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Android Updates: Why Carrier Involvement?
Why is it possible that Android users have to wait until their carrier releases an update and iPhone users get their updates directly from Apple?

Legal questions (such as about the contracts between the carriers and manufacturers) are off-topic; see the [FAQ].

Here's an interesting analysis on how long it takes manufacturers (and the effect of carriers) to release OS updates: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/12/the-checkered-slow-history-of-android-handset-updates

It has to do with the contracts that carriers have with the manufacturers. They also have to do testing of the deployments, to make sure they "go off without a hitch". If the updates fails for users, the carrier is the one that has to take the service call. They also have to do training for their customer services people on how to handle any update issues.
Besides deployments, they also need to test that the update doesn't compromise the network, or the device.
Let's also not forget about the bloat ware that the carriers add to the releases. These are applications that the carrier may be getting paid to distribute, another way for them to make some money off the device that they are selling at a subsidized price.
If you buy your phones outright, you will pay more up front for the device, but buying subsidized, you pay more for it with the higher contract fees. Non-contract plans are cheaper per month, and every carrier offers them, you just have to ask for it. They don't advertise them because they make more money off the contracts.


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My phone thinks it's charging
After upgrading my Galaxy Nexus to 4.0.4, it keeps thinking the cable is being plugged in and out all the time. The battery discharges at a normal rate, even though the screen keeps lighting up as a result of the random plug events. I don't think this is a hardware issue, but I've not completely discarded the idea either.
Has anyone experienced this? Is this a known issue? Anything I can do about it?

A factory data reset is in order. If you're on Custom ROM, the ROM might be buggy.

I'm afraid that didn't solve the issue. Now, the phone thinks it's always charging. At least it stopped the screen constantly lighting up, I guess.

You aren't on a custom ROM, are you?

Nope, I'm using stock Android 4.0.4. It isn't even branded by my provider.

I faced a similar problem recently on my Nexus S upgraded to stock ICS.
The problems were:

Connecting the phone to the AC charger would sometimes show the phone to be charging, while the battery level was not actually increasing and sometimes the opposite.
Connecting the phone through USB to my laptop would allow it to charge, but my laptop used to throw a "Unrecognized USB Device" error.
The battery level displayed on my phone was misleading. For eg, the battery level was shown to be 44%, but when I restarted it, it suddenly dropped to 19%.
Shutting it down while connected to AC charger would cause it to hang on the shutting down screen till I remove the charger.
Connecting it to an AC charger while switched off would cause it to automatically turn on.

A little research on the net yielded this dicussion on the Google Product forums.
The alleged problem was the pin in the phone's USB port, and the solution was to bend it upwards a little using a penknife.
I was a little wary of taking things into my own hands, so I went to a nearby Samsung service center where they replaced the charging connector, and I haven't faced any problems since.

Check that your charging port is not shorting across:
Turn off phone, remove battery, and use a pin or similar pirze middle piece in the charger slot so it is central in the slot, as when pushing in the charger it can be moved up or down and cause a short to side, which gives the charging signal on phone.
When having it fairly central, replace the battery, turn your device on, and see what happens.
This worked for my phone which was driving me potty bleeping for charge etc. Good luck!

I have the same proplem and found a workaround:
My Nexus keeps switching between charging and discharging while it is not connected. That keeps the screen on - which causes massive battery drain.
As a workaround I found a root app to keep the screen off, called Screen Standby. The CPU is still doing work but at least the screen doesn't draw power since I installed it.

Well, this only attenuates the symptoms and gives you back a longer battery life, but the problem still exists. In another post, someone mentioned that air-cleaning the port with compressed air did the trick: http://android.stackexchange.com/a/32407/15713

To solve this problem: first of all, I removed my charger from my mobile. Then I went to the developer option in my phone's settings. I went to "Select USB Configuration" (or select USB connection type). It was set to Charging, but I changed this option to MTP (Media Transfer Protocol). After that, I plugged in my charger and my phone was charging.

There is an application running with a WAKEUP flag.
If you were rooted, a simple adb logcat would get to the bottom of it.
But what it comes down to is uninstalling that app-- perhaps reviewing the seedy ones?
The last time this happened to me, it was a kamasutra app.

The device doesn't wake up due to a misbehaving app but because it thinks it's charging. (hence the title of the question)

They said that the phone thinks its charging. They did not say the LED lights up, but rather that the screen lights up--- as if it does when its charging.
This is because the system has received a WAKEUP flag.

I asked him to clarify.

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Skype integration with the native contacts?
I tried adding Skype information to my contacts and there's a gray circle showing up beside the Skype username. I can then deduce that it is indicating my contact as offline. However, there seems to be some inconsistencies. On some contacts, I can see three options below them namely:

IM with Skype
Call with Skype
Video call with Skype

However, on other contacts, there aren't any options below their Skype usernames. And also, another inconsistency is the status. My contacts would show up as online on the Skype app but will still show the gray circle on the Contacts app. This happens fairly most of the time which defeats the purpose of it having an indicator there in the first place. At times though, it would correctly and show a yellow circle on online contacts.
I want to know why it's behaving like this and if there's any way to make it less buggy than how it is right now.
Also, can't I just click on the Skype username on the Contacts app and have the Skype app open up their profile? It seems easier that way instead of adding the three Skype actions I stated earlier.

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


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Restoring Nexus S to factory everything
I'm running a Nexus S i9020A on CM9 ICS 4.0.3, with a Matrix 1.46. I've found this website which seems to contain a fastboot image. I was wondering if I use the fast boot image on my Nexus S. Would this keep or get rid of my Matrix Kernal (I would like to get rid of it), and it would unroot my phone right?
Basically, if I use this fastboot image on my Nexus S will my phone be exactly like it was, just on 4.0.4?

As long as you reflash both the boot partition and the system partition it will take you back to a stock version of Android. The kernel is packed in the boot image, so that will overwrite a custom one, but a system image alone will not.
You could also choose to flash back to a stock recovery, but that has no real bearing on the Android system itself and custom recoveries are much more robust, so I would personally not recommend reflashing recovery.

So If I use flash-all.sh it will flash the boot partition and the system partition and give me fresh? Sorry, I'm just a bit new to this and I don't want to brick my phone (trying to sell it)

@Clement: I'm not sure what flash-all.sh file you're referring to specifically. Do you have a link to it?


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Is there a way to use Go Launcher icons in Folder Organizer?
I really like Mitch S.'s Flat Icons. However, they are only available on Google Play packaged for Go Launcher.
On Windows, you used to be able to extract any icon in .ico format from icon library or an .exe file and use it elsewhere.
Is there an "app for that"™ on Android?
I'm specifically interested in using with Folder Organizer.

Android applications are distributed as 'apk' files. This is basically just a standard 'zip' file with a different file extension.
If you change the extension to' zip' you can simply extract the contents of any app.
In your particular case the icons will be inside the 'res' folder in one of the folders that have 'drawable'  in their names.
They're standard 'png' files.

I will have to check to see if Folder Organizer can take raw .png files as icons - thanks! +1

If I remember correctly it does.

Yes, you remember correctly, it does.


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Is there a way to preserve tabs that were open in Froyo 2.2's stock browser?
When my Droid X's Froyo 2.2 browser gets killed for whatever reason (reboot, memory manager killing it), it loses 100% of its open tabs and reopens with Google's home page in a single tab.
If you have 7-8 open tabs, restoring them from History (especially if some were used via Google Mobile URL that all look the same in history tab) is a uber-major pain.
Is there a way to preserve tabs that were open in Froyo 2.2's stock browser, ala saving session state in Firefox, IR or Chrome (at least on desktop)?
NOTE: "Upgrade from Froyo" is not an option, neither is "use FireFox mobile" - for some reason FF and my Droid X don't play well (FF gets completely frozen once an hour usually requiring full battery pull). The question is specifically about Googe's Android Stock browser.
However, if the stock browser from Android 2.3 and on fixes the problem AND can be installed on Froyo 2.2, I'm quite happy with that as an answer.
P.S. Ironically, my problem is the opposite of the one discussed here.

If you're willing to try another 3rd party browser, Opera has always worked well in my experience. Don't really know if it will help, though.

@eldarerathis - I tried Opera around 1 year ago, and it was pretty slow for some reason and hard to use. I'm willing to consider it but not too hopeful - however, my question is more of a technical question about stock browser rather than "how can I solve the problem in a different way".

If you're insisting on limiting your answer to stock browser, there's not much you can do. Session saving is only added in recent version of Android, as it currently stands, your question is akin to "how do I do X with a tool that doesn't support X, and I don't want alternative tool"

@LieRyan - it's quite possible that there's some hidden setting in some config file that can turn it on. I mean, it's not IE6 we are talking about but a Google product :)

Perhaps Chrome will work on your phone -- it works nicely on mine
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.android.chrome

Chrome will not work on versions of Android before ICS.


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Is there an obvious reason FireFox would freeze on my DroidX (2.2 Froyo)?
For some reason, when I run FireFox, it starts out pretty snappy, but very frequently (though not 100%) after 1-2 hours of very normal/light use (e.g. 1 tab with actively read Google Reader mobile page as well as opening [1/2 tabs at a time] 5-10 separate articles from said reader), the browser just freezes. Most of the time, the freeze is complete - e.g. it will sit there for 5+ mins (or forever), with no reaction to home or power keys, requiring a battery pull.
This happens at any time, from the phone being just after boot to phone haven't been rebooted for 3 days.
System: DroidX, with original stock Froyo 2.2 ROM, rooted. FF version is IMHO irrelevant - this is happening now with whatever the latest Google Play market version is (10? 11?) but also happened as far as 2 or 3 FF updates back as well, for at least 3-6 months. I didn't use FF for browsing before then so don't know if earlier versions behaved better.
I have virtually no add-ons installed, but can provide a list if this seems relevant (not sure how to launch in "safe" mode in Android sans addons alltogether).
P.S. Before someone asks, this is definitely not related to ATK - the symptoms persisted after turning off/freezing ATK, never mind the fact that FF is on ATK's whitelist.
Is there a usual known reason for this behavior? What are suggested approaches to troubleshoot?
P.S. The only other app which freezes the phone with any regularity is Google Maps.

Any messages/errors in logcat?

@NoBugs - I'm not sure - never checked. I will catch the next freeze (which, BTW, keep happening even on the latest 20th version) and check logcat.


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Is there a way to white-list an app (web browser) so Froyo 2.2 memory manager does NOT kill it?
One of my biggest pet peeves with Android (due to heavy use of my Droid X for reading web pages) is the fact that it can kill ANY application it wishes when doing its automated memory management. Especially, the fact that it usually starts by killing the stock browser as opposed to other less useful apps.
More specifically, if I:

have multiple tabs open in Android's native browser (or even a single tab with some state in it, such as Google Reader)
and then switch to some memory hogging app(s), e.g. some heavy game from Glu or Google Maps/Navigation
Then, Android memory manager decides to kill my browser to free up memory (as opposed to, say, such critically important processes like Google Play or media player which I don't want)
Which, due to Froyo's stock browser not preserving its session state, loses all the open tabs I had, as well as in-tab state (e.g. which Google Reader article was open).

Is there a way to white-list an app (web browser) so Froyo 2.2 memory manager does NOT kill it?
System: Droid X with stock Froyo 2.2 ROM, rooted.

I gave you an up vote but then the page went crazy when I tried to leave my comment and wouldn't let me fix my partially posted comment. It's hard to hit the edit link on the mobile site.

No need to change the question for me.  I didn't downvote you.

What I was trying to say before the mobile site went bonkers: I looked for this a while ago but couldn't find anything. I can't believe there is no way to set the priorities of specific apps so minfree has some guidance when deciding which app to kill.

Seems like you could work around this issue by using a different browser.

AFAIK, you can't.
But, you can customise when to kill background apps (not selective app) by tweaking MinFree values set by Android (root is required for tweaking). If you have problems dealing with it, there are many apps in Play Store for that. My fav is AutoKiller Memory Optimizer.
And, when foreground app and/or kernel runs out of memory, killing background apps can't be prevented. It's because foreground apps and kernel are more important than background apps. Probably, you'd not be wanting to crash device to preserve your web browser in background.
Update:
Another approach is to create/increase swap memory in device. There are apps for this purpose too: Swapper (by dario) and Swapper 2 (by Elviss).

I tried messing with MinFree - it made Froyo very unstable (spontaneous reboots >1x/day on pretty much ANY custom settings - I tried numerous). 2. My problem isn't killing background apps - it's killing when not necessary (I KNOW how much memory my foreground app needs, how  much free I have, and how much junk like Google Play or Amazon Store take. Enough can be freed without touching the browser)

@DVK Your question is great, but it requires exclusive support from kernel for that. I'd update if I find a solution. And, do the same if you find it. It could really be useful.

@DVK Meanwhile, you can try increasing Swap.

didn't realize that's doable under Android. Will look into that - thanks! Add it to the answer pls.

There are situations where having the foreground app force close because it can't have enough memory is preferable to having the background app close. I wish there was a "keep current app alive" checkbox in the switch app -dialog, or something.

@SachinShekhar - Sadly, Swapper did not work since stock Froyo 2.2 on DroidX has a kernel that does NOT support swapping (based on troubleshooting steps offered by Swapper)


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How to get updates for apps which use Google Play on my Kindle Fire?
A number of apps on my Kindle Fire indicate that updated versions are available and prompt me to "tap here to update" or words to that effect. The trouble is this: so far all the apps with updates -- even those purchased directly through the Kindle Store -- will open up Google Play and ask me to download the update package. This, of course, is impossible for me to do since the Kindle Fire is unwelcome at Google Play.
Bringing up the app's info page in the Amazon App Store app just gives me the option of launching the already installed version, but there's no option to download the latest update.
So, how can I update these apps? Must I hunt down the APKs for each app individually? Shouldn't these apps be opening up Amazon's App Store rather than Google's? Is there a system setting I can change that makes them do so?
I can't seem to find any mention of this type of problem anywhere; Google just spits out results about installing apps rather than updating them.
My Fire was previously rooted but I haven't re-rooted it since the last time Amazon pushed out an update to the OS.

It sounds as though the app author hasn't updated the version on Amazon's store. There may not be a convenient solution if that's the case.

@eldarerathis This seems to be every app, though; not just one or two.

That sounds a bit more odd, then. Are the update notifications coming from within the apps or from a system notification (like in the status bar)?

Most of the update notifications have been in the form of little 'update available' arrows on the app's icon. The only one I recall to have caused a status-bar notification was an Android build of Firefox ("Aurora") which directed me to Mozilla's download page.

I have a rooted B&N Nook Tablet and see this same sort of thing.  Applications are identified primarily by their package name, and most app authors don't bother using a different package name across markets.  My nook has the B&N Market, the Amazon AppStore, and Google Play.  These three markets tend to get into a game of tug of war, each trying to update apps to the version they see as most current.  The thing to keep in mind is that, just because that market says it has an update doesn't mean it really is a newer version of the app than what you have, just that the version number is different.  I get this quite a lot with the revisions of Netflix on my nook as Google Play likes it at one revision number while the B&N Market likes it at another.
If your goal is to be completely rid of update notifications from apps you can't update, your best bet is to factory reset your Kindle.  A complete factory reset will get rid of Google Play and will eliminate the update notifications. Then you can re-install the apps you've purchased via the Kindle's native app store.
Alternatively, you can re-root your device and let Google Play updates complete.  I don't think this is the best solution for you, though, since your device could end up like mine with different markets each clamoring to apply their own updates in a continuous loop.

Thanks for your thoughts, but the problem isn't that multiple package managers are competing but rather that Amazon devices are locked out (by Google) from Google Play. I receive notifications but can't download the 'update' and the Amazon store claims no updates are available.

Google does not block Kindle Fire units from the store.  The Kindle Fire OS itself is blocking the app when your KF is not rooted.  You must root your KF if you wish to use Google Play.  (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1792406) Alternatively, use a factory reset to remove Google Play from your unit and you will no longer be nagged by the update notifications. (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1792406)

Kindle Fire sometimes has lower versions of apps than Google Play. Install the Google Play update if you can, but if not then just ignore it or uninstall Google Play by using ES File Explorer(Outside Source) or something else. With ES File Explorer(Kindle Appstore Source) (It is also in the Kindle appstore) just go to App Manager, select Google Play and uninstall it.

Thanks for trying to help, but you've missed the real problem. Google Play isn't installed, but apps prompt to update by uselessly going to the Google Play website.


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What are the options for streaming music from PC to phone?
I'm interested in being able to play music that's on my computer through my phone - mostly so I can plug the phone into speakers in different parts of the house. Looking for apps, I realise that there are actually some pretty different ways you can do this:

Run a music server that's accessible over the internet, access through app or web browser on phone (eg AudioGalaxy, Subsonic)
Run an audio streaming server that provides a single audio stream (eg SoundWire - you drive the choice of music from the PC, and the phone is just a passive receiver)
Share your music folder, and use a Samba (or equivalent) file share app like ES File Explorer to access the files on your phone and play them from there.
Use DLNA-supporting apps at both ends to play and share music (eg, Windows Media Player on PC, and AllShare or Skifta on phone)
Sync music from PC to phone regularly, and just play it from there.

Am I missing any? What are the strengths and weaknesses of each approach? One concern for me is I'd rather not have music going via the internet, because then it would count doubly out of my internet usage cap.
Also, are there apps (with the right combination of PC software) that can combine these approaches? It would be great to be able to either drive a playlist from the PC, or select songs from the phone. Extra bonus points for solutions that work for video (ie, films) as well.
My PC is Windows XP, my phone is Samsung Galaxy Note.
EDIT Incorporating answers from below into the original list.

Have you looked at Play music from PC on Android?

Yeah, I did - tried VLC Stream & Convert, but it was super flakey for me.

Generally, Galaxy devices have AllShare app which is DLNA certified software. If your device doesn't have AllShare, install Skifta.
Now, all you need is a DLNA certified media streaming server on PC. Fortunately, Windows Media Player 11 on Windows XP has this capability. So, you don't need extra software.

Make sure your music collection is in WMP library.
You don't need any extra-terrestrial configurations as DLNA certified products feature UPnP (Universal Plug and Play). Just make sure apps (or, its services) are open & are connected to same network (LAN/WLAN).
Its the best way for streaming media because its UPnP. It was designed to get rid of complexities of traditional media streaming solutions. And, it supports pictures and videos too.

That looks like a great solution. Strangely, the "Share my media" option doesn't seem to work for me - clicking OK just makes the dialog freeze for a minute, then do nothing. Any alternatives to WMP?

@Steve When you tick Share my media option, WMP searches compatible devices in network. So, tick it after turning on DLNA service in Android device and connecting it to same network. See if it works or not..

OIC, actually you need the "Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service" running in control panel. See here: http://www.samsung.com/us/support/supportOwnersHowToGuidePopupPrint.do?howto_guide_seq=5302&howto_guide_step_no=1&prd_ia_cd=N0000044&map_seq=31159

Ok, cool, this works. Seems like there are some limitations (eg, only 500 entries in any list displayed), but it's a pretty good start.

More info: serviio (http://www.serviio.org/download) is better than WMP: much faster (maybe 5x) browsing of media, smarter categories etc.

Have a look at SoundWire.

Ta - that's one of the category 2 solutions: sharing all audio from the PC to passive receivers.

If you're looking to just play music anywhere in the house, the option to just access a file share from your phone and play music from it is probably your best bet.  ES File Explorer has a Samba plugin that should allow just that, and most music players should be able to do playlists.
As an aside, no matter which option you chose you don't have to worry about bandwidth so long as you are using a locally hosted option to stream your music (ie, not a cloud service like Google Music).
However, if you want a lot of control and the ability to stream to multiple devices simultaneously like an internal house radio station over your local network, I would strongly recommend Subsonic.  You have an enormous amount of control over your media via the app from any machine running the Subsonic app, and they have apps for all phone and PC platforms.  The only catch is that there is a $20 license to use the phone apps.  However, that wouldn't stop you from just tuning into the streaming feed from your phone and using the browser based interface instead to control your music.

Cool - well that works. The Android app looks great. The straight web interface is pretty bad on a mobile (even on the note). Its huge window requires lots of panning around. Also, it needs flash player which doesn't seem to work for me. So I'll have to think about that $20...

Personally I think it's well worth it myself.  It's quite spiffy.

FYI, if you're worried about data and you're just using it around the house, list the Subsonic server as the local IP address and it should then only be accessible over wifi.

I use option 4 (DLNA) quite beautifully for streaming both music AND video to my phone/tablet/PS3 and tablet within wi-fi range in my house.
My setup is:
PC MediaTomb running on Ubuntu-linux (If you run Windows, I'm sure there are alternatives)
Tablet / Phone: uPNPlay (free on Google Play) linked to your favorite media player
Pros:

All media sits on one machine
All my devices (phone, tablet PS3*) can stream media from that location
Secure over encrypted network
No bandwidth issues

Cons:

My PC has to be on 24/7.

*PS3 only recognises some divX codecs

Thanks, didn't know about UPnP AV. Which leads me to: http://superuser.com/questions/226636/what-is-the-difference-between-dlna-and-upnp

Interesting, I didn't know that.But uPNPlay does supprt both. I see I made a typo in the app name which may have been confusing. Fixed that.

I've had a squeezebox streaming media player for years and the software which is also downloadable free is pretty good so I use that. I can stream remotely, as per original question, when I'm away from the house and I've used XiiaLive as an android player. It's not as light as player as I would prefer but it works.
The server also looks after submissions to last.fm which keeps me happy.
All free software. The Squeezebox server is also cross platform.

Links would be helpful.

Subsonic. It is extremely robust and easy to use.
It is open source but there is a licensing.
However as it is open source you can remove easily the license. (and this is perfectly legal)
See https://github.com/KHresearch/subsonic

Well, here we are in 2018 and I have a cunning plan.  It doesn't quite answer the question as posed but I hope it's close enough.
I have an old HTC phone that has a micro SD slot.  128GB SD cards are available on eBay now for a handful of $ / £, so, objective #1 is to find out if this phone (it's Android 4.4.2 I think) can utilise all the space.  [Update: it can, woohoo!].
Then I will copy my entire music library across from my PC.
Next up is a Bluetooth audio receiver that will pair with the phone and that you can simply plug into a spare input on your amp.  Again, these are incredibly cheap on eBay.  I don't know yet if they are any good, but people have posted some enthusiastic reviews so I couldn't resist buying one. It's in the post, will report back.
Then, install the music player of choice on the phone and to start streaming just press (I believe) the 'pair now' button on the receiver and then fire up the app.  The phone should then play through the receiver to the amp.
Pros:

Nice and simple.
Dirt cheap, if, like me, you already have an amp and speakers and a suitable spare phone.  Even if you need a phone, it should be easy enough to pick up something second-hand, you just need that SD card slot.  Or you could use an old tablet, but that would obviously be bulkier, clutter the place up more.
No monthly fees (unlike, say, Spotify Premium).
Should be easy to use.
Choice of music players, pick your favourite.
Cheap to run - no need to leave the PC on.
Also works for Internet radio, podcasts and YouTube music videos.  And indeed any other streaming service, most likely.
Should also work from an iPhone (my partner has one, I'm hooked up with the wrong woman, what can I say?)

Cons:

I don't yet know how good the sound quality will be, it depends entirely on the receiver.  But if it's not good enough I will buy a more expensive one.  I'll let you know.
128GB might not be enough for your entire music library.  You can get larger cards at modest cost on eBay but I think it's wise to avoid the very cheap ones.
If you have a second music system in another room you would need to buy a second receiver.  But they cost peanuts so it doesn't matter.
Unlike some WiFi devices, such as (I believe) Chromecast Audio, you can't stream the same sound source to several receivers at the same time.  But I don't care about that, and those devices seem to be focussed on (paid-for) streaming services anyway and I that's not what I want.
Have to charge the phone or keep it plugged in.  Maybe I can find a cradle for it.

So, a few unknowns still but I have high hopes.  I'll let you-all know how it goes, should be fun.

Here's my method..
I have an old Samsung tablet I leave connected to the stereo and powered-on at all times, where it has all my cool audio apps installed and configured. I then install Android VNC Server on it (in my case the one I got to work was VMLite VNC Server which can work with or without 'root' access in Android). My tablet happens to be rooted so VNC server can auto-start on boot for me.
Then I connect the free RealVNC client to it which gives me a remote desktop type window to have full access to the home screen of the Android.
Then on my laptop I can launch it and get into the tablet and launch all my cool sound apps like Folder Player, iHeart Radio, Tune-In Pro, Scanner Radio, and maybe 25 others. That stereo is wired to speakers in multiple rooms which allows the content to be everywhere.
They also have VNC Client apps for Android so one could access the tablet from a phone, but I haven't tried it since I am always using my laptop when at home so Windows VNC client works fine.
Some may find it crude but for me it is the most versatile.

You can use SoundIt to stream audio from your computer to any other device easily, it's designed specifically for that.
It allows you to stream to multiple devices at the same time and control each device's volume remotely.


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How to turn off notifications for individual apps?
On my iphone, there is a "notifications" setting section, which basically just allows me to choose which apps has the power to notify me.
I was wondering if there's anything similar that is available on the Samsung Galaxy s2?
Basically, we have a new app called Scramble For Friends. And it keeps notifying us every time someone has finished their turn so that I can play. We play random people so this could be in the middle of the night or in a meeting etc.
It just vibrates but still - it's annoying and we want to turn it off. We also don't want to turn off other notifications like Email, Facebook etc. - we just want to turn off the notifications for Scramble For Friends.
I've been looking around in the Settings but there doesn't seem to be a universal page which deals just with notifications.

Your username is great.. :)

this might help.

Update: It is posible to disable notifications of individual apps on system level in Jelly Bean (4.1).
Under each application info screen there is now a checkbox for "show notifications" (assuming the app sends notifications). Uncheck that and no more notifications from that app.
You can get to the screen by going to Settings | Apps | {application} or, more conveniently, long-pressing the notification itself and then tapping "App Info".
More details in this article.

Notifications are handled on a per-app basis.
The only way to turn them off is inside that particular application's settings.
This menu - unlike on iOS - can he accessed from inside the application. It's usually an option that comes up after pressing your menu button, or if your phone doesn't have one than it's hidden behind the overflow menu ie. The three dots.
In the case of scramble with friends there's a settings icon on the main screen. There's an option to set the polling interval. The default is 5 minutes.

If the app has one. One could easily forget adding this setting.

really? why would android trust the app to do this? So you could have all these apps that you never use on your phone but it'd be impossible to get them to stop executing something in the background?

That would be construed as a design flaw. A good app developer would allow a user to completely quit / unload his app from memory - not leaving anything running in the background.

@Diskdrive If you never use an app you can just as well uninstall it. Besides, unnecessary notifications are merely annoying but no security hazard.

@sparx : yeah it may be a design flaw on the app developer, but then i would say its probably also a flaw with the OS if there's no way to view or shut down background activity when an app is off. If the activity wasn't sending notifications,  you wouldn't even know which app was draining your battery etc.

@Diskdrive most apps are not running in the background they're just cached in memory. The only reason this app has a service is to notify you.

@RichardBorcsik : yeah i know. I guess I'm just frustrated at this particular problem but also, just surprised, cause so far, I've found android to be a lot better than ios but with this issue, I definitely think ios handles it better. Especially since android apps don't go through the same rigor for approval as an iphone app. At the very least add it as a security permission...

@Diskdrive updated answer. It was there all along.

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

Screenshot (Click to enlarge image)

I've developed an app called AppsComposer to handle other apps notifications and sounds, you can disable specific app you need and mute the notification or notification's sound separately:

You get a nice notification blacklist for all installed apps in
Smart Launcher 3 .
With a checkbox per app, you allow/disallow notifications in a single place.
This works even with pre-Jellybean Android (I tested with Gingerbread 2.3.6), where you otherwise cannot block notifications of "un-cooperative" apps.

Does sending notifications require a special permission? If it does, Permissions Denied could help.

It does not. http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/ui/notifiers/notifications .html besides if it would than revoking it could cause the app to force close whenever it wants to notify the user.

This appears to be a comment posted as an answer.


text:
Why does Wi-Fi fail to connect to certain public networks?
It won't connect to certain free official public networks in shopping malls, caffees or hospitals for example where it supposed to even with signal strength bars being 3-4. That's right gentlemen, almost full signal strength and it just stalls stating it is aquiring IP address but after a few minutes disconnects. I have this network connectivity log if it can help, otherwise guide me to the right direction and I will supply you with required logs.
03-19 13:12:22.351 I/wpa_supplicant( 8091): got scan complete
03-19 13:12:22.351 I/wpa_supplicant( 8091): wpa_supplicant_get_scan_results:return scan results2
03-19 13:12:22.351 I/wpa_supplicant( 8091): AP:ssid[AndroidAP],rssi[-83],BSSID=b4:07:f9:4c:b8:c1
03-19 13:12:22.351 I/wpa_supplicant( 8091): AP:ssid[bneizion],rssi[-59],BSSID=1c:af:f7:7d:f6:d9
03-19 13:12:22.351 I/wpa_supplicant( 8091): AP:ssid[],rssi[-67],BSSID=00:15:70:d1:60:ac
03-19 13:12:22.351 I/wpa_supplicant( 8091): AP:ssid[],rssi[-73],BSSID=00:15:70:5f:f8:b4
03-19 13:12:22.351 I/wpa_supplicant( 8091): AP:ssid[orange-TSZQ],rssi[-86],BSSID=00:21:04:db:fe:42
03-19 13:12:22.351 I/wpa_supplicant( 8091): AP:ssid[zerbrachot],rssi[-73],BSSID=00:16:e3:f0:9f:39
03-19 13:12:22.351 I/wpa_supplicant( 8091): Received 1400 bytes of scan results (6 BSSes)
03-19 13:12:22.351 I/wpa_supplicant( 8091): wpa_driver_wext_get_scan_results---
03-19 13:12:22.381 D/GpsLocationProvider( 1344): GetGpsInterface+
03-19 13:12:22.381 D/GpsLocationProvider( 1344): GetGpsInterface-
03-19 13:12:22.381 D/lib_locapi( 1344): loc_eng_inject_location, accuracy = 209.0
03-19 13:12:22.411 D/AutoSetting( 4710): service - mLocationListener: onLocationChanged() location = Location[mProvider=network,mTime=1332155542386,mInfo=244.94112160000003333295.25668425,mAccuracy=209.0
03-19 13:12:22.441 D/AutoSetting( 4710): service - handleMessage() incoming message, what:1
03-19 13:12:22.441 D/AutoSetting( 4710): service - mLocationListener: onLocationChanged() location = Location[mProvider=network,mTime=1332155542386,mInfo=244.94112160000003333295.25668425,mAccuracy=209.0
03-19 13:12:22.441 D/AutoSetting( 4710): Util - isSetupWizardCompleted(): true
03-19 13:12:22.441 D/AutoSetting( 4710): Util - wifi connected
03-19 13:12:22.441 D/AutoSetting( 4710): service - processLocationBundle() distance to current is less than 1000.0m, bypass update
03-19 13:12:22.441 D/AutoSetting( 4710): service - handleMessage() within range

Is it all or just some public hotspots? And which ones and where are they?

All are free public hotpots.

If your phone is waiting for an IP address, then your WiFi is connected. And the third last row in your log seems to confirm this status:
03-19 13:12:22.441 D/AutoSetting( 4710): Util - wifi connected
If you can't get a valid IP address, then:

the network doesn't have a DHCP server
the network has been explicitly instructed not to give IP addresses to everybody (a whitelist)
your WiFi lost a DHCPOFFER packet so it's not able to go on with the negotiation

The interesting part of the third case is that it's not necessary for the signal strength of the network to be excessively low. I suspect that also the implementation of the network components has its role in such cases. For example, I recently had lots of issues setting up a temporary WPA2 network using hostap on my home computer. My Android phone simply refused to get an IP address more than half of the times. Whatching my DHCPserver logs I noticed that the negotiation procedure stopped just because my phone stopped answering packets in the middle of the negotiation for apparently no reason. Well, I didn't investigate further the problem (too much time lost with it) but now I know that there are really many things that can go wrong setting up a WPA network.

Or maybe you have a save a static IP in your phone, so you can't connect with this IP in the network because it isn't free.

I think if it was laptop i was connecting with, it wouldn't fail.

A possibility is that the network is in range, but not strong enough to be connected to.
I get this occasionally on my device - I can see the wifi hotspot in the settings menu, and attempt to connect to it, but it just stays stuck on 'Connecting' for a while, and then gives up.
I attributed this to the network signal not being strong enough, as if I moved closer to the router, it would connect.

Some custom ROMs have problems with displaying the correct MAC addresses.. atleast my CM7 ROM has this problem that makes it troublesome to connect to wifi.
Try to investigate on that matter.

I have stock ROM now updated to Android 2.3.5 with HTC Sense updated to version 3.0

Certain public networks have their own firewall to protect the network. Some are password protected with encryption. Wi-Fi has its own limit and boundaries. To connect to public networks it needs its access permission.

Many public WiFi hotspots require a user to log in via a web page. Sometimes, there's a trial offer like for 30 minutes after which one might need to pay for extended use etc.
It's best that you enquire with the tech support / help desk of the mall/airport / organization that provides the access.
UPDATE: Also, in case the hotspots are configured as Ad-Hoc networks, android devices by default don't connect. There are some ways around this though. Depends on your phone and OS and of course, one needs to be rooted.

He'd still get network connectivity then, just no internet access.

True. I mistakenly thought he was connected, yet unable to surf.


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How to force-cancel a running download?
I have started a download using Icon Downloader for NT that doesn't look like it will ever finish. In my notification area, it has survived two reboots and the uninstallation of the app. How can I get rid of it?

God I hate download manager. It's possibly the buggiest piece of software on Android even on ICS.

Usually if you long press on the downloading item in download manager there's an option to delete it, thus stopping the download.
If this doesn't work you can clear the Download Manager's data.
Settings -> Apps -> All Tab -> Download Manager

Here press force stop, than clear data. Now reboot.

For others reference, this is now Settings >> General Tab, Application Manager >> ALL tab, Download Manager

It appears that doing a reboot is optional now, well at least in Lollipop and above.

This is only right if the app downloads through the download manager. If it does it through the app that needs updating instead, then force stopping download manager won't stop the update from occurring.

Apologies for resurrecting an old thread but I just had the same problem of needing to stop a download and solved the problem by activating Aeroplane Mode.
A less invasive solution and more easily reached in the UI - for anyone else ending up here from Google (like I did :-))

In my case (Android 4.4.4) it stops but as soon as it finds a working connection again it restarts the download

Long press the notification and select "App Info". This will take you to the application which is responsible for the download, which you can then force stop.

This is the correct answer, as this stops the app causing the conflict.

In my case (Android 4.4.4) it stops but then the app seems to respawn and restarts the download

In Android 4.4 (KitKat) / Galaxy S5, go to Settings > Under Applications section > Application Manager > All. Look for Download manager. Force stop, Clear data, and Clear cache.

The simple way to cancel a download in Android Lollipop is to disconnect from any internet connection, ie turn off WiFi or mobile data. Another method would be to enable airplane mode; either methods would cause the files to timeout. Then you could delete the partially downloaded file..
Rudy


text:
Install applications on android market through my computer
My phone model is Xperia Neo.
My computer has an internet connection but my phone doesn't.
I followed following steps to install app to my mobile from computer

Go the market app website.
It shows my phone model and when I click on Install
It shows the message that This application will be installed shortly
but actually nothing happens.

I have seen following video also which shows how to install app from computer but It is not working for me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evAiHzNPEgw
Is there any problem with my phone or do I have to do something else?

After sending install signal from site, do a force sync on device. Open Gmail and press options to get sync option.

The Play store website works by sending a notification to your phone asking it to install the app. If you're having problems with that make sure that:

Your phone has Internet connection
You logged in with the same Google account that's on your phone.
You're logged in to Google Talk on your device
Background data is enabled
Syncing is enabled for your main account's Gmail.

These are the most common reasons that can cause push notifications (this is the way Web install is handled ) to malfunction.

If your phone doesn't have Internet connection and want to install apps though by downloading them to your computer first you could try following this tutorial.
However I would personally advise against it because it requires you to disable certificate error warnings and enter your password. If you want to do it at least create a second chrome profile for this and enable 2-step verification

I don't have internet connection on my phone that means I can't download app from market app website even if I have internet connection on my computer.

@HellBoy The market website only tells your phone to download the app, it does not download it.

@HellBoy added a workaround.

The way this works is that the online market desktop site sends a message to the market app on your phone to download and install the app.
If you open the market/google play app on your phone and leave it for a while, it should work.
Make sure your phone has an internet connection though.

so there is need of internet connection on my phone too if I don't have internet connection on my phone then I can't download app from my computer. Is it?

Correct, you need internet connection on your phone too.


text:
Do apps that access gmail only have write access or full gmail access (potential security risk?)
I use a backup app to backup SMS text messages to my GMail account registered on my HTC Desire Z Android 2.3 phone.
The app requests access to the gmail account. But what does this actually mean? Does it mean:

the application has write-only access to the gmail - i.e. it can insert emails but not delete or adjust other existing emails (does the Android API provide for that?)
the application has full access to the email, and could potentially delete emails if there was a bug

This is a question that requires technical knowledge of the API, so perhaps not ideally placed in this Android users forum, instead here: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/10553057/are-apps-that-access-gmail-only-have-write-only-access-or-full-gmail-access-pot

An answer has been provided here:
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/10553057/are-apps-that-access-gmail-only-have-write-only-access-or-full-gmail-access-pot

There is no "write-only" permission for access to Gmail - it's either "read-only" or "full access", meaning that the app in question will be able to both create and delete messages from your account. However, I would guess that adding and deleting mails are two very different things from a programming standpoint, so you should be ok :-)!

+1 Thanks @Dirk, I would have preferred finer granularity of access by an app, i.e. "add new emails only", this would be more precise and defensive and therefore one's trust of the app does not have to be stretched beyond what the app should be doing.

P.S. @Dirk could you point me at specific API documentation to support your answer then I will mark your answer as accepted.


text:
Can I use my phone as a bluetooth game controller for my computer?
I've seen BT Controller but I think it only allows users to use their android as remote for other androids. I just want to use my phone as a bluetooth controller with up, down, left, right, L, R, start, select, A, B buttons for my computer. Is there an app that makes this a possibility?
Basically, there are generic bluetooth game controllers that can be bought on stores. I was wondering if I can make my Android phone act like such and be used on computers.

nJoy is a very good app as well, it uses WiFi but you can just use your own hotspot if you're not using WiFi atm and turn off data if you don't want extra charges.

I think nJoy is the thing I'm looking for! :)

Glad you like it... It's customizable per-game and it has some cool features including an extra 2 button setting for gaming. Enjoy!

I don't think this is an answer for [bluetooth](!) question.

You haven't mentioned which types of games you need this for but there are several possible options:
Gmote 2.0, which is a client/server type system which would let you use your Android tablet to control your computer.
RemoteDroid, which is similar to Gmote, it also uses a client/server system.
GRemotePro may be the right choice for you as it is but you need to pay for the server software. It is specifically advertised as being for game control.

There are a bunch of apps available on the market. Some examples include...

BT Controller: "BT Controller allows you to use your android device as a gamepad controller for any other android device." (well, you already saw this)
Bluetooth Remote PC: "Bluetooth Remote PC is an app which allow you to remotely control your PC.
Get access to the computer and use your favourite programs from distance. You can control mouse, keyboard, multimedia, presentation or power system commands."
PC Remote Controller (doesn't use Bluetooth, but rather WiFi)
BlueControl looks like exactly matching your request: "Blue Control is a basic universal Remote Control
for Blue-Tooth enabled serial devices such as
Blue Tooth modules connected to a micro-controller.
For each button pressed the corresponding ASCII code
for the label will be sent. For example pressing
buttons A-H will send the charactes "a" - "h".
The up, down, left, right, and center buttons will send
"U","D","L","R", and "C" characters. Hopefully this
will inspire people to create alot of fun Blue-Tooth Controlled devices."

A lot more Remote-Control apps can be found e.g. in this listing at AndroidPIT (Google translated) (original link). Though descriptions are in German, the general groupings and items should be recognizable ;)

There are questions on Stackoverflow and Serverfault regarding the same topic but for regular linux. Some of them may apply, however they're not production ready and definitely need adjustment for Android.

Yes you can with Wand Player, it is described as "a console right in your phone that lets you play games on any screen".
http://www.wanderplayer.com/
You can even email the developers with any questions you may have

Did you try Aio Remote?
It supports controlling PC, another Android device.
Supports Windows, Linux, Mac
Supports WiFi, Bluetooth
Supports custom remote design and share remotes with all users around the world.
What do you need more than that?

What's your relationship with this software? Are you the developer?

You can also try GestureWorks Gameplay. It's a fully-fledged utility for creating controller overlays on touchscreens, but they also have an Android app that's free with the utility - it can use keyboard controls or XInput and is customizable so you can make whatever kind of gamepad you like.

Download "PC Remote" from Play Store. It's free. It can use Wi-Fi but it can also be connected with Bluetooth. It has many types of game controllers in it for different types of games like fighting type, shooting type, racing type and flying type and more. .

Please don't recommend specific apps here, it is considered off-topic. Instead, flag the question as such for moderator attention.

The best and most complete program I have used so far (and I've tried many) is called Monect.  I can't remember if it is able to connect through bluetooth...but...I had no issues with it when it was connected using wi-fi which, of course, is pretty common technology.  There are a vast array of features included.  There are two main editions:
       1. Monect PC REMOTE(free)  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.monect.portable&hl=en

       2. Monect PC REMOTE VIP ($5.28)   https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.monect.vipportable&hl=en

I bought the VIP edition, which included features which utilized my phone's sensors so I could tilt-to-steer in my racing games on my PC.  The remote pc control features were buggy from time to time though.  All in all...if your looking for an app to control your PC games with...this is the app for you.  Note: Some phones may not have the necessary sensor for certain features.  Worth a try either way.  Good luck!!!

You can try Androg Controller.

Could you please include some details on your recommendation? What makes it a good choice?


text:
How to set default action handler permanently?
I've set defaults apps for many actions like sending email, opening PDFs, opening webpages etc. But, when I install or update an app which could handle that action, this default is cleared (even if default app is updated).
Nobody has problem with this because they can tick default checkbox on next action. My problem: I use Tasker to automate high amount of actions. And, due to this default removals (after automatic update), my tasks are stuck at Choose App pop-up. Tasks need to be completed in time. So, I face many real-world problems due to this.
What should I do to preserve defaults after automatic app update. Please, don't answer You can't or Turn off Automatic Update.

This is a comment so I can say it: You can't, turn off automatic update. If you're a developer than hypothetically speaking you could write an app that would be notified when an app is updated and could set the default handler (I think you might need root for the last part.) Maybe the developer of Tasker has some insight to this?

I'm afraid Richard is right here. I just checked with the Tasker API in the hope it would provide its own solution (as I'm affected by the same issue, just not that hard). Though Tasker can react on "Package Updated" (and even gets to know which package), there's no action to handle "default apps". And I'm not aware of any system setting like "do not reset default app on update". Maybe some programmer develops a little tool to care for "forced app defaults", listening to the package_updated intent, and simply sets all defined defaults again...

AFAIK, defaults on Android is not preserved if apps that use the intent are changed.
Workaround:
Use intent to launch the application or its activity screen.
intent is comparatively reliable though it may be changed when app is updated.
Take sending email as an example

Install Intent Intercept (Google Play)
Clear the defaults of email client
Choose "Intent Intercept" in Share menu when sending email
Copy intent details of your desired application activity
Open Tasker to "Create Task": Misc > Send Intent
Edit the parameters (Usually fill in the Action and Extra is enough)

Ref: http://tasker.dinglisch.net/userguide/en/intents.html
P.S. Some famous companies even provide you the intent details on their developer website, such as Evernote.

That app is open source, also available here: http://f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdfilter=intent%20intercept&fdid=uk.co.ashtonbrsc.android.intentintercept


text:
Stuck in Airplane Mode: How to force disabling Airplane Mode?
My Huawei Honour is stuck in airplane mode. I cannot disable it as the controls are greyed out.
I tried rebooting and resetting the system cache. What else can I do?

Do you definitely have a SIM in your device? If you do not, then you cannot disable airplane mode.
Also, are the items in the Power Options menu and the Wireless and Networks settings menu disabled? If so, it is likely a SIM error.

You can still enable/disable airplane mode without a sim card. There are other radios besides cellular. Wifi, bluetooth and NFC for example.

I do. Yet I do wonder why I am not asked for my PIN now that you mention it. All I see is "no service". I assumed it's because of the airplane mode.

Are you sure that you are in airplane mode? Could it be that you actually have no signal?

In my case, it indeed was an sim issue. I reinserted it and it worked again.

It looks like you'll have to do a factory reset.

I had the exact same problem in my Galaxy SII since yesterday, this post was the solution
http://www.inflightmagazine.co/?p=351
The author refers to two steps to solve the problem, I would add the following steps between Step 1 and Step 2

Install BusyBox from the play store
Open BusyBox after rooting, grant it superuser permissions
Click install on the left bottom corner of the screen
You'll be asked to use Smart Install vs Normal Install.. I chose the first option, not sure if it makes any difference if you pick the second one
Proceed to step 2

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


text:
How do I empty the Downloads Folder
My internal sd card is full because the downloads folder my browser saves stuff to contains a bunch of old files.
How do I empty this downloads folder in android?

Download a file mananger -- Astro is quite popular -- and delete the contents of /mnt/sdcard/Downloads. The path may be different if your phone has large internal storage.


text:
Is there a way to select multiple files in Astro File Manager
I want to delete multiple files with astro file manager. Is there a way to select many files at once? (like holding ctrl+click in windows)

Press the "Multi" button and then select the files/folders you want, as explained on their help site:

To select multiple files in ASTRO you simply click the "Multi" button.
  Then, you choose the files or folders you would like to work with (you
  will know they are selected because the names will turn orange.  If
  you want to copy or move files, go to the location you want those
  files and press the Copy or Move buttons.  If you want to delete,
  simply press the delete button and they will be removed.

Yes, there is. Tap the "multi" button in the tool bar at the top.


text:
What are ".spmo" files in "dcim/spmo" directory on my SD card?
On my SD card, in dcim  directory (which is where the images/videos captured with the camera are stored), I also have a subdirectory called dcim/spmo which contains a bunch of files with .spmo extension.
What are those .spmo files? Can they be safely deleted?
System: Motorola Droid X, Froyo 2.2 stock ROM, rooted.

A short Google search for "spmo file" reveals that these are "SpeedView Meta Object" files and speed up the display of images. They're probably some sort of cache file and should be automatically recreated if you delete them.

Which app creates/uses them?

I would assume that the stock apps use them, at least. If displaying images is handled by a system library -- and I would be surprised if it weren't -- probably most apps would use them.


text:
Is there a way to back up Amazon Market via Titanium Backup without 2Gb backup file size?
I was trying to figure out what was taking to much space on my SD card, and found out the following file in Titanium Backup directory:
com.amazon.venezia-20120409-052438.tar.gz    - 2,020,523,913 bytes (2Gb)

This is obviously a backup of Amazon App Store.
I am guessing the size is so large because for some reason, the Amazon App Store app stores a copy of ALL the apps installed through Amazon App Store (including several very big games, thus 2G size).
Questions:

Is this theory correct? (the file being 2Gb tgz file, I'm somewhat hesitant to gunzip and untar it to investigate the internals).
If so, is the size due to storing a copy of installed .apk files in Amazon App Store itself, or the cache? (I suspect the former, since cache backup is turned off in my TitaniumBackup  preferences).
How can I back up just the Amazon App Store app and not all the apps downloaded from Amazon with it (since, obviously, those are backed up separately by Titanium Backup anyway)

@RichardBorcsik - deleted all the useless comments, since your answer is self contained now

Amazon app store downloads APK files to a folder that Titanium Backup considers external app data. You can regularly clean out this folder or choose one of the following:

Create a label, and add Amazon Appstore to it. Now go into settings and under Backup external app data choose.
"Enable for apps outside of choosen label" now pick the label that you added Amazon too.
Inside TB's settings under Backup external app data choose "Enable if it's smaller than choosen size" and enter a value that you're comfortable with.

#1 worked perfectly once I realized that for some reason Titanium Backup does NOT recognize Folder Organizer labels for Preferences (though it does for filters)


text:
Application-specific passwords only work for a short period of time
I have two-step verification enabled on my Google Account, and I generated an application-specific password for my Android device (Infuse 4G with custom ROM in case that's relevant), and input it. After about a day, the "Sign-in error for USERNAME@gmail.com" notification appears and I have to generate a new password and input it again in order to use the account. Is this a known issue with two-step verification or is it just me doing something wrong?

I have been using two-step verification for nearly a year, and have not have any issues on my Droid Bionic (2.3.3) or Transformer Prime tablet (4.0.3).

You should only have to change your application-specific password if you change your main password.

I know that theoretically it should work fine. The problem is that the reality isn't exactly matching up with that.

This sounds very strange. I've generated a few app-specific passwords (which look like "abcd-efgh-ijkl-mnop") for a few devices and have never heard from them since. Google says: "Application-specific passwords do not expire"
On the other hand, main password, which has to be accompanied with security code ("12345") does expire quite quickly. Please, make sure you use 16-letter app specific passwords, not the main password with security code.


text:
How to increase headphone loudness beyond 100%?
I am very hard of hearing.
Is there a sound amplification app one can use with earbuds? Earbuds with a microphone for a Droid are a non-issue but I don't know where to find an inexpensive app to work with the hardware.

What version of Android are you using? But this application Volume+ might work for you if you're running Cyanogen Mod https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.TEST.android.lvh&hl=en I'd read the instructions carefully though!

(Just sharing; and definitely not what you're looking for) I'm also hard of hearing, but I use a headset with my in-the-ear hearing aids.

If you have one of the supported phone models:
There's an app called voodoo sound.

Voodoo Sound in Google's Play store
Downside: Requires a custom kernel, only for supported phones (see description in market)

The paid app comes without a requirement for a custom kernel (but needs root)

Voodoo Sound Plus

Both replace the audio codec's driver and allow fine tuning and to turn on formerly unused chip features (see description).


text:
How do I set a system-wide default browser?
I seem to have the opposite problem from this question: I'd like to set a single browser (probably the default one) to open every website. What happens at the moment is that every single link pops up a menu asking if I want to open it in the default browser, or in Firefox, or in Firefox Beta, or with Phone to Chrome. It makes browsing the web pretty frustrating...
Samsung Galaxy Note, Gingerbread.

I believe that some browsers, like Dolphin, have an option within the app to make it the default for everything.

Since you haven't mentioned I'm assuming you haven't tried this.
You've to select 'Use by default for this action.'.

Yes - but that only seems to set a default for that particular URL (or that server, maybe) The next link that differs slightly (eg, m.blah.com instead of www.blah.com) pops up the choice again.

@SteveBennett That's strange behavior. It should pop up for a couple different types of things (files vs links, for example) but not for individual URIs or sites.

It will pop up for every type of link that can be handled by different apps, e.g. HTTP, HTTPS, YouTube, Google+, any other app that is registered to handle certain types of links.  Note also that any time one of these apps is updated, the default setting will be lost and you will have to choose again.

Ah, is that what's going on. I find I'm constantly having to set these defaults - so frequently it's not even worthwhile. Many apps seems to update every week or two, so that would explain it.

I've removed the browsers and other apps that I found I rarely use, and also update apps in batches, rather than every time one has an update.   This has cut down significantly on the number of times I see this dialog.

See if Default App Manager works for you or not.

In Android 4.0 you can (starting at home)

press the menu button
select search
type in: default browser
select the thing that it finds and the rest should be similar to another answer here and fairly obvious.

If you are running ICS just go into your settings, choose app associations, choose web urls, and set what browser you want to open by default for any and all web urls that are opened within any app.

I don't see anything like "App associations" in settings? Touchwiz btw.


text:
Relationship between a recovery and a ROM
As far as I understand:
Recoveries (e.g. ClockworkMod) can be used, among other things, to install new versions of the Android OS, like custom ROMs (e.g. CyanogenMod) by updating the ROM section which contains the Android OS firmware. Recoveries are entered by shutting down the phone and powering it up by pressing special button combinations, so the phone doesn't enter the regular OS, but instead activates the recovery section.
Now, from that I expect that, the Recovery is something like the boot system on a PC (e.g. GRUB), that is separate from the actual OS, and activated when there is trouble getting into the OS. And because it's not a part of the OS, it can be used to update the OS itself.
However, what I'm confused about is this:

The guide to installing CyanogenMod on GT-S5570 says that "The official Android 2.3 update from Samsung must be applied before following this guide."
Another guide for flashing the ClockworkMod recovery on GT-S5570 also says that if you have 2.2 on the phone, you have to use a different version of ClockworkMod recovery, than if you have 2.3.

What is the relationship between these two, a recovery and the Android OS?
Further:

Is a different version of the recovery really needed for different OS versions?
Is this something specific to ClockworkMod, or is it how Android's recovery system works always?
If a recovery can be used to update the OS to a different version, does the recovery then become invalid after the update?

Is a different version of the Recovery really needed for different OS versions?

No. In case of updating custom ROMs you're completely right in that the recovery is mostly* independent of the ROM used.
However, phone manufacturers sometimes push out updates that change some vital parts of the phone. For example, repartition the phone. This is why sometimes you need a different recovery for the phone after major software updates.

Is this something specific to ClockworkMod, or is it how Android's recovery system works always?

This is something that depends on the phone and the the manufacturer's customizations.

If a recovery can be used to update the OS to a different version, does the recovery then become invalid after the update?

Factory ROMs are not always in the update.zip format, thus they're not always applied using the recovery. In these cases, the recovery is commonly among the parts that are updated. Furthermore recovery can be updated from the recovery just like the boot image (kernel.)

Indeed, partitioning and possibly mount points of the file system dictate which recovery you need.

So the update.zip format never changes the recovery? What happens if I flash a recovery that isn't compatible with the phone OS version?

@Ilari no the recovery can be updates from the recovery, read the last sentence. Well it depends on the phone and the way the update changed. The severity can change from it simply not working (because they changed mount points) to not being able to flash (eg. They changed the partition size or even removed it altogether). It's important to always flash the right version. The good thing is that the chances of permanently bricking your device this way are almost nonexistent.

@RichardBorcsik Yes I did notice that sentence, I just assumed that if you update recovery from recovery, that update would then be in a different format than update.zip.

So what about updating via recovery to another version of the OS (custom ROM), that is no longer compatible with the recovery that the update was ran from?

@Ilari Update.zip files have a (or several) scripts in them that manage updating. There's a command for writing raw images to a partition and since the recovery is just another partition it can be updated.

@Ilari Well it depends on why it's incompatible. There are numerous reasons and I'm not familiar with your phone so it's hard to tell. In case of my phone (ZTE Blade) they changed the partition layout and the baseband so kernel changes were required. ( The recovery rolls it's own kernel so that's why it needs to be updated to.) If you try flashing a new rom from an old recovery it will possibly just fail. Worst case is that you get a boot loop but you can still access the recovery.

@RichardBorcsik Ok, thanks for the information!


text:
Can anyone explain to me what the % really refers to in the Android system, battery usage?
I am wondering what the different percentages really refer to in the battery usage section. I mean...in total I see more than a 100%. So it is easy to presume that it doest mean a certain percent out of 100%.

How far it's from 100%? For me it's 102% so I think @Erik might be right that it's just a rounding error.

On my phone (ICS) the apps seem to use less than 100% in total. These must be rounding errors: if you had three apps each using a third of the total, that would be 33.3..% for each one. Android would round this to 33%, so the total would be 3*33%=99%.


text:
Rooting GT-i9100G under linux
What is the safest method to root a Samsung Galaxy S 2 i9100 G under a GNU/Linux system? (ArchLinux).
I am a programmer (without android programming experience, only desktop and web), it does not need to be "one click away", but the method has to be safe and you've tried it and it works.
I have adb installed and it works, if rooting the phone involves using it too.
Android version: 2.3.6
Baseband version: i9100gxxkl4
Build number: gingerbread.xxlb1

Rooting can be never completely safe.

Ok, not completely safe, but at least you've tried it, for this model number, this version, this build number. So I need a solution under these conditions from someone who has done it with success.

This should get you started. Please, carefully check your versions to make sure the files you use are intended for your phone.


text:
How can I get the apk file of an app downloaded from Google Play?
I want to get the apk file of an app downloaded from Google Play. How can I do this?

Install the app from Play Store and use Astro File Manager to backup apps. From backup directory, you can get APK files of the installed app.

Another option, which works to get the APK of any installed app, is to get it from /data/app/ (or /system/app/) using a file browser or terminal, etc.  You'll need root to do that on the device though; it's easier just to use Titanium Backup in that case.
Without root: From your PC you can use adb pull for some locations.  Helium automates this.


text:
Unable to open copied files from computer to device (mount  as disk drive) - HTC Desire S
I connected my phone as a disk drive and put some files ( .png ,.jpg ,.swf ) in the sdcard.
I am unable to open those files on the phone.  I am unable to find those files in the gallery of the device, either.
When I checked details from Astro file manager it is showing the extension .cp$ on all the file, as in filename.png.cp$
I am not getting what is the problem??

The transfer was probably corrupted.  The problem is probably with the host OS, and not with your phone.
What OS and what program were you using to copy the files?  Did you remember to "eject" the phone from the computer to make sure everything was synchronized?
Are the files on the phone the right size?  If you plug the phone back into the computer can you look at them successfully there?  (Or try copying them off and looking at the copies.)


text:
See YouTube videos in Anaglyph mode
How to see a YouTube video in Anaglyph mode from a non-3D Android device? I am not able to enable Anaglyph mode from the YouTube application.

If you find a way to get to the desktop version of YouTube, you may be able to do this by using the flash video player. But that seems to be not all that easy.

If you download Dolphin browser, add the Desktop toggles add-on you should be able to view it as a normal webpage (make sure to enable desktop toggles and delete the "m." in the url)


text:
Restoring purchases made with In App Billing
How can I switch the Play Account used for in-app billing?
No matter which account I "activate" in the Market app, all in-app purchases only go through the first account which is contrary to the experience when purchasing normal apps.
When purchasing normal apps, the billed account is the one that was active in the Market app at the time of purchase.
This causes a problem as I am also unable to restore my in-app purchases unless the account that made the purchases is the primary account on the device.

Can't verify so I'm not adding this as an answer. The account billed will the one that downloaded the app. Purchases can be only restored if they were made with the account that Downloaded the app.

No that is not true I'm afraid. I tried that before posting the question.

Strange. My Nexus one (which I originally tested on) displays the incorrect behaviour. Galaxy Nexus responds correctly in the way Richard says above.

Which one did you use to buy the app/in-app purchase?

I tried with both phones but only the Galaxy Nexus responded how Google said it should.

No, I meant which phone you made the in-app purchase with?

I understood you. I tried with both phones. I did not need to actually make the purchase because the account name is displayed on the final purchase screen.

I asked Google. This was their response.

Thanks for writing in. I understand you would like to know how to
  choose what account in app purchases are billed to. I apologize for
  any frustration this has caused. When you go to make an in app
  purchase the purchase is going to be billed to what ever account was
  used to download the app the purchase is going through.


text:
Scheduled Backup of Files / SMS / Contacts to Email
Currently I am using SMS Backup & Restore to regularly backup my SMS to Gmail daily. It works perfectly.
Now I am looking for a similar software that backs up files (on folders I select from SDcard) as well as my contacts regularly (daily/weekly for example).
Does anyone know apps that can do this? Preferably no root required but if I have to I might as well just root.

Backing up contacts? Doesn't Google take care of that already? Also do you have a preference about where you want your files?

@RichardBorcsik I use another Google account for my phone. The reason is I do not want a thief to access to my Google account in case it gets stolen/lost. Due to this, I kinda treat my phone contacts like an old school phone, totally separate list. About the files, I like to choose predefined folders that will be backedup regularly via email or dropbox.

If root is an option, the ultimate answer would be Titanium Backup. Scheduled backup of everything, support for Dropbox and more.
As for folders, I'd say FolderSync is certainly worth a try. Support for many cloud services, as well as your own servers via FTP and more.


text:
MyTouch bricked
I have a MyTouch 4G which I had to pull battery on and then when bootup came up, it just sits and hangs at the white logo screen. How do I go about fixing this?

You may have to run an ruu if you don't have a custom recovery
You could try rebooting into bootloader and doing a factory reset there (typically, turn device off, hold volume down and power till you're in the bootloader, volume moves, power selects in that screen)

Are there any examples or tutorials on how to do this? I've never had to do this before.

It's similar to flashing a custom mod - generally you need to reboot into the bootloader. HTC's bootloaders usually look for a hardcoded filename.


text:
Streaming Amazon Instant Video in HD
Is it possible to watch HD Amazon Instant Video (eg, Amazon Prime) on non-Kindle Android devices? (Galaxy Nexus with MHL adapter)
AFAIK, Amazon does not support HD streaming in the browser; this would require a native app.
Google Play does support this, but I haven't been able to find anything about Amazon.  (other than Flash streaming, which I don't think will do HD)

Just did it today on my Samsung Galaxy S3.
To stream Amazon Prime (or other Flash) movies:

Download Flash 11 onto your android device. You won't find it in the app market (Google pulled it this summer) but there are a couple different guides online. I used this one from CNET.
Download the Dolphin browser from the app market (other browsers MAY work as well if they let you change the user agent string, but Dolphin makes it easy and is the only one I tested successfully on).
Go into the Dolphin browser settings and set the "User Agent" setting to "desktop".
Login to Amazon and you can now stream Amazon prime/instant movies.

I used an MHL adapter to output the video/audio to my receiver and can now watch the movies on my surround-sound projector setup (though its not surround sound).
YMMV, as I'm not sure if this works on all android devices but it works on my S3. Good luck!

This does not support HD.

Didn't notice that. Well in that case, the answer to your question is not yet.

It doesn't support HD, but it's the closest solution that I can find so far. I don't think his answer deserved a downvote.

Tested and working today 08/01/2013. Tested on Asus TF700T and it looks beautiful.

Side load Flash from DevHost: http://d-h.st/x4v
Tell browser to "Request Desktop Site" (Change Agent)
Sign in to Amazon and navigate to Prime
Play

CAVEAT: Remember to disable sleep time (Tablet will turn display off as if idle, so disable Idle times) and auto brightness.
Enjoy!

This is essentially the same advice as the other two answers, and I'm pretty sure it has the same issue. Although using Flash will allow you to view video, it does not allow you to view the HD video that the OP is specifically looking for.

More important caveat: No HD.

FlashFox is working for me.  Only watched a couple videos so far. Not sure if in HD, but looks native on my 2nd gen Nexus 7 (1080).

This worked until April 17th, 2013. Amazon changed something and Instant Video no longer works with even the latest versions of Flash for Android which can be downloaded from the Adobe Archive and side loaded.
The only option for viewing Amazon Instant Video that I have found is to download Puffin Browser. It decodes the Flash video on their cloud Servers and streams it to the browser on your device in some other format. Sadly, it is a little herkyjerky and the audio is sometimes out of sync and full screen is more or less broken, although you can zoom in to fill the screen.

As with the other answer that mentions using a browser (when it still worked), I don't think this supports HD playback that the OP is looking for. It doesn't on other devices (e.g. PCs).


text:
Contacts History for SMS Stopped Working
I noticed that when I go to Contacts > History, the last entry for SMS history is February. All text messages made from then on is no longer being logged in the History view. However, all call history seems to be fine.
I have searched my phone but couldn't find a setting to enable/disable the text message history logging. Anybody knows how to fix this?
Phone model: Samsung Galaxy Ace
Android version: 2.2.1
Update: It appears to be malfunctioning. I texted 8 different contacts today, it only logged 1.

I have solved this issue by going to Contacts > Display Options > Select contacts to display > Check all


text:
SMS delivery confirmations – are they really deleted?
I am requesting SMS delivery retrieval. When they come instantly, it is no problem to acknowledge them. But when they come after e.g. 1 day, it is possible to miss them??
Does android remember the confirmations somewhere?

I'm not sure what version of Android you're running and not quite sure this is what you're asking but on my Ice Cream Sandwich Nexus S if I request a delivery receipt then a little tick appears in the message once it's been delivered. I've got messages from April 18th and they still have the confirmation tick on them so yes Android stores them.
Here's a screenshot of what they look like on my phone:

I got Android 2.x. Cannot see the tick. Only regular blue area and the text message

I've uploaded a picture of what it looks like on my phone, you don't have this? ps. sorry about the size of it...


text:
One click (or easy) way to Root Motorola Droid X with Morotola update 4.5.621
I read that the new  DROID X  build 4.5.621 prevents the most common Rooting methods.
There is a more complicated method but I'm hoping there is a one-click method (less chance of me screwing up and bricking my Droid)
I have Android v 2.3.4.


text:
How to size wallpapers to not be cropped on Motorola Xoom WiFi

Possible Duplicate:
What is the default resolution of a wallpaper that fits the homescreen exactly in an Android phone?

Hi I'm running EOS nigtlie #102 (although this is a problem no matter what rom) but how do I size images so that they arent cropped. I see alot about 5 screens and what not but I dont have the 5 screen feature never have since ICS. So what resolution should my images be so that they arnt zoomed when i apply them as a background.

Found that the wallpaper slideshow app on google play works great for making and image fit like a glove. For those who have the same problem check out the app its free and easy to use.

Please also add a Play Store link to the app


text:
Configure my Droid 4 to AutoConnect via Bluetooth to my PC?
I have paired my Droid 4 with my Windows 7 Professional x64 PC. However, whenever I turn Bluetooth on, on my phone, it fails to auto-connect to the PC. It says the following when I look at the Bluetooth Settings:

Paired but not Connected

I have to click on the pairing just to get it to connect. Is there any way to get my phone to auto-connect once it's in range of my PC, or to put the pairing on the desktop so it's a widget that is easy to click to get it to connect?
I've googled around but most of the material I've found is for auto-connecting to car stereos.

why do you need it to connect? you can do everything you would be able to anyway cant you? I mean if you want to send a file etc you can without connecting


text:
How can battery usage of Android be at 79%?
Till last night everything was kinda balanced.....most of the different parts of the usage were in between 20-35 %, but this morning after having activated the internet from my network provider, it all got unbalanced.
Now Android usage is at 79% and the rest of the things are at a very low usage (between 3 and 7%).
What can be causing this? GPS is off

The total of all the usage should always approximate 100%. That Android (the core) is responsible for 79% of the entire drain isn't anything to worry about, it just says that not much else was drawing power.


text:
WIFI share a reverse tethered connection
I know that it is possible to reverse tether your Android device via USB thanks to questions like this. But I am hoping to take this a step further by then sharing that connection to others via WIFI - like a bridge essentially.
I haven't seen this anywhere else and wondered if it was even possible? Has it been attempted and failed to anyone's knowledge?

It should be possible, the Wi-Fi chip should be free to broadcast.  Very likely that there aren't any phones that come with software to support using the USB connection rather than the cell connection, though, so you'll need something custom.  Whether that exists is the question :)

I'm sure it's possible somehow, but IMO if you have the devices that need to share connection, you'd do well by investing on a dedicated portable Wi-Fi hotspots. It will be much less if a hassle. At the very least, you should use your phone instead of the laptop as the gateway.

I don't know how to do what you want with only an Android device, but since you mention reverse tethering using USB you could achieve the same thing using only a computer that has an internet connection and wi-fi. You can use your computer's wi-fi to share your internet connection with multiple devices, including your android phone, using one of two methods:

Setup your computer to be a virtual wireless router. All devices could then share internet by connecting to your computer using wi-fi.
Setup an ad-hoc wireless network, but unfortunately Android devices will only be able to connect if you set them up using these instructions that require your phone to be rooted.

If you don't have wi-fi on your computer, then a PCI or USB wi-fi network card is generally quite cheap to obtain.

Thanks @Silveri but I am looking for advice on doing this with an android device not computer with Wifi.

well i too got an idea to reverse tether and make my android as a portable wifi hotspot but when reverse tether is done u need to switch your mobile data connection so that it appears as if you are using your data connection but the internet is used from reverse tethering your pc net try it if it works then good


text:
How can I set Android Galaxy Ace to only use 3G network?
I am having a little bit of a hard time with my new android phone for the reason that it doesnt always connect to certain services (such as Angry Words, or Whatsapp). Sometimes I get the message "unable to connect", when I am using a fairly good network provider and strong enough wifi when at the office.
What I've noticed is that the 3G sign keeps changing to H every now and then. I dont know if that is the issue. Anyway, how can I make the phone only use the high-speed 3G service and why is that that even with strong wifi signal it is giving me a hard time?
Note: Wifi is turned off all the time I am not at home or at the office.

H should mean HSPA+, which is good.  I'd guess that you have the same Wi-Fi problem as me: http://android.stackexchange.com/q/14162/1465.  You can try the app posted there, it helps a little bit, but I think your best bet is just to shut off Wi-Fi.

@MatthewRead Thanks Matthew. I've just read the other entry on this issue, but I am not sure that is the solution. First of all, I must tell you that I hardly know anything about networking. The other thing is that I need to use wifi connection, otherwise I'll reach my data limit in no time with my network provider and I'll have to pay extra.
Anyway, I am not sure what is causing the problem and I am clueless how to go on and fix it.

Right.  Well you can try toggling Wi-Fi off and on when you get the error and see if it helps, which is annoying but I'm not sure there's many other options.

@MatthewRead I am actually beginning to realize that in many areas where I go to work (I am always on the move), network coverage isn't that good and on the other hand many applications seem to be buggy. Whatsapp server seems to be offline many times. Angry words server seems to be a bit dodgy too. I mean you guys might disagree, but that what personal experience makes me believe.

If you're running Gingerbread or above you might want to check with your battery stats: From the homescreen, menu-key ->setup->device info->battery has a little graphic at the top. Touch this to enlarge. Now take a look at the phone column: red areas stand for "no network", yellow for "low network quality", and the darker the green the better. So if one day you've got a lot of problems, and it's all red-and-yellow there -- you can tell why.

I was in trouble getting my 3G to work, and I did these steps, that solved my problem:

Go to the dialer and type *#*#4636#*#*
Tap "Phone info"
Scroll down, you will see GSM selected;
Open the list and select WCDMA only;
Turn the radio off and turn it on again (there's a button for that on the screen)
Press Home Button, not back button

If you still can't get 3G, reboot your phone and that's it ;)
Enjoy! :)


text:
Galaxy Nexus charges but is never seen by a PC when connected via USB
I run Linux (Ubuntu 12.04), and I have a Galaxy Nexus running Android 4.0.4. (Purchased in December 2011.) When I plug the phone in to the PC via USB there is no detection whatsoever. Tailing /var/log/syslog when plugging or unplugging the phone there is ZERO activity in the logs.
The phone however will charge.
Plugging the phone into a Windows 7 machine, same deal. Phone charges off USB but Windows never prompts to say the device has been detected. Also same on MAC.
Using the same micro USB cable, and an HTC One X. Linux, Windows and Mac all detect the HTC phone AND the phone charges.
I have been to Settings -> Storage and changed the phone from PTP to MTP, still no change.
From memory this is the first time I have ever wanted to plug the phone into the PC. So it may have never worked.
Is there something I am missing (like a setting or something?) or can I assume that the phone is faulty?

Have you tried another cable? I've had instances where a cable works well enough to charge but not otherwise.

Yeah, I thought that maybe my cable was only wired for charging, so went and brought a specific data one, and still the same. Also, both cables work with other Android phones.

disableling the usb fast charging worked for me ..... Thanks! It was really kernel issue. I updated my kernel to fransisco r378 for fast charging.

It turned out it was a faulty USB port on the phone. I have since purchased a new phone and everything works as expected on the new one.

If you've installed the kernel mod for "fast usb charging" it will not be able to connect as long as that feature is enabled.  You don't mention being rooted, but that is a side effect of the fast charging.

Thanks for your comment, I haven't installed this module. The phone is not seen by another version (11.10) of Ubuntu, Windows or Mac computers.Other android phones and USB storage devices work just fine.

The only other setting that can effect how you phone connects via usb would be USB debugging under Developer Settings, though you should still see some devices being enumerated on the PC side of things.  Bear in mind that (at lest in my experience with a Galaxy Nexus) you need to unplug and replug after changing these settings.  Barring that it may be some hardware problem.

try lsusb (LSUSB lowercase) in Ubuntu, if you see your phone ID (04E8) in the list, you have to add to the /etc/udev/rules.d/53-android.rules the following line:
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", SYSFS{idVendor}=="04e8", MODE="0666"

Ubuntu (or windows or Mac) doesn't see the phone when plugged in. So lsusb does not show the device.

then, i'm sorry to say, your phone usb port is most probably fried. you may try other computer/port/cable/phone to make sure that's the case.

Make sure you have USB Debugging enabled in Settings > Applications > Development.
Also you might want to try wireless adb - I use it all the time for debugging and find it so much easier than using cables. ROMs like Cyanogen support ADB over network out-of-th-box. For stock ROMs there are apps like WiFi ADB.

Is some kind of MTPFS installed on Ubuntu?  If not, it won't recognize your phone's storage.  You'll also need the udev rule @lenik talked about (see this tutorial).  However, if as @lenik mentioned your phone isn't seen by lsusb it's most likely some kind of hardware problem with the phone itself.


text:
USB host port via Android accessory protocol adapter
Is it possible for an Android 4 phone with only a standard micro-USB port (not OTG), to be provided with a USB host port through an adapter using the Android accessory protocol? Do such adapters exist?
The adapter would need power and 2 USB ports. One USB port would act as a host and plug any USB device (for example a keyboard), the other would act as an 'Android accessory' and plug into the phone. Android should be able to use the device as if it were plugged in directly to a host port (on a tablet).
It would be really great if the adapter was also powered by micro-USB, and that it could pass-through data to a computer host (Storage, tether, ADB, etc.).
Diagram:

Is all/any of this possible? Do such adapters exist? If not, how would I make one?

My first question, can't post images yet. :-( I'll edit it in when I can...

I've read the question thrice and looked at the diagram, and I'm still not sure what you're asking...

Logos: Which bit are you struggling with? Since 3.1, Android has supported USB host-mode. This is great for tablets but not much use for phones. Android 3.1 also introduced the 'Android accessory protocol' - an extension to attempt to address some of the shortcomings of USB. The adapter should provide a USB host port, and tunnel whatever is plugged into it to the phone over the Android accessory protocol. The phone should be able to use the plugged in device as if it had a /native/ USB host port. The phone should still be able to communicate with the laptop as if it were plugged in directly.

Ahhh.  I've never used Honeycomb, so I know zippo about USB host mode on Android - that's why I'm not understanding.  Time to update my knowledge!

Logos: I've never used it either, and I never will. Honeycomb is/was not Open-source, one of my favourite things about Android. Thankfully ICS is though, so I'm looking forward to getting my hands on it and it's great new features. :-)

My point was more that I haven't used ANY 3.x or 4 version, really.


text:
Updated to 1.28 and now my Media Link HD won't connect?
I got an HTC Media Link HD free with my phone for pre-ordering and it works fine, however having updated to the 1.28 software over the weekend, I found that I can no longer connect to the media link.
Is anyone aware of this issue or knows a way to fix it, as there seems to be very little detail about it online.

This has been escalated to the 'Escalations team' so might get a response from them.

I got an update from HTC Tech Support on this one.
TL;DR
Search for a software update and you should hopefully find 1.29. Once this is installed you'll be able to connect again fine.
Quoted below

Dear David,
Thank you for your patience.
I would recommend backing up your data and performing a factory reset,
  to do this please follow these steps:

If your phone is tied to a Google account, your contacts, calendar events, downloaded apps, wireless settings can be backed up, if you
  have entered your Google account details in the initial set-up
  screens. Please go to , Menu, Settings, Accounts & Sync, tap on your
  Google account, then tap 'Sync now' you will see some spinning
  circular arrows for a short while, this just means your data is being
  saved to Google. When the arrows have finished spinning, the data has
  been backed-up (double check this).
Or back up your contacts to the S.D card (For Android 2.1 or later) by following these steps; From the home screen tap All Applications.
  Scroll to and tap People.  Tap Menu.  Tap Import/Export.  Tap Export
  to SD card.  Select which contact Group to export (Phone, Google, SIM
  etc.).  Tap OK.
Available from the android market is a free application to enable you to back up your SMS messages if desired.

Now your phone is backed up we can perform the hard reset, all data
  will be lost that is not backed up on your S.D/SIM cards or online
  will be lost.

Hard reset on Android From the Home screen, press the Menu key> Tap Settings> Tap SD & phone storage> Tap Factory data reset> Tap Reset
  phone.

The reason I have asked you to do this is because though it may seem a
  bit extreme this is the best method for dealing with your problem.
Once this has been done please manually search for an update.

I didn't actually do the reset, I simply searched for software updates and found the new update, installed it and all was well. I'd recommend this first before you wipe your phone!


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Does wi-fi sleep policy "never" mean that my phone's battery will be drain a lot faster?
I have just decided to change my settings on the wi-fi, because it seems to give me a hard time regarding the fact that the some application are "unable to connect to server".  However, I am worried about the battery life. Does the setting "never" mean that the phone will scan non-stop, draining my batter like crazy?

It will keep the connection on. It does drain battery but not like crazy. You can test it out yourself very easily.

If you have "wifi-sleep" on, when the device goes to sleep, the wifi connection will disconnect from the access point. It doesn't happen right as the device goes to sleep, but a little delay after. It shouldn't drain the battery much more then just having wifi on.
Of course, if you have very network active apps running, then it may drain it a bit more. But on the other side, if wifi goes to sleep, and you have network active apps, they will just use your mobile connection, if it is available.