text:
Why can't Android Media Storage detect my new Ringtone file?
I have had this problem on both the Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 (of all phones).
I have a file, it is the same ringtone file I use on all my phones, it is an edited mp3 of a song I like.
I put this file in the "Ringtones" folder of my device.
When I go to change my ringtone, my new file is not available as a selection in the Android settings.
Rebooting the device does not cause the new file to be detected.
What I end up doing EVERY SINGLE TIME I have to add this ringtone file (I wipe my device occasionally) is finding the "Media Storage" app on my device and clearing its memory. At this point the phone thinks there are no ringtones, but then once I reboot, all the old ringtones are there along with my ringtone which has been in the same location the ENTIRE TIME.
So I have a workaround, but can anyone tell me where I am going wrong?! This is driving me nuts! Is anyone else seeing this problem?
I have to be missing something simple because all the internet forums I am reading are all straightforward "just put the file in the ringtones folder and it works like magic" which is very frustrating.
EDIT: Some additional info, I have had the file there for a couple days now, just to see if that makes a difference. Rebooted the device over a dozen times in the last couple days. The file still is not available as an option.
EDIT 2: See comments below. Seems to be something to do with how I am placing the file there, but still strange that media scan does not pick it up on reboot. Anyone know anything about media scanning? Maybe it is optimized on boot to skip folders like the Ringtone folders since those shouldn't change frequently...?

Why it doesn't turn up immediately is easy: that requires the media scanner to add its name/location to its database. But a reboot should have triggered that definitly, so something seems to be wrong there indeed. How did you add the file? Have you tried doing so via MTP/UMS (while the phone is connected to your computer)?

@Izzy I added it using ES file explorer and copied it over from cloud storage (Ubuntu One). ES signs into U1 for me and I do everything in app from there. This is usually how I always add the file since I know it is always on my cloud storage.
I just tried plugging it in, removed the file, unplugged and replugged, added file, unplugged and it was there in my ringtones without reboot. I guess the app is not triggering a media scan correctly, still weird that it doesnt pick it up on reboot till I clear the media storage app memory :/ :/. File cant be corrupt, I just re-copied it now... :(

You are probably right about the app not triggering the mesia scanner. However, a reboot should trigger it. Let me make a guess: all affected devices already run Kitkat? Because starting with that, media scanner does no longer do a full scan AFAIR (at least the apps triggering it no longer can do so in the "old way"). If I remember correctly, media scanner must now be pointed to the changed files directly.

One more note: If my guess was correct, and your devices run 4.4.2, you might have hit a Kitkat bug (Google Translate version). The work-around described there is pretty much the same you're already using.

@Izzy I am pretty sure this happened on my nexus 4 pre-kit kat. That is a good point though, I have noticed that change to the media scanner as well in kit kat. Oh well, I'm stumped.

related http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/56905/where-is-the-default-ringtone-stored

tried today on Android 8.1 and worked fine. Transfered via USB cable.

What solved it for me - I had a hyphen - in my OGG filename, changing it to an underscore and restarting the phone (Nexus 5 KitKat) made it show up

Confirmed for Lineage 14.1 and Notifications. No hyphens.

If you just copied over the file then it's permissions are like set at 600.
chmod the file to 644 so it is WORLD READABLE.
so,
chmod 644 /sdcard/ringtones/blah.whatever

also a filename with a space in it could cause an issue, do a rename anyway
so if the files name is blah blah.whatever , rename it to blah_blah.whatever
Lastly if the above are no go or already sorted correctly, goto settings-->apps and locate media storage. Force stop it, clear it's cache and then reboot. Note if you want to clear all it's data, pull your ringtones to a different directory first JIC then after your clear all data , move them back to your ringtones directory. If you are rooted just copy the file over to the correct place in /system/media/ and set perms correctly [644] and reboot.

In terms of a space in the name, you should just be able to put speech marks around the file name and extension. Or was it the whole path...

That was my first reflex, but chmod would fail silently, permissions remained at 660. For me it was the hyphen.

@Someone hmm, if chmod is "failing silently", try chattr -i <filename> you might have immutable bit set though, that would be odd, else , you are not root OR file format may not be supported or "corrupt". Use file utility to check the file.

I have a setting on my phone. settings - audio profiles - individual profile setting - custom ringtone.
here I can add any MP3 to the list of phone recognised ringtones. if you have such, then you're golden.

I had the same problem, in my case I use my favorite song as alarm, since I install new apps for some reason I can not remember I force to stop the default app for music, and I went back to it and run it again and I was able to search for music files again,,,, it seems no default app is running and that's why can not run the option.
:)

Try finding the song through your device music player. Play the song and while it is playing, select options then set as ringtone.

I came across the same problem. My new Moto E (2nd gen) would not play the ringtones I copied from my computer to my phone. I solved this problem by ignoring the message that I get from my Moto E about converting the files over to WMA files (I left them as .m4A files - music files) when I copy them from my computer to my phone and copied them back into the ringtones folder as well as the music folder. I opened Google Music player and played them and then assigned them to my alarms. What a pain in the neck! It is fixed now.

Some of the MP3 Files may have different "file name" and "file title", we can see file title in laptop using : Right click on the file -> Properties -> Details.
MP3 ring tones listed in Android by "File Titles".
   Ex: I downloaded a file named "Notify.MP3" and it is listed in Android Ring tone as "Morning Alarm 4"
Note: I'm using Android-L

I'm sorry this is so long, but if you're still desperate it might help.  I've unsuccessfully been through a lot of online advice.  I have a generic phone running 'N' (that's Nougat, right?), a Blu Vivo XL2, which has two SIM slots.  I'm only using one of the latter at present, and for some reason the guy at the store put the SIM card in slot 2.  I took T L Kannan's advice to give the ringtone file a title in addition to its name (by going back to Audacity and not skipping the Metadata part of Export audio and of course placing this version in the phone's Ringtones folder), which may or may not have helped.  Real resolution came from a bizarre experience I hadn't heard of before.

Tapping Settings->"Sound and Vibration"->"SIM 2([network name])Call ringtones" (other choices SIM 1, Notification, Other...), which brings up the list of built-in ringtones
tapping a little icon at the bottom of the display labeled "Ring DIY"
swiping down through the resulting endless list of every blessed sound file on the phone to find and select my file at the very bottom.
This brought me to a new screen which looks like a bare-bones sound editor with a big red Start button, which plays the file. Great!  There's also Cancel and Save at the top.
tapped Save, which brought up a screen with the snarky message (no kidding!) "Oh well--Good--You should name this ringtone" with the (already-named) file in an edit box and a Save button at the bottom.  It wouldn't let me not (re-)name the file (I just added a digit to the end) and Saved.  (This process BTW seems to save duplicate copies of the file under the modified names in a subfolder of Ringtones named "diy", and I think I'm up to [Filename]4 by now.)
This leads to a screen "Congratulations~Saved successfully!" with "Make ringtones" and "DIY again" buttons below.
Tapping the former brings up a popup at the bottom labeled "Make Ringtones" and a single choice; "Voice call ringtones", which led me to
a choice of SIM 1 and SIM 2.  Tapping one of them leads back to step 6 again.  Backing out of there via "<-- Ringtones" at the top takes me back to step 2, the list of built-in ringtones (and where, incidentally, still no version of my ringtone is listed!)  Backing out one more step gets back to the basic Sound and Vibration screen, where my ringtone name is now listed in a small, gray font under the SIM 2... item

But wait!  Testing the new tone by adjusting the Ring volume slider still plays the default ringtone!  Apparently this is tied to the (in my case, empty) SIM 1 slot, because repeating all of the above nonsense allowed me to attach yet another, differently-named copy of my ringtone to SIM 1, with the result that the volume slider finally plays (the equivalent of) my new ringtone!
That's ALL there was to it!
Hopefully it'll work when I get a real call.

I had the same problem.
I copied the file from Dropbox on my phone into the Ringtones folder.
The file was not found for use as a ringtone.  I deleted the file after several hours.
Then, I plugged the phone into a PC and copied the file from the PC.
The ringtone was found instantly.
Don't know why. Hope this helps someone.

I put 100 new ringtones onto my SD card but they wouldn't show up when I tried to select them. So, I played a single MP3 ringtone in my music player, then all 100 new ringtones suddenly appeared in my 'select phone ringtone' in settings/sound


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ffmpeg - Permission denied when running binary, even as root
I've compiled ffmpeg for Android with the NDK and transferred the compiled binary to /data/local, but when I try to execute the binary, even as su, the terminal returns 'Permission denied.'
The configure script I use for ffmpeg is:
NDK=/home/adam/ndk/android-ndk-r9c
PLATFORM=$NDK/platforms/android-19/arch-arm
PREBUILT=$NDK/toolchains/arm-linux-androideabi-4.8/prebuilt/linux-x86_64
./configure --target-os=linux --arch=arm --enable-cross-compile --cross-prefix=$PREBUILT/bin/arm-linux-androideabi- --sysroot=$PLATFORM --enable-pic --enable-runtime-cpudetect
ls -l ffmpeg outputs:
-rw-rw-rw- root      root 10338136 2013-12-30 15:54 ffmpeg

Hmm... Are you sure that the binary has executable permissions (even for root)? Could you [edit] your question to include the current permissions for the compiled binary? An ls -l output for the file will probably do the trick.

@dotVezz Added 'ls -l ffmpeg' output

There's your problem. Try chmod +x ffmpeg and see if that fixes it. (You may need to run that as root)

@dotVezz 'chmox +x ffmpeg' returns 'Bad mode'

Still returned 'Bad mode'. Manually setting permissions in ES File Explorer fixed the issue and the binary executed successfully.

Great! I've posted an answer which details the steps we've taken. Feel free to upvote and/or mark it as accepted.

Looking at your file permissions, it looks like a simple permissions problem. The file does not have execution permissions for any users.
You can use many different options to set permissions:

chmod should work on most cases.
You can also use many file managers to set file permissions individually. The option you wound up using, ES File Explorer, is an excellent example of such.

You should also read up on Unix Permissions if you're not already familiar with the subject. It'll be a great help in the future.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Why do people recommend rooting a device before flashing a custom ROM?
If rooting isn't required to flash a new ROM (unlocking your bootloader is), why do many people recommend rooting your device before flashing it?

I think this one really depends on the device and procedures involved in installing a new ROM. For Nexus devices, there's really no point because you can just fastboot oem unlock the bootloader. Other devices, however, may force you to use tricks that require root in order to unlock the bootloader. However, I'm not 100% up to date on non-nexus ROM installing and such so I could be mistaken.

@dotVezz That's not a comment, but an answer, go ahead posting it as such :) Maybe a hint to custom recovery wouldn't hurt either, as that might require root permissions to be installed (and on most devices is the pre-condition to flashing custom ROMs).

@Izzy, I just posted it as a comment since I wasn't quite sure of the non-nexus procedures. But I'll go ahead and put a slightly expanded version of that as my answer.

I think this one really depends on the device and procedures involved in installing a new ROM. For Nexus devices, there's really no point because you can just fastboot oem unlock the bootloader and install your new recovery with fastboot flash recovery [file].
Other devices, however, may force you to use tricks that require root in order to unlock the bootloader. For example, in order to install a ROM on a device which doesn't support fastboot, you may need root in order to install a custom recovery.

I don't remember ever having used fastboot, but I have CWM on some of my devices. So while some certainly require flashing it via fastboot, there must be other means; but I'm not aware of any such method not involving root :) +1 from me :)

authors: ป้อม'ณ้อย เจ้าชายตัวป่วน

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


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Can I record audio using the USB port on my phone?
I have a mini USB 3.0 on a Samsung Galaxy Note 3.
I'm a DJ. Can I use the USB 3.0 to record music from a phono left and right output on a DJ mixer? Obviously I'd need an adapter, but is it possible?
Or would it have to be a 3.5" headphone jack connection?

I'm no audio pro, but I'm fairly certain that something like this would require a DJ mixer that's actually made for working with Android phones, and has its own app for the phone.
Otherwise, you'd have much better luck recording over the 3.5" headphone jack.


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tried tracking my phone through android device manager. having trouble doing so.help!
i lost my s3 a few days back so i tried to locate it using the android device manager. it is showing the date i last used it on but not showing where it was last used. can someone suggest me way to see its last location?
also, i was registered with androidlost even that is not able to show my last location. keeps showing the message "message successfully sent to google who will forward it when it is online".i understand my phone needs to be online for it to show the location but it also says that if its not online my last location will be shown.

If someone found the phone, removed the SIM card, and performed a factory reset, then I'm pretty sure that AndroidLost and Android Device Manager will both be useless. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

No, I agree. I don't think any of the two services keeps a (publically available) database of "historical locations" (though Google might have such a "secret database", who knows ;)

true. but the thing is my phone way turned on for a min or two on the same number. so i just want to know what the last location was. plus android device manager shows when my phone was last used can it not show where it was used last?

If location services were disabled on your phone, then the answer is most likely "no".

I think that you can use Google instead of Android Device Manager in your particular case. Today it happened to me the very same thing that happened to you and as in your case Android Device Manager was of no use. But I typed find my phone in Google and it gave me map centered around the place where I had actually forgotten my phone. It seems the map cannot be zoomed in, but at least it can give you an hint about where the phone was before discharge.
Here's a screenshot of what I got from Google.

Better than nothing I suppose.

The "find my phone" Google search uses the same underlying engine as Android Device Manager.


text:
Pure news (scollable) not working
I want to have news appear on the home screen of my tablet so I got Pure news widget. I installed it and added the widget but the widget is empty (no news shows up). I assume I need to add a feed somehow. How is this done? In the widgests settings under the tab "providers" there's a section "feedly source" and in it there's a button to "login with credentials" and if I click on it asks me to login with Google. Should I do this? I don't feel comfortable giving my Google credentials to random people and I've never heard of a "feedly" before.


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What does it mean when a device stops showing up on Android Device Manager?
On 2 November I forgot my (brand new) Wifi-only Nexus 7 on the plane. Despite realizing it <30 min after disembarking they didn't recover the device.
I have been regularly monitoring https://www.google.com/android/devicemanager in the hope that it would come online. The device showed up but was 'last seen on 2 November' (the day I lost it). However, when I tried again today to locate my device it no longer shows up in the list. I have checked https://play.google.com/settings and the device is still listed there with visibility 'Show in menus'.
Any idea what could cause the device to suddenly disappear for the device manager? Would that mean that it's re-registered? If so, any way to find out by whom?
Cheers,
Chris.

Looking at the Help section of Android Device Manager, it's not clear if a device is removed when powered off for a long time or registered under a different account. I would suggest contacting Google directly for clarification.

Tried following your advice but didn't manage to find how to contact a human being at Google to ask clarification to! Any idea?

If the person, who got your device, gives it a reset(hard reset) and signed-in with another account(which is the default account in this case), then you might not be able to look up your device anymore. But if, he had not, then the possibility is that, he lives somewhere, where he does not have any wifi-access. Therefore you could not track him anymore.


text:
Where do I get multiwindow function?
I bought a galaxy 3 tablet with 4.2.2 system. The multiwindow option isn't there at all.  I tried resetting the device but that did not help.

Pull down notification window, and enable it.


text:
How can I configure Google Play so that it doesn't update applications when I'm using the phone?
I'd like to configure Google Play so that it doesn't update applications when I'm using my phone (Samsung Galaxy S3) or tablet (Nexus 7).
Note that I still want to have the auto-update, but only when I'm not using the phone.

"Not using the phone" means when it is in sleep/locked? or when you are not running any apps?? Please be specific.. And also tell why you need this strange requirement..

As of now the play store only controls whether apps are auto updated on wifi or not. No inbuilt solution I believe
I am assuming your phone slows down when this happens, other than that I dont see why you should need this.

@Keshava The Nexus 7 gets really slow, Samsung Galaxy S3 to a lesser extent. Not using the phone = sleep/locked, or not running any apps, any way is good.

@FranckDernoncourt AFAIK, Disabling the auto-update, and manually updating all apps when you are not using phone is only option available for now...

You can use an app for automating tasks, like Tasker,  AutomateIt, etc.
Here, for example, is a suggestion for a Tasker profile that enables auto update only when the device is plugged in for charging. You may be able to find an alternative trigger that better suits your needs, like screen off, etc.

Or you can use Greenify to hibernate google pay store and services.(only if your phone is rooted.)


text:
Can the Nexus 7 LTE connect to 3G networks?
Is it possible to connect to 3G networks with the Nexus 7 LTE? Is it possible with an unlocked device or only with limited networks or standards?
I've tried to Google it but no one seems to have ever mentioned it, except maybe a few people asking the exact same thing as I am now...
I've seen this question, but it seems to be highly outdated.

You should be able to connect to 3G networks.  I'm not sure who your carrier is, but if you are in an area where you cannot pick up LTE then 3G should be the fallback.  I used to work for Verizon Wireless and this is how all the 4G LTE phones and tablets worked.  In fact, when LTE first started rolling out it wasn't in most places, including the area where I worked.  People were buying LTE devices left and right and they ONLY operated on 3G until the LTE network got built out.

Depends on network provider.
From Nexus 7 2013 LTE Variant Available Now for $349:

Keep in mind that you won’t be able to fall back to Verizon 3G at any time, but you can fall back to AT&T and T-Mobile HSPA should you choose their service.

From Google's Nexus 7 with 4G is now available in the UK:

Buying from O2 is a different story, however. The mobile operator is selling the new Nexus 7 for £319.99, complete with a free SIM and 2GB of 3G data.

They cannot be unlocked to allow them to be used on more networks?

They can be unlocked to work on more than one network but any device can only run on the frequencies it's radios use.  For example, in the US Verizon and At&t use different frequencies for their LTE, and Sprint uses yet another.  It just depends on what radios are in your device vs. what frequencies and technologies the carrier you want to use is running on.  Most devices can support a range of wireless technologies, but that doesn't necessarily mean they will run on the carrier you want to use.  The Nexus uses GSM radios, and VZW uses a CDMA 3G network.  This is why it won't get Verizon 3G.

@JeroenBollen See Roan's comment above.

Nexus 7 LTE is not locked to any networks.  iPads aren't locked, either.


text:
Install APK on Bluestacks for Mac
How do you install .apk file on Bluestacks for Mac? More specifically, where is the directory for Bluestacks kept and do I have the 'APK Handler'?

For Windows, but might give you an idea: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/42983/how-can-i-install-apk-file-on-bluestacks-app-player

@geffchang nope not really, i clicked through to this question from that because none of the directories it mentioned seemed to exist on my Mac

@user50338 Have you tried drag-and-drop the apk file onto the bluestacks app player after opening it?

For me, this worked well:

Place the .apk in the /Runtime folder:
Macintosh HD/Applications/BlueStacks.app/Contents/Runtime/filename.apk

(Don't ask why, it was just the only spot that seemed to actually work.
Open up the terminal. Type:
/Applications/Bluestacks.app/Contents/Runtime/uHD-Adb devices

If there is one device listed, perfect.

If not, type this into the terminal:
/Applications/Bluestacks.app/Contents/Runtime/uHD-Adb disconnect

Now once you have a single device listed, type into terminal:
/Applications/Bluestacks.app/Contents/Runtime/uHD-Adb install /Applications/BlueStacks.app/Contents/Runtime/filename.apk

Source

This worked for me except in step 1 the path was /Applications/BlueStacks.app/Contents/MacOS/filename.apk and in 2 the command was /Applications/Bluestacks.app/Contents/MacOS/adb devices and in 3 the command was /Applications/BlueStacks.app/Contents/MacOS/adb install /Applications/BlueStacks.app/Contents/MacOS/filename.apk. Possibly due to newer version of BlueStacks.

@LironYahdav This was a huge help. Worked great to install local file. Confirmed working on High Sierra.

Indeed, these paths are compatible with the latest Bluestacks version, though I get an error when running the last command (install): Performing Streamed Install adb: connect error for write: closed.

From this SO post,

Open terminal and run the following command:
 /Applications/BlueStacks.app/Contents/MacOS/adb install ABSOLUTE_PATH_AND_APK_FILENAME

Other Method: This one is not a solution, but a quick workaround is to have the apk in any cloud storage like Dropbox, Drive, OneDrive etc and download it in your bluestack's Dropbox app and install it. As quoted from this apple discussion thread,

The quick and easy method is to :

install dropbox in your bluestacks.
drop your apk file into your dropbox from mac/pc/phone.
access your apk file from your dropbox in bluesstacks and install.

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


text:
Mobile Network disconnects during an incoming call
My mobile network normally remains connected so I can use apps like chat, whatsapp etc. However, during an incoming call the mobile network gets disconnected. Is this normal behavior ?
There is an app called TrueCaller that is supposed to show the caller details when there's incoming call from an unknown number. But since the mobile network disconnects during an incoming call this app always fails to show the name and shows an error message "unable to connect". It seems the normal behavior is for the network to remain connected during an incoming call.
I'm using Android Jelly Bean, 4.2.1. And previously had used Gingerbread (2.2.3) and Froyo (2.2.1). I experienced the same problem in all these 3 OSes.

May be depends on network provider.. Because for me internet works even on incoming/outgoing call..

This is normal if you are using a CDMA carrier, such as Verizon or Sprint.  GSM carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile can allow simultaneous voice and data, but CDMA cannot.  This is supposed to change with LTE devices, although last a checked it wasn't working with all of them on Verizon.  If you have a CDMA 3G only device it won't work.  I'm not positive but I think even with an LTE device on Verizon that supports simultaneous voice and data it still won't work if you are out of LTE coverage area.  I used to work for Verizon until a few months ago and this seemed to be the case.


text:
rooting device stops usb-host-mode working
After I rooted a Nexus 10, the USB Host mode is no longer available.
I have checked the original unrooted device with Chainfire's 'USB Host Diagnostics' tool and it recognises a plugged in Arduino whilst scanning for connected devices, but nothing is detected after rooting.
Originally the device had Android 4.3 - build JWR66Y, and USB Host mode worked. I rooted via the Nexus Root Toolkit and installed a rooted image of the same build, and now the device isn't detected.
Has anyone experienced this? If this is being caused by a bad image, can anyone recommend one which will work?
Update:
The rooted kernel version is
3.4.39-g446c9cf
android-build@vpbs1.mtv.corp.google.com #1
Mon Jun 10 17:11:40 PDT 2013

I'm wondering if the Kernel version is different between the rooted and unrooted builds you used. Could you perhaps [edit] your question with the kernel versions?

@dotVezz I used the image automatically downloaded by the Nexus Root Toolkit v1.8.0 http://www.wugfresh.com/nrt/

Unfortunately, that doesn't really tell me much. We'll probably want the actual information about the kernel itself. You can get it from Settings > About Phone > Kernel version. If you [edit] your question and put in the kernel info - at least for the rooted build - it might help.

@dotVezz Have updated the question

Hmm... without knowing your previous kernel info, I can't say for certain, but this and this vaguely imply that there may have been a regression regarding USB modes in the 4.3 update with that kernel version. Although the odds of your issue being different from those links are still substantial - there may be hope yet. Does anyone else have any info?

@dotVezz I got it working in the end, you were right, was a problem with the 4.3 update with that kernel version, I flashed it with 4.42 and rooted it and it all worked. If you want to add as an answer I will accept it. Cheers

According to this forum thread and this bug report, it seems that there has been a regression regarding USB modes in the kernel used in 4,3 (The version that you posted).
It seems that there is a problem with that kernel specifically, but nothing else in the ROM, that breaks USB Host Mode in some cases. There are a few possible solutions:

Flash a different Android version. An update to 4.4.2 should fix things (as it did for you).
Flash an alternative, third-party kernel and try your luck. You Mileage May Vary.


text:
How can I send many files (> 25MiB) at once as attachments?
I have 100 compressed pictures. Each of them is 2 MB. I would like to send via email everything at once as attachments (no hosting on Gdrive or somewhere else). Basically pictures will have to be sent in several emails. Is there any way to do it at once?
To put it otherwise, I'm asking for a way to automatically send multiple email messages to send all the files. Ideally not one email per file, but each email should contain as many pictures as possible based on a maximum that I would specify.
I use a Samsung Galaxy S3. I know the max size of the recipient's mailbox and pictures cannot be further compressed. I don't mind filling my recipient's mailbox.

The sending limit with Gmail is 25MB, regardless of whether you're using Android or not. Other than that, I'm not exactly sure what you're asking for. Are you asking for a way to automatically send multiple email messages to send all the files? Could you [edit] your question and specify that?

The age of sending big attachments via e-mail is over. Even if GMail would allow big attachments, no one can guarantee that the receiving mail server is also accepting it. What's wrong with hosting the file(s) on GDrive/Dropbox/Whatever and just sending the link?

@dotVezz Yes, I'm asking for a way to automatically send multiple email messages to send all the files. Ideally not one email per file, but each email should contain as many pictures as possible based on a maximum that I would specify.

I'm fairly sure there's no real way to do this automatically. The mainstream answer is to use Google Drive, and alternative answers just involve using other cloud storage options. Because of that, there's no real need for anyone to make an app that will do this for you. Like @Flow already asked, is there any reason why you can't use cloud storage?

@Flow The issue with cloud storage is that I don't want to have those files filling up my cloud account (I prefer to avoid asking the recipient to tell me when he's done, and all unlimited private cloud storage I'm aware of turn out to be crap), or have to deal with expiring links, and I don't want anyone but the recipient to be able to access it.

If you're that adverse to using cloud storage, then the next best thing to do is to just send 10-12 pictures at once (varies depending on exact size of image(s)). If you need to do this just once, then might as well as suck it up.

@WoF Well that's the thing: I need to do it more than once. Also, attachments differ for each recipient.

The best possible workaround to this (or at least the only one I can think of that would work) would be to transfer all of the pictures onto your computer, put the pictures into a folder, and then use a compression program like WinRAR or 7Zip to split up that folder into 25 megabyte chunks, and send them seperately. A self-extracting executable wouldn't work, because gmail doesn't allow for .exe files. Therefore, the recipient would have to have the know-how to extract the files from the compressed folder.

I really think that using a cloud storage provider is your best bet. If this is for your work, then the expanded storage options will probably be a justified cost. If it's personal, it's still a small fee. I think SkyDrive is something like $10/year for 25+ GiB.

It would be a long and hard way, but if you have enough time and resources you could cross compile the mail software of GNU CLI and use it from an Android app.
This way you can be sure the software won't be limiting your messages by attachment size. And if it did you could properly refactor the source code.

If he's trying to send it through SMTP (He tagged Gmail) Then the SMTP Server's settings will still limit the attachment size and mail will fail. And as Flow said, there's no way to guarantee that the receiving server will accept large attachments even if you were to work around the sending limit.

Yep, the mail servers are enforcing the max mail size, not the mail client/app.

Indeed I'm not trying to bypass the 25 MB limit, but I'm looking for a way to automatically send multiple email messages to send all the files.

Tagging gmail is not an enforcement of using a gmail client account. He might be using a non cloud mailing system. The server issues are not to mention here because the asker slightly specified not to worry about recipient account characteristics and limits.

He mentioned the recipient's email inbox size, the maximum attachment size is an entirely separate thing. As @Flow said already, there's no practical way to send large attachments over email in this day and age. Also, telling a user to cross-compile source code to run on Android is seriously not going to be an acceptable answer on this site. You can't expect a user to know how to compile code; they're not even going to be familiar with configuration or syntax of mail to begin with. You may want to check our [help] for more information on that.

authors: น.ส สุทธิชา หวังสุดดี


text:
Micromax A88 too many pattern attempts issue?
My CellPhone MicroMax A88 locked and it is showing
Too Many Pattern attempts
To unlock, sign in with your Google account.

My 'WiFi' is Off and my Mobile Data is also not enabled. I am not able to start internet on this phone.
Then I press Volume Key Up + Power Button + Home Button and reset my phone but still same issue.
I already saw this question but nothing worked. Can anyone tell me is their any other alternative to solve this problem

Possible duplicate of Can not unlock my Android device as have no internet connection.

I have tried maximum solution provided by this link but no any solution thats why i asked question

@dotVezz Are there any other alternatives, given that the answers in that link didn't work for him? Should we leave this question open?

I agree to leaving it open considering that, yeah.

I already mentioned i used worst condition factory reset but same issue any solution?

I found the solution What I did?
1- Press Volume Up+Power+Home Button it show three option

Fast Boot
Normal Boot
Settings

2- Then i clicked Settings then it have lots of option i selected Factory reset/Delete and click on Menu button ,this button you can see with Home Button then it again show Delete User Data then again Menu Button Some more option and then Ok to delete User Data.
It Resolved my Issue.


text:
How do I change my debit card details in Google Play?
How do I change my ATM card details in Google play as my old card has been damaged and I cannot purchase anything from my Android phone?

As Dan has detailed in his answer you can change it via the Play Store on your phone or you can manage your payment methods via the Google Wallet site. This should allow you to remove your old/damaged card and add a new payment method.

When you get the small white dialog with the green Buy button, press the down-arrow in the top-right corner (next to the price). Then click on Payment options and Add credit or debit card.


text:
Talk to Android Device via UDP via a wired connection
I have an application that can be controlled via Open Sound Control, a UDP based protocol. Now this works fine via wifi but I NEED a wired connection because wifi will not be available to me later for this project.
I'm using a Galaxy Note 3. I tried to attach a Ethernet->USB adapter that worked on an Android TV stick but it doesn't seem to work with the Note 3 and pretty much any other android phone I tried.
Now is it possible to either get Ethernet working or use a standard USB connection to the Host PC? It doesn't have to be available in the whole LAN, just the PC connected to it via USB needs to be able to send OSC messages to the Note 3.

This was WAY simpler than I thought it was. I was trying to get this working for days now but it's actually really simple.
My first approach was using reverse tethering, having the idea that I would need the Android device to get its Internet/LAN connection from the PC and not the other way around.
Though that is not the case, just enable USB Tethering on your android device and thats all you need.
After you did that, open a terminal emulator window on the device or open an adb shell session with the command adb shell. Enter netcfg to print out all the IPs and look for a device named rndis0 or usb0 or maybe another name, depending on your ROM or device. Simply look at all the devices that are "UP" and make sure its not Wifi or Mobile data connection, you can recognize them by the device name.
If you think you found the correct adapter (it shouldn't show more than 2-3 devices that are listed as UP and have an valid IP next to it) simply send your OSC messages to that IP adress and it will work just fine. This should work with about any network protocol.
You should be able to access the device over another computer aswell by setting up some port forwarding on the host PC to the android device IP and sending your messages to the PCs IP. Or maybe using the Android IP adress works aswell though I somewhat doubt your Router is aware of the device.
Double check the IP if its not working, it will not be the same sub network as your LAN. I made that mistake with my first try and blindly entered the first 3 number blocks without having a closer look.


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How big is Gingerbread 2.3.5 on internal 8GB memory?
How much space does the Gingerbread version 2.3.5 occupy on the internal memory drive ?
I've bought the Samsung Galaxy Player 5.0 and it promised  8GB, when I checked the size it said 5GB and only 4.85GB are actually available. What's going on ?

This seems pretty normal. The 8GB iPod Touch is similar - iOS takes a significant portion of its storage.
The device itself has 8GB of storage, but any OS takes space - particularly Samsung's flavor of Android, which has a lot of stuff added (Which, unfortunately, they don't want you to be able to remove).

Thank you for your answer and taking the time, dotVezz !! I appreciate it. I think I can live with the fact that you explained, just for being able to use my Samasung Galaxy which is a fantastic little device, helping me avoid cell phone bills, and so many other things.  Thanks again.

@Christian If you're happy with the answer, please feel free to upvote it and mark it as accepted =)

Do note too, that your standard device formatting stuff also applies (i.e. how you don't really get 1tb of hard drive space from a 1tb hard drive) Formatting eats up a chunk of it as well.  Fortunately the Galaxy Player has a microSD card slot, if i correctly recall, so that can be used to extend the capacity of the device, should you need more space -- microSD cards are also relatively cheap too, provided you're not looking for a ton of space.


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Does Android Jelly Bean 4.1 Support Microphone Audio Input from mini USB Headset?
Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 (WiFi) 16Gb device running Android Jelly Bean 4.1
This tablet has a 3.5mm jack for stereo audio out. No microphone jack. At least this is the way I'm reading the specs:  http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/mobile-devices/tablets/tablets/SM-T2100ZWABTU
I want to run Skype on this tablet https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.skype.raider
I have used Skype in my Win7 laptop with a USB headset for years with great results - high quality phone calls; as good as my home land-line phone and far better than magic jack.
Has anyone used this tablet in this configuration before or something close? Successfully?

I'd actually be surprised if the headphone jack wasn't a combined headphone/microphone jack. Have you tried any headset/microphone devices like this one from Samsung? (EDIT: Updated the link - Amazon is a lot cheaper)

I wonder, why would you need a usb headset for your device? as dotVezz suggested, you should get a headset(with built in microphone) with your device, and that is way better then you think.At least that will do your skype-type-work efficiently without any trouble. And yes those can really give you standard sound quality as well.


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Can I send text using S-voice through Google Voice?
I have a Galaxy S 3. Can I send an SMS using Google Voice using S-voice (like I can natively)?

Yes you will be able to send a SMS with S-Voice.


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Samsung Kies fails to restore all my stuff. What other software can I use to complete the process?
I spoke with the Samsung Support today, and as part of the troubleshooting process they asked me to do a backup of the phone and then reset it. I followed through and I've done that (the initial problem still remained). What they failed to tell me is that I won't be able to restore all my stuff to the phone. Because apparently, the Samsung Kies (version 2.6.1.13105_7) can only restore some parts of your data from a previous backup.
When you make a backup, it offers to include everything in the backup. Here's a list of the stuff it offers to backup.
 - Contacts
 - S Planner (Calendar)
 - Call log(s)
 - S Health
 - Message(s)
 - Videos
 - Music
 - Photos
 - Miscellaneous content files
 - Ringtone(s)
 - Applications
 - Home screen
 - Wi-Fi
 - Lock screen
 - Email account information
 - Other preferences

(Click on screenshots below for a bigger view.)

This is what it offers to restore after the reset.
 - Contacts
 - S Planner
 - Message
 - Videos
 - Music
 - Photos
 - Miscelaneous content files

Obviously, it offers to restore less than half of the things it had taken a backup of. Why offer to backup something you know you can't restore?... This makes absolutely no sense! It's absolutely insane!!
The options that I can't select for restore are greyed out. There's also a small blue warning triangle icon with exclamation mark on the side of each of these options. If I hover over this icon I get a bubble message explaining the following.

This item cannot be restored to the connected device.

What the hell is that supposed to mean?... It's still the same bloody "smart" phone! It's not like I have switched to some Samsung Bada phone or something. It's exactly the same phone?... So what the hell!?...
How do I restore the rest of the stuff like apps, app data, messages, account settings, customized settings, widgets and app shortcuts on the home screens?
I can see it has taken a backup of more than it likes to admit! I can see a whole list of APK files in a subfolder of the backup location. I recognize some of them as the apps I had previously installed. So why doesn't it want to restore them then?
File locations...
Everything that has been backed up can be found in this location.

%userprofile%\Documents\samsung\Kies\Backup\GT-I9506\GT-I9506_\GT-I9506_20140108044055

Contacts, logs, messages, calendar events, etc. is stored in

.\Calllog.scl
.\Contacts.spb
.\LockScreen.sls
.\Message.sme
.\SHealth.ssh
.\SPlanner.ssc
.\Wallpaper.swp
.\WIFI.swi

Even the Wifi settings!

Apps are stored in

.\APPLICATION\_SamsungBnR_\Abackup

Some sort of settings are stored in

.\CONFIGURATION\BR\Configuration.bk

Email messages are stored in

.\EMAIL\BR\Email.bk

Music files are stored in

.\Music

App data seems to be stored in a folder named Others
e.g. the backup files from ColorNote are stored in

.\Others\data\colornote\backup

Pictures are stored in

.\Photo

Videos are stored in

.\Video

Photos and videos are stored as actual media files and they can be read without a problem. But all the other files (scl, spb, sls, sme, ssh, ssc, swp, swi, bk) are encoded in a format I can't read, and some might be encrypted. Is there a way I can open and make use of these files and have them imported to the phone? Or is it just garbage now?

I solved the same problem with Samsung Kies (version 2.6.1.13105_7) installing older version 2.6.0.13074_14 downloaded from Samsung pages.
http://www.samsung.com/cz/support/model/GT-I9195ZKAETL-downloads

Thanks for sharing this solution! Could you please [edit] your answer and include a link to the mentioned download page?

authors: Ган Очир Жанчив


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No mobile signal after installing CyanogenMod
I have a Samsung Galaxy S 2 (GT-I9100) and baseband version I9100XXMS3. As far as I understand from this page it's a UK modem, which is where I am. When using the latest stock Android I was still able to connect to UK and Swiss mobile networks. After installing CyanogenMod 10.1.3-i9100 (but not flashing the modem as far as I know) while in Switzerland I was able to connect to phone networks, but after coming back to the UK I can no longer get a mobile signal anywhere:

Go to Settings → Wireless & networks → More... → Mobile networks → Network operators.
After some time several network operators are listed. Click "Choose automatically".

At this point, the message "Automatic registration..." displays for about a minute and then it simply says "Can't connect to this network at the moment. Try again later." The mobile signal indicator at the top of the screen stays empty and does not display an "R" for roaming.
In the Android Testing Menu (*#*#4636#*#* → Phone information) "Set preferred network type" setting is set to "WCDMA preferred" (I have no "Network mode" setting on the "Mobile networks" page). I've tried turning radio off and on again.
I have a Toggle Mobile prepaid card with plenty of credit.

Have you tried flashing a new modem that works for UK?

This is a UK modem. Why would I need to flash another modem?

Did you find any solution for this?

The modem is a part of the software, not the phone. Usually, CM builds will flash the modem as part of their flash. You've most likely flashed a US modem with the CM install, thus removing the UK modem that was installed before

see also: http://android.stackexchange.com/q/112121/1465

Looks like Toggle Mobile just doesn't work well with my setup. I bought a £2 SIM card from Lycamobile a couple months ago, and it's been working flawlessly with no setup changes. Not much of an answer I'm afraid, but I'd rather lose my remaining Toggle credit than use several more days on this.

I finally got a solution to "no service " after installing cyanogenmod 7 on HTC incredible 2. the ans is simple and est and does not have anything to do with flashing radios, reinstalling rom. simply turn the phone of and remove ye battery to take out yr sim card and switch it bak on without the sim. in it. after it has finished rebooting,
make sure the network bars are appearing even without any signal. I e, an x sign on the bars and dat. also airplane mode is off. now go to mobile network settings and choose cdma/GSM (auto) and not the preferred one. now of phone and put bak. sim in and tadaaa, yr. phone will have de most amazing. connection!

It would be great if you could take some time to make this answer readable, formatted and structured. Until then I'm going with a -1. Also, please don't duplicate answers verbatim.


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View text messages with time on the side
Today my Samsung Galaxy S3 (running Android 4.3, using Verizon Wireless as a service provider) received a software update, update_SCH-1535_MF1_to_ML1, which changed the way that text messages are displayed in the default texting app.
The time of a text message used to be displayed to the side of the message but is now displayed below the message, greatly reducing the number of lines of text that can appear on the screen when viewing text conversations. The new view also makes a picture of the sender and recipient appear, reducing the avialable width for text.
It used to look something like this:

Now it looks more like this

Is there a setting to fix this?

Might be useful to have a screen shot.


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not able to access playstore after factory reset
I am not able to access the Google Play Store on my Samsung Galaxy Y GT-S5360 after a factory reset. How can I get it working again?

Could you [edit] your question to be a bit more detailed? What happens when you try to open the Play Store?

it just freezes and goes back to home screen. Also a message comes after a while saying google play store has unexpectedly stopped working.

Try doing a factory reset again, and don't include you gmail e-mail during setup i.e before the home screen comes, once the home screen is active then go to google play and login, should be able to download the apps

@Tephanie If it doesn't work, is there a reason why you accepted the answer?

@dotVezz i am new at this

@Tephanie No worries! And welcome to the site!


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Samsung Galaxy Note 3 won't sync with google play
I just got my new Samsung Galaxy Note 3 SM-N900, but I've already got problems:
First, everytime I sync my phone with google it always comes up with sync error, I don't know how to fix this. I've tried removing the account then putting it back on but it still doesn't work.
Second is that my phone doesn't even have the google play app. When I go onto the website and try download an app it says that I don't have any devices – which I think is due to the sync error.
How can I resolve this?

What is the error message for the sync error? Is there a code / number? Why does your phone not have Google Play? Did you change the ROM of your phone, or is it like that by default?

when you goto accounts through setting and then click onto google it says sync error, i don't know why it doesn't but it has google games, gmail, google settings. i don't know what the ROM is but i didn't change anything

Wait. If you can sync with Google (or at least have the corresponding settings), Google Apps are installed. That includes the Google Play Store app. According to the contracts ("MADA", Mobile Application Distribution Agreements), manufacturers must either install all GApps, or none. Did you a) cook your own ROM, b) installed some custom ROM, or c) played with "root powers" and deleted stuff? I cannot think of a d) option at the moment, but admit I might have missed something.

Here is what Google Suggests to sync your phone:
Change date & time settings
You can try to force sync your account by manually resetting your time settings.

Open your device's Settings app Settings app.
Tap System and then Date & time.
Turn off Automatic date & time and Automatic time zone.
Manually change the date and time so that both are wrong.
Tap Home Key.
Open your device's Settings app and then System and then Date & time again.
Manually change the date and time so that both are right again.
Turn on Automatic date & time and Automatic time zone.

(Excluded 'deleting and re-adding your account' here as you already did this.)
Here are all possible options available by Google Support: Fix account sync issues
Google Play Store
In case you don't have Play Store App, you can download it from apkmirror , choose a version and install it after downloading.
You will be ask to enable 'Unknown Sources' to be able to install Google Play Store, follow this to enable:
Open Settings - Security Settings.
Scroll down to 'Unknown Sources' check the box.
After installing Google Play Store successfully, uncheck the 'Unknown Sources' box.
This will prevent everything (except the Play Store) from installing apps.

Go to Settings -> More -> Application manager. Scroll down to Google Play, and hit "Force Stop". Start Play Store, and it should start up.

I had the same issue.  Once I turned off Google 2 Step Verification, it worked just fine.

Its not an answer as to what has Google 2-step verification got to do with sync issues?


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Show messages on lock screen on Galaxy S3
Is it possible to show previews of messages (as the iPhone does) on the lock screen on a Galaxy S3 running android 4.1.2?

There is a settings on text Messaging App to Preview Messages on Lock Screen.
Go to Text Messaging App --> (press menu) Settings-->(go to Notification Settings) Check Preview Messages Option.
Or
You can use this app. It will display new messages when phone is locked.

Yes I already have that option enabled, it only shows the number of unread messages but no preview.

its default behavior.
If you wish to show messages you can use an app(look at answer). It will display Message in lock screen.


text:
Does the API expose the ability to use multiple network interfaces simultaneously?
I'd like to know if it's possible for an Android application to transfer data via WiFi and mobile simultaneously, or any other network interface such as USB or Bluetooth tethering, without requiring root privileges.
Enabling WiFi appears to disable the mobile data connection, but I want to know if this can be overridden using only the API. I'm only interested in individual applications doing this, such as the possibility of multihoming-capable VoIP or Bittorrent clients, or other peer-to-peer applications, in order to aggregate throughput capacity, improve reliability, and enable seamless handover. All ordinary ‘naïve’ applications should behave as they do currently.

I recently asked a dev about what could be done with the CHANGE_NETWORK_STATE permission. His investigation brought the surprise an app can define routes with that, so it could enforce routing data to a specific IP via 3G while WiFi is on – at least theoretically.

@Izzy: Brilliant, thanks! Provided that mobile data is still connected even though the indicator disappears, the ability to define routes via the API probably means that the answer is yes! I may be able to verify that and answer the question myself, but I'll investigate further tomorrow. :-)

Please keep us updated. I didn't post it as answer as I cannot verify. If you can prove it works, I'll make it an answer.

Tried to prove by demonstration using BeanShell for SL4A to avoid making a dummy app just to answer the question, whilst retaining direct access to the API. Found out that it's a myth that BeanShell has access to the whole API due to the lack of a Context. See my Q/A about it. Unfortunately that includes requestRouteToHost, making my investigation so far fruitless… :-(


text:
Superuser does not show prompt
Firstly I need to say that I know this topic has been discussed many times but none of answers helped and I think this question is somewhat different than the others.
I have tried to root my Android 4.2.1 phone trying various automatic methods, where all of them failed. Also rooting using update.zip does not work due to "Invalid OTA, missing scatter" error.
However I am able to get root access using "adb root" command so I have tried to root my phone manually:

'adb root' and 'adb remount' commands to gain access to system partition
downloaded newest su binary (version 3.1.1)
pushed it to '/system/xbin/su'
set suid and sgid bit: 'chmod 6755 su' --> ls -l displays '-rwsr-sr-x root     root       380532 2008-02-29 02:33 su'
linked '/system/xbin/su' to '/system/bin/su'
installed newest Superuser from Google play (3.1.3)
installed busybox (though this is not necessary if I understand correctly?)

Now it gets interesting:
When I 'adb shell' into my phone, I can use 'su' command and automatically get root privileges ($ changes to # and I can access root's files), and it is logged in Superuser app with originator as 'Shell'. BUT when I try application that needs root, it takes long (10 seconds) and then it fails (I have tried 'Root Checker Basic' from the store).
The Superuser app never shows any popup, also it is not in the log. It seems that it automatically denies all requests.
So here is my question: Have I done all steps correctly? (maybe I am missing something very important)
I am quite desperate right now (spent nearly 2 whole days trying to have this done), so I would even resort to solutions as editing some Superuser config files and enabling root access for app manually.
PS: If you need additional info, just ask, I will try to fill information if possible
Further investigation:

setting auto-allow in Superuser does not work either
running su from terminal throws exception: java.lang.SecurityException: broadcast asks to run as user -1 but is calling from user 0; this requires android.permission.INTERACT_ACROSS_USERS_FULL or android.permission.INTERACT_ACROSS_USERS.
So I need to set this permission somewhere..

I'm not 100% sure, but shouldn't the su be owned by system:system? AFAIK there's no user "root" on Android devices (hence the "invalid" negative userID, I guess). Maybe you try chown system:system /system/xbin/su and see if that does the trick. Please report back: if it works, I'll make this an answer.

@Izzy So I have tried your suggestion with various accounts, system, root, -1, random rumbers... And it is weird - it always fails with the same exception, including the "calling from user 0". Suid and Sgid bits were correct (tripple checked).

uid 0 is the most privileged user (root on Linux), so the "calling from" looks good. You can try which user belongs to this id by "suing" to it and issuing the id command. // Btw, I just checked on one of my devices, and have to take back my previous guess: su shows up as -rwsr-sr-x root root, just the size differs (104800 2013-12-31 23:32 su on my ICS device). Maybe your Superuser has an issue? Check ls -l /system/app/Super*, mine gives me -rw-r--r-- root root  570342 2012-01-01 04:41 Superuser.apk.

@Izzy Interesting. So maybe I am using wrong or outdated su. I have tried several 3 or 4 versions and none matched in size. Could you please check su -v for its version? And which Superuser app are you using (by which I mean from who)?

I'm using SuperSu (and the output is 1.86:SUPERSU) on a 4.0.3 LG O4X here (that's the device I've checked). AFAIR I've got chainfire's superuser on my other devices.

Izzy's comments lead me to correct path, so I have managed to root the device. If somebody else having the same problem (auto-root programs don't work but you can access device using adb root), here is complete how-to to root your phone manually:

Install Superuser from ClockworkMod on Google Play directly to your phone
Prepare adb as root and make /system writeable: adb kill-server, adb root, adb remount (you might need to kill adb.exe in task manager if it hangs)
Pull the just downloaded apk to your computer: adb pull /data/app/com.koushikdutta.superuser-1.apk (note: it may have different name in the future)
On your PC: open the apk using zip (for example rename extension to .zip or use WinRar)
Copy from zip system\bin\su to your working directory
Push it to your phone: adb push su /system/xbin/su
Be sure that owner is root: adb shell chown root:root /system/xbin/su
Set SUID and SGID bits on the binary: adb shell chmod 06755 /system/xbin/su
Reboot phone: adb reboot
Try su from adb: adb shell, su; prompt should change from $ to #
Try su from phone: install terminal and use command su or use Root Checker Basic from the store
If su from adb works but does not work from phone, repeat whole process from 1 but download different Superuser application from market (for example ChainsDD's version didn't work for me)


text:
How to remove useless space after removing google now search bar?
Please tell me there is a way to get rid of that blank space that was left after I removed the google now search bar from my Moto G running 4.3.
I managed to deactivate it via the apps' settings, and after a reboot the search bar was gone, but now my clock looks horrible being too low on the screen and the space where the bar was is completely useless now, it looks awful.
I really don't want to root the phone since I don't really need it, and I actually like the GUI the phone has so I don't think I'd want to change anything with a launcher as I've seen in another answers.

I don't think you can do that with Android's built-in Launcher.  Have you tried different Launchers from the Play Store?

I tried Nova Launcher and yeah I guess it achieves the goal by making the space available but I don't wanna believe I need a new application running just to move a clock up. It should be as simple as a drag and drop, like with every other icon or widget... Are there any hopes of this being fixed on kitkat?

I'm assuming that you are talking about Home screen.
If yes ,
Press and hold on Clock Widget and drag it up.
I will answer more precisely if you post a screenshot.

Yeah it is the homescreen but the clock widget wont move up, it's like if the search bar was still there, in terms of spacing but you just can't see it anymore, which is what I wanted.

Basically you can't. It's the 'persistent' search you removed, not the search widget. You could get another launcher and increase the grid size or the icon size to larger so more space is filled. Google want that bar there and it is built in to the Google Experience Launcher and the 'stock' launcher in KitKat. It's not going anywhere soon. I'd say play with Nova Launcher settings and you might have some luck.

The Google search bar is built into the launcher. You can disable the bar, but you can't remove the empty space. The best bet would be to use another launcher (like you mentioned) or to install a custom ROM.
I have a Moto G as well, and although I love the stock android look, I am now using Nova Launcher due to it's customizability and the ability to remove the search bar.

The blank space disappears when you restart the phone.


text:
Restrict posting to admin-only in group chat
Is there any option in WhatsApp that restricts posting messages by admin only? Others should not able post, but they should able to read the post.

This is impossible because the setting does not exist.
Maybe you coud broadcast to these people or try a alternative app.

Such a feature might soon be introduced, under the name of Restricted Groups:

The Restricted Groups setting can only be enabled by group admins.
Switching it on disables all chat functionality for non-admins – they
  won’t be able to send text messages, images, videos, GIFs, documents
  or voice messages, or share their location.
Admins, meanwhile, will be able to continue chatting as normal.
  Everyone else will simply have to read their messages in silence.
If a non-admin really wants to get a word in, they can do so by using
  the Message Admin button.
However, the message will need to be approved by the admin before
  going through to the rest of the group.

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/whatsapp-restricted-groups-admin-stop-messages-silence-everyone-else-mute-a8086546.html


text:
My Samsung S4 won't connect to my computer
I have downloaded Samsung Kies 3, and the computer wont even find the device. I have tried different USB ports and nothing seems to work. I have tried changing it to a media device manually but I cant find the right spot. What else can I do to get the device recognized?

When you connect does your phone start to charge?

Does it charge? Do you have the right version of Kies for your Firmware version? Can you access the phone through windows explorer and see your files? Have you tried Kies Lite or Kies Air also? Are you running custom firmware or is your device status 'custom', if so Kies won't recognise it.

I guess your Device drivers wasn't successfully installed in your pc
Here is couple of things you can do,:

Uninstall Kies
Go to device manager of your pc and remove/uninstall anything related to samsung
Reboot your device(optional)
Then Download Kies to your computer and while installing dont connect your s4 with pc.
After installation connect your Device and let it install device driver sucessfully.

Hope this will Help you, For more information See this
S4 connect issue
Link 2


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My "Avast: Mobile" security is giving me massive warnings about Trojans such as: "Android:SMSSend-DC[trj]"
I got these warnings on my Samsung phone by the "Avast: Mobile" Security application about having malware (mostly trojans). So I scanned my phone and Avast said that i had over 50 applications infected with at least 20 malwares each. Is this a malware of some sort that hit all my applications? Or just hit Avast?
I downloaded Malwarebytes mobile app to search for the viruses, and found nothing.
What should I do?

same here, seems an obvious avast problem. Let's see what they come up with. I'm on cyanogenmod 11.

Uninstalled, then reinstalled Avast. Scans now all clear.
Looks like a definite Avast issue.

Lots of users reporting about these Trojan warnings.
It may be Avast Virus Defenition Update issue.
Post From Avast Moderator

Update the VPS to 14010901

Source Forum

From Google+ found this image. I think its a similar issue.

Note that after upgrading your virus definitions to 14010901 you may still have a "Malware found" warning until you re-scan all of your apps with these updated definitions: http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=144421.msg1047406#msg1047406

From the latest reviews on the Play Store it appears as though others are experiencing the same issue this morning. I expect there is a problem with the latest definition update which is causing a lot of apps to be detected as a virus/malware.
The only advice I can give is wait for them to release a new update which resolves the issue. If there is a report issue feature within the app you could try using this, or the email address on the Play Store to ensure they are aware of the problem.


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I need help with backingup data and doing a factory reset
How do i back up data for apps, such as games? If so,is it safe to factory data reset? I'm basically wanting to know how to save my data and still be able to reset my tablet.

I've just added the backup tag to your question. For a starter, you might wish to check its tag-wiki.

In order to save apps' data you have two options:

If your phone is rooted, use the famous app Titanium Backup;
If your phone is NOT rooted, use Helium with a Windows PC.

How do i find out if it's rooted?

@valerie Rooting is something you have to do deliberately, so if you don't know, then it isn't rooted.


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Is it possible to sniff HTTP packets of Wi-Fi through firmware?
Regarding privacy matters, I wonder if it is possible, by a party, including myself and mobile telco provider firmware (on stock distributions), to sniff all the outgoing HTTP requests of a Wi-Fi network without the need of the device to be rooted? If such is possible, can you give me an example or two of how could they do it?
I know there are similar apps like Shark for Root, but they all require the devices to be rooted.

Welcome to the Android Enthusiasts! This site is for users of Android, which means that questions about development/programming are off-topic here (see the What topics can I ask about here?). Development questions are on-topic on our sister site Stack Overflow. // And guess why all those apps require root: In order to "sniff", the NIC must be switched to "promiscous mode", which is not possible without root. So you can write a sniffing app, but it cannot access the packages to be sniffed.

I think this question could be okay if it approached the issue from a security standpoint. For instance, could an app I've installed sniff my HTTP packets if I've never rooted my phone? In fact, this question isn't necessarily about developing such an app at all, now that I re-read it.

Rephrase question so it doesn't get closed.

@geffchang I have rephrased my question

Oops, I meant to say that I rephraseD the question so it doesn't get closed. But I suppose your edit is still OK.

If you have a compromised kernel, then it doesn't matter whether you have root or not. Packet sniffing app goes through the kernel's public interface for sniffing packets,  which is why they're subject to security restrictions; a compromised kernel can simply bypass all that and read the packets directly from the kernel internal data structure or directly from the hardware. Kernel code runs under supervisor mode which gives them direct access to the hardware including being able to read any parts of memory of any program running on the system.
If it's a branded phone that had been customized by your telco, they build the device image for your device, including the kernel image. In non-branded phone, it is similar situation except it's with the manufacturer. Additionally, manufacturers can also install malicious hardware.

in other words, I want to know if a provider can sniff HTTP requests through firmware, for devices that are connected to the provider's fixed line (ADSL, for example) and access the internet through a WI-FI router (for example...). Please, disregard the use case of the providers 3g/4g network. If you will, please edit your anwser so I can mark it as accepted :)

@lalalalalala: if your telco provides you with a compromised system image, then yes they can read anything in the system including Wifi communication and even encrypted traffic (since the kernel have access to the data in memory before encryption). If you don't have a compromised system though, they can only read unencrypted communications that goes through their mobile network, i.e. it is impossible for them to sniff Wifi traffic nor any data that uses secure end to end encryption on an uncompromised system.

@LieRyan: Be careful with the term "impossible" - ISPs use the defense of "network management" to justify what are essentially MITM attacks to decrypt and inspect customer SSL traffic (see Blue Coat's SSL Visibility Appliance as just one vendor example of equipment capable of seeing your SSL traffic). As soon as your traffic leaves your LAN it should be considered vulnerable to attack.

@Mr.Buster: I'm not intricately familiar with the BlueCoat appliance,  but from the limited reading I did, it seems the only way it can create an MITM connection is if you have BlueCoat's root certificate in your device, otherwise you'll get security warning from the browser (and is really your own fault for ignoring the warning). I would consider this situation as you having a compromised device.

Thank you all for your comments! When you mention that a compromised kernel is needed the reason is because that, in order to put a network device into promiscuous mode, the device's network interface driver must implement the function "promiscuous mode", right? Because, in Android, even if the driver implements it, the operating system has to be configured to access it, which it doesn't in stock distributions. So without an operating system compiled to access the driver, and maybe including a custom driver, and a phone/tab with the right radio chip, it isn't going to happen. Correct?

@lalalalalala: promiscuous mode is only needed if you want to capture other device's connection on the same network (ala wireshark or firesheep). It isn't necessary to switch to promiscuous mode to capture the device's own Wi-Fi connection (for that only system app privileges is necessary, since system apps can set global proxy setting). With that said, if your device update is managed by your telco (as is the case with most on-contract devices), they do have the ability to modify your kernel and do practically anything possible.

@LieRyan: Great! Thanks once again! Much clear now! Just one more thing.. when you talk about setting global proxy settings are you referring the android's global settings, right? (as in http://developer.android.com/reference/android/provider/Settings.Global.html)

If you're only interested in looking at HTTP requests, then it's possible to do that by installing a web proxy and configuring Android to use it. However, that's not completely reliable, as not all apps respect the central proxy settings: Firefox is an example of an app that doesn't.
A web proxy doesn't require root, but the user has to set it up by hand: you can configure it automatically only if you have root. If that weren't the case it would be a bit of a security problem in Android: a normal app could eavesdrop or otherwise interfere with other apps' network communication.
Of course, even for real packet sniffing, you only need to root the device if you want to install the sniffer on the device. To see the device's network traffic, it's much easier and more convenient to install a sniffer on a desktop Linux machine acting as a (Wi-Fi) router.

Hint for those not seeing the connection: This answer was made on a previous version of the question, which was modified after the answer was posted. // Chin up, Dan! :)

then this answer should be removed as not relevant

@MarianPaździoch it is not the fault of Dan that OP didn't give a thought to when editing their question and changing the intent upon which an answer is to be based. They invalidated the answer by changing the intent of the question, which is a bad etiquette because one is disrespecting the efforts and time of somebody that were invested into answering the question. The solution is to not delete the answer, but either revert the changes in the question (provided that does not invalidate another answer) or to accommodate both the earlier and later revisions in a single revision.

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


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Allowing app installs from “unknown sources” for Secondary Users on Android 4.4.2
I see that "Unknown Sources" under Settings → Security on Android 4.4.2 is greyed out (I can't enable it) for my Secondary user on my Nexus 7, Is it expected behavior? Is there any way to enable it?

The Secondary user is not with a restricted profile

Android by default does not allow secondary users (Restricted Profiles) to install apps from Unknown Sources.
But, under Application and Content restriction for the particular user, you can enable specific menu in Settings menu. You can check whether Unknown Sources can be enabled.

Just click it 10 times in a row and then it will ask you are you sure then just click yes and then there you go your ready

Or 20? Or, 30? This question concerns secondary users. How confident is that answer, since I don't believe secondary users have any control over this?

Please supply some source for this statement of "fact"?

Enable it from the Owner user then it is enabled for all secondary users

This is clearly not the case, as implied by the OP's own statement. Obviously they already enabled it from the owner's user profile, and that didn't resolve the issue. Also, this was already answered an entire year ago, and correctly.


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Does upgrading bootloader wipe your data?
I'm about to flash an update to Android 4.4.2 on my Nexus 4, downloaded from Google Developers, and one of the files that it's going to flash is the new bootloader version.
I wanted to know if flashing a new bootloader will re-lock my fastboot, which will require me to unlock it wiping my data, or if it will in any other way cause my data to be wiped.

It should not AFAIK, but a backup won't hurt.

I'm with @Izzy - a backup is always a good idea in these cases, and not just because of a potential wipe. For example, what if something goes wrong and stuff breaks?

Ok, I made a backup in case and then I performed the upgrade.
End result: It did not wipe my data. It did not re-lock my fastboot, or any other side effect that I could find except updating the bootloader version either.

Please use the edit link on your question to add additional information.  The Post Answer button should be used only for complete answers to the question.

@bmdixon, it seems this is the answer. He ran the update and it did not wipe his data.


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Sorting the contact by VCard's categories
My contacts are currently stored on a CardDav server (more specifically, an OwnCloud instance) and I am using DAVDroid to do the synchronization.
The problem I have is that I want to be the VCard categories to be used to sort and filter my contacts, a little like the groups of the default contact app, and the default Contacts apps does not seems to allow that. Also, moving my contacts to gmail storing to use the group feature instead is not really an option.
Regards

Welcome to the Android Enthusiasts! Please note that recommendations like Is there an app for X are off-topic here (see What topics can I ask about here? for details). For where your question might fit better, you might want to look into Where can I ask questions that aren't Android Enthusiast questions?

In fact, I gave a lot of thought to this question. My question is more of "how can I have my contacts sorted by categories ?", but given that the response will be "you cannot on the default contact app and need to install a custom contact application", I thought going to the next step directly was for the best :)

I can follow your thinking, but that's not how this site works (please see our [help/on-topic] for details). Your phrasing clearly indicates asking for app recommendations. Rather describe the problem you're trying to solve: while explicitly asking for app recommendations is off-topic here, answers might include such.

This seems like a valid issue. Leaving this open.

Open Contacts
Menu -> contacts to display
Choose Customize
Choose your email or G+ account
Select that groups to show
Hit OK and all the individuals with those labels will be shown

Source: Tested on Contacts app running on a KK 4.4

It's only working if your contact are stored on your Gmail account, it's seems. My contact account is a DAVDroid account, the only choice I have is "All contacts".


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After using lock screen 3x I decided I don't want it
I cleared all certificates from settings, lock screen.
Not sure how to proceed since I can't get certificates back. I changed to a 30 min delay for lock screen but it is still inconvenient to type in every time I want to use phone.

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts! It's great to have you here, but I'm not sure what you're asking. Could you [edit] your question and add more information? You may also want to check our How do I ask a good question? page.

Is the problem that you added a certificate for a VPN, or Exchange, or something similar, and now you can't turn the screen lock off?

It is possible you are confusing "Lock Screen" with "Screen Timeout".
Lock Screen will provide security to enter the phone.
The Display Timeout will turn off the Display to conserve battery. This seems to be the one to which you have chosen 30 minutes. On my phone this is the longest natural timeout for the display, though you can possibly exceed it (I have) with an automation tool like Llama or Tasker (maybe).
To disable the Lock Screen, see Settings > Security > Screen Lock, or possibly even the shorter path: Settings > Screen Lock.
Select "None" to eliminate the need for a PIN. You may have to provide the PIN one more time to accept as a credential.


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How can I determine what is causing my Nexus 4 to freeze?
I have a new-ish Nexus 4 with Cataclysm ROM installed (rooted, 4.3).
The device has recently started freezing - being unresponsive to button presses, but with the white LED pulsing. I have to long-press the power button and then press it again to restart.
It used to freeze occasionally - say, once a week - but over the past week or two it has started to freeze every day or at least every other day.
I cannot think of a recently-installed application or setting change that might have triggered this.
I'm wondering if there's a way for me to determine 'when' the device freezes and 'what' it is that's causing it to freeze, ideally so I can determine whether or not it is the ROM or the device at fault. Is there an application that can log device behaviour and be read by a semi-technical user like me?

You may want to look into using adb logcat. Google has a documentation page for it over here. There's also a question on our site called How can I view and examine the Android log? that you may want to check.

Probably the best way to determine if the rom is at fault is to jump back to stock rom and run that for a while, if you're still experiencing issues, then it's almost positively a hardware issue.  Logcat is a good solution after you've determined it's not a hardware issue, so you can post back the information to the rom developer(s) and it can be correctly debugged.

I might get murdered for this one, but CyangoenMod has been quite buggy and laggy for me on my HTC One, Nexus 4, HTC Desire, Galaxy S4 to various degrees. I've moved from it to an ASOP / Wanam Xposed combination so I have a stable OS with all the customisation I want. I'm not knocking CyanogenMod they're a great group but I would definitely try another ROM first as the others suggested.

There are some ways to pin down your problem. The easiest way should be reading out the last_kmsg which is normally stored under /proc/last_kmsg. The kernel logs everything in there and it can be read until the next reboot.
So reading last_kmsg always shows things that happened before the device rebooted the last time.
Another way would be using "adb logcat" or - more comfortable - the app Catlog which can record your logcat into a .txt file on the SD-Card. Be advised that logcat is not the same as a kernel message but it also includes messages from user space apps and UI stuff.
If I'm allowed to make a wild guess, I'd say that it's the ROM's fault (e.g. undervolting or something else going wrong).
Best regards!

I'm hoping it's the ROM and not the phone. I'll try the methods you mention next time the phone freezes.

Just tried reading last_kmsg and it wouldn't open with a text editor. Tried sending to Dropbox and it wouldn't. It wouldn't even copy to another location on the device.

Looks like you don't have the right to read it. Are you trying to read it as root? What are the file properties? It should be -r--r-----.


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Can I share my Android's VPN connection over a Hotspot?
I recently purchased a Chromebook which doesn't support my companies PPTP VPN. As a workaround, would it be possible to connect to the VPN on my Android (4.4) and share that connection over a hotspot? If so, how?

Unfortunately the stock Android tethering application does not work with VPNs. This limitation is an oversight in the software and not a system limitation.
However there is an application called ClockworkMod Tether that will allow you to tether and use a VPN at the same time. In fact it makes use of the standard tethering application and then fixes up the routing information to make it work.
This application does not require you to root your phone but you do need to run software on the computer that you wish to connect to your phone. Also this only works for USB tethering at the moment.
There are other alternatives to ClockworkMod Tether, if you wish to try them, including PDANet.
Hope it could help

This worked for me using PDANet. ClockworkMod seemed to want permission to use everything. PDANet needed a lot fewer permissions, but I'm still not 100% certain of its safety.

I found some information that consists of adding iptables rules using command-line in your rooted device.
I tested it on my Android 4.4 on Blu studio and it works fine.
Quoted text originally written by  SmokeyTech1 of XDA-Developers here:

You need a rooted device
Make sure you have a VPN app, like OpenVPN or DroidVPN ( I use DroidVPN and its the best)
Download Terminal Emulator
Activate your hotspot and connect to your VPN
Launch Terminal emulator and on the first line type "su" (without the quotes) and press enter
Copy and paste this to the Terminal Emulator. Make sure to paste to a new folder using Root Browser first and copy to T.E. in the exact format as shown below:

iptables -t filter -F FORWARD
iptables -t nat -F POSTROUTING
iptables -t filter -I FORWARD -j ACCEPT
iptables -t nat -I POSTROUTING -j MASQUERADE
ip rule add from 192.168.43.0/24 lookup 61
ip route add default dev tun0 scope link table 61
ip route add 192.168.43.0/24 dev wlan0 scope link table 61
ip route add broadcast 255.255.255.255 dev wlan0 scope link table 61
That's about it. Also, be sure to make a folder with Root Browser and paste the code there, as this resets after re-boot. It worked on my LG G3 on android 4.4.2

(Note: Quoted text has been edited to fit the site's formatting style.)
ATTENTION: Part of the rules where it says wlan0, this is interface that corresponds to where you want send the connection.
To send it to the WiFi hotspot, replace it with ap0
The tun0 is the VPN tunnel that you receive from the remote server.
You can list all the interfaces typing netcfg the root terminal

As for terminal emulator, I use ConnectBot:

ConnectBot allows a terminal emulator on your device for connections
  ssh, telnet and localhost.

Interesting, but a bit tedious to do regularly.  Unless someone has a way to bundle that script up and run it from a home screen shortcut or something similar?

It seems like this is a perfect opportunity for someone to make a simple app to automate this on Android.

Yes. F-Secure Freedome (a VPN client) is running on my Note 2. I have Note 2 tethered to an Ubuntu machine and an Android tablet. My tablet and laptop post a Germany IP address, while I am on the other side of the ocean.

Make sure that your data plan allows tethering.
Make sure that you are on the cell network. However, USB tether to Wifi VPN on the phone
works a bit better. I keep my connection dropped when going all over
over the air.
Depending on your flavor of Android your mileage may vary

Note 2 and the tablet are running 4.4 (CM 11 nightlies), Ubuntu is on 14.04.

Okay, thanks. I will have to play with it some more. I gave it a quick try but wasn't able to access any thing on the private network.

I've had some issues with it when it was:
Laptop - wifi - phone - vpn - verizon - internet
However, it worked better when it was:
Laptop - usb cable - phone - vpn - verizon (or wifi) - internet

I currently have a Freedome VPN subscription, and using the VPN through USB Tethering isn't working on my end (LGE Nexus 4, Windows 7 PC). If I disable the VPN I'm able to access the unprotected connection over USB tethering.

On Android device, install:

Proxoid (run on port 8081).
Internet Sharer (HTTP: 8080, SOCKS: 1080).
Ping & DNS (I need IP address of mobile phone)

Tether Chromebook and phone by USB cable.
Run:

Mobile internet connection
VPN client
Proxoid
Internet Sharer

Set mobile to tether USB connection (check the icon of USB connection on mobile changed).
Find phone IP address (Ping & DNS, Network Info, IP: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx, internet connection must be active)
On Chromebook, log in, check internet connection, WiFi should be automatically replaced by USB Ethernet.
Click the ethernet icon, Settings, proxy TAB.
Finally set on Chromebook (HTTP proxy host: IP in form xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx, port 8080, HTTPS proxy host IP, port 8081, SOCKS proxy IP, port 1080).
Try to run Chrome and browse intranet (as in mobile).

This is an extension to the answer provided by João José that would allow you to selectively direct certain traffic to VPN while letting other go directly.
I wouldn't have figured it out without João José's brilliant answer so if you will upvote this, please upvote his answer as well.
# Following rules will allow me to redirect traffic through my vpn
iptables -t filter -F FORWARD
iptables -t nat -F POSTROUTING
iptables -t filter -I FORWARD -j ACCEPT
iptables -t nat -I POSTROUTING -j MASQUERADE

ip route add 192.168.43.0/24 dev wlan0 scope link table 61
ip rule add fwmark 0x61 table 61
ip rule add iif tun0 table 61

# Configure traffic that I want to make it go through VPN
# 1. My DNS
iptables -t mangle -A PREROUTING -p tcp -d 208.67.220.220/32 -j MARK --set-xmark 0x61
iptables -t mangle -A PREROUTING -p tcp -d 208.67.222.222/32 -j MARK --set-xmark 0x61
iptables -t mangle -A PREROUTING -p udp -d 208.67.220.220/32 -j MARK --set-xmark 0x61
iptables -t mangle -A PREROUTING -p udp -d 208.67.222.222/32 -j MARK --set-xmark 0x61
# 2. Insecure websites
iptables -t mangle -A PREROUTING -p tcp --dport 80 -j MARK --set-xmark 0x61

Not sure what happened, but it worked for half a second. It worked, then I restarted my phone and it didn't work no more :( I'm on android 9.


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Digital/Physical keyboard not sending input on occasion
Motorola Droid 3
Android verison: 2.3.4
System version: 5.7.906
System update report: "Your device is up to date! No update is necessary at this time."
Phone's age: 1 year

After unlocking my screen and opening up an application that accepts keyboard input (texting apps, web browsers, notepads, ect) I sometimes cannot input any characters - both on the physical keyboard and the digital keyboard. I typically deal with this by pressing dozens of characters at random until they start to appear again.
However, keystrokes are being somewhat recognized, which can be confirmed since each keystroke envokes a small vibration (set by the "Vibrate on kepress" switch in the Multi-touch keyboard settings. Further, my choice in texting application "Chomp" attempts to guess the word you're typing as you type it. Although no characters are actually being inserted into a message when this problem is occuring, Chomp at least detects the characters and makes word/spelling suggestions. Still, no words/letters are input into any text field box.
I'm aware that a factory reset would be a favorable method of potentially finding a solution, but am looking for alternatives.

I restored my phone to the factory defaults and hadn't had the problem in several weeks. Unfortunately, the problem is back and I'm left only to assume that my phone is defective.

You can try this:
Go into Settings>Application Manager and locate your keyboard.  This could be listed a few different ways, depending on your phone.  For example, I'm using Swift Key so that's what mine is listed under.  It could say software keyboard, or whatever for your hardware keyboard.  Anyway, once you find it, tap the button to clear the cache.  Unless you have a bunch of custom settings you are probably safe to clear data as well.  Once that is done give it another try.  This will solve a lot of annoying keyboard issues, but as you said, who knows.  It could be something else going on where a reset is your best bet.  Hope this helps!

My equivalent (stock keyboard) app/process was called Multi-touch keyboard. Although Clear cache was greyed out, I was able to clear data. The virtual keyboard wouldn't start afterwards, so I restarted the phone and it came back up. Time will tell if this resolved my issue, though. I'll give it a few days worth of testing and if the problem has resolved I'll mark this as the answer.

Unfortunately, the issue persists. I installed a 3rd-party keyboard "SwiftKey" in an attempt to resolve the issue, but this application yeilds the same results.


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Transfer contacts from android to google contacts
I have a Google account, and my android is a Galaxy S. I want to transfer all my contacts from my cellphone into Google contacts. If you use the phones syncing option by default, it is a one way sync from Google contacts to your phone. I have also tried CardDav, which I downloaded from the play store. It does the same time, it just syncs from Google, to your phone.
Can some one please tell me how I can sync all the contacts from my android to my Google contacts?

How are they stored? On SIM? Or as "phone contacts"? What Android version? Have you tried if you can "import" them via the contacts app (should work at least for SIM contacts)? After that, the "normal" contact sync should pick them up.

Just tested this on my phone and my gmail, and it seems to work. I'm running 4.4 with the stock Contacts app on my phone.

On your phone, in the Contacts app: menu button -> import/export contacts
Choose export to storage and it will create a .vcf file to /storage/emulated/0/ which is the root folder for storage
Transfer this file via email, or usb to a computer where you are logged into gmail
In Gmail, go to your contacts by clicking on the little down arrow by GMail on the top left
Slightly to the right is a More button with a down arrow, click on it
Choose import, and select the .vcf file

:)

This seems like a perfectly reasonable solution. It's also straightforward and fairly easy to understand. I like this new guy.

Dawww shucks. Long time lurker, first time poster. :)

Hmmm... This didn't work for me. The last step produces no visible response. The import window just goes away. I do have 5000 contacts in a 30 Mb .vcf file. Could there be an issue there?

I get as far as exporting contacts, the file name shows up then disappears never to be seen again. I thought I could email it to myself, and import the contacts into Google. I had hoped. :( Where did the file go??

@TimothyChilds usually to your SD card, and most times it's named 0001.vcf. Generally spoken: watch out for .vcf files on your SD card; the one you just created should have a current time stamp.

On my phone, a LG L70, running Android 4.4 it is possible to export contacts to the phone like above comment.
But after that you can also import contacts from the phone storage (via Contacts --> Menu button --> import contacts). So you can import the .vcf file from the phone storage to your Google account. There is no need for a desktop computer to be involved.

From my Galaxy S4 experice:
Careful because contacts filed in your Samsung Account will not be uploaded to your Google contacts via sync.
Also, when you use the export function, only those contacts saved on your device are transferred (i.e. Samsung and Google contacts are not exported).
The only way of moving all the contacts is via the "Share namecard via". In you settings you can choose to send all the contacts in a single file. So you can send a .vcf file to your email, save it locally and then export this file to Google.
Once you are happy that all your contacts are safely stored in Google, just delete all your contacts from your mobile (I disabled google sync first just to be on the safe side) and then re-sync with Google. All your contacts should now flow from google to your device.
Also, dont waste your time with Kies. It's rubbish
Disclaimer: always backup contacts between steps just to be on the safe side. Also check your backup to ensure that all addresses, emails and numbers are being saved without losses.  Deleting all your contacts can result in loss of data, so make sure you have backups to revert to if the above doesnt work


text:
Allow auto-update of only a single app
Is it possible to auto-update selectively? For example, if I want to allow an anti-virus app to update, but no others. Can this be done? Android 4.0.4

Yes, it's possible, but very time-consuming.

Open the Google Play Store, go to Menu -> Settings.
Tap on the "Auto-update apps" and select one of the two "Auto-update apps" options to enable it.
Go back, then go to "My apps" section, locate the app you want (e.g. anti-virus app that you mentioned) and tap on it once.
Now tap the Menu button and the first option should be the "Auto-update."  Ensure the checkmark is present for this app.
For all other apps that you have installed, you will need to follow steps 3 and 4, but this time disable the "Auto-update" setting by unchecking it.

Actually, from a preventative aspect, I would disable all non-wanted apps first, then set the global setting. Otherwise one or more updateable apps could change during the long manual process!

@wbogacz I don't think you can modify the per-app setting unless the global one is enabled first.

fair enough, I didn't know the checkbox was restricted that way.

Actually for steps 4 and 5 there is bulk functionality provided by Titanium Backup app (Market Tools > Market Auto Updates). It's available in PRO (paid) version only.

It doesn't work anymore. Now when clicking the menu button nothing happen. I cannot find other ways to achieve the same result. The "auto-update" tick seems to be completely removed.

It worked for me now; Google Play vers 5.7.10 :)

@Kamafeather This works for me with Play Store version 7.9.80

@wbogacz I guess you can turn on airplane mode before. (Not tested.)

First turn on auto update in the main settings of the Play store. Then, you will have to manually open each app in the app store, and un-select auto-update. This will be a painful task, especially if you have more than a handful apps.
Tested on Play Store 4.5.10

Doesn't work anymore. Clicking the phone menu button will not open anything. The "auto-update" checkbox is nowhere now.

If you don't want to root your phone, there's Play Apps Updater. I just installed it and it seems to work, although I can't vouch for it other than that.
Also note that this is a duplicate of How to enable Play Store auto-update for just a few apps?


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Lock Screen Pattern Too Small After Android 4.3 Update on Samsung Galaxy S3
A few days ago, my Samsung Galaxy S3 finally got the OTA update to Android 4.3 from Verizon.
Before the update, when I was running Android 4.1.2, the pattern on my lock screen looked like the 1st image below. Not only was the pattern larger, but it also had a visible "shadow", providing an easy way to see how big each circle is before you begin highlighting.
After the update to Android 4.3, the pattern on my lock screen now looks like the 2nd image below. The pattern has decreased in size by about 30%, and it is now harder to see where each circle is before you begin highlighting (as I have started to do in the image below).
So my question is two-fold:
1) Does there exist a way to make the lock screen pattern larger on Android 4.3 so that it looks more like it previously in Android 4.1.2 without the use of a third-party app? I don't intend on using the space provided for widgets above the pattern, so a solution that causes this functionality to be removed in the process is acceptable.
2) If no native solution exists, is there a third-party app that I can download that will allow me to substitute the default home lock screen pattern for one that is larger? I am aware that there are app-specific lock screens with large patterns, but I am referring to the home lock screen only.
Before Update (Android 4.1.2)

After Update (Android 4.3):

1) Does there exist a way to make the lock screen pattern larger on
  Android 4.3 so that it looks more like it previously in Android 4.1.2
  without the use of a third-party app?
  I don't intend on using the
  space provided for widgets above the pattern, so a solution that
  causes this functionality to be removed in the process is acceptable.

As from above images it seems that the upper widget screen is comparatively similar in both images, I think the width of lock pattern is reduced.
So, I think you can't change the size of lock pattern without the use of a third-party app

2) If no native solution exists, is there a third-party app that I can
  download that will allow me to substitute the default home lock screen
  pattern for one that is larger? I am aware that there are app-specific
  lock screens with large patterns, but I am referring to the home lock
  screen only.

AFAIK, You can't replace the home lock screen.
You can disable the home lock screen and enable the third party app lock screen, which will work as lock screen.
Example: Go Locker!