text:
How do you leave a review on the Google Play Store without a Google+ account?
I would like to leave reviews for some of the Android apps I really appreciate.  But leaving reviews on the Google Play Store requires signing up for Google+.  Like many others, I refuse to add Google+ (or any social network) to my Google account.
So I thought I would just sign up for another empty Google account, and add Google+ to that.  Problem solved.  Or so I thought.  When I tried to leave the first review, Google Play Store refused to let me leave the review, saying that I hadn't installed the app yet.  Furthermore, it said that the account wasn't associated with any devices.  Ugh.
Most of the apps are free apps and a few are ones I have purchased.
I've noticed that many people have simply chosen to never leave reviews ever since Google made the poor decision to require a Google+ account in order to leave a review on the Play Store.
Is there a way to easily do what I am trying to accomplish?
BTW, before anyone asks, no, I'm not trying to leave more than one review for any app.  I just want to leave a positive review for the apps I enjoy using.

I don't think it is possible.

I totally share your concern – and I'm one of those who stopped leaving comments/ratings the day Google enforced G+ for that. Unfortunately, unless Google takes back that step, there won't be a work-around (at least no legal one).

Sadly at present, you cannot. Since around November 2012 Google require Google Plus to review on the play store. All reviews are in your name, have your G+ picture and are publicly shared.
There is a popup that states:

From now on, reviews you write will be posted publicly using your Google+ name and picture.
Your name on previous reviews will appear as "A Google User".

Old answer. As of August 2016, a G+ Profile is no longer required to leave comments in Play Store.

If your device supports multiple Google account you may try to add the new account and then  leaving a review from the new account.

If even then, Google+ is still required for the account from which you want to add review. Doesn't it?

Yes, but the idea is that the review would be made from the Google+ account that is connected to the secondary Google acount rather than the primary account.

Does this technique require installing the app from the other account?


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Cannot remove the lock from android
my issue is when i try use Google services that Allow remote lock and factory reset. if the mobile stolen, then i want to try it and i locked my personal phone successfully it locked by password when i open my device password entry screen appear and when i write the password that i requested from web the device open but i want to remove this lock and i cannot do it, i locked the phone by using Android Device Manager through this Google link
Thanks in advance for help.

If adb is detected , Try removing data/system/locksettings.db file and reboot
Following are the detailed steps :

adb shell
su
cd data/system
rm locksettings.db
rm locksettings.db-wal
locksettings.db-shm
reboot

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
If I delete my WhatsApp account, will my other devices continue to receive messages?
If I delete my WhatsApp account, will my other devices with my account on keep receiving messages that were sent to me?

I would assume NO, since it has already been deleted. You will most likely get an error in your other devices.

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


text:
Phone borked after clearing dalvik cache
On my Huawei G300, I cleared the dalvik cache from CWM and on rebooting, Android recreated it as expected but once the OS finished loading, all the apps started throwing up "Unfortunately x has stopped" and in particular Google Keyboard is doing that every 5s or so. On the first boot, it then dropped back to the Android boot animation, so I pulled the battery, rebooted into CWM and cleared the dalvik cache again and after that, at least it hasn't done that.
From System Settings - Apps I can see that Internal Storage only has 12MB free and 744MB used (it was actually 84KB free at first!). System Settings - Storage shows the Internal Storage has 137MB Free and 2.05GB Total though, so I guess they're referring to different things by "Internal Storage".
I use Link2SD and so most of my apps are linked to the 2GB Internal storage. I also have a 32GB SD card installed.
So if anyone could advise what I can do to fix this screwup, I'd be grateful as it's unusable at the moment. I managed to get Titanium Backup to run and update my backup, so I've got a current backup of my apps and data. ES File Explorer works as well but not much else.

Never mind. I managed to uninstall some apps to free up some space and then after rebooting, I was able to use Link2SD to move the Dalvik Cache, which gave me about 230MB free instead of 12MB!
I still had some problems so cleared the Dalvik cache again but that put it back on the Internal Storage and used up all the free space again, so I had to uninstall a few more apps and move it again but at least it's usable now. I'm getting a new phone this week anyway, so I won't waste much time getting it perfect, as I'll just wipe it and reinstall a clean ROM before giving it to a friend.

Glad to hear it!


text:
I have three batteries used in succession and all new. The problem is the same. I supect apps are in use when not needed
I've replaced my damaged battery with a new one in my Samsung Galaxy Note 2, but it drains too quickly.
After fully charging the battery, when I leave the phone without using it (the screen is totally off & no apps running background), the battery level gradually reduces to 87% with in 20 to 30 minutes.
Below 87% to 36%, the battery performance is petty good, but when it is below 36%, the battery drains too fast. It falls to 0% within 5 to 10 minutes, and if I play any game when battery level is around 30%, it shuts down without informing me the battery low information.
I changed the battery twice from the shop that I bought it from, but the same thing occurs.
Why is my phone draining my battery so quickly (and inconsistently)? Is it a battery/software/hardware problem?

If you can try a different battery do it, the batter you picked up could be faulty. If the problem persists across multiple batteries then we can narrow it down to the phone itself.

Please check is there any application having more number of services. Setting-> Application -> Running.
If there is more number of services it will eat your battery.
The main thing is your display will drain your battery. So that the android OS recommend that the following
http://www.wikihow.com/Save-Battery-Power-on-an-Android
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2367542,00.asp


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Enlarge icons on Status Bar for Galaxy S5 Active
Is there a way to enlarge the icons in the status bar on the Galaxy S5 Active (e.g., voicemail notification, battery charge status, e-mail notification, etc.)?

Without root, none that I know of. Even rooted it can be tricky if the ROM/framework/software doesn't support it.

I was just about to ask the same, but for S5 mini. My wife uses reading glasses, but on her old phone with smaller screen, Galaxy Ace, she can read without glasses the percentage of battery charge that the battery widget app displays in the notification bar. The annoying thing is that the bottom of the notification bar of S5 mini has excessive blank space!


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Samsung Galaxy S5 mini dies suddenly
I have a Samsung Galaxy S5 mini which is two months old. I have the following problem:
The phone suddenly becomes unresponsive, the screen goes black and it does not give any signs of 'life'. Pushing any button does not do anything. Keeping the power button 7sec for the device to power off is not working. The only solution to 'revive' the device is to pull off the battery.
While in this state, notifications, alarms, calls etc are not working.

I do not know if this is the right place to ask such a question, so sorry
if I am out of topic.
This is NOT a duplicate of Samsung Galaxy S5 died suddenly and without reason!

Honestly I'd go back to the seller and get a replacement. It could be a number of things, but with a device that new I'd get a replacement or refund.

Have you solved your issue meanwhile? If so, would be nice to let us know. Remember you can always answer your own question ;)

@Izzy The problem is very rare after a factory reset and after applying some of the official Samsung software updates, but I can not say that it was resolved

So you still have those "freezes"?

Yes, the 'freezes' are still there but they do not happen as often as they used to. Last time I had encountered a 'freeze' was almost three months ago.


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gallery shows 0 images/videos available and file manager browser shows 0 B for images videos and music
My Android gallery is not showing images and videos (these things are present in my phone and memory card and viewed through file manager in gallery single image). Even the file manager browser shows 0 B for music videos and images, while documents and apk files are shown, also remaining free memory is shown correctly.
I don't know what to do as I restored my device once, but the problem is still present. Before performing the reset process I removed my sd card, after a while something like gallery and process not working appears.

Assuming your SD card is not damaged or corrupted, it seems that media scanner has not picked up your media!

You could try an app like Force Media Scan to force it to run. NOTE: I have not tested this app. There are many apps to do this this one has a widget for it (also not tested by me). Some applications like PowerAmp will automatically scan for media when first booted also.

Alternatively you could try to update or re-install Google Play Services (though this may cause issues with other applications). If you are a bit more techie you could try running media scanner via commandline.

Finally I found this article where the author says none of the apps worked, but the following did (note it was on a Galaxy S3, but I don't know what device you have):

Turn  off you phone and pull out the memory card.
Insert the memory card in a memory card reader. If your desktop or laptop has an MMC slot, it will do.
Wait till you can see the Drive of the memory card (Drive E, F, G, H, I, J, for example).
Do not open the card in PC.
Now click on the “Start” (Windows) button on your PC and type “cmd”. Hit the Enter key and you will see a command box.
Now type the following command at the cursor blink: chkdsk x: /r
Here “x” is the value/name of the memory card Drive. In my case it was H, so I typed chkdsk h: /r
Now hit the Enter key on your keyboard and wait till Windows checks your card and fixes it.
When it is finished, safely remove your card and insert it into the phone.
Reboot the phone and now you should be able to see your media files on your phone’s apps.

I was trying all the suggested solutions but none of them worked.
After trying many apps for scanning the media, finally "Folder Media Scanner" app worked for me and now I am able to see the images and videos in the gallery(issue exists for music files though).
Note: I am using Sony Xperia C with Android 4.2.2 version.

Could you link the app?

In case of Android 4.0.4 / 4.1 you should do the following steps:

Settings → Apps → All. Locate the following:

ProtectedMediaScanner → Clear data & Force stop
ProtectedMediaScannerTrigger → Clear data & Force stop
Media Storage → Clear data & Force stop

Restart your Android phone. Turn it off, then on again. Let it rest for 10-15 minutes. Afterwards your media files should be available by Gallery and Music player.

You should also check for the existance of a ".nomedia" (hidden) file in any directory. This file is placed there by system for some operations where media availability should be prohibited. Sometimes it is left there by unexpected interruption. Usually while connected to USB, or incomming call. Remove/delete/rename it, and you should be on track again.
Cheers

authors: ระกี้ 'ตัวลาย'


text:
How to stop mobogenie auto-download in Android?
mobogenie application auto download in my mobile. My cellphone is Sony Xperia J and my Android version is 4.1.2. Once, I removed it from my device, but it's downloaded automatically again. How to stop that?

Hi, I realize this is an old question, but it'd help if you could clarify the detail a little bit. By "downloading", did you mean downloading the APK file only, or downloading (and installing) from market app? Based on the answer, I'd assume the former since the APK was downloaded by rogue ads? (similar to https://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-note-2/352043-how-stop-mobogenie-auto-download.html)

Go to Setting -> Accounts & Sync -> Google -> Ads( Reset the Advertising ID ) + Ads setting ( Google Ads Manager and Opt out )

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


text:
Whatsapp images lost
So my Samsung S3 mini kept reminding me that my storage is running out and i probably tempered around with the storage but do not remember deleting my entire whatsapp images folder and videos folder. Any clue on how i can get this back or what may have happened? I definitely did not delete any folders but only whatsapp images and videos folder have disappeared!

Based on the "do not remember deleting my entire whatsapp images folder and videos folder." i believe you have only cleared the cache memmory of your whats-app application from the application manager.
If yes/no you can still view the images/videos in the Phone Memmory/SD-Card>
WhatsApp>Media>WhatsApp images/WhatsApp Video

I realised I didn't have a SD card in my phone until I put  it in yesterday. I went to see if I could find photos on the device on computer, and couldn't see them anywhere. Just strange because I updated Whatsapp the same evening it happened. Can it be because of new version Whatsapp update??

If you don't have the SD-Card then look in your Phone memory(in Android 4.1 its displayed as sdCard0 ). As that is the default place where the apps are stored.As far as the update is concerned an update is on the functionality side and does not remove any images,videos(solves bugs if any). Until and unless you remove the app manually there will be the Whats App folder with all the content in them.


text:
can't boot into recovery anymore
I am using CM10 nightly version and TWRP for tf201. Wanted to try the unofficial CM11 version android 4.4 on my tablet and it says that is not compatible with this recovery, so I downloaded the latest version of CWM 5.8 from its website and using adb fastboot (and second time with the tablet terminal) flashed the new recovery over the older one.
Now the problem is I can't enter the recovery mode, it gets stuck while entering the mode. I tried that procedure with two more recent version of CWM (both touch and classic) and also its ROM manager but the problem persists. Some info:
1- I have my device unlocked, rooted
2- adb fastboot said completely Done while flashing
3- i could see the blue bar completed on the tf201 device and then i used fastboot reboot.
Any suggestions?

I've found that if I run into problems with the custom recovery, I can get rid of it altogether by re-flashing the stock firmware, and then I can install the custom recovery again. You have a different device, but that's what works on a Samsung Galaxy S4, so it might work for you. Of course, there's always the possibility that if you try installing CWM again you'll run into the same problems, but at least that should let you start again from square one, as if you had never flashed a custom recovery in the first place.

I have mentioned it, its tf201 (asus transformer prime)

Oh, it wasn't clear to me that that was a device model. In any case, my suggestion remains the same.

Ok. Thanks for the info. I will try that and report the results here

Now we have a problem: I can't seem to find my stock recovery! where should I download that from ?

That's device-specific. I don't know details like that for your device since that's not what I use. On a Galaxy phone, though, you don't flash firmware from recovery (stock or custom). There's a download mode called Odin that you enter with a different combination of hard buttons. Does your device have something like that--a download mode for flashing firmware? Galaxy firmware can also be flashed using software installed on a connected PC (Kies), maybe there's something like that for your device?

No i don't think so, i can find the stock ROM in the vip.asus website but no stock booloader. I tried to flash again to TWRP and using ROM manager is says that this bootloader is there but i can't boot there, it get stucks

Unfortunately, I don't have experience with your device. The Galaxy bootloader in recent firmware versions can't be unlocked, which may be a blessing in disguise: You have to use Safestrap as the custom recovery, so the stock and custom recoveries coexist. Based on reading this, it sounds like on your device, if you flash a custom recovery, it obliterates the stock recovery (which is more typical).

However, the stock recovery should be part of the stock firmware, so if you use TWRP to flash the stock ROM, you should have the stock recovery again (with TWRP committing suicide in the process). This thread seems to corroborate that it works that way. Did you try flashing the stock ROM in the Stock ROM slot from TWRP?

I think so. I did flash with twrp the first time

well, I found two version of my stock android JB 4.1 and flash them, on both occasions after fastboot reboot, the tablet stucks at the pre-OS loading screen

Are you saying that it bootloops now--doesn't start up at all, let alone getting into the custom recovery? Man, I can't tell you how many times I've soft-bricked my test phone that way while experimenting with custom recoveries and ROMs, and I've been able to fix it every single time by flashing the stock ROM with Odin (and usually without the need for a factory reset, so settings and data remain intact). Does Asus have any utilities at all for flashing the ROM without using a custom recovery? It seems that there would have to be, for situations like this.

Yes, Actually I resolved the bootloader issue, now it has its stock bootloader and i dont care if it fails booting the stock android. I managed to flash the very first TWRP 2.8 to the system and now I can boot into custom recovery. STILL DON'T KNOW WHY IT FAILED WITH THOSE CWM !!

Awesome! Glad to hear you're back in business. Just a thought, maybe it's not all those versions of CWM that failed. Maybe just the first one messed things up, and the others seemed not to work because the bootloader or recovery was already hosed. You might want to try again, starting with the most recent version. Then again, you might want to avoid inviting further headaches. ;)

Yes, sure. I found the very latest CWM 6 and it worked finally. I am on CM11 android 4.4 now ! ;) cheers


text:
Create a dd image of a Android 4.4.4 for forensics?
I'm a little new to the Android file system, I'm doing a project for a digital forensics class and I want to create a bit-for-bit image of my Nexus 5 running 4.4.4 stock, rooted. The normal way I would do this on a Linux system would be with dd like so.
dd if=/dev/sda of=/dev/sdb
As I have no removable SD card, I was planning on doing this with a terminal emulator and writing to a flash drive over the micro USB port. I need to be able to mount the image and browse the files from the device once the image is created. I'm specifically looking at GPS data and where it is stored, or unknowingly stored, from apps or the system. I'll sort that out myself once I have an image, I have some scripts I've written that will search through all directories and files looking for latitude and longitude strings. Although those probably won't find anything in the databases for android, I'll have to find another way to script/look through those.
Is there a good way to create the type of image I'm describing?
Thanks for any help!

Related: How to recover a deleted file from /data partition?

You could do that using dd directly on the device, making sure the output goes to a partition you can afford to be modified. I will not "rank" here from a forensics point of view (where of course it is best to have nothing modified on the device, which is not always possible, etc.), but simply list options. As you are looking for data written by apps, you're most likely after the /data partition, so this is the most important to remain unchanged (though it already is subject to changes with the Android system booted):

attach an external drive via OTG (might apply minor changes to /data for mounting information)
write to an existing internal partition (e.g. the internal SD if you plan to "dump" /data)

Now let's check for an alternative. Assuming you've got a custom recovery installed, you could simply boot into that (something you'd probably check first). In recovery, by default most partitions (especially /data) are not mounted, so no modifications are done. Moreover, a custom recovery offers you the possibility to create a nandroid backup – which basically is a dump of all file systems (usually except the SD card(s)), each in a separate file. These dumps would go to the SD card (here: the internal one, as a Nexus has no external). You could adb pull those images to your computer even while still being in recovery mode.

Thank you for the reply! Is /data a partition? Not a directory? I assumed it was a directory of a partition on the device. If I'm browsing root I have; /acct, /cache, /config, /d, /data, /dev, /etc, /mnt, /proc, /root, /sbin, /sdcard, etc.. Normal linux directories. Which on a linux system would typically be on something like sda1, sda2, depending on how many partitions you have, if you wanted the whole disk, it would be sda. Is there an equivalent of this for android devices? And a way to image that, recovery isn't always an option, and doesn't it wipe the phone?

You might wish to see my answer on Android Folder Hierarchy, which should explain most of this. Feel free to ask then if something's left unclear.

Ahh, that cleared everything up, thank you! That's a difference I wasn't expecting, coming from a Linux back ground.

Things are not that different (see e.g. /proc and /sys and all that). Android just adds a little to it (/data, /cache, /system, /recovery, and some more). Glad we got that resolved – good luck with your tests/experiments! Btw: Andrew Hoog's Android Forensics might come in handy, though no longer that fresh (I've translated the book to German for my publisher, so I know to recommend it ;) A bit pricey (Elsevier, yeah), but maybe you can get hold of a "used copy" at least.

A late update: As you're using Linux, you might be interested in taking a look at my project Adebar – which a.o. generates you shell scripts with all required commands to pull dd images of all partitions from your device (not modifying the device in any way; it simply "pipes" its output back to the "issuer", so the images are stored directly on your Linux machine).


text:
Getting rid of certain configuration messages
Just got my first smartphone and I've been trying to get rid of configuration messages that my provider sent me. The problem is that i got sent too many of those, I've installed the ones I needed but I don't know how to get rid of the extra ones. If anyone has any advice how to do that, it would be appreciated. I've been thinking of restoring the phone to factory settings?
It's a samsung S4.
Thanks

Aren't those sent by SMS? So why can't you simply delete them? Try long-pressing such a message, which should popup a context menu allowing you to delete the message. With some message apps, this even fades in check-boxes to tick, so you can delete multiple messages at once.

Hello, much appreciated m8. I did as you suggested and I got rid of the messages!

Glad to read! I've made it an answer (with some more details). As it solved your issue, it would be nice if you "accept" the answer (by ticking the check-mark next to it) – so future visitors can easily identify this issue has a solution. Thanks, and enjoy your cleaned-up device :)

Those configuration messages are sent as SMS, so you'll find them in your messaging application – where you simply can delete them:
Usually, long-pressing on a single message opens a popup-menu, which a.o. holds an item to "delete" the message. Hit that. With some message apps, this reveals check-boxes next to each message in the "thread", which you can tick before hitting the final "delete" button – and gone they are.
You might also be able to long-press the entire "thread" (if those messages are grouped into one) and have a "delete thread" item in the popup, which even would speed up the process (no ticking each message separately).


text:
Enabling ART on android
How much time it takes to enable android run time on Nexus 4.4.2 kitkat.
I have near 90 apps installed.
I start it and screen comes that displays optimizing 1 of 90 apps.
After it got completed (all 90), screen with 4 colored circles revolving appears(i think that's the boot screen or something same when the phone is switched on), but keeps on for more than 1 hour.

Sounds like you are in a bootloop.  If you've enabled android debugging, you can probably use logcat via adb logcat on your computer to read what's happening during the boot and figure out where/why it's crashing.  You'll usually see a crash message, and if you're in a boot loop, you'll frequently see a repeated cycle of text.
If googling samples of the log doesn't help come up with an explanation/solution, you might copy/paste that text, and (after verifying that it has no private information you don't want shared), paste it to a site such as pastebin.com or gist.github.com so that it can be easily shared.
Next, visit IRC (you can do this from the web and try one of the android support channels such as #android to see if you can find someone to help "live".  You can show them the link to your bootloop log, and they will hopefully have a suggestion for you or redirect you to more information.
You can also update this question with a link to the logcat and maybe someone can help you as well.
As a last resort, you can always boot into recovery mode and do a factory wipe (or merely wipe the cache), which may help as well.


text:
How to transfer videos downloaded via coursera app from my tablet to my computer?
I tried using the answer here:
Find downloaded video files via coursera app
but to no avail.
My device is unrooted and hence the data folder is hidden.
I tried the method suggested by Naveen as well in the question whose link I provided above but my system(I am running Windows 8) does not recognize my tab(lenovo b6000) to be connected to the system. I turned on the developer mode in my tab and also enabled backup and reset, but it was still not recognized by the computer.
Please suggest a safe way to move the videos I have downloaded via the coursera app in my tablet to my PC(Running Windows8 with adb installed).
Thank you.

You could try to adb backup the app, and then investigate the backup file (see: Is there a way to look inside and modify an adb backup created file?). If that doesn't work out (devs can opt-out their apps from ADB backup), the only solution left is to root the device.

See also this related question: http://android.stackexchange.com/q/66628/26477.


text:
How to transfer pictures from hangouts onto my computer
How can I transfer the pictures that are on my android hangouts (sent and received messages), so that I can preserve them before I clear my android for space?

I think those are saved at Google and synced across all your devices. Try and log in from a PC, go to gmail.com, then look your hangouts to the left. If you can see your pictures there, it's safe to wipe your phone. You can also save the pictures from there to your PC if you want - but they're safe where they are.


text:
Avoid Google Hangout notifications on phone while chatting on laptop
Hangout notifications on my phone are fine when someone starts up a conversation with me. But once I start chatting to them on the computer, I still get a (loud) notification tone on my phone every time they say anything if I'm in another window.
Any way to avoid this?

Interesting. Even I use Hangouts like you do, but once I start using computer, no notifications are shown on phone. I haven't changed any setting for this.

Put your phone on silent?

Heh. I guess...

I have the same issue and if i silence hangouts notifications on mobile they get silenced also on pc


text:
Where is the battery animation called when charger connected to phone (OFF)?
I have Moto E (Rooted) which turn on when connected with USB via Laptop but not when connected to Wall charger instead it shows Battery animation. I got to know that battery animation is at framework-res.apk.
Now I want to know from where it is called so that i can change it as required.

At last I got the solution, you can achieve this by deleting system/bin/charge_only_mode file. Please do that at your own risk and before deleting have backup of that file. I got the desired result that was boot when its connected to wall charger and now its working fine. All the best!


text:
How to hide my Google Play downloads from my friends?
I am new to android and just by going into Google Play I can see every app my friends downloaded. I am really feeling uncomfortable about this since I don't like to feel exposed.
Does anyone knows how to block this "feature"?

Is that really the case? I thought you'd only see the apps your friends actually rated, not downloaded. In any case, I agree with you, I don't like that feature either.

Where do you see this list(?) of apps your friends have downloaded?

When I search an app I can see some friends there in the app page. At first I thought it only showed the apps my friends rated but then I found an app with just an indication of a friend who downloaded it

Odd. Mine seems to only show ones I've +1'd or rated.... The +1's might be the setting at https://plus.google.com/u/0/apps/google (no idea).

Yep, I mistaken it, indeed just the ones people +1'd....my bad!

I don't think that there is any trick available which you can use to hide the apps downloaded from your friends until or unless you unfriend your friends over your G+ account.
But I have got another trick for you which is going to work for you like whenever you download app, try getting the .apk file downloaded from third party sites say I want to download whatsapp and don't want my friends to see. I will download whatsapp.apk file directly from the Whatsapp website and then I can install the apk file independently and my friends will never know that I have downloaded whatsapp, just make sure you don't get the apps from PlayStore and it will not be shown!

But you need to be aware that apps from third party websites may not be as safe as apps from the app store

Hmmmm so this isn't related to the system itself it is just related to the play store...any way to test it?

@mFeinstein You can test by downloading free apps from Amazon's app store

And how can I see if my friends see that I have the app or not?

@mfeinstein by asking them? That is the only way you will will know for sure even with the Google app store

Well, @joeW yes you are correct, we need to be aware of the apps from third party site but I guess that can be done directly from PlayStore there are some sites like Apps Evozi here what you need to do is put the Google Play Link of the app you need to get apk of, and after pasting the link tap over the generate link ! Done .apk file of any app directly from Google Play.

I deleted everyone from my google plus account and I still can see my friends who liked stuff and commented. Actually I can see people that I didn't even had at google plus, so I guess it's reading my contacts.

On the other hand I think I misunderstood the system and I can only see the ones who likes the apps. I saw their names with the +1 and thought it was like a download sign. Sorry for being dumb haha I really don't use google plus for anything

@mFeinstein that might be because of your contacts stored we just couldn't guess where Google is reading things from !

I also think it's from my contacts...still, kinda scary hahaha

AFAIK apps that are installed from apk files can only be  updated manually.

You can hide your game activity. Go to your profile and click on edit. There will be checkboxes for "People to see your gamer ID through your Google+ name" and and another to "Hide your gaming activity". Uncheck them, and you're good to go!


text:
Can't download any app why?
Okay i can't download any app to my phone without it alway sayrERROR DOWNLOAD APP THERE IS INSUFFICIENT SPACE ON THE DEVICE. I'VE ONLY GOT 1 APP MYSELF DOWNLOAD TO MY PHONE IT CALKED VAULT FOR MY PICTURE SO HOW DO I FREE UP SPACE I'VE CLEAR A THE CACHE I HAVEN'T CLEAR THE DATA BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW IIF I'M SUPPOSED TO PLEASE HELP ME

Please don't use ALL-CAPS. It's considered as shouting and nobody wants to hear that. Also, please noted the full, original error message. And please fix typo/grammar if there's any.

Additionally: This question has already been asked multiple times (hint: we've got a "search box" on the page ;) Please find the answer to your problem here: Google Play: Error downloading app - insufficient space

It means you device doesn't have sufficient memory to help you in getting more apps. What you can do is:

Get and SD card from your nearest store and move apps to SD card.
You can also try various cleaner apps available to free up your temporary memory.
You can also try un-installing apps that you don't use.

Note: If you are rooted user then only you can get rid of the bloatware loaded over your device.


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Tablet listed under adb devices, but not under lsusb while in recovery
I am working with a Gemini devices GEM1000 tablet, I have performed all the steps to get adb working, and the device shows up under 'adb devices' so I go to the bootloader with 'adb reboot bootloader' and once in the bootloader, the device can no longer be descovered with 'adb devices' or 'fastboot devices'
checking 'lsusb' the tablet is not showing up as connected, although if I select "appply update with ADB" it then shows up as '2837487629 sideload' under 'adb devices' and then shows up in lsusb again
The recovery says 'Android System recovery <3e>' and 'Recovery system v4.2.41' in case that matters. Could it be possible I need to flash a different recovery? if so are there any generic recoveries?(since I doubt this generic tablet has any custom ones)
How do i get the device to show up in 'fastboot devices' once I enter recovery mode?

IMHO fastboot is a separate mode (I've never used it, so I'm not 100% sure). Keep in mind that devices might present different IDs when booted normal, in recovery, or in fastboot mode, so you might have to set up separate UDEV rules for each of those.

Yeah I figured as much for the UDEV rules, which is why I tried lsusb to find what the info was but it isn't there. In the case of fastboot vs bootloader I am not sure, from what I understand, while in the bootloader it should be visible under 'fastboot devices'because oem unlock tutorials say the steps are 'adb reboot bootloader' then 'fastboot oem unlock' I don't think this device has a separate fastboot mode, if it does have a separate fastboot mode, how do you enter fastboot vs the bootloader

You're correct: "bootloader" should be "fastboot mode" (adb might not find the device there) – while in recovery and normal mode fastboot shouldn't detect the device (but adb should). Anyway, in all 3 modes the device should be visible via lsusb. I got confused by your last paragraph I guess. And yes: <3e> is the "stock recovery", and there are several custom recoveries available, e.g. CWM, TWRP, Philz, AmonRa, and more. Not sure if they have any effect on bootloader/fastboot mode, so I better leave that to someone else now :)

Sorry to be confusing the problem is that when in the bootloader, when going through power+vol-down+vol+up, when plugged in shows nothing under lsusb. But when going to the bootloader with 'adb reboot bootloader' it now shows up in lsusb but the screen is black and 'fastboot devices' shows nothing. The device is Bus 001 Device 009: ID 2207:300b so I added a UDEV rule: SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="2207", Mode="0666"

I'm afraid the stock recovery (as pointed out in the comments) doesn't come with ADB enabled, which is why your device is neither shown with adb devices nor with lsusb when you've booted it into <3e>. The only way around this (if you really need to access the tablet via ADB while booted into recovery-mode) is flashing it with a custom recovery, such as clockworkmod-recovery or twrp – which again requires your bootloader to be unlocked (see: bootloader-unlock).
Note that the recovery image must match your device, so you cannot just pick any. I'm not sure whether there's any custom recovery available for the GEM1000; good points to check that out is looking at XDA-Developers and the websites of the corresponding recoveries.

Sorry for a second answer but I think Izzys answer is not getting the point perfectly.
First of all your Question:

How do i get the device to show up in 'fastboot devices' once I enter
  recovery mode?

This won't happen at all. Recovery and fastboot are different things.
Fastboot is mostly part of the bootloader of your device which is probably a binary blob which basically means it is not open at all and could be hard to exchange in order to have a bootloader which supports fastboot correctly.
Recovery is usually a lightweight android system by itself which is used for "recovery" functions. It often comes with it's own kernel apart from the main android system so it will still boot if your main android system is not booting.
tl;dr: Probably your device bootloader does not support fastboot which would mean you can't use the fastboot method.
Questions you should ask yourself:

Did fastboot ever work with any other device from your current setup?
Is there a forum entry or anything which confirms that fastboot ist working with your device?


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Good combination for playing media from SMB/CIFS share?
Currently I am using ES File Explorer + MX Player to play audio and video files for this.
Unfortunately it has some problems:

MX Player sees only current playing file, not a directory. So I can't jump to next file from within player. I need to go back to ES Explorer to go to next file.
Sometimes if there is a connection problem, the video just closes and later can be started only from the beginning. In correct software, the video should wait until the source is available again.
Some players are not displayed for certain file types at all. If I force using them, they say

This file type does not support streaming

and then starting to copy entire file to local storage before playing. Correct software should simulate normal directory from SMB shares so that applications could not know that the source is remote.

VLC for Android plays media from SMB shares. I use VLC on my tablet, my little Android set top box and about to put it on my firesticks. I also use VLC on my Windows and Linux PC's.

For music try Samba Player, though it doesn't support video.
Link: Samba Player on Google Play
Description:
"Listen to your network stored music collection as if it was all on your phone!
Enjoy music right away, no complicated setup required.
Samba Player works with shared folders from Windows, Linux, Mac, home routers, media players, network drives (NAS) or any network device that can share folders."

Could you provide the download link and the official description of the app? Thank you.

apologies for the rush - wrote now

Now that ES File Explorer has jumped the shark somewhat, I asked in our chat about possible replacements, and Solid Explorer File Manager is a good replacement. It can stream via FTP, SFTP, SMB, and WebDAV, along with plugins for other protocols and cloud services. It can stream audio and video into other players such as VLC. That combination of apps will do exactly what you're asking for.
N.B. VLC is free software (both gratis and libre), but Solid Explorer is non-free.

If you have root, you could use an app to really mount the share locally. Maybe this will work. (ES file explorer only serves the files from a local webserver and tells MXPlayer to play them from there.)
If you don't have root, you could play the files directly in ES file explorer (ES music player), it works well that way.

Try XenoAmp (for audio) - it plays off SMB natively (you don't need to use ES Explorer) and does it by streaming! No audio file is copied to your device while playing, it is streamed directly from your SMB share. Plus - if you tap audio file in external file browser like ES Explorer, XenoAmp will create a playlist of whole directory with the selected file in it. Sounds like it is exactly what you need, right?

I use BSPlayer it has browse LAN option that allows me view/select to play video files and mp3 files stored on my windows shares.
For your second option, the only time I loose connection to the share is when my tablet looses connection with my wireless router. This is rare for me since I do most of my work near the router.
For option 3 I can play avi mp4 mkv files with no problems
the official site says
BS.Player ™ is the software movie and media player that supports all popular video and audio media file types, containers and formats such as:
WebM, Xvid, avi, mpg, mpeg-1, mpeg-2, mpeg-4, 3ivx, YouTube streaming video, AVC HD (avchd player), QT QuickTime mov, RM Real media, OGM, Matroska , mkv, asf, wmv, DV, m1v, m2v, mp4, mpv, swf, vob and wav, mpa, mp1, mp2, mp3, Ogg, aac, aif, ram, wma, flv (Flash and YouTube Video) and much more!

I have been using USB Audio Player PRO (yes, it costs money after a short trial, but the developers are very responsive on bug reports and feature requests) very successfully. It supports SAMBA well and works quickly with very little cache (actually can be troublesome with MORE cache). Other network options are UPnP/DLNA and internet radio stations, allowing you to add custom stations so you can even create your own. Shoutcast and TIDAL are also supported.
The premium app I had been using before (begins with "N" ends with "ron") worked OK if I connected to a small network source, but its insistence on creating a local catalog of the entire resource sent it into deep space and used space I didn't have on internal and external cards combined.
The real reason I have now totally switched to USB...PRO was its support of an external DAC. I have several USB DAC implrementations from Zorloo.com Z:ERO earbuds with tiny DAC integrated in the cable ($39-a steal!) to a full size DAC that integrates with my home music system. I can really hear a difference between my music straight from my S4 headphone jack vs the USB DAC. NOTE: My ears aren't quite good enough to hear the difference between a ~$100 DAC vs a ~$500 DAC, so I'm not a menace to my wife's budget!
Give it a try and see what you think.
BTW - My music is mostly FLAC some APE. The outstanding stuff is 24/192. The stupid stuff is people who buy a CD and rip it to 24/192 thinking there is some magic process that is going to improve the red sound on the CD. Like people who convert 128MP3 to lossless to improve the quality. Of course, you do upgrade to perfect copy of the 128 kbps MP3!


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ICS device name not recognised under adb
I have a device to which I recently flashed CM 9 which I use for testing backward compatibility in apps. However, adb doesn't seem to recognise it.
adb devices outputs the following when it is connected:
List of devices attached
????????????    offline

And also sometimes this:
List of devices attached
????????????    device

When it says device, I can use normal adb commands, however, if I connect another device it will stop working (because the device has no identifier so adb will always prefer the other device). I've tried this on both OS X and Linux, and the same device running CM11 works fine with adb. I've tried several different USB cables and also other devices, all of which work.
So, has anyone else had this issue/resolved it? Any other ideas on how I might try and work out the cause of this issue?

You might check with lsusb that the device ID is the same as before you flashed CM9. If not, you will need to edit the udev config again to make it work.

Have you checked with lsusb and updated your udev rules, as Dan suggested? Did it do the trick? Is your issue solved meanwhile? Please remember you can always answer your own question ;)


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Force Close loop.. need help
I have a force close loop on my galaxy s2.
I want to retrieve my data which isnt stored on an sd card.
But I cannot get into my phone.
I tried plugging into my laptop but it doesnt pick up the phone.
I tried booting in safe mode to disable the apps. But the phone just turns off again even in safe mode.
I dont care about the phone, only the data, which I stupidly havnt backed up anywhere.
Would appreciate any help.

Well, if you care about data, its a good practice to backup always.
In your case, anyway, you don't have backup available with you. So, the only option available for you to avoid 'force close loop' is to goto recovery and flash it with the appropriate rom. Please note that you will lose all the data present on your sdcard, however, the data present in memory card would remain intact.

If you have flashed a custom recovery, you can access the files on the internal /data partition from the recovery through ADB.
I have found this site; there are recovery images which can be flashed via ODIN if you didn't already install a recovery; as far as I know it doesn't wipe internal data.
When you're in the recovery, connect your phone to your PC. Install ADB on your PC, then you can use adb shell to log in to your phone and look around in the file system; then you can adb pull the interesting files.

authors: محمد عبدالقادر


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When and how is /data mounted?
I am exploring a bit on my Android device and I can't seem to figure out when /data is mounted.
My first guess what it'd be in /init.rc, and while that file creates the /data directory, it doesn't seem to actually mount it. I've also taken a look in /system/etc/init.d, but going from the files there, /data is already mounted at that point.
When is /data mounted, and where can I find the related script?


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Nexus 4: Stuck on boot animation for baseband version != 2.0.1700.48 and android version > 4.3
The symptoms I'm seeing seem to be common, with many suggested solutions, none of which I've found to solve my case.
I'm not sure to what extend it is related, but it happened after the screen was replaced. With the screen damaged and no touch input was registered, it was still booting and running CM11 fine. After replacing the screen, everything other than actually booting up the OS works. I can enter in ClockworkMod Recovery, access shell through adb, format the system (/system, /data, /boot, /sdcard, etc), flashing recovery, flashing the bootloader, flashing the radio, replacing the system with stock android.
I have tried erasing everything possible, flashing to Android Stock 4.4.4 (KTU84P), 4.4.2 (KOT49H) w/corresponding bootloader and baseband (radio) versions. I've also tried locking and unlocking the OEM, forcing a system wipe. With USB-cable connected to usb charger, computer, and not at all. The result is the same, stuck on boot animation.
This is a series of steps for what works... sort of. Its current state marked as [WORKS], meaning it boots up fine, and if not [FAILS] (if nothing else is specified, it ends up stuck on boot animation).

Through stock 4.2.2, and subsequent system upgrades.

[WORKS] Flashing to Android Stock 4.2.2 (JDQ39). Phone boots up fine, no issues.
[FAILS] System upgrade to 4.3 (JWR66Y) OK. Note that baseband (radio) version is now M9615A-CEFWMAZM-2.0.1700.84.
[WORKS] Overriding radio version to 2.0.1700.48, the one that came with 4.2.2 (JDQ39) stock image.
         It now boots into 4.3 without issues.
[FAILS] Error screen after booting to perform system upgrade to 4.4 (possibly due to wrong baseband version). Reboots OK into 4.3. No longer reports a possible system upgrade (checked 4 times, rebooted twice).

Similar as above, but through fastboot and stock 4.3:

[FAILS] Clean reset, flashing to Android Stock 4.3 (JWR66Y) w/corresp bootloader and baseband.
[WORKS] Flashing baseband to 2.0.1700.48

Through stock 4.4

[FAILS] Clean reset, flashing to Android Stock 4.4 (KRT16S)  w/corresp bootloader and baseband.
[FAILS] Flashing baseband to 2.0.1700.48

Through stock 4.4.3

[FAILS] Clean reset, flashing to Android Stock 4.4.3 (KTU84L)
[FAILS] Flashing baseband to 2.0.1700.48

Through stock 4.4.4

[FAILS] Clean reset, flashing to Android Stock 4.4.4 (KTU84P)
[FAILS] Flashing baseband to 2.0.1700.48 (from 4.2.2)

I don't know what else to try, or how to understand this further.
The output of /proc/last_kmsg isn't very informative to me, but I've uploaded one such here.
*edit:* Mostly groundless speculation, but it could maybe have something to do with drivers communicating with the battery and reading the battery level. Every time it has worked on 4.2.2 and 4.3 (with baseband from 4.2.2), it has (on the first boot up) reported battery level as 1%, even though it is much more charged than that. It continues to charge, and the percentage slowly increased to 5%, whereupon I rebooted it. After the reboot, it shows the battery level at 53%.


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Stop vibrations
How do you stop the phone from vibrating when you use those system buttons (back, home, recent apps) in kitkat.
I tried perusing the settings,  but could not find any information relating to the same.
Or is this something in the design of the phone?

Go to Settings > Sounds and uncheck Vibrate on touch.


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Can I get rid of "Sound Search for Google Play"?
An app called "Sound Search for Google Play" is apparently eating all of my battery. Can I get rid of it? I tried clicking it, disabling it and "uninstalling update", but it still seems to eat away at my battery. Right now it shows me a disabled "Force stop" button and an "Enable" button.

Screenshot (click image for larger variant)
This is on the latest version of Paranoid Android for Oppo Find 5.

The "Enable" button suggests you've disabled the app. Have you restarted your device since? If so, something is still addressing one/some of its receivers (that's possible even if the app is disabled). In that case: Is your device rooted?

Download wakelock detector from the google play store, try to reproduce it for a day, open wakelock detector and it will show you cpu and partial wakelocks (will only show partial wakelocks if you enable advanced mode), if the largest cpu wakelock is "PowerManagerServiceWakelock" this means the largest wakelock is the combination of all the items listed in partial wakelocks.
I would suggest (if it happens again) looking for anything over 7% and doing a web search for the wakelock name, and seeing what you can find.
If it doesn't happen again, problem solved.
This is probably not sound search for google plays fault, rather another app is calling it, or it is something different entirely.


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Account, paid for Apps and new account
My children have nexus tablets. They have their own google accounts with email adresses.
My ex-wife has changed the google passwords so i cannot set up a new android phone for the children. If i set up new account/email addresses on the phone or for their tablets, how can I install the paid for apps which are connected with their previous accounts whilst at the same time giving them credit to purchase apps etc on the new accounts?
Any help or advice would be appreciated.
Seamas

Could you ask your ex-wife for the password? That would be the easiest way.
If that doesn't work, you could start a password recovery procedure on a PC, in some cases it uses a registered Android device to verify ownership, which you have access to. Just click on the "I forgot my password" link at gmail.com.
Sadly there is no way to transfer paid apps and in-app purchases between Google accounts.

You'll have to either get back access to the Google account that was used to buy the apps or buy new copies. It's no different to if you bought software that came on a physical disk and your ex-wife took the disk.

authors: فخرالدین چشم میشی


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My data is wiped out after a battery service
I hit my Nexus 7 with Android 4.2 on it, into a glass bottle. Somehow, internally the battery got disconnected so it didn't turn on. It was only flickering a black screen when attached to a power cord. I didn't want to fix it myself so I brought it to a certified service for mobile devices. I received it back but it had installed Android 4.4 and all of the data was wiped out.
What did the people from the service do to my Nexus 7?

Not sure why but they did factory reset to it. Probably it is that bad when the battery detaches from the other part of the device :)
Don't they make these devices crash proof? I just hit it into a glass bottle :D

Sounds like they just replaced the device and gave you a new/refurbished one. Your original device will be fixed (if possible), and then it will be wiped and turned into a refurbished unit.
If you didn't back up any of your data, it is gone. Hopefully you did; I'm pretty sure anytime you send in a device for service, they warn you that it could be completely wiped.

Well they didn't tell me that they will wipe out the data, but I can tell that it is the same device because of the sticker with the serial number on the back. It doesn't seem removed and then sticked again.

As if they just made factory reset and updated it to Android 4.4 :D luckily I don't do my job with my nexus. I had couple of books on my kindle and some videos. But I can replace them. Your google account keeps track what apps were installed. So when I logged in it started downloding them.

There is SSN which is the serial number on the back cover and on the box, and there is CSSN which is the number in Android tablet info serial number. They match so it is the same tablet.


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How do I separate contacts from work and personal Google accounts?
I have two Google accounts, one for work and a personal one for my Android phone.
I have both accounts synced to my phone because I often have work to do on the road. I recently noticed while logged in to my work account in GMail that all of my personal account's phone contacts appear in my work account's contacts. I never asked to have the contact lists merged together, nor did I add one to the other.
They may have been logged in together on a computer at one point before, but I can't remember. My personal account is not currently logged in on the same computer as the work account, so I'll be able to delete them from the list now. I just don't want this to happen again.
Is there a setting to suppress this behavior?

You can download Google Contacts app.
When you want to switch accounts, just tap the profile picture thumbnail on the top right, and select the desired account.

You can select either Google account, or view an unified list (for whatever reason, or if you later change your mind)
When adding a new contact, make sure that you are selecting the correct account. (you can view it at the top as Save to)
Of course, both accounts need to be connected to the device, and sync should be enabled.
And if you mixed up your contacts...
From your comment:

[...] it seems that the phone's contacts are syncing to both accounts. [...]

You can switch accounts to confirm, and if it happened, you may want to delete the duplicated contacts, and then switch to the other account and move your contacts to the right place.

Select the contacts you want to move (tap and hold)
Press the menu button (or the three dot menu at the top)
Select your desired action:

Select all
Delete
Move to another account
Add label (Group using tags)

For more details, you can visit the google contacts support site.

Note: This does not work for moving contacts between personal and work profile.

Your phone's contact might be synced with your gmail account from you phone. To prevent this from happening, you can disabel contact syncing option with your gmail accounts.
Go to settings-->Accounts-->Google-->select_your_account.
This will show the items that you have synced with the account. Just deselect Sync Contacts in the list and now your phone's contact will not be synced with the mobile. Selecting this option with particular account will sync contacts only with that account.

That's the tough part. I do want the phone's contacts to sync to the personal Google account, just not to the work Google account. It seems that the phone's contacts are syncing to both accounts.
I was hoping for some sort of one-way sync of the work account to the phone, but not the phone to the work account.

Use different e-mail client apps for each of your e-mail accounts. Turning off sync is not an option, but if you use separate apps, it should do the job. Maybe keep GMail for your work account, and try another app for your personal account, where you can accept a few changes here and there.

There is an App called Island which allows you to have separate app profiles. This allows you to separate app data without using two different apps for work and private.
This also allows you to separate your contacts. App claims it supports Android 5.0 and higher, I only tried it on Android 8.1, though.

If you strictly want to separate work and personal, then create additional user in Mobile.
Settings > Users > Add User
In your current User keep one Google account, and remove another.
In newly added user, set with removed Google account.
You can name one user as personal, and another as work respectively.
You can switch between users easily in one tap, most probably this option will be in top near notifications.
While adding contacts, add in respective user only to distinguish clearly.
By this way everything is seggrigated, and mails, contacts nothing will be mixed or messed up..

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


text:
Bluetooth not working for Samsung phone when iPod connected via aux cable
Okay so my hands free Bluetooth connection works fine in my car for my galaxy 4 mini when playing CDs or radio. I can make and receive calls no problem at all. However when I connect my iPod via aux cable the phone stops connecting to the Bluetooth. Any ideas?

It sounds to me it's the car that is disconnecting the bluetooth device when it detects an aux cable connection. If that's the case, you can try manually reconnecting with your Android phone.
If you can reconnect, then you could try setting up an automation schedule where the phone tries to reconnect to your car when that connection is lost.
If you cannot reconnect, your problem lies with the car. There may be a setting somewhere in the car settings that lets you keep bluetooth devices connected even if it detects an aux device. Or you may be out of luck; it's all dependent on the auto manufacturer's operating system.


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"Android is upgrading... Starting Apps" on boot
I have a Galaxy S3 phone with android version 4.1.2.  I have not upgraded my phone recently nor have I rooted the phone.
This afternoon when I turned on my phone, I got a message saying "Android is Upgrading... Starting Apps" for a few seconds, then gave me my lock screen and a few seconds after I unlocked my phone, it automatically restarted.  Since then, every time I restart my phone, I get that message for a few seconds before I get my lock screen, but it does not automatically restart my phone any more.
I currently do not have a photograph of the message nor can I find one online.
Most of the references that I have seen refer to rooting and dalvik cache, but I do not think this is the case since I have not rooted my phone and using the stock 4.1.2 for the Galaxy S3.
The most recent app that I installed was Cartwheel yesterday.
The only other problem I had was that a week or two ago, my phone seemed to have gone into 'Factory Mode' (see picture in the first post of the linked thread (not my actually phone).  I seemed to have solved the issue by inputting *#87976633# into the Dialer. You could see the solution (and an example picture in the first post in the thread) HERE.
I thank you in advance for any suggestions.

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts! The only other problem better goes to a separate post; this is a Q&A site, which works best with one question per post. You can link the questions for reference if it helps to provide background ;)

I think the "only other problem" bit was intended to offer additional information in case it was relevant to this question.

@MichealJohnson: That is exactly why I included it.

I seem to have found the solution for my issue.
After posting the initial question I started noticing every so often I was getting a message saying that Aces Bubble Popper has stopped responding.
I have not used this game in a very long time and haven't updated it in an even longer time.
Apparently this app has permission to run at start-up (why a game needs that permission, I do not know and wish I could disable).
After updating the app, I am no longer getting the messages that the app stopped responding, and I am no longer getting the "Android is Upgrading... Starting Apps" when my phone boots.

authors: ปาจารีย์ ตรีนนท์


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How to change default homepage
My GSM provider hijacked my default homepage and I want to change it. There is no option in android ( nice open system right ? ). So does anyone know how to change it ? Device is rooted.

Have you tried going to Settings→Apps, scrolling to the Browser, open its entry, and "Delete settings"? Note that this would also clear your "other browser data/settings" you might have changed, and most likely also bookmarks, passwords, etc. Alternatively, there are plenty of Web Browsers available for Android, so you could simply switch to another ;)

I assume you are using the default browser that is provided in the android mobiles.
If so, Open your browser, go to settings by pressing the menu button, now go to General option and then set home page to whatever you like.
settings-->General-->Set Homepage

There is entry "Default page" that can't be changed. That's the entry I want to change/remove.

Your provider may have blocked that setting.

Device is sim-free. Either way, how do I change it. Where is that information stored ?


text:
How to delete Home and Work address from My Places?
I was messing around on my phone and found "My Places" in the settings (Settings> Location> My Places). I set up a home and a work location thinking that I would be able to delete it afterwards.
However I have not found how to do this. I removed these location from Google Maps and Google Now, but I can't remove them from My Places. I also cannot change the method of them to WiFi or Bluetooth.
Device: Samsung Galaxy S5 (SM-G900F)
Android: 4.4.2
Thank you.

You can delete them with Android 5.0

Open Google Maps on your phone, press the white rectangular button with three horizontal lines. It's located in the bottom left corner in Google Maps. Choose Settingsand Edit home or work.
Hope this helps you out.
--UPDATE--
You could also try to log in to google.com from a computer and choose google maps from the app-list (a small icon at the top-right corner with 3x3 dots). Next, click the settings-cog-wheel at the bottom-right corner in google maps and choose my places. Finally click on the drop-down next to my home and my work and click delete.

There are no addresses saved in Google Maps or Google Now. The only place they are saved is in Settings> Location> My Places

OK, try to log in to google.com from a computer and choose google maps from the app-list (a small icon at the top-right corner with 3x3 dots).
Next, click the settings-cog-wheel at the bottom-right corner in google maps and choose my places.
Finally click on the drop-down next to my home and my workand click delete.

Open Google maps app
Open Menu (three lines on tope left) > Your Places
Now you can see "Home" and "Work" listed on the screen
Touch (x) button on the right to "Home"/"Work". whichever you want to delete.

EDIT: for newer version of Google Maps

Touch "three dots" and select "Remove home" / "Remove work"

In the Google Now Launcher you can do the following:
Swipe open the menu on the right → Customize → Tap on work or home and edit them (blank to delete).
(Click image to enlarge)

This option doesn't work for me as it just goes back to the originally saved work address. Hope it helps others though!

I think it's possible on the phone to amend the locations but it's definitely not possible to delete...to amend...Settings, Location and then Mode. This allows you to change which service to find you, be it Wifi, GPS or mobile networks. Then go back and click on My Places and select either Home or Work and you'll see a smallish map appear. Directly above click on the word Maps and this opens a much larger one, by clicking on the location pointer to the right of Search the phone should then try to find you.


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How to Switch from 4G to 3G Galaxy Epic 4G SPH-D710?
I have received Galaxy S2 Epic 4G SPH-D710 unfortunately, 4G connection is not available where I live Just only 3G is available. When I turn on 4G hopefully It maybe switch to 3G automatically I get that "x" below 4G logo in statusbar which means 4G is not available, I couldn't find any option in settings related to 3G.
Do you have any idea on how to set  3G connection on my phone?
Is it about installing something so I can get working 3G connection?
Thank you :)

go to your settings and then go to Network Settings and change your network mode to WCDMA/GSM .

It should be automatic and it should show you on the screen what it is using 3G, 4G or H

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts! This doesn't provide a solution to the problem, as OP clearly states this doesn't work.


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Sony Xperia E1 D2005 Custom Recovery&CustomROM Flashing?
I want to flash a custom ROM and install custom recovery; but when I enter ROMmanager (my device is rooted) and try to install CRW or TWRP it says "custom recovery does not support D2005 (sony xperia e1).
I want to flash a custom rom safely (well if I brick it I can drop it in water and say I dropped it accidentally in water; I know it's dirty trick but I don't want to be with no phone either, so let's say I have 2 lifes). My bootloader is locked, I don't know how to unlock it so I'll need help for that.
So what if my phone can flash a custom ROM, which ROM? I want the ROM to be performant and good at 3D gaming (I want to play Despicable Me but now with the "stock" ROM I'm getting 15 fps and 20 in clear areas).

You might wish to check: Where can I find stock or custom ROMs for my Android device? and our rom-flashing tag-wiki.

I don't know that exact model, but I found a pretty much complete guide to rooting, flashing and so on at XDA for your model here.
IMPORTANT: Remember to read the entire guide closely a couple of times before commencing the rooting and flashing procedure, so that you know exactly what you're doing and don't brick the device.

Personal critiques are not welcome here.  Also, if that post is edited or deleted, this answer becomes useless.  Please provide an overview of the process.

I'm sorry, but I don't see how there could be any personal critique in this answer. The answer was also more of an advice to the OP, as I am not familiar with that exact model, and therefore don't have any qualified experience with it. I have experience with rooting in general, and for all my rooting needs I seek to XDA, and trust them as a reliable source. Anyway to please you I will copy the procedure from the rooting post in the section of XDA that I linked to in my answer.


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Is there any web browser that can display the desktop version of Gmail on an Android phone?
Is there any web browser that can display the desktop version of Gmail on an Android phone?

The stock browser and Chrome both seem to force you to use the mobile version of Gmail (selecting Desktop View or Request Desktop Site, respectively, simply reloads the mobile site), but in Firefox, if you select Request Desktop Site, you actually get the desktop version.

OP comment:

It seemed to work at first but then I realized the chart box doesn't work. It's there any way to make it work correctly?

Any time you request a desktop site in a mobile browser, there's a good chance that the rendering will be messed up or difficult to navigate, and some advanced features won't work. That's because you're (deliberately) requesting a version of the site that's not designed for the browser you're using.
There's not much tweaking you can do from the browser's end to "make it work correctly", because the problem is not that the browser is misbehaving, it's the the features were developed for desktop browsers and tested with desktop browsers. Any tweaking to make features work with a mobile browser would have to be done by the site developers.
But that's why there are different desktop and mobile versions: so that each version can be tailored to the behavior and feature sets of the browsers it's designed for, rather than having one version try to satisfy all types of browsers with the same code. And if a mobile site already exists, that's all the less of a reason for the developers to strive to make the desktop version mobile-friendly.
So, this is actually a different question. The answer to the question "is there any web browser that can display the desktop version of Gmail on an Android phone?", in the sense that it will do what you ask it to do and load the desktop version rather than forcing you to use the mobile site, is yes. Firefox will do that.
But the answer to whether you can make all features of the desktop site function correctly in a mobile browser, is that there's nothing any browser (mobile or desktop) can possibly do to force the design of a web site to conform to its own capabilities.
It's a similar situation to using Chrome or Firefox to browse a site that's designed exclusively for Internet Explorer, using some of IE's non-standard features. There's nothing you can configure in the browser to fix the fact that the developers implemented features it doesn't support.

It seemed to work at first but then I realized the chart box doesn't work. It's there any way to make it work correctly?

I'm not sure what "chart box" you're referring to, maybe you mean "chat box"? In any case, whatever doesn't work, doesn't work. The problem isn't with the browser, it's that you're using a mobile browser to request a version of the web site that's designed for desktop browsers. If a site has features that aren't supported by mobile browsers, there's nothing you can tweak to make it work. The site developers would have to do that. But they're not likely to do so, because they already have a version optimized for mobile browsers.

Sorry that was a typo, I meant chat box. Hmm ok I see, thanks.

Actually there's something you can do to fix the desktop version of a site to work better with mobile, namely you can write a Greasemonkey script to modify the page to your liking. This is likely more hassle than is worth though.

Chrome works perfectly.

Select "request desktop site" in the Chrome options
Hit the Menu icon in Gmail (near the top left), scroll to the bottom of the list of labels, and switch to "Desktop"

Scroll to the bottom of the page and switch from "basic HTML" to "standard"

I suggest you use Opera Mobile browser (not Opera Mini). Not just Gmail, even sites like Facebook and Stack Overflow are shown like desktop and purely like desktop. It also uses Chromium as its engine similar to what Google Chrome uses.
You have to switch off the "Speed mode", and in the setting page you have to select the "Desktop view" so that all sites will be visible as in desktop mode.

In Chrome go to settings then accessibility and tick Force Enable Zoom. Use your fingers to increase size. Text will scale nicely but images are those
from the mobile site...

It will still be the same mobile site that has zoom in functionality to it. But it's not what it's displayed like in a desktop right?


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Safestrap app won't run after installing recovery -- "Unfortunately, Safestrap has stopped"
I can install Safestrap 3.72 (Safestrap-JFLTE-3.72-kk-B01.apk) and then install and use the custom recovery without a hitch. However, once the custom recovery has been installed and the phone is rebooted, the Safestrap GUI app no longer runs (I want to run it in order to uninstall the custom recovery, and the manual instructions for uninstalling from a shell prompt that I found here didn't work). Every time I try to start it, I get the error message

Unforunately, Safestrap has stopped

I've tried reinstalling the APK, both with and without uninstalling the app first. It always installs successfully, and SuperSU requests root permissions the first time I run it after reinstalling, but it always crashes immediately. I've also tried uninstalling and reinstalling BusyBox.
This also happens if I start from scratch, by re-flashing the stock NC5 ROM and doing a factory wipe/reset from the stock recovery (yes, I've also tried wiping from the Safestrap recovery). Starting from the out-of-the-box config, I follow this process:

Root the phone using Towelroot
Install BusyBox
Launch the BusyBox app and click INSTALL to install the tools
Install Terminal Emulator
Launch Terminal Emulator and invoke su and then setenforce 0
Install the Safestrap APK.

At this point, the Safestrap app runs just fine, and I can install the custom recovery. However, after that, Safestrap won't run anymore (crashing immediately with the error message above).
Phone info:

Model: SCH-I545
OS Version: KitKat 4.4.2
Build: NC5 (same issue if I upgrade to NG6)

Okay, it turned out to be something silly. The problem is that SE status reverts to Enforcing when you reboot. So, you have to set it to Permissive with setenforce 0 again before the first time you use Safestrap after a reboot.


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How to root Moto G 1st Gen on Republic Wireless
I would like to find out how to root moto g on republic wireless. I looked everywhere and no one explains or describes how to do it. I am wondering if there is any way to root it.

Not an answer, but this post makes it seems like Republic is now ok with users rooting their phones. https://community.republicwireless.com/docs/DOC-2027

Looks like some people on reddit have had some success. http://www.reddit.com/r/republicwireless/comments/2m14cm/has_anyone_succeeded_in_rooting_their_moto_g/ . This is the TowelPieRoot they mention in the thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-x/themes-apps/root-towelpieroot-motorola-devices-t2825059

Related: Root a Moto G running 4.4.4 KitKat / Root moto g with single click in pc


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Chrome for Android's cache location
I am using a Samsung Note 2 (N7100) running on root. I want to know where Chrome for Android saves its cache files.
Like on Windows, the cache is located on ..\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Profile 1\Cache.
Where is the location for Chrome for Android's cache?

Like other Android apps, Chrome for Android stores the cache under its data directory which is /data/data/com.android.chrome/cache. Cache and Media Cache goes there.
GPUCache is located under /data/data/com.android.chrome/app_chrome/Default/.
Related reading on Forensic Wiki.

If think you wanted to say "/android/data/com.android.." instead of "/data/data/com.android..."

@ZéCarlos back when I posted the answer I meant what I wrote, but I do not know whether my answer is applicable to recent versions of Android now.

It's valid for Android 11


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Speaker is not working during phone calls
I've a Sony Xperia Z smartphone and I recently updated Android from 4.3.x to 4.4.4. Ever since that I'm unable to hear people when making phone calls, except when I enable the free-speech button (where the side-speaker is used).
Applications like Youtube are affected as well.
I already toyed around with sound settings and, after seeing a notification about a headset being connected to the phone (which is not the case), plugging my earphones in and out, without success. For the record: Sound is played through the ear phones the moment they're plugged-in.
I also never saw that notification again. IIRC the notification had the 'Smart Connect' icon, but I'm not sure about it.
Sony support told me to use the repair functionality of their software which does not work (Something something update routine error 2003).
Hope someone can solve this for me.

So I completely forgot about asking this question until someone upvoted it. (Thank you).
I 'fixed' it by sending my Xperia to Sony after another defect occured (headphone jack didn't recognize when something was plugged-in). Apparently whatever was wrong with the headphone jack caused them to switch out the smartphone.
I had the same headset and the same android version on that smartphone for some time and it worked without a problem. So whatever was wrong was most probably either a hardware problem or an error that occured during the upgrade procedure (maybe something wasn't installed correctly).


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My Nexus 7 isn't being detected by Windows. No OS on Nexus 7
I wiped my OS from my Nexus earlier as I had a ROM that I wanted to flash. When I proceeded to try and flash the ROM to my Nexus 7 using flash-all.bat (I installed ADB and Fastboot and Drivers using 15 second installer by Snoop05) it hung on: < Waiting for device >. I've been able to track it down to the drivers since there is an error on my device manager. I have tried numerous tutorials and methods to get the drivers but they all seem to need you to have your device already running android. I have TWRP recovery and unlocked bootloader. Any help?

Have you tried using one of the driver install tutorials with the device attached in fastboot mode?

Could you link me to some I cannot find any googling around

You've implied that you've got a tutorial.
"I have tried numerous tutorials and methods to get the drivers but they all seem to need you to have your device already running android."
Try one of those with the device attached in fastboot mode.

The answer is something quite strange although seemed to work for me. I used a different computer and used Wugs Nexus Root Toolkit to flash stock (after driver install on other computer) and it worked without any failure .

authors: ณัฐวุฒิ วิราพร


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What could be the cause of not receiving push notifications through 3g (gsm)?
When I'm on wifi I get push notifications normally. But if I go on 3g/4g only, I can use the net normally but I am getting no push notifications.
This is the same for several applications that get push notifications, so it's not an application's fault.
I was reading and there seems to be a single appplication in android that passes the push notifications? I was wondering if maybe that application had background traffic blocked by accident or what other reasons there may be.
If not, what other reason may be causing this?
I have mobile data enabled. Other internet stuff works fine.
My android is: 4.4.2
(this is a recent thing, I dunno what may have changed, but imagine a small child messed with my cellphone, it's possible)

I have found this. A while ago I went overseas and got paranoid and turned a bunch of the background data off in the data usage page. Had a play with it tonight and discovered "Google play services" was restricting. Turned it off and tested it, it seems to work. If you haven't already, try that.

you mean "Google play services" were restricted and that stopped you from getting push notifications? Thanks, I'm trying that... and still no good. I'm basically now going through all the data usage items and enabling them all one by one.


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Nexus 5 Change Resolution/DPI
Is it possible to change the resolution or DPI of the Nexus 5? I've read somewhere that you can do this with a Nexus tablet. I will be needing an Android device for development and I am considering the Nexus 5.

Well, you can't change the actual screen size or DPI, because those are physical characteristics of the screen hardware.  You can't stretch the phone to be the size of a tablet, or change how the LCD is wired.
On a rooted device, you can edit a configuration file to change how big Android thinks the screen is, which will affect the calculated DPI and the resulting layouts.  That isn't convenient for testing, though, because rendering a "larger" screen's UI on a smaller screen will result in tiny text that's hard to read and tiny touch elements that are hard to interact with.
For testing a variety of screen sizes, you're better off creating a variety of AVDs in the emulator.  That's much simpler and less dangerous than rooting and editing low-level system configuration files just to test a layout.

But can I test 'Smaller' screen sizes on the Nexus 5 for example?

You could, yes.  But it's still simpler and safer to use an AVD.

You can safely change the screen density (DPI) in your build.prop file using a tool like Build Prop Editor. Note that you will need a rooted device in order to tweak your build.prop. You will want to change the 'ro.sf.lcd_density' key to a smaller value to make everything smaller (higher density); likewise, you will want to change it to a larger value to make everything bigger (lower density). I recommend you stay within the range of 100 - 600 dpi, as that covers almost all devices out there.


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Power and volume down menu... What kind of trouble am I getting into?
Model ZTE N9500
Carrier:　Sprint
Messing around with various button combinations I found this one and up popped a very interesting menu my question is. What are the respective purposes / consequences of each choice .
1 ) reboot( self explanitory)

apply update from external storage.

3 wipe data/factory reset.
4 wipe cache partition
5 apply update from cache
6 md5 check
7 wipe carrier/data/factory reset.
Thanks in advance,
Chris

That's the so-called recovery-menu. You can find out a little more via our recovery-mode tag-wiki (especially it also lists some custom-recoveries and their tags here). Via that page you can also check out other related questions.

What you have found is the recovery mode (or recovery in short) which is useful for manipulating the OS of your phone.

Options 2 and 5 take a .zip file of a specific format and update the OS of your phone with it. This is called "flashing". Stock recoveries (most likely you have a stock recovery if you don't know what this is) usually verify if the .zip was signed by the vendor of your phone - so you can't flash homemade .zips using this and so this option is pretty useless for you.
Options 3, 4 and 7 erase various pieces of storage in your phone. 3 erases all of your data but preserves the OS, which is useful if you want to sell your phone or it has become unusable and unfixable from inside Android. It essentially resets your phone to the state it came from the factory in. 4 does no harm, it erases temporary files which help speed up Android. These will be regenerated at the next boot, and the phone will be a little slower for a while. It can help in some cases when apps crash. I do not know what 7 does, but the "wipe carrier" part seems dangerous enough for me to not try it ever. Best case, it does a factory reset, like 3. Worst case, it makes your phone unable to connect to the carrier and make or receive phone calls.
6 seems harmless enough, it seems to do an integrity check of some sort, maybe on update packages, maybe on the phone. You may as well try it, I don't think it does anything harmful or interesting whatsoever.

If you're interested, you can search for and install a custom recovery which will replace this menu with a much better one. This will allow you to install custom OSes to your phone, make and restore backups and much more.

Any suggestions on a custom recovery? Esp one that will let me get rid of the damned google apps I don't use.

Clockworkmod and TWRP recoveries are great; although I'm not sure if they are available for your phone, you will have to search for it. However, if you only want to remove Google apps, you can do it by rooting the phone and removing the corresponding .apk files from /system/app. This is dangerous! You can brick your phone if you remove wrong files! Do NOT do this if you aren't totally absolutely sure about what you're doing or you have an original ROM you can restore! also, I think you can click 'disable' in Settings/Apps if your Android version is recent enough, that is much safer.

No custom recovery rids you of the Google-Apps. But you can flash a custom ROM (which usually comes without them). See my article series on Android without Google, especially Part 5: Free your Droid! on this topic (though the other parts fill other gaps on that road as well).

authors: ლაშა შუბითიძე


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Change File System of Internal Storage to EXT4
I have an Ainol tablet Novo 7, which has 16GB internal storage in FAT32 format. Due to the file system restriction, it can accept up to 4GB file size only. How can I format the internal storage to EXT4, which I can put bigger files inside?
Can't use MicroSD, as the slot is damaged / broken.

Install twrp recovery (google it)
Boot into recovery
Go to wipe -> advance wipe -> select the system partition -> change file system -> select ext4 format
Done


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Set Android device default install location to external SD card
I have Samsung GalaxyS2. Is there a way to set the default install location to SD card of all downloaded apps from play store.

Check if your phone has that ability to move the Apps to SD card instead of rooting it. Otherwise, you can move the apps that have been installed on your phone to SD card as follows!
Open the Application Manager.
You’ll find it under the More tab in Settings.
Inside the Application Manager, swipe to the left once to view a list of all the apps that you can move to the card.

Yes, my phone has such capability. I want by default all apps that are going to be installed to be put on the SD card. Without me moving them manual after they are installed. Thanks.

Not sure why the link i posted did not appear. Here is the link that may help you http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/50252/android-devices-use-external-storage-as-a-default-storage

This has been by far one the best utility app that I have bought for my phone. It will install to your SD card and can be set to do so by default:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.buak.Link2SD&hl=en
I had a special condition where my SD card was "emulated" and so the OS couldn't link the app to the external storage. This app solves that by having you partition the SD card and then using a startup script to mount it as another ext filesystem that it can use to link to. It does this all fairly automatic and seamless.
Disclaimer: I am not affiliated or know the developer of this app, I just shopped around and found this to be the best one under all circumstances.
(you may need to be rooted, not sure for your device)

Hi, this article has helped me.


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Is there a way to get my Android report to my cell phone company that it's not a smart phone?
I have a phone, but it doesn't need internet (I use it as a regular phone + wifi). However, the cell phone company decided that if I have a smartphone, it needs to come with a data plan.
Can I do anything (including modify my rom) to look like a regular flip phone to my carrier?
I have a sim-card phone.

As far as I know, phones don't report to the carrier if they are smartphones or not. They only report their unique IMEI number, from which they can't tell the type of your phone. (Unless they ask the manufacturer.) Also it is illegal to change. The carrier forcing you to pay for a data plan simply because you have a smartphone would be weird and highly unacceptable.
What I think is happening here is that your carrier has a "default data plan" with no subscription fee and a high rate, which is available to all customers by default. Your old "dumbphone" didn't use it, so you didn't get billed for it. Your new smartphone, however, uses it by default when it isn't connected to WiFi, so you get billed for it. (My old carrier did this with the price of $0.05 per 10kB, restarted at every connection to the mobile data. So every time I turned on my phone or moved out and back into coverage I got billed. I didn't even have a smartphone, just a semi-dumb one which could visit simple web pages. I was pissed when I found out.) The solution could be

Disabling mobile data in the settings
Asking your carrier to disable this default data plan
Setting wrong APN names so that your phone isn't able to connect to the mobile data

+1  if the OP signed a contract with the carrier, they can enforce that plan, and they don't care if you use or don't use data. If this type of 'dependent selling' is not allowed in the OP's country they could have grounds to dispute mis-selling of the contract, but there's nothing that can be done to say it's not smart phone, and I'd imagine EVEN IF you could do it they'd just keep billing for the ability to use data and the data plan, regardless of the device on the plan. You could throw the phone in a river and they will keep billing you.

Well yes, but who reads those contracts? :) Seriously, I think this was the case that made OP think that the carrier signed her up for a data plan for for having a smartphone. If she had signed a contract which included a data plan, she would know of it.

Yeah I'd wager that they said at the point of sale "it's a smart device, you get a smart contract" and the quote "the cell phone company decided that if I have a smartphone, it needs to come with a data plan." suggests (it's hard to tell) that they agreed to a contract for a data plan on a smart phone.

Either way your answer stands as correct, there's nothing phone related can be done other than to contact the network and try to get them to change the plan on the device!


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Can I remotely control an Android device using TeamViewer?
I have installed TeamViewer on my PC and mobile. I can operate/remotely control my PC on my mobile, but can I do the opposite and operate/remotely control my Android device from my PC?

Yes, it is possible to remotely control an Android device using TeamViewer, but not all devices are supported yet.
There are a couple of different apps for TeamViewer:
TeamViewer for Remote Control is the app that allows you to remotely control your PC from an Android device.
TeamViewer QuickSupport is the app that is needed to control your Android device from your PC.  It will provide the ID necessary to establish the connection to your device.  This app doesn't work by itself though.  You will also need to install the appropriate QS AddOn pack for your particular device.  If there is not a QS AddOn for your device, then you won't be able to control your Android from your PC with TeamViewer at this time.

Also there are other apps which work more or less the same. My favorite is Webkey, but VNC servesr for Android also exist. Of course, these need root.

The TeamViewer application for Android is just an Interface to connect to a PC and operate it remotely.
If you observe the Android application screen (TeamViewer), there is only input field where you need enter the remote PC TeamViewerID. But, it will not give you any TeamViewID for your android device.

authors: Олег Мельников

authors: ทักษิณ ประเสริฐ


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remote access rooted device with broken screen
I have a samsung galaxy s1 rooted and using cyanogenmod, yesterday i broke my screen , I need help to remote access it, I got allot of things written down on my memopad allot of things that I need to retrive but I dont seem to make it work(i tried allot of things but mostly i need to find a way to press on that button and activate the debugg mode or smth to let me access the phone) because as far as I remember  everytime I connected my phone on laptop I had to manually turn on debugging mode for access to the phone , even though I already activated it in dev tools. it shows me that I plugged in my device but I cant access it and I cant use any app to remote control it. Anyone can give me a solution?
When I plug it in, on devices I can see the name of my phone, GT-I9000 but thats all I can get access to it...

Suggestion 1:

Run an ADB shell in ClockworkMod
Remount /system in readwrite mode.
Add this to /system/build.prop:
persist.service.adb.enable=1
Save the file.

Suggestion 2:
You said that you have installed CyanogenMod. So you probably have a custom recovery, right? You can boot into it, connect your phone to your computer and go to "mounts" -> "mount USB storage".
Then you can access your internal storage.
Suggestion 3:
With a little bit of work you could flash a custom kernel with USB-OTG.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1450298
Please note that you need an external power source (USB-Y cable, powered USB hub; see the link).
Then you can use a mouse and a keyboard to control your phone and access your data.

i dont know where this "mounts" is on windows 8, can you be more specific?

It's not in windows, it's in the CWM Recovery on your phone :)

I dont have a screen and to be sincere , I dont really know much about cwm recovery or how can I access it, I installed adb too but I dont know how to use it :)

Is your screen black, or is only the touch affected?

black, I cant see anything, but I know its working because of the buttons and that my windows recognizes it as a device

and I dont know how to do "Run an ADB shell in ClockworkMod" , tried to look for it but didnt understand much , though I work in IT.

Steps to enter recovery mode: Turn off your phone. Then press there keys: http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/4151/samsunggalaxysi9000recv.jpg

yeah, I know that, the phone is in recovery mode but I dont have acces from the computer, is there any tutorial for adb?

When your phone booted into the recovery, plug it into your computer and press the following keys step by step on your phone: vol+ vol+ power vol+ power. Then your phone should mount USB storage, which means that you can access your files from your computer. Good Luck!


text:
Image a phone and browse on computer emulator?
I have a galaxy nexus (stock OS). During its use I have used WeChat and WhatsApp, and would like to save my chat and voice histories within these programs.
Does a way exist to image my current phone as it is, so I can load it onto some PC emulator and browse these apps on my PC? This would allow me to save everything as it is, but also start fresh on my phone with a format. I do not want to format my phone then load back on WeChat for instance, yet I still want to be able to browse my old WeChat chats and voice clips (using a PC).
Thanks

Restoring the complete phone on a different device won't work (hardware specifics). But as for user apps+data plus system data, see matega's answer and my comment on it.

Related: Is there a way to back up a device so it can be executed in a virtual Machine (without rooting)?

You can make an adb backup of only the desired apps, then adb restore it to an emulator. As far as I know, this should preserve all the apps' data. Also, backups of user apps should be compatible between different versions and architectures of Android - but there's a chance of failure, so try it before you wipe anything!

Confirmed: ADB backups of user apps should be restore-able across devices. To ease a "transfer" was one of the reasons I'm working on Adebar currently (had to send one of my devices to repair, so I transferred everything needed to another). Should also do for emulator.

Thanks for the answer and comment. I have been trying to get this working. Using the adb backup -apk -shared -all -system -f myBackup.ab command. Restoring it to the emulator works, but my msms messages do not transfer. Also my icons for WhatsApp and WeChat are there, but when I click them I get an App not installed notification. So not sure why this is...

@SteveHatcher some apps can "opt-out" of ADB backups. You can verify that easily when trying to back them up separately (adb backup -f <appname>.ab -apk <package_name>); if that results in a 41 byte file (just the backup header) you've encountered such. No way around that without rooting the device then. Not sure whether your sms/mms fall into the same category; do you even have an SMS/MMS app available in the emulator?


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Sync read mails in systray & pulldown menu
On a normal day, my phone is laying next to my laptop. Both are syncing emails and most of the time I read my emails on my laptop. The connection protocol is set to imap on both devices so when I open the email APP on my phone, the emails that are already read are marked as such. One problem is that this sync of read mails only happens when I start the email app. For each new mail , the systray is updated with the new mail icon and when I pull down the top overlay it keeps telling me there are X new email while they are all read(and also marked as such when i start the android email app).
This is really annoying as the blue LED is also flashing telling me there is something new while there isn't
Not sure if this matters but it's a samsung S4
Thx in advance!

Same thing happens with all Android phones (I've seen many phones). Just stop email notifications on your phone (for that particular account) if you don't want light flashing.
Every app checks for new messages as soon as you wake up the phone. This feature called as Push Notifications only checks for new messages but won't check if they are already read or not.

So push notifications don't allow unpushing a previous notification? Seems rather common sense to have this feature? As we all live in a linear timeline where previous events might be outdated the moment you see the notification