text:
I can not find informations about Hisilicon kirin 650
I want to know if Hisilcon Kirin 650 is a heterogenous or a homogenous processor!!
(working all 8 cores or  4 by 4, not in the same time )
Please answer to my question !!

Did you seriously even try to Google this? I found the answer in seconds by doing nothing but googling Kirin 650 specs

This is a Chinese review of Huawei G9 Lite, which has K650 built-in. As can be seen from the AIDA64 screenshot below, all cores are of the same arch, and are online at the same time, albeit at different freqs.

Actually the K650 is heterogenous, 4 x Cortex A53 cores clocked at 2.0GHz and 4 x Cortex A53 cores clocked at 1.7GHz using ARM’s big.LITTLE architecture. http://www.gizmochina.com/2016/04/28/looking-huawei-kirin-650-detail-specs/

@acejavelin Sounds like I've got the definition mixed up. Does only having different freqs make it big.LITTLE? l'm confused - if only there's a definition I can see... I'll remove the conclusion for now. Doesn't affect answering what he's asking (cores online) though.

"Homogeneous multi-core systems include only identical cores; heterogeneous multi-core systems have cores that are not identical (e.g. big.LITTLE have heterogeneous cores that shares the same instruction set)" - Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-core_processor

@acejavelin "big.LITTLE have heterogeneous cores that shares the same instruction set" - that's it, thank you. Should be a good read for OP too.

The Huawei Kirin 650 is built on the 16nm FinFET plus process from
  TSMC, which is much better than the 28nm process used by rivals such
  as Helio X10 and even Snapdragon 616.
As for the specs of the chip, it comes with ARM’s big.LITTLE
  architecture with 4 x Cortex A53 cores clocked at 2.0GHz and 4 x
  Cortex A53 cores clocked at 1.7GHz.
  - Source

and

Homogeneous multi-core systems include only identical cores;
  heterogeneous multi-core systems have cores that are not identical
  (e.g. big.LITTLE have heterogeneous cores that shares the same
  instruction set)
  - Source

Therefore the answer is the Kirin 650 processor has heterogeneous cores, and would be considered a heterogeneous processor.


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Enable Mobile Data on new SIM Card
The challenge: I am not connecting to the new local mobile network for data after changing SIM cards.
Details:
- Handset: Samsung Galaxy S6
- Original service provider: Verizon - USA
- New/current service provider: Econet - Zimbabwe
I recently moved from the US to Zim, and brought my S6 handset with me. Verizon informed that all the phones come unlocked and that I could simple swap out the SIM card to the local provider. I have purchased a new SIM card and loaded up the necessary money onto my new provider account. I am able to send & receive SMS text messages and phone calls, but unable to get any data service, so applications like Google and WhatsApp do not work (unless I'm on WiFi).
Wondering if there is some setting in android or verizon which is blocking the data connection from the new network. I have double checked to make sure airplane mode is off, and in Settings > Mobile Networks > Network Operators I see "ECONET" and there is sufficient signal strength.
I appreciate the help. Thank you.
Matt

Contact your provider, and see if they require a setup procedure.

For using Data Services You have to set APN first.
Goto Settings > Mobile Networks > Access Point Names Tap More and select New APN and use the following Settings:
Name: ZW - Econet Web
APN: econet.net
Proxy:
Port:
Username:
Password:
Server:
MMSC:
MMS Proxy:
MMS Port:
MMS Protocol: WAP 2.0
MCC:
MNC:
Authentication Type: PAP
APN Type: default, supl
Save the APN and use that APN.
After doing all this reboot your phone and it should work like charm then.

Yes, this is perfect. I had not added the new network. Thank you, Rahul.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Receiving Chinese blocks of texts in the Messaging app
My wife is getting some weird text messages as replies in middle of conversations with her friends. The messages are blocks of Chinese characters. She gets these in the stock messaging app from friends that use Samsung phones and iPhones. She is using a Nexus 5X on AT&T. (N.B. Other users have asked the same question about the Samsung Galaxy S7, so it's not a phone-specific issue.)
Here is a screencap from today from an iPhone user, and translating the text does not make sense (though I did image translation): :

(Click to see the image in full size)

Here is one from a Samsung phone and from their end:

(Click to see the image in full size)
Does anyone know why this is happening? Is it some weird thing when someone with a weird texting app replies with some emoji/GIF/image?

Does she have AT&T messages enabled? Also, are the messages gibberish in the default messaging app? What it looks like is that her phone is receiving multimedia messages that her phone can't decode. I'm wondering if a carrier app is interfering with message receipt.

Messenger is the default app. There is a text plan attached to her account. It does seem that a block of text might be coded by the sender and the carrier tries to decipher it thinking that Chinese is the default language.

Cause
It's likely caused by either/both character encoding incompatibility and/or wrong character encoding, resulting in mojibake (garbled text):

Character encoding incompatibility
SMS, or text message, in general supports either text-only (e.g. GSM 03.38), or Unicode (e.g. UTF-8, UTF-16, UCS-2). Emoji, a character that resembles an image (not to be confused with emoticon, "a pictorial representation of a facial expression using punctuation marks, numbers and letters"), is supported in Unicode (UTF-16), but not in GSM 03.38.

Wrong character encoding issue
For some reasons, the original character encoding is wrongly interpreted somewhere (e.g. by app, or by text provider), resulting in different character encoding. While in some cases it doesn't affect the text, other cases may result in totally garbled text (refer to Microsoft Windows "Bush hid the facts" bug).

In this case, it's likely that one of the encoding that is used in SMS, GSM. 03.38, which uses 7-bit per character, is interpreted as UTF-16, which uses 16-bit per character due to emoji.
Solution

Recipients
Try changing the messaging app. If it doesn't fix the issue, then it's probably caused by the text provider itself. However, you can still try to recover the text (e.g. using online service such as http://string-functions.com/encodedecode.aspx): set encoding to UTF-16 and decoding to UTF-8.

Senders
Avoid emoji at all, or make the messaging apps send it as text-only (e.g. in Google Messenger, there's Simple characters only in Advanced settings to convert special characters in SMS messages when sending it)

Further reading:

now.sms: Emoticons and Emoji in SMS Text Messsages

SwiftKey Support: Why do emoji on Android take up more than one character?

In apples iPhone forums I have gotten some examples of such texts. It turns out that some process is adding @ between each letter and the result is read as UTF-16LE.  The word yes becomes y@e@s@ and is displayed as 䁙䁥䁳.  It seems to have started recently and one wonders if it is connected to an iOS update somehow.

@TomGewecke,  that's exactly what the texts look like once converted. We've tried different messanging apps, and this issue still persists. At least Andrew T's conversion method works.

In Apple's iPhone forum, one user has posted a possible fix, but I do not know if it has been verified further: "The Apple senior adviser recommended contacting Att again and have them reset my Sms relay which took 5 min. After convincing them to just do it. Anyway, it worked!".

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


text:
why screen as black screen ,red border in micromax canvas juice 3plus
I bought a micromax canvas juice3plus 8 months before. Now screen became  black in color with red border.. How to correct this

Can you take a photo of the phone's screen and post it here?

This is a hardware problem. You need to take your phone to a repair shop and get the screen fixed.


text:
Killed my phone by USB tethering
I couldn't connect to a WiFi network over my laptop so I used my phone to connect to the WiFi network instead and activated USB Tethering. When I started, the battery was empty. I started charging it via the USB cable connected to my laptop and I enabled USB Tethering.
The problem arised when the phone said that more power is being used than charged and that I should plug the phone into the wall socket. I did so and the battery wouldn't charge past 4%. It charges so slowly. When I'd turn on the phone or unplug it, the battery level would drop to 1%. I think I've destroyed it.
Has this ever happened to anyone? Is this a software glitch or a hardware problem? Have I destroyed both the phone and the battery?

USB tethering by all means should not cause this and I do not believe that your battery is dead. Instead, it's more probable that you stumbled upon a glitch within the OS.
Back up all of the data in your phone including photos and other things in your external storage, then do a factory reset on the phone. If this does not resolve the issue, there may be more serious underlying hardware or software issues. Contact the manufacturer if a factory reset does not fix the issue.


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Lollipop - Google Play Services is murdering my battery when roaming
I'm on vacation in America, and ever since I got here, my Samsung Galaxy S5 running stock Lollipop (no updates pending) has been burning through its battery at about 1% per minute (with the screen off). The phone gets crazy-hot to the touch (chassis, not battery) and the culprit is Google Play Services according to the Battery screen.
I've looked up some advice articles that recommend disabling GPS (I switched Locations off completely), uninstalling recent apps (done, and then some) and uninstalling updates to Play Services itself (which I can't do on my Samsung device, all the buttons are greyed out).
The phone was working okay when I left the UK. When I landed and switched flight mode off, the device was utterly unusable for 5 minutes straight. I ended up disabling background data sync to get some kind of stability. However, it still gets to the point that the keyboard lags some seconds behind my taps, and swipe is totally unusable.
I'm struggling to work out exactly what's causing this, because switching off features only seems to buy me a short reprieve. I've never seen battery life this bad back home, but equally, I've never seen a phone annihilate its battery like this while roaming. What else can I try?
(I should mention that my plan from the UK allows me to use my data allowance when roaming, so this is not costing me any money)
Edit: upon returning to the UK, my battery life appears to have returned to normal. Something about being out of the country was causing the CPU to go crazy.


text:
Google Calendar event reminder sound is too short and I can't hear it
One of the main Google Calendar's functions is to remind people their events, with a scheduled sound alarm. The problem is that this sound, I know how to change it, only lasts for 1 second, so I don't hear it. Instead, when they call me, the sound lasts for very long until they hang up the phone, so I realize I'm being called. I would like if the alarm sound lasted longer, how to do it?
By the way, I have the same problem with Google Keep reminders.
I imagine some people like short sounds because they don't want to get disturbed, and they probably get reminded when they check their phones and see the notification. I want to know if it's possible to make it work like I specified, a longer loud sound like a call.

You can try solution here with modifications. Choose the apps to trigger and in action choose the sound you want. If that is not long enough , add wait xx seconds as another action followed by action for sound again

@beeshyams You are a expert, thanks, I will try that!

LoL I am not. Let me know once you are satisfied to post as an answer. BTW, I haven't tested your requirement, but it should work

@beeshyams Good modus operandi and idea, I answer you once I try. Also, according to the wikipedia definition, and to your profile (top 0.17%) , you are a EXPERT.

Go to "My Files" and then copy any MP3 or sounds that sound longer to be your reminder. Then go to "device storage", look for the "notifications" folder, and paste it there.
Now, go to your S-Planner and open "Settings". Now, you'll see your MP3 as the choice in the notifications tone options. Now, you can have a longer reminder tone.

Just a note that S-Planner is Samsung's specific app.

@AndrewT.  Thanks.  I was wondering WTF S-Planner is.

I am using Xiaomi's Redmi Note 7 and even after multiple attempts I could not implement Clara's answer since it is not allowed by MIUI.
I had to settle with having another app that rings an alarm according to my Google Calendar.
'Event Alarm Reminder for Google Calendar' by Lion Zöchling syncs with Google Calendar and rings an alarm that lasts longer (can be customized).
This is the only app that worked well with MIUI for me. Added bonus is that it has a decent-looking UI.

I have both Google Calendar and Samsung Calendar installed. They seem to coexist fine, and Samsung Calendar has what you need:
Go to Settings > Calendar Settings > Alert style and set it to "Strong".  You can then customise the sound, but you have a large choice of long and loud alert sounds.
It's pretty simple but you can also see it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6Q5cAo8ezw

I use Calendar Notifications, with persistent notification and a loot of other options.

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


text:
I can't install apk file: App Not Installed
I recently got a HTC One M9, and I wanted to replace it's gallery with my old phone's gallery because I loved one of the filters that it had. This led to me having to download a third party APK file, but when I tried to install it, it just gave me an error that said "App not installed." I first thought it's because it won't install because the current gallery is still on my phone, but after disabling the app, I still get the error message. Is there any way I can fix this?
The APK file is MIUI's Gallery app if that helps.

Hope you have enabled unknown resources in your settings/security or privacy.Also third party apps from samsung/miui or sony etc needs their own frameworks and other supporting files to work and install properly.

You will get a better error message when installing the app via adb. Enable Android Debug Bridge on your phone and connect it to a PC with Android SDK. Then install the apk file via adb install <filename.apk>

Generally you can't install one manufacturer's built-in apps on another manufacturer's phone anyway. The built-in apps are written to take advantage of the specific hardware on that phone and/or extra libraries the manufacturer includes in their system image. Camera apps are a particularly bad culprit because often they rely on the features of the camera chip and on a custom image-processing library.
As well as the technical problems, this is software piracy. The app is made by the phone manufacturer to give that particular phone a competitive advantage. It's only licensed for use on that phone. It's not like on Google Play where you buy an app and then can use it on any phone.

I'm not sure I would call it software piracy. It's breaking a EULA at worst. Hardly a criminal or in civil infraction, it's contract law. And, you're only breaking the EULA if you agreed to it.

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


text:
Can I make a flashable zip executing commands?
I'm using cm13 on my OnePlus 3, along with systemless SuperSu and suhide. When I update cm (often), I need to flash both SuperSu and suhide. The problem is that cm comes with root access and when updating, makes a su directory in /system/bin/su that suhide detects so that it won't install. I need to delete that directory in between of the flashes, and I would like to make a script that does that for me when i flash it so that I can flash all files together on update using CyanDelta. I know that this is possible because I have seen other zips that execute command scripts as i flash them.

Find an empty flashable package somewhere; edit META-INF/com/google/android/updater-script and add delete_recursive("/path/to/your/directory"); to remove the directory in question.
(On second thought, is it really necessary to make a flashable zip for this single purpose? If your phone has TWRP recovery available, why not just use its built-in file manager?)

OP could also make their own flashable ZIP, with the structure META-INF/com/google/android, create an update-binary file inside the last directory and write #!/sbin/sh, followed by mount -o rw /partition_name and rm -rf /path/to/your/directory inside the file. Finally, just zip the META-INF folder and here's the flashable ZIP.

@DeathMaskSalesman Wow, I don't know you could actually write update-binary yourself (the ones I've seen are mostly in unreadable format, except for SuperSU's). Thanks for the info.

In fact, the classical update-binary is a compiled binary, just like a sh. The workaround for those which want more flexibility is just to write the file as a simple shell script, and by doing so you can also ignore the updater-script.

@DeathMaskSalesman How can a binary be replaced by a script? It sounds weird to me that this is even feasible.

Ah, I don't know the procedure employed by a recovery. Still, if you don't believe me, you're free to unpack a CyanogenMod flashable ZIP and examine its update-binary. For instance, the one I analyzed began with the bytes 7F 45 4C 46, which stand for .ELF, identifying the file as a compiled binary.

Thanks everyone, the reason I would like a flashable zip is that i update my phone often, almost every day, and I would like to update everything by just pressing update in CyanDelta.

I did what you said, but when I flash my zip, TWRP tells me that it could not find  META-INF/com/google/android/update-binary. What should I do, edit the update-binary file in some way? I'm doing this using TextEdit on my mac, and when I try to edit the file it just shows a bunch of nonsense. May I ask for someone to make this zip for me, just a file to delete /system/xbin/su?

I uploaded what I've packaged onto my AndroidFileHost - try it out. If /system/xbin/su is a directory rather than a file, replace delete with delete_recursive in updater-script.

Thank you! This worked, I'm now able to update my phone without any hassle :D


text:
Can I install Cynogen OS on my Yu Yuphoria 5010A?
Basically I have multi touch issue on YU yuphoria,I recently googled and found that custom ROM can remove this problem,cyanogen in my case but all the tutorial were for 5010.So I need to know whether I can flash cyanogen or not?

Don't YU phones come with Cyanogen OS already? Are you talking about CyanogenMod instead?

Latest Yu Yuphoria Comes with pure Android Lolipop 5.1.1

The old model(5010) used to come with Cyanogen 12.

Here's the tutorial from official forum: http://forums.yuplaygod.com/threads/guide-flash-cos12-on-yuphoria-android-version.25868/

Maybe this will help. (NOTE: these builds are for the build 'lettuce')
https://download.cyanogenmod.org/?device=lettuce


text:
How to resize the screen on Android 4.2.2 (adb shell wm overscan doesn't work)
I was following this tutorial in order to resize my screen (or "deactivate" a small part from the bottom of it): https://android.stackexchange.com/a/113782/191822
As describes above I tried tried it with ADB. I'm using Android 4.2.2, which is probably the reason why the following command doesn't work:
adb shell wm overscan 0,0,0,100
/system/bin/sh: wm: not found

Replacing wm by am didn't work either:
adb shell am overscan 0,0,0,100
...
...
Error: Unknown command: overscan

Does anyone know how to accomplish that with Android 4.2.2
I'm working on Ubuntu 16.04
EDIT: ok, I've come so far to notice that the command I have to use might be something like:
adb shell am display-size

e.g. (from 540x960 to 540x700)
adb shell am display-size 540x700

However, this will resize the screen on the top and the bottom. I couldn't find a way to only remove a part of the screen from the bottom withouth changing the screen position on the top.


text:
Installed TWRP, but still getting Odin?
So I'm trying to install CM13 on a Samsung Galaxy S3 (I9300) and I'm following the guide here:
https://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Install_CM_for_i9300
I've managed to do the first part "Installing a custom recovery", but am thinking that something has gone wrong.
I managed to do all the steps without any hiccups, but in step 11. where
11. The Galaxy S III (International) now has a custom recovery installed.

I'm not sure whether this really is the case, since when I hold Home + Volume Down + Power to get to recover mode, what I get to is still Odin, eventhough I'd expect this to boot into TWRP. Odin lists the following
ODIN MODE
PRODUCT NAME: GT-I9300
CUSTOM BINARY DOWNLOAD: YES (1 counts)
CURRENT BINARY: Samsung Official
SYSTEM STATUS: Official

Judging by CUSTOM BINARY DOWNLOAD, something has been downloaded, but did something go wrong in its installation?
What should I do?

Home+Volume Down+Power is not the recovery, but the bootloader. The recovery is reached by pressing Home+Volume UP+Power. TWRP is a recovery, ODIN is a tool to flash Samsung devices.

@GiantTree Okay, but doing Home+Volume Up+Power does boot into the "normal" Android system recovery <3e> with the recovery starting with "No command" (which I'm not sure if it's supposed to start like this), but then getting in to the system recovery menu. Where's TWRP?

Well, apparently you haven't installed TWRP correctly. Make sure it's written correctly to your device. I guess you used Odin to install TWRP. Make sure you've got the latest version of TWRP from https://dl.twrp.me/i9300/.

@GiantTree Can I revert back to where I started in part 1 of the above guide? I.e. have CUSTOM BINARY DOWNLOAD: YES (1 counts) not showing and not have any partial stuff lying around.

AFAIK undoing the Download count is not trivial (Triangle Away may be able to do it) but just starting again is safe as you will be just overwriting the stuff you already did.

@GiantTree Any idea whether I could switch the installation method to use TWRP Manager which I just found, rather than doing the part 1 of the above again? I just want to avoid some kind of unnecessary files or partial installations  being left to my system.

If your device is already rooted, TWRP Manager should work for you.

@GiantTree Triangle Away Kinda works. It's like a drunk man fighting (lol)

@mavavilj Can your device boot normally??

@DanBrown I've since done a factory reset using Kies and now my phone is back to factory settings and data. I've had troubles getting my phone rooted in order to use TWRP Manager.

@mavavilj Are you rooted then? If so, just use TWRP manager. If not, follow Giant tree's advice


text:
Can't go live on Facebook while using Galaxy Camera 2
I'm trying to stream a live video using Facebook android app my galaxy camera 2 running Android 4.3.3, but I can't find the "live" option on it.
Is there a requirement for it to work? Will it work if I flashed a CM rom on it?
P.S it's not a regional issue; i can stream just fine using my Xperia Z5 and my galaxy s 5.

Do you have the facebook app on the camera? Can you even install it?

Likely an Android version issue. There's no custom ROM for such devices either, so if that's indeed the problem then you have to use another device.


text:
Boot Android disabling display
I know that android doesnot have a login prompt like linux and only has diplay to interact with the user.
Still I want to boot Android without any display and I expect only the UART console prints of Andriod.
Does Android source code has this implementation or do I have to customise Android for this specific requirement ?

Well this is a nice idea..Good Luck.


text:
Task Manager and profiler for Android Wear apps
I have three questions about Android wear apps.

Is there a way or app for closing individual apps on Android wear ? I tried Task Manager for Android wear but it doesn't work on my LG Watch R.
how can I profile an individual app on Android wear (on my Watch) in terms of CPU, memory and power consumption ? For Android phones, there are apps such as power tutor, trepn etc, however, I can't find any way to do the same for a smartwatch.
Is there a way to adapt an android app to smartwatch in terms of display (user interface) without having access to the source code ? I want to use an android app on android wear, however, I can not see all the options due to the small display of the watch. I was wondering if there is way to deal with it such that to make the app user-interface smaller.

I've been unable to find any profiling apps designed for Android smartwatches. However, its been reported that Trepn Profiler can be used with Android Wear smartwatches. Here is a screenshot of Trepn running on the LG Watch R:
Based on the data I've seen, this smartwatch reports accurate power consumption:

With a dim display, 252 mW of power is consumed.
With a bright display, 671 mW is used.

It looks like the above screenshot was created using Trepn's 'Network Activity' preset.
Obviously Trepn is not ideal for this purpose, since it was never designed to run on a smartwatch. You won't be able to access important features like its Advanced mode or Settings.
Although I haven't tested them yet, I would expect all of Trepn's overlay presets to work. Note: To make sure you have an overlay preset, touch the icon to the right that looks like an overlay, not a list. In most cases it's the bottom icon.

CPU Frequency
Mobile Data Detective
Performance Graph
CPU Usage Monitor
CPU Load Overlay

Disclosure: I work on the team that created Trepn and App Tune-up Kit.


text:
Disable upside down rotation
My phone should have rotation completely disabled - i.e. "Auto-Rotate" icon in fast settings pulldown is grey, "Settings->Display->When device is rotated" says "Stay in portrait view", "Settings->Accessibility->Auto-rotate screen" is off. Actually they seem like shortcut to a same single setting, because they all change simultaneously when I change any of them.
Despite all that, when I turn the phone upside down or when vibration makes it think that it was turned upside down, image rotates upside down too.
It is extremely distracting, as I never actually do it myself - it would be uncomfortable to use hardware buttons - but pretty much any vibration in application makes phone think that it was turned for a moment. I always have to shake it a few times to make it turn back afterwards. Disabling vibration is not an option because it is used for important alerts and I often use have volume down or use phone in noisy environment.
Is there a way to completely disable this rotation?

This sounds like a bug in the system integration, which means there might not be a way to fix it for your phone. What phone do you have?

Use apps like Ultimate Rotation Control - with proper settings, it seamlessly integrates with system rotation toggle, and on top of that you can disable any rotation direction you don't want (most phones don't have upside-down rotation, have to be enabled this way), force apps that don't usually rotate to rotate, and set per-app rotation behavior. In your case, just select "Forced 3/4 Auto" and "Lock Current" in rotation choices.

The apps wants personal data access (though optional) and transfers data to the internet. Also, you should probably note it is non-free (as in beer).


text:
sending AT command with NCK code unlock sim?
I need information. How can I send the NCK unlock code network using AT commands? Or is there any other ways?

Depends on the who made the phone and the AT command set they support. I did this recently on a ZTE Modem using AT+ZNCK I believe, but that command isn't a standard one across all manufacturers! Trying to do it again on an LG, no good luck so far.

look. on any phone has an interface for inputting code NCK. this is a normal apk. I decompiled it and looked at the code for my Micromax Q415, there was PhoneFactory.getDefaultPhone (). getIccCard (). supplyDepersonalization (). This method nck code sent to the modem. but I could not find how he does it. I can either call this method and learn how it works and do the same. I'm right?

Look like AT+CLCK is the closest thing to a standard way across manufacturers. But again, the actual name of the lock varies by manufacturer. I'm trying to unlock a JAVA-based feature phone, can't use API.

What is he doing  supplyDepersonalization, if AT+CLCK absend ? I can't find. How to find out?


text:
How to unbrick my device (yuphoria)
I was using CM 13 nightlies for the past few months, everything was working fine without any issue but day before yesterday all of a sudden my devices rebooted and showed something like device encrypted or something like that. Being unable to use my device I thought i should change my ROM to a stable one so i went into twrp and tried installing new ROM but to my surprise the internal storage was showing 0Mb.
I searched internet about this issue and did something like formatting data or wiping everything except the storage. Nothing seems to work and i keep getting this error which says

"unable to mount /data (invalid argument)"
"unable to mount /cache ( invalid argument)"

here are the screenshots:

Screenshots (click images for larger variants)
I even tried flashing the stock ROM through fastboot but that also seems to be not working. It is failing to write system partition and desplaying this message
FAILED (remote: flash write failure)
Here is the screen shot

Than i tried adb sideload. This also gave me no luck. Here is the screenshot of the process.

Now I feel hopeless :(
Any help would be much appreciated.

I also have same problem, Did you able to find any solution to this ??

It seems the partition is corrupted. Try formatting the partitions manually from TWRP's terminal using mkfs. If it doesn't help, try fsck. If still that doesn't work, I'm afraid this is the only way: Fixing a hardbricked Yuphoria (lettuce) using an external SD card..


text:
Storage issue doubt
My phone is micromax canvas magnus Android 4.2.1
Here are two pictures from the settings app...
Why the storage shown for Apps(app data and media content)  is different from the info i get after opening it...
Then the storage used by apps is almost half.
Please tell us there a big in my phone or does this Halen with everyone
P. S i don't have any media files on my internal card... It is only and only for Apps !
After tapping into it says around 350mb other wise in the previous outer menu it says near to 536 mb
image 1
image 2

One is the physical storage the apps themselves take up, and the other is the space the apps AND the app data and media content take up.  Apps will create folders as needed to cache/store things they may need to access, etc.


text:
How to turn Gmail notifications back on after uninstalling Google Inbox?
I already use the Android Gmail app. I installed Google Inbox and was receiving double notifications. Inbox offered to stop receiving Gmail app notifications. I agreed to this.
Then, I no longer wanted Google Inbox so I uninstalled it. Gmail notifications did not turn back on. I checked settings, apps, Gmail, notifications checkbox (yes), but still no Gmail notifications.

Settings - Accounts - select Google - make sure sync for Gmail is turned on.

So all of the above options definitely work. However, this is the only thing that worked for me.
Go to Settings > Apps > click the top-right corner and select "Special access" > Optimize battery usage > then where it says "Optimized apps", click that and select "All apps". Scroll down until you find Gmail and make sure it is turned OFF.
As soon as I shut mine off, I instantly received at least 20 emails on both of my Gmail accounts. Hope this helps somebody.

Go to settings > account@gmail.com > Notificatons > select All

For android 7.0

Go to "Settings" icon in the top right corner.
Select "Notifications".
Click on the Gmail icon.
Click on the Info icon (looks like i).
Click on your account (most likely your email address).
Click on "Notifications" and select "All"


text:
Soft bricked Moto G4 (XT1625) after SuperSU install
So, yeah. I told a friend I would root his phone for him... and I went and soft-bricked it. Haven't told him yet, because I'm hoping I can fix it before long, but I'm running out of options (and time).
Side note:
I followed this guide when trying to root:
www.reddit.com/r/MotoG/comments/22mimr/the_guide_to_rooting_the_motog_with_a_howto/
and got until unlocking the bootloader when I realized that instead of being a guide for the Moto G4, it was a guide for the Moto G on android 4.x.x.
So I did flash the wrong logo.bin, but hopefully that was the only issue created there. I got the correct one elsewhere and all was working fine.
End side note
So I moved to how-to-geek's tutorial here:
http://www.howtogeek.com/115297/how-to-root-your-android-why-you-might-want-to/
I got twrp installed, booted in recovery and loaded SuperSU (version below)
SR1-SuperSU-v2.78-SR1-20160915123031
Now it's softbricked. Kind of just hangs on the boot screen.
I can get into the bootloader and twrp, but that's about all I can do at the moment. I've tried reseting the cache and dalvik cache, and have tried formatting the device with no luck.
My next step is that I'm installing vanilla firmware from:
http://rootjunkysdl.com/files/?dir=Moto%20G%204th%20Gen%20XT1625
and I plan to try to flash that when It's all done. I'm unsure if that's safe, but don't have many other options.
If you know anything I can try, please reply. Any help is greatly appreciated

You didn't make a "nandroid backup" before attempting root?

...nope :/ didn't realize I should. Learned the hard way I guess

Where did you download the SuperSU zip from? Did you get it from the official XDA Developers thread?

Got it from here: https://download.chainfire.eu/1003/SuperSU/SR1-SuperSU-v2.78-SR1-20160915123031.zip . That's where the How-To-Geek tutorial said to get it from

Okay, well that's a beta version. Can you try flashing the latest release ZIP found here (the TWRP installable ZIP link): http://forum.xda-developers.com/apps/supersu/stable-2016-09-01supersu-v2-78-release-t3452703

No luck... still freezing on the boot screen :/ Good thought though (and I made sure to clear caches)

Can you use TWRP's file manager to nuke /system/app/Superuser.apk? I don't think it'll help, but it's worth a try.

I can try. What should I do? Can't find /system/app. The system directory is empty.

You have to go to the mount tab in TWRP and check System.

Let us continue this discussion in chat.

Your SU is systemless SU. It needs a tweak. See this http://android.stackexchange.com/a/155479/131553

Proper research would have prevented this, in the future if you need information on rooting a device, go to a REPUTABLE source like XDA or a similar forum and make sure the information is specific to your device AND the current Android version. Lollipop, Marshmallow, and now Nougat are changing the way rooting is being done.
All retail/unlocked Moto devices running Marshmallow have an extra step that is required when flashing to force a systemless root installation by the SuperSU install script.
After successfully flashing TWRP and booting it, go to Advanced - Terminal and enter:
echo SYSTEMLESS=true>>/data/.supersu

And press Enter, then exit. The spelling and spacing must be exact or it won't work. Then go to the main menu of TWRP and flash SuperSU normally, you should see the script specifically state it is doing a systemless install and patch the boot image (and in your case, cleanup an old standard root installation).

Source

Please use only the referenced version from my thread (yes, I am the original author of that source thread), they are tested and working to both root the device, and cleanup a failed root.
Be aware on the first boot after this procedure, the device will boot loop twice, do not be concerned, this is normal, then it will boot normally after that.
And since you did not do a nandroid backup before rooting (shakes head), you may need to flash back to stock via fastboot before this procedure will work. The image for your device is available here. Remember that you cannot flash this in TWRP, you MUST flash each partition manually with fastboot and this will return the device to out of the box condition.

@beeshyams Yes, you can go to mounts in TWRP and change the system write option there. This should not affect backups though, only restoring them.

@beeshyams I saw that... the tick box was the issue, I was trying to say that but I guess I wasn't obvious. Glad you got it working!

Thank you so much! Really a lifesaver. You are right, I probably should have done better research before starting. This is the first time I've rooted anything, so I didn't know what was reputable or not. I figured how-to-geek was fairly reputable, but I guess I was wrong. Again, thank you so much

Exactly the same thing happened to me, didn't backup and everything just like you.  I realized that the rooting SYSTEM LESS root guide I was following did not work for Android 7.
I was following this guide here that did not specified to make sure you are in Android 6 before rooting.  Everything worked except the rooting part where I got soft bricked.  Link to Install TWRP in Moto G4
If you managed to install TWRP you can follow this guide here XDA Moto G4
I was able to unbrick my phone, moto g4 XT1625

Be aware: The Amazon lockscreen ads & bloatware on the Moto G4 (XT1625) can NOT be removed. Nor can the phone be rooted.
It is possible to unlock the bootloader, and TWRP can be loaded, either in RAM (temporarily) or flash (non-volatile). But the additional SuperSU.zip root package can NOT be loaded, doing so will soft-brick the phone.
After the soft-brick, I was able to reload a Motorola XT1625 factory image on it, after which all the Amazon stuff and associated lockscreen ads are actually gone. However, the phone will then keep pestering you about downloading the latest "system update". When you agree to that, all the Amazon stuff will be back (while still being the same Marshmallow V6.01 version as before the update). When you don't agree to the system upgrade, it will pester you for the update from here to eternity, which is actually even worse torture than the lockscreen ads.
To top it all off: The update message nag can NOT be removed.
So my end conclusion about this phone, after having worked on this for several days with just about every method tried as described on the internet, is that this phone can NOT be de-Amazoned. At least not with the methods as they are known today.
The problem seems to be in the update software channel which is set for “AMZ”. This causes system updates forced on the phone to be of the Amazon kind. The only way to fix that is to get the software channel setting set for a generic code. However, there is no working method available on the internet today to accomplish that, believe me.
So to summarize: Spend the extra $50 and get the generic G4 model without the advertising crap. That is what I have done now; I have returned it and successively bought the ad-free version for $50 more. Because that is the good news: The Moto G4 X1625 is a VERY good phone, it is worth the extra $50.

This isn't really an answer, and your information is incorrect, at least partially... Flagging as not an answer.


text:
Not getting Redeem code entering option
I am using Samsung j7 and I want to make some purchases but I am unable to find Redeem code entering option there. I have Redeem code for purchase but the option is not there. Previously it was right there but now its gone.

 You won't find it there.
Where you will find it by doing this:

Open the play store.
Tap the Hamburger-three lines thing to open the side menu, and tap redeem.
Put in your Redeem Code
Enjoy your new google play credit!

@SyedaZunairah   Really? You can just redeem the code there, and switch payment method. If the code is for a very certain app (Like the one in the screenshot) Google Play will recognise it.

When you input the code (Via Play store) what Error comes up?

Either that, or your code does Not work. Where did you aquire it?

Let us continue this discussion in chat.

yeah,Google changed its settings and now you can only redeem from playstore. Thanks it helped


text:
How to backup Clash of Clan?

How do I backup this game? I'm using a Nokia XL phone.

I'm writing solution for "how to add google services in nokia xl?" Nokia xl doesn't support google apps hence you can't backup app data which rely on google play services. There are ways to flash google apps and play services in nokia xl. You can find some solutions here: http://www.androidrootguide.com/2015/02/root-nokia-xl-install-gapps.html

Are you signed in with a Google account on your phone? If not, do so.
Next, do you have Google Play Games installed and a Google Play Games profile? If not, install it and/or create a profile.
Finally, in Clash of Clans, click Settings and connect your Google account. This will backup your game to your Google account, and any time you sign in with it you'll be able to play your save. You may wish to optionally also connect your Facebook account while you're here.


text:
Am I able to add a data-only sim-card to my dual-sim smartphone?
I've a OnePlus 3 which has dual sim functionality. Of course I've also a single common smartphone sim which provides me with a telephone number and internet access.
Since there are pretty cheap data-only sim cards (they are commonly used for laptops, tablets etc.) I wondered if my smartphone is able to handle such. It would increase my speed, coverage and data volume for just little money. Also I don't have to deal with two telephone numbers.
Does this actually work? Is it a good idea?

Data SIMs are no different from regular SIMs regarding data connection. As long as your phone supports the configuration you want (e.g. many phones only supports Slot1 4G + Slot2 2G configuration - confirm whether you still need 3G/4G on the call SIM and place in slot accordingly), you can just pop one in and enjoy.


text:
redmi 2 prime not charging and phone not going to turn on
Its battery drained to 0% and I plugged the phone for 1 hour but its still not turned on.How much time its takes to charge 0 to 1% and I cant find also that the phone is charging or not because it is not showing any logo or battery sign.

The same thing happened to my phone
I just removed the battery for about 2 min and then connect the phone with pc through usb cable and after few minutes it starts showing charging icon


text:
Enable /system write in TWRP - Systemless root
Moto X Play (XT1562), SuperSU 2.78 (systemless root), TWRP 3.0.2-r3

When I flashed TWRP, I chose the option of not writing to system to enable OS update (and also made a Nandroid just after flashing it as a backup)
Now, I made some minor changes to system audio files, without dwelling on consequences -  won't be able to update OS ( update expected this quarter) without flashing stock OS

I want to enable /system write option in TWRP ( without flashing TWRP again ) so that :
a) Flash backup Nandroid ( of stock OS from the first Nandroid), if I decide to upgrade OS
b) If I don't want to upgrade, have a complete Nandroid and tweak further knowing that I can safely roll back changes
In other words be able to backup and restore /system along with data
Is it possible and how ( please provide detailed instructions )?
Edit: Flashing different versions didn't help - see my unanswered post on XDA

If you wanted to reset TWRP's configuration (and thus be able to access the wizard again), you could simply delete the .twrps file under /sdcard/TWRP/.

@DeathMaskSalesman: Thanks I don't find that file - this is a modded TWRP

I found a workaround, as you can read in the answer below.

It appears that the issue was TWRP's fault. To make the /system partition writeable, one could:

Uncheck the checkbox near Mount system partition read-only, in the Mount section of TWRP (screenshot at the end of this answer);
Delete, move or rename the .twrps file to force TWRP's setup wizard to trigger, in order to make /system writeable. This file is located under sdcard/TWRP, and can be managed directly from TWRP's File Manager, accessible from the Advanced section of the recovery. Notice that any TWRP setting customization aside of themes will be reverted.

Let us continue this discussion in chat.


text:
adb permission denied to push files to subdirectry
Why would I get permission denied using adb to copy a directory to a subdirectory on my phone, when I could copy to its parent directory and both have the same permission?
I tried this from my PC to my Nexus 5 running 6.0.1 (Oct 5):
adb push Dir /sdcard/Dir/Subdir

It failed with
Permission denied

This has worked before, with no changes I'm aware of.
I launched adb shell and ran
ls -l

to get permissions for /sdcard (storage/emulated/0), /sdcard/Dir and /sdcard/Dir/Subdir:
drwxrwx--x root sdcard_rw

I then:
cd /sdcard/Dir/Subdir
mkdir XYZ

Got
mdkdir: XYZ: Permission Denied

Tried:
su
mkdir XYZ

Again, permission denied
I then tried another push
adb push XYZ /sdcard/Dir

This worked and copied all of the files.
Why would it work to /sdcard/Dir and not to /sdcard/Dir/Subdir, when both have the same permissions?  Why would permission be denied for root?

Did you create that subdir when browsed into /data/media/0/Dir/? Either way, please provide the output of su -c 'ls -l /data/media/0/Dir/Subdir' and compare the permissions with the rest of the subdirs there.

@Firelord I did not create the subdirectry when browsed there. The entire directory tree (/sdcard/Dir) was created by an adb push.  Permissions for Dir are dwrxrwxr-x media_rw media_rw, while Subdir are  dwrxrwxr-x root root.  When using plain ls -l on storage/emulated/0, I get  dwrxrwx--x root sdcard_rw on Dir?

Could you change the permission of /data/media/0/Dir/Subdir to rwxrwxrwx, or alternatively, change the user group from root to media_rw? Make  sure to run the operations on the /data/media/0/.. path and no  /storage/emulated/..

@Firelord That worked (chmod 777).  Thank you. What's the difference between /data/media/0 and /storage/emulated or /sdcard?    The each appear to contain the same files?

/data/media is the real path in EXT4 filesystem. /storage hosts the FAT style emulated /data/media which you and the apps can read and write into. I do not know the reason behind this emulation.

As it appears in this comment, the file permissions and access control to SubDir differs from what ideally should be.
The problem:
# ls -l on /data/media/0/Dir
dwrxrwxr-x root root

The user group should have been media_rw instead of root.
The solution is to change to appropriate group or make the directory writable by others.

chmod 777 /data/media/0/Dir/SubDir       # making SubDir writable by others
chgrp media_rw /data/media/0/Dir/SubDir  # Alternatively, changing group from root to media_rw

Note: you may need to install Busybox or Toybox to have and use chmod and/or chgrp.

There's a similar problem reported in adb push ... Permission denied where I ended up pushing the file to /sdcard/ and then used adb shell to then copy the file to the sub-directory I needed it to be in.
For completeness:
Let's assume I have an expansion file test.obb file I want to install on a local physical Android device, and my package name of the app is app.example.test.
I pushed the file using adb push e.g.
adb push test.obb /sdcard/
adb shell
cd /sdcard/Android/obb/app.example.test/
cp /sdcard/test.obb .
ls -la

I can now see the obb file is in the folder it needs to be in.


text:
How to Transfer contact from Lumia 820 (Windows 8.1 \ Denim) to CSV file or to Android Phone - Huawei P9 (Android 6.0)
How to Transfer contact from Lumia 820 (Windows 8.1 \ Denim) to CSV file or to Android Phone - Huawei P9 (Android 6.0)
Kindly needs assistances, syncing the outlook accounts along with Google account didn't successfully transfer all the 1980+ contacts.


text:
What is the "Android Sooner Single ADB Interface"?
What is the "Android Sooner Single ADB Interface", what function does it serve, and why does it have that name?  Specifically, to what does the term "Sooner" refer?
It appears to be a driver written by Google that gets installed on desktop computers when some Android devices are attached, but the name is so odd that it's worthy of having a canonical answer providing a full explanation as to its function and name.

Maybe off topic, but.. My LG wasn't recognized in fastboot when it was detected like that but ADB worked fine tho. I needed to change driver manually to LG ADB device or something like that to make PC recognize it in fastboot.

The model names of released mobile devices are created by marketing departments not that long before the release. Before that moment engineers use unofficial code names to refer to the products they are working on.
The Sooner was the code name of the 1st ever Android prototype device built by HTC for Google back in 2007.

authors: Једноруки Крстивоје


text:
How can I edit the URL of a home screen bookmark?
I want to have a bookmark shortcut on my Home screen to launch a web app I use regularly. The only way I found to achieve this is using the Add to Home screen from the Chrome browser menu when I'm on the site. However, this does not let me edit the actual URL the bookmark will point to.
This is a problem because said web app automatically appends the current date to the end of the URL when it's loaded. When I add the shortcut to the Home screen, the link will then actually open the app to display data from the day on which I created the shortcut. I'll always have to open the date picker and navigate to the current date to start using the app.
I'd like to edit the Home screen bookmark shortcut's URL to remove the date added to its end, so it always opens to the current day. Can I achieve this without third-party software?
I'm using an unrooted Sony Xperia Z5 Compact running Android 6.0.1.

Some sources say to create a standard bookmark in Chrome, where the URL can be edited, then long-press it in the bookmarks manager and choose to add it to the home screen from the context menu. This context menu entry does not appear to exist anymore in current versions of Chrome.
Some sources say to look for a Bookmarks widget that allows to choose a Chrome bookmark to display. This widget doesn't appear to exist anymore in Android 6. The only bookmarks widget I have displays the entire bookmarks folder.
The website in question loads too quickly for me to be able to cancel before the URL is modified. I tried many times.

Why don't you try this? Install Tasker, setup a 1x1 widget on a home screen and in the task choose Net -> Browse URL -> your URL. Done! MacroDroid can be used as an alternative to Tasker.

I havent been able to find an intuitive way to modify a desktop shortcut's URL, but I have found a workaround for the problem.

Put your phone in airplane mode and disable WiFi to turn off all internet access
Open the Chrome browser
Type in the URL you are trying to set a shortcut for
Press enter and the browser will alert you that you are currently in an offline status
On Chrome, click the settings (hamburger) button
select add to desktop

You will now have a shortcut on your desktop that refelcts the URL that you have just entered into Chrome
Turn off airplane mode and you're golden.
This applies to Android Marshmallow 6.x as well as Nougat 7.x. It may also apply to older versions as well

Best part? Not even working for me. It changes in airplane mode too.

Nice hack - I added a maps URL query this way.

Works but PWA display rules are not respected to me. It opens the correct URL but in classic Chrome (with the address bar and stuff). When doing "classic way" I have the wrong URL, but it's displayed full page.

Still works on Android 14 :-D

Inspired by the airplane mode by @axelderhund, the following is my way.
Add any URL you like to home screen
Turn on airplane mode, type in your desired URL in your browser, and add to home screen.
In this way no redirection happens and the url is intact.
Check (original) URL of a home screen bookmark
Turn on airplane mode, which prevents redirection. Then connect your phone with your computer via a USB cable. Run browser on the computer and turn on USB debugging. The USB debugging page shows the URL of opened pages on your phone.

Okay, this was my solution for Firefox haha:
Search online for a link shortener. (Edit: The one I linked previously is no longer active.)
Use it to create a link, then press and hold on the link to open a drop down and create a bookmark from that. Then, you can press and hold that bookmark and click "Add Page Shortcut".

Now that I did this, I think another solution would be to bookmark the wrong URL and then just edit the bookmark and repeat the "Add Page Shortcut" action above.

easyhyperlinks.com seems to be down. But it should work with any link shortener. Just make sure to access and add the link to the home screen before saving the shortened URL.

This answer was the only method that allowed me to create an Android desktop icon that opened up Google Chrome on https://outlook.office365.com/mail/ link. I used the tiny URL shortener in order to do this as otherwise Outlook .com blocks the Google Chrome browser from showing the Add to Home screen menu entry. Placing the phone in airplane mode is a requirement. My current phone is a Samsung Galaxy Note 10 lite, unrooted.


text:
Annoying redirection
Every time I phone gets turned off of or goes to sleep, after turning it back on and typing in my password I get instantly taken to the play store and some other useless website ad. Is there anything I can do to stop this from happening?

What phone?  Do you have an app that has lockscreen ads?

Are your WiFi or data connections enabling even after you've disabled them?
If so, or even not so, your phone is probably hit by malwares/adwares that redirect you to some infected web site or to a specific Google play app's page.
You need to check your app list and see if there are some unusual apps then uninstall them (some  apps may need root access and BusyBox installed) either by system apps removers (apk) or from adb shell

I remember having an app that said it needs busy box and I also downloaded king root    and rooted my phone. Is that bad?

what app? Chinese root apps such as Kongroot installs adwares. you have to remove them.

Its an app called "lucky patcher" that says it requires busybox and I have kingroot

Lucky patcher is used gor hacking apps, games allowing you to get free in app purchases, Install modded play store, remove ads and License verification from android apps and games, at least the original version, because there are many other versions of the app which cannot be guaranteed free of malwares. Did you check your app list yet?

KingRoot installs adwares on phones.


text:
Decryption unsuccessful after enabling a PIN lock when full disk encryption is already activated
I have a Moto G3 with full disk-encryption enabled when I created a PIN lock and after that when my phone was restarted I got the decryption unsuccessful message and I couldn't boot it anymore.
I would like to recover my data.
I've obtained another identical phone and have been able to isolate the bug to cryptd configuration where it is not changed from default to PIN:
10-14 16:57:02.169  6084  6103 D CryptdConnector: SND -> {14 cryptfs getpwtype}
10-14 16:57:02.170  6084  7357 D CryptdConnector: RCV <- {213 14 default}
Since my device have the bootloader locked, do I have any chance to obtain a image of the device flash, or have a shell access during the boot process so that I can decrypt with the correct PIN configuration and not with the "default" password?
Thanks!


text:
Cannot change weather permissions on HTC One M9
I've managed to disable to location permissions to my weather app that shows on the lock screen (I do not remember what I did to create this problem).  I am using the "default" weather app.
When I go to the weather app, in settings, and chose permissions I am not allowed to change permissions. I get the following error.
"To change this permission, you first have to turn off screen overlay from Settings -> Apps".

Weather does not appear in the screen overlay settings.
I have turned off Screen overlay for everything. And I still am not able to change the permission.
Any ideas what to try next?

Related: What does “Drawing over other apps” mean? Maybe the answers (and links) from there provide some help?

I've through much of those.  So far no luck.  Restart did nothing.  Turning off all permissions for all apps for overlay did nothing.

Interesting timing:  HTC pushed an android update to my phone and now I am able to change permissions on the weather app.  I was able to remove the permission to my contacts and add back permission to location.   The version of the Android OS is 3.41.651.21.

I don't think 3.41.651.21 is the version of the Android OS (there is no such version; that would be some Honeycomb number and thus tablet only). It's rather some HTC specific number, not sure for what (HTC Sense, maybe?) But glad to read the update solved your issue! Maybe you answer your own question then and mark it "accepted", so the solution becomes visible for others with the issue? Thanks in advance!

@Izzy I would be happy to make an answer for this.  I would like to make sure I include the correct information.  How can (or what do ) I correctly identify the update I got from HTC so a user would know what to apply to fix their problem?

I'm not familiar with HTC, so I cannot tell for sure. But in Settings › About Phone it should also tell you the Android version. I've no idea however how the update could be "forced" if it isn't explicitely offered.

I'm posting this in response to the comments above.
HTC delivered an android update to my phone and now I am able to change permissions on the weather app. I was able to remove the permission to my contacts and add back permission to location. The version of the Android OS now installed is 6.0 Marshmellow.
I do not recall which version I had prior to the update.  I do believe the update fixed the problem however.
If there is other information you would like about the software versions on my phone please ask.  I can post as comments here.


text:
Removing or bypassing FRP (Factory Reset Protection) on Marshmallow (6.0)
I own an Alcatel VDF 300 which was factory reset but after reboot, the phone stuck at the setup screen, can't pass the Wi-Fi selection step, where it searches account information on the server. It sticks there even after hours of searching.
I searched on the Internet and found solutions for bypassing the FRP but none worked.

The one using an OTG USB drive didn't work because it seems like it is disabled
The one bringing the browser to connect to a site and install the Dev Settings so that I can reset the phone from the Settings (works on Samsung though) by exploiting the keyboard didn't work either simply because there is no way to do so.

Is there a way to bypass FRP on Marshmallow? Does flashing a new ROM remove the FRP?
PS: The phone is an MTK (MT6585 - I guess) and runs Android Marshmallow (6.0). I've consulted How to bypass “Verify your account” (Factory Reset Protection) already, but none of those methods work.

If FRP was easy to bypass, it wouldn't be much good... For good or bad, manufacturers are patching every way of defeating FRP we come up with. There is no generic bypass for Marshmallow, only a few device specific exploits have been found. The fact it can't get to the WiFi selection screen is more puzzling, since FRP checks occur after that happens.

If you can flash the stock ROM (the whole firmware) from scratch then do it. It should flash FRP partition as well and free you from this mess. Alternatively, flashing a custom ROM without GApps (Google's Setup Wizard) would also help.

@Firelord, it's Solved! your suggestion about the Google setup wizard lead me to fond a way to connect the phone to the computer, since it's an MTK, I connected it in META mode, this enabled ADB and I was able to hide the setup wizard package (because I couldn't remove it,root access needed).

I don't know if this solution will work on a different phone model, but let me explain what I did:
First, I tried to get the phone being detected by the computer, so I downloaded the MTK drivers (preloader VCOM drivers) and plugged the phone in META mode with MAUI META (a tool that connects mtk to META mode and does many other interesting stuffs, repairing IMEI for example). Then I downloaded ADB (the best I found is "Minimal ADB and Fastboot"). With that, I could connect to the phone and the hidden setup wizard. This post on Reddit helped me with the commands.
From the command line:
adb shell
 cd /system/priv-app/

ls (to list all installed applications)
Then:
pm hide <package name>

You would list all the packages with pm list packages first if you don't know the package name.
An alternative way is to use software called Debloater.

Thanks for sharing! Could you please [edit] your answer and include the package name you identified being the setup wizard?

oh sorry, I don't remember the exact package name, but this post explains how to get a specific app and it package name and this tool  lists all installed apps with their respective package names.

LOL Yeah, the first one happens to be my post :) I just thought if you remember what to look for, that would make it easier for others to get an idea. OK, if you don't remember you of course cannot add that :) Thanks anyway!

Using Debloater makes it easier to find the app and hide it just in one click thus allow bypassing the FRP


text:
Android system storage shortage
Plz help me. My android 4.2.2 only has 1 app of 6.4 mb space. but my junk cleaning app says I have only 2% system space storage left. I cannot even download a single app from the playstore. plz somebody help me. I will be very thankful.
Thanks, Apon.

Go to Settings ->Storage.  What does this info say?

It says, Total space 0.98 GB, Available 1.40 MB, App(app and media content)-846 MB. Where I have only 1 app. Why? @Alex.S

And I'm also getting this notification 'Storage space running out'. @Alex.S

Maybe you have many photos,videos or music.

You think so? I have 49 Photos, 39 songs and 0 videos. Is that much? But I had a lot of movies on this device before. Not now. @Alex.S


text:
Unable to modify build.prop
I'm using a stock Nexus 5X. I tried to edit build.prop the following way:

I unlocked the bootloader and booted into TWRP (not flashed)
I mounted system
I then adb pulled build.prop, edited it, then pushed it back

On reboot the changes are reverted. Write protection is not on (that I know of), what should I do?
I am not rooted.

Not rooted? That's the issue. I assume you are trying to get pixel features?

@DanBrown Yes, but wouldn't it be possible to change root files with a custom recovery? Twrp lets you mount system. Is there any way I can temp root or?

There is a zip you are meant to flash, you know. Google How to get Google assistant on nexus

@DanBrown I've flashed both zips, they didn't work. Build.prop never added the tweak mods.

Odd. Really odd actually. I'll assume you are flashing the right one. Try mounting /system? Otherwise, no idea.

Making permanent changes to /system required me to be rooted.


text:
Root detection by server or app
Many banks and video streaming services don't allow root on Android devices.
My question is

Is it the app itself that detects root and refuses to work at some stage  (for     example by refusing to call the associated internet service)?
Is it the internet service that somehow directly or indirectly probes your device to see if it is rooted and if so instructs the app to disconnect or display some error message?

I guess this might interest people for which the app Hide Root doesn't work with some service providers.

I doubt that a server could probe you for the presence or lack of superuser access... it'd be an unforgivable breach of security if anyone out there could see if you are rooted, don't you agree? No, the apps are those who check for the presence of root privileges.

Root detection is device side, by the app making a request to SafetyNet (part of Google Play Services), which makes the determination if your device is rooted or not. In the last couple weeks there was mandatory, background update to SafetyNet... Suhide, RootCloak, and Magisk are all detected now. As of this post, there is no work around.

@acejavelin Wait, what? Noooooooo! Oh well, it may be (un)fixed yet....

Banks detecting root devices is a bit disturbing but then again Java script is very powerful when abused. Perhaps get a browser with better privacy options.

Usually root detection is performed on the target device when the application loads. @acejavelin summed it up best in above comments.

I'd suggest to any reader concerned about apps probing for permissions on rooted Android to check into Xprivacy module for Xposed. This and Donkey Guard, both are fantastic for disabling or modifying access to entire features of the device on a per-app basis. Generally I prefer Xprivacy because device specifics can be forged much easier.

One short note on security with Xposed; it's not really secure. Lots of permissions and portions of processing are exposed to the device's user.

Reporting (if any) is done over the network. While it's possible to attempt detection from the server side it's very noisy and would cause lose of trust with customers.

There's another option with root reporting, run a firewall that doesn't allow the application to report out to it's servers. Though for some this will brake functionality when not allowed network access.

Bonus option "Advance Freeze" with ROM toolbox Pro

While the above linked options are free and nearly full featured this last suggestion isn't... but it's worth it to freeze features of an application outright. Some apps crash but most will just limp on without privacy invading features or adverts enabled.


text:
Options for setting up podcast syndication on an Android device
On an Android device, what options do I have for following podcasts via web syndication our other forms of syndication? How do I set up syndication of podcasts on an Android device, and, since the files are downloaded automatically to my device, what options do I have to control download versus streaming, and are old episodes of the podcasts automatically deleted? Otherwise, do I need to have much blank space on the device to user it? I side it depends on the length of the podcasts.
Thank you for your support.

You're overthinking this, and off-loading some of the thinking to us. Your knowledge of the different types of podcasting lends well to your experimentation. The app itself is the governor of what needs to be streamed vs. downloaded, player styles and actions, and deletions, when necessary. Find the tool you like best, of the many out there. My only addition as a requirement is the need for OPML import, as a must. This way, if you want to move on, you won't need to re-type all the subscriptions you have into a new tool.

Interesting. I see the OPML format is used to exchange two feeds between two aggregators. That way, if I change mismatched, I can export and import playlists of podcast stations from one to the other, off-road even saving the OPML list in the cloud, an I correct?

You are correct, but again, the tools themselves say what and where. Local is good enough for what amounts to a once-and-done operation. There's no saying you can't use cloud, though. If cloud is your requirement, find the tool that makes it an option.


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LG G3 digitizer not reporting movements smoothly
I just replaced the LCD/digitizer assembly on my LG G3, and the new digitizer is behaving strangely. When I scroll views in apps, they jerk a few pixels at a time rather than moving smoothly. The actual scrolling is smooth; if I scroll quick and let go, then it decelerates smoothly. As long as my finger is in contact, though, it's as though the scrolling has a series of detents that it briefly pauses at. At first, I thought it was that it was operating at a lower resolution than the pixels on the screen, but I've found that these detents occur in any direction, not independently on the X and Y axes. It is almost as if it has some sort of built-in hysteresis, where it won't report a position update until the touch has moved at least a certain distance from the last report. I've never encountered anything like this with the phone in the past, including with a previous replacement LCD/digitizer assembly of the same type from the same supplier.
I've recorded a video of this in action, with the "Show touch data" Developer option enabled:
https://youtu.be/-3N-2uft00w
You can see how there are regular intervals in which the X/Y coordinates displayed at the top of the screen don't update even though my finger is moving -- as though it is only reporting an update every 20 pixels or something.
Is this something I can fix, or is this likely a hardware problem with the new digitizer, and if I want my smooth scrolling back I'm going to have to get it replaced again?

I am actually experiencing the exact same issue after replacing my screen. I'm using CM14.1. Did you manage to fix the issue or find out what it was? Also, which supplier did you use?

I did not find a solution. The supplier was Sunsky. I actually ordered 3 from them, and the first two worked fine, though were perhaps a bit fragile (they developed cracks without any manhandling that I am aware of). I don't know why the third one was different -- different batch? different manufacturer? or simply manufacturing defect? In any event, it reached a point where paying the early upgrade fee with my carrier was cheaper than trying one more replacement, so I'm now using an LG G5 and anxiously awaiting root on it. :-)


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By accident deleted /dev folder on android (LG G2 phone). how can i bring back system to life?
Hello good people of universe!
Someone asked before on this website "what will happen if i delete /dev folder on android?", its kinda funny, but i really deleted it, but it was by accident while installing custom rom using TWRP recovery. Im really messed up now, system stucks at LG Logo screen. I dont know what to do, seems that PC can't detect my phone at all. But i can enter to firmware update by pushing up+power button. Can someone help me with that question ? Thanks in advance.

A hard system reset would reset all existing files of the device.
Backing up your files before you committed to the hard reset would be the best course of action for you.
There are step-by-step instructions to assist you in performing the hard reset on the verizon page, but this will work for all carriers as it is the same device: https://www.verizonwireless.com/support/knowledge-base-104173/.

Thanks for fast answer. not sure it will help, but I definitely try it tomorow! Thanks once again.

It wasca solution,  you are my hero.  Thanks alot.

No problem. Glad I could help.


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I have a Oneplus 2. The bluetooth and wifi stopped working. It also does not get detected when connected to my laptop. Just keeps getting charged.
This issue started after the phone fell in water. I had given the phone for servicing. Still no use.

Most likely there's irreparable water damage to some components inside the phone.  Who handled the service - was is official Oneplus warranty/repair department, or a 3rd-party?

The phone has water damage and these effects are permanent.
There isn't much else I can say.


text:
No longer able to create Gifs with last update
I cut videos to under 6 seconds but the gif button doesn't appear. This function has been disabled?

Same case. I guess it's gone. Noted that sendings gifs "normally" still doesn't work as well. However, old <6sec gifs sent before can be forwarded successfully.


text:
How can I unlock my Lenovo A7700 pattern lock which I forgot the pattern?
I use pattern lock on my Lenovo A7700 running Android 6.0 Marshmallow, but today I forget my pattern.
How can I unlock my phone?

You'll need to perform a hard reset, but this will remove all your personal data. You could have a look  here

There is a way to keep data, but you have to install a custom recovery.
Refer: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/software-hacking/remove-lockscreen-recovery-t3530008

altough it is possible to flash TWRP from SP Flash Tool it might fail to boot on locked bootloader, most Lenovo devices have secure boot enabled


text:
What are these Two icons?
I was re-ordering objects on the quick settings When I noticed two icons that I do not recognise:

To clarify, it's HotKnot and BroadCastTile That I am questioning.
Whats odder is that they are not in the Quick settings menu (Even if I add them)

What are they for, and how can I use them?

HotKnot - The technology allows the capacitive touchscreens of smartphones to interact – a feature that can be used for quick data transfer/sharing, in a similar way to NFC.
Source: link
BroadCastTile - It is just a customizable tile, you can add a custom tile if you know the constraints.
Source: link

HotKnot is a kind of wireless communication like Bluetooth or NFC.
BroadcastTile is for creating your custom Quick Setting. See here.

Not audio profiles, the Android bot shaped one.

I edited my answer.


text:
Install command line application on android globally using termux `apt`
I love Termux, It feels like i using Linux on my phone. Sometimes I use my phone on my pc via ssh-helper but sadly I can't use any Termux app installed via apt command. Is there any way to install apps globally using apt install. I aleady rooted my android phone.

Note that for SSH access to Termux you can install sshd with apt install openssh.
Setup the authorized keys as normal ($HOME/.ssh/authorized_keys), start the sshd daemon and connect on port 8022 by default.

To expand on @fornwall answer, I believe you HAVE to connect to the SSHD provided by Termux to access the Termux environment, since Termux is running in its own container. other SSH servers will not be able to connect to that environment directly. If you have root, you can navigate from Termux-connected ssh to other locations on the filesystem.


text:
What is Direct Boot or File Encryption in Android N
The title says it all
What is it and how does it help users?
While this is a self answered question, additional inputs especially from hands on experience are welcome

TL;DR In previous Android versions you risked missing notifications, text messages etc, in case your phone rebooted or restarted for some reason when you didn't notice. Reason being, you had to boot in with your password or PIN for the device and apps in it to communicate notifications. In Nougat, this is overcome by allowing the device to boot (without any security risk) without entering PIN or password and access limited functionality such as notifications. You would however need to sign with your PIN or password for complete access of your device
Source

To overcome such problems, in Android Nougat, Google decided to add a new type of system encryption that it calls “File Encryption" This is comprised of two different types of data:
Credential encrypted data: This data is protected and is only accessible once the device has been fully unlocked via PIN, pattern, or password. In practice, this acts similarly to full-disk encryption in terms of user experience.
Device encrypted data: This is what’s new in Nougat. It makes certain non-personal data available to the operating system before the user inputs their unlock info. This includes generic system files needed to get the OS up and running in a usable state, allowing Nougat to boot up to the lock screen without any user interaction.
With this, developers can also push certain files into this encrypted space, allowing things like alarms, phone calls, and notifications to come through before the device has been fully unlocked. That means no accidentally sleeping in because your phone crashed and rebooted in the middle of the night.

When apps are allowed to run in this “device encrypted” state, they can push data to credential encrypted storage, but they can’t read it—it’s a one-way street.

Android’s file-based encryption is also known by a much simpler name: “Direct Boot”. This name, which doesn’t really exist in Android’s menus but was used at Google I/O with the announcement of Nougat.

Related How does Nougat encryption work technically?
Additional Reading: All The New Security Improvements In Android N


text:
What does 'read/write instant messages' do?
Here are my steps on a Motorola using Android 6.0.1
Go to Settings > Apps > Show System > Google Services Framework > Permissions > Additional permissions
What happens if I turn on these options?
- read instant messages
- write instant messages


text:
Play audio through phone speakers when connected to Bluetooth car
My car has Bluetooth for making / receiving calls. It also allows media playback if I switch to Bluetooth instead of USB. I use my phone for sat nav so I'd like to be able to hear the audio telling me which direction to go and of any traffic problems. The issue is that it routes that audio to the car and I can only hear it if I switch the stereo to Bluetooth media, as if I was going to play songs from the phone. That means I either can't listen to music on my USB or I can't hear the sat nav. Is there a way to get my phone to play the audio back through its speakers in n steal of through the Bluetooth but still allow phone calls through Bluetooth?

This seems to be the setting -- go to Maps' Settings (tap the three lines in the left top corner to open a pane, then tap Settings there), there go to "Navigation Settings" and turn off "Play voice over Bluetooth" switch.

On my Samsung Galaxy S4 (Lollipop) using Samsung Music (recently updated, but this was the case when I bought the car, before the Lollipop update, and immediately after that update as well), with a 2015 Ford Fiesta (basic Sync Bluetooth audio and controls), this is the default.  When I'm playing music, either Verizon Navigator or Google Maps directions (if set to give voice directions) pauses music playback to speak through the car's sound system.  Even if I'm listening to FM radio, the broadcast is interrupted for directions.  If I'm on a phone call, the directions voice is mixed, much softer than the voice of the person I'm speaking to (but still there).
Other phone initiated sounds (notification, for instance) also pause music, though keyboard sounds don't.  Car initiated sounds (low fuel warning, service required warning) pause playback as well.
If this isn't happening with your phone and your car's Bluetooth, I'd start with checking your phone's general settings, then those of your navigation app, and finally those of your car's Bluetooth and sound system.  It's got to be in there somewhere.

Go to Bluetooth settings, click on the gear icon beside the car name, uncheck audio.


text:
MOTO G4 is not connecting with windows 10
I am using moto g4 plus, Im trying to connect my moto with ma laptop through. My phone got latest android 7.0 update but now also same issue is there. Please suggest some way.
USB but its not getting connected.This allow me to charge through the usb. But im tried the most of the method to connect .Please anybody can help me ..
I am also an android developer so my phone allow me to connect with android studio and deploy the app in my phone but it not allowing me to explore the folders on sd card or phone memory through explorer.

"tried the most of the method to connect" What exactly have you tried? There's no point people suggesting things you've already tried, so please [edit] your question so people don't waste their time this way.

Try this. First turn on developer options. To do this open settings and locate the 'about phone' and tap this then scroll to build and tap this 7 times then click the back button and go back to settings. With your phone connected to the computer locate 'Developer options' and tap it. From here scroll down to 'Select USB Configuration' and tap it. Tap 'MTP(Media Transfer Protocol)' even though it may already be selected. This should automatically open the dialog box on the computer with the phone's drive listed.

Do you have drivers installed? Check for MTP USB drivers.
Also you may need to have a look here
As your phone only shows photo, it's because the USB settings is set to PTP.
To see phone content on PC, pull down notification bar on phone when phone is connected and switch from PTP to MTP mode.

Thanks i have tried this also but it is not getting connected

what happens when you plug the USB cable? what operating system is your PC running? If Windows, open the device manager and see if there are devices that need drivers

or you may check your USB cable if it is damaged or check the USB charging port for dust or something

while im trying to connect ma phone with ma PC it allow me to charge and share only photos. But i really want that the full file manager IE the all the list of folders and the files in my phone and SD card. But now it shows only the camera folders in both SD card and the internal memory.

i have checked ma USB cable it is working fine. Please help me.

oh I get now. Your USB connection is set to PTP, you should change it to MTP

I have checked that too.. But it is not showing anything on my screen.. that means it is not able to connect with pc . Thanks for your advice .

did you pull down the notification bar? I really believe it drivers problem

I'm also think so.But my other phones are connecting but i'm facing the issue for only motto G4. Can you please guide where i get drivers for the same.

try this : http://www.teamandroid.com/download-android-usb-drivers/

i tried this too but not working .

My MotoG4 loses its USB Brains all the time.
Developer Options>Select USB Configuration.
Even though its already set top MTP (media Transfer Protocol) it really isnt. Toggle the USB Configuration to PTP and back to MTP a couple of times that usually fixes it.


text:
How do some android apps know from where they have been downloaded?
If you read privacy policy of some online apps, you will find that their services also store information about from where you download their app.
I wonder if this is possible because apk is a compressed archive which can't capture this information while being downloaded. Is it possible that google play store and google play services maybe adding this information after you install that apk.
Most of the time I don't even download or update apps from play store in my every android phone. I just share the apk from one device among every other home device via wifi and side-load them. How do they come to know the download source in this case?

I'm not sure of the exact method and it probably varies based on what they're using to track it with. But I think it's mostly the installer apps themselves reporting back, like Google Play or Amazon Marketplace. In my Google Analytics reports, I've seen various Android package names, like com.amazon.venezia for installs through Kindle for example. Most are entries of "not set" which is probably what you'll get for ADB and side-loaded APKs.

@Mufasa you're right. I did some search and found that they implement google analytics in their source code.


text:
com.android.contacts - need apk file
I want to install standard android contacts app to phone which does not have such. I could not find com.android.contacts package via google search.
Where can I get it? (or it's part of android system and there is no separate apk file in existence?)

is anyone able to answer this question?


text:
How can I fix the "incompatible data" issue when flashing Cyanogenmod onto my Xperia Z3 Compact?
I have a Sony Xperia Z3 Compact and I am trying to install Cyanogenmod 12.1.
I followed the guide on the Cyanogenmod Wiki for my device.
The process went smoothly initially but it fails at 40-50% completion with the message: "Install failed. Can't install this package on top of incompatible data.....E:Failed to install /sideload/package.zip..."
I've tried:

Performing a factory reset
Flashing an older version of Cyanogenmod

But I receive the same message when I try to flash.
When I restart the phone, it hangs indefinitely on the Sony loading screen and doesn't boot.
How can I resolve this issue and successfully flash Cyanogenmod?
EDIT:
I installed TWRP 3.0.2.1 and it start to reboot the phone in loop, but I manage to install 3.0.2.0 version. I was trying this time to install from usb memory, but it faild to error 7:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bx_77SKdWXozZ1NVUDIwOEFSZGM
I manage to get terminal open and I found out that I have linux version 3.4.0-cm-g28a6663

I don't know should I delete this message or answer to it, but I got it solved. I had to install elder version of CM12.1(20160918) and I got it to install with TWRP( Which is pretty nice bootloader). Then in the android I just updated the software to newer one and it works now.

Just accept this answer yourself - it will serve as reference to others later, which is what we answer for.

Usually just wiping /data from the recovery and/or installing the package again immediately after first failure should get you through.
However if it doesn't, then you might want to ditch Cyanogen Recovery (that comes with the boot.img you flashed) and use TWRP. Find some here at XDA-Developers - basically any one that integrates TWRP should work, because you will be substituting it with CM's boot.img later when flashing, but it's advised that you choose one that's built for the same Android version you were on before flashing.
This sounds a bit hard to swallow and it is, but it's essential flashing skills and you will need it. With TWRP you can also put the package in internal storage and flash it from there, instead of relying on your PC to do a sideload.

I install the TWRP. The newest version reboot it self every 5s, but on olderversion (3.0.2.0) works. I try to install it again from usb memory, but same result: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bx_77SKdWXozZ1NVUDIwOEFSZGM Any ideas?


text:
How to undo lock screen
I lost my Phone. I remotely blocked the screen via my Google account. I found my phone back. Now I have to use the password every time I want to use my phone.    How can I undo the remotely installed block?

you can change or remove PIN lock from Settings > Screen lock, then you must enter your PIN code (set from remotely lock) and press Next, in choose screen lock page you can select No lock screen from list or select another lock method and change your PIN code, Goodluck ... ;)


text:
Can I disable charging peripherals via USB?
I have an external DAC with it's own source of power. However when I connect it to the phone, it drains the phones battery.
Is it possible to disable charging via USB on a rooted phone? Or at least slow it down?
My phone is Samsung Galaxy S3, Android 6, CyanogenMod

This should help http://android.stackexchange.com/a/133984/131553

Would it work the other way around? I mean it's a solution to charging from pc to mobile. I want to disable charging DAC(which is not using android) with my android phone.

I am not sure- you can try and post it as an answer if it works

so far I have tried limiting USB charging through boeffla config app and it stoped charging from PC but still the phone is providing power through USB.
Also I can't seem to be able to change "sys/class/power_supply/battery/charging_enabled" through terminal as a root even though the file is set to be writable

Could be that the file location is different

there is a file like that, however I can't seem to modify it

Can't say why unless it is Selinux playing up. I had a similar problem tracked by replacing the file. You can see that here http://android.stackexchange.com/a/127286/131553

what about limiting the charging so it won't drain the battery so fast?

Theoretically ,yes, not sure how. Another similar problem http://android.stackexchange.com/q/160459/131553


text:
How to use a bluetooth mouse on an Android Phone?
I have a RedMi Note 3 with CM13 installed. I bought a Phone bracket to watch videos on my bed. To interact with my Phone without the bother to lift my hand, I tried to use a bluetooth mouse.
My Phone can connect to the bluetooth mouse, but shows no pointer and no reaction.
I searched throw the Internet, but the results are all about how to use a phone as a virtual mouse to control a PC. I really don't know how to filter them out. Could you give me any guide on it? Thank you.

I happen to have got a Redmi Note 3 (Snapdragon) just recently and also have CM13 on it, and my Bluetooth keyboard/mouse combo connects and functions just fine.

All I can say is that your mouse might be faulty - test it somewhere else.

My mouse uses bluetooth 4.0. And it's fine on my Windows PC. I think I have to try another bluetooth mouse of my fellows


text:
Swype keyboard: how to add a letter to a keyboard?
I am using the Swype keyboard on Android. When I hold down a letter on the English keyboard (and others), I can see a list of similar letters with diacritics and other options for Unicode character's to input. I want to add an "h with dot below" to my "h" list. How do I do that?
Thanks..

It would be killer to be able to shortcut to emoji this way, too.

True. I hope it gets implemented.

Did you ever find a way to type h with underdot?


text:
How to make a copy of files from internal memory using adb in recovery mode? (S4, usb debugging is turned off, stock recovery)
My S4 doesn't turn on and unfortunately I didn't back up my files :-(
I only have access to recovery and download mode.
Is it possible to backup the files from my S4 using adb in the recovery mode? Or some other method?
I've tried to do it, but when I type the command adb devices, function in a console doesn't output any connected device. If in the recovery mode I select apply update from adb when I type adb devices, the function returns:

List of devices attached
  5f1e329c Sideload

But after entered the command adb pull / in a console function shows the message error: closed.
Sorry for my English.

Use download mode to flash a device compatible  custom recovery. Afterwards, boot into recovery mode and use adb to do whatever you want.


text:
How to get rid of annoying pop up ads?
When I connect the internet and open any app, a pop-up ad appears randomly.
Ads are still showing, although I did factory reset the phone (all installed apps removed) as well. I also tried to remove the malware app with Avast. Avast detected the issue as well. But couldn't able to remove as well. I uninstalled the malware app which Avast detected. The malware apps installed automatically with another name after uninstalling it.
How can I get rid of that annoying issue?
Some screenshots of that issue have attached here.

Have you tried Addons Detector app to see what is pushing the ads, it is most likely a "free" game? https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.denper.addonsdetector

Use any adblocker app

Easier solution-factory reset

@EthanZ I already did that, but the problem not solved :(

@MdJwelMiah then you need to flash the device with the stock firmware.

Are you saying that if you factory reset, and do not install ANY apps you are still getting these pop-ups? They are 9app pop-ups, they come from installing apps outside of the Play Store, did you try the Addons Detector I mentioned earlier?

Since a factory reset didn't fix the issue, the malware responsible for this has embedded itself into the operating system. There is only one solution now. You will have to flash the stock firmware.
Instead of making another "how to flash a custom ROM" question, I found an straight forward article that should help you though it.
http://lifehacker.com/how-to-flash-a-rom-to-your-android-phone-30885281
The ROM you are flashing is provided by the manufacturer of the phone and you should be able to find it on their website.

Thanks for sharing the effective idea. I did flash my phone as well and all malware get removed :)

Your phone is infected by malwares. If you check your app list, you'll notice that there are unusual apps with sometimes weird names.
To get rid of that, all you have is to uninstall them. There is two methods:
DISCLAIMER: Do it at your own risk, I won't be held responsible if anything goes wrong.

First the root method: You have to root your phone and then using adb shell, uninstall the apps - a bit tricky and risky as well. You need to install ADB server on your PC (search for Minimal ADB and Fastboot).
Open it and tape the following:
adb shell
`su`

`mount -o remount, rw /system`

`cd /system/app`

`ls (this list all apps on your phone)`

Then:
rm "app_name"

You must tape the exact app name + .apk or .odex
Do this to all unwanted apps.
You may encounter with apps that can't be removed (operation not permitted), then you need BusyBox installed (Google for that). just let's know, we'll try to help.

The second method, less tricky but always risky, is to download Debloater, open the USB debugging mode, connect your phone to your computer. You'll see all the installed applications. Just check those you want to remove.

Et voilà.
DON'T REMOVE AN APP IF YOU'RE NOT SURE ABOUT, YOU MAY BRICK YOUR PHONE.

I've successfully uninstalled some potential malware app by this method those are detected by a malware removal app.

But one app still couldn't able to uninstall. I think, this the main malware app.

what do you get as error?

Do you have BusyBox installed? It provides extra commands to ADB

No,
Finally, I flash my phone with the stock firmware and all malware apps get removed as well.

This was the last solution, glad that everything is going fine now

If you have root your phone you could use AdAway app, that blocks most of the ads


text:
Is the wifi hotspot feature available on newer android phones?
I have a captivate glide running android 4.0.4 with at&t and it has a wifi hotspot feature that I can turn on to share my data connection via wifi.
I'm planning on getting a samsung galaxy s6 or s7 and was wondering if this feature is still available. I try to read all the documentation but it's all marketing hype and doesn't mention things like this that I can find.
Anybody use this feature? Is it still a thing? Are there any phones that support it?

Almost all phones support this fundamental feature nowadays, so much that it's no longer on marketing materials. I use the feature exclusively on some of my phones - I have data SIMs in them and carry them around to provide connection for my main phone. S7 even supports relaying WiFi connections which is rare.
However, do note that some carriers (e.g. Verizon) would sometimes lock the feature behind certain restrictions, like you need to have the carrier's SIM, or you need to have a payment plan with tethering enabled.

awesome thanks. I had no idea. I appreciate the info.


text:
Just found my SD card was corrupted.
Just found my SD card is corrupted.  My internal memory is almost full so was checking to see if it was going to the SD card yet and saw that it was corrupted.   Bought a new SD card. Now what do I do?  Can I just transfer the same memory into the new one?

Yes..you should

Why did you decide it is corrupted? When my phone can't read my SD card I usually do the following.

Insert the corrupted card in PC and blindly copy its content in some HD directory. I usually specify option ignore errors. It may cause issues with some files, but usually it is recoverable
I format the corrupted card with option check media for errors. If it got formatted with only few or no errors, I usually reuse it. Otherwise I take a new card
I copy all copied content from hard drive back to the new or old recovered card
I return the card back in the phone and usually it continues working as before

Note that SD card usually holds only certain number of rewrites, therefore if you do writing a lot, then a new card will be always a better solution.


text:
SwiftKey Select/Copy/Cut/Paste/other shortcuts
Swype has a great feature of sliding between the Swype key and:

a - Select all
c - Copy
x - Cut
v - Paste
m - Open selection in Google Maps
g - Google for selection

It's much quicker than long-pressing and then (for example) going into the More menu for Select All.
Can SwiftKey do something like this?
(Feel free to tell me any other killer shortcuts while you're at it)

3 years later and Swype being unfortunately dead my solution was to switch back to Gboard.
Apparently Swiftkey doesn't give a s**t to customers needs.