text:
Color Scheme with Vim on Android?
I am trying to get a "solarized dark" colorscheme to work with Vim on android. Vim itself runs, and the plugin itself runs, but the colorscheme comes out wrong. I am using jackpal.androidterm app (usually the first one you see if you search 'terminal' on google play). I have tried exporting nearly every terminal type, both through the app and throught a script and I have the app's colorscheme set to "solarized dark", however, the backround doesn't display properly.
Here are the Screenshots for it.
Due to limitations on new users, I pasted them in OneDrive. (They were packed in a document due to an odd bug when uploading with Dolphin.)
Also, It is worth noting that solarized "works" on the Android Terminal when TERM=xterm-256color. However, the limited solarized colorset has too little contrast and is just plain ugly. In addition, both systems have the same plugins and .vimrc:
(~/.vimrc)
syntax on
set number
set ruler

set nocompatible              " be iMproved, required
filetype off                  " required

 " set the runtime path to include Vundle and initialize
 set rtp+=~/.vim/bundle/Vundle.vim
call vundle#begin()
" alternatively, pass a path where Vundle should install plugins
call vundle#begin('~/some/path/here')

" let Vundle manage Vundle, required
 Plugin 'gmarik/Vundle.vim'

 Plugin 'altercation/vim-colors-solarized'
 Plugin 'bronson/vim-trailing-whitespace'

 " Unite
 " "   depend on vimproc
 " "   ------------- VERY IMPORTANT ------------
 " "   you have to go to .vim/plugin/vimproc.vim and do a ./make
 " "   -----------------------------------------
 Plugin 'Shougo/vimproc.vim'
 Plugin 'Shougo/unite.vim'

 Plugin 'rking/ag.vim'
 Plugin 'airblade/vim-gitgutter'
 Plugin 'tpope/vim-fugitive'
 Plugin 'junegunn/vim-easy-align'
 " All of your Plugins must be added before the following line
 call vundle#end()            " required
 " filetype plugin indent on    " required
 " To ignore plugin indent changes, instead use:
 filetype plugin on
 " "
 " " Brief help
 " " :PluginList       - lists configured plugins
 " " :PluginInstall    - installs plugins; append `!` to update or just
 " :PluginUpdate
 " " :PluginSearch foo - searches for foo; append `!` to refresh local cache
 " " :PluginClean      - confirms removal of unused plugins; append `!` to
 " auto-approve removal
 " "
 " " see :h vundle for more details or wiki for FAQ
 " " Put your non-Plugin stuff after this line

 " -- solarized personal conf
 set background=dark
 try
     colorscheme solarized
     catch
 endtry

 " Highlight 80th column
 if (exists('+colorcolumn'))
     set colorcolumn=80
         highlight ColorColumn ctermbg=9
 endif

 " bindings for unite--------------------------------------------------

 let g:unite_source_history_yank_enable = 1
 try
   let g:unite_source_rec_async_command='ag --nocolor --nogroup -g ""'
   call unite#filters#matcher_default#use(['matcher_fuzzy'])
 catch
 endtry
 " search a file in the filetree
 nnoremap <space><space> :split<cr> :<C-u>Unite -start-insert file_rec/async<cr>
 " reset not it is <C-l> normally
 :nnoremap <space>r <Plug>(unite_restart)

 " Bindings for Ag ------------------------------------------------------------
 " --- type ° to search the word in all files in the current dir
 nmap ° :Ag <c-r>=expand("<cword>")<cr><cr>
 nnoremap <space>/ :Ag

 " Easy align interactive--------------------------------------------------
 vnoremap <silent> <Enter> :EasyAlign<cr>

As per the screenshot of the desired color scheme, I can confirm that you can have such color scheme in Android. This is a rather indirect way but works fairly well.
Rather than using a terminal emulator I'm using an SSH client having color schemes. Three useful apps I found are JuiceSSH, Serverauditor and Reflection for Unix. I tested the first two apps.
Why SSH client you may ask? Because I stumbled across one of them and this question struck me as well. Anyhow, we need to host a simple and easy SSH server on your Android device.
I prefer Servers Ultimate Pro(paid) but you may use SSH Server(free) too. Both offered by same developer, though feel free to use any server app that can setup SSH server.
Instructions

Open any of these server apps and make an SSH server with credentials. It's extremely easy so no instructions are required here. However, you may take a look at this answer(Method #3) for basic know-how.
A thing to note that free version will make your server available on all network interfaces (including cellular network) which one won't prefer for some reasons. That's why I use the paid version as it can limit it to 127.0.0.1 or Wi-Fi easily.
Install and launch JuiceSSH and enter SSH server details:

Addresss: 127.0.0.1 (Only for Pro app, for free app the IP will be listed)
Identity → New → type Username and Password you created in step 1.
Port: you entered in step 1.

Save it.
Tap the new entry in connections and select Accept to accept server fingerprints.
Solarized dark is available under its Settings → Theme/Colors.
A look of this app in the said theme:

(Click image to see larger variant.)
If you want more options in color scheme then try Serverauditor(Solarized default) app. Its options are straightforward, but it did not work in my device on 127.0.0.1 (no error, just blank toast).
You may try it running on said address; could be device specific problem on my side. Otherwise, either use the cellular IP or if you're connected to Wifi/hotspot then use that one.
A look of Serverauditor in Solarized dark theme:

(Click image to see larger variant.)

About JuiceSSH

The all in one terminal client for Android including SSH, Local Shell, Mosh and Telnet support.
Features:

Full colour terminal / ssh client
Popup keyboard with all those normally hard to find characters
Use the volume keys to quickly change font size
External keyboard support
Local Android terminal support
Dark, Light, 80's hacker, Molokai, Solarized Dark and Solarized Light terminal color themes
  ...

About Serverauditor

Serverauditor is the most innovative SSH client ever designed for a mobile device. With Serverauditor you can easily manage UNIX/Linux servers from your Android device on the go.

XTerm, VT100 and vanilla terminal types support
SSH key and password authentication
Built-in RSA/DSA key generator
Multiple SSH connections to the same host
Bluetooth keyboard support
Associate volume button or shaking gesture with actions, e.g Ctrl-Z or session closing
8 awesome color schemes and adjustable font size
Automatic UNIX/Linux OS recognition, e.g Ubuntu, Fedora, CentOS, Mac OS X etc
  ...

Perhaps all of this can be avoided if only we can have a Terminal app with color schemes. Do let me know, otherwise this solution should be enough. :)

That is a confirmed solution to the problem. However, this terminal emulator I am trying to use does support colorschemes and it gets pretty close. Android Terminal Emulator

I would love to find a way to use it with that, since I really like the keybindings of that terminal emulator.

@deathbyfreezeray I just posted as an alternative since I felt there should be one. However, if you do happen to complete your solution then do post it as an answer, otherwise, you may accept/upvote this answer if you think it suffices.

I will update if I find anything but for now thanks, sadly I am too low reputation to upvote...


text:
Preview download size of app on Play Store
I do not seem to be able to see how large an app's download size in the play store is prior to buying it or agreeing to install it.
Is there a means of doing this?

On the application page, press the green dialog, then scroll down to the bottom, and you will find all the infomation there.

In the Play Store app on your phone you can find that information by clicking Read More option.
And in webversion you can find the app info that you are downloading by viewing the Additional Information section where it has Size information at the bottom of that app details part.

+1, [For reader]: Note that the web version may not show app size for all apps since some app's size varies from device to device.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
How to backup the entire or parts of android without 3rd party/cloud?
How can I take two separate backups?

Contacts only
Full backup

I do not want to install any 3rd party program. I do not want to store my information on cloud. I just want to store it directly from phone to PC.
I use Android on Samsung G5.

Take a look at this guide and the linked questions in it by user Izzy. This guide is the best source of backup information at this website. // For contacts, your default app would be having the functionality to export contacts (.vcf format); you can also select all of them and send them via bluetooth to PC (if PC has bluetooth adapter). Otherwise, the answer by Jaskaranbir is worth noting too. Good luck reading all of them. :)

This is a rather difficult and strange task to do without any utilities or cloud. You can check your phone's contacts app if it has some option to export contacts into some external file. Otherwise you will have to use some app from playstore like Super Backup which can save contacts in your sdcard.
By full backup, if you mean apps and data and contacts, sms etc, then Titanium Backup (pro recommended) is your one great chance.
Otherwise if you are rooted, you can use custom recovery to backup whole android including system and data (nandroid backup). But other then these, there's practically no way to backup without using 3rd party program (referring to ADB (which would need root, but can create an ultimate all in one backup of *everything you will ever need) and vendor softwares like Samsung Kies).
Otherwise if you are referring to without using any apps on phone, pc or cloud, thats basically impossible. Because:
1) App data-> There are lot other things. You can get APKs, and you can even try copying data from app data /data/data and /sdcard/Android/data or /sdcard/Android/obb (for games) for which you will need root to get into /data directory (since we arent using any other app or program). But thats not it and you will probably end up in a corruption and ultimately reinstall app if you try manually copying/pasting the data, hence ultimately loosing that data. plus there's cache too which is a totally separate partition, so lets not take that into account either.
2) Contacts-> There isn't a simple txt where contacts are stored. You can though manually try extracting contacts as they are inside /data/data/*.providers.contacts/databases/*.db (location varies phone to phone and vendor to vendor), but it would again need third party app such as some sort of SQL Editor to open it since they are in database format.
So it is practically impossible to do these tasks without using any external app or program.

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


text:
What is a "partial application install" via adb?
Android's adb has a "partial application install":
$ adb install
Android Debug Bridge version 1.0.32
...

  adb install [-lrtsd] <file>
  adb install-multiple [-lrtsdp] <file...>
                               - push this package file to the device and install it
                                 (-l: forward lock application)
                                 (-r: replace existing application)
                                 (-t: allow test packages)
                                 (-s: install application on sdcard)
                                 (-d: allow version code downgrade)
                                 (-p: partial application install)

Notice -p is "partial application install".
What is a partial application install?

It is my assumption that the -p: partial application install is for installing packages that are an update to an existing package but are not standalone in itself, sort of how Play Store updates an app using delta or smart updates.
-p requires a base package to exist and its name passed next to it, else it will throw the error
Error: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Missing inherit package name

If the APK you're passing is not an incremental update to an existing package (PACKAGE), you would end up with
Failed to finalize session
Failure [INSTALL_FAILED_INVALID_APK: Missing existing base package for PACKAGE]

I do not have any incremental update so I can't verify my own claim, neither I have any other solid evidence for the whole claim other than these two:
A comment in Issue:1134353002 thread

Splits are not normal .apks, and they can only be installed via "adb install-multiple"

And, this code snippet mentioned under the source code of PackageInstallerSession.java

else {
  // Partial installs must be consistent with existing install
  final ApplicationInfo app = mPm.getApplicationInfo(mPackageName, 0, userId);
  if (app == null) {
      throw new PackageManagerException(INSTALL_FAILED_INVALID_APK, "Missing existing base package for " + mPackageName);
  }

Briefly, this quote is enough: "adb install-multiple"


text:
Installing Android on Linux set-top box
Ok.. here is where I stand. I have a STB that has an old version(12.4) of Ubuntu on it. I was told that it previously had Android 5 on it but it was overwritten when Linux was installed. What I would like to do is wipe the device and re-install Android. The problem is I'm not sure where to start. I've done a fair bit of Googling but have not found anything on how to do a fresh install of Android. Is there an image somewhere that I can put on a SD card? Could someone point me in the right direction here? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Could you mention the link for this STB? Their are devices that requires only dedicated tools for flashing sometimes, or the flashing method differs from the common ones.


text:
Unbrick dead unite 2 phone whose driver is improper
I am using Micromax unite 2 and before a month, i sucessfully rooted it using kinguser. But today morning i checked for updates and upgraded to lollipop from kitkat.
But unfortunately, 2.5 gb of my phone storage was missing. I mean cache and other partition cant be 2.5gb. Will it?? So I tried to factory reset my phone.
The problem started while the reset. The phone froze in the logo it self for almost half an hour. So i removed the battery and tried to hard reset it using recovery mode. Even that failed. But this time the phone is not even starting to show the logo. That is it is dead!!
Can any one help me out.
Note:
None of my pc or laptop is detecting my phone clearly while connecting it through usb. It is detecting and once detected it is uninstalled and once again detects and the cycle continues. This all happens no matter how long i connect it to the pc or laptop.

If it is getting detected by your PC somehow (install, uninstall cycle you mentioned) then you can revive your phone. Your device has mt6577 chipset and SP Flash Tool supports it. I can't guide you much since you'll have to learn and do it on your own, but the way is to search on Google "how to flash mt6577 phone" or the terms "bricked mt6577", "bricked unite 2 mt6577", etc. You get the point.E.g. links -> http://bm-smartphone-reviews.blogspot.in/2012/05/mt6575-flashing-tutorial.html , http://www.chinaphonearena.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=60

My phone while correcting its IMEI got bricked badly but I recovered it using SP flash Tool.  This tool is good, otherwise, you may have to use MTK droid tools.

Sorry not working. The phone is not even properly connecting to the PC. If i connect it with battery, it connects and disconnects simultaneously until I plug it out from the port. Any more help?????!!!

authors: مؤسسة إنجاز الرؤية للخدمات


text:
USB connection without unlocking screen
i am connecting my phone with USB (using MSC) to my car for listening to the music on the phone's microSD card.
It only works, when the screen was unlocked before connecting the phone.
Also, when turning off the car's engine and starting it again, I must disconnect the phone, unlock the screen, and connect it again.
This is very inconvenient.
Is it possible to allow USB connections without unlocking the screen?
Phone info: Sony Xperia Z3 with Android 5.0.2.

Are you using some sort of secured lockscreen type like pattern/pin lock?

Yes, I am using a PIN lockscreen

From comments, since you are using pin lockscreen, it wont allow you to have any type of access to internal files with usb connection without unlocking pin.
You have two choices->
1) Dont use PIN/Pattern/Password and just use simple swipe (or no lockscreen at all for that matter).
2) Disable internal lockscreen and download a third party lockscreen from play store with PIN or pattern etc support like smart app locker. As far as I can remember it supports acting as lockscreen too and not just app locker (additionally, you might also want to check this to use along with this app for extended functions). I suggest you explore this app or get some other lockscreen alternative app.
Hope that helps.


text:
Android Gmail app - can't download some attachments - Nexus 5
The problem is that I can download some attachments, but some not. I usually cannot download zip attachments that are forwarded to me. I cleared cache and data of the Download Manager, but that didn't help. Any ideas?
Edit: I use Gmail app for my business POP3 account.

You might need to install an app that registers as a handler for .zip files.

I'm not sure what you mean by that, but I think every email app should let me download any attachment, no matter what file type the attachment is.

Are you not able to download the attachements? or Open the Downloaded Attachements..?

Download. When I click on the download icon, it does nothing, like a button without a function.

When I click save to drive, it shows saving, but actually takes infinite time and does nothing.

Have you tried clearing the cache of Gmail app? Restart you phone and Check once again. And are you able to download something from the browser to make sure the Download Manager works properly?

What apps "should" do is not relevant to what Gmail does do.

Just tried that, didn't work.


text:
How to stop "permission denied" app toasts after denying permissions?
I often like to deny app permissions that I think the app does not need but yet they keep requesting for the permissions even after Denying, resulting in lot of toasts [package name] has been denied [permission name] permission.
How do I permanently suppress these toasts?
I am using android Kitkat.

How do you deny? Using some app? Please provide more details like android version etc.

I'm in Android KitKat and they the security option which if you turn on well give you control over all applications request for various privileges

Your best and most permanent solution, if you disagree with the permissions requested by the developer, is to drop the app, give in, or re-write the app yourself to your own restrictive standards.

I believe your primary aim is to turn off some permissions. So I will form my answer to that direction.
If you are rooted:
Choice 1: Since you are referring to toasts, there is a way to turn them off using the xposed module Untoaster. I wish I could tell you how to use that, but I currently cant use xposed due to compatibility issues. SO this, you may have to test and figure out your self.
Choice 2: You can also try using lucky patcher. It can disable permissions. To do this, open lucky patcher and grant it root rights. Then browse to app/package name whose permissions you want to block and tap on it. Then select the option Edit Permissions and tap on permissions to enable/disable them. Be careful though, you may end up messing up the app.
If you are not rooted:
In this case, we will modify app permissions to the core. We will edit a minor code/xml so app doesn't even know of those permissions. Yes, it is a very DIRTY trick. There are consequences.

Firstly, download APKTool. Refer this guide on how to use (you will be using the compiling/decompiling and signing features).
Firstly, get the app's apk. You can either use some app backup program or use Terminal Emulator. If you decide to go with terminal emulator, open it and run these commands:

mkdir /sdcard/apps123
cp /data/app/*.apk /sdcard/apps123
This will copy all the APK files installed by you inside apps123folder in your internal sdcard.

After you have got the apk and decompiled it, go to apktoolDirectory/projects/[package name you decompiled] folder and open AndroidManifest.xml with some editor (Notepad++ recommended.
After you have opened the file, look for permission lines. They will have the format:

(In this case, its permission to write internal storage).

Delete out lines corresponding to permissions you do not want. All permissions are defined at beginning of xml so you dont need to explore the whole manifest.
After you are done, compile app again and sign it. Put it to phone and install.

------> You can also have a look at this documentation to see what each permission does.
NOTE: There is also an android version of APKTool. You can install and use it in phone itself. Its much more easier to use but takes longer time to complete tasks.
----> This method wont give you toast notifications like now.
Drawbacks of this method:

You wont be able to update app from play store anymore.
Whenever app tries to access that feature whose permission is missing, it will cause a security exception and app is likely to crash unless developer has handled it (which they normally dont).

+1, that Untoaster worked, although it is definitely not friendly to anyone who is not familiar with the word regex. Thanks again.

authors: محمد اليناعي

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


text:
How to stop receiving text messages in Outlook
When a text message comes in, the stock email app throws a copy into my Exchange email accounts that are on the phone. I want to turn this feature off but cannot find a setting for it anywhere. I have a Galaxy S6

On the new Samsung Galaxy S7 - You must delete the account receiving the text messages and then reinstall it. During new account set up is the only time you will see the option of whether to sync SMS.  It does not appear anywhere else once you leave the initial set up screen. Once the account is installed, you will see options for syncing email, contacts, calendar, tasks - but not SMS on the Galaxy S7.

To stop this from happening you simply need to disable the Sync SMS feature on your Android phone which is enabled by default.
To disable the Sync SMS feature:

Open the Email Account Options settings
Disable the Sync SMS feature

My Galaxy S6 Edge, Android version 5.1.1 has a slightly different process from Lucky's answer:
E-mail → Inbox → More → Settings → select e-mail account → deselect Sync Messages
Interestingly I have 3 e-mail accounts on my phone but only the most recent addition (associated with Office 365) has the option for syncing SMS messages.

open email app -->settings ---> click on the account you want to remove the sms ---> scroll down and deselect sync messages

See the answers from Lucky and ranyd. Try them, or similar techniques for your specific email, first (before the solution provided by Sharon) since it worked for me for my MS Exchange email. As it turns out, the MS Exchange connected email was the only email relaying my text messages (which I didn't want because I use it for 2-factor authentication and it adds confusion when I respond to a text via my email).

For the Samsung Galaxy S8+, click on your email icon, then the triple lines in upper left hand corner, then the settings gear in upper right, then touch your email address at the top, then scroll to bottom & make sure the Sync Messages is not on.

THE PROCEDURE GIVEN FOR THE S8 WORKED ON MY S7


text:
Restore WhatsApp messages after deleting the account
I deleted my WhatsApp account and I would like to restore the conversation I had. I didn't uninstall the app, or doing any reset.
When I checked the /databases folder, it's empty. Is it possible to find the last backup file somewhere?
If it's related, I've got LG G3.

How did you delete your Whatsapp account? Did you uninstalled the Whasapp application from your phone or you deleted the converstions alone? or Did u factory reset your phone?

i just pressed the delete account on whatsapp i didnt delete the app or reset anything

Your messages chat history can be found under Databases directory..if that is empty and you have'nt backuped your data previously before deleting your account..then restoring is not possible..

isnt it supposed to be backedapp automatically?

yes it will be automatic and the default path is under the Databases directory..there are also other third party apps to backup the messages that you have to manually backup..i saying here about the default backup..can you find any backups under that directory?

my database is empty for some reason and im sure i had a backup befre deleting the account

Have a look at this answer..Further reading on Whatsapp FAQ..Recovering messages in Whatsapp and info..

Go to SDcard or Internal SD (whichever available default). Find WhatsApp folder. The daily scheduled backups that occur at 4.00am is present in the databases folder.
To restore, fresh install WhatsApp. There will be a dialogue "Do you want to restore your chat history?". Click Restore.

when im looking at the folder i cant find any reminder of a backup file.. and i checked in my computer that i want to see system files and hidden files just in case

Is there a folder WhatsApp in your phone?(can be SD or internal). If yes check whether the backups folder is empty or not. If its not empty and has files msgstore*.cryp8 files then you can restore your backup after reinstalling whatsapp.

Unless you have some file recovery software to recover the deleted .crypt8 database files on your sdcard, you are out of luck.
Deleting your WhatsApp account will erase your message history from sdcard.
Deleting your account will do the following
- Delete your account from WhatsApp.
- Delete you from your friends' WhatsApp Contacts lists.
- Delete you from all WhatsApp groups.
- Erase your message history on your phone.
- Delete your WhatsApp service payment information.

Source


text:
samsung s4 heat issues
my phone is a samsung galaxy s4 I9505
after a little use e.g. browsing, scrolling through the phone,  the top part of the phone gets pretty warm which is where the cpu is
the top part of the phone also gets quite warm when charging but the battery remains cold
in all instances the top part of the phone gets very warm
I have seen the display s4 s in a shop and they don't even get a little warm
is this a hardware problem, should I get a replacement

Galaxy s4 has a lot of heating issue with both android 4.4.2 as well as android 5. But the temperature can be decreased if you follow some steps as described belowdecks the link:
http://www.androidpit.com/galaxy-s4-lollipop-problems-and-how-to-fix-them
Now if you have not updated the device and still it heats much then ask for refund. Despite being said all these I would suggest you not to go for s4 because it's     Not what you think of this 2014 flagship model.

it lags too often.
It's battery backup is very less (don't see 2600 mAh)
it heats very much (temperature goes beyond 62 degrees) .

These are quite few problems , there are still lot of bugs too which will definitely let you ask for refund.
Here is a screenshot of what i mean.

Do you think if I got a replacement, it would be the same as this and have the same heat issues?

Yes , most probably it would have the same heating issue.

When you say temperature of phone goes beyond 62 degrees do you mean in Celsius or farenheit. .have you ever seen it get to 62?

It's in degree Celsius, I have also taken it's screenshot, but now i need to find it.

Sorry to keep disturbing you but could you please tell me which app you are using so I can compare with mine (exact name)

It's fine , i don't want you to believe me blindly https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cleanmaster.mguard&hl=en


text:
Android not responding, screen off and battery drop
I have a Lenovo s890 that sometimes stop responding and back after about 1 minute. I have checked the screen and seem there is no problem with the screen. On the other hand when the cell phone stops working, then the battery indicator drops significantly that is really annoying. Do you have any solution for that?
Here you can a similar video that shows the problem.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FB_w4WvDiUY

I guess you're unaware of the distinction between a forum and a Q/A site.  Consider taking a tour and a glance at [help]. Look especially about self-answer.

Hi @Firelord. Thanks so much I know the difference but finding solution in forums is so difficult at least for me but in SE  it is much much easier. It is the main reason I decided to post the solution here. Thenks.

No issues in posting a solution but as per the rules, a question field should only have a question. You can always answer your question in the answer tab. Please [edit].

See  this question as an example of self-answering. I had the same reason for doing it.

I played more than 3 months with the mobile phone and this is how to solve the problem. I Guess this solusion works for other mobile phones.
If you have a lenovo s890 (or other cellphones with similar symptoms) that sometimes stops and not responding or if your battery drains suddenly or if the screen goes off and does not back, then the problem is not with battery or screen. I have seen some people that asks for help and there are loads of solution that none of them work. The solution is a problem in the kernel of OS that manages CPU of the cell phone.
First install a CPU manager app from google play for example (link). Then
Decrease the maximum CPU frequency to one level down and set the governor to Ondemand (like screenshot).
I have tried other setting that none of them worked for me.


text:
Sending as Unknown number in Hangouts
In Hangouts 3.1.89134953 I get a "Sending as Unknown number" message at the top of my texts.  I googled for this message and found nothing.
What does this message mean?

You most likely are not registered for hangouts. Try navigating to hamburger menu -> Settings -> [your email] -> Scroll to Account section, and check to see if your phone number is confirmed.

authors: إبراهيم جبر العبيدي العبيدي


text:
Random headphone/icon bug? LG G3 running Sprint Android Lollipop 5.0.1
Last night, when I was attempting to use my headphones, the first 3 times I inserted them, they were detected by my phone as an Auxiliary Cable. The 4th time, however, it correctly detected them as headphones. I've plugged my headphones in 6 or 7 times since then, and the issue hasn't happened again; I was just wondering if this is a common bug, or if I should be worried about the headphone jack failing.

Do you have old/spare working headphone? (Can be arranged from a friend too.) You could test them to see if it is a bug or jack failing.

Firelord, what do you mean? I have headphones that work just fine, several pairs actually; I've tried multiple pairs (I've plugged headphones in and taken them out) about 12 times today and it hasn't happened again. Would that mean it's just an odd random bug?

Basically, the Linux switch driver will raise the event to Android. I suspect that your headset jack insertion circuit failed.


text:
How to transfer apps from an emulator to another one, on my PC?
I tried to transfer my apps that I already downloaded using blue stacks to another emulator that's Droid4x, but I can't find my apps in form of ".apk".
How to transfer the apps?


text:
Switch cameras in rooted device (between front and back)
My back camera has broken although the front camera is still working.
Certain applications, such as WhatsApp web, only let you use the back camera to read the QR code. Is there a way to switch cameras by editing a certain file in Root Explorer?

There is a way but its Extremely dangerous.
I highly recommend not doing this as its neither for your device and the risks are too high.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1699299

As for WhatsApp Web, it allows you to use your computer for WhatsApp conversations.
The draw back is that both your Android and your browser needs to be connected to Internet.
And the only advantage is that you get a keyboard which makes it really easier to type as well as a Big screen
Again there's an easy workaround.
Apps like WiFi Keyboard allows you to type in your Android device through a computer browser.
And Apps like droid VNC server Allows you to remote control your android within your computer! Including watching your screen.

As for the other apps, you cant do much. Later so sooner you must change your broken phone..
Kudos
I hope my answer helps...
It requires a lot of hardwork to write a good answer. A thumbsup is always appreciated.

note that I don't think it's dangerous... you're just modifying a configuration file, and it will never brick your phone. You can always revert it back easily...

I am using RED MI2.
My rear camera is not working. I needed to use front camera for QR Code scan, after attempting of so many .apk files,  I was not able to use front camera.
Last attempt I thought is to remove rear camera physcially and then try.
Result: It works. I can scan QR code with Front Camera
Source: you tube video


text:
Device file for USB controller/joystick not created
I've got an Android 4.1.2 device (OUYA) and a PSX-USB-Adapter with two Playstation controllers attached. Attaching it to the USB port makes the device show up in dmesg:
<6>[  331.002934] usb 2-1: new low speed USB device number 13 using tegra-ehci
<6>[  331.039183] usb 2-1: New USB device found, idVendor=0810, idProduct=0001
<6>[  331.046013] usb 2-1: New USB device strings: Mfr=0, Product=2, SerialNumber=0
<6>[  331.053437] usb 2-1: Product: Twin USB Joystick

Unfortunately, no device files in /dev/input/ like /dev/input/js0 are created.
Who/which part of android is responsible for detecting that an USB device is a joystick and creating the corresponding input files?
Btw, the controllers are detected fine on a standard Linux (Ubuntu 14.04).

It turned out that the necessary kernel modules were not compiled in (I checked that in /proc/config.gz).
See http://cweiske.de/tagebuch/ouya-usb-joysticks.htm for information about compiling your own kernel with the modules.


text:
Is it possible to force enable the battery saver mode in Android Lollipop?
It is possible to automatically enable battery saver mode in Android 5.0 when the battery hits 5 or 15%.
However sometimes it would be nice to enable this mode by hand. e.g. when the battery is still half full.
Is this possible?

You can actually make it automatic for any x% or as a shortcut for manual mode using automation apps. But I don't think you want it. The answers below should suffice.

This will be very helpful for those survival moments.

Yes it's possible. You can turn on the battery saver mode anytime.
Goto Settings -> Battery -> Battery Saver -> On

You can easily turn off anytime by opening the notification and selecting
TURN OFF BATTERY SAVER option.

I don't have this On/Off switch: http://i.imgur.com/9UCT0ZT.png http://i.imgur.com/mgKMDNx.png (Lollipop Cyanogenmod)

Mine only lets me choose between 5%, 15%, or turning battery saver completely off. LG G4, Android 6.0


text:
My android phone location history shows locations not visited
My Android phone is enabled for home WiFi as well as cell tower connection. My location services have been enabled as well to use Google Maps for tracking Location history. Whenever I go to my balcony of my apartment I find lot of secured WiFi connections available in addition to my connected home WIFI. Others are secured and not connected.
The are lots of blue dots for various locations in location history closer to my home where I have not even visited but shows up in the location history.
Is it possible that wrong locations appear in my location history?

Yes its possible because the location tracking is not always accurate. It's based on your GPS reception, Wifi Hotspots etc. Please take a look at the answers for more information. Make sure you set your location settings to High Accuracy for better location reporting results.


text:
My phone doesn't always charge at full speed, even with certain 2-amp chargers. What are the necessary conditions for it to charge at full speed?
I've noticed that my Samsung Galaxy S4 doesn't always charge at its maximum rate of charge, even when it seemingly should.  For example, car DC adapters that claim to provide up to 2.0A current only provides 500mA.  I've also tried connecting the OEM AC adapter to a car inverter**, with the same result of a ~500mA charge rate.  On the other hand, when connected to an AC outlet through the same charger, the device draws 1200mA*.
I previously owned an Galaxy S3 which I think started having similar issues at some point, possibly after a system update.
What conditions are required for Android devices to draw greater than the 500mA current provided by a USB 2 data connection?  Have these conditions changed with successive versions of the Android OS?
*: Measurements of current draw made by Ampere
**: I asked this question a few days ago and it has attracted very little attention, so I'm now asking a more general question.

Note also that many Samsung devices include Qualcomm Quick Charge 1.0 technology (which IIRC makes the battery charge at a variable amperage) or Quick Charge 2.0 technology (which IIRC makes the battery charge at variable voltages and amperages). If yours includes this or a competing technology, then the phone may draw full wattage only at certain times, and a lower wattage at other times. It depends on both which charger you're using and on the battery's current state of charge.

For selection of USB cable see answer here

I would recommend you to change the USB wire and replace it with a good USB wire.
I have seen that over time the wire gives lower charging value and it's unable to give output as of newer cable. There is no issue with the charger in this case ( 2A or 1A charger).

just change the USB wire
connect it to phone and charger.
check the values of the current flow in application like galaxy charging

I am sure that you would get desired output if you follow these step
This same method worked for me. And also make sure that you give full cycle to the battery when charging.

wow people are down-voting, if you haven't solved the problem this way then do let me know the answer rather than just down voting.  @intuited just try this method and do let me know.

I didn't mention this in my original question, but I have been consistently been using the same cable whenever charging this phone. The charging rate consistently corresponds to what the cable is connected to.

This answer isn't accurate. The cable, in this case, based on the information provided, isn't the problem factor. It's the 2A charger, which the phone can't negotiate better than 500mA with. Replacing the cable won't bring it above that, because the negotiation between the charger and phone are at fault. A good quality cable is important, but it can't be the source of this problem.

Whoah, it actually was the cable. I was wrong about that. I've been using the same cable consistently in the car, but use a different one when connected to wall AC outlets.

That's very, very odd.

The same thing happened with another older cable that I had been using consistently for over a year: it started to only pull 500mA.  I replaced it with a new cable, and with everything else the same, the charge rate rose to 1200mA.

The OS isn't relevant to charging speed, but the internal hardware differs heavily between phones. One thing you'll experience is that nearly all chargers that advertise themselves as 2.1A are optimized for iProducts, which require a different grounding scheme in the charger to reach their full speed, and that same scheme limits Android devices to 500mA. So counter-productively you'll find that most 1A chargers will charge your Android device FASTER than 2.1A chargers. You'll also see a lot of multi-chargers that have one port dedicated to 2.1A, and if you move your phone to the other port it'll charge faster. Most label these ports as A and NA, for Apple and Non-Apple.
The way around this is to buy a charger that's specifically designed to adapt to whatever device you're using. One example, which I've used myself, is the Anker 4.8A 2-port charger. Unlike most two-port chargers which dedicate one port to Apple and one to non-Apple, this uses Anker's PowerIQ tech to sense, on either port, what your device wants from it and adjust accordingly. This charged my device at full speed quite easily. I've since switched to one from Choetech that's a 4-port simply because my Nexus 6 supports Quick Charge 2.0, and that one had a port for that, but it advertises their own version of the same concept as PowerIQ for the other ports. Both companies make a ton of wall/desk chargers with the same technologies in them, and I have multiple Anker chargers and external batteries. Aukey seems to be another supplier who's probably using the same OEM as those other two companies, with similar results. And they all seem to give good warranty support via Amazon.
The other factor, as mentioned in the other answer, is the cable. I used to think "USB is USB," and that's true for data, but not for power. Cable quality, and unknown factors, will change what you can pull off. I've had two cables of the same length produce as much as an 800mA difference from the same charger. Also, some just combine with certain chargers better. The cable I've had the most consistent luck with, across all devices, is the Cable Matters Premium Gold-Plated cable. I used to buy the MonoPrice-branded ones, but they stopped making them, and I found these identical ones on Amazon. They're quite cheap, and they've worked exceptionally well for me. They give me over 2A on Quick Charge 2.0, and 1.2 on everything else when all other conditions are optimal and I'm using a good charger. Length matters, too. The shorter the cable, the better it can hold onto its current.

Any idea why the OEM charger doesn't produce full AC amps when connected to the car inverter?

That one's trickier. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say it's getting inconsistent power levels and is basically sticking to a lower negotiation point to play it safe. But at that point you're beyond my electrical knowledge.

Nevermind, it was actually the cable the whole time. I've been using the same cable in the car since I had the S3 and never thought to try a different one.

And actually with the new cable, both 2.1 and 1.0 amp outlets provide 1200 mA, same as the AC adapter.

Samsung may have designed that phone differently to handle that, then. Very unusual.

Well, that's what the app says, anyway. Could be inaccurate. It definitely charges at greater than 500, though

Well, as I mentioned, different cables will combine with different chargers better than others. So that's definitely a factor in your experience.


text:
Is there any quick way to delete the standard emails trash files.
I have had a Galaxy S3 for some 3 years and I have recently noticed that I have in excess of 45,000 emails in the standard email's trash folder.
I have tried selecting the trash folder and then using the "delete all" option but the speed of deletes is staggeringly slow, one every five to ten seconds.
It is synchronised with an Office365 account, and I have checked on the server side to see if the same folder exists but it doesn't, it is only on the phone. (Note that this is the standard email app, it is not Gmail or anything similar).
Is there some quick way to empty the email trash folder, either through a file app, or a third party app?

Keep in mind that your phone's name for certain specialized folders, such as trash, differs from what Office 365 will call it. In Office 365's web interface, and Outlook, the folder is named Deleted Items, and they are kept in sync with your phone's comparable Trash folder. So look there to see the correlation. And yes, deleting from your phone will be dramatically slower than deleting from your computer or the web, the latter being fastest as it's connected directly to the server.

Thanks TurboFool, the only folders I have through the server side of office 365 are Inbox, draft, sent items, deleted items and junk e-mail. Only inbox and sent items have files, the other folders are empty. This makes sense because I usually delete things off my phone once I have read them knowing that there is a copy on the server.

That doesn't make sense, though, because if you're using Office 365 it synchronizes between your phone and the server. You can't delete an email on your phone and it still be safe on the server. Only Blackberry does that. Any other enterprise solution is a 2-way sync. Any change you make in one place, reading, deleting, moving, goes to the other one.

I have the server/incoming settings "delete email from server" set to never. This allows me to delete the email from my phone but leave it on my server. This is what I want as I use my phone primarily to check my emails, I use my laptop as my primary email device. While I am away from my laptop I scan my email, when I get back to my laptop I quickly delete the emails that I don't want and retain the emails I do. The mobile therefore has a separate trash folder of email I have deleted off the phone.

Well, that's what's preventing you from being able to do that easily. Office 365 wasn't really designed with that concept in mind, and it throws things off pretty heavily. No, there are no third-party utilities to empty this folder for you, as it's a proprietary closed database in Samsung's app.


text:
find command says: unknown group XYZ
This question is the next part of this question. I'm trying to use find command (Android 4.2.1; Busybox installed, have root access) to list files owned by a specific group under /, but every time I use it I get the same reply. E.g. I'm trying to find all the files owned by group adb using find / -group adb and the output says:

find: unknown group adb

I tried both single-double quotes but no effect. Tried for other groups but no effect again.
How should I use find then?

The method of using find is correct.
However there is no group "adb".
Run id -p to get all groups. You will get

groupid(name)

Then run find / -group <groupid>.

The groupid is an integer.

+1. It works. I was just focusing on the name considering this -group NAME/ID  File is owned by given group while it was supposed to be ID that needed to be passed. Could you mention what would be passed as NAME?

Could you also take a look at a similar questions here? That would be very helpful.


text:
I have 2 androids saving doc is my problem
I want to write a doc or text in my program that came installed on my devices and save it to my 32 gig micro sd that my tablet now recognizes. HOw do I do that?

What is the name of this program (hyperlink too)? Can you not somehow select/see the location as your SD card when you try to save the doc/text file?  You've added [tag:insufficient-memory] tag which is often the case only when device is having low memory issues (system messages of such). Please [edit] and remove this tag if there is no such issue. Also mention the details I asked here.

Depending on the application, there should be an option in the settings that allows you to choose your storage medium. If that option is not there, then I suggest saving it on the cloud. Moving manually may not work the way you want. If you do want to move it manually, then download Astro File Manager. From there, navigate to the default folder (each application may be different and because you haven't told us the application name, I can't help you there). Find the file you desire to move and from there it should be obvious.


text:
"Storage space running low. Some system functions may not work"
I have  Sony Xperia v3 and I always get the error "Storage space is running low. Some system functions may not work." What should I do to solve this problem?

"what should I do to solve this problem" -- I suggest taking a look at the tag-wiki insufficient-memory. It has lots of similar answered questions that would help you to resolve or lead you to next step in solving the issue. Do come back to this question if you don't find anything useful or for posting an answer to help someone in future. :)

Tanks u very much

This question is way too broad and was asked to death, general consensus is

remove applications and media you don't need, if you are rooted remove unused system apps
move as much applications to sd-card
install a cleaning application (like clean master), they can make a difference
use cloud applications such as dropbox to sync your heavy files across multiple computers and devices, why store all those >5MB pictures you've taken on your limited device if your Hard drive has much more capacity?


text:
Unable to take screenshots, "Couldn't save screenshot, storage may be in use" error
I am just trying to take a screenshot of my starbucks rewards card, so I can print it out. Apparently a lot of apps like netflix, hulu, and starbucks recently have been restricting screenshots for obvious reasons. All the screenshot tools I try give me an error (I have root access). The error is always " Couldn't save screenshot. Storage may be in use".

Related: How can I take on-device screenshots of “secure” apps?

It might probably due to permissions error in KitKat (and Lollipop) running Android phones.
♦ Layman Solution :
The most common way is to reboot your android phone and try taking the screenshot.
If it doesn't cut it, try going into safe mode and come back to normal mode back.
♦ Professional Solution :
Wipe dalvik cache in recovery mode.
♦ For Xiaomi users :
Create a folder called Screenshots in /sdcard/DCIM/
Note: MIUI saves screenshots in /sdcard/DCIM/screenshots/

Install “ES File Explorer” from the Play Store. Open it and navigate to internal SD card storage
Delete “Pictures” folder
Create a  new “Pictures” folder and open it and make “Screenshots” folder inside “Pictures" folder

Follow these steps to get your screenshots up and running:

Open file manager
Look for PICTURES folder.
Rename it to PICTURES2 or something

That's it. Screenshots up and running.
Now why is that? That's because the folder PICTURES is actually supposed to be Pictures. When you try to capture a screenshot, the screenshot app looks for a folder called Pictures but since it doesn’t exist, it tries to create it. But File Manager doesn’t differentiate between Pictures and PICTURES. Hence the error. When you do the rename and capture a screenshot you can actually see a folder called Pictures created. Now you can move the data from PICTURES2 to Pictures (only the important one and without deleting any existing content in Pictures). It is safe to delete the PICTURES2 folder after this.
(This solution is tried by me on One Plus 2 and it worked.)

In case you have tried other solution but hasn't worked , try this: unmount your SD card on setting and then mount your SD card back. This actually worked for me.

I had the problem
When choosing to store on phone it works
While when use to store on sd card give the same error
I tried all the solutions but didn't work
But at last i tried this and worked
Creat a folder in the sd card and name it Pictures
Then create another folder inside it and name it Screenshots

Thats not any type of app restriction. Its a bug in your software part.
You can try this->
Go to /sdcard/Pictures/screenshots and rename screenshots to something else. Restart and retry taking the screenshot.

have you lot  actually looked to see if your phone HAS taken a screenshot? because I get that error message but the screenshot has been taken and IS saved, even though it says it can't save it.

this is more of a comment than an Answer. You need to earn sufficient reputations to be able to comment on other's post.

I went into file manager and moved everything from the phone to the SD card and it solved the problem.


text:
The SamsungGalaxyAce doesn't let me download apps!Even with a huge SD Card
I have a Samsung Galaxy Ace and a 4GB SD card, I only have one app that is whatsapp, and When I try to download another app That is 40MG(a lot less than 4GB), it says insufficient Space, but I go to settings and it says that I have 3.69GB of space on SD card, and on the phone's space that comes with it says 20 MG available, so I have 3.69GB,and 20MG, and it doesn't let me download apps!What do I do?

If the device info is correct here then your device's internal memory is 158MB (quite low IMO) in total out of which you can use Diskinfo(see Userdata in it) and Diskusage (both <1MB individually)to see how much space is used and is available. You can then uninstall any app that you may have installed at some time but don't remember.
However, I don't see much scope here since the issue would arise again sooner or later considering the (very low) storage set by OEM.
Note that the storage used by apps is /data which is different from the external SD card that you've of any size. Some apps until Android 4.2+ can transfer data files (.obb) into external SD card rather easily but it is a painful job in above versions now.

Apps do not download directly to the SD card, even as far back as Gingerbread. You must have adequate built-in storage to do this. Once installed you can move some bits of some apps to the SD card, but internal storage will still be required for some things. Kitkat and Lollipop make this even worse by effectively making the SD card read-only.
I suggest bringing up WhatsApp's app info and seeing how much cache space it's taking up. Clearing cache on apps -- even built-in ones -- can help significantly.

authors: فياض جيروديه


text:
Recovering contacts from my phone
My boyfriends phone was stolen & all we want out of it is the contacts. The phone is currently activated & being used. Can we retrieve the contacts & put them on another phone? If so, does the new phone have to be activated first?

Are your contacts backed up on Google account? If so, they will be automatically added to the next device you login to with the same account.

If your boyfriend was using his Google account to store his contacts, he can access the contact information at https://contacts.google.com/
When he signs into a new android phone with his Google account, the contacts will be available.
Note: If the phone is still being used and activated, I would suggest he change his passwords, as well as report it to the carrier so the phone can be blocked.

Google Sync is a valid option. If it was setup on that phone just change your password, connect to that account with new phone and in contacts menu select Import>From Google Account(s)

Second option (has nothing to do with android):
It's not a 100% reliable way, and will depend on your mobile provider. Take ANYTHING that might prove that the sim-card was yours: top-up receipts, the big  plastic card from the sim (with phone number,pin, puk codes, etc. written on it), if you topped up online a bank statement with those payments might also do.  Pay them a visit, explain what happened they might help you recover your contacts and if you are lucky the number as well!
Second option worked out for me once, although they did charge me a little for the contact retrieval.


text:
Screenshot with Galaxy Note 4
I'm having difficulty taking a screenshot my galaxy note 4.
I'm doing the power button + home button method.
I press and hold the power button slightly before I start pressing and holding the home button.
What this does is brings up the google voice command screen (as if I've just held the home button).
Any suggestions for resolving this?

Put the side of your hand on the left side of the screen and swipe to the right. That should do it.

Yeah, that's actually a reasonably good solution. Feels awkward doing it though. :)

You can also use your stylus to take screen shots (just press button on stylus and long press with it on note 4 device ).

There are 3 ways to take a screenshot with the galaxy note 4 :

As @MythrilMagician mentioned it, by putting the side of your hand on the left side of the screen and swipe to the right.
As @reachrk said, by using the stylus. Press the stylus buton, then select the last option of Air Command : Screen write. See here.
You can also try to press Home button + Power button for 1-2s.


text:
Google calendar notifications in double on Galaxy S3
I have used Calendar S, the stock calendar application on the Galaxy S3, for a few years but I recently started using the Google calendar applications instead on my Galaxy S3.
The issue I'm experiencing is that every time I receive a notification from Google Calendar, the stock application notification also appears. I always get them in double. I tried disabling the notifications in Calendar S but they are set back to enabled automatically. I also tried to remove all my calendars from the stock application but in this case it removed all calendars from the Google Calendar applications as well. It seems that the configurations of both Google Calendar and Calendar S are tied together in some way.
My question is: Is there a way to completely disable the Samsung Calendar S application in order to use Google calendar only as the main calendar application in Android ? My phone is a Galaxy S3 with the latest version of Android installed (4.4.2).

Have you tried disabling the app from the "Applications" in Settings?

I found the application details for "S Planner " in the Settings under "application manager" -> "All", however the "disable" button is greyed out and I cannot click on it.

Highest official firmware for Galaxy S3 is up to 4.3. If your phone is running 4.4.2 maybe it's a custom ROM.
Anyway you can disable the calendar storage on the Application-> "All" tab
or just root the phone and remove the S Planner (I believe it's S planner instead of Samsung Calendar S?)

I strongly against with "disabling calendar storage". Without calendar storage, user cannot store calendar data locally.

What gives. He planned not to use  the calendar anyway.
Is there a way to completely disable the Samsung Calendar S application in order to use Google calendar only as the main calendar application in Android
And the Google calendar can use data from Google account.

Umm, I didn't see it that way though. He seems wanting to use only 1 calendar app (which preferably is Google calendar). Edit: yes, Google calendar can use data from Google account, but Google calendar also uses "Calendar storage" to sync/store the events. If it's disabled, then Google calendar also cannot store the events (disclaimer: I have developed a calendar app. By default, it will use "Calendar storage")

As mentioned above in a comment under the question, I found the application details for "S Planner " in the Settings under "application manager" -> "All", however the "disable" button is greyed out and I cannot click on it.

And regarding the official firmware for the Galaxy S3, my device is provided by a service provider (Telus in Canada) and their official firmware is 4.4.2 at this time.

To summarize the discussions associated to that answer, disabling the calendar storage seems to be a bad idea because Google Calendar uses it as well. And the Galaxy S3 stock "S Planner" application cannot be disabled. Therefore this does not really answers the question, but it clarified how Android manages the calendar however.


text:
Android 4.3.1 : Touchscreen not responding on return from sleep / or after call's end
My phone has Android 4.3.1.
Sometimes, when it returns from sleep, or at the end of a phone call, the touchscreen does not respond. I have to press the power button several times to make the touch screen responsive. In the worst case, I have to remove the battery and turn it on again.
What can I do to resolve this issue?
Thank you!

Which device is this? Do you see a black screen when trying to return it from sleep or after ending a call, or you see the screen as it usually appears but it doesn't respond? The former is a case I've heard of, so I'm asking for confirmation.

No , the screen is as usually , just doesn't respond

Yes !.... woke my nexus 7 after being in sleep mode all night and it fired up perfectly with no dodgy touch screen issues at all.
Could it be that simple that Chrome browser was causing the problems all along ?
another bonus is using Opera Browser.... after being a die-hard fan of Chrome for many years on my desktop PC, it was a very slight learning curve to master Opera.
It's running so smooth and quick !

Please post multiple answers only when the content differs widely. That is not the case here. Note that you can always edit your own post. Consider deleting this one and edit the earlier one.


text:
Fix for "Trebuchet has stopped"
I recently installed cyanogemod 12 unofficial version on my xiaomi redmi 1s.But whenever I try to lock a folder on my home screen it says "Unfortunately trebuchet has stopped working".I want to know if it can be fixed.

Method 1: Clearing data and cache

Go to system Settings > Apps > Open “All” tab > Select Trebuchet
Click Force Close> Clear data and Clear cache of Trebuchet
Restart the phone

Method 2: Install a different launcher

Install a different launcher like Nova or Apex and set is as default launcher
Since you already have Trebuchet it might conflict with the new launcher so  with root explorer or file explorer go to System > Apps > Delete/Rename Trebuchet to something else

Method 3: Weird fix

Simply press menu button and you should see “Trebuchet Settings”
( If you still can’t find the Trebuchet settings, install a launcher like Apex or Nova > Widgets > Activities > Trebuchet > Preferences. Now you can access Trebuchet Settings/Preferences from Homescreen.)
From Trebuchet Preferences >  Go to Dock Divider deselect and reselect it.
From Trebuchet Preferences > Homescreen> Set the number of Homescreen to 7.
From Trebuchet Preferences > Homescreen> Enable search bar.

Source

Note: this is probably specific to latest Android 5x updates which are pushed out by Cyanogen.
You need to enable Google (Search ) App if it is disabled. You can find it in Settings → Apps → Disabled section.
Here is another specific fix.

Wipe cache and data in recovery. Reboot.
If problem persists install latest version of Cyanogenmod (dont dirty flash) --->
CM12.1 R8 link

how do I "Wipe cache and data in recovery"


text:
Cannot load the page when opening YouTube link in HTTPS on stock browser
When I try to play YouTube video in Android stock browser, it is showing blank screen.
Log message:
 Blocked URL: [blocked] The page at 'https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ij_0p_6qTss' was loaded over HTTPS, but displayed insecure content from 'http://...`: this content should also be loaded over HTTPS.

If I try to play the same video with HTTP, it is playing fine. It seems like WebView is blocking redirection from HTTPS to HTTP.
can anyone clarify me how to bypass the error?

If i play the same video in Nexus 5 chrome browser it plays fine

I removed my comment since it's misguiding. Anyway, could you clarify the question? Do you want to know why stock browser blocks, or how to bypass this error on stock browser, or both, or..? Some browsers may ignore this and just load all contents anyway.

The browser is working correctly..Its a bug in the website as mentioned here..The reason it works on other browser is becuase some browsers still loads the page if there are mixed content and some browsers blocks the content..

I want to know how to bypass without ignoring ssl.

I am writing this answer because it may help someone.
I solved this by adding

Settings.setMixedContentMode(WebSettings.MIXED_CONTENT_ALWAYS_ALLOW);


text:
How to put LG G2 in fastboot mode?
Is there any way to get an LG G2 (running the latest version of stock software, Lollipop 5.0.2) in fastboot mode?  None of the methods listed anywhere online work for me.  I'm getting the feeling that it's not an option on this device, but I've heard no definitive confirmation of that.
Here's what I've tried and has not helped:

Turning the device off, holding down power and volume down buttons, releasing them when the LG logo displays, and holding them down again to power up.  This brings the phone into Factory data reset mode, in which the only option is to Erase all user data & restore default settings.
Turning the device off, holding the volume up, and plugging a connected USB cable into the phone.  This brings the phone into Download Mode.
adb reboot fastboot.  This reboots the phone normally.
adb reboot bootloader.  This also reboots the phone normally.

(If you're wondering why I need to get into Fastboot: How to Clear Caches in LG G2 Running Lollipop 5.0.2.)
To be clear, I mean that fastboot devices lists nothing when I do any of the above methods.  But adb is working.

I thought only Samsung devices had download mode. Anyway download mode should be fastboot mode

Download mode may appear prior to fastboot mode.

Boot down the phone
Keep holding down Volume Up button.
Put a USB cable that is connected to a PC in to phone.
Continue holding Volume Up button throughout download mode until fastbood mode appears and you can release the Volume Up button.

Extra: Here's the how-to video.

Can you explain the issue in this existing answer?

@Firelord Should other answers suck for me to provide an answer?

Not that I understand what you wrote in comments, I mentioned that answer and sought your input because your answer is more or less covered in that existing answer. Adding redundancy on a page doesn't help.

@Firelord One difference is that, that answer says Power Button should also be held down, mine doesn't.

This puts the phone in download mode, not fastboot mode, so it doesn't answer the question in any ways. It isn't even mentioned if download mode is a complete replacement for fastboot mode or not. First I also confused the two, but fastboot devices doesn't recognise an LG G2 in download mode.

Per this thread, the fastboot is entered in when boot partitions get corrupted. For obvious reasons, I'm not overly thrilled about testing this theory by corrupting my boot partitions :)

SarpSTA's answer is correct, but if you're on Windows you may need to install qualcomm drivers for some versions of the LG G2. I had to do this for the ls980 as per this post:

Start by installing qualcomm drivers on your windows machine to better
  detect which mode your phone is in right now:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3hovx8h7nauy7e6/Qcomm_Drivers.zip?dl=0
Unzip into a regular folder onto desktop. Plug in device and go to
  device manager. Find device that is phone, right click and update
  driver. Choose option to provide your own driver and point to the
  location of the entire folder of qualcomm drivers on the desktop. When
  done, note how the device is described in device manger. It should be
  more specific now. It sounds like you may be in a QDLoader 9008 mode
  since no partitions are showing up for you.

Even though it said my drivers appear to be up to date, it would not boot into fastboot mode until after attempting to update from this Qualcomm_Drivers package. Prior to that it would mount a bunch of drives.

Power off your LG device;
Connect your USB cable to your computer, but not your phone
Press and hold the Power and Volume Up keys simultaneously. Hold for about 5 to 8 seconds. Now connect the other end of the USB cable to your phone;
Done!
If it worked, you're welcome.

Hi I had the same problem on my LG G2 mini.
This command worked for me:
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/laf
By doing so, the phone can't enter Download mode and enters Fastboot mode instead.
Use with caution though, I don't know what this really does to the device!

I believe this corrupts your partition so that your device automatically enters fastboot. I am just guessing though. dd usually overwrites stuff.

this used to be a workaround for older devices. meanwhile fastboot seems to removed completely

all you have to do is hold down the volume down button and the power button and then plug in the USB cord real fast as it starting up and then we'll go straight into fastboot mode


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How to listen to music off an SD card?
I have a new LG G3 and I want to listen to music that is saved on my SD card. How do you do this?

Your phone should have a built in app (Google Music, Music or such) for music playback and they usually auto-detect any music on your phone (in any folders you can access). Keep in mind that there is no "best" app out there - they all have flaws like not having 100% effective bluetooth control or consuming more battery with equalizer.

I've tried some of the most popular ones, but returned to default one, because of lack of bluetooth forward/rewind support on most players.

Default music app (whatever it might be on your device) is usually gives you everything most users would need.
Winamp (unfortunatelly no longer on google play) boasted a good equalizer, but quite frankly it doesn't compare to n7.
n7 Player is somewhat uniquely designed and has decent equalizer options, but equalizer produces delay between action (like song switch) and playback.
Also it seems to somewhat increase battery consumption.
double twist player has a lot various expansions and online functionality however, most of those features aren't free.
Poweramp Player I've been reminded of this one in the comments. It did not catch my attention, however, at the time I was checking out it WAS one of the highest rated ones.
Rocket Player I haven't tried this one. However seeing as it is free and has decent ratings it might be worth checking out.
As for the playback, if you have music on your sd card, open up your music app and the music should be there.

If there is something preventing you from listening to your music please specify it.

I would like to add PowerAmp and  Rocket Music player to that list..there's  both free and pro versions..

Wouldn't hyperlinks for the said app make this answer more better?

Why not. A bit redundant, considering that Google Play return instant matches with any of those names, though. To be honest, I thought I would see the question extended  and have to change my answer completely.

There are two ways to do it. The first method is to connect the SD card to a computer and dump the music in. From there you can use any app that supports audio files. The other method is only if you have music in your Google Play library. You can add music by purchasing or by uploading to your music library. Once you have done either (or both, whatever), go into the Google Play Music app on your phone, tap settings and click storage location. From there set it to external (when you have inserted the SD card into your phone). Once you have done that select what album you want to download and hit the download button, which is an arrow pointing downwards, hitting a vertical line.

If you are taking about microSD, the pop them into the card slot and the let Google Music or other software as mentioned by @zero discover. If its SD card, then you should use a card read to connect SD to a PC and then copy them into your phone.
HTH.


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Can screen dimming apps damage the screen?
With recent research suggesting melatonin levels linked to blue wavelengths of light via the melanopsin, a plethora of phone screen dimming apps have been released.
My sister claims they can damage the screen: they flicker the LEDs more than the manufacturers brightness controls. Is such a claim true? Can they really damage the screen?

The short answer is NO. Unless you try to go over default brightness (which could potentially burn the LED), your screen leds are desgined for changing brightness and colors.
Leds work differently than most lightbulbs and flicker has much smaller effect on them.

Longer version of explanation
First of all, leds do not "flicker" the way fluorescent light bulbs do when they glow. LEDs glow by steadily releasing energy (photons) from electrons whereas most other light bulbs rely on heat to release light.

Incandecent - These bulbs are literally a wire that's being heated and the light from that same wire.
Fluorescent tubes - A bit too complex to explain in once answer, but in short, they rely on electricity to heat (basically) a wire that heats gas which in turn activates phosphor emitting the light.

A point to note here that both lamps heavily rely on heat to shine and in turn, breaking current could result in heating elements getting damaged

LEDs light is emitted a little differently. Diode (the glowing bit of LED) consists of positive charged and a negative charged plates. When affected by electricity the charges are forced to mix, which causes electrons to release energy (light).

Flicker on most heating light bulbs damages their components
Now the reason I say LEDs don't flicker the way other light bulbs do is because other light bulbs mostly heat-up and cool rapidly during each flash. In addition to that additional heat may be inflicted on the heating component during a short reverse of phase occasionally happens on power breaks. To summarize, flickering causes the heating component to crack or burn out on standard light bulbs.
LED light emission doesn't rely on heat, also, if current is reversed (like it unusually gets on power cuts or breaking current) on LED it doesn't simply shine the way most other lights do - as in fact it pulls the positive/negative charge away from each other preventing a glow.
Flicker on LEDs
As far as i know LEDs can only flicker when electric current is too low to maintain constant mix of charges between the 2 semiconductors, which would result in burst exchanges every time diode is "charged" with enough electricity.
Flickering as well as dimming by itself is known to reduce the lifespan of an standard (room-lighting and small) LEDs by 30-60% (according to various sources).
Anyways, phone screens are designed to last while being dimmed and under changing current, so even if your screen suffers it will probably outlast the phone.

Summary
With that in mind an led with lower current might glow dimmer or change color, but the light-stream should remain steady - at least on screens.
If they DO flicker (I could not produce the flicker on 3 of my android devices), they are technically getting their lifespan reduced, but still not enough to matter.
LED screens (with everything they contain) are designed to be dimmable and most apps you see on the market are most likely just exploiting device settings.
Side Notes
If you can perceive a flicker it will reflect on your health more than it will on the phone. Be wary of unusual headaches or dry/tired eyes.
Easiest way I found to detect display changes on screen is filming the screen  as you're changing the settings. If flickering DOES occur you should see it quite clearly in the video.

I know for a fact it is flickering, because if i am in a dark room, and i move the phone quickly, i see discrete areas of light, like rectangles, where the phone was moved through

I've updated my answer, also, what app are you using? I've got Samsung Galaxy S4, S4 mini and Trend 2 (all different price ranges) I was unable to produce flicker with Screen Filter Module (xposed).

The flicker is not noticeable to the human eye, unless you do a trick. Go to a completely dark room, and take your phone, and pass it left and right across your face as fast as you can
You will noticed slight discrete squares. If not, your screen may not be dim enough. To dim more:
Download the twilight app. Put it on max dimness. Set your phone to max dimness. Now try. Let me know if that works for you. Tested on Samsung Galaxy S6

I have tried it, and while the dimming transition was too smooth (fairly distinct steps from dim to bright and the other way around) I did not experience any flicker on dimmed screen in my dark closet - will try my room at night. If you have the option try using 'screen filter' module on xposed framework (requires root). It allows going much dimmer than 'twilight' (almost to the point where screen is too dim to see in day light) and still no flicker.

LEDs /can/ flicker... if they are dimmed with PWM instead of a constant-current driver.

Aren't pulse-width-modulation the way of LED screens, hence refresh rate?

Please note that screen dimming apps apply a filter over the phone's screen. It's an overlay, so I don't think it will cause any damage the screen. But it will decrease the brightness just by applying a filter over your LED brightness (just like applying sun protection in a car window). Some screen dimming apps provide different colors while applying filters like blue, black, yellow etc.
On a side note, do remember that these filter apps does not allow installation of .apk files. So you have to disable the screen dimmer app and then install the app.

They could potentially change the filter from pure black to light color over and over and over every other frame, flickering. I know for a fact it is flickering, because if i am in a dark room, and i move the phone quickly, i see discrete areas of light, like rectangles, where the phone was moved through

As developer of a popular non-profit Bluelight Filter app, we can assure you that you can safely use screen dimming and filter apps without any worries that it will affect your LCD/LED display.
Screen dimming apps work in two ways. One, they allow you to change the screen brightness, just as in your display settings. Brighter screens do burn your screen more, but it should not be a problem as the LCD/LED displays generally far outlive the phone. A bigger concern would be that bright light is not good for your eyes or that brighter screens drain your battery faster.
The second way is to apply a semi-transparent color layer on top of your screen. This has no effect on the LCD display. The reason is that, the video display processor calculates the effective pixel color before setting each pixels color. So if you have multiple semi-transparent layers, it just mathematically works out the color and brightness to be applied to the pixel on screen before passing it on to the hardware pixels. So there is absolutely no extra flicker associated with the screen filter other than what would be associated with the normal refresh cycle of the display.

What about serving black Frame a intermittently? Does the Android app twilight do that? It seems to be able to dim the screen far beyond OS brightness settings

No, Twilight does not use black frames. You can get any dimness all the way upto 100% opacity. Just think of a fully black layer over your screen. The brightness setting essentially changes the maximum brightness value of the display. But within that range of minimum brightness to maximum brightness, the darker colors emit lesser light while whiter/lighter areas emit more night. The overlay essentially makes the screen darker. That is why apps such as Twilight is able to give more darkness than what the brightness setting alone could achieve.

I don't know if you know this but the way that LEDs work and dimming light bulbs work is that they only have one brightness. Any amount of dimming is simply caused by strobing. I've wired them myself. Search YouTube for how dimming bulbs work

Guess we are not talking of LED bulbs here. As far as LED displays such as AMOLED, the brightness of a pixel is proportional to the power applied. In the case of LCD screens, backlit by LED or otherwise, it is the transmittance of the Liquid Crystal layer in front of the backlit that is changed by varying the power (voltage & current) supplied to the individual pixels.

The answer is YES but this happens only with some phones.
I have a Samsung S5 I used twilight App for a while, and after I uninstalled it I got my screen damaged, a random rectangulars with random colors appears in the screen when I reduce the brightness to the minimum.
The same happened to the phone of my friend after using the same App.

That's what happened to my sister

Perhaps, they can. My sister ran a f.lux like app (Twilight) for a while, now her screen flickers green, shows scan lines, and shuts off randomly while dimming the screen.
However my friend ran it for over a year and had no issue. Proceed with caution.
I have chosen to use twilight most nights, as my eyes are worth more than my phone screen.
Edit: I wrote this in 2015 -- it's now 2017 and I chose to use screen dimming apps every day since. Well, still no problem, phone runs fine. Not sure why my sister's phone had issues. Out of caution I did delete twilight and started using the built in android blue-light filter.
EditEdit: It's now 2019 and screen dimming apps are ubiquitous on all OS's and platforms, I think it's safe to say they do not damage screens. My sisters phone must have been anomalous.

Why do you think the problems are due to Twilight?  Perhaps the screen would have failed even without any screen-dimming app.

I'll be honest, I don't know. But it only has the screen damage when the screen is dimmed. It is pure assumption on my part to therefore blame twilight.

If you doubt Twilight, you can try our Bluelight Filter app. It is tiny, ad-free and does not use any black frames for dimming.

Just one note (true for older androids): I don't know exact workings of all smartphones, but older android phones can turn on and work without a screen connected. It would generally take a short circuit or a software failure to force a phone crash (like you describe).
This is important because LEDs (btw, not the type that are used in screens) are the only screen components are known to be damaged by low currents, but they still only pass current 1 way and can't cause a short circuit. With that said, if an app caused LEDs to fail, the screen might not work, but the phone would not shut down.


text:
How to root my phone without PC?
I have a indian phone . I am giving below its specifications

Manufature-Vox
Model-Kick k5
1.2 Ghz single core processor
4.512 MB RAM
256 MB ROM
Android 4.4.2

I have tried many apps like framaroot, Vroot, Oneclick root, Universal Androot but theydonot work. Help me to root it without PC.

I am not sure but try using **Lambda ** app from link

I already rooted two devices with towelroot and it worked very well. But I'm not sure if it will work with your device.


text:
App is kept in memory, content is not
On my GPE S4 (Android 5.0.1), if I change from Firefox or Google Sheets or ezPDFreader to another application for more than 1 or 2 minutes, and come back, the data is loaded again. It is not only bad for my data plan, but is also time consuming. I monitor data usage, it is not just re-rendering.
On my Nexus 4 (Android 5.0), applications in the background keep content for an hour or more. It is quite strange, as they have the same amount of memory, 2GB.
Is there a setting for this? How can I avoid unnecessary reloads?

The problem is in RAM usage of your firmwares. Nexus has a fewer "stock app" processes running in the background, thus it consumes less random access memory, so there is more of it for user apps. This means, you can launch more apps simultaneously without having some of them to be killed in the background!
Samsung tried to include as more "cool features" as possible to their devices like a pretty (and heavy) TouchWiz, much of bloatware, and all other "special" features also consume RAM.
There are several ways solving this issue:
One of them is switching to a custom ROM. Like CyanogenMod. It will really help you, but u might loose some of your phones abilities (mostly useless of them).
Another one is, you can disable all the bloatware, uninstall some unnecessary apps, that run in the background (you might have to root your ROM for some of them) disable ALL unused features like Live wallpapers, and much more. Disable some autorun apps, using 3C Toolbox (root). For more info, Google "how to free ram on" and your device name.
I strongly reccomend you to do a backup of your ROM before you begin! Otherwise, be really careful!
Good luck :)

as I wrote, it GPE (google play edition), so none of the usual Samsung bloatware is there

@András If RAM isn't a problem, then I have found some interesting info here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1175236
They say, some carriers install a task killer, that closes background apps after X minutes.

I assume its only for browsers (and some high end gamed maybe)? Because file managers should well maintain that. Same with music and possibly other apps.
Actually, there is not really any workaround for this sadly (not on unrooted atleast0. Its the way browsers are made. If an app or system has to reload content, it will because it has decided to. No stopping it. Its not a memory or ram or any other problem, just the way app is made or that specific android os on phone is designed to work.
To be accurate, it doesn't really reload. It rerenders.
For instance, say you start a game and android decides to free up some ram by clearing or suspending background apps, then it will kill the chrome and it will have to "reload" next time you start. Even if you dont start some heavy task, chrome and similar will still rerender.
From How to force browsers not to reload recently seen page after resume? | Android Enthusiasts Stack Exchange:

the browser isn't actually reloading, in the sense of reissuing the
  HTTP GET request; rather, it's simply re-rendering the existing HTTP
  response that it presumably has lying around in its cache. I say this
  because I've seen this happen without network connectivity; if I then
  tap the "reload" button, it gives the error you'd expect ("Cannot load
  page because I cannot connect to the Internet" or whatever.)

browsers had to rerender if it has been killed by the system
  (generally when a foreground apps needs more memory). With chrome,
  rerendering is a bit obvious because chrome displayed a grayscale
  screenshot of the page while it's rerendering. If you want to prevent
  rerendering at all, you should avoid switching to a heavy application
  (e.g. games). How much states are preserved across rerendering depends
  on the quality of implementation of the browser.

it is not just re-rendering, I minister data usage

Well, its the way the app/os is designed then. Using custom OS might help but otherwise there's no way while unrooted. I suggest you read the discussion's answer I gave link to (and the comments following).

Via Browser is the only way I've found to avoid this problem. (Besides already having a lot of RAM anyway)
Make sure "Go back without reloading" is checked under Advanced settings.
Here's the play store link
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=mark.via.gp
If you look outside the play store you may also find special versions with other features.


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Sync Google Reminders with calendar
There any way / program for synchronization Google Reminders, which use for Google Now, with calendar?
I need this because I have cloud calendar (btw this cloud on the google too :) and so uncomfortable when Google Reminders saves data only local on my device (phone and watch).

I believe that this is covered in the same way that Inbox app covered reminders. According to this document, these events should show up in your calendar. Have you updated your calendar app?

Thanks for your answer! I tried Inbox and I have updated calendar app. Calendar get data from the cloud service xxx@gmail.com and from local Google Reminders, it's call "SyncML Orphaned". But it shows only in calendar on the device. I need to synchronize local calendar (SyncML Orphaned) with cloud (xxx@gmail.com). I want that local calendar upload on the cloud because I have more devices which use cloud calendar (iPad for example) and as you can understand there no information from my phone with local calendar (SyncML Orphaned) because it doesn't synchronize with cloud calendar.


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Linux Elementray Os Luna not showing in my devices when I connect my Asus Zenfone 5

It seems to work fine in other Windows based laptops but when I connect it to my Dell (with Elementary Luna) it doesn't show in my devices but it still charges. I have turned on MTP and also USB Debugging so what am i missing here?

Do you have MTP installed? What does mtp-detect shows? In my Mint (variant of Ubuntu, like Luna) I sometimes use GMTP since my device doesn't show up in default file manager. However, regularly I prefer access over FTP. I made a guide here as well (you may try it if MTP doesn't work somehow).


text:
S3 mini switches off randomly

My S3 mini switches off when I use social media or browse internet, then won't switch on until I have put it on charge but then it has 75% battery, just comes off charge and then the same thing happens.
When I make or receive calls, it would mute on its own, turn on the bluetooth and/or just switch off.

Please advise what the problem could be.
Thanks
RG

Is you phone rooted? Does this happen when you connect to a wifi network too? Just put your phone in airplane mode and see what happens

Have you tried doing a factory reset, if that doesn't work it might be a faulty battery

-1, Nothing personal. I would definitely take it back if you first backup your claim about faulty battery. Also note  that asking clarifications is done via comments (subject to 50+ rep points). Please avoid it in the answer. Thanks!


text:
Android Memory Problem
So I had a problem with my memory today. I recently rooted my Samsung Galaxy Trend (GT-S7392) with RootGenius 1.8.7 I rooted my phone because I wanted to transfer apps to my ext sd card since Samsung Galaxy didn't support transferring apps to ext sd.
After rooting my phone, everything was fine, except I found out that my internal memory is full, so I checked it what was wrong with it and I saw that my system memory is taking all my space on internal memory. I dont really know what was the cause of it and my question is how to fix this?
-Total Space: 4.00 GB
-System Memory: 4.00 GB
-Applications: 210 MB
Sorry for my grammar, english is not my first language :)
Thank you in advance!

By any chance, could you download Terminal Emulator and then open it, and run the command "df" without quotes and show the screenshot of output? It will help getting clearer picture of memory distribution.

In addition to what @JaskaranbirSingh said, if possible, you may post the screenshot of default main view of the app Diskinfo(<1MB).

Hi there. I have provided the screenshots here http://m.imgur.com/eq5k7Yt,1I2aZk8,FylwCPP

The best solution would be format your mobile. There can be too much waste data in system memory.Or clean the system by using some cleaning app. There can be any number of reason behind this. BTW I would say that your mobile is outdated. In android, 512 ram and 4gb memory is not gonna do anything. It is gonna create problem again and again.

Hello Kumar Thank you for replying. I have downloaded a cleaning app and started cleaning but it still does not work. I also did the factory reset and nothing happened. This is only my temporary phone because i left my original phone back in japan and i will return to japan after two years of college here. Anyway, I cannot download anything on my brower because of the memory problem but the weird thing is i can download apps from play store

Vivek, that is kinda... not an appropriate answer. Cleaner apps are worst thing to use in android. They.Dont.Work. Their only purpose is to extract money using ADs and stuff. Refer this-> Why cleaner apps are useless And the topic isnt related about ram and performance hardware, so lets skip that ;)


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Gallery not showing images
I'm using an S Note 4 and my gallery isn't working.
My gallery won't show anything, none of my images are showing up even though I had hundreds and now they have all suddenly vanished even though I can see them in the data folders, it happened to a friend of mine but he hasn't fixed it either. Would anyone here know how to fix this?


text:
How to set a lossless quality wallpaper?
I'm trying to set a .png file I had prepared myself as the wallpaper, but the thing apparently (as in EVIDENTLY) gets converted to a .jpg.
It strikes me odd google.com has nothing on this issue, that's why I've come here.
Is there a way to set a .png wallpaper without it being converted to .jpg? A workaround app maybe?

This is a png screenshot, scaled x2. Note the artifacts by the edge of the shape.
EDIT: 6 JUNE 2015
Conclusions from my investigation (and answers below) so far:

Android stores the wallpaper file in a png
This means the fault lies within the piece of code doing the cropping and saving the new file
In my context (samsung a3 original firmware) I have yet to find a resolution which would bypass the cropping tool, allowing me to set the file as is

THERE ARE MEANS of achieving the effect though:

Muzei app is quite easy to set up, streaming whatever source you like to your wallpaper (including unconverted image files -- or a single file)
Surprisingly, Moonshine's wallpaper setter does its job the right way too, although it only handles the few graphics that are bundled with it (however lovely they are).

If you're looking for a workaround, you could try Muzei: it is a live wallpaper, which you can set your own wallpaper to.

Indeed, Muzei uses the original file and the quality doesn't change

Okay, if that solved it for you, tick the answer as correct so that we know.

Sadly, no. >:3 While it does achieve the effect, it doesn't per se point the system wallpaper location to the file I want, nor allows me to crop the image and save it to png. It certainly is some way to get the desired effect, but probably has its overhead.

Apparently if you set an image as wallpaper and if you have to crop it to fit as wallpaper then it gets saved as JPG as a result of image processing.
Please try this once...Find out the target devices' resolution and then create a wallpaper in the exact dimension. This way you just set a wallpaper without any image processing.
But interestingly, the Android developer page says the images for wallpaper are saved as PNG.

You've made the exactly same points as I in the meantime... Been on the developers page too. Using a file of twice the screens' width doesn't work with any combination of app that offers the functionality of setting a wallpaper, with launchers I have, including the default ones. The system is 4.4.4 on unrooted samsing a3.

I would recommend trying ES File Explorer. Along with its many features it allows you to set wallpapers from both within the app or from selecting from a list when choosing what wallpaper app to use.
Hopefully ES File Explorer will use the file as selected.

Steps:
(Use this method if you want to select the whole image, because if you set the background from within the app it wont be able to select  the whole image.)

Download and install ES File Explorer
Long press on your home screen until you get to select your wallpaper

Chose ES File Explorer
Navigate to where your image is and select it

Re-size to fit the whole image

Side-note: I don't know if this will convert your image, but from the best of my knowledge it just uses the file as is. This will allow you to select the image as a full image so hopefully it won't get 'jaggies' as shown above.


text:
can't access purchased apps
I have purchased apps from play store. At xmas, When my daughter got her tablet, I signed into my account and she could download all of the purchased apps. Today we got a new tablet and I am trying to do the same thing but it says I have to buy the apps again. Is there a time limit or device  limit for purchased apps?

If you have multiple devices and you are logged using same Id, then you can install the app on all of your devices without purchasing the app again and there is no time limit.

reachrk is correct. You must be using the wrong account.

Check your purchase history in Google Play Store. If your apps dont show up your using the wrong account


text:
Should the Droidstack application still work on my Android device?
I use the Droidstack tool as recommended on some answers from this forum. I haven't launched it for some time but I tried it again this week now it seems to be incapable of accessing the data. Is this an isolated issue or this application is now deprecated ? Perhaps a change in the API for StackExchange caused it ?
Thanks.

You should use the official app. SE's API is outside the scope of Android, you might ask on Meta Stack Exchange if you're interested in API details.

My interest in reality was more about the app than the API so I updated it in hope that it becomes more relevant.

The app has been removed from the Play Store so it definitely seems deprecated.

I'm just wondering why you are saying that it was removed ? The link to it included in my question still works.

I assume you are signed in to the Play Store?  It probably shows it because you have it installed.  I get We're sorry, the requested URL was not found on this server.

You are right I'm logged-in and I never realized that this was the behavior of Google Play. Thanks for the clarification.

As discussed in the comments, the Droidstack application was actually removed from Google Play, therefore we can assume it is now deprecated.


text:
Huge system data on my Blu quattro phone, #9009# does not work
Most of my Blu quattro (not rooted) phone's storage is taken by system data. I checked it with the DiskUsage application (system data takes about 800 MB of my 1 GB of phone memory). I saw this to be a known problem due to some log files that keep increasing indefinitely of size.
In order to delete them, it is suggested to type in the code *#9009# and select from the menu "delete dumpstate/logcat". However, when I type it I  see "invalid MMI code".
Any suggestion on how to delete these logs? I'd like to avoid rooting. On the web I found that factory reset does not solve the problem permanently but it only frees space temporarily, since after reset the system data keeps growing. Therefore, I need a  one-click solution that I can use whenever the system data becomes too big.