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How to stop getting internet through the prepaid card and use only my home wifi?
I bought a 3G prepaid card that offers internet, but I want to stop getting Internet through the card and use WiFi to connect to his home router or certain WiFi networks of choice.
I know how to connect to WiFi. My question is how to shut off prepaid 3G internet, other than removing the card, which I find tedious.
The reason is simple, I want to use my card for phone calls only and I want to use the WiFi for Internet. Plus, my prepaid card internet is damn expensive.

What device & version of Android are you using? The instructions will vary based on the manufacturer's skin & OS release.

Android will always use WiFi once it is connected. You just have to disable mobile data. To do so go to Settings → Mobile network settings and uncheck Data enabled.

To manually start and stop internet: Go to Settings -> Wireless and networks -> Mobile networks and disable Mobile data. This will stop internet connection through mobile network. Enable this to start internet again.
To stop it permanently:
Some application may start internet automatically, So to prevent accidental internet consumption, Create a new dummy Access Point Name in Mobile networks section and select that APN. So from next time your whenever you or any application try to connect to internet though mobile network it will try to connect though that dummy Access point and internet won't start. Internet will only work when you connect to WiFi.

I don't think that it is possible (or should be) that apps enable mobile data without the prior confirmation by the user. The second paragraph is not really necessary, but it won't hurt and it in may be needed if you gave an app root.

Ahh, are you suggesting that apps to which I confirmed mobile data will ignore the Mobile Data uncheck and continue to suck Internet through my 3G??

As Flow noted, they should not. Also, removing the APN or creating a dummy does not work for all carriers. In Germany, e.g. O2 and now also E-Plus do not require any APN configuration for mobile data (E-Plus says they want to make it "easier" for the user this way).

My mistake. This used to happen in my nokia's symbian, that apps starting internet by themselves. Android mobile data control is way better.

Go to settings and tap SIM management and select always ask for mobile data connection... That is all...

Where do you have an "always ask" option there? What Android version is that? I've never seen this option on any of my devices (admittedly, not running anything with 4.2 or up – so a newer version might have this). So if you mean to "disable mobile data", that was already suggested in another answer.


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Reinstall OS on GT-S5830i
Is it possible to re-install the OS (Android 2.3.6) on to my GT-S5830i?
If yes, how can I get that done?

You need to get yourself a fitting ROM (aka device-firmware, see also rom tag-wiki, Where can I find stock or custom ROMs for my Android device?), and then flash it to your device (instructions are usually provided where the ROM is provided).

Why do you want to reinstall the OS? Have you replaced it with a custom ROM?

@DanHulme, perhaps the OP had an OTA update to ICS or something, and they wish to revert to an older version? Otherwise, it does seem strange to be asking how to revert (they already figured out how to install a custom ROM).

@StephenSchrauger I can make guesses too, but I think it's worth checking whether the OP genuinely needs to reinstall the OS. People from a Windows background sometimes think they should do that when they really just need to factory-reset.

For no particular reason, my phone becomes unresponsive. This has happened couple of times in the last 4-5 days and the only way I could bring it back to life is by removing and putting back the battery (nothing else works). I did try upgrading the firmware to the latest version but that has not worked. Is a factory reset an alternative? What all data will be erased if I do so? Thanks for the tips

A factory-reset is supposed to help here, yes. And you also assumed correctly that it would delete all your data (except that on SDCard), so you would need a good backup before -- for the stuff you want to keep, that is.

Ok, and 'data' would mean the contacts saved in the phone as well right?

Yes.you can reinstall the OS.
There's a low level flash tool called heimdall (or Odin) that can be used to reinstall the firmware or install aftermarket firmware onto the Galaxy Ace.

Ah, http://sammobile.com has original firnware images...

you can do that in Kies, by updating to factory version from the update menu

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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Cannot charge battery via usb cable to pc after upgrade firmware and android version to 4.1.2 (Galaxy S2)
I cannot charge battery via USB cable to PC after upgrading firmware and android version to 4.1.2 (Galaxy S2 mobile). Anybody please explain to or advise me, how I can I get my PC charge my mobile's battery via USB cable.

Many USB ports on computers do not have power sufficient to charge a phone battery.  Does the phone charge with the plug-in type supplied with it? Some computers will advertise a charging USB port.  The default current (amps) is 1/2 A or 500mA in a standard USB connector.  It is not uncommon for tablets to require 2 Amps.

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


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How do I install a .apk on my Nexus 7 using the browser?
I recently got an Asus Nexus 7 Tablet shipped to me, and want to be able to use all of the .apk files I have saved on my computer (all purchased/downloaded legitimately). Here's the issue:
I'm in the navy and underway, and will be for quite some time. I have no ability to connect my Nexus to a wifi/wired network (not allowed to plug it into a ship's network computer via USB), and I have no ability to connect my personal computer to the internet either, so setting up a Google Play account on the tablet is a no-go. My laptop is a Macbook, and I DO have Android File Transfer installed, but that's pretty much all I'm working with here.
When I plug my tablet into the laptop, Android File Transfer pops up, and I can drag and drop files onto the Nexus, HOWEVER, I don't have any file manager program to access the .apk files once they're on the tablet.
I have tried going to settings and checking the Unknown Sources box in the Security menu, dragged and dropped an assortment of .apk files into the Nexus root folder, and then have entered "file:///sdcard/xxx.apk" into the Google Chrome internet browser window ("xxx.apk" being whatever file path I'm trying to access). But when I hit "Go", the browser page just flashes, refreshes with a blank address bar, and it's like nothing happened.
Is there any hope for me, or is this Nexus 7 just going to be a very expensive paper weight until I finally see land (and wifi) again?
Thanks in advance for any advice!

The first thing worth noting that your original attempt at pointing your browser to the .apk directly should work (see the comments starting with Stephen Schrauger's). It's not really clear why this would not be the case for you, but you may want to double-check your Downloads app (in the app drawer) and your pathing. It could be that it's "downloading" in the background but it happens so quickly that you do not realize it.
If for some reason that really isn't working, then you can try a potential workaround. This is pretty ugly, but it does work. I've tested this on my Nexus 10, for reference.
Create a folder on your laptop that contains your apk files (we'll call it apkfolder for the purposes of this example), then within that folder create an HTML file (we'll call it apkinstall.html) using a text editor. Since you have an Astro apk, use this as the content of the HTML file:
Install Astro

Where Astro.apk should be the actual name of your Astro apk file.
Now copy apkfolder onto the root of your Nexus 7's storage using Android File Transfer. Make sure that all the apks copy over as well as the HTML file.
If you are using TextEdit on a Mac: TextEdit will attempt to treat things as RTF files by default, so even if you save it with a .html extension it may not work. One workaround I've found is to go to Format > Make Plain Text before you save the file. You'll know you're in the correct format when the rulers and such disappear from the TextEdit window. Then you can save the file and make sure you use change the .txt to .html.
Next launch your browser, and point it to file:///sdcard/apkfolder/apkinstall.html. You should get a mostly blank page, with a link that says "Install Astro". Click that link to install the Astro apk from your storage, then use Astro to install all your other apps. If you're using Chrome, then you'll probably need to pull down the notification bar and tap the "Download complete" notification to actually kick off the install.
In the more general case, if you didn't have a file manager apk, you could instead add a bunch of link entries to the HTML file - one for each app - and install all of them that way. In your case, this shouldn't be necessary.

I am html illiterate, so I'm not sure if I did something wrong, but there is no link, just the exact text from the html document: Install Astro

@mbamb19s: So Chrome displays the plaintext when you open the file? Is it saved with a .html extension? Make sure it didn't end up with two extensions (e.g. apkinstall.html.txt or something). Some text editors will do that do you.

@mbamb19s: if you're using TextEdit on your Mac, see my edit. It appears to save the file in the wrong format by default. It may be easiest to delete the file and recreate it with the same content (the text you typed in looks exactly correct).

I've tried retyping it, making a new .html file, and still it doesn't show up as a hyperlink... very odd. I've made sure that it is saving as a .html as well, so I'm not sure what the issue could be.

@mbamb19s: If you're okay with using the Mac terminal, you could try that. Launch a terminal, then run echo 'Install Astro' > ~/Documents/apkinstall.html and it should create the file for you. The only other thing I can think of is that Android File Transfer is messing with the file encoding, but I that seems kind of unlikely. You could test the HTML file in your Mac's browser to test that scenario, though.

Can't you just type in the file:/// link directly to the apk, without the need for an intermediary html file? It should pop up asking if you want to download it, then when you say yes, it will show up in the Downloads list, which can be used to open and install it.

@StephenSchrauger: Apparently that wasn't working for the OP (it does work for me). Unless it was downloading and the OP didn't notice it, maybe.

@eldarerathis: Ah, I must have glanced over the second part of the question, or I would have realized that already (or maybe it was changed after I first read it). My bad.

@StephenSchrauger: I can see why that causes confusion. It does work on my devices (and I presume yours as well), so it's not really clear why it wouldn't be in this case.

@eldarerathis: Thanks you for all the suggestions, your terminal idea did work, and made a working html link. Once I click on the link, it appears as if nothing happens, but if I click on it multiple times, it comes up with a "This site is attempting to make multiple downloads" warning... I don't know where it's dowloading to, as the actual Downloads tab is still empty... This may very well simply be a junked up Nexus 7 (though it is brand new). Again, thanks for the troubleshooting invested.

@mbamb19s: Do any of your shipmates have a rooted phone? If so, you could have them turn on a wifi hotspot and a file sharing app (assuming they have anything like that). Then you could download the file explorer app from their phone to cause it to show up in your download folder. Or if any of them have a laptop with ADB. Wishful thinking, but it might be available.

@mbamb19s: That is odd that the downloads tab is empty, although that sort of explains why pointing the browser directly to the apk didn't work either (haven't a clue why all your downloads would be seemingly disappearing, though...)

@mbamb19s: Maybe the best thing to try is a full factory reset. Since you don't seem to have anything useful on it yet, there wouldn't be any downside. Then retry the solutions provided and see what happens.

I'll try a factory reset and see where that takes me (like you said, there's nothing useful on it right now anyway). I hadn't thought to ask whether one of my shipmates has ADB on their laptop. If neither of those work, then this darned tablet will make for a great shaving mirror. You both have been very insightful. Thanks for all of the help


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Can Samsung tell if my galaxy s3 is rooted if the phone doesn't turn on anymore?
My Galaxy s3 suffered from what seems to be the "sudden death syndrome". It had been turning off once in a while and wouldn't turn back on unless I removed and the battery and put it back in. But the last time it turned off it would not turn back on. When I connect my phone to the PC, the PC will make a sound recognizing the device has been connected but does not read it. When charging the phone to a wall socket, nothing happens. But if I remove the battery and connect it to either the outlet or the PC, the red led goes on. The battery isn't the problem though because I tried a different galaxy s3 battery and it did not work. I sent my phone to Samsung for repair under warranty but my question is whether they will be able to tell if the device is rooted despite the phone not turning on at all. Thanks a lot for the help!

Supposing they know and cause trouble, check the law where you are. In the EU for example, they can't use this as an excuse unless they can show that you caused the problem. For all they know you rooted your phone to try and solve the sudden death problem they admit exists.

Thanks for answering. I'm not worried about any legal problems though, I'm worried about Samsung wanting to charge me for fixing it since rooting voids your warranty. I was wondering if, since the phone is dead and CANNOT connect to a PC, if they would just change the motherboard, instead of fixing it, and any trace of rooting would get lost with it (rooting is done in the motherboard right?). I'm rooted but running stock. Thanks again! Oh!..and I live in Canada.

I wasn't talking about you being sued by Samsung! I was talking about them trying to get out of fixing their fault for free.  They might suggest that you broke it by rooting it, and I'm suggesting that, depending on where you live, they aren't allowed to get out of their obligations to you as a consumer quite so easily.

If you can connect to the device from a PC then they will most likely be able to tell. It might not matter though because they might not look for that and unless they intentionally look to see if its rooted they will not know. Also like @Poldie said they might not legally be able to do anything about it depending on where you live.

Thanks for answering. I'm not worried about any legal problems though, I'm worried about Samsung wanting to charge me for fixing it since rooting voids your warranty. I was wondering if, since the phone is dead and CANNOT connect to a PC, if they would just change the motherboard, instead of fixing it, and any trace of rooting would get lost with it (rooting is done in the motherboard right?). I'm rooted but running stock. Thanks again! Oh!..and I live in Canada.

"I'm worried about Samsung wanting to charge me for fixing it since rooting voids your warranty. " This isn't necessarily true, hence my comments earlier.

They will know probably after they fix it. If you rooted it and used a different firmware on the device they can recognize the changes from it's previous memory.

Thanks for answering.I'm worried about Samsung wanting to charge me for fixing it since rooting voids your warranty. I was wondering if, since the phone is dead and CANNOT connect to a PC, if they would just change the motherboard, instead of fixing it, and any trace of rooting would get lost with it (rooting is done in the motherboard right?). I'm rooted but running stock. Thanks again!

Rooting is done by the internal memory of the device. The only thing you should hope for is that their procedure requires an internal memory wipe. You can respond here after you get your device back.

Ok, I'll let you know!


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How can I access the Gmail contacts on an Android tablet?
I am helping a friend who has an Android tablet with an app for Gmail. Her mail contacts appear if she starts typing a name, but she wants to be able to go to Contacts and check off multiple people to send mail to. We cannot find any access to Gmail contacts without going through the browser to the full Gmail site.

It would be helpful to know which tablet it is. Is there a "People" app? That should be syncing with Google Contacts. Either way, you can enter multiple names in the "To:" field.

I believe it is an Acer tablet. She can manually add addressees, but she likes to look at her "Address Book" (Contacts) and check off the names so that they are automatically entered in the "To" field. I'll have to look for a "People" app.

You can access to them through the "Contact" app of your tablet. If you do not see them at first sight, go to the parameters to select the contacts you want to show.

Syncing of Google Contacts must be enabled in the system settings in order to see them in the Contacts app.  This can normally be found under Settings > Accounts > Google > *YourEmail@gmail.com* > Sync Contacts.  Just make sure it is checked.

One way is also to open Google contacts preview interface in your browser.

In my Samsung Galaxy Tab E, I go to Apps, Then to Contacts. Really stupid and cumbersome, I know, but it is what it is.


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Fail to receive WhatsApp messages from a specific contact
I am not able to receive WhatsApp messages from a specific contact while I am able to send them messages.
All other contacts appear to be receiving and having no issues with the sending process. I also don't block the contact.
What's the possible cause? How to fix this, or any workaround?

Besides the contact being blocked, have you checked if the contact is properly inserted? (check my links)

Community bump prevention: this question was closed because the question seems to have been abandoned (OP hasn't visited the site after posting the question, and no answers have score above 0). If anyone can evaluate the existing answers, feel free to vote accordingly and reopen the question (or mod-flag the question requesting for reopening). For anyone else having the same issue, please post a new question and refer to this question as additional context.

I realized I had a very symilar problem with a contact today.
Creating a group with only the problematic contact was a successful workaround, the final solution was deleting the original chat that stopped working and creating a new one.

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


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Random share Intent screen
Sometimes when I'm just casually clicking around in apps or swiping through the OS, I get random Share Intent popups. I can usually open it with ES File Explorer, Chrome or Dropbox. It has no indication what the Intent is about, so I can't figure it out.
Is there a known cause for this behavior?

If you go ahead and share whatever it is with an app, what content or data gets shared?

I'm not sure if I want to find it out that way. It could be malware as far as I know.

Only a program that's already running on your phone can send the intent. Picking an app from the chooser won't let it do any more than it has already: it just takes the data the app has already packaged and saves it (or attaches it to an email, or whatever). Pick something like the file manager where you can examine the saved file and delete it afterwards.

That would be a bug report, starting from Jellybean (I think), I started getting a lot of these randomly.
If you open it through Gmail, you will see an attachment of the bug report and a description.

@RaghdHamzeh Next time it shows up, I will open it with an app and review whether it's a bug report.


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Remove files from phone that won't boot
I have an HTC Vivid that, when turned on, fails to load. The screen is white with the HTC logo, but it never moves any further than that. There are pictures on this phone that I'd like to save, but I can't connect it to the computer since the USB debugging won't work since I can't get past the boot screen.
Is there any way to recover these images? I'm not concerned about damaging the phone or voiding the warranty (there isn't one), because these pictures are quite important.
EDIT: There is no SD card in the phone, so the data isn't on it. It hasn't been rooted.
When I try to run recovery, it gives me the following errors:
E:Can't mount /cache/recovery/command
E:Can't mount /data/data/recovery/log
E:Can't open /data/data/recovery/log

Not an answer, rather thinking aloud: Does it succeed to boot in any mode (recovery, fastboot) that makes it accessible for flashing? Then, maybe, only maybe, you could flash a custom recovery. I never tried, and don't remember the name currently, but there was one including a file manager, or the file manager could be flashed separately. If that would succeed, you could use that to copy your important files from the device to a card, and then take the card and attach it to your PC using a card reader.

It won't boot in recovery or fastboot. I think it's a lost cause.

One thing to be tried is a hard-reset (don't confuse this with a factory-reset): Remove the battery for a minute (optionally longer), then re-insert it and try again. There's a little chance this helps, so it's worth a try (what to lose, anyway?).

Already tried that as well. It still failed to boot after multiple attempts.

That seems to leave the service center as last ressort. Trouble is they usually don't care to backup your data. But you could add a big note (stick it to the device with duck tape :) explaining you need the data -- and pray they can read...


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Check the original carrier of Galaxy S3
How do I check the original carrier for Galaxy S3 (model no is i9300 in Australia)?
I bought it from one buyer. I can't use the network. So, please help me.

i9300 is international model of Samsung Galaxy S3. So it won't come up with any specific carrier. You can also use i9300 with any carrier as you like.
but there are some other models with specific carriers. If you want use them ,you need to unlock it.
Like:
1747- At&T US....
You can check carriers and S3 model names here

International just means that it supports most worldwide GSM frequencies. The phone could still have been originally bought from a carrier, and be SIM/network locked.

@GAThrawn: Correct.


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Mix two audio files mp3 in Android
After a period of research, I found that Android seems in no way to mix two mp3 audio files together. I have suggested using SoX & Lame. Sox by default does not include mp3 support because of licensing issues with mp3 format. I have successfully run the installtion command line mix two audio files mp3 on Ubuntu after install SoX & LAME in terminal.
sox -m inputa.mp3 inputb.mp3 mixed.mp3

The last issue is now integrated to run in Android Sox with Lame. Do you have any way to make the mix two files audio mp3 in Android? We are discussing here, but everything is still unresolved.
https://github.com/guardianproject/android-ffmpeg/pull/2
Can you help me! Thank you very much.


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Device not booting after factory reset
My problems is my phone keep showing 'ANDROID' after I'm resetting it.
I tried to restart but it keep showing the same.
What can I do?

Have you tried taking out the battery, and keeping it out for about a minute before placing it back?

Depending on your phone there could an option for a "hard" factory reset. This is usually done through a combination of key press just after turning the device ON so it does not require the OS to start.
I would suggest you to google "hard factory reset" with the name of your device to find more information.


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Specific wifi network suddenly stopped working. Why?
There is nothing wrong with my wifi connection. I have also used the same network before on the same mobile, but suddenly this problem occurs. Whenever I try connect to the Internet through the wifi one message shows that 'Internet is not available on this Wifi ap, change network...'
(Phone is a Samsung Galaxy S Duos 7562)
What to do?

Are you (or anyone in the area) able to connect with a different device? Have you tried enabling/disabling Airplane mode? Have you tried turning off/on the device? Is it possible that the owner of the wifi access point has changed it? Is it possible that their Internet is down?

It also occurs sometimes with my Galaxy Y Duos...

Can you to (from a pc, connected via usb) do adb logcat -v time and check the output at that specific time?


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Flaw in `adb shell ime list -a`?
I wanted to understand how to work with IMEs. More precisely, I was trying to figure out how to disable in a single command one can disable all the input methods so that the hardware keyboard takes over. I thought that the detailed description given about each input method on giving the
adb shell ime list -a

command (with an emulator instance running on my 12.04 64-bit Ubuntu machine) might help me.
Here I accidentally observed (see the pic below) that in spite of the disabling the various IMEs and then giving the IME listing command, enabled=true stays!

Is this a bug?

The enabled=true in this list tells whether the IME's service is enabled in its manifest; that is, whether the developer of the IME has allowed it to appear in that list. It has nothing to do with whether it's turned on or off in the settings.


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What does "adb shell ime list" commands do?
What do the following two commands mean?
adb shell ime list -s
adb shell ime list

and why don't they return anything at all? See code below:
aneesh@nb-14:~$ adb shell ime list -s
aneesh@nb-14:~$ adb shell ime list
aneesh@nb-14:~$ adb shell ime list -a
jp.co.omronsoft.openwnn/.OpenWnnJAJP:
  mId=jp.co.omronsoft.openwnn/.OpenWnnJAJP mSettingsActivityName=jp.co.omronsoft.openwnn.OpenWnnControlPanelJAJP
  mIsDefaultResId=0x0
  Service:
...
... etc.

I found no manual entry for these commands. It suggested that I did mandb to update the manual entries list. Googled too! But these efforts were in vain.
Any help is appreciated!

You won't find anything about this in the man page on your desktop, nor the usage information for adb because this isn't an adb command. Remember that adb shell foo starts a shell on the device and runs the command foo there. It would be like looking in the ssh man page to find out what ssh myserver rm -rf * does.
The command you want help with is ime list, and it only exists on the device, not your desktop. Running adb shell ime (with no further arguments) prints out the usage information for this command.
usage: ime list [-a] [-s]
       ime enable ID
       ime disable ID
       ime set ID

The list command prints all enabled input methods.  Use
the -a option to see all input methods.  Use
the -s option to see only a single summary line of each.

The enable command allows the given input method ID to be used.

The disable command disallows the given input method ID from use.

The set command switches to the given input method ID.

"Enabled" in this description doesn't refer to the "enabled" field in the manifest (that is, the one printed out under ServiceInfo), but rather whether the IME is turned on in the settings. It might be a little confusing to have two different things called "enabled", but don't forget that adb is a debugging tool for programmers, who are expected to understand such things. End-users shouldn't need to run this command, since the list of IMEs is accessible through the device settings.
From this description, if you get output with ime list -a but not ime list, that tells you that no input methods are currently enabled in the settings.

Some devices also support a ime reset which resets the ime to the default input for the input, as if it was restored to factory settings.


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How can I prevent an app being uninstalled from the Play Store?
In our organisation, we are providing Android tablets to some users. There is an app we have installed on the devices that we don't want users to be able to remove.
I have searched for "app lock" in the Play Store, and tried the various 'app lockers' which password protect the apps I choose.
If I then use the Android menu to try to uninstall an app that I have protected with the app locker app, it prompts for a password - which is good.
But, if I go into the Play store app and try to uninstall through there, it removes it straight. And I don't want to password protect the Play store. Is there any way to prevent uninstallation of certain apps in a foolproof way?

Even if you disable the Play Store, if debugging is enabled on the device, adb uninstall the.interesting.app will still remove the app.

Or maybe treat your users like adults and just tell them, "Don't uninstall this," and trust your fellow coworkers instead of trying to come up with "clever" technological solutions to a policy problem?

@GregBair I definitely agree with your approach. And you're right in putting it in a comment as opposed to an answer.

One way to achieve what you want would include the following steps:

(temporarily) rooting the device
converting the app in question into a system app (e.g. using Titanium Backup ★ root, but there are also other apps helping you with this step)
unroot the device again

As the app now resides in read-only space (/system), the user cannot delete it without either rooting the device or flashing a ROM -- which of course could be done, but it's a higher inhibition threshold at least.

Is the app developed by your organisation?
If you can control the source code of the app, you may prevent users accidentally uninstalling your app with the help of DevicePolicyManager. The advantage is that you don't need to convert the app in every tablet to be an system app. Once the app is installed from Google Play, it can not be uninstalled unless users disable the DevicePolicyManager in security settings.
If you can't change the app, then convertit to a system app. Because there are many devices to handle, you should write a script to do the job.
In both ways, if the users really want to uninstall your app, they can always find a way. So make sure your user do not hate your app.

Izzy's method works just fine, but if you don't want to temporarily root your device(s), you could make an update script which copies your app to the root of the device, so that it's been recognised as a stock app.
Take a look at the following tutorial:
http://www.londatiga.net/it/how-to-create-android-update-zip-package/

This might work for some, but in many cases requires a custom recovery to be installed. I played with this in the past, and several devices did not accept the update.zip as it was not signed with the manufacturer's key (which you cannot do as you don't have it). If this were not the case, rooting would be quite easy, as one could simply push the required files to the /system partition this way :)


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/data partition corrupted?
I have a Galaxy Mini GT-S5570 running CM 10.1 which was installed about a month back. Yesterday my phone suddenly crashed and after rebooting it got stuck in a boot loop. I tried wiping the cache and data but when the CM recovery starts formatting /data partition it gets stuck. I also did a clean install of GingerBread stock ROM but the problem still persists. Formatting /data partition cannot be done after installing stock ROM also. Did I brick my phone? Can someone give me links where I can download new kernels and fix the problem?

If you really talk about formatting (and not simply wiping) which fails, I'm afraid that might rather be a hardware issue, and the memory chip got corrupted.

Yup I tried formatting usingCWM recovery. And every time I try to format the /data partition the phone hangs. I installed stock ROM and tried factory reset and even then the phone hangs when it starts formatting /data partition. So does that mean that the hardware is messed up?

I'm not 100% certain, but to me that sounds like trouble with the equivalent to "bad blocks", so formatting gets stuck due to write errors/locks or the like (I'm not that deep into low-level storage modifications). If you can watch logcat parallel to that process (e.g. using adb logcat while in CWM), that might give you some additional clues.

its a kernel corruption. Just install a new kernel.

This doesn't make a lot of sense to me.  Both the CM kernel and the original kernel were working at one point, why would a third be better?


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Web Browser roadmap for HTML5 features?
I've been watching the caniuse.com site for a while now, and at one extreme we have Firefox releasing a new browser once/week (okay, slight exaggeration), and at the other extreme the Android list of 2.1/2.2/2.3/3.0/4.0/4.1/4.2 never changes. There is still nothing in the "Near future" or "Farther future" rows.
There are a number of HTML5 technologies not implemented even in 4.2, and I'm wondering when there is a new version coming, and what we can expect it to support. (EDIT: I'm looking for links to official announcements, developer blogs, etc. or a confident "nobody knows"; not speculation.)
(E.g. http://caniuse.com/eventsource )
(BTW, the StackOverflow Android tag seemed to suggest this was the best place to ask this kind of question. But if another site is better please let me know.)

I don't think this isn't the right site for your question. This isn't a problem you're having with your Android device. We don't have any more access to this information than you do. A new version of Android 4.x is rumored, but not confirmed, to be slated for release in the near future, but Stack Exchange isn't for idle speculation, either. You may want to have a look at http://developers.android.com and perhaps ask in the forums there.

I'd disagree, Al Everett; it is a question about the Android OS - the browser - so I think it's relevant, even if it is slanted towards web application development.  If the question was "When can I start viewing pages that use HTML5 features on my Android's  browser", it would sound more topical but be essentially the same question.

@Logos but you're not asking anything the Browser as it is now, which we could answer - you're asking about possible future directions of the Browser which would be purely speculation on our end, which isn't a type of question that fits.

I can see this as a borderline case. Since it's not obviously off-topic, it seems fine to stay. It's still asking us to speculate, though.

@AlEverett, GAThrawn: I just edited my question to make it clearer I'm looking for announcements, or high-quality rumours (e.g. links to interviews with core developers), not speculation.

The default browser is being replaced by Chrome as of Android 4.1 for stock Android, so I doubt it will see any updates in the future.  If you want to use sites that have HTML5 features, you should install Chrome and use that (and by extension if you're targeting Android devices with a web app, you should be targeting Chrome).

Chrome may be the new default, but my Android 4.2 devices still have "Browser".

Thanks. Here is direct link to the reference quoted on the Wikipedia page: http://www.muktware.com/3779/chrome-out-beta-default-browser-android-41

According to caniuse.com (gs.statcounter.com), which I take with a pinch of salt, 4.0: 1.41%, 4.1: 1.34%, 4.2: 0.12%. Versus Chrome for Android on 0.6%. (firefox for android on 0.05%). So Chrome has perhaps 1 in 6 of the Android 4.x users.

Chrome is only the default browser on stock Android devices that came with 4.1, stock Android devices that did an OTA update to 4.1 (or 4.2) still have the Android Browser app. So, Nexus S, Galaxy Nexus, Motorola Xoom all of which are stock Android and have been OTA'd to 4.1 or 4.2 still have the default browser app. This means that there's a lot of stock 4.x devices not using Chrome by default.

@GAThrawn: true but irrelevant to the OP's actual concern, which is when will "Browser" get HTML5 updates.  The answer still is: probably never, as Google has switched to Chrome for the default browser going forward.

@Logos true, it's just that the way it was worded sounds like the problem with lack of updates will go away with 4.1 because everyone is moved over to the more frequently updated Chrome browser. I was just pointing out that this is a little optimistic and the problem with an un-updated Browser will be around for a bit longer, and it will need users to make a personal choice to (or be told to) move over to Chrome.

You can install the Dolphin Browser, and change the user-agent to ipad.
Then dolphin can use html5.
You see these instructions when you try to activate flash in Dolphin.


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Can I update my Saudi Arabian Samsung Galaxy S2 to the latest Android version over the air in India?
I have a Samsung Galaxy S2 I9100 which my cousin bought for me in Saudi Arabia. It is running on Android 2.3 ginger bread. Will I get firmware updates for this phone in India over the air (OTA)?

OTA update will depend on the CSC of your phone. CSC is Country Sales Code; it tells you which region your phone can be used in and which networks it will work with.
If you are in India (and your phone is connected to an India network), and your phone has CSC for Saudi Arabia, you will not be able to get OTA updates. What you can do is flash a stock ROM for India on your phone using Odin. After you do this, you will be able to get future OTA updates.  WARNING: Changing ROM might require a wipe of your phone.
Some ROMS have Multi-CSC that might support the region you are in. In this case, you don't need to flash a new ROM. You can just change it with the "Samsung Galaxy S / S2 / S3 CFC" app in Google Play. WARNING: Changing CSCs will wipe your phone.
The CSC code for India is ODD.

how can i find out the CSC of the currently installed ROM?

@Bonny Please check this link: http://checkrom.com/threads/multi-csc-explained.979/

@Bonny In my phone, I see I9505OXABMEA. OXA is the CSC code for my phone. I9505 (Samsung Galaxy S4) is the model.


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Battery percentage going down while charging!
(device: Samsung Galaxy S 3)
I've just witnessed something rather strange: while tethering to my laptop, with the phone being plugged in a power source (the charger I got with the device) - the battery percentage started going down.
Now, I'm in an area where the signal is pretty bad, and my phone is constantly switching between 3G and some H+ network. It's normal for the battery life to suck.
However, isn't the phone supposed to power itself directly from the charger?
I thought that the charger was both powering the phone and recharging the battery.
Now it seems that the battery is powering the phone - while the charger is only recharging the battery (and failing).
Is this correct?
Even more importantly: will this hurt my battery?
And another question: could I simply take my battery out and keep the phone alive only on the charger (e.g. this is possible with a laptop)?

I've seen this. Phone plugged in to car charger; screen on and navigation running. It's also been brought up before. I'll see if I can find the duplicate.

See this related question for your last question: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/23755/is-it-ok-to-swap-batteries-while-phone-is-connected-to-wall-charger/23759#23759

It's definitely a duplicate of the other question. Through USB, it can't pull as much power as through a wall USB, so when using power-intensive applications, it will drain. Some phones will not run with the battery out, and if it's draining faster than charging, it will probably just die with the battery out while plugged in

If the above questions don't seem applicable to your situation then you could try restarting my phone.  There have been a couple times where it doesn't seem like my phone is charging and after a reboot it does.

@SSumner even when plugged into a wall charger, this could easily happen (see my answer here). A wall-charger usually delivers up to 2A; tethering + download + screen on easily comes to the same power consumption.

@Izzy - true, it's just more likely to drain if plugged into USB


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Seeing the full text of a long notification
I've got a notification on my phone where the length of the text exceeds the width of the screen and it doesn't wrap, just wanders off the edge. How can I see the full text of the notification?
I've seen a suggestion here that long pressing for ~5 seconds shows it however all this does is bring up the App Info menu. Maybe on older versions of Android that didn't have the App Info menu this worked? Ideally looking for an answer that works on Ice Cream Sandwich and above (since I think that was when the App Info came about?) but I have a Nexus 4 running Jelly Bean 4.2.2 phone.
Here's the notification that I received. Hypothetical: Why did I lose data connectivity? What did I do!?!

Have you tried "pulling down" on the Notification? Perhaps with two fingers?

@AlEverett I accidentally got rid of it but I get them every week or so, I'll update when I next get one.

This might help: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/6357450/android-multiline-notifications-notifications-with-longer-text
It may be only if the developers included the ability to read it. Also, in Android 4.1, larger notifications are allowed

@SSumner Yeah I saw that, but thanks. FYI I'm running a Jelly Bean 4.2.2 phone (updated question to add this) so should have the larger notifications.

This is a system notification, right? You can try turning the phone sideways, otherwise, I've never been able to read them

So some apps write their notification code to correctly utilize the "expandable notifications" feature of later versions of Android. Clearly, this one doesn't. I think we should treat this question as "How can I see the full text of the notification [that doesn't use the expandable notifications feature]?"

what you can do is open up an app like Clock, enable screen rotation and hold your phone horizontally. Will show a greater part of the notiviation... - I cannot believe this is an actual issue. Why is there  no fix for that

In 4.2.x Jelly Bean you can pinch-zoom or two-finger glide in order to toggle between base and expanded [notification] layouts. Not all notifications can be expanded, however. The next time the notification appears try using two fingers to "pull" the notification down into an expanded layout.

Worth trying, but it didn't work for me.

didn't worked for me too ! I am using Android 5.0.2 CM12.

Works for Android 7 on my Galaxy S8.

You can expand it by touching the notification and dragging down. The touch part of the gesture is very brief, so it feels like a single, quick gesture. This works on Android 7.1, I can't confirm for earlier versions myself, but would be interested I hearing if it works in earlier versions also.
Android 7.1 also shows a little caret (arrow) pointing down to the right of the notification time in the title area. Clicking the title area expands and collapses the notification, and you'll see the caret switch from pointing up to down.

The little caret works on Android 11.

Not sure if this works for all notifications, or 4.x as originally asked, but I am using Lollipop (5.0.2) and just double-tapped a notification (from Google Play Store, about not being able to update an app because of insufficient storage space). It came up as a dialog box with the full text.

Didn't work for me...

On my Samsung Galaxy S4 with Android 5.0.1 I can just "pull down" the notification (using one finger) or pinch-zoom it (using two fingers) to see the full text:

first, pull down the notification bar
then pull down the single notification, where the text is cropped

I don't know whether this is specific for Samsung's TouchWiz or if it's a standard Android feature. I just tried it with various notifications from Spotify, Gmail, etc.

In addition to other answers, if pinch zoom and two-finger glide din't work, try to rotate screen to landscape mode by switching on the auto-rotate feature and read the notification in Landscape. It may help you read the notifications most of the times. Because clicking the nofication will open the specific app and you wont be able to read it until it shows up next time by itself and long press can show menus to turn off notifications compeletly. So the auto-rotate worked in my case(Not all the times but most of the times in my Lollipop).


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Where does Google Play Store put downloaded apps?
I want to know where Google Play stores downloaded .apk files. I've heard that Google Play doesn't send you an .apk file and installation is completely online. Is it true?

Android saves .apk files in system folder, installs the package and deletes the file. Not sure about what I have said, but I saw it happen with file explorer that was capable to open system folders and partitions.

Nope, installed apps from the play store (.apk) aren't stored in the system folder. The file is also not deleted and stays in the /data folder.

.apk files are downloaded and stored in subfolders under a location on your device called /data.
By default, you do not have permissions to read from that location. In order to read/write in that location, you will need to root your device.

For readers: the sub-folder is usually /data/app but don't forget /data/app-private and /mnt/asec.

For now, Google sends you APK file and once it is finished downloading it installs it.
Seems the location of temp files is likely to change from time to time and can vary based on OS, as well as what you're downloading. I'm Presently, using MIUI 8.5.3
Downloads from Google Play Store go into different location for New and Existing apps.
New apps (as in you don't have previous version), go into:
Folder: /data/data/com.android.providers.downloads/cache
Filename is:

While it's downloading: download.bin.midownload (mostl likely
OS-specific name)
Once complete: download.apk (file
is deleted some time after the download, usually not immediately after)

Updates to Existing apps
Folder: /sdcard/Android/data/com.android.vending/files
Filename is:

While it's downloading: #######.midownload (extension is likely OS-specific as well)
Once complete: ??

Also, the following folder is created when you download new app or an update to existing one (## are numbers): /data/app/vmdl#####.tmp
It's empty during the downloading.


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The odyssey for CM10, all i get is a bootloop. How can i solve this?
I'm here to discuss about the unlocking of my new LG Optimus L5. I'll start saying that it come oot with Android 4.1.2 and the LG mod v20b.
I wanted to delete all the LG stuffs that slow the phone so i decided to root+unlock bootloader+install CWR+flash CM10 and Gapps.
I started following this page and tried all the root methods; only the one using a modified kdz worked.
After that i tried to unlock the bootloader, succeeding only after a day of tries. The problem was the Superuser app (it won't allow the ADB shell to edit the bootloader information even if it was allowed. I don't know why), so i installed superSU and all went right.
After that i installed ROMmanager, which allowed me to flash the CWR, but i was able to enter it only if the USB cable was disconnected (again i don't know why).
Inside the CWR i wiped bot caches, i did factory reset and flashed CM10+ Gapps; unfortunately i installed the wrong Gapps, denying me the Camera app, and few more little bugs...
So i decided to flash the righ one (gapps-jb-20121011-signed), but after that, all google services was crashing, so i decide to factory reset all and reinstalla CM+Gapps (the righ one this time)
The fate decided to curse me, sending the phone in bootloop after the flashing.
Hopeless, i tryed to flash again the modded firmware with the kdz flasher to retore the phone at the first passage, but it remained in bootloop (this time with the LG logo, not with the Cyanogen one).
I'm now trying to restore the original kdz (the v20d not modded) hoping for some miracle.
Someone have a hint to help me? The only thing i know now is that i can put the phone in download/emergency mode or remain in bootloop.
As far as i know the only way to enter the recovery is from SU binaryes in this f***ing phone, so no key combination to enter in it at startup.


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Does turning off the "Show notifications" settings for apps improve battery life?
I recently found that there is a "Show notifications" settings for individual app in my HTC One X. I have turned it off for some applications like Subway Surfers (which tries to sell me coins in notifications).
Will disabling notifications improve my battery life? How does Android handle if notifications are turned off for a particular app - does it only hide notifications from notification bar or it really does not allow the app to create any notifications in first place (so in this case I presume that it would save battery life)?

Disabling a notification for particular app wont' save battery. Yes it would a little by not ringing and vibrating and also by not making you look at the phone.
Actually notification is handled by OS itself. An app just says that I want this notification to be displayed and OS handles it. In your case those apps are running in background using service and periodically asks the OS to display the notification. Event though you've disabled the notification the service is still running and still requesting the OS to display notification.


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What exactly is this App Data that is being backed up to Google?
Anyone know exactly what "app data" consist off? I'm refering to the new App Data-backup adapter that Google pushed out a while ago.
I have a notes application. From what I can see, it don't save the notes to the memory card unless I choose to export them. Question is, are the notes saved in the data folder and are my (very private) notes therefor somewhere within the Google cloud now?
(This backup happened behind my back - I have all sync adapters turned off, but this one was installed silently and of course enabled by default. I'm not comfortable at all with this.)

See also: Google Backup: Multiple devices using the same account - what happens on Restore? -- the answer to your question is included in that question. Also interesting in this context: our backup tag-wiki

Google has documented details of the Android Backup Service and of the Data Backup Framework on its Android Developers website. The descriptions are targeted to developers writing applications but are still helpful:

Android's backup service allows you to copy your persistent application data to remote "cloud" storage, in order to provide a restore point for the application data and settings. If a user performs a factory reset or converts to a new Android-powered device, the system automatically restores your backup data when the application is re-installed. This way, your users don't need to reproduce their previous data or application settings. This process is completely transparent to the user and does not affect the functionality or user experience in your application.

They also specifically address user privacy:

Google securely transmits backup data to and from Google servers in order to provide backup and restore features. Google treats this data as personal information in accordance with Google's Privacy Policy.
In addition, users can disable data backup functionality through the Android system's privacy settings. When a user disables backup, Android Backup Service deletes all saved backup data. A user can re-enable backup on the device, but Android Backup Service will not restore any previously deleted data.

TL/DR: If the Notes app is configured to use the Android Backup Service and has defined your notes as data to include in the backup, then yes, your data is being stored on a Google server. Toggling Backup my data will delete currently saved personal information from Google's servers that is associated with your Google account. This will affect all of your current apps' backed up data.

Generally, it's entirely up to each individual app what data to back up, if any. Google's Android Backup Service provides an interface for apps to tell it what data to back up. That might include files from the data directory, settings, files from the SD card, databases, or even media files that are already visible through the Gallery or Music apps. If the app is badly written, it may also include transient state or cached data.
As a user, the only way you can tell is by asking the developer of an app. Google encourages developers to add backup support to their apps, and many users request that feature.

From AndroidPolice:

Google will, of course, give you control over your cloud data. The
  language used here is particularly interesting: they call this data
  "app data stored with your Google account," which means it's the same
  "app data" we all know and love from the "clear app data" button. That
  means all your 3rd-party app data in the cloud, seamlessly synced
  across devices.

However, it's not clear yet how much data is being sent, or if there is a max limit that can be stored on the Cloud.


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Multiple time zones on Nexus 4 - Android 4.2.2
Is it possible to set two different time zones on nexus 4-android 4.2.2 version?
I want to set-up EST (Eastern Standard Time) & IST (Indian Standard Time)...
Thank you

Where do you use two different time zones? For instance, do you have some kind of a clock app on desktop where it displays times in multiple time zones, according to your choice?

Of course.
Open the clock app. On the bottom bar you'll see three icons, one for alarm ,one for place and one for menu. Click the middle one. Select the cities you want and those time will be added to the clock.

Thanks alot. i can see 2 different multiple time zones. However is there a way that i can see both time zones on homescreen or notification bar. Instead of opening the clock app every time....

For homescreen: Re size the clock widget and you'll be able to see both the time zone. For notification you have to install 3rd party software.


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gsm call from pc via android phone
Is there a way to call from Windows PC using android phone connected via WiFi?
I tried to use Remote Phone Call, but it's not so good you need be connected to phone via Bluetooth.


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How can I drag and drop files to Nexus 7 from a Windows PC?
I have a Nexus 7 tablet and Windows 7 computer. I can see the tablet in the device manager as a Nexus 7. It shows up as nexus 7 when I view it on my PC as a drive.
When I drag a photo to the tablet from the pc, the photo file on the nexus 7 shows up there. I cannot view the photo no matter what I do on the tablet, it says 0 photos. I also cannot get any video file to play on the tablet after I drag and drop it.  No sign of it on the tablet, but I can see it in the folder on my pc.
I am using USB. This is so frustrating.

How are you trying to view the photo and video on the tablet? Are you using a file manager? Making sure you're checking the right folder?

i am just using the tablets built in apps.  gallery for photos and google play to try and watch movies.  nothing shows under personal videos. or in the gallery

What folder are you dragging them to? Make sure its Pictures

i have tried draggin photos to the file labled pictures and downloads.  movies to movies and video.  i see it transfering over but i cannot view anything on the tablet. they have to be on the tablet as when i look under setting, storage it shows 6.71 mb in pictures and videos.  so the pictures i transfered and video are there.  i have been trying at this for 3 weeks now.  i am spent!

Trying downloading a file manager like Astro or ES File Explorer for the Play store and viewing them through their, see what happens.

See also: File transfer between Windows 8 and Nexus 7

I will try that when i get home.  i appreciate the tip!

Do you try to refresh the Gallery ?

Did you try using AirDroid for this? Works most of the time.

Please see that the photo and video formats are supported by default. Else you might need to install apps that are available in google play. Use a file manager to open the picture by browsing to the location. Once you open it, they might start appearing in the gallery automatically.

you should try pushing them using adb
adb push name_of_the_files_or_directory /sdcard/pictures

I am not sure what that means?  sorry kind of computer stupid i am.  there is no sd card.  just a 32gb hard drive

that is the device partition where adb will push the file :)

i think i will just throw the tablet in the trash and get an ipad.  this is crazy. somthing as simple as drag and drop not working.  one photo something!!!!  dam google

FYI @user36205, you can't drag-and-drop files onto an iPad. You have to put all your files in one folder and then sync that folder using iTunes. Just so you know.

i know.  but it seems that itunes just works.  am i out to lunch here?  i try to drag and drop one picture.  i cannot see it anywhere on the tablet.  dowloads no.  gallery? no.  it has been a very frustrating 3 weeks.

Matt it might be useful if you post a link to what and is, most users won't have heard of it.

Is this adb thing rooting or something like that?  i am using a stock nexus 7 32gb.  no modifications.  also when i use apps to play videos (MX Player) it cannot see the files i supposedly have transfered to the tablet.

@user36205 Nope it's a program that you run on your PC that lets you talk to Android devices via the command line, here's a link: http://www.howtogeek.com/125769/how-to-install-and-use-abd-the-android-debug-bridge-utility/ However you shouldn't need it for something like dragging/dropping which I know works.

There is an app that allows you to drag & drop file by Wifi and should be easier to show picture and play movie on your device : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.filesdnd
It's "free" (with some limitation) on Android, and totally free on Pc and Mac.
There is a paid version without any limitation on Android (you can buy it by in-app payment). Basically you just need to install the app on your Android device and the software from the website : http://www.filesdnd.com on your computer.
Then drag your files on your device (the device must be on the wifi network), and with the paid version of the Android app, it will open automatically. With the free version, it will save it on your device, and then the file will be displayed in the left pane of the Android app.
If you don't have any application that can read your file, there will be a toast that will say it. Then you can uses application like DicePlayer for the movie, or QuickPic for the picture !

Comment from "anonymous" (invalid edit): This app is not FREE, as you can only download 5 files per day, before you have to buy it.

Airdroid is a first of its kind to do this hassle free... I used to just use a file sharing application like ES File Explorer and choose "Cloud" – but AirDroid is a better choice if you want more freedom.

AirDroid is great for that. I personally use it for everything. You can drag and drop files from desktop to your Android, or vice versa. You can access or modify clipboard, you can view your file browser, music player, you can send SMS, track your device and more.

While admittedly Airdrod is great: does it work via USB? OP is asking about the USB connection. Maybe he's got no WiFi in the place. Using mobile data just to be able to use Airdroid might not be an appropriate alternative then :)

I know this sounds extremely basic, but...I could not drag and drop either. But cut and paste worked for me, as long as I had one window open (wouldn't work with 2).


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How can i turn off the message received tick
I have a sony ericsoon xperia x10 mini.  when I send a text message, a tick appears to let tme know it has been received by the recipient.  This costs me money, how do I turn this off?  I have looked through the menu and cannot seem to find the answer.

Message App--> Setting -->Turn off  Delivery Report

I advise you to start the Messaging App to see if a Settings menu is attached to the application, rather than as a General Setting. Look for a setting similar to the name "Delivery Report" or "Delivery Confirmation", and turn it off.


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USB host mode not working on Samsung Galaxy S using CyanogenMod
I am using CyanogenMod 10.1.0-RC3 (Android 4.2.2) on my Samsung Galaxy S Plus (GT-I9001). I have read Android 4 supports USB on the go, so I wanted to give it a try.
I bought a USB OTG cable, and connected a USB stick (formatted FAT32) to my phone. Nothing happened. After reading this question, I installed USB Host diagnostics, and my device says:

Android API
Claims support: Yes
Classes found: Yes
Device Detected: No

I bought a new USB OTG cable to be sure this is not the problem, but the result is the same.
What am I missing? I have the right Android version, an appropriate cable, no special hardware (just a USB stick - I tried with different ones). Maybe I need the host mode drivers? But I don't know where to find them, and I am not sure if this is my problem.
What can cause my issue and how can I solve it?

The Galaxy S Plus (i9001) needs an external power source to have a working USB OTG. See this link on XDA for more information (it's for the i9000, but does also apply).
According to GSMArena's spec (USB: Yes, microUSB v2.0) the i9001 firmware doesn't originally support USB-OTG (compare the S3's spec, but 3rd party firmware added this later on. It does however not function without external 5V power.

Yes, with the original Firmware (Android 2.3) it does not support USB OTG because this feature was introduced in Android 3. But I am using CyanogenMod with Android 4 - which has USB OTG support.

Most of all, the chipset does need to support this mode  at all. Which obviously isn't the case. If it indeed does support it, then I'd say it's the cable that's wrong (but I'm not so sure about that).

I tried two different, new cables, so I hope this is not the case...

There can be more reasons: This XDA thread says that the GS i9000 needs an external power source to be able to act as USB Host. While the i9001 has different hardware it might as well be possible that you need this too.

PS: Even if a device provides power it's a good idea to use an external power source. E.g., one of my thumb drives doesn't work because it draws more current than my phone will provide.

The external power source solved the problem, thanks :)

Nice! I changed my answer accordingly. Would be kind if you upvote/accept :-)


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How to optimize my Rooted desire bravo for gaming?
Presently using the Runnymede AIO V6.0.4.3 Special Edition [Stable]
Tried Cyanogenmode-7.2 Stable
But I am finding great lag in performance when playing games. Such as Angry Gran, Temple run, Temple run 2.  Is there anything I can do to improve the performance?

Did you take a look at this? http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/3986/what-are-some-general-tips-on-improving-overall-performance-of-an-android-phone

@w4rumy I read that, it does address some info. But I am looking something root improvements like overclocking and esp to improve its graphic acceleration..


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Passwords containing "!" are always wrong
I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 with untouched Android 4.1.2 and problems with logging into accounts on any website, in any browser, as long as the password contains an exclamation mark ("!").
I use the default Samsung keyboard for typing in the password. The language of the keyboard is set to German. The Android interface language is set to English. I use the exclamation mark which is seen on the first of three special character pages.
I tried this in the Chrome browser app and in the default "Internet" browser which comes preinstalled. If I change that exclamation mark in the accounts password to something else, I can login flawlessy on my smartphone.
Is this a codepage error? Do I have to set up some special localization or is it just a bug?

What if you copy-paste an exclamation mark from any website instead of typing it on the Samsung default keyboard? Do you have any means to record what's being sent (e.g., maybe a space gets inserted after an exclamation mark automatically, etc.). Or use Google's native keyboard app (or here)

I agree with ce4 an inserted space being the most likely cause. It's for sure no codepage thing, as the character is part of US7ASCII, which is contained in all encodings in the same place. So you could either try different keyboards, or simply avoid exclamation marks in passwords :)

Have you checked which char is sent to the server instead of the exclamation mark? Enter "!" at http://www.base64encode.org/ and look at the base64 encoded result. If it is correct "IQ==" should be the result.

@Robert: It is IQ==, so no errors here.

@ce4: Wow, thank you! You were right! A space is inserted mostly unnoticably. Wow... I think they have to overthink their auto-complete stuffs in password boxes. If you write this as an answer, I will check it.

In the comments, ce4 pointed out what was going wrong.
A space gets inserted automatically after each exclamation mark (and probably other sentence limiting characters like full stop, half stop or question mark too), resulting in an invalid password with a space char too much.
Whenever I enter an exclamation mark, I also enter the following character, use backspace twice and then enter the following character again. Seems to be the simplest solution yet.
Samsung should consider turning off these weird auto-complete stuffs in password boxes!

I have also encountered this "bug" but with a $ character. Whenever I typed $ it automatically inserted spaces before and after the $ character. My solution was to turn off "automatic spacing" on the Samsung keyboard settings and this worked for me ever since.


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Setting contact picture from linked contact
I use Local Sync as my main address book. Several of my contacts are linked to different address books (e.g. LinkedIn, Skype, Whatsapp, Viber).
In my case, I found a contact having a very beautiful photo in Viber but I chose to set an old ugly picture in my address book
The question is: how do I tell Android to select the contact picture to display for a given contact not from Gallery/Camera apps but from that same contact's linked Viber account?
The question can be generalized and rephrased to cover not only Viber:
how do I tell Android to select the contact picture to display for a given contact not from Gallery/Camera apps but from one of that same contact's linked accounts?

It seems that the app "Local Sync" doesn't exist any more in the Google Play store.

yes, rip Local Sync. The best Android/Outlook synchronizer I ever found

I just found the answer, which is a little tricky.
In general
When you need to set a default picture t oa contact who is linked to others, simply press MENU and go to Defaults menu. There you have the Caller ID setting in which you can choose the picture being displayed on call.
In the Viber case
That is not possible, since Viber doesn't actually create linked accounts, unlike Whatsapp. If the application that allows people to set a photo to themselves and manages contacts doesn't implement writing to address book that won't be possible

I don't see a "Defaults" menu. Could you share a screenshot of where you found this menu?

I discovered that it depends on the Android Contacts application in use, which varies among Android version and phone vendor

For Viber, use Viber Contact Photo Sync.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.booleanaxis.vibercontactphotosync2
For Whatsapp use:
Contact Photo Sync


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Nexus 10 cannot sign into Google Accounts
I have a brand new Nexus 10.  It worked for a few minutes of web browsing and then I am not sure what I did but somehow it got to the point where I was asked to sign into a Google Account.  Since I use gmail, the required answer to the question: do you use Google Accounts? is yes.  So I touched 'yes'.
I put in my gmail address and password.  Now it shows Couldn't sign in, Can't establish a reliable connection to the server.  There is the suggestion that it is a temporary problem but retries have failed over several days.
I then wiped all user data using instructions I found on the internet.  However, it still ends up stuck on the screen that shows Couldn't sign in, Can't establish a reliable connection to the server.
I even logged out of gmail on my laptop, but it doesn't help the situation on the Nexus 10.  The Nexus 10 is a brick so now I am shopping for a few hundred thousand of these and some mortar.
Additional info: I use 2-step verification on the laptop for my gmail.

I had a similar issue once. As soon as I switched networks, the issue solved itself (while the trouble was going on, I was permanently connected to my home WiFi -- after the network switch, it worked well in my home WiFi as well when re-connected). Worth a try, I'd say.

Did you check this thread? link. And, I know you wouldn't want this, but posting for others who'd want the same.XDA

I reconfigured the router to resolve the problem.  The settings that work include:

g rather than the other options being b and g/n.  This looks like the setting for the suffix on 802.11.
WPA-Personal
AES

Of course other settings may also work and might be more secure but I did not try them.


text:
Android OS without Google Services?
I have a Sony Xperia Z with version 4.1.2 running.
My question is about removing all of the Google baggage from the phone.
I have no Google account tied to my phone and would really like to get rid of all traces of Google from my phone for a few reasons:

Battery performance: Google services ranks in the top 3 of what uses up my battery
Privacy: I try to minimize what Google siphons from my phone with the exception of Google maps
Less Dependency: I don't want to be dependent on one company for all my needs.

So are there any Android versions out there that are minimalistic and do not invade your privacy?

Most after-market ROMs ship without Google Apps by default. Take a look at e.g. CyanogenMod, which is available for many devices. So if you can install custom ROMs, that's one way to go.
A different approach would be disabling all Google apps, or even remove them (on a rooted device). This might be a little more tricky as you would have to figure out all dependencies yourself.

Instructions for disabling apps (Android 4.0+) here

@loosebruce Not directly, but see: Android without Google 6: Self-Experiment ;)

Another thing you need to consider if you have no Google account is what to do about your contacts and calendar.
Since you are not going to synchronize your phone contacts and calendar with Google, you need another solution.  A good option is to keep your data in Outlook on your computer and use Akruto Sync to synchronize it with your phone.
Akruto Sync runs on your computer, allowing your Android phone to connect directly to your computer across the Internet, the same way it connects to Google, except that you are not sharing your information with anyone.  Your Outlook contacts and calendar are always up-to-date on your phone and they stay private.

So you're proposing sharing things with another big company (Microsoft) instead? They're not exactly more trustworthy than Google.


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How to install android 3.2 on an android TV box?
I'm looking for a way to install android 3.2 on an android TV box which is running android 2.3. Is it possible? if possible can someone give me some tips for it please?

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts. Can you please tell us which type of TV box you want to modify? For different hardware there are different constraints.

Yatay TV box is the brand of it

Can you be more specific? There are quite a few devices under the "IPTV Box" category listed on Yatay's site.  Knowing the exact model number would help.

Sorry yeah the model of the particular IPTV Box that i'm talking about is IV303. This link will give you the details of the spec


text:
Can I receive / send SMS of cellphone number with a tablet using a dongle?
Can I receive / send SMS of cellphone number with an Android tablet using a dongle? Any SMS application for the Android tablet?

Welcome to the Android Enthusiasts, madhukar! I've attached the fitting tags to your question. Browsing the questions using these tags, you will find the information you're after: Sending sms from tablet not allowed or not possible? and Can I use the stock SMS/MMS app on an Android tablet without UMTS module? should prove helpful.

Just want to point out that this is not a duplicate of http://android.stackexchange.com/q/13964/16575 This question is about using a dongle whereas the other one is about what you can do with the SMS app on a tablet without using a dongle.

Very probably not.
Reason: While (some?) USB dongles do support sending/receiving SMS, Android doesn't have a means to make use of it as is. 3rd party SMS apps rely on the Android API, but your device's firmware is very probably not built to expose 3G dongle's SMS capabilities via that API.

What you're looking for is http://mightytext.net/ , it can provide you with access to your mobile phone sms & mms.  There could be probably more have a look..

I've used Mightytext between my Chromebook and my phone It's very good (assuming your phone has data enabled, or is at least connected to wifi, because your phone ultimately acts as the relay for the sending/receiving of the texts).


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Digital magazines on google play/android Market: does it work like Apple newsstand?
I apologize if I may seem a bit confused but actually I need some direction to make up my mind about digital magazines publication on google play /android markets.
I'm comparing to the Apple store/ Apple newsstand just because I already know the general work flow on iOS devices.
I'm from Italy and I see the google play magazines has been enabled lately in for my country. Last week it wasn't  available.
So questions are:
If i have a Android device where am I supposed to search for digital publications?
(I ask the above since I can't find the same famous publications I find on Apple Store)
Is there a counterpart of newsstand?

I've never used the Apple Store, so I can't help you with comparing them, but to answer the parts that I can.
On a PC you can look through the website for the Magazines section of the Google Play Store to find magazines. You should be able to find areas for Top Magazines, Staff Favourites and various other Categories.
On your phone or tablet you can use the Google Play Magazines app or the Play Store app. Either open the Magazines app and press the overflow button at the top left and select Shop, or open the Play Store app and select the Magazines category from the top of the first screen.
If Magazines have only just become available in your country then it is very likely that Google haven't set up deals with all of the magazine publishers in your country yet, so there may be a smaller selection of magazines than you're expecting. I know that when Magazines became available in the UK it seemed to take about 3 months before some of my favourite magazines started showing up.


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Error on Samsung S4: "UNFORTUNATELLY the process . com.google.process.gapps has stopped."
I am getting an error message on my new S4. It is  "UNFORTUNATELLY the process . com.google.process.gapps has stopped."
How do I solve this problem?

A little context might help. Did you just start your phone when that happened? Or did you just install some new app? Was that error there from the beginning? What did you do immediately before it appeared, what were you trying to do when it happened?

2 Things to try:

Go to Settings->Apps->All->Find 'Download Manager' and open it. Make sure it's enabled.
Go to Settings->Apps->All->Find Google Play Store and open it. Clear the data and the cache.

Try again.


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Stock e-mail client (Nexus 4) not synchronizing to IMAP SSL account since 4.2.2 update
I have my school's e-mail account being checked via IMAP SSL/TLS on port 993. It is an Exchange mailbox but I did not want to to use MAPI and have my device "managed" by the school.
Anyhow, this worked fine prior to 4.2.2 update. Ever since then, e-mail is not being synchronized automatically and requires me to manually press the synchronize button.
My testing:

Send test e-mail to self from another account
Set checking frequency to 5 minutes
Wait 10 minutes (just to pad a bit)

Still nothing. If I go to the client and manually hit refresh though, I do get the message pulled. Also, if I restart the phone, all the new messages get pulled as well.
Things I've checked:

Factory reset: Reluctantly did one yesterday but, unfortunately, did not fix the issue.
System Settings -> Accounts -> Email: The synchronize button icon is green, when I click on the account, "Email" setting is checked. Says "Last synced" with a time that's over 5 minutes ago.
System Settings -> Data Usage -> Menu -> Auto-Sync Data: Saw that this was the issue with many people. That, however, is checked for me.
Wifi vs. Mobile Data: I've tested on both and no difference in results.

Does anyone have any suggestions on things I should check or test to figure this out.

Which email app are you using? You've tagged your question with both stock-email-app and k9-mail. If it's the stock email app, what device are you on? Some manufacturers replace the email app with their own.

The N4 stock client. I was misinformed that k9 was the stock client. My apologies.

Any other information needed? This is really bugging me.

Try logging out => Restart the device => login again.

This issue is documented here, no, resolution yet: https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=56219

This isn't an answer to making IMAP work, but there's an alternative solution if you don't mind spending some money: The Touchdown HD app works as an Exchange client but does not require Device Administrator - if the school activates Remote Wipe then it just wipes the email and not your whole phone. It's quite expensive for an Android app though.

My wife has a Nexus 4 too. I suggested to delete the account and recreate it. Then the sistems ask for authorizations of xxx stuff i cant remember and after agree it works again.

The Android stock email client has always been horrible. I've struggled with it numerous times and my simple solution has become switching to K-9. I've gotten it to (easily) work with about a half-a-dozen corporate email systems that have not wanted to play with an Android stock email client (in a number of different device manufacturer's a number of different Android version's devices). I've heard and read a number of people having had similar experiences. It's also not a surprise to me that an update has broken the stock clients' syncing. I've experienced that too.
So. Just switch to K-9 and you'll likely be fine again. And likely for good.


text:
How can I enlarge the fonts on Wikipedia in Chrome?
On most web sites, when I look at them with Chrome on my phone (a Nexus 4 running stock Android 4.2.2), I can adjust the font size by double-tapping a column of text to make it widen to fill the screen.  However, this doesn't work on Wikipedia.org; I don't know why -- the text is quite small.
I've already got the browser set up to display (very) large fonts: I'd gone to "settings", "Accessibility", and have cranked the "Text scaling" slider over to 155%, which is ginormous.  (There's also a check in the box that says "Force Enable Zoom", which I don't recall setting; I guess that's the default).
Anyway: this feature works fine on most sites, just not Wikipedia (and perhaps a few others).  Any advice for making Wikipedia readable?

I'm not seeing a problem on my Galaxy Nexus. Are you using the mobile version of the site (en.m.wikipedia.org)? Have you considered using the Wikipedia app? (There, at least, you can increase the font size to 300%.)

Hi Al, thanks for checking!  Yes, it's the mobile version of the site (oddly, asking for the desktop version doesn't change that).  I have indeed tried the Wikipedia app; I can't at the moment remember why I no longer use it; I'll give it another look.

Turns out the Wikipedia app works well enough.I still don't know why Chrome works the way it does, but the standalone app is good enough.

I'm having same problem with Nexus 7/Android 4.3/Chrome 30.0.1599.92. Seems like text scaling works as it should with, say, text-boxes like their one I'm typing this message in, but not on regular paragraphs: it just fits the paragraph on the screen.

Websites can ask the browser not to allow the user to scale it, that's why you can't zoom in.

@AlexDumitru I'd heard that, but I assume that the "Force Enable Zoom" checkbox is meant to override that.

I have force enable zoom, but it does not help on some forums. I can zoom but the text is not reflowed, forcing me to scroll back and forth. e. g. http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-831956-start-0.html

I've given up on the Wikipedia app (I can't remember why); and I've noticed that (contrary to one of my previous comments), asking for the "Desktop version" of the app does help (this is on Android 4.4.2, now; perhaps the browser behaves differently).  I still know of no way to always make Wikipedia pages expand when I double-tap; but at least I can request the desktop version for any individual page, and then double-tap.

Wow seeing this thread from 9 years ago and realizing that since I still have the EXACT problem as OP doesn't give me much hope! The font size on Wikipedia does NOT respond to ANY of the settings on my phone. I cranked the fonts up so big I hardly get 2 words per line everywhere else, but once I go back to a wiki page, it is so small I literally had to get reading glasses to use it. If I pinch-zoom the text does not reflow to fit the page forcing me to scroll back and forth to read an article and that ain't happening, lol!

I've been using the Wikipedia app for ages, and despite my comment from 2013(!) it seems fine.


text:
lock screen always toggles between two variants
Galaxy nexus, CM10.1, standard lock screen/ cLock.  If I repeatedly turn the screen off and on it goes back and forth between the two screens below.  Super annoying...

Edit to include a question mark:
How do I make it NOT switch between the two different lock screens every time?  I just want one lock screen; the one with the calendar and weather widgets I added...

What is your question?

Seriously?  How do I make NOT switch between the two different lock screens every time.  I just want one lock screen; the one with the calendar and weather widgets I added...

Is the lock screen you added a second lock screen (can you swipe right to reveal it or others)?

I didn't add any lockscreens.  They both seem to be cLock.  I can swipe left and right and it tilts but does not scroll/change screens.

Nothing is changing size.  It's two different cLock layouts.

Finally tracked down something official:https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=48164

Unfortunately I don't think you're going to find a setting change to fix this. It's likely a bug in the ROM, or the lock screen or cLock apk(s). I'm also running CM10.1 on my phone (LG Nitro HD) and I can't even get the cLock app to change to using an analog clock (vs. the Digital). Even after multiple reboots and confirming that indeed I have the right settings in Settings->Lockscreen.
Some rudimentary net searching and you can see issues with the lockscreen on CM10.1 is not unusual.

Can it be disabled? I should also have mentioned I have a corporate security policy applied that requires a PIN to unlock.

Settings->Security->Screen Lock->None.

Do you have Lockscreen Policy installed? That's most likely the issue.

I recently tried it to FIX the problem, but it didn't help.


text:
What is the difference between the Linux Kernel and the Android Kernel?
What are the modifications done in linux kernel to make it an android kernel ? By this question I mean what are the differences between linux kernel and android kernel ?

Related: What linux distribution is Android based on?,  Which Android runs which Linux kernel? and Why are there so many different Android kernels

I think this Android Source is a great documentation for understanding it.
And here is a list of changes done from mainline kernel for android kernel 4.14.
The largest features include:

19.8% Energy Aware Scheduling (kernel/sched)
13.8% Networking (net/netfilter)
13.5% Sdcardfs (fs/sdcardfs)
9.4% USB (drivers/usb)
7.2% SoC (arch/arm64, arch/x86)
6.2% f2fs (fs/f2fs -- backports from upstream)
6.1% Input (drivers/input/misc)
5.4% FIQ Debugger (drivers/staging/android/fiq_debugger)
3.6% Goldfish Emulator (drivers/platform/goldfish)
3.4% Verity (drivers/md)
11.6% Other

Differences from LTS
When compared to LTS (4.14.0), the Android common kernel has 355 changes, 32266 insertions, and 1546 deletions (as of February 2018).

It is now 2023, how has things changed since?

The differences change from version to version (both of Linux and of Android), and the exact kernel is different for each device. A kernel for Android is a mainstream Linux kernel, with additional drivers for the specific device, and other additional functionality, such as enhanced power management or faster graphics support.
Many features in the Android kernel are later added to upstream Linux after the open-source community has accepted (and perhaps modified) them, but others are never upstreamed, either because they're not acceptable to the Linux kernel developers, or because they're only applicable to Android or to specific hardware.

Most drivers for android specific hardware was accepted into mainline kernel; but some features, such as the wake lock which caused a huge controversy some time ago, remains problematic because mainline and android kernel developer disagree whether it's a good idea.

" A kernel for Android is a mainstream Linux kernel, with additional drivers for the specific device, and other additional functionality, such as enhanced power management or faster graphics support", so it's mainly drivers? No source code changed?

@GuerlandoOCs I'm not sure what you think drivers are if not a source code change, but regardless, the "other additional functionality" I mentioned is quite big these days. There are many source code changes.

@DanHulme are the source changes patches or just code changed by hand? How can I see things that changed? I've read that you can patch your linux kernel to be compatible with android, but where are those patches so I can read them?

Beside the device specific differences and wake lock that Dan Hulme and Lie Ryan mentions, Android removed System V IPC features (message queues, shared memory segments, semaphores) that could lead to resource leaks (http://www.kandroid.org/ndk/docs/system/libc/SYSV-IPC.html). This probably is just a matter of configuring the kernel build. Also the Android IPC of choice, called Binder, has some support in the kernel that to my knowledge is not included in standard Linux kernels.

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


text:
search somebody from contacts with the numpads
My old phone Motorola Defy had the option by calling to search for a contact just typing a number. Not sure how that feature is called but I'll give an example:
If I want to call "Alex" i need to press 2(a bc) 5(jk l) 3(d e f) 9(w x yz) and I press the call button.
Now I got the Nexus 4 and there is not such a feature, which is really annoying. Is there a custom dialer that support this feature? Or is it possible to enable it from somewhere?

There is no way to do this with the stock dialer. There are a number of apps that you can install that do support this. Search the play store for 't9 dialer' (or click here). Pick one that you like the look of :)


text:
Do applications that remain in Recent Apps list take up resources?
I always thought they remained memory residents but a developer told me otherwise.
Is there a canonical answer to this?

The answer can be found between the lines to the question What actually happens when you swipe an app out of the recent apps list?. There, eldarerathis quotes some trustworthy sources:

[W]hat specifically happens when you swipe away a recent task is it:
(1) kills any background or empty processes of the application (see
https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/fundamentals/processes-and-threads.html#Lifecycle
for what this means), and (2) uses the new
https://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/Service.html#onTaskRemoved(android.content.Intent)
API to tell any services of the application about the task being
removed so it can do whatever it thinks is appropriate.

This could mean: if there are processes to be removed, they must be running -- which would be a "yes" to your question. On the other hand, if some app is listed in the recent apps list, that does not necessarily mean there was something left. "Recent" means explicitly what the word suggests: the user has recently used that app. Don't confuse that with Alt-Tab on your desktop computer, where you explicitly switch through running apps. The concept on Android is completely different.
So the final answer would be a "Nes" or "Yo". It could be such an app has still processes running. But even if, that's nothing to worry about: unless one of them is a service, those resources are mostly limited to RAM and would be automatically freed as soon as they are required for something else. They don't eat your battery. Completely unused resources are, um, unused -- that is, useless. Why throw away something we might need shortly? The user could decide to switch back to that app. So if it's still loaded, it's not only faster available -- but it even requires less resources (CPU, I/O) to activate it again, as it's already there.


text:
Multi User Backup
On a tablet I have a situation where I have multiple users with multiple accounts, and I am trying to have the phone's state backed up in such a way that if I upgrade the operating system, every user's data is backed up.
I would like to do this without imaging the phone, so that this backup can be applied to say, a newer version of the Android OS. I am ok with the backup being finicky, if there is some significant changes to the OS, so long as minor changes don't break it.
I have tried Titanium Backup, and while it works perfectly for a single user, it does not work when multiple users are involved. Neither the user's, nor their data, is backed up.
What application that can achieve this?
Edit: To elaborate, backing up each user individually would work but it would be slow. We may be doing this on many devices, so this is primarily a way to save us time.

We have found a tool included in AOSP debug builds called rawbu: https://github.com/GeekRom/android_frameworks_base/tree/master/cmds/rawbu that does exactly what we need it to do if you push it the right way. It backs up the entire data partition of an Android device, though it is outdated and crashes if not executed properly since they fused the sdcard.
The default directory used by rawbu is sdcard/backup.dat but since that is fused to data/media/0 this will crash on devices ever since that change. So when running rawbu you must specify data/media/0/backup.dat as the backup and restore arguement so that it knows where to backup and restore to. Since the sdcard isnt backed up, only data is, this should work on newer devices. If you don't do this, it will restore the backup.dat file to itself corrupting itself while performing the restore.
Cons:

There are a lot of hoops to jump through that I haven't tried yet (I've only tried this on a debug build, so I haven't tried building and pushing it to a release build that's been rooted.)
Your phone has to be rooted for this to work.

Pros

Theoretically it works
It's faster than running titanium backup on each user if you have a lot of users to backup.
It also restores your phone to the exact same state you had if your phone crashes.

In closing it is unfortunate that there are no good methods for backing up multiple users. However with google's new push to make multi users a stronger feature, we can hope that the adb backup utility will be improved at some point in the near future.

Unfortunately it seems GeekRom has removed their Github account. It was part of AOSP in JB, but is no longer in the tree at least with Kitkat. On Github, you can find it with OptiPop – but again, last update 2 years ago.

Probably just a wild guess. If you have multiple users, and want to use Titanium Backup, you probably need to perform back-up on each account.

That's the thing, I'd like to be able to backup all users simultaneously. We could be backing up many devices shared by multiple users, so to save time it would help a lot if we could back all of them up simultaneously

I don't think there is a way to do this without imaging. I was going to suggest adb backup but as far as I can tell this only backups up the current user, not all users data.


text:
Reverse polarity damage
I need help. I was using a generic usb charger to charge my android phone and it was charging fine but somehow the polarity was reversed. After being plugged in for some time, the phone became very hot and can't power on now. How badly is it damaged and how can it be fixed?

How did you determine that it's polarity was reversed? Getting slightly warm while charging is normal in some phones.

If really damaged - only by re-soldering broken components by new components.
But HOW? USB polarity is declared in standard, cable is impossible to insert at wrong position without break of connector.

"Where there's a will, there's a way."  You'd be surprised how often people insert the micro-USB cable the wrong way.  My mother-in-law fried her tablet last week doing exactly that.  In her case, the tablet now shuts off when the cable is inserted (wrong or right way.)

Concerning how I'm sure the polarity was reversed, the head of the micro-usb which plugs into the phone was kinda loose and when I unplugged it, the pins of the micro-usb pulled out from the head. I later pushed the pins back into the head and plugged the phone again. It didn't start charging at once and I wondered why but still left it plugged in. @ Penguinolog, how do I know what to re-solder? When a phone repairman opened the phone to look at it, all the ICs appeared to be OK.


text:
I'm having trouble making a custom ringtone
I have an LG-LS855. I don't seem to have any way to plug it in to my computer. I've made a ringtone I want to use. It's an mp3 file. I've uploaded it onto Google Drive. The only thing I seem to be able to do from my phone is play it.
I've downloaded three apps for custom ringtones. The only one that came close to helping was Tone Picker. It lets me use an mp3 from Google Drive as a ringtone. Or at least, it appears to. The phone still uses its default ringtone.
I've also figured out how to use any of the music on my phone as ringtones, but I can't figure out how to download the mp3 as music either.

See also: Add New Ringtones, Notifications and Alarm tones on Nexus One, How to manually upload ringtones and notifications to DroidX?, Ringtones from my mp3, and many more (simply search for "ringtones" or click the "ringtone" tag) :)

answer taken from the question:

The Dropbox app actually lets you download stuff onto your phone. Once
  I did that, the phone's ringtone manager let me use it fine.

Have you tried Ringdroid? Lots of people seem to have success with it.

Create your own ringtone, alarm, or notification sound from an existing audio file, or record a new one directly on the device.

I tried it. All it seems to be able to do is mess with audio files that are already in my song list and record stuff. As I already mentioned, I have no trouble using those as ringtones. I just can't figure out a way to move my custom ringtone onto that list.

@DanielLC Have you tried putting the MP3 file in a local folder in your phone, instead of putting it on Google Drive?

How? My plan was to upload it to Google Drive on my computer and then download it onto my phone from there. I can't figure out how to download it though.

@DanielLC Did you download the MP3 file by clicking on it and "Download a copy"?

I don't have that option. I just have Send, Move to..., Remove offline, Open with, Send link, Rename, and Remove. Open with just plays it.

@DanielLC Find another way to put it on your phone. Send the MP3 to your GMail, and download it there. Once you have a local copy, try and set it with the apps you've tried. Then, come back and let us know if it worked.


text:
Do I have any chance to recover this video?
Using Samsung Galaxy ACE s5830
Android 2.3.6
Well I made a mistake. I was recording an important video with my smartphone (the default video recorder) and then I put the cellphone close to my chest. I noticed later that the video stopped but i thought it was saved. seems like somehow the jacket touched a cancel button (not delete) and then ok. odd but it happened.
now i dont find the video.
My question is if anyone knows if i have any chance to recover the video from a place in the SD memory, probaly using an forensic tool to recover deleted files. I mean if the data was being created somewhere in a temp file until its done, It could be recovered but as this is android i dont have idea.
The video was important so I'll try anything.
NOTE: checking in windows, it shows the modification date in the folder DCIM\Camera, corresponding to the moment i was recording. So at least there was access to that specific folder.
thanks

Have a look at http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/15869/how-can-i-recover-a-deleted-file-on-android and try one of the answers there.

If the video is recorded, then it will be saved to your phone. But for your case, what I guess is that the video is not recorded.

Check out a [linux] tool called foremost - that ought to do it.

Please leave an answer why this tool is helpfull in the context of the question asked.