text:
How to use Tasker to kill apps on/after device boot?
I have several apps auto start at boot, and it's really not necessary. So I'm trying to use Tasker to kill them on/after device boot.
Tasker has a "Event - Device Boot" option, but it seems that does not work. Tasker just cannot catch this event.
I'v also tried to trigger the profile when another app (which starts after Tasker) starts. It works but the problem is that each time the app starts, Taker performs the action, but I only need the task to be performed once.
Can anyone think of any trick to do this?
PS: please no recommendation on third-party apps or permission change method

Your restriction (no 3rd party apps) will keep a better fitting answer away, I'd say. What you describe is a task not for Tasker, but for... oh, I shall not mention it you wrote...
Your problem is most likely that Tasker very well catches the boot_completed event, but the apps to kill have been waiting for the same. So when Tasker looks to kill them, they're not yet started. Your Task thus finishes without anything done, and Whoop! then the unwanted apps start.
So if you really want to do this via Tasker, I'd insert a Tasker -> Wait at the very beginning of the task. Play with the values, start with 15s and increase in 15s steps until either it works or your reach a point where it's unlikely to work (say e.g. 2 min, or you see the apps have started and your Task didn't kill them).
If that still doesn't work, combine it with switching the condition: In case Tasker really cannot catch the boot_completed (well, Tasker itself is started then), switch to "monitoring start", and start over with 15s wait again.
Finally, though you didn't want 3rd party apps, just in case you re-think that: Autorun Manager does this job quite fine, without any hazzle. On rooted devices, it even can disable other intents than just boot_completed listeners.

Thanks Izzy, the problem is just like what you guessed. I didn't insert wait, and the app I was about to kill actually started after Tasker performed the action. Now everything's fine with a 15 seconds delay.

Congrats! Yeah, that's the usual "missing thing" with certain tasks: timing can be tricky ;) But luckily we've got this one solved -- enjoy Tasker :)

FYI, Autorun Manager seems to have turned bad, very bad (ads, not updated, dubious methods to force you use pro, and a lot of bugs).

@vaab I didn't use it for a long time – and back when I used it, I've used the pro version. Sad to hear it turned bad – though I don't see it having too many or aggressive ad modules (just AdMob). Anyway, for permanent use one should take the pro – though of course bad behavior is not a thing to convince.


text:
How to upgrade hboot
I have an HTC Desire and my end game is to get custom md partitions. I'm at step one trying to get S-OFF. I've downloaded the tool from revolutionary.io and it tells me my device is:
Found your device: HTC Desire (bravo-0.75.0000, Android: 2.3.5, ROM version: bravo-user)

Your device: bravo, with HBOOT 0.75.0000 is not supported at this time.

So I've looked into how to upgrade the HBOOT and I read that I need S-OFF first? It's a classic chicken and egg scenario. Where do I go from here?

What makes you think a newer hboot version would make your device supported? I guess your real question should not be how to upgrade hboot, but how to s-off your device -- it's a typical XY problem.

Because the form at http://revolutionary.io has a select field for HBOOT version with the values {0.93.0001, 1.02.0001} only. It may be an XY problem, but as I state, I don't know which is the X and which the Y

OK, that information was missing in your question (maybe you edit it directly into it, so it gets more obvious). Still, as your target is to get S-Off, so that's your X. Your question is about one possible solution, which is Y. So if you want to solve X, better ask for X -- which might bring you to your goal faster, as more alternatives might be available.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Why does Google Play Store say that Adobe Air is incompatible with the Huawei U8510 phone?
I looked at the publisher's system requirements for Adobe Air.
I compared that list to Huawei's device specs, but Huawei's list doesn't mention if the device has

ARMv7 processor with vector FPU, minimum 550MHz, OpenGL ES 2.0, H.264
  and AAC HW decoders

How can I figure out why the store says the device is incompatible, and whether that conclusion is correct? I would prefer an answer that didn't involve installing the SDK, but if it requires reading and comparing device.prop and the APK, please provide a link to suitable directions.

Your device doesn't have an Armv7 processor.
It has an Armv6. You can confirm this by attempting to download apps like Temple Run & Firefox from the market - these all need Armv7 processors. You can also install Device Info to check it yourself, it gives you detailed information.
Also, according to GSM Arena your processor is clocked to 600Mhz - the same as most Armv6 devices.

Thanks. Perhaps I am not the only one who finds ARM version numbering hard to find, and then hard to understand :) Of course it is a budget phone, so I don't expect it to run everything, even though Flash Media apps such as BBC iPlayer would be nice. (You are right: Firefox and Temple Run won't install either.)

@dcorking Most budget phones come with Armv6 processors as, well, they are cheaper! They also require less RAM... There was a flash player for Armv6 devices, you will have to Google for it. Not sure about Air though, and the flash didn't run that well...

@LiamW most new phones sport an ARMv7 today. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1596800

@ce4 True, however some still don't...

@ce4 This phone is still on general sale. It seems to be a 2012 revision of the U8510 marked U8510-1. (Apparently Adobe's Flash player was pulled from the Play store, leaving Air the only obvious option to play DRM compressed video and audio.)

Over at XDA the flashplayer app can still be downloaded: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1850772

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


text:
What exactly does CalDAV-Sync do?
Android has a bug report Add support for external calendars via iCal / CalDav that prevents you from using a standard CalDAV application.
CalDAV-Sync corrects that bug:

CalDAV-Sync is a CalDAV client for Android to synchronize events. Due to its implementation as sync adapter it integrates seamlessly with the native calendar app and widgets.(Also check out CardDAV-Sync)
Important note for Jelly Bean users: To prevent the removal of your accounts on reboot install this app:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.dmfs.jb.workaround.caldavsync
This app will create new calendars on your device (one for each calendar on your server account)

How exactly does it solve it?
Is it an alternative synchronisation? Or does it correct the bug?

According to the fix app, the actual bug it fixes is 34880.
Basically, Google Play Store installs paid apps to the wrong location, specifically to /mnt/asec instead of /data/app.  When the service cache is generated on boot, that location is not yet mounted, so the service and the associated accounts gets removed.
This works around that by using the same account on a non-paid app, which installs normally, get picked up by the service cache, and this prevents the account from getting removed.

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


text:
Installing HD Games on HTC Desire SV,low memory
I have an HTC Desire SV, which has almost the same specs as Desire X. The problem is I'm unable to install HD games, since the phone storage has only 800MB space.
I have gone to Settings > Apps and checked for the option to move to SD card but there are only 2 options available move to phone and move to internal.
I cannot play games like Max Payne; it has cache files around 2GB. Since the cache is too big for the phone memory, I cannot install it.
How can I install games like Max Payne?

Short answer:
Thing is: you can't, obviously, as you don't have enough internal storage.
TL;DR
If your device is rooted, however, there are ways to work around this storage problem. You can fool your device by linking/mounting a partition on your SD card to be used as "fake internal memory". But while this would work-around the underlying issue (not enough storage), the Playstore still would refuse to let you install those apps, as your "official phone specs" have not been changed. If you could get hold of the .apk, however, you might be able to side-load (manually install) it. Also, having root, you could manipulate the system file responsible for this (build.spec?), fooling the playstore into thinking your device would be a Desire X (or whatever you chose).
So you see there might be work-arounds, but they are not easy to apply. Without rooting your device (and thus most likely voiding your warranty if you're living outside the EU), it simply is impossible AFAIK.

I have the .apk file,is there a way to install it manually?The problems is, i don't care where the apk is installed what i care is about the data files which are around 1.2 gb

Sure: Simply put it on your SD card, and tap it from a file explorer. That should launch the installer. Make sure you've configured your device to allow "unknown sources" (i.e. sources other than the playstore). Still, your storage will be too low unless you root and "switch things around". But you can try ;)

You see i can install the app,the problems is with the cache/data files.i cannot put in the external card,it does not work

As I wrote: That part is only solvable on rooted devices, sorry.

ok,Thanks will check with HTC if there is a workaround without rooting as rooting voids my warranty

I doubt there will be any (except for buying a new device) -- but please keep us updated! Would not be the first time I get surprised :)


text:
Nexus i9250 constantly reboots, freezes, etc
I bought a Nexus a couple of months ago, and sometimes it restarts when I am on a call.
Other times when I am on a call, it freezes, and restarts or unfreezes after a minute.
The phone is not rooted or damaged in any way. I sent it to an official Samsung service center, and they told me that the phone was fine. They also installed new firmware, but the phone still has all the mentioned problems.
Does anyone know an application to monitor the activities of the phone, such as the restarts etc? Something like a log file?
Thanks.


text:
Recovery mode can't read fat32 sd card, only exfat
I'm running CM 10.1 (based on Android 4.2.1) on a Galaxy S III i9300. I'running CWM-based recovery v 5.5.0.4.
I'm dealing with a conflict with my Sandisk microsd 32 gb card. When I format my sdcard to fat32 and run recovery mode, the phone does not read the sd card. However, if I change the format to exfat, the phone reads the sdcard in recovery, but then it won't mount the sdcard when I reboot the phone. I get an "sd card damaged" error.
Likewise, when I connect phone to PC via USB my PC does not detect the card within the phone; I have to use an sdcard adapter and insert it in my PC to access it.
When I use CM updater, the system reboots and gives me the following error message under "verifying update package...":

E: failed to open /sdcard/0/cmupdater/cm-10.1-20130107-NIGHTLY-i9300.zip
  (No such file directory)
  E: Signature verification failed,
  Installation aborted

If I then pull the update from get.cm, I can access it from external storage, but I get this error message when I try to install it:

E: failed to verify whole-file signature
E: Signature verification failed

Everything is solved by converting to fat32--PC reads card, phone mounts card--except the issue of installing updates or flashing ROMs, kernels, etc in Recovery. This means that when I want to add media to my card I have to format it to fat32 and then re-format it to exfat when I want to access it in Recovery to do things like install updates to CM 10.
Am I missing something? Is there a way around this?
I read a post on XDA, though I can't remember where, that said that the size of the card (specifically, if it is greater or less than 32 gb) affects what format the S III will read it in. Is it true?

CWM shouldn't be verifying signatures, are you sure you're running CWM?

I just noticed that when I reboot in Recovery Mode, I enter into CWM recovery; however, when I use CyanogenMod updater and am prompted to reboot into recovery to install updates, I reboot into Android Recovery. Any idea why this happens?

I'm not sure.  However you could try manually rebooting and flashing that zip, since you know the path.

Have you tried considering a mutli-partition SD card? There are a few tools like SDMinste and Partition Wizard to help you create a dual partition setup on your SD card. You could create a small partition to store all your ROMs and updates, and a bigger partition for your user data.
However, there's a slight problem wherein Windows will only recognize the first partition. Refer this well written guide on XDA for a workaround.

I'll look into this and let you know.


text:
I am unable to paste. Is there a solution to this bug that doesn't involve rooting or factory-resetting the phone?
I recently updated my S3 to Jelly Bean (v4.1.1) and now cannot paste.
Example steps to reproduce my bug:
Compose message

Compose SMS
Type "hello" in body
Long press "hello"
Click copy icon
Click after "hello" to bring cursor / blue handle
Clicking "clipboard" does nothing (just dismisses handle)

If you're not having the bug, everything will work fine, I know. Please don't answer "it works for me". I know what should happen, but for some reason it doesn't work on mine.
Notes:

The bug is present everywhere you would input text (for example, in the gmail app, or pasting in an address bar etc.).
Pasting by using the options when long-pressing the cog in the keyboard doesn't work either.
Restarting the phone doesn't help.
The phone is not rooted.

Any other ideas?

I too face the same problem on my rooted Samsung Galaxy S I9000 running Android Jelly Bean 4.2.1

I updated the software to 4.1.2 and the problem has gone :-)
I don't know if the bug has been fixed, or the process of upgrading has corrected the faulty state the phone was in. I'll update this post if the problem comes back...

Which update fixed the bug?


text:
There is no Cell Broadcast option in HTC Desire C
I get annoying messages, like every 2 minutes, saying my location. I can't turn it off. I searched all settings and options, but CB option is nowhere to find.
Is something wrong with my Android version or what?


text:
What is JTAG in regards to Android?
I see the term JTAG used for reviving dead Android devices that otherwise don't respond to anything and aren't seen when USB connected.  It seems that it's something done from the physical hardware side of the device (as opposed to some pure software based solution) and I've heard the term used elsewhere (in gaming consoles).  I don't find much else about it, and I'd like to know specifically how it relates to Androids and similar devices.  It seems to be a term in electronics or electrical engineering, both of which I am unfamiliar with.  I'm wondering what it is and why it can be used on hard bricked devices.

See this entry on wikipedia Voting to close as its not confined to just Android and off-topic :)

I find this to be an on-topic and legitimate question. @t0mm13b: You're right, this is some layers below Android on the hardware level (and JTAG is used by many embedded hardware products from broadband/wifi routers to microcontrollers for washing machines, etc.). However because this abbreviation pops up more frequently in relation to Android (e.g. on XDA unbrick howto's), one may ask if there's a connection between those two.

While JTAG is not an Android specific thing, I still like the idea of having a question and answer(s) that explains how JTAG is used wrt to Android.

Wow this is the first mature SE site I've interacted with that doesn't have a [tag:terminology] tag! I highly recommend creating one for questions such as this.

@hippietrail: Thanks for the suggestion. I've now created the tag. Please feel free to suggest edits which will add it to other Android.SE questions.

Gary Wellings suggested a blog article: How to unbrick JTAG enabled smartphones with open source software and hardware? (not enough rep to comment)

JTAG and Android are two separate things.
You may find JTAG pins visible either under your device's battery or near its SIM / MicroSD card holder. The pins are hidden. You may have to dismantle your phone's back cover. The JTAG pins are usually six gold pins clustered close to each other, as shown in this photo:

Click to enlarge
You use a special hardware JTAG box which comes with a vast array of cables (different cables for different types of devices), plus specialized software specifically made for your device model. (There exist generic catch-all JTAG boxes that can be loaded with specific microcode instructions for your particular manufactured board. The tricky part is getting the exact microcode for your device's circuit board. If you use the wrong microcode, it can cause permanent damage.)
The microcode instructions are emitted by the JTAG box attached to the cable, clipped in position on top of the JTAG pins. The box sends a signal to your device to revive it. Now an appropriate firmware image can be flashed to your device.
This is a highly specialized topic. A background in electrical engineering can be handy, to know which pins are used for ground (GND), transmit (TX), receive (RX) and power (PWR). The power is the important one: if the battery is dead, power can still be fed into your device.
You can buy JTAG boxes online, but they tend to cost a couple hundred US dollars or so. It's because of differing manufacturers with different types of cables, and different arrangements of on-device JTAG pins.

JTAG is a Protocol !
Simply in other Protocols such as USB is  protocol UART is protocol for transferring DATA or communicating with devices .
JTAG Directly communicate with the CPU and with the help of CPU's JTAG Protocol you can access CPU's peripherals and memory/NAND/eMMC one of this peripherals .
In order to relate directly answer to your question for the reviving part .
Even Though your device is not able to boot-up from the internal memory/NAND/eMMC JTAG access still available through JTAG Protocol .
Accessing JTAG and re-writing Boot partitions to your device internal Memory/NAND/eMMC will revive your phone , phone will be able to boot-up and will be revived .
Some Commercial JTAGs : ort-jtag.com
Some JTAG Pinouts:


text:
What are Android's secret telephony codes?
What are Android's hidden Secret Codes?
There are a bunch of secret codes to access hidden features or perform special actions. They're entered into the dialer and have the following format:
*#*#<CODE>#*#*
What are the standard (vanilla) codes and what do various carriers and device makers add?
And how can I find out about them by myself?


text:
Remotely send music to Android device
There are multiple questions in Android Enthusiasts addressing the possibility of streaming music to an Android device, where the point of control is the said device.
I need something slightly different.  Suppose when I come home, I plug my Android device on my stereo system, and work on my laptop.  Now, I want to play an mp3/webradio/the sound of a movie/white noise in my stereo system, using my Android device while not moving from my chair.  What are the softwares to do so?
Simply put: I want to beam sound through wifi, to my Android device, from and controlled by my laptop.  The only solution I can think of is to open a tunnel to the Android sound device and ask my playing software to send the sound to it.
Technical details: Tablet Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1; Laptop with Linux.
Thanks a lot.

Asking for recommendations are off-topic, please read the [FAQ] :) In relation to the answer below by @LiamW, that software, in which the answerer failed to mention has the following Before using SoundWire on your Android device you must install and run the SoundWire Server application on the Windows/Linux PC or laptop which is your source of music, web audio streaming, or other sounds, also, its not "free" per-se, rather a trial.. The free version of the application identifies itself by voice every 45 minutes and displays ads. There is a 10 minute compression trial in the free version.

@t0mm13b: My very bad.  I didn't check the FAQ, and saw a few "what's the app for X" questions, thinking it was OK.  We should close this question as off-topic to not give a bad example, though.

Maybe I am blind, but where does this question ask for an App as solution? I see no reason to close it.

Well, not to insist on having my own question closed, but I do ask, in plain terms, "What are the softwares to do so?"; this is the only actual question in the text.  But definitely your call, mod.

I am practically certain that the soundwire app will do what you want it to do (if I have it the right way around).

Thanks a lot; I'm playing with it right now, it seems to precisely do what I need.  Curious how I missed it in my numerous searches.

It requires setting up a semi-server app on your laptop, but you could do this with the Logitech Squeezebox software.
Install the (free) server software onto your laptop from here: http://www.mysqueezebox.com/download
This will index all of the media on your laptop and give you a web based interface to your library.
Then you can use something like the SqueezePlayer app on your phone to connect to the server and play what you nominate.

Thanks!   Am I mistaken in thinking that this requires action from the device rather than from the workstation?  This is precisely what I want to avoid.  Plus, I want to stream any sound, not my library.  Am I missing something?

Other than starting the Squeezeplayer app, you don't do anything on the device. In the web interface (which your laptop's web browser can connect to) you can select songs from your library, playlists, pick a streaming radio station, or pick a streaming service like Last.fm or Spotify. You can see some of the streaming services, apps and plugins it supports here http://www.mysqueezebox.com/index/Home If you want to stream whatever sound would otherwise be playing through your laptop's speakers (eg current movie) use the WaveInput plugin http://wiki.slimdevices.com/index.php/WaveInput_plugin


text:
How to disable autofocus and set focus to infinity?
I almost never take any close up pictures with my Galaxy Nexus (and when I do, it'd be more convenient to manually switch into some kind of macro mode).
How do I stop the auto-focus from trying all possible focus positions every time I take a picture?
Such behaviour makes me lose all the good moments that I want to capture in the first place (due to a focus delay of about 3 to 5 seconds), and often results with pictures being taken out-of-focus, especially at night or through a windscreen or something.  Is there a way to disable such bogus autofocus?

It appears that Open Camera (net.sourceforge.opencamera) does contain a feature where the focus could be manually set to auto, infinity, macro, manual (locked-on-touch) and continuous.

It does appear to mostly work on a non-rooted Nexus 5 — changing the setting to infinity does remove the extra focusing delay prior to taking each picture (although it also appears to be buggy in such a way that changing from auto to infinity may sometimes leave the focus at the macro level, without refocusing at infinity).

I'm sure there's some way technically to simply shut off the autofocus, making the camera start up in a default focus and never moving away from that. It is however not a function that I am aware of that it exists in custom ROMS, because that's the only place you'll find modifications like this, and unless there's a big demand for it, it's unlikely someone will code it. I've got a feeling that camera focus might be really tricky to mod from the actual OS.
I think the only way you'll solve this for sure is basically learning to code and inspecting the AOSP source, or paying a developer to do it for you. I'm almost certain it's not a native function of the Android OS.

Isn't there some way to simply change some setting somewhere somehow?  Similar to how the plist settings are done on iOS and OS X?  I don't understand how this could not be a priority: does noone use Camera for taking any non-posing pictures?

As I said, I'm not aware of it being a native function of the Android OS.

Having just experienced a similar issue, I've found that the apps "Camera FV-5" and "Cinema FV-5" both have nice extra options, including ones affecting focus.  Worked for me, even if I'm not sure quite which buttons I hit.

At the moment on my Samsung Galaxy A50 phone, you can lock the focus by:

opening the camera app
then pressing on the screen with your finger, on the spot where you want to lock the focus, for 1-2 seconds, and it should lock the focus until you tap the camera screen again

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


text:
Enabling Android as USB host on Galaxy Nexus or Nexus 10
I'm trying to develop applications that talk to USB devices, but nothing works. I installed a USB Host Diagnostics app, and it tells me that there's no OS support for device detection on the Galaxy Nexus or the Nexus 10. I'm running Android 4.2 on both.
I tried the AdbTest sample application, but that doesn't respond when I connect the devices together. I tried updating the files in /system/etc/permissions as discussed here, but that doesn't do anything.
Can anyone get USB device detection to work on these devices? Thanks!

I don't know the specifics about n10, but I found out an issue with my n7. When I bought it I got USB OTG/host working, but now when I tried with 4.2 it does not work anymore!
I found out that it was configured incorrectly. If you check /etc/permissions/tablet_core_hardware.xml you should see line android.hardware.usb.host in there, but after 4.2 upgrade it was not there anymore.
So for me it looks like the only way to get it working is to root the device. :-( I wonder why it has been taken out.

I have a Nexus 7 running 4.2.2. It is rooted mainly for USB OTG usage, which I am using quite well. Being curious about the XML, I could not find any entry related to host or USB in that file, but still OTG works.


text:
Is continuous focus a 4.0-only feature?
The http://www.android.com/about/ice-cream-sandwich/ page details that Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich" introduced two interesting features for Camera: “continuous focus” and “zero shutter lag exposure”.
Have both of these features been removed or disabled post 4.0?  My Galaxy Nexus seems to have neither since the 4.1 and 4.2 over-the-air upgrades.
Holding a 4.2 Galaxy Nexus still and taking a picture with auto settings and without flash in a relatively-very-well-lit nightclub takes about 3 seconds, and taking another picture right away takes another 3 seconds, seemingly indicating that both features are completely absent in stock 4.2.

I wonder if that lag is due to the new HDR feature.

There is no HDR on Galaxy Nexus (dual-core 1.2GHz and 1GB RAM are not enough for HDR these days?), and the lag seems to be a carry-on from 4.1.

I have CM11 running on an OnePlus One and the CyanogenMod Camera has the option to use continuius focus. You could try it from the Play Store http://goo.gl/2k7qm8 or installing the apk-file http://goo.gl/q02TdC

In low light(or in very bright light) scenario, 'Zero shutter lag' feature won't work  because the camera module and the software together will do some heavy work to capture picture really good. Try taking picture in good lighting condition(during daytime) to test Zero shutter lag functionality.
In some phones, Continuous focus makes use of accelerometer sensor to detect the movement of the phones to refocus the camera. This may not work when there is very slight movement. You can also check this during good lightning conditions

This is an invalid advice, because the feature clearly used to work, and then stopped with the "upgrade"; they've even removed all mentions of this feature ever being there in the device, clearly trying to cover up the fact that they've messed it up in the subsequent software "upgrades"; the best picture would be if it'd just use infinity by default in low light, instead of being so slow with the stupid and needless (re)focus as for the subjects of the photo to be gone for good.


text:
Music stutters on ICS
I'm a big music lover and on my previous phone which was a Galaxy Y with Gingerbread I listen to a lot of stuff, and I've never had a problem.
I bought a new phone, a rebranded Innos D9 which has ICS installed. I tried using my favorite music player on it, UberMusic, but I found out the music stutters for a few seconds every few seconds. I tried other players, and so far only TTPod reduces it so that I'm not bothered by it. I was even told that PowerAmp doesn't have this problem, so I tried it. At first I thought everything's okay, then the thing screeched. Also, the stuttering is more likely to happen when the screen is off and you turn it on while the audio is playing.
I've done some research and found this thread on Google Code. It seems that this problem is on ICS. Now my question is, what can be done to fix this permanently? Is there an app or music player out there that totally doesn't have stuttering for ICS or should I root my phone and do something?
Important Update:
I forgot to mention that the stuttering doesn't appear when I'm listening to the FM radio or when I'm watching videos. Does this mean this could be an OS related problem? Like a setting in the mp3 buffer or something?

Is this happening on certain encoded mp3's? - see here

Maybe try upgrading ICS? ( you did not mention exact version?) from the Google Code issue, its apparently fixed in a later version of ICS (4.0.4)

There's commits made to the frameworks according to this so it could well be your ICS is < 4.0.4?

My phone is 4.0.4, and about the bitrate I tried two songs to validate the stuttering: Myth by Beach House which is indeed 320kbps but it also appears on Pink Moon by Nick Drake which is 175 kbps. Is there a later version of ICS? I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to update unless the manufacturer of my phone says so. Also, on that same page on a higher version of ICS(I think), the error persists. Cite: https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=22444#c89

last ICS version was 4.0.5 IIRC... then jumped up to JellyBean 4.1.x and 4.2.x

Oh man, guess I have to wait for a Jellybean rom.

Either that or try roll your own ROM with the fixes/commits in place - that's a challenge :D

Yeah, I guess I will try that... once I learn Android development. Thanks anyway, I'll take it as a challenge! :)


text:
Sending an automated SMS before switching off the phone
Can I send an automated SMS to any specific number by an application/service (which I set ON), if phone gets switched off before closing that service or application?
Also can I do the same if phone breaks down in an accident or if I do specific action on phone, such as "Tap the screen 3 times while phone's screen is locked", or "shake the phone 3 times while it is locked"?
Thanks.

Have you looked at tasker?https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.dinglisch.android.taskerm

Tasker should do the first things you asked about, but I doubt you'll find anything that can recognize "Tap the screen 3 times while phone's screen is locked" or "shake the phone 3 times while it is locked", short of writing a custom app.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.dinglisch.android.taskerm&hl=en
Tasker is a great app in general that you really should check out since it sounds like you want to do a lot of automation type stuff.

While agreeing on the "tap while locked" (especially when the screen is off), Tasker should be able to handle the "shake" stuff fine (except if the device turns the sensors off when screen is shut off). Difficulty here, however, might be the special shake-pattern (which Tasker AFAIK does not support itself); maybe some addon is available which could realize even that. Btw: Free trial of Tasker avaialable on their homepage. It's worth every cent to buy it, when you find you can deal with it. You just have to get used to it ;)


text:
Google Voice - Separate ringtone but maintain caller ID?
I suspect I know the answer to this question, but I wanted to quadruple check here just in case...
Is there any way to set a phone to have a different ringtone based on what number was dialed?  I want to know if someone called my GV number or my cell number.  However, I do not want to set the GV caller ID to display my GV number.  I know this would work, but I'm trying to get my cake and eat it too here...
Is it possible?

No, unfortunately you can't have your cake and eat it too. At least not by just using the native dialer. Android will only choose a ringtone based on caller id.
There is the option of setting up SIP Droid or GrooveIP for the sole purpose of ringing for an incoming call. You could continue to forward GV to your cell as well as the second number picked up by those apps, and you would simply know they are calling your GV number because that app is ringing. A bit hacky, as you have two apps ringing (native dialer and the second app you chose), but it is an option. I think they can be set up to reject a call after a few seconds, so you would note that they rang for a couple seconds, then pick up the native dialer knowing it is coming via GV.
If you have a good enough connection, you could disable forwarding GV to your cell and instead only forward to your Chat client (which is used by GrooveIP or SIP Droid). Then you would set that program to make a different ringtone, and you would have the person's correct caller ID. But it means your call goes over data, which can be less reliable.

How do you do this? SIP droid or grooveIP solution


text:
Custom sort the notebooks in Evernote
The notebooks in Evernote seem to be arranged in alphabetical order. Is there any way to arrange the notebooks in another order, or maybe custom sort/arrange the notebooks?

As workaround you can prefix the notebook names with non-alphabetic characters to control the sort order. For example I prefix my notebooks with zero to three underscore characters ("_") to sort the notebooks in four groups, as so

_Notebook1
_Notebook2
_Notebook3
__Notebook1
__Notebook2
__Notebook3
___Notebook1
___Notebook2
___Notebook3
Notebook1
Notebook2
Notebook3

You can use any other renaming scheme you find appropriate in your case, for example, simply prefix the notebooks by numbers ("1_", "2_", "3_", and so on).

Notebooks can only be sorted (in the mobile app, it's the button to the left of the magnifying glass) by:

Title
Note count
User

Maybe you can request for custom sorting from Evernote.


text:
ro.custom.build.version is not changing at phone info
I am trying to change ro.custom.build.version but this particular change is not propagated to the resulting build.

That's rather a development related question, and as such off topic here. I'm not sure if it's valid on stackoverflow.com (you might need to check their FAQ first).


text:
Shark for Root not working
I am pretty much new to the packet sniffing. I found some application for the same Shark for root. I have rooted my phone for the application and I tried logging the packets being transferred from my mobile using the start button available in the application. But all in vain I was not able to log even a single packet, and All the time I open the .pcap file with the sharkreader It gives error as Empty file opened.
I am using Android Gingerbread on my mobile.
Also while stopping the logs, it gives some error executing some Shell commands like killall.
Thanks in Advance.

Ever figure this out?

Nope, I tried for sometime but never worked so stopped using this

Yea, I eventually just opened the file on my laptop with WireShark.

See if you still have available memory in your storage. Shark for Root won't record any packets if your device has insufficient memory.

Hey john, I have 30-35MB free memory in my device while 2GB in my memory card. Can you please help me out. Thanks


text:
Is it possible to connect a Android phone display to a TV or PC Monitor?
Is it possible to make the display on a Android phone to a TV or a PC Monitor?
What are the methods that I can connect the Android phone to a TV (e.g. plasma TV) or a PC Monitor and then modify some configuration in the phone so that the display will be shown in the TV or the PC Monitor screen?

Yes, you can connect an android phone to a TV or a computer monitor. At least if you have a new enough TV or monitor, and not a ten year old TV like I do. :-)
My android phone came with a HDMI cable to use when connecting phone to TV. I have connected it many times to my computer however, using a mini USB cable. But I would be able to use the HDMI as well, depending on what I want to do.
I am for sure no expert, but I have a Sony Ericsson experia arc S and I have used it for over a year. I hope that this answer is good enough to offer some help.
For newer phone, you may wish to use the following:
Micro USB to HDMI® MHL Adapter

Reference link: http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=108&cp_id=10833&cs_id=1083314&p_id=8675&seq=1&format=2
Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=P5tJl_a_wcc
In the reference link, it include information such as Compatible Mobile Devices (which you can retrieve from this link - http://www.mhlconsortium.org/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=5055)

May I have a illustration of the mini USB cable that you are referring to? Also, I notice that most Computer Monitor have a VGA port, a HDMI port and a DVI port. So, I am a bit puzzle how you can use a mini USB cable to connect to a computer monitor. And also, does the user do not need to modify any settings on the phone and the display on the phone will be projected / shown on the TV or a computer monitor with just a simple step by connecting the cable itself? (I am just surprise that the answer is so simple. Too shock to be true.)

On many recent phones/tablets, the "micro USB" port is actually a hybrid USB-MHL port.  An appropriate adapter (like this monoprice unit) will connect this port to a standard HDMI port.

@Compro01 That a good link. I updated the answer to include that useful information.

@Compro01 By the way, I notice that the adapter that you refer does not cover all the recent phones (e.g. Samsung Galaxy S III Mini), so are there other ways for such phones that is not compatible?

It is worth noting that not all devices support MHL. I remember that Samsung Galaxy Nexus supports, but the Nexus 7 tablet doesn't.

@jack - For unknown reasons, Samsung opted not to include MHL support in the GS3 mini.  About the only way I can think of to move video to screen on non-MHL devices would be DLNA (which would require appropriate hardware on the TV side) or similar.

@user26287 What things would I need to connect my VGA-cabled CRT TV ?

As @DenilsonSáMaia said, MHL support is mandatory for this to work. No MHL? No party! Don't buy any cable/adapter if you don't have MHL support on either your USB port or dedicated mini-HDMI port.

Chromecast recently added the ability to cast your phone screen to the TV.  Most nexus devices have this support via the OS, and others will require an update to the Chromecast app.  This feature is working well with good resolution and a small amount of latency, so if you have one give it a shot.

Although I think micro-usb/HDMI adapter connection is a better option if your phone supports it and you have the required hardware, another option for viewing your screen on the computer is is to use USB debugging mode capabilities, which does not require special hardware beyond your USB cable.
Essentially, you enable USB debugging mode on the phone. You install the Android SDK on your computer. You probably will also have to install USB drivers for your phone model as well that are not the default drivers that do USB folder storage only. And then you download an application called Android Screencast to your PC and run it. It's slightly laggy, so it isn't ideal for, say, watching a video off your phone, but if your screen dies or something, it can be a lifesaver. A detailed tutorial on how to get Android screencast up and running is here: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/42491/how-to-remote-view-and-control-your-android-phone/

This is what developers use to show applications to an audience:
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/software-engineer/project-your-android-phones-screen-onto-a-larger-display/

A hardware phone screen projector like Paraben's Project-A-Phone ICD-5200. Expensive.
Eclipse and the Android SDK, and then run your application in the Android emulator. Slow.
A free application called Droid@Screen.

Please at least summarize the contents of the link you posted in case it gets moved or deleted. If the link dies the answer has no value whatsoever.

Yes, as far as I know you can only connect it to your smart tv or blueray player to play media storage; like videos, music, photos, etc.
I don't think they have live playback for android, but they do for PSP Go.

Is this a guess, or have you tried it? HDMI has a "mirror" mode, where the device's screen is "mirrored" to the display connected via HDMI -- i.e. on the TV you then see exactly the same content as on your screen (only problem: not all Android phones have a HDMI (or MHL) port available for this). Furthermore, using some uPnP server app on Android (e.g. BubbleUPnP) you can control playback remotely -- but that wasn't even asked by the OP :)

The way I do it is I connect my phone to my tv by using a micro usb to yellow video input and use my Curtis 5.1 dolby surround sound with a female red and white to male audio (headset connecter).

Could you mention what kind of phone this works on, and what kind of video adaptor you're using? I wouldn't expect most phones to support this.


text:
Can rooting be the cause of battery drainage?
Its been three weeks I have rooted my phone. I have installed a lot of apps using link2sd on external sd card. I have noticed that since the rooting, the battery goes down very fast. 80% of charge goes down to below 40% overnight when on stand-by (without any data/wifi connection). Can the root be cause for that? It hasn't been even a year I bought that phone.
Note: I am using android 2.3.6 and juicedefender for improving battery usage.

"root" itself should not be the cause. However, the rooting process might have caused some instabilities. I remember when having rooted my Milestone 2, it booted twice a day. A factory reset solved that (and of course kept root itself intact, as the /system partition is not affected by a factory reset).

Short answer: No
Long answer: It's all the apps and services running in the background, some great apps I use for monitoring what's going on with the phone:

System Panel [theres also a lite version, SystemPanelLite Task Manager]
CPU Spy
BetterBatteryStats

With those you will be able to narrow down what is causing all the battery drain
Also it may be wakelocks on your kernel

You forgot the link to the 3rd app

Because I'm new I can only post two links per post =/
Here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.asksven.betterbatterystats&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDEsImNvbS5hc2tzdmVuLmJldHRlcmJhdHRlcnlzdGF0cyJd


text:
How to upgrade Android 2.3 to 4.0 on ARM 11 based Tablet?
I have tablet which has a IAMPX200 Processor and a M718 Main Board.
The current OS is Android 2.3, and I want to upgrade it to Android 4.0. Is it possible? If yes, please give any suggestions.

Simple answer: No.
ICS requires an Armv7 processor. Arm11 processors are armv6, as such your tablet doesn't support ICS.
however, a ROM maker may have ported it to your professor and hardware - I suggest you check forums such ad XDA Developers.

Then on My ARM11 processor which Android version is supported on armv6

Arm11 is Armv6, ich supports all versions less than 4.0.

What tablet? Some can be updated by going settings>about>software update and follow the prompts!
Or if you can't update that way you have to force up via a program on a computer, I recommend uberoid.

Down voted as no research made. If you had made some research, you would've seen that ICS isn't compatible with processors of Arm11 architecture.


text:
Chrome browser closed after receving a call
I started an online transaction on Chrome (under Jelly Bean). In between, I had a phone call and the browser closed automatically. It disconnected from the web sites, and I had to start the transaction again.
Is there any way to keep Chrome running in background and keep all the connections open?
This is really a big problem for now. I fear starting any online transactions on my Jelly Bean device.
Is there any other browser which will keep the connections open?
Google must have come across this issue.

This is probably because of the amount of RAM on the device you are using. It sounds like the system gave the RAM that was being used by Chrome to the phone app. It saw that Chrome was no longer the active app and the phone app was requesting more RAM so in order to free up the RAM it had to close Chrome.
If Chrome was using a majority of the system RAM, and a new app requested access to the RAM, the system needed to free some up.
Since you did not specify what device you have though, this is really only a guess.

It could be a cause, but IMO his device will not have less than 512MB RAM. I had Sony Xperia Mini with same RAM and had ICS and I used Chrome for long time on it and never get this kind if issue due to RAM on my device.

@avirk, My Galaxy S Vibrant would do this all the time which has 512MB.

Android has two mechanisms that claim memory back from the applications that you run.
One mechanism is called OOM and is an integral part of linux.  It activates only when the memory is really needed for something else.  A phone call would normally NOT trigger this mechanism.  Playing a game would, or copying large amounts of files from internal storage to SDCARD.
The other mechanism is native to android, and closes applications that have not recently been used.  The exact defintion of "recently" is a moving target.  It changes with every release of android, and also with the specific modifications that the manufacturer has made to it.  Only the application that is currently visible is always recent enough to not be killed under this mechanism, on every version of android.
Apparently on your system and phonecall is enough to trigger that.
You can try two things to avoid this to happen.  One is to switch back to Chrome while you talk on the phone.  Use the multitasking functionality of your phone to do that.  Chrome will then be the most recent app and android should respect that even during long calls.  Note that your call wont be killed either under the same mechanism, because it handles audible interaction, which also makes it a currently used app even when not visible.
The other thing to try is an app that I made.  Its originally designed to solve this very same problem for the Opera Mobile browser (now called Opera Classic).  Its flexible enough to let you use it with Chrome.  However I dont know if it really helps, your mileage may vary.  You can download it for free here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2269810
There is also another aspect to your problem, namely memory management inside Chrome (not android).  I vaguely recall that Chrome can evict tabs from memory when you look at other tabs.  If that is true, the above tricks might only help you to keep Chrome itself alive but the previously loaded content may still be gone.  In this case, only a new improved version of Chrome can solve your problem, or switching to other browsers.
I know that Opera Classic does not evict single tabs from memory, neither does Opera Mini.  They either stay 100% in memory, or they are killed 100% at once. If you dont like those two, you may want to test other browsers specifically for this property and then apply one of the mentioned tricks to keep them always in memory.


text:
Will playing a game in a Android phone while charging damage or cause harm to the battery or the phone?
Will the following situation damage or cause any harm to the battery or/and the phone:

The phone is being charging (regardless it is using the electrical outlet or via USB) and ..
You are playing a game while the phone is being charging and ..
You will be playing the game for 5 hours or more.

In another word, if you will be playing a android game in a android phone for 5 hours or more while the android phone is being charging, will it cause any damage or harm to the android phone and/or the battery inside the android phone?

I have a case on my phone (otterbox) and it gets fairly hot while charging and playing. I think it may be trapping
heat inside the phone.

Playing while charging does not damage the battery or phone directly.
The only problem is that:
battery gets warmer when is charging, and phone also gets hot when playing. So, when you play while charging, phone gets too hot and we know that battery life would be affected when it works in very hot conditions.
Sources to read more:
http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_heat_and_harsh_loading_reduces_battery_life
http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries

Do we know that? Adding some sources would be nice.

It also make me wonder if we do it in an air-con room of 20 degree Celsius or below will prevent the heat generate by the battery to affect the battery or the phone.

The battery inside of your phone will still heat up. Ok, this will be slowed down if you do it in a 20 degree room, but eventually the effect will be the same, but it will take a little longer before the battery heats up.

The https://android.stackexchange.com/a/54200/42449 conditions don't apply globally. It depend on hardware to hardware but it is true that using the phone for hours while charging can do damage in a way or other.
like Micromax tablets get easily heated up while charging if under use while same dont happens after a long with my sony phone.
To keep a long battery like follow the way as per above post.

"Above" and "Below" are not good references here, as they depend on how the answers are sorted (time posted, votes received, last active). So it would be best to [edit] your answer and make clear which one you're refering to (you can use the "share" link to get its URL).

When your phone gets to 100% battery, unplug it and play games until it reaches 5% battery life remaining. Then stop playing and wait for the battery to cool. Then charge your phone again until it reaches 100%.

5% is quite low. LiIo batteries don't like it to be "low discharged". While 5% might still be acceptable, when possible, you should connect the charger earlier (the earliest possibility after it falls below 20%, and best before it falls below 10%).

This answer is harmful, I strongly disagree with this suggestion! This wears down the battery. If the battery is fully charged, the phone will draw all needed power from the charger and leave the battery full. Charge-uncharge cycling the battery wears it down after some number of cycles (around 1000 mostly).


text:
DC-HSPA Cellular Standard Indicator
I have recently picked up a Nexus 4, on a carrier with a good DC-HSPA network (3 in the UK), and I want to check out the speed on that network. However, I don't know whether my phone has even picked up the DC-HSPA network. My speedtests have so far shown around 12Mbps down and 2Mbps up (one of which was in central London), so I can assume I'm only on HSPA+ at the moment.
I'd imagine DC would be roughly double that. The indicator next to the signal strength bar has only ever said H or 3G. Will it say something different when using DC? It's never even said H+, for that matter. Is it supposed to? Or is H just a blanket for all HSPA-related standards?

According to this Wikipedia entry, this is enhanced version of HSPA+.
Now, reading from the telephony source in JellyBean, depending if its GSM, between the two lines numbered 72 and 107, there is nothing in there that indicates, the automatic detection of the usage of DC-HSPA and is probably being treated as HSPA+ for now in the interim, so its very highly likely that it will show up as a 'H' or '3G'.
And then again, that's dependent on the compile-time specifications used when the ROM was built, to elect to show '3G', 'H+' or even 'H' on the status bar.

Thanks for the link to the source, that was really helpful.
So, I guess there is no differentiation from HSPA+, and the H just refers to all of HSPA/HSPA+/DC-HSPA+.

@Luke Thanks for the accepting of the answer :) Yes, there's no differentiation with H, for now, maybe it will show in a later version of Android, who knows :)


text:
Kaspersky fails to load
I have Kaspersky installed on my Samsung Galaxy S2. Since the last update it doesn't work anymore. I get a startup screen that asks for my email address for an anti-theft account. When I fill this in (or leave it blank) and click the next bottom, the app crashes and that's it. I've tried this numerous times. I've rebooted, nothing helps.
Do you have any suggestions on how to get this working? I mailed Kaspersky about this, but am afraid that they will not offer much help.

One word - uninstall it! You don't need it! :)

I've installed Avatarrom on my phone,partly because of this problem, reinstalled Kaspersky and since then it works.

This may sound odd, but there are not very many Android viruses. My Android system still has never caught a virus and I spend a lot of time on the Internet. You may be better not having Android anti-virus applications.


text:
Internet Apps are not working but browser works just fine and i am able to access websites
I have a rooted AT&T HTC inspire 4G handset, i am not able to use any internet apps but i am able to use the in build browsers to access internet over a WiFi.
I tried creating  hotspot and share that internet with this HTC phone and everything worked just fine all the Apps and internet.
Please help me with this, I did tried syncing background data, and WiFi proxy setting, but No luck yet.

We've already got this questions a couple of times here. Please check: connection issues - Apps can't connect to internet, rooting - I rooted my phone. Now apps cannot connect to the internet but browsers work fine, and also follow the links of your tags (e.g. "internet") for further possible solutions. The "Related" section of this page also might hold something useful.

Amrit did you get a solution for the problem you raised?

That's a stumper - have you tried calling up your carrier and making sure that it's not an issue with them?
Have you installed any permissions privacy management apps?  They might be blocking internet connectivity by default.
Failing that, the only suggestion I would be able to make is to do a full factory reset... not very appealing, I know.

Thanks Logos for the quick response, well actually its my office phone,I have rooted this phone and the only other apps i see are BusyBox installer,Teeter & Superuser. The weird thing is that with my office Wifi i am able to access internet not apps,

Quote OP's comment:

Thanks Logos for the quick response, well actually its my office phone,I have rooted this phone and the only other apps i see are BusyBox installer,Teeter & Superuser. The weird thing is that with my office Wifi i am able to access internet not apps, –  Amrit Jan 7 at 10:56

It could be because your office WiFi may be blocking that apps. (Eg: Facebook)

Solution which worked for me is by installing the configuration settings. Call up the customer care and ask them send you the configuration settings. Since you reset your phone old configuration settings would have been erased. Once you install the configuration settings you will be able to access internet for all the apps.

DELETE HOSTS FILE

For advanced users only and for rooted Android devices.

Open File Manager App.
Browse to /system/etc.
Delete hosts.txt file


text:
Samsung Galaxy S2 can't transfer pics, shuts down by itself, does not charge
My Samsung Galaxy S2 (not rooted) has all sorts of problems.
It started when I tried to take some pics today. I would take a pic, and it would shut down.
I tried to get pics off my phone by syncing it with my computer. The computer said the files had errors, and asked if I wanted to skip those files.
Then, the phone started shutting itself down for no reason.
When I turned it back on, it said low battery. So, I plugged it in. About 30 mins later, it said it had 100% battery (I'm sure it didn't). When I turned it on and tried to use it, it would act like it had low battery again and shut down.
Now, it's getting worse. I can't get it to stay turned on for more that 5 seconds. It shuts down straight away.
I could see that the phone still had the pics on it. I'm hoping it can be fixed, so I can take it to someone to try and get the pics off the phone. My new baby pics are on there as well.
Any ideas as to what it is? I'm hoping a simple battery change will fix it, but I'm not sure why it says it's charged when I know it's not.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.
**Missing details....
Thanks. Yes, I've removed the battery for up to an hour. I was originally charging on AC power. I had to use the phone after being charged for about 30 mins. It showed it had around 75% power. I went to use the camera, it shut off and when I turned it back on it showed very lowe battery. When I plugged it back in and turned it on it showed 90% power. When I went to use it again it showed low power then turned off. Turned it back on and it showed 60% power. I left it charging and in a few mins. it showed 100% on charge. If its on USB or AC power it will get to the lock screen. I can unlock it then it shuts down after 5-10 seconds. Doesn't matter if I'm doing anything on it or not. If its not on power it doesn't complete the start up sequence. Only gets to the start of the "music" after you see the "S".

Have you tried to remove the battery for a couple of seconds/minutes? And if you charged via USB, follow that (battery-removal) by charging from a real AC power source until the device reports to be completely charged. Missing details: How far does it get before it reboots? Up to the lock-screen -- or just the boot animation? If it gets as far as to the lock screen, next thing to try would be booting in "safe mode". -- Just as fast suggestions. If you add the missing details plus feedback on my suggestions, I might be able to give a more complete "real answer" ;)

Thanks Izzy. How do I boot in safe mode? I've put the missing details above :)

There are hardware key combinations for that which differ between devices. I have no SGS2, but found on the internet: Press power and menu, then release the power key but keep pressing the menu button. The word "Safe Mode" should appear on screen. See if the problems happen there as well. Try first to make a backup of everything possible, because you might need to make a factory reset to get your device working normally. I will go sum up something for an answer, and update it later when you've got more facts.

This answer will be updated along the process. So for now, it just holds initial steps / a raw solution.
There are several things you can try to get your device back to working normal. I will list some steps; just break as soon as anything came back to normal: in that case you will not need to walk the remaining steps unless the last step taken explicitly mentions something alike:

battery check

take out the battery, leave it out for at least 30s (2min won't hurt, more should not be necessary).
insert battery again, but do not yet switch on your phone.
fully charge your phone on AC (not USB from a computer).
switch it on again. If it's working now, everything's fine and you are done.

faulty apps check

shut down your phone
start it in "safe mode"
(how to do that depends on the device; on the SGS2 this should be accomplished as follows: Press power and menu, then release the power key but keep pressing the menu button. The word "Safe Mode" will be displayed on lower left if I'm not mistaken. -- source: LowYat.Net; I have no SGS2 so I cannot verify)
none of your self-installed apps will be started in safe mode, only system apps are available. Check if the behaviour changed (I guess not, but it's a good point to know for the last group below).
while in safe mode, try to backup as much things as you can reach. If already on Android 4.0 or higher, see Full Backup of non-rooted devices for how to safe the most of your precious stuff, but better stick to separate small packages (backup on a per-app basis, as restoring the full package later might bring the problem back). On rooted devices, Titanium Backup is probably the best choice.
this was just an intermediate step; even if your phone is working normally in safe mode, this will not have fixed the issue for "normal operation", so go on.

factory reset

do a factory reset of your device (warning: all your data and self-installed apps will be lost from the device, hence the backup recommendation above; your sd card should not be affected, but it cannot hurt to copy all its data to your computer as a backup before doing the factory reset)
startup the device again. Before installing all your apps again, make sure the issue has been fixed by the reset.
if your device is back to normal, you can go on re-installing your apps / restoring your backups app-by-app. Between each app, make sure to test a while: if any of the apps was the cause, you might otherwise bring the problem back by restoring the "faulty" backup. If that happens, remember which app it was; start over from step 3.1. and ommit this app in the next run.
if you've restored everything, and your device is still working normal: congratulations, you're done!

if the issue still remains, it has to be some hardware issue. Could be the battery is broken, so next I would go to your local dealer (best the one where you've bought it), and try with a "spare battery" from his store. Explain the reasons, including the results from the "safe mode check", and also that you've already tried a factory reset (because that's the first thing he will do otherwise). If the new battery solves you issue: buy it :) If not, next step:
If you still have warranty, send it in for repair (or let the "local dealer" handle this for you). Make sure all details (including results from the "safe mode check" and the fact you already tried a factory reset without this solving your problem) are included with the report.
if you don't have warranty anymore, ask the dealer what a repair might cost. It could be cheaper to simply buy a new phone...


text:
Allow only specific apps to use cell data, only when on 3G
I use Tasker to sync every 30 mins when on 3G. I'm on a limited data plan, and the only apps I use constantly are browser, a Twitter app (Echofon) and Whatsapp. Is there a way to allow only these apps when on cell data, and allow access to all on wifi, either with Tasker or otherwise?
I've seen similar questions here, but they're mostly outdated (pre ICS) and/or involve restricting access using DroidWall, which does not differentiate wifi and 3G.

Since when Droidwall does not differenciate between Wifi and 3G? It has checkboxes for both. As Droidwall is no longer continued, you might also want to check its follow-up AFWall+ (Android Firewall) (here the screenshots clearly show the differenciation).

@Izzy Incidentally droidwall was sold to Avast.... :\ AFWall+ has some glitchy teething problems...

Never heard anything of those! That would leave LBE as an option (careful on JellyBean -- don't install the app from the playstore on JB or you'll run into a boot-loop; check XDA instead. Pre-JB is fine from Playstore)? Works for me in this context (limiting apps to WiFi).

@Izzy: my knowledge of Droidwall was based on an old post here on Android.SE, thank you for correcting me. I'm on 4.2, and even AFWall+ seems to have issues according to comments on the Play Store page.

As I wrote, I did use neither of them yet -- so I cannot tell about issues first-hand. I use LBE from the playstore, which also offers this feature and works fine so far.

Related: How to view network traffic requested by a specific app?

I know of no way to restrict an app to the 3G network (as opposed to 2G/4G), but there are several solutions to restrict apps to either WiFi or mobile networks (or keep/allow them from/to both). Examples include DroidWall - Android Firewall1 (which you already mentioned, but which is discontinued), its successor AFWall+2, its fork Android Firewall3 (gone), and -- last but not least -- LBE Privacy Guard4 (no longer updated; go here for it's "big brother"'s English version). As below screenshots show, all four of them support separate settings per app for WiFi and mobile data respectively.

As the comments state, some of them might have issues (e.g. do not install LBE from the playstore if your device runs Android 4.1 or higher, as this will leave you with a boot loop -- check this XDA thread instead). But one of them should do for you, I hope.

Confirmed. My internal data (from my app lists at IzzyOnDroid) saw it last on 2014-08-28, so it's at least gone since October. Nothing I can do about that, sorry: it's neither listed at F-Droid, nor in the "Apps" repo at Aptoide. Thanks for pointing out!

Hmm, looks like LBE might be gone too.

@Seth Not really. Sadly, the international "Lite" version is (don't use on JB+ or you'll have a boot-loop). The bloated Chinese mega-pack still is available, internationalized by our friends at XDA. See here for the English one.

A great firewall app alternative for non-rooted is  https://github.com/M66B/NetGuard, it's open-source and well maintained and has been around for a while, I use it as well you can find it on the android Playstore  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.faircode.netguard

You can set permissions (Allowed All / Wi-Fi Only / Blocked All) on per-app basis with LostNet Firewall: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lostnet.fw.free

Please read the documentation regarding self-promotion in the Help Center.


text:
Disable or lock Google Play on my android phone
How can I disable/lock Google Play on my phone(may be restrict it with a password)? I tried this way and followed the steps given there. But it's not asking any password for free apps.

You are running the support version of Google Play correct?

I didnt understand what is support version. When I go to settings in Google Play app, it shows me version as "3.10.10"

What do you mean not asking any password for free apps when you wanted to disable Google Play? Clarify?

If you want even more controle, you can have a look at some corporate apps. For example: MobiControl or SureLock

It won't ask for a password for free apps since there's no danger of financial loss of any kind, it is a good point however
There are apps on Google Play that can 'lock' certain apps check 'https://play.google.com/store/search?q=app+locker' or something to that effect
This one looks like it does the job: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.domobile.applock&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDEsImNvbS5kb21vYmlsZS5hcHBsb2NrIl0.
They will enable control of apps via a pin

There may not be any financial danger!!! But there can be adult apps(free) which kids are not supposed to download

I have just gone through the link, it locks the installed apps but what i want is stop Google Play from downloading anything

Oh.. I just got it. I think I can lock Google Play using this app. I will give it a try. Thanks

From google play download applockr or you can disable the app via settings>apps>all applications then by selecting the google play application and pressing the disable button to disable it until you want to enable it (do the same process but the disable button will be replaced with the enable button)

I think the explanation on this post is what you need: http://www.android.gs/block-google-play-android-market-from-inappropriate-downloads/

Please don't use URL shorteners here.  As well, if the link goes down this answer is useless -- please summarize the relevant information in your answer.


text:
Accelerometer, Orientation failded to start : Unknown error
I am having Motorola Milestone xt720 (android 2.1) in which orientation doesn't work automatically but if i enabled it and if the screen is in landscape mode then it continuously remain in landscape..so  have to disable it manually to get back into normal mode.
Checking using AndroSensor it reports :
Accelerometer: Failed to start :Unknown error
Orientation :  Failed to start :Unknow error
So is it a hardware problem or some application problem ?

Seems like a hardware problem. Did you check your accelerometer using the service menu?


text:
SGS with CM10 says sdcard is full although there is plenty of space
I've been using CM10 on my SGS for almost a month now and yesterday the sdcard became full somehow although it isn't.
I can't take photos or download files.
The SD-card has plenty of space, in fact all 3 memory spaces visible in Settings-> Storage have over 500MB each.
Any idea what the problem might be?

I'd suggest checking the stats with Titanium Backup just in case.

Have you already restarted your phone? Maybe it is just a temporary problem which will be fixed with restart..

Yeah, I have restarted it a few times. Matthew: I'll give that  a go, but even the PC gives me an accurate size report and lets me copy files to it. sdcard0, where the DCIM folder is has over 1GB of space.

Hm, indeed Titanium Backup shows SD Card: 6.2GB (0B free). Which is odd, because the app itself was installed on the SD card. Any clues as to how it's apparently full although I can write to it from Play Store and PC USB connection? Apps are not installed on the external SD.

Even stranger: I've moved an app that was on the SD card to the internal memory which freed about 30MB as displayed in Titanium. Then wiped the cache of some of the apps and deleted 3 photos. Now the sd card shows as full again in Titanium. What is this?

Aaaaaaaaaand now it has 900MB free after running Windows Defragmenter on the SD card connected via USB cable.

It sounds like http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/29018/which-specific-storage-space-is-low-when-getting-low-space-on-samsung-galaxy which would explain that you have free space although a message tells you otherwise. On the other hand, it should not prevent you from making photos or download files, as only /datadata is full.

That's something else, but hugely important. Thanks again.


text:
How to set a default keyboard language on the lock screen?
I have multiple languages set up on my keyboard (and using Swype primarily).
Since my password consists of English letters, if my keyboard was last used in a different language, I have to first switch language on the lock screen before starting to type the password. This is very annoying and in aggregate quite time consuming.
Is there any way to get the keyboard to always default to English in the password entry field of the locked screen?


text:
How to protect my Google account credentials on my Android phone?
Currently I use Gmail on my desktop with 2-step verification (by SMS) enabled and I consider it secure. Now I'm buying an Android phone and I'd like to check Gmail on it sometimes, but I don't want to save my password on the phone.
When my phone gets stolen or lost, the thief would gain access to all my Gmail data. I've heard Android uses Google account for a lot of things, like downloading apps from the store. Is there any way to set it up so that it doesn't store my password and asks for it every time I'd like to access mail?
I don't want to protect my phone entirely (with entering the PIN every time I use it etc.), as it's prepaid and I don't really have anything sensitive there.

Just use the browser to check your email.  If you use the built-in application your password will be saved since there are several applications that will interact with your Google account ( Google Play ) automatically.  Your lost phone problem is easily solved by using a pin to secure your phone.  Also you know your phone is lost so you can just change the account's password.

Using a free service like Android Lost, you can remotely control your phone from a web browser. You can wipe it, locate it on a map, read sms'es, take a picture remotely etc... to ease your concerns regarding security.
While not directly an answer to your question, it might be a viable solution.  Not storing your Google credentials on your Android smartphone and accessing Google services through the mobile web brower is not only very impractical, but also sort of defeats the purpose of a modern smartphone doesn't it ?

This and "APP Lock" application allowed me to do what I asked for. Thanks!

Your Google/Gmail account will be linked to the phone, you will not be asked to authenticate each time you access your mail, what you can do is this:

Enable two step authentication on your Google account
Download the Google Authenticator app for your shiny new android phone
Pin/password protect your handset [using a pattern isn't the most secure method as it can easily be guessed]
[optional] use a password safe service like LastPass
Proffit???


text:
Get RSS link from page into RSSDemon
When I tap on an explicit RSS link shown in a web page, I have the opportunity to complete the action using RSSDemon. But no such thing happens for hidden RSS links, whose presence is revealed via the RSS icon in the address bar. When I tap on that, I can only add the feed to Google reader. Then I have to import the link from Google reader. How can this be bypassed? I want to go straight to my preferred RSS app.

Maybe you can use catch-all handlers like Copy to clipboard or Andmade Share (replaces stock share target menu and adds multi sharing, e.g. to send a file via BT and GDrive in one step). Let me know if it works!


text:
Can't find Google Now in CyanogenMod 10.0 for Galaxy S2
I flashed CM 10.0 (Android 4.1.2) to my Galaxy S2 (i777), and it doesn't seem like Google Now is installed. It doesn't show in the list when I go to Google Play, but I do have Google Search v1.4.1.299849 installed.
Any idea how I can install Google Now?

It seems that you have a version of Google Search that doesn't include Google Now. The easiest way to fix this would be to install a new version of the Google Search app. I have linked to the googlenow apk below so that you can install the version I had on my device.
This should then allow you to access Google Now by pressing the Google Search option in the app drawer, or using the quick search bar on the default launcher.
GoogleNow.apk

If you want to open Google Now you have to press the Home button for a couple of seconds. In my case Google Now opens after one second or so. But it could be that, if you haven't opened Google Now before, it can take some more time.
Another possibility is that your Google Search version is not the latest available version. At this moment I have version 2.2.10.546669 on my phone, which supports Google Now (January 7th, 2013).

When I press and hold Home button, I get list of running apps

@ndsmyter This is untrue. The long press home button is for the recent apps list on all Android devices, unless your device maker has changed this in their own ROM.

@LiamW I removed my comment, you're right

I uninstalled Google Search updates then updated again.  It works fine now.


text:
Can Swype be downloaded from a PC and transfered to the phone by a USB cable?
I'm trying to download the Swype installer to my PC so I can transfer it to my phone without using my data plan. When I go to the website and try to download the installer without registering I get the message

Sorry! This is not an Android device. It appears you're not using an
  Android device, so you cannot download the Swype Beta Installer.

Is there anything I can do?
Also why must you first install the Swype installer which installs Swype, it seems like an unescecary step? It sure is stupid that Swype can't be proper and just be in the market.

This generic question appears to cover this: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/12330/how-can-i-download-an-apk-file-from-the-play-store

@AlEverett but Swype isn't in the play store so this is different.

Generally the same idea, however. You want to get an apk file from a location that's designed to only accept connections from Android devices.

This is the direct download link to the Swype Installer APK: http://swypemedia.swype.com/beta-d1/media/installer/Swype-Installer-2.0.apk
You can access this from any device (including a desktop computer).
Swype uses the installer app for it's licensing system.

Doesn't your phone have WiFi? I'm interested to know which Android phone has no WiFi. If you go to the beta.swype website with your phone browser and use WiFi you should use no "data". If your service provider is charging you to use WiFi you need to jump that ship ASAP.
PS: If you want to be sure you aren't using "data", turn on Airplane Mode and then turn on WiFi. The "bars" will remain off, but you will be able to use WiFi. It's how I use my "phone" even though I have no service to save battery.

Seems like a poor answer. What if he had internet connection, but it was a wired connection, not WiFi.


text:
Karbon A9+ System space and Internal Storage

I have recently moved from iPhone 3G(3 years) to Karbon A9+(ICS). While my mobile is showing GBs of space available, I frequently get Low System space warning. I had then added a 8 GB external SD card but to no avail. Coming from an iPhone background, this was confusing....if I have tonnes of space why am I getting such notifications?
On System Setting under Storage,its displays "Total space 581 MB" out of which 89 MB is available. Internal Storage is 2.57 GB out which 2.56 GB is available. While on other mobiles of other brands, I dont see the distinction between System space and Internal Storage. Which this discrepancies and what are the consequences?
I have rooted my device...Is there some method where I can increase my system space to include the Internal Storage which is lying almost completely un-utilized?

Just use DS super App2SD lite app, which gives you to system apps to your memory card
And this app work in only rooted phone

You can partition your external SD card to ext4 and then use Link2SD to move large apps to this partition along with their internal data, .odex, dalvik cache. Make sure both partitions are set as "Primary"
They'll function in a normal manner after moving. Only remember that removing the sd card will crash all those apps so do not move important apps.
Examples:
Do move: Games, News feeds, Photoshop
Don't move: Google Play Services, Google Play store, keyboards

authors: Максим Светличный


text:
What are the pros and cons of selling rooted androids for resale "as-is" to the general public?
For my question, let me give some background.  My business is to data clear phones and tablets. I've been tasked with research into rooted devices. I have a very basic grasp of this concept. I think what I've found is that rooted devices can be 'unrooted' but only if one knows what rooted it originally. I've found this:
You’ll have to use either a terminal emulator or ADB. Here are the commands to uninstall it:
mount -o remount,rw /system
rm /system/app/Superuser.apk
Would that be a good way to remove the root from all cells across the board?
Specifically what I need to know is what do rooted devices mean to the cell phone data clear industry? Is there user data in a rooted device after data clearing it manually?

Please edit your question and write a more meaningful title. See also http://meta.android.stackexchange.com/a/1182/440 I guess one approach would be to flash the stock ROM followed by a factory reset.

Since a device is "rooted" (generic Android device, no names of manufacturers, this is just a guideline, mileage will vary), chances are:

boot-loader is unlocked
custom recovery is installed

The above two usually go hand-in-hand together, along with running a perhaps, custom ROM.
If the above criteria is held true for that said device, then its a matter of issuing a fast-boot to format all partitions individually as in using fastboot erase xxxxx where xxxxx is one of:

boot
recovery
data
system

That, may fit the criteria to the vague representation of data clearing industry, or some standard that was stipulated and to be carried out as per the OP's question.

Samsung phones don't have fastboot remember, or a bootloader for that matter.

Who says Samsung.... OP never mentioned a thing about it!!!

They were being general, so make sure you cover all the corners ;)

I realize my question was not the best. I am really trying to understand this topic by deadline time and realizing I  need way more time. My supervisor is leaning towards the belief that these cells are data cleared. But with root access on them, I disagree and I need to be certain. Thank you all for your input.


text:
What is AlertRecipients system process?
On specified Android 2.3.6 device, there is a system process called:

AlertRecipients

What does it mean/do?

Since your handset is a Dual SIM I am guessing this is related to the functionality of that handset specifically...

It's for sure some Samsung process ( com.samsung.AlertRecipients). But there're also "Alarm Recipients" mentioned in the ANDROID USERS GUIDE - Omega CarLink: Provided your CarLink system is installed and connected with a compatible Omega system you will have the ability to send alert notices from the vehicle if the alarm system is trigger by an open door or the shock sensor.

Just found an additional hint at the XDA-Developers: AlertRecipients.apk For setting up an alert SMS (the thread is about the SGS2).


text:
Cannot access internal memory due to cyanogenmod encryption, how can i decrypt the device?
I have ran into a small problem with my android tablet, it is a samsung galaxy tab 8.9 p7310
About a year ago i rooted it and installed CWM + CyanogenMod 9; i also encrypted the tablet. When i go under security the encrypted button is grey and i cannot click it, when i go to disable pin/password lock to none i cannot click on them and it says disabled by admin,encryption, credentials...
I cannot update my ROM because the SDCARD is encrypted and recovery cannot mount it so i am looking into alternatives, how can i format the internal memory in such a way as to reload the ROM; i don't care about the data stored on the device.
I have looked into nvflash but i am unsure how it would help me, is there an ADB format command?
if anyone can point me in a direction it would be much appreciated!
thank you :)

You should be able to do it with a factory reset: Undo Android 4.0 (aka Ice Cream Sandwich) Full Disk Encryption

i've done that and then during reboot it still asks me for my pin/password meaning the tablet is still encrypted, i am still unable to access the internal memory (/sdcard) from CWM

You can try to format it in CWM. PS: upgrading would have worked with a newer cwm 6.0, hat offers the 'adb sideload' command. Also, it would've worked this way: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/19286/will-a-custom-recovery-work-with-an-encrypted-device/23879#23879

hmm i have samsung galaxy tab 8.9 (gt-p7300) and i dont see CWM 6 available for it on xda.developers :/


text:
Vi-style text editing method for Android UI
I have been using ConnectBot to connect to shell sessions on Linux machines from my Android phone. What amazes me is how easy it is to use the Vim editor using the virtual keyboard, because the Vi/Vim command mode puts so many useful actions at your fingertips. It is so much easier to edit text that I would like to be able to do it in the same way everywhere in the Android UI.
That is to say, I don't want a Vi editor on the phone, but in the UI itself.
Is something like this available somewhere? What would it take to develop it? What places in Android must be modified? Is there some easy plugin framework where you just fill in some functions and you provide a new text editing method?

This rather looks like a development question?

Is development off topic? I don't want to develop anything, if I can just install it. But I have not been able to find anything.

Yepp, development questions are off-topic here (see the [FAQ]). And I don't know any other way to get it "into the UI", whatever you mean by that (maybe you edit your question above to make that a bit clearer).

vi/vim is a text editor, it's not specifically a development tool. The main part of this question is not a development question.

Is something like this available somewhere?

Not at the moment, although there are a couple vim-style text editor:

Vim Touch
aVim Editor

however these are currently implemented as an application, not as an IME.

What would it take to develop it? What places in Android must be modified? Is there some easy plugin framework where you just fill in some functions and you provide a new text editing method?

Android provides the framework for creating custom keyboard (officially known as IME). Anyone that is interested in creating a vim-style IME for Android should check out Creating Input Method.

Thanks for your answer. I see from the Creating Input Method page that an input method doesn't just supply characters. It has access to the text field. So it seems that Vim-like editing is at least doable in principle.

I hope the Hacker's keyboard will help. Don't forget to switch to normal keyboard for passwords or keys.


text:
Continuous clicking sound on the jack
While the phone is powered on, and I plug something in the jack of the phone, I hear a continuous clicking sound, with the frequency of about 4 times per second, on the right speaker. The left speaker plays the audio as it should.
I don't have a mono device to see how it behaves with it...
The phone's speakers do not have this problem, or the Bluetooth headset.
The sound is identical, as far as I can tell, to the sound (almost?) any audio device makes when it's plugged in (and/or out?).
Phone: Lenovo A800
Android version: 4.0.4
The issue doesn't happen on my Nexus 7.
Happens with headsets, earphones, external speakers... Pretty much everything in the jack.
I chose to post the issue here because I have found various similar issues with other Android devices around the Internet, but no working solution.
Is there any known cause for this? Any solution..?

My brother just bought a new headset, and there's no clicking sound with it.
I looked at the jacks and there seems to be no difference.
Any ideas...?

i have this same sound on my lenovoa800

Oh, I forgot about this.
My brother came to me and jammed the jack in as far as it could physically go.
The problem was fixed...

The jack component on the board inside is failing. Common problem. Fixable. Caused by overheating

How can it be fixed?

Wasn't the problem. The real issue was the jack resisting the insertion too much. Enough to make me think it was all the way in. In fact, it wasn't.


text:
How do I root my Nook HD?
I checked The Master List of Rooting Techniques, and found nothing. This XDA thread looked promising.

What's wrong with that post?  Flash CWM then flash the root package.

Like @MatthewRead I'm a bit confused by your question. Is that thread on xda not working for you, if so what are the errors you are getting? If you wish this is another method: NOOK HD:
All-in-One, ROOT+manual OTA+Enable Unknown Source+GAPPS

It did eventually work, and I just wanted StackExchange to be a good source on this. I guess I'll answer myself  now...

possible duplicate of How do I root my Android device?

'Starting Jan 2012 we are going to allow one "How to root?" question per device. Just search for [rooting] and your device or refer to the index below. If the question doesn't exist yet, create one and add it to this index.' - I've added a link to the list, as instructed, on How do I root my Android device.

You're right, this post is fine. Thanks for coming back with the answer!

To root a Nook HD or HD+ you can use Clockworkmod (CWM) Recovery, a tool to install modifications to an Android device.
Follow the instructions on this XDA thread to create bootable Micro SD from one the provided images.
I used Win32DiskImager on a Windows XP net-book with a built-in card-reader to burn a SD with the NookHD-bootable-CWM-6025-for-emmc-stock-small-rev2.zip image. And I copied NookHD-HDplus-Universal-Root-rev1.zip into it.
Once I could boot my Nook from the CWM SD I made a backup and used "install zip from SD" to apply the NookHD-HDplus-Universal-Root-rev1.zip
More information and tips to be found at the XDA thread

Might be best to add this to the community wiki

Hi @t0mm13b, I followed this instructions: 'Starting Jan 2012 we are going to allow one "How to root?" question per device. Just search for [rooting] and your device or refer to the index below. If the question doesn't exist yet, create one and add it to this index.'

That's great :)


text:
Erase successful, but not automatically formatting. Can't determine partition type - Jelly bean 4.1.2 with Nexus S
While I ran the command - fastboot flashall -w I got the following error -
--------------------------------------------
Bootloader Version...: I9020XXLC2
Baseband Version.....: I9020XXKI1
Serial Number........: 3334E1630CFF00EC
--------------------------------------------
checking product...
OKAY [  0.001s]
sending 'boot' (3964 KB)...

OKAY [  0.693s]
writing 'boot'...
OKAY [  0.603s]
sending 'recovery' (4308 KB)...
OKAY [  0.541s]
writing 'recovery'...
OKAY [  0.652s]
sending 'system' (173123 KB)...
OKAY [ 22.336s]
writing 'system'...
OKAY [ 24.196s]
erasing 'userdata'...
OKAY [  0.243s]
formatting 'userdata' partition...
Erase successful, but not automatically formatting.
Can't determine partition type.
OKAY [  0.001s]
erasing 'cache'...
OKAY [  1.684s]
formatting 'cache' partition...
Erase successful, but not automatically formatting.
Can't determine partition type.
OKAY [  0.001s]
rebooting...

finished. total time: 50.956s

I'm trying the build Android jelly bean 4.1.2 in Nexus S phone.
Could anyone help please?

I had a similar issue with my Nexus 4 after flashing the factory images
What fixed it for me was going into [stock] recovery and selecting clear cache and doing a factory wipe, that seemed to fix the partition sizes
Oh also check to see that you have the latest bootloader on the device too, check out https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images for the most recent factory images

Thanks very much for your response. I'm little confused. I was actually following the instruction from here - http://source.android.com/source/building.html and here - http://source.android.com/source/building-devices.html. So I'm not sure where actually I should keep the latest bootloader in my phone.

Has all the data on your phone been wiped? I'm assuming yes but if its not I'd make a backup then flash the factory images and try again

Yes :( it wiped everything :(

Ok then flash the factory images I'd say, you'll get the most recent bootloader then. Use the link I poseted in my answer to find your device, if you are on windows then yo will need to either 1. extract the tar out into where your copy of factboot is or better [and what i do] just drop factboot into the folder that has the flash-all.bat in it. This will put your phone back to it's factory settings

From my experience the partitions are on ext4. Maybe there is an option on fastboot (I never used it) where you can specify the patition type. That might solve it.


text:
Bluetooth keyboard pairs but does not appear as an input device?
I purchased a bluetooth keyboard to use with my lenovo ideatab a2107 which runs android 4.0.3. The specific keyboard is the:
Anker® Ultra Slim Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard for iPad Mini, iPad 4, New iPad 3, iPhone 5, Android 3.0 and above Tablet - Black
I am able to pair the keyboard with my tablet and the it has a keyboard icon next to it in the list of bluetooth devices. When this happens I am asked to type a 4 digit code and press enter on the keyboard. This works fine.
The Keyboard does not show up in tablet's keyboard & input devices list and I am unable to input text using the keyboard. How can I get the keyboard working properly with my tablet?
Thanks

Have you checked it in your settings, if the input method is enabled (I'm not sure which list you mean, so this is just for clarification)?

I have checked this. The keyboard does not show up on the list of available input methods.

Found a possible solution from Android Central questions give it a shot.
Specifically, this post says to do the following:

When pairing the keyboard with your device, it will prompt you to
  enter a pin and say "try 0000 or 1234." You need to:
Step 1) enter "0000" on your android device (tablet or phone
  keyboard) Step 2) hit "okay" Step 3) type "0000" and hit enter
  on your BLUETOOTH keyboard

I have the same problem. I'm using Apple wireless keyboard and Android ICS 4.0. I can pair and connect them both, but there is no additional IME in the input list. Checking and unchecking the use as input option does not change anything.
I'm not sure if there should be one but some say bluetooth keyboard is supported out of the box in ICS. Also, some YouTube videos show users who managed to connect them and typing right away without choosing any IME or anything.
I'm using BlueKeyboard JP (works well for me) for the time being until I find a way to get it work natively without a third-party app.

Unpair it first and do it again inputting the requested numbers. Also unpair any other 'Bluetooth Keyboards' on the list. That worked for me.

'Do it again', meaning try pairing it again.


text:
Where can i download the original music and player app for Samsung i9000 to be used with Android 4.1.2?
On the i9000, I have updated the ROM to Android 4.1.2. I would like to re-install the original music player as well as the video player.
How do I do this?

i9000 does not have an official ROM, so I'm assuming you're using a custom ROM like CM10. Stock players from Touchwiz are rarely availble, and for the most part do not work flawlessly on AOSP based ROMs.
Try Winamp and MPlayer as alternatives, they work on any ROMs so you can move freely between ROMs too.


text:
How can I hide the on-screen buttons but keep the status bar
I have a Galaxy Nexus (rooted, if that helps) and I want to disable the on-screen buttons (back, home, apps), also called the Navigation Bar. Now there are plenty of apps (e.g. Hide Bottom Bar) that remove the buttons, but since they are based on killing some Android process (I believe), they also remove the Status Bar (on top of the screen).
Now I would like to keep the status bar, but only remove the on-screen buttons (because I would like to use gestures instead). Any way to achieve this?

I found the answer here - it's a matter of adding
qemu.hw.mainkeys=1

to /system/build.prop (root required).

Android 4.4 KitKat has introduced Immersive Full Screen Mode. There's an app in the Play Store exploiting this feature: Immersive Full-screen Mode. It doesn't even need Root access.

There are several roms with this feature baked into them CM10.1 being one of them
But if you like the rom you currently have then I'd go with Stefan's answer


text:
Adding a Contacts Group on Android doesn't sync to Google Contacts
I've created a contacts group on my Android phone, but this hasn't appeared on Google Contacts.
I was under the impression my phone and my Google account would sync each way.
How can I get my Android contacts group to sync with my Google account?

Sometimes sync needs some time to do this. Make sure sync is enabled, try to force syncing (as mentioned by TechAnt below). If it doesn't help, make sure that the group was added to your Google Contacts, because it could also be that you created a local group (only available on your phone).

Try going to the phones settings > Account and Sync, click on your email address and uncheck sync next to contacts.
Next go back to settings > Applications > Manage Applications and select the "all" tab. Scroll down and click on Contacts Storage. Then click on clear data.
Finally go back to settings > Accounts and Sync. Click on your email address and select the sync for Contacts which will start to resync.
Give it a few...let me know if that helped.