text:
mounting google nexus s on linux at fastboot mode screen
I have looked at similar questions but could find an answer.
Device: Samsung google nexus s i9020
OS: Android 4.1.2
The phone mounts when the OS has loaded and when there is an option to enable usb storage.
I am trying to root my phone and boot loader is locked. I need to connect to my computer (Linux Mint) to run a program to unlock the boot loader. for some reason, the phone does not get mounted automatically anymore.
log from a previous successful mount on OS load
Apr 13 20:20:25  kernel: [   93.795791] usb 1-1.1: >new high-speed USB device number 4 using ehci_hcd
Apr 13 20:20:25  kernel: [   93.889485] usb 1-1.1: >New USB device found, idVendor=18d1, idProduct=4e21
Apr 13 20:20:25  kernel: [   93.889489] usb 1-1.1: >New USB device strings: Mfr=2, Product=3, SerialNumber=4
Apr 13 20:20:25  kernel: [   93.889493] usb 1-1.1: >Product: Nexus S
Apr 13 20:20:25  kernel: [   93.889496] usb 1-1.1: >Manufacturer: samsung
Apr 13 20:20:25  kernel: [   93.889498] usb 1-1.1: >SerialNumber: 3630F20CB6EF00EC
Apr 13 20:20:25  kernel: [   93.951562] Initializing USB Mass Storage driver...
Apr 13 20:20:25  kernel: [   93.951755] scsi6 : usb-storage 1-1.1:1.0
Apr 13 20:20:25  kernel: [   93.951876] usbcore: registered new interface driver usb-storage
Apr 13 20:20:25  kernel: [   93.951879] USB Mass Storage support registered.
Apr 13 20:20:25  kernel: [   93.955427] usbcore: registered new interface driver uas
Apr 13 20:20:26  kernel: [   94.951743] scsi 6:0:0:0: >Direct-Access     Google   File-CD Gadget   0000 PQ: 0 ANSI: 2
Apr 13 20:20:26  kernel: [   94.953211] sd 6:0:0:0: >Attached scsi generic sg2 type 0
Apr 13 20:20:26  kernel: [   94.955200] sd 6:0:0:0: >[sdb] Attached SCSI removable disk

log from an unsuccessful usb mount during fastboot mode
Apr 13 22:33:07  kernel: [ 8051.407340] usb 1-1.1: >new high-speed USB device number 9 using ehci_hcd
Apr 13 22:33:08  kernel: [ 8051.500735] usb 1-1.1: >New USB device found, idVendor=18d1, idProduct=4e20
Apr 13 22:33:08  kernel: [ 8051.500743] usb 1-1.1: >New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
Apr 13 22:33:08  kernel: [ 8051.500748] usb 1-1.1: >Product: Android 1.0
Apr 13 22:33:08  kernel: [ 8051.500752] usb 1-1.1: >Manufacturer: Google, Inc
Apr 13 22:33:08  kernel: [ 8051.500756] usb 1-1.1: >SerialNumber: 3630F20CB6EF00EC
Apr 13 22:33:08  mtp-probe: checking bus 1, device 9: "/sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1a.0/usb1/1-1/1-1.1"
Apr 13 22:33:08  mtp-probe: bus: 1, device: 9 was not an MTP device

fastboot unlock software waiting for the phone
~/android/nexussrootICS$ ./fastboot-linux oem unlock
< waiting for device >

Can someone suggest how could I mount (manual/automatic)? Thanks

To my knowledge, in fastboot mode you cannot mount the device to your PC. MTP and fastboot are two different things.
According to the CyanogenMod Wiki on Fastboot, the solution might be simple:

If you see  at any point when executing fastboot command, the PC is not configured to use fastboot properly. Most typically, this is because you are not running fastboot with elevated privileges.

Which means: you must run fastboot as root user, e.g. sudo fastboot devices or sudo fastboot-linux oem unlock.

If that does not solve your issue, it might help to take a look at the steps necessary to use the adb command line utility: For adb to detect your device, you need to have setup a corresponding entry in your /etc/udev/rules.d. First run lsusb to check how the device identifies itself to the system. These data you can also take from your above quoted log: idVendor=18d1, idProduct=4e20 is the information we need. Now, the corresponding entry in /etc/udev/rules.d/51-android.rules should look like:
SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="18d1", ATTRS{idProduct}=="4e20", MODE="0666" GROUP="androiddev", SYMLINK+="android%n"

Save the file, and reload the udev service (service udev reload). Re-connect your device. Now adb (or, in your case, fastboot) should be able to find it. You can check that using the command adb devices (or fastboot devices), which now should list your Nexus S.

thanks for replying. running with root permissions allowed the device to be found. the command should have hinted or failed if it was not run with elevated privileges.

I fully agree (it shouldn't be to much trouble to check if UID=0 ;) I would still like to know if setting up the device for ADB (as described in the second part of my answer) would have solved the issue as well, and one could run fastboot in user-mode then...

i have now added the udev entry with group as my user group. i reloaded the udev entries in my computer. I went to mobile fastmode and connected to computer via usb and then without root privileges i am able to see my mobile using fastboot devices. But I cannot see the device with adb even with root privileges. By the way, I got the fastboot command from nexussrootICS software downloaded through web.

Thanks for the feedback! So my assumptions have been correct. As for ADB: it probably won't detect your device in fastboot mode. And booted into "normal" mode or recovery, the device might present a different ID. Plus, you need to make sure to have "USB Debugging" disable for adb to see your device.


text:
If I root a Droid ( Razr M) does it get factory reset (erasing all installed apps, etc.)?
I'm considering rooting my Razr M.
If I do that but don't install an alternate ROM, will this erase anything on my phone or simply "unlock it"?

If you need to unlock the bootloader first (I could not find that in the instructions; you might check the script for the term oem unlock, usually done via fastboot), this includes a factory-reset, which would mean "all clean up delete", i.e. all data and your self-installed apps would be gone.
Otherwise, if no bootloader-unlock is involved, the rooting process itself would usually not delete anything.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
If you root a phone can you still get the upgrades to to the O/S?
If I root my Motorola Droid Razr M, can I still get O/S upgrades?
If so, will they just happen automatically? Or do I need to install them (and if so where might I find instructions for that) ?

What version of OS/Kernal/Radio you are currently on ?

Whether you still can update to "official versions" via ota-update or otherwise, depends on multiple things. Basically, the manufacturer might include a check whether the currently installed ROM is valid -- in this case, an update will fail as you changed the /system partition during rooting. If no such check takes place, an update might succeed -- but you may have lost root access (if the update replaced the /system partition; tools like OTA RootKeeper might prove helpful in those cases).
For further details, please see e.g.

How do I update the OS on my device?
How do I upgrade my rooted Nexus One using OTA updates?
Rooting and updating to Official Updates

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


text:
Disable notification sounds for email
Is it possible to disable the notification sound for emails while still keeping the notification light and status bar notification?
I'm interested in this setting for a Motorola Photon (Gingerbread).

If you can chose the notification sound for email separately, you could assign it an "empty" (silent) audio file.

@Izzy thanks for the suggestion. I was trying to figure out if that was possible but the only options I see in Sound Settings are for Phone ringtone and Notification ringtone. Maybe there is a setting somewhere else that I did not see but I haven't been able to find it.

You need to look in the Email application's settings, not the phone settings. Each app handles its notification sounds and settings independently.

And often there's also one sound called "Silent" (i.e. no sound), which would then match your requirements.


text:
Discover version of Bluetooth
How can I know what's the Bluetooth version of my Android device?

Possible dupe: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/9126512/how-to-find-android-bluetooth-version-android

yeah man, i found it too. But I want to discover what is my bluetooth version to check if it is capable to connect in large distances.

differ in distance is due to bluetooth class not version (A, B and C) take a look here to read more about bluetooth:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth

I have a samsung Galaxy S2 here is a method to get info on your bluetooth version

Turn on bluetooth by going to the home screen, clicking menu->settings bluetooth.  Pull that to enabled.  Make sure it is on.
On the home screen, click  menu -> settings -> applications -> 'ALL' tab.
Select: "Bluetooth".
A screen pops up with information about the program.

Following these directions there is still nothing show on my Samsung Galaxy S3 from Straight Talk. 4.1.2 Android but no idea about Bluetooth version.

Go to http://www.gsmarena.com/ and search for your device: the site provides several info including Bluetooth version.

I have tried several searches for finding the Bluetooth settings on my LGL15G with no luck finding a solution that will get the answer on my phone.
I did find the information.
I searched for LG L15G Sunrise Specifications on Google
I went to a link called http://www.lg.com/mobile
I used the top of the page search for LG L15G
It gave me one result, which I clicked on:
http://www.lg.com/us/cell-phones/lg-L15G-sunrise
I clicked on Tech Specs and searched the page for Bluetooth.  It took me to
Bluetooth® Version  4.0
My point is, there doesn't appear to be a way to find the Bluetooth version, at least on many devices, but if you can find a manual on line, it might be in there.  If someone comes up with a way to actually find it on the device, let us know.

Menu > Settings > under device, Application Manager > swipe to All > click on Bluetooth Share > version would be displayed under app info.

the OP wanted to know what version of Bluetooth they have, not what version of Bluetooth Share they have, which is what you get when you follow the advice given here. Bad advice is worse than none at all, I see this time and again in forums ppl wanting to give an answer at all costs so that they look like the big expert, and all they give is add to confusion, if you don't know what you are talking about just keep schtum.

Go to Settings>More...>Application Manager>All
Click on Bluetooth Share
version will appear below the heading "Bluetooth Share"


text:
Move app to SD card
I'm currently confused on what mods to be used now. My unit by the way is Samsung Galaxy S3 I9300-International (rooted with Omega ROM 42.3 and Kernel SiyahKernel v1.9.1). The reason why I rooted my phone is to be able to move apps to SD card. My choices are here:

DirectoryBind
ExtSd2InternalSd

I don't know which is the right one to use in terms of compatibility even on Android 4.2 JellyBean because I'm too scared of bricking my phone. The first choice was published in 2011 while the other one was 2012. I don't know which is more stable for my phone. Hope for your kind suggestion.

All due respect, due to your fears of bricking, I was wondering if you could share why you want to use any sort of Apps2SD solution when you have 16 gigabytes of onboard storage to use?

If I am allowed to suggest out of the choices that you had provided, I will suggest Link2SD.
With Link2SD you can try moving/linking a non-critical application to the SD card and check how well it works. Once moved or linked, try to reboot the phone (no other way than rebooting to avoid disappointments) and see whether that moved/linked non-critical app works fine.  By adopting this approach, you would not bring any serious trouble to your phone.
Since your phone is rooted and has a custom kernel, I assume you are proficient with this stuff. If not, you can always refer to this step by step guide.
Update and additional info
There are two means of freeing the internal memory in Android.

Moving apps to external storage:  A feature of opting to install
apps on external card was introduced in Froyo (2.2–2.2.3, API Level
8). This also allowed moving existing apps to external storage. Few
points to take a note here are:

It only takes a setting to be set to move future installations of
apps. It can be set through ADB commands.
There are many apps available that enable users to move any existing apps to SD card, provided those apps are deliberately not marked as non-movable by the developer. System apps also cannot be moved to SD card.
In either case, the internal memory will not be completely unused by the application. It will have few bytes consumed, though it is considered insignificant in par with the case of not moving/installing the app to external storage at all.

Linking apps to external storage: Linking is totally different from moving. This process moves the files of the application to the external card and creates a symbolic link in its place in the internal memory. Since the link is a reference to these files, Android doesn't complain about it.  This given in detail in Link2SD's site which is reproduced below:

Q. What is the difference between “Move To SD Card (Native to
  Android)" and “Create (Symbolic) Link” in Link2SD? Which method
  conserves the greatest amount of internal memory, what are the
  advantages of "linking" over "moving" and vice versa?
Native apps2sd Starting with Android 2.2 (Froyo) Google introduced
  native apps2SD.  This method moves

apk file on Android 2.2
apk + lib files on Android 2.3+

into a secure folder on your SD card in the main FAT partition.
It is the easiest method because it doesn't require you to partition
  your sdcard and root privilige.
It has some disadvantages though.
First disadvantage is that application files are just stored on the
  sdcard's main FAT partition.  When you enable USB mass storage to
  share files with your computer (or otherwise unmounts or removes the
  external storage), any application installed on the external storage
  and currently running is killed.  The system effectively becomes
  unaware of the application until mass storage is disabled and the
  external storage is remounted on the device.  Besides killing the
  application and making it unavailable to the user, this can break some
  types of applications in a more serious way.
So second disadvantage is that not all apps can be moved with native
  apps2sd method because of above reason.  In order for the application
  to consistently behave as expected, developer should not allow the
  application to be installed on the external storage if it uses any of
  the following features, due to the cited consequences when the
  external storage is unmounted: Widgets, Services, Alarm Services, Live
  Wallpapers, Live Folders, Account Managers, Sync Adapters, Broadcast
  Receivers listening for "boot completed".
Force move (requires root); You can force the apps move to SD card
  with native apps2SD even the application does not support moving as
  described above. Link2SD and some other apps can force move apps if
  you have root priviliges. But, note that this can break some
  applications, as described above.
Link2SD
Link2SD moves apk + dex + lib files of the application to the second
  partition and creates symbolic links in the original locations on
  internal storage.  First advantage is that it can free up more space
  from the internal storage compared to native apps2sd method because it
  moves the dex file as well.
The second advantage of Link2Sd over native apps2sd is that by
  creating symlinks you get Android assume these apps are installed into
  the internal memory, though in fact all the files are located on the
  SD.  Therefore you can link all applicatios to SD card; widgets,
  services, live wallpapers etc., all of them will work without any
  problem from SD card.
The third advantage is that, even when you mount the SD card to your
  PC your linked apps are all still live and working! Because Android
  unmounts the first FAT partition to share files with your computer but
  the second partition remains mounted. Link2SD allows you to run all of
  your "SD apps" even when mounted to your computer as a disk drive.
And, disadvantage is that, obviously, it requires root privilige and a
  second partition on your SD card.  It's not working "out-of-the-box"
  as native apps2sd, you need to root your device and create a second
  partition on your SD card yourself.

Is Link2SD the default moving mechanism in Android 2.2+?

@NoBugs, Link2SD is an application and not part of Android. From Android 2.3 onwards, moving app to SD card was introduced. However, linking is analogue to moving is available through Link2SD and similar other apps only.

You mean 2.2 onward? http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2010/05/android-22-and-developers-goodies.html

My mistake @NoBugs, Android SDK documentation clearly says Beginning with API Level 8, you can allow your application to be installed on the external storage (for example, the device's SD card). And Android version 2.2 to 2.2.3 (Froyo) belongs to API Level 8 as said by Wikipedia


text:
How to download pictures from Google Nexus?
With T-Mobile myTouch 4G and T-Mobile's default Android 2.2, I can download the camera photos by pairing the phone with a computer through Bluetooth, and using an integrated file browser functionality of the computer (e.g. the Browse Device option on OS X).
But Google's Galaxy Nexus with Google's default Android 4.2 doesn't seem to support file browsing over Bluetooth.
How do I download the photos from the Nexus, without using any questionable third-party tools?  (Don't you find it ironic that a vanilla Google Nexus device doesn't have this rather standard functionality — file browser over Bluetooth — that all the old phones do have?)

Bluetooth is a rather slow choice when it comes to transferring bigger files: to transfer 10 MB, you'ld need...

BT 2.* (2.1 MBit/s) ~ 40s
BT 3.* (24 MBit/s) ~ 4s
WiFi g (54 MBit/s) ~ 2s

And with BT, the range is quite limited as well. Most devices probably still use BT 2 standard.
How to transfer your files then? You might want to check the most frequented questions of the "file-transfer" tag for that. The usual method (if you don't want any "questionable third-party tools" involved) is to connect your device to your PC using the USB cable -- which then should mount your device storage like a drive. You could also use some third-party tools (they are not all "questionable") to manage your device via WiFi -- AirDroid would be a good choice for that.
For transferring data between Android devices, you could use wifi-direct. Again, there are some good 3rd party tools to help, as e.g. SuperBeam or WiFiShare.

I connected my Nexus to a Windows 7 laptop, and the drive that is presented doesn't have any files on it whatsoever.

If you never stored anything there, it might indeed be empty. Neither having Windows nor a Nexus, nor any more details (like e.g. how big the "drive" claims to be), I'm afraid I won't be of much further help...

Ok, I guesstimated that being low on space might be the reason why it shows empty when connected through USB.  I've had to remove about 4 apps, each worth about 15MB, and now when I connect the Nexus, quite a lot of folders do finally show up.

That sounds strange -- but glad you figured out! I have no idea why it should hide some folders for being low on space. Even completely full, it should show everything. Not accepting new files makes sense (if low on space, where to store them otherwise?) -- but hiding content does not.

I use both Google+ Instant Upload and DropBox Photo uploading features. You can indicate whether or not to upload on Wifi only if you prefer preventing surprise overages if you don't have an unlimited data plan.
This also provides a nice cloud backup/storage facility.

Too slow.  I need to offload 12GB of photos, doing it via the cloud is impossible, especially over WiFi, thanks to AT&T.

Perhaps you should just use a usb cable to do all the photos you currently have and set up a cloud sync going forward.


text:
Does Facebook Home uninstall cleanly?
I am hardly a regular Facebook user, but am curious about Facebook Home – mostly curiosity about its design and implementation.
I have a Nexus 7 running Jelly Bean 4.2.2. If I were to install it, can I be confident that uninstalling it will leave everything (home screens, etc) as it was?

Are you rooted? What launcher do you use? Backup your data first, ensure your launcher has its settings backed up as well, no harm in doing so, then install the FB launcher, if you don't like it, restore from backup including launcher settings.

It is, at its core, just a launcher. Except for possibly leaving some files behind it shouldn't mess anything up.


text:
How to prepare for upgrade to Jelly Bean - Droid Bionic
Motorola and Verizon have announced that the Bionic will be upgraded to Jelly Bean starting April 15.   Aside from backing up any data that isn't synced with a cloud service, are there any steps that should be taken in preparation?

You can use Carbon to backup your applications data. If your devices is rooted you can make a complete nandroid backup using CWM.

+1 For some reason, Carbon is showing not available for the Bionic, even though its minimum OS level is 4.0 (the Bionic currently has 4.0.4).   I will definitely be installing it on my other device that it is compatible with.

Koush (the developer for Carbon) stated that Motorola phones break the backup technique - so he is barring them from being able to use it (source: https://plus.google.com/u/0/103583939320326217147/posts/Mz4YyHRgkoj)

@DylanYaga - that's too bad.   I was hoping I'd be able to use it after the JB upgrade.

Assuming you have rooted your phone, these are the steps that I have had to do in the past to get the OTA to work:
Applications

BionicBootstrap.apk is custom bootloader used to Save/Restore entire ROM's (backup of my phone)
OTA RootKeeper roots and unroots the phone.

For OTA:

Unfreeze all apps (Stay in Root)
Needed to uninstall Bionic Bootstrap
Reboot
Open ES File Manager and remove /system/bin/hijack and
/system/bin/logwrapper
Copy /system/bin/logwrapper.bin to
/system/bin/logwrapper
Run Voodo OTA Rootkeeper and save off root
In /System/bin/mount_ext3.sh, remove the last 3 lines, but keep the end
newline (this will likely only be if you use Bionic Bootstrap
Reboot phone
Now you should be all set to download and install the OTA

I like to save off the OTA download, that way if I have problems installing it, it doesnt erase it from /cache and I have to redownload.  If you save off the download before unrooting (its in /cache directory) to say /mnt/sdcard-ext/dcim/, you can boot the phone into Recovery Mode by holding down both the volume up and volume down buttons and pressing the power button.  Once it starts to boot, let go of the power button, but continue to hold the two buttons.  Select Recovery.  Wait for the Android screen to pop up.  On mine, for some reason it didnt bring up the menu, so I pressed the volume up and volume down at the same time again and it displayed the options.  Select Install from external source and select the update.  Once it starts to update, you can press the volume up and down together again to enter verbose mode.  This will tell you exactly where its having issues.  This last paragraph is only needed if it fails.

My phone isn't rooted, but +1 for having the info here.


text:
auto logoff from all apps on android
i want a functionality where i can log off from all the apps on android ie: auto logoff from skype , facebook , yahoo.
Is a some app already available for this or some easy way to implement this. I tried clearing all the cache but does not log out the app.
their is a app called social secure for ios but nothing for android

Android is designed to not let apps interact with other apps in an attempt to provide a more secure platform. It might be possible on a rooted device, but I have never seen an app that would do that. The logistics would be crazy, because the developer would have to program each and every different app that should be logged out into the app. And any time one of those apps are updated, it could possibly break the logout app. I don't think you will see anything like this on Android.

Thanks , after check i saw that even if i am able to clear all the data and cache then the app is logged out. is their any app that has the functionality to clear all the data of selected apps. i think its built in 4.2 but not in 4.0.2 (i cannot upgrade)

You can wipe any application's data from within Settings -> Apps -> app_name -> Wipe Data (names might be slightly off since I haven't run ICS for awhile). Titanium Backup can do it, but I can't see any way to automate it, only wiping the apps individually. I don't know of any apps that can automate wiping the data for a selected number of apps while leaving everything else untouched.


text:
Factory reset without accessing phone settings
I have a Micromax A35 Android(2.3.5) phone which has been locked by repeated wrong attempts of the pattern lock.
Now the display screen asks me to enter my Google account username and password, but the WiFi and the mobile networks are disabled.
Is there a way to factory reset the phone without having access to the settings?

First, even without having a network connection, you can try to unlock it with your Google account data. Usually the device stores a "token", so you might be able to log in.
Second, if that does not help, you might want to take a look at the locked-out tag-wiki, and at Cannot unlock tablet as have no internet connection?. There might still be a chance to unlock your device.
If nothing else helps, a factory-reset can also be done from the recovery-mode:

Shut down your device
hold the Vol + button and keep it pressed while additionally press the Power button. Keep both pressed until a text-menu appears
(if that doesn't work, try again while substituting Vol + with Vol -)
use the volume buttons to select "Factory Reset"
execute the item (usually done by short-pressing the Power button or by pressing the 'show more' button at the bottom-left of your phone)

I tried the key combos: But I get the a screen with various TEST options with Vol+...and a fast boot with Vol-....All three together also didn't work....
but no option to reset the phone...

Sorry, but I don't know the device -- so the above was rather the "general way" as it works on most devices. But when you can enter fastboot mode, and have the fastboot tools on your laptop/PC, you might be able to do a fastboot -w (see CyanogenMod Wiki: Fastboot). See also Is there a minimal installation of ADB? if you don't want to install the entire Android SDK for that.

thanks I tried that but, I keep getting error: device not found...

Which OS (Windows/Mac/Linux)? On Windows, you might need to install the device drivers first. On Linux (and most likely Mac, too) run fastboot as root.

@Izzy if someone steals a phone, they can reset it from fast boot and use it? Isn't this a security vulnerability?

@Rahul2001 where did I write that? Apart from which: This answer and all its comments are dated 2013. There was no FRP (factory-reset protection) introduced then. And btw: It would be a "security vulnerability" if they could use it without a reset (as that would give access to all data – while a factory-reset would make sure to not get to them easily).

@Izzy fair enough, it's just that a friend of mine claimed that he could use my phone of he got hold of it, and showed me the option in my fast boot menu. Wouldn't he be able to access all data on the SD card?

Not via fastboot. Don't get confused by that name, it doesn't even boot into Android. It's a mode where you can write to the device (intended to change partitioning and flash images), but cannot read from it.


text:
Cant see device with lastest adb.exe version but I can see it with an old adb version in Windows
My device is a Wolder Manhattan 7" Android tablet which is a clone copy of BQ Pascal 2.
In order to get root and use adb, most guides use the BQ Pascal 2 Windows drivers for Wolder Manhattan:
http://www.htcmania.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=110451&d=1334723079
My system:
- Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit.
- Latest version of the Android SDK installed (adt-bundle-windows-x86\sdk\platform-tools).
Driver setup:
I have followed the guide to install the drivers and they have been installed perfectly in Windows.
The device is shown in Windows Hardware Devices Manager as: "Android Phone - Android ADB Interface."
"USB Debugging" and "Mass Storage" is enabled and Im already "root" in my device.
Tests with adb versions:

Using adb.exe version  1.0.31 (from the latest SDK) (796kb) doesn't show any connected devices:
...\adt-bundle-windows-x8\sdk\platform-tools>adb.exe devices
List of devices attached

Using and old adb.exe version 1.0.29 from 2012 (158kb), which is in the BQ Pascal 2 drivers, the device is shown:
...\Root Pascal 2\RooT\files>adb.exe devices adb server is out of date. killing...
daemon started successfully
List of devices attached
0123456789ABCDEF        device

Question:
Why does the old adb.exe version from 01/11/12 work and shows the device, and the lastest one from the Android sdk doesn't show anything?
I have also tested with other drivers but I get the same result, the device is only shown using the old adb.exe.

Have you tried re-downloading the SDK and checking the md5 hash? Have you tried uninstalling the SDK and re-installing from a fresh download? Also, the 1.0.31 update is really only necessary if you need to interact with Android 4.2.2

Thank yo so much for the edit improve, a lot better now Izzy. I will check md5 hashes and more tests and report later.


text:
After rooting my verizon Galaxy S3, I have no data or cellular connection?
So, when I first rooted my phone, everything worked fine. I had used CM 10.1 (Or at least some version of Cyanogenmod). Being curious, I wanted to try other ROMs. I then installed MUIU v5. Didn't like so I went back to a backup I had created previously, and updated to the latest version of Cyanogenmod. When I go to Settings->About Phone->Status, I see these settings:
Network: Verizon Wireless
Signal Strength: -97 dBm 1 asu
Mobile network type: CDMA - 1xRTT:7
Service State: In service
Roaming: Roaming
Mobile network state: Disconnected
My phone number: ***-***-****   --Giberish which ISN'T my phone number
MIN, MEID, IMEI, ICCID all give me long numbers.
IP Address: Unavailable

This is when Airplane Mode is off. My little signal icon in the top status bar has an R which I'm guessing is for Roaming.
I have no idea why it's doing this seeing that it worked fine before on Cyanogenmod. What can I do to get my signal and data connection back? What would have caused something like this?

Under settings -> more... -> Mobile networks verify that "CDMA Subscription" is set to "RUIM/SIM"

@dymmeh and what do i do if it is or isn't there?

If it's not set to "RUIM/SIM" change it to that.


text:
What's the best way to restart Android via command line (remotely)?
I'm looking for the best / friendliest way to reboot my rooted android 4.1.1 device. I found these solutions so far:

su -c "reboot" - Causes problems with wifi after restart on my device... I read that this can cause a currupt file system in some cases... Doesn't work via ssh for me.
toolbox reboot - Same concerns here, but works via ssh.
reboot -d 8 -f - causes problems after restart e.g. some apps wont start
busybox killall system_server - "Hot Reboot" (not really a system restart)
start|stop - Starts/stops Android Runtime (not really a system restart)

What is the device doing exactly when I'm pushing the (hardware) power button? I guess that's the most friendly way.

su -c "reboot" runs the reboot command, which is defined in reboot.c.  reboot.c hasn't changed much over the years.  It has always called sync() and then rebooted the device.   Also, thanks to this commit, modern versions of reboot.c also unmount all filesystems.  Android 4.1.1 includes the commit I mentioned, and so I don't see how su -c "reboot" on Android 4.1.1 could ever cause filesystem corruption.

Dear acy:  Firelord's late answer (su -c 'am start -a android.intent.action.REBOOT') works for me on Android 4.1.2, and seems to me to be the best of the existing answers.  If it works for you on Android 4.1.1, or if you're too busy to try it, please click the green checkmark in order to make it float to the top of the answer section.

What is the device doing exactly when I'm pushing the (hardware) power button? I guess that's the most friendly way.

You get to see a dialog with an option to power off the device (stock Android doesn't offer reboot). It appears that ShutdownActivity is called upon when you long press Power button.
Anyhow, this is what you can try, remotely or locally, but only with root access:
su -c 'am start -a android.intent.action.REBOOT'

It will do a graceful shutdown followed by the reboot. I was looking for an intent when I noticed it here.
Method is tested on Android 4.2.1, 5.0.2 and 6.0.1 and should work for Android 4.1.1 as well
Update
Tested on stock Android 5.0 and 6.0.1:
su -c 'svc power reboot'

Per the source code here, KitKat builds should also support the command.

Exactly what I needed. I still do find it odd that it says "Powering off..." when there are values for the reboot text.

Simple, really:

Android is safely shutting down vital parts of the runtime.
The OS is also broadcasting intents to tell apps and services to gracefully close. These, in turn, flush their caches of all data and shared preferences, save what-nots to the sqlite database, et cetera.

In other words, apps and services are given a chance to do their cleanup systematically.
The commands that you have tried are harsher. They actually bypass the safety mechanisms for a graceful shutdown.
Android is not Linux per se, in the sense of an ordinary desktop version of Linux where those commands could be issued to shutdown the Linux environment.
It might be possible to create a wrapper script such as this:
#!/system/bin/sh
am broadcast android.intent.action.ACTION_SHUTDOWN
sleep 5
reboot

You could save this as safe_shutdown.sh, with permissions of 0755.  Your mileage may vary, depending on handsets and ROMs — so no guarantees there.

thanks for this explination! is it possible to do this remotely e.g. via ssh (not adb)?

I think he want's to know how he can mimic the button shutdown with a command.

if that's the friendliest/safest/best way to shut down the device, then yes :)

@Flow adb reboot? I am not certain if that's safe!?! Maybe a wrapper script around it to send a broadcast ACTION_SHUTDOWN then call adb reboot?

Not sure broadcastingACTION_SHUTDOWN will do what you want either: "Apps will not normally need to handle this, since the foreground activity will be paused as well."  Sounds like most apps therefore won't handle it.  Is pausing the activity sufficient?

How can you pause the activity then? Its not a guaranteed spot to save preferences etc as per the activity lifecycle. Not alone that, the script would end up getting convoluted in determining which apps are running, including services... did not see that bit about ACTION_SHUTDOWN (it was true for older versions but was changed slightly in JB)..

@sguha Try something like this via ssh:
su -c 'am broadcast android.intent.action.ACTION_SHUTDOWN && sleep 5 && toolbox reboot' (May vary depending on your ROM)

Looks like none of these work on my devices. Tried it on FinlessROM running on RK3188 device as well as LG P970 with CM10.1.

still experiencing network issues here after rebooting via command line (tried su -c 'am broadcast android.intent.action.ACTION_SHUTDOWN && sleep 5 && toolbox reboot' and busybox killall system_server)

am broadcast android.intent.action.ACTION_SHUTDOWN seems to broadcast the intent fine on my Android 5.1.1 "Lollipop" emulator.  It returns:  Broadcast completed: result=0.  Oddly, the same command never returns anything on my Samsung Galaxy S Relay running Android 4.1.2 "Jelly Bean". Instead, the am command seems to just keep running forever.

killall zygote

This will kill the root zygote process and cause a Android system refresh.
This does not restart your phone's hardware, only the Android processes.
By default (in Linux), the kill/killall commands do give the processes a graceful way to shut down, though it depends on the zygote implementation whether this in turn gracefully shuts down your running Android apps.
Note: you must run this as root, whether you use su -c, connect via SSH or ADB, or another method.
Other names for this action:

soft reboot
hot reboot

I have noticed on some devices, the Wifi will not reconnect properly after this command (so I have to disable the Wifi, wait a minute, and then re-enable the Wifi again).

For readers: In Lollipop, the standard way to restart the Android framework is am restart. This requires root access though.

Does killall zygote give processes a graceful way to shut down?  Interesting question.  Someone would have to look at the zygote source code in order to know.


text:
How can I unlock a pattern lock if my screen is defunct?
I have damaged the screen on my phone, so much so, it will not allow me to get the data to transfer onto my laptop. On opening Samsung Kies, it is saying that the connected device is locked. Please enter password on the connected device. I can only assume its the pattern lock they are referring to as I have managed to unlock the sim.
As I am unable to do this due to the screen being cracked, I wondered whether there is any other way of doing this, before sending the same onto my insurance company, as they are saying that I will lose all the data! Cant see why seeing as its just the hardware that is damaged and not the software.

Does the screen display anything at all?

No nothing whatsoever apart from the bottom part lighting up where the middle button is

Are you able to try to do your lock pattern on the screen without seeing exactly where it is?

So the objective is to get the data off the device? Have a look here

YES That worked for me!!!
I've broken my screen, and after removing the SIM to another phone, the avast alarm starts louder every time I turn on.

Connect USB
Open KIES
Let the KIES waiting the screen unlock
Log in @ http://findmymobile.samsung.com/
Ensure choose the correct device, unlock the screen.
Done!!!!!

I did without the SIM card

What if the device isn't by Samsung?

I encounter the same problem on my tablet, and was able to solve it by attaching an USB mouse to unlock.
Please try if your device support USB mouse.

If you can remember your Samsung account details, you can unlock the phone remotely using the Samsung Find My Mobile site. The phone has to be on and connected to the internet.

Thanks, it works and save me... I cannot connect with Kies now

what if the phone isn't by Samsung?

You can try take off the sim card, and try connect the phone in kies without sim card in phone, if this doesnot help you, look moborobo software. You can use a stream video function to see your phone screen on PC.
http://www.moborobo.com/download/moborobo_details.html

Thank you for your replies. I tried using moborobo and although it has detected my smartphone, it is saying that I meed to enable USB Debugging. This I cannot do due to not seeing anything on the screen. Is there anything else I can do?

ZnewmaN, I tried doing my lock pattern on the screen without seeing exactly where it is, but nothing :-(

My father passed away in January and I have photos which are of sentimental value to me, hence why I am trying desperately to recover the photos that I have of him. If anything can be done before my phone goes back to the insurance company it would be greatly appreciated.

If you know the password and you have Drop Box installed, you can use the Screen Capture Function if you have it. Even though I could not see the screen the screen capture would capture the screen. Plug in device, open Drop Box from the computer you are plugged into. When you capture the screen (Home Button and Power button at same time) it will upload the picture to Drop Box. Have Drop Box window open and refresh if needed. By doing this I was able to see the main screen and was able to best guess the fingering for the code. If you do it right you will verify it is unlocked with another screen capture. After unlocked you can use Kies to transfer data. Very time consuming, but worked for me. Hope this helps someone, it was a life saver for me.

TO HELP PEOPLE WITH THE PROBLEM IN THE FUTURE
First, turn on Kies.
Then, connect your phone to the computer via usb.
Then, make sure you have the screen on.
after that, have someone call your phone.
it will bypass the lock screen and connect to kies.

This seemed too good to be true. Alas, I could not get it to work.

The only thing that worked with me was, first Run Kies then connect the USB (you will get locked device screen in the Kies) then got to the internet and load the page findmymobile.samsung.com and log to your Samsung Account (SIM CARD MUST BE IN), in the Remote Control menu, choose Unlock my screen and then in the window by the side click Unlock, the program will then contact your phone and soon after you will get the message > Screen Unlocked.
Go to Kies and every thing will be there for you..... Good Luck.

authors: АНДРЕЙ БАСОВ


text:
How can I minimize UI lag?
How can I minimize UI lag by ensuring that global UI elements (e.g. keyboard and notification drawer) don't compete for resources with every running application?

This is a similar question which was deemed not constructive, and would think this question also is not constructive either.

It does seem rather broad. This seems unlikely to have the potential for a single, correct answer.

The UI lag is down to a number of things such:

Too many widgets (delete them, home launcher has to redraw screen upon closing the app drawer)
Home launcher - some redraw better than others (switch to different launcher)

Animation turned up to the highest value (i.e. turn it off), in ICS+, it is as simple as found in Settings > Developer Options:
Window Animation Scale
Transition Animation Scale
Animator duration Scale (JellyBean)
Force GPU Rendering (If that's ticked, it may not have any effect!) depending on:

the kernel version
GPU driver in context of kernel space
and the GPU driver itself, for example, Adreno*)

CPU (Important!!) Are we talking about old ARMv6 chipset or the newer ones that has either dual-core or quad-core?
What Android version?

Older Android versions below Honeycomb, did suffer from some "janky" effects in terms of graphics redraw, more often than not, the chip-set was older and likewise for the kernel as well, which did not have the native Adreno graphics driver.
What happened in ICS upwards, was, Android took advantage of the native Adreno graphics drivers built into the kernel which was dynamically linked with the user-space Adreno driver that comes as standard and was found in kernels 3.x+ upwards, and also in general, in newer handsets since ICS was launched.


text:
How do I configure Dropbox in my Galaxy S III so that it does NOT automatically upload every photo/video I take?
How do I configure Dropbox on my mobile - Galaxy S III so that it does not automatically upload every photo and video I take?

Open the Dropbox app on your device
Open the overflow menu (three vertical dots) and choose "Settings"
Under "CAMERA UPLOAD" tap "Turn off Camera Upload"

If you've installed Dropbox's Carousel app, it takes over the upload of photos.

Open the Carousel app
Click the weird smiley face in the upper left; this opens the "Settings" menu
Uncheck "Backup photos & videos" (or you can log out or uninstall the app)


text:
How to rebuild or refresh slow Motorola Defy
My friend has a Motorola Defy which is beginning to run very slowly and reboot itself at random. He's had it for a couple of years.
He doesn't have enough money right now to get a decent replacement so I suggested there might be ways to get a few more months out of the phone.
Installing a brand new/ clean operating system seems like a good plan. I've had a look at Cynogenmod but I'm not sure if that will achieve what we're after.
In the case of a slow Android phone is the best approach to install a new OS? Or are there ways of cleaning up/ speeding up the OS without going to that level?
If we were going to install a new operating system is Cynogenmod the best approach?
I noticed this question explaining how to return the Defy to it's original stock state: Return my motorola defy to its original state

The easiest thing would be to simply do a factory reset if he was happy with how it used to run.  If that doesn't work it's probably a hardware issue.

@MatthewRead - thank you. That definitely seems like the easiest approach. I'll talk to him about that option.


text:
Issues after rooting my Galaxy S2 by running fk23, the Jellybean ROM
Recently rooted to fk23 and have the following problems:

Having problems with lock screen.
Will not let me modify/change anything.
Time is displayed in military
or 24 hrs format.
Unchecked clock in settings and nothing changes.
Can't change background picture.
There are no plus signs when on lock screen to change anything.

Tried to change settings to secure with pattern, now I have two lock screens to go through.

  Anyone have any idea on how to solve these?

On the lockscreen there are usually no "plus signs". With the standard lockscreens, modifications you can make are quite minimal -- unless you have a special app installed (e.g. WidgetLocker Lockscreen). Same for the "double lockscreen": That's also normal. Again, some special apps might exist to change that.

@Izzy I think the "plus sign" is the button to add a widget to the lock screen, which looks like a rectangle with rounded corners and a + inside. It's part of the stock lock screen on 4.1 and later.

@DanHulme Strange -- I never saw that on my lock screens, not even on 4.1.1. But maybe that's because of "stock != stock"...

I think it is due to u have use wrong Rooting file. did you tried other Rooting file as well?
what i tried is I9100ZSLSJ Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean Galaxy S2 I9100
if you want to download it. here is the link

Sorry,  i had someone root the phone for me,  so im not sure how he did it.  Could he have given me internatiobal version?  Don't know why clock  on lock screen is in military?


text:
Samsung logo loop in galaxy y
Whenever I start my phone, the samsung logo animation goes in a loop forever; unless i take off the battery. This started happening after I simultaneously clicked the power button, menu button and volume up button and going to android system recovery and doing wipe data/factory reset. After that it goes on in a loop.
Please help. Thank you.

The wipe you've described should normally solve such a problem. Are you sure you didn't wipe anything else?

Then I wiped the cache too after it went in a loop

Cache shouldn't be a problem either -- that's included with a factory reset anyway. You didn't actually run some "format" menu items, and e.g. formatted/wiped "system" or the like?

Sorry it is cache partition. I had then wiped cache partition hoping that it would fix the loop.

Can you tell me the exact procedure to do the wipe. I clicked reboot after doing the wipe. Is that the cause of the problem?

No, that's all fine. As long as you didn't touch anything but the cache and data partition, this should not cause any problems. And a reboot is what one usually does after that (as one wants to get out of the recovery menu and back into the "main system"). So again, was that all you did -- or did you do anything else, except from "wipe data, wipe cache, factory-reset, reboot"?

No. I only did the last two options in the android recovery in samsung galaxy y.

That leaves me confused. Are you at least able to boot into safe mode (see the safe-mode tag wiki for details)?

Are you running a custom recovery or just the one that came with the phone?

I simultaneously clicked the power button, menu button and volume up button and going to android system recovery and doing wipe data/factory reset and cache partition

This is a solution that is specific to Samsung devices. This will only work if you have soft-bricked your device. It is pretty simple to build and can get you into download mode on most Samsung devices, just have your ROM ready to flash and you're good to go!

http://www.xda-developers.com/android/need-a-samsung-usb-jig-build-your-own/

Here is the actual YouTube video that I used to make mine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rdn5GoRjhn0

Here are some quick tips :
(Here I'll use the terms like Download-Mode & Recovery-Mode, If you dont know what they are google it. ("BOOT to RECOVERY" & "BOOT to BOOTLOADER" means how to enter into Recovery-Mode & Download-Mode respectively.)
A Bricked Phone May Have One or More (Below Problems) :

Booting to the ROM(Android) not possible.
Booting to the Recovery-Mode not possible.
Black screen or Bootloop(Repeated Restarting of Phone at Boot Animation or Samsung Galaxy Y Logo).

Possible Solutions :
(Remember there'll be data loss using these solutions so always try to keep a backup)

If you can still enter into Recovery-Mode
(a). Try to clear Data & Cache then check.
(b). Try Installing a Custom ROM using CWM(ClockWorkMod Recovery) & check.
(For Custom ROM & CWM Visit here.)
If Recovery-Mode didn't helped Enter into Download-Mode & flash an odin supported stock rom(using ODIN 1.84 or 1.85) from Doky73's Thread(Flashing Guide in 2nd post).

*You can inform me, if anything left out.
 you must try going in download mode!


text:
Unable to change radio channels through headset
My headset for fm radio cannot be used for channel change.
It switches off and on instead. I'm not able to change the channels using headset given by them.

Did you update to Android Jelly Bean OS? Samsung Jelly Bean OS doesn't support this feature. Source.

Try pressing headset button two time frequently as you double click from computer mouse.

Just long-press the headphone for 3 seconds, and it will change the channel.

I just tried this on my S3, and it launches Google Voice Search instead.


text:
Why is my battery low only a few hours after charging?
Twice recently I have charged my Samsung Galaxy Ace at night and when the phone indicates it's fully charged I unplug the charger only to be woken a couple of hours later thinking I have a text come through to find a message saying the battery is very low and needs charging. It hasn't happened any other time. It's about 18 months old and generally I get a good days use out of it. How can it suddenly go from being fully charged to empty in a couple of hours without even being used?

Have you checked what consumes the battery (in the settings, you find "Battery Usage")? Could be some rogue app, I also had that twice. Usually a reboot solves it -- but you should check first which app it was, just in case.

Thanks for your help, Just had a look and it's shared equally between cell standby, bluetooth and phone idle all at 32% each, then maps at 4% and wi fi at 2%. Should I check again when it next happens? Sorry I'm a bit of a luddite when it comes to these things. Not really sure what maps is doing there but it's only a small usage.

Maps is often a crucial component in this game, though it does not seem so from the stats (it's keeping some system service busy, so "Android System" seems to be the bad one). Anyway: when it happens next time, check first, make some screenshots if possible, then reboot (the latter to [temporarily?] cure your issue, the former to analyze it). Then we might have some facts to argue about.

Certainly you don't need to keep Bluetooth on while you're sleeping?

You almost certainly have a rogue app, which a reboot usually fixes. However, in the long run it would be best to discover the app(s) that cause your battery issues so it does not catch you off guard when you really need you device to retain it's charge.
First, you will need some idea of how apps use the battery. All apps use the battery (to varying degrees) while they are active (i.e. when you are actively using them), but some apps also consume your battery even when they are not active. There are many reasons for this, but the most common is that they need to perform some action, such are checking for new email. These tasks are performed by services (belonging to the app), which run in the background. In order to be able to do their tasks when the device is sleeping (i.e. when the screen is turned off), these services use "wakelocks". For background tasks, apps use "partial wakelocks"; which basically means the processor wakes up, but the screen remains off.
In a perfect world, an app would request a wakelock, perform it's task, and then release the wakelock; this happens quite frequently and only lasts for a very short period of time (milliseconds to seconds). The battery cost of these operations are generally quite low, and their benefits far outweigh this cost.
As for discovering your rogue app, the standard battery status provides a good starting point, but you will need to use a 3rd party app that can show you the wakelocks used by each app. In particular I find Wake lock detector very useful. It is free and can display both full and partial wakelocks. The app will basically show you the amount of time for which wakelocks have been active per application (or service). When you have a rogue app, it is usually very easy to spot as it will have unusually high usage compared to the others.
You mention that maps shows up in your battery usage; this happens because many applications that request your current location pass this request on to the maps app (it's location service), which performs the action and provides your location to the app requesting it. This is very normal, and usually nothing to be concerned with. Some apps can however issue the location request too frequently - which would have an adverse affect on your battery. Most decent apps provide a setting for the frequency they perform these update requests.


text:
What uses most power: GPS or WiFi?
When playing Ingress I find that both GPS and WiFi (each by themselves) provide an acceptable location accuracy. My question is what draws the most power?
I'm interested in technical information about what goes on in my phone when I use either service to find my location: how much power does the WiFi radio take compared to the GPS?
My thinking is that

Enabling WiFi requires powering on a chip and using an antenna that both sends and receives data. Is that correct when I'm not actually connected to any network, i.e., just using the SSIDs along with cell tower IDs to determine my location?
Enabling GPS requires powering on an otherwise dead chip that does expensive computations to compute the location. Is the constant GPS computations really expensive in terms of power drained?

My phone is a LG Nexus 4, if that matters.

Do some benchmarks yourself. One day play with both. One day with only WiFi, and another with only GPS. See what happens.

@ElefantPhace Thanks, but I feel such benchmarks would be unreliable: I play more or less on different days, I receive different amounts of email, I use Google Maps more or less, etc.

Not sure how gmail or maps has really anything to do with it but OK.... Do a small scale benchmark play, or just leave whatever it is open for an hour for each instance. It's not that hard and has nothing to do with anything else. If one or the other, or both drain the battery faster, you're going to notice it

While your WiFi AP is near you, GPS satellites are in orbit and thus the signals are very weak when it reaches your phone. GPS power consumption is extremely high compared to WiFi. Most phone lasts less than 10 hours on GPS while with WiFi they can last more than day.

Check this answer, which gives you some indicators. It contains measures from two different devices.

@roxan: as I wrote, I'm not connected to an access point, I'm just walking around the city and letting the phone use the SSIDs to get an approximate location. I generally have both GPS and WiFi enabled throughout the day — but GPS is only active when I use Maps/Ingress/...

@Izzy: Thanks! That's the kind of thing I was looking for. Your table suggests that GPS is cheaper than WiFi — unless the phone can put the WiFi in standby mode and still use it to get location data.

GPS only uses power when active. The WiFi data are calculated for data transfer. So you cannot really compare it if you don't use any data. WiFi is quite power-hungry on some devices when it's permanently checking for networks -- while it's not eating that much as long as it's connected (and does not need to scan). As the scan behaviour seems to be device dependent, you can take those values only as a "raw estimation".

If you look at my previous answer to a similar question you can see that by Google's testing utilising WiFi will use more battery than using GPS. This seems broadly in line with the figures given in an answer mentioned in the comments.
However as Izzy mentions these are ballpark figures and actual consumption is dependant upon what exactly the phone is doing.

Actually, looking at your previous answer it looks like WiFi in standby (as it would be if you're just leaving it on for location) uses less power than GPS. The other link also shows GPS "standby" as lower than WiFi standby. I still +1'd your post for the great references.

@TomPanning You're right, I should've made it more clear, it mainly answers the title question about which out of GPS and WiFi uses more power when being utilised rather than just for location. Although since the OP is using location in conjunction with sending their location back to a server the Wifi wouldn't just be in standby, unless they're using 3G. I'm also not sure Wifi would be in standby if using it for a location since it's polling for nearby networks and can also have the habit of connecting to nearby unprotected networks. I'll try and find some more info to add to the answer.

WiFi is propably consuming more energy when using better than 2G/Edge

@Peanut - If the Wi-Fi is just being used to determine location, will it use less power than a GPS?

On the LG Nexus4 power consumption is very high when using 3G+ internet connections.
And as you wrote GPS is a passive method. CPU does not seem to matter much here (my own findings after a few months of usage).


text:
Youtube video quality
Youtube app allows switching between normal and high quality videos. Is this normal and high quality depended on screen dpi or are they some fixed quality videos independent of mobile and tablets and their resolution?
For eg: Is the high quality video in my HTC Desier with resolution 480 X 800 same as in 1080p phones like HTC One?

If the quality is set to Auto, the video quality is dependent on the internet speed (faster connectivity better resolution, slower connectivity lower resolution), screen resolution, quality of the original uploaded video.
You can choose in the settings a resolution of your liking (240p, 360p, etc).
However, be aware that only resolutions that your phone or tablet can handle will be shown. For example, you will not see 1080p or 1440p if your screen can handle only resolutions up to 720p,
Source: Change the quality of your video

As far as I know, the official YouTube app won't play 1080p videos yet.

Standard LQ (HQ not enabled) = 360p
HQ = 480p
HD = 720P

What is your source? I don't think not HQ is 360p because I usually watch 360p on my computer and I can see the vast difference in mobile phone even after counting for ppi factor.

I don't have a source. I did a bunch of searching but couldn't find anything for sure. The LQ could be 240p, but the quality doesn't seem that bad to me (it might be this low on lower resolution devices, but I don't see it with 480p screens and up).

I can play 1080p on my phone

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


text:
Why is internet switched off when switching 2G/3G?
I have a stock Android 4.2.2 on Galaxy Nexus, so I think this can be related to all Android phones. When switching from 2G to 3G and vice versa internet connection is switched off for a few seconds, even though when I browse in 3G I can connect to EDGE and GPRS too: why does this happen?

The radio frequency of a 2G radio operates in the range of 900 and 1800 MHz (source)-  varying from country to country.  The radio frequency of a 3G radio operates in the range of 2100 Mhz (source).
As far as Samsung Galaxy Nexus LTE L700's specification is concerned, the 2G frequency is CDMA 800 / 1900, 3G frequency is CDMA2000 1xEV-DO and LTE (4G) frequency is LTE 1900.
As far as Samsung Galaxy Nexus I9250's specification is concerned, the 2G frequency is GSM 850/900/1800/1900, 3G frequency is HSDPA 900/1700/1900/2100 and LTE (4G) frequency is LTE 2300/2400.
The above examples clearly means that the phones use different radio frequency for each type of network and hence when switching from one to another it goes into no network mode momentarily and hence the data connection stops.


text:
What is the difference between CFAutoRoot and CFRoot?
I wanted to "root" my Android phone. Therefore I went to the XDA forums to download the root package. I found two versions of it: CF Auto Root and CF root.
I thought one has to modify the kernel to obtain permenent "root" rights. Therefore it was justified that the CF Root package is nothing but a modified kernel. However, I didn't quite understand what the CF Auto Root does that is different? Isn't it also a modified kernel??
What does the author mean when he says this:

CF-Root (non-Auto) are manually built rooted kernels and/or flashables
  that usually provide more than “just root”. CF-Auto-Root is built on
  an automated system that I am constantly improving that takes a stock
  recovery image and returns an automated rooting packages. These
  packages are designed to install and enable SuperSU on your device, so
  apps can gain root access, and nothing more.

What does he refer as "automated" system??

Rooting does not necessarily involve a kernel change. Have you checked with the rooting tag-wiki? Many of our tags contain a quite comprehensive wiki. You can reach it e.g. by clicking on the "info" link while hovering your mouse over the tag below your question.


text:
Disable an app from creating bookmarks
Recently I have observed some of the apps (Photo editors) asking for permissions like 'creating bookmarks' at the time of installation from google play.
How can I disable a particular application from creating a bookmark on the home screen, like in disabling notifications on per app basis.
Thanks in advance

The Play Store does have an option in its central settings for controlling whether shortcuts on your home screen are automatically created for apps when you install them:

You can get here by opening the Play Store, pressing the Menu button on your phone (or the "three dots" menu icon if you don't have a hardware menu button) and select Settings, you should then see the "Auto-add widgets" setting that you can enable or disable.

Thanks for the information. Learned a new thing.
But the one which I am looking for is different. Some free apps create random bookmarks on the home screen for advertising. Is there a way to disable that permission specific to the app as in disabling the notification per app.

In that case you might be interested in these previous questions: Is it possible to install an app and exclude some of its requested permissions? or Revoke App Permissions Without Root?


text:
How to get pass FTM on my ZTE Android mobile device trying to turn on?
My ZTE Android Edition by SFR, StarAddict is unable to turn on. I cannot get pass the Android logo. I have long pressed on Volume Down and Power buttons at the same time but it only ended me up at FTM. What next? Please help me reset or turn on my phone. The only external buttons on this phone are: Volume Up or Down, Power, Menu,Home and Back.
Thanks in advance.

Hold the volume up and power and when reboot screen comes up select reboot device by scrolling with the volume and then select with the power button

I just had mine continuously restarting last night. It would not turn off no matter what I did. I finally had a lightbulb moment and I put my phone in the freezer. I left it there for 30 minutes and guess what, it finally restarted my phone and put it in regular mode. I was worried that my phone was broken as pressing the buttons had no effect.

Follow these instructions:

Hold Power button and Volume Up button simultaneously until the phone vibrates and turns on.
Once the screen has turned on, you will have an option to select Recovery mode, Fastboot or Normal mode. Select Recovery mode using Volume Up button.
To enter the selected choice (Recovery mode), enter using Volume Down button.
You would receive an Android (No Command) image. You will need to rapidly click Volume Up button and Power button together a few times until you get past Android (No Command) image.
You will then be able to get into Boot loader, Recovery mode. Select Factory reset.


text:
Merging Contacts
How to merge more than 5 contacts in the default contacts app? It gives the error saying "Unable to join contact.Maximum number of joined contacts is 5"
And in gmail (browser) you can go to contacts section and merge them. But Here in the phone is there a way that I can join/merge the 2 contacts in gmail?

You can't actually merge contacts on the phone. It just links them together, but on the phone only (kinda like taking two contact cards and stapling them together rather than taking both cards and making one out of them). Most likely, the reason behind limiting it to 5 links is after that, with a lot of different contacts, it could start slowing things down.
The linking of contacts on the phone was designed as a way for you to link your Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc contacts with your contacts from gmail (since gmail's contacts doesn't have a way to keep most of your external accounts tied with it), not for linking multiple gmail contacts together (since you should merge those).
If you go to http://contacts.google.com, under the More dropdown, select Find and Merge Duplicates. This will use Google's algorithms to try and best merge your duplicate contacts together. I found that the contacts it determines are duplicates are usually accurate.
If you find it didn't merge two contacts together that need it, you can click the checkboxes next to their name and then under the More dropdown, select Merge Contacts.
NOTE: Google+ contacts will automatically be linked through your gmail contacts.


text:
Getting an error message COMPLETE NAND_WRITE_FAIL while trying to flash galaxy R via Odin I9000
I tried to flash the samsung galaxy R device but build transfer was successful but at the end i got the above message. Also, unlike normal odin, it has flash lock option. I think Nand_write_fail was occurred because my device could flash locked. Can you help it unlock?
Thanks in advance.

Unlock as in network unlock? - head to the nearest phone unlocking shop or go to your carrier and ask them to get it unlocked.

I'd rather guess bootloader-lock?

yeah, i am talking about bootloader flash lock.


text:
New files in Download directory
I see the following two files in the Download directory: Flash_Player.apk and securedownload.bin. I am sure for 100% (well, for 99%) that I didn't download them intentionally. What are these files, what should I do with them (delete, I guess...). Is it possible to know, what program is responsible for downloading these files?

The securedownload.bin file is from your email app trying to download/save an attachment. The app creates this file (no matter what the actual name of your attachment is) whenever you try to view or save the attachment.
The FlashPlayer installer may have been automatically downloaded by your Browser when you tried to view Flash content.
In either case, these files should be perfectly safe to delete from your Downloads, since no apps are supposed to store critical files there.
(if an app places critical files in the Downloads directory, the app doesn't deserve to be used!)


text:
Can Android run .exe file?
I have just downloaded uTorrent on my Galaxy S running Android 2.3. The .exe file has been downloaded and is in the download folder, but when I open the download folder on my SD card and click it, it gives only one option: "Delete file".
I'm not able to run this on my phone? What do I have to do to run it?

μTorrent exists in Play Store and works well. Download it from there.
However, I would like to learn how to run .exe files on Android without using a complicated method.

.exe Files are Windows binaries (i.e. executable files/applications/programms) that can not be run natively on a Android system.
I am sure the Play Store (or the alternatives of the Play Store) will have an equivalent app to the .exe file you are trying to run.

You can't run .exe files in Android. It is a Windows executable file .
Android apps will have .apk format.
Check out this link. They discuss about Android Torrent apps (downloaders).

.exe is windows executable file. Like you can't run android app on windows without android emulator. In the same way you are going to need windows emulator to run .exe on android. And as far as I know no such emulator is available yet.

.exe file will run on windows or DOS, so you probably can't open that .exe file to your android phone. But there is a way. As some .exe files are also written for DOS and android is really reliable with DOS, So you just have to install DOS box app in your phone, type the name of your .exe file, in that way you can run .exe file.
You also can use 3 party apps to make that out like - Inno Setup Extractor
Original Source :
http://joyofandroid.com/open-exe-files-on-android/
http://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/make-exe-files-work-android-phone-16932.html


text:
Back up files on a pattern locked phone
A friend of mine tried to guess my pattern so my phone got locked, asking for gmail account and password. The thing is that i used to use a program for keyboard symbols cause one of the symbols there is $. However the phone is locked so i cannot use this program. I cannot write my password down. Am i doomed to factory reset? i can't remember if i have usb debugging enabled and my GT-B5512 is not rooted. I have literally searched everywhere for $ but i can't find it!!! Is there a way to connect my phone to pc in order to use its keyboard? Or another way to solve this?

Every standard keyboard on Android should be able to produce a $-sign. Are you able to switch the keyboard plane?

no i am not able to to switch the keyboard plane. I am from Europe so my phone is able to produce €, english pound and every other weird currency sign except the dollar sign :/

You might want to take a look at the locked-out tag wiki for some first aid, and then especially at Cannot unlock tablet as have no internet connection?.

What if you hold down the pound key or another character?

Is this what your phone looks like?

@ZnewmaN Yes but in place of $ in "Y" there is €

Hook up an external keyboard with a Micro USB OTG adapter.
Monoprice has one here http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=108&cp_id=10833&cs_id=1083314&p_id=9724&seq=1&format=2

The following performs a factory-reset:

power off your android phone/tablet
press and hold volume up or volume down button
press power button along with holding volume button, press and hold it for 5 seconds, after 5 second release power button (but not volume button). After few you will see the root menu, now release the volume button also
move the cursor down to "wipe data " using the volume down button, to select it use the power button

Now your android phone/tablet will restart in 3 seconds; after the restart you will be able to use it again.

Well, the question is asking to "Back up files" in its title. From its text one can assume OP knows how to factory-reset ("wipe data"). And wiping data does not backup anything, on the contrary...


text:
Is it possible to selectively limit background data usage?
I have a sufficient data-plan so I've never worried about this... tomorrow though, I'm travelling abroad. Due to this, I will have restricted 3g usage.
Are there any apps or Android settings to prevent certain applications from syncing in the background while allowing others to work unrestricted? For example, if I only want to use WhatsApp or check emails, without "Android OS" or Facebook playing around online, would this be possible?
If I could have this as a "roaming only" profile/mode would be an advantage. If I could also allow these applications to run as normal when WiFi is available, that would be a bonus!
My device is not rooted and I would prefer not to root it to achieve this. Are there any apps or solutions to achieve this?

Unfortunately, you're looking at rooted apps to do this - AFWall+ is one I can think of. No other way of filtering it without root and iptables...

@t0mm13b sure there's another way -- but it requires at least Android 4.x. Here you can setup an overall data volume (a requirement for the second step -- but one can set that rather high, like 4 GB). Once done, tick the "restrict background data" checkbox, select the apps to block, and set their limit to 0. Now they no longer can "silently eat your dataplan", but only when you actively trigger actions. To be found in the system settings, mobile data (the one with the pie-chart symbol).

@Izzy - ahhh yeah... forgot about that - but then again, its neatly hidden away, if it was in a more obvious place that would have been spoken for! :)

If your device is running at least Android 4.0, you can use Androids native data management:

Data Usage configuration on Android 4.0+ (source: Droid-Life.com, click image to enlarge)
Here you can setup an overall data volume (a requirement for the second step -- but one can set that rather high, like 4 GB): tick the Set mobile data limit checkbox, and play with the bars.
That done, select the apps to block (tap their entries you can see in the second screenshot at the bottom), and set their limit to 0 (scroll to the end of the app's page, and activate the checkbox labeled "restrict background data"). A popup will inform you that the app might stop when there's no WiFi available, as it will no longer be able to use background data on the mobile network -- plus that there might be additional controls inside the app itself.
Now these apps no longer can "silently eat your dataplan", but only when you actively trigger actions. You find described screens in the system settings, mobile data (the one with the pie-chart symbol -- see above screenshot).
P.S.: If the above is not applyable for you (Android <4.0, or a WiFi-only device with Android 4.3+), please also see my answer here.

hey, thanks for the input. i cant seem to find where i set the limit to each app... ive also ticked the restrict background data. but still how do i set the limit to 0 for each app?

I updated my answer a little to make that clearer -- hope now it's easy to reproduce :)

I have Android 6, I touched some application and there is a checkbox to restrict background data - cool. But I do not see described specific settings.

I cannot check with Android 6 (have none) – but did you tap the corresponding app's name to open its settings etc. as described? I've just checked with a 4.4 device I've got here, and at least there it's still as described.

I have Android 5 as well on a tablet and it is the same when I open some application. Yes, there is an Application Settings button but it is disabled for most applications and only few implement it the way their developer like. There is only a checkbox to limit background data which disables it at all.

You could try using this app: Mobiwol: NoRoot Firewall


text:
How to print to CUPS (running on another computer in the LAN)?
How to print from Android to CUPS (running on another computer in the LAN)?
(CUPS (Common Unix Printing System/Server) is of course already set up to accept requests over the LAN.)
Preferably, without relying on proprietary software.

without the help of other tools: unlikely. With the help of other tools: check "cups print" on Google Play. I was surprised there really seem to be any CUPS clients around -- didn't expect that...

I have recently released an Android app based on (a modified) version of Cups4J. Communication is via http/https. The main thing I had to/opted to change from the java library was a dependency on JAXB for XML processing (a. I felt it too heavy b. Android does not have this javax lib and importing it apparently involves repackaging) relying instead on some hard coding.
Download Android CUPS Printing on the Play Store or get the sources on GitHub.

Have a look at http://f-droid.org and their forum which welcomes submission of open-source apps for Android. The community there--I hope--will be friendly enough to help you to package your source code in a nice manner, so that it is easy to read and reproduce your build procedure. If you wish to publish it, please, open a new topic at the forum there, and hopefully you'll get help and contributions (patches) from the community, so that your project will be enabled to live and develop further! A prerequisite is that you put your source code into Git. If I have time, I'll also try to help you.

Just noting. I still need to get my head round Git but for now everything I have done can be reached at http://mobd.jonbanjo.com/jfcupsprint/licence.php. There are 2 files, cups4jpatched.zip and jfcupsprint.zip

I took the liberty of taking the sources of this project, convert them to gradle and host them at github. All contributions welcome at: https://github.com/BenoitDuffez/JfCupsPrint (also, I added the print service so that you can add printers to Android directly). KitKat required.

You can now set up CUPS for IPP Everywhere. It should then directly show up in your Android, Chromebooks, and maybe even iPhone printer menus. The other answers are outdated for reasonably new systems: CUPS 1.5+ and Android 4.4+ or an IPP Everywhere printer is required. For Apple AirPrint CUPS 2.2.2 is required. Debugging the functionality can be a bit difficult though.

I have a USB printer attached to a Windows machine and my Linux server sees that over SMB and publishes that via CUPS (be sure to "share...".)
For Android, there's Let's Print Droid - complete with a print service so all apps see it. It takes about two minutes to set up.

I have a google/cups-connector printserver running on an Ubuntu computer (smb server on router). The chromebook prints fine from this network printer but this app was the only thing that would get it to print on android.

As already stated in other answers, the android system printing service can already access to cups printer (at least for android 10).
These are the steps I had to follow to make it work with debian buster since CUPS was not configured to accept LAN requests in my case.
On debian buster
Steps were taken from Sharing via Internet Printing Protocol @ wiki.ArchLinux.org

go to the CUPS admin panel http://localhost:631/admin and check "Share printers connected to this system", then click on "Change settings"
Edit /etc/cups/cupsd.conf so that your CUPS / is reachable from a local network address

<Location />
   Order allow,deny
   Allow localhost
   Allow 192.168.0.*
</Location>
...

Edit /etc/cups/cupsd.conf either one of these ways

3a. so that your CUPS listens to the address at wich you call it
...
Listen <hostname>:631
...

3b. so that your CUPS listens to port 631 (whatever the address at wich you call it) remove the Listen localhost:631 line and add this one [3b. works better for me, since after a reboot, the solution 3a. didn't make the cups server reachable from anything else than localhost]
...
Port 631
...

Restart CUPS daemon :

# systemctl restart cups

On an Android 10 phone (mine is xiaomi with miui 11)

Simply go to parameters / Connexion & sharing / Printing / System Printing Service (should be enabled)
be sure your phone is connected to the network where your CUPS server is reachable
Normally your printers should appear automagically

Confirming on Android 13 - the Default service picks CUPS printers shared over mDNS. Before reading this post I tried "Android CUPS Printing" (was detecting, not printing), PrintBot (was detecting and printing fine with IPP Everywhere).

It seems there are no native Android CUPS clients, which are free software.
The only way that can be found is rather clumsy, via a Debian installation on the Android device -- http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=1148#c41. But using a Debian (or another distro) installation like LilDebi (for example) would definitely require root (in order to chroot)! That's not convenient for those who don't want to root the device (just to be able to print). (BTW, aren't there, besides chroot, any more modern alternative isolation technologies implemented in Linux that wouldn't require root?.. Perhaps, LXC?)
Another app (Remote CUPS) requires SSH access to the server.
ObPrint doesn't appear to be open-source.
Let's Print Droid likewise doesn't appear to be open-source.

For newer Android versions, CUPS printers are found by the standard print service, so no extra plugin or app has to be installed.

Share the printer in CUPS
Turn on print service in Android (search print service in settings)
CUPS printers should be found automatically.
Tested on Android 10.


text:
SSH server when phone is sleeping: possible?
I an running the Dropbear SSH server on CyanogenMod 7.2.  Is there any way to setup my phone so that I can connect to it over wifi even when it is in sleep mode?  I don't mind if there is a small hit on the battery.
If not, is there a way to at least allow an rsync over ssh to proceed after the screen blanks out?  The strange thing here is that if I initiate an ssh shell connection, the command line is still usable after the phone goes to sleep, however it is very slow (changing the CPU governor didn't seem to make a difference).  Rsync seems to freeze when the phone sleeps.
I tried echo hello > /sys/power/wake_lock, to no effect.

Have you setup your WiFi standby policy to keep it permanently on? Many devices automatically turn it off when the screen goes off. Check in Settings->WiFi->Advanced (via menu button), and set it accordingly if it's not.

@Izzy: Yes.  I set Wi-Fi sleep policy to Never.

OK, then I don't know. Might be worth trying a different SSH server app, though.


text:
Phone not receiving calls on deep sleep
I have a Samsung Captivate Glide running android 4.2.2 (an unofficial version of Vanilla RootBox with a kernel called Litekernel). This phone is originally for AT&T but it's unlocked and I'm using it on Mexico's carrier Telcel (and I've seen multiple people with the same issue on different countries/carriers).
My issue is that sometimes when someone calls me, the phone rings on their side as if I wasn't picking up and eventually goes to voicemail, but I get no call at all, it's not a sound/vibration setting, I've checked. Also I've read about this kind of issues with multiple phones/carriers.
Once I tested this with another phone and called mine and the call didn't come until I pressed the power button to unlock the screen, waking the phone.
Also I read about some guys using an app called Wake Lock - PowerManager and using the option PARTIAL_WAKE_LOCK to keep the phone from going to deep sleep, but of course that consumes the battery much faster.
Does anybody have any idea what could be done?
My phone is rooted and I'm willing to modify the kernel or do any complex action required to fix this...
Edit: I forgot to mention I have reflashed this rom several times, every time clearing the cache, dalvik chache, factory reset, etc. And this happened to me in other roms as well...

I think there is some problem with the radio version currently on your phone . Try flashing a updated radio version.

I just was about to suggest the same as Ankit. Though I hadn't the similar issue with deep sleep, that solved my trouble I had with my old Wildfire concerning GPS and frequent freezes on calls. Especially that the issue persist with different ROMs points to trouble with the radio image.

I hope you use ClockWorkMod , reflash the custom rom after clearing the cache ,factory reset,etc,. If the problem exist try flashing other roms and see if the problems is due to the Custom Rom.
If you are having the  problem only when using the first custom rom, then contact the developer of the Custom Rom and ask tell him about your problem.

Thanks for the advice, however I have reflashed this rom (and others) properly several times. I just updated the question to reflect that

Revert back to your Vanilla Rom (Stock Rom) and check . I had the same pbm in my Galaxy Mini it is solved when i flashed ROM with Different Kernel version .

Nice suggestion, I'll try it out...

You should be able to flash a custom kernel onto the rom as well, if it is the same major version.


text:
Can Android tablet read external hard drive and if so which formats?
Can an Android tablet read external hard drives and if so which formats?
I have a Samsung Note and tried accessing a hard drive but failed. I've been told that if I format my 1TB hard drive to FAT32 then I can. Is that correct?

Assuming an Android version of 3.1+, external drives should be supported via USB host mode by most devices -- see Compro01's comments below:

Not all devices support USB host mode, 3.1+ or not. Chainfire has a nice app to test compatability (and an extensive database of reports from that app on which devices work and which don't).
Also, if we're talking about an actual hard drive, rather than a flash drive, power is likely to be an issue unless the drive is self-powered (has a power brick of its own). If it's bus-powered drive and it fails to spin up, you'll need another source of power, such as a self-powered hub.

Of course they must carry a supported file system. You assume correctly that FAT32 definitly should be supported. Some others might be supported as well, depending on what was compiled into the kernel for your ROM. In many cases, this also includes extfs (EXT2/3/4). If you're either re-formatting the drive, you can simply try-and-err in case you prefer one of those.

Not all devices support USB host mode, 3.1+ or not. Chainfire has a nice app to test compatability (and an extensive database of reports from that app on which devices work and which don't).

Also, if we're talking about an actual hard drive, rather than a flash drive, power is likely to be an issue (like this guy found) unless the drive is self-powered (has a power brick of its own).  If it's bus-powered drive and it fails to spin up, you'll need another source of power, such as a self-powered hub.

@Compro01 thank you for that important hints! I was not aware of the first fact -- but I felt free to quote you in my (updated) answer :)

Actually, the majority of Android builds have no built-in support whatsoever for mounting USB filesystems.  On those devices, any capability comes form an app working against the USB host APIs, meaning that the supported file systems will be whatever that app's developer felt like including.  Of course app-based methods lack permission to actually "mount" a filesystem - they can only access the content, maybe even to the point of providing a ContentProvider to other apps.

@ChrisStratton Are you sure with that? Never heard of those restrictions (but I have not enough devices here to prove either way). As for the apps' part you might be right when it comes to user-apps, since the MOUNT_UNMOUNT_FILESYSTEMS has protection-level system. But USB-Host mounted devices should be supported (as long as the Android device has support for them) with any file-system supported by Android – which definitely includes FAT and EXTFS nowadays. Never heard a contrary report.

Stock Android won't mount external filesystems, period.  Only a few vendor and "custom ROM" variations will.  Android will grant an app permission to access a USB device, which means that if it is willing to do all the down-and-dirty work of talking raw USB operations it can access contents of any file system it cares to implement.  But android won't let an app expose that to the rest of the system as a "mounted" filesystem - ie, you can't share the contents with the File API, though you can in other ways.

Try nexus media importer this works on my nexus7 and cx919.HDD is a is a WD 1tb drive (My Passport)


text:
HTC One and Sendgrid SMTP outgoing mail server not working
I am using Sendgrid SMTP server for my emails on the default Mail cleint and I've set up the account on my HTC One android phone. The problem is it doesn't send emails, it keeps saying authentication failed. I've tried every combination of ports/ssl/tls and the same thing. My username/password is definitely right as I use it everywhere with no problem. I've contacted Sendgrid support but they can't figure out any problem with their servers so it may be just the way the Mail client communicates with their server. Other SMTP servers work fine on the phone, just Sendgrid doesn't.
Has anyone has problems like this with their outgoing mail servers?

Not me. But what certainly would be helpful is checking logcat for any error messages (either using one of the logcat apps, or via adb logcat) when trying to send a mail. If you have trouble interpreting the log yourself, you could upload it e.g. to pastebin and add a link to your question.

@Izzy Thanks for the response. Just downloaded CatLog app and it says that I need root user to read logs otherwise it'll only show my CatLog's own log. Is this correct of all logcat apps?

Which Android version? That's true from 4.1 up (as security rules have changed). In that case, you might need to root -- or try via adb logcat. See Is there a minimal installation of ADB? if you don't want to install the entire SDK for that :)


text:
How do I open Markdown files from the Dropbox app?
When I try to open a Markdown file in the Dropbox app, it tells me to "Please download an app that can open this file."
I tried downloading MarkDrop, but that seems to only sync within its own folder.
Any suggested apps that support this?

The whole point of Markdown is that they're just plain text files that can be read in anything, and the the formatting is just an expansion of what people used to use in plain text communications like Usenet. What are you calling your files? Mine are name as *.txt files and can be opened in almost anything, but look nicer when opened in a Markdown compatible editor.

@GAThrawn Unfortunately there is a strong trend to use anything but .txt for markdown files. GitHub for instance will not interpret .txt files as being formatted using markdown (and will therefore not pretty print it), you must use one of the other "markdown" file extensions.

I use the .md extension which is why it doesn't open in text editors. I'd rather keep it so other applications know that it's markdown.

@w3d no one should assume .txt is markdown-formatted because most of the time it isn't.

Draft can open Markdown files with .md and .markdown extensions.

Doesn't seem to exist anymore :(

MarkDawn.
If you open a .md file in the Dropbox app it'll let you to open it with it.
It has been pointed out that currently (as of 2013-04-18) MarkDawn only works as a viewer.

Do you use MarkDawn as an editor? The preview pane does not appear to update for me and neither does it sync back to your dropbox (as other ordinary text editors do)?

The preview works for me but you're right about it only working as a viewer. I've never even tried using it for editing. Oh well.

Seems it's not available anymore

Can you please update for me that answer.  I have exactly the same question and tried a dozen of apps. MarkdownX was good but does no more work

I found a good web application to view and edit markdown-formatted files - StackEdit.
You can integrate it with Dropbox and Google Drive and use it to open any of your text files. It doesn't matter if were .md, .txt, or something else.

Since StackEdit is not an android app, I don't see how you can get it to automatically open .md files.