text:
Where can I confirm that my HTC One XL is evita model?
I want to double check that my HTC One XL is evita model.
I am almost sure I saw it in a menu somewhere but I cannot find it anymore.
Could somebody guide me where I can find such info?

According to the Wikipedia article, all the HTC One XL devices fall under the Evita model. Evita is just the code name for the device. Just about every device is initially manufactured with a "codename". This is more just like an internal name for the device. This could be because they have not decided on a "public brand" for the device yet, or just because they want to call it something else internally.
Sometimes the codename resides in the model name in the Settings -> About Phone. But if you have adb access to your device, you can do something like:
> adb shell
$ getprop

this will dump out all the properties that are configured during the boot process. one of them, probably something like ro.product.device will contain the value evita.

It was ro.product.name. Great explanation and how-to. Thank you.

Codename: Evita
AFAIK, the HTC One XL has the codename of Evita, and no other was attributed to this model.
The XL was introduced into the market just like the HTC One X, but with a significant improvement in communications:

HTC One XL(TE)    4G Network (LTE 1800 / 2600)

PC World Australia article: HTC One XL review: HTC's One X gets the superfast 4G treatment. Is the extra speed worth it?

Phone Information

About the Phone:
To check you device's information, you can go to "Settings" and select "About Phone":

If the codename is presented, you should find it on the information provided there.
Accessing the configuration file:
You can use a file manager and navigate to /system/ and open the build.prop file, that contains all the details about your system.
Locate the lines that start by ro.product to know your device's model; brand; codename; CPU and manufacturer (among others).

References:

PDADB.net Search results for "HTC One" that include the devide codename
GSM Arena - HTC One XL: Full phone specifications
geekaphone.com - HTC One XL Specifications
HTC Smartphones: HTC One XL
Wikipedia: HTC One XL


text:
Galaxy Mini hangs at boot - how can I fix it?
My Galaxy Mini powers on, but then hangs on the "Samsung Galaxy Mini" splash screen.
How can I re-install Android, or get it booting again?

Did you something that may have caused the hang? E.g. flashing some ROM? Or is there nothing special (just "normal use") you can remember? In either case, you could try a factory-reset. This would wipe all your apps and data, and make the device "virgin" again.

I am having the same problem here. I didn't do anything special to trigger any problem. The phone just shut down on its own and when I try to boot it, it gets stuck forever on the "Samsung" splash screen. So, did you manage to solve your problem?

Just found that solution and it worked for me! http://howtorootmobile.com/stuck-in-android-boot-loop-tips-to-fix-recover-from-boot-loop/
FYI my phone is not rooted, so I followed the first solution.

Welcome to  Android Enthusiasts! Whilst this may theoretically answer the question, it would be preferable to include the essential parts of the answer here, and provide the link for reference. Otherwise, your answer becomes useless in case the link dies. For further hints, please see: How do I write a good answer.

You can fix it manly two ways. Performing a factory reset via stock recovery or flash stock firmware. Resetting is the easiest method. Press and hold power button,  home and volume up keys until you see the Android robot logo. Stock recovery doesn't work touch screen you can use volume keys for navigation and power button /home key for selection.
Once you're in the recovery go to the "wipe user data" option via volume key and select that option via power key. Next choose "Yes" option.
Once it's complete you can reboot the phone via stock recovery.  In recovery main menu choose "reboot" and select "yes".

Just had the same problem with Samsung Galaxy S III mini:
Steps I have tried:

Do a "hard reboot" with long press of the Power button.
Connect phone to the charger, then try to turn it on (that was the original problem: phone showed its logo, then turned black. Unfortunately after charging it it now hangs at the first boot-up screen (once it went as far as to the screen with "SAMSUNG" in it, i.e. the second screen; the third is usually operator logo).
Remove the battery, press the Power button (with battery outside) to get rid of residual charge, then try to turn it on. Didn't work for me.
Try to boot phone into "Safe Mode": press Power and Volume Down together for a while to do a hard reboot, then stop holding Power as soon as the phone turns on (vibrates). Didn't work for me, but it can supposedly cure the situation where last installed app was responsible for the hang-up.
Go to "Recovery Mode" by holding Power + Home + Volume Up buttons together (you can stop holding Power button when phone vibrates) until you see the swirly Android logo.  You should get a recovery mode menu, where you navigate with volume keys, and choose option with the power button.
Here you can delete the /cache partition, then reboot phone. It did work, but it didn't helped me. It can supposedly cure the situation where the lack of disk space on this partition was responsible for the hang-up.
I have tried steps 2-4 again.
Reset phone to factory defaults from the same "Recovery Mode". This I have not tried yet (I'll try to recover data somehow... though most of my data is on microSD, and I have copied that already).

HTH.

Unfortunately, after trying to turn it on and do a adb backup, it completely stopped working -- all it shows is a black screen; no boot screen after long press of power button, no charging image when connected to the charger...

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
My Huawei u8160(Vodafone 858) supports usb-host although not working?
I have a Huawei u8160 running Psyke83's Cyanogenmod 7.2 14/8/2012 which had a package with it to apply usb-host mode kernel called usbhost1-cm-7-20120814-MADTEAM-u8160.zip.
So I flashed the zip using clockwork mod recovery (from Rom Manager) and was successful although when I started my phone and connected an USB mouse it didn't light(the mouse) and it wasn't working.
I want to ask here,what's wrong?

EDIT #1:
I downloaded the app USB host controller and when I opened it it told me that "S3C USB Host driver NOT found!"

EDIT #2:
I've found this blog (it's in Hungarian so I translated it using Google) talking about exactly my state and it says that I need a Y-Cable to feed the usb peripheral with power, so I'm going to try that and then I'll report here.

USB Y-Cable :

The answers to this previous question sound relevant to what you're trying does Cyanogenmod 7.2 Madteam release 16/6 on Vodafone 858 support USB host?

@GAThrawn but that doesn't answer anything now

I've found it,
I needed a Y-Cable and I needed to activate the usb host mode by using this command in the terminal emulator :
su
insmod /system/lib/modules/ehci-hcd.ko

that activates the usb host mode.
and the phone doesn't mount the flash drives so I have to mount it manually :
cd /dev/block
ls

the terminal emulator should turn out something like uba,uba1 then create a folder in your sdcard called data (or whatever you like) and then type the one ending with 1 (i.e uba1) like this :
mount /dev/block/ub*1 /mnt/sdcard/data

(*) stands for the changed letter because it always starts with ub and ends in 1 but the third character changes between a,b,c,....
then open any file explorer and do whatever you want with data folder in your sdcard and then just unplug it, no need to unmount safely.

Thanks! I guess this could also work with the Huawei u8150.. so it means the Y-Cable was for extra power and why did you have to mess around with the terminal.. didn't the usb host controller app work?

only insmod command was needed (and that needs su command) and the other commands are for mounting the flash drives @Power-Inside

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


text:
My Mac doesn't recognize my Galaxy S2 through USB
My Snow Leopard Mac doesn't recognize my Samsung Galaxy S2 for file transfer over USB, and it's starting to drive me nuts.
I've tried the following:
Connect Storage to PC
Settings > Wireless and Networks > USB Utilities > Connect Storage to PC
I've tried this several times on my phone, following the procedure stating that I should only connect after the phone asks me to, but it does not work.
There is no "attach-button" in the pull down menu, like some claim there should be. Yet it seems that the phone notices that the USB-cable is connected. However OS X does not. No external storage pops up in Finder. I've also tried waiting for several minutes as I know this sometimes can take a while, but to no avail.
USB Debugging
Settings > Applications > Development > USB debugging
When set to on, nothing happens. When set to off, nothing happens either. (It is automatically shut off when using Connect Storage to PC.)
Android File Transfer
I've also downloaded Android File Transfer, and while the phone finally recognized something by stating MTP-Connected in the pull-down menu, nothing happens in OS X, nor the Android File Transfer program itself. It just continues to demand that I attach the USB cable.
I've also tried it in conjunction with both USB Debugging on and off, to no avail. When it's on, the phone doesn't detect any MTP. When it's off, the phone detects MTP. Either way, it seems that OS X doesn't detect jack...
USB Prober
The USB Prober on my Mac does detect something when I connect the USB to my phone, but I do not understand the message after the timestamp, that is: [1] AppleUSBOHCI[0x56f9800]::SuspendUSBBus Processing WDH before suspending.
USB Cable
I've tried with two different brand new cables. Made no difference.

Please do not post answers suggesting the use of Kies, Bluetooth, Wireless, and the like. I want my phone to work over USB for a reason (speed and convenience).

It sounds like a driver issue. I'm a Windows user, but I would first look for the specific device drivers for your phone. You may still have to install Kies just for the drivers: http://www.samsung.com/uk/support/model/GT-I9100LKAXEU-downloads Additionally, you can try installing pda.net which has drivers for most Android devices bundled (you can uninstall the app after you get the drivers from it): http://junefabrics.com/android/download.php Not posting as an answer because I'm not sure how applicable this is to a Mac

I don't think pda.net will really help on a Mac. The issue is that it doesn't support MTP natively, which drivers aren't really relevant for. Unfortunately, even Google's support page recommends using Android File Transfer, so if that's not working then options may be limited.

tested on mac osx snow leopard and Mountain Lion:
with your device unplugged go to settings->developer options disable usb debugging;
Go to Settings, in wireless and network section, go to "more"->usb utilities Tap on "Connect storage to PC". Plug in your device to your mac and the tap on "Turn on USB storage" and OK. You should see your device just like an USB pen.

Thank you! This didn't work before. Must be an update.

Aaaand suddenly it doesn't work anymore. It only worked that one time it seems. STRANGE!


text:
View app's full package name?
I am using Android 4.0.3 and I can no longer find package name for some app. If I recall, I used to go to Applications and has been able to see it there.
So, how can I see full package name of some app? Like, the app's name is "Test" and I need to see its package com.test.mytest.

Edit: I like ofir_aghai's answer better, although my answer may still be helpful for apps that aren't on the Google Play Store.
If you're comfortable using the command line, a solution I like is Android's pm command. It can easily be called using adb like so:
$ adb shell "pm list packages -f test"
package:/system/app/AutomationTest_JBUP.apk=com.sec.android.app.DataCreate
package:/system/app/BluetoothTest.apk=com.sec.android.app.bluetoothtest

Replace test with whatever package you're looking for.
pm has a variety of options that may be useful depending what you want to do:
usage: pm list packages [-f] [-d] [-e] [-s] [-3] [-i] [-u] [FILTER]
pm list packages: prints all packages, optionally only
  those whose package name contains the text in FILTER.  Options:
    -f: see their associated file.
    -d: filter to only show disbled packages.
    -e: filter to only show enabled packages.
    -s: filter to only show system packages.
    -3: filter to only show third party packages.
    -i: see the installer for the packages.
    -u: also include uninstalled packages.

This works perfect. As a generic solution, this seems to be the correct answer for the question. Also we can use grep if we know some part of the package name.

@gnuanu Yes, I used grep at first and then I realized the -f flag does the same thing (filters by package name), as you can see in the example. Either works fine.

If you are on Windows, use double quotes " instead of single quotes '. Like this: adb shell "pm list packages -f test" Or you will get weird errors.

This doesn't work if the full name of the app or apk file does not contain the displayed name of the app. e.g. "Google Play Services" is com.google.android.gms, but this is basically impossible to find

It's saying /data/app/br.org.academia.volp-… but there's no app directory inside /data. Why?

@Rodrigo folders inside /data need root access to browse. (To be clear, the location of APK files, either system apps or user apps, cannot be accessed without root access.)

Just share the app from Google Play Store to somewhere,  (by clicking on the share button in the app's page)
and see the shared value.
You will see something like:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.my.packagename
(note: this app doesn't exist, it is only used as an example)
(If you can't find it in Google Play:
You can long press on app icon and press on "Application info"
Go to the bottom of the Android page, and then click on "App details in store")

You can look into the LogCat.

Open the LogCat.

Either in Eclipse or on the cmd line if the device is connected to your PC.
Or on your mobile itself, using any app which allows you to view LogCat.

Once LogCat is available, launch the app.
The log corresponding to "ActivityManager" will display the activity started. It will usually be in the format: "Starting activity: Intent { act=android.intent.action.MAIN cat=[android.intent.category.LAUNCHER]...".

However technical this approach might be, this is - IMHO - the best way to achieve knowledge about the launching activity for any of the installed apps.

Many apps can show the package name of the installed apps. I'm suggesting App Manager (available on F-Droid) which I currently use. Search the app name or the package name, and the the relevant entries would start showing up.

If you are proficient at using adb and Linux you can find it pretty quick using the linux command grep.
Just do:
adb shell
ls -al /data/data/ | grep 'yourAppName'

You need root of course to be able to search in /data/data/

So how do I become root? Root as in Linux root or root as in "root" your device?

@NelsonGon "Rooting your device" means "gaining the ability to become root on the device". As such, in order to become root, your device must, by definition, be rooted.

Use Link2SD. It can list apps by name and show package names and other useful info.

You can search for the app's name in the Play Store and open that app. Now look into the URL. The last part of the URL is the package name, like id=com.google.

You can use adb shell and execute pm list packages -f. There are many operators, look into it. If you do not find all packages, then use dumpsys package command.
On Oppo mobile, pm list packages provide me with 150 entries while dumpsys package provide me with 163 entries.

You can use an Android package name viewer application.

pm and dumpsys commands do list package names but how does one go around knowing which one belongs to the app of interest? Not all developers add app label in package name, so it is not obvious to guess.

Use App Manager app. It has plenty of features: sorting, filtering, finding, managing APK files, showing removed apps (since the time you've installed the app), root operations, and handling various split-APK files (APKS, APKM, XAPK) right from file manager apps.
Disclosure: I made the app.

On the phone, you can use Package Name Viewer 2.
You can browse through installed apps or search by app name.

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


text:
Why CWM gets wiped after reboot on Samsung Galaxy Note?
I recently acquired a GT-N7000 handset and tried to root it using this method. I successfully flashed CWM and then rooted the device.
It was all good until I went back into Recovery and found out that the CWM is gone and stock recovery is back in place!
I tried reflashing CWM but every time same thing happened after reboot. I just wonder how should I make CWM to stick around?

Some phones check the checksum of the installed recovery on each boot, and then revert to stock if they found it not matching. Maybe you check this guide on TheUnlockr? If it works out, I'll convert my comment to an answer, including a raw excerpt.


text:
Archive SMS messages, without extra permissions
Answers to the following question list a number of Android apps that can be used to backup SMS messages:

How do I backup and restore SMS Messages?

However, all of the applications mentioned in the answers seem to require lots of permissions that are not strictly necessary; examples include "receive SMS", "edit SMS or MMS", "full Internet access", "read contact data", "write contact data", "write contact data", "read phone state and identity", etc.
Is there any tool that

simply copies all SMS messages to a local file on the SD card,
does not require any irrelevant permissions – as far as I can see, permissions "read SMS or MMS" and "modify/delete SD card contents" should be enough.

Edit: Based on the answers, I had a closer look at SMS Backup & Restore Pro. It is better than nothing – at least it does not require any kind of Internet access. However:

It cannot copy messages stored on the SIM card, only messages stored in the inbox.
It does not work on Android 3.2 tablets.
It still requires far too many permissions for my needs.

TxtArchive does not seem to work on Android 3.2, either.

"read phone state and identity" is also required.

As you don't ask to restore them (just to backup): Did you take a look at TxtArchive SMS Backup? Yupp, costs a few bucks. But hence it needs no ads, and no internet: Read SMS/MMS, Read Contactdata (both are connected -- you surely want to know who wrote the SMS ;), and store to SD.
Similarly SMS Backup & Restore Pro for about the same price (2 Euro), which also wants to write SMS/MMS (to restore them), and keep the phone from sleeping while it does the work.
Oh, plus the requirement mentioned by Flow: "read phone state and identity" is also required. -- though the app states Android minversion 1.6 (this requirement was removed with Android 2.0 AFAIK -- for all previous versions it was a "must").
Simple search for SMS Backup on the playstore, both on page 1 -- not too hard to find. Hope you like them ;)

Have a look at SlightBackup or (again) at LifeSaver2:

SlightBackup on f-droid.org
LifeSaver2 on f-droid.org

Some notes on LifeSaver2:
Not the one in Google Play but the old version!
An older version of LifeSaver2 is available on the purely open source f-droid.org repository.
Permissions for the old version:
Used to read SMS:
⚠ Read SMS or MMS [READ_SMS]
⚠ Receive SMS [RECEIVE_SMS]
⚠ Modify/delete USB storage contents [WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE]
Used to read call logs:
⚠ Read contact data [READ_CONTACTS]
Used to restore call logs and SMS:
⚠ Write contact data [WRITE_CONTACTS]
⚠ Edit SMS or MMS [WRITE_SMS]
If you are still super paranoid you can use apktool (an android .apk reverse engineering tool) to remove the latter two or three permissions listed above from the given .apk. You can also inspect the old code snapshot and build a modified version of it yourself if you want to further suit your needs.
Some background on why LifeSaver2 changed:
LifeSaver2 is in fact a migration tool that you use to move your call-log/SMS'es from the old to a new Android phone. You did that by backing stuff on the old up, insert the external SD card into the new phone and use the app again to restore there.
Newer Android devices don't necessarily have an external SD card anymore. It's cumbersome for a big majority of LifeSaver2's users to manually transfer the backup data files, so the author (which works at Google) decided to backup to the cloud (Google AppEngine atm.) instead of the SD card at some point.

The current version of LifeSaver 2 does not seem to be compatible with Android 3.2 tablets. Are the system requirements of the older version more flexible?

Maybe the author excluded any tablet device. Technically it should be working. I'd say, just give it a try. The older version's restore is half-broken (restored call log doesn't retain dates) on newer Android versions, however I could backup on my Nexus S running Jelly Bean fine using this old version. I don't have 3.2 tablets for testing here.

If the reason that you're worried about permissions is because you are worried that an app might do something nefarious, why not try an open-source solution? That way if the program was doing anything bad, developers would know from looking at its source code.
SMS Backup + is an open-source tool. The source is available at https://github.com/jberkel/sms-backup-plus .

SMS Backup + does not work with Android 3.2 tablets.

Questions.

Are you using the stock app?
Will you consider using a replacement app for SMS?

If yes, consider GoSMS Pro. Contrary to what the name suggests, it's free and backups messages to the SD card.

Can it read SMS messages from the inbox of the stock app? My main concern is the SMS messages that I already have in the inbox.

It absolutely can. All the messages that you have will automatically be populated within GoSMS. However, there are a few issues with Go that I have detailed here. Advisable to keep the stock app and use GoSMS as your primary SMS app. That way, you can keep backing up your texts to the SD card. To delete messages from your Inbox automatically, set a texts limit to conversations (usually, 200 but more if your backup schedule is longer than a week and you get way too many texts than normal).

This approach seems to be compatible with Android 3.2, which is nice. Unfortunately, GoSMS Pro requires lots of permissions, including full internet access.

It does because it is a full-blown SMS app, not one that just backs up texts. It has all the permissions that your stock SMS app needs and has, so why are you skeptical about Go? Just curious!

"Backup to Gmail " is an app am using on my S3 (don't have any other Android device to try it on)

It requires lots of permissions (including full internet access), and it does not work on Android 3.2, so unfortunately this does not really answer my questions.


text:
Preventing Application Startup

Possible Duplicate:
How can I stop applications and services from running?

I have an LG-P690b and I've rooted the phone and un-installed several applications that I really didn't want. All is well, however, there is one application that I haven't removed because it seems to be started up by the system during boot.
In fact, it always shows that it's re-starting. Ideally, I'd like to remove this app but my fear is that if I do that it will bork the phone because it's been told to startup from somewhere else in the O/S.
My guess is that if the app was not set to start up automatically elsewhere in the O/S I could remove the app. To that end, is my assumption correct and where would the O/S maintain it's list of services to be started so that I could address this app once and for all.
What's the app? It's called GPS Navigator and it seems to be created by Bell. It will not work unless you have a data plan and I tend to use the native Google mapping programs (as they do).
So it's not a necessary application by any means. It's just that the darn thing is set to run as a service and that precludes me from jusr arbitrarily using root explorer to remove it altogether. My specific concern is that if it's set to run as a service, and the program has been removed, then the phone may not start.
How can I remove the auto-startup as a service for this evil app?
Thanks in advance!

As eldarerathis commented: Your explicit question is already answered:

How can I prevent applications from running on startup?
how to identify and change apps which are set as startup items

However, I see an implicit question here as well: As you don't want to use this app at all, you might want to "get rid of it". While starting with ICS (Android 4.0) you can freeze (disable and hide) most system apps even without root, on previous versions that is only possible with root. Several apps are available on the playstore to help you with this (just search for bloatware).
The best known and highest recommended in this area is Titanium Backup which, as the name suggests, as a "side-effect" even manages your backups (and does this really good -- I use the Pro version now for about 2 years). With this app, you can even create yourself a shortcut to freeze/defreeze an app (in case of rarely used ones). Then there are also NoBloat and Root Uninstaller, amongst others.
So if you are rooted, and if you really do not need that app, freezing it is the safest way to ensure it doesn't start. I've heard of apps still auto-starting though they were "disabled" by those anti-autostart solutions. If, on the other hand, your device is not rooted -- you can only use the "simple no-root solutions" described "over there".


text:
Why does stock email app only keep 25 latest emails?
Why does the stock Galaxy / Android app only keep the latest 25 emails?
Its pretty annoying and lame for me who receive well over 50 emails per day in my work email. That means I cant even see a whole day's email without "loading more" and I don't always have Internet connection where I am.
Is there any way to work around this issue?
Edit: I am on ICS

Which version of Android? ICS, Jelly Bean, something else?

The stock email application and many other I've tested present a list of 25 emails per page.
The user can however load older emails on demand. This is done due to two main reasons:

to prevent large transfers of data that end up using the device communication thus leading to a faster battery drain;
to preserve memory consumption that in turn would leave your device slow and inefficient.

I haven't found any option on all the applications I've tested that allows the user to define how much emails should be presented each time.
I did find that the Gmail app auto-loads a new emails list when we reach the scroll limit, thus kinda facilitating the users trouble, but even with this scenario, the user needs to scroll all the way down to get the new list, and yet again, the Gmail app like the others, doesn't have a setting to define the number of emails to be loaded each time.
Essentially, this is a status-by-design conception used by Android and app developers. You may come across with an app that allows you to go around this issue, unlikely it may be, but for the stock app, the reason as to why it loads only 25 emails at a time are the ones explained that sum up as performance issues.

Thanks for your reply. I Compared to the ipad and it can hold a lot of emails in its memory. I guess im dissapointed android doesnt do this. I just checked the Gmail app and i feel like it holds a lot more than 25 emails in its memory. Either that or it loads more as I scroll and does it so quickly that i dont feel the transition.

Eventually this may change, but by the time this methodology was conceived, Android devices didn't had a large battery capacity, so system performance and battery duration was a huge problem. Nowadays, we already see highly capable Android devices with amazing improvements on performance and battery duration... Stay tuned ;)

My Gmail app (version 2.3.6) loads about 32 emails each time, but still a long walk when we talk about customization to 50 or more. Another aspect is that this is the Gmail app, that's intended for Gmail accounts. Either you work at Google or you're forwarding your emails to a Gmail account! Otherwise this app can't be used to solve your issue ;)

Haha ok friend thanks for your help. I guess i just have to wait and hope. This is enough to make me envy iOS though.. Is there somewhere i can log this to Google as a wish list?

In K-9 Mail you can change this via options -> account information -> retrieving messages -> number of messages to display (default: 25 here as well; menu items translated back to English, as I use a localized version). Beside that: Well said and to the point. It's internal storage and battery which are affected here. But the latter only for downloading: Once the mail headers are on the device, it wouldn't hurt the battery to keep them (for this there's a separate limit on how many days back to check/download).

@Izzy I'll have to test, but that should be the size of the local cache for emails, and not the amount retrieved each time.. Ps: What's your K-9 version, because my menus are very different from yours :|

@Zuul The numbers (25) is the messages to be displayed (on top of the "show more" button at the end of the message list). The second one (limit to download/check) is a time frame (2 days, e.g.). My version is 4.011 -- and the menues are always different, depending on from which place you hit the menu button ;) Plus, as said, it's not in English here, so I had to translate the names...

I don't agree with the answer - I have put my reasons here - http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/48208/why-does-exchangelivesync-not-keep-more-than-x-days-of-mail

@user93353 This answer doesn't talk about phone storage or any other storage you may have, performance and data transfer are mentioned regarding the view and download of 25 emails at a time. Your phone may have 1000 emails, but your app lists only 25 each time, you get 25 more if the end of that list is reached. You can also get 25 new emails if you sync or in some apps if you pull the list down!

@user93353 Please note that 25 is a reference number being used by the majority of the emails apps available, not a strict rule. Variations may exist and as the devices are getting faster and faster, this number grows. Yet again, the question you've mentioned doesn't talk about the issue covered by this one.

There is no option to save more messages locally, and there's no good excuse for why you can't. The user can only load older emails on demand. This is done for one reason:

to make you more dependent on online connectivity, so that more people will need to subscribe to mobile data. This supports Google's goal of having everyone connected to the "cloud" and using their services.

It is not done to save battery; in fact less battery would be consumed if the messages were only transfered once over the radio and stored on the huge SD card that all Android phones have. Also, the faster access would reduce the screen-on time since you would see your older messages right away. It's also not done to save CPU or memory, since storage to the SD card would be easier on both.

Do you have any source information to back up your conspiracy theory?

LOL! in fact less battery would be consumed if the messages were only transfered once over the radio That is an epic FUD, radio consumes battery.... :) And it sounds like someone wearing tin-foil hat... just saying...

@t0mm13b - the mails are already downloaded - it wouldn't cause an increase in battery consumption if they are left lying on disk and loaded on demand.

If radio waves use battery and not saving the mails on the device causes the devices to download them again and again, at what time does downloading them 15 times use less battery than downloading them once ? Now, think of the poor souls who have no good dataplan, fun, don't you think ?
Excatly.
So, while I do not like conspiracy theories, this is just plain silly, sorry, there is absolutely no valid excuse I can think of to keep it this way. I can save 1000's of emails on other non-Android ARM devices and get pretty good performance (BB10, iPhone) .
The other thing is, when I delete a mail on blackberry/iPhone, it deletes it on the server (well, it is a setting) wheras on Android, it deletes it on the device only  - I guess this has to do with this limitation as well - guess what, this is bad, too.
And, finally, this k-9 alternative is not doing it for me. I cannot get it to connect to the IMAP server, it validates the password, but says 'cannot connect' (in French). Now, I've set up IMAP mail servers on UNIX so I know what I am talking about, it appears to have some problem with the encryption, from what I could see - the same settings work in the stock Android app.
Anyway, if you like to use email on a mobile device, bb10 is what you need, imho - android's not even in the same league.


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How to check internet connection every xx minutes and log the result?
I am having issues with internet connection - only at home and only sometimes. I want to debug it so I am looking for an application that would check the internet connection every xx minutes and log the result. Does anything like that exist?

Use Tasker.. If you don't want to pay, there are alternatives..

OK. Tasker can run something. How do I get log out of it? And what would it run?

Create a profile to send GET request to reliable server periodically. Log this in a file. To stop logging, simply turn off this profile. Done!

@SachinShekhar Maybe you compile your comments into an answer?


text:
What is involved in upgrading Android to a later version, if the manufacturer no longer supports the device?
I recently acquired an Android-based tablet which is now running a rooted version 2.2; however, the manufacturer no longer supports or sells this particular tablet.
I'm interested in seeing if I can install Android 4.0 onto it by keeping the Linux kernel from 2.2 and just replacing everything else. Despite the GPL, the manufacturer never released any source code for their custom modifications so I can't, for example, compile a new kernel. So my basic plan is to replace the software stack with the stock Android 4.0, copy any custom applications over from 2.2 that came with the device, and see what happens.
Has anyone here tried anything like this before and can advise on any potential pitfalls before I go ahead and inadvertently brick my device? Thanks in advance!

Can you specify what device you're talking about? It would help preparing accurate answers..

Sorry, I should have mentioned - it's the Entourage Pocket Edge.

Oh, and you won't be able to update your tablet by just copying over ICS files. That will most likely softbrick it.

You might want to look for a "Custom ROM". For many devices, the community provides custom-built ROMs which bring newer Android versions to their devices -- often even improved over the manufacturers version (better optimized, no bloatware), and even covering newer versions where the manufacturer stopped.
A good source to find out if there are any custom ROMs available for your device and which is TheUnlockr, where everything is nicely grouped by manufacturer and device. Also, it seems to be the most complete source. Alternatively, there also is CommunityRelease (you can filter by device, Android version and developer) plus PDADB (no filters at all: over 800 pages to check, and not restricted to Android devices -- so it will be hard to find things here. Though, it may serve as a kind of "last ressort").
As you report your device to be rooted, the most important pre-condition to install a custom ROM is already met ;)

Thanks for your advice - even though I can't seem to find any custom ROMs for my particular device, this is a great starting point to appreciate the work involved!

I was afraid of that -- there are so many devices around, they are probably not all covered. But you may want to re-check later: Could very well be it gets added (whichever it is). And feel free to "up-vote" if you like an answer ;)

While there doesn't appear to be much activity on the development front, I have found one nice little enhancement for the PE.
This mod will enable the Google Play Store, as well as the other Google apps.


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How to replace system font of a Galaxy Tab 7.7?
How do I replace the default system font on a Galaxy Tab 7.7, by a .ttf font?

The app Font Installer will allow you to install a font and set it as the system font. As with anything that modifies a system file, you will need to be rooted to do this.

Fonts can be install on Galaxy devices without root, using apps like: Fontomizer SP(Font for Galaxy). I want to convert an existing .ttf font for installing on the device.

Oh, what format does it need to install it?

And looking at that "app", it can only install without root if your device uses the FlipFont system, which is designed to allow a user to add their own system fonts. Most roms don't use this, so you will need root in most cases.


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How to sync Thunderbird calendar on laptop with calendar on Samsung Galaxy S III
I want to sync my Thunderbird Lightning calendar on my office laptop with my Samsung S III calendar. How can I do that?

Have you considered using the Google calendar?
As far as I know you can sync the Samsung S III and the Thunderbird Lightning calendar with the Google calendar.
Samsung SIII:
http://www.samsunggalaxys3forum.com/forum/samsung-galaxy-s3-help/1278-samsung-s3-s-calendar-not-syncing-google-calendar.html
Lightning:
http://www.vikitech.com/7955/sync-google-yahoo-windows-live-calendars-thunderbirds-lightning

As you don't specify, I assume your office laptop is running Windows. In this case you might want to take a look at the MyPhoneExplorer Client App for your SGS, and its desktop pendant for your laptop. As far as I know (I'm not a Windows user), this should be the best and complete solution -- not only caring for your calendar with Thunderbird and others, but doing a lot more useful things to manage your device.
If you do not care for those extras, you might rather take a look at BirdieSync for Thunderbird (or simply search the playstore for thunderbird).


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What if I don't want my music on the cloud?
I just got my Nexus 7 tablet and I was trying to load some music/videos to it. I have about 10 gigs worth of .mp3 files with no DRM in my computer. Since this is Android, I figured I would not be subject to the pain that is iTunes and I would simply be able to drag the music into a "Music" folder if I plugged in the tablet to my computer. Sure enough, I saw a folder named "Music" and tried dragging a couple of files to it. When I go to my Nexus, however, I don't see the files. I started reading up on this and it seems that the way to do things on Android is to use the Google Music Manager which would then put my songs in "the cloud" and make them playable from any device. That's all nice and everything, but is there any way to simply put a couple songs into my device locally without any of that funny business?
TL;DR: I don't want to use Music Manager, how do I locally upload a song/video to my Nexus 7?

Android uses a so-called Media Scanner to index your media files (this also applies to your images and videos). This Media Scanner ships with the system, and fires automatically on certain system events -- such as after boot, or when you insert your SD-Card. It does, however, not react on a simple "file-drop" via network. For such cases, it might need a little help to get to know it has to act:

Rescan Media
Rescan SD Card!

Are two free example apps from the playstore which do exactly that: trigger the Media Scanner. Once the Media Scanner has indexed your new files, they will immediately show up in the corresponding apps such as the gallery (for images/videos) or your music player.

I tried closing down the Music app and starting it back up thinking it might be something like that, kind of weird to have to download an app to trigger the scan, but it did the trick! Thanks!

You're welcome! You don't have to use those apps (unmounting and remounting the SD-card would do the trick as well) -- but it is the most convenient way (just push a widget, and that's it ;)

Restarting your phone will also cause it to rescan, and some music players (PowerAmp comes to mind) scan when they are launched.

Copy the files as before but use a music player from the play store. I would suggest a player that supports folder based play so it doesn't force you to sort your music by album/artist, which can be a pain if your music isn't tagged properly. I will not suggest you a particular music player because I don't want to turn this question in to a favorite music player discussion.
If you really have trouble finding one, post a comment here for a suggestion.

Thank you for your suggestion. Do you have a preference as far as music players go? I don't mind the one the Google Music one aside from the scanning oddity.

I use MortPlayer Music, but if you are fine with the album/artist sorting than this might not be the best choice. I use it because I like the player to "just play the whole folder", like a computer would if I opened the folder in winamp/vlc. Other players ignore folder structure and play by album/artist or just play all songs.

@Mihic Please don't encourage people to ask for app recommendations as they're OT here.

@Richard Borcsik: Removed.

My main use of Android MP3 files is to listen to podcasts. My workflow is as follows:

Use Google Reader to subscribe to and browse podcast feeds. The MP3 files are linked in each feed, so the ones I decide to listen to get downloaded to my computer. I use DownThemAll for downloading, because it's good at this kind of download and because it preserves modification times on files it downloads. However, I'm moving away from Firefox, so I'm now looking for a similar plugin for Chrome.
Periodically plug my phone into a USB port on my computer (use USB3 if you have it, absurdly fast), causing the SD card to be mounted as a removable disk. There's a directory, listen that contains all my podcasts.
Since I listen to them in the order of the modification times, I sort the directory listing by mod times and delete all the ones I've listened to.
I move all of my new downloaded files into the listen directory on my phone.
I tell Windows Explorer to "eject" the removable drive (this ensures that all file writes are completed) and unplug the phone.
I plug in my headphones and run MortPlayer Audio Books. Although not specifically designed for my use case, it has some features I need:

The ability to be pointed at any directory I want.
The ability to automatically sort my files by modification time.
The ability to automatically remember where I left off.

Obviously, the way I listen to MP3 files is different from the way most other people do, so you'll need to figure out your own workflow. In particular, you'll probably want a different audio player program. But judging from your prescribed needs, you want one that lets you just copy files directly into an SDCARD directory. Most do.
Ideally, one could use Bluetooth to copy files. I've tried that, but have found that Bluetooth copying software is slow, a pain to use, and doesn't preserve file mod times.

i usually put  all my songs into a folder and zip it into a smaller archive with an easy short name. something like mp3files.zip
move that folder( or a copy of it) to /android-sdk/platform-tools/
plug the nexus in with a good usb cable and go to settings/developer options set to "usb debug enabled"
next i use # ./adb push home/android-sdk/platform-tools/mp3files.zip /sdcard/Music
important to notice one space between path to file and path to destination   also make sure your capitalization is correct
while ./adb is moving your files you wont get any feedback that anything is happening until its finished so be calm and find something else to do
i also use the vlc for android beta media player availible from the vlc developers forum--it works PERFECTLY  its still a beta .but its not so much a hiccuped EVER for me  and plays whatever i throw at it(im not associated with the project in any way i just am passing along some info i have found)


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How can I edit/produce themed videos on Android (e.g. iMovie for Android)?
In video editting apps, is there something like iMovie, which allows you to make movies based on "themes"? I.e. stichs movie clips together on a theme like "princess" or "adventurer" and form an elaborate result?

Hi p.a. and welcome to Android Enthusiasts. "Is there a app for X?" questions are off-topic. I edited the title to stay within the scope of our FAQ.


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Wrong length displayed for audio file
So I have an audio book in a single mp3 file that's over 5 hours long. On my computer all players display it's length correctly, however on my phone Smart AudioBook Player and the Play Music app both says that it's only 11 minutes long. Rockbox picks up the length correctly.
What could be the problem and how can I fix it without using a different app?

Its most likely a VBR mp3.  as a DJ we have seen this a lot, The VBR is never detected correctly as the length of the playback is not proportional to the length of the file.
With DJ software we have to prescan the files to determine their real length, obviously your application is only expecting FBR files and not VBR.
You could put it through something like Audacity on a PC and convert it to Fixed Bit Rate. but that is you only real solution, I think.

Well I've thought of that but as most of my music is VBR and it's picked up correctly I don't think that this is the issue. What's the easiest way to see if it's VBR?  Because I'm pretty sure that it isn't - it's 40Kbit/s.

@RichardBorcsik You could try MP3Info (for Mac: MP3-Info) which should be able to display technical details on MP3 files: display various techincal aspects of an MP3 file including playing time, bit-rate, sampling frequency and other...

@Izzy Bonus points for finding a tool written by a CM dev :)

@RichardBorcsik LOL Of course I mad sure... xD


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What does the ambient light sensor look like?
Naive question, but when I check the specs of a phone, one website says phone has feature X, the other says it does not have this feature. Here I am interested in the ambient light sensor.
What does it look like, and where it is usually placed?
For example, GSM Arena review says the HTC One V has an ambient light sensor: "Above the display is the earpiece alongside some hidden proximity and ambient light sensors." The photo:

For comparison the text says I should see the proximity sensor too. On my Galaxy Ace 2 it looks like 2 mini cameras, it is hard to miss, and on that picture I don't see anything like that. Of course maybe HTC hid that all so well.
Anyway, I would like to know what I am looking for, thus the question -- What does the ambient light sensor look like?

In your picture here, the light sensor is in that small patch to the left of the htc logo.

Stand up or tilt your monitor down and you will be able to see it in the picture.

It's hard to see it in normal light, you may need to take your phone under a very bright light to be able to see it (e.g bulb light or straight sunlight). It looks like a darker and smaller front face camera.
If GSMarena has said that it has light sensors, then in my experience, its near 100% correct.
BTW, if you can't bring light sensor to work, there is a free software called Lux Auto Brightness which does the job very nice and has many options.

Hard to decide which answer mark a solution :-) LUB is not compatible with Ace 2, I believe it requires exactly what I asked for -- ambient light sensor :-) But thank you for the tip.

Sorry, I thought your phone is HTC One V, however if your phone has front camera, you still can use Lux because it also works with camera! and uses front camera of phone as a light sensor.

Google Market filters out the apps which won't work on present phone. So when using a computer I can see this app, but when I try to download it the app is not found.

The sensor is like a small dot, usually located on the left of the HTC logo, above your device's screen. Also the location of the proximity sensor is.
FYI: HTC ONE models S, X, V, EVO 4G LTE are very much alike in physical conception.
This is covered at XDA Developers forum thread: Where is the One X's ambient light sensor?

By Tiersten:
Left of the HTC logo above the screen. It is also where the proximity sensor is.
By jaaystott:
If you call someone, take a look at the front of your phone. You will see a steady red glow from the top left of your screen, this is where the proximity and ambient light sensor are housed.

Additionally, there's this White Paper: Ambient Light Sensor (ALS) Applications
in Portable Electronics that shows their physical aspect:

Just so that I can play a little with gimp: Here's the photo with the light sensor marked.

If you're playing with Gimp you could have added some contrast to make it more visible.


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Auto-update security
I've found this comment: Any reason not to allow automatic updating for an app? - is that safety feature documented anywhere ? I'm about to turn on automatic updates but I don't feel comfortable doing that without a firm proof that it won't compromise security.

I always turn it off, because I don't want all newer versions of all softwares be installed. And I don't want my data and power get consumed just for some none-sense-for-me updates (updates which fix bugs for another phone models than mine). Also I prefer to review list of updates available and decide by myself which one to update.

Plus there were reports that auto-updates also happen when on mobile data -- which may harm your data plan. I also prefer to run updates when I decide -- and then I'm either connected by Wifi, or run a single (urgent) update manually. BTW: The "manual update" in the screenshot you refer to is a security feature: That app had added new permission requirements. In such a case, no automatic update will take place.

@Izzy You can tell the play store to do auto updates only when connected to WiFi.

@Flow I know -- but as I wrote: "there were reports..." that this seems to have not always been honored. Maybe just rumors ;)

@Izzy - I think some of the Google apps may update even if you're on data, but I haven't experienced that sort of thing with any other apps. That may be what you've been hearing.

OK, let's drop that argument -- enough others remain valid ;)

Wow, I've been downvoted right away! :)

It's not documented somewhere. But only updates that don't change the permissions are done automatically. If there is a change, the update will have to be done manually.
But of course there is no gurantee that this will always work this way, because of bugs or design changes. If you are paranoid, turn the feature off. (But then, how could you trust Android that the permissions that are shown to you are enforced?)

Yeah, if you're going to start mistrusting Android, where do you stop? To be completely secure, throw away your phone and wrap yourself in tinfoil ;)

Those are good points, I tried it and I can see that permission escalation requires manual approval and yeah, either I trust Android or I can throw it away :)


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Enable notification badges on the Galaxy S III
Is there a way to enable notification badges on the Galaxy S III?  For example, when I have 5 unread emails, the email app shows a red circle with a 5 in it.  Can other apps that I install do this as well?

Yes, other apps can do that, but it is up to the app developer to implement Notifications.
This morning when I grabbed my phone I had two different new email notifications (multiple accounts), a Facebook message notification, an app update notification, a Draw Something nudge from my daughter, and a notification that I had new podcasts downloaded in DoggCatcher.


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Adding web shortcuts with icons similar to chrome's new tab thumbnails
I have a Droid RAZR MAXX, and there are a few shortcuts to web pages on the screen. They have been there since before the phone got ICS.
Under GB one could long tap the screen, add a shortcut, and choose a web site rather than an app. This created a shortcut with the name of the site, and the icon looked like a screen capture of the URL that the shortcut targets (like the chrome new tab page).
However in ICS I can't see way to do it, I can add a bookmark to the home screen through the browser, but the icon is different. I tried adding a bookmark through each browser, chrome, default, firefox, opera, dolphin. None of them produce this icon.
Anyone know how to do it? Or is this something that Moto threw in to the software, but didn't keep in ICS? (Though in that case why do the old icons still work?).

Can't see how to get an individual bookmark with a thumbnail screenshot of the webpage, but there are a couple of similar things you can do with the default browser in ICS.

In the screenshot above the top row are bookmarks added to the home screen by going into the browser, opening the bookmarks list, long pressing on a bookmark and selecting "Add to Home Screen". These appear to be the using the site's "Favicon".
The next two rows are the "3x2 Bookmarks" widget, that just lists the contents of my browser's bookmarks folder. Add that by opening your apps list, selecting the Widgets tab at the top and then long pressing to drag the "3x2 Bookmarks" widget to a home screen. It then gives you a chance to pick a folder in your Bookmarks to show (you could create a new folder in bookmarks beforehand and fill that folder with only web pages that you want to show on your home screen).

You could also try Visual Bookmarks, although some users have found that it no longer works for them. YMMV.


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Play Store showing wrong HTC phone type
This was previously addressed for another device, but I have the HTC Inspire and my google account sees it as HTC Desire and won't allow me to download some apps. how can I correct it?


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Where to find the official Cyanogenmod release notes?
Where are the official release notes for Cyanogenmod, in particular the 9.1 release? I wasn't able to find them.

This really isn't a good fit for this site. Certainly the official changelogs will have that information.

They're a bit hard to find though, at least if you assume they are called "release notes" :) I will rephrase my question to be more general.

http://www.cmxlog.com/11/ is a nice, neat site for checking out nightlies

Did you check with the official changelog site? Or the XDA thread on 9.1? The latter mentions http://cm-kang.appspot.com/anzu/ics for the changelog. And then there's this page where you even can filter changes by devices (probably the best source to check).
If you need more details: All that from page 1 of a simple Google search for cyanogenmod changelog "9.1" (<- hint! ;) )
To the first (and explicit) question: If there were any new features? That probably very much depends on your device. So using the last changelog source I mentioned, filtering by the device you want to know this about, you will be able to answer your question. As I don't know your device, I can't ;)

Edit: OP has rephrased his Question
A good start is also the CyanogenMod blog
For CM9.1 it's:
A new NFC payment system, SimplyTapp has been added:

Let’s try something new: CM9.1 and SimplyTapp:
Welcome to Tapp!  A near field communication (NFC) payment platform for the CyanogenMod community and powered by SimplyTapp. Founded by two CM enthusiasts, Doug and Ted, Simplytapp provides a method for evolving, securing and expanding  NFC payments.

See CyanogenMod's blog post for more info.

A condensed changelog containing only "notable new features" can be accessed from within Cyanogenmod via the settings menu -> about phone -> view changelog.


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Why do I need to remove my battery periodically to fix phone problems?
On my HTC MyTouch 4G (Android 2.3.4), twice now the diagnosis for odd failures was to take the battery out, wait a minute, and replace it.  (The first failure was loss of network; the second was web sites only partially working, e.g. I could read SE sites but not log in.)  Both times popping the battery fixed it, and my provider told me I should do this every couple months as "preventative maintenance".  This violates my mental model.  So, clearly, either my mental model is wrong or HTC and the folks at T-Mobile are having fun with me.  I'm going to start by assuming it's the former.
I power the phone down at least once a week.  I think of this as being like rebooting a laptop computer; when it's powered down I don't expect the battery to be retaining any state.  But if that's true, why does performance degrade over time?  What is my phone doing with its battery during these times?  Does periodically powering down do anything useful, like kill long-running processes?
I tried Google and reviwed the "battery" questions here before asking.

Sounds like a design flaw to me. You shouldn't have to remove the battery except to...change the battery.

It's not the battery retaining state, it's the phone circuitry retaining state. Even when you use a "power off" command and your phone looks powered off some of the circuits will still be connected to the battery so that the phone can be turned on by just pressing the button. So there will be some circuitry powered on even after the phone was "powered off".
This is likely a bug in the circuitry. This actually happens to devices - you sometimes need to "power cycle" them by unplugging them from the power source and then plugging them back. In case of a mobile phone that requires removing and then installing the battery.

I had no idea that the circuits could retain state when powered off.  Thank you.  ("Bug in the circuitry" explains why people with other phones don't seem to have this problem.)

@Monica Cellio: Actually the phone been "powered off" using the "shut down" command doesn't mean that the device is powered off - some of the circuitry will still be connected to the battery, otherwise how would it turn on when you press the button?


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Clickable phone number with pauses and bridge/extension in calendar event
What's the proper way (if any) to format a phone number when entering it as the "Location" of a calendar event under ICS (4.0.4, Samsung Galaxy S3, AT&T) so it can be clicked and auto-entered into the dialer... including pauses and subsequent digits to dial an extension, conference bridge, PIN code, etc?
I tried creating an event with a Location in the form:
1-999-999-9999,,,123456789#
but when the event reminder actually came up and I clicked it, the only thing that ended up in the dialer was 123456789
Does ICS and/or Samsung use a different character for 'pause', do I have to somehow escape it with extra characters (quotes? parentheses? etc), or did Samsung and/or the ICS calendar/dialer team just screw it up (number+pause+moredigits is something that roughly half the calendar-dialer implementations I've seen just can't ever seem to get right for some crazy reason)

I found this thread: http://forums.androidcentral.com/verizon-galaxy-s-iii/297744-calendar-event-how-add-bridge-numbers-easy-dial.html
It looks like you can make a contact with a complex dialing code and then link to that contact as an attendee on the calendar event. Then click the attendee link to dial the number.


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How do I migrate from one SD card to another one?

Possible Duplicate:
How do I switch my Android device's SD card without causing problems?

I just moved to Android from iOS. My new droid is Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo V which came with a 2GB SD card. This card is almost full so I want to get a bigger and faster SD card. I have installed many apps on this SD card so I'm wondering how I can move all the content of the old card to the new one when I finally purchase it. How do I do this?

Potential duplicates: How to upgrade / swap SD card without losing data and installed apps?, How do I switch my Android device's SD card without causing problems?, How To Switch To A Higher Storage SDHC Card With Less Hassle And Problems?

As the solution described by yrajabi basically works, it might miss some data -- e.g. if you have moved some apps to SD card using App2SD, you might miss them afterwards. So a much safer approach is:

shut down your device
take out the SDCard
put the SDCard into a card reader, and attach this card reader to your PC
make sure all files are visible in your "copy GUI" (which ever you use)
copy all files and directories, including hidden ones, into an empty folder on your computer
safely unmount the card, and replace it by the new one
same way, copy all data (including hidden files/directories) to the new card
safely unmount that card, and place it back into your device
power up the device, you are done

This way you can make sure no files/directories have been hidden from you.

Thanks so much as I forgot about app2sd which I use a lot

Always glad to help :)

Does this tactic still work in 2015? Since it looks like my .android_secure map does not included any more items. They seem to be invisible from the file explorer, but I guess they are still there. Will they be copied or not?

@PeterRaeves Definitely. Nothing has changed in this regard. You cannot see anything in that directory, though, when the card is mounted in your device (except with root powers). To check, use the card reader again.

It's very simple, just connect your phone via USB to your PC and copy all folders from your old SD card to a temporary folder on your PC. Then disconnect and eject your old card and insert your new SD card into phone and again connect phone to PC and Copy-Paste all contents back from the temporary folder to your new SD card, and disconnect phone when finished.
P.S: if you refer to potential duplicates below your answer, there is more perfect and better answers!!!

Thanks for the fast response. I thought as much but wanted to be sure first :)

Be careful with that if you used App2SD, in which case it only works partially!

I have indeed used app2sd to move a couple of apps to my card. So what do I do so I don't loss those apps


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How do I root Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo V?
I just got for myself this new phone with so many useless bloatware. I just want to root this phone and freeze or uninstall them as they are slowing my device down (even without opening any app, all I have out of my 350mb + RAM is an average of 50mb). Can someone please help me out with a noob step by step guide? Thanks in advance.
SPECS:
Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo V (MT11i)
Android 2.3.4
Bootloader locked (but can be unlocked)

According to How to install ClockworkMOD Recovery on Sony Xperia Neo V this should be possible using UnlockRoot (download)1, which requires a Windows (XP/VISTA/7) computer. The process is described at How To Root Android Devices Using Unlock Root Tool, basically as follows:

You should have a backup of your data (for safety reasons)
Your device should be fully charged
USB drivers for the device should be installed on PC
USB Debugging must be turned on in the device
Connect the device to PC using USB cable
Run the downloaded tool, and Click on “Unlock Root”, That’s it.

Another guide available is Learn How To Root the Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo V – in case you are not satisfied with the described method ;)
Good luck!

1: The site hosting the tool unfortunately went down. With some luck, one of the results of this Google search has it.

Unfortunately for me I have the so called 4.0.A.62 firmware so I have to downgrade to .42 first before I can use root toolkits like the one you suggested :(. Thanks

Sorry to bear bad news, but many of the links are gone.  Sigh.

@ScottBiggs Just one. Fixed all the others in just a few minutes, thanks to Archive.ORG :)

Yes, the former proved very helpful to me on several occasions – hence the latter was not that difficult, and the least I could do :) If you happen to find an alternative link for the missing download, don't hesitate dropping a note, @ScottBiggs – or edit it in yourself :)


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Disable password hiding globally
With a touch screen keyboard, having passwords I am entering displayed hidden is more trouble than it's worth to me. Few applications like KeePassDroid allow you to disable this feature. Is there any way to disable this feature globally? Solutions that require root are perfectly fine.

Which version of Android and which phone are we talking about :D ?
On my HTC Desire running Android 4.0.4, in Settings -> Security -> Passwords, there is an option saying "Make passwords visible".
I don't use this but it might help you.

I have an Xperia Neo V but since it's running Cyanogenmod 9 that probably doesn't matter anyway. That option is already enabled; I guess some apps just use custom password widgets and thus this option doesn't work in them.


text:
Setup Exchange OWA / Activesync on Android or iPhone
I'm wondering whether there's a way I can configure my phone sync my corporate emails and calendars?
Sometimes when I'm away for meetings all day, I am not informed of any last minute meeting changes, or I could have forgotten about certain meetings during the day. It can get quite challenging and embarrassing managing such situations especially during days when I'm very mobile. I'm sure my boss isn't too happy about it.
The challenge is, my company has disabled the activesync feature on our corporate Exchange server.
The only solution I have now is to access OWA via my phone periodically to check my email. However, I can't possibly do that all the time. I found out also that there are phone apps that could do this, but I would need to pay for them. And in time to come, my company is going to disable OWA altogether, and that would render my small investment in the app worthless.
This makes me wonder whether is it really so complicated to configure one's phone to perform something so simple?
Since I could configure my personal laptop to download my corporate emails, there must be a workaround to still sync my phone to the Exchange server. However, there's no feature for me to configure certain settings on my phone which I could on my Outlook. For instance, "Exchange Proxy Settings" and "Only connect to proxy servers that have this principal name in their certificate". Does anyone know if there a way to force your phone to allow the same Outlook configurations?
Otherwise, is it possible to perform activesync natively via OWA instead?
If all else fails, I guess I could only either throw in the towel and find some other non-geeky ways to resolve this problem.


text:
Can I use a external Bluetooth Adapter on an Android Tablet without internal bluetooth?
I bought this Android 4.0 tablet but apparently it doesn't have internal bluetooth. I would like to ask if its possible to connect an external bluetooth device so that I can transfer my files from my laptop to the tablet.

Do you really want to transfer files over Bluetooth? The speed is not going to be great, nor the connection reliable. I'd rather use something like Air Droid which can be used over a Wi-Fi network.

Please add more info about your device. To answer in advance: most probably you're out of luck (I guess the bluetooth stack is just switched off for your tablet even if there's the possibility to add a bt usb stick)

To add to the other two responses, I'd venture that if the tablet is low-end enough to not include Bluetooth internally, then it's not going to be able to handle an external adapter well or at all.  I'd also second the recommendation for airdroid.  Wifi is much more ubiquitous as a form of connectivity for devices, be they laptops, tablets, or desktop PC's.  Why futz with Bluetooth when you already have a workable solution?


text:
Galaxy Note 4.0.4 upgrade failure
My Samsung Galaxy Note (GT-N7000) currently has 4.0.3 installed. It has let me know it has the upgrade for 4.0.4 but every time I run it, it fails. After failure it will boot back up fine and has a message it has failed and I should try update with Kies (which doesn't work either).
I can't find anyone else with the same problem. Any suggestions?

Where are you located? Who is your carrier?

Nevermind. It eventually worked after about the 20th time. No reason why it worked, it just did.

This issue solved itself over time with no changes needed.

@Flow give him 2 more days to do so :)

A right, sorry forgot about that limit.


text:
How to view the files on mnt\sdcard on PC and how to set default download and save location
The directory mnt\sdcard is the location where all the downloads and the received files are saved, however this file cannot be located on the PC if connected using USB Cable. Moreover, it seems that this file is on the Phone's Internal Memory and not in the Memory card

Could you please specify the device used? On all of mine, /mnt/sdcard is on the sdcard (basically, it is the root of the sdcard). Second: If you have two questions, you should better ask them separately (you can still cross-reference if needed).

I'm using Sony Xperia Sola (MT27i) Android 2.3.7. While using File maneger Applications like Astro, I am able to see a directory called mnt\sdcard in which all the downloaded files are present. From the same application, Im also able to see a directory mnt\ext_card which contains the files that I have copied on to the memory card before mounting it in the Phone using a card reader.

It seems that, like on the Atrix, /mnt/sdcard is your internal storage, while /mnt/ext_card is your real sdcard. You can verify this if you check their seizes: You know the size of your sdcard, so you should be able to point that out. The internal will probably have a size which is not a multiple of 8 (most likely, it will be 6 GB or the like).
If you are unsure how to check this, you could e.g. use SanDisk Memory Zone1 or, even better, Storage Analyser2, which should make it easy to point out:


text:
Google Voice Number Displayed on Phone?
I have Google Voice on my Android (4.0.4 Samsung Galaxy S3) and it is set to make all calls using GV (cause I want the user to see GV number on the caller ID).
However I encounter this problem: the number that appears on my mobile phone (when dialing out using GV) is some unknown (random?) number, not the number that I'm calling. Say I'm calling 212-333-4444 it shows 617-234-1234. It is in fact calling the right number but what shows is the number that GV is using. The problem is that when I look at the log I can't see who was called nor can I try to recall that number.

It appears this is a bug with the S3 phone.apk. The XDA thread doesn't have a solution, but there are some things to try...I just don't know if they'll actually fix the issue. You could try installing a replacement dialer. If you're rooted, you could try finding an alternative phone.apk (perhaps from the S2). Finally, a custom ROM built on AOSP (like Cyanogenmod) may not have this issue.

I tried replacing the dialer but that didn't solve the problem. I doubt that I am rooted, but I'm sure that I can be. But where would I find a replacement phone.apk, how would I install it, and might that not cause other problems (after all it has been replaced so that might be for a reason)? Custom ROM - that is a bit beyond me. I am new to Android/smart-phone (1 month).

Well, if you're not sure if you're rooted, it's extremely unlikely you are (unless you bought it second-hand and it was rooted already, you have to deliberately do something to root your device). XDA Developers (the first link in my answer) is a good source of a lot of things, and you may track down a phone.apk there, but as you're not really familiar with all this stuff, I wouldn't advise it right now. I'd say the same for a custom ROM. That said, if you're technologically inclined, there is a lot you can do if you're willing to tinker.

Also, the issue is that to make a call appear as if it's coming from your GV number, you're technically calling a Google number set up to transfer the call (You -> Google -> Other Person)...so the number you're seeing isn't a random number, it's one of Google's numbers set up to forward calls on. It appears that the S3 dialer (maybe it's an ICS thing?) isn't storing the destination number, but rather the one that was technically dialed by GV.

yes, of course that is what it's doing, but that is not what is desired or what it has done on other phones. I wonder whether it is fixed in 4.1.1. I don't have 4.1.1 so I maybe someone who does can chime in.


text:
How active should I expect my Jelly Bean system log file to be?
When using aLogcat to view my Android log files, I find very few messages showing up in any of the views.
Selecting Verbose level and no filter, I see that Main contains mostly garbage collection debug and info messages, but I rarely more than about 20 messages every minute. Events mostly contains info log messages from alogcat itself, at about the same rate, while Radio remains steadfastly empty.
Being relatively new to Android, I wonder whether this is normal. Is this rate typical of the main system log file on Jelly Bean?

Not very active if you use apps like aLogcat. The permissions system regarding to logs was changed with Jelly Bean: The permission to read logs "READ_LOGS" is now systemOrSignature, which means that an app that is not signed with the ROM/system key can only view its own log. You can still view the full android log with adb logcat from the SDK.
I think that this was a long overdue change in the log system.

Thanks flow, that has helped me to answer my other question.


text:
Increase vibrate strength
The vibrate strength of my Galaxy Nexus is incredibly weak. When I have the phone in my pocket I simply don’t feel the vibrate for incoming calls at all, which defeats its purpose. I’ve missed more than one important phone call due to that.
Is there a way to increase the strength? I haven’t found anything relevant in the settings.

Ob. IT crowd reference

When this showed up in my inbox I thought the question was for an entirely different device. LOL

@Hyangelo And yes, there are apps for that. ;-)

AFAIK, the vibrator motor that are used in the phones are called Q-Coin motor as they are in a shape of a coin. They are of permanent magnet type accepting two leads for positive and negative DC voltages.  The circuitry that operate this motor just can switch on the motor for a specific period of time and can change its rotation direction.  All other parameters of vibration are set by motor's design.
Hence, for your need the amplitude of the vibrator motor has to be increased to make you aware. And unless the motor itself is replaced, this can't be done in my opinion.
This is a specification of such a motor and you can see it's details.
UPDATE:
After searching Google, I stumbled on more info about these motors. With that information, it seems that there are two types of such motors. One being fitted with an eccentric rotating mass and another being a linear actuator (working more like a speaker).  The article about linear actuator says that this is the present trend and beautifully explains how the motor works.
If the Nexus device that is in question is vibrating at its maximum amplitude, then there is no way any software component to increase its amplitude. Other way, if device is NOT vibrating at its maximum, then by increasing the applied voltage there is a possibility to increase the amplitude.
Thanks to @Konrad Rudolph who made me to know more about this motor.

Hmm. The GlaDOS kernel claims to be able to change the vibrate strength but there seem to be conflicting information about this.

As I said that is what is my understanding is. MODS: Please feel free to remove this answer if found wrong.

I’m not actually challenging this answer. It’s entirely possible that the GlaDOS feature doesn’t work on all devices. I just wanted to point out the discrepancy.

Nice answer! Both the Nexus S and the GNexus feature an LRA, you can see it in the ifixit teardown just right to the battery in this photo (looks like a button cell). Regarding the Glados/Trinity feature: I tried the Trinity kernel on my Nexus S, this feature only changes patterns (a longer vibrate period is called increased intensity here. However they also cannot bend the physical boundaries of the actuators of course).

Just install - Contact Vibrate
From the description:

Set a different vibration for each of your contacts and know who is it.
Set a different a vibration for each of your contacts
Know who is calling or texting you, just feeling it !
When you receive a phone call or a text message (SMS or MMS) Contact Vibrate will respond vibrating differently for every contact you have defined. If this particular number or contact has no vibration set a master vibration will be called by default.

@KonradRudolph - It's true that this doesn't answer your question, but it could be a helpful suggestion nevertheless. I have found in the past that changing the cadence of a vibrate pattern can have a marked effect on how easily it is noticed, so this may help with your underlying problem.

Kudos for offering an alternative solution when the asker already has a preferred solution in mind.

No easy way - you'll need to install a custom kernel like GLaDOS or Trinity kernel and the relevant apps for each kernel from the Play Store to adjust settings - one of which will be the vibration intensity.
Check out the relevant threads at XDA.

Installing a custom kernel to crank up vibrate? Cannons and sparrows. Sigh …. But have a +1, thanks for the info.

On my Samsung S6 there is  "Settings >> Sound and Vibration >>  Vibration intensity" section. Where one can change vibration intensity for calls, notifications, and feedback individually.

This seems to be fixed in more recent versions of the Android operating system – it’s hard to quantify but it appears that with the update to 4.2.1 the Galaxy Nexus saw a substantial increase in vibrate strength.

AFAIK, It's not easy to change the vibration motor in the phone. The vibration motor used in your phone called coin type vibration motor. The G force for this motor is very low. If you want to enlarge the vibration, you can use an LRA for replacement,which is also called linear vibration motor


text:
How can I access android log files on my Nexus 7 without root access?
Since aLogcat now no longer works with Jelly Bean, how can I access the system log files on my device without either root access or attaching it to a computer?
I have tried using adb logcat from my PC and that worked fine, so I know that plenty of messages are being logged.
Using logcat from Android Terminal Emulator on my Nexus 7 shows almost no output though and adb logcat from Android Terminal Emulator, starts the daemon but then just says - waiting for device - and nothing more appears.
So, is it possible to access android log files on my Nexus 7 without root access?

possible duplicate of Problems accessing message logs on Jelly Bean with aLogcat

@Izzy - The point of this question is that all of the solutions in my other question (which I linked to in this question) require root access. While these solutions are useful to those who have rooted their devices, I wanted a more specific solution for those who haven't rooted their device.

You may find PhoneHome worth a look

No, for security reasons it is not possible to access android log files on the Nexus 7 (or any other device running Jelly Bean or higher) without root access. Google changed that with Jelly Bean.
I'd suggest you wait until logcat readers like aLogCat and such get fixed (i.e. they will require root access to show all logs then).
From AISEC-TR-2012-001-Android-OS-Security.pdf - 3.3 Android Permission Model:

The READ_LOGS permission can substitute the following on many devices,
  depending on the Android version and thus the standard apps’ versions
  installed:

READ_CONTACTS
GET_TASKS – every started Activity is listed in the system’s logs
READ_HISTORY_BOOKMARKS – opening new web pages is a browser Activity and thus logged
READ_SMS

All solutions below require root access:
You need to either run logcat as root in a shell or manually grant it via the shell pm command (root required) works also (see XDA, exchange org.jtb.alogcat.donate with the app's pkg name):
pm grant org.jtb.alogcat.donate android.permission.READ_LOGS
This is for the lazy ones and not suggested:
If you're desperate, careless and lazy, you can fix it by giving every app the READ_LOGS permission by applying this ugly and insecure hack (Chainfire via twitter):
chmod 04755 /system/bin/logcat
To quote CyanogenMod developer Koushik Dutta's G+ post:

Did the Android Log permissions/behavior change in JellyBean?
It seems that if an application runs "logcat" now, it can see only the log entries created by its UID. Log lines from other UIDs are not shown. Basically, it seems to be filtered now.
I have the same permissions as usual. Also confirmed the same thing is happening in other log collector apps.

There's no way without root of which I know of. For the sake of security. Starting with JellyBean, the read_logs permission doesn't have to be granted anymore (each app can only view it's own logs anyway).

Thanks for the edit and the link to xda, I integrated that.

Thanks for adding in the pm grant option. Note that as I now say in my other answer, you need to specify a slightly different package if you aren't using the donate version of aLogcat: pm grant org.jtb.alogcat android.permission.READ_LOGS

The referenced paper does to explain how READ_LOGS is equal to READ_CONTACTS on some platforms. I guess the mean that some apps put contact data in the logs, but that's not really the same as READ_CONTACTS. But then I'd say that the paper is written in a alarmist tone.

READ_LOGS leaks a lot more information than just contact data. There's the user's name, probably gmail address, locations, installed apps (app usage even) and so on. Plus: it has been used to read and extract addresses from stack dumps of system daemons in the pre ASLR days by root exploits. Now that they're switched off on a big part (4.1±) you may get swarm protection (compare it to not vaccinating your child in a disease free vaccinated population). Problems  loomed and Google did the right thing.

I'm confused by this though it would explain some things.
Running the same app on my nexus7 and my galaxy nexus, both on jellybean,  the phone sees log output from all apps, the tablet doesn't. This would say that it's not jellybean its the nexus7. Backing this up, I've just checked and they both have different kernels. The tablet, with a newer one.
Maybe its the updated kernel that, means logs don't appear.
Guess I'll have to root after all: (

That's interesting Russ, thanks for the extra information.

Actually I've now been reliably informed that its because the app I am using to see the logs, was installed on my machine when I had ICS so it's retained the permissions to see the logs.

I have developed a Logcat app that uses alternative approach. It utilizes remote debugging feature. You need to enable it on the phone first, but it has to be done only once and then you can use the app to retrieve all logs.


text:
Samsung S3: Only retrieve "contact with number" in contact search
Synchronizing my phone with my gmail account it has imported, not only the contacts, but even all the people who I just wrote one mail in my life (even without phone number).
I have hidden this contacts checking "show only contact with number" but if I perform a search  this contacts appear. How can I really delete it, and set my phone to only consider GMail contacts (https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#contacts).

From my experience, GMail won't put people you have only emailed into your "My Contacts" built-in group (See Gmail and auto-adding contacts).
Because of this, you should be able to tell android to only pull from your "My Contacts" list, which would presumably only contain  your important contacts.
The steps to do this will vary depending on your ROM. I'm using a nightly build of CM10, and these are the steps:

Open Contacts
Press Menu button, and choose "Contacts to display"
Choose "Customize"
Choose the account of interest, and make sure only "My Contacts" is
checked/selected (Or any other groups you want).

Hopefully that helps you out, or at least gives you an idea of how to accomplish this.

This will work, but just handle the contacts showed. When I perform a search, all mail contact appear, even facebook account etcetc

Ah, okay. I'm at a loss, then.


text:
Samsung Galaxy S shuts down automatically
I'm using Samsung Galaxy S i9003. I used it for 1 years. Recently when I want to start apps the phone automatically shuts down. The battery is fully charged. Anyone faced it before?
I'm running Android 2.2 froyo
Sometimes it takes 3/4 mins of app launch to automatically shut the phone
Any idea how to fix it?

if the phone is connected to charge then it never shuts down

Does it happens with every app you launch?

yes, it happens with every app I launched.

You should try upgrading your Firmware and/or Factory Reset (Backup!!) that should solve it if it's a software problem.

my be it was a hardware problem, Changing battery to a new one solved the problem


text:
How to enable adbd to listen to a port at boot time in Android?
I have a rooted HTC Hero, and what I want to do is to enable the adbd
to listen to a port at boot time.
I tried some code found here:
setprop service.adb.tcp.port 5555
stop adbd
start adbd

in an Android shell and it works great.
I tried to change the init.rc file. I added the above code in init.rc
and I replaced it with the original file, through these commands:
adb push init.rc sdcard

adb shell
adb su
mount -o rw,remount -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /
adb cp sdcard/init.rc /

The file is replaced successfully, but when I reboot my phone and try to connect
through:
adb connect <IP>:5555

the connection is not being established.
Any ideas?
(PS. I don't want to use the remoteADB application and a shell command like
    am start -n ...
)

The reason it does not work properly is this:
The init.rc script resides in within the RAMDisk attached to the boot image.
Hence the init.rc script that was edited and pushed across is now overwritten by the boot image's own script upon reboot - effectively changes are lost!
You need to extract the boot image, using every boot image has the kernel and the RAMDisk. The tools available to do this can be found here.
Extracting
When invoking the script split_bootimg.pl on a boot image it will recreate the following:

boot.kernel
boot.ramdisk.gz

The two files are obviously self-explanatory. To extract the ramdisk, create a directory called RAMDisk and from that directory, invoke this: gzip -dc | cpio -i, to recreate the directory structure that is used in the RAMDisk which gets flipped over to the live file-system upon boot. In there, the file that is of pertinent information is init.rc. Now that can be modified to your heart's content.
Putting it back together
Go back up a directory level, and issue this - mkbootfs ***RAMDisk*** | gzip > my_custom_ramdisk.gz.
Then, to "attach" the original kernel to the boot image, issue the following: mkbootimg -base 0x.... -kernel boot.kernel -ramdisk my_custom_ramdisk.gz -o my_custom_boot.img.
At this point now, a boot image has been constructed, then that boot image will now have to be flashed via fastboot flash boot my_custom_boot.img.
TL;DR
Changes are lost upon re-boot because the script is not properly edited which required extracting the boot image and modifying it and re-packing it. Once re-packed and then the boot image is re-flashed, the changes will be permanent.
This is done every-time the changes are needed.

Replace "service" by "persist" to keep it upon reboot :
    setprop persist.adb.tcp.port 5555

worked for me on Vibe UI 2.0, Android 4.4.2

It also works in Android 7.1.1. Thx


text:
How to control my device from HTTP?
There is AirDroid, but it is

Focused on contacts/messages/files, not on settings
Too Web 2.0-ish, not easy to script

I want a simple tool to build my own solution with instead of mis-using some user-oriented application. It should listen some HTTP port and allow

to turn on/off wifi,
take photos,
pause/resume music,
adjust volume
adjust brightness
(and so on)

without any bells and whistles, so I can control the device using simple requests like curl http://localhost:8080/wifi/on or curl http://localhost:8080/music/pause.
/* Actually I want good and easy android control from Linux command line tools, but remote HTTP control tools seem more likely to exist, so asking about them */

Please don't ask for app recommendations. Instead, ask for solutions to an issue you're facing.

The best solution if you're willing to write code is SL4A. This will give you the most flexibility.
You could use the Python module with a lightweight web framework (like: bottle.py) or your favorite scripting language.

As a side note, get requests should not change state. Also make sure you implement some sort of security as this would make it possible for anyone to control your phone remotely.

"get requests should not change state" -> can be done with POSTs, also don't matter in very simple cases; "some sort of security" -> listen_address=127.0.0.1

SL4A can run TCP server which accepts JSON commands which can do all mentioned functions (expect that taking photos works bad).

GTalkSMS is worth a look (not HTTP but does also what you want, even easier accessible).
It's an open source XMPP bot (google code project) that you can add to your Google Talk friends list or communicate to with any XMPP client.
You need to find a suitable commandline/scriptable XMPP client for your solution yourself however (as the 'curl' replacement in your question), not sure what you like to use.
Here's an excerpt from the feature wiki on its Google Code project page:

Further Commands
  send and receive files to/from the phone: "send", "ls"
  enable disable bluetooth: "bluetooth"
  [...]
  take a photo and send it via XMPP: "photo"
  [...]
  geolocalize your phone - it will send you google maps links: "where"
  [...]
  get help, using "help:all"

Not all of your requirements may be implemented yet and may need some work, however it's FOSS. By the way: The developer of it is here around too, he might have some more info for you.

OK. Ideally I want a simple tool to build my own solution instead of mis-using some ready-made application.

Well, it's meant for that kind of usage. You can add your own functionality by writing some scripts that you can then execute (to send various intents to control music/volume/brightness).


text:
Bought a cheap android tablet, how can I install GMail, Play Store and the other Google apps?

Possible Duplicate:
How can I install the Google Apps Package (Play Store, …) on my Android device?

I met the IFA here in Berlin on the last day. This was a great chance to buy one of these simple cheap chinese no-name tablets. I wondered, a smallweight tablet with HDMI, Bluetooth, hd display and a dualcore! cpu. I got it for 70 €. But at home i surprised, ohhh, no Market, no Gmail. Tried different ways to install these apps. Every time force close.
I'm using Ubuntu as my workstation and looked with adb for the device. Found one, good! The command lsusb gives me
Bus 001 Device 031: ID 18d1:4e22 Google Inc. Nexus S (debug)

And now, i would like to install google apps like market and gmail. For this i've downloaded the gapps zip file. No chance to install one of this apk files after unzipping. Does anyone have an idea how i can achieve this?

Thanks for the answer, but this tablet is stock. So there is neither root, nor nandroid or similiar. I have no idea how to mount the correspondent partition as read write without root access. So its not possible to install clockworkmod and the google apps over the zip.


text:
Samsung Galaxy Player has music in folder, not playing
I have a Samsung Galaxy Player that I have added music to from iTunes, into the "music" folder.   But the songs do not appear in the music player to be played, or placed in a play list?  Any ideas?

What format is this music? Are they MP3 files, or AAC or something else?

How have you added the files? IIRC, the media rescan process doesn't always kick off if you don't add the files in a way it expects.

Try rebooting or unmounting/remounting your SD card. Perhaps the music folder is also not where the application looks by default although intuition would say otherwise. Also, how did you add them from iTunes? A built in media transfer component or manually? If manually you may run into media protection problems.


text:
I deleted my only launcher
I deleted my only launcher and now I cannot open settings to set to debug mode in order to use ADB or similar to install a new launcher. I can't open the Play store, can't open anything except those that use voice commands: e-mail, text, phone, maps, navigation, and note to self.
Oh, and it only boots in safe mode.
It's an LG Optimus T.
How do I put a launcher back on this phone?

Closely related: Change Launcher without starting it

I figured this out only after months of being without most of my phone's functionality and taking it to a 3rd-party repair place that declared it "unrepairable".
It is stupidly easy:

Download an apk of your home launcher (I got one from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/archive/index.php/t-1125331.html )
E-mail it to yourself
Use voice commands to send yourself a test e-mail. If you don't have gmail set up, then it will give you the screens you need for configuration.
E-mail the apk to yourself. When you check your gmail on your phone you should see an "install" button next to the attachment name. Install it and enjoy your new old phone.

Couldn't you install a new launcher from play.google.com ?

@beth , couldn't you open play.google.com in your computer and pick one launcher and click install on your computer which magically installs the launcher in your phone.

Nope. I tried it and the installer was apparently gone too.

Could you also have installed the apk using adb?

@TimScarborough They haven't got ADB active, and can't open the settings to activate it.  So in this case, no.

Download the Launcher .apk file (just Google your "demand launcher name" and plus "apk"), save it to your friend's phone, and send it to your phone via Bluetooth.  After you recieve the .apk file just click whatever option that directs you to INSTALL the file.  If Bluetooth is off, ask your friend to call your phone; when the dialer window pops up you can see a "make another call" button.  Click it and you will see the shortcut bar for Bluetooth appear.

How is this different than the accepted answer?

It doesn't use voice commands.  I know I have those disabled entirely on my phone.

I didn't have a chance to try this but it sounds like it would work.

if your android has search button then you are lucky first hard reset your android(learn how to hard reset your mobile) after the mobile started running hit search button and search the app 'settings' then turn bluetooth on and select discoverable or visible then share any launcher (like smart launcher) from other android to your mobile then install it and enjoy

I can't try this out because the problem is already solved for me, but I'll upvote it because it sounds like it would work.

Go into Recovery Mode (try turning off the phone and do not turn it on but press and hold the home button the volume up button and then hold the power button along with it).  You need to do a Factory Reset from there and then reboot the phone.

I tried that immediately. It didn't help. And in fact it was the only way that it would boot at all.

Push and install a launcher app to your Android device from http://play.google.com (PC).

The question asks how to do this, not whether to do it.

@betherwisser Yes, it's How to my dear (navigating you on the website would be dumb). It's much much simpler and reliable than accepted answer.

I can't open the Play store, can't open anything except those that use voice commands: e-mail, text, phone, maps, navigation, and note to self.

@betherwisser I said do it from PC or other device.

"Cannot use ADB or put it in debug mode..." so how would I do it from a PC or other device?