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What to do before root and flash my phone?
Right now I have in my phone the stock rom and I haven't rooted it. I want to root it and change the rom.

What should I do first, root or flash the rom?
I don't want to lose all the configuration, apps, apps data or files (images, music, videos, etc in the SD). How can I do to be sure to avoid this?
I want to make sure I can go back to the stock rom if I need, is there any special thing I should do?

If its relevant, I have a Samsung Galaxy I5510.
Thanks!

You should flash the ROM first, unless you need root in order to flash it.  (You can flash via Odin without root, but you need ROM Manager, which needs root, or something to flash if you don't use Odin).  When you flash a ROM that's rooted, your device will be rooted; if the ROM is not rooted, the device will not be rooted.
You need root to make a full backup.  See How to backup an Android device?
If you root first, you can install a custom recovery (e.g. ClockworkMOD, via ROM Manager) that will let you create a Nandroid backup of the full ROM.  That said, with a Samsung device you don't need to do this.  You can use a tool called Odin to reflash the original firmware as long as you've found it for download somewhere.

If you need more details on anything I've mentioned, I suggest searching first -- we have lots of questions on rooting, backups, Nandroid / Clockwork / ROM Manager, and Odin.  See also How do I root my Android device?, which has some info on considerations and things you can do before rooting.

You recommend to flash before root but you also say that I need root to make a full back up, how can I do? Should I flash after rooting to succeed backing up?

@Diego If you want to back up before flashing, which wipes your device, then you need to root first.  After rooting, backup (I recommend Titanium like the other answer) and then flash; afterwards, restore the backup.  Restoring a Nandroid backup will write over the ROM, whereas Titanium just restores apps and data.

Thanks! I'll give it a try this weekend and then (hopefully) accept the answer based in my experience.

You will need to root first. Without rooting your device, you will not have access to certain parts of the system, and flashing a ROM might crash the device (most ROMs need root). You can root without erasing or resetting anything, so you can continue with #2 and back stuff up before you flash your ROM.
Configuration you will probably lose, but apps and app data can be backed up through Titanium Backup. The SD card will not be affected by rooting, resetting, or flashing ROMs.
Going back to the stock ROM is more difficult, unless you're okay with still being rooted. After root, boot into Recovery and choose Backup and Restore->Backup or similar (different on different recovery versions) to do a NANDROID backup. This will store an image of your original ROM, and is a one step restore to normal.

3a. Unrooting is entirely a more complex process and will involve re-installing your stock ROM (if you can find it online) and deleting everything on your device. NOTE: again, SD card will be okay, and apps can be restored with Titanium backup.


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Block incoming and outgoing calls and texts
I have a strange request.
Does anyone know of an app that can block incoming AND outgoing calls and texts from certain numbers as well as be password protected (e.g. you need a password to edit, enable, disable or add to the this "blacklist".
Currently I use the auto-reject feature that comes with Android (which isn't password protected) as well as Handcent SMS which blocks notifications of incoming texts (and you can password protect this blacklist). However, you can still read the texts that someone on this blacklist sent if you look them up in your contacts and click Messaging. Neither of these prevent outgoing traffic of any kind.
I would like an app that can block incoming and outgoing calls and texts that can also be password protected. Preferably an app that auto deletes any text messages rather then just blocking the notifications like Handcent does.
If anyone knows of an app that can do any of these features, or know of some open source code that has any of these features (I am a C# developer and could probably pick up on Java pretty quickly) please let me know.
Edit: just to clarify, I don't want to block ALL incoming and outgoing calls/text, only incoming and outgoing calls/texts from certain numbers. I also want to be able to password protect this "blacklist" of numbers.

That is a strange request. Essentially you just want to kill the phone functions of the device, right? Any reason you didn't get an iPod Touch? Or a wifi-only tablet?

I don't want to block all incoming and outgoing traffic, only certain phone numbers. And I want to be able to password protect this "blacklist" of numbers

Miui has a built-in call/message filter, perhaps confusingly called Firewall, since there is also an actual internet firewall within the, also confusingly called, Monitor application (a comprehensive call and traffic  logger ). Works great though. To password protect it just use the Guard application, also within Miui.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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How can I change the double-tap zoom in the Android browser?
I like to use double-tap to zoom in on web pages with small text. (Multitouch pinching has been hard for me to get the hang of.)
It very often zooms too far, though. Is there a way I can get it to zoom in a little less on a double-tap?

The answer is in the browser settings.
In the default browser, this is found in Menu | More | Settings | Default Zoom. Options are "medium" (the default), "far", and "close".

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


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My Samsung Galaxy S doesn't recognize when it is plugged in to USB
When I plug in my Samsung Galaxy S (Model SAMSUNG-SGH-I897, Firmware 2.2, Kernel 2.6.32.9, Build FROYO.UCKB2) to a computer, it starts charging, but does not recognize the USB connection for data.  I have tried toggling debugging, mass storage, and ask on connection, but all that happens is that it draws power.  I've tried both Windows 7 32bit and Ubuntu 11.04 32bit.  It was working yesterday.
Additional note: dmesg, lsusb, and adb do not recognize the device at all under ubuntu
Thanks

I'd say it might be endemic to Samsung. See: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/4322/my-samsung-galaxy-3-gt-i5801-is-not-being-detected-in-my-pc-what-should-i-do and http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/5548/why-does-my-samsung-gt-i9000-not-detect-usb-connectivity-not-a-driver-problem

This has happened many times to me, and every time it has been a bad cable. If you have one, try finding another USB cable to test it with, and see if it works. Often some connection goes bad in the cable just from use and wear and it will only charge and refuses to transmit data.
The other possibility (this is known to be a problem with the EVO 4Gs, but i don't think i've heard of it on the Galaxy S) is that the USB port on your phone has been damaged or gone bad. This happened to my dad's phone (EVO) and they sent him a replacement.
Let us know what happens after you try a new cable!

I'll try to find a different cable (not at home at the moment), and it shouldn't be a warn out connect, the phone's only a month old!

My dad's went bad after about a year i think. but i've flown through cords, especially after buying super cheap (3 for $2) on Meritline :P

There are many reports on the net that describe this issue: Only charging works but no USB data connection. A friend of mine had this also. Besides a bad cable I think that its also a manufacturing/desgin flaw. Try sending the phone in.

@jlehenbauer I tried a different usb cable, and it seems to be an issue with the phone.  I'll try a couple more cables before I RMA it, and I'll try to clean the contacts too.  Thanks

sounds like a plan @bheklilr. let us know what works and what doesn't, as this sounds like a common issue

Happened to me on Windows 7 and downloading drivers from Samsung's website fixed it:
http://developer.samsung.com/technical-doc/view.do?v=T000000117

I discovered I did not have the tethering turned on ,on my phone , when I tried again it worked.

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


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Can Google's Voice Actions be started by voice?
I love Google's Voice Actions! It lets me listen to a song of my choice by simply saying "Listen to <song name>".
Problem is... I can't find any way to start Voice Actions itself by voice. I must touch the screen in order to start it.
So, my question is two-fold:

Is there a way to start Voice Actions by voice? (or without having
to touch the screen)
If there isn't, what kind of a solution or workaround can you suggest
for a blind person?

For example, some phones have only one tactile button (other than the power button, of course) -- the trackball. Is it possible to set that trackball to start Voice Actions when pressed long enough?

Not that I'm aware of. Presumably you could create an application that listened to the mic all the time and triggered it (voice search) on a certain phrase, but as voice to text is done "in the cloud" it would require a huge amount of data to go back and forth to accomplish this. One shudders to think of the implications on non-unlimited data plans, not to mention what it would do to your battery life.
Many phones launch voice serach when you press the button on a bluetooth headset. YMMV, try connecting a bluetooth headset and see what happens when you press the button.

another forum thread about launching search from a headset

+1. Great answer and insights. Based on this, having the phone constantly listening is impractical. I wonder whether there is a way to have local speech recognition, even if limited to one command only.

if your phone has hard keys you can start void by holding down the search key (don't have to touch the screen).

+1 this is what i use. There probably isn't a way to start it by voice, because it'd always have to be listening, but memorizing the location of one button and holding it down is pretty simple, and it gives you an audio cue when it's listening!

@bytebender +1 That's a great solution if I don't mind limiting the choice of phones. Is it the only solution? I would love to hear additional ideas. For example, some phones have only one tactile button -- the trackball. Is it possible to set that trackball to start Voice Actions when pressed long enough?

my phone (HTC EVO) has touch-sensitive buttons, but the search button is in the far bottom right corner, so i seldom look to use it anyways.

@jlehenbauer This is great input. +2.

thanks @ateiob! but i'm with you, i'd love to see some interesting solutions to this question :)

@jlehenbauer The Bluetooth headset button method (mentioned by @devnul3) is a great solution, when using a Bluetooth headset... Imagine if all Android phone manufacturers provided such a button in each and every phone itself. :)

if you do stick with a phone with physical buttons, most android versions allow you to define an action for a certain key, you could then change a hardware key to a one-click voice search!

@ateiob I am going to say yes on the trackball. I have never owned a phone with a trackball so I don't know if you are able to change it's function in the settings. But I could see the potential for an easy app that would do that.


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How to get Facebook chat on Asus Transformer?
So I just got my wife the Asus Transformer and for some reason there is no Facebook app available in the Market... She can use the web site, but chat is not available there as far as I can see. Any good solutions for this problem? :)

i'd check to make sure you have the latest version of the market; usually apps display according to version compatibility, so if you have an older market version, it may not think your device can run the app. Updating the market would help in this case.

The Facebook app (at least as of July) simply doesn't support the Transformer. It's pretty bad on a tablet anyway, and I don't even use it on my Xoom. However, some solutions you could try include:

Try to download Facebook from a different app store (Amazon, SlideMe, etc). You may also be able to use Market Enabler, though I'm not sure if it will bypass device restrictions. There is a question that discusses this already.
You could try the about:debug trick to switch your useragent to "Desktop". That is discussed here. This works on my Xoom and allows me to view the chat bar.
You can install Opera Mobile and then go into the Settings and select the "Desktop" user agent (Press the "O" button, then Settings->Advanced->User Agent). This also works on my Xoom. Other browsers also allow you to switch the User Agent string, so these may also work (Dolphin, for example).
You can use a third-party IM client like Trillian, which supports Facebook accounts. Facebook chat is, I believe, XMPP under the covers, so other chat clients will probably also work.

If you want a tablet-oriented Facebook app, I recommend Friend Me, though it does not currently support Facebook chat. Friendcaster also has a beta version for tablets that you can try out.

Excellent answer! I did get a hold of an older version of the Facebook app; works, but looks unholy... ;)
The browser can identify itself as Desktop/Tablet/Mobile already. By using desktop my wife gets the Chat window in Facebook... Just too bad that all other sites also get the desktop version and not their tablet version then...


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Factory reset to restore performance? What are the disadvantages?
tl;dr: What bad things will happen if I do a factory reset?

So I've had this original Droid for about a year and a half. I love this phone, and if only I could get it to be a bit faster and have a little more internal memory I'd keep it forever. However, it had been around for quite a while before I jumped on the Android bandwagon and it's getting pretty creaky in the joints. Further, my contract isn't up until next April.
Over that time I have installed and uninstalled a lot of applications (often to answer questions here or, more likely, from recommendations here). I have tried no fewer than five different home screen launcher apps.
I have streamlined the apps I'm using and moved everything possible to the SD card. Still, performance just isn't that good. I don't want to root (although I've considered it), but I need this thing to carry me for eight more months.
Could a factory reset possibly help? What is the downside to doing a factory reset?
I'm not concerned with losing anything important. Between the Market and AppBrain I have no fear that I won't be able to get key apps back. I also have all of my important data syncing to the cloud so I've no worries there.
Is there anything lost that I can't recover myself? For instance, am I going to have to go back to the Verizon store and have them reprogram my phone number? Is there any reason I shouldn't just go ahead and to the reset?

Update: So I took the plunge yesterday and everything worked out fine. I use Google 2-factor authentication, and that complicated things a little bit. Once I got past that it has been fine. I have quickly the discovered the apps I really need, and have been enjoying much "snappier" performance.
I'm just sorry that I can't accept multiple answers. These have all been very helpful.

I'm a little hesitant to post this as an answer because I can't find any end-user documentation, but the Developer docs describe a "factory reset" as simply wiping the /data partition (see here). I believe this is also what the phone's "factory reset" option does, but again, I can't find a user's manual or anything that gives a specific definition.

yes, eldarerathis, a factory reset will just wipe the /data and /data/data mount points. Any installed apps, the settings for them, and any user settings are stored there. besides settings and app data, really nothing else will be removed.

You'll be in the clear for the most part.  I factory reset my Moto DROID v1 a few months back, and while it is a little scary to do a total wipe like that, you really have very little to lose.  Like you say, you'll be able to redownload any app that you have previously purchased, and your contacts / e-mail should sync back up just fine.  It is a little frightening to see the commissioning screen on first boot, but you'll get past that quickly.  Like you, I had tried clearing out as much as I could and getting "lean", but I still saw a big performance boost after resetting.
One thing you will want to be certain to do is save any text or MMS messages that you have received to your SD card.  These get stored in system memory by default and will be erased if you don't save them to the SD card first.  You can save an image attached to a text by long pressing the image.  You'll get a pop-up with the option to save it to your SD card.

Call Logs are also not restored.  If you want to keep those, you'll need a way to backup/restore them.

@afrazier: I use Google Voice exclusively, and it has its own logs.

I had often done factory reset (sometimes unwillingly, because the beta ROM that I were using came crashing all the way through), I'd say the longer you have a working phone, the harder it is when you wiped them out.
You might not have noticed all the little tweaks you've done here and there in many apps that you will suddenly realize when you do a factory reset. Some of these tweaks may be obscure or difficult to reproduce, make sure you take note that you know how to redo all those tweaks.
Most of Google Apps data and Contacts is pretty much safely backed up to the cloud, but SMS/MMS is not (I still haven't figured out why Google haven't added SMS backup by default; although there are SMS sync apps that will backup your SMS to Gmail). Wifi passwords are wiped out and custom Wifi certificates as well, make sure you have them. Check all the applications you used regularly if they have settings backup; most home screen replacement apps have it and many other popular apps as well. Game history are pretty much out, except perhaps for online games, make sure you remember the logins for all of them (it's easy to forget them since you usually don't do login to your phone on the assumption that a phone is a personal, non-shared device).
If you have a large cache of email, contacts, and other synced stuffs and you don't have a large data plan, then make sure to do the syncing on Wifi.

No worries on SMS. I use Google Voice exclusively.

There's nothing to be afraid of.
i go through this, probably once every other month or so. The commenters are correct, a Factory Reset only erases the data on your device. It clears out all the memory and space back to what it had when it came out of the factory.
For example, if your phone is rooted, a factory reset will not change that. Simply deleting data.
i have found it a good way to clear out and start fresh. Although you may just restore your apps from the SD card or the cloud, they (and their sometimes erroneous data) are probably what was slowing down your phone in the first place.
After a factory reset, i reinstall apps as i go, only picking up what i really needed to begin with. After a while i get bogged down with games and Free Apps of the Day, and a data wipe is in the near future for me.
A Factory Reset would most likely be a good solution to your problem, and does NOT incur any significant or irreversible loss.

There is no risk to factory resetting your phone (other than it erasing everything you've installed, and your personal information). It won't mess with your SDcard if you have one.
Factory resetting your phone will not speed it up anymore than you could do if you simply cleaned up apps on the system. Thinking that it can speed up is a misunderstanding of how the system works. Android runs all apps modularly. Which means that if you uninstall an app, it is 100% gone from the operating system (except perhaps cache, which over time will be 100% gone too when it gets over written by another app). To speed up the phone, I would perform these actions:

Go into settings>apps and disable/uninstall all undesired apps.
Go into settings>apps and clear the data and cache of all apps you don't use.
Delete all SMS/MMS
Delete the Call log
Delete the history of anything else that keeps long records


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Android Market on Pandigital Novel, without rooting?
Pandigital is advertising on their site, that users of their devices can now "download & enjoy Android apps" after applying a firmware update.

I've applied the update to my wife's Novel, but haven't found any shortcut to the Android Market on the device since.  I tried using the Android Market website, and it doesn't seem like that will work without having the Market installed on the device.
Is there a way to get Android Market on the Novel, without rooting it?
More details of the device in question:
Model Number (in About screen) - PD_Novel
Model Number (on back of device) - PRD07T10WWH756
FCC ID - TLZ-NU706
Firmware Version - SH20_20110302_K_PD_INX7E_ENG_6410POP
Kernel Version - 2.6.29 fsysky@fsysky Mon Jan 24 18:22:16 UTC 2011
Build Number - PD_Novel 2011.03.02

do you know if you can install .apk files directly to the device?

@jlehenbauer - I've heard of some hacks/workarounds for that.  Is there a .apk file for the Market that I could use?

From page 53 of the user guide, you need to install the Android SDK and use ADB to load applications.  If you do this with the Market (3.3.12) I would expect you would be able to use it normally after that.

I also have the Pandigital Novel, did the update but it only gives you a 1.5 Android, which originally was promised to be a 1.6 Android.
Secondly, the SlideSAM 4.0 becomes SlideSAM 4.1 with the firmware update, but now crashes regularly when entering the Android Market online...
All in all, Pandigital left us hanging with no options... if you're lucky, you can hack your Pandigital and give it the Honeycomb 3.0 Android but if you're like me, (not a programmer), you wouldn't know a honeycomb if it hit you upside the head!

If you happen to find a way to install .apk files directly to your Novel, there are files to install the 3.0.26 Market, or if that one isn't compatible for some reason or doesn't work well (it's the newest one), heres a link to the 2.3.6 Market.

those links above are for PHONES ONLY NOT TABLETS! If you try to install you will receive a NON PARSING ERROR!

@bobpandigital7white I think the Market is unified now, does 3.3.12 work for you?


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App for calling a list of contacts, one after another
My daily commute is rather long, and I make lots of phone calls while driving. Dialing while driving is illegal, so I have to stop by, dial, and drive again, which is inefficient, time consuming and unsafe.
Is there a way to create a list of contacts in advance, so that my Android will dial all the contacts on the list one after another?

What about using Voice Dialling via a bluetooth headset? Is that considered against the law in your location?

It is not illegal, but voice recognition in Hebrew is nonexistent or poor. Moreover, it requires action on my part and distracts my attention from driving.

While it doesn't dial automatically, you can add contacts to your home screen for one click dialing.
Home Screen > Menu > Add > Shortcuts > Direct Dial
Now choose a contact.
You'll now have an icon on your home screen that will dial with one click. Do that for all of your contacts and you can have a homescreen of contacts.

It's a nice idea, but the contacts are not always the same, and clicking a contact still requires some attention.

Not a good idea, but seems the only current solution. putting big number of contacts on home screen, and sorting them each time is hard.


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Samsung Galaxy S - Problem obtaining IP address. "NAK in request"
I can't obtain an ip address to my Android smartphone from my wifi router.
Observations:

The smartphone connection to other routers or thru cellular data is ok.

My router's wifi connection to my PC is ok.

Wifi link to the smartphone was ok till recently.

Security on or off doesn't make a change.

Router is TPink WR541 v7. Firmware upgrade did't help.

Problem persists with 802.11g or b.

Message on the Smartphone:
"Obtaining IP address from [My Router'a Name]". Then "Disconnected"

Message on the router's syslog: "0334:DHCPS: 1:[PHONE's MAC ADDRESS], NAK in request."
Would be grateful to receive your help.
Best Regards,
Joseph.

Any chance you have MAC filtering on?  Have you tried changing the channel?

MAC filtering is disabled. Tried to change the channel. Signal is very strong anyway.

DHCPNAK is a server message, it's invalid for clients to send it. Sorry I can't be more helpful, not familiar with that particular router. I would recommend turning off encryption (briefly!) and sniffing the dhcp handshake with e.g. Wireshark and look at what's really going on.
As an aside, DHCPNAK generally gets sent (by the server) when the client requests renewal of an invalid ip, to trigger the client requesting a new address. Check that you have a dhcp pool configured and that it has not been exceeded. Still shouldn't kick out that error, but something to check none the less.

+1 for the wireshark idea. This will show what's really going on.


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Cannot backup app via Astro - (private) app?
I was just about to backup an Android application via Astro app, when I saw that there is no checkbox in the right side, but just a title saying (private).
What does it mean? How can someone restrict an app to be backed up? Is there a way to backup the app anyway?

Private means you can't back it up. The developer decided that.
Some apps ignore it

FileExpert <- my favourite
EStrongs File Explorer

Not a file manager, but also Titanium backup


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Synchronize with multiple calendars
I have 2 Google calendars, associated with my account. But after synchronisation, android shows only one (the first).
I've review Google calendar settings and found, that only the first has field "Owner", filled with my account. The second is seemed to be shared and I am not owner, but simple member.
How can I make my android (Samsung Galaxy Tab) synchronize with both calendars?

I recall having this issue with some calendar not showing up. If I remember correctly it had to do with having some calendar disabled/hidden in google calendar at the time of the first sync; the calendar app would then not bother looking for other calendars.
Try going in Settings > Accounts and Sync > Auto-sync and uncheck it.
Go to google calendar on the web, make sure all your calendar are visible.
Then in Settings > Applications > Manage Applications > All > Calendar Storage > Clear Data
Back to Settings > Accounts and Sync > Auto-sync , check it.
When you next open your calendar, it should be empty, but you should be able to select all your calendars.

I have multiple calendars syncing to my Droid, only some of which am I the owner.
Go to the Calendar app, and press Menu | More | Calendars. Make sure that both calendars under your account are set to "synced, visible". If not, tap until it changes to that setting.

In Menu|More|Calendars I see only 1 Google calendar, but I have 2.

If you are using multiple Google accounts, you need to make sure that all of them are set to sync calendar data:

From the home screen, go to Menu -> Settings -> Accounts & sync
Tap on your Google account.
Ensure the "Sync Calendar" option is checked.
Repeat steps 1 - 3 for every Google account you've added.

Samsung has their own Calendar app on the Galaxy Tab, which is slightly different from stock Android:

Open up the Calendar app.
Tap the Menu button, go to Settings -> Calendars.
Make sure the calendar you wish is checked (you can also select the "All calendars" option on top.)

Your second calendar should now properly show up in all apps that poll calendar data.

I have only 1 account with 2 calendars. Unfortunately, I see only 1 Google calendar in settings.

Today I tried Calsync to sync Lotus Notes calendar to Android.
It worked and I was able to sync the lotus notes calendar to my Google account where I have multiple calendars. I found that my phone (HTC Desire HD) is by default able to select and sync multiple calendars but my galaxy tab 7" is not able to.

I have found a way to activate multiple calendars in Samsung Galaxy Tab:

Download the aCalendar app from Google Play Store (This is a free app).

Run it and it will open the calendars that was synced by the Galaxy Tab (which is by default the main calendar in your Google account).

In the "Setting" or in "More Options" of aCalendar you have an option to select other calendars set-up in your Gmail account (It will display all calendars in your Gmail account).
After selecting multiple calendars also it does not sync by default. You will find that the additional calendars are selected in a light color not the normal dark colour for sync.

Now touch and hold the calendars that you want to sync and it will popup with a message to sync. Sync and then that calendar will get synced not only in aCalendar app but also on the Galaxy Tab default calendar.

Hope this helps people who cannot sync multiple calendars with Samsung Galaxy Tab!


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HTC-Desire-HD Calls go to answer phone if emails / data is updating
a customer of mine has a HTC-Desire-HD that when Data is updating be it emails, weather or any other data app the customer can not receive any voice calls as they go straight to answerphone..
Data turned off the calls work no problem.
If the phone is ont he home screen or other menu screen the phone calls are fine.
only when data is in use does the call go to answerphone.
Any tips??

Only dual-transfer mode phones and networks can use both voice and data at the same time.  I can't find any hard details on the Desire HD but I assume it is not DTM enabled/capable.

You can check that by making a call then opening the browser and navigating around (assuming you're on 3G) if that works (it should) then Something is Broken, and you should call tech support.


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What do I need to improve performance of the Android emulator?
I currently use Ubuntu 10.10, and I find the emulator extremely slow. However, I have an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU (T5200 processor) with 4G of RAM. What do I need to improve performance? Better hardware? A minimal Linux distribution?

Developer questions are off-topic, so I removed that aspect from the question since the emulator can be run by users too.

Past versions of the emulator were extremely slow on all platforms.  However, there are now native x86 versions of the emulator; performance should be considerably improved.  You should be able to get them through the Android SDK (or through Intel's website, see this Stack Overflow post).
However, I would recommend (for end users) Memu instead; it's very fast and reliable.  Genymotion is the best alternative if you aren't on Windows.

Thank you. I was thinking that I would need even more power for just an emulator. A dual-core with 4G is usually a good system, even by today's standards.

@jfmessier: I recall reading at one point that the emulator is actually confined to just one core, and that people tend to get better performance with a very high frequency single-core processor. That's probably where you're hurting the most - T5200 is fairly low on the Core 2 Duo frequency scale.

That makes much sense to me. And I realize that my cores are not the fastest ones. That would also mean that I should try to have a clean, small and fast installation of Linux that will leave more resources to Android emulator.

I have a quad-core machine, but it is a i7 intel chip, which does some extra clocking (turbo) when it sees that only one core is used. It does this in 133 MHz (some versions in 100 MHz) steps. I see some speed up for Honeycomb in the startup, but later the emulator is still not usable.

There are now native x86 images that run faster

@ce4 Indeed, I didn't see this old post to update it till now ;)

As an update to Matthews answer: I'm running Android-x86 in a VirtualBox VM, performance and load are pretty much acceptable. Android-x86 images are available for download on the project site, and install in VM works like with any Linux distro (basically).
for detailed instructions, there are several tutorials around; simply google for android-x86 virtualbox, good matches appear already on the first page, e.g.

VirtualBoxHowTo
Install Android 4.4 Kitkat on PC or Virtualbox - YouTube
The Complete Guide to Run Android 4.3 in VirtualBox


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Broken screen while debug mode was disabled. How can I re-enable adb?
The screen of my phone is physically broken, so it doesn't display anything, but the touch aspect does seem to be working, as I can unlock my phone, and get haptic feedback.
Before I go to get it replaced, I'd like to back up some personal data from the built-in memory to the SD card. I'm fairly certain that if I can get adb to recognize the device, then I can use Android Screencast to see where I am touching the screen and do what I need to do. Problem is, when I plug it in, it's not recognized, while my emulator is.
I suspect that I might not have USB debugging enabled, which I think is necessary for adb to work. If this is the case, can someone give me screenshots of their Droid X (running 2.3.X) going from the home screen, through all the menus, to activating debug mode? Hopefully I can do it by dead reckoning and adb from there.
Edit: I haven't changed anything about the ROM or launcher; it's all stock.

Sounds like the USB connector has been broken too. Can you connect the phone to your computer? If so, then maybe you could set it to be in USB drive mode.

No, the USB connector is fine, I think. When I plug it in, my computer makes the 'device connected' noise, but nothing else happens.

Did you ever accomplish this?

Unfortunately no, I lost the data when I got a replacement phone. I should enable adb on my current phone now to avoid this...

This may be a little late but the droid X had a mini HDMI port! Why not just use that?

Bluetooth multi-function keyboard like the DiNovo Mini I had lying around, helped w/ a Nexus 7 device where touch screen was broken.

Had exactly the same problem recently (on a friend's Nexus S running stock Android 4.0 with a completely broken screen & digitizer and adb switched off):
Get a recovery system running with adb enabled. Then use adb console to access the device's data and create a backup. On Nexus S you cannot use the sdcard to get the data off the device, so you need to use adb for that.
Prerequisites:

Phone does have fastboot mode with boot command enabled
Phone still works (except for the screen)
SDK installed (with working adb + fastboot executables)
CWM recovery image downloaded to /tmp/cwm.zip (has enabled adb when started)
Linux with installed uudecode (part of package 'sharutils' on Ubuntu)

How to do it:
a) Start device in fastboot mode and boot the CWM recovery this way
me@workstation:~$ fastboot boot /tmp/cwm.zip

b) wait some time for CWM to boot, then log into the device
me@workstation:~$ adb shell
shell@android:/ $ mkdir -p /tmp/backup/data /tmp/backup/sdcard

Replace DATA_DEV and SDCARD_DEV by the real devicenames
depending on your phone, it's most likely one of these:

DATA_DEV: /dev/block/mtdblock*
SDCARD_DEV: /dev/block/mmcblk*
use df command to find candidates by size.
shell@android:/ $ mount -oro <DATA_DEV> /tmp/backup/data
shell@android:/ $ mount -oro <SDCARD_DEV> /tmp/backup/sdcard
shell@android:/ $ exit
me@workstation:~$ adb shell tar czf - /tmp/backup \| uuencode foo | uudecode -o - > /tmp/backup.tar.gz

Caveats and further explanations:

Why uuencode? ADB console seems to intercept the data stream and obviously inserts a carriage return before each single line feed. Uuencoding the data before transmitting it via adb's stdout protects against that.
Does not work on encrypted devices
You can also just repeat the process on unmounted devices and transmit all of the /dev/block/* one by one and figure out which one is for what afterwards
You need to find a suitable CWM recovery image yourself

I typed that first fastboot command. It's stuck on <waiting for device>. What does that mean?

A device in fastboot mode wasn't detected and the program needs either more rights or is waiting for you to plug in a device in fastboot mode. What model do you have? If it's a Nexus or a Sony: is the bootloader unlocked (else fastboot boot doesnt work)? You need to press some unique key combo on each device to boot it into this mode. Note that Samsung phones don't offer the fastboot command mode at all.

Thanks. I have a Motorola Droid Razr Maxx HD. Do I need to hold power button + volume down when booting? I didn't realize that's what "fastboot" mode was, but I just read it on the Motorola site while researching something else. I will try it when I get home from work.

You will probably need to get it fixed, I'm doubtful that this model has an unlocked bootloader that has the fastboot boot feature.

Late addition: Instead of using uuencode, an easier way would be: adb shell "stty raw & tar czf - /tmp/backup" > /tmp/backup.tar.gz. The stty raw tells the system to send the data "raw" (i.e. unaltered) – and not add any carriage returns to it. So one requirement less, as stty is available on the device as it ships.

fastboot boot /tmp/cwm.zip This saved my phone from boot loop. Thumbs up.

is it work on android 10 ??

The Droid X does not have a physical keyboard - but if it did you could try this in a terminal. I'm leaving this answer here for other phones that have busted screens.
setprop persist.service.adb.enable 1
That turns on USB debugging (on a HTC Dream running RC29), and is one of the ways to root the Dream when it has a busted screen.

Where do I type this?

@JasonC In an Android command-line shell. If you don't already have a method of getting to one, you're not going to be able to set one up with the screen broken.

If the device supports USB OTG, you could hook up a USB keyboard, then need to know the key sequence or key combination to bring up a Terminal, then enter the command line.

If the device is capable of USB host mode you can buy a USB-OTG cable (USB on the go) and connect a USB mouse or a USB keyboard to bypass the broken touch screen.

I have GT-I9305 device which should support USB OTG, at least 'google' says so, but if I connect my wireless mouse nothing happens, any ideas how to get cursor working?

@tomasb Were you ever able to get the mouse to be recognized?

@Jason Yes, I was. Both USB OTG and Bluetooth mouse, the solution is quite complex but i haven't found anything simpler (or just working) yet, described here: http://android.stackexchange.com/a/69600/60711 My situation was little bit more complicated because I flashed new ROM thus had my android uninitialized.

I had my digitizer burned (by flashing corrupted recovery) and flashed new ROM and I was able to proceed as described here: https://android.stackexchange.com/a/69600/60711


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Can .nomedia exclude file type?
In my Music folder, I have many subfolders for albums and they each have their album art in .jpg or .png format. I want the media scanner to not pick up these files however if I do that, then the entire Music folder would have nothing in it.
Is there any way to only exclude certain file formats? My gallery is cluttered with album art at the moment.
I also don't want to delete any of the album art.
EDIT: Requesting tag "media-scanner" to be created.

.nomedia is on or off, no way to exclude just certain file types. You might want to try including the album art in the music files (it'll still show up in the music player) and then copying them over, rather than adding the art to the folder on your phone.


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How to move contacts and other data from Symbian to Android?
I am changing my mobile from Symbian (Nokia 5800 XpressMusic - S60v5) to Android (Samsung Galaxy SII).
I want to move the following data from my old mobile to the new one somehow.

Contacts
Calendar Entries
Bookmarks
Notes
SMS, if possible

Other data like images, videos etc I can transfer using my memory card.
I have synced my contacts,notes already to Ovi Sync and calendar entries to Google calendar via Mail for Exchange.

As devnul3 has said, using Google for the contacts and calendar (I was using Google as an Exchange account, so I didn't have to do anything special). Just set your Android up with the same Google account.
Moving SMSs can be done with SMS Migrator, which can be found in the Android market. There's also the SPB migration tool, which looks like it can do everything but notes.

For contacts and calendar entries, move the contacts to the google cloud with google sync, then activate the android device with the same account.
Note:if you created more than one google calendar, you will need to make sure they're all selected for sync on the phone (open the calendar app, menu > more > calendars).
Not sure about notes/SMS/bookmarks, although if you can get the bookmarks off of symbian and into chrome you can use chrome marks or chrome to phone to move them to android.

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


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Problem running z4root on Galaxy S GT-I9000
I installed Z4root on my Galaxy S (the original, not the S II) after reading this post, using the APK file attached to the post (can't find it in market). The thread leads me to believe that the process is as simple as installing, switching USB debugging on and pressing the root button. Not in my case.
Results:

First time, the app didn't get further than the "running root exploit" message (waited 30+ mins)
After rebooting the phone out of desperation, when I press the permanent root button it gets as far as the "acquiring root shell" message and the app either just disappears (with no results) or the app stops working and I get the force close window.

I've tried this many times with reboots in between, both plugged in and unplugged and no different results. Do later SGS models have some anti-root hax built into them? Have I missed something obvious about the process?
Extra info:

The phone does not have three button recovery mode
The author of the app claims to be from the same country as me, and his phone is also SGS running Froyo. If we are cursed with weird "international" hardware I would've expected the same to happen to him.
The thread talks about a superuser app being installed after the phone reboots. I already had Superuser installed (but never been able to use it because I haven't successfully rooted ever). I uninstalled the app and tried z4root again, but nothing different happened.
The thread suggests using adb logcat to get debugging info, but logcat spews an endless stream of info that is much longer than the examples I've seen in the thread (long enough that my terminal buffer loses the top info before it finishes). What I can see doesn't seem like it is related to z4root.

How do you know your phone doesn't have a recovery?  Can you get it into Download Mode?  Are you opposed to flashing a pre-rooted ROM (can be just stock+root)?

I know that it doesn't have three-button recovery (are there other types?), because I've tried rebooting with the appropriate buttons, and it does nothing differently. Apparently this is the case with some of the international variants. Hadn't heard of Download Mode but followed these instructions and it didn't work either: http://www.samsunggalaxysforum.com/samsung-galaxy-s-rooting/download-mode-recovery-mode/ Re Flashing: not opposed to anything that I can see step-by-step instructions for and which has been around for long enough for people to comment with any problems they've had.

Related: How do I root my Samsung Galaxy S?

That wasn't working for me neither, but when I tried the SuperOneClick it worked perfectly and very stable, but you will need to use a PC to do it.

If you've got a Galaxy S without a three-button-recovery mode, have you looked into making or buying a download mode jig? See this post for instructions on making one, or there are a few eBay sellers that stock them pretty cheaply.


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Sprint HTC shift: delete all gmail contacts with no phone number
After syncing my phone with a gmail account, all of my gmail contacts were loaded onto my phone... Now any app that pulls all my phone's contacts, such as RingDroid, will include hundreds of email addies I don't care about at all. Is there any way to wipe all these no-phonenumber email contacts?
Unsyncing is not a solution, the contacts remain. And please don't tell me to revert my phone to factory settings over something so rudimentary as this.

Related: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/920/on-an-htc-evo-is-there-any-way-to-sync-only-my-contacts-from-gmail-not-all-c

Open the "People" application and press the menu key, and then "view" and click "only contacts with phone numbers"

This unfortunately still seems to leave email contacts on the phone. You could say it's the fault of the app for pulling that info, but it's only doing so because the info is on my phone somewhere..

Ah, now I think I understand. Do you by chance have "auto gmail contacts" checked in that same menu? If you have "only contacts with phone numbers" checked and "auto gmail contacts" unchecked, the expected behavior is that you would only have "real" contacts (contacts you created) from gmail. Also, if you remove a contact are they being removed from ringdroid (I don't use it, I had all my ringtones edited down in audacity)? If not, then I recommend removing the app, editing your contact list, then reinstalling.


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MIUI ROM English Version for Samsung Galaxy S
MIUI ROM is available in Chinese for Samsung Galaxy S. (There is an english site as well, but it doesn't list Galaxy S) After the install, according to the docs, I get this on the screen:

(source: miui.com)
Will I be able to change the language to English and continue to use the phone without any chinese interaction or should I use a custom mod?

Which "Samsung Galaxy S" exactly?

I think I got it. http://miui.us

The base MIUI is quite closed source and opaque (there was some brouhaha on XDA about it) I'm sure. There are several spin-offs and/or AOSP merges in different languages on XDA.
These are specific links to current MIUI ROMs (current as at 29 Aug 2011)

I9000: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1118682
SGS2: http://www.galnetmiui.co.uk

However, I'd suggest you monitor the relevant device forum at XDA and see what's out there. Versions change, ROMs come and go, threads are closed/new ones opened etc so the two links above may not be reliable over time
I have a HTC Desire: there were half a dozen MIUI ROMs for this a few months ago. YMMV of course
Edit:
Note also that ROM developers are leaving XDA because of the noise and stupid users. Hence the galtnet MIUI link (which I got from XDA). So you may find less info than you expect on XDA
You said MIUI but I can recommend Oxygen for the SGS2 (I use this on my Desire)


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Default Music Player randomly playing while headphones are plugged in
This is INCREDIBLY annoying. While listening to music, the headphone will somehow trigger an unplug event (the connection is loose and very bad apparently). The default player will start to play, and sometimes it will just keep playing and pausing rapidly. Sometimes, Pandora will also constantly play and pause music. This is so frustrating it makes me just want to smash my phone to pieces for the junk it is. What can be done? I have used this answer here, but it doesn't fix the problem while playing music.
The only way I can hope to currently listen to music on my phone is to make sure the connection from the headphone (any headphone) isn't disturbed. My phone basically doesn't play music well at all any more which means no more Pandora/internet radio.
What can/should I do? I am using a Droid X with the latest update 2.3.3. I believe this problem has been happening for a while. I bought the phone in October and it worked without this kind of problem for about 2-4 months.
Am I the only one with this bug?

I understand your frustration, but please make this less of a rant and more of a question.

Can you please say what kin of phone

Im having the same problem, i use the music player while running, it does the same thing, can anyone help?

How long have you had your phone? One common cause of intermittent headphone connections like this can just be that after carrying your phone around in your pocket for months, it has picked up "pocket fluff" in the headphone socket. At first this just squashes down out of the way when your headphones are plugged in, but after a while so much builds up that it stops the headphones plugging in fully and making a secure connection.
Removing this fluff can be as simple as just pulling it out with a straightened paper clip (be careful when you stick it in there). This is what I found by in my headphone socket a little while ago with a paper clip.

There are also some slightly more complicated ways to give the socket a good clean.
This fluff problem is far more common with smart phones, than with stand-alone MP3 players or old-fashioned walkman-type devices, as you'd commonly leave the headphones permanently plugged into those older single-purpose devices, whereas people usually leave the headphone socket empty on general purpose smart phones most of the time, and slip them in and out of fluff and lint filled (and generating) trouser pockets.

Interesting, wouldn't have thought of this. +1

@BryanDenny neither did I until an iPhone using friend mentioned to me a few weeks ago that he'd had this problem and was amazed at how much compacted fluff had built up in there, of course after hearing that I had to see how much was in my phone! It fixed my problem with Listen podcasts randomly cutting out as I walked around.

@ GAThawn you are the MAN. there was a GIANT piece of lint in there. I had to manipulate it a few times before finding it but like you said, I could see into there and notice it wasn't all metal/shiny for the male plug to conduct to. I'll accept if this fixes the problem.

@GAThawn unfortunately the issue still remains. The problem is that the "default music player" keeps turning on while I'm already listening to other music and if the device is moved enough.. It seems to be less crazy though when it happens.


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Lost access to drawer icon for center button on CyanogenMod 7
I am running CyanogenMod 7 on my HTC Thunderbolt and somehow I inadvertently removed the function for the center button on my home screen between the phone and web browser icons.  This middle button used to bring me to the drawer where every installed application is listed, not just the ones on my home screen.
How can I restore the middle button functionality to get access to applications in my drawer?

Is the button still visible and non-functional, or is it missing from the action bar?

Missing from action bar, shows as Star icon and click gives message: No application defined yet, drop something here!.

It sounds like you just dragged the tray shortcut off the action bar accidentally. Try doing the following:

Long press on an empty space on any home screen
Select "Launcher Actions" from the menu that appears
Select "Open/Close App Drawer"
Drag the new shortcut back onto middle button of the Action Bar


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If I buy a tablet with Honeycomb 3.1, will I be able to upgrade it to 3.2? How about 4.0, 5.0, ...?
I am in the market for a tablet. However I am not clear the degree to which the hardware will be linked to a specific android version. For example, if I get the Motorola Xoom or the Galaxy Tab 10.1, will I be able to upgrade it to honeycomb 3.2?
Will there be limitations on future upgrades, and if so, on what time scale?

The Xoom already got 3.2 in the US, but this isn't really an easy question to answer. It could vary widely based on where you live, what specific tablet you have, and whatever Google decides to do with Android moving forward. I don't think you'll get much more than pure speculation, especially with regards to versions beyond Honeycomb.

We can't answer for any potential device, but known released/announced updates are added to the marked duplicate as we find them.  Hopefully that helps.

@Matthew I would urge you to consider opening this back up; this is not an exact duplicate because I am interested in the fundamental property of the hardware (e.g. is the ability to receive an update limited by hardware?) rather than 'when will device X get an update?'

@David We have other questions on Android's requirements. For 2.3 there is the CDD but there is no such document for 3.0, since it hasn't been released by Google.  There should be one for 4.0 when it comes out though.  Apart from that, Android is open-source and can theoretically be ported to any device.

There's really no way to answer this question. There are devices out there that got to version 1.6 and are at the end of the line. I have a DROID with Froyo (2.2) and don't expect to get any more OS updates.
It all depends on the hardware and, most importantly, how much effort the manufacturers and/or carriers want to put in to update the device. If the past is any indication, the answer there is "not much". They seem much more interested in selling their new phones. While Google and the manufacturers recently met and said that there will be more of an effort to support and update devices for at least 18 months, we've not seen the results of that. While they occasionally backpedal on announcements of "no more updates" it hasn't been very frequent.
If past performance is any indication, I think you can expect a few point releases, and perhaps a full release (to version 4.0) but beyond that I don't think is going to happen.
This is, of course, speculation, and this is now a fairly long non-answer answer to an unanswerable question.


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Samsung Galaxy 5 Wi-fi stops working: "ar6000 driver fails to load"
My Galaxy 5 has this problem for some months now: wifi stops working, I try to enable it and the phone says "Error" without any other further information. The only way to make it work again is rebooting the phone. I think this problem has been related here before.
But I managed to save the system log and got the following:
08/04/2011 23:01:50 [ERROR] WifiService(166) setWifiEnabledDialog: true
08/04/2011 23:01:50 [ERROR] WifiService(166) ****************setWifiEnabledDialog(), allowWifi****************true
08/04/2011 23:01:50 [INFORMATION] WifiService(166) setShowAccessPointListDialog():true
08/04/2011 23:01:50 [INFORMATION] WifiService(166) setWifiEnabledDialog(): true
08/04/2011 23:01:50 [INFORMATION] wlan_tool(11010) wifi loading
08/04/2011 23:01:51 [INFORMATION] wlan_tool(11014) Driver is initialized. load it
08/04/2011 23:01:51 [INFORMATION] wlan_tool(11021) ar6000 driver fails to load
08/04/2011 23:01:51 [INFORMATION] wlan_tool(11029) wifi unloading

I'm trying to understand what's going on here. What exactly is ar6000? Maybe the network interface? How can I get more information about the error itself?
I have already uninstalled almost any app that could change the wifi behavior, and the problem persists. Juice Defender is still installed, but the problem already existed before I first installed it.

ar6000 is the driver for the Atheros 6k Wifi chipset. From browsing on XDA, it seems to be a common issue with Galaxy, not sure if there is any fix yet, though many reported that reboots works.

Yeah, I've noticed this is a pretty common problem unfortunately. I had the hope that bringing this log would help to understand the causes, but up to now it's being useless. Thanks for the link about the driver.

I've seen a number of people report that the WLAN test dialer code will allow the driver to reload properly (example). I believe it's *#*#526#*#* on many Samsung phones, but this post indicates that it may also be *#*#528#*#* or *#*#232339#*#*. This may not work on all devices, since manufacturers tend to include/remove different dialer codes almost at a whim.
If you're unfamiliar with dialer codes, simply open your dial pad and enter the sequence as though you were attempting to dial the number *#*#526#*#*. Your phone should then jump to the WLAN test facility.

great! it worked. :-) finally a better solution than restarting the phone.

All three of these codes bring up the correct interface on my GT-5570, which manages to successfully load the drive; unfortunately it then fails to find any networks when it scans.

Something that's helped me with similar Wi-Fi errors on my Vibrant is the Blade Wi-Fi Fix.  You might give it a shot and see if it works for you.

Unfortunately did not solve the problem.

One thing I've tried on several models of Galaxy's is to do a Factory Reset in the "Settings" menu. For some reason the WiFi drivers get corrupt and a reset fixes this every time.

http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/AR6K
wifi driver issue, factory reset or firmware upgrade could help you.

Answers that provide no information except a link to somewhere else are not answers at all. What happens when that link stops working, for instance?


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Xperia play bootloader locked?
Hi guys i've been trying for quite a while to unlock the bootloader of the phone i've bought. It's from hong kong and branded to vodafone it's not sim locked as I tried an optus sim and it worked.
I press and hold the search button and plug the usb in and I get a blue light but when I try to check if fastboot can find it, it can't.
Any ideas what the problem is?

If fastboot from your computer can't find it, try following these steps exactly, beginning with installing the Requirements below. The most likely problem is some sort of driver missing, disallowing the computer from reading the phone in while it's in the bootloader.
This guide can be found on addictivetips.com, and uses a fastboot program from your computer to unlock the bootloader:
Requirements:

Fastboot package.
Sony Ericsson USB drivers (32bit & 64bit).
A functioning internet connection.

Steps:

To begin, navigate to this website: http://unlockbootloader.sonyericsson.com/instructions.
Click Continue at the bottom of the page and enter your device’s IMEI code, name and email address in the relevant fields.
Your unique unlock key will now be mailed to you.
Now unzip fastboot.rar and open the folder extracted.
Within that folder, hold the Shift key and press the right Mouse button. Now select Open command window here.
Now we need to connect the phone to the pc in fastboot mode. Do so by turning the phone off, holding the menu button (search button for the Xperia Play) and plugging in the USB Cable.
Now in the command prompt, enter the following command:

fastboot.exe -i 0x0fce getvar version

Now enter the command, replacing KEY in the string with the unlock key mailed to you:

fastboot.exe -i 0x0fce oem unlock 0xKEY
That is it! The bootloader is now unlocked.

I fixed it :) I just had to update the original firmware. Then do those steps. That seemed to fix it.

cool! glad you found out how to fix it :)


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tun.ko for Samsung Intercept/Stock Froyo
I have a Samsung Intercept, running the VM stock image of Froyo. I'm trying to get OpenVpn running on it. The phone is rooted, and I have OpenVpn and the gui from the marketplace running on it, and running openvpn from the command line shows its connecting up, authenticating, but there IS no tun.ko. The several I've found on the net that claim to work on an Intercept but don't.. When trying to insmod all of these I get an error indicating kernel module was built for an "ARMv7" vs "ARMv6".. Anyone have an tun.ko for an Intercept OR alternatively a link to a howto on building Android kernels/kernel modules on Linux? I'm quite familiar with how to do that on Linux, but clueless on doing a crossplatform build on Linux..
Thanks
Dave

CyanogenMod 6 is Froyo, and ships with OpenVPN support for ARMv6 phones, such as my HTC Magic.
If nothing else you can unpack the update.zip they supply, find the tun.ko driver, and push it to your phone via adb.

Thanks for the tip! I downloaded the CyanogenMod 6 package (update-cm-6.10 DS-signed.zip) that was offered for the HTC Magic. Unpacked and searched the whole tree and found no tun.ko anywhere. The only /system/lib/modules ko there was a "wlan.ko" which I'm sure is not what I'm looking for.. Any other ideas?? This is royally kicking my butt.. Bought the phone/VM service to give me an easy way to access several networks/servers I admin via OpenVPN w/o looking for a McD/Starbucks wifi and pulling out the laptop... Any other ideas??

In doing some further deep googling, I found what I thought might be what I was looking for, an ARM6/FroyoStock tun.ko... Quickly downloaded it, and was instantly disappointed, an insmod shows the following:

[47538.032379] tun: version magic '2.6.32.9 preempt mod_unload ARMv6 ' should be'2.6.32.9 mod_unload ARMv6 '

Hmm. It looks like the kernel compiled with your phone is not set up to be compiled with PREEMPT. If you can figure out where that file came from, you might be able to find the source and recompile it with the right flags.

Maybe try /system/lib/modules/2.6.35.9-cyanogenmod/kernel/net/ipv4/tunnel4.ko?

Just did that very thing.. copied it into /system/lib/modules/ and insmodded it... Gets  tun: version magic '2.6.35.9-cyanogenmod preempt mod_unload ARMv6 ' should be '2.6.32.9 mod_unload ARMv6 '

I downloaded the Froyo source for the Intercept from Samsung. Have been trying to figure out how to cross-compile that #$@%@#@#$ tun.ko myself... Do you know of any good tutorials on cross-compiling Android on Linux??? I'm about at my wits end..

You might want to take a look at this website: Tun.ko Repository
They got a long database of tun.ko for android phones. If you can see your phone model, kernel and build number on the list, Just download their app which lets you load the module from their database to your phone. After that you can then use a vpn for your android.


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How can I turn off Wi-Fi in Android?
When my wireless is turned off, and I get near an open wireless network, it automatically connects to it. (Why?)
How can I completely turn off the Wi-Fi so that my phone will not do such insecure things?

Another thing that you may want to uncheck is the alerts for open wireless networks and forget all the networks your phone has already connected to, as most Android phones are, by default, set up to re-connect to wireless networks they've already connected to. You can find these options, as Matthew Read said above, under Settings > Wireless and Network.

If it was turned off, it wouldn't be able to detect the network.
Go to Settings -> Wireless and network -> Wi-Fi settings and uncheck Wi-Fi to disable Wi-Fi.


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After update to GRJ90 I can no longer use WiFi hot-spot
My phone updated to GRJ90 about two weeks ago and now I can no longer use WiFi hot-spot or USB tethering. When I try, my 3G connection is dropped. After disconnecting and waiting a few minutes, it comes back up. I used to be able to tether before the update. How can I bypass this, or stop the 3G from disconnecting when tethering. Sprint tells me that I need to pay for a hot-spot plan for $30, but there has to be a way around this besides rooting my phone and putting Cyanogen on it.
Phone: Nexus S 4G from Google
Carrier: Sprint

Sprint tells me that I need to pay for a hot-spot plan for $30, but there has to be a way around this besides rooting my phone and putting Cyanogen on it.

Sprint clamped down and disabled the previously free built-in tethering with the latest update. If you want USB tethering you can try PDANet, but wifi tethering will almost certainly require you to root, as it does on other devices.
Even with root, you don't necessarily need to use CyanogenMod if you don't want to, though; you could just as easily install a free tethering app (one example). This has been covered here a lot, in fact, so you might want to take a look at any wifi tethering apps noted in other questions.
See also: Is there a way to enable WiFi-tethering without root access?


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Is there a way to install Cyanogenmod 7 on the Samsung Infuse 4G?
I'm in the market for a new phone (from my faithful Nexus One), and the Infuse 4G looks like a good candidate. I'm shopping for hardware, of course, as software is never the issue with Android. Is there a way to install Cyanogenmod on the Infuse 4G yet? I've always used that ROM in the past as it's by far the best, and I don't want to upgrade the hardware in order to downgrade the software to AT&T bloatware. Is there a way?

Although Infuse 4G is not officially supported by CyanogenMod yet, there are quite a few Gingerbread (Android 2.3.x) based ROMs for it available on XDA Developers forums.
An unofficial port of CM7 is currently under development for Infuse 4G.  If you are feeling adventurous, and are somewhat knowledgeable in Linux, you can compile your own version of it from latest sources, as described here.


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Does Skype video work on a Samsung Galaxy 10.1?
Can Skype be used for video calling on a Samsung Galaxy 10.1?
I have been googling, but the results are not clear, for example, the official Skype Blog says that Skype 2.1 supports the Samsung Galaxy Tab, but it is not clear if this means that it works with both the 7" and 10.1" versions.
Update: as of early 2012, Skype does work on most Android tablets.

Possible duplicate: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/1331/what-is-the-deal-with-skype-on-android

@al-everet that question is less specific, and still doesn't have the answer.

There is an answer there with a list of the current devices that can run Skype. Rather than pepper the site with dozens of questions like "Does Skype run on (Device X)" we'd prefer to have a canonical question like "What devices does Skype run on".

@Al-Everett Are you referring to the answer that I posted? If so, please note that it is the same information linked to in my answer above, and it does not answer the question because "Samsung Galaxy Tab" is on the list, without reference to model.

You seem to have a lot invested in proving me "wrong". I posted the link because the two questions cover similar ground and I wanted to see if anyone agreed. Obviously I'm not entirely convince they are duplicates because, as a Moderator, if I thought that I just would have closed the question. I suggested it might be a duplicate; you've offered your reasons for why you think it isn't. Leave it at that.

The official Skype app currently does not support video on NVIDIA Tegra 2 chipsets, according to their FAQ:

* This specifically does not include some tablets that use the Tegra 2 chipset (e.g. Android tablets and Motorola Atrix do not support video calling).

From what I read on various forums, a test version that does work on Honeycomb tablets sporting Tegra 2 has been seen floating around in Youtube videos, so it should be coming to official channels shortly.

is it possible to obtain one of the test versions? Any ideas on how long 'shortly' is?

I haven't seen one yet, but chances are it will appear on XDA first.

You have go into the settings then enable video calling.

Confirmed, Skype video calling works on Tab 10.1 after this.


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Can a USB pen/hard drive be used with a Logitech Revue?
Can the Logitech Revue play videos and display images from a USB pen/hard drive?
What are the hardware specifications of the Logitech Revue?

Based on this forum post, I would say yes.  It wouldn't make sense for it to support external harddrives without supporting simpler USB keys.
As for specs, Google returns many results.  Endgadget has an overview, with a link to more details.


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Installing GalnetMIUI Rom on HTC Desire
I Have an HTC DESIRE which I upgraded to Gingerbread recently. My friend told me about Galnet MIUI for Desire, and now I want to root my device. Is this possible? These are my phone's specs:
HTC DESIRE
Android Version  2.3.3
Base band version - 32.56.00.32U_5.17.05.23
Kernel Version 2.6.35.10-g3f43272
Build No 3.14.405.1 CL 96875

The "low storage space" issue has been covered in the past (particularly regarding the Desire). You can take a look at this question for some good information.

Also related: How to root a HTC Desire running official Android 2.3?

Notes:

Rooting allows you to install a custom recovery (Clockwork Mod or AmonRa) to install ROMs
S-OFF allows you to change the HBOOT to rearrange your internal partitions

I rooted with Unrevoked before I used Alpharev's S-OFF some months later
Nowadays it's easier apparently. You can get S-OFF with Unrevoked Forever too but I'm not sure your phone is supported. And Unrevoked/Alpharev teamed up for revolutionary
Finally, there are many ROMS out there, some are better then others. I use Oxygen personally with the Oxygen HBOOT for 330MB internal data space. I'd use Devnull (same developers) but it doesn't have long press to kill

For rooting HTC Desire 2.3.3 official update you have to use revolutionary.io beta app. Its very simple process. You've to download the program on your computer (Windows/Linux), get the beta key from the website and follow the steps the program asks you to do. I've written a detailed blog here if you want.


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Disable Display Standby when in Developer Mode missing in Android 2.3
I'm a little bit confused about the missing Option to deactivate the Display Standby in Developer Mode.
In 2.2 there was a switch in Application --> Development. But in 2.3.3 this switch is vanished and it is really annoying if the Phone gets black every 10 minutes.
So my Question, how can I override the Display Timeout in Developer Mode, is the switch at another Place or is it outpatched?
Phone is a Samsung Galaxy I9000.
Thanks.

Ok, i'm trough every Menu on the Phone and i definitltly don't find the Option :(

It seems, that this is a special Problem with the Galaxy S, because on my other Nexus S with Version 2.3.4 there is the Option available.

Try this app: StayAwake, worked for my stock I9000 (now running a custom rom, still works most of the time but a bit buggy).

Thanks, this solve the Problem. Why has Google outpatched this feature??

@Chris: It was probably Samsung that removed it. The only phones I've heard of that lack the "Stay Awake" option are Samsung phones, but every non-Samsung phone I've seen has it. I've read theories (example) that it was to prevent burn-in on the SAMOLED screen, but I don't know if that's true or not.

@eldarerathis: Burn-in Issues in SAmoled? I never heard about this, but it makes sense then. Thanks for this Info.

Yep, I have a minor burn-in of the notification bar but it can only be seen in test mode with the blue screen (or similar). Not visible normally, even though I've kept the screen on about 60hrs/week

@onik That StayAwake app is so buggy that it ruined my screen backlight/locking completely, even after I uninstalled it! I think it should be renamed StayAway... :/

Actually it does not solve the problem, because it does not make a difference for AC connection and USB one. So it will keep screen on also on regular charging.

If StayAwake is too buggy, try Tasker. I created a task which activates when usb is plugged in to keep the screen awake.
Seriously, with a rooted phone the following create a nirvana environment:
Titanium Backup
DroidWall
LBE Privacy
Tasker

You get pretty much total control over everything except the stupid 100% battery beep (you need a special ROM for that).

Although it doesn't answer the actual question, but may be helpful for few of the users who are looking for the answer.
For android 4.2 and above, I created an app for this purpose (Keep Awake for Debugging). It will keep your phone unlocked and screen awake only when you have USB/wireless debugging enabled.

The Android version in question is 2.3 but your app doesn't appear to support it. Any reason for not mentioning that important point?

Apologies, updated now.


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How to sync calendar events FROM my phone TO an exchange server?
I own a LG P500 which runs Android 2.3. I was able to set up Exchange sync easily, and now I can read/write email from my exchange account and all events registered in Outlook's calendar also appear on my phone's calendar. However when I enter an event on my phone, it does not appear in Outlook as I would like it. Why, and how do I fix this?
Note that I both the calendar and exchange app on my phone are the default stock apps that came with the phone.

When you create a new event, you should be able to select which calendar to add the event to. If you select an Exchange-based calendar, the event will be synced to the server. By default the events are created in the phone's local calendar.

Nice! Didn't notice that! Though it still doesn't appear. Maybe it's just slow, I'll wait for a moment. Btw - can I change the default calendar? I don't see a setting for that in Calendar's options.

Yay! It synce'd! Although I had to delete and recreate event in the right calendar. Apparently changing the calendar of an existing event messes up synchronization. Well, that's easy enough to work around. :)

I don't know about LGs stock calendar, but if there is such an option it should be in the calendar settings. Just checked my Galaxy S and apparently that feature has been removed from this version too, used to have it :/


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Add mobile number to Facebook contact?
My Android phone connected to Facebook and grabbed all my friends. Now I want to edit their info and add a mobile number, but it does not let me do that; it only lets you change their ringtone and a few other little options.
I am also using GO Contacts from Go Launcher. It's a little annoying when I click "edit a Facebook contact" and it goes to the phone's default contact sheet.
If I click a person I input manually it will go to that person in the Go Contact app and give me extra options and all that good stuff.
Is this a problem with Go Contacts or something? Can anyone recommend something better? Needs to have a dark skin.

From your contact list, select the Facebook contact that you would like to edit.  Click the menu button and choose Edit Contact.  You'll see an indication that the user is a Facebook contact and may not be edited.  Now click the Menu button again and choose New contact.  This will create a new contact in your address book and merge the Facebook profile information with that contact.  You may now edit the contact to have additional details, such as a phone number.


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Can I send / retrieve MMS messages via WiFi?
Is it possible to send / retrieve MMS messages via WiFi or is it mandatory to be connected to my provider via the mobile data connection?
If a user has an active WiFi connection, what happens when there's an incoming MMS?

It could be done technically. AFAIK all communication between MMS enabled components is done via standard TCP/IP.
But in a regular provider setup the MMS store and forward server(s) (MMSC) are only reachable via the providers network. That's why you can not send and receive MMS via WiFi.
It's also the reason why you can not make a call and send/receive an MMS simultaneously when you have only 2G (GPRS/EDGE) connectivity.
Normally android will drop the GSM data connection if there is WiFi connectivity and all data will be routed through the WiFi interface, but there is one exception: The MMS traffic will still go through the mobile data connection.

I dont think it's possible, since the data is sent through the cell network and not through a traditional Wi-Fi style Internet connection.

Must add here - that I'm on an Indian GSM network.

@Sparx This answer is correct either way -- there is no way for your carrier to know if you're connected to Wi-Fi or how to route you the message if you are.  It's part of the cell network.  Some carriers will email it to you though if you set it up with them, but I don't know about Indian carriers.

Your network probably uses a separate MMS APN for multimedia messaging, and these are restricted to the operator's own network, so the messages can't be received via WiFi. Also, the messages are directed to your phone number so this could be compared to using SIP/VoIP through your regular phone number.
If there is an active WiFi connection, it is ignored and packet data is used instead (if enabled).

This is dependent on the Carrier. UMA is the form of radio that allows the sending of traditional texts and mms over Wifi. T-Mobile in the US is the carrier who has it, as for where you are, I would check with your provider.

As others have mentioned, the only way to receive a MMS directed toward the number serviced by your carrier is for you to be connected to their service.  However, you might consider a service such as Google Voice.  Google Voice provides an alternative number that is then routed to your phone.  Currently Google Voice only supports SMS, but there may be other services that offer MMS support.  A SMS message sent to your Google Voice number would then be visible in the Google Voice app, even if you only have a WiFi connection.

Google voice is not (officially) available in India. YMMV

I think that most (smart) phones do not know how to create a separate IP socket to send/receive MMS over wifi. So they revert by default to the data socket provided by the carrier. Or they may not have the ability to switch between two different sockets automatically. If you do root your phone and change the default MMS IP socket, you may lose all MMS connectivity depending on the phone.

This is an old thread, I know, but I wanted to add that the Nokia N900 multimedia messaging app could receive notification of a MMS via the cellular network and retrieve the MMS, itself, via the Internet, at least on Wind (now Freedom Mobile) in Canada.  This avoided roaming data charges and is the one feature that I miss most from my N900, now that I am using an Android phone.


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Why is "search application provider" eating 90% of my Android CPU?
According to the "OS Monitor" app, the core "search application provider" is eating most of the CPU on my HTC Incredible S.
There are multiple log messages with the following error : "Failed allocating fieldDir at startPos 0 row 10845" where the row value keeps increasing followed by another error "not growing since there are already 10846 row(s), max size 2097152".
I have disabled all search plugins and reset the cache, is there anything I can do to stop the "search application provider" eating my CPU and degrading the performance of my other apps (these errors coincide with jerkiness and slowdowns in other apps)

I believe the 'search applications provider' has something to do with google's internal phone data / app search apk
Either way:
Have you tried going into:
Settings > Applications > Manage Applications > Google Search
Choose 'Clear Data' and also 'Clear Cache'.
Also there is an app in the list called: 'search applications provider' linky , if your really struggling try uninstalling it. From the page linked it looks like other people have! (I've also read some other people back it up and freeze it with titanium backup ((i.e. it's like a safe uninstall)))

That did help for a while, but I've since unistalled a few apps, and the performance is back as expected. I'll keep an eye on it, but thatnks for the tip.


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How anonymous are ratings/reviews in the Android Market?
I can see from reviews other people have given to apps in the market that at the very least your account name is made public. However, I was wondering:

Is that the only thing made public?
If I only give a star rating to an app (but no comment/review), is this anonymous?
Is there any way to leave anonymous review comments (i.e. without visibly associating your account name with it)?

Your device name is also made public. But, it can be faked easily.
As Play Store doesn't display who has starred, you'd be anonymous if you give star rating only. But, nothing can be said for future. I believe, Google stores this data and it can be made public based on TOS and PP we accepted in the beginning.
No. Currently, there's no way to leave review comments anonymously.

Note that the app developers can still see information about the country, device, mobile service provider and android version.

A star rating without a review/comment is anonymous.  I don't think reviews/comments can be anonymous.

Note that the app developers can still see information about the country, device, mobile service provider and android version.


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Android phone doesn't pops up with "USB connected" message
We have a Samsung GT i5800 with Android 2.1update1.
When I put a memory card in it, it recognizes it, great!
But: When I want to connect the phone via USB to my PC: this picture DOESN'T comes up:

And I can't see my memory card through my phone from my PC!
On other phones, the memory card is OK. (tried another android phone).
The USB cable is good, tried it with another phone.
What could be the problem? Are there any settings that I missed?

You should check your USB connection mode. This can be found in Settings -> Wireless and network -> USB Settings. This should be set to Mass storage to access the memory card. Alternatively, you can use the debugging mode by selecting Settings -> Applications -> Development -> USB debugging. After this plug your phone in to the USB, open the notification bar and tap the USB debugging notification to get to mount your drives.

I can't find this in the menu: "Settings -> Wireless and network -> USB Settings". And no matter if I turn OFF or ON the USB debugging, it still doesn't pop's up, to mount :\

Do you get the USB Debugging icon in the notification bar when you plug the phone in with debugging enabled?

after RESETING the phone to default settings, turning on the usb debbuging worked!! :)

Check Settings -> Applications -> USB Settings or Settings -> About Phone -> USB Settings, rather than the network settings.
I would also try a different USB cable, just to make sure, as well as a different USB port and a different computer if you can.  You can try wiggling the connector in the device as well and see if it makes proper contact intermittently.
As Al notes here this sort of problem seems to come up pretty often with Sasmsung phones, so you might just be out of luck.  If all else fails, though, I would try a factory reset.

Cable change worked for me.

I had the same issue with 2 Galaxy Mini. No matter what I tried, the USB notification did not appear when connecting the USB cable to 3 different ports in 2 PCs.
Solution:

Settings -> Applications -> Development -> USB debugging: enable
Changed the USB cable; maybe it had good fabric, but it was faulty.

With a new cable and the point 1., the USB notification now appears like a charm, as usual.
For me, SOLVED.
HTH

Wow, cable change worked for me! (My old cable worked for my computer. My coworker's cable worked for his. But my cable didn't work for his computer. Boggles the mind.)

Changing the USB cable did it for me. I had forgotten that there are two types of USB cables:

charging only, no data lines
charging AND data, has additional wires

If you are using the charging only cable, you will never see the USB notification.

HTC Incredible 2 (Android 2.3.3):

Settings -> Connect to PC -> Default connection type.

Where you can choose from

Charge only
HTC Sync
Disk drive
Mobile Broadband Connect
Media sync
Internet pass-through

Settings -> Connect to PC

Also has an option

Ask me
Ask me about USB connection type whenever I connect my phone to a PC

When connected to a PC there is also a message in the notification area, that provides quick access to the Connection type settings.

This might happen if you have faulty USB cable, try using a different cable.
Sometimes the cable might appear to work because the "charging" lightning icon will appear at top, however it will work only for charging and won't work for data transfer.

Go to Settings → Storage and you will see a USB symbol. Tap it → select Media and now you will be able to transfer file.


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Access an Android purely via VNC enabling Tablet resolutions
I can currently access my Android via VNC on my iPad.  Can I set the screen resolution of the Android to be the same as the native iPad resolution, giving me a pseudo Android tablet?
Even if there is an answer which corrupts the screen on the phone itself is fine, seeing it will be accessed via the tablet.

Which VNC server/client apps are you using on both your Android and iOS devices?  It most likely depends on the capabilities of those particular apps.

droid VNC server and iTeleport

No, you cannot change the resolution of Android in VNC in a standard way. However, some Android phones have additional functions to support HDMI (which results in running Android at a higher resolution). If you can somehow tap into that functionality in conjunction with VNC, then you might be able to get a 480p, 720p, and 1080p option. But this is something that would be highly customized to a single phone as all of the different HDMI implementations seem to vary tremendously. One other option that would be yet another one-off possibility (with some custom work) would be if your phone supports WebTop functionality. If so, perhaps you could tap into this.
However, there is no third-party app that does what you're wanting. To do this, you'll have to develop or find somebody to develop this highly-customized solution.
As other have suggested, you're probably not going to get much better than changing the LCD Density, which clearly isn't what you're after.

Not quite the answer to your question, but you could run an android emulator (on a desktop computer) created with your desired resolution, and run the VNC server on that.

Try changing LCD density and see if that works for you http://www.addictivetips.com/mobile/change-android-screen-resolution-with-lcd-density/

That's basically one of the first Google search results, and it doesn't change the resolution of the screen.


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How to access Android language dictionaries
Is it possible to access (programatically, using a text editor, etc.) each dictionary of the built in languages in Android?
The automatic word completion is really useful but it has a major problem when it comes to SMS messaging. I'm Hungarian and our alphabet contains special letters like 'á', 'ő', 'ú' and so on. As you can see each basic letter has a single or a double accent on the top of it (or a dot). If that accent leans to the right like this: 'á' then only 70 letters are allowed to send in a single SMS message. There is another version of that letter in Android when the accent leans to the left: 'à'. Using this will not reduce the 160 letters to 70.
Unfortunately all the built in Hungarian words use the wrong version of those letters so I have two options when composing a new SMS message:

Turn off word completion and use the basic letters like 'a', 'o', 'u'.
Use word completion but correct the wrong letters. This takes at least twice as much time to complete a text message.

So I'm wondering if it would possible to rewrite the dictionary of a language in any way?

I was having the same issue but in Spanish and i just disabled sms division on the messages option menu and problem solved, no need to hack around dictionaries
EDIT:
Go to "Messages" > Press "Menu" key > Press "Adjustments" (in spanish it says "Ajustes") > Uncheck "SMS Split"
BTW, this question is more suited for the android.stackoverflow.com site.

Can you please tell me the exact steps you performed? Thanks!

What Android version do you use? I don't have the "Adjustments" menu item neither the "Uncheck SMS Split" anywhere...

I have Gingerbread 2.3.4 maybe that option was disabled on previous versions

Maybe it's a feature of 2.3.4. I'm using 2.3.3 and unfortunately I don't have that option.

Have you tried using a different onscreen keyboard?  There are several on the market like SwiftkeyX that use their own autocompletes, and they have other languages available.


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How do I change the password of my main Google account on a Droid X?
I changed my Google Account password (on my computer).  I now need to change it on my Droid X.  I cannot figure out how to do this.
I Googled, and everyone says go to Settings > Accounts.  I did this, but there is nowhere to change the password there.  It only specifies four services that are syncing.  "Contacts" is throwing an error now, but, still, there is nowhere to change the password.

Have you tried opening the Gmail app?  Sometimes it prompts for the new password.

It does not prompt me.  Weirdly, it also doesn't throw an error.  It's not retrieving any mail, obviously, but it's not complaining about a failure to login, either.

OK, I would try point 2 in my answer here.

No luck.  GMail is now empty and keeps telling me my "email will appear shortly."  It never does.  No error, nothing.

Have you tried Matthew's point 3?  Basically remove the Google account and try to re-add it.

It will not let me remove it.  If I click on the account (in the list of accounts), I'm just shown the four items that are syncing.  Clicking any of them just toggles the sync for that item. The menu button just reveals an option for "Sync Now."

For some reason, it never prompted me for the new password. I had to hard reset the phone...seriously.

Go to Settings -> Accounts and sync -> username@gmail.com, press the Menu button, and click "Sync now"; it will prompt you to enter the credentials.

Usually the phone should have detected the password change and a notification should appear in the notification bar to ask for a new password. Are your phone connected to the internet? If the phone doesn't detect the password change, try rebooting the phone.
If the phone still aren't asking for password, try removing your account and readding again, go to Settings > Account > Remove Account:

I found the solution (on my Samsung Galaxy Ace phone): I accessed Gmail app on my phone, which prompted me to retype my password (because I had previously changed it on a PC) then, bang ... Market app started.

It's great that this worked for you, but the questioner already said that he tried opening the Gmail app and it didn't prompt.

This just happened to me.  Had all the same symptoms as the original questioner.  But I think I figured it out.  A Warning triangle came up on the Droid (where you see if you have missed calls, texts, etc.  Said Action Required for GMail.  Opened it up.  The message wasn't really clear, but it only gave me two options - Retry and Cancel.  Cancel didn't work (did nothing).  Retry gave me the screen to enter the password.  Hope this is timely and it helps.