text:
Bring the numpad (and wake up the screen) back in the middle of talk
Let's suppose you're talking to someone and need to use keypad.
You take the phone, it turns on the screen, you press something, then you're continuing listening it via the loud speaker.
Then at one moment android dims the screen and then finally turns it off.
Now you're stuck - you cannot press the power (not sure how to call that button) because it would terminate the call. And the screen is not responsive since it turned off.
So how do you deal with it?

Do you want to be able to use the power button to terminate the call?  If not, you should be able to disable that function in the accessibility settings.

@Compro01: I do want to leave the behaviour of power button as is.

What happens if you touch where the home button would be while the screen is off?

@Compro01: nothing - there is no hardware button and the screen is turned off

If you're not that concerned about additional power drawn by keeping the display on: you could use e.g. Tasker to keep the display always on when a certain app (here: dialer) is in foreground. I'm not sure whether there was a "call connected" trigger as well, so you could use even that.

@Izzy: so there is no built in way of doing that and everyone suffers from that?! :-S

No. I never suffer from that. But I never set my power button to end calls (which IMHO is not set so by default). If you use that, and have no other ways of waking the device – well, then there is no other way of waking the device. If you don't want to use a 3rd party app, you might wish to re-think if you really need to end calls using the power button. I don't know of any other solution – but that doesn't necessarily mean it doesn't exist; I might have missed something. Though in this case, I think that's unlikely.

@Izzy: "which IMHO is not set so by default" --- the thing is that I've heard about that option from you for the first time and I never changed it since I purchased Nexus 4 :-S Weird. I'm so used to using it already to finish the call :-(

Have you tried pressing the volume up or down buttons? If no others, your phone must at least have those two hardware buttons.

Yep, volume buttons change the volume, but don't bring the screen back to life


text:
Permission denied when trying to mount USB storage
I'm trying to mount USB storage using the "Terminal Emulator" app with the following commands:
mount -t vfat -o rw /dev/block/sd* /storage/usb1
or
su mount -t vfat -o rw /dev/block/sd* /storage/usb1
But I get a permission denied message.
I've tried different su binaries. One of them is:  http://e2e.ti.com/support/embedded/android/f/509/t/279726.aspx
The shell command which I'm using is working in adb, but I have to execute it within an app. Without permissions, I cannot do that.
So:

Is it possible to root this Android image (I'm using TI release for Beaglebone Black)?
OR, can I give permissions using chmod? If I can, which files should I give permission?
OR, is my approach wrong?

I finally found the solution. Yes ADB of Beaglebone is rooted but there isn't a SU binary. So I wasn't able to execute this code within my app:
Process proc = Runtime.getRuntime().exec("su mount -t vfat -o rw /dev/block/sd* /storage/usb1");

But I finally find a program to root Beaglebone Black and install a valid SU binary. You can download it here :
http://www.unlockroot.com/unlockroot.html
But be careful! It installs bunch of unwanted programs to your computer too. Once you install the program, connect your Beaglebone via USB. First you need to unroot Beaglebone. So open the program, you downloaded, and click UNROOT. It will take a couple of minutes. Then restart your Beaglebone and click ROOT from program. Then restart your Beaglebone again. And voila :D You have 100% rooted Beaglebone with a valid SU binary.
You can mount and unmount USB storages and copy files within your application . But You should do it like that :
Process proc = Runtime.getRuntime().exec("su", null, null);
OutputStream os = proc.getOutputStream();

os.write(("mount -t vfat -o rw /dev/block/sd* /storage/usb1;
           cp -R /myFile /storage/usb1").getBytes("ASCII"));
os.flush();
os.close();
proc.waitFor();

That site seems really, really sketchy - In your situation, it would probably be a better idea to try to install SuperSu or Superuser and see if one of those su binaries would work.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Rooted Galaxy Note 3 randomly restarting
My Galaxy Note 3 recently started rebooting at random times, and I'm not sure where to start looking for the problem. I could start uninstalling apps and seeing if the problem goes away, but the restarts are usually hours or even days apart.
Is there some sort system log I should check for errors around the time of the reboot? Or any other suggestions for debugging my issue?
I apologize for the very vague problem, I just really need some advice on where to start.

Trouble is the logs don't survive the restart. So it's hard to check them when you don't know what time the reboot happens. First questions would be what you changed last before this started, e.g. some settings, or some new app(s) installed.

You could start by telling us which ROM you are running. Also, try to remember what you were doing at the time. CPU intensive activities such as games can affect the crash.

Custom ROMS, especially 4.4 based are very prone to this issue. I had the same on GS4 but it was due to smokes packet pressing the power button of all things! We'd need to know what you are running on the device, especially firmware.

I'm using a rooted stock ROM, and I doubt it's to do with CPU intensive actions as it's hasn't happened (yet) while I'm actively using the device, just while it's idle. I guess I'm going to have to start uninstalling apps...

If you enable adb and have your device connected to a computer at the time of reboot, you could get the logcat entries you'd need to start finding where the source of the problem is. This tutorial can help you learn how to do that. Not the best, but definitely beats uninstalling apps one-by-one.

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


text:
where is the option to enable MTP?
So, I had the notification record to enable mtp/foto mounting option. It's now disappeared and I'm not able to find it in the settings page.
Can you tell me where is the option to enable MTP?
(I know it's a stupid question I really can't find it)

For Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) users: Marshmallow USB connection type

On Nexus 7 2013, Settings > Storage > Hamburger icon (top-right) > USB computer connection.

LOL "Hamburger menu"! Hungry? I always thought Android uses "sweets" to name things. But that one (for settings etc.) was usually called "gear". Did that change with the Nexus 2013? Can we expect more McDonalds Food items in the UI sooner or later?

@Izzy Honestly, I don't know what it's called, but some people call it a hamburger icon, because it looks like one. Haha.

The official name is the overflow icon, but "hamburger menu" has definitely become a popular name for it.

although I have to say I even didn't noticed it before @geffchang's answer

I never had the option that I could find; I had to dial *#7284# and then click the USB settings in the phone properties.

@Logos Which phone was that on?  I just tried out of curisosity and that doesn't work on my Nexus 4.

@MatthewRead: It was a Note II, running 4.2.2.  Doesn't seem to be working on Note III running 4.3.  There's an app that checks the manifest on your phone for what dialcodes are available.


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How can I create a state snapshot of my android device?
I had restored my Android device (Samsung Note2) to the factory settings.
i have now added all my favorits apps and customized my settings.
How can i create a "memoey image"/"state snapshot" to restore from in the future.
I have used Kies, but it backups everything besides installed apps and device settings.
In generagl it's not creating a perfect snapshot.

You should be able to use adb backup which is takes a complete backup of the phone.
You'll need to install the Android SDK but this should allow you to backup the whole device
Backup
There are a number of parameters you can supply but the simplest way to do a full backup is to run: adb backup -all -f C:\backup.ab
More info can be found on this xda post which although it uses a Galaxy Nexus it should apply to any 4.0+ device
Restore
With your device connected open your command prompt again, and type:
adb restore C:\backup20111230.ab

replacing 'C:\backup20111230.ab' with the location of your backup file.
You should see a screen like the one below:

Simply type in your current encryption password (if you've set one), and the password with which the backup was encrypted (if you chose to set a password), and the restore will begin. It again will take several minutes depending on the size of the backup and the options chosen.

will this include sound settings and so?

and then, how to restore?

I've added restore details. It should backup sound settings but I've not tried it myself so can't be sure.

These kind of snapshots are impossible without root access to the device. If that condition is met, simply follow-up to the backup tag-wiki, everything is described there already (watch out for "Nandroid"):
nandroid usually is integrated with custom recoveries (see also: recovery-menu). It creates images of all your device's partitions. As your device is not in "operative mode" when this is done, this results in a "consistent system snapshot" as you describe in your question. Those images can later be restored from within the very same recovery menu.


text:
I've rooted my Galaxy Nexus phone, but "/data/data" is empty
As a follow up question, I rooted my Galaxy Nexus phone using Kingo, but when I tried to explore my phone using an application like ASTRO, I found out that the /data/data directory is empty. Why is it empty? Am I missing something? Where are application data stored?

Does Astro request SuperUser (root) permissions? If not, it cannot look inside those directories. You need the so-called "root explorer" feature, offered e.g. by ES File Explorer.

@Izzy That should be it. Thank you! Please post your comment as an answer.

Done, with some additional background information. Enjoy!

To use "root powers", an app needs to explicitly request those from the system. To my knowledge, Astro File Manager does not include this feature, but e.g. ES File Explorer does.
For most of the newer/updated apps, you can tell that by their permissions: if those include android.permission.ACCESS_SUPERUSER, they request "root powers". Alas: as this permission is not "mandatory" yet, its missing does not necessarily mean an app will not request root access.
The feature you need is called "root explorer". Mentioned ES File Explorer offers this, but you may have to manually enable it in its settings. That done, it should show you everything in the file system.

I could also explore the /data/data directory using Terminal Emulator installed from F-Droid.

/data/data itself is accessible to all apps, some of its sub-directories as well. But the apps' data folders below are not. Also: if the terminal emulator displayed a # as prompt, you've been in root mode, and thus have been able to access everything. You could have reached that by entering the su command, terminal emulator itself must not necessarily do that itself. If the promt showed a $ instead, you've been in "user mode", and thus should only be able to see "open things".

You are right, before accessing the /data/data directory, I executed the su command.

Executing su in a terminal is "equivalent" to the terminal app requesting superuser, so that explains things :)


text:
What is CyanogenMod and how is it different from Android?
I have been listening a lot of chatter about CyanogenMod and it only seems to be growing louder by the day. But what exactly is CyanogenMod and how is it different from Android? If CyanogenMod is a fork of Android then how can it (aim to) become third major mobile ecosystem. Aren't they both same?
Also, how safe is CyanogenMod, in the sense, can I trust it with my Contacts, Google, Facebook, Twitter and social account information?
Some time back I read an interesting article on Ars Technica - Google’s iron grip on Android: Controlling open source by any means necessary - which details out how Google is creating closed source equivalents of Android Open Source Project (AOSP) apps for e.g. Search, Keyboard and so on. If that's the case will Google's proprietary apps be available on CyanogenMod?
The same article details out how Amazon's fork of Android is not Google approved and because of that it faces many issues. Is CyanogenMod Google approved?

I guess the best resource for you is the official CyanogenMod Wiki :
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Main_Page

CyanogenMod versus Android
To ask how CyanogenMod is different from Android is comparable to ask How is a cat different from an animal. CyanogenMod is an Android custom-rom. See:

our rom tag-wiki for what a ROM is
our custom-rom tag-wiki for details on Custom ROMs
our cyanogenmod tag-wiki for details on CyanogenMod

Quoting the latter, which quotes from the CyanogenMod website:

CyanogenMod is an aftermarket firmware for a number of cell phones based on the open-source Android operating system. It offers features not found in the official Android based firmwares of vendors of these cell phones.

As you're asking about Ecosystems: CyanogenMod meanwhile is a company. There might be multiple Ecosystems using the same resources. As will be shown below:
Google versus Android versus CyanogenMod
Android is not Google, and Google is not Android. Behind Android stands the AOSP team. So Android is Open source, which is why other groups like CyanogenMod can use it. The "iron grip" of your question doesn't go to Android itself, it's rather the additions Google puts on top, the so-called Google Apps (see: google-apps and its tag-wiki). Those apps are not open-source, but closed-source. CyanogenMod started shipping their own counter-parts for several of the Google-Apps (and features), and here you've got your ecosystem: Apps and Services.
CyanogenMod is not permitted to ship the Google-Apps with their ROMs, you have to install them manually (if you want them), or leave them out. There are many substitutes available, so you can use Android without Google:

Android OS without Google Services?
Can an Android phone run without Google?
Guide: How To Use Your Android Phone Without Google
Android Without Google – Discussion @XDA
Android without Google – How to do it

Can I trust X with my data?
Google earns its money with advertisements. If you can trust them with your data, IMHO you can trust CyanogenMod even more. If you don't want to trust either of them, there are alternatives such as OwnCloud, Funambol, and more, which you can use with any ROM, CyanogenMod included – setting up your own cloud, as one of the names suggests.
Concerning the google-play-store and "where to get my apps from": As with the other google-apps, custom ROMs are not permitted to bundle them with their distributions. But there are a lot of alternative and open-source markets, like F-Droid etc. (see our alternative-markets tag-wiki). There have been rumours about a CyanogenMod app market, but I must have missed that taking off.

If I am correctly interpreting your answer then there won't be Google Play available for CyanogenMod (just like for Amazon's fork). Right? If so, then is there CyanogenMod's own market place?

You're correct in so far as it doesn't come pre-installed. There were rumours about CM opening its own store, but I've lost track on what was really done. Now that they're a company, and all the "ecosystem stuff" you were mentioning, they might really come up with something like that.

I've updated my answer with details concerning your "market question".

CyanogenMod is a fork of AOSP (Android Open Source Project), more customisable and with many added niceties (see the Why page on CM's wiki for details).
One of the main advantages it that you're able to update phones for which its vendor stopped releasing updates. For instance, I have CyanogenMod 10.2, which is based on Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) on my Nexus S. Google only updated Android up to 4.1.2 for this phone.
When you install it you don't have the Google apps (like Maps, Hangouts, Search, etc) but you can install the "gapps" package which contains these apps.


text:
How to re-lock Android bootloader?
I've unlocked my Nexus 5 by using CF-Auto-Root. I want to undo my actions and return the device to its original state: unrooted and locked.
How can I do this?

You'll need to use fastboot, which is provided in the CF-Auto-Root zip file, and also available standalone and packaged with lots of other software. It's part of the Android SDK Tools / Platform Tools, which can be installed on Windows, OSX, or Linux.
Note: If you've installed a custom ROM or kernel on top of rooting, you'll want to flash the necessary stock versions from the Nexus 5 stock image with fastboot or possibly through TWRP/ClockWorkMod Recovery.
In order to re-lock the bootloader:

Reboot your phone to Bootloader Mode
Connect the USB Cable to your computer.
Open a Command Prompt (Terminal on Linux or OSX)
Navigate to the platform-tools directory inside the unzipped CF-Auto-Root directory.
Use the following command, depending on your OS.

Linux: ./fastboot-linux oem lock
OSX: ./fastboot-mac oem lock
Windows: fastboot-windows.exe oem lock

Would this process work for other phones or just the Nexus 5 due to it being 'unlockable'? (in my case SGS2).

@Scotty.NET It works for many phones, but I doubt it would work on the SGS2. One of Samsung's many modifications has been removing Fastboot and replacing it with Odin. Although some Samsung phones to have minimal Fastboot compatibility.

Quick update: for the newer versions of platform-tools, fastboot oem lock does not work. They have changed the command to fastboot flashing lock.

showing  and nothing happens. However I connected my device(moto g) via datacable.

@brijeshkumar you may need to run the fastboot command as root.

Mine is just stuck on waiting for fastboot command...

Will re-locking the bootloader wipe the phone data @dotVezz?

@AdamHurwitz - Yes, I believe that it will wipe the phone data.

On a rooted device, you can use BootUnlocker to re-lock the bootloader without using fastboot.  You can also use it to unlock the bootloader again without wiping data.  I use it to keep my bootloader locked most of the time, but unlock it prior to installing a system update or doing anything else that might require re-rooting via fastboot flash.

Currently unavailable for my Nexus 5X (running N from the latest OTA).

You can now do it direct online with Google via PC/Mac. https://flash.android.com/welcome

First of all there is no need to relock bootloader on a Nexus device as their specialty is that they have a unlocked bootloader by default. So maybe u can talk about unrooting.
Refer here : http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Nexus

The bootloader isn't unlocked by default. It's unlockable, but not unlocked. Beyond that, this doesn't seem particularly helpful. Relocking has its merits in terms if helping to keep your device secure, and the link to Wikipedia doesn't seem to address the question in any way at all.

@eldarerathis Actually the link is to Google Nexus so its written on the page "unlocked bootloader" so please do some research before commenting nonsense

And the bootloader is not" unlockable" its already unlocked.Every phone has an "unlockable" bootloader

From the Wikipedia page you linked, emphasis mine: "Devices in the Nexus series do not have manufacturer or wireless carrier modifications to Android (such as customs graphical user interfaces), and have an unlockable bootloader". Also, your assertion that all devices have unlockable bootloaders is just flat out incorrect. That's why it's one of the major specs listed (and a very attractive one for many) of the Nexus line, which is probably why the Wikipedia page points it out specifically. Did you read it? How does it answer the question about relocking the bootloader?

by the way if it was incorrect then why do all devices can unlock bootloader.....as for my Sony device there is a way on official Sony Developer website on how to unlock bootloader.

@coolhz - Many devices have an unlockable bootloader, but not all devices. In the case of Nexus phones, they do not come unlocked. I'm pretty sure eldarerathis has done his research - he's both a highly respected member of the community and a moderator.

Here is a brief sampling of devices with no official bootloader unlock: Droid Ultra, Droid Mini and Droid Maxx (unless you get the "Dev edition" Maxx). The HTC One on Verizon. The Galaxy S4 on AT&T and Verizon (an exploit was found, but there is no out of the box official method; you must rely on a bug in the lock).

And at this point, I think I've said all I really can, so I'm going to leave this be. You can continue to argue your points, but I'd suggest at least finding some sources that support you, aside from the single Wikipedia entry you seem to have either misread or misquoted. I tried to explain what was wrong in the answer as clearly as I could, and the voting seems to support me (as do the references I'm linking to), so I don't think there is anything more I can add.

thank you I understood your paint and do not wish to argue further. And I would like to tell you that I respect everybody here, even if I showed disrespect back there please consider my apologies.

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


text:
Are all Nexus 5 phones sold unlocked?
Are all Nexus 5 phones sold unlocked (i.e., not tied to a specific carrier)? If I buy a Nexus 5 from a store in Germany will I be able to use it in another country (Brazil)?

Yes, at this point. But, there's a talk about Sprint-locked Nexus 5.
Note: If you intend to use 4G LTE, then you need to check LTE market-compatibility, too. Other than that, you're good to use the phone in both countries.

Yes, currently. However this could change, the US carriers sometimes sell locked phones.
There is currently only one Nexus 5 variant, so you don't have to worry about LTE compatibility issues.


text:
Installing ADB Driver (Manually?)
I'm trying to install ADB drivers for my phone on Windows 8. Previously on Windows 7 I used a driver that is not supported on Win8 and also doesn't work.

Debugging option is set.
Version 4.0.4
Sharp 106SH

Now, I've found a newer driver with the description:

Connect the terminal to the PC using a USB cable.
The Android Composite ADB Interface is detected, and the driver installation
screen appears.
Select /usb_driver_SHARP/ for the driver storage location and install the driver.

My problem is that this dialog/screen never appears. Is it possible to make this dialog appear manually?

If the driver is not compatiple with Win8: have you tried Koush's Universal ADB driver?

@Izzy: Yes I have. Didn't work.

Try installing http://pdanet.co/ on your computer. It is bundled with drivers for nearly all phones. You can uninstall the software after installing it, just use it to obtain the drivers.

@BryanDenny: Thanks for the suggestion of this interesting app. But my phone is not supported and does not get recognized.


text:
How to keep screen OFF while charging (S3 and Note 2)
Don't know if all the Galaxy phones have this behaviour, but it sure is annoying.
I like to keep my phone plugged in until I need it, as there is no harm done. The battery won't get "overcharged" or anything, and I'll have 100% juice with me when I leave.
But both phones keep lighting up that they are done.
And it lights up the phone every few seconds, it's really, really annoying.
Is there a way to disable this behaviour?

Leaving it charge is actually bad for it. LiOn batteries do not like to be constantly topped up, also the tend to stay warm in this scenario and this is VERY bad for the device. Have you rooted? If so, you can turn this off with Wanam Xposed? http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries

@RossC: I thought li-ion stops at full charge. I left my older phones on juice too, same for my iPhone. The phone is not rooted (the wifi module is faulty, gotta love Samsung "quality".) So yeah. Waiting to return the phone third time (in weeks.) Other than that, I'll just get a ZeroLemon then.

even if it did, there's still the heat factor. Heat is a battery's worst enemy and leaving it charge for a long time has an inheret heating effect. It isn't terrible, but it definitely isn't the best. I've a few android devices and the 2 I used to charge overnight have a noticably worse battery life than the ones I just charge normally. The advice I've always been give is, don't let it run out fully, don't over charge it. The phones always tell you to plug in at 15% and to unplug when charged, usually for a reason!

@RossC: Xposed can disable this behaviour it turns out. | #Overcharge: There is no heat if you charge it up full, so I don't think leaving it on charger damages the battery. Heck, laptops have no issue that have been kept on AC for years.

I too have not figured out the intermittent screen turn on problem but will address one other issued mentioned.
Lithium ion  batteries have internal circuitry which shuts the charging down when the battery is at 100%. Unless the electronics are bad, you cannot overcharge them. Leaving them discharged for long periods CAN harm them. You can get roughly 300 to 500 recharges, its best to not run it all the way down, recharge often, when not using it, the charges are cumulative, so a 30% discharged battery is best charged then, not when it runs down.
This can easily be verified at manufacturers web sites. Ive learned this from years of being involved in electronics and seeing the evolution of rechargables

Try Battery 100% Alarm. It has an option for turning the screen off after 100% Battery Level Alarm rings.

Thanks. Will do. This is stupid though. "protect your phone battery". It will only drain if you play games on it, then indeed you damage your battery. Okay, waste a cycle in a few days with that. But otherwise, it will just stay on 100% and instead of damaging it, it will protect the battery. (Since, no charge cycle wasted while you have it on charger 24/7.)

Uncheck Settings->Accessory->Dock->Desktop Home Screen Display

It was unticked. Only Dock Sound was ticked. :/ The screen lights up, and then goes dark. After a while it lights up again. Then down. And this goes on and on and on. :/

The screen on my phone turns on when the battery is 100% charged... I would also like to be able to disable that feature but haven't found a method to yet.
Once I turn the screen off however, it does not come back on again while the battery is at 100%.  Presumably, if the phone went below 100% and/or started charging again it would go back up to 100% and the screen would turn on again, so something to check--if you use a charging cable instead of a dock--make sure the USB connector is not old or bad (i.e., intermittent).
If the USB connector doesn't make good contact then the phone's charging logic can be re-triggered and the screen will come back on.  You can see the effects of this yourself by plugging and unplugging the charger.  The display may come on briefly, turn off briefly, then turn back on again to say that it's fully charged, and a cheap USB cable that wears out can eventually cause this to happen repeatedly.
I don't think this is the issue you're having based on the symptoms described, but something to look at.  Another possibility would be a sub-standard charger and/or heavy processor usage on the phone that allows the battery to be charged but then discharged enough while it's still plugged in so that the phone thinks it needs to start charging again.  I'm not sure if that can actually happen or not, but if the phone thinks it's time to charge the battery again, and then it charges to 100% almost immediately, you will get another notification with the screen turning on.

According to Samsung when the battery is fully charged it will notify you, that's what turns the light on. It keeps notifying you, annoying, but Samsung says it is normal and that there "is no feature to turn it off at this time."
I did find a partial solution.

I turned the volume down on the notifications, I can live without them. It's better than hearing them at night.
I took a picture with the camera lens covered. This gives a black screen. I then set the home and lock screens to us this black photo. This eliminated the bright blue screen.
You can optionally turn the touch pad lights to not come on in settings, display touch pad lights. I can live without those as well.
Then you can optionally, turn the clock off for the lock screen or make it the smallest size. This all cuts the light down dramatically when you are fully charged.
I then just turn the phone over.

This all yields a half baked solution I can live with.

Go to Settings>>Developer Options (under System)>>Stay Awake (uncheck this)


text:
Can Android keyboards capture my passwords and send it across Internet?
I use SwiftKey on my phone. I also try out a lot of custom Android keyboards as and when they are released on Google Play.
I would like to know if custom keyboards available on Google Play can capture my passwords as I type and send it across Internet? Is there any mechanism built into Android that would stop them from doing that?

Of course a keyboard app can capture your passwords as you type them, along with everything else you type: naughty text messages, credit card numbers, web searches, everything. You couldn't have a mechanism to stop it, because in a sense, that's what it's for.
It can only send this or any other information across the internet if it has the appropriate permission, "full network access." Almost all apps use this permission, though, and a keyboard might want it in order to download new language files, or to show ads if it uses that revenue model. SwiftKey, for example, has a "cloud sync" service to let all your devices share the same training data. This can only work by transmitting words you've typed, and statistical data about text you type, across the internet to their servers.
Android warns you that this is the case every time you enable a third-party keyboard in the Language & input settings. Nexus devices show a dialog with the message:

This input method may be able to collect all the text that you type, including personal data like passwords and credit card numbers. It comes from the app Highway. Use this input method?

but as I mention in another question, manufacturers can replace the message (perhaps with one that's not entirely true) or disable it completely.

Android warns you that this is the case every time you activate a new keyboard. Actually I have never seen any sort of warning when I activate SwiftKey. Yes, while downloading it, it shows all the permissions this app requires.

@Naveen I've added more info about this warning to my answer.

So using HTC Sense Input is as risky as using SwiftKey (I have HTC One X)? And I guess same goes with Google keyboard?

There's no risk in using the keyboard that came with your phone. The manufacturer (or custom ROM author) has full control over all the software on your phone. If they want to read everything you type, they can do that whatever keyboard you use. If you don't trust the OS vendor, you can't trust the device at all.

Besides, a part neither of us mentioned: the "full network access" permission is not necessarily a requirement to send data I guess; an app could simply pass the upload job to the installed web browser via an intent, couldn't it? Not sure if that could be done "silently" (without the user noticing), though.

@Izzy That wouldn't be very secret.

Sure not. But the app could check for "display off" to do that. In any case: if that's possible at all, the app might have but a single try; still: the user would only note that when it's already done (iow: too late for him, but the cry would be as loud that nobody would miss it, and the app burned :)

Izzy, yes you could access a web service with the built in browser, and the web service to store the password, and I am not sure about this part, but after the process is over, you could redirect the user to Google for example, so when he unlocks his phone he will just see his browser open and that is all.

Theoretically yes: it's the nature of a keyboard to know all your key-presses. So if the app has the Internet permission, it could also send this to "some place".
For closed-source apps, it's difficult to check whether they do so or not (the only way doing that would be monitoring their network activity over a long time, best done on the router). With open-source apps, that's easier, as the code is freely available, and thus could be investigated directly.
A few years ago I would have said: if it's a reputable developer, you're on the safe side. With todays spying reports, it's hard to say... So if you want to be absolutely sure, there's no other way then using an open-source keyboard, grab the code, and compile it for yourself (← paranoid mode ;)

+1 for mentioning the relative merits of open-source & closed-source software. It's also worth noting that open-source isn't a guarantee in itself: you have to examine and understand the source carefully, or trust someone to do it for you. And for keyboards where uploading what you type is a feature, like SwiftKey, there's no guarantee at all!

If you want to be on the safe side, and have enough skills, you could also try decompiling the specific keyboard app, to see what it does exactly. Of course, I'm not saying anyone should do it, but there's the option to do so, and if you're afraid of your privacy, you'd definitely feel safer if you knew what exactly is transmitted to the certain keyboards developers' server.

Yes, ALL keyboards capture your input and there is no way guarantee that the data does not leave your device. If the keyboard is 'cloud-powered' then it is insecure by design since everything you type gets sent over the wire.
IMHO you should not trust GBoard (Google official) neither 3rd party keyboards unless their source is open and available for public auditing.
I would strongly recommend AnySoftKeyboard which is FOSS complaint offering "trust by transparency" as an alternative to belief.
http://anysoftkeyboard.github.io/

Use a keyboard which doesn't ask permissions for full network access. In this case you don't have to be worried about someone stealing your passwords.
You can see the full list of permissions in app list.

Such as?? Is there a third-party keyboard that neither asks nor takes permission to collect one's text data??


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What is custom URI handler in android?
I came across the term "Custom URI Handler" which is a bad practice in android security. Can anybody please tell what is custom URI handler? What are the security issues raised by custom URI handlers?

It'll be possible to give a much more useful explanation if you give a little more context about where you've seen the term and why you think it's a bad practice.

I don't know the context exactly. It is security perspective, the bad practices.       Is it custom a protocol like http?


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Using an external SDcard with KitKat?
On a Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play Edition running 4.4 and non-rooted (I'd prefer not to root a device used for professional development purposes)
Having stored some ebooks on my external SDcard, I decided that I wanted to add some audio as well (as my internal device storage is quite full.)
As far as I can tell not one app (nor adb) can perform any write operations to the external SDcard's root directory.
The one exception that I've found is that my ubuntu computer, can create and rename directories inside /storage/extSdCard/Android/data/ even though none of my apps can.
Is there a workaround for this that doesn't involve rooting the device?

As a root-required option: http://www.androidauthority.com/galaxy-s4-gpe-android-4-3-sd-card-fix-254960/ seems to be a pretty good discussion. I'm just hoping that's not the only solution.

Google has screwed up the KitKat API, apparently Google thinks there is a big security problem with external SD cards.  Apps will have to be changed to use a different API call, so expect that nothing will use external SD cards for a long long long time (small percentage of KitKat users and even smaller percentage of KitKat users with external SD cards).
There are a lot of people asking similar questions and some partial workarounds but nothing good.  Even Googles own Gallery app doesn't read the external SD card.

Maybe it's the WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission, which was not enforced in previous versions? True it would be embarassing if they enforced it now but forgot about this in their own apps. Also, I'm not sure this is the case, though it would make sense.


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Titanium backup : restore from Rootbox to a Samsung stock based rom
I was using Rootbox(based on AOSP/AOKP/PA) (4.2.2) for some time so i made a backup of all my apps+data (system+user) and now i changed rom and i went to a Samsung stock based rom (4.1.2) .What apps are safe to restore to my new rom because i am very confused?I tried google it and i found that system apps+data must not be restored but i am not sure yet.
and what about user apps , is it safe to restore my user apps + data without having issues ?
thanks in advance!
and sorry for my bad english ...

There are multiple things to be considered.
First, you're absolutely correct: you should avoid restoring system apps. There might be some exceptions (as e.g. SMS, contacts, calendars are maintained by system apps as well), but let's postpone that for now.
Second, user-apps should be safe to restore, including their data.
Third, just to be sure, before restoring anything on a different ROM/device, you should take some pre-cautions: Go to TiBu's settings, watch out for the "Troubleshooting" section, and enable "migration mode" as well as "use system SQLite" (this combination saved my day more than once). While in "normal mode" e.g. SQLite databases would be simply replaced (which might cause the "owning app" to crash if the structure had changed), with "migration mode" TiBu attempts to only merge the data.
Forth, with above precautions taken, you could carefully try to even restore some of the relevant data (SMS, WiFi APs, etc.). To be on the absolutely safe side, a dedicated backup app for SMS etc. would be the better idea; contacts e.g. could be synced via Google or exported to .vcf using the Contacts app itself, similarly calendars (sync or save to .ics using a 3rd party app).
Last, just in case and to be on the sfe side: Restore your apps/data one by one, and check for possible side-effects in between; continue with the resp. "next app" only when you're sure everything is fine. Once running into trouble, remember which app that was; then factory-reset and restore all up to where you got allright (in case it was a system-app) or simply uninstall the troublemaker (in case of an user-app), skip the "trouble app", and continue carefully with the next.

After-thoughts from the comments:

the above applies to system apps and user-apps (the "one-by-one" especially applies to system apps, as you cannot uninstall them it something fails; though in most cases it suffices to "delete data" for the affected app in Settings→Apps – if you still can go there, that is)
the above applies as well when restoring a backup on a different device (as basically, that can be called a "different ROM" as well, right?)
possible side-effects might include force-close-loops of the affected app, even on device start – which again would require a factory-reset if it was a system app (or a user-app which wants to start at boot). With some luck, a start in safe-mode is possible in those cases, and you might be able solving the issue from there.
example case for a failed restore (from my own experience): I once restored the SMS from a different ROM (didn't know about the migration option then). Results were I couldn't open the SMS app at all (force-close). Other apps accessing the same database crashed when trying to do so (e.g. contacts). "Delete data" didn't solve it back then, so I had to factory-reset.
worst cases (at least if you left out system apps themselves; their data is OK) are always solved by a factory-reset. Really worst-case (you restored some system apps and broke it) is solved by re-flashing the ROM.

Thank you very much , your advice was very useful.I have some questions though.First of all in the last paragraph says to restore apps one by one ,you mean the user apps right? Another question is if this guide works also in case i want to restore to another different device too because i noticed that you mentioned it in some points.

The one-by-one refers to both, especially data of system apps (which I would start with if you need those, as a fail here might require a factory-reset, if "delete data" doesn't solve the possible side-effects). And yes, this also applies to restore on a different device, which I also did this way a couple of times. // If this answers your question, please don't forget to mark it accordingly (e.g. click the check-mark next to it), so others can identify it such :)

ok,can i ask you a last thing?What are the possible side effects that may occur if an app don't be restored correctly ?I know that the app may crash but what else might happen except that,is there a possibility to face other difficult to find issues like slow app performance etc? I hope that was not a stupid question and also i hope i didnt waste a lot of time of yours but i need to clear up some things before do anything that lead me into trouble :)

Not at all. Nobody forces me to answer :) See the updated answer, I've included the facts we collected so far in the comments, as well as what you were asking for with your last comment.

authors: Татьяна Соколова


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How do wi-fi only Android devices synchronise time?
I'm having a problem with some Android tablets being unable to synchronise the time when connected to our wireless network. This is in a school and fairly heavily locked down, so it's probable that they are being blocked from accessing something that they need to in order to synchronise the time.
These are Wi-Fi only devices, so they can't set the time from a GSM provider or anything, meaning they must be using something else, presumably NTP. If it's NTP, how can I view/change the time server used?
The devices are Android 4.0.1. I'm not sure what make/model they are but will try and find out.

At the very least, This question on StackOverflow tells us that it does use NTP. However, it doesn't describe a method for a normal user to find or set the default server.

We confirmed with the device manufacturer that the devices use NTP to sync the time with pool.ntp.org. After a bit of research of my own, I discovered that NTP is configured in /system/etc/gps.conf. You have to be root to edit this file, but I was at least able to confirm that the information given to us was correct.
We have opened the firewall to traffic going to pool.ntp.org, and so far all of the devices have kept in sync, so it looks like this has worked as intended.
Thanks to http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1200089 for the info on the NTP config file.

dotVezz has already commented that NTP is used.
If so, then you can use ClockSync, which lets you set the NTP server. HOWEVER, you need to sync manually. Automatic sync is supported only with ROOTED devices.

ClockSync synchronizes device system clock with atomic time from
  Internet via NTP (Network Time Protocol). Useful if provider doesn't
  support NITZ, sends incorrect time or if your device/ROM has heavy
  clock drift. There are 2 modes: automatic for root users and assisted
  manual mode for users without root (rootless mode).

Unfortunately manually syncing the clocks isn't a suitable solution in this case. The devices are for use in a classroom and we need them to sync to the correct time automatically.

@toryan If you root the devices, it would be possible.

You can DNS override the pool.ntp.org entry in your corporate DNS infrastructure, and make that an alias/CNAME to your own internal NTP source/service.  That will allow the internally connected android devices to sync with NTP without modification of the device itself

That is an interesting suggestion, thankyou.

Could you explain more in detail how to do this?


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How to cut and paste on Sony XPeria Z1?
Assuming a healthy phone, what is the normal procedure for cutting and pasting from editable text fields on Android?
On my iPhone this pops up after selecting text, but I cannot even select the text on Android. The whole process is so intuitive on iOS I cannot even remember how I do it, it just happens naturally. On Android I can't work it out!
I'm mostly interested in version 4.2.2 and the multi-line plain text input used on the Wordpress app, though I have equal trouble with Notes and Chrome's address bar.
I want to occasionally move sentences around within a chunk of text, without duplicating them (so Copy is of limited interest, though I note it is equally difficult).
I have a Sony XPeria Z1.
NOTE: this question is about cutting, not copying. Thanks.

On Android, it's normally almost the exact same process as iOS. Long-press the text. drag the end-points, then click the Copy/Cut options. The only difference between Android and iOS is that on Android, the Copy/Cut buttons are on the top of the screen. Although it's possible that Samsung/Whoever has made the process different on their phones. Could you please [edit] your question and add information about which phone you have?

According to Sony, on their phones you double tap a word and some draggable gadgets will appear. Cut, copy etc appear at the top edge.

Wow. Changing from the OS standard long-tap to double-tap just makes things harder for no apparent reason. Good work, Sony.

Worse, they left the standard in place half the time. For Chrome (and probably others) both standards on one screen.

Android 4.2.2 already contains the advanced copy/cut/paste functions. Calling it up is intuitive too - just long press on a word, then use the field edge indicator gadgets to select the text you want to cut.

Then on top you will see some icons representing specific functions. There will be a copy one (Number 4 in the image above), a paste one (Number 5), and a cut icon too (Number 3).
Pasting works the same way, just long press where you want to paste, and press the button.

This answer is perfect, although "field edge indicator gadget" had me stumped for a moment. Is that the official name for the end-point things?

@dotVezz No, they're called text selection handles.

Thanks for the edit, yes, the official name evaded me a bit.
Also, the image seems to be from a non-AOSP ROM - on AOSP the icons are a bit different, and cut has definitely no scissor icon (on my phone, running CM10.2 it is as I described before).

The image is from the Sony website linked in Mr Gibbs's answer.


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How to define a custom sound for Whatsapp?
When receiving mails or a whatsapp message, the same sound notification is played. I want to be able to tell those events apart and would like to define custom sounds. How can I achieve this?
I really would like to avoid a third party application, or if there are no other ways, I prefer a paid app over one with advertisement.

Open WhatsApp, either press the ... overflow button in the top right corner of the screen, and select Settings, or press your phone's Menu button, and then select Settings.

Then select Notifications, which should be the bottom option on the list at the moment, and tap Notification Tone. This will let you browse to find another sound file to use for your WhatsApp notifications.

I tried the ... in chat view. The Settings option is only available in the Chats overview where all the contacts are listed.

@k0pernikus, the settings shown in the pictures are from chat overview.

I don't know what the views are called, but I got to there from the first screen that opens when you open WhatsApp, the one that lists all of your contacts with recent conversations.

The answer doesn't address how to use a 'custom' sound. You can pick from a predefined  list, but you can't choose your own. I want to know how to choose my own. I belong to 40 groups and the predefined list just doesn't cut it.

@EugenevanderMerwe I needed the "own" option today for my wife. Took some searching around but it can be done. See my answer below.

It seems to depend on your version of Android, and possibly on your version of WhatsApp. I am writing this in April 2020, running Android 6 and WhatsApp Version 2.20.108 on a very humble Wiko. I changed my phone to English (UK), but still your menus might be slightly differently called.
Open the WhatsApp Chats Tab and use the three-dot-menu (top-right) and then > Settings > Notifications > Messages.
When I tap on "Notification tone" I get a choice of "Media Storage" and one of my file explorer apps.
Media Storage is already an option
If you get "Media Storage" just navigate to your own custom sound file and you are done (you can use any MP3 file on your phone, as long as you know how to navigate to its location).
Only pre-set sounds are showing
If you only get a fixed choice of pre-set sounds, you need to "seed" that list first with your own custom sound:
For this you have to use the phone-settings (not the WhatsApp settings).
Pull-down the notification bar and use the gear-icon or any other way to open your Android phone settings. Then go > Sound & Notification > Default Notification Ringtone

Now, if you are lucky, you have a choice to use "Media Storage" to set your phone default notification ringtone. But if you see only a fixed list of tones (like in WhatsApp), you have to take yet another (non-intuitive) detour:
Go back only one step in the phone settings, instead of "notification ringtone", now choose "phone ringtone" and if you have two SIM cards, pick either of them. Now remember your present choice of phone ringtone, because we will use this location to "seed" the ringtones-list by changing your present ringtone (temporarily).
Even in a stubborn Samsung Android 9, when you tap to change your phone ringtone, it gives you a + icon (a plus in a circle) top-right on your screen: tap there and it will allow you to select your custom audio file.
I had to try this on my wife's phone, she is running Android 9 on a not-too-expensive Samsung phone. It worked for her, this was my reason to figure this answer out. So courage, it can be done, I just did it a few minutes ago on two different phones.

Back in WhatsApp
Once you have selected that, you can go back to WhatsApp and open the settings menu again, like I listed above. But this time your choice of notification sounds has grown one extra entry (possibly at the very bottom of your list, but might depend on the name of your sound file):
Now select your own custom sound file and your request is answered.
Remember to set your ring tone back (if you had to change it above)
Do not forget to go back to your phone settings and re-set your phone-ring-tone to what it was before this little hack.
I can only guess that things might look mildly different, depending on brands and versions. Stay loose, look around, that is what I did. I welcome people to edit this answer as time moves on, please mention the date of your edit and what Android and WhatsApp versions you have and your brand if it's rather non-mainstream.

I had similar problem as described above plus for some reason, one day, WhatsUp ringtone was set permanently on Phone's notification tone with no options to be changed. In this case, reset of notification to default in WhatsUp helps.


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How do I get my Nexus 5 to show up in the adb devices list?
I'm trying to connect my Nexus 5 to DDMS in Eclipse.
When I uncheck Debugger Mode on my Nexus 5, it is detected as MTP.
When I check Debugger Mode on my Nexus 5, it is detected as a USB device and can be ejected.
But it doesn't appear in the DDMS neither with adb -devices
How can I get it to show up in the DDMS?

Welcome to the Android Enthusiasts, Serge! We need some more details to answer your question, as solutions are different between operating systems. On Windows, you might need to install a specific driver (e.g. Koush's universal ADB driver), while on Linux you just need to enter a line in your config (see e.g. here).


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Does the NETWORK_PROVIDER permission require data?
If I have an app that checks my location using the NETWORK_PROVIDER permission, does that simple check use up any data? That is, will it use up any of my bandwidth on my paid data connection (3G, 4G, etc)?
With plans that have bandwidth limits, or plans that charge per MB used, I would like to know if an app with this particular permission (and no others) could use up some of my data allowance.

Have you checked in Settings→Data usage? There you can see which app used how much data. Apart from that, if not GPS, where should the location come from? I'd bet you don't have the complete cell tower and WiFi AP location list stored directly on your device. So unless there's a secret other method of transmitting coordinates from your network provider (or that database), it must be mobile data.


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What does error 923 when downloading apps from Google Play Store mean?
I've seen this error a few times just now, it seems to only occur when I install an app through the Google Play web interface. Haven't seen it when installing apps directly from my mobile device. Device is quite new and has more than enough free disk space.
Couldn't find anything on here yet about this specific error. After a retry it downloads without any problems, so while it is far from blocking, I do hope to get some insight on what is happening here.
StackExchange only lists error 923 as an AndroidRuntime(923) error, but I don't see how that can be the cause here.
Screenshot attached with error in Dutch.

Error - 'Game' could not be downloaded due to an error. (923)

It seems error 923 is related to the whole process of downloading, cache, storage, installation, etc. People get it most often in Google Play, but sometimes also outside of that.
Most suggestions how to fix this come down to:

Settings > Apps > Running > stop all (Google related) running services
Settings > Apps > All > Google Play Store > Clear data and Clear cache
Reboot phone, all should be fine now

Found quite some useful answers on the internet outside of StackExchange (it exists!), so answered my own question already. Suggestions/additions always welcomed. ;)

Now I cannot even use the Google Play :-(

It cannot load and shows a Retry button as if I am not connected to internet. I am connected !!

Didn't even have to restart the phone in my case.

I found this error occurs for me when I "push" from the website of Google Play Store to the phone. I always attribute it to the fact that my wireless is not constantly ON to the phone; it restores connection after returning from sleep. When I wake the phone after the push, I'll find the error, and the relevant app page in Google Play Store live, on the phone, ready to attempt the install again. Pressing the Install button again is successful.
[UPDATE 2015/01/02] This happened again TODAY at the airport where the wifi was POOR. Another vote for wifi-related failure. Didn't even require a reboot; the update occurred normally when connected to the home wifi.

Yup, this is exactly the case as I experienced and described it. :) After some online research I saw that people seem to get it in some other cases too, although that didn't happen to me.

I got this same error because my WiFi disconnects when my phone goes to "sleep" but when I brought the phone out of sleep mode and re-downloaded, everything was fine. Just don't let your phone go to sleep.

It is just lack of storage.
the only thing that makes any sense to solve this error on the accepted answer is the clear cache step.


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Phone returns after a few seconds to main menu
Whatever I chose to do on my Android smartphone, after a few seconds it exits the application or option by itself and returns to the main screen. Any idea what could be causing this?
It is a BML GT-N7100 (SKU MH0693W) with Android 4.1.1

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts! We're excited to have you here, but we'll need more information to help you. Could you please [edit] your question and add information like which phone you use, which Android version you have, how long you've had the problem, etc?

If your phone has hard keys, it could be that the home or back key is stuck, making the phone think you're pressing it repeatedly. If this is the case, you'll need to get the phone seen to by a technician.

No hard key, the "back" key is as well touch-sensitive.


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Android OS uses a lot of data in background, how to turn auto system update check off?
I have a nexus 5 with Android 4.4. If i look at data usage, it shows that Android OS is using a couple of megabytes per day. I tried disabling sync and backup but it didn't help. What could be causing the background data usage? One thing that I could think of is automatic system update check, but there seems to be no way to turn it off.
What could be the cause of the data usage and can I fix it without rooting?

I doubt that the update check is causing this. It's just a few bytes every 24h (if you don't manually trigger it all the time).

Found out that the issue is not persisting on nexus 4 and only in nexus 5.(Thats very strange.)
Temporary Solution until Google fixes this. Just root your phone and freeze Android System Update.
That will fix the mysterious data consumption issue.

You could try going to Settings→Data usage, define a global limit (can be imaginary, e.g. 5 GB), and then scroll to "suspect apps": open their entries, scroll down, and check "limit background data". Then those wouldn't use background data while on mobile data, while working as usual when on WiFi or in foreground. That's what I did with e.g. Google Play (to keep it from always checking for updates in background) about half a year ago. No side-effects seen yet.
For details, please see my answer here. You might also want to check What won't function properly on device if I disable background data usage for google play store?
Other related questions include:

“Restrict Background data” with Jelly Bean on tf300t ASUS tablet
Selectively block 3g access to certain apps
How do I enable Mobile Data only for select apps on a rooted phone?
Preventing mobile data use for select apps on non-rooted phone?

And probably several more.

Thanks for the answer, but the updaten 'limit background data' is not available for 'Android OS'.

"Android OS" is in many cases just a "collector" in the stats. Try for Google Play, to start with, then carefully check with Google Play Services (watch out for side-effects, I didn't test with that) and other apps one by one. With some luck you can identify the culprit that way.

I did try that, but it didn't solve the problem. I think the culprit is the auto system update check. Every time i navigate to 'Settings->About phone->systemupdates' It shows that the last update check was less than 10 minutes ago. Basically, it checks for updates every 5 minute or so. Most likely this is the cause of background data usage. The problem is that there seems to be no way to disable it.

Can you check if there's a process called "fota" or similar? Reminds me of some custom ROMs which ship a fotakill along to silence that. You can find out more about fotakill e.g. at this XDA thread.

I looked under apps->downloaden/currently running(cashed processes & Acive Services)/all but couldn't find anything called fota.

I just perform a factory reset, maybe that helps.

Worth a try. As for the process: It probably doesn't show up in "running apps". But you could use an app like OS Monitor, or a terminal app and the ps command, to list up all processes.

This is due to Google Backup.Switch Google Backup off and your problem will be solved.Follow these steps-

Open Photos App.
From options select Settings.
Select Auto Backup and Switch it off.

Go to settings, scroll down to accounts, click your Google account(s), and turn off all the syncs.


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Can't make gallery photos lock screen wallpaper (Samsung S2)
I have a Samsung S2 and until recently changing the lock screen was fine, however suddenly (potentially after apps were synced), I am unable to change my lock screen using a gallery photo, using both the change lockscreen prompt through Gallery itself, from holding down the homescreen as well as through the Settings. I am only able to change it to one of the factory Wallpapers.
Changing the home screen is fine, and as far as I know my only third-party editing app is TwCrop, which I got to try and fix the problem (it didn't).

Related, if not identical: Can't make gallery photos lock screen wallpaper (Samsung S3). Hm, is the number following the "S" a counter? Cannot find the question for "S1"...

It is the same problem, however I was unable to comment on that post so had to make a new one. How do you mean 'counter' sorry?

Try to use the answer in the link Izzy shared. If it helps, upvote it.

Are you using the stock, pre-installed launcher (TouchWiz)?

@Justine "counter" was rather kidding. Comparing the title of the two questions, the only difference is yours ends with "Samsung S2", and the other with "Samsung S3". Like a count-down, so I was waiting for "Samsung S1". But instead we got the Galaxy S3 mini – well, in a way also a "smaller number" ;)

Thanks for the replies. I attempted to use the answer in Izzy's link but I am unable to set a common wallpaper, through settings, and I do not have any third-party app's installed, as far as I am aware. @Ivan- I assume I am as I am not tech savvy enough to have ever changed it :) Unsure how to know for sure though.

@Izzy- thanks for the explanation, I get it now :)


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Is it possible to turn off radio without turning of wifi on Lenovo k900?
I am currently having a look at the power consumption of a lenovo k900 phone and on the hardware side it seems Radio and Screen is using most of the power.
I am planning to use wifi but not the radio. Are they disconnected ? If so, can I use just the wifi, but no radio/telephony ? Are the settings or commands/intents to access these settings ?
Thanks!


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How to create a hardware shortcuts in Android 4.3?
I have Samsung Galaxy S4 GT-i9500 running the latest firmware with Android 4.3.
I want to create "hardware shortcuts".
For example, if I hold volume up and home at the same time, then it'll open an application that I set, for example "Firefox".
As a Linux user, I know it's possible in Fedora and Ubuntu.
Is it possible with Android? My device has not been rooted.

The question is similar to How to assign a hardware button to camera?

From the description, it seems like Button Savior Non Root can do this (and Button Savior (Root) even more). I didn't try it, and the description is slightly unclear whether it only emulates hardware keys using a floating menu, or you can re-map hardware keys; so your feedback is welcome if you try it.
Alternatively, the XDA developers offer an app called ButtonRemapper. While this explicitly states Tool to remap the hardware buttons, it requires root.
Last partly alternative I can name is tasker. Here I know for sure you can remap at least the camera button. Not sure about others.

Button Savior can only emulate hardware buttons by creating a kind of auto hide dock on the right side of the screen from where you can select a function like phone, camera, etc.

With Tasker I found that you can only reconfigure the Camera key. You can not bind actions to combinations like Volume Up+Home.

With ButtonRemapper (ROOT) you can redefine what the hardware buttons do but you still can't configure button combinations like the OP asked.

Ah – thanks for the feedback. Wasn't sure about Button Saviour (note to self: remember). As for Tasker: OK, so that didn't change. I had hoped it was added meanwhile, as often requested. Not specifically for combos, but at least for "more keys". That leaves only the "root needed" variant of ButtonRemapper – unless someone comes up with a way to "capture the key events" in another way. // I took the combination just as an example; but you may be right with that. I still will leave my answer, might be useful for others at least (I hope).

I too feel that Tasker should provide more key options but we can come close using AutoInput now. I came very close if not emulated perfectly here: How to create a hardware shortcuts in Android 4.3? :D

You could try HomeSmack or Home2 Shortcut. These apps can remap the functionality of the home button to any app. With the second you can also set up combinations like Home key followed by Search key, Back key, etc. to launch an app.

My almost exact answer was originally posted for the question Bind action to hardware key combination.

I've come close but I still can't launch an action at the same time when two keys are pressed in combination like the way we do for taking a screenshot. Anyhow, you would need:

AutoInput (for Android 4.3 and above) with Tasker, both are/have paid/7-day full trial, or
Xposed Additions (needs root access) with Tasker  to make key combination(s).

The inconvenience in this solution is that unlike pressing both keys at the same time you would have to do it in sequence. That is, press/hold Vol Up followed by Power button. The timing between these key-presses is flexible.
Single key-press
Use AutoInput with Tasker if you want to launch your action with single  key presses combination i.e. only press a key one time but don't want to long-press the keys.

In Tasker create an Event based profile from Plugin →  AutoInput →  Key → Configuration:

Keys: Volume Up
Key Action: Key Down

Create a task in it named "AutoInput Volume Up" and create following actions in it:

Variable → Variable Set:

Name: %Kset
To: 1

Task → Wait → Seconds: 1
Variable → Variable Set:

Name: %Kset
To: 0

Explanation: When the single Vol Up press is detected the custom variable %Kset would be initialized to a custom value 1 and then we would wait for one second (under this one second you would've to press the Power key). We're then initializing the variable to 0 because our solution demands it, otherwise, our main task of capturing a photo would be executed just by  a single press of Power key.
Repeat step 1 but select Power key instead of Volume Up key.
Create a task in it named "AutoInput Power" and create following actions in it:

Task → If → Condition: %Kset eq 1
Plugin → AutoInput  → Modes:

Configuration:

Key Suppress: Enable
Keys: Power

Timeout: None

Optional action -- Alert → Flash → Text: Commencing launch
App → Launch App → Firefox**.
Repeat sub-step 2 of step 4 but do Key Suppress: Disable.
Optional action -- Task → Else.
Optional action -- Alert → Flash → Text: Psst: You're too late Jim!

Explanation:

In our first action we are checking whether the variable %Kset is set to 1 and if yes then the second action would block Power button press from getting passed to system since normally Power key-press would put the device to sleep and lock the screen.
Optionally flash a custom toast signalling that combination was successful.
Tasker would launch the Firefox or the chosen app successfully.
Disable Power key suppress since otherwise, you would never be able to use that button normally, as long as key suppress is not explicitly disabled  or AutoInput's accessibility is running.
Else statement is optional but could come handy since in the beginning your consecutive key-presses may not be in coordination so the custom toast in next action would hint you that the combination wasn't successful.

That's it. Go to Home screen or to any non-Tasker app, press the Vol Up key and then the Power key under a time period of one second (don't worry, you would get a hang of it, or else, change the wait period) and you would see Tasker opening its custom interface, a picture would be captured automatically and you would be taken back to what you're originally doing.
Hurray!

Long key-press
Some people may not like single pressing both the keys since they are not habitual or may feel odd to use them in that coordination. In that case, provided that you've root access and Xposed Framework installed, you can use Xposed Additions to set long key-press actions for your keys.
For custom action to be set to those keys we would need Tasker. Create the two tasks named "AutoInput Volume Up" and "AutoInput Power" explicitly in Tasker, only if you didn't follow Single key-press section.

In that app go to Button → set Long press delay time → Add new key → tap Vol Up key → select the new key entry.
Tap Add new Condition  → Screen On → → select the new entry → check Long Press and tap on that entry  → scroll down to Shortcut → Task Shortcut → AutoInput Volume Up.
Repeat step 1 but do it for Power key.
Repeat step 2 but select AutoInput Power under Task Shortcut.

Whenever Xposed Additions is enabled and activated in Xposed Framework, on any long-press of a button/key set under that app, you would feel a slight vibration. That vibration would help immensely to know when to release the first key and long-press the other key.
Try it because it's fun.


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Email content Only Showing 2 lines Since Kitkat 4.4 Update
Since the Kitkat update to my partners Nexus 4 the default email client only shows the first 2 lines of any email message. Also that text is shown above the email header which seems a bit weird.
It worked fine before the update with the default email client & we could see the entire text.
How do I fix this?
Edit: I have tried clearing the cache and the data but this does not fix the issue.

I've tried to reproduce the error in my Nexus 4 with the default email app (IMAP) but I cannot. I can see all emails correctly with all its content (for example the Android Enthusiasts Weekly Newsletter). Can you attach screen captures of the problem?


text:
Make Gmail default for new contact instead of AT&T Address Book
My wife chose AT&T Address Book as the default for her contact storage on her new Motorola Moto-X. I want to change it so that by default her contacts store in Gmail instead of AT&T Address book. I cannot figure out how to switch it. It's Android 4.2.2. Thanks

On phonebook settings, mark to show only Google contacts. Unselect SIM card, phone, and other stuff. Now, the default options will be Google.

Thank you for your suggestion. There aren't options available as you describe on my wife's AT&T Moto-x

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


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Call recording problem
I use a Samsungs Galaxy Star Pro GT-S7262 with Jelly Bean 4.1.2. I have installed quite a few call recorder apps from Google Play and though they are recording all the calls, whenever I play back the recordings it sounds like everything has been recorded in fast forward mode (or is playing as such).
It is happening with all the call recorder apps I have installed. What could be the problem and how can I resolve it as everything sounds jumbled and indecipherable

Some phones just can't support call recording because of how the hardware is designed. If you've tried several apps, and none of them work correctly, that is probably the case here.

While one should not expect audio recording to work, in this case it sounds like it basically is working, as the reported problem is quite minor and easily corrected.

I have the same problem and also installed many callrecoders, but all gave the same problem. I downloaded the audio files from my phone and loaded them into a sound editor (i.e. sony soundforge). I played the file 5.5 times slower and noticed that they played well, I could understand the conversation perfectly.
So it seems that all is recorded only played back 5.5 times too fast. This is a problem which can not be corrected within the phone.
My advice: download all audio files to a computer, convert and save them with the new speed. They will work fine!

Good investigation, however it's unclear why you believe this cannot be corrected within the phone.  It would be trivial to write an audio player which makes the same change.  Likely, what is actually happening is a confusion between 8 KSPS and 44.1 KSPS (your ~5.5 ratio) and all that needs to happen is to change the sample rate field in the files.

What I meant was that I have not come across any call recorder software or any option within the android OS to adjust the sample rate so far.
Looks like a business opportunity for an app developer!

I discovered that on my Samsumg GT-S5282, call recording apps will always record my files exactly 83.097% faster than the files should be.
As a workaround, I use Audacity on my PC to normalize the audio after recording. I change the Audio Speed by -83.097% and then change the Pitch by -4%, then export it as a .wav file. This fixes the audio so that it will sound normal when played back.


text:
Battery Boost?Drain?
I recently updated my Note 2 to 4.3 and it has been working quite well. But today in the train I was using it and the battery level drained to 20%, Since the battery was low, I switched it off and came home. When I put it on charge and turned it on- the battery level said 67%. How come it got such a boost? When I took it to work today, it had only about 56%
and I come home with 20 and all of a sudden its 67%
How?

Are you rooted? It may be down to the battery being incorrectly calibrated.

This is  a sign that you overuse your battery,frequently leaving your apps on....your battery is damaged and might need to be replaced...but till you can do that...you can always:
1.avoid charging overnight
2.use the correct charger
3.if you aren't using your data or wifi turn it off,to preserve battery life

Oh. That would mean all my batteries must be long dead, and a ghost is working my devices: I 1) always charge them overnight, 2) rarely use the original charger (but simply take what's on-hand), and 3) never care about turning data off (except for "silent hours", where I send my devices to airplane mode). Also: How do you turn your apps off? Never heard about such requirements, sorry. That leaves a possible faulty battery, which I agree might be the cause.

you can use clean master to monitor all your apps and know the various apps consuming battery with du battery

Yes, that's true. The stock settings also offer you means to find "big consumers". But that doesn't answer the question. OP is asking for an explanation of those "percentage jumps", not which app consumed how much battery. I've also never heard of "battery overusage", or that high load causes the described symptoms. No offense meant, but only "your battery might be damaged and need a replacement" could count as a partly answer to the question, and as assumption would better be a comment. Of course, that's only my opinion (unless upvoted ;)


text:
Securing power off menu options when phone screen is locked or customizing power-off menu options?
I am using Google Nexus 5 with stock 4.4 KitKat.
When the phone is in locked state (locked with a standard PIN code, password or pattern) and we long press power button, we get the power-off menu with options like Power-Off, Flight mode and Sound options (Mute, Vibrate and Sound)
I was wondering that whether we could secure/disable the power-off and flight mode option if the phone is locked state or is there any way to customize these menu options?
I looked in one of such question but didn't get the answer:
Disable power-off menu when screen is locked

Use this app. It does exactly what you want : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nezdroid.lockscreenprotector

This app did work but it flickers while popping up the power menu. Was just looking for any other app which serves the purpose but was not able to find. Hence, marking this as answer.

The app mentioned by Vishal is not working with Kitkat 4.4.4. I'm using a module for the Xposed Framework mentioned on this XDA thread, where you can download it from the attachment.


text:
Why my nexus 5 is not getting on air update for Android 4.4.2
In India there are some Nexus 4 which got updates for Android 4.4.2 but my Nexus 5 is not even updated to 4.4.1, Who can let me know how this OTA works with Google?

The roll-out for all (or at least most) OTA updates is staged in case there is an issue which has not been noticed. The 4.4.2 update seems to be being rolled out quicker than the 4.4.1 update, but it won't be available to all devices at the same time. You should receive the update in a few days.
This post by an android engineer explains the process a bit better but i've extracted some of their post here:

Morrill mentioned how they “typically” begin with 1 percent of devices
  for the first day or two. This small batch is sent out and Google then
  watches for “return rates and resulting device checkins and error
  reports.”
Assuming the initial 1 percent rollout goes according to plan, the
  process then expands. Again, the word typically was used. But in this
  case Morrill said the updates then go to 25 percent, 50 percent and
  100 percent “over the course of a week or two.”

I think you intended for "this post" to be a link, but there isn't one. It would be useful for people who are interested in which devices get the update, especially given that the same post explains why mashing "check for updates" doesn't make any difference.

I've added the link to the original Reddit post.


text:
How to rename files by batch?
I use OI file manager, but I would like to know if there is a way to remove spaces from file names and replace them with underscores, preferably in batch mode?
I would even be willing to perform this operation on my windows laptop, so this isn't specifically an Android question, though I'd prefer to do this on my phone. I'm a graphic artist and I have thousands of inconsistently named images in various places, and I'd really like to avoid doing this manually, one by one, as it would take months!

You may want to look at this question on StackOverflow; you can do this on Windows with a simple batch. Alternatively, there are a lot of bulk rename programs for Windows.

This is certainly possible with tasker, though I cannot give you the "complete recipe". Basically, you could create a task like this:

Execute Command: ls -1 /path/to/your/files, and capture the output into a variable
the command will list all files in the given directory, one file per line
Work on the variable. There are possibilities to convert it into an array, so you can use a for loop to handle each file
again with variables, you can setup the rename command (e.g. using Variable Search Replace) in a new variable. Pseudo-Code: mv "$old_name" "$(s/ /_/,$old_name)"

But it is much easier to use a simple shell script in some terminal app (or via adb shell) to achieve the same:
cd /path/to/your/files
for file in $(ls -1); do mv "$file" "$(echo $file|sed 's/ /_/g')"; done


text:
Shuffle YouTube playlist with Android and Chromecast
I'm using a Chromecast, controlled by the YouTube app on a Nexus 7 running Android 4.4. I can select a playlist and it will add all of the videos to my TV Queue, but I can find no option to play in shuffle mode or to randomize the video order.
Am I missing something, or is there a reason that this feature does not exist?

The feature possibly doesn't exist only on playlists with over 200 songs.


text:
How do I make my Nexus 5 work with ADB on my Windows 7 desktop?
I am attempting to develop on the Nexus 5 using the Android SDK on eclipse.
I'm developing on Windows 7, have the Helios version of Eclipse, and have kept my SDK up to date. I have previously been developing on a Samsung Galaxy S2 fine - but now the SDK is having trouble detecting the Nexus 5.
I have developer options, usb debugging, and third party apk's all enabled on the phone. When connecting the phone it appears as an eject-able USB device, appears as "Nexus 5" under Unspecified in devices and printers, and appears as "Android Composite ADB Interface" under "SAMSUNG Android Phone" in device manager.
I have tried uninstalling the usb drivers I was using with the galaxy (including kies - its additional software) and then reinstalling drivers through the SDK manager, I have tried modifying the drivers as suggested here https://stackoverflow.com/questions/19838016/what-usb-driver-should-we-use-for-the-nexus-5 and I have tried to install the generic driver here: http://adbdriver.com/downloads/ (but this failed as it could not find the nexus 5 as a connected android device). I've also tried simple things such as restarting eclipse, the phone, and my machine, and trying different USB ports. None of this has helped, I am unable to browse the nexus 5 as removable storage and when running projects in eclipse it does not appear as a running android device.
Any help would be much appreciated.

Does the Nexus 5 think it's plugged in? Do you get the "Connected as a media device" and "USB debugging connected" notifications?

Yes - I get both of those notifications.
Its also worth noting the machine also picks up the Nexus 5 in a sense - as I mention above it appears in both the device manager and under printers and devices in the control panel. However it does not appear to be properly detected as a connected android device as it does not appear in the SDK's run dialogue nor as a browse-able storage under Removable Storage.

Figured it out myself. While I had uninstalled the previous drivers through the control panel, and uninstalled through the device manager what I needed to do was uninstall through the device manager and check the delete check box before reinstalling. All works fine now.

Please post that as an answer, and accept it so that other visitors can see what the solution was.

Figured it out myself. While I had uninstalled the previous drivers through the control panel, and uninstalled through the device manager what I needed to do was uninstall through the device manager and check the delete check box before reinstalling. All works fine now.


text:
Nexus 7 refuses to pair with in car audio?
I have a Nexus 7 running Android 4.4 and an in car stereo unit (Alpine CDE-178BT). I have enabled bluetooth on both devices but they refuse to pair with each other.
If I attempt to initiate the pairing using the Nexus 7, it starts connecting, I am prompted to allow the device to pair on the Alpine unit, but upon allowing the pairing to take place on the Alpine unit, the device drops into the "paired" list on the Nexus 7 but doesn't connect. Subsequent attempts to connect by tapping on the car stereo in the bluetooth paired devices list on the Nexus 7 resumes in a momentary attempt to connect and then the entry resetting back to its "paired but not doing anything" state.
If I attempt to initiate the pairing using the Alpine CDE-178BT, after making the Nexus 7 temporarily visible and searching for bluetooth devices using the Alpine unit, I see an entry for the Nexus 7 but any attempt to pair with it just results in a generic "Failed" message on the car stereo.
The car stereo works fine for connecting to an iPhone/iPad/other iOS device and older (pre version 4) Android devices, it is just Android devices running a more recent version of Android that it experiences issues with.
What steps can I take to attempt to resolve this issue?

I dont know which nexus 7 Gen you are using, but IMO there must be an incompatibility between the tablet's and car's bluetooth technology.

This hardly helps the OP does it?


text:
Android 4.4 OTA system update hangs on Nexus 7 (2013)
I got a Nexus 7 (2013) with Android 4.3. Some time ago the system reported that system update to 4.4 is available, but I did not install it because I use the device for developement and wanted to finish development cycle under 4.3. All this time notification bar was displaying an icon for the update. As far as I can remember the message was that the update is downloaded and ready to install.
Today I noticed that the icon disappeared. I opened system settings and then About tablet ->  System updates. On the screen there is the message:
Android 4.4.2
System Update
Downloading 253.2MB
Via Wi-Fi only until Dec 14

The problem is that the progress indicator is frozen at something about 10%.
The questions are:

Does someone know if the 4.4.2 is a cumulative update including initial 4.4 release, and if it's not - how can I "tell" the system to install 4.4 first?
How can I nudge the downloading and installation process? I already switched the device off and on, and this did not help. I'd prefer to make the update via Wi-Fi.

The issue is solved. AFAICU, there was possibly a problem with Android update hosting site or somewhere on a trace to it, because the device was connected to and was capable of browsing Internet without a problem, including google.com. After some time, even without updating the progress indicator, the device displayed Install & Reboot button. After this all goes well. So, the answers are:

Android provides cumulative update to 4.4.2, at least for Nexus 7 (2013).
Android should improve the way how it shows status information. If it encounters some problems with downloading an update, it should output something like "Connection timeout, trying to reconnect..." instead of just "Downloading" all the time. Also the progress indicator may have a bug preventing it from proper UI update in similar sitations.


text:
Nonstop push notifications on recently updated Samsung Galaxy S3
My phone received and installed an OTA update this weekend, to Android version 4.3
Now everytime my phone connects to the internet or I go to use the internet, I get this large list of push notifications, of email attachments from my Microsoft Exchange email account, that have never even been downloaded.
I checked the options in the exchange options, and the option to download attachments when connected to wi-fi isn't checked (i've also checked and unchecked it). I also turned off the email notifications for the account, but still get the notifications of the downloaded attachments (even though they are not actually downloading, because you can't even open them).

Screenshot (click to enlarge)

Had same problem.  Download manager seems to be the issue if you have that installed.  But just click on one of the notifications, you will see App Info.  Click on that and then unclick show notifications.
It should go away.

Just disable notifications in Play Store.
Open Play Store -> look for the three dot ᐧᐧᐧ menu -> Settings -> Uncheck Notifications

This happened to me as well, but seemingly fixed it.

Turn off wi-fi temporarily. Only seems to happen to me while connected to wifi (possibly because my email app settings are set to only download when connected to wifi).
Go to apps list and find an app called "Downloads".
Choose the "Other downloads" tab.
Check the boxes for most/all items and click delete.
Click the down arrow called "Older" and check all remaining items and click delete.
Turn wi-fi back on.

I went into the Download Manager app and once it opened went to the right where it says "Other Downloads" and deleted them all and I rebooted the phone and it seemed to work ok. I havent noticed them coming back or any other issues by doing this as of yet.

Here's what I did with that same problem.

Settings
More tab
Application manager
Scroll right to all
Select download manager
Force stop, and then clear data and cache
Reboot

I turned off the sync and turned it back on and the notifications went away.


text:
Nexus 4 verification failed error on Update Android 4.4 KitKat
I successfully downloaded Android 4.4 KitKat (see screen shot):

And after downloading do not appear "restart/install" button, appear "Verification failed" error  (see screen shot):

(click the images for larger variants)
If I click "Check now" button it begin redownload update Android 4.4 kitkat again.
Does anybody know where the problem is, and how it could be solved?

Few people have experienced the same issue over at XDA and Android Central. It generally works after a day or two (couple of them reported at xda). If you really want the update, sideload the update. It is easier to sideload the update (no need to unlock bootloader).

Is your Nexus 4 100% stock? (i.e. no Xposed module changes, or low-level tweaks like status bar mods and DPI changes).
Verification will fail if the system files on your device don't match factory/the expected ones. I had this happen to me several times with both my N4 and N5. Reverting the changes I made (thankfully, they weren't too many) fixed it.

Thanks @Infinitesimus you are right, but in my situation the other problem was, when goes verification was slow internet speed then appear fail message. Then I connected my device to stable high speed internet and problem disappeared.

You can use the Nexus Factory Images to upgrade your phone to Android 4.4 (now 4.4.2). To do this have a look at this question.


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Haptic feedback on samsung galaxy s3 mini
I have recently bought a Samsung galaxy s3 mini and there is no haptic feedback on my soft buttons or typing a message, there is only a vibration key press on my lock screen. I have tryed going into settings, language and input, keyboard setting but there is no vibration on key press option in any of the settings I have looked through. Can someone help me please?

Haptic feedback is still there. Go to Settings > My Device > Sound and it should be around the bottom of the options. It is labled haptic-feedback
Your keyboard should have its own option, but it depends on the particular keyboard.
Samsung Keyboard: Click on the 'cog' icon beside the space bar.  Click 'Vibration'.
SwiftKey: Settings > Sound & Vibration > Keypress Vibration.

When you want to type, there is the option "choose input method", that comes on the crossbar. Click it, then click "setup input method", then click the "Settings" on the Samsung keypad. Then scroll down to the "advanced options". Click it, then disable key tap sound. That is easy.


text:
Send SMS instead of MMS when texting multiple people
When I put more than one person as the recipient to my message my Samsung Galaxy S3 vibrates and says it's converting to MMS. When I send my message I know at least one person is not getting the message. However that person can send me a group message and I can see it is as a SMS instead of MMS.
I can't find any options to prevent it from becoming a MMS. I set the delivery report checkbox and sent another one out. I know one person got it and that person did it. I get no report on who got it. I'm using Android 4.3.

And what app you use for SMS? You describe the default behaviour of Hangouts (in which case you might want to switch to a different app for SMS).

@Izzy: I'm using the default app for text messaging It's the same as every android I seen but I haven't seen many. What do you recommend?

I'm not a big SMSer; if I write more than a single SMS per week, that's already extensive. For that, the stock app is more than sufficient. So I'm not really the one to recommend an app from my own experience. You might wish to take a look at this list (never mind the German, you'll be able to interprete the list itself), plenty of apps together with (and ordered by) their resp. ratings. Should make a selection easier at least.

It isn't actually the 'default' one that you have, it is Samsung's default SMS application. It is specific to Samsung devices, they have put layers of their own code on top of the old stock SMS application. The new default is Hangouts for Nexus / AOSP. There are many other apps that do this. If you have a rooted device you can install a Wanam Xposed module that stops the auto MMS conversion in the default Samsung SMS application.

@RossC: I see I had no idea. I got one of the free apps. I don't particularly like it but it does send the messages so the few times I need to send a group message I'll use it.

I was facing the same problem for long time on my Galaxy S3, at last i figure it out
by default android SMS allow you to send same message to multiple people without converting it to MMS.
But when you Select the option Group Messaging under the multimedia message (MMS) setting
it now set group messaging only for MMS
try un-checking the option
hope this will help ( am using default sms of android)

Screenshot (click to enlarge)

A note for people it seems that Android 4.3 installs with Group Messaging as MMS option enabled HOWEVER, the box remains un-ticked. In order to go back to the pre-4.3 single SMS sent multiple times you have to tick the Group messaging option, back out, then go back into settings and then un-tick group messaging under MMS.... Thanks Google that cost me a few £ before I noticed.

On my Nexus 5, the setting is under Hangouts > Settings > SMS > Group messaging which is also enabled by default.

WDF google sets this by default to MMS?!?! Here the mobile provider charges you for MMS! Thank you for this hint

When I just saw my T-Mobile bill for Feb it became evident that since upgrading the OS from version 4.1.2 to 4.3 when I send a ‘Group’ text message it creates individual MMS messages, one for each recipient.  These are picked up by T-Mobile and charged for at 25p each even though they are text only and I have an unlimited texts allowance.
In addition, if somebody sent me a text message as one recipient of a group text message I do not know it is a part of a group text message but if I reply to the sender then a text message from me is created for each of the recipients.  Each of these is an MMS message and so I get charged 25p for each reply message even though I don’t know it has happened.
I rang Samsung and said I am fed up with problems with OS version 4.3 and asked for version 4.2.1 to be re-installed.  They referred me to one of their Samsung Repair Centres, The PocketPhone Shop in Cheshunt, to re-install version 4.1.2.  However, when I rang them they said they are not able to this but if I bring my phone in they will investigate my problem.
Chris at the PocketPhone Shop did some investigation and then told me that if I go into Text Messages, Settings and then scroll down to Multimedia Message (MMS) Settings there is a parameter ‘Group Messaging’.  If this is ticked, when sending Group text messages individual MMS messages are created.  However, if this is unticked, group text messaging still works but the messages created are SMS messages and not chargeable MMS messages.
Well done to Chris and I hope this adds additional assistance to the previous helpful messages in this forum.

I found that too.  Group text wasn't checked to start with so I checked it then unchecked and now it's back to normal.  Thanks for your help

Thats exactly what I did and my cousin did to solve it. Good to hear we're not the only ones


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Tab 2 10.1 P5100 stuck on starting screen
Actually I was downloading something when my tab 2 10.1 p5100 suddenly went off. Then the starting screen came up saying,"Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1" and it is stuck there. I tried the factory reset by holding the power and volume down button but the process says done.But still it doesn't come on completely.
Can anyone please give me some advice on how to fix this.

One of first links in google. Try it.
http://www.tips4tab.com/how-to-restore-galaxy-tab-2-10-1-p5113-to-stock-android-4-0-4-ice-cream-sandwich-with-official-firmware-ueblh3/
In short:
You need to download Odin and firmware package. You boot to download mode, open odin on computer and connect your tablet to pc. You select the frimware donlowaded earlier and click start.
If something fails then you can do again power+volume up.

Link-only answers are discouraged here.  It would help if you could quote the relevant parts in your answers.

Edited a little bit, I think other will get what needs to be done?

Is there a hard reset hole in which you can stick a paper clip? If so, I'd let the battery die, then charge it back up and press the hard reset button with a paper clip. That's how I got my old android tablet back to life last summer. I've since bought a nexus 7, though, and I'd highly recommend getting a newer android tablet because they have improved tremendously over the past few years.