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What should I do to use my hard drive on a Samsung Tablet?
I have a 2 TB hard drive full of movies.  I am getting bored watching movies on the computer so I decided buy a Samsung Galaxy Tab.  My hard drive is NTFS and my friends told me that I have to convert NTFS to exFAT to able to see my files on the tablet.  My question is, if I convert my hard drive from NTFS to exFAT, will I be able to watch the files on the tablet?  If not, what should I do to be able to do so?

How are you connecting the hard drive?  If it's connected to a computer already, it would likely be easiest to access it via SMB over Wi-Fi.  Unless the files are massive or your router very slow, playback should work fine.

i am connecting hard drive to tab with usb but tab does not recognise my hard drive and my friend told me that i have to convert it. i am asking if it is true or not.

I would try connecting a USB thumb drive formatted in those different formats first to see if your tab recognizes either, before I wiped my hard drive.  I agree with @Matthew Read that accessing it over a network is a lot better.

The Galaxy Tab appears to support exFAT, so yes — you could back up your files, format the drive, and restore the files.  Then the connection should work.
If you are rooted, there are ways to mount NTFS drives directly.  Paragon Mounther should be able to do so.


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How do you handle a tablet where all screen input and keys have become unresponsive?
How do you shut down the tablet in the condition where neither screen, nor any buttons accept any input? It is possible the tablet is locked in this condition by the active software, last noted to be the Kindle app, but could be a condition caused by any active application?

My Galaxy Tab 3 sometimes freezes without capability to manipulate the restart functionality, or the application Force Close functionality. Since it is a tablet, opening its case to remove the battery is not an available capability, unlike the occasions this happens on my phone, a Samsung Galaxy S3. This is a rare occurence; it has happened twice in recent memory to my tablet. This time the active application was the Kindle app, and it may have even been so when this occured last, several months ago. This time the tablet presents a blank screen, which is active, since it emits a bare shimmer of light. The screen feels slightly warm, indicating the tablet is active. I am uncertain of the specifics of the previous occurence, finding it totally unresponsive when I took it out of my bag on a flight, after i had pre-loaded books to read on that same flight.
I am unsure this is the optimal technique, but the similarity to the last occurence led me to experiment with just letting the battery fully expire. Then plugging it in to power up and reboot into a fresh session. It appears to have restarted properly. I have not witnessed either affected memory or corrupted files so far. The Kindle app seems to have all recent books stored and available.
TL;DR - manage a way to let the battery fully discharge. Plug in and start a fresh session. Check for damaged app or files.
UPDATE 2015/06/03 - This has happened again today, again on a day when I updated my Amazon Kindle app by downloading books. Except today, I downloaded books over 2 sessions. When I recall the first instance, Christmastime 2014, this seems also plausible, since I may have refined my download and search query for some additional downloads. The second instance of this (March 2015) I am unsure about. Now that I have a refined theory, I can experiment. However, this tablet was fully charged this afternoon, so it will be a day or more before I can attempt anything in order to fully discharge the battery.

try Holding the vol up or vol down and power button together for about 30 seconds, if it doesn't take you into recovery then just let the tablet stay until the battery depletes then connect the charger, wait until its full and try to power on the  device.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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Getting offline GPS fix?
I have a simple problem with my phone's GPS:
I have Samsung Galaxy S3 Neo with Android 4.4.2 (unrooted)
Here's the problem:
GPS literally takes forever to load,
I connect to internet and wait some time and it picks up eventually.
But if I restarted my phone and NOT connect to internet and enable gps, it will literally go out of its way to NOT pick up a single signal. It will see more than 20 satellites, but not one of them will be used for fix. This happens anywhere from perfectly open air to indoors (in my case being indoors is absolutely not a reason for not getting a fix because when I do get a fix indoors it sees all the satellites it used to when I was outside)
My question is:
How can I make my phone to pick up signals from those satellites without connecting to internet and end this nightmare?
Thanks a lot
P.S. I have used most of those garbage apps promising "faster fix" "gps fix" and all that crap and none of them helped. In case as I am writing this I have the app GPS Status and toolbox on ""Looking" for GPS location" forever and not picking anything up.
What's the solution?

My question is: How can I make my phone to pick up signals from those satellites without connecting to internet and end this nightmare?

GPS works by getting a fix on your location with the satellites whereas the Internet connection is used to download the map data associated with the particular area you're in.
Give this answer on Stack Overflow a read. It'll solve some of your doubts on how much signal strength is required.

While your answer is technically correct, it's not really clear if OP is needing internet connection to load the map or not (not mentioned anywhere). It's only mentioned that even while using GPS app (which needs GPS only, no internet connection) doesn't get the fix.

^^ The question TBH isn't very clear. I quote this: " GPS literally takes forever to load, I connect to internet and wait some time and it picks up eventually."
edit: Also depending upon location and signal to the satellites the time required for GPS to download the data from satellites will always vary.
So it does work eventually with time. It'll be interesting to know how much time infact it requires to get.
What I think is the issue that OP thinks enabling the GPS itself should get it working right away(irrespective of whether any app or the system requests GPS location or not).

Well, sometimes (I do NOT know what the changing variable is) I turn the GPS on and I get a fix almost immediately (offline and online), Looks like there is something hindering it.
It is literally not possible to stay in open air and not pick up any signal from any satellites.I need offline GPS since I have offline maps.
I want to find out why GPS doesn't pick up any signal as it is obvious there is something interfering with it.
P.S. Sometimes waiting REALLY LONG offline gets a fix but a  less stable one (I leave the app and come back only to wait a minute or two for it to get a fix again)

@andrew-t I have a similar issue here

Use this app "GNSS viewer"
Switch of all the data communication services and open the app and you will get the accurate positioning data.
if not restart the phone and try it again.

Can you link this app?

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


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Locked on stock recovery software?
Even after flashing clockworkmod, when I go into the recovery menu after booting, it just gives me the stock recovery system. Help? I've also tried with twrp, no luck.

I had this problem with me while flashing Oneplus One with Philz Touch Recovery. Same issue. I factory reset my phone and the issue was gone. However, please confirm do you have any option like Settings > Developer Options > Update Recovery. If you have anything regarding recovery there, please mention it here. And perhaps, it would be better if you can mention the Device model, Recovery Version, Steps used for installing recovery.

@Firelord , No, I don't have an option like that. Device model: SAMSUNG-SGH-1337 Recovery version: I'm using ClockworkMod 6.0.4.7 Steps used: I just flashed it in ROM manager. Please help?

Using ROM Manager to successfully install recovery requires Root Access. Please explain how did you even rooted your device without installing custom recovery first? Which OS do you have now in your PC? We'll be using PC now to install recovery using conventional method.

I installed with Odin on my PC. Edit: I'm using windows

Samsung makes thing complicated. ADB is so much easy over anything. As my experience is with ADB only with no Samsung devices, I can recommend this.

@Firelord can you chat with me somehow? I would really like some help...

@Firelord By the way, I'm using 4.4.4 KitKat

Is your Bootloader unlocked?

@Firelord I don't believe it is... Is there any chance this could brick my phone, or is it just a reset?

Well, technically, if you try installing recovery you can end up bricking your phone very easily if you aren't aware of the know-how's of the things you're using. ROM Manager is dangerous because in case of bricking you'll not come to know what went wrong. ADB/Fastboot helps people in this regard.Are you sure you want to install Custom recovery at this point or you want to learn more and then try installing it.

You can reset the phone easily by going into your current stock recovery. That's easy and safe.

This question's asker already knows about installing custom recovery on S4. You can ping him.

@Adi Inbar Your help is needed here! Plz help

This is because most stock systems will flash the stock recovery on boot and/or your bootloader is locked (and prevents writing to safe partitions).
Please follow this instructions from CM; They are working, I already tested them:
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Install_CM_for_jflte#Recovery_Installation

Thanks. However, I saw few questions where answerer referred links like you did, but was advised by senior members not do so since the link can be broken or down in the future, thereby, making the answer useless for anyone looking for answer. But your reputation is already high. Anyway :)

Since this is a site on the official CM servers, I don't think that it will go down in the near future... ;)

I did give a thought to that while writing but then, may be some new member lurking around like me might notice and learn from it in the near future. :)

@TimoS the goo.im link to the to the loki files isn't working for me. Is there any other way I could get to them?

@Firelord do you know how to fix this?

@JoakimPoops Do you mean the GApps?

@TimoS Crap. Did some troubleshooting, it seems there's no way to flash ROMs on my device... ATT locked down against loki with the 4.4.4 KitKat update... If I unlock my phone, will that make this easier? (Unlock with unlock code from ATT)? Btw, thanks for the help.

@JoakimPoops Yes you have to unlock your phone to continue...

@TimoS if I unlock it, can I launch the custom recoveries as easily as on a non-brand samsung?

@JoakimPoops You should, yes. But your warranty is void then. But I don't think that's a problem...

@TimoS Alright, I'll working on getting a code. Get back to you soon! Thanks for the help thus far!

You most probably using odin and cwm or twrp tar.md5 file to flash new recovery to a Samsung device. Key point in here is that untick the reboot after flash in odin settings and remove battery after flash completed. This way original recovery doesnt have time to reinstall.

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


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FOTA download stays at 0% and can not get rid of it on Verizon Ellipsis 7
I have Verizon Ellipsis 7 (QMV7A) running on Android 4.2.2. I've been stuck with FOTA downloading for 3 days, and it's draining my battery. The download will not progress past 0%. I have tried to stop the download but it just pops back up. I found the same issue on AndroidCentral, but there's no solution either.
Is there anything that I can do to fix this?

I have the same problem on two Verizon Ellipsis 7 tablets. I've called Verizon tech support 3 times; each time I seem to get a tech rep that doesn't seem to understand tech talk. The FOTA process has been running on both tablets for five days, showing 0% progress. On one tablet I did a factory reset. As soon as the device started back up, so did the FOTA process.
UPDATE (3/4/15) - I just talked with Verizon technical support, again. They now say it is a known issue with that update and they hope to have it resolved within a couple of weeks.
UPDATE #2 (3/12/15) - Verizon now says to return the tablets for repair. They have a special program to address the issue. They will pay the freight, the repairs are free (even if out of warranty), and the return should be within 5 business days.

Oh yeah, same device model (QMV7A) and Android version (4.2.2) as Mr. Farlight. I am assuming the fota was/is for the KitKat upgrade. It was pushed to me automatically, I did not actively start a download update process.

SOLVED  I had the same problem, but I finally got the update to go through.  For nearly a week, the update would hang at 0% and going nowhere.
I reckon turning the WiFi off is the key.  Since it's a Firmware Over The Air (FOTA) update, and the device is programmed to give a Wifi access point priority over a CDMA, GSM, 3G, or LTE, etc. signal, the update just hits a loop.  The update is a primer for the KitKat OS.  Immediately after rebooting and installing, the tablet prompted me to download KitKat.
I doubt it, but it may also be related that I did a manual update (Settings --> About tablet --> software updates --> check new), and kept the tablet awake for ten minutes waiting for the update, then turned off the WiFi connection.  After another couple of minutes, the update went through.


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Is there any way to read long notifications in Android KitKat?
Some apps will create notifications that are too long to be read on the screen (horizontally or vertically).  They get truncated and you can't read the end.
Is there a way to read notifications that are too long to fit in the notification drop-down list?
Please ensure your answers are specific for Android KitKat.
For Android Jelly Bean, see this question.

Have you tried swiping down the notification?

Possible duplicate of Seeing the full text of a long notification

Have you tried pulling down the notification using two fingers? If that doesn't work then it maybe that the specific app doesn't support it.
Not all apps support viewing the entire text in the notifications panel.

Wish the os davedthe texts somewhere. So we can read later and full; till 1,000 new ones in queue.


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Apps Startup on Power Up
When I turn my phone on, many apps also turn on in the background. This slows down my phone. How do I shut them down? Why is the OS built this way? Doesn't make sense to me.

Re: "Why is the OS built this way", it's the same as startup on other OSes like Windows, so it makes sense. The only "nonsense" is why the OS doesn't provide startup configuration, which might be valid to some users. But then, how do you know that "many apps start-up on boot"? And how do you know which are important and which are not?

The apps which start automatically with your phone have it in their permissions to start together. Apps like Messengers need to start with your phone so as to be able to run in the background and show latest messages received etc.
You can try an app called Greenify(which can hibernate apps in the background or permanently). Give this a read.

There are valid reasons why some apps need to start at bootup, but the honest answer why many apps do this is that the developers don't think that maybe you have 100 other apps installed that also want to run at bootup.  You're right, it slows everything down.
The most valid reason to run at boot time is to execute a process that always needs to be running, such as an antivirus program.
The not-so-wonderful reasons are to track your habits for marketing or to display advertisements.  Another unfortunate reason is to pre-load some part of the app so that it appears to load faster the first time; the reality, of course, is that the device still needs to spend time performing this operation and thus it can make bootups take an unreasonable amount of time (especially if more than one app is performing this undesirable practice).
The easiest way to stop apps from running on boot is to use a program like Autostarts available on F-Droid and on the Play Store (to help support the development), or Startup Manager available on the Play Store.
The trouble with blocking an app from running on boot is that you don't know what it was really doing.  It might be nothing, or it could be database maintenance that, if never performed, could result in a corrupt or bloated database for that application.  There is always a little gamble involved.
Another option is to use a program like Greenify available on the Play Store which can be configured to temporarily hibernate applications when they are not in immediate use.  Support for Greenify is available on xda-developers.
The best practice for developers is to never have their application start on bootup unless it is essential.  A second choice is to make it a user-configurable option.  In either case, the developer should publicly document exactly why the app needs to start at boot and exactly what the consequences are of disabling that option.
Users can voice their concerns directly to the company that developed the app that starts on boot and by choosing to not support applications that unnecessarily start on boot.


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How much free storage does Android need?
How much free storage does Android KitKat need?
I've noticed that when storage (not RAM) gets down to somewhere between 200 and 300MB, Android starts to complain that it will not be able to function properly unless some storage space is freed up.  This seems a bit surprising as 200MB is a huge amount of space.
What is the actual amount of storage required to be free, and why is it so large?

I'm not sure there's a "documented number" on this. It was originally 25 MB minFree, but other sources mention values in percent (see also our insufficient-memory tag-wiki).

Having worked for a major phone carrier  in tech support for the last 3 years I have noticed that a lot of the common procedures for androids typically recommend to have at least 150 MB of storage available to run efficiently with your basic preinstalled apps.
But I have gathered that the more apps you download on your phone, the more notifications and updates are constantly being pushed to your phone in the background which will slow it down quite a bit the lower the available amount of space gets.
Typically disabling automatic push updates, notifications and turning the data off in the background will help to keep your battery life longer and your phone running smoothly as long as you remember to keep going in and manually updating your apps.
If you use multiple social media apps and streaming video apps take lots of photos and videos, text and call a lot as I personally do, while continuing to keep updates and notifications on, I would personally recommend having at least 500 MB to 1 GB free. And make sure to have photos and videos synced up to a cloud service like google photos or dropbox so you can free up space on your phone quickly.
Some people use SD cards which can help, but I have noticed SD cards can be easily corrupted and if not purchased in the right speed class or storage size can actually slow your phone down.

This doesn't really answer the question. He asked why that free space is required and you talked about what stuff people might have on their phones.

I would say atleast a GB of free space. Many internet related apps like Facebook, instagram, twitter etc have lots of pictures and videos which are written on to the flash memory of the device and many of them keep running on the background even when you close the app. Not to mention android itself writes to the flash memory sometimes if needed. So when there are no free spaces left you will most likely face slow downs. And it is recommended to to keep 10% free space on any flash based memory to help extend its life.

I am not sure, there's a definite value or range for minimum storage required on Android; but as a rule, I tend to have at least 1GB of storage free on my device, which should be good enough for the phone to keep running smooth without any issues.

I hope it's not 1GB!  Many people have 8GB devices on which only about 3-4GB are remaining after the OS and essential apps.  If 1GB needs to stay available just for Android to function, that would only leave 2-3GB for all their apps, data, music, video, photos, etc!

i doubt it is, but from my experience 1GB is the minimum i allow my phone to go to

Thanks.  I believe it is more than the actual minimum, but definitely is a safe minimum!

If you'd read my comment (which I posted more than 5 hours before your answer) and followed the link, you'd know it's neither 1G or any other "fixed number" – but a percentage defined by the ROM builder (defaulting to 5% of available storage if the ROM builder didn't adjust it). So ~1G is correct if you've got 16GB storage (more accurately, about 700M considering at least 3 of the 16G are reserved for the /system partition).

Minimum storage is decided by android on your device.
Example i have Xperia ZL 16GB model
I get 12 GB to use.
And i get system storage low notification when i have less than 500MB free.
In older devices android would use pre determined part of storage for user app and data and remaining for user files (i.e. Videos music stuff).
That predetermined storage would be labelled as data partition and that was system storage.
Now in new devices we dont have different partition for app n user files
And minimum space is used for cache and different files generated by system and apps.

From my experience from multiple phones and tablets .currently android requires nearly 6-700 MB free in internal to work properly .Thats the absolute minimum when it starts to lag and act funny .

So all devices you use to backing this statement came with about 16G storage, right? That's the "5% rule" then.

For smooth functionality an android device need 150 to 200 MB free space in its internal memory so that its aap function can run smoothly .

Sources? Where is this number defined?

Having worked on various types of computer for 38 years, I can tell you that Windows and Mac computers, of both desktop and laptop, have a minimum of 10% free space rule. As a precaution I use that same principle on other devices. This is because of 'operating capital' - it needs space to store temporary files as you use apps, it needs space to download updates to and space to store the uncompressed update files prior to installing them (it should delete the compressed and uncompressed update files automatically after install). Also, the updated OS or App may be slightly bigger than the previous version.


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Is it possible to scan WiFi access points without turning on WiFi?
Just as the title says, is it possible to scan all WiFi access points around the Android phone device when WiFi is turned off (e.g. only using 3G)?

By "modems", did you mean WiFi access points? Also, please include some background why you want to know this and what do you want to do with it.

Yes @AndrewT. I mean wifi access point

Starting from Android 4.3 JellyBean, it's possible to scan WiFi access points even if the WiFi is off. It's called "Scanning always available"
From PCMag.com,

As those who have taken a spin around the Android 4.3 ROM have noticed, Google has made a change to devices' Wi-Fi settings in Android 4.3.
"To improve location accuracy and for other purposes, Google and other apps may scan for nearby networks, even when Wi-Fi is off," describes Google.

If your device is Android 4.3 or newer, you can enable it from Settings - Wi-Fi - Advanced Wi-Fi - Scanning always available.

Fire up the Settings app and tap your finger on the Wireless and Networks option. Tap on the Wi-Fi option, and then tap on the Overflow button on your phone's screen (the triple-dots icon). When this submenu pops up, tap your finger on the Advanced option. From there, you'll want to make sure to check the "Scanning always available" option if you want to participate in the new Android 4.3 feature. Otherwise, if it's checked, you need merely to uncheck it to ensure that "Wi-Fi off" really means "Wi-Fi off."

is it possibel to enable "scanning always visiable" programatically on android

Please refer to this question on SO, since programming question is off-topic here.


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Volume control: is there a really silent setting?
I like to listen to the radio in the background with earbuds. So I turn the volume down all the way, but in the lowest setting the volume is still about two to three times as loud is I want it to be.
Is there a way to tune the master-volume (or the volume of one app) to something less still than 1/10 without going totally silent?

Which device? Which version of Android?

FP1 with 4.2.2


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Unable to connect to adb shell via USB
I have a Karbonn Sparkle V AndroidOve device that was previously getting connected to the adb shell using an USB but after the recent factory restore I am absolutely unable to connect to adb shell. Developer options and debugging using USB are switched on.
The error coming is error: Device not found.
How can I get it back to connect to Ubuntu adb shell?

Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.


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A miracle for finding a stolen phone
Background
Recently my phone got stolen from my pocket and then I was almost thrown in street and run over by a car. The police won't move a finger because of a new law, which means I'll have to wait for over a year to get it back, but of course I did file a complaint with all the documents regarding the ownership of the phone.
Question
Is there any possibility of tracking your phone considering the fact that you have no pre-installed or rooted app and even if you do have it they can do factory reset/boot or do a full wipe? Can you track your IMEI or is there a service that could track it for you?

Not much help now, but for future reference - I always install a custom ROM, and sideload something like Cerberus right in, that say even a factory reset will not clear it, only a new ROM install would.

Yea there is one miracle app which should be already installed in your device. Android Device Manager is built into all Android phones and allows you to do almost anything you want and you can operate it with your google account that you used on your mobile but it only works when GPS is activated.

If they do a factory reset you google account is no more linked to the phone and therefor the app is useless. I tried it already..


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Unlock screen with device manager
so im trying to unlock my galaxy s4 screen, using google device manager, or something similar (any suggestion ?). cuz my screen recently cracked a i wanna get backup from all my data and reset it before i change the screen entirely. but an app like "Kies" requires the screen to be unlocked in order to enable any file transfer! can anyone help me?

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts! This seems to be an XY problem. Instead of trying to get your supposed solution working, let's better work on the issue at hand. I've just added the broken-screen tag to your question, please start checking out its tag-wiki for first aid. Especially take a look at the "data recovery" section there.

Unlocking the screen from outside is not possible. (without root privileges).
If you have a custom recovery installed then you can boot into it and make a backup via adb shell


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Google Authenticator keeps crashing after OS upgrade
I had no problem using Google Authenticator for the first month.  Two weeks ago, my phone's operating system upgraded and now Authenticator will not work.
I have uninstalled it, re-downloaded it, and reinstalled.  No matter what function I choose (sync time, setup) I get an error message that Authenticator has stopped working.  Also, since I need the two-factoring for our website, the codes stopped working on that.  I keep reporting the issue to Google but of course, have had no response.
Any suggestions?

Because your work is affected, until this issue is resolved you can use this app for two-factor authentication. I tested it now and it works perfectly.

If you can't access to Google Authenticator in any way, I suggest trying Duo Mobile or FreOTP Authenticator
I tried Duo Mobile and I personally use it for my personal Google Account. It works like a charm. Feel free to draw feedback if that resolves the question for you.

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


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How do you turn off the message indicator in Hangouts?
I don't want people to know when I saw their texts. Is there a way to turn the message indicator off?

From google's site:
"Hangouts:
When chatting with someone who is using Hangouts, please keep in mind that you can't appear invisible on Hangouts.
When you set your Google Chat status to invisible, Hangouts users will see your profile picture without a green dot in their contact list, meaning that you may be idle or unavailable on your computer.
If you are signed in to Hangouts, you won’t be able to set your status to invisible."


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Does Samsung Galaxy S2 Plus supports Miracast?
Since Android 4.2 there should be support vor Miracast. Also the Samsung Galaxy S2 Plus has Wifi Direct. But I can't find any option.
Does Samsung Galasy S2 Plus supports Miracast? If yes, where can I find the option in the menu?

No, I don't believe the SGS2 Plus supports Miracast.  This feature comparison shows the other phone having it but not the S2.
However, from my understanding, since Wi-Fi Direct is supported it shouldn't be extremely hard for someone to get Miracast working on the device.  This has been done for the regular SGS2, though I do not completely understand those posts.

Yes it does, but probably not on the official ROMs. It is working on CM12 and recent CM11-based ROMs. The broadcom chip inside galaxy s2 plus supports multi-role (but with probably newer drivers), so it even doesn't disconnect from wifi while it is mirroring.


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Network quality related battery discharge
I'm seeing a ridiculous battery drain on my Android/Samsung Galaxy S4 seeming to correlate with network traffic/signal change (see images below). Please keep in mind that the phone sits idly on my desk during the periods in question. It is stock (Android:4.4.2, Kernel: 3.4.0, Hardware: I545.07).
Has anyone had else already solved this issue?

You sure it's related to signal? Your status bar is plenty icon-laden indicating to me you have alot going on there. I wouldn't look to basic functionality as the culprit - check the other apps running and draining battery as the first and more-likely candidates.

I am not certain it is signal, but the representative screenshots ( a small sample ) always correlate to a signal quality change - and then a dramatic battery drain. If I turn off my mobile data and leave wifi on (for those same services to leverage), I do not experience the problem. So while I am not certain - I think its very likely. I might be able to attach ADB and view it but who has time for that?

I had a similar issue with an S4 mini.  I found the best solution to turn off airplane mode and then turn on wifi, which essentially keeps it from searching for a cell signal when one was poor or non-existent.  You can create reminders or macros to do some of this on a non-rooted phone.

I had considered that kind of solution - but as I'm sure you'll agree - it sucks. If I have my phone in airplane mode, I won't get texts or calls...

Agreed. How about switch "mobile data" off instead of airplane? Macrodroid will let you create a macro to trigger by location (the office) and turn mobile data off. You then create another trigger for leaving the office and turning mobile data back on. Ideal? No. Some suckage removal? Probably.


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How do I use ok Google with SoundHound?
If I ask "ok Google, what song is this?"  it will tell me.
However, I prefer to use SoundHound (because I have the paid version, and it stores my searches for later retrieval, and it links to spotify automatically).
Is there a voice command that asks "ok Google, ask SoundHound what song this is"?
I can't even seem to open the app." open SoundHound" yields a Google now result screen (where the first result is the app itself), but it does not open it -  probably because the paid app name is "SoundHound infinity " (the symbol for infinity).

Unfortunately, you don't have such command right now. But you can expect it to be added in the future. Google is already working on it. More information here.

I remember reading this a few weeks ago - but isn't this blog post for the cards? I would have assumed that the voice commands are different than the cards.

Agree with @wild_oscar. From what I know, the update is for Google Now Card, but not voice command. I also researched about this, and so far, there is no API for developer to integrate the voice command. There are 3rd-party apps (Commandr, Tasker+AutoVoice) that can add command to Google Now, but with current specification by OP, I think it's still impossible for SoundHound to identify a song directly.

@AndrewT.: Yes you are right. I searched about it too. Please edit this answer.


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Wrong time of photo on Nexus 4
After I took a photo with my Nexus 4, I clicked "Details" and found out the taken day and time are wrong. Such as, it should be "Feb 25, 2015 6:50PM", but it shows "Feb 26, 2015 12:50:13AM". How should I fix it?

Depending on your timezone, this is probably UTC time. Check the Camera settings for contextual filename, and see if it allows you to change the styling of the timestamp.

I was having that problem until I turned on Save Location, then the time stamp became exactly the right time.


text:
What is the default browser of Android 5.0 and above?
Android devices used to have its stock web browser as its default browser, but nowadays, it is replaced by Chrome. And it is said that the default browser of Android 5.0 and above is going to be Chrome. Having said that, what happens if a phone with stock web browser is updated to Android 5.0? Is its stock web browser is deleted as well as replaced by Chrome? Or does it stay as its stock web browser even after the update?
If there is any web-site that could support your answer, please attatch its URL as well.
Thanks.

I would say, it's really depend on who provides the update. Nexus devices are controlled by Google, and they have used Chrome since JellyBean (or even before). If you're flashing custom ROM based on Lollipop, its developer may choose not to include Chrome and use other browser instead.

Thanks Andrew. What about those sold by cellphone carriers? Are their default browsers also depending on manufacturers? Is there any phones whose browser is the stock browser even after being updated to Android 5.0?

Lollipop has chrome as its default browser. Even devices which had native browser on KitKat deletes the native browser upon lollipop update.

Depends on the provider of the ROM. Currently Nexus & Moto devices having lollipop, has Chrome as default browser because both are having pure android.
If you are having phone from other manufacturers, it really depends on them what will they provide.
If you are using custom ROM then its up-to the developer which to set as default browser.


text:
Screenshots often come out corrupted
I have a first generation Moto G (XT1033) with Android 5.0.
Often when taking screenshots, it gets stuck at the Screenshot is being saved message - then I have to forcefully close the System UI process if I want it to go away.
And the final file is corrupted (either the PNG file will not open on a PC or, for image viewers that are more tolerant to broken files, it will be black except for a small portion of the image). For an example:

See that the image is correct up to a point. It seems as if the file was closed before the system finished writing to it.
What can be causing this problem?

Well, I gave up and did a reset of the phone. The problem didn't appear anymore.

Another temporary fix other than rebooting is doing another screenshot. The next screenshot would override the stuck one.
PS: It might take 2-3 attempts to fix it.


text:
How Do I Change Keyboard Layout
My keyboard can plug into my phone through USB. It has an American key layout.
How can I switch its layout to another layout (like using Alt+Shift in Windows)?
Changing the layout of the on screen keyboard doesn't help.

Worst case, there's an app for that. Several, actually, but apedroid is well-reviewed, currently being maintained, and has a free demo version if you want to make sure it works for your set-up.  $2-ish for the full version so "worst case" might be an overstatement.


text:
How to send mp3 through whatsapp?
I see that you can send a media file on BlackBerry. Can I do the same thing on Android?

Yes you can send a mp3 file through WhatsApp in Android.

Go to a private chat/group chat where you want to send the mp3 file.
Find the clip icon in the top right corner of the chat.

Tap it and a menu looking like this will pop up.

Choose "Audio" and then choose "Choose Music Track" (Play Music app) or from a third party music app.
Choose the track you wish to send and then confirm.
The mp3 file will be received (by default) in Internal Storage > WhatsApp > Media > WhatsApp Audio

Alternative Solution #1,

Locate the mp3 file you wish to send in a file explorer.
Depending on the file explorer, either long-clicking or choosing options will give you a menu with all operations such as cut, copy, rename, details, share (or send).
Choose share (or send) and then choose WhatsApp from the pop-up menu.
Now choose the contact you wish to send to and confirm.

Alternative solution #2,

Use a third-party application to send the file over a chat.
Good examples are WaSend and WhatsApp File Sender.

I only get the 'sound record' and 'record with whatsapp' options

Try the alternative solutions.

good enough, although the 2nd solution doesn't really answer the question asked

+1 good answer! @svarog The 2nd solution may not address the exact parameters you defined, but remember others will be reading this and in some cases an alternative app / extension may be exactly what that person wants! The more options the better (in my opinion anyway).

It's still useful nevertheless, that's why I upvoted the answer

Go to file manager. Find the mp3 you want to send. Long press on it for 1 second. Then select "Share" option. Then select Whatsapp in the sharelist. That's it. You're done.


text:
Lost my phone on aeroplane mode
I lost my Samsung s5 on a flight the day before I took the last photos of my honeymoon they are the only ones that are not backed up. Could some one tell me if they will ever be backed up? Or will my phone need a internet signal?

If you had an internet connection when you took the photos, they'll get backed up, assuming Auto Backup was switched on.
Otherwise, the photos will get backed up only if someone finds it and switches on the internet connection.
Given that you lost the phone in a flight, chances are high that you can find it by contacting the airport authorities.


text:
Why isn't Android using the IPSec VPN for browsing etc.?
I have configured IPSec VPN using a PSK to connect to my home network using the default built-in VPN settings in Android 5 on my Nexus 5. It connects correctly, but most apps don't use the connection for some reason.
For example, I cannot use either Chrome or Firefox to browse web sites hosted in the remote network. Chrome spends a long time as if it's going to load, but never does. Firefox immediately errors out saying it can't find the server. In fact, they can't load any site (like google.com etc.) while the VPN connection is established.
However, I can ping the very same host names from the phone's terminal and I can telnet to port 80 and get back a response to those same hosts when I use a telnet app, so clearly some apps are picking it up correctly.
Why isn't Firefox or Chrome able to connect to anything?

Gmail doesn't work, G+ doesn't work, the Facebook app DOES work but is unexpectedly slow.

Are you using a desktop as the VPN endpoint? Did you turn on IP forwarding? Or, test by typing an IP address into google instead of a domain name.

A firewall is the endpoint. IP forwarding is enabled and working when used from other devices. IP addresses don't work when typed into the browser.


text:
How to fix Acer Tab. Iconia one 7
Hello can you help me fix my acer tab?

I start to play a game then in the midway it force exits and prompted an error saying "Unfortunately [app] has stopped!"
I noticed that the app icon in settings for example I will clear the cache of zombie tsunami so I will go in Settings then app then zombie tsunami the problem is the icon of zombie tsunami is replaced with android logo, can you help me?

does it happen with other applications/games ? it may be just this particular game is buggy. also, sometimes applications can behave strangely if you flash shady 3rd party roms.

I think thats not rooted and no custom roms installed.When I go in settings then app I saw the apps Icon when I tap it the Icon is android logo


text:
ADB is working, but fastboot is not on Mac OS X with HTC Desire Z
The adb devices command is working for me, the fastboot devices command is not (Mac OS X Mavericks, SDK downloaded yesterday, the phone is an HTC Desire Z):
$ sudo fastboot -i 0x0bb4 -p 0x0c91 devices
$ fastboot -i 0x0bb4 -p 0x0c91 devices
$ fastboot devices
$ adb devices
List of devices attached
HT0C5RT00804    device
$ adb shell
#

So fastboot doesn't list devices, whatever I try (sudo, or specifying -i and -p options), while ADB works just fine. I found vendor and product IDs via Mac OS X system information. ADB working seems to indicate that communication between my laptop and the phone does work fine.
How can I get fastboot to work?
Background info:
I'm trying to install CyanogenMod on a HTC Desire Z. Part of the procedure I'm following is described here: http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/HTC_Desire_Z:_Firmware_Downgrade_(Gingerbread)
I get stuck at the fastboot oem rebootRUU step:
 $ fastboot oem rebootRUU
 < waiting for device >

(hangs, I gave up after 20 minutes), and I think that is due to fastboot not working. Any other ideas on how to get past this appreciated?

If adb is detecting your device then you're in the wrong boot mode for fastboot. You need to boot into your bootloader, not the regular Android system or your recovery. You should be able to find instructions for getting into your device's bootloader on Google, I would imagine, but running adb reboot bootloader is typically the easiest method.

Maybe it's a driver issue? Running a linux vm and trying from there might help, or if you want, spend a good amount of time tracking down the proper drivers for your phone and ensure your device is listed with its serial number when you run adb devices in the command line interface.

From your first quoted block, I assume your phone is booted up normally (adb devices lists it as "device"). Fastboot cannot find it there. Try adb reboot fastboot, then check again when your device has booted up into fastboot mode.
See also:

How to Boot Android Devices in various modes (Fastboot/Recovery/Download)
fastboot intro (CyanogenMod Wiki)
FastBoot Mode (KingoApp)
Know Your Android Tools: What Is Fastboot & How Do You Use It?
our fastboot tag-wiki

What is the definitive test to know the device is in fastboot mode? tried 'adb reboot fastboot' and power+keydown (and check if its selected in the menu). Anything on the device itself, or via adb shell to definitely see the device being in fastboot mode?

I've never used fastboot myself, but AFAIK it's definitely showing its own screen on the device (as recovery-mode does as well). So if you see the "standard user UI", I'd say you're definitely not in fastboot mode.

Use adb reboot bootloader, and then Mac OS X, assuming the drivers work, will detect it in fastboot mode, as attested to by fastboot devices.
If your Android version is lower than 4.3, use Framaroot to root it, use Flashify to flash a custom recovery, and flash the CyanogenMod rom.zip from the custom recovery. No PC involved.

authors: รู้ไม่ถึงครึ่ง อย่าทะลึ่งพูด


text:
Battery percentage shown in lockscreen while charging is incorrect
I have a Samsung Galaxy S-III (rooted & running 4.4.4) with a peculiar problem.
According to the Notification Bar toggles, the battery percentage is 82%. The same is shown in  Settings > Battery.
However, when I plug it in for charging, it shows "Charging, 49%".
After some time on the power, when the actual percentage was 99%, the lockscreen showed 69%. According to the custom Kernel, the battery percentage in the notification bar and settings is correct. Therefore, it must be something to do with the lockscreen widget.
Does anyone know how to fix this? Any help is appreciated.
Things I have tried:

Reboot
Factory Reset and Wipe Caches
Reverting to Stock ROM

Seems to be an issue with your custom ROM. I've had such ROM showing incorrect percentage. Backup this image & try another ROM.

I've been using this stable ROM for over 6 months now. If it was a bug in the ROM, it should've showed up right away.

Same thing happened to me. I never knew why it happened but when I tried another ROM, it got solved.

Issue persists on stock ROM.


text:
Can't transfer files because of locked and broken screen
I broke the screen of my phone (SAMSUNG DUOS). Like you can really see the shatter marks on it. But the screen became unresponsive. My problem is that, when I connect it to my computer to recover my files, I cannot access them because my phone is locked. And since the glass is broken and unresponsive, I cannot unlock it.
Help me please!!!

You need to go to service station, temporarily fit another screen and get the data from internal storage.

I've just added the broken-screen tag to your question. You might wish to check with its tag-wiki for some help. There are some solutions linked on how to work with a broken screen (e.g. until you've got it replaced).

If USB debugging was enabled, you can use the adb (Android Debug Bridge) to retrieve your files.
Install USB drivers for your device and the adb.
Issue the following commands to pull the required folders from your phone.
Make temporary directory:
adb shell mkdir /sdcard/tmp
Move files from mydir to temporary directory:
adb shell mv /sdcard/mydir/*.* /sdcard/tmp
Pull this directory (be sure to put '/' in the end):
adb pull /sdcard/tmp/
Move and remove temporary directory:
adb shell mv /sdcard/tmp/* /sdcard/mydir/
adb shell rmdir /sdcard/tmp
But then again, this will work only if debugging is switched on.
Source


text:
Samsung galaxy 4 smashed screen
i have a samsung galaxy 4 with a  smashed screen, i really need to get my contact numbers and calendar from it (currently using a friends old iphone but will be borrowing sisters old s4 soon. Phone charges and light flashes at top when turned on but unable to see anything due to the damage. Desperate for help please!!!

See: How do I backup data (SMS/contacts) from a device with a broken screen? / How to backup broken screen phone when USB debugging IS NOT enabled? / How to perform a full system dump/backup with a broken screen? and our broken-screen tag-wiki.

Assuming you have logged in your Gmail account on your galaxy 4. Your contacts & calendar are already backed up to Gmail server. You can easily get access to them by logging into your Gmail account through your PC and click on Gmail icon at top left of your screen -> select Contact. For calendar click on square tiles at top right of screen and select calendar.
You can get the contacts and Calendar details on your Iphone also by logging the same gmail account to your IPhone which you had used in your broken S4.

Do you have a Windows or Mac box to connect it to? Samsung has http://www.samsung.com/us/kies/ which will let you grab the info off via a USB cable - screen only required if it has a lock on it.


text:
Update for att s5 on tmobile service?
So I got an att galaxy s5 that is being used on tmobile service.  Am I out of luck as to getting either the att 4.4.4 update or the tmobile lollipop update?  Checked through settings and version is 4.4.2 and shows as no new update is available for att and I do not see an option for tmobile.

Have you rooted your device? If you have rooted your device you wont get any update.
If not rooted then you can try by installing Kies to your PC and then try updating through PC.

That is not true about a rooted device not getting updates. Usually, when you root, you disable OTA updates, but you do not have to. They are usually disabled because an OTA will undo root, usually.


text:
Galaxy Tab 4 7.0 root knox?
I see directions for carrier based versions of the galaxy tablet, but none seem to mention the particular one that I have(a wifi only sm-t230nu). they also mention Knox, but I cannot tell if it is installed by default on this model. if I root/flash this type of tablet, will it trigger this Knox and render it serviceable or is that a feature specific to certain types of tablets?

According to Samsung's website, the Galaxy Tab 4 7.0 comes with Knox.  Are you asking if the Knox enterprise features will be enable (where it creates a "safe" environment on your table) or if it will trip the Knox flags, essentially telling Samsung service departments that you've tinkered with it and voided your warranty?

I do not use this in an enterprise environment, so I probably won't need enterprise features unless there is a good reason for them

I think your bigger concern then is that it will probably trip the Knox flag, telling samsung that the device is not stock and has been "tampered with". It makes a good excuse for them not to have to deal with any warranty issues, whether they are related to what rooting does or not.

basically,yes. I'm not sure what does and doesn't count specifically for voiding, and would rather not accidentally set a flag I didn't know about

This may be more information than you want, but here are all of the gory details on the mysterious Knox flag: http://omegadroid.co/wanted-knox-void-warranty-0x1/


text:
Text to speech: Unable to switch to UK English
My phone (Fairphone) does not have the 'English (UK)' locale, only the US one. I recently discovered how to download custom voices for Google text-to-speech ('Install voice data' from settings) and have downloaded a UK English voice to replace the default American voice, which I find incredibly irritating (sorry, Americans!).
Unfortunately, even though I have downloaded the voice data, I still seem unable to switch to the new voice, as 'English (UK)' is still not an option when visiting TTS's 'Language' menu. Am I missing something here? How do I make my phone speak to me in my native language? (My Android version is 4.2.2)

Here's what worked on my US-based xperia:
Settings > language & input > language (select English (UK))
Then back to language & input > text-to-speech output  > select google-text-to-speech engine then click on the settings icon next to it > language > english (UK)
Any luck? The key for me was to set the language first.

No, unfortunately the Fairphone only has one 'English' language option, and that's the US one. (No idea why, as a Dutch company, they made this decision, but that's a topic for another day!)

Are you using it in a specific situation? For example, Chrome has a language extension that might be a work around.  For navigation, Here has a very nice set that won't send you heading for the bolt hole.


text:
HTC One [M7] Lollipop update fails
I tried to update my HTC One [m7] unlocked/international to the new Android Lollipop with the OTA update that got pushed yesterday. However, it keeps failing.
My HTC is rooted, and is currently running 6.12.161.9 (trying to update to 7.18.616.2). It is S-ON and has an hboot 1.57.
Now, the problem keeps appearing in the following way: (I have the correct stock recovery on the phone)
The phone starts the update process normaly. It goes to the recovery and the progress bar starts to move. However as soon as it reaches about 1/4 of its way (always the same), it stops the installation and returns to the recovery title screen (the red triangle and exclamation mark). When I then press volume up and power button to see the recovery menu, it gives me the following readout at the bottom on the console:
Code:
Finding update package...
Opening update package...
Verifying update package...
Installing update...
L50QCT.01.102.008
Package expects build fingerprint of htc/vodafone_uk/m7:4.4.3/KTU84L/366813.9:user/release-keys
or htc/vodafone_uk/m7:5.0.2/LRX22G/476210.2:user/release-keys;
this device has htc/vodafone_uk/m7:4.4.3/KTU84L/366813.5:user/release-keys.
Installation aborted.
Write host_mode:0 done

It gives me this readout every time, and the only difference in expectation and device, is this:
The update expects 366813.9, the device has 366813.5. What does this difference mean? What is .9 and what is .5, and how can I fix this?
I would be very happy for any help possible. Thanks in advance!

Cheers

EDIT: Fixed, turns out I had the wrong recovery installed!

Do the following and it will solve your issue (install correctly): Copy the zip file to pc form "Phone\Download\OTA_M7_UL_L50_SENSE60_MR_HTC_Europe_7.19.401.2-6.09.401.11_release_XXXX.zip"

Extract "firmware.zip" from OTA_M7_UL_L50_SENSE60_MR_HTC_Europe_7.19.401.2-6.09.401.11_XXXX.zip
Extract "recovery.img" from "firmware.zip"
Activate USB debugging on your device (if not already)
Reboot your device on bootloader. I believe holding down "Power" + "VOL+" will do it (if not google it). You can use ADB command as well. "adb reboot-bootloader"
install the recovery using ADB command "fastboot flash recovery recovery.img"
Now try to update once again form OTA and it will work.

To avoid redownload this large file:

Copy the zip file which you copied from Phone to phone\update.zip
Reboot phone to recovery
Apply Update from Phone Memory (As HTC one to not have external memory)
Choose the Update.zip file

I hope you get the idea even if few steps might be slightly off.
Thanks
Shurid

A change to the way the update process for lolli works means that for phones and tablets that have been modified, the OTA update will not work.
However, this does not mean that all is lost. While slightly annoying, if you have modified your system partition all you need to do is reflash your device with a stock Android image. With this done you can then reattempt the OTA update and it should be successful.
Another option is to manually upgrade to Lollipop. Factory images for Android 5.0 Lollipop are available for some Nexus devices – we've looked at how you can install the update on a Nexus 5 and how to upgrade a Nexus 7 – and images will be made available for other handsets in the coming weeks and months.
-Source: android pit (http://www.androidpit.com/android-5-0-lollipop-ota-update-fail)

Thank you for your help, but I apparently just had the wrong recovery installed!

@Phil - love it when it's that easy!


text:
How can I decrypt my photographs on the SD card?
My Samsung Galaxy S3 crashed suddenly and I had to take my SD card out to fix it.
After I got it back and put my SD card into it, I realized that the data which was encrypted on my SD card (photos of my son) are unavailable to view. The files appear broken. I tried to encrypt my phone again with the same password, but it has not helped.
How can I access my files/photos again?

It sounds like the service center did a factory reset, which means you should not be able to recover the contents of the SD card. It's designed that way and is a good thing as it protects data being read if your phone has been lost or stolen.
Any chance you have backups (on your desktop? google drive? samsung’s backup site?)?


text:
Wi-Fi antenna seems to work when the device is off
When I was looking at battery statistics I've found something strange: the bar showing wether a component is running or not indicates that wifi were active when I took off my phone. Is this a bug?
I have a Google Nexus 5 with standard Android 5 on it.
Here the screenshot of statistics :

As Microsoft) used to say:

That's not a bug, that's a feature.

Check for following: Settings -> Wi-Fi -> Menu -> Advanced:

Scanning always available
Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep

OK thanks so when my device is set off it's "sleeping"?

@Daair sleeping and being switched off are two different things.


text:
How do I skip an Android system update and stop its notifications?
I get a message
Android 5.0.1 System Update Available

but no option to skip the update.
In frustration, I click "download". It's not better after the download. I still get
System update downloaded

with no option to avoid the update.
How do I signal that I am perfectly content with KitKat 4.4.4 for the time being? I use my phone for development and want to be certain my development tools are ready before upgrading. In the meantime I also want to stop  the continuous harassment via notifications. Is this possible? I am using a Nexus 5 and the phone is not rooted (I prefer it to stay that way).

As a pop-up or as something in the notification bar? What happens when you go to settings > apps > goggle services framework and turn off notifications?

@LivedWithOtters Your suggestion did indeed stop the notifications briefly, but they soon resumed appearing (even though the notifications remain turned off for g.s.f.). The notification is permanently visible in the notification bar and also permanently visible in the notification screen (the double-swipe-down screen).

@LivedWithOtters you were right in the direction, but instead it was Services not framework.

I just spoke to Google directly. The Nexus 5 under settings, apps has something called Google Play services. Not store. If you uncheck the notification box in Google Play services and restart the phone the notification for the Android system updates will stop in the notification bar. Worked like a charm!

Please correct me if I'm wrong but  it seems you must be rooted to do this.

After updating to Lollipop 5.1.1, the notifications checkbox is rechecked for you. Thankfully, it's still there, and it does stop the new ongoing messages to update to 6.0.

Worked fine on my Nexus 7 2012. Not rooted.

@stevensmith absolutely NOT. That is an option available in all apps that have notifications.

You can long-press the update notification, then, click on the "i" icon, and you'll get to the same place to toggle block all. (No root needed. Tested on 6.0.1)

I have just downgraded from 6.0.1 to 5.0 because after the update I was getting random lock screen crashes and then reboots (which meant I had to use my password next time I used Android Pay, very annoying). Now on 5.0, instantly got the software update notification, did as said above, works perfect. Galaxy S5, not rooted.

If you happen to be rooted, you should be able to install Disable Services and find the SystemUpdateService under Google Play Services disable Google Services Framework.

They moved the service under "Google Play Services". At least it's true for Android 6.

@McTrafik is right. On Android 6, go to Disable Services → Google Play Services → disable SystemUpdateService (and possibly SystemUpdateGcmTaskService too).

I figured it out :D :D
If you get the notification and have not yet downloaded the update. Simply Press the notification in the notification bar and Hold for 10 Seconds. It will give you two options. Click on the Settings button. From Settings select "Turn off notifications update" :)

You need to clear data for downloading application (DMClient)

open system nofitication bar
hold touch on system downloading bar until it pop up app info
touch App info it will go to DMClient app info
touch clear data button under Storage
then touch OK for Delete app data question

As of 2021 there's an option to turn off automatic updates in the Developer Options 1 2. It seems to be available since Nougat 3 4

Is this for everybody or is it restricted to just a number of device manufacturers? Source of this "fact"?

Thanks for pointing it out. It's available in Mi A3 and Android One devices. Since all Android devices have Developer Options it should be available to most up to date devices. I'll update the post accordingly.

Turning off auto updates in Google Store did not stop the phone updating, even after a reset.
I pressed on an updating app until download manager appeared, then I disabled it. Seems to have stopped.

This sounds like a helpful suggestion, but I don't quite follow. Do you mean you long-pressed the notification to get the app info, and then disabled the download manager from there? If you can [edit] your question and explain a little further, it'll be more helpful.

Found it on Nexus Grand Prime:
Settings - About Device (bottom) - Software Update (top) - Set 'check for updates' (Auto-Update) to Off.
The update wanted 530mb free space! Like hell, that space is reserved for game recording :).

On my LYF Flame 2 device in India, I tried Krystalblue's answer and could only limit the software update to  "weekly", "wireless only" and disabled "Allow auto-update over WiFi...".
Hope that works!

Found option to disable automatic updates in developer menu on Android 7. (click many times on build number in about phone to enable that menu)

This seems specific to some vendors/models; there's no option to disable automatic updates inside the developer menu on Nexus devices line.

@AndrewT., possible. vendors can add/remove anything. I see it on samsung phones.

On my OnePlus9 Pro I disabled the auto updates in the developer mode menu but apparently they are still forcing me to do an update. In fact so much that the phone says "If you choose not to do so now, this update will take place AUTOMATICALLY between 2 AM and 4 AM starting May 4th, 2021." WTF.


text:
Can I safely do a factory reset without losing root?
Sadly my quesiton isn't that simple. To make sure everyone unerstands I will explain as short but specific as possible:
Initial: stock state, not rooted, nothing special

I updated my HTC One M8 to Android 5.0 (Lollipop) and noticed, that it drains my battery waaay faster than before and also lags pretty bad (almost every press of a button).
I searched for fixes online but couldn't find anything that may work except for a factory reset. Since it's almost impossible to backup all apps including data without root (e.g. titanium backup) I thought I may as well root my device, so I'm prepared for future restores (as I found out it's particularly easy to root an htc device, I was relieved I'm a noob when it comes to rooting).

I then did a factory reset and rooted my HTC One M8, installed SuperSU and all that stuff, you know.
It actually ran faster than before the Android 5.0 Update and the battery drain also seemed to be OK.

This Monday I woke up to a completely depleted mobile data usage (had about 450MB left - all gone over night). I forgot to turn on WiFi as I went to sleep. Below is the data usage of that night. I set everything I can (Play Store Updates and HTC Backups, as far as I know) to WiFi only, because 1GB of monthly mobile data seldom is enough for me.

I contacted HTC Support Chat and that lady told me to go to Settings -> Apps -> Reset App settings and restart my phone by pushing VolumeDown + VolumeUp + Power Button.  I did that and it seemed like my phone is as slow as before I did the factory reset.
I still don't know why the heck my phone used so much mobile data that night. I just hope this won't happen again. If you know why or how to prevent this, feel free to tell me!

Now I'm here with a rooted HTC One M8 with Android 5.0.1 and the same problems as in the beginning of this nerve-racking process. I searched a lot for solutions of the battery drain after the Lollipop update, but couldn't find anything helpful.
So my question is Can I perform a factory reset without losing root? because that's what helped me in the beginning. But of course I would be very happy about solutions addressing the extreme battery drain and lags I'm experiencing.
In Settings -> Power consumption there (almost) always is Google Play Services at the top. I found some solutions on how to keep this from draining my battery all the time, but they include messing with more root apps and I'm not sure if my device will also run faster after doing that.

Did you look at the screenshot you posted?  The Play Store downloaded app updates.

@MatthewRead It didn't! Did you read my whole question? I didn't see any notifications of updates, plus I set my Play Store to not do updates via mobile data, only via WiFi.

Recoveries like TWRP and Philz Touch checks for root verification and in the scenario of you losing root after  factory reset, boot into your custom recovery, attempt for a normal reboot and the recovery will offer to root the device. Take the offer. Come back to Android and install SuperSU from Play Store as usual. This worked well with my Android 4.2.1, 4.4.2, COS12 and stock Android 5.1 ROMs.
Note: do not use the said approach on a ROM running Android Marshmallow. It may cause boot issues which you might not be able to solve unless you do a clean and full flash of a device specific ROM or manually reverse the steps TWRP used to root the device.
As of now, to root a ROM prefer the flashable zip for SuperSU stable and flash it through your custom recovery. In case of installation issues, refer to this XDA thread.
Related: I've installed a custom recovery image, but not yet rooted my phone. How can I install SuperSU and subscribe to automatic updates?

SuperSU app offers to move itself into system partition which would make it a system app and invulnerable to any factory reset. The option is available under its settings as Install SuperSU into /system.
(As of now however, for ROMs rooted with system-less root mode SuperSU doesn't provide the said option.)

About battery drain, per my experience with it in Android 4.2.1, 4.4.2 and 5.0.1 I can recommend Greenify app in Boost mode. Boost mode requires Xposed Framework1 installed.

1  Xposed Framework: Android 4.x, Android 5.x and 6.x

So by in the scenario of you losing Root after Factory reset I understand that I will lose Root when performing a factory reset but I can save SuperSu by moving it to /System, correct? But I will have to root it again for sure? I haven't got Xposed to work well on Android 5 yet but I do got Greenify installed. I guess it's "importing apps to the new android" causing the battery drain and hope a factory reset will fix this again.

Yes, you can save anything by moving it into /System folder, let alone SuperSu. I did it for AFwall+ and one other apk. It is also correct that you'll have to root after reset for sure but (Recoveries like TWRP/Clockworkmod can do such thing just by booting into them) that your custom recovery will not be reverted back to Original is something cannot be assured unless your Current Rom has the feature for it. What I mean is some ROM's like Cyanogenmod has a feature in Developer's Option which allows Custom Recovery to be reverted back in the case of OTA/Reset.

Even if you do factory reset, you still have to import your apps, otherwise, I don't see any other way other than Greenify. However, are you certain that the battery drain is possibly only because of importing apps?

Ok, thank you. What is is, that Greenify can do so I do not have to import apps? I'm pretty sure it has to do something with that. What else could it be? It only occured after switching to Android 5 and after deleting app settings and restarting by pressing all three buttons (Vol. Up, Vol. Down, Power).

Looks like I missed certain part in my comment. Let me complete it. Even if you do factory reset, you still have to import your apps which may again drain the battery,and otherwise, I don't see any other way other than Greenify. to solve drain issue. Apologies for incomplete statement.


text:
Can I delete my original gmail account associated with my android & use my other gmail address
I originally set up my android with my original gmail account. I've since added a second gmail account & I'd like to switch my android over to the second account without repercussions. I'd eventually like to delete the initial gmail account, as that address is no longer useful.

First off there is no way to not have repercussions if you do this.
You can delete an account by using your computer but be warned if you have purchased any games, music, movies, etc. these items will no longer be available to you with out dishing out extra funds as those purchases were bought from your original account and you'll need to buy them again. And any apps you have on your phone may not function correctly let alone at all if you do.
If you wish to continue goto
https://myaccount.google.com
Sign in (if needed)
Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click "Delete Google Account and Data" and follow the prompts to compleatly remove the account in question.
And a little FYI be sure to set up 2-Step verification for your accounts as it will help protect your accounts from unwanted entities from looking at, reading and or a complete takeover of yor accounts. You would get a text from them with a 6 digit code to set up a computer as a trusted one. Someone I know almost was one of the unfortunate ones on this matter.

I've completed removed a Google account from my phones before without losing the apps etc. bought with that account.


text:
Frequency band mofications for Samsung Galaxy S4
I recently purchased a used, unlocked Samsung Galaxy S4 SGH-I337M (for the particular model see here). The phones native bands don't include the 1700/2100 AWS required by the cell phone provider (WIND mobile). However, the phone is able to get both talk and data as desired. The previous owner told me that he modified the phone to allow these bands.
I'd like to know

Why was this possible? Is it because the phone has the bands but Samsung suppressed them or is the phone being hoodwinked into working without having both bands?
Whether there is a chance a firmware update or factory reset will undo this feature?

Background: I'm a bit familiar with unlocking AWS bands using qcn files

Ok then, let me begin by answering in order

This is possible if the previous owner flashed their own hybrid modem onto their phone, which allows phones that are physically able to use a  certain band (1700/2100) in your case, but the company does not allow it on their stock modem (for many different reasons). The hybrid modem basically overwrites the old modem that in short, says to the phone, "Hey, these are the only bands you can use", while a hybrid modem tells the phone, "Go crazy", and unlocks all or certain bands at a cost of battery life (more bands, more battery is needed to power it.)
Most probably, yes.  A factory will wipe out the hybrid modem and replace it with the stock. So only update if you have a copy of the hybrid modem, and know how to flash it. (ODIN)

I hope this answers it for you.

Thanks for your response. Do you know how flashing a hybrid modem differentiates from unlocking bands using a qcn file (if at all)?

Yes. A hybrid modem rewrites the already existing modem on the phone, While a QCN file is most likely a (modified)backup file for Qualcomm device for UMTS-based phones.

I do not know the specifics on how the flashing of a hybrid modem differentiates from QCN files, but a hybrid modem can usually be used for ALL phones. While CQN is only for Qualcomm Phones.


text:
How to display Android Screen (5.0+) to my Mac OS X Laptop?
This seems similar to several other questions here, but the other questions are outdated. In Android 5.0 there is a native screen casting button (Cast) on the notification drawer for us to cast the screen to a Chromecast.
Is it possible to make our laptop (Mac OS X or otherwise) act as a Chromecast display so that we can press the Cast button on the Android and the screen is shown on the laptop?
I tried leapcast but the Android device does not seem to detect it.


text:
Note 4 camera not focusing
New galaxy note 4 camera doesn't focus at first,  it will only work when I shake my camera or thump it real hard.  Had anyone had this issue or have an idea on his to fix it?

I am having this problem since the Lollipop update. I was hoping to find a solution. I also find that shaking the phone forces it to focus. I'm afraid it may be a HW issue that started happening about the time I upgraded the OS and I'm merely connecting the two events.

This is a common issue on Note 4s running Android L. The most common suggestion seems to be a replacement, as the issue is not software based but actually a loose sensor within the phone itself. I suggest contacting your phone service provider.

This is an issue with most of Galaxy s5, s6, Note 4, etc... I took to my local Samsung Store here in Los Angeles and they replaced the camera right the way under the warranty. It takes about 30 minutes.


text:
Flashed wrong ROM on tablet and stuck in blue screen with no recovery screen
Device specs:

CPU: Allwinner A31S, Quad Core ARMv7 Processor (VFPv4, NEON)
GPU: PowerVR SGX 544MP
Motherboard: INGENIC-CROSS Q8S-v1.0 2013-04-22
Version of Android: 4.2.2
Build Number: fiber_q8s-eng 4.2.2 JDQ39 20130723 test-keys

Nothing is visible on the screen except for a blue screen. Please help.

Do a Google search for "A31S Q8S-1.0" and you get the following link to the Baidu file store where many Chinese ROMs are located.
(13) H8C-3G 全志A31S Q8S-V1.0.rar - 百度云网盘
http://pan.baidu.com/wap/link?uk=2471183759&shareid=3994280233&third=1
文件名:(13) H8C-3G 全志A31S Q8S-V1.0.rar 文件大小:323.08M 分享者:惠泽客服售后分享时间:2014-10-25 21:30 下载次数:4.
Cheers,
=ccflasher=


text:
Ringtone shortened with lollipop
Having issue since update to Lollipop on Samsung Galaxy S5.
When phone rings, sound comes on for 1 second, off for 3, one for 1, off for 3. This happens with Zedge and system ringtones.
I have changed ringtone to one from the system. Checked settings til I'm almost blue in the face. Thought it might have something to do with motions, but no.
any suggestions?

i searched over and over for a solution and finally found it this morning, remembered you had the same problem and had to post this for you...
follow these steps:

go to settings...
go to accessibility
go to answering/ending calls
uncheck the "using voice commands" box

and that's it...test it to be sure but it worked for me... i hope it works for you as well...
let me know if it worked... i need to know it worked for you too...


text:
Can't flash OTA file using TeamWin Recovery on HTC One
I have HTC One, with custom recovery, bootloader unlocked, and rooted.
I got the OTA by from Settings - Software Update. After downloading, I wanted to flash the ZIP file in Recovery mode. But when I want to flash that, after 5 or 6 seconds, it says failed because MD5 can't be found. I already downloaded this file 2 times because I thought the file has problem, but the file seems to be okay.
What should I do?

There's a "file integrity check" involved with the flash process, to prevent broken/tampered files from being flashed. Basically, you've got 3 options:

Get the .md5 file that should go along the .zip
generate the .md5 yourself (if you cannot find it, and are sure your .zip is fine)
Turning off verification in TWRP.

Btw: There was a discussion at AndroidCentral on this topic, which you might wish to check.


text:
why can't i move certain apps from sd card to internal memory on android LG-L38c touchscreen phone?
Why are some apps i download and install saving to sd card instead of internal memory? I have more space on internal than sd card and it won't let me move some apps to internal memory.

In the Manifest of the .apk file, developers can specify where they prefer there app to go. When that request can be met (technically), it will. The different possibilities include e.g.

no preference set: Goes to "internal storage"
preferExternal: Goes to SDCard (if available), else internal storage
set to "auto": if the app has widgets or declares services, it goes to internal storage. Otherwise it depends on device settings.

See also my answers here and here – the latter answer also details how you can (partially) override this.


text:
Can not install substrate on emulator
I'm trying to install cydia substrate on emulator, when I try to link substrate files I got multiple errors,
Then I replaced /system/xbin/su with a suid-ed /system/bin/sh file and disabled SELinux with setenforce command.
But I still got this:

Anyone know what should I do? With adb shell I can get root but I don't know what script to run ....


text:
Nexus 5 isn't recognized by USB
I just tried to connect my Nexus 5 to my Computer via USB but it does not show up anywhere. There is no sound of a device connecting and the Device Manager doesn't list a new device when I plug it in. MTP and USB Debugging are enabled. The cable I'm using it not the original one, but was advertised as a charger + data cable. I've tried connecting my device to both my PC and Laptop, but neither shows anything, but the device starts recharging as soon as I plug it in.
Anything I could've missed? Drivers? Settings?
Thanks in advance

Might well be the cable (being, other than advertized, a charger cable only). Have you tried a different cable? Even if you were missing the drivers, device manager would list it at least as "unknown device" otherwise.

I don't have another cable lying around right now, but I'll try to get a hold of one. I suspected the cable being the problem, but I didn't want to contact the vendor yet (cable is 4 months old) in case I missed something.

To me, the cable is the most likely cause. I'd say take your device, cable, and laptop with you to a local vendor/shop, tell him your problem, and ask whether you might check with some of his cables. To be fair: in case one of those works, buy it from him if the price is OK.


text:
How can I watch videos from the BBC web site on a device with an ARMv6 processor?
The BBC web site has many pages with videos, e.g. http://www.bbc.co.uk/academy/technology/article/art20150206154333467
On Android, the page prompts me to install the "BBC Media Player" app, but unfortunately this app requires an ARMv7 processor, but I have ARMv6.
Are there any other ways of persuading these videos to play?

According to BBC's site: "Your device needs to run Android 2.2 (or higher) and have a minimum ARMv7 processor" to play programmes (download requires 4.0+).
reference: http://iplayerhelp.external.bbc.co.uk/tv/android_iplayerapp

Ah, so my problem isn't android version, it's processor: I'm on ARMv6.  Updating my question to reflect this.


text:
lost my moto e phone without sim card
I had bought a MOTO E which was stolen the very next day but, due to some issues, I had already taken my sim and the sdcard out. Is there any way I can locate my phone using the google id I had used to start the tracking features?

If your Moto E has Android Device Manager enabled and the WiFi is connected to network, then you're in luck!
Also, file a police report immediately and tell them that you phone was stolen. That is my two cents on this answer.

only if the device has any anti virus software installed with anti-theft feature or Android Device Manager enabled.


text:
Where does music downloaded from Google Play go on my phone?
New Nexus 6 with Lollipop. I downloaded some music from Google Play, but cannot for the life of me find where it is on the phone. I've searched through the entire thing using Astro, and can't find my music. (The Play app sees it, but I want to make one of my songs a ringtone, and apparently with Lollipop, you need to copy your file into a certain location for it to be available.)

I'm afraid that's not possible. Like with iTunes, Google uses DRM (Digital Rights Management) technology in order to prevent you from illegally copying music. So, the music is stored on your phone in an encoded way and thus you can only access the music through the Google Play app.


text:
Blocking numbers from my phone and WhatsApp
If I block a contact on my phone can they still message me on WhatsApp? Will I have to block them on WhatsApp separately?

Blocking a contact will not prevent that user from sending you messages on WhatsApp.
Hence, you need to explicitly block that contact using the WhatsApp settings.
Here is what happens when you block someone in WhatsApp:

WhatsApp messages sent by a blocked contact will not show up on your phone and will never be delivered to you.
You will not be able to send messages to a blocked contact until you unblock them.

There is one important feature blocking does not change:

Blocking someone will not remove this contact from your WhatsApp list, nor will it remove you from the list on this contact's phone. To delete a contact in WhatsApp, you must delete the contact from your phone's address book.


text:
Cant download apps on my new huawei
I just bought my new huawei model H30-U10
I have synchronized my gmail account and whenever I try to download any app, the download bar keeps loading forever and doesn't even throw any error
I am not using SD card because its internal memory is 8gb already
My time and date are ok
I am not using sim card, could this be issue?
The google playstore version is 4.6.17 and I am sure its not the latest one and I cant even update playstore through playstore> settings> build version> update

All these methods works only if you have a single google account active on your phone. In my case this was the problem.

I resolved the issue and it was because of the reason that I wasn't using SIM card

I too had the same issue and i have gone through several forums for the help.All have suggested the same .

Clear cache and clear data of the playstore.
  Force stop the playstore.
  Remove and add google account.

I have tried all of the above but not found any good.
But after lot of trail and error i have resolved the issue.
Solution is the same as above but the sequence order is very important.
Please follow the exact order given below.
1). Google Playstore - Go to Settings >> Apps>> 'All' tab >> Select Google Playstore - Now Uninstall all updates >>Force stop >> Clear Cache>> Clear Data.
2). Download Manager - Go to Settings >> Apps>> 'All' tab >> Select Download Manager - Force stop >> Clear Cache>> Clear Data.
3). Downloads - Go to Settings >> Apps>> 'All' tab >> Select Downloads - Force stop if the button is active.
4). Remove the google account.
5). Restart the device.
6). Add Google account.
(Assuming you have followed the sequence properly)
In case the above steps don't resolve the issue and you are using Mobile data then follow the below steps
1 > Check your storage space in your phone and ensure required space is available.
2 > Please go to Settings >> Mobile Networks >>Access point Names /APN >> Go to APN Protocol Change it to IPV6 and APN Roaming Protocol to 'IPV4/Ipv6'.
Thats all !!! -  Enjoy , Don't forget to vote for the reply

try downloading the latest apk for the playstore and manually instal it.
check apkmirror.com

I resolved the issue and it was because of the reason that I wasn't using SIM card

@NomanRiffat consider posting that as an answer. Self-answering is acceptable and encourage here.

I found the easiest and faster way. Factory reset your phone and start from scratch. :)

This might not be a very satisfying answer, but it's good to know that this last-ditch solution works. Thanks for your report!

Common play store errors  and there fix: https://www.androidpit.com/how-to-solve-google-play-store-errors


text:
Whatsapp usage with old lost number
I lost my android phone (samsung galaxy grand) . Can I use whatsapp with the same number on my new phone, if I don't have the sim card with that number ? Except for the sms code/call, is there some other method of opening my whatsapp account ?

No, this is impossible. If I were you, I would send a broadcast message to all of my contacts regarding my new number.

you could ask your carrier to disable your old sim card and enable a new one (which you need to get) with the same number.


text:
Play Store won't download or update apps
I am using Samsung Galaxy Duos GT-I8262. Yesterday I encounter this strange problem. Whenever I download or update an app from Play Store, it only shows downloading bar and the app won't download in a century. Things which I have already done:

Clearing cache/data Play Store and Play Services
Deleting Google account
Enabled download manager
Rooted phone and edited hosts file by inserting # in the start of 2nd line
Reset the phone twice
Checked phone date and time

In short, I employed every possible solution but still no luck. Any other solutions?

It happens with me only when Google Play Store and Google Play Service are getting an update in the background. Because you did reset, that update was again gone and when you tried to download from PlayStore, it must be the update again downloading in background. However, we can only falsify this scenario if you may perhaps mention the Google Play Store and Google Play Service version here?

Mandroid asks for clarification (but lacks the rep to comment): I'm not sure what may be causing it, but try the following: Confirm that your memory is not full Consider changing your micro sd card to one with larger space. Try using a different Google account for play store.

Try clearing the hosts file, or just delete it.

You can try clearing Proxy Settings on your device

you can get more help on this topic at inforaid


text:
What does "Download GPS assisted data only over Wi-Fi networks" really mean?
Since I checked this option in Settings > Personal > Location, GPS finally works when no data connection is available, eg. when travelling in foreign countries. It's still slower than when a data connection is available, but at least, it does locate me when I'm standing in open skies.
However, I was wondering what this option really means: Does it mean that it will never use A-GPS to download data from the Net even when a data connection is available through GSM *?
IOW, if I'm travelling in my country where a GSM data connection is available, will Android download A-GPS data to speed things up?
Thank you.

GSM, as opposed to wifi; I don't know a better term

The "Wifi" option means that A-GPS gets used only when on Wifi, such as at a cafe.  Meaning, you're out of luck when using any form of cellular data including GSM data.
The GPS satellites send all required data, but they do so slowly.  So you can get much faster "first time to fix" by getting the same information for your area over a data connection (either WiFi or cellular data).
See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisted_GPS
The specific data is the "ephemerides" and the "almanac", both of which are required for a GPS position fix.

AGPS uses not only GPS satellites, but also nearby cell towers and Wi-Fi networks to lock onto your phones location, so your location should be more accurate.

GSM, CDMA, WCDMA and LTE are all mobile network connections used for acquiring aGPS data.
So if your device has a standalone or hybrid GPS as well, you can use GPS without any problems (meaning as long as there is satellite reception). With aGPS your time-to-first-fix (TTFF) is much quicker, especially if its been awhile since last using GPS.
So to answer your "IOW", yes you will lock onto signal very fast if mobile data is enabled, as opposed to disabled.
As to: " Does it mean that it will never use A-GPS to download data from the Net even when a data connection is available through GSM ? ". No, it will use available mobile network connection for acquisition of needed data.

Take a look at this, since you said travelling around your country (could help if accuracy becomes an issue)
    https://stackoverflow.com/questions/14548707/android-how-to-reset-and-download-a-gps-data

Standalone GPS units depend only on radio from satellites. A-GPS does that as well as using cell tower data to enhance quality and precision when there is poor satellite signal conditions. A GPS unit may require as long as 12.5 minutes (the time needed to download the data - GPS almanac and ephimerides) to resolve the problem and be able to provide a correct location.
To be more precise, "A-GPS" features are mostly dependent on an internet network and/or connection to an ISP. A mobile device featured with "A-GPS" (no additional GPS feature to be selected as alternative) can work only when there is an internet link/connection to an ISP.
For a little more info look at aGPS Wiki


text:
How to remove radio from quick settings in Asus zenfone 4
When i bought my phone it had only 4 icons highlighted in green and some others which could be removed in and were highlighted in blue but suddenly the radio icon appeared and i am not able to remove it and I haven't even update any thing plz help

Can you add a screenshot?

Open the toggles bar and on the top along with the settings button there will be an icon of pencil and a page tap that and quick settings menu will launch there will be two headings scroll down the first one and uncheck fm radio and select any thing else you want to


text:
Why do my headphones stop working on my LG Android?
About yesterday, my headphones randomly started pausing my music. At first, I thought it was my headphones which are Apple iPod/iPhone 5 headphones that I've had for a few months from an old iPhone, so I tried another pair that are brand new and only used once or twice and the same thing happened. It would pause the music and it didn't show the headphone icon at the top like it should on both pairs. And then when I'd go to my music player to start up the song, it would play the music through my phone speakers when the headphones were plugged in. Why?

This can also happen for a simple reason of your head phone  port clogged with lint or some muck. Try cleaning with a soft cloth inserted with help of  tooth pick and turn your phone upside down gently tapping to dislodge dirt

After THREE YEARS of searching for a fix... I think I just found a solution - and felt obligated to spread the information. Just plug the headphones in slowly... That's actually all there was to it... The notification icon for a plugged in audio jack at the top of the screen will show up differently if you did it right.
This reddit post: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.reddit.com/r/LGG3/comments/2siwyp/is_there_a_rom_or_fix_that_makes_g3_detect_all/  the user RandomGenera7ed  tells us to plug the jack into the headphone plug slowly - causing it to show up as a three prong headphone jack and not a four prong jack (four prong jacks have a mike wire that can have pause/skip/volume-change/GOOGLE VOICE functionality while three prong audio jacks do not).  Apparently plugging a three prong jack in too quickly confuses the phone into thinking it has a four prong jack plugged in.

Damn, this actually worked.  My headphones didn't work any all 4 family phones but did on my laptop, so I knew they weren't broken.  Plugged them in slowly and it all works.  Thankyou!

I think your phone audio card might be broken. Do the phone speaker / Bluetooth speaker work? In that case, I would send your phone back to LG.

If the headphones were working previously on the phone and now they just suddenly stopped working, then it's likely that the phone's audio hardware has malfunctioned.
Alternatively, there is also a small possibility that some drivers have been updated on your phone to detect Apple headphones and not allow them to be used. (This is a conspiracy theory, but Apple does do this with their Lightning connector such that if you buy a counterfeit one or buy from some other vendor it won't work).
Have you tried a totally different set of headphones (not Apple ones) on this phone?
Does the headphone jack fit totally/properly in the port? Sometimes a little fidgeting with it and pressing a little harder gets some of the grooves to click into place so that the right connections are flush against each other. (Had this issue on a Nexus 7 with Apple Earpods)
Personally i've tested Apple Earpods (iPhone 5 headphones) on a Google Nexus 4 and 5 (both LG devices) and they work. However on a Samsung Galaxy Ace the same set of headphones behaved quite similar to what you described. They worked initially, but then started doing weird things with playing and pausing music, and not showing up in the notifications. Also the mic didn't work for me. It causes some loud ringing noise on the other end.when you're on hands-free with the headphones.

This happened to me too! What I did was put my phone into reverse portrait mode. If that does not work then unplug the battery. If it still  does not work then find an earbud, remove all the cotton around its head and move it around in the headphone socket.

Hi! I couldn't make complete sense out of your answer but I tried to make it clean. Please feel free to roll back or edit the answer if I messed up somewhere.

Reply date 12/04/17
Hi to everyone who is having the mic problem on lg g3 where the you can hear the pesrson you have called wearing headphones but they can not hear you, the way to fix this problem is to use the original lg g3 headphones as this phone doesn't work with other headphones like samsung and other brands.


text:
How can i increase internal storage space,on my LG tribute?
Is there anything i can buy to increase my phones internal storage? I.e. a larger sd or sim or an app for my LG tribute? Plz help always getting the annoying "low storage" i currently have a 4gig external sd...thanks

Internal storage is called internal storage for a reason; it's on a flash chip on the motherboard and can't be replaced. You might however be able to move some of your apps to the SD card if your phone supports that. There are apps for that.


text:
Block Image loading in any Android App especially in Play Store
Updated:
There are many third world countries where 3G network has not encompassed their entire geography, let alone providing a satisfactory internet service. As obvious, the price for internet packs on mobile are not very much affordable to lot of folks.
Cutting the story short, there are apps like Play Store and the likes of it, whose aesthetics will be affected drastically if the images are to be stopped loading. These apps I assume are made keeping developed countries and their network infrastructure in mind.
Anyway, I still need to block the images even if the app's UI looks unpleasing. I'm looking here for a method to stop loading images in Play Store. Note that I'm not asking a different app store as a solution.
In fact, if the solution is more general (for other apps) than selective for Play Store, it would still be considered as an answer.

Note:

Device rooted, so no issues for installing any app.
Adaway installed but couldn't blacklist images using regex(naive) expression.
Firefox for Android has addons, it is already sorted for now.

Any idea(s) how to achieve this goal?

noRoot Data firewall has an option named no image mode but I didn't tested on play store.

Alternatively log in to gmail account and install apps from web version of google play.Images can be disabled in most browers or use UC brower with reduced image quality option.

Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately, that no image mode is not working in Play Store.

It's newbie app. Reporting to developer will help to fix the bug.

The Play Store uses https with certificate pinning, afaik. So stripping the images on the network level would be very difficult. Your best bet would be to modify the app, patching the image loading. You could code an Xposed module (like that one:  http://repo.xposed.info/module/de.robv.android.xposed.mods.playstorefix ). You could also try blocking lh3.googleusercontent.com where google hosts most images (that might break more stuff though).

I'll see if some host based blocking works for Play Store.

A Christian  who developed this for LC PlayStore for fellow Chrstians who wishes for control over images they get exposed to there. It is webview based and employs various approaches (including injecting java scripts) to try and provide a near Android native experience. Direct PlayStore like here.
Disclaimer: I am the author of the LC PlayStore app


text:
How To Install Android 5 on an LG G Pad 7.0?
I have an LG G Pad 7.0 running Android KitKat (4.4.2). Could I update it to Android 5, even though there is no release for the G Pad 7?
I would also by fine with the latest version of CyanogenMod.
Also, I am very new to Android, but is it flexible in the way that you can change the Android version easily, or install another UI?

Android is releasing an official update to Android 5.0 for all LG G Pad devices. It will be out soon according to this website

Yes, it is relatively easy (compared to apple). The basic steps you will have to take are as follows:

Unlock the bootloader, can vary massively in difficulty by device, depending on how irritating your manufacturer's being. This will wipe all your data, but theoretically is the last time you ever have to wipe your data.
Install a custom rom of your choice

In order to find more concise tutorials, explaining step by step, do a google search for "lg g pad 7.0 (LTE?) bootloader unlock"

So I've found that it is possible to do a bootloader unlock, but there are no ROMS for the G Pad 7. Is there an Android 5.0 ROM that was made for the G Pad 7 out there, or are we still waiting on one?

From what I have seen you are still waiting for one, you may be able to find an alpha build if you look hard enough


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Removing Firmware from a tablet
I purchased a NeuTab Tablet with an AllWinner Quad core cpu.  It appears to be rooted already but there doesn't seem to be a away to upgrade to a newer version of Android or at first glance to even flash CyanogenMod.
Is there a way to get rid of/unlock the firmware that's on there without bricking the device?

You can manually update the firmware using Odin. Find the firmware you want to install. Try www.xdadevelopers.com and search for firmwares and various other Roms that "might" be available for your tablet.

Odin only works on Samsung devices.

Did not know that. Thanks for the information.