text:
Unusual file under Android on SGH-1337M DO_NOT_DELETE
Under Android Folder I have two files Data and DO_NOT_DELETE, within the DO NOT DELETE file are some sub files opening these in notebook shows text conversations from my text messages. Why would android save these texts to a file that requests do not delete?
Also it only shows up when I plug into my computer. On my phone under files only the Data folder shows up. What is this do not delete file and where did it come from?

Could you clarify the full path of the folder? Is it in internal or external storage?


text:
Android 5.0 (Lollipop) music equalizer?
First of all, I'm rooted. So since I have Android 5.0 on my Nexus 5 I wonder if there still exists the option to change the music equalizer.
In KitKat it was like:

I wasn't able to find any option like this in the settings, maybe someone of you knows how to get this. I don't want to use the Google Play music equalizer.

Possible workaround: uninstall/disable other equalisers

That option is removed in Lollipop. If you want to use other equalizer, you have to disable default equalizer from Settings -> Applications-> All -> MusicFx -> Disable.
When you opens the equalizer from music player, it will open a chooser by showing other equalizers in it.

A known issue, wait for XPosed framework to be stable on lollipop, and someone will create a memory patch...
Or for limited experience, VLC seems to have a built-in equalizer that actually works...
[not a sponsor... ;) ]

Go to applications settings and select all applicationa. Find the MusicFX application clear the Application data for this application and then install other Equlizer from play market. After that when you start music player and select equalizer option new equalizer will be opened.
It was tested on Equalizer FX and it works for me :)

Tried it with viper4android (best eq I know) and it doesn't seem to work maybe the drivers aren't supporting 5.0....

It seems android 5 does not support change sound for global output. So you have to start equalizer from music player. And some equalizers does not support change sound effects for specific output stream.

Use AIMP work great... No root need.

Welcome to the site and thanks for posting a suggestion. Could you expand upon this a little? What's AIMP? Is it an app? Could you add a link to it, and explain how it helps?

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
How to recover Chrome open tabs
I used to have the Chrome app with more or less 40 open tabs for some months. I opened it pretty often and it always restored all the tabs, until yesterday. I opened Chrome by mistake while I was having connection issues and it was not able to restore all my tabs. The next time I opened it, it only restored 5 tabs and the others seem to be gone. I tried searching for my tabs in Chrome history but I wasn't able to find them, instead I only see all the tabs opened in my other devices (PCs, Tablet, ecc.). I also tried to search for my tabs in the browsing history of my Google account, but I wasn't able to find them there neither: it seems that Chrome didn't load for real most of the tabs.
Is there a way to recover my open tabs? Does Chrome have a local history (opposed to the general history of the Google account which contains browsing history of all the devices used with that account)?

Sounds like you've tried everything that I have done before to resolve this issue.
One more thing to try if you haven't -- just taking a shot in the dark here -- is to close out all of the Chrome instances on all devices and then open Chrome back up on your phone -- maybe even restart the device -- then see if Google's servers sync up and with a little luck maybe the tab history will then display them for you.  Again... shot in the dark but thought it'd be worth a try.

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


text:
Play/Pause button on headphones works for a time, then stops
I have a Galaxy Note 3, and the play/pause button on the wired headset only works for a short time.  Once I start playing music or whatever, with Ginko/Music/Play Music, the button works fine.  After listening to a song or two however, pushing the button has no effect and I have to pull my phone out to play or pause.  Has anyone else had this problem, or is it something I should be submitting for repair?
Thanks.


text:
How to view email in "Combined View" in 5.0 Lollipop
After updating my Nexus 5 to Lollipop, the Email app tells me that the Gmail app will now handle all emails.  However, I'm having trouble being able to view all email accounts at once in the gmail app.
In the old Email application, at the bottom of the list of email accounts was a "Combined View" option.  When selected, it would display messages in the inbox of all linked accounts.  This option is missing in the list of accounts for the Gmail application.  How can I view emails from all inboxes in the Gmail app on 5.0?  If this is not possible, is there a way to get the old Email application back?

The Gmail app has never supported this in the past, so I would wager that there is no way to do what you're looking for (aside from using a different mail client).


text:
What is the difference between these sound icons in the notification bar?
When I want to change the volume on my phone, I can press the icons in the notification bar to toggle between vibrate only, silent and normal volume.
However the latter one appears to have two possible icons with only a very subtle change:

Given that they can't both do exactly the same, what is the difference between them?

The one on the left signifies "ring and vibrate" mode, the one on the right is "ring mode". If you choose the first your phone will vibrate as well as ring for an incoming call. If you choose the second, it will ring only.
I'm not sure if this is documented anywhere, but you can match up the icons with their respective .png files in the CM source as a confirmation of this. It's somewhat hard to see in a browser since they're white icons, but nonetheless:

ic_qs_ring_vibrate_on.png
ic_qs_ring_on.png

The name is intending to convey (for example, using the second icon) icon quicksettings ring on.

Thanks! It seems to be completely impossible to find any documentation on the web as to what the icons mean - so much so that I actually had to use Photoshop to modify the left image to create the right.


text:
Can you set the colour for contacts in Android 5 Lollipop?
I just upgraded to Android 5.0 which made all my contacts' random colours even more prominent.
Is it possible to customize the colour for each contact? For example, if I don't like that Mister Brown got a green background, can I change that, haha?

Well, I don't know quite well about it but I ran down a little googling over it and according to  a post over reddit "icons change color depending upon the picture" So I would say try changing the picture and see if the color changes or not I can't confirm this as still I am not running Lollipop over any of my device.

Thanks, Peter. The problem is most contacts have no picture. I don't really want to add pictures to all of them, so changing just the colour would be awesome.

Well at this point I can't add up more over here. I'll try a little more googling and will let you know about it, if I came up with something that would help you !

Thanks again. I Google'd this myself before posting. I think Android 5 is still too new.

Go to google messenger app. (The new SMS app from Google) -> go into a conversation with the contact you want to change colors -> press the three dots on top -> pick People & options -> around the end you'll see a small color palette where you can go in and change the color.
It seems that it currently works ONLY for people you texted (only through the messenger app).

Yeah, I know about that but it doesn't (yet?) propagate to the Contacts app.

Cool! I'm using messenger now.

Yep, this only changes colours in the Google Messenger App, which I don't even use, and had to install. It doesn't change colour in the Contact app, nor the (Cyanogenmod) stock messaging app.

I can't find a way to change the color of a contact either, but did find an inconvenient workaround. It's really only useful for a few contacts (I just cared about those on speed dial).
Find a contact with the color you do want, then change the name and number. Then make a new contact for the one whose information you deleted (or switch them). The color will stay the same.
So if I want Mr. Green to be green even though his contact color is blue, I can go find a green contact (say, Bob), change the name, number, and anything else to fit Mr. Green, then make a new entry for Bob.
Mr. Brown is out of luck though, since there is no brown.

Haha, yeah, but that'll take ages. Still, good workaround.


text:
Google Play Music Local Playlist
I have a folder on my SD Card filled with music. Would I be able to create a playlist with songs just from that folder? Right now those files are becoming meshed with the other songs I have already downloaded. I want to make a playlist automatically instead of manually adding each one.

Not an answer for Google Play, but I believe VLC can do this.


text:
Is there a way to display current weather on lollipop lockscreen?
It seems lock screen widgets have been removed in lollipop. Google now has a weather notification but it does not show up on the lock screen. Is there a way to get this or any other weather information on to the lock screen.

There are a decent number of 3rd party weather apps that have an option to add the current weather conditions to your notification bar. Consequently, enabling one of these persistent weather notifications will add the entry to your lock screen as well.
I personally use 1Weather, which looks like this:

This is (in my experience) a pretty common feature for weather apps, so you could "shop around" a bit for one that you like.

Dashclock also lets you put various info on the lockscreen - temperature, battery charge, number of new emails, etc.

Dashclock doesn't work on Lollipop, as far as I'm aware.


text:
How to Remove Super SU
I have tried to root my Galaxy S3. Installed Super SU through flashing. Due to KNOX, I am not able to root my phone. However, the Super SU app remains in my ROM, and I would like to remove it. Help?

what exactly do you mean by "Installed SUPERSU through flashing"? Did you install it via a custom recovery, or through a proprietary flashing tool like odin or Heimdall? Did you follow any tutorial if yes link it. etc.

Wow... I completely forgotten about this threat. I'm still having problem and now I cannot do a software upgrade. I followed this tutorial. Please help.
http://galaxys3root.com/galaxy-s3-root/how-to-root-sprint-galaxy-s3-sph-l710/

There is an option in SuperSU in the settings tab, called Full Unroot, use that and it will remove root from your device.


text:
Can I get rid of Android 5.0?
I just installed Android 5.0 on my Nexus 7 and now it is 5x slower but it doesn't connect to WiFi. I don`t like this update and I wish I hadn't done it. Now I can't even use my tablet. Is there anything to do?


text:
Message notifications stuck!
I've had my Moto X (first gen) for a while, I think almost a year Noe, the whole experience has been great but lately every time I open my messaging app I get a "Two messages could not be sent" notification I can swipe it away but it will just return if I'm in the messaging app or whenever I open the app back up. This is the stock messages app I'm talking about too, so I don't have a clue why it itself would be buggy.. I've tried deleting all my messages, restarting my phone, clearing the data/cache and so far nothing has worked it continues to haunt me everytime the app is opened and its really starting to get on my nerves how do I get rid of this??

Have your tried checking your outbox for the messages ?? What I think is you may be checking over the sent folder where message appears once its being sent from the device while the messages over the sending process appears over the outbox. You can try checking it out !

Introduction:
Heres what seems to have worked for me:
Warning !!! : The following has the potential of doing damage to your phone. Please make a full backup of your phone first and only do this if you understand what each command is doing!
The following requires some understanding of the use of ADB (Android Debug Bridge) and sqlite3 databases as well as linux permissions.
The error message I was getting in the Notification Area is similar to: Message not sent. Touch to review the message and try again.
Steps to Fix:

Reboot your phone into recovery mode. And connect your phone to your computer via USB cable.
Copy the mmssms.db sqlite database from your phone by using ADB :
adb pull /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/database/mmssms.db
adb pull /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/database/mmssms.db-journal
Download install "DB Browser for SQLite" on your computer from http://sqlitebrowser.org/
Open mmssms.db using "DB Browser for SQLite" (make sure the mmssms.db-journal file is in the same directory as mmssms.db).
Select the Browse Data tab.
Select pending_msgs table and then select and delete all records in this table with the Delete Record button. Repeat this for the sr_pending table.
Select pdu table, then insert 0 in read filter, then select and delete records with Delete Record button where the read column is 0. repeat this on sms and threads table.
Select Write Changes from the File menu.
Now use ADB to push the modified mmssms.db file back to your phone. But first check the permissions that have been set on the original mmssms.db:
adb shell
ls -la /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/

-rw-rw---- radio    radio      900000 2015-01-17 21:33 mmssms.db
-rw-rw---- radio    radio       30000 2015-01-17 21:33 mmssms.db-journal
-rw-rw---- radio    radio      170000 2015-01-17 21:30 telephony.db
-rw-rw---- radio    radio        8000 2015-01-17 21:30 telephony.db-journal

exit
Copy the modified mmssms.db database back to the phone:
adb push mmssms.db /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/database/mmssms.db
Change permissions and delete old database journal file using ADB Shell
adb shell
chmod 660 /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db
 chown radio:radio /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db
 rm /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db-journal
exit
Disconnect your phone, reboot and see if this solved the problem.

References:
[1] http://puremon.egloos.com/m/2145353


text:
Remove the "Change keyboard" button in lollipop
The button interferes with typing. My hand accidentally hits the button constantly prompting a pop up. Very annoying.
The button is in the lower right corner:

It should only show up if you have more than 1 keyboard active. Deactivate one or more keyboards.

Well one cannot disable the default Xperia keyboard on Sony, so if another keyboard installed and used, there seems to be no way of disabling this button.

Ah, disabling all keyboards including google voice typing worked on my sony after all

@Antonin I'm sure there are alternative keyboards that won't show this button -- many have it as a configurable option.


text:
Issues after updating Nexus 4 to Android Lollipop
I am observing the following behavior after upgrading (flash and upload factory image, no OTA) my Nexus 4 to Android Lollipop.

When I clear all the recents, and again try to view recents, I am
still able to see apps over there (most of the times, I see Android System )
Battery is draining very fast.
Battery charging speed is drastically reduced.
While trying to call from the Speed Dial tab, the call screen comes up after a while. I kept on tapping the contact but the call was already started in the background.

Is it currently possible to install/update to Android Lollipop on the Nexus 4 without these being an issue? If so, how?

Yes, I have been hearing about it, I have seen people over the forums talking that the performance of the system was greatly reduced after the update and all, which makes me think that you aren't the only one having problems. I don't think there's much you can do other than waiting for the bug fix update to arrive.

Yeah I updated it today and I m facing the same problem. They should have tested it out on device before rolling out updates.

It sounds like the update is generally buggy. You could try a factory reset in case your old data is causing issues. With that said, I think there's too much going on here to be properly addressed in one question.

I did a factory reset and its working fine now. May be there was a problem in upgrading.

Even I had flashed. No OTA.


text:
How to set google calendar widget as trasparent in kitkat?
My nexus 4 is updated to the last version of google calendar.
Now I am not able to set the trasparency option.

Try it with a  other calernder client (app). For example Business Calendar (Kalender)
This has transparent widgets. You only have to connect this app with your Google account then will sync the widget it with your Google cal. app


text:
I want the old Gallery app back
So, my Nexus 4 got Lollipop, nullifying the old/default Gallery app. I hate the Google+ app, a lot, especially it's gallery "replacement". Other gallery apps from the market. None of them are what I want.
All I want is the old Gallery app back.
What I've tried:

Copying old app and installing it with the UI. App not installed.
adb -r -d fails with Failure [INSTALL_PARSE_FAILED_NO_CERTIFICATES]
adb uninstall com.google.gallery fails with Failure [DELETE_FAILED_INTERNAL_ERROR]

Rooting isn't a practical option at this point.

I got old gallery app but editing the photo will stop the gallery app

@sameer Could you upload the app somewhere? My apk isn't from my Nexus.

Google nexus gallery apk

I am officially a dunce. That worked fine.

I had a bad apk. Got a new one, works fine.


text:
Is it worth uninstalling apps with background processes?
I visited Apps -> Running and uninstalled the apps there that I don't use. I then installed OS Monitor and realised that a huge amount of apps run in the background with 0% CPU Usage (I have 36 processes). Many of them I don't actually use very regularly. Would it improve my system performance to uninstall them or does 0% CPU usage mean that it wouldn't? Is there a way to stop these processes automatically starting up?

Why would you want to stop them if they're not using CPU?

When you finish using an app, Android doesn't kill the process right away. It simply stops it running, and leaves it alive as a cached background process. This way, when it needs to start the same app again, it's already present in memory, so Android doesn't have to spend time and energy on loading the app from storage again. The effect is to make apps start faster and reduce battery use. Android will only kill these cached background processes when necessary to free up memory for apps that are actually running. There's no time limit: even if it turns out you don't use the app again for another week, it still might be present in memory.
If you want to uninstall all apps with cached background processes, you'd have to uninstall every app on the device. Every app can be cached this way, even if it never does anything in the background.


text:
Homescreen on Nexus 4 (Lollipop) looks different compared to images of stock Lollipop
I installed Lollipop on a Nexus 4 and I noticed some differences from the videos and images of stock Lollipop that I've seen before. Mainly the status/notification and navigational bars are black (they should be transparent). Also, the design of the folders on the home screen is different (my folders have a black background while it should be white). You can see some examples in the images.

"Black bars" / "Black Folder" (click images for larger variants)
Does anyone know where's the problem?

How did you flash the update?

OTA, a notification appeared prompting to update!

FWIW, my Nexus 4 looks different to what you are showing. Is it possible that you have the new OS with the old Google Now launcher? Check whether there's an update to Google / Google Search / whatever it's called these days available in the play store.

I don't have Google Now launcher on my phone right now. The home screen look and feel should come with Lollipop, not the custom launcher which as far as I know is intended for non Nexus devices. Or am I wrong?

The launcher (or, more generically, the currently focused app) definitely influences this. Nova launcher lets you toggle the transparency on and off, for example. I would wager your launcher is the culprit here. Especially since your second example is the design of the folders, which is absolutely controlled by the launcher.

I installed the Google Now launcher. That was it. Thank you all!

possible duplicate of Android Lollipop's notification bar is not transparent in Nexus 4

Transparent notification bar / softkeys background, app drawer opening and closing animations are part of Google Now Launcher. Install it and you are good to go.

Other launchers like Nova Launcher support transparent bars as well, if you're looking for more customizability.

For what is IMO the purest stock Android experience, download the Google Now Launcher from the Play Store. Sure, there are other launchers out there, but this is straight from Google.
It replaces the old launcher and will give you the transparency you're looking for, along with the white backgrounds and other Material Design elements.

-1. He's using Nexus, which is also Google

I was referring to the launcher, not the device.
The Google Now Launcher is from Google, whereas launchers such as Nova Launcher are not, which is what I was referring to.

He just got Lollipop on a Nexus device. I'm 99% sure it's running stock launcher

You're probably technically correct that it's running the stock launcher, but Google intends for the Google Now Launcher to replace the stock launcher, even on Nexus devices, in order for the full Lollipop experience (i.e., Material Design).


text:
Maps voice directions revert to a different language
Often when I use Google maps voice navigation from from LG G2 phone, the voice will change to a different language (should be English but seems to be French).
I can't find a setting or cause for this?

Did you check the installed voice languages on your device?

I just checked it and strangely to Google text to speech component was set to Brazilian.  I thought I had checked all these previously when the problems arose????  hopefully that has fixed it. Thanks

Should I write it as an answer instead of a comment?


text:
Unable to get in Recovery Mode in AllWinner A23 tablet
I have a AllWinner A23 tablet with dual-core arm cortex-a7 1.5ghz + arm mali 400mp2 gpu.
The tablet has only 3 buttons (1 power button and 2 volume buttons).
I have tried by all sort of means to get into recovery mode with booting but there is no option to get there.

Even when trying through adb after boot (using command adb reboot
recovery), a strange recovery mode is launched which I have never
seen in any android device. The  recovery mode has only 3 options (1.
Reboot  2. sideload using adb   3. format).
And when I fastboot it using adb then it got hang at ROM image till
battery drain.

Now after rooting and applying a few tweaks I can't boot the device. Its stuck at ROM image.
Please tell me how to get in recovery mode in that device without booting the device.
I have tried holding down vol- then plugging in USB and then pressing power button multiple times while holding vol-.
If possible I would be glad to know a way to install clockworkmod recovery.

There is no recovery mode in AllWinner A23 tablet.

But there is a flash mode.

To get in flash mode:

Connect USB cable to PC
Press Volume key ( Up or Down key depends on device ) and plug in previously connected cable to tablet (keep key pressed)
While Volume Key is pressed repeatedly press power button until your flash software detects device.
If not detected within 30 seconds, reboot PC and retry.

This works for almost all Android phones and tablets.

Repeatedly click the power button once you have done the long press to turn device on. This should give you boot options.

It doesn't work.


text:
how to get my android to boot up and shutdown automatically
I want my android phone to boot up (I expect from a low energy state rather than off) automatically, run my app for a while, shutdown (ie return to low energy state) and repeat at intervals, say an hour.  Is there a good way to do this?
Thanks

alcaltel pop c3 has a scheduler which will turn off your phone and turn on your phone at set times (once a day).  I'm not sure how it does this. it must either be in some low energy state (which im going to try and measure) or it is psompted on by some other hardware with a clock???

The only "low energy states" I know Android uses is having certain components disabled (e.g. switched off WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC, whatever, plus dimmed the screen, etc.) – so we certainly cannot speak from "boot up".
On that condition, there are many apps available for Android which could be used. You've already put the automation tag to your question. Following up its tag-wiki should give some pointers (Oh! None? OK, wait a few minutes, I'll update it).

tasker is the most extensive and flexible app in this field. Tons of addons even enhance its capacity: enable/disable things and dim the screen are "peanuts" for it. For a collection of tutorials, available addons, and more, be welcome to my Tasker Resource Collection.
as you're asking about a time-based schedule, Timeriffic should be worth a look as well. Not that mighty as Tasker – but free.
llama is another alternative. Again free, and comes a little closer to Tasker's capabilities (though not quire reaching them).

Note however that certain things depend on your device capabilities as well as on the Android version running. With recent versions, your device must be rooted to allow an app toggling airplane mode, for example.

Automateit can do that (of course, rooting is required!). Here is the link for the free version: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=AutomateIt.mainPackage

We discourage link-only answers on this site. It would help if you could post exact steps required to make this happen.


text:
Android 5: Bluetooth pairing dialog has no passkey form
I use several Bluetooth devices with my phone. Today I tried to pair a new one and was shown this dialog:
Bluetooth pairing request

Device
NWP-F110

Type the pairing code then press Return or Enter

Cancel                                      Pair

No keyboard pops up. If I tap around inside the dialog, nothing happens. If I hit Cancel the pairing fails. If I hit Pair the device is registered in my Bluetooth system settings, but the app that works with it is unable to access it. According to the manufacturer, a passcode is necessary and apparently Android thinks so too, but I'm unable to enter it.
If I continue nonetheless and try to setup the device, the app searches endlessly. I'm never asked for the pairing code again until I manually forget the device in the system settings, yet no device is able to work with it.
Googling only shows me how to add the device as a trusted device, I'm unable to find any similar problems for Android 5 (although it might be because the OS is so new). Any tips?
I've confirmed that this is specific to my Nexus 5 running Android 5 - my Samsung S3 pairs with the device almost instantly and without trouble.

Prior to "obsoleting the hardware keys" (or on devices still having them), long-pressing the "menu" button often brings it up in such cases. I don't have a Nexus to check, but maybe there's something similar you could try? Some "overflow menu button" visible, perhaps?

Sadly, no - it's shown in a full-screen app, where the status bar and menu are offscreen. Holding the dialog and swiping down from the top bring them back, but there's no way of calling up a keyboard or menu from there.

That's really sad – and I'm out of ideas then. Wish you luck, hopefully some other Nexus-5 user has a solution for you.

Same problem over here: Nexus 5, Jabra Rox Wireless headphones


text:
Does HTC Desire 816 Dual sim have NFC?
I decided to buy HTC Desire 816 and in my country ( Egypt ) only the dual sim version is avaliable !
I heared that that version is not able to have NFC option :-( is that true ??

Indeed the dual sim version does NOT have NFC. The spec sheet explicitly states that NFC is only included in the 4G LTE model and not the dual sim one.
Connectivity:
Wi-Fi                                Yes
Wi-Fi standards supported            802.11 b/ g/ n
GPS                                  Yes
Bluetooth                            Yes, v 4.00
NFC                                  No
Infrared                             No
DLNA                                 Yes
Wi-Fi Direct                         No
MHL Out                              No
HDMI                                 No
Headphones                           3.5mm
FM                                   Yes
USB                                  Micro-USB
Charging via Micro-USB               Yes
Proprietary charging connector       No
Proprietary data connector           No
Number of SIMs                       2
SIM 1
SIM Type                             Nano-SIM
GSM/ CDMA                            GSM
3G                                   Yes
SIM 2
SIM Type                             Nano-SIM
GSM/ CDMA                            GSM
3G                                   No

thanx .. and does it have wifi-direct or any way to transfer data quicker than bluetooth ??

@AbdulrahmanMostafa, no it doesn't have WiFi-direct either, I updated the answer with all available connectivity options. Bluetooth or regular WiFi using a hotspot are your best options. You can turn the HTC Desire into a hotspot itself and let other phones connect to transfer files.


text:
Android 5 memory usage for Nexus 5
Before Android L update my mobile(Nexus 5) used to use around 1GB RAM.
Now, it's using around 1.6GB RAM leaving me only 250MB free memory. When I look into device memory, it's showing System is using around 1GB RAM.
Is it normal for Android 5 to use 1GB for System and why is that? If not, what wrong with my device? I updated my device using factory image from android download page.

That's a pretty frequent question, which did not start with Lollipop. I've just added the ram tag to your question; in its tag-wiki you will find the right pointers: Are there guidelines on how much free RAM a phone should have? and 0 ram free on ICS already hold good answers to your question: It might well be Lollipop just makes better use of your RAM :) (proverb: "Unused RAM is a wasted resource")

This is a genuine issue. Star it here- https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=79729 and here- https://code.google.com/p/android-developer-preview/issues/detail?id=1701

Android, just like Linux variants, use as much memory as they think they need for optimal operation. Because of this, more stuff may be preloaded, so apps load faster or the interface is more fluent. So, if your memory is almost full, that doesn't neccesarily mean that you don't have any memory left.
On the other hand, Android L uses a lot of animations, so I can imagine it using more memory than before. Nothing to worry about however.

No. This is an unusual problem that started with the L update itself.
My N5 shows 80% RAM usage almost the whole day even when no background operations run. Mine is unrooted and I used the OTA update.
Nothing unusual. You may resort to Kit Kat while Google plans to launch a fix for it all..

This was supposed to be fixed with the last release of lollipop, but memory leaks are still persistent. My RAM usage shoots to as high as 1.5 gigs and all my games crash. I keep rebooting to clear RAM.


text:
Why am I not allowed slashes in the proxy setting?
HTC/Android 4.4.2
I am trying to set up VPN at work, which requires me to define a proxy server. I can long-tap on the staff WiFi name and enable advanced options, which allows me to define the proxy and port – except that the Save button seems to grey-out or not depending on what I type. It seems to be validating the proxy address as I type.
My problem is that our work proxy server address contains slashes, which the validation doesn't accept.  So, if I enter proxy.pac then I can save it, however, I need to enter http://xxx.com/proxy.pac
Having looked around the forums, I think this must be a fairly rare problem - I see only a few references to this field not accepting a slash (in relation to adBlock). Although this does give me some assurance that its not just me, it doesn't really seem to offer a solution - those forums seem to find either a trailing space at the end of the proxy name, or that entering the form's fields in a reverse order then enables the save button.
So my questions are:

Is this a known problem? Can it be repeated elsewhere? Am I doing something stupid?
Can a 3rd party app offer a solution? I've tried some, eg "Proxy Settings" but it too doesn't allow the slash, also seeming to attempt to validate the hostname setting and refusing to accept what I need to enter.
Would rooting the phone help me? I see a lot of the available apps for setting proxies require that the phone has been rooted - I am reluctant to do this unless I know it will solve my problem.
I am aware there is a new release of Andriod around the corner... perhaps somebody with hands-on experience can see whether this problem still exists (simply try and enter a string with a slash in it for proxy settings, if you can press enter then I'll be first in the queue to upgrade when its available for me)

Any help/comments much appreciated!

As stated by Lie Ryan's answer, the proxy.pac file is a javascript file. In the Proxy Settings on your Android, you can only enter the address, port number, and sometimes a username and password.
What you can do is either ask your SysAdmin for the Proxy Server and Port Number, or just look at the file yourself. On a system that's already on the network, navigate to the address, and see what the file contains. Below is an example for my organization (some data modified):
function FindProxyForURL(url, host)
{
   if (isInNet(host, "192.168.0.1", "255.255.224.0")) {
      return "DIRECT";
   } else {
      if (shExpMatch(url, "http:*"))
         return "PROXY 192.168.0.1:3128" ;
      if (shExpMatch(url, "https:*"))
         return "PROXY 192.168.0.1:3128" ;
      if (shExpMatch(url, "ftp:*"))
         return "PROXY 192.168.0.1:3128" ;
     return "DIRECT";
   }
}

The important part is what it wants the proxy address to return; in my case, it's 192.168.0.1:3128. I can enter this into my Android, and all my data goes through my proxy. I can check my proxy logs (I use squid), and see the requests for pages going to my phone, without requiring an actual 'proxy.pac' file on my phone.

Your http://xxx.com/proxy.pac is not a proxy server, it is the address to a proxy automatic configuration (PAC) file. A PAC file contains a Javascript function that determines which proxy address to use and/or whether you're allowed to go direct when connecting to a particular URL.
ProxyDroid (requires root) claims to support proxy configuration using PAC file (I had never personally used it though).

Ah, thank you, this is very interesting.  Now I start to understand a little more.  As with many things, knowing what to search for is half the problem!  I will investigate further.


text:
Set Kiosk mode in Chrome for Android
I'm trying to set the --kiosk and the --kiosk-printing flags in Chrome for Android on my Galaxy Tab 10.1.
All the instructions that I can find here and elsewhere tell me to go to chrome://flags and set the flag there. But neither of these flags is mentioned in the list there.
What do I need to do to set kiosk mode?
I'm using Chrome 39.0.2171.56 on Android 4.0.4

This page suggests you can put them in /data/local/tmp/content-shell-command-line.
eg adb shell 'echo "chrome --kiosk --kiosk-printing" > /data/local/tmp/content-shell-command-line'

Can somebody explain what this does. When I execute I get nothing in that directory and the flags don't appear in 'about:version' in Chrome.

If the flags appear in about:version then it should switch Chrome to kiosk mode - ie full screen with silent printing. I must confess I gave up on Chrome and switched to Firefox with a full-screen add-on for my kiosk device.

Ok, do you need root to add the flags? Thanks.

I presume the flags are set at build time, or am I misunderstanding the question?

On Chrome for Android on my side it was: adb shell 'echo " --kiosk --kiosk-printing <url>"  > /data/local/tmp/chrome-command-line'. It now appears in chrome://version however, the kiosk-printing is still not working.

Is it possible to build an APK to setup this so adb shell isn't needed? I cannot edit the file with Termux, what can I do?

It is not possible to do this in Chrome on Android; you can achieve what you want to with Kiosk Browser Lockdown instead.

Thanks very much NStorm. I don't see any reference to --kiosk-printing in the docs for that app. Do you know if it's possible to enable this (or some other way to print directly to the printer via the browser without user interaction)?

I don't think that's possible with the app.

It is not possible to add flags to chrome on Android unless they exist in the  chrome://flags a list.

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


text:
Cant click on heads up notifications on Lollipop Nexus 5
I installed android lollipop from the factory images on googles website. I dont know if its supposed to be like this but i think not.
I cant click on the options in the notifications be it to answer a call or reply to an SMS.
I have to first swipe it right or left then go to the call or sms to continue.
Any idea ?

Having the same issue around here. I found that waiting for the notification to go by itself is better than Swiping right since you can still access the notification on the drawer and go directly where you need to.

authors: Жанна Грамота


text:
USB debugging - No device found after chrome update
After attempting to begin remote(usb) debugging I finally had my phone recognised via the chrome/inspect page. At which point I was told I must update to chrome 39.0 Beta to access debugging.
After doing so the phone is no longer recognised.
Xperia Z(C6603)- Android 4.4. - Chrome was on 38. Has been updated to 39.0.2171.62 (Official Build) beta-m
I'm new to all this so any help/suggestions would be amazing!
Thanks!
I have since uninstalled chrome to remove the beta and re downloaded with Version 39.0.2171.65 m and still no devices found.

I'm having the same problem. Debugging has worked flawlessly untill I updated to 39 om both my Nexus 7 and my desktop computer :(

I had the same issue. Got it working again using Chrome Canary:
https://www.google.com/chrome/browser/canary.html
Imho it's the DEV-Release - more Beta than Beta but finally i can debug my Xperia Z again.


text:
Linux Deploy on Android 5.0 (Nexus 5): "Configuration file not found!"
I used Linux Deploy on Kitkat before and it worked. Now that I updated my Nexus 5 to Lollipop (Chainfire-rooted the device), I installed Linux Deploy again, but whenever I would like to create the disk image or virtually do anything else, I obtain Configuration file not found! or Updating configuration file... fail. I tried various settings, also enabled Wi-Fi while the application is running... no success. Has anyone been able to run Linux Deploy on Android 5.0 or know how I can get the configuration file?

You need to install Busybox to be able to update the configuration file. However, on my Nexus 5, I haven't been able to get past "Updating configuration file ... done" after the fact. It could be incompatibility or some settings need to be tweaked first. I'll report back if I fix it.

Thanks, now I experience the same as you. Enabling debug info, I obtain: [22:44:34] tmp-mksh: <stdin>[1]: /data/data/ru.meefik.linuxdeploy/linux/bin/linuxdeploy: No such file or directory How can one fix that?

I tried to play with the permissions (as this seems to be the problem as the file does exist), but wasn't successful yet.

Quick Answer: Verify the path/file really exists, using a "terminal emulator" or an ssh connection to your Android (not a graphical file browser).
First thing (as Marius Hofert suggest) is to enable "debug info". You will see the full message of the issue.
While installing I saw many "No such file or directory"
Someone suggested to change the directory and after many changes I got it installed & running.
But something changed and I couldn't run the installed OS anymore after shutdown (same messages).
I installed an SSH Server and started checking permissions and files, and guess what, the folder does not exist indeed.
The default configuration (on my phone) has
/storage/emulated/0/linux.img
but (on my phone) the file is in
/storage/emulated/legacy/linux.img
(to be honest it is in /storage/emulated/legacy/linux/linux.img but the example above seems closer to what most people may find).
But that's not all.
Using a graphical file explorer, I DO can see
/storage/emulated/0/
/storage/emulated/legacy/
but the first (/0/) looks different, like if it were a symlink (symbolic link).
Maybe "Linux Deploy" is getting lost because of that, so better use clear, reliable paths.
Again, I did my verifications using a ssh connection.
I hope it helps others.
I provided the troubleshooting so others can help themselves too.


text:
Outlook Calendar Sync Issues. Exchange Account.
Someone asked a similar question, and I tried the answers, but they didn't work.
My problem is at some point my Android Calendar entries for my Outlook.com / Exchange account disappeared.  I have an LG G2 and have setup my Outlook.com account as an MS Exchange account, preferring that over the Outlook.com app.  I have uninstalled and re-installed the account several times.  Each time the mail and contacts show up again fine.  But the calendar contacts don't show up.  I see the account within the calendar app, and have selected the account to show, but nothing shows up.  I have also tried deleting the data for email, calendar, and contact apps, thinking that there is data cached that the Calendar app thinks it's already seen.  But this does not seem to help.

Could you link the similar question?  Ideally we would update it to contain any additional solutions.


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nexus 4, can't hear ring tone after upgrade to android 5.0
I have upgraded my Nexus 4 to Android 5.0 and now the phone bips on receiving a call but is not using the ring tone that i have chosen.
it is like it was stuck in silent mode but hen i cant find the place to take it out of this mode

Set the Priority mode to All. This can be done via the Volume Up button:

"For fewer disruptions, turn on Priority mode via your device's volume button so only certain people and notifications get through. Or schedule recurring downtime like 10pm to 8am when only Priority notifications can get through."
The Priority notifications offers three modes namely - None, Priority, and All. The Priority mode will only allow a few set of notifications to go through and users will see a Star mark in the status bar when in this mode. Meanwhile, the None mode will allow the phone to receive all notifications but will not alert the user. Notably, the None mode in Priority notifications even limits set alarm functionality.
Motorola has shared a YouTube video to explain the new Priority notifications on the Moto X running the new Android 5.0 Lollipop.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRsCUUW1SrE

Thank you.  I missed an important call because my phone didn't ring due to this new feature.


text:
Android Lolipop broke my enyrpted nexus 7 (2012)
I just received the update and now my device does not boot any more.
I comes to the point where I have to enter my encryption password.
The first  time it did this it said:  “Unfortunately your password is correct but your data is corrupted, would you like to do a factory reset” I did not want to do this and powered the device off.
Is there any chance to recover some of the data, before wiping?  I figured out to come up with the bootloader by pressing down power button and both volume keys, but did not get further from there.
Perfect would be some kind of USB mass storage mode while connected to a computer.
Please help
I wished this lolipop update would never have poped up!

You need to clear the cache and dalvik-cache.

Worked! It boots now, which took forever during the fist time

I'll post it as an answer.

When doing updates, be it from OTA or flashing, you will need to wipe/clean the cache and dalvik-cache (They retain information that could cause problems as well as bootloops.) Just remember to leave system, data, and other partitions alone.


text:
Chromecast tablet in portrait orientation to a TV in portrait orientation
While using an app in Portrait mode, I want to display it on a TV that is also in portrait (i.e., I will mount the TV on its side), so the full tablet screen will fill the full TV.
I have tried Chromecast app but there is no option to force the screen to stay horizontal. Has anyone tried this?  Does the app have to be coded to directly cast the app/screen onto the TV?

Please note that development questions are off-topic here.  I've edited the question to reflect that, since I believe it is a reasonable end-user question as well.  You can ask specific Android development questions on [SO].

Here is an answer to a similar question on SO: Can I cast on portrait mounted screen?. While it is more developer focused, it does have an answer that explains it without any code.


text:
No previous song button in Lollipop?
I've just updated to Android 5.0 and it has already showed that I need some time to get used to the new layouts and such. That's not really the issue though.
The thing that I couldn't wrap my head around was this:

Click for full size
It quite looks like they forgot to put in the Previous button. Is there any way I can get it back?
Thanks!

Reported some issues related to notifications and notifications blocking in lollipop 5.0, feel free to star or comment here: https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=81825

Swipe down on the notification to expand it and you'll be able to see the previous button. It's only visible in the expanded notification, not the summary version. As far as I know, there is no way to change this.
Note, however, that this does not appear to work if you have the lockscreen set to hide "sensitive" notification information:

[...] I have the lock screen notifications setting set to hide sensitive information, and thus it's locking out the full music player controls. When I swipe down, I get the unlock keypad, because Lollipop wants me to unlock my phone in order to get at the full music player. [...] – Derek

Left is the "before" picture, right is after swiping down on the notification:

Click either image for full resolution

I should have found that out by myself ;) . I really don't like how they have degraded my music to just a notification...

Does anyone else get the behavior when doing this that the keypad for unlocking your phone comes up as you swipe down on the music controls, making it such that you can't actually expand them completely?  I'm guessing this is a bug, probably when there are no other notifications on the screen, but it's highly irritating.

@Derek: I haven't seen that myself. The keypad only appears if I swipe up. I haven't tried when the music controls were the only notification, though, because I always have Tasker and BitTorrent Sync running (as in my screenshots above). Sounds like a possible bug to me as well.

@eldarerathis: I just realized what's happening.  I have the lock screen notifications setting set to hide sensitive information, and thus it's locking out the full music player controls.  When I swipe down, I get the unlock keypad, because Lollipop wants me to unlock my phone in order to get at the full music player.  If I set the lock notification setting to show all info, then the swipe down works as described here.  This is incredibly irritating, as I really miss the embedded music player controls of KitKat but don't want to open the lock screen up to sensitive stuff.

By the way, this Android bug report is basically asking to alter how the music notifications work on the lock screen.  If this bothers anyone else, too, feel free to press the star button on this bug report page to vote this setting change for consideration.

Sorry, one last comment about this, now that I've played with the settings some more.  If you change the notifications setting to show all information, you can flag each individual app to be marked as sensitive and not show its contents on the lock screen.  This allows you to have the full music notification controls while still hiding email, texts, etc.  It's slightly tedious but works.

I wanted to keep "Hide sensitive information" selected so that my texts, emails, etc. don't come through on the lockscreen, but I still want my music widget.
Here is what I did:

Keep the option "Hide sensitive information" selected.
Go to Settings > Sound and notification > Application notifications
Scroll down "Music" and select it.
Set "Priority" to ON.

Now I get the music widget with the pause and skip buttons and if I swipe down on it I get the full controls.
Hope that helped!

Solution to having full music controls while hiding sensitive information from emails etc on the lock screen:
Go to settings (sounds and notification)
1.Enable show all notification content
2.Directly underneath (show all notification content) select app notification (select the app you want to hide sensitive info)
- a new option has appeared (sensitivity)
3. Switch on sensitivity for all the apps you want their info hidden


text:
Google Now Accent Bug (Lollipop 5.0)
I updated to Android 5.0 yesterday on my Nexus 5.
I am from the UK, hence I have my languages set to "English (UK)" where possible, including the voice of Google Now, which has the accent of an English woman.
After this update Google Now appears to be partially ignoring my language settings in relation to accent. If I ask it something that Google can answer, such as "How far away is the sun", it replies with an English accent, but if I ask it to do something specific to my phone, such as setting an alarm, it replies with the accent of an American woman.
Is this a bug, a weird feature or is there a fix?

Seems to be happening to me too, rather jarring at first.


text:
How do I link the "My Info" Android local profile back to my Google+ account?
My issue is similar to having a ME profile (it is in a section called ME), but not the same. None of the answers to this question worked for me. I believe the principle difference is that I cannot delete the "My Info" profile. This profile originally did not have my name or email address anywhere in it. It had my phone number listed twice, both with the "Mobile" category, and both 11 digits long (with the leading 1).
My other problem is that the answers say that I should reinput the "faulty data", but I have no faulty data. The data is correct, just listed twice. Is it possible to merge this account or get it recognized as the Google+ profile?

Exact same for me! I looked again through all of the solutions in the link you listed. I had missed this suggestion, which worked for me! I hope it works for you as well. -Mike

Thanks! I had to do a few extra steps to get it working, but I outlined it in my answer.

Answer originally from here: How to edit the "ME" contact?

Open Google+ on your phone.
Go into Settings / Your Name youremail@google.com / Contacts.
Check "Keep contacts up to date".
Go into Settings / Sync / Google.
Disable Contacts Sync. Wait a few seconds, re-enable it.
Wait a few more seconds, and the My Info entry should now have a Google+ connection.


text:
Allow user to install from unknown sources on Android 5.0
I have Nexus 10 and have 2 users on it.
On Android 4.4 both Users could install application from unknown sources.
After upgrade to Android 5.0 admin user has Security-Unknown Sources  flag is "on" but secondary User has this flag greyed and disabled.
How can I switch it on?

You can't turn it off but you can bypass it using abp. Related issue: https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=79728

Almost close: How to install apk in 2nd user of android 5.0 without playstore

It might be possible to do it with a rooted device, but on Android 5.0 only the primary user can install apps from Unknown Sources.

It's very bad news. Looking forward for any workaround.

@algot I'm hoping this is a workaround: https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/96026/if-the-owner-installs-an-app-can-a-secondary-profile-use-it

@algot and another one :) https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/96027/can-i-switch-owner-and-secondary-status-for-two-profiles


text:
Why does this app not restore from Google Backup until I specify the set in adb?
I read this great answer about how sets work, but I'm seeing behavior I don't understand in this app.
I just installed on a device that has never had the app installed (I think, see bottom) and nothing was restored.  Through adb, I tried the command bmgr restore <package_name> and it said "unable to restore".
So then I did bmgr list sets and saw that there was only one set available (from a different device). I thought, "well that's got to be the one it's trying to use and failing." But then I ran bmgr restore <set token> <package_name> and restore worked! And now restore works without the token name either.
If there was only one set to use, why didn't it restore properly? Was there another hidden set? It's possible the app was installed before, but I called bmgr wipe <package_name> and toggled bmgr enable true/false to clear any pre-existing data.

bmgr restore package doesn't reinstall an app: it sends a signal to the installed app to make it restore its data from backup. If the app isn't installed, you get the error message you saw.
It's the Play Store app that's responsible for installing other apps. If you like, you can think of the list of installed apps as Play Store's backup data, and it restores from that backup by installing all the apps in the list. This takes some time and happens silently in the background, since the backup mechanism is designed to be invisible to the user.
It's possible that Play Store managed to install your target app in between your first and last bmgr restore commands, or that toggling bmgr enable triggered it to reinstall the app at that point.

Thanks for the answer. I should clarify that I called bmgr restore package after my app was installed (its main activity was already loaded), so I know the package was on the device. What doesn't make sense to me is that restoring without specifying the set failed but restoring with the set specified succeeded. There was only one set to choose from.

authors: เอ็มซ่า ธนากร


text:
Why can't I use my Fitbit for Smart Lock?
I just updated my Nexus 5 to Lollipop, and the feature I'm most anticipating is Smart Lock — the ability to keep my phone unlocked when it's near me but still have strong protection if lost or stolen.
I figured that since I have a Fitbit One in my pocket pretty much whenever I have my pants on, I'd use that as the "key". It syncs by Bluetooth, so I figured I'd be all set.
However, when I go into Smart Lock in the settings and attempt to add a Trusted Device, it doesn't show up in the list. Why not?

If you're a Fitbit user, you can vote for this issue on their community portal: https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Feature-Requests/support-quot-smart-lock-quot-feature-in-android-5-0-lollipop/idi-p/571568

In order for a Bluetooth device to work with smartlock, it needs to be constantly connected while it's within range of your phone.  Dedicated smart watches, Bluetooth speakers, and your cars Bluetooth are constantly connected to your phone to pass data (calls, texts, music, notifications). For a lack of better term, the Bluetooth connectivity is "active" (always connected) for these devices.
Fitbit on the other hand only connects periodically and only for a few seconds to sync health data.  So basically  Bluetooth connectivity is in "sleep" mode (disconnected) until the timer activates Bluetooth to sync health data and then disconnects again after it's done.
There is an option for your fitbit device to notify you of incoming calls, however this still doesn't maintain Bluetooth connectivity.  When you get a call, your phone temporarily activates Bluetooth to send the signal and then disconnects.  This is why your fitbit gets a delayed notification instead of an instant notification like a true smart watch which has permanent Bluetooth connectivity.

Bluetooth Low Energy devices can be used for Smart Lock, but they need to be paired at OS level and it seems that the Fitbit uses some kind of pseudo-pairing at app level. From the Fitbit manual:

Unlike standard Bluetooth devices, like headsets, your Fitbit tracker will be set up directly through the Fitbit app and not through your Android device's Bluetooth pairing settings.

Note that you can pair a fitbit device (use code 0000), but it still does not work with Smart Lock.

@doc How would one do that? I'm not seeing it under "Available devices" on the Bluetooth screen .

Try tapping the fitbit until the lights come on and then seeing if it appears as a device

Lollipop does not appear to allow Bluetooth Low Energy devices to be used for Smart Lock. I believe that Fitbits are devices of this type.
I have a similar issue with one of Fitbit's rivals - I've successfully set up Smart Lock with "normal" Bluetooth devices such as a speaker in my kitchen - i.e. ones that show a connection in the bluetooth settings - but I'm unable to do it with my UP24 band.

Do you have any document which said about BLE cannot uses for smart lock?

I was able to pair my Fitbit Surge with my phone, but I have only had it work with Smart Lock when Fitbit was running on my phone.  Once I close the app, I have to start entering my code again.
UPDATE! - I discovered that my watch has an option for Bluetooth (Classic).  I synced my phone to Surge (Classic) and I can now unlock my phone at anytime while wearing my Fitbit Surge.  = Happiness :)
This will probably make my watch battery last a shorter time, but the trade off is worth it to me.

I've got a fitbit HR and I've found smart unlock is available after I changed the "enable notification widget" setting in the call notification menu to on.  This burns more battery but it's a trade off I'll gladly take for not having to enter a pin every time I open my phone.

I had to pair my fitbit surge through the bluetooth panel, and then it showed up as an option for smart unlock. This might help with the fitbit one?

I have a Charge 2.  My solution is to sync using the Fitbit app and then add as a trusted device.  This method also works when Smart Lock times out after 4 hours of inactivity.

As @Warbert noted in the accepted answer, Smart Lock requires a current bluetooth (BT) connection.  Devices like Fitbit try to minimize BT connection duration to maximize Fitbit battery life.
But the latest Fitbit android app has an "Always Connected" option that tries to force the Fitbit device to maintain the connection.  This works well with my Fitbit Alta HR.  FYI, the setting is per device paired with the app, so it's kind of "deep" in the app to get to the setting for the Fitbit device.

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


text:
samsung s5 activity log
I am suspecting that a friend of mine may have deleted an app I use for unknown reasons is there anyway I could see the phone activity log to check wet her the app was uninstalled and at what time

If you use it wouldn't you notice that it's missing?

I noticed it missing it was deleted what I want to know is how and at what time that's why I am asking about the phone's activity log

No there is no activity log but if you go on the play store and view all apps you can see all the apps youve downloaded and it will tell you if they are installed or not. Let me know if this helped

No I don't want to know whether the app is installed or not I knew that it was uninstalled and I reinstalled it however what I really want to know is that if there exists an activity log where I could see what has happened to my phone at specific times for example it might show :"app name .. uninstalled 12:30 am 9/11/2014".got it?


text:
Reset password on Galaxy Player
I have a Samsung Galaxy Player 4.0 and I haven't used it in ages. With that being said, I forgot my password. When I tried to unlock it, it told me to put in my email, but I forgot my password to that as well.
I want to know if there is a way to reset it, or just figure out the password to my email. Now my device doesn't let me try to put my password in because I tried too many times and failed. Is there a way that I can reset it?

Olright mate you will have to wipe/ reset the whole device to do this Remove the battery. Replace the battery but do not power the device on. Hold down the Volume Down + Menu buttons then press the Power button. Hold the Power button for 2-4 seconds and release it without releasing the Volume Down or Menu button. Your phone will boot into hboot mode. Use Volume down to navigate the options and the Home Button to select Choose "Clear Storage" (sometimes named 'Wipe Data / Factory Reset') Confirm your choice and wait for the device to do the work.  Let me know if it works buddy.


text:
How can I turn off autocorrect for numbers?
I don't mind autocorrect for words with the Samsung keyboard, but I have no idea why it tries to autocorrect numbers.  Is there any way to turn off autocorrect for numbers only?


text:
Custom ringtone not working on Nexus 5 since OTA Lollipop
I've updated my non-rooted, vanilla Nexus 5 with an OTA update to Android 5.0 Lollipop and since then my custom mp3 ringtone stopped working. Here are the symptoms:

When selecting it via the ringtone selector in the Sound & notification settings panel, it plays properly.
When someone else calls me, the default system notification sound is played repeatedly.
Re-uploading the custom ringtone via AirDroid as an .mp3 file didn't work, nor did uploading an ffmpeg-encoded .ogg version of it.
The same applies to my custom notification sound.

I'm currently using one of the ringtones bundled with the system, and I'd love some help in solving this problem. Thanks!

A friend suggested clearing cached data (via Settings > Storage > Cached data) and then rebooting, and it seems to have resolved the issue.

My mobile wasn't ringing when there is a incoming call. I updated from kitkat to lollipop a week ago but this issue came just today. I did as given and it worked!!!

Your steps should have fixed the problem unless you have uploaded the file to the wrong directory and it's still showing the broken link to the older file.

Check that you are uploading to /sdcard/Ringtones
Check that AirDroid (I'm not familiar with that app) uploads with the proper permissions to allow the system to access it

AirDroid does indeed upload them to the path you mentioned. Terminal Emulator (via ls -l) tells me that their permissions are "-rw-rw---- root sdcard_r" (rest omitted)

In that case, I'm lost. Those are the correct permissions.


text:
Device detected as "mint"
I'm using a xperia sp ( huashan ) device. Recently I read some tutorials and wanted to flash CM 11 M10 into the device. I rooted the device, then backed up the bootloader. Then unlocked it and installed the recovery kernel given in the following url.
Custom Recovery Link
Then I used the following link to install CM11. I downloaded CM Rom from the official website for my device.
CM Installation Tutorial
When I go to CWM Recovery and try to install the zip file, it states the following message and stops the installation process.

The zip is for devices C5303, C5302
Device detected as 'mint'

I flashed my stock rom again and checked using flashtools the device it recognizes. My device is installed as C5303.
Any idea on fixing this issue.

Did you read through the full thread to make sure there weren't any updates or extra installation details. It sounds like there is wrong firmware/software in the ROM. Is it a nightly build?

it's not a nightly build! a snapshot for the xperia sp.

CyanogenMod - Xperia SP maintainer here. If you are sure about having a Xperia SP then you can safely remove that assert check in the install script of the zip :)
you should have the right prop id so you can continue on with normal releases. i've never seen this issue before.

I removed the assert tag as it was mentioned in one of the xda threads. but it lead to a bootloop as I had flashed a doomloard kernal. I flashed the kernal which was in the zip and all worked fine.


text:
Silently root an android kitkat phone
As a student researcher, I would like to know if there is an in app code to root an android kitkat device without the user knowing it(discreetly). If there is any open source app code to root a phone, then that will do the task. I have looked at many rooting apps but could not find any open source code for those.

It's not possible in general. It's normally necessary to unlock the bootloader, which requires the user to acknowledge on-screen that all user data will be deleted. The only way to avoid this is when there's some specific kernel-mode vulnerability to exploit, and of course the method to do so is specific to a particular device and ROM version, and usually doesn't work in later updates after the vulnerability has been fixed. For example, the exynos4 camera driver vulnerability allows "one-click" rooting of some exynos4-based devices, but it's been fixed with OTA updates, so up-to-date devices aren't vulnerable to it.


text:
Chrome and Chrome Beta suddenly won't fill up the entire screen on launch
So, I'm currently on the N5X rom with a cyanogenmod 4.4.4 base on my Samsung i9300, I restored Chrome Beta from one my backups in titanium Backup, after flashing the latest version of the ROM recently.
But every time I launch Chrome or Chrome Beta from the drawer, it comes up, staying right at the center, here's a screenshot:

Its so strange, it doesn't force close or pop up with any errors, everything works fine except for the part where it just starts fixed to the center of the screen.
What I've tried:

Uninstalling Chrome Beta and Chrome, and then re-installing both
Wiping data and cache of both browsers.
Re-flashing the ROM.

So here's what I've noticed, sometime last month when I flashed a Paranoid Android nightly, both Google Browsers behaved this way, and I thought it had to do with P.A then until this happened. Firefox works fine though, just Chrome and Chrome Beta.

What if you reinstall it through Google Play instead of by restoring from TiBu?

I already did that for both Chrome and Chrome Beta.

In that case my best guess is that it's caused by the theme customizations in this ROM. Likely the Paranoid Android build you tried had the same problem. You might try putting the developers in touch with each other to help them fix it.

This is happening in any custom ROM that supports floating windows. It is there, for example, in SlimKat, Spirit ROM, CM based ROMs etc. In my case I can move and size the window, and there is a maximize button available. It resizes the window with pinch to zoom automatically rendering it almost unusable.
This is an app issue ultimately, but it is specific to custom ROMs with this functionality.
The only thing you can do it, open the Chrome window then bring up the task manager and select Chrome and it will fill the screen as normal. This is obviously an awkward work around.
Alternatively if you have Xposed installed you can try to Blacklist Chrome from xFloatingWindow and see if it will work. Some, but not all have had success with this.

According to AndroidPolice is actually caused by a bug in Chrome Beta that showed up on certain custom ROMS. The recent update (v39.0.2171.90) contains a fix for this issue. It's likely that the next update for non beta Chrome will include a fix for this too.


text:
How to root Huawei Ascend Y550?
I've been trying to root my Huawei Ascend Y550 but I had no luck since many of the rooting programs say "Rooting failed".  Is there a way to root this phone?  It is running Android 4.4.4 and the kernel is from September 29th, 2014.


text:
Lollipop PIN unlock - possible to hide large button feedback on screen?
The PIN unlock screen in Android 5.0/Lollipop displays a very large animated circle under each number that you press (I'm using a Nexus 5). Is there any way to disable that?  It seems like it would be very easy for someone to look over your shoulder and observe your PIN, much more so than the PIN unlock screen in KitKat.
I'll readily point out that this may be considered a duplicate of this question regarding Android 4.4, though the PIN unlock screen differs enough in 5.0 that I thought it worth asking.


text:
How can someone else read my Text Messages
someone I know reads my text messages by tapping our phones together as in the same style of sending pictures by bluetooth.  How is this possible and how can I prevent it?

This is probably using NFC (Near Field Communication), or S Beam, both communication capabilities built into the Samsung Galaxies. They allow data transfer between devices in close proximity.
You can prevent this activity by electing to close the channels of communication.
Settings > Wireless & Networks > More Settings > File/Data transfer
Turn NFC OFF
Turn S Beam OFF

Just a note to others that may read this post with a similar question - devices with NFC and running Android 4.0 or higher also have this capability, regardless of manufacturer.  It's called Android Beam on non-Samsung devices.  Turning off NFC like wbogacz mentioned prevents communication.

Isn't it possible to disable the automatic sending of text messages without turning off S-Beam or NFC completely?

Android Beam doesn't send any data unless the user of the sending device taps the screen to send what's displayed.  You can't just suck messages out of someone's phone by putting your own phone near it.


text:
How to totally block internet access (data) on an Android?
I use Android 4.1.2 dual SIM, so I often switch SIM cards and restart the cell phone.
My plan allows me internet connection, but it's pay by the day, so even if I mistakenly sent one byte, it would charge me fully for that day. Which I want to avoid!
Each time I restart the phone after I switched SIM cards, it starts connecting over the internet, although before the restart all the settings were to disable internet.
Is there a reliable way to disable internet access on Android, that will last between replacing SIM cards and reboots?
PS I do want to be able to use Wifi. But not data over my cellular provider's network.
You may suggest to call my cellular provider and ask them to disable data. It's not a good solution:

Their customer service agents don't like to do it.
Their settings seem to be reset each time I move their SIM card to a different cell phone.
Sometimes I do need data in an emergency.

Something like DroidWall might work.

I think the best solution you can take is to disable the 3G connection (data traffic) option in Android because its state remains the same as when was turned off.
There's a thing in Android called "shared preferences" for each application installed. Settings is also an app and the saves there its actual state, parameters and configurations. So, when the phone turns on again, Android (settings app) reads that preferences and restores. So the 3G will stay disabled.


text:
I've exceeded my unlock attempts (10). Is there any way to unlock my phone?
Due to AT&T being a horrible company, I believe the customer "service" has led me through more than my allotted attempts at unlocking my phone. Because my phone was refurbished, the attempts may have already all have been used. I believe my phone is now "Hard Locked"
Anyhow, my contract is over but I'd love to keep using my galaxy s3 on a different network. Is there any way to reset the unlock counter so I can unlock my phone? I'm willing to pay for an unlock code or go through the process of rooting my phone if necessary.

Have you tried a factory reset?

What exaclty is locked? The SIM card? If this is the case, you should be able to simply remove it. The SIM card itself won't be any good.

If your sim card is locked then you can just remove it and put another one in.
If the phone itself is locked, you can do a factory-reset by using the recovery, hold power, home, volume-up until you get to the recovery screen and choose the factory reset option.

You need to contact AT&T and request your puk1 and puk2 codes (not to be mistaken for a 'pac' code) This will be free to do. Now it depends on what/how you have locked your phone as to which of the puk codes you need to use.

authors: วีระ ถ้วยทอง


text:
My Nexus 5 (5.0, stock, rooted) won't boot, despite being on 70% charge when I last checked. What can I do?
When plugged in, it kept repeating the Google logo, shutting off, and repeating. I unplugged, and now it won't turn on at all, no matter what combination of power and volume buttons I try (even recovery mode-- trust me, I've tried it all). I've been running Lollipop for over a week now with no hitches, and this came out of nowhere. Any suggestions to get me out of this?

Check the battery connection to make sure it's secure. Movement and jostling can sometimes can loosen the connection.

My nexus 7 did the same thing 2 days ago. I opened the case and the connection was partially separated. Plugged it back correctly and bootloop is gone. Working perfect now.

It's probably soft-bricked. Use a program called Nexus Root Toolkit to reinstall the stock ROM: http://www.wugfresh.com/nrt/


text:
Nexus 5 multitask button not working after upgrade to Lollipop
I just upgraded to Android Lollipop on my Nexus 5 using the OTA update. For some reason, I don't seem to be able to use the multitask button. It works very rarely, but I'm having to revert to pressing Home then opening my apps from there. This never happened on KitKat.
Is this a known issue, and is there anything I can do about it? Restarting the phone doesn't seem to help.
The OS recognizes that I'm pressing the button, since it highlights and vibrates it.
On a related note, I've been having to tap the Home button twice for it to actually go the home screen.

I believe the issue has to do with the Tasker and/or Twilight apps.
I don't know why, but this is what solved my problem:
I rebooted into Safe Mode (press and hold the Power button until the "Power Off" text shows up), then hold that("Power Off" message displayed on the screen) down until it turns into "Reboot to Safe Mode".
After running in Safe Mode, I noticed that the Home and MultiTask buttons work correctly: ie. its very likely that an app is causing the issue.  I restarted the phone back to normal mode, and the buttons continued working.
I disabled Tasker and stopped Twilight, and the buttons began working as expected.  I've since re-enabled them both, and they both started working again perfectly, and the Home and Multi Task buttons work as well.
So either something was wrong with one of the apps, or just the act of turning on Safe Mode fixed something.


text:
Apps opening automatically when updated
I have a Nexus 5 that I just updated to Android 5.0 Lollipop. Since then, whenever an app is updated from the Play Store, it opens automatically. If 15 apps are updating, all apps will open one by one.
I can't find any setting for this. How can I stop this?

Also, the same problem with a different cause: Apps launch automatically after update in Google Play Store

You could disable the automatic updates from the Play Store.
Then you could control which app should be updated, so one at a time would be opened.
I'm pretty sure that is a bug that will be fixed in a near future, but you could turn off that until that fix come.

According to the (now deleted) OP's comment,

This issue is fixed when Google Play Services is updated.


text:
How to manage forwarding email from smartphone?
I am not able to find the setting to manage the forwarding option in gmail application.
Where I can manage it from the smartphone with android 4.4.4?

If you want to forward an email open the email, click the three dots in the corner of the message and tap the forward button. If you want to forward all of your emails to another address, there is no option in the app. You can do this via the web with the following instructions: https://support.google.com/mail/answer/10957?hl=en. If you need to set this up over mobile for some reason you can achieve this by selecting the "request desktop site" option.

request desktop doesn't work in 6.0

@Ray Request desktop works in Chrome on Android 7.0


text:
How To Root a Switel Rock S4500D
I just got an Android phone, but the brand is not one of the famous or worldwide sold brands, it's a Switel Rock S4500D, and I want to root it. Can anyone help me how to do it?
As far as I googled, different ways and programs are based on phone brand and model.

As a "generic advice": Check our rooting index if the device is already listed and, if not, check the rooting methods below the devices list whether one matches. Still unsolved, then ask here – and include what you've checked and tried.

@Hitman2847 Did you ever succeed? I never found any information about rooting Switel phones. Either they are too hard to crack or (more likely) nobody cares about this brand.

@Daniel Alder : i didn't find anything and did not even try , it is a brand exclusive to switzerland manufactured by china so it is not even a brand :D and i find it unworthy of the money paid to purchase it , so i am planning to change it to a CATERPILLAR S50 soon . i only wanted to root this switel  because  it has a very small amount of storage

I rooted many unknown brands in last two months and thr are couple of PC programs which will help you to do it easily.

Kingoapp Root
SRSRoot One Click Root for Android (SuperUser)
Mobiegenie (I never tried this one)

all these programs require a windows PC and a Good Data cord for the process.

Vinay, it would be helpful to include links. While Kingoapp Root is already mentioned in our rooting index, the other two are not – would add them if I had a link :)

Just found and added the links to Kingo & SRS. Are you sure Mobiegenie is a rooting app? I've just found a Windows software to manage your device by that name.

@Izzy mobogenie is a mobile device manager , but it also gives you the option to backup and restore files and settings as well as rooting your device , never tried rooting by mobogenie though


text:
Nexus 5 has no settings to change runtime
I'm using Nexus 5. It was running on KitKat and I updated to Android L.
I wanted to try and check out if it's running on Dalvik or ART, but the settings to change runtime in the Developer Option is not there.
Does my phone have to be rooted?

Screenshot (click image for larger variant)

From the official Android Lollipop website,

Android 5.0 provides a faster, smoother and more powerful computing experience.
Android now runs exclusively on the new ART runtime, built from the ground up to support a mix of ahead-of-time (AOT), just-in-time (JIT), and interpreted code. It’s supported on ARM, x86, and MIPS architectures and is fully 64-bit compatible.

(Emphasis mine)
So, starting from Android 5.0 Lollipop, it will run on Android Runtime (ART). AFAIK, there is no way to change back to Dalvik runtime.


text:
HDMI output flickering in Hummingbird allwinner A20
I'm using Hummingbird allwinner a20 development board, I'm playing 1080p video on this board and working fine with 7" LCD but when I connect HDMI cable to it video and audio not playing well in LED TV also there is so much flickering on LED TV
So what are the possible cause for audio-video lag and flickering on HDMI output?
My thought is this might be problem of HDMI driver or Hardware composer in android

My first thought would be a signal problem. Try a different cable, and check that the connectors at both ends don't have bent/broken pins or fluff inside.

@DanHulme:Thanks for reply but cable is working fine with other android device

Definitely check the connector then. Sockets on dev boards are prone to collect fluff and/or come loose from the board.

Flickering is there when I set resolution of board to 1920x1080 other then this resolution there is no issue


text:
'You must have at least one calendar activated under My calendars. Do you want to open the calendar list?' after disabling/deleting calendar app
I used the CleanMaster app on my Samsung Galaxy S3 to disable apps I do not use.  I then accidentally deleted my calendar. When I want to add an event, I get a notification:

You must have at least one calendar activated under My calendars. Do you want to open the calendar list?

When I hit OK, I just get the blank calendar list.
I have now also downloaded the 'Business Calendar' app - but this also notifies me that I have no calendars selected.
How do I reinstall or reactive my calendar then?

What calendar was it? A "local one" (not synced anywhere), or a Google-synced calendar?

Have you tried installing Google Calendar?

I had the same problem. It's easy to fix:

Go to settings/more/application manager
swipe left to get to "disabled"
Click on "calendar storage"
click "enable"

All your calendar entries should now re-appear.


text:
Unable to factory reset gt-s5830i
I'm in a big trouble let me explain.
I have a GT-s5830i where I installed MIUI, I have also CWM Recovery 5.0.2.8.
Now for many reasons I would like to factory reset my device to it's original ROM, what I did:

Enter recovery mode
Wipe cache
Wipe dalvik cache
Wipe data/factory reset

The system stuck here with this error message
Error Mounting /sdcard/.android_secure!
Skipping format...

Now I rebooted the device and for 1 hour is on boot Samsung logo, it do nothing, just stay on Samsung logo showing GT-s5830i
Please help me I don't want to buy another phone.
Thanks in advance
Sonia

Do you have an SD card inserted? If so, have you tried starting the device while the card is removed?

Hi Izzy, thanks for your answer yes the card is inserted and unable to format it

As I wrote: Try removing the card, and starting up the device without it. Depending on whether that works (and the device boots up successfully) or not, we can check for the next step(s). As I see from your other comment this didn't work: Please see whether you can boot to safe-mode or recovery-mode.

Hi Izzy, I answered you below, I tried your suggestion but not working the device stuck on Galaxy Ace logo

Nope, that was not me below :) So have you tried with safe-mode / recovery-mode? What error messages did you see there?

Thank you all guys to try to help me.
I tried the following:

Home+PowerON (not working it restart de device)
Home+VolumeUP+PowerON (working I'm in CWM based recovery)
I launch wipe data/factory reset

-- Wiping data --
Formatting /data
Formatting /cache
Formatting /sd-ext
No app2sd partition found. Skipping format
Formatting /sdcard/.android_secure
Error mounting /sdcard/.android_secure!
skipping format...
The problem is that I don't have the SD card inside

Without an SDCard inserted, you can ignore CWM's related error messages. So OK we know recovery still works. Now follow above link to see if you can enter safe-mode.

Ok, tried the safe-mode removing the battery for 2 minutes. The interesting thing is that now boot immediately after Samsung logo into CWM Recovery.

Reading your question a second time, I just see you're on the complete wrong track (a thing we call the XY problem):

Now for many reasons I would like to factory reset my device to it's original ROM

That's not possible at all. You overwrote this when flashing MIUI (for details, see our factory-reset tag-wiki). You'll have to get yourself a ROM file to flash (see: Where can I find stock or custom ROMs for my Android device?), and flash your device again if you want to "return to stock".
That said, it makes no sense to get your "supposed solution" to work – as even if we did, it would not solve your issue.

Izzy, that's right, I downloaded the Original ROM from a known website, but now I have the phone unusable, I cannot boot MIUI because of the error I posted, and I cannot transfer the Original ROM to the phone since Kies doesn't recognise it. Wait your kind help.

Sonia, that's a complete different question you might wish to ask separately – after checking it has not already been asked. I remember we've got several similar questions already, you might wish to check the questions tagged "samsung-kies" for that. Also worth a look are the other two related tags: odin and heimdall, which are alternatives to Kies for installing firmwares and more.

Tried: Remove the SD card from your device and launch it like that.

HARD reset it (VOLUME UP + HOME BUTTON + POWER ON) hold it for a while until the boot menu pops up.  Select to Restore factory defaults (or something similar to that).
CAUTION: All data will be lost.
SOFT reset it (Just take out the battery from your phone and put it back in after few seconds).

Let me know if any of these works.

Hi, thanks for answer, I tried your suggestion still not boot, I removed the card and rebooted, still show the Samsung Galaxy Ace logo and stuck on that

Try to hard reset it, if you didnt yet:

Home + Power ON or Volume Up + Home + Power ON  (hit this key combo and hold it for a while)
Select to Restor to Factory defaults (or something ilke that)
This will delete all of your data.

SOFT RESET:
Remove your battery from phone wait few seconds and put it back in and turn on the phone.

Try reformatting your sd card to another System type like FAT32. sumthing like that. The problem is with the sd card's system. Or you may try to put the file in another sd card and.flash it with that.


text:
Lollipop's Trusted Face can be bypassed by camera
I have enabled Trusted face, also it comes with pattern lock if face is not recognized.
But it has a flaw, anyone can unlock the phone with camera/phone call shortcut on lock screen. As shown in attached screenshot, is it possible to prevent this?

I tried what you're saying a few times, and after you close the camera, you're back on the lock screen.
Unless you were actually looking at the phone, it recognized your face and it unlocked itself milliseconds before opening the camera.
You can notice that the "symbol" in the middle goes from that of a person to that of an unlocked lock when it recognizes you

i think that was the case. When i tried it 2-3times with wrong camera direction it prevented me. I did the imrpove face recognition settings too.

Just as Kushtrim mentioned, I also suspect that it's due to "Trusted face": maybe it's too sensitive, or the face you provided is.. still too general that everyone's face is detected as yours.
Some suggestions that I could think of:

Turn off "Trusted face". It's an obvious solution, but you cannot enjoy this new feature.
Improve the "Trusted face" recognition. It might be a hit-or-miss, but it's worth a try:

Go to Settings - Security
Choose "Smart Lock", confirm the saved pattern
Choose "Trusted face" - "Improve face matching"
Follow the instruction, and do it a number of times to further improve it.


text:
Nexus 10 completely dead after lollipop update
So, tried to install the new update when it flashed on my tablet.  Left it downloading, and then clicked to install.  Its now a brick. It cant boot, it has no commands.  I have tried factory reset, and nothing, it still has no command.  I dont know how to flash it, although im not dumb I could likely follow good step by step instructions, I just dont know where to start, or who to turn to.  I suspect the size of the update is what went wrong, I only have satellite internet at 512kbps.  The update was 382 meg.  My device wanted to isntall after about 20 minutes, and I can confidently say that any download of 400 meg would take about 5 hours on my connection, so idk if it tried to install something and just gave up?
Whatever.. i have a dead android on his back with an exclamation mark.  I tried Reboot, recovery, factory reset none of which worked.
Many thanks in advance for time or trouble taking to reply.
Alison

If you are still able to boot your nexus in fastboot mode(hold down the power button and the volume down button) you can recover it quite straightforward:

Download the desired nexus firmware from here: https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images#mantaray
Search for a howto flash your nexus 10 via fastboot. Something like this if using windows: http://nexus10root.com/nexus-10-unroot/how-to-unrootunbrick-nexus-10-factory-firmware/

Flashing through fastboot requires an unlocked bootloader - unlocking will remove all your userdata!
If any questions appear just ask ;)

Ty! :)  I downloaded the factory image for my model, and once I had directed the 'nexus root toolkit' to the zip file, it did it all for me :)  Im so relieved! :)
I have since been able to get the lollipop update too and all appears to be working fine :)
many thanks


text:
Why is a calendar entry made for each call?
I use a Samsung Galaxy Note.  I am noticing that each time I make, receive or miss a call, an entry is made in My Calendar, with the details of the call, incoming or outgoing, phone number etc.  Every call made / received in the phone log has one calendar entry, making the calendar totally unusable.
I am not able to find which application is doing this.  Is there any way I can stop this entry from being made for each call?
Alternatively, how do I identify which application is making this entry, by looking at the calendar entry?

I don't use Galaxy Note, so this is just a hint, not a solution: I somewhat believe that this is not from Galaxy Note. Also, there are apps (e.g. Call Log Calendar) that can create a calendar entry for every call. You may need to inspect each installed apps more carefully.

Hi Andrew.  Thanks for the direction... that is what I am doing for the past 2 days.  To nail the culprit.  No luck till now.  Any way to reverse the check?  How to say which app created the calendar entry by looking at the entry?

The app SMS Backup+ has this functionality, where call log entries can be added automatically to a Google Calendar. The source code for SMS Backup+ is freely available on Github, so it may have been cloned and installed under a different name on your device.
Also if you go to your Google Account Permissions, you can see which apps have been authorized to access your Google calendars.

Well, what can I say... B.U.L.L.S...E.Y.E.!!!  It was SMS Backup+ indeed!  I have now turned off the call-log-sync-into-Calendar.  Many thanks, mlgoth!  Both your tips were very useful!


text:
gmail inbox contents disappeared mysteriously
This has happened to my wife twice on her LG Optimus G phone, once about a week ago, and again just today.  She pulls up gmail on her phone, she taps on edit, and begins typing in an email address.  She sees the address she needs in the autocomplete.  Then decides not to finish the email.  So she taps the back key on here phone to get back to the gmail inbox (the page that gmail always wakes up with) and Whoa!  Her inbox is now empty!!  Where did all the emails go.  She then pulls out her laptop and checks her gmail from there.  Inbox still empty.  Can't find the emails under all mail, trash, or spam either.  They are gone.
Has anyone else out there experienced this problem?  Any ideas?  I'm wondering if it's a bug in the new gmail app (that downloaded itself a couple of weeks ago).  Or could it be some kind of a virus?   Anyone have any ideas?  Please help.

Which Gmail app are you talking about? "Gmail", or "Inbox by Gmail"? You've tagged your question with both.

I'm not sure.  I guess regular gmail.
App Info says "Gmail Version 5.0 (1569867)".  Thanks


text:
Is it possible to use Linux/unix's dd to make an image backup of an android phone with the phone off?
My current position:
Nexus 5
Unlocked with TWRP Recovery
I've been wanting to "rom hop" for a bit, but I'd like to have a good, solid foundation to return to in case of catastrophic failure.
If this were just a normal flash drive, on my computer I'd just
sudo dd if=/dev/sdX of=~/my.img

However with a cell phone I'm not sure if it will work the same way.
I saw this answer linked while I typed this up, but it looks like the guy in that question specifically wants the /data partition (though he might not have known it at first).
tl;dr: How do I make a dd image of my android phone from my linux laptop?

Related: Create a dd image of a Android 4.4.4 for forensics?

@Izzy I agree. That's why I linked it in the post

Yuck. Missed that. Just checked the ID in the link, which didn't match – as you linked to the answer directly... My bad, apologies. Shall we leave the comment in, or shall we "cleanup all these comments"?

BTW: The answer you've linked to matches your situation pretty well. I've just linked to the wrong post of mine – the one I had in mind was this one made by Joshua. Especially, check this link from the comments for a full guide. If that's an acceptable solution to you, I can post a summary as answer.

You can't access any filesystems over USB (or any other way) with the phone turned off. To make a full backup of user data and the ROM (system image), you need to boot into your custom recovery and use that to make a Nandroid backup.

First part is right (with the device turned off, no way). Second part is not the only solution, see my answer here ;)


text:
Nexus-5 pulse notification LED wont work after lollipop OTA update
I got OTA update for my nexus 5 and one thing I noticed is my pulse notification light won't work after the update..no matter its a call or a watsapp message. Then I tried installing light flow it worked properly..but I don't want to use any third party apps. And my pulse notification is enabled at settings FYI. Is it a bug on lollipop? Any solution?

I just tried, it doesn't work on my phone either. Probably a bug.
The light did't work properly on KitKat either ( for missed calls ) though.

I noticed it blinks for certain apps like google messenger and any.do. but still not like it worked with kitkat. I heard in nexus 6 it has rgb led but useless. Hope next update resolves this.


text:
OnePlus One Talkback Won't Turn Off
My OnePlus One seems to have its Talkback setting permanently set to ON.  On some apps, whenever I tap on something, it highlights it with orange and speaks the text.
I've noticed this in Bacon Reader, Google Search, ESPN SportsCenter, and Gmail so far.
I've already gone to Settings > Accessibility and made sure Talkback was turned off.  I also tried disabling the app and restarting my phone, but it's still happening.
Anyone have any ideas on how to turn this off?

I don't think TalkBack mode alone is the culprit here, but you must have enabled "Explore by Touch" also when you activated TalkBack, which makes things tricky.
If you just have the regular swipe to unlock feature for your lock screen, to unlock it, you'll need to...
Use TWO fingers and swipe the screen, but make sure your two fingers are separated, because if they are too close together, it'll think you're using one.
That's it. That should unlock the lock screen. You don't have to worry about tapping on anything like it says; that is only if "Explore by Touch" is not activated (just TalkBack).
Now, to disable TalkBack mode, you need to make your way to "Accessibility" in the "Settings" and toggle TalkBack off. On my Galaxy S3, I can just hit the Menu hard button and double-tap on Settings, but I don't think the Tabs have a hard Menu button, so just head to the Settings as you normally would using two-finger swiping, long pressing to select, and double-tapping for enter.
For instance, to access Settings from the Notification tray...

Make sure to use TWO fingers (slightly separated as before) and swipe down from the top to open the Notification tray.
Then, touch the "Settings" symbol once, then double-tap it to open it up.
Use two fingers to scroll down to "Accessibility" and press it once, then double-tap to open.
Then, press once on "TalkBack" and double-tap it.
And once on the "On/Off" switch, and double-tap.
Then do the same for "OK" and you should be good to go.

Quite a pain, I know.

OnePlus 5 and 6 (so possibly all OxygenOS versions) have a slightly different location for Accessibility:  Settings > System > Accessibility > "TalkBack: Off / Speak items on screen".  There is also "Select to Speak: Off / Hear selected text".  If any of them are "On / ...", the original poster will probably want to turn them off.