text:
Does android device manager remote lock if you deactivate stolen phone?
okay so my phone is stolen in airplane mode due to the security flaw on the power button....My question is if it deactivated will my android device manager lock and erase still work if the phone is connected to wifi or powered back on?

Your command of self-lock or self-wipe will be sent to device through your Gmail account. If the thief didn't change anything on phone, as soon as it has access to internet it will run your commands.

Yes, Android Device Manager will send the phone the Lock and Erase message as soon as it comes online and starts communicating with Google's servers. When the wipe occurs you will receive an email stating when and where it happened.
http://www.androidcentral.com/how-set-android-device-manager-lock-and-wipe-your-phone


text:
Where is my download list located ony htc desire?
I used my Showbox app and tried to download something and it said "saved to download list"

Open up your apps menu, and look for the "Downloads" app. That should bring up the "list" the message is referring to.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Mount HDD with multiple partitions
I have an external HDD with two partitions. Both are ext3 partitions and works fine with Linux. When I plug the USB HDD in my Android device, it does not work. I see some errors in dmesg:
[ 3132.712025] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda] Unhandled error code

Following is the full log (also available at Pastebin):

[ 3129.797281] usb 1-1: new high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3129.948997] usb 1-1: New USB device found, idVendor=04fc, idProduct=0c25
[ 3129.949076] usb 1-1: New USB device strings: Mfr=2, Product=3, SerialNumber=1
[ 3129.949118] usb 1-1: Product: USB to Serial-ATA bridge
[ 3129.949159] usb 1-1: Manufacturer: Sunplus Technology Inc.
[ 3129.949195] usb 1-1: SerialNumber: ST3500820A            9QMB89AR
[ 3129.956216] usb-storage 1-1:1.0: USB Mass Storage device detected
[ 3129.956759] scsi206 : usb-storage 1-1:1.0
[ 3130.943497] scsi 206:0:0:0: Direct-Access     ST350082 0AS                   PQ: 0 ANSI: 2
[ 3130.947482] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda] 976773168 512-byte logical blocks: (500 GB/465 GiB)
[ 3130.948602] sd 206:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg0 type 0
[ 3130.950308] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda] Write Protect is off
[ 3130.950387] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda] Mode Sense: 38 00 00 00
[ 3130.953130] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda] No Caching mode page found
[ 3130.953203] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda] Assuming drive cache: write through
[ 3130.961231] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda] No Caching mode page found
[ 3130.961312] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda] Assuming drive cache: write through
[ 3131.096185] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3131.381492] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3131.676711] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3131.971902] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3132.267086] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3132.562270] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3132.712025] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda] Unhandled error code
[ 3132.712106] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda]
[ 3132.712140] Result: hostbyte=DID_ERROR driverbyte=DRIVER_OK
[ 3132.712178] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda] CDB:
[ 3132.712205] Read(10): 28 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 08 00
[ 3132.712305] end_request: I/O error, dev sda, sector 0
[ 3132.712345] Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 0
[ 3132.847682] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3133.142899] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3133.438095] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3133.733289] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3134.028505] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3134.323707] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3134.473244] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda] Unhandled error code
[ 3134.473324] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda]
[ 3134.473357] Result: hostbyte=DID_ERROR driverbyte=DRIVER_OK
[ 3134.473396] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda] CDB:
[ 3134.473422] Read(10): 28 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 08 00
[ 3134.473518] end_request: I/O error, dev sda, sector 0
[ 3134.473558] Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 0
[ 3134.609000] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3134.904220] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3135.199424] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3135.494638] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3135.789882] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3136.085081] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3136.234861] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda] Unhandled error code
[ 3136.234942] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda]
[ 3136.234974] Result: hostbyte=DID_ERROR driverbyte=DRIVER_OK
[ 3136.235014] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda] CDB:
[ 3136.235040] Read(10): 28 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 08 00
[ 3136.235136] end_request: I/O error, dev sda, sector 0
[ 3136.235177] Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 0
[ 3136.235299]  sda: unable to read partition table
[ 3136.244113] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda] No Caching mode page found
[ 3136.244198] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda] Assuming drive cache: write through
[ 3136.244248] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda] Attached SCSI disk
[ 3136.429360] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3136.724578] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3137.019861] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3137.315036] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3137.610218] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3137.905427] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3138.055309] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda] Unhandled error code
[ 3138.055385] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda]
[ 3138.055422] Result: hostbyte=DID_ERROR driverbyte=DRIVER_OK
[ 3138.055459] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda] CDB:
[ 3138.055485] Read(10): 28 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 f0 00
[ 3138.055583] end_request: I/O error, dev sda, sector 0
[ 3138.055622] Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 0
[ 3138.055684] Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 1
[ 3138.055720] Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 2
[ 3138.055755] Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 3
[ 3138.055790] Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 4
[ 3138.055824] Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 5
[ 3138.055858] Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 6
[ 3138.180976] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3138.466284] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3138.751642] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3139.037079] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3139.332211] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3139.627405] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3139.777006] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda] Unhandled error code
[ 3139.777088] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda]
[ 3139.777119] Result: hostbyte=DID_ERROR driverbyte=DRIVER_OK
[ 3139.777162] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda] CDB:
[ 3139.777190] Read(10): 28 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 08 00
[ 3139.777288] end_request: I/O error, dev sda, sector 0
[ 3139.777323] quiet_error: 23 callbacks suppressed
[ 3139.777358] Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 0
[ 3139.962008] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3140.257168] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3140.552444] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3140.847589] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3141.142778] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3141.437970] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3141.587839] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda] Unhandled error code
[ 3141.587922] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda]
[ 3141.587956] Result: hostbyte=DID_ERROR driverbyte=DRIVER_OK
[ 3141.587993] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda] CDB:
[ 3141.588021] Read(10): 28 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 f0 00
[ 3141.588121] end_request: I/O error, dev sda, sector 0
[ 3141.588162] Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 0
[ 3141.588228] Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 1
[ 3141.588265] Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 2
[ 3141.588300] Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 3
[ 3141.588335] Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 4
[ 3141.588369] Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 5
[ 3141.588405] Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 6
[ 3141.588441] Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 7
[ 3141.588477] Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 8
[ 3141.723340] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3142.008700] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3142.294008] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3142.579457] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3142.874631] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3143.169809] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3143.319518] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda] Unhandled error code
[ 3143.319599] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda]
[ 3143.319633] Result: hostbyte=DID_ERROR driverbyte=DRIVER_OK
[ 3143.319672] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda] CDB:
[ 3143.319700] Read(10): 28 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 08 00
[ 3143.319798] end_request: I/O error, dev sda, sector 0
[ 3143.484670] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3143.799687] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3144.094726] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3144.389973] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3144.685229] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3144.980369] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3145.129772] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda] Unhandled error code
[ 3145.129809] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda]
[ 3145.129823] Result: hostbyte=DID_ERROR driverbyte=DRIVER_OK
[ 3145.129840] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda] CDB:
[ 3145.129853] Read(10): 28 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 f0 00
[ 3145.129896] end_request: I/O error, dev sda, sector 0
[ 3145.255897] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3145.541259] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3145.826603] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3146.112009] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3146.407167] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3146.702336] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3146.852225] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda] Unhandled error code
[ 3146.852306] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda]
[ 3146.852338] Result: hostbyte=DID_ERROR driverbyte=DRIVER_OK
[ 3146.852380] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda] CDB:
[ 3146.852407] Read(10): 28 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 08 00
[ 3146.852503] end_request: I/O error, dev sda, sector 0
[ 3146.852538] quiet_error: 52 callbacks suppressed
[ 3146.852573] Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 0
[ 3147.046747] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3147.341944] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3147.637250] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3147.932432] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3148.227603] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3148.522749] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3148.672173] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda] Unhandled error code
[ 3148.672213] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda]
[ 3148.672227] Result: hostbyte=DID_ERROR driverbyte=DRIVER_OK
[ 3148.672243] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda] CDB:
[ 3148.672255] Read(10): 28 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 f0 00
[ 3148.672300] end_request: I/O error, dev sda, sector 0
[ 3148.672319] Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 0
[ 3148.672350] Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 1
[ 3148.672366] Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 2
[ 3148.672381] Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 3
[ 3148.672396] Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 4
[ 3148.672411] Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 5
[ 3148.672426] Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 6
[ 3148.672440] Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 7
[ 3148.672455] Buffer I/O error on device sda, logical block 8
[ 3148.798335] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3149.093531] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3149.388697] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3149.683817] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3149.979098] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3150.274320] usb 1-1: reset high-speed USB device number 84 using ehci-platform
[ 3150.423545] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda] Unhandled error code
[ 3150.423576] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda]
[ 3150.423586] Result: hostbyte=DID_ERROR driverbyte=DRIVER_OK
[ 3150.423597] sd 206:0:0:0: [sda] CDB:
[ 3150.423607] Read(10): 28 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 08 00
[ 3150.423636] end_request: I/O error, dev sda, sector 0

I see the device at /dev/block/sda but I don't have any idea about mounting it manually. I was expecting /dev/block/sda1 and /dev/block/sda2.
How do I manage those partitions?

Are you sure there are no files named sda1 and sda2 under /dev/block? You can use mount command-line tool  (try busybox's mount too) to mount those partitions.

I see /dev/block/sda, not /dev/block/sda1 or /dev/block/sda2
Same drive on linux is mounted fine.

Your kernel likely does not support ext3: http://android.stackexchange.com/q/46946/1465  What device and Android version do you have?

I have some partitions as ext4, so the kernel modules are fine. Right?

I can't fix the original issue.
I have just merged all the data in a single partition. I have no idea why the system can't mount the disk with two partitions.

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


text:
Samsung Galaxy S6 touchscreen sensitivity
Is there a way to adjust the touchscreen sensitivity on the Samsung Galaxy S6? I feel like I am going to damage the screen with how hard I have to press to accomplish anything. Typing takes forever and is frustrating. TIA.

It's likely that this is purely controlled by hardware/firmware, so no settings you can change, but upgrading your ROM might help.  What is your Android version?

I checked my phone settings and it says that the Android version is 5.1.1, it doesn't give a name like kitkat, lollipop, etc.

I don't think there is a way to change it, but if you have to press that hard, it may be defective.


text:
Is it possible to change values in build.prop without editing it?
I want to change the line ro.build.type from user to userdebug in /system/build.prop to enable multiwindow. But this modifies the /system partition and will prevent OTA updates (and some apps) from working (I have a un-rooted Nexus which gets monthly updates so it can be annoying to flash).
Running getprop ro.build.type in Terminal Emulator returns user on my un-rooted Nexus.But before I ROOT I would to know if I can use su -c setprop ro.build.type userdebug.I will ROOT using the new systemless ROOT (which does not modify /system). All this is to enable the new Marshmallow multiwindow feature.

Check if this works: su -c setprop persist.sys.debug.multi_window true.. (Source: https://reddit.com/r/Android/comments/3o894i/psa_you_can_enable_multiwindow_without_changing/)

@GokulNC I am not rooted!

I meant to try it after flashing system-less root.

@GokulNC How about editing /data/local.prop . Will that work

I am new to rooting and all this kind of stuff.Also just wondering if you can hard brick your device if it has an unlocked bootloader and working fastboot because I don't think you can you can corrupt fastboot.I have heard about OTA updates bricking devices because their bootloader is locked so they can't flash a new ROM (you can fix it if it unlocked so I  enable OEM unlock in developer options on my device before updating so it doesn't brick)

@SuiciDoga - Systemless root is the way to go, for you. But please be warned that the multi-window feature in M is somewhat half done and not polished. You may very well wait for N to get released in Q3 this year. If not, you can dive in right away with N Dev Preview 4. It seems to be stable enough to run as your daily driver.

@blueren I'll wait for Dev Preview 5 since it will be the final thing which will be released later


text:
How to create complete image backup(Nandroid) of rooted phone if no cwm or twrp available for my phone
I have a rooted phone and i need to do some change to buid.prop.
And if i got my phone bricked i need to recover it back. The thing is There's no CWM or TWRP roms available to my tablet(ZTE E7P(3G) running Kitkat 4.4.2).
Is there any way i can take a snapshot(Nandroid backup) of my currently running OS and restore it back if anything happen using default recovery mode(May be with ADB).
Simply what i want is to perform a Nandroid backup of my rooted tab and restore it without using custom recoveries like CWM or TWRP.

Related: How to do a full nandroid backup via pc && Is there a way to do Nandroid backup directly to pc and then restore it directly from pc also? && Is this the right way to use dd for a full backup?

Provided your device is rooted, you can do that with simple dd commands. Trouble is just to find out what partitions you might need to backup: some devices have more than 20 partitions, and you will most likely not need more than 5 backed up.
This is where e.g. my little tool Adebar comes in which, amongst others, creates you a script for exactly this purpose: dd the relevant partitions and get them to your computer, giving the files recognizable names. The result for my LG P880 e.g. looks like:

adb shell "su -c 'stty raw; cat /dev/block/mmcblk0p3'" > "images/system.img"
adb shell "su -c 'stty raw; cat /dev/block/mmcblk0p4'" > "images/cache.img"
adb shell "su -c 'stty raw; cat /dev/block/mmcblk0p12'" > "images/cal.img"
adb shell "su -c 'stty raw; cat /dev/block/mmcblk0p9'" > "images/persist-lg.img"
adb shell "su -c 'stty raw; cat /dev/block/mmcblk0p11'" > "images/FOT.img"
adb shell "su -c 'stty raw; cat /dev/block/mmcblk0p2'" > "images/LNX.img"
adb shell "su -c 'stty raw; cat /dev/block/mmcblk0p10'" > "images/mpt.img"
adb shell "su -c 'stty raw; cat /dev/block/mmcblk0p5'" > "images/MSC.img"
adb shell "su -c 'stty raw; cat /dev/block/mmcblk0p7'" > "images/NVA.img"
adb shell "su -c 'stty raw; cat /dev/block/mmcblk0p1'" > "images/SOS.img"
adb shell "su -c 'stty raw; cat /dev/block/mmcblk0p8'" > "images/data.img"
adb shell "su -c 'stty raw; cat /dev/block/mmcblk0p13'" > "images/UDB.img"
adb shell "su -c 'stty raw; cat /dev/block/mmcblk0p6'" > "images/USP.img"

As you can see, this does not only include partitions mounted at the time the script was generated, but also all other "named ones".
Adebar is plain Bash + ADB, and reportedly works in Cygwin (as well as of course on Linux).

pretty much ignorant of these things. Is it possible to identify blocks , meaning the ones you need to take back up using Windows only ? Also the next step how to restore is equally important and you may consider adding

a partition backup always backs up the entire partition, that's how it is supposed to work (that's also what my quoted script does, though it doesn't use dd). And I rather don't give ideas on how to restore those (hint: just reverse source and target, but don't do that with the system booted – i.e. the corresponding partition being used), can be tricky ;)

This might be a noob question. if i backup "mmcblk0" using above shell command does that mean i have all the sub-subsequent partitions like mmcblk0p1, mmcblk0p2..... inside it or do i have to call script separate on each one(of course your tool will do it automatically, but i'm asking theoretical does mmcblk0 contains all the partition data) .

@HarshaXsoad mmcblk0 would be the entire "drive" with all the partitions (you could inspect that probably with e.g. TestDisk). However, it's unlikely you want to restore it this way (basically, as soon as your device is booted at least one of the partitions will be in use), so it's better to capture the partitions separately.

What do you mean by "device is booted", to OS or to recover mode/powered on. Can i restore the entire drive(mmcblk0) on recover mode with adb because i guess non of the partitions are mounted and won't be in use on that mode. Am i correct ?

@HarshaXsoad No. /recovery will be mounted then (mmcblk0p1 in the above example). When booted to OS, you can't because of /data (mmcblk0p8). You theoretically cound from fastboot, where nothing is mounted – but fastboot only deals with partitions, not with entire drives (plus you'd have no console there to do it)-

Is stty raw necessary?

@Melab yes. Compare that to the BIN command of FTP. Without that, you mess up the data. Alternatively, you can use adb exec-out instead of adb shell and then would not need the stty raw.

@Izzy I thought it can now handle piping. Is that incorrect?

@Izzy That gives me su not found. I've booted into TWRP temporarily and it does not provide such a command. Is there any alternative?

In TWRP you can skip the su -c as you are root there by default. So just adb exec-out "cat /dev/block/mmcblk0p3" > "images/system.img" should work.

@Izzy I used adb shell dd if=/dev/block/by-name/userdata > userdata.img. I should expect userdata.img to be messed up?

Try mounting it as loop device and see for yourself. Yes, I'd expect it to fail as you used shell instead of exec-out – and shell does a bunch of terminal conversions.

Yes, with ADB, this is possible. However, there are also some unofficial images on TWRP and CWM, which may be unofficially ported to your device. If not, you can follow ADB instructions below.
NOTE: Do it at your own risk.
This is the compilation of some of my research on this specifically, so proceed at your own risk until I test it myself.

Prerequisites
You will need busybox installed on your android, ADB on PC, OS X/Linux native tools or Cygwin for Windows, USB debugging.

Once you are sure that everything is working on your phone, then you have a choice between backing the entire phone up, or partitions by name. To view partitions by name, type this in your adb shell or phone terminal:
ls /dev/block/platform/dw_mmc*/by-name

You should get a long list of names like USERDATA or SYSTEM. These are familiar when doing a nandroid on TWRP or CWM.

Backing up entire phone
I would recommend this one more because I had experience with restoring System and Data partitions from TWRP, but all of my photos disappeared.
Type in cygwin window
adb forward tcp:5555 tcp:5555
adb shell
su
/system/xbin/busybox nc -l -p 5555 -e /system/xbin/busybox dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0

And in a new cygwin window
adb forward tcp:5555 tcp:5555
cd /path/to/store/the/backup
nc 127.0.0.1 5555 | pv -i 0.5 > mmcblk0.raw

This will netcat transfer the raw mmcblk0 to your computer.

Backing up by name
Backing up by name, you would do the same as with the whole phone, just replacing /dev/block/mmcblk0 in the dd command, with /dev/block/platfrom/dw_mmc*/by-name/USERDATA, replacing USERDATA with whatever partition you want.

When recovering (assume that i have bricked my phone) in which mode i can/supposed to restore above image with ADB(Since i can't load into OS).

I think that the stock recovery supports ADB too.  Check on your device first

Ok, but I will test this method that I wrote down, because I don't want it to end up being incorrect. I am in fact testing the backup made this way now

An easy way to find out what partitions to take (and which partition contains what) is using my little tool Adebar, which (amongst others) creates you a script for exactly this purpose: dd the partitions and get them to your computer.

by dong "nc 127.0.0.1 5555 | pv -i 0.5 > mmcblk0.raw" i get something like this "0 B 0:00:00 [   0 B/s] [<=>" (actual a progress bar) and creates an empty mmcblk0.raw file. what should i do.

Yes, I got the same result when attempting on testing it. I will try fixing somehow

If this helps by typing "cat /proc/emmc " in shell i got followings
partno: start_sect nr_sects partition_name
emmc_p1: 00000400  00000002 "ebr1"
emmc_p2: 00004800  00005000 "protect_f"
emmc_p3: 00009800  00005000 "protect_s"
emmc_p4: 00014c00  00003000 "sec_ro"
emmc_p5: 0001ec00  00200000 "android"
emmc_p6: 0021ec00  0003f000 "cache"
emmc_p7: 0025dc00  001e7000 "usrdata"
emmc_p8: 00444c00 00a3b000 "fat"

with this command also: "cat /proc/partitions ",
major minor #blocks name   7        0       1254 loop0 253        0     524288 zram  179        0    7601664 mmcblk  179        1          1 mmcblk0p1 179        2      10240 mmcblk0p2 179        3      10240 mmcblk0p3 179        4       6144 mmcblk0p4 179        5    1048576 mmcblk0p5 179        6     129024 mmcblk0p6 179        7     997376 mmcblk0p7 179        8    5363712 mmcblk0p8 179       64       4096 mmcblk0boot1 179       32       4096 mmcblk0boot0

They say plagiarism is not a good thing to a platform meant for dissemination of knowledge. Follow How to reference material written by others.

OK, that was my case some months ago:) My phone too was neither supported by cwm nor twrp. But after some research online, I rooted it and created nandroid backup..I have provided step-by-step procedure here- creating safe nandroid backup of any device
when the backup is complete, you will also get custom recovery for your device...
I created this tutorial just to help people like you and me who were struggling to do nandroid backup.


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Phone stuck in bootloop after installing Chainfire 3D app
I have Micromax A61 with 4.1 Jelly Bean. I rooted it using Kingo Root. I tried a performance boosting app called Chainfire 3D. Now it's stuck in boot screen.
I don't have CWM or TWRP recovery and USB debugging is OFF.
Help me.

Try a factory reset and cache wipe

Hard Reset or wiping Cache is not useful.

u can also download custom ROM from outside & install it on ur phone.
try it. It can be happen useful

Taken from an answer by 'Same error but solved it' on Stack Overflow,

Follow this tutorial on YouTube to install and open a program which you will use to uninstall the driver of ChainFire installed on your device.
Start your phone into recovery mode (Home + Vol up + Power).
Plug in your phone via USB cord to your computer.
Once you have ADB opened in command prompt, type su to gain superuser access.
After that, you type cd /system/lib
Then you type cf3d_uninstall.sh

Source: XDA Forum

Can you replace the video with something better

@SuiciDoga You can learn it from https://www3.ntu.edu.sg/home/ehchua/programming/android/Android_HowTo.html . It is text. Read it and install sdk. Don't forget to install USB driver for your device.


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How can I move apps to SD on non-adopted Marshmallow storage?
Everyone seems to be getting excited about Marshmallow's adoptable storage feature, but to me it seems like a major regression.  There can be several reasons for not adopting external storage:

When upgrading from Lollipop, I already have an SD card full of stuff. So re-formatting it and erasing everything in order to convert it to adoptable storage is a major disincentive.  That would require transferring many GB of data off the device, re-formatting, and then transferring it back on, and I'm not sure how to do that in a robust manner or whether it's even possible, since adopted storage probably stores stuff in different ways.
My SD card might be too slow for it to make sense using it as an extension of internal storage.
I want to be able to use my removable SD card in other devices (e.g. quickly transferring huge video files to a laptop).

Based on these reasons, if I don't adopt storage, AFAICS that means that apps can only be stored on internal memory.  And since I have a lot of apps, that means that since the Marshmallow upgrade, my device is regularly close to full, causing lots of functionality to break.
So is there really no way to move apps to non-adopted external SD storage on Marshmallow?  If so, do I have any alternative besides uninstalling apps to free space, or downgrading to Lollipop?  If not, this would be hugely disappointing and suggest that Google really didn't think carefully enough before providing this feature.

Sam Liddicott gives the best alternative I've found: partitioning the SD card. More information in his answer to another question

Thanks - actually I already came to the same conclusion, but then got stuck on figuring out how big to make the partition!

You are correct. Android Marshmallow has done away with apps being on the SD card when it's setup as portable storage. The only way to use it in that way is with root and apps like LINK2SD.

Ah, thanks! I didn't know about LINK2SD and apps2sd.  Still seems hard to find a definitive procedure for using them on Marshmallow though.

Marshmallow internal storage can be better used with a mixed-format SD card as I also explain in my blog here:
http://blog.sam.liddicott.com/2016/02/android-6-semi-adopted-storage.html
First, you need adb working.

Have SD card inserted and formatted as portable.
Eject your SD card from the Storage & USB menu
Use "adb shell" to list your adoptable storage:

like this
$ adb shell sm list-disks adoptable

disk:179_64

disk:179_64 is my SD card that can be made adoptable, I want 75% as external SD:
$ adb shell sm partition disk:179_64 mixed 75

Note: Your card may be listed with a comma instead of an underscore, e.g. disk:179,64 in which case, that is what you type:
$ adb shell sm partition disk:179,64 mixed 75

This will erase the entire SD card, giving 75% as portable storage and the rest as adopted internal storage.
Reboot your phone.
From Storage & USB menu, select the SD card (internal) and choose Migrate Data (so that apps, where possible, are installed there).
From the Storage & USB rename the adopted storage to have some name like Adopted otherwise if it has the same name as the external storage partition, the USB MTP view may only show the internal

Now you have adopted storage that can accept apps which allow "move to SD", and also an SD card where you can store Plex movies, google play music, photos, etc.
Thanks to @fernio who tipped me to post here.

Thanks - I already saw your approach as per the comments on the original question. However it is not at all clear to me whether this approach makes sense in my case: 1) How should I decide partition sizes? Your 75%/25% split sounds completely arbitrary. 2) What if I don't have enough free space left to create a partition of the required size? 3) Exactly what will get stored in adopted storage vs. portable? In particular, how do you know where big stuff will go, like camera videos/photos, Google Play music/videos, Spotify offline music etc.?

@AdamSpiers with regards to number 3, any app that offers to store data in the SD card (like Spotify) will see the Portable partition as your SD card

Partition sizes are arbitrary. On a 32G card 25% for adopted is generous. Partitioning will erase your card so you will have enough free space :-) and by experience I know that apps like play music, camera, Plex, that can store to SD will still have the option to store to portable. Otherwise apps may store on internal or adopted whichever you migrate data to, otherwise they will store where the app is installed.

After taking the last command I ran into this error: Error: java.lang.IllegalStateException: java.util.concurrent.TimeoutException: Thread Binder_C gave up waiting for partitionMixed after 180000ms

For the java error, make sure you are running the command prompt under the admin mode

Was able to follow steps using terminal emulator directly on rooted phone, without using adb or usb phone connection: - Format internal SD as portable in settings, hit eject (unmount), opened terminal emulator, I su (just incase) to become root, then sm list-disks adoptable, found my storage 179_64, then sm partition disk:179_64 mixed 80. It immediately started working. Ignored format prompt. Then rebooted and all prompts asking if I wanted to format went away.


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Xperia Ray ST18i - CWM - install zip from sdcard, error message: This package is for "ST18i,..." devices; this is a "".?
I am working on an Xperia Ray ST18i otherwise known as urushi, unlocked, rooted, last running stock 4.0.4.
I was unable to install CWM with ROM manager app, which said it was incompatible with ST18i.  I tried to install TWRP, same response.  I tried to install CWM with x-Parts app, it said that it installed, but there was nothing there.  Finally I found a tip to use the installer of older version of CWM, 5.027.  I installed it, and it worked.  The installer app recognized the device as an ST18i.  I tested that I could reboot into recovery and operate it.  Made nandroid backup.
Now attempting to install carbon rom 4.4.x.
Copied zip to sd card.
I extracted the boot.img, installed with fastboot, which responded with Flash operation complete.
Rebooted into recovery.
Wipe data.
Wipe cache.
Wipe dalvik.
Install zip.
Select zip file.
CWM starts installing.
Finding update package...
Opening update package...
Installing update...
However, aborts with error message: This package is for "ST18i,ST18a,urushi" devices; this is a "".
(Status 7)  Installation Aborted.
Now it appears that the package is correct, the device is an ST18i.  But it appears that CWM thinks the device is a "".
I tried the option "toggle script asserts" to disable, but it made no difference.  (not sure if that is relevant)
Elsewhere on the web for someone who had a problem because the name in the package did not did not match name on device, I read some advice about decompressing the zip and editing the updater-script, and re-zipping it and pushing it to the sd card to flash.
However, what would I even put in there for the device type, "" ?
Or is it possible to comment out that check altogether?
Or is there a way to correctly specify to CWM what kind of device it is?
Or is there another solution?
(and as an aside, is there a better recovery for the Xperia Ray than CWM 5.027?)
Thank you for your assistance.

I found an answer here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=30908422&postcount=186
Edit the updater-script, but don't try to fix it - remove the condition altogether since I know I'm on the correct device.
Thanks adulfo!
PS. bizarrely, after powering down, when I returned to recovery, a different version (6.0.5.1) of recovery came up rather than 5.027.  Possibly x-Parts had improperly installed CWM, and the second install 5.027 made it possible to access it, because after originally installing with x-Parts I could not boot into recovery.  (Although that does not make sense either because x-Parts says it installs recovery into the system, and it is erased by flashing a ROM)
Still, I don't know why CWM did not recognize the device as an ST18i (and thereby failed the script), especially since it had done so during the installation of CWM recovery.

Oh, maybe I can shed some light on your last question. See, your device's code name, ST18i, is specified in a little file called "build.prop", which resides in the /system partition. My best guess is that one of the installers you used messed up such file, thereby altering the "ro.product.name" field.

Thank you for that light.
I guess next time I try to install a ROM I'll have the same problem then?
Is that file on the recovery partition?  Is there a way to edit that to fix it?
What would I put in that field, just ST18i?
If I try to re-run the ROM Installer app now that I am on 4.4.4, would it install a 'good' version of CWM over the possibly corrupted one (and fix the device name) or would it still respond that there is no version of CWM for the ST18i?

The "build.prop" is saved on the /system partition. And yes, you can fix it manually by editing it. Either use a fext editor, or a Build Prop Editor from the Google Play Store. The benefit of using the latter is that you'll be able to make a handy backup of the file, so you can avoid the hassle of editing it once more. As for editing it... you want to edit the "ro.product.name" field, in order to provide your device's code name. Either write "ST18i", or "urushi". By doing that, you'll make sure that any ROM you wish to install will be able to check the device's model, if needed.

According the Build Prop Editor app, ro.product.name was already set to ST18i.  ro.product.model was also already set to ST18i.  ro.product.manufacturer was Sony Ericsson.

That should be as such because you flashed the ROM in which updater-script you removed the condition block. It recteated the build.prop for you.

By the way, there's a fundamental thing you should know: never migrate a backed up build.prop between different ROMs. For instance, CyanogenMod defines some custom fields in that file, which aren't present in, say, a stock build.prop. So, remember to categorize your backups.


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How to restore Sony Xperia M when asking for password to decrypt storage?
My sister came up with her phone asking for password to decrypt storage and she said she didn't set any password. I can't put the phone on USB Debugging cause i don't have access to phone settings.
I tried to use Sony PC Companion to reinstall Android but it says that was not found any software to the phone.
Also tried to install Android using a using a build by FlashTools but i'm getting an error to write files based on write permissions on phone since it's locked as encrypted.
The Recovery Mode (using power button and volume-up) doesn't work either.
How can i reset to factory settings or even reinstall Android with these conditions?

I'm pretty sure booting into recovery and wiping /data will be your only option then. Unless, however, you somehow get the password.

That's the problem. I can't boot into recovery mode. It does'n work when using power button and volume-up or even volume-down. I tried so many ways and always boot to the system instead of recovery mode screen.

Can you try the link given below. Hardreset Sony Xperia-M

Already tried all of these methods.

Actually, the phone runs Android Jelly Bean 4.3, but i can install Android Lollipop too.

i am also facing same problem but i didn't get any solution for that,i given my mobile in sony service centre let's see if i get any solution or not.

anybody found any solution for this

Not yet, unfortunately.


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Strangely colored boot backgrounds after crash of stock 6.0.1
A few days ago my Nexus 5 running stock Android Marshmellow 6.0.1 crashed. Some application, I think it was Google Maps, got 'stuck' in an animation, after which the phone shut down. It wouldn't reboot until I connected the power adapter (despite the battery being at 50+%).
Ever since then, when I boot the phone, the background is bright green instead of the usual black. The edges of the boot animation are slightly jagged and when the home screen is initially shown, the colors are all weird, as in a old photo negative. A single button press redraws the screen and after that everything works fine.
To be absolutely clear about that last part: the phone is completely functional, except for the weird boot background colors described in the previous and following paragraphs.
I do no succeed in entering recovery mode: the phone only shows a plain coloured background. If I press the power button once in that state, the phone does boot, suggesting it actually is in recovery mode, but I just can't see the menu.
Now for an interesting thing: the background colour varies between 4 or 5 different colours. I've seen the same green as during 'regular' boot, but also a bright blue, a blue-green, a somewhat purple blue and a yellow-brownish background (I'm not certain all blues are actually different, there are at least 2, maybe 3)).
The same colors are shown when, during boot, I press the power button and keep it pressed until the boot sequence is interrupted and the phone reboots. If I repeat the rebooting a couple of times, the colour of the background may differ from reboot to reboot. Sometimes the same shade of blue appears 4 times in a row, sometimes followed by a green, rarely by the yellow-brown, etc.
It's a complete mystery to me what is going on. Google doesn't give me any useful results and I cannot find any documentation that explains what is going on. Has any of you seen this and can you explain how I can get out of this situation?
Bumped on 2016-03-26


text:
How to delete one's region in WeChat?
In the Android WeChat messaging app, it is possible to set up a region in one's account settings (Me -> tap user name -> Region). This region setting is then shown to all contacts in one's profile.
However, once that is done, there does not appear to be an obvious way to unset the region again.
I would like to remove my region setting from my account. How can I do that?

I am a Chinese user and I'm extremely sure that:
You cannot unset your Region settings in WeChat. You can only change it by repeating the procedure in which you set it.
Edit: From Chinese BBSs people claim that they succeeded by using an exploit of incompatibility between older and newer versions of WeChat. Their procedure is

Install an old enough version of WeChat (They picked 4.2)
Change your region settings to anything else
Install a newer version of WeChat (They picked 5.2)
Due to incompatibility the region is blank

Do note that the posts I've found are in 2015 and even 2014. I'm note sure if WeChat's server still accepts versions other than 6.x

Log in to your Wechat.
Then, press home button.
Go to settings of ur phone.
Find wechat and uninstall.
Once done,install wechat.

PS : Gender and Region fields will be blank.

To change it:
Me > My Profile (click on the your profile photo) > More > Region

I don't want to change it, I want to clear the region so there's no region set any more (as it was before I first chose a region).


text:
Bilingual language settings?
I would like my phone to recognize English and French words.
Also I'd like the swype typing to work this way.
What is the simplest way to accomplish this?
I have a moto G, android 5.1

I honestly don't know.  I'm thinking about things like gmail, SMS, Google Maps, Drive, etc.
When I go into settings, I see "language &input" where I can select a single language  at the top and also select a language for the keyboard.

I'm talking about auto-correct, etc. with typing.  I actually never use VTT.

Ooooopsss. I took it all the way wrong then. Refer to Dan Hulme's answer. It should work for you.

It sounds like you're trying to change the keyboard settings. Not all keyboard apps can handle multiple languages. On some, you have to install the language(s) you want from the keyboard's settings menu, and then switch the language through the menu (the one you already mentioned) or through a swipe gesture on the keyboard (such as swiping the space bar left or right).
Some keyboard apps can work out what language you're typing in on-the-fly, without you having to say explicitly. SwiftKey is an example of a keyboard that works this way: just enable all the languages you want through its settings, and it will detect what language you're typing as soon as you've written a couple of words.


text:
Trebuchet search application by name
I use CyanogenMod 12.1 (Android 5.1.1) with the Trebuchet launcher.
How can I search for an app by its name, if I don't want to have the Google search installed?

As far as I can see, it is not possible. So I need to use en external app for this. I found KISS launcher and Hayai Launcher which both do a great job.


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Where are selected ringtone configuration is stored?
I would like to know where the selected ringtone and notification sound is stored. I know that the ringtone files are stored in  /system/media/audio/. What I'm trying to figure out is where the current configuration (user selected in  Settings > Sound ) is stored.
Thanks.

Try finding out what /data/data/com.android.providers.settings is keeping. Which  Android device and version are you using?

Sony Xperia ZL, 5.1.1.

I noted in Android 5.1.1 and 5.0.2 (both from CM builds) and 4.2.1 that detail about user configured ringtone and notification sounds is stored in the table system of a database of Settings Providers/Storage app, /data/data/com.android.providers.settings/databases/settings.db. In Android 6.0.1, the location is /data/system/users/0/settings_system.xml or a relative one in an encrypted device.
You can use content tool to see it yourself. You would need adb setup in PC to get the detail easily. Here's what you can try:
(Click image to enlarge)

Note: the lines starting with echo are for the purpose of explaining what I'm doing with the consecutive command. Avoid executing them when testing this solution.


text:
In tasker, trigger when airplane mode is turned off
Using Tasker, I'd like to send an SMS when Airplane Mode goes from 'On' to 'Off'.
I can see a state called 'Airplane Mode' however I can't work out how to detect the transition from 'Airplane Mode On' to 'Airplane Mode off'.

There are two possible ways to do this:

Checking the "Invert" tag on the Airplane Mode state, causing it to become active when Airplane Mode is off.
Using the Mobile Network state to detect when the device is connected to a mobile network (check all network types if you're not sure which to use).


text:
Formatted Micro SD Card as internal storage, after flashing a new build the card is unusable with any device
I've tried reformatting as portable storage and internal storage and neither work, choosing portable storage shows no errors it just doesn't do anything while internal storage errors.
I've tried taking out the card and plugging it into my computer to reformat but Windows doesn't pick it up at all (including the SDFormatter tool) and GParted gives the following error when trying to change anything:

Input/output error during write on /dev/mmcblk0
Error fsyncing/closing /dev/mmcblk0: Input/output error

Trying to reformat it using the Disks tool in Mint gives me this error:

Error synchronizing after initial wipe: Timed out waiting for object(udisks-error-quark,0)

The parted command line tool gives similar errors.
I've been tearing my hair out all day over this, I can't seem to find any way to bring the SD card back. This is actually the second card this has happened to, I ended up throwing away the first one and then I've gone and done it again.
I've had a look at http://nelenkov.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/decrypting-android-m-adopted-storage.html, but as I've flashed a new ROM the key is gone?
Any help is appreciated!

If the card is good, even if encrypted, you should be able use Gparted to delete the partition table and write a new one and be good to go. If not, sounds like the card is bad.

Yeah that's what I assumed the first time, but for this to happen to two cards one after the other just doesn't make any sense. The current card is brand new off Amazon.

Odd, I have a Moto G 2015 with a 64GB card, I have moved it back and forth from portable to adopted storage multiple times, and even when encrypted put it my Linux box, it always sees the card properly, but not the data. What device?

There's nothing Android can do on a software level to an SD card to make it unusable anywhere else.  Either the card was bad, or your phone's hardware fried it.  What is the brand/model of the card?  What phone do you have?  Have different types of SD card worked in it before?

Oddly enough, a Moto G 2015 with a 64GB card. So it could be possible that I just have a killer phone? SD Cards have always worked in it fine, I was using the first card for ages as regular external memory in Android 5.x. I jumped straight into the internal storage stuff when I upgraded to Marshmallow a few weeks ago. Not sure on the first card, this new one is a Samsung EVO+ 64GB

https://android.stackexchange.com/q/221269

Use DISKPART utility to create new partitions and reformatting them. I suggest using the below procedure by inserting the card into an adapter and then into the PC.
This is the part which has no Android, but is done on Windows PC. Here we go.

First open a command prompt window with administrative rights.
An Administrator command prompt will open. Type in diskpart.
Then enter this command "list disk" without the quotes to display all active disks on your machine.
Now choose the disk which is your SDCARD using Select command "Select disk 1".
Type "clean" with no quotes. Hit enter.
Type in "create partition primary", partition will be created.
Type "Active", this will mark the partition as active.
Now, the formatting of partition in format you like, usually SDCARD is FAT32. Type "format fs=fat32 label="NAME THE CARD" quick".
Then type "assign" and then "exit".

Now you have a formatted SD CARD!

I just tried using diskpart and running the clean command but I just get diskpart has encountered an error the request could not be performed because of an i/o error. Worried I may actually have a killer phone.

@JoeBushell are you using a sdcard adapter to connect to PC?
Caution: Don't try to use diskpart while the card is inside your Phone.

I'm using the SD Card reader in my laptop, gonna to test it with a different laptop next week


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S5 cm12.1 won't allow to transfer files to pc
This is very peculiar I have similar problems in the past but all were easy fixes. My s5 will charge when plugged into the computer but there is no other indication that the device is plugged. I've tried reinstalling drivers but still nothing. Looked into setting in developers options to take a look at the USB debugging but sadly it was greyed out and told me options weren't available in charging mode. Does anyone have any idea how to get it out I've tried everything I could want to flash back the stock ROM.
Edit: charger actually didn't support data transfers but it worked with the same charger before. Charger must be getting old

setprop persist.sys.usb.config mtp,ptp,adb from a root shell. I actually prefer set to none because it protects your data when the phone is stolen. (Assuming bootloader is locked)

thanks not saying cm is a bad rom but s5 is just terrible for custom  rom. little problems like these I have to solve every other day. gets aggrevating :p

S5 has a terrible camera too. Upgraded from Note 2 and glare is so much worse.

Did you try to change the cable you're using? Maybe the current one doesn't support data transfers.

With which CM build are we particularly dealing with? Is it a nightly or a stable one? If nightly, have you tried a stable build and see if the issue persist?

Yes I've trued with 2 different ones but I don't have the original charger that came with it. It has worked without the original though

and it is nightly but no I have not tried any other version. I'm just having a hard time tracing what the actual problem factor is


text:
Where is the settings option to Divert or block incoming calls
Where can I find the option to divert and block incoming calls on my mobile.
I was unable to find it. It is available on all mobiles. Where is it in Android?

Android version: 5.0 Lollipop
Mobile manufacturer: Micromax

That might depend on your device and Android version – so could you please [edit] your question and include those details?

Just open your call button, tap the 3 dots in search bar top right, then settings and you have both.


text:
Android definition of charge cycle?
Battery life is measured in number of charge-discharge cycles. Charge Cycle wiki says

Apple Inc. clarifies that a charge cycle means using all the battery's capacity, but not necessarily by full charge and discharge; e.g., using half the charge of a fully charged battery, charging it, and then using the same amount of charge again count as a single charge cycle"

This definition seems to be Apple oriented. My question is
Does Android follow the same definition or is there a different definition ?
Asking since I have both an iPad and Android (Samsung Galaxy) and was wondering if battery life is measured similarly or differently.

Plenty of references in our charging tag-wiki (especially check the "Handling" and "Maintenance" sections there).

AFAIK I know there isn't any Android specific definition (would welcome corrections from others). Having said that, industry seems to treat this metric differently.
Wikipedia  definition implies 100% discharge to count as one cycle, where as industry seems to treat 80% discharge to count as one cycle per sources below

 Battery Definitions & Terminology defines (emphasis added)

Cycle Life:  The capacity of a rechargeable cell or battery changes over its life. The definition of the battery life or cycle life of a battery is number of cycles that a cell or battery can be charged and discharged under specific conditions, before the available capacity falls to a specific performance criteria - normally 80% of the rated capacity

What Constitutes a Discharge Cycle? section , says (emphasis added)

A discharge/charge cycle is commonly understood as the full discharge of a charged battery with subsequent recharge, but this is not always the case. Batteries are seldom fully discharged, and manufacturers often use the 80 percent depth-of-discharge (DoD) formula to rate a battery. This means that only 80 percent of the available energy is delivered and 20 percent remains in reserve. Cycling a battery at less than full discharge increases service life, and manufacturers argue that this is closer to a field representation than a full cycle because batteries are commonly recharged with some spare capacity left.
There is no standard definition as to what constitutes a discharge cycle (....)

To  summarise, Wikipedia definition seems academic while industry   treats it  practically
(Aside, Charge Cycle Counter, which measures battery charge cycles follows Wikipedia definition )

Why I  presume Android follows industry definition

Apart from the two reasons mentioned above for 80%  discharge to be measured as one cycle (namely, real life charging and better battery life ), I suspect that battery manufactures would prefer this as it boosts battery life cycle count by 20% compared to Apple/Wikipedia definition.

Glad it helped :)


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Huawei P8 lite does not ask for user name password for connecting to WI-FI
I have a Huawei P8 lite with Android 5.0.1. My phone is having an issue when connecting to Wi-Fi. But only for my office wifi. For other wifi networks, it gets connected with out any issue.
One thing I noticed is the difference of the Security method. For my office network, it is 802.1 x EAP. But for other wifi networks to which I have connected my phone, the security method(protocol, not sure about the term though) is some thing else, as I remember it was WASP.
Others with some other phones in my office can connect to the wifi network. There are some other Huawei users as well, but with Android KitKat, they can connect their phones to the network with out any issue.
Why Cannot I connect to the WiFi network? How can I overcome the issue?

It won't prompt you, it must be setup manually in Android devices using Settings-WiFi and Add network, then enter the information manually. Enter the SSID manually, then change Security to 802.1x EAP, set EAP method to match your network (probably PEAP, ask your IT dept if unsure), then if 2 Phase authentication or CA certificate is required enter that information (otherwise leave blank), under Identity enter your username typically 'Domain\User' and the Password.
If that doesn't work, you will likely need to contact your IT department for more guidance.


text:
Nexus 6 automatically remounting system read-only, deleted files returning
tl;dr

I mount system rw
I try to copy/update/write /system/xposed.prop
System is auto-remounted ro, causing the write to fail (applicable to a variety of workarounds)
Moving/renaming/deleting files causes them to resurrect after a umount/mount cycle, but only for some files.

Environment: TWRP 3.0.0-1 shamu, using Android Debug Bridge version 1.0.32.
Also attempted with a 2.x version of TWRP and ADB 1.0.31.  Recovery is freshly installed.  Problematic write commands include shell redirection (>), cp, mv.  This is reproducible on my device whether I use mount, /sbin/mount, or busybox mount.
For reference (state of desired file BEFORE update):
~ # ls -l /system/xposed.prop
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root            65 Feb 29 04:17 /system/xposed.prop

From adb shell
/system appears to be mounted correctly
/system # mount
...
/dev/block/mmcblk0p41 on /system type ext4 (rw,seclabel,relatime,data=ordered)

Some sanity testing
/system # touch a
/system # ls a
a
/system # rm a
/system # ls a
ls: a: No such file or directory

Ok, copy a file (xposed.prop) to /system
/system # cat /data/media/0/xposed-v80-sdk22-arm/system/xposed.prop > /system/xposed.prop
/system # cat: write error: Read-only file system

How peculiar.
/system # mount
...
/dev/block/mmcblk0p41 on /system type ext4 (ro,seclabel,relatime,data=ordered)

Somehow /system got remounted ro?
/system # cd /
~ # mount -o remount,rw /system
~ # mount
...
/dev/block/mmcblk0p41 on /system type ext4 (ro,seclabel,relatime,data=ordered)
~ # mount -o rw,remount /dev/block/mmcblk0p41 /system
~ # mount
/dev/block/mmcblk0p41 on /system type ext4 (ro,seclabel,relatime,data=ordered)

Well, remount doesn't seem to work.
From another shell on my workstation {
$ adb root
adbd is already running as root
$ adb remount
remount of system failed: Read-only file system
remount of vendor failed: Read-only file system
remount failed

}
Helpful.
Back to adb shell
~ # umount /system
~ # mount
...
~ # mount -o rw /dev/block/mmcblk0p41 /system
~ # mount
...
/dev/block/mmcblk0p41 on /system type ext4 (rw,seclabel,relatime,data=ordered)

Ok looks remounted. Let's try this again.
~ # cat /data/media/0/xposed-v80-sdk22-arm/system/xposed.prop > /system/xposed.prop
cat: write error: Read-only file system

... sigh
~ # umount /system
~ # mount -o rw /system

More [in]sanity testing
~ # touch system/a
~ # ls -l /system/a
-rw-rw-rw-    1 root     root             0 Feb 29 04:18 /system/a
~ # umount /system && mount -o rw /system
~ # ls -l /system/a
-rw-rw-rw-    1 root     root             0 Feb 29 04:18 /system/a

Ok. Let's try going the long way around
~ # cat /data/media/0/xposed-v80-sdk22-arm/system/xposed.prop > /system/a
~ # ls -l /system/a
-rw-rw-rw-    1 root     root            40 Feb 29 04:27 /system/a

Looks like the data got written.
~ # mv /system/a /system/xposed.prop
~ # ls -l /system/a
ls: /system/a: No such file or directory
~ # ls -l /system/xposed.prop
-rw-rw-rw-    1 root     root             0 Feb 29 04:18 xposed.prop

0 bytes??
~ # umount /system && mount -o rw /system
~ # ls -l /system/a
-rw-rw-rw-    1 root     root             0 Feb 29 04:18 a
~ # ls -l /system/xposed.prop
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root            65 Feb 29 04:17 xposed.prop

And now my files are zombies, reanimating from the dead.
~ # rm /system/a
~ # umount /system && mount -o rw /system
~ # ls -l /system/a
ls: /system/a: No such file or directory

Ok, I have no idea what's going on now.
Anyone seen anything like this before?  I'm suspecting some weird kernel stuff is happening, but this should be stock/default Nexus 6 Android kernel.


text:
Why does not wifi hotspot work when I open a game?
I enable portable hotspot on my Android 4.4 tablet and share its internet with PC. But, after I open a game (Clash of Clans to put it more specifically), it seems that internet sharing is disabled because I have no internet connectivity in PC anymore and have to exit the game to reestablish the connection and remove the yellow warning triangle from the wireless icon in taskbar. Why is this so and how can I prevent this from happening?

Clash of Clans has the permission to connect and disconnect from Wi-Fi. If it wants to connect, it would have to enable Wi-Fi which would disable hotspot. That' s my guess on what might be happening here.

But I think I am using cellular network when this happens. Actually, connectivity returns to normal when I exit the game, without hotspot disabled. Should it be a RAM management strategy given that the device has only 1 GB of RAM?


text:
Does clearing Chrome appdata delete all the currently opened tabs?
My phone has a low memory problem, so I have to periodically clear the app data of some apps which makes them act like I just installed it.
Currently I have many open tabs (100+) in my Chrome Browser. If I clear the app data will it delete all the tabs currently opened in my browser? If it does, is there any other way to save all the tabs to my Google Account?

I don't really see or how exactly do you think deleting cache files, that will recreate in a few minutes again, will save you "memory".

@xangua He didn't say cache though.

It is one of the tags.

Clearing the "App Data" will definitely close all opened tabs.
It will also delete the history of the app, so there will be no way to reopen the previously opened tabs. There is no way to save all the tabs, since this is part of the "History".

Note: this is a partial answer meant to address only specific part of the question.

If I clear the app data will it delete all the tabs currently opened in my browser?

The state and relevant information of tabs such as the list of URLs opened through those tabs are saved inside /data/data/com.android.chrome/app_tabs. When you would  clear Chrome's data using Settings app, everything under the private data directory of Chrome (/data/data/com.android.chrome) would be deleted, so, yes, your opened tabs would be lost and as Victor Ivanov noted, the history would also be deleted.

If you share those websites tabs to email you can launch email after clearing your chrome data and relaunch those websites. You won't lose them.
Notice chrome has three vertical dots on the top right corner of the browser..  Click it.   Scroll down until you see share. You have many choices of where to share your chrome tabs.   You can share to any or many of the choices.
First,  click on the first tab you want to save. Then select the vertical dots.  Scroll down until you see share.   Click email or note pad,  whatever retrieval system works best for you.  Select it.   The program launches either with the saved URL or information if you've actually selected specific information.  I like to use email because I can find the information on all platforms (phone, computer,  tablet).  Send yourself an e-mail..
Repeat steps for each tab you want to save.
When you are done clearing chrome data,  log into your email.   Select your emailed tab email.   Open it and launch.   Save your tabs.

Note that this only saves the current URL of each tab. It does not retain the browser session, nor even the tab's history breadcrumbs.


text:
Do device administrators have access to other user accounts?
I have installed an Enterprise App Store application, provided by my employer. The app says that I need to make it a device administrator in order to use it, but I do not want to give it admin access to my phone.
My question is, if I create another user (work, for example) on my phone, install the app as the work user, and then make it a device administrator, will it be able to access the apps and data on my original user account?
My Phone: Nexus 6P (Android 6.0.1) stock

Which Android version? Are you talking of creating a guest user for workin your example ? What  exactly do you mean by admin access?

@beeshyams No, I am not creating a guest user. I'm creating a new and permanent user on my device called "work." By admin access, I mean that I do not want to let the app be a device administrator (without which it won't run).

I have the same phone and do the same thing. Work account require the "Google Apps device policy" app to be a device admin. It is admin on my work account, but does not show up in the device administrators list on my main, personal account. Not sure if it really has no access, though.

The wipeData() method of the Device Administrator API states "Wiping the primary user will cause the device to reboot", hinting that the API is per-user, so your personal account may be unaffected (to be confirmed) http://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/admin/DevicePolicyManager.html#wipeData(int). Note that there is no API to list installed applications on the device in the Device Administrator API, you can only check security settings, lock and wipe.

I have the same phone and do the same thing. Work account require the >"Google Apps device policy" app to be a device admin. It is admin on my >work account, but does not show up in the device administrators list on my >main, personal account. Not sure if it really has no access, though.

Thanks @personne3000 for your suggestion. I did the same and it does not show up as an administrator on my main account.


text:
How to view ringtone associated with a contact in moto g2
I'm using Moto g2 with Lollipop 5.0.2. I can set custom ringtones for a contact.
But Cannot see anywhere which ringtone is associated with the contact.

For fun, I wrote a very simple script to find out which ringtone is assigned to a particular contact. Sadly, the script needs root access and Busybox and its applets installed and available under PATH variable. Once you meet the above requisites, save the following preformatted text into a file named find_tone.sh under /sdcard.

#!/system/bin/sh

list="/data/media/0/list";
mkfifo $list;
content query --uri content://com.android.contacts/raw_contacts --projection display_name:custom_ringtone | sed -e /NULL/d -e 's/,\scustom/\ custom/g' -e 's/.*display/Contact/g' > $list &
while read line; do
    name=$(echo "$line" | awk -F 'custom_ringtone=' '{print$1}');
    content_path=$(echo "$line" | awk -F 'custom_ringtone=' '{print$2}');
    printf "$name\n";
    content query --uri "$content_path" --projection title | sed 's/.*title/Ringtone/g';
    printf "\n";
done < $list
rm $list;

All I'm doing in that script is:

Creating a named pipe under /data/media/0/
Fetching the values available under the column display_name and custom_ringtone from raw info of all the contacts using content tool, filtering out few things using sed and saving the output into the named pipe.
Having each line of the saved output go through a loop to separate contact's name from the line and using the rest of the line to get the label of ringtone.
At last, deleting the named pipe.

Run the file in a  terminal emulator app:

su -c 'sh FILE'   # replace FILE with path of find_tone.sh. If it was saved into /sdcard, FILE would be /sdcard/find_tone.sh.

Here's the file in action:
(Click image to enlarge)

Note:

The output would consist solely of contacts which were assigned a particular ringtone. All the contacts which uses the default ringtone won't be listed in the output.
The solution is tested on Cyanogen OS 12 (Android 5.0.2).

I just realized that the solution is actually possible without root access on Android 5.1.1 and above. All you've to do is make some changes in the script and run it using [tag:adb].

You can see which ringtone is associated with a contact, with Hangouts.
Go in the conversation of the contact you want, press the 3 dots (settings), top right corner, then select Participants and Options and you will we able to see which ringtone and SMS sound is associated with this contact.
Hope this helps.


text:
How to set the quality of YouTube video on UC Browser?
I am using UC Browser. I can't find any option to set the quality of video in YouTube to low or high.

Just use the official app.... Also, why aren't you using chrome :/

@RahulBasu I personally don't use chrome either. There are a lot of better options that allow extensibility. I don't think it's possible to adjust this without using the app.

@RahulBasu I don't use Google Chrome because I think it opens the YouTube app to play videos, whereas UC Browser uses its own video player for playing. I think it UC Browser consumes less data then official YouTube app.

@user153722 - You cannot set quality of the video on YouTube in UC Browser. You just have to use the official app and set the quality to either 144p or 240p.

There is no Low on UC Browser, but you can trick it using Opera Max (available on Google Play Store).


text:
Make Gmail auto-delete old emails from phone
My mom's phone has stopped receiving mail because apparently, there isn't enough free space.
Is it possible to configure the Gmail app to auto-delete mail older that a month from the phone but not from the server?

Is the device rooted? Also, this seems related to XY problem.

@Firelord it's NOT rooted. What XY problem?

This can be done by setting the "Days of mail to sync" in the gmail app's setting. This setting is configurable per account.
Source: Choose how many days of mail to sync

"Days of mail to sync" only available for Gmail accounts and not for (for example) Outlook accounts


text:
MP3song as ringtone in Android
Can anyone please tell me how to set any one of MP3 songs from Music Library as ringtone for Android phone -Lenovo K4 Note. ?
Thanks in advance.

Related: How do I set a custom MP3 as a ringtone for other notifications? / Add New Ringtones, Notifications and Alarm tones on Nexus One / Where is the default ringtone stored? / How to set MP3 ringtone in Android (Nexus S) (click the "ringtone" tag below your question for more).

From a PC or Mac (you need the file transfer program for Mac) put the MP3 file into the ringtones folder. The other option is to download a file manager app and move the MP3 into that folder from the device itself.
The ringtones directory is in the root folder, then the sdcard folder.
You will then find the ringtone when you attempt to change it through settings.

Can we keep a portion of the song as ringtone? . I do not want the whole song.

You can use a program such as audacity on your PC or Mac to take the MP3 and cut out the piece you want. In addition, quite often you can google a song and find premade ringtones.


text:
Developer options reset after reboot
Anyone have any idea why certain developer options (e.g. Disable HW overlays) seem to reset whenever rebooting the device, and/or how to resolve it?

Which CM build are you using and on which device? Does the problem persist with other CM builds as well, preferably with a stable build?

@Firelord 12.1 Hammerhead. I'm not sure if it occurs with other builds, but this one is a snapshot.


text:
Cant handle CPU Max Clock!
Hello Masters of Android! I am using Galaxy S5(SM-G906S)(Qualcomm SnapDragon 801). I have a problem. The problem is that I can't handle CPU Max Clock.. Available Max Clock is 2457Mhz but system always set to 1728Mhz.. It causes some lags... How can I Solve this.. I already did factory reset using Kies...

Your CPU governor used by kernel would most likely be the issue. Are you using stock or a custom kernel? If custom one, which kernel is it? What are you using to detect the clock speed? Have you used anything to change governor or clock speed? What is it? Actually, which governor is the device currently using? We can assume that the device is rooted, right?

@Fitelord Yes, I rooted. And I am using Stock Kernal. I am using Device Manager & Kernal Aduitor app to control Cpu clock... I donot know what is wrong..

Actually, even if you know that a kernel can allow you to overclock your CPU to a certain speed, there's a little file which consists of a frequency limit.
This file is to be found into /sys/kernel/cpufreq, and its name is hardlimit. Inside it, you'll find the maximum frequence, defined in Hz. For instance, and for your case as well, its content will be 1728000, which is equal to 1728MHz.
By using a root file editor, which usually integrates a text editor feature, you can edit this limit to the desired frequence (in your case, 2457000. Please notice that, even if you succeed in editing it, the file may be rewritten after a reboot. Given that, make sure to check if your kernel supports init.d, and, if yes, write a little script to change the file at boot.

It was just throttling


text:
What is DSMLawmo? How to remove it?
A recent AVG anti-virus scan on my Android tablet flagged DSMLawmo as malware. The antivirus states that it can't be removed and that DSMLawmo was pre-installed.
The tablet is a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 inch and it runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. Any information on DSMLawmo would be appreciated.

The antivirus scan that informed you that DSMLawmo was maybe a false positive.

DSMLawmo is a Samsung system app that is preinstalled, it is not malware but it does have many of the characteristics of malware likely leading to a false positive detection, the description is:

"DSM states for "Dedicated Security Management " Which allows this app
  to get a full control over the phone using voice channel only...
  Dsmlawmo is to get full control over the phone, track it, reset and
  stuff like that. It's probably to control and repair the phone
  remotely when calling cs"

Source - XDA
A simple Google search will get several results showing that this has been preinstalled on most Samsung devices since at least 2012. It can be safely Frozen or Disabled, if those are options.
This could also lead into the fact that unless you installing software from Unknown Sources (you had to turn on the ability manually), you likely do not need any antivirus or security app on your device and it will cause more of a hindrance than do any good.

What is the source of the quoted text?

Google search "DSMLawmo" and it is the first result... http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s2/help/dsmlawmo-t1863011 post #4


text:
Notification icon that looks like "no entry" symbol
There is an icon in my notification bar that looks like a no entry symbol (far left):

Does anyone know what it is/means? I have been unable to find out.

yeah looks like do not disturb. thanks a lot guys. I'm trying to post the actual pic but my email is messed up, can't get the pic from my phone to laptop

Please see this page for how to merge your accounts.

You've your phone on Total Silence (one of Do not Disturb modes).
In the section Turn sounds back on (turn off "Do not disturb") of the article Silence your device with "Do not disturb", Elena notes:

If your phone is in "Do not disturb" mode, you'll see an icon in the status bar at the top of your screen:
 Alarms only or Priority only
 Total silence

Here's further proof:
(Click image to enlarge)

Next time when you're in a similar situation, try these simple techniques I listed here.


text:
How to make my car realize my phone's system sounds aren't music?
I recently got a new BlackBerry Priv, and it works pretty well so far, but when I plugged it into my car's USB port to recharge, I ran into an unpleasant surprise: the entertainment system (Ford Sync) scanned it for media and then switched away from the radio and started playing all of the phone's built-in system notification sound effects in an endless loop.  For some bizarre reason, it appears to think that they're music on my device!
Is there anything I can do on the phone to make the system sound effects stay private so the car doesn't think they're "media"?

This really depends on how Ford Sync scans the device, not Android. On Android, you can have a music app ignore a directory by placing a file .nomedia in it.


text:
Google Store downloads Gmail
How do I use Gmail as backup for my Samsung Galaxy 6? Whenever I sign into Gmail it downloads all my email! Should I just set up a dummy account that is used only for that purpose? Or will it continue to download the email regardless. Thanks in advance.
I've disabled and deleted the email account twice but if I try to go into Google store or set up the backup here comes the email.

just made an account for this answer.  Not sure how it would be on your s6 because of touchwiz but it should help you out.  settings>accounts>google>(Pick the account you want to back your stuff up on)>deselect email and stuff and enable backup.
:)


text:
Can I recover a soft-bricked Galaxy A5 without voiding the warranty?
I have a newly purchased Samsung Galaxy A5, which, after attempting to install Marshmallow eventually got stuck on the "Downloading... Do not turn off target!!" screen. Just before this happened I briefly saw a message that said "error" beside a picture of a little android lying on its back (presumably suffering from an error).
I tried leaving it there on that "Downloading... Do not turn off target!!" screen but after 8 hours I gave up, took the charging cable out, and let the batter die (the A5 has an internal battery so removing it was not an option).
I can restart by charging the phone for a bit and then holding down Power + VolumeDown + Home, which takes me to a screen with 2 options:

VolumeUp: Continue
VolumeDown: Cancel (restart phone)

both options take me back to the "Downloading... Do not turn off target!!" screen. I can restart with Power + VolumeUp + Home, which seems to make the phone attempt to reinstall the update. I get a screen saying "Installing system update...", which gets to about 90% before showing me the little dead android and the "Error" message. After that, it's back to the "Downloading... Do not turn off target!!" screen.
My first option was to return the phone but the vendor is giving me the run-around and my credit-card company will take up to 80 days to revert the payment, so I was hoping to fix this myself, but not at the cost of voiding the warranty, as this could jeopardize my chances of getting a refund / repair. I have contacted the Fair Trading body in my state (in Australia) who will mediate and probably get me a refund but, again, this will take a while.
So, do I have any options, or do I just need to wait this out?

You obviously do not understand what "Download Mode" is or how to use it. Read up on how to use Download Mode because that is the only mode you need to flash an update or ROM.

@AaronGillion what are the implications to my warranty of doing this?

Nothing if you flash stock firmware through Odin.

@AaronGillion thanks, I'm making progress. I've posted my steps as an answer.

I installed Odin and was able to flash a stock version of android Kit-kat onto the phone:
http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/download/38455/A5000ZCU1ANJ2_A5000CHC1ANJ2_CHC.zip/
I now have the phone running again but this version doesn't seem to have the play store installed. I'll start a separate post outlining my woes in that department:
How can I install Google Play on my Samsung Galaxy A5?


text:
Nexus 5, Marshmallow, and TWRP recovery - Unstable, inaccesible recovery
I've got a problem when trying to set up my (two) nexus'es 5. (issue reproducible on both my phones, which kinda excludes hardware issues)
1: I download factory images from google's page (tried all 6.0.1 builds for hammerhead), unpack them, enter bootloader, and flash-all.sh
2: I set up the phone, log in to google, set up USB debugging, and adb reboot bootloader
3: I flash TWRP by fastboot flash recovery twrp-..-hammerhead.img (tried 3.0.0.0 and 2.8.7.0 version)
After that, accessing recovery is night impossible. Sometimes I can enter Recovery mode straight from bootloader. TWRP will launch, but only once. Exiting it, booting up system, and then adb reboot recovery / adb reboot bootloader and from it selecting Recovery will only show google logo with the open padlock icon for a few moments, then the screen will blank, phone will vibrate, the logo+padlock will show again, and from it it will boot system.
Entering recovery will invariably end with it booting system.
In this state, flashing recovery from bootloader again will do nothing, only re-flashing factory image will help (but not for long)
Has something changed in 6.0.1? Are there any steps I'm missing when flashing recovery? Am I doing something wrong?

My situation with Nexus 6 and Android M images is even worse. Regardless of whether TWRP is flashed from bootloader or not, if I attempt to boot into recovery mode, it goes straight into "Erasing". The only thing I was successfully able to do was boot into TWRP directly from fastboot mode using fastboot boot IMG_PATH. Afterwards, TWRP should give you an option to modify system partition so it can persist after a reboot. If you don't modify system partition, you would end up at the beginning of this same cycle.  Try it and let us know the result.

The same thing happened to my Nexus 5 as well,when I upgraded to android M and tried rooting and flashing recovery.The process went perfectly fine but when I tried to enter recovery mode it didn't happen.
For which I tried using the Nexus Root Toolkit,which has several functionalities required.I tried rooting my phone and then flashing the stock recovery,everything worked like a charm for me. So I would suggest you to download the Nexus Root Toolkit by wug fresh then first try to flash the stock ROM again there after Root followed by flashing the custom recovery.

It seems that wug's toolkit is windows only. I do not have windows installed, thus this option is out, unluckily :(

At the moment the development has been going on but the developer isn't confident about the ETA,as quoted by him that the software needs to be re-written for supporting Mac.Meanwhile you can try using it via VM.


text:
android static layout error
I just installed CatLog on my Alcatel onetouch pop c2 and I saw there is many weird errors.
Error: StaticLayout: length=52;   index=53.
I don't know what is that but I got many of them.
Anyone know how to fix it?
OS: Android 4.2.2 JellyBean (build 01002) (Model number 4032D)
RAM: 512MB
Kernel version: 3.4.5

Screenshot (click to enlarge)

Are you observing a perceivable issue on your device or have you asked this out of curiosity?

@Firelord curiosity, and i cant see other errors (messages)

Is your device rooted? If not, you should ask the CatLog author. Reason: With Android 4.2+ apps only get to see their own logcat messages (to see other apps' messages requires root then), so these errors must be caused by the app itself.

Seems a similar issue with this on SO... the length=52; index=53 is really a hint of ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException , but not sure why it's shown as StaticLayout. Related issue #35412 on AOSP

@Izzy its rooted


text:
Backup (export, merge) all contacts form Samsung Galaxy S5
I have tried to backup all the Contacts from Samsung Galaxy S5 to PC using Smart Switch, but it did not backup any contacts since they are all linked to either GOOGLE or EXCHANGE accounts.
What is the most straightforward way to backup all the contacts from the Samsung Galaxy S5 regardless on what account they are linked to? Like to merge all the EXCHANGE contacts to the GOOGLE account.
The reason for backup is the fact, that Exchange account used for the contacts expires soon. What happens to the contacts that are linked to the Exchange account when the account is deleted from the phone?

Have you tried to 1) start the contacts app, then 2) tap the menu button/overflow-menu and 3) select Import/Export to export your contacts to VCard format? That can be used in the same place to re-import – and is well understood by most desktop PIMs.

Not really, I have expected more straightforward way for such a smartphone like S5 or S6, like to merge one account into another and sync contacts there. I also do not quite understand why the linked account cannot be changed for a contact and why there can be only one account for a contact. Hope some day everything around contacts and contacts replication gets standardized.

You didn't ask that – and I have no clue how more "straight forward" it could be. That export should include all contacts from your phone. I suggest you try that first to verify (I've never used an Exchange account, so I cannot tell for sure concerning that part). As for the "linked account cannot be changed": The Exchange server probably cannot talk to the Google server – so you cannot "change the type" here, but have to "move the contacts" ;)

Right, thanks for the suggestion. Changing the link would delete contact in one account and create in another - but I only imagine that

I'd think so, too: as long as both "storages" have the same fields, it should work that way. But I guess the contacts app cannot know that, so information might be lost that way. Not allowing for that hence could be a security measure. I don't know for sure, though – just imagining.


text:
How can I install Google Play on my Samsung Galaxy A5?
After some messing around I was able to get my soft-bricked Samsung Galaxy A5 Duos (SM-A5000) running again:
Can I recover a soft-bricked Galaxy A5 without voiding the warranty?
However, the version of the firmware I flashed (Kit-kat) didn't have Google Play on it. I tried installing the latest APK that I could find, but when I try to open the installed app is just force-closes with this message:

Unfortunately, Google Play Store has stopped.

I thought perhaps I was missing Google Play Services so I tried installing that too (from this link), but it died with the same error as above. I also tried installing version 5.5.8 of Google Play Store (after removing all previously installed APKs) with the same outcome.
Eventually I concluded that I must need to install a GApps package.
Is there a specific version I need to be installing to run with my version of Android? What are the prerequisites for this to run? And why doesn't my version already have it? I thought I was installing the stock OS?? (To clarify, the version of the OS that the phone shipped with had the Google Play store)

If you installed that exact firmware then it looks like you've installed the chinese version. If you search on that site for the exact model (e.g. SM-A5009/SM-A500G etc.) then you might find the correct version for your country. This should then include all the pre-installed apps you had previously including Google Play.

Installing the Hong Kong firmware fixed the problem. Apparently it's just the mainland firmware that has Google apps blocked...

While installing google play store and other google applcations in samsung galaxy A5(6)SM-A5108 china mobile  in marshmallow rom 6.0.1, you should follow the following instructions carefeully.

Install CF-Auto root  of SM-A5108 with odin in downloading mode
Install TWRP verion of  SM-A5108 with odin in downloading mode
download Gapps : banks_dynamic_gapps-6.x.x-20161002 zip file and keept it on mobile in internal or external storage
Open mobile with TWRP and format factory and install the above mentioned Gapps zip file and restart your device.
Download and install Gapps Installer 3.4.0 apk file in your mobile
Now Run the Gapps installer 3.4.0 on your device, it will show you guide how to do complete, if it shows repair, hit the repair button and wait but don’t  hit the button of uninstall.

Now the google play store  and google play services will auto installed on your mobile without any error. Just hit google play store and it will search and give you option to feed your Gmail account on the device. When it will be configured your device will work with google play store smoothly. You can install Youtube apk file , Google contacts sync apk, google calendar sync apk file, google map apk file, google street apk file, google play music, google calendar etc.
When you feed your gmail account in the device , you have to go to setting_ account_google_open google account and open sync, wait for some time, it will do the same complete. Now install all google related apk application as you desired. The device will never show you any error like, “ unfortunately google play services has stopped working” or other error.. You can use the china mobile market application for searching files which is already installed in your above mentioned specific model china mobile SM-A5108.


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How to use your Android phone as a proxy server?
I wanted to use my Android phone as a proxy server, meaning that I wanted to be able to use the IP on the phone as a proxy, so all requests and responses are received on the phone and forwarded back to the original requestor.
How do I do this?

If you're just interested in setting a proxy up over your Wifi, you can do that with Servers Ultimate quite easily, but I don't know why anyone would really want to do that. A much more useful option is to use mobile data, but as Kevin's answer said you're going to hit a lot of headaches, namely at the ISP level (Verizon, AT&T, etc). Chances are you won't get them to change their NAT policy for you.
It's hard to use your mobile data as a proxy because all incoming connections are blocked. But, if you have a laptop, and your phone connected to your laptop via adb, one option is to run a command like this:
adb forward tcp:6400 tcp:8080

This command forwards all TCP connections sent to your host (laptop)'s 6400 port to your phone's 8080 port. Next, set up a proxy server on your Servers Ultimate App running on port 8080. No root required! Finally, on your laptop, set up your browser to use a proxy server connected to port 6400 on your laptop. For example, open Firefox, go to Settings, Networks, and use 127.0.0.1 and port 6400 as a proxy. Here's what's going to happen:
Any requests from the laptop's browser will be proxied internally to port 6400, which adb will forward to port 8080 on your phone, which is a proxy server that accesses the outside internet using your mobile data!
If needed, you can also open the firewall in your router up to access your laptop's port 6400 over WiFi from other devices, although I recommend setting up some kind of security policy.
There are tons of tutorials for enabling developer options and adb on your laptop, it's easy.

This would create a SOCKS server right? if one wanted HTTP proxy server then they would have to use something like Polipo to convert SOCKS to HTTP proxy?

If you're just interested in setting a proxy up over your Wifi, you can do that with Servers Ultimate quite easily, but I don't know why anyone would really want to do that. A much more useful option is to use mobile data,  Do agree that setting up a proxy over 4G (as opposed to over WiFi) is not possible with Servers Ultimate ? (I ask because I could set up a proxy over 4G and would like to know whether it is possible at all)

Very interesting and useful answer... when you say that with mobile networks "all incoming connections are blocked", do you have any source for that, or do you know how to find a source? I tried to look for this on internet but with no success...

Sure, it's commonly discussed in p2p circles, especially on projects like IPFS, and this related project: https://swarmresear.ch/t/dealing-with-nat/33 https://github.com/ipfs/go-ipfs/issues/2509

AFAIK all mobile networks use floating IP addresses too in addition to blocking ports and incoming connections.

Servers Ultimate is an advanced app for turning your phone into a server. By the same developer, Proxy Server offers a more basic and solely "Proxy Server based" approach. As stated on its description:

Run your own Proxy Server on your device! The app can handle HTTP and
  HTTPS protocols and GET/POST requests. You can even set the app to
  forward all connections to a default host and port so you can use
  other protocols as well through the socket!

They later on add

For more servers and features have a look at our app Servers Ultimate

For some extra information about Servers Ultimate, check this article on LifeHacker, this article on XDA, and the apps own XDA thread.

I"m trying to set this up in a way that I connect to the proxy server using the WiFi IP, and all outgoing connections would use the data connection. Is this possible?

@Arya, check out my answer using adb

Late to the train, but another app that I found useful is Every Proxy (writing this answer in December 2021, many of the suggestions don't exist anymore).

If your phone is rooted (or at least bootloader is unlocked), you can run tinyproxy (HTTP/HTTPS proxy) as init service. It works with both Wi-Fi and Mobile Data, in latter case you have to make sure your phone is accessible from internet. See How to connect to Android through SSH over 3G/4G public IP?

Create a directory on /data or /system:

~# mkdir -p /data/local/tinyproxy/tmp

Create configuration file:
# /data/local/tinyproxy/tinyproxy.conf

Port 8080
Timeout 600
LogFile "/tinyproxy.log"
LogLevel Connect
MaxClients 100
MinSpareServers 5
MaxSpareServers 20
StartServers 5
MaxRequestsPerChild 0
ViaProxyName "tinyproxy"
#BasicAuth <username> <password>

For further configuration options see documentation.
Build tinyproxy from source or may try this one. Move binary to /data/local/tinyproxy/ and set permissions. Use AID_NOBODY or any other unused UID for service:

~# cd /data/local/tinyproxy/
~# chown -R 9999.9999 .
~# chmod 0755 . tmp tinyproxy
~# chmod 0644 tinyproxy.conf

Add following lines to /init.rc or any other .rc file:
# /system/etc/init/tinyproxy.rc

service tinyproxy /system/bin/chroot /data/local/tinyproxy /tinyproxy -d -c /tinyproxy.conf
    seclabel u:r:magisk:s0
    user 9999
    group 9999
    disabled
    capabilities NET_RAW NET_BIND_SERVICE SYS_CHROOT

on property:sys.boot_completed=1
    start tinyproxy

If using any firewall app, make sure to unblock incoming port 8080. Reboot device. tinyproxy server should be running with least privileges. Connect locally or remotely.

PS:
If phone isn't rooted or you want to further sandbox the proxy server, you can patch SELinux policy with following rules. Use Magisk supolicy tool or sepolicy-inject:
create tinyproxy
allow init tinyproxy process transition
allow init tinyproxy process { rlimitinh siginh noatsecure }
allow tinyproxy tinyproxy process { getsched fork }
allow tinyproxy toolbox_exec file { entrypoint read getattr execute }
allow tinyproxy tinyproxy dir { search write add_name remove_name }
allow tinyproxy tinyproxy lnk_file read
allow tinyproxy labeledfs filesystem associate
allow tinyproxy tinyproxy file { read open getattr create write append unlink execute execute_no_trans }
allow tinyproxy tinyproxy capability { sys_chroot net_raw }
allow tinyproxy tinyproxy unix_dgram_socket { create connect write }
allow tinyproxy tinyproxy tcp_socket { create connect accept read bind getattr write shutdown setopt listen }
allow tinyproxy port tcp_socket { name_connect name_bind }
allow tinyproxy node tcp_socket node_bind
allow tinyproxy tinyproxy udp_socket { create connect read getattr write bind }
allow tinyproxy node udp_socket node_bind
allow tinyproxy system_data_file file lock
allow tinyproxy tinyproxy file lock

Check dmesg for avc denials to define any more required rules.
Replace seclabel u:r:magisk:s0 in service with seclabel u:r:tinyproxy:s0.
Set SELinux context:

~# chcon -R u:object_r:tinyproxy:s0 /data/local/tinyproxy

Now the service will run without Magisk too.

RELATED:

How to run a VPN Server on Android?

SOCKS proxy can be run with SSH, see:

How to run SSH/SFTP server for multiple user logins with password authentication on Android?

great tutorial. but I can't get the chroot part to work on 2 different phones. each time it fails with: chroot: exec /tinyproxy: No such file or directory - without chroot, tinyproxy works fine (although I have to create /tmp for it)

I had some trouble getting Servers Ultimate's proxy server to work, and my first thought is that it is because my phone is not rooted. However, the problem here is actually not necessarily at the OS level, depending on your use case.
If you're trying to use your mobile data connection as a proxy, you might have some trouble, because most mobile data providers will block any ports that you'd normally be able to use to set up a proxy. Your best bet is to contact the mobile data provider and see if they have any ports that are open beyond the value of 1024 (Android blocks ports below this number for security reasons).
Alternatively, you can:

Use a proxy server on Wifi, but make sure the proxy port is open in
your router
Root your phone so that you can set-up port forwarding to use your
mobile data connection
Root your phone so that you can use port values beneath 1024 which
are usually open.

To realize this is the case, try running a Servers Ultimate proxy server on Wifi with its port open. You'll have something that functions, but if your goal is to use mobile data, you're out of luck for now.

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