text:
Is there a viable alternative to MTP for file transfer?
Since the latest versions (ICS+?) no longer have mass storage, is there any viable alternative to MTP?
The protocol seems inherently broken and the decision to regress to this format seems like a very 'iphone-esque' move (dumb things down, take away power from the users).
There seem to be numerous problems (eg) with files not showing and it seems to me that transferring a file should be simpler than requiring a system reboot - I am unreasonably demanding that way.
I'm aware of tools like Wi-Fi file transfer but often I find myself in areas without wifi, with just my laptop, phone and a usb cable. The other day, for example, I was one a plane, which is an environment decidedly non-conducive to using a wireless system.

Use one of those methods: http://askubuntu.com/questions/189591/connecting-android-4ice-cream-sandwich-jelly-bean-kitkat-phone SSH SFTP works.

The following methods are tested on Windows 7; Ubuntu based Distribution and Slackware with desktop environment KDE 4.1x. Nothing can be said about Mac. The answer is intended to serve as a consolidated guide for the various methods out there.
Few following methods requires USB Tethering to be enabled. This can be achieved by instructions mentioned below:

Some of this information applies only to devices running Android 5.0 and higher. If your device is running 4.4 or lower, the Menu icon looks like this  . If your device is running 4.3 or lower, the Settings icon looks like this .

Set up and use USB tethering connection (including instructions for Windows XP)

  1. Connect your device to another device using a USB cable.
  2. You'll see a USB icon and a notification Connected as a media device or Connected as a camera at the top of the screen. For the purposes of tethering, the type of connection doesn't matter.
  3. Open your device's Settings menu .
  4. Under "Wireless & networks," touch More > Tethering & portable hotspot.
  5  Check the box or turn on the switch next to "USB tethering." When the connection is made, you’ll see one of the following notifications and you can connect to the Internet (your icons may look slightly different if your device is running Andriod 4.4 or lower):
 Portable Wi-Fi hotspot active
 USB tethering connection active
 Multiple tethering or hotspot connections active

  To stop sharing your data connection, uncheck the box or turn off the switch next to "USB tethering" in the Settings menu or simply disconnect the USB cable.

USB tethering with Windows XP

  If you're using a computer running Windows XP, you need to install a configuration file before tethering your device to your computer.

  1. Follow the steps above to turn on USB tethering for your device.
  2. Download the following configuration file (tetherxp.inf) to your Windows XP computer. Typically, you can right click on the link and choose "Save As". (If your browser adds “.html” to the file name, you’ll need to edit the name to remove the .html extension and replace it with “.inf” instead.)
  3. Connect your mobile device to your computer using a USB cable.
  4. When Windows XP's New Hardware Wizard opens, select No, not at this time, then click Next.
  5. Select Install from a list or specific location, then click Next.
  6. Click Browse to browse to the directory where you installed the configuration file you downloaded in step 2, then click Next.
  7. When Windows XP finishes installing the software for Android USB Ethernet/RNDIS, click Finish.

  (Source)

Method #1
This method uses USB Tethering and an app to access the phone storage.
Procedure:

Install MTP-Alternative USB Drive from Play Store.
Open MTP-Alternative app, select  CONNECT AND ENABLE USB TETHERING and choose Enable USB Tethering.
Come back to app by tapping Back key one time or opening the app from its icon in your launcher.
Instructions for Windows and Ubuntu will now be displayed in the app. Choose your OS: Windows or Ubuntu and follow the guide there.
Alternatively, you can follow the instructions mentioned below to save the network connection either in Windows or Ubuntu (Linux).

For Windows:

Make sure you have administrative privileges. Download and install this Microsoft Update.
The WebClient service needs to be enabled for accessing network folder. To ascertain the service status, press  + R to open a Run dialog box. Type services.msc and click OK. Services window will open with a list of services.
Scroll down to see WebClient and check the corresponding Startup Type. If its not Disabled then close the window. If it is then do
Right-Click -> Properties -> General -> Startup Type -> Automatic -> Apply -> OK.  You can also choose Manual over Automatic to save System from start-up overtax.
Now press  + R, type regedit and click OK`, choose Yes and Registry Editor window will open.
On the Toolbar click Edit -> Find. In the dialog box, corresponding to Find What field, type WebClient. Uncheck Values and Data or otherwise, check only Keys below Look at. Click Find Next. It will search and should show an entry already selected. Make sure (at the bottom panel) the location of selected entry is
Computer/HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\services\WebClient.
On the WebClient entry, click the right direction arrow to access the content inside it.
Click Parameters. On the right hand side, click BasicAuthLevel -> Modify. In Value data field, change the value to 2 and click OK.
If there was no BasicAuthLevel entry then create it by doing Right-click in empty white space, choose DWORD (32-bit) Value and name it to BasicAuthLevel. Follow step 7.
Restart the system now for all changes to take effect. You will have to open MTP-Alternative app to connect the phone again to PC now.
To map Phone Storage, open My Computer.
Below the Address Bar click Map Network Drive.
In the corresponding Folder field, type \\192.168.42.129@8081 and click Finish. A window will open with the content of / directory of your phone.
If you have only Internal [SD card] in Smartphone then enter sdcard folder. Otherwise, enter storage folder and enter into your desired storage.
You can  access this network drive in My Computer -> Network Location. You can also rename this drive by doing Right-Click -> Rename over the drive, enter the name and hit Enter. Note that the drive won't be accessible if the smartphone with above mentioned instructions is not connected to the PC.

(Source: ykasidit, Yeehawup, MTP-Alternative)

For Ubuntu (Linux) with KDE 4.1x:

Launch Dolphin file browser. In Places click Network.
Click Add Network Folder -> WebFolder (webdav).
Enter any Name, leave User field blank, enter 192.168.42.129 in Server field, enter 8081 in Port field. As per step 13 of Windows OS, type either /sdcard/ or /storage/ in Location field, check Create and icon for this remote folder and click Save and Connect. A window will open with the storage contents now.
The network location is saved in Places -> Network -> Name where Name is from step 3. You can also pin this folder into Places by doing over that folder Right-click -> Add to Places.

Method #2
This method utilizes ADB interface to access your phone storage. It has already been extensively covered by many users and some answers can be accessed here. To make it short, below are the instructions quoted from some answers by Android Enthusiasts users.
Installation of ADB in your OS

In fact, it is not necessary to install the entire SDK if one does not want to use it for development. To be able to run basic ADB commands in the context needed by an average user, a rudimentary installation is completely sufficient. I will try to explain how to do this, and hopefully cover the most used computer systems.
Requirements
First, you will need the basic binaries. These can be found on the official download page, for Linux, Windows, and Mac.
Windows users
If your computer is running Windows, you will also need the special drivers for your device (no generic solution here, so you need to check this out yourself; usually, those drivers are offered for download on the manufacturer's website).
Linux and Mac OS users
Linux and Mac OS users might need to make their device known to their operating system. For Linux, you find the necessary steps described in my answer here. Not being familiar with Mac OS, I can not speak for it.
Installation
Linux
For Linux, this is quite easy: Simply unpack the downloaded binaries into a directory of your choice. At the time I'm writing this, this will only be two files: adb and aapt (the latter being used by QtADB, and not necessarily needed to execute ADB commands directly). Adjust their file permissions to make them executable (e.g. from the command line: chmod 0755 adb aapt). Finally, it's a good idea to include the chosen directory with your $PATH variable, so you can call adb from wherever you are. A good place for that is at the end of your ~/.profile file to include an additional line like export PATH="~/bin:$PATH" (if you extracted the binaries to ~/bin).
Windows
The Windows download holds a couple more files. Also extract them into a directory of your choice. If you want them to be callable from wherever you are, without preceding the complete path, you need to add that path to your environment variables as well. Not being a Windows user, I must leave the "how to do this" to you.
What else?
You should be done at this point, and can use the full powers of the ADB command line.
Further readings

Everything about ADB (A reference for everyone at XDA Developers)
ADB for Dummies (again available via XDA Developers. If you miss the guides as I did firstly: The first article is consisting of links only, colorful as they might look :))
Android ADB Quick Guide

(Source)

And,

I do not really understand why anyone would prefer downloading an old version of unknown origin from a malware-ridden website to downloading the latest official version directly from Google itself. I guess to each its own.
Here are the links to the Google repository:
The latest version of the platform tools (contains just a few binaries - less than 10Mb in size each):

Windows
Linux
Mac

For users of Ubuntu and Debian (distributions I personally use) I have put together a small bash script which finds and installs the latest version of the platform tools - Installing Android platform tools (ADB) on Ubuntu
(Source)

To access Phone Storage in Ubuntu (Linux) using ADB interface :

I cannot answer the Windows part – but the Ubuntu part I can answer for sure, as I'm using that as well and mount my devices from my computer, sometimes with full r/w access. What I use needs ADB tools to be installed on your computer. If you didn't already install them, see e.g. Is there a minimal installation of ADB?
Prepare your Droid
First a basic requirement, applying to any OS which might run on your computer: To be able to get full access, the ADB daemon needs to be running in root-mode. This is not the case with stock ROMs, even if rooted, by default (though many custom ROMs have it enabled by default). So first check: If an "ordinary" adb shell directly brings you to the root-prompt (#) without invoking su, you're fine. Otherwise, you will need a helper like adbd insecure: Run it, and enable the "patched insecure mode". Optionally check the box to have that accomplished automatically on every boot of your device.
Prepare for write access to read-only file systems
Second, again independent from the OS on your computer: to read and write to file systems, they need to be mounted in read/write mode. You can accomplish that via adb shell anytime you need to write there (I don't recomment leaving those partitions in permanent read/write mode), e.g. issuing a mount -o remount,rw /system for the /system partition.
Mount your Droid
Now let's go for the specifics. I mount the Android file system via ADB, utilizing FUSE. The tool for that is adbfs-rootless. Compiling the code is easy given the instructions there; that done, copy the resulting adbfs binary to a directory in your $PATH. Then create a mount-point on your computer; in my example, I will use ~/droid for that. Now here we go:

# Mount the Android FS:
adbfs ~/droid
# Unmount it again:
fusermount -u ~/droid

To ease the process, I've created two aliases:

alias mdroid="adbfs ~/droid"
alias udroid="fusermount -u ~/droid"

You surely already have guessed: mdroid stands for "mount droid", udroid for "unmount droid".
A different approach to manually mounting/unmounting is using Midnight Commander with a specific VFS: mc-extfs-adb is doing that. A version I've spefically adapted for Ubuntu is available in the download area at IzzyOnDroid, where you can simply pick it (installation instructions included).
Both variants have their pros and cons: mc-extfs-adb takes quite a while on first access (while it caches the entire file system structure) – but then is pretty fast browsing the file system (as it is cached), only slowing down when you copy/edit files remotely. Using adbfs directly starts up much faster, but then always "hesitates" for a second when switching directories (as it does not cache the entire structure, but only reads on demand). I usually prefer the latter, but YMMV – hence I've given you both options :)
(Source)

To access Phone Storage in Windows using ADB interface

Windows File Explorer by default doesn't let you access the Android root files. You'll need to download a different application (to your PC) for that. Many places (like this guidingtech.com tutorial recommend Android Commander. Another recommended file explorer program is Droid Explorer.
(Source)

Method #3
This method uses an app and USB Tethering. This method has roots in this answer (this answer only mentioned the possibilities but not the actual usage in steps).
Procedure:

Download a file server app that allows WebDav/FTP/SSH/Samba server creation. You can either look on this list by Izzy here, or choose them viz., WebDav, FTP, Samba, SSH, Multifarious. Google is your friend if none of them helps.
Following Instructions are for {WebDav,FTP} Ultimate (Free) and Servers Ultimate Pro (Paid).

Using WebDav Server Ultimate :

Enable USB Tethering.
Launch WebDav Server Ultimate.
Go to Add -> WebDAV Server ->.
Enter any name in Server Name. Choose a Port number greater than 1024 which you can remember (e.g. 5000) and enter it in Run on port.
In Document root, choose / to remain consistent with Method #1.
Uncheck all the options. You may choose to run this server automatically whenever you launch this app. To do so, check Start directly when app starts clean. Tap Back key once and choose Yes to save server settings.
Tap once on newly created server entry and choose Start/Stop. You will get a dialog box with Information The server has been started. You can close the app (including the server) by sliding left the many icons at the top of the app and choose Exit. Note that without choosing the Exit, the server will continue to run unless stopped explicitly.
You may now use procedure explained in Method #1 for either Windows or Linux. Note that for Windows, the address will now be \\192.168.42.129@5000 and for Linux, it will be webdav://192.168.42.129:5000/.

Using FTP Server Ultimate:

Enable USB Tethering.
Launch FTP Server Ultimate app.
Go to Add -> FTP Server ->.
Enter any name in Server Name. Choose a Port number greater than 1024 which you can remember (e.g. 6000) and enter it in Run on port.
Uncheck all the options. You may choose to run this server automatically whenever you launch this app. To do so, check Start directly when app starts clean. Similarly, choose Respawn (auto restart when server crashed).
Go to Users (adjacent to Settings at the top), tap Add, leave Username and Password blank and check Auto write access. You may choose to restrict the PC by choosing Force stay in document root.
In Document root, choose / to remain consistent with Method #1.
Tap Back key once and choose Yes to save server settings.
Tap once on newly created server entry and choose Start/Stop. You will get a dialog box with Information The server has been started. You can close the app (including the server) by sliding left the many icons at the top of the app and choose Exit. Note that without choosing the Exit, the server will continue to run unless stopped explicitly.
You may now use procedure explained in for Linux. Note that for Windows, the address will now be ftp://192.168.42.129:6000 and for Linux, it will be ftp://192.168.42.129:6000/. To map ftp in Windows, follow the following instructions from Step 13.

Using Servers Ultimate Pro:
Note that this app requires certain other packages(free) to be installed.

Enable USB Tethering.
Launch Servers Ultimate Pro app.
Go to Servers. Tap + icon and scroll down to tap FTP Native Server.
Enter Name, choose a Port number greater than 1024 which you can remember (e.g. 2121).
Under LISTEN ON NETWORK INTERFACE, choose rndis0 -Ipv4 (192.168.42.129).
Check Start directly when app starts.
In the LOCKS, check Enable WIFI lock.
At the top panel of the app, go to SPECIFIC and uncheck everything except Allow upload.
In Document root, choose / to remain consistent with Method #1.
Touch floppy icon to save settings.
Tap the server entry once and choose Start.
You may now use procedure explained in Method #1 for Linux. Note that for Linux, the network location will be ftp://192.168.42.129:2121/.
For Windows, follow steps 1-11 in Method #1 For Windows.
Click Connect to a website that you can use to store your documents and pictures.
A new windows with title Add Network Location will be shown. Click Next -> Choose a custom network location -> Next.
Under Internet or Network Address, type ftp://192.168.42.129:2121/sdcard/ and click Next. You can replace sdcard with storage.
Check Log on anonymously and click Next. Type a name to recognize this in future and click Next.
Check Open this network location when I click Finish and click Finish. A new window with your phone's storage content will show up.
Step 14 of Method #1 applies here too.

Note that for WebDav server in Servers Ultimate Pro, the settings are similar to one covered in aforementioned procedures in Method #3.

About MTP-Alternative

USB file transfers with PC - without 'MTP' problems.
No more USB ‘MTP driver not found’ or ‘can’t find my files’ issues - Supports both Windows and Ubuntu GNU/Linux!
'MTP-Alternative' shares this device's storage as a 'Drive' to Computers via USB Tethering instead of the default android 'MTP' file transfer method and makes you avoid the 3 common 'MTP' problems.

About WebDav Server Ultimate

A free, secure and complete WebDAV Server! The app supports adding multiple users, has WebDAV over SSL/TLS (HTTPS) support and can be set to automatically start a WebDAV Server when your device is connected to a specific WIFI network!

About FTP Server Ultimate

A free, secure and complete FTP Server for transferring files using an FTP client. The app supports adding multiple users, has FTPS Implicit / SFTP / SCP support and can be set to automatically start an FTP Server when your device is connected to a specific WIFI network!

About Servers Ultimate Pro

★★Run over 60 servers with over 70 protocols!★★
Now you can run a CVS, DC Hub, DHCP, UPnP, DNS, DDNS, eDonkey, Email (POP3 / SMTP), FTP Proxy, FTP, FTPS, FTPES, Flash Policy, Git, Gopher, HTTP Snoop, ICAP, IRC Bot, IRC, ISCSI, Icecast, LPD, Load Balancer, MQTT, Memcached, MongoDB, MySQL, NFS, NTP, NZB Client, Napster, PHP, Lighttpd, PXE, Port Forwarder, RTMP, Remote Control, Rsync, SIP, SMB/CIFS, SMPP, SMS, Socks, SFTP, SSH, Server Monitor, Styx, Syslog, TFTP, Telnet, Time, Torrent Client, Torrent Tracker, Trigger, Unison, UPnP Port Mapper, VNC, VPN, Wake On Lan, Web, WebDAV, WebSocket, X11 and/or XMPP server!

Note:

WebDAV may limit the file size upto 4 Gigabytes only.
File transfer through WebDav enabled by MTP-Alternative wasn't very responsive and created a cache size of 800 MB for me in Android.
2. issue didn't arise on Linux and worked smoothly.
I prefer Servers Ultimate Pro with FTP Native Server. It works flawlessly on both Windows and Linux for me.
I only use adb push|pull commands of Method #2 for data transfer. It is mentioned for covering the common options as an alternative.
If you're rooted, then you can port forward in Servers Ultimate Pro.
There could be methods that I'm unaware of yet. Please post them as an answer.

Sure there is. Just comfort differs, depending on what OS you're on.
I mostly use adb for this. On Linux, you can even mount the device this way. There are also several adb GUIs if you prefer such as the cross-platform QtADB. Or you can use the command line:
# Copy a file to the Android device
adb push some.file.ext /mnt/sdcard/some.file.ext
# Grab one from the Android device
adb pull /mnt/sdcard/some.file.ext some.file.ext
# similar for an entire directory
adb pull /mnt/sdcard /local/folder

Just take care the types on both ends correspond: either both are file names (as in the first two examples), or both are directories (third example). Mixes will fail.
In order to navigate (e.g. ls) in a convenient way use the adb shell.
If you don't have ADB installed yet on your computer: See Is there a minimal installation of ADB?

There are even some file managers offering you some GUI for that. You might wish to take a look at my ADB apps listing for details; find those computer-programs at the end of the page.

For pushing or pulling one file sure, but what if I just wanna backup my internal storage :/

@Shayan If you mean the "internal SD card": the last command in my answer does that. If you mean the place where apps store their data (/data/*) your device needs to be rooted and the ADB daemon running in insecure mode in order to pull that.

Yes, you can try search for 'mtp alternative' in Google Play or visit its page below:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.clearevo.mtp_alternative
It requires USB Tethering to be enabled then it's quite simple.
After my friends and myself faced quite a few 'MTP driver not found' and 'file not showing' issues myself, I decided to make the app named 'MTP-Alternative' to solve this problem.
Normally I use adb to transfer 'technical data' files too - it works well. But when I use adb to send media files like photos, music or videos from PC to Android - to /sdcard/Pictures/ or to /sdcard/Music/ for example - the Android Gallery and Music app won't show them and it won't update until a restart (both Nexus 5 and Galaxy Note 8). Using 'MTP Alternative', the Gallery and Music app would update newly added files instantly without a restart. Also, if a new media or data file is created on phone, simply pressing 'F5' on the PC folder would refresh to show them.

I've used this app successfully to transfer 26GB from my OPO phone running 5.1.1 to my Windows 8.1 x64 PC. However, it uses WebDAV and that limits each individual file to 50MB (otherwise, it will create the error "0x800700DF: The file size exceeds the limit allowed").
To increase the limit, follow the instructions here:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/900900

6 years after asking this question, finding alternatives to MTP for any reason — it is broken in my case — can still be a hassle.
I stumbled upon this question and the first, very rich answer of @Firelord proposes a lot of interesting solutions that are still viable today. But unfortunately, as my use case was very particular — being able to use a fast, secure, wireless network independent solution, which almost obligatorily implies the use of a USB cable for all of these criteria, to manage my device's files — none of this helped me: WebDAV didn't allow me to manage files (rename, move, remove them), FTP couldn't work without a wireless network, and I couldn't make adbfs work because of not being able to set adbd state efficiently and remount my phone's system to rw thanks to Magisk (which is the rooting solution for most Android phones now).
Fortunately after many hours I found a viable solution that fulfil everything I was looking for, and it's thanks to a very small mention in the first post. For the short answer: use SFTP (SSH) and adb
For the long answer, here's how I proceeded below. (Note: at the time of writing I was looking for a solution to use on my GNU/Linux Ubuntu 20.04 install which should read the files of an Android 8.1 device. Windows users will have to adapt this method for their environment, but the logic is the same, and they may not have much trouble these days anyway)

Install a SSH server solution on your phone. You can run and configure one through Termux if you feel adventurous, but I wanted something to work straight out of the box without having to configure much, so I installed an application called SimpleSSHD instead.

Configure your solution. For SimpleSSHD I just went into Settings - Paths - Home Directory option and changed the home directory to /storage/emulated/0. It will work when you run the app only if you granted it Files access permission, that is prompted on first launch anyway. After that start the service.

(Optional) Cut solution's wireless interface access. I didn't want anyone  to access my SSH server from outside so I went into the app settings and disallowed it to access Wi-Fi and Mobile data. Method changing depending on your solution and restricting means obviously

Link device's server to you machine using port forwarding. Default's app setting used 2222 as port, and as the port 2222 of my machine was unused I didn't overthink it and used the same. So I did the forwarding using this adb command: adb forward tcp:2222 tcp:2222

Almost done! You now have to open your favorite (remote) file manager software and connect to your SSH server's SFTP file sharing. I used Nemo for that and simply type in the address bar sftp://127.0.0.1:2222/. This will prompt a login dialog. I was lazy and didn't configure anything as it was only for testing, so with the app I had to login with username user and a one-time password the app has generated and output.

I had a weird bug at first that refused me connection but after I clicked the new Network entry in Nemo I created with the login I finally had access.
Voilà, you can now browse and manage your phone's internal storage securely, with a decent speed, without the annoying bug of not seeing your new files without a reboot — you still have to refresh in your file manager.

Another advantage of this solution is, it works even when USB Tethering does not work. Just developed this exact solution as well, only with scp and rsync over SSH instead of SFTP.

This is a great answer, but could you explain this part a bit more... "so with the app I had to login with username user and a one-time password the app has generated and output"? On the Play Store, it says, "[SimpleSSHD] only supports public-key based authentication (no password/interactive auth)."

OK, sorry, I wasn't looking at my phone screen - I see the SimpleSSHD app generates and displays this single-use password. Whenever I enter it on my computer though, my SFTP client tells me I've entered an invalid password. The SimpleSSHD app shows "Bad password attempt for 'user' from 127.0.0.1:57318". I'm not sure where that 57318 port came from, or if it's significant. How do we know that username 'user' is correct? Also, immediately before SimpleSSHD outputs the message about the bad password attempt, a new different single-use password is generated and displayed - seems odd.

OK, it seems like... my SFTP client initiates a connection, SimpleSSHD generates the single-use password, but my client tries an initial connection passing no password, and by the time I get to enter the password into my client, the single-use password has already expired. That's just some anomaly that's unique to my SFTP client. I'll try to learn about authorized_keys and see if I can get that working

Finally got this working. Just going to post a comment in case it helps... I used a basic command-line SFTP client to get my authorized_keys file (generated by PuTTYgen) onto the phone, in the location specified in SimpleSSHD settings, but every time I tried to connect, I got "Permission denied (publickey)". I thought it could a Unix permissions issue on authorized_keys, but first I took a look at the contents of the file itself. I wasn't sure what I should see, but after googling, I learned that my file was formatted incorrectly. Got the correct format here

I am using adb, under Ubuntu 16.04.
It is significantly faster than MTP (didn't time it, but I would say ca. 15x).
To install it, you can pretty much follow instructions available online
https://www.howtogeek.com/125769/how-to-install-and-use-abd-the-android-debug-bridge-utility/
https://www.xda-developers.com/install-adb-windows-macos-linux/

I have used pretty much all the non-root option, be it webdav, ssh, sftp. In the end, the fastest method for me to sync 200GB+ of photos and videos is to use adb-sync
https://github.com/google/adb-sync
and there is a new rewrite in python3
https://github.com/SelfAdjointOperator/better-adb-sync
2023 Edit: Just set up Syncthing on your computer, this is at least comparable, if not faster than adb-sync. And once you past the initial set up, it's pretty much fully automated.

MyPhoneExplorer works quite well for me, has a WiFi and USB option.
If you're ok with WiFi KDE Connect also works great.
AndroidDrive mounts the phone as a regular drive, using ADB to do its thing.
For older OSes, (Windows 7/10) NetworkADB lets you access the device in Explorer; it doesn't work on Windows 11 though.

authors: Ɗααɳιടԋ Sყҽԃ


text:
Are nightly CyanogenMod releases safe?
I am using a 2013 Moto X Developer Edition (XT1053) and am currently running stock Android, (with the exception of Motorola's software) and I am thinking of switching to CyanogenMod. However, after looking at the CyanogenMod download releases for the "ghost" model, I notice there are pretty much only nightlies.
I have never used a nightly release before, and I do have a nandroid backup if anything goes wrong, but are the nightlies stable enough to use daily?

The latest snapshot showed in the release channel is CM11 M12. Snapshot is the new stable.

You can't use nightlies daily, you can only use them at night. (<- That is a joke, by the way.)
Nightlies are the most unstable builds of CyanogenMod, but the number of bugs depends on the device. Typically, there are few bugs, as they still test the ROMs, but you will probably encounter (a few) more bugs than in a stable build. Most people will be able to use the nightly build as a daily ROM.
It is highly recommended that you make a backup just in case anything goes wrong, but you should not expect it to be filled with bugs. Remember, they test these ROMs before they upload them, so they are generally safe. Even so, you should refer to your device's CM changelog to see what they fixed and what to watch out for.

Back when I had a Samsung Galaxy Ace and wanted to use CyanogenMod on it, it almost always had a Nightly build. Encountered a few bugs, but not major ones.
Granted this is a different phone and CM version, point is you have to know which features/functionalities are working and not based on the wiki/release notes provided. Also, which bugs are present. You may want to wait for that information to be available before flashing. But it's always good to have a Nandroid backup.
So, nightlies could be safe, could be not. Always refer to the documentation.

Look for the appropriate discussion about the ROM, for which XDA is a good place. Usually, there is a reason why CM does not consider a ROM stable enough to tag the build as "milestone".
This does not mean it will be useless for you. Sometimes the ROM does not get the tag because something is not working like NFC or Bluetooth - and if you don't need that, you should be still fine.

-1 CM doesn't use milestone, and hasn't used milestones for a long time. They only use monthly builds which are built (drum-roll) monthly.

Yes you are right, I confused them with "snapshots" - thanks.

source: Stack Exchange

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

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text:
Can't open non HTTPS websites on mobile network. (Android Lollipop on Nexus 5, Nexus 4)
I recently updated my Nexus 5 to Lollipop. The problem is that when I am on a mobile network, I can ONLY open HTTPS websites. All the HTTP websites appear as a blank white page. When I am on WiFi, everything is fine. I am located in India, if that matters.
Any ideas why this might be happening?
Edit: Same is happening on another phone, which is Nexus 4. I have tried different browsers, and the results are the same.
Edit2: I used remote debugging on Android with Chrome.
Here is the response to http://stackoverflow.com
Remote Address:198.252.206.140:80
Request URL:http://stackoverflow.com/
Request Method:GET
Status Code:504 Gateway Time-out
Request Headers
Accept:text/html,application/xhtml+xml,application/xml;q=0.9,image/webp,*/*;q=0.8
Accept-Encoding:gzip, deflate, sdch
Accept-Language:en-GB,en-US;q=0.8,en;q=0.6
Connection:keep-alive
Cookie:prov=5a7a2230-005c-463e-afda-63c634dd4a73; __qca=P0-84958589475-140584875859968; _ga=GA1.2.749475574.1948596847
Host:stackoverflow.com
User-Agent:Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 5.0; Nexus 5 Build/LRX21O) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/39.0.2171.59 Mobile Safari/537.36
Response Headers
Connection:keep-alive
Content-Length:0
Date:Wed, 17 Dec 2014 03:42:50 GMT
Server:WebProxy/6.0

When I try to open https://stackoverflow.com, here is what I get:
Remote Address:198.252.206.140:443
Request URL:https://stackoverflow.com/
Request Method:GET
Status Code:200 OK
Request Headers
Accept:text/html,application/xhtml+xml,application/xml;q=0.9,image/webp,*/*;q=0.8
Accept-Encoding:gzip, deflate, sdch
Accept-Language:en-GB,en-US;q=0.8,en;q=0.6
Connection:keep-alive
Cookie:prov=5a7a2230-005c-463e-afda-63c634dd4a73; __qca=P0-84958589475-140584875859968; _ga=GA1.2.749475574.1948596847
Host:stackoverflow.com
User-Agent:Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 5.0; Nexus 5 Build/LRX21O) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/39.0.2171.59 Mobile Safari/537.36
Response Headers
Cache-Control:public, max-age=39
Content-Encoding:gzip
Content-Length:19401
Content-Type:text/html; charset=utf-8
Date:Wed, 17 Dec 2014 03:43:21 GMT
Expires:Wed, 17 Dec 2014 03:44:01 GMT
Last-Modified:Wed, 17 Dec 2014 03:43:01 GMT
Vary:*
X-Frame-Options:SAMEORIGIN

Obviously, the HTTP request is getting timed out. I am on the Vodafone India network. Any help?

Changing the APN settings to "VodafoneMobileConnect" fixed the problem.

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

authors: อนุพันธ์ คนเดิม'มมมม


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Are my phone contacts notified when I install WhatsApp?
When I install WhatsApp, I read that it tries to add all other WhatsApp-registered numbers in my phone Contacts list to my WhatsApp contacts.
Are all of these contacts then notified about this, or is this strictly just convenience on my end, while remaining quiet to other users?

Are all of these contacts then notified about this, or is this strictly just convenience on my end, while remaining quiet to other users?

No, contacts are not notified. They are notified only if you message them. However, if they view their WhatsApp contacts, then they can view your name there.

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


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Where can I download the stock clock apk for LG G3?
I deleted the stock clock app on the LG G3 (Model D855) without knowing that I need it for the Quick Circle Case to correctly display the Clock Faces when the lid is closed.
Do you know a place where I can download the stock APK file, it goes something like "com.lge.alarmclock", the easy access from Google Drive is not longer working:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3dApvWjgNoKVmU5cjlUMFdwbW8/edit?usp=sharing
not working
I tried doing the hard reset but the app did not get back.
Or if anyone would be so kind to back it up for me, I would deeply appreciate it.
Thank you in advance for your time and help.

did you actually delete the app from /system/priv-app or did you just remove the circle clock from the lock screen?

A "hard reset" would not change the /system partition, which is where the .apk originates. Since you deleted the system app, I'm going to assume that you have root access. After installing the .apk, I recommend manually pushing it to /system/priv-app/ (command: adb push LGAlarmClock.apk /system/priv-app/, replacing LGAlarmClock.apk with the full path to the .apk. Alternatively, you can change it from a user app to a system app (via an app like Titanium Backup if you install it from PackageInstaller, but I highly recommend pushing it to /system/priv-app/ from adb. Here is a link to LGAlarmClock.apk, pulled from the latest stock lollipop 5.0 build on XDA.

Hi, just a note that the link to the Drive is dead now. It'd be better if you could fix it. Thanks.


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Limit download rate in android?
I have an irritating friend of mine who has evil eye on my unlimited data plan. I have a few time asked him to do his own recharge but he tends not to. It's so irritating when he asks to tether.
Can I limit my download speed to 1 kbps? Or maybe 1/2?

Well, yes that's something which I also want to know, because there are times when I want other people connected to my device via tethering doesn't get the speed, in other words I do want to limit them !

FOR NON-ROOTED DEVICES
*Go to Settings > More > Mobile Networks
*Uncheck Mobile Data Service Preferred
FOR ROOTED DEVICED
(Copied from Mansour's answer on this post )

Checkout BradyBound. It's a system wide download speed shaper/limiter. Few things to note:

The app requires root access.
It works by dropping packets using iptables. This wastes some traffic - how much depends on the type of traffic (e.g. long running download, web browsing).
Rate measurement is done by number of packets instead of bytes so the speed limit won't be accurate.
This only limits TCP traffic (it makes no sense to drop UDP packets).

Note also that I'm the author of this app.

Well, I think this would put an hold to the data limit not the data transfer limit. I think over here @OP is trying to limit the speed of those evil friends to less than 1Kbps, I have am also trying to search for any trick available to do that from a long time but I am still looking for answers on this one !

You are absolutely correct. But it will restrict the data and his friend will not able to use Internet after that limit. And he will not have any clue why internet is not working.

but the problem here is if I am also using the my data plan over the device then I'll also gets cuts down, I don't know if santosh is upto this one but according to me what will happen with me is my friend will ask me to look what has happened and I'll get caught, and I don't think this would be a good idea because my evil friend already have the idea that this person has an unlimited data plan.

@Peter have you checked edited answer.If you have a root access Please let me know if this is working for you.

Well @Ash-Ishh I haven't rooted my device and doesn't have plan to root it atleast this month, so I don't think I can confirm this maybe some one else over here could do that for me any what I can do is I'll remove my down vote because this time things looks as it's going to work any may be OP of this question can throw light on this one ! :)

@Peter I am also trying to find solution to controll it on non-rooted devices. If I will succeed I will update answer :) Because I am also having non-rooted device and dont want to root it now.

That's great, would be looking forward for your replies in future about it ! :)

Hey @Peter Just check out update. I dont know whether this option is available in all android versions (I tested on Jelly Bean 4.1.1) If it is available in your device let me know how much speed decreased in your case with this.

Well, which update you are talking about didn't see that... ??

Its working in Jelly Bean 4.1;
I also found one post about ' Mobile Data service preferred' here> http://www.mymobnet.com/make-android-device-browse-fasterboost-data-download-speed/

Hey @Ash-Ishh.. don't think you are going a little off topic over here ?? The post you have pointed to me has nothing to do with the question above!

Sorry mate! It was not my intention to make it more complex I just wanted to point out that option I mentioned in answer is available in android through link.But now I have realized It is really going off topic. Once again I apologize.


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Merging a Crypt7 and a Crypt8 whatsapp backup
I have been searching a lot in the past couple of weeks on how to merge two whatsapp backup. Last month I got a new phone, installed whatsapp along with my old backup. During installation, whatsapp said, "backup found" and an option to restore. I clicked on it, it was processing for a very long time and then said backup cannot be restored :(
I started using whatsapp on this new phone and observed that the present database type is Crypt8 and my old database was of Crypt7 type (may be that it why the messages were not restored). I have still kept my old backup. Can anyone please tell me how can I merge these two databases (old Crypt7 and new Crypt8) or is there any other file that I need to consider?
I also rooted my phone to get access to com.whatsapp folder. Found it in the root @ data/data/com.whatsapp
File structure on the root
+ com.whatsapp
  + cache
  + databases
    - axolotl.db
    - axolotl.db-shm
    - axolotl.db-wal
    - msgstore.db
    - msgstore.db-journal
    - wa.db
    - wa.db-shm
    - wa.db-wal
  + files
  + lib
  + shared_pref

File structure on SDCard (old backup )
+ WhatsApp
  + Databases
    - msgstore.db.crypt7
    - msgstore-2014-11-17.1.db.crypt7
    - msgstore-2014-11-18.1.db.crypt7
    - msgstore-2014-11-19.1.db.crypt7
    - msgstore-2014-11-20.1.db.crypt7
    - msgstore-2014-11-21.1.db.crypt7
    - msgstore-2014-11-22.1.db.crypt7
    - msgstore-2014-11-23.1.db.crypt7
    - msgstore-2014-11-24.1.db.crypt7
  + Media
  + Profile Pictures

File structure on SDCard (present backup )
+ WhatsApp
  + .Shared
  + .trash
  + Databases
    - msgstore.db.crypt8
    - msgstore-2014-12-9.1.db.crypt8
    - msgstore-2014-12-10.1.db.crypt8
    - msgstore-2014-12-11.1.db.crypt8
    - msgstore-2014-12-12.1.db.crypt8
    - msgstore-2014-12-13.1.db.crypt8
    - msgstore-2014-12-14.1.db.crypt8
    - msgstore-2014-12-15.1.db.crypt8
    - msgstore-2014-12-16.1.db.crypt8
  + Media
  + Profile Pictures

EDIT: Is it possible to uninstall whatsapp, reinstall and recover old backup (crypt7) first and when everything is working, import latest backup (crypt 8)? No replies so far - Is this even possible ?? Eagerly awaiting a response.

Try reading this FAQ first. I think it's related to your issue. But I'm not sure if you could merge crypt7 and crypt8 DB files.

Thanks Andrew... I have already read this. You cannot merge two files of different encryption using this. Thanks for your concern.

This is how I solved the issue.

backup your existing whatsapp installation
 adb backup -f whatsapp-new.ab -noapk com.whatsapp

clear whatsapp data by going to settings>apps
upload your old database to /sdcard/WhatsApp/Databases and delete other files in this directory
run whatsapp, restore messages and initialise app (you will have to reenter your phone number; if this doesn't work try installing older version of whatsapp - 2.11.432 worked fine for me)
backup installation with old messages
 adb backup -f whatsapp-old.ab -noapk com.whatsapp

download android backup extractor (https://github.com/nelenkov/android-backup-extractor), and its dependencies (bcprov-jdk15on-151.jar) and compile it (use Eclipse if you are not familiar with this)
extract files from backups
java -cp path-to-libs/bcprov-jdk15on-151.jar:path-to-comiled-abe/bin/ org.nick.abe.Main unpack whatsapp-new.ab wa-new.tar

java -cp path-to-libs/bcprov-jdk15on-151.jar:path-to-comiled-abe/bin/ org.nick.abe.Main unpack whatsapp-old.ab wa-old.tar

tar xvf wa-new.tar
mv apps apps-new
tar xvf wa-old.tar
mv apps apps-old

copy unencrypted databases to a new directory
mkdir plain
mv apps-old/com.whatsapp/db/msgstore.db plain/msgstore-old.db
mv apps-new/com.whatsapp/db/msgstore.db plain/msgstore-new.db

download sch3m4's wforensic from Github, install it and  follow this https://github.com/sch3m4/wforensic#merging-all-msgstore-files-into-a-single-one (alternatively you could just merge both .db files - they are plain sql3 archives)
clear whatsapp data on phone again; upload the merged database to sdcard/WhatsApp/Databases and name it msgstore.db and delte other database files
repeat step 4

Now you should be able to see all conversations (hint scroll down to see all conversations - they are not sorted chronologically - but that sorts out with time).

Unfortunately when I try to install an older version of Whatsapp to load my crypt7 database backup, I get the following message : "This version of Whatsapp is obsolete since ... please download lastest version". I tried modifying the system date but whitout any succcess.

Sorry, I'm afraid I cant't help you then. It worked for me back then. Seems they check versions on their servers. But that's the problem with closed-sourced proprietary solutions, you basically agree that you can't actually access your data - it is their service and they can do anything they want... I switched to open source alternative Telegram.

OK I think I will switch to another alternative too. Thank you for your help!


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sharing lan connection to android
I have a big problem. In the hostel in which i live has lan facility but theres no wifi in our hostel so i want to share internet through lan connection via wifi hotspot but the problem is this
" lan is provided with proxy settings more over a username and password as authentication" so when i make hotspot it gets connected to phone but no data is transfer between my laptop and mobile.
HELP ME FRIENDS

Normally, an ad-hoc network created by laptops will not work directly on Android. You may have a look at answer to the below question:
http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/85479/cant-access-internet-through-laptop-wifi-in-my-xperia-u/85500#85500

You need to enable Internet Connection Sharing on your lan network. To do so you need to:
1.Go to your network icon after connected your LAN cable. Click on " Open network and sharing center."
2.Then click "Local area connection" > "Properties" > "Sharing" Tab and check "Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection..." Then click OK > close.


text:
Move to SD Card Option Greyed out even for Compatible Apps
I am using a Motorola Moto E with Android Kitkat and I am unable to move applications to my SD Card even for Apps that support moving to SD Card.
I am using ART Runtime (Developer) instead of Dalvik.

When using ART, you cannot move apps to the SD card.
Media moves are fine.
You can switch to Dalvik, move apps, and then switch back to ART.
ART is a developer option for Android Kitkat.


text:
will i lose my photos, voice recordings, videos and notes if i reset my samsung galaxy s1
If I reset my Samsung Galaxy S1 to factory reset mode will i lose my photos my voice recordings and my notes?
Because i really need those, but its been so long since i've used this phone and i forgot my password to the account and the only way to delete the account is to reset the phone to factory mode i have another account but it wont let me use it. Can someone help me?

Depends if you have used memory card and saved it there, in which case they are safe and won't be deleted. it could be the reason why Ramzy Shah didn't lose his data, if he had external memory to save all private data on, or used some backup cloud service like Aravindan said.  I'd rather focus on either recalling your password or looking for a way to recover password, because once reset, it will erase all the data.

With that said, I think you'll find this guide very useful and recover your password :)https://www.howtogeek.com/226942/what-to-do-if-you-forget-your-android-phone's-pin-pattern-or-password/
Good luck!

Yes. Surely you will lost your personal data, contacts and everything. To avoid this, you should Backup your files and everything to your SD Card. You can Restore it again to your mobile.
This following site will help you how to take backup and reset your mobile and then restore it back.
http://www.wikihow.com/Reset-a-Galaxy-S
Thats all.. :-)

Usually you shouldn't lose any of those, only the settings you've made on the phone and applications you've installed on it. I've reset a phone to the default settings, but it was really long time ago so right now I can't remember in detail what exactly got deleted. However I would suggest you connect your phone to a computer and make a backup of the files you don't want to lose, just in case, but usually you really shouldn't lose any of this files, by resetting it.


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How to forbid my location only for Viber on my Android phone?

I want to know how can I switch off the location service ONLY for Viber on my Android phone. I know there is an option to do that on iOS, but is there any way to do it on Android phone?

Unfortunately, when you get an android phone out of the box, no, there is no way to do that.
However, if you're willing to root your phone, then you can use apps like "Apps Ops Starter" which essentially launch the hidden settings for you to use which would allow you to find Viber (or any other app) and see its permissions and deny them one by one.

Hi Todd, Thank you for the answer and the suggestion. However, my phone is few months old and still in its warranty period so I don't feel brave enough to root it :-).

Ah. Yea... That's the bad part about that. You can try https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=fr.slvn.appops&hl=en ... that might work. I'm not sure because I haven't used it, but it doesn't state anything about needing root.

"App Ops" starters usually don't need root, so this should work – depending on the Android version. "App Ops" where introduced with 4.2 AFAIK, and are no longer available with 4.4.2 and up – so the window is small.

Thanks @Izzy, I had a look at this app and is seems to be exactly what I want, but as I'm with Android 4.2.2 it won't work on my phone :-(

Alternative options come up if your device is rooted. Is it?

@Izzy, no it is not, and I'm still not sure if I want to root it or not.

@RamzyShah Without root, I'm not aware of any working alternative. So while thinking about "to root or not to root": put this argument on the "pro-root" side...


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Automatic deletion of new mail gmail notification on android when already read online
If I get a new mail in gmail I am happy to see the notification for this.
But if I had read the mail on web gmail on a desktop pc already I don't want to see a notification.
Is there a setting in gmail or an other possibility (app) that the notification is removed as soon as I have clicked on the email in web gmail?
(I searched already similar questions in stack exchange and google. I use kitkat)

I just recognize it's working what I asked for and only took 5 seconds to synchronize. Maybe functionallity came with a Gmail Update.
Current version:
- Android: 4.4.4
- Gmail App: 5.0.1


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ASUS Memo Pad 10 Android upgrade
Does anyone achieve to upgrade his ASUS Memo Pad 10 to Android 4.4 or later (5.0) ?
It seems like there's no solutions for this, I've search on xda developpers and on cyanogen, without finding anything. There are performance issues which annoy me and I would like to resolve them by getting a newer android version.
Any help would be grateful.

It looks like the only asus devices to be enought popular and lucky to have a cyanogenmod port are mostly the Transformes series.

Yep, saw that... But maybe someone found a trick for the Memo Pad !

There are no tricks in porting a ROM, it's all about hard work.


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Can't define APN: "Unfortunatelly, Settings has stopped" - SG 4
I have Samsung Galaxy S4 with Android 4.4.2, Kernel 3.4.0.
After returning from abroad and switching back my SIM card I've noticed, that mobile internet is not working. I've noticed in the Settings, that no APN is defined. When I click '+', there's the error:

Unfortunatelly, Settings has stopped

Restarting the device has not helped. Restarting the device without SIM card and them again with SIM card hasnt' helped (I've noticed, however, the error icon appearing for a second in notifications and them disappearing). Configuration SMS from operator hasn't helped.
I've switched SIM cards many time on that device, and I've never had to configure anything with the internet, it's the first time I get that error, and it seems to be persistent. I suppose some configuration file is broken.
What can I do to fix that? Restoring factory settings would be the last resort, because I have many settings that I'd loose, for example it took me many days to disactivate all Samsung malware that was draining the battery... My phone is not rooted and it's not the option to root it because it's the company's handy.
What can be the reason for such behaviour and are there any solutions I can apply with non-rooted device? For example, deinstalling some system updates, or installing some?

I had the same problem. All you need to do is back up all your data using Samsung Kies 3. Download it from their website (Samsung.com). Then do a Factory reset. Once reset is complete on your S4 you will now be able to Edit the APN. If you have a contract with a provider ask them to send you the settings and your Internet data will work. Mine is now working all okay. Hope this helps.

Hello. I've already done the factory reset, and it was the only working solution. Afterwards I didn't need to contact provider, the phone has read all settings from the SIM card. Only I haven't made the backup and I've need to manually restore the application settings and data.


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Installing web browser in Android Wear Emulator
How can we install a web browser like Chrome / others in an emulator of Android Wear?

Good luck browsing on a 1.5" screen!

There is something beyond browsing we would like to test.we really don't mind if you are able to suggest.

if you need to show something in a browser window, try using a WebView if you are making an app. However, if you are making an app and need help, I'd advise you to go to stack overfloe

We have already developed a web application using cordova technology , but as cordova is nt supported in android wear , the only way left is to run in a browser.

Web Browser for Android Wear by appfour is the only browser for Android wear at the moment.

AFAIK, Android emulator from Android SDK doesn't have Play Store installed because of license issue, though this answer is still valid since you can sideload the APK.

other emulators have them. such as bluestacks. i mean, its not for wear, but my point is that it might not be the SDK emulator hes looking at


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Device randomly restarts and has battery drain after .apk file installation
I'm developing an Android app, and at the moment I let to install as an .APK file from my webpage to my close friends.
On the device of one of them, the installation causes an error and the App doesn't got installed. But since that moment his device restarts without any sense and has a hight battery drain.

My App needs 2 permissions: "full network access" and "control vibration".
App worked well on devices whith API's from 16 to the last

The device specifications are:

Samsung galaxy III mini
version 4.1.2 (not rooted)

What can I do with the device?
Is my apk able to cause this issues?
(I really need help to solve this issue fast. Sorry for my English, please edit any misspelling, thanks)

After looking arround, I think there's not any problem with tha app. It seems a coincidence and battery becomes dead. When he replace it, we will know.


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I'm trying to figure out what the symbol on my main screen on my s3 means
I was wondering what the symbol on my top screen of my phone was it kinda looks like a sun with a smaller sun in it and it just spins and pops on an off

Can you take a screenshot? I haven't seen anything like that on any Samsung devices that I can think of off the top of my head.

Is it possible it is the location info icon? See the fifth from the bottom on this image. Don't know if it blinks.

It looks like a GPS icon from what you've described. You can check the official list of icons for a Samsung device to be sure.


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Crossed bell on notification meaning in CM12's Lollipop
I'm using OnePlus One (bacon) running CM12 Unofficial (daleski75's build). If you long-press a notification, you could see a crossed bell on some app.

It seems to permanently mute every notification with the same text inside. A new notification with a different text from the same app is shown as usual.
Is that the meaning of that button? How can re-enable notifications with the same text?

Looking from the answers, looks like it's not a standard Lollipop feature. Could you please also mention the device model and whether you're using custom ROM or not?

@AndrewT. OnePlus One (bacon) running CM12 Unofficial (daleski75's build)

In Android 5.0 (at least in the CM12 Unofficial builds) you can go to Settings -> Privacy

From there go in to Filter Notifications. Clicking on an item will allow you to see when it was last blocked and remove it from the list.

It's a setting that can be changed under Settings->Privacy->Filter notifications.


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How can I start GPS track logging from an intent?
I'd like to automatically start and stop recording a GPS track by sending an intent, e.g. from Tasker. I don't care what app is used to record the GPS track, and it's OK if I have to set it up myself beforehand, but it shouldn't require any user interaction when I send the intent. I just want to send the intent and have it start recording right away, and later (when my Tasker profile has detected that I've reached the end of the route) stop recording automatically and save the track so that I can review it later.
I also don't care whether the end result is a track that I can only access within the app that recorded it, or a GPX file that gets saved somewhere, or something that gets uploaded to a website automatically.

I hope you're not fixed to that intent – my suggested solution is a plain Tasker one :) Of course, if you are, you can use that intent to start the task... #D

There's an open-source GPS track recording app called GPSLogger. It has shortcuts to start and stop, and also publishes the necessary intent details, so you can start and stop recording without having to interact with the phone. You can also configure it ahead of time (via the app's settings) to save files in various formats and/or upload to Dropbox, OpenStreetMap, or other sites of your choice.
I'm sure there are other apps with the same functionality.

As you already mention Tasker, that should be possible with this alone – though the profile might be a little tricky (complex) to build. To find the needed conditions/actions, I've just added some graphics to my Tasker Resources:

Graph of available Tasker conditions and actions (as of 12/2014; click image for larger variant)
Actions to be used for this:

Location › Get Location
(the fix data are stored in the relevant %LOC variables, see the Variables section of the userguide.)
File › Write File
(If Append is checked, the text is added to the end of the file without changing the existing contents.)
Location › Stop Location
(This is only necessary if the Keep Tracking parameter is checked in Get Location.) – but that's probably what you need to do

Basically, that outlines your task – just in the second bullet-point, you'll need to evaluate the %LOC variable in a loop. Pseudo-Code: "While (not-reached-target) do: (evaluate %LOC), (write file), (wait X seconds)". As the end-loop-condition is a, hm, condition, you'll probably need a slightly different approach:

before the loop, set a custom variable, e.g. %TRACKING_ACTIVE = 1
have a profile firing on that variable. Conditions:

%TRACKING_ACTIVE ~ 1
current location ~ target

that profile's task then: Variables › Variable Set (%TRACKING_ACTIVE = 0)
your "exit condition" for above while loop then is: %TRACKING_ACTIVE ~ 0

So much about a "raw outline" to get you started. Have not the time to try it out myself and ship the ready-to-use profile, sorry :) And of course you've got to figure the format of the file – but hey, you're a dev :) AFAIK GPX should be easy, KML as well, as both are text-based (XML) formats.

That's a convenient way to start it, but in general GPS recording apps have a lot of optimizations, e.g. setting the update rate dynamically according to your speed, and only recording positions to the GPX file when they're a certain distance apart. I think your hacked-up Tasker script would use more battery and produce a larger file - and as you say, it would need some custom programming to turn the file into something you could view or use with another app.

It would certainly need a lot of work to satisfy your wishes, Dan. I won't say it's perfect – but it's the only one I know. I didn't stumble upon any GPS logger coming with Tasker support (yet). And about "how to find the intent to start", we should switch roles (I'm asking, and you can answer) :) Would love to give a more convenient answer...


text:
How to connect more than 1 device using tcp connection with ADB over wifi
I have 5 devices.No one is rooted. I want to connect 2 devices using USB and 3 using tcp over wifi with ADB at same time. Please help me.
Thanks

You can connect multiple devices via USB. You just need to specify that device when you connect with adb by calling commands like this
> adb -s _device_serial_number_ [adb-command]

you can also connect multiple devices over wifi by using the following command
> adb connect xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:5555

this is the IP address and Port of the device that ADB is listening on. Now you setup your connections on your PC.
> adb connect 192.168.1.51:5555
> adb connect 192.168.1.52:5555
> adb connect 192.168.1.53:5555

check if they are all connected.
> adb devices
> 192.168.1.51:5555 device
> 192.168.1.52:5555 device
> 192.168.1.53:5555 device
> _device1_serial device
> _device2_serial device


text:
How to save an ISO (or similar) of a whole Lexibook tablet (Android SO)?
A friend has 2 Lexibook android tablets (kids' tablets). One is completely clean and the other is fine.
He wants his clean android to be exactly the same as his good one.
How does he copy?
I got the tablet's in my hands and the main problem until now is I can't even download nandroid. Is there anyway I can?
Please note: he is looking to have a complete copy, not just data and not just software.

...and this answer to that question. Yupp, agreed.

Thanks for the links. I got the tablets in my hand now and the "faulty" is actually empty and I weren't able to get the backup done yet because I can't download the nandroid so I am unable to proceed with the instructions received in the answers you pointed me too.

This Lexibook is a children's tablet and is a real pain. I deactivated all protections in the settings but how can I download the nandroid tool to backup the system?

Tat "Nandroid tool" is part of custom recoveries. Details can be found via our nandroid tag-wiki. Besides, such a transfer only works between identical devices; never restore a Nandroid backup from a different device, as that is very likely to cause a "brick". Carefully read all related information before you proceed.

The device being a Lexibook it created many problems to many parents as I could see online. We gave up on those devices. Thank you for your advice @Izzy.

authors: Юлия Суржикова


text:
Is it safe to use an LG charger on a Moto X?
I have a 2014 Moto X, and a Nexus 4. Is it safe to charge my Moto X using my Nexus 4 charger?

Yes, no problem. They both use a regular micro USB format.


text:
Moving apps to SD: is there any difference between the function in Settings and the apps offered in the Google Play store?
I noticed several apps in the Google Play store featuring the ability to move apps to the SD card. My Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 has an application manager under Settings, and this application manager already provides the ability to move apps to the SD card.
Without rooting my phone, is the included application manager doing the same thing as the apps in the store? Or is there something more the other apps can offer?
I ask because of a few problematic apps that take up a lot of device storage, even after telling them to move to the SD card.

No they both use the same method to move it over. And if you did desist to root your phone, they could move over the ones that aren't allowed to be moved over, but that may cause them to break.


text:
Does sharing installed apps pose a risk of sharing personal data?
Let's say I install an app on my phone from the play store. Now I want to give this app to a friend. I use an app called File Commander to share an installed app via bluetooth.
Will any settings or data used in my app also be sent with the apk, or just the app itself?
Thank you.

Did you pay for it?  If you did, legally, you're in violation of the copyright.

i mean free apps not paid

Most likely, it is not going to send the app data with the app.
If the only file being sent is an apk (example: angrybirds.apk), then there is no data sent with it. The apk is just the app itself.
However it is possible to send app data. If you are using "File Commander", it would depend on whether File Commander sends app data or not (sorry I don't have this app). It may be an option in the settings, so you could perhaps enable/disable the sending of data along with the app.

Full ack. Complementing: As without root usually no app has access to another apps data (few exceptions when signed with the same key, which implicates same dev), if your device is not rooted, this exactly is what happens: only the .apk is shared.

An .apk file is just the zip of the actual app. It's what you download from the AppStore. It doesn't contain any user data.
The user data is located in /data/data/


text:
Transform Amazon Fire TV into Nintendo Gaming Console
I'm wondering if I could install N64 and Gamecube Emulators on an Amazon Fire TV. Will I have to root the device? Is it possible without?
Will PS3 Controllers work wireless and is there something I have to have in mind for buying No-Name Bluetooth Controllers?
Thank you

Just google for bluetooth controllers that FTV supports. I have a Nyko and Ouya controller that I use on mine. You don't need to root in order to play emulators. You just need to side load the apk files. Not all emulators will work and some will work better than others. You will however be limited to the space on your unrooted FTV though. Having a rooted FTV will let you play games from a flash thumb drive or HDD.


text:
Nexus 5 Lollipop goes into Recovery while trying to update to 5.0.1
I'm using LG Nexus 5 Lollipop (manually installed 5.0) and rooted with TWRP.
I just go notification to update to 5.0.1. But when download and install, the phone automatically goes into TWRP Recovery mode, and if I restart from there nothing happens. I have to download the update again and so on...
Manual adb sideload doesn't work because of TWRP recovery.
Also I have tried sideload from inside TWRP, doesn't work.
Basically if I try adb sideload, on fastboot screen it get error: no device found. (Please note: if I use adb command while connected to PC in normal phone state adb commands work fine. even the adb reboot bootloader.)
Updated: after following below answer, if you too get stuck like me while on adb sideload, please update your drivers like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXtbAMarHQw
If you face error: closed while adb sideload
then type this command: adb usb
and then type adb sideload UPDATE-SuperSU-v2.40.zip

Probably, you can try sideloading the update instead of taking the OTA.

ok will try to update manually

Update: Manual adb sideload doesnt work. cus of TWRP recovery. also I have tried sideload from inside TWRP, doesnt work. basically if I try adb sideload, on fastboot screen it get error: no device found. (Please note: if I use adb command while connected to PC in normal phone state adb commands work fine. even the adb reboot bootloader.)

@STEEL Please do it again, cause the fastboot & adb driver needs to get installed again, when you select
apply update from ADB. TWRP is flashed after you sideload the update.

Ok, now im stuck at adb sideload UPDATE-SuperSU-v2.40.zip. Gives me error: closed

Try using this method:
https://gist.github.com/eyecatchup/ec0a852428c19705380e
Give thanks to this guy of course.
EDIT:
The steps outlined in this document assume the Android SDK to be installed on your PC and the adb, fastboot and android.[bat|sh] to be in your PATH variable!
Download OTA zip from Google's servers to your PC.
http://goo.gl/dx2JoM - signed-hammerhead-LRX22C-from-LRX21O.785a2f7a.zip
Rename the downloaded zip to 'update.zip' (without the quotes (and if you're on windows and known file extension are hidden, make sure you not end up with update.zip.zip)).
To the same folder, download the latest SuperSU flashable zip.
http://goo.gl/XRK49m - UPDATE-SuperSU-v2.40.zip
To the same folder, download the latest TWRP recovery image for hammerhead.
http://goo.gl/XhAOt7 - openrecovery-twrp-2.8.2.0-hammerhead.img
To the same folder,
download the 5.0 factory image tgz archive from Google's servers.
http://goo.gl/Z8ITiM - hammerhead-lrx21o-factory-01315e08.tgz
From the 5.0 tgz archive extract the
recovery.img
boot.img and
system.img files to the same directory where your downloads are located.
(Tip: With 7zip, for example, you can 'internally' open the archives within the archive and extract just the files you need. The same is possible with command line tools, of course.)
Update platform-tools and tools of the sdk manager.
Connect your device (USB debugging enabled, of course) to your PC.
Back at your terminal, go on by running the commands as follows (type only those lines prefixed with '> ', but without actually typing the '> '!).
# Make sure the device is recognized
> adb devices

# Boot into bootloader mode
> adb reboot bootloader

# In bootloader mode, make again sure the device is recognized
> fastboot devices

# Flash stock LRX21O recovery image
> fastboot flash recovery recovery.img

# Flash stock LRX21O system image
> fastboot flash system system.img

# Flash stock LRX21O boot image
> fastboot flash boot boot.img

When the last flash is confirmed, use the volume rockers to choose 'Recovery mode' and confirm with the power button.
When you see the little Android lying with the red triangle warning sign on it, push power then volume up to get to the recovery options.
When you got to the recovery options, select 'apply update from ADB' using the volume rockers again and press the power button to choose it. When the device says it's awaiting commands, type from the PC's command line:
adb sideload update.zip

When OTA update successfully installed, select 'reboot bootloader' from the recovery options again using the volume rockers and press the power button.
Back in bootloader mode, type from the PC's command line:
fastboot flash recovery openrecovery-twrp-2.8.2.0-hammerhead.img

When the flash is confirmed, use the volume rockers to choose 'Recovery mode' and confirm with the power button.
Now in the TWRP recovery menu, choose 'Advanced' > 'adb sideload'. Check both option, clear 'Dalvik-Cache' and 'Clear Cache' and swipe the bar to start sideload mode. When the device says it's awaiting commands, type from the PC's command line:
adb sideload UPDATE-SuperSU-v2.40.zip

When done, confirm to reboot system. Finished. Mission completed.
You're now on 5.0.1 with your custom recovery, rooted and can pick up from where you left.
PS: First boot, as always, will take some minutes.

Take a look at now, I was just on a hurry, apologies.

TWRP is making it a trouble. I can do it manually either. On fastboot screen adb fails. No device found.

I cant do it manually that is what i ment.

fastboot flash recovery openrecovery-twrp-2.8.2.0-hammerhead.img
what you get after running this on the terminal?

I don't know why this is down-voted but this is the way to go!

@AndreaBaccega Thanks! I hope people follow the steps carefully cause it worked for me( just the updating binaries didn't work but it booted normally,with data intact. I flashed the updated binaries later manually). Previously: LRX210,TWRP.

Everyone who downvoted the answer should use an iPhone. ;) Kidding, but seriously.. This answer is correct. I know, since I wrote it. :P It is a sledge hammer method, but will work universally for everyone with a system that is set up correctly.

@IronBlossom this is the best writeup I've ever seen.  This is just what I needed.  Thanks!

@eyecatchUp You are the man, MAN! :D

I did this now Im stuck in.. "Now send the package you want to apply screen" and from my PC when I type adb sideload update.zip.. same thing "NO DEVICE FOUND". Can i restart the phone directly, cus im stuck... CURRENTLY

where u said it takes 37 times pressing up valume + power. Dont do that. Instead while holding POWER BUTTON; Press VOLUME UP button 3 times

@STEEL Bummer!!

works perfect for updating 5.0.1 to 5.1, too. This is my "go to" method for me. +100 if I could...


text:
How can I restore my Moto G from a bootloop caused by updating to Lollipop?
I updated my Moto G (XT1032) to the new Lollipop (5.0.1, I think).  I left the phone plugged in to let it download and install, and when I came back to it after about a half hour, the phone was displaying the screen with 'Google' and an unlocked padlock on it.  I left it for another 20 minutes or so, but it stayed on the same screen.  I couldn't power it off at all, every time I tried to, the screen would turn off, but then come back on and vibrated once, only to go back to the padlock.
I ended up going through the Flashboot menu and cleared the Cache Partition, but that made no difference.  Also tried a factory reset, but that seemed to make no difference.  Currently, the phone is still sitting at the padlock screen.
The Flashboot menu says that the phone is unlocked, but I have no memory of doing this.  Maybe it's something to do with the update failing?
Just wondering if anyone has some advice on how to proceed with this.

Well, there are two ways to fix this one out:
Requirements:

You need to have a custom recovery (CWM/TWRP) installed
You are going to require Stock firmware zip file for Moto G XT1028, XT1031, XT1032, XT1033 and XT1034 which can be downloaded over here
ADB and Fastboot

Method 1:

Boot your phone into custom recovery mode. Recovery will have adb on by default, so leave recovery as it is.
Connect your phone to your PC and open command prompt and issue the command: cd directory-with-adb.exe-and-fastboot.exe
Now, issue the command: adb devices. If Moto G drivers have installed properly, the phone will show up. If not, get it over here and install it over your device
Now, from recovery wipe /data and media
Open command prompt and execute: adb push rom.zip /sdcard/rom.zip
It will take some time to install the ROM. If you face a not working SIM or WiFi, extract the downloaded ROM zip file and navigate to extracted firmware folder using cmd and issue:

fastboot flash modem NON-HLOS.bin
fastboot erase modemst1
fastboot erase modemst2
fastboot flash fsg fsg.mbn

Method 2:

Extract the downloaded firmware file to a folder.
Download and extract mfastboot and copy its content to the same folder where the extracted firmware files.
Reboot your Moto G into the Bootloader Mode. To do so, turn off your phone and then press and hold the Volume (-) and Power buttons simultaneously for a few seconds.
Connect your phone to your PC via USB cable.
Now, launch a command window from inside the firmware folder (click shift key, right click and select open command window here option).
In the command window, issue the following commands one by one:

mfastboot flash boot boot.img
mfastboot flash recovery recovery.img
mfastboot flash system system.img_sparsechunk.0
mfastboot flash system system.img_sparsechunk.1
mfastboot flash system system.img_sparsechunk.2
mfastboot flash modem NON-HLOS.bin
mfastboot erase modemst1
mfastboot erase modemst2
mfastboot flash fsg fsg.mbn
mfastboot erase cache
mfastboot erase userdata
mfastboot reboot

Note: If firmware includes four system.img_sparsechunk or you do not want to erase the userdata, you can modify the command.
You have now successfully installed a fresh ROM on your Moto G and the phone the phone should work as usual.
Also, depending on which version you are going to and from, you may need to try using the standard fastboot rather than mfastboot.
Source: [GUIDE] Restore softbricked phone after Lollipop update over on the XDA Developers forum, specifically post 1 and post 14.

I couldn't get your procedure working with mfastboot, but I did get it to work with the standard fastboot which is part of Minimal ADB and Fastboot


text:
Galaxy S tablet won't add app shortcuts to home screen
I have just bought my first tablet, Samsung Galaxy S. Two days after it stopped adding downloaded apps shortcuts to home screen. Apps still work, they are accessible through some digging inside tab, but it obviously is some kind of bug?

You probably disabled it in a setting.
Go to Play Store -> Settings and click "Add icon to Home screen" under "General"

In my case:  in the LAUNCHER activity must not be
category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT"

Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please [edit] to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center.


text:
Nexus Stock Experience on Galaxy S5
Is it possible to get a Nexus Stock experience of Android 5.0 (5.0.1) on the Samsung Galaxy S5? I realise this doesn't exist officially/I would have to use a custom ROM or build it myself.
So does such a ROM (Pure Nexus Stock) exist for the S5? If not are the components required available in the public domain? I assume this would be the relevant kernel files, radio, device drivers etc? Would it need to be rooted or is it possible to just unlock the bootloader without rooting as on Nexus devices?

Try cyanogenmod. It's probably as close to stock as you'll be able to get. I don't know if it came out though.

Well, there's no reason of asking such question any more as you will be getting the Android Lollipop update, maybe by the end of this december you will be part of Lollipop family, there is a post over techtimes French mobile carrier club SFR has released the dates when Lollipop will be pushed out, it do has a english version too

@Samsung - Yeah I thought that might end up being the only answer. Will go with that if I can't find another way but I'd really prefer Nexus Stock. Also I don't think CyanogenMod based on 5.0 is stable yet?

@Peter Carlos - I know lollipop will be released soon but I'm specifically after Stock Lollipop not the Samsung TouchWiz version. Since a Google Play Edition seems to be forever delayed I'm not hopefully this will be released soon...

Well @db579 I am afraid in that case I don't think we are going to see that happen in near future !

Cyanogenmod or some other custom ROM is the only way to go right now. Once the S5 GPE gets released someone will probably modify it to work on your device. They can't just be cross flashed afaik (the S4 certainly couldn't despite identical hardware). Note: The S4/S5 google play devices are not fully 'stock' they have a small bit of TouchWiz in there to allow the S-View cover, and the drivers etc are all modified by Samsung obviously. Also installing custom ROMs may well invalidate your carrier and manufacturer warranty.

Out of interest why couldn't it be reflashed if it's the same hardware? Different bootloader?


text:
Completely uninstall an app on Lollipop
I am having a problem with uninstalling apps on Android 5.0 (Nexus 5). I am developing an Android app, so I debug/run the app directly on my device. For production, I exported the same app with my keystore, uninstalled the debug APK that I ran earlier, tried to install the signed APK, and I got this error:

An existing package by the same name with a conflicting signature is already installed.

Is it because the bytecodes are still in the ART runtime? Anyone has any idea how to solve this?

When uninstalling an app using the usual pre-Lollipop approach (e.g. dragging to the "trash bin" icon, or from App info > Uninstall), it's only uninstalled on the current user. This can be confirmed by the app showing "Not installed" on the stock app manager. Android will detect that the app is still there, preventing the user to install the app with the same package name.
The root cause is Guest account (if it's activated), that when an app is installed, it's automatically installed on all users. So, it is also required to uninstall the app from there, which can be troublesome in daily usage.
There are some approaches to uninstall the app completely (ordered by practicality):

(from the owner account) Go to Settings > Apps, find and open the app info. Then, open the overflow menu (3 vertical dots), and choose Uninstall for all users.
(from the guest account) Deactivate the guest account if it is not needed (for more info: Removing the default guest user account from Android Lollipop)
(from PC) Enter adb uninstall <package> on the command prompt/shell. This is the same as "uninstall for all users"
(from guest/other accounts) Find the app and uninstall it normally.

In case it can't be uninstalled, try removing the account and creating a new one, then try finding the app and uninstall it again.

How about apps that have Uninstall button disabled? Like system apps that are duplicated by apps from gapps packages?

@RobertKoritnik sorry, that's outside of the scope of this answer since uninstalling system apps needs root access, such as this question.

I managed to uninstall this way:

I first attempted to uninstall the normal way (using Settings->Applications->app-name->uninstall), which kind of removes the ability to run it, but clearly does not uninstall.
I ran Google Play and looked up the app.
I saw that the UnInstall button was inactive, but the Install was active, so I tapped Install.  Now I'm able to run the app.
After that, the UnInstall button in Google Play is active.
Tap the UnInstall to remove the app.

Voila, it's gone!

I guess the uninstall button wont be visible unless the app is updated to the current version in playstore. If you din't have an updated version of the app that you are trying to uninstall this way it will show you two options i.e. Open Or Update. You have to update the app first and then Uninstall it which is an extra step that the user has to take but thats useless since the user want to get rid of the app.

@Firelord: 1) Yes, I mean all the above was run within the Google Play Store app on your mobile device.  The app allows uninstalling of apps you have already installed (but it won't uninstall apps that were pre-loaded onto your device, sigh).

@Firelord 2) Clarification: in step 3, I use the Google Play Store app to re-install the app, allowing me to run it.  I return to the Google Play Store (and again look up the app in question) for steps 4 and 5.  Hope that clears things up.


text:
Is it normal for my Galaxy S5 to always bring up a prompt to "check battery cover" when powering up/rebooting?
I recently got a Galaxy S5 and I'm new to the android platform so apologies in advance if this is an obvious question.
I've noticed that my phone brings up a prompt during startup (after a full poweroff) stating to check my battery cover.  It looks like this:

Does this mean that the phone senses the cover being loose?  Or is this just a generic message that comes up every time I boot?

I have the same doubt.

Generic message after reboot. It will show everytime and I think you cannot turn it off.

This does not seem likely.  Many phones have contacts for detecting the back cover, probably one is bent or something.

There is something under cover that looks like this detector, but still it shows up after every reboot. This is probably just a reminder so you will not be sorry later


text:
can't save phone number after reset factory
I recently rooted my cellphone after reset factory , but unfortunately I can't add phone number to contacts , How I can fix it? sony xperia J 4.1.2

Well, that's weird, do one thing try tapping over the menu>settings>application manager>Swipe left to all> Look out for contacts>tap over it clear the cache and the data stored. Once done try storing the contact again and see if that works out for you ?

@FarzanNjr, that's only half the answer I've asked for. Mind to [edit] your post again to include the other half? Quoting myself: Did you something apart from rooting it? What approach did you take to root it?


text:
Google Play keeps asking for an account (new or existing) and does not start anymore
Suddenly Google Play stopped working and now it is always asking me to provide an existing account or that i create a new one. When i try to use my existing one, it tells me that that account is already installed on Android and it returns back to the "Provide existing or new account" screen. When i remove that account from my device, it allows me to provide my existing account, we walk through the screens, i skip the credit card screen, and afterwards Play does not start. When i start Play again, it again asks me for an account...
Using the same account within the email app works without problems, syncing contacs, calendar etc. works as well without any issue.
How can i find out whats going wrong with Play now after it worked nicely since i have purchased the device?

Have you tried going to (this may vary slightly depending on device) System>Applications>Play Store and tried clearing the cache and data? Worth a go. You can also get the latest Google Store (and legacy versions) on Android Police. They are signed by Google and I've been using them for years (no affiliation).

yes, i also cleared the cache on Google Play without success. Android Police? never heared about it. Is this a replacement for Google Play?

No it's just http://www.androidpolice.com they carry google apps apk files which you can install, including the play store!

Did you force stop the apps before clearing data/cache? Also do google framework as well. It might take a few minutes or so for google to sync its data for play store to work again. There shouldn't be any issues then.

if i force to stop every google app like play services, play store and google framework, and then clear those caches, and re-run Google Play, it asks me to connect using an existing or new account. When i provide an existing Gmail account (which i use as email on hte devices as well), right after waiting some moments and after confirming the Google usage notice checkbox, Google Play services terminate with a small popup telling me this, and a few seconds later the device tells me that "com.google.process.gapps" has terminated.

I can then only confirm with Ok. After that, when i try to run Google Play, it asks me again to add an Google account...

Can you set to factory defaults?

Got another phone as the Mii died. Motorola seems to be stable for more than 1,5 yrs now, no single issue so far. /Ad off

This worked for me.
go to settings -> apps -> Google play.
Disable the app, uninstall the updates and re-enable it.

Try the above methods...  If they don't work I would recommend you to flash gapps for your device with proper android version and architecture...  This worked out for me. I'm running stock rom and faced the same issues.  Also don't forget to wipe cache from recovery


text:
How to open Gmail links in Gmail app or browser?
I often use links to some of my Gmail messages; these links have the form:
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/XXXXXXXXXX

and I use them for future reference in, for instance, Evernote notes.
When I open such a link in Chrome on my desktop, the corresponding mail message is opened as expected. However, if I open those links in Chrome for Android, I only get the main window of Gmail, not that specific message.
Does anybody know of a way to open permanent links to Gmail messages in an Android app?

As of 5 Oct '18, and as far as I am aware, there is no way to do so. The desktop web interface, mobile interface, and mobile application use different unique IDs and links for the messages.
For instance, using the desktop interface, you get the main/u/#/ links. On mobile web, you get mail/mu/mp/###/ links. There is no way to correspond the two.
Furthermore, the UUIDs are different for the interfaces. On mobile, you get a ~16 alpha-numeric ID. On desktop, it is ~35 alpha-numeric.
Maybe there is a method that the mobile web interface uses to shorten the length of the desktop IDs, but I can only speculate as to what it is.
But none of that would matter, because you would have to feed the link into a program or script to convert the link to/from whatever.
This does not even cover the use of multiple accounts, which have their own number in the links for the desktop and mobile web interfaces.
That being said
There is a sort of workaround that you might try. It requires a bit more work than copy-paste of a link, and it does not get you the desired outcome, but it is close.
Taken from a Web Applications Answer, you can modify your link to be a search result instead.
Follow his workaround steps. Getting the original message ID.
Your mobile link should look something like this:
https://mail.google.com/mail/mu/mp/###/#tl/search/rfcmsgid%3A<MESSAGE.ID>

And the desktop link:
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/#/#search/rfc822msgid%3A<MESSAGE.ID>

It adds to the number of items you will have listed in your notes, but it should get the job 85% done.


text:
centrally manage corporate android devices
We may be about to start rolling out android phones/tablets in our company.
We currently use non-smart phones.
We would be looking for a way to centrally manage the devices - remotely administer/wipe, track location, remotely add/remove apps, lock down devices so users can't make changes etc etc.
If we could remote control them then that would be even better.
Any suggestions for tools that would allow us to do this? If they were free then even better.

You might wish to take a look at similar questions on our site, e.g.: Which program allows remote management of Android devices?

yes i saw that, but as the thread was over a year old i thought things might have changed since.


text:
Mac OS X fastboot is just waiting (HTC M8 T-Mobile)
I'm trying to run fastboot oem get_identifier_token on Mac OS X Yosemite but I get stuck on "< waiting for device >":
➜  platform-tools  ./adb devices
* daemon not running. starting it now on port 5037 *
* daemon started successfully *
List of devices attached
FA495WM04764    device

➜  platform-tools  sudo ./fastboot oem get_identifier_token
< waiting for device >

I have enabled USB debugging
I have tried both sudo and no sudo on fastboot
I have tried restarting, changing USB ports (although they are just two on my Mac Book Pro Mid-2012).
The SDK is the latest one, downloaded today from http://developer.android.com/ together with Android Studio
I also tried downloading just fastboot-mac from HTC dev site, same happens there.

Any ideas?

Are you sure the device connected is booted into fastboot mode? To me that looks like it's booted "normally".

As Izzy alludes to, fastboot is a different completely separate boot mode. If adb is recognizing your device then fastboot won't be able to communicate with it, because it is not running on the device's side. Try adb reboot bootloader before issuing the fastboot commands.

Guys, that was the issue I realised it a bit after I posted the question. If someone adds the answer, I will accept it for other lost souls.

As others have commented you need to reboot your device in bootloader (fastboot) mode.
Easiest way, is to use the command
adb reboot bootloader

Your device will reboot and will end up in the fastboot mode. Now you can use the fastboot utility.


text:
Cannot flash a working custom recovery on a rooted LG G2 D802(T)
I own an LG G2 D802T. I have rooted it successfully with IORoot, but when I try to flash a custom recovery on it, it always fails.
I have also tried AutoRec for D802T. Although it flashes and I am able to enter into TWRP, the phone got stuck at LG Logo and the only option left is to flash a kdz through LG Flash Tool again. I have searched for it on several forums but was unable to find the answer. Also, I have tried several apps from Play Store as well.
How can I flash TWRP or CWM which work 100%?

rooting alone might not be sufficient. Is the bootloader unlocked? I have an LG O4X, and there you only can install a custom recovery after unlocking the bootloader. I'd wonder if that would be different for the G2.

What you need to do is that before you install recovery, copy the zip file for any ROM (I did CloudyG2 3.3). Then once you boot into recovery, wipe the cache and Dalvik cache, and then install the zip. Once the installation is successful, the phone will boot into the ROM without getting stuck at the LG logo. Once you are into the ROM, you can switch off the phone and try to use the key combination (vol down + power keys) to go into recovery. Or else download an app that lets you boot into recovery.
For more info, go to XDA Forums - [Complete Guide] Convert D802T to D802 with TWRP+CloudyG2+Dorimanx_Kernel. Look for my comment on page 2 for more details.


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File system content different on device and on desktop
I've got a Nexus 9 which I'm using to read PDF graphic novels.
My process for getting the files onto the device is to connect it to my PC via USB and drag the files into the Download folder on the device. From here I'm then able to manipulate the files as I see fit, such as importing them into Mantano Reader, a side effect of which is that the files get moved from Download into Mantano/books.
This is fine and good, with both Mantano and ES File Explorer on the device reporting that the files are in Mantano/books. But if explore the drive via USB on my PC, it shows that the files are still in Download. This isn't limited to a single PC either, as I've taken a look using Windows, OS X and Ubuntu.
The only thing I can imagine is that the location of the files has somehow cached, with the wrong location being reported via USB.
Does anyone have any idea why this might be?

Couldn't it rather be the files were copied to the Mantano directory (instead of being moved)? Have you checked that with ES?

No, I've looked in the Mantano folder, and the files aren't there. Futher to this, if you try doing anything with the files in the Download folder, such as copy them to the computer, it complains that it can't get the files. This is further making me think the file system is caching the table of contents, rather than reporting the files accurately.

Wait a second: In your question you write "This is fine and good, with both Mantano and ES File Explorer on the device reporting that the files are in Mantano/books" – but now you write "I've looked in the Mantano folder, and the files aren't there." So, to be or not to be (there)? With what have you checked this time? To get a clear idea, we need some consistency here :)

Long story short, when viewing the files via the device itself, they're where they're meant to be. When viewing the files via USB on my PC, they're not. This is what I was trying to clarify with my previous comment, something I obviously failed to do so.

OK, so if I got it right: The files are in the Montano folder, no longer in Downloads – but only the computer thinks different? Then that might be rather an OS question (implementation). What's the OS on the computer, and what are you using to check (e.g. "Windows 7", "Explorer via MTP")?

I've tried using Windows 8.1 and Ubuntu (using whatever the default is once you've plugged in via USB) and OS X (using the Android File Transfer app). All three of them report the same information.

That should be MTP then. Does a forced refresh of the folder in whatever file explorer you're using on the computer do any good then?

Also tried that,no joy.

OK, then I'm out of ideas, sorry.

It is an unusual one, that's for sure. Thank you anyway.

If you reboot the Nexus device and then plug it in and browse on the PC do they still show up there? The Media Manager in android may be the one that handles telling MTP what files are in what folders. Rebooting should cause Media Manager to reindex the folders. If after reboot they are not there, then Android is caching the files via Media Manager.