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What does zRAM mean?
I heard about a feature called zRAM in the new Android ROMs.
Does anybody have detailed information about it?

According to post over the XDA thread:

In order to explain more precisely ZRAM first need other terms are more clearly defined:
Swap can be compared with the swap file on Windows. If the memory (RAM) to complete the PC the data that are being used not actively outsource (eg:background applications) so as to re-evacuate RAM free. To this data is written to a hard disk. If required, this data is then read back from there easily. Even the fastest SSD is slower than the RAM. On Android, there is no swap!
In ZRAM unnecessary storage resources are compressed and then moved to a reserved area in the fixed RAM (ZRAM). So a kind of swap in memory. This Ram is more free because the data then only about 1/4 of the former storage requirements have. However, the CPU has to work in more because they compress the data has (or unpack again when they are needed). The advantage clearly lies in the speed. Since the swap partition in RAM is much faster than this is a swap partition on a hard drive.
In itself a great thing. But Android does not have a swap partition, and therefore brings Android ZRAM under no performance gain as would be the case with a normal PC.
In normal PC would look like this:
Swap = swap file (on disk) -> Slow
ZRAM (swap in RAM) -> Faster than swap
RAM -> Quick
With Android, there is no swap partition, and therefore brings ZRAM also no performance boost.
The only thing that brings ZRAM is "more" RAM. Compressed by the "enlarged" so to speak of the available memory. That's on devices with little RAM (<256MB) also pretty useful. The S2 has 1GB but the rich, and more than. There must not be artificially pushed up to 1.5 GB.
After you activate the ZRAM also has 2 disadvantages. The encoding and decoding using CPU time, which in turn has higher power consumption.
Roughly one can say (For devices with more than 512MB RAM):
Without ZRAM: + CPU Performance | + Battery | RAM
With ZRAM: CPU Performance |-Battery | + RAM
For devices with too little RAM so it makes perfect sense. But who shoots the S2 already be fully complete RAM and then still need more?
Check whether you can ZRAM runs in the terminal with
free or cat / proc / meminfo
I hope it helps to understand zRam!!!!


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Network storage application
I have android device eGreat U9 with attached external HDD. I'd like to use this device also as a NAS and mount it's drive as a network disk on my linux desktop. Here is what I've already tried:

SMB/CIFS server - transfer rates low and significant delay when mounted
SSHFS - even worse than the previous one (probably because of encryption overhead)
FTP - transfer rate over 8-10MB/s, so problem is not in my network at all, but when I tried to use ftp mount, it was really unusable

Is there any other way I can use it as a network storage? I tried more than one app for every solution above, but if you know about some certain application, that works for you, I would appreciate your advice.
On the device is rooted Android 4.2.

I can offer you a list of Various File Servers, including some for WebDAV (which you didn't try yet it seems). Apart from that, lists of vaious FTP Servers and SSH Clients & Server I have as well. With Linux on the desktop, NFS daemons might be a choice as well (list missing, oops!).

PS: Servers Ultimate is an app including an NFS server. Just updating the "various" listing, so later today there should be more alternatives.

Neither of them works. I've also tried Complete linux and installed samba on it, but transfer rate is still about 2MB/s.

Maybe you could try webdav with apache, and davfs2 on the client side. This should be about the same speed as FTP.
NFS is also an option, if your kernel supports it. However, if you want some security (neither of these options has encryption (ok, webdav can run over http), but at least authentication), nfs authentication is pretty hard to set up compared to webdav.
If you want some real security, you can use SFTP/sshfs, and fiddle with the SFTP's encryption settings, namely the set the Ciphers and MACs options (you have to set these client-side). There is probably a combination that is significantly faster, and any is still much more secure than nothing.
And for any of these, I would use some chroot-ed linux with native code, e.g. debian (it's quite easy to install with Lil'debi).

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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Check if Google Play Service is up to date
I have a Sony Xperia Z3 compact, and when I trying to broadcast my video live on YouTube from Xperia , I sign in with Google+ account and I received "Error when trying to sign in, please check if Google Play Service is up to date",what to do? ... When I buy my phone I updated all applications.

As a workaround you could sideload the last Google Play Services app.
You can check your version under Settings > Apps > All tab > Google Play Services.
Here in the Google Play Store you will find the latest version number or alternatively here at Google with some more in-depth info.
As a resource you could try and trust (hopefully) androidpolice.com and search for Google Play Services, download the app, allow Unknown sources under settings and sideload (install) the app.
/Update: APKMirror is the 'new' service from androidpolice where you find all apk's. Search here.
But usually after a short time Play Services should update automatically.

Check installed version via terminal:
adb shell
pm dump com.google.android.gms|grep version

You can install ApkTrack from F-Droid which checks periodically for updates to the installed applications. It uses multiple sources for checking if the applications have an update.
Just install it, open and tap on refresh button.

Open Google Play.
Tap the profile picture at the top right corner.
Settings.
About.
Play Store Version.

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

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


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Stop text messages from going into my Exchange account's Inbox
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 S5.

What's even worse is that it's not just a combined view; the text messages are actually inserted into your Inbox, so your private text messages sync back to your corporate email account, so they show up in Outlook on your PC, and they're available for your company's Exchange administrators to snoop on! It's probably the most annoying anti-feature I encountered when I first got started with Android.
The setting to make it stop doing that is there, but they hide it really, really well. Not only is it in an unintuitive location, but in order to get there you twice have to scroll down to hidden portions of the screen where there are no visual cues that indicate that there's anything more down below.
Here's how to ferret out the text message sync setting's hidden underground lair:

Select Settings from the menu (the soft button in the bottom left corner, not the hamburger menu in the top left corner).

Select Account Settings.

Select your Exchange account.

You'd expect to find it here under Sync Settings, presuming that this was designed with common sense, right? Well, you'd be wrong. Scroll down to find a hidden More settings button at the bottom, and tap it.

On the More settings screen, scroll down again.

Find the Sync text message setting, and uncheck it.

OMG, I have been searching for this solution for a month now.  It gets difficult when your wife wants to text you on your personal device that's connected to your business email.  Nothing says oops like a love text in your exchange.   Thanks much Adi.


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Change the notification sound in the new Inbox by Gmail
I looked for a way to change the default notification sound for new e-mails in Inbox but could not find the setting. In the Gmail app I could change the sound.
Does anyone know how to change it or if this is just using the default system sound?
I'm using a Nexus 4.

Looks like it is possible now. From the Help:

Open the Inbox app.
Go to the main menu at the top left.
Scroll down and choose Settings near the bottom.
Select your email address.
Make sure Notifications is checked.
Click 'inbox sound and vibrate'.
Click on "Sound" and choose your preferred notification tone.

With Gmail version 2019.03.03.240577312.release on an Android 8 phone:

Open Gmail, then settings.
Select the account you want to modify.
Select Manage notifications.
Select Sound, then choose a new sound among the list. Click OK.

It looks like Google did not include a way to change the notification sound in the Inbox app.
It does use the default system notification sound.
The only workaround as I see it is to change the default system sound to the one you want to use for Inbox, and then change all other app notification sounds as needed.
I use different sounds for each app that gives me notifications anyway, so for me changing the system default effectively only changed the Inbox sound.

Use the app NotifiCon. With this app you can change the new Gmail notification.


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Use Google's location service?
When I turn on my device's GPS, Android issues the following:

Use Google's location service?
  Let Google help apps determine location.  This means sending anonymous location data to Google, even when no apps are running.   [  ] Don't show again

That seems like a bad idea.  So I click 'Disagree' each time.  If I select the 'Don't show again' checkbox and then click Disagree, will Android interpret that as a permanent Agree or Disagree?
My experience is that sometimes what you think will happen with these sorts of options is not what really happens.

I can't tell you if it's a good idea or not, that really depends on the type of user you are, but what I can tell is the following:
That feature's main goal is to improve some of Google's services, which means, you may get location based ads, and if you have Google Now, location based cards, among others. Besides, many apps use Google to retrieve your location in a more efficient way.
Now, if you are still concerned about your privacy, do not worry. You can always enable/disable it later. How? Well, it depends on your device's configuration, but I think it's pretty safe to say you'll find the option by opening the app "Google Settings" and then in "Location".


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What information does Chrome/Android send to Google to discover my "WiFi based" location?
Their commercial geolocation API doc says it needs a list of every WiFi access point around, with, for each of them:

MAC address,
ESSID
signal strength,
a few others.

Common devices probably query the geolocation web service like this.
However, I'm interested in knowing if Chrome/Android actually sends more information to Google, like:

my device WiFi MAC address or "ID"?
my GPS location? (say, to geolocalize WiFi APs around me for Google)
etc.

The best answer would be a (sniffed) query dump from a WiFi enabled device (bypassing https). A source code review may also be useful, but for Chromium only.

Looking at the source code of Chromium, the data structure holding the Wi-Fi data doesn't seem to have any more data that you mentioned, so I find it unlikely that they actually send other Wi-Fi related data somehow in secret to their servers from Chrome. (Only age is added to the request afterwards as I can see.)
And it wouldn't make much sense anyway. Your device's Wi-Fi MAC address or ID or anything that is Wi-Fi related is completely irrelevant for the geolocation system. It doesn't matter who wants to know his own position, what address he uses etc. The results only depend on the data provided in the API. The MAC address of the Wi-Fi network provides the approximate position of the network itself and the other data like the signal strength make a distance estimation possible.
The device's GPS location could come handy for the system though. I guess that Chrome doesn't send it only because most of the devices running Chrome don't really have a GPS chip thus they don't know the GPS location. But Android devices simply have to send this data. As stated above the network's address is what provides the position information in the queries. For that Google needs to map a more or less exact location to the address and they need to collect that information somehow. Some years ago there was a scandal that the Street View cards didn't take just pictures, but also collected Wi-Fi data. They were forced to stop doing that so now the only logical way for them to collect it is to rely on the trillions of Android devices in the wild.

I'm particularly interested in the GPS stuff, as I think you're right about Google using our phones to populate its database, never saying so "explicitly". Sniffing such a query would be great.

Well, yeah. Good luck breaking HTTPS :)

Man in the middle... :) Or can we find this information in the open Android source code?

Man in the middle attacks don't work with sites using signed certificates. And the Android source... the device can legitimately send your coordinates to Google based on your settings, therefore finding  hidden code that sends it illegitimately can be a search for a needle in a haystack.

authors: وسام الطليباوي


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Android compresses all the photos I see online
My HTC One M7 (ARHD 81.0) is compressing all the photos/videos I see online. Instagram? Compressed (even more than normal). Imgur on Chrome? Compressed. Photos from bacon reader? Compressed. Google Drive? Compressed. You name it and my phone will compress it.
I was using opera max to cut down on my data usage but I removed it because I thought that it is the cause of my problem.
Any ideas on how to get this fixed?

Is this over 3G or Wi-Fi?

Over 3g. I can't verify right now if it will be the same on Wi-Fi.

The compression is actually performed by your carrier. Almost all mobile network carriers compress images to reduce bandwidth use on slow mobile connections.
You can avoid the compression by switching to a Wi-Fi network, or using an HTTPS connection to the website you want: since HTTPS is secured from interception, the carrier can't replace the pictures with its compressed versions.

Here's a good article on this topic: http://calendar.perfplanet.com/2013/mobile-isp-image-recompression/


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How do I disable zooming on text input focus?
I know there are certain tricks to disable zooming when making a web page, but how do I disable zoom on focus on my device?
I have Paranoid Android and the Xposed Framework, so, I know anything is possible.

Unfortunately, the answer is that you can't.
That's confirmed pretty conclusively by this bug report/feature request thread in the Chrome development forum. The thread goes all the way back to March 2014, and recent posts indicate that a means of disabling this behavior has not been implemented.
Sadly, recent indications are that the dev team is disinclined to implement such a setting in the future. Despite input from several people providing examples of how this feature can be an impediment, and requesting a setting to disable it, this response from a developer says that they avoid adding new settings, and they'd rather work on making it "less annoying":

#12: I haven't really noticed it zooming in on mobile sites.  When it does, we can consider that a bug, but I don't think a modal ban is the right approach.  I'd rather continuing tuning the policy so that it doesn't trigger when inappropriate.  Note also that the same code deals with animating the scroll position around when the on-screen-keyboard would cover the form field.  That behavior definitely desirable to preserve even on mobile sites.
#13: We generally try to avoid adding settings in Chrome; we'd rather tune this so it's less annoying for all users, not just the ones who discover the setting.  We already made a few improvements to make this trigger less frequently since the bug was originally filed; we might benefit from loosening it further to tolerate further zoom levels.

The bottom line is that it sounds like it's not possible and it's not going to be.
You can disable this behavior by using a browser other than Chrome, at least for any sites where you don't want automatic zooming on focus.

I'm currently looking for an XPosed module that will help out. I'll post my findings once I've done enough searching

I figured it out for FireFox users:

In the Firefox browser for Android, navigate to about:config.
Find the line named formhelper.autozoom
Set to false

This is especially beneficial to navigating websites in desktop mode,  without that nasty input zoom.

formhelper.mode can also be set to 0 to prevent the scrolling to form elements. Between these two settings you get rid of most of the misfeatures associated with mobile browsers.

Ah! ysh, firefox goes brr.....

That's a "solution" for the question asked, but it's a quite efficient workaround.
What helped me was:

Open mobile browser "settings"
Go to "accessibility"
Turn on the "show distance from display on main menu" option on (or whatever it's called on your browser)
When on site, set the distance from display to minimum. In my case it was 50%.

That setting altered the display to contain more content on my smartphone screen so zoom auto zoom didn't happen.

My solution that may help was to install an app called Windows Manipulator on my Android phone and then set the DPI significantly lower.  This gives me enough screen real estate (albeit with a significantly smaller font).
This seems to keep Chrome from zooming on focus as often.  I also switched to FlashFox Pro browser which does not zoom on focus frequently.
These 2 fixes combined have eliminated my complaints.  Hope this helps someone.

Welcome to [android.se]! Thank you for your contribution, could you also add the link for the apps you mentioned on this answer?


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How to re lock bootloader on samsung galaxy s5?
I have Unlocked Rooted Samsung Galaxy S5 recently it has been giving me a lot of issues and I want to send it to Samsung for repair meant. I understand that once you root your device you loose the warranty, but recently I was doing research and I found out if you re lock your bootloader and unroot your device you can get your warranty back, so can some one tell me how to do it ? and if you can tell me if there is a way to find out even if your bootloader is locked or unlocked ?
Thank you

First off, you don't get your warranty back, you hide that you unlocked and rooted in the first place (so you never "actually" lost warranty) . I don't know Samsung devices all that well, have you tried booting into fastboot and doing "fastboot oem lock"? If your device doesn't have fastboot obviously this won't work. Usually carriers and the phone companies can find out bootloader status by booting into bootloader with" adb reboot bootloader" or some key combination.
Tip: if you are using SuperSU as your superuser app, there will be an unroot option in it. Good luck!

To add to this: Not all devices support re-locking. Some (e.g. LG) using fuses which you simply "burn" when unlocking, so no way back from there (once "burnt", the state of a fuse cannot be reverted). Not sure which applies to the S5.

@Izzy I've heard some Motorola phones use this too. For example, a moto g (which I just so happens to have) would show bootloader status "relocked", instead of "locked"

That's a third variant it seems. I don't know if that possibility even exists at all with LG devices...

Samsung use a multi faceted approach: they have a counter for how many times custom firmware has been flashed, triangle away used to be able to change this, and there is a 'custom/original' indicator for the firmware. Thirdly is Samsung Knox, if that is tripped from 0x0 to 0x1 there is no way to set it back on the device that I am aware of. It's down to the service centre, the could say the warranty is void, but generally they seem to be servicing them from anecdotal evidence.

You don't have an unlocked bootloader on your s5. I know this, because to date, there is no known unlock method for the bootloader. To restore to stock, uninstall safestrap (if applicable) then use Odin or Heimdal to flash a factory image.

He does not say what carrier he has, the T-mobile variant has an unlocked bootloader, out of the box. You can't flash a custom recovery on a locked bootloader.

@RyanConrad SAMSUNG HAS NO BOOTLOADERS

Samsung has a different fastboot mode called the Odin mode. It's easy to access. Power off your device and press the volume down+home button+power button to go to the Odin mode. You can use the Odin app to flash the stock ROM and hence you can easily hide the fact that you have rooted the phone. This is one way to get the warranty back if you have rooted you phone. It's a pretty simple technique and you can use it to being your phone back to life if you softbrick your phone. Google up to find tutorials for your phone as to how to use the Odin mode to get back to stock ROM.

Basically for rooting a device you need to unlock the boot loader so that you can format the stock O.S which is supposed to boot on switching ON the device and replace with a custom OS.You can check whether the device boot loader is locked or unlocked by connecting your device via the ADB debug drivers to the Android develop tools(ADT).
(OR)
Simply *#*#7378423#*#* >Service Info> Configuration.
Bootloader unlock allowed - Yes:- this means that your Bootloader is Locked
Bootloader Unlocked - Yes << this means that your bootloader is unlocked
Note:-It all depends on the manufacturer of the phone as well as the Telecom Operator.Some provide detailed steps to unlock the boot loader and some don't.Whereas in some cases the Operator itself may lock the boot loader (not the phone lock but the boot loader lock) for reasons known to them

do i dial  ##7378423## ? or whats up ?

try the dial number.i don't know from where what's up came into picture


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I can't format my SD card
I just inserted a new 16 GB SD card in my AT&T Galaxy S5. I'm trying to format it but it's asking me for a pin and I don't know what it is its not the last 4 of my phone number and it's not my last 4 of my ssn. Please help!

please update your post along with the screen shot where exactly the device is asking the pin.

The fastest thing to do is to insert the 16GB SD Card into another phone, a digital camera, or a computer SD card reader, and format it there.  You'll get the job done faster than any other way.
If for some reason you are set on using a pin, you can try 0000, which works in some cases.

The code you have to fill in is the last pin you used for your lock screen

Correct, it's the backup password you use if you're using the fingerprint scanner to unlock your device.

New SD cards are not encrypted by default. If it is encrypted, look at the SD card's manual/white paper for details.
But more likely I think it is asking for mobile's password as you are trying to wipe off all the data from SD card.


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Samsung GALAXY Tab 3 (SM-T210) KitKat upgrade issue
I have Samsung GALAXY Tab 3 (SM-T210) and recently upgraded it to KitKat.
I just noticed now that I lost my Samsung account. It's not on my application list either. Is there anyway to reinstall it? I've done factory reset and it's still missing.

Search in Play Store.

What is the app called?
As far as I understand I think you are looking for Samsung Link.


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Receiving an EACCESS Permission denied error when copying files to ExtSDCard
My ExtSDCard has begun to act funny over the past few days. I have downloaded and used a few file managers in the past, and my current favorite is ES File Manager. However, over the past few days, I have been unsuccessful in using it to copy anything to the ExtSDCard, always receiving a "Failed to copy" message. I tried the same with Ghost Commander, which is clearer in its failed operation message, yielding the "EACCES (Permission denied)" error message.
To try to correct the error myself, I moved everything I needed to retain to Internal Storage, and reformatted the card. It was virtually empty - barebones. Upon trying to move things back, it did not work again with either File Manager, however, the most simplistic file manager MyFiles did the operation without problems. So now my files are back on the ExtSDCard, but I'm concerned that my favorite file manager ES File Manager is now useless, as is Ghost Commander, too. MyFiles as a file management system really lacks sophistication.
I have uninstalled, and re-installed ES and Ghost Commander without recovering their former functionality. I have rebooted the tablet a number of times, thinking the disk was locked through some system lock that would reset. No luck. I have proved that Dropbox can export a file directly to a location the card, too, so writing is possible, just not with these tools.
I am not looking for alternative file manager suggestions. Anybody have any ideas what is causing well-distributed file managers to lose functionality like this? If it makes any difference, I'm not rooted. It's a Galaxy Tab, which just received an update OTA to 4.4.2 a couple weeks ago. The file managers retained their functionality until just a couple days ago; I don't think the upgrade has anything to do with it.

It's a Galaxy Tab, which just received an update OTA to 4.4.2 a couple weeks ago.

There you have the reason: Kitkat introduced restrictions concerning access to the SD-Card. While apps still can read from the card, only system apps are permitted to write to it (with the exception of app-specific directories in /sdcard/Android/data).
For non-rooted devices, there's no solution or work-around available (except waiting for the Lollipop update to lift these restrictions a little). There are, however, several solutions for rooted devices, some of them can be found in this list. If you're interested in those (maybe you've meanwhile rooted your device, or rooting became an option for you), watch out for apps like Kitkat external SD card patch or SDFix.

for me file manager is able to write files to memory card (ex:ES Explorer), i wonder how!, i am an android dev and having this issue with my application on android 4.4.2

@user229813 I cannot tell you how – but I'd wonder if it was on the very same device. Some manufacturers (e.g. Huawei) fixed that stupid restriction in their own distributions, so it doesn't affect all devices. Also, most custom ROMs included a patch for it.

It's definitely the same device, there are 3 devices I tested with, lenovo tab 2 A7-20f , lenovo tab 2 A7-30, moto e, running Android 4.4.2,4.4.2,4.4.4 respectively , lenovo tab 2 A7-20f is the one I have problem with

No idea then. And as you're speaking of an app you write: development issues are off-topic here, so please do not ask for how to code that.

I am aware about stack exchange community, hence so I didn't ask for any resolution but pointers for, if anyone know, thanks anyways

I didn't accuse, it was just a hint :)


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How to Disable brand logo and boot animation
Hii Everyone I am using Samsung Galaxy Grand i9082 device and when i turn it on it is showing two screens one with model number and other with Samsung logo and boot animation is there any possibility to disable both the animations and display a blank screen until home screen appears

You can't change the model number one (in theory you can but I've never seen it done), the boot animation can be flashed in recovery on a rooted device. http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/change-android-boot-animation/

You can delete /system/media/bootanimation.zip and the second boot animation would be gone. You need to root your phone to do that though. Also, this would make your home screen appear faster, but not fully functional until it competes boot.
Changing or removing the first boot splash is trickier, it requires recompiling the kernel with a blank boot splash and flashing that to the device - which is dangerous, hard and , as it requires you to unlock the bootloader, possibly void the warranty and it also runs a risk of bricking the phone.

I removed the bootanimation ("colored flying circles) , but now I see "android" text logo. How can I get rid of it ?

You can try setting/adding debug.sf.nobootanimation = 1 to your build.prop


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What should I do if my (Exynos SM-N900)Note 3 has bootloop?
I have experienced bootloop, it only shows SamSung Logo... And if I download ROM from SAMobile, how do I know if that Rom is not corrupted. Also, how do I know if Odin is stuck/hang or not? Because I thought it hanged so I pulled the cable and it showed crappyKies thing ( when I flashed CFAutoRoot ) then I bring that to Samsung and they fixed it (before root) now I am rooted.. What to do? I am scared

You can check the MD5 sum of your downloaded ROM vs the one on their server, the'll give you the value and there's tons of programs and even websites to check MD5. If they match, your file is not corrupt. Don't forget to wipe the device before flashing the ROM.

If your phone hangs at the Boot-Logo (Note 3), then you have not flashed the ROM the right way.
If it hangs at the Boot-Anination (Samsung), you probably forgot wiping caches and maybe the data partition.

authors: Людмил Иванов


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Where does the movie downloaded from "Play Movies & TV" get stored in external SD card?
I recently bought and downloaded a movie from "Play Movies & TV" application. It is not automatically detected by any other video player. So, where does the movie downloaded from "Play Movies & TV" get stored in external SD card?

Mine were never detected by VLC either. It looks like the files were broken up into pieces but there is no single movie file.

I just bought and downloaded the 90 minute Google "AlphaGo" documentary movie in HD. It was about 2 GB in size.
It was saved on the SD card in this folder (I obscured the exact name with *):

Android/data/com.google.android.videos/files/Movies/YXJh******NvbQ/ylEP****BE/

In that folder were 156 files with names like this made-up format:

0.163253726153.23764387642386.v3.exo

Each *.v3.exo file was about 2-25 MB in size. There was also a single file called

cached_content_index.exi

So I imagine the download was made into smaller chunks.
The "*.v3.exo" format is a YouTube format.

Well, the files downloaded from the Google Play Movies & TV goes over to the internal storage of the device you can find it over sdcard/Android/data/com.google.android.videos/files/Movies,
The files will be in the .wvm format like abc.wvm.

That directory is empty :(

@thefourtheye It should be /sdcard/Android/data/com.google.android.videos/files/Movies/****.wvm for sure, but use a file explorer and search for .wvm files and it might shed more light on it. Make sure you can see hidden files also. However, you can set it external storage in the Play Movies settings if you have an EXT SD card so if you have done that it'll be on the EXT SD.

I don't get that, I go into the same folder, but see a bunch of extra files and no .wvm files... Please help! :)


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Android Wear App shows a notification after uninstallation
I installed Android Wear app for connecting with wearable emulator. After finished my job I uninstalled it. But the problem is, A notification is shown sometimes like "Android Wear connecting...". Can anyone tell me how can I get rid of it.
Thanks in advance.

I resolved it. The notification which is showing after uninstall, I long pressed on that notification & go to its app info. It redirect me to google play service. I removed the cache & data. Now the notification does not appear.

On Android Lollipop you have to open the Play Services app through Settings - Apps - Google Play Services and then clear out all the data. Nevertheless, this pointed me in the right direction, so have a +1 for both the question and the answer.

reinstall the android wear, after that press the three dot on the right upper part. then disconnect emulator, and press forget emulator. the notification gone forever!


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CyanogenMod 11 installer for Xperia SP
I downloaded the CyanogenMod installer from the Google PlayStore however on installation it says my device is not supported and if i should wish to continue, it will be at my own risk. Is there any harm if I should choose to proceed with the installation??

If your device is officially supported by Cyanogen, you can at 99,9% run the installer without any issues. But if you would like to go the "secure" way, I recommend the manual method.


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Android Frozen At Custom Boot Animation
I used the application by JRummy to change my boot animation to a code animation that I found in an xda post. While loading an application, my phone decided to randomly restart, but it got stuck at a point in the boot animation. I tried to restart it, but it keeps getting stuck at the same spot. to be specific, it was when "81324112-8" is most clearly  visible on the screen. I tried to factory reset from recovery mode and wipe cache partition, but none of them worked. The boot animation is still there. I have a rooted, encrypted, Nexus 5 running 4.4.4 stock rom.

I can't say you why the animation is not working, but I would try to replace/delete the bootanimation.zip at /system/media and see if the phone boots normally.

i cant change it if my phone isn't booting up and my computer doesn't recognize it. It does say installing driver, but it doesn't show up in the devices. This has happened even while the phone was working fine and I think it may be because of the encryption


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Lenovo A8 Android Tablet froze. The reset button did not reset
My Lenovo A8 Android tablet froze without any reason. I had purchased it a week ago. The previous night it was working just perfectly. Then I put it aside and went to sleep. Today I slided its screen lock and it worked. The list of apps appeared. I tapped on my desired app, but nothing worked ever since.
I found a solution online to RESET the tablet, using the tiny button besides the SIM card. I pushed that tiny button, and the tablet went off immediately (no need to hold it down). However, unlike the online solution, it did not restart, but just got shut down.
I started it again using its power button. It started to show a small video of Lenovo and played its song. Then at the screen with the motto "Lenovo, for those who do" came at the end of the video, it froze again.
I pushed that tiny button for several times, and the exactly same thing happened. It just shut down the device, and when I manually restarted it, it froze at the very same stage again.
My questions are:

Why does it happen?
How to fix or unfreeze it? I don't want to Factory-Reset my device by holding volume up and down keys etc because I have a lot of app data. I want a soft reset.


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Why do I need to use "Android File Transfer" to transfer files from my mac?
I'm curious as to why I need to download and use 'Android File Transfer' so that I can transfer files from my mac to my nexus 5. I assumed because they had a similar file structure that viewing files on one from the other wouldn't have been an issue.

There's a good answer to the same question here: http://android.stackexchange.com/a/56094/137844

I think it's because Mac does not have all the required drivers. It's like you can't connect your iPhone to a Windows computer properly without iTunes.


text:
Lost root when phone rebooted - can't get to download mode only Android system recovery
I have had my phone (Samsung Galaxy S4 GT-I9505, Android 4.4.2) rooted for a while (can't remember exactly how I did it now) but last night I exhausted the battery and when I charged and powered back on I had lost root. SuperSU quits with error message "There is no SU binary installed and SuperSU cannot install it. This is a problem!"
I have tried to re-root following these instructions but when I do the Volume Up + Centre Home + Power combination I don't get the warning message about installing custom OS, instead I get:

Android system recovery <3e>
KOT49H.I9505XXUFNA5
Volume up/down to move highlight; power button to select.

reboot system now
apply update from ADB
apply update from external storage
wipe data/factory reset
wipe cache partition
apply update from cache

[Exposed Android with red warning triangle]
# MANUAL MODE #
-- Applying Multi-CSC --
Applied the CSC-code : BTU
Successfully applied multi-CSC

Now from here I don't seem to be able to flash TWRP because nothing shows up in Odin when USB is connected. If I select "reboot system now" I get back into un-rooted Android (annoying because I make extensive use of multiple profiles on Titanium Backup); if I select apply update from ADB then the S4 then appears as a device when I run adb devices:
List of devices attached
6496ea42        sideload

But still nothing on Odin.
Can anyone advise how I can re-flash TWRP and re-root?
Many thanks
Tristan

Chances are that the device is rooted, just SuperSU is not installed properly (this has happened me a few times, and the Binary install through SuperSU failed, flashing a zip worked). Did you try flashing the latest SuperSU zip at all? It seems you are booting into Recovery and not download mode, use the other volume key Volume Down and try to boot into download mode for Odin.

How can I flash the latest SuperSU zip? Also you are right that I have been using Volume Up not Volume Down as instructions state... Oops.

You can't now if you have the stock recovery. IF you have a custom recovery you can flash it like any normal zip. However, you are probably going to have to re-root now or flash a stock rooted ROM. If you can get into download mode now you should be able to flash TWRP or Philz or CWM or whatever recovery you want.

Excellent, it's working now (had to switch to CWM recovery for some reason TWRP was hanging). If you post an answer I will accept.

On the Samsung Galaxy S4 (GT-i9505) Volume Up, Power and Home is to enter recovery mode. Volume down, Power and Home is to enter 'Download Mode'. From download mode you can make the device visible to odin. From Odin you can flash a custom recovery, or root the device with CF Auto Root and other methods such as flashing a pre-rooted stock ROM for example.
If your device shows as not being rooted, when previously it was and you have not unrooted it manually, this could be an issue with the SuperSU binaries, and sometimes installing these via the app, or via the 'recovery' option within the app can fail. You can download the SuperSU zip from Chainfire and flash it in a custom recovery.
Generally the safest bet is to backup anything you need, flash the Stock ROM through Odin, and root, or flash a pre-rooted stock ROM. Then you can flash a custom recovery and from that recovery flash whatever you need.

You can also add that you can force the device to go into download mode, by using cmd adb reboot download. Which is especially helpful when your device only boots up recovery mode when powered on.

Thanks @HasH_BrowN! Do you want to add another answer or will I add that here when I get to a pc! Very useful information

No you have an answer, just add it to yours. I had the reboot into recovery mode happen for full hour last night on my S2. I tried everything, what a PIA!

When i was trying to go to download mode the phone would attempt to start it, but would show Odin mode for split second and then go into recovery mode. I tried unplugging battery and numerous other combinations of things. So finally I didnt touch it, just to normal boot and it would still go to recovery mode all by it self (spooky). While in recovery mode I opened ADB on PC, got it to reboot to download

You should also look into making or buying a USB jig for forcing the phone I to download mode. It's a simple device that plugs into your usb when the phone is off, and resets it directly into download mode.
This will save your phone if you ever soft brick it, and it just dang handy to have for situations like yours.
Here is a link to how ti make one from XDA.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s2/help/guide-how-to-make-usb-jig-reset-binary-t1604707
P.s. They are a Samsung thing, and do not work on any other brand phone.


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Restrict data for google play services
Google play services consumes some data. Can I restrict data access to it. Does user experience compromised if I do. If yes what are they?

You might wish to see: Google Play updates on mobile connection despite setting. My answer there should cover it completely.

You can restrict  apps from using data in several ways.
Android itself provides a built-in feature to restrict data for individual apps. It can be found at Settings → Data Usage → scroll down and select the app to restrict. You will find restrict background data option there. Select Google Play Services from there then restrict data.
As you mentioned that you need Google Play Services to be restricted, before going with this you should be aware about these.

You cannot use Play Store with background data disabled, but you can still disable the automatic update feature in Google Play settings: go to Settings → Accounts → Disable sync.
Turn off Google Maps offline caching in Maps settings.
Use third-party apps like Onavo Count.

"You cannot use Play Store with background data disabled." → then I'm a magician. I do use it that way. Works normal when connected to a WiFi network. However, you're correct when talking about mobile data: here it won't work anymore – but that's exactly what the OP wants, right?

On Android 8, Google Play Services ignores the setting; it racks up background data transfers even when disabled.

Same goes for android 7. Is there no way to stop the damn thing?

You can forcibly restrict Google Play Services data consumption however it will impact the 'seamlessness' of your android experience. Google Play Services are responsible for keeping your android in sync with numerous Google services that you and your device uses.  Google Play Service is a background service that helps to integrate several APIs like Location API, Maps API, Play Protect, etc. and limiting/disabling data access will impact these services.
If you still want to proceed, you may use firewalls that work on non-rooted devices as well.


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How to Chromecast videos from a Safari Books Online subscription
If you have a Safari Books Online, the Safari To Go app for Android is useful for reading the books (particularly offline) and watching the videos, but when you watch the videos there is no option to send it to Chromecast. It would be nice to watch the videos, which include training videos and popular conference sessions, on my TV using Chromecast.

Instead of using the Safari To Go app, go to http://m.safaribooksonline.com and log into your account there. When you start playing the video, maximize it and the Chromecast icon will appear in the upper left. Tap that icon, select your Chromecast device, and the video will appear there. As always, you can use your Android to control volume, pause/play, and seek within the video.


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My whatsapp says im offline, and will not let me access it
I have gone on to my Whatsapp but all of a sudden my chats and messages are not showing up. I looked in settings and tapped on all the options, i went on privacy settings and it says 'you can not change privacy settings when you are offline' how do i get back online? Thank you in advanced :) (I've rebooted my phone multiple times)

Check whether your internet connection is working. If it's okay then try to Reset the Whatsapp app like this -

Menu>Application Manager>Downloaded apps>Whatsapp>Clear data (Clear
  cache)

.
Now you've to reactivate your Whatsapp account which takes not more than a minute. This should work for sure. Comment if problem persists.

Consider reinstalling it. I do had this issue once, and after reinstalling it just worked.


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I get a notification every day that says " Couldn't send attachments Photo's"
When I click on the notification it opens gmail. I am not trying to send any thing, I have made sure my outbox and drafts are empty. Is some other program trying to send out my pictures? How do I stop this?

If you long press the notification and click App info what does it say. It could be something invoking gmail to send this mail.

You can go into GMail and look for outstanding mails in your outbox directory and delete them.
If that doesn't work/there is no mail you can go into settings > apps > gmail > wipe app data/clear data.
Then GMail has been factory reset.

I faced the same issue on my Android phone and found the solution: Whatever document I was trying to attach, has become either corrupt or no longer exist. That is why I was facing issue. I copied a fresh document into my mobile storage and was able to attach it with gmail id.
Hope this will help you.

authors: ศราวุธ อินทะรัตน์


text:
qemu props -where are they? what are they and where do I find them?
I want to disable task windows button so I used:
qemu.hw.mainkeys=1

And used Button Saviour.
However, I wonder whats more in qemu props, so I can tweak some more. In short:
Where are qemu props? what are they and where do I find them?

I've only ever seen qemu for the keys (as you have done) and for the emulator, not actually on device. The description on the emulator is this program is used to read a set of system properties and their values from the emulator program and set them in the currently-running emulatedsystem. It does so by connecting to the 'boot-properties' qemud service.  I'll have to get digging to see if there's more. http://wiki.qemu.org/Main_Page

OK thx. Still mystical...


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Phone automatically reboots
My Lenovo A850 reboots almost every time I answer a call. Using adb I redirected the output to a file. Then I tried tracking the reason for the forced shut-down but I am not sure. The phone has a lot of Lenovo's pre-installed apks. I am posting the stack trace of what I think might be the error that causes the reboot.
Unfortunatelly I haven't found a decent site to host the stack trace so that you can see the whole thing but I'll give it a try soon.

I/AEE/AED (10955): $** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** Fatal *** *** *** *** *** *** *** **$
I/AEE/AED (10955): Build Info: 'ALPS.JB5.MP:A850_ROW_S116_130922:MT6582:S01,Lenovo/aupres_row/A850_ROW:4.2.2/JDQ39/A850_ROW_S116_130922.1379859786:user/release-keys'
I/AEE/AED (10955): Flavor Info: 'None'
I/AEE/AED (10955): Exception Log Time:[Wed Oct 29 21:22:51 EET 2014] [99110.120000]
I/AEE/AED (10955):
I/AEE/AED (10955): Java (JE)
I/AEE/AED (10955): system_server_crash
I/AEE/AED (10955): system_server
I/AEE/AED (10955): Process: system_server
I/AEE/AED (10955): Build: Lenovo/aupres_row/A850_ROW:4.2.2/JDQ39/A850_ROW_S116_130922.1379859786:user/release-keys
I/AEE/AED (10955):
I/AEE/AED (10955): java.lang.RuntimeException: Error receiving broadcast Intent { act=android.intent.action.USER_PRESENT flg=0x28000010 } in android.widget.ViewFlipper$1@42fa4908
I/AEE/AED (10955):  at android.app.LoadedApk$ReceiverDispatcher$Args.run(LoadedApk.java:806)
I/AEE/AED (10955):  at android.os.Handler.handleCallback(Handler.java:800)
I/AEE/AED (10955):  at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:100)
I/AEE/AED (10955):  at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:194)
I/AEE/AED (10955):  at com.android.server.ServerThread.run(SystemServer.java:1352)
I/AEE/AED (10955): Caused by: android.view.ViewRootImpl$CalledFromWrongThreadException: Only the original thread that created a view hierarchy can touch its views.
I/AEE/AED (10955):  at android.view.ViewRootImpl.checkThread(ViewRootImpl.java:5351)
I/AEE/AED (10955):  at android.view.ViewRootImpl.invalidateChildInParent(ViewRootImpl.java:1001)
I/AEE/AED (10955):  at android.view.ViewGroup.invalidateChild(ViewGroup.java:4199)
I/AEE/AED (10955):  at android.view.View.invalidate(View.java:10529)
I/AEE/AED (10955):  at android.view.View.invalidateParentIfNeede
I/AEE/AED (10955): Backtrace of all threads:
I/AEE/AED (10955):
I/AEE/AED (10955): "NetdConnector"  prio=5 Thread id=48 RUNNABLE
I/AEE/AED (10955):  android.net.LocalSocketImpl.readba_native(Native Method)
I/AEE/AED (10955):  android.net.LocalSocketImpl.access$400(LocalSocketImpl.java:29)
I/AEE/AED (10955):  android.net.LocalSocketImpl$SocketInputStream.read(LocalSocketImpl.java:92)
I/AEE/AED (10955):  com.android.server.NativeDaemonConnector.listenToSocket(NativeDaemonConnector.java:132)
I/AEE/AED (10955):  com.android.server.NativeDaemonConnector.run(NativeDaemonConnector.java:90)
I/AEE/AED (10955):  java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:838)
I/AEE/AED (10955):
I/AEE/AED (10955): "Thread-71"  prio=5 Thread id=71 RUNNABLE
I/AEE/AED (10955):  android.net.LocalSocketImpl.readba_native(Native Method)
I/AEE/AED (10955):  android.net.LocalSocketImpl.access$400(LocalSocketImpl.java:29)
I/AEE/AED (10955):  android.net.LocalSocketImpl$SocketInputStream.read(LocalSocketImpl.java:92)
I/AEE/AED (10955):  libcore.io.Streams.readFully(Streams.java:81)
I/AEE/AED (10955):  java.io.DataInputStream.readFully(DataInputStream.java:120)
I/AEE/AED (10955):  com.mediatek.agps.MtkAgpsManagerService$MtkAgpsIO.readInt(MtkAgpsManagerService.java:2011)
I/AEE/AED (10955):  com.mediatek.agps.MtkAgpsManagerService$MtkAgpsIO.run(MtkAgpsManagerService.java:1803)
I/AEE/AED (10955):
I/AEE/AED (10955): "AlarmManager
I/AEE/AED (10955): $** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** Fatal *** *** *** *** *** *** *** **$

As for "a decent site to host the stack trace", check for the term "pastebin" which several of them carry in their names. Guess for this current post, the formatting did the trick (it's not too long). // Looks like the "system server" crashes on you. As that's one of the "lowest layers", it takes the entire system along => Reboot. Not that I could name a cause or even solution...

Unfortunatelly pastebin.it doesn't allow for such a long file to be uploaded.

@GeorgeD, pastebin's limit is 512kb. Yours is a mere 3.25kb.

If it's rebooting, you should probably try logging some kernel or other system related messages that are saved after / during a crash, that could show later log messages which probably show what crashed in the lower layers.
Include the log directly before the crash and include it here if it doesn't break formatting, or upload it on pastebin or nopaste (larger size limit) if it does.
Try to gather as much information as possible and include these in your question.
Take a quick look at this for your question to be more likely to get answers :)
Also tell us: What version of Android or what custom ROM / recovery / etc. are you running exactly?
What did you do before this happened?
What did you already tried?
Here is how you can obtain the different logs:
How can I view and examine the Android log?
Android: How to get kernel logs after kernel panic?
Shutdown Log in Android


text:
Rooting Samsung Grand Duos without Windows
I need to root my Samsung GT-I9082 (also known as Grand Duos) with Android 4.2.2 but I have no Windows computer (I have a Linux one).
Which are the preferred methods?
It seems z4root does nothing (seems just to crash).

Towelroot supports most Samsung devices. Based on a quick Google search, it sounds like it has been confirmed to work on GT-I9082. It's extremely simple:

Navigate to towelroot.com on the mobile device.
Tap the big red lambda (λ) to download the APK file.
Find the APK file, either in the notifications or the Download folder, and tap it to install the app.
Open the app and tap the make it ra1n button.

That's it. You should get a message within about 5-10 seconds telling you that you have root access. You don't need a PC, and you don't even need to power off or reboot. It's so simple it's dangerous, because one doesn't need to have a modicum of technical ability in order to gain root access.

It says "This phone isn't currently supported"

Since I was able to google up several references for using Towelroot on this model, I suspect that it's your firmware version that's not supported. I've seen this message when trying to use Towelroot on an S4 with the most recent firmware update (NG6). The workaround is to downgrade to previous version of the firmware, run Towelroot, then upgrade back to NG6, but I'm not sure if that would work for your device.

I've also read this article about forcing Towelroot to run anyway. I haven't tried it myself yet, but I plan on trying it out to root NG6 firmware without the downgrade trick. I'll come back and report my results. BTW, be very careful if you want to try out the firmware downgrade trick, because it can be dangerous. I wouldn't recommend it unless you have a nandroid backup or use a separate device for testing.

Tried the towelroot article. None of the strings worked. And no downgrade possible, it came with 4.2.2 from factory.


text:
LG Won't Charge
My LG was at 1% battery yesterday so I let it charge for an hour or so but when I came back I noticed that it wouldn't even turn on without turning right back off. It would only turn on to show a "0% battery" screen.
I tried another charger and the LG had the same issue; it just wouldn't stay on. However, this time, I did notice that once or twice it would flash the "charging" screen for a split second.
I let the phone sit overnight while connected to the charger and when I woke up it appears that at least some charge trickled into the device; it is able to turn on and reach the lock screen but not without immediately shutting off because of a low battery.
What could be wrong? What can I do?

The two most likely causes:

The battery could be dead. Lithium-ion batteries (as well as other types of rechargeable batteries) wear down over time. Even sitting on a shelf they eventually decay, but they decay faster the more you use them, and the more they're exposed to extreme heat, cold, and humidity.
The socket on the phone has a loose connection. Jiggle the plug, or try applying light pressure in various directions.

If the battery is old (>2 years) or battery life has been getting shorter recently, it's probably the first one. The second one is more likely if the battery is fairly new or battery life hasn't noticeably decreased from when it was new and it just suddenly stopped charging, or if you notice the charge indicator flashing on the screen and disappearing while you're jiggling the plug.
You didn't specify what model you have, but most LG phones have replaceable batteries. Cell phone batteries are dirt cheap, so if you buy a replacement and it turns out to be a problem with the circuitry, you won't have wasted much money. You should be able to get a new one at Amazon or eBay for just a few bucks.

My phone is less than two months old, and the charger port looks clean. I tried blowing it out to no effect.


text:
Can I delete factory apps
What all apps that come factory on a LG 70 are safe to delete, or force stop, or disable without affecting the phones performance.

Not all apps are safe to delete or disable. Most are, though.

If you are able to remove an app that came with your phone, it is safe to do so.
If you can only freeze the app, then it is in the /system directory, that is why you can not remove it. You can disable nearly any app without bad consequences - but if other apps start to crash, try to re-enable these apps.
The apps you should never disable is the Settings app itself, the System UI and other core system components - without these, you may not be able to use the phone at all, so you can not even re-enable these. A factory reset can help this situation.

Apps are safe to Disable when they provide an option of disabling them in app manager. They won't affect the performance of the device (and disabling some apps may increase battery back-up). For example apps from Google like Newsstand and Books, Google Music, Play Games, Google+ etc are all safe to disable. Also apps from LG like Live Wallpapers are also safe to disable. So you can disable almost all the apps with no effect on device.
Note: You won't find Disable button beside app in app manager if it is not safe to disable it. Here Disable can be replaced by uninstall, delete. Force stop must be used carefully sometimes.

authors: Сергей Фролов


text:
Music Manager(s) cannot find certain album
I recently added a new album on my phone and my music manager (neither doubleTwist or the system music app) have indexed it.
(Failed) Attempts

I have tried deleting the whole album and re-uploading it
I have recently replaced my whole library and while they found every other album, it could not find this one
I have tried the "Reset doubleTwist" button.

Additional Information

The album is located at "HTC One\Internal storage\Music\Slipknot\The Grey Chapter".
It does have every other album in the HTC One\Internal storage\Music\Slipknot\ folder. and every other album I own
I can find it in my phones file manager and from there use it to play the song
It IS in MP3

Does anyone know why this is happening and/or how to fix it?

How did you "add" it?

@DanHulme I plugged my phone into my computer and copied it from my desktop into the respective folder

Check if there is a file in the same folder that is called ".nomedia", if there is delete it. Better look for it on a PC, or enable the option to view hidden files in your phone's file manager to see it. The presence of such a file informs the system media indexer to ignore this folder.

You could re-run media scanner after removing the .nomedia file (if there is one). Can you move it to Internal storage\Media and see if that helps? HTC can be a bit... weird indexing media sometimes.

Sweet! Sometimes it's something simple that makes no sense, no HTC sense wah wah

Try these:

If there is a hidden file named .nomedia in that particular album folder >>> (unhide the file and delete it).
Move the folder into some other directory and refresh library.
Check whether .mp3 files have proper tags (IDv3 tags) >>> (or else they go to unknown album category).


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LG-P990 (optimus 2x) with CyanogenMod 7 turns off suddenly and battery indicator goes straight from 100% to 0%
I installed CM7 on my LG P990 five months ago and it worked well. Yesterday, I was watching a video on YouTube and my phone turned off suddenly. It didn't want to turn on, and then my battery dropped to 0%, even though it had been at 100% a minute earlier. I connected my P990 to a charger, and then my battery percentage indicator was at 100% again. Why? I hate when my phone turns off and black screen of death until I plug a charger in! I did a data wipe/hard reset the but problem is still there.

Since you have CM 7, did you try to wipe the battery stats in recovery (CWM , TWRP , or other)?

There are 2 possible problems and solutions:

Check and replace your battery. Leaving your phone on charging overnight can sometimes cause this problem.
Install CM7 again. This is the most probable problem/solution. Rooted apps or CM itself sometimes lead to this problem.

XDA also might have some of the solutions that you want.
Best of Luck.
PS: If you think that replacing your battery or installing CM again is too much of an effort, You might want to chuck your phone and buy a new one :-)


text:
Transfer SMS message history, without Google account
How can I backup and restore SMS message history, and restore on a later Android version — using only the SD card storage?
I am upgrading from one device to another:

Existing device: Google Nexus One running Android 2.3 Gingerbread (CyanogenMod 7.1).
Destination device: HTC Incredible S running Android 4.4 KitKat (CyanogenMod 11).

Both devices have full root access in the operating system.
I have no Google account, and no non-free software. This means no Google Play, no GMail, etc.
The devices have existing means to transfer data, so Google should not need to be involved in this process at all. I'm looking for a solution that doesn't involve Google Play nor any proprietary services.
Apps which have failed so far:

The built-in Messaging app. There appears to be no “export” and “import” feature. Kind of an obvious omission, a great shame the Android basic apps don't have this.
Slight Backup easily backs up the messages, and I can restore them on CyanogenMod 11. But then the Messaging app shows “No conversations”.
SMS Backup+ has the same problem: it can backup and restore (via my choice of IMAP host), but after restoring all the messages it reports “1 item restored (NNN dups removed)”. The Messaging app shows “No conversations”.

How can I transfer the message history from the old device and have it imported to the new device's message history of conversations?
UPDATE: The new restrictions on SMS data access in Android KitKat is likely a major hurdle to this goal.
How can this be done?

Is using ADB an option? Such as here or this one

@RossC the first link probably not; backing up/restoring the database file directly is dangerous (backing up not of course, but restoring) especially when not done on the very same device+ROM+Android-version (see my answer for details). Second link is fine, especially concerning things like Myphone Explorer ;)

@Izzy thanks, that's good to know! I tend to do things the dangerous way to be honest, HOWEVER, I don't really care what gets deleted off my phone anyway, and if I really needed an app I'd use the Amazon store if I really had to avoid google services.

"Get deleted" is not the issue in this case. App crashes is more like what happens then. And as for avoiding Google services: I'm currently running "Google-free phones" only (CM with NOGAPPS) while still using the Playstore (via "BlankStore") – but that's got nothing to do with SMS ;)

I successfully used SMS Backup+, version 1.5.7 installed via F-Droid package.
That version addresses an issue (#460) for SMS Backup+ to account for the sudden changes in SMS data handling in Android 4.4 KitKat.
(Update, 2021: Six years later and SMS Backup+ – now version 1.5.11 – is still the SMS restore app I use any time I need to transfer identity between devices.)

There are several apps supporting to Backup SMS/MMS (and of course also to restore them), running locally in "user-mode" (if you prefer cloud storage, which by the question you do not, there are also ways to Backup SMS into the Cloud).
As your devices have root support, you might consider using Titanium Backup – which allows you a.o. to export your SMS/MMS as XML files (and also to restore that, of course). This solution should definitely work with CyanogenMod (while above mentioned apps should as well).
A note on the "backups via ADB" RossC referred to in his comment on your question:

Can adb be used to recover SMS messages while in permanent “Safe Mode”? deals with backing up the corresponding database file. When chosing that approach, you should make sure to only restore that on the very same device, ROM and Android version (e.g. after a factory-reset, but never after a ROM/Android upgrade or on a different device). Otherwise you might run into trouble (says one who had that issue in the past, so you can believe it ;))
How do I backup data (SMS/contacts) from a device with a broken screen? has answers with the same approach (to which the same warning applies), but some answers also mention tools simply utilizing ADB to access the device. I've never used any of those (as most seem to be Windows-only – like Moborobo, Myphone Explorer (most famous solution for Windows-people, offering a lot more than just SMS), Mobogenie, DroidExplorer (the dev is active here!) – and I'm on Linux – my only windows are for light and fresh air), but I'd assume they do more than simply "copy the database file", so they might fit your requirements. Still, for above reasons, read their instructions carefully.

These answers don't take into account the need to use only free software and open protocols. Can you make a new, single answer with just the advice that's relevant to the question?

Sorry, but with the added difficulty (Kitkat restrictions), the only working solution I could name is Titanium Backup. "No Google Play" is not a deal-breaker for that, as the free version is also available at Aptoide, as the linked app-list shows. Being a "root app", it should be able to circumvent those Kitkat-restrictions – and Aptoide requires no account to install apps from. Not having a KK device, I cannot test, sorry.

QKSMS (free software, available on F-Droid) does the job.  It is a messaging app that has a Backup and Restore feature.  Backup exports messages to a JSON file, and Restore inserts messages from that file into the Android SMS database.  You can use the stock AOSP messaging app later on with the restored messages.
MMS are not supported by Backup and Restore.
Be sure that the messages you are importing aren't already into your database, because there is no detection of duplicates.
Android 5.0 or newer is required, which shouldn't be an issue now.

The best method to backup/export sms(and others like contacts) is using Titanium Backup app.
Note: While importing use setting "Let me choose myself." This is recommended for inter-version import/export.

Thanks for the suggestion, but I'm explicitly looking for solutions using only free software and open protocols.

There is a branch of slight backup which has the Fix for Android 4.4, but it seems like there are not prebuilt apks for it (yet):
https://github.com/handschuh/Slight-backup/tree/smsrestore_4.4

SMS Backup and Restore did the job for me when I migrated from my Atrix to Nexus 4. The app is free but the developer accepts donations if you like his software. The app backs up messages as an XML file.

Is that free software? (The question specifies this.) If so, please give a URL to install it without a Google account. (The question specifies this too.)

Yes, it is. The developer accepts donations if you like his software. Here's a link (you'll find more if you Google it): http://www.apk4fun.com/apk/25923/
The app backs up messages as XML files.

This actually does not appear to be "free" in the sense that @bignose is talking about (libre/open source), or if it is I cannot find the source code anywhere. It is only "free" in the sense that you need not pay for it.

@eldarerathis, you're right - it isn't. My bad that I didn't notice that he had linked "free software" to the GNU definition of free. Sorry about that!


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Change bootanimation of the Kindle Fire
After some exploring around on my Kindle Fire via ES File Explorer, I discovered the bootanimation.zip in system\media. Looking at the .zip, Amazon had left users who could reach this file instructions on how this boot animation works and how to change it. After setting everything up and preparing to swap the original with my own, I was given a warning that what I was doing was unable to be preformed.
Is there a way to get around this problem without rooting my Kindle?

Try "system/media" or "system/customize/resource" or "data/local". If you find a "bootanimation.zip" file in one of those, that is probably the location it is on your phone.

@ShaahinAshayeri OP already stated I discovered the bootanimation.zip in system\media, so that's not the point.

That file is in the /system partition, which is mounted read-only, and even if you make it writable (which also requires you to be root), by default it's only writable by root. So it's not possible without rooting your device. The steps you have to take to be able to change your boot animation:

Root your device. The rooting method is device-specific, so I can't help you how; it's usually easy to find a  tutorial using Google.
Turn on root mode in ES File explorer (left side menu, root explorer).
Click on that menu item once more. It brings up a menu in which you can remount the /system partition in read/write mode.


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Change Kindle Fire Lock Screen
Is it possible to change the Kindle Fire's lock screen from displaying ads to a user chosen file or one of the random presets that come pre-installed?
If so, how would one go about this?

AFAIK there's an "ad-free fee" you could pay to Amazon 15 bucks. Apart from that, available solutions require you to root your device:

Kindle FIre HD 2013 - Remove Ads from Lockscreen

root your Kindle Fire HD 2013
Download and install ES File Explorer from amazon AppStore (its free)
Start ES File Explorer and enable Root Explorer
Browse to /data/securedStorageLocation/dtcp/
Mark the adunits folder
Go to "more" and "settings"
Remove the permissions from "rwx --- ---" to "--- --- ---"
(Optional) Remove all folders in the adunits folder

Disable Kindle Fire HD Lockscreen Ads - YouTube
More via a simple Google search ;)


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What are the standard GUI elements called?
Is there a list of what the standard elements on an Android devices are called?
I can use everything just fine, but explaining to others to "use that bar at the top" and "the button that looks like a piece of paper" and so on is a) embarrassing and b) not the easiest way to explain things. Searching for names, I always end up at the GUI-documentation, which is useful in general, but certainly not in this case!

A place found thanks to the names provided: http://www.beginandroid.com/notifications.shtml

Top bar - Notification bar
Bottom bar - Navigation bar
Standard Navigation bar buttons - Back, Home, Recent Apps
These are the standard ones in every Android powered device.
Note - The word "bar" can be replaced by "panel" sometimes.
Update:  Title bar (which has app title, search button, back key) - Action bar

Thank you :). This helped AND put me on the path to some helpful sites. Amazing what you can find once you know the name of one or two things :).


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How to get why an app crashed?
I regularly obtain the infamously unhelpful "unfortunately crappyApp has stopped working". How to figure out what actually went wrong? I guess there's a stack trace somewhere, though ideally I'd like to modify the unhelpful message itself if that is possible on a rooted device.

For a starter, we have the troubleshooting tag-wiki ;)

You can simply see the crash stack trace after any crash happens.
Use ADB command below,
adb logcat -b crash #default
adb -d logcat -b crash #show from device when multiple device
adb -s logcat -b crash #show from simulator when multiple device

There are multiple ways to obtain useful information. But as Dan pointed out, on-device solutions will require root (starting with JellyBean) – and off-device solutions ADB:

adb logcat was already described in Dan's answer. For more details, you can see our logging tag-wiki.
adb bugreport > report.txt gives very detailed information, including details from the dumpsys, dumpstate, and logcat tools. Several tools for easier analysis of its output can be found e.g. in the answers to Better method of viewing “adb bugreport” output? on our sister-site.
there are tools to be installed on your computer which utilize the above (or at least parts of it), like QtADB (for Linux, Mac, and Windows)
there are Android apps like Bug Reporter; but as pointed out, most of them will require root. Bug Report Reader however claims to read system logs (logcat, dumpsys, dmesg, top and much more) on your device, without root, so that might be worth trying.

In most cases, if USB debugging is turned on, you can use adb logcat to see the exception output. This usually includes a stack trace, but that's not often useful unless you have the app's source code. All the same, the developer of the app will probably be grateful if you include it in any bug report.

Thanks, I'd prefer a native solution directly on the device if possible. good point about the usefulness, doesn't the trace at least include sensibly named java exceptions? or does dalvik obfuscate them?

There are apps to read the log from the device (search Google Play for logcat), but in Jelly Bean and later, apps can't read each other's logs, so you might need to root your device to do this. The trace includes Java exception names, but NullPointerException doesn't really tell you a lot unless you're the app developer.

good point about that exception :/ since I rooted my device anyway, I was hoping for a more comfortable way than logcat, though that's better than nothing...

Read the files under /data/anr/ which stands for "apps not responding". I use adb shell cat /data/anr/$FILE
There will be one for every app which force closes, or is not responding for some reason.

When looking at /data/anr/ in a root file explorer, there's only a single traces.txt which was modified three days ago (even though an app crashed today), and it appears to contain only system crashes, not app crashes. Is there another way too see those app backtraces?


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how to keep the time on screen
I've got a Samsung Galaxy 3 tablet (the 10 inch one) running android 4.4.2.
My wife would like to be able to see the time on it while playing her apps. Is there a way to do this? I couldn't see anything to do it in the settings. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Go to Play store and search for 'Float Clock'. You'll find something for sure.
I'll try to post a link of certain application when I get to my computer :-)

@john You can also just swipe the top of the screen if it's running KitKat and see the notification bar with the time while you play. Mani maybe link to some apps that might be of use?

@RossC Most of your comment doesn't seem to have anything to do with the answer you're commenting on. Perhaps you wanted to post another answer?

@RossC if so: the "notification area" wasn't just added with Kitkat. Just checking my device with the "oldest Android version": ICS has the time in there as well (not just in the bar, but also in the "opened area"). Also note: on tablets, it often is not at the top, but at the bottom-right corner ;)

Even when in a full screen game, you shouldn't be able to see the notification AFAIK @izzy

@RossC you might not see it then, but that's not the part I'm referring to. Read your first comment again: swipe the top of the screen if it's running KitKat and see the notification bar. Not sure, but you might have to do so with the bottom of the screen on a tablet (if swiping still opens it when in full-screen mode, that is) ;) And the "time displayed" I was referring to was in the opened notification area (where it was added IMHO with ICS; don't remember seeing it in that place with GB).

Thanks, my wife gets frustrated that the time isn't just there like her older tablet always was. This should make her happier.


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How to increase internal Application Storage?
I brought a CHUWI v17HD, which has 8 GB internal storage. But application storage space available is just 1 GB.
I want to increase the size of the internal application storage. How to do so?

While you cannot increase the size of internal storage (the chip is fixed ;) there might be some other helpful hints. Several of them we've collected in our insufficient-memory tag-wiki, which you might wish to take a look at.

As Izzy stated in his comment : you can't change the physical capacity. BUT you can root your device and then use an app such as Link2SD. I will provide links and other necessary information to give you a complete answer when I get home later. I have done this on my LG LS660 (1gb left after purchasing, 5.5gb after FIXING) 16gb SD card. I have multiple games installed (Bard's Tale, Six Guns, and more).

Short answer: You can't.
Long answer: You (probably) can't, but you can try.. if you don't mind potentially bricking your phone. You'll need root.

You are wrong ,you can mount an ext4 partition on an SD card as /data without bricking your phone but you gonna need root access

The phone would be bricked possibly because of altering partition boundaries which may disrupt Android booting or functioning, thereby, rendering the device useless, hence bricked.


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How to list clients that have used your wifi hotspot on a Nexus 5
Is there a way to list clients currently using my mobile hotspot? Or even better does it log info on the clients that connect?
I have some totally unexplained bandwidth usage when I had it on and took a 5 hour nap, while the password wasn't that weak, I'd like to check to make sure no one besides me was using it.
Edit: Preferably without root. Although, I might root it if it means I can actually LOG the activity.

If your phone is rooted, you can open the file located at /data/misc/dhcp/dnsmasq.leases with an editor. There you can see information about connected devices.
Source: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/9996351/wi-fi-tethering-how-to-get-list-of-connected-clients
(This I maybe duplicate of the link provided)

See my edit/update to the question.


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Rooted my phone Now on to SD problems
I rooted my phone and was able to delete several apps I don't need,(Touchpal, Browser (electing to use google for these) Problem though. Now I want to move the programs I do use , but are not integral to the phone, onto an external sd card.
I got a nice 32 Gig card,mounted it in the phone and still can't get the phone to transfer any files there.
Any suggestions as to how to fix this?
Thanks.

Are you talking about moving system apps (apps that came with the phone) to the external sdcard?

Any apps at all. I can access the card through my computer but the phone won't let me put anything on the SD.

What phone are you using? What Android version?

Android 4.0 Model ZTE N9500 Carrier:　Sprint

I formatted the card to NFTS and put it back in the phone. Came up as blank/incompatible sd. Here's the kicker. The phone allowed me to format the card while mounted. Hopefully that worked.

Apart from the fact that almost no Android device supports NTFS natively (I've never heard of a single one): Did re-formatting the card solve your issue? If so, it would be absolutely cool if you could answer your own question, so others can profit from your solution :) Thanks in advance!


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Access phone without SIM PIN
Sometimes I want to access my phone without unlocking the SIM cards (yes, two of them, so two PINs). It may be that I just want to play some games, and I know that there is no coverage so I do not care about missing calls.
How can I avoid entering the PIN but being able to unlock the phone itself?
Note: removing PIN for normal SIM access is not an option.

is removing the SIM cards an option?

No, see comment to Timo Schwarzer's answer.

It's a bit late for answering this, but I had the same issue:
When you get asked for the SIM PIN, press the power button for some time until the menu with shutdown options pops up. Select "Airplane mode" here. Now you can use your phone without the SIM PIN.
Verified on an old Galaxy S4 mini.

You can simply remove the SIM cards. Then you will not be asked for a PIN. Some phones will show a "No SIM card"-dialog.

Removing the SIM implies removing the battery, thus losing e.g. clock configuration.

Ok. There are phones (like mine) where you do not have to remove the battery to eject the SIM card

Removing the SIM card also requires a sharp tool that I don't carry everywhere. It is ridiculous that I cannot use my mobile phone just because I forgot the second SIM's PIN, which I don't need at the moment.

On my Samsung Galaxy SIII, holding the power button displays a window which can be used to power down the phone. Then the battery can be safely removed, and then also the SIM card. Upon rebooting the phone I get the No-SIM-Card icon in the top-left notifications area, but I can still dial emergency numbers and access the Internet using Wi-Fi. On my phone it is also possible to disable having to enter the PIN from Settings -> Security.
Regards.


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Where to get the release version of lollipop for Nexus 7
I'm looking for the Lollipop OS that I can sideload to my Nexus 7 2012 and supposedly they released Lollipop for Nexus 7 2012 today (Nov 3, 2014).  Is there a site I can go to download the OTA file?
The official version is not here yet.

Why the downvote?  I'm not asking for when the device will update on its own - but where I can get the new image.

It will come out on the site when Google release it. There is no official release date. The Nexus 6 and 9 will be released with it today, but the other Nexus devices don't have any release date. Even if it was out today, it's early morning in the US still so they're not even in the office

I read in various sources that the new image would come out today.  Though, the sources weren't Google.

Yeah that was one article that got copied all over the place. Google haven't given any indication at all. Maybe it will be today, maybe not. The N6 and N9 images should be soon, the other devices 'when it's ready.'

The place you've already linked is where the downloads will show up first. Normally OTA updates are staged-rollout, meaning you'll have to wait until your device/region is eligible to receive the update unfortunately.

Yep, "when it's out" is the only answer at the moment. A few guesses were today (November 3rd) but not from any official channels. The Nexus 6 and 9 are released today with Lollipop, so maybe that's what's causing the confusion.


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Birthdays and wedding anniversary dates
I would like to know how to insert birthdays and wedding anniversary dates into contacts in my Android phone book.

Contrary to what another answer implies, you can't add any field you want when you tap the Add another field button in the stock contact editor. You can only add from a pre-defined list of fields. Unfortunately, the stock contact viewer and editor don't support custom fields.
The good news is that you can add birthdays and anniversaries, though it's not immediately obvious how, because they're not independent fields, they're categories of the Events field.
In the Add another field box, check Events and tap OK. You'll then have an Events field that works much like the Phone, Email, and Address fields: you can add multiple entries (by tapping the green plus sign), and for each one you can select the category from the adjacent drop-down list.
More good news is that you can add custom categories for events, just as you can for addresses and phone numbers: select Custom from the drop-down list, and enter your custom category. In this case you won't need to do that, though, because Birthday and Anniversary happen to be the two pre-defined event categories.

You can create custom fields using the Gmail Contacts app in the browser.
From there, you can specify custom labels and values. Note, however, that these are not visible in the standard Android contacts viewer (People), even though they are synced to the Android phone.
For more details, see the SoftWyer blog post.

Open your contact. Select "Edit" from the options menu. There you will see several fields for that specific contact. If you don't saw the birthday field there the there will a button in the end saying "And another field". Click that button and add whatever field you want.
By the way if your phonebook is synced with your google+ account. Then google has already fetched all the information of contacts including birthdays. You can see that in your google calender app.


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Disable Proximity Sensor in T-Mobile S5
My new T-Mobile S5 has this "feature" that turns the screen off when anything (including your hand) gets near the screen.
I'm pulling my hair out and I'm going to be returning the phone to T-Mobile if I can't turn this thing off.
To be clear, I need a T-Mobile S5 answer to this question. There is no option under call settings even peripherally related to the sensor, there is no option under screen even peripherally related to the sensor.
How can I disable this awfulness? I'd prefer suggestions on how to disable it then how to hunt down the engineer who thought this was a good idea so I can knock his teeth out. Barring that, I'll settle for how to disable this idiotic sensor.
Edit: I just wanted to add that any solutions that permanently disable or destroy the proximity sensor will be accepted with open arms. I'd prefer not to have to return the phone if I don't have to.

Why is this a problem? Normally it should only happen when you're in a phone call.

Because part of my job includes maintaining and expanding my company's asterisk PBX system. I'm beeping my way through automated phone menus for hours at a time. Having that sensor on makes me want to snap the phone after hour 3.


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Limited home screen
I need to get a company tablet for operators to use at home to check some data while away from company. Since I don't trust them much, I would like to allow only a few apps to be ran on the android tablet and disable anything else inlcuding play store, settings, web browsing, etc...is there any FREE app that can do what I want?
I would also like avoiding somebody logging in with their own account onto the tablet. Thank you.

I'll look into it, but "Since I don't trust them much" stood out to me. If they are not trustworthy maybe don't give them tablets, or adopt a BYOD (bring your own device) methodology?

I've just added the kiosk-mode tag to your question. Check questions using it for existing solutions, as that seems to be what you're after.

No, there's currently no way to do what you want with an app. You'd need to develop a custom ROM to suit your requirements (or pay someone to do it, of course).
The new Lollipop version of Android has some features to enable kiosk-mode-type applications, so it may be that some apps might come along in future to enable this kind of use.
Slightly off the topic of Android, to amplify what RossC has already said: if you don't trust someone, you probably shouldn't have hired them, and you certainly shouldn't send work to their home. If the worst thing they can do to your business is install an app on your tablet, their job can't be responsible enough to warrant giving them remote access to confidential business data in the first place.

I presume he means he doesn't trust them technically as opposed to personally, i.e. he's not concerned that they'll use the device to do nefarious things behind his back, he's concerned that if they have free rein to tinker with it, they might mess it up, and he wants to limit its use to work-related purposes. (Though personally I'd resent it if any employer expected me to carry a mobile device around when I'm not at work but not let me use it for personal purposes as well, forcing me to have two devices on me at all times. It would probably be enough to make me look for a different job.)

...I suppose it's a different story if he only wants them to check data at particular times, and they can leave the company device on a shelf except when they're checking the data.

They need to carry the device home to check status of the production machines few times during the weekend. Would be nice not to find my tablet messed up, or misconfigured each time it comes back, so kiosk would be perfect.


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How can i make samsung S5 to be shown as a drive when i connect it to my PC?
when i connect the phone via USB it shows as Portable device; but i want it to be as a drive so i can review my files on the labtop.
note: i have S3 and S5 with the same issue.

Click on the USB sign on the notification bar.
Then in the new page, check the "Media Device(MTP)" and wait for few seconds to see the drive show up in your computer/mac.

Thanks Sam Ramezanli's. I did what you adviced me so many times and it still the same; shows as portaple device!

are you a windows or Mac User?


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Is there any technique for controling a smart phone over another smart phone ( both are android)
As because one of the phones display is damaged throgh some part.
If there is any method please tell me....

You might wish to check with Broken Screen + Using adb shell to run vnc server and the questions linked to that.

You could try Teamviewer or Webkey. Teamviewer is only supported by selected Samsung phones, and Webkey requires root, though. If your phone is not supported by Teamviewer, you are most probably not going to achieve anything without rooting the phone you want to control. (Android only allows an app to inject screen taps and grab the screen in special circumstances: if the app is signed with the manufacturer's key (Teamviewer does this, so it doesn't need root) or the app is running as root.)

Trouble with both might be: Won't you have to start the "server" part on the damaged device? If so, how can that be done if there's no working touch-screen?

I think Webkey's "server part" can be started via ADB.

Just need to find out how. Maybe similar to Broken Screen + Using adb shell to run vnc server, if one knows the name of the corresponding activity.


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Asus memo pad 8 led notification
Hi there I have an ASUS MeMO Pad 8 ME181C I want to know is there a proximity sensor or a notification led on right hand side of the tablet.
If it's a notification led how does it work?
Thanks...


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Using a Bluetooth Headset to send voice to a bluetooth Speaker (Android)
this is quite a strange question, but hoping someone can help me out. Basically I was hoping to have a bluetooth headset send audio to bluetooth speakers - basically as a sort of "remote mic and speaker" setup.
I have bluetooth speakers and a bluetooth headset, but they will not sync to each other (as they are both accessories I assume). So I was hoping to get a cheap android phone to be the middle man.
Problem is I can't seem to get the Mic and "Speaker" to seperate, nor an app that supports audio straight through. My ideal setup is as follows:
Speech in (Bluetooth headset) --> Sent to Speaker (Phone) --> Output from Speaker (Bluetooth Speaker).
Can anyone suggest a way to do this in Android? Are there apps that support this?
Thanks for your help, anyone that can help! :-)


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How to stop android from creating files and folders on the SD card
Is there a way to stop android from creating folders on the SD card such as "Android" and "Download".
I have Android KitKat version 4.4.2.

Just a note, I'd prefer not to delete those folders, since those are regarded as default folders for Android. Removing those might break some apps.

How to stop apps writing to “Android” folder on the SD card?

It is an obnoxious programming practice prevalent in Android and it's apps, alright.
/system/etc/permissions/platform.xml can be used to NOT give permission to everyone, their grandmothers and their cats to poop folders and files left and right everywhere throughout your SD card, but is not the final solution... just a way to make it less bad.
If not, remember that Android runs on Linux and you can always use the rules of Linux against it... or the rules of the filesystem for instance... If the SD card has a FAT32 filesystem there cannot be folders and files with the same name... so... by creating files named "LOST.DIR", "ReceivedFiles", "Download" and so forth ensures no other folders will be created... lastly is just a matter of setting the proerties of those same files to "hidden" and the file manager to "not show hidden files/folders"...
They will still be there doing their function but just not so visually.
Ultimately it is up to the person who writes each app to store app related data in the /data partition instead of the SD card as it was intended to be.

I believe you need root to access /system folder... but I couldn't find the path you mentioned: there is no /settings folder inside /system. This is observed on Nexus 4 running Lollipop 5.0.1.

typo... that is /system/etc/permissions/platform.xml and, yes root required obviously

If I remember correctly the permission you need to tweak is android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE

If you have Kitkat or upper, then this should work:
On my Phone (Galaxy S3 mini) I found the option Protect SD card/ usb Storage in the Developer Options. Always when it's tagged there gets no  "Android" folder created. After a small internet recherche I found out more about that feature and stumbled over these articles:
How To Protect Your Sd Card In your Android Phone and
Jelly Bean brings a new permission along - 'read external storage'

According to the Android API Doc every Kitkat phone with Android 4.1 and above should be able for that:
READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE

"Provides protected read access to external storage. In Android 4.1 by
  default all applications still have read access. This will be changed...."

But as I said these is only for the the "Android" folder. To prevent save and reading all kind of media files you need the ".nomedia"-file. For "Downloads" you have to change the download-path in the Browser. The "LOST.DIR" has already and answer! And for the rest of all ----> ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Find out by yourself!!!


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Getting confused by rooting and enabling wifi tethering
I'm trying to activate wifi tethering on my (verizon) Samsung Galaxy S4 mini through rooting. I'm getting a bit confused by the myriad ways to do this that I'm reading about on the web.
Could somebody help clarify the choices for me?
Here are some of my specific questions:
1) To the best of my understanding the process of enabling the wifi tethering begins with rooting your phone then enabling the "Mobile Hotspot" setting (under "Settings>Connections>More networks>Wireless and networks"). Then just installing a tethering app e.g. FoxFi, PdaNet, 1-Click-Tether etc, etc. Is this correct?
2) Is that all there is to it or is there more. For example, I've encountered a lot of posts talking about needing to flash a custom ROM for this. I understood that the purpose is so that you don't mess with your stock ROM so that you don't void the phone's warranty. But to flash a new ROM don't you also need to root your phone thus mess with your stock ROM?
Thanks much for any help.

If you have the Settings > Wireless and networks > More > Tethering and portable hotspot menu item (which is present from Android 2.2  onwards, so I assume you do, since your phone ships with 4.2), you do not have to root your device to turn on tethering. Just use that menu and WiFi tethering will work. Those apps are for phones with earlier versions of Android which did not have this menu item.
Your phone only has one ROM on it at a time. If you modify or replace it, your warranty is gone. It makes no sense to "flash a custom ROM to avoid messing with the stock ROM and thus preserve the warranty", because by flashing a custom ROM you erase the factory one. (There MAY be highly dangerous procedures which restore the device to a state that the former modification is undetectable, but you could assume that if you do anything that involves flashing or rooting, you void your warranty.)


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Titanium Backup: How to restore user apps and data without system apps and data?
Is there a way to restore user and system data separately with Titanium Backup?
I would like to restore only my user apps and data (excluding system apps and data). The only way to achieve this seems to be to select "Restore all apps with data" in the Restore section and manually uncheck all system apps.
This is certainly doable but becomes tedious if you restore your device often. Is there a more convenient option?

If you click on Click to Edit Filters in the Backup \ Restore tab in Titanium Backup you can select:
Filter by type:

System
User
Uninstalled

Then you can restore all apps that are only filtered by these (or a combination of them).


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Titanium Backup: How to schedule backup verification?
How do I schedule a "Verify backups" action in Titanium backup?
The list of available actions in the "Add new schedule" dialog seem to include all standard backup actions (for example various backup and restore actions) except "Verify backups". Is there a way to achieve this?
The Titanium backup FAQ recommends performing a verification on all backups, but if it cannot be scheduled it has to be done manually, which defeats the purpose (and convenience) of scheduling in the first place.


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Samsung Galaxy DUos - Balance Deductions
i am using Samsung Galaxy duos, Battery is consuming very much.it won't last more than 20 hours. It is also deducting my balance and heard mobile data could be a reason. What is mobile data? How can it deduct my balances?

If you go to Settings > My device > Battery what is using the most?

Mobile data means Internet access on phone via mobile network. It costs you money when not on Internet plan. Turning it off is very easy. Open notification bar turn off Mobile Data (icon with 2 arrows one up one down) -or- open Settings>(More)Mobile networks> (uncheck) Mobile data (SIM1 & SIM2).


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Micromax Canvas A1 is unable to install apps from Google Play Store
I have a Micromax Canvas A1 device. I can open Play Store and can search the apps. But, when I click Install, it just shows (endless) download animation and no actual downloading happens.
An example:

Process is stuck in installation phase and no further progress nor even any notification hapens.
I've tried so far:

Clearing Google Play Store data and cache.
Doing factory reset of the device.

Still nothing. Anything else, I can try?

Have you tried using other network connection? Perhaps there is an issue with the connection, or firewall? How about downloading the app from the Play Store website?

Have you tried clearing the cache and the data stored by the Google PlayStore App ?? If not then I would advise you to try clearing the cache and the data, and restart your device. Upon restarting open the Google PlayStore and check if you can everything starts working fine for you. I am pretty much sure that will do the trick for you.

@PeterCarlos - Thanks for the advice, but as I've mentioned, I've already tried clearing cache, data and uninstalling update. After rebooting, having the same issue.

@Pankaj Oops my bad I haven't seen bottom of your post. I guess the problem is somewhere with the network only,Okay do one thing stop the download and ask your friend to tether for you connect with it and again try downloading the app and check if that works for you ?

@PeterCarlos - Well, now I can install using my 3G connection, but not with WiFi and Tethering. Is it a WiFi problem specific for playstore?

@Pankaj That's great at least now you are able to download apps over the 3G network. But at the same time I am sorry but I don't have anything to comment over here as it has started working back over the 3G network mysteriously, but what I can bet on is the problem is with the network not the PlayStore. Maybe you should try connecting your device with some other Wi-Fi network to check the problem.

Backup your phone. Do a hard data reset (note, that this is different from a factory reset):

Press Volume Up + Volume Down + Power Button all at once.
Press Volume Up.
Go to recovery and then select wipe data/factory reset.

If you are facing any troubles, then this link should be helpful for you.