text:
Remove swisscom on Samsung s6
I ordered a Samsung s6 from some shitty page on the internet, I got the phone and it's the real Samsung s6 but they put some shit called Swisscom in it, which is really annoying cause the phone starts up with the Swisscom. How do I remove the whole Swisscom shit?
Please answer!!! Thanks

Possible duplicate of How can I uninstall applications that are locked by phone vendor?

I voted the question assuming that "Swisscom" is an app. This suggested edit contradicts my assumption. So, what is this "Swisscom" and how is it annoying for you?

@Melinda Have your factory reseted

So I found that Swisscom sells Samsung GS6 (link to its product page). Now, what do you want to remove, exactly? Boot animation? (and remember, don't beg for answer, it's rude)

There are few ways that you can do it.
If you want to remove just the application you can use system app remover
2:To change/remove carrier(swisscom) splash screen form s6
Re-flash your phone using the official firmwares.
How to flash a new firmware?

We're looking for detailed answers here. Please see how do I write a good answer? and [edit] your answer to incorporate the required steps.

beeshyams i updated the link thanks. @Firelord i do respect you man but the thing is you don't answer any question and interfere without any effort- about the detailed answers you must know this is not a teaching website its a problem solving, asking questions, getting the hints-make it work.

I won't be defending myself on what I post or what efforts I put since that wouldn't raise the quality of your answer. // I'd say your opinion about this site contradicts with mine. Unlike what you opine, I want this site to be the final place where a reader should be looking for an answer. In accordance with that, I post comments wherever I think proper instructions are lacking. There is more: hints work for those who can understand them. There is no evidence in the question that OP understands how flashing works or has ever done that, so definitely instructions are needed.

I won't be barring myself from posting such comments again, so if you find them annoying or you think your opinion is the correct opinion how the answers should be, please sort that out on [meta]. If other users agree with your opinion, I would consider that as the final word. Thanks!

I understand your point and I respect it everyone here have a right to speak their mind. but as far my answer goes instead of writing long notes I prefer to point out certain things and link them to their actual pages so the user can understand them much clearer, but hey its all my point of view.


text:
Push notification not working
the problem I am having is with Push notifications in Android.
In order to receive my WhatsApp notifications I need to manually launch the application, which I don't want do. I want to be able to receive my notifications at any time...
I've heard that it might be due to the Push Notification not working so, I decided to download from Google Play the app PNF No-Root which changed the heartbeat interval to 5 minutes (I use WLAN connection) and it didn't work at all (the same for similar apps). I tried looking for other solutions. I went to Settings > Data Usage > WLAN > WhatsApp to check if the Restrict background data box was unchecked, it was unchecked.
I also went to Apps > WhatsApp to see if the box "Show Notifications" was Checked. Went to WLAN > ADVANCED and set "Keep WLAN on during sleep" as "Always". Finally, I launched WhatsApp and all the settings are correctly set for me to receive, but I don't. When I go to Apps > Running > Whatsapp it says that there is 1 Process and to Services (although it shows 1 service sometimes), ExternalMediaManager and MessageService.
My device is a Lenovo A5000 with Android OS 4.4.2
 I don't know what else to try, thanks.

A possibility is mentioned here: Apps constantly disconnecting from the internet. Can you confirm?

Do you have any power save mode set?
Otherwise Download the app "Wifi settings" and change the DNS Server to Google and hit apply . I hope this will help

Please link the app in your answer and highlight the specific capability of the app that would help OP- this would enhance the value of your answer

If you have any task killer app installed in your device, uninstall it or keep the WhatsApp app in the ignore list of that task killer.

source: Stack Exchange

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

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

sort: votes


text:
Backup recovery with dd on SM-G800F
How can I backup my Recovery image with the dd command? I have the PIT file, where recovery is listed as:
--- Entry #12 ---
Binary Type: 0 (AP)
Device Type: 2 (MMC)
Identifier: 10
Attributes: 5 (Read/Write)
Update Attributes: 1 (FOTA)
Partition Block Size/Offset: 129024
Partition Block Count: 24576
File Offset (Obsolete): 0
File Size (Obsolete): 0
Partition Name: RECOVERY
Flash Filename: recovery.img
FOTA Filename:

What /dev/ file should I choose as my if?
When I cat /proc/partitions, I get some mmcblkXpXX, and mmcblkXbootX.
Since the identifier is 10, wouldn't the if be mmcblk0p10?

There are many pointers in both question and answers here: How to list all major partitions with their labels? See if it helps.

@Firelord I found RECOVERY in the by-name directory. Now, to backup, do I use it in the dd command?

According to files in the /dev/block/platform/*/by-name directory, my Recovery partition is in fact /dev/block/mmcblk0p10. The ending of the name of mmcblk0pX matches all the identifiers on the PIT, so thus I conclude that the identifier and the mmcblk name does match.
The command now will be dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p10 of=/storage/sdcard1/twrp.img bs=4096

Match the identifier in the PIT file for other partitions with the info you gathered from by-name directory. You can come to know if it is a coincidence or something else.

@Firelord that is a logical way of doing it. I am  going to do so now

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


text:
trying to adb backup but dialog doesn't show
I have sony xperia P device and I want to flash its ROM to get Marshmallow(I currently have android 4.0.4).
I want to do full backup of my phone before doing this, I knew about adb backup command, I installed android-tools from my Arch linux repos and issued :
adb backup -all -apk -shared -f momsmobile.ab

it shows : Now unlock your device and confirm the backup operation. but Nothing shows at all, I have USB debugging enabled and tried to put a password the Developer option "Desktop password for backup".
I also tried following Arch wiki and added udev rules, this is the rule file :
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTR{idVendor}=="xxxx", MODE="0666", GROUP="adbusers"
SUBSYSTEM=="usb",ATTR{idVendor}=="xxxx",ATTR{idProduct}=="yyyy",SYMLINK+="android_adb"
SUBSYSTEM=="usb",ATTR{idVendor}=="xxxx",ATTR{idProduct}=="yyyy",SYMLINK+="android_fastboot"

I'm sure the vendor's and product's id are correct(the real ones aren't provided for privacy).
the above didn't work too, I still get no confirm prompt, although when I issue adb devices I can see mine there.
Basically I have the same issue as this question, only this question has different device model(Sumsung vs Sony) and it's not answered.
Lastly I tried to disable all my antivirus protections, I'm using avast mobile security and disabled every thing but still didn't work.
So what's the problem ?
PS
I don't want to root the device(at least not on backup phase) and I don't want to use any apps.

Might be a little late, but here's what worked for me: put single quotes around the parameters.
adb backup '-all -apk -shared -f momsmobile.ab'

This worked for me. I think this is a bug; I'm using android-tools-adb version 5.1.1r36+git20160322-0ubuntu3 from the Ubuntu repos on Ubuntu 16.04.3, and adb version says Android Debug Bridge version 1.0.32. The version from https://developer.android.com/studio/releases/platform-tools.html (Android Debug Bridge version 1.0.39) seems to work fine without the quotes.

Single quote didn't work for me on Windows computer. I used: adb backup "-apk -shared -all -system -obb" -f backup10032019.ab and it worked.

I did it!
I switched ON "USB Debugging(Security Settings)" in options 'For developers'. I have two options for usb debugging:
1. "USB Debugging" (simple) - this was always ON and 2. "USB Debugging(Security Settings)" - this was OFF.
Phone: Xiaomi Note 3 Pro SE (kate)
On yours phone options maybe will have different names.

I am using Redmi Note 4 Global. I did NOT have to enable "USB Debugging(Security Settings)". Just enabling the first USB debugging option worked for me. I used: adb backup "-apk -shared -all -system -obb" -f backup10032019.ab and it worked.

On my LG G5 I changed MTP to RNDIS (USB Ethernet) in option "For Developers"; no quotes needed to get the Backup dialog.
Thanks for the tip


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Where has the forgotten password button gone?
My device is running Android 5.0 Lollipop or above and I have forgotten my lock screen password. After trying multiple times without luck, I do not see an option to reset my password using my Google account credentials. Why is this option not appearing?

I'm posting this as there seems to be a lot of confusion about this new behaviour, understandably! Hope this helps.

This option seems to be have removed by Google in Android 5.0 and above and there is no longer an official way to reset your lock screen password.
Resetting your password using Android Device Manager also often fails as there is already a screen lock set.
Check the locked-out tag for information that may help with your issue.

Even Google gives unlocking instructions only for Android Kitkat and below. For Lollipop and above, the indirect recommendation seems to be about resetting or erasing the device.
Chris Hoffman on How to Geek reports:

[Screen lock resetting] feature was removed in Android 5.0. Unfortunately, this means there’s no built-in way to simply reset your pattern, PIN, or password and gain access to your phone or tablet. This does help provide additional protection to your data, however — attackers have no way of bypassing the passcode unless they actually know it.

Other than resetting through recovery, Settings app and from Google Device Manager, I found the following info worth mentioning:

Android’s Smart Lock feature may be able to save you. For example, let’s say you’ve set up Smart Lock on your Android phone and have it automatically log in when it’s on your home Wi-Fi. You can take your phone to that home Wi-FI network and it will automatically unlock for you, even if you can’t remember the normal unlock code.

This is a great answer! I'm sure somewhere there's a thread about possible ways to recover access to your device but I can't find it. If there is, we could link to it in addition to the info above. It has other things to try such as ADB commands.


text:
How do I save/lock specific comment bubbles within a text message thread?
Is it possible to make the downloaded SMS application, "Google Messenger" save just part of a thread in a text conversation on my Moto E Android phone?
Example: I'm chatting back and forth with a friend, a long thread, a long conversation.  In one comment bubble, my friend gives me an important address that I want to lock and save, but I want to delete the rest of the thread (all the other bubbles).
I used to be able to do this on an older android phone.  It had a different sms app.  I don't remember what that app was, but I could delete my entire inbox with the exception of specific comments/bubbles on which I had put locks/saves.
My current phone model number is Moto E (2nd Generation) with 4G LTE.
OS is lollipop 5.1 (I think)

Please add OS version and the SMS application you are using-whether stock or downloaded

My operating system number  5.7.14.19.arm Legal. My SMS application is messenger (Google Messenger) downloaded.

I meant OS VERSION like KitKat, lollipop etc denoted by 4.4.2 or 5.x.x. you will find that information in settings→ about phone . Edit your question to reflect that so that it is visible instead of searching in comments

Thank you for your help beeshyams.  I appreciate your efforts.  I ended up scrapping google messenger and using an app called textra instead.  It is working great for me.  I am very technologically challenged.  I appreciate anyone who is willing to try and help a luggernut like me :)

Oh, and I think my OS is lollipop 5.1  Does that sound correct?

Yes. You can answer your own question with the solution that worked.

I think you've answered your own question in your post when you said that you used to be able to do this, but had a different SMS app.
This function, as far as I know, is app specific. I am able to lock messages using ChompSMS on Android 5.0.
Try different SMS apps and see which is best for your needs.

Thank you Verdant Drift.  Your response was very helpful.


text:
Deleting system apps on a rooted phone
I have a rooted phone that I only want to use as a phone.  In other words, I do not want my children to have access to any other apps.  I can use an app blocker, but this phone only has a small capacity (Samsung Galaxy Young), so I cannot afford to load too much control software.  It would be better to remove as much as possible to make room, otherwise the phone tends to grind to a halt.  How do I know which preloaded apps I can safely delete without affecting the working of the phone?

May be helpful: I have less than 40 apps (including system apps); What else can I remove? Also see: Remove bloatware on Galaxy S2 - what are my options?

Titanium backup does a good job with removing system apps. It is safe with Google apps, and possibly like gallery, or internet. Some apps have a freeze function to test if you can remove. Also, non root users can disable system apps. So disabled apps should be safe to remove. Be sure to backup anyway though

@TheBro21 Could you add this as an answer please?

Possible duplicate of Remove bloatware on Galaxy S2 - what are my options?

Titanium backup generally does a good job with removing system apps. It is safe with Google apps, and possibly with apps like gallery, or internet. Titanium however does offer you to uninstall core apps too, which could be potentially dangerous.
Some apps (like titanium. However unfortunately only pro) have a freeze function to test if you can remove. Also, non root users can disable system apps. So disabled apps should be safe to remove. Be sure to backup anyway though


text:
iFont app caused a bootloop and I cannot see the data despite connecting to a computer
I have a rooted phone on which I installed the iFont app
I selected a font and downloaded it. When I installed it, it asked me to restart the phone. I rebooted it and then my phone keeps restarting. I even wiped the cache and the data partitions but its keeps restarting.
When I connected my phone to my PC, the files seemed to be hidden, so I opened hidden files.
When it appeared, it seemed to have no space in it, I tried to format it but it gave me an error saying that there isn't any space on the drive
I searched in Google for a fix but I didn't find anything that helped me

Which device? OS version? Is your device rooted? Please add this relevant details in your question by editing

Did you enable its module entry under Xposed installer app?

Phone name: G-TiDE E57
Android OS: 2.3.5

I had the same problem today with manually installing a new font by replacing the default fonts (Roboto-Regular.ttf and Roboto-Bold.ttf on my CyanogenMod 10.1/Android 4.2 Jellybean phone, but probably DroidSans.ttf and DroidSans-Bold.ttf on your phone because it's on the older Gingerbread version).
There are two ways I found to fix it. You can either reflash the Android image like Sourc7 suggested or you can use adb to restore from a backup. Using adb is quicker, but you need to have already enabled it before your phone got stuck in the reboot loop.
Here's how I fixed it on my phone with adb from my computer.

Run adb root to make adb use root permissions.
Run adb remount to remount /system as writable.
Run adb shell ls -l /system/fonts/ to see which font files have changed recently.
Run adb push /path/to/backup/DroidSans-Bold.ttf /system/fonts/ to restore the font, repeating for any system fonts that may have been changed. It's possible that other fonts may be at fault, but DroidSans-Bold.ttf and Roboto-Bold.ttf seem to be the main culprits when things break.

If reflashing or adb worked, your phone should now be back to where it started before the change. If you want to try changing fonts again, I recommend this method to prevent the problem from happening again.

Use adb pull /etc/system_fonts.xml and adb pull /etc/fallback_fonts.xml to get copies of your phone's font configurations.
Make copies of those files in different folders (e.g., "backup" and "new_font").
In the "new_font" copy of system_fonts.xml, go to the first <fileset> XML tag and replace the listed font file names with the name of your custom font (assuming you want your phone to use it for normal, bold, italic, and bold-italic text). It should look something like this (Dotsies.ttf is the custom font I'm using on my phone).
<family>
    <nameset>
        <name>sans-serif</name>
        <name>arial</name>
        <name>helvetica</name>
        <name>tahoma</name>
        <name>verdana</name>
    </nameset>
    <fileset>
        <file>Dotsies.ttf</file>
        <file>Dotsies.ttf</file>
        <file>Dotsies.ttf</file>
        <file>Dotsies.ttf</file>
    </fileset>
</family>

Add the fonts you removed from system_fonts.xml to a new <family> tag in fallback_fonts.xml, right after the opening <familyset> tag. This way Android can find missing glyphs that aren't in your custom font. The fallback configuration should look something like this.
<family>
    <fileset>
        <file>Roboto-Regular.ttf</file>
        <file>Roboto-Bold.ttf</file>
        <file>Roboto-Italic.ttf</file>
        <file>Roboto-BoldItalic.ttf</file>
    </fileset>
</family>

Add your custom font to you phone via adb push /path/to/Custom-Font.ttf /system/fonts/. As long as your custom font uses a different than than the built-in Android fonts, this should be safe.
Replace your phone's font configuration files to the changed ones via adb push /path/to/new_font/system_fonts.xml /etc/ and adb push /path/to/new_font/fallback_fonts.xml /etc/.
Reboot your phone. It should now be using the new font wherever it should, but gracefully fall back to the system fonts as-needed, without getting caught in a boot loop.

adb root wouldn't work on a production kernel (CM is a custom kernel so its kernel may have a feature to restart adbd with root permission) which means adb remount or adb shell mount -o remount.rw /system (sic) would always fail. See Is there a way for me to run Adb shell as root without typing in 'su'?

@Firelord  Thanks for the info! I'm not that experienced with differences between Android versions, so I had no idea that adb root depends on more than having a rooted device. Does this also mean that adb push on devices without adb root will have to go to the SD card and then use adb shell, su, and mv to move files? Also, this answer doesn't mention the adb shell mount command, though I see now that I made a typo on another question.

Yes, you got it correct that without adb root, you'll have to go through SD card and whatnot. You'll also have to remount using adb shell su -c 'mount ...' command because adb remount would not work on a production kernel unless adbd is running with root permission.

I think the application has installed the font to the /system partition, so wipe the /cache and /data partition won't help.
You can re-flash the phone to the factory image, it will also format the entire /system partition.


text:
Select all is missing in mobile version of gmail
How can I select all instead of one by one in gmail Android version application. ?

Related is-there-select-all-functionality-in-the-gmail-app

Only the standard view of Gmail in a desktop browser has select all functions.  The Basic HTML version does not, nor do the Gmail Apps  from Gmail Help forum

Up to Gmail (android) v5.10, there's no option to select all. Maybe they'll add it later. But you can empty trash folder in one go.


text:
Cross-device consistent symlink for internal storage
There are many paths to internal storage:
/sdcard
/storage/sdcard0
/storage/emulated/0
/storage/emulated/legacy
/mnt/sdcard
/data/media/0
Several questions:

Which ones are most consistent (present) across devices?
Which ones are most likely to have Read+Write permissions? Do the symlinks alter this behavior?
Which one is the true storage location, where the rest of the symlinks point to? Does this also vary across devices?

Is there a final objective of yours that would be completed by knowing a consistent cross-device symlink among thousands of devices?

To answer all of that, one needs to know all (or at least most) of the devices available. So all I can give is an "educated guess".
Permissions should not be altered by symlinks. And yes, what's there varies across devices, Android versions and even ROMs used.
Find the "real one" using df or mount at the command prompt (either via a terminal app, or using adb shell). Starting with around Android 4.2, a few of your listed locations should be pretty much standard:

/storage/emulated/0
/storage/emulated/legacy

The others, as I wrote, may vary between devices, Android versions and ROMs.
Concerning read/write permissions: All of them have. Question is just: for whom? The average app, or root? This changed a lot between Android versions, especially since Kitkat, and again might be handled differently by device, Android version, and ROM. Before Kitkat, an app just needed the WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission. With Kitkat, on most ROMs it was restricted to its own directory in Android/data/, and with Lollipop that changed again.
For a reference, please also see Confused by the many locations of the virtual /sdcard/.

Can you provide a reference for Kitkat being locked down to /data/x?

Maybe related: http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/data/data-storage.html

LOL Tons of references if you just do a search on "Kitkat sdcard". That gave a pretty loud cry back then. For an example: Android KitKat Blocks Some Access to Micro SD Cards, KitKat will make your SD Card completely useless.

I'm planning to change my question so it doesn't duplicate "Confused [..] virtual /sdcard/", I'm also working up an answer based on many test devices from Samsung, LG, Nexus, Acer, etc. I still have to get my hands on some of them yet via a friend of mine.

@AaronGillion: maybe you can initiate a wiki thereafter?!

Not sure. Can you refer me to a help page on what it does/how to initiate one/how it works? The list is getting very long, I will post the overall results below but I'm planning to make a page on my website with each device. Not sure if wiki will help here..?


text:
Can't play video in gallery
The phone I am using is a Samsung galaxy s6 edge with the latest software installed.
One I have recorded a video of some sort, I go to the gallery to check what the video is like. As I click on the video a message comes quoting "Can't play video." I have looked around some say that the file is corrupted, some say it is the video player I am using (Gallery) etc. Pictures are completely fine, my guess is videos are in the wrong format?
Anyone have a guess as to what the problem is?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I had to uninstall Google+ updates to fix this.

I can't really see how two are related?


text:
How to disable MTP and PTP file sharing via USB on Android 5?
For privacy and security reasons I'd like to disable MTP and PTP on my phone. I recently plugged my phone into an inflight entertainment system to charge it, and was surprised to see that the status bar showed that the phone was connected as a camera (via PTP). This could happen with basically any USB hub, and you won't know until you connect to it.
Running Android 5.0.2 on a Samsung Galaxy A3 (SM-A300FU).

I have tried the following:

Enabled USB debugging
Plugged in the USB cable
Rooted my phone (and verified that it's actually rooted)
adb shell su -c 'setprop persist.sys.usb.config adb' (thanks @Firelord)
Verified in Terminal Emulator:
$ su sh -c 'cat /data/property/persist.sys.usb.config'
adb

Unplugged the USB cable
Rebooted
Disabled USB debugging
Plugged in the USB cable

At this point the device is automatically "Connected as a media device", and the setting is back to the default:
$ su sh -c 'cat /data/property/persist.sys.usb.config'
mtp

If I leave the USB debugging enabled the value is mtp,adb after rebooting.

After reporting this as a bug, it turns out it's actually been fixed, and charge-only mode has been reintroduced in Android 6.

This is different from Disabling MTP/PTP/all USB stuff except charging because that question is about CyanogenMod, not stock Android, and the accepted answer is not applicable to Android 5.

Only the tags [tag:usb-connection-mode] and [tag:5.0-lollipop] are enough IMO.

You incorrectly followed the procedure. The command is adb shell su -c 'setprop persist.sys.usb.config adb'. This command runs with root privileges and makes the changes persistent. Yours doesn't make it persistent. The file /data/property/persist.sys.usb.config store the changes.

I see. Can you list and give us the contents of that file after reboot is performed? Which device is it?

Can you try with USB debugging already disabled and editing the file using a file explorer or text editor? Replace mtp with none.

Possible duplicate of Disabling MTP/PTP/all USB stuff except charging

@Firelord This is not a duplicate, as explained above. Basically this question needs different answers for Android 3 and/or 4 (just set it to "Charge Only" mode), CyanogenMod (uncheck the connection modes you're not going to be using), Android 5, and Android 6 (once again set to "Charge Only" mode).

Thanks to @Firelord, this is the procedure to follow:

Root your phone
Install Terminal Emulator
In Terminal Emulator, run su sh -c 'echo -n none > /data/property/persist.sys.usb.config'
Restart the phone

Bonus: Now you can get rid of all those horrible vendor apps. Bye Samsung and Three!
Caveat 1: USB debugging no longer works after doing this, regardless of whether you left it enabled while following the instructions or disabled and re-enabled it. All you need to do (I just verified it) is to set the value back to adb to make it work again, but then of course you have the original problem. If there’s a magic string to make USB debugging work and simultaneously disable both MTP and PTP, I don’t know what it is (I tried with none,adb).
Caveat 2: You can’t update Android anymore without completely resetting your device. Not even de-rooting and a factory reset work - bloody Android still says I’ve made an “unauthorized modification.” Let’s recap: “Freedom 0: The freedom to run the program as you wish, for any purpose.” I had to boot into Windows and use Samsung Smart Switch for PC to upgrade.

If you one day find the magic string, don't forget to update your answer. I just ended up the same: needing ADB, I had to leave it on "mtp,adb".

You can also just set adb mode alone. Instead of none, just use adb. That won't show MTP/PTP

I agree with @GokulNC. Setting adb alone works well in CM and stock Android.

@GokulNC @Firelord As I said above setting it to simply adb doesn't work - it's overridden to mtp,adb.


text:
why does it say i need to "sign into my google account?"
I use a nook as a tablet and I only have one account and I did sign into my google account but it won't let me update any of my apps and it's always saying "I need to sign into my google account" what do I do?

Post a screenshot of the error. At which stage does it give that error? Can you open Play Store and browse app or not?

Try updating Google apps like Google Play Services.

This is probably related.


text:
compass in Google Maps stopped working (Xperia V CM 12.1)
In the Google Maps app the compass of my Xperia V (model identifier: LT25i | codename: Tsubasa) doesn't work properly anymore (only 180 degree flips).
To be more precise the compass already stopped working in Google Maps a while ago when I still was on CyanogenMod 11 M12. At the beginning everything was fine then it suddenly stopped working (I assume due to some update of the Google Maps app... unfortunately I can't tell any exact version number).
I hoped it would work again after updating to Android Lollipop (custom ROM based on CyanogenMod 12.1) but it didn't (even after a complete wipe and reinstalling).
I guess the problem is not due to a hardware failure because I tested it with two different Xperia V phones and the problem occurs with both of them.
In other apps the compass works as it should (OsmAnd, GPS Status & Toolbox) but in Google Maps it only makes 180 degree flips which makes orientation very difficult. I've found a lot of similar complaints on the net regarding other phone models (as early as 2011) like this one but couldn't find any useful information regarding my case.
Does anyone experience the same problem? And more importantly, does anyone know a workaround or something?


text:
'Languages and Input' sub-setting crashes Settings, need to enable it to install keyboard
Alright so I try to get into the 'Language and Input' sub-setting on the 'Settings' menu, and when I click on it a message appears saying: "Unfortunately, Settings has stopped working".
This only happens with 'Language and Input'.
I have Android 4.2.2 installed, on an Acer V370 (Liquid E2) phone.
So far I've tried clearing data from the 'Settings' app and fixing permissions using ROM manager, both didn't work.
What I'm really trying to do is get a working keyboard on my phone, as for reasons unknown I have no keyboard to type on the phone. So, I don't really care about fixing the 'Languages and Input' setting as long as there's a way to put a keyboard app in my phone again.

Note: the commands in this solution requires adb setup in PC and the solution is tested on Android 4.2.1, 5.0.2 and 5.1.1.

If you don't have any keyboard app installed in the system, then either use web version of Play Store to remotely install a keyboard app in your system (requires active internet connection in your device) or obtain the APK of your keyboard from somewhere somehow and install it in your system. You may either install it:

using your file manager app. You may follow: Can I install apps on phone without using the Android Market?
using adb. Do:
adb install FILE_PATH    # replace FILE_PATH with the file location of APK in your PC

Once the app is setup, execute this command on PC:
adb shell ime list -a

It will list all the available (enabled or not) IME (Input Method) services in your system.
Demo output:

com.android.inputmethod.latin/.LatinIME:
  mId=com.android.inputmethod.latin/.LatinIME mSettingsActivityName=com.android.inputmethod.latin.settings.SettingsActivity
  mIsDefaultResId=0x7f070000
  Service:
    priority=0 preferredOrder=0 match=0x108000 specificIndex=-1 isDefault=false
    ServiceInfo:
      name=com.android.inputmethod.latin.LatinIME
      packageName=com.android.inputmethod.latin
      labelRes=0x7f08003a nonLocalizedLabel=null icon=0x0 banner=0x0
      enabled=true exported=true processName=com.android.inputmethod.latin
      permission=android.permission.BIND_INPUT_METHOD
      flags=0x0
net.zhdev.ctrlvkeyboard/.CtrlVKeyboard:
  mId=net.zhdev.ctrlvkeyboard/.CtrlVKeyboard mSettingsActivityName=null
  mIsDefaultResId=0x0
  Service:
    priority=0 preferredOrder=0 match=0x108000 specificIndex=-1 isDefault=false
    ServiceInfo:
      name=net.zhdev.ctrlvkeyboard.CtrlVKeyboard
      packageName=net.zhdev.ctrlvkeyboard
      labelRes=0x7f0b0015 nonLocalizedLabel=null icon=0x0 banner=0x0
      enabled=true exported=true processName=net.zhdev.ctrlvkeyboard
      permission=android.permission.BIND_INPUT_METHOD
      flags=0x0
com.touchtype.swiftkey/com.touchtype.KeyboardService:
  mId=com.touchtype.swiftkey/com.touchtype.KeyboardService mSettingsActivityName=com.touchtype.settings.TouchTypeKeyboardSettings
  mIsDefaultResId=0x0
  Service:
    priority=0 preferredOrder=0 match=0x108000 specificIndex=-1 isDefault=false
    ServiceInfo:
      name=com.touchtype.KeyboardService
      packageName=com.touchtype.swiftkey
      enabled=true exported=true processName=com.touchtype.swiftkey
      permission=android.permission.BIND_INPUT_METHOD
      flags=0x0

The highlighted strings next to mId= are the IDs of the keyboard apps available in my system.
In any ID, the string before / is the package name of the keyboard app. Example: for Swiftkey keyboard, the mId is:
com.touchtype.swiftkey/com.touchtype.KeyboardService

The string com.touchtype.swiftkey is the package name of Swiftkey app. Package name is what will help you to find the appropriate mID that you should use to enable a particular keyboard app.
To know the package name of an app, follow View app's full package name?
Once you've the appropriate ID, use it to make your app the default keyboard in your system. Do:
# Note that it doesn't matter whether the IME is added into enabled input methods or not. Consider this a direct override.
# Replace ID with mId of your keyboard app

adb shell settings put secure default_input_method "ID"
adb shell content update --uri content://settings/secure --bind value:s:"ID"  --where "name='default_input_method'"  # alternative to above command
adb reboot  # optional

Try opening an app which requires input from a keyboard. You would be seeing your keyboard app.
(Click image to enlarge; courtesy of OP)

A suggestion could be to install ANY alternate keyboard, and choose that one as the default keyboard temporarily. The earliest technique I learned to do this was to start any app that required a text input field entry (even Internet will do). Hard press on the text field, and select "Input Method" which will allow you to try to set the newly downloaded as the default keyboard.
Once selected, it is possible the Settings > Language & Input, which failed earlier, will not fail to open when triggered. Use the normal functionality to restore the desired keyboard, if different, then delete the installed one that was a temporary workaround.
UPDATE: I have just found this wiki that demonstrates a similar technique. I have performed this just now on my Samsung Galaxy phone, and tablet, to prove its worth. Essentially, it uses Google Search text input, in concert with the Notification Bar, which now includes a shortcut to Choose Input Method. I got it to work consistently from the second try: Open, tap the text input field, pull down Notification Bar, proceed.

Hey Firelord, what do you mean "third section"? Paste the exact part please.

This doesn't work at all, all I get is the copy/paste etc options, but no "input options" menu.

It may just depend on what application, and what text field allows this, or maybe your provider's OS, or any number of things that may have happened since I learned this technique, many years ago, that moved or removed this capability.

Searched for, and found, an alternate method, similar to the suggested one. See additional paragraph in answer (and hyperlink).


text:
tasker to turn on do not disturb when plugged into charger
I'm trying to use Tasker to turn on the do not disturb mode in android 6.0 marshmallow.  I used to use tasker to make my phone go silent when I plugged in my charger cord every night, and turn off silent when I unplugged the cord in the morning.  Tasker broke I think with Lollipop when we lost our silent mode.  Now with Marshmallow we have do not disturb, but tasker can't seem to trigger it and/or has no access to "do not disturb."  I set up a profile (state/power/any) and a "task" (audio/do not disturb/all) but it does nothing when I plug in my power cord.  Can anyone solve this problem?

Your Tasker version?

There very latest in play store.

It doesn't work because you designed the action not to do anything but let Android disturb you, as usual. Here's what each entry corresponds to under Audio → Do Not Disturb:

None: silences all sounds, including alarms - Total Silence
Priority: silences sounds except for certain calls or notifications - Priority Only
All: this effectively ends Do Not Disturb mode
Alarms: silences all ringtones & vibrations except alarms - Alarms Only

(Content partially derived from the article: Silence your device with "Do not disturb"  - by Elena)

Tasker's Notification Access Service must be enabled for this action to work. Tasker suggests this at the first time setup of that action. Otherwise, enable it from Settings app -> Notifications -> Notification access -> tick Tasker.


text:
Downloaded images/music files not appearing
I've been having problems with my gallery and music app on my lg g2.
I recently initiated a factory-rest on my phone and I wanted to download an image to see if it would work appropriately, but it refuses to create a "Download" folder and put it in there.  They still download and I can open them manually by tapping on them, but the gallery itself doesn't create a folder to place it in. I poked around on my computer with the usb connection with my charger, and I don't see anything wrong.  Something notable though, is I did delete the .nomedia folder before I factory-reset, but it appears to have returned.  The files even show up in the folder, but they're not able to be viewed by the gallery app. I'm using the default one that came with the phone, and I have tried many solutions, but to no avail.  If there's a solution anyone can recommend to me, it would be very much appreciated.  Thanks!

It is common "bug", I would like to call, they will appear as soon as the mobile is restarted and files are registered in Media library.
Another trick I use is I copy that downloaded folder to another folder using a file manager, and voila. You should try it too.


text:
Google Now places a notification in my tray for weather and commute times - can I make it do the same for reminders?
I've noticed that Google does a great job of providing me with relevent information depending on where I am and the time of day. I can go to the Google Now page and I can see relevent reminders, information regarding upcoming bills/movies/etc (fetched from my Gmail), traffic and weather information, and much more.
However, I've noticed that only the traffic and weather cards appear in my notification tray - for everything else I have to manually go to the Google Now screen and check the cards that are available at the current time.
To me, this makes a lot of the Google Now features a little useless. As an example, I tell Google Now to "remind me to buy some milk when I arrive at the supermarket." It registers this reminder correctly, but when I arrive a the supermarket I don't actually get a notification of any kind. If I unlock my phone and go to the Google Now screen, I can see the reminder there. But this doesn't help me when I am at the super market.
To make it worse, the reminder only shows itself when I am at the location. So, if I don't check Google Now after leaving the supermarket, it won't appear on my Google Now page because - well - I am not at the supermarket. I won't even know that I forgot the milk, because there is nothing on my device to show me that I missed a reminder when I was at the supermarket.
Long story short - I would like to see the reminders (and other Google Now cards - like bill reminders) appear in my notification tray. Is this possible?
This is the notification I see:
https://i.stack.imgur.com/whJwC.png
But if I go to Google Now, we can see that there is other, more important things that it could be telling me about.
https://i.stack.imgur.com/wUvAT.png
Edit:
Interestingly, if I 'snooze' the reminder for 10 minutes, in 10 minutes time I get an actual notification on my phone telling me to do the thing. Ofcourse this is not much of a solution, because it still means I have to manually look at Google Now to check for reminders.

Strangely, after "snoozing" one of the reminders via the Google Now page (essentially forcing it notify me in 10 minutes), the notifications for all other reminders started working again too.
I've tested both location based reminders and time based reminders. Seems like I inadvertantly switched something "on" by forcing one of my existing reminders to snooze for 10 minutes.


text:
PIN forgotten.no option of "forgot password"
Using oneplus one (not rooted). PIN forgotten. no option of "forgot password". Android device manager doesn't locate my device. cellular data is on. doesn't connect to the wifi automatically. din't know whethere USB debugging is on. need to recover 1-2 important apps but locked out. Please HELP!!

Possible duplicate of Forgot Oneplus One pin. How to enable usb debugging?

If you have rooted your phone, boot into recovery and delete following files:
/data/system/locksettings.db
/data/system/gesture.key

Then reboot.
If not, you would have to find a way to root your device without loosing your data.
Maybe fastboot oem unlock is the key for that.
And this might be the same question: Forgot Oneplus One pin. How to enable usb debugging?

Rooting section is not relevant to OP since it is mentioned in the question: "Using oneplus one (not rooted)", so naturally, only Cyanogen recovery would be there as a stock recovery and it doesn't grant  shell access, forget about root access. // fastboot oem unlock wipes data partition while OP wants to recover something. So it is not useful either.


text:
Nexus 9 - How do I change the cellular band?
I've got an international edition 32GB Nexus 9 LTE. It appears to be unable to connect to 3.5G / HSPA+  networks, as a result, I get poor data speeds (3G is pretty slow for my requirements). I've got a Nexus 7, LG G2 and LG G3 all on the same carrier as the N9, and they can all connect to 3.5G / HSPA+ in the areas where the Nexus 9 struggles.
On regular phones, I would overcome this issue by dialling *#*#4636#*#* and changing the preferred bands, however, since the Nexus 9 doesn't have a dialler, I'm unable to access this menu. Any ideas on alternative ways I could get to this menu? Maybe via a third-party app or a terminal command?
I'm running Android 6.0.1 and have root access.
Thank you.

Can you test these commands? adb shell am start -n com.android.settings/.RadioInfo --user 0 -- this should open "Phone Information" page. Alternatively, adb shell am start -n com.android.settings/.TestingSettings --user 0 -- this should open "Testing" page, the same page launched from that code.

Figured it out. I installed a third-party dialler app (Truedialler), and I was able to dial *#*#4636#*#* and change the band and preferred network mode.


text:
No debug icon on Nexus 5 with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow
When I plug the USB cable, the debug icon doesn't show up. adb devices doesn't see it.

Developer mode enabled.
Developer option enabled.
Stay awake enabled.
USB debugging enabled.

I am already in developer mode. Yesterday it showed up after insert sim card and reboot but this morning nothing.
I am using Debian 8 and debugging other devices has never been a problem.
I even tried rebooting the PC, and "hard" reboot the smartphone (letting the battery discharge completely) and start it again, but without success.

Have you tried with different USB cables and/or different USB ports and rebooting the PC?

I tried different USB cables (known to work with other devices). Tried different USB ports. Plugging other devices on the very same PC always work except for the Nexus 5. I didn't try rebooting my PC but I will.

Have you actually turned on USB debugging? Simply turning on the "developer options" screen doesn't turn on USB debugging. The option for USB debugging is a couple of screens down. You wouldn't be the first person to get confused by this setting.

In usb connections settings is it set to charge only mode?

yes, i also tried mtp, ptp too.

In charge only mode it will not work but since you have also tried mtp,ptp. Thinking about are the other devices older leading to is your adb.exe up to date? Also maybe try revoking permissions. Maybe somethings up with the udev rules. With the adb devices  is it just blank or does it have a bunch of ??? Or anything.

adb devices: blank == nothing, no ?????? , i tried also revoking permissions. I don't think it's adb because when plugging the phone, there is no event logged in /var/log/messages nor /var/log/syslog nor in lsusb

Try downloading the latest android studio and connect.

Did somebody solve this issue?


text:
How to take multiple shots with a timer?
In the default camera app of my Samsung Galaxy S3, I can set the timer to take a picture after a delay of up to 10 sec.
I can also use the burst mode or the best photo mode to get several shots at once.
But I can't find the way to use the burst mode (or the best photo mode) with the timer.
So basically what I am looking for is:

I press the capture button
The count-down starts
The camera takes several shots (about 10 shots)

I have tried to use the voice control with the best photo mode, but it doesn't work when I am in a noisy place.
My phone is rooted and I don'y mind editing the core files

I've not tried it and it might not be easy, but long-press for specific time period can be performed using shell commands. If you can find a working way to long-press on the soft shutter button of your camera app to take photos in burst mode, then you can put those commands under a Tasker's task or some automation app's task or even in a simple shell script and bind them to some hardware button or to a gesture using apps. // Just an alternative, of course.

@Firelord, thanks ! I was looking for a simpler solution but apparently there isn't any.  I didn't know about shell script I will look into it!


text:
Skip ads from YouTube
Since ads are almost inevitable on the official YouTube app on Android devices, I was wondering if those can be skipped automatically. This post is only about those ads which can be skipped, let's ignore ads which can not be skipped.
For example: When a YouTube video starts, for some ads, there is an option to "Skip this ad in 5 sec". Once the "Skip ad" label is enabled, we can click on it to move to the video. Of course, this is all manual, and as a user, you need to focus on EXACT timing to HIT the skip button. And it becomes worse if the video is having multiple ads (a few of which will be shown in the future time), where when an ad plays, the user needs to click manually to skip it again.
Can this be AUTOMATED, meaning when there is an ad which can be "Skipped", then just let YouTube skip it without the user's intervention? This will be especially useful for those videos which have multiple ads spanned across the video length and few of them can be skipped. Looking for a solution on a non-rooted device.

Update: It seems like Google is introducing new ad format called Bumpers. Bumpers, which are unskippable 6-second shorts placed in front of videos.
So, soon we may not see an ad which can be skipped, forget about skipping it via automation!

I agree with @Baronz here. Even it could possibly be done (I don't know of a mainstream automation app for Android can emulate touch data, even after which this would need root for getting access to YouTube's data as it runs, to recognize an advertisement)

@TamoghnaChowdhury gives a good clue too.  It looks like the app "Tasker" may get you most of the way.  I don't know much about it, and don't own it, but it can "see" some things on the phone and respond with emulated touch events

i guess the intention is not to disrupt the Ad model of YouTube. the intention is : if ad can be skipped, let the settings/software do it in automated way, instead of doing it manually.

You're interested in the YouTube AdAway Xposed module. It requires root access and the Xposed Framework.
It completely removes the following:

YouTube ads
Channel logos
Video suggestions
Information card teasers

To the best of my knowledge, what you've requested (auto-skipping advertisements in the stock YouTube application) cannot be done without root access. Root access is required to 1) draw over other apps and 2) record/replay touches.

You are assuming device is rooted. OP has not confirmed this. More importantly, please explain how this addresses automation OP wants to implement. That is the key element in the question, which is not answered by you

As @beeshyams said, mine is non-rooted device. The idea is to skip those ads which are marked as "skip this ad after 5 sec" in an automated way.

@AADTechnical The problem with what you want is, there are three ways to do it, which all requires root.

Yes, I get that. I use AdBlock Plus plug-in in Google Chrome browser on Desktop which exactly do this. This is what I was looking for in YouTube app

Even proper ad blocking on Android requires root (e.g. MinMinGuard Xposed module or editing /etc/hosts). If you don't have root then you have to rely on using a browser with a built in ad-blocking or configuring proxy servers that perform that blocking. So unless you use a third-party YouTube app, there's simply no way around it.

As @Six stated very correctly, it is NOT possible to do without root access at all. His answer is pretty good but there is still some things I can add.
A non-rooted phone quite literally means a phone that can only be used the way manufacturer wants it to be. Its power is limited to how much the manufacturer wants you to have (and  for good reason according to some people, which sometimes includes me too)
On a non-rooted phone, no third party app can emulate screen touches, modify the loaded or running copies of other apps or access to data of other apps. All for security reasons.
So your wish can't be granted without root access.

hm, what about setting proxy on the phone which filters traffic?

You can subscribe to YouTube Red and as a subscriber, you wouldn’t see ads and the people who make the videos you love will still make a living.

well, that service is only available in USA as of this writing and I don't live in USA.

Neither do I, but you don’t actually need to live there to use the service. ;)

can you help understand how to use YouTube Red service in countries where service is not supported? Is there a legal way to access it?

You need a US credit card. There are many companies that sell pre-paid “gift” credit-cards that can be used when you subscribe to US-only services.

Fast forward to now, this is now known as YouTube Premium and is available in more countries.

Clue: use old versions of YouTube app. Try to find the balance between maturity and modern.
For example, I use v4.5.17 and it perfectly plays HD but completely lacks ads ;)

One more way to skip ads. Adguard for Android in the latest version released yesterday (17 Dec 20), let's you skip ads.
It doesn't require root.
You need to click the share icon under the video and it prompts you a choice which has Adguard included. Select Adguard and your video opens up in a separate window without ads.
I am not associated with the app but love it's performance for Ad-blocking and a host of other features such as this

The best solution i've found for this is using an extensions-enabled browser like Firefox Beta, and then install uBlock.
(I know there are also Chome-based browsers with adblock support, but i haven't tried them.)
Unlike unofficial 3rd party apps this will allow to use your YT account features like posting comments, like, subscribe, etc.
For more ads skipping, the SponsorBlock extension will also help.

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


text:
Android Phone ram expander
Will this app really can expand an android phone?

It creates a swap file and activates it. It's the same as your Windows pagefile. It acts as a buffer, when your RAM is nearly full and more memory is needed. Remember that this memory is slow compared to anything else, might wear your internal storage more and may even do nothing (my Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge came with an already activated swap file).

does that mean it will make my 512 MB ram phone faster?

It depends. Given that the app works for your device without bricking it (soft-bricked one of my older devices), it may actually improve performance a little bit, especially when multi-tasking with many apps. Other than that, it won't do anything.

There you go with its working: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paging#Unix_and_Unix-like_systems

And this is how you can expand your RAM manually.

No piece of software can increase the amount of hardware (which is what RAM is), that your phone has. If you have 512MB of RAM, then you will always have that much. What this app does (as mentioned in the above comments) is create a swap file, similar to a Windows pagefile, which can act as RAM when your normal RAM gets near full. There are a couple issues with this:
1) your internal memory was not meant to undergo the many read/write cycles that RAM must go through. This could cause rapid wear on your internal memory.
2) your internal memory has a much slower read/write than RAM, so any data stored in it will not be accessible as fast.
3) An app like this could wreak all sorts of havoc on your device if it tries to create a swap file larger than the available memory in your device (i.e. if you set the swap file size and then try to use more of your internal memory.).
All in all, the marginal speed in create you might receive from an app like this is most likely not worth the risks to your device.


text:
I can't update any apps in Google play store
Why I can't update any apps and it keeps on saying that I have insufficient storage but I think its not the problem because I have storage. So what should I do?

You should give more information.

Usually you need at least 10 percent of your whole data storage to install applications.
You should delete some stuff or clean up the cache by going into Settings -> Storage -> Cache
If that does not help, clear the data of Google Play Store using Settings -> Applications (or Settings -> Storage -> Apps) and then swiping to the left until you get to All applications and  then search for Google Play Store and delete the data. Then start Play Store again and try it out if it works.


text:
Screen won't rotate in any apps on my Nexus 6
So, quite some time ago I upgraded my Nexus 6 to Android 6.0.1. At that time, my screen rotation worked fine. A few days ago, I noticed I couldn't rotate the screen in Snapchat or on other social media apps. Even things like YouTube wouldn't rotate automatically. I know the hardware is working fine because there are readings from the gyroscope sensor and the screen breath's when its picked up or moved too much. Any one have any idea?

I don't think Gyroscope sensor is used for orientation. See Which hardware sensors are supported by Android?

Just download accelerometer monitor app from Google play, and literally slap the back of the phone kinda hard. It has fixed many others! Source : reddit

Please link the source


text:
Bought a new Galaxy S5 New Edition 11 of January 2016,Evening February 05, put in silent mode to sleep,morning of Feb. 6 , phone dead
Bought a new Galaxy S5 New Edition( G903M/DS ) 11 of January 2016,Evening February 05, put in silent mode to sleep,morning of Feb. 6 , phone dead, will not start for Beans, removed Battery several times, took to store Tech. no go, told to contact Samsung ? Any ideas ??

I'm assuming a phone bought and activated in the USA:
For a phone that new, I'd certainly start with the seller or provider.  If you're getting that "not our problem" response from the store where you bought it (where you should be able to return the phone as defective, for a full refund or exchange to a new -- not refurbished phone of the same model), call the tech support line for the provider.  They should be your first point of contact if you bought the phone from them.


text:
How to stream audio to my PC from my phone without AUX cable?
I'm trying to use my phone as a soundboard, but i need it to play the sound in my PC when i press a button on my phone
I was wondering if there is a way to do that with USB as i dont have a AUX cable

Sounds like a case for DLNA / uPnP Server and Clients, with your phone as server & control point and your PC as client.

With this app (Weezzler) you can easily play audio from your phone in your browser as long as you are connected to the same wifi network in the device and the computer.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.weezzler.android


text:
TTS versus TalkBack
What is the difference between Text-to-Speech and TalkBack and Google Talk? (also, I am unable to open the TalkBack tutorial on my Samsung Galaxy SIII Neo Android 4.4.2 (it just crashes the Settings app)). Any idea where I may find a better tutorial? Thanks.

Talkback is essentially a screen reader, though somewhat more feature-rich since it can also access hardware like the vibrator. It's intended to be used system-wide for accessibility purposes. The Play Store listing describes it as "[...] an Accessibility Service that helps blind and vision-impaired users interact with their devices".
Google TTS is the voice synthesis engine that actually converts text to speech. If you have Talkback enabled and it wants to read a label aloud, it requests the TTS engine to take the text and generate an audible representation of it on its behalf before then playing the audio. Any app that needs voice synthesis can tap into this engine.
Google Talk is an instant messaging platform. It was succeeded by Hangouts and support was officially dropped in February 2015, though the app may still function. It is not related to Talkback in any way other than being developed by Google.


text:
How do I troubleshoot inconsistent call quality?
I have a OnePlus One phone that has worked great for a long time, but for the past few months, my call quality has been inconsistent. I am on the newest stock rom - Cyanogen12.1.1-YOG7DAS2K1, build LMY48Y - Android 5.1.1. Even though my signal bar shows strong signal, the person on the other end says I keep cutting out and they can't hear what I'm saying. I can always hear the other person fine. This continues for the duration of the call. If I call back, they can then hear me okay. If not, I'll call back a 3rd time. Once connected, my voice either cuts out the whole call or it doesn't. (This doesn't change during the call).
How would I go about troubleshooting this? I'm on Straight Talk with AT&T coverage, and my signal strength is always showing very high. I get 20+ Mb/s download speeds with LTE. I'm not sure if this is a hardware, software, or cell service issue. Is it worth doing a factory reset on my phone or changing the ROM, such as going to their newer OxygenOS?

I've seen many posts from multiple users who recommends using radio of CM11-44S build even on CM12.1.1. It appears to be the best radio build. Flash it and see if it works out. Make sure you backup the data before attempting any solution requiring flashing something.

I experienced a similar problem on my OnePlus One a few months ago. I fixed it by disabling "Ok Google" detection from any screen in the Google app settings.

Apparently, the always on voice detection interferes with the voice in the call and hence the other person is unable to hear. It appears to be a Cyanogen bug.


text:
How to Allow Caller Who Can Call You During "Alarms Only"?
I am using Android 6.0.
I would like to allow my mother call me also when the mode "Alarms only" is active. I have her in Starred contacts i.e. priority list. She calls me to double verify that I wake up in some mornings.
I would like the caller can vibrate your phone even in the Alarms only mode.
How can you setup a caller who can call and disturb you by vibration during the mode Alarms only?

Why not use Priority only mode? You can setup favorite contacts in it.

@Firelord It is not enough. I have three contacts there. I want only one caller who can contact me during Alarms only.

@Firelord Thank you for the clarification! I clarified the body by describing that the one caller can disturb you also in the Alarms only mode by causing a vibration of the phone, which is not possible normally.

You can use Tasker in this case. Although I tried so, I still couldn't come up with a non-root method.
Follow these instructions:

Profile: Event → Phone → Phone Ringing:

Caller: A single Contact → choose your contact
Priority: Highest

You can add multiple contacts there. It is not relevant here whether your contact is a starred contact or is allowed in Priority mode's list.
Task: (Actions):

Code → Run Shell:

Command: settings get global zen_mode
tick Use Root
Store Output In: %ZenMode

Task → If → Condition:

%ZenMod eq 2
Or
%ZenMode eq 3

Alert → Vibrate → Time: 1000
Task → Wait → Seconds: 2
Task → Goto:

Type: Action Number
Number: 3

The first action stores the status of Do Not Disturb mode. The second action checks whether the device is currently in Alarms only or Total Silence mode. (Remove %ZenMod eq 2 if you don't want to be disturbed during Total Silence mode). If yes, then when the call from that particular contact comes in, the device will vibrate.  You can customize the settings for Vibrate and Wait action. Their job is to vibrate the device then wait for few seconds. The use of Goto causes the task to follow the same vibrate and wait cycle for infinite times.
Profile: You need to setup two contexts. See How to create a profile with multiple context in Tasker? for related help.

Event → Phone → Phone Idle → Priority: Highest
State → Tasker → Task Running → Name: select the task you assigned to first profile - the same task meant to vibrate the device

Task: (Actions): Task → Stop → Task: select the task meant to vibrate the device

This profile would make sure that the vibration stops only when either the incoming call is dismissed by yourself or ends up as a missed call simply because the caller  dismissed the call from their end or you didn't pick up the call resulting in timeout.

Profile:

Event → Phone → Phone Offhook → Priority: Highest
State → Tasker → Task Running → Name: select the task you assigned to first profile - the same task meant to vibrate the device

Task: (Actions): Task → Stop → Task: select the task meant to vibrate the device

This profile makes sure that the vibration stops once the call is picked up by you.
Try it. It worked on my unofficial CM13.


text:
How can I connect my Logitech "unifying" controller, to my Android device over Bluetooth?
Logitech's Unifying standard seems very similar to Bluetooth(same 5-device limit, similar range, similar specs from what I've read on the Internet).
I'm trying to connect a Logitech F710 wireless controller, to my Android phone over bluetooth.
It works if I plug the "unifying" USB dongle into a USB OTG cable(micro-USB to full-USB converter) and plug said OTG in my phone. It works fine(fiddling on the controller moves things around on-screen. But I need it to work without plugging into the phone's MicroUSB port...
I've got a Samsung/Occulus Gear VR(that connects to the phone's MicroUSB port.
But when I hook up the OTG cable to my Gear VR's charging Micro-USB port, it just doesn't work. I've read on reddit that if you prevent the Occulus app from starting when you plug in your Android device(I'm using a Note 5), then the Gear VR's charging port also registers that stuff.
So any suggestions?

I believe it is not possible, as Logitech unifying is not open source, no one knows how it works technically.

There's people who've reverse-engineered the Unifying protocol, seems exactly like bluetooth - I just hope there's a Unified-to-Bluetooth hack: https://tequals0.wordpress.com/2011/11/01/reverse-engineering-logitech-unifying-usb-protocol/

Logitech unifying devices are not compatible with Bluetooth. Your best option is to purchase a Bluetooth-compatible mouse.

I'm hoping I might be able to get a 'Unified' to Bluetooth converter. Funny thing is, when I plug the Unified USB into my phone directly(using an OTG cable), it works. ALSO works if I plug OTG into my GearVR - but ONLY if the Occulus app is force-closed.


text:
How do I get my lollipop tablet to communicate with my win 7 laptop?
When I attach my win 7 laptop to my lollipop android tablet via USB, nothing happens.
I have googled and found various posts suggesting that I have to load the proper device drivers.
However:

I am not sure which device requires the drivers and
I can't understand how to load the drivers.

I seem to have loaded it properly on the tablet, but when I try to find where to load it on my win 7 machine, and go to device manager, although the devices are connected, there is no sign of it in the device manager.
When I insert an external USB drive into lollipop, the drive works.
Any help here?

It's your win 7. It requires the drivers to communicate with your tablet and since it's not present, it is unable to detect it.Can u tell which tablet you are using?

Thank you for responding - it's an RCA Viking Pro 10 - RCT6303W870K.


text:
Restore SMS messages from a rooted phone with a broken screen to an unrooted phone
I'm trying to restore my SMS text messages from my rooted Nexus 5 with a broken screen (no display or touch capabilities) to my functioning but unrooted Nexus 5X.
I can turn the rooted phone to recovery mode and run any adb command (I managed to pull the mmssms.db file using adb), however, I naturally can't run adb push mmssms.db /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db to my unrooted phone.
Is there any way to restore the text messages some other way?
Again, I have full root access using adb to my rooted phone.

Related: How do I backup data (SMS/contacts) from a device with a broken screen?

Instead of phone B you can use virtual rooted phone. See: https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/141501/how-to-import-an-existing-mmssms-db-to-an-android-virtual-device

I managed to restore my text messages using a borrowed 3rd phone that is rooted!
Using:

The rooted phone with the broken screen that you want to restore from (Phone A)
The rooted phone with the intact screen that you borrowed (Phone B)
The unrooted phone that you want to restore to (Phone C)

Do as follows:

On Phone A:

Activate recovery mode and pull the mmssms.db file using adb: adb pull /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db mmssms-phone-A.db

On Phone B:

Activate recovery mode and do the same: adb pull /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db mmssms-phone-B.db (use this later to restore the borrowed phone's text messages. Note the different file name)
While still in recovery mode, push the file you pulled from Phone A to the Phone B: adb push mmssms-phone-A.db /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db
Change the file owner and permission of the mmssms.db file: adb shell then chown radio:radio /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db and chmod 0660 /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db
Restart to regular mode
Install any SMS backup app (I used SMS Backup & Restore but any app would do)
Run the app to backup the text messages
Copy the backup file to some cloud service that you trust or to your desktop/laptop

On Phone C

Copy the backup file from the cloud service or desktop/laptop
Install the same SMS backups app and use its restore function

Don't forget to restore the original mmssms.db to the 3rd party phone!

On Phone B

Restart the phone to recovery mode
Push the mmssms.db file you pulled from Phone B back to it: adb push mmssms-phone-B.db /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db
Change the file owner and permission of the mmssms.db file: adb shell then chown radio:radio /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db and chmod 0660 /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db

Enjoy your restored text messages and return Phone B to the friend you borrowed it from ;)

This is not possible, as you need root to access the /data folder (for unrooted Nexus 5X).
This question is similar: Can adb be used to recover SMS messages while in permanent “Safe Mode”?

Who said anything about directly accessing the /data folder? It is a bold claim stating that "This is not possible".

@Firelord Well, the SMS DB is in the /data folder. If he were to access / modify the files there, he'd need to have root access. Looking at the accepted answer, a rooted phone had to be used in the end.

The third rooted phone was a mediator because the original rooted phone was busted. The second phone was never rooted. That's the point.


text:
How to hide text message preview?
Just got a new phone, Droid Turbo 2. Used the stock messaging app. Whenever I get a text with the phone unlocked, the whole text displays in a drop down box that pops up at the top of the phone.
I previously had a Droid Maxx and on that, the text would display in the status bar at the very top and would scroll one line at a time through the message.I would prefer that, but all that really matters is that I DO get a notification, and that it DOESN'T display the text over whatever I'm doing.
I have tried adjusting the phone settings , I also tried to adjust the individual app notification settings and the messaging app settings... Nothing  changes it. I have seen on multiple other posts, an option somewhere to "disable text message preview"  but that option does not exist in any of those places for me. There HAS to be a way to stop this on the stock phone without downloading ANYTHING.

A raw guess: your new phone runs Android 5 or higher? What you describe sounds like "heads-up notifications". So if that's the case, see e.g. How to disable Heads Up notifications in Android Lollipop? (notification popup at top of the screen) (and possibly How to turn off heads-up notifications in Android Marshmallow).

I tried this on my Nexus 6P and Android 6.0.1 version
Under "Sound & notification" -> "Notification" tab

Set "When Device is locked" to "Hide sensitive notification content"
App Notifications ->

Select "Messenger" (or the app which you want to hide notification).
Disable the option "Allow Peeking".

This worked for me.

Don't have the option.

settings->apps->notifications.
you can block or unblock notifications when screen is on or off.
this the thing on my nexus 5x

they call it peeking! for example to stop this behaviour happening in the hangouts app for android 7
go to notifications -> all apps -> hangouts -> show silently (switch to on)
This stops a message coming up in the middle of doing something but allow you to get a LED notification (if left switched on) and also a new message icon

You could try a 3rd-party messaging app like Textra SMS, which allows you to customize notifications via "Customize Notifications", particulary the "Floating Notification" setting.

As I said, NOT looking to download anything.

go into the message app --> settings --> notifications --> turn off "pop-up display" and "preview message"
Cheers!


text:
Whatsapp Databases inside android device
Whatsapp is keeping some database files in internal memory, inside the folder /WhatsApp/Databases in the format "msgstore[date].db.crypt8".
Will my chat history be gone if I delete those files? Are these files important?
I am using an unrooted Xiaomi phone.
Please give more information about this.

Whether my chat history is got deleted, if I delete these files?. Is
  this files are important?

These are important files and If you delete these then your backups are gone.
These files are the Local backups of your WhatsApp and this local backup is run automatically every day at 2 AM and save your database in a file on the phone itself.

Your phone will store up to the last 7 days worth of local backup
  files, hence you are seeing the file names corresponding to the dates
  of last 7-days.

You can back up your chats and media to Google Drive, so if you switch Android phones or get a new one, your chats and media are safe. To use Google Drive, make sure the following is true:

Your device must be synced with Google Drive.
Your Google Drive account must have enough space for all of your WhatsApp data.
Your phone must have enough free space to create the backup.

Check FAQ of WhatsApp for more information.
Additional Note: If you delete these database files, your backups are gone. But the chat history in whatsapp itself remains untouched because the database is in still in use. So any chat data is still available for the user - just the backups are gone.

will the files get removed, If  I stored it to Google Drive?

Like you said - these files are for backup purposes. If you delete them your backups are gone. But the chat history in whatsapp itself remains untouched because the database is in use. So any chat data is still available for the user - just the backups are gone :P maybe you can clarify this and add it to your answer?

@RahulGopi You can check the details on FAQ Link I posted. It seems like back up is kept on local phone and on Google Drive, so they will not be removed. But as said in FAQ, Your phone will store up to the last 7 days worth of local backup files.


text:
Can't remove stolen phone from account
So I had an Android phone stolen - nearly two years ago now. When it was taken, I immediately reset my Google account password (and most others). I have 2-factor auth on my Google account. I have changed my password multiple times since then too.
However, today, I was doing my Google security review, and it's still showing up on my account, and still showing up as logging in - recently!

What?!!?
I can't remove the device from my account - it is deselected in Google Play Devices. It also does not show up in Android Device Manager (and never has from the moment it was stolen) - even when I enable it again in Google Play Devices.
What is going on here?

@beeshyams I'm still concerned by the "Last sync" though. This information does not tally with what it says in GPD, which shows the last time my account was accessed was just before it was stolen.

This may explain : from Google Play help forum
Joe Ellet in his post dated 3/18/15 says

There are two lists. One is your active devices. That one should be up-to-date.
  The other is the record of all devices you have used to make a purchase on Google Play. That list has nothing to do with your current inventory and cannot be used for any sort of malicious purpose. It is kept because all Play Store purchases are kept as transactions and every transaction includes the device it was made from. That is to protect you so that if you bought something at a reduced price or free you can later download the same content onto a new device without having to pay for it again.
Bottom line, don't worry about the second list.

The distinction between two lists seems to have been eroded, and now you  have a single list showing both. Can't find a reference to this though.
I would think that your stolen device (or my sold device) figures on the list for Google Play transaction audit as mentioned above. The fact that you can't select to delete this device further adds weight to this
Edit: As a normal practice, I changed my  Google account password about 10 days ago. I just checked Sign in and Security page of my account and do not see my sold device accessing my account, though Google shows it is connected to my account
As a next  step to confirm that my old phone was not accessing my account, I went to the Android Device Manager and saw that only my current phone is registered there. If my old or stolen phone was able to access my account, surely I should be able to wipe it! This should put to rest your concern that your stolen phone is accessing your account
An interesting read that explains how Google interacts with devices based on their ID is Will wipe request from Android Device Manager affect replacement device?


text:
Unlock full Developer options on Philips PFK5500/12
I recently bought a TV with Android OS (Philips PFK 5500/12).
This is not the tiptop very best, I know, but it was okay.
Also this is not exactly AndroidTV, but merley a predecossor running Android 5.1.
I successfully enabled the developer options, via the easter egg, but left confused because I don't see all settings like installation from foreign sources and others.
As it is my understanding, those settings are there, but artificially hidden by the vendor.
So my qestion is wether there is another hidden option to choose or not?

'installation from foreign sources and others' - do you mean Installation from unknown sources? All android devices that I know show this option under Security. Are you sure that it isn't located there?

Yes exactly, sorry for the misconception. Unknown sources is correct.
I have to check out Security, but I strongly believe it isn't there too.

There is a chance that the ODM removed Unknown Sources as I didn't find it as a requirement for Google Play/Android Compatibility Definition Document. Long ago AT&T removed it from their earliest Android phones.

I didn't find them under security either.

After an update they are were just there.


text:
Google play store not working when default install location is SD card
I have a non-rooted Android 5.0 device. The Android installation of my phone provides an option to set the default storage location (analogous to adb shell pm set-install-location 2, I think).
After changing the install location, and moving the existing data files to the SD card, the already installed apps are working okay so far. I can install apps from downloaded apk files too, which goes directly to the SD card).
However I can't install any new app or update existing ones via the Google Play store. It simply throws an error stating that the app could not be installed / updated with the error code 963.
I have tried clearing cache, Google play data and resetting Google play to factory state. But the problem persists. How should I proceed next?

Have you tried the instructions mentioned here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/htc-one-m8/help/getting-error-code-963-907-play-store-t3119007?

Unmounting the SD card was not an option, since it was being used as the default storage. However the problem with the Play Store seems to have fixed itself.

The problem has been fixed. I don't know what caused it to fix itself, but here is the list of what I tried -

Clear application data of Google Play Services and Google Services Framework.
Clear application data of Google Play Store
Uninstall updates of Google Play Store
Remove the Google Account from the device and then adding it again.

After Google Play Store is now installing and updating apps on the SD card without any fuss.


text:
completely remove kingroot when I can't find it
I installed kingroot and tried it, I closed it thinking it finished and rebooted my phone.
After reboot root checker says I have su binary but not root access.
My problem is I can't find kingroot, not in launcher nor in Settings->apps it doesn't appear anywhere yet when I install it from apk it doesn't say "Install" but "Replace", I tap on replace and wait until it says "application install failed".
I want to remove it completely But I don't find it , how do I uninstall it ? and if I can't find it then how the packaging tool detects it's installed ?
my phone is sony xperia P with android 4.0.4.
EDIT :
I have found Kinguser.apk in /system/app not /data/app so That's why I can't find kingroot, it installs itself as system app(and apparently sets some permissions to not allow me to even see it)
So I need root to uninstall it, unfortunatly when I try su in terminal I get this :
[-] Connection to ui timed out.
So what to do?
EDIT 2
Ok after I rebooted I can find kingroot in my Settings->apps->all now for some reason, I can disable it but not remove it (because As I said it has installed itself as system app).

Can you flash a custom recovery or do you have one? It would be easy to remove Kingroot using a custom recovery.

@Firelord I don't have custom recovery, is it a ROM ? if it is then I can't flash it as that needs root(right?) and I can't root.

You can use ES File Explorer to delete it from the system/apps  folder. Then goto android settings and remove it from the device administrators. Now you can uninstall it

I have to factory reset to remove the MALWARE kingroot and kinguser.

Install kingroot again restart your phone, install system app remover application and use it to uninstall kingroot. remover

I can't install it again, As I said in my post it refuses to install

OP wrote: "root checker says I have su binary but not root access". If root privilege cannot be gained then I don't think the app you linked would prove to be helpful.

which file explorer are you using

@Frrank file expert 6, why do you need this info ?!!! if you want me to manually uninstall it then I'm afraid I can't because it needs root access which I can't gain

Try attempting to use different uninstaller apps to locate and remove the application.
KingRoot is a system app, so you will need a system app uninstaller, such as Jumobile System App Remover (which worked for me).
Try using a different launcher (this sounds weird, but in my experience some apps bind to launchers in strange ways...)
Try using a different rooting app, if possible, and going from there.
If none of these work, more drastic action might be needed.

whatever uninstaller there is I must have root access because kingroot is considered a system app and I can't gain root

I might try different rooting app but after I completly remove kingroot as I think whatever that app is kingroot will interfere with it

If only I can "su" like I do in my arch linux then I can do whatever I want

You might just have to reflash a stock firmware. I know this doesn't sound ideal, but if this is something you really need done, that might be the only way to do it.

Solved the same problem. You said you have disabled it. Just ENABLE it back!!! And you have root access again!

thanks, I have solved the problem long ago by flashing the rom, I didn't post that as an answer because technically I was looking for solutions other than "format" so technically this isn't an answer


text:
Rotate screen on HyperV
I have Android installed on a HyperV virtual machine, which defaults to a vertically aligned phone/screen.
The standard solution does not work, so how do I turn the screen of my device?

First you need to make sure you install and configure Hyper-V accurately.
1. How to install Hyper-V?
2. How to configure Hyper-V?
After checking that you need to follow these steps.
3.I also encountered this issue here what i did on 1366 x 768 display.  This made it hard to use Hyper-V virtual machines, Hyper-V default is 1024 x 768 and its only allow you to configure 4 x 3 resolutions.
Luckily, it is actually possible to setup a Hyper-V virtual machine with a widescreen resolution.  Though the process is not that intuitive.  What you need to do is:
Right click on the desktop of the virtual machine and select Screen Resolution
Select Advanced Settings
Click List All Modes
Choose the screen resolution that you want and click OK.
You can also use this method to set the virtual machine resolution to 800 x 600 or 640 x 480 – which is usually not allowed on recent versions of Windows.


text:
Remote icon disabled my phone!
That same icon appeared on my phone and when I clicked on it to see what it was my screen got darker and it wont let me click on anything else or turn off my phone. I have no idea how to remove this peel smart app mentioned if it is not letting me click on anything or turn off the phone, Please help.

Related http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/136209/remote-icon-on-galaxy-s6-edge/136272?s=1|0.3895#136272

Press the volume down button and power button at the same time. Options should come up to restart phone. Then disable Peel remote app.


text:
What does my Samsung Galaxy 5 consider an App?
After a recent phone update (which took too long due to "too many apps") I saw the total apps updated was over 700.  I only have 69 apps on my phone.  Why the discrepancy?  What does my android phone consider an "app"?  Can I delete these others?

Possibly system apps. Also: many components that are part of the system, but are only libraries (JAR files in the system) need optimization as well and are considered "apps" for that procedure.

69 normally visible apps don't account for all the system apps/packages/functions.
If you run an app like CCleaner you can easily see, using the app manager section, what all the apps on your phone are. Most of them will be locked and you can not remove them, as without root you can't generally touch system apps.

But 700 seems way too high. You've not addressed that part.

700 would be high if it were just standard launchable applications, but I don't think it is too high if it is including packages/services etc.
But yes, I agree. If it isn't count those as such, 700 is outrageous.


text:
Dates changed on the photos
Photos were taken in 2011 on Samsung phone GT-B3310 (not a smartphone). This phone was switched off for over 2 years in 2013.

On 24 January 2015 the phone was switched on and transferred the pictures via Bluetooth onto my Samsung Galaxy S3. The pictures showed dates from 24 to 28 January 2015. Some pictures had 24, some 26, 27 and 28. The Exif file also showed the dates from 24 to 28 January 2015. The original dates in 2011 were missing.
Samsung South Korea said that if a device is switched off for long, and subsequently switched on and connected to a device (phone/computer) the pictures would take the switch off date.
But the puzzle is, why do dates vary from 24 to 28 January 2015? Can anyone kindly give answer? This has created a huge issue/problem for me.

Are you sure that the metadata was modified? Normally on copy only the file's attributes are changed.

I didn't change anything. Due to the long switch off, the exif file was wiped off and it took the dates of the switched on date. The further puzzle is: the dates were different on batches of pictures from 24 to 28 January.

Could you add the reference to Samsung South Korea's statement? As explained on the answer, EXIF data is stored inside the image file itself; there's no separated EXIF file.

Exif dates are stored in your images as strings, including the year. So the fact that the phone was off shouldn't be relevant.
However it's quite common that image transfer programs re-write metadata, unfortunately.
Try emailing yourself one of the images from the phone directly and testing with that on another computer (or find some other way to get a file off the phone for testing.)
Switching the phone off won't wipe any Exif data. That's stored inside the files.

This was an old phone. The pictures were taken in 2011 then the phone was off for around 2013. When switched on in 2015, the dates shown on the pictures were 24th January 2015. This phone may have been manufactured well before 2011.

The Samsung's report says:The phone has an internal DB file that manages images. If that becomes inactive for whatever reason, the dates will reset to the day it becomes active again. This only becomes an issue when the phone is off for a long period (years) of time and the customer has reported that the handset has been turned off for around 2 years.

The dates on all picture are not 24th Jan. 2015 but they are in batches: 4 batches have dates from 24, 26, 27 and 28 January 2015 on it.

Continued comments: I don't understand why the dates varied. One reason could be that these pictures were taken in batches on different days. Can you please advice why the dates are different on batches of pictures?

Don't forget that this was a old Non-Smart phone. Samsung's experts in South Korea have already stated that the dates could change after long-years of switch off.Ours was off for over 2 years. Only question we couldn't solve is why the dates on groups/batches of pictures are different. Can anyone help to solve this puzzle?.


text:
Home button, quick settings, lock screen won't work on Moto G 2015
We have a 2015 Moto G that's less than 2 months old, and already exhibiting all the symptoms shown in this forum thread:

Home button doesn't work when in an app, but does work in application switcher (only)
Notification curtain pulls down with no notifications, even when I should have some.  Can't pull down again to get quick settings, or tap on user icon to swtich
I can set up screen lock but it doesn't actually work.  It never times out to lock, and isn't locked after a reboot (not using Smart Lock)

These symptoms don't seem like they should be connected but it's the exact same set as that other thread -- which is about a totally different phone!  What on earth is going on here?  Is there any way to fix it without a full factory wipe/reset?

Just to follow up, we did do the factory reset eventually, and the symptoms went away.  I later read that this may have been a symptom of a flaky microSD card installed in "app mode" (not "storage mode").  We have since bought a replacement (faster!) card, formatted in app mode, and the problem has not recurred.


text:
How to force Google Photos to sync photos to the cloud?
I just took a picture with my phone and a few seconds later I refreshed Google Photos on my computer and the picture was there.  But then I took a second picture and five minutes of refreshing later the picture is still not there!  This has basically ruined what I was trying to do, as I was relying on being able to quickly download pictures between shots.
I was on WiFi the whole time.  There was less than one minute between the first and second picture.  I don't see any indications that anything is uploading or that anything failed.  I have looked in both the Google Photos app and the web site looking for anything to force a sync and haven't found anything except for "Back up all" which did nothing.
How can I force my phone to sync to the cloud immediately?  In the Photos app the new image already appears, but on my PC only the first picture I took showed up.

Here is what I have found to work most reliably on my phone, which is a stock (not rooted) Samsung Galaxy Note 8 (Android version 9). I found this out via other posts on stack exchange, but I forget where.
After I take a series of photos on my phone using its camera app, I switch over to the Google photos app, and inside that app I select one or more of the photos and create a shared album. That is not enough to sync to the cloud however. To force the phone to sync and upload all the files to cloud, you have to actually share it, or just click on the create link icon. In order for that to work, it forces the phone to have to upload all of the selected photos into Google photos. This works out just fine for me, because I usually want to get a share link to the items that I am taking a record of, anyway

oh wow.  that is clever, and it actually works.

Yes, unfortunately, excessively clever. It would be more useful for us if the implementers had added a button that said "Sync Now" which would synchronously sync the local photos to the Google photo account.

I have more of a need for manual syncing than I will ever have for the "photo books" they like to nag about everytime I open the app.

In Google Photos app select Assistant and then you can choose (or view the current backup status/progress) to force backup photos. Be sure to set the different image maps to cloud: the folder will then contain a blue cloud icon with an arrow in it.

On my Android 6.0.1 phone, there is no option to force backup photos. This answer does not provide screenshots to show what "you can choose" means.

@bgoodr Same on Android 9 - The assistant provides icons to "Create New" albums, photo book, movie, collage, or animation.  What am I supposed to do here?

https://android.stackexchange.com/a/213074/13886 shows what I end up doing now to address this problem.

In Android 6 / Marshmallow, go to Settings -> Personal -> Google -> Google Photos Backup, and click Backup all, this started the backup straight away for me.  There are lots of other options on that screen that may help, I found that somehow the Backup option at the top of the screen had been set to off.

I fix this problem by restarting the phone and starting the Google Photos app after restart whenever I miss a photo just taken. This way synchronization always starts for me after starting the Google Photos app.

Go to the settings in Google Photos. There is an option to back up photos only while the phone is being charged. Disable this and the photos should backup immediately.

Restarting the phone is the simplest solution to this occasional problem.

If using Chromebook and the photos are in an album. Select ALBUM, then click the download cloud icon (upper right).
I had used this procedure in Shared Albums, but only a few pictures entered the library. When I used the above procedure, they all jumped in.

In Photos, select the photos and choose "Backup now" from the menu.


text:
Can I use the file command on Android?
The UNIX file command, which tells you what is inside a file, is seemingly not available either in Busybox or the system directory of Android.
Is there any way to run file on Android? (via Terminal Emulator, etc)
Preferably without having to be rooted...

You really won't find it because it doesn't exist on Android system not even from a third party Busybox installer. But I achieved to find a solution to compile it so that I can use it on my android terminal. Here's the link http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1612760
Basically you just have to follow this,
Originally posted by samveen on XDA
After wandering around looking for an android build of the file command, I finally went ahead and compiled it myself.
The attached package contains the file binary (v5.11), the libmagic.so shared library, the associated magic files and the build specific files that I needed (over and above the source) to build it. The paths of the files are relative to '/'.
Refs:

source: file command website
compiling: Native Vim on Android

Note: Add the location of libmagic.so to LD_LIBRARY_PATH to get rid of the "CANNOT LINK EXECUTABLE" error. (I use /data/local/lib)
Code
 $ echo $ LD_LIBRARY_PATH /data/local/lib:/data/local/lib:/data/local/lib:/system/lib:/vendor/lib
 $ file

 Usage: - file  [-bchikLlNnprsvz0] [--apple]
                    [--mime-encoding]
                    [--mime-type] [-e testname]
                    [-F separator] [-f namefile]
                    [-m magicfiles] file ...

  file -C [-m magicfiles]
  file [--help]

  $ getprop | grep device [ro.cm.device]: [jordan] [ro.product.device]: [umts_jordan]

Download here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1022807&d=1335294084


text:
Will factory resetting make my rooted device unbootable?
I rooted my Samsung Galaxy Core 3 Plus running Android 4.3 with Kingoroot and now I want to factory reset it. Is it safe to do that?
I am using the stock ROM.

Yes, its safe to do factory reset.
However, I once tried this below approach and bricked my phone. So beware.
If you're using a custom recovery like TWRP and choose complete wipe.

(Advanced wipe -> select all options including Internal, system
  ,etc)

This erases the complete phone.
So after erase if you do not install a new custom rom immediately (without reboot), your phone goes into infinite loop.
You'll now be stuck with a phone which keeps restarting as no ROM's are available on the phone memory either because of the wipe.
Worst part, My phone didn't have an external SD card so I couldn't copy any other ROM into the phone and to install it later.

My Suggestion : Just be sure of the options you select during Wipe.

Thanks! I did a factory reset on my phone without any problems!

You can do factory reset. You device would not get into a bootloop because  rooting is a method that  installs the  superuser apk in system apps and  gives you extra privileges . I didn't think that that it is not safe  Still, I performed factory reset 100 times on my  Android phone and nothing happened.

sorry auto-correct  i mean it install the superuser apk on the system site so it won't  be uninstalled  when you do Factory  reset so that for you would  be still rooted but you can do factory resets  hope i help you sorry for my grammar mistakes

Is there a good reason you deliberately messed up with punctuation?

Supper than have a andorid day :D


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HTC Desire 310 boot loop after root
I just rooted my htc desire 310, out of curiousity. Then I rebooted, and found the phone stuck in a boot loop. I followed this guide. How to recover ?

Is it stuck in boot loop or boot screen? Did you flash CWM as instructed in that guide?

@Firelord It shows the boot screen then turns black then vibrates and shows it again, in a loop. No, I didn't.


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Why my LG G4 cannot boot or use TWRP custom recovery but cyanogenrecovery without problems?
For several days I am trying to get TWRP custom recovery on my LG G4 h815 International. Currently the phone is unlocked and has Cyanogenmod 13 and cyanogenrecovery but without google gapps. I really want to have google gapps on the ROM but I am unable to flash with cyanogenrecovery Unable to flash gapps via cyanogenrecovery on a LG G4 (LG h815 Int). Therefore I want to replace cyanogenrecovery by TWRP recovery.
When I do fastboot boot twrp-3.0.0-0-h815.img, the phone boots normally.
When I do fastboot flash recovery twrp-3.0.0-0-h815.img a get no error and successfully flash but I cannot boot into recovery.
When I do fastboot boot cm-13.0-20160209-NIGHTLY-h815-recovery.img, the phone boots correctly into cyanogenrecovery but this recovery gives an error 70 when flashing gapps.
Flashing cm-13.0-20160209-NIGHTLY-h815-recovery.img is also successful and I can successfully boot into cyanogenrecovery.
For all nightlies of cyanogenrecovery I am able to boot in recovery and/or flash but all of them gives error 70.
For all of the 4 versions of TWRP https://dl.twrp.me/h815/ I cannot boot into them by using fastboot. Flashing al of them results to that I am completely unable to boot into recovery (also no cyanogenrecovery anomore).
Also I unchecked update cyanogenrecovery in developer options.
When flashing TWRP with flashify there is no error but also no boot into TWRP. Flasing cyanogenrecovery in flashify gives also no error and booting properly in that recovery.
Does anybody knows why I can boot into cyanogenrecovery without problems but booting into any version of TWRP seems to be impossible. I have the idea that my phone doesn't accept a TWRP recovery because of cyanogenrecovery boots without any problems after flashing.

Finally I got TWRP on my LG G4 h815. The problem was that I had to use the TWRP version of the LG h811 instead of h815. The developers of TWRP put recoveries for the h815 under h811 downloads and recoveries for h811 under downloads for h815.