text:
Recovery can't mount system, cache, data, can't install anything
My internal partitions seem to be screwed up for some reason. Phone is a Zenfone 5. I'm not really sure how it got here but I wiped system, dalvik, cache, data, internal storage before so phone is completely empty. TWRP fails to mount /system, /cache, and /data and now I can't install any ROM, not even stock firmware. Sideloading also doesn't work.
Here is the log from TWRP when I try to install a new ROM.


text:
Does clearing the cache only clear your cache on a multi-user device?
I share a spare phone with my other half. I have just come to install an app on it and been unable to, due to lack of space. Looking in Storage I can see 400MB of Cached data but when I attempt to clear it, nothing happens.
I presume that these 400MB are being taken up by cached data in her user account rather than mine, thus I cannot clear it.
Is there anything I can do to clear up this device without waiting for her to come home and do the tidy up herself?

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Where is Telegram for Android developed? (Or: is it really free software?)
Telegram is supposed to be free/libre software, but where is Telegram for Android developed?

Copy of the code: I can't find recent code. https://github.com/DrKLO/Telegram claims to be the official repository but was last updated 2 months ago at 3.10.1, while 3.11.2 is currently being distributed. Is there a way to get the actual code in use?
Patching the code: as far as I can see, pull requests are never merged, even when they aren't explicitly rejected. (Perhaps some of them get merged in another repository and the recent code is sometimes published to this repository?) How to send a patch?
According to https://core.telegram.org/tsi/bugs, Telegram uses Trello as issue tracker, but no link is provided and auchry says the issue tracker was just between 2014 and 2015. How to send bug reports? Should one use https://telegram.org/support?

In short: is Telegram really free software? Is it even open source?

I see there is a fork for f-droid: https://github.com/slp/Telegram-FOSS

There's an interesting entry on their FAQ: Why not open source everything?, although I also have a doubt if this answers any of your question...

Actually, it's on the private repo of Owner, and sync time to time with the public repo on the github repo.
DrKLO:

I have my own private repo except this on github, where i pushing all
  changes with unfinished things, because i can work from not only one
  place. After all new features are tested, I pushing new code to
  github, So github contains only major updates that will go to google
  play, so i think there is no need for tags, because every commit is
  release version. If i remove something from this repo, for me it will
  be harder to merge all new changes from my private repo.
I will think about this pull request later, when I finish all
  important features.

The App is free and will always be.

Telegram is free and will stay free — no ads, no subscription fees, forever.
  - Telegram FAQ

Apparently they are not updating the code right after each release, but after a month or two they do (Usually.)
To submit a bug you can Contact Telegram Support within the app, Settings >> Ask A Question.
In short: It is a free software, And its somewhat open source...

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


text:
How does Android audit file actions?
I was wondering if there is a log of when an application read or write data. Furthermore, how would I go about accessing this data? If there is none, is there another way you guys would think of logging applications creating or opening files?

You can do certain checks using the stock logging software's, ( MTK Logger, Android Info Etc.. )
The quickest way to see your logs is by calling *#*#info#*#* or *#*#4636#*#* Notice the opposition's *# and #*
You could hypothetically log this information using a folder change watcher on your internal SD like
Folder Sync Free on Google Play
Folder Sync Full on Google Play

Ok Here is what to do

Install FolderSync
Create a New Folder Pair.
Call the Pair ( Error Invoke ) or something rememberable.
Edit the Filter At Bottom to Filter Everything or .*
Now set it's sync method to Instant ( file change sync )

Ok so hypothetically, FolderSync will start a sync caused by the recent file changes or folder additions and deletions... The sync will

notice changed folders/files
start a blank sync
log the sync details
Open the log for file change history
see changed files

This method could work, but it's just hypothetical. I use FolderSync for way more than just synchronized folders !

Great info! Will look into this!

No, there isn't, and I don't think there's any way to achieve this as a user without making your own custom ROM.


text:
Is there a secondary way to check whether I have voicemail if the phone application is not registering correctly?
After the August Marshmallow Android OS update, I realized I had unheard voicemail messages. These messages had neither shown up as notifications on my phone nor appeared under the visual voicemail tab of the phone application prior to the update, and I think they extend back to my last Android OS update (roughly one month ago). Obviously, it is a problem if the phone application does not register that there are voicemail messages.
Is there a secondary way to check whether I have voicemail? I would strongly prefer a method that does not require manually dialing into my voicemail to check.

You could try Free Visual voicemail . It claims to visually display voice mails. Not tried by me. As am interim measure to it is fixed

@beeshyams "This application is only for users of french "Free" mobile operator", which is not my wireless service provider.

Oops. My bad. Sorry.Maybe this can help https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gabriloware.notifier.voicemail


text:
Returning S3 to stock - What bad can happen?
Its been a while ( 3 and a half years, in fact) Since I last returned a device to stock. Shamefully, I don't remember the process (I do remember that PC kies is the enemy, however.) I am currently Following a guide from our XDA lads here. Now, the method is clear, but where and how can I make this go really, really wrong? (So I don't go wrong)
Apologies for such a..... noobish question, especially from someone who considers themself a 'expert' at Samsung modding, but it has been so long. I barely rembered my sammobile login. Also, I guess this is Samsung UN-modding, soooooooo....... I win?

As far as I can remember, downgrading from >=4.3 breaks the radio. Also, Odin wipes anything inside the internal storage (even /data/media).

@DeathMaskSalesman well, it's a good job it was still on android 4.3, eh? It was just running CM with a heap of personal tweaks.

BUT NO CUSTOM KERNEL. I am very specific about that.


text:
LG Volt (Virgin Mobile) Stuck in Bootloop
So I've been trying unsuccessfully for a number of hours to fix my brother's phone. It's a Virgin Mobile LG Volt. It's not rooted.
He was complaining of it freezing and not responding. I told him to just take the battery out and restart it which has always worked before. He did this several times apparently and it is now stuck in the LG/Virgin Mobile animation loop.
He said it wasn't updating and he hadn't uninstalled or installed any new apps from the play store. The only thing he said he could think of that he'd done was he had cleared the data from Google Play Services which I don't think would have caused this problem?
I've tried taking the battery out. I even let it die at one point. I tried unsuccessfully to get it to reboot into safe mode. I finally managed to get it into recovery mode and cleared the cache and rebooted it from there. No luck. I finally gave up and factory reset it from the recovery menu. It's still stuck in the loop.
Any ideas on what I can do, short of telling him to just get a new phone?


text:
Turning OFF mock location
I have an app that will not open on my new Samsung Galaxy S6. It says the mock location setting must be turned off. I went to developer settings, but there is no check box next to mock locations to check or uncheck. It states "none" beside it. How do I turn it off? The app techs were not able to help.

After you selected as a developer in settings, in the Debugging session, you're going to select a "box" -> "Allow mock location". I suggest to restart your phone and try to use your "app" again.

For further info, please access this video that I found on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUw2Z55iKsk


text:
Skype is not working on Samsung J5
Recently, I have just installed Samsung J5 firmware manually, because there was a problem in updated Marshmallow. Now, whenever I try to use Skype on device it says something went wrong try again later. I tried many times, but still issue is same. My Skype account works well on PC. Before installing firmware, it was working well on J5. But, now I don't know what happened. Have I lost connection with server network forever? I searched on Google but found nothing useful. What should I do now?

Recently, I have installed Marshmallow firmware. But this time I did it manually. I downloaded firmware from www.sammobile.com web site. Now in new Marshmallow, Skype is working properly. There is no issue at all. Thanks to Sammobile.


text:
Samsung S5 compatible with tracfone and Verizon Wireless
I currently have Verizon wireless. I want to switch to tracfone and change my cell phone at the same time. I'm thinking about getting a Samsung S5. My question is, can I get a Samsung S5 to use with tracfone that will also be compatible with Verizon if I choose to go back? If so, what details should I look online when I'm shopping for a phone?
I think I need an unlocked phone but some say that it won't work with Verizon. I'm unsure how to proceed.

After having gone through this process, it seems that all Verizon-compatible Samsung S5s are compatible with TracFone, and there is no unlocking that needs to be done. All I had to do was get the new SIM card from TracFone and put it in the S5, then follow there instructions to get it activated. AFAIK, I could go back to Verizon at any time, by simply putting the old Verizon SIM card back in.
For any other model phone, just contact TracFone. They'll tell you whether the phone is compatible or not. It really was a straightforward process.


text:
iris fuel 50 not able to download from playstore it is showing insufficient storage but i have big storage space in SD card
iris fuel 50 not able to download from playstore it is showing insufficient storage but i have big storage space in SD card(2GB in internal memory and 29GB in sdcard but unable to download )

Welcomed to android enthusiasts! Please check our insufficient-memory tag wiki.

I think there're some solutions for you:
Uninstall the Google Play Store updates:

Open your Settings > Apps
Find and select Google Play Store from the list
On stock Android 6+, press the menu icon in the top right corner of your screen menu
Press Uninstall Updates

Move large apps to your SD card
Get your apk file from PC and then transfer them to your device : There're variety of third party store like Download Apk file for PC for free .This site is safe and free of malware so don't worry.
Hope these solutions can help!


text:
What does the symbol after someone's name mean in the Snapchat app?
In the Snapchat app, I'm not really sure what this symbol after the name means.

Could someone help me out?

That icon is a horoscope icon. I believe it happens when you enter your birthday into Snapchat it adds the corresponding horoscope icon.

♒ Aquarius
♓ Pisces
♈ Aries
♉ Taurus
♊ Gemini
♋ Cancer
♌ Leo
♍ Virgo
♎ Libra
♏ Scorpio
♐ Sagittarius
♑ Capricorn

Note: refer to Wikipedia for the alternative if the emoji is rendered correctly.

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


text:
Stuck at Google screen, recovery mode just turns the screen black
I have rooted my Nexus 5 and installed CyanogenMod (Android 6) a few months ago.
It has always been running fine, but today while scrolling a web page it froze, so I long-pressed the power button to reboot it.
The phone started rebooting, showing the Google logo and unlocked lockpad, then the CyanogenMod robot head, as usual.
It then rebooted by itself, once again the Google logo and robot head, and got stuck there.
After 5 minutes without visible progress I long-pressed the power button again.
Now it does not go further than the Google logo screen. I tried again rebooting it a few times, it is always stuck at that screen.
Starting in recovery mode just turns the screen black (the screen is active but only showing black pixels).
#> fastboot oem device-info
...
(bootloader)    Device tampered: true
(bootloader)    Device unlocked: true
(bootloader)    off-mode-charge: true
OKAY [  0.003s]

#> fastboot flash recovery twrp-3.0.2-0-hammerhead.img
target reported max download size of 1073741824 bytes
sending 'recovery' (14524 KB)...
OKAY [  0.665s]
writing 'recovery'...
FAILED (remote: flash write failure)
finished. total time: 44.721s

#> fastboot erase cache
******** Did you mean to fastboot format this partition?
erasing 'cache'...
FAILED (remote: failed to erase partition)

#> fastboot erase cache
target reported max download size of 1073741824 bytes
erasing 'cache'...  [stays like this forever]

Running fastboot boot twrp-3.0.2-0-hammerhead.img starts TWRP, which shows that Data and System are 0MB:

How to fix it?

FAILED (remote: flash write failure)

Indicates your hardware is dead, so replace the main board or the whole device.
It was designed with a built in limited lifetime of maybe 100,000 writes. LG had to cut some corners to make the Nexus 5 so cheap which is maybe why they die a bit sooner than a flagship device of more then 3 times the cost.
You could try heat annealing the memory but you would need some electrical engineering toys to recover from the resulting hard brick (the firmware would be wiped).

I already have TWRP installed on it, from a few months ago, and it was working well. I will try installing the newest version anyway.

I tried what you wrote, and get remote: flash write failure

As of now one of the last resorts you have is to flash a factory image via fastboot. If that also poses remote: flash write failure then it's highly likely that your NAND is borked.


text:
What is the size of android Marshmallow source code?
I have downloaded 26.8 gb but the repo tool is still going on and I am on a very slow connection in India.I used the standard instruction provided on the website to download.

Generally, the size of source code varies depending on if it is compressed or raw..
The full source code ranges around 20GB's as of now (slightly varies with ROM) and be downloaded using the repo tool..
The compressed source code varies around 2GB..
Here's an XDA Thread which provides compressed source code files (and updated quite frequently):
[INDEX] [SOURCES] [DevXchange] Android Sources Highly Compressed & Developer Exchange


text:
can I tell google maps to avoid motorways?
So, my question is
Is there any way for me to tell google maps, to avoid motorways?
Edit
I'll add some screenshots to show why the currently suggested answer doesn't seem to apply.
Say I search for my destination

I see no blue circle
I can tap "Get Directions" then I get this screen
So I see the icons for car, bus, cycling, walking.
Say I tap the bottom right three dots. Then it just says  "Reverse start & end"

If I tap the car, then I  get two options. Get Directions, or Navigate.
There's no 3 dots in the top right or anywhere,  with a "route options" option, that the suggested answer mentions.
I'm not seeing the option to avoid motorways.

using advice concerning route plotting avoiding motorways etc. i couldnt find the suggested thing to be looking for.
i did however find out how to do it.
open maps, choose location. tap directions, then start.
along the bottom there is now a symbol of a 2 pronged arrow one side is a broken arrow. tap here and you will get the options on what you want to avoid :)

The following seems to be the answer though I haven't put it in practise yet.
in google maps, choose navigation, then in the bottom right there are 3 horizontal bars, then  it has options of "routes and alternatives, directions list, layers, turn off voice, exit navigation, more".  Choose "routes and alternatives"
Then it has 4 buttons..
A button with a blue arrow,
A button with 2 cogs
A button with arrows pointing to what looks like a raindrop.
A button with 3 dots with 3 horizontal bars alongside the dots.
Click the button with 2 cogs.
Then it says Route options.  Avoid motorways.   Avoid toll roads.  You can choose "Avoid Motorways".
I'll include some pics when I can.

Highways can be avoided ( as also tolls)
Maps app help gives the way for it (search for avoid Motorways in app help

Open the Google Maps app Google Maps.

Search for your destination or tap it on the map.

In the bottom right, tap the blue circle. It'll show a car, bus, bike, taxi, or person walking.

At the top, tap Drive .

In the top right, tap More three vertical dots and then Route options.
Tap Avoid tolls or Avoid highways.

Post your edit, here are the screen shots from Google Maps version 9.33.1
Steps 1 and 2 are obvious
Step 3 showing the blue circle

Step 3(a) ( not mentioned separately , perhaps app help needs updating)-choosing the start point and mode of travel

Step 4 (by 3 button menu on to right) and 5 (sub options of route options)

What do you mean "Click Directions Directions".  And  What does it mean  "Click points on the map"?   Can you try it yourself, since you post it as an answer?

That was for web meaning if you are you using a web browser. Will delete that to remove confusion. I have linked the source too

Okay, this is how I did it.

Open Google Maps.
Search destination
Tap blue bar at bottom which says "directions"
put in starting address in upper bar
Tap the 3 dots to the right
Look down and locate and top "Route Options"
Check Avoid Highways.
Click "Done"

By the way,  2. tap blue bar that says "directions" not destinations.


text:
Full dump of Android to use to flash another deivce?
I'm looking to dump the full rom (system, boot, bootloader) of a device.  But I don't want to dump it in parts, I want the whole thing in one image.  Is this possible?  I have full root on the device.
I'll then take that image and burn it into another device using software provided by the chip manufacture.

Just to check: are these two devices both the same model/hardware? The image won't work otherwise. It would be much easier to get a flashable image from the manufacturer.

@DanHulme Yes, they are exactly the same.  Tried to get the flashable image from manufacture but they aren't responding.  Also googled around a lot...

@Alexis What are the devices???

[GUIDE] Making Dump Files Out of Android Device Partitions

Moving one device's rig to another? No problem! All you need is:

one large SD card/USB-OTG
TWRP (You have root, so this will be easy) on both devices

Part one- getting TWRP If you have TWRP already, skip this.

Download TWRP manager from this google play link.
Install TWRP from the install section. Make sure you select the right make and model
Follow on-screen prompts. Check recovery when done.

Part two- Doing the dirty work
Now what we are here for :)

Boot into TWRP. You don't need to, but mount EVERYTHING (except efs)
Begin the Backup operation from the appropriately named tab. Tick all, except External SD, USB OTG and EFS. (Note- Ext. SD and USB-OTG are normally not options) ensure it is saving to an external SD or USB, however. Also, enable compression to get one, neat file.
Twiddle your thumbs and contemplate the meaning of life, the universe, and everything while the backup happens.
When done, power down (from TWRP'S reboot menu) and Pop your external storage into the other device.

5.Use TWRP'S Restore (Yep, restore) function to install the zip. You will be asked what segments you want to use, so pick what you need, and flash!
6.Well, slow dimmer lightbulb. Might take a while. Go read a book.

Reboot normally, and you should be done!

Why no EFS?
EFS tends to contain UNIQUE ID's, like you MAC address and IMEI. Two devices should not share the same EFS partition.

Shouldn't the option at point 5 be Restore, rather than Install? Just asking.

@DeathMaskSalesman Ah, yes. Sorry, I've just fixed it :)


text:
Old emails from 2011 showing up in email
In the stock email app, I've suddenly had old emails showing up for no reason.  I haven't changed any settings or linked my account to anything new.

Screenshot (click image for larger variant)
As the picture shows, there's emails from today and then there's a header that says "older" and then emails from 2011.
I've cleared the data in app info already and then signed back in and the same problem persists.  I've tried simply deleted the header "older" and it comes back.

I didnt understand the issue. These email seems old emails and if you dont want to see there, you can simply delete.

There are emails there from today and then it suddenly jumps to the "older" heading and then there are emails from 2011 there.  I've tried deleting them but when the email refreshes to bring in new emails, the older emails show up again.

Is it the same if you log into the web version of mail provider? If yes, likely a server issue at their end.

My impression is that the stock Android Mail app is flaky and unreliable. I just discovered that it wasn't actually sending the emails I sent, for about a month, and before that, it ate up 4GB in data out of nowhere (while my total mailbox is only 1.5GB, so reloading everything doesn't explain it).


text:
movingapp to extsd
I have a 10.1" dragon touch with lollipop, and cannot get around moving apps to ext sd to save space. I can see how it is configured, and your directions to root my device, which i did, but none of my apps want to route the downloads through your extsd in storage, and instead write to the emulated sd space on my internal sd card. I can copy and view photos and videos on my sd card, but several of my applications come with a ton of data which quickly uses up my internal sd. HELP!

Not all apps can be moved to sd because of specifications made by the programmer, maybe you need app2sd from google play, i have tested it before with 4.4.4 sucessfully for those apps that can not be moved to sd, root permissions are required.


text:
"The operating system on your device has been modified in an unauthorized way" when trying to update the OS on Samsung Galaxy devices
I have a rooted Samsung Galaxy Tab A (SM-P550). While trying to update my device I get:

The operating system on your device has been modified in an unauthorized way.

What should I do?

Modified in an unauthorized way... rooted... don't you think it's the same?

As @DeathMaskSalesman implied, rooting is the cause. Samsung keeps a checksum of your OS (I think) stored, and when the /system does not match this checksum, it assumes you have modified the system. This applies to recovery too. (Could be wrong, but it seems logical enough.)

As explained in the comments, the updater checks that the system partition matches what it expects (i.e. that the checksum is of a previous version of the system). Rooting the phone changes the system partition, so that it no longer matches. The updater detects this and fails, to avoid possibly bricking your phone by leaving it in an inconsistent state.
You have two options:-

Don't install the update.
Download a stock ROM for the phone (either the old version you already have, or the new version you're trying to update to, and flash it to the phone from a PC. You can get Samsung stock ROMs from SamMobile, and you use a tool called Odin to flash the image.
I know I said two options, but this is really the same as option 2. Instead of flashing a stock ROM, if you still want your phone to be rooted, you can look for an already-rooted almost-stock ROM, and flash that to your phone with Odin the same way. The XDA Developers often has such ROMs, so you can search there for the right version for your phone. See also Where can I find stock or custom ROMs for my Android device?

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


text:
"Warning - You only have to install a Great App to get your phone fully functioned." Keeps popping up
It looks like this same thing happened to a user 2 months ago, but I can not reply to that question: Suspicious popup and 'Yellow Booster' installation.  This thing goes away for hours, so we don't ever really know if it's gone, and then it pops back up.  Was this ever solved?  If anyone has found a solution, we would appreciate it.
On a different Droid forum, a lot of us started getting this problem recently. I have noticed a lot of us are on Verizon and on fairly new phones.  Personally, I am on a HTC 10, but other users are getting this pop up on Samsung and LG phones as well.  If anyone has anything that could help, I would greatly appreciate it!

I had this problem on a Cricket LG phone and it went away after uninstalling Assistant for Android by AA Mobile.

create download_1 folder where download folder exists . actually malware / ad it tries to create folder download_1 ..if exists it stops ..worked for me ..also scan using malware bytes ..or disable (Force Stop and then disable )PackageInstaller in system apps

I went through this same problem.
Here is the solution:

First boot to safe mode:

Press the power button. A Power Off popup will show. Long press the Power Off popup. It will ask if you if you want to boot in safe mode. Press yes.

After starting in safe mode, goto Settings > Apps and scroll down to the bottom to find Yellow Booster App. On clicking, you will see a screen with details of the App. Press Uninstall and you will be able to successfully uninstall. Note that, while you can reach this screen normally from setting, you can't press uninstall until you are in safe mode.
As always, take effort to find other apps that are suspicious and remove them.
Yellow booster is also known to sometimes have Device Administrator privileges. If it added itself as one, remove it as well. You can't remove that in non-safe mode.

Thanks but the Yellow Booster does not show up on my list of apps.  Would it be under a different name?

As part of the process I also removed the swift wifi app, which somehow was also installed. I wasn't sure how and when it was installed. I also removed that. Do you also accidentally have this app too?

I had this exact issue, along with a lock screen that appeared whenever I started charging (blue background with bubbles).
The charging screen went away when I uninstalled Flash Keyboard, and I haven't see the Yellow Booster dialog since.

As a follow-up, several days have passed now and no further pop-ups have occurred.  Flash Keyboard was the only application I uninstalled, so I think it was the source of the problem for me.

So far I was able to stop it for 18hrs from popping up. I tried three different Antivirus apps all came up with nothing and the pop up happened while they were running. What I did next was clear data cache and it stopped popping up from 12:45 yesterday until 6ish this morning when I got up and checked my phone it was the first thing I saw. So I did the whole data cache deletion again and then removed the Keyboard thing people were talking about in the other thread. So far it hasn't popped up again. But like I said nearly 18 hours passed from the last time I "fixed" the issue.
If anyone has any info please share it!
Verizon tech was no assistance they just kept telling me I installed the trojan with an app I downloaded which I hadn't downloaded anything within 24hrs of it occurring. And seeing as how everyone had different ANDROID devices and Cell carriers (Verizon, T-Mobile, Etc.) it is likely not one specific app, but rather a software hack with the new update that came out last week. My phone had just updated the day before this whole thing started.
Again I have mitigated the issue by clearing Data cache files but it only lasted 18hrs yesterday and so far 8hrs and counting today.
UPDATE
Yes, as mentioned in other posts "Flash Keyboard" is a legit app from the app store but it allows "malware" capabilities to happen on your device. It gives itself administrator rights and causes these pop-ups to occur. The simplest way to remove it is to use AVG or AVAST cleaner to fully uninstall it and all hidden files. So far it has been over 4 days and no pop-ups. Sorry for the delay in updating, I was watching to see if anything popped up again.

If that solved your issue, could you please [edit] your post and include some details on "this keyboard thing people were talking about"? Without knowing what exactly that is, it isn't very helpful :) Is it maybe "Flash Keyboard", as mentioned in this answer?

Ok guys, thanks for the help, it seems to have been cleared from my phone now.  I did not have Yellow Booster or Swift Wifi listed in my applications manager, but I did have Flash Keyboard listed.  I uninstalled it and have not gotten the pop up since then.  I removed the Flash Keyboard on Sunday, it's now Thursday and I haven't had any issues so far knocks on wood
I'm not sure how the Flash Keyboard got installed in the first place.  I certainly didn't download it, it wasn't pre-installed on my HTC 10 either.  Does anyone know if there's a way to stop Google Play from installing apps without my permission?


text:
Why can't I save new contacts to my phone or SIM?
I just bought the quite new Moto G4+, which comes with Android Marshmallow (6.1) preloaded, without any layer added by the constructor.
Upon the first use of the phone, I linked my Google account. When I want to add a new contact (via the Contacts app), there is no choice for the place where the new contact will be saved. Normally there are (at least) three choices: save (sync) to the Google account, or to the phone (internal memory), or to the SIM. Whatever I do, the contact will be saved in the Google account only. When I disable the synchronization with the Google account, the contacts are saved to the phone, but I have no option to sync a particular contact. How can I do to enable these three choices upon the creation of a new contact?
Thank you for your help.

For the moment I have done the following: disconnect my Google account, add contacts into the phone, reconnect my Google account. But now, when I want to add a new contact, Android tells me that it will be synchronized with the Google account, there is still no choice.

Looks like your device lacks a separate "local account provider". There's an app named MyLocalAccount (from the makers of MyPhoneExplorer) providing such, but it seems no longer maintained (last update in 2013). Unfortunately, I'm unaware of any alternatives to that. On a second thought: Using a CardDAV provider might work, but most likely will require a valid counterpart to configure.

@Izzy: Thank you very much, I just added the app you indicated me, it works very well. Actually, this issue is well-known; see https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=26834.

So shall I make this an answer, as it obviously solved your issue? // Edit: Done that. If it solved your issue, please "accept" the answer by ticking the green check-mark next to it, so other people affected by this issue can easily identify the solution.

As you've already found out yourself, this is a well known issue. Looks like your device lacks a separate "local account provider".
To work around that issue, there's an app named MyLocalAccount (from the makers of MyPhoneExplorer) providing such, but it seems no longer maintained (last update in 2013) – but after my comment with that, you were able to confirm it still does its job.
Unfortunately, I'm unaware of any alternatives to that. On a second thought: Using a CardDAV provider might work, but most likely will require a valid counterpart to configure. If you want to try that approach, you can find some in my corresponding app listing.


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Install Android TV on older Sony Bravia TV
I have a Sony Bravia TV KDL-55W805B which unfortunately has Sony's own Smart TV software installed, and not Android TV which newer Sony TV's have. I am stuck with a discontinued TV software that doesn't get any updates or new apps.
Is there any way for me to install Android TV on my TV and replace the Sony Smart TV?

No. The hardware is different and so is the kernel. It's just not supported unless one of the devs around ports it to the TV, which is highly unlikely.

You could use  a compatible Android TV Stick, to access similar features of other newer Sony TVs with in-built Android TV software. Most of these are available on eBay.
You can still stream through various genres:

YouTube
XBMC
Netflix
Showbox etc

You connect your Android TV stick to the HDMI input of the LED TV and make it a Smart TV
NB Check compatibility first


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Is it possible to use the SdCard in portable mode but encrypt it?
I dislike how the internal sdcard formating works, I don't want to replace the internal storage with my sdcard, my target would be to extend the storage.
Mainly, I use the sdcard as storage for the camera and personal data. I really want to encrypt this data.
Is it possible to use internal (for example 8gb) and external storage (64gb) resulting in 72gb total storage. accessing it via usb cable on the PC but not only encrypt the internal storage but also the external?
edit:
Extra question/Clearification:
I want encryption of the internal and external sd (no matter how its called "portable mode" or "internal mode"), keeping the sytem data and the apps on the fast internal sd but also have my data encrypted on the slow external sd. also i don't want to loose storage space, so it should be an "and" not an "or". is there some tutorial how to archive that? root access is available

It is not possible using the Android encryption of Marshmallow. Disk Encryption encompasses internal and external SD in the case of adoptable-storage and only internal SD in the case of portable storage ( since the external SD is considered a part of SD in the former)
Full Disk Encryption mentions other possibilities of encryption and does not cover what you wish to achieve.
You may need to use a third party app, like SSE universal encryption, or other apps to encrypt files on external SD. I haven't tried this app but mentioning being open source and hence perhaps better

Extra question: you wrote that Full Disk Encryption does not meet my needs. I want encryption of the internal and external sd, keeping the sytem data and the apps on the fast internal sd but also have my data encrypted on the slow external sd. also i don't want to loose storage space, should be an "and" not an "or". is there some tutorial how to archive that? root access is available.

I want encryption of the internal and external sd, keeping the sytem data and the apps on the fast internal sd but also have my data encrypted on the slow external sd- this is what adopting an external SD card does BUT I don't want to loose storage space - this part is tricky. See this What happens to the already existing internal storage memory if I make SD card my internal storage marshamallow question and also read up on the comments to question and reddit post linked in answer

This site works best on single question and answer format, so if you don't get clarity, please ask a separate question, referring to the linked questions and see adoptable-storage wiki for more


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Google Maps shows constantly rotating direction despite other compass apps working correctly
Google Maps reports rotating direction (0.5 rotations / minute) with stationary phone. The compass is calibrated and works correctly in compass-specific apps.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6uOI5g8xbc
Steps to replicate:
After booting into Safe Mode and calibrating the compass via rapid figure-8's (or slow, or rotations on table), the direction in Google Maps slowly rotates.
EDIT: I did a factory reset and, before logging in, Google Maps still has this error. I think it may be a hardware bug at this point.
Apps affected:

Google Maps (Safe Mode and normal mode)
GPS Status (only available in normal mode)

Apps not affected:

"Compass" (orange circle logo)
Sensors Multitool (shows correct magnetometer readings for X, Y, and Z. Confirms correct calibration)
https://goo.gl/photos/SavNsaY2PyNPa17G8

Troubleshooting steps I've tried:

Calibrating compass

Rebooting in Safe Mode
Disabling/re-enabling Google Maps (includes data/cache deletion)

Specs:

Nexus 5X
Android 6.0.1
Google Maps 9.34.1

Confirmed on S4, i9505, with cyanogenmod 13, Google maps 9.40.02

worth noting, for anybody that doesn't know, i think that blue arrow, when the compass is calibrated, is just meant to point to the top of the phone.. (so not that useful imo, unless a map rotates so that the top of the map is where you are going).It's be good if google maps had an actual compass particularly for when the map is stationary.I use a proper compass with my phone with google maps, that works nicely! then i get a compass 'displayed'(to my eyes), as well as no issues with 'calibration' of it! +often when walking I don't hit start.. unless i want to see an update for Metres/time left

Same issue here on my Galaxy S-6 Edge Plus.  The blue dot/shadow spins rapidly.  Master reset did not fix.  Verizon actually replaced the phone and the new phone acts up as well. I went to Best Buy Samsung help desk and they mentioned an issue that is going to be corrected (soon) as an update to Google Maps. I hope this rapid spinning doesn't mess up any of the sensors on the new phone...

So you got the phone replaced because of a google maps issue and you are surprised that the new phone acts up? it's a google maps issue

You wrote "I hope this rapid spinning doesn't mess up any of the sensors on the new phone..." <-- What are you saying here. How is google maps going to be messing up sensors on a phone. Sensors are hardware. Google maps is just an app that reads from sensors, and google maps has whatever bugs it has.  It's like saying you hope stackoverflow doesn't make your hard drive go up in smoke.


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Backlight turns off on high brightness
Mine LG G2 has a very strange backlight issue. The backlight is working on low brightness levels, but turns off after 40% of brightness. Under very bright light I still can see that the image is still present on the display, so the screen is working itself. When I change brightness level back under 40%, the backlight turns on again.
What could be faulty? Screen or motherboard?

It turned out that motherboard was faulty. I've replaced the motherboard and the issue has gone.


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Hardware reset screen
My Samsung Galaxy SII has not been used for a while, and whenever I try to plug it in to charge, it doesn't seem to start charging, and instead loops between the battery charging icon, and a screen with an image of the android icon. This screen has, in red writing, what appears to be a value for RST_STAT at the top of the screen (This is always 0x10000), and in larger text beside the android icon, the words 'Hardware reset' (without the quotes). Does anyone have any idea how I could get this phone working again?

Uh, what? I have never heard of this. At least you have good etiquette on question asking :) Is it possible we can get a picture of this screen? Trust me, it would help.

@Dan Brown I added a picture of the screen

Thank you. Never heard of AST_STAT before, but I think its a invalid warranty counter. Have you ever rooted, or installed a custom rom/recovery/bootloader/etc.?

Some digging has found this link to a tomsguide.com post AST and RST seem to be the same.

@Dan Brown The phone was rooted, and I had installed a custom rom on it. However, since I couldn't get google play services to work on the custom rom, I recovered to the stock rom (latest update). I unrooted the phone in order to use some apps which didn't allow rooting. It did work for about 6 months after that, at which point I got a new phone.

Also, the picture is a bit blurry, but it says RST_STAT, not AST.

ok :) the RST_STAT is essentially a knox counter. You will need to reflash the stock ROM (Hope you didn't delete it! You can probably find it on sammobile.com if you deleted it) and, well,  cross your fingers. You can flash by ODIN,  or kies (preferred)

@Dan Brown Unfortunately I can't do this as it is stuck in a bootloop

well, ODIN flashes are done through download mode, so hold power +vol down+ home (if you have a home button), then press up at the prompt. You need ODIN on a PC and the Stock ROM for you.

Problem solved.
I'm still not certain what the problem was, but my best guess is that the battery was completely dead. Anyway, I got a new battery, which completely solved the problem.


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How can I share my bug report with Android devs?
I just learned about the ability to capture a bug report at will. I don't see it properly documented on an official Android website, so I'll describe it here:

After reproducing the issue, navigate to developer settings, ensure ‘USB debugging’ is enabled, then enable ‘Bug report shortcut’. To take bug report, hold the power button and select the ‘Take bug report’ option.

And optionally:

Screen capture of the issue:
Press the volume down and power buttons simultaneously. The image will appear in your gallery. Attach the screenshot file to this issue.

And finally:

Please upload the bug report and screenshot to Google Drive and share the folder to android-bugreport@google.com, then share the link [here in this issue on code.google.com/p.android/....].

Question 1: How do I get it shared to Google Drive?  I previously presumably configured all bug reports to be shared via the Gmail app, and I don't see how to override that setting now.
Second, I'm very surprised to see that we're being asked to share a Google Drive link publicly to the world.  Aren't there privacy-sensitive aspects to bug reports?
Here is an example, from the open-source ChkBugReport desktop application, of the deep and wide range of information in a bug report, which can include email addresses, the device serial number, details on applications used and timings of user activity with them, detailed battery usage, the current software build ID, the network carriers use, detailed hardware information, boot parameters, various detailed usage statistics, etc.

Question 1: How do I get it shared to Google Drive? I previously presumably configured all bug reports to be shared via the Gmail app, and I don't see how to override that setting now.

You can download the files which you got in the Gmail app and upload them to Google Drive by selecting those files on your phone.

Second, I'm very surprised to see that we're being asked to share a Google Drive link publicly to the world. Aren't there privacy-sensitive aspects to bug reports?

Bug reports are only there for the developers of the app you have a problem with to see the issue/bug you are having. They only disclose what type of phone you have and what problems there are on the bug so they can fix it.
Secondly, there is no real security risk in sharing a Google Drive link. It only goes to those you send it to, but granted if you send it to the wrong person, they can be able to see that information. If this happens (reminding again that sharing a bug report is not dangerous and that there is only about a 1% chance of this happening) then you can delete the link so no further people can access it.

Android bugreports typically have highly personal and detailed information like your email address, the apps you use and how much, your device's unique serial number, your provider, copious logs, etc. I saw this post: https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=216395#c1 which does not explain how sensitive bugreports are. In response, some people have published their bugreports via the "get shareable link" Google drive option, which does share it with the world. I think this needs to be explained far more carefully for folks. Information published online often can't be erased.

Thanks. I know that each time I generate a report, I can email it to myself and then extract that and manually upload to Drive. But I now want to change that default sharing setting for bugreports, so I can share directly to Drive. See e.g. default applications - How do you clear share actions bound to ‘copy to clipboard’? - Android Enthusiasts Stack Exchange but I don't see how to use the advice here for this one.


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SD card does not appear as adoptable
I have a Samsung Galaxy On5 that has been rooted, and I want to adopt my SD card as internal storage. I am attempting to adopt the SD card using ADB. The process for this is well documented, but every guide I have found assumes that the SD card is listed following the command sm list-disks adoptable. My SD card is listed after using the command sm list-disks, but not after using sm list-disks adoptable. The card has been freshly formatted, and contains no data. Is there any reason why my sd card might not be adoptable?

Scream "You are going to be adopted!" To it :) in all seriousness, what format is the SD in? It may be an issue there.

I'm not certain, but I think the format is some variant of FAT, likely FAT32 or exFAT. The research that I've done since asking indicates that it might need to be in ext2, ext3, or ext4. Is this correct?

I believe so. You may need a Linux computer to get that format though :)

I have formatted the entire SD card to ext4, but I still get the same results from the ADB commands - appears in sm list-disks but not sm list-disks adoptable . Would one of the other two ext formats work better? Is there another factor other than format which might prevent my phone from adopting the drive?

Size, possibly. How big is the SD compared to your phone storage??

Phone storage is 8GB, SD card is 16GB.

Hmmph. No idea. Hang on... Does your device even support this?

Without rooting, you can't adopt storage on a Samsung phone. I have, however, seen reports form other On5 users that they have successfully force-adopted SD cards on their rooted phones.

@Draconic False, you don't need root to setup adoptable storage

@ЈеднорукиКрстивоје, that depends on the phone. Some phones allow adoptable storage by default, but some manufacturers do not allow their phones to set up adoptable storage short of tampering with the phone via root. My phone is one of the latter category.

authors: Једноруки Крстивоје


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Is it possible to update my cherry mobile flare lite 2 from kitkat to Lollipop?
I have cherry mobile flare lite 2 and I want to experience lollipop but I don't know, I can't find update for my phone

When you cannot find an update in your phone's updater or on its official website, the android version you are looking for is probably not supported by your phone. If you want to install Lollipop on your phone anyway, you might want to try a Custom-Rom.
But be aware: some of the options presented to you can void your warranty or damage your phone. I also cannot guarantee you will find something that works for you at all. More information on this can be found in the post I linked you.


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How safe Skype is on rooted Android OS?
Recently I have rooted my Android phone to third party custom ROM. After rooting, I have gone through many articles which says rooting cause serious security issues.
Now my question is: how safe is my Skype? Can anyone access my Skype account? Can anyone record the video conversation of mine? The provider of custom ROM has any hold or control over my phone?

The provider of all the rooting software you use (such as Kingroot if you use a "one-click" technique, SuperSU, and any software you give root permission on your phone), and the provider of the ROM you use (whether it's a custom ROM or the stock ROM) has complete control over your phone. They can steal any passwords you type into the phone (in apps, websites, or your Google account details). They can take control of any app, including Skype. They can record all your conversations, steal your credit card number, and use your details to masquerade as you. They can lock your phone (as well as any online accounts you logged into) and demand a payment from you to get your files and accounts back.
When you decide to root your phone, you need to have complete trust in all the software you use to do it, which means you also need to trust the person you got it from (e.g. the website you downloaded it from). When an app on your phone asks for root permissions, you need to have complete trust in the source of the app. If you don't have complete trust, don't root your phone/install the custom ROM/install the app.

Well, that's depressing. True though. You could mention how, I don't know, SuperSU makes you see all root requests, or how ChainFire would lose his mind if someone thought his work was dangerous to their device?

@DanBrown Why would I need to mention that when you've just provided me with a good example of the kind of trust you need to have?

Because it's the kind of trust that is voluntary. If you don't trust an app, you can halt it's root auth. (Like the older versions of lucky patcher, which had a habit of wiping your entire davlik) Other apps that you can trust, Like tasker, you give root auth to. So one, big +1 to you (which I had already added) for noting how if you don't have the trust for root apps, don't bother with rooting. (Also, good spot in my wording!) Root auth apps can be trusted (except kingroot), but that's probably it.

As long as you know that the apps you've got on your phone are safe and free from malware, your Skype should be safe as well.
But remember: the Internet is not the greatest place for private data anyways.


text:
Assign physical camera button to another app
Is there a way to assign the physical camera button to a camera-app other than the default camera app?
So, if the camera button is pressed, a specific app should start up.
If possible, it should also work in lock screen, and without rooting the device.

Yes there is a way, but your device has to be rooted.
First you have to install Xposed Framework, than download and install an Xposed module called Xposed Additions or Physical Button Music Control.
After this you can able to rebind your physical buttons.


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Put files from PC onto a Samsung Galaxy S7 via Wifi?
I want to put files (images or pdfs) onto my phone as fast as possible using wifi (LAN over wifi). I don't care if it doesn't allow the files on the phone to be uploaded to the PC, I just want to put files onto the device from the PC.

PC is Windows 10 distro.
I don't want cables, over Wifi is wanted.
I don't want to use the Wifi as an internet connection, I want all data to be sent along the local network (fastest).
I don't want to pay if possible.

Is there anything I can do to solve this?

You can just install an ftp server app like Primitive ftpd or other and access your droid using an ftp client on you computer, such as Filezilla. You can also do it the other way around : share a specific folder on your computer like you would for sharing on your home network, copy there the files you want to put on your android, and then access it from your phone using one of the various file explorer apps that allow you to, such as Ghost Commander, Solid Explorer or ES Explorer.
If I remember correctly, you can also use Airdroid to do that. It's an app that allows you to access your android device from any web browser, you can manage your contacts, send sms, etc., and copy files directly if you're on the same network, otherwise it goes through their servers.

SSHDroid + WinSCP. I think it doesn't even require root if not using port 22 (you don't have to). Also allows resume transfer. Been using the combination on my own tablet whose USB MTP connection is not working.
Don't expect transmission speed to be high, though - 2MB/s at best and ~200KB/s at worst, far slower than USB.

There is an app, called FTP Server which does this job perfectly. You download the app, configure it and the server is ready in under 2 minutes.
After you're done you can use the Windows Explorer to access your newly created FTP server. Just click on the address bar and type in ftp://[IP-ADDRESS]:[PORT] and windows will ask you for a  username and a password. That's it. You can transfer files to your phone with nothing more than a local network connection.

I already use WAMP for a webserver on this PC, any chance something like that can be used?

You mean you want to use a permanent server for your phone? That can be done with the app too. You just have to check the checkbox which says that the service starts at every boot.

You can use apps that are designed for that purpose e.g. AirDroid. It's indeed free to use if you don't want some extra premium features. You can get that from google play.

DROPBOX, BOX, GDRIVE, etc etc
You don't need a server. Upload to a drive, download to your computer or anywhere else. Simple.

Those are all third party servers to use for this. I meant direct.

This answer doesn't fulfill the 3rd criteria though: "I don't want to use the Wifi as an internet connection, I want all data to be sent along the local network (fastest)."


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How to install stock android on Huawei P9?
As you may know, Huawei ships its devices with their very own Emotion UI. I recently received such a device and was shocked someone willingly destroyed such a great phone with such a bad UI. It especially hurt, since I was coming from a Nexus device.
Due how extensive the problems are, there is no remedy other than installing stock android. But, is it a working remedy? Am I able to find stock android installation, which supports fingerprints and double back camera?

This question about a different phone explains why it's not as simple as just "installing stock android".

Don't expect anything for phones running Kirin SoCs, at least for the foreseeable years.
AFAIK, only the Honor 6 generation (Kirin 920) received CM11 treatment, but it still is buggy and development never proceeded beyond Lollipop despite the phone having official Marshmallow. Huawei is (intentionally) making unlock harder and development resources hard to obtain so as to hamper third-party development.
Sell and grab another Nexus/OnePlus, and get some spare money in the process, simple as that.
EDIT: As of now, recent Huawei flagships such as P8, P9 and Mate 8 have received CyanogenMod (LineageOS) 13 (Android 6.0) treatment. Those builds, however, are far from daily-driver status, lacking basic features such as camera and hardware acceleration. There's also no sign of Nougat on the horizon, since official Nougat for those phones are in beta at best. Unless the open-source situation of Kirin changes, this will continue to be the norm.

willingly destroyed such a great phone with such a bad UI. It
  especially hurt, since I was coming from a Nexus device.
Due to the above, there is no remedy other than installing stock
  android. But, is it a working remedy? Am I able to find stock android
  installation, which supports fingerprints and double back camera?

Your best hope is that some one creates a AOSP-ROM for your device. But looking in http://forum.xda-developers.com/p9 forums there is none. Since you say you came from nexus device I can only hope next time you make some  searches in XDA or get.cm where you can find most popular devices. For the moment P9 has some ROMs in xda but not as clean as AOSP.

Like I said, 'I recently received such a device' - Nexus would have been, indeed, my choice otherwise. Selling the Huawei and getting a Nexus is probably the optimal solution, like others have pointed out.

I share your view on the notification (a real pain in the ass). I found a partial fix (but still got some issue, like with Airbnb) : http://www.forbes.com/sites/bensin/2016/07/04/push-notifications-not-coming-through-to-your-huawei-phone-heres-how-to-fix-it/#3390958978aa
Regarding the launcher, you can install one, then : Settings > Apps > Advanced > Default Apps > then choose your app (such as the launcher)


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Download mode disabled by kill switch on LG G3
I have installed CyanogenMod 13 on my LG G3 (LG D850), but I decided to return back to stock ROM. I download the files, but when I try to install by download mode, it shows a message that download mode disabled by killswitch.
Regarding McAfee's killswitch, I'm using CyanogenMod ROM, and I believe it doesn't have McAfee as a preinstalled app.
How to fix this issue?

I am asking about third method so that I get some real thing to block this so called "kill switch"  :(

Ahmad, just to clarify: Are you sure you haven't installed that MacAffee app yourself? I'm sure it didn't come pre-installed with CM, but if you installed it manually, the effect would be the same. If you still can boot your device normally, make sure by checking Settings › Apps (on the "All" tab, to be absolutely sure) that it isn't shown.

Not sure if it's a duplicate, but refer to this similar issue with other LG phone: Factory reset is disabled by kill switch on LG L16C

I tried this method but McAfee says your device is unlocked :(

This "issue" coused by McAffee (KillSwitch) which prevent hardreset or install a new rom on your phone.
So first, you have to boot up you device, open up McAffee app and disable it or just simply uninstall it if you can. After you will able to install the stock ROM.
Same issue is here.

Where did OP mention having McAffee installed? (Note: Ahmad does not have it installed) And I've never heard CM included that in its ROMs.

Because only McAffee Mobile Security contains this feature "KillSwitch" which prevent to do FR or install a new ROM.  @Ahmad had to be installed McAffee and activate it to enable this option, there is no other way.

Yes. And how does it do that if it wasn't even installed on the device? Remote magic? So every phone in the world is affected, even if it never heard of that app? You'd have your point if OP had this app installed – but Ahmad explicitly points out he had not. So this is an answer/solution to a different issue, but – no offense meant – not to this one here :)

If you Google to this keywords: "kill switch disable download mode" there is only hits which associated with enabled McAffee app. So there are 3 ways - 1st: The hits just wrong and all the comments are false, 2nd: the OP forget that he installed and enabled it on his device,  3rd: some reason not OP installed and enabled it on his device.

I guess we can rule out #1. You have your point with #2 (I've left a comment on the question for clarification: indeed Ahmad just stated it didn't come pre-installed, but said nothing about maybe having it installed himself). If that's ruled out as well, it leaves #3 (as I initially assumed). Let's see what Ahmad responds.

I didn't install it after zipping cm13 on my cell phone coz I jus hate McAfee as it hanged my PC once I installed it

So there is no other way left only #3.

I talked to McAfee service agent

He said he can't do anything coz this issue is handled by lg service and I told him that lg is not working in my country :(

I font understand #3

What's da procedure in #3

Try to summarize what you're trying to say in the future.
The procedure: as linked previously (@Andrew T.), follow this.


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My apps don't move to SD-card
I need some help.  I just bought a new phone Android 6.0 (Huawei Honor 7 lite)  and I can't move apps to my SD-card. I enabled primary storage as SD-card but the apps are still in internal memory and I can't seem to find option to move them to SD-card so I could really use some help if anybody knows how to move apps.  :)

I think this will help.
Source: Tomsguide
Move Apps to SD Card Using Application Manager . So, you must install Application Manager first

Navigate to settings on your phone.You can find the settings menu in the app drawer.
Tap Application Manager.
Select an app you want to move to the microSD card.
Tap the Move to SD Card button. If you don't see a Move to SD Card button, the app cannot be moved. Most preloaded apps cannot be moved to an SD card. If you don't see Move to SD Card buttons on any apps, your device may not support this feature at all.

If you wish to move an app back to the internal memory, hit the "Move to device storage" button.

I already tried with app manager it shows me all the apps that can be moved to SD and it takes me to where i should be able to move the app to the SD card but there is no option "move to" at all. And as I said my primary storage is set as SD-card.


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How to revert back from Marshmallow 6 to Lollipop 5 in Samsung Note 4?
My Samsung Note 4 is updated to 6, but I don't like it and I want to go back to Lollipop. Is it possible to do it easily?
I heard that there are many problems with 6.

Unfortunatelly the downgrade isn't so easy at all.
You have to download a proper official Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Lollipop system image from SamFirmware and install it from Odin (or Heimdall on OS X). You have to read about this process before you do anything (eg.: enable developer options, USB debugging, etc)
It will be a clean install so if you have any important app or app-data you should backup all of them (I prefer TitaniumBackup Pro, but you have to be rooted.) with Kies (if you aren't rooted).
If you stuck there is a guide for a Samsung Galaxy S6.

It is generally better to include the full explanation of the procedure in an answer, rather than just links. Those may get outdated and thus become dead-ends, so it's advised to use them only as references.

One more thing - Samsung's bootloaders typically disallow downgrading, though I don't know if that the case with Marshmallow -> Lollipop. Care to back up with successful examples? OP will have more incentive to take the risk if you do.


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How do you create / copy image to multiple devices of the same type?
I work at a startup and we have a bit of a conundrum.
We need to install the same image on hundreds of devices.
The things we have to do:

Put the device in kiosk mode (either through system settings or an app)
Set some system settings (Internet, Roaming, GPS)
Install an App

Is there a way to do this by copying a complete image of a device and put it on other devices? Can this be done with releatively little interactivty by the developer?

I am sure this can be automated using ADB scripts.
adb install app.apk will install app.apk.
System settings can be changed via adb also (see here for more details: http://andrejfernandes.pt/?p=171).
Heck, adb input can even automate entire user interfaces!
If you really, really need to have the phones be exact mirrors and all devices have a custom recovery installed, then you can reboot into recovery on all devices with adb reboot recovery. Then get an image of the data and internal SD partition using dd in the recovery shell. Finally, push the images out onto the rest of the devices via adb push and dd them back onto their respective partitions.


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Unidentified app using excessive battery
I have a battery drain issue with a stock Nexus-7 (2013), Android 6.0.1, up to date with monthly patches. The battery is losing 15-20% overnight. Turning WiFi off overnight doesn't reduce it, or not much. The top consumer is just called "10017".
Some background - A recent version of Sygic Navigation was showing high battery usage even when I didn't use the app. I couldn't keep it from running. After exiting it, or after force-stopping it, I would shortly find it running again. I deleted the app but kept its user folder. Maybe related?
I keep Google Account Manager and Google Play Store disabled when I'm not actively using them. This is not new; I've done it since shortly after the tablet was new.
I installed the August patches a few days ago; the tablet was rebooted by that process. The battery issue predates that update.

How can I find out what it (10017) is?

I had already uninstalled Sygic knowing that it had been a culprit, but it is not the current one (10017). Device is not rooted and I haven't installed, setup, etc, ADB. Currently backtracking through my (own) log looking for other updates that might be responsible. I appreciate your advice.

Try going to Settings > Storage & USB > Explore to see if you can find/delete anything left by Sygic Navigation.
You can also try rebooting the tablet into safe mode by pressing and holding the power button until the dialog box with Power off appears. Then, press and hold the on-screen "Power off" button until it prompts you about rebooting into Safe mode. See if your battery is okay in safe mode (test it for about a day). Note that in safe mode, you can only use the core apps that the tablet came with and no third party apps. To exit safe mode, just turn off and turn back on the tablet.
Hope this helps.

Try dialing *#*#4636#*#*, it should give usage statistics that can be sorted by usage time, last time used, and app name. You will get an output as shown:

Sort by App name. If it shows Sygic or any other app which shows abnormal usage, then possibly the UID belongs to that app. Next steps:

Uninstall that app and see if the situation improves

Determining PID/UID if the above didn't help (assuming PID is the number 10017) - is easy if your device is rooted as described on How can I find app name by UID?. Even if your device is not rooted, see Firelord's solution which works for non-rooted devices

That should help you nail the culprit.

Alas, it's not a phone - no dialler.

Backing out recently installed apps, "10017" went away when I un-installed Talkatone. I repeated the install and un-install with the same result (other than the "battery-burner" having a different numeric ID).

This is a little tricky and yet simple

Any apps you just uninstalled will list up with UID as your phone doesn't save anything from the app once you use a cleaner app to clean up files after the uninstallation process.
If you still doubt it, go to Safe mode, dial up *#*#4636#*#*, and sort by time. This will give you a vague idea of which app it is exactly. If you still can't find out, look for a similar number as that is different based on the device. If you find something unusual like installed on Jan 1, 1970, then that's part of your phone OS. Don't tamper with it anymore. Keep calm and understand that your battery life is reducing as the device is old now like 3+ years.


text:
How does Google Now know it's listening to music?
Once you launch the Google Now app, it listens to determine if it's listening to speech/noise or a song.
What is the logical process that the Google Now app uses to identify noise vs music? I'm assuming it reads the frequency/tone of the song it is picking up through the microphone, but if not, what is the actual process?

How do you know you are listening to music?

As interesting as this question is, I'm afraid there's no-one other than Google themselves who can answer this, unless it's explained anywhere.

I don't know specifics of Google's system, but there are two technologies that are relevant to solving this problem, and it may use both together (depending on circumstances). Either way, the first thing it does is to Fourier transform short samples of what it's hearing. This gives it the spectrum of the sound, telling it how much of each frequency is present, and (because it has a sequence of samples) how that changes over time. Once it has this, it can filter out some very high- and low-pitched bands that don't help to identify the sound.
The output of this is a collection of "buckets", where each bucket represents a frequency band for a particular fraction of a second, and the value tells you how much sound there is in that bucket. This is where there are two possibilities.
Bayesian classifier
The simplest possibility is to give these buckets to some kind of pre-trained Bayesian classifier. This is a class of AI algorithms that can take some collection of features (the frequency/time buckets) and classify the situation into one of a set of groups you define: in this case, "speech" or "music" or "something else". Although it takes a lot of training data to teach the algorithm how to make this classification, the parameters that result (the pre-trained algorithm) are very compact, so it's practical to include these data in the app, allowing off-line classification. I'd expect that it uses this kind of algorithm on its own if you're using Google's off-line speech recognition feature.
Don't forget that a use of this feature might be to recognise an "OK Google" query in a pub with music in the background, so the classification isn't just as simple as "speech" or "music": it has to decide which is louder or in the foreground.
Music recognition
The other possibility is to try to find a matching piece of music straight away. Music recognition involves a big database of all the music you want to recognise. Each piece of music has already been run through the frequency analysis, so it's indexed by the same frequency/time buckets that the app has recorded. The app just has to go to the cloud to ask the database, "Do you have any music that has these buckets?"
The time part of the buckets is only calculated relative to nearby buckets, so it will find the piece of music regardless of what part of it you're listening to. Also, the information in the buckets is reduced with a hash function (a function that turns some numbers into a smaller number), so it's resilient to losing some frequencies (because of a bad sound system or other noise in the background).
This is a really long-winded thing to do just to tell speech from music, and it requires querying Google's servers to do it, so it wouldn't normally be a good option. It's only a good option because, if it is music, the app will need to do this anyway to recognise it.
Summary
Given the advantages and disadvantages of the two algorithms, I'd expect that the app includes both. For off-line use, it would just use the simple classifier. For on-line use, it might well use both in parallel: using the classifier to give a quick result if the input is very likely to be speech, while it waits for the music database in the cloud to try to recognise the particular piece of music (or say no).


text:
Is there a grayscale mode for the Samsung Galaxy S5 (and other Samsung phones) on Marshmallow?
The Marshmallow update for Samsung phones (mine is a Galaxy S5, but the Note series has the same problem) seems to have removed the ability to turn on grayscale mode when activating power saver mode.
Is there a way to re-enable this feature?

Samsung removed the feature from Power Saving, but you can still activate grayscale mode in the developer options.
Go to your Settings and into the Developer Options.

If developer options isn't there, you have to manually activate the feature. Follow the steps in this answer.

Scroll to the Hardware-accelerated rendering section, and click on Simulate color space. Then select Monochromacy. Your phone is now in grayscale mode.
This color space option also exists on other phones.

I'm not sure if this brings anything in terms of power saving (most probably the reason why Samsung removed it in the first place), but the same menu also offer option allowing to simulate color blindness, thanks for the information!

The screen on the S5 is AMOLED, so I imagine it has a little power saving effect. But I don't know for sure. But I do prefer grayscale at night, since it seems easier on the eyes.

I suppose that power efficiency is more a matter of luminosity than color, and that grey scale produces the same level of luminosity than colors (possibly related topic). By the way, there are apps which use a filter to adapt the color temperature according to the time of the day, and CyanogenMod features a "LiveDisplay" option to automatically adjust color temperature and luminosity according to time and ambient luminosity.


text:
Can I use Tasker to activate grayscale mode on my Galaxy S5 running Marshmallow?
The Marshmallow upgrade for the S5 removed grayscale rendering from the Power Saving mode. It can be manually enabled in the developer options as described in this answer.
I would like to use Tasker to easily toggle this setting on and off. Is there a way to do this in Tasker? And can Tasker be used to modify other system preferences?

Yes, if you have root access.
Tasker does not have the developer options built-in as something it can manage.
However, the developer options, like most preferences, are stored in a database behind the scenes. They can be modified via command-line, and Tasker is able to run shell commands. You just need to know what command to run.
Unfortunately, the catch is that you must have root access. While these settings can be changed via ADB without root, Tasker needs root to be able to run the same commands.
Determining Setting Key
To find out which option is needed, the easiest way is to list all preferences, change the preference, then list all preferences again. Then find the difference to determine the namespace and key which must be modified.
One easy way to do this is via ADB. On your desktop computer with Android Development Bridge installed, connect to your phone via adb shell.
Run these three commands: settings list system, settings list secure, and settings list global. After each one, copy the output into a new text file and save the files. Next, change your desired preference using your phone, and then run those 3 commands again, saving them into new text files.
Compare the files using diff (on Linux) or any other utility designed to compare differences in text files. This will quickly show what changed from 'before' to 'after', letting you know which setting key was modified.
For this example, we find the specific setting is accessibility_display_daltonizer_enabled in the namespace secure. When it has a value of 1, it's enabled, and the screen shows grayscale.
Creating a Grayscale Task
So back in Tasker, create a new Task called "Grayscale On". Add an Action, and go to Code -> Run Shell. The command to run is settings put secure accessibility_display_daltonizer_enabled 1. Check the box that says Use Root.
Clone that Task and call it "Grayscale Off". Modify the command to have a 0 at the end instead of a 1.
Then, you can use Tasker however you like to run either of those tasks to turn grayscale mode on or off.

Just FYI for anybody thinking about trying Stephen's answer, I just tried it and it works great on Android Oreo on a Nexus 6p, worked great!


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Android w/o gapps. How to get purchased apps
I'm thinking of wiping Google from my Android phone using cyanogenmod w/o gapps using alternative app stores.
The problem is that i have puchased already numerous apps in Google play store, which I don't want to loose.
Is there a possibility to download and install manually the apps I bought at Google play? How to get the newest updates?
Thanks in advance.

I think there are 3rd-party sites that can do this, but you have to give them your Google Account credentials which is not a great choice.  I'm not sure exactly how they get the APKs after authenticating.  It might be better to use a site like APK Mirror to get new versions.  It depends on how the apps check their license status as well.

You could back up your purchased apps with titanium backup but there is no guarantee they will work without Google services and also you'd loose updates. What's the actual reason you wish to have android without Google apps?

Main reason are concerns about the privacy of my data. Seems that i have to decide if i want to take loosing some apps into account.

I like to use this: GooglePlayDownloader
Though I had to edit the source code to get it to work for me.
You can browse the play store from your pc and also search for any updates to your apk's you have downloaded. I then adb install the apk's I downloaded.
I run it under linux but it is written in python so should be cross platform.
As said in your comments you use your google account but this software is local and not on a web server. Plus it is open source so you can trust in what your account is being used for.
You will need:

Google Email
Google Password
Android ID
Laguage Code (example: en_US)

You may also be interested in a project called microG. It mocks the gapps but doesn't actually provide any functionality.

Looks very promising. I'll try out. Python 2.x or 3.x?

Ok. I could make it run with the "free crendentials", including searching for files. Additionally I could log in with my own account. (Got message from google, that new device was found). Anyhow searching with my account didn't work. Error msg: File "googleplaydownloader.py", line 319, in search     results = self.playstore_api.search(search_string, nb_results=nb_results).bo dy.doc AttributeError: NoneType object has no attribute doc''  is this the same error you have fixed already?

Look at the forks of https://github.com/egirault/googleplay-api/. The solution is in one of them, just can't remember which.

It has to do with your android ID not matching up with the user agent used in the script. You can actually use your google account with the default android ID "31130ef715df16f2", as that matches the user agent "Android-Finsky/6.7.13.E-all [0] 2920566 (api=3,versionCode=80671300,sdk=23,device=angler,hardware=angler,product=angler,build=MTC19T:user". Though it would be best to figure out the correct one for your android id.

Seems you are correct. I was using android-checkin to get my ID. In my first trys I have used the decimal value instead to the hex value of the ID in googleplay-api. Now I seach using my own android_ID. Anyhow, the search results seem to include only free downloads (which also is a usefull think). Anyhow the purchased apps don't appear in the list. Any idea?


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Is there a way to disable the automatic decrease in volume when I put an AUX cable/head phones in?
Phone specs:

Phone: LG G3
Android Version: 6.0
Software Version: D85230e

Situation:
I use an AUX cable to listen to music from my phone in my car. The only way to get the volume to the appropriate level is to turn my phone volume up to the maximum then adjust the car volume accordingly. Unfortunately, I have to repeat this process every time because if the volume was at max the previous time I used the AUX cable I get the following warning:

Question:
Is there a way to disable this automatic decrease in volume so that when I plug the AUX cable in the volume will already be at the previous level (maximum)?

You can setup a macro on macrodroid that does exactly this (not quite sure how to disable that setting itself but maybe a dev option). When you install the app, add a macro with "Headphones Inserted as trigger and "Volume Change" as the action. Now it will automatically set the media volume to your choosing when you insert headphones.

That app is actually pretty awesome. Unfortunately, even with the above macro set the phone still lowers the volume.  The macro seems to be applied BEFORE the phone checks to see if the volume is too high.

That being said, I'm going to try to change the macro a bit so that it's trigger when the music app is opened with the headphones in as a constraint.

It works fine, I just need to make sure I have the AUX cable in before starting the music app. Thank you.

you're welcome. If it doesn't work immediately then try setting "wait before next action"  for however much time you want before it does  the volume change.  This way it'll work every time.


text:
My phone work but screen is black
My phone open normally and it works , but the screen is black!
My phone is galaxy j3 with OP 5.1.1 , Help please ! :(

What happened prior to this?  By working normally, do you mean that you can receive calls?  Can you connect to it via ADB?

Possible reasons:

1.) Your phone might be in a hanged state. Try a "adb reboot" command by attaching your device to your computer, however, you need to have developer options enabled or else it wouldn't work.
2.) LCD digitizer (a hardware module responsible for rendering Android's UI) is gone (short-circuited). You need to get it replaced.
3.) Do a hard-reboot (into any mode: recovery, bootloader/fastboot/any-other-samsung-proprietary-alternative-mode).

If you have tried every possible way to make your display come back, clearly the digitizer is short-circuited. Get it replaced (warranty covers that for free*)
* - Conditions applied.


text:
What part of Android is responsible for reporting how much battery an app uses?
In Android Marshmallow (and maybe earlier versions), you can go to App Info and see how much battery an app has used. If you click into it, it shows much how much CPU it's used as well as keep awake and network usage. The last line on the view shows "Computed power usage".
What part of the OS calculates this power usage? If "Computed power usage" is coming up as 0-1mAh regardless of usage, where would a developer go to fix it?

Some background for this question: In many of the MM custom ROMs I've used, there's some issue with battery/CPU usage reporting. None of the apps are being listed in the battery usage screen and none of them are being listed in the CPU usage. The behavior is detailed by someone else here https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/148600/why-does-my-nexus-6ps-show-cpu-usage-option-only-show-com-android-systemui-a

I can't see how this knowledge would be useful to anyone but a ROM developer.

@MatthewRead It may not be useful, but in my opinion this is an interesting question for those who don't trust said values, or for mere curiosity as well. Not a strictly development centric question, I think.

I don't think it's a duplicate question because the other post's answer only speaks of Android generally. My question is asking specifically which part (bootloader, kernel, some part of system) of Android is responsible for that. I'm not an Android developer but I am a developer and if someone who knows better can point me to the right direction, I could investigate some repos.

@beeshyams I don't think it can be a duplicate, because the accepted answer to the other question doesn't answer this question at all.

@DanHulme: Agreed.  It explains partly how but doesn't answer this. I was in a hurry. Will retract closure and upvote the question

The strange thing is that GSam Battery Monitor seemingly correctly reports battery usage by apps...


text:
Marshmallow - disable unlock touch feedback
When phone is locked and I'm inputting the PIN, there's a visual feedback on each keytouch, some sort of ripple animation around the key.
Not very secure :)
How can I disable that?
Edit:
Device - Lenovo Moto X Play, not rooted
OS - Marshmallow 6.0.1
Apps tried:
Hi Locker - Your Lock Screen - Free version pop ads on unlock - unusable
GO Locker - theme & wallpaper - Slow
Locker Master- DIY Lock Screen - Buggy
ZUI Locker-Elegant Lock Screen - Doesn't solve the initial problem

Tried disabling effects in dev settings?

There is no such setting. There might be a rooted app for that though.

@xangua everything is disabled already

@DevinErsoy I was afraid of that tho ... It is very strange ... why make something so insecure as a built in non-changeable config?

@AdamGoldman Try accessibility, there may be an option for disabling haptic feedback. For the image, try checking your lock screen settings for a option along the lines of "hide button presses."

@DanBrown checked already, nothing there ...

@AdamGoldman what device is it?

@DanBrown Lenovo Moto x play. does it matter?

@AdamGoldman It always matters. Most, if not all devices, have certain specifics that alter a method.

My nexus 6p running stock android also has that problem. Thankfully it has a fingerprint sensor but it would be great if the big circle ripple after every password key-press could be removed.

If you set a bounty on the question, maybe it would attract more attention.

@Devin he hasn't enough upvote to set a bounty.

@beeshyams no, but I will do it if it will solve this problem. I have to much sensitive info on my phone (cryptocurrency ...)

@DevinErsoy: solution posted and OP would soon accept it. You canstar Google change request, mentioned in additional notes

Your concern from a security point of view is  very valid for these two reasons:

Password can possibly be guessed by somebody who repeatedly and closely watches you swipe pattern or key PIN by following the ripple pattern
Smudge Attack Wikipedia entry says:

A smudge attack is a method to discern the password pattern of a touchscreen device such as a cell phone or tablet computer .... The smudge attack relies on detecting the oily smudges left behind by the user's fingers .... Under proper lighting and camera settings, the finger smudges can be easily detected, and the heaviest smudges can be used to infer the most frequent user input pattern (the password). The researchers were able to break the password up to 68% of the time under proper conditions.

(emphasis supplied)
Commonly advocated counter measures against smudge attack are

Wipe the screen after every unlock, (impractical as it may sound) ;
Use a high quality oleophobic screen protector to minimise smudges, in addition to wiping after every unlock

There are two ways of mitigating security risk-using apps for  un-rooted devices and other means for rooted devices

Un-rooted Devices: Since Lockscreen mechanism is a part of the core security of Android devices , apps can't interfere or modify it's functioning . These apps take the approach of asking the user to set the lockscreen security to none and then impose a lockscreen design of their choice, in effect, a layer on top of disabled lockscreen. One such app  is Hi Locker which is a lock screen app, offering a lot of features. Relevant to this question are

Pattern Lock:   This allows you invisible mode in security options. This mode hides the ripples. Which means the typical trailing lines joining the dots are not shown. However, this is a risk from smudge attack view, unless you change the pattern very frequently
PIN Lock: This allows you to set a Random keyboard in security settings. With this the keyboard changes with every lock / unlock, and is recommended for security against prying eyes and smudge attack. Screen shots below show this on consecutive lock / unlock-note the randomized digit placement

Rooted Devices: This takes the approach of directly modifying the lockscreen functionality of Android, without using any apps. I am aware of one method and there may well be more.  This is based on scrambling the key board while entering PIN. This requires Xposed framework to be installed and Gravity Box module to be installed. This module aside of tons of features offers means to PIN scramble (under Lock screen tweaks). This PIN scrambling feature is similar to the one shown in the above method as far as user interface is concerned.
Since rooting tag, xposed-framework cover related aspects, specifics to OPs device are not covered here. OP can study them and if need be ask a separate question

OP's device is not rooted but has indicated in comments that he is willing to root the device to meet his requirement . Rooting without fully understanding the risks  could  be a bigger risk. IMO, rooting the device and taking adequate precautions to safeguard against the risks is highly worth it.  It is up to OP to decide which course but using app based method to start with could be a good start.
Edit: I just noticed your edit, which shows that the free version of app is unusable due to ads. Unfortunately, Free always comes with a price tag of ads as far as apps go ( There ain't no such thing as a free lunch at play !). So your options are limited to a) buying the pro or buying an ad blocker for unrooted devices b ) searching for other apps from the list at serial 1  on notes below c) Root your device and use Gravity box or flash a ROM that has this feature inbuilt (understand CM 11 , which is quite old has it - I am not aware of other ROMs)
There isn't much one can do about that, unfortunately
I have been searching and there appears to be no free without adds. Also searching for timepin throws up similar apps which modify PIN based on current time in various configurations. But all of them are ad supported.

Additional Information

Where to find a PIN lock screen that scrambles the keypad on every use?  a related question on scrambling PIN lists out some other apps as well, which have not been tried by me.
There have been feature enhancement requests to Google to include this as a default feature in Android OS for long. Issue 10496:    Randomize screen lock pin keypad option was opened in 2010 and closed in 2014 ; Issue 74338:Option for keypad number randomizer on lock screen settings to increase PIN entry security was opened in 2014 and closed in 2015 ; Issue 181566: Option for keypad number randomizer on lock screen settings to increase PIN entry security was opened in 2015 and thankfully is still open - head over there and star it to support or leave a helpful comment - I just did and there are less than 10 folks supporting- do your bit !
Answer here to Touch Screen Password Guessing by Fingerprint Trace from Security SE , wiki on smudge attacks and other net searches reveal a product by Whispercore, which seems unavailable now

Edited - Added version to post (6.0.1)

Thanks to Izzy, here is his collection of lock screen apps. which may help since they include from other than Google Play store

I'm just updating my progress :) I think the post expresses clearly what is the desired outcome I'm after and the reasoning behind it

what do u mean by "dialed ad blocker" ?

Let us continue this discussion in chat.


text:
Samsung Galaxy J3 SM-J320Y Bootloop Problem
I have a Samsung Galaxy J3 (SM-J320Y) and my friend tried to root it.. he uses Kingo Root Android and King Root but both of it failed to root it.. I already said to him not to bother rooting it but he continues and as he gives uo on trying to root it he unistalled the Kingo Root App and King Root. Then he restart my phone. the problem starts there, my phone has been on bootloop every since.. when its already at the samsung logo it would restart over and over again.. pls. help just bought this.
thanks in advance

It seems from what you have mentioned above, that your device was not rooted and thus there is no custom recovery installed on your device.
So here are the two methods which you can try -
Method-1
Step-1. Power OFF.
Step-2. Press and hold Power + Volume Up + Home.
Step-3. Select "wipe data factory reset".
Method-2
Download the stock ROM for your device and then flash it using software like Odin.
Here's the link to download the ROM- http://www.android.gs/download-stock-android-firmware-files-for-samsung-galaxy-j3-2016/
This will get your device to normal state.


text:
How to batch-split the pages of a PDF when there's multiple pages per page?
I have PDFs with two actual pages on one landscape page, like this:

I want to separate the pages so that each page has only one actual page on it. For example, the page in the image above above should be split in two and added in consecutive order to a new PDF. Each document has lots of pages with the same margins, so I want batch processing.
The text from the PDF should be preserved.
I know of a desktop application called Briss, but I need to do it on Android. Here's what Briss looks like:

Is it possible?

Please edit your question to clarify that you want PDF functionality to be retained. Deleted my answer as i could have clarified this before replying :)

@beeshyams Alright, edited.


text:
Rooting Android without Apps
Is it possible to root an android device ....

Without using any third party applications like Kingo Root?
Without Custom Recovery or Custom ROM?

If yes, please guide me, how to do?
Regards
GNS

What device? The process varies a lot based on which device and the version of Android... the only "generic" way that works on most devices with an unlocked bootloader is boot/flash a custom recovery (many devices allow you to BOOT recovery without actually flashing it) and flash SuperSU, but again it depends on your device.

Thank you replying. My android tablet is iBall Brace-X1 which is Android 4.4.2, Kernel version: iBall3.4.67, MT6592, RAM 2GB and internal storage is 16GB. I am unable to unlock its boot-loader.

The only way I know for "generic" MediaTek devices is via https://androidmtk.com/download-mtk-droid-tool

Yes there is a lots of rooting method. Also per device have different rooting method. Anyway expect recovery, rooting app etc. you can root your device with adb too. Here is a universal manual root method by adb.


text:
Not able to access internal memory after setting SD as default
My phone is Huawei Mate 8 (NXT-L29), latest version of Android Marshmallow and Emotion UI, not rooted, bootloader locked.
Today I plugged in a Samsung 128GB level 10 microSD card I got from Amazon. Everything works, speed is good and I loaded some movies on it with my PC. I then switched default storage from Internal Memory to Samsung SD Card in the phone settings. I managed to move my photos and music to the SD Card using Huawei File Manager. Now, every third party app I try (including PPSSPP,  ES File Manager Pro, EMUI Theme Editor, Debian noroot for Android and more) only detect the SD card as media (even if the most apps themselves actually are in the Internal Storage along with their data). With ES File Manager Pro,  going in either /storage or /storage/emulated I only find the respectively the SD Card as a folder and nothing in emulated. Why is this happening? I still have some files (including Minecraft PE saves) that I'd like to open (not copy) directly from Internal Memory. The only app seeing my Phone Internal Storage is the Huawei pre-installed File Manager. How do I mount/access Phone Internal Memory without rooting?

Sounds like you are using Marshmallow's Adopted Storage, which merges the external storage and internal storage. Your SD card becomes encrypted and is adopted by the device, almost replacing your existing internal storage. And how do you access internal storage now? You don't, except via PC.

Well, that's not the case, since in settings my phone SPECIFIES apps are saved on internal memory, and in the Huawei File manager I see the two separate drives. And, PC still reads SD with card adaptor, no encryption.

Also,  Huawei does not support adopted storage

Hmm... I have no idea then... Sorry.

How come I'm the only one experiencing this in the whole world?

lol... Probably not the only one, just the only one here on Stack Exchange, or they haven't seen the post. My next suggestion would be to factory default and set it up fresh, or else try posting looking or here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/mate-8

Factory reset? Noooo!! Come on! Also, I believe it won't change a single thing.

I am answering to my own question.
First of all,  on Huawei, SD Card support is very limited. You can barely use an SD to store files,  to save camera pictures, to store some app data in limited circumstances. Setting default media as SD Card does do not much of a change either. Since Huawei is not very open, they don't want you to mess with your phone's data, so if there is a memory card for data storage as an alternative, it prefers dedicating internal memory (the data.img file in the System Flash) to app data, which shall not be accessible by other apps, only by the app that is using the data. I think this is what Huawei would like as ideal configuration, but since not always you can use an SD Card, you also have the "all-accessible" mode.
Moral:
If you want to use an SD card with Huawei (for recording video, storing a great deal of music, having movies) NEVER tinker with default storage.
After setting default storage back to "Internal", ES and other apps are displaying Internal Memory as "0" and SD Card as "E43A-A70F".
If device is rooted, you can create the needed symlinks and not even touch Storage settings.


text:
Is it possible to install an newer version of android for an old android device?
I've got a phone with Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean installed on it, and it doesn't have a 'Software update' button. Is it possible at all to somehow install a newer version of Android on this device?
I also looked at a possibility to install CyanogenMod on this phone, but it doesn't have my phone in the list on http://get.cm. The model is the Lenovo A830, so it's not a conventional phone. Is it possible to install some kind of 'generic' version of Android on it?
Alternatively, can I install a mod that uses a more recent Android version?

Yes, It is possible to install newer version of android on an old device but if any custom ROM exist for that device.
Matter of fact Cyanogen is one of popular custom distribution of android also there are many custom distributions for android that may support your device.
My advice to you is checking xda developers forums to find any possible ROMS for your device.
XDA

But could I take for example a ROM for a Lenovo A850 and put it in my A830? Or a Motorola (which got acquired by Lenovo in 2014) ROM work? Or would neither of those work?

@Joeytje50 It's not like windows, Generally you can't but there are minor exceptions for devices with very similar hardware specs.

On the XDA developers site, the closest match for Lenovo A830 is the A850. So would it break my phone if I tried installing that, or would I then be able to revert to the original state?

Usually developers in XDA provide enough information to clarify if that ROM could be used on any other devices, Anyway based on GSMARENA devices you mentioned have different chipset so that means I don't think you can cross-flash their ROMs on each other.

How can I find a device which would work? Is any device with a "Mediatek MT6589" chipset right for my phone?

You can't just find a compatible ROM for your device chipset and using that on your device (We can assume ROMs are designed for a particular device), I think just by googling 'Lenovo A830 custom rom' you can find your answer, Good Luck!

I already tried that, and I couldn't find any ROMs with Android 4.4 or higher for A830. So could I try installing a ROM for a different device with the same chipset, or would that completely destroy my device?

I don't recommend you to do that, There is high risk of hard brick!

Let us continue this discussion in chat.