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How to make default application in android?
I need to add one of my app to my android such that even if it is fully formatted it remains within the android as the default installed app. Can i get help regarding it. I have my android rooted.

The term you mentioned 'Default app' means i assume you want to make your app as 'System app'. If your phone is rooted successfully you can do this with numerous methods.

File Explorer method
If you have a file explorer with root permission granted (ex. ES File explorer etc), it is very easy.

Just obtain an 'APK' file of your app.
Copy the APK file. Navigate to '/system/app'.  paste it under '/system/app' folder.
Long press 'APK' to change its properties. Under permissions property, click on change and set it to rw- r-- r--. ( Thats user: read and write, group: read only and other: read only. Thats it! Reboot your device.

ADB method
Same can be done with the help of ADB. You just have to copy and paste your Apps APK file under '/system/app' folder.

To do this, connect your device to your pc and make sure you have ADB drivers are installed correctly. Also enable the usb debugging.
Open command prompt and type:
adb shell
su
cd /data/app
mv 'your_app name' /system/app/'your_app_name'. Replace 'your_app_name' with obviously name of your application without quotes.
Again exit shell and reboot.

Apps method
This is most simple method. There are many apps available to do this task. One popular app is 'Titanium Backup'. But as per my knowledge 'convert to system app' feature is paid version only. So i prefer one of above method only.

Tip: do the tricks only if you know what you are doing and you are familiar with android file system at your own risk.

In adb method, to get the name of your application type command 'ls' it will list all the apps installed.

Also note that there might be /system/app-priv which according so some sources then might be the preferred place (instead of /system/app) if it exists.


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OTA update multiple times
I am using Xiaomi mobile which is unrooted. In that I have installed developer ROM. The manufacturer releases weekly updates, which is twice in week.
My question is that, Will it creates any software/hardware problems to the device after updating/installing several times.

You haven't mentioned your device but being a  question on frequent updates was browsing Xiaomi forums and here is a very similar question for Redmi Note 3 asked and answered yesterday- you need to sign up
Question asked (edited)

But getting "Updates available" message very often and none of them are less than 125MB and almost all of them are Stable.
Two weeks back i got an update. I did it. And today (26th June - 2016) one more update. Called "Bug fixes".
Why am i getting this often? Is that only me? Should i go for it?

Reply from MIUI device team

Updates are normally to fix issues so is generally good to install them. If you are on the Stable ROM you should not get updates that often but the Developer ROM can be a few a month.
Updates to the System get installed in the System partition not user areas anyway but generally they overwrite existing files anyway so does not use extra space anyway.

So you have it from the OEM that it is safe, and being on developer ROM, you should expect and get frequent updates

"Will it creates any software/hardware problems to the device after updating/installing several times"
 - No.
These days, android security patches are being released every month. So, it is common to get monthly updates, although xiomi releases weekly updates. These updates are intended to fix the known issues and includes some security patches. For further information regarding the updates, you can refer to the update log, which is provided along with the update.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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Photos not sending when attched to a sms on a UMI Touch mobie
I have a UMI Touch mobile phone and when i attach a photo to a message it doesnt send.  It says sending but just sits and then says message failed.  Any clues.  Many thanks.

when you say message- do you mean "SMS" or "MMS". In the case of SMS, you normally can't attach pics. If it is MMS, is the APN settings of carrier correctly set up on your phone?

Delete some old messages to make some room. You've reached the limits for allocated space for messages. That's stupid, the phone should say: " memory full, please delete some of  your old messages and you'll be able to send new ones"

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


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Workaround for lack of "hide sensitive content" setting for lockscreen notifications in CyanogenMod 13?
I have recently installed CyanogenMod 13 on an Android One phone (i.e. the 'sprout' version of CM).  I installed the release version.  In the notification settings, under "when locked", I was surprised to find that the setting "hide sensitive content" is missing.  I.e. I can either choose to have all my notifications be completely visible, or I can choose to have them be completely hidden.  Neither of those is a convenient setting.  Is there a workaround for this?

Looks like a bug. You should report this to CM's issue tracker and see what they reply with. You could try a different ROM in the meantime. Or you could one of the dozens of lock screen replacement apps on the play store, but then they can also access all your notifications, even if they don't show them on the lock screen (via accessibility permissions).

The problem turns out to be that this option only shows up if the lock screen is set to a PIN / password / etc.  If it is set to swipe, it doesn't show up.  This is not exactly intuitive but I guess it makes sense at some level.


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Share Menu Sort Order
I make frequent use of the Share menu.  Most frequently I share URLs to Pocket so I can read them later, though less frequently I'll share to email, SMS or Facebook Messenger.  Since I've upgraded my Samsung S6 Edge to Marshmallow, I've noticed that when I open the Share menu, frequently there's about a 1 - 2 second delay where Android re-sorts the order of the items on the Share menu.  Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of this behavior is that more often than not, Pocket, my most frequently used target is moved from the first screen of the Share menu to the second while a Hangouts chat with a friend that hasn't been active in over a month is moved to the first item in the list.
My question is this:  Is there any way I can control the sort order of items on the Share menu?

I'm quite sure this question has been asked here already. It's sorted roughly in order of frequency of use, along with some developer criteria, AFAIK. Look at this for an interim solution.

TL; DR - You can use an app like AndMadeShare, which is basically a share menu replacement. It works with Marshmallow, and is customizable. If this works for you, drop a comment and I'll make it an answer.

Had the same issue, it was very annoying. Did not want any share menu replacement apps.
So now found the trick: when the share menu opens, long press on the app - a menu popups with an option to pin it.
Your post is a year old, I guess you might have figured out it already :)

Thanks for your suggestion.  I did actually find another workaround, I ditched Android for iOS :)


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Custom OS samsung galaxy e5
Is there any chance of installing official Samsung galaxy s5 6.0 marshmallow firmware on samsung galaxy e5 using odin?

See: Can I install any ROM for my Android device? A ROM must match your device (i.e. its especially tailored for it).

It is possible to install official firmware on the samsung galaxy e5. However samsung hasn't released a marshmallow update for the e5 yet.
In the android ROM community they call official firmware, "stock".
When looking for posts online it is best to search for "flashing stock rom Firmware"
You can use Odin to install the official samsung galaxy e5 firmware. Be aware that there are multiple versions of the samsung galaxy e5 and you need to find the correct firmware for your device. Too view your device model go to -> settings -> About Phone -> device model.
There is however a unofficial cyanogenmod rom available for the samsung galaxy e5(E500H only) that has marshmallow.
Forum post to E500H Cyanogenmod

Sorry I didn't get your point. Can you please tell me more clearly?

Hardware of Samsung Galaxy E5 and Samsung Galaxy S5 are approximately same, so does Galaxy S5 firmware supports in Galaxy E5?

Im sorry! I thought you asked for the samsung galaxy s5. I didnt know there is a e5.

Hopefully this gives a better explanation. You cannot use the s5 firmware. You must be sure to use the firmware that is exactly made for your model.


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Block heads-up/peeking notifications when certain app is in foreground
Ordinarily I love the peeking notifications in Marshmallow. They're really useful 95% of the time, and save me a lot of pulling down the notification shade.
But when a real-time game is in the foreground, the heads-up notifications block so much of the screen that they affect my ability to play. I have lost competitive events because of this. Enabling Do Not Disturb, oddly, does not prevent peeking; it only disables the vibration, which doesn't affect my gameplay. (It obviously also disables notification sounds, but my phone spends 99.9% of its life in vibration only mode.)
Obviously I could simply disable peeking, but that's not what I want. I want to suppress peeking only when certain apps are in the foreground. Googling for a solution has been fruitless, either because of keyword confusion or because a solution does not exist. I hope it's the former, and I just haven't been able to put the right query in.
Pretty much any solution is usable for me, since I am on rooted 6.0.1 with Xposed installed.

Download macrodroid, give it required permissions, set Trigger--> app launched (your game), actions--> configure app notifications (use toggle all) to select all and disable notifications, constraints none (ignore). I can't test on my MM device as it is not with me ATM. Let me know if it works

Will the previous notification settings be restored when the game is pushed to the background?

They should - but you need to test first. Just in case they don't another simple macro can do the trick

That's not going to fit my needs, unfortunately. It completely blocks notifications, instead of just disabling peeking. It does not restore the settings when the selected app goes to the background. It also seems unable to quite process all apps on being triggered; a few random apps had their settings unchanged, both in the original macro to disable notifications and in the second one I created to re-enable notifications.

Ahh..sorry for that

Not a huge deal. It was worth trying anyway, even if it didn't ultimately solve the problem. :)

Gravity box Xposed module has disable peek option under status bar tweaks, if you are willing to give it a shot


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What is meant by "RAW" firmware?
I want to use Asus Flashtool to restore stock firmware to my phone. The download page says I will need "RAW" firmware. What exactly is that? I have already downloaded the correct firmware file from Asus' own website. The site in question has a link to what it refers to as "RAW" firmware, but I would rather flash the firmware I've downloaded from an official source. Is there any difference? Is "RAW" firmware supposed to be something special?

RAW is just the archive format used by the Asus flasher (as opposed to ZIP, EXE, IMG, KDZ, etc.). If you're using the Asus flash tool (AFT) and you downloaded a .raw file, you should be all set. AFT does not support other formats.
If you want to install the stock firmware as it comes from the official source (Asus website), then you wouldn't use AFT. The exact procedure you would use varies depending on what you've got installed now and if it will boot.

I didn't download a any .raw file though. The official firmware file is a .zip file (if extracted it gives a number of files and folders.) I suppose I need to download the .raw file. But where can I get it from a reliable source?

You posted another question about how to flash back to stock. Since this question is just about RAW, I've answered that here and will attempt to answer the other question separately.


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How to restore the stock firmware to the Asus Zenfone 2?
Asus Zenfone 2 (Z00AD, ZE551ML)
I have downloaded the stock firmware from here. But how to flash it? This guide tells me to put it on an external SD card and boot into "update mode" by pressing Power + Volume Down, but that combination doesn't do anything on my phone.
It looks like I can use something called Asus Flashtool, but it appearantly involves using a different type of format for the firmware, which I will need to download from a third party.
Asus has provided me with the firmware. How to flash it?

To do this, you have to get into the bootloader using the Power + Vol down key combination as you mentioned.  Are you holding these keys starting with a completely OFF phone?  If the phone is on when you hold these keys, it will not do anything.  If this still doesn't work for some reason, there is another way using the abd tool from the Android SDK.  But that is the hard way (unless you already have the SDK installed and know how to use it), so let's try to get the key combo to work first.

@PaulRatazzi Postive, that key combo does nothing (of course, the phone is off.) Power+ Vol UP does do something, though. I think I've found something, this tutorial looks very promising. I'm following it now.

@PaulRatazzi Success! I'll post an answer with all the details.

Glad you got it!!

@PaulRatazzi Answer ready.

I found out how to do it with the official firmware from asus.com. I'll post this for the benefit of all sentient beings future readers with the same problem. I'm writing this in a very beginner-friendly fashion.
Note: I had stock recovery. These steps will not work if you have a custom recovery.

Disclaimer: This is only what worked for me. It may or may not work for others. Follow these steps at your own risk. Any problems you encounter or global nuclear wars you cause while following these steps are your own responsibility. If something goes wrong (such as a power outage or loose cable) in the middle of the flashing, it will soft-brick your phone. If you don't know how to deal with such things, take your phone to a proper service center instead of following this tutorial.

 1. I downloaded the official firmware from here.
Important(!): You must select the exact correct file. Failing to do so could damage your device. It's important that you match all the numbers with those on your device. In my case, the relevant values were ZE551ML and 2.20.40.184 for WW. ("WW" is the important part.) You may think you have the same phone as me, but your values may be different. In that case it's very important that you get another image, namely the correct one for your device!!

I used Windows 10.
Downloaded and installed this driver.
Downloaded and installed Minimal ADB and Fastboot.
Copied the firmware file (from step #1) to the folder in which Minimal ADB and Fastboot was installed. (In my case C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot.)

Before proceeding, ensure the battery is above 50% (just to be safe.)

Turned off the phone completely.
Pressed and held the Power button and the Volume up button both at the same time.
As soon as the phone vibrated, I let go of the power button.

Please note: I had to try several times before this key combination worked. If it doesn't work immediately, try again until it works.

After a short while I saw this:

I pressed Volume down twice until it said RECOVERY MODE inside the box. I then pressed the Power button.
When you see this dead android, and a message saying Error!, do not despair, I also saw that message.

On that screen, I pressed the Power button and the Volume up button both at the same time.

Please note: I had to try several times before this key combination worked. If it doesn't work immediately, try again until it works.

I was then taken to this screen:

I pressed Volume Down to select apply update from ADB. I then pressed the Power Button to select that option.
I connected the phone to the computer.
I navigated to the folder in which Minimal ADB and Fastboot was installed. (In my case C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot.)
Holding down Shift I right clicked in the white space in that folder and selected Open command window here.
In that window, I typed adb devices and pressed Enter to check the connection to the phone.

In my case, the output to that was
List of devices attached
0123456789ABCDEF        sideload

I then typed adb sideload UL-Z00A-WW-2.20.40.184-user.zip and pressed Enter.

Important: Unless you have the exact same file as me, you have to replace UL-Z00A-WW-2.20.40.184-user.zip with whatever file name your actual firmware file has. Remember to include .zip as Windows often doesn't display file name extensions by default.

The process took around 20 minutes. This time may vary. The command prompt window told me the percents of progress along thew way. I was given a confirmation message after it was done. I rebooted the phone, and I now have the stock firmware on my phone.

I actually also wiped data and cache partition (which wipes all personal data), because I wanted a totally clean phone. But I think that's optional.

Attribution: I followed this tutorial, but I had to do some of the things differently and figure parts of it out on my own.
By the way, I've successfully rooted now, and it works again! :D

Nice answer!  It should also be possible to apply an update from storage which would eliminate the 2nd computer dependency.   Do you not have that option in your system recovery?  Either way, all's well that ends well! Congrats!

@PaulRatazzi Thanks! Yeah, update from storage is clearly superior. I searched for hours for a way to do it. As I said, Voume down + Power button didn't do anything on my phone. Even when i called Asus support  US yesterday, they didn't know how to do it. The only way they knew was to issue adb commands from a desktop computer. But even the support guy had no clue. He was reading from  a tutorial and Googling stuff himself. And the tutorial he was following was for a totally different firmware and didn't work at all. I eventually figured it out by reading that tutorial I mentioned earlier.

I made a tutorial myself, with some details people might get confused with. Let me know if this helped.
How to install the firmware upgrade on ASUS Zenfone 2.
Pre-requisites:
- Firmware desired.
- Minimal ADB and fastboot tool.
- A computer to install the ADB files and download the firmware.
- Phone battery charged. If possible, over 50%.
Go to ASUS official website, download the firmware:
IMPORTANT: Make sure the OTA Image SKU (the one you are downloading) is the same as the current Device Image (the version
you have installed on the device at the moment).
This is very important!:
In my case is WW-2.20.40.184. So the upgrade must be "WW" as well or it will fail. Trust me, it fails at around 20 percent, where the
package is validated by the OS.
Make sure what your device version is. It can be: WW, CUCC, CN or JP.
Then download the Minimal ADB and fastboot tool.
- This is a set of files that will be installed on your hard drive, in the Program Files folder.
ADVICE: paste the firmware ZIP file on the same folder as the ADB tool, easier to find.
Turn on the phone on Recovery Mode:
- Volume up + Power button.
- With the volume up or down search for Recovery Mode.
- Power button to accept. The phone will restart on Recovery Mode.
- On the error screen press Power button and a quick press of the volume up button, this will skip the so common error
this device has.
- Scroll down to the option: apply update from ADB.
- Now plug the phone via usb and then select this option.
On the ADB console:
- If you plugged the phone like the previous step: type "adb devices" (without quotes, on the console.
The device should appear.). I would say this is not necessary but you must make sure the phone was recognized, or it won't work.
- It should say:
|List of devices attached.
0123456789ABCDEF          sideload|

Now type "adb sideload filename.zip". Replace filename.zip with the zip file of the firmware.
Example: adb sideload UL-Z00A-WW-2.20.40.184-user.zip
Enter... and wait for the process to complete, it takes about 25 minutes.

The last thing you should see on your device is Install from ADB complete.
Then reboot the system now.
The screen should pop up with an Updating Android message, wait until is finished.
Best of lucks.


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Checking activity of unknown user on my phone
Yesterday I took my new phone to a mobile service shop... I wanted them to put a protection layer on my display. I have a pattern lock on my phone so I just put the display to sleep and gave it to him. He went to another room, and 15 minutes later he gave me the phone back.
My questions are: even though I have a pattern to unlock phone how can I make sure that he did not do anything suspicious to it? He was very strange. Could he have guessed or cracked the code? Is there a way to inject some kind of harmful code via usb cable? How can I check all the activity, not just browser history or history.google.com but all the list of apps that were turned on? Or any other activity that might cause problems to me. Also, is there also anyway to inject some kind of harmfull code to a blocked phone using usb cable? And lets say that code would delete the pattern and gain the access to phone ?
I want to hear from a security expert. Should I do a factory reset would it delete everything that might be inserted by him to the phone ?  just to make sure?
Or am I being paranoid? Thanks

What Android version are you running?

6.0 Marshamllow ,

Possible duplicate of How do I know when an app was used in Android?

no its not duplicate beeshy i dont talk just about app usage at all.

You can see the question above to detect if any app was accessed during the time it was away from you. Second part of your question about injecting code is theoretically possible but better asked in security SE

well there are probably too many ways to harm the phone if you want to , but anyway even if there would be some kind of virus which i doubt why would a service man do it , but if yes then what is the best solution ? throw the phone to trash ? do factory reset ? i want to be 100% sure that if there is something wrong it wont be there anymore , by wrong i mean virus , changed setting , password leak , etc.

Go thorough the answers. Your question talks of how do I check app activity, list of apps turned on and that is what is answered in the possibly duplicate question. And yes another thing, this site works best with a single Q and A format


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Persistently or aggressively enabling Battery Saver
I love the Battery Saver feature. When I'm travelling or in other situations where reliable communication is more important than user experience, I want to always have it enabled, sometimes for days at a time.
However, Android automatically turns it off after the phone has been charged, requiring me to remember to go in and re-enable it after unplugging my phone. I occasionally forget.
Is there any way (including via third-party apps, excluding via rooting or jailbreaking the device) for me to automatically or persistently enable the Battery Saver, aside from the system's built-in options to enable it at 15% or 5% charge remaining? Alternatively, is there a way to leave it on indefinitely, or a way to have it automatically activate earlier (such as at 50% charge), or a way to activate it based on a schedule?
If there's no user-accessible way to do this yet, I would also be interested in knowing if there are any mechanisms in the operating system (URL schemes, framework APIs, relevant permission settings) that could potentially be used to control Battery Saver.

Corresponding question for iOS (I use both), if anybody is curious.

Quick thought: check our automation tag-wiki. One of those apps might be capable of it. My first check would be if Tasker can do that. The trigger is clear (when you disconnect the charger). Just not sure whether there's a plugin to deal with the battery saver.

@izzy: Yes, thanks. When I wrote earlier comment ( now deleted), this feature wasn't there  .Set myself a reminder on the app to check possibility and it reminded me today !

@beeshyams, nice workaround but as Izzy had suggested, with Tasker you could define the specific battery saving features  (e.g turning off gps, dimming light, disabling vibration etc) as a task then the profiles as battery level and disconnection from charger

@xavier_fakerat: me no Tasker :). Found it difficult to learn and switched to Macrodroid every since. I haven't yet needed to look for alternatives. You could add an alternative using Tasker, if it works for non rooted devices

@beeshyams, nowadays its not as tough as it was on first day of using it. Made use of online tutorials, now I realize the power locked inside Tasker and made very intersting projects and apps too with tasker. The useguide its pretty easy to learn trust me. One day you will see. :). However macrodroid is very user friendly and very time saving so its a big nod !

automation is the preferred option. Many apps are available. I prefer using MacroDroid , since it is free (upto 5 macros) and easy to learn.
Macrodroid along with other applications like Wakelock Detector have made this possible for non rooted device using adb to grant WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS permission to the app
Following actions are possible (quoting developer's post in the forums, accessible from within the app (10/01/17)

Battery Saver
Location Mode
NFC Enable/Disable

You need to set up adb on your laptop
Once you have a working adb connection, you need to run the following command from the command line/terminal on your computer:
adb shell pm grant com.arlosoft.macrodroid android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS

Your macro would look like this
Macro : Toggle Battery Saver (name of macro as example)
Trigger: Empty Trigger
Action: Battery Saver  → Toggle
Constraints: Leave blank
Once you save the macro, go to widget drawer of Macrodroid and drag the shortcut widget to your home screen, and assign to the widget the macro you have created. Press  widget to toggle Battery Saver manually
Coming to your other requirement of activating Battery Saver at user defined percentage or on full charge, create another macro
Macro :  Battery Saver on full charge or when I want (name of macro as example)
Trigger:

Battery Level → increases to 100 % ( full charge )

Battery Level → decreases to 50 % ( user defined limit )

Action: Battery Saver → on
Constraints: Leave blank
My device is rooted, so can't verify adb command but from user response it works and I had used similar command for Wake Lock Detector when my device was not rooted

In the second macro, you could add trigger of Power disconnected also if you wish.  Triggers work in logical OR. Though with the on demand toggle of first macro and controlled activation in second macro, one is pretty much covered

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


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Google Play Movies with restricted accounts
I've created a Restricted account for my daughter to use my Pixel C. I've enabled Google Play Movies. However,  when I open the app none of my purchases are visible. This seems contrary to how it is supposed to work, and I can't see how this app would work with Restricted profiles at all. Any advice appreciated.
My end desire is that I can let her watch movies, but lock the rest down.

It turns out it Google Play Videos was defaulting to my other Google account which has no content. So I just needed to switch accounts and it worked perfectly.


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What app is causing this toast?
Does anyone know what app is causing this "check network connection" toast?

Notes app shown below is unrelated as far as I know, the toast shows when I turn off my data regardless of what app is currently foregrounded.

Open Android studio or eclipse and connect your phone and check the logcat ... You might find something in there

you can check this link : http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/84582/check-the-source-of-a-toast-message

Any cloud software installed that might just try to sync?

Possible Duplicate of http://android.stackexchange.com/q/159529/96277

This toast is generated by the Pinterest app whenever it tries to sync without a network connection. As far as I know, the only way to remove it is by uninstalling it. You could also try force-closing the app, but this toast is so uninformative and intrusive that I uninstalled Pinterest on principle.

Yeah, I can confirm, it belongs to the Pinterest app.

The solution is to use Tasker with AutoNotification plugin. I had it display a Toast with app name whether it intercepted any Toast not from Tasker itself.
Just did that to find a badly designed app asking to "Please activate mobile data": Webhop.
(The question might be a bit old, but the (general type of) problem seems to have remained unsolved judging by the answers here and in Google search. So there you go.)


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samsung i9300 galaxy s3 corrupted
my samsung mobile fell down and restarted. i noticed my screen wall paper getting changed. so i checked my about phone. it showed 4.1.1 android(previously  it was 4.4) i immediately checked my contacts and messages thinking it got flashed when it slipped my hands and fell down. everything seemed fine. so i took it easy. but  when i tried to unlock my phone later the pin is not working now. what to do now. i tried all my previous passwords also. it doesnot show password recovery  option to signin into gmail also. i tried resetting password through  samsungrecovery but it says sim has been changed. but the new sim was changed for morethan a month when i changed mobile network and the number is same so samsung recovery website is out of question for me now.
i donot wish to reset my phone as there are some mobile contacts saved in phone memory of my friends and no way of getting them from any others since i shifted to another city and some pics in phone memory.
someone plz suggest me what to do.

That sounds pretty strange: dropping a phone doesn't change the Android version. Have you rebooted the device already? Taken out the battery for a minute (if it has a removeable battery)? As for the lock, take a look at our locked-out tag-wiki for a starter.

I hate to say this, my LG Stylo got a corrupted file and I had to factory reset. Its a pain but you'll have to write everything down and put it all back in.


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Moto G2 is not starting
I have MOTO g2. Yesterday night, I was uninstalling some apps to free up the memory and by mistake I disabled few google apps and force stopped google play. Then, the menu was not started and hence I switched off mobile.
After switching on, my mobile was displaying optimizing app x of x and after all apps were optimized, it again restarted and again this optimizing app came up. This is like a loop. I can't make it stop. I went into recovery mode and cleared cache, but it didn't work.
Any suggestions?

Is your phone rooted / bootloader unlocked? If it is, then you can do an adb pull of your entire internal storage so that you may still be able to retrieve all your data intact.
A sure shot way of fixing this would be to factory reset your phone via the stock recovery, but at the moment, that might be a rather extreme step.
The steps have been listed in moto's official help page
External Reset (Lollipop)

1. With the phone powered off, press and hold the Volume Down button and the Power button at the same time until the device turns on. You will see the word "Start" with an arrow around it.

2. Press the Volume Down button twice to highlight "Recovery mode"

3. Press the Volume Up button to restart into Recovery mode. You'll see an image of an Android robot with a red exclamation mark and the words "No command."

4. While holding down the Power button, press the Volume Up button.

5. Use the volume buttons to scroll to "wipe data/factory reset" and press the Power button to select it.

6. Scroll down to "Yes - erase all user data" and press the Power button to select it.

It's not rooted. But I don't know whether bootloader is unlocked. How do I know whether bootloader is unlocked ? Thank you for your reply!

If you've not unlocked it, then it's locked. Either way, the option of retrieving it  via adb sounds far fetched since you will need to first enable the option in developer settings - this you will not be able to since you're in a bootloop.


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Should I just get the latest version of Xposed? Are they all stable?
I'm about to download Xposed Framework sdk21 x86, and looking for an installer file here. But there are so many versions. Are they all stable? Should I just get the latest one? I'm not interested in any experimental features, just maximum stability.

Xposed framework developer continuously enhances the framework depending on the bugs reported and improvements suggested (which are quite a few of you follow the development thread at XDA). The latest one  is preferred as the developer supports ONLY the latest. Quoting from linked OP

SDK21 is Android 5.0 (Lollipop), SDK22 is Android 5.1 (also Lollipop) and SDK23 is Android 6.0 (Marshmallow).
  I only support the latest Xposed version!

So, if you have issues you can at least grab his attention for a fix. On the other hand, so called stable ones may out may not work for your device, and when  they do work, you don't have the latest enhancements
Please ensure that you double check the version and the first thing to check is that the uninstaller works before loading modules and yes the framework apk should also be the latest- it is in the OP

Alright, so I should just get the latest version?

Yes, absolutely IMO


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Pin to set lock screen?
My phone recently forgot what my correct pattern to unlock the lockscreen. But when I reset the lock screen to swipe, now I can't change it to anything else because it asks for a pin to change it from swipe. I only ever set a backup pin for the pattern, and it isn't accepting that pin. How can I add security to my lockscreen again?
EDIT: Galaxy S5, Android 6.0.1

Mention the device and android version by editing your question

I'm assuming you've resolved by this point, but for anyone else that comes across this issue:
I just ran into the same issue.  I managed to resolve it by going to https://www.google.com/android/devicemanager and used the lock option to set a different password.  Then I was able to go into lock screen settings and change to pin/pattern/ect as normal.


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Changing bootlogo Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet
I'm trying to change to splash-screen / boot logo of my Sony Xperia Z4 tablet (SGP771)
I have already rooted my device.
With the help of the bootimg.exe tool I unpacked the boot.img - exchanged the logo.rle and repacked the boot.img.
My custom logo.rle I created with boot_screen_logo_creation_package.
However, when flashing the new-boot.img to my device (with fastboot flash boot new-boot.img) the logo is not changed. Still showing the Sony logo before the bootanimation appears.
My tablet runs the Marshmallow firmware and I'm using the corresponding AndroPlusKernel v31  (Z4T_SGP771_AndroPlusKernel_v31.zip).
Any suggestions what I am doing wrong?
Edit: I tried already diffent tools like bootimg_tools from an xda forum, or split_bootimg.pl from the android-wiki.
The one mentioned in my question I found in several forums (wordpress, miui, dark-cyanide-devs ...) I would post the links, but I'm do not have enough reputation for posting more than 2 links...
Most of the tools I tried already did not repack the image correctly (fastboot reported "remote: dtb not found") The tool I used, mentioned in the question, seemed to work for correcly unpacking and repacking. But as I said - the logo does not change -.-

Maybe that tool is device specific. From where did you find link to that tool? Mention it in the Question

Can you recommend any other tools?

You can change bootanimation by going in root/system/media.
there you will find bootanimation.zip. open it and you will see set of images included. you can use custom images of same size and format.
it may not be accurate answer for what you asking. just some relevance.

Thank you for your reply.
But I do know how to change the animation. I want to change the image appearing before the animation.
Btw. on the Sony Xperia Z4 tablet, the animation is fetched from the /oem/media folder if it contains bootanimation.zip;
If not it fetches it from /system/media - as you mentioned.


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If i changed my phone battery will the data be erased from my phone?
My phone's battery has a problem and I need to replace it. I have a lot of important data in my phone and would like to whether changing the battery erases the data on the device.

You can "accept" an answer that meets your expectations by selecting the tick mark below the answer. You cannot upvoted since you don't have enough reputation

No,changing battery doesn't erase phone data.The data won't be erased.
Just switch it off before you remove the battery and insert a replacement battery.

As per GSMarena, Samsung Galaxy Note 4  has Removable Li-Ion 3220 mAh battery.
So, it doesn't affect your device anyhow if you change your battery to a new one.
Removable battery are easy to change. You can buy one from any Samsung Authorised store nearby. However,
before going to remove battery off the device, make sure to turn off your device to prevent data loss, unwanted changes, irregularities or misbehaviour of device.
For more read user's comment on xda-developer's forum: Is it bad for the phone to pull out battery before shut-down?

Replacing the battery does not typically erase data on the phone. What phone are we talking about? If it has a removable battery, it should be very easy to swap out and swap in batteries.
Having said that, always power down the phone first, before you take the battery off.

Some phone after removing battery will reset the system time

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


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Where to find com.sonyericsson.android.camera?
i want to update Sony Camera app on my device, i tried to install the new version as normal APK but that didn't work, because of signature problems i think, i get 'package not installed', however, i think replacing the apk using root explorer (or any other similar app) would work, i tried that before with other apps and it worked well. Now the problem is that i can't locate where the apk (com.sonyericsson.android.camera) is on my device, i mean the already installed one, which i want to manually replace with newer apk.
I tried looking in /system/apps/ , it's not there.

You can find it here (Root is not usually required to read this directory, but you should use a root-capable file explorer):
/system/priv-app/SemcCameraUI/SemcCameraUI.apk


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How to get a mouse cursor on screen?
I can get the mouse to work with my phone just fine; attach it through a simple adapter. Clicks register, movement registers - but I have to guess where the click will land, because there's no cursor.
How can I get the phone to display the mouse cursor?

It's pretty simple if you're using Android 4.0 or later. Just go to Settings > Developer Options > Show Pointer location (or Show touches, whichever works) and toggle that on.
Note: If you don't see the developer options, you need to go to Settings > About Phone and tap on Build number several times.

This will cover my current situation. But I have another phone with older Android (and not enough room for upgrade), and I'd most welcome a solution for it too.


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LG G3 Wifi Connection Issues
This started like a week ago, my phone wont connect to my WiFi properly.
Issues:

Unable to locate my WiFi (it cant search/ find my WiFi)
'Authentication Problem' shows when it is connecting to the WiFi (there is another one I can't remember)
States that 'Internet is unavailable' occasionally when it connects
It will connect to WiFi for like 5 secs before dropping again

In the beginning I thought my phone had lost its WiFi range as I would just walk into my office (where my router is) and it would connect, now that is not the case, it is a mixture of the above issues usually simultaneously occurring. It isn't a router issue as my other devices work flawlessly.
*My router emits 2 bands of WiFi (2.4 and 5 GHz) and I've tried using both.
I've tried:

Restarting both phone and router
Toggling airplane mode, WiFi and Battery Saver
Deleting apps prior to the problem

This seems like a common issue within the android community, and I've searched relentlessly for a fix (permanent rather than temporal). If possible I would prefer to not have to factory reset my phone.
Thanks for all the assistance.

At this point, I guess a [tag:factory-reset] won't help you, as it seems to be a system configuration issue. A stock ROM flash would probably help, however.

I have the same exact issue. Literally same exact issue. I got mine to work for a little while after setting my WiFi to broadcast B&G only. I really hope someone finds out how to fix this issue soon. Btw I'm running XDAbbeb's ROM and have tried 3 or 4 others.
Edit: People on the G3 reddit are reporting this issue as well. One user said that replacing the battery fixes the issue.

Its sad that this such is a common issue. The battery 'fix' is interesting as I had replaced my battery ~2 months ago, I'll try reverting back to my old battery and see what happens.

Oh btw, reverting back to my old battery allowed me to be able to use my WiFi again (although I literally must be standing next to it). I've done some research and I think that the problem might be due to hardware failure (short circuiting).


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Samsung won't turn on past the logo screen
My Samsung S4 mini won't turn on past the Samsung logo screen. I've tried holding down the down power and menu button at the same time and clearing the cache partition thing and rebooting it from there and still nothing......pls help. :'(
EDIT* I believe my battery is a good one. I've had the phone for 2 years and never replaced the battery. however, I saw that the batteries have a life span of about 2 to 3 years. But II did the spin test which involves putting your battery on a flat surface and tapping the corners and if it spins the battery isn't good.

What carrier do you have? I can link all the files, as well as a detail tutorial, if I know this. Also you will most likely have to flash your phone to stock. Unfortunately this means you will lose your data :(

Thats called a bootloop (i like the word ).
Its usually caused by an error when updating the firmware. I fixed it by flashing the firmware on it again with odin. However your data is lost.

It's not necessarily lost... In some cases you can recover at least parts of it via ADB


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Google Messenger: Incorrect profile letter
I recently moved from Hangouts to Messenger as my default SMS app.
The profile letter icon against the messages I send is showing to be incorrect (letter 'S' instead of 'R' which shows up on other Google apps that I use). I have since changed my Google profile picture but even that does not show up, 'S' persists.
I am not sure if this is a bug or if my account has been compromised.
Any help to figure this out?

It happens when you save your own phone number with someone's else name by mistake. If it's the case, you just need to double tap on the wrong "letter" (which is "S" in your case) that is showing next to your text messages and you'll be able to change the name associated with the texts.

I double checked my contacts (i use a Nexus 5) and this is not the case.

Did you double tap on the wrong letter and change the contact name associated with it?

Nope! I have not stored my own number in my contacts list. Neither have I any other contact who shares my name. Also no double tap is enabled on profile letter in the messenger app.

I'm sorry then this must be something else. I ran into the similar issue on my Galaxy S4 so I thought of sharing this solution with you.

Do you have a contact for yourself and a contact called "Me" in your Contacts app?


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Chrome stuck at loading upwork.com
When I go to upwork.com the page loads. However, when I click the login button it gets stuck loading.
Image: https://i.stack.imgur.com/wbUeB.jpg

What's your question? TBH this sounds like a bug in the website you should raise with the website owner.

@DanHulme you're correct.

Try clearing the cache and app data. Go to settings --> app manager and find google chrome. Then force stop google chrome and try again.
Try installing Google Chrome Beta (Could be a bug in the current version)
As @TamoghnaChowdhury said, it could also be a website or internet problem if it doesn't load on other phones.

I cleared chrome and app data, problem still persist.

It worked when I installed Google chrome beta on my android, thank you a asloss.

Glad you got it working, I'll edit my answer to account for that!

Do other websites load normally? I guess they do. Hence, this is a probably a problem with the website, not with Chrome or Android. Be patient and try again later.
Re: About it working with Chrome Beta, it could be any number of other factors related to the website other than Chrome.

it could easily be a bad plugin from that chrome version. but yes i would agree about it potentially being a website error.  he should have seen if it loaded on other devices at the time.  No worries though because it is working now :)

@asloss, You should know that Chrome on Android doesn't support plugins, and had never done so, so that is a moot point. Also, he most probably didn't bother to check the website on any other device, so I would say he got lucky.

Not what I meant by plugin (Although plugin is the wrong word I will admit), but yah sorry about not referencing you, I just figured since the answer was already marked I would put it in there for future readers. Didn't know how to cite, whoops


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Android won't mount SD card after using link2sd
I'm extremely inexperienced when it comes to using link2sd but my basic understanding before using it was this:
I partition my 16GB SD card to FAT32 (about 12GB) and Ext2(about 4GB), link2sd uses the second partition of Ext2, and the first partition can be used by my phone to store other stuff like videos, photos, etc.
So I partition my SD card using AParted and it is successful. In Link2SD I chose "Recreate mount scripts" and select Ext2 as the "file system of my SD card's second partition". Then I am also able to successfully link my apps to my Ext2 partition in my SD card. However something really weird happens. Android won't mount my SD card so I can't access it and store stuff in it even though Link2SD can!
Is this the way how link2sd works? The other partition of your sd card becomes useless? Or am I doing something wrong.. :/
Thanks in advance!

Is your phone a Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro 2017 (SM-J730)? It seems like I have the same issue. I have described it with more detail in https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/196678/samsung-galaxy-j7-pro-2017-sm-j730gm-doesnt-seem-to-support-partitioned-sd-ca


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Why allow permission button is disabled?
Problem
Today I noticed strange behavior on my test phone, which is Nexus 5 with Android  6.0.1.
After opening test app that asks for permission to read contacts allow button is not working - after tapping on allow nothing happens, but deny works perfectly:

Also when I check Never Ask Again, it completely disables allow button:

Not sure what is happening here, but same app works perfectly on my OnePlus2 which uses Android 6.0.1 too.
The only strange thing about my test phone is that it does not have sim card currently.
Note that both phones have Google Account attached with same synchronized contacts.
Question
I am wondering what causes this?

It is the stupid FileManager app. Once you stop it or remove it you can allow other apps to access the phone

This app? https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rhmsoft.fm You should probably mention the source. I found this on StackOverflow.. http://stackoverflow.com/a/37842758/4583267

@SuperThomasLab yes that one, it is amazing, but it solved issue.

I am wondering why it causes the problem, but anyway your answer works. Thank You!

Go to Settings\Apps\Birthday\Permissions and activate Contacts.

This is a neat idea, but the same screen overlay that stops the allow button working will also stop the permissions menu working.

Not necessarily.  I had the same problem with another app and this procedure solved it


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What is the significance of icons below the name of an app in play store?
When i search for snapseed app on play store, I see an icon displaying (3+) inside a square box. And when I search for Google Earth  then it shows ("3 PEGI 3") in the icon. What is the significance of this icon?

PEGI stands for "Pan European Game Information" and is used to advise on the suitability of the app for certain age ratings. There are 5 age categories (sourced from wikipedia):

3: Suitable for ages 3 and older. May contain very mild violence in an appropriate context for younger children, but neither bad language
  nor frightening content is allowed.
7: Suitable for ages 7 and older. May contain mild or unrealistic violence (e.g. violence in a cartoon context), or elements that can be
  frightening to younger children.
12: Suitable for ages 12 and older. May contain violence in either a fantasy context or a sporting action, profanity, mild sexual
  references or innuendo, or gambling.
16: Suitable for ages 16 and older. May contain explicit or realistic-looking violence, strong language, sexual references or
  content, gambling, or encouragement of drug use.
18: Unsuitable for persons under 18. May contain extreme or graphic violence, including "violence towards defenceless people" and
  "multiple, motiveless killing", strong language, strong sexual
  content, gambling, drug glamorisation, or discrimination.

The icon shown in the Play Store will indicate which category the app has been rated suitable for.
Other areas of the world have similar rating systems such as ESRB and ACB


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How and when Android auto connects to a bluetooth device?
I have a BLE device that I am currently programming, and I would like my Android to auto connect to this BLE device, if it is advertising and if it is already paired.
I know that it is possible, because I already have a bluetooth device that do such a thing.
Is it something that has to be set from the BLE peripheral ? Or from the phone itself ? I am really curious about that, thanks.

wouldn't the android device just detect it, recognise the BLE device's address in a scan, and issue a connect request?

AFAIK, Android Bluetooth API does not provide this feature.
I have tried to achieve auto reconnection using BluetoothDevice#connectGatt, with "autoConnect" set to true but it did not work at all.
Like Joe suggested in the comments, I would go for my own implementation, handling both the scanning process and the connection process.


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google play doesn't work on my home wifi but works fine on every other wifi
I bought a new phone yesterday and i've had this problem since i got it. the phone works great with all wifi connections but not with my home wifi connection.
when it's connected to the home wifi i can use the browser to surf the web and some apps work fine like facebook - messenger - twitter (which i had to download them as apk) but google play doesn't work, at first it couldn't even get me to the page where i should sign in with my email and was giving me this error " there was a problem communicating with google servers.. " so i connected the phone with another wifi network, and could sign in to google play and downloaded some apps too and everything seemed to be working perfect, but not on my home wifi.
i should mention that when i update apps and switch to my home wifi the app which is being updated doesn't stop but continues to update through my home wifi, but when its done updating and the phone tries to update another app it gives an error msg again.
i've tried so many thing to solve this but none have fixed this for me.
please help me.


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Unfortunately (any) app has stopped. What should I report?
When one gets the ever popular "such and such" app has stopped, you get offered the option to report it. What are you supposed to say in the "report"?

You'll want to help the developer to help you.
mbanzon's answer mentioned that the developer will receive the stack trace of the error, but that only tells us what went wrong and where.
It does not tell us anything about the state the application is in: What was the value of that number, or what was the text that was entered in the text fields? And most importantly, what did the user exactly do to make the application crash?
The latter question is especially important so that we can reproduce the error, and help us understand why the application crashed under these circumstances.
So if you want to really help the developers, write down what you did, what you expected, and what you saw. For example:

I started the app and pressed the button to go to the reports screen. Then I pressed the button to generate the report, and the app crashed. Interestingly, the screen was blank: there was no data visible.

If you don't like typing much, you can be short:

Pressed button to generate report. Screen was blank.

I would add that the developer can only fix bugs in their application.  If the OS itself has a bug (e.g. lots of bugs are buried deep in WebView), then there is nothing that can be done other than report the issue to Google and hope they fix it somewhere along the line.  This happens about 20% of the time.  It would be nice if crash reporting automatically went to the correct place when it is an OS-level bug instead of the app developer's queue OR if there was an easy way to report/push the crash upstream to the Android team without having to use their ticketing system.

@CubicleSoft And how does the reporter know whether it's an OS bug or not? Remember that the reporter is part of the OS too. Not even Google developers can do something to determineif it is an OS bug. They need to check it or reproduce it by hand. Again, send to the app developer first, don't mess with Google.

@CubicleSoft That may be useful information for any user that experiences  crashes on an Android device, but not really in the scope of this question.

@ΈρικΚωνσταντόπουλος The reporter won't know that.  However, Google Play could be intelligent enough to look at the stack trace and determine that the crash should be escalated to Google because the crash is outside the purview of the developer.  That would only leave relevant crashes in the dev's queue.  The current state of affairs is that useless crash reports end up in the developer's queue that they can't do anything about because they are OS level bugs.  So users just keep crashing and reporting and nothing changes.  It's the Windows Error Reporting (WER) effect.

@nhaarman It's useful to know that even if you spend the time writing a crash report, it might be useless to the dev because you encountered a bug that exists in the OS and not the app.  As I said, I currently see this about 20% of the time or 1 out of every 5 crash reports.  Reporting the bug upstream is currently too difficult/time consuming for most devs so they just hit delete.  I hit delete as do many other developers.  Some of this info could be worked into the answer without being a deterrent to submitting reports (they are still useful, just not always useful).

If you have any information that would help identify the problem it can be a nice addition and help the developer much. If you are playing music via bluetooth and the music app crashes when you switch to a different bluetooth speaker and you experience this every time you switch speaker it would be useful to write "happens when I switch bluetooth speaker" eg.
The developer gets a complete stack trace of the error (only for the code in their app) and that would in many cases be enough to find and resolve the error.

I am a developer. Sometimes it is just impossible to fix a crash, because I have no idea where it crashed. (proguard...). Just a small message would make it much easier for the developer to fix the issue.

You are absolutely correct - anything the user knows about what caused the crash and they feel confident about writing could help. Just rearranged my answer to highlight the true meaning ;-)

@SuperThomasLab - Even with Proguard, you can still read / deobfuscate the stack trace if you have the mappings file, which will tell you where it crashed. Read the "Decode an obfuscated stack trace" section of the Proguard guide: https://developer.android.com/studio/build/shrink-code.html and this: https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/6295281

@JonasCz I know you can decode it (Google Play DC does it for me), however, you still can't get the exact line where it crashed.

@SuperThomasLab You might be able to keep the line numbers too: Proguard retrace missing line numbers

Fabric.io Crashlytics offers uniform crash reporting and logging for developers across Android and iOS and is free.  I've personally found it to be a much more in-depth solution than Google Play.  The downside is that integrating it (even with Gradle) can be onerous depending on how much data you need in your crash reports.  And more recent versions let you get creepy with notifying affected users that a crash bug that affected them has been fixed via push alerts.  Crashlytics can also track non-fatal exceptions too.

As a developer, normally I get messages along the lines of "It crashed" which doesn't help me in any way. I would actually encourage you to not supply a message unless you can explain how to reproduce it (eg, if you can make it crash by doing something specific in the app).
Us developers also get a dump of technical information, which is normally more useful that a message saying where it crashed. Eg, the technical information tells us the exact line of code that it crashed on, and a lot more that pretty much tell us exactly what happened.
So basically, if you don't have anything to say about the crash, just submit it without a message and it will still be just as useful.

You could retrace your steps up to the point the app crashed. e.g. what app were you using before this app? did you have wifi on? good coverage? did your credit happen to expire while using the app?


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Easy and efficient way to run GNU/Linux on top of Android on an x86 device?
I have a quite powerful x86-64 Android phone. I want to run a GNU/Linux desktop distro (preferably Debian-based) on top of Android.
I have the stock firmware, but rooted and with Xposed Framework.
I know about Complete Linux Installer, and it seems excellent. But they have a pre-prepared image. I assume that image is ARM, so it won't work? Right? Also, they say my ROM has to support "loop-devices." Does it? And if it doesn't is there any tweak to enable it?
But I'm sure there must also be tons of other ways to do it? FWIW I have access to a laptop with an Intel processor that I can use for the process. (But I'm not too keen on hours of tinkering to make it work.)
Other than that, I want to really take advantage of the specs of the phone. A user friendly process is also a plus.
Please note that even though I have a accepted my own answer here, I still very much welcome additional answers.

Complete Linux Installer crashes on my rooted Samsung S4 running CM13. Linux Deploy works though.

@Matthieu CLL also crashed on my rooted Samsung S3. Never tried LD on the Samsung.

You don't need to use any third party app to run Linux on Android device. Just get the rootfs of any distro you want to run, mount it and chroot into it from any terminal emulator app like Termux. Very minimal configuration is needed usually e.g. adding new user, adding DNS server etc. I use Ubuntu, ArchLinuxARM and VoidLinux this ways on my device. In addition to chroot I also use mount, PID, network and UTS namespaces to further isolate Linux environment from Android. Also possible to use VNC or XServer, but I don't do usually.

I found  way to do this that I'm very happy with.
I used Linux Deploy. (It requires root, but here's an alternative for those who don't want to root.)
Here's a nearly full version of Xubuntu 16.04 (x86-64) running on my phone.

It performs really well. I had no performance issues. Note that this is not a virtual machine. Android and Xubuntu share the very same Linux kernel at the same time. If, while this is running, I switch to OS monitor (in Android), I can actually see the individual processes from Xubuntu (dpkg, etc.) running and how much of the CPU they're using. (That has to be enabled in a setting, though.)
An external keyboard and mouse are a must (though not strictly required). And an external monitor is also a good idea. Or you can just VNC into this system directly from another computer. Linux Deploy supports that out of the box.
The setup is really easy. The default settings of Linux Deploy pretty much work. Just select your distribution and desktop environment. But, by default, the system creates a 2GB .img file as a file system. That wasn't enough for me. So since the internal storage of my phone is ext4 formatted, I was able to set it to 40 GB. If yours is FAT32, the maximum will be 4GB. But it's also possible to have a directory or partition instead of a .img file. (Although I didn't figure out how to do that.)
The process is described in detail here. Skip down to the "Linux Deploy" section. It's important that you install the correct version of Busy Box. Otherwise, it won't work.
This kind of thing has potential. If you have a powerful enough phone, it can actually replace your desktop computer in many cases.

You mentionned an external keyboard and mouse are a must. You mean you could install one actually on your phone? I'd be interested to do that, as my rooted Samsung S4 microphone is dead, but the phone is powerful.

You might also want to accept your own answer. I think it makes sense, seeing VirtualBox running on Android! :)

@Matthieu Sure, keyboard and mouse are possible on the S4. Just get an USB-OTG cable and a hub. Even better, get an OTG that supports charging at the same time (rare.) Connect to an external screen, and your phone has become a real desktop computer. Personally, I use Bluetooth for the keyboard and mouse. Regarding Virtual Box, while I managed to install it, I still haven't been able to actually get it to work (that would be so cool, though.) I think on your Samsung you have to ARM compile a lot of packages from source? Can the S4 manage it, you think?

I'm not sure. One of the reason I wanted to have a full Linux was getting gcc to compile native stuff, but I couldn't find it so far (I didn't try very hard either). Virtual Box on ARM probably needs a lot of those. Thanks for the USB-OTG, it sounds nice!

@Matthieu VirtualBox would never even be possible to install on ARM. It's purely for x86. (My phone is x86.) But for most other FOSS software, you might be able to ARM compile from source. Some stuff is also available through apt-get. But it's definitely easier with x86. And yeah, OTG is pretty cool. You can even connect storage devices, and (with a powered hub) HDDs. And with root you can get Android drivers for NTFS and HFS+. It becomes more and more like a real desktop computer.

I tried the Ubuntu and its apt-get but it failed for the gcc packages, probably because of the libc not being so standard. Without a compiler it will be difficult to get anything to work (beyond what's already working of course). Though Terminal IDE sounds like a nice project regarding compiling on Android...

@Matthieu Isn't there any other way to get a compiler?

I think Terminal IDE is the best (free) bet.

@Matthieu I'm sure you'll figure it out.

@beeshyams I feel that accepting my own answer discourages further answers. And I want to encourage more answers. There are multiple ways of doing this. I feel that accepting my own answer doesn't really serve any purpose.

Intention is noble , a) but you are forgetting that you can accept a better answer at a later point of time b) This being a niche problem, it signifies that a working solution exists for those niche seekers- Your choice of course

@beeshyams Alright, I've accepted. Can always change it later if something better comes along.

You may even add a note to your question saying that while you have one solution- would welcome better solutions- this may encourage

@beeshyams Good idea.


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Can I virtualize Windows on an x86 Android device?
I've read this question, and of course, there, the answer was "you can't, because the architecture is different."
But that's not necessarily the case anymore. Many Android devices, like mine, now have x86 processors and also the specs to run Windows. Thanks to Remix OS and Android x86, many x86 desktop computers (and tablets, etc.) now run Android.
So, is there any way to virtualize Windows on Android if you have an x86 device?

Never tried, and might be limited – but you might wish to take a look at Limbo PC Emulator.

@Izzy Is performance significantly better than emulating PC on ARM? (QEMU?)

You're asking me? Please read the first two words of my previous comments :)

@Izzy Haha... Yeah, alright. Maybe someone else knows.

Duplicate: Is there any virtualization software that will run under Android on an x86 device?


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Downgrading 9.0.83 Google Play Services manually
I got the following log error in my route tracking activity

06-24 18:50:24.488 7128-7759/com.noureddine_ouertani.www.wocelli50
  E/DynamiteModule: Failed to load module descriptor class: Didn't find
  class
  "com.google.android.gms.dynamite.descriptors.com.google.android.gms.googlecertificates.ModuleDescriptor"
  on path: DexPathList[[zip file
  "/data/app/com.noureddine_ouertani.www.wocelli50-2/base.apk"],nativeLibraryDirectories=[/vendor/lib64,
  /system/lib64]]

After reading some posts and answers  about this log error I figured out that it's a known Google Play Services version  9.0.83 issue that causes bugs in some apps that use a GoogleApiClient like mine.
However I didn't test the solution yet. I wanted to downgrade Google Play Services on my Smartphone but Uninstall Updates was greyed out (see Screenshot).

Does anyone know how to do this manually?
I installed the Android Device Manager app but found no possibility to influence the stop/uninstall updates buttons of Google Play Services. Then I tried to apply this solution but the System App Remover app got no root permission on my Smartphone.
Any hints or help?

Then I tried to apply this solution but the System App Remover app got no root permission on my Smartphone, like i said in my answer at that chatroom, Did you check if your device is root or not? with an app such as; https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.joeykrim.rootcheck ?

Apart from that: "this issue", "this solution" – references are a good thing. But don't expect people following a couple of links to understand your problem (most won't), better include the essentials so readers have a chance to get an idea without having to follow the link (but can do so for additional details).

+1 for the Izzy comment. I did not track the links to understand your problem or incorporate what you believed was a remediation of it. Please edit all information into your posting.

Post edited. thanks for your comments. PS: I''m rooting my device right now and will post here whether I solved the problem.

I solved the problem for my Huawei P8 Lite Android phone like this:

I unlocked my bootloader
I rooted my phone
I succesfully checked with Root Checker Basic that my phone is rooted
I downloaded and installed System App Remover from the Google Play Store.
I put my device in Airplane Mode in order to prevent auto upgrade of GPS.
I opened System App Remover and select "System App" from the menu.
After I found Google Play Services in the list which was marked as "Should keep" I selected it and pressed "Uninstall". I ignored the next warning.
Using Settings/Apps, I saw that Google Play Services "Uninstall Updates", and "Disable" Buttons were no longer be grayed out.
I pressed "Uninstall Updates"

Here is the result: Downgrade of Google Play Services to 8.1.18

This reprieve may be temporary. I don't believe you can prevent the automatic upgrade, either intentionally or as its byproduct of other Google app(s) updates. You'll probably encounter this again, unless it is/was isolated to the specific version you had encountered the problem. With luck later versions will eradicate the bug, and the problems it caused.


text:
Why did a .nomedia file get added to my device? Showing 0 Image, Audio or Video Files?
I woke up today and my Gallery was showing 0 Image, Video or Audio files. After seeing this thread Images have disappeared from gallery, but still in "My Files" (Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, 5.0.2) , I plugged in my device to a laptop and deleted a .nomedia file in the root folder of my device. I deleted this file, which fixed the issue and the device rescanned everything automatically and showed all of my files.
My question is why did this file get added to my device? And if I had been unable to access a laptop how do I delete a .nomedia file from within android?

It is just a thought but I don't think problem actually originated from the file itself. But the act of deleting the file triggered the rescanning, which led to solution.

That doesn't make sense to me, sorry. Surely the .nomedia file being added to root caused the problem, thus removing it fixed the problem?

I can't say my idea is 100% correct but Surely the .nomedia file being added to root caused the problem, thus removing it fixed the problem? is a wrong conclusion.

I think the file got created by some app on your device.
You can delete the file by using any file explorer. In the My Files app on Samsung devices you first need to go to its settings, and enable 'Show Hidden Files'. Then the file is visible and you can delete it.

The .nomedia files are made by apps like snapchat.
Most android file managers ignore these apps.

Yeah but Snapchat creates them in its own data files.


text:
Samsung Galaxy Note 4: greyscale mode disappeared after upgrading to marshmallow
Today I've received the late Marshmallow 6.0.1 update. It has some unpleasant side effects:

Battery is draining fast
Greyscale mode has been removed
A very ugly grey bar is showing whenever I switch into Power Saver mode

Is there any workaround for these problems?
Config:

Model: N910c
Android Version: 6.0.1
Build Number: MMB29K.N910CXXU2DPF6
Base Band Version: N910CXXU1DPC1

You can still put your device in grayscale mode by enabling Developer options and changing the setting in simulate color space to monochromacy

It works, but it's kind of hacky! Do you know why they omitted that feature? Grayscale mode was about to reduce the battery usage, am I right? Or not? Does this simulation do the same as old Grayscale mode?

@STaefi No, switching the display to greyscale has no effect on the battery use. Maybe that's why they removed it.


text:
Swapping External SD Card Memory with Internal Memory on Android Lollipop
I own an Xperia M2 D2303, and I'm on the latest Lollipop build (see footnote).
I've followed this tutorial but to no success since it'd seem Sony has changed the memory address (previously on Kitkat it was 179:33). For some reason after entering as per the guide:
mount -t vfat -o umask:0000,uid=1000,gid=1023 /dev/block/vold/179:33 /storage/sdcard0

it is returning me with this error:
No such file or directory.
I would appreciate for help on the swapping memory.

Rooted Sony Xperia M2 D2303
OS: Android Lollipop 5.1.1
OS Build: 18.6.A.0.182
Bootloader, ROM etc.: Stock

try with this
sudo mount -t vfat -o umask:0000,uid=1000,gid=1023 /dev/block/vold/179:33 /storage/sdcard0

I'm not sure but it may work or it try to find aosp rom mm6

f*ck that thats the solution https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=24421527759890054 u can adopt the external sd and addit to internal one look at that
"You're not missing anything. The option to use SD as internal memory is not included in the Xperia devices. It seems that, because SD transfer rates are significantly slower than internal memory, the performance loss was too great and the option was not included.
Official Sony Xperia Support Staff"
but its work just fine but i dont have google frame and shitz on my device.

So basically it's flashing a custom ROM? Please rephrase your answer to make it more clearly, and remove your personal rants that are unrelated to OP's question.


text:
How can I exclude Sound Recorder files from Music library
I am a fairly new Android user. I am using a Lenovo Vibe K4 Note running Android version 6.0.
I have two basic queries related to each other. My first question is about the Google Play music library (or for any music player app for that matter). The library aggregates all the music files on the phone, including .ogg files created by the Sound Recorder. I do not want this behavior.
I added a .nomedia file to my sound recordings folder as suggested here. On my phone, this folder is located at Local > Internal Storage > Audio > SoundRecorder. The Sound recordings were gone from the Google Play app. However, one side effect of this was that the recordings stopped showing in the Sound Recorder app as well. This is an undesired behavior since I happen to use the Recorder app and its easier to see my files there rather than going into the File Explorer.
Question 1: Is there any way to have the Recordings excluded from Music Apps but not from the Sound Recorder app?
My second question is about a related problem I had. While the .nomedia trick worked initially, it randomly stops doing its job i.e. the media starts showing up in all places. At this point, I tried all the suggestions I found such as clearing Media Cache and rebooting the Phone. It does not work and the media still shows. The .nomedia method has been working perfectly for Image files from WhatsApp and Facebook apps which I have blocked from showing up in my Gallery. And that always works, so what is up with Audio files?
Question 2: Can you provide any information on why .nomedia stops working intermittently and randomly for different file types?
I am grateful for all answers or links to information to this frustrating issue. Thanks community! First Post Nailed!!!

See related question, specifically comment of izzy http://android.stackexchange.com/a/130137/131553

Good. If it works for you, you can self answer the question.  That is fine here

Done. I would still appreciate any information on Question 2 and why the .nomedia thing isn't reliable in its behavior?

I have found a solution to the first problem thanks to the reference by beeshyams.
MortPlayer Music allows you to choose which folders to draw your music from. Hence, in my case, I removed all the .nomedia files from Sound Recorder and only allowed music from my Music folder in MortMusic, thus leaving the SoundRecorder functionality as it was (i.e. recordings show up in the Recorder App) but not in MortMusic, where only my desired .mp3's show.

There are many music players that offers such features. For a premium experience, I recommend Poweramp


text:
Detect when "settings" command in terminal has finished saving
When I execute the following command, it doesn't save anything:
settings put global <KEY> <VALUE>;reboot

I think it's because it does not have enough time to save the value, because it reboots. The following command does save the value:
settings put global <KEY> <VALUE>;sleep 1;reboot

Is there any better way to wait until the command has saved the value?

On trying settings put global KEY VALUE; settings get global KEY commands on my OPO, the get command returns the edited value.The changes are even reflected in the Settings app. I'm not sure why the value isn't being saved before the reboot. If this doesn't work for you, I don't see a better way to hack the problem.

@EvilTak That actually did work for me. I think the "settings get" command waits for it to finish, so this will work: settings put global enable_freeform_support 1; settings get global enable_freeform_support; reboot.

You may want to try settings put <NAMESPACE> <KEY> <VALUE> && reboot. It worked for me, with the value screen_brightness under the system namespace.

@DeathMaskSalesman That didn't work for me. See my previous comment for a solution.


text:
Android Decrypt SD Card after Factory Reset
I have a Galaxy Note2 device, Android 4.4.2, in which I have my extCard encrypted using the settings option, for a force majore I had to reset factory settings. now i can't access my important files on the SD Card and there is no option to decrypt it. I know my password but there is no option on the phone to do it.
I've tried Encrypting my device with the same password .. but it didn't work.
Any Ideas?

Yes just go to encrypt sdcard and select encrypt but dont apply it then you can select decrypt and use your password


text:
Android notification screen upon swipe down
Can someone tell me what the number is an indication for under the time on the notification screen?  See the screenshot attached with arrows pointing to the number.


text:
How to root a Yxtel G928? (Spreadtrum SC6820 chipset)
I've tried to find information on rooting a Yxtel G928.
Specs listed here: Spreadtrum SC6820 chipset; that site says it runs Android 2.3.6 but my phone says it's running Android 4.1. It's GSM and not locked to any network.
I can't find any reputable steps, just a few isolated forum posts on forums without any particular reputation for trustworthiness linking to zip files hosted on sites I wouldn't automatically trust.
Yxtel are a Chinese manufacturer who make low-end Android smartphones aimed at the developing world. Information is therefore relatively hard to find - if they have any guides of their own, I can't find them. I've read How do I root my Android device? and looked for info on xda-developers without success. - closest I can find is this thread that seems to link to a solution for "Spreadtrum based phones" but I can't find what they mention on the links given.
I'd like to root to remove the bloat and to aid app testing.

I've tried using the Kingo Root apk but it fails with this message:

ROOT FAILED
ERROR CODE: 0x18A4FE

I've also tried Kingroot APK, and Z4root from here but it just closes midway through the process and does nothing; iRoot (new version of vRoot) suggested on that thread apparently is malicious and installs a mystery additional app not related to superuser permissions with protections against its removal. There's no "fastboot" on the recovery menu.
A few places recommend "Root With Restore" (example) not for this specific model but for ones like it - but I don't really want to run a zip full of .bat and .exe files on my computer without knowing what's in them.
Most of the 'standard' rooting methods seem to require downloading some phone-specific files that I can't find for this model.

use Vroot for pc its the best in rooting spresadrum phones using mocordroid 2.35.7. try to make sure that u using the usb cable for your smartphone

Also you can try Framaroot Here

Framaroot is a genuine rooting app, but it relies on kernel security vulnerabilities, so I can't say whether it will work on your phone.

Thanks! I've had a look at the list of supported devices and it's very comprehensive, but unforuntately doesn't seem to support Yxtel or Spreadtrum-based phones

@user568458 you can also try this thread  ->  http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2165554 it's something about rooting spreadtrum devices

Yeah I've been trying those options. First doesn't work, second is apparently full of malware according to this threat http://forum.xda-developers.com/android/help/iroot-previously-vroot-safe-t2984822

@user568458 did you try SuperSU premium version ?

According to that xda thread SuperSU doesn't work with spreadtrum


text:
How to factory reset a Yxtel G928?
The information I could find online about how to wipe all user data from a Yxtel G928 was confusing and not easy to find, in long confusingly written forum threads like this one, so I'm writing it up clearly here.

Turn the phone off the usual way
With it off, hold down the power button, volume down button and home key for around 20 seconds
It'll start up and show an icon. Press volume down, then a menu will appear
Use the volume keys up/down to highlight wipe data/factory reset and then use power button to select it
Confirm the same way (volume keys to highlight, power button to select)

Except for the icon in step 3, this is the normal procedure via recovery menu (see our factory-reset tag-wiki). Does it really only show an icon, and you have to press volume-down to bring up the recovery menu? Then I totally agree that is confusing. No hint at that place that you have to press the vol key?

That's how it was for me, yes


text:
Stuck in bootloop after flashing ROM
I was flashing a custom ROM on my Samsung Galaxy Star Pro and now it is stuck in boot loop.

I don't have a backup of my previous ROM.
I can not boot into recovery as one of the volume buttons is damaged yet I can boot into odin mode.
I tried flashing stock ROM with Odin but it didn't work.
Inspite of all that, the phone charges when I connect charger when and it is off.

Can someone help me fixing it? Thanks in advance.

You've gotten yourself in a pretty bad state. Always, always, ALWAYS do a full backup if you plan to change anything at the phones system!
Which ROM have you tried to flash? Re-check, if it is specifically for your device and a stable build. If it's not, flash the latest stable build for your device instead. If that doesn't work, you could try to flash a different ROM - but without Backup and Recovery I don't know much more you could do.


text:
Preventing device from accessing open WiFi networks
How can I prevent my son from accessing open WiFi networks that do not require a passcode? I have my router restricted for adult content and I have my mobile provider set to restrict porn sites. But open WiFi networks are everywhere, and there is no way to prevent him from accessing these sites on other networks.  Does anybody have any suggestions?

This is not possible unless you restrict access to the device's Wifi itself, which is not possible on current most popular OS's(not without unofficial modification atleast) Android, iOS and Windows Phone.
There are apps that can control accessibility of porn websites(Apple has its own) on the device itself(thus it will deny requests to porn websites from the router), but if your kids really want to, there's always a way around the filter.
Maybe it's time to think that censorship isn't a modern solution to these kind of things anymore.


text:
Some JPEGs from micro SD card munged, others OK
Relevant contents of micro SD card:
437 files in DCIM > Camera directory

177 JPEGs can't be read (HEX dump begins with 0000 instead of FFD8)
138 are damaged (HEX dump includes a series of 0000 bytes)
118 photos are intact
3 videos can't be read
1 video is intact

548 files in LOST.DIR directory

Photos viewed from card in camera or PC yield same results, as do photos copied to hard drive.
Damages to photos include

blank pixels, sometimes of a single color
chunks of photo out of order
chunks of photo missing colors

Are damaged/illegible photos/videos hopelessly munged or can they be recovered?
Here is a sample image that shows all of these problems, along with its thumbnail that I recovered with JPEGsnoop.


text:
My phone is (apparently) hijacked by a virus
I have a Huawei Honor 4c and I wanted to update it to lollipop, but it had to be done manually.
I downloaded the file I thought I needed but I decided not to install it, as it had a strange name - jenkins something, so I deleted it.
A few days later I start getting these log files. I don't pay attention to them but soon all my pictures, videos, etc disappear. I freak out and restart my phone but nothing changes. I connect it to my pc but my pc does not recognize it as a phone, but as a media player and it says that my phone's a linux.
So, I get on my phone, delete all the log files and everything else I find suspicious and download cm security, app lock, kaspersky, etc but none of them, apart from kaspersky, detect anything. However, kaspersky loses the trace a few moments after it has detected it, so I decide to reset my factory settings.
After I've done that, a few days later these log files appear again this time threatening me that if I delete them and the other files I deleted, all my photoes will be gone forever. I then proceed to reset my factory settings again this time without using google play's back up and any internet connection.
This kind of seemed to work /despite my system apps and files running on that jenkins platform/ until my phone starts downloading this strange file every couple of hours. When it downloads it, cm security says it's safe but I delete it. Nevertheless, I was away from my phone for more than 5 hours during which it downloaded the file again and now the virus is very much alive... it has even managed to get through cm's app locker...
Also, I feel I should mention I noticed that my phone doesn't always have an ip address which I think is kind of strange, I don't have an sd card, and I have backed up my photoes with google plus, although it's not very efficient as I don't have a strong working connection at all times.
Please help me, I don't know what to do, nor do I understand much regarding smartphones.

That jenkins file, where did you download it from? You didn't install it, but did you try to execute it or just stored it on your phone?

I don't remember where I downloaded it from, and before deleting it, I think I accidentally executed it.

While I do not know exactly what virus is causing this, it does appear that it has broken its way into the OS itself. A factory reset won't help you now. I would recommend you do not put any personal information on this device until you can clear out the virus.
At this point you have 2 options:

If the device is under warranty, see what the manufacturer will do for you. They will probably not help you, but it's worth a shot.
Flash the OS of the phone. This can be a risky procedure, but if done carefully and exactly as the tutorial you find for your device says you should be okay. Doing this also requires you to root the device, which will invalidate the warranty. At this point, you would flash a custom recovery and flash either the stock rom or an alternate rom such as cyanogenmod or paranoid Android. Look up tutorials on how to do this for your device.

Sorry to break the bad news.


text:
Samsung s7 edge message "previous setting restored"
I keep getting a little notification pop up (a grey oval) that lasts about a second and says "previous settings restored" . It makes the phone vibrate and beep. It is causing annoyance and I would like to know what app/setting is causing it. I am running Android 6.0.1.

i've done some investigation and suspect this pop up is causes by the places edge panel.

This message was caused by the 'locations' edge panel. Disabling said panel stopped the message appearances.


text:
How To Get Files Off a HTC M7 That Won't Stay On
I have a HTC One M7 that I need to get all the (~1GB) files off. The problem is that the phone restarts after about 10-30sec, so I don't have time to manually copy the files.
Phone Info:

USB debugging is enabled
the phone is not rooted

The phone restarts even while fast charging and re-calibrating the battery did not help.
I then attempted to download the files to my computer while the phone was off/in recovery mode. The phone is detected in recovery mode on Windows, but I can't get any files off. I downloaded adb but it does not work in recovery mode.
I ran out of options so I was going to factory reset to fix the restarting bug, and then try to recover the data with an android recovery tool.
Since this is inherently risky, I was hoping that a better option to backup the phone would be provided.
P.S. Its not my phone. I know how to back up XD

Factory recovery only allow for adb sideloading... Is the bootloader unlocked, if so you could flash TWRP which has a full blown MPT support  and USB-OTG capability and you could copy to a flash drive with a $2 USB-OTG cable.

So I modified this script to automate file transfer in between reboots:

#!/bin/sh

rfolder=/mnt/sdcard/DCIM/$1
lfolder=$2
homeDir=`pwd`
adb shell ls "$rfolder" > android.files

ls "$lfolder" -1 > local.files

rm -f update.files
touch update.files

while IFS=  read -r q; do
  # Remove non-printable characters (are not visible on console)
  l=$(echo ${q} | sed 's/[^[:print:]]//')
  # Populate files to update
  if ! grep -q "$l" local.files; then
    echo "$l" >> update.files
  fi
done

Its slow but it works

You can get your files to your computer through ADB push and pull commands.
Steps to perform this

You need to have Android SDK and ADB on your PC.
Connect your device to your phone
and thats it

Now you can use ADB commands to pull data from your phone to your PC.
Eg.
To Pull data from the device you do this
adb pull /sdcard/video.mp4 Users/admin/Desktop

Heres a complete step by step Guide on how to transfer files using adb : link


text:
How to enter recovery mode in BlueStacks?
I have downloaded and installed BlueStacks rooted version with ClockworkMod Recovery installed through Rom Manager. Now I want to install a custom ROM, and I need to enter the recovery mode.
How to access recovery mode in BlueStacks?

I will be blunt: you can't. Unless you use a special bluestacks (there's one floating somewhere.)

Emulators usually don't have that. Want something new? Try VMWare + Android-x86, or Genymotion.

No, you cannot enter recovery mode with BlueStacks.
The recovery needs a partition for the recovery as mb, but I think BlueStacks remove that partition. So when you reboot into the recovery, it will be blank.
You can only install Xposed for modding BlueStacks, like display, setting, etc.


text:
Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 rmnet0 interface non existent
I was wondering, why in my Samsung Galaxy 2 tablet I can't see any rmnet0 interface after executing:
adb shell cat /proc/net/xt_qtaguid/stats

Or:
adb shell netcfg

I know this a wifi only device, so, is this maybe the reason behind this?
The device is already connected to internet via my wifi router, I can navigate, see videos, etc etc
But for some reason I only got the wlan0 internal Ip from it, no rmnet0.
Is that a 3G network interface only?
Thanks in advance!

On WiFi, you only have the IP address of your local network, that's completely normal. rmnet interfaces are for mobile data – which would explain why you don't see them on a WiFi only device.

rmnet interfaces are usually associated with cellular connections and usb tethering

from: Android NetworkInterface. What are the meanings of names of NetworkInterface?


text:
does charging the phone with other chargers affect mobile or battery?
Actually I used Micromax charger instead of Xolo  charger. I have xolo era x phone. My phone gets switched off if I keep it idle for 4 min.  Why it is happening?

Welcome to the Android Enthusiasts! Please take a look at our charging tag-wiki and especially check the "Chargers/Cables" section (as for the title of your question). Concerning the question body ("Why is this happening?"), I can't tell, sorry.

Don't go just by the specifics in question.  See the answer which is generic while dealing with  specific  case.  Since you didn't specify the charger details you can check for yourself  but  my guess is that charger is not the problem for you.  What could be causing it  if not charger is not easy to answer as Izzy also mentioned above

Your phone can be affected by the charger if the wattage and/or the voltage for the phone is not the same for charger. It could also be a hardware issue like: a battery, certain apps, bad part, etc...

Yes, the charger affects the phone (battery). For example if you charge a smartphone with a charger made for a tablet (which requires more energy) the phone charges faster, but its battery will get damaged when you do it too often. On the other hand, when you use a charger that is too weak, it might isn't even recognized by the phone and charges very slowly, if it charges.


text:
What happens if I clear data in my settings
I would like to figure out what to clear data on and what not to clear data on because I dont want to lose anything important

Data of an app is data related to that application that is stored due its probable requirement in the future, unlike cache, that is only required for a short period of time and gets obsolete very quickly. For example, a game's data includes saved games, game settings, log in cookies etc.

just like phones when you factory reset it, it will go into its original state


text:
Video footage from a 'face down' camera - orientation issue
Using a  Samsung S5 Neo (SM-G903F), Android 5.1.1
I have filmed a few short clips, facedown, ie, towards the floor.
I am guessing that this is a Samsung/Android issue, seen as even when I watch the clips in Windows media - they are vertically oriented. Must be a sensor issue?
I have tried filming with the camera both ways (volume buttons towards me, or away from me) and there is no change.
My question is what can I do to return as high Resolution as possible? When i rotate the videos to the correct orientation - I am losing quality (my estimate is from 1920x1080 down to 1080x607, right?).
Are there any tricks that can be done? either at filming or editing stages? So far the only thing i have found, it to start shooting in regular landscape mode, and then pan downwards to wards the floor, and then it plays in the correct orientation.
Thanks!

Have a look at VLC Player and the Transform-Options to rotate the video without less quality.

Flip your screen?!

Resolution is not the same as view size!


text:
Switch between normal and split-screen (vr mode)
I have a virtual reality (VR) headset:
How can I change the mode of the phone so that I can use the phone and all the normal phone apps while wearing the VR headset?
In other words I need to switch the phone display between splil-screen (oculus mode) and normal mode. In other words, like for 3D, the display should be split into 2 smaller screens (but identical).
Related info for those who are interested:
It seems that there are a few apps available for watching normal videos in VR mode:

Any Youtube video on your device can be switched to VR mode.
Convert normal videos to VR mode by using HMD-Video-Converter.
Play normal videos on the VR headset using:

VR Cinema for Cardboard
CINEVEO - VR Cinema
Side-By-Side Video Player
MO3D for Cardboard VR Cinema (paid)

I don't think that is possible yet, but google is working on DayDream which is gonna do the thing you want soon
If you want to play your normal videos in VR mode, thats possible using this app. (There are quite a lot other apps doing the same thing, but i personally use the one I gave link to)
Heres one more link for 5 Top Videos players to run 360 Videos
Hope this helps :)

Thanks for the info, Siddhesh. And it seems that the VaR's VR Video Player you suggested got better ratings.