text:
Apps list on Galaxy Tab 10.1
On the Galaxy Tab 10.1, is there a way to see a list (not grid) of all apps, or to search for an app by typing other than via the main Google search widget?

You can see a list of all apps in Settings -> Apps (or Applications) and then select the All tab to see factory-installed apps in addition to downloaded apps.


text:
Does my HTC Wildfire S data cable work with a Samsung Galaxy S2?
I have a HTC Wildfire S and I was wondering if it works on a Samsung Galaxy S2. Sorry if I posted this in the wrong forum.

The Wildfire S uses a microUSB cable, same as the Galaxy SII, it should work fine

Just to add more info. MicroUSB is used by the vast majority of smartphones. It's just not used by Apple devices and tablets.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Am I overcharging my phone?

Possible Duplicate:
Does constant charging harm my Android cellphone?

I am using my Xperia Active for application development. Given that scenario, I obviously have the phone connected to the laptop most of the time since I want to be able to easily test my app on the device.
The thing that's worrying me is that when I go to Settings > About phone > Status, the Battery level is set to 100% and the Battery status is set to Charging (USB).
Am I overcharging my phone? Is this bad for the battery's health? If yes, what do I do about it? I use this phone on a daily basis and I don't want the battery's performance to be affected by my development cycle.

I doubt it. The charging circuits should be smart enough to avoid this. More likely they aren't actually charging your battery but directly powering your phone from the input while leaving the battery mostly alone.

Well it's being indicated as "Charging" on the status so obviously, I'll have the impression that it's still pumping gas to my full battery. I would have been appeased if it said "Charged" or "Idle" instead of "Charging".

Usually phone batteries are smart enough to close the circuit when the battery is full to prevent overcharging and damaging the phone/battery.
However, since you say you are developing with the phone, it could be possible that your usage of the phone (screen on, full brightness, heavy gpu or gps usage, etc.) could be causing it to drain more than the usb connection can charge.  USB ports have a lower current than say a wall plug in. Maybe it's just enough that your phone is really at 99.X% and it is rounding it up to 100% and therefore it is still technically "charging?" No idea if this is your case, but it could potentially be a possibility.

I'm running at 2.3.4. Can someone verify if this Android version actually uses other words than Charging and Discharging?

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


text:
Is there an open source or other equilvent to Android Sync Manager?
I am looking any suggestions of an an open source package or web software that I can manage both my Android devices (Galaxy 10.1 tab/Galaxy S Smartphone.  My computer OS is Ubuntu.  I want to be able to back up my devices and manage my files on my PC. I have tried Airdroid with limited success.  I current have the ability to view and manage my devices as data store devices.

Ubuntu One may help you... https://one.ubuntu.com/downloads/android/. It syncs your files and music.

Why not try install mono (the .NET runtime for linux) and use DroidExplorer?

If you are just talking about files, I'd take a look into FTPSyncX or FolderSync. I can only talk for FTPSyncX, as I am using it myself -- but most of the following should be valid for both apps:
You can setup directory pairs (one on your device matching another on your PC), and have them sync bidirectionally or unidirectionally. You can configure the sync interval: globally, per server, or even per directory-pair. You can even tell it to only sync when you're in your Home WiFi, or only when you request it (via Widgets, from within the app, or even event-based controlled by Tasker.
If this answer didn't catch your intention, feel free to comment, ask, or update your question :)

I accepted this answer, but you gave me 2 options. To make your answer useful to others, I just want to mention I used FTPSyncX and set it up as suggested

Glad to read, thank you! So just to make it complete: FTPSyncX has a pro-version as well. The trial mentioned in my answer is fully functional, but restricted in the number of servers/directories you can configure. So if the app works for you, but you need e.g. more directories to configure - that's where you can go (in fact, the Pro is what I am using). Btw: very responsive developer; e.g. the widgets and Tasker support was added on my request ;)


text:
Why my Galaxy Nexus display is unable to present solid colors?
Whenever there is a non-black solid color block in any application I can see tiny "watermarks", a pattern, and I don't even need to get close to see that.
The effect is more visible in lighter colors. The dark spots have more than 2 pixels in each dimension and they appear to be blue-ish.
Is it because of the Pen-Tile LCD configuration? Is my device defective?

It's likely the matrix which you are seeing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PenTile_matrix_family
The Galaxy Nexus uses the RGBG matrix just like previous galaxy, however it's much higher resolution than many other pentile displays.
Here's a magnification of another, similar screen from a different samsung phone. http://www.droid-life.com/2011/09/28/samsungs-super-amoled-hd-screens-bring-back-the-pentile-matrix/
If that's not what you're seeing then it may be a hardware issue.


text:
Can my Google Docs app be secured?
I have sensitive information in my Google Docs.
I enabled two-step verification with my Google account; but just noticed that Google DOCS on my phone doesn't require any type of PIN number or password when I open it.  Is there a way to secure this app?
NOTE:  I also have a PIN number that must be entered after swipe.

So you're saying that your lock screen has a PIN? If Google Docs doesn't have a separate one, then that might be the best you can do. I'm not sure if there is an app that let's you control access to individual apps

All you need is an app locker app. There are many app lockers in Play Store. Just, search. I'd recommend Smart App Protector (I use its pro version which is great). Use it to lock Google Docs app.


text:
How can I remove Camera app on Cyanogenmod?
I am running Cyanogenmod on my SamSung phone.
Can you please tell me how can I remove the Camera app on the phone?

If Cyanogenmod works just like Android 4 (and I have no idea if it does, never having used it), then you can go to "Settings", choose "Apps", tap on the Camera app; tap "Uninstall Updates" if that button is visible; then tap "Disable".  The app's icon will disappear from the launcher, and (as far as I know) from everywhere else except the Settings page, where you can, of course, re-enable it later if you want.

If you really just want to remove it (which, fair warning, may cause problems with the system; I have no idea) you can:

Use adb to delete the .apk file: adb shell rm /system/app/Camera.apk. You may need to first elevate to root (adb shell and then su from the shell).
Use Titanium Backup to uninstall it

A potentially safer route that people take is to use Titanium Backup Pro to "freeze" the app, causing it to essentially act as though it is uninstalled without actually removing it (so it can be "defrosted" later if needed). This does require the Pro version, though.

An app called NoBloat can freeze (disable) apps in the free version.

The camera app will be usually named Camera.apk, located in /system/app. To delete this first clear the data stored by the app in /data/data/com.sec.android.app.camera/ or something similar

Using Root Explorer, find the file, click mount rw and delete it.
Using terminal emulator,

Acquire root privileges
su

Mount system in read write mode
mount -o rw,remount -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock03 /system

Delete the file
rm /system/app/Camera.apk

Using adb

Mount system in read write mode
adb shell mount -o rw,remount -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock03 /system

Delete the file
adb shell rm /system/app/Camera.apk

Using titanium backup, select the app and click uninstall

When i use 'adb' method, I did 'adb shell mount -o rw,remount -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock03 /system ', but it said 'mount: Operation not permitted'. Any idea?

is your phone rooted?

Yes. I am running cyanogenmod and I have  'Superuser' installed.

can you try: adb shell (enter) su (enter)mount -o rw,remount -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock03 /system(enter)

If you really want to delete or replace system files ''at your own risk", first make sure you're rooted. Then install NQ mobile security. From the home screen of NQ, slide to the left to access ROM App Manager. Once you are there, MAKE SURE YOU BACK UP THE FILE BEFORE UNINSTALLING IT so you can restore it if anything goes south.
Good luck and just say thank you if i help!


text:
Manually changing shared_prefs and forcing app to update to it?
I've been trying to figure out if it's possible to disable/enable GO SMS popup notifications via something like Tasker. I came across the following line in /data/data/com.jb.gosms/shared_prefs/com.jb.gosms_preferences.xml:
<boolean name="pref_key_popup_msg" value="true" />

It would seem that I could just flip that to false, but GO SMS doesn't see that (and it actually rewrites the shared_prefs file it looks like). Is there a way to force GO SMS to re-read this shared_prefs file?
I am rooted and am pretty comfortable with shell commands as well as Tasker; I would think that any solution would require one of the above. (Tasker can fire Activities or broadcast intents.)

Try to edit the file after 'force-stopping' the app in settings → applications → manage applications. You cant edit the permission of the app to display notifications however

I'm talking about popup notifications - not notifications in the status bar. I'll give this a shot!

This did not work. The string in the xml file got replaced to true. :(

inside the app you can go to menu-settings - notification settings -uncheck enable popup to disable it. Probably the app checks when it was edited and prevents you from manually editing it

Yes, yes you can. The point was I would like to be able to do this externally (via Tasker, say). Guess this isn't possible..

@DangKhoa Did you force-stop the app before editing the prefs file? There's no way it could rewrite the XML file if it's not running.

Since this is bordering on the nuances of programming in terms of how preferences are stored, an activity that implements PreferenceActivity, actually modifies the entire preference xml, not just one key value.
The entire preference xml gets loaded and cached, any changes made, it rewrites it out in one fell swoop.
Quite likely, in the case of Go-SMS, there's a default value specified true regardless of what was selected, and also likely, to be hard-coded - raise the issue with Go-SMS developers to find out why?

I had exactly the same issue with an app I use - I am rooted and found the XML prefs file and the value I manually changed but everytime I boot the app it rewrites the file.    Having done some reading on this and experimenting with code I think this is because an app will only call on its preferences (getPreferences) once a settings dialog/screen is closed - generally this is how the app is written.  I'm still not quite sure why/how the app rewrites the preference xml regardless of changing the settings in the app or not.
BTW I too want to use Tasker to change a value in the prefs xml of an app to dynamically have the app respond.  I am looking into decompiling the app finding the relevant piece of java code and then amending it to call on prefs more frequently.


text:
What's causing battery drainage by "Google Services" while packet data is switched on in a 3G dead zone?
Here's a picture of my Samsung Galaxy S2 battery usage page. Around the point where the battery usage started diving, I had added a calendar remainder, sent an email (to a new contact) and browsed facebook (using their app) and twitter (using the web browser).
I've done all of these things many times before. What could have caused the sudden drain, and how can I stop it happening again when I'm not near a charger? (Updated question after picture.)

UPDATE
I've done some experimentation and made some observations. My workplace is in a 3G dead zone, but has 2G thanks to a repeater box someone has installed nearby.
For the past three months, I have left the phone with 'Sync' and 'Packet Data' switched on all the time. When at work inside the 3G dead zone, I sometimes switch on wifi. Before this incident, I've had no problems at all with battery power, despite leaving Sync on all the time.
After posting the original revision of this question, I charged the phone up while it was switched off, went home and only switched it back on when I got home. I had sync and 3G data all night and the battery wasn't rapidly draining.
This morning, the only change I had made was to carry it with me into my workplace and put the phone on my desk. I didn't switch anything on or off, I only carried it to my desk. It very quickly started heating up and I noticed that battery was rapidly draining as before.
I began to suspect that the dead zone was causing the problem. To test this hypothesis, I charged the phone up and switched off wifi, sync and packet data. During the day, I switched on wifi and sync in various combinations. (Text continues after picture.)

The kink in the graph is around 20 minutes where wifi and sync were both switched off, but packet data was switched on. During those 20 minutes, the phone was heating up and the battery was draining. When I switched packet data off, normal battery use resumed.
Conclusion: Something in my phone has a bug where the battery starts draining badly while in a 3G dead zone and packet data is switched on.
Remember, this only started happening very recently. I've had this phone since January and have left both packet data and sync switched on almost continuously. I've not knowingly had any software updates recenty and the 3G data availablity of my workplace has been consistently very bad for some time.
Does please anyone know of a fix?
(Many thanks to m'colleague Duncan Large for taking the pictures and helping test the hypothesis.)

See also: http://android.stackexchange.com/q/9453/267

Have you tried rebooting your phone yet? If you're lucky, it's just some kind of rare error.

I've updated the question with the results of an experiment. Yes, I rebooted the phone many times since this issue started to no avail.

It looks like your phone tries to build a 3g connection only if packet data is enabled. After all, 2g is just fine for voice and texts. But unsuccessfully trying to create a connection when there is no network costs a lot of power.
In my experience, phones normally cope just fine with that. My theory is that the 2G signal normally contains some sort of flag that indicates whether there is also a 3G signal. The 2G repeater would incorrectly send this flag -- possibly because the tower it gets its signal from sends it too. Thus your phone wastes energy trying to connect to a signal that only exists somewhere else.
If you cannot (or don't want to) replace the repeater by a more sophisticated model, you should turn off 3G altogether while in your office. GSM phones have a setting in Wireless & networks -> Mobile networks -> Network Mode that lets you switch between WDCMA (3G) and GSM (2G). I don't know what the setting looks like on a CDMA phone.
You can probably automate this with Tasker if you do want to use 3G where it is possible. Alternatively you could use a widget to change the setting manually without having to go to the settings menu. One app that provides a widget for this is Widgetsoid.

Also happened on my Samsung Infuse. It took me awhile to realize what the problem was. And also as you stated it never used to do it, only about the time the warranty expired. But yeah disabling my data while at work (which is a low signal 3g zone) fixed the problem.

I had same problem and fixed this way:
Go to Google sync and activate, then download an app named "DS battery saver."
Since then, my Google services no longer consume battery as it did. I think it's because it couldn't go into sleep mode. This app allows it to go to sleep.  I've been using since then and it resolved my problems.
Before this, with my Galaxy on idle, it only lasted 12 hours or so. That is without the screen on or making phone calls.  It's an android bug has nothing to do with WiFi.  My WiFi was always off, and still it drained all my battery.


text:
How do I speed up Android on Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini?
My first Android device is an Xperia X10 Mini. I've installed a custom ROM (miniCm7) and now my device is definitely 'cool'.
The only problem is that a lot of applications run in the background, slowing down the phone. Xperia x10 mini has a 600 MHz processor and only 256 MB RAM, so it can manage few applications altogether, despite they are applications I need (for example: WhatsApp, Facebook, Dropbox, and more).
How do I speed up and maintain it clean?

Applications don't run in the background, they're suspended and don't slow down the phone.  Services that run constantly might slow down the phone, and I believe Facebook and Dropbox both run services.  (See this answer for a bit more info on how Android manages resources.)
Your best option is to uninstall the apps you believe are causing issues.  Another thing you can do is install a custom kernel that will allow you to overclock the device (at the expense of battery life and assuming CM's kernel isn't overclockable), but that may not help very much.  Most phones with specs in that range don't run things all too well, which is how the manufacturer get people to spend more money I guess :P
See also: What are some general tips on improving overall performance of an Android phone?


text:
How can I disable the front status LED when charging my device?
Charging my smartphone the front LED is always shining annoyingly green. This bothers me especially while reading an ebook which is why I am looking for a way to disable this feature.
So how do I disable the front status LED?
My smartphone is a Huawei Honor U8860, but I'm hoping to find a device-agnostic solution, be it in form of a hidden setting or app that adds the option to disable the front status LED.

I haven't seem any such options or settings for any device so far. You can try these apps

LightFlow Lite
Adjbrightness

but I doubt these would work properly. (I can't check as my device doesn't have LED notification light.)
I believe this kind of things are only doable via Custom ROMs. You would have to check your device development forums. Start here - Huwaei U8860 - xda-developers.
I don't think you can get an universal solution. If there has been a way to do it via Android APIs it would already be in Settings I believe.

I am not sure that an App could get the low-level access needed to turn of the LED while charging. Your best bet is a custom ROM that has this low-level access and provides an API for an App or user setting. I would look at cyanogen mod.

I just found an app which works nicely without root for the Sony Z1 Compact:
Disable Charging LED
Maybe this is worth a try for you, too.


text:
Link to app will not open in Google Play
I am using the URI format http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=<package_name> described in Linking to Your Apps on Google Play in order to open the app in Android Market or Google Play to install it. But it only opens it in the browser as it would do it on the desktop. And when Install is clicked it asks the user to sign-in to install.
How can I link the app in Google Play so the user can install it?

This is weird, since on my device the browser straight up refuses to open Market links and opens the Market app.  I would go to Settings -> Applications -> Manage applications and clear the defaults for the browser to ensure that isn't causing the problem.  If that doesn't work: What device do you have?  Have you tried typing the URL directly into the browser and seeing what happens?  Where is this link appearing, exactly?  (On a web page or in another app?)

@MatthewRead I've tried to used the link from a message, QR code, email,... And same thing. Also, I've tried on different android devices, not just one, and same issue.

Try replacing http with https. It may look dumb, but try it.

@SachinShekhar I used both http and https. Even market. And the same result.

What's your web browser? Default Android browser and Dolphin HD automatically redirect to Play Store app (or, atleast ask)...

Did you get solution for this?

Try directly this if link is originated from an app for Android to handle:
market://details?id=<package_name>
Note: There's no domain and host.

Interesting that this way works. It directs to the market place properly. Thanks.

This'll only work on the Android device. Trying this in a desktop browser won't work.

@AlEverett Unless there's a market protocol handler in desktop browser to insert domain and host. :)

In fact, it doesn't work even in Android web browsers. Its intended to use in app development.

Then if this is an app development question it's in the wrong place.

@AlEverett Can't be said as asker didn't mention that. Android has system-wide protocol handler for this. So, I believe, it can be used with Tasker etc too.

Initially, I assumed different thing (see my comments on question). Then, I got the clue from asker's comment on other question: The link is accessed from device.

@SachinShekhar The link is stored in a QR code as well as redirected form a website. It is accessed through a QR code reader from a device. Therefore, I don't believe it has anything with development.

@slybloty Thanks for the clarification. I was curious as you didn't mention development anywhere.

And, it has opened new usage domain for me. Thanks again.. :)

This only works for Android devices. How can you make it work for both mobile and desktop browsers regardless of operating system, given that when on Android I want to open the Google Play store app and not the web browser?

To combine best of both worlds, set URL of the link to http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=<package_name> and then change it in JS if on Android - see my answer below http://android.stackexchange.com/a/164307/165570

I'm using the code below and it is working fine with my phone and emulator.
For the phone with Google Play app, it will automatically open the app.
For the emulator (without Google Play app), it will automatically open the browser.
try {
  Intent intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW);
  intent.setData(Uri.parse("market://details?id=com.example"));
  startActivity(intent);
} catch (Exception e) { //google play app is not installed
  Intent intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW);
  intent.setData(Uri.parse("https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.example"));
  startActivity(intent);
}

+1 for try/catch. In fact sometimes if there is no Google Play app installed on device, we'll get crash when try to open an app with URL starts with "market://details?id="

First off, the user can actually install the app from the market. He just can't do it directly but only make Google remote-install the app via the website, as he would do if he browsed the market on his PC.
Second, what browser are you testing this with? Opera isn't well integrated into Android and won't open Play URLs in the app. In fact I'm not sure even the native browser will.
Maybe you should just use market:// links instead of http://links.

It's the android browser it opens with instead of the app. The link is accessed from the device. I want the user to be able to install the app by clicking the link and be directed to Market or Google Play.

Settings > Applications > All (top tab)
Click Menu button > Reset app preferences
Source:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt_alKha_-s

It's not working

I found simple and easy solution.

make a html page any where.
<meta http-equiv="REFRESH" content="0; URL=market://details?id=package_name" />
Open browser and type this html URL
you will see your app in play market app

To have a solution that works in a best possible way for desktop/Android/mobile non-Android:
HTML:
<a id="play-store-link" href="http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=$PACKAGE_NAME">

JS:
if (navigator.userAgent.match(/android/i)) {
    document.getElementById('play-store-link').href = 'market://details?id=$PACKAGE_NAME';
}

but this don't work with Opera browser

Using the market:// because it is not a web link and won't work on all Android devices
Use this link https://play.app.goo.gl/?link=https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.myapp
Replace the com.myapp with your app's

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


text:
Is there any reason not lock the CPU frequency to the minimum while the screen is off?
To save battery, I have created a "screen off" profile with SetCPU that locks the CPU frequency to the minimum while the screen is turned off. Could this have any negative side effects on apps that run in the background?

There will only be problems if you rely on background services to do processor intensive tasks.  For example, on an older Android phone, music running in the background would skip when the CPU was set at a low enough clock rate.
So to answer your question, only if it's noticeable to you.

See also: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/777/why-does-my-phone-peg-the-cpu-every-time-i-wake-it-up


text:
Exchange Calendar Sync can't edit turns reminders on
I have synced my Galaxy S II with exchange 2010 server. It has imported all my calendar events as expected, however it has set a reminder on all of the events. For example, in Outlook I have public holidays in my calendar with no reminder, however on my phone these are imported with an Alarm "On Time". Since these are all day events, the alarm goes off at midnight.
Does anyone know a way way to fix this problem?

This problem was resolved by upgrading to Ice Cream Sandwich


text:
Can applications be downloaded without a Google Account and without disabling security features?
If I wish to install applications such as Skype, DropBox, etc however without registering for a Google account, is that possible? If so, how do I install them without a Google account?

Use ADB to install the applications.
Install the Android sdk ( https://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html ).
Enable USB debugging in Settings>Applications>Development.
This process can be done even without enabling side-loading of apps. Open a command prompt window and type:
adb install app_name.apk

Thanks Ruben Roy. Do I have to disable any security features such as Installation of Non-market apps?

no you dont have to

@PeanutsMonkey: you only need to have non market apps install enabled while installing them. You can disable it again once you've finished installing. Enabling USB debugging is a much bigger issue security wise than enabling non market app install.

You could use other App stores like Amazon App Store or GetJar, but you would also need accounts on those.
You can side-load apps via downloading APK files on PC and then installing them from your SD card. Just try opening the APK files with a file manager like ES File Explorer or ASTRO File Manager which would give a option to open it with Package manager or Install.
But I assume from your question that you don't want to enable Installation of Non-market apps, then you don't get much choice. Even Amazon App store requires that feature enabled.

one can download APK files available on Google Play Store, without a Google account, by using APK Pure.
it also allows downloading previous versions which may be helpful for people trying older devices, which need older app version for compatibility reasons.
additionally, one may choose to use a region-specific build.


text:
No numbers on default keyboard
Just bought a SE Xperia Arc S phone and it's keyboard does not have numbers or symbols like $,@ on the keys. When I press and hold "r" for example it prints a weird "ṛ" character instead of the number 4.
Is there a way to have a keyboard like in Galaxy S, with symbols and numbers (and still have swype)?

Check what input methods your device has by following the screen shots-

You should be able to see all installed keyboards by following the guide, and select the one which suits you. Or if you don't have much options there, install a new keyboard input method from Market or install Swype beta by registering here.


text:
Why is multitasking not behaving properly on my HTC One S?
I have recently purchased the new HTC One S, and I am starting to get disappointed with Android and ICS. Multitasking only seems to exist for small apps like SMS, mail, and others. Every time I have a big game running - like Shadowgun, for example - and I press the home button or lock the screen, the game stops running. If I then go to the most recent apps and pick the game, it starts over from the beginning, it doesn't continue where I left it. I am used to a HTC HD2 with its old Windows Mobile, and I was always able to leave a game in its position and come back to it later, without any problems. Why isn't Android doing that for me? Is it a behavior only for ICS, or HTC, or is it the general behavior of any android mobile?

The general android behavior is to pause the application when you switch to some other app. It shouldn't cause data loss. In case the app is closed/killed by the OS while in background, it gives the app the option to save data in it's APIs.
If an app is using this proper/recommended way, then it can resume altogether without any data loss, i.e. you can start the game where you left it. But some games may have so much data that it can't be saved easily, that's why you are having issues with multi-tasking.
I haven't tried Shadowgun, so I can't comment on that, but in a game like Plants vs. Zombies it's properly implemented, and your game is properly paused and resumed. When you press Home on the device, it goes to a paused state automatically.
So in the end, it all comes down to App's own mechanics, not on HTC or Android.

It´s curious, I have tried again with shadowgun, and after going to home, I went back to the game and it continued from the last point, but after going home and back to the game again, it started from the check point instead of the last position.... Again, every time I go from the game to home, the Sense interface reloads.

It seems that your device may be running out of memory and the launcher itself is reloading because it was put into swap to free up RAM. The check point thing also shows that app is handling saving data sometimes. Perhaps you could first try killing all apps other than launcher via a Task Killer and the start the game and test the behavior.

Another game I have tried with is angry birds, and same thing happens, it doesn´t continue from the las state.

I have tried to run the game just after the mobile turned on, and the same happens. I also think that the problem is that it runs out of RAM and the SO unloads the launcher. I am afraid some update from HTC may be needed to solve this, I am afraid, anyway if you could try in your mobiles with some game like shadowgun, or even angry birds?.

I have an alpha build of CM9 (ICS Port) installed in my device and GPU drivers are not fully working yet, so can't play a game on my device for now. :|

Forget games, lets talk about some of the default applications that comes with phone, even the browser named as 'Internet' doesn't have that capability, once I switch to another application, the pages that were previously loaded on that app gets reloaded when I get back to 'Internet'. Multitasking seems to be a joke in HTC. This is the one and only reason I hate my HTC One X. Even I am searching a solution for this issue.
http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/35802/htc-one-x-multitasking

@SameerSharma : If that is the case, why other android phone performs multitasking properly ?
http://drippler.com/htc/one_x#!312348

I don't have this problem running on a SGSII on ICS. Have you tried pausing the game before leaving it? Also make sure you click the home button only once with a fast click.
Good luck.

First of all, thank you very much for your fast answers. I don´t have this behavior with all apps, only with big ones, that require a lot of ram, like shadowgun. Can you both try with one like it, maybe shadow guardian, nova, need for speed, or some  like these?.
Anyway, I had android froyo  installed in the SD of my HTC HD2 running Windows Mobile, so I was able to load android from there, and as far as I remember, I didn´t have this behavior with games like these ones...
Best regards and thank you very much.


text:
How to copy all photos in gallery to linux desktop machine?
I have a bunch of photos on my Samsung Galaxy Tab running 3.2 which I'd like to copy over USB to my main machine running Linux so I can work on them with GIMP and other power tools.   Despite this seeming like a simple and common thing to do, I haven't found any way to do this after hours of googling and experimenting.
Some answers and articles already out there assume the existence of sdcard, which I don't have (AFIK), mention directories named /dcim or /emmc (sp?), involve Windows-only software such as Kies, or are about some specialized problem not relevent here.
I figured I could poke around the Galaxy Tab's file system with adb, but found no place holding .jpg or other image files, which I should have at least 30 or so of.  If I knew the path, I could just do an adb pull to get my photos.
If it's possible, I prefer to use adb pull, since it can be automated, but I also wonder how regular folk, the nontechies, get their photos off their tablets.  I have read about MTP and that the USB mass storage device way of doing things doesn't work with the Galaxy Tab (or anything Samsung?)
Just to be clear, my photos do exist on the tablet.  I can see them all in the Gallery, as a regular end user.   I do have the proper USB cable, and adb runs fine.

I assume you have Galaxy Tab with Honeycomb and don't have a SD card slot, but have 16/32 GBs of internal storage. In Honeycomb, MTP mode (Windows Media Transfer Protocol) is used instead of USB Mass storage. That's why it's isn't working for you perhaps.
First read what MTP is and why it's being used by OEMs now here. MTP and ICS. Also this Question should be useful - Android Stack Exchange - Can I disable MTP mode and just have a regular USB connection?
Have your tried enabling MTP support for Linux? These are the steps for a Ubuntu distro - Guide To Setup MTP.
Alternatively via using ADB I believe you can access Gallery files in /mnt/sdcard/. The sdcard folder should be there even if you don't have a SD card slot. Camera photos would be in /DCIM folder.
Full steps would be (if anyone needs) -
adb shell
cd /mnt/sdcard/DCIM/

You can check which folders exist here and verify if your Media files are here or not.

There is a /mnt but nothing at all inside it.  For me, this mythical sdcard directory is as real as unicorns!

Thanks for the pointer to a quick way to browse the device content. :-)  It was a quick adb pull later to get what I needed!  Thanks!

I wrote a little script to do this for me that deletes files from the device after pulling:
#!/bin/sh
cleanup() {
    [[ -n "$dest" ]] && cd "$OLDPWD" && rmdir --ignore-fail-on-non-empty "$dest"
}
trap cleanup EXIT

DIRS=( /storage/emulated/0/DCIM/Camera
       /storage/emulated/0/Pictures/Office\ Lens )
dest=$(mktemp -d -p .) && cd $dest
echo output directory: $(pwd)
for dir in "${DIRS[@]}"
do
    echo downloading from $dir
    adb shell ls "'$dir'/*.jpg" 2>/dev/null | xargs -I{} -n 1 -d '\n' sh -c 'adb pull -a "$1" && adb shell rm "\"$1\"" && adb shell am broadcast -a android.intent.action.MEDIA_SCANNER_SCAN_FILE -d \"file://$1\" || exit 255' -- {} || break
done

The main process is a loop executed once for each directory $dir specified in $DIRS that terminates on the first failure.
The break prevents processing in the event of an error so that the script exits on the first failure.
The loop executes a compound command for each directory listed in $DIRS as $dir. The first piece is straightforward:
ls "'$dir'/*.jpg" 2>/dev/null

It does what it says on the tin - lists all of the JPEG files located at $dir. The 2>/dev/null hides the No such file or directory error message that would otherwise be displayed when there are no such files.
The output of ls is piped into xargs - the arguments set {} as the placeholder, \n as the delimiter and processes files one at a time. The command line used to process each file follows:
sh -c 'adb pull -a "$1" && adb shell rm "\"$1\"" && adb shell am broadcast -a android.intent.action.MEDIA_SCANNER_SCAN_FILE -d \"file://$1\" || exit 255' -- {}

Which is itself a compound command of three adb commands executed by a sh shell which is given the file as an argument ($1) specified by its {} placeholder.
The first command downloads the file:
adb pull -a "$1"

If that succeeds then the second command removes the file from the Android device:
adb shell rm "\"$1\""

The extra quoting is necessary so that file names containing white space are properly passed into the adb shell. If that command succeeds then the final command lets the device know the file is gone:
adb shell am broadcast -a android.intent.action.MEDIA_SCANNER_SCAN_FILE -d \"file://$1\"

Once again, quoting is applied for adb shell. This step is required to update the images listed in the Gallery app (otherwise they may be cached and still display).
The compound command finishes with exit 255 in the event that any of the adb commands fail. This has special meaning to xargs and causes it to terminate without processing any more files.
This is a quick and dirty script - it could probably be improved but hopefully it's helpful as it is.

If you can't find your files easily using ADB on /mnt/sdcard (which as Sameer mentions is where it should be, even if you don't have an external SD card), you might find it easier to use a local file explorer to search for/manage your pics.  For many distros (like Ubuntu) you need to manually add a usb identifier for the device in udev after installing ADB.

Really? I connected my device via USB an "it just worked"(TM). I'm running Ubuntu 10.4

I've never seen one connect without doing the manual add yet, myself.  Was it a tablet? It might be identifying itself differently over USB than a phone might, or the manufacturer could have tweaked it.

Yes, an Asus TF-101 running 3.2 and 4.0.x. But my phone (LG Optimus One) also connects as long as usb debugging is checked in the settings.

Now that I think about it, the Acer Aconia didn't "just work", so it may be manufacturer dependent.

I don't think the filesystem on Android tabs is universal.
I haven't played with the Galaxy Tab, but on my Asus TF101, the internal storage is at /mnt/sdcard, while on my dad's Acer Iconia, it's /sdcard (IIRC).
From a quick google, it appears that Galaxy Tab photos are stored in /sdcard/DCIM/Camera/ or /Data/DCIM/Camera/ for internal storage or perhaps /sdcard/external_sd/DCIM/Camera/ if using the 'external' sdcard.
I'd look for these three folders using a file manager on your device (or ADB) and then use ADB to pull them as you described once you've found your photos.


text:
Get root access without going through replacing things?
I'm totally new to rooting and I would like to simply have root access to my phone. I don't want to do any customization whatsoever to the insides of it. Is this doable? I mean like, in terms of a PC, I want to simply give my limited user account an administrative privilege.
Sorry if this seems weird and all but I'm unfamiliar with these grounds.
If it makes answering a little bit easier, my phone is an Xperia Active and here's the information I can find inside Settings > About.

For example, I only want to change the default media sounds stored inside the internal memory. Things like that.

Follow the guide in this thread to root your device. Xperia Rooting Tool - xda-developers
Rooting would install a Superuser app for you which will monitor apps which require root access. You can then install a app like Root Explporer to access your device's internal memory, just press Allow when it asks for root access.
I believe you can find system media files inside the path /system/media/audio/, although it may change with devices or firmware versions. And don't forget to click on R/W on top in Root Explorer when you are deleting or replacing files to enable Read/Write Mode.

You can't do this.
You give administrative privilege to limited user accounts in Windows when you have access to atleast one Administrator account. Think about the situation when you are on others PC with guest account. Can you do anything which requires administrative privilege on that PC? The same type of situation blocks us in Android.
So, to get administrative (root) access in Android (Linux), we need to alter and replace many things.


text:
Very long boot time on my Galaxy Nexus
My Galaxy Nexus 4.0.2 takes over three minutes to boot. Is this normal? Is it supposed to take this long to boot? Why does it take so long?

Shouldn't take that long... have you thought about trying a factory reset?

This is the phone I use every day and without a better reason that just trying a factory reset it is to much of a hassle. I will however try the factory reset if there is a problem that only can be solved that way. There are lots of stuff that needs to be downloaded, set-up and re synced.

My Galaxy Nexus (I9250, GSM version) with Android 4.02 definitely doesn't take that long to boot.
Just switched mine off to test, and from off it takes just under a minute to get to the SIM card PIN unlock code screen (and after entering my PIN it goes straight to the pattern lock with my normal wallpaper).

Then it must be something wrong with my phone?

You may have encrypted your phone contents. Both of my phones take a lot longer to boot since having to decrypt on start-up.


text:
"Android.process.media has stopped unexpectedly" error when I boot my Galaxy Nexus
Every time I boot my phone it gives the error message android.process.media has stopped unexpectedly. Why?
I am using 4.0.2 on my Galaxy Nexus.

Everybody (should be) up to 4.0.4 by now, if not 4.1. Is this still a problem?

The process error you are getting is android.process.media
The clue is in the media part.

You should go to Settings > Applications > Manage Applications > Then make sure you look under the ALL tab. It is MEDIA what you are looking for.
Clear the data and cache for this one. Then Force-stop it and restart your device.

When it restarts, it should restart normal and the media will start again automatically without the issue.

I found a fix that worked for me.
Remove the SD card, then whilst it's out, choose to clear the SD card contents,(mine allowed this). Replace the SD card and all fine, quick n easy.

First, I'd fix permissions on CWM. No help? Then try this:

Settings > Applications > Manage Applications >
then make sure you look under the all tab. It is called Google Services Framework and you clear the data for this one and cache for market.
Go to "Settings" > Unplug your device from computer (if plugged in).
Choose "Manage Applications" from the list.
Select the "All" tab.
Scroll down to "Market" and select it.
Tap "Force stop" > "Clear cache" > Back button.
Scroll up to "Google Services Framework" and select it.
Tap "Clear data" >  "OK" > "Force stop".
Start Market.
At the "An error has occurred" message, tap "OK".
Hold your power button to turn off your device from the menu.
Turn your device back on.
Start Market again, and the problem should be resolved.

Note: "Market" is the earlier name of "Google Play Store".

I tried this and it dose not seem to have resolved the problem. I still get the error.

Do wipe data/factory reset and wipe cache in CWM. If that doesnt solve the problem flash the firmware once again

You can factory reset even from the stock recovery. BTW who said a word about custom ROMs?

Removing my sd card helps, I'll try to reinsert it again.

The process name implies that it is related to SD card. FAT filesystem is very old and unreliable filesystem. Android stop apps to prevent further damage to your data.
Solution: Eject MicroSD card. Insert in card reader, plug to PC. Run chkdsk i: /f /x, where i- drive letter for your SD partition in Windows OS. Chkdsk shall find and fix the problem. Problem solved.


text:
How can I forward a port when using PdaNet?
I'm using PdaNet to connect my laptop to the Internet. From there I'm using an ethernet cable and Internet conection sharing to connect my PS3 for online gaming. Works pretty good for most games, but one in particular will not connect to the server. I need to know how to adjust the router settings when (I think) the phone is the router. In particular, how can I forward ports and enable UPnP?
If this isn't possible, is there another setup i could use to get what I want? I've got my laptop running Win7 64 bit, a Belkin Play N600 router (not used currently), a stock LG axis AS 740 Android phone (2.1 OS) and the PS3. Oh, and the game I'm trying to play is Modern Warfare 3. I'm just not very tech savvy.

It's possible that there may not be a way to do this as your cellular carrier could be blocking the port rather than PdaNet (though I couldn't say for certain myself).

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

I had an almost identical setup with my phone-laptop-xbox. Windows ICS (called Mobile hotspot in Win10) was useless. I got ICS to work for a day or two with my Xbox but gaming on the Xbox was very poor and connections would drop every 5 minutes. Finally after a reboot of my laptop one day Windows wouldn't let me enable Hotspot when using PDAnet as the source of internet. I tried restoring Windows but nothing worked, Windows refused to recognize PDAnet's virtual adapter as a valid internet connection. I tried changing every setting and loading old drivers but Windows kept refusing to acknowledge an internet connection.
After a few hours of experimentation I came across Connectify 2018. Connectify takes the incoming PDAnet internet connection (or any other source of internet) and shares it via the WiFi adapter. It sounds awfully familiar to ICS but one major difference is it allows the WiFi client's connection to be bridged rather than the standard 'routed' mode that ICS only allows. I switched to bridge mode and the UPnP features for the Xbox all worked great and it has never dropped a connection while gaming. Connectify also displays connection details of each client. There are newer and older versions of Connectify but 2018 works flawlessly with Win10, my LG Note and Windows 10. It is available on TBP.


text:
How can I make a point-to-point VoIP call over Wi-Fi?
I am searching for a way to make a point-to-point VoIP call between two Android devices without having any intermediate server (SIP server) or an Internet connection. I just have an access point (or multiple access point connect via LAN) and I want to make VoIP calls over Wi-Fi only. Is this possible?

I've rephrased your question a bit as app recommendations are generally off-topic (they are essentially shopping recommendations). However, if there is an app out there that supports this functionality it will be just as much a valid answer to this re-phrased question as your original one.

zix> Did you find a way to do this?

You can use CSipSimple to add a local SIP account on both phones without having the need for an intermediate SIP proxy (or server).
Add a general 'Local' account. You only have to provide a SIP username for it.
When that is done on both phones you can call the other phone:

You have to know the IP address or dns name of the other phone
You need to know the just set up SIP username of the other phone
Dial 'SIPusername@IP-address' to call the other phone
You need to switch from the initially shown number pad to the extended 'SIP uri' input window

Click on the green marked spot in the left image to navigate to the SIP input activity :

Have just tried CSipSimple's "Local" mode with "Wi-Fi hotspot" feature. It fails because of "no network => won't listen 5060" idea...

Are you logged in into any wifi network? That's the only prerequisite (the OP already stated to have an access point)

The device is acting as Wi-Fi AP itself. One device is AP, other device is it's client. On client device all OK, but on AP device it's "no network".

The AP feature of Android is for tethering only, i.e. you can only use it to expose the 3G internet connection to other phones. Client to AP device communication is firewalled. You need to set up an ad-hoc wifi to get device-to-device connectivity. Just use a ad-hoc mode or a real AP instead.

But it's also good to connect two devices when they are "far away from civilization". They can network, but one of then "thinks" that there's no network. Especially strange for CSipSimple's "Local" mode which is designed for server-less operation.

it makes sense though. the ap network is normally a dead end as there are only clients which you supply with internet. from a programmatic POV it's most probably marked as unconnected. Say you want to download something and it would try that dead end. fail. the only active & real inet connection is 3g, which the local mode doesn't like. use ad hoc or a small portable ap

"use ad hoc" => Ad hoc mode configured in rooted device's Linux console is also "not a real network" for applications. "or a small portable ap" => Just to workaround this "too clever" logic? I want to configure things to work just as "wifi walkie-tolkie".

maybe mess around with 'ip route', give the wifi net an ip + a def. gateway or use a 3rd party app, barnacle wifi tether. Just my thoughts, have no experience with this kind of problem. i'd need to test more to be able to give a better advice, sorry. +: the OP already stated he has a dedicated AP. maybe also possible: use a 3rd phone as AP

3rd phone will work. "ip route" is Linux-level thing, but the problems lies in Android level. It does not like when network is being configured not by Android.

Submitted an issue: http://code.google.com/p/csipsimple/issues/detail?id=1843

Use uSipServer + SipDroid (or whatever SIP client) configured at an explicit IP address.
Like one device has uSipServer, started Wi-Fi AP (in "Tethering" menu) and SipDroid connected to test1@127.0.0.1. Other device connects to Wi-Fi and use SIP account test2@192.168.43.1 and calls to "test1".
Update: Have just tested that this configuration actually works:

Put first device in "Portable Hotspot" mode (Settings -> Wireless & networks -> Tethering & portable hotspot -> Portable Wi-Fi hotspot)
Start uSipServer on the first device
Connect the second device to AP created by the first (Setting -> Wireless & networks -> Wi-Fi settings -> Wi-Fi networks -> "X10i" (or whatever name)
Start SipDroid on the second device, specifying, for example, "qqq" as user and "192.168.43.1" as SIP server. The indicator goes green.
Start SipDroid on the first device, speciftgin, for example, "eee" as user and "192.168.43.1" or "127.0.0.1" as server. The indicator stays yellow.
Can phone from the second device to the first, specifying "eee" in the lower call field; can phone from the first device to the second, specifying "qqq" in the lower call field. No external entities (like extra access points or cellular provider) involved.

I tried other SIP clients (like CSipSimple and Linphone), but they refuse to work on the first device when no "normal" network is configured. And SipDroid (which is fortunately dumb enough to overlook network "absence") is not codec-compatible with everything else I tried.
Note that if there are other network connections present, SipDroid may confuse them and send the wrong IP to it's peer resulting in "one way" phone. Test with only Wi-Fi hotstop/Wi-Fi client enabled.


text:
How can I train voice recognition on ICS?
Is it possible to train Android's speech recognition?  I have read Can I train Google Voice Actions to better recognize my voice? which suggests that there is a setting in the voice search app but I'm running ICS and don't even have a dedicated voice search app.

The setting should still exist, it's just a little bit more awkward to get to. The easiest way is to hit the microphone icon on the search widget (though I think anywhere it appears will work) to bring up the voice action dialog. There's a wrench in the top right of that dialog that opens the settings:

Tap that to open the settings page, which should have the checkbox titled "Personalized recognition" as in previous versions (tested on a Galaxy Nexus running CyanogenMod 9, Android 4.0.4).

I've found the menu but the only settings that I have there are "Language", "SafeSearch" and "Block offensive words". This is on a Xperia Neo V, stock. (Android 4.0.2 IIRC).

@Erik: Do you live outside the US or have your language set to something other than en-US? I believe that's the only supported language currently: https://groups.google.com/a/googleproductforums.com/d/msg/websearch/TBCC0vCcb7c/bcCv_7uefOYJ

Both, in fact. Is there any way to work around the location restriction?

@Erik: That I don't know, unfortunately. You'd might be able to get away with installing an en-US ROM, but I'd assume that would be undesirable anyway (and may have other issues, for all I know).


text:
How can I fix my touchscreen on my Droid 2 Global?
Anyone know what to do if your phone's touchscreen won't respond. I have tried removing the battery and SIM card, turning it off, letting the battery completely die and then recharge. Is there anything else I could do?
Note: I have never placed my phone near water, so it cannot be due to water damage.
MODEL NUMBER: A956.

Unless you havent flashed other roms, its time to replace the screen.


text:
Can I forward/reply calls/SMS to PC?
I wonder if it's possible to forward calls or SMS to PC where I can then reply or at least get notified of a call/SMS? For example, calls might be forwarded to Skype, is it possible?

Related: How can I be informed through my computer if a new SMS is received?, How do I send SMS from PC through Android Phone or to Android Phone?

Does this answer your question? How can I be informed through my computer if a new SMS is received?

As of June 2014, I've moved on and developed MAXS. See my answer here.
Below is the original answer.

GTalkSMS is an alternative for Android-notifier which works over XMPP (GTalk, Jabber). It allows you to control various aspects of Android, including an SMS/Call/Battery notification and reply system. Additionally, it is able to send and receive files to and from your Android device. There are many other features too.
Using XMPP as transport, the "desktop app" can be every XMPP Client. This is one of GTalkSMS's big advantages, as it does not need a dedicated desktop app.
Disclosure: I am involved in GTalkSMS. GTalkSMS is an open-source GPL-licensed Android app. Everyone can contribute.

Neato!  While I'm not sure it's all that handy for the OP, that is a nifty app...

The free Windows program MyPhoneExplorer and its companion Android app MyPhoneExplorer Client (also free) enables you to:

get notified of incoming texts (using a Windows tray tip, optionally with sound)
read incoming texts and reply to them
write and send new texts
read and reply to all previously received and send texts on the phone

using an Android phone connected either via the local network (LAN/Wi-Fi), Bluetooth, or USB cable.
You can also:

be notified of incoming calls, including who is calling, and
pick up and hang up a call from the computer,

but you have to conduct the actual call through the phone, using the phone's speaker and microphone or a headset connected to the phone.
The program has many other nice features, including:

backing up and archiving of your text messages (using a local archive of all text messages in which you can search, filter, organize into simple folders, reply to specific texts, etc.)
edit text fields from the computer in any phone app, including copying text from the computer clipboard into the phone's text field (the client app installs a remotely controlled soft keyboard on the phone to be able to do this)
making the computer keyboard act as a phone keyboard when the phone is connected to the computer via a USB cable
taking screenshots from the phone when it is connected to the computer via a USB cable
editing of contacts and calendar
working with files on the phone, synchronising photos and other files between the phone and the computer
getting Android notifications from all apps as Windows tray notifications.

The program has been a trustful companion for me for 8 years. It is mature and stable. It used to only work with Sony Ericsson phones (before Android) but now it also supports Android phones of any brand.
For a time in the past, the program was distributed with OpenCandy, which "recommended" other software to install during the installation, but that has luckily been removed now.
Disclosure: I am the Danish translator of MyPhoneExplorer. But I do it absolutely for free, simply because I love the program and want the translation I use daily to be of high quality.

I can confirm that this works really well.

I have Google Voice set up which allows this. If you were to call or text my Google Voice number and I was signed into GMail in a web browser (I exclusively use Chrome) I can answer the call using either my phone or the computer. I can also send and receive text messages from the computer. I'm also able to answer calls using my house phone, too. I know that this doesn't answer your question but it may solve the problem of being unable to get the question answered.

You can use Google Voice to have calls ring your cell phone and any other phone you like; as vyse mentioned, you can use it directly with Google Chat, but with a little extra effort, you can hook it into any SIP phone like Skype.  This also works for SMS messages, which will show up in your email and you can reply to them exactly as if they were on your phone.
Aside from GV, there really aren't any good alternatives for what you want to do without setting up your own vPBX like FreeSWITCH or Asterisk.

Highly recommend SMSSync. It's opensource, it doesn't try to do too many things, and it does this specific thing very well.

For SMS, I highly recommend MightyText.
For controlling your phone, you can use Airdroid, which is great.
For receiving calls on your computer, I haven't found any solution besides Google Voice, and I live outside the USA, so it's a bummer for me :-(

MAXS (Modular Android XMPP Suite) forwards all kinds of notifications (calls, SMS, etc) to your PC over XMPP. It also allows you to control various aspects of Android, including an SMS/Call/Battery notification and reply system. Additionally, it is able to send and receive files to and from your Android device. There are many other features too.
Using XMPP as transport, the "desktop app" can be every XMPP Client. This is one of the big advantages of MAXS, as it does not need a dedicated desktop app. Although there may be one in the future.
Disclosure: I am involved in MAXS. MAXS is an open-source GPLv3-licensed Android app. Everyone can contribute.

This works with mysms.com. The app syncs your text messages and calls and you get notified via a popup window - similar to Skype.

If you have a Samsung Device, SideSync is a great way to accomplish what you're trying to do.
Sidesync has a lot of great features:

Display your phone or table from your PC and control it.
Send and receive phone calls from your PC
Access all of your apps (like sending/reading SMS messages)
See notifications from your device directly on your PC (like incoming SMS)
Access your Phone/Tablet via USB or wireless on the same network
Drag and drop files to and from device

My coworkers connect headsets to their PC, and access their phone via SideSync for most of their work day.

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


text:
Can I reinitialize specific core services?
Sometimes my phone gets into a state where one of the core functions - audio, wifi, bluetooth - is in a somehow broken state. Example symptoms:

wifi cannot see any available networks
wifi attempts to connect but always fails
other devices cannot connect to wifi tethering hotspot
bluetooth cannot see any other devices
bluetooth connection to headset is established, but no audio comes through
it is impossible to turn bluetooth on (any attempt just processes for a while, and bluetooth remains off)
audio doesn't play anything at all, not to an external device nor through internal speaker (and yes, the volume is set correctly)
audio output is stuck at very low volume

Rebooting the phone always fixes the issues in these conditions. However, rebooting this thing takes a silly amount of time, especially if you count in the initialization phase where the phone is online, but so laggy you practically can't do anything.
Is there a way to restart / reinitialize specific core services without rebooting? How?
Note: I'm not talking about turning the features on/off from settings of from a widget. It does help in some cases, but not always.
The phone is GT-S5570 running Android 2.2.1. The phone is rooted, so solutions that require root are welcome.

Have you tried this app or similar ones like this  -  Fast Reboot - Google Play.
You could also try disabling some apps from auto starting via apps like these - Startup Manager - Google Play
Another thing to do could be to install a custom ROM, which may have lesser bloatware but may come at expense of stability. In custom ROMs you may also have option to disable boot-animations, although the difference wouldn't be much.

Thanks! Though these are attempts at doing a faster reboot, which isn't exactly what I'm asking. They do address the underlying problem, though.

The description of Fast Reboot sounds really dubious. "Simulates a reboot by closing/restarting all core and user processes and thus frees up memory. Your phone should be much snappier after using Fast Reboot." While rebooting the core processes sounds like it might be applicable in my case, I'm not very happy using an app that is based on the false claim of a performance boost because of memory management issues.

Did you try hot booting?

If your Android device starts acting funny, what do you do? That’s right, you reboot the device and everything goes back to normal. But, what if there was a faster way to solve your issues? Many times, the culprit of any and all failures is the shell itself. This can be easily terminated via any of the available task managers out there, but here is a better solution. XDA member appelflap has developed an app that will only reboot the Android shell. This has several advantages, like the fact that you will not have to go through menus and/or lists of apps to find the shell to stop it. Also, it is faster than performing a soft reset. And best of all, it is a one touch kill.

Source: http://www.xda-developers.com/windows-mobile/reboot-the-shell-only-with-hot-reboot-for-android/
Unfortunately I couldn't find the app the developer made. The linked application thread only contains the text "On Market now" with no name or anything to follow up.
So you might want to try searching on Play store for Hot reboot.
In my HTC Desire running ICS there is option to Hot reboot which boots my phone from boot animation. I'm not sure but I do feel its a tleast twice faster than normal reboot. There are some claim that hot reboot is twice faster as well. For eg: http://www.intomobile.com/2010/09/29/hot-reboot-android-video/

The fact that you are rooted is great, because that means that you can isolate the problem by trying to switch to another ROM. If the problem disappears, then it was software related and it's then solved :)
I suggest you look at Galaxy Mini Android Development on xda-developers and find a ROM that you think looks nice. (I'm noting one of them now has the word "wifi fix" in it). Don't forget to install a custom kernel after the ROM if the instructions tell you to do so, you don't want to run a flashy new ROM with an old kernel.
The reason new ROM + kernel is something that's important to try is that these components regulate the functions you mentioned (wifi, bluetooth etc), so by replacing them completely we know if there might be a hardware malfunction or if there was some kind of software bug to begin with.

Yeah, switching to another ROM might be a good idea to solve the issues. Doesn't really answer the question about restart the core services, though.


text:
What is cleared when I restart my phone?
I haven't restart my phone since the day I got it however decided I would give it a go since my contacts seem to disappear intermittently. Anyhoo, it prompted me that if I restarted my phone anything stored in memory would be cleared. How do I find out what is stored in memory and what is being cleared?

What's your device? I restart device once a day at-least, due to development purposes or other reasons also. Can you provide a screenshot of the prompt you got? because I have never seen this prompt on any android device.

It depends on the application.  All applications are notified when the phone is shutting down (and also when said apps move to the background) and can choose to save state at that time.  As the answer below states, some sorts of apps, like games, choose not to save state.

@Sameer Sharma - Not sure how I can provide a screenshot. Any suggestions? I have a HTC Evo 3D running version 2.3.4 of Android.

It isn't useful when users down vote a question without noting the reason. If I know the reason I could amend the question.

Things that would be cleared are anything that isn't saved, open applications, etc.  For example, if you were playing a game, and just pressed the home key the game would go to the background and be paused.  When you restart your phone, you will lose that game (up until the last point it saved).
Other things that you leave half finished, such as an unwritten email might get lost, but even that is unlikely because I notice Android pretty much makes sure I never lose anything.
It's not a bad idea to restart your device once in a while, but you really do not have to worry about losing anything.  It's safe.

Is there a way to tell which applications are open and do not save their contents saved?

@PeanutsMonkey On some devices you can hold the Home button and click Task Manager to see the running processes.  Otherwise check under Settings -> Applications.

@ Matthew Read - Thanks but that doesn't tell me that the contents of the application are not yet saved.


text:
Which system process do I block from the internet to prevent ads from showing up?
Yes, this is similar to my own previous question on the subject.
I'm being very specific here though - despite having wrapped ad blocking with hosts file and firewall, some apps (several more now) are able to merrily display banner ads even when they are explicitly blocked from connecting to the net. My firewall (Droidwall) works, because if I block a legitimate app it gets blocked.
How are they doing this?? Is there some Google made common system process that they access?

Have you tried AdAway?  It works very well on my phone for blocking ads.

See the linked question...already running all of that. This isn't a question on how to block ads, it's a question about getting rid of the rest!

Related: How to Block/Filter Sites on Mobile Data Connection?

Such ads are not fetched from the internet, they are built into the app. Usually the ads would feature some other app from the same developer.

That seems likely..some of these are direct market links.

The reason why you still see those ads when you've blocked internet is because they're cached. If you erase the app data, then you won't see those ads, but all login information (if used) will also be deleted.
There isn't any specific process on the Android system that is responsible for fetching ads. The application itself fetches the ad. So unless you find a way to kill a thread on the app that fetches those ads, you won't be able to do anything.
Your best course of action is to:

Buy the paid version of the app. (Supports developers :-) )
Install some AdBlocker app. (Might require root.)
Bear with the ads.

Already done all that if you read my original question.


text:
How can I add an icon to the MIUI home screen?
I just got a Nexus One, which uses the MIUI interface. It came with two different gallery apps. I prefer the cooliris app, but there's no icon for it on the home screen, which makes it difficult to access. I can't seem to figure out how to add an icon.
Everything I've found on the internet is either inaccurate or otherwise unhelpful. This should be simple. What am I missing?

Have you tried opening the app drawer and long-pressing the icon there?

@AlEverett: The MIUI interface has no app drawer, according to Google. I haven't seen anything that looks like it could fit that description, and this phone is my only experience with Android. I think I'd have to root my phone to get a vanilla Android interface.

I found the problem: The icon already existed on another screen. However, I was confused because both icons are identically named (Gallery) and are nearly identical in appearance. Thus, I didn't realize that I had both icons already.


text:
Should I be worried about applications with weird looking permissions?

Possible Duplicate:
How important is it to review the permissions that an app is using?

When I install apps from Android Market (Play Store now) there are some apps that require special permissions and for some of them it's weird to have for example "Read phone call history" when the app is a compass or whatever...
Should I be worried? Should I uninstall an app with weird looking permissions?

This question can nobody answer. Should you be worried? Maybe. Does the app "bad" stuff with the permission you grant? If the App isn't open source, then nobody can tell and all you can do is trust the publisher/developer or not.

See also: Why do so many android applications require permission to read the phone state and identity? and How important is it to review the permissions that an app is using?

This does seem like it would be covered by one of several existing questions. Have you read those? Do you have some additional questions that are not covered in the previous ones?

Yes, you should be worried.  Lots of malware disguises itself as something else that the writer thinks you might want to install so that it can get the app onto your phone.  If you are at all suspicious about permissions (and reading phone history is definitely suspicious for a compass app), contact the app developer with your questions.  An honest dev will get back to you.

This definitely requires some sensible judgement. If the app is from a trusted dev (Top Devloper with that symbol) then you can be rest assured that that app isn't any malware. Generally, apps which look shady in terms of title and comments are the ones you must proceed with caution.

Famous apps also ask for excess permission. PPS (5,000,000+ downloads) needs READ PHONE STATUS AND IDENTITY, READ CALL LOG, READ YOUR CONTACTS, ... add more.


text:
What does "Locked Messages" mean?
When I try to delete a message, I get prompted to select whether to "Delete locked messages".
There doesn't appear to be any difference if I check this option or leave it unchecked.
Does anyone know what that means?

You can lock a particular message in your conversation so you don't accidentally delete that. The check box is for those messages. See following screen-shots -

First Long tap on the message you want to lock, and select Lock.
The message should be now locked and a lock icon should appear at the bottom.
Now when you delete the conversation the message was in, the locked message would not get deleted if the check-box is not selected.

You can lock messages that you want to retain in your phone. IIRC long pressing the message will give you the option to lock the message.


text:
Why does my Iconia A500 occasionally stop responding?
I have an stock-standard Acer Iconia A500 32G WiFi-only tablet.  The screen usually turns on immediately when I press the power button.
However, it sometimes refuses to respond and I have to hold done the power button for a few seconds, then release it and hold it down for a few seconds again.
At that point, there'll be a vibration and the tablet will boot through the Acer and android screens.
My thoughts are that the first sustained button actually powers it down forcefully and the second brings it back up (but I can't be certain of this).
Does anyone know why this would happen? Are there any things I can look at on the file system to see what's going wrong.

To elaborate on the non-responsiveness issue, while in most circumstances a quick push of the power button will bring up the PIN entry screen, it doesn't do so in the problematic cases.
In those cases, the screen just remains black no matter how many times I push the power button. That's why I then have to do the long-press twice to (presumably) force shutdown and restart.

What I understand from your post is that you are referring to a 'Immediate boot' is actually your device is in stand-by/sleep mode and pressing the power button once just wakes it up.
Pressing the power button for a long time is indeed the way to force shut down the device and is present in all major smartphone. Since it restarts from beginning after that, it takes longer to come up to your home screen/lock screen.
The real issue could be the unresponsiveness of your device when it is in sleep mode. Could you please elaborate more on that?

@Sameer, I've added the detail, hopefully that's enough but, if not, I'm happy to provide any other sort of detail. That's why I was hoping there may be a log file somewhere :-)

Do you have ADB on your PC/System? You could follow this guide and install it if you don't have it. ADB Installation.
Also you would need to have USB Debugging enabled on your device, which may be a issue for you if it's not already enabled. If it is, Go to Android SDK Directory > platform-tools > ddms.bat (for windows). It should launch a Debugging monitor and you should get a log there. Check the log for any errors/warnings when you try to unlock the device.

Ahh, soft keys.
When the power button is pressed, the hardware raises an interrupt which is handled by an OS-provided interrupt handler.  Part of the interrupt handling process included waking the processor from sleep.  The software will then turn on the screen (if it was asleep), display a shutdown menu, or some other function depending on the OS version and any customizations added by the device manufacturer or third-party software installed by the user.
The power button also starts a counter in hardware.  If the counter reaches a threshold without the power button being released, then the power circuit is invoked to turn off the device.  This is done purely in hardware circuitry, independent of the OS or even firmware executed by the main processor.  That's why it still works when the system is locked up (or perhaps overclocked and so unstable that the processor can't execute ANY code at all).


text:
install certificates
I received a .crt certificate to install on my new galaxy tab 10.1.
How do I install it?
I see that I can "install from USB storage" but couldn't figure out where this storage is.

Have a look at my answer to this question.

From http://sknetlog.blogspot.com/2011/03/digital-certificate-installation-on.html

Save your .p12 or .cer certificate to external SD card in root
directoy.
Navigate "Home" --> "Applications" --> "Settings"
Select "Location and Security"
Under "Credential storage" have the first
item "Use secure credentials" selected / checked
Select "Install encrypted certificates from SD card" and it would pop up the name of
the certificate file found in the SD card
6 . Provide the certificate import password if any.


text:
Voice dial without Internet connection
I'm new to Android, just purchased a Sony Xperia Arc S.
So far I haven't been able to figure out how to do voice dialing (in car etc.). I've read that you can use Google Voice Search, but this fails if there is no data connection (and why do I need to send data to Google for an internal operation like this?).
Perhaps I am missing something? ( My 6 year old nokia feature phone does this :/ )
UPDATE:
It seems that the 'google voice search' way is the only method on this phone,  so I've tried it out. However it doesn't seem to work for me (just comes up with 'did you mean', and a list of unrelated terms) - perhaps its an accent thing.  So I'm still looking - currently I'm unable to dial while driving, which is pretty important to me.

Have you tried Vlingo… Use its in-car mode too...

@SachinShekhar - No, I'll take a look - thanks.

Regarding the Internet requirement, the voice processing is done on Google server so needs Internet.

@roxan - yeah I assumed so, but I don't want to share this information with Google.  These phones are more than capable of processing voice locally - it's disappointing that there doesn't seem to be such a capability built into Android :(

Last time I checked hands-free voice dialing is not possible with Android.
http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=9817
Put simply, Android is NOT car-friendly telephone.
In fact, Android phones may be banned from use while driving in some states, as Android does not support hands-free operation.
Perhaps, nothing wrong with that if we consider it as just a small internet tablet and not demand full telephony capabilities from it.

"Voice Control without Internet by K&J Software" app seems like all you'll need.
Description from the Play Store:-

Unlike most voice applications on the the market which require
internet connection, this application installs a light-weight speech
recognizer on your phone, so it can run locally WITHOUT internet
connection. You can make your own speech commands to start an app,
call a friend or browse a website. Speech commands can be defined by
phonetic alphabets, so it literally supports any language.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.KnJSoftware.VoiceCommander&hl=en
I haven't tried it out yet, but it looks promising and has decent ratings. Not sure how well it performs..
It also seems you can set the "voice dialing feature" through this app. Hope it works out well! :)
Note: Free version has a few limitations.

Voice commander works ok..it is slow and clunky. but it is better than nothing. I would like to take the salesman out and beat him to a pulp for upgrading me to a phone that will not do what my old one did easily.

Could you add the link to the Play Store/download page? I couldn't find an app called "Voice Commander" in the Play Store.

If you enter the dialpad to call, you should see a microphone icon that you can click to voice dial.  You can also add a voice dial icon to your home screen.
As for needing a data connection, it's not the processing that's the issue - it's the amount of data that would need to be stored on your phone in order to do that processing that's the problem.

Thanks, I'll try that.  I don't buy your comment about the amount of space required on the phone for voice dialing though - my ancient Nokia phone is able to do this.

Just checked - there's no microphone icon on the dialpad screen on my phone :/

Perhaps your phone doesn't support voice dialing then?

I can't comment on your Nokia, but I do know that Google's processing employs a huge database to compare the sample you submit to it.  I imagine part of the reason for it is simply a different design philosophy: Google makes cloud-based software services, and Nokia most likely produced an app exclusively for their own brand in a time when cell bandwidth either didn't exist or was expensive as heck.

The Nokia approach was very simple. You record a 'tag' and it tries to match what you say to the (v. small!) db of recorded tags (no voice-to-text required).  Google however seem to be using their general purpose voice-to-text service for this, which must match multiple accents etc. (so yeah, that's going to be big). One could argue that a general voice-to-text system is complete overkill for a voice dialing system, and less fit for purpose (e.g. it can't deal with foreign name pronunciation).

Well, Google's system isn't just for voice dialing - it's for control of several phone functions, including search.  So it needs must have a much broader base.  The Nokia app is far more niche.

That's exactly my point - but dialing is a rather important niche for a telephone.

It DOES dial. It just doesn't do it the way you feel it should. Since that's the case, I suggest that Android isn't the platform for you :)


text:
Is there an FTP server which supports resuming failed downloads?
I am looking for an FTP server for my android phone which will allow me to resume a download that has failed. In other words it has to support the REST command. Currently I am using (the otherwise excellent) swiFTP, but it doesn't have this feature. I also tried File Expert.

I'm not sure of your objective and constraints, but would it be possible to use rsync/scp instead of FTP?

Or, if not FTP, and not rsync/scp, but an SSH server (like DroidSSHd, a free/libre SSH server which I could find that would work on my non-rooted Galaxy S with Android 2.2), you could use the simple script rpush-into to continue an interrupted transfer.
In rpush-* scripts, I've implemented the file-transfer through SSH with the help of only the basic cat and ls on the remote side. So that it can be used even if the SSH server on Android doesn't provide scp, sftp, or rsync.

FISH has also a similar idea to my rpush-* scripts: require only the basic Unix utilities, no specialized server program -- http://unix.stackexchange.com/a/8735/4319. And Emacs TRAMP, too (but the regular TRAMP client didn't work with Android, because it required stat which was absent on Android -- https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/emacs23/+bug/1041474). Not sure whether either FISH clients or Emacs TRAMP would support resuming partial uploads...


text:
contacts storage on android 2.3.5
Is there a way to have access to the file/s that list the contact details on an Android 2.3.5 phone? My contacts storage is growing up to many MBs, and I would like to be able to delete some of these contacts from the stored files with a scripted solution.

I'd recommend you to use GUI of Contacts app for clearing contacts, but if you are really interested in it, this is the database used to store contact details: /data/data/com.android.providers.contacts/databases/contacts2.db. To alter anything inside it, you need root access and proper SQL queries.
The location of database may vary depending on device..


text:
How long should it take to restore about 100 user apps with Titanium backup?
I recently upgraged my Galaxy S I9000 to ICS (AOKP).  Before that I backed up all of my data using TB and restored it after the upgrade.
I recently upgraded to TB Pro, and was looking forward to the fast restores. To my surprise, TB took about 3 hours to restore ~100 apps. Is this normal?  How long should I expect it to take?

This seems like it would be pretty hard to gauge. 3 hours does seem kind of excessive, but then if you had 100 apps that each had 100 MB of data (for whatever reason) that would effectively be a 10 GB data transfer, which would certainly take a while. SD card speed would also be a defining factor, I imagine, since that's where the backups are typically stored.

It takes around an hour for me with 150-200 apps, with the Voodoo lagfix and a class 4 SD card.  This is under Froyo (which I wouldn't expect to matter).  I'd guess that your apps/data must just be large, as eldarerathis says.


text:
How to exit from an application which doesn’t exit on press back button?
I am using Maverick application for GPS navigation. In previous versions the back button caused to quit the application. (Which is also correct behavior according to question:  What is the right way to close apps in Android?)
Currently I have Maverick 1.94 Lite. When I press the back button, Maverick only hides to background. (The same as if I pressed home button). I don't see anywhere in menu an option to exit.
I wish to avoid task killers, or switching of my phone in order to quit Maverick.
How do I exit from Maverick?
My phone is SK17i aka Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini pro.

If you go to Settings -> Apps and scroll to Maverick and select it there should be a 'Force stop' button. It's not really 'exiting' as such but it will definitely force the app to totally close down and stop running in the background.


text:
Why did auto-sync start to upload that much?
It's been a month now that the auto-sync option on my phone makes it upload 30 MB per day (in addition to my usual upload/download rate) and still download only a few hundreds of KB. It blew up my quota in only 10 days so I had to deactivate it. The only app that I installed at that time was the Google Doc app.
I recently reactivated the auto-sync and I unchecked the doc sync in: Settings > Account > my account, but I'm still uploading 10 spare MB per day. I only kept Gmail, contacts and calendar syncing (just as before).
My questions are:

Do you know what can cause this, why it changed without any visible reason ?
Are there third-party apps using the Android auto-sync option to enable/disable their own syncing process ?

Note:
I use 3GWatchDog Pro, and this spare MB are shown under "Android System" so it's not very helpful.
If relevant, my device is the Motorola DEFY

Do you have cloud backup turned on?

I don't think so. Still, could you tell me where I can find this option ? My phone isn't in english so I'm not sure.

Settings -> Privacy, usually.

Ok. Before I see your answer, I deleted the accounts that I didn't use on my phone (Facebook, LastFm, etc... everything except my main Google account), and Today everything seems fine... I'll monitor it a few days, and maybe turn off the cloud backup you mentioned, but my problem seems fixed. Thanks for the advice.

Background
There are several applications that use the auto-sync feature from Android to regularly update their contents. In fact, according to the Google documentation, you can configure synchronization options for any of your apps.
Auto-sync is used to allow applications to synchronize data on their own schedule. This can be disabled, and accessing each application, you can manually sync its data.
Take note that automatic data synchronization is disabled if Background data is unchecked.
Some examples of accounts that can be found here are Google; DropBox; Viper; Facebook.

Configure general sync settings
To access the list of accounts currently using auto-sync, thus enabling or disabling the auto-sync for each one, you need to:

Tap your device "home" button;
Tap "Settings";
Tap "Accounts & Sync".
From here you can see your accounts using auto-sync, what define whether they are allowed to auto-sync or not:
 indicates that some or all of an account’s information is configured to sync automatically.
 indicates that none of an account’s information is configured to sync automatically.

Upload/Download
Depending on the accounts using auto-sync, they can send as well as receive data. As your account data grows, the data synchronization uses more KB to keep your information up to date on your device and on the host.
While synchronization doesn't transfer all the information back and forward, only transfer the "new stuff", since the last sync their may be a large amount of data to be updated on one side, thus causing a large transfer of data to take place.

References

Android OS: Accounts & sync settings

I suppose your answear would be what most people are looking for when reading this page.
But my problem was different: as I mentioned in the original post, I already checked these, and none of the accounts appearing in the auto-sync account list was causing the problem. It is only when I deleted accounts from the motoblur account manager that it stoped.
Still, I wonder how an account causing these excessive upload can stop when deactivating the auto-sync if it doesn't even appear in the auto-sync account list...

@Yosko auto-sync is a global setting that is supposed affect all applications. But applications may not present themselves at the auto-sync list. I've got a few auto-sync apps running, and only three of them are on the auto-sync list from my device. :/

@Yosko One can't really rely on the auto-sync list as to control apps using auto-sync. Many apps have their own auto-sync enable/disable otpions from within the application settings, and as mentioned, don't even present themselves into the global auto-sync list. (on a personal note, all apps with auto-sync capabilities should be on that global list, but this isn't enforced by Android).

I understand that now, and I agree with you. Unlike computer, smartphones really need a way to manage all connections. Thanks.


text:
Ramos W16 Android Usb driver
Have an issue with my Ramos W16. Upgraded to the last firmware. Now I want to root device, but can't install drivers. Here is hardware Id's USB\VID_18D1&PID_4E22&REV_0231 USB\VID_18D1&PID_4E22
OS: Windows 7 x64. In Device management tablet is visible as USB Composite Device. I've tried a bunch of different drivers, but they don't work. Somebody help me! Tried USBDeview - deleted all drivers.

Have you tried this?

if I disable USB debugging drivers automatically installing in Windows 7 x64. But if enable USB debugging device visible as usb composite device and any manipulations with andoid_winusb.inf can't help. Also if I plug in device with turned off usb debugging hw id is USB\VID_18D1&PID_4E21, but when plug ing with usb debugging turned on hw id is USB\VID_18D1&PID_4E22.

You should add entries for both.


text:
How to download photos (of others) from Instagram?
By download, I mean saving to SD card for later use. I have already explored the app for this option, but without luck. :(
I think, there must be a way to trap from cache.
If you've screenshot based suggestion, please don't answer...

You would need a rooted device to do this.

First Browse the photos you want to download.
Now Open any File Explorer app like Root Explorer.
Navigate to /data/data/com.instagram.android/cache via Root Explorer.
The files here would be named something like ccf3a266.0, copy the file you
want or entire folder and paste it on your sd card.
Now open these .0 files in your PC via a Image viewer like IrfanView. You can sort
the files by size to determine large images.

The .0 files are cahce files and some of these are essentially JPG image files and quality may depend upon your device I believe because it would download compressed image if the device screen/density is small. (That's just a theory).

*.0 files are not image files.. I've just tested opening a random file as image..

Sorry, I phrased it wrong, all of the .0 won't be images. A lot of these would be cache file for other things too. But you should be able to sort the files by size and pick up the larger ones and try to open them up. I have tested this on my Samsung Galaxy 3 with CM9. (I side-loaded Instagram on my device. On Google play it says, not compatible).

Still, no luck.. I've opened every *.0 file as image. Instead, I got some image files (without extension) in webviewCache directory, but those are in super poor quality... not like what shown on device screen.

Hmm.. So maybe App is clearing cache every-time it's exiting. You can try viewing the image on Instagram, keep the image open & press Home button so that the app keeps running in background and cache doesn't get cleared. That's how I did it. :)

Using FolderSync, I've set to instant upload on that directory change. And, it worked.

@SachinShekhar Did you use Pro version? Or Lite?

@geff_chang I have Pro version. Why?

@SachinShekhar Can you see the folders inside /data using FolderSync? I can't. So I can't sync the folder for Instagram.

@geff Maybe, your device is blocking it. My device is Samsung Galaxy S which is open.

@SachinShekhar Weird. Because my Galaxy S2 has root, and I can see the contents of /data using a different file mananager (Astro).

@geff Then, contact developer..

@geff What I do: On choose local folder screen, I tap options button (top-right corner). Then, I choose change path which allows me to switch partitions. Try this before contacting developer.

@geff To switch partitions in File Manager of FolderSync, you can tap microSD icon at bottom bar.

You can do this if you have ROOT access. This is a hassle free method if you don't want to go in system changing images extension.

Install Xposed Framework
Install Framework by tapping "framework" item → Install/update
Install the module XInsta or from app.
Activate module and reboot.
Open XInsta and update hooks by tapping "github" or "pastebin" item.
Kill (force-stop) Instagram.

Now, you will have a "Download" option in three dots in every image or video.
You can download every image and video by this method. If you use Easy Downloader app that will only let you download images of public accounts.

You can save the image using Instagram in the mobile browser:

Log into Instagram in the mobile browser (like Chrome).
Click on the image you want.
Tap on the address bar at the top and add view-source: to the beginning of the URL (before the https).
Find a line in the code like: <meta property="og:image" content="https://scontent-iad3-1.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-xfa1/t51.2885-15/s480x480/e35/#############.jpg" />
Copy the URL listed after content=" between the quotes (long-press then drag the tags to mark the beginning (https) and end (.jpg) of the text to copy - do not copy the quotes).
Open a new tab and paste into the address bar or Google search box and press enter (NOTE: remove the /s480x480 if you want the full-size image).
Long-press and save the image.

No root access required.