text:
Deleting a device from the Google Play Store?
Yesterday I bought a new Android smartphone & performed a factory reset on my previous HTC handset. Naturally (I think) I set up my new phone under the same Google account as was registered for my HTC.
If I login to the Google Play Store, I was expecting, and maybe naively assumed to find, a way to delete the HTC handset, but I cannot seem to find a way to achieve this!
As this is only my second Android device, I have not encountered this situation before. (Perhaps there were steps I should have taken on my HTC, prior to performing the factory reset.)
I am however surprised that Google does not allow you to carry out such a basic task.
Did I miss something?
Does Google wish you to create a new account every time you change phones/tablets?

You can't delete it, only hide it.

Go to the Google Play website. Make sure you're logged in.
Click the gear icon in the upper right then click Settings.
Your devices should be listed there. Uncheck "Shown in menus" on the device you don't want to see any more.

Is there any particular reason for them not to allow deletion ?

Beats me. I do notice, however, that my old DROID is no longer listed under my account. Maybe because I haven't used it in over a year?

I guess there must be an expiration point. Hopefully they will add that functionality for immediate deletion in due course

It could be for the "all apps ever installed" list. As not all apps are compatible with all devices, maybe that's somehow bound to the devices the apps where used on. Just a guess.

Have things changed over the course of one year and is it in the meantime somehow possible to completely remove an old device and not only hiding it?

Seems to be a 9 month time for expiration
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=30454577&postcount=14


text:
Rooted SGS3 and Kies doesn't work with my ROM, Looking for contact list files
Recently rooted my SGS3 and installed a custom ROM, so I had to import my contacts number back into my phone and I had them saved as a vcard... When I imported all the names, I thought it had buggered up so I imported them again, now there are two of every name and it's a very lengthy process to manually remove every 2nd name (I have 800+ contacts). I'm trying to find a way to remove my contacts completely, but seeing as Kies and Kies Air don't work properly with this ROM, I'm trying to locate the path in my phone that has the contact files so I can remove them that way. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

Are you talking about Google contacts? In that case you could try Google's web frontend for cleanup. The result should then automatically be done by sync.

Nah, was talking about contacts stored on my phone, I ended up downloading one of those "Delete all contact" apps off the playstore then deleted all my contacts out of google and loaded my vcard list back into google then syncing it to google.

Umpf... Very close to my suggestion :) Would you mind to make this an answer (maybe with a few more details on the process), and accept it lateron? So people with a similar problem can easier identify it as "question with a solution".

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Dropbox can't find live wallpapers on android phone
I would like to add live wallpapers to my dropbox from my android phone but I can't find them. I can find my apps from the backup folder, but how do I find the live wallpapers? I have tried going to the android folder, but it doesn't find anything. At all.

The stock live wallpapers are actually apps found in the /system/apps folder. User installed ones are in /data/app. You will need to be rooted and have a root explorer to access these folders.

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


text:
Galaxy Mini bricked: black screen
I have a Galaxy Mini GT-5570 phone.
Last night I installed "ROM Manager" and tried to partition my SD card. It requires to reboot my phone and I confirmed that, so it shut down my phone. Then it can't boot anymore -- all I get is just a black screen!
Unfortunately, I read that ROM Manager can cause hard brick for Galaxy Mini lately...
I tried all possible solutions found in the Internet but nothing works. So I decided to try the USB JIG method as it can force my phone to boot to download mode. The point is that I can't find 300k resistor then can I try 330k or it's dengerous?
Is there another method to revive my phone back ??

You dont need to rig your usb to enter download mode.
You  just need to hold Vol UP + Home then plug your USB cable to your PC.
If you haven't started ODIN in flash mode or did not install bootloader drivers for the Mini, download mode will not show up, and you'll see only a black screen.

I've tried that way...Odin can detect my phone but while flashing it stops at "Setup Connection",I've read that maybe problem with Samsung driver but it isn't !

Have you tried a different USB cable? It might be loose. I had a similar experience with an HTC Legend, the flashing constantly interrupted because of the old cable.

@Wisdom have you tried it on different computers?

authors: حسين الجبوري


text:
Charging paused, battery temperature too low
I dropped my Samsung Galaxy S2 in water, and now when I plug it in I get a message that says:

Charging paused, battery temperature too low

Is there any way to fix this?

How long ago did you drop your phone in water? Hours, days, weeks? Was it clean water, dirty water or salt water? Are you sure that it is entirely dried out, and there aren't any droplets shorting anything out inside the phone? See these previous questions for more info on water damage: Fixing water damage in phone and [http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/24436/](My android device has been splashed/soaked by sea water)

@GAThrawn At least an hour ago and clean water.. i will take a look thanks :)

if you have a hairdryer, use it and blow it to your S2's backplate and battery removed back for at least 10mins so it's inside will heat up a bit and maybe evaporate some water that got in.


text:
Connect to exchange server with certifcate based on own CA-root?
I am owning a galaxy s plus with the latest 2.3.6 firmware available for that phone.
I want to connect to my companies exchange-server. Our company has defined an ow CA. With this all user certificates are signed.
Now I have tried to connect via active sync with my certificate to my exchange account. But always it tells me that, the user name or password is wrong. After writing it about 20 times I guess I have made no mistake while typing my password.
I have installed my certificate (including CA-certificate of our company) via Settings -> Security -> install certificates from sd.
Is there anything I can do?
On my colleages Samsung S2 (Android 4) there is an additional Option "use client certificates". This isn't available on Android 2.3.6. Is there any possibility to get my exchange account on my phone?


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How can I set the sound profile to silent for a given contact?
As the title says, how can I set the sound profile to silent for a given contact? Or in other words, how can I set that a given contact will have no ringtone assigned to it?
I looked at it and apparently I do have the option to set a custom ringtone for a given contact, but I have to pick one ringtone. I cannot pick "none" as an option. So I was thinking maybe there is an app that can accomplish what I want or there might be a trick I can pull off to get this result?

Instead of having no ringtone assigned to it, get a short silent ringtone (such as the ones found here and use that to set a silent ring.

Where do I store the downloaded audio file on the phone?

It looks like /system/media/audio/ringtones is the default directory for the HTC ringtones. But since I can't mount this partition to my PC I will just store it on root of my SD card.

I'm pretty sure that it should scan the music/media folder on your SD card.

Thanks! I transferred the file to /sdcard/media/audio/ringtones where I created the directory "ringtones" manually. So I created that folder first and then transferred not just one but all four files (1 second silence mp3, wav, 10 second silence mp3, wav). The phone didn't scan this location automatically. I had to browse to the file I want to use (with ES File Explorer). But once I picked a file the new location seems to be auto-scanned now because I can see all four files now in the Ringtone settings, even the ones I never used before.

Unfortunately this method only works when the calling parts phone number is displayed. That's a condition that needs to be fulfilled for this to work. If it's a hidden number it will still ring. Perhaps I can set the same ringtone for the "UNKNOWN" caller? Except, this is not a contact stored in my phone...

Mr. Number can filter unknown and private calls. You can check it out here

Thanks! But when it comes at 4.8 MB and when I only have 3.20 MB of free internal memory that app can only be a wet dream for me. But I will note down the name of the app for future reference. I might try it out when I upgrade to a smarter "smartphone" that has more than minimum memory.

That's fine. I thought that you might like the recommendation while since you brought up the issue.


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is it possible to install infobar launcher in other android phones?
I find the Au KDDI infobar launcher really cool, and i was wondering if is it available to download anywhere and if is it possible to install it on other phones like galaxy nexus or nexus 4?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=G-DPf6aF_lM


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Android: Manually alter the contents of an app's database?
Is it possible to manually change the contents of the databases an app uses to store all it's formation.

yes of course, so long as you have access to that database.
if we are talking about mobile phone apps, then most will have an embedded SQLite database or equivalent. These typically are "stand alone" databases that don't have user authentication to access, you simply need access to the file ("someapp.db", or "someapp.sqlite", etc) and the proper utility installed to read it (SQLite version 3 for example).
on linux you would do something like
sudo yum install sqlite -y
sqlite3 someapp.db
and it will open the database and you can issue all your SQL commands from there.
Keep in mind some apps go through lengths to "hide" or otherwise make their database impossible for average-joe to access and get into.
EDIT: also, on Android specifically there is an App in the market (paid, like $3 i think) called "SQLite Editor" that allows you to browse all found sqlite databases on the phone and edit them if desired.

In reference to the app on the Play store, called SQLite Editor this requires root.

For someone attempting things they shouldn't be, where are the db files generally located?

@pspahn They're in each app's own folder. To find all databases with .db extension (assuming they all have it) you can type: find / -name "*.db"  You should be root for this to work. Can also do  > yourfile  at the end of that command to output to the file instead of screen.

You will also need root access. Without root you won't be able to get into the apps' database folders.
If you download the Adroid SDK you can connect your phone/tablet via usb and run sqlite via the adb shell.


text:
Why does my Android device slow down after successive ROM updates without wiping?
I have a 32 GB Verizon Galaxy Nexus (toro). I am running Cyanogenmod 10.1 ROM nightlies and I use CyanDelta Updater to stay up to date.
For a period of about 3 weeks, I updated to the latest nightly nearly every day using CyanDelta. Sometimes I'd download the full ROM instead of using CyanDelta. During this time, I never wiped the device (aka factory reset). I just applied the new release on top of the old.
Recently, my phone's performance degraded significantly. There were long delays unlocking, long delays switching apps, long delays doing just about everything. The phone would freeze up, and the OS would ask if I wanted to end a process because it wasn't responding. My podcatcher would stutter while playing.
Instead of switching to another ROM, I decided to first do a full wipe (factory reset). I used Titanium Backup to back up my user apps and data. In TeamWin Recovery, I did a factory reset, flashed the same CM 10.1 nightly I was running previously, restored my apps using Titanium, signed into accounts, etc.
My phone's performance has been completely restored. It's like night and day.
My question is: Why did that work?  What is it about applying successive ROM versions that could cause a slowdown that a wipe would fix?
I love my new level of performance, but I also enjoy keeping up with the latest releases. It would seem I can't have my jelly beans and eat them too. Now I'm reluctant to flash any updates without doing a full wipe.

I have the same issue, and just assumed it was bugs or what not.

Sometimes instead a full wipe, a wipe of the Dalvik Cache might solve this as well (that's where the pre-compiled code of the apps resides, which then would simply be re-generated at boot time), maybe it became too fragmented.

CyanDelta purports to automatically wipe the Dalvik cache with each update. So that's not likely the solution.

I've come up with one potential answer myself: TRIM
Solid state disks (SSDs) and some flash memory require the operating system to perform a kind of housekeeping task to maintain the efficiency of the device.
The operating system command TRIM is explained in this AnandTech article:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2738/10

Its applicability to certain Android devices, including my Samsung Galaxy Nexus and ASUS Nexus 7 is explained in these XDA Developers threads:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2104326
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1971852

An XDA member wrote an app called LagFix which purports to exercise the TRIM maintenance function, thus restoring write performance for the device.
Since I recently performed a complete factory reset, I'm no longer having performance problems and thus I can't directly corroborate the purported benefits of LagFix. If I'm in a position where performance is suffering, I may do some benchmarking and see if LagFix improves the situation.
Please be aware if you plan to try LagFix that there are some devices that have chips that do NOT play nice with this utility. These chips have what's come to be called a BrickBug, and if you run LagFix on one of these devices, you will irrevocably brick your device.
I highly recommend you follow the advice and read the LagFix FAQ. It points to a utility which can tell you if your device contains a chip that may suffer from the BrickBug.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=37029420&postcount=122

I'm going to accept my own answer here with a "works for me" caveat. Since instituting a nightly TRIM operation using LagFix, my performance has remained acceptable (to me). I've continued to flash CM 10.1 nightlies.

Update: According to AnandTech, Android 4.3 brings TRIM to all Nexus devices. This would seem to bolster my answer above. http://www.anandtech.com/show/7185/android-43-update-brings-trim-to-all-nexus-devices

To answer your Question, i would like to Quote something called, Dalvik VM and Android File System.
The Android File System would have below partitions (as Common in most devices),
\system
\boot
\data
\cache
When ever you flash a new ROM and Corresponding files would be moved to corresponding partitions.
When You flashing a new rom without wiping, the files in all partition would be overridden (If files with same names) and some of the older files may remain as a debris.
\Cache
\Data
The above two partitions are ROM specific, whenever there are new apps installed, the Temporary data and its cache would be created and stored in respective partitions. When you wipe, old data and cache items would be cleared.
All Android applications are optimiz to dex (.odex) to run in dalvik virtual Machine (Similar to Java VM). These items need to be cleared when moving to different roms.
Some info about dalvik  - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalvik_%28software%29

As mentioned above, the update method I'm using automatically wipes the Dalvik cache.

TL;DR - Restored performance of my 2012 ASUS Nexus 7 16GB by deleting several GB of unneeded files.
I recently solved a performance problem on my ASUS Nexus 7 (16GB, first generation) using an unrelated solution to the LagFix/TRIM solution outlined above. Although LagFix seems to have solved the problem on my Verizon Galaxy Nexus (performance remains excellent to this day), I continued experiencing truly awful and unacceptable performance on my ASUS Nexus 7.
My research yielded many reports that if the Nexus 7 memory gets "too full", performance degrades significantly. My device had 3 GB of free memory, so I was skeptical that my Nexus 7 was "too full".
I used the excellent DiskUsage utility to inspect the contents of my 16GB flash memory to see if I could clear out some space. I discovered a movie file I had long since watched and forgotten about consuming several GB of space.
I deleted the movie file, a number of old Nandroid and Titanium backups I no longer needed, and deleted a couple GB of podcasts I didn't need. This freed up several GB on the device.
Performance is now excellent on my Nexus 7. It feels like new.

Was your performance improved immediately? I just deleted apps & files to go from about 1.7GB free to 6.7GB free. I feel like parts of the system are slightly faster but on the whole many things are still just as dirt slow as before.

It's been more  than a year since I wrote the above, and I'm afraid I don't recall whether performance improved "immediately", sorry. Additionally, there have been many improvements in newer versions of Android. 5.0 Lollipop is now out and should be available for the 2012 ASUS Nexus 7. I no longer own that device, so I can't help further on the 2012 ASUS Nexus 7.

I tried wiping dalvik cache but it didn't work,then I tried wiping all data and reinstalling CyanogenMod 11 but it didn't work too. Then I came up with a solution that by using CPU MASTER (available on play store) we can set the frequency of our CPU to max for permanent time and Bloom the outcome was unbelievable. I will prefer it to everyone. But it needs root so.....

Hello Onkar and welcome to Android Enthusiasts! :) While your answer makes sense, it does not address the core problem of the question. Setting CPU frequencies will most likely always result in better performance but this is not the desired thing to do here. Also watch your battery life from now on :)


text:
How do I remove stocks from the stock card settings in Google Now?
I have added some stocks to the stock card settings that I want to remove, how do I do that? There is no obvious way, I tried long press & swiping but those gestures do nothing.

In Android 4.4:

Open Google Now.
Press the Options button in upper right corner of the Stock Card.
Press the Right Arrow to cycle through options for the card.
When asked about "Interested in the stock UNWANTED-STOCK-NAME?", tap "NO".

In older versions:
This should do it for you:

Open Google Now

Press the menu button

Press Settings

Press Google Now

Scroll down and press Stocks

Press the stock you want to remove

Press Remove


text:
How to extract SMSes from a non rooted device with a broken touchscreen?
I have an HTC Wildfire S A510e (Android 2.3.5, not rooted). I want to extract my SMS messages and import them into another device.
Problems:

There is no free space on the internal memory left. No apps such as SMS backup can be installed.
The touchscreen is broken, I cannot unlock the display or use any buttons (e.g. home, back, search).
Device is not rooted. I cannot view the contents of /data/ and thus can't use adb uninstall to free up space.

The SMS-database is located in:
/data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db

ls -l outputs:
-rw-rw---- radio    radio      977920 2013-03-12 10:12 mmssms.db

However, adb pull mmssms.db or cat mmssms.db don't work (Permission denied).
Any suggestions?

Don't have any good ideas myself, I can help yours, though. 1) You don't need to be rooted to use "adb uninstall ". Use "adb shell pm list packages -f" to see what's installed, then use adb uninstall on the non-system stuff listed. 2) You also seem to be using adb pull wrong. It needs the full path. "adb pull /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db" run from your desktop, not run from adb shell. Although that DB may or may not be world readable. So the command may still fail. *) I guess I would write an app to pull the messages by API and run it from Eclipse.


text:
How can I directly, wirelessly copy files between Galaxy S3 and Ubuntu?
I would like to copy files between Galaxy S3 and Ubuntu

without giving away too many privileges - just copying said file
without any rooty system modifications (I want to keep the carrier-warranty including their system updates - currently 4.1.2; and I want to show this to hapless users too - without them calling me back...)
without using an USB cable (I know how to do this like in this answer, that is, connecting as a camera ; but this gives one complete rw access in some directories)
preferably without any extra apps to install.

It seems there are two options left (when going through the list offered by the "Share via" button): either Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.
For Bluetooth such a transfer worked with an out-of-the-box preinstalled Windows. So it is not the Android as such which is a problem, rather Ubuntu but there was no answer nor interest on AU.
When I try to send it via Bluetooth I just get the notification: "Bluetooth share: Sent 0 successful, 1 failed". However, I can transfer files from Ubuntu to Android.
So how can I copy files successfully?

Judging by your comments below you also wish to do this without installing any applications; a point you may wish to make clear above.

@Poldie: Thank you, updated. I would prefer an out-of-the-box solution

There are multiple possibilities to do so. If the opposite direction is OK with you (i.e. initiating the transfer from your Ubuntu machine), you might want to take a look at apps like WebSharing or Samba Server, which require little permissions. AirDroid is quite famous, but you probably won't like its permission requests (with that app you can maintain almost all your device).
Initiating transfers from your Android device, some file managers might be interesting. So e.g. ES File Explorer File Manager (which I use myself). This app can even auto-discover your Samba resources, so you can directly copy files in both directions.
All mentioned solutions work via WiFi and require both ends (Android and Ubuntu) being members of the same network.

The direction Ubuntu -> Android works out of the box (not very comfortably, but OK for, say, a picture or two).

There must be an out-of-the-box solution for Android -> Ubuntu too. Certainly not as comfortable as a special app. But imagine some stranger wants to give you an image from his Galaxy. You would not say: install-this-and-that.

It's long time ago that I've used Bluetooth for similar things. But have you tried to install the obexpushd package on Ubuntu, and then send an item via Bluetooth from your device to the Ubuntu machine? According to the package description, it should support this.

I was not able to find easy way to make working USB connection between my Galaxy S3 and Ubuntu. The only solution that worked for me described here: UBUNTU - AUTOMOUNT NEXUS 7 IN MTP MODE. Here is list what I did to make MTP working:

Compile and install go-mtp
Create mount point
Create udev rules
Play around with mount/umount

It was not trivial at all, but finally made USB connection working. Speed is good and after initial configuration doesn't require any further reconfiguration. Please refer to the link for details.

I use AndSMB or AndFTP over WiFi for this purpose. The former accesses files shared via the SMB/CIFS protocol; the latter can access FTP and SFTP servers. You might already have Samba (an SMB server) installed on your Ubuntu machine. If not, I think SFTP is easier to set up: you just need to install the openssh-server package, and look at the official documentation to see what options you might want to change.
I mention these two clients because I've used both and I know you can use "Share" with both of them as well as a file browser interface; there are other SFTP and SMB clients available.
If you go with SFTP, you might go a step further and install a dynamic-DNS system on your Ubuntu box so you can access it over the Internet as well as your own WiFi network. If you do this (as I have), it's like having your own Dropbox server.


text:
Is it possible to pull data using Android Debug Bridge on an N7 while soft bricked
I've tried countless fixes for my N7 being softbricked (No idea how it was done). I've resorted to using Android Debug Bridge, however I cannot get access to the device (device not recognized from CMD using "adb pull").
The last time the device was used it wasn't set to USB debugging mode and now that it is always stuck on the nexus loading screen I can't change the options. Right now I'm stuck on what to do from here is there anyone out there with the time to help.
The only reason why I'm so eager to not just send back the device is because I have photos on the device I cannot afford to lose. Both Google and Asus, have stated they would not recover any of the files for me and that I have to do it myself if I want them.
Alternatively Could I Wipe/factory reset then use a photo recovery software on the nexus to get the images back. Just to state, my Nexus is stock nothing modified in anyway.
Any advice would help me greatly thanks
Anya~

That's one of the reasons I would never buy a device not offering support for "external" sdcards... Have you tried to boot it into recovery? It might be accessible via ADB then. Fastboot mode (keeping vol-down pressed while switching it on) might also be worth a try (though fastboot does not give you the option to pull some files, you could e.g. (re-)flash an image in the hope to revive the device).

It's catch 22 for me because I want to do these kind of fixes for the device however the USB debugging mode isn't enabled and was never enabled before the device took a turn for the worst. If I could enable USB debugging mode from the recovery menu or somewhere then I can move onto fixing this problem.

I'm not sure whether fastboot actually requires that (never tried). You might be correct, however, that it might be needed for ADB even in recovery mode -- but even that might depend on the device and its ROM implementation...

For using fastboot debug mode is not required. You can download stock image from google and unzip the file ,after that just flash boot.img after entering to fastboot mode. Fastboot flash Command is fastboot flash boot boot.img. But i am not 100% sure this would help your case. But just worth a try.

It's alright I found a more simple method. I just wiped/factory reset the tablet that made the nexus boot up to the welcome screen again. Then I used an image recovery software program to retrieve the photos so now I have a fixed nexus and memories back, good times. The recovery program is called Recuva.

It's alright I found a more simple method. I just wiped/factory reset the tablet that made the nexus boot up to the welcome screen again. Then I used an image recovery software program to retrieve the photos so now I have a fixed nexus and memories back, good times. The recovery program is called Recuva. –

Could you share how you did it?


text:
Connecting Galaxy S3 to DisplayPort via MHL HDTV Adaptor
I have a Samsung Galaxy S3, and I just bought the Samsung HDTV Adapter (MHL to HDMI). However, my Dell U2412M monitor only has VGA, DVI or DisplayPort. So I also bought an HDMI to displayPort converter cable. Alas, the connection doesn't work.
I know that everything is properly connected. The Samsung MHL is properly connected to both the phone and the (official Samsung) charger. The HDMI cable goes from there to the displayPort to HDMI (female) adapter, which in turn is properly fitted to the monitor. Then, I switch the input on the monitor to DisplayPort, and sadly my monitor goes to power save mode.
Is there anything I can do to make this configuration work? If not, have you got any advice?

That cable is not going to work.  That adapter will only allow you to go from a (dual-mode) Displayport source to an HDMI input, not the other way around like you're trying to use it.
To go from an HDMI source to a Displayport input, you need an active converter, such as this Startech unit, not merely an adapter, as Displayport uses a fundamentally different means of data transmission (It's a packetized connection like USB, not just a digital stream) than HDMI or DVI.

Ouch! Very expensive... OK, so that explains why my set didn't work. Thanks very much for your answer. I wish I could Upvote you right now but that will have to wait till I get enough rep.

A few things to consider:

Make sure the HDTV adapter is connected to a USB power such as the wall or a PC (the USB from the TVs don't give enough power)
Have you tried the HDMI to display port adapter with another HDMI output such as your laptop or PC? maybe this is faulty
Try using an HDMI to DVI adaptor
Try another HDMI monitor to ensure its not your monitor

Thanks, all good advice. 1. All connected properly. 2. Not yet but I will 3. don't have one 4. I tried on another monitor, and it works.

so are you saying that you tried the same configuration on an HDMI monitor and it worked? that means its the HDMI to display port adaptor that is not working (either faulty or just not compatible with your monitor input or hdmi output)

Yes, that's what I mean. However on the second part of your interpretation I would add that it is also possible that  MHL or something in the S3 configuration makes it unable to work through an HDMI to DisplayPort adapter. Either way, the Samsun MHL adapter I bought does work when directly connected to an HDMI monitor. Thanks for your input :)

Another U2412M user here
Since DisplayPort has been ruled out, DVI is supposed to be good alternative since it's "electrically compatible" with HDMI.
Unfortunately, that's not the case for Android device + U2412M :(
I have personally tested MicroHDMI - DVI (Xperia Pro MK16) and MHL - DVI cable (HTC One M7) with this monitor, none of those combinations appear to work. The monitor simply reverts to sleep mode within 5 minutes.
Edit: MHL works only in 640x480 resolution, and I must pull the power from the monitor USB hub, previously I only tried plugging the MHL usb plug to wall charger with no success.
I have also tested different cables, and all of them works fine when connected to a laptop.
In the end I simply get (micro) HDMI to VGA adapter and finally the U2412M able to mirror my phone display. Make sure you get the one with microUSB port, otherwise your phone battery will be drained fast.
I assume MHL to VGA adaptor should also works.


text:
Copy all sdcard contents to larger sdcard
Recently I've run out of room on my small (2GB) sdcard.  What I want to do is copy all the contents of this card onto something a little larger.  I have an FTP server (the one that comes with ES File Explorer) installed on my phone, and that's pretty much the only way I can copy from the card mounted in my phone to a computer or vice-versa (my computer has never recognized my phone's sdcard and only displayes /data).
What's the best way to copy all of it (including hidden files, non-readable files, and apps stored on the sdcard)?

The least tricky way is:

take your 2GB card out of the device, put it into a card reader, and attach that to your computer
copy all contents from the card to an empty directory on your computer
safely remove the card reader, replace the 2GB card by the newer, bigger one, and attach that to the computer
copy the contents of the directory from step 2. to the new card
safely remove that card again, and place it into your Android device

When in doubt about the hidden stuff, use Linux for the copy process. You can even boot it from a LiveCD. From a terminal command, use cp -R /path/to/source/* /path/to/target. On the other hand, if using Windows and you can see the files/directories starting with a dot (watch out e.g. for the .android_secure directory), they should be copied along fine.
See also:

How do I switch my Android device's SD card without causing problems?
Changing SD Card Just a Simple Copy & Paste
App2sd - Changing the SD Card
How to upgrade / swap SD card without losing data and installed apps?

So /path/to/source when copying from the 2GB should be something like /mnt/whatever right?

Right: /path/to/source is the complete path to where you are copying from (so in step 2, this is the SDCard, while /path/to/target is the location on your PC to (temporarily) store the contents -- while in step 4 it is the other way around).

Alright thanks!  I'll start upgrading right away!

Crossing fingers -- good luck! (Not that I expect any trouble, though -- but a little feedback is always welcome :)

On my Android One Nokia 7.1, I noticed that the SD card is mounted as /storage/XXXX-XXXX where XXXX-XXXX is the volume's serial number.
Here's how I cloned my smaller SD card onto a larger one:

Formatted the 200GB µSD using these steps (Windows says it’s too large)
Copied using ROBOCOPY /S /ZB /V g:\ f:\ ( g:\ represents the old SD card while f:\ represents the new).
Changed the volume serial number using SysInternals’  VolumeId.exe:

PS> cmd /c vol f:
Volume in drive F is LUMIAUSD200
Volume Serial Number is 1F04-2747
PS > Volumeid.exe f: B14F-130C

VolumeId v2.1 - Set disk volume id
Copyright (C) 1997-2016 Mark Russinovich
Sysinternals - www.sysinternals.com

Volume ID for drive f: updated to b14f-130c
PS > cmd /c vol f:
Volume in drive F is LUMIAUSD200
Volume Serial Number is B14F-130C

After that, I inserted the new card into the phone, and voilà! All apps were happy (since the mountpoint had not changed).

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


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Disable (in software) Nexus S Power Button
My Nexus S has a broken power button that some days works fine, some days doesn't work at all, but most days just acts up and will randomly turn my phone on, even when it's sitting on the table.
I'm running a CyanogenMod 10.1 nightly on it. Through ButtonRemapper, I've mapped the soft search button to act as a power button, and enabled the volume buttons to turn the phone on. Thus, I have no need to use the power button anymore, and it is just annoying.
Is there a way I can disable (without hardware modifications) the power button? ButtonRemapper doesn't have in its options the ability to change it, and I've had no luck trying to modify the keymap files.
Any help is appreciated!

Xposed Additions Method
For this, you will require root:

Install the latest version of BusyBox. If you are having trouble with that installer, you can use an alternate BusyBox installer like BusyBox Installer.
Install the latest version of Xposed Installer.
Install the Xposed Additions module (Play Store)
Activate the module via Xposed Installer > Modules > [tick the box next to Xposed Additions].
Install the framework via Xposed Installer > Framework > Install/Update.
Reboot. A soft reboot is sufficient, but if it doesn't work, try a full reboot.
Xposed Additions > Buttons > Add New Button > (press the hardware button(s) you want to reconfigure, then tap OK].
Now, under Xposed Additions > Buttons, the buttons you have added will be there. Tap on the Power entry in the list. From here, you can configure the button to have no action on both screen on, screen off, and lock screen (if necessary). You can change each Click and Long Press action to do nothing.

Note: This will only prevent the power button's action while Android is running. This will not affect your button configuration while your device is (a) powered off, (b) in bootloader/download mode, or (c) recovery mode.
IMPORTANT: Make sure you have an alternate power button configured, or you may have no way to turn your screen on without a reboot! If this happens, reboot the phone, then add an alternate button to power on your device.

Thanks! This worked great. Note that you have to add (disabled) actions for all the possible options to actually disable the power button. This confused me briefly.

There is no way to disable the power button thru software
Because power button signals is hardwired to the phone's internals. Hardware modding is the only option for this happen
I suggest getting that button repaired. Its not really expensive (250Php equivalent to 6$ USD), and can be done quite fast. Not sure about official service centers though

It is hard wired to the phone's internals, but the software still decides what to do when it receives that signal. I.e. when in clockwork mod, pressing the power selects an option, not shutting the screen down as when booted into android. I just want a way for android to ignore presses from the power button, if that makes sense.

All buttons are 'hard-wired' - that's how the phone knows whether the button is pressed or not.  But it's just a button.


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Remove SMS notification on Lenovo A800
How can I remove the SMS notification in status bar? I think I have no Notification setting.

If Lenovo didn't change the stock messaging app: open Messaging and press the Menu in the down-right corner and choose Settings. Scroll down to the Notifications section and uncheck Notifications.

thank you sir..bt my LENOVO A800 dont have notification settings

@mickhagon Could you take a screenshot of the settings page?


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Android Device Partitions
I understand how partitions work on a harddisk, also how to use programs to create, change, delete these partitions.
I am using also Android for quite some time - but never really tried to go very deep regarding the system itself.
I would really get some more details regarding how the system works but I feel I cannot find the right source for the deeper knowledge.
In this question I would like to focus on the Android partitions only.
I found this source:
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Doc:_more_concepts#Partitions_and_directories
But I would like to understand a little bit more:
Is the concept similar to harddisks?
Can these partitions also be changed?
Or would it be necessary at all?
Are there tools to change the partitons?
Can I brick my device forever when working on the partitions?
Thank you so much!!

In *nix operating systems, most of the system resources are exposed as a folders like /system etc which is sometime analogous (where it involves storage) to partitions in Windows world. USB flash drives, memory cards, even serial and parallel ports are all exposed as a folder accessible from root /. I am not a *nix user and hence I can't say any more.

Technically spoken, one could of course change the partitioning of Android devices (some Custom ROMs even offer interfaces to it). However, without deeper knowledge I'd keep my fingers out of it (at least when it comes to /system and /recovery partitions), as things like system updates might depend on the "known defaults" for the device in question. As this goes somehow deep into system internals, I don't think it is a topic well fitted for our site. I'd rather recommend the XDA-Developers forum for this.

The Android firmware is composed of several image files.  These image files are flashed to (device specific) locations on your devices internal memory.  Typically these images are for the bootloader, recovery, fastboot, and the system (OS).  The remaining memory is mapped to your internal storage.  Since each device expects them to be located at different locations depending on the manufacturer, you cannot modify them safely.


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SD card "damaged" after every reboot / power off
When I turn off my phone, next time it says SD card is damaged and all data is gone, I can only reformat it. The phone is "gionee iq275" (also known as "Fly" in Russia), Android version is 2.3.4. What can be the source of problem? How can I get rid of it? I know, the phone is crap, but at the moment just throwing it away and buying another is not a solution.

Not sure why that happened, but I got rid of the problem by making 2 things:

Performed full format of the SD card, and
Safely eject SD card before reboot of poweroff (not sure if it's necessary)

After that, I didn't see this problem again for now.
Update
That crappy phone sometimes damages SD card content regardless of whether the techniques written above are used... it seems to be a device-specific problem. So, my advice (if anyone else reads this) - don't buy "no-name" Chinese phones! :D

This is a problem for Samsung phones and Moto Gs as far as I have seen, so it's not restricted to certain brands. Format & safe eject does not work for me unfortunately.

Adding my answer, in case someone else is having similar problem, even after a decade of original answer to question.
One way of early prevention is, format SD card into exFAT. I never used my sd card as "internal" or RAM extension, so your usage could be different. exFAT SD cards no longer have issues, whenever my phone reboots(due to update or whatever reason).
I faced this issue in Nokia and Xiaomi devices, so I put blames on Android OS way of handling external SD cards(From Android 9.0 to 14.0).
In case of recovery, easeus recovery tool has SD card option, but not free/freemium.


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What do the "Sync Internet" and "Sync Instant Upload" options do in Jelly Bean settings?
What do the "Sync Internet" and "Sync Instant Upload" options do in Jelly Bean settings?

Instant Upload is a feature of Google+, which uploads the photos you take with your camera to a private photo folder on Google+ for easy sharing. This option allows you to enable/disable this feature, but it can also be controlled from other Google apps like Google+ and Google Settings. More info
Sync Internet means syncing your browser history, bookmarks, form input data and other settings on Chrome. This requires that you use the same Google account on all instances of Chrome that you want to sync. I'm not certain if this feature syncs the data also to the stock browser, but it's possible.

As the "sync internet" option disappears when you remove/freeze Chrome, I'd say it does apply to Chrome only (specifically not to the stock browser).

Sync Internet has serious bugs between different Android versions.


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Tecno N3 keeps rebooting
In my case, my tecno n3 keeps rebooting even with the sd card removed. What can I do? Pls help.
Didn't install any new apps recently.
Only followed Barca_Ac Milan commentary online.
Also, how do I hard reset the phone?

Do you mean factory reset instead of hard reset? As in clear user data?

Did you check the initial help in the tag-wiki for "boot-loop"? (Simply hover your mouse over the tag, and in the popup click the "info" link. Quite often that place already contains initial help. For your convenience: click here ;)

Press Vol up + Power button for about 4 seconds, keep until reset menu appears.


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Is it safe to install Launchers for Android which require quite a few permissions?
I have HTC One X with Sense on it. Sense is a bit slow. So I installed Apex Launcher. It was fast but it required quite a few permissions so I uninstalled it. I looked at other Launchers in Google Play like Nova, Go, etc. but all of them had required some or the other permissions which were giving me goosebumps, like

Service that cost you money: Directly call phone numbers
Your messages: Access mail information, read your text messages (SMS
or MMS)
Your personal information: Read call log, read your contacts
Your accounts: Find accounts on this device

So my question is, is it safe to install Launchers for Android which require permissions like they can read your emails, SMS, call number directly? Also Apex launcher cannot create widget on home screen unless the phone is rooted and shows a message - NOTE: Due to limitations of the Android framework, you won't be able to add widgets from the drawer unless Apex Launcher is installed as a system app (root required). Please read the FAQ for more information. Is this the case with all Launchers?

Those permissions (call, SMS) are in most cases used for "quick-access-widgets/shortcuts" the launcher provides. To create a call widget for a contact, the contacts need to be read, which again might need the account data in some cases to retrieve them.
So all those permissions are obviously making sense in context of a launcher. Of course this does not mean they cannot be abused. So I'd either stick with a heavily used / well known app, or have additional protection (PDroid, LBE).
You explicitly mentioned Apex, which I use on some of my devices. On others I use GoLauncher EX. I also use LBE to keep watch. None of these two launchers ever misused these permissions (at least I never got a warning) -- though I must admit I did not check all the logs thoroughly all the time.

You are welcome. Thanks to your question, I was reminded that I wanted to evaluate the logs for that, so I now prepared one device to keep an eye on Apex. I will check the logs for a few days now -- but I'm pretty sure there won't be any "violation".

I might not be 100% right, but as a launcher I think the permissions are for the following:

Directly call phone numbers: If the launcher has its own Dialer, you need to give it permissions to be able to do calls, else you would end with a dialer that doesnt dial.
Access mail information, read your text messages (SMS or MMS): Same as above, launchers many times have direct access to your SMSs, so it can be either displayed or linked to your home screen.
Read call log, read your contacts: This has to do with the first one, if you let use it the dialer, call logs and contacts should also be used when trying to dial, else you would end having to type the entire number you want to call.
Find accounts on this device: I suppose this one refers to the Google account if your contacts are stored there.

So if the above permisions are for a Launcher, you shouldn't worry since they're pretty usual.
As for the launcher root issue, I think its a JB issue. I'm using the stock right now, but in Ginger Bread and ICS I was using a non-stock launcher and could add widgets without problems.

I had ICS on my HTC One X and even then the Apex Launcher would complain that widgets cannot be added. But in there Pro version it claims can be! So I guess its just a ploy to get users to pay up. They asked for it upfront though. :) Thanks for the explanation.


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Android 2.3: Expected behavior for setting time automatically with Wifi only
I want to understand how Android 2.3 sets the time when the Date & Time settings are configured to "Automatic" but no SIM card is present.
I am setting up LG E400 Optimus L3 devices as WiFi-only devices, no Sim cards. Retrieving the time automatically would be highly desired, however it only works sometimes and most times nothing seems to happen and I fail to see any pattern.
From some web and Android source code research I've learned that Android only supports Network Time Protocol (NTP) from Android 4.0 on and before it was NITZ/GSM only - however, that does not explain why I can sometimes set the time automatically with no Sim card.

Android only supports Network Time Protocol (NTP) from Android 4.0 on and before it was NITZ/GSM only - certainly not in my opinion.  The app ClockSync which I use in my LG Optimus One (P500) running Android 2.3.3 (rooted) works with NTP protocol. I did not rely on my GSM operator's time settings as I found the deviation was unacceptable limits.
Please see the question Inaccurate time? How to fix it? and its answer.

Thank you. We know ClockSync but would prefer not rooting the devices.

I use ClockSync as well on my (rooted) Optimus 4X (running Android 4.0.3). Every day it adjusts the time by ~1s -- which shows its other "source" is not that accurate. As ClockSync clearly uses NTP, Android's own mechanism must use something different obviously.


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how to restrict my android wifi connect to only one access point?
I like to restrict my android device's wi-fi connect to one and only one access point. The attempt to connect to any other access points should be prevented.
Is it possible to check the SSID value of access point in wi-fi driver and allow connection to only one particular SSID value?

Just a try, remove write permission of wpa_supplicant.conf file after saving your preffered ssid. I havent tried yet.

By default Android will not connect to an access point unless it is in your list of "Remembered" networks.  A network is remembered automatically the first time you connect to it.  The solution is to open Settings -> Wi-Fi then select each Wi-Fi access point and click "Forget".  This will remove it from the list of "Remebered" networks.  From this point forward, Android will notify you that networks are available, but will not connect without solicitation.
If you're asking for security reasons, there is no security mechanism for white listing Wi-Fi networks.  Android has no parental controls, if that's what you're after.

Well, it won't connect to a network unless it's in the list. It will connect to any access point on that network.


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make chrome default browser
I'm using Galaxy Note 2
Nowadays, every link in FB app and in Whatsapp is opened in the native browser
I want to make Chrome the defualt browser for all actions including these two apps.
How can I do this?

Head to Settings -> Apps -> All -> Internet -> Clear Defaults. Next time you do a search or open a link, you'll be given a choice of which app you want to open it with. Select Chrome and put a tick in the "Make Default" checkbox and that should make Chrome the default browser.

While j0chn's description works (and also does work for other "default apps"), it might not be the most user-friendly approach. As Android itself does not offer anything else, you might want to pick a helper. Default App Manager is such a helper:

Default App Manager (Source: Google Play); Click images to enlarge
As the screenshots show, this app lists up default apps defined and lets you clear those defaults -- but it also lets you define them.

I did it like this:
Go to Settings→application manager→all. There to "internet browser", click on that and delete that "is default". When next time started the desktop link asked me for default browser.


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How can I disable the status bar on the lock screen?
I want my lock screen to actually lock the phone.  I don't want to be able to unlock the phone and initiate a call by pulling the phone out of my pocket, or randomly select notification items if it bangs against my leg.  Is there a way to just turn all that crap off?
For anyone interested in this functionality, I have logged a bug.

The only way to disable the pulldown is to not use the default swipe unlock.  Switching to a PIN, pattern, password, or face unlock will get rid of that.

That's a bit annoying, really I want the swipe unlock without anything else being swipeable.

@robertc - Yes, I know, but for some reason, the functionality to disable that feature isn't included.  I believe some custom ROMs implement such an option, but nothing stock AFAIK.


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POP3 E-mail Downloading Old E-mails I had Deleted
My Galaxy S3 phone recently received an update.  My POP3 e-mail via Comcast now downloads e-mails from several weeks ago, apparently when it wants and however many it wants, at the same time it checks for new e-mails.  I end up 'marking as read' and deleting these in bulk time and again.  I've tried NOT marking as read as well.  This did not happen until after the update.  Any suggestions?

Have you checked your server settings for POP3? It might not be set to "delete from server".

You have to tell the mail application to delete the messages from the server explicitly.  This options is provided during the initial setup, but is also accessible from the Account Setup options.  Change "Delete message from server" from "Never" to "When I delete from Inbox".
This was not part of my original answer, but was added by the editor:
This is fine if you do all your email on your handheld, but if you need to leave messages on the server for any reason (you deal with some later on computers at home or work) your android will keep grabbing other old messages to take their place until your set maximum is filled.  This seems to be a bug or at least a weakness in the platform.

This is untrue. I have a Samsung Tab 10.1 and an S2. The tablet will not download old messages but leave them for download when I get home. The S2 will download all messages over and over again. I read my mail on the go and deal with it at home. The tab does it but the phone does not.


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My Samsung Galaxy S2 keeps saying not registered on network when I try to phone
My Samsung Galaxy  S2 keeps saying not registered on network when I try to phone also a no entry sign where the signal bars should be keeps randomly appearing.
Does anyone know how to fix it or whats happening?

It sounds like you may need to reset your APN settings, Your phone will be slightly different than mine, I'm using a Nexus 4.  Try locating the following:
Settings -> Wireless & Networks -> Mobile Networks -> Access Point Names -> and from there locate the "Reset to default" option.
If that doesn't work, you can backup your device, and factory reset it.

I have got to access point names but can not find a reset to default option.

i did have my phone unlocked from orange so i could put my vodafone sim in i dont know if that would effect it? but that was months ago and the phone has worked fine untill now. @Michael

Try looking here, Menu > Settings > Wireless & Network > Mobile Network > Access Point Names > then press Menu, and look for the reset option.

ok found i have found it and reset it but it still says not registered on network, @michael

In that case I would perform a factory reset

i have prefromed a factory reset and i am still expierencing the same problem @michael

Experiencing a similar issue at the moment. Any known solution?


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Unable to update or uninstall LiveWare
I have a Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S, and I am unable to update or uninstall LiveWare.
Every time I try to update, a message pops up saying:

Error package file was not signed correctly. Uninstall the previous copy of the app and try again.

However, I am unable to uninstall it as there is no option for me to do so, only the option to update. I also cannot open LiveWare, and because I can not update it my SmartWatch is not working properly as I am unable to install apps to the watch.
My phone is up to date as I have downloaded the latest updates to 4.0.3
I have reset my phone to factory settings updated it and done everything I can think of. What's causing this issue?

To reinstall LiveWare™ manager or Smart Connect

From your phone’s main application menu, find and tap Settings > Applications.
Select LiveWare™ manager or Smart Connect.
Tap Uninstall, then tap OK.
Install LiveWare™ manager or Smart Connect application from Google Play™ again.

Note: The Smart Connect application only works for Sony phones running Android™ version 4.0 and later. All other Android™ phones still need LiveWare™ manager application.
(Source)


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Will the ''wipe data/factory reset'' in ClockworkMod also remove my backups I have done?
I currently have CyanogenMod 10.1 (Android 4.2.1) on my Galaxy SIII. I used ClockworkMod to flash the ROM.
Now, after using the ROM for a while, I want to try some other ROMs, so I made a backup of my current ROM (CyanogenMod 10.1) in ClockworkMod recovery and the backup was saved to: /mnt/shell/emulated/clockworkmod/backup.
Now, if I use the "wipe data/factory reset" option in ClockworkMod recovery, will that remove the backup I made?

There is fairly detailed documentation http://www.addictivetips.com/mobile/what-is-clockworkmod-recovery-and-how-to-use-it-on-android-complete-guide/

Wipe data will wipe everything on your /data partition (hence the name). A factory reset will wipe the same (additionally also cache and Dalvik cache), and put your device back to a virgin state. Usually, this doesn't touch the (external) SDCard, and AFAIK should not touch the internal SDCard either.
I don't know on which partition your mentioned folder resides; but if you want to be on the safe side, back up everything to the external SDCard (or even better off-device, e.g. to your computer).

On the Nexus 5 the clockworkmod backup folder hides under data/media  and I can confirm that this does not get wiped by the factory reset/data wipe option. Ditto for backups created with the oandbackup app

It deletes /data files. If you have a backup in mnt/shell, it will not be deleated. Also, you can restore your backup after factory reset.


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Where is the data for "Contacts Storage" located?
Settings -> Applications -> All tells me that "Contacts Storage" uses 2.5MB which must be my contact data.
Since I had to revert to 4.03 after a faulty update to 4.1 my contacts seem inaccessible although the data seems to be there.
Could you please tell me where to find the associated data(base) for Contacts Storage? My phone is rooted.
And no, my contact data is not on GMail and I honestly don't know why...

The exact location of the contacts database might depend on your manufacturer's "customization". While "plain Vanilla Android" has them in /data/data/android.providers.contacts/databases, the stock ROM on my Motorola Milestone 2 e.g. uses /data/data/com.motorola.blur.providers.contacts/databases/contacts2.db instead. A raw mask to check for is /data/data/*.providers.contacts/databases/*.db. The file is in SQLite3 format, and can be browsed on your PC with e.g. SQLiteman or DB Browser for SQLite, which is available for Linux, Mac, and Windows alike. With this application you can browse the database in a graphical mode. Of course you also can use the command line sqlite3 client if you prefer.
Crucial point to directly access this database is that your device must be rooted -- a precondition you already meet, as your question states.
So you can either use a file manager to navigate to the database file, and copy it to your computer for investigation -- or directly pull it to your computer via adb pull. A third option would be to investigate it directly on your device, e.g. using the SQLite Manager or aSQLiteManager app.

If you are rooted, use Titanium Backup to take out contact storage.

Open the app and navigate to Backup/Restore TAB
It displays storage item entries with Green color.

Here's a screenshot :

Click on it to enlarge

Could you explain that in more detail, please?


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Change Mount Point for SD Card?
As this question Why is the SD-card mounted to "/sdcard/external_sd" instead of "/sdcard" (or "/mnt/sdcard")? points out, newer versions of Android often point the /mnt/sdcard path to internal storage instead of the SD card, and the location for the sd storage is not clearly defined and varies from device to device.
Is it possible to modify my phone so that /mnt/sdcard would actually point to the SD card instead of some arbitrary location on internal storage? (would this require rooting the phone?)
Since the new specifications are so vague about what the mount point should be for sd cards, many apps do not work properly, or have features (such as backup and restore or export) that are completely useless if the /mnt/sdcard path doesn't actually point to a removable piece of memory that you can move to another device.

You would need root for this, because the mount command/accessing vold.fstab requires root permissions, but I'm not sure precisely how you'd go about this. Unrooted options will likely be very limited (if any exist at all, which I doubt, personally).

As eldarerathis noted in his comment, this will require root. But you don't need to manually edit the vold.fstab file for this, as there are some nice little helpers available:
Root External 2 Internal SD can swap your cards (i.e. exchange their mount points):

Root External 2 Internal SD (Source: Google Play)
Note that this app requires Android 4.0 or higher.

Seems like it doesn't work with KitKat. You can try using this method instead: http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s2/help/swap-internal-external-storages-4-4-t2548834/post56052673#post56052673 .

would like to swap sd card with internal storage, can't get it to work using External 2 Internal SD

@izzy Root External 2 Internal SD does not exist anymore


text:
How to force Google+ Instant Upload to perform an upload right away?
Sometimes I want to share photos my friend right after after we take the shots. I want those photos to appear in my Google+ Instant Upload album immediately, rather than waiting for it automatically do it.
How can I force "instant upload" to run?

Have you checked to make sure your settings aren't preventing the upload somehow? E.g. make sure that it's set to upload over both Wi-Fi and mobile data.

You could always share them manually.

Where to check for the setting? In Gallery app? I cannot find that configuration.

I would like to share photo manually by using the photo links rather than sending the photo file. So I need photos be online via Instant Upload

From the Google+ app, select Settings -> Instant Upload and press the Upload all item, it will just upload any photos that haven't already been uploaded.
As noted in the comments, you can also share individual photos in your album via Google+.

I prefer to share link to the photo rather than transfer the photo. So I need it goes online to Goolge+ via Instant Upload.

I cannot see Instant Upload in Setting.

Answer clarified to indicate which settings.

Open the Photos application on Android.  It can be found in the Main application list.
The three dots in the upper right corner -> Settings
Choose Auto Backup.
Under Auto backup, under the third section Backup Settings choose Back up all.

Make sure that your connection settings permit you the backup - you must be using a WiFi connection if under Back up Photos you have chosen Wifi only and you must be charging if you've put at tick next to While charging only.
The same procedure could be done through the Google+ app instead of the Photos app.

For me it always shows backup successful but no photos are uploaded

On my phone, Settings is under the menu that slides in from the left after I tap the three lines menu in the upper left-hand corner. I guess it's been updated since this answer was added.

go to Settings/Accounts & Sync/Google/(choose Google Account if necessary)/
Google Plus Photos is probably already checked. Un-check it and re-check it. This will force it to re-sync immediately.
Someone should develop a button to do all this automatically. I edit all my photos in Google Plus before posting on Etsy.com. I force the sync so I can work continuously.
HTC One S running Android 4.1.1


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How do I set unique ringtones for individual contacts?
I have a Samsung Galaxy S2 and would like to set text notifications to be unique to each contact (just as I can set unique ringtones for each contact).  Is there a way to do this?  For example, I would like 1 ringtone/notification for my sister for both calls and text and a different ringtone/notification for my mother for both calls and text.

There are many apps available for these tasks. But soon it becomes pain to have many apps running one for each purpose. At these situations, you can remove all those apps and use Tasker.  You can set the Tasker such that when your mother calls or sends a text it can play a preset ringtone - and it can even say the caller name or any predefined text. This is just a tip of the iceberg and there are so many things that can be done with it.
It is a bit complicated for the first use and involves a small learning curve. But once you are used to it, you can eliminate many apps and make your phone a true smartphone.
Note: I am not in any way associated with Tasker other than using it in my device.


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Smaller "Turn off all sounds" widget
My OS version is 4.1.2.
I'm currently using the "Turn off all sound" 2x1 widget on my home screen, but I feel it is too big. I'm looking for a widget that is 1x1 and has the same functionality: mute all (or as many as possible) sounds and leaves vibration notifications on.

You could try Elixir 2. It lets you add different kinds of toggle widgets, including mute widgets.


text:
Why do certain apps always try to install to a specific Google account?
I have 3 Google accounts on my Android phone: gmail and 2 Google Apps accounts (one at my full-time job and one for my small business).  I want all my apps to install under the gmail account, so I've done the following:

Open Play Store
Press menu button
tap Accounts
select the gmail account

When I install some apps, they install to whatever account I've selected in the Accounts menu.
But despite having the gmail account selected, when I try to install certain apps such as My Tracks (by Google) and K-9 Mail, the Play Store says the apps will be installed under the Google Apps account for my full-time job.  How do I force all apps to be installed under my gmail account instead?


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How to unbrick my Samsung Galaxy Y
I put custom ROM ussrv8_evanlocked@ogy@xda after rooting my Samsung Galaxy Y, and then I wanted to update kernel to overclock my phone (I followed this set of instructions).
Now the phone is not starting. It shows
E:failed to mount/cache(invalid argument)
E:can't mount/cache/recovery/last_log
E:can't open /cache /recovery/last_log

in recovery mode. I tried to reboot, but then it shows can't mount data/rebooting... and the phone shows the Galaxy Y logo.
I also tried to unbrick by Odin in download mode, but whenever I'm trying to connect the phone with PC it shows "device driver is not successfully installed".
What to do?

Please help.I'm still stuck

Have you done a full wipe, reflash the ROM from recovery. You can install the USB drivers with Samsung Kies but make sure ALL kies processes are NOT running when you use ODIN. I'd say try and wipe the device and flash a ROM again from scratch.

Point 1: The error u have shown regarding cant mount **** has nothing to do with your phone bricking. Its just compilation errors in building CWM recovery (i blv this is the one u hv used)
Point 2: Unbricking by use of Odin is by far the easiest way to get ur phone back and working. This link will help you if u follow it properly link
Point 3: Regarding your driver issue I have a solution which will definitely solve ur problem (as it worked with me thrice..!)

Install Samsung USB drivers software which u will find in the above link.
Put ur phone in Download mode
Connect it to the PC
After it fails to recognize the drivers, go to device manager and check for "Unknown" device
Select options Manual Installation > Select from list
Select Samsung ADB driver
Proceed to Odin flashing...!


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Backing up Viber chat logs
I have a rooted Samsung Galaxy S2 with GB Samsung firmware, I have updated Viber through Google Play and now it won't even start. It gives me a crash error dialog and closes without even starting the UI. I've read the solution for this issue is to reinstall Viber, but it would also mean that all my chat history will be deleted, and I want to that.
How do I backup and restore ONLY the chat in Viber?

As your phone is rooted, you could use Titanium Backup to backup app AND data. Then uninstall Viber, re-install it, check if it works, and use TB again to restore only the data. Keep in mind that when a mis-configuration is the cause of your problem, after restoring the app's data your problem might be back...

Any progress made? Remember, you also can (and should) answer your own question when you've found a solution :)

yes, the first comment did it

Wonderful! So I converted it into an answer.

As your phone is rooted, you could use Titanium Backup to backup app and data. Then uninstall Viber, re-install it, check if it works, and use TB again to restore only the data.
Keep in mind that when a mis-configuration is the cause of your problem, after restoring the app's data your problem might be back. In that case, simply repeat the operation, but do not restore the data, if you want the app working again. Of course, in that case your chat history would be lost; but you might be able to manually pick the data from TiBu's backups.


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Samsung S3 - connection problem
I have installed Samsung PC Studio on my notebook and connected my Samsung Galaxy S3 to it by USB.  The notebook picks it up and I can open it in My Computer.
But when I go to PC Studio 7, I "click here to connect a phone" and get a message saying "there is no available connection type and therefore connection cannot be established".
I go to Settings - Manage Connections - there is nothing in the Connections Available box.
I did a Samsung PC Studio 7 upgrade on my notebook, which worked fine until it got to a point saying "no phone connected". I had to repair the PC Studio installation.
Anyone able to help, please?  I can't see anywhere on the phone to activate the usb port, or suchlike!
Thanks

Have you installed the drivers for your phone on the PC?

Yes. Software is installed.


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Annoying "unmount" notification when removing SD card
If I pull out my storage card, my device complains that the card was removed unexpectedly, and that I must "unmount" it first.
After googling, I found out that this is some Unix term for breaking the connection between the system and the storage so there is no data in memory that was not yet written to the storage.
However, I have not found an easy way to do this. There is a command, but it is buried in Settings!
Since users are expected to notify the device before pulling out a card, there must be a quick, easy way to do so.
Should I power down the phone? That takes more time to execute, but less effort (fewer strokes).
Come to think of it, with all the devices I have used in the past (cameras, music players), I would power down the device before changing SD cards, but those devices all have nearly instantaneous shutdown and startup times.

Unmounting an SD card is comparable to the "Safely remove device" feature of Windows, which should be used when removing USB drives etc.
If you remove the device without notifying the OS that the connection is going to be lost, some data may not be written to the device, and corruption and data loss can occur. This is because the OS uses buffers to store the data before transferring it to the device itself.
Even though the operation appears to be complete, there still may be some data left in the buffer and waiting to be written to the device. Unmounting/safely removing the device forces there buffers to be written to the device before removal, thus preventing corruption.
I'd recommend either getting used to going through the menus to unmount the SD, or if your device supports, using a widget like Eject SD for easier access. Powering off the device works too, but as you mentioned, it's a bit slower.


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Annoying "unzoom" when browsing text
The following happens in various applications such as more than one type of web browser and Adobe's PDF reader. I'm scrolling through text at a comfortable zoom level, and then suddenly, I touch the screen the wrong way, and it zooms way out.  How can we prevent this UI behavior?

This feature is known as double-tap zoom. In the stock browser, it can't be disabled, but it can be adjusted in Settings -> Accessibility -> Zoom on double-tap. According to this answer , Dolphin Browser HD supports disabling it.

I can't find this menu item on my device.  I'm looking to disable UN zoom, not zoom.  As far as I can tell, I'm not double tapping anything when this happens. I'm not aware of any kind of double tapping on the phone. Everything everywhere, like launching a program, works by single tap. An alternate action is indicated by a long press. Double tap is a desktop/mouse thing.

There is no such thing like "UN zoom". You either "zoom in" or you "zoom out". And double-tap is something very practicable on every touch sensitive device, if configured correctly (i.e. the time frame between the taps must be set up correctly: make it too short, and it never works -- make it too long, and it fires too often).

I experimented with this double tap and see that it does zoom in and out. But I do not double tap when it zooms out by accident. It seems to be something akin to switch bounce. I would ideally like to disable double tap entirely, or configure it so that it is more difficult to execute. I don't think that double tap to zoom in and out is a useful feature, because it zooms all the way in or out.

Sometimes it can happen if you're holding the phone and touching part of the screen without knowing it; you then drag (perhaps with a finger on the other hand); the combination is a zoom in or out.


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Import pdf files to google play book application
I want to import my own PDF files to google play book reader and read them using this application. But without any hacking I cannot read not purchased PDFs in google playbook.
I'm not looking for an alternative because they are not good enough (such as ezPDF or Moon+ and ...)

@eldarerathis What/where is the duplicate question?

You can import/upload them:
Uploading the PDF/ePub file(s) to your Library

Go to My Books
Click on 'Upload File' in the top right corner.
Choose the file(s) you wish to upload.

Getting the PDF/ePub files in you App

Go into your Google Play Books App.
Click on the button on the top left ('Read Now' or 'My Library').
Select 'My Library'.
Click on the button just underneath it ('All books').
Click on 'Uploads'.
Click the Android Menu button.
Click on 'Refresh'
When you try to open the file, you may be prompted to download it.

I'm afraid this is impossible. It's the number one most requested feature but, as far as I can tell, there are no plans to implement it. I suspect this is because Google is under quite a lot of fire for enabling piracy. Allowing people to load their own books into the books app would intensify that.


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Saving draft emails whilst offline (Gmail App on Galaxy Note II)
I use the Gmail app on my Note II and it works well, but I have one problem that I experienced whilst in Flight mode.  I already had a partially drafted email in my Draft box and on the flight I edited the message and 'saved' it, only to find that when I opened it again the edited version was not there, only the orginal draft, so I lost everything that I had typed.  Is there a way to modify the settings so that edits to a draft are saved locally on the device?
Thanks.

Have you tried MailChimp? I think it works even offline in iOS and Android phones.


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Some Google Apps Accounts Stuck On "Waiting for Sync"
I have several Google Apps (Free Edition) and one traditional Gmail acct set into my Nexus 4 (stock 4.2.2). All accts use 2FA (2 factor authentication).
Using the gmail app, all (GApps & Gmail) but two (both GApps) of those accounts are able to retrieve/sync emails successfully. The settings on the Forwarding and POP/IMAP are identical for all accounts.
I've tried removing the accts, force stop & clear data on gmail app, then recreating both accounts. I've tried leaving (for long periods of time) the auto-sync checkbox ON for those accts. I tried the fix outlined in this video (Auto-Sync data was already enabled, but I disabled, exited, then re-enabled).
What else can I try to get those two accounts working!?

Is this a problem you've had from the beginning, or did it suddenly start? For how long does the problem already exist? Can you sync manually? I had something comparable about two weeks ago and almost went nuts not finding the cause. After 2 days the problem suddenly disappeared. So it might as well be "temporary hick-ups" of the server.

It also happened on the old Samsung Galaxy One. I just got a Nexus 4 and the problem persists. On the SGS the problem was more prevalent. Regardless, it has been going on the Nexus 4 for a couple days now.

Are you using your main Gmail password, or a 1-time use password.
Check out this link
http://support.google.com/mail/answer/1173270?hl=en

To add a Google account, at least on 4.2.x, you have to enter the main password.


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What is covered by "Encrypt phone"?
On Ice Cream Sandwich (CyanogenMod 9), Under Settings > Security there is an option to "Encrypt phone". I understand that this will require me to provide a PIN whenever I start up my phone. But what wasn't explained was if it covers the micro SD data as well?
I want to make it so that in case my phone gets stolen, the thief won't be able to simply get my micro SD card and pop it in to a card reader and view its contents, some of which may be sensitive.

Encrypt phone only encrypts the /data partition.
Encrypting the SD card is a separate function and isn't implemented in stock android.  Some manufacturers (I know Motorola and Samsung do) extend the encryption (optionally.  Where you find "encrypt phone", you'll also find an "encrypt SD card" option) to the SD card.  I can't determine whether cyanogenmod implements such a function or if it may be device-specific.

Can you suggest a way to encrypt micro SD as well then?

@Propeller - AFAIK, your only option would be to find a ROM for your device that offers that functionality.


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How can I set up my Google account without syncing Gmail?
I got a Nexus 7 tablet. Is it possible to use my Google account just to download apps and for backup purpose?
I'd rather not see my emails, chats and contacts on the device as it's not with me all the time and shared with kids, and basically anyone in the house has access to it.
I couldn't find any options to do this. Without logging in with my Google account, the device is kind of useless. I tried turning off sync for everything after I logged in, but the emails are still syncing. Plus it's only a couple of clicks away to turn back on if anyone wished. I can't add password just for these apps either.
Please don't ask me to create another Gmail account just for this. Are rooting and installing custom ROM the only option? Any other suggestions?

I'm pretty sure turning off Sync for GMail on Accounts and Sync does that. If you are willing to go the extra mile, just get your Nexus 7 rooted and "freeze" the GMail app. Using one of the many applications out there that does it.

I would create a special user account for the kids and password-protect your account. That'll keep them out of your Gmail for sure.

I have not tried freeze thing, but sounds like anyone can just unfreeze it if they have access to the device, wouldnt it?

Here's a working solution to add a Google account and prevent it from syncing everything.

Before adding the Google account, disable Sync (from system settings
or from your pull-down menu).
With sync disabled, add the Google account.
Enable Airplane mode to prevent all data transfer.
Enable Sync. You must do this to modify the specific sync settings next.
Go into sync settings for the Google account, and uncheck all services you don't want synced. For your case, you only want Sync App Data enabled.
Disable airplane mode.

You now have the google account on your phone, and it hasn't synced anything except the services you chose to let it sync.
I follow this procedure to prevent emails and contacts from syncing. Contacts in particular are very annoying, since disabling sync doesn't delete the synced contacts from the phone, so you must prevent them from getting on your phone in the first place with this solution.

Overall, I think this is the best solution posted here so far.  However, I'm not sure if it works quite right.  After step 2, Android shows the current date and time as the last date and time of a sync.  Not sure if data is actually synced or not.

Doesn't work. As soon as you add the account anywhere, a sync happens regardless of whether the system sync is off (it is). The initial sync appears to be forced.

While it's true that Android forces the initial sync, if you do step 3 quickly, right after new account was added, the procedure works. I just tried it because I didn't want contacts synced to my device. It took me a few retries but eventually I succeeded. Shame on Google that it makes it so difficult. Android is a bad joke compared to BlackBerry 10 OS.

I would suggest you to have two users configured as Al Everett suggested and additionally configure to your need.

The first user as a main user use your Google account to have all the bells and whistles. Have a screen guard configured for this account so that no other user will be using it.
Then create a second user and use your Google account to install all necessary apps that you think necessary for the second user. This can include the apps that you had purchased with your Google account.
In Settings you can then opt out not to sync emails, contacts, photos and all the stuffs you wouldn't like to share. Again Settings->Apps, open GMail and clear its data to remove all the previously synced data.
Install App locker apps which will prevent unauthorized use of any apps by protecting with a password.

With the above both you and your kids can use the tablet in their own space with you worrying to share your mails and contacts with them.

This is good advice, and I've already thought of it, but I've been using google for a long time.  The account I have is associated with paid apps, and has been in use for email and other things for a long time, so separating the accounts now is not practical.  Dunno about the OP, but I'm still looking for a way to avoid sync when installing a google account.

Google allows to use application-specific passwords. I have not used them, especially not in an Android device but this may be a solution for your problem if it is possible to use a "Market-Only password" on your device.
BTW: The Google backup works AFAIK only for apps that explicitly support it (therefore not of every app). If you have an Android 4.0 or higher device you may want to try the local backup via ADB which saves all user data on the device.

I dont want to see any emails on my tablet. So I dont think having log in with another password will give me that. The way I see it, all the google apps (gmail, talk, play, etc..) are tied to one gmail account. So you either login in all apps or none.

Good to know about the backup not backing up all the apps. Cheers

Best backup option I know is Titanium Backup, which requires root.  For this reason if no other, I would not consider using an un-rooted Android phone.

Steps:

Go to Settings --> Under Wireless&Networks select Data Usage --> click Menu-->check Auto- Sync.
Then go back to Settings-->Accounts-->Google-->uncheck Gmail .

Or else you can uncheck Auto-sync option to disable automatic synchronizing all options.


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After update; Can't install rom
I have a Galaxy SIII ATT USA.
I rooted and flashed CM10 serveral months ago. It has been great. Then I got an update message, so I let it.
This apparently took me to jelly bean 4.2.2(? it had the lock screen widgets for camera and stuff so that why I think it was 4.2.2) However, everything was messed up. google account was missing, bacground changed. several app crash notes on boot... you get the idea.
I tried to restore a backup but RomManager would crash. I went back to stock and tried to start over.
I got the stock rooted with odin, then updated in Rommanager but when I tried to load CM 10 I got stuck at the cyanogenmod loading screen. It just stayed there spinning. I pulled the battery and and powered on, same issue. So I restored from clockwork to my rooted stock.
???

It sounds like you went from CM 10 to 10.1. Even though that's a "minor" version, it is usually recommended to wipe and reload going between "major" version of CM 9 -> 10. I would do this for 10 to -> 10.1 because it's still a bit of a jump. Okay. So now you're stock with root? You can't flash Clockwork Recovery? I don't understand your last sentence.

the ??? that was my confusion ;)    I edited the last paragraph for clarity.

seems that once I reset everything, re-reinstalled stock. Then told rom manager to install a fresh download of cm 10 AND delete all other junk. its working.


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How can I change the lock screen on my Galaxy Note 2?
I got myself a new note 2 last night, and I'm trying to configure it. It's my first android device, so I'm not sure how the system works in some respects.
I came from Windows Phone 7, and there were a few nice features on that phone that I find I'm missing - namely the ability to see upcoming calendar events on my lock screen, as well as the number of emails/texts/whatever I have waiting, and the number of calls that I missed. I found a couple of potential lockscreen apps on google play, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to enable them. There appears to be no option in my settings.
Using android 4.1.2 - don't know if that's the latest version available for me, but I did update last night, presumably from 4.0.

GO Locker has probably the most intuitive interface for changing the lock screen.  Plus they have an embedded store on their application making installation of new themes very easy.  I've noticed in the Google Play Store description for Lockscreen Calendar (not part of GO Locker), that there are reported problems for replacing the lock screen on Samsung devices.  Try Go Locker, that might help override Samsung default settings, then perhaps your own screen locker applications might work.
If your stuck on how to use these applications, try starting them from the Applications menu.  There should be instructions on their use.
NB: Here's a LifeHacker review of Lockscreen Calendar.

If you update to android 4.3(official), you can get the lockscreen widgets for it, which should do the job. Or you could get one of the many lockscreen replacement apps from the playstore.
I myself use cover:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.coverscreen.cover


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Getting rid of Status Bar on 4.1
I need to get rid of the system bar on Android 4.1 tablets since the tablets will be in a commercial/retail environment and be used for business. My app will be the only app used on the tablet and it needs as much screen real estate as possible for what we're trying to do. I have searched already and I see that there are ways to do it on a rooted tablet, however since this will be in a business and deployed to several hundred or thousand businesses, I cannot have all the tablets rooted for legal and security issues. (Would I really have issues legally though if I were to root them?)
I know that you can dim the status bar and make the buttons dots but that really isn't optimal.
If there is no way to get rid of it, is it possible to change the status bar icons and functionality? I ask this because our app has a status bar on top and we could possibly move it to the bottom and change the icons and functionality of the status bar to match the app's status bar so no screen real estate is lost.
I have read that 4.2 adds some fullscreen functionality for apps. Is this true? Can the status bar be hidden in 4.2 as opposed to 4.1?

The status bar is part of the Android! The only thing I can think of in mind, is some kind of kiosk like launcher - that covers the entire screen to hide it....

Check questions regarding [tag:kiosk-mode].

Ever heard about "full screen mode"? I have several apps using that, and when running in that mode you don't see the status bar. Even with Android 2.3 already ;)

You need to be rooted for an actual full screen mode, as discussed below, and I would rather not root the tablets I have since they will be used for business. If there is some other way to get rid of the bottom status bar with the back and home buttons on tablets, a link to more info would be appreciated.

No, the bottom system bar (that's the one with the home, back, and recent buttons) can't be hidden on a stock device without rooting it and using a custom system image. The soft home button is very important because it gives you a way to get back to the home screen that can't be overridden by apps: this includes getting out of an unresponsive or broken app.
On 4.0 and above an app author can temporarily hide both bars, but touching the screen or pressing any hard key (including volume) will bring them back, so that doesn't prevent people leaving the app. (And quite right! It would be crazy for stock Android to let one app take over the whole system.)

The SYSTEM_UI_FLAG_HIDE_NAVIGATION is a new flag that requests the navigation bar hide completely. Be aware that this works only for the navigation bar used by some handsets (it does not hide the system bar on tablets). The navigation bar returns to view as soon as the system receives user input. As such, this mode is useful primarily for video playback or other cases in which the whole screen is needed but user input is not required.
http://developer.android.com/about/versions/android-4.0.html

It's worth noting that a full kiosk mode (not letting the user leave the app at all) has been announced for Android L, but the app has to be a device administrator to enter this mode.

Dan, Moon Reader hides the status bar all the time for me, even on unrooted devices -- so it must be possible somehow. Maybe that changed with some 4.x, I didn't check that.

I think there's a bit of confusion about the term "status bar". I think the OP is interested in hiding both the bar at the top (with the notification icons and clock) and the bar on the bottom (with the soft home/back/recent keys), on a device with no hard keys. Moon Reader only hides the top bar, not the soft keys.

That is correct: I was only referring to the "notification bar", not to the soft keys. But the soft keys most likely will be needed in the "kiosk app" itself, at least concerning the "back" and the "menu" button. Full kiosk-mode apps would take care to disable/re-route the "unwanted" home/multi-tasking buttons, as Al already hinted to (and which is why I added the corresponding tag).

Thanks for the comments. I do not want the user to be able to get out of my app. The sole purpose of the tablet will be to use my application and the added screen real estate would be ideal for the app. The app has its own back button as well and the menu button isn't needed. Would I be able to recompile Android with this functionality included? Would this require me to keep it rooted?

Probably, but it depends on the specific device. Once you'd installed the new system image, I imagine you'd only need it to still be rooted if you want to do the update again (to update the app, or because of a bug). Remember you wouldn't be able to turn on USB debugging or access any settings. (Even if your app has a button to get into the Settings app, you wouldn't be able to get back to your app from it.)

The quicker solution might be to use something like sitekiosk for android, or kioware for android.  Jelly Bean is fine and they give you a lot of options to customize.


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Automatically Install apps after factory reset

I'd like to know how I can set up my android 4.1.2 (Galaxy S2 I 9100) that it will install all my apps in the Play Store (the one you can see when you click "my apps").
I think it was CM 10.1 where it worked sometimes and in stock rom I did not noticed it.
Is there a way to configure my Galaxy S2 so I don't have to install the apps manually?
I hope I asked clearly enough ;)
Thanks so far !

Edit: I reseted my phone, logged into samsung account to google account.
I always allowed to back up and restore my data. But the apps haven't been installed automatically.
And that was the only thing I tried. I did not try any ADB recoveries. And I did not use any backup third party apps or the stock rom backup.
I hope this information is enough. I fnot please tell me what information you additionally need!
Thank you again!

Rather similar: How to recover apps from a factory reset?

Does not work :( And I searched for "reinstall", "install after reset" but I did not guess to search "recover" ... :D

What "does not work"? The Backup/restore via ADB described there, or the Google backup? I'd recommend you update your question with some more details, to enable us to help you.

Make sure you have checked Automatic Restore and Backup my Data in Settings>Backup & Restore.
And also sync your google account right after a reset. You'll notice that all of your apps are reinstalling in the background.
Hope it helps.

I guess it has to do with what you had on your device installed right before
you wipe & flashed a new Rom.
Google remembers last apps and all


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How can I download apps on the Onda tablet?
How can I download apps on the Onda tablet?
It is Android-enabled, but it doesn't have internet.

Can you be a little more precise? Doesn't it even have WiFi? No SDCard either? I never heard of that tablet before, so please forgive me not knowing those details ;)

@Izzy - see this... looks to be some cheap chinese tablet... :\ Either the OP is uncertain in how to enable Wifi or there is no internet connectivity in the OP's location?

According to t0mm3b's link, there are multiple different Onda-tablets. Grainne, could you pick the one you have and add the corresponding link? It looks like they support WiFi and even WiFi direct. So if you have a WiFi access point, you could use the Internet that way.


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Connecting USB mouse to Galaxy SIII
I bought a basic female to female USB adapter and connected my Galaxy SIII USB cable to the mouse. This didn't work. What am I doing wrong? Do I need an OTG cable? Something about USB hosts? I don't understand how to get this to work.

Yes, you need an OTG cable. The pin layout is different than a regular micro USB to USB cable; essentially, it's equivalent to shorting pins 4 and 5 on a normal cable. This is what causes the phone to know that it needs to be the host rather than the slave.
In fact, you can do this yourself if you're handy with electronics and have a cable you don't mind taking apart, though they're also readily available at many online retailers (Amazon, Newegg, Monoprice, etc).

To connect any device to your Galaxy S3 (or any other host-capable Android device), you need a OTG host cable.  Without that host cable, the phone doesn't know it's supposed to act as the host rather than as a peripheral.
This is an example of such a cable.  Most online retailers carry similar ones.


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"Phone" item using 10-15% of Battery Life
I've attempted to search for other questions answering this, but keyword ambiguity is working against me.
On my Galaxy Nexus, my battery drains rather quickly. Very frequently, when viewing the battery use details, the "Phone" item is the second-largest battery use after Screen. Items such as Cell Standby use much less. This happens even on days when I do not make any voice calls, so I'm not certain what this could be.
Is there something I can do to reduce this battery drain? What causes "Phone" to use this much battery?
edit: Here's a screenshot demonstrating what I'm talking about. I don't believe I made or received any calls on this day.

Could you add/link a screenshot of the corresponding "battery usage" screen? That may make things a bit clearer.

Try booting into safe mode. It should set things right up. You could determine the problem much easier there. That will turn off all 3rd party services, leaving plain android behind.
To goto Safe Mode,
Press the Power button on your device.
Touch & hold the Power off option in the dialog box.
Touch OK in the following dialog to start safe mode.


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Backup using ADB without root or usb debugging
I have a Nexus S (on android 4, not rooted) device who's not able to boot. It opens and get stucks to the X screen. I can only access the recovery mode.
I tried to backup data via ADB, but the phone haven't activate USB debugging so I can't connect ADB backup (and it won't show in adb devices). I can only get signal via USB when I go in "update via ADB" option, then the device show, but only the sideload connection is activated.
How can I backup the data on the phone? Or how could I activate the USB debugging mode while in recovery?

You can access adb in recovery by way of adb shell?

The recovery adb update mode don't seem to allow adb shell; it can't connect via the shell. And in the normal recovery, I just can't access the device.

You do have the drivers enabled for the device when in recovery mode? (Windows? Linux?)

I'm pretty sure they are as it connected fine in recovery-update mode, but this is really not my domain of expertise (on Windows).

http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/28296/full-backup-of-non-rooted-devices

You may need to 'upgrade' the driver to the adb version.
Open Device Manager, find your phone and right click it. select "update driver software". On the window that appears choose the "let me pick" option. You should then see a couple of different drivers, select the one that includes "adb" and click ok through any further windows. (remember which one was selected before so you can repeat this to return to the 'normal' driver)
You should then be able to run the adb backup.


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Can I open a photo in a text message without using my data?
I got a Motorola Razr-V phone and received a text with an attached photo. Is it possible to open using Wi-Fi,not my phone data?

Normally when you are recieving images in a text message it only uses your data to download it or to show up in your text messages. Opening the image after it has showed up in the message doesn't require internet connection of any type. So far the only phones I am aware of that allow you to use WiFi to download images in a text are the iPhones, so I am not certain if Android based phones are capable of that.


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Pandigital Novel running Android Eclair - Need User Manual - How do I access the External SD card?
I have a Pandigital Novel with Android Eclair, but I have no user manual for it. How do I access the external SD card? There is no app to do this, and no Device Manager or My Computer built into the operating system, except Astro, which only gives access to the internal SD card.


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How to fix download notifications?
From what it looks like, Facebook is just downloading an update, but it is not downloading anything. Even after multiple reboots and uninstalling Facebook app, it still continues. How to clear this up?
Phone is Samsung Galaxy S3 running Android 4.1.2. With default TuchWiz launcher.

Try:
-Long pressing the notification.
-A small dialog that says "App Info" will appear.
-Press "App Info"
-Press "Force Stop".

I did the same and it fixed the issue. Also, cleared cache for this 'download' app. It was really frustrating to see this kind of issues..

Just go in
downloads-->select other downloads( and it will appear facebook build 141046) -->select it -->click cancel
OR
settings-->apps-->all-->download manager-->force stop
disable and clear cache then enable again