HTC Desire. At over 17 MB that pushes me into the "Low space" zone and then my gmail stops refreshing etc... which is a disaster.
Now while I can go into Settings -> Applications and can uninstall the update (which leaves me with the stock version of the Flash Player which is fine for me), a couple hours later Flash reinstalls itself again. Not only is this annoying but it also cost me a lot of bandwidth.
Is there any way I can disable updates for this default application?

I urge you to do the flash player updates. Adobe flash player has a long history of security bugs. Not updating this often used web technology could compromise your security and therefore your system.

Yes that is a good point. Plus performance improvements. Have you tried moving Apps to the SD card to make more space? I don't think this is an option for all versions of Android but it might work for you.

@Flow: Thanks, I appreciate the warning. However I use my phone way more for checking Twitter and Gmail than webbrowsing so it's much more important to me that those work. If I had to forego web browsing because of the resulting security risk, that might be acceptable.

@bendemes Yes, I have moved as much as possible to the SD card and I've got a 16GB SD card. However I continue to be plagued by App Storage space problems. It's really the only complaint I have with the HTC Desire. I see nothing in the new phones that makes me want to upgrade except that the constant space problems on my Desire are a major annoyance. This Flash Player update is just the most recent problem.

You should be able to configure auto update via the market place. Open the market place go to my apps and find Adobe Flash Player and untick the "Allow automatic updating" box.

One problem I find with this is, I can no longer use "Update All" button.

I don't think unticking automatic updating should stop you using Update All. You can't use update all for any Apps that have changed there permissions requirements otherwise it should still work fine.

@bendemes When I search for "adobe flash player" on my phone it doesn't show up in the Android Market App. I then searched for it on Chrome on my PC, found Flash Player 11, signed in and tried to send it to my device and it says that it's not compatible with my device. Currently it's uninstalled but it seems to wait for the most inopportune time and then start downloading itself again when I'm on expensive 3G.

Once it had reinstalled itself I found it in the market and was able to deselect the "Allow automatic updating" option. So far it hasn't reinstalled itself since then. Thanks!

AS per How to hide updates from market? you can detach the app from market using Titanium Backup. Long press the app and click detach from market. But bear in mind that this feature is available only in donate version of the app.

Thanks, I'm going to see if any of the other suggests work for me first but if they don't then I will try this. I'm just hesitant to install another app (Titanium Backup) but if nothing else works then I'll try it.

I faced the same issue with my D1 Droid and simply uninstalled it. The YouTube ap picks up 99% of what I would use the flash player for anyway.

This doesn't solve the problem.

It's a totally reasonable creative solution. +1

@trlovejoy I have uninstalled it many times. The problem is that it keeps reinstalling itself and because it's a "stock app" that came bundled with my phone I haven't yet been able to find a way to disable this.

Try rooting your phone, then you can remove flash.


text:
How does android transfer with bump apps work?
I've come across several apps which allows the user to transfer data (like files, photos, contacts) when they "bump" their phones.
An example is Bump, which use the the bump to transfer files and add friends. The FAQ stated that this app uses various sensors and algorithms to "feel" the bump and the server will find matching bumps according to the sensor reading and algorithms. The FAQ also says that this app was designed with personal and data security in mind.
How exactly does it work? How does it know that I am toasting/bumping with another person? I mean I don't think GPS can track the phones that accurately. And how does it transfer the contacts and photos? And how can it correctly determine who is toasting with whom if there are multiple users in the same room? How is the security and confidentiality protected?

Q: How does Bump work?
A: There are two parts to Bump: the app running on your device and a smart matching algorithm running on our servers in the cloud. The app on your phone uses the phone's sensors to literally "feel" the bump, and it sends that info up to the cloud. The matching algorithm listens to the bumps from phones around the world and pairs up phones that felt the same bump. Then we just route information between the two phones in each pair.
Q: No way. What if somebody else bumps at the same time?
A: Way. We use various techniques to limit the pool of potential matches, including location information and characteristics of the bump event. If you are bumping in a particularly dense area (ex, at a conference), and we cannot resolve a unique match after a single bump, we'll just ask you to bump again.
http://bu.mp/faq
Your phone has some idea of where you are using cell phone cells or wifi networks, the are several applications that use that. GPS would only work outdoors. So using time of the bump and somewhat accurate location provided by either cell phone cells or wifi networks it can see which two phones are bumping.

I think location provided by cell network are very rough and not very precise, which increase the probability of collision if time and network location alone are used. There's gotta be additional ways

They are rough, however if you compare time and location you narrow the possibilities, so it's just a combination of time and location.


text:
Change auto-lock timeout by GPS?
I have a PIN to lock the phone so in case someone else gets my phone, they will be deterred from accessing any personal info that might be on it.
But I don't really need this everywhere. When I am at my desk, I always keep the phone there, and I would like for it to not to lock, or to lock less often. (At times, I will be adjusting music, or using the stopwatch or whatever)
Is there a way to change the PIN lock timeout depending on GPS location? If I am not at home or the office, it might as well be on instant lock as soon as the screen goes off.

If you have Wifi at home and at work you can use this app Unlock with Wifi. https://market.android.com/details?id=com.benhirashima.unlockwithwififree&hl=en

There are apps that disables the lock scren when you are connected to certain WiFi or when your phone cell is connected to certain tower or as per your requirement, on GPS.
I believe, but not sure, tasker can do it with GPS.
But why not use the WiFi address to disable unlock. I reckon it will be more useful than GPS.
Look at http://www.addictivetips.com/mobile/automatically-disable-android-lockscreen-when-connected-to-home-wifi/ for automatically disabling locks creen on WiFi.
Also don't forget to check llama, awesome and free location based profile management. You can do tons of stuff based on what cell tower you are connected to.

+1 I use the Unlock With WiFi app mentioned in that article, find it on the Market at https://market.android.com/details?id=com.benhirashima.unlockwithwifi


text:
Is there a solution for poor Acer Iconia A500 playback of MP4 video?
When playing back MP4 video files my Acer Iconia A500 will drop frames and produce video artifacts. Does it just not support MP4, or is there a better MP4 player I can download?
Update: Turns out it was just an issue with 1080p video. 720p video plays back great.

This has nothing to do with the file being of type mp4 and everything to do with the video codec being used. If you have video files that are not playing  particularly well on the tablet, you should consider looking at Handbrake, a free piece of software that allows you to convert video formats. In-depth  instructions are available at  How to: Handbrake and A500 on xda-developers.
Basically, you want to use the following settings in the application:

Load your video in Handbrake
Picture tab - set Anamorphic to Loose and Width to 1280
Video tab - Select Constant Quality with a value of 20
Audio tab - Audio Codec AAC(faac), Mixdown Dolby Pro Logic II, Samplerate Auto, Bitrate 160, DRC 0.0

There are some settings that can be tweaked in the Advance tab (see the forum post I linked). You can then save this profile in Handbrake and run this for any video files you encounter.
For playback on the Iconia, I use Mobo Player but there are others that work fine.

I'll try that. I've found 720p (and lower) works fine, but 1080p is where it gets flaky.

The display on the Acer is only 720p so the only reason to go higher is for HDMI output.

Hmmm . . Good point. I wonder if that is the cause of my sorrows. I shall try some more 720p videos and see how they fly.

You could give a try to a pre-alpha version of VLC. Be warned this is not a finalized application and there might be errors, but it's still worth a try.

Have you tried MX Video Player with the MX Video Player CODEC (ARMv7)?

I can't answer the first part of your answer. For the question better MP4 player I'd suggest you Mobo Player and Rock Player.

Tried both, and they are nicer players, but they don't help with the playback.


text:
Where are my Google Listen podcasts
I sometimes want to export a downloaded podcast to my computer, but I've yet to find the location where Google Listen stores them.  Does anyone know?

It downloads them to your SD card.
I don't use Google Listen but I installed it and downloaded a podcast. It put it in:
/sdcard/com.google.android.apps.listen/downloads

The name of the file might be something odd so you might need to rename them but that's where they are all located.

Since it is only my opinion and not part of my answer, I will add it here. I personally use Pocket Casts from Shifty Jelly. It is a paid app but it is worth the small price, IMHO. =)


text:
Streaming UDP protocol on Android
I'm trying to stream satellite TV from my desktop PC to my Android phone.
I'm using DVB Dream, the software is transmitting on udp://@. I've already tried downloading VLC for Android, but it seems like UDP streaming is not supported.
Do you have any idea that could help me solve this riddle?

If the source is your desktop PC I assume that your local network will not have any bandwidth problems - hence you will not face packet loss. Therefore using UDP will not get you any advantage. Have you tried to use TCP for streaming instead?

dvbdream transmits only on udp

i would like to do this, vlc on pc works but not android...

UDP streaming in VLC on android is supported. UDP is not a good way to stream over wifi. You will get a lot of packet loss. If you can't change that in DVB Dream, there are other applications (like TVersity for example) that can stream to android (and other devices) with no problems (or little problems) and they even transcode the video so it is in a format that is "native" to the device.


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How to hide updates from market?
I have an app that has updates that reduce the functionality of the app. Is it possible to hide the updates so that I can use the "update all" feature, or update all apps from the list without worrying about the app? I've backed it up with Titanium Backup so I'll be able to restore it but that's a bit of a hassle. Also, the constant "New updates available" notifications are a pain in the.... neck.

Possible duplicate of How to get rid of update notifications for a given app in Google Play Store?

Sorry! That other question has more updated answers so I voted to close this one. By the way, why not consider merging both the pages?

Long press on the app in Titanium and choose "Detach from Market".

Without root:

install Appbrain App Market
visit the Appbrain Website and sign in with your Google account
start the Appbrain App, sync your installed apps
start the Playstore App and deactivate all update checks

Now to check for updates, you can use the Appbrain app. This gives you, a.o., the possibility to...

skip an update for a given app (but only one -- get reminded when a newer update is available)
skip all updates for a given app (i.e. never be reminded/informed of any updates for this app

Additionally recommended: AppMonster Pro. Automatically creates backups of any app installed/updated. So if something breaks with an update, simply install the previous version -- and then in the Appbrain app, decide to skip this specific version. Or if you notice too late that an update removed functionality: same procedure, but in the Appbrain app decide to never update this app again.

I know this is an old thread. And I understand that Ti Backup used to work for detaching an app from Play Store. But I also understand that this works no longer. For those who are interested, I have created an app that does a pretty good job of this. It is called Hide Updates In Play Store. There is a video showing the app at work. Thanks


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Screen recording tool for the samsung galaxy tab

Possible Duplicate:
Is it possible record videos of my screen?

IS there an available video screen recording tool for the samsung galaxy tab, or any other android device, Thanks

There is a tool called Ashot, but the device has to be connected to a PC and it has a pretty low framerate.

I tried it and didn't install correctly on my pc

I think it uses Java, so make sure you have a proper version of JRE installed. EDIT: instructions here: http://www.mightypocket.com/2010/09/installing-android-screenshots-screen-capture-screen-cast-for-windows/


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How can I view and examine the Android log?
There is a lot of interesting stuff in the Android system log, that is helpful in many ways

find root causes of problems
identify misbehaving apps

How can I view and examine the Android log?

Android 4.1 and newer
The preferred way is to download the SDK and use adb logcat (requires to activate "developer options" on device).
There are apps available for viewing the full system log, however they only work on rooted devices or require issuing a manual command via adb to make them work. For more information view see this question.
Android 4.0 and older
You can either download the SDK and use adb logcat or get Logcat Extrem from the Google Play Store, which shows the log directly on your phone.

Alternatively, you can use Terminal Emulator with command "logcat > /sdcard/log.txt" for continuous writing of the log to a file on the SD Card.  This can help figure out issues with random reboots.

Good point. Some phones tend to spam the log full of trivial information, so if you wish to minimize the filesize and data to go through check out the section "Filtering Log Output" on http://developer.android.com/guide/developing/tools/adb.html#logcat

LogCat Apps doesn't work anymory with JellyBean. Google changed the Android API, apps don't have the permission anymore to read logs from other apps than their own.

I have created a simple utility to collect logs from a PC: https://gist.github.com/hrj/5983971

Log-File locations
There are several directories where logs (including those from crashes) might appear -- not all of them are standardized (i.e. some may be ROM-specific).

/data/anr: Some trace files seem to get here (Dalvik writes stack traces here on ANR, i.e. "Application Not Responding" aka "Force-Close"; see e.g. log excerpts here)
/data/dontpanic seems to be a standard location (AOSP), and contains some crash logs including traces (see e.g. viaForensics and StackOverflow)
/data/kernelpanics is another location -- not having had any "kernel panic" on my Android devices, I saw no content there yet.
the /data/panic/panic_daemon.config may point to other locations configured -- on my Droid 2 it mentions /sdcard/panic_data/
mentioned Droid 2 also has a /data/panicreports directory (empty here)
/data/tombstones may hold several tombstone_nn files (with nn being a serial, increased with every new file). As tombstones are placed for the dead, it is done here for "processes died by accident" (i.e. crashed) -- and it is what is referred to as "core dumps" on Linux/Unix systems. However, not all apps create tombstones; this must be explicitly enabled by the developer (see Debugging Android Core Dumps).

There may be some more locations which escaped me; but as most logging is done on tmpfs, these data are lost with a reboot, and would not match the OPs question.
Log commands to use with a terminal app (or adb)
Several commands can get you tons of information. For most of them, it is to recommend to re-direct them to a file (> filename.ext) or pipe them through a filter (| grep search-for-this):
Kernel log
The following works without root:
$ dmesg
<6>[82839.126586] PM: Syncing filesystems ... done.
<7>[82839.189056] PM: Preparing system for mem sleep
<4>[82839.189361] Freezing user space processes ... (elapsed 0.05 seconds) done.
<4>[82839.240661] Freezing remaining freezable tasks ... (elapsed 0.00 seconds) done.
<snip>

Logcat
Here you can e.g. specify what area you are interested in -- radio, events...
# logcat -b events
I/am_create_service( 3457): [1085416560,nitro.phonestats/.widget.WidgetProvider4x1$WidgetUpdateService4x1,,3721]
I/am_destroy_service( 3457): [1085416560,nitro.phonestats/.widget.WidgetProvider4x1$WidgetUpdateService4x1,3721]
I/notification_cancel( 3457): [nitro.phonestats,4,0]
<snip>

Getting device info
And tons of it: Device specifics, account information, services...
$ dumpsys
Currently running services:
  LocationProxyService
  SurfaceFlinger
  accessibility
  account
  activity
<snip>
DUMP OF SERVICE account:
Accounts:
  1 Account {name=xxxxxxx@googlemail.com, type=com.google}
<snip>

$ dumpstate
========================================================
== dumpstate: 2012-08-18 23:39:53
========================================================

Build: Gingerbread GWK74 - CyanogenMilestone2
Bootloader: 0x0000
Radio: unknown
<snip>
------ MEMORY INFO (/proc/meminfo) ------
MemTotal: 487344 kB
MemFree: 10436 kB
<snip>

All-in-One
Make a big ball with everything together, from logcat to dumpstate:
$ bugreport > /mnt/sdcard/bugreport.txt

I'm pretty sure you really want to redirect that last command... xD
Something about permissions
P.S.: Naturally, access to those information may require root, as most of the sources are located on internal storage.

To get some more insights into adb logcat commands see here.

Or just check our logging tag-wiki @testing – that has even more references :)

For anyone else like me who is new to Android, in order to run the above commands you need to first run $ adb shell to connect to the device via a terminal. (Of course, ensure your device is connected to your computer and that USB debugging has been turned on.)

A method without root, that works even with new Android versions:
Prerequisites:

Linux, Windows or Mac
USB cable for your device
Android Device

Instructions:

Install your device driver for using adb. Everything you need will you find here
Download adb executable for your OS. It is part of the Android SDK, but you might be able to find the adb executable individually.
Connect your android device.
Enable the developer options.
Enable USB debugging.
Open a command promt (windows) or terminal (linux / mac). How to do it: On Windows: windows + r > enter "cmd" (without quotes) > click enter | On Linux: You don't know how to open a terminal? LOL | On Mac: Type Terminal into Spotlight and open it
CD to the directory where the adb executable is located. On Windows: Go to the directory where you downloaded the adb executable, Shift+Right Click and select "Open Console" (or similar) | On Linux / Mac: Rightclick in the directory and select "Open Terminal here" (or simply CD into the directory)
Type in your cmd/terminal: adb devices to verify your device is properly connected.
If your device is properly selected, type in adb logcat to show the mighty and magic logcat aka stacktrace.
Reproduce your error (or whatever) on your device.
Right after, paste the whole cmd / terminal window into a paste-service like http://pastebin.com/ and send it to us.

(Mostly copied from Leandros)

ADB can be downloaded from here: https://developer.android.com/studio/releases/platform-tools

It is located in /sdcard/bugreports.

I've never had such a folder on my phone ... is this specific to a manufacturer or device?

From Logcat - CyanogenMod Wiki: You can use a magic key combination to create a bugreport file in /sdcard/bugreports. So this seems to be a) a bit specific (probably to CM), and b) not the answer to the question, as the OP looks for "automatically generated" ones.

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


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Samsung Galaxy SII: OTA ROM Manager update to CyanogenMod: Verification Failed
Howdi,
Basically as question says;
Download and Install Cyanogenmod 7.1.0 from ROMManager App, reboot into system recovery, and lo and behold
E:failed to verify whole-file signature
E:signature verification failed
Installation aborted.

Also tried with the 'standard' download from the website instead of OTA, same issue even after verifying md5 hash
Anyone got any ideas?

What recovery do you have installed? Did you disable signature verification in your recovery (whatever kind it may be, but guessing ClockworkMod if you're using ROM Manager)?

I'd try putting the "standard download" on your device at /sdcard/update.zip and manually flashing it without using ROM Manager (reboot into recovery and select it yourself).  RM doesn't always play nice with Samsung devices.

If you are using Clockwork Recovery, do not use "/sdcard/update.zip", clockwork keeps a file of that name to reinstall if needed. Use something else and select 'Select package from SDCard' (or something like that). If you don't have that option, then you do not have clockwork recovery installed, or it is not booting to clockwork, try reinstalling clockwork recovery from ROM Manager.


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Rsync does not preserve permissions while rsyncing from Android to Laptop
I am trying to do rsync from my android phone to my laptop.  The problem that I am facing is that the permissions are not getting preserved even when the -p flag  is used. I have also used the other flags such as -o, -g.
What may be the reason and a fix for this?

Is your SD card formatted as FAT32? If so, that's why - it's a FAT32 limitation.

You might try this rsync -rltDv --chmod=u=rwX,g=rX,o=rX


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How can I block the traffic outside the VPN, even if the VPN is down?
I would like to direct all the traffic through my VPN connection on my Android based phone (HTC Desire). The VPN works great, but problem is that when the VPN disconnects, the traffic is redirected through my regular internet, something I don't want to happen. How can I block the traffic outside the VPN?

using Tasker(app), I can put the phone into flight mode when an event occurs, in this case a message notification at the top bar. This does occur when the VPN disconnects, however the program can't distinguish that from any other message. What I need is a standalone app that would pop a message when the VPN disconnects. Do you know any?

Flight mode also disables the cell radio, are you sure that you wish to disable calling features too when disconnected from the VPN?

You could use DroidWall for this IF you're rooted. Just deny all traffic and then allow traffic to your VPN IP/port. If you need to use a custom script see the man page of iptables for the syntax. Here's a quick, untested example.
iptables -P FORWARD ACCEPT
iptables -P INPUT DROP
iptables -P OUTPUT DROP
iptables -A OUTPUT -p udp --dport 1194 -d xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx -j ACCEPT

Previous answer is a bit outdated (but should still work), because DroidWall isn't developed anymore, while there's a fork named AFWall+. App has free and "donate" versions and lets you to allow apps access internet only through VPN using GUI. You'll probably have to obtain paid version for this functionality, but I'm not sure about that because description in F-Droid says you need to buy it, while in Play Store there's nothing about that. Root is needed of course.
On screenshot WireGuard is VPN app and is allowed on all networks, other apps are allowed only on VPN (fourth column), some are not allowed to access internet at all:

Also since Android 8 there's built-in option Block connections without VPN in VPN settings.


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Background apps and the battery
Every time I use Google Search, the browser or the music player of my Samsing Galaxy S II (Android 2.3), even if I push the back button until it brings me back to the home screen, the apps keep running in background (seen in the "Active Applications" widget).
Do they consume my batery? Do they enter in some kind of supended mode, so they don't consume the CPU? If they do consume, is there any configuration to make them really close when I push the back button?

I've asked a similar question about my browser.  The consensus seems to be that these apps are normally pretty dormant when in the background, and my browser was behaving strangely.  Android's designed so that you don't need to exit apps (the system manages suspending and killing them); so, unless you notice an app consuming an abnormal amount of CPU time while in the background, it should be safe to leave them be.


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Can I restrict application updates to only happen over wifi?

Possible Duplicate:
Restrict market updates to WiFi network

I'd like to avoid using the expensive 3G data bandwidth for app updates.  Is there an app or something that will restrict updates so that they can only happen over wifi?  Alternatively, is there a master switch that can disable updates and then re-enable them?  The best solution I've found so far is to uncheck the "automatic update" box on each app's Market page.  This is tedious at best, and I'm not sure if I would get notified of available updates or if I would need to periodically check every installed app's Market page for available updates.

The Market app has a setting to control notifications, which is independent of automatic updates.  Are you rooted?

Oops, missed that one.  Thanks for the redirection.


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Avoiding power drain
I just got a samsung Indulge this weekend and I’ve noticed that the biggest power drain on the battery is from the display. I’m blind, so I really don’t need to be able to see it at all. Is there a way for me to turn it off completely like I do on other devices?

I don't know how to turn the screen off completely but setting the screen brightness to the lowest possible value will help with battery life.

Settings->Display->Brightness

Also, make sure to disable auto brightness (if available).

Thank you, though  I did that on the first day. I've also found a couple of battery saving apps that help dim it slightly more then standard. are there any apps out there that would be able to blank it completely? On my Apple devices this feature is built in to the OS as part of Voice Over. On my previous Samsung smart phone it was a feature of the screen reader that I used.

There is this app.. Screen Filter.  This would help you in achieving your desired brightness or rather making it completely off!

Screen filter might just be the right trick as it can reduce the display brightness and overlay a dark screen which you can adjust to a very low value to make the screen appear completely black. However, the backlight might still be there but a black screen consumes very little energy especially on certain types of screens (AMOLED I think)


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What does "Sync Google+ Notifications" do?
I've recently upgraded to 2.3.7 and noticed a new setting under the Google accounts sync options.

Settings->Accounts & sync->my google account

As well as sync contacts, GMail etc it now also has a checkbox for

Sync Google+ Notifications

Does anyone know what this setting does?

Obvious: It syncs Google+ notifications if you have a Google+ account.  For example, comments on one of your posts (depending on your notification settings).
Not as obvious: You need the Google+ app for it to work.

Ok thanks. Seems odd wording to me as sync is really about data. Notifications aren't data they just tell you something has happened. But from what you are saying it will sync the data (comments etc) related to the notification.

@sickgemini I don't know the specifics of what's synced, but to my mind notifications are data like anything else.

Perhaps it is syncing the unread-flags of the notifications?


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Does the Android specification include minimum sensor parameters?
Android apps can access sensor data.  How do I know how accurate the sensor readings are?  Is there a universal standard that specifies operational parameters of a sensor?
E.g., a temperature sensor on an Android device must be able to accurately read temperature with an accuracy of 0.01C over a temperature range from 0C through 100C.
If there is such a standard, is it available for reference online?

Google has an Android Compatibility Definition Document (CDD) (see http://source.android.com/compatibility/overview.html) that specifies the minimum (and suggested guidelines) for what a device must physically support to be allowed to use the Android branding (and to get the Google Market and Google's android apps).
The latest CCD in section 7.3 lists the minimum requirements of the sensors.  The temperature sensor (section 7.3.7) is actually listed as something that Android devices should not include.  There are not specs for this sensor's sensitivity.


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How to rate in Market on Honeycomb tablet?

Possible Duplicate:
How can I rate an app in Honeycomb?

I own Asus Transformer TF-101 Android tablet, running Honeycomb 3.2. I cannot figure out how to rate installed applications in the Market. Pressing on the stars (average rating) does nothing, there is nothing in the menu, the Market looks quite different from how it looks on my phone, thus this (embarrassing) question.


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How to make my phone vibrate when a text or an email is received when in vibrate mode?
Currently, when I put my phone into vibrate mode, it only vibrates for calls. It does nothing for texts or emails, however, so I don't know when I've received one. Does anyone know a way to enable vibrating when a text or an email is received? My phone is an HTC Eris rooted with Cyanogen Mod if that helps.

You can enable vibrate for SMS from Messaging -> Menu key -> Settings -> Notification settings -> Vibrate. Not sure about Email since I use K-9 (in case you use it too it's in the app, Long-press the account -> Account settings -> Notifications -> Vibrate).

Not sure if this helps, but I have a Samsung Galaxy S2.
I use GO SMS Pro for texting, instead of the stock Messaging app.
The vibration settings can be configure through the app itself.
In the stock Messaging app, I could not find any option for vibration.

If your phone is in Vibration mode then by default the phone vibrates for a small amount of time if you receive an SMS.
To customize it, I mean to increase the Vibration to a little longer period you have to install some applications from the Android Market.

If you want your Galaxy ii to vibrate when your receive a text:

Go to the "conversations" page in the Messaging application (stock). ie. where you can view a list of your conversations.
Hit the "Menu" button
Select "Setting" from the "Menu" list
Find "Notification settings" towards the bottom of the page.
Select "Vibrate" then, "Always"

Look under vibration intensity/ notifications turn it up and it will work for messages


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Xperia Arc Social Phonebook Add Contact Problem
On my phone add new contact is failing by unexpected closure. The logs of that operation is;
10-13 08:06:57.801: INFO/CustomizationProvider(1340): No configuration file: /system/etc/customization/settings/com/sonyericsson/android/socialphonebook/custom_settings.xml
10-13 08:06:57.801: WARN/socialphonebook(12699): SettingsParser: No customization file exists.
10-13 08:06:57.801: ERROR/socialphonebook(12699): SettingsParser: key not found. key=[account-types]
10-13 08:06:57.831: DEBUG/szipinf(12699): Initializing inflate state
10-13 08:06:57.841: WARN/dalvikvm(12699): threadid=11: thread exiting with uncaught exception (group=0x2aac8560)
10-13 08:06:57.851: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(12699): FATAL EXCEPTION: AsyncTask #1
        java.lang.RuntimeException: An error occured while executing doInBackground()
        at android.os.AsyncTask$3.done(AsyncTask.java:200)
        at java.util.concurrent.FutureTask$Sync.innerSetException(FutureTask.java:274)
        at java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.setException(FutureTask.java:125)
        at java.util.concurrent.FutureTask$Sync.innerRun(FutureTask.java:308)
        at java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.run(FutureTask.java:138)
        at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1088)
        at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:581)
        at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:1019)
        Caused by: java.lang.IllegalStateException: Top level element must be ContactsSource
        at com.sonyericsson.android.socialphonebook.model.ExternalSource.inflate(ExternalSource.java:137)
        at com.sonyericsson.android.socialphonebook.model.ExternalSource.inflate(ExternalSource.java:108)
        at com.sonyericsson.android.socialphonebook.model.ContactsSource.superInflate(ContactsSource.java:119)
        at com.sonyericsson.android.socialphonebook.model.ContactsSource.ensureInflated(ContactsSource.java:111)
        at com.sonyericsson.android.socialphonebook.model.Sources.getInflatedSource(Sources.java:369)
        at com.sonyericsson.android.socialphonebook.model.Sources.getAccounts(Sources.java:268)
        at com.sonyericsson.android.socialphonebook.ui.EditContactActivity$AddContactTask.doInBackground(EditContactActivity.java:1438)
        at com.sonyericsson.android.socialphonebook.ui.EditContactActivity$AddContactTask.doInBackground(EditContactActivity.java:1422)
        at com.sonyericsson.android.socialphonebook.util.WeakAsyncTask.doInBackground(WeakAsyncTask.java:49)
        at android.os.AsyncTask$2.call(AsyncTask.java:185)
        at java.util.concurrent.FutureTask$Sync.innerRun(FutureTask.java:306)
        ... 4 more
10-13 08:06:57.861: WARN/ActivityManager(242): Force finishing activity com.sonyericsson.android.socialphonebook/.ui.EditContactActivity
10-13 08:06:57.861: WARN/ActivityManager(242): Force finishing activity com.sonyericsson.android.socialphonebook/.SocialPhonebookActivity

Help please, I can't add contacts ( weird and funny !! )

Typical case where an app, in this case socialphonebook (package com.sonyericsson.android.socialphonebook), has messed up (or lost) its configuration and seems unable to recover from this.
Without root you can only try to delete the apps data (Settings -> Manage Applications). But be careful, since this is the phonebook app on the xeperia, you will lose all your contact data. Be sure to have a (cloud-based) backup.

the problem is Google+ application that I have installed "manually"


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USB drivers on the xperia play
I'm helping out a friend with rooting Xperia play, I spent 5 hours trying to root it yesterday with him and we couldn't. We tried gingerbreak and z4mod but they did not work, so we tried the fastboot way and I can't seem to get the drivers installed properly.
Whenever I try the command to check for the phone in cmd the phone shows no response as if he wasn't connected.
What am I doing wrong?

Steps I've used in the past for this kind of issue :

Check your USB cable - some are no good for data. (this is
frequently the issue when my computer can't see my phone)
reboot everything
you say the drivers aren't installing - what's the issue there? try manually installing the drivers.

the computer always says "the current drivers are already up to date".im gonna try unnistalling every usb driver in every aspect and unnistalling his pc companion, the pc companion could be interfeering with the process. his cable is the original cable that came with the device and he does use it for transfering normal data so i would assume the able is fine but if everything else fails we'l try to replace the cable. tks, il let you know how it worked out

I didn't bother installing the companion software, so def try removing that. My comp didn't recognise my Play until I toggled USB debugging on my phone a few times and selected for the phone to not connect as usb storage.  Good luck, i know it can be difficult sometimes!


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Daily notification of bad traffic along commute home
Is there an app that will notify me at a time i specify for days i specify (or weekdays) if there is currently heavy traffic on the route from my current location to a location i specify?
Ideally with the option of then viewing the route on a map.
Note: I'm in the UK, although i'm hoping for a solution that works with google maps traffic data, so fingers crossed for an app that works where google maps traffic works.

I know there are widgets that show route traffic status, but i'd like to avoid having to check my phone, instead relying on the (absence of a) notification.

Not specific to Android, but traffic.com lets you define "drives" and will send SMS and/or email alerts if issues are detected. Other sites have similar features.

Thanks. If a can find a uk equivalent then I might have do in with something like this. Deleting the emails could get annoying, and it wouldn't be as integrated as I'd hoped

Ah. You didn't mention country. Have you searched in the market for "traffic"?

http://www.keepmoving.co.uk/

Thanks, i had searched and could only find ones to view traffic, not get notified about it, websites i've found don't offer the control i want either.