text:
Re-installing Android
Mobile phone technology has been growing rapidly. Nowadays, we have mobile phones with the same configuration as a Pentium-1,Pentium-2 processor + 1 GB Ram  20GB Hard disk as we had a few years ago for Desktops.
For eg: I have just ordered for Galaxy S-III, which as 1 GHz CPU, 1 GB RAM and 16 GB Permanent storage.
So, my question is : can we format (same thing as we do on a Desktop) such mobile devices and install whatever OS (Android only for now) we like ? If so, I would like to install latest Android version on my mobile. Similar to the CD-Rom drive that can hold the OS that we are going to install on our fresh Desktop, for mobile devices can't we use any USB storage drives that has the latest Android (installation source) ?

Please see: How do I update the OS on my device? / Doing a clean install of Android on Nexus S, Galaxy Nexus or Nexus 7 / Where can I find stock or custom ROMs for my Android device? / Is there an official Android “Google” ROM? / Can I install any ROM for my Android device?

It depends on the device you are using. Some devices have a locked bootloader, meaning you cannot boot into a mode which allows you to overwrite the part of the persistent memory which holds the operating system image.
The steps you usually take are the following:

Flash an advanced Recovery Image
Use that recovery so you can upload an alternative Android version to your ROM

Let me clear up some of the terms:

ROM is the part that contains the operating system and cannot be written to while the device is running. You have to override it by flashing over USB or using an aforementioned Recovery Image
Recovery is an alternative mode you can boot into which enables you to create backups of your system or write to the ROM to install a different operating system

Every alternative Android version comes with tons of tutorials and help. So just search for your device model in conjunction with "cyanogenmod" or "custom ROM".
Edit:
I just saw that you have ordered a Samsung Galaxy S3, so you will have little trouble installing an alternative Android.

So you mean Samsung does NOT lock their mobile's boot loaders and we can re-install any version we want ?

Also, can you please guide me to a place (site) where I can find detailed info about this re-install process ?

It really depends on what you want to achieve. If you want to skip the wait for an updated Samsung firmware, you can flash it yourself (search for "Galaxy S3 flash odin"). If you want to install an alternative system like cyanogenmod without all the Samsung software, search for "cyanogenmod install galaxy s3". Just do google searches, you can find all the information you need by sourself instead of asking online.


text:
How to access to my folders on android nexus 4 without OS
I have a problem :
I tried to install the last update of Android 4.4 on my nexus 4
But It didn't work...
My phone didn't want to turn on. So I tried to uninstall everything an install the update manually.
But now I can't access to my phone on my computer...
he "sees" it but I can't go into it...
I tried to install differents drivers like : adb, google USB driver, MTP. But nothing.
Some poeple say that sometimes it works by using PTP, but I don't know how to install it...
Thank you for you're time
tbille

If your phone won't turn on, I don't think installing drivers will help. And yet you say that the computer "sees" the phone. In my case I found that after successfully upgrading to 4.4 that my windows PC could no longer "see" my phone unless I went into storage and changed the USB settings to ptp. However, on my Linux machine I can access all folders and storage. So if you have a Linux machine or at least a live disk you may be able to access you internal storage that way. But if the phone isn't turning on, I'm not sure what you can do from that point. Hope something in my ramblings helps. :-)

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Cannot unpair YouTube app on my smartphone from LGTV (SmartTV)
I cannot unpair my Android smartphone YouTube app from my LGTV.
On LGTV: I went on YouTube app and log-off my account. I also disconnected all mobile devices from it, what should (?) suffice in case my cell phone is stolen or something else happens, but...
On Phone: I cleared all app data and cache for YouTube app. But still, after starting the YouTube app, my LGTV is still registered and I can make YouTube videos play on LGTV.
On YouTube account: I removed the LGTV from YouTube configuration, but still any account on the phone can make videos play on the LGTV.
There is something that is being left on my smartphone that still allows it to control the LGTV.
The next step (that I am holding) is: completely reset my phone and research some way to completely reset my LGTV (if it makes any difference).

I don't have a TV paired with my YouTube account, so this is really just another setting to look at.

Go to your YouTube account: https://www.youtube.com/account
Click on the Connected TVs option at the bottom of the left hand menu.
If available, disconnect the TV from here.

I went there, I had already removed the TV; interestingly is that I can make the youtube app play on LGTV from any account I have registered on the phone, even account that has not linked to the LGTV before! :(

Maybe you could perform a factory reset on the TV? I was looking online but without knowing what TV you have, I couldn't find a generic enough tutorial.

that may be a workaround so I could take care of it from the LGTV what is the right way to do it; anyway I may be forced to to clean the phone from this abusive/excessive data storage that I cannot easly remove; if I knew where such information is stored I would one step do clean it up :)

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


text:
How can I create a file from My Files?
This seems like a silly question, but how do you create a file in My Files? I've been searching for a while on Google and this site, but I cannot find out how!
When I pres the "menu" key, I can see an option to create a folder, but there's no option to create a file. So, how can I create a file, for example, "filename.html", from the My Files viewer?
I am using a Galaxy S4.

I think My Files does not allow you to create files. You could try a 3rd-party app like File Expert though; this app lets you create both files and folders.


text:
What is Maximum recording video size?
i would like to use my smartphone to record my team soccer match.
I've two question, one of those, a little off topics.

Our match length is 60 minutes. Do Android allows a 720p recording of 60 minutes ?
Is it possible to turn off display when recording ?
(a little off topic) I need a good solutions to 'append' my smartphone to a 'rounded' coverage (see photo).. i've tried to use tripod or 'car holder' ...but neither is a good solution.
Have you got some ideas ?


text:
CyanogenMod Boot Animation Squished
I recently installed CyanogenMod (nightly) on my tablet. I like it and it runs much faster than Android ever did. But when it boots, for the first 5 or so seconds, the (portrait) boot animation is stretched so that it takes up half of the screen vertically and extends to around double the width horizontally (almost like it defaults to landscape sizes or something?). After the first few seconds, it fixes itself and looks normal.
Why is this happening and how can I fix it?
It's a Samsung galaxy tab 2 7.0 (p3113).

Realistically, it's probably just a bug in the nightly. The CM team will work it out in time, but until then there's not a lot (if anything) you can really do other than switch to something "stable" if it bothers you.

OK... I had tried to use the built-in updater to revert to the most recent stable build but something that they did makes it break when I revert. It's not much of a problem for me it just seemed like it was a tablet-specific issue and I wanted to see if anyone else knew of a solution.


text:
How to unlock Android phone without the touch screen
I have a Huawei phone with Android installed. The LCD display cracked recently, and as the cracks have spread over whole display over few days, it's now totally uncontrollable.
The phone has a 4 way sort-of-joystick thingy, so when it's unlocked I can still use it. However, once the display turns off completely I cannot unlock it to use it.
Is there some key combination or a trick to unlock the phone without using the display? The phone is not password or key locked, it just requires to slide from left to right.
I have USB debugging enabled, but I have no idea how to use it. The phone is not rooted.
Also, I'm wondering how I'm going to save my phonebook and other stuff.
The device name is Huawei U8500.

You might wish to check our other broken screen questions, which already have helpful answers; e.g. My screen got broken, how to see on the computer what I'm doing in my device? / Control Android with broken screen from PC / Broken Screen + Using adb shell to run vnc server / What can I do with an Nexus One with a broken LCD?

You can use a USB cable and buy a USB mouse so that you can use that [a mouse] instead of touch screen. Check out a USB adapter for Android that fits your budget [and make sure it's compatible with your device] and purchase it.

I have a simple female-female adapter. Won't using this short-circuit the device or something?

No, I don't see why it should. I do the same with my Galaxy S3. You shouldn't have a problem, unless the cable itself already has its problems, but if the wire works well you should be fine.

I'll try it then. If the phone breaks... well, I don't know who you are, but I'll find you and I'll eat you.

Lol. I didn't know cannibalism was legal. But I don't see why it should be bad. Test it out for five to ten minutes. If you sense something, don't. And unless you have a weak device, it should work perfectly. Assuming all devices, ports and cables aren't ruined and are in great condition.

Do you really think I'd reward bad advice by something legal? However, so far, the mouse does not work. Maybe it doesn't have that two-way port at all.
I'll try some more mouses, but well, it's Huawei - I don't expect much.

I really hoped to hack into the phone using debug mode - but that really seems to be impossible. Androind ain't that open as they state, or my firmware was heavily modified.
I guess once somebody develops firmware that provides easy restore of data from smartphones with broken display, he's gonna drown in money. Many of my problems had the same problem.

Well, maybe. Bad advice is good for others, as they say what works for me may not work for you. But I really hope it works. Have you considered a wireless Bluetooth mouse? Hmm... Android seems very open to me, I've been able to do endless things with mine. But I think that comes with the fact because I develop apps so know ways around. I'll look into your device and find ways to open up your device more so the USB works.

But your device name helps. Let me know if you find other mice that work. If not, maybe a better adapter would work or a device modification. Perhaps Bluetooth is the best bet for your device specifically. Don't know the hardware there. NY has quite different than others.

I'm so stupid... Well, I've updated device name in the question, I've totally forgotten about that. Bluetooth mouse might not help since bluetooth can't be turned on...

You're not stupid, but thanks. I'll look into it now. And why can't Bluetooth be turned on? Strange.

Because I cannot unlock the device, because it cannot be controlled using the display, because the display is broken. There is no HW switch on it - and again, I can't figure how to contol it via USB conection, even though I hope it's possible.

What Android version do you have, again? Also, according to searches so far a USB mouse should be of use, assuming your Android OS is updated. In addition, [not sure if you'll find this of use] Puffin Browser includes a mouse simulator, so you can use a touchpad within the browser, as well as a game controller if you game. Other than that, I think you should be fine if your Android is updated.

Requirements

Your phone must be rooted
You need a USB Cable
You need a PC
USB Debugging must be enabled
Android SDK or at least ADB must be installed on the PC
You need to be familiar with Command prompts/Terminals

Tutorial

Connect your phone to the PC
Open up a Command Prompt
To connect the Phone Terminal, Run adb shell
To emulate a Power Button (To power on the device), Run input keyevent 26
To Unlock the screen, Run input keyevent 82
Your phone now is Unlocked!

Notes

This didn't work for me but it's confirmed to work with others

References

To see a list of useful ADB Commands, Visit this Site

Advices

Install a VNC Server on the Phone such as This one, and install a Client on a PC such as This one, and connect the PC to the phone and then you can use the phone on the PC directly

That's hardly a useful answer for me, don't you think?

@TomášZato That's not an easy thing to get around it easily, don't you think?

Oh, well actually I expected the Android developers to think when they are making the systems. To think means to ask questions (and find the answers). One of the first questions should be: "What can our user do when the screen is broken?" I don't implicitly expect people to be dumb, therefore I thought they asked themselves the question. Because they obviously didn't, I guess my expectation about them was wrong.

You can use an USB OTG (on the go) adapter and a USB hub, plug the OTG in your phone put the hub in the adapter and plug in an  USB keyboard and USB mouse

Try MyPhoneExplorer. Works like a charm for me. I have Android Gingerbread 2.3.5.

You've joined the site today and have left two answers, both suggesting the same product. What's your affiliation to this app? Please have a look at our [help/behavior], specifically the section on promotion.

You can use a mouse using a USB Female Cable. I can use this cable to control my Huawei Assend. Then you can remove the lock to avoid interruption.

He says it currently doesn't have a lock but still has the slide, does the mouse get rid of that?

yes the mouse full replace the touch


text:
adb for bootloop
I am in the middle of trying to understand the correct procedure to recover my data from a phone that went into a bootloop.

I installed android sdk, with adb tools.
Also installed ODIN (although I don't know how to use it for now)
Following commands I managed to perform and stuck on the last one, mounting sdcard

As I feel, that my phone data can be retrieved. Because I can still go into recovery mode, odin mode, can see the battery charging. Also able to detect the phone as MTP device in device manager although it doesn't show up under my computer as a portable device...

What are the steps should I follow to get rid of this bootloop and recover my data?
If adb command can mount my sdcard, doesn't it mean there's a way to recover the data?
In recovery mode I can see two options:
1. update from adb
2. update from external storage
I have already taken out my external sdcard, so I won't lose data in it along the built in sdcard. Here update from sdcard means built in card or external?
When I chose the 2nd option, I get the following error
 E: failed to mount /sdcard <No such file or directory>

Edit 2:

You will find some useful hints in our adb tag-wiki and especially backup tag-wiki. In the latter, take a closer look at the "ADB Backups" section. Additionally, if your device is rooted, there's also the possibility to use adb pull to retrieve all contents from it.

@Izzy Praised to you! Could you please tell me which direction should I go first? I am now trying to do the command "adb sideload <update 4.2>" to update the phone via adb. But if I can pull all the contents from the phone then I don't have to do any updates because once data is pulled I could simply select wipe all...to reboot I guess..

All depends on whether you have root access on the device (without that, you cannot adb pull your stuff from /data). If you have no experience in that area, I'd recommend using one of the ADB Backup frontends to save your apps' data to separate archives (you could also try a full adb backup, then reset, and then restore all; if you're lucky that's all you need. But chances are you end up in the same situation then, so better be prepared). I guess you have your contacts/calendars synced with Google?

@Izzy I tried adb pull. It says remote object data/data/... doesn't exist. So does it mean the device is not rooted? What are the ADB backup frontends you are proposing? For me apps data not important - probably What'sApp. Most important are contacts, sms and picutre/pdf files. Nope unfortunately I always switch off Sync as Google was too intrusive.. :(

Are you sure you didn't miss the leading /? adb pull /data <target>, see e.g. here. If the device is not rooted, you will get "permission denied" errors. If not using Google Sync (which I can perfectly understand), you should have taken care for backups of your contacts in advance! For recommendations: Please check the links to the tag-wikis I've posted. Information was placed there so we don't have to repeat it over and over again. Documents should be stored below /sdcard, which you can pull without root.

Yup I guess I didn't miss the leading / And thanks for the link which has so many adb sample commands. I feel my phone is at a very shallow soft bricked mode, which can be easily fixed...However as you said it all depends on if it's rooted or not. So looking at adb shell command I don't seem to get # instead $... When I typed adb devices within shell, it says device note found...so I am not really sure which direction I should be heading now.

I'm just a little confused: where did you type adb devices? If your device is not found, you neither could run adb pull against it. And right: $ stands for non-root mode, # for root mode. You could try su to see if you can switch to root mode; adb pull however would require the ADB server on the device to run in root mode; adbd Insecure can be used to achieve that on a rooted device.

I roughly understood what you meant. So that's why I don't want to bring the phone back to Service centre or simply wipe data/factory set if there's a possibility to retrieve data...you can see from my images, what's shown for each command. I was not able to run adb root. After typing it nothing happened and cursor was just blinking in the command prompt

@Izzy I am yet to try out su commands. I realized wiping of cache didn't help until now. Going forward I would like to make a weekly automatic backup of my phone to the pc. Most people are talking about backup at recovery. Can I use clockworkmod software to backup my phone in the future? (given I have the full access and to root), is it really required to root the phone in order to use such softwares? I can read up, if you could provide me with some reliable links or wiki tags.

@Izzy I tried adb shell. However when typed su, I get the following system/bin/sh: su: not found So I managed to do cd /system/ and I am successfully inside the system as well as cd /sdcard/. Now I am not sure what I could do...to retrieve the data...

Please, don't raise additional questions inside comments (in this case, you should ask your rooting/CWM questions in separate posts). This site does not work like a forum, it's a Q&A site (one question with its related answers per "page"). Your last comment confirms your device is not rooted, so there's no way to adb pull all your data from /data.

@Izzy I haven't tried this but can't @ aspiring install cwm using "install from SDCard" then try to root the rom? or after installing CWM make a backup of the Rom?

@RohanKandwal only saw your mssg after I did factory reset... NOw that my phone is back....I am trying to do the adb commands to root it... funny now I dont see anything...nothing detected. Also I want to mount it as a usb, so to try out recuva to retrieve any files....

@Izzy and everyone, I am quite glad, my contacts could be restored via (90%) What'sapp back up... THAT'S AMAZING!!! The backup includes all the messages, pictures I had with my contacts. However internal memory data, documents, pictures are still gone. And trying to recover.

Happy to know that you recovered some of your data. Hope you get everything back. xD

This is indeed one of those blessed times. After do the factory set and pc detected the phone, all pictures were FOUND. I mean how is that possible? But I am very glad that I didn't bring the phone back to Samsung service centre. I am thankful to all of you who supported help here. If it wasn't for you guys advices I would felt helpless and not had the opportunity to trying rooting from my end. At the end it paid off although I couldn't root. It is as bizzare as it looks... :-)

I made a tool do help even the most the computer illiterate person recover their files using this method. You will, however need to follow the instructions in the article if you have not set up ADB.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=51822116


text:
I want to root my phone
Can anyone tell me what is the easiest way to root my phone.
I have a Samsung galaxy note 2.
And what does it mean to flash a new Rom?

Also see: What is the difference between: Rooting, Jailbreak, ROM, Mod, etc.?, What do “NAND”, “ROM” and “to flash” mean?

There are many methods to root your device.
I just did a quick search and came up with this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2143479. Try following that and see if it works (the process I took for rooting my tablet was pretty much just 'try every guide that I can find until something works', so really just keep looking through guides on the internet).
The term ROM is traditionally used to mean Read Only Memory. Over time, it has come to mean (in the Android world) the OS that your device runs, because the OS is thought to be read-only by some people. Flashing a new ROM just means replacing stock Android with something else.

What are the pro's to rooting? I wanted to do it so I could use a backup app titanium.

@user46862 Please take a look at our rooting tag-wiki, which will answer most of your questions.

The biggest (and really, only) cons that I know of are 1) voiding the warranty (but they usually don't check to see if it's rooted when you send it for repair), and 2) the slight possibility of bricking your device. As for the second part, I have done everything short of intentionally bricking my Android (including boot loops, rooting, custom ROMS, custom recovery) and it still works fine.

As for pros, you have full access to everything. Enough said. ;)


text:
Prevent ANY sound from Android phone
I have the Galaxy S4 and would like to be able to ensure that, when on silent/vibrate mode, the phone makes absolutely no noise. I haven't been able to find a way to prevent the alarm from making noise when going off in silent mode, and though I could set the alarm type to vibrate, I'm concerned that if the alarm can go off in silent mode, other things can make noise as well.
Is there a way to ensure the phone makes no noise? Is it really only the alarm that makes noise in silent mode?

Check out Volume Control +. This app lets you control the volume for the following: Media, Ring, Notifications, In-call, alarm, system. Each sound profile (e.g. Silent, Vibrate, General) can be configured.


text:
Pull or backup only the contacts from Android
My phone is on a bootloope _ soft bricked. I have managed to detect it via adb on recovery mode. So now I want to know the exact command to pull contacts first from the phone to my pc.

Is this correct?
adb backup -apk -shared -all -f C:\test.ab
Next what is the generic (original factory) directory for phone saving all the pictures/pdfs?
What is the command I should run to pull those from phone to pc?
Is pulling faster or healthier a bricked phone than backing up into pc?
Also due to UK language settings my pc has no backslash, is there a way to get it into command prompt?

(Since I am nooby and I just crashed everything I know right now from last night - please have mercy. I want to make sure the commands are precise.)

Is what correct? 3. I'm afraid I don't understand what you're asking. 4. UK keyboards do have a backslash, next to the Z key. If you're having trouble entering text on your PC, you'll want to fix that first: we don't have the expertise to help you with that here.

You may ignore that backslash although next to 'z' there's no backslash. Anyway, I found out I haven't managed to root my soft-brick device. Can u help me on that please?


text:
internal storage running low
I am not very technologically advanced so bear with me. I need to move more apps to my SD card from internal storage because I am running low on internal storage space. I have moved very few apps to my Sd card with application manager but the majority of the apps have the option greyed out. After the apps updated  the move to SD card option remained greyed out. How can I free up space? I have a 16 GB SD card so its a little frustrating that I can't use it.

Emily, I've just added two more tags to your question. You might want to check their tag-wikis, which contain some first-aid (app2sd and insufficient-memory).

My phone is the LG Optimus F3

If the "Move" option is greyed out, it can mean either, or both of the following:
1) The application was granted device administration privilege previously. To disable device administration for an application, go to Menu | Settings | Security | Device Administrators (Please note these options vary between Android versions, but they should be similar). Then, the "Move" option should be enabled to allow you to move data to your external SD card (i.e. microSD card).
or
2) The application was designed to ONLY RUN in internal memory. This is set in the application by the developer and there's nothing you can do about it (unless you know how to reverse-engineer the application). The reason for this is that some Android functions only work if they are executed from the internal storage area.
Sometimes, you will have applications that do both of the above. So, if you cannot move an application, the above are the reasons.

A simple way to get more storage space without moving your apps is to download Norton Clean (the only good Norton app) and clear your cache and junk files. On my first time using this it freed up over two gigabytes of storage space.


text:
Playing an mp3 (from my phone) through my internet radio
On my old Samsung Galaxy Ace running Android 2.3.6 or so, there was a Samsung system app called "allshare". I really really loved this app. It was simple and unpretentious, and it did the following amazing thing: when I was in my kitchen, with my phone connected to my home wireless network, and my internet radio was also in my kitchen, also connected to my home wireless network, I could play an mp3 on my phone and direct the output to the internet radio. It was simple and it worked, and I used it a lot.
Woo hoo! I now have a sparkling brand new HTC one mini, running Android 4.something large. I went straight to google play to download my allshare. But I can only find "Samsung Link" (formerly Allshare Play, which might well have been the app I was using) and it is incompatible with all my devices (possibly for the reason that they are not samsung devices).
I want my functionality back! I am assuming that if Samsung can get this to work on an old 2.3.6 phone, it must be possible to get my HTC one mini doing it, right?

You could take a look at BubbleUPnP. Not exaclty the same as AllShare, but might help you out.

@Izzy: this has exactly the functionality I was looking for. Many thanks! If you want to leave your comment as an answer, I'll accept it.

Glad it solved your issue! As requested, I made it an answer with some more details. Enjoy!

AllShare is a Samsung specific product, which might not be available to devices of different brands. However, as it's basically a DLNA server/client app, you might want to take a look at some of the many alternatives available. A very good choice would be BubbleUPnP, which acts both as server and client (so you can stream from your device to other DLNA/UPnP clients as well as the other way around):

BubbleUPnP is a full featured UPnP/DLNA Control Point, UPnP Media Renderer and UPnP Media Server. Play easily your music, videos and images on your phone and devices on your network (DLNA TVs, XBMC, WMP, ...), from your external UPnP Media Servers. Play your phone/tablet media to those devices.
  Browse and play your local phone/tablet and cloud media from other devices (PS3, ...).
BubbleUPnP can also be used as a standalone music player, even without any network connection.


text:
Ubuntu for Android
Is this actually downloadable in Google Play or elsewhere or is it just a project for willing OEMs?
Did anyone here use it?
http://www.ubuntu.com/phone/ubuntu-for-android

@krsteeve You're talking about Ubuntu Touch. Mr. Brehm is asking about "Ubuntu for Android", which is listed as a separate project on the site he links to.

I'm pretty sure it's only for OEMs at this point. The developers did a Q&A on Reddit a few months back where they basically stated they had no immediate plans to release UfA (see, e.g., this comment thread). Don't know if anything has changed since, but the lack of a "download" button would imply it has not.


text:
How to activate car mode with a magnet?
The Google Nexus 7 tablet has lots of reed relays and magnets.
Some toggle the screen, others activate the wireless charging dock. I suppose there is a position for activating car mode (never putting screen to sleep). I'd like to put a magnet (or several if necessary) into my car dock, so I can trigger car mode, whenever I put the tablet in there.
Unfortunatelly, I couldn't find a page, that will describe the various positions of the reed relays inside the device.

the best way is NFC Trigger.. there is an app (nfc trigger) that can activate car mode automatically when the tag is close to the tablet

Yup, you can get NFC tags pretty cheap on the internet.


text:
Decrypt encrypted Android Phone (MIUI 4.2)
I've encrypted my Phone because of my organization's policy. Unfortunately the device is a bit slower and moreover I am not able to update ROMs anymore. I do have root access and my device is running fine, but I'd like to undo the encryption of my Android-device. I've searched for several solutions on line, but it appears as if no one really has THE solution. Could anyone help me solving this issue?
Some extra information that I've used so far:

Ways to remove android device encryption
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1187741
Factory reset/data wipe (results in errors, because of encryption)
reflashed ROM, didn't work either: /data remained untouched
forum . xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=25635462&postcount=54
0xfeedface . org/blog/lattera/2012-06-04/installing-cm9-encrypted-android-tablet

MY Phone is: Xioami Hongmi with MIUI 3.8.11 (Android 4.2)

So what went wrong when you tried all those things you linked? If you don't tell us, we can't suggest anything new.

And how did you encrypt it in the first place.

@RohitGupta This question was asked a decade ago by a user with 19 rep points.  My guess is you won't receive a response!

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


text:
ADB won't recognize Sero 7 Pro
I just bought a refurbished HiSense Sero 7 Pro tablet.
I have enabled Developer options and turned on USB debugging. When I plug the tablet into my Win7 PC, it fails to install proper drivers (which seems normal from the Sero7Pro rooting threads), but my computer can still see it as a media device or camera.
I have the Android SDK installed and have the Google USB Driver. I have added the vendor ID (0x109b) to .android/adb_usb.ini.
When running adb devices, the list of connected devices just won't show the Sero7Pro. It has no problem showing other devices. Similarly, the tablet will not appear in the Device Chooser menu when trying to "Run as Android Application" from Eclipse.
I've tried connecting it as Media device (MTP) and Camera (PTP) with no difference. I've also installed the SDK and ADB on another computer and had the same issue.
Any ideas? Could something be wrong with the tablet? It seems to be working just fine otherwise.
__
EDIT: The PDAnet ADB driver (http://pdanet.co/a/) finally seemed to work. Issue closed.

Could you make your edit into an answer to your question instead? That makes sure other users can see you've solved the problem.

I plan to, but I must wait 8 hours since I am a new user. That's why I added the edit in the meantime.

The PDAnet ADB driver (http://pdanet.co/a/) worked.


text:
Android lag issues in Galaxy S3?
I know I have previously asked a similar question and I am asking again : why does my Galaxy S3 lag when doing routine tasks ?

When pressing HOME button , the screen is supposed to smoothly fade away. Instead, it fades away in a stammering manner. Sometimes, it just stays and then disappears in an instant without the gradual fading effect. This was in case of Mozilla, Chrome and some other apps.
The  drop down menu on the top of the screen also stammers when I open it. I do not drag my finger all the way to the bottom, I just click and flick and let the menu go down on its own.

Is it a hardware issue ?
I do clear my cache once in a while. No task killer. No root.
As a side note, I play Real Racing quite often and I DO notice an occasional lag when there are like 20 cars driven together. Apart from that, game works like a charm.

I have an S3 and don't observe the "stammering" you describe (what Android folks call "janky" animations). What OS version do you have?

4.1.2 is what i have.

4.3 should be out for your phone very shortly, if it's not already.  I'd check for system updates and see if the problem persists having updated.

With as advanced of a phone as the S3 is, you shouldn't be experiencing much, if any, lag at all. Chances are, it's something you have or haven't done to the phone.
1. Try restarting it. Often times, RAM will remain in use even when applications are no longer being used. Restarting it will bring your phone back to where it's not using ram from all the apps you've been using since the last time you restarted it.
2. You said that you clear your cache... I'm assuming you mean RAM cache, versus data cache. Android's way of memory (RAM) cache "clearing" isn't always (or even often) entirely effective. An app I've fell in love with for cleaning out RAM (as well as it's anti-virus abilities) is 360 Mobile Security - Antivirus, which you can download from the app store. It'll force out memory in ways many apps don't, and also gives you the benefit of having an anti-virus program built in. Root gives more functionality to it, but you said you don't use root, but I thought I'd throw that out there for anyone reading this that might have root.
3. Update your android system. 4.1.2 is not known for it's "buttery smooth interface and performance".   Settings -->  About phone --> Update (may be in status tab) will likely be able to update Android's platform for you. If not, outside of rooting and changing your rom, guess you'll be stuck with 4.1.2 unless your carrier provides an update service for you.
4. Check your settings. THere's things in the developer's options menu that'll effect transition speed, which can give appearances like lag.  Developers options --> window/transition animation scale  is the place you want to check. x1 seems to be a standard setting, but the lower you go, the faster the system will react visually, and (when available), I set mine to x.25, but that's not always an option (in ROMs), where-as x.5 usually is available. Use x.5 if x.25 isnt available. There's a couple other things in developer's options that could help you out too, take a look around.
5. Keep on researching the issue if this doesn't help. The answers are out there.

so it is a software issue ?


text:
How to import contacts from galaxy s3 to nexus 5?
How do you import contacts from a Galaxy S3 to a Nexus 5?
They're both Android devices, so is it a simple process?
Do I need to save them to a SIM card?

If you use GMail and add contacts there, there is nothing you directly need to do outside of signing into that same account on the other android (and perhaps checking to sync contacts).

This might be useful: http://android.stackexchange.com/q/637/98

http://mashable.com/2013/08/20/sync-android-contacts/

Several ways actually. The most simple way I found was to sync all your addresses to a Google Account. If you don't have one create one. On the S3:

From Settings Scroll down and choose Accounts and Sync.
Choose Add Account.
Choose Google.
Choose Existing to add an existing account.
Type in the email id of the account.
Fill in password and sign in.`

On the other device, simply sync to the account again. All your contacts will be pulled in.

Just tried it on my nexus 5, didn't work

Er, what didn't work- the sync from S3 to google happened?

yeah I ended up copying to sim. Then from sim

Well it's great- especially that your SIM could hold all data. But i'm surprised that sync did not work.

The simplest way would have been using the contacts' app integrated export/import functionality:

on the "source device": open contacts, open menu, select "Export/Import", export to SDCard. This will export your entire contact list (including photos) to a .vcf file in the root of your sdcard.
copy the resulting *.vcf file to the "target device"
on the target device: open contacts, menu, export/import, import from SD. Chose the file.
Done.

See also:

transferring contacts
How can I transfer my all contacts from old HTC Wildfifre android 2.1 to LG Optimus Vu
Moving from one droid to another

You use your gmail account to configure your contacts from one android phone to another.

Login into you google account from your Galaxy S3 Phone.
Sync your contacts with your gmail account.
Import contacts from your gmail account to your Nexus 5 by syncing your Nexus 5 with your gmail account.

Get access to all your contacts.

You can use Dropbox on your S3 to save all your contacts in a cloud server as a VCF file (above), then sign in into the Dropbox account using your Nexus 5 and save the contacts in there. Google should work fine.

You can use superbackup application from appstore. It stores almost evrything in seperate csv files, that way you can change your devices on fly, and still wont loose any data. Goodluck

Could you link the app?

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.idea.backup.smscontacts&hl=en


text:
APN Requires mcc and mnc but my carrier requires none
I used to specify only the Name and APN fields whenever I needed to configure my carrier's APN. I've just rooted my Galaxy Nexus with Cyanogemod and whenever I try to set the APN it prompts me to enter the mcc and mnc number's which my carrier doesn't specify.
How can I resolve this?
Thanks in advance

Aha! Ok I'm no where near a cellular expert but based on a wild guess I searched for carrier APNs and found here a list of APNs per carrier per country. I guess these are always required but somehow cyanogenmod is not configured to determine these codes automatically.
While this may help others facing the same problem, I hope someone with real insight shares the knowledge


text:
Sending group emails from gmail app in my nexus 10
How do I send a group email from gmail app. The group name is not recognised. Have tried from people as well and cannot work out how to do it. In my android phone it works from my group contacts list.

GMail App didn't have this option yet.
You can try this App. Its called contacts GroupU.
It will list all Groups and just press and hold on any group and select send Email.
Then there will be a pop up with Gmail app listed in it.
Select it. You are done.


text:
Not able to send media on Whatsapp...Moto X
I just upgraded to Moto X from Motorola Photon. I am not being able to send/receive any picture or media files. The settings for media is turned on but still the media button in mot highlighting.

Welcome to the site! I see your Android 4.2 tag, but I just want to ask so we can be certain: Are you running 4.2 or 4.4?

This can be dependant on the app itself being compatible with your version of android, or the phone itself. Without more information, this is a hard question to answer. I've heard that Whatsapp doesnt like Android 4.4 (KitKat) just yet, or it could be a simple problem with the app that the developer hasn't fixed yet. If all else fails, give it time for the devs to fix the app, make sure settings on your phone allow it the app to work right, or just try reinstalling the app and restarting your phone.

I had the same problem in my motorola Moto G . Try going to Configuration -> Apps , then touch the menu button at the right top and select "Reset apps configuration".
This solved my problem. I hope this help ! .

You need to install a third party music player that will allow to send audio files through WhatsApp. One such application is Android Music player by JRT Studio.

After some tests .. I realized that a temporary solution could be remove the Google Play Music application updates.


text:
Contact synchronization on older droids
Having had the "activate auto-sync" checkmark off for about a week (not that i expected this time-out to matter in any case), i've recently tried to find a manually-driven option, but without success. My 2.3.4 Gingerbread (Level 10) doesn't even animate the curved arrows anymore. After giving up, i've even activated the auto-sync, but it still did not kick in. :-|
Then i tried to look into other options, and got to the Contacts app, where in the Menu there's an "Import" option, but this one fails to even start -- with a silly error message "Memory full. Could not import contacts." My internal storage still has 16 MB free, though, so i suspect it's the number of contacts that's causing the issue? So, anyway, how do i check what's wrong and is there any workaround for this SNAFU?

To answer a part of your issue: Have you checked our insufficient-memory tag-wiki? That error is triggered when your internal memory drops below ~25 MB, and could even affect the storage of an incoming (160-char) SMS, stupid as it might sound... Btw: first-aid is also available in the tag-wiki.

@Izzy : no, i didn't yet try any of those ideas since i haven't started considering the low internal space a problem... It's just a possible minor inconvenience when i want to install a new app. But do you really expect me to understand that "FULL" can actually mean "low space"?!?

@Izzy : on the other hand, i'm currently going through the effort of cataloguing (and backing up apks of) internal-storage-hungry apps, so maybe i should just be patient and try again after i finish that and decide which of them to uninstall?

As I wrote above, and the linked tag-wiki states: that error will always pop-up on low storage. So that is your underlying problem. The tag-wiki contains hints on how to deal with that; please check those out first. Afterwards, feel free to return with specific questions, of course, if there are any left :)


text:
Getting verification error when attempting to "adb sideload" the OTA update on Nexus 7 (2013)
Notes:

Tablet is unlocked and rooted (SuperSU Pro v1.75)
I have the following recovery flash in place: TWRP 2.6.3.0, but I am booting stock recovery for the adb sideload invocation
The drivers are installed, host is Win 7 x64 and the device is detected in every mode (MTP, USB debug, bootloader)

When attempting to adb sideload (via stock recovery) the file 7d9b309e11da82edb5373a1f59965bca89f6041f.signed-razor-KRT16S-from-JSS15R.7d9b309e.zip on my Nexus 7 (2013) [Wi-Fi], I receive an error:
Finding update package...
Opening update package...
Verifying update package...
Installing update...
Verifying current system...
"/system/app/Drive.apk" has unexpected contents.
E:Error in /tmp/update.zip
(Status 7)
Installation aborted.

What am I doing wrong? What do I have to change in order to make the adb sideload succeed?

There's also a chance you can use another recovery / bootloader. To install latest CM on my XT925, for instance, I had to use the custom image from download page (it's even a little smaller than clockwork's one). Also keep in mind that rebooting from fastload into bootloader can be very, very tricky, as it may be replaced by stock bootloader on reboot.

Goal
If you have the OTA image downloaded and, as in my case, ended up without success you should be able to adb sideload <filename> it still manually (video here).
Problem/Error
... unfortunately the OTA update via adb sideload errors out with:
Finding update package...
Opening update package...
Verifying update package...
Installing update...
Verifying current system...
"/system/app/Drive.apk" has unexpected contents.
E:Error in /tmp/update.zip
(Status 7)
Installation aborted.

where /system/app/Drive.apk could be any system app.
Who's not to blame?

TWRP is not to blame, I thought so in the beginning, but it would work with TWRP as well.
TitaniumBackup Pro. Since I rooted my device and use a power-user feature, I should have known of its side-effects. Now I do know, though :) ... and there's a good chance you learn about this from this answer now.

Apparent cause of the error
Using Titanium Backup Pro I had used the "freeze" feature to get rid of some of the system apps, namely:

ASUS Keyboard
Calendar
Calendar Storage
com.android.providers.partnerbookmarks
com.android.sharedstoragebackup
com.google.android.voicesearch
Exchange Services
Gmail
Google One Time Init
Google Play Books
Google Play Games
Google Play Magazines
Google Play Movies
Google Play Music
Google Search
Google Text-to-speech Engine
Hangouts
iWnn IME
iWnnIME Keyboard (White)
One Time Init

This was apparently why the adb sideload bailed out early with the error message given in my question.
I also uninstalled some of the system apps, and I think I remember "Drive" (remember?: /system/app/Drive.apk) was one of them.
The solution
I found the solution over at forum.xda-developers.com in this answer. The gist is that if you have a modified image, you need to restore that to make the OTA sideload succeed.
First download the stock image for the build you currently have. Make sure it's the correct one for your device. So I was trying to upgrade from JSS15R to KRT16S on the Wi-Fi version, which meant I needed to download the 4.3 (JSS15R) image. That was the file razor-jss15r-factory-ec2d4f76.tgz in my case. I then unpacked that which gave me a subfolder named razor-jss15r. Inside of it there were shell scripts, a .img file and a .zip (image-razor-jss15r.zip). The latter needed to be unpacked. Then I had the .img files in the folder I unpacked the .zip into:

boot.img
cache.img
recovery.img
system.img
userdata.img

Then I followed the steps outlined in the linked answer:

boot into bootloader (keep Volume-down and Power pressed directly after turning it on)
connect USB (make sure before that, that all USB drivers are installed)
change into the folder with the previously unpacked .img files
check from the Android SDK prompt that you see the device with fastboot devices.
then execute fastboot flash system system.img which will flash a stock system partition

Note: unlike in the linked post, I left out the step with the fastboot erase system because that is apparently implied by fastboot flash system system.img as can be seen from the output. I also left out fastboot flash boot boot.img and fastboot flash recovery recovery.img because I thought it was unlikely that these "partitions" had been modified (I was right). You may need the latter two, though. It would probably depend on what you have modified that prevents the adb sideload step (i.e. read and understand the error message).
Here's the output:
# fastboot flash system system.img
erasing 'system'...
OKAY [  1.160s]
sending 'system' (603447 KB)...
OKAY [ 19.786s]
writing 'system'...
OKAY [ 26.720s]
finished. total time: 47.668s

Et voila, a clean system that can be OTA updated.
So in short, you may only need to fastboot flash system system.img from the stock image you are running, if you ever get an error during the verification phase:
Verifying current system...
"/system/<SOME>.apk" has unexpected contents.
E:Error in /tmp/update.zip
(Status 7)

Download for factory images (Nexus 7, both)

Factory Images "razor" for Nexus 7 [2013] (Wi-Fi)
Factory Images "razorg" for Nexus 7 [2013] (Mobile)


text:
How do you determine if you're using Wi-Fi or LTE?
On Android, how do you tell if you're connected through Wi-Fi or some other type of connection like LTE or 3G?
If I'm sitting at a Starbucks and I sign-in to their Wi-Fi, my phone has both the Wi-Fi and LTE icons showing. How do I know which connection I'm using?
When I'm at a place that has Wi-Fi, I want to use Wi-Fi and not my data from my data plan. Is there a place in Android that specifically tells you?

Good question! I'm fairly certain that if you're connected to Wifi, then all data (except MMS messaging) is pushed through your Wifi connection. However, I can't really back that up.

I cannot tell for 4G (not having it), but when I'm on WiFi the WiFi icon shows up, and the cell bars lose their G/E/3G/H symbol. Moreover, the traffic arrows appear on the WiFi icon when transfering data (and not on the mobile one); on 4.4+ you unfortunately have to check that in quick-settings, as they removed the arrows from the notification bar.

Look at the traffic arrows on the top: they move from the 4G to the WIFI symbol.

There isn't a specific place that it shows, but the WiFi connection will take priority over the cellular data. If you wanted, you could perform a SpeedTest to check your service provider, but that shouldn't be necessary.
Also, if you're worried about updates and whatnot using your cellular, the downloads will initiate on WiFi (if you have that option) but they will continue on cellular if you lose the signal.

If you are connected with WiFi, your mobile connection is automatically disabled.

Not necessarily, newer (4.3 I think) versions of Android have the option to use both if the connection is unstable, or to swap over. Older devices sometimes used both and I got caught out with that myself a couple of years ago. Generally, you are correct, but most phones are running a customised version of Android and the OEM will sometimes change that setting. Cost me 30 Euro.

You can always go to the Wi-Fi settings menu where you connect to wireless networks and see if you are connected. You should see below the SSID the word "Connected" if that's the case.

An Android app from play store called Opera Max

monitors your mobile data and Wi-Fi usage & also LETS YOU KNOW WHETHER YOU ARE USING DATA OR WI-FI CURRENTLY in a persistent notification

with using settings in opera max app's settings

In settings, disable mobile data and if you still get Internet then you know. This also guarantees wifi only.
Also if connected to wifi, when you drag down the notification bar, it will show wifi connected.
Or, as op said, go to settings, click wifi and it will show you.


text:
Why is my Android phone always showing "contacts storage space is low"?
My Android phone is always showing "contacts storage space is low". Even if I delete all of my contacts in the phone, I still get this message, and I can't store any new contact now.
What is more, my SIM card shows that it is 95% full, but when I select "multi-delete"->SIM, I found no contacts at all.
What should I do?


text:
Twitter ReceiveSMS permission
On Twitter November 25, 2013 update, they ask for receive text messages (SMS) permission.
Does anyone know what exactly this is for ?

I was concerned about this as well and decided to decompile the app to find out what it's doing. Twitter receives SMS messages via a BroadcastReceiver in com.twitter.applib.client.SmsReceiver. Here is what the code looks like after decompiling it to Java with dex2jar and jd-gui.
public class SmsReceiver extends BroadcastReceiver
{
  private void a(Context paramContext, SmsMessage paramSmsMessage)
  {
    if (paramSmsMessage != null)
    {
      String str1 = paramSmsMessage.getMessageBody();
      String str2 = paramContext.getText(mb.sms_verification_text).toString();
      if (("40404".equals(paramSmsMessage.getOriginatingAddress())) && (str1.startsWith(str2)))
      {
        SharedPreferences localSharedPreferences = PreferenceManager.getDefaultSharedPreferences(paramContext);
        localSharedPreferences.edit().putString("device_registration_sms_text", str1).commit();
        String str3 = localSharedPreferences.getString("device_registration_normalized_phone_number", "");
        if ((!TextUtils.isEmpty(str3)) && (!TextUtils.isEmpty(str1)))
          a.a(paramContext).c(str3, str1);
      }
    }
  }

  public void onReceive(Context paramContext, Intent paramIntent)
  {
    Bundle localBundle = paramIntent.getExtras();
    if (localBundle != null)
    {
      Object[] arrayOfObject = (Object[])localBundle.get("pdus");
      int i = arrayOfObject.length;
      for (int j = 0; j < i; j++)
        a(paramContext, SmsMessage.createFromPdu((byte[])arrayOfObject[j]));
    }
  }
}

You see see here that when a text message is received, the app passes the message to a() and checks that it comes from twitter's number. Then it writes the content of the message to shared preferences. As Problematic suggested, the app is only verifying your number and not doing anything malicious. Although Twitter isn't doing anything malicious, it would have been nice if they would have explained why the app needs this permission in the last update.

'it would have been nice if they would have explained why the app needs this permission in the last update' +1

Now they have ReceiveSMS permission. currently they scan for only SMS received from twitter. but in the future they can read any SMS without asking for any permission. :(

Yup. I don't think Twitter would abuse this permission, but that does underscore a problem with the permission system. Fortunately it's usually not too hard to reverse Android apps and find out what they are really doing, and major vendors would likely be caught doing something malicious in an update.

If developers obfuscates codes, it's hard to reverse engineer.

Statically analyzing is harder but you can still hook method calls at runtime or MitM the traffic (this is usually not that hard even if there is certificate pinning) to see what information is being processed and what data is being sent to and received from servers.

An app like Permissions can tell you the meaning of the different types of permissions.
For receive text messages (SMS):

Allows the app to receive and process SMS messages. This means the app
  could monitor or delete messages sent to your device without showing
  them to you.

I think the OP wants to know why the Twitter app in particular wants to do this.

As far as I have been able to tell, there is no official information on what this permission is for.
I have seen this in another app in the last little while. The Google Hangouts app recently gained the SMS permission and uses it (in addition to displaying your phone's SMS messages in the app) to process phone number confirmation texts: the Hangouts app processes the SMS message and verifies your number without requiring you to enter the code (or even showing you the SMS message). If I had to make an educated guess, I would assume the Twitter app is doing something similar, but again, there is no official word on the purpose of this.


text:
Beaglebone Black CPU speed
I have a Beaglebone Black which runs Android. It has a 1GHz CPU. Bu when I read it's clock speed from adb I got 300MHz. I'm using following commands:
cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/scaling_max_freq
cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/cpuinfo_cur_freq
cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/cpuinfo_max_freq
cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/cpuinfo_min_freq
cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/scaling_min_freq

All of them returns 300000. I'm using Android image from Texas Instruments. Is tehere a problem? Is my Beaglebone Black running on 300MHz or is it just a system error? I try couple of apps to learn my CPU speed. All of them says 300MHz. But i think they are reading those files too.

It was beacause I power it up via USB. It sets it's own clock speed to 300MHz. When I power it up via 5VDC power supply, It runs on 1GHz.


text:
How to create start up scripts using the init.d folder?
In this answer to a question I asked a while ago, he said it's possible to have a script executed every boot.
I created a file (without extension) that contains the following:
#!/system/bin/sh

busybox mount -o bind /emmc/Android/data/com.google.android.music/ /sdcard/Android/data/com.google.android.music/

I made sure the target folder exists and saved the file to /system/etc/init.d, but in fact it looks like the script isn't executed.
P.S. the script file's properties are: -rwxr-xr-x.

I think the answer is mistaken: “the kernel” never calls anything from any init.d directory. There needs to be explicit support from the startup scripts for that. I’d need to look at an actual Android device boot process to say how/where, though, can’t do that right now.

In my version of Android (cm11 / LolliKat) there is a 90userinit script in init.d that tries to run a script named /data/local/userinit.sh if it finds it.
I've not tried this, but naming your script /data/local/userinit.sh might do the trick.
[I know it's an old question, but for posterity...]

If you have stock ROM you probably don't have init.d support.
Permissions of file located in init.d folder should be 755 or 777.
If you don't have init.d support you can use kernel adiutor which have init.d emulator

On my CM13 I moved script in /etc/init.d with extension .sh with chmod 755  and turned on the support init.d with the help of the application Universal init.d


text:
which version of android OS is 4G compatible?
I am still using 2.3.6 release and about to upgrade 4.2 jelly bean. Does any release provide 4G enabled OS so that i can use 4G data in my mobile.
If no is there any 3rd party application which can do my work.
my handset : samsung S advance

I don't think it makes a difference which Android version you use: the support for 4G is provided by the cell radio drivers, added to the system by the manufacturer.
The Samsung Galaxy S Advance does not have the hardware needed to use 4G networks, so upgrading the OS won't add this support, and there's no way a third-party app can do that either. If you want a phone with 4G, you just have to buy a phone with 4G.


text:
Wifi problems after 4.4 KitKat update
After updating to 4.4 all of my Nexus devices (4, 7 & 10) have problems with wifi, they all worked fine before the update.
After some idle time they lose the wifi connection and it can only be reactivated after restarting the device.
The Nexus 7 right now doesn't connect to wifi at all, I can set the wifi switch to 'on' in the settings but it won't even show available wifis (see screenshot).
Anyone else experience this? Any ideas on how to resolve it? Without wifi the device is pretty much useless.

Screenshot (click image for larger variant)

Some people solved this by removing the wpa_supplicant.conf file... Last time it happened to me, I just reflashed the kernel...

Do you have Juice Defender app installed? I heard we need to update this app to resolve the problem.

Yes same problem on my Nexus 4, not rooted. I have uninstalled task killer and battery saver apps. Waiting to see if this is the fix.

I found out what the problem was: on every single device there were 'battery saver' apps installed. The devices are in my workplace, so I'm not the only one who uses them and someone must have installed those apps.
I didn't care for them until now and they never did any harm, but they somehow must've interferred with the new 4.4 Android. After uninstalling them everything is fine on all devices :)

I had Juice Defender on my Nexus 4. When I upgraded to 4.4, I had to uninstall it to get automatic Wi-Fi reconnection. Still rooted, and all is well.

I read that this happen to phones that are rooted, if your phone is, try to restablish to original configuration and updated it.


text:
Unable to restore contacts through Titanium Backup after flashing a custom ROM
I flashed the 4.2.2 version of CyanogenMod onto my Galaxy S4 and had backed up my stock using ClockworkMod. I have been able to use Titanium Backup Pro to restore pretty much everything except my contacts. I think the issue is with my old contacts being stored in a newer version of Android. Is there any way to restore them? I would really like my contacts back
I had tried flashing with a stock ROM but the latest one I can get from SamMobile is 4.2.2. Can anyone offer any suggestions?

How did you try to restore contacts with TiBu? You just should make sure to have "migration mode" enabled to avoid trouble (changed database formats and the like). This setting is located in the "troubleshooting" section, if I remember correctly. In the very same section, it might be useful to also ensure the system's SQLite is used (and not TiBu's own).

I am trying to restore using TiBu from a CWM backup I created. I have tried adding those two settings in TiBu that you suggested but it doesnt make any difference. Once the restore is complete of the contacts and contacts storage I get 'Unfortunately, the process android.process.acore has stopped' and the only way I can get rid of it is by clearing the data from the apps.

Did you restart your device after the restore? That's required when restoring "central data" (like contacts, SMS, WiFi passwords, and the like).

Yes I did that too as it is recommended by Titanium Backup after restore is complete. Have tried the whole process a few times.

OK, that seems to leave you with your Nandroid backup from CWM. Please take a look at Extract App Data from Nandroid / CWM Backup / Restore only part of nandroid image, hopefully those will hold some value. Apart from that, I'm out of ideas.

Okay thats great I will check that out thanks


text:
Installing KitKat on rooted Jelly bean Nexus 7
I have a nexus 7 2012, and I have it rooted, running TWRP recovery and Franco kernel. I want to update to KitKat, and I have the OTA queued (but that won't work since I'm rooted) and I have the file for my device downloaded from this site with update info, but I tried installing it in TWRP and it gave me an error. How can I get this update?
If I need to unroot and uninstall TWRP and Franco Kernel, how do I go about that?

You will need to flash back to the stock kernel as files linked on that site will only apply to a 'stock' system partition. You should be able to flash the file via TWRP by selecting it (I presume you've tried this as you said that it gave you an error).
To flash back to the stock kernel you will need to find the stock kernel image (ideally you would have a backup from before you flashed the Franco kernel) and then you can install the update.
edit: You may be able to find the stock kernel on this xda post

Ah, I had no idea you could flash those in Recovery. I guess I always had a custom kernel, so always needed to use fastboot. Updated my answer so it doesn't say fastboot is necessary.

If all else fails, you can flash those images in Fastboot. Remember to make a Nandroid and back it up somewhere safe - this will wipe your device.
If you're on Windows or OSX, you'll need to install Fastboot through the Android SDK. It's part of the "Platform Tools" package. If you're on Linux, you can usually install fastboot through your package manager.
Additionally, Windows needs ADB and fastboot drivers for your device.
First, you need to boot your device into fastboot/bootloader mode by holding down the Volume Down button while powering on. You can also use an expanded reboot menu or ADB: adb reboot bootloader.
Second, unzip the file you've downloaded. Remember where you unzipped it to.
On Windows:

Optional: Add the path to your Android Platform-tools (ADB and Fastboot) to your PATH environment variable.
Open an elevated Command Prompt. (I think elevating it was necessary)
In the Command Prompt, navigate to the unzipped Android files.
Type flash-all.bat and press Enter.

If this doesn't work, you will need to specify the location of the fastboot.exe file by modifying the PATH=%PATH%... line in the flash-all.bat file.

On Linux or OSX:

Unzip the downloaded .zip file.
Open a terminal.
Navigate to the unzipped files in the terminal.
Type ./flash-all.sh and press Enter.

How about if I'm on Mac?

@JakobWeisblat Ah, then just follow the Linux steps. I'll also update the answer. You'll need to install Fastboot from the Android SDK (If you have ADB, you have Fastboot usually), but you won't need drivers.


text:
What is the baseband and do i need to update mine?
I have a Samsung galaxy note which I've rooted and installed Cyanogenmod. I've always been using Cyanogenmod and always used the inbuilt updater.
My radio has been giving me trouble. For example I can't see the signal strength anymore and I've not been able to resolve it. No one on this forum had an answer either.
Why is device not showing the phone signal bars anymore?
I thought I'd update my phone's baseband but I don't know what it is and whether I should update it? My current baseband is XXALIE and my phone is a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 (GSM. Intl. edition).
Here's a list of basebands I found on XDA but I'm not sure if it's a good idea to update it. I can't even find my baseband on the list. Since I'm using the XX baseband, can I download any of the XX basebands for Android 4.3 basebands from the XDA page.
(If someone could shed some light on this whole baseband thing, it would be great.)

The way I understand it is that the baseband or radio partition is firmware used by the baseband processor, which is physically different from the application processor. The BP also has its own RAM and communicates with the android kernel via a process called the RIL (Radio Interface Layer).
When you install/update a new ROM this should not touch the baseband. So if your android ROM is having trouble communicating with the cellular hardware, the RIL part of the kernel might be to blame. This may be because the newer RIL expects  a more modern baseband version.
So basically your baseband becomes an outdated dependency if you upgrade your ROMs long enough. To fix either downgrade the ROM (Kernel) or upgrade the baseband. Note there are risks involved with flashing the baseband. See also What is radio.

I just got done chatting with Samsung support because I cannot update my Note3 to 4.4.4 and if their information is correct the BASE BAND info is coming from my SIM card.  Because the phone is no longer on an AT&T SIM card the BASE BAND doesn't show the 4.4.4 update they made available toward the end of 2014.


text:
How can I remove/hide the Skype Status notification?
Skype, like many applications, uses a persistent notification to keep from getting killed by the process manager. Usually, I would just hide this notification by going to the app's "App Info" screen and unchecking the "Show notifications" box. However, I want to get message notifications. Just not the constant "Available" notification.
Here's a screenshot of the notification I'm talking about.
After some Googling, I've found people who suggest disabling the "Skype Status" notification in the app settings. However, that doesn't seem to be an option on my device.
I use Android 4.4 on a Nexus 5.
How can I remove/disable the Skype login/status persistent notification, without disabling other Skype notifications?

This is now possible:
https://support.skype.com/en/faq/FA12359/how-do-i-enable-or-disable-the-status-icon-in-skype-4-for-android-phones
Just tried it on my Nexus 7, works fine.

Well I'll be a monkey's uncle! I thought this question would never get revived. You, sir, deserve a Necromancer badge for your fine answer.

I found the answer by accident, I was trying to do the opposite of what you described in your question!

Ah, I see what you mean. The default option now seems to be to hide that notification.

Apparently this does not work any more. Or rather: The icon is disabled by default. And the option to turn it on (as described in the answer) is not there any more. Suggestions where/how to enable it welcome.

If it's not available from inside the app, you can always:

long touch the notification
touch "App Info"
Untick show notification
this should do the trick.

As I mentioned in my question, I already considered this. However, I don't want to disable all Skype notifications. Thanks though!

sorry for not noticing. I don't of another solution then.


text:
How to save all contacts to Google with a broken SD card?
Today my SD Card broke. I do not have a replacement. I have some important contacts on my phone which were not synchronized with Google. Before formatting the sdcard (as a last restort to see if I do have to buy a replacement) I'd really like to retrieve them, however all the import/export options are about phone internal memory, sdcard and SIM. Is there any way to export all my contacts to Google?
I do have access to the internet and I do have all synchronisation options available enabled.
Can I do something better than spending some hours writing the contacts manually on GMail?

Doesn't the GMail web frontend offer an export option? Being firewalled, I currently cannot check, but I'm pretty sure there is such an option.

@Izzy I just looked and cannot see anything that resembles what I'm looking for. The google contacts are synchronised, but I couldn't care less. I want my phone and SIM contacts to be transferred on the google account and searching on the net I can only find solution that require first exporting on sdcard.

Your SIM contacts might pose an issue, as they are not syncronized. You might need to first import them (convert them to Google contacts); not having tried that, I cannot say for sure. For the rest, see my answer below.

According to the GMail help pages, you should be able to easily export your contacts using a web browser:

Sign in to Gmail.
Click Gmail at the top-left corner of your Gmail page, then choose Contacts.
From the More drop-down menu, select Export....
Choose whether to export all contacts or only one group.
Select the format in which you'd like to export your contacts' information. Please note, some of these formats can lose some contact information.

To transfer contacts between Google accounts, use the Google CSV format. This is the recommended way to back up your Google Contacts.
To transfer contacts to Outlook, Yahoo! Mail, Hotmail, or various other apps, use the Outlook CSV format.
To transfer contacts to Apple Address Book, use the vCard format.

Click Export.
Choose Save to Disk then click OK.
Select a location to save your file, and click OK.

This (and some other details) are also described in a post titled How to Create Mail Merge in Gmail Contacts.

Now you write you have some contacts which are not synchronized with your Google account, but stored on your SIM card. Of course, you first need to "convert" them to "Google contacts", which is described in How do I import all contacts from a SIM-card to an Android phone?:

open the contacts app
press the "menu" key
navigate to Import/Export → Import from SIM card
click "Select All" (or manually select the contacts you wish to import)
when asked where to copy the contacts to, select the appropriate option

This procedure can also be found in a tutorial at AndroidAdvices, together with some screenshots to visualise the process.
Your broken SD card should not matter here, as it isn't involved anywhere in the process.

See also:

Transfer all Contacts in Phone and Sim to Google Contacts
How to move phone contacts to Google?
Good idea to transfer all phone numbers from SIM card to google contacts?
How do I import all contacts from a SIM-card to an Android phone?

From the mobile view I don't see any "Contacts" tab at all. Using the Desktop view I cannot see any more... for point 3. Also by "sign in to Gmail" you mean to sign in into mail.google.com or into the Gmail app? My comments refer to the website and the app has even less options available (Note that I use gingerbread).

Anyway I believe you are answering the opposite question... I don't care of exporting Gmail contacts. I want to import some contacts in Gmail from the local phone storage and SIM. The gmail contacts are already synched, but they do not include local phone contacts and SIM contacts. That's the point of my question.

Oops: Sorry, I in fact missed that. Updated my answer accordingly.

I'd like to point out that from my phone there is absolutely no way to import the contacts into Gmail. The browser doesn't display the option to import them from a file, not even when asking explicilty to use the Desktop website. I had to boot in recovery mode, setup USB and copy the contacts from the internal memory to my PC.

You are aware that the "import from SIM" part is not talking about the GMail, but about the contacts app? The GMail app does not deal with SIM cards, that's right, nor does the browser :)

Yes, I know that but it's pretty much useless to import them into contacts, since afterwards they are not synchronized with the google account. I had to 1) Import all the various contacts to the phone contacts (creating tons of duplicates) 2) Export the contacts to the phone 3) Boot in recovery mode and copy the data from the internal memory to PC 4) Import the contacts file to Gmail from a browser 5) Format SD (and I had to reinstall the ROM too due to other problems) 6) Synch with Gmail.

The tutorial I've linked (and other sources as well) say differently: you should be able to define the target when importing from SIM, and when imported to Google contacts, they should automatically sync (that's what's described there: Now your SIM card contacts will be saved as your Google Account i.e, it will be auto sync to your Google Account.). If that doesn't work out for you, I'm sorry for the false hope I've made (I never tried that myself) – and have to leave the task to someone else, as I'm out of ideas.

The only options I have when exporting from SIM are phone (i.e. internal memory) and SD card. Also phone contacts are not synchronized with google contacts. Maybe they solved this (probably worth defining it "bug" or at least missing feature) in new android versions.


text:
Whats the difference between cell phone and data radiation
Is cell phone and data/WiFi/LTE radiation the same thing?  Or are they entirely different technologies?
Are any of them dangerous? I ask because i use my phone a lot at night in bed and i look at my phone really close to my face when I'm lying down. I don't call but use LTE and WiFi mostly and I'm worried that it might be dangerous.

All I can really say definitively is that it is indeed the same thing. There's lots of information about the potential hazards of cell radiation, with no clear conclusion. I'm no doctor, but the general consensus seems to be that it's safe enough to keep near your head for prolonged periods of time.

They are all electromagnetic waves with different wavelengths. There had been no scientific evidence that they're dangerous in the power level used in common appliances, and many researches shows no evidence of danger in the short term studies, however many countries adopts the precautionary approach and advises people to minimize exposure just in case since long term study and study in  children has not been conclusive yet (these kind of studies takes a very long time since they follow their subjects for decades), although preliminary results suggests that long term effect may also be of no danger.
You're probably more likely to be killed in a car accident then getting a cancer due to mobile phone radiation.


text:
Touch Screen not working
I am using Samsung Galaxy Pro B7510. The problem is that my touch screen is not working sometimes. It has been like this for several weeks. I use Pin lock feature to unlock the phone and EZanswer Trial to attend calls. This is possible only because of the qwerty keyboard. Without which I would be doomed. Some times the touch screen starts working for some time and then, without a warning, it becomes not responding. No error messages are seen.
This all started when after I upgraded it into GingerBread 2.3.6 and rooting . After seeing this problem, I downgraded into the stock rom, unrooted it, and everything.
Not sure if its a software issue or hardware problem.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.

I have had this issue before when I rooted my galaxy ace it was extremely random and I fixed it by flashing an old stock rom and then using Kies to upgrade to the latest.
If this doesn't work it would suggest that your digitizer has gone, or is in the process of going. If you have time remaining on your warranty, and have returned it to stock, you should be able to return it for repair to samsung.

I tried to update firmware after flashing stock rom, because I heard it may cure it, but kies always says that my phone doesn't support flash upgrade.

It is out of warrenty :-(
maybe digitizer is going to be gone, don't know.
Is there anyway I can check my digitizer?

If kies wont allow you to upgrade you are still using some form custom firmware. http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/ try getting a stock firmware from there.

Downloaded and Flashed...
But kies was always like that. Even the first time I connected(Stock ROM)

There is no way to check that I know of other than attempting to use your touchscreen and the issue you have with kies is very strange and something i have never heard of.

It might be because this phone is not as famous/marketed/sold like ace or S series..

One another thing,
The touch screen works for a few seconds when I press it too strongly...
I know it is dangerous for the phone and it might break, but Frustrated......

For future reference for anyone who comes to see this post,
CHANGE THE CHARGER!!!!!
Even if you are using the original one, My touch screen is working now...


text:
Does encrypting an Android device add any real security benefit over a key-lock?
Would encrypting my Android device make my data any safer in case of theft?
It seems to me that since the encryption key necessarily is identical to the PIN code or password used for the key-lock, gaining access to the phone data simply relies on recovering the PIN code or password or somehow bypassing the lock mechanism. And this applies regardless of whether encryption has been applied or not:

Without encryption an attacker must unlock the device with the PIN code or password to access any data
With encryption an attacker must decrypt the device with the same PIN code or password to access any data

So encrypting the device or not does not seem to actually matter!? In either case the thief must recover the PIN code or password (or bypass the lock mechanism) to access the phone.
Are there any scenarios when encryption actually provides added protection beyond the key-lock, considering the above?
Please consider the case of a factory default Android 4.4 KitKat device, that is not rooted, and that does not have developer options enabled.
Note that I am not aiming to protect my data against people and organizations with extensive capabilities, like forensic and massive code-breaking tools. I'm simply wondering whether enabling encryption actually will really yield any added security against your average hobby hacker with skills in rooting etc.

Don't ask if you should encrypt your device. That's only asking for opinions and, really, no one can answer for you. Instead, ask about the things you should consider when encrypting (or not).

I don't look for general advice about what to consider.   I think I already have that covered. I'd like to have it explained to me a plausible scenario for when encryption will actually yield added security considering my risk profile (see updated original question). Thanks.

Decrypting the device and bypassing the lock mechanism are completely different things. The request for the PIN code/password in the standard lock screen occurs AFTER the device has booted. It is possible bypass it by gaining indirect access to the already available data. And bypassing the lockscreen password is relatively easy.
With encryption enabled, it occurs BEFORE the boot and there is NO data that can be obtained without getting the actual key. There is no bypass there, except extracting the key from you by physical force... (An obvious assumption here is that the actual encryption mechanism/software does not have obvious bugs, but this assumtion undermines ANY discussion on security whatsoever, so I'm not taking it into account).
Your phone may have an external SD Card with lots of data on it (like mine). Encryption will protect it if the phone is lost, since ejecting it and trying to mount it elsewhere will fail. That's not a "forensic-level" attack.

The external SD Card encryption feature is offered only by a few constructors and is not part of stock Android. See What is covered by “Encrypt phone”?

I don't need your password to access your data. I can disassemble your device or put into special mode that allows direct access. If your data is not encrypted I can pull your drive and connect to my pc to access.

While it is unfortunate that the PIN for encrypting the device is identical to the unlocking PIN, encryption does still provide much more protection. There are ways to recover unencrypted data without unlocking the device. The main scenario encryption protects against is from an attacker removing the drive from a stolen phone and recovering data with forensic tools.
There are some other scenarios in which encryption will protect your phone. If you have USB debugging enabled on a pre-JB device, an attacker can use ADB to access data. On JB+ the computer accessing the device via ADB must have been already authorized by the phone. Additionally, an attacker could use an exploit to gain access over USB and even get root. Unfortunately crypto will not protect you much in these scenarios because most people keep their devices on with the encryption key in memory at all times, so an attacker could still access the device over USB if debugging is enabled or use an exploit.
So yes, you should encrypt your device with a strong PIN/password if you do not want your data in someone else's hands.
EDIT: grammar/clarity

I understand that you can never protect your data with  a 100% certainty and I don't aim to try and protect my data from people who have access to forensic tools (I'm pretty sure they could gain access to my data if encrypted or not), so your first point is not that relevant to my question. I updated the original post to make this clear. Thanks.

Furthermore my phone is not rooted, nor does it have developer options enabled, so an attacker should not be able to "use ADB to access data". And since you say, in the case an attacker could gain root access (is this really possible on a screen-locked device?) encryption "will not protect you much", I don't think your answer provides a compelling scenario in which encryption would actually be worthwhile. Would you agree? Thanks.

Encryption only becomes valuable if there is a risk that an attacker could use a software vulnerability to bypass the login screen.
There have been some examples of this due to vulnerabilities in various apps (e.g. Viber and Skype) and devices (Samsung) but presumably those flaws have been fixed by now. New vulnerabilities could however appear.
If you have developer option USB debugging turned on, or if the device is rooted, there are many hacks that will bypass the screen lock (here is one example; there are many more discussed at xda-developers forum).
However, on a factory default device (no root, no developer settings) of recent manufacturing and Android version there are no known hacks that I'm aware of that will bypass the lock-screen, except for occasional software vulnerabilities such as those mentioned above.
On the other hand, if let's say for example instead the encryption key was different from the PIN code or password then encryption would definitely be worthwhile, because a possible scenario could then be that an attacker could obtain the PIN code or password (e.g. by reading the unlock pattern on the screen or brute force cracking the PIN), but still wouldn't be able to access the data on the phone since it would be encrypted with a very strong (and different) encryption key.
Note that if you have a rooted device there is a way to apply an encryption key that is different from the PIN code or password. Please see neopran's answer.

The main difference between an encrypted device and an un-encrypted device is that a code must be entered every time the device is booted on. Does that simple layer of security add any benefits to your everyday life? That's a question only you can answer. Otherwise there isn't much of a digital security benefit. The encryption security feature seems more practical in a theft situation. It would make it almost impossible for the everyday thief to use your private information against you. Hope I helped in anyway. (:

How is encryption more secure than using just the key-lock? In either case it is the same pin code or password that protects your data. Please read my question again.

Actually your missing the main point of encryption.
Lets say all you have is a PIN on your phone.
If I get a hold of your phone I can simply hook it up to my linux machine, or even pc, and get documents, pictures, see your logs from internet see what apps you have installed get your data from those apps and import them into a different phone install that app place your data in the right folder and volia.
Then text messages, call logs and everything else is kept on device. Doesnt take long at all even with say "Notepad" to read parts of text messages. Now there will be a bunch of random characters and i mean pages upon pages of nonsense that makes no sense but there will be readable text in there, and thats all without using third party apps.
This all can happen regardless if you have your phone locked or not locked when hooked into a different machine.
NOW AN ENCRYPTED PHONE lets say I get your phone but don't have your code. YOUR INFO EVERYTHING ABOVE although still accessible its garbled makes no sense even the pictures everything is encrypted.
Obviously this is assuming your talking about Whole Phone Encryption and not just a boot up password which IS NOT ENCRYPTION.

Good point, however, as far as I know unless one unlocks the screen lock on the phone it will not mount when connected to a PC (Windows or Linux) so you wouldn't be able to read my documents without breaking the screen lock, which brings us back to my original question. Am I wrong?

thats false i can mount with or without a lock on android. Im doing it now. In windows you just have to change the permissions over from an administrator account.
On linux based systems its even easier. Not sure on windows phones though. Im running KitKat 4.4.2 on a Note 3.

If that's true, I think your answer qualifies as a solution to my question, however, I cannot find support for your statement online. Could you please provide links that describe how to mount locked phones. Thanks.

Key lock, PIN or password do not offer any protection if the phone's bootloader isn't locked. For example, most of Samsung devices (except ones from Verizon or AT&T and some other providers I never heard) have unlocked bootloaders, at least in Europe.
If you don't have your data encrypted, one only has to flash a custom recovery, which is very easy, and the job is finished. Such recoveries can mount partitions, and mount USB stick by using OTG cable.
So, encryption is "added security against your average hobby hacker with skills in rooting etc." because that, or even less than that, are all required skills one needs to get data from a device with strong password, but unlocked bootloader.
The issue with locked bootloader is that unlocking it would usually wipe all data from the device.


text:
KitKat Lock Screen: Possible to remove bottom menu?
I updated my Nexus 4 to KitKat. It adds a menu bar at the bottom of the lock screen. By default, it shows the camera on the right hand side and caret in the middle.
Is it possible to remove the bottom menu bar from the lock screen? Alternatively, is it possible to remove the icons on the menu bar.

Are you sure its configurable?

Nope, that's why I'm asking. I'll rephrase to make that clearer.


text:
Display screen on [desk|lap]top
Is it possible to display the screen of my Android on a regular computer in a similar fashion as an emulator would – but with an actual device being displayed rather than an emulation? I am looking to plug my Android in and then do all phone activity on it from this imagined piece of software, such as use apps, send text messages and even make phone calls. E.g. when I am sitting at a computer, which offers far more UX convenience than a small Android device, I do not see why I wouldn't use it to augment the phone display on a much bigger monitor and use my keyboard instead if the phone is plugged in.

Not a complete answer, but this lets you use your computer's keyboard:


text:
Where to find info on the "service call" shell command?
Using adb shell or a terminal emulator on the device, entering this will clear all notifications (requires su)
service call notification 1

This will send an sms (doesn't require su)
service call isms 5 s16 "PhoneNumber" i32 0 i32 0 s16 "BodyText"

Where can I learn more about service call? I've found this question on StackOverflow and appreciate the answer's breakdown as to what everything means. But where can I find info on what method notification 2 might be trying to call?
Running service call was incomplete and printed this usage:
Usage: service [-h|-?]
       service list
       service check SERVICE
       service call SERVICE CODE [i32 INT | s16 STR] ...
Options:
   i32: Write the integer INT into the send parcel.
   s16: Write the UTF-16 string STR into the send parcel.

I ran service list and it came back with 78 services for my device including isms and notification and for most services will print what seems to be a namespace (com.android.internal.telephony.ISms for isms and android.app.INotificationManager for notification). How can I use this information to find out what I can do with each of these services?

also asked at http://stackoverflow.com/q/20227326/7552

Exactly. And even answered here: Where to find description of all “/system/bin/service” calls?


text:
Can a screen-locked Android phone be rooted?
By locked I mean a phone that has been locked with a standard PIN code, password or pattern.
I'm not meaning to break into somebody's phone, merely wondering to what extent applying any of the standard screen lock methods to my phone would protect my data in case of theft.
In case a locked phone can easily be rooted, I assume the lock can then also be bypassed, and locking the phone is then really of little value for protection (since rooting techniques are common knowledge these days), and I would then have to consider other protection mechanism, such as encryption.
Please keep your answer concise, and don't give general security advice. I just want to know if there are known (widespread) methods to root locked Android devices.
Note this question is with regard to Android phones with factory default settings (i.e. no developer options, USB debugging enabled).
I'm specifically interested in Nexus devices running Android 4.4 KitKat.

This probably depends on the device, and possibly on the version of Android it's running. I don't know that there is a broadly applicable answer, though at least some root methods which could work around a screen lock will perform a factory reset in the process (e.g. unlocking a bootloader on a Nexus).

Thanks. As long as the root method would perform a factory reset in the process I am not concerned, since in this case my data would be deleted.

Short answer: no.
Long answer: not usually, but there some exceptions.
In general, to root the phone, you first have to unlock the bootloader. This wipes the internal storage, keeping your data safe. (It doesn't usually wipe the SD card, but you have to assume an attacker will just remove the SD card if he wants to read it). You'd almost think it was designed this way!
You can easily get past a screen lock using ADB, but you've already specified that that's disabled. Even if USB debugging is enabled on the phone, newer Android versions have a "confirm the debugging key" prompt when you use ADB from a new PC, which requires the attacker to unlock the screen anyway.
Some phones have low-level security vulnerabilities that aren't part of Android. For example, you used to be able to root any exynos4 device (such as the Samsung Galaxy S3) by running an app that abused the camera interface to exploit the way the camera driver works. (This flaw has now been fixed in OTA updates.) In this particular case, you'd need to install a special app of your choice onto the phone and run it to exploit the vulnerability. It's likely that any future errors like this will also need the attacker to run a special app, so can't be used on a locked phone with USB disabled, but it's conceivable that some flaw might be added that could be exploited from the lock screen (perhaps using MTP or USB-OTG).
The last exception is, of course, if the bootloader is already unlocked. In this case, the attacker can flash anything he likes to the system. He wouldn't even need to root the phone: he could simply disable the lock screen and reboot the phone to get to the home screen. Some users think that bootloader locking is just to make things harder for users, but it's an important part of Android's security mechanism.

Thanks, great answer. Good point about the bootloader being an important part of the security mechanism. Never thought about that.

Could you please clarify one point that I don't think you made explicit. I guess a consequence of the fact that exploiting some of those low-level security vulnerabilities requires an app is that such vulnerabilities wouldn't be a concern for a lost phone that is screen-locked (since you cannot install an app on a screen-locked phone)?

There, I've updated that paragraph to be more explicit. Obviously I can't guarantee that security flaws won't have certain properties - if we could, there would never be bugs in the first place!

Sweet. Thanks for the update. There are no guarantees. I understand that.