text:
HP TouchPad: After reinstalling CM9, one app refuses to re-install at all, and I cannot move apps to the internal SD card
The app in question is Viral Floating Youtube Popup (a really awesome app, try it).
The notification bar says "Couldn't install on USB storage or SD card".
Here's my relevant ADB log output as it finishes downloading and attempts to re-install:

D/Finsky  ( 5512): [1] DownloadQueueImpl.onComplete: com.Mata.YTplayer: onComplete
D/Finsky  ( 5512): [1] DownloadQueueImpl.remove: Download com.Mata.YTplayer removed from DownloadQueue
I/installd(  164): free_cache(0) avail 1346953216
D/dalvikvm(  249): GC_EXPLICIT freed 861K, 57% free 6745K/15559K, paused 3ms+9ms
W/ActivityManager(  249): No content provider found for permission revoke: file:///data/data/com.android.providers.downloads/cache/downloadfile-3.apk
D/VoldCmdListener(  153): asec list
I/PackageHelper(10147): Size of container 8 MB
D/VoldCmdListener(  153): asec create smdl2tmp1 8 fat {} 10041
E/logwrapper(17534): executing /system/bin/newfs_msdos failed: No such file or directory
I/logwrapper(  153): /system/bin/newfs_msdos terminated by exit(255)
E/Vold    (  153): Format failed (unknown exit code 255)
E/Vold    (  153): ASEC FAT format failed (I/O error)
E/PackageHelper(10147): Failed to create secure container smdl2tmp1
E/DefContainer(10147): Failed to create container smdl2tmp1
W/ActivityManager(  249): No content provider found for permission revoke: file:///data/data/com.android.providers.downloads/cache/downloadfile-3.apk
D/dalvikvm(  249): GC_EXPLICIT freed 125K, 57% free 6739K/15559K, paused 3ms+8ms
D/Finsky  ( 5512): [265] 1.packageInstalled: Package install status for "null" is -18
D/Finsky  ( 5512): [1] InstallerTask.cancelCleanup: Cancel running installation of com.Mata.YTplayer

Error "-18" (see the previous-to-last line of your log) is a typical app2sd error. Trouble is, there were remains from a previous install left on the SDCard, and now the package manager cannot create a file with a name already existing. There are two possible approaches:

if the app is already installed, and you're trying to update: Move it back to "internal storage" (e.g. via Settings→Apps, scroll to the app, open it's entry, and use the corresponding button). Then try to update again. Once succeeded, optionall move the app back to SDCard
otherwise: attach the card to your PC using a card reader (or, if you have root access, use a file-manager with root support, e.g. ES File Explorer; without root, Android will hide the folder you need to access). In the root of the card, you should find a folder named .android_secure (note the leading dot!). Navigate into it. Watch out for a file named smdl2tmp1.asec (see the corresponding error message: Failed to create container smdl2tmp1), and remove it. If you had used a cardreader attached to your PC: unmount the card safely, and put it back to your device. Try installing the app again, it should work now.

Reading the log again, it looks like the cause was a little different here: executing /system/bin/newfs_msdos failed: No such file or directory is where the trouble starts. The system was unable to create a "handler" to deal with the FAT file system on the SDCard, thus could not access it (ASEC FAT format failed (I/O error)), and then couldn't deal with the "smdl2tmp1" container because of that. In short: It looks like there's a binary missing (or it's there but lacks the appropriate permissions).

Thanks for the input, Izzy. I had done a complete removal of CM9 / HP WebOS factory reset, so there should have been nothing left to get in the way. After re-installing CM9 twice, I searched for that 'smdl2tmp1' file both times with ES File Explorer but I couldn't see it anywhere.
I gave up after a bit and installed the next CyanogenMod - CM10 - and it seems to be working fine. Thanks, though ^_^

That file is inside a hidden directory of your SDCard, which is even hidden from the user when mounted on the device, so I'm not sure whether a "search" on the device itself would show it. As written, the location is <sdcard_root>/.android_secure – that's where your apps go to when moved to SDCard. Just to remember for any eventual "next time". Glad it solved for you nonetheless; of course, formatting the SDCard would have solved the issue as well #D

Lol yeah, I'd had root access and everything. I even searched for it from the Android Debug adb tool via Windows. The .android_secure folder was visible, but it was empty. The WebOS factory reset should have solved it, but it didn't. Oh well, just hoping there isn't a next time hahah

Ugh... Just checked your log again, must have been blind: executing /system/bin/newfs_msdos failed: No such file or directory is where the error starts. The system hence was unable to deal with FAT, and could not access the SDCard because of that! So formatting the card hadn't helped at all, your system was missing a binary.


text:
Sony Smartwatch compatibility with regular headsets
I bought a Sony Smartwatch and I wonder if it can be used with any bluetooth headset to take the calls. I know there is a Smart Wireless Headset pro but it costs almost as much as the watch. Can I use the smartwatch with a regular bluetooth headset like Samsung HM1200?

The official Sony answer for my question (I didn't alter it):

In regard to your question about if the smartwatch that you purchased
  if can be use with any regular blueatooth headset and im going to use
  the same example that you put the Samsung bluetooth headset, it might
  be compatible but is not warranty that is going to work with every
  single fuction of it do to the fact that the smartwatch is build to
  work with sony devices.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
How can I only show certain cards/notifications on a specific device?
I have a couple of Android devices - a HTC One as my phone and a Nexus 7 as a tablet. Both devices have Google Now on them and the Calendar application.
I got my phone first, and set up a variety of notifications, such as Google Now telling me approximately when I need to set off to get to work, and an entry in the Calendar application for various notifications like meetings, etc.
Now that I have my tablet, I'm finding that both devices are giving me the same notifications. Is it possible to filter/only show certain notifications on one device? If so, how would I achieve this?

The latest update to google calender has 'synchronised notification dismissals across devices' enabled. So, once dismissed in one device it will not show on others. But, this will not help in duplication of the notifications.

Is that functionality only available when both devices are running the version of calendar that comes with kitkat?

Google calander is available in Play Store. It is not part of KitKat update. It should be installed on both the devices. AFAIK, it has some limitations on HTC devices.

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


text:
Clickable Phone Numbers on a Wifi Only Tablet?
I have an Android tablet running KitKat.  It is a basic tablet that only connects over WiFi.  Apps like GrooveIP and Talkatone do allow me to make calls with it, but I have to copy and paste, or manually enter, every number, unless the number is in my Google Voice contacts.
On a smartphone, as an example, if I were to go into Google Maps, and look up a business, the phone number would be a clickable link.  It would automatically initiate a call.  On my tablet, any phone numbers I find anywhere - Google Maps, websites, even Google Contacts, are not clickable.
Are there any apps out there that can make the phone numbers on my tablet clickable?
Thanks!

Hm, what about e.g. Clipboard Dialer? For details, please see my answer here.

I have a Nexus 7. Unfortunately, according to the Play Store, Clipboard Dialer does not appear to be compatible.  Any other ideas?

Maybe SnipFolio, at least according to its description: If you copy a phone number, SnipFolio lets you dial it with one click.

Also not compatible. I can't figure out if the Nexus 7 is the problem, or if these apps just haven't been updated for KitKat yet.  Also, I haven't yet been able to figure out a way to even select a phone number in Google Maps.  Clicking, clicking and holding, clicking and dragging all do nothing.

Okay, I found an app called Copy and Dial (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fsalgado.copydial) which lives up to its name and seems to work on KitKat.  In a browser, I can highlight a phone number, hit Share, and send it to GrooveIP, but this is nearly as many clicks as just copying from the browser and pasting into GrooveIP.
It does not "linkify" the phone numbers in my browser.  And in Google Maps, I still, mysteriously, cannot even select a phone number I see on the screen.

I'm out of ideas then. Except that an alternative ROM might help: if you google for "android linkify phone numbers", you see there's a specific Linkify class responsible for that, which has a method gatherTelLinks(). It could be this was "voided" by the ROM creator, and thus does nothing on your tablet. Of course, Google apps would most likely rely on that API code, which would explain things.


text:
How to change the order of the users on the lock screen?
I have setup a tablet for my 2yo son. I am the primary user, with root access, etc. Because of this, I am the first user on the lock screen. I would prefer if the tablet defaulted to his user account, so he doesn't have to click the tiny user button to get his login on power up. Does anyone know how?
I tried altering the order of users inside /data/system/users/userlist.xml, but it reverted back to the original file on reboot.
The tablet is running Android 4.2.2.


text:
Device doesn't mount in Ubuntu 12.04
I have an Android device (ICS) and it is visible and perfectly usable via ADB in Ubuntu 12.04. However Ubuntu can't mount it.
I can't find it on /mnt or /media. How is that possible?
I know there are tools for mounting in Ubuntu like Go-mtpfs but I don't understand how the device is connected perfectly with ADB and not mounted in Ubuntu.
Any ideas?

What device is it? My Galaxy Nexus won't mount either - Go-mtpfs doesn't work neither.

ZTE Blade 3. Have you tried if adb works with your device?

Hm, I didn't try to be honest.

Maybe adbfs is a solution for you? That's what I use with 12.04. For details, please see may answer here.

Related (maybe even duplicate): Linux fails to mount Android device in USB MSC mode. Further related: File Transfer: How to transfer files betwen my Xperia Neo (Android 2.3) and Kubuntu Linux? / How do I make my Linux PC mount my Android 4.2.2 phone using MTP? / mounting google nexus s on linux at fastboot mode screen

I'd recommend upgrading to 13.04 or 13.10, which have much better MTP support out of the box.

Android allows mounting of removable media over USB. Before the storage media is mounted on the host computer, the Android device unmounts it to ensure that only a single system has the storage media mounted at a time. That works fine for removable media.
When an Android device has only internal memory without any removable media (like the Galaxy Nexus and newer Nexus devices), the device cannot unmount its internal memory to let the host computer mount it. The Android OS requires use of the internal memory. Hence, mounting over USB does not work.
Some devies with internal memory only (like the Nexus S) worked around this problem by providing a separate storage partition not required by the Android OS. That separate partition could be unmounted by Android and allowed to be mounted on the host computer. Multiple storage partitions make it harder for users to manage their storage space. That is, one partition may fill up first while there is plenty of space in the other partition. So recent Nexus devices come only with a single partition in their internal memory which cannot be directly mounted on the host computer.
With such devices, mounting the internal memory on the host computer can be achieved with go-mtpfs using MTP and FUSE. I have tested the following on Ubuntu 12.04.1.
Setup:
$ sudo apt-get install golang fuse git-core libmtp-dev libfuse-dev
$ mkdir /tmp/go-mtpfs
$ export GOPATH=/tmp/go-mtpfs
$ go get github.com/hanwen/go-mtpfs
$ sudo mv /tmp/go-mtpfs/bin/go-mtpfs /usr/bin/
$ sudo adduser $USER fuse

Mount an Android device:
$ mkdir /tmp/AndroidDevice
$ go-mtpfs /tmp/AndroidDevice &

Use the mounted filesystem:
$ ls /tmp/AndroidDevice
Internal storage
$ ls /tmp/AndroidDevice/Internal\ storage/
...

Unmount:
$ fusermount -u /tmp/AndroidDevice

References:

http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/11/18/impromptu-qa-session-with-android-engineer-dan-morrill-brings-to-light-reasons-behind-galaxy-nexus-lack-of-usb-mass-storage/
http://blog.itsbilal.com/2012/12/connect-an-android-4-0-phonetablet-to-ubuntu-the-reliable-way/

You can [edit] your post with the added information in your comment. And please also include a summary of the instructions in your answer - an answer should stand on its own without a link (EG, should have instructions), and links are best used to back up what you've said.

@dotVezz, My reputation does not allow me to include more than 2 links in my answer. The questioner said that he is aware of go-mtpfs. Hence I did not give detailed instructions for using go-mtpfs as an answer. He is asking why mounting does not work. He is not asking how to mount.

I didn't realize that low-rep users had a link limit. Still, if you feel that linking to instructions for go-mtpfs is pertinent, then I feel that writing them is pertinent.

@dotVezz, I deleted my comment and add it to the answer.


text:
Do I need to downgrade my Xperia J to ICS before installing a custom ROM?
I would like to install a Custom ROM in my Xperia J and its named AVD ROM. To install that ROM do I have to install the ICS first or no need?
Please help me. thank you.

If your device is rooted/unlocked, and you already use a custom recovery (like clockworkmod or twrp), there's no need to downgrade first. flashing the custom-rom will either replace the complete system, regardless of the installed version: usually, the images contain complete "disk images" for all relevant partitions.
If, on the other hand, your device is not rooted, and there doesn't exist any rooting solution for the currently installed Android version, but only for ICS: then yes, you might need to downgrade so you can gain root access to your device, and flash a custom recovery.
On some devices it might be sufficient to simply unlock the bootloader in order to install a custom recovery or flash a custom rom. If that applies to your device, I must leave for someone else to answer.

May I keep the stock kernel or must have to install new kernel ?

The kernel is part of the image, so you won't keep it either: the custom ROM will bring its own.

Not necessary...
No need to downgrade...


text:
Softkey Position for Kit Kat
On my old Tablet which was a Honeycomb on a Toshiba Thrive. The softkeys were on the left hand side when you were in landscape. Which Is convenient. When I use my Nexus 7 2013 I keep having to stretch my thumbs over to the middle to hit the home softkey.
My phone is rooted but I dont want to use cyanogenmod as when I used it it crashed several times in 1 hour yet I have used the stock rom for 100's hours with no crashes what so ever.
And advice on how to get the softkeys back to the left side?
PS: No floating softkey apps as that is a quick and dirty.

ParanoidAndroid has this as an option. I'm with you in that I much prefer having the notification bar on the bottom-right and navbar on the bottom-left - that's one of the main reasons why I put PA on my N7 (Back when I had one).

@dotVezz Thanks for tip, incredible app, would be more incredible if I didn't need to go down the flash ROM route. Rather stick to stock ROM.


text:
Applications Permissions Manager for Kit Kat 4.4.2
Before KitKat 4.4.2 there were a variety of Applications Permissions Manager. They worked but with the release if KitKat 4.4.2 they no longer work. This was a non root application so it ran on non rooted phones.
The ability to disable permissions on Applications is very useful as some need way to many permissions. Unfortunately the Google has no filter on searching for applications based on what they access. So Application Permissions Manager was an excellent security tool.

The permissions manager feature of Android is not complete yet and strictly speaking it should not be accessible. In 4.4.2 Google have removed the method that apps such as App Ops and App Ops 4.3 / 4.4 KitKat used.
As far as I know there is currently no way to access this any more. You will have to wait for Google to finish implementing it and provide a built-in method to access, or wait for someone to find another way to access it.
Quote from Color Tiger the developer of one of the apps on AndroidPolice:

Still not working, but here's a quick update:
See line 309 - those are
  the allowed fragments that can be shown. AppOps was in that commit 3
  days ago (line 329), but in the 4.2.2 build that's being sent out that
  line is removed (we've decompiled the Settings.apk).
We're looking
  for a possible different entry point (another Activity to accept
  commands to load the AppOpsSummary fragment), but it doesn't look
  good.

UPDATE: Apparently Google uses App Ops as an internal testing and debugging tool – it was never designed to be seen by end users, which is why it wasn't given a spot in the system settings, or even the developer options. Source


text:
Android KitKat Bug With Default Browser Actions
I'm having a problem with my nexus 5 and I'm getting mad: I installed Dice player as usual, after a factory reset, but Dolphin browser doesn't ask me which app should it use to play videos (from mobile youtube or other sites).
How can I reset the default app? I tried to look into settings-app-reset to default but nothing. It won't ask me to use another app, it just opens stock browser player. I tried other browsers too but no luck. Tried resetting app preferences but nothing.
I updated to 4.4.2 thinking the issue was solved but again, same problem. I did a full wipe, tried stock ROM and then Purity ROM, different kernels but no luck.
Am I the only one having this issue? Could you try to reproduce it for me?
Steps:

install a browser (dolphin browser or chrome in my case)
install dice player (or MX Player if it gets updated)
open youtube (or any site with video files) from browser and open a video. see if it asks to play it with dice player or it just opens stock browser player

What exactly do you mean by "stock browser player"? Do you mean the video opens in Dolphin?

Yes, it opens in Dolphin without asking me if I want to play the video in another player (dice player or MX player)..

This could just be a shortcoming in Dolphin. It's up to the app to decide if it wants to open a new URL itself, or offer it to other apps. Last year, Firefox had a similar problem, that it wouldn't ever offer a chooser when you clicked on a link in Firefox. Even a link to a YouTube video would open the mobile interface in Firefox instead of offering to open the YouTube app.
From your description, it sounds like Dolphin has the same problem. (I don't have Dolphin to test this myself.) You should report it to the developers and ask them to offer video links to other apps. At least they should be able to confirm whether this is what's happening.

I have a Nexus 5 with Kikat 4.4.2
Try this:

Setting>Apps
Select the 'blank app'
Scroll down until you see a button 'Clear defaults'
Click 'Clear defaults'

That how I switch between Chrome and Chrome Beta browser. Hope this help

That would help if the user had selected a default app. But the described issue is rather a bug, where this doesn't help (should be fixed meanwhile with 4.2.2). Still, your answer could be helpful for those where it's not the bug, but an accidental "always use" hit :)

Touch&hold on the video until a menu opens and at the bottom you will see something like open with an app - And thats your prompt ... select your player and have fun ... :DD

Go to task manager and select the defaults tab then select clear defaults.  Find the app you need to change then clear the defaults for that app.  Next time it should ask you.

That's a good guess, but it's the same suggestion as one of the other answers. Izzy already explained why that won't help in this case.


text:
Rotate Nexus 5 upside down?
I have a Nexus that I'd like to set up on a stand while I have it plugged in.  To do this, I have to rotate the phone 180 degrees.  Unfortunately, Android on the phone does not seem to support this.  This works fine on my Nexus 7, but not on the Nexus 5.
Is there some setting that I can change to enable this?  The phone will do normal portrait, and landscape to either side, but it will not change the display to work when it is upside down.

This is not possible without a third-party application.
A quick search on Google Play shows several apps which should allow you to do what you want.

I've tried a couple of those.  Unfortunately, they don't help.  They work for every direction except upside down.

I just tried Ultimate Rotation Control and that works all ways round, including upside down. It's a paid app but the free one has a 7 day trial.

I just tried it too, and it did the trick.  Thanks!

@SkyKelsey By default yes, but there are apps that allow/enable full rotation on phones as indicated in my answer


text:
Transparent app drawer background on a rooted phone
I tried to achieve this using Xposed FW's Gravity Box, Xblast tools but was unable to find this setting. Is there any app or mod that allows us to achieve a transparent/semi transparent app drawer background (the kind on the Google Experience Launcher). Please note that I want to achieve this without using another launcher or decompile trebuchet.apk.
I'm using Legacy Xperia CM 10.2.

I think you should be looking for Module Xposed GEL Settings (also available on the Play Store here).
It is just a re-post, but I believe this is an elaborate and clear tutorial for achieving transparent app drawer background tweak:
Change Lollipop App Drawer Background


text:
Setting the default app
When two applications are competing for the same task, how do you turn one to be the default?
For example I downloaded a Snap camera app and I'd like the stock camera app to be the default.
What do we do to set the default apps for the different tasks on the system?
Are there centralized settings on Android?

what do we do too set the default apps for the applications running on the system?

I assume you meant to ask how to set default apps for certain actions/tasks, such as taking a picture, writing an email, opening a web page etc.
The answer really depends on which version of the Android OS your device is running, and also to a lesser extent, who the manufacturer of the device is.
If you consider a Google Nexus device running the latest version of stock Android (4.4 KitKat), the OS presents you with a picker dialog to select which app you would like to launch to complete the task. In the screenshot below, I attempted to launch a camera to take a picture:

Screenshot (click image for larger variant)
You can select one of the options and then select "Always" or "Just once". As the buttons indicate, your selection will either persist for future tasks or you'll see this picker-dialog every time.
If this list changes because you uninstalled the app that you had marked as "Always" or if you installed new apps that can handle the same task, this dialog will be presented again.
Certain device manufacturers (or OEMs) may choose to modify this behavior as part of their "skinning/customization" of Android. HTC famously changed this behavior for some of their devices (for a slightly technical explanation of their change, read here). You can also see how this dialog picker has changed historically here.

what do we do too set the default apps for the applications running on the system?

You need to perform an action that multiple apps on your device are capable of handling so that the above dialog presents itself. It's hard to know when this dialog will present itself since apps and their capabilities change all the time. For example, if you installed a new camera app, you can make it the "Default" camera app by trying to launch the camera from elsewhere in the system or other apps (like hitting a button that says "take a picture").

is there a centralized settings on Android?

Short answer: No (but as of Android 4.4, you can set a default "Homescreen" app from the Device Settings-> Home. Note that you will only see this option if you have multiple Homescreen apps)
However, if you did set an app as the default handles for certain tasks, and you wish you no longer keep it the default, you can navigate to it's "App Info" page (Device Settings->Apps->pick your app) and hit the "Clear Defaults" button.

Thx reaper for your very informative & diligent answer,


text:
Customizing Google Play Newsstand feed
On Google Play Newsstand, I can select feeds for "My news" section, and when I select "Read now", I get a list of news from my selected feeds, and some news not from my selected feeds.
Is there any way I can customize the "Read now" feed and block publications or topics, etc? Or just get news from my selected feeds in the "Read now" section?

Even if I try to remove all the built-in subscriptions and just have my feeds, this app still bombards me with uninteresting junk in its "Read now" view. Anyone have a guide to getting it to show nothing but rss feeds nicely mixed together (sorted by time)? It would be a very pretty feed reader if not for all that news spam.

Flipboard does it but I much prefer the newsstand app

I’m voting to close this question because Google Play Newsstand has been discontinued since 2018 and replaced with Google News.

I am just now configuring My News on my tablet. Each news source tile has a setting menu on the far right next to its name (3 vertical dots). Pull that down by clicking, and select "Remove" from the menu, if you do not wish it any longer. Mine came with 12 pre-configured tiles, which I turned off way.
It is easy to add them back from the "Featured" list if you decide later to return to that news source.
UPDATE:I'm not seeing any direct removal of stories of the removed news sources when I first return to "Read Now", but I believe I must click through to expire the stories already presented, and then refresh to have the content cleared.
UPDATE2: Well, that's annoying. There could still be a number of items in the queue from the first opening of the app with pre-selected news sources. I may have to click through them all to see when my preferences will be adopted.

Thanks but my read now section shows content outside of my selected items in my news.  So Im looking to remove added items to my news section if you have for that, thanks

You can only remove the sources that you've added manually (via the My News tab). It seems Newsstand is more of a discovery app, so it keeps putting in new stories from new locations based on your reading habits. I've been using it for a few months and it certainly has begun to know me a lot better, but then, I like receiving recommendations and discovering stuff.
One thing I can't seem to remove is the purple and orange background stories, which, for me, seem to be local, current affairs and sports topics, which I'm not interested in. This is because you can add a new source by clicking the '+' at the end of the story, but there's no '-' button to specifically remove a story that you don't wish to receive. The only way is to ignore stories/sources you don't want to read and hope that they'll go away.

Yeah thanks.  I felt that and ive specifically not read a specific news source that I want to go away.  But it wont.  The headlines are relevant to the stuff I do read and thats why i think it keeps appearing.   the journalism of the site is shocking and there can still be discovery with the ability to remove.  Also an option to show all news from your selected sources rather than individual feeds would also be nice...

Maybe your best bet is to + the sources you do want to read from and only read the My News section. This will mean that you wont discover new sources, but at least you can keep the unwanted ones out.

But then I have to read each source individually.  I like the read now where it shows all sources together.  I want the best of both read now and my news!

Oh, I forgot about that. I guess that's the reason I don't spend much time in the My News section! BTW, you can go into my news and remove the topics (at the end) in which you're not interested. I just removed a few. But not specific sources within topics.

Remove topics? From read now or my news?  I didnt add any topics just feeds, and i dont see how to remove topics?

From My News, which directly affects the Read Now sources and discovery.


text:
Mount /sdcard with Linux
I have two Android 4.x devices, one 4.0.2 and another 4.4.2. On both, I have installed SSHelper to push data to and from the device using rsync. It worked, but the new environment does not even have a usable rm. I would like to switch over to something that works better and possibly faster.
My next attempt was to use MTP over USB with mtpfs, but that does not work, it freezes. simple-mtpfs is not packaged for Ubuntu 13.10. KDE KIO is able to read from the device over MTP, but that does not help me at all, since I want to write my own script using rsync, and it is not able to write to it.
Then I tried sshfs, I do not get any errors mounting it, but I get IO-errors whenever I even try to cd into the mountpoint. I guess the environment with SSHelper lacks something. It does not work with HTTPS and FTPS Server either. The SFTP provided with the latter works with Filezilla, though.
So how can I get /sdcard to be mounted somewhere on my Linux machine and copy and delete files from it like I want?

You might wish to try adbfs or adb push/adb pull (see my answers here and here). I use the former for quite a while now. Mounts like a normal "drive". Should be usable for rsync, though I didn't try. Of course, adb push/pull are not really suitable for "sync", but adbfs should be :)

adbfs does not sound bad. I guess that requires to install gigabytes of Android SDK? I just have tried to install a SFTP server on the 4.0.2 device. It works fine with Filezilla, but not with sshfs.

No, you don't need to install the entire Android SDK. You only need to apt-get install android-tools-adb. ADB itself is tiny and doesn't depend on the SDK. In turn, the only dependencies for adbfs are adb and fuse.

I tried adbFS and adbfs-rootless, both did not work. I wrote an email to both developers, let's see what comes around. By the way: I understand that “normal” people just use Google Drive or Dropbox and do not care about accessing the real file system, but is there no usable way to mount the /sdcard? From the Nexus 10, I cannot even get it out the device …

I can mount a few Android devices (including a Nexus 10) just fine from an Ubuntu 13.04 desktop via MTP. It worked out of the box. It might be easier asking our sister site Ask Ubuntu to help get MTP working on your desktop than trying to work around it on several Android devices.

How do you mount it exacly? Using mtpfs? Or do you use Nautilus or Dolphin?

@queueoverflow No full ADK needed, as dotVezz already noted: see Is there a minimal installation of ADB?. As for adbfs, you might wish to take a look at Tools for Android (my site), I did some corrections to make things work with Ubuntu 12.04. Guess that should do for 13.04/13.10 as well, but I didn't test. (PS: Ooops, I didn't put adbfs there for some reason? Need to check that... Ah! Watchout 4 adbfs-rootless, that's the working one. The other didn't work for me either)

If you want to give adbfs a try, here are some instructions. You need to take care to grab the right one, as there are two projects around: one is simply called adbfs, I couldn't get that to work correctly. The other is adbfs-rootless:

go to the projects github page
on that page, at the right-hand side in about the middle of the page, you find a button labeled Download ZIP. Click that to download the sources.
create a new directory, e.g. mkdir ~/adbfs-rootless, and extract the .zip to it
now first install the dependencies: sudo apt-get install libfuse-dev
change to the directory (cd ~/adbfs-rootless), and build the binaries by simply running make
copy the resulting adbfs binary into your $PATH, where your adb binary is located (for ADB, see Is there a minimal installation of ADB?)

Now you're ready to go. Another one-time job is to create a mountpoint, e.g. mkdir ~/droid. After that, connect your Android device via ADB (after having enabled USB debugging, of course). Then mount it using adb ~/droid, and do whatever you wanted to do (e.g. running rsync, copying stuff, whatever). When you're done, don't forget to disconnect: fusermount -u ~/droid.
To make things easier, I created two aliases:
alias mdroid="adb ~/droid"
alias udroid="fusermount -u ~/droid"

So I only need to type mdroid to mount, and udroid to unmount the device.
Enjoy the fun!

I did all that, however adb devices does not list any devices. It does not work with either the Nexus 10, nor with the Xperia Mini Pro. They are recognized by mtpfs, but that fails for other reasons, apparently. I have not checked whether USB debugging is enabled, though.

OK, that's not the fault of adbfs. But I might have something helpful for that as well: please see my answer here to get ADB running with Ubuntu and the Nexus :)

Once I enabled USB debugging, this kind works on the Xperia Mini Pro with Android 4.0.2. I have yet to find out how to enable USB debugging on the Nexus 10 with Android 4.4.2. It does not really seem too stable, and rsync complains about a lot of missing functions in the file system.

I cannot help you with that, unfortunately: Neither I have a Nexus, nor Android 4.2+. I'm using that successfully with multiple devices running 2.3/4.0/4.1 (of course not simultaneously, but always only with one of them connected at a time).

So mu rsync -avhE --delete --progress --whole-file --inplace copies the files, complains about chgrp being not implemented, which is fine. However, it copies the files every time, which is dead slow. So far, it is not a viable replacement for rsync over SSH (if it was not broken). -rvh does not make it better, either.

@queueoverflow, Sorry if I'm asking an obvious question or giving obvious advice, but have you enabled the "Developer Options"  menu? (Go to "Settings"->"About Phone" and tap "Build number" 7 times). USB Debugging mode can be enabled from Developer Options.

@dotVezz probably yes, or it wouldn't work at all, as adb wouldn't even recognize the device :) queue: I do all my sync stuff using FolderSync via WiFi. Works like a charm. Sync events I trigger via Tasker. adbfs I mainly use for manual work (investigation, copying some files, etc.).

@Izzy, I was actually asking because he said adb does not recognize the device in his first comment and then said that he doesn't know how to enable Debugging on the Nexus 10 in his second comment. Or.. wait, am I missing something?

@dotVezz Yeah, the OP's last comment maybe? :) "[...] is dead slow [...] no viable replacement for rsync via SSH [...]" to me implies it's at least working ;)

@Izzy I'm so confused. Is he referring to adb in that comment? does rsync only work with debugging enabled or something? O_o As far as I can see, he hasn't said anything to indicate that he's got a working debugging mode... but I might just be crazy. Educate me!

@dotVezz He's used rsync via ssh before. I've recommended trying the same via adbfs. My answer doesn't mention mtpfs. So I don't see what else could be meant. (feel free (both of you) dropping into chat for details, before we "overload" the comments. Ya know I'm always there – though sometimes a little delayed, but I always "copy" :)


text:
Is it safe to use phone while charging with portable powerbank?
I understand using phone while it is being charged by a normal charger is not advised. What about using phone while it is being charged by a portable charger (powerbank)?  I own a HTC one and i was told by a mobile technician HTC’s own portable charger only should be used for HTC one. How much truth is there to it as HTC powerbank is not available in my city and i am thinking of using Sony portable charger for charging my HTC One?

What gives you the impression that you shouldn't use a phone while it's being charged? Have you read over Does constant charging harm my Android cellphone?

Adding to that: 1) What do you guess happens when you attach your device to a computer via USB cable? (hint: it's getting charged via USB) 2) How do you guess do devs debug their apps on real devices from their computer? (hint: via USB cable, using the ADB). Conclusion (chose the correct one): A) devs are living in constant danger, B) it is safe to use the phone while charging ;) Oh: C) stop touching it when it's getting too hot. "Heavy tasks" while charging might pose a problem.

I use my phone constantly with a portable charger attached - to make phone calls, listen to music and watch video. I've never had an issue.

The HTC one charger is the same charger HTC has included with most of their phones for the last few years (5 volts, 1000 milliamps), you will be fine using it to charge any standard phone that uses USB. All USB devices use 5v, however high power devices such as tablets can require much more than 1000 milliamps, so don't use them.
There are little to no reasons for avoiding the use of a phone while charging. You'll be fine.
Powerbanks are just USB batteries, and since all USB devices use 5 volts, it will be safe. They are nearly all the same. Again, tablets may not be compatible with it though, because most tablets require a special high amperage charger.
The high amperage chargers will however charge your low amperage phone just fine.


text:
How to "flash" a single updated file with CWM Recovery?
I have modified certain .so library and want to safely flash it over existing firmware.
I see that incremental updates are possible (thinking of GravityMod2 3.0 to 3.1 to 3.2 update route); unpacking one of updates found on net, got this:
 inflating: changelog.txt
   creating: META-INF/
   creating: META-INF/com/
   creating: META-INF/com/google/
   creating: META-INF/com/google/android/
  inflating: META-INF/com/google/android/update-binary
  error:  invalid compressed data to inflate
  file #7:  bad zipfile offset (local header sig):  150328

 (seems like extra bytes in zip)

How do I prepare such updates?

After a number of attempts, found this distro at GitHub:
update.zip
Had to replace updater-binary to another version matching my phone (took it from verified and working firmware).
Next, modified updater-script to look like this:
ui_print("________________________________");
run_program("/sbin/busybox", "mount", "/system");
run_program("/sbin/busybox", "mount", "/cache");
run_program("/sbin/busybox", "mount", "/data");
delete("/system/lib/libXXXX.so");
package_extract_file("system/lib/libXXXX.so", "/system/lib/libXXXX.so");
set_perm(1000, 1000, 0644, "/system/lib/libXXXX.so");

Now attempting to unpack init ramdisk (one in boot.img)..


text:
Pop-up notification from carrier
What is this type of notification called and how can I block these?

"MTS" is the name of the carrier. The messages are all ads. I've never seen one of these in the UK, but I receive one every 20 minutes in Ukraine. I've not installed anything recently, I only swapped SIM cards.

I'm not 100% sure but they may be sending it via Cell Broadcast. To access the menu, head into Settings>Wireless & networks>Cell broadcasts and try turning it off. If it is already off, try https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.denper.addonsdetector&hl=en addons manager app will tell you what has access to what and what can send you notifications. Failing that, come back here and we'll see what else can be done.

Also there is a setting in the SMS application called 'Push Messages' that are from the network. Disable this also.

How did you get on? Did it work?

what does the message say ?

Hello from 2018, did you find a solution yet? My carrier send offers and it is annoying, I disabled everything I can and the pop-up still showing up.

I have since found that this is neither a push message nor a cell broadcast. I disabled both, yet still received these. One of the two was already disabled by default, can't remember which.
Apparently by inserting the SIM card, I got an "app" called "MTS Menu". This is the app that shows the messages. Using App Master, I found that this app comes from /system/app/Stk.apk:

"STK" appears to stand for SIM Application Toolkit, basically a feature of SIM cards that enables operators to bundle "value added services", aka bundleware/crapware.
It is really stupid that Android comes not only with this feature enabled, but also makes the source of these pop-ups very difficult to trace.

very interesting finding, mine has it not, there may be some other app that does the same; now I have to track mine down.. thx!

How did you trace it?

How to uninstall it? The system doesn't show the uninstall option. Stopping the service doesn't work either, it keeps on popping up

How the hell would you trace it?? Why is no one replying? :(


text:
64gb SDXC Cards in Galaxy S2, or 64gb SDXC cards where only 32gb supported
I spent hours looking for a solution to my issues with my 64gb Micro SDXC card that my girlfriend purchased me for my birthday.
From what I understand only capacities up to 32gb are officially supported. But thread after thread informed me that users of my phone had successfully used one. When I first plugged in my SD my phone said "Preparing SD card" and then, after a brief pause, "SD Card safe to remove". The card wasn't mounting.
I tried inserting it into my SD adapter and formatting in NTFS on my laptop. Side note - whoever designed SD adapters and ports can go straight to hell. I was terrified of damaging my expensive new card since it got stuck in the adapter, and the adapter left 1mm of space outside my laptop. Holy crap.
After formatting in NTFS the phone informed me it'd have to reformat the SD card. Progress, I thought, until after the formatting message I had the same issue.
I thought maybe my firmware was the issue and spent a couple hours trying to figure out how to jailbreak. Long story short I gave up.

Welcome to the Android Enthusiasts, Ryanman! Thanks for sharing your problem and solution, that's great and useful! But may we ask you to place the solution into an answer? As it stands now, your post looks like a problem without any answer when viewed from a list. Sure I could do that for you, but I don't want to steal your reputation and declare it mine :) // Btw, a remark: Android does not (natively) support NTFS, which is why your second try failed. Same applies to ExFAT, as far as I know.

Absolutely @Izzy ! Right now I have to wait to answer this officially as an answer (8 hours) since this is a "new" account, but I have an alarm set and will do it as soon as possible.
And thank you for the xtra info. I figured with Microsoft's control over ExFAT it might be an issue. I was hoping that with an NTFS formatted card that Android could at least recognize it and reformat in FAT on its own but at least I didn't blow $40 on this SD card for nothing!

Oh, you're absolutely correct! I completely forgot about that new-user-restriction. Great you're on it! Ping me again to upvote when done :) I'm in a comparable situation (with a 32G limited device). Your solution made me re-think about whether I should give it a try. As a Linux-guy, I had the added chance of using ext4, which is supported by Android. And as author of Android books, I could at least blame the expense at taxes partly (business-expense), so the "loss" wouldn't hit that hard :D

The Solution: Thanks to the guys on This Thread I figured it out. I also used the same tool they described, Minitool Partition Wizard, though I'm sure you could use any partition tool.
In windows on an SDXC card you can only format in ExFAT and NTFS. With a third party tool, you can make the card a FAT partition. Once you do this, the card is recognized in my S2 with no issues. I assume this will work with other phones that have "grey" support for large capacity SDXC cards.
Hope this helped y'all!

As well as being in the right format, there are two types of SDXC cards. For devices that say that cards above 32gb may not be supported, they only support the V2 Sd card, and devices that say they support above 32gb, the take both v2 and v3. V1 is now redundant.


text:
Chrome white pages and image not loading
Since I upgraded to Android 4.4 (Kitkat), I'm having a lot of problems with anything web related.
Often, when calling an URL, the loading is fast and shows nothing: the page remains white. Even refreshing won't do. Clearing the cash doesn't help either. I have to close all tabs, serveral times, relaunch Chrome or even reboot my device to get the page to load. Even then, I'm not entirely sure if rebooting the device did make it work or it's just random.
Sometimes, when loading an animated gif, it will start to load and stop and never play again. It could also just stay on the first frame.
Also, the webview of reddit's app does the same thing, I switched it to show the link inside the browser instead to see if it helps, but it doesn't.
I'm don't know if the Play Store has webviews in it, but sometimes the app just doesn't load anything and the page is also white.
At first I thought it may be my connection, but I tested over nealry 10 wifi (home, work, cafe, friends, etc.) and it seems to be very random as it starts to act weird from over time.
My device is a Nexus 4.

Have you tried a different browser, like Boat Browser or Dolphin Browser? Is the behavior still the same?

Testing with Boat Browser and so far it's working well. I like Chrome thought :(

As you have already tested, trying out different browsers might be a good alternative. I suggest you try either Boat Browser or Dolphin Browser.
My stand for Chrome Browser still remains. It is still an immature browser, and lacks many features / add-ons that are available in other browsers.

At first, I must say I didn't want to believe it. I made a lot of testing this week-end, loading images in both browser, testing different setup, etc. Boat Browser was ALWAYS loading the image where Chrome failed so many times. I don't even know how to report this to the Chromium team.


text:
YouTube "can not connect to server" error on specific videos
I started the YouTube application, looked up a song, and found it. Then I tried to load the video, but I got the error message:

can not connect to server

But I can play another version of the song on my phone, both videos can be played on my computer with Flash, neither of them without Flash. This is clearly not a Flash problem, and not a server problem. If I go back after restarting my phone, it is the same error message for the same video.
What is really the problem? How can I solve it? Is it like on a desktop browser, some videos are in Flash, some are not?

Have you tried to access the very same video from your computer? Maybe it's a problem with that specific video. Not all youtube videos are stored on one and the same machine ;)

Are you using Android 4.4.2?

This is a common problem with an easy solution.
First of all, you need to make sure you don't have any firewall, DroidWall app because they block the media server which is heavily needed by YouTube.
Secondly, if your problem isn't solved, try installing the latest Flash player.
Also, if you're on WiFi, go to the settings of the WiFi you're connected to, open up the settings, advanced settings, and then IP settings, then select DHCP. If you're on data, go to the settings and try ticking/unticking the APNS on the WAP of your operators.

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


text:
Google+ not working with proxy server since last update
Google+ on my device has stopped working since the last update. Every time, I get the message: Can't load data. Check your connection. All apps other than Google+ work absolutely fine.
My device details are as follows:
Model: Google Nexus 7 (2012)
OS: Android 4.4.2
Google+ Build version: 4.2.3.56698342
Edit: I use a Wifi on a proxy server for connection, and that's when the problem arises. When on a direct connection, the app works fine. But on proxy server, it has stopped working since the last update. Prior to this update, the app worked fine even on a proxy server.

Can you uninstall the update on G+? Then update it again via Google Play?

If you use the proxy, can you even open G+ on a browser?

@geffchang - Yes, I have already uninstalled and the re-installed the update via Google Play, but no improvement. Also yes, I can open G+ on the browser. As I said earlier, even the app used to work fine over proxy before its last update. Other apps such as YouTube, Facebook also work fine on proxy.

I was just wondering if G+ was blocked by the  proxy server. That's why I asked about checking it on the browser with proxy.

Try Settings --> Apps --> Google+ -->Clear Data & Cache
It will solve most of the issues.

already tried that. no change in status.

I had exactly the same problem, actually I've come here for the solution.
Clearing Data & Cache didn't help so I've decided to uninstall latest update. It worked for the original software so I gave a try and installed update once again. Now it works properly, so perhaps you could try to reinstall your update and see what happens?

tried it, but didn't help.

Does it work for you for the original software?

the app used to work fine prior to the last update.


text:
How to use a ringtone downloaded from Google Play store?
I bought a ringtone in the Google Play store. I wanted to make it the ringtone for my phone. It shows as being on my device, but I can not add it as a ringtone. I need to know how I can make this a ringtone on my phone. another song I have says it was added to library but the ringtone doesn't say that. How do I add a song to my library?

It might help to [edit] your question, adding a link to the downloaded ringtone (I didn't even know Playstore offered those). Also please include where "on your device" the ringtone appears. Coming from the Playstore, that's usually an app: if it had put the ringtone in the right place, it should be found automatically by the system, as soon as the Media Scanner was run. If that important part was missed: try rebooting your device and see if you can add it then as ringtone.

One more hint: In case the reboot doesn't solve it, you might wish to take a look at other questions tagged "ringtone". Some look as if they might prove helpful for your case.

The solution is possibly covered in : Set mp3 ringtone in Nexus S. In summary, copy the downloaded file to /sdcard/media/audio/ringtones, and it'll be available as a ringtone upon next boot. If this doesn't help, another way could be as given here.

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


text:
Play phone game with game being displayed on computer screen
I want to play InfiniteFlight on my computer. But it's only available for phones (and maybe tablets, I'm not sure) - I purchased InfiniteFlight on my phone, and I just had an idea -
What if we can make the game appear on the computer screen via wifi and some app? Can we do this? how can we do this?

Oh, and I'm on Linux now so any software would need to be compatible with Linux (Ubuntu)

It's called screen mirroring, and included with the latest CyanogenMod if I heard right. Knowing the term, you can try a search for it on ASE. 17 hits to check; please update your question with your results (so we see what you've already tried and why it didn't work, and know where to start), or even answer it if they could solve your issue. Thanks!

Thank you @Izzy, it definitely helps a lot when you know the correct terms to use when searching. I'll post my solution or update my question when I'd checked it out.


text:
Mobile Lost and some one else is using the mobile with a different sim
I need help to track the person who has my mobile.
My account(email) is still linked with google play on that mobile.
I can install apps from my browser from google play account.
Is there any app that I can install from google play and find the location/sim number from my browser.
Or
Erase SD memory card from browse.

You should check out the questions tagged lost-phone, which already has a lot of questions and answers to this problem, like My phone was just stolen an hour or so ago. Are there any options for tracking?

You could try using the Android Device Manager if your phone is linked to your Google account. It can track down your phone but you may not be able to erase the contents due to you need to allow that beforehand.

Doesn't tracking itself already needs to be enabled on the device? Besides, ADM never found any of my devices, though I even enabled it in the device's device manager section...


text:
Is there a way to switch Android users from the command line?
Using the following command, I managed to enable multi-user mode in an Android device that doesn't officicially support it: adb shell setprop fw.max_users 5. For good measure I also added the following entry to the build.prop file:
fw.max_users=5

There's now a Settings menu for creating additional users in my device. Upon creating a new user, I would be switched to the multi-user lock screen with icons at the bottom showing the user accounts available in the device. From there I can choose my user log-in.
Moreover, the account data of the new user survives a reboot. From this, I can conclude that multi-user mode is working.
The problem is my Android device, a media player running some version of Jellybean 4.2, normally doesn't display the lock screen. No lock screen appears when I start up the device nor after I suspend or put the device to sleep.
In fact, the only time I see the lockscreen is immediately after creating a new user. Once I've logged in as the new user, I can't switch back to the lock screen because the device is configured to show only the bottom panel and therefore I have no way to click the User icon in the Quick Settings menu of the missing top panel.
It seems a bit overkill to do some low-level system hacks just to achieve the desktop Linux equivalent of Control-Alt-F8, etc. Is there a command, perhaps using some intent or activity available via the Android activity manager tool (am) that would allow me to switch between different user log-ins or at least to switch to the lock screen that would allow me to log in as a different user?

Just a raw idea: could it help to toggle keyguard for that (which is responsible for "locking" the device)? If so, that could be done using e.g. Tasker, and you could create a shortcut to that task on your homescreen: touch that, switch screen off, then on again, and you should be presented with a lock screen – where you hopefully could switch users, and then use the shortcut to toggle keyguard off again. If that works for you, and you consider it a "valid answer", let me know and I will make it one :)

Yes there is.
When the community discovered this feature in android 4.1 (the code was exist but has not been declared yet so Google did not open the feature in Settings), I remember playing with this in my Nexus 4.
So, here are some commands that I remember for the android Terminal:

Create new user: pm create-user User_Name
To switch between users: am switch-user User_ID
To get the list of all the users: pm list users
To delete a user: pm remove-user User_ID

Hope this helps.


text:
Kitkat 4.4.2 and Play music: won't find files
I have a nexus 4 and I have been using the music downloader called music maniac. Just recently updated to kitkat 4.4.2 and now when I download music the play music app won't find it in my phone. I can find the file when I look it up in the storage settings, but when I plug it into my computer I look in the same place and it's not there. Anyway I don't know how to make it read the file I guess.

Try an Android media scanning process using apps such as
SD Scanner (other older media scan apps seem to crash in 4.4). Once done, the new files should show up in Play Music (I personally found Android's background running of the scanning process to be too slow).
It could be due to the .nomedia file (see "Hiding your files from the Media Scanner" on the Android API guide) in the folder containing the files (or even in a parent folder) which prevents the any media from appearing in Play Music. Since .nomedia is a dot file, it is considered a hidden file and your file explorer may not show it in by default and you may have to dig into the settings. OI File Manager has an option to view hidden files.
With regards to not being able to see the files on the computer. Strangely on OSX

using the Android File Transfer app that is provided by Google, the MusicManic folder /sdcard/MusicManic appears as a file and not a folder
using adb shell, it appears as a folder

using AirDroid on my Nexus 4, my computer can connect to the phone and /sdcard/MusicManic appears as a folder which can be downloaded.

So I guess for now, try use AirDroid to transfer the files across.

If you have an app like astro file manager you can just copy/paste the file from the music maniac folder to the Music folder. It'll then be in your music player playlist.  If you go to the downloaded songs tab in the music maniac app and hit the menu button, it'll tell you the file path. I think it's storage/emulated/0/music maniac. This is on my HTC  One.

I've had similar issues in connection with ROM upgrades but never figured out the cause, it never seemed to be permissions related for example, but a solution that I seem to remember worked was to "re-write" the files. Essentially you cut the files over to your PC and then copy them back in, making them "new" files from the Android device's perspective, and they show up. Might work for you, it's worth a shot.

That sounds like a failing media scanner: does a device reboot have the same effect? Or unmounting/mounting the SDCard? Both would trigger the Media Scanner.

From what I remember, rebooting the device had no effect.

Your case might be a little different from the OPs; "resetting" the media library (deleting cache/data) might have solved it, if it only figured files with a "newer timestamp" needed checking (deleting its cache+data would have forced a "full rescan"). But looks like that's completely hypothetical now ;)

What is the music format of the files? It seems that the Google Play Music app cannot recognized some file formats, just like .WMA files. I have got such music files like this on my Android devices and Google Play Music does not find them too. I solved this problem by using another music player. I use VLC for Android and it recognizes all my music files. Moreover you can specify to it the folders containing your Music (in case some of the music files which should belong to your media library are not in the Music folder). VLC is still in beta version and misses some features but it will be the best Android media player when he comes out of Beta.

I had a load of mp3 files which I tried to copy onto my HTC One and after spending weeks trying to get the media scanning working I eventually tried an Android Conversion App (MediaConverter) from Google Play. I re-converted them to mp3 and after that they showed up.
...John...

I've had this problem and the fix for me was something as silly as just renaming the folder. I originally created the folder, then moved music into it. This probably caused the issue,  but I'm  not sure.

Play Music (for me anyways) seems to only see files in the Music/ directory. If your songs are in another folder, move them into the Music folder and see if that works. If you don't have this folder you may need to create it. Play Music also seems to have a problem with files that have not been transferred from your computer over USB. Try moving your files out of the Music folder and back in again.


text:
Nexus emulator does not work in eclipse - I get a black screen with emulator nav keys
when I choose Run As->Android Application In eclipse, I get the following message:
[2013-12-12 12:54:30 - Emulator] extension WGL_ARB_make_current_read was not found
[2013-12-12 12:54:30 - Emulator] could not load func glBindBuffer
[2013-12-12 12:54:30 - Emulator] could not load func glBlendEquationSeparate
[2013-12-12 12:54:30 - Emulator] could not load func glBufferData
[2013-12-12 12:54:30 - Emulator] could not load func glBufferSubData
[2013-12-12 12:54:30 - Emulator] could not load func glDeleteBuffers
...

When I decrease memory for my virtual device and then run the app, I can see the emulator, but a black screen instead of showing the output. Is there any workaround for it?
NB: I use nexus 7 emulator.

Did you find the solution ?

The error you've included indicates that the graphics driver on your desktop machine doesn't support the GL extensions that the emulator needs. Turn off Use host GPU in the AVD settings.
Without using the host GPU, the emulator will run very slowly, especially if the app you're using is graphics-heavy. The emulator will take several minutes to start Android. You may wish to consider upgrading the graphics card in your computer, to allow it to take advantage of this feature.

Use host GPU has been disabled by default.

Have you tried any of the work-arounds mentioned here

Disable OpenGLES emulation support by renaming \tools\lib\libOpenglRender.dll to libOpenglRender.dll.disabled. Or,
Reduce the amount of memory used by the emulator. Try 900MB, if that doesn't work, try 800MB, if that doesn't work, try 700MB, you get the idea.
Manually set the resolution of your AVD instead of choosing a template like WX800 or WX720

I renamed it to libOpenglRender.dll.disabled and set the ram to 128 MB but no success. And how to set the resolution?


text:
How can I check if busybox is working properly?
I have Busybox installed, but I suspect that it does not work properly.
Total Commander ADB plugin invokes busybox mv -f and busybox rm -f commands, but it seems to fail silently.
Is there a reasonable way how to check?

"How do i know if I have busybox?"

Open Terminal Emulator and type "busybox". If it gives you a giant list of command options, it's installed. If it says "Command not found", it's not.

edit Rather than putting this in the comments: you could also try su to become root followed by busybox, busybox --version, busybox --help or anything that will give you some feedback and some clues as to what's going on.

It gives me nothing. No error, but no text either. Thats why I am confused.

Then it prints busybox and nothing else.

Titanium backup does a check and displays busybox information. Might be handy. Try the above in terminal emulator, but try SU first, as I think busybox commands need super user access!

I think it is completely broken. su followed by any of busybox, busybox --version, busybox --help does not do anything (but repeat the command to the output). No error, no output.

@RossC Where exactly in Titanium Backup? I cannot find it.

It is on the play store. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.keramidas.TitaniumBackup

@RossC I have it. I just do not see the busybox check and information in the application.

It should have 'Root Access' and a tick beside it and the text "OK ->tap for more information<-". When you click that it should show your busybox version!

@RossC Can you also put it as answer? It was very helpful.

Thanks guys! I have figured that my Busybox is broken as I have suspected. I ended up re-flashing the ROM.

Glad you got it working :)

To add to the answer above:
Titanium Backup from Play Store You can install this, and it will have Root > OK "->Tap for more Information <-." Once you click on this it will display whether your root is correct and your current busybox version.
Alternatively, using terminal commands like in the accepted answer, you may need to enter the SuperUser command first with "SU" in the terminal emulator of your choice. The prompt will change to a # sign to show you are now in SuperUser. The alternative SUDO, will give superuser on a command by command basis, e.g. SUDO Busybox.
As with the OP, sometimes reflashing the ROM is the easiest or you can use the  Busy Box Installer from Play Store.  (I have not tried this personally)


text:
Drivers for 2.3.3 device to work as MTP
I have a samsung Galaxy y device running 2.3.3 , where can i find the drivers of this device , to connect as MTP.
checked in the website of device manufacturers.
tried installing drivers from device manager also

Have you installed Samsung Kies? That has the USB drivers bundled with it. Here is your device page, contains like to Kies: http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/mobile-devices/smartphones/android/GT-S5360MAAXEU-support

For those of us who are frustrated in trying to alter the file system to MTP and cannot find how to change it. Do not despair.
If you've opened Samsung Keis and connected phone with a USB cable and got the error message, go to your phone and swipe top to bottom on the NOTIFICATIONS list you will see the USB symbol on the left hand side and the line stating - Connected as Camera. If it says - Connected Media Device - then your connected properly. To Change from Connected as Camera, tap/select the line - Connected as Camera and you will be shown another screen with the Camera option selected - Just select Media Device MTP and you will be able to connect to Samsung Keis, and all will be calm and peacful, no more screaming at the PC or mobile phone.

So, that's five answers from you, all copy-paste versions of the other. What makes you think that's a good idea?


text:
Recover data from bootlooped phone
I have a Samsung Galaxy S Plus (GT-I9003) that is stuck in a boot loop. It is running the stock Samsung firmware (Android 2.3.5). I want to recover the data (specifically of the Memo application) from the device. I can boot into recovery mode and then connect via adb shell, but I'm not allowed to read /data:
$ ls -l /
(...)
drwxrwx--x root     root              1970-01-01 00:00 data
$ id
uid=2000(shell) gid=2000(shell) groups=1003(graphics),1004(input),1007(log),1009(mount),1011(adb),1015(sdcard_rw),3001(net_bt_admin),3002(net_bt),3003(inet)
$ su
su: permission denied

How can I backup /data from this phone?

@Izzy I edited the question, but just to be sure, here are the answers: I do not have any custom ROM installed, and do not have root access. If there is a way to gain root access without overwriting the application data, that would probably be the answer to my question. As evidenced by the output, I can connect just fine via adb shell, but adb backup doesn't work as the device is running Android 2.3.5.

Looks like that device has an entry in our rooting index: Galaxy SL GT i9003. Please refer to that one for the rooting part. Apart from that: correct conclusion. adb backup was introduced with ICS, and without root you'll have no access to your apps' data below /data. Best would be a Nandroid backup, which you even could create via adb from your computer (see Is there a way to do Nandroid backup directly to pc?) root needed for that.

I was able to copy the data by first rooting the phone. After routing, I can boot up the phone in recovery mode, connect via adb shell, and use cat /dev/mmcblk0 / cat /dev/block/stl10 to get the interesting data from the phone.


text:
Unpack initramfs.cpio.gz (boot.img) from MTK6589 phone?
I can't find a proper tool to unpack boot.img from GravityMod2.
both unmkbootimg and split_bootimg.pl are able to extract same fileset (kernel, 4280320 bytes and ramdisk, 633284 bytes). I think the files are damaged (taken from wrong offsets?) - can't even find gzip/cpio signatures in ramdisk image!
Is there another specific tool to unpack Android 4.2.x boot.img, or MTK-specific tool maybe?

Yes, there were specific tools. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1587411

You can find proper tools to unpack boot, recovery, system and data images here:
mtk-tools
Thread of the author on xda developers, thank him :)
Usage:
./unpack-MT65xx.pl boot.img
./repack-MT65xx.pl -boot <kernel> <ramdisk-directory> boot.img

I also had problem extracting initramfs.cpio.gz , until I opened this file in editor and seen first 3 ascii letters  (the header) in my case it was "LZO" , so I found proper soft to decompress
"lzop -x " you can find it probably in every linux, for example knoppix has it
maybe you will notice other header in your file , so you will need to google it or have a good guess
good luck


text:
Are there any stats of Android version distribution by region?
The dashboard shows global distribution, and I wonder if there's a way to find out the difference in Gingerbread distribution between say, India and Europe.

@9re, is there a requirement on what you can trust or from where you  would disregard the statistics?  There can be sites which might be having those statistics but with a questionable or absence of a method used to gather those statistics. Do we have an understanding that background of the site or the method used for statistics is not relevant?

@Firelord I think as long as the research process is somewhat explained, then it's okay.

Not for those "ancient versions", but for Android 4.0+ you can find some stats in Christina's Blog. Giving the example matching closest to your question:

I answered a similar question some time ago. The best source I could find was this site, which bases its statistics on Internet traffic generated on the domain .mobi, managed by the domain registry Afilias, by mobile devices. The site gives access to statistics on the web usage by different OS versions (not only Android) by country. With the free access it is possible to select the country to look up, but with paid plans there are a lot of filters available to refine the queries. The process of comparing data can be lengthy, though, as you must look up country by country, there is no general overview.
Also note that: the statistics cannot be precise, as they are bounded to accesses on that particular domain name, but I think they can serve well for an overview.

StatCounter have stats by region, showing for example, India's most popular is 6.0 Marshmallow compared with 7.0 Nougat in Europe.
India:

Europe:

To get an idea how these might compare with the dashboard, have a look at their worldwide stats.


text:
Custom Launcher that supports Google Now integration?
I just upgraded to a Nexus 5 and am setting up my launcher + icons.  Right now I'm using Nova Launcher, and a like a lot of things about it, but it's lacking in Google Now integration. Two things in particular I miss:

Having Google Now start listening when I say, "Okay Google" without pressing a button - this still works once I'm in Google Now, but not on the Nova Launcher homescreen (as it does with the stock launcher).
Being able to swipe over to the left from the homescreen to get the Now screen

Are there any launchers that support these features, especially the first one?

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?

How about if I rephrase it?  My problem is "I want to be able to say 'OK Google' to start google now, and use a custom launcher at the same time. Is this possible?"

As of now, only Google Experience Launcher is capable of triggering Google Now while in Always Listening mode.

You can't. Nova are working on it at present, but the G.E.L. is built into the Search application so it may not be possible.

The Google Experience Launcher is actually built into the Google Search app along with Google Now. This is why it can listen for 'Okay Google' and have Google Now accessible via the left swipe. Ars Technica has a good article which goes into more details on this.
There are some launchers that support gestures, which might be similar to the left swipe to access the Google Now page (although they will only be able to launch Google Now in the same way an upward swipe does).
I don't think there are any that support saying 'Okay Google' from the homescreen though.

As you've indicated, both features are native to the default Launcher app that shipped with the 4.4 ROM for Nexus 5, called the Google Experience Launcher (GEL)

Having Google Now start listening when I say, "Okay Google" without pressing a button

I haven't come across any third-party Launcher app that's integrated this yet, and wouldn't count on it anytime soon. Here is what Nova Launcher's dev said on this topic. You could try apps like Open Mic+, but these would continue to be active as long as your phone is awake, and almost certainly will take a hit on the already weak Nexus 5 battery life.

Being able to swipe over to the left from the homescreen to get the Now screen

This will never be part of a non-GEL app. In order to achieve this, Google essentially packaged the Launcher app into the Search (i.e. Google Now) app. See here and here on how and why they did this. It is unclear whether GEL will be released to the Play Store as a standalone app, or if it'll even be released to other Nexus/Play Edition devices.

I have seen talk on this site that they will do a gradual roll out of GEL... But as always that is hearsay, and my friends in Google are saying absolutely nothing! (Probably after my 'why can't I reflow the text in Chrome' rant recently!)

@RossC My bet is that they will eventually make GEL available on the Play Store to all Android devices (most likely 4.1+).

KK Launcher (based on Android 4.4 KitKat launcher) have this feature:
Enable OK Google from all KK Launcher screens(require Android 4.4); Support swipe right to Google Now

I simply added the Google Now widget to the left-most page.  I also set a "swipe up" on the App Drawer button to open up the Google app, which opens to Google Now.
http://www.androidguys.com/2014/02/25/tip-use-nova-launcher-access-google-now/

That answers the second half of the question, but what about "OK Google" hotword detection?

Yes, many of the top 3rd party launchers (Nova, Apex, KK Launcher, perhaps others) do now, in fact, incorporate support for "OK Google" hotword detection. I now use Nova and I use "OK Google" all the time.
KK Launcher also has "Enable Swipe to Google Now," where a swipe to the right from the 1st screen leads you to a full Google Now screen. No need to approximate it w/ a widget instead.
That said, in addition to that widget, there are lots of ways to invoke the same Google Now content in any launcher, as Google has built it into the search widget as well as the standalone Google app itself.

I do not think you need a specific feature in the launcher for the OK Google keyword since there is an option for it in the Google Search app. (Unsure about the path since I am using the French app but it should be something like Parameters => Voice => Keyword detection => From anywhere)

Cyanfox for Nexus 5 has the semi always listening baked right into the ROM. I put the same type of ROM on my friends Galaxy S3 and it had the Google Now screen to the left and was always listening while on the home screen. Blew my mind.

"OK Google" works in Nova Launcher. It is an option in the root of Nova settings, and works regardless of whether or not a search bar is displayed. Similar functionality can be added to Apex, Samsung TouchWiz, or HTC Sense, using an app called Active Searching. I have not found a way to display the Google Now cards page as a launcher page in any launcher other than the Google Now Launcher.

Nova has since been updated and now supports the OK, Google Hotword.

Smart Launcher 2 added support on 31 May.

Try L Launcher. It's a modified version of  lollipop launcher.

Have you tried L Launcher? It launches google now, it doesn't integrate with it. you can't just swipe out of google now.

Well, i said it's a modified version of google now that includes bunch of custom features. What the asker needs is google now, so this modified versiob i think is better than a custom launcher that integrates google now which is usually, doesn't integrate really well. No need to downvote yo.

first, i am not the one that downvoted, but it is a perfect reason to downvote. It is not a solution to the question, it doesn't even link to the app you are recommending. You should read why is voting important from the help center.

Theres an app called open mic+ its helps wid the ok google thing swiping left fr google now is no where present excpt GEL but i personally didnt like the interface the icon size ws looking big on my note 2 i prefer nova launcher wid open mic + .apk it works like a charm ;) plus whoever said it doesnt wrk whn screen is off ur wrong m using it and wrks wid locked screen and yes if u set it to start up on boot it strts frm boot ;)

I encourage some editing to this post to remove the txt-speak, please.


text:
Google account not saving Wifi passwords, apps, etc
My favorite part about Android is how Google backups almost everything for you without you actually really noticing. I just got a Nexus 5 and logged in to my Google account right away. I noticed it did not start installing all my apps right away and now when I go over to friends' houses their wifi passwords aren't saved from before. This is really annoying cause they all have default router passwords that are extremely long.
I installed a few ROMs just to play around with the phone, and each time I did the initial setup and signed in to Google, it would not sync anything...
I have "Back up my data, Backup account, Automatic restore" all set in settings.
Any ideas why this is happening to my Google account?

That's a pretty well known "feature". Don't worry, your data is backed up there – it only does not restore. And you cannot even really delete it there. So in some way, it's "safe"...
Things you might want to look up in this context:

What exactly is synced with Google?
Underlines what I've said before, and also shows you ways to check what's "synced"
Google Backup: Multiple devices using the same account - what happens on Restore?
Plenty of details on how that "Google Cloud Backup" works (and sometimes fails)
What info does Google backup?
Well, the title says it all :)
Issue 17354: "Automatic Restore" rarely works, and then only partially
What I already indicated above, and most likely the answer to your current issue. Note that this ticket was opened in June, 2011 – and still has the status "New". One of the comments also includes a possible work-around:

Here's what I did that worked. I factory reset the device (again), and then at the very first screen (where you choose the language), I turn it off. I put in a difference sim card, turn it on and then proceed with the normal setup. This worked for my Nexus 4.

Heise on undeletable WiFi Passwords (German)
If you don't believe me about "undeletable backups", this is my reference. The article is in German, and the publisher (Heise Verlag) is one of the most famous and most trusted sources here in Germany, concerning IT topics.

There are many many more references I could give, but that would be a bit much for here. So a last hint: check the "Linked" and "Related" question links on the ASE Q&As I've linked here.

Link to the google issue made me happy. I couldn't find it. I have been having this problem since then too. I guess google is ignoring it? Maybe only a few accounts have the issue. Thanks anyways

Indeed it doesn't affect everybody (for different reasons: it doesn't affect me since I don't trust Google with all my data, and thus do not use the "Cloud Backup" – and others are happily using it without ever having the trouble, though), or Google would have long reacted. Similarly with the device manager: I cannot locate any of my devices with it (Android 2.3/4.0/4.1), and many others neither. It seems to work for the majority (80%+). // Did the described SIM-trick work for you? Have you been able to "restore all"?


text:
Turn a Android Phone with broken screen into dedicated Web server
I have a Nexus 4 with a broken LCD/Digitizer, I have no control via touch at all. The other parts of the phone are functional.
Now, what I want to do and hope is possible is to clear the phone and install some Linux distro via Usb. The trick is, I need to be able to control the installation via wifi or USB directly after the upload of the Linux package. After this I want to run it as a dedicated Web server of some sort. I welcome any type of solutions. All I want in the end is to use my phone as a dedicated Web Server which I can control remotely.
Thanks.

Welcome to the Android Enthusiasts, Majk! We support end-users with Android-specific issues, but cannot help you setting up a Linux server on a device, though it was running Android before. Still, some helpful hints:

There are means to control your device even with a broken screen. We've got several issues reported where people wanted to do exactly that. Please check e.g.:

My screen got broken, how to see on the computer what I'm doing in my device?
Control Android with broken screen from PC
Use android phone with broken screen as WiFi camera
Broken Screen + Using adb shell to run vnc server

There are several web server apps available for Android as well. Even some supporting/including things like PHP and MySQL. Some examples:

AndroPHP
Ulti Server: PHP, MySQL, PMA
KSWEB: server + PHP + MySQL
NAMP nginx android web server

I guess that should get you started if you want to solve your issue using Android. And as I initially wrote: Doing that with any other OS, even on an "Android device", is beyond the scope of this site. But I would wonder if you will really need that, after these details – right? :)


text:
Lost Device = WiFi Passwords and Backup Data Stored Permanently on Google
Various sites like BGR have written articles on How to remove data from Google's backup and restore cloud.
But it's not possible once you've lost access to the device.  Hence your data will remain with Google FOREVER.
It looks like Android's Backup and Restore option makes it impossible to delete data stored on once the user no longer has access to the device.

According to the Answer in:
Google Backup: Multiple devices using the same account
Backups are stored in sets:
Example:
[Device serial][ Google Email] :
[3f0e5c90a412cca7] [ sampleemail@gmail.com]
and "You can't make a device start writing into a different set, nor can you wipe a whole set."
Since this is the case, once you lose access to your device, even with your email logged in from a different device, since you no longer have access to the device with the right serial, you no longer have the ability to delete the set from the Backup & Restore menu.
I checked to see if unchecking the "Back up my data" from one device would also uncheck the option across all devices using the same account for backup.
Apparently, this option in the other devices remained checked suggesting that their backup sets remained intact and continue to backup.
Is there a way to delete the backup data set once the device is inaccessible to the user?

According to a (German) article on Heise, it's not possible at all to delete what Google once got. I've just summed up a few more related information here a couple of minutes ago, if you want to check.

@JeffreyLin The objective of this post is regarding the deletion of personal data on Google's servers not on the device itself.


text:
Locked out with no service!
I was fiddling with the lock your SIM card features and locked it, but the password I used now will not open it, and it is locked with no service, screen says screen is PUK locked and is asking for  an 8 digit password to change the PIN code, which the one I typed when trying to set it was only 4 digits. I think I must have clicked change password right before it locked me out. What do I do now?

Some SIM cards have PUK codes printed on the punch out cards that the SIM card came from.
T-Mobile for example has PUK code printed on the plastic punch out.

That's correct. All SIM cards I've seen come with PIN1, PIN2 (both 4-digit), PUK1, and PUK2 (both 8 digit). If you locked the PINs, you can use the PUKs to unlock. If you locked the PUKs, too – well, then you need a new SIM.

If I locked the PUKs by accident, then if i was changing the PIN for the SIM card, wouldn't the PIN be the same? I literally just did it, so I know what I typed. I am wondering if I am typing the right PUK though. Which number on the SIM is the one it wants? I'm running out of tries! Should I just take it to Verizon? Can they reset it?

Yes, they would either unlock it or simply replace your sim for you.


text:
android.process.acore force-closing due to contacts list crashing
I've installed Android 4.1.2 on the Samsung Galaxy S Advance. I cope with a problem that more Android users have to deal with. The well-known android.process.acore force-closing (FC) or something similar. The constantly appearing FC notifications would be caused by your crashing contact list. However, I cannot find a solution for this anywhere while many users have this problem. It is really annoying when you have to open WhatsApp 3 times because the whole system freezes.
I've tried the options they give in force-close tag-wiki,
but rebooting and resetting obviously wouldn't help, and deleting contacts isn't the solution.
When I really can't use those FCs at the moment, I just temporarily freeze my contact list, but it is such a hassle to do every time. I also tried to avoid the FC, but logcat is turned off and it doesn't help.
Isn't there a way to hide those notifications?

You can find some "first-aid" on our force-close tag-wiki. Its most frequented questions might also prove helpful. Having checked those, please come back, [edit] your question, and add what you've tried and where you're stuck – or answer your own question if you were able to solve the issue. Welcome to the Android Enthusiasts, by the way :)

Do you have your contacts backed up?
Try uninstalling Facebook if that is installed. If this does not fix your problem then try the following.
Settings>Applications>System Applications>Contacts Sync Adapter and press Clear Data, this error usually goes away. If this doesn't work, try clearing the data on Settings>Applications>System Applications>Contacts or Settings>Applications>System Applications>Contacts Storage.

well thanks for the answer, but i can't follow the path you suggest.When in settings>Applications i can only choose Downloaded,SD,and ALL. I chose All which includes system apps, but i can't find something similar with Contacts, Sync adapter or Contacts Storage. I can find Contacts storag in titanium backu, but this doesn't give the option to clear contacts sync adapter.


text:
internet slow on my tablet

I know this question has been asked over and over and I have searched
  for an answer but no one seems to have an good result.

I have a new Prestigio Multipad 10.1. It's a nice tablet but I'm having trouble connecting it to my WiFi. I can connect but it's slow or never seems to receive any data.
I've tried a lot but I haven't a clue why other devices I have work. My android phone, my laptop, iPod etc.
I bought two of these and they both have the same problem.
There must be a setting which will correct this problem.
I have tried changing channels, I have tried a WiFi fixer but:

Google store just times out.
Chrome never comes back with any results .

I'm pulling my hair out. Please help.

You haven't specified what you have tried so we'll end up recommending things you've already tried. Start here I guess: http://www.guidingtech.com/13028/solutions-android-wi-fi-problems-common/

See what RossC said,... and, when you are too far away from your access point, the wifi module of your mobile phone might lose packages that are sent to the access point, as wifi modules of smaller devices usually have a weaker sender / less range than those of larger devices.

I can't say that I have an explanation for you but it seems to be the nature of the beast. On my wifi network, my smartphone and my tablet get about 10mbps slower speed than my computer. I have no idea why but that's consistently the result so that must be normal.

The manufacturer of your tablet may have put a chip for older standards of wifi, such as N or G. The computer will always be faster as it has larger antennas if on wifi, or is wired through the modem to the router to the computer using Ethernet. Wired connections are always going to be faster than wireless.


text:
Running a program as root on Android
I have followed the guide at XDA Developers for a Samsung Galaxy Note II, and used "option 2" and flashed the firmware using heimdall flash --RECOVERY recovery.img --CACHE cache.img in Linux.
This gave me a SuperSU program, which I could execute. After executing it immediately wanted to update. I allowed it. It required a reboot, I allowed that. The program asked if it should attempt to install by the "normal" or CWM method. I picked CWM.
The device started up in the CWM minimal OS, but it was not apparent to me what option the user should take at this point to proceed. I tried various options, like installing from cache or sd card, but there didn't appear to be any file to install.
I rebooted again, started SuperSU again. I selected "Install SuperSU into /system". The program needed to reboot again, this time I was not given the option of how to install it ("normal" or CWM).
After reboot, I started SuperSU again. The option was still available to "Install SuperSU into /system", it is unclear if this means SuperSU has not successfully installed, or if this option is always available in case you need to repeat the procedure after an update.
I downloaded the Titanium Backup program which as I understand required root access. When executing Titanium Backup, I was prompted by SuperSU if I wished to grant root access. I clicked yes. The program appeared to function properly.
My questions are:

What action is the user supposed to take within CWM when SuperSU requests to reboot using this method?
Is the choice "Install SuperSU into /system" supposed to still be possible to select after a successful install?
How do I run an arbitrary program as root? What I wanted to do in the first place was to get a terminal to run as root. I have already a program called "Terminal Emulator" installed. How do I make "Terminal Emulator" execute as root?
Is it normal for SuperSU to "close" itself spontaneously while looking through the settings? I think once it updated itself while I was in the settings, but I'm not sure.

3: For the terminal emulator, a workaround is to simply execute "su" (of course) program after executing the terminal emulator itself. However, is there no way to execute the terminal emulator itself, as root?

related: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/9194725/run-android-program-as-root

Ugh, that's 4 questions in one. Our site works best with one question per post; but let me try:

How to install via CWM (custom recovery)?
usually, it's "install update.zip from SDCard" when the deal is to "install something via recovery". By default, there should be an update.zip file in the root of the SDCard, which you then navigate to and select.
Hint: I always update it via Google Play (the "normal way"). Works smoothly, never had trouble, doesn't require a reboot.
Is the choice "Install SuperSU into /system" supposed to still be possible to select after a successful install?
I'd say "No", but it depends. This usually moves the app from /data (user-space) to /system (system-space). After having moved it, it should no longer be in its original location. But depending on how updates are installed (SuperSU e.g. updates via Google Play, like any other app), this update could again end up in user-space, in which case the user might wish to "repeat" the system integration.
How do I run an arbitrary program as root?
Two-fold. First, "arbitrary programs" (apps) must request root access themselves, you cannot make them "run as root". That's a little different when it comes to the command line: prefixing your commands with su makes the terminal app requesting root access. So you could e.g. list all directories below /data using su ls /data and succeed (while a simple ls /data wouldn't be able to access all files/sub-directories here).
Is it normal for SuperSU to "close" itself spontaneously while looking through the settings?
I've never experienced that, and I'm using SuperSU on one of my devices for a year now (the others have chainfire's SuperUser). But I must admit I'm not often calling it directly and stay there for longer. I mostly only see the access requests of apps, or the update recommendation via Play :)


text:
Touching multiple web elements simultaneously brings out area with magnification for clarification of intended target – name of feature?
When you touch multiple web elements simultaneously, perhaps due to the widgets being too small, and/or too close together, the area around where you touched pops out, giving you a magnified view of that area. I suppose this is so that you can clarify which interface control that you intended to touch.
Does anyone happen to know what this feature is called?
Eye tracking interfaces have a similar feature called “Gaze Clarification” for selecting small targets. As you look at your intended target, a portion of the screen that includes that target becomes magnified, and the zoom level keeps increasing and increasing as you home in on your desired spot.

Thanks.

I'm tempted to say "Google's Glasses", but it's rather "Magnifier". Not sure if that's the official name, though – so I don't put it as an answer ;)

Google call it "Link Preview" but in coding terms it is part of the "View Port" and you could disable it by making "User Scalable" false, here's the code for the fun of it:

It's enable-link-disambiguation-popup.

It’s a handy feature and is now available in Chrome OS.
Since this is experimental, you’ll have to enable it, which is an easy process.
Simply type chrome://flags in the Chrome OS browser and find the enable-link-disambiguation-popup option.
Enable it and restart the browser to activate the feature.

https://gigaom.com/2014/12/23/a-key-touch-feature-from-android-is-availble-in-chrome-os/


text:
CM 10.2 with Google Apps version 20130813 won't download from Play Store
I have a Galaxy S3 I9300 from Telcel, Mexico running CyanogenMod 10.2.0, upgraded from 10.1.3 with the upgrade feature and using TWRP for this purpose. I am unable to download anything from the Play Store, the store loads but the apps won't download. I have flashed the gapps-20130813 package, cleared data and uninstalled updates from Play Store and Google Play Services, and it won't download yet. After googling around, I already cleared data on Google Play, Google Framework and Google Play Services, every single cache with Titanium Backup, cleaned up Dalvik cache, and removed and re-added my Google account. Still no luck.
I also noticed the download notification briefly appearing for a split second when I tap Download on Google Play.
Is there anything I can't do? I don't want to go through the hassle of backing everything up, deleting the entire data partition and restoring everything.

Could you please [edit] your question and include the exact name of the GApps file you flashed? It's just a guess, but you might have picked the wrong one. It must match your CM version (see CM Wiki). Though, the date suggests you've got the correct one; the one for 10.1 is "20130812".

Sorry buddy. Factory reset does the trick... usually this is required when switching between ROM versions, and the Gapps XDA page mentions also that to flash a new Gapps you need to format the /system partition, data, and dalvik.

You absolutely do not have to format /system. (I flash ROMs and GApps  on devices regularly). You go into recovery and flash the GApps package, then wipe cache and dalvik-cache. Only the ROMs need the /system wiped, which if you look during flashing will show the /system getting wiped.

I don't want to go through the hassle of backing everything up,
  deleting the entire data partition and restoring everything.

That might appear as a very long process to do, but what if that actually is all what you might need to do?
Well, I guess the problem you are facing might be similar to what I've experienced some time ago, and below are the steps I took:

Sign out of all Google Accounts on device
Boot Into Recovery (cwm/twrp, whichever)
Wipe Cache/Dalvik
Reinstall/Flash CyanogenMod (a nightly known to work)
Reinstall/Flash GApps (a correct version for your CM)
Reboot
Sign into Google account (log into default google account first, assuming you've got multiple accounts you log into)
Open Google Search
Enter Google Play Services
Click on the link to the app in Play Store
If need be, Update it (if it doesn't update, do below)
Open Play Store
Important: Still connected to internet, leave Play Store open for sometime (depending on internet connection). Sometimes, Play Store    prevents any download of apps, UNTIL the Play Store app is up to    latest version. Any attempt to install something during that period    will be futile)
Confirm Play Store app is up to latest. Check the version number and compare to latest play store apk on, say, APKmirror.com
If app version is latest, go ahead to update Google Play Services following steps above
If that works, go ahead to try downloading an app.
Are you on a Good internet connection?
If all doesn't work, then, how about you clean install your CM again?

You might not like my last point, but if that's what will get your phone working smoothly again, why the hesitation?