text:
How can I determine Max CPU speed at runtime?
I'd like to know the max cpu speed for the processor on an Android system at runtime. I've seen at least a couple different techniques that result in the current cpu clockrate, but not the max.
Root privileges should not be required.

After digging through the source that roxan mentioned a bit, it looks like the following in /proc can tell you what cpu speeds are available and how much time has been spent in each:
/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/stats/time_in_state
However, it does give some other states that aren't appropriate. For example, on my Samsung Vibrant, I get:
1400000 0
1300000 0
1200000 0
1000000 214141
800000 40092
400000 25273
200000 6159308
100000 389

But the chip's standard clock is 1 GHz. So it looks like it should be fairly trivial to find the highest listed speed that has a non-zero time to it.
For my purposes, this should be very adequate.
Edit: I've observed that sometimes the order in which the frequencies is listed can vary, so you'll want to iterate through the whole list and find the fastest (as opposed to stopping at the first non-zero).
More Edit: Here's a function that works for me:
/**
 * Get max cpu rate.
 *
 * This works by examining the list of CPU frequencies in the pseudo file
 * "/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/stats/time_in_state" and how much time has been spent
 * in each. It finds the highest non-zero time and assumes that is the maximum frequency (note
 * that sometimes frequencies higher than that which was designed can be reported.) So it is not
 * impossible that this method will return an incorrect CPU frequency.
 *
 * Also note that (obviously) this will not reflect different CPU cores with different
 * maximum speeds.
 *
 * @return cpu frequency in MHz
 */
public static int getMaxCPUFreqMHz() {

    int maxFreq = -1;
    try {

        RandomAccessFile reader = new RandomAccessFile( "/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/stats/time_in_state", "r" );

        boolean done = false;
        while ( ! done ) {
            String line = reader.readLine();
            if ( null == line ) {
                done = true;
                break;
            }
            String[] splits = line.split( "\\s+" );
            assert ( splits.length == 2 );
            int timeInState = Integer.parseInt( splits[1] );
            if ( timeInState > 0 ) {
                int freq = Integer.parseInt( splits[0] ) / 1000;
                if ( freq > maxFreq ) {
                    maxFreq = freq;
                }
            }
        }

    } catch ( IOException ex ) {
        ex.printStackTrace();
    }

    return maxFreq;
}

Thank you but development questions are off topic here :D

Yeah, I realized this was not placed appropriately. I can't move it though :)

To contradict the above
/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/stats/time_in_state

Does not return the correct values. For example on my own device
cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/stats/time_in_state
1000000 192
800000 3
600000 12915
300000 20519

# cat /proc/cpuinfo
cat /proc/cpuinfo
Processor       : ARMv7 Processor rev 2 (v7l)
BogoMIPS        : 1197.81
Features        : swp half thumb fastmult vfp edsp thumbee neon vfpv3
CPU implementer : 0x41
CPU architecture: 7
CPU variant     : 0x3
CPU part        : 0xc08
CPU revision    : 2

Hardware        : mapphone_UMTS
Revision        : 0000
Serial          : 0000000000000000
CPU Tier        : 10

The frequencies are not correctly reported. As you can see, the clock speed on my device is 1200MHz - but only 1000MHz max shows in time_in_state.
However, the following is correct
cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/cpuinfo_max_freq
1200000

Read this file to get the Max frequency:
/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/cpuinfo_max


text:
How to clear Android browser's localStorage?
I've got an HTC Evo Design 4G (Android 2.3.4), and I can't figure out how to clear localStorage in the browser. Clearing the cache, history, form data and everything else doesn't do it. Resetting the browser to default settings doesn't do it. The website (served from the local network) doesn't show up in Website settings either.
The only thing that does work is deleting ALL data from the phone by resetting it to factory defaults.
Is there an easier option, and how come this isn't done as part of clearing cache which should "clear locally cached content and databases"?

Thanks for this. Just solved a clients problem. It's seems VERY annoying that it just can't be cleared.

Try: Settings → Applications → Manage Applications → Select Browser ("All apps" tab) → Clear Data. This would delete all the data belonging to the app. Quite like a factory reset, but just for that app.
Be careful while using this. Make sure you select the correct application (Its called 'Browser' some phones and 'Internet' on some) in the All apps list.
You can accidentally delete your contacts and other important stuff if you are not careful

Thanks, that works! Instead of Browser I have "Internet", I guess it might be Sprint's way of making it more "accessible".

I noticed this when Browser had way too many megabytes of data.
If you're root you can remove the localstore files without clearing all browser data (bookmarks etc.) by using Ghost Commander or similar app, or adb shell, to remove the localstore files from /data/data/com.android.browser/app_databases.

This question came up in Google search for a generic Android/Chrome local storage removal/reset question so here's an answer for how it is done in..
Chrome 68

With browser open tap 3 dots 'menu icon' (top right)
tap 'settings'
tap 'site settings'
tap 'storage'

to clear individual site storage

tap 'search icon' find the domain you want cleared
tap on domain
tap 'delete icon' (garbage can) to remove 'stored data'
confirm by tapping 'clear all'

to clear local storage on all sites

tap 'clear site storage'
confirm by tapping 'clear all'

source: Stack Exchange

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

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

sort: votes


text:
Can I locate my android phone?
I brought a new Samsung Galaxy Y inbuilt with Android 2.3.5 some month ago and sold it recently. But after selling I noticed that in that Android I left my email ID (email ID that is used to log in to android for the first time).
I don't worry about the my email ID as I have changed its password but Can I locate my android device with that email? or by any other way? on any Google Maps like service?

No, you would need an application like "Where's My Droid" installed on the device and know the phone number for the device.
If you sold the device, the new owner probably did a factory reset on the device so your information is no longer associated to the device.
In the future, before you sell your device, you should go in and do a factory reset so you are not giving the device away with any of your information.
I want to add my opinion on these apps that claim to help you find your device (including "Where's My Droid") if it is lost or stolen. They are great if you lost your phone in your house (or somewhere "safe") but if you lost it at like a bar or if someone actually stole it, chances are you will not even be able to use this software. A factory reset can be done on any device rather quickly, which would remove your "locating software" and remove any "tie" that your accounts may have to the device. Also, they require the device be ON, so if someone does steal your phone, all they have to do is turn it off, and when they have a chance, do a factory reset. My best advice I can give you is to remember that these are ~$600 devices (what you will pay off contract, or for a replacement) so treat it like it is a ~$600 device and don't leave it laying around. I am not saying that I would ever take someones phone or anything, but I could have the device factory reset by the time I got to the door to leave. It is as easy as Menu -> Settings -> Privacy -> Factory Data Reset.

I have changed the password of my account, what would be effect on that mobile? Would that phone still working? or the user would have prompt to enter another (his) email id?

How can he reset to factory setting? I think he need the password of my account to do a reset.

The password change you did will cause the device to no longer have access to the account. He can do a factory reset a couple ways, the easiest is in the settings menu like I mention at the end of my answer. It does not require your password or your account.

As Ryan Conrad already pointed out, the new owner probably did a factory reset when they bought the device. However, it is indeed possible to locate it if it is still connected to the account, with an application such as Lookout's Plan B. According to its description, it can be downloaded from the Android Market online directly to the device (if still connected to your Google account) and would upon installation send an email to your email address.
DISCLAIMER: I do not in any way, shape or form actually encourage you to do something like this, and though I assuming you asked this as a hypothetical question, I can't understate that this is ethically wrong to do, and possibly also illegal in some areas without the owner's consent.

the problem with any of these (wheres my droid, plan b, etc) they have to be installed on the device prior. And the email password has already been changed, which means its no longer connected to the device as the authentication token is no longer valid, even if the password is changed back, it will not automatically connect back to the account.

You are probably right in your second point, but the fact of the matter is that Plan B does not have to be installed prior, and, as far as I know, it is the only app of its kind that can do this.

according to this you still have to install plan b, it is just doing it via the web interface. and if the account is not tied to the device any more, it wont work. plus, you need to text the word 'locate' to the number, if they change the SIM, you wont know the number.

You install the app from Android Market on a computer (no need for access to the phone), and it autoconfigures and starts itself upon installation on the device. You only need to send a text if you already have it installed (because installing it twice won't work).

right, but seeing as the device was sold to someone else, there is a new SIM in the device so being able to send the text is not really possible, unless the new number is known. Also the password has been changed for the account so it is no longer even tied to the device, and probably has been factory reset. Which would make plan B useless if you ask me, even if your phone was lost/stolen. A factory reset could be done as you are walking away with the device.

I know that Plan B is useless under those circumstances (I never said otherwise), however, the OP asked if there is any way to locate a device with the connected email, and that is what I answered.

there is also the utrack feature by Samsung for those purposes on S G Y. but it needs to be prepared, which seems to be not the case here.

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


text:
Is it possible to determine whether the phone has been rooted or not?
Let's say I buy an "un-rooted" Samsung Galaxy S2 via eBay that's still under warranty:

Is there a way I can tell whether it has been rooted before (with or without rooting it myself)?
Is there a way Samsung can tell me whether it has been rooted before?

Most Samsung Android phones and tablets can be restored back to "stock" firmware via Odin or Heimdal tools. This wipes all traces of rooting or any other kind of system alterations, and in most cases is sufficient for sending the device in for in-warranty servicing to the carrier of manufacturer. However, with the Galaxy S2 series of devices Samsung introduced a hidden "flash counter" which keeps track of how many times such a tool has been used.
A community developer actually found where this information is stored and created an app that allows you to reset the counter.  Unfortunately the app only works on ICS (Android 4.x) right now.  See this thread on XDA-Developers forum for more details.

You can reset flash counter using USB JIG. See my answer below.

TriangleAway requires root... So after I root I can use TriangleAway to reset the counter to 0. Now I "unroot" the phone by restoring the stock firmware. Now isn't the counter at 1, with no way to reset it to 0 since the phone is unrooted?

Ah, to answer my own question... restoring a stock firmware doesn't trip the counter. Reference: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1820684

@Raman, After running Triangle Away, if you rooted with SuperSU (by chainsfire) you can go in to the settings of SuperSU and "unroot". SuperSU can remove itself and the su binaries that it uses.

There will be an su binary on the device usually in either /system/xbin or maybe in /system/bin. That is the minimum binary needed for root. There may also be an application called SuperUser. This allows applications to request Root Access and gives you the ability to grant or deny the request.
Samsung can check if the device is rooted (not remotely), like if you send it in for warranty repair, but if it has been rooted, it will void your warranty.

Most Samsung Android phones and tablets can be restored back to "stock" firmware via Odin or Heimdal tools.  This wipes all traces of rooting or any other kind of system alterations, and in most cases is sufficient for sending the device in for in-warranty servicing.  However, SGS2 has a flash counter which keeps track of how many times such a tool has been used.  See http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1494114 for more details.

also if you only "root", you can easily unroot the device usually as well. removing any trace of the root from the device.

As Chahk Galaxy S2 has a flash counter which counts how many times custom ROM has been flashed. You can reset it with USB JIG which works on every version of Android.
USB jig is a usb device which allows you to

Get into download mode
Remove the yellow triangle
Reset Odin counter/Reset custom binary counter

More detailed information can be found at USB Jig FAQ

Can you give us any more details? That's just a link to an ebay for the jig, how do you use the jig, is it different from the "Galaxy S Download Mode" jig?

Id like to add to Chanks answer that it is possible that even if you reset the counter (or it has been reset) using the app, there might be another counter which counts how many times the first one has been reset. It is not clear if this second counter does exist or not. If it does exist, as far as I know, there is no way to reset it.

Do you have a source backing up that claim?

1
2
3
Last one is probably the most important, because it is by a famous dev.

All I can read there is, that such a counter might exist.

I thought it had been proved, but when I looked for, couldn't find any hard sources. So there might not be one. There are still stories about Samsung not taking first-counter-reset devices for repairs. But those are only stories. I do not own SGS2 myself, nor have I sent it to Samsung for repairs...

Don't get me wrong, I think this is interesting and relevant information, but it shouldn't be presented as if that counter has been confirmed to exist. :)

It was my mistake. I had somehow got the idea it did exist... I will edit my answer a little bit :)


text:
How to get 2012 Chevy Equinox to recognize my Evo 3d?
When I plug my Evo 3d into my 2012 Chevy Equinox (w/color touch radio), the Equinox does not recognize the phone. I'm using a micro USB cable to connect my phone to the vehicle. After plugging it in, the Evo 3d starts charging, but the Equinox does not show any available USB connection.
Iphone 4 is able to plugin and get recognized just fine.
How can I get the Equinox to recognize the Evo 3d so I can play audio from my phone through the Equinox stereo?

I have noticed a lot of vehicles that do not recognize any android devices but they do recognize iphones/ipods. This is something the manufacture has to add support for. These manufacturers usually use a proprietary system in the vehicle and they don't seem to think anyone uses anything besides an iphone or ipod.
You may be able to use bluetooth to transmit the audio from your device to your vehicles stereo.

On most android phones SD card storage cannot be used by both the phone itself and another device simultaneously. So for the Evo 3d to be available to your Equinox' player you might have to do something like tap on Turn on USB-Storage (not sure if this is your case) or choose Disk Drive when prompted about Connection Type on it. During this time the apps that you've moved to SD card cant be run, neither can you browse the SD card contents from your phone.
BTW, if your vehicle supports bluetooth with A2DP profile, that might be more convenient.


text:
How To Prevent Uploading From Interrupting When Screen Is Off?
When screen goes off, uploads get interrupted especially YouTube uploads and everytime i have to resume phone to continue uploads. The problem is that in case of YouTube, videos stutter which i assume at the moment upload was interrupted.
I have JuiceDefender Plus just to add. Is there a way to prevent uploads from interrupting, at least by instructing the screen not to turn off when uploading?
UPDATE: What i want is to be able to keep screen turned on while uploading.
HTC Desire S
Android 2.3.3 (unrooted)

Settings -> Wireless & Network -> Wi-fi settings.
Press the [Menu/Options] button, and select Advanced
Now choose in the Wi-fi sleep policy : Never
Keep in mind that your battery is going to drain faster (because the wifi will never be turned off unless you manually do it), and is easy to forget that you changed the sleep policy.

You may try checking the Settings -> Applications -> Development -> Stay awake checkbox. Note a caveat mentioned in the Android manual: "Don’t use this setting with a static image on the phone for long periods of time, or the screen may be marked with that image."

It is only when charging. Don't get the last part about "screen marking".

screen marking refers to a problem that happends when you leave a screen turned on with a static image for too long. The screen gets marked with that image (more like burned), and will look permanently like a watermark in a sheet of paper. It depends on the technology of your screen, but you should not worry about it.


text:
Facebook contact sync in Ice Cream Sandwich
The rivalry between Google and Facebook seems to have gotten in the way of a really useful feature from Gingerbread: Facebook contact sync.  Currently my Verizon Galaxy Nexus has the ability to add accounts for Google, Twitter, LinkedIn.  There is even a Facebook entry in the add account list.  However, clicking that does nothing.
I see that in 4.0.3 there are new social contacts APIs that will let 3rd parties extend this feature with checkins and posts.  Is there a way to enable Facebook contact syncing in ICS (with or without 4.0.3)?

This is one area where manufacturer customizations are better. HTC's Sense does a great job of social network integration, it even supports Flickr so you can see your contacts' latest photos.

@Rex: I have only used Sense on someone else's phone, but I was really unimpressed.  It may add some useful features, but personally I think features like social network integration should be built-in.  Maybe Sense has gotten better since I last used it (admittedly it was more than a year ago).

Yes, sense 3.0 is the newest. Had very impressive widgets and theme support. You can also customize the lock screen in multiple layouts, and directly open some apps from it.

I use Hax Sync on my Nexus. Works perfectly for ICS, it will sync high quality photos (if they are available to sync). I highly recommend it.

All 3rd party apps in market doesn't sync contact phone number details. (I dont think that contact sync only for pictures will be useful) - HexSync also sync contact details - except phone numbers. Too bad :(

@swapnil I don't think the facebook API lets you pull down phone numbers? I think that's what I've heard before

There are a number of 3rd-party apps available on the Market that can help with Facebook contacts sync.  Judging from comments, Friends Sync and other similar apps seem to do the job on ICS.

Thanks for the answer.  I'll leave this open for a while longer to see if anyone has 1st party solutions (native Android trick or something directly from Facebook).  If nothing comes up I'll accept your answer.

If you look for the official facebook app on the market, you won't find anything else offered by them, so it's highly unlikely that there would offer something else.


text:
Is there an Android equivalent of diskutil?
I'm a Mac and Android user. I've used simple commands in the Terminal from time to time. But now I'm trying to understand the Terminal Emulator included in the Rom Toolbox app for my Android.
What I'm really trying to accomplish right now is finding if there's an equivalent of diskutil on Android. I just want something simple enough to do disk erases and formatting, etc..
Is this possible, or can I somehow use bash commands like on my Mac? (Sorry I'm very new to this)
Anyway, thanks for reading my question. If you have and questions for me, in order to progress my search, please feel free to ask.

The android terminal emulator uses busybox linux. Hence you should look at the busybox commands to find out what all you can do with it.
Follow this link
try this command

fdformat DEVICE eg. fdformat /dev/sdcard

I'm really trying to not use OS X.. That's the whole point of the post...

oops i misunderstood your question, though it was not very clear. But anyways I have edited my answer.

or try this .. busybox fdformat [-n] DEVICE

did the command work?

No, it did not work.

You might need to check your Busybox install. I found that when I reinstalled a new BB version I was able to use functions I hadn't been able to previously.

What I'm really trying to accomplish right now is finding if there's an equivalent of diskutil on Android. I just want something simple enough to do disk erases and formatting, etc..

If you specify your question a little bit it might be easier to answer. You can both erase files and format partitions straight from the terminal. You remove files with rm, for safe deletions there's also shred. If binaries are not on your phone, you should be able to just install them to /bin/ or /usr/bin/
Formatting in Linux can be done for example with the fdisk command, some more info on that here, or as always you can do man fdisk (probably not on the phone terminal though as manuals might not be included).
Also, in relation to the other reply on busybox: What is Busybox?


text:
blocking individual numbers & text messages for Android phones

Possible Duplicate:
How can I reliably screen or block callers on a number-by-number basis?

Had Easy Filter app and it worked great for a while on my Samsung Galaxy, then it stopped.  Question which phone does the Easy Filter work well with?  Or which Android phones are compatible with which call blocking apps.  Need to block specific numbers from incoming calls and text messages.

Anti SMS Spam works great, also see Mr. Number for good call management.


text:
Has there been any custom roms ported for the ZTE Score?

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

I've been keeping an eye on CWM and CM7 for the past few months.. And now I'm slowly but surely giving up hope on ever finding a custom rom for the ZTE Score, aka ZTE X500.
  I'll most likely keep an eye out for awhile longer; but I'm curious if there will ever be one. Anyway, has anyone heard any news that I may have missed? Custom/Stock Roms?

See this: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/17152/where-can-i-find-stock-or-custom-roms-for-my-android-device/17153#17153


text:
Xperia X10i slow
Did anyone experience the x10i to become very slow in any given day? After restarting work for few hours fine and then suddenly become.
Battery drainage is also very quick almost 4hours of some 10-15mins of talktime and some apps usage. (I assume this one is majorly a prob for most of the android phones).
Any suggestions?
I do have the common applications installed such as Google+, Facebook, Twitter .. But in the battery usage section, the one consuming the battery is the screen, even though the brightness is at its lowest.
Usually i disabled some of the applications running in the background but still no improvement.
Xperia X10 - Gingerbread 2.3.3

I have an Xperia X10 mini and the last few days I realized that some applications run slowly with the memory card filled. Don't understand why, but its a fact.

Possibly related: My device is getting slow, apps start misbehaving/crashing. What can I do?

The screen is usually the largest consumer of battery on any device, as it takes the most power to run.
Some suggestions I can give about battery drain is to make sure that you are turning off WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS when you don't need them. They are also large consumers of battery. Apps like twitter, Google+, and Facebook that either check frequently or receive push notifications frequently will also cause drain.
You didn't say you do specifically, but if you use a task killer to stop tasks from running in the background, you are probably causing more harm then good when it comes to conserving battery. This is because even if these apps are "running" in the background, it doesn't mean that they are actually "active". If they are idle, they are not using any battery at all. Killing them causes them to exit incorrectly, and when the device needs information from them, it now has to go through the entire process of starting the application back up. This will use more battery then if the app was just idle and responded to the request that it was asked.
This restarting of the applications that are killed by task killers can also cause the "slowness" you are experiencing. There are a lot of system services that sit idle in the background, if you kill them, the OS may check for these services, as they are registered to be running, and the OS will restart them. This will cause memory to be allocated to restart these services, and the CPU needed to run their initialization processes. Then if you have something like an auto killer, it will see the service starting and the entire process starts again. This basically never frees up the memory these services are using because they are always being restarted. Also the CPU is also always doing the initialization work, and there may be some network communications going on during the start up as well. All of these will cause battery drain, and the device to appear to be running slow.


text:
disassociate a device I don't have anymore from market account?

Possible Duplicate:
How to remove device(s) from My Market Account?

How can I disassociate a device I don't have anymore from my Google Market account? This is a device that I used to have working but it's not anymore, so I don't want it to show up in my Google Market account.

There's currently no way to do this. It has been suggested numerous times on Google's forums, but has never been acted on.
The best you can do for now is "hide" devices that you don't want to appear in the menus. You do this by logging into the Android Market website, then going to your account settings by clicking the gear icon and selecting "My Market Account" and then the "Settings" tab. On this page you should see a list of devices associated with your account. If you click the "Edit" button to the right of a device's name you can then select "Hidden in menus".


text:
How to reinstall android to the fresh stock?
I have recently bought a used HTC Evo 3D from the internet. The phone itself is in perfectly working condition and the software is in its original state; that means it's not rooted, it's not running any custom rom and it's not branded.
However, the previous owner seems to have installed many apps from the market, the launchers are kinda different and generally the phone is very 'customized and seems sloppy.'
My question is: How do I get the device to its original, fresh, stock state? I don't want to install a custom ROM, I want to have the original android provided by the device manufacturer.
I know the device has the "factory reset" option in the menus, however I don't know what it really does and how thorough it is.
Wiping the phone and installing the system from scratch would be the best option for me, however, I don't know whether it's possible.
What are my options here?
Notes:

I know what rooting is
I know what custom ROMS are
I can root the device if necessary, but I don't plan on doing so if not necessary
Android 4.0 gets an official release for HTC Evo 3D soon - does this change anything related to what I need/want to do?

If you've bought a used phone then the first thing that you do should be a Factory Reset. This wipes off the previous owners apps and settings, and helps to ensure that they haven't left any surprises for you.

If it's not rooted and not running a custom ROM, a factory reset will reset everything back to stock and wipe the internal SD card.  If you also wipe the external SD card, you will have a clean slate.
Checkout Chapter Update and Reset, Section Resetting HTC EVO 3D, (Page 209) of the manual: http://www.htc.com/managed-assets/support/user-guide/user-manual/htc-evo-3d/110803_ShooterU_HTC_WWE_UM.pdf
Quoting the manual:

Resetting HTC EVO 3D
Do a factory reset to return HTC EVO 3D to its
  original state before the first time you turned it on.
If you’re passing HTC EVO 3D on to someone else or HTC EVO 3D has a persistent
  problem that cannot be solved, you can perform a factory reset (also
  called a hard reset). Factory reset is not a step to be taken lightly.
  It’ll permanently delete all your data and customized settings, and
  will remove any applications you’ve downloaded and installed. Be sure
  to back up any data and files you want to keep before you do a factory
  reset.


text:
How to find app based on package name?
I've installed a malicious app that is posting ads over my notification bar, but can't find it. I know the java package name for it: com.letang.game103.en using the command: adb shell dumpsys notification.
As you see the name of the app is not obvious from the package name. I want to find which app it is, that uses this package name. I also want to report them to Android Market, after leaving a nice feedback for them there!
I've looked at different dumpsys commands:
adb shell dumpsys [something]

But so far wasn't able to get apps based on their package names.
Is there any way to do this?

The easiest way, without using any specialized tools is just to visit that app's page in the Play Store (website, not app).
All apps in the Play Store have their package name as part of their URL, so you can just take your package name and prefix it with https://play.google.com/details?id= to get
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.stackexchange.marvin
where com.stackexchange.marvin is the package name which will take you to the page for Stack Exchange Android app.

Doesn’t help me finding the common name of "com.android.providers.telephony”.

@RobertSiemer com.android.providers.telephony is one of the core packages of Android, so it doesn't have or need to be on Play Store.

@Firelord, I didn’t complain that it is not on Play Store, I complained that the answer doesn’t work with my example!

@RobertSiemer this answer was written as the quickest and easiest way to identify non-built-in apps (as these are all that the question was asking about). If you want an easy way to identify built-in system apps, then I suggest you Ask that as a question. However it's fairly easy to remember that "com.android" indicates a built-in app, and to guess what "telephony" might be doing.

@GAThrawn: I quote: “How to find app based on package name?” and I continue quoting: “But so far wasn't able to get apps based on their package names. Is there any way to do this?” – I’m very well aware that the background given in addition to the question limits the scope and the answer given here works for that scope. – You know what? I’ll upvote this. The answer is good, but it doesn’t completely answers the question.

The question was asked back in 2012 but given that no Android version constraint is given I would like to suggest a solution, which as of now is helpful for Android 5.0 and above.
Install App Manager from F-Droid. Launch it, start searching your package name using the search/lens icon and your app would show up.
(Click image to see enlarged version)

This works even for apps which are not in play store.

Does not appear to work anymore, no apps are shown and searching repositories. S22.


text:
no notification for automatic upload of images and videos in google+
How can I configure my 2.3.5 phone so that I don't get a notification for automatic upload of images and videos in google+?

If you're talking about when your phone uploads to Google+ automatically using the built-in Instant Upload, then you can just switch that off in the Google+ notifications. In fact I think that you must have switched that on at some point because I'm sure it was off by default for me.
Open the Google+ app, press Menu, select Settings, press Notification Settings, and then scroll down to the Photos category and take the tick out of "Photos added from Instant Upload". You'll still get the red notification box at the top inside the Google+ app, but won't get notified in the standard Android notifications bar any more. The other notification settings are there too, if you want to tune any of the others.


text:
HTC G2 Phone randomly turns off w fully charged battery on Gingerbread 2.3
My HTC G2 running Android Gingerbread 2.3 randomly turns off while running applications such as the camera with full battery. After the random turn off I try to turn the phone on again and it won't turn on. I have to physically remove the battery, wait 30 seconds, put it back in, and turn on the phone to finally get it to work.
Is there an app to prevent this or software update or do I need a new battery?
PS: My previous phone, the Motorola Cliq w/ Android 2.1 and Motoblur also had this problem.

There is a known hardware issue with the HTC G2. Mine used to be hung at a black screen randomly when I tried to turn the screen on and unlock it. If your warranty hasn't already expired, start the process to get a replacement. The replacement I got hasn't experienced any of those issues.

thanks for your reply! how long is the warranty? How do i check to see if i still have it?

@BrianMcCarthy It's probably in the original package. But I'd just call your provider (T-Mobile?). They'll know.


text:
Connecting Android smartphone/tablet to PC and another device through USB hub
I am going to connect a USB device to Android mobile phone, using Android ICS 4.0 USB OTG.
Can I connect this device to smartphone through USB hub and connect the phone through USB hub to PC in order to deploy apps at the same time (using a male-male USB cable)? Will it be safe solution for both phone and my device?

I think you're saying you want the PC to be the host for the USB hub (so that it can connect to your phone) but for the phone to also be the host for the USB hub (so that it can connect to this other device).  No, that won't work.  USB connections are based on a tree structure.  Given this:
PC----Hub----OtherDevice
       |
       |
     Phone

Phone can't be the parent of OtherDevice unless it is also the parent of Hub and therefore the PC.
You should connect the phone directly to the other device, and access the phone over the network from the PC as Ryan says in his answer.

The only reason I didn't say that was I couldn't find any info that says the USB can only "run" in one mode at a time. I know that a usb port can support up to 127 devices (at least according to the spec) but I wasn't sure if they can go in to multiple modes on android hardware/software

@Ryan Page 16 of usb_20.pdf from http://www.usb.org/developers/docs/ :P.  They call it a "tiered star" topology.  I suppose it might be possible to hack around the spec to enable this, but both the phone and the hub would need to be doing it, and I don't see why anyone would bother.  Now if the phone had two interfaces, and you could connect one to the PC and one to the other device without the hub, that would be fine.

According to this page, if you need to connect to the device with adb then you will have to connect to adb via tcp.
to enter adb tcp mode enter adb connect <device-ip-address>:5555
to go back to adb over usb enter adb usb


text:
Why am I getting an 'Invalid Server Certificate' error when retrieving email even though I have the 'Verify Certificate' setting disabled?
I'm trying to configure my phone to sync with my work email account.  I'm accessing it through OWA (Outlook Web Access).  With the default settings, when the phone attempts to retrieve incoming mail, I get an error stating that there is an 'Invalid Server Certificate'.  This persists even if I disable the Verify Certificate setting.  Why is that?  How do I avoid the 'Invalid Server Certificate' error?
I do not receive the error if I set 'Use secure password' to Never.  But, that doesn't seem too safe.  Would that mean my password is sent in plain text?
I'm running Android 2.3.3 on a Droid X.

This seems like an issue that has been reported to the android development team. I am not sure if it is specific to the droid x, but even the work item relates to the droid x. If that is the case, I don't know if that is technically an android issue, but a MotoBLUR issue, as the Droid X runs the MotoBLUR version of android.
Also, Yes, that is what "Never use secure password" means.


text:
Wrong HTC phone type attached to android market
I have a htc desire z and accidently put htc vision
How can it be changed.
I cannot download a program from android market for my phone as it thinks is a Htc vision

How did you add it to your account? The phone should identify itself to the Market, you shouldn't even have the ability to put in the wrong phone type.

The HTC Vision is the Desire Z, it is also known as the G2 on T-Mobile.
This is basically the name that HTC gives the device before it sells it to carriers. Some carriers want it rebranded. I also believe that HTC decided to publicly call the Vision the Desire Z, but I assure you, they are the same device.


text:
ICS: Add Google Contact Group To Home Screen
Please note I'm using Ice Cream Sandwich.
I'd like to add a shortcut to a Google Contacts Group such as 'Co-Workers' to my home screen.  Can I do that?

It doesn't appear that there is a native way to do this in ICS.  However, you could use the folders feature in ICS to add multiple contacts to the home screen and group them into a single folder.  Not exactly what you're looking for, but this seems like it is the best native (non-3rd party) solution in ICS.

That's what I was afraid of.


text:
Can we install Android 2.3 on Samsung Wave Y GT-S5380K

Possible Duplicate:
Can I install Android on my non-Android device?

I have a samsung smartphone Wave Y GT-S5380K with Bada 2.0 OS installed. Can one install android OS on this Phone ? If yes then how ?


text:
How can I view flash content in Dolphin?
I have a Chinese tablet, so I cannot install apps from Android Market (at least directly).
How can I see flv, swf and other kind of flash data using Dolphin web browser?

You can try side-loading a Flash Player apk file. There are a whole lot of them floating around on XDA, such as this thread which has a download for Flash 11. Whether or not it works will also depend on other factors, such as the version of Android on the device and the processor it has (Flash requires an ARMv7 processor and Android 2.2 or later).


text:
Update to ICS makes Firefox fonts look awful (Eee Pad)
My Eee Pad TF101 auto-updated to ICS today. After the update, all fonts in Firefox changed to some dreadful-looking Times Roman-like font, in which the accented characters don't show right. Stock browser and Opera look fine and use the newfangled ICS sans serif font. Deleting data and reinstalling Firefox didn't help.
Maybe it expects the old 3.2 font? Is there a way I can install the old fonts in 4.0?

Got same problem. Here's a fix. Go to the advanced settings by typing "about:config" in the url string, filter settings by "font" substring and change the values of font names corresponding to your codepage from "sans..." (NOT mono) to "Roboto". Restart firefox


text:
how to flash Kindle Fire with custom boot.img
I tried flashing my Kindle Fire with a custom boot.img using this command:

$ fastboot -b 0x80000000 -i 0x1949 flash boot boot.img && fastboot reboot

sending 'boot' (3536 KB)...
OKAY [  0.889s]
writing 'boot'...
OKAY [  0.858s]
finished. total time: 1.746s
rebooting...
ERROR: usb_read failed with status e00002ed

finished. total time: 0.001s

$

but it always gets stuck in Fastboot Mode (requiring recovery mode). What's the correct command to get a successful flash?

It looks like it's flashing fine, just failing to reboot. Do you get the same result if you execute the flash and reboot separately (like as completely independent commands)?

Yes, I've tried them separately, but it's the same result. The reboot itself doesn't actually fail as the error message above might suggest. The usb_read fails because the device has rebooted.

Does a hot boot work? i.e. fastboot boot boot.img

That has the same result. :(

Weird, I never had this much trouble flashing images in fastboot. Are you using the stock bootloader or FIREFIREFIRE?

FIREFIREFIRE. I've Googled a bit and couldn't anyone using the stock bootloader on Fire. Maybe the stock doesn't work for custom ROMs. The only way I can flash a custom kernel is by including it in an update.zip and loading that from TWRP (that whole process takes several minutes). There's gotta be an easier way from the command line.


text:
How can I get missing apps back after factory resetting my rooted x10 Mini?
I rooted my Sony Ericsson xperia x10 mini and linked my apps to my sd card using link2sd, I then factory reset my phone from the android privacy settings.
superuser still exists on my phone

how do I get my linked apps to become visible and usable?
my Android Market has the (killing me) "starting download" forever (and I don't have GTalk, Google Talk that I was told I need to resolve this.) I've tried both wifi and SIM data connection

I've tried clearing market cache+data and nothing
I can't access my memory card because I can't download link2sd and I cant use the Market.
I want my phone to show my linked apps and for the market to work
If you need more info please don't hesitate to ask...

Are you running a custom ROM on your Xperia x10 mini? If you are missing the Google Talk app, this means that factory rest deleted some of the Google apps required for Market to work properly. I would suggest finding the appropriate GApps package for the ROM you are running and re-flashing it.

Im not running a cutom ROM. So how do i get the GApps package and re-flash it?

And is there a way to find out what ROM im using?

What i done is i found a programme called "Android injector" which installs .apk files from your pc to your android. Downloaded and installed the google apps and that sorted the market problem out. but i ddnt get to keep my old apps after i got link to sd it was blank. oh well....

Sounds like the factory reset removed the changes that link2sd made. but if you now moved apps that are system apps (like talk) they are now "gone". I am not 100% sure how link2sd works, if it uses an ext3 partition on the sdcard or what exactly it does. But it sounds like it really botched up your system.
Your best bet at this point it to find the Stock ROM and reflash the device back to the original stock setup.
For future reference, a factory reset does not return the device to "stock setup", it deletes all the user data off the device, as if it has never been used. It does not add any system apps or reset their "state". If you make those kinds of changes, a factory reset does not fix them.


text:
Missing internal flash memory and SD card does not mount
Some time ago I installed a custom firmware (YAR28) on my Archos 7HT. This worked fine for a while, until some day when I switched it on it showed the initial startup screen, and after that all my installed apps were gone. So I re-installed the stock firmware from Archos. But then I found out I could no longer access the sd-card. It was not mounted when I inserted it. But when I connected the device to my PC using USB it did show up as drive F: and G:. I could access F:, which was obviously my sd-card, but G: (which should be the internal flash) could not be accessed, and Windows even asked if this should be formatted.
When I open the Files on my tablet, and select 'SD Card' it gives the 'SD card is unmounted' error. And when I select 'Internal Memory' it is completely empty. So it looks like the file system is still working, but the internal flash part somehow is no longer accessible.
I have a feeling that some low level setting has changed and that I could somehow solve it if I could get access to the underlying Linux system, but I do not have a clue how to proceed.

Indeed the internal filesystem somehow got damaged. To fix this you need access to the filesystem itself, which can be done using ADB. (Android Debugging Bridge)
Instructions for connecting to the Archos Tablets using ADB can be found here:
http://www.archos.com/support/support_tech/updates_adb.html?country=er&lang=en
Although the description is complete this still sometimes can be hard. You might have to restart your computer a few times, but eventually it is possible.
Open a command window in the directory containing the ADB.exe program (it is in the 'platform-tools' directory under the androis-sdk-windows folder)
Type:
ADB SHELL
If the connection is OK, it will start a server and after e few seconds show the '$' prompt. this means you are connected to the tablet and have direct access to the linux shell. If you type 'ls' you will see a list of folders that contain the operating system and all supporting files that make your tablet work.
Now navigate to the folder containing the Flash file system by typing:
cd ./dev/block/vold
If you now type 'ls' again you should see three or four folders that have numbered names. One of them is '31:8'. This is the folder that points to the internal flash. Now we can fix our problem by recreating the MS-DOS (FAT32) file system on this partition. Type the following:
mkdosfs -F 32 /dev/block/vold/31:8/
This will fix the FAT32 filesystem. Now leave the shell by typing 'exit', disconnect the USB and restart your tablet. On my system this made  internal storage re-appear, and after that it also mounted the sd-card. Problem solved.
Many thanks to this post on SlateDroid that contained the answer.

Thanks a lot! This command we can write in Terminal Emulator, but we must have root in our device. mkdosfs is standard command in Android 4.0. In my Maxell C7 folder name is 31:9 (not 31:8). If you will be in /dev/block/vold write "ls" and all folders in this folder you can see. After this we can succesfull this operation.

For me it was
newfs_msdos -F 32 /dev/block/vold/179:32 .
I've also seen
busybox mkfs.vfat /dev/block/mmcblk0p19
so it all depends on what device You have.
Anyway thanks for help.


text:
data packet automatically activated on gingerbread 2.3.6
I just upgraded my samsung galaxy SL to gingerbread 2.3.6
After that, everytime my data packet is automatically activated all the time.
I switch off my mobile network data and lock my phone, and then switch it on again/unlock, the network data are automatically enabled.
I ve noticed, that when i un-tick/deactivate "use packet data", lock my phone with power/lock button and then unlock it, this option is ticked again (= data are enabled).
Please advise.

Install CatLog to check what's happening at the time of unlocking. Without logs, its hard to tell how to fix it.
Factory reset is the last option (not applicable if your firmware is broken).
If factory reset is unable to fix it or you don't want to do factory reset, install third-party apps which could turn off data by renaming APN. I'd recommend Widgetsoid for it. After installing it, add Data Toggle widget on homescreen & choose APN Renaming as data toggle method from its settings. The bug can't by-pass it, for sure.

Maybe a factory reset will solve the problem, or if your phone is rooted and you have a custom recovery, then clear the Dalvik cache.

I had same issue I think.  When you power off in gingerbread you get a power off popup confirmation screen. one of the other options shown will reset packet data. if you hit that by accident it will restore the packet data connection. There is an alternative way to stop 3g rather than turning packet data off but its pretty permanent for the mobile network you use.


text:
ICS Navigation app change default from walking to driving?
When I try to add a new "Directions" shortcut to my home screen, the shortcut interface defaults to "walking" directions instead of "driving" directions.
Also, when I use Chrome To Phone to send a directions page to my phone, it shows up in Walking Directions mode.
Is there any way I can change this default, so my phone assumes I'm talking about Driving directions first?
It seems like it would be a better default.

It's to do with the transport mode you're using when you tell maps to ask for directions.  Pick a point on the map.  Press and hold till the bubble comes up.  tap on the bubble, choose directions, now the directions panel comes up with from and to lines and under that will be the choice driving, public transport or walking.  choose driving then press navigation.  that works for me after I was suffering the same problem as you.  Hope this helps


text:
GT-I5500 Wi-Fi error
I have working Wi-Fi connection. I can connect to any access point in range and I have no problems with passwords, etc.
But after some time (sometimes hours, sometimes days) my phone tries to connect to access point and it fails. In Wi-Fi settings I just have "Błąd" message which in English means "Error". Then I cannot connect to any network, I'm not eve able to scan available networks - Wi-Fi is totally dead.
When I reboot phone it starts to working normally again.
My phone specs:
Samsung Galaxy 5
GT-I5500
Android 2.2 - FROYO.XWJQ3
I5500XWJP4

Something that could be related: Samsung Galaxy 5 Wi-fi stops working: “ar6000 driver fails to load”.

I performed two steps to fix the issue:

Settings -> Wireless & network settings -> Wi-Fi settings -> click menu button and select Advanced, Select Wi-Fi sleep policy - > Select Never.
Dial *#*#526#*#* for WLAN Diagnostics. This will reload the Wi-Fi driver (I tried this before without step 1 and it rebooted my mobile).

Thanks for answer. I recently stopped to use wifi because my operator has cheap mobile Internet prices. I will check Your solution in future.


text:
Rooted Phone's data folder now empty
I used to see all the dbs in File Explorer , now all of a sudden the data folder is empty, What could have happened?
Phone: Motorola Droid X (original). I have been debugging rigorously, the only other thing I did is set up a write to my sdcard from my code and I CAN see that in File Explorer.....

Can you elaborate on exactly what you did before this happened?

I'm not exactly sure, I didn't change any settings on the physical phone if that's what you mean.

If it were actually empty, the phone wouldn't work.  I'd a reboot and clearing the data for your file explorer.

I rebooted phone, & still nothing underneath data folder, hmmmmm....

did you used to have root and now you don't? if you dont have root, you wont be able to see in that directory. Or maybe the permissions have changed on /data. As @MatthewRead stated, if it was empty, nothing would work.

I did not explicitly "un-root" the phone, can you actually do that? Also why would permissions have changed? If they have changed, how do I set up admin access?

If "File Explorer" refers to an app on the Android device: Did you check whether it is (still) granted superuser permission (check that with the SuperUser or SuperSU app, it should be listed there)? Maybe you accidentally removed the permission. In that case, the data folders might appear empty. Same thing as Ryan meant. And for the records: Yes, un-rooting is also possible.


text:
iplayer app for BBC radio programs on 2.3.5?
Are there any iplayer-like apps to listen to recorded BBC radio programs on 2.3.5?

Have you seen the answers to this previous question? Any way to listen again to BBC radio?

TuneIn Radio has channels for BBC radio, other radio streaming apps probably have them too. TuneIn is a good app, the pro version even lets you record. I am not sure what other features the pro has over the lite version, but I use TuneIn daily.


text:
installing openAOS 2.3.5 on Archos 5IT?
I found there is people installing openAOS 2.3.5 on Archos 5IT, but I haven't seen any website detailing the instructions on how to do it. Anyone?

According to the openAOS site, the Archos 5 is supported. So I would think that there would be a download for an update package for that specific device. This is how others do it. The steps to install on any of the devices should be the same (or close) the only thing you would need is the install package. I could not find downloads on the openAOS site.


text:
How to keep two versions of an app installed?
Android Market has just updated an app in my device. I liked the update, but its fully different from last version which was also my favorite. So, I want to keep last version too. I have last version's apk thanks to Titanium Backup. But, I can't install it without replacing current one (Android architecture sucks). Is there any way to do this? Hacks etc..
Note: I want to keep current version which must be connected with Market to receive future updates.

It can be done, but not simple for the reasons eldarerathis mentioned.
You need apktool. Refer to this guide on how to use it. And this on signing the apk after you're done.
You need to modify the AndroidManifest.xml file. Find the line that looks like this:
manifest package="com.example.app"

and change it to something like:
"com.example.app.foo"

After you're finished, recompile then resign. To restore your data, try the following via adb:
adb rm /data/data/com.example.app.foo
adb push /data/data/com.example.app /data/data/com.example.app.foo

Where com.example.app is the package name of the original and com.example.app.foo is the modified.
There's always a slight chance that the app will break, or depending on the way the app is structured you may receive a dialog every time you change the screen prompting you to choose which app you want to launch, but it's definitely worth a try if you want it badly enough.
Of course, the two apps will not share the same settings and data.

Great... I don't think it'd be subject to legal issues as I am not going to distribute/sell it.. Thanks!

It depends on your country. In Hungary it is legal to reverse engineer an app for learning/personal purposes but I don'T know about the rest of the world. But since you're not distributing anything you will not get in trouble.

You can't do this. Each Android application has a package name, which effectively defines the Java/Dalvik namespace that its classes occupy. You cannot have two packages of the same name installed because it would create overlapping namespaces, which is why it always replaces the old one when you install a new one. The only way you could feasibly do this is if you were able to get the source for the app and change all of the package definitions.

Do it with in 5 minutes
Method : Change package name so that android will recognize it as a different app.
No APKtool, no adb, no super user skills needed.
Tools required

PC with JAVA ( Windows, Linux, Mac )  ( JDK 8 prefered )
ApkRename

Steps

Backup/Download a copy of the desired app (app.APK)
Transfer to PC
On PC download JAVA and ApkRename
Change package name by providing, path to APK file and new package name, to ApkRename
Sign the APK using ApkSign
Transfer the new APK to phone and install it.

NOTE: In case any difficulty in signing the APK, use android APK editor app like  Advanced permission manager and make any edit, press save & install. At this time they will sign the app.

You could try repackaging the application. I once installed some edited version of a game and the result was two games. If remember good, package names weren't the same.

Sometimes, there are some references in executable library (.so), and changing package name (also smali -> classes.dex) does not help either.
In simple cases look for ApkEditor.

This is a good start, but doesn't explain what changes you need to make in ApkEditor. If you want your answer to be helpful, you might want to edit it to add a bit more information.


text:
If I open a PDF from dropbox with Adobe Reader, where is it saved?

Possible Duplicate:
Dropbox for Android folder location

I opened a PDF from the DropBox app with Adobe Reader on my Samsung Galaxy Tab (running 3.1). It isn't saved in Downloads, as I expected. So where is it!? I can open Adobe Reader and find it there, but I'd like to know where it has been saved on the device. Any ideas?

There is a folder on the sdcard where dropbox saves the files locally.
/sdcard/Android/data/com.dropbox.android/


text:
How can I sign out from gmail in my Android?

Possible Duplicate:
How-to unlink the main Google account from android device without a factory reset
Logout from Gmail on my device

I have a Sony Ericsson Xperia. I have logged in on it with one of my Gmail accounts.
But now I want to change the default gmail account logged in on my phone. How can I do this?
Thanks.

Or possibly How-to unlink the main Google account from android device without a factory reset.

Menu button --> Settings --> Accounts and sync--> find your google account there (enter inside)--> remove account...
You cannot remove the account if it is the last google account on your phone, you will have to add a different account before you remove it.


text:
opera search bar: enter doesn't search
I write my question in a search box (on stack exchange or wikipedia or Google.) when I press enter, it doesn't search.
This isn't a keyboard thing since I've tried swiftkey, android keyboard, Samsung keyboard, and swype.
It is an opera thing, since using default browser, the keyboard "enter" is replaced by a spyglass for search or a tick in a circle for "go" as expected.
I've not tried any other browsers.
I only noticed this problem after upgrading my galaxy tab to 3.2...

There is no opera tag and I can't create one...

There is no opera tag because we have an opera-mini tag and an opera-mobile tag. There are some distinct differences between Mini and Mobile. Which are you using?

Aha. I can't see the autocomplete options when typing on my galaxy tab... Opera mobile, and I'm using.

You should see autocomplete options in the mobile view, with Opera mobile -- but there's a delay.

A software update fixed this problem. Must've been a bug in opera mobile.

My solution for SO uses an undocumented feature (an easy trick when there's no documentation whatsoever): longtouch the search bar, add it as a search engine, and then use Opera's own search bar for such sites.  A trick you may like with SO is to do this multiple times, then manage search engines, click on one of the SO 'engines', and modify it so that you can readily add e.g. [android] to your searches.  It may feel like a workaround, but the result is more comfortable than what I was used to on desktop systems.


text:
How do I change my "Vendor Class ID"?
My device's "Vendor Class ID" is dhcpcd-5.2.10:Linux-3.0.8-gb55e9ac:armv7l:herring.  I don't know what Vendor Class ID is, but how do I change it to something else?
My question is not related to programming.

VCID is normally a device value used by PC-side drivers and AFAIK not changeable.  Can you elaborate on your problem -- what you're trying to accomplish by this?  We may still be able to help.

The Vendor ID that @MatthewRead mention is used for the PC drivers. What you are talking about is a DHCP Vendor Class Identifier.
From Microsoft Technet (not android specific, but has the same meaning)

Can be used by DHCP clients to identify their vendor type and configuration. When using this option, vendors can define their own specific identifier values, such as to convey a particular hardware or operating system configuration or other identifying information.

To answer the question if you can change this, I do not know of any configuration settings anywhere within android that let you change this. Based on the one you put in your question, it looks like android creates the VCI from the following:
<dhcpcd and version>:<kernel and version>:<processor type>:<device board type>
for the board type, you have herring, so if you opened up a shell and typed getprop ro.product.board I am willing to bet that the value that is output is "herring". Can I guess that you also have a Nexus S. I believe the Galaxy Nexus has a board named "tuna".


text:
Can I temporarily use device with physical QWERTY in touch only mode?
I am looking for a new phone with a physical QWERTY keyboard (probably a "slide-down" construction). As I do not have possibility to test it, I would like to know, whether I can use the device as a standard touch phone without using the physical keyboard if needed.
How does Android behave when the physical keyboard is not activated (the slide-down phone is folded)? Do I have to manually activate the virtual one or is it automatic?
thanks

Yes, the phone should behave same as without physical keyboard until you open the physical keyboard which will cause hiding the virtual one.


text:
Is there a way to see 3G connection time?
I have a time-based data plan, therefore I would like to have a report of the 3G connection time (possibly with a weekly reset). However, all the application on the market reports the data usage, and not the time spent online.
Is there an app for that (for Gingerbread)?

My Data Manager app displays what you need. Check out its data pie (left-to-right swipe) and make sure Time button is pressed.

It looks like it shows the time usage per application; which is not what I want. If I have the connection established but no application is downloading data then I get incorrect results.

I've built an app myself! This is the best I could do: it doesn't detect time connection, but shuts the device down after a delay.
Delayed shutdown

Isn't it clever spamming??

No, it isn't spamming. It answers the question and the relationship has been declared. Please review the [FAQ] about "promotion".

The actual app doesn't help though as far as I can tell, it just seems to shut down the device, nothing to do with data at all. How does it relate to the question..? Seems like spam to me.

It is clear that the poster made this app, so I wouldn't call it spam.


text:
Better folders, which support drag & drop: is that even possible?
I've tried three different folder widgets for Android 2.3, but I noticed none of them supports adding applications via drag & drop, like the native folders do.
Is that even possible to do?
I guess it isn't, or those application would be pretty stupid not to support it, but you never know.

I'm guessing you're unhappy with how native folders work.  Is it looks, or something else?

@Chance: mostly how it looks, also how it doesn't apparently allow me to rearrange the icons inside, and how it doesn't close itself when I launch an item inside it.

Would you consider a different launcher?  Go launcher, specifically.

@Chance I might think about that

For the close-on-launch behaviour, and the ability to sort differently, I would recommend Folder Organizer. There is also a lite version. I've used this app for a long time and really like it. Tho as people have said, it doesn't support drag-n-drop adding, because the OS doesn't expose that kind of hook to apps.

For what it's worth, Ice Cream Sandwich (aka Android 4) allows drag-and-drop to and from folders, as well as rearranging icons within folders.

@offby1: uh? Even Android 2 allows drag&drop to native folders, here we are talking about non-native ones, which are widgets.

The only interactions presently supported by app widgets on the home screen are simple click events.  So the answer to your question is no, drag & drop isn't available with widgets.  The reason the native folders can do this is because they are just part of the launcher activity so can be programmed to do more complex things than the widgets can

Go Launcher will address a couple of the items you mentioned in the comment to your question.  The aesthetics are superior, displaying an "iPhone style" in which it shows a preview of the icons inside of it.  You can also control the behavior of the folder after launching an app, such as whether or not the folder stays open.
I believe you can arrange the icons in any order inside the folder - This screenshot seems to indicate that you can.


text:
What is my lcd density?
How can I figure out what is my tablet's lcd screen density.
It is a cheapy one with no official site...
Is there any settings option I could check to see the display resolution configurations?
Is there any other way for it?

You probably have a diagonal screen size, and a resolution.  Use the Pythagorean Theorem on the resolution and divide the result by the screen size to get the DPI.
For example, my Vibrant is 4", 800x480.  sqrt(8002 + 4802) / 4 = ~233 dpi.

Even a cheap tablet with no official specs normally mentions the screen resolution on the box, didn't yours?
If not, then you could visit a web page like http://www.whatismyscreenresolution.com/ (there are many other similar websites out there) or install an app like Android System Info that will tell you your resolution as well as your DPI.
The DPI is just a measurement of how many pixels there are on an inch of your screen, so if you know your screen resolution, you can measure the size of your screen and calculate the DPI from  there to get the actual density.

I've created small app to check phone screen density. You could check it. Phone Density Information

If you are rooted, the best way to check is to go to /system and open build.prop, and then check if there is a line called ro.sf.lcd_density. This will give you the current LCD density, and you can even change it if you want.


text:
Retrieve deleted file Android droid 2

Possible Duplicate:
How can I recover a deleted file on Android?

I deleted a file from my droid 2 -Android 2.2. I am not trying to retrieve the file(jpg). I have used Astro to look at the file system and dumped all the camera pictures(as this picture was taken with the Motorola droid 2) but have not been able to retrieve the image.
Is there any way I can retrieve the image from the droid 2 that I have deleted ? This picture was taken on July 15th, 2011 before Google+ days.
I have Windows desktops at my disposal.
TIA,
Vijay

Vijay, is there any programming efforts involve in this..?

This is probably an off-topic question


text:
Displaying profile picture in Gmail App
I've got an ICS device, when I send SMS messages, G+ messages or GoogleTalk message my avatar appears beside each email.
When I send emails through my GMail account in a browser my profile picture appears next to them.
Inside the GMail app a profile picture appears for each of my contacts but not for me.  The email address I send from is listed in my profile.
Can anyone tell me how to set this image?

I just ran into this same issue.  I think it's because I had a contact for myself in gmail that didn't match the capitalization that the gmail app (or maybe just android) uses for your personal email address (all lower case for me).
In any case, here's the steps I took that fixed it for me.  I am running Jelly Bean, so it may be a little different for you.

Open the gmail app
Tap the gmail icon in the top left corner and take note of the capitalization of your email address on the top left
open an email that you sent
Tap on the place where your picture would be (it should be a picture of the first letter of your first name)
Tap on your profile picture in the popup to go to the contact details
Choose "Edit" from the setting dropdown in the top right corner (the 3 vertical dots)
Change your email address to all lower case (or maybe whatever showed up in step 2.  If one doesn't work, try the other.)
Tap "Done" at the top left.

This fixed it inside my email.  In order to also fix it in the email list, I had to also do the following.

Go to gmail's "App Info" page. (under Phone Settings -> Apps -> "All" tab for me)
Tap "Clear Data" once the numbers finish calculating (and ok on the warning popup)
Open the gmail app and wait for your emails to re-sync
Enjoy your face you handsome devil.

Hopefully this works for you or anyone else that stumbles across this thread.

I don't have such issue with the contact name capitalization, but the problem is there. Clearing GMail data does not help.

In gmail (on the web) you go to settings -> general. Under there is "My Picture".
Excerpt from Gmail Help:

Click the gear icon  at the top of any Gmail page.
Click Mail settings.
From the My picture section, click Select a picture. The Upload a picture window appears.
Upload a new photo from your computer, or select a photo from Picasa Web Albums or your previous Google profile photos.
Drag the selected region to crop your photo, or resize the region by clicking and dragging one of the region corners. Click Edit photo in Picnik to edit your photo.
Click Set as profile photo.
You can select whether you'd like all Gmail users to see your picture, or only those who you've allowed to chat with you, using the radio buttons next to your uploaded photo on your Settings page.

Visible to everyone means anyone who you email, or who emails you, can see your picture. If you have a public Google profile without a photo and you choose this option, your picture will be used on your Google profile and will be visible to others there.
Visible only to people I can chat with includes users who have been given permission to see when you're online and to chat with you.

As of the time that I am writing this, I believe that the Gmail picture and the Google+ picture are still separate from each other, but Google+ profile picture, IIRC, defaulted to this image.
I want to add that ICS added the "Me" Contact. From what I know, this contact is tied to your Google+ account, and no one has seem to find a way to edit the info without deleting the contact and re-adding it.

Hi Ryan, thanks for your response.  I have added a picture there and it displays fine when I'm using gmail through the web browser.  It just appears to be in the app it's not displaying.

This answer, unfortunately, misses the point. The above steps are supposed to assign a picture to a user profile in GMail. But the picture is already successfully assigned and works fine in web version of GMail. It is only the GMail app that's broken. I tried reassigning the picture as described above, but it doesn't help.

Making sure that "People" was set to sync in the account settings made the profile pic show up for me.

I tried the other suggested answers but nothing worked. I then simply sent an email to myself to see if my avatar would show up as the sender, it did, and all other emails in my inbox refreshed and it showed my avatar from then on.

I found an easy solution to the problem.
In Gmail App send an email to yourself.
Open it.
Tap on your avatar. It'll take you to your contacts.
Tap on your avatar again.
Select the 'upload image' option.
Select the picture you wish to use. It'll take you to the edit image section.
Once you finished cropping/adjusting your image tap on Save/done.
Refresh your emails (or close and open the gmail app).
And that's it.
At least it worked for me. Hope it works for others too.

Check your Picasa Web Album. I found that when I deleted my Profile Photo there, I was freed... finally! It took several minutes to update.


text:
How can I make Android remember default apps after upgrades?
After choosing a default program for an action, every time an app gets updated that relates to that action, the OS unnecessarily asks which program to use.  I can't be the only one to be aggravated by this defect.
It's especially irritating for apps that get updated frequently and serve multiple intents.
Here is the scenario:

User installs app (for instance, a new web browser-Dolphin)
User performs intent (for instance clicking a hyperlink from an email)
Android OS asks user which app to use.
User selects Dolphin browser, checks check box at the bottom of the popup window with the label "Use As Default" and selects new web browser app.
Android Market installs new update for Dolphin.
User performs same intent as #2 (clicking a hyperlink from an email)
Android OS forgets "use as default" setting and Android OS asks user which app to use.  [Steps 3-7 repeat ad infinitum]

The bug occurs at step 7.
I submitted a bug report for this issue.  In the meantime, is there an app that works around it?

I've always found this behavior annoying, especially since I use GO Launcher which updates relatively often. I like my apps to get new features and bugfixes, but having to constantly reset it as the default app gets old.

No, you can't work around it unless you make changes to the android sources and compile a custom ROM. The Installer Service is a core part of the system and cannot be replaced or overridden like other apps can.
This is by design. It will only ask you again if one of the apps that was updated is one that has other apps that can perform the same task.
The same thing happens if you install a new application that can perform the task of another app. This is because updating an application is actually just like installing a "new" application. There is no difference in what happens when you install a new application on your device or if you update an existing application. So if there was a way to have it "always remember" this option, then when you installed a completely new application that you want to use, you would never get presented with the option to use it.
Lets use the launcher as an example. You use GO Launcher for a long time and you have it set as the default. Then you decide you want to use the new Foo Launcher, so you install it. Now when you go to the launcher you are asked what launcher you want to use. If you set it to "always remember", you would not be presented with the option and you (or maybe other users) would consider this a poor experience because now they have to figure out how to change the launcher to the one they just installed.

I get that this is by design--to me a poorly thought out design. I understand the very different use case you presented when a user installs a new application that can perform an intent that another app can already perform. In the case of a new app being installed that performs an intent, the default app should be requested again.

It's especially annoying (and potentially dangerous) when, for instance, you're driving and use voice commands to call someone... only to have it sit there waiting for you to choose Skype or Phone as the default.  :(


text:
Can I restore my HTC Hero to its stock ROM?
I have a rooted HTC Hero with the latest Cyanogen mod installed on it.
I'd like to get it back to its stock status, restoring the original, official ROM and unrooting it. Is this possible? I have found this thread with what seems to be stock ROMs, however, I don't know whether that will do the job and also unroot the phone.

If you install a completely original ROM for the device, it will be unrooted. flashing the correct Stock ROM for your device will revert it back to its original factory state. Remember to Wipe both the Cache and Data when you flash.
in the post you linked it also says:

Notice: These are NOT rooted, and contain radio/hboot rom updates


text:
List of ROMs for HTC Flyer

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

I've just received an HTC Flyer which I intend on rooting and putting a custom ROM on.  Normally I would look at CyanogenMod, but it seems that there isn't a port for the Flyer, so I was wondering if there is any resource where I can see a list of ROMs available for a given device?

This is either going to be based on opinion or also sort of a "shopping recommendation", which are off topic here. Please see the faq

have edited question

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


text:
Mass install apps using FTP/HTTP
I would like to mass install few apps at one time from a single FTP server - from Android phone, without using adb command.
The phone will be rooted and will have and the option to install non-Market apps turned on.
I know it is possible to install many apps using single adb command (http://www.androidsim.net/2011/06/how-to-18-mass-installing-multiple.html) but I would like to do this using an Android app that would download all the apps and install them.
I am looking for a ready-made solution (app/code snippet) or a clues for implementing FTP connection.

This is a way of programatically installing APKs
the code snippet you're looking for is:
Intent intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW);
intent.setDataAndType(Uri.fromFile(new File(Environment.getExternalStorageDirectory() + "/download/" + "app.apk")),"application/vnd.android.package-archive");
startActivity(intent);

Thanks, I've searched Android SE archives but didn't search SO archives.


text:
Ubuntu font cannot display latin extended characters
I changed the system font (by Font Changer) to Ubuntu font (0.8). This font has Latin-Extended support and can display Vietnamese just fine (I tested this on http://font.ubuntu.com/).
However, after I changed to this font, Vietnamese chars are replaced by boxes.
Can anyone explain this for me? Any idea on how to fix this?

I'm not sure about Vietnamese, but for example in Finnish, there are some extended characters that are problematic. This is because some pages are encoded as ISO-8859-15 and some are UTF-8. If autodetection in the browser fails, they will be displayed as boxes or garbage. The same thing happens if the font only supports one encoding and the page uses the other. I'd recommend to check the encoding of the font and the encoding of the pages you tried, and change the font if necessary.


text:
How do I disable the data usage warning and notification in ICS?
I'm running ICS on a Galaxy Nexus and my data plan is grandfathered in from the days of unlimited data with my carrier- so I don't need any warning or notification for the amount of data I'm using. However, ICS on this phone has an annoying warning and notification when I hit either 2 or 4 gb before the month is over. The notification persists in the background and will not close. How do I disable this?

In Settings -> Wireless & Networks -> Data Usage you should be able to uncheck the "set mobile data limit". The limit will stop data usage when you reach the limit. (You probably have this unchecked already).
On this screen is where you can move the "warning" levels up so you will not reach them and you will not receive the notification.

One thing to note: If you have mobile data disabled, the checkbox to set the limits will not be visible. Re-enable it temporarily and you can dispatch the annoying notifications for good.

I had it unchecked already. Moved the limit level up to a zillion gigs and the annoying notification went away. Thanks!

@Ryan So lovely to see you can take snapshoot of the phone screen. Please share me how to do that, thank you.

@NamG.VU Hold the Volume Down and Power button at the same time to take a screen shot.

i took mine with ddms


text:
Is there an equivalent for coconutBattery (Mac) on the Android?
My G2 android used to last an entire day without charge for the past year, now it appears that it gets to very low energy at about halfway through the day, is there something like coconutBattery (Mac) for the Android? Not sure if this question belong on SO or somewhere else?
I am essentially looking for original Design Capacity (ie. 6900 mAh) and now the Current capacity (6559 mAh)?
Thanks.

Most of the information is available in Settings -> About Phone -> Status but you can also use an app from the market called Battery Info (i am sure there are others as well) and it will show you all the information on the battery. This app also has a widget that can display some information too.

At the time of me writing this it is not possible in the android SDK to get the raw mAH value so you wont find any apps that can display the exact mAH, only how charged the battery is in percent, and what is drained.

Thanks @Ryan Conrad, please see my edit above, I am looking for Original Design capacity and Current Capacity of battery, u know if any apps have that?

I added to my answer to address your edit.


text:
Application to slide from area to start application?
I had an application before I formatted which would do something awesome: you simply slid from an active area on the screen, no matter what application you're in, and you were presented with about 12 different spots you could fill which would launch applications.
The problem is, I can't remember what this application is called. Can anyone remind me?

One thing you can do is log in to the android market web and go through your history of installed applications. It will show you everything that you installed (purchased and free)

Somehow, it's not there, believe me: I looked :(

SwipePad. Found it: https://market.android.com/details?id=mobi.conduction.swipepad.android


text:
How can I send a file wirelessly without bluetooth or a Wi-Fi network in ICS?
I know that one of the new features is WiFi-direct for ICS (noted at the very bottom of the page in the link).  Is there a way to leverage this new feature to transmit files from one ICS device to another?
This would be useful because the WiFi speeds would be greater than bluetooth, and you wouldn't need to be connected to a WiFi network or create a hotspot.
The Samsung Galaxy S II apparently has this feature built in pre-ICS (go Samsung!). Is this same method available in ICS? Or is there an app for it?
EDIT:  Because the galaxy nexus is made by Samsung, and is the only device out with ICS right now, I'm not sure if this "WiFi Direct" sharing (per the link and Ryan's answer below) is built in to ICS vanilla (Samsung did have WiFi Direct sharing pre-ICS, after all).
As such, I've added a vanilla tag, so I'm asking, is in the vanilla source code to allow a way for users to share files using WiFi Direct?  If not, is there an app for it in the market?  I want to know how to do this on all ICS phones, not necessarily just the galaxy nexus.

Android 4.0 introduces WiFi Direct in to the core of android. it basically creates an adhoc connection between one device and another using WiFi by creating what I guess could be considered an Access Point. You do not need a wifi access point to use WiFi Direct, and actually, if you are connected to wifi when turning on WiFi direct, it will disconnect you. You cannot be connected to both an Access Point and enable wifi direct.
The host device acts as an access point for other devices to connect to, then through other pieces of software, files and other data can be shared or streamed to the client device(s).
To use Wifi Direct, in settings -> wireless & networks you have to enable it. Then you should have an option to "share" via wifi. This works a lot like bluetooth sharing, where the other device has to be "ready to accept" your files. You will only be able to do wifi direct with devices that have explicit support for wifi direct. Android 4.0 is the the first version of the OS to have built in support for wifi direct. The Samsung Galaxy S II does have support for wifi direct as well. This was an added feature Samsung put in to their TouchWiz version of Android. While the settings for it are a little different then in Android 4.0, they basically work the same.
There are other devices, like some TVs by Sony, that also have wifi direct support.
Wifi Direct is not hardware specific, its part of the OS. If the device supports wifi then it supports this. It is part of the CORE OS in Android 4.0. Any device that has Wifi and is running ICS, this will work with. Some Samsung devices (I think only the Galaxy S 2) have support for wifi direct even though they are not running ICS. This is because Samsung added the support for it in to their version of Android.
While the Galaxy Nexus is manufactured by Samsung, it does not run the Samsung modified version of Android. It runs a completely "Google Experience" version of Android. The WiFi direct that exists on the Samsung Galaxy S II is different then the one built in to Android 4.0.
Here is the android SDK docs that talks about support.

Wi-Fi Direct allows Android 4.0 (API level 14) or later devices with the appropriate hardware to connect directly to each other via Wi-Fi without an intermediate access point. Using these APIs, you can discover and connect to other devices when each device supports Wi-Fi Direct, then communicate over a speedy connection across distances much longer than a Bluetooth connection. This is useful for applications that share data among users, such as a multiplayer game or a photo sharing application.

Here is a screen shot (taken from this video) showing wifi direct setting available on a Nook Color running CM9. The video is at the location where it shows wifi direct working.

Here are 2 screenshots from my viewsonic g-tablet that is running ICS (this is not a CM9 Kang, it is vanilla AOSP android). The first shows the setting, the second shows that i turned it on.

To show that WiFi Direct is actually part of the core of android and not just CM9, here is the source code for the WiFi direct settings. This is the github mirror of the AOSP. You can compare it to CM9 source too.

Just a heads up -- I edited the question to directly ask how to transfer files with Wi-Fi Direct.

I adjusted my answer to hopefully explain how to use wifi direct.

I can't find anything like "Wifi Direct" under settings -> wireless & networks.

@offby1 are you using an emulator?  I looked in my friend's galaxy nexus and the setting was there.  Come to think of it now though... it is a samsung device.

@RyanConrad can you provide a source showing that this will work on all ICS phones?  I've updated my question.

@John i modified my answer to cover your last comment.

It is a part of ICS and not only Gnex...

I added screenshots of wifi direct working on a viewsonic gtablet that is running ICS.

@RyanConrad, while the information you've added is related to WiFi Direct, it still doesn't fully answer the question... having WiFi direct in the API doesn't necessarily mean it is available as a feature of the OS settings, and while it is present on CM9, CyanogenMod is still a ROM, and it is possible the feature was incorporated... unless you can show that CM9 used the vanilla android settings source code?  Also the gtablet is also running a ROM, I believe it's native OS was 2.2.

my tablet is not running CM9, it is running VANILLA AOSP android. But here is the cyanogen code and here is the android code. They are the same.

@RyanConrad do you have a reference for saying that WiFi Direct is not hardware dependent? The Nexus S running vanilla ICS does not have that feature enabled. The Motorola Xoom on vanilla ICS does not have that feature either. The code might be there, but I'm pretty sure there's some kind of hardware dependence, or all ICS devices would have it.

@RyanConrad thanks, that answers my question :)  I'd be interested to know the answer to davidbb's comment too, but it's not my question.

Answering the above question: no, I'm not running an emulator; I have a Nexus S with stock Android 4.0.3, and there is no "Wi-fi direct" menu item anywhere.

I have Nexus S running CM9. I don't have it either. I think I read from somewhere it is hardware dependent after all. (Most of the newer phones have this though)

Yes, it is hardware dependent, to an extent. Most recent devices have wifi chips that support it, in my post I do initially say that it is not, but later I quote the docs that say that it is.

Can you please elaborate on Then you should have an option to "share" via wifi. ? Where should this option be?

There's a new app on the Android market called FileBeam that lets you Beam DropBox files from Android to Android. Maybe that can help you too ;)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.filebeamapp.android

The link is eventually dead. An update is required here.

There is a reference to the feature in the source code, but with a different name: WifiP2P. Just did a search in GrepCode and found the package android.net.wiki.p2p.
Wifi Direct itself is located in com.example.android.wifidirect, so I don't think it's necessarily included in vanilla OSs, this is just an example on how to use the Wifi P2P API. Someone with more experience in Android source may know better.

it is included in vanilla android. I have ICS installed on my viewsonic gtablet and tried it with a friend that has the galaxy nexus. The like to wifidirect you posted is the example code on how other applications can integrate with the protocol to launch the intents that are part of the OS.

For Samsung G-Note users (possibly SII and SIII users too), go to Settings, then under the Wireless and Networks section select More..., and you will see the option there.

The question is about stock ICS, and it's not about whether you can turn WiFi-Direct on, but if you can use it for file sharing.


text:
What actually happens when you swipe an app out of the recent apps list?
The recent apps list in Ice Cream Sandwich added the ability to swipe apps out of the list, thereby dismissing them permanently (and as far as I know this is a vanilla function, not a CM/custom ROM one). The documentation and platform highlights don't appear to cover the under-the-hood workings of this functionality, but I'm curious to know what the system is actually doing.
Further adding to my curiosity, I decided to do a quick test: I started up Music on a CM9 install, then backed out of it. I then checked the recent apps list and saw it was indeed there (and in the proper state, based on the thumbnail). I then went into Settings->Applications and force stopped the Music app, but it was still listed in the recent list, leading me to believe it's not connected to processes lingering in the background.
Realizing now that Music may have been a poor choice, I also tested with the USA Today app. This exhibited basically the same behavior, and it seemed like it was forced to "relaunch" after the force stop (which makes sense) though the thumbnail in the recent apps list didn't reflect this (cached, I'm guessing?).
So, what actually happens at the OS level when you swipe an app out of the recent list? Does it simply clear the app's data out of RAM and garbage collect it, destroying its saved state?

Swiping apps out of the recent apps list is vanilla, and yes, not well documented. This has been the topic of a decent amount of discussion on various Android forums... the consensus seems to be best described here in some comments: that the behavior is similar to but not exactly the same as closing an app -- in general (for apps that don't define explicit back button handling) it's the same thing as hitting back enough times from within an application that you exit out of it.
The link has some more details on the specifics, but overall you can think of it as quitting the application.
Specific to the Music app, I believe it starts a service, so while the task itself (the Music app/UI) may be closed, the service continues to run in the background so that your music doesn't suddenly stop just because the task got cleared out for memory management reasons. That may have affected what you saw.

What Happens When You Remove an App from Android's Multitasking Drawer

Perfect thank you! For me this post helped me: http://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/mpevh/id_like_to_squash_this_growing_misconception/c32sbsa

Third party music players like Rocket Player stops the music when you swipe the app from Recents list even if the service runs in the background and you need to open the app or play in widget again to start the music.

I appear to have found the magical search terms that led to some explanations from Google employees. Specifically, I found a couple of different places where Dianne Hackborn explains what happens when you swipe something out of the recent list. The first is a comment on one of her Google+ posts:

[W]hat specifically happens when you swipe away a recent task is it:
(1) kills any background or empty processes of the application (see
https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/fundamentals/processes-and-threads.html#Lifecycle
for what this means), and (2) uses the new
https://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/Service.html#onTaskRemoved(android.content.Intent)
API to tell any services of the application about the task being
removed so it can do whatever it thinks is appropriate.

She also notes in a blog comment:

Actually, removing an entry in recent tasks will kill any background
processes that exist for the process.  It won't directly causes
services to stop, however there is an API for them to find out the
task was removed to decide if they want this to mean they should stop.
This is so that removing say the recent task of an e-mail app won't
cause it to stop checking for e-mail.
If you really want to completely stop an app, you can long press on
recent tasks to go to app info, and hit force stop there.  For stop is
a complete kill of the app -- all processes are killed, all services
stopped, all notifications removed, all alarms removed, etc.  The app
is not allowed to launch again until explicitly requested.

So, it looks like the summary is that swiping an app out of the list will first kill all background processes for the app, then use onTaskRemoved to notify the app that the background task was removed. At that point it looks like it's up to the app to decide what happens, so I guess there technically isn't a hard-and-fast rule about what happens to the app beyond that point.

"kill any background processes that exist for the process. It won't directly causes services to stop".  Is this still true?  I ran a test yesterday.  Yesterday, I swiped away an app with a background service in the main process.  The apps=>running UI showed 0 processes and 0 services.  Later I swiped away the same app with a process running in a separate application specific process.  The apps=>running UI said I had 0 processes and 1 service.  That was on a Moto X(2014) with Android 4.4.4.

@StevenWexler: It could be that the service ended on its own in the first case but not the second, or it could be that in the second scenario the main process determined (for some reason) that it did not want to stop the service. Hard to know for certain.

started service starts automatically again after swiping out from recent list, its onCreate called again.
but in some apps onCreate called before onTaskRemoved and in some its called after onTaskRemoved.
why this behavior is then ?

There's some info in the source code in the classes com.android.internal.policy.impl.RecentApplicationsBackground and com.android.internal.policy.impl.RecentApplicationsDialog.
If I read these correctly, there are specific handlers for selecting the apps but nothing special for swiping them except for onDetachedFromWindow(), which calls com.android.View.onDetachedFromWindow() which basically hides the element and clears it's data. This would hint to the fact that nothing special happens on swiping the app, which corresponds with Austin Mills' answer, because since the list doesn't show the active app, the onPause() and other system calls that are done when "quitting" an application have already happened.

I think it will do the same as the back button do. Except one little change. It will finish() all activity / fragments in the app.
Just did a little testing with a little selfbuild app. You can test, too.
Heres my testing app: https://bitbucket.org/Leandros99/lifecycletest (download available, too. For those who cant build.)
In every Activity lifecycle method (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/Activity.html#ActivityLifecycle) print the app a log.
You can view it with adb logcat (install Android SDK, cd to platform-tools in cmd / shell and type adb logcat. Now you will see, every time you do something like hit back or home button, the app prints the lifecycle method, mentioned above.)
Your question: If I swipe a app from the recent apps drawer, the onDestroy method will be called. It does nearly the same as the back button.
 Hope I helped a bit. If there are questions, just ask.

It closes the app, and its data that is stored in the RAM. Thus, giving you more RAM space so you can run other apps. However, background services are NOT automatically force closed as a result of closing the using app.

Although written in everyday language, this is actually a fairly accurate answer - it captures the fact that the process is disposed of, something a lot of the other answers (those mistakenly comparing it to the back button) are missing.  However, what is missing here is the realization that Android will dispose of processes when needed to obtain memory anyway, so while it accomplishes some memory cleanup, that would happen automatically if/when needed.

authors: ابراهيم الشريهي