text:
Can I find out what exactly is "android system" traffic?
I'm using Android 4.4.4 CyanogenMOD 12. My traffic is dominated by "android-system" - about half of my data usage is caused by "it" and I have no idea why it transfers data. backup (backup & restore) is turned off. I dont use any Google Service besides the play store (and very seldomly youtube).
All the "android system"-traffic is background-trafic.
Is there any chance (tool/app/whatever) to find out what exactly the cause for the "android system" traffic is?
PS:
- I use AFWall+ and in 3G even most of the system apps are blocked.
- I do not have the "Photos" app

Could it be the account synchronisation?

android system is the core-system it's an API that can be accesed by any third party app on the phone that have the right permissions so it's gonna be difficult to find what is using that data exactly  try disabling  background-trafic under settings > more > data usage  then option and check the "Restrict background data" checkbox

It is too much data in order to be account sync I think - and I disabled all syncing i know.
I'll try the restrict background data idea.

It's possible. I used ARM version of tcpdump command. You must copy that command by hand in /system/xbin/. In shell you ran:
tcpdump -i rmnet0 -w /sdcard2/tcpdump.pcap

After some time kill that tcpdump command and copy file tcpdump.pcap to PC. Then use Wireshark to load tcpdump.pcap file to investigate network traffic.

well, this is all traffic caused by the system, isn't it?
It would be quite hard to filter...

yes, it is. but this is some info than nothing


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Bugreport location
If I have bug reports enabled in dev options and I take a bugreport from the power button menu, where are these reports saved?
I see there is an option to share it, but I want to pull it directly through adb for analysis.

Bugreports are stored in /data/data/com.android.shell/files/bugreports.
You can't access the file directly without root access.

On Android 6 (at least on Samsung Galaxy J5) is /data/data/com.android.shell/files/bugreports accessible also for shell user.

As of Android 10, at least for Pixel devices, bugreports taken from the device are available in /bugreports - even without root access! You can get the names of the available bug reports with
adb shell ls /bugreports/

then get the file you want with adb pull, e.g.
adb pull /bugreports/bugreport-foobar-lotsofnumbers-date.zip

It worked for me on my Galaxy Note 9 but my bugreports were in /bugreports/bugreport/

Officially documented at Capture and read bug reports - Save an older bug report

If you don't have adb set up, it is available in the Android Studio Device File Explorer. Just open the top level shortcut to the directory bugreports

In my case, they are in /data/user_de/0/com.android.shell/files/bugreports/

and linked as /bugreports

You can connect your device to your PC, and use android SDK tools adb, then go to the directory and  in your command line use adb shell bugreport > bugreport.txt Your bugreport will output.

That will work for taking a new bugreport but not for retrieving one that already exists (i.e. taken while using the phone unattached to adb)

If you want to view the bug reports on your PC,
run adb from a directory where you want to save the bugreports with
adb pull /data/data/com.android.shell/files/bugreports

But this may require root permission.

That has already been mentioned in this answer – apart from the adb pull part. When using adb, on the device's end it's usually running as shell user – which IMHO is the owner of that location, so no root should be needed to pull the files.

source: Stack Exchange

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

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

sort: votes


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Find out when the memory card was removed
A very strange thing happened today. My roommate was complaining that his memory card went missing this afternoon. And now I found that my memory card is also missing. I don't know what to say.
It can't be someone staling it. If so he/she could have taken the phone itself or the two laptops in my room. Now I want to know when the memory card was ejected.
How do I find that? It should be logged somewhere in the system logs(dmesg), right?

@Firelord I have root access, but I can't seem to grep the output of dmesg. I can't filter out any relevant information.

Your Android version? I asked it because in my Android 4.2.1 many important logs are under /data/log_other_mode/ but my Lollipop doesn't have such location. Also, do cat /proc/kmsg and cat /proc/last_kmsg (once saw it here).

@Firelord I am running 4.4.2. What keywork should I use to filter the logs? "mmc"? dmesg | grep -i mmc does not provide anything. It only brings up something related to mmcqd (Here). I am currently going trough kmsg, but seem to be getting the same thing.

Sorry, that I can't help much because my Lollipop device doesn't have any support for external SD card but based on JB I was able to see keywords like EXTERNAL_STORAGE  inside /data/log_other_mode/kernel_log. My question is, where is the SD card slot in the device? Can the card be pulled out without shutting down the device? If not, then the logs may not show anything good because after a reboot I suppose Android would have rewritten the logs. But keep searching.

@Firelord I checked the uptime, and it has not been shut down for days. But the dmesg messages seem to be incomplete. It does not start from time 0.

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


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Google Apps crashing, Play services crashing
On my Kyocera Hydra phone (model number c6725) running Android 4.4.2 on Virgin Mobile. When I start Gmail (although notifications from gmail work) I'll get the message "Unfortuantely, Gmail has stopped". If I click "report" I then get the message "Unfortuantely, Google Play services has stopped" with only an "OK" option.
When this first happened, I cleared the cache and data for both Gmail and Play services and I was able to open Gmail again, but now that doesn't seem to work. Worse, I noticed the problem also happens with the YouTube app, Play Music and Play Games.
Any idea what the root cause might be and how to fix it?
Edit: This seems to be getting worse and has now started effecting maps making it crash when I try to do turn-by-turn directions. This moves it from annoyance to a real problem. It seems if I uninstall updates to everything Google related (play services, gmail, play music, play games, play whatever) and go back to factory versions it'll work for a while (until it forces it's updates back on and starts acting up again).
Update: According to this on Android Forums, Kyocera are now testing a long overdue fix. Tweet them and you might be able to get it for testing. For my phone, maps has completely stopped working altogether now and I had to install an alternative mapping app (I'm trying out Here Maps right now). Gmail is only not broken by virtue of an update needing more permissions, so it's blocked from updating for the time being (and still works).

Is suggest to to uninstall updates from Google Play Services and reinstall it from Google Play.

@SuperThomasLab: I just tried that and it doesn't seem to help

I spoke with Kyocera last week thinking it was just my phone and was told by the warranty dept it's a known issue. He told me they wouldn't warranty the phone on it because their new update should fix it. Problem is that new update already came Monday and still not fixed. So i know that doesn't help cuz it but it helps to know you aren't alone. Haha

Thanks. Good to know it's not just me. I haven't seen any system updates yet, but I'll keep an eye out.

Ryan Radford found a fix for this. Kyocera forgot to include libpredtm.so in system/lib, which causes these crashes. Ryan took the time to upload his copy and another user posted his fix on Android Forums. You need to root your phone then add Ryan's libpredtm.so to system/lib. That's it.

Great find. Thanks for that. Not sure if I want to muck about rooting my phone or just wait a few days and see if Kyocera and/or Virgin Mobile fix the damn thing themselves.

I tried the rooting solution (impatience got the better of me) but, for whatever reason, ES File explorer wasn't able to give me root access to copy the file. Not sure why. So I gave up again. Virgin Mobile's support was pretty much useless.

You might need to open Kingroot/Kinguser and go to the Root Authorization screen to manually allow ES File Explorer root access.

@MattBurland did you try out manually allowing ES? There is also a video tutorial now if that will help.

If you have installed a paid app without purchasing it from Google Play Store: go to Google setting → Security → Verify app → disable it.
Alternatively, try to uninstall updates, clear data and let it update again.


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Can I make my apps update automatically once a week? (4.1 Jelly Bean)
I was updating my apps automatically but every time they update my anti-virus would scan the installed app and make the whole system freeze, which is quite annoying. So is there any way to make them all update once a week, let's say, every Sunday morning? Or, is there any app to do that? Thanks in advance.

You could disable the auto update from Play Store settings and update manually every week. Or you could disable the app scanning of your antivirus and instead set a scan of all your apps every week, I think the probability that an app update and the scan to collide will be very low. This way you wouldn't have to do the manual update. Also, you could try some of the Play Store alternatives in this article, but I don't know if they have an update scheduling function.

My AV will scan the apps as soon as they are installed, that's the problem. But I'll schedule a weekly virus scan and set google play to update automatically as you said. Thanks


text:
What is the point of having KNOX?
I'm about to use Odin to root my S4 running 5.0.1, but I'd just like to know, what is the point of KNOX and is it really important? I know it's not just the software I'm not authorized to use, and it'll set my KNOX warranty flag to 0x1 and burn the e-fuse, but I'd just like to reassure myself that I'm not missing out on something here.

Samsung knox is, beside some device hardening, a container or dual persona solution for Android. Think of the knox container as a second completely independent instance of Android running on your phone with own apps, data and settings. It is mostly used by companies to implement bring-your-own-device solutions. However, you can also use it as a private user, but I am not really aware of any great use case for this... so you need to decide whether you want to use the container. I guess the most users can safely ignore it.


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How to factory reset a locked Sony Xperia S
Bit of a dilemma, I have an old Sony Xperia S that I cannot get into as I can't remember the passcode to unlock it. I also cannot remember the gmail address that it was registered to so cannot reset the passcode that way. Anyone know of a way I can get into it? Or a method to factory reset without unlocking the phone? My iphone has failed on me, so currently phoneless!

Have you tried any method like, booting up your phone and try factory reset. http://www.alltechbuzz.net/unlock-reset-pattern-lock-android/
http://rootmyandroid.org/bypass-pattern-lock-android-device.html/


text:
newbie: how to get near-stock MotoG out of boot-loop?
summary:
phone: near-original-condition MotoG {2013, 1st gen}, Android version==4.4.4
me: Android newbie, Linux vet
problem: infinite boot-loop
need: newbie-oriented instructions regarding how to fix or further debug
details:
I am very underinformed regarding Android and pretty much all things phone, and put off getting a smartphone until 2015. ~8 months ago I got a refurbished CDMA/Verizon MotoG (which I believe to be  {2013, 1st gen}) for an MVNO's BYOP program, but have been too busy to do much with it, other than

update it from Android version==4.4.2 to 4.4.4
twiddle some settings (e.g., configure wireless, copy some icons to the launcher)
lock the launcher (i.e., require PIN entry for access)
make phonecalls (I realize that's sooo 20th-century :-)

I.e., unlike all the posts I've looked at in the boot-loop tag-wiki, I have not knowingly done anything experimental to either the hardware or software (e.g., rooting, flashing ROM, replacing components).
Yesterday I squeezed its power button to wake the MotoG to check the time (probably my main use for it :-) and ... it booted: the MotoG showed its usual initial powerup screen (white with "powered by android" at the bottom), then the various HD Motorola planets, then the lockscreen. If it had stopped there, I would have been merely annoyed. Instead, almost as soon as I started to key in its PIN, it went back to first powerup screen, and then through the entire sequence. And again. Each time, it goes through the entire normal sequence of boot-time screens, then displays the launcher/lockscreen for ~5 sec (barely enough time to key in the PIN), then back to the initial boot screen. (Note that the MotoG restarts itself after the same amount of time in the lockscreen whether or not I key in its PIN.)
At this point I did not even know the term boot-loop, but certainly knew what an infinite loop looked like (my {background, work experience} is IT, mostly Linux). I let the MotoG drain its battery doing its boot-loop, hoping that might cure the problem. It did not: as soon as I put it on its charger, it resumed boot-looping.
Can someone give me simple, Android-newbie-oriented instructions for how to fix or debug the problem? Or, better yet, pass pointers to existing, simple, Android-newbie-oriented content regarding how to fix or debug the problem. Extra credit if the content helps me (et al.) to learn more about Android and this hardware platform: I'd like to know more, but just haven't had time to learn.

Do a Reset via Recovery.

You first have to power off your Android smartphone. In order to do that, press the power button and select “power off”.
Wait a few seconds and then press the volume up and volume down buttons along with the power button at the same time for about 3, or 4 seconds.
Release the buttons; the Moto G boot menu must be now displayed on your phone.Use the Volume Down button in order to scroll down and also up as the Volume Up button can be used only for selecting an option.Scroll down until you reach “recovery” and the press the Volume Up button once.
The android logo will now be displayed on your phone.Hold down Volume Up and Volume Down buttons for about 5 seconds and press power button once.The recovery mode menu should now be displayed.
That was all; you can now choose to hard reset your Moto G or you can return to Android OS by selecting “reboot system now”.


text:
Dialog "Amazon AppStore Required" - apps prevented from starting
Many of my apps were downloaded from the Amazon AppStore as part of their "Free App of The Day" (henceforth FAoTD) program. This program was recently discontinued in favor of Amazon Underground - an all-encompassing shopping app, similar to any number of their other shopping apps for Android. Since I was not interested in continuing with Android Underground, I uninstalled the Amazon App, AKA Amazon Shopping, AKA Amazon for Android apk.
The next time I tried to run one of the apps from Amazon from the FAoTD, I encountered a dialog and immediate shutdown of the app when acknowledged with the OK button:

Amazon Appstore Required
It looks like you no longer have an Amazon AppStore on your device. Please install an Amazon AppStore and sign in with your username and password to use this app.

related: http://android.stackexchange.com/q/9229/1465

@MatthewRead - sounds like the same thing - I guess the tokens get removed with the AppStore uninstall. In this case, since it was FAoTD installs, my loss is $0, and wouldn't expect Amazon to be generous enough to buy my apps for me elsewhere.

The solution is as stated, though it was not easy: re-install Amazon AppStore. Amazon Appstore is not distributed from Google Play any longer (though it was when I first installed it). It must be installed from amazon.com (as a 3rd party app - Settings > Security > Unknown Sources must be enabled), and updated to the latest version - Amazon Underground for the dialog to stop appearing when starting "Free App of The Day" apps. This left the device with an unwanted app with necessary space consumed unnecessarily.
After the installation, I was able to test the correct opening of certain apps I got through the FAoTD program. I tested starting them both ways: from the "Your Apps" list from within Amazon Underground, and outside that environment, directly from the launcher:

2Do (which had a lot of checklists for Books and Movies I would have lost),
DoggCatcher,
mSecure,
Monument Valley, and, I presume, the re-enabled startup of
Nearly 2 dozen other apps and games.

This didn't work for me when I tried it last.

After changing devices, I just started to receive this message as well on certain apps installed from the Amazon Appstore.
The only workaround I've been able to find is that these problematic apps only run without error when the Amazon Appstore is loaded into memory.  That is to say I must first open the Amazon Appstore, return to my home screen without ending the process, then I can launch the app I wish to use.  If the Amazon Appstore is not running, the app fails to detect that it is installed and refuses to load past the "Amazon Appstore required" message.
This is a frustrating issue and a less than ideal workflow for me, but hopefully this helps others experiencing the same problem.  It certainly ensures I won't be buying any apps from the Amazon Appstore again!

On my device, Amazon Appstore is nearly impossible to turn off and keep it that way. Do you have an aggressive battery optimizer acting to keep it off? If so, maybe just making that optimizer control for this specific less aggressive?

I just have the standard battery optimization settings for the Amazon Appstore.  It does remain open for a good while but it eventually gets purged from memory as the day goes on.  I know I can change that to "Don't optimize" setting but the apps which require it aren't mission-critical for me so I've just been getting used to opening it as needed.
In any case, I just thought it would be worth documenting in this thread that having it open in the background does seem to help alleviate the problem.  Not a true fix, but hopefully this information helps some folks out.  Thanks for your input!

My Amazon Appstore doesn't expend any effort to stay on, it seems.


text:
If a specific app doesn't require full network access permission means it's completely privacy safe?
If they can't access internet, they can't steal my data in the back which is safe right? I wanna try this file encryption app from play store. Before i proceed, i wanna make sure that the app itself is completely safe. It's called SSE encryption app.

Give us the link of the app.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.paranoiaworks.unicus.android.sse&hl=en&referrer=utm_source%3Dgoogle%26utm_medium%3Dorganic%26utm_term%3Dssi+encryption+app&pcampaignid=APPU_1_CHAcVqH2IoymuQST24zwDw

You're misinformed at some part, as I see it. While it is true that if an app hasn't declared network access permissions then it cannot contact its mothership, should it need to, but it is far from considered safe. Tell me, what safeguards do you have to stop such an app from encrypting your data and demand ransom?

How can they encrypt and demand ransom when it can't communicate with the developer? Even if they encrypt the file and demand ransom, as long as the file is encrypted in my local storage, i don't care if it's non accessible, i just don't want some random stranger put hands on it!

That's not hard to do IMO. A cracker needs to be selective during programming of the ransomware. The app can encrypt data, create a string, and ask ransom of some dollars. In instructions, you would be told to enter that string onto a web-portal to receive further instructions to pay ransom. Once you are done paying your money, you would be provided an unlock key which you can put into a corresponding area of the installed app. Ransom complete. Is it hard? I just gave a possible scenario.

I understand. Like i said, If that happens, as long as the encrypted non accessible file is in my local storage, I'm not gonna pay him a cent, i would just delete the file by myself and show him the finger. All i need to know, Is there a way a developer can physically put hands on the said encrypted non accessible file or any file in my local storage for that matter?

No, if the developer doesn't know you personally and there is no network access permission declared, then chances are low to none. You can show the finger or whatsoever you're comfortable with.

Unfortunately, all apps always have the ability to access the internet. The permission can be misleading. It has to do with viewing other devices on a network and the network details.
What you can do is right after downloading the app, put your phone in airplane mode. That will prevent any data from leaving the phone, then uninstall it before turning airplane mode off.
Although in all reality, unless you're running Paranoid Android, your data is never truly safe, and even then it isn't perfect.

By "Paranoid Android" are you referring to the famous PA  ROM or you literally meant being 'Paranoid'?

What's this "Paranoid android"? Will it be more privacy secured to switch from stock android?

@firelord Meant the ROM.

@Ygr paranoid android is a custom ROM that secures your phone FAR better than the stock ROM. However, apps still have the same abilities, so for the context of this question, it wouldn't benefit you much. However, it makes it nearly impossible (note nearly, nothing can be unhackable) for someone to deliberately hack into your phone without your knowledge.


text:
How to reset default share target on Cogi app, G3, Android 5.0?
I shared a Cogi recording, and selected Gmail as the default share target. Now I want to unselect gmail as default. I can't find any place within the Cogi app itself to do it.
Also, I tried to clear app defaults via the Settings-->Apps and Settings-->Apps-->Reset App Preferences. In the Reset App Preferences, I don't see Cogi listed in the list of apps with any preferences to clear, and the Clear Preferences button is grayed out in the Apps menu entry on Cogi.
Anything I can do? (I haven't tried uninstalling/reinstalling Cogi yet)


text:
Updates filling internal storage
I just bought a HTC desire626 not even a week ago . Seems like it updates all the time we'll now my internal memory is about full. Am I doing something wrong everything allowable to put on SD card but doesn't seem to work.

Are you having the issue termed [tag:insufficient-memory]?

Try going to 'Settings' and then go to apps/applications tab then go to 'all apps' you can then select the apps you do not require and then select uninstall, if you had the app already but it just updated it, it will just remove the update, but have factory version. Hope this helps.


text:
Can the Samsung Galaxy Note II stock camera app be transplanted to a custom firmware?
I've had a Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II (SPH-L900) for 2½ years. I've always liked the stock Camera app that it came with, and I've missed having it around since I replaced the stock firmware with CyanogenMod. As it happens, due to technical difficulties it was necessary for me to reinstall the stock firmware recently, and there was my little friend again, "Camera" (v1.5). Is there any way to capture that camera app from the stock firmware and transplant it to CM 12.1 (or any other custom firmware)?

FYI: There are some older XDA threads that indicate people were working on this at some time:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1883192
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2034867
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2054640

FYI part 2: your links refer to porting the Note 2 camera to other samsung devices - and even those devices are required to run a touchwiz-based STOCK rom - there is no way installing it on a aosp and no one is/was willing to put that much effort in that kind of project :) just to add more information ;)

The short answer is no.
The detailed answer is - it will be difficult - very difficult.
The camera from the stock samsung firmware relies on the touchwiz framework to work correctly. Any AOSP based rom comes without the touchwiz framework - and that's one of the best reasons to install an AOSP based rom.
So what does this mean in the end?
You would need to modify the application - include the shared libraries and may have to port the framework - it won't be worth the effort. If you're not happy with the stock camera application, try one from the play store - they might even make better pictures.


text:
Reverse tethering via Bluetooth: How to share PC internet connectivity with android phone via Bluetooth
OS: Windows 7 SP1 x64
Phone: Galaxy Ace 3 - android 4.2 (rooted)
I'm aware of normal tethering scenarios in which the user can share the Mobile Data connection with other phones/pcs via wifi-hotspot, bluetooth tethering or USB tethering and my phone is capable of all of them.
Let's assume my laptop is connected to the internet via lan and I want to share the internet with my phone via bluetooth(not wifi or usb). I think it's called reverse tethering.
Is there any way to accomplish this? (It seems Mac is capable of doing that: How to share your internet connection over Bluetooth)
by the way:
->this method is not working(using ICS): How to Share the Internet With Bluetooth
->BlueDUN app is for sharing mobile data/wifi connectivity of the phone with another phone/pc
->Toshiba Bluetooth Stack is not working
Update:
On the Linux front there's an application called 'blueman' that does this

Why not do your reverse tethering over USB?  Alternatively, why not buy a wireless router?

it's not matter of other options, it's about knowing the possibility of such a scenario

I don't understand.

I like to think that there are many hypothetical situations this would be beneficial for. An example would be if you're away from home using a wired only connection, but your PC has a Bluetooth adapter handy.

This is a good question which myself  couldn't get a satisfactory solution. This solution posted here seemed promising although I found out the bluetooth stack supports fewer bluetooth adapters and also some link was taken down.
Having said that, since you are running Windows, Microsoft seems to have at least provided a solution to that issue, but it supports newer editions of Windows (should be Creators update IIRC):

Open the Settings app either by clicking its icon on the left side of the Start menu or simultaneously pressing the Windows logo + R
keys.

In the Settings app, go to Network & Internet  > Mobile Hotspot page.

To turn on mobile hotspot, turn on the option labelled Share my Internet connection with other devices.

Under share my connection over, choose bluetooth option.

Simply pair the two and enjoy the connection

Credits (and photo) Mobile hotspot or Wi-Fi hotspot in Windows 10
Windows feature are most buggy for me, that's why I prefer to try other workarounds first.
Edit
I noticed that the default bluetooth stack (Microsoft) doesn't support ICS as shown in this discussion, with support having been dropped since Windows Vista era.
However a probable workaround is using alternative proprietary software like BlueSoleil, which make make the PC act as bluetooth access point as dicussed here.


text:
Moving /storage/sdcard0 from NAND to a removable MicroSD card: will it break anything?
Background information
I own a Samsung Galaxy S Relay 4G running Android 4.1.2.  It comes with 8 GB of built-in NAND flash, which is almost full by now.  Luckily, it also has a MicroSD card slot.
My carrier doesn't offer handset subsidies.  I hope not to have to upgrade to a new phone before the BlackBerry Priv comes out:  I want a device with a physical keyboard.
On my device, /storage/sdcard0 occupies 2 GB out of the 8 GB.
Of the 2 GB:

OsmAnd offline maps take up 800 MB.
Downloaded podcasts and whatnot take up about 600 MB.
Google Translate's offline data takes up 200 MB.
The rest is miscellaneous.

Because I'm not running Android 6.0 "Marshmallow" or higher, my device doesn't include support for adoptable storage.
My questions
I'd like to move /storage/sdcard0 from built-in NAND (8 GB) to the removable MicroSD card I've bought (32 GB).  The entire MicroSD card is formatted as FAT32.  In the place of the old /storage/sdcard0, I plan to leave a symbolic link.
I've experimented a bit, and it's clear that I'll have to root my phone first.  That's fine.
I wonder:

Does /storage/sdcard0 include any file ownership or permission data which I don't want to lose?
Will Android (and all my apps) work fine even if /storage/sdcard0 is actually a symbolic link instead of a folder?  If you believe they'll work fine, then how do you know this?  :)
Is there anything else I should know before doing this?

Well, I don't think just rooting is enough.. You also need to edit the boot.img to create a sym link for /storage/sdcard0 to /storage/sdcard1 .. (You may also have to format the SD card to EXT4 format).
I'm not sure if that will work 100%, try it yourself..
Moreover, actually the internal storage is part of the /data partiton..
So basically, I think internal storage will be located actually in /data/media/0
So, nothing wrong in trying if you have proper backup and if you can repair your phone :)

You can't just create a symlink after rooting

Multiple things in this context:

apps might directly support using the external SD card as storage, check with their settings. This will save you some headaches, as it then works without "tricks". When changing to the new storage, apps might even offer to copy/move their data over, which would be the easiest thing for you to do.
As Gokul mentioned in his comments on your question: it's not as simple as just creating a symlink from the old storage to the new – after the next boot, that is most likely gone (which can be worked around by editing the boot image – or by facilitating init.d with a fitting script, if supported). You could however symlink each directory separately (e.g. /storage/sdcard0/foobar -> /storage/external_sd/foobar, which should do even without root and, more importantly, survive a reboot without "additional tricks"
both external storages use VFAT, so no user permissions covered (VFAT doesn't support them), so "nothing to lose" in this context ;)

I looked into the matter some more.

On my device:  •  /dev/fuse is mounted on /storage/sdcard0 (fuse, rw).  •  /dev/block/vold/179:33 is mounted on /storage/extSdCard (vfat, rw).  •  An initramfs is mounted on / (rootfs, ro), and it seems that /storage is part of that initramfs.

So, indeed, it seems that any symlink I'd create in /storage would disappear upon rebooting.  I think I shall instead take one of your suggestions:  I think I shall move and symlink some individual subdirectories of /storage/sdcard0.

Exactly that – it's the safest and easiest variant, and should be possible via adb shell even without root (I cannot test that, as I don't have any non-rooted device here ;)

OK; I've tried it. But ln couldn't create any symlinks. The problem is that /storage/sdcard0 is a type of filesystem which can't hold any symlinks.

link failed Operation not permitted even with root, indeed – seems to be a restriction of VFAT, see How to create file links on a vfat filesystem of a mounted disk under Linux? (which describes a possible work-around I doubt fits here). If your device is rooted, you could use something like FolderMount for that. If not, experimenting with your own FUSE mounts might do (and an automater like Tasker to re-establish them on boot).

Instead, I've switched to using your first suggestion. In one of OsmAnd's settings screens, I've set it to look for its maps directory on the removable card. And I've used a file-management tool to move the maps directory to that card. This has worked fine, and I now have more than a gigabyte of available NAND flash.

„Safety first“ – if available, that's the best approach, which is why I've mentioned it first :) Good job!


text:
Based on what does translate appear only in some apps and some places it misses translated?
I happen to open  a Chineese application and in that page all the info was Chineese so on top right corner there was a translate button On clicking translate it did translate the page but not the whole page.
Places like what's new section was still Chineese Why is it not translating the what's new section in some places it simply removed the text
I opened other Chinese app also and in that the translate  icon doesn't appear.
So based on what does the translate icon appear on some apps and also why does translate doesn't translate completely

Usually is up to the developers to translate their apps, so it means they had no time/didn't want to translate it. They probably chose to insert a translate button which uses something like Google translate to do the work, but gives approximate results.


text:
Configure & connect to Wi-Fi using ADB on Android 5.1.1
I'm using Nexus 4 with Android 5.1.1. I need to connect to Wi-Fi router in my automation. For that I need to use ADB interface. I connected to mobile using ADB. I also configured the wpa_supplicant.conf file and copied it to /data/misc/wifi/.
chmod 644 wpa_supplicant.conf
chown wifi.wifi wpa_supplicant.conf

When I execute the adb svc wifi enable, phone doesn't connect to the SSID  I have specified in wpa_supplicant.conf.
I have created the wpa_supplicant.conf file using the existing wpa_supplicant.conf file. (Just to make sure I do not mess the format, but different SSID and password with same WPA-PSK method.)
Can anyone guide me what I need to change or what am I doing wrong?

adb svc wifi enable -- it cannot work. Please [edit]. Anyhow, adb shell svc wifi enable would activate the Wi-Fi only. It doesn't make sure that the device would connect to an SSID of your choice. Show us your new wpa_supplicant.conf file (use a paste service). Not sure, but you may have to use the service wifi unless there is only one SSID in your file and you're in its range.

What kind of automation are you working on? Give us some basic context.

@Firelord    My wpa_supplicant.conf as as follows.  disable_scan_offload=1
driver_param=use_p2p_group_interface=1
update_config=1
device_name=occam
manufacturer=LGE
model_name=Nexus 4
model_number=Nexus 4
serial_number=0221f14e1188d36d
device_type=10-0050F204-5
config_methods=physical_display virtual_push_button
pmf=1
external_sim=1
tdls_external_control=1
network={
ssid="TestWiFi"
psk="Test1234"
key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
priority=1
}

@Firelord  The automation is for one app which requires me to connect to first Wifi Gateway in initial stage and later on to another Wifi Gateway. The issue is I am using Calabash to automate the app. I do not have clue how to switch between the 2 wifi networks in automation. So I am using adb. Calabash cannot access system options.

Note that you can't edit the conf file directly over adb. For giggles, leave the conf file up in vi and then try changing your wifi password using the phone. Shocking! Now reboot.


text:
Strange WiFi battery usage on Marshmallow Nexus 5
I have a question about the WiFi battery usage on the Nexus 5. In the first screenshot you see my battery/WiFi usage. The second screenshot shows the battery/WiFi usage for the Nexus 5 of a colleague of mine.

Strangely enough, my WiFi is disabled. Why is this so?

Google has an option that it can scan for WiFi networks, even when turned off.

Okay, but then the next question rises; why does the Nexus 5 of my colleague  use 81mAh over 23+ hours and mine w/o using it 1257mAh over a period of 2+ hours?

There is a known issue on Nexus 5/6 with Marshmallow and wifi. This wifi drain has been noted by many users, me included.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/google-nexus-5/help/wifi-plaguing-android-marshmallow-t3220031

Yeah I already searched on the internet for other solutions. I came across a few answers that also include to go back to the latest Lollipop (5.1.1.) and OTA the upgrade. A few had already good experiences with this. I will try that.

So today I had finally the time to do the above thing and surprisingly my battery drain over WiFi has stopt immediately. It's even not showing in the list at all, at the moment. My screen is now the 'normal' drainer again. :)

Same here. So weird.

A few days back I had the same problem and I was able to fix it!
Now all you need to do is go to Settings → Location → options (3 Dots top right corner) → Scanning → Uncheck Wi-Fi Scanning. This is for Marshmallow update.

I have done that to no avail. I have also wiped the cache partition [1] and nothing happened. Drain continues even with Wifi off and Wi-Fi scanning option disabled.
[1] https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=189018#c123

@VenomGT rightly pointed out the 'new feature' which affects the battery.
You might also want to adjust your settings to not use wi-fi when your screen is black/off. To do that, use:

Settings -> Wi-Fi -> Advanced -> Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep.

As I have found out, the problem lies in the 'Location' settings. After a while and some reboots, I found out that the Wi-Fi drain suddenly came back. Now I have set the location 'mode' to do the determination as device only.
(Click image to enlarge)

And now after about 3 reboots and 3 full charge cycles the Wi-Fi problem is gone.
(Click image to enlarge)

Battery by the way is now capable of lasting at least the work hours but after 12 hours I already do need to charge.
Hopefully, this is the final solution that I can give.

This should help but sometimes I need wifi for location especially when indoors.

One reason for this could be the amount of signal/strength of your Wi-Fi as this can have an effect on battery usage.

Could be, but the WiFi is turned off all along.

Right, the only thing I can think of is that i could be a glitch in the update as the Marshmallow has only recently been released. They could update it later.

And I also thought about that but my colleague was also updated to Marshmallow. So in that case it wouldn't be a glitch in general...

I guess so. does this actually affect the battery life, as it could be that you need to get a new battery for the mobile.

SEE MY OTHER ANSWER, THIS ONE ONLY HELPED FOR A FEW DAYS BUT NOT PERMANENTLY
I reverted my Nexus 5 by downloading the lastest 5.1.1 Android Factory image and after 'downgrading' I let the device update OTA to receive the 6.0 update. From this point on my Wi-Fi issue is not occurring anymore.
So my workaround after I upgraded to 6.0 by the factory image and had the Wi-Fi drain issue:
Go to: Factory Images for Nexus 5 and download the latest 5.1.1 (LMY48M)

I did it through a Linux distribution (UbuntuGnome) so my steps were
  slightly different from the Windows users. Follow these steps for flashing through Windows

Extract the downloaded 'hammerhead-mra58k-factory-52364034.tgz' and also extract the 'image-hammerhead-lmy48m.zip'within the extracted folder; 'hammerhead-lmy48m'

BACKUP ESSENTIAL STUFF FROM THIS POINT
  Next steps will erase all settings and data on the Nexus 5

Connect your Nexus 5 to the PC/Laptop where you downloaded the files to and open a terminal or command prompt.
In Terminal:
$ adb reboot bootloader to get your phone into the bootloader screen.
(Sometimes this doesn't work and you can still do it by using the keycombo for the Nexus 5: Turn the device off, then turn it on and immediately hold down Volume Down + Power, as the device begins booting up the Nexus 5 ("hammerhead") will go into fastboot mode.)
When the Nexus 5 is in fastboot mode type in the Terminal:
$ fastboot oem unlock
Beware, if you select yes by selecting it through the Volume+Up button and submit it by clicking the power button, ALL DATA WILL BE ERASED
after the 'oem unlock' is successful, go within the Terminal to the folder where you extracted all the necessary files for the flashing of your Nexus 5.
To flash the files:
hammerhead-lmy48m$ ./flash-all.sh
This took me about 4 minutes until completion and after that the phone rebooted into Android 5.1.1 (Lollipop), almost instantly I got the notification about updating to 6.0 (Marshmallow) and I upgraded immediately without playing or configuring the phone at all.
After all this, no drainage of Wi-Fi anymore and over a period of 7h Wi-Fi 'on' overnight, a battery usage of 26mAh (instead of the 'normal' 700+mAh)
Hopefully this also works for you!
SEE MY OTHER ANSWER, THIS ONE ONLY HELPED FOR A FEW DAYS BUT NOT PERMANENTLY

I did just that and it didn't fix my problem at all.
I also found that post http://forum.xda-developers.com/google-nexus-5/general/guys-call-wifi-battery-drain-6-0-t3219870 so I tried that and I hope it will finally fix my issue !

Hi, for whats it worth I also tried that solution but made no difference at all. For a moment I thought that it resolved the problem but after 2 hours the Wi-Fi was on top of the ranking again. Now with what I wrote, my Wi-Fi has a consumption of 19mAh over a 5h 36m 6s period of time at this very moment.

Actually, this has fixed my problem and also seems to have fixed the same issue on a colleague's Nexus 5.  The battery is still quite poor : currently 84% charged and 9 hours left estimated; but the WiFi is not showing as main battery eater anymore. I would suggest people to first try this solution before wiping their phone ;)


text:
how to get data from Note 3 broken screen
I have a Samsung Note 3 and the phone went black due to me dropping it. I have since got a new phone but want to retrieve my photos from the old phone with the broken screen. The problem is that I have a passcode on my broken phone and I am unable to see or use the screen. I know the code but just don't know how to retrieve the photos. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Link the phone to a PC with cable and then it should load up the storage data if it is set automatically and then it should be under 'My Computer' as an external memory, your photos should be under DCIM.


text:
Galaxy Star fails Custom recovery flashing
I've tried to flash my Galaxy Star Advance (SM-G350E) with ClockWorkMod recovery 6.0.2.9 using Odin and it has said "Success". But the stock recovery still exists and nothing has been flashed!
How to flash the recovery? USB debbugging is ON and Samsung USB drivers are installed

What exactly did you flash?

ClockWorkMod custom recovery 6.0.2.9 (recover.tar.md5)

This happens because when you flash custom recovery from Odin and allow it to reboot on its own, Samsung's Recovery checking script checks if a custom recovery is present and overrides it with system recovery<3e>.
To bypass that check you need to take your battery out as soon as the recovery is flashed by Odin (and before the phone reboots).

As soon as the Odin says PASS(or SUCCESS) you should be ready to take out the battery which will stop it from rebooting,
Put back the battery and enter recovery mode directly by pressing and holding Volume Up, Home and Power keys at the same time.
Release all three buttons when Samsung boot screen flickers and the main screen of Recovery mode appears.
This will avoid script checking and will let you to custom recovery directly


text:
One-click reading mode on Firefox Android gone?
When viewing an article page, the address bar used to have a reading mode icon; clicking on it would turn the page to reading node instantly.
Now I've upgraded it to latest version. I found that if I want to view a page in reading mode I need to:

click menu icon
click add to reading list icon
click on switch icon which appears floating on the page
it takes me to the reading list, the I need to click on the article I want to read.

So. Question:
How do I switch a page to reading mode in one click?

I do not see the issue in my Firefox for Android v41.0. I opened a wiki page, tapped once that reading mode icon in the URL bar and the page opened up in reading mode instantly. Nowhere I had to save it in reading list. See if clearing data from Settings app would help. Or could it be specific to particular articles? I don't know. Can you share the link for any of the article where you encountered the issue?

@Firelord, thanks for the reply. Yes, I later found out that the issue was happening to some of the websites. For these particular websites, there was "reading mode" icon in address bar in old FF version but not in new version. So, Mozilla probably changed the logic behind when to put the icon in address bar, now I'm wondering what the logic is. I'll Google a while and see if I find anything.

strange enough. I'm using FF 41.0.1 Windows at the moment, it displays the icon for stackoverflow question page, but not for the page.


text:
can you use wireless charging on LG G3 s
can you get wireless charging on the LG G3 s as under the cover on the back of the phone there are two pins that connect to the cover, this cover also has a pad on the back. Thanks.

This phone is also known as LG G3 vigor/mini

Your phone doesn't support wireless charge, but you can try to find a cover which enables it: the cover connects to the micro usb of the phone and has an embedded coil (and some other hardware). I'm not sure it exists, but you can try to find it.


text:
Backup Data on Android Recovery Mode!
I am Asus Zenfone 5 (lollipop 5.0). It is not turned on because if affected when try rooting software(iRoot). I need to backup my internal and other app data. In recovery mode, there is no option to backup my data. I have important data on my internal memory(16GB). Please help me to backup data.Thanks in Advance...
Recovery mode option:
reboot system now
apply update from ADB
wipe data/factory reset
wipe cache partition
reboot to bootloader
power down
view recovery logs

You need a custom recovery (TWRP, CWM, Philz etc.) in order to backup your data. The stock recovery merely allows you to wipe the device or flash updates.

I am already set my mobile not turn on. Then how can try these?

xda-developers.com is a pretty good source for Android related things like recoveries, custom ROMs etc. I found TWRP for your phone here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/android/development/recovery-twrp-2-8-6-0-asus-zenfone-5-t3136263. Make sure to read the post before you do anything to your phone. I take no responsibility for any damage caused to your phone through any of the methods described in the post.


text:
Adding stock image as secondary ROM in MultiROM
I have a Nexus 5 and root. I also use the MultiROM application. I want to create a secondary ROM from stock. However, I cannot flash factory images, hence need to make flashable zip out of it.
How do I do it? What other method is recommended?

I'm assuming you have all the things necessary for MultiROM, i.e. modified TWRP recovery installed, MultiROM zip flashed, a custom kernel in Primary ROM having kexec-hardboot patch.
If you're unfamiliar to the terms I used or the requirement is not fulfilled, see Huey's answer here or find the thread relevant to your device, on XDA forum or here.
Instructions:

Boot into TWRP and create a full nandroid backup of your current primary ROM  (my assumption is that the device is running the stock ROM).
On the default page of TWRP :

go to Advanced → MultiROM → Add ROM,
select the memory in Install to → Next,
select Backup → select your recent primary ROM backup → Swipe to Confirm,
after flashing completes, do the reboot and choose your new secondary ROM in the boot menu.

Done!

If you're running a custom ROM as primary, then take its Nandroid backup, flash the stock ROM as primary, follow my aforesaid instructions, and then restore the backup to come back to custom ROM as primary one.

There is one problem with this. 1) I am on Android 6.0 currently. But I want to flash kitkat as secondary rom. So I cannot create and restore nandroid of my current rom for that. I mean if I do flash KitKat, then it would also wipe my other roms, wouldn't it?

I've not used Android 6.0 but I did have a setup where Android 5.1 was primary ROM and I used MiUI (Android 4.4). The procedure didn't wipe the other ROMs but they got affected somehow. They remained stuck on boot animation. But it is clear that things wouldn't be wiped. Why don't you take the backup of /data/media/multiroms in PC and go berserk?

So do I flash KitKat normally? And it won't wipe data? I generally use toolkit to do it. I explored /data/media but there seems to be no multirom folder

Sorry, it should be /data/media/0/multiroms. Backup your current 6.0 and multiroms folder, flash kitkat as primary ROM, take its backup and flash it as secondary ROM. Restore the backup of 6.0. for primary and see how things work out.

Do secondary ROMs in MultiROM also need to have a kernel with the kexec patch?

@russjr08, the secondary ROMs are  not required to have a kernel with that patch. I use COS12 (comes with OnePlus One) as a secondary ROM and its kernel doesn't have that patch.

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


text:
How to change the density (DPI) for specific applications?
How do I change DPI for applications only (different density for system and separate for each app)? I suppose there exist some specific part of code to change DPI value.

Use App Settings for that. It needs a rooted device with Xposed Framework installed and its module  be activated.
To change DPI for a specific app, launch App Settings → choose the app for DPI scaling (force-stop the app too) → switch the slider next to Settings → add DPI value and save.
See screenshots:

first image -- before changing the DPI of the app
last image -- after changing the DPI of the app

The rest is untouched, such as status bar or the keyboard app.
(Click image to enlarge)

This answer is so correct as long as you are in below Android 7. Exposed doesn't work in Nougat and there is no possibility to support. Does anyone know how to have per app custom DPI option in Nougat without Xposed?

You can use Tasker (paid; 7 day free trial) as well provided that OS is rooted.

Profile: Application → select app fro DPI scaling
Task: Action: Code → Run Shell

Command: wm density <DPI>
wm implies Window Manager. Replace <DPI> with the DPI you want.
Check Use Root

Exit task: Action: Code → Run Shell

Command: wm density reset
Check Use Root

That's it. Launch the app and the density of the whole system will change. Exit or switch the app and DPI would revert back to normal. The fluidity of the switch is not up to the level of App Settings, but it's acceptable.

This seems to make my device soft reboot. :/ The DPI appears to change but then it crashes and boots again.

Make a slight change in density and then proceed. It works well in stock Android 5.0.2, that's why I posted this answer.

I'm running CM12.1 on a Note 4. Tried only a small change but it's still crashing unfortunately. Thanks for the help though.

CM supports changing density from Settings app -> Display? Have you tried it? Do you face the same issue? And you're not using a nightly build, correct?

Use Xposed Installer + GravityBOX.

We're looking for detailed answers here. Please see [answer] and extend your answer into the required steps.

@Firelord You're looking for "lazy" answers, but the link you provided states this one is adequate. The only thing it was really missing is a link.


text:
How to handle multi-keycode keys on Android with a bluetooth keyboard?
I have a Microsoft Mobile Wedge keyboard. I've connected it to my Nexus 9 and after setting the language in the settings it works almost perfectly. Almost!
There are 4 keys on it that don't work, because they're multi-keycode keys. They're the "magnifier glass"-key, the "3 dots on a ring"-key, the "black rectangle intersecting with rectangle border"-key and the "gears/settings"-key.
So far I've found out with
getevent -lt /dev/input/event4

that the Linux keycodes they send are
KEY_LEFTSHIFT
KEY_LEFTMETA
KEY_F21

KEY_LEFTALT
KEY_LEFTMETA
KEY_F21

KEY_LEFTCTRL
KEY_LEFTMETA
KEY_F21

KEY_LEFTMETA
KEY_F21

I've created the 2 files from their Generic.kl and Generic.kcm counterparts
/system/usr/keylayout/Vendor_045e_Product_0790.kl
/system/usr/keychars/Vendor_045e_Product_0790.kcm

and made sure with
dumpsys input

that they're used.
I tried to enable F21 in the layout first, but that didn't work because there's no Android keycode for F21. So I bound it to INSERT instead, because it's an unused key.
Then I went into the character map and tried making an INSERT key (which is actually F21) and applying the right modifiers to it.
key INSERT {
    base:           'a'
    lmeta:          'A'
}

The above being for the key that only had 2 keycodes. Unfortunately this didn't work. Nothing happened. So now I'm here to pick your brain.
Does anyone know how to do multi-keycode keys?
Thank you very much in advance.

Do you mean the keys inside android that you want to link?

Just wanted to point out Android has native magnifier function but it's an accessibility feature called "Magnification".  The default shortcuts you can enable for it (on Snow Cone) are: 1) tapping accessibility navigation key (I don't see a standard keycode for that), 2) Vol(+) + Vol(-), or 3) triple tap.  On the other hand, if the function is instead the "search" function, that does have an Android int keycode value of keycode_search

Do the following:

Run getevent without the -lt flag.
Press the key you want to test a few times. You'll get three lines something like:
/dev/input/eventn: 0004 0004 longnum
/dev/input/eventn: 0001 4_DIGIT_NUMBER_OF_INTEREST MASK
/dev/input/eventn: 0000 0000 longemptynum
The 4_DIGIT_NUMBER_OF_INTEREST is the scan-code.
In your .kl file (in /system/usr/keylayout/[yourlayout].kl),
add a line:
key [4_DIGIT_NUMBER_OF_INTEREST] [UNUSED_BINDING]

You've already gotten that far.
So, in your .kcm file, you put the following lines and you should be good to go.

key [UNUSED_BINDING] {
lmeta:            what_you_want_for_just_lmeta (but it should be first)
lshift+lmeta:     what_you_want_for_lshift+lmeta
lalt+lmeta:       what_you_want_for_lalt+lmeta
lctrl+lmeta:      what_you_want_for_lctrl+lmeta
}

Reference: Key Character Map Files (under Key Declarations → Properties)

I am not sure if your way works or not, but try and see if this works. I have linked all the necessary stuff, have a look and try and se if it works.
Android Keyboard Devices (Scroll to the bottom of the page for all the key codes)
Keytest Apk (Use to show keycodes when pressed)
How to map android keys to your USB/Bluetooth Keyboard
Map android keys to any Keyboard
Android key Maps (User Blog)
Keyboard shortcuts and navigation, these may help with your problem or not (also extras for users who are reading this)

ESC = go back
CTRL + ESC = menu
CTRL + ALT + DEL = restart (no questions asked)
ALT + SPACE = search page (say “OK Google” to voice search)
ALT + TAB (ALT + SHIFT + TAB) = switch tasks

Also, if you have designated volume function keys, those will probably work too. There’s also some dedicated app shortcuts like calculator, Gmail, and a few others:
Android Keyboard Shortcuts: Apps

CMD (Windows key) + A = calculator
CMD + C = contacts
CMD + E = e-mail
CMD + G = Gmail
CMD + L = Calendar
CMD + P = Play Music
CMD + Y = YouTube

Others keys that are useful include:
Android Keyboard Shortcuts: Scrolling

Spacebar: Page down in any Web page/document view
Shift + Spacebar: Page up in any Web page/document view

Android Keyboard Shortcuts: Typing

Alt + Spacebar: Insert a special character
Shift + Del: Delete the character to the right of the cursor
Alt + Del: Delete an entire line
Shift + Shift (press it twice): Activate caps-lock; press shift once more to exit
Alt + Trackball (Mouse) -Left: Move cursor to beginning of line
Alt + Trackball-Right: Move cursor to end of line
Alt + Trackball-Up: Move cursor to top of page
Alt + Trackball-Down: Move cursor to bottom of page
Shift + Trackball-Left/Right: Highlight text for cutting or copying
Menu + X: Cut text (will cut all text on-screen unless specific characters are highlighted)
Menu + C: Copy text to clipboard (will copy all text on-screen unless specific characters are highlighted)
Menu + V: Paste text from clipboard
Menu + A: Select all text in the current field

Android Keyboard Shortcuts: Browsing

Menu + I: Zoom in
Menu + O: Zoom out
Menu + J: Go back a page
Menu + K: Go forward a page
Menu + R: Refresh current page
Menu + F: Find on page
Menu + B: Open bookmarks
Menu + S: Open social network sharing menu
Menu + H: View browsing history
Menu + S: Open browser settings

Android Keyboard Shortcuts: Gmail

F: Forward current message (works only while inside the message)
R: Reply to current message (works only while inside the message)
A: Reply-all to current message (works only while inside the message)
Y: Archive message (works from within message or while on main inbox list)
Menu + U: Refresh inbox
Menu + C: Compose new e-mail
Enter: Open an e-mail (from the main inbox list)
Alt + Trackball-Up: Jump to top of inbox
Alt + Trackball-Down: Jump to bottom of inbox

Thanks for writing this up, but it's not an answer to the question. The problem isn't mapping keys, the problem is handling keys that send multiple keycodes to the system. Which are not properly recognized, even by the keytest program. The only software that shows all the keys is getevent.

@Dominik Okay, Good luck trying to get it to work, and when these keys get pressed, they don't work either way when you hold shift and don't hold shift? Am i correct to assume that?


text:
Android 6.0 drains my Nexus 5 battery within an hour
So. This morning I received the OTA update for Android 6.0 on my Nexus 5. Previously had no problems with battery usage, but after  installing the update my battery is drained within an hour, without me using the phone in any way.
The settings indicate that the Android Core Apps are the  cause of this and when I press the information icon in the top right it shows 'Contacts Storage'. I have to say that also since the update, my contact list is empty and keeps showing the message 'Contacts are being updated'.
Any clue on how to solve this issue?

I'm guessing this is being caused by a glitch in Google's sync services. This can be a difficult fix if there are more underlying problems, however clearing the system cache will likely fix the issue.

Turn your device off.
Press the power and volume down buttons at the same time for about 4 seconds. Release. A barebones menu should appear.
Use the volume buttons to scroll to recovery.
Open the recovery menu and press the power button for one second, then continue to hold the power button and press and hold the volume up button for 3 seconds. Release. This can be troublesome so if you have difficulty Google "Clear System Cache Nexus 5".
Scroll to Clear System Cache or something resembling it. Be careful what you select as a lot of device wiping commands are in here.
Let it go, then select "Reboot normally"

If that does not fix it, you may need to do a factory reset. You would stay on Marshmallow.

Thanks. I did something similar. I deleted all app cache (in the Storage menu). After that the problem was resolved. I'm guessing your solution would've worked too.

@tonni It would have done a bit more vigorous version of what you did, so yes, it would have worked.


text:
Add a digit to every contact
My city is adding a new digit to its number to increase the number of combinations possible. I have over 300 contacts, editing them manually is not really a good way to do that.
98% of my contacts is on the + XX ( country code ) + XX ( state code ) + XXXXXXXX ( the number ) format.
I need to add the digit 9 to every number, so after running a program script whatever every contact should be +XX XX 9XXXXXXXX .
Bonus : I have contacts from people of other cities who must stay the same if possible I would like a solution like this : if state number is XX then skip it. But is better to manually change this group of contacts than all the contacts from my city so it's OK if that's not possible

Only thing that I can think of is:

Go to the web interface for Google contacts, click on export (it should redirect to the older version of contacts)

In the older interface click on 'other' (or something similar) near the icon to add contacts

You will see the voice 'export'. Click on it

Choose the group 'personal contacts' (should include only the contacts from the address book of your phone)

Then choose 'format CSV for Google' as the export format

Open this file (Excel, Calc or similar will do) and use the function 'find and replace' this way:
Search for the two digit that identify the city and replace them with XX9. Pay attention to the numbers which include these two digits in other places. You may want to edit them manually and the rest with find-replace. (There may be even easier ways to do it, but I'm not very good with Excel.)

Once you are done, go back to the web interface and this time choose import and the file you edited as the file to import.

This should help.

Thanks so much ! But I don't have access to any PC right now , can I do this on phone ?

Yes you can, I think with any app that opens excel files, it just needs to have 'find and replace'. For sure with the one by Google you can, but it may be a little bit frustrating. Anyway, to access the web interface open any browser on your phone and go to contacts.google.com


text:
Android 6.0 shows up contacts from all accounts
My Nexus 5 with Android 6.0 shows up all contacts from all my accounts in dialer (including Exchange). I only want to see contacts from my gmail.
I already went to contact application and selected only gmail, but it does not work. I posted this question somewhere on google forum and they said they will fix it in 6.0, but now I cannot find this forum and the issue posted.
Update: Finally found the forum: google developers. I cannot believe this issue is not resolved yet.

Presumably you're looking for a fix in the meantime?

Correct, I need a fix

This is the correct link: https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=81168

Thank you. It is already 6.0.1 and the issue is still there. I do not care about material design and visual features and I need functional phone.

In Android 6.0 Marshmallow version there are 2 ways to see only contact list.
1st click and open contact
 And
In this list from heading select, click and open Record
Or
Directly open phone list
Then to view only contacts
Then there is only one way as under to view only all contact lists without Emails lists.
You just simply type name of your contact saved in your phone book list
And
With displaying phone number to be dialed
It will simultaneously display only names without Email list with scrutinized and screening


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How to restart android, without touch or removing battery?
All of a sudden my Android (Lollipop) stopped responding while I was using an app. I pressed the power button two times and the problem persisted.
I waited a few minutes and pressed the power button again. It showed the lock screen, but still the smartphone (Moto G) didn't respond to my touch commands.
How can I reboot my device? I can't touch the "Power Off" option neither can I remove the battery.

Are you charging with an incompatible charger? That could sometimes lead to this not responding issue. And it's your phone rooted?

Have you tried holding the power button for like 20 seconds or so?

Press and hold the power button for 10-20 secs and your phone will force reboot, in most cases anyway. If your phone still doesn't reboot, then you'll have to remove the battery and if its not removable  you'll have to wait for the battery to run empty.


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How do I enable haptic feedback in Android 6.0?
I got the OTA Android 6.0 update today for my Nexus 5, but it seems that haptic feedback for the navigation buttons (back, home, app switcher) was disabled by the update. How do I enable it? I can't find anything in the settings for it.

The setting for this is, confusingly, Sound & notification → Other sounds → Vibrate on touch:

If you are trying to disable haptic feedback for your Google keyboard, long press on the comma then select the gear icon to open settings. Google Keyboard Settings > Preferences then toggle Vibrate on Key press to the off setting.

OP wrote: "it seems that haptic feedback for the navigation buttons (back, home, app switcher) was disabled by the update. How do I enable it?" Anything still unclear?

I don't know why this was voted down; it exactly answered the question.  Thanks!


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Galaxy S6 Screen Height Points
What is the screen height of the galaxy s6 in points?   For example the iphone 6 plus is 414 x 736 points. How can i get that for the galaxy s6, i've searched quite a bit for it and still haven't found anything.
Thanks!

Excuse me, what does this have to do with Android? It has to with the hardware of a specific device, which we don't address here. You could try looking for a formula to convert pixels to points, or a use photo editor which can do it(Photoshop comes to mind)

Basically, screen size in points depends on screen scaling.
Size for iPhone 6 Plus with default @3x scaling is: 414 x 736 points and 1242 x 2208 pixels - 401 ppi.
Size for Galaxy S6 with same @3x scaling is: 480 x 853 points and 1440 x 2560 pixels - 577 ppi.


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in built apps update
Every minute my phone seizes and "unfortunately, measure has stopped" pops up. It makes my phone slow. Under application manager in settings, the app is there but I can't update it.

Have you tried clearing the data for that app?

You can only update an application from the Application Manager if the application has an update in the Google Play Store. If there is no update, it will not be available in the Application Manager.
Try to delete and reinstall the app. If the issue continues even after that, send a bug report to the app's creator and find an alternative if the issue cannot be resolved by the creator.


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How can I reboot without manually shutting down my phone?
I am using Philippines local brand Cherry Mobile Android One. There are times that I want to reboot my phone. Unfortunately, it doesn't have one, or does Android One phone have reboot options?
Right now I'm stuck on manually shutting it down using power button, then opening it again.

Well there are lots of question regarding rebooting phone - Check out this similar threads on stackoverflow: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4966486/reboot-the-phone-on-a-button-click
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/6505158/reboot-android-device-programmatically

@BrotskyTv it tooks about programming. Sorry, but is there a way to reboot my device without creating my own app? Or if possible a built in reboot function?

adb reboot from a PC
reboot from a shell/terminal

For automating this, you could try Tasker or a similar app.  See Setting up automatic reboot?


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How to add/restore the 'Apps' shortcut to the home screen of Apex Launcher
I'm using Apex Launcher. For some reason, I don't seem to have the 'Apps' button on the home screen (i.e. the button on the bottom-right of the default Touchwiz launcher that opens the list of apps).
I've tried to add it manually using QCustomShortcut but I don't know the package name.
Does anyone know how to get this button back or add it manually? Or if someone knows the name of the package or process name (of the 'Apps' process), I may be able to work it out from there.
This is the icon I'm referring to, as it appears in the default Touchwiz launcher: Samsung GS4 home-screen

Apex Launcher (com.anddoes.launcher) and Apex Launcher Pro (com.anddoes.launcher.pro). Also see View app's full package name?. If you clear data of Apex launcher from Settings app, you should be able to get what you want, albeit at the cost of lost customization.

It may be hidden under another icon. Try moving other icons and look for the APP drawer icon:)

The process name I was after is for the 'Apps' application.
Yeah, I tried resetting Apex launcher but it doesn't import that 'Apps' shortcut. Maybe this is the intended setting in Apex? I'm not sure as I've only been using it a few weeks. But then, the only way to launch an app would be by manually adding a shortcut to the home-screen for every application, which doesn't seem right.

Nevermind! The icon is indeed there when I reset Apex. I just mistook it for a separate shortcut. Thanks.


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Transfer data from Samsung smartphone without unlocking
I have Samsung A3. I accidentally broke display. Now I can't unlock the phone. I know I can change the display. But I want to know whether there is a way to transfer data to PC without unlocking phone. I generally use data cable for transfer.

See related Q&A under the tags [tag:broken-screen] and [tag:locked-out].

And the corresponding tag-wikis, e.g. broken-screen – as they often contain a summary, first-aid, and more (@Firelord better link those next time ;)

One way in which you can do this is, if you have data stored on a Micro SD card, you can get an adapter and connect it to the PC.


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Someone is installing apps in my android
I have a Xiomi Redmi HM1SW   with android 4.3 and MIUI.
I notice one month ago that some process is installing apps in my desktop that I don't selected.
How can I disable this option? or kill this malware app?
Thanks,

what apps have been installed? And what apps have you installed on your device? We need more information...

That's most likely some app you've installed from "another source", which brought a Trojan along (could also have made it to Playstore – but "other sources" are more likely). So anything you've installed shortly before these auto-installs started? Also, some names of what gets auto-installed might give a clue.

Might be a family member installing apps on a computer.

If you install security 360 from Google play, it should find all malware, and help you remove it.

"it will find all malware" -- a very bold claim! How do you know it will find all the malware? Please back your claim with credible technical sources. Also, given the current length and breadth, this rather seems to be a comment than an answer (IMO).

thanks, taht app cleaned three malware in my android. I hope it is fixed now

It is likely to be a market. Check the use of data because the app must be leeching data to download apps. If it has a huge amount of data and is an android market, uninstall it.

I don't think an app has the ability to install another app, however I could be wrong.


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On Windows, how can I send/read text messages from my phone?
Is there a convenient way of reading/sending text messages from my phone through Windows? I remember Nokia's Symbian phones had a piece of software to do just that, but I can't find any simple solutions for Android.
I'm using Android 5.1 on a Nexus 4.

If you don't mind using the web interface to do this, go get Airdroid.


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i9505 Firmware upgrade question
just a quickie:
I just updated (i9505) from XXUEMKE to XXUHOH2
Location Germany - dbt running CM12.1
So far all ok - no problems.
My Question:
After Flash (BL + Modem + WLAN) it´ll still Show XXUEMMKE as Baseband. Using APP "Phone Info": It shows the same XXUEMKE as baseband except under latest Firmware installed  it Shows XXUHOH2 installed.
So, why does the new Firmware not Show under Information - Baseband? What am I missing? And even that Odin said all ok. Is it really installed and running? (maybe I forgot something?)
greetx 2 all you out there.....

If I remember correctly - you need to flash the modem a second time to actually change the values. No idea why but when I had a galaxy S4 it was a common question in lot's of forums.

yeah, forgot to mention - did that ... same result. so that is not it.


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android as advanced router
there is wi-fi network, without access to internet. I need to connect my phone with 3g internet on board to it, and use it as router, i.e. give access to some one host, that knows phone's ip.
I can not use avalable by default function of wi-fi hotspot, because no one should be able to discover the connection to WAN exists. At least, it's existence must be not so obvious for every one. I suppose, on some custom distributions, like cyanogen mod, iptables is avalable, that could solve my problem, but i use default firmaware: android 4.4 on highscreen zera.
I tried to google possible solution, but all I have found is advices to configure wi-fi hotspot

My Samsung phone (running 4.4) allows me to setup a hotspot without broadcasting the SSID.  Have you checked into that?

You can connect a PC to a phone via USB and use phone carrier data or wifi internet on which you connect via phone. That option is called USB tethering (sharing your Android device's internet connection via USB), and custom ROMs have it, don't know for stock, that option is in the same place as wifi hotspot. I'm sorry if I understood you wrong, and if this isn't what you were looking for.


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Very strange: Google keeps on sending 2-step sms
I have 2 phones: an android one, sim-less, that I use only on wifi, and an old Nokia I use everyday (charging it once a week, which is what I need)
I enabled google 2-step authentication on the android one, and for some reason I could not use the code I had received. I received another one afterwards which I used successfully.
Now every hour or so I receive an sms with the first code, and it has been so for the last 30 hours...
Any idea of what is going on? Thanks


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Can personal profiles be removed on work devices?
We're looking at rolling out 100+ android devices and would like to lock them down to managed profiles. This is mainly to prevent excessive data usage (youtube and the like) - Android for work allows us to whitelist apps, set policy etc; but this is in addition to the standard user account.
This is cost sensitive, so is there a solution out there that will allow us to lock the phone down to only the managed work profile so that additional applications cannot be installed?

Why dont you use Device Owner ?

You could use apps like AppLock and lock the Play store: this way, without a password set by you the user shouldn't be able to install anything. I don't know if there are better solutions, maybe already implemented in android for work; and I don't know, more important, if this has any drawback on app updates. But worth a try, if you have no other ideas.

As I understood what you want is a way to manage multiple devices and add restrictions and do other configurations for multiple devices at once.
If so, you can go for a Enterprise Mobility Management System. There are opensource EMMs as well which you won't need to pay.


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Prevent apps from pausing Google Play Music
Some applications tend to pause my music. I know it is paused because the Google Play Music widget shows the play button and pressing it resumes the song. Is it possible to remove that function or privilege?
Music : Google Play Music
App : Learn SQL
Phone is LG G3.
Android 5.0
Phone is not rooted. Problem is not intermittent and can be reproduced by clicking on a course inside the Learn SQL app while music is playing.
I am also using Avast Battery Saver.

Contact the developer of the problematic app and send them a link to this question. You can find the email of any developer on the app page on Google Play

OK. I Will do that.

The behavior is determined by Play Music, which gets notified when another app requests audio focus (as per the documentation).  Unless there is an option in Play Music's settings to disable this behavior, or perhaps a mute function in the "problem" app, there's nothing you can do about it.
It's also possible for other apps to pause by sending an ACTION_MEDIA_BUTTON intent, which is not protected — which again means there's nothing you can do about it unless those apps have an option to not send it.


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Clock in notification bar slow to update
Phone : LG G3
Android 5.0
When I open the cover of my phone, the clock in the upper right corner sometimes shows a delay of a couple of minutes for as much as 3 seconds then updates to the correct time.
This has caused my problems when quick looking at the time during classes to see how much time I had left.
Any known fixes?

Are you stopping any system apps??

No. And I don't have apps that would do that automatically (to the best of my knowledge(

Related issue: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/30057/htc-clock-widget-takes-2-3-seconds-to-update-after-unlock?rq=1, http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/75512/clock-frozen-in-the-notification-bar?rq=1, http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/87089/clock-in-notification-area-does-not-update?rq=1, http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/90267/clock-off-by-4-min-even-if-use-network-value-is-on-probably-due-to-an-app?rq=1

I had already looked at those posts and nothing solves my problem. I will include that info in my original post and will keep that in mind when asking a question again.


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Navigate your Android with Cardboard
Can I view my phone with the screen split-duplicated and turned sideways (for use with Cardboard)? I have a controller for navigation.
I am looking to run regular apps, see my regular homescreen, etc., but with the screen split and rotated sideways (for use with Cardboard).

Umm, just to let you know that if the apps don't support 3D, it's useless to use Cardboard, since you're going to see flat screen anyway. (In other words: making screen split-duplicated doesn't automagically make it 3D)

@AndrewT. I don't care about 3D, a fixed image is preferred, in fact.

As per today I have found nothing that solves your problem.
(I also don't see any use for it but that is another question.)


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Hiding device name from website
Is there any way to hide my device name from website e.g. whenever I login Facebook it is able to determine the type of browser 'chrome on Android' and also device name. Is there any way to hide this information or send incorrect information?

About user-agent
If you're referring to hiding your user-agent, this can easily be done. Your user-agent is a short piece of text your browser automatically transmits to the server when you request for a web page. This helps the server identify the browser and operating system you're running and possibly serve up the most appropriate page (e.g. a mobile-friendly version).
On a Nexus 7, the user-agent looks something like this:

Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 4.1.1; Nexus 7 Build/JRO03D) AppleWebKit/535.19 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/18.0.1025.166 Safari/535.19

This indicates the Nexus 7 is running Android 4.1.1 and Google Chrome version 18.0.
Changing your user-agent
To change it on the Samsung Galaxy Touchwiz stock browser, take a look at How can I change the user agent for the stock browser?.
There are several alternative browsers that allow you to easily change your user-agent, including the well-known Dolphin Browser. If you're paranoid about privacy, the Dolphin Zero browser might interest you as well.
If you're using Google Chrome, there appears to be no official way to do this right now, but by checking the Request Desktop Site checkbox, you can change your user-agent to a Desktop one that hides the fact you're browsing from an Android device.
That being said, this is far from foolproof. Your screen width and height will easily give away the fact you're browsing from a mobile device (and possibly even a non-iOS device).


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Sync Facebook on different devices to avoid getting duplicate notifications
My wife has two Android tablets, a Nexus 2012 and a Dell Venue. If after using one tablet for a few days, she uses the other, then she gets a lot of Facebook notifications which she already got on the other tablet.
Is there a way to keep the Facebook app on the those tablets in sync, so that any notification acknowledged on one doesn't appear on the other?


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Ways to call with Google Voice without mobile service and hangout?
Are there ways to make and receive calls with Google Voice on Android 4.4.2 and Kyocera Hydro Icon,  but without mobile service and Google Hangout?
My Google Hangout has some problem, for which I am still looking for solutions.
My mobile service's signal isn't great in my apartment. So I am trying to use VoIP over WiFi.
Thanks.

I don't think there are any third-party apps/services that can do this since they were blocked last year.

you can use Grooveip app or Ringto app which is an alternative to hangouts and works same like hangouts.

you may want to add bit more info (like links to install the apps you mentioned and how to use them in brief) while writing answer.


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Reset the request permission dialog on Marshmallow
I am testing my Android application and trying to make sure all permissions (whether granted or denied) are handled correctly. I mistakenly clicked "Never ask again" on a permission and now it never asks me.
I have tried Settings - Apps - Reset App Preferences, but that didn't work.
How can I reset this so that the request permission dialog box comes up again for the permission?

You need to manually allow the permission on that specific app to reset the request permission dialog.

Open the App info (either by dragging from app launcher, or Settings - Apps - [app name])
Select Permissions
Enable the permission you denied with "never ask again"
(Optional) Disable it again from here; note that by this time, your app will request the permission again when needed.

Hi Andrew, I've tested it and it does not work. It appears it's an Android bug: https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/nexus/WjO0Sz5N-ew;context-place=forum/Nexus

You can also uninstall and reinstall.
The accepted answer is of course correct, but as an Android developer, you probably know how to adb uninstall <package> / adb install <apk> faster than navigating through settings.


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How to tweak tablet settings to install TextSecure?
I would like to install TextSecure on an Android tablet. TextSecure is not currently supported for tablets, and Google Play Store refuses to install it.
How can I tweak the (build.prop?) settings to make Play Store perform the install? I guess I have to make the Play Store believe my tablet is a phone.
I know that TextSecure may not work after the install, but I do want to try.

You can try to find the APK file for TextSecure and manually install it (there's no check on app installation)

It seems possible if you have (another) phone number
According to Wikipedia on Signal (the new name: "In November 2015, the TextSecure and RedPhone applications on Android were merged to become Signal for Android."):

Signal requires that the user has a phone number for verification.
  The number does not have to be the same as on the device's SIM card
  [...]. A number can only be registered to one device at a time.

How to register
Basically the FAQ states you can register with a different number:

Request a call for the verification number after the two minute timeout.

(Which phone number is shown as sender is also explained in the FAQ.)
How to build from source (& install)
According to an old issue on their site, it was only three commands build and install from source:
git pull
ant release
adb install -r bin/TextSecure-release.apk

How to download APK (& install) - this maybe risky(!!)
According to this Github-issue:

multi-device support is on the roadmap

But in the meantime, one can try downloading the APK from other websites, e.g. (same issue):

You can try sideloading the app via https://apps.evozi.com/apk-downloader/.

This is a user response, I do not know if/how trustworthy this site is!!!  But, based on the present Playstore-link for Signal that link would be: https://apps.evozi.com/apk-downloader/?id=org.thoughtcrime.securesms .
Why no APK-download or ...store
I do not know, why Signal does not allow installing to a device without SIM (yet), and they may (see quote above). I do know, why they did (do?) not distribute their APK-s for 'wild' installation, see this issue:

No upgrade channel for effective security
No app scanning (possible malware problems)
No crash reporting
No stats to prioritize development and platforms
Not a privacy win
To not encourage "allow 3rd party APK-s" by 'naive users'
It is still possible to install by building from source for 'power users' (only)


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2,5 GB free storage is not enough to install aps on Huawei P7 mini, Android 4.4.2
I have Huawei P7 mini with Android 4.4.2.
I'm generally installing apps on SD card which is almost completely free.
I have, however, over 2,5 GB free internal storage.
But Google Play don't let me install or update apps, claiming that I have 'not enough internal storage'. Apps can't be updated from google play in browser as well.
Apparently, you can't install or update apps until you have at least 3GB free internal storage(?!?) What can I do about that? Factory reset of the phone is simply not an option (not all apps allow to be backuped).

This is clearly a bug.
Try going into settings, apps,  selecting GooglePlay app, force closing and clearing the data and cache.
If necessary do the same thing with GooglePlayServices.
This may solve or problem.

Try clearing caches to make some free space on internal storage. One common app you can find on Play Store is "Clear App Cache". I faced the same issue when I used Xperia C device. It had limited storage and I need to clean cache to update or install a new app from Play Store.

Link for the app and brief description about it. Also are you affiliated to the product?


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Change DNS but stay on DHCP
I have a "Minix Neo X8-H Plus" Android TV box, running Android 4.4 (KitKat).
I want to change the DNS servers on the WiFi connection, but to do that, I only get that choice if I change to a static IP address. Now, on Windows or on iOS you can keep using DHCP, while setting different DNS servers to what the DHCP service provides.
Is this at all possible on Android? Does it mean I will have to root the device?

At the moment (Marshmallow) it's not possible. I usually get it using apps which require root permissions.
Another way could be to use an iptables trick, but it requires root, too.

just to confirm. you leave your ip address as dynamic(using using DHCP) and you just change the dns on the android using an app, which you need root permissions?

@HattrickNZ Yes, I do.

can you reccomend an app for changing the dns?

@HattrickNZ I gave a similar answer about KitKat devices and I explained I'm the author of one of these apps (that the one I like :))


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How Can I Fix My Google Maps App?
Maps worked fine on my Galaxy S5 up until a few days ago. All of a sudden, I can't access my history, get directions or see the map of where I am when I open the app. When I go to the menu, it still lists the email that connects to my account, but nothing works. Still works fine on my other devices. History, directions, etc., show up on my laptop & tablet on the same account. I tried signing out & signing in again and deleting updates. No change.
How can I get my Maps working again?

If you have a resolution, please write your own answer about what you did to fix it and mark it as accepted.

You can go to maps in the app settings and delete data, and if that doesn't work you can uninstall updates and update it again to reinstall it.

Thank you for your answer. Unfortunately, I have done everything that you mentioned and the problem still persists. Any other ideas?

@Ira Is sync on? If not that might be the problem.

Hi Grant, yes, sync is on, and as I said, "Maps worked fine on my Galaxy S5 up until a few days ago. All of a sudden, I can't access my history, get directions or see the map of where I am when I open the app". I hadn't changed anything (like turning off sync or anything else) and it just stopped working.

Yesterday I got a typical notification that 7 apps have updates available (I always keep them updated, including Google Maps), Google, Google+, Google Maps, and other assorted apps. I updated all. My Google Maps came back! Works perfectly now.


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Severe echo problem on GooVe IP Lite
Since my Google Hangout doesn't work, I tried Goove IP Lite with ring.to. There is severe echo problem, however, whether I check "Basic Echo Canceler" or "Adaptive Echo Canceler" with "Post Processing" and "Auto Detect" "Echo Tail". Is there some way to solve the echo problem? What other VoIP app (free or cheap) are worth trying? I am using Android 4.4.2 on Kyocera Hydro Icon.

You could try Viber, good rating on the Play store or Skype with only voice calls. Even WhatsApp and Messenger by facebook let you call, but in my experience they have a bad audio quality. The echo problem is probably due to the app you are using. If normal phone calls work good, then it should be the app and not a hardware issue. That's all I know, I'm sorry.

Skype isn't free for making calls in US. How about Viber, WhatsApp and facebook Messenger?

Of those three the best is probably Viber. I don't know of any cost to use it, except for the eventual data usage of course.


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Using TTY on Android without requiring additional hardware
Is there any solution to use full TTY (text to text communication over regular telephone communication) from Android?
Despite the fact that Android's default Phone app has an option for full TTY support, it doesn't seem to allow communication with a TTY number. What else is needed to communicate using TTY?

I'm not sure about the tags here. The Phone app does not seem to have a tag, nor does TTY.

Since there's no TTY tag here, could you expand this question by at least explaining what's TTY in a simple way? Is it similar to teletypewriter? Also, just in case, could you also explain what are you trying to do? Perhaps we can suggest alternative solutions. (e.g. realtime messaging app)

@AndrewT. Yes, the link that you mentioned. Teletypewriters provided an early method of sending textual data over phone lines. Very rudimentary. Clearly inferior to texting. I need to communicate with a government agency that has no email or other form of communication that I'm able to use as a part-deaf person. Their TTY support seems the only option. However, it's a  very dated technology, so it's very hard to find up-to-date information on using it aside from the fact that Android's Phone app has a mode for it. I'm looking for a software solution to using TTY for communication.

It seems the built in TTY modes are only usable if you plug an external TTY terminal into the audio connector, according to this ehow article: http://www.ehow.com/facts_5230442_tty-mode-cell-phones_.html I wasn't able to find any software only solutions for Android either, I'm afraid this is because it's a feature that is used so rarely that nobody has created a software only solution for it (yet).


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How do I change the language on my phone if it is not an available choice?
I went to settings > keyboard / language, but my choice language is not available in the list.

May I know what language do you want to use? Not all languages are supported on every Android phone; it's up to the manufacturer/ROM creator to include the languages or not.

If the language you want is not available, an alternative keyboard app might be a solution for the keyboard (input) part.

I'm not really sure if you mean the Main System Language or the Keyboard Language!, if you want to add languages for keyboard then follow this steps,
Just connect to wifi or turn on 3g then go to,
Setting > Language and Input > Samsung Keyboard > Languages,
Now it'll ask you if you want to list all available languages, Click Yes and choose the language you want and let it download.


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Can Android devices connect to both WiFi and mobile data networks at the same time?
Can Android devices connect to both WiFi LAN (not necessarily connected to the Internet) and mobile data networks at the same time? Or when it connects to one, does it have to disconnect from the other?
The device is Kyocera Hydro Icon with Android 4.4.2 if it's relevant.

Related http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/29769/how-do-i-connect-to-a-wifi-ap-and-3g-network-simultaneously

Multipath TCP is a relatively new technology that allows a device to use multiple network connections for the same logical TCP connection. This is used for mobile phones to use WiFi and mobile data connections at the same time to reduce the time for retrieving data.
I'm not sure which Android phones currently support multipath TCP.
Without multipath TCP, a TCP connection must be either on WiFi or on the mobile data connection, but not both. It is up to the OS to decide how allocate these connections. I think the standard Android decision is to use WiFi if available (and perhaps with sufficient signal strength) to minimize cost under metered data plans.

Long before mobile devices, people were writing desktop applications connecting to several network interfaces simultaneously. It was necessary to handle that on the application, not system, level.
iOS supports that perfectly, as long as Linux, Windows, OS X.
The developers in Android team broke Linux they used to build Android and introduced a flip-flop switch in the Kernel to switch between Wi-Fi and 3G. Very sad.
Some developers were trying to remove that but it was very complicated.
So, Android sucks.

This answer is valid, but in my opinion it does not match the question. The question was not if it is possible to use Wifi and cellular at the same time using the same TCP connection (e.g. use both connections for increasing network bandwidth or as fallback if one connection breaks). Thus Multipath TCP is not really relevant.

I'm not sure about your phone, but the Samsung Galaxy S5 can do that. It offers a "Download Booster" ability which connects to a WiFi and mobile data network simultaneously while downloading a file.

Thanks. Then how does the phone choose which network to download a file?

@Tim When selected both, the Android system will first try to connect to a WiFi-Network. If that didn't work, it will connect to mobile data automatically. Or did you mean the Download Booster function?

On Android 6.0 Marshmallow or later, there is a developer option.
For previous versions, something like this should work. The methods numbers are Android version specific and these should work for Android 4.4 KitKat:
#!/system/bin/sh

radioM=20
mobileDataM=27
wlanIface=wlan0

## turn on radio
service call phone $radioM i32 1
## turn on mobile data
service call phone $mobiledataM

## set mobile data as preferred network
service call connectivity $preferredNetworkM i32 0

## wait for mobile data to connect
while [ -z "$(ip a | grep ccmni | grep inet)" ]; do sleep 1; done

## reup wifi
ifconfig $wlanIface up
## enable network bypassing android service
echo enable_network 0 | wpa_cli -p /data/misc/wifi/sockets/ -i $wlanIface

The Speedify app seems to work for this purpose, and for free if you don't use a lot of data: http://speedify.com/
I happen to own a Kyocera Hydro Icon, and just tested it on 4.4.2, and it seems to enable to my phone to connect to and stream audio from my WiFi hotspot solely when configured as a microSD card server (meaning, it's not connected to the Internet), and to still access data over my phone's 4G/3G.


text:
How to find all previously installed apps deleted from history?
I'm looking for a game I played in the past that I'm willing to pay for today. I usually delete my history when you go to the Play Store - My Apps - All. That means all I have there are the currently installed apps on my phone.
However, I found these little marks on previously installed apps that aren't currently on my phone but have been deleted from my history.

Is there a way to find all apps with these check marks on them?

The check mark indicates that it's currently installed on one of your device. Do you have other Android phones/tablets which are logged in with your account?

Hi Andrew! None of those apps are installed on my device. These are old apps that have been uninstalled and have been deleted from my app history. I only have 1 registered to my account. I found the game but this would be some nice info for other people who might need to know how to do it as well.

Do you see all your apps under https://play.google.com/apps ? It shows all the apps that you previously installed on your phone.


text:
Missed lollipop update and now can't get it
I ignored my lollipop update for Lenovo 6000 on approx 10 sep. and now i can't get it again..  I'm still trying to update but updater always says that it is the latest version . Now how to upgrade :-(

Go to "Settings", "About Device"
You should see "Software Update"

I think by "updater" OP meant the same thing.

Did you try lenovo smart assistant?? If you haven't its worth giving a try. Download lenovo smart assistant from this link . Connect your phone to PC and check for updates. In case of any problems you can check instructions on download page.


text:
Huawei P8 lite is just loading in huawei logo and doesnot start
I updated the software and when software installed the phone restarted and then phone is just keep loading from huawei logo. I tried to hard reset factory and still same problem. My phone is rooted already. Plz help me if anyone can...thanks in advance.

You'll have to flash the stock firmware for your device to get it boots again, Go to this thread Huawei P8/P8 Lite Firmwares, Download the same build you had before getting stucked or newer one, Extract it and transfer "dload" folder to the root of FAT32 MicroSD, Put the SD in the phone, Hold Vol+ and Vol- with Power button to boot into Upgrading mode, The flashing process will start automatically, Once it done, Your phone will boot to system again.


text:
How does the android system calculate remaining battery time
I am aware that the Android OS when calculating time left it cannot really calculate true usage, and an A.I. algorithm that would learn how you use your phone and give better estimations would actually deplete the battery on it's own.
On the other hand though.
When giving time left estimations what does it check? Does it check the remaining percentage or the remaining milliamps? Because a phone with 4000 milliamps at 50% will probably have the same battery life left than a phone with 2000 milliamps at 100%
So what does it really check to do the calculations?

While I'm not referring to how Android OS calculate remaining battery time, some apps estimate the remaining battery time by "remaining milliamps / average milliamps output/minute" (these info can be requested by any app)

I was not aware of that. I thought apps only had access to percentages

Dumping some relevant source codes: BatteryHistoryChart and BatteryStats. The computeBatteryTimeRemaining() method inside BatterStats should be the one who provides this value. Unfortunately, it's abstracted, and I still can't find the implementation of it.