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Tamil Font problem in Android device
I'm developing a Tamil web app (using PhoneGap) where I use unicode to display the Tamil language. The problem is, it is working fine in Android Emulator and in web (Firefox), but the fonts are not displaying in a Galaxy S device. I'm sure that I have used the following in my HTML file
    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">

    <link rel="stylesheet" href="http://code.jquery.com/mobile/1.2.0-alpha.1/jquery.mobile-1.2.0-alpha.1.min.css" />
    <script src="http://code.jquery.com/jquery-1.7.2.min.js"></script>
    <script src="http://code.jquery.com/mobile/1.2.0-alpha.1/jquery.mobile-1.2.0-alpha.1.min.js"></script>

I really don't know what I'm missing.

What version of the OS?

For potential Close voters: This is not necessarily a development issue. Whether a device/OS supports a particular font/language is on-topic here.


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Keeping an app in memory
I once read about an init.d tweak to keep an app in memory. I'm unable to find that tweak now. Does anyone have the link? An alternate method would also be welcome.
Edit : I'm using cyanogenmod 10.

Cyanogen has an option to keep the current launcher pinned to memory (check the CM-menues if that is what you're looking for) -- but I don't know about any option to do that for any other app.

You can do it according to this post on XDA:

Make a file called 99applock.txt
Insert code below and put you messaging service in where it says PPID (that usually can be found in data/data if your using
  aftermakrket sms app) remove the .txt extension and put file in
  ect/init.d and just give it 777 permissions, it works for me.

    #!/system/bin/sh

    sleep 60

    PPID=$(pidof com.your.app)
    echo "-17" > /proc/$PPID/oom_adj
    renice -18 $PPID

Does that only work if the app is started within that 60s sleep period -- or is this init script run repeatedly? I don't see a loop or anything indicating that this would also work for an app started at a later time.

There must be a catch with this? Surely, keeping it in memory will starve other apps of precious RAM and could cause Android to go berserk when trying to manage apps that hit the memory threshold and quite potentially p-off users who are wondering why the app is not loading when that threshold gets reached!

This seems to work well... at first.  but if i watch the oom_adj file i find that pretty soon it is no longer -17, and then my app can be killed again

Upvoted comment of @Michael as this method still does not work (updated to N 7.1). Also tried making oom RO (444), but after the set delay (few minutes), it reverts to previous value. Nothing across the Internet I've found will accomplish the task.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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Why Android can't be just mounted?
I read a lot about rooting android, that it is risky, that I can mess all and get my device completely dead and nothing can be done about it. So my question -- why all these phones can't be just mounted? If I mess up my system with root, I always can boot with live-cd or write disk image directly to /dev/sda. After all, I can just mount broken system and repair it.
Why android to not support it? Is it some real technical restriction, related to flash memory or something, that differs between phone and PC/Notebook?

Yes, why I can't mount android like my external hard drive.

My first thought is that it might have to do with the filesystem on Android phones. Are you sure it's supported by your kernel? I don't think they use ext3 or any other vanilla format.

Reverting that downvote (wasn't mine) -- as it is an interesting question. As would be "Why isn't root available by default on Android devices?" -- which is what it all comes back to. Since if it were, you could mount etc. all you like.

The only reason you need to root phones in the first place is that the manufacturer has tried to prevent software choice on the phone platform. The PC design is pretty unique in that it has had a choice of software platform for so long that it's an ingrained feature, although with Secure Boot on Windows 8 devices this is likely on the way out.

You can't mount them because there has to be some software to communicate between the phone and your computer. With the Phone the full software stack needs to be involved as it needs to take into account what happens when you mount the device when it's running. Also there are often multiple partitions on the phones, a raw mount would show up all the raw system files in the computer's File Manager which would be bad and things like Windows would probably try and format the Linux partitions as it can't understand them. On newer devices you can't even do a normal USB Storage mount but you have to use MTP as they use internal storage which still needs to be accessible while mounted. Technically it would be possible for them to make some kind of failsafe raw mount mode when it's plugged in while powered off (or started with some button held down), but they haven't, they do provide other methods of recovery instead. Also the firmware generally needs to be installed somehow, there are scripts and so on that run to set up things. If you have totally bricked the phone then there isn't much you can do.
But having said that flashing modern Android phones isn't too risky and actually bricking it is hard.
Firstly there are actually several images that can be flashed:

Boot loader (HBOOT)
Radio firmware
Recovery Firmware
ROM Firmware

Older devices did have some issue when flashing Radio/Boot. Specifically if you flashed them in the incorrect order and had mismatched versions you could actually brick the phone. But I believe that is mostly a problem with first/second generation Android phones, I haven't seen it being an issue on newer phones (also you probably shouldn't flash a radio of a different region as you might lose special features, like the 'HD Voice' for Australians).
Now days, in order to actually brick your device you would have to be totally unable to enter
HBOOT, Recovery and the main ROM. If you can enter any of those it should be possible to flash firmware from them (although in some cases they might have security enabled meaning you are limited to flash the official stock images, but you can generally break out of them and flash whatever you want). HBOOT allows for fastboot flashing. Recovery and the main ROM both have the flashing binary in them.
Finally if you did totally manage to brick it, you can look at using JTAG to reverse it. That probably does require soldering a cable onto the phones mobo though as well as a (cheap) cable. And some knowhow.

The root filesystem of a typical Android device can't be mounted because there's no way to interface to it in order to mount it.
The root filesytem is typically stored in flash chips soldered to the phone's board. When the phone boots, it runs a boot loader (also out of flash) that doesn't provide any option to run user-supplied software. The flash is software locked from modification, and the boot loader provides no "unlock" option.
The USB port is connected to the CPU, and there's no way to get the CPU to let you run code that mounts the root filesystem. Code loaded by the boot loader will only give you limited access that doesn't include raw read/write to the flash device.
Thus it is necessary to find some way to break this security chain in order to modify the root filesystem.
There are two reasons for this craziness. The primary reason is permit the sale of subsidized phones tied to a single carrier. The secondary reason is to make Android devices more reliable because a user can't, either intentionally or through inadvertent malware triggering, corrupt the device to the point where it can't recover.

I agree that this would be a great idea, but sadly wasn't implemented for security and carier locking's sake.
But do note that most phones have almost the same functionalty. Samsung download mode with odin does pretty much what you want it to do (flash an image directly to the flash device) and it is very hard to break download mode.
It is very much like on the computer: if the BIOS is still working you can boot from a CD and restore an image, here the bootloader is a sort of bios and if it works you can flash an image. If you flashed a custom non compatible bios on your computer you could just as well "brick" a pc.
If you avoid touching the bootloader on an android device you won't brick it, and even then some devices have "usb jig"s that will force restore the bootloader back. Why people are so much more reckless on their phones than on their pc is beyond me.
I think the idea is good but there really is no need for this right now, beacuse in practice the restore options and real "hard brick" possibilities are almost identical to the PC world and noone is complaining about PCs. People just need to be more carefull.

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


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No audio out with headphones
When I plug a headphone into my Nexus' audio port, the headphones simply don't play any sounds or music. The device seems to detect them, because the built-in sound output stops working. I tried it with another headphone and it didn't work either. There is no error log output.
It really sucks, because I can't hear any music.
How can I solve it?
(Galaxy Nexus with stock Jelly Bean)

Have you ensured that the volume level is high enough? I have found that sometimes the volume level without headphones is too quiet when used with the headphones. If that's not it, then you have a hardware fault and should return the device for warranty repair/replacement.

@All Everett I turned the volume up to maximal possible value. :(

Well, if you're sure those headphones work, then it sounds like you have a faulty device.

It sounds correct but I'm not looking forward to order a new device and download all my apps again' although I still have my warranty

I keep hoping that there is an easier solution.

A co-worker had this problem with his Galaxy Nexus. He had to send it in to samsung 3 times... Turned out it was a hardware issue. He couldn't make any calls without headphones or speaker phone.

I found the Samsung Nexus S's "auto-off" detector switch to be faulty on mine.  If I merely twist the headphone cable in the socket, it stops playback as if I had unplugged them.

I own an OG Droid and a Droid Bionic and both phones eventually had similar audio jack problems.
On one phone I found the issue to be a wad of dust crammed in the jack which I had to fish out with a [enter your choice of small pointy tool].
It could be a result of the internal contact points being pushed back from repeated tension. This would weaken the contact with the audio cable. In your particular case I don't think this is true however.
Other things you can try:

Pull the audio cable in and out several times wiggling it and testing it. (Ideally you'd want to test it with something that plays audio continuously so you don't have to keep hitting play)
Getting a different and potentially better quality audio cable to test with.
You can also try resetting to factory default which may help if the problem is software related. (As long as you have a google account synced with your phone, all your apps will be automatically re-downloaded)
If all else fails, take it back to the phone manufacturer or your phone service provider. They should be able to fix it for a reasonable price.
There is the option of trying to fix it yourself but that isn't recommended if you are uncomfortable working with small/delicate electronics, not to mention voiding your warranty.

I also had this problem. I thought something was wrong. As soon as I inserted the headphone jack the sound got cut off and there was no sound coming thru the headphones. I tried pressing the volume button and found that it was turned all the way down by default. Now there is no problem

My fix was to first play the media/music like first put a song or first open a game , when the sound is playing plug in the headphones or earphones

I faced a similar issue. Tried increasing, decreasing volume.. removed, put back headphones... nothing worked.. So.. did a restart of Samsung S7 Edge and it started working...


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How can I determine my Galaxy Nexus model variant?
I have a Galaxy Nexus phone I want to root.
Manual differs between Verizon, Sprint and GSM subtypes.
Where can I check this subtype?


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When installing a custom ROM, why reboot before installing other modifications?
Most ROM install instructions look like...

Boot into recovery
Wipe Data
Flash ROM
Reboot
Boot into recovery
Flash any Mods
Reboot
Done

Mods are modifications to the ROM code.  For example, replacing the Power Off menu with one that includes the option to reboot instead of just shut down.
Why are steps 4 & 5 needed?  I'm having a hard time seeing the purpose. Each reboot the cache rebuilds.  Why not just do it once?

Because the "developer" doesn't have a clue about what's he doing and why so he makes you do idiotic things. That's why.

I always thought this had to do with the ROM being deodexed and that the apks are odexed on the first boot, but it's just an unconfirmed impression I have, that's why this is not an answer.

It definitely does something during that reboot. I think the developer knows exactly what he's doing. The first boot of a new rom always takes longer than subsequent boots. I'm not sure exactly what it's doing, but presumably it's something that is required to flash most mods.

Richard Borcsik, you seem to have the most knowledge on the matter.  Can you answer why this is such an idiotic thing?  Make it an answer instead of a comment would be appreciated.  Thanks.

On the first boot after a wipe (factory-reset/dalvik-cache-wipe), the Dalvik-Cache is rebuilt (@onik has been very close: yeah, that's the *.dex files). So if any mod is going to manipulate those, they need to be there in the first place. I'm just confused that your steps do not include a wipe of the Dalvik Cache...

@Izzy, wiping data, step #2 in my post, will wipe dalvik cache.  "Wiping" is really just deleting files within folders and dalvik is inside the data folder /data/dalvik-cache/. Wiping data and wiping dalvik is, although widely popular, unneeded and redundant for a fresh ROM install. And, when "dirty flashing" clearing the Dalvik Cache still isn't necessary because Android does it itself when needed. http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/25859/why-do-i-need-to-wipe-dalvik-cache

Ooops... Agreed to the wipe being done. But for the second (is it necessary?), please read again the information you linked yourself: For best results it would be wise to perform both Wipe Data and Wipe Cache to ensure integrity and no program errors within the app itself.


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Can't find low battery threshold setting (Samsung Galaxy S3)
When the phone's battery reaches ~20%, I get the message to connect my charger on the lock screen. Is there a way to lower the threshold for the notification -- similar to the setting for a laptop?
For clarity, I want to change the settings so that the "Connect your charger" message appears when my battery is at 5%, instead of its current threshold, ~20%.
I should mention that I'm looking for a setting that's on the phone, without the need to modify back-end files. Also, I've actually gone through the whole settings section looking for the option and didn't find anything. Hopefully, I didn't overlook it.

See this answer in respect to the battery threshold hardcoded within the Android system in itself.

I don't own a S3 but it's likely that you cant modify this threshold without flashing a custom ROM.

@t0mm13b Thanks for the link to that question. Unless somebody knows for sure that there's no setting on the S3, I think I have my answer. It's funny, I automatically assumed there would be a setting.

@user1037894 there is no setting for the battery threshold in any ROM, regardless :)

@t0mm13b Thanks for the information. If you make your comment an answer, I'll select it as correct.

There is no setting available in any Android ROM that has the battery threshold setting.
From the previous answer given, it is built in.
Only course of option is to roll your own Android build, with the hard-coded value adjusted, but, and is a big but indeed, it is not the recommended route to take, as the code behind Android to handle the battery mechanism varies from chip-set to chip-set and to each and their own manufacturer.
By adjusting it, there could be invariable damage to the battery as a result, since the threshold is specified, by "tweaking" it could affect the battery in the long run and possibly end up shortening the battery life also.

I have a Galaxy S3 and changing the battery threshold had me stumped for a good while as I did manage to change it when I first got the phone.
Here's the answer to how to change the battery threshold on the Galaxy S3:

You do not need an app.
Simply wait until your GS3 gives you the low battery warning.
On your phone's homepage at the top, pull down the notification bar and tap once on the red low battery notification. This will take you to a power saving option page that has the battery threshold options.

Note: If you access the power saving options from the settings screen, you DO NOT get the battery threshold option??
I really hope this helps all those like me that just could not find out how to do this.

What version of Android are you using that has this?

I have a Samsung Note 2 and it does not seem to have this option.


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Does Huawei Honor support silent camera mode in Ice Cream Sandwich?
I use the app Camera Zoom FX for taking photos. On Gingerbread, I was able to mute its sounds via the settings. After updating to Ice Cream Sandwich, I always hear a sound when taking a photo.
Since I updated the app too, I was wondering: Is this a bug in Camera Zoom FX or doesn't ICS for Huawei Honor allow to mute its camera?

Is your phone rooted?

@Penguinolog Nope, it is running standard, unrooted Huawei Honor ICS 4.0.3.

No, your phone needs to be rooted ( as confirmed by the developers ). You may want to try Camera ICS + however which has as many features but remains silent.

Where was this confirmed? Can you link the source?


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How to quickly change the language in the latest Swype beta?
According to Swype's advanced tips page:

Switching languages: To switch between the two most recent languages, Swype from the Swype-key to the key with the language initials on it.

Since I updated Swype, the language initials are on the space bar and this tip doesn't work any more. I can still switch languages by long-pressing the space bar but that's a hassle. What's the new quick way to change the language?
Here's a screenshot of the keyboard as it looks like for me:

May I ask which version of Swype beta are you using?
For my version 1.0.3.5809, the official documents said:

To Switch languages from the keyboard: Press and hold the space bar
  Select your desired language from the pop-up menu

I have the same version. But anything involving "press and hold" is definitely not quick.

@Erik then u can try pressing the language button next to the "comma", it's definitely quicker than the "official" method

I don't have such a button any more since the update. See the screenshot I added to my question.

@Erik ok, I know why ur keyboard doesn't have the button I am saying. It is because u only got Deutsch selected. Please go to Swype settings and choose at least two languages, then the button I described will show up.

@Erik oops, sorry, I didn't noticed that the button is for the Chinese keyboard to switch between Chinese and English only.

In my version I simply Swype from the Swype key to the space bar.


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Avoid reload when activating browser
When I start my mobile browser it is usually to browse some other place than what it currently shows, but both firefox and the default browser insist on reloading what random page they hold before I'm able to proceed.
Is there any way to avoid the reload in these browsers?
Edit
The answer from NDgeek works as a workaround for the default browser, but not for Firefox as it requires at least one tab to exist.
After poking around a bit with the two applications, a similar workaround occurred to me, which is to point the active tab to a light-weight page before exiting, e.g. about:blank or about:home, now when the browser is activated it is available quicker.
I'll use the above workaround but as it requires extra work from me before I move away from the browser, I would prefer a more automatic solution.

I just ignore the reload and go right to the bookmark or entry of the URL I want to visit.    There's no need to wait for the reload to complete, at least with the stock Gingerbread browser.

On my Nexus S with Android 4.1.1 it doesn't respond before at least part of the reload completes.

The only way I know of to prevent this when opening the browser directly is to close all tabs before exiting the browser. If you open a link from another app, you should be able to avoid this as well.

Thank you for the answer. Closing all tabs works to some extent, see the added an edit to the question. Opening links from other apps is not an issue, its only when manually opening the browser.


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How to control the file system on Android from Win7 file explorer?
I haven't found any good solution for managing files on my Galaxy S2 from Win7. I've tested Kies and some other software but I'd like to be able to move files, create directories etc. through file explorer in Windows. There was some talks about installing a server also but it feels like using nukes on a mosquito. Preferably a free software that I can install?
Frankly, I was expecting that a simple connection via BT would suffice in this era of Plug & Play but, apparently, in my case, it's Plug & Prey, instead...

USB mass storage? Connect the device via USB, pull down the notification shade and select mount.

You can use your USB-Cable to connect your phone to the computer. If your phone doesn't pop up as external device, you're probably missing the needed USB-Drivers for it.

I'd very much prefer to connect the device via air than a cable. Mostly because I don't have one at the moment (and purchasing one seems odd just to move some files). Besides that, it's by principle wrong direction in this wireless era to stuff our devices with a cable... Is the above solvable without using a physical connection (i.e. BT or Wi-Fi)? Thanks for the tips, though!

You could use AirDroid if your Device is connected to your Network. It works in your Browser, not in the Windows Explorer though...

I'll try that. I'd expected that there'd be tons of solution on mounting an Androphone to Windows File Explorer but it seems there's some kind of reluctancy towards such a solution. You either create servers or you use browser windows... Indeed strange. Thanks for the info, though. I can't upgrade your answer becuase of my low rep yet.


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Trouble with Wi-Fi on GSM Galaxy Nexus running Jelly Bean
Am running 4.1.1 on a GSM Galaxy Nexus and continue to have very poor connectivity issues with Wi-Fi (everywhere, not just in my house). Other than having an unlocked bootloader and being rooted, the device is stock.
My AP in the house is running on Channel 1, and there's no other WiFi that's close to my house. No RF interference to speak of (e.g. no microwave's running or 2.4ghz FH devices in vicinity). Right now I am not so close to the AP, but have good signal strength on my device: -65dBm. The AP is a Linksys WAP54g with the latest firmware available running WPA2 Personal AES. The device may eventually connect, but often it just hangs on "connecting." I've tried to change to WPA2 "mixed" (AES+TKIP) but that doesn't seem to have any impact (still hangs on negotiating). I would just chalk this up to a Linksys issue, but I have had same issues out in public Wi-Fi.
I was using Wi-Fi Analyzer to manage the connection, and didn't see the message regarding "Poor Internet Connection" and reason for failure. I changed the Advanced Wi-Fi option to deselect that option, and rebooted the device, and then connected OK.
I have a Nexus 7 on same network with no issues (the UI has no option for "Avoid Poor Internet").

Strongly recommend looking at: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/29291/wifi-connection-dropping

I had the same issue with my galaxy note 2 after upgrade to 4.1.2. No wifi worked after the upgrade reboot. After lots of trial and error I found that the only wifi working consistently was wep/psk/tkip. No protocol using aes encryption worked - merely "obtaining ip address".
This doesn't solve the problem, merely a temporary workaround. Good luck.
Forgot to mention that the wep/psk/tkip must be set on your router. Power cycle your phone and reenter your password when the phone attempts to connect. Also I found that turning off power saving mode on the phone also is required. Go to phone dialer and enter *#0011# to enter phone command mode.  Select menu options and click Wifi option. Turn off power saving mode. Power saving mode = ON is default so must be changed after every power cycle.


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How to configure Google Now's notification time?
Currently Google Now notifies me 10 minutes before I need to leave the house for an appointment (taking traffic into consideration). How do I change the notification time to some other value?

The default reminder time is actually based on your calendar. If you open your calendar, open Settings, and select General settings, "Default reminder time" is near the bottom (I'm working from Cyanogenmod 10, but AOSP/Nexus devices should be similar).  This controls the general notification time. The Now functionality is separate, and (from what I understand) is based entirely on travel time. If your appointment has a destination that Google recognizes, it will calculate travel time and pop up a card far enough ahead to allow you to meet that travel time and arrive on time. I'm not positive if it factors in your reminder time into this or not, but it's possible that it is. If that's the case, it will notify you 10 minutes + travel time currently, and if you modify the calendar notification time, it should modify the Now notification time. Again, this is speculation based on how I understand Now to function, but I believe it's fairly accurate based on my experience.

The default reminder time is pulled from the Calendar's settings, if you tap the event to open it in the calendar editing screen after it's been recognized by Google.  However, if you just tap "Create Event" after it's been recognized without reviewing it (as mentioned above), it will default to 15 minutes.  This is on a Razr Maxx HD, Verizon, ICS.


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Icon keeps disappearing from app drawer in CM9
I installed Cyanogenmod 9.0.0 mango on my Xperia mini pro. Everything works fine...except for the built-in launcher's app drawer. What happens is that every time I reboot the phone, the rightmost app shortcut / widget / icon that I place in the app drawer keeps disappearing.

I can replace the icon and it stays there, but only as long as I don't reboot the phone. Why is this happening and / or how can I solve it?

It seems there is a further update to the Xperia Mini Pro, probably 9.1 is way to go, might fix up that known issue. Check on the CyanogenMod page for Xperia Mini Pro.


text:
Nexus 7 won't boot after being powered down...unless plugged in
I have powered down my new Nexus on a couple of occasions now, but it will not boot up subsequently UNLESS it is plugged into the charger. Is this by design? I've also had it go into this unresponsive state after being charged overnight; in that case, I turned the charger off and on again and it was OK.
Anyone had this happen to them? Do I have a faulty unit?

I just double-checked mine, and it boots fine without the charger (battery at 64%).  I suspect your unit is faulty.

Thanks for checking for me, pgs. That's what I thought. I need to decide whether to take it back now, as it's fine apart from this one little issue.


text:
Play music from Android to Airplay receiver
Is there a way of playing music on my Android phone to an Airplay receiver (like Airport Express etc)?

If Airplay is compatible with the UPnP specification, you may try an UPnP app such as UPnPlay (free) or BubbleUPnP (paid).

Thanks @Cutter, I tried UPnPlay but couldn't find the devices. It was able to find music on my laptop which was neat though.

The Airsync add-on to the Double Twist player adds this ability. It's not free, but was worth it.

As far as I can tell, Airsync supports the Apple TV, but no other Airplay devices.

Sorry, I was referring to AirTwist, but either way it appears to only support the Apple TV and Sonos http://www.doubletwist.com/help/question/what-devices-are-supported-by-doubletwist-airplay/


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Move Nokia Backup (NBF) contents to Android Phone
Recently I started using Android phone (Samsung Galaxy Y Duos) with Gingerbread. Prior to this switch I was using Nokia 6303c (S40 Device). Before I exchanged my Nokia for this phone I had made a backup using 'Sync & Backup' option provided by Nokia on phone onto its memory card. I had to do this as I did not have access to Nokia Suite to sync/backup contents to PC at that point in time.
Now I am not able to find any way to get the contents stored in .NBF file to my Android phone. Does anyone here know about any solution? Looks like NBUExplorer can open only .NBU files created by Nokia Suite.
Fortunately I could get all my contacts as they were synced a week before to a virtual machine running Windows (I use Ubuntu as my primary OS). However message sync had failed that time and I could not sync calendar as I do not have MS Outlook on virtual machine. Now I need a way to retrieve those messages and calendar entries.

Just change the extension from .nbf to .zip. For detailed step-by-step instructions, read this.

Go to settings, sync and backup in old Nokia Symbian phone. Click on create backup and store the backup in memory card.

Connect the old phone to your PC through normal 'mass storage' mode and open the backup folder from memory card. Copy the .nbf file from memory card to your PC.

The trick lies in this step when you fool Nokia around.
.nbf stands for Nokia Backup File.  Just change the extension from .nbf to .zip and extract using winrar/peazip.

Here you see a list of .vcf files in the extracted folder. Connect your Android phone to PC and transfer these files to SD card or internal memory.

Use this free "Import Contacts" (app is no longer available) app from Google Play and transfer contacts.

Thanks a lot. that's worked. I am able to transfer contacts from nokia to samsung.

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


text:
Shortening URLs using goo.gl and Tasker
I'm trying to use Tasker to shorten URLs. Previously, I don't think this was possible, but v1.3 added support for https.
I've tried following the instructions here: https://developers.google.com/url-shortener/v1/getting_started#shorten and I did get an HTTP 400 code, but the %HTTPD variable returned %HTTPD.
The things I used in Tasker were:
HTTP Post
Server:Port    https://www.googleapis.com/urlshortener/v1/url?key=AIzaSyA8FwOcH-qW6ACR27H_wlrNKcv2OUl_Z8c
Data / File    "longUrl":"http://www.google.com/"
Content Type   application/json

Flash
Text           %HTTPR

Flash
Text           %HTTPD

Mind if I ask why would you need to do this?

I have a little task which copies your location and a maps link to the clipboard for emailing or for SMS. I got that to work, now I'm trying to add a link-shortening option so I can send them to people who don't have internet on their phone. Also, just for the challenge.

How do you suppose to get access token using Tasker?

I should only need the API key, given that I'm not requesting private data. I've added the API key to my request, with the same results.


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How to set android as internet gateway for my home network
Title should say all, but here's some network topology:
Laptop(s), desktop(s) <-wlan/lan-> router <-wifi-> android <-internet->
So I'd walk into the reach of my wifi and my android would connect to the wlan automatically and voila, internet for the rest of the network.
I think this is a good approach https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Internet/ConnectionSharing and I'll probably figure the rest out myself before long, but if someone who knows what they are talking about could create a better guide or even an app for android for this, it would be much appreciated.
As for the use of this. e.g. range, network resilience (when used in mesh networking).
Thank you

This is probably rather a question concerning your router -- which should setup a default route to your Android device as soon as it's connected. In theory, this could work if the router always assigns the same IP to your Android device, and you configure this IP to be the default gateway all the time (so it would automagically work as soon as your Android device connects -- provided it connects while in Hotspot mode.

I've written a working answer for the same here. Hope it helps.


text:
Disable automatic screen turn-off during call
I use Gingerbread.
My Android phone has feature, that turns off display during call when I put the phone to my ear. However, the sensor is probably over-sensitive in my device, so it often turns off during call even when I don't keep it next to my face.
This is an issue if I want to use keyboard during call when the screen turns off. Can I disable this feature?

Screen turn off is managed by proximity sensor, so you will have to disable that. There seem to be some applications that will help you do that. Check
Screebl Lite - Save Power!

Plug in a headset. It's the only answer!

I've tried that. Even with headset/earphones plugged in, or set to speaker, the screen blanks (black) within a few seconds from when a call connects. If I press the power button, the screen will come back active but only for a few seconds, only enough time to press 1 or 2 keys (sometimes 3). It's "impossible" to check voicemail.

In gingerbread 2.3.6, you can turn it off in Call Settings>Additional Settings then uncheck the "Turn on proximity Sensor".
Here is a screenshot:

Option not present in 5.1

I have v. 6.0.1. I contacted support with this problem, since I do not have any proxy setting. Go to settings - > apps -> phone or dial app -> memory -> clear cache and memory and restart your device. This worked for me. Hope this helps, good luck.

I think that is "storage", not "memory".

doesn't help for those of us with hardware problems :|

In Gingerbread you can find it in Advanced Settings in the Call Settings: go to Settings -> Calls-> Advanced. I'm not sure where exactly but it's where you have the options of call waiting, etc.

That's extremely dependent on the ROM, looking here on GB 2.3.7, that does not exist! What ROM is that are you referring to?

thats 2.3.6! im sure its somewhere there. or press options in the keypad screen and check everywhere in preferences!

check everywhere in preferences.... hummm... could do better than that! Enclose a screenshot of it, and should have stated GB 2.3.6 in your answer ...

For those who found this answer, and are looking for the answer on a newer android version, I found this on my Samsung Galaxy S 3, running Android 4.1.1, this is how I turned off that feature. Enter the dialer (the "Phone" icon", as if you wanted to make a call). Bring up the menu, and click "Call Settings". Uncheck "Auto Screen off during calls"

Use "Screen On Call" app to keep screen on during call. There is no need to turn proximity sensor off. It will keep working and if you move you phone to your ear, screen will go off, but if you keep it on the table or away from any blocking objects, screen will stay on, so you will be able to use keypad to punch more numbers or for whatever reason you want screen to stay on.

There is a free app named Screebl, that will keep your phone on during a call. In fact, you will have to physically shut your phone off/place it in standy, after you install this app by tapping the on/off button on a Samsung Galaxy Proclaim 2.3.6 Gingerbread OS.


text:
How to fully backup non-rooted devices?
I know I'm asking for the close-to-impossible -- as a real full-backup certainly requires root permissions. But still there are many folks around not wanting to root their devices -- afraid of voiding their warranties or bricking their devices, or just not having their devices supported by any rooting method.
I also know there were a lot of questions asked already on this topic, and I checked all of them having the backup tag -- none covers the entire topic, all just have pieces, and especially people new to Android (but other non-power-users as well) would have a hard time figuring out the best way.
So I want a detailed canonical answer to the question:
Not involving root-solutions, how to achieve a backup as close as possible to a full backup?
Please do not give simple one-liner answers like "Use app xyz [full-stop]." If mentioning an app (and I doubt a single app would be the answer here), include what parts are covered by it -- as well as ideas on how to fill the gaps it leaves. (And to make it absolutely clear: I know the first thing coming to mind is Titanium Backup -- I use it myself, but this does not apply here: This question is strictly about methods for non-rooted devices!) Moreover, the answer should be as generic as possible in terms of applying to a wide range of devices (i.e. it should not be restricted to one device or manufacturer).
I already mentioned having investigated all questions here tagged backup. These will certainly be helpful providing details for answers here, so I will list up the topmost ones concerning my question:

How to backup an Android device?
How do I perform a full pre-rooting backup of an Android phone?
What info does Google backup?
How can data on an unrooted phone be backed up?
Could a non-root Android 4.0.3 smartphone's rom be backup?
How do I back up (and restore) my phone before installing a custom ROM?
Backup my Android without my Apps, Settings, Config's, etc.

All these provide some details for my question (so feel free to get inspired by them) -- but I feel there are still details missing. Also it would be helpful to have a summary -- say, an answer including the full description of "the maximum possible".
A last criterium: While I'd consider cloud-based solutions legit, I'd favour local solutions. If you can provide both: all the better. But some people value privacy quite high (I'm one of them), and thus would not trust their data to some cloud service.

Thanks to Ryan, we now have a solution for a really complete backup of all apps and their data -- which I didn't dare to hope for! The only disadvantage: His solution only works for less than 10% of all Android users; namely those whose devices are running at least with Android 4.x.
So again, I ask the close-to-impossible: Any solutions applicable at least on Gingerbread (2.3.x) or, better, even Froyo (2.2.x) -- so they cover the majority of current devices? These solutions may involve multiple tools (try to keep it as simple as possible though; think of your mother to follow your instructions ;)
And keep in mind: NO ROOT!

To further motivate high-quality answers (and hopefully avoid low-quality ones), I will be a harsh one here: As I rarely do, I will down-vote answers not fitting the mentioned criteria on one end -- but on the other end, I will setup a bounty for the best answer (which cannot be done immediately, but earliest after 2 days).

what version of android are you looking to backup? because with 4.x there is the 'adb backup' solution that works for non-rooted devices.

As I'm not looking for myself (my devices are rooted, and so I can use NANDroid backups as well as Titanium Backup), this would be worth an answer -- as it would apply to everybody already having 4.x on his/her device. How much would it cover -- and what about gaps left behind, if any? Please also point out that it needs the SDK installed on the computer (including its pros and cons for unexperienced users).

I created a question - Full Backup of non-rooted devices (Android version 2.3.X and below) to followup for device with Android 2.3.x and below cause I notice that the solution is for Android 4.X devices

Solution Available for 4.0+ Devices:
For 4.0+ devices there is a solution called "adb backup".
Note: This only works for apps that do not disallow backup!
Apps that disallow backup are simply ignored when creating a backup using this way.
This makes use of adb so you have to have the Android Software Development Kit (SDK) installed on your computer (on some Linux distributions: just packages android-tools-adb and android-tools-adbd).
NOTE: This solution will not back up and restore contact, SMS or calendar information
The options for the adb command are:
adb backup [-f <file>] [-apk|-noapk] [-obb|-noobb] [-shared|-noshared] [-all] [-system|nosystem] [-keyvalue|-nokeyvalue] [<packages...>]

Note: You may need quotes or escape characters.

-f : the path of the *.ab file that will be saved on your computer. This file is a compressed file that contains an archive of the data/apks from your device.
-apk|-noapk : indicates if the *.apk files should be backed up (default is -noapk)
-obb|-noobb : enable/disable backup of any installed apk expansion (aka .obb) files associated with each application (default is -noobb)
-shared|-noshared: enable/disable backup of the device's shared storage / SD card contents (default is -noshared)
-all : indicates that you want the entire system backed up. you can use the packages filter to just backup specific packages, or use -all for a full system backup.
-system|-nosystem: indicates if all the system applications and data are included when backing up. (default is -system)
-keyvalue|-nokeyvalue: include apps that perform key/value backups. (default -nokeyvalue)
<packages> : this is where you can list specific packages to backup. Use these if you want to back up only specific applications. If using -all, you do not need to specify packages.

How to backup your device:
First, you need to enable "USB debugging" on you Android device:

Go to "About device" (or "About phone" or "About tablet") section in Settings
Tap 7 times on "Build number" row (usually the last row). After that "Developer options" section will appear in Settings

Go to "Developer options" section in Settings
Tap the "USB Debugging" checkbox

Second, on your PC from the command prompt you will need to be able to locate both the adb command and your backup file. The easiest way to do this is to run the adb command from the directory where adb is located.
In Windows Explorer navigate to where you installed the Android SDK and SHIFT+RIGHT CLICK on the platform-tools folder.

This will open a command prompt (your window will look different than mine).
In Mac's Terminal you can type cd  and then drag the folder platform-tools folder from finder to the terminal window and the path will be inserted. Hit  and you will be in the right place.
In Linux, I hope you know how to locate and cd to the parent directory of the adb command. You are using Linux after all.
From here type the following command:
Windows:
adb backup -apk -shared -all -nosystem -f backup08262012.ab

Linux & Mac
./adb backup -apk -shared -all -nosystem -f backup08262012.ab
## Notice that -all doesn't mean ALL. See the big bold NOTE at the top of this answer.
## You can also include -system and -keyvalue to be able to backup and restore *some* system settings.
# drop the `./` in the command if you are using `android-tools-adb` package

(if you want to store the backup in a different directory, include a path for the ".ab" file as shown in the screenshot below.)

You will then be prompted on your device for a password (this is used to encrypt the backup):

To restore, it works almost the same way.
Windows:
adb restore backup08262012.ab

Linux & Mac
./adb restore backup08262012.ab

Then you will be prompted for your password to restore on the device:

Now for the shameless self promotion:
Droid Explorer (v0.8.8.7+) will be able to handle this for 4.0+ devices. While Droid Explorer is currently optimized for Rooted devices, this functionality will work for non-rooted devices as well.
Droid Explorer will do full backups of the device and save them in %USERPROFILE%\Android Backups</code>. Within that folder is a folder named for the device, and inside that folder are the backups.

Double clicking on the Android Backup file will allow you to restore your device from the backup file.

BTW: Adding to your solution, just today I found a post on the XDA News: Ultimate Backup Tool, No Root Required. This "Ultimate Backup Tool" is just a simple .bat file calling the ADB commands you mentioned (Pastebin) -- and thus can serve as "inspiration" to Linux/Unix/Mac friends to create a similar shell script ;)

! Beware ! adb restore is far from complete, at least on an unrooted stock Android 4.3 on a Nexus 3!
A few things are restored, a few not! I checked restoration of some features.
NOT RESTORED, basically all the key telephony features:
Contacts, sms, ringtone&notification sound, activated input languages (=kbd layouts), ownername (ownername set in first boot wizard is kept instead)
PROPERLY RESTORED:
Custom vocabulary, wallpaper, launcher icon positions, apps and their settings. Closing statement: This is an unsuited backup solution! Would adb backup complete on rooted phone?

I think this is a terrible answer to the question - if your device is unrooted it will appear as if correct backup is being created, but you will only discover the truth once you try to restore it. Please emphasize the -nosystem option.

From the xda-news link: " It’s worth mentioning that this is not like a nandroid backup which is effectively a snapshot of your current device set up, this backs up apps, app data and information stored on the internal/external SD card."

@RyanConrad I guess this answer might require some updates: apps can opt-out of adb_backup (setting ALLOW_BACKUP to "no" in their Manifest files). If "root users" want to work around this, there's the Backup All Apps Xposed module, but no way around it without root. Maybe you also should point out what is not covered (apart from what you've already mentioned – see porg's "!Beware!" comment above). Plus maybe integrate other hints from the comments, and then request a comment cleanup?

⚠ Be aware that an app can explicitly prevent backing up its data by setting android:allowBackup="false" in its AndroidManifest.xml. See https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/manifest/application-element#allowbackup. Running adb backup... will not save any data for these apps. Example apps that forbid backups are WhatsApp, LineMessenger.

Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.

There is an application called Simple ADB Backup.

Simple ADB Backup Backs Up Your Android Phone from the Desktop, No Root Required. Most Android backup tools require root, or run from your phone and save your data to your SD card. Simple ADB Backup is different. The app runs from and backs up your phone's data to your desktop, and does it all without root.
To use Simple ADB Backup, you'll need USB Debugging Mode enabled on your Android device (Go to Settings > Developer, enable developer options, then enable USB debugging) and the utility installed on your desktop. That's about it: just plug in your phone, launch the app on your Windows or Linux system, and choose a backup option. You have the option to back up your entire device, just apps, all data with or without system apps, or even a single app if you choose.
The app also lets you restore backed up data to your device. Before you back up, you'll be prompted to generate a password you'll also have to type into the app on your phone before the backup can begin, but after that, the process runs smoothly. It's extremely simple, completely free, and doesn't require you root first.
Whilst Titanium Backup is a more feature-filled app if you're willing to root (especially if you want a bulletproof backup system for your Android), and MyBackup Pro is great if you're migrating to a new phone and don't want a desktop as a middleman, but Simple ADB Backup is free and apparently so easy to use that even Android beginners can easily and quickly back up their important data.
Simple ADB Backup was released for free over at the XDA Developer forums. Hit the link below to download it there.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=36499906
Please Note: This is a new application currently still in Beta

Edit: Now called Holo Backup.  See https://xdaforums.com/t/tool-windows-linux-4-0-holo-backup-full-backup-without-root.2091047/#post-36499906

And also note that, at least according to its name, it probably requires at least Android 4.0 -- as does Ryan's solution. Nevertheless, +1 from me as this makes it easier for those people afraid of the command line :)

@Izzy: Yes to clarify Windows/Linux/Android (4.0+)

The screen shots show a warning in red letters at the top, Backups can only be restored to the same device. That's ambiguous; does "same device" means the same model, or does it have to actually be the same physical device? My main concern is to protect against loss or destruction of the device, by creating backups that can restore an exact image of my current device to a replacement of the same model, so this makes all the difference in the world.

I successfully restored the data to new nexus 6p from nexus 4. However the google service always crash. I can't set up my google account in 6p. So it actually does not work for android 6.0.

From GitHub: NOTE: THIS PROJECT HAS BEEN DEPRECATED. Holo Backup was an interesting experiment to see how much could be done with ADB Backup alone, but ADB Backup itself proved to be very unreliable in practical use, and as such it is not advised for actual use.

@Izzy I just tried the solution using adb manually. I made a backup, installed a new app, and restored from the backup. The new app was still there. So I wouldn't call this a backup. Am I missing something?

@Celeritas yes, of course: the factory-reset in between. Why should restoring a backup delete additional stuff installed meanwhile – unless being explicitly told to?

@Celeritas this is not a discussion area (be welcome to our chat room). But even on a computer, you would format the disk in such a case. I've never heard restoring a backup took care to remove "extra files" without being explicitly told. That would very much alienate me. Even more so as an ADB backup can be a full backup or just cover a single app; in the latter case, it would even be absurd would it delete everything else on restore.

Technically, you CAN create full Nandroid backup without rooting the device. You just need to flash CWM (or, any recovery which supports Nandroid backup) over USB. For example, you can use Odin (Windows) to flash CWM to Samsung devices after going to download mode, all without touching the Android. So, there's no rooting or root access involved at all.

@Izzy Unlocking does not gain root access. But it does void the warranty. Flashing the custom recovery does not require root access, just requires an unlocked bootloader. Once the custom recovery is in place, the recovery does have root access (but not the same as having root within the OS sense). I think though that flashing a custom recovery is a big barrier for most users. In a lot of cases, it is easier to root a device then flash a recovery. Also larger chance of soft bricking a device with flashing a recovery.

A major problem with this solution is for bootloader locked devices, a 'fastboot oem unlock' will wipe the device.

Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.

Koushik Dutta (aka Koush aka Mr. ClockworkMod) has published Helium Backup, which should make the entire thing possible even without the need of a computer and USB cable:

Helium Backup should be able to backup apps and data to SD card, attached USB devices, Dropbox, Google Drive or Box.
This isn't a "full backup" in so far as it comes to system settings, but it does restore application settings and data. It does not backup your internal storage (the user files), so you'll have to backup those files separately.
If you find yourself unable to see your backups in the restore list, some of the backup metadata may have gotten lost in translation. The backup themselves can still be restored, but you'll need some extra leg work to get them.
Edit: For a full-fledged how-to on the usage of Helium, please see How to Backup Apps and Data without Root using Helium Android App (thanks for the hint, Simon!). And before complaining on anything, make sure you've checked with the Helium Wiki (thanks to golimar for pointing this out!).

Unfortunately requires Android 4.0, same as Ryan's solution.

Sure: Like Ryan's solution, it uses adb backup as backend.

@Izzy Just found a nice write up about Carbon: http://www.maketecheasier.com/another-way-to-back-up-android-without-root/2013/04/18

@Izzy Another nice article regarding backing up with Helium (formerly Carbon) http://www.theandroidsoul.com/how-to-backup-apps-and-data-without-root-using-helium-android-app/

@Izzy Without USB and a Computer it wont work..I have installed the Helium app it dispalys a notification "Waiting for the Helium Desktop Application to enable application backup on your Android.." with a link to download the carbon windows installer file. If i cancel the popup it exits the app and no way to backup without a computer.

@Lucky for a not-rooted device that's sadly true, as the ADB component on-device first needs to be activated (after each boot) – which requires elevated privileges, so it cannot be done directly on-device without root, but is possible via ADB itself only.

Recommended read prior to install: https://github.com/koush/support-wiki/wiki/Helium-Wiki

This answer is not the hint you dear readers hoped for but the result of my real world tests:
adb backup is far from complete, on a Nexus 3, both under an unrooted stock Android 4.3 and if run with adb root on Cyanogenmod 10.1.3!

A few things are restored, a few not! I checked restoration of some features:
NOT RESTORED: basically all the key telephony features: Contacts, sms, ringtone&notification sound, activated input languages (=kbd layouts), ownername (ownername set in first boot wizard is kept instead)
PROPERLY RESTORED: Custom vocabulary, wallpaper, launcher icon positions, apps and their settings.

These were my requirements, which brought me to the topic:

Maximization of Android privacy
Physical security to prevent drive by downloads (PDF), meaning:

bootloader locked, stock recovery, ADB off
even more secure with: full disk encryption

Full local backup, no cloud backup (topic of this very thread here)

On Cyanogenmod the situation was a little different: SMS were completely restored, but contacts and call logs still not restored. Even when adb backup and restore where ran with an adb running as root through adb root.

So I will try to use a custom ROM, with root (to get some extra features), a locked bootloader, custom recovery, and only flash the recovery temporarily (theoretically possible from the rooted device with flash_image, but for me this failed too), from which I then do NANDROID backups (or adb backup + special backup solutions for sms/call-logs/contacts) plus custom ROM updates.

A full backup seems to be a very overloaded term in the Android world. Allow me to first define it (paraphrasing a comment from OP):

A full backup is anything that will restore your system state to when
you made the backup.

So the first obvious follow-up question is: restore your state from what?

Scenario 1: Your phone is physically broken/lost and your replacement is a different model.
Scenario 2: Your partition table was corrupted and now it won't boot.
Scenario 3: Your entire drive (eMMC) has been blanked and it won't boot.
Scenario 4: You can only boot into a USB flash mode like fastboot/ODIN.
Scenario 5: You can only boot into your recovery mode.
Scenario 6: Your phone has been reset to factory state.
Scenario 7: You accidentally deleted your favorite cat wallpaper image.
Etc.

The list points out how ill-defined this canonical question is. Each of these scenarios can have a different backup solution. A generic full backup would have to be able to address all of them.

The second follow-up question is: what is "system state"?
Are we talking about the conventional memory sector state, or the fuzzier user experienced state of functionality. Most users will really only care about restoring latter to some degree, in which case it may be more desirable to get an easier backup solution for the specific scenarios you care about. E.g. if all you care about is preserving your photos, a backup might be as simple as enabling automatic cloud storage in your photos app; a full backup would be a waste of effort/resources.
We can divide the full backup solutions (with bootable and possibly different phones) into 2 categories based on the definitions of state:

Developer restores
Typically involves using a Nandroid, which is a complete or partial image of the eMMC sectors. Bit technical. Most partitions will require the device to be identical to the original. Sometimes sector state is too much hassle to backup/restore.
Consumer restores
Typically file based, can restore apps and data. These are more likely to work across different models, but it won't be a full backup/clone if you care about restoring every memory sector. E.g. a "restored" app might be a newer version, or the partition sizes on your new device will be different, or the files may have different names, etc.

In summary, if you can restore the sector state, then functionality restoration should logically follow. But both can be considered full backups for their use cases. Let the context determine if someone asking for a full backup wants option 1 or 2.
Beware consumer restores
The current most highly voted answer based on adb backup is a consumer restore that can restore apps and data, with a few caveats:

Seems to omit some files
Variable results depending on the ROM (e.g. doesn't work on some Sony models, omits different items on CyanogenMod vs TouchWiz).

Though recently in Oreo there have been small improvements (XDA news) I still can't confirm if it can copy all user files like photos and music copied from your pc.
For a dev restore, you want a Nandroid.
You can't get a full Nandroid without either rooting OR using a recovery. An exception is perhaps an image of your SD card, giving you a partial Nandroid. So you have to risk installing an image or temporarily rooting, or wait until OEMs offer better recoveries.
Remember to name your backups with important information like date and partitions included.
You don't have to back up what you don't mind recreating
A Nandroid typically doesn't include a recovery, because they are usually applied from a recovery so it is redundant. But if your device is messed up and your recovery is gone you might panic, thinking you didn't back it up so there's nothing to restore. But it is often simple to download and then reinstall the recovery with a USB flash tool (e.g. fastboot).
Similarly, if you store your contacts in the cloud, there is usually no need to back them up again. Just sync again after restoring.
Remember, a full backup is not useful if it is too old, so you'll probably need to make regular backups. When chosing option 1 or 2 it is a tradeoff between how much you value the backup vs how much hassle you are willing to put up with.

The universal definition of "full backup" is: "forensic backup (to the furthest extent possible by a non-NOBUS)"

I'm a bit surprised by the other (complicated) answers. Maybe I've misunderstood the question, so feel free to comment and vote accordingly.

By definition, a full backup (including ROM, apps and data) is called a Nandroid backup. Therefore, the question is asking "how do I do a Nandroid backup on my unrooted device".
You do not need a rooted device to be able to do a Nandroid backup. Nandroid backups are usually done through a custom recovery (like TWRP or ClockworkMod) which do not always need a rooted device to install. For example, using ADB TWRP can be installed, as per the directions here. It may be possible to temporarily load a custom recovery, thus preserving the stock recovery (and your warranty; for TWRP this can be done replacing fastboot flash recovery twrp*.img with fastboot boot twrp*.img in step 4 of the linked tutorial). Some devices require the bootloader to be unlocked to install a custom recovery, others do not. Note that unlocking the bootloader usually factory-resets your device.

No. A nandroid backup is not the definition of a full backup, but the question fails to define what that is. Your method requires an unlocked bootloader and knowledge of flashing a recovery (which differs per model). Not really things a person who doesn't root wants to mess around with.

@jiggunjer what makes you say a nandroid backup is not a full backup? Also some phones come with an unlocked bootloader. Also compared to the other answers I wouldn't say this one is complex.

A full backup would be every sector of the eMMC, nandroids are often images of a subset of sectors, they typically exclude the bootloader and the recovery itself. Arguably such a complete backup is not often necessary. Your answer is indeed simple but not practical for 95% of the unrooted users.

@jiggunjer alright, perhaps you're right that technically speaking Nandroid does not exactly mean the same thing as "full backup" though I think it's what most people think of. The method I describe doesn't require root. It does requiring temporarily flashing a custom recovery, but given other answers use adb from command line (which itself requires downloading large files) I don't think it's much more complex.

How does it make sense a bootloader can be backed up? There is nothing there to backup as it only loads the OS.

I'm not sure what you mean. A bootloader is a program,  as such it occupies space on the drive. Those sectors can be copied in order to back them up. Most people don't mess with bootloaders apart from a fastboot unlock, they are not touched when flashing most custom ROMs, so ignoring them is usually OK.

A full backup in the view of a technician is probably a replication of the entire hardware including state of all bits. But as this is a user-oriented site, a full backup simply means: I can restore from that and end up exactly at the state where the backup was made (all settings, apps & data are covered). Besides: While an apple is a fruit, a fruit is not necessarily an apple; yes, a Nandroid backup usually is a full backup (though e.g. TWRP skips "shared storage") – but that doesn't mean a full backup always is a Nandroid backup ;)

@Izzy Not logical. A full backup by most definitions lets you restore your drive state from any other drive state. This includes hardbricks if you're into low-level SoC debugging. A Nandroid doesn't do that. The key is that backup effectiveness depends on the state at the time when you want to restore. The more scenarios you want to recover from, the more extensive your backup has to be. Nandroids will cover 98% of user scenarios so they are an efficient choice. If you break your recovery and have to reinstall it, you are not actually restoring the original state--you are recreating it.

fastboot is not available for some devices (Samsung, LG) technically TWRP provides root access {even device isn't rooted, unlocking bootloader is a heavy modification (from security view) and does WIPE userdata} TWRP backup is far from complete. it heavily depends on entries in fstab (which is choice of maintainer). besides this Pictures and Downloads missing (/data/media is excluded) so at minimum one should adb pull /sdcard after creating backup

"It may be possible to temporarily load a custom recovery, thus preserving the stock recovery."  I'm not clear under what conditions this will work and when not.  If I try this, is it possible my /data will be wiped?

We can take the backup of our device without using any apps or without rooting our phone.
Android includes a built-in way to back up and restore the contents of your phone or tablet. All you need is a computer and a device running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) or newer.
Go to adt-bundle-windows-x86\sdk\platform-tools folder and open command promt here.

Make sure USB Debugging is Enabled.
Check that your device is connected by running "adb device".
Now execute "adb backup -apk -shared -all -f C:\Users\UserName\backup.ab".
Unlock your device, provide encrpytion password and your whole
device will be backed up.
To restore again simply execute "adb restore C:\Users\UserName\backup.ab".

I have written step by step procedure with screen shots for the same here. Hope this helps!

Yes. That's what Ryan's answer states right as its start :) But thanks for the additional details and step-by-step guide!

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


text:
Why the play store prompts "no network connection" while I use reverse USB tethering?
I used reverse USB tethering to share my laptop wired network connection, and my phone's browser works as normal, but the play store prompts "no network connection", why? How to enable it?


text:
How to manually upload ringtones and notifications to DroidX?
I've created 2 folders on the root of the SD card,

Ringtones
Notifications

and placed one mp3 file within each. When I disconnect the DroidX from the USB cable and navigate to either "Settings" > "Sound"> "Phone ringtone", or "Settings" > "Sound" > "Notification ringtone", neither mp3 file shows up.
What am I doing wrong?

You don't need to make your own folders.
The proper file to put the mp3s is /system/media/audio/ - where you will find folders for /alarms , /notifications , and /ringtones
There are two things to keep in mind when doing this:

If you are using full-sized .mp3's , you will put considerable strain on the system when it comes time to load one. In my experience, two minutes of mp3 works fine for an alarm, but such a file takes a few seconds to load, and will not make for a suitable ringtone, unless you trim the file first.
You will have to re-do this every time you flash a new ROM.

An alternative to this -- is to have them in /sdcard/media/ --
But if you have an older device, having them in the root directory allows for better performance.
HTH!

Root directory? What root directory? Your method needs root and according to the Android developer documentation his directories are correct. What's "full-sized mp3" and why does it put a strain on the device. BTW I've never encountered any performance issue with MP3 ringtones.

I can't find the "system" folder on the root

@mre rm-vanda refers to a folder which is only accessible if you have a rooted device. That folder is usually mounted read-only, so (without root) you cannot write there. To keep your own ringtones etc. even after ROM-updates, this method is rather discouraged. Instead, rather check Is there any documentation on the correct/expected directory structure of the external memory card?.

Ah, yes, when you said "root of the device" - I didn't realize you meant the root of the sdcard.
In that case, go for /sdcard/media/notifications and /sdcard/media/ringtones

@RichardBorcsik
Try putting a 4 minute mp3 as a ringtone on your /sdcard/
Call your phone. See how long it takes for it to ring.
=)

@rm-vanda It rings without any noticeable delay. I don't think that it reads the entire file. That's unnecessary.

@RichardBorcsik - okay, okay-
I was recalling my days with a G1 for that one.

I think now /system is read-only, so youo must use /sdcard. But that isn't working for me either on 5.1.1.

You probably found the correct location (if your "root of the device" refers to the root of your sdcard). For details on those directories, please check with Is there any documentation on the correct/expected directory structure of the external memory card?.
One thing which however may apply: For those files to become available with your settings, the Media Scanner must have been run and having them indexed. Usually this should happen automatically when your SD-card gets mounted; but it may be much delayed when you did not unmount/remount the card (and e.g. copied files directly on the device). In those cases, a little app like SDrescan, Scan Media, or SDSync (SD Card Update) might prove useful.


text:
Can I turn off Google/Google+ notifications on Samsung Galaxy S3?
I know you can turn off notifications from the native email client, but is there a way to turn them off for Gmail, Google+, and other Google apps? I have my Google account set up on my phone, which is useful, but if I can't specifically turn off Google notifications I'm going to have to unsync it, because as it stands I have to either silence all notifications and miss important text messages, or get woken up by G+ comments and NYT emails at 4 AM.

Which Android Version you are running? Starting with 4.1 (Jelly Bean) this should be generally possible.

4.0.4. I'm in the US, so I won't be able to update to Jelly Bean until October (or so I've read). Any ideas until then?

Not so far, sorry (I'm still on 2.3.x). But others might have, so don't give up hope ;) Now that your Android version is also clear, people may turn up with solutions which work for you (instead of those only applying to JB).

Have you tried disabling them in the respective application's settings?

The S3 has something called Blocking Mode which allows you to selectively disable notifications, ringtones etc for certain times of the day. You can never control when emails are going to arrive.

To turn off notifications for Google+, open the Google+ app,
press Menu->Settings->[Your account name]->Notifications, then press the ON/OFF
toggle in the top right. In recent versions, notification settings are per-account.
To turn off notifications for Gmail/Google Apps Mail, open the
Gmail app, press Menu->Settings, select the account you wish to disable notifications for, uncheck the checkbox that says: Email notifications
To turn off notifications for Google Talk, open the
Google Talk app, press Menu->Settings, select the account you wish to disable notifications for, press IM notifications and select off, and the same for Video chat notifications
To turn off notifications for Google Voice, open the
Google Voice app, press Menu->Settings->Sync and notifications, and uncheck the boxes for text and voicemail notifications.

NOTE: This is based on Android 4.0+, some of these apps (especially Google Talk) may function differently on pre-ICS.

Actually, on Jelly Bean (4.1.1), it's Gmail > Settings > **username@gmail.com** > Notifications.

If you are on Jelly Bean and rooted you can use an app I built to manage notifications for all applications from a single place.
Notifications Off allows you to turn off notifications for all applications. It can also automatically disable notifications for new apps as soon as they are installed.
The next version will have support for profiles, tasker integration and a widget for switching profiles.

Just upgraded to 4.3 and for me this setting was in the "Hangouts" app.

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts. Could you describe where exactly you found this setting?

On my S3 I went to menu; settings; application manager; then scrolled down to Google+ and tap to open; then uncheck send notifications.

On android kitkat: long click on the hangout app (for instance) and drag it to app info. Uncheck "show notification". Do it for each google app.
(You could also turn it off it you don't use it. To enable the app again: go to home, press menu (bottom)/ select manage app /go to tab: turn off )

Launch the Google Play store app and hit menu then settings..
Then go to Google Admob ads and uncheck.

I have just laughed.. :)


text:
Resetting Galaxy S 3 to factory default ICS
I am a new Android user, and recently I have upgraded the default ROM of Samsung Galaxy S 3 to Jelly Bean MIUI ROM using the steps mentioned at the International Business Times.
Now I want to revert it back to default ROM but I am unable to do so.
Although the blog says

If you want to return to your previous ROM for some reason, boot into
  recovery (using the procedure explained in step 3), choose backup and
  restore, then restore your previous ROM by selecting it from the list.

But I didn't find anything within the list.
I tried wipe data / factory reset but still not getting the default ROM.
What do I need to do to get back the default firmware?

Did you do the NANDroid Backup, as step 4 of that guide suggested? If so, did it complete successfully? It might have failed e.g. if there was not enough space left on your sdcard. BTW: A factory-reset will never revert to the previous ROM -- it just cleans up all user data, caches, etc.

Yes, I did so and there was about 7 gb of space left within my internal memory. I didn't noticed whether it was successful or not(may be you are right), and after that i did the factory reset, which i believe must have deleted the back-up

Nope, factory reset doesn't delete anything on the card. Your backups should be saved there in the clockworkmod/backup/ directory. I had it once with not enough space left on the card and got no warning (although I saw it when checking those 0 byte files before I continued to the next step ;), hence that question. 7G should be more than enough, usually. My backups never exceeded 1GB. But you already found the only alternative (+1 from me) -- still you might want to look for those files, for the next time to know ;)

I found a workaround, Downloaded a firmware from http://www.sammobile.com/firmware/ and updated my galaxy s3 with that using odin. Upon first reboot my phone hangs showing only boot screen with samsung logo for about 2 hours, then I restarted phone in clockworkmod recovery did a wipe data / factory reset and then restarted the phone again, I got the default firmware back. Then connected the phone to pc using kies and upgraded the firmware.


text:
Load only small subset of messages
I have thousands upon thousands of text/picture messages on my Samsung Galaxy S 2, ice cream sandwich. When I go to open a conversation, the phone stops for a good 30 seconds, even after a fresh reboot. I don't want to delete my messages, but I'm sure if I could somehow limit it to, say, the last 100 messages by default, it would load much quicker. Again, I don't want to delete them, and I still need access to most of the messages, but only on demand

Are you using the stock SMS app? If so, have you considered using alternatives like Handcent or GoSMS and seeing if their performance differs from the stock app?

@Sparx I did not know that there existed alternatives... Do they completely take over the system? Or do I need to restart all the conversations?

Try them out one at a time. Ideally go to the settings of the stock app and disable notifications there to avoid duplicate notifications. Handcent / GoSMS will handle notifications, popups and custom tones far better than the default app.

@Sparx I will try out Handcent (good reviews), but GoSMS has lots of people hating on it

Both apps have cycles - at times, Handcent works better and at other times it's Go. Both have different features too, so try them out at your leisure.

Hand cent is doing the job quite well. Make an answer and I'll mark it

Try using an alternative to the stock SMS app like Handcent SMS. A cautionary note - turn off the auto delete option (the option to auto delete messages older than X days).
An additional note - since your SMS store seems quite precious to you, I'd also recommend SMS Backup & Restore. It can backup your SMS at scheduled intervals and also email /  upload them to Dropbox if need be.


text:
Rotate 180 degrees screen in HTC Desire HD with ICS from Blackout team
I just installed ICS in my HTC Desire HD (thanks Blackout Team) in this thread
HTC Desire has the charging plug in the bottom, and a coworker was so nice to make me a stand for the phone. PRoblem is I cant charge it while standing.
IS there a way so that I can rotate 180 degrees upside down everything in my screen?

Go to settings > display > rotation. In there you might have the option to enable 180 degrees. This works for me using CM9 so hopefully it works for you.

I dont have this option. I guess it's a CM9-only option

That's a pity. Maybe if you changed launcher it might work. I think CM9 uses Trebuchet launcher so if you installed that it might give you the option.


text:
Does the sd-ext partition get wiped out after flashing a different ROM?
I have a Samsung Galaxy Ace using its official CyanogenMod build. I wanted to try this MIUI ROM for a change:
http://forums.miui.us/showthread.php?22816-ROM-MIUI-us-2-8-3-for-galaxy-ace
Everything went fine, except that it doesn't see the 1GB sd-ext partition now. I don't know if it's just unmounted because my sdcard partition size stayed the same. Does the process really do that?
I'll check the recovery menu once I'm done backing up my sd card. But if you have any ideas, please do share them. Thank you.
Edit: Nothing in the recovery menu helped. I'm now about to re-create the sd-ext partition.

The partition should not have been touched, AFAIK (it is the one on SD for App2SD+, correct?). Maybe your new ROM doesn't recognize/support its file system? On my good-old HTC Buzz, CM7 also did not recognize it, though it's still there...

I think your build f MIUI doesnt have the code for mounting the SD-ext partition on boot.
To check this, open the init.d folder in your new ROM and see if it has any file relating to Sd-ext.
This link has a init.d script for mounting the SD-ext partition link

Get MiniTool Partition Wizard Home Edition which once installed in your computer, will be show all partitions on your SD card and maybe able to to restore old partitions, if you haven't wiped your SD card yet.
Mini wizard is for your computer and get a external card reader and insert the SD card or connect your phone in USB mass storage mode to see the partitions.

A link would be nice

Check the storage capacity of your mounted sdcard. If it is 1 Gb less than the capacity, it means the other partition is still present but not mounted as Izzy commented.
You can Mount the partition as Aftab Khan suggested.


text:
How Android VNC server receiving key/mouse events from VNC clients
How does the Android VNC Server receive key/mouse events from VNC clients? Can any one explain that to me? I am curious to understand.

VNC uses simple protocol, called RFB, you can read more here:
http://www.realvnc.com/docs/rfbproto.pdf
Basically, it's a simple client/server based network protocol, server listens for clients to connect, once a client is connected, clients send mouse/keyboard information to the server using packets. The server parses the messages, and inject key/mouse to the local system.
We released a new VNC Server, VMLite VNC Server, first vnc server working on any android devices:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vmlite.vncserver&hl=en


text:
Pause Android LogCat output
How can I get a wider LogCat output than the one from the terminal window? I also want to be able to pause the output so I can actually read something.
My OS is Windows 7 X64.

Windows
Its easier, what you can do is this, from the cmd window, adb logcat > my_logcat.txt and just let it run, now, you can pause, resume the scrolling, in that cmd window, same keystrokes for Linux terminal, IIRC, now launch an editor and open the file 'my_logcat.txt' and there the results will show, had there not being a pause/resume in the cmd window, the file will get updated, such as using 'notepad2', 'Notepad++' or similar, the in-built Windows's version of Notepad would do very little justice.
Linux
From a Linux terminal under a GUI such as KDE/Gnome, using the two utilities combined, found on most distributions, multitail, which is like a tail unix utility, only more powerful!
adb logcat # want to see the logcat on the screen

Using Ctrl+S to suspend, then Ctrl+Q to resume the display, and simply mouse scroll the terminal to back-track seeing the logcat output.
The other way is this...
adb logcat > my_logcat.txt 2>&1 &
multitail my_logcat.txt

The first line above creates a background process by using the & at the end of the command, redirecting any errors to /dev/null hence 2>&1.
As the process is forked into the background, using multitail can perform, scroll-back on the logcat.

I forgot the > in the instruction below lol. Thank you for the detailed solution for both linux and windows ;) +1

If you are using LogCat viewer in Eclipse you can click the "Scroll Lock" button to prevent it from automatically scrolling down.

It is the icon on the top right in the screenshot above.

I don't know what logcat does so I can only guess you should use it the same way you do with any other command that spews out text.
Redirect the output to a file you can read in an editor or view with less
$>logcat [<option>] [<filter-spec>] > /path/to/a/file-to-open-in-an-editor

Well, I can't get this working. For some reason everything on my C drive, including the desktop, is read-only for the terminal window... see: http://piclair.com/data/2to2f.jpg
Isn't there a simple application that monitors logcat output and has the ability to pauze the output? That would make things a lot easier


text:
How to transfer files between Galaxy S3 and HTC one x using NFC
As I have mentioned in the question, I want to transfer files (pics) from samsung galaxy S3 to HTC one x via NFC. I have switched on android beam on both the devices. When I bring the phones close, I am getting the "touch to beam" message on S3. When I touch it, I am getting a message that S beam is switched off, please switch it on. But I dont want Sbeam (as one x doesnt have it), instead I want the transfer to happen via Android beam.

Have you tried installing another NFC transfer app?  Also, have you tried just using Sbeam?

@MBraedley No /i havent tried other apps because I didnt want to install the apps on both the phones. Also Sbeam between two S3s is working fine, but since one x doesnt support Sbeam, I didnt try that

As far as I know, you can't transfer files over Android beam, just URLs/locations etc. This is because Android Beam doesn't use Bluetooth or WiFi Direct in addition to the NFC transfer, which means that an average photo would take 30+ seconds to beam. In Android 4.1+ (Jelly Bean) you can transfer files with NFC+BT, and S Beam uses NFC+WiFi Direct.

so NFC + BT is not there in ICS ?

No, it was a new feature added in JB (source).

[anonymous comment] All you have to do is turn s beam off and leave NFC on. I just did it with picture and video from gs3 to my HTC onex

You can install the official 'HTC transfer Tool' from the Google Play store on your old S3 and new HTC One.  Pure simplicity :)

Please also add a play store link to the tool.


text:
Loss of Image quality when set as lock screen or home screen wallpaper
This is my original wallpaper:

After setting it as Lock Screen wallpaper, its quality got reduced and this is how it looks:

Even when set as homescreen, the image quality is reduced.

How to improve the quality of the lock screen/home screen wallpaper?

Nice pic -- and you are right, the original looks far better.

That simply appears to be the "effect" of the lockscreen (dimming and blurring the background?). Have you tried a lock screen app replacement such as WidgetLocker?

@BryanDenny no its not the effect. Check the edit for the homescreen wallpaper. Its quality also is reduced.

I have found the solution. The original image size was huge (about 2600 pixels wide). So I used Photoshop and transformed this image to 960 x 480. Now the image looks the same way when set as lock screen or home screen wallpaper like below:


text:
App site with reliable ratings + comments?
While Android Enthusiasts is nice, it's still a very small site.
I need to find some applications for Android smartphones, and was wondering where people went for ratings + reliable comments from users? PlayStore? Other?
Incidently, I need to find two applications for a friend who wants to study English and Chinese, but don't know where to go to find the best apps for this.
Thank you.

Android Enthusiasts is per FAQ no App rating and  suggesting site.

We'll reliable is somewhat subjective. But I can recommend App Brain (Play Store App) and App Aware (Play Store App).
App Brain provides some additional features compared to the Play Store and App Aware allows you to follow app streams based on a topic (games, sw development, etc.). Both try to suggest you apps based on the apps that you have installed. And both are not a new app market, they just redirect you to the Play Store if you want to install a app.

Thanks for the links. I'll see if I can sort through the hundreds of thousand's of applications to find the applications I need.

Both these apps seem to rely on "crowdsourcing."  Is there a source of reliable editorial reviews?


text:
clockwork recovery not working
I cannot use the "recover" tool. I have the same issue as this post: Why isn't Clockworkmod Recovery "Sticking"? but I am unable to rename the file described as it is not shown in the directory. I think this may be because I do not have root access. What should/can I do next to get on with installing a new custom OS?

What kind of phone? What version of Android?


text:
Cannot copy files in recovery mode which made Google nexus S unusable
I have a Google Nexus S, bought last year and it was working fine till last week. It came with Android Ginger Bread, and I rooted the phone and installed several custom ROMs including Cyanogenmod. Recently I installed Android Jelly bean ROM, and it was working fine.
Last week, I wanted to try the Cyanogedmod 10 (on Jelly bean). I went to recovery mode for taking a backup. But I saw a recent backup which was taken before 2 months. I thought that should be fine. I cleared all cache and did a factory reset for getting ready for the new ROM.
Now something went wrong!
I tried to reboot the device, but I could only see the usual animated CROSS logo( with four colours) for ever. I even left the phone for more than a hour. But it is not rebooting. //SO CAN'T RELOAD THE PREVIOUSLY WORKING OS
I tried restoring from the previous backup.. It shows that "installation complete".
After that while rebooting the device just hangs in the same place. //SO CAN'T RESTORE FROM MY PREVIOUS BACKUP
I thought of copying the new rom in the device. I could not succeed. I tried adb command through my SDK.
ADB is not listing my device. In all the forums it is mentioned that to enable the USB debugging from the phone.
I cannot do this, because I cannot go into the device OS other than recovery mode.
I even tried some GUI stuff like Android commander / QtADB but every thing needs USB Enable from the OS Menu.
Finally I tried mounting disk from recovery mode.
Whenever I mount the disk, Windows 7 is fixing the file system errors and bad sectors for a while and shows "no problems were found" and it is ready to use. Here something weird happens. I can copy the files in windows explorer and can see the files in the device thru explorer,
BUT when I unmount and browse from the recovery mode the files are not there. (may be the files are copied in cache) //SO I CAN'T COPY ANY FILE TO THE DEVICE.. ( May be here I am doing something silly. )
My phone is now unusable!
Any advice/tips is highly appreciated!
Cheers Kum

Prerequesites:

unlocked phone ('fastboot oem unlock' command)
installed Android SDK with accessible adb and fastboot executables (both are part of the SDK)
Cyanogenmod 7/9 or 10 image from get.cm (or whatever ROM you want)
Nexus S CWM recovery image from clockworkmod.com

Steps:

Flash the CWM recovery image:
Switch off your Nexus S, press volume up & power to enter fastboot mode
Command to flash: fastboot flash recovery recovery-clockwork-6.0.1.0-crespo.img
Boot to recovery (e.g. via fastboot boot recovery-clockwork-6.0.1.0-crespo.img)
Enter a shell into the running CWM: adb shell, from there mount a tmpfs file system (used just for the update): mount -t tmpfs none /sdcard (This circumvents the sdcard completely, you don't need to format anything)
Push the ROM image to the tmpfs (adb push cm-10-20120827-NIGHTLY-crespo.zip /sdcard/)
Install this via CWM (the regular way)
Follow the remaining usual steps (GApps, wipe, etc.)

Hi @ce4
Thank you for the quick response.
All prerequisites are ready and in place.
As per Step 1, I entered in to fastboot mode
(with Lock State - UNLOCKED which is fine..)
The command
fastboot flash recovery recovery-clockwork-6.0.1.0-crespo.img
shows
< waiting for device >
adb devices didn't show any device.
I selected recovery from fastboot mode,
List of devices attached    3530CF39E0F800EC        recovery
Still it is waiting for device.
Am I doing any thing wrong here?
Thanks in advance
Kumaran

Finally I bypassed Step 1 and 2 and tried Step 3
I was happy during this step, because the pushed file was visible
in the recovery mode.
Then I installed it and rebooted..
Now it is hanging with Google logo and unlock image.
(Previous to the Colourful CROSS image)

Bypassing step1+2 will not work, the incl. recovery doesn't allow flashing I think. fastboot and adb need access rights to the phone via USB (start either as root or add some udev rules). You then can flash the CWM recovery image. You should see something like this). This post shows the output of both unlock and flash commands (for the Nexus 7 here). Just ask again if you need more help and please share your findings once you're done :-)

Hi @ce4
Initially I tried in Windows 7.
Today I used Ubuntu for ensuring root access.
Then I followed these steps and installed the zip and wiped dalvik, cache etc. One thing I did was, I reinstalled the same zip again..(because wasn't sure about the order of wipe and install) and rebooted. This stage I was very happy..
But again it strucks in the same place..
Any advice?

Any progress since your last status report? We'd better meet in chat maybe...

Hi @ce4.. No progress after that, I tried several ways but still it is in bricked state. I would definitely like to chat. Let me know your convenient time.

argh, forgot the 20 rep limit you need for chat. Can you state which step you are in? And what failed?

Hi @ce4 Still my mobile is in bricked mode. Is there any chance, I can chat with you to get help from you. I am reachable in kumaranmasilamanigmailcom