text:
How does the HTC-Dev bootloader unlock process work?
I've been trying to root a phone.   For my purposes, at least for the moment, I think the HTC-Dev way is enough - that it will give me a way to root and that I don't need S-OFF.
I have looked at the HTC-Dev site and XDA Developers.  They have some information, but some details were not apparent - at least to me.   To my surprise I haven't really found anything that explains what's 'behind the door', or any discussion about the process itself.   Maybe HTC's TOS includes an NDA, maybe I am blind, maybe I'm asking about details nobody else cares about.
Anyway, I'd like to know in detail exactly what the process is (and, ideally, how and why things are done, if possible).   For example:
Do I need to register with the HTC-Dev site?   (What's required?  Can it fail? Does it still fail regularly? Is there an offline or registration-free version, or any alternative?)
What then? (What are the 10 steps?)
I understand (I think) that it will make the bootloader accept non-signed software (recovery, new ROMs) - how?
Does registering lead me to a new bootloader that I can flash with fastboot (that no one has posted)? No.  Well, maybe, kinda - still don't really know what the code is/does.
I thought I saw a reference to a code - is it an online tool that takes a serial number and gives a code I enter somewhere (would explain why no one 'just posts it')?  It is a binary generated by an online tool; it is basically unique to each phone.
Edit:
Clarified, because haters got to hate.   Started a self-Answer.   Thanks, SE.

Thanks for the downvotes.   Care to tell me what the problem is?

I assume the downvote is for "does not show any research efforts" (as you can see when hovering your mouse over the corresponding button). A simple Google-Search for "htcdev unlock process" would have answered the majority of your questions with its first hit: HTCdev - Unlock Bootloader, and give you tons of additional details via the other search results. You see, it's not hard to find; but feel free to answer your own question with a summary of those finds :)

No, it doesn't. I've read that site and XDA-developers, and the detailed information I'm looking for has not been as easy to find as I hoped. There was something (newish) on HTCdev, and I'm digging up more on XDA, but I have yet to see a concise or complete summary of the details.   Specific examples - "what are the 10 steps?", "what were the registration problems, and are they still happening, or is there a workaround?", "what is the relationship between token and IMEI?"  ... if you're so sure it's easy to find, voters, you make the answer.

(more generally/ready for Chat or Meta) @Izzy, don't get me wrong - thank you for voicing yourself. And the comm votes - got it. That said:  A) People often ignore that hover-text entirely, or interpret it personally ("not useful to me") // B) I've seen far 'dumber'/'more-Google-able' Q upvoted frequently // C) Most importantly - I've seen Qs I thought were dumb/simple, only to then see an A that had something new, or a really well written summary.   That's why I don't dowvote so quickly.

Same for me (none of the downvotes is mine). Still, it helps to point out when you already did such research, so nobody can blame you for "lazyness". Maybe you [edit] your question to do so? And then, let's get back to topic – hopefully someone knows something useful?

When you go on to the bootloader unlock page, you can select any device (yours?) and look at the steps. You can do that how many time you want, if you just read, it will do nothing to your phone nor your htcdev account.

@Shywim Are you already logged in to HTC-Dev? // So, copy and post an example, please.

Lacking a better Answer ...
From what I've seen so far on HTC-Dev and XDA:

HTC-Dev provides an online tool.   You 'normally' can register an account there (with an e-mail address).   The registration process had problems.   Maybe they were resolved, or identified.   Maybe you need to get help by moaning at them on their Twitter account.
Failing that, you might be able to get someone on the XDA forums to do it for you.   They (3rd parties / XDA folk) are still using the HTC site, just with an account that works.
There is a 10 step process.   Presumably, they guide you through using things like ADB and Fastboot to extract a "token", submit that token to HTC's online widget, and receive a "code".
The code is not something you enter, it's a binary that you .. put somewhere on the phone.   It then gets run by ... some kinda process, I guess.   Then some magic happens.
The "code" is derived from the "token".   The "token" has a relation to the phone's ... model number and IMEI.   Maybe it is simply a concatenation of the two, maybe not.   Each "code" is unique to a "token", which is theoretically unique to a phone.   Submitting a token will register it (and hence the constituent IMEI and .. [phone-hardware-ID]) to your account.The HTC-Dev widget will generate invalid codes if you give it bad info.   That might not break your phone.   (All of this jeopardizes/voids your warranty, of course)
There might be phones that need an (OTA/stock/signed'sealed'delivered) update before they can do any of this.   They are pre-magic phones, locked with anti-magic bootloaders, lo.

Feel free to edit/improve this.  Doubly so if you've got links to good/thorough explanations.

I've gone through the process - you're basically using a script and ADB to output a device specific code - this generates a new bin thats unlocked that you flash over the old one


text:
Unfortunately, Music has stopped
So recently I've been developing an Mp3 Download app, which may have caused some problems. I've deleted my app, deleted all the content, deleted the 'Music' Apps Cache and Data, yet It still crashes whenever I click on "My Phone" (When selecting music). Or, when I click Folders, Playlist, etc.

Device Info:
HTC One X
Android Version: 4.1.1
HTC Sense Version: 4+
Software number: Android Revolution HD 20.1 by mike1986
HTC SDK API Level: 4.63

If there's anyone that could help me find a solution, I'd be very happy.
Thanks in advance!

Edit #1
Just did a cold-boot, and wiped the cache.
This had no effect.   :(
I will not do a Factory Reset, or format my whole phone there's too much that I can't lose. I've read the comments, and the links you've posted.. Unfortunately, none of those links helped me either.

Edit #2
Didn't bother trying to fix that, thought it'd just be the flu or something that a week could fix. Didn't care too much tho..
On the other hand, while developing my app, the phone got stuck and didn't do anything. I thought it was a bug in my app. After trying to run the app after some  'Fixes'  the Virtual Android device started to come up (since it didn't detect my phone). I tried to go to settings, to enable USB Debugging (since that's most likely to happen), and it didn't do anything. Phone froze. I shut it down and tried to power it up again. It went to  'HTC quietly brilliant' screen, and froze. I tried to reboot and it got stuck at the same screen.
I tried to power it off, and on one more time, when the Charging LED was no longer on, and the phone went 'Cold' so to speak.
I've tried multiple combinations of buttons, plugged in,not plugged in, with/without Simcard.. but no.
My HTC One X is dead. It's still plugged in,on the wall, but it's not charging, booting, nothing.
I am sad.
Have a nice evening!

"Unfortunately, Music has stopped". So sad statement.

@uprego it really is...

You may find the hints about the real cause of the force close in the Android log. Feel free to edit any new information in your question.

And first-aid in our force-close tag-wiki :)

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Stay awake while charging, bad for battery?
Is it bad for battery to use the option to stay awake while charging? Will it make my battery drain faster in the future?
PD: I use my phone for app development. I have activated the stay awake option to avoid unlocking the phone constantly.

It will make the phone run hotter, and heat is the number 1 enemy of your battery. It will cause further degredation of the device, but how much I have no idea as there are way too many variables.

Stay awake while charging only mean that your device's screen will not timeout when you don't touch it. You can still lock it manually.

Yes that is true, I'm just working off the assumption that it will be on for longer than just using it, i.e. the longer it is on the hotter it gets, the more risk of screen burn on an AMOLED and overheating / battery heating. :)

As long as the battery stays below 140 deg F, the extra heat won't damage it.  See retailers' instructions, manufacturer's data sheets, or any professional drone pilot. If anything, the battery works better at somewhat above room temperature.

It will slightly shorten the lifespan of the battery because the screen is on. When the screen is on it uses battery. The more the battery is used the more charge cycles it'll have to go through compared to a phone with a turned off screen.
Another concern is display burn-in. Although that might not be a problem as long as you turn off the screen when you're not gonna use it for long periods of time.

all_licenses: 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/


text:
Why is the size of my Google Play Magazines app 357MB when it's empty on my S3?
When I look under the size of this app under Application Manager I see that the size is 357MB under data except that I had one magazine on it which I deleted but it still says the app is 300+MB!  What is the cause because the app is not 357MB itself. I'm running out of space so I need to fix it.  Any explanations?
OS: 4.1
S3

Did you try clearing the app data?

Don't forget about app cache, which I would clear first (to not lose any configuration). If that didn't help, I go with Al and delete the data as well. And if you really had 1 mag only and nothing else, step 3 would be uninstalling that app. For other helpful stuff on your low-storage-issue, I strongly recommend visiting our insufficient-memory tag-wiki.

I've been using it for 2 months without checking data. I've got about 5 mags on it. The app size is 22MB and the Cache is 53MB. 300+ is a huge amount of data. AS Izzy said try the cache first then the app data. Failing that clear both and re-install the app I guess. What does the 'About App' scren show?

What do I lose if I delete cache? I deleted the data but it strange why the data was so huge!


text:
Where do those profile images come from?
I looked into the contacts of my Nexus 10 with Android 4.4.2 and noticed that some of my contacts have profile images. It looks like this:
http://chaos.stw-bonn.de/users/mu/uploads/2014-01-24/Screenshot_2014-01-24-17-49-27.png
However, I do not know this image, nor did I put it there myself. Where does that come from? I checked the settings and saw that my Google Account has full synchronisation enabled. Do those come from there?
I know that I deactivated some Google services but they kept coming back with Android updates, so I enabled them all again (why bother, if it does not work?). Did that activate synchronisation? I feel pretty angry since the tablet essentially leaked all my private data to Google now …

It might probably come via Google+. And yes, if you're not very careful and check all settings, many details get "leaked", as account sync (contacts, calendar, etc.) is turned on by default.

I just logged into the Google account on a desktop browser. I can see data there that I never wanted to see there (Contacts, search history). So, kick out the Google account and have no access to new apps?

And the images are on Google+, so I assume the tablet took them from there.


text:
Turn off app update notification sound
Does anyone know how to turn off sounds for notification of app updates? Turning off notification sounds also turns off message tones. This is becoming really annoying as phone beeps every time an app updates!

I would expect you can turn off notifications for the Google Play app, no?

What phone do you have? I've never had a sound when an app is updated, just a notification in the tray.

Samsung galaxy S4

I was not so easy to notice at first that with Samsung phones, you have to note that there is also "GALAXY Apps" store.
It has its own notification settings.

Playstore notifications do not trigger when an app is updated (at least with Android Oreo). But security / antivirus apps might do. I have ESET Endpoint security installed which scans every download and notifies on success. I changed the corresponding notification sound to be sure it is really the antivirus. So I could mute that notification, alas the app has only one notification category so if something bad happens I wouldn't hear it either...

In playstore app, settings, notifications, you can turn off


text:
How do I get more immediate word suggestions in Android 4.4 Kitkat?
On my previous phone with the Android 2 stock keyboard, when typing, above the soft keys there was a list of word suggestions as long as the screen allowed.
In Android 4.4, there seems to be a maximum of 2 or 3. I know that you can press and hold one of the two suggestions on either side to get a few more, but this does not help speedy typing, as you may view these in vain, type a few more characters, try again, etc.
Does anybody know if/how I can get more suggestions to display immediately on the bar above the keyboard as the older Android versions helpfully did?

You can always install other keyboard apps from Playstore.

I may have to do that, but just find it hard to understand that Google would release such a regression, it would seem more likely I had missed a setting somewhere, they seem more hidden away under Android 4, there is a fear of text and menus, it seems.

"Smart" technology seems to involve an increasing reliance on the automation of these things i.e. they keyboard "should" predict everything right fist time. The execution of this... not so much to be honest. Your best bet is probably another Keybaord until Google update their one and maybe restore functionality. The first app I ever paid for was SwiftKey and I've never looked back, it just dwarfs the Google one. There's a 1 month free trial and that's worth a shot. It takes time to learn, but it is very good. Swype is great too as an alternative. Not ideal, but maybe easier.


text:
Can I restrict Nexus 7 2013 LTE to 2G/3G, instead of just 2G?
In the settings on Google Nexus 7 2013 LTE, there is an option to restrict the device to 2G networks for better battery life, which makes it use 2.75G GSM EDGE.
Why is there no option to do the same for 3G?  Isn't 3G UMTS/HSPA+ also better in the battery-life department than 4G LTE?  Is there any app to address the limitation?

What version of Android you currently have on your Nexus device?
I have (I think) exactly the same device, as you (ASUS Nexus 7 II (2013) LTE) and three days ago it was upgradred from 4.3.0 to 4.4.2 KitKat (I issued manual upgrade, by connecting to WiFi network and going to Settings > About phone > System Updates).
After upgrade, option you're referring to (Settings > Wireless & networks > More > Mobile Networks >  Use only 2G networks) has been changed to Preferred network with options: 4G, 3G and 2G.
Now you can fully control, which kind of network your tablet access and you can limit it to use only 3G networks (second option), which has full fallback to 2G network, if 3G one isn't accessible in your area.

It would seem like this might also be possible on other devices through *#*#4636#*#* as per http://chimera.labs.oreilly.com/books/1230000000545/ch07.html#_3gpp_and_3gpp2_partnerships and https://stackoverflow.com/questions/9769166/programmatically-enter-secret-code-like-4636-on-android, which opens up com.android.settings.TestingSettings, which then has an option to Set preferred network type within Phone info.


text:
How to change alarm sound to an MP3
I've tried creating an "alarms" folder on the root of my SD card on my Galaxy Note 3 (Jelly Bean 4.3) then unmounting and mounting it again. Didn't work. Tried an application (Tone Picker) to let me put the song as an alarm but still the song doesn't show up. When I select the song from Clock JB+, I can easily select the song with the File Manager app but the song won't be found when the alarm sounds then it will just sound the regular "beep" alarm

Could you please [edit] your question and add a few more details, such as device used and Android version running on it? Also, where exactly the sound file has been placed might be useful to know.

Thanks! You might wish to take a look at my answer here, which hopefully gets you a step further.

In addition to Izzy's answer you can also change the file extension from '.mp3' to '.ogg'  with no problems. (not sure if that's what you're asking.)

Get Alarm Clock Xtreme Free. There is also a paid version which removes the ads.


text:
Touch screen not working after using the code" *#*#2663#*#*"
I have Samsung Galaxy Mini and I dialled *#*#2663#*#* to see the version of the touch screeen.
I pressed the update button, upon which got a message on screen

updating, do not switch or shut down something like that.

After a few minutes, it displayed version not found, perhaps. After that, touch screen is no longer working.

Did you try turning it off and on again?

i did but it still not working.


text:
A phone as a home 4G modem/router?
I live in a rural area where traditional cable, fiber, and even DSL are not a possibility.  I am using a weird wireless system a local ISP set up for this area, but its flaky, slow and expensive.  The only thing it really has going for it is there are no data caps.
I can get 4G signal for T-Mobile, however (and Verizon, but their data caps drove me away), and I'm considering making my home internet connection consist of a dedicated Android phone on a T-Mobile 4G unlimited contract, using its WiFi hotspot.  (I would probably set up another wireless router for the actual LAN so I'd have good coverage of the house, but it would use the phone's network as its uplink.). I would use a phone rather than a USB modem to take advantage of T-Mobile's unlimited data package.
Is this a bad idea?  Would the phone fry if I left it on and broadcasting its WiFi hotspot 24/7?  I have an N5 but I've never used the hotspot for an extended period before - are they flaky?  Would it drop IPs or anything like that and require reboots?  Would T-Mobile decide I'm breaking a rule and throttle me down?

Why would you use a phone and not a dedicated USB 4g modem? Some routers allow these to be plugged directly to the router for sharing...

Good question - you use a phone because all modem data contracts are capped (as far as I know). TMobile phone 4G contracts gave an unlimited option.

Updated reasoning in my question.

I can't really answer the more general questions of whether or not this is technically feasible, but for T-Mobile specifically it's probably worth noting that their ToS states: Unlimited 4G data includes 2.5 GB of tethering. It's not entirely unsurprising, though, since otherwise they'd have basically no market for their mobile broadband plans.

@eldarerathis Oooh, that's a really good catch.  The assumed un-cappedness was the big draw for me.  Probably a dealbreaker...

For any UK readers, Three are offering unlimited mobile data with 30GB of tethering allowance for £20-£25 per month depending on contract length and included call minutes. The data/minutes can apparently also be used in various countries with no extra charge.

That's not a bad idea at all. I have Verizon Wireless and I do this all the time. That's what tethering is for, and the USB option as well. 4G is fast, and for what it's worth, based on what you've said, it seems like a fantastic idea.
To answer your second question and forward, no - -  your phone wouldn't fry, providing you got a phone with good specs.
As far as I'm concerned, they have been more reliable than regular average routers. It's LTE after all, so it's not a surprise. Can't speak about the throttle, that depends on T-Mobile and their terms. I think they do throttle, but it's not a huge difference.
I'd recommend talking to someone from T-Mobile and asking them what device has best specs and battery power. Also, you can get a data monitor to monitor all traffic and block / allow certain connections via incoming addresses or devices. Those apps are available on Google Play so let me know if you need them.
I have a family member who uses T-Mobile tethering  amongst six devices at home, two of which are a PS3 which plays Netflix and it's not slow at all. Randomly given of course, every server has ups and downs.

So there is no cap to the tethered data on VZW?  How are you tethering?

Oh, there certainly is a cap on Data. But I have a family plan that has more than enough data, and the other members in the plan barely use it. But now that I'm back in college, I don't need to do it.

I use the built-in tethering feature.

There are some older devices that would get quite warm when tethering for a long time. Wouldn't recommend permanent tethering if you've got one of those. Most newer devices generally can handle tethering without issues though.

Another reason to use a phone is that a lot of 4G modems disconnect because of memory and other problems, causing multiple reboots. The phone is more reliable


text:
why my Gyroscope/accelerometer work only in portrait mode?
I have a Galaxy S Advance Gt I1970, running under Android 4.1.2 (official update). the problem is when i try to play games that require the phone sensors, for example Angry Birds Go or Frisbee Forever, the player always go to the left, but then i tried "Ridiculous Fishing" which is also a game that require sensors and it works perfectly but this game doesn't rotate the phone to the landscape mode, then i tried an application called "accelerometer test" and the result was as expected, i can control the ball when am holding the phone in portrait position bust when it's in landscape, everything is missed up. Any advice please ?
thank you

no one can answer this please ?

Fixed by downgrading to "Ginger Bread", re-calibrate horizontal accelerometer and then
re-update to Jelly Bean

Your device's interface will rotate whether the app you are using was designed to (e.g. Modern combat, Dead Trigger, Browsers, etc) ,  apps that were not to intended to change between portrait or landscape won't rotate the interface of your device (e.g RealCalc, instagram, etc).


text:
List of apps I can delete/uninstall on my S4
Can someone please give me a list of apps that are safe to uninstall or disable on my Galaxy S4?  Thanks!

This depends on the amount of applications installed by you and by your carrier (if in US/UK) and there is no exact answer for these kind of questions. Please mention the android version and carrier variant along when asking a question.

As stated it may not be possible to build a complete list, due to carrier bloatware. You may need some of these for functioinality you need also. There is also variants of the S4, to confuse matters further. This is not a complete list, but trying to keep one exactly up to date is like trying to build your house beside a boat, before you get the foundation poured the boat has moved on down the river.
 XDA Bloatware List I must again emphasise that there can be roll on effects and you can lose functionality you MAY need on your device.
E.g.:  AllSharePlay15.apk Removing will impact Wifi-Direct function.  You CAN remove it, but you will lose WiDi and so on.
The alternative option is to find a Slim or Ultra-Slim ROM for your device. An example of this would be Echoe Illusion ROM for the S4 which has a SLIM and ULTRA SLIM variant of some of their ROMS. There is also the Google Edition 'Stock' ROM that you can use, which is 450 Mb approx, while Touchwiz Variant is about 1.6 Gb.  There is also the Echoe Debloater which can remove bloatware from recovery, but the caveat of losing functionality still applies. There are many other ROMs out there too so shop around if this option appeals.
 XDA Forum for S4
Note: Any mods/themes/firmeware must be for the EXACT variant of your device, such as GT-I9505, GT-I9505G, GT-I9500, GT-I9506 etc. Using the wrong ones can and most likely will brick your device.


text:
How are the gallery application edits applied to images?
I noticed today that if you apply filters or modify an image using the gallery application, it applies the changes to the image, rather than creating a new image with the changes. My first thought was that it was not a good idea. Sometimes you want to keep the original, untouched image, as well as the modified image, maybe for comparison purposes, or to try different filters or settings. In my case I was playing with the curves, and then I saved the image. I wanted to compare the new image with the original, but the original was gone. I decided to go back to the curves settings, and saw that the curves were still as I had set them, which means I can just restore the curve for each channel and that will give me back the original image.
I decided to do a test with another image. I opened a new image, applied a filter from the preset filters, and saved the image. Then I went back to the image, and edited it again, but this time I removed the filter, and the image was back to normal.
My first thought was that the gallery image applied non-destructive edits. Something similar to what some editing software does. The one that comes to mind is Shotwell, although this is more of a viewer than and editor, but it has some limited functionality to play around with the saturation, levels, and other settings. It didn't seem likely that the gallery application in adroid was doing that because other image viewing applications showed the image with the filter applied to it.
I decided to connect the device to the computer using a USB cable. I navigated to the camera folder, and opened the image in the computer, and it showed the modified image. This means that the image is being modified. While the devices was still connected to the computer, I decided to remove the filter, and open the image again in the computer. The image was back to original.
How is android able to modify the image file directly, and then restore it to original. Is it saving the original file somewhere else?

How to reproduce:

Open the Gallery application (the default one)
Chose an image to edit, and touch the little pencil on the lower
  left corner of the screen.
Edit your image, touch the save button, or just press the back
  button. It will ask if you want to save the image. Save it.
Touch the pencil again, remove the filter.
Your image is back to original.

Device: Nexus 7
OS: Android 4.4.2

As far as I know, Gallery saves the modified image in another file in the same folder. But I've never been on KitKat...

That's what I was thinking, but I neglect my device too much to have read anything about it before.

You can find the source for this app in the Gallery2 package in AOSP. All the code for the photo editor is in src/com/android/gallery3d/filtershow. The saving is handled by tools/ImageSave.java, which has this comment explaining the behaviour (which I've formatted):-

In order to support the new edit-save behavior such that user won't see the edited image together with the original image, we are adding a new auxiliary directory for the edited image. Basically, the original image will be hidden in that directory after edit and user will see the edited image only.
Note that deletion on the edited image will also cause the deletion of the original image under auxiliary directory.
There are several situations we need to consider:

User edit local image local01.jpg. A local02.jpg will be created in the same directory, and original image will be moved to auxiliary directory as ./.aux/local02.jpg.
  If user edit the local02.jpg, local03.jpg will be created in the local directory and ./.aux/local02.jpg will be renamed to ./.aux/local03.jpg
User edit remote image remote01.jpg from picassa or other server. remoteSavedLocal01.jpg will be saved under proper local directory. In remoteSavedLocal01.jpg, there will be a reference pointing to the remote01.jpg. There will be no local copy of remote01.jpg. If user edit remoteSavedLocal01.jpg, then a new remoteSavedLocal02.jpg will be generated and still pointing to the remote01.jpg
User delete any local image local.jpg. Since the filenames are kept consistent in auxiliary directory, every time a local.jpg get deleted, the files in auxiliary directory whose names starting with "local." will be deleted. This pattern will facilitate the multiple images deletion in the auxiliary directory.

In short: yes, it saves edited images in a .aux directory, inside the directory the image came from.
It also stores the filter chain you used to create the image in XMP metadata inside the new image (the filtered one), in the namespace http://ns.google.com/photos/1.0/filter/. This information consists of:

SourceFileUri: the URI where it has saved the unmodified file
filterstack: a serialized representation of the stack of filters it used (in the same format it saves presets to its private database)

Great answer! With code link and everything. I love it. Thanks a lot, Dan.


text:
Factory Apps for HTC First
I recently received a HTC First that I'd like to use, and without rooting the phone I'd like to simply disable all the unnecessary apps that come with the phone. I don't really know where  to find these kinds of resources, but I am looking to use it for testing in App Development as well so I'd prefer more detailed rather than a wimpy general user sort of list if possible.

Normally, Uninstalling of pre-installed apps are not possible on unrooted phones.
But you can Disable some of the pre-installed apps.
Go to Settings->Apps-><your app name> and check whether you have Disable option.
EDIT:
If you can't find the Disable option, that means that you shouldn't disable it.
Example:
You can Disable Alarm App.
But you can't Disable Android System App.

Sure, I'm capable of that, however I have quite a few apps that have ambiguous names such as: com.android.smspush or com.android.wallpaper.holospiral and com.google.android.voicesearch

And although I can try by trial and error, I'd like to know where the documentation is for them so I can fairly simply know what's vital and what's not at a glance.

@Kainui Edited. Hope it helps.

@Kainui I'm afraid there is no such "documentation". For some devices, you find lists for "apps safe to remove" in forums like XDA. As a thumb-rule: com.android.* is mostly core, and should not be touched. HTC's own stuff usually starts with com.htc.*. But as even those apps are woven deep into the system with Sense, some of them must also be kept. If you really want it "clean", you'll have to use a minimalist custom ROM.

More and more google apps are moving to com.google.android as the push them to the Play Store these days, then can be disabled generally (i.e. Google Keyboard, Google Drive etc) but not things like Google Play Services. There's no hard fast way, other than Google searching what you don't know and consulting XDA on your particular device/carrier/model.


text:
Samsung Galaxy S3 doesn't respond to some secret codes
Samsung Galaxy S3 I9300 doesn't respond to all secret codes in here . Specially it can restart with non of the codes in the list. Do I have a fake Galaxy S3 ?

"Dialer Codes" are divided into multiple categories:

USSD and supplementary service Codes: network specific, should work on any device ("device independent")
manufacturer specific codes: specific to devices of a given manufacturer
device-specific codes: as the name says, specific to a given device
system-specific codes: specific to a given device configuration

What you are facing, most likely belongs to one of the last two categories. The Galaxy phones come in different variants: area-specific ones, and international versions. So those can be counted as different devices, or at least different systems, as they not only have slight differences in their hardware, but most likely also different modifications in their software; hence at least not all "sytem-specific codes" will work on all the different "variants".

Thanks for reply, but I have found #*2562#, #*3849#, #*3851# and #*3876# codes in many sites but none of them restart my phone. I have a I9300.

Please read the last paragraph again. This is probably a system-specific code, so it works in very specific combinations (device hardware, Android version, and some more specifics might be involved). I cannot tell you how to make any of those codes work, nor do I know a code that would do. But you could long-press the power button, and select "restart" from the power menu – which is a much easier solution.

You have your answer directly on the link : "only a few are working".

Thanks for reply. I have found #*2562#, #*3849#, #*3851# and #*3876# codes in many sites but none of them restart my phone.

You shouldn't trust such a list of secret codes, as Izzy mentionned.
If you want to have a valid list of secret codes available on your device , you should use an automated secret codes crawler.
I recently developped an Open Source app that crawls AndroidManifest.xml files on your device to found secret codes, and allows you to execute the secret codes available on your device.
You can get it on the Play Store or on the GitHub repository Android-Secret Codes.
But keep in mind that sometimes, secret codes are just executing themselves silently (without visual hint)

Please see my comment here, Simon. You might wish to update your answers accordingly then, concerning the "full list" ;) But agreed, OP seems to specifically care about "group 4" (system-specific codes, i.e. ROM+apps), so your solution should be fine.


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how to change boot logo without using fastboot
I know how to change the boot logo(logo.bin) from fastboot, but the problem is how can I change the boot logo without using fastboot.
I can't go to fastboot mode because I think my device(ME-702) doesn't support fastboot (I tried adb reboot bootloader but no benefit).
My device has not any recovery too.
Is there any way to change the logo in adb mode?

do you have adb or fastboot already installed on your computer?

i have adb! but fastboot won't working :(

adb shell su -c dd if=/sdcard/logo.bin of=/dev/block/boot-device/by-name/logo


text:
Instant read/write sync with iCal calendars avoiding the use of google calendars
After using iphone/mac for a lot of time, I got a new android phone. I use on my macbook only ical calendars, and wonder what is the best app for syncing ical with my android phone. I have read something that you can sync first ical to google calendars and so on, but I Wonder if we can avoid this workaround.

If you want to sync with a calendar using the iCal format, there are apps available on the Playstore doing exactly that, like iCalSync or iCalSync2, and there's also The Missing Sync (requiring a paid desktop component) or SyncMate (specifically tailored for Mac, but again requiring a desktop component).
Most likely there are plenty of additional alternatives (take a look e.g. at these search results). Unfortunately, I don't know of any native solution not involving 3rd party tools.


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"invalid download uri" from Play Store on a Huawei phone
I have a g350-u00 device that was shipped with JB 4.1.2 but without Gapps. To add Google account, I rooted the device and copied .apk files to /system/apk from gapps package http://goo.im/gapps/gapps-jb-20121011-signed.zip. After a couple of hard resets I have a working system with Gmail and Play Store. The latter fails to install any app with toast "invalid download uri". How can I cure the system?

Try "all apps in play store" xposed mod

Just to clarify, xposed mod has an all apps in play store feature?

Yes it does :p try it


text:
Reset DHCP cache for Asus Memo Pad HD7 'Avoided due to poor connection'
Only the other day, my tablet now refuses to connect to any Wi-Fi spot.
I've tried resetting both the tablet and the router to no avail. After looking around, it seems to be some form of issue with the DHCP, as I can connect via a static IP address, but obviously this only helps on my home connection.
I'm just wondering if anyone knows how to clear the DHCP cache if that's even possible? Any help is appreciated.

I faced the same problem when using my Asus MemoPad HD7. For home connection a static IP worked fine, however this was not acceptable.
I did a bit of research and found out it should be possible after gaining root access to the device to delete the corresponding cache file.
As I needed a fast solution I just did a factory reset of the Pad, which resolved the issue for me.


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tried to edit framework-res.apk on kyocera rise stuck in bootloop
Earlier this month I got a Kyocera Rise.
I got it rooted the first minute I got it and decided I wanted to edit the framework-res.apk file. I extracted it, edited it, and trying to replace it, root explorer force closed. I was unable to open any application because I kept getting this (the application com.android.(so and so) isn't responding) error.
I stupidly restarted the phone, forgetting that I could have adb pushed my backup framework-res.apk file. This phone has a recovery system that doesn't allow flashing updates. The bootloader is locked and Kyocera has yet to release an update, therefore we have no idea how updates are flashed. Any help at all is very appreciated :)

Can you access the device via ADB while in recovery mode? Some devices have that enabled there by default.

Not sure but i will try that.....    how do i know it is connected to the adb shell

Running adb devices should list it as available. If not, it's not detected. But the latter could also mean driver issues (Windows: check Windows device manager; Linux: check output of lsusb).

ok i am about to try that right now

nope, nothing... just gave me a blank line


text:
Fresh Cyanogenmod install, location doesn't work
Yesterday I installed Cyanogenmod using the one click install on my Nexus 4.
There is a little problem though: when using location in the battery saving mode, when it only uses cell and wifi signals to guess your position, it simply can't locate. Using GPS is fine, it locks position within seconds, but it's too battery hungry, kills my phone in a few hours.
Is this a known thing? Can it be fixed?
EDIT: After 2 days, location in power saving mode comes and goes.

What version of Cyanogenmod do you have? And do you have the Google apps (Gmail etc.)?

Latest One CLick installer version (11.0-InstallerXNPQ02R). I have all Google apps installed, the installer did it for me.

If your using cyanogenmod 11, then the issues your having are very common. Its still under development so there are things that don't work. Some of the times something works, but then is broken again in the next release. Right now your best option would be to either flash cyanogenmod 10.2 or just bear with it and wait for a release that fixes the issue.


text:
Is Odex really faster?
Is an odex file different from the dex file generated and stored in dalvik-cache?
Is it faster? More optimized? Or just the same?
Most people mention the benefit of improved boot speed after wiping the dalvik cache or on new boot, but no one ever discusses runtime performance of both files.

The DEX file stored in dalvik-cache is an optimized ("odex") file.  For historical reasons it carries the file extension ".dex".
The canonical documentation on dexopt is in dalvik/docs/dexopt.html.  It's a bit stale at this point but is a reasonable starting point.


text:
Is the Android desktop screen (on any version) a Dalvik executable?
I know that all Android apps, as far as I know, are compiled to Java bytecode, turned into dex code (for the Dalvik Virtual Machine), and then executed with respect to whatever ABI is compatible between the VM and its linking/exposure.
However, after booting Android, I always wondered if the desktop itself was also a Dalvik executable, or if it's not running on the virtual machine as all other apps do?
What do I mean by "desktop"? I mean the home screen:

Could anyone clarify this/does anyone know this? Not the widgets, backgrounds, etc., but the essence of the whole GUI/home screen/desktop. Is it an "app" that runs on Dalvik, like all others supposedly do, or is it a system process/separate process running outside of the virtual machine?

What you describe as "desktop", and the screenshot shows, is called by different names. Mostly it listens on the names Launcher and Homescreen, depending on the aspect referred to. And yes, it's an app that ships with its own .apk file, as all its "replacements" (e.g. Apex Launcher, GoLauncher, or Holo Launcher – to name some) do.


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This item cannot be installed in your device's country
I bought my phone in Germany, used it for a while in several different countries, then recently moved to the US. For several mainstream apps (e.g. Google Wallet, Google Voice, Yelp, my bank's app) I get the warnings "This app is incompatible with your device." and "This item cannot be installed in your device's country":

This happens when I navigate directly to the app page; normal search doesn't even show them. The result is the same in browser on laptop, browser on phone, Play app in phone.
I have doublechecked that:

I have a US sim card (GoSmart), and I am on a US mobile network
geoip sites resolve my IP address to the US (tried with multiple different connections)
I have a US credit card as default in Google Wallet
I have a US billing address as default in Google Wallet
my main address and shipping address in Google Wallet are in the US
I have a US address in Google+
my home and work location in Maps is in the US
my account recovery phone number is a US one
language is set to English in all my Google products (you can see I am getting desperate...)

Any ideas what I might have missed?

The answer to your question most likely relates to this question "How do I change the Google Play country?". It details what you should do but read through the whole thing because the first answer requires you to make a purchase, but the second says how to do it without making a purchase.

Thanks! I tried the first answer (had a purchase in mind anyway) and it worked. Not sure if the purchase or the data clearing for the Play app was what did the trick (or both), but I could install US apps in the Play app afterwards. (The browser version still complains about the country... I hope it will catch up eventually.)

I got this official response from Google's support team and it worked:

Thank you for contacting Google. It was a pleasure speaking with you
  today. I understand that your Play Store is targeting the incorrect
  country at the moment.
The content available in Google Play varies by country, and we use the
  billing address of your default payment instrument in Google Wallet to
  help determine which version of Google Play you see.
If you're having issues viewing your country's version of Google Play,
  please try the following troubleshooting steps (ideally using a
  browser on a desktop or laptop computer, but the Play Store app works
  also):
Sign into Google Wallet to manage your payment methods at
  https://wallet.google.com/manage/paymentMethods. Add a new card or
  change your default payment instrument to one with a billing address
  located inside your desired country. Open the Google Play website and
  navigate to any paid item available for download at
  https://play.google.com/store/apps. Click to begin a download until
  you reach the 'Accept and buy' screen (no need to complete the
  purchase). Close Google Play and clear your browser cache if you're on
  a desktop or laptop computer. Wait 30 minutes. Re-open the Google
  Play. You should now see the Play Store that matches your default
  payment instrument's billing country. If these steps don't resolve
  your issue, please let me know.
Regards,
Chris The Google Support Team

After going through various forums and unsuccessfully attempting the resolutions, I have identified the following steps which seemed to work for me. (Changing location from UK to India)

Change location in Google Wallet

This can be done by logging into 'Google Wallet' in desktop browser and in the Payment Methods you need to have a credit/debit card associated with the country to which you wish to change to.
Also navigate to the Address Book in Wallet and ensure that you have an address in the new country which should be marked as default.

Change your location in Google Maps

This is best done via the Android App. There is a setting for Home and Work location in which you can access via the settings menu of the Maps android app. change these to the new country.

Change your location in Google calendar

Not sure if this final step makes a difference, but I had also changed this as part of trial and error attempts.  Launch the Google calendar in desktop browser. The click on Settings and changes the country and timezone.
In case there are any other location settings which may need changing you can use the following link to identify those; https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/179386?hl=en

Now you can follow the steps mentioned by many others; namely clear the cache and data of the Google play store app in Android and launch the store again. Ideally this will result in a new terms and conditions prompt. (FYI - if you click on the Terms and conditions link you can see that the URL indicates terms and conditions for the new country or not)

Best option would be to change location in gmail under Themes, then it worked for me.

Can you explain how you "change location in gmail", please.

@Maxime i also thought the same but actually there is an option to change city under themes, you need to scroll to the bottom of the page in 'gmail > settings > themes tab'. I don't know what made it work in my case as I tried many options from different articles and this option is also in the list of my trials. This may or may not be a fix for above question nevertheless the option to change city is there. Hence +1. I would request you to at least remove the minus vote if you at all minus voted :) Thanks

I didn't downvote, but I just wanted to know the way to proceed. Thanks :)


text:
Phone unable to recover after app crashes
I am using a rooted S4 device for app development purpose. I have joined a new team and working on their Android app. I see a weird issue on my phone, that if my app crashes, after the ANR, the screen goes blank, back/menu/home buttons dont work at all. At best I can suspend/screen lock my phone - but even after unlock, the state of the phone doesn't change (sometimes it returns to a normal state after 1-2 minutes).
What worries me most i that this does not happen to the other members of the development team; nor does this happen if I crash any other app on my phone.
I am concerned more about is this a problem with my phone, my app, or rooting ? Logs are not showing anything unusual.


text:
ADB does not see connected Samsung S4
I'm on Windows 7 and have developer options including USB Debugging enabled. I have opened Kies and it recognizes the S4. However when I try adb devices, nothing to be found. It works perfectly fine with my Nexus 10.
I've also tried adb kill-server, adb start-server and then adb devices to no avail.
Anyone else have this issue?

Are the proper (ADB) drivers for the S4 installed on your Windows-7 machine?

Close Samsung Kies and make sure you have the right drivers (adb/fastboot) for your phone. IIRC, Kies has to be closed to use adb (never used a Samsung device).

Izzy, pretty sure. KIES and windows explorer recognize it. @K1chy, how do I make sure they are on my s4?

@EricH. the drivers are for windows not on the phone. Most likely you do not have adb driver for your phone installed on Windows. Try reinstalling samsung drivers. If the problem persists, you may try installing adb driver from Universal naked driver from XDA.

Make sure you are using the right edition of Samsung Kies. For me, I also have a Samsung S4, and the proper version is Samsung Kies 3. (If you install the earlier version, it will report that it does not work.) However, "Samsung S4" is actually a marketing term, the underlying device models can differ depending on country and geographical (market) location.

Same issue on Mac OS X.

Re-install these official Samsung drivers.

Uninstall current drivers by going into Device Manager. Make sure to check off the delete drivers option if given.
Reboot.
Reinstall the given drivers above without connecting the Galaxy S4
Reboot.
Go ahead and connect phone and verify that in device manager Samsung ADB Device or equivalent is shown.
If it shows an exclamation mark on it or other problem, then in device manager right click on the driver, update, let me choose from a list and choose the correct android adb driver.

Thanks for the help. I just re-installed the drivers from KIES with the device plugged in (Tools >> Reinstall Device Driver). It then showed up unauthorized. So while plugged in, I changed toggled the USB Debugging option in Developer OPtions on the phone. All set now.

Those 2 reboots are ridiculous, just download and install driver, then approve PC for debugging on the phone when asks. All while plugged in.

The fix for me was using a different micro-usb cable. No software change, no drivers to update, just the usb cable. Apparently they aren't all created equal.

This was my solution! Oddly enough my phone was recognized the first few times I plugged in with the first cable, then stopped working when I updated the drivers. Changing the cable worked.

Same for me here! Really strange!!!

Also changed the cable and it is working now

Changing the USB cable worked for me.  I was using a cheapy old one that was laying around.  When I replaced it with a newer one that I had, adb devices showed my Samsung Note 4 easily.


text:
Remove Album Art from Lock Screen
How can I remove the album art from showing on my lock screen? I want my live wallpaper to show instead.
Edit: should have added device and ROM. Sorry first time on here. Using a Sprint GS3 with CM11 Nightlies.

Kindly add your device and ROM (if custom ROM) to help you further.

I guess the music application you are using (probably Apollo in your case) is responsible for this. You might want to try a different one.
I just dug into Apollos source code and think I have found where it sets the album artwork. Check out line 1377 on Github.

mRemoteControlClient.putBitmap(RemoteControlClient.MetadataEditor.BITMAP_KEY_ARTWORK, albumArt);

The way I see it, the call to RemoteControlClient is responsible for setting the album art and other things. So, the media player is responsible for your problem and unlike you find one that doesn't provide the album art to the RemoteControlClient you probably can't do much about it.

I am actually using Spotify. I imagined that it would have something to do with the actual lock screen code and not the application that is playing music.

You can do this in KitKat using the Xposed Framework with the AudioPrivacy module: http://repo.xposed.info/module/com.audio.privacy
Unfortunately, this does not work in Lollipop, because Xposed does not work on Lollipop. I wish the CyanogenMod team would just add an option to disable this to the Lockscreen settings. Maybe I will bug them about it.


text:
is evolution app available for android
I was trying to find android evolution app (originally gnome personal manager application). The only result google gave me was the monkey->man evolution. Does anybody know whether somebody has ported evolution to android?

if you specify what exactly the features from Evolution that you want to have available from Android, I'm sure many would be able to suggest a replacement. The UI required in touchscreen environment is extremely different than the UI required in desktop applications, porting Evolution to android would essentially be creating a new app almost from scratch and there are many other calendar/email clients already available in Android.

well, apps like evernote are available in different platforms/devices. Before I start to use evolution I want to make sure it will be available also on mobile devices. If it's not, I'll probably stick to evernote.

Evolution is wholly a desktop software, it doesn't have a server-side component at all; Evolution only speaks in standardized protocols like POP/IMAP, Exchange, iCal, WebDAV, etc (before you ask, yes, there are Android apps capable of talking in these protocols). Evernote, on the other hand, is primarily a service. The nature of the two are completely different.

yep, Evernote offers a backend server, so that each client app can access the same data for an authenticated user. Ok, now I got the difference, thanks. Evolution is not what I need.

Never heard it was, and I'm pretty sure if it were I had heard. (Originally "Ximian Evolution", by the way ;) Neither have I heard of something comparable. Mail, Calendar, Todo etc. are available as separate apps, sometimes also in combinations, but then mostly only combinations of calendar + todo, not with mail.
Closest coming is probably Pocket Informant (USD 10), joining calendar, tasks, and contacts:

Pocket Informant 3 (source: Google Play; click image for larger variant)
I personally favour a combination of Business Calendar (bought the Pro), Business Tasks (integrates neatly into their calendar app), and K-9 Mail instead on my Android devices (and yes, on my Computer I use Evolution).


text:
Can't hear caller after updated from 4.3 to KitKat 4.4.2 on Moto G
I have a retail Motorola Moto G 16 GB with 4.3.
After updating to KitKat 4.4.2 (using the official Motorola process), I can't hear the caller's voice. But when activating the speakers or using a headphone I can hear the other side. Prior updating there where no problems at all.
I also did a full factory-reset, which did not helped.
With this issue the phone is practically unusable, I appreciate any help.

We had some similar issues already asked for, which you might wish to check – though most of them have it the other way round (other side can't hear them).

@Izzy None of them was related to an android update, nor Moto G, nor the issue described here (not hearing the caller). Read thru all of them, no result.

If I had found an exact match, I'd pointed out :) Was hoping they might give a clue, though. Sorry to read they didn't. // As you're still using "official firmware", and unless you get a better answer, I'd say contact Moto service. If a factory-reset didn't solve it, it must be the system (or hardware), so with some luck, they might send you a replacement.

Just to close this issue, I exchanged the device at the vendor (same model), upgraded to Kitkat, and everything seems to work fine. Sorry for not having a more technical answer, I would love to have one, but in the end I needed a phone that works.

As stated in ayush's answer, Motorola customer care advises to wipe the cache to solve the issue, and it reportedly worked.
As ayush omitted the steps required to follow whis advice, here are the steps to do "Wipe the cache partition". This will remove any temporary files that may be causing the problem, but will not delete your files or settings.

With the phone powered off, press the VOL DOWN KEY for 2-3 seconds, then POWER key, then release.

The device will display different BOOT OPTIONS

Use the VOL DOWN Key to SCROLL to Recovery and VOL UP Key to select

Tip: If the device reboots, you may have waited to long to make a selection, you will need to begin the process again.

The device will display the Motorola logo and then the Android in distress (logo with Exclamation mark)

Press and hold the VOL UP key for 10-15 seconds. While still holding the VOL UP key tap and release the POWER key

Tip: You can try this step, holding the phone in landscape. If you are stuck on step 6, try a force reboot by pressing the POWER key and VOL DOWN key, and start the process again.

The device will display additional menu options (Text will appear in BLUE)

Use the VOL DOWN Key to scroll to wipe cache partition and the POWER Key to select this option

The device will then perform the partition wipe

The device will reboot and start the normal power up sequence

This solved my problem temporarily, a factory reset solved the problem when I call, I hear everything, but the problem persists when I receive a call. I found a suggestion that during the call, the system mistakenly redirects the sound to the headphones, so plugging in headphones would make you hear the caller. Unplugging them resets the audio stream to default phones. Seems I would carry a pair of phones with me now.. Hope that helps!

Motorola is working on a fix for this issue. See the forums on their site.

Following KitKat upgrade, devices appear to show any of the following symptoms:

lose mobile signal
display 'No Sim' icons,
fall into Aeroplane mode (while not displaying Aeroplane Icon status)
Mobile signal can often be recovered by swapping into and out of Aeroplane mode.
Pop-up errors about being in Aeroplane mode while attempting to make calls during signal problems.
Aeroplane mode observed in about phone status (while no aeroplane mode shown on icons)
7.Popup errors - the process "com.android.phone" has stopped
Not specific to individual SIM cards - multiple SIMs (cutdown/original confirmed as impacted)
Suggestion that it only occurs with mobile data enabled - to be investigated.
The release notes also mention your low volume issue.

Apparently the patch is ready and the release notes have also been confirmed. This is just a matter of time. People should not update to KitKat 4.4.2 on Moto G until above mentioned patch is available.
Note: I am NOT a moto employee, I am just a fellow user like you, who now tells others to beware before updating the phone to KitKat.

I am using Moto g (16GB comes with kitkat) for last 3 three week. And last night for the first time when i was calling then there were no sound at all. Seems there was no voice transmission. Then i rebooted and it worked but after some time same thing happened and continue to happened frequently . Then i did factory reset and now it works well. it has been passed 1 day and no issue. I think its a software problem. I goggled a bit about this issue and found a post which states the same issue and occurred after 3 week of usage.

Motorola customer care told me to "wipe the cache partition"  and it is now working fine. Follow the steps below to wipe the cache partition.

Lollipop Steps:

With the phone powered off, press and hold the Volume Down button and
the Power button at the same time until the device turns on. You will
see the word "Start" with an arrow around it.
Press the Volume Down
button twice to highlight "Recovery mode".
Press the Volume Up button
to restart into Recovery mode. You'll see an image of an Android robot
with a red exclamation mark and the words "No command."
While holding
down the Power button, press the Volume Up button.
Use the volume
buttons to scroll to "wipe cache partition" and press the Power button
to select it.
"Reboot system now" will be highlighted, press the Power
button to select it.

KitKat Steps:
This will remove any temporary files that may be causing the problem,
but will not delete your files or settings.

With the phone powered off, press the VOL DOWN KEY for 2-3 seconds then POWER key then release.

The device will display different BOOT OPTIONS

Use the VOL DOWN Key to SCROLL to Recovery and VOL UP Key to select

Tip: If the device reboots, you may have waited to long to make a
selection, you will need to begin the process again.

The device will display the Motorola logo and then the Android in distress ( logo with Exclamation mark)

Press and hold the VOL UP key for 10-15 seconds. While still holding the VOL UP key tap and release the POWER key

Tip: You can try this step, holding the phone in landscape. If you are
stuck on step 6, try a force reboot by pressing the Power key and Vol
Down key, and start the process again.

The device will display additional menu options (Text will appear in BLUE)

Use the VOL DOWN Key to scroll to wipe cache partition and the POWER Key to select this option

The device will then perform the partition wipe

The device will reboot and start the normal power up sequence

Thanks for the pointer, ayush! Maybe you want to [edit] your answer and include the steps required to "wipe the cache partition"? That would make your answer even more helpful.

Edited the answer to provide the steps for wiping the cache partition form the motorola website.

authors: กิตติพง หงอาร่าม


text:
S3 (i9300/i9305) Is it possible to install CM10 after installing the 4.3 OTA update?
I heard you cannot downgrade to 4.3 to 4.1.2.
But, is it possible to change it down altogether to CM10?
Reason: The new 4.3 update runs terrible on my phone. I sent it back to Samsung and my carrier both and tried to update with KIES, but it's not getting any better. Some minor lag disappeared after they performed a full reset and flash, but nothing huge change. It's still crap. The lock screen (which I see at least 50 times a day) is absolutely horrible. The battery life also gone crap, since the update, Google+ loves to eat battery. Deleted the updates, disabled the app, signed out, none of those helped. Google of course won't care since I'm just one sucker from the many people.
Sidenote: I know I won't be able to use Triangle Away (since KNOX) and such. But the phone is not usable anymore, it's a brick with a few hours of battery life. It's useless.

Yes, the reason you can't downgrade official ROMs is not a technical one; it's just a decision Samsung have taken.
There's no reason at all why you can't go backwards and forwards between versions of Cyanogenmod as long as you have the appropriate recovery. And CM10.1.3 and CM10.2 are currently much more stable than CM11 on the i9300.
Consult the Cyanogenmod site (http://www.cyanogenmod.org/) or XDA-Developers (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2382573) for full details before actually flashing a new recovery.  (Personally I'm staying with CM10.1.3 (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2035141) as I found the camera unstable on CM10.2)

After spending hours again with the issue, the drain disappeared. (not sure if it's just a temporary effect.) Anyway. The lock screen/encryption is still terrible, so CM10, here I go. I will give it a try when I get home. At least I can try out a Sony if  I brick this phone... heh.

Samsung's firmware is awful - you're well rid of it.  It's a shame they won't share the Exynos docs with the CM team, but there you go.

The install went smooth and I love this thing, but the mobile network got awful now. I've got only 2G now at best. It's flaky, etc. I'll make a thread on a forum (just don't know which one I'm supposed to go.)


text:
Bluetooth auto connect to headset
I am using Android 2.2 on my samsung. One problem that I hate is that when I turn on bluetooth then turn on my handsfree headset it doesn't auto connect. It's paired and works, but each time I have to go to system settings, then wireless, then bluetooth and finally select the headset to connect.
This is very annoying. My old Nokia N95 would auto connect, why can't Android.
Is there a setting I am missing for auto connect?

Android surely can do that as well. Unfortunately, you've been a bit vague on the devices used: Samsung is a manufacturer having brought out plenty of smartphones, and there are also plenty of Bluetooth headsets; maybe there's something with that specific combination.
Nevertheless, there are some generic solutions available on the Playstore, like Bluetooth Auto Connect: It automatically tries to connect to your Bluetooth devices when Bluetooth has been turned on or when your device screen goes on. Unfortunately, this only works with Android 3.0+, so it's not really a solution for you – but a search for "bluetooth auto connect" will give you additional alternatives, one of those hopefully works with your Android version:
There's e.g. Shake To Connect working with Android 2.2+, which at least should save you from the "long walk through the menus".
Note however that I didn't try any of those solutions, so no guarantees :)


text:
"µamera" problem on S3
I am using an SD card on galaxy S3 - I store my photos on here. But today, on the DCIM folder of that card, I see a folder that named "µamera" and all of my photos were gone.
It seems that, this issue is somehow common, if you google "µamera" you'll see that.
I am trying to recover photos from SD card but it seems SD card is not readable by PC. However, I can see the all other files in the SD card from the phone, even other photos which are not in DCIM folder (that is current camera folder). The problem is only the DCIM folder which camera writes photos.
Does anyone have an idea about this problem and solution? I am also open to good advice on recovering files on S3. Thanks!

Have you tried accessing that folder using a file manager directly on the device, e.g. ES File Explorer?

yes it didn't worked. It turns out that, they were all in the LOST.DIR folder -- so taking them from LOST.DIR folder and rename the files in that folder with .jpg extension recovers the images. For whom interested.

Thanks for the feedback, Mark! As this perfectly answers your question: Please post that as answer below, and accept it. That way other people running into a similar issue see here's a solution available; currently your question is still listed as "having no answer".

Wonderful! Just upvoted it. More of that :) Or, in other words: Don't forget us, but return here anytime!

Related: Self replicating worm in sd card

It turns out that, they were all in the LOST.DIR folder with arbitrary names (numbers) -- so taking them from LOST.DIR folder and rename the files in that folder with .jpg extension recovers the images. For whom interested.

I was looking in to this the other day. Usually when you see the folders renamed with "µ" at the beginning, it usually means the sdcard is corrupting. It may be time to think about purchasing a new one.


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Galaxy S3 stuck on Samsung logo, is there anyway i can backup my data in recovery mode without rooting?
i have the original Firmware, no rooting. Recently, i got this issue where my s3 doesn't startup, it just keeps flashing the logo over and over again until the battery drains. I've already tried pulling the battery, wiping cache partition several times but no luck.
So is it possible to root my device without losing any data or at least can i backup from the recovery mode?
I'm an Android newbie, so i have zero background on this stuff. What am i suppose to do ?
Edit: i'm specifically asking about backing up my data, is it possible?

Similar issue here: Galaxy S3 stuck on boot loop, Factory Reset didn't work. Maybe the answers there help you out?

thanks, i've already seen it. I'm just worried about losing my data, is it possible to backup in recovery mode without rooting?

Stock recovery doesn't offer a backup option. You could try whether the device is discovered by ADB while in recovery mode. If so, you should be able to use adb backup. See our backup tag-wiki for some details.

How were you able to back up your device? I'm having the same problem...

Boot into odin mode, plug into laptop,  get custom recovery and root via odin (this doesn't wipe data) then in the custom recovery do a nandroid backup then clear dalvik cache and try to boot. If this doesn't work then sorry you're gonna need to flash a custom rom or stock rom again

Thanks, i installed CWM, but clearing dalvik cache didn't do any good, so i backed up my device and made a factory reset and finally my device booted and was no longer stuck at the logo. All my photos, videos and music were safe and sound, however, all my apps were gone, as well as my contacts and text mesages. I appreciate your help :).

Yea no problem if you're rooted now get titanium backup


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Samsung Infuse - missing notifications after rooting
i have a Samsung Infuse 4G and have rooted it.  Everything is great except i've somehow lost notifications  in the icons for Messaging, Gmail and Yahoo Mail.  I may  have deleted BadgeProvider.apk.  Would that cause the missing notifications?  I used NoBloat and backed up   all the apps i removed but I can't seem to get BadgeProvider back on. Thanks anyone for suggestions.

That's why it's recommended to freeze apps before removing them, so you can find out. Yes, that might be the cause; from the name, that's the one providing the "badges" on the icons, to show e.g. how many missed calls or pending short messages you've got.

It might be better to Titanum Backup your apps and reflash the ROM at this point. There's a lot of dependant tasks/apps and one falling down can just roll on like an avalanche.


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Formating and reinstaling OS on Galaxy S4
Someone put CyanogenMod on my T-Mobile Galaxy S4. So I tried to unroot and return to the original by watching this Youtube video and using this method.This is what I have gotten from the phone:
Odin Mode
Product Name: SGH: M919
Current Binary: Custom
System Status: Custom
Knox Kernel Lock: 0X0
Knox Warranty Void: 0X1
Write protection: Enable
eMMC Bust: Mode: Enable
Start [224, 1440]                                           in red
SW REV. CHECK FAIL : fused : 4, Binary: 1 in red.

On the PC screen, in red, it says Fail!
In the message box, the last line read: All threads completed: (succeed 0 /  failed 1).
Now I tried to reboot the phone, I got the same Odin Mode thing plus: CSB-CONFIG-LSB: 0X30 minus the two lines in red.
In the middle of the screen, a phone, a yellow triangle with an ! mark in the center, a PC screen.
Below says: "Firmware upgrade encountered an issue. please select recovery mode in Kies & try again."
I have no phone now. I know I didnt reset binary flash. So people told me to format and reinstall the OS. Please help me to go back to stock version.

Have you tried flashing your phone with the latest ROM (for your country and carrier) via Odin Download Mode? Since you have already tripped Knox (Knox Warranty Void = 1), you can't flash pre-4.3 ROMs.

There are 2 ways:

Get the stock ROM which works with root from sammobile.com. Make sure that Kies isn't running. Then, flash the ROM with Odin, or,
Unroot using the custom recovery by downloading a completely stock normal ROM from sammobile which should get rid of root.

Knox warranty void: 0x1
You won't be able to flash a Knox enabled firmware anymore, but you can flash other firmware. Go to sammobile, search your firmware and flash it with Odin. You can also find the flashing tutorial from sammobile itself.
Remember: do not downgrade. This will damage your EFS folder.

Go here SamMobile Samsung GT-i9500
Download the one specified for your country
Boot to Download Mode,
Flash using Odin


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How to fix Google Play Store Update Error in Android 4.0.4?
I hope this question is not a duplicate of other related questions. In my Samsung Galaxy S duos mobile (Android 4.0.4 OS) I received frequent notification to update my software. Though I updated(Re-booted) it after receiving that notification I hate that notification so I disabled that. After disabling that when I tried to open Google Maps App its showing me an error “Google Play Store Update Error” and I was not able to open Map App as well as other Apps. I thought this error happens only because I disabled that software notification and I tried to enable that notification but I’m not able to enable that one.  So how to fix Google Play Store Update Error and how to enable that software notification?

It'll be easier to help you if you can give some more details: the exact text of all the messages, and what exact steps you took when you "updated(Re-booted)" the phone and disabled the notification.

It could be an issue with Google Play Services. Have you changed anything there? It's hard to tell what you changed, and what exactly is happening.

Since this app is a Google native app which handles its own updates by itself, maybe the update went wrong. At the moment you could clear its cache, data (you will have to reenter the credentials later again and configure the playstore including notifications and update handling), or uninstall the updates, so it will go to the initial version (can be done by going in Settings -> Applications -> All -> Google Play Store). It should update later automatically.
In case you have a rooted phone, make sure you haven't done any changes in the system lately, or other apps are not interfering (any "freezers", "killers", or similar ones). Also, check if you haven't forbidden mobile network access (Settings -> Data usage, there you can click each app and check/uncheck "Restrict background data"), but even if this was checked, it should work on WiFi.


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Installing apps from desktop site "play.google.com/store" not working/slow
When i am signed with the same account as my phone on my desktop, i can choose to install apps from my desktop. I can simply click on install button and choose the device op my preference. I remember when i did this a few years ago, it worked great. But now if it doesn't really seem to work properly. I am waiting 15 minutes for the app to shop up on my phone, but it just doesn't.
Am i doing something wrong or is it a known issue?
Thanks!

Have you checked that your device is recognized correctly? To do this, go to the Settings page and check the Last Used date. You may have multiple entries for the same device if you have switched ROMs or formatted the phone, and if you're trying to contact an old version of the phone, the install requests won't get to the device. If you have unnecessary entries here, you can hide them by unchecking the "Show in menus" checkbox.

authors: Михаил Кузнецов


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MTS N790 APN setting for GSM Network
I have MTS N790, it is a dual sim mobile one is CDMA and other is GSM .Now I have one mts CDMA sim and one Aircel GSM sim .Here I can not set access point setting for GSM sim. I can add new apn for CDMA but for GSM there is no option to set ApN.
Anyone can help?

when I select 1St option

and When I select 2nd option

Some dual SIM phones support only the primary SIMs mobile data. Have you checked that the phone supports mobile data through the second SIM also? I can't find proper specifications for that model.

@onik Means I cant use second sim Data connection.It doesn't seems logical.And how I can check that it supports mobile data through second sim?

I just found the phone specs on MTS India, and seems like the second SIM supports only 2G voice + SMS, not data. This is because the phone is Dual SIM Dual Standby (DSDS), not Dual SIM Dual Active (DSDA or DSA), and there isn't a 3G GSM radio.
DSDS means that if you have a data connection or a call open, the other SIM is disabled. This would prevent the use of the primary SIM if there was an open data connection on the secondary SIM.
I'm not an expert on dual-SIM phones since they are not popular in my region, so there may be a way to get a 2G data connection over the GSM card, but it's not supported by the manufacturer.

When I disable CDMA sim even then I can't access the internet by second sim.

Then either the phone's hardware doesn't support data over GSM, or the manufacturer has disabled it in software. You would need to get more details about the radio chip to see if it's possible at all, and then find a custom ROM to enable GSM data in Android.


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Samsung Galaxy s3 4.3 update failing
I am trying to update the firmware of my Galaxy S3 from 4.1.2 to 4.3. The update package gets downloded, but the installation fails at 31% everytime. I tried to updated using KIES also, but no success. What can be the reason and how can I resolve this issue?
The Error message is "Failed to update the firmware. Try again with Kies or contact Samsung".

Today I found out that my samsung account was not updated. Can that be can issue?

Try updating the samsung account I guess. My S4 updated fine without updating it though. If that fails, is there any error message or anything showing at all? Can you download the firmware from sammobile and manually flash it?

The error messgae is just "Installation of the package failed , try using Kies or contact samsung". No I havent tried that. I will give it a try.

Currently the update is not availaible on sammobile for my location.

You haven't rooted have you? Do you have a custom recovery installed? Is you device status 'custom' at all?

No I havent rooted it.My device status is Normal.

Wait til it is up on SamMobile (usually fast and you can contact them if it isnt' there), then flash it yourself seems to be the best option. Is the whole OTA.zip donwloading correctly? It may be showing as complete, but it suggests something is wrong. Try updating everything else in the meantime and see if it helps. Contact your network provider about this also if needs be.

I have a guess: Problematic update package was released for your region, like  it was in UK, and your phone started download, than they removed the update from servers after so many complaints about the issues it have. So, what I am trying to say is; 31% is the part you have already and since it is not accesible from the samsung servers, you can not download the remaining.

The download is not the problem. Its completing the full download of 400Mb something.. then the installation process is started and it fails at 31%. I dont think there is a problem in update package, because other people just updated there firmfare in s3 in my region.

While this is a nuclear option, a factory reset may solve the update issue for you. Of course, you'll lose the data on your phone.

I have this option too in my mind, a last one though.

Those of you who had tried OTA (over the air) or used KIES to update - and failed. My recommendation is FLASH your smartphone using software. I went to an authorised Samsung dealer who flashed my phone - and didn't have to backup either - and it took only 10 - 15 minutes, in total. Flashing uses proprietary software.

I will install the update manually using ODIN.If it works then well and good.

I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 which had firmware 4.1.1. After patiently waiting since October last year for 4.3JB update,  I became impatient, after Sammobile kept saying that 'Uk...Pending'. So I went last week to an authorised Samsung Dealer.  He flashed my phone and the whole operation took approx 12mins. Now I am a 'happy bunny' and my phone works perfectly fine. No problems.

I updated my phone today by flashing my ROM using ODIN and it worked. Although I didn't go to a Samsung Dealer, but still I am going to accept your answer as it made me more confident in flashing my ROM. Thanks

Not all models of galaxy s3 support update to 4.3 jelly bean at this moment. This update is model, carrier & location specific. You can google about it.
Having update through OTA is the best choice as you always shall receive legal update (stock firmware) through it. If OTA fails to receive the update you should understand that either your device model or carrier isn't supporting the update legally.
However, Samsung Kies also plays role as legal update booster which you are unable to receive through OTA. If you are unable to receive the update via Samsung Kies you can be sure that there is no legal update of stock firmware available for your device.
If you are still eager to update your device to 4.3.2 jelly bean, flashing the ROM is the onliest choice. You can download the custom firmware of android 4.3.2 jelly bean either
from
http://live.samsung-updates.com/
or
http://sammobile.com
which isn't location+carrier specific (download only location specific firmware) and flash it through `ODIN. You shall do that at your own risk. You of course shall backup your device before you do that as you may encounter some incompatibility issues after you flash the custom firmware.
For most of the android versions, you must have your device rooted in order to flash custom firmware. There are many operating system specific resources available on the net about how to root your device.
You can learn more about ClockworkMod (CWM) recovery & TeamWin Recovery Project (TWRP) before you root your device.
Anyway, don't forget to install the root keeping app like Root Keeper and super user app like SuperSu after you root your device in order to manage your rooted android as well as keep OTA alive.


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Given that every application runs as a separate user, what happens when you want to add a new user account?
According to this, every application in Android runs as a separate kernel-level user, with a unique user ID and group ID.
So, what happens under the hood when you add a new user (e.g. to your shared tablet)?

If I recall this each task is a application is run as a seperate 'user' in the kernel, under the overall user that has logged in. That means that there are many 'USERS' as in real people with accounts, but the kernel level stuff is a virtual user, not a real person or user of the tablet/device, but an abstract isolated process. It is a security/privacy concern. Adding another human user profile just adds another layer of this. You will be user1 with lots of applications running under virtual 'users', and user2 will have their apps running under virtual users. The word 'user' is confusing.

Don't mix up "OS users" with User Profiles / Accounts. The "Multi-User" feature added with JellyBean uses Profiles for different Accounts, not OS-Users. Two completely different pairs of shoes.

The Linux user IDs that Android uses to isolate apps from each other are completely unrelated to user profiles on Android 4.2 tablets.
In Android, each app gets its own directory for saving data. The Linux user ID system is used to make sure apps can't read each others' data. But all these data directories are inside one directory on the filesystem, /data/user/0. Let's say the first user is called Abulurd, and he installs the app Showr. It might be given user ID 1004, and the directory /data/user/0/com.shadowburst.showr.
Now, let's say you create a new user profile for Beatrice. She gets a fresh directory, /data/user/1, which starts off empty. When she logs into the device, and installs Showr, it doesn't download the app again (because the Android app installer knows the APK file is already on the device), but it does create a new user ID 1007 (for example), and a new directory /data/user/1/com.shadowburst.showr.
Android uses Linux filesystem permissions, and the different Linux user IDs, not only to make sure that Abulurd's Showr can't read the data of Abulurd's other apps, but also that Abulurd's Showr can't read the data of Beatrice's Showr. The two instances of Showr run in different processes, with different user IDs.
If you're familiar with Linux terminology, making a new user profile is similar to using chroot on the device to get an isolated part of the filesystem to run apps in.
What I've described is the usual process, but just as apps can be written to share a data directory with other apps by the same developer (signed with the same key), Android gives apps the opportunity to say they work with multiple users. This way, an app can be written to have one process for all the user profiles, to let them share data or perform some special function. The lock screen has to work this way, for instance, because all user profiles share one lock screen app, which has to read all users' lock-screen settings.

Parallel post :) To put it into easier terms, can the profiles be compared to running different VMs on the same host, using a kind of "shared storage"?

No. A VM would have its own kernel.

So if a person installs an application and it is assigned to the user id e.g. app_143, and later creates another user profile and reruns the application with that user profile active at some point, another user id e.g. app_265 may be created for the same application?

@galegosimpatico Yes, that's exactly it. Don't forget that the application has to be installed for the new user profile before it can run.

Thanks. You say that it doesn't download apps twice because the installer knows the APK file is already on the device. Well, it doesn't download it, but does it reinstall the app (on demand of another profile)? Can't some "binaries" be shared between all users? (for reinstalls of really heavy or big applications)

@Reflection Yes, it installs the app in the new user profile. This doesn't mean it copies the APK, it just creates new user IDs and a new data directory (and the package manager puts a note in its user data to say the app is installed for that user). Even if the app is big, it only takes a little extra space, unless the app downloads some big file into its private data directory when you first run it.

So, in which directory the app's actual "executables" are? And, which kernel-level user is the owner of these files? Who has the access and read and write permissions to these files?

The APK file is the actual executable. There are a few directories APK files can live in. They're owned by the system user and world-readable. If there's something specific you want to know about the system, post a new question.

What happens when you add a new user account is that a new account (or "User Profile") is created. This has nothing at all to do with the user/group management on OS-Level. You will notice that most how-tos (e.g. this one on HowToGeek) speak about accounts, as the term "user" would be rather misleading.
I'm not an Android dev, so I cannot give you a deeper technical explanation. But as far as I know, the multi-user feature is realized on-top of the Linux core (i.e. in Java/Dalvik). EDIT: Dan posted his answer at the same time as I mine, so see there for the technical background :)


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Is there any way to tell my tablet to ignore pixel density?
The pixel density of my tablet is 166.66666... (infinite 6) ppi.
It has a pixel density much higher than my PC and should read perfectly, but reading is a pain because the pixels that are set by software are different to those in the hardware, so the letters are sometimes crisp, sometimes have a shadow on the left, sometimes on the right and sometimes they are split between two pixels.
I have seen there are apps to change the pixel density, but I doubt this would solve the problem because the pixel density is not an integer, and these apps will probably not accept 500/3 as the pixel density.
I have seen that 2X Client (a remote desktop app) can connect to my computer and (apparently) ignore the pixel density, displaying 1024x768 pixels of my remote desktop in 1024x768 pixels of the screen of my tablet, everything looks perfectly crisp in the tablet (as much as in the PC) because of this.
I would like all apps to work in the same way and to ignore pixel density, this would use the screen in the best possible way, everything would be crisp, etc. I don't mind if letters like "i" are only one pixel width, I'm used to that in my computer and that would be just perfect for the tablet.
PD: a test for your android device, look at this:
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(or better, check the comment with this text, the smaller font helps to see the difference). They should all look the same. In your computer you will be able to see they are all one pixel width and they all look the same. On your android device you may notice small differences between them. If you use a program that ignores the pixel density settings (like I'm guessing 2X Client does) then they should all look equal and perfectly on your android device, except maybe quite small.
I personally don't care if they look small, I'd like that. That's the point of the question.

If you are rooted there is Wanam Xposed, which has a module called 'app' settings which allows you to set the DPI per application. Or to set all to a default (usually 240 dpi to allow all apps to be available on the Play Store). If you aren't rooted I'm not sure what your options are, I'd be interested to find out.

@RossC Thank you. I am not rooted, I could consider being rooted, but even if I changed the DPI globally or per application that would solve nothing because the pixels defined by software (e.g. for letters) would not match those in the hardware, AFAIK.

That's a good point, I've had the issue with an Android TV device (resloved by throwing it in the bin and using my PC). I tried the DPI and it only DRAWS at a different one to the phone screen, I think you're right it won't solve anything for this issue. The same is apparent on the Nexus tablets, some apps are just upscaled horribly and look like a Super Nintendo on the bigger screen. Fragmented OS with dpi settings different on ever single device is not helping. I'll keep looking for a solution.

What tablet is this? If it's upscaling the screen, that's a system integration problem and can probably only be fixed by the manufacturer.

@DanHulme upscaling? the brand is unusual, but it doesn't seem to be a system integration problem, the same happens to a lesser extent with my LG phone. My guess is that this happens with every android device, look at this: |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| they should be one pixel width each and all should look the same, does that happen on your android device? Check the difference with your computer.

Is this happening only in your browser, or in any app?

@DanHulme so far this happens to me with all apps except remote desktop. You can also try to send yourself an email with the text I've put before, you can check the snippet, the subject and the body of the mail. I think that text is fairly good to test the rendering.

Using the email client won't help narrow the problem down: it uses a WebView to draw emails on the screen, which means it uses the same font renderer as your system's web browser (or Chrome).

@DanHulme this may help: I tried to convert this page to pdf to check how it looks in my tablet and my phone and (before doing so) I found that it doesn't look right in my computer either (using the pdf viewer in chrome). The reason is the same, the pixels in the screen are ignored and those vertical lines are split in different ways between pixels.


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Why does my Nexus 5 keep forgetting all wifi passwords after a reboot?
A month ago I got a Nexus 5. It's running Android 4.4.2 (kernel:3.4.0-gadb2201). I noticed after using it for a while that it constantly keeps forgetting all saved wifi passwords after a restart. In the beginning I thought it might have something to do with my router, but the device also forgot the password of my university's wifi network, so that can't be the problem. Before obtaining this device, I had a Samsung Galaxy Nexus running Android 4.3 which never had this issue. That's why I have a feeling the issue is specific to Android 4.4.2.
Google was my first stop to try to find a solution, but it seems that I'm one of a few people facing this problem generally, and none has it with their Nexus 5. It's not a major issue because I can mitigate it by not restarting my device, but rather an annoying tiny inconvenience I'd like to have fixed.
Does anyone have an idea why this is happening? Is there a solution for it?

First thought is that you have backed up to Google and the backup is blank on their side, so when it synchs on boot it is deleting them.

@RossC I currently have everything backed up to Google. Is there a way to make them reset their backup? I just disabled and re-enabled Google backup from Settings but to no avail.

Short of a factory reset I'm not sure. I wouldn't go down that road first to be honest. That's just a thought on what could be causing it. WiFi fixer on the Play Store claims to fix this, but I haven't tested it nor can I vouch for it. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.wahtod.wififixer  Have you rooted the device and installed any custom firmware? I've not had this on Nexus 5 or any custom KitKat ROMs myself.

This article points to the file that may be at fault has has a potential fix, but I'm wary of it bricking the device: http://georgecm.hubpages.com/hub/how-to-recover-wifi-password-on-android-without-root   It involves modifying data in bcm_supp.conf or wpa_suppliciant.conf  files, which may have other roll on impacts.

@Maher4Ever: FWIW, you were correct in that disabling and reenabling Google backup is exactly how you would reset the data Google backs up. From Android Developer Support: "...users can disable data backup functionality through the Android system's privacy settings. When a user disables backup, Android Backup Service deletes all saved backup data. A user can re-enable backup on the device, but Android Backup Service will not restore any previously deleted data."

Been using wefi app since nexus s 3g then nexus 4 and now nexus 5. Free app I got to mainly help me find free public WiFi, but it auto connects me when I get home too.

Would it be possible to read or verify the status of the online backup?

I have a Note 3 with Android 4.4.2 and I had the same issue. After disabling Google backup, everything is fine now. I couldn't retrieve my old backed up wifi networks, though.

That works for me on my Nexus 4, as well... but I'm not willing to run without google backup forever.

An anonymous user edited in the following comment "1. Switch off backup 2. Go into Wi-Fi settings, delete (erase) the one you have problem with. 3. Re-enable backup 4. Only the, from scratch, enter the password and save the WiFi."

I'd do something different instead...
Since your problem is that your device does not store WiFi passwords (or this seems to be the real problem) I'd suggest you to go into /data/misc/wifi/ and find the *wpa_supplicant.conf file. In this file the device stores every WiFi entry.
Open it and see if there are duplicates: when you enter a password more than once this file creates more than one voice, resulting in multiple entries for the same network.
If this is the case then it's normal that the device asks you for the password again (because in case of entries conflicts it doesn't know which one to use).
My advice is to delete all the duplicates or all the entries if you feel like (do NOT delete the file, I'm not sure that the device will recreate it).
Happened to me with my Nexus 4 and doing so solved everything.
Let me know if this helped you :)
EDIT: to access this file your device has to be rooted

On my N4 (Android 4.4.4), that file doesn't exist--in fact, /data/misc doesn't even exist. The closest matches are /system/etc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf and /system/etc/wifi/wpa_supplicant_overlay.conf, neither of which contain any wifi passwords at all. In fact, nothing else in that directory contains passwords, either.

I just checked again. That file is in that precise folder and has every wifi entry I've ever stored. And I checked it on a N4 and on three N5.... O.o

I recently answered a QUESTION which had a similar issue.
I'm wondering if it would work for nexus devices as well.
SUPER SHORT VERSION:

Backup EFS using TWRP/CWM Recovery
Delete ss_data in /efs folder using root file explorer.

I cannot verify this fix, nor can I explain why it might work, but give this a shot

Rename your device

If it works! Awesome! If it doesn't you just wasted 5 minutes of your life following this answer.

Do you have a reason to think it would work?

I remember reading this on some other forum back when a friend had the problem. I am unable to find it again, else id have linked it.

Well, there doesn't seem to be any unified way to "rename your device." Do you have a suggestion for which way matters?

Just name it anything simple, just to be safe try wihout any special characters? Given how this is magically supposed to solve the issue im sorry this is vague :/ just trying to help

My point is, an android device doesn't have "a" name. It has names for different purposes... for bluetooth, in the google device manager, when run as a Wifi AP... and they all have nothing to do with each other. Which sense of "name" are you referring to?

Device Hostname

Here is the solution which worked for my rooted Nexus 5 (android 5.0.1)

Copy wpa_suppliciant.conf file from /data/misc/wifi/ to your PC
Open with any text editor (I used wordpad) and delete all entries with you problematic wifi name on it.
Choose one of the Wifi in the list which you remember has worked before and change SSID and passkey according to you router. Press SAVE.
Copy/replace this modified file into /data/misc/wifi
Delete DHCP folder in /data/misc/
Reboot your phone.
Voila your phone now connects to your new wifi :)

P.S. Please make a backup of "wpa_suppliciant.conf" file and "DHCP" folder. Just in case
P.P.S. For some people deleting old saved wifi from "saved wifi" did the trick too

I have S4 Zoom. Had this problem. Reading your answers i tested with just Root Browser renaming DHCP in /data/misc/ and rebooting and then again passwords needs to put put in but now starts remembering. So you can also just delete that DHCP in /data/misc/. I had this problem already 4 times and this works.
Since i had it already few times maybe Problem then lies in that maybe at some point in reboot or battery down file got corrupted so its not writing or some app changed writing permissions?!?
p.s. for admin. my answer was deleted and now i found this solution and edited and i couldnt undelete so i made new answer.. Thats not helpfull.


text:
Execution problem with secondary user on nexus 7 2013
I have created 2 more users on my Nexus 2013.
The problem with these 2 non-administrator users is, I can not run a lot of apps which work fine on admin user (ex ilmeteo.it - "Baby bus" children games......).
These applications start and close automatically with the report "....the applicationname closed unexpectedly..."
How can give the correct permissions on the secondary users to excute all the applications?

If you can add an app to a restricted profile, but it won't work in a restricted profile, that's a bug in the app. Only the developer of the app can fix it: you should report the problem to them through their official support channel so that they can fix it.