text:
How to see what is stored in System memory area?
I have a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7" tablet (Android 4.1.2, not rooted).  I tried to install a big app recently and it failed because it said that I didn't have enough space.
When I go into Settings > Storage, this is what I see:
8GB - Total Space
2.83GB - Apps
199MB - Pictures, videos
116KB - Audio
18.69MB - Downloads
3.47GB - Miscellaneous files
1.14GB - Available space
The 3.47GB for Miscellaneous files seems really odd to me.  When I select the "Miscellaneous files" item, it says that most of the space (3.33GB) is being used for "System Memory" and the rest contains a number of small files.
I have tried restarting it, cleaning out cache of various apps, and a lot of poking around with a file manager.  I have also moved as many apps to SD Card as possible, but most of my apps don't support that function.
I just can't understand what is taking up almost half the available storage space.  Is this normal operating system stuff that can't be cleaned up?  Is there a way to see what is contained within and clean some of that space up?  If there is one particular app that is taking up a ton of "System Memory" space, then I might be willing to remove it.  Note that I have looked at the applications through Application manager, sorted by size, and the largest app is only using 323MB of app space.

Your list misses some important information. The sum of used space is not that helpful in the first case; it's rather the fact which is where, and how much space is available where. That overview has segments for e.g. internal storage and sdcard. If you look at the insufficient-memory tag-wiki, you will find the all-important question is: How much free space is left on internal storage. Maybe you could [edit] your question and include a screenshot?

Try tapping on where it says "Miscellaneous files".  On my Galaxy S3, that brings up a list of what files it means.  In general, it's anything you have on the internal "SD card" that isn't audio files, pictures, videos, or in the downloads folder.

usually the os doesn't use a lot of memory, I suggest to use https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=fm.clean Clean File Manager to explore your files, it works really good in these cases.

How disk space is used on Android device?

Just get X-plore mate ;D. I have been usign it since 2006. It is available on multiple platforms.

You can see system folders.
You can see hidden files and folders.
Which you can delete/copy/move (be careful when you do that)
You can open many archived files as well.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lonelycatgames.Xplore

You can use an application called DiskUsage. It displays your files and folders in a tree view with their respective size. It requires root only for the /data folder.
It has often helped me to track biggest files on my sdcard and useless pre-installed apk. :)

That might include system log files, which can be cleaned up without doing harm:

Go to your Phone Dialer
Dial *#9900#, this will open SysDump
Press "Delete dumpstate/logcat"
re-check your storage to investigate the changes

This doesn't sound like it answers the question, and if it does it fails to explain how it applies to what the asker wanted to know.

Maybe the phrasing is a bit unlucky... Let me try to improve that.

Hmmm. This may clear 100, maybe 200mb at most. It certainly works like that on mine

Ah, a fellow tab 2 user. It's been a while.
"System memory" is, well, you /system partition and a few others. These contain files like your recovery and download modes, system UI, and literally anything that means your device can do something other than being a snow-covered/not snow-covered roof tile.  You can't really play look-see until you root, but for now, just keep in mind that almost half your storage may be used up before your first boot, but it is meant to be like it.
Oh, and root your device + throw on a custom ROM. It'll free up a LOT in the system (I switched to a SlimROM, re-partitioned, and now have 6GB of internal to play with.


text:
Insufficient Storage Available During Update
Preface (TL;DR)
I know the issue of insufficient space has been discussed in various contexts but I have not found anything that specifically addresses the circumstances and issues that I am facing, so I am hoping to get some feedback that would help me better understand what is going on.
I have an HTC EVO 4g from Sprint running Android 2.3.5 (Gingerbread) which has been unlocked using the Dev patch provided by HTC. Although it is rooted and I can apply a custom ROM to it, I have not done so yet for several reasons I won't get into but my issue should be independent of that. This phone is by far (in my humble opinion) one of the best and most stable piece of hardware that HTC has produced to date and I couldn't be happier with the phone, hence why I have not upgraded to a newer device. I know the older OS is a turn off to many and I agree that I wish I was running a higher version but most of them don't honor the latest drivers available which means you lose 4G functionality among other things. So I have stuck with it for now until such time as an updated drivers are released (doubtful but one can hope).
I have an 8 GB SD card (7.39 GB usable) and 4.05 GB free - since I move anything that has the option to run off the SD card to external storage. I have 500 MB internal storage (427 MB usable) and a little over 60 MB free. I have never had issues updating anything since the space present has always been enough to install or update before moving stuff to free more space.
The problem
Recently when updating apps it often gives me the insufficient storage available message – but it makes no sense to me.
Storage facts:

external SD with 8 GB (4 GB free)
internal storage with 500 MB (60 MB free)
example problematic app: apk size ~6 MB / installed size 11.46 MB

Detailed problem (again: TL;DR)
Specifically the app that is giving the problem recently is Lookout Security & Antivirus which has never been an issue and is only 6 MB and change but it will download it and when attempting to install pops that error. I don't get how a 6 MB file that has never had issue updating on less than 40 MB space is now giving me problems with over 60 MB free? The baffling part is that occasionally it WILL actually update just fine without issue and I have checked my cache and stuff, nothing there, no other apps running that would hog space or anything, so what's wrong? How can I mitigate this? Another bizarre thing that started to happen is that internal apps like Facebook which are bloated on there whether I like it or not and I use rarely are giving me problems too by issuing the invalid page file error. I mean what?
So what's going on here? What is wrong or what can I do to make it right so it stops being stupid like this? As I said, NEVER had a single issue with this phone, EVER, but in the past month it has driven me absolutely NUTS. I have even uninstalled applications that don't provide the move to SD option to free up nominal space and it stabilizes for like 2 days and then bam, back to square one even though it has more space now. I am at my wits end and I would appreciate the help; especially not being a novice this is even more mind boggling to me.
UPDATE: 10/26/13 @7:45 AM
The application updated normally without giving the error and it did so while the internal storage had only 43 MB (as opposed to the 60 MB when it failed numerously). This lends itself to even more confusion as to what is going on. The ONLY thing that was done in the meantime was that I rebooted the phone (actually more like I was low on power, shut it down and when I connected it to the charger, turned it on)

Please don't get me wrong: But if you'd skip the first 3 paragraphs (except for the last sentence in #3), plus most of the last one, more people would manage to read your question completely and understand what you're asking (too much to read, sorry). Meanwhile: I've added the insufficient-memory tag to your question; you might wish to consult its tag-wiki for first-aid. After that, please [edit] your question, keep out what's not needed, and add what you've tried.

@Izzy I appreciate that and I thought about putting that tag but thought it might be too much but grateful that you updated it. As for the length, I wanted to be thorough and debated if it was too long with myself but wasn't sure what to leave out and what to keep in for perspective, so if you could do an edit to remove what you think is unnecessary and wouldn't lose the overall meaning, I would appreciate it. I will review it after that and see where I might have gone too much. Thanks.

OK, done. Instead of "kicking stuff out" I've used re-formatting, so one can start at the core, and optionally read the other things when closer explanations are required. I also stripped two tags: First, I doubt it is device-specific (so I kicked the evo tag), and second the insufficient-memory problem always refers to internal storage, so that second tag was made obsolete. // One more thing to check for you: Installed size of the app (w/o data; please add), as that might be temporarily needed while installing in addition to the .apk size.

@Izzy, thank you, I appreciate it. Updating the requested data now. The only reason I put the EVO tag so in case it was device/vendor specific and to be thorough, if you don't thinks its necessary the its fine with me :)

Still missing the size of the installed app: if you go to Settings → Apps, switch to the All tab, scroll to your app, open its entry – what size is shown there for "app"?

@Izzy, I did, its in the 3rd bullet point, 11.46 MB

Oops... must have missed that, sorry. OK, raw calculation: Updating that app might temporarily need ~20 MB then – which should leave ~40 MB free space untouched. "insufficient memory" event usually triggers when falling below ~25 MB; so even if the app doubled size, that wouldn't explain the issue. If you can, have adb logcat running while attempting an update, and then check the logs for a clue.

@Izzy, no problem. Yeah exactly, that's why I am so confused the system is reporting that there is 113 MB raw, but the usage manager shows 62 MB, ok fine we'll go with the lower number even if it doubles during the install as you said, it shouldn't dip low enough to be an issue. So anyway, I will run adb next time I get a notice I have an update, so I can watch this puppy work and will share back what I find. They have been rapid updating lately, so let's hope they do it again soon, if not it might be a slight bit. Thanks for the help though, maybe we can crack this buster.

@Izzy, got the logcat and its HUGE and very busy, anything and everything is in there and is hurting my head reading through it and I used to reading raw linux server logs. Do you know of any good "log viewer" that can load the file in a more meaningful way with ability to filter for what we are looking for?

Not really. But a Google search on "adb logcat filter" yields interesting results right on the first page, you might give those a try.

@Izzy, yeah I saw those already but not really helpful since I am not developing the log capture, just want to dump and view them using adb. I know we can use adb logcat "TAGNAME" to get specific results but don't know what the tag would be for an application update, would it be the google play, the app itself, how would one come up with that, ideas? The Android documentation is as clear as mud on this.

This topic has moved here, let's keep it there. It's already hard enough following up on this one ;)

Same kind of a situation happened to my SAMSUNG GALAXY S2 and I could solve it by following these steps:

Open the phone app and switch to keypad.
Dial *#9900#
On the screen that appears, click on the button labeled "Delete dumpstate/logcat".

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Is there a way to sort apps by popularity (number of 'downloads') in the Google Play Store, or otherwise?
Google's Play Store does not sort its 'Top' apps by number of downloads. This prevents you from discovering the true order of which apps people are downloading the most, making you often not know about useful apps whose numbers of downloads speak for themselves - yet are not promoted in the 'Top' lists on the Play Store.
It's as if Google is deliberately not allowing us to see which apps are actually used the most by people.
Is there some way I'm not noticing, nifty trick, or external site - whether on Android or the Desktop - to see rankings of Android apps by sheer download numbers?

Google only shows numbers as ranges, no raw numbers. Even so, I don't see how precise numbers would be useful. Not all apps have been in the Play Store for the same length of time. Further, downloads != people using the app; I'm sure there are plenty of overhyped apps that a lot of people downloaded and soon thereafter uninstalled.

@Al Everett even if it ranked apps by range (and I bet it would still rank apps in order of exact downloaded count - Google obviously having this data for each app), it would be a huge help. It would STILL show apps in general order of download popularity, instead of having apps with only 1,000,000 dls artificially promoted in with other 100,000,000 apps and then having a jumble of 10,000,000 apps in between.

Play market search results in browser show number of reviews

There's not, and there are several reasons why this list would be bad for Android users:-

Every new app starts at zero downloads. Focusing on the number of downloads alone would keep old apps at the top of the list, even if they've stopped being updated, while making it much harder for new apps to take off. Even among apps that are all as popular as each other, the older one would always be higher in the list.
If a million people downloaded an app but uninstalled it right away, that means it's less likely to be good, not more likely. Using only number of downloads would give you the wrong information.
Free apps get more downloads than paid apps, because there's less risk: if it doesn't do what you want, or it doesn't work, or you just don't like it, you can uninstall it again. There's already a widespread feeling in the industry that only free apps can survive in the market, for this reason. This is what's led to the growth of apps with ads (and no option to pay to remove them), and microtransaction-based games. Making a list based on only downloads would further depress the sales of paid apps, driving the industry towards making more microtransaction-based games and apps.
Google Play already has a big problem with fake downloads, ratings, and reviews. Unscrupulous developers pay (say) $1 a time for a download with a five-star rating. The download might be performed by a user in an affiliate scheme (so he gets paid, or some other reward, for downloading the app) or using devices with malware. It's an arms race between Google finding these scams, and the unscrupulous agencies performing them. The fact that Google keeps the exact method it uses to decide which apps to show secret is its main tool in making the system hard-to-game. Having a list based on downloads alone would make fake-downloads more effective, which in turn makes the list even less useful, and would increase the value to hackers of compromised Android devices and Google accounts.

It seems you've already realised a little about these differences: in one part of your question, you ask about "number of downloads", then about "which apps people are downloading the most" (i.e. recently, not total number of downloads ever), and then later you want to know "which apps are actually used the most". These are all different quantities.
To come up with the right answer to all your questions, you need a number that's based on the number of downloads over time, weighted to take more recent popularity into account more, along with the "bounce rate" (how many users uninstall the app right away or after a single use), and users' ratings, also considering the statistical difference between free and paid apps. On top of this, it needs to discourage people gaming the system by not giving too much weight to any one parameter.
This is exactly what Google Play already does.

Ok, good to know about all those 'SEO'-like problems of black hat promotion etc. - but the problem is, time and time again I've discovered (from sources other than the App Store top list) VERY popular and WELL-LOVED apps, (often free, a prime more recent example being QuickPic) - wait, I already said all this in my reply to wbogacz's answer!.....duh.....so as you can see, while this is still happening, Google DOES need to fix things in their algorithm - for people to miss genuinely 'Top' apps like that, proves that their system is by no means perfectly effective or unbroken...

I'm not saying that Google's rankings are the best they could ever be, and I'm sure they'll keep working on improving them. I'm only saying that the list you're asking for would be worse than what you already have.

This answer cheats a little, by suggesting a competitor site for downloads. I use Appbrain AppMarket, because its recommendations are broader, and collected over a variety of dimensions - Hot Today, Hot This Week, All-Time Popular, Highest Rated, Latest, Popular by Country, Demographics (Men, Women, Age  (young, 20s, 30s, and older)). This is more data than Google's Play Store carries or reports.

The problem is this: I didn't discover the amazing QuickPic photo gallery app (vastly superior to Android's stock Gallery app), until I found it via googling/word of mouth means. It has over 10M downloads yet is NOWHERE to be seen in the top apps yet certain 1M apps are. This is madness and why I'm trying to find a MUCH better indicator of what apps are actually the best and popular and used by everyone, instead of what Google decides to (probably) earn money from promoting, etc. (I appreciate having rating & other factors taken into account for 'Top' apps, but we need a 'most used' too.)

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


text:
Samsung Galaxy S3 4G notification center NFC button doesn't work
UPDATE: This was fixed in the 4.3 update that came out for my phone lately. No need to think about it anymore, also I can't give any further details.
I have a quite new Samsung Galaxy S3 4G (GT-I9305). It is running an unmodified & unrooted version of Android 4.1.2. It works mostly perfectly fine, but there is a slight problem with NFC.
I have edited the buttons visible in the notification center. I have added the NFC switch to the buttons. My problem is, the button is not working. It is disabled, and has no green/gray indicator.

However, when I tap the S Beam button S Beam and NFC get enabled.

After this, if I tap NFC with S Beam either enabled or disabled, System UI crashes. When the UI reappears the buttons are as before tapping NFC, but now I can successfully turn off NFC, and also turn it on and off again. Restarting the phone brings the problem back again.
Another way to get NFC turned on while the button is disabled is to go to Settings > More Settings and turn NFC on. This also turns NFC on in the notification center, but again, trying to turn it off causes System UI to crash.
What could be causing this behavior?

Have you tried a factory reset?

@ScottOdle Not yet, as I'd like to keep my data.

It's probably your best bet to back up your data and do a factory reset.

@ScottOdle Thanks. I will however probably not reset it because the problem is not worth the effort. My question here was what might be causing this, if anyone happened to know.

What happens if you change the button order?

@LiamW Tried it, no effect.

@Pietu1998 does the device have NFC support? I have a strong feeling it's an issue with the actual device ROM.

Yes, it does. I have used an actual NFC sticker with my S3 while this issue has been ongoing.

S Beam is an app for NFC, could that be why?

@TheDoorkeeper S Beam uses NFC and Wi-Fi Direct, so it turns NFC on. This doesn't explain why the NFC button is broken. Also, I am looking forward for the upcoming 4.3 update, maybe it'll fix it.

@Pietu1998 If updating solved the problem, please write that as an answer and then accept it, so other visitors can see your question is answer.

This was fixed in the 4.3 update that came out for my phone lately. All done.


text:
Backup app data and restore across ROMs
I always use Titanium Backup to backup my apps' data.
However, last time I tried switching to a different ROM, it didn't
work very well.
I let the apps be installed automatically by android, and then tried
restoring their data with TB (user apps only, no system apps), but
this caused most of my apps to always force-close when launched.
I was forced to switch back to the previous ROM to be able to get my
data back.
So I ask: is there an app (other than TB) that's more stable when it
comes to restoring data backed up in a different ROM?
Again, I'm talking about user apps, I know it's unstable to restore
system apps and I don't need that.

Restoring across different ROMs, have you considered the "troubleshooting options" of TB, and e.g. enabled its migration mode, or have it using the system's own SQLite libs instead of TiBus? All those things are especially for cases as described with your question. So making use of those might end your search for an alternative; they've always worked for me – migrating from my HTC Wildfire via Motorola Milestone 2 to finally LG Optimus 4X.
If you insist on alternatives, however, I'd suggest you take a look at the backup tag-wiki, where you find many of them described. With Android 4+, you could e.g. make use of adb backup (or use Helium Backup on your device, which does the same locally). Again: This and more is described in the mentioned tag-wiki.

I did try out options such as data migration and follow symlinks, but none helped. I hadn't tried using th e system's sqlite libs, hopefully that'll help.

That SQLite setting did the trick for me at least once, so it's definitly worth trying.


text:
Want to change boot screen(with Samsung logo) appears before android animation in Samsung galaxy tab
I am an beginner to android, but now i want to replace boot images like Samsung galaxy logo which appears during boot time in my Samsung Galaxy Tab. I have used many file managers like root explorer but then also couldn't find the exactly location of this boot screen(splash screen).
Even i have change boot animation by my created bootanimation.zip .But now please some one tell me that how to change this splash screen which comes before boot animation for just 2 seconds.
Every help will be appreciated.

Did you check the other questions tagged with [tag:boot-animation]? Your question might already be answered.

Dear Al Everett, i have checked everything, but i am not talking about the boot animation, i have done it, But i am talking about simply two images comes before this animation(one is of Samsung Galaxy, and second is of operating system distributor Cyanogenmod)


text:
Why are Nexus devices often described as perfect for developers?
I often find statements on Android forums like, "Nexus devices are perfect for developers." or "A Nexus device is almost impossible to actually 'brick'" (Is this actually true?). What is it that makes the Nexus devices so special? Is it because they have the stock Android, and so tinkering with Android in its purest form is possible?
It's just that I own a Nexus 4, and I don't even know why developers love it this much!

There are several factors.

No carrier or manufacturer bloatware. If you want to test apps or OS changes and be sure you're not hitting some device-specific bug, a Nexus device makes it less likely that will happen.
They all use the same tool for flashing ROMs: fastboot. Not all third-party devices use it, and having to learn a new set of commands for every device you have is quite annoying.
Easy to unlock bootloader. Many third-party devices don't give you a means to unlock the bootloader (in order to flash your own ROM) without tricksy hacks. Sometimes the manufacturer does this; sometimes the carrier adds it to avoid you getting around their restrictions on tethering or something else. On Nexus devices, it's as easy as fastboot unlock-bootloader.
You can compile your own ROM for a Nexus device from the AOSP sources. If you want to hack on Android itself, or if you simply want a userdebug build in order to allow more debugging options for apps, it's as simple as downloading and compiling the source. Third-party ROMs don't usually have source available, so to build a custom ROM, you have to reverse-engineer the ROM and/or port AOSP to the device yourself (or wait for other modders to do it). This is why the T-shirts worn by engineers on Google's Nexus programme describe it as "pre-hacked Android".
Google puts a lot of work into keeping the logs (the ones you get from logcat) clean, to make development easier. They block code changes that add too much noise to the log, so that it stays useful for debugging. Other manufacturers aren't usually so careful: they don't see the log as something their customers will want, so they let it get noisier and noisier with driver debugging info nobody will want to look at. Clean logs make it much easier for app and OS developers to see and debug the behaviour of their code.
Nexus devices tend to get updates to new Android versions before third-party devices. If you're an app developer, and you want to make sure your app works with a new Android version as soon as possible, or you want to take advantage of new features and test on a real device (not an emulator), then you don't want to wait for a third-party manufacturer to get their finger out and port the new Android version to their hardware.

In addition to what Dan Hulme wrote, I'd like to add that nexus devices have stock firmware images for previous versions of Android, which can be easily installed. You can downgrade your Galaxy Nexus to ICS, or your Nexus S to Gingerbread. The Nexus 4 shipped with 4.2 but soon yours will have 4.4. You will be able to load older versions later on if that kind of testing is important to you.
I found this to be very valuable when testing with the Nexus S because it went from 2.3 to 4.1. You can even rely on cyanogenmod to extend the life of the phone as a test platform, if you trust that cyanogen is sufficiently close to stock for app compatibility purposes.


text:
Bookmark a page to be accessed on both mobile and desktop Chrome easily
It looks like that one bookmark instance can only exist on one of Chrome folders. Such that when I want to visit a site from both my phone and my laptop, I always have to change my bookmark folder back and forth depend on where I stored that bookmark page.
Can I bookmark a page and view it on both mobile folder and desktop folder?

Use slightly different URLs as bookmarks (e.g. add &dummy=1 at the end of one of them) so that they are "different bookmarks".

Yes, you can, but you have to synchronize Google Chrome with Google Account. You can change synchronization interval, etc., etc., in device settings (Accounts). How to force make bookmarks synchronization, you can read here.

I have syned my account on both Desktop and Mobile, but I think it is exactly the synchronization that caused the issue because one instance of bookmark can only exist in either mobile folder or desktop folder. If I bookmark this page on Chrome Desktop, then bookmark this page again on mobile bookmark. This page disappears from the Desktop bookmark.


text:
How to fix my droid phone that is just blank
I have the Samsung droid Charge (SCH-I510) and I tried to load bootloader to it and now the screen is just black.when I insert usb to it,the buttons at the bottom light up but the screen is just blank.I there anyway to connect the phone to a pc so I can flash it I don't care about the files on it.

You have to use ODIN to reflash your phone. Its the last resort I can say for your phone. I was too in same situation. I was having Sammy's Galaxy S which on rooting and upgrading went blank. I used ODIN and refalsh it with stock rom and made my phone alive. Give it a try. See the link here it might help. There might be some problem with your network after recovering.
See  Link. Its for Verizon. Kindly find your appropriate ROM and flash it. XDA forum is great resource for Andy users/developers

The only way that I personally know is to flash a custom recovery, and wipe your phone from there. If you can, follow this tutorial to install a custom recovery. Also, the tutorial doesn't mention it, but if you don't have windows, and have macOS or Linux, use JOdin. If you're using JOdin for macOS, install this driver before installing JOdin. If you need any help, feel free to comment on my answer, and I can help you .

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


text:
Re-install app without losing personal data
How do you re-install an app without losing personal data?
In this case its Plants vs. Zombies 2 that hangs when loading the game. I thought a re-install might solve the issue. But I don't want to need to redo everything I've done so far.

For the following procedure you'll need adb installed on your computer (if you're not already have that, see: Is there a minimal installation of ADB?). Alternatively, a terminal emulator app should do as well.
Android apps are managed by the "Package manager", which has a command-line interface called pm. So here's what you can do with it for your case:

# to use ADB, first get a command line
adb shell
# now tell the package manager to uninstall the app, but keep its data
pm uninstall -k com.YOUR_PACKAGE_NAME`

(Note this won't work with a terminal emulator app on device (at least with none I know of) except with root permissions, as "normal apps" lack the required privileges/permissions.)
Of course you have to replace com.YOUR_PACKAGE_NAME with the package name of the app you want to deal with. Easiest way to find that is visiting its page on Google Play, and take a look at the URL: the package name follows the id= parameter there. It's the -k parameter telling the package manager to keep the app's data.
Now, when you re-install the app, its data is already there (was not removed).
All this does not require root (at least as long as we talk about a user-installed app).

After one hour Iv'e managed to do what you wrote. It took some time as all about Android SDK was new to me. I managed to re-install the game, and the personal data seemed to be there. But unluckily the game would still not load. Only after I removed the personal data.

Yeah, I was afraid of that. It still could have been the Dalvik cache being messed up, but then an update/re-install (without uninstall before) should have cured that (so the app's own data being messed up was the logical conclusion). But it was worth a try. And having ADB running from your computer gives you a bunch of other options (see the adb tag-wiki for hints on that).

You must be root in order to uninstall an app.  To become root, you must either launch adb shell from a computer or else you must root your phone and use the su command.  If your phone is not rooted, a terminal emulator won't allow you to uninstall anything.

@unforgettableid have you tried it? On most of my devices, ADB doesn't run as root. Still, pm uninstall works for user apps (i.e. those you've installed yourself) – as my answer points out, quote: "as long as we talk about a user-installed app". Admitted, I didn't try with a terminal emulator but always use adb shell for things like that – so for that part you might be correct (I didn't verify), as ADB gets slightly elevated permissions. Terminal app would need the corresponding permission (INSTALL_PACKAGES) for that.

@Izzy: My mistake. I experimented further. adb shell indeed lacks root privileges. But it does get enough permissions to run pm uninstall -k. Still, my terminal emulator (jackpal.androidterm) does not have sufficient permissions to run pm uninstall -k: when I try it, pm gives me a "Permission denied" error. I did my testing in Android "Jelly Bean" 4.1.2.  I wonder if, on a newer OS version, App Ops could grant more permissions to my terminal emulator?

I doubt that, @unforgettableid – it's adbd which gets "elevated privileges" (which it e.g. requires for adb backup). Terminal is dealt with like a "normal app" – so unless it explicitly requests additional permissions, it won't get them.

Android hasn't got function which you described. If you have root access on your phone, you can make a copy of folder /data/data/com.xxx.xxx, reinstall app, and overwrite generated folder by your copy.

Android has this function, even built-in ;) See my answer. Works without root.

You can also just reinstall the APK file that already exists on the device. After an upgrade to Android 6 somehow default permissions like android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE were lost, that is where this trick comes handy to discover the APK and reinstall it:
adb shell
shell@hammerhead:/ $ pm path com.stackexchange.marvin
/data/app/com.stackexchange.marvin-2/base.apk
shell@hammerhead:/ $ pm install -r /data/app/com.stackexchange.marvin-2/base.apk
        pkg: /data/app/com.stackexchange.marvin-2/base.apk
Success

Alternatively if you would like to reinstall a bunch of packages (-3 for third-party packages only), you can parse the obtain the list of installed packages on the device and reinstall all of them with:
pm list packages -f -3 | cut -d: -f2 | cut -d= -f1 | while read apk; do pm install -r $apk; done

I will just add that now you must use cmd package list packages -f -3 and that in that cut -d= -f1 did not work for every package, as some paths include base64 padding (= characters), but was able to use regex in a text editor to process the list, and then use cat with the last part of your one-liner.


text:
Open YouTube links from Facebook Messenger app in the Youtube app
I am unable to play YouTube videos from the links I get on my Facebook Messenger app.
Here's what happens:

A friend of mine posts a video link to me (YouTube link) as a message on Facebook.
I receive it on my Android mobile in the Facebook Messenger app.
I click on it and it shows a dialog box (you can call that a pop-up) which asks me to choose an app to open the video with.

Now earlier, there used to be video player apps on my mobile along with the internet browsers installed on my mobile that used to come up there. So I would select an internet browser, and it, in turn, would re-direct me to the YouTube app itself.
However, now, I am only getting video players in that dialog box as an option to open the YouTube video, but of course, if I select them, they are not able to stream the video.
Has anyone found a way around this problem? It is really bothersome.

I don't quite understand what you mean by "I am only getting video-players in that Dialogue Box as an option to open the YouTube video". Do you mean the YouTube app and web browsers don't show up in the chooser, but some other video players do?

Yes, exactly ! Not some, all video players except YouTube and internet browsers show up ( I have MX Player and Samsung's default video player installed on my phone)

If it's not too sensitive, could you post a link that does this? I'd only expect other players to show up for a direct link to a video file, and I'd always expect YouTube to show up for a youtube.com/watch link.

All youtube links behave this without exception when sent through the Facebook Messenger app

@DanHulme, Here's a link which causes this problem. It's a standard YT link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jk9TW5U1_So

Go to the Settings on Facebook Messenger app on Android
Navigate to "Photos and Media"
Activate/turn on "Open links in default browser"

Have you tried this? Does it work?

Try going on to app settings and turn on "links open externally" fixed it for me.

Are you sure this works for Messenger? I don't see the option on Messenger itself, only on the main Facebook app.

That setting exists only in the Facebook app, not Messenger. It also has nothing to do with this type of behavior.

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


text:
How to stop Skype from starting automatically?
I close the Skype app in my Android phone (samsung s3 mini)
If Skype is open on my pc and I receive a call it also starts automacically in my phone without my input!
How can I avoid such a strange behavior?
Thank you

See also: How can I close Skype so that it stops running? and How to quit Skype on Android?

A few days ago I updated Skype and it used to start by itself even after I logged out properly. I did it several times and finally I used the option 'Force stop' in Settings-Applications and it resolved it. I think it is some bug in Skype or/and in Android (I have 4.0).By the way, I think the above question is more accurate to my issue than the others.

Are you sure that you really closed Skype (not only hide it to background) ? In Skype main menu press "menu" button and then - logout.
If that doesn't solve your problem I see two possibilities :

Install a firewall (a good firewall is in avast! Mobile Security) and block access to newtork for Skype, unlock it only when you're using it (installing firewall requires root access)
Try to kill Skype service in application manager->background processes (it is located in Settings)

If you're true I think it is a bug and we've to contact Microsoft...

Your "logout" recommendation is the most likely solution. Also, the app might have an option to auto-login on start, which should be disabled. The firewall won't keep Skype from starting, and killing the app is unlikely to help (as it would simply restart as soon as network connectivity changes).

If the app is closed and I am logged in, then it will pop up on call events. If the app is closed and I also logged out from it, then it works. Thank you!


text:
Desire HD: I apparently flashed the wrong pd98img.zip, how can I fix this?
in a attempt to downgrade my Desire HD from 2.50 to 1.32 I apparently pushed the wrong pd98img.zip into my zip card. I can start the phone, but I'm greeted by some chinese characters and can't do anything but contact emergency numbers. I can't connect the phone with usb, I can't connect with adb or do anything else.
I can get into fastboot by taking out the memory card, otherwise it would try to install the wrong pd98img.zip continouesly.
Right now I have only following informations:
Ace PVT SHIP S-ON RL
HBOOT-0.85.0024
MICROP-0438
RADIO-26.09.04.11_M2
eMMC-boot
Apr 12 2011,00:55:45

What are my options?


text:
How do I root a Samsung Galaxy S4 SGH-I337?
I have a Samsung Galaxy S4 SGH-I337 with a I337UCUAMF3 baseband. How do I either root it and unlock the bootloader or install a mod? Alternately, can I change it back to a previous baseband and unlock the bootloader?

As you correctly used the rooting tag, have you followed up to our rooting index via its tag-wiki? There you can find e.g.: Galaxy S4 SCH-I545 and Galaxy S4 Mini GT-I9195.

@Izzy It's SGH-I337, not SCH-I545. And definitely not a Mini ;)

Good you say so! Mind to [edit] your question and include that, before anyone gets the idea your question might be a duplicate to one of those? ;)


text:
Device encryption and broken screen
Assuming you have a device that is encrypted by the factory encryption option in the security settings of the device, and having said device suffer a fall and end up with a broken screen, what are the options to recover your data (if any)

Getting the screen replaced, probably. Standard procedure.

Nothing you can do on your own, correct?

Very probably there's nothing you can do else. It's by far the safest way to do it (if not the only one). Depending on the device, it may be possible to dump the partition and access the crypto key but this is only possible if the device has an unlocked bootloader and if the crypto key is also on disk (and not in a locked TPM). E.g. it's not possible on Google Nexus devices (they wipe the storage when you unlock the bootloader). You could also only temporarily connect a working display unit from another spare device, search ifixit.com for teardown howtos to learn how to do it.

I'm not sure what kicks in when, but might it be possible to attach some external devices: monitor via HDMI, keyboard/mouse via OTG, and "work around the broken screen" that way – or would that be impossible as support for OTG/HDMI only becomes available after having entered the encryption key/password?


text:
GPS showing double the speed? System setting?
I use a "Enco B039" android-run in-dash car stereo. When using the gps the speed I drive in is showing double the speed. So if I'm going 50km/h the gps software tells me I'm going 100km/h and so on. All the settings in the software are set to km/h so I suspect it's the android system that communicates with the gps-module fault? I read in another forum of a guy that discovered that his android phone was giving him the speed reading in nautical miles (nots). Maybe this is whats happening with my unit? I found the system file "gps.conf" but I can't see any settings in there that I can change when it comes to speed. Any suggestions? In what file in the system is this setting located? Cheers.

Have you tried with different apps first? Concluding a system fault from just a single app's output would be a bit brave ;)

I have used IGo, TomTom, Sygic, Navigon. All the same. It shows the speed in nautical miles. It's a bug in these units and I haven't figured it out yet.


text:
Why does "Xperia Keyboard" use up mobile traffic?
I checked Settings->Data Usage, and an app called "Xperia Keyboard" has used up 513 KB of mobile traffic.
Why would the keyboard app need to use 513 KB of mobile data? It's a keyboard app, why does it need an internet connection at all?

Community shared dictionary for spell-checking maybe? Just a guess, I don't know.

Is there an option to turn of data for that keyboard app?


text:
How does "Restrict background data" work?
In "Settings"->"Data Usage" there is a "Restrict background data" checkbox.
How does it work, exactly? What does "background" mean here? And is this setting enforced by the OS, or is it a hint that the apps are free to disregard if coded improperly?

First, that setting is enforced by the OS (so it's not for the app to decide whether to observe that setting). Put in easy words: Android won't let an app access the network unless it's running in foreground (i.e. the user is interacting with it) with the restriction enabled for it.
Explained with a plastic example: Restrict background data on the Google Play Store app (as I did), it won't anymore check for updates in background while you are on mobile data. But it will do so when you're using WiFi. Also, when you call up the app to install something, it will work as long as you keep it in foreground (i.e. not switch to another app while it's still downloading).

Thanks. So that comment I linked to is wrong?

I cannot guarantee that, but I would say so. A setting regarding which that would be true is "background sync" (as even the API doc writes "apps should obey", not "apps must obey). THelper might have mistaken that setting, as the names are quite similar. Thanks for the pointer, I will add a comment there for clarification.

A quick note on what "foreground" means: usually, in Android, an app is in the foreground if any of its activities are the topmost activity on the screen. The NetworkPolicyManager adds an extra constraint that the screen must be on. "The user is interacting with it" suggests that you must be poking the buttons or something, but actually the activity just needs to be visible on the screen with no other app's activities on top of it.

@sashoalm See the answer I posted on the question you linked for why people might get confused about what the setting does.

Does this also disable services like Android Device Manager?

@StephenAngelico I don't know how exactly this functionality is implemented – but I doubt that. How shall Android determine which service would use this – and even more, make sure that service has no other purpose the user doesn't want to restrict?

Well, I thought the remote lock and erase would have to be a background service. When using Extreme Power Saving mode on my HTC, it says remote locating services will not work. This could understandably be because it suspends a lot of processes, but it also restricts data usage fairly heavily.

Hey, is there a way to restrict background data in WIFI also?

@SPRajagopal at least not built-in AFAIK. With root powers and 3rd party apps like Greenify, this should be possible.


text:
What exact time do Android devices execute the Daylight Saving Changes?
I believe the Windows OS in general makes the Fall DST change at 3.00am on the last Sunday of October, and the Spring change at 2.00am on the last Sunday of March. Could someone enlighten me on the exact times that the Android OS, in general, (or 4.3 specifically) makes the DST changes?

If you are a resident of the United States, you have both those datetimes wrong. What country of residence? As a rule, an Operating System adopts the DST rules of the country of residence. To apply alternate rules of DST would inhibit proper billing for phone and data plans which depend on time accuracy.

I believe what I have are the defaults within Central European Time.

Good to know. I hope it worked out as my comments and the answers reported.

As far as I know, every OS makes the change at the officially scheduled time for your timezone. This is different in different timezones, but if you've previously observed your Windows clock changing at a particular time, you'll see any other OS changing at the same time. The exact time is set by the government: programmers don't just pick a time they think would be nice.

If I may ask, do you know if this is done with some scheduled process or if it's simply depending on something like NTP?

Most mobile devices don't use NTP by default. Time is rather depending on the provider. See my answer here.

@dotVezz If you have another question, use the Ask Question button in the corner.


text:
How does android (stock) calculate the number of bars representing mobile signal quality?
I am interested in how Android (assuming unmodified AOSP code) calculates the number of bars representing mobile signal quality?
Also, if you know the place in code where this is done, I would appreciate that info as well.


text:
Phone unlocking ideas
My wife's nexus 4 has a dead area across the middle of the screen. There's a 1 cm strip running horizontally across the screen that doesn't register clicks.
A few weeks ago, her screen broke. We had it repaired, then two weeks after that the dead area emerged. (The technicians will not fix the issue, I've tried that). The dead area covers digits that are in her pin. On a nexus 4 the lock screen is only in portrait mode, so I can't access the dead area by turning the phone.
The dead area doesn't cover the on screen keyboard, so if I can get to that I think I can unlock the phone.
What I have tried to fix the issue:

punch in a bunch of invalid pins hoping that the phone would become locked and we could unlock it using the associated account with the on screen keyboard. I've tried probably 50 times but the phone hasn't stopped offering PIN authentication yet.
Using the android device manager, lock the device. The problem here is that I lent her my phone in the interim and it locked my phone. We unlocked that and removed her account but the android device manager still isn't locking the right phone. This is kind of weird because she never set my phone up to allow the remote control, I did that with my account. Somehow the phone or google's server must be confused. Two Nexus 4s in the same room is a problem apparently.
If you go to the camera, you can get the phone to go into landscape mode. Take a picture, then view the gallery. Anything from before your taking pictures while the camera was locked is hidden, and a lock shows. Tap the lock, and you are taken to a lock screen in portrait mode. But before you can key in any digits, it flips you back to portait.

The phone was never in USB debug mode, and I can't connect to it via USB while it is locked.
Does anyone have any idea how I can fix this?

For what it is worth, I tried entering a pin 100 times and it never locked out the PIN authentication. This is strange because I have seen the phones do this before. Must have been a different version.

I am not sure whether this will work, but just worth a try. Use OTG cable and connect an external USB keyboard to punch in the PIN. Also you can try using an USB mouse to simulate touches with its left clicks.

I tried opening up the device and checking all the motherboard connections. I did notice that the digitizer seemed a bit loose, but that did not resolve my issue. I used the instructions in this tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa3r-k5cUB4

I was able to unlock the phone. It seems like the Android Device Manager mixup was only temporary, so when I tried locking the phone from there again, I was able to lock the correct phone and unlock it using the on screen keyboard.

Just now I tried this in my nexus 7 and it worked. My nexus 7 has lost its root access after update to 4.3 and I didn't bother to root it again - just fyi in case if OTG didn't work in your nexus 4.
I set up PIN as my security option, connected OTG cable and connected a mouse. After restart (mouse didn't detect the moment it was connected and worked after reboot only) I was able to use mouse to click the numbers to enter PIN.

That's helpful. I will pick up the cable tomorrow and report back.

Actually, I won't be doing this. Stock Nexus 4s don't support OTG: http://www.head4space.com/why-doesnt-nexus-4-support-otg-cables/


text:
Why battery "sags" on my device and how to fix/workaround it?
Sometimes my device shows "No SIM card" status and "0%" battery and soon powers off (even if I manage to quicky connect it to USB). After powering back on it works more or less as expected.

Why does this happen? How to fix the issue or how to force Android to continue if battery suddenly drops to 0% (as opposed of gradually become discharged)?

Have you tried changing batteries - just to isolate the cause?

No, and it's probably tricky to get a smartphone battery. This is my sole smartphone I'm using for more than 2 years and the issue is not new.


text:
Android Micro SD Card Show Wrong Size
I have a 32GB Lexas Micro SD card in my Samsung Galaxy S2 i9100. For some reason, the card consistently shows 12gb as the size of the card. It just randomly started doing this about 2 weeks ago.
I have done an on-device format (as it has prompted me once or twice to format), a format with an SD card utility through the SD card group, and a Windows formatting. It still shows 12GB.
Any solutions?

perhaps your card is damaged and dying... what does it show in windows using card-reader?

yeah... i don't really see how that could be. it's a solid state piece of hardware that has zero physical damage. it still reads the 12gb, it wouldn't read anything if it was dead. windows and gparted both show 12GB. i haven't plugged it into a card reader yet, i have just plugged it in using my phone and mounting it as a USB device. cannot get anything to see more than 12GB

Seems like your card is damaged. I also experienced some similar issues with some of my 32gb card. I wasn't even able to copy beyond 8~10 gb on my cards.

If you never put more than 12GB on the card, it may have been one of those delightful "counterfeit" cards that has been hacked to display a misleading size, and then sold as larger than it is. Actually odd to have as much as 12 - those are often 4 or 8 GB tops. Then again, if you have not put 11+ GB on it, it may still be reporting falsely. If a legit card, the manufacturer should be replacing it for you.

You can try format with
Hp usb format tool
i had same issue on usb flash drive and format with this tool resolves issue

why it downvoted?

I didn't downvote, but it may be to do with providing a link to a google drive (instead of HP's website) as the exe could be malicious. I checked the file and currently, it's fine, although didn't fix my problem.


text:
Best "nandroid" or equivalent on Galaxy S4 VRUAME7
So I'm pretty new to Android. Just got a new Galaxy S4 from Verizon and it's running VRUAME7. Already rooted of course. Basically right now I'm looking for a way to do a complete backup (nandroid); Not planning on installing any different roms just yet, but wanna play around with some stuff in /system and the like, so I'd like have a backup just incase I screw anything up.
From what I've read, you need a custom recovery to do a backup/restore like this. For VRUAME7, it seems the only way to go about this is with Safestrap.
Is there a less intrusive way to do this? I would think a manual backup (pain.. lol) but it seems some of the partitions are inaccessible while Android is running?
Also, I'm not sure how to go about restoring that if something would happen.
Is it overkill to install Safestrap just for this purpose (backup/restore)?
If this is the best (or only) way to go about this? I'm just curious on some of the implications of SafeStrap.
On the developer thread (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2441441):
TEST #3: Recovery removal leaves device in clean state RESULT: FAIL

I'm not quite sure that this line means... does that mean removing Safestrap? I don't want a permanent installion; I'd like to have choice to remove it or go back to stock if needed.
Also, since this bypasses the bootloader, does this mean every boot will go directly to Safestrap first? As in I'll always have to select to boot the rom each startup?


text:
How do i update the video driver?
How do I update the video driver for my Droid 2 Global? I have a custom Cyanogenmod installed but YouTube videos have a green bar, green tint, or are garbled.

By installing a different version of Cyanogenmod. Android is not like Windows, where you have to install each driver separately: all the drivers come integrated in the ROM. Sometimes, with third-party ROMs like Cyanogenmod, they don't quite manage to integrate the drivers properly (because only the manufacturer has all the required information), so you get defects like this one.
If you found the problem in a stable release, release candidate, or beta of Cyanogenmod, you should report it to the maintainers for your phone so they can fix it. If you've been using a nightly snapshot, don't bother, as they are expected to have serious errors and aren't suitable for everyday use.
Upgrade to a newer release if there is one, or perhaps to an older release.

Thanks, but the latest official version for my phone is 7.2, which does not work at all. I'm using an unofficial version 9, http://rootzwiki.com/topic/17976-cyanogenmod-9-unofficial-for-droid-2-global-ics403-update-31512/page-153#entry1117799, Android 4.0.4. I don't think I will have any luck with an update. Why don't I have control? I bought an Android so I would have control over it unlike Apple!

Can I get the video driver out of an OEM ROM and copy it to this ROM?

In theory, yes, but it's not just a question of copying a file into the ROM. You need to do some programming to integrate the driver with the ROM, and then compile a new ROM from source. You might also need to replace other parts of the ROM (such as the kernel) with different versions compatible with the ROM. The maintainers of an unofficial ROM for the phone might be able to help you out, but if they could fix it they'd do it themselves. It's at least a few days' work even if you know what you're doing.

The fact we're here talking about installing a new OS on your phone shows how much control you have. Getting a driver working isn't hard because the phone's actively trying to stop you, like an iPhone does: it's hard because making and integrating OSes takes skill and work. The problem you're seeing now is probably with the integration, not the driver itself.

I fond a "patch" solution. Basically, you must "downgrade" the video quality. To do the "downgrade" on Google's official app, follow these instructions:

Open a video with the YouTube app.
Tap any place of screen to show the menu (in landscape).
Hit the 3 dots on the top right corner.
Hit the settings icon to show the available resolutions of current video.
Select 240 or less.


text:
Where is GMail app on Galaxy Note 3 app list
I setup my GMail account as a Google account on my phone. When email comes in I can tap the notification to go to the Gmail app. I can use S Voice to go to the Gmail app. However the Gmail app is not on the home screen. I am not using the "Email" app though. Where is it and why is it hidden?
EDIT:
It's in the app folder Google. Shame on you Samsung for not making the difference between folders and apps obvious. Well the folders look like this:

Screenshot (click image for larger variant)
I'll update the question with the answer in a day.

From the screenshot, I'd say folders are served on a silver plate (and show a selection of icons from apps contained within them) – so it's obvious once you know it ;)

Yeah haha. I hate touchwiz sometimes. Might make a hybrid rom in the future which is like cyanogenmod with spen support and stuff :)

It's in the app folder 'Google'. Shame on you Samsung for not making the difference between folders and apps obvious. Well the folders look like this:

Click image for larger version


text:
Behave as a PC browser
I want to watch streams of a TV channel. That channel also offers an unfree app to do that.
When I visit the site with my tablet I am forced to download the app to use the site. From my PC I can access the site normally.
How can I set my tablet browser to behave as a PC browser?
I tried the default Android and Chrome browsers.

In case of Android browser (AOSP) and Chrome there is an option called Request desktop site. This can be accessed via the options menu for the browser. That would change the browser user-agent to desktop and display the website as displayed on PC.
But this has to be done for each tab I believe, there is no permanent solution.


text:
Phone isn't detected via USB but still charges
My Galaxy GT-S5360 is not being detected via USB when I connect it to my PC. It still charges however. It used to work and there was a prompt to connect it to the computer but now it just charges directly. I have downloaded Samsung Kies but it still won't connect.

A USB connector has two pins for 5V and two for the data signal. Seems like the first are still connected while the latter are not.

Have you tried another cable and restarted your PC?
It's also possible that the phone's socket is damaged or has connectiviy problems.
It's soldered onto the phone's logic board. Did you once drop it with the cable inserted?

Third option may be some settings on what the device is supposed to do when USB gets connected. On some devices, this can be set to "charge only". Maybe that setting was somehow switched accidentally?

fourth checking for how the device is observed by the PC OS in the OS device manager. "unknown device" (uninstall to try again) Known device see if it has a flag /!\ on it , what the drivers were that may or may not be needed.  In windows device manager you can observe the arrival of a device as it goes from "hidden" (ghosted) to active, trying to see what the OS thinks it sees .

@Izzy then how to reverse it back

@KasunSiyambalapitiya usually there's a notification like "connected via USB (tap to …)". Tap it. If not: Settings › Storage, tap the "overflow menu", check the USB connection mode. Side-note: "charge only" is the default with Android 6+ – where it might even revert back to on reboot.

Changing the cable solved my problem

Strangely the cable-issue seems to be a real thing. Changing the cable solved the problem

I have just experienced same kind of problem for my Samsung Galaxy S3-SGH i747. I overcome this issue by:

Go to dial pad & type *#0808#
It displays USB settings
Select MTP+ADB option
Press OK button
Connect to USB cable to PC
It shows Connected as a media device.

After dialing the number, I get "Connection problem or invalid MMI code." :(

Please check your phone while connecting the screen should be unlock then only all your Internal and Card memory will be visible.

Check out this link at Microsoft - It seems to be a problem with Windows 8.1. USB Plug-and-Play: Plug in your Galaxy Y and then unplug/plug a different device on your PC where the Plug-and-Play works - this will cause the Galaxy Y to be detected.


text:
Is there a ways to set data speed limit in android?
Is there a way to set data speed limit on android device(Samsung Galaxy GTi9003,Gingerbread 2.3.6)?
Note :this is different from data limit.
I want to use 3G network 300MB/month plan which I think can only be achieved by limiting data speed and also limiting net access to various apps
NON ROOTED DEVICE

Maybe you [edit] your question and include what exactly you want to achieve? That would provide some pointers and maybe create associations otherwise overlooked.

Not usefully.
If you root the device, you can use a tool such as iptables to configure a rate limit, but the only way for that to work on downloads is to drop network packets above a certain limit. The effect of this will be that the apps on your phone see slower downloads, but the overall use of your Wi-Fi or mobile data connection will be greater, because the server has to keep re-sending packets that have reached your phone but been dropped.
This isn't an Android-specific problem: it's just how the internet works. Desktop machines have just the same problem with rate-limiting. It's just worse on mobile: because wireless network connections genuinely do lose packets more often, they're usually set up to re-send more aggressively than wired connections.
The exception to this is if you have a particular app whose network protocol supports rate negotiation. BitTorrent is one example. In that case, you should set the appropriate setting in the app you want to limit.

In case of UDP, dropping packets using iptables won't help with reducing incoming network traffic, but for TCP, this will work just fine. It may not be accurate but it will reduce the incoming traffic (and not just what the app sees) because sender's TCP stack will notice the packet losses and will lower its transmission rate.

@Mansour It'll reduce the rate in the short term, but overall you've transferred more packets to download the same app (or whatever file), so it'll make you hit your 300 MB limit earlier.

Please elaborate what you mean by short term. Also, yes you'll hit your limit earlier, but not by a large margin. It also depends on the kind of traffic. This iptables rule favors long running downloads, like when you're watching a youtube video. The point I'm making here is that it's practical, but it's not perfect. You will waste some of your DL quota.

I think I understand the point you're making, but I don't think you understand the point I'm making. Packet-dropping can be useful for some goals, but staying inside a monthly quota is not one of them.

If the solution results in lower usage (which packet dropping helps achieve), then it's useful. I'm not sure how else to say it.

If your only worry is about being on the correct data plan, you should not have to do anything.
For CDMA carriers like Verizon or Sprint, your ESN will be registered with correct access speeds when you sign up for service with those companies.
For GSM carriers (like AT&T and T-mobile, for example) there are different APN settings for various data speed tiers (e.g. 2G only, 3G HSPA, 4G HSPA+, 4G LTE, etc.)  When signing up for a particular plan with these companies, you will be given the appropriate settings that will limit your line's data speed appropriately.  Even using the wrong APN settings won't do any harm, since your account is associated with the correct tier.  The data connection simply won't work unless the correct settings are restored.


text:
adb restore across different devices, android versions
Once upon a time, I ran this on an Android 4.3.0 Nexus 7 2012 running ParanoidAndroid:
adb backup -all -nosystem -apk -shared \
  -f backup-all-nosystem-apk-shared-201309132331

Now I would love to restore at least one of those apps on my Android 4.3.1 Nexus 7 2013 running vanilla. (I haven't installed it.) I've preemptively ran:
adb backup -f backup-all-system-apk-noshared-20131027111818 -apk -noshared -all -system

and now I wonder: what could possibly go wrong if I restored the original backup? Would re-applying the backup I've just made on top of it get me to a... working system? Do I want to take additional safety measures?

Don't know if you figured this out or not, but Titanium Backup has a feature where you can import an ADB backup and then from there restore individual apps or all apps. Only down side, Titanium Backup does need root. That being said, I think it's worth it.
For details:
http://www.titaniumtrack.com/kb/titanium-backup-kb/titanium-backup-howtos.html#backup-without-root
In case that link goes away:

Connect your device and make sure its listed with the following
command:
adb devices
Run a FULL backup with the following command:
adb backup -f FullBackup.ab -apk -all
This will create a “package” called “FullBackup.ab” on the current location in your command prompt. This is your backup package.
Now you can root your phone.
Once finished rooting, insert the “FullBackup.ab” package on your sdcard
Hit the menu button and look for “Extract from ADB backup” option. This will prompt you to search for the file. Use the file manager that you installed earlier and navigate to the directory and select the FullBackup.ab file.
Now restore like as if the backup was made with Titanium Backup. Don’t forget to make a fresh copy of the backup using Titanium Backup. You’re Done!

On a relatively recent phone with LineageOS 17.1, this did not work for me: The file picker activity that pops up after choosing "Extract from ADB backup" lists all files as "greyed out"/disabled, so the ADB backup file cannot be selected.

First: As you did a backup including all your apps, you cannot restore a single app from it easily1 (adb restore is an all-or-nothing; either you restore the entire backup, or nothing – there are no parameters to specify parts to be restored).
Second: If you'd create separate backups (one per app), a restore should be possible across devices and Android versions (at least "upwards", i.e. backup made on the same or lower Android version as you want to restore it to). I've done that multiple times successfully, even across different brands and Android versions, in this way. Though that's not a guarantee :)

1 There are tools available to decode/split files created by adb backup, especially for that reason: to be able to restore a single app if you didn't think of that when creating the mega-backup.


text:
Export or backup contacts with pictures
When exporting contacts from the standard contacts application to the disk and importing them to Thunderbird - the pictures are missing.
I'd like to export all contacts with pictures though.
Is there a way to get a 100% backup of my contacts? Where are they stored and how can I back them up?

That's strange. When I use menu → Export from the contacts app, pictures are contained in the created 00001.vcf. Could you check the exported file for a string like PHOTO;ENCODING=BASE64;JPEG (one example from mine, followed by the base64 encoded pic)? Really nothing? What is the source of the pics (maybe merged in from Facebook or the like)? Also, what's your device?

@Izzy Thanks for the reply. Your hunch is correct, the 00001.vcf created during the export does contain the encoded photos with the same string that you mention. The source of the pics is mostly .jpg but could also contain some other formats. The device is a Nexus 4 running Cyanogenmod 10.2 . I guess the error has to be then how Thunderbird imports these contacts.

@Izzy I have now imported the contacts file by not using the default way that thunderbird offers, but by using the option that the Thunderbird add-on MoreFunctionsForAddressBook offers. Using its vcard import function I get all the pictures!

Glad it solved – and thanks for answering your question! Don't forget to accept your answer (you can do so in ~2 days) to show your problem has a solution ;)

User @Izzy explained that encoded pictures are actually included in the .vcf created from the export.
This led me to think that the issue is actually with Thunbird's contacts import and not with android's contacts export. As it turns out this is right.
Since the default way for Thunderbird to import vcards appears to be faulty, I used the add-on MoreFunctionsForAddressBook to import the address book. It worked fine and included all the pictures!


text:
How can I record video with lossless audio?
The stock video recording app has some preset lossy compression audio setting and I can't find an option to adjust it. I don't like that "tin foil" sound, due to the compression.
Is there a way to have lossless audio when recording video?
(My phone is a two year old LG-P690)


text:
Is it possible to kill your phone by installing wrong system software?
I asked a question yesterday about my Sony Xperia Z1. It look likes it is completely empty and I don't have the ability to flash anything on it.
But my question is:
Can you break your motherboard by rooting, flashing or whatever?
My custom ROM (PAC-man ROM) worked perfectly fine until I restored my TA partition.
My previous question:
Sony Xperia Z1 won't start up again!

I left a comment how you could fix your Xperia on the other question.

Nice question! Short answer: Yes and no, it depends on how a device is designed.
One needs to now how a device initially boots and look at the involved components to be able to answer this question. To get an idea, here are some examples from my memory:

All newer Google Nexus devices (except the Nexus One) are pretty much unbrickable.
Most Samsung models for example have their bootloader on the eMMC chip: Brickable
To unbrick, one needs an alternative way to boot from e.g. USB to fix it (this solution exists for the original SGS i9000, but there's currently no way to do it with later models)
Sony Xperias have the bootloader in non-writable mask ROM: Unbrickable.
You could delete the whole eMMC chip and still boot into Flash Mode or fastboot mode (needs model specific key combos on boot), unlock the bootloader or use their software (PC Companion) to revive it. See Androxyde's FlashTool and Sony's FlashTool.
Raspberry Pi's have the bootloader in mask-ROM which then boots from the SDcard: Unbrickable
(Well, this is not a real Android device per se, but you get the point. PS: The Pi can be damaged by overclocking)
Some Samsung eMMC chips have faulty firmware: Brickable (source)
A way to fix it has recently been found but it's very risky and only tried by one of the devs. CyanogenMod's Wiki has more information.
The original HTC Magic had its bootloader on the eMMC: Brickable
In general: If one part of the chain is breakable (without the ability to revive it), you can brick your device. For example, it's possible to get into a catch-22 situation where no further action is possible (e.g. unlockable bootloader + broken system&recover) although the device would still boot to the bootloader.

Yes, it is possible to hard brick your device if you do anything wrong with your TA partition. There are loads of threads in XDA-developers warning people not to do it if they are not confident.
Few examples of backing up TA partition threads here.

Tutorial - Manual TA partition backup and restore
Root, backup TA

Loads of warning when they advertise these methods.

Fair warning: Flashing your TA partition is dangerous stuff, do this
  wrong and you can most certainly hard-brick your device. I will not
  take any responsibility at all for anything you deem might have (or
  might not have) been a result of these procedures, be it bricked
  devices, lost DRM-keys...

I disagree. In theory you can brick a device, sure, but the Xperia line is not really brickable at all.

@ce4 no, Xperia devices will definitely be bricked if incorrect data is written to the TA partition. The TA partition contains IMEI, serial number and other important data and probably include some sort of integrity check. Even flashing the TA partition with the one from another device of the same model bricks it. No fastboot and no flashtool. This is not just a theory, a few users actually did that as seen on xda forums.

Ref: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=40293456#post40293456 See this and some following posts

Apart from the risk of breaking your bootloader, which others have mentioned, there are other ways a custom ROM can destroy your hardware. For example, you might install a kernel that has no or misconfigured power management support.  In extreme cases, this might cause the CPU to overheat, damaging it permanently.


text:
Set native Jelly Bean dialer and contacts for Samsung Galaxy S3
The stock Samsung dialer and contacts (developed by Samsung) is waaay too laggy for me to use it. Actually it takes seconds to navigate through the tabs of logs, favorites or the contact list. (Got about 10 pictures and 10 custom ringtones in 70 contacts, so there's not that much data to handle.) It was actually laggy from the first time I used it. Got Nova launcher instead of the crappy and laggy TouchWiz. In my opinion, every Samsung application is a piece of something brown.
Can I - somehow - force the OS to use the stock Jelly Bean dialer and contact app, or is it got replaced by Samsung's crapware?
Thanks for the input!

I don't thing the "stock jelly bean dialer" is part of the system. What about trying with a rom?

The Samsung ROM doesn't have the stock AOSP dialer and contacts app. It has Touchwiz themed dialer and contacts app. This is one of the most glitchy and slowest of dialer apps out there.

Try the Swipe Dialer if you care to. It has good reviews and seems to be working fine across the board.
Another option will be to port AOSP dialer as in Cyanogenmod. This is advanced stuff and you'll need knowledge of ADB. Try it out if you want.
The easiest way out is to flash a custom ROM. Try Cyanogenmod, AOKP, Paranoid Android, etc. There are several others too. Try XDA Developers forums for more in depth info.

Thank you for your input, I accept it! I'm going to try out your first two suggestions.


text:
Why does the system not recognize my fonts?
My phone is a rooted Nexus S running the custom ROM Replicant. I copied twelve font files comprising three fonts (Arimo, Cousine, and Tinos) from my computer to the SD card, used a root file manager to copy the files to /system/fonts, and then rebooted the phone. Yet I am still unable to use these fonts. On par with the other font files in the folder, they are indeed .ttf files. For example, when I view this HTML file in the HTML viewer:
<!DOCTYPE html>

<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Font Test</title>

Arimo paragraph

Cousine paragraph

Tinos paragraph

The paragraphs display in Roboto, Droid Sans Mono, and Droid Serif respectively. Why does the system not recognize the newly installed fonts? Is there some configuration file I need to edit?

Problem mostly, but not entirely, solved. For Arimo whatever font you want to install, you need to insert this text between the <familyset> tags in the file /system/etc/system_fonts.xml:
<family>
  <nameset>
    <name>the name of your font</name>
    <name>arial</name>
    <name>helvetica</name>
  </nameset>
  <fileset>
    <file>Arimo-Regular.ttf</file>
    <file>Arimo-Bold.ttf</file>
    <file>Arimo-Italic.ttf</file>
    <file>Arimo-BoldItalic.ttf</file>
  </fileset>
</family>

And remove the designations of "arial" and "helvetica" from the Roboto entry. The reason this is not entirely solved is it works only in the browser and not the HTML viewer.


text:
How to silence all but one application? (no calls, messages, notifications and similar interruptions)
When listening to meditation instructions (previously downloaded as *.mp3 files) I would like to be able to silence all applications, (that is, all audible notifications, messages and calls). How?

PS: Native solution(s) which are not reliant on 3rd-party apps are prefered.

At least related: Is there a way to set app-specific volume? / Control volume of particular app

Android version?

@Firelord kitkat.

If you don't want to use any 3rd-party apps, then you have to learn programming and make your own.
In my opinion, the best way to do this is using AutomateIt.
Its normal features include "Set volume" actions and if you register an account, then you could download one Pro codec, like the "Multiple(OR)" event that, could also be used when more than one app are opened.
All types of volume can be changed when a certain event happens.


text:
Port-forwarding on Android 2.3.6 wifi-tether using Port Forwarder app
I'm having trouble port-forwarding connections from outside my network when tethering with my phone. I have a bad understanding of routers and networking in general, so please bear with me.
My Android device is the one directly connected to the Internet. To enable access to my computer from the outer world via the Android device, I'm currently using the free app called Port Forwarder and my phone is rooted so I have the authorization I need. The port on which I handle connections on the server is 80. Accessing the Server's IP address (inside the network) with <local_ip.addr.ess.here>:80 I can access it, so that works.
The problem is when I'm trying to access it from outside the network, the app tells me to set the source to 80, and the destination whatever it is (their example is 8080); of course I set it to 80 since that's what the server is listening to. So I try to access the server from outside using <phone.public_ip.adr.ess>:80 but it doesn't work.
As you have noticed, I've got no clue what I'm doing and finding guides has been difficult, even for standard routers. Has anyone successfully used this app and maybe could help me out? I probably left out important info because of ignorance, if so, let me know and I will update the question.

What "public address" we're talking about here? If it's the WiFi address assigned by your router (usually something like 192.168.*.*, but sometimes also 172.*.*.* or 10.*.*.*, see Wikipedia), it's only visible inside your local network, and cannot be accessed directly from the "outer world". Port forwarding settings in your router are needed here, and are better discussed at ServerFault.

No it's the address from google'ing "whats my ip" (if you haven't used it google itself gives an ip-address which should be reliable). And you're misunderstand the question, in the title it says "wifi-tethering". Meaning it's not a regular router my Android device IS my router, making this the relevant site. Did you even read the entire question? I'm mentioning apps, phone and other relevant stuff you seem to completely have missed.

I've even read it multiple times – but I must admit I was a little confused. You didn't explicitly state which device acts as "server" in that context, so I assumed the usual direction (the word "tether" alone doesn't specify who's server and who's client, sorry). Thanks for clarification: this makes my comment towards ServerFault obsolete of course. // Your port foward from 80 to 80 looks correct to me. I'd suggest to consult the Android logs (e.g. adb logcat) while trying to access from the outside, to see if it at least reaches your device and maybe logs some hints.

No worries, I'll clarify the question some. I'll look up how to see the log.

Thanks! I've just edited in a little more, so now it should be perfectly clear (hopefully; at least nobody should tap into the same trap as I did anymore). Feel free to adjust if you don't like my edit. // A thought is your provider might not allow for that. To check, setup some server (like a simple FTP server) on your Android device, and try whether that can be accessed from the "outer world". If that doesn't work either, it's your provider blocking that traffic. If it works, we still can investigate further.

I called my provider, and they said they allow it. Only some "known virus ports" were blocked, whatever that means. So the problem should be in the phone itself.

So have you tried with some server software on the phone itself, as I suggested in my previous comment? Maybe it's just a problem with the Port Forwarder app you're using. And as said, adb logcat might give some clues as well.

I am not sure which version you're running, here is my advice. The cause you're probably blocked, is due Android's firewall and strong Se-Linux policy.
Since you have a full root access, you can get a shell with ADB, and check that. Type su - and it will get you into root. I am using TerminalEmulator, but you can use native one, if it is shipped with OS.
If I've understood you correctly, your phone acts like router in tethering mode. So this is needed to forward packets:
echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward
See if that helps. Most likely, you'll need to play with iptables, allow port 80,443 on the tethering port.
This is not complete answer, but it is too long to post as a comment.

The answer is your provider blocks port 80, however if you switch to port 443 they can not block it because port 443 has to have two way communication unblocked for https to send and receive responses. Thus changing from http to https:// should most likely resolve your issue.


text:
having issues hiding my photos and albums on my htc one
On my htc one, when I click on gallery, under albums. Then I click on the right top menu button to show/hide albums, none of my camera shots or albums will show up. So I can't hide anything. Can someone please help me out?


text:
Samsung Galaxy S4 SCH-I545 official updates via Kies fails with: "Software update is temporarily unavailable. Try again later."
I own a Samsung SCH-I545 Galaxy S4 and can not do update via Kies. It says:

Software update is temporarily unavailable. Try again later.

The phone is sent by my uncle from America and I am from Romania. The phone does not have root. I tried to update via Odin, but it fails too.
What can I do to Update my Galaxy S4 to Android 4.3? Thank you very much!

The update for the Verizon S4 USA is set to come eout tommorrow not today.

Yes? But I got this about a week ago:   Current firmware version : PDA:ME7 / PHONE:ME7 / CSC:ME7 (VZW)
Latest firmware version : PDA:MI1 / PHONE:MI1 / CSC:MI1 (VZW)     It's not the software update? Sorry but I do not know so well

Uninstall all the drivers you have for the S4 unplug and re plug and when the auto start pops up for windows install the verizon  SUA app see this website for more help http://www.samsung.com/us/support/faq/FAQ00055697/67423

I did so but the phone hangs somewhere writes: Downloading ... Do not turn off target! We waited for an hour and nothing happened, it got stuck.

Make sure you have a fast connection and when the phone goes into downloading mode let it sit it can take 30-90 minutes to do it all

If all else Fails check this page out [link] (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=46505314)

Tell me if there are any updates on your device being updated to VRUDMI1 for your S4

Working Odin file [link] (https://db.tt/qZupCjFT)

Just FYI the MI1 is 4.2.2 not 4.3

Thank you so much for your help. So this is not the Android 4.3 update. I'll wait until the official update will appear 4.3.a Thank you very much for your help!

This was not the 4.3 update. Just a bug fix and added a couple of other features that came on GSM devices. 4.3 set to roll out tomorrow for Verizon customers or at least they claim. I would not hold my breath! If there is anything with Big Red is it will be delayed until they are happy with the release. When I have the notification I will believe it. Hope this helps

Thanks for the reply! If you do not install this update can not get the latest version of Andorid it occurs?


text:
Is it possible to upgrade an Orange Cool Tablet? (Android 2.3 Cortex A8)
Someone gave to me an Orange Cool Android 2.3 Tablet (it's a Brazilian brand, Model tb7800), complaining about slowness and hang ups.
I did some research with the aim of flashing a better ROM, however this model is not well-known and I'm kind of lost among all the different ROMs and architectures, so I would appreciate if someone could just point me in the right direction...
First of all: is there any better ROM compatible with this device? These are the details reported by CPU-Z:
Model: OR-TB7800 (rk29sdk)
Display: eng.koffu.20111209.175.607, 800x480
Android: 2.3.1,
Kernel architecture armv7l, version 2.6.32.27
CPU: ARM Cortex A8, 1 core, rev. r3p2, 408Mhz-1Ghz
GPU: Vendor= Vivante Corp, Renderer=GC800 core.
Total RAM: 271 MB Internal, Storage: 1GB

Second: if the answer is yes, I would appreciate some hints with regards to the recommended ROM and flash procedure (just some hints, I'll do my homework and continue from there, I promise!). On the contrary, if the answer to the above is no, is there anything that you would recommend me besides rooting the device to uninstall some bloatware (Facebook, etc.). The IPS display seems good and the tablet is as new, it would be a shame if I can't find some good use for it...
Thanks in advance for the help,

Please see How do I update the OS on my device? and Where can I find stock or custom ROMs for my Android device?.

@Izzy: maybe I should have written my question differently. I know where are the resources explaining how to root and find ROMs, but my problem is that, while looking those resources, I can't find information about this specific tablet. So my question is: does this mean that is is not possible to upgrade, or what should I look for instead?

True, not all devices have this option. If the manufacturer doesn't provide any updates, and the device is used just "by a few", not having a developers community – then you're probably out of luck. How to possibly adapt a ROM from some "closely related hardware" is beyond the scope of this site, as it requires development skills; maybe such a question is welcome at [SO] (please check before asking there, as I'm not 100% sure).


text:
contacts crashes sporadically
Sometimes, when I click on the phone icon on my Galaxy S3, it freezes for a second and then says that the app Contacts has crashed. Afterwards I can reopen contacts with no problem.
This happens sporadically; sometimes it crashes multiple times in a day, sometimes it lasts a week without problems.

Could you let us know how often this happens (Every day? Every hour?), and perhaps which version of Android you're running? Did this start happening after you installed another app or some other event?

I'm not sure what started this or I would of uninstalled it. 4.1.3 and it varies when it happened some times it will be multiple times in a day then not for a week or so.

Have you tried the usual?

I have, I'm probably just gonna end up reformating


text:
Inbox showing date instead of time
My SMS inbox suddenly began to display the date instead of the time. Previously it has shown for example 18:54, but now it says OKT. 27 in the inbox.  When I open a conversation it will now say 27/10/2013, 18:54, instead of just 18:54.
How can I get it back to how it was?

Have you checked the Messaging app's settings?


text:
Charging Boot Loop on Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0
I have a rooted Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 (p3113) that has worked fine for over a year. After draining the battery completely out (which I have done many times before), I plugged it in to find it stuck in a boot loop. When I plug it in over USB or a normal outlet, it shows a battery with a frozen spinning dial in the center. It then shows the same battery icon that starts animating and filling itself for about a quarter second, before shutting down and doing the same thing all over again. I can't boot in to recovery or download mode (It doesn't get to that boot stage before shutting down), and the only way to stop the loop is to unplug it. It almost seems like the act of showing the charging icon is depleting the small store of battery and making it turn off. It is not on long enough to be recognized by my computer and so I can't do anything with that (no adb or fastboot).
Is there anything else that I can do to get it to boot to recovery or stop booting on charge altogether? Or is it now just useful as a paperweight?

After leaving it in the loop for days using 4 different wall adapters and a USB port, I found the wall-to-USB adapter that originally came with my device. I plugged my tablet in with that and it booted normally and started working; I don't know why that fixed it, but it did.

I had the intuition that the screen was discharging the tab, so, I tried disconnecting the ports that were draining the battery and charging till it could hold the initial charging phase.

Open it, unplug everything, leave for 10 mins, plug everything back in, and plug in the charger. Should work again. This is tested.

I don't see what this adds to the accepted answer.


text:
just boot in recovery mode htc one xl
Well, I have a htc onexl at&t (evita) bootloader unlock and custom recovery TWRP
when i try to turn on my phone he just boot in recovery, i can go to bootloader but i cant boot in system, is not a boot loop, he just go directly to recovery
This is what i did:

Unlock bootloader
Install custom recovery TWRP 2.6.3.0
Then I try to restart the phone and when he turn on he go directly to
recovery

On TWRP recovery, tap Reboot and then System


text:
detect when application using permissions ~ Android
I list all permissions of the new installed application on rooted Android device. But I want to detect when an application uses these permission. For example, I installed an app and it uses READ_CALENDAR permission. It is not always read my calendar data. I want to detect the time it reads my calendar data. Is it possible?

That should be possible. How to realize it, depends on the Android version used: For Android 4.0 and earlier, the IMHO best solution is installing LBE Privacy Guard, which you can configure to issue a popup whenever a given permission was requested (so you can decide whether to permit or deny access). However, do not attempt installing this on Android 4.1+, or you'll end up in a boot-loop; the XDA Developers have "localized versions" of LBE Security Master available instead (a version I find bloated, as it tries to cover to much things).
Apart from these two, I know of no other app informing you of an access at the time it's made (which does not mean there aren't any). Other tools might however log access so you can either see the log entry afterwards, or at least know whether an app has used that permission at all (e.g. XPrivacy). I'm not sure how PDroid handles this, as I've never used it.

Actually I asked this question to detect permission time on my program. I wont use other programs. I should write it in my program.. Thank u ,, at least I know this is possible. :)

Well, that makes your question off-topic here then. If you're after an implementation to your own code, you should rather take your question to [SO], as our site here is for end-users.

ohh ok I dont realize that site is for end-user..Thank u for warning. I also asked there this question and I take an answer 'it is not possible'.. anyway this helped me..

Glad I was able to help. You might want to mark the answer as "accepted" if you consider it a solution from an end-users point of view (as we do not deal with development stuff, that's the part we care for here), so the question shows up in searches as having a solution. Just tick the check-mark next to the question to do so. Thanks!


text:
Android battery mucking up
I have an unusual problem with my galaxy s4 battery.

Screenshot (click for larger variant)
Sometimes when the battery level is 85% it can shut off and when I turn it back on it can go straight to 0%. Also sometimes the battery level seems to be able to rise even when i am using it and its not being charged.
I ran a virus scan using AVG and found no viruses. Please help me find fix this problem.


text:
Google Now on the LG G2
Yesterday I bought a new LG G2 device and I wanted to turn on the Google Now feature, sadly, my Google Search app settings does not show any sign of Now switch. How can I turn on the Google Now

Screenshot (click for larger variant)

Have you installed the updated Search app? https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox

Sure, I've installed it!

See if Google search is somehow disabled in the list of apps. Alternatively, ensure that the latest version of Google Search has been installed in your device.
I am assuming of course, that Google Now is a supported feature in your country.

I did a factory reset and it suddenly work itself out!

Excellent. Glad it worked out.


text:
How to install ROM when bootloader is not unlocked?
Accidentally, on stock recovery, I selected wipe data/factory reset which could have uninstalled the ROM on it. So, now my mobile is showing company logo only.
My mobile HTC Inspire A9192's bootloader has not been unlocked yet.
How to boot the mobile again ?
Every time I restart my phone, the data/ cache and system gets unmounted.

A factory reset doesn't wipe the ROM files, only the user data, so you can't have "uninstalled the ROM" that way.
Having a locked bootloader doesn't stop you flashing a ROM: it just limits you to official ROMs signed by the manufacturer (or possibly by the carrier). So even if you can't or don't want to unlock the bootloader, you can still flash the stock ROM in the usual way from the recovery, if you can obtain a backup of it.

there is already something like clockworkmod named HTC ACE and its on chinese. While I tried to flash clockworkmod, it returned error that remote is not allowed.
And I don't know why the mobile is keep showing the HTC logo, I felt like its taking time for first boot but it kept showing for more than 30 mins. any solution ?

Every time I restart my phone, the data/ cache and system gets unmounted. :(


text:
Connect microSD card with your PC folder via Wi-Fi only
Suppose you sit in an office where you have high speed wi-fi internet connection to which you can connect your android mobile phone. On your office pc you have some downloaded videos , pictures etc. that you want to transfer to your mobile micro SD card. Now at home where you dont have internet connection, but you want to see those videos and pictures.
Unfortunately you don't have data card cable or you don't want to use data card.
Is there any application for doing such stuff
[idea is similar to dropbox app, but you should have active internet connection everywhere]

Option 1.
I will explain the setup I am using for past couple of years over various devices.
I use Swiftp in android to make a FTP server. This project is abandoned now, but the apk works on 4.2 jellybean (not sure about 4.3). Or as an alternative you can setup a FTP server via most file managers these days, eg Solid Explorer. Setup a username and password for the FTP server and start FTP server in the phone.
Then I use Filezilla in the PC (which is on same Wi-Fi network as the phone) and connect with the credentials to the FTP server set up on the android phone/tablet.
This will enable you to transfer files from PC to phone and viceversa.
Option 2.
Use AirDroid. Simple to setup and easy to use. I will recommend this over FTP server.
Good Luck.


text:
Wifi slow and delays with wifi power save on

This is what i get at a device factory reset. Samsung galaxy S7562 . I have tested over 30 different devices with my access point and this doesnt occur - no problems.
The other access point I have has better times and works with this android but gets disconnected after some time and it wont connect again. It will connected after a minute or so.
If i turn wifi  power save off from service mode then it works without any problem. Problem is visible at my app where small chunks of information are sent. When browsing although pings are the same there is just slower loading of page.However it seems that pings get low for 1 or 2 secs while loading a page but still slow.
When i turn power save off it works fine though.
Any idea for permament slution ? Even to turn power save off always

It looks like you've already come across one solution: turning off Wi-Fi power saving. That option puts the Wi-Fi chip into a low-power state sometimes. This reduces power use, but the trade-off is that next time you want to use Wi-Fi, you have to wait a fraction of a second for the chip to power on again.
This page from the official Android documentation explains about Wi-Fi power states. It's targeted at app developers, so they can optimize the usage pattern of their apps to save power. Even so, it's easy to follow, and might be interesting for other users to understand how Android tries to save power.

yes but this happens only at a specific access point. havent tested at more yet. Only at other 2 which seem to work fine but not sure how long


text:
Turn on Nexus One without Power button
My Google Nexus One has a broken power button. I'm using CyanogenMod-7.2.0-passion on it. I would like to configure trackball to turn on my device (after battery died or after changing the SIM or SD card).
Are there any ways to configure the trackball as the default power switch instead of power switch on top of the phone?

No, this isn't possible. Some CM versions allow you to use the trackball to turn the screen on, but there's no way to turn the device on from cold this way. When the device is off, Android isn't running, so nothing in Android can listen for a button press. The handling of the power button is much lower-level in the device firmware, and isn't available for users to change.