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Can't login with Gmail App/Play Store on tablet; Username/Password OK on desktop web browser
I've spent the last 15 or 30 minutes trying to login to the Gmail app and the Play Store on an ASUS TF-101 tablet. During the same time, I've visited a desktop computer, logged out, re-entered the username and password, and logged back in just fine.
Here's a cropped image after attempting to login to Play Store. I'm certain the username and password are correct from testing on the desktop:

The tablet has internet connectivity, and the time is set correctly. I even performed a factory reset and the problem still persists.
A few questions:

Any ideas why I've wasted 1/2 hour trying to login using this tablet?
How do I login into Gmail App and Play Store using Gmail credentials on an ASUS TF-101 tablet?
Why am I being forced to use a password mask created for a 1960s teletype terminal in 2014? I certify that no one is standing behind me.
How do I remove the password mask so I can actually see what's being entered?

Related: I found a similar issue at Can't log in via Gmail app but browser login is fine, but the time is set correctly and there are no other helpful answers.

Does the username include @gmail.com?

@ geffchang - Yes, I've tried with and without the domain suffix.

Like this answer mentions, do you use two-factor auth? Might want to turn that off and try again.

It appears Google Play and Gmail wanted an Application-Specific Password.
I can only say "appears" because I never got a message that remotely stated it, and when I created on the problem went away.
Great job Google. I can't image how many hundreds or thousands of hours have been wasted because Google can't be bothered to get the error message correct.

So you are using two-factor auth? In this case the usual login form won't work; however, when adding a Google account, there should be a “Login in browser” option hidden under the Menu button (three dots), and that option works with 2-factor auth.

Did u set 2 step verification to your Gmail account? If yes then you need to set Application Specific Password to your account.

Login to your Gmail from Desktop.
Goto Settings page.
Find Authorizing Application & sites page.
Goto Application Specific Password section
Set your app name and device and Password, then click Ok.
Now you can login to your app with that new Application Specific Password.

For more help visit this page.
https://support.google.com/mail/answer/1173270?hl=en

As a workaround for not seeing the password, you could type your login name and password into an app that uses plain text, like a notebook or even an email.  Then copy each, one at a time, and paste them into the name and password field for the login.  It seems like I've seen an option to show passwords somewhere, but I enabled that, and I still don't see passwords, so I have no idea what that does.
If you still can't log in, then perhaps the server is not set to what you think it is for some reason.  That's a long shot, considering the facts as you posted, but it's a possibility, I guess.
One more thing... you don't use two-step verification, do you?  I had a lot of little problems with using that along the way, including not being able to log in to a few apps that didn't handle it correctly.  And gmail requires a different password if you use it, for some reason.

Go to Security in Settings and check Make passwords visible so that you can see what  you are typing actually.

+1. One of my questions was "How do I remove the password mask so I can actually see what's being entered?"

I had a similar problem with another Android tablet. 2 step verification was turned on, but after typing correct password and code, I got a similar screen to the original post.
Google help was unhelpful but I managed to solve it by attempting to apply an app password. [Note that in this fix, for me, I did not in fact need to set an app password].
At one stage, in a seemingly Catch-22 style situation, I got asked for my password and a code as per standard 2-step verification, but this time it all worked and my tablet signed into my Google account. Fixed!
An inelegant but effective solution! Unfortunately I cannot seem to recreate the process, and I do not want to risk not being able to sign in again, so I cannot give detailed steps to follow.
Keywords: "app password"

Update: Tablet again failing to sign in, so the above did not work long term. Fixed by removing Google account and adding account again.

I had a similar problem, until I found out that the touchscreen was messed up, and was typing a certain letter twice, so try typing your password in the username field and see if it's typing it right, just to make sure.


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How to edit a contact in the "Contacts" app using LG G3
I use the Contacts app with this icon

and write something in the search field to find a contact.
I click the contacts name and come to this screen:

Now, I have found no way to edit the phone number.
Clicking inside the box with the green caller will call the contact.
Clicking the menu will give me the menu alternatives: Delete, Join, Add to Home screen.
There is no text anywhere that sais "edit contact" or the like.
Clicking the contacts name will not result in anything.
Clicking the contacts photo will show it bigger.
Long clicking inside the box with green caller will popup a menu with the alternatives "Forward contact" and "Copy to clipboard".

That's not their real phone number is it? Maybe remove that!

I have altered the image to not reveal the phone number.

That's because the contact is synced to your contacts via online account (Facebook in this case). You are not allowed to edit that contact that is why there is no option of editing it. Get it!

The phone number is not from facebook.

Is this the only contact you are facing problem? Normally 'edit' icon would be beside 'menu(3 dots)' icon.

Some contacts have the pencil, some not, it seems. I never thought about checking more contacts, for some reason.

I'm not getting whats wrong exactly because I never had that problem in any Android phone (LG, Samsung, Sony). I'll look around for solution.

The problem is that the pencil is not always there. If you find a solution, let me know!

You can actually test if this is the the reason. Open facebook and tell it not to sync your contacts. if this contact is not there, or you can now "edit", it is the cause.

I don't know if you have found the answer you are looking for but I found if you click the join button in the edit menu you can combine two contacts into one. So all you need to do is make a contact for the person with their number or what have you and then join it with the facebook contact listing.

No, I did not really find an answer. Joining is of course possible, but why is it needed?

Long press the contact and then the edit button will show up !

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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Samsung S4 Active turning itself off
I hope this is the right place to ask this question.
I'm using a Samsung S4 Active with stock Samsung-branded Android. Since I updated the OS from 4.2.2 to 4.4.2 my phone is sometimes turning itself off, trying to restart and failing, trying again. Maybe around 3 times until nothing is happening anymore.
The only way I can restart the phone is, that I connect it to power. Furthermore I feel that it only happens when my battery is lower than 60% - but still way higher than 0%!
I updated the phone via the Samsung-thingy which keeps popping up. So nothing external...
I factory-resetted my phone because I thought it might solve the problem - but unfortunately it didn't.
Any ideas what could be the solution for my problem? I googled quite a lot but couldn't come up with a hint...
Thanks,
Ron

How did you update? via OTA? or did you flash stock ROM?

sorry, forgot to write this. i updated my question.

Is the hardware okay? Do you feel any kind of weird things like over-heating or whatever?

No, nothing unusual. Everything is normal until the phone goes out from one second to the next...

Well, turned out that the battery was the problem. I invested 10€ for a new one and since one week no trouble at all.
Still thanks everybody!

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


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windows 8 - keeps disconnection samsung from computer
I recently upgraded from windows xp to windows 8 and I have a problem with the USB-connection. When I plug-in my samsung galaxy s3 to the computer - a symbol pops-up and the adb-client can comunnicate with the server on the device. No problem here. But very often - the connection between the OS and the device suddenly dissappears - as if I hade disconnected the device from the computer. I do not know what causes this but I have a strong feeling that there may be a bug in windows 8. Why then - I have tried the following:

changed USB cable
reinstalled all drivers, including KIES
even tried with my other cellphone - samsung galaxy s4 - same same same!!!!
NO problem whatsoever when developing on XP
tried with every USB-port on the computer
AND - its not the usb-ports since this does not occur with other devices such as usb-memories

It feels like something in the OS close the samsung-driver but I cannot understand why?
One more thing - I am not sure about this - but this problem seems to be more frequent when I develop apps in eclipse.
So my question? Does anyone recognize this issue? I have googled and can only find problem with the adb-driver. Not issues with connection-problems. Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas?
thanks in advance!!!

I'll ask around. But to be honest when I (briefly) installed W8 my printer, my wireless keyboard, my gamepad, and my phone all stopped working so I got my money back. W8 is a travesty I wouldn't be surprised if it was to blame.

My first impulse would be to uninstall Kies. I haven't used the newer versions, but the older ones mess up the drivers and device detection constantly.

Windows 8 or 8.1? If you're using Win 8 upgrade to 8.1 and then try again. Win 8 is lot of crap. A free advice if you don't mind - Windows XP or Windows 7 are better OSes for developers than 8/8.1.

What Onix said, Kies needs ALL process terminated in order for it to not interfere with the USB drivers themselves. Get rid of that first!

I've tried to uninstall Kies but its the same as before. Just now I am considering which process or service in the OS that cause this disconnection? thanks!!!

May have been USB power management. This would have affected recently updated Windows 7 and Windows 8.x. This issue can come from both the Windows OS and the Android OS. For Windows, try https://superuser.com/q/749982/ For Android, try using the developer option "Stay awake", and turn off screen timeout. However, none of the options will keep USB powered up indefinitely - they still get disconnected, they just wait longer time.
To reconnect after being disconnected due to USB power management, go to Settings - Storage, and toggle between the MTP/PTP/None modes. A nudge should be enough to get ADB to reconnect. If it still doesn't reconnect, use adb kill-server, adb devices. The second command automatically issues adb start-server and wait until it's running, and then shows the status of connected devices. That way, you can quickly find out whether the USB connection has been restored.
Note that you may have to close and restart Eclipse.
If the advice doesn't work, I have a long list of troubleshooting guide that maybe I can share some time in the future, somewhere.


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My whatsapp icon is missing
My WhatsApp icon has recently disappeared from my phone completely. It's neither on the home screen, nor the main menu. When I go to the Google Play store, it shows that it's part of my installed applications. I uninstalled and re-installed the app, but it still doesn't show the main icon, so I'm unable to even open it... Even though it says it's installed on my Samsung Galaxy S2.

if the app is shown as installed..there will be a Open button in google play to open the app..have u tried that..or if you use any app hiding laucher or any third party apps release the whatsapp and unhide it..

Samsung will put WhatsApp icon in the "Social" folder. Check also there.

Things I would try:
a) Just reset the phone if you haven't done already(turn it off and on
b) Uninstall the app, remove the sd, and install it again. There might be a problem with your SD card, and if the app is automatically installed there, maybe that's the reason you can't see it
Which launcher are you using? I believe you can see the app in the settings -> applications list?

Go to settings --> apps-->on the top right corner, click on three dots and choose protected apps. Now you should see all installed apps and only the one's which are installed and missing will have a tick mark next to it. Uncheck and reboot. You should see the missing apps icon .

Perhaps its just hidden. Click menu 》unhide

If it's been uninstalled and reinstalled it isn't hidden

By removing and installing again the battery I solved the problem. The icon reappeared immediately after doing so.


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Paragon NTFS doesn't work on enforcing mode
I need to mount 2TB SeaGate external HD to my Galaxy S4 LTE, and I'm using Paragon NTFS for that. The app worked when I was still using EchoeROM. I recently switched to Paranoid 4.4.4 and now this app won't work.
Is there any way to make it work again?

You'd need to add a lot more details to your question, for example what device you're using, which version of Paranoid, what apps are you trying to use to access the drive...

Ok i added the details. Please help me now.

Does the app give an error message? Did you try mounting other drives? Have you checked that you have all the requirements for the app, mainly fuse kernel module?

Yes. It says that it doesn't work on enforcing mode.


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HTC explorer A310e - does it have magnetic sensor?
I want to use any compass app to my HTC explorer A310e model. But i am not sure whether it will work or not? Is it something related to hardware support to have magnetic sensor? And is there any way to activate it so that i can use that app in my phone?

Downvoting because I found the answer by googling htc explorer compass.

GSMArena's listing for the HTC Explorer doesn't indicate a compass, and this post on an HTC Forum concurs. Without a compass in the device, compass apps obviously won't work.


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Bluestack - Can't login to game as keyboard doesn't show
In BlueStacks I'm trying to login to 8 Ball Pool (by Miniclip) but there's no way to type. The android keyboard doesn't show and my pc keyboard is not working at that point of the login.
How can I log into this game?

I don't use this emulator but you might try to copy and paste login from host: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/32329/how-to-share-clipboard-between-bluestacks-host-windows-pc

Welcome to the Android Enthusiasts! This question should rather be directed at the developer(s) of the game, as they are more likely to know the solution.

Try opening the IME selector (when you select a text field, the keyboard notification) and toggle "hardware."

In BlueStacks Settings, go to IME settings then click OnScreen Keyboard. Go back to 8 Ball Pool (Or any Miniclip game) and when you click Email or Password to log in the OnScreen Keyboard will now show. This worked for me.

After a restart, the language setting default keyboard was turned on while it needs to be turned off. Once I turned it off the regular android keyboard was back.


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4.3 Galaxy S4: how do I prevent keyboard backspace from deleting whole word?
I've just updated my Galaxy S4 (T-Mobile, in case that matters) from 4.2.2 to 4.3.  Now when using the keyboard (default settings), if I get to the end of a word -- either strictly on my own or via one of its suggestions -- and then backspace, it deletes the whole word.  Before, backspacing at that point deleted one character at a time.  Often it's faster for me to correct a suggestion (or notice and fix a typo of mine) this way than to start over with that word.  I'd like my phone to stop being so aggressive in cleaning up after me.
I don't remember setting something for this in the previous version (though it's been a while).  I've walked through the settings for the device and in Twitter and Messaging (the apps where I've noticed this behavior so far), but haven't found anything that seems relevant.  I have not rooted my phone and don't plan to.
Current settings, under Device -> Language & Input:

Default: Samsung keyboard
Samsung keyboard settings:

predictive text: on
auto replacement: off
auto capitalization: on
auto spacing: on
auto punctuate: off

Keyboard Swipe:

SwiftKey Flow on
Cursor Control off

Aside from auto punctuate (which I turned off), these settings are as they came after the upgrade.

SwiftKey has never done this for me on any version of android on an S4... Swype does it by default.. I've just tried it here and it doesn't do it in any of those apps... Maybe reinstall your keyboard?

I never got this working (and didn't download a different keyboard), but I recently received the update for 4.4.4 and it's working now.  So I don't know if it was something specific to Samsung (or my provider, T-Mobile), but the whole-word deletion has stopped.

If I may, I suggest KK Keyboard. I'm not advertising, but I use it myself, because my keyboard did this too.


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What is this status bar icon?

Verizon Moto X - Stock - 4.4.4
Only pops up every once in a while...

In my phone (Moto G running 4.4.4) this symbol appears when the phone is set to use "High Accuracy Mode" (i.e. use the GPS rather than Wi-Fi/phone network for location) and some app requests the location.

thanks for this answer! I couldn't figure out how to describe this icon to google...once you started talking about location, I found [http://forums.androidcentral.com/t-mobile-lg-g2/382738-upside-down-tear-drop-icon-status-bar-t-mobile-lg-g2.html] which seems to confirm.

as a side note: any idea why the stock messaging app would request location?


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mobile rooting problem
I am using Samsung GT-S6312. I just rooted my mobile with frama root. I haven't installed any custom firmware, nor a custom recovery. I've got some problem. If I install some apps like Whatsapp, way2sms, it's notifying me that I don't have any space, however I still have 400Mb in my internal memory.  I can install some other apps, including Facebook, Hike etc.
I have tried to unroot my phone without success. So if I reset my mobile, does it unroot my mobile successfully?

You jump pretty quick to the conclusion that rooting was the cause for the installation problems. The problem could be completely unrelated to rooting. See for example http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/27083/google-play-error-downloading-app-insufficient-space

Well, in order to unroot your device you need to flash the stock ROM again over to your device. For getting the stock ROM for your device try heading over to the sammobile/firmware section and get the appropriate stock ROM available for your Samsung GT-S6312, once you get the stock ROM use the ODIN which can be easily searched over the Google, download and use it to flash the stock ROM over your device. Once the flashing process completes your device will get unrooted.


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How to send one contact address as OSMAnd destination?
My contacts all ahve their address set, and I would like to be able to navigate to their addresses using OSMAnd. Unfortunatly, clicking the "share" button, don't allow me to share that contact using OSMAnd, but only through mail, bluetooth, K9Mail, ...
How can I have the contact address sent to OSMAnd ?

What phone do you have? Different phones have different contacts apps.

I have a Wiko Raimbow using "standard" Google Contacts app.

Can't you just click on the address to get a choice of navigation apps?

Indeed, this starts OSMAnd, but strangely, the address can't be found.

It sounds like Nominatim (or whichever address-lookup service OSMAnd uses) simply doesn't know that address. Since it's OpenStreetMap, you can edit OSM to add it, but that's a separate issue from getting the address into OSMAnd.


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Safe way to backup whatsapp messages?
I recently had to reset my phone. I had the nightly msgstore.db.crypt7 file, which I fortunately decrypted (and can view in sqlite browser), but whatsapp refuses to restore from it. Maybe it is because the file is too big (10.2MB), or maybe there's a small corruption somewhere, I don't know.
When looking for backup apps, all I found were those that will take the msgstore.db and upload it. SMS backup+ will break it to individual messages, but then can't restore.
So is there a method/app that can upload the conversation in some corruption-safe way (so that if a small portion gets corrupted, the rest is still usable)? So that it is done automatically (nightly)?

Any sort of backup file will need metadata and/or a strict format to be useful, it can't just be the straight text of every message -- you want to know who sent it, when, etc.  Most corruptions will result in an unusable file; your only option would be to repair it.  There's no special way to avoid this.

According to the Whats App FAQ section:

Your WhatsApp messages are automatically backed up and saved on your
  phone's memory daily. If you delete WhatsApp from your phone and don't
  want to lose any of your messages, be sure to manually back up your
  chats before uninstalling:

Go to WhatsApp > Menu Button > Settings > Chat Settings.
Tap Backup Conversations.

To export a copy of the history of an individual chat
  or group, you can use the Email Chat History feature:

Tap and hold on the conversation or group.
Select Email conversation.
Choose whether to Attach Media or not.

An email will be composed with your chat history attached as a .txt document.
If you choose to attach media, the most recent media sent will be
  added as attachments.

This should be enough to solve your problem.

"Backup Conversations" will just export an sqlite file. Any corruption makes the file unusable. It is also not automatic. Emailing individual chats is even less automatic and cannot be used to restore.


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Need to "gift" an app purchased in google play by issuing a refund later. How many days can I wait to refund?
I know Google play still doesn't support gifting of apps but I need to provide one of my clients a free copy.
They already purchased it. I am going to refund them later, after they are done using the app. How many days from purchase are valid for issuing a refund? I can't find this answer online. I see some other purchases made >30 days ago that are refundable, but I don't know if I can wait 60 days? 90 days? 120?
Can someone login to their Google Wallet and see how far back the refund button is available?

The refund button on the Play store is only available for 2 hours (although Google's support pages say 15 minutes).
From your question it sounds like you may be the developer of the app, in which case you can manually refund the purchase regardless of when the app was purchased via your Google Wallet merchant account. I don't think this actually reverses the purchase (they can still install and use the app) but the cost of the purchase is refunded to the user.

Yes, I am the developer. So there's no time limit on refunds? I can theoretically refund someone a year later?

Yes, I've had purchases refunded over a year later. I'm not a developer so can't say exactly how but I've provided the purchase reference and it has been refunded by the developer.


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What's that icon (Oneplus one)?
does anybody know what's the meaning of that icon ?
I have a new oneplus one since several days and today this icon appeared in my status bar.

Looks like phone in vibration mode! Not sure though. When did it came up?

My 2 guesses would be Vibrate (as MANI said) or NFC Icon...

that's indeed vibration mode indeed, confusion came from the fact that sound was not at zero, only sound level of the phone ring ==> vibration mode

The icon in question (on the very left of this image) is Vibration mode on the One Plus One.
Technically (I guess) it is the 'phone profile' icon, in this case Vibrate.

It's not the "Vibration" profile: this icon will appear if the ringer has been silenced and virbrate is enabled regardless of whether it was done using the profile feature or simply changing the volume.

OnePlus One owner here!
Yes, the very left icon is the vibrate icon (assuming you are using CM11S and no extra icon packs).


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LG P760, insufficient disk space, help please
I have an LG P760 updated to the latest available by LG version.
The last couple of days I cannot update the installed apps with the known error of insufficient disk space, although it was supposed that more than 290MB where available. I removed some apps and increased the free space to 320MB. Then I managed to update some apps but that's it.
Now, I understand that this is complicated but I want to know the following:
a. Is is possible to partition my external SD and use it as internal storage?
b. I want to avoid to root the device. If it's not possible, is it possible to root the device and then un-root it?
c. I want to avoid apps like link2sd. I am fairly competent with Linux CLI, so, I would like to use the mount command and Android boot scripts in order to mount SD partition.
Can I do that?

New Info:
It is possible that I found a "bug"(?). I had 2 devices and both of them were under my account in the Play store. I gave the second one to my wife. For a reason that I don't understand, my device was "removed" from my devices list, but the device that I gave to my wife was not (and it was in my wife's account too!).
I wanted to install an application and since I could not do that from my phone, I decided to try to "push" the application. But Play store said that my device was not compatible (and it showed the device of my wife). Then, I hide it, hoping that my device will re-appear.
Instead of that, my upgraded the apps that until some minutes ago refused to do so with the "insufficient" storage message!

Looks like you already researched a lot of background, but just in case: have you seen our insufficient-memory tag-wiki? It might have the one or other item left for you (on the first paragraph – no experience with the second, sorry).

a) Yes, you can use your external as an internal storage. (Requires Root access. Using link2sd. I don't know any other app)
b) Yes, it is possible to unroot your device. (http://www.wikihow.com/Unroot-Android)
C) I haven't tried that. But, yes you can do it.
I think that you want to avoid using link2sd app because of the risk.So I suggest you move your apps from Internal memory to an External memory(if you have any).
By rooting your phone your warranty will be void, plus you take a huge risk.(But if anything goes wrong, you are not alone. So you'll always find a solution on net :p )
This is the biggest disadvantage. But on the bright side there are plenty of things you can enjoy.

I want to avoid link2sd because: a. It's not free, b. It's just a link. A more elegant solution would be something like LVM but I suppose that LVM is not part of the kernel :) Anyway, yes, the idea is to remove useless applications (like for example Google Movies) and mount the external SD partition as a storage device. OK, so, I need to learn where applications and their data are stored (the path, I mean). Can someone point me a relevant (small) document?


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My device is not listed in Play Store
I have an LG P760. Until yesterday, I had an U8800Pro that was listed along with my P760 phone under my account. The U8800 is now the phone of my wife and is listed under her account correctly.
But, my phone is not listed. I have disabled the U8800 from my phones list but the LG is not shown again.
I have installed at least 2 applications via Play app in the LG but still Google Play store says that I have no phone connected with my account!
I also tried to Sync my phone with Google from Setting-->Apps-->Sync
Any ideas?

Well, delete all your google accounts restart your phone better re-insert the sim card. Go to gmail create your account again then try opening play store. If it doesn't work sync again! :)


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Made hangouts handle my SMS. Any downside to disabling Messanging?
If I've made Hangouts handle my SMS, is there any downside to disabling the default Messaging app?
Does anything rely on that app being enabled?

On some devices, especially Motorola ones, disabling the stock Messaging app will cause any app that you set to handle SMS to crash when sending an outbound SMS.  While other system apps may be safe to disable, I would recommend against disabling the stock Messaging app.
See this question for more details.

I'm on a note 3.

I haven't experience any major problems after using the integrated SMS/Hangouts. Only thing is that you may take some time to get used to it. However, it's a matter of preference. Some may prefer separate apps to avoid pain of selecting whether to send SMS or start a Hangout. But to answer your question, no, nothing to be taken care of.


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Launcher crashes when unlocking my x touch tablet
When I unlock my tablet a "calendar has stopped working" message appears. After clicking "ok" I see another message "unfortunately launcher has stopped".
How can I stop this happening?

Do you have any calendar widgets on your homescreen?

A "generic approach" to that kind of trouble is to boot into recovery, and "wipe cache" (no data loss, it's just "temp files"). Sometimes things get messed up there, so cleaning cache solves it. Have you tried that? Did it help?

Well, I guess you launcher is experiencing problems with the your Android device. I would say if the problem persist first try clearing the cache and the data store by the launcher app, you can do that by heading over to the settings>application manager>Tap over the launcher and clear the cache and the data stored. Now try opening the launcher again and see if it shows you the same error again. If it pops up again then I would say better to uninstall the application. Rest I'll leave it upto you!


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App of the day Android
When I click on the link in the "app of the day" to view the app offered every day it seems that before liking to the google play page it open an ads page that I am not able to view. It is right and normal?
Do I have to keep warning about it?
I use Nexus 4 with stock 4.4.4

What "app of the day" is this? Google Play doesn't have an "app of the day" feature.

"App of the day" is an Android app that offers a free app every day. This is not a feature of the Google Play

It doesn't seem unusual to me that an app that commercially depends on tracking its users would send you to a website to track and count you, and then have that site redirect you to the real store page.
If you don't trust them not to misuse this tracking data, don't use the app.

I agree with you, I am only asking if is normal that I am not able to see ads, how can they earn money if I do not spend any time on promoted sites?

You're assuming that the page they're sending you to is supposed to show ads. More likely it's a page they use to track your visit, so they know which apps you are interested in.

@Ale you should run a logcat when using, see what's going on. Also use app detective to see inner workings of "app a day". You might not like what you find. Also what are the permissions used by the app,  are they allowing sensitive data to be seen and used?


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can an android device be in danger on a malicious site?
I accidentally went onto a site via Google images and went off after half a second, (the page had been quarter/half loaded. I accidentally hit the undo button and it opened again, and I closed it again.
Virustotal had 1 scanner, "website security guard" say it was a malware site. Scumware.org listed 10 pages on the site having scrinject.gen b, and or trojan.blackhole.-1.
The page I accidentally visited was not one of the 10.
Is it possible these exploits/malware do anything to an android device? I know malware is prevelant on the app store, but can malicious / possible websites be danger for an android device? I am worried about anything that keylogs or steals info.
I scanned with AvG (Tablet), MBAM mobile, Clean Master, Clean Master Security, Avast and used ES file explorer to manually look around, and havent found anything. Clean master security found not an infection, but a vulnerability, named towelroot. I think this is on alot of devices, (not an infection, just a vulnerability).
I havent seen any notifications, ads, or had any redirects. Should I factory reset in case or is there no need?

It depends if the malicious targets android devices

Don't ever believe that iOS or android cannot get viruses, they may be LESS susceptible to viruses just to the simple fact that there are significantly less viruses for mobile platforms as opposed to say windows. I strongly advise against going to websites from google images. I have battled for countless hours with other computer viruses that people got from browsing images from google. Try downloading AVG from the play store and running a few scans, I also suggest periodic cleanings with Ccleaner! Best of luck

I see you tried avg so disregard that information!! But the rest is still of use

in short. Yes.
They are plenty of malware sites out there, targeting android devices.
I recommend avast or bitdefender.

I should mention the device is not rooted, used chrome and outside market apps were turned off. The scumware report says theres scrinject.gen b. I believe its only for windows, but could the site have downloaded anything for the 1 second I was on it?

A lot of "anti-virus" apps are really scamware them self.
If your device is not rooted I wouldn't be to worind about it

Should I factory wipe? Would that remove any possibility of there being malware? Or is that overkill? I dont see any pop ups or anything happening or find files associated with the malware "scrinject". I checked macafees site to see what files it creates and cant find any.

If the virus actually got in on a nonrooted device, then I must have access to a zero-day exploit and those are very very rare, and factory reset will not help (it would be in system partition)
but I really don't think this is the case, factory reset is an overkill on my opinion

Well im positive its not rooted. I used ES file explorer to view my files in the root directory (which is an app from the store). Iwas able to use it fine and search through the root folder. Does this mean im rooted? I used the root checker app and it says my device does not have proper root acess. Just checking to make sure. Im sure the only way to root is by using pc software? (Which ive never used.

try to access /data/data
If you can view it, you are rooted.

I can view /data, nothing inside using ES file explorer.


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Why do launchers not support all widgets?
Why is it, that when you attempt to add widgets to two different launchers on the same device, that each launcher seems to present a different list of available widgets? There are always some widgets available to both launchers but others are available only to one or the other.
For example, I have just purchased an LG G3 and quite like the look of its Home launcher. But it doesn't seem to offer shortcuts like Nova launcher does so I thought I could simply recreate the look of the Home launcher in Nova launcher, but most of the widgets that were on the Home launcher desktop by default are not available to Nova launcher.

Some of the OEMs like LG and Samsung have their proprietary widgets embedded in their launcher, and don't allow them to be loaded in Nova etc. That's possibly to stop you from recreating their brand look and feel in a 3rd party launcher. It's annoying though.

Ah, that makes sense, they may be embedded in the launcher rather than being separate packages that would be available to other launchers.

Some of the below is speculation, or given to me by sources I can't cite so take it as is.
Some (many) of the OEMs (manufacturers) like LG and Samsung embed their propitiatory widgets within their own launcher. This (allegedly) is down to them not wanting you to emulate their own look and feel in someone else's launcher.
Samsung, beside Android, have their Tizen Operating System. It is almost identical to their Touchwiz overlay on Android. So if a user has a Samsung, they can use this device without porting over any knowledge, to all intents and purposes they don't know what OS it is running as the interface is consistent. Keeping Touchwiz and those things their own, and unique is a way of retaining their customer base and keeping the UI the same across a range of devices makes it an easier decision to 'get the LG' or whatever to keep what you are used to. The Galaxy Gear 2 Smart Watch actually runs Tizen, not Android as a real world example.
It's a business decision, not one I am a fan of as I believe in customisation and options. Any UI (ala Touchwiz) that deprives me of choice is one I quickly abandon.
It is worth pointing out that there are thousands of Widgets on the play store, many of which bear an uncanny similarity to those of the OEMs.
Last point I'll add, HTC are currently rolling Blinkfeed (their launcher/news stream) onto the Play Store. This may be the beginning of OEMs splitting onto the Play Store as Google did a while back (calendar, keyboard, etc). This may be a way to get some of the widgets you love, without owning the device. However, the locked widgets remain an issue.

Keeping TouchWiz as a way to retain customers isn't working as far as I'm concerned. The thought of another year of TouchWiz (before warranty expires and I can run CyanogenMod for the rest of my two year contract, as I did with my S3) is precisely why I didn't even consider the S5 as an option this time around. I'm impressed by how little crapware LG has on the G3.


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DNAT iptables rule on rooted Android phone?
How i can set iptables rule like this on my rooted Android phone:
iptables -t nat -A PREROUTING -i wlan0 -s 192.168.1.100 -p tcp --dport 80 -j DNAT -–to-destination 192.168.1.101:8080
... since Android iptables implementation doesn't support protocol by name and DNAT?

According to this question on Stack Overflow

iptables is available in Android source distribution.
Users of retail Android devices cannot access iptables binary. Even Android OS itself cannot access that binary. This is hard-coded in Android. Many devices also don't have iptables at all.
The only way to access iptables binary is to build your own Android images. Check out http://randomizedsort.blogspot.com/2010/08/building-android-and-linux-kernel-for.html. Once you get comfortable with that process, check out http://randomizedsort.blogspot.com/2011/03/porting-iptables-1410-to-android.html.

iptables is a default module in aosp, you can use netfilter to write c code to handle that.
For example, you can create an android project, and write a JNI file, use ndk-build to compile that, and then adb push the executable to the android file system to execute. And in the mobile end, you can adb shell to it, directly use iptables command as a root user, just like in Linux.
To check if your device supports iptables:
Issue the following command in ADB shell or in Terminal Emulator:
iptables -L -t nat

Alternatively you could try the beta of  IP Tables app on Google Play to see if it does what you want.
There is also Droid Wall that you could try. It supports scripts that may help, e.g.
$IPTABLES -A "droidwall" --destination "192.168.0.1" -j RETURN

You can try AFWall+ for example. Available in Play Store and in F-Droid.

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


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Using an Android phone as a cordless headset
I know there are some cordless phones which allow adding Android phones as additional headsets (e.g. http://shop.panasonic.com/shop/model/KX-PRW130W or http://shop.panasonic.com/shop/model/KX-PRX120W). These devices include both a headset and a base receiver. I already have an Android phones, so I only need to a device to transmit calls to my cell phone via WiFi (the base). Is there such device available?

I know of several apps connecting to the router (which often is a combo of WiFi and telephony router), basically registering as a "landline cordless phone" using VoIP. Is it that what you're asking for? If so, there must be support from both ends (i.e. your "phone box" must support it, and have a matching app – or your "phone box" offers a standard SIP protocol where you can use any SIP app with).

@Izzy No, The question is not related to VoIP in any way. Please the linked page.

In the links you provided in your question, are the devices that are required.  They have that feature built into the hardware.


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Removing all Google data except the Play store
My main Android device is a phone. I recently acquired a tablet which I don't really use for email, calendars, etc. Therefore I want none of that data on the tablet.
I have disabled sync for all entries under my Google account, but the emails/calendars/hangouts which were already synced remain on the device.
How can I remove my emails/calendar entries/hangouts/etc from the device while keeping the Play store credentials?

I'm not 100% sure for all apps involved, but for most the "general rule of thumbs" applies:

go to Settings→Apps
select the "All" tab (to also show pre-installed apps)
walk the apps one-by-one, open their entries, and select "Clear Cache" plus "Delete Data"

Especially exclude things like "Google Play Services", but include the "Calendar Provider" and "Contacts Provider" (or similar named entries).
It's a good idea to first make a backup (just in case), and also to keep log of what you cleared. The former in case you hit one app too much, the latter in case you need to perform a factory-reset one day – as after that, sync would be automatically enabled by default, and you can only disable it after having finished the wizard and re-created your account – so all calendars, contacts, etc. would be back.

That worked just fine, thank you! Now there is no more data on my device.

As always, do a backup of your device before removing anything.
If you don't understand something that is stated, please ask before continuing.

Go into Settings and turn off all syncs. Go to Settings/Apps/ locate the Google apps you don't want running. Clear data and disable each, one at a time. (Leave Play Store, Play Services, Services Framework, and Accounts Manager intact; I'm not sure about Partner Setup and One Time Init, try those, and if not working properly, re-enable)

OR

Assuming you are rooted: you can manually uninstall most of the Google apps if you know which ones to remove (Leave Play Store, Play Services, Services Framework, and Accounts Manager intact; I'm not sure about Partner Setup and One Time Init). I use /system/app mover to switch apps from system to user space, then delete from there.

OR

Assuming you are rooted: the easiest way of slimming down on the Google apps would be to flash a minimal GApps to your device, that have the core requirements necessary for your apps from Play Store to function properly. you can add on any of the other features after that as needed.

As I stated at the top, make sure you make a backup/Nandroid so any issues can be easily corrected.

Thanks for the answer, good pointers. I'm not rooted so I won't be able to uninstall them, but clearing the data worked.

@RobertMunteanu Check this link out for rooting and rom! Works with Primus QS!!   http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2316845

Disabling unwanted apps is a good pointer indeed, which I didn't think of with my answer. +1 for that! What is not needed doesn't need to be running :)

@Izzy no GApps (blank store) is a good suggestion

Have not used it myself, but I've got my first Google-free device running. Up to now, F-Droid + Aptoide substitute for Play just fine :) Part 6 of the blog I've linked in my other comment will report about my "self-test" in a couple of days (hopefully). Second device pending for migration ;)

As someone asked (but removed that comment): Here's the preliminary report: Android without Google 6: Self-Experiment

@Izzy  awesome testing, amazing how much "energy" Google uses

I was expecting that – but not at that degree. 4d battery time was what I imagined (due to "low use" from my end). 5 days I didn't dream of – but that's what I've got :)

Great answers are posted already. If your device is rooted, you can look for a custom ROM such as CyanogenMod, AOSP ROM, etc. These ROMs do not have Google apps by default. You have to flash them separately. If available, you can install a custom ROM compatible with your device, then install a Micro GApps package (also known as minimal Google apps). The Micro GApps package basically just includes Play Store and core services without all the extras such as Hangout, Google+, Maps, etc. A good resource for custom ROM is XDA forums.

I don't think there's a custom ROM for my device (  vonino primus qs ), so I'll go with clearing the app data.

With a custom ROM you could even go without GApps at all, and use the BlankStore from NOGAPPS to access Play (details here). Its latest version (just published a few days ago) even works for updating paid apps – just buying new ones is not possible from BlankStore.

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

authors: صنائع المعروف


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Android virtual keyboard (Rugby Pro) types j when I press g (and other keyboard mismaps)
This description is bad but I have been struggling with finding the right words. I searched SE for "android virtual keyboard loses touch mapping" and nothing that looked right came back.

Have a Galaxy Rugby Pro with Android 4.2 stock. Using standard Samsung keyboard app with occasional Google Voice.
Every three months or so, my Android phone virtual keyboard seems to lose its mappings.
Meaning, when I type a g, the keyboard actually registers a j. Same with other keys, usually in the central row but also has included backspace, space bar.
This only happens in the keyboard that comes up in portrait mode for messaging and Facebook, etc. Does not happen in landscape (which I don't use much, unless the problems with portrait are significantly hampering me).
I've tried app manager/samsung keyboard/reset keyboard. No luck.
The only thing that works for me is to reset the phone completely with a factory reset.
That always fixes it, but reinstalling apps, redoing logins, etc is a PITA. I don't think backups are the answer because reinstalling would just reinstall the bad keyboard mapping.

So, two questions
A. Is there any way I can prevent the problem from happening without doing a full phone reset?
B. What terms should I use in googling this problem? "Android keyboard mapping" just leads me to links about, well, keyboard mapper apps. "android keyboard wrong letters" brings me to the link about the factory reset and other not-useful items about installing non-english keyboard layouts, which is not my issue.

Use another keyboard, Google has a good one on the play store.

For a fix

Open settings>apps
Go the all tab, swipe left 2x's
Scroll down to Samsung Keyboard and tap it
Tap on force close, then ok
Tap on clear cache
Tap on clear data, then ok

Problem should be fixed!!!
Google search keywords
galaxy rugby keyboard typing wrong letters

This exactly fixed my problem. Thanks so much. Now I won't need to Google any longer because this URL is the answer.

@lonstar you are very welcome,  glad it helped

My Android Rii keyboard started to play up and I tried changing the settings and clearing the cache and data but still got the wrong characters. I found the Multilingual Keymap Redefiner app and remapped the failing keys. I couldn't download it from the Play Store in the UK so had to search for the apk and download and install manually but works a treat.


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How can I add more system apps to a custom ROM?
I have an android ROM that I can flash onto the phone using a tool like smart phone flash tools, but what I want to be able to do is to modify the system image to add APKs in the system/app directory and then repack and flash the ROM. I want these newly added APKs to behave as part of the system.
I have looked at a couple of tutorials for unpacking and repacking it, but once I repack it, it becomes unusable. Is this the correct approach or am I missing something? I'm not sure what I could be doing wrong.

You need to provide more detail in your question. What way did you do this? Did you edit files? Did you use Android Kitchen or what..? What did you use for pack/unpack? Was the ROM re-signed? Did you remember to convert update-script back to updater-script? For a decent write up take a look at this: http://androiddomain.weebly.com/build-your-own-rom.html

Thanks @HasH_BrowN, I used this link to unpack and repack. My aim is to add more applications under the system/app directory and then repack and flash the Rom using sp flash tools. I want these newly added APKs to behave as part of the system. I tried adding them, but some applications do not appear after the phone is flashed.

Titanium backup is able to convert user apps into system apps on rooted android...

Most of the time when a unpacked and modified ROM gets repacked, it will become unusable/unstable because it failed to get resigned with the proper key.
You need to have the zip package resigned from the original firmware key. That is why you are experiencing those hiccups. Also if any of the apps depend on libs and/or resouces, you would need to make sure they are in place as well - prior to repacking and resigning
For a decent write up take a look at this: http://androiddomain.weebly.com/build-your-own-rom.html. This will show one of the proper ways of repackaging a ROM.


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Provision/Availability of Android Updates
My Nexus 7 receives Android updates directly from Google, regardless of the cellular service provider of the SIM card in the device.
My Galaxy S3, with a SIM card in it, receives updates when my cellular service provider releases them.
I have a Galaxy Note, running Android 4.3, without a SIM card in it. Where/when will it receive updates?
I did recently insert a SIM card into the Note. Will the device now receive updates according to the timetable of the SIM service provider?

Android updates have nothing to do with what network the phone is currently on, or what SIM card is inserted. The updates come from whoever you got your phone from.
If you bought your phone from a carrier, they almost certainly customized the OS to include their special apps (a.k.a. bloatware), and sometimes to limit features like Wi-Fi hotspot. For that reason, the updates have to come from them, and of course this adds some delay to the process: once the manufacturer has the update ready, they supply the new source code to the carrier, who has to update their special features for the new version, and go through another round of tests and QA. Carriers don't have the same software expertise or resources as OEMs, so this takes longer.
If you didn't buy the phone from a carrier, then it'll be running an OS provided by the manufacturer, so updates will come from them directly. For Nexus devices, this means the updates come straight from Google.
In your specific case, if your Galaxy Note came without a SIM card, I guess you didn't get it from a carrier, in which case you'll get the update from Samsung, as soon they make it available for your region. If you did get it from a carrier originally, you'll get the update from your old carrier. Either way, your new carrier has nothing to do with it, because they didn't provide the OS in your phone.


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What ROM could be used on an HTC Desire bravo with non-functioning physical buttons
I have a HTC Desire (bravo). Currently I use it with the old Oxygene ROM. Basically It's fine, but the physical buttons (menu, back, home) are very hard to press. Sometimes it takes more than 5 hard presses until it reacts. There might be other ways to fix it (maybe fixing the buttons or just cleaning them?) but being a software engineer I thought that I might be able to find a ROM that can be used without those 3 physical buttons (just like the newer phones usually don't even have those physical buttons) What ROM-s are worth to look at?

You might wish to check Where can I find stock or custom ROMs for my Android device?

You can install the Xposed framework on a rooted device.
There are numerous modules that will enable softkeys on the device. Have a search in Xposed in the "Downloads" section for "softkeys".
One example is here and it has the Android L style soft keys. In case the article goes down here's the XDA thread with the apk


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Installed Gapps, but Google Play services is not there
So I finally found a way to install CWM in my Lava Iris 430 which runs on ICS 4.0.4 and installed Gapps (gapps-ics-20120429-signed version). It was successfully installed, but it missed Google Play Services. What should I do?

This happens with Copperhead OS too : If you install gapps, then it simply does not appear when you boot.  It can be avoided but only with some rather more serious effort.  I asked a more specific question about why it happens here :   https://android.stackexchange.com/q/179447/10506

Open the Play Store and Google Play Services will download automatically.


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Dismiss voicemail notification when you can't call voicemail
I have gotten a notification that I have 1 new voice message. However, I am in a different country right now and would rather not pay an exorbitant amount of money to call my voicemail just to dismiss the notification. Is there a way I can remove it without calling voicemail? I have tried restarting the phone and swiping the notify away, but it's a pretty persistent notification.

Try sliding the notification bar down, then long press on the 'New Voicemail' notification. There should be one option "App Info", go to this and clear cache and data.
If your version of android / device doesn't support the long press notification, go to Settings > Applications > All > Phone  'phone' may be called 'dialler' or similar on varying devices. Clear cache and data.
Warning some devices (very rarely to be honest) tie your contacts to the Dialler application, or your call history, clearing the data may clear some or all of these. Ensure you have backups to be 100% sure that, however unlikely, if something goes wrong you have what's important. It's VERY unlikely and I do this all the time to get rid of that notification, but it's always better to be safe than sorry.

Thanks, this worked perfectly and on Google Nexus 5 my contact data was not erased.

@geoff great, glad it worked. That notification annoys me an irrational amount some times. It's extremely unlikely you'd lose any data, but I'd nearly always recommend backups before deleting anything at all. The old expression "digital data doesn't exist unless it is in 2 or more places" is a good guide to go by! (iClound leaks aside!!)


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Does encryption, factory reset, encryption make a safer used phone?
I recently purchased a used Moto X. I know the person I bought it from so I'm not terribly worried but here is my idea to shore up the security on a used device.

Don't put in your SIM card or log into any accounts
Factory reset
Encrypt device
Factory reset
Encrypt device
Install SIM, log into accounts
Enjoy

This seems like a solid way to make sure the device is completely wiped out... except for the boot loader. I'm not sure how the comes into play, or if this method even makes that big of a difference. The process I outlined isn't difficult, it just takes a few hours.

Is it worth it?
Can it be improved?
What about the boot loader?

If you're that worried - to the point that you're concerned about the bootloader being malicious - then a factory reset seems insufficient. It wouldn't have any effect on the boot partition or the system partition, both of which are modified when installing a custom ROM. If its feasible with the Moto X, reflashing the phone seems like the better course.

Factory-resetting twice is pointless. The first factory reset will already wipe all user data: the second won't delete anything that wasn't already deleted by the first. Encrypting the device is also a waste of time, because you've already factory-reset the device.
It might make some sense if you were the seller of the phone, and you wanted to overwrite the internal storage several times to make sure the buyer couldn't recover your data, but that's the opposite of what you want. A single factory reset will delete all the user data, giving you a clean slate.
If you're worried about the previous owner having left a backdoor in the OS, then ensure the bootloader is locked and flash the stock ROM yourself. This way you're sure to have a clean OS.
If you suspect the buyer has enough skill to backdoor the bootloader so that it will also make changes to the new OS as you flash it, and also disable signature verification so that it will still boot but looks like the bootloader is locked, then just don't buy a phone from them. If you think they're that good, and that desperate to get hold of your data, then they'll find a way around whatever you do. You just can't trust the device at all in that case.

Is this answer still applicable i.e. there aren't better ways? Also, if I'm planning on putting a custom ROM in my phone, would that as well be sufficient for having suspicions that the previous owner left a backdoor in the OS (if they aren't as skilled as you mention in your 4th paragraph)?

If you're installing a custom ROM anyway, there's no need to worry about the seller having done anything to the OS. Your only fears then are the bootloader (as in my 4th paragraph) and of course the hardware itself.

Another option to secure delete info on your phone is to get the app IShredder 3 fom the Playstore to securely overwrite any data on empty space.


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How ever does one log off the Kik app on an S3?
I downloaded an app called Kik off the Play store and I can't seem to find a way to log out of it so it doesn't drain my battery since it uses push notifications.  Any tips?  So odd that unless you want to uninstall it you can't seem to turn it off.
OS: 4.1

If it uses push notifications, it doesn't drain your battery. That's the whole point of push: the app doesn't need to be running at all. Instead, the app is started by Android (specifically, by the Google Cloud Messaging service) when a message arrives.

Well, according to KiK officials they don't have logout feature. But you can force a logout by resetting the app but the downside is this is going to wipe your conversation history. So, rest I would leave it to you to decide wether to remain logged in and keep draining the battery or force a logout by resetting the app.


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How to know if an keyboard/input related app is safe to use
I am Vietnamese and I cannot type my language on my Android phone i.e. Samsung Galaxy S4
So I look for apps that help me to input Vietnamese. My issue is that I'm affraid the apps will bug me and know everything sensitive that I type.
How can I know if one such app is safe to use?
p.s. I add a sample of such apps as below - Laban Key; with the required permission(s)

You can't. A keyboard, by nature, is required to know everything you type, including your account credentials. Your best bet is to select keyboard coming from top developers.
My favorite? Multiling Keyboard, supports multiple languages (including Vietnamese), highly customizable, the only keyboard I know of that doesn't require Internet permission (so the keyboard can't send what you are typing on the fly).
Some other popular keyboard that support Vietnamese includes Swiftkey (free), Swype (paid).
As for Vietnamese products, Laban is fine (comes from Vinagame I think), Gotiengviet also was used by hundreds of thousands users without any incident.

About Internet permission requirement, I wonder if the app store those sensitive data somewhere to the phone storage, and via another VNG app with Internet permission, upload that data to their server. What do you think about that?

Laban Key comes from VNG and even via rumor from Pham Kim Long - the author of the legendary UniKey. As VNG is a Chinese-funded company, I do not trust them. If only Pham Kim Long do the same thing for Vietnamese input/keyboard on Android as what he do for desktop alone.

Well, if you really doesn't trust Vinagame then just use someone else's product, I mentioned 4 alternatives in my post :) The power of Android is the power of choice after all

The new way Playstore lists permissions on install and update make it difficult at best to see what an app requests permissions for. While before that change, one saw at least those (but still didn't know what the app would do with them), now even that possibility is gone for good – except if you want to go to the website all the time to check manually.
The rant aside: As Thanh already pointed out, a keyboard app by definition has access to everything you type (or would be useless otherwise), so there's pretty much no way from this approach. The only thing you could check for is one that doesn't request any network permissions. No absolute safety though, as it could use other means of transporting data from your device – so a little risk is always left.
On my site there's a possibility to search for apps by permission, but the app list there is far from being complete (my database has just a little more than 10.000 hand-selected apps recorded). A search for keyboard apps without the internet permission a.o. turned up MultiLing – an app which Thanh already recommended to you, and which has support for Vietnamese, and its sister-app Multiling O Keyboard requesting even less permissions (just the basic ones a keyboard app must have: read & write the user dictionary, plus one harmless: vibrate). But be welcome to check for yourself!

Even if the app is made by the single most honest, and well intentioned developers there's always malicious outside interference ala the current iCloud celeb pic issue!

Agreed. And there are also things like integrated ad modules the dev cannot fully control (if used). But these two things are not affecting apps without Internet permission: there are no ad modules without that, and the likeliness of accessing "the cloud" also is pretty low this way ;)

The following are steps to follow in order to discover the app which might bug you. These below steps will also help you to find any application installed on your device is a bugging app or not.
1.Download the permission checker application from the play store.
2.Download any keyboard application which ever is reputed based on the ratings and which suits your needs.(Don't forget to read the privacy policy as most of the users never read is the big and important privacy policy, do not install any app with many one word reviews as these are normally suspicious)
3.Later open the permission checker app and check what kind of permissions is the app requiring. In the app you will also get a brief 1-2 line description for the type of permission used by the application.
If you see any irrelevant permission to the app or you find it suspicious then you can un-install it.
last but not the least if you still do not understand the description given by the permission  checker app then you can google the permission in your local language which shall give you the complete description.
You can not completely avoid the privacy of your app as it also depends on the type of internet connection you are connected and the level of security it has(i.e. the WPA2-psk is the most preferred connection in terms of wireless but WEP will still do the bit),if the device itself is bugged then your are possibly being eaves dropped.

That requires the app already being installed. To avoid the issue in advance, one better checks the permissions before install. A good starter for that is our permissions tag-wiki, and the bi-lingual (English/German) explained app permissions on my site ;)

@Izzy well said but 1 cannot know what permissions an app is using because most of the permissions are hidden (i.e. the advertisement permission which is never displayed under the normal permissions in the play store)

I've never heard about an "advertisement permission", nor is it listed in any of the references known to me. I admit it's not easy checking permissions of apps you have not installed (thanks to Google), but there are multiple sources: Google Play itself (a bit tricky), AppBrain as an alternative front-end to it (not always complete), and also my applists (not covering all apps, and relying on other sources for those details). Checking after install is an useful additional step though, definitely :)


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Replacing the dialer
I have recently replaced the stock Samsung system on my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 with Paranoid Android, but I don't like the dialer.  I have tried a few alternatives and found some I like, but none of them replace the bit that actually makes the calls.
When I use, e.g. Dialer One, I get a great interface that I like, but the moment I press the call or answer button it goes back to the original interface.
Is there any way to completely replace it?

Well, nope I don't think that you could do that over your end. I would say its over the hands of the developer, or better for you would be getting the source code of the Android downloaded and customise it on your own if you...! Otherwise nope there isn't anyway out !

In theory you could flash a zip through recovery that has the dialer, the phone itself and all the other necessary elements sure. From my experience though all but one time it was plagued with crashes and errors. It definitely CAN be done but it's very messy. Most Samsung specific features need Touchwiz framework to some degree behind the scenes.

Thanks.  I don't necessarily want the samsung one, I just don't like the standard android one!  Maybe I should just have a look for a better looking rom...

Did you set Dialer One as default dialer in its settings?

I don't think we can do this just by installing an app.
I mean, we can't define our new app as default app for making/receiving calls.
So, I think it's in ROM developer's hand. Only they can replace it with custom one, AFAIK.

Not with an apk but you could with a zip in certain cases. You can with a rooted device push it to the /system folder also, and replace the existing one, but it rarely works at all.

Take the dialer from your old stock ROM, extract from the zip, and install in new ROM. You'll need the app "/system/app-mover", free from playstore, to move stock ROM dialer into the system.  Goto settings>apps and disable custom ROM dialer. Your running a custom ROM so this should work, I did this on my HTC.
If this doesn't work out right,  just reverse the steps. No damage to the system.


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Question about Galaxy S3 Mini: Weird Problem
So, the back story is, I had a keyboard loaded on my s3 mini and I received an update from Samsung. Like every one get excited I was also excited and update my device but after I update I head over to send an email the keyboard which I have been using just disappeared. When I head over to the settings to find Keyboard the Samsung keyboard wasn't there? Now I am unable to type anything can some one help me out in sorting this problem out?

You could try installing a third-party keyboard for now.

@DanHulme Well, yes I can do that but what about the samsung stock keyboard? Does it mean that I can't user the stock Keyboard anymore?

There's a few options that I can think of.

Reinstall your ROM. Do it through Odin on PC or Heimdall on *NIX systems. This won't void your warranty, and will just install the ROM again. Ensure it is EXACTLY the correct one for your device / network. Check Sammobile for your firmware.
Extract the keyboard. Download your firmware zip and extract the keyboard.apk and install it manually.
Find the apk online (HUGE security risk IMHO)
Use an alternative keyboard.
Try wiping your cache in recovery and rebooting see if it fixes the issue.
Check if the keyboard is there at all in your 'all apps' list and force start, clear data, reboot.  (There probably isn't, but look for Google Keyboard as well, no harm)

Well, this looks good ! Can I try performing a factory reset I have backup all my data and I guess I can... ! So,I was thinking if I perform a factory reset instead of flashing ROM... then is it going to help me ???

Factory reset might help but I'm dubious to be honest. If you flash your stock firmware over your current firmware all your apps should be unaffected, but  hopefully you'd get the keyboard back. Of course flashing ANY firmware carries a risk to it. It's really up to what you want to try and risk losing.


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Is Recovery Mode necessary to flash to newer Android version manually?
My phone (Sony Xperia Go) seems to be not able to boot into Recovery Mode
Is there some alternative way or tool to use for flashing ROM? (to latest kitkat mod). To avoid recovery mode
I have fastboot working on computer

Are you rooted? What happens when you try to boot to recovery? Do you have a custom recovery installed?

@RossC Yes phone is rooted and unlocked. It seems like the phone is just rebooting. Same when I try from QuickBoot or adb. Don't know if I have a custom recovery installed? I have made a backup with Nandroid and flashed that with fastboot. no change

Did you install a custom recovery? You'll need one to boot into... very strange though.

How do I install a custom recovery? See also http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/81832/xperia-go-boot-into-recovery-mode

Saw that already, I'll answer how to install a recovery below.

Note: Installing the custom recovery using the tools below requires a rooted Xperia Go. Generally root isn't always necessary and a device can be rooted by flashing a pre-rooted ROM for example, and a recovery flashed via fastboot as another example. Also note it can brick your device. I take no responsibility for the below if your device turns into a shiny paper weight
The below is for a Windows Machine only:
To install a custom recovery, clockworkmod-recovery in this case:

Place the archive you just downloaded to your Desktop.
Extract files from the archive to your Desktop.
Turn ON the USB debugging function on your device by going to Menu>>Settings>>Developer options>>USB debugging.
Connect the device to your PC using the USB cable.
Double-click on the install.bat file and the utility should launch.
Follow the instructions displayed on your screen.
Once Recovery’s installed, reboot the device.
You’re all set!

What does this do? Where is the custom recovery? And how to do it on a mac? Can't seem to get windows to work. Sry I'm a noob at all this ;)

It installs a custom recovery, it's in the link I gave... and it needs windows.

@mowgli also I'd add this; READ, READ and READ more. You can never know enough about this sort of thing, if you mess up you could end up with a non working device. If you can't understand things above, look them up, read the XDA thread lots of times. The more research now the less panic later when your phone goes dead!

Yeah I've been reading and reading ;) I actually messed up the phone by just flashing a kitkatrom with fastboot. No boot. Then I used the Emma tool to install factory default (and it's working again). So that's where I am now

I don't see a custom recovery in your link, only questions. Edit: nevermind, I'll find one ;)

Ok now I installed a custom recovery. SuperSU says I need SuperSU PRO to give access to ADB shell and QuickBoot.. damn this is so confusing and advanced

@mowgli Great! :) Glad to hear it. Let me just give the other reminder everyone is sick of hearing from me: BACKUPS! Make backups, copy them onto your PC for good measure! It means you can install ROMs knowing you have a full system image (or [tag:nandroid]) backup of your device you can restore from recovery whenever you want! Have fun!

Backups? yeah right :D jk

It looks like I have upgraded to KitKat successfully :) Do I just backup with NanDroid now, and that will make a complete copy of my phone? Or how do you suggest backing up?

I would have backed up before installing KitKat, but do it now anyway. It creates a .zip file of the ENTIRE system image. If you restore it your system will be exactly as it is now. That means OS, apps, app data, launcher, EVERYTHING. :) Do it through recovery. Trust me, the feeling when the phone bootloops and you have no ROM or backup on the device is pretty awful, I've done it a few times before I learned my lesson!

Oh, I already backed it up before installing it. My question was more: is NanDroid ok for that or do you suggest other way?

Oh, nandroid is the way I always use for sure. To backup my apps for differnt ROMs I use Titanium Backup (Free on play store) Nandroid is your emergency backup if things go wrong, titanium is there for when you install a new ROM and want to restore your apps and their data.

@RossC You wrote in your answer that you need to root, and that's incorrect. I have an HTC, I unlocked my bootloader using HTC dev, used fastboot to flash recovery (fastboot flash recovery recovery.img), and installed ROM in recovery with ROM.zip on my sd card. I never rooted my original ROM. Although this his isn't an HTC, but an sony, the process shouldn't be much different.

@user3949142 to use the method I provided you need root. You don't necessarily need it at all in general, and you can flash pre rooted ROMs etc, but in this instance for that program to work it needs to be rooted according to the developer, I'm just giving his advice. I've added a note to my answer to say that, and to clarify root isn't a necessity in all cases.


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Does CyanogenMod Installer create a recovery image?
I'm looking at installing CyanogenMod onto my Galaxy S3 (i9300) and the CyanogenMod Installer looks to be the easiest way to do this.
However I would like to get an image of my phone before I attempt to install CyanogenMod. This is so that if anything goes wrong (or I dislike the ROM) then I can just revert back to an image of the phone as if nothing had changed.
Google searches suggest I need to root my phone, unlock the bootloader and then install ClockworkMod Recovery to create a backup.
If I do go down this route then the automatic rooting and bootloader unlocking that the CyanogenMod Installer will do seems completely redundant, since I'm going to have to do it manually anyway to get an image.
That doesn't really make sense to me - so can anyone please advise on what I should do to get this image before I start?

Your google research is correct. There is an order. root → unlock bootloader → install custom recovery (twrp or cwm) → backup current rom → install custom rom (cyanogenmod or aosp etc). Without being rooted and having bootloader unlocked, you won't be able to install recovery and custom room. That's why it needs to be done first. Cyanogenmod is pre-rooted. So you don't have to do it again once it's installed. Initial rooting of your current rom and installing recovery is only one time process. You can then backup/restore the roms using the recovery of your choice (twrp/cwm). Assuming you have rooted/installed custom recovery, make sure to backup current rom should anything go wrong. Also wipe data/cache/dalvik cache before installing the new custom rom. There is usually a hardware combination button to access recovery menu or you can issue reboot recovery command from terminal.

AFAIK unlocking bootloader OR rooting, anyone of these two shall do the job


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How to revert phone to state before last-but-one factory reset?
Two days ago I found my non-rooted Nexus 5 in my pocket asking me which language I like. It looks like it has been factory-reset, and I suppose that one of my corporate accounts has reacted on accidental lock-screen PIN input. (Having tried it today, I can't exactly understand how that was possible, but let's assume that's just the case.)
The problem (which I was not aware of that it IS a problem) is that I was offline (roaming) when I noticed. I needed my phone, so I skipped the Wifi setup because my phone just told me it could not verify my software was up to date. I'm on 4.4.4, so I knew it was up to date.
Then, even after logging in to Gmail, Play Store etc., I was unable to get the Google backup restored. Wifi passwords, apps, home screen layout, app settings, that kind of stuff. I suspected that the only possibility to restore a backup is when the phone is first turned on after a reset and I might have lost that opportunity. So I did another factory reset (this time near my Wifi) and voilà, I could login and chose to restore the backup.
BUT: this restore restored what I had installed after the first factory reset. Indeed, the dashboard says this:
No carrier
Last activity seen on: Sep 1, 2014
Registered date: Jul 10, 2014

LGE Nexus 5 o2
IMEI: xxx
Registered date: Sep 3, 2014

So there's two devices now, one the "old" from before the first reset (on Sep 1), and another "new" one which was probably created by resetting my phone without restoring the backup (on Sep 1), refreshed by my most recent reset with restoring the backup (on Sep 3).
That was a long intro for a short question: Is there any way to revert my phone to the state stored under that old "No carrier" entry? Unfortunately, I have found neither a way to delete one of these backups (for example, the new one) nor a way to even look at the data.

possible duplicate of Google Backup: Multiple devices using the same account - what happens on Restore?

Not quite a duplicate of that question – though the answers to that also answer this one: As you already might have guessed, there's no way for that, as you cannot directly access your "backups" in the Google cloud.

Thanks. It's not exactly a duplicate, but it helped me a lot. Having installed the Platform Tools from Android SDK and activated "Camera" storage mode and debugging, I was able to restore to that previous backup. Wifi passwords, choice of background images and most apps are back, most app settings are not (probably to be expected). It would have been much easier if the backups could be browsed somehow: you only see their ID and name. So I had to pick one at random (I think I chose the lower one in the list), luckily it was the right one.

Funny enough, on the dashboard, I now see a list of "Applications with backup on servers" underneath my nexus (which wasn't there before I asked this question) and also a button "Delete backup data" saying "By clicking the button you will permanently delete backup data of the account 'XYZ@gmail.com'. Please note that new backup data will be created if backup is enabled on any of your Android devices."


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Does AOKP have USB-Debugging activated per default?
The screen of my Galaxy Nexus is broken (also see Cannot access galaxy nexus via adb).
It seems like USB-debugging was deactivated, so my only way to recover the data is to flash a rom on the phone that has USB-debugging activated per default. I think this should work using fastboot.
At the moment the device has AOKP installed. If I reflash AOKP on the phone, will USB-debugging be activated?
In other words: Does AOKP have USB-debugging activated per default?

Recovery often has debugging enabled by default, I'd try that first before flashing anything. Running a custom ROM usually implies a custom recovery as well, right? ;)

Good suggestion, I will try that first. Yes, I have ClockworkMod installed.

Should do (I have that on some devices as well; never tried acessing it via ADB in recovery, but saw it listed via adb devices). Keep us updated (maybe with an answer when solved? ;) Good luck!

Yes, I keep you updated. However, if I cannot use adb in recovery, it would still be interesting if an AOKP-image would have USB-debugging activated per default or not... Of course I could also flash another ROM (like Cyanogen Mod, which definitely has usb-debugging activated) but changing to another system would be a step I would rather not take in the current state of the device.

No, switching to a different ROM often requires wiping the device in order to have it booting successfully.

As you promised to keep us updated: did you succeed? Remember it's perfectly fine here to answer your own question :)

Sorry I didn't report back, @Izzy . The reason is, I didn't succeed (yet). I couldn't access the memory in recovery (maybe I couldn't even access the recovery because the volume keys are also damaged). I didn't have the time to investigate further. When I find a way, I will certainly answer my question. Sorry!

Sorry to hear that. I keep my fingers crossed then!


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Does the screen resolution matter for video players?
Following on from my question over at video.ex, do media/video players downscale a video if the resolution is bigger than the screen resolution?
I'm wondering if it really matters if a phone/tablet says it supports HD or Full HD if the screen resolution is lower than HD.
It might depend on the Android OS version but what resolutions does the default player support? Do different apps support different resolutions?

Yes, most video players will automatically up- or down-scale videos to fit the screen. Android OS itself, and video player apps, don't have a limit on video size. Obviously each device's hardware is only fast enough to decode so many pixels per second, so there's an upper limit on video resolution, data rate, and frame rate for smooth playback.
Like any other playback device, if an Android device doesn't have enough pixels on its screen to play 1080p video, it can't be advertised with the "Full HD" trademark logo.

What defines the pixel count? I know that 300dpi is the standard, so is there a standard for "Full HD" dpi? I also ask because know we're getting into 4K and UHD territory, and I'm guessing Android doesn't support that.

@Dan So  is a device having Resolution-1280 x 720 and 1920x1080 pixels for video is a full HD? and what if the resolution is somewhat less and the pixels are same 1920x1080 is it possible like in some budget feature smart phones

I think you're confused about what resolution means. Although people often quote the "screen resolution" as the number of pixels e.g. 1920x1080, really the resolution is the dpi (actually, it's slightly more complicated than that, because it was originally defined for film cameras). Only the number of pixels defines whether it's HD; the dpi is irrelevant. Android supports bigger-than-HD screens just fine: for example, the Nexus 10 is 2560x1600.

So, if you're going to play a 4k file on an Android device, it's not the resolution that causes the file to be unplayable, it'll be the codec? Or am I completely wrong? Are there android devices that can play 4k content? Oh, and as I asked before, is there a dpi that defines "HD" or "Full HD"?

As I said before, the dpi is irrelevant. It's the total number of pixels that counts, and the screen size in inches makes no difference. If your Android device has fast enough video decode, it'll play a 4k video just fine, possibly downscaling it if your screen isn't that big.


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''insufficient space on the device'' – but my sd card has plenty space?
I bought my Android phone a month ago (a Prestigio 3350 Duo) and installed maybe 5 apps on it, so according to the memory card I have almost 2 gb of free space, and 28 mb on internal storage. But when I try to install some apps it keeps showing off that message.
I don't know why, tried to clear cache (which helped a little) – but still I can't install an app of about 34 mb.
Can someone help me fix this problem? I know there're similar posts but I appreciate any help. Thanks :)

Welcome to the Android Enthusiasts! This happens to be a question frequently asked on our site. Have you tried our on-site search? See How do I search? for help using it. Moreover: As it is that frequent, we've even summed up background and solutions in our insufficient-memory tag-wiki, which you might wish to consult. I'm pretty sure that will get you started. Good luck!

It has worked on Kitkat so may apply to older versions of Android

Settings > Storage > Phone Storage ( or could be Internal storage, wherever Google Play Services is) > apps > Google Play Services > Click Clear cache
(on the same page) Manage space > Clear all data > Manage search storage > clear now
press back button <- twice and you will end up on Google Play Services - App info page > press Force stop
Find Google Settings among applications or under Settings > Google settings > click on menu button on the page > Clear app data

Now you can launch Google play store and download desired application
Hopefully it works for you as well. Feedback will be appreciated.

Basically OP stated they did ( a ), with no luck.

Didn't work for my Moto E :(

It didn't work on my LG G3 with CyanogenMod 12.1. I did only steps from 1 to 3 because I couldn't find Google Settings among applications nor under Settings.

Didn't work for me.

Did work for me.  Not sure if that was because of the exact instructions or just the memory that was freed up.

The problem you are facing is not uncommon. Namely Android operating system (like any other) provides different partitions for different usages, among them there is a partition for user installed apps ("apps partition"), and that partition is usually 1 GB or 2 GB or less (depending on the total memory of the device). And you do have only 28 MB on your internal storage where the apps are stored. Long story short, those 2 GB of free space you have are not meant for apps but for media files (pictures, videos, etc.).
There are two solutions to your problem:

Moving apps from internal memory to sd card (not necessary external sd card). This will allow you to install apps on the internal memory while the data of the apps (which is usually bigger then the app itself) will be stored on your sd card. This is will give you a lot of free space for more apps of your choice. Downside is, every app you move to the sd card will not have a widget and will be slower to use. You can do this by installing App2SD from Play Store or any other app that can move other apps.
Different approach requires more technical skills. You can root your device, and manually change the partitions so you get more space on your "apps partition", but reduce system partition or cache partition. This procedure is a bit tricky and is different for each device. If you decide to do this a good starting point is the XDA developers forum or simply google it for your specific device.

Hope this helps.

Your apps are installed to internal memory natively, thus the 28mb space left

In your Settings → Apps click on an app and if it gives you the option to move to SD card, try it. Not all apps can be moved and some apps won't work right if moved, on that use your best judgement. There are also some apps you can find that will do the same thing for you if the move to SD card isn't an option.
Thumbnails. This is refering to the SD card where there is enough space, but might be useful though:

a) You can find the file (usually here: /mnt/sdcard/DCIM/.thumbnails, or something close to that) in your system that is storing thumbnails, erase that - its usually pretty large. That will give some extra space.
b) Or if you not afraid to get into the system a little more you can do this for a more permanent fix. ** With this you be switching another file out for the thumbnail file. That way it can't be recreated.

move any ancillary files (movies, music, photos, email attachments,  downloads and etc.) to the SD card

EDIT
If rooted,  you might be able move /data/media/obb to SD card without errors.

I have enough space in both the internal and external cards, and the issue still persists.

@Shimmy - did you check your device out with a partition app? You should also check and see if maybe a partition is mounted or unmounted correctly.

Try this, it worked for me.
Settings > Apps or App Manager > Google Play Services
Then, uninstall updates.
Try, downloading your app once again and it will work now.
However, you've to reupdate your google play for latest updates.


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Chrome New Tab Page Different/Changed. Samsung Tab 3, Android Kitkat
Usually my chrome://newtab looks like this:
When I opened chrome recently and made a new tab, it looked like this (PLEASE NOTE! This is an image I took from chrome beta to recreate the image as I cant recreate it on chrome version 36, as after I cleared chromes data in application management,  it was gone.)

I first noticed there was a Google search bar, and tapping just moved it to the top like the beta did. It looked exactly like the beta one, but how did it end up on my normal chrome? I searched the settings and could not find anything. I had just been browsing reddit and superuser, and was on youtube. When I came back to make a new tab it was different.  I cleared the data for chrome and it was gone, so thats why I installed beta and took a screenshot for comparison.  Any explanation?

I believe your installation was selected for the experiment (aka field trial). The Chrome team sometimes rolls experimental features to a limited number of users (like 2% of all installation). Then they gather some statistics to see how this feature performs. The new style of the new tab page seems to be one of those experiments. You can turn it on (and off) via chrome://flags page in your browser (search for enable-new-ntp).

Thanks, thats exactly it.  I sometimes see the "youre invited" but do they also activate theirmother experimental features at random?

Yes, for the field trials "rolling out to 5% of installs" means that the particular user will participate with 5% probability. Your browser is like rolling a dice to determine what group (feature on/feature off)  it is in.

Also, Chrome 37 has just started rolling out which is exactly the same as the beta version. This means that the new style is now the default.


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Add contact to ActiveSync on Samsung phone
I have two Samsung phones connect to my Exchange email using ActiveSync.
When I manually add a contact they are stored on the phone and not ActiveSync, how can I set the default storage mechanism to be ActiveSync?
Thank you

Please make sure contact syncing is enabled for the particular activesync account. You can check by going to Settings > Accounts. Select your activesync account and ensure Contacts are selected. You can also check accounts settings from the contact app by opening the menu. Then try creating a new contact, it should prompt you to choose a destination (phone, email etc).


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Remove notification bar in Samsung Galaxy Tab 3
Is there a way to remove the notification bar on a Samsung Galaxy Tab 3?

You need a launcher app to do such things. Try using launchers available on PlayStore, like Nova Launcher. Launcher will give you access to hiding notification bar, configuring desktop grid, playing around with doc and so on.


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I accidentally uninstalled one of my Factory App. What would I do to restore it?
My phone was in my pocket for the whole afternoon until one of my friends borrowed it then gave it back again then asked why did I uninstalled my Camera though I always use it. I tried to open my Camera but it always says "App not installed" I tried to find it in Google play to see if Lenovo Cameras were there but they weren't. I also opened my gallery and the same thing happened, to see... My Phone Camera and Gallery are connected. What should I do? Searched online but nothing really helps...

I'd say your friend is making fun with you. If it's a system app (and there's usually a camera pre-installed that way), it cannot be uninstalled without root access (so you cannot have "accidentally uninstalled" those apps). He most likely disabled camera and gallery.

Go to Settings → Apps
Select the "All" tab (to list pre-installed apps as well)
Scroll the list to find your camera app. Check whether it is marked "disabled".

if so: tap that entry, hit the "Enable" button, done.

Repeat previous step for your gallery app

You can try 3rd party app from store like "Google Camera"..
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.GoogleCamera&hl=en
Or if you are ROOTED.. then download  .apk file of the Camera app and paste it into System folder and change its permission to Read Only. Then finally, Reboot.
Done.

If you do a factory reset, the stock camera app should return. The reset option is located under Settings > Backup and reset menu. You can also try third party camera apps as suggested by itsmeVPawan.

If the camera app truly is stock, then factory resets won't do anything because the app is located in /system while factory resets only affect /data.

Exactly that's why a factory-reset would solve it, as it resets the package state (see my answer). But thing is, you could also kill a fly using atomics :)


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One-tap audio note file that sends to email
It often happens that I want to take a quick note to self when I have my phone, so I won't forget something, but I want to do it as quickly as possible because I'm in the middle of something else. Later, when I'm doing tasks, I'll have time to dedicate to do it, or make a proper task for it in my task management software.
The shitty way
What I currently do is open up Gmail and write an email to myself. That's takes about 3 times longer than necessary, because I need to:

Unlock the phone
Open the GMail app
Wait for it to load
Press compose
Tap the first two letters of my email address
Wait for the autocomplete box to appear, which can take a long time if there's internet connectivity problems
Click my email address
Tap in the Subject field
Type the memo (in very concise words of course)
Sometimes the typing goes wrong (I swipe) and I have to correct it
Close the GMail app and lock the phone

There are 11 items in this list. I'm looking for something much shorter. Here's how I'm imagining it:
The good way

Unlock the phone
Tap the record button that's on a widget on my desktop
Say the message
Let go of the button
Lock the phone

The crucial part is that the message will be sent as an audio file to my email, so I'll notice it. (I don't want to have to check the app for it, I want it in my email.)
Is there an app that does that?

Please note that recommendations like Is there an app for X are off-topic here (see What topics can I ask about here? for details). For where your question might fit better, you might want to look into Where can I ask questions that aren't Android Enthusiast questions?. With the correct phrasing and details provided, you might try your luck at SR.

Try Blitz Note. I have developed it exactly for such cases.
It allows you to sketch an idea and instantly send it to your email.
If you cannot find it on Google Play, here is the shortcut: http://volidar.com/blitznote

Sorry, drawing is too slow.


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Making Android not respond to connecting headphones
My android (Galaxy sII, CM9) has this thing where if I connect/disconnect headphones (either audio jack or bluetooth) it responds to it. (Like turns the song on or off.) I use Poweramp for music.
The idea is great but the execution is horrible. It tends to just turn on random audio files in my phone that I don't want to hear, or just switch songs arbitrarily, lose the point in a podcast that I'm at so I have to reopen the file and find the point again, etc.
How do I cancel any and all Android responses to connecting or disconnecting headphones? I don't want my phone to do anything when I connect or disconnect headphones.

You can make this happen by going in poweramp settings->Headset/Bluetooth an uncheck
Pause On Headset Disconnect and Resume on wired Headset and that should be it


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Is it possible to change Android font in all apps?
Is it possible to change the Android font in all apps, including the keyboard? I have successfully changed the system font, but here and there I find odd fonts, such as in Flipboard and on my keyboard, Fleksy. I have a rooted Moto G running SlimKat.

Not sure about keyboard font but maybe you can change the font in apps. Check out this link - Custom fonts in apps. And also this link - Custom fonts in apps 2.
Link 2 is from external site.

Whilst this may theoretically answer the question, it would be preferable to include the essential parts of the answer here, and provide the link for reference. Otherwise, your answer becomes useless in case the link dies. For further hints, please see: How do I write a good answer.

@Izzy - Yeah but I don't want to write/copy/paste all the matter because it was a lengthy post.

I didn't write "copy-paste all", but include the essential parts, i.e. an abstract. Shouldn't be too hard for the second one, e.g.: "You can use the Xposed module PerAppFonts-with-link as described in {link-to-addictive}". Should the addictive page disappear, that leaves at least the link to PerAppsFonts (if that disappears, the solution is gone anyway ;)

Thank you for pointing out suggestions. I'll follow these instructions from my next post onwards ;)

Anytime! We're kind of family here, helping each other to improve :) So why not applying them here as well? You can always [edit] your post :)