text:
Access settings outside of settings app without a root
Is there a file hidden somewhere in the internal storage that contains all the system setting preferences? I want to be able to access and modify this file (if it even exists) without rooting my device.

No, it is not possible to modify the Settings' app's files without root access. For the record, if you gain root access in future, then:
For Android 4.x-5.x
Look into:

/data/data/com.android.providers.settings/databases/settings.db  # database of Settings Providers/Storage app
/data/data/com.android.settings/shared_prefs                     # some preferences saved by Settings app

For Android 6.0.x:
Look into:

/data/system/users/0/          # look for the files with name beginning with settings_. They serve as the alternative of erstwhile settings.db
/data/data/com.android.settings/shared_prefs

Files under shared_prefs and 0 (0 corresponds to User ID 0, the id of primary user)  directories are human readable XML files so you can use a text editor to edit them on the fly. To edit settings.db, you can consider an app or processor's architecture (e.g. arm) compatible version of sqlite3.
Recommendation: while I've not tried the paid version but only the free version, the app My Android Tools claims to show and allows editing  SharedPreferences as well as the SQLite databases of an app, so for Android 4.x-5.x the said app can be of good use.


text:
Can I restore software update?
I'm trying to re-install a software update for my Galaxy S6, because I don't think it installed properly. Before the update, my phone was running smoothly, but now it freezes and is very slow.

Wiping /data
If you were upgrading Android versions, the OTA might not have wiped your /data partition properly, and this may cause the issues that you describe. You should first try to perform a factory reset to see if that resolves the issue. One way to do this is through Settings > Backup & reset > Factory data reset. If you can't access your settings menu, you can perform the reset from recovery with these instructions:

Completely power off your phone. Now press and hold the volume up, home, and power buttons all at the same time until you see small blue text on the screen. This is your recovery.
Use the volume up/down and power buttons navigate down to wipe data/factory reset > select Yes -- delete all user data.
Now select wipe cache partition.
Once that is complete select reboot system now. Your phone will now boot up like usual, but it may take up to 10 minutes, so be patient!

If this doesn't resolve your issue, continue reading to find out how to reinstall the system image:
Reinstalling /system
You can reinstall an OTA update by downloading the firmware .tar and installing it via Odin. You can find the latest .tar update for your S6 on the XDA firmware thread for all Galaxy S6 variants.

With your phone unplugged, we're going to enter into Download Mode. Power off your phone and press and hold the volume down, home button, and power button all at the same time.
You should see Warning on the screen. Press volume up to continue.
You will now see Downloading....
Plug in your phone via microUSB to your computer. If you have the official Samsung USB cable, use it.
Download Odin3_v3.10.6.zip and the correct stock firmware using the XDA thread mentioned above.
Unzip the stock firmware you downloaded in step 5. The unzipped file should end in "XXXX.md5".
Unzip Odin3_v3.10.6.zip and run Odin3 v3.10.6.exe.
You should see a blue box on the left side of Odin that reads something similar to 0:[COM15], if you don't then download and install Samsung USB drivers.
In Odin click on AP, locate and select the md5 file you unzipped in step 6. Odin may show Not Responding, but just wait!
Click on Start and wait until the process is over. This can take up to 15 minutes so be patient! (If you get FAIL! check the FAQ sections in the source link below).
Once the process is completed you will see PASS! and your phone will automatically reboot. Your phone can take up to 10 minutes to fully boot up the first time, be patient!

Your phone is now restored to stock Samsung firmware, but follow the steps in the first part of the post to reset your /user data for best results.

Adapted from "How to Unroot/Unbrick Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge!" from AndroidRootz.com.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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How to get information about devices that do not run Google play service?
We can get information about percentage of different Android version using Google play service. Here is the link. Now, how can I get information about percentage of Android versions running without Google play service?

Number growing (thanks to projects like microG). But what's the purpose of a percentage? And how should there be correct numbers available without a "central counting instance"?

The purpose of finding percentage to support such Android version which cover majority of market..

While strictly speaking this is a "development question" (which would be off-topic), I think it's of concern for end-users as well (at least for those running "Google-free devices"). I don't think there is such a statistic related to Android versions (those will probably go with the general version distribution) – but the "overall percentage of devices running without GApps" would certainly be of interest here. Pointers: Many of them probably run microG (or similar) as replacement (two devices here – both my phones are configured such).

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


text:
Change screen unlock method (old Symbian style) on KitKat
Ever since I switched from Symbian to Android I missed a feature that I consider to be of extreme handiness.
On my old Nokias, I had a short timer (like 10 seconds) that locked the screen in a simple way (the standard two-key combination) and then a longer timer (like 15 minutes) that locked the phone with my personal code. The two-key combination was very fast and also unlikely to happen by accident.
Now I'm running Android 4.4.2 on a Samsung SM-C101 and I have this problem: the "simple" lock method is pressing either the home key or the power key, which is bound to happen when I put the phone in my pocket.
I would like to "swipe to unlock" every time the screen goes off, and to "enter a code" if the screen stays off for some minutes.
But that's not an option on Android 4.4.2 , you only get one unlock method.
I don't want to perform a complicated unlock action every time I put my phone in and out of my pocket and I don't want to leave it unprotected in case it gets stolen.
I can't find an app that replicates the Symbian lock properly. I tried some but they behaved poorly. Do you know some app that does what I want? My phone is rooted.
Since the phone is rooted, is there a way to change the standard behavior of the power and home key? Like, press them in sequence to turn the screen on, or at least disable one of the two (I guess the Home key is more likely to be pressed when the phone is inside a pocket).
Thank you very much.

I found a possible solution for this, but it requires root:
The app "Sequence Unlock" can wake up the screen with a combination of volume up&down and (this is optional) disable the power&home button (only both together unfortunately)
It requires the Xposed Framework


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YouTube app keeps pausing the video
I am using a Nexus 5 D820 rooted stock Android 6.0.1 MOB30D.  The YouTube app version is 11.x and is the latest as I checked for the updates today.
The app pauses the video at random. I had to tap the play symbol at the center to start it to play.  This is not same as buffering as in buffering one would see a progress and the play symbol does not come up when the video is stopped.

I tried this with my headsets and without headsets to rule out the
press of headset button or something allied to cause the issue.
I also tried this in 3G and in WiFi, both in high res and low res.
I also tried this in offline mode.

In each and every case, the YouTube app pauses the video almost for once for every minute.  I do not want to switch over to another app and I cannot uninstall it as well.
Does anybody have any solutions? Thanks.

Strange, I used it this morning without a problem on a Nexus 6. Not sure if I had the last update but almost positive, so I should rule out the app, but just in case, deactivate the app then reactivate it, this will uninstall every update then update it again. This might help.

I uninstalled the updates and went to play store and installed again.  Now the problem seems to be gone. I am just waiting for few more positive signs to declare this myself as a solution.

This is only my observation, but YouTube pauses the video if there's something taking the focus from the app. Usually it happens when Play Store is updating the apps in the background, but may happen with another apps with similar behavior.

Thanks for your input. It might be. I am sure in my case there was no updates because I went to Play store to see whether there are any updates to YouTube app.  It does not happen always again. Yesterday out of 10 or so videos, two or three paused automatically.

I figured out what the problem is, it's because the phone thinks you keep plugging/unplugging the headphones. Try using another set of headphones and that should fix it.
I used the headphone that came with my PS4 and it caused the problem, it kept restarting but YouTube was still pausing until i changed the headphones then it went back to normal.
Hope that helps.

Thanks that is a possibility, now I no longer face this issue. May be updates solved or change of broadband plans (speed) solved or change of phone might have solved.

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


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Better way to handle notifications
I am using latest android on my phone. One issue I face is that I have a lot of apps installed. Many of them generate notifications which I dont want to loose. If I leave notifications unattended for a day or two, a lot of notifications get stacked up (almost 100+). I dont want to turn off those notifications. I just want better way to handle those notifications:

is there any way (or app) to archive notifications
is there any way to group notification belonging to same app (so that I may decide to archive or delete all of them)
is there any way (or app) which allows me to archive or delete all notifications at specific dates or dates older than the specified one
For many months my phone has issue of restarting and with each restart the notifications get cleared. So I also want to know if there is any way (or app) that can periodically backup/archive notifications so even if my phones restarts I can always pull them up.

Multiple items of interest in this context:

there is a built-in functionality to access your notification history, see How to get the notification history for details
there are several apps to backup/archive notifications – e.g. Past Notifications (a notification history surviving even reboots) or Notibox
there are apps to Filter/block notifications
there are several more apps to control other aspects of notifications (same page as the last link goes to)

Still, I'm not sure there's a way to control aspects 2 and 3 of your list (group apps,1 delete by date). I've not yet encountered any app for those, so chances are rather low – but one might have slipped through my net.

1: Nevolution promises to "bundle notifications" – but it's not clear from its description if "bundles" cover multiple apps


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Weird volume behaviour in Android 6.0.1
My wife's Nexus 5 recently started behaving very weirdly.
For notifications, it always think that it's in silent mode (i.e. it vibrates and doesn't play a sound). This happens regardless of the actual volume settings. All other sounds seem to work properly (ringtones, in-call volume, etc.)
Also, when she presses volume up or down, it adjusts the in-call volume instead ringtone volume.
I have tried rebooting, and I even tried deleting the cache (as described here - https://android.stackexchange.com/a/139739/165076) but nothing seems to help.

I wonder if this is sort of the inverse of this question over here. Perhaps something in the settings got disabled specifically for notifications - have you checked the sound settings?

Notification sound is linked to Ringer volume in stock Android 6.0.1. See if your wife installed an Xposed module.

@Firelord she doesn't have any Xposed modules installed

@dotVezz - I am pretty sure that I checked all of those settings, I'll double check the next time I have a chance


text:
Creating a multipartition bootable SDcard manually
I'm trying to create a bootable sd card for an embedded board from Android images for various partitions (bootloader.imx, boot.img, recovery.img, and so on). Each of these images has to be written to specific partitions on the sd card with various filesystem types. Using a traditional disk copying programs like Win32DiskImager only allows to write to the whole disk at a time. I can use dd to write the images to the partition, but I'm not sure how to actually create the partitions on the sd card which range in size from ~1 MB (for the bootloader) to ~800 MB for the system image
Is there a way to create these partitions (with size and offset information) and write individual .img files to each of these partitions? Thanks in advance for any help.

You can use dd to write images into individual partitions.

@Firelord, thanks for the help about dd, I didn't know about it. I'm also having trouble creating the partitions themselves (see modified question above). I'd really appreciate any pointers about that.

I recommend you to take a look at parted or gdisk tool for this. It allows to create partition from specific sector with desired size. Then you can use dd command to copy the .img into these partitions.
If you are looking for an partition app. for rooted device, you can try parted4android.  Disclaimer: I'm the dev.


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Any way to remotely turn on location services without root
so I lost my phone this morning and I tried to use the standard android device manager to track it but it's useless without location services, which I turn off due to it draining too much battery power.
Is there any way to turn it on so I can used ADM or is there another method which can track my phone without location services, maybe using something like wifi hotspots?
I'm not sure which exact android firmware I have but it's above 5.0.0 if that's of any help and it's a xperia z1

No, there is no hope to activate location service remotely without root access or without a system app. Change in the state of location service requires editing secure settings which cannot be done without root access or without system UI (user consent) or without a system app having the permission android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS. Since your Android doesn't meet any criteria I suggest you do not invest your time anymore in this direction.
As for any other method: I do not know but a local law enforcement agency may be able to assist you with common mobile tracking techniques.
Related: Is it possible to enable Location Services via Shell?


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How to repair an i Robot tablet which won't boot?
My I.Robot 7180 ICS OS4.0 tablet was drained, when charged I tried to open it again but it was only stucked loading in the black screen with android logo showing. How to make this work again?

Consider doing a full wipe of your tablet. I had this on a Galaxy Tab. Follow those instructions but remember you will lose all your data.
Instructions:

Turn off your Android Tablet.
Press and hold Volume + and Power button.
Release Volume + and Power button when you see message on screen.
On Android Stomach Repair Logo Screen, press again Volume + and Power   button.
On Hard Reset Menu Screen, use the Volume button to scroll up and down and use the Power button to select (click on).
Scroll down to Wipe Data / Factory Reset and click on it.
Scroll down to Yes – Delete All User Data and click on it.
After Data Wipe Complete click on Reboot System Now.

Source: http://www.askmefast.com/_why_does_my_android_warp__phone__keep_freezing-qna6151757.html#q3381869

mfw both of my answer and OP got downvoted


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IFTTT custom android notification sound
I added a recipe that sends notifications to the IFTTT app on my android device. Right now the notification sound is the same as for an incoming SMS. Is there a way to either change the IFTTT notification sound, all notification sounds, or just the SMS sound (Galaxy S4, Android 5.0.1) ?

No obvious way at this time. This feature has been requested for (literally) years without resolution.
https://twitter.com/ifttt/status/631963245750845440?lang=en


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I can't delete files
I have an issue with my phone, the phone doesn't delete files.  When I delete a file for example a 1 gig file or a game with that same size, the file is gone in the file manager, but the space on my phone doesn't change.
My storage space WAS 1 Gig, and after I delete a 1 Gig file, the storage space should be 2 Gig, but it ends up still being 1 Gig.
I tried to do a factory reset, and also tried to upgrade my phone to Marshmallow, but the problem is still there.  (Note: My phone is rooted)

I haven't got a rooted phone but the only solution I can give to you is to delete the files from the system applications.
I.e. instead of from the file Explorer, delete photos from the gallery app. And apps from the application manager.

It's not working for me

Hmmmmm. Try to ring up customer support. I have a Samsung and deleting files from the file manager works. Maybe also try unrooting it?


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Why one or both Android smartphones turn screen on when I stack them?
Sometimes when I lay an Android smartphone atop of another one (both sleeping, screen off), one or both of the devices turn on screen (as if I pressed the power button).
Why does this happen? NFC is off on both devices.

Might have to do with the magnetic unlock feature try it with a magnet to verify it does the same thing like a kitchen magnet not anything too strong

Yes, magnet wakes up both smathphones if I wave it near the device in a particular way.

Found disabler: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2621807


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Google Play Store only shows games
Every time I load up the play store it only shows me games. Is there anyway to customize it so I see other apps besides games?

AFAIK, no. Google sets a periodical theme (e.g. New+Updated Games, New+Updated Apps, Mother's Day, etc), and the rest are based on your installation history. However, I never see Google showing games only on Play Store homepage. Could you provide a screenshot?

I don't know how to get a screenshot of the store app. But basically it looks like this:
Top Scroller: games - 60% games
New + Updated Games - 100%  games
Recommended for you - 100% games
New + Updated Apps - 10% games
No WiFI? No Problem - 100% games
Games - 100% games

There does not seem to be a way of setting view preferences to a greater degree but you may be interested in launching the Play Store to directly show a collection (it wouldn't omit games). This command can help:
am start -a android.intent.action.VIEW -n com.android.vending/com.google.android.finsky.activities.MainActivity -d "http://play.google.com/store/apps/collection/<collection_name>" --user 0

<collection_name> refers to a name of available collections. Per the document Linking to Your Products the available collections are:

----------------------------------------------------
Collection                      collection_name
----------------------------------------------------
Staff Picks (Featured)          featured
Editor's Choice                 editors_choice
Top Paid                        topselling_paid
Top Free                        topselling_free
Top New Free                    topselling_new_free
Top New Paid                    topselling_new_paid
Top Grossing                    topgrossing
Trending                        movers_shakers
Best Selling in Games           topselling_paid_game
-----------------------------------------------------

E.g.: to directly launch into Editor's choice, the command would be:
am start -a android.intent.action.VIEW -n com.android.vending/com.google.android.finsky.activities.MainActivity -d "http://play.google.com/store/apps/collection/editors_choice" --user 0

As for launching the app a bit comfortably, you can use my answer available here. It would help you to setup a customized app shortcut for Play Store on home screen.

Like Andrew said, there is no way to customise the homepage because Google sets the themes.
If you want personalised recommendations, it does that automatically if you scroll down the page (should see a 'recommended for you' tab.). This is dictated by what apps you have installed, previously installed and what's on your wishlist.
Another way of seeing only apps you like is by going onto the categories tab, and picking your favoured app category to browse.
^_^


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Is rooting the Samsung Galaxy S5 G900V impossible?
I've been trying to root my Verizon S5 (SM G900V) for a while now, but to no avail. It has Android 5.0 lollipop on it right now. I was able to easily root my S4, but nothing seems to work for the S5. I've tried towelroot (which says "device not supported" no matter what modstrings I use), various rooting methods directly from my computer (such as Kingo), CF auto root, flashing other roms (almost bricked my phone because the bootloader is locked), and several other methods, all which have failed. I've been searching all over the internet for a way to root the G900V, but everything I found has failed, and some people are saying that Verizon has updated their phones and fixed the vulnerabilities so that they are unrootable. Is there any possible way I can root my phone, or install a custom rom that is rooted like Cyanogenmod? I'm aware that my phone has a locked bootloader, and I don't know how to unlock it on the G900V. Or, will I just have to wait until someone finds a way years later or I get a new phone?

Have you checked this project here on xda? This thread states instructions for installing the rom for locked bootloaders

I understand that you cannot root your phone the normal way, because Verizon won't let you unlock your bootloader. I believe Kingroot should work. It was able to successfully root my Samsung Galaxy S3 running 4.4.4. If that doesn't work I would try Kingoroot. Hope this helps. We all hate Verizon for keeping our bootloaders locked.
If those don't work, I would suggest finding a Carrier unlocked phone. When you go to Verizon to get it hooked up, make sure familybase is disabled, or they won't be able to hook it up. I recently was able to hook up an unlocked Nexus 6p (great phone).
Good luck!


text:
Update First Gen Nexus 7 to 4.3
I have a first generation Nexus 7. It was getting so slow as to be useless, so I did a factory reset and it is not much better. It then informs me that an upgrade to Android 4.3 is ready. So I do that, but it doesn't seem to take because a day or two later, it informs me again that an upgrade to 4.3 is ready. I look and I see that the current version is 4.2.2. What is wrong?
Don't know if this matters, but before the reset, it was rooted, and so after I assume it is not and that's fine.

Factory resetting doesn't unroot your device, and being rooted is more than likely preventing the OTA from applying. You'll probably need to unroot or perform some kind of manual installation (a full reflash or a modified OTA designed to work on a rooted device). Doing a clean install of Android on a Nexus phone or tablet describes how to install a clean factory image.

Oh, ok. Well I'm fine with 4.2.2 so I'll just leave it. Thanks.


text:
Annoying notification bar
Ever since I updated to the newest version on my S5 a month ago I've been annoyed by the new notification bar, the bar used to be out of the way and was only as big as the black bar up top. The new bar is annoyingly big, it's always popping up over text I'm trying to read and I keep accidentally pressing the notification bar when I'm trying to navigate my phone. Is there a way to go back to the old bar?

Can you add a screenshot so we can see it more clearly? My best guess is that you could downgrade to the earlier android version / firmware but if I remember correctly Samsung does not allow this in most cases. You could install a custom rom though to overcome the issue most likely

Looks like you are disturbed with Heads Up (new feature) notifications.
It will show a pop up notification on your screen. You can turn it off by Upgrading to any custom ROM or you can use HeadsOff app.
Which looks like a workaround for turn off Heads Up notifications.
I haven't tried this yet. But please take a look.

What you're talking about sounds like "Heads Up". This is a new Android feature that shows notifications easier. You can't turn this off unless you have Android M. But you shouldn't have Android M because the S5 doesn't get this update. The only other option is to run a custom ROM such as cyanogenmod.

In truth, you could also turn it off if running a custom firmware such as CyanogenMod, if the OP wishes to give it a try.

@DeathMaskSalesman I could add that to my answer.

My answer is applicable on stock Lollipop as well: Clear popup/push notification of an app without getting it removed from Notification drawer


text:
cant get my emails over a month old even though i didnt erase them
I have a Samsung Galaxy Tab A Model SM-T550 and I'm unable to see any emails older than about two months, but I did not delete the emails. How can I view my older emails?

If you are using the Gmail app or the default email app, you can set the timeframe in which you want to sync emails by going to Settings > [youraccount@gmail.com] > Days of mail to sync (default: 30). Increasing this value will give you a longer history of your emails, but keep in mind that syncing emails over a large timeframe may take up significantly more storage space on your device.
Note: the wording for "Days of mail to sync" may vary depending on which email app to use.

But I think accessing the mail via browser will do the job for him. These problems generally occur when access mail via app.

The browser version of Gmail, both desktop and mobile, do not limit the time for the history of emails to show. You may want to check your email on a desktop browser (for easier navigation) to make sure that all your emails are still there. You can use "request desktop site" on the Gmail site.

you can use the search feature of gmail in browser to read a particular mail.


text:
Weird display on screen before swipe lock Samsung Galaxy s6 edge plus
Pressed the onscreen button on my s6 edge this afternoon and a strange new display swipe screen is showing up - picture included. I have no idea where this came from and I have to swipe it just to get to my pin lock. I've checked my apps, my settings, my locked screen, I've disabled some of the apps I thought it could've been but to no avail. Does this look familiar to anyone, and if so how do I get rid of it? It's eating up my battery life.

It's an app surely. Are you using any cleaning apps like DU speed booster? If yes tweak the settings for the same app.

Check What is this lock screen with ads and how do I remove it? and Determine which app is drawing on top of other apps?

Related What is this lock screen with ads and how do I remove it?

Looking around, this reddit comment pointed me in the right direction.
Using ES Task Manager I found all apps with a name containing "photo", and all were recently updated.

Photo Collage Editor was the culprit.

So if you don't like random ads forced on you, don't install this app:

I'm sure there's plenty of other apps that do collages, and are made by slightly more polite people.. I'm sure I'll find out when I need to make a collage again, but I'm not using this app ever again.
EDIT
This app, by the same developer ("Zentertain"), is doing the same thing:

Ouch. I'd say that's even pretty much dishonest of the dev: "Turn it on for faster charging speed". As if a photo collage app on the lock screen would have such an effect. I'd go that far to say I'd blacklist that dev altogether (never using any app that dev makes).

Yeah, fast charging is a hardware thing, so yeah, they're blatantly lying... The blacklisting thing is interesting, I might do that. Thanks!

A dev who's lying that way in one place IMHO isn't to be trusted in any other way. Just the opposite, I'd expect him to cheat in other regards as well. You could even report him to Google, as that kind of advertisement is definitely violating Playstore rules: Ads are only permitted within the app – and specifically it's not permitted to place it in other apps (the lockscreen is another app). Arguing this being a "lockscreen widget" is misleading, as the widget in no way states the app it belongs to. The only thing it's "charging" is the dev's account, while discharging the battery faster.

Lol @ your last sentence. Yeah, I just finished reporting the app. Boy, that takes a lot of effort. I read through Monetization and Ads guidelines, and it was doing all of the things on there wrong... Don't know if me reporting him is gonna do anything though.

This just happened to me and it was an ab workout app. My advice would be to try to delete the most recent app you downloaded before you noticed it. From the looks of it, multiple apps do this.

It was picsart doing this to my device. Removed app and it's gone. It was annoying.

Please link the app from play store


text:
Skipping Android Security Updates?
I am rooted on my Nexus 6P and I used Flashfire to install the March security update. I didn't install any of the previous updates and haven't installed any after the March one.
This has made me think of a few questions:
Does the March update contain all fixes from prior updates as well?
Do I have to install each incremental security update or can I just install the May one without installing April's?
Should I go back and install the previous patches and if yes, will this negatively affect anything?
I have noticed a lot of random reboots and the device running hotter than before, although I am not sure if this is because of the manual updates or a bad app.
Any insight is appreciated.

You do need to install security updates incrementally, as each release has its own /system image that has had all the previous patches already applied to it. When installing an update, most of the time, /system is completely wiped and then replaced with the new image in your update file.
About the negative performance, a common issue is that the update is dirty flashed, meaning that the /data partition was not wiped with the new system image install. Try first wiping your Dalvik/cache partitions from your recovery. If that doesn't help, you can try wiping /data to see if that will solve your performance issues.
Wiping /data will remove all user data from the device, so be sure to back up any important data before performing a factory reset.

I don't intend to move a critique, but I recommend you to add a little bit of info to your already explicative answer, if you think that it's worth mentioning: the fact that wiping the Data partition (for example, when factory resetting a device), does not wipe the internal storage.

Does the March update contain all fixes from prior updates as well?

Yes and No. No, the incremental update contains fixes not covered in last incremental update, which more or less comes down to patching newfound vulnerabilities most of the time. Yes, the latest or appropriate fastboot image would cover all the earlier fixes.

Do I have to install each incremental security update[?]

Yes and No. It comes down to how you want to update. If the boot and system partition has not tampered with and if you want to save bandwidth but intend to have the latest update, then go with incremental OTA updates. If your system or boot partition has been tampered or otherwise, then use the appropriate fastboot image available for your Nexus device here.

[Can] I just install the May one without installing April's?

Yes and No. Yes, you can switch to any newer update using the fastboot image I noted above. Flashing through fastboot requires an unlocked bootloader and unlocking a bootloader causes full wipe of user data.
No, you cannot switch to any random newer update using incremental OTA update. Reason: The incremental update requires one of the two build numbers to match, source and target. Source is the build number the currently installed Android system should be using  and target is the build number of the installed Android system and same as the target build the update carries. Technically, it doesn't matter whether the build number of installed Android system matches with expected source since the update uses the build number of stock recovery as the build number of installed Android.
Note: stock recovery is automatically updated, if required, at every boot using install-recovery.sh located under /system/bin or /system/etc.
Consider this example: assume that you're on March security level with current build number MHC19I. You intend to  side-load (since Android would not suggest you or provide an option anyway through System update) the May security level update with build MTC19T. During side-loading the update would check for source and target. It expects the source as the build number of the last update shipped from vendor which would be April security update with build number MHC19Q. Since that doesn't match, it would expect the build number of the target it is carrying which is MTC19T. Since neither of the build number matches, the installation would abort.
In case of confusion with target, understand that by expecting target I meant that the build number of the installed Android OS which  would be same as the build number of the target the update is carrying.

I have noticed a lot of random reboots and the device running hotter than before, although I am not sure if this is because of the manual updates or a bad app.

It could be anything. However, given that installation of an OTA update is a dirty flash, remnants of previous version of files may be a cause. For many folks, clearing cache and/or data partition or doing factory reset fixes the issue, as LyricWulf noted.
Note: if you're using stock recovery, clearing data partition or doing factory reset would completely wipe any user data.
Reference: my own experiments with Nexus 6; the document OTA Package Tools.

I'm not aware of the functioning of FlashFire and it seems possible to strip down all the checks from the incremental update and directly go with the patching. That may as well be a shortcut to move to any newer build.


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Samsung s7 only asks for fingerprint scan not giving option to enter password
My new Samsung S7 was restarted today with an android update from T-Mobile.
When it turned on, I unlocked it using a password. After few uses today, the fingerprint scan failed and each time I try again, the lock period increases and does not allow me unlock with password. I do have a password, but it does not give me an option to type it in.

I had this exact same problem on my Galaxy S6 recently.  No matter how many attempts I made in different positions, the fingerprint reader decided, as it often does, that it simply wasn't going to accept my fingerprints.  Frustrated, I had no option but to continue trying (and failing) to scan my fingers with ever-increasing timeouts because it wasn't giving me the option to type my backup password.  With only a few attempts left before it would erase my phone, I remembered that sometimes text to the effect of "Swipe to enter password" appears at the bottom of the lock screen.  Even though this text wasn't currently visible, I tried swiping (up from the bottom, if that matters) and a password prompt finally appeared.
TLDR - The problem: finicky fingerprint reader meets poor UI.  The solution: swipe on the lock screen.

Well I waited long enough and it finally gave me the password screen.


text:
Let my friend check my locations while I am taking a stranger's car?
I am thinking about taking a long-distance rideshare offered by a stranger on Craigslist.
For safety, I would like my friends to track my location, until I reach the destination and tell them that I safely arrive.

Is it possible to use my Android phone to

share my location with others during my travel, and
then stop sharing my location after I arrive?

If yes, does it depend on the signal strength of my mobile carrier along the way? Or does it only rely on the GPS, which isn't affected by mobile signal strength? My mobile carrier uses Sprint network, which usually has worse signal strength than other networks in remote areas.

Thanks.

As there's no on-board feature covering your needs, I'd recommend taking a look at Glympse. With this app you can decide when to start or stop sharing your location, you could even set a timeout. Only you would need to have the app installed, and those you've shared your location to can watch it on any web-enabled device:

Glympse is a fast, free, and simple way to share your location safely using GPS tracking in real time with friends and family!
No sign up required! Only those you share with can view your Glympse from any web-enabled device.

For alternatives, please take a look at my Location Sharing list.
Any solution will depend on your phone having internet access: it can't work with GPS alone. GPS is only a way for your phone to find out where it is: it doesn't itself allow anyone else to know your location. If you go outside of data coverage, your location will stop updating.

Thanks. What do you mean by " on-board feature "?

Something that already exists on your device and doesn't require an additional app would be called "on-board". I'm not aware of anything like that in this case, so IMHO you will need an app. Glympse IMHO is the best candidate here.

Why don't you try using GPS tracking Apps, there are quite a few available in google play store. - GPS Phone Tracker etc.,
So that way they can track your location and check if you reached the destination and once you reach the destination they can give you a call or vice-versa to check on you.
Yes, GPS plays an important part in this task to pinpoint your location.
P.S- I use this app with my family and it works fine. I couldn't add more than one link, but if you search on Google Play Store you should be able to find many more apps similar to this one.

Thanks. (1) With a GPS tracker app, what do I need to do  to start and stop letting my friend tracking my location? Does my friend need to do anything on his phone? (2) Does tracking my location depend on my mobile signal strength?

Yes, both you and your friend should have the app installed on your devices. All your friend has to do is to open the app and check where you are. Once registered you will be shown on your friend's app and vice-versa. You can't stop him from tracking you because it is like a continuous service and your friend can't track you if you loose GPS or if your GPS is turned off.
I haven't noticed any problem with my signal, but it mainly uses your GPS.Hence as long as you are connected to GPS it should work fine.

It is really bad that I can't stop him tracking me later. How inconvenient it is to let him track me forever just because of one ride.


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Play video with 2x speed in MX player kindly help
The problem is that I have to watch some MIT OCW video lectures on my mobile device and I'm using MX player to watch these videos. The catch is that I want to watch 50 minute lecture in 25-30 minute but I seem to find no way out to do this on android. I know I can play those videos on VLC media player on a laptop at 2x speed but the problem is that I don't have a laptop.
Suggest me what can I do. How can I watch them at 2x speed?
P.S. I use an android device version 4.1 jellybean. Also I'm not streaming the videos I have already downloaded the videos and now want to watch them offline.
Kindly help.
Thank you.

MX player offers tweaking play speed. When playing a video, tap the three dots line -> Play -> Speed -> configure it. Have you tried it?

@Firelord yeah! tried it right now but it shows something different than what you are saying.

I just realized that when you move two fingers up and down the left side of the screen (like when you adjust brightness, but with two fingers) the playback speed adjusts accordingly.

I am unable to verify it. Are you sure that it is in MX Player?

Perhaps you should add that this Gesture may be disabled via the controls menu.

Not sure about MX Player, but other apps also let you control speed, you could give them a try. Here are some: VLC for Android, BSPlayer, Dice Player
With BSPlayer you are able to speed up youtube as well if you're interested, as explained here (though as of now, bsplayer shows 'not available in your country' in my app store (USA), hope you can get it)

When you play a Video with MX Player, click on the dots for menu there you will find playing speed. It's pretty easy.

Please  do  a proper  research  before writing  an answer  here.


text:
Change weather widget location on lockscreen
I set the location for the weather/time-date widget on my home screen to a fix location, instead of 'current location'.
(I have turned of mobile data and location services to improve battery life, so the weather data would be off most of the time)
Unfortunately the widget on the lock screen, which is the same as on the home screen, still tries to use the 'current location' and fails miserably, always showing 'Weather unavailable.
Most howtos I found online are for Galaxy phone which don't apply to my the one.


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OverlayFS and external SD card
Last days I get (not so) old Samsung Xcover2, I root it and install CM 11 (KK 4.4.4).
Unfortunately Samsung GT-S7710 have small amount of internal memmory (1.18GB).
Now I want to know if there is way to mount ext4 formatted SD card as overlayFS.
Thanks.

Any news on this? I'm also looking for a way to use overlayFS with a CM machine - did you find any usefull hints?

Sorry, no luck. At the moment I use Link2SD.

This isn't a real answer to your question, but it is some hopefully useful information:
according to https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Overlay_filesystem
"Overlayfs has been in the linux kernel since 3.18"
according to the answer and the comments here >>Which Android runs which Linux kernel?<<
linux kernel >3.18 seems rare in Android. If your kernel is >=3.18 you may be able to use some terminal commands to manually mount it how you want, I think your best bet would be looking up linux commands for using overlayfs.


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How do carriers block tethering on Android?
I have two SIM cards with data bundles from different carriers. One is working fine with (WiFi) tethering, but with the second SIM card, I cannot use tethering.
Searching online, I saw that tethering can be blocked by blocking browsers' user-agent headers or alternatively, by using torrenting software headers, and other PC-related application headers. In my case, I cannot even ping 8.8.8.8 from my laptop using the second SIM card, while I can from my Android using a terminal emulator.
The tethering problem with the second SIM card existed from the beginning. Perhaps I just loaded one web page with it (or it seemed like loading, but in reality, the browser retrieved it from its cache).
So in my case, how does the carrier block the tethering? Of course, the purpose of this question is to bypass this block. There is also the possibility that there is no block at all, but something else is causing the problem, but I am baffled because this should happen with both SIM cards, right?

Possible duplicate of Does a carrier know I am tethering via Wifi Hotspot?

Did you get the phone from the carrier?

@Chenmunka I don't think it's a duplicate. The other question asks if it's possible. This question has some specific symptoms that suggest it's happening, and the questioner wants to know how to bypass it.

If the APN settings didn't resolve the issue, consider this:
SIM is a processor. Modem has its own processor (source). These enable the carrier to send/receive short codes to/from the phone. If the phone manufacturer is in cahoots with the carrier, they can design the OS so that even if your phone is not carrier-bound, tethering gets enabled only with carrier's permission (usually after extorting extra fees). Rooting/jailbreaking could potentially come in handy in those circumstances.

From revision 3 of the question by the asker (with copyedit):

After paying $20 for my working SIM card to Google around, I solved it myself. I discovered that USB tethering was possible with the second SIM card. I found this strange, and checked (Android 6.0) the 'Mobile data > Mobile networks > Access point names > ''carrier name'' Internet (or sth similar)' for both SIM cards.
This is a long list of settings (Name, APN, Proxy, Port, etc...). The difference was in the 'APN type'. In the working SIM, it was filled with 'default,dun,mms,supl'. In the "faulty" SIM with 'mms' only! So I wrote 'default,dun,mms,supl' and now tethering works fine with a WiFi hotspot.

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


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How do I force quit an app while it is on the foreground?
I have a malfunctioning security app. It's benign, but it has enabled its proactive security mode when I removed it from the device administrators. This is good, and what that means is that it put the phone in sleep mode and overrid the lock screen to require my password. This what it's supposed to do, but it doesn't accept my password.
Here's the situation:

I removed the app from device administrators.
It put the phone in sleep mode and changed the lock screen.
It disabled the menu buttons.
I cannot exit the screen without entering my password, which it does not accept.

So my plan is to force stop the app, like you can do in iOS. For obvious reasons, I cannot enter the settings app and force quit the app conventionally.

Is USB debugging enabled? Have you tried the "swipe from bottom" gesture to make the navigation buttons reappear? What Android version are you on?

@DanHumle. I did not have USB debugging enabled. The buttons are hidden in such a way that they still take up space (the black region is still there), but I cannot see them or press them. I am running Android 4.4.4.

If your USB Debugging is enabled, the you can force close an app using ADB.
adb shell am force-stop com.my.app.package

This command will force close the application.
But you need to know the specific package name. If you are not sure about the package name please google for Application's apk file, u can easily find package name there.
In case you are not familiar with ADB at all please use installer described here

I managed to solve the issue by using the online tools that the security provider offers, which apparently doesn't require Device Administration status. But I'm going to accept your answer anyway, as I knew about that command and should have solved my issue if I did have USB debugging enabled.


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How is rooting done under the hood?
I recently rooted my device which got me curious regarding the process. I would really like to understand how rooting applications work under the hood. Articles I have found over the internet have been very vague. I really would like to root my device all by myself. How can I get started with the same? Id really appreciate some guidance and/or pointers.

Have you done any research on say http://forum.xda-developers.com/ that would probably be your best bet. Or even http://freaktab.com/ they have some really nice people willing to help out and point better direction.

Please read the android tag.

Basically, it involves exploiting some vulnerabilities(for example, a buffer overflow) in Linux kernel to gain advanced privileges. The exact technique used varies with devices and Android versions. This Stackoverflow answer should give some idea. Androidcentral has a page that gives more information on root.


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Phone soft reboots when making or receiving a call [Nexus 6][CM13]
I've got a pretty severe bug that results in my phone soft rebooting every time I try to make a phone call or a phone call would be coming in on the main number.
What I did to try to fix (no luck):

Downloaded latest snapshot: https://download.cyanogenmod.org/get/jenkins/158646/cm-13.0-20160418-SNAPSHOT-ZNH0EAO2NL-shamu.zip
Downloaded latest gapps for 6.0: http://opengapps.org/ (ARM 6.0 Stock package)
Wiped /system, /data, dalvik cache & /cache
Installed #1 and #2
Wiped /internal storage
Updating radio/bootloader to latest available

What's going on? This just started manifesting after I did a cm13Nighty (4-11-2016) > cm13Snapshot (4-18-2016) upgrade. I would've thought the reset would fix it at least?

Other things I've tried with no luck:

Disabling/enabling WiFi Calling
Booting into Safe Mode
Deleting com.android.providers.x folders in /data/data & wiped Dalvik/cache again (This fixed WiFi calling consequently - dysfunctional again after soft-crash - interesting...)

The issue is the current build of gapps - quick workaround is to manually set the Phone/Dialer app as the default Phone App in Settings -> Apps ->  -> Default Apps -> Phone App.
Source: https://forum.cyanogenmod.org/topic/124381-dialer-crashes/?do=findComment&comment=590388


text:
Android app size showing different on play store app than from play store website
I have my app on play store. When I check the listing from the desktop my app size is shown as 8 MB, while if I check the same on the device's play store app, it is shown as 6.75 MB. I checked this on multiple devices and on each it is showing the same. I googled about the same but couldn't found anything relevant. Can someone please provide some information about this?
Update: This question has been marked as duplicate. Just to clarify, I am not talking about difference in sizes of installed app and the actual apk size. I am saying when I check google playstore on desktop, there my app size is displayed as 8 MB, while, when I check the same listing on playstore app in devices phone there it shows as 6.75 MB. I am not getting why google play store is showing two different size on desktop and in google play app.

Is your app installed on the device from whence you check at it via the Play Store?

@DeathMaskSalesman When my app was installed it was not showing its size on play store app, then I uninstalled it and retried, then it showed the app size.

Are you using same Google account on both website and Play Store app?

@Firelord Yes I am using same account

This generally happens due to syncing issues. We have noticed this phenomenon on several occassions. In our experience this gets rectified automatically after a while and both play store app and the web version will show the same size.


text:
Can I connect Transformer Pad TF103C-A1 to an external monitor
Any chance to mirror the screen of an Asus Transformer Pad TF103C-A1 to an external monitor? It can't be any type of an airplay, I need a wired connection. As the unit does not have an HDMI port the real question if it would work with a USB to VGA adapter.

A USB to VGA is preferred but a USB to HDMI would be ok as well if it works.


text:
Gallery Vault verification
I recently had to factory reset my phone  but now I have my apps back. When I went on gallery Vault and tried to click on a picture it said that the file was encrypted and I needed to verify my email. At first it took me to a page to type in an authorization code that was sent to my email. I typed in the code but when I try to look at pictures it asks for verification again but when I click verify now it doesn't do anything. Does anyone know how to get the files back?


text:
Importing contacts from old dumb phone
My mom uses an ancient Samsung SGH-C140 dumb phone with a mini SIM that has 150 contacts capacity. However all her contacts are stored on the phone, and there are around 400 of them. After all these years I have finally managed to convince her to allow me to buy a new phone for her (that too only when the keypad of the old one has given way)!
Now the problem is that the new Android phone uses a micro SIM, and I'm at a complete loss as to how to go about transferring those 400-odd contacts to it.
The only option I could think of was to go get the mini SIM cut to micro SIM size, then repeatedly use the Copy All Contacts to SIM feature to transfer from the old phone to SIM (while using the outer mini SIM sized bracket), and then from the SIM (without the bracket) to the new phone. The problem with this method is that the Samsung phone doesn't allow me to select the contacts, and always copies the same set of 150 contacts to the SIM before complaining about lack of space. (Aargh, which idiot made this phone's software?!)
Since I simply can't afford the loss of any of the contacts, what do I do? Do I really have no other option than to sit and manually read and enter all those contacts again?
P.S. I thought briefly about checking on some sort of PC software for the ancient phone, but even if it exists and can run on Windows 7/8.1/10, I have no clue where I'd get the required phone-to-PC cable from at a reasonable price.
Edit: OK, so the UK site for the phone mentions Samsung PC Studio Image Editor and Samsung PC Studio Internet Access. I assume the latter is the one that might support contacts export, but aside from the cable issue, there's the additional problem of how I would even export those contacts using the software to a format that Android would understand. If the software supports export/import of contacts using some proprietary format only from/to the phone itself, then there's obviously no point using it.

If you click on the 'more' in the link you'll see a program called Samsung PC Studio PIMS/File Manager which might be the one that handles contacts export.

@MorrisonChang: Thank you, I missed that. It does sound promising, although if if it cannot export to VCF or something Android can handle then it would be pointless. Even if it can, I'm still stuck when it comes to obtaining the proper cable. Couldn't find it being sold online by any seller in my country unfortunately. Just have to keep searching I suppose...

One possible option, if you can be sure which 150 contacts are being copied to the SIM in the old phone, is to transfer 150 contacts, copy them to the smart phone, and delete them from the old phone.  Then, next cycle, you'll get the next 150, and in twenty minutes or so you'll be done.  The trick is being sure you're deleting the same contacts that were transferred to the SIM.

You see, the problem with this as I mentioned is that it isn't allowing me to select the contacts to be copied. So I'd have to copy 150 contacts, then check each contact on the new phone, find it on the old phone and delete it. Once I've done that 150 times, I'd have to do the whole SIM dance again to copy the next set of 150. Frankly I think I'd find pulling out my hair one by one a more pleasant experience. Sigh... I'm really struggling with this and have a sinking feeling I'll have to do the whole damn thing manually. Aren't there any SIMs available with more RAM to store more contacts?

@David there are larger memory SIMs, but if either of the phones are locked to a carrier they will not work.

@EthanZ: Carrier locking is extremely rare here. How do I get my hands on one of these super SIMs? Wikipedia says "SIM cards can come in various data capacities, from 8 KB to at least 256 KB. All allow a maximum of 250 contacts to be stored on the SIM". If that's true then I'll still be in the same boat. I was hoping there would be a SIM with a capacity of 400 or 500 contacts.


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I lost my phone please help to locate it
I have lost my phone and I used the Samsung account to locate it, but it didn't work.  Also, I told the police using the IMEI number of the phone.  In the same day I looked into Android Device Manager, but it showed nothing. Even it being stolen on 4/5 and the phone turned on on 8/5 because my friend saw my Viber account once. Can I at least locate the last time my phone was turned on to find my phone?

You could try looking into the Google Location History.  You can access that information by logging into the Google Dashboard with the google account you had on that phone.  However, I'm not sure if you can activate location history remotely if you didn't already have it enabled.

Location history is enabled in the Google settings of the device. In other words, it cannot be enabled remotely. However, typically is it on by default.


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Rooted Karbonn Smart A26 not powering up after mistakenly deleted one file from boot
I have a Karbonn Smart A26 on Android 4.1.1. After rooting and using it for 3 years, I mistakenly deleted one file from boot. Now it's not powering up.
I gave it to the service centre, and they told me it was a waste and threw it. I still have the ROM and tried flashing it, but it's not responding. The light switches on, it powers up, but won't connect.
Anyone, please tell me how to recover that "bricked" phone.

You've likely corrupted the bootloader. I'm not familiar enough with this device to have the confidence to post this as an answer, but your phone's probably done.

Follow these steps:

Download a custom ROM for your mobile model.
Android flashing application
Download device drivers.
Now flash the mobile by connecting a USB cable to your system.
Run the application and then you have successfully flashed your mobile.


text:
Is battery consumption linear?
I am benchmarking an app using the batteryhistorian.
The result is a chart where every percentile is a "tick".
After I've measured the battery consumption
and let the battery drain to half, I would like to be able to save time
by making  a change and restarting a measurment without having charged
the deviced back to full.
Is it a fair approximation to assume that a drop from 85% to 84% is the same
as a drop from say 64% to 63% when benchmarking an application?

Li Ion battery discharge is not strictly linear, (unlike a capacitor ). This ensures available power is utilised till the end of battery charge

But it is fairly linear, more so at lower loads as can be seen from this figure, where C-rate or charge rate is the discharge/ charge rate

Assuming your app is not a heavy power hog, it is reasonable to extraploate discharge. But, since the discharge isn't strictly linear, it would give better results if

Battery drop interval is more , say 5 to 10% and not 1% as proposed
Battery drop is not measured below 30% of battery ( to avoid greying into non linear portion of curve)
Measuring at 1% drop inherently introduces rounding off errors- if your phone has two digit accuracy, anything between 75.90 to 75.99 would show 76% . In the worst case, the error could be doubled (it won't fall to 75% till it goes below 75.90). Which means a 20% error, and that can be reduced to 2% over a 10% drop
Avoid measuring when the battery is fully charged to reduce errors. Measure at about 85% for the first reading and around 50% (or higher ) for second reading after tweaking your app


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Fastboot "waiting for device"
I have an galaxy s4 i33 that I need to have upgraded for work (or buy a new phone.)
On both windows and Linux I can type "adb reboot bootloader" to open the bootloader.
However, in windows:
-Odin Crashes.
-ADB can only find the device when it is turned on normally
-Fastboot says "waiting for device"... forever.
-(Did not try fastboot devices in windows.)
In Linux:
-Fastboot can NEVER find the device.
-ADB can only find the device when it is on normally
'lsusb' looks like this when the device is turned on normally:
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 007 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 006 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 002 Device 004: ID 0480:a007 Toshiba America Inc External Disk USB 3.0
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 005 Device 003: ID 413c:2107 Dell Computer Corp.
Bus 005 Device 002: ID 046d:c404 Logitech, Inc. TrackMan Wheel
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 001 Device 076: ID 04e8:6860 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd Galaxy (MTP)
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub

But looks like this with the bootloader screen on the phone:
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 007 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 006 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 002 Device 004: ID 0480:a007 Toshiba America Inc External Disk USB 3.0
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 005 Device 003: ID 413c:2107 Dell Computer Corp.
Bus 005 Device 002: ID 046d:c404 Logitech, Inc. TrackMan Wheel
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub

Thanks for any help, I'm really running out of things to try here.  (Could I still get to the bootloader screen if it were locked?)

What does the Device Manager show in Windows?  Is there a device with an error?

It appears normally in device driver when booted.  It displays nothing that I can find to associate with the phone when it is in download mode.

Oh wait, hang on, we're talking about a Galaxy S device.  They don't have fastboot mode, they have Download Mode.  What version of Odin are you using?  Have you tried Heimdall?

Heimdall can't find it either.  I figured out I need to use 3.10, that can at least download stuff... not that I've managed to install safestrap yet...

It kind of sounds like the device isn't working properly while in download mode.  Not sure how to fix that!

I had the same conclusion.. BUT if you use the right version of Odin you can put some stock stuff on there.  I'm following an update process that flashes a stock root which updates, and then you can use towel root on.... I'll let you know if it works, thanks for the help.


text:
Just got a HTC one m8, have some questions about the keyboard
Just got a htc one m8 and the lack of keyboard options is really annoying me... First im not sure how to turn off the replacing "mistakes" thing. Im fine with having predictive typing on because its quite handy, but i prefer to just tap the predicted word at the top bar instead of it automatically doing it for me...
Also the emojis just look horrible on the keyboard (its android 6.0) they just look all blobby and i just want simple ones like the ones on the samsung galaxy... Ive downloaded a few extra keyboards but the ones that even work show the emojis on the keyboard but if im on snapchat and i put a caption on a picture the emojis will still come out as the blobby htc ones... It would be okay but a lot of them i cant even tell what emotion they are actully supposed to represent... Please help

For the first problem: you must be having Auto corrections enabled in settings of your keyboard app. Try disabling it. Keyboard settings can be found under Settings app -> Language & input.

There is no way to disable autocorrect on the default HTC keyboard. I had this problem too and tried a few keyboards just to be disappointed with most of them like you. I settled on the the Google Keyboard as it has all the functionality of the HTC one, including typing suggestions and emojis (and I like its design).
The emoji issue may be fixable with this app but you need root for it. I have not tried it myself but some of the emoji packs seem to be in-app purchases.


text:
What represents 'bootloader' in the possible outputs of `adb get-state`?
I recently employed the use of adb get-state and decided to know further about it. Running adb inter alia shows:
adb get-state                - prints: offline | bootloader | device

I intend to know under what circumstance(s) would that command return bootloader.
As of now I'm aware of these outputs:

device: booted into Android OS, debugging enabled and authorized
recovery: booted into recovery environment
sideload: during side-loading
unauthorized: booted into Android OS, debugging enabled but not authorized yet
offline: wireless device not in reach. (There may be other reasons.)
unknown: When adbd not detected at other side. At least that's what I understand of it. Occurs in case of debugging being disabled or device not plugged in.

I'm yet to know about the following two outputs:

host
bootloader

I found all those outputs here with no added explanation.
Before you ask,

yes, I've already ran that command when my Nexus 6 was booted into bootloader mode and I received unknown as output;
it is mere curiosity with nothing that it would solve in particular as of now.

If I may dare a guess, I'll say that the bootloader string can be outputted only if you find a way to start adbd after booting into the bootloader. This guess is based on the fact that, by issuing adb get-state from a Windows machine to a device booted into Android, I got unknown. Only by manually launching adbd on the Android with start adbd, was I able to have my Windows machine's adb outputting device.

@DeathMaskSalesman I don't think I'm following you. Consider addressing these points: 1) Did you verify on the device's screen that the device was indeed in bootloader mode? Which device did you use? 2) How were you able to start adbd at all? If you are talking about adb shell start adbd then it is technically impossible thing.

The device output was obtained with the Android device booted into... Android. The main OS. Now, let's come to the two points: 1) Samsung devices' bootloader mode is the famed Odin mode, obtained by issuing adb reboot bootloader. My device is a Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini (GT-I9195, or serranoltexx); 2) As said in the prologue, starting adbd seems to be possible only from recovery or the OS itself. Launching it from the bootloader is one of my many crazy theories, but adb does not recognize a phone if in bootloader mode.

There are some hints in implementation details of ADB protocol and overview.
As communication starts between ADB server on host (PC) and ADB daemon (adbd) on device:

Both sides send a CONNECT message when the connection between them is established.

Syntax of CONNECT message is:
CONNECT(version, maxdata, "system-identity-string")

The system identity string should be "<systemtype>:<serialno>:<banner>"
  where systemtype is "bootloader", "device", or "host"

The connection state is set when the identity string is parsed. device and host are obvious i.e. if the CONNECT message is sent by device or host. We can't see host state on PC with an Android device on other side because it's set only when it's none of bootloader, device or three recovery states (recovery, sideload and rescue).
For bootloader part, it seems that ADB can have a "simplified / embedded implementation... for limited environments, like the bootloader":

The bootloader will support two streams.  A "bootloader:debug" stream, which may be opened to get debug messages from the bootloader and a  "bootloader:control", stream which will support the set of basic bootloader commands.

Also:

The BOOTLOADER and RECOVERY states correspond to alternate states of devices when they are in the bootloader or recovery mode.

ADB server:

maintains a list of "connected devices" and assigns a 'state' to each one of them: OFFLINE, BOOTLOADER, RECOVERY or ONLINE
  ...
  considers that a device is ONLINE when it has successfully connected to the adbd program within it. Otherwise, the device is OFFLINE

Other connection states (available to date) include:
Connecting    Haven't received a response from the device yet.
Authorizing   Authorizing with keys from ADB_VENDOR_KEYS.
Unauthorized  ADB_VENDOR_KEYS exhausted, fell back to user prompt.
NoPerm        Insufficient permissions to communicate with the device

With the addition of authorizing and connecting states:

Previously, devices would transition as follows:
  offline -> unauthorized -> offline -> online
  offline -> unauthorized (when actually unauthorized)

With this patch:
  connecting -> authorizing -> online
  connecting -> authorizing -> unauthorized (when actually unauthorized)

It seems that now device offline state appears only when a wrong AUTH type is requested or responded by client or server (1).
no permissions or connecting states are set soon after device is connected.
authorizing or unauthorized are set when AUTH message is conveyed between client and server.
unauthorized is set either if host's private key(s) failed or if waiting for on-screen confirmation from user to add new public key.
If none of the above states is detected for any reason, it's returned unknown.


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Purchased music from Google Play - they are nowhere to be found
I purchased 3 x albums 4 days ago using Play Store. It advised that the purchase was successful and the money was debited from my account - but it never actually said it was downloading anything. These albums are not in my Play Music...and if I go back to Play Store it says that they have been purchased - when I click on the album i get the option to listen. When I press listen it opens up in a web page "google play music" and has the option to Buy or Listen. I press listen - the screen refreshes. Absolutely nothing happens. How do I get these albums into my Play Music?? thank you

They will be in Google's Play Music app. You can listen or download them from that app.


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Free up phone memory taken up by thumbnails
I have a 16 GB Samsung Galaxy S3 phone - 5.05GB of which is being taken up by thumbnails! Can I move these to my 32GB SD card?
I have tried DMR (duplicate media remover) and that has detected duplicate pics and videos but stops when I try to delete them.

You can use clean master to free up your space.
In particular, to delete your thumbnails, follow these steps:

Install clean master on your phone.
Open it and click on "start".
Tap "advanced" on the right top.
Wait for the app section to load, then tap "gallery".
Tap "Gallery thumbnails".
Select all items by checking the box on the top right.
Tap "clean".
Tap "clean" again in the confirmation box.

Please note that, after you have deleted your thumbnails, previews of the photos in the gallery will take longer to load the first time.

You can try using an app like Es File Explorer
It has a SD Card Analyze tool, which will help you analyze the total space used and give you options to clear some space by deleting unused files, temp file etc.
For the issue with thumbnails, take a backup of all your photos on Google Photos.. then delete all the thumbnails.. deleting thumbnails will not delete the images.. Even if it does delete, you will still have the backup in Google Photos.

If you already have a SD card then you can quickly root your device (https://kingroot.net/) and apply a setting which sees your SD card as internal memory rather than external memory which allows you to put all applications onto it(This setting is included in the root). But you need to be careful as this will burn up the SD card over time so just try to keep data on the card rather than applications so you don't end up booting from the card all the time.


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How to fix mobile hotspot?
Shortly said, my mobile hotspot doesn't work.
I can connect my laptop to my phone but I can't get on the web. Mobile data on my phone works flawlessly.
What I've tried:

Putting my SIM card into another device
Connecting other devices to my phone's hotspot
Connecting my laptop to other hotspots
Putting another SIM card into my phone

All of the above, except the second point, work.
I was thinking it's my phones fault, but the last list item confuses me.
Why does it work, when I insert another SIM card? I didn't change any settings. I even let the hotspot run and just switched SIM cards.
I already asked my mobile provider if there are any special settings, either on my phone or on my laptop, I have to make. But they don't know about anything.
Has somebody ever encountered a similar problem or has an idea what else I could try?
I have another problem which I thought is somehow connected to the above one:
I rooted my phone and tried to unroot it again for OTA updates. But the phone doesn't properly restart. It always boots to the bootloader and I can't get into recovery.
But since my hotspot works with a different SIM card I don't think these two problems are connected.
I think the cause of my hotspot not working is the special constellation of my phone with my SIM card.

When you connect your laptop or other devices to your hotspot, can you try setting custom DNS address there, such as 8.8.8.8?

@Firelord Thanks for the reminder. I forgot to mention that. I've already tried that as well. In Chrome it gives me a DNS error (DNS_PROBE_FINISHED if I remember right)but setting a custom DNS doesn't help.


text:
Keyboard shortcut to switch languages with a Logitech K480 or MK270?
Backstory:
For years I've been using android devices to type in multiple languages. At first I had to use an app like AnySoftKeyboard or fiddle with android settings every time I wanted to switch languages, which was quite annoying.  At some point, possibly soon after I acquired a Logitech Android Keyboard, I accidentally pressed Ctrl+Space and was immediately presented with a popup Toast message:  Hebrew.
So I discovered that I could switch languages with Ctrl+Space.  At first I thought it had been a CyanogenMod update, but later that conclusion appeared to have been a mistake...
Now that keyboard is in its last life, so I got two new ones, both from Logitech:  The K480 and the MK270.
Problem:
The K480 is a Bluetooth Multi-Device keyboard.  That feature works well, but Ctrl+Space does nothing.  The keyboard does have a built-in language switching button, but it only works on iOS and MAC.  Other options such as Shift+Alt and several other permutations do not work either.
The MK270 is a wireless Keyboard/Mouse combo officially for Windows PCs.  It comes with a tiny USB wireless receiver, which I plugged into my phone with a micro to normal OTG USB cable, and the keyboard and mouse work just as expected...   But again, Ctrl+Space and other combinations do nothing.
More Details:
I should mention that I'm using an LG G2 running a custom build of CyanogenMod based on Android 6.0.1.  I'm using the SwiftKey app for the keyboard in lieu of any of these, but I don't think that should make a difference.
If I connect all three keyboards to the G2, the android keyboard can switch the language for itself, but the K480 and MK270 still type in English even when the Android Keyboard is typing in Hebrew.
I also paired the keyboard with a friend's Galaxy S5, and it immediately prompted him to choose a keyboard layout for it.  He can choose Hebrew and then it works on his phone in Hebrew, but again none of the keyboard shortcuts will change that.
Question:
How can I switch betweeen keyboard languages on the G2 from either keyboard?

I was able to fix language switching on Android + K480 only with External Keyboard Helper Pro Android app.

Android keeps track of the language settings for each keyboard separately.  Therefore, you need to enable the additional language for the second keyboard, and then you'll be able to switch languages with android's default Ctrl+Space.
You can add languages for any currently connected keyboards by selecting the keyboard in Settings -> Language and Input and then selecting the appropriate language from the languages menu.

on K480 try holding "right shift" and use "right ctrl" to toggle languages

Hold right shift and then press spacebar

what's the deal with downvotes? it works


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How to disable only telephone network?
Is it possible to disable only the telephone network and not internet network, so as to use the smartphone as a tablet with a only SIM data?
I use Android 6.0 and I have no possibility to use wi-fi, I need to go on the web with the SIM data

Yes, you can achieve the desired result bu removing your SIM card and connecting your phone to WiFi.
But using a SIM card and using only internet network and not telephone network is not possible.

I edit the question because I have no possibility to use WI-FI


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Increase 30 seconds lock time after incorrect attempts
If I try to unlock my Samsung Galaxy A3 (Android Version 5.0.2) with an incorrect password 5 times I have to wait 30 seconds before I can try again.
I want to increase this waiting time: how can I do that?

Try using some other third-party lockscreen app.. If that doesn't help, AFAIK only if your device is rooted you can use a Xposed app to do that..

@GokulNC do you have any third-party lockscreen app to suggest? My phone is not rooted and I don't plan to root it soon

Related: Modify 30 second incorrect PIN delay

I don't know if or which lock screen app supports such a setting; but while waiting for answers, be welcome to check my list of Lock-Screen apps.

@Firelord I suppose this would require my phone to be rooted?

As suggested by others in their previous comments, there is currently no application which would do that for you without requiring your phone to be rooted first.
LockScreen Tweakbox (which is a module for the Xposed framework) can do this for you. However you need your phone to be rooted, plus, you will also need to install a custom recovery.
(Xposed Announcement for Android v5/6 + FAQ)
http://www.xda-developers.com/xposed-framework-for-android-lollipop-is-here/
(Download Xposed Framework for Android v5/6)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3034811
(The actual module, which can only be installed an used once the Xposed Framework is installed and setup properly)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/xposed/modules/mod-lockscreen-tweakbox-various-t2843945
However, if you choose to root your phone and go through this solution, remember to take a proper Nandroid backup and a backup of your current "boot.img". This is important and will save you a headache later on, in case something goes wrong during the process, which sometimes does happen, unfortunately.

The XDA thread for the module you linked, Change allowed pattern attempts and timeout between them is listed as planned feature, not the available feature. However, your answer doesn't mention this distinction. Would you consider proving your claim with screenshots?


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I want to connect my mobile to system in office through reverse tethering
I am using Yu Yureka Mobile. I want to connect my mobile to system in office through reverse tethering. My Yureka Mobile was running on Cyanogen Mod 12.1 with Kernel version 3.10.49-cyanogenmod-gbca6118. Can anyone help me how to perform reverse tethering on my device?

Could you be a bit more descriptive? What "system in office" are you trying to connect it to?

Connect your phone to the PC
Enable USB tethering from Settings>More (Wireless and Networks)>Tethering and portable Hotspot
Assuming a Windows computer in office, go to Network and Sharing Center
You should see two active networks, one from your ethernet and the other from your mobile phone (unidentified network)
Click on (Ethernet) Connections: Local Area Network
Properties
Click on the Sharing tab and enable the first option. Click Ok and you're done

This method will work well if your office does not use a proxy server to log in.


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managing marshmallow synchronisation
My wife and I bought some Android phones at about the same time. She bought a Motorola Moto G2, I bought a Moto E2. They run Android 6 (Marshmallow), System versions 24.41.34 and 24.51.39 respectively
If we go to apps, settings, accounts, Google we see different screens

My E2 has toggle switches that allow me to choose what data gets automatically synchronised from my phone to my online google account. Her G2 doesn't.
How can she turn off all the synchronisation for data she wants only on the phone and not online?

It turns out that on the previous screen, where it lists accounts, on the menu at top right (three vertical dots) you can turn auto-sync on or off globally. This affects whether the screens shown above have individual on/off switches or not.

My wife found the answer a few minutes after I had gone to all the trouble of writing this question. Typical! ☺


text:
Can't install TWRP LG Optimus G
This thread of mine is partly copied from XDA.
I can't get through following issues. Phone's firmware is full vanilla since the very beginning - only updated from Jelly Bean/ICS to 4.4.2 with OTA.
I want to install TWRP Recovery and then try some custom firmwares. I started with making a backup of IMEI/NVRAM by MTK Droid R&T just to be safe.
I can't, IMEI/NVRAM button is greyed out. Log:
 --->>> Connect to device <<<---
 --- ERROR  :  --- TotalBytesPerChunk Not Found. Set default Page/Spare=2048/64 !!!
 --- Unknown ROM structure, backup NOT possible!

I've looked for solutions. They suggest e.g. searching for MTK app from different source. It doesn't help.
Setting up a root is also a trouble. I tried to use the simpliest, well known method within the reach based on Batch script.
Log:
[*] Waiting for device...(Connect your LGOG via USB in Charge Only Mode)
* daemon not running. starting it now on port 5037 *
* daemon started successfully *
[*] Device found.
Beginning Root Process
Now change from Charge Only to MTP
No need to disconnect USB
Press Enter after making the change.
Press any key to continue . . .
adbd cannot run as root in production builds
error: device not found

If uid=0(root), gid=0(root) is displayed
Press Enter to Continue

Device is properly connected to adb.
(...)\ZV9-ZVB-Universal-Root>adb devices
* daemon not running. starting it now on port 5037 *
* daemon started successfully *
List of devices attached
LGE9751acf27d9  device

Command like adb reboot bootloader just restarts the phone. It starts as usually.
Then I tried reinstalling KitKat with OTA hoping that phone will let me do more then. While installation phone got into Download Mode, then it rebooted and - what is strange - there was no changes at all. No factory reset occurred.
At the moment I'm helplessly begging/crying for help. Thx for any help/suggestions.


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Default dialer issue
I am using samsung S3 and installed Truecaller on this, now when i make a call from truecaller, the options shown in the popup are only the default dialer and Skype, not truecaller. I have cleared all defaults and tried it with multiple dialer apps, but everytime I see only these two options for dialing out. Any idea on how i can use truecaller for dialing out?
Thanks
Mayank

That's the way it should work. Truecaller just provides a dailer. It is not a call handling application. The main motto of the Truecaller dailer is to show info of the number before a call is placed.

Thanks Mani. I installed exdialer and the result is same. I restored default factory settings on my phone 1 month back, prior to that this was working fine with me getting exdialer as option.


text:
Install android on windows 8 tablet
I have a Windows 8 tablet (an Asus VivoTab) and I want to dual boot it with android but I am having a rough time figuring out how to flash the android iso to tablet. It has no cd, usb or microSD port. I also thought about booting from network but I don't see this feature in BIOS settings. I read a couple of tutorials about it but all of them tell to burn a usb stick (like this one). The only port my tablet has, is that small micro-B usb where I can't really plug any memory sticks. What am I supposed to do?

What is the make and model of your tablet?

@Burgi ASUS VivoTab

Is the booting from the network related to installing/using Android? (If not, then please remove that from your question. We want one question per post.)

Would something like this work for you?

Okay, I decided to spend a few bucks on dual USB flash drive so that I can plug it to micro USB port. Actually I was wondering whether there is a way to flash iso to tablet memory with something similar to ADB but this also works fine.


text:
Why can't I move all images to SD card?
I wanna move ALL my photos, videos, music, etc. to the SD card, so I can give my phone to a friend.
This is the space used by all that stuff and what I see when I click "Transfer data to SD card":

Only 1 file! (The previous screenshot.) So, why can't it see the half Gigabyte of "Pictures, videos" from the first image, as well as the Downloads, Misc...?
EDIT
I'm using Android 4.4.2 on a Sony Xperia D2104.

This would have to do with the manufacturer's implementation of the "file manager" you are using and where it is allowed to move files from and to, most likely out of your control but you did not mention what device or android version or any other information of use to assist in that capacity.
I would suggest connecting the phone to a computer and transferring the files that way, or using a different file manager such as one of the applications in this article which allows relatively full control over the file system and SD card.

Thanks. It is allowed to move files to the SD card, because it does so with the few files informed in the "Transfer files to SD card" screen (like the 1 file above). I have the ES  File Explorer, but it can't write to SD card, what is very strange, since lots of games and other simple software can do it. I'm trying to connect the device to my Ubuntu 14.04, but Ubuntu is not recognizing it (it used to, but now it's just not working). I'll take a look in the link you provided, and hope any of them can be installed in the 208 MB available. Thanks again!

Depending on your Android version, you need to approve the permission to write to the SD card the first time ES File Explorer attempt to do so... Create a new text file in ES in the root of SD and it should prompt you for permission. Personally, I detest ES... It used to be the king until they loaded it with extra garbage Junkware

Tried to Install Astro File Manager, but... "Insufficient storage". With 7.13MB of Download Size, it's UNBELIEVABLE that it cannot fit in 208MB of free internal space. Android SUCKS!!!

As the Android version is Kitkat, and if the device is not rooted, it is very likely that file managers don't get write access to the SD card. That's an issue introduced with Kitkat which was never really solved (except by some manufacturers applying a fix themselves, or some root-apps to fix it). With Android 5.0 and up applies what @acejavelin just wrote (approve the permission).

My Android is 4.4.2, not 5.0. I wonder how can a game write to SD card, but not a file manager!!! Also: trying to install OI File Manager (Download size: 603KB), but "Insufficient storage" again! With 208MB free space! When exactly did Google moved from "don't be evil" to "we're evil and proud about it"?

@Rodrigo Applications can write to their own folder

@acejavelin what is the purpose of an simple sd card, anyway? If we return to floppy drives, who knows it gets easier to use them to save some files?

But we're missing the point: why Android don't move the data to SD card? Why most of my personal data can't leave and free up the device's internal memory?

@Rodrigo Because KitKat's SD card access was "broken", read Izzy's previous comment. At that time it was assumed Google was trying to get rid of SD cards, only recently did they realize this wasn't going to happen.

Probably that's nothing but the bad old planned obsolescence.


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Bluetooth keeps getting turned on
I have a Samsung Galaxy S5 with Android 5.0 and since about 2 weeks or so my Bluetooth keeps getting turned on.
Until now I only used Bluetooth for connecting with my Bluetooth speakers.
I already tried: rebooting the phone and checking for viruses with Kaspersky Mobile.
Maybe there's an app that shows me all apps that have the permission to turn on Bluetooth so that I can deinstall those to see if that helps? Or any idea what the issue could be here?

Strictly speaking, asking explicitly for apps is off-topic here. But take a look at aSpotCat which does what you want – see my answer here for details.

@Izzy: I wasn't asking explicitly for apps - however an app to check permissions could be helpful and/or the solution to my problem. Thanks for your recommendation - it worked well.

Glad to read! May I suggest to update your answer with details on how you found out?

Thanks for finding a previous question and for posting your answer on that question as well: it makes it much easier to keep the site tidy and helps future visitors to find the solution.

The solution was to deinstall FireChat.


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Malware application trying to override system application
My device (Symphony W69Q; running Android 4.4.2) recently encountered an annoying problem. It's UI began to turn off & restart continuously. I also some unwanted apps running in background and showing me annoying ads. As I haven't downloaded these apps & don't know how did they come.
So, I checked my In Settings > Apps > Downloaded and found 2 unknown apps & deleted them. But somehow they appeared again. It's good to say that my device is rooted. I then went to system/app folder and found those 2 of them:
1.apk name: com.swiping.whale.apk
package name: com.android.SYSTEMUI
.
.
.
2.apk name: com.system.cap.qs.iupdater.apk
package name: com.android.updater
.

.
I tried to delete them but failed though I'm rooted. I faced a new problem at night when the original systemUI & Android updater stop working. I think those unwanted culprit apps are trying to override the original system apps because their package name matches the system apps.
I can't figure out the problem. Is this a new kind of advertisement idea to force user to download apps until it damages their device?
Oh yes, after this prob, my 3G data is draining quickly. I downloaded an app named "anWriter" yesterday though faced the prob today. My device is rooted for several months.

What makes you suspect those two APK files in particular?


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Blank screen boot loop on SM-T211
I have a Samsung SM-T211 (India) tablet and am using it for 2 years. I have rooted it using ODIN and TWRP (android 4.4.2) based on online tutorials and it is working fine. Couple of days back when I connected to samsung Kies, it showed that there is an update. I have read in internet that updating through Kies only makes your OS updated resulting an unrooted device which I thought is OK.
Kies downloaded the program and installed on the TAB. It said the TAB would reboot after install. The TAB didn't booted to samsung logo instead entered a blank screen boot loop(I can see a dim light on screen).It is rebooting itself into blank screen. I have tried to enter DOWNLOAD mode but no key configuration is working. The TAB is not even connecting to PC. I have reinstalled Kies and USB drivers still no luck with detection.
Its been a week and I have observed the following :
a) Some times it completely shuts off only enters boot loop when connected to wall charger
b) couple of times when tried to enter download mode, a blank screen with four lines showing ODIN, OS- CUSTOM appeared. It only happened twice randomly and I couldn't capture the image.
I also removed and reattached the battery connector according to  some tutorials with no result.
I have given it to samsung customer care, they said there is a display problem which I don't believe as it is flawlessly working for over two years and I can see OS status as custom briefly (as mentioned above)
I am pretty naive to android(and its terminology) and cannot come with own solution however I can follow any guidelines if given.
Please provide me your suggestions to solve this issue. Thanks in advance.


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Recover photos that got deleted when device switched off?
I have a Moto X Pure running Android 6.0. I have a lot of pictures saved on it. I was recently taking pictures and the device ran out of battery and switched off. When I got home and turned it back on, I couldn't locate the last 30 or so photos that I took when the battery was running low. The videos that I took during this same time show a file size of 0kB and are not openable. However, all the older photos - even the ones I took earlier on the same day - are completely unaffected. I am wondering what could have caused this? Is there a way to recover the photos without having to root the device (most file recovery software that Google searches showed up need the device to be rooted to access internal memory)? I have around 1 GB of free space and I've never received a low disk space notification, nor did I get any other error when taking these pictures. Any help is appreciated.

You can connect your device to PC/Laptop whatever you have and use one of the data recovery tool like recuva*, easeus, etc. So, download easeus on your PC and connect your phone then select your device to scan for picture or videos or whatever you like. Good thing is that you don't need the rooted device to do that.
*Recuva cannot act on an Android device's storage, if device has been set to MTP. But if your files were on MicroSD cards you can use recuva to scan them.(thanks to  Death Mask Salesman)


text:
How come my phone says I'm connected to the wifi yet the internet doesn't work?
My phone is a Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime and it says I'm connected to the wifi, but none of my apps actually work. I get notifications of the apps, but when I click the app it says "network connection problem" or "please check your network connection". The wifi works on everyone device in my home except my phone.

Does your phone work on other Wi-Fi networks?  Has it worked on your home network previously?  Are you using a firewall or ad blocker on the device?

No, my phone does not seem to work on other Wi-Fi networks. Yes, it worked on my home network just an hour before it stopped and no, i am not using a firewall or ad blocked on the device.

That's odd.  I'd suggest rebooting the phone, if you haven't already.

There are many ways you can use to get rid of this issue and Here is how I could fix this issue:
We will first try the easiest checklist and then go to advance options later.

Reboot your phone and check if it works.
Have you installed any Anti-virus apps? If yes, try uninstalling it and check if it works.
Boot into Safe mode and check if it works.
Clear app data by going to Settings > Application Manager and that particular app.

Hopefully the above method does work for you, If not follow the instructions below.
Modify Network Configurations:

Go to Settings > WiFi Networks
Tap and hold for 2-3 seconds on the network your device is connected to.
Choose "Modify network config"
Further tap "Show advance options"
Finally set proxy settings to None

Hopefully this fixes the issue, If not follow the 2nd method.
Factory Reset Method
This method will wipe the data stored on the device so make sure you've already taken backup of important files.

Go to Settings
Under the personal tab, choose Backup and reset.
Finally I am sure you should have everything working fine.

This is most likely a router problem. The WiFi network exists, but there isn't an internet connection. Restart your router and check all the cables. If it still doesn't work contact your ISP...

Try turning off any VPN connections in your settings. If you're using opera Max for example. I did this and WiFi connection was back to normal.

I deleted an Anti-virus app and it worked straight away. I had this problem for a while and this fixed it.

Rebooting fixed this for me. You should also check that your time and date are correct.


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Smartphone to smartphone to sim communication
I have purchased a second Android smartphone because the internal memory on my first smartphone was full and I needed to use more space for apps, pictures, and videos. But the second smartphone has no installed sim card (I currently have no need for two sim cards to be used within the same country).
So my question is, provided both phones are on at the same time, and provided no Wi-Fi is available because I happen to be on the road and not at home, what is the best way to have the simless phone utilize the other phone's network operator data network? What network protocol should I use for this and what are the steps involved?
Assume the phone with the sin card is an Android KitKat 4.4.2 and the other a Lollipop 5.1. Thanks.

In this case the Android versions, or devices themselves, are largely are not relevant to the answer.
The second phone cannot use the first phone's mobile data directly, it must use it via tethering. Activate the mobile/portable hotspot on the first phone and use the WiFi on the second phone to connect to it just like any other WiFi network.
The preferred method would be transfer all data to the second phone (call logs, SMS messages, pictures, etc), then place the SIM in the second phone and use it as your only device and replace the first phone.

Thank you for your answer. The reason I cannot do this with a single phone is I have too many apps and I cannot find a phone with an internal memory large enough to meet my needs. Perhaps you can suggest one.

@JackMaddington Shopping suggestions and product recommendation is beyond the scope of this site. But there are phones available with 32 and 64 GB internal storage, and in Marshmallow the SD card can be adopted as internal storage

That's great! So no longer having to use the SD card for music pictures and video only for fear off apps not working!

@JackMaddington Sounds like someone needs to do some Googling.  :)