text:
What is the difference between nordic, global, etc. firmware versions?
Here I see various versions of the official 4.1.B firmware for the Xperia Neo V. What are the differences between nordic, central europe, etc. versions?

Languages support I guess, plus the build number targets the specific SI numbers found underneath the battery hence the differences between them, however minor they may be, to target the region itself.

Plus, regulatory domains - for the most common one, WiFi channels are limited to the first 12 in the USA, whereas 14 are available in Japan and 13 in most of the EU. These are legal, not technical limits, enforced by whatever technical authority exists in the given country (e.g. FCC in the U.S. of A.). Smartphone makers usually comply with these limits by providing different firmwares for different jurisdictions (of course, if there are multiple jurisdictions that are similar in those respects, you just might get a firmware labelled "Nordic" for DK+NO+SE+FI or "North America" for CA+US+MX).


text:
Can an Android text message set off an alarm?

Possible Duplicate:
how be woken up by receiving a text message with an Android phone?

Is there an Android feature that will allow my phone to set off an alarm when I receive a text message from a specific phone number? If not, is there an app that does this?
I want to turn text messages I receive from my employer into pages. So, whenever I receive a text message from a specific phone number, I want my phone to keep ringing until I hit a "snooze" or "done" button.

Android Anti-Theft Security and AndroidLost both provide these functions, along with many other security apps available for Android. There is also an app called SMS Alarm Pager which sounds like exactly what you need, but I cannot tell as the description is in another language :/

Tasker can automate things like that -- and a lot more. It takes a while to acquaint oneself with it, and 5 bucks to buy (there's a 7day trial available as well) -- but it's well worth the effort.

There are apps that try to duplicate pager functionality for specific phone numbers, such as SMS Alerter and Alarm: http://www.androidzoom.com/android_applications/communication/sms-alerter-n-alarm-lite_cgudj.html
The documentation specifies that it provides an alarm snooze functionality, as well as some pager-specific functionality (quick respond/dismiss).
However, that particular app doesn't seem to work for everybody - there are some negative reviews out there.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
How to make stock browser stop asking which browser I want to use?
I know almost this exact question title was asked, but the original asker stated that he had not set any browser as a default. I, on the other hand, ALWAYS select the stock web browser as the default.
Nonetheless, every time I open the browser and every time I click a link I am asked to select a default web browser. I had dolphin and opera mini installed, but deleted dolphin in hopes that would help the issue since Opera was not always showing as an option.
However, now Opera shows up every time as an alternate and the problem persists as it always has. I do not know of any catalyst that could have caused this behaviour. I updated to Gingerbread (using T-Mobile G2) some time ago (like July 2011) and this problem has only been around for maybe a month or so.
Any help with this?
As I said, I already select that the stock browser be the default. If I check the settings, Opera mini is not set for any defaults. This is seriously irritating.

You can try this:

Tap your device "home" button;

Tap your device "menu" button;

Tap "Settings";

Tap "Applications";

Tap "Manage Applications":
Look for the browsers in question, notice "Launch by default", with the caption stating "No defaults set", make sure the button "Clear defaults" is tapped, if it's disabled, it means its the only one in use. i.e. no other alternative app that handles the browser.
Repeat that for other browsers you may have.

Next time you launch the browser, a pop-up will appear with a choice, there's a check-box underneath, "Make default", tap that, and next time, the default browser of your choosing is used.
This applies to other apps also that handles the flow of actions as well, such as an alternative to messaging, email, music etc.

This worked for me, using Android version 9 (aka Pie).
Home, settings, apps, Chrome (or any browser your phone gives you the option to use when you click on a link), Browser app. A list of unselected browsers will appear and you can select which one you want to use.
The picture here shows what happened after I selected a default browser. But initially, the list of browsers will just have un-ticked circles next to them.

Here's a slightly faster way in Android 9:
Home, settings, apps, upper right 3 dots, Default apps, Browser app. A list of unselected browsers will appear and you can select which one you want to use.

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:
How do I edit my home address for Google Now/Maps/Latitude?
I just upgraded to the Galaxy Nexus. In the new Google Now, the traffic for my home destination is listed incorrectly. I also noticed that the Home address for myself under the People listing is incorrect. If I try to edit my local profile, there is no field for address. Long pressing on the address only allows me to copy it.
How can I update my Home address?

Update May 3rd, 2015:
My previous answer was for a much outdated platform (latitude doesn't even exist anymore as far as I can tell). Here are some steps for current Google Maps.

Open the Maps application.
Navigate to Settings.
There should be an option to Edit home or work address.

Previous answer below for historic purposes...
I finally figured out how to do this and thought I would explain (since it is not very obvious).

Open up Google Maps or Latitude
Click on yourself (the tag that shows your name, last update time, and city)
You should be able to click a Location history option
With the history open, click the settings button in the lower right corner
There are options to change your home and work addresses!

Hope this helps someone in the future.

On my Android 4.3.1:

Open Maps from your phone
Pull the menu
Select Settings
Edit home or work

This should float up to be accepted as it more modern

I edited my original answer to include new instructions.

Easier solution:

Click the button on the top left next that says "Maps"
Select "My Places"
There is the button for "home"
Tap and hold to get the option to edit it

I had the same problem but didn't see the described GUI on my Galaxy S3. So here's how I did it:

Opened up Google Maps
If on the routes/navigation screen, hit the back button until you return to the default map view with a search bar up top.
The search bar should have 2 icons on the right: one for routes/navigation, and one that looks like a user icon. Click the user icon.
The screen should now have your full name up top, your user image next to the number of reviews you've written, and directly below that, your home and work addresses. Tap and hold on the address you want to edit.
A new screen should appear with a search box up top, but there should be a home or work icon on the very left of the search box. Simply type or search for your correct address and then hit "Done."

Alternate Method

Again, open up Google Maps and hit the "back" button, if needed, to return to the default maps view.
Hit the "menu" button on your phone or just tap the little menu tab at the lower left corner. This should cause a menu to slide out from the left.
Tap the "Settings" option and then tap "Edit home or work".
Then simply tap on the one you want to edit.

If you'd like to do this on a desktop, you can go to maps.google.com, login with your Google account and click My Places on the left. This shows your current Home and Work address along with a little location history, and you can find Edit under the dropdown menu next to each entry.

A more direct link:
https://maps.google.com/maps/myplaces hope this helps

July 19th, 2015 (on PC via Google Chrome)
1) Navigate to maps.google.com
2) In the search bar, type "home".  Your current saved address will appear below.
3) Click [edit] and fill in your new address.  Then click [Save] or press [Enter].
I was getting frustrated with seeing how far away everything was from my last house!

What about going to http://contacts.google.com, log in, and then edit the information about yourself ? In particular, you can edit your postal address and indicate it as your home address.

Nope, Google Now/Places/Latitude takes the home location from the option described in Andy's answer


text:
SwiftKey 3 randomly quits giving suggestions?
I just downloaded the new version of SwiftKey (3) on my HTC EVO running Cyanogenmod 7.1 (supersonic). I use GOSms for texting, and it gives me a popup whenever I receive a text, so I do not have to venture all the way to the messaging app. However, the word suggestions and autocorrect function (as are basically the point of using SwiftKey) do not function in the popup window, and only work after I go back to GOSms to reply there.
Occasionally and seemingly randomly, SwiftKey will not provide suggestions and autocorrect will not function. This usually requires exiting out of whatever is using the keyboard and re-entering that application.
Has anyone else experienced this or found a fix?


text:
MAC Address Spoofing Neuropad Ultra
I'm out visiting some family at the moment and my dad has found some cheap Android tablets from somewhere, the Neuropad Ultra.  They are not great, but they do the job and you can give them to the kids to play with as they're nice and cheap.
Anyway, a new one got delivered today so we have two in the house now.  We tried to connect it to the internet without much joy.  A little digging around and I find that they both have the same MAC address!
So I've been searching Google trying to find a solution but nothing I find seems to work.  I tried some commands I found including some busybox stuff, but nothing is working.
Has anybody any ideas or managed to get it changed on a similar device?
It's using Android 4.0.3
Thanks in advance!

Interesting.. What a coincidence!!! :-)

All the pieces are shipping with the same MAC address or what? I guess it should be rooted to spoof the MAC

Well I guess that the distributer is using some sort of underhand mass producing techniques to get them made as cheap as possible.  I'm not sure exactly.  It is already rooted, but none of the commands I find work.  I've been using several versions of the ifconfig command.  I followed the instructions at the following page with no avail .. http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/17657/how-to-change-permanent-mac-address-on-my-android-phone

Your mentioning of busybox use let's me assume your device(s) is/are rooted, so you could give the Wireless MAC Changer a try. Didn't try it myself, though, as I have no need to ;)


text:
Playing subtitles - and only subtitles - on Android
I've decided to embark on learning Spanish.  Last time I learned a foreign language, I was in a foreign country watching a lot of American TV subtitled in the local language.  Seeing the translation of things said on the show was very helpful.
I'd like to watch my Netflix movies (and possibly other sources as well, like Amazon streaming) with Spanish subtitles, but Netflix generally does not support them.
There are a large number of free, independently-made subtitle archives out there; it would be an easy task to download the subtitles for a movie or TV show I'm about to watch.
I'd like to sit in my TV room and watch movies or TV shows on my TV, while the subtitles are displayed on my phone.  While there are a few video players out there that support external subtitles, I have been unable to find a way to do subtitle-only viewing. Is there an app or some other solution?

After more searching, I found SubtitlePlayer in the Google Play Store.
It seems to work adequately for what I need, but because its name is two words jammed together, doesn't show up when you search for "Subtitle" in the market.
Also, the page says it needs 'Unicode' subtitles; after a few tries, I got it to work correctly with UTF-8 encoding, without a BOM.

That's a nice find.

I have never tried this but one thing that comes on the top of my mind is to use a video that has nothing but a black background play on your mobile. You can then add subtitles to it and may be increase the subtitle size, change the position etc to suit you. Hope this helps :)


text:
Why can't I install apps when I have enough storage?
In "Settings" > "SD card & phone storage settings" under "Internal Phone Storage" it lists "Available Space" as 13.78MB.  I'm trying to install an app that is 2.38MB.  Why do I get the "Insufficient storage available" error message?  I clearly have enough space.
If it's relevant, my phone is an LG Optimus V.

possible duplicate of "Cannot download, not enough space" when "Phone Storage" clearly lists enough space

At least 25MB free space on internal storage is required to get rid of that error (see tag-wiki for "insufficient-memory).

At least 25MB, @Izzy? So, why are so many people with similar complaints with hundreds of free MB?

@Rodrigo look at the date, and follow the link to the mentioned insufficient-memory tag-wiki. Actually it's "25MB or 10% of the storage", whichever is hit first. So with e.g. 10 GB internal storage, it would hit you as soon as you drop below 1 GB free. Crazy, but that's what it is.

So they turned completely evil, that's it? Because it makes ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE!!

Android devices actually have several different buckets of storage that can fill up independently, any one of them can cause an "insufficient storage" error.  This question:
Why is "insufficient storage" wrongly reported when installing an .apk via adb?
seems to cover the details and options best.

I already do the things mentioned in that link.  It seems rooting is the only option I haven't tried.  But I don't want to void my warranty...

So, I removed all the apps no don't use or can live without, and even though they were on my SD card, I now have 52.7MB of space.  What gives?

the move to sd feature leaves stuff behavind, yoi can see this in the app overview in the settings when you move. Plus: I think Android reserves some free space, so that you can do updates. The biggest app counts for this calculation.

moving an app to the sdcard only moves the apk. All the data for the app still goes in /data/data. This location, or even /cache, is probably one of your reason for the low storage message. These tend to fill up a lot faster then the app install location /data/app. Especially with apps like twitter, facebook, and google+. They tend to write a lot of data to the /data/data folder.

I had the same issue....
I tried the whole remove updates thing, I tried the delete apps, turn off gmail, gtalk etc. etc. etc.
What you need to try before all of that is to confirm that Media background data is not turned off. Download Manager is a component of Media.
Settings>Usage>Media make sure Media is not ticked. I ticked this when I was tinkering with the settings... and for 3 weeks I couldn't work out why I couldn't download apps via 3g/4g.

I don't have a 'Usage' option under settings.


text:
Video Player App for MKV?
Having trouble finding an app that will smoothly play .MKV (matroska video) files. (For those unfamiliar with the format, MKV is commonly used for HD video.)
The popular QQ, Mobo, Mvideo, and MX players result in choppy, un-synced play. These apps do the same on my 2.1 device.
I am using Samsung Galaxy Ace with Android 2.3 and these QQ, Mobo, Mvideo, and MX players are not able to play .mkv file smoothly.

Have you tried switching between Hardware/Software Modes in MX/Mobo Player ?

HD Player and Real Player sound promising to play mkv videos smoothly. But, if video quality is overloading your hardware capabilities, no software can help playing that HD video smoothly. However, you can do one thing: Install Hot Reboot from Play Store and run it once before video playback. It'd reduce load on system.
If you're unable to play that video on your device, I'd recommend you to use Handbrake to rip that video for your device.

VLC media player beta for android was just released today. You can take a look at it. I am not sure if it works fine on Ace though

I think the problem might be with the phone. The galaxy ace is at the lower end of the scale hardware wise so I imagine it can't handle HD files.

This article of Best Android Video Players for Android Phone will be helpful, I think.
Good luck. Personally, I prefer VLC and MX player (also allows background playback)

If you find your mobile stutters with HD videos.... This is because of the limitations of your hardware... You can convert the videos before watching them....
The player of my choice is MX player... It is perfect.... For playing files not supported on your mobile, you can go to the list option and add the extension manually after which you will be able to play....

Maybe you can try RealPlayer or VLC for Android Beta. But I am not sure whether it supports it or not. For detailed information, you can view this article: Top 6 Video Player Apps for Android Mobile Device in 2012
Anyway, I have downloaded the QQ player on my HTC One X, and found that it works well on my phone. So if the video player still can't play the mkv video, maybe you can convert the mkv video to mp4 or 3gp format. Then, watch it on your phone.

MX Player works fine with .mkv files.
You just need to make sure you turn on all the H/W settings and select H/W+ when playing an .mkv file.
Go to

Tools>Settings>Decoder
tick all the boxes in the Hardware Decoder list.

That worked for me.


text:
My Galaxy Nexus detects wifi signal(at home) but can't connect to it
My Galaxy Nexus detects wifi signal(at home) but can't connect to it.
I cant connect to wifi. The wifi icon doesnt appear beside the time on the upper right of the screen. When I try to access facebook it says connection lost. But wifi works properly well on the laptop.
I've switched the ON/OFF , restarted the galaxy Nexus and still nothing.
Please help.

In Setting => WLAN, what do you see when you tap on the WLAN you want to connect to? Signal, security, advanced options?

I have the exact same problem. I followed tried all of the things you mentioned, but the result is the same. This just started happening. Occasionally, I get an intermittent connect, but most of the time I get that immeidate "Failure to connect to network" message. I have tried a couple different Wi-Fi apps, too.

A few things to try:

Ensure that the Wi-Fi network you are connecting to is an infrastructure mode (router) and not ad-hoc (shared connection via another phone or laptop) as Android doesn't support ad-hoc mode out of the box.
Disable the Avoid poor connections option under Settings -> Wi-Fi -> Menu -> Advanced.
On the same screen, switch the W-Fi frequency band from default "Auto" option to the one your router uses (2.4 GHz Vs. 5 GHz).
Check your router settings to ensure it's not filtering by MAC address.  If it is - either disable that option, or add your phone's MAC address to the list of allowed devices.
Check the settings on the Wifi network on the Settings -> Wi-Fi screen.  Long-press on the network you are trying to connect to, select Modify network, and check that the settings for Security are correct.
Try re-connecting fresh.  On the Settings -> Wi-Fi screen long-press the network you are trying to connect to and select Forget network option.  Try re-connecting to it.

I had the same problem and then remembered that the new router was set to only accept connections by MAC address.  When I added my Nexus one MAC address to the new router, it connected perfectly.


text:
Android Nexus S Boot Freeze
My Android Nexus S does not boot anymore.
If I start it normally, I get a screen like the following and it won't ever change (tried for hours):

I can still go into the boot loader with PowerOff + Volume Up, if I try the RECOVERY option, I just get a screen that looks like this:

Does anybody know how to install the original google android again, or at least flash it with a similar operating system?

If you don't mind to end up with Cyanogenmod9 (Ice-Cream-Sandwich):
Here's the full update guide from CyanogenMod's Wiki:
http://oldwiki.cyanogenmod.org/wiki/Nexus_S:_Full_Update_Guide
Here are builds (go for release candidates or stable builds for CM9):
http://get.cm/?device=crespo
Recovery images are here:
http://www.clockworkmod.com/rommanager/
flash via 'fastboot flash recovery [recovery.img]

To install the stock ICS build: go to https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images and choose your device (mine, for example, a US Nexus S that works with T-Mobile, is https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images#sojuimm76d), download the file, then download the surprisingly-not-very-large Android SDK from http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html.  Run the sdk manager (it's called "tools/android") which will open a GUI; make sure "Android SDK" and "Android SDK Platform Tools" are checked.  You can clear other check boxes, since those will download very large stuff that you don't need.
Once you've got all that, follow the instructions in the tarball that you first downloaded; roughly, you want to put the sdk's "platform tools" directory on your PATH, power off your phone, then hold the power-up key and power it back on (that'll get it to display the Sekrit Startup Screen); and then on your computer run "fastboot oem unlock" and then "flash-all.sh".
I've done this twice in the last few days (for fun :-) and while it may sound complicated, it's actually pretty easy and worked fine.  (I installed 2.3.6 just for the nostalgia of it and then installed Cyanogenmod and then went back to stock 4.0.4).


text:
Deauthorize an app
I installed MightyText the other day.
But I haven't used it so I uninstalled it.
Then I remembered it required links to my Google account - so I went to Google Account security.
But it doesn't list the app - when I reinstall MightyText it doesn't prompt me for authorization again - it says it's "linked". There is an "unlink" button - but I have no way of knowing if it actually does it.
Where can I find the Google interface to revoke this permission?

Your app doesn't do Oauth/OpenId, instead it uses Android's integrated auth model via a special permission:
YOUR ACCOUNTS
USE THE AUTHENTICATION CREDENTIALS OF AN ACCOUNT
Allows the app to request authentication tokens.

ColorNote, for example, doesn't need this permission and thus must get an auth token via the browser. It ends up in the list in the link you provided if you authorize it and you can revoke given permission for ColorNote via your assumed method.
That's why you won't find Google's Drive, Youtube, Maps and so on in the list either as they also use Android's integrated auth token permission.
Pro/Cons:

Integrated: less friction for the user, depends on Google Apps and a Google account
OpenId: no Google Apps required, works with accounts from any OpenID provider (see this site's login support for any provider)

Answering a two year old question since this is the first link I found.
You go here:
https://security.google.com/settings/security/permissions
You can find under your account settings than security tab.
The above link will help since it is a bit tricky to find.
I hope this helps someone in the future!


text:
How to backup the Android calendar file (is there such a file)?
Does anybody know which files I need to save in order to have a simple backup?
Reason for my question is, that my Galaxy Android smartphone lost all calendar data without any interaction. I found tons of apps, tons of sync stuff, but NO simple list of files to save. I do NOT want to save my data remotely on Google.
There must be at least one local file (database?) on my phone containing the synced calendar file (on my server, using ICSSync)

Are you rooted?

Android stores calender data (and contacts as well) into a SQLite database in the system. The format of that SQLite database differs between ROMs -- so at least for "normal users" it's not that good an idea to "simply" copy that SQLite file. Rather use a good backup app for this. A good example would be iCal Import/Export, which allows you to export your calendar to an .ics file -- and also to import from .ics files, e.g. for a restore.

This is just an example. As especially on Google Play apps happen to be unlisted, please refer to my continuously updated app list for existing solutions.

The app Mark mentions iCal Import/Export, has been forked and development restarted. The fork is called Calendar Import/Export (ics) and is available on the Play Store and on F-Droid. New features and a cleaner UI have already been implemented.
The app is FLOSS and development happens on GitHub, if anyone wishes to contribute.

Unfortunately, iCal Import/Export doesn't work on all Droid phones/OS versions.  It's unclear why this is the case, but when I try to run it on my phone (HTC Rezound, Android 4.0.3) the app's initial screen displays for a brief fraction of a second, and then it reports, "Unfortunately, iCal Import/Export has stopped."  Reviews on various webpages (e.g. http://www.androlib.com/android.application-comment.at-aichbauer-ical-qjjAD.aspx?p=2) are all either 5-stars or 1-star.  People who can get the program to run on their phone love it.  Virtually everybody who rated it 1-star got the same error I got, and could never get it to run.
When you go to the Google Play Store to download it, the app's author has put the following in the Description section, "Attention The application is currently NOT under development because of lack of spare time.  The license is open source, so feel free to fork the app, or work as a contributor.  Just write a mail to me!"
The evidence suggests that this is a pretty good program in search of a maintainer, and that it probably ran into some incompatibilities in later versions of Android that would be fixed if someone volunteered to maintain it.

Here is a well-supported and up-to-date solution on F-Droid:

https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.sufficientlysecure.ical/

and this is the project on GitHub:

https://github.com/SufficientlySecure/calendar-import-export


text:
Transferring messages to android from a sqlite db on my laptop
I am a new android user. I switched from nokia to android today only. Been googling around for various solutions to transfer my sms (text messages only) from my old nokia to my new Android (Galaxy Ace with Android 2.3).
After exploring my laptop, I found the synced(using Nokia PC Suite) sms were stored in AppData as a sqlite file.
Can I transfer all these to my new Android? Any app for this?

Well I solved the problem. Documenting the solution here for future references.
Using any sqlite manager (I used firefox plugin- SQlite Manager), export the database to XML format (generally any db manager has options to export the database in csv, xls & xml formats).
If your sqlite was generated by nokia pc-suite sync, you would get an xml like:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<sm_xml_export version="2.0">
  <database name="msg_db.sqlite">

      <column name="msg_txt" type="3">Your message body</column>
      <column name="msg_address" type="3">+919203487229</column>
      <column name="msg_folder" type="1">1</column>
      <column name="msg_time" type="1">1305483332</column>
      <column name="msg_imei" type="3">355940045825435</column>
      <column name="msg_status" type="1">36</column>
      <column name="msg_uid" type="3">{c33eb602-1456-4542-a755-268dc3728638}</column>
      <column name="msg_address_substr" type="3">4487229</column>
      <column name="msg_subject" type="3"/>
      <column name="msg_attachments" type="3"/>
      <column name="msg_type" type="1">0</column>
      <column name="msg_binary_path" type="3"/>
      <column name="msg_attachment_tns" type="3"/>
      <column name="msg_sent_frompc" type="1">0</column>

      <column name="msg_txt" type="3">Hi gopi, how are you? ;)</column>
      <column name="msg_address" type="3">+919582821300</column>
      <column name="msg_folder" type="1">1</column>
      <column name="msg_time" type="1">1305516490</column>
      <column name="msg_imei" type="3">355940045825435</column>
      <column name="msg_status" type="1">36</column>
      <column name="msg_uid" type="3">{15a0d257-2318-4baa-b764-dd14c1aa1fb5}</column>
      <column name="msg_address_substr" type="3">2821300</column>
      <column name="msg_subject" type="3"/>
      <column name="msg_attachments" type="3"/>
      <column name="msg_type" type="1">0</column>
      <column name="msg_binary_path" type="3"/>
      <column name="msg_attachment_tns" type="3"/>
      <column name="msg_sent_frompc" type="1">0</column>

  </database>
</smses>

Then you can use the following php script to do the conversion to the generate the xml format script required by the SMS Backup and Restore App.
<?php

$file=fopen("sms-20120708160401.xml", "w");
$xml=simplexml_load_file("messages.xml");
echo $xml->getName()."

";
$begin="<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8' standalone='yes' ?>\n";
$begin.='<?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="sms.xsl"?>'."\n";
$begin.='<smses count="">'."\n";
fwrite($file,$begin);
$start='  <sms protocol="0" ';
$finish='/>';
$i=1;
$j=0;

foreach($xml->children()->children() as $table) {
    echo $i++."  ";
    $read=1;
    $msg_status=$table->column[5];
    $msg_folder=$table->column[2];
    if($msg_status=="34") {
        $type=1;
        $read=0;
    }
    else if($msg_status=="36") {
        if($msg_folder=="4294967295") {
            $type=3;
        }
        else {
            $type=1;
        }
    }
    else if($msg_status=="1" || $msg_status=="5") {
        if($msg_folder=="4294967295") {
            $type=3;
        }
        else {
            $type=2;
        }
    }
    else {
        echo "
".$msg_status."; ".$msg_folder."

";
    }
    $body=htmlspecialchars($table->column[0]);
    $body=str_replace("\n", '
', $body);
    $address=$table->column[1];
    if(strlen($address)==11) {
        $address="+91".substr($address,1);
    }
    else if(strlen($address)==10) {
        $address="+91".$address;
    }
    else if($address=="") {
        $i--;
        continue;
    }

    $sms=$start;
    $sms.='address="'.$address.'" ';
    $sms.='date="'.$table->column[3].'000" ';
    $sms.='type="'.$type.'" ';
    $sms.='subject="null" ';
    $sms.='body="'.$body.'" ';
    $sms.='toa="null" ';
    $sms.='sc_toa="null" ';
    $sms.='service_center="null" ';
    $sms.='read="'.$read.'" ';
    $sms.='status="-1" ';
    $sms.='locked="0" ';
    $sms.='date_sent="null" ';
    $sms.=$finish."\n";

    fwrite($file, $sms);
}

$end='</smses>';
fwrite($file, $end);
fclose($file);

?>

One point to be noted:
You have to manually write the count attribute in the smses tag. Just check the number of lines in your generated xml file & subtract 4 from it OR just write the last echoed integer by the script
Now just send this to your android & restore using the SMS Backup & Restore App. Bingo! you are done!

It's not as simple as to copy the SQLite database to your new Android device, as the internal structures will differ (they even do between Android versions). There are a lot of apps in the play store to Backup/Restore your SMS on Android, using defined API-calls to extract / restore messages from/to your Android device. But unfortunately I saw none capable of converting from other formats. As some of them store the SMS-Backup in XML Format, you might be able to manually produce such a XML file for import (though I would think that being to much overhead).

ok. So any other way to transfer my messages from nokia to android?

Some devices come with a "migration assistant". Not sure about the Ace, and not sure how it is called in the app drawer... You might want to take a look at the SBP Migration tool which claims to migrate contacts, sms and bookmarks from Windows Mobile and Symbian devices to Android.

thanks anyways. I guess I will have to generate a xml from the sqlite..


text:
Allshare Cast on Samsung Galaxy S III
How can I use Allshare Cast feature on my Samsung Galaxy S III? I have a samsung LCD with internet, Do I still need allshare dongle to use this feature?

If your Samsung LCD TV doesn't have DLNA certified software or its not a DLNA certified device, you'll need AllShare Dongle. Check your TV's manual.
If your TV is DLNA certified, look its menu to use it. DLNA was designed for simplicity. Its truly plug-n-play. To use it, first connect both devices with same Wi-Fi network. Make one device server and other one client. Done!

Sachin. My TV is DLNA certified but how can I use Allshare Cast feature on my Samsung Galaxy S III?

@Shahid Updated the answer..

Well it's not working. There is an option of Allshare Play which can be used for multimedia files to be played on my TV. But Allshare Cast is for mirroring my device on my TV. It's a new feature of Samsung Galaxy S3. How can it be used? Please help.


text:
Override PlayStore Application Android Minimal version requirement?

Possible Duplicate:
How can I tell the Android Market that I'm running an updated version of Android?

In fact, I installed an higher Android version on my phone (4.0 on a ZTE Blade which normally supports 2.1).
But when I'm connecting to the market with my phone, I'm still limited to that 2.1 version and I can't even see higher version's applications while my phone now supports those...
Is there a way of overriding that version limitation or at least push it to 4.0 ??
Note ::

I already have the google apps installed.
I installed the moded ROM from that location :: http://www.modaco.com/topic/351670-ics-cm9-404-coldfusionx-for-the-zte-blade-rom-updated-2806/

EDIT ::
The limitation I'm facing seems linked to something else than my android firmware.
Indeed I can download that app : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.anddoes.launcher&feature=search_result (while it requires 4.0 firmware).
But I can't download this one : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=AtomicTurtleStudio.DripLite&feature=search_result (while it requires 2.2 firmware).

Silly question: are you sure your rom is a real ICS version and not just Eclair skinned to be ICS lookalike? use 'adb shell getprop | grep -i version' to verify

I confirm that it's the good version :: [ro.build.version.release]: [4.0.4] [ro.build.version.sdk]: [15]

There's seemingly sth. wrong. You wouldn't want to fake your api level. Different question(s): Did you restore system app data using TiBackup? Did you install an outdated Eclair version of the GApps?

Nothing's wrong, I installed the GAPPS recommended for the ICS version.. I did restaure some apps with titaniumbackup but after connecting to the market (the problem was already occuring). I think it must be linked to my phone hardware being recognized by the google market...

Well, nothing's wrong with the getprop but with market not corresponding to it. maybe just a bug with your rom? I'm out of ideas then...

My guess is that the market is smart enough to see your hardware and is basing its filters on that rather than the OS version that you've installed.

I'm pretty sure this question has come up before, but my search-fu is failing me.

@AlEverett: Were you thinking of this one? How can I tell the Android Market that I'm running an updated version of Android?

OP: ICS rom for the Blade is horribly broken and is suspended... http://www.modaco.com/topic/351670-ics-cm9-404-coldfusionx-for-the-zte-blade-rom-updated-2806/page__st__7520#entry1980007

Can you provide an example of an app you can't download and the message that's shown?

@t0mm13b I wouldn't say that it's horribly broken: I'm using it as a daily driver.

Here is an example of an app that I can't download because the market is considering my phone to be 2.1 while the app requirement is 2.2 and my real phone version is 4.0 :: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=AtomicTurtleStudio.DripLite&feature=search_result

I tested another app : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.anddoes.launcher&feature=search_result and I can get it while it requires 4.0 firmware. It seems that the limitation I'm facing is linked to something else than firmware ... The app that is not available, in my case, is https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=AtomicTurtleStudio.DripLite&feature=search_result

The problem here is not in the software, but the hardware. You phone uses a CPU that does not support the ARMv7 instruction set that is required by many games these days.
It is more than likely that a recent update for the game dropped support for older instruction sets to improve performance or make the app smaller.

So there's no way but to buy a new phone for supporting such apps ?

That's right. The Blade was already obsolete when it came out two years ago.


text:
Single application tablet possible?

Possible Duplicate:
How to make run only a single application with all other application stopped?

Background:
I would like to create a weather station alarm clock from an Android Tablet. This would sit on my bedside table. When I tap the screen or press the button or something, it would wake up and show me the local weather forecast.
Question:
Is it possible to make an Android tablet behave in a single application way like this? I.E. no apps, no app store, no 'slide to unlock', no other logos or screen clutter, that kind of thing?
Added:
This is more of a user interface question. I don't care if there are other applications on the device, I just want it to behave to the user as if this was a weather station device only, rather than an amazing multi-purpose computer.
I don't need it to be secure against someone who really wants to get past the main application, I just want to prevent it always annoyingly switching out of the main app. Since it's going to be a weather station only, I don't want it always offering me irrelevant things, like a handy screen saver, other apps, slide to unlock, etc. and making me have to do loads of interaction to get back to its main app.

Hopefully the other question should address this.

I wouldn't consider this a duplicate, the other question specifies no internet/storage access and no way to bypass the main app.

Theoretically, yes.
I would assume you could accomplish this by the following process:

Root the device.
Remap every button to the one app you want to run
Configure your device to operate as you want

remove lock screen, etc.

Fill in the gaps

There's where it gets tricky, you could uninstall your launcher as well, but I have not tried mapping buttons to apps (which might require a bit of custom program), and I do not know if you could get to them without a launcher installed, as that is where the system defaults to after rebooting. That being said, removing too much (like the lock screen) could de-stabilize your system, although you may be able to find work arounds for each specific issue (like using No Lock).
This is an interesting idea, and definitely one to play around with. It could yield some interesting applications.

Thank you for your quick answer. I have added some clarification to my question.

of course! updated the answer a little :)


text:
Importing photos finds all image files, not just camera pictures
When trying to import photos from my Galaxy S2 in Windows, it tries to import all image files on the phone (including application data), not just those in DCIM.
The system is Android 4.0.3. The phone is set to connect as a camera (but Windows Explorer can still see the full directory structure on the phone and SD card.)

Do the (unwanted) pictures also show up in your galery on the S2?

One more thing to please explain: What do you do to import your pictures (e.g. what program you are using)?

I don't see a question here... If you only want to import certain images, why not use software like Picasa which allows you to selectively import/review images of choice?

No, they don't show up in the gallery. It's all application data images, album cover files, etc.

I wonder the album covers do not show up in the galery: if there were a .nomedia in the music folder, it would be really strange... But then, I never had a device with ICS (still running Gingerbread), maybe something's changed...

Probable answer by guessing what you are doing: If all those unwanted pictures are also displayed in the galery, and you use some "media-importing-software" (as opposed to just copying files in explorer yourself):
This importing software is probably contacting your Android device's media server for "media of the type image", so it gets all images returned the media service knows about. No big help up to this, but: You can tell the media service to exclude directories from its library by placing an empty file named .nomedia there (the leading dot is essential in the file name!). As soon as the media scanner finds that file, the entire directory it resides in (including all subdirectories) is skipped. If there are any pictures, videos or sound files, they won't show up in the galery (but you still can access them via a file browser if you want), and the media service will not even know they exist. So the next time it is asked for "all media of type image", those files won't be mentioned.

I'm using the default Windows photo import functionality (I suppose that's where the problem lies); the nice thing about it is that it auto-rotates the photos to the correct orientation. It'd be hard to give that up. I'll see if other media importing software does the same thing.

Did you try to simply copy the images with the explorer? The auto-rotating is probably done by your image viewer rather by the importer -- that's a standard feature based on Exif tags most photo viewer can cope with.

That's what I ended up doing, ultimately. Thanks.

As of October 2014: See this, it offers a direct way to do just what we're looking for.
Nutshell:

Connect phone to computer
Swipe down from top of phone to get to settings (Samsung Note 3)
tap "Connected as..." and select "Camera (PTP)" to access photo folders.

(Alternatively, tap "Media Device (MTP)" to access all folders)
FINALLY!

Connect your device as MTP not PTP
Install and use Android File Transfer. Now you can see the file hierarchy on your Android device. (Not just images - all files). At least for Nexus devices. Haven't tried on Samsung.

(FYI iPhotos has been discontinued as of 4/2015)

I had the same problem, when transferring images from my Galaxy S2 to computer, using Windows Photo Gallery to import (default). Can't find any Settings on the phone to find the photo folders. Instead, open Explorer, locate the connected device (phone in this case), open the files for this, locate DCIM, open to Camera and the photos are displayed and can be copied to other files or edited from here.


text:
How can I get exchange email subfolders on my Samsung Galaxy S3?
Does anyone know how I can access exchange email subfolders on my Samsung Galaxy S3?
I have set my Samsung Galaxy S3 up with my corporate exchange 2010 server and it syncs all the inbox emails, calender appointments, and contacts without problem but I cant access any of my email subfolders.
This device is running Android 4.0.4.

It's there all along!
Open up the email app and press the menu button.
Go to View>Folders
You now need to tap the folder icon next to Inbox and it will 'expand' and display all the subfolders under it.
This MUST be the icon and not the text. It wont work if you press the text so you must press the icon.
I have to say this is pretty poor UI design, as it is not obvious to end users.
I'll try and add a screenshot when I next get the s3.

Dammit Samsung..


text:
Can I use a radio firmware for GB (2.3.6) for my SGS1 (GT-I9000) if I have ICS installed?
I still have the original cellular radio firmware my phone came with (at least, I think I do. The baseband version is I9000BVJJPG).  However, I've changed ROMs many times, and am currently using the latest AOKP Milestone release.
Is it safe to install the latest radio image from http://samfirmware.com (PDA: I9000JIJVG, CSC: I9000CELJVG), if it is meant for 2.3.6, and I have ICS?

I'd guess yes in the case of a modem, but I don't really have anything to back that up.  I'd be even more inclined to say it wouldn't hurt anything to try, but again I'm not 100% on that.

Judging from my experience: It's generally safe. Did that with 4 different Xperia models, my HTC desire and a Moto Defy+. I faced some of those problems: interrupted calls, wifi problems, crashes, low signal, higher battery drain, bad 3G/UMTS/... data service. There's no best desire radio (depends on carrier + your prefs: drain vs. reliability), Xperia Roms tend to depend on specific (not always latest) radios. However: By trial & error, nothing was permanently broken. had to reflash a known good one or find a working one. Not sure about Samsung phones tho, beware of the infamous brick bug

If it ain't broke, don't fix it -- why would you want to install an other baseband? Generally spoken, it should be safe to do so, but still I wouldn't do it without good reason (e.g. problems with GPS or WiFi, where a different baseband/radio image could help).

Izzy: seconded. Plus most if not all handset manufacturers don't release changelogs for that. Your Mod developer will tell you to update if it's needed as with 2011's Xperia line & ICS. forgot to mention that.

You do not want to do that.
From my understanding, flashing an older radio than the one you currently have installed is a sure fire way to brick your phone.
Besides, the latest radios are always better. And so long as you are sticking with ICS, it is a very good idea to use the latest radio.
Like ce4 said, flash the radio recommended by whoever is making your ROM-
And NEVER flash the same radio twice.


text:
Can I change (or add more apps to) the unlock screen in Ice Cream Sandwich?
On the previous version I could swipe left or right to start with my camera, or just unlock the phone. I just got the Ice Cream Sandwich update and now I can swipe up or down to access the dialer or my text messages. Can I customize this at all? I'd love to have more apps accessible from the lock screen, and I'd also like to change from the default text message program.

Depends entirely on what ROM your are running, it's not a feature that's usually available in stock ROMs as far as I know. If the feature is not there under settings, you just need to find a ROM for your phone that has that feature.

Cyanogenmod 9 has this feature.

Install WidgetLocker Locksscreen. Using it, you can put high no. of apps on lockscreen.

Do you need root for this app? I couldn't find confirmation either way.

@aslum No.. the app doesn't need root access at all..

For the One Plus One Phone running Android Version 4.4.4 with CyanogenMod version 11.0-XNPH44S, go to Settings -> Lock Screen -> Slider Shortcuts.
You will just see the icon of the lock and after you touch it, you will see your current options. To change or remove one of these, move the lock to the target icon and you will then see options to modify it.

Settings-> Security-> Lock Screen Options-> Shortcuts.

On the stock Verizon HTC Thunderbolt that just got the ICS update, you can access this capability by:

choosing the Personalize "paint palette" icon on the bottom of the home screen
choosing display from the bottom toolbar
selecting Lock Screen shortcuts.

It can be done in ICS.

Go to Security under settings.
Go into Screen Security Go into
Shortcut Settings ... voila!

-1: I'm using ICS and I don't see this option. Under Screen Security I have three options Screen Lock, Owner Info and Allow Bluetooth Bypass. You got my hopes up. ):

@bluecjh It might be useful to mention on what device/ROM the settings can be found here.


text:
Choppy playback of HD video on Jellybean
I run Jellybean on my Galaxy Nexus, and ever since I switched from ICS I've started getting choppy playback of HD video. I used to be able to watch 720p video without any problem in MX Player. If I switch to software rendering instead of hardware in MX player it improves somewhat, but it's still choppy at least every other minute or so until it recovers. If I play it in the VLC beta I get artifacts every now and then until it works itself out.
Anyone recognize this issue and has any idea what to do about it?

Read my post again. It says "If I play it in the VLC beta I get artifacts every now and then until it works itself out."

you're right, oversaw that. Maybe just wait until there's  a better version than the leaked dev preview. There's no source and no real hacker devs involved with this ROM. So no one really cares who might have the skills. , I guess that's why your question over at XDA also didn't receive quality answers (yet): http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1749589

Agreed with this -- chances are that the official Google ROM update for Jelly Bean will offer better performance. JB hasn't been released to AOSP yet, but once it is, I'm sure we'll see major software improvements.


text:
my battery charge indicator is continually flashing on and off
My battery charge indicator (the screen info saying % full), flashes on/off/on/off, etc. sometimes.
I've switched the battery to a spare to see if that helps but it didn't.
When it does happen, this seems to happen at all the different wall sockets where I am.  It happens a lot in cafe's.... perhaps not surprising... but also in my office building which seems pretty solid for such business services.
The only place it doesn't happen is at home.
My original theory was that it was due to too many people using the same circuit and reducing the amps too much.  However the more places I see this behavior in, the less I think it is likely.
Any idea how to address this?

Have you tried using a different cord/charger?
It seems as if it isn't related to a specific location, so I would suspect that the cable has gone bad.

This did not really work for me, I even tried a USB cable connected to my mac.

Maybe the voltage supplied is too low for your tab to boot up with a completely drained battery. My suggestion is to try using original tab chargers or try charging your tab with a car charger. Using a JBL tab charger might work.

Mine does this ONLY when i use it in the garage, and I have an overloaded power strip, too many things plugged-into one outlet. It's not getting full power perhaps?

Flashing battery indicator can mean that the battery is overheated

Documentation anywhere to support this?

Was not the cable in my case. Turned out to be the ac to USB adapter from the wall. Switched my OEM ac to USB adapter yesterday to an apple ac to USB is when my problem happened today, switched back to OEM shipped with my tablet and everything is back to normal.
Hope this helps some of you.

This may be a symptom of NSA eavesdropping. Another sign of NSA eavesdropping on your calls is quick battery drain within 1-2 minutes. I Suspect being monitored as Im constantly questioned each time I come into the US. Mail being redirected and opened, then delivered, etc. Good luck
http://www.iiiweb.net/blog/5-signs-a-spy-might-have-control-of-your-mobile-phone/


text:
Samsung Kies program on my PC can't restore contacts to Samsung Galaxy S
I downloaded a new program, and I already did a backup using the Samsung Kies program installed on my PC, but now I can't restore the contacts because the program is not recognizing the phone, and I can't choose the restore button.
How do I fix this problem?

Disconnect your phone, use Kies to reinstall the drivers on your PC, then reboot both.  And maybe edit the question to complete it :)

it's not working.I even downloaded an update for the kies program but still it's not recognizing the phone

Have you altered your phone software in any way?

yup..I did and when I found out that I couldn't restore my contacts back I downloded a software which is suposed to be the same as the old one . still no use

What's the "new program" you are referring to?


text:
How to mount system in rw mode if no custom recovery
When I changed my build.prop for spoofing another device model, I copied build.prop from another device having gingerbrad but my system is froyo. When I rebooted, I lost my internet connection. It reports no ruim card where as it is there. I had installed apks for terminal emulator, busybox etc. but they are not working. Xplore file manager does not work. But free version of Astro File Manager and ROM Toolkit work. I tried to push old build.prop on device using adb but it gives permission denied error as it is read only system.
I came to know that adb root and adb remount works if you are in recovery mode.
I tried to go into recovery mode, but there is no custom recovery installed on my cheap android phone, so can not go into recovery mode.
su does not work in my adb shell.
Can anybody tell me the way to mount system partition in rw mode using adb ( without recovery mode ) or is there any tool which will work in this situation ?
Thanks in advance.

I would personally use ES File Explorer to get the original build.prop back into your /system partition. You have to go into the app options and select "mount system read write" and it will be able to write to the /system partition.
The commands for mounting the partition and copying the old build.prop from the root of your sdcard are:
$su
#mount -ro remount,rw /system
#cp /sdcard/your_old_build.prop /system

You don't need to use those though if you are using an app that gets root access.

Is your phone rooted? You need to be root as mentioned by anthonycr, in order to mount /system.

That will fail if you do not have root!


text:
USB To 3.5mm Jack mircophone
I want to record live music directly from my sound board on my Samsung Galaxy. I assume this would be done by connecting the 3.5mm microphone jack on my sound board to the Galaxy's USB port.  There are plenty of products that work on Windows, but what about Android?

Could you please clarify? Am I right that you want to connect your Phone's USB port with the USB connector of a USB-2-Audio adapter and then connect this 3.5mm port to your soundboard?

Yes, that is correct. If there is another way then I'd like to know, please.

That a equivalent of looking for a USB-OTG mechanism which may or may not be supported by the kernel?

I assume the USB connection isn't the main point? You could look into a TRRS splitter to fit your 3,5mm plug into the headset jack on your phone. Here's one example, just to give you an idea of what I mean.
This way you can use a normal recording app to capture analog audio from your soundboard. Just be careful to check the levels since the jack isn't a line in jack, but a mic in jack.

You are correct that the USB connection is not the main point.  That seems like the way to go.  Thanks for answering.


text:
Which .iso to download to install Android on my home PC?
I checked the Android-x86 downloads list. It contains .iso files for Laptops. I want to install Android on home PC.

I never understood why people want to run Android on their PCs. Why do you want to?

@RichardBorcsik its actually quite a useful feature to mess with Android for devving purposes (its x86 vs Google's own AVD which is armv7 emulated and slower)

@tomm13b I think the 4.0 emulators are native now?

@RichardBorcsik I want to build Android applications using MonoDroid. I think I am more comfortable to work on PC than any other device.

It all depends on the device where you're going to install this Android port.
If you access the download page of the Android-x86 Project, you'll find a short description for every available ISO to point you out onto the proper download.
Assuming that you're out to try the latest, Android-x86 4.0-RC1 live and installation iso:

for AMD Brazos platform
for ASUS Laptops/Tablets   <-- Best bet if your referring to a desktop PC or a Laptop.
for ASUS Eee PC family
for Lenovo s103t tablet
for Tegav2 (Atom N455 tablet)

For the purpose of completeness,
Here's a small description of the Android-x86 Project - Run Android on Your PC:

This is a project to port Android open source project to x86 platform, formerly known as "patch hosting for android x86 support". The original plan is to host different patches for android x86 support from open source community.

I suggest you try the latest 4.0 release candidate.
See the release notes and try the closest matching. I was lucky and my unsupported Netbook ran it. YMMV though. It's a question of CPU, GPU, chipset and screen resolution.
http://www.android-x86.org/releases/releasenote-4-0-rc1
It's a live CD so you can just try without installing it first.


text:
Is there any Vanilla ICS ROM for Galaxy Note?

Possible Duplicate:
Where can I find stock or custom ROMs for my Android device?

Is there a plain ICS ROM for the Samsung Galaxy Note? I'm looking for something that is relatively stable and without any kind of mods/frills.

XDA Developers have published on May 10, 2012 an article regarding the update of GB ROM to ICS:
International Galaxy Note Official ICS Released, Repackaged
If you’re looking to install an ICS AOSP ROM on your Note, there's an article published on April 24, 2012:
Get AOSP ICS ROMs on the Galaxy Note the Easy and Safe Way
On both you'll find the step by step guides, links for the necessary files, the XDA forum thread with user comments and experiences about those two updates.

The "International Galaxy Note Official ICS" seems to be the ICS ROM with the TouchWiz. Am I correct? I'm looking for the one without the TouchWiz bloatware. How stable are these AOSP ROMS? I mean, do these ROMs have issues with the baseband, the drivers, etc.?

@MridangAgarwalla the vanilla AOSP that you can download and build are quite stable, but that's depending on where you get the source for kernel, the libs etc, which is beyond the scope of this forum.

@MridangAgarwalla, as t0mm13b mentioned, it all depends from where you download them! As for XDA-Developers, they tend to know what they are doing, relying on users feedback to close or keep opened a forum thread! So, If the thread is still open, and comments reveal a positive experience, I'll say they are safe enough :)


text:
64 digit Hex WiFi passphrase doesn't seem to get accepted
I use a 64 digit hex passphrase on my router that I want to use with Android. However Android (CyanogenMod 7) doesn't seem to accept the password (no errors, just nothing happens when I enter it). I have also tried manually entering the information into the wpa_supplicant.conf file but to no avail.
What could be the problem?

Why are you doing that? It sounds like a protected wifi network, and by peeling off the hex passphrase from a windows machine, you think you can get on the network. Is it your wifi network? If it is, surely you would have the passphrase. this sounds iffy?

Since the question was edited, what router is it in question? This is a case of a mis-configured router.

you should see the old revision by clicking on 'X mins|hours|days ago': http://android.stackexchange.com/posts/25259/revisions PS: I don't think it's a misconfig, more a typing problem with colons included or so.

That has worked fine when I recently tested it with CyanogenMod 7 and 9 (and also stock HTC/Samsung/Motorola).
Just enter it into the usual passphrase input box but without any colons. Just type in only the 0-9,a-f letters. This should work then.
Here's a sample wpa_supplicant.conf entry with a fake key/AP:
network={
    ssid="insecureAP"
    key_mgmt=NONE
    auth_alg=OPEN SHARED
#   128 bit key:
    wep_key0=0123456789abcdef0123456789
#   64 bit key:
#   wep_key0=0123456789
    priority=90
}

Note: 64bit correspond to 10 hex digits and 128bit correspond to 26 hex digits (with WEP standard)!

TIL! Never knew you could do it that way... :D Nice... should be part of community wiki for the top gems /tips 'n' tricks for others to submit :)

Try replacing this:auth_alg=OPEN SHARED for this: auth_alg=OPEN
It just happened to me that my phone was trying Shared Key Authentication (SKA), which is seldom used in favour of Open Authentication.
By doing this my connection started working.


text:
Where can I find out when I installed an app?
Is there a Play Store log file?
Or should I be looking where apps are installed on the phone for time/date stamps?

there is another possible that is if your device is rooted then you can access your /system folder.There you can see all installing files.

TitaniumBackup also displays this when you go to the batch (backup/restore) tab. You can have it sort your apps by date of installation, name, size and so on.
It should be noted that you need to root your phone to do so.

There are many third-party apps which shows the install and update time of the installed apps. I've tested three of them and have given instructions to use them for the task at hand.
App Manager
Install it → tap on three dots line in upper-right area → Sort → Last update.
If you click on an app entry there you can also see its Installer name in the App Info (scroll down to the bottom) section.
Applications Info
Install and launch the app → tap your app's entry.
Solid Explorer
Install and launch the app → from the left sidebar select Applications → User apps → tap on your app's entry.
(Click an image to enlarge it; order of images: Applications Info, and Solid Explorer)

Command-line
If you want a command-line way, follow these instructions:
Setup adb in PC and execute the command:
adb shell dumpsys package

You might end up with overwhelming information about all the installed packages including the  date/time stamp you're seeking. If you want the said stamps for a specific package whose package name you're aware of, then enter:
adb shell 'dumpsys package PKG_NAME | grep -e "firstInstallTime" -e "lastUpdateTime"'     # replace PKG_NAME with the package name of your app

Its output possibly would be like,
firstInstallTime=2015-07-04 15:49:50
lastUpdateTime=2015-07-04 15:49:50
Note that the info is originally available in the file /data/system/packages.xml.
Alternatively, if you've Google Play Store installed, then take its backup using ADB, extract the backup to locate the database localappstate.db. Open that file in PC using an SQLite database viewer like DB Browser for SQLite or on Android using apps like SQLite Editor / aSQLiteManager. The said apps may need root access so I recommend to stick with the SQLite viewer for PC.
The table appstate in that file has the columns first_download_ms delivery_data_timestamp_ms. The latter shows when the app was installed and the former shows when the download was initiated by Play Store.
Limitation: Play Store wouldn't show date/time stamp for side loaded apps.

can we detect by this dumpsys command if it was installed from Play Store or from apk?

Yes, search for the string 'installerPackageName' in the dump. Alternatively, type the command "adb shell pm list packages -i PKG_NAME".

if it is empty (not found), does it mean I need to worry about malicious intrusion?

@Suncatcher It means that it was not installed by an another package, such as an installer. The app was either sideloaded by the user, or, it was shipped by the oem.

I see that you have asked this as a question. Did you try that second adb command I mentioned in the comment? Xiaomi could have made changes in some standard strings in the  dump so that's what you may have found nothing in it. Try that other command. If you are using Android 8 or above, sideloaded apps are assigned the installer name of the system's package installer app.

I didn't find a place in the stock-system which tells this. But there are useful tools around like AppMonster which display this information along (besides, AppMonster allows you to backup your apps, and in the Pro-Version even does so automatically on install as well as update -- so you can revert to a previously installed version easily in case of trouble with an update).

One can use Smart App Manager (gratis) to view the installation date of an application. I tested it on Android 12 with a Pixel 6 and it worked. Screenshot:


text:
Sony XPeria Arc: How force DNS resolution with a specific host?
I've made my website and it can be accessed only through specific domain name.
http://my.specific.domain.name.
And of course, you have to change your /etc/hosts configuration and add
my.specific.domain.name 192.222.222.222

to make it look to the right IP.
Any idea how to do this on a Sony XPeria Arc?

You need a rooted phone for this. First get the /hosts file:
adb pull /system/etc/hosts

This copies it into your current working directory. Now make your changes. (If you're not using a UNIX system make sure that you use something that supports UNIX newlines, like Notepad++, Sublime Text, Gedit etc.)
Then we need to send it back to the device with:
adb remount
adb push hosts /system/etc/hosts

The first line remounts your /system partiton so you can write to, and the second pushes it back. Now reboot your device. As you already have a terminal open just type:
adb reboot

What is "adb"  and how can I root my phone?

@OlivierPons abd is short for android debug bridge. It's a tool for developers to interact with phones using a computer. It can be download  from here. Regarding rooting, look here. Xda-developers usually has the most up to date guides for rooting.


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Android Market not working after factory data reset
I am using an HTC Wildfire S with Android 2.3.5. Recently my Android Market got automatically updated to the Google Play Store. I had to factory data reset due to some problem, Now I can see Android Market in phone and Android Market isn't updating to Google Play thus I am unable to access Google Play. I have already logged into Google Account in my device.

What do you mean by unable to access?

I cannot download any apps from Google Play using web too!!

This happened to me previously. All I did was just wait and it eventually updated to Play Store.

I'd just say make sure you have a WiFi connection going on and have the Google Market app open. I think it will update itself after some time. I think it can just take a little while.

Have you tried opening Android Market from the home screen, with a data connection? I had a similar problem with Android Market details pages and web site and in-app payment methods being broken. Eventually I entered through the front door on the device and it made me OK all the new rules and started working again. Someone at Google screwed up and broke the app unless you use the home screen regularly, lol.


text:
How can I display Exchange sub folders with the native mail application?
I have multiple sub folders that have email routed them via rules. Is there a way to get these folders on my phone so they show new messages as they come in the same way my Inbox does? I know the 3rd party application Touchdown works really well but was hoping that I could just use the native mail application on the phone.

How are you accessing your mails? IMAP? POP3? Outlook?

Sorry forgot to include that, we are using Exchange

Partial answer - This link shows how to open subfolders on the Galaxy S3. But it doesn't work on my Galaxy Advance with Android 2.3.6. The native mail app seems only to display top level folders. K9 works better.


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Can I save my htc desire if the battery is dead?
I ran my HTC Desire on a 0% charged battery - and it shut it self down. Now it won't charge anymore and wont start even when plugged in.
What are my options?

There are two options from my point of view:

Buy a cheap replacement from ebay (search for 'BA-S410 HTC battery', the Nexus One also has the same battery)
Leave it 'charging', maybe it revives on its own

Background:
LiIon batteries need a safety circuit because they must stay within certain charging levels (not under nor overcharged). If that circuit detects undercharge it may just think it's dead and prevent further charging for safety reasons.

Thank you for your answer - I'll try my luck with leaving it overnight in the outlet and see if it charges.
Any idea if an external charger will be able to charge it?

Left it fro 6 hours ... didn't charge :(.
Now for eBay ...

Good news everyone! :) After taking out the SIM and re-inserting it (don't ask me why) - the device turned on. And to my surprise, the batter was 100% full now!

How long have you left it charging for? If it hasn't been long (a couple of minutes then your phone is probably fine). Connect the phone to the mains and leave it plugged in (don't try to turn it on) for about 15 or 20 minutes. It should start up then.

Thank you for your answer - I tried it for about 20 min so far and I still don't see the charging light turning on. Should it turn on?


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Ice Cream Sandwich email app on Droid RAZR won't autofill all contacts
Why won't the Ice Cream Sandwich email app on Droid RAZR autofill all contacts? It works fine with Gmail but only for some contacts in the standard email app.


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Fix a damaged microsd card?

Possible Duplicate:
“SD card is damaged - You may have to reformat.” How do I fix this problem?

I have a Sprint Kyocera Echo.
I accidentally pulled out the micro-sdhc card when in use. When I put the card back into my smartphone, it said "Damaged SD card, you may need to reformat it". When I pulled down the notification bar, it gave me the option to format my SD card, with a warning also of losing all my data. I formatted it and it said "erasing sd card", finally, a message "SD card is currently being checked" appeared.
When I placed the micro-sd card into a SD card adapter and put it in the digital camera, nothing seemed wrong. My camera took pictures like normal and made no complaints about insufficient memory. The logic is in to see, how the camera would react.
I put the SD card adapter into my computer and it read normally. My computer fully recognized my micro-sd and the files, along with the pictures I had just taken on my digital camera.
I took it out and placed it back into my phone, yet my phone still popped up with "Damaged sd card" message. I put the card back into my computer and formatted it through the PC, saying it successfully reformatted my card. I think its fixed or so I thought.
But no, still "Damaged SD card" error message on my phone.


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Adding (lots of) icons to home screen on ICS tablet
I just upgraded my Galaxy Tab 10.1 from Samsung's 3.2 variation to CyanogenMod's ICS RC1.  Most everything seems a little slicker or simpler.  However, there is one big shortcoming: it seems impossible to efficiently add multiple icons to the home screen.  From home, I have to hit the "apps" button in the top-right, find the app icon, long-press it, then drag it to the right place.  And repeat.  On the 3.2 ROM, I could just drag icons onto "mini" homescreens on the top half of the app list page.  (Is this a feature of Samsung's TouchWiz and not part of default Honeycomb?)
I've restored all my apps, so they're installed, but none are on the rather barren homescreen.  I had them somewhat organized across the 5 pages under 3.2, and I'd like to get that organization back.
Am I missing something in the CM/ICS UI that makes this easier?  Are there 3rd party apps that make this easier?  (Is the ICS homescreen the default, or specific to Cyanogenmod?)  Are the config files editable?

It's the same way on my Stock ICS Wifi Xoom.

To me it's works fine. in the application list I long press on the application in the application list ( where I launch it ) and after the screen switch to the home and I put this icon where I want.

Go Launcher
I use this app (instead of HTC Sense) for my HTC Sensation. This works great, and there is a lot of different themes and plugins for it. Great if you're tired of the standard UI on your phone!
It also solves your problem, when you can add multiple items for your different screens. (Just tap on the ones you would like to have easy access to) :)

Elixir lets you create a home screen widget that lets you add apps. It's easier to add apps using this widget compared to the long-press method. See the "Widgets in home screen" section of the link to see what the widget looks like.


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Find carrier allocated public IP address
Fido has a service where they allocate a public IP address for some fees. I have paid the fees and apparently they have allocated my phone a public IP address. In normal circumstances, I should be able to see the IP address in my device settings (status information), but it shows "IP address unavailable". Fido customer service is not able to help, saying that they only have instructions for the iPhone. For any other phone, I should contact the manufacturer.
Any idea how I could go about finding the public IP address that I am paying through my nose for?
Carrier: Fido in Canada.
Phone: Samsung Galaxy S2
OS: Android 4.0.3

Update: I used ADB shell and netcfg to see the ip address of the interfaces: rmnet0 UP       25.44.197.87/24. It keeps changing if I restart the phone. But that IP is not reachable at least using ping. It comes from department of defence in the UK!

That IP will likely be internal to the carrier's network, they regularly use reserved IPs in situations where it "doesn't matter".  You could try visiting ipchicken.com or a similar site from your phone.  If that gives you the address of the carrier's gateway rather than your allocated IP I would assume they've screwed it up.  You'd think they would know what it is since they've allocated it, even if it's dynamic.

Related: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/3715/is-there-a-command-or-application-similar-to-ipconfig?rq=1

I wonder if public IP address means something different to these carriers. It's infuriating, I've been in touch with Fido, Rogers, Samsung and there is no one who even knows how IP addresses are allocated.

So reproducing the solution here for posterity: Need to change the default apn to either publicip.apn or vpn.com. All the other settings remain the same as the original default apn (which is fido-core.appl1.apn). Restart the device and voila!, the phone has a public ip. It can be discovered using adb and netcfg. @MartinSchröder, thanks a lot for pointing out Network Info II tool, its quite useful. Only thing is, after tethering the device, it reports an IPV6 rndis ip as the "internal" ip of the device.

You could always use the browser hit one of the many web pages that will tell you what your IP address is. WhatsMyIp being one such.

That was among the first things that I tried. The reported IP is Rogers gateway device.

Typically your carrier will be using NAT so you will have either a private RFC1918 address or an already allocated public IP.
A free app like Net Tools will tell you the IP assigned directly to your  phone, so can you have IP communications with your carrier. (Net Tools will use netcfg as you have).
If you go to whatismyip.com you will likely find a different IP though because your connection is behind a NAT device. This is why you can't "ping" your phones IP.

Get Network Info II. It also gives you the name of your gateway.

Yes, but I need to find my phone's IP not the gateway.

@CocoroCara: Try the app.

This open-source app might fit your needs, called External IP.

This simple application will show your IP addresses(default local &
  external).

Thanks for the link. The solution is to configure the correct APN to get the public ip. But I had to struggle to get this information out of Fido customer service.


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Unable to access text messaging after updating to ICS
I have a Droid RAZR and the stock messaging app just keeps loading forever and Handcent SMS crashes when I access it. I have tried to leave it be and let it load but nothing happens.
I would use SMS Backup & Restore (or another backup app) like I have in the past but since the messages don’t load the progress bar just says “NaN 0/0″ and does nothing. This is the only thing preventing me from doing a factory reset/clear data since I have lots of messages on this baby that I need to keep.
I'm not sure if the messages have already been deleted, but if they were, wouldn't the apps work?
This is just one of my many problems I've been running into with ICS.

Any hint concerning your activities between "it worked" (as I assume it did -- or you would not have "lots of messages to keep") and "it crashes"? Maybe phone rooted, and messed around with something? Not accusing -- just asking to figure out any hints...

The second it was updated to ICS I couldn't access text messages with any app. Handcent crashes automatically. Never rooted the phone or have done anything radical to it before, just installed the update.

I assume that was an official update -- so I'd contact customer care (in parallel to hoping for answers here). You may not be the only one affected, and maybe they already have some solution.

I do know that if you have a lot of messages on your RAZR before upgrading to ICS, it actually will try to pull them all in again to the text messaging app. I have seen this with both stock and GoSMS on a Droid 4 and it did take a little while on my RAZR MAXX the first time I opened up the messaging app after upgrading to see all of my messages re-appear, as they first appeared as if they had all been deleted.
If you are getting the little circular loading symbol, then it is likely the case - for a couple thousand messages, it took nearly all day to load them all. Not sure why, but this may also be what's effecting you. I guess the only solution is to wait it out and see what happens. Hope this helps and good luck getting your messages back.

I was having the exact same issues with my text messaging. I did a complete factory reset, wiped the internal memory and everything, and now it's working. Sucks because I lost everything, but at least the phone works now.


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How to configure Show Owner Info on Lock Screen on Galaxy S2 / Android 4.0.3?
I just upgrade my S2 to Android 4.0.3, and I'm trying to configure it to show my info on the lock screen.
I go to Setup-->Security-->Owner info
Then, I type in the info, but I don't find any way to save or submit this info. I can only hit the back button, and then when I go to the lock screen, nothing is displayed.
What am I missing?

There is no submit button. Just hit the back button and lock your phone to see the result.

Sorry, I just missed the scrolling text on the lock screen for some reason. I was sure I'll see it larger, damn my lying eyes :)

Glad you noticed it now :D

I also had the same problem initially. Nothing happens after setting up the owner's info.
Then I unplugged my USB cable and voilà, it appears under the clock!
Hope this helps... (^_^)

Make sure the check box is selected above the text entry field where you type in your message.


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Apps won't install (silently fail after 100% downloaded)
I have a problem with installing apps from Google Play onto my Samsung Galaxy S Plus phone.
It has Android 2.3.6. Yesterday I tried to download some apps. When I clicked 'Install', the app began to download but when it got to 100% it just disappeared and silently failed to install on my phone :\
I don't have an SD card and up to now I saved all my apps on the phone
and had no problems like this.
It seems to be some settings problem, but I don't know what to do.
any ideas?!

Do you have access to the device log (logcat)? That's sadly a chicken & egg problem (you'd need some additional app to see logs, e.g. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nolanlawson.logcat and attach the output from a failed install attempt to this question). That can also be done by installing the SDK and use the integrated log viewer from there, but that's not too straightforward.

Is there sufficient space available on your  phone to install the apps?

It sounds to me like the infamous /cache or /data/data out of space problem. I hope google addresses this issue and gives more space for these mounts. Usually there is plenty of room to install in /data/app, but the cache and data locations run out of room quickly.

Someone already solved this without rooting the phone by uninstalling updates for Google Play Store app: Go to Settings → Applications → All (tab), scroll down and tap "Google Play Store", then "Uninstall updates".
Source: SamsungGalaxyForums

Its indeed quite possible that either the two directories residing on the filesystem, /data/local/download or /cache/download is probably full of temporary files and is not deleted which contributes to the symptoms of the app not installing after 100% downloaded.
Some ROMs do have this facility or feature in place, called run-parts, which is invoked by the busybox which does this clean up on boot to clear out the temporary downloaded files saved in the specified directories. Again, this is dependant on the ROM.
Maybe that's what you should try doing, reboot to force the system to clean up the directories and try again upon bootup?
If that fails, then it sounds likely that the /cache partition is very small not to hold the downloaded files. The trick employed by ROMs is this, the /cache/download is either sym-linked to /data on the /data partition. The other trick is that /data/local/download is re-binded to the /cache/download directory. (see this script below to see what the second trick is about)
#!/system/bin/sh
#
# bind mount /data/local/download to /cache/download if cache
# partition is too small
#

CACHESIZE=$(df /cache | tail -n1 | tr -s ' ' | cut -d ' ' -f2 | tr -d [:alpha:])
DATAONLY=$(getprop dalvik.vm.dexopt-data-only)
if [ $DATAONLY -eq 1 ]
then
  NEEDED=60000
else
  NEEDED=105000
fi

if [ $CACHESIZE -lt $NEEDED ]
then
  /system/xbin/busybox mount -o bind /data/local/download /cache/download
fi

rm /cache/download/downloadfile*.apk >/dev/null 2>&1

exit 0

Why /cache and /data/local/download? it is found in the init.rc script in the ramdisk of the ROM in question which has the following environment variables that tells the Google Play store, where to save the downloaded apps.
export ANDROID_CACHE /cache
export DOWNLOAD_CACHE /cache/download

The only thing I would suggest is to use File Explorer (just as I type this I realised yeah, root... but I digress), and clean out the directory manually for a start.

I was having a similar problem. When trying to install an app from the market, it would get to 100% download, then say download failed. Also, the same behavior occurred with updates to previously installed apps. Tried all sorts of things from various forms and nothing worked.
I am running Eclair, and decided that my phone was becoming a paperweight without these updates... So I resolved to install a new ROM, thankfully I did not have to go that far. I ran a one-click root application, and afterwards I could download updates and install new apps without issue.
Pretty sure rooting your phone will void the warranty, if that is not of concern and your at a dead end... perhaps give it try, it worked for me.

I'm sure there must be other solutions as well, apart from installing different ROM. I get similar problem sometimes on my HTC Desire but it works after some retry.

Before uninstalling updates I would also  try Clear Data (same place - under Google Play in Application Manager). That fixed the same issue for me.

I fixed the problem by going to App manager and uninstalling updates to Google Play. Things will download and install fine after.

I just found a new incompatibility causing something similar (at least right now: May 2015).  Updates and reinstall of Facebook were repeatedly failing with "Package invalid" using both Google Play and 1Market.
It seems that the problem was my home program: Nova launcher.
This was on Bluestacks using my PC, by the way.
I changed my home program back to Gamepop-Home (the default that came with Bluestacks) and was able to install Facebook from the search box in Gamepop-Home.
Afterwards, I was able to go back to Nova Launcher and keep using Facebook.

Solution: Galaxy S(First Series) will easily handle 4.0 Kit to JB
Get the latest working galaxy toolkit, unlock the boot-loader:
Yes, You can uninstall updates for Google Play but that gimps your device.
How to: Links are hit or miss dead. Look up "Galaxy Tool Kit"
Those kits include step by steps.

This actually worked for me and my phone is ZTE N9130 . I went to Google play and stopped the Sync updates. Then proceeded to downloading Apps on Google Play.  Also I made sure that I had on the Data and GPS button on. Everything continued to download in a matter of time. Yay!


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Disabling the 5 GhZ wifi band on the HTC One X
I had some wifi connection dropping issues with my One X. I don't appear to have the "you're holding it wrong" issue (the squeeze test comes out negative), but some googling found that there seem to be issues with 5 GhZ WiFi bands as well.
It eventually turned out to be some sort of known incompatibility between the One X and my router's firmware (a router update fixed it), but in the process of testing, I tried to disable 5 GhZ WiFi. However I had to disable the 5 GhZ band on my WiFi router (and thus disable it for all my devices) because I couldn't find a way to disable it on the phone.
A posting in the thread above contains

In the WiFi settings, under the menu, "WiFi Network Bands", select "2.4 GHz only".

However I cannot find such a setting. Am I just blind? Or is there at least another way to disable 5 GhZ on a (non-branded, non-rooted) One X?

Where exactly are you looking? I have what appears to be the same option on my Galaxy Nexus if I go into the Wi-Fi settings, press the overflow menu (the "three dots" button) and select "Advanced". It's listed as "Wi-Fi frequency band". Maybe getting a screenshot of what you see in your settings would be useful if you can do it (does Volume Down + Power work on the One X?).

@eldarerathis Yes, screenshot works on One X (didn't that finally make it into a standard Android feature?). Anyway, I did check there; this is all I see behind the advanced wifi settings: http://i.stack.imgur.com/NCQbE.png

Yes, it's standard in ICS, but I don't know if some manufacturers decided to move/alter it. Maybe the setting that others are seeing is due to carrier/regional differences in firmware or something. That would be fairly annoying if it's the case.

After some reading it appears that HTC has released an update to fix some Wi-Fi issues, but I'm not sure if it will necessarily fix your problem.

Can you please identify what you mean by "non-branded, non-rooted"...? Where/how did you get this phone? What network is it on? What possible version of this phone do you have that does not have these settings?

@Wartickler non-branded = I didn't get it from a carrier, I just bought it at the store (I don't know about the US, but here in Germany you don't have to get your phone from your carrier). non-rooted = I didn't root it.

Right, sorry (:

I assume this was just a bug; this option re-appeared in the "Advanced" Wi-Fi settings after one of the OTA updates.

Based on this review of the Wi-fi capabilities of the HTC One X from anandtech it would appear that the option is there. Look two-thirds of the way down on the site and see this image:
(Click image to enlarge; image taken from AnandTech)

The international One X doesn't have that setting (I'm looking at mine right now). It may be that the US/LTE version doesn't have it either.

Can you resize that image? :)

Hmmm...it comes from the website. I'll see what I can do (:


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Default email app to combined inbox?
Whenever I open the mail app it defaults to the inbox with the most recent received mail. Is there a way to default to the combined inbox?


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Galaxy Note apps on stock Android
I've just ordered a Samsung Galaxy Note, and since I generally don't like manufacturer-installed bloatware (TouchWiz etc.), I'd like to reflash it with a stock ICS ROM. However, one of the main reasons I've bought the Note is for the S-Pen functionality.
Is a vanilla ICS ROM capable of running the Note-specific S-Pen apps that come with the phone? If not, is there at least a way to make the phone look and behave as if it doesn't have TouchWiz?

At first, there's a current Hardbrick warning and a tool to diagnose this for the Galaxy Note (and other Samsung devices).
Here's the Galaxy Note N7000 CM9 team's current issue list, it doesn't mention missing S-Pen functionality (unlike an experimental build #1) so I guess it's fixed.
The CM9 alpha for N7000 announcement on XDA also mentions S-Pen beeing worked on.
And finally, here's the CM9 builds for N7000 and a full update guide.

Regarding Samsungs specialized Note apps alone: That's probably not possible unless TouchWiz is installed

This was my question. Guess I'll have to stick with TouchWiz then.

One amazing and very much compatible APP is Memo Beta, free and open source S-Pen drawing app:

Memo is a note taking app designed specifically for Galaxy Note.

ROMs supported:
CM9 (CyanogenMod 9)
AOKP (Android Open Kang Project)
AOSP (Android Open Source Project)
Paranoid Android

Some features

Licensed GPLv3 open source
S-Pen combatible (including side button and pressure sensitivity)
Inport and resize/move images from the camera, gallery, webpage or map
Two finger zoom and pan for inputting those finer details
Add typed text to notes
Share notes using MMS, E-mail, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more
left handed mode

Useful Links.

Github page
Google Play page
XDA Developers Forum Thread

I've found that on my Note, the CM nightlies seem to have 3G connection issues (nothing predictable enough to file a bug report on, unfortunately), so I'm back to stock at the moment. But thanks anyway!

It's also worth mentioning that you can install other launchers such as ADW Launcher which allows for themes which will completely change the look of the homescreen and icons on it. For instance, this Antique CM theme is a theme for ADW Launcher, as is this Red ADW Theme which as you can see looks very different. You can also download replacement contacts apps as well, so you can hide almost all of TouchWiz, whilst still keeping the stock ROM and with it, the S-Pen apps.
I've only recently installed replacement launchers because I was beginning to get frustrated with TouchWiz and things like it's lack of rotation. Makes me wonder why Samsung bother with their own inferior launcher in the first place.

Not sure why I'm getting marked down for answering the second part of the question which was never answered, but such is life.

right. it looks rather unrelated at first. maybe place a citation of the very last question on top of your answer and the ambiguity is gone

Yes, I'm aware of third party launchers, and am currently running Apex. The problem with this is that it still departs from the cohesive design language that Google was said to have introduced in ICS. Since my last Android phone couldn't run ICS, I would have quite liked to experience the undiluted ICS experience as well.

My favourite note taking app so far is Papyrus You can have infinite length note surface and use two fingers to move around the note and a single finger as an eraser. All drawings are vectors.
The quick note taking app that pops up double clicking the pen is really shitty and the editing with polaris office too basic. I still have to do a lot of playing and investigating.


text:
Is there a fix for intermittent "[app name] succesfully updated" notifications?
It's not a big deal, but I'd like to know if someone has figured out the logic behind the disappearing update notifications?
For example, recently I set 10 apps to be updated and kept the Play Store app active (no screen timeout or anything). After the apps had been updated I saw only 3 notifications, even though all the apps appear to have been updated. The same has happened almost every time I update multiple applications.
I'd understand it if there was only one notification, or as many as updates, but the number is seemingly random.
I've seen this on my Galaxy Nexus on both 4.0.1 and 4.0.2.

Uhmmm not sure what is the problem? Developers update the app, upload it, if there's permission changes made to the said app, it reverts from auto to manual update to enable you to check it out first... am I missing something here?

I meant the notifications after the update. If I have tens of updates I like the possibility to set them to update and check them later, after they're downloaded&updated. Now that the notifications disappear, I have to write down the updated apps to remember which to check.

I see what you're saying... one way around it, is to look in the logcat and keep an eye out for something like the following, in this case, I downloaded an app called Rendezvous, this is what appears in the logcat
D/PackageManager(  242): Scanning package com.jgms.rendezvous
I/PackageManager(  242): Package com.jgms.rendezvous codePath changed from /data/app/com.jgms.rendezvous-1.apk to /data/app/com.jgms.rendezvous-2.apk; Retaining data and using new
I/PackageManager(  242): Unpacking native libraries for /data/app/com.jgms.rendezvous-2.apk
D/installd(  120): DexInv: --- BEGIN '/data/app/com.jgms.rendezvous-2.apk' ---
D/dalvikvm(23670): creating instr width table
D/dalvikvm(23670): DexOpt: load 22ms, verify+opt 203ms
D/installd(  120): DexInv: --- END '/data/app/com.jgms.rendezvous-2.apk' (success) ---
D/PackageManager(  242):   Activities: com.jgms.rendezvous.login com.jgms.rendezvous.MakeWaypoint com.jgms.rendezvous.FindExisting com.jgms.rendezvous.ShareLocation com.jgms.rendezvous.FindFriend com.jgms.rendezvous.ShowMap com.jgms.rendezvous.About
I/ActivityManager(  242): Force stopping package com.jgms.rendezvous uid=10202
W/PackageManager(  242): Code path for pkg : com.jgms.rendezvous changing from /data/app/com.jgms.rendezvous-1.apk to /data/app/com.jgms.rendezvous-2.apk
W/PackageManager(  242): Resource path for pkg : com.jgms.rendezvous changing from /data/app/com.jgms.rendezvous-1.apk to /data/app/com.jgms.rendezvous-2.apk
I/installd(  120): move /data/dalvik-cache/data@app@com.jgms.rendezvous-2.apk@classes.dex -> /data/dalvik-cache/data@app@com.jgms.rendezvous-2.apk@classes.dex
D/PackageManager(  242): New package installed in /data/app/com.jgms.rendezvous-2.apk

Notice the last line, "New package installed...."
If there's any other way, I'd gladly amend this :)

Hmm, didn't know that it shows up in the log... Maybe I'll whip up an app for tracking updates :) Thanks for the info!

@onik I'm pretty sure that there's an intent that fires when an app is installed/updated.

PACKAGE_ADDED, PACKAGE_REMOVED iirc top of my head :)


text:
Phone log shows numbers not Exchange Contact Names
Just got my Galaxy S3 and like it so far, but they have changed so much around.
Problem= The phone syncs with my Exchange contacts list, but when I receive a call and when I look at the log list, only the number shows, no name or any other info. Sprint people couldn't help.
Also, would have been helpful if they had a sheet to show the new way to navigate to to the previous Android feature. Like the App manager, it was a widget so you could end apps that were no longer being used. I can't find that feature anywhere.

Please don't ask two questions in one post. Please separate your questions.

There are a vast multitude of app manager apps in the play store. I use the Android System Info app but it does more than just management.
As for your exchange issue what are you using to sync? I know the Android pre-installed has issues with exchange depending on how the server is setup and each version has different quirks. You may try using Touchdown to see if it will get all of your contact information into the phone, however it is only a free trial and I believe $20 after that.


text:
Play a live YouTube stream in the YouTube app
For example youtube.com/opener - it won't play via the browser, but I can't figure out how to access it via the app.
Is it possible?

You can't. This feature was added in the ICS version of the YouTube app. Older versions don't support it.

Check how you are looking for it in the app you have a couple options you can try:
From the regular youtube.com/opener site subscribe to the channel
or
From the app search for the AlterArt2 channel and subscribe to it
The channel isn't actually listed as opener it is under AlterArt2 so watch that to make sure you are able to find it. I located it on my youtube app and was able to subscribe and view. I'm using an HTC One X ICS.
Hope that helps.

It seems that if you add the livestream to your Watch Later list, you can then view it via this on your mobile device. However, it will start from the beginning of the stream and it seems you cannot forward it. You can pause it, but I found that if I left the application, when I  would go back it would take me all the way to the start again.
Maybe this can help someone somehow.

You can use the browser.
Just type the livestream link, and it will load normally. On the downside, it will lag a little bit.