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I have a Samsung Galaxy Mini (GT-S5570) with Froyo (Build FROYO.XWKE3 in case this is relevant). When scrolling a list it allows the list to scroll past the end, and then slowly scrolls it back. This prevents me from using the technique I've used on other Android devices where I flick a list and let it hit the end in order to select an item from the last screen (it takes about a second for the position of items to settle down, which is really annoying, and I'm not accurate enough to select them while they're moving). Is there any way (short of a custom ROM) of disabling this behaviour?
|
No - as you've correctly ascertained, a custom ROM is most likely your best bet. Also, the bounce effect is a Samsung "feature" - by default Android uses the glow effect to indicate the end of a list. I'm also unsure if this is a Froyo only feature, because IIRC, one of the UI updates was the glow effect, which Samsung did incorporate into their later ROM releases.
|
Disable list "bounce" effect on Samsung Galaxy Mini
|
android
|
Is there a way I can monitor how much data all the individual apps use? All the traffic monitors I have found only show the total amount.
|
There's a program on Google Play called Network TrafficStats Lite that does this in most Android versions. If your phone happens to be compatible to Ice Cream Sandwich, consider upgrading as this feature is built in.
|
Display data usage by application
|
android
|
I have rooted my Sony Ericsson Neo V by downgrading to .42 and using Zergrush, without unlocking the boot loader. Now I want to remove the LiveWare service. NoBloat and similar apps don't show it. How can I delete or at least disable this serivce?
|
Look in <code> /system/app/ </code> for <code> com.sonyericsson.extras.liveware.apk </code> or similar. Remove it and any .odex file with the same name if present and that should get rid of it. (Note that I have no idea if this is required by the system or will otherwise screw up your phone, so do it at your own risk.)
|
Disable LiveWare manager
|
android
|
Assuming that I am not able to start up my phone due to a file that is missing on the file system. Would it be possible to get to my phone's root directory on my computer and to place the missing file? Maybe by using fastboot?
|
No. If you have a custom recovery that supports adb / root, you can boot into it and use adb to remount <code> /system </code> as read-write and push the missing file over. But otherwise you don't have access to most of the phone.
|
Access root directory?
|
android
|
I've searched all over the place and couldn't find a solution. I want to send around 30 contacts (names + phone numbers) by email, to someone. Now I can't seem to succeed with the feat! What can I do to send a simple list (or a table) containing the name and phone number of an entire group of people (they're already organized in a group). Offering free cookies and upvotes for any good info!
|
Do you need to do if from your phone? Because if not, you can just use the Gmail desktop interface to do this, I do this quite often and it's fairly easy: Go to your contacts (click <code> Gmail </code> in the upper left corner) Select the contacts you want to export Put them in a new group you can call <code> Tmp </code> or something random Then click on that group and find the <code> Export </code> menu item in one of the menus (I think <code> More actions </code> ) Export to Google CSV if the receiver will import them through Gmail as well, otherwise you can consider vCard format. The file will download automatically. Compose a new mail and put the newly created file as attachment. (If you used Google CSV, the contacts can be imported using the same Contacts interface just by clicking <code> Import </code> in one of the menus)
|
How to send multiple contacts by email?
|
android
|
When in lock-screen, I have to move the middle circle over the "lock" on right hand side. The device vibrates 3x during it - is it possible to disable all the vibrations? (Using ICS)
|
No, this is not an option. Actually this seems like a bug as this should be controlled by the option, <code> Vibrate on Touch </code> under <code> Sound </code> in the settings. Either that, or the option <code> Vibrate on Touch </code> should remain visible when setting the screen security option to <code> Slide </code> in the <code> Security </code> part of the settings. You may want to report this as a bug to the Android team using the Android Issue Tracker .
|
Disable "vibrate" in lock screen
|
android
|
I dropped my phone and broke the LCD. Now I can turn the phone on ( I feel the little quick vibrate that happens when you power the phone on ) but I have no display at all. I got a replacement with the insurance plan, but I need to send the broken phone back. How can I wipe my data? Can I just rub a magnet all over it? How big a magnet? Any other options? I thought about trying to navigate to the bootloader's reset function without being able to actually see what I'm doing, but I won't know if I succeed or not, and there are a few menus to navigate. I also was going to ssh to the phone, but apparently I never made it so sshd starts automatically ( doh! ). Any ideas?
|
Assuming USB Debugging is on connect it to the computer via USB and wipe it with ADB. If that doesn't work you could throw it in the microwave.
|
How can I wipe data with no display ( e.g. magnet )?
|
android
|
On a computer, it's possible to trick a server that you are using a different computer by masking MAC address. Is there something like that for android? Rooted phones have full access. So I'd think it should be possible. I don't mean wi-fi mac address, I mean 4g/3g alternative to mac, I assume it's ESN. If that is possible, than there is a security problem. Someone can pretend that they are using your phone. Of course, there is still Google account password but still, is this possible?
|
Since the nature of your question is simply "is this possible", the answer is yes, there are ways to spoof your ESN. Often this is a form of phone cloning, which is also simply referred to as ESN cloning. The concept is that you take one phone and then configure it to broadcast using the ESN of a different phone, effectively "cloning" the second as far as the network is concerned. However, it's important to note that in most Western countries (and possibly elsewhere) doing this is illegal. In the US it is considered "cell phone fraud" or "subscriber fraud" and is covered on the FCC's website in some detail. I believe it's similar across much of Europe.
|
is it possible to mask esn of a smartphone?
|
android
|
So somewhere along the line Android got a native "backup my data" option but I haven't gotten to use it. I used to use Titanium Backup and it was the main reason I rooted my phone, but I don't have Titanium or Root anymore. Is there any significant difference in what's backed up between the native Android Backup from Google's servers vs the standard Titanium Backup? I mean a plain old backup, none of the freezing/bloatware melting/ect that Titanium also provides. What do I end up with if my phone is bricked or I get a new phone and I restore from either platform?
|
I think you're better off using Titanium Backup if you want to ensure that when you restore your phone, you'll have exactly what you had when you performed the backup. I find that Android's new built-in backup options are inconsistent. For example, after re-installing some apps, some of the settings are magically maintained, however some data (usually authentication data) is no longer there. I guess this is a good thing as storing everything in the cloud would be a bit scary, but when you use Titanium, there are no surprises: all of the data is restored. Another benefit of Titanium is that you can do multiple backups at of a single app's data and restore any of those levels--not so for the built-in backup options. So I'd advise using Titanium.
|
Titanium Backup vs Android data backup
|
android
|
Am running Cm7.1. I have about 2,000 contacts. My Nexus One and Pioneer headunit insist on exchanging all 2,000 contacts if my Android Contacts "Display Options" are set to "My Contacts." Problem is that this really makes Voice Recognition unusable (too many contacts to parse). To get around this, I created a "Car" label in Gmail for the 21 contacts I want. If I change the "Display Options" to just "Car," only the 21 contacts are synced and VR works great. Problem is that when not in the car, I would like "My Contacts" to visible on my phone. I would like to sync only the "Car" label, or only sync manually. I can't figure out a way to control this.
|
The filtered contacts list solves this problem, but unfortunately if you are like me you are constantly needing to look at the larger list of contacts and you will not remember to turn the filter back on afterwards. So when you get back into the car, it will start sending the whole list again. I just found a workaround. There are a ton of alternative contact apps in the marketplace that will sync to your gmail contacts. I installed GO Contacts EX https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jbapps.contactpro&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDEsImNvbS5qYmFwcHMuY29udGFjdHBybyJd It appears that the bluetooth address book is only controlled by the stock contacts app, which I've left filtered. I banished the stock app from my home screen/launcher. All good now.
|
Stop Bluetooth Auto Sync Contacts to Pioneer Avic Z140
|
android
|
Okay, in spite of the hate being heaped on by iPhone elitists, I have installed Instagram on my Android phone and have started playing with it a bit. How can I get my Instagram photos to automagically appear in a public album in Google+ Photos? Felicia Day, for instance, has a public Instagram album. I can see, on my phone, an Instagram album (which was automatically created by the app), but there is no such album in my Google+ Photos. The options for the phone album do not include a "make public" option, and there's nothing in the Instagram settings. At best, the photos are appearing in the default "Photos from your phone" album. I know that I can manually share them, either through the website by making a public album and moving/copying them there, or using the Share features on my Android, but I'd rather have something automatic. Is this possible, or just a pipe dream? ( Web Applications .)
|
You can use IFTTT (If This Than That) and setup a recipe that auto posts from Instagram to a specific Picasa album online. This doesn't require you to leave anything open. Then you can set your Instagram album in Google+ to be public. You will need to follow the directions found here . The only thing I haven't figured out yet is how to share something to my timeline whenever a new post arrives into that album.
|
Autopublish album in Google+ photos
|
android
|
I've had my phone for months, loading with several firmware, ROMs and OTAs, without ever running this command. What does it do? What I know is that "fastboot oem unlock" displays the confirmation screen and obliges me to wipe my device data, and that "fastboot oem unlock" is the first step to flashing firmware unto my phone. Am I okay not relocking my phone?
|
Simply put, fastboot oem lock puts your bootloader into a mode that prevents you from overwriting your recovery image, without a subsequent fastboot oem unlock . This serves as a security precaution, primarily where the default recovery and firmware is installed. Because: The default recovery will only allow manufacturer/Google signed firmware to be installed and doesn't allow you to do much of anything else. Unlocking the bootloader will erase all data. ....you can rest assured that, under this configuration, no one can take your phone and, say, bypass a screen lock by installing a custom firmware where the security considerations are different. Note that as this merely locks in your recovery, and then again only from bootloader-overwrites, this is most useful where the recovery is stock, and the installed ROM is an official one that has no security vulnerabilities. This is important because in most recoveries, and in some ROMs, there are ways to clandestinely access data via USB, bypass security settings with fixed button presses or unpatched backdoors, or install custom recoveries.
|
What does "fastboot oem lock" do?
|
android
|
This is driving me crazy. I just bought a new <code> Motorola Defy Plus </code> ( <code> MB526 </code> ) this week and plugged in a 16 GB SD card to it. Like the features it offered like Moto-Blur and all that. So after 2 days of use I dumped some songs to listen while traveling to office. I started the playlist (in <code> Connected Music Player </code> ,i.e., the stock music player provided in defy plus) to listen to music. But after 30 seconds or so phone goes to standby and song continues. But before song duration is complete, the sound shuts off. If I check the phone there is no app running. I tried listening to radio, and it was same thing with radio as well. I thought it was some sleep timer problem in music player, but I did not find any settings to do so. I browsed for solution in many places in Internet. But could not find solution. I found similar problem for Android v2.2. But my phone has Android v2.3.6. In between I tried using other apps such as <code> Live 365 </code> and <code> Remote for VLC </code> . <code> Live 365 </code> felt like it ran for little longer but even that closed too. Same problem persisted for <code> Remote for VLC </code> also, i.e., it's active for a while. After 5-7 minutes or so the app has closed completely. Can I solve this problem by enabling Factory Reset? If I reset using that, I know that apps I installed will go away, and that is not a problem with me. But will the stock apps provided by Motorola go away too? Sometimes I found the irritating Voice Command(I dont know what is called exactly, maybe - Listen app) window popping up. How should I turn that off?
|
Go to task manager icon from round lighted main icon at bottom center of phone. Once task manger is running , click on auto end list and remove your connect music app or any other app that plays music. Thats it. Also notice before you do the operatino above that musics would stops playing after about 2 minutes. Because that is the default setting for the auto end list in the task manager app.
|
Motorola Defy Plus - Apps are automatically closing few minutes after screen switches off
|
android
|
I want to update my apps, but I can't find the option in the new play store. How can I do this?
|
On all my devices, if there are more than one app to be updated, I can see the <code> Update <x> </code> button above the apps list, in the header bar with the "Updates" text. This will update all apps that don't require manual updates.
|
How do I update all my apps with the new Google Play Store?
|
android
|
Screenshots apps store their images in different locations. For example: ShootMe uses SD card/ShootMe The native screenshot tool in ICS uses SD card/Pictures/Screenshots etc I am wondering, is the Photoshop for Android able to access other directories beside SD card/DCIM, because all the pictures I can see are the ones taken from the camera? Obviously this makes screenshots editing (e.g: cropping) difficult.
|
Asssuming you mean Adobe Photoshop Express it is set by default to only show you Camera pictures. You should be able to change a setting to make it look at the rest of your phone's storage. Open Photoshop Express, press Menu (on ICS press the <code> ... </code> in the corner of the screen), select More and then Settings and scroll down to near the bottom where you should see the option Show camera photos only in Phone view , take the tick out of the box and press Back to get back to the main Photoshop Express window where you should already see it filling up with all the pictures it can find.
|
Photoshop: how can I access other directories beside DCIM?
|
android
|
I followed the steps here to add an EXT4 partition on my 8gb sd card: http://www.addictivetips.com/mobile/properly-partition-sd-card-for-app2sd-android-roms/ Now I have 6.xGB FAT32 as the primary partition, and a 1GB EXT4 logical partition. But my Samsung Galaxy Ace (running on CyanogenMod-7.2.0-C1-cooper, official nightly build) doesn't recognize the sd card anymore. Please help. Thanks. Update: I gave up and reformatted it back to a single FAT32 partition, copied my backup into the sd card, now the apps don't get recognized. Please, please help me. :(
|
If your phone is rooted and got ClockworkMod installed, then try formatting and creating an EXT partition in ClockworkMod. Its the most simplest and easiest way to do it. It will automatically take care of your Fat partition too. For more info, read this article
|
SD card not detected after re-partitioning it, FAT32 + EXT4
|
android
|
Before the Sonar changes, I could move the gesture button by long-pressing it and dragging it to a different corner. Now long pressing brings up a menu to use a gesture or use Sonar. How can I move the gesture button to a different corner?
|
Tap the gesture button to bring gesture drawing screen. On this screen, you can find a Gear icon in bottom-right corner. Tap it and you'll find 1st option on next screen for changing position.
|
How do I move the gesture button in Dolphin HD?
|
android
|
I'm shopping the android market on my tablet (TF Prime) but can't seem to find anywhere if an app/game support tablet size. I don't want to spend money on a game that is zoomed so much that I can count the pixels =) How to tell if an app in the market supports tablet size?
|
One way is to ask the developer via the contact information provided in the application's Google Play page. Where an application or game has a free- or paid-version, you could just try the free version. Unless it's stated in the description that the paid version actually supports higher resolutions, it's usually a safe assumption that if the free version looks a certain way, the paid version will look similar. A final way is to simply buy the application and try it within the 15 minute refund period. If you're not pleased with the way the application or game is formatted for your screen, simply refund it. Keep in mind, though, that you're only allowed to refund an app once. If you re-install it after refunding, you will no longer have the option to refund and will be billed immediately.
|
Tablet Market: How to know if a game supports tablet size?
|
android
|
Are all touch-screens on modern devices multitouch capable on hardware level (if software supports it)? If not than how to detect if touchscreen screen by itself is multitouch or not?
|
Are all touch-screens on modern devices multitouch capable on hardware level (if software supports it)? This is more or less impossible to answer without spec sheets for every Android device that has ever been created (within whatever timeframe you consider "modern"). Very broadly speaking, devices from major manufacturers over the last several years will typically support multitouch to some degree, but even that overall degree of support can vary between devices. If not than how to detect if touchscreen screen by itself is multitouch or not? There are a bunch of apps for this . I'd say pick one and try it. If you want to try to verify the results, pick several and try them all.
|
Multitouch hardware on Android devices
|
android
|
I've just removed GO Launcher and now when I click the home button I get offered a choice of two different Launcher <code> com.android.launcher </code> and <code> launcher.ebproductions.android.launcher </code> What is the ebproductions one? Do I need it? Can I just remove it?
|
There's an app in the Market with the ID "com.ebproductions.android.launcher" that is Gingerbread Launcher free . This appears to be a slightly modified version of the AOSP stock Gingerbread launcher that someone's made available for devices that don't come with the stock launcher installed.
|
What is launcher.ebproductions.android.launcher?
|
android
|
Searching an app on the Play Store for new apps results in a failure most of the time. By failure I mean we don't find the desired app although the name matches exactly. Popular examples are Temple Run (1st week after release) and Instagram (right now too). Searching on Google for terms like "Instagram for android" results in an immediate hit. Is this is a problem only in India or is it everywhere? And why is the Play Store search so backward compared to Google Search which has better success over a bigger search pool? edit1 To clear up things, I was able to download the apps from http://play.google.com onto my phone.
|
The general opinion everywhere is that the Web marketplace is much better with search results than the marketplace app (it is really puzzling as to why is such the case). And no, the problem is not India specific, it is faced everywhere. The same opinion holds for other stores as well, including Apple's AppStore. The good news is, there are a few companies trying to make it better, namely Chomp and Tapjoy : Chomp has been pretty successful and has been solving a truly-existing problem, which is evident since Verizon now includes Chomp in its tethered phones. For more info, see xconomy.com news article discussing the search issues in the mobile market places and apps like Chomp and Tapjoy.
|
Searching for Android apps
|
android
|
I have an unlocked international-version Galaxy Nexus on the German T-Mobile network. It's only about a week old, but more than once in that time I've seen the signal drop completely out, and won't come back until I reboot -- and sometimes not even then. In the same location, my old AT&T Captivate (rooted, running a custom ICS ROM) gets 2-3 bars of signal, around -100dBm. I've read a lot of Verizon users complaining about the GN's radio, but I haven't heard of people having problems with the International version. Is this fixable? Are there newer revisions of the phone where this issue is fixed? If not, does it vary between individual handsets? Would exchanging it for an "identical" handset stand a chance of getting better hardware?
|
It look is like this is a pretty widespread problem . It doesn't answer my shopping question (should I return it) but at least I can say with confidence that it's not just me, so it should get addressed eventually.
|
My Galaxy Nexus can't hold on to a signal
|
android
|
I'm using a virtual recorder to record voices and it records in the <code> .pcm </code> file format. I found an app <code> freemp3droid </code> to convert it to <code> .mp3 </code> but there are some bugs in the app and it has not been updated recently. Is there any other app to convert the file into <code> .mp3 </code> or, should I look for a new voice recording app that doesn't use <code> .pcm </code> ?
|
The LAME encoder is useful for converting such files. PC applications can be found here: http://lame.sourceforge.net/links.html You can try another recorder, like Hi-Q MP3 Recorder . This will record it immediately in mp3 format. you can use an online converter to do the job. Try for example http://www.mediaconverter.org
|
How to convert pcm/wav to mp3?
|
android
|
Can we add external devices to an Android device? For example, can I add a CD player or a power antenna (to detect wireless from long distances) to my Android device? Des Android let us to create our own drivers for our devices?
|
Most Android devices aren't set up for peripherals; it would take quite a bit of hacking away to get them to recognize them. That being said, since Android is Linux based it's entirely possible that Linux drivers might work for your device out of the box. I'd rate the chances of such as being very low, however. Writing your own drivers is certainly possible, but again you'd also need the internal framework in place for the kernel, etc to accommodate peripherals. And reverse engineering drivers is NOT easy! As for your Windows CE device, it's very rare for an other OS to be ported for a device (an exception to the rule: the HP touchpad). There's all kinds of major issues with reverse engineering from hardware specs, etc that generally keep that from happening. XDA Developers would be your best bet for something like that if it exists at all.
|
Can I add external devices to an Android device?
|
android
|
Have developers of Swype keyboard ever told anywhere why they haven't added their app in Play Store yet? As Play Store is easiest way of installing and updating apps, it'd be nice..
|
They have here but doesn't give a clear reason. How can I buy Swype? / When will Swype be on the Android market? We have considered a direct-download sales model, but there are two challenges to that approach: Customer Support - Providing Swype users with the level of professional support they deserve is a priority for us. We're still a small (but quickly growing!) company, and we don't have the resources necessary to support a full end-user sales model. It is much more efficient for us to focus on improving Swype and to partner with large organizations like Samsung and T-Mobile who already have customer support structures in place. Device integration - Swype isn't just an app; it's a keyboard - the most widely used piece of software on a device. It interacts with nearly every single application on the phone. As such, it's more like a system component than an application. For each device release we do a tremendous amount of testing and we always find issues due to the varying components - the OS version, the device hardware, the OEM UI implementation, etc. In addition, some features can't be implemented without an OEM's engineering assistance. We end up doing a large amount of work on each device to be sure that you have a great experience entering text using Swype. So, we appreciate your enthusiasm, but we are not ready to do direct-downloads at this time.
|
Any reason why Swype isn't in Play Store?
|
android
|
Gmail Tap, one of Google's April fools, would give the phone a three-keys Morse keyboard. Is there a way to get this functionality for real, preferably for input to any fields?
|
Yes, there is: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rgam.morsekeyboard
|
Is there a real "Gmail Tap" app?
|
android
|
Looking at the stackexchange-url ("responses to this question"), it seems that a mobile service provider can't automatically detect whether or not a phone user is tethering their phone or not. Though they can infer it by the type of activity a user does. However, my service providor charges extra for both USB and WiFi tethering . They can provide accurate usage statistics and charge by the data packet , so they must have some deliberately set up way of monitoring this. I believe the most likely way of doing this is they likely have some kind of software built into my installation of Android that reports whether or not I'm tethering. So, does that mean if I root my device, and then presumeably that software is gone, they won't be able to tell anymore? I'm weighing the risks and rewards of rooting my phone, and whether or not I could bypass their nickel-and-diming by charging extra for tethering would be a deciding factor.
|
Technically they can inspect the HTTP Headers and look at the User-Agent field to determine browser and OS; but imagine the millions and millions of HTTP requests for web pages and applications in a given day. They can do trends, and data mining techniques to find out - but is it worth all that effort for them just to track down someone using a few more MB of bandwidth? Probably not.
|
If I root my phone, can my service providor tell if I am using my phone for USB tethering or as a WiFi hotspot?
|
android
|
In Setup Catalog option, I can only choose apps, but can't rename the catalog. Is there any way to rename a catalog?
|
The only way I've found to do this is to edit the XML file that stores the name directly. It should be at <code> /data/data/org.adwfreak.launcher/shared_prefs/APP_CATALOG_Index.xml </code> : <code> # cd /data/data/org.adwfreak.launcher/shared_prefs cd /data/data/org.adwfreak.launcher/shared_prefs # ls ls APP_CATALOG_1.xml APP_CATALOG_Index.xml adw_ex_preferences.xml # more APP_CATALOG_Index.xml more APP_CATALOG_Index.xml <?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8' standalone='yes' ?> <map> <string name="GrpName1">First Group</string> </map> </code> Edit the value within the <code> GrpName# </code> tag that corresponds to the group you want to rename and then restart ADW Launcher. AFAIK there's no way to do it in the ADW UI itself (aside from deleting and recreating it, but that's inconvenient, too).
|
How to rename catalog of ADW Launcher EX?
|
android
|
I have Android and iOS devices so I use Dolphin's browser for the bookmark sync. Is there any way I can get my Chrome bookmarks to sync into my Dolphin bookmarks at least once? I'm aware of Chrome to Phone ect but so far all solutions I see either keep my bookmarks in a separate app (useless for dolphin sync) or they only copy them to the default Android browser which I don't use. My phone's Android 2.3.3 so I can't use Chrome for Android yet.
|
Install their new extension, sync bookmarks with Chrome flawlessly https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/dolphin-connect/pajecklcmiegagoelbbjldmfcbcpdpll have fun :)
|
How can I sync Chrome's bookmarks to Dolphin?
|
android
|
Superuser Elite (paid) provides a premium-exclusive feature: Ghost Mode! What is it? As I haven't purchased it, I don't have option to test it..
|
The Superuser website explains it as such: Ghost mode – Hide Superuser from your app tray and home screen. With ghost mode activated, the only way to launch it is by dialing a secret code into the dialer. The default secret code is <code> *#*#787378737#*#* </code> , but it can be set to whatever you want. Note that this feature will probably be disabled if your device does not have a dialer (tablets specifically).
|
What is Ghost Mode of Superuser Elite?
|
android
|
I have a rooted Galaxy S 2 (I9100) and was wondering if I can restart the Bluetooth on my phone via the terminal client on my phone.
|
The following terminal command should enable Bluetooth via adb shell or Terminal Emulator app: <code> su am start -a android.bluetooth.adapter.action.REQUEST_ENABLE </code> On most versions of Android, this command will present a pop-up window to the user asking to confirm request to enable BT. I believe this was done for security purposes whenever an app that is not system is toggling BT. I haven't found a way to disable BT via a shell command unfortunately. With WiFi it's a lot easier, and does not prompt user for permission: <code> su svc wifi enable </code> will turn it on, and <code> su svc wifi disable </code> will turn it off.
|
Can I restart Bluetooth from the terminal?
|
android
|
I have an android phone which is connected to a secured Wi-Fi hotpot. How can I find out what is the password of the Wi-Fi hotpot from the phone.
|
On my phone, the credentials are stored in <code> /data/wifi/bcm_supp.conf </code> . You'll probably need root to see it directly on your phone but you may be able to use <code> adb pull </code> (requires the Android SDK) from your PC to get the file. As noted in the comments, the location may vary based on your ROM or device (specifically the Wi-Fi chip; mine's a Broadcom). Check <code> /data/wifi/ </code> , <code> /data/etc/wifi/ </code> and <code> /data/misc/wifi/ </code> for relevant config files if you don't find the ones suggest by eldarerathis or I.
|
How can I find out the Wi-Fi password from android setting
|
android
|
A while ago, I posted stackexchange-url ("another question here") when I had plenty of free internal storage but was getting the following warning: <code> Low on space: Phone storage space is getting low. </code> The problem was apparently a bug during the upgrade to Gingerbread, and following the steps in the accepted answer to get the hotfix resolved the issue for several months. However, recently I've been getting that same message again. Even though it complains about low internal storage, clicking on the warning brings me to a screen that shows me: <code> Internal storage: 348MB used, 400MB free </code> I'm using a Verizon HTC Incredible running Gingerbread. I have followed the steps in the other question (clearing system cache) and rebooted the phone several times. I have moved many apps to the SD card which seems to resolve the issue for a few days, but then the warning comes back. It seems like 47% full should not be triggering a low space warning (which has other ramifications, like my email not refreshing). Any ideas what's wrong this time?
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To consolidate comments: I've found a fantastic guide to Android partitions and basics here via WIW's XDA post . <code> /data </code> is all your personal settings, messages, and information, while <code> /data/data </code> is specifically for your apps' private data. My guess is that wiping <code> /cache </code> as described above does not wipe <code> /data </code> or its child directories (otherwise you would've lost all your apps and settings). I don't believe I've ever run against the particular error you're seeing - when mine has trouble I just get tons of force closes :-/. However, my app settings screen shows me what must be the <code> /data </code> usage (never close to full, numbers match <code> /data </code> size reported by DiskUsage) even though my apps are actually constrained by the much smaller <code> /data/data </code> (where I run out of room often). I think it's giving you an error because of <code> /data/data </code> but showing you details from <code> /data </code> instead. That's confusing as hell. My dinc's <code> /data </code> is 748 MB and my <code> /data/data </code> is 149 MB. Sounds like that should be the same for yours (and others'). Until you give in to the dark side and root your Incredible (and are then able to see specific usage) you'll want to keep things below 149 MB (ish). FWIW, my biggest disk-hogs are Facebook and Dolphin Browser.
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False "low on space" (internal storage) warning on HTC Incredible
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android
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I have some problems with google play after updating to 4.0.4 on my Motorola xoom. The store doesn't open and gives Server error !!
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Unbind the gmail account. Clear Google Play data. Bind the Gmail account.
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Google play error after updating 4.0.4?
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android
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Is there a way to easily use music from Google Play Music as ringtones on my phone?
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Download the song and use something like Audacity to edit it. Save to your ringtones directory on your phone. Nothing else out of the ordinary needs to be done.
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How can I turn songs from Google Play Music into ringtones?
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android
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Gingerbread comes with a cool SIP / VoIP integration. However, this feature drains the battery quite a bit. So I'm looking for a shortcut to enable SIP. So far, I always have to go deep into Settings to disable/enable it. Is there a cool shortcut, widget or app which helps to enable/disable the native SIP/VoIP-Feature of Android 2.3?
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As I did not find any suitable solutions I decided to write my own widget. It's available on Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.siebeck.sipswitch I also made the source code available: https://github.com/robert7k/sipswitch
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Shortcut to enable / disable VoIP/SIP on Gingerbread?
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android
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I have been using 2 SIM cards in 2 separate phones and until recently I bought the Alcatel OT-918N Glory, a dual SIM Android phone. Since I had 2 phones before, I am expecting to have duplicated contact numbers. I will be importing numbers from my 2 SIM cards and I need to know the best way to handle duplicate numbers in Android. Is there a way to merge contact numbers based on the phone numbers?
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If you can pull both sets of contacts into the Google Contacts app on the phone, and let them sync with Google, you might then be able to merge duplicates via the web-based contacts page: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#contacts Click the "More" button, then choose "Find and Merge duplicates".
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How do I merge contacts based on phone numbers?
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android
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I just got the following mail: Google Mobile Maps Location Reporting Reminder To protect your privacy we would like you to know that Google Mobile Maps is running on your mobile device and reporting your location. This is just a privacy reminder - if you did not enable this or want to stop reporting your location, disable location reporting in Google Mobile Maps location settings. Thanks, Google Mobile Maps Team And I also got a broken link to how to stop that. So my question is, how do I stop that? Searching google wasn't really helpful.
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Open Google Maps on Android and select Latitude to disable Latitude. :-)
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Got mail from Google: Google Mobile Maps Location Reporting Reminder. How to I stop location reporting?
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android
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When I try to go into the Android Market on my Logitech-Revue it says it needs to update, but never does. On my Acer A500 tablet the Android Market updated to Google Play, so I assume that is the update that my Revue is attempting, but failing. Anyone else successful with the Google Play update on Logitech-Review or Google TV? Any suggestions for a work around?
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It finally updated. Not sure what the hang up was before.
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Trouble updating Android Market to Google Play on Logitech-Revue (Google-TV)
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android
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I have an Acer Liquid Metal, Gingerbread... I've tried installing Python on Android (and s4la: http://code.google.com/p/android-scripting/ ) but when I run the hello world script I get: <code> dlopen libpython2.6.so </code> <code> Traceback (most recent call last): </code> <code> File "compass.py", line 2, in <module> </code> <code> droid = android.Android() </code> <code> File "/sdcard/com.googlecode.pythonforandroid/extras/python/android.py", line </code> <code> 34, in __init__ </code> <code> self.conn = socket.create_connection(addr) </code> <code> File "/home/manuel/AptanaStudio3Workspace/python-for-android/python-build/output/usr/lib/python2.6/socket.py", line 498, in create_connection socket.gaierror: [Errno 8] hostname nor servname provided, or not known." </code> Any ideas?
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Easy peasy: I was using adaway (an app that blocks ads) and somehow its tweaking of my hosts file was not accepted by Python. Yay! :D
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Can't run any Python script on my Android phone
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android
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I'm trying to connect my Samsung Galaxy S2 to my TP-Link WA801ND Access Point. This works when I disable Wireless security but when I enable WPA2, the mobile refuses to connect. Does the S2 support WPA2?
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The original SGS supports WPA2 with AES, so I would bet that the SGS2 does. There seems to be a glut of routers that don't play nicely with non-PC devices when using WPA, for whatever reason, so I would suspect that's your issue.
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Does the Samsung Galaxy S2 support WPA2 with AES?
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android
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com.seven.Z7.Social Hub is regularly keeping my phone awake for hours and hours. How do I stop it from doing so? Thank you
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I eventually just stopped using the app. Not worth my headache. Thanks for the help.
|
How to stop com.seven.Z7.Social Hub from keeping my phone awake?
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android
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I have a problem - a half year ago I installed the 4.0.3 on my Nexus S. I installed it by placing the 'update.zip' file in the <code> \sdcard </code> folder, restarting phone, holding Power+VolUp buttons, then choosing <code> recovery </code> and install. However, now I downloaded the 4.0.4 update, did the same, but the phone got stuck - upon choosing <code> recovery </code> an android picture with something like a sphere in his stomach is shown for like a second and then the phone turns black - only buttons are lit. What could be wrong? Edit: Here is a YT video of my problem, sorry about the resolution, it's recorded on my laptop
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This is a known bug in the Nexus S' 4.0.3 firmware when you apply the i9020 update.zip to the i9023 model. Background: The i9020 sports a self-illuminating amoled while the i9023 has a traditional LCD with a backlight. The recovery fails to switch on the backlight and the screen goes black. You probably downloaded the update.zip from Google and did not use the official update method, right? In short: The screen backlight of the i9023 model is off in recovery mode due to that bug but everything else just works Here's a thread on XDA that covers just this. Possible solutions to fix it: Use a strong LED flashlight and illuminate the LCD just for the installation of the 4.0.4, see images below (both show the same homescreen, except the left has a switched off backlight) Unlock your Nexus S and install a working custom recovery ( guide )
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Installing ICS update
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android
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I recently tried to use the Dolphin browser login to my Trello.com account, which I had created by signing up through a Google Apps account. Since I had not set up a Trello-specific account yet, I had to try to login using Google--which automatically used the primary Google Account on my device, successfully logging me in to a different Trello account of mine. I wanted to log in to Trello using a different, secondary Google account on my device, but was not given the choice. I'm sure the problem happens with different web sites and different mobile web browsers. Is there a solution to this? Is there some specific mobile browser, for example, that when asked to provide Google credentials will allow me to select from the available Google accounts on the device?
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When it comes to user authentication, mobile browsers are no different from desktop browsers. Mobile browsers don't get login credentials from local Android accounts. If your primary google account is used automatically, it means you are logged in with this in Dolphin Browser. Simply, go to google.com and sign out, then try again with Trello.
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"login with google" via mobile browser - how to use secondary account?
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android
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I have a weird issue on my Samsung Galaxy Ace S5830 with baseband s5830XXKPP (bought in Mexico), whenever I'm doing anything (playing a game, using a web browser, etc), after a certain time (like a minute or so), the screen turns off, but whatever app I was using at the time stays there (sometimes I have to lock and unlock the phone to see whatever is on the screen again, and some other times, after blacking out it shows again, but brighter), it's really annoying and I'm not sure what happened (I recently upgraded from 2.3.4 to 2.3.6 and I didn't have that problem before). My brightness is set to the minimum and I've set the Screen timeout to 10 minutes. Does anybody know why this happens and how to fix it?
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Ok, I found out the reason for this problem is the band differences on the 3G: <code> S5830: HSDPA 900 / 2100 S5830B: HSDPA 850 / 2100 S5830L: HSDPA 850 / 1900 </code> And the incompatibility with the current firmware I had (I updated to CyanogenMod 7.2.0 and still had the same issue), so for a quick fix, I went to: <code> Settings > Wireless & networks > Mobile networks > Use only 2G networks </code> And that took care of the issue, however, for a full solution, flashing a latin (like the Brazilian one) with a Modem file like the kp7 or kpl should take care of the problem.
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Screen turns off after a certain time
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android
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I have Google Voice set up to prompt me (whether to dial using GV) every time I make a call (in GV app <code> Settings -> Making calls -> Ask every time I make a call </code> .) When I dial via the Phone app, or via "Direct dial" home screen shortcut, the "Google Voice" prompt appears instantaneously. However, if I add a "Contact" shortcut to my home screen, tap it and select any number to dial, the same prompt takes over 5 seconds to pop up. The logs are showing no other activity during this time: <code> I/ActivityManager( 223): Displayed com.android.contacts/.quickcontact.QuickContactActivity: +332ms I/ActivityManager( 223): START {act=android.intent.action.CALL_PRIVILEGED dat=tel:xx-xxx-xxx-xxxx flg=0x14000000 cmp=com.android.phone/.PrivilegedOutgoingCallBroadcaster} from pid 2814 D/PhoneUtils( 636): checkAndCopyPhoneProviderExtras: some or all extras are missing. D/dalvikvm( 223): GC_EXPLICIT freed 2189K, 18% free 23216K/28103K, paused 2ms+6ms I/ActivityManager( 223): START {flg=0x10000000 cmp=com.google.android.apps.googlevoice/.CallConnectingActivity (has extras)} from pid 1646 D/dalvikvm( 636): GC_EXPLICIT freed 107K, 4% free 13700K/14215K, paused 2ms+4ms D/OpenGLRenderer( 636): Flushing caches (mode 1) D/OpenGLRenderer( 2814): Flushing caches (mode 0) I/ActivityManager( 223): Displayed com.google.android.apps.googlevoice/.CallConnectingActivity: +5s25ms (total +5s167ms) </code> Specifically, the line <code> I/ActivityManager( 223): Displayed com.google.android.apps.googlevoice/.CallConnectingActivity: </code> +5s11ms <code> (total +5s302ms) </code> shows the actual "lag" time. I cannot see anything different than if I try dialing out from a "Direct Dial" type of a shortcut: <code> D/dalvikvm( 612): GC_CONCURRENT freed 607K, 7% free 15178K/16199K, paused 3ms+16ms I/ActivityManager( 223): START {act=android.intent.action.CALL dat=tel:xx-xxx-xxx-xxxx flg=0x14000000 cmp=com.android.phone/.OutgoingCallBroadcaster bnds=[185,50][360,250]} from pid 671 D/PhoneUtils( 636): checkAndCopyPhoneProviderExtras: some or all extras are missing. D/dalvikvm( 758): GC_CONCURRENT freed 423K, 5% free 13369K/13959K, paused 1ms+4ms I/ActivityManager( 223): START {flg=0x10000000 cmp=com.google.android.apps.googlevoice/.CallConnectingActivity (has extras)} from pid 1646 D/dalvikvm( 636): GC_EXPLICIT freed 210K, 4% free 13690K/14215K, paused 3ms+4ms D/OpenGLRenderer( 636): Flushing caches (mode 1) I/ActivityManager( 223): Displayed com.google.android.apps.googlevoice/.CallConnectingActivity: +265ms (total +354ms) </code> I am running CM9 alpha (ICS: Android 4.0.3) on my Samsung Galaxy Nexus phone, but the same thing was happening on my Atrix 4G running stock Gingerbread (Android 2.3.4) and CM7 (Android 2.3.5.) This makes me think that this is not a general Android issue, but rather a bug in Google Voice app. Has anyone else experienced the same problem? Other than posting on GV feedback forums, how do I go about resolving this?
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This has been resolved in Android 4.1, a.k.a. "Jelly Bean". Now Google Voice prompt appears instantly no matter how it's triggered. Since the Google Voice app has not changed, my original thinking that it's the app's fault was incorrect. Still no idea what's causing it on earlier OS versions.
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Long delay for Google Voice prompt if dialed from "Contact" home screen shortcut
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android
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This is definitely a noob question, I'm not an engineer but as far as my knowledge goes, the power supply on a phone would be its battery. However, my Nexus One stopped turning on recently, the battery charges fine as the LED indicator shows, but when I try to turn it on I get nothing. This is the result of me taking the phone apart and trying to clean the contacts of the sim slot as it wasn't recognizing sim cards, and after putting it back together I can't seem to turn it on anymore. I then took the phone to a repair center and the guy told me the power supply is bad that he would have to replace it, the battery is fine but its not getting power to the device. So my question is, what is this power supply he speaks of? The battery is fine, and hes obviously not talking about the power adapter... and what could cause this power supply to fail? I followed the directions here to take apart
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It's quite possible you accidentally shorted out a circuit or otherwise damaged some part (ribbon cable, connector, etc.) while disassembling or re-assembling your phone. The "power supply" line the tech fed you is probably just that, something they said to avoid going into too much technical detail. It's unlikely that they will bother with figuring out which exact part is fried, and will probably opt for replacing the phone's whole main board instead. Be mindful of the price they quote you, because these days you can get a used Nexus One for the price close to what some parts retailers charge for a replacement motherboard .
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Do phones have a power supply?
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android
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I am a new user of Android phone. I used to own an iPhone. I don't remember needing an Apple account besides using it to download applications from app store. Now I need a Gmail account to do even some of the basic stuff like finding my location on Google Map. Is Google violating my privacy? Why am I forced to log in to Gmail permanently to use Android? Update: From Eren Tantekin's comment, it seems that Apple is using it's own application to run Google Map. That may be the reason why a Google Account is not required. From Richard Borcsik's comment, it seems that Apple is collecting location data as well, this I am not aware of. With the background knowledge above, I would take eldarerathis's comment as the accepted answer. I apologise if this appears to be a rant to anyone. I just want some clarification. Thanks.
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I doubt there's an answer to this beyond "because that's how Google designed its apps". Android itself does not require a Google account to use, only Google's proprietary applications do. CyanogenMod and other pure source builds of Android are actually forbidden from distributing the Google apps within the firmware package itself because of their proprietary nature, and if you install such a ROM without the associated Google apps add-on you won't even have the ability to add a Google account in your settings. If you don't want to be tied to Google then don't use the apps they produce, but also don't be surprised that they want you to sign in when using services that they provide. It's really not that different from any other app or website that requires sign in to use the services it provides, in my opinion, but if you don't like it use different apps. Re: the question about why Maps specifically requires a sign-in on Android but not iOS: the comments about the iOS one being developed by Apple could certainly be correct, and I do agree with those statements. In addition, Apple may not want you to sign in Google's servers with their Maps app. It would create a tie (however loose it may be) between you and Google's services, which I'm sure Apple is trying to discourage as much as possible to prevent customers from jumping ship to Android. Another angle you have to keep in mind is that Google is pushing pretty hard to tie together all of its online services as much as it possibly can. Based on their priorities and their business model, it makes sense that the Android version would try to integrate as tightly as possible with their other services and with the web. It's in their best interest (from a business perspective) to try to make Android apps and their web counterparts as seamless as possible in order to attract users to Android who are already heavily invested in Google's products. Of course, this is just conjecture on my part, I think only Google could truly say why Maps works the way it does.
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Why do I need a Gmail account to use Android?
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android
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I'm a bit concerned about the message this app is giving me. It is saying that my currently installed version is no longer supported. Why am I getting this message directly from the app, shouldn't the play store be telling me that an update is available to update this app?
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For some reason Google have created a whole new app for the new version of the Authenticator app: New version Old version See also stackexchange-url ("Why does the Google authentication app have “obsolete” in its title on Play Store?") and in the news Android Police: PSA: Google's Authenticator Updated To v2, Except It's A Brand New App, And You Need To Install It To Get Future Updates (Old One Is Dead) It is worth noting that as long as you still have the old version installed when you install and first open the new version, it will offer to import your old settings and accounts. If you remove the old version before running the new one you'll need to re-add your accounts, which may involve an annoying process of first turning off two step auth, and then re-enabling it on those accounts.
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Google authenticator app says that this version is no longer supported
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android
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I'm planning to buy a new Android phone and I'd like to be able to transfer the progress I have made at several games to the new device, so I won't have to play all the levels again from scratch. I currently have an HTC Desire and will buy an HTC Evo 3D. There's probably no simple/general solution to this. But I was wondering if anyone did something similar and could provide some advice (e.g. where to look for files that might hold game progress information).
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There are two places you should look for, the external memory (SD card or a directory that is used for similar purpose) and the internal memory (the <code> /data/data </code> directory). You may need to be rooted to access the latter. In the best case scenario, the game saves all your progresses in the cloud, then you just need to reenter your login and it's all restored. This is typically only the case for online games. Some games may provide a menu to export the save data or an external app to do so, if they exist then you should preferably use them.
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New phone: How to transfer game progress?
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android
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The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 comes with a special charger which (I'm assuming) provides a higher current output than the USB standard. Without it, the device can actually die, even if the USB cord is plugged in to a USB port (albeit a little less quickly). I'm looking for other (cheaper) AC and car adapters, but I don't know the minimum power they need to provide to power the device. Does anyone know the minimum current needed for a 5V USB connection for the Galaxy Tab 10.1, or perhaps a link that provides this information?
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This turns out to be more complicated than just the amperage rating of the power adapter. This XDA post says that the Tablet itself may 'step down' to 0.5A charging if it cannot detect the right support in the USB host. There are some additional details in this post but I don't grok them. That thread led me to this slashdot comment which seems very useful and knowledgeable. If I understand the story correctly, unless the tablet can negotiate with the host device, the amount of power it can draw is limited. A physical "hack" (now part of a USB standard) in the adapter can make it clear to the USB client (the tablet) that there is no host device (its a wall wart), so it can charge faster. Without the hack, the device is limited in the amperage it can use. More details on the USB charing spec are on wikipedia. I just verified some of this with my Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the no-name 2A USB wall charger I have. If I plug my tablet into this "unapproved" USB adapter, then I get a little red "x" on the battery charge indicator in the system tray. Additionally, I get the "media scanner running..." alert (which I think means that the Tablet thinks it might be connected to a computer). I cannot tell at what rate (2.5mA, 500mA, 2A, etc) the tablet is actually charging at, though. If I plug the tablet into the 'approved' wall wart, I get no such red "x", nor any "media scanner" alerts. All that said, in practice, I've found that the tablet will charge up on my no-name USB adapter. I'm not sure if that's because I tend to turn the screen off (and I don't have 3G), and thus the power draw of the sleeping tablet is less than the 500mA, or if its actually getting the full 2A. I think the upshot is that any reputable wall charger or anything labeled as "compatible" with an iPhone or iPad will probably support the USB charging spec, and thus will fast-charge a Samsung Galaxy Tab. But I'm just guessing. It would be nice if there was an official USB logo or label for chargers that supported this mode ...
|
How much power does a Galaxy Tab 10.1 charger need to supply?
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android
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How can I delete all Winamp playlists from an Android device? I currently have to delete them one file at a time.
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Long tapping on a playlist brings an option to delete. Looks like you don't want to use it because you've gazillions of playlists. So, do this: Simply, clear data of Winamp from <code> Settings </code> ~> <code> Applications </code> ~> <code> Manage Applications </code> . It'll make your Winamp install fresh like when it was installed. The only thumbs down thing is that settings of Winamp will be reset to default & you'll need to re-configure them, but its not a big thing. Update: After some brainstorming, I found that Winamp stores playlists in a database externally. On my smartphone its: <code> /data/data/com.android.providers.media/databases/external-xxxxxxx.db </code> where xxxxxxx are numbers which are different on two devices I checked. Use Root Explorer to delete this database after mounting /data partition with R/W access (root access is required).
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How can I delete all Winamp playlists at once?
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android
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Some phones have an armv6 processor, and some have an armv7. Some apps (such as firefox, flash player, and chrome beta) only work on armv7. So, what is the whole difference?
|
ARMv6 and ARMv7 are two different versions of CPU architecture developed by ARM. ARMv6 is older & ARMv7 is newer. ARMv6 was used in ARM11 & ARM Cortex-M CPU families. ARMv7 is used in ARM Cortex-A, ARM Cortex-M (newer), ARM Cortex-R CPU families. There are many feature differences which are off-topic on this website, but you can check this . The main difference is ARMv7 requires high memory but gives high performance which is opposite for ARMv6.
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Difference between armv6 & armv7 processors?
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android
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Is there a way to tell if an Android phone is an original or a refurbished product?
|
On some devices, yes, there is a way. I am not certain which specific devices this works on, but there are two methods you can try. The most platform agnostic way to do it is generally the following: Install a launcher that allows you to create shortcuts to Activities. ADW Launcher and Launcher Pro are both free and allow this. Long press on an empty space on your home screen and select <code> Shortcut->Activity </code> . Look for one of the following in the list of Activities. Either: A. A package named <code> com.android.hiddenmenu </code> which you can expand to reveal the RTN activity OR B. An activity simply named <code> com.android.RTN </code> (this is what I have on my Galaxy Nexus, CM9). Create a shortcut to the RTN activity. If given a choice between multiple ones, select the "View" activity. Launch RTN from the shortcut and look for the "Reconditioned Status" entry in the list. If it says "Yes" then it's a refurb. If it says "No" then it isn't (or it has not been properly noted as one for some reason). The less portable (manufacturer dependent) way of doing this is to open your dial pad and enter the dialer code <code> ##786# </code> , which will also take you to RTN if the dialer code is supported. On some devices it may also work with <code> *#*#786#*#* </code> . All of the above directions were summarized from this blog post.
|
How to tell if your phone is refurbished
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android
|
For several weeks now my Android (Gingerbread 2.3.6) phone has been losing it's WiFi signal momentarily, typically at about 3 minute intervals (about 3 minutes, 1.5 seconds) and occasionally at some longer interval that always seems to be a multiple of just over 3 minutes. This causes an interruption of several seconds while the WiFi connection is re-established and typically fails any kind of download/streaming that is happening, makes web sites "unreachable" and generally makes the phone unusable as a data device due to the frequency. The signal remains down for about a second, but the phone takes a few more seconds to reconnect to the router. This happens regardless of proximity to the router, which shows a very strong signal - usually -40 to -30 dBm or better in the same room, nowhere in the house less than -70 dBm. It also happens regardless of whether the phone is plugged in or on battery. Some specific things I've tried that had no effect: Changing channels (I've tried 1, 4, 8 and 9). Turning off the router's guest access. Turning off the 5.0 GHz band. Setting the router to Wireless N only (though that did prevent my laptop from connecting, which only supports G). Changing the phone's wireless advanced settings sleep policy to Never. Setting the battery mode to Performance mode. Monitoring the signal on my phone with WiFi analyzer, shows all WiFi signals on all channels drop to nothing when the WiFi connection is lost (there are two other networks on different channels which are strong enough to be relevant, with about 6 others constantly fading in and out). WiFi analyzer shows 3 separate signals for my router, the main 2.4 GHz, the guest 2.4 GHz and the 5.0 GHz. Using WiFi Analyzer on my wife's phone side-by-side shows no change in signal when my phone drops, nor does her phone drop. Monitoring the signal using our laptop, side-by-side likewise shows no signal loss and likewise the laptop does not lose it's WiFi connection. But, at work, the phone seems to not exhibit the same behavior, or, if it does, it's very occasional. Monitoring it all day at work I only saw the signal drop 3 or 4 times. The signal strength of the various networks there is comparatively weak. AT&T were super helpful: "Sorry, we can't help you with WiFi problems. You could try doing a factory reset on your phone". <code> </sarcasm> </code> The router is relatively new, but has been working fine with this phone since last Dec. <code> Phone : Motorola Atrix MB860, System version 4.5.141.MB860.ATT.en.US, Android 2.3.6, Build Number 4.5.141. Router : Belkin N750 DB (F9K1103 v1 (01C)). Router Firmware: 1.00.46 (2011/10/28 6:37:11). Security : WPA/WPA2-Personal (PSK) </code>
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It looks like I may have found the problem. The latest update from AT&T (4.5.141.MB860.ATT.en.US) which they pushed a few weeks ago appears to not handle a "Forever" DHCP lease properly or my router does not properly handle a DHCP lease renewal when configured for "Forever". One does have to wonder why the phone was renewing a lease which had no timeout, and especially after only 150 seconds (allowing for the 30 second network request timeout). Coincident with the WiFi dropping, the logs show the phone tearing down the WiFi service and restarting it after a failed lease renewal request. Because the router has always had a "Forever" lease time, my money is on the update introducing a bug in the phone. From my phone log (note there's a large time between the request and the renewal only because the log captures only a couple of minutes, so I had to capture a number of small log fragments before I tumbled to the DHCP connection): <code> 03-27 20:46:25.928 D/WifiStateTracker( 1637): DHCP request started ... 03-27 20:46:27.931 D/WifiStateTracker( 1637): DHCP succeeded with lease: -1 ... 03-27 21:16:23.938 D/WifiStateTracker( 1637): DHCP renewal started ... 03-27 21:16:53.947 D/WifiStateTracker( 1637): DHCP renewal failed: Timed out waiting for DHCP Renew to finish ... 03-27 21:16:54.008 V/WifiMonitor( 1637): Event [CTRL-EVENT-STATE-CHANGE id=2 state=8 BSSID=00:00:00:00:00:00] 03-27 21:16:54.018 V/WifiStateTracker( 1637): Changing supplicant state: COMPLETED ==> DORMANT 03-27 21:16:54.018 I/wpa_supplicant(12515): CTRL-EVENT-DISCONNECTED - Disconnect event - remove keys 03-27 21:16:54.018 V/WifiMonitor( 1637): Event [CTRL-EVENT-DISCONNECTED - Disconnect event - remove keys] 03-27 21:16:54.018 I/wpa_supplicant(12515): CTRL-EVENT-STATE-CHANGE id=-1 state=8 BSSID=00:00:00:00:00:00 03-27 21:16:54.018 D/WifiStateTracker( 1637): Reset connections and stopping DHCP 03-27 21:16:54.028 V/WifiMonitor( 1637): Event [CTRL-EVENT-STATE-CHANGE id=-1 state=8 BSSID=00:00:00:00:00:00] 03-27 21:16:54.048 W/Smack/Packet( 2186): notify conn break (IOEx), close connection ... 03-27 21:16:55.084 D/WifiStateTracker( 1637): Disabling interface 03-27 21:16:55.088 D/NetworkStateTracker( 1637): setDetailed state, old =CONNECTED and new state=FAILED </code> Since changing my router to use a two week DHCP lease, the phone has had a stable WiFi connection for an hour and a half, which is considerably longer than I have seen since I started monitoring this condition. Assuming there are no further problems, I will accept this in a couple of days, indicating that the problem is indeed resolved. (BTW, the log collector I used is "Log Collector" by Xtralogic Inc, and "WiFi Analyzer" is by farproc). Update: 2012-03-29 AM : The root cause seems to be an inability to renew a DHCP lease - changing the lease time to 30 minutes caused the connection to drop precisely 30 minutes after connecting the phone to the router. Update: 2012-03-29 PM : That there is a general problem renewing DHCP leases is born out by testing all day with a short lease time; every (or very nearly every) attempt at renewing the lease fails, and then disconnects and reconnects the WiFi service. Now knowing precisely what the problem is and what to search for, it may be that this is a long-standing problem with the Android WiFi service, present since 2.2 and still a problem even in 4.0.
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WiFi Signal drops out every 3 minutes
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android
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There is a program for Android, WifiKill, which disables wifi internet access of some neighbor peers connected to the same wifi AP. How does this program works? ARP poisoning or some other techniques?
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The app's author himself explains how it works at the top of the second page of that thread you linked to: It's the same idea as FaceNiff (I'm a developer of it also), basically it sends ARP Reply's to all of the devices in the network fooling them to think that your mobile is router. And then all of the devices try connecting to network THROUGH your device... and you just drop every single packet from them. In this version it's just dropping packets but maybe later I'll try adding some sort of primitive REJECT target. And slightly more on page 5 Originally Posted by Jufjufjuf Is this using an arpspoofing attack? Just wondering if there was anyway to send out de-auth packets through android like airdrop-ng? Yes, it's using arp spoofing. I suppose there is a way to send deauth packets but it would require modifying kernel drivers for wifi card. AFAIK it won't work out-of-the-box because most of android wifi drivers don't allow packet injections and even changing the mac address of the NIC is super-difficult in a lot of devices. As far as tools for desktop OSs go, there are a few that will do this kind of thing, MDK3 seems to be a popular one for doing this kind of thing.
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How does WiFiKill actually work?
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android
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My GN Device locks the screen when I start a call. Most of my calls are made using BT headset, and I don't need the lock in that scenario. Is there a way to disable the automatic screen lock when a headset is used?
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This issue was solved under Jelly Beans.
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Galaxy Nexus: Disable screen lock during call
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android
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While traversing the 'installed' list of Google Play, I noticed a very odd app named <code> SOUPER ANDROID DEVELOPMENT </code> . What's so suspicious about it is: It does absolutely nothing to explain what it is, what it does, or permissions required There is no option to open/uninstall I cannot find it by searching for it It is dimmed in the list with the other apps It is not listed when I browse play.google.com/apps Nobody (in the comments) seems to know where they got it. Notice the app is dimmed (grayed out) I was scrolled to the top of the page during screen capture. Notice how many standard features are missing I have no idea where it came from. I imagine it was either part of the humongous set of bloatware provided by Verizon or, what I'm thinking is more likely, the method used to root my phone: Pete's Motorola Root Tools . I have scanned my phone with Lookout but it hasn't found anything. Can anyone provide any insight as to what this app is? How should I remove this app? I am having difficulty locating it in <code> System App Remover </code> . Should I be suspicious of the rooting tool I used and take any action? I have been told this is legit. Whether it is or not, it's doesn't seem to be in any way part of the problem. How can you trace a market app to its package name? Update While searching other complaints on this app, I dug up: A link to it on Google Play (removed). I'm still curious as to how someone obtained this link, I couldn't find it in a search or any references to it. It says it's not compatible with any of my devices but it's installed. No one has found any traces of it on their phone (probably because it's 'linking ' to com.motorola.contacts.preloaded) It seems to only be affecting Droid 3 users. Update 3/28/2012 Final update/Brief summary: 3/26: App showed up without user approved install under name "Brett Henderson" with no option to open or uninstall. Later renamed "Souper Android Development". 3/27: Clicked the app's "share" button to view its link to app on phone (com.motorola.contacts.preloaded). This confirms Richard's suspicion that it was merely sharing its name with a legit system app as apposed to installing junk on the phone. Further reading revealed that each app has a unique ID to prevent one app from providing "updates" to another with the same name. 3/28: The app was removed from the app market place. As pointed out by Matthew Read, a similar bug happened not too long ago. As of now, I haven't read anything official on this instance.
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There's nothing malicious here. A developer uploaded an app to the play store that has the same package name as a system app from your phone. The new play store update tweaked the detection of system apps and it linked the apps. This will probably resolved soon. No need to bring the big guns. Lookout and other "antivirus" tools don't show anything malicious because they couldn't tell angry birds apart from a nuclear bomb. They are completely useless against any sophisticated attack.
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How Should I Handle This Suspicious App?
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android
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What's the wierd looking update that's just turned up on my Samsung Galaxy phone? "MTC Мобильная Почта" by "OJSC Mobile TeleSystems". The review section has lots of one-star comments saying its malware etc, but I'd have thought actual malware would look more like something I'd want to install than something wierd in Russian. Should I be worried? Is this malware or some perfectly normal component buried in the OS that's somehow found its way into public view? Should I install the update?
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I did some searching due to the other answer and found someone on XDA claiming that this is a Market/Play bug, and you're seeing it because the Market thinks one of your apps is actually that OJSC Mobile app. Even better, I found this just-published story on The Verge: Samsung has several pieces of software that it installs on it devices but that aren't in the Google Play store (for obvious reasons). However, every single Android app has an app name that identifies it on the Android system, in this case the "unique" name is com.seven.Z7 , which identifies Samsung's email app. What appears to have happened is that Russian developer OJSC Mobile Telesystems gave that unique identifier to its "МТС Мобильная Почта" app, and so these Samsung devices were tricked into thinking it was an update to Samsung's email client. Since Google Play allows for automatic updating of all apps, it was installed on many devices. I couldn't find the app in the Play Store anymore, so perhaps Google has taken it down to resolve this. Below is the original version of this post, which would still be applicable in more normal circumstances. If it's a system app for supporting Cyrillic text, which is what it sounds like, it could hardly be called malware. Crapware, perhaps, if you don't need it. If you don't need it, then no need to update (unless you want to be rid of the notification, though in that case I recommend rooting and removing the app). No reason not to update either I'd say — you already have it on your device, so unless it's doing something nasty in the new version in particular then you've already been exposed to any dangers it may contain :P. Of course, updating will require more space on your device unless you are rooted and can entirely replace the original version with the update (normally the system keeps all original versions of system apps).
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What's the "MTC Мобильная Почта" update on my Samsung Galaxy?
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android
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<code> Device: HTC Desire (Bravo) ROM: Aurora 4.1 - http://android.elrincondelmovil.com/roms-desire-90/rom-aurora-v4-1-sense-3-0-android-2-3-5-oct22-1639/?langid=1 HBOOT: Stock (Revolutionary) Radio: 5.11.05.27 </code> I'm looking to upgrade my ROM to Tiny ICS which like many ROMs claims to run smoother on the CM7r2 HBOOT. So my questions are: Is it really worth changing my HBOOT? Will changing my HBOOT wreck my current ROM? Sorry if this is somewhat 'noobish' but I just felt it would be better to be safe than sorry.
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This answer to #2 in your question is, unfortunately, "maybe". The CM7r2 HBOOT (along with several others) is maintained by AlphaRev , and they note in their website's FAQ: Will this touch my currently running ROM? We try to leave the current ROM and datastructures completely intact. It is, however, advised to ALWAYS nandroid backup your phone before you run this procedure. You will then always have a correct/current backup to fall back on in case something breaks. So it's designed to flash without affecting your current ROM install, but it's a bit of a delicate process so there are no guarantees. There is generally always a certain amount of risk involved in these types of things, but especially so when dealing with the bootloader/HBOOT. Make a backup. If you can, copy the backup onto another device (your computer, for instance). Always prepare for the worst and hope for the best when it comes to data that you don't want to lose and you'll generally be fine. As per your question about whether or not it's worth it - this sort of depends. The reason that some ROMs support certain versions of HBOOT and not others is because the different HBOOTs are designed to create different partition layouts on your device. There is a table on the website which details the layouts, and which I'll summarize here: <code> Name /system /cache /data --------------------------------------------------- Bravo Stock 250M 40M 147M Bravo N1Table 145M 95M 197M Bravo Data++ 180M 5M 252M Bravo Sense 180M 40M 217M Bravo Oxygen r2 100M 5M 332M Bravo CM7 r2 145M 5M 287M </code> Certain ROMs are designed to take advantage of the differing partition layouts, making them incompatible with others. For example, a ROM with a lot of stock components and additional packages may need more than 145MB of space for its <code> /system </code> partition, so flashing it on the CM7r2 HBOOT would not work. It's generally best to stick with whatever the ROM author recommends, which does mean that switching may be necessary in some cases.
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Will changing the HBOOT affect my ROM?
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android
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Does anyone know if there's a way to get an Android phone to reboot into recovery mode, from the Android command line? Note: I do NOT have adb access. I do NOT know the magic power-on sequence to do it from the boot loader. I've tried the common things and nothing works. I DO have root. (And can enter commands directly on the device using a terminal emulator.) I know it's possible, somehow, because applications like ROM Manager do it. But how?
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Generally, <code> reboot </code> binary provides a <code> recovery </code> switch. After switching to root, execute this command: <code> /system/bin/reboot recovery </code> This may not work if your manufacturer doesn't support it. ROM Manager type apps uses API of Android which you can't access via Terminal Emulator directly.
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Enter recovery mode from command line
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android
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I am using Jusada Ice Cream Sunday ROM. I have problem with its stock radio app. I can not tune to even numbers after decimal like 89.0 or 106.2. After the decimal it only let me tune to odd numbers. How can I fix this? The above mentioned frequencies are popular radio stations in my region.
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In the app's settings try changing the default locale. Different ones (even "China") will change the interval by which the tuner seeks.
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How to tune a frequency like 89.0 on Jusada ICS CM7 stock radio?
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android
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My phone is rooted CM7 and Superuser.apk has Connectbot in the allowed list. Titanium backup reports that it has root access, to prove that I actually have root working. I seem to remember being able to run commands in Connectbot as root in the past. But now, I go into Connectbot → Local, and try to run a command using <code> sudo </code> , and it just says "permission denied". No pop-up or anything. Same for the Terminal Emulator app. How do I run commands as root?
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The <code> su </code> binary works just like it does on Linux; it runs all commands that follow as root until you type <code> exit </code> (or terminate the process, etc.). <code> sudo <command> </code> essentially does: <code> su <command> exit </code> Android doesn't normally include <code> sudo </code> , so If you wish to launch commands like you would with <code> sudo </code> , the syntax is as follows: <code> su -c "[command_1;command_2;...;command_N]" </code> For example, to get a list of installed packages in "root" mode, you can either do <code> $ su # pm list packages # ........ <listing of packages scrolls down> ...... # exit </code> or <code> $ su -c "pm list packages;exit" </code>
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How to run commands as root in Connectbot?
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android
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That's my problem: I use, happily, link2sd and after installing a lot of apps I got my internal memory full again. Now I'd like to delete apps but I have no clues on how internal space they use since I've moved them with link2sd... Any apps/hints?
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Use Disk Usage app. It draws nice graphical diagram with directories proportional to their size. There's a dedicated lookup option for apps too.
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Calculate which app use more internal space among my link2sd moved apps
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android
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How can I check if an available update of a given app that I already have installed will take up more or less storage space than the one currently installed from the information in the play.google.com page? Is there a URL I can use to check the size of my current version and the one of the available update? Can I mount the device and list the size of the installed apps and compare it to the advertised size in play.google.com? For example, I updated Gmail in the last few months, and originally took up 2.07MB Application size, and the last two updates went from 3.08MB Application size to 3.26MB version 2.3.6 (20110305). How can I know this in advance?
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Current App's Usage: If you mean storage, there's a handy program on market called Disk Usage. It will display the current size of all installed applications, as well as how much space each's data takes up. I have a feeling you may mean RAM usage, which is a different animal indeed. To get the amount of RAM a program is currently using, see the Apps section of the Settings. The Running tab shows the relevant details. New Update's or Non-Installed App Usage: Most of these details cannot really be determined before installing an app or an update, unless the developer is kind enough to include these details in the applications's description or the What's New section. The closest you can get is the actual size of the application, which does show up in the application description. I guess you could use a combination of what you can learn from Disk Usage on the current version's size and correlate that to what shows up in Google Play for the current version. Details like RAM usage are difficult to determine as they depend on a lot of factors: Which resources are loaded on your particular device configuration (e.g. high or low res images and icons). How you use the app (e.g. if you have a browser and load 100 tabs, the program will use more RAM). The quality of the app. The program may inadvertently waste memory due to a bug only you experience. It would be difficult to predict things like this. As for app storage, this really depends on whether the app developer chooses to change the way it stores data. Hopefully this answers your question.
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How to check if an available update will take up more storage or less than the one currently installed version?
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android
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How can I replace the HTC-sense ringy swipy unlock mechanism for an unlock mechanism that only requires to enter a keyboard combination in Android 2.3.5? I find myself not able to do it easily on one hand and since I have a physical keyboard, I would like to be able to unlock the screen with a keyboard combination.
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Let me know if this helps, No Lock
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replace the HTC unlock system for a keyboard combination in Android 2.3.5?
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android
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I like official TED app which allows me to download videos for later offline viewing. I've downloaded many videos & watched all of them. Now, I want to remove them from my device to regain my storage space. But, I am unable to find option in app for this. I've looked in file system, but unable to find downloaded videos. Please, help.
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On the <code> My Talks </code> tab, tap/press options button (you can tap the overflow menu in the top right corner if you are on tablet). There is a <code> Remove Items </code> in menu. That should do the trick. It puts an <code> x </code> on all the videos and I'm assuming a tap on that will delete them. I haven't done this, because I haven't gotten around to watching them yet.
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How to remove downloaded videos of TED app from device?
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android
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I'm about to buy a Samsung Galaxy Ace (it's not much expensive and I think it's a pretty good phone), however everyone has been complaining with the battery life but admitting that isn't bad compared to all the other smartphones. I read about how to save battery with tips/tricks, and I'll certainly do it; but I'd like to know whether a battery life would increase recharging it only when completely empty (some old phones used to gain life expectancy from that, I don't know if things are changed now)
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Modern phones use Li-ion and Li-poly batteries. So the battery life is not affected by whether you charge them at 0% or 90%. It only has a long term effect. Batteries degrade with every charge cycle. A cycle is usually a recharge from below 50%. So charging while the battery capacity is still relatively high has a long term effect of less degradation. The other frequent pseudoscientific habit that has no roots is a technique many call "formatting", where you leave your battery plugged in for 16 hours or 3 * 8 hours with discharge in between or any other baseless claim by anyone on any forum or phone shop. If they don't have scientific evidence don't believe them.
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Battery - do they last longer if recharged when empty?
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android
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I have found tools like Smart Ruler that helps us measuring length using the screen. But for objects bigger than the screen I imagine there are apps that use the camera and focal length to show distances and widths. If there's no such app, is it possible to use a camera or any other common phone hardware to measure spatial dimensions?
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I just found an app from the same developer that does what I wanted for buildings Smart Measure
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Is there any app that measures the distance using the camera?
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android
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I have a MID (Chinese) tablet and I found 2 Android 4.0 firmwares, but with the first one wireless doesn't work and with the second camera doesn't work, the other components and functions of my tablet work perfectly with both firmwares. Is there a way to extract the "wireless driver" from the second firmware and use it on the first one?
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based on my experience with Chinese-made MID, we can extract it ONLY if we have the access to it's kernel (which usually the manufacturer doesn't release it). Maybe you can start looking for the solution at tabletrepublic.com forum. Find the specific device model and chipset used, and I am sure there will be a lot devs out there willing to help.
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Android ICS ROMs for MID Tablet
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android
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I want to update to cyanogenMod 9. But before doing this, I've done a nandroid backup. After the backup was created I saw this output: <code> ClockwordMod Recovery v2.5.1.8 SD Card space free: 1296MB Backing up system... Backing up data... Backing up .android_secure Backing up cache No sd-ext found. Skipping backup of sd-ext. Generating md5 sum... Backup complete! </code> I'm not sure, but I believe this means that the external sd-card partition wasn't backuped. Will this be a real problem, if I want to backup my phone? And how shall I solve it, if it's a problem?
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This means you do not have an ext3/4 partition on your sdcard. This really ins't a big deal, this is like a legacy part of the nandroid backup process. CM doesn't "officially" support the sd-ext partition any more anyhow.
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What to do after:" No sd-ext found. Skipping backup of sd-ext"?
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android
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I'm trying to add the StackExchange Podcast to Google Listen. I've tried searching for it within Google Listen. No luck.
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I think: if you can find an RSS feed for it, you can add it to Google Reader, and put it in the "Listen Podcasts" folder. That should make it magically sync on your phone. I think.
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How to add StackExchange podcast to Google Listen (on Android)?
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android
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On XDA Developers they say "Frst boot will take some time...", but I've waited 25 minutes and my phone has not finished booting. About how long does the first boot usually take?
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It's generally below 5 minutes, anything over 10 minutes is probably considered a wrong flash. Read the instructions given by the developer and than try again. If It still doesn't work as for help in the roms thread ask they will be better suited to help with specific questions about your rom than us.
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How long should the first boot take with CyanogenMod 9?
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android
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I've been trying to reinstall the TouchWiz calendar on my Sidekick 4G with no luck. I got the calendar apk here , and put it on my sd card then moved it to system/app using RootExplorer, and once I clicked install I got the normal install prompts then a message that said "Application not installed". How can I fix this? Do I need to reinstall a stock ROM?
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You don't install system apps, they're automatically detected. After you move it to <code> /system/app/ </code> just remount system as read-only and reboot. If your ROM's not deodexed that may not work but that's a whole other can of worms.
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Reinstall TouchWiz Calendar
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android
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Is there a way to have contact groups in this phone? I know it is possible on other phones, but this one does not give you the ability to make them.
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Android 4.x supports contact groups. This is the only way I've found till now.
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Contact groups in 2.3.4 - xperia?
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android
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I have Galaxy Tab 7 inch which has some installed apps and I don't have the APK files. I would like to move the apps to a new Galaxy Tab Plus 7 inch. Is there a way to move my installed apps from one device to another without reinstalling every app from Android Market?
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One way to do this would be to use an app like ApkBackup to get the apks of your installed apps than install them on your new device. Note that the data will be lost and depending on the market version it may not notify you about updates.
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Is there a way to move installed apps from one device to another?
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android
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I bought an Android device that doesn't come with WiFi but comes with USB hosts and, as stated in the site, supports Wifi dongles. But mine is not working. I successfully plugged in a USB mouse, keyboard, hard-drive and a bluetooth dongle but specifically the WiFi dongle doesn't even turn on (the light doesn't turn on). Is there anything else I can try?
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You need to find a WiFi dongle with a chipset the device supports. Each chipset requires different drivers, so you'll have to find one that's supported. There a discussion thread on the site you linked to about exactly this.
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My Android device with USB host does not recognize my WiFi Adapter dongle. Is there a way I can install a driver or do anything else?
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android
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Gmail went completely crazy, I don't know what to do. When I open it I get the inbox, but the app is almost unresponsive: whatever I do, be it opening the menu, scrolling or opening a message, it starts to do it (the menu starts opening, the message gets highlighted) but after a fraction of a second it flashes and gets back to the inbox itself as if nothing happened. I still receive new mail notifications in the top bar, but clicking them prompts the inbox anyway, with the same problems. Even after managing to evade the application using the home button, sometimes it pops up again, going crazy even if I don't touch it (flashing repeatedly the inbox, doing a "left to right" slide-like effect), and the whole system can be unresponsive for a while. Other applications, including google ones (calendar, docs, contacts), appear to have no problems. Phone is a Nexus S, was running android 2.3.4, I upgraded to 2.3.6 and upgraded the gmail app too, but nothing changed. Doing a "clear data" prompts the "mails will appear shortly" screen, and there the menu works, but as soon as I receive the emails, it goes crazy again. I'm clueless, what could I do?
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Have a look at this discussion. Is your problem same as the one discussed here? If so, Google is working on a fix.
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Gmail has gone completely crazy
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android
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In perusing the settings on my EVO today, I noticed that there is an option under call settings named "Voice Privacy". The description beneath the checkbox merely states "Enable enhanced privacy mode": The screenshot is from Deck's ICS pre-beta, but I'm fairly positive I saw this in CM7 as well because it seems very familiar. I've also seen this settings on my Verizon Galaxy Nexus running both ICS (stock and CM9) and Jelly Bean. Both phones I've seen this on were CDMA devices - an HTC EVO on Sprint, and a Verizon Galaxy Nexus. What little information I've been able to dig up seems to suggest that it may be unique to CDMA, but I cannot say that for certain. What does this setting do? Some theories I've found on forums have included reducing the earpiece volume (so others can't overhear your conversation, I suppose?) and adding extra encryption to the CDMA connection, but I haven't found anything definitive.
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This is a feature of CDMA (standardized in IS-95) and is called Voice Privacy. See an Analysis of IS-95 CDMA Voice Privacy by M.Zhang, et al. from 2000, free download here Citation (the real paper begins at p.10 in the PDF: Abstract . The voice privacy of IS-95 CDMA cellular system is analyzed in this paper. By exploiting information redundancy on the downlink traffic channel, it is shown that an eavesdropper can recover the voice privacy mask after eavesdropping the transmission on the downlink traf- fic channel for about one second. Thus, IS-95 CDMA voice privacy is vulnerable under ciphertext-only attacks. That cryptanalysis is now 12 years old and already then was the scheme considered broken . I guess it's easy to suggest to just leave the setting disabled. By combining some information grepped from the android source, I'm pretty sure it's what you're asking for. To make it a little more transparent here are some source references: packages/apps/Phone/res/xml/cdma_call_privacy.xml defines: <code> <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <PreferenceScreen xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" xmlns:settings="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/com.android.phone" android:title="@string/additional_cdma_call_settings"> <com.android.phone.CdmaVoicePrivacyCheckBoxPreference android:key="button_voice_privacy_key" android:title="@string/voice_privacy" android:persistent="false" android:summary="@string/voice_privacy_summary"/> </PreferenceScreen> </code> packages/apps/Phone/res/values/strings.xml defines those strings: <code> <string name="voice_privacy">Voice Privacy</string> <string name="voice_privacy_summary">Enable enhanced privacy mode</string> </code> ./hardware/ril/include/telephony/ril.h defines also: <code> typedef struct { RIL_CallState state; [...] char isVoice; /* nonzero if this is is a voice call */ char isVoicePrivacy; /* nonzero if CDMA voice privacy mode is active */ [...] } RIL_Call; </code>
|
What does the voice privacy setting do?
|
android
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On google store, do you actually have control over the purchases you make like access to the pc? For example you decide to buy a movie then can you transfer it to the pc? or if you decide to buy book could you hypothetically add the eBook to kindle?. So over all the biggest question is "Do you have control over the file purchased and downloaded from google market?".
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Yes, the files you purchase you have some limited control over; ones you rent you do not. Music - You purchased (or uploaded your own) music to Google's Servers. You have a license to these media files. They can be downloaded off the Web version of Google Play Music, or with Google Play Music Manager . Books - You purchased the book, you have a license to these media files as well, some of these files allow you to obtain copies outside of the Google Play Books app, via the web store. <code> Web Play Store > My Books > A Book I Owned > How To Read </code> should present alternative methods to download. Movies - You rented the movie. Google Play Movies does not (yet) support purchasing of movie media files, as such it is not yours to do with what you wish. You are limited on time to watch it and availability to move it. You are able to watch it on the Web, Tablet or Phone.
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Android market questions
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android
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Is it possible to sync my own video with Google Play Video (like in Google Play Music)? I know that it's not possible on Google Books, I am wondering how about videos. What will be a good alternative for syncing videos?
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Right now it is not possible to sync through Play Video, however, you may soon be able to purchase movies from the market and have them stay in the cloud until needed. You could try alternatives such as Box , or Dropbox, (there are many competitors in this file-locker space), they allows you to sync nearly anything across devices. Google Video, at least on my Xoom, will pick up movies out of any folder without the .nomedia file in it. (edited to remove falsehood of no Google Services allowing syncing :) )
|
Upload my own videos to Google Play?
|
android
|
As I was cycling, my htc rezound fell on the pavement. The battery popped out. There are few scratches but no visible damage. I start the phone and it's fine as long as I don't use data. Once I use data, the phone uses "1" may be it's ev-do. speedtest shows 129 kbps down rate. I tried flashing and installing a leaked ICS. that didn't solve the problem. I would think that the damage was because of the physical shock of hitting the ground (nothing broke). so is there a way to diagnose it? to check if 4g is still working?
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In the HTC Dream (G1) the UMTS radio (3G) is a separate board from the rest of the phone. While this is a Desire Z and I haven't had the opportunity to take one apart, it's probably very similar. The 3G/4G daughterboard (or if it's connected, antenna) could have failed, cracked, disconnected or sustained damage in some other way. Software won't fix it. You have damaged hardware.
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my phone hit a pavement and 3g/4g stopped working. next step?
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android
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Can one use Google's video hangout on a 2.3.5 Android phone with front camera? My phone has both a front camera and a back camera.
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Yes, any phone that has a front-facing camera and is running Gingerbread (Android 2.3.x) and above will be able to join and initiate Hangouts with the latest version of Google+ app.
|
Google video hangouts on 2.3.5 Android phones?
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android
|
What is the number shown in the top right corner of the camera app that comes installed with Android 2.3.5? It shows 905 right now but I don't know what it means. Does it have anything to do with the zoom or the light level or the space in the SD card for more pictures to be taken?
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This number represents the approximate amount of pictures left you'll be able to take, according to the free space on the media portion of the phone (e.g. SD Card) and the currently chosen settings, such as resolution.
|
number in the top right corner of the camera app?
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android
|
I always root my android devices, but there's something called obtaining S-OFF for certain devices, and I have no idea what that means. What exactly does the term S-OFF relate to? Why would I want to obtain S-OFF for my device?
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If you have a locked bootloader, it's S-ON. If you fully unlock the bootloader it's S-OFF. As eldarerathis notes below there's an intermediate state, where it's unlocked but still S-ON, where you can flash recoveries and ROMs but not radio firmware and so on. If you don't unlock the bootloader, you can't flash unsigned firmware and most often can't alter your ROM (i.e., no permanent rooting). The locked bootloader generally restores a known good system image on boot if it sees that changes have been made. For some devices there's no known method of unlocking the bootloader; most of the time you need something official like HTC's unlocker tool.
|
What is S-OFF? Why would I want to do it?
|
android
|
I know it seems like a silly question, but here is the situation: I'm debugging an app and my users have reported a bug on slow devices that I can't see on my fast device. Is there anything I can do to slow my device down so that I can see the bug for myself?
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One option - if you have root and a proper custom kernel you can use something like SetCPU to underclock your processor. CyanogenMod also has this functionality built in since at least CM7, don't remember if it's in CM6. That can be found in <code> Settings->CyanogenMod Settings->Performance </code> IIRC. Without root access, I suppose you could try to run some kind of "expensive" process in an attempt to occupy CPU cycles, but its probably not the best of ideas or an accurate portrayal of a slower device.
|
How can I slow down my phone?
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android
|
I do a fair amount of international traveling (currently mostly between the U.S. and Mexico, but will be visiting Europe, Africa, and South America soon, too), and am looking for a dialing app that lets me set international dialing rules, so to speak, for each of my contacts. This post describes pretty well what I'm looking for, and an app for PalmOS that apparently did it pretty well. In short, I should be able to: Specify a country for each contact phone number Specify the country where I am located (either automatically by GPS location, or I can select my location, or a dialing profile, or whatever) Then when I dial, it will automatically dial the appropriate country code before the number. Example scenario: I have a contact entry for Bob, who's phone number is 123-555-1234, and he is in the U.S. When I am in the U.S., Bob is automatically dialed as <code> 123-555-1234 </code> When I am in Mexico, Bob is automatically dialed as <code> 00-1-123-555-1234 </code> or I have a contact entry for Alice, who's phone number is 33-33-12-34-56, and she is in Mexico. When I am in the U.S., Alice is automatically dialed as <code> 011-52-33-33-12-34-56 </code> When I am in Mexico, Alice is automatically dialed as <code> 33-33-12-34-56 </code> Please note this question is not about how to select the cheapest calling plan for each number, or making international calls with Skype or another VoIP service. It's simply about dialing the proper international exit codes when doing standard "direct-dial" with whichever mobile provider I'm using.
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You can just save the numbers in international form. For example, Bob's would be <code> +1-123-555-1234 </code> and Alice's <code> +52-33-33-12-34-56 </code> .
|
Any way to dial international calling codes automatically based on my location?
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android
|
In Settings -> Privacy -> Factory data reset? I don't mind giving it away rooted, but if it wipes out the Superuser application (hence allowing any app to enter root mode unchecked) would be very very bad. If it erases that app while leaving it rooted, can I just re-download the .apk and reinstall it afterwards? Or does that procedure unroot the phone? That would be OK too. It's a Milestone 1 with Motorola's official 2.2 update. I just rooted it so I could use the ClockSync and Screenshot apps.
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Depending on the device (and root method), the <code> su </code> binary (which gives your device root) is usually located in <code> /system/xbin/ </code> or <code> /system/bin/ </code> directory, while the <code> Superuser.apk </code> (which acts as a gate keeper, presenting you with a dialog when apps request root permissions) is always in <code> /system/app/ </code> . The <code> /system </code> partition does not get cleared by the Factory Reset process, so it's safe to perform while still retaining root.
|
Need to give away Milestone that's rooted, what happens if I do Factory Data Reset?
|
android
|
I bought a Nexus S off eBay and found that the compass direction wanders even with the device laying still. Likewise, the display in Google Sky shakes around even with the resting on a stable surface, and it often doesn't align correctly with the stars. SkEye reports "Warning: Strange Magnetic field!". Calibrating using Advanced tools doesn't fix the problem. I'm running ICS 4.0.3. Doing some searching, I've found mention of other problems of the sort with the Nexus S. It's not clear whether these are just anecdotes suggesting that I have unit with a defect. Or perhaps there is a hardware or software design flaw and nothing wrong with this particular unit. Where does one look to determine if there is a pervasive problem with a given model and OS version? Anyone know specifically for Nexus S and ICS 4.0.3?
|
Had a Nexus S and experienced the same issue, which wasn't present in the Nexus One. Though my online research, the unofficial stance was that this is a hardware defect in the product line that Samsung and Google either didn't notice or noticed too late to do anything about. The most appropriate place to complain about this would be the Google Product Forums. Here's a thread where this issue is being discussed. http://groups.google.com/a/googleproductforums.com/forum/m/#!topic/mobile/8ODgVdPy5Wk ...an alternative would be the call Samsung up and see if they will acknowledge that its a hardware flaw. Unfortunately, I'm not aware of any fixes for the issue, and have found that although the work around (calibration) helps, the problem either doesn't completely go away or recurs soon after. Just to confirm, the behavior I noticed was: In programs that display compass data (like Marine Compass) rotating the phone results in a partial rotation in the sensor data, followed by an unexpected 90 degree phantom rotation, according to the phone. This puts the displayed barring out of step with the true direction the phone is pointing. In programs that try to display the full orientation of the phone including the direction it's pointing (like Sky Map) the display is shakey, and seldom provides a true indication of where the phone's actually pointing. Smoothing options result in slightly less shake, but the difference is marginal. In spite.of this, games that depended on changes in orientation alone (like those games with the metal ball-bearings you need to guide through a maze--Labyrinth, if I'm not mistaken) worked flawlessly. I decided to upgrade to a Galaxy Nexus, and noticed that the compass works like it should, and Labyrinth games continue to work. Sky Map, however is still jumpy.
|
Shaky, drifting compass an inevitability on Samsung Nexus S?
|
android
|
I own both an Android phone and a tablet and I am trying to figure out what the differences are between these Angry Birds Space versions: Angry Birds Space Angry Birds Space Premium Angry Birds Space HD One is free and the other two are paid apps, but looking at the description they seem to have the same content and features. Can someone clarify the differences?
|
Both premium and HD are ad-free and the latter is for tablets.
|
What are the differences between different versions of Angry Birds Space?
|
android
|
I have a phone where I like to have the time a few minutes forward the right time. Now, when I chat with people through Google Talk, I got all message mixed up because the received messages arrive with the sender time. If the answer is faster than my forwarded minutes, it appears before my message. Example: <code> Phone 1 time Phone 2 time Sender Message time Message 08:01 08:18 Phone 1 08:01 I'm fine 08:00 08:17 Phone 2 08:17 How are you? </code> Is there anything I can set up (beside the right phone time) to avoid this?
|
Unfortunately not, except perhaps a different chat application that can interface with Google Talk. Talk uses the timestamp of the sender to order the messages, using the assumption that cellphones on a cell network will have a consistently accurate clock. It is likely that a different chat application (such as IMO or Trillian ) which interfaces with Google Chat will display these messages differently; I do not use multi-protocol chat applications, or change my clock, so I cannot confirm that this will solve your problem; I remain rather confident it will however.
|
GTalk and phone with wrong time
|
android
|
Is there any combination of android applications which can connect to a POP3 account and: transfers emails to SMS (by phone number provided in the subject of the email) transfers SMSes to an email?
|
Not sure how much reliable this is, but I found this app: SMS Gateway Their description says that e-mails via POP3 can be sent via SMS, while SMS can be sent via HTTP GET request.
|
SMS-Email Gateway App
|
android
|
Why does the Google Authenticator app have "obsolete" in its title on Play Store ? Does it work? Can I still use it for two-factor authentication ? Is there a preferred method?
|
Looks like Google has released a new version of Authenticator (as of March 21, 2012) under a new package name: <code> com.google.android.apps.authenticator2 </code> . Old version: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.authenticator New version: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.authenticator2 Different package names means that you can have them both installed simultaneously, but my guess is that Google will eventually remove the old version from the Play Store. Installing Authenticator 2 without uninstalling Authenticator allows Authenticator 2 to import your currently configured sites. I've read a few posts from people claiming that Google lost their signing key, and this why they have to release a new app under a new package name. I want to emphasize that there is no evidence to support this claim. While it is true that signing keys cannot be changed with app updates and therefore require a completely new app/package name, a more plausible explanation could be that Google wants to integrate Authenticator more tightly (e.g., shared UIDs, signature permissions) with other apps (see below). Additional info for those interested: The signing key used on the old version of Google Authenticator (SHA1 fingerprint: <code> 24:BB:24:C0:5E:47:E0:AE:FA:68:A5:8A:76:61:79:D9:B6:13:A6:00 </code> ) is also used to sign: Scoreboard, Goggles, Finance, Google Voice, Shopper, Transalte, Chrometophone, Earth, Reader, and a few others. The signing key used on the new version of Google Authenticator (SHA1 fingerprint: <code> 38:91:8A:45:3D:07:19:93:54:F8:B1:9A:F0:5E:C6:56:2C:ED:57:88 </code> ) is used to sign: Google Maps, Google Play Store, Gmail, Google+, Google Chrome and Google Music. Update: Google has put up a blog post talking about the new up as well as the upgrade procedure.
|
Why does the Google Authenticator app have "obsolete" in its title on Play Store?
|
android
|
I've read stackexchange-url ("Recovering from forgotten lock pattern") which states that there is an option to disable the lock using my Google account information. However I did not noticed such an option when I entered my password five times wrong. (Although there was also a 20s or 30s delay to complicate brute force attacks.) I use Android 4.0.3 on a Asus Transformer Prime TF201. Would factory reset work?
|
Install Screen Lock Bypass (free) from web interface of Play Store. It'll not reset/remove your PIN, but unlock your device on each reboot. If you want to permanently reset/remove PIN, you'll have to purchase its pro version. In the last, you can always factory reset your device if these apps are not working for you. Factory reset wipes out all custom configurations including PIN/Security Lock.
|
How to unlock device when I forgot my password?
|
android
|
Is it possible for me to run a Zeroconf mDNS server on my Android phone? Something like Avahi on Linux. The reason I ask is because I run an SSH/SFTP server on my phone for transferring files to/from the phone. Right now I have to connect using the local IP address ( <code> 10.1.0.x </code> ) and the IP changes via DHCP. I'd like to simply be able to connect to my phone using a <code> .local </code> address. I don't think Dynamic DNS will work, because I want my LAN address (the private IP, <code> 10.1.0.x </code> ) not my public NAT IP.
|
Do you have any control over the (presumably wireless) LAN that you're connecting your phone to? It seems to me that the main part of your problem is just that your phone picks up different IP addresses each time it connects to your LAN. If it always had the same IP, then you could either make a note of this, save it in your SSH client, or assign a name to that IP on your other machine(s) using a HOSTS file or similar. Are you in control of your network, or do you know the person that is? You (or they) should be able to assign a static IP address, or a reserved IP address, to your device so that every time you connect your phone to the LAN it always picks up the same IP address. If it's a small, personal network then this would just be a setting on your device's record on your router, if this is a larger network then it would be setup on the DHCP server and a matching A name record could also be setup on their internal DNS to give you a permanent name.
|
Zeroconf mDNS on Android?
|
android
|
I updated my Asus Transformer TF101 to Android 4.0.3 last weekend and I have no sound anymore. Is this a known issue? How can I solve this problem?
|
Looks like you aren't the only one with this problem. A simple reboot seems to be working for most people, with some having to do a factory reset. If you have to do that, don't forget to use an app such as Titanium Backup to back up your apps first.
|
Asus Transformer : no more sound after update to Ice Cream Sandwich
|
android
|
This may be a ridiculously simple question, but where is the bookmarks list in Firefox for Android? I'm looking at the interface on my Galaxy Tab 10.1, and I can't find the bookmarks anywhere. They're not available when clicking on the top right corner. They aren't available anywhere else. The only place I can find them is when I open a new tab, I get an interface which shows my bookmarks as one option, along with "History", "All Pages", and "Desktop". Surely I don't have to open a new tab every time I just want to go to a bookmark? This is one of those things that's so simple it seems they haven't even bothered to mention it in documentation. At least, not that I've seen.
|
From at least Firefox 11 onwards (may have originated in 10) you just need to tap on the address bar. The dropdown menu with the four tabs you mentioned (including Bookmarks) should appear when you do. This also applies to phones, though the tabs on the phone version appear across the top of the menu right under the address bar rather than along the left side.
|
Where are the bookmarks in Firefox for Android?
|
android
|
I want to install this application https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.scoompa.callrecorder.open but I can't, because I'm in a wrong country. I would like to change country. Do I need to travel to another country to install this application or can I somehow pick a right country ? what is the right country for this application?
|
To answer your question, see this previous question for options on changing the country that the Market think your phone is in: stackexchange-url ("How can I circumvent regional restrictions in the Android Market?") For the second part of your question about which country to change to, from the app's description: Currently for U.S. and Canada based phones only. But from this description: The application dials to our service, which dials to the other party, showing your phone number as the caller ID. The service then records the call at the telephony level , and sends a very high-quality recording straight to your email box. I think that even if you get it to install, it will only work properly if you are currently in the US or Canada, as it seems to work by redirecting your call through a landline call forwarding service, which either won't work in other countries, or will be using a hideously expensive international rate call for that purpose.
|
How to change country?
|
android
|
I'm trying to sync all my contacts from my HTC Desire HD to my google account but I can't see them anywhere in my google account. I have already found several tutorials on the the internet but still can't make my contacts visible in google account.
|
You can do this the old-fashioned way if you want to do one-time sync only: Go to Contacts and export to SD card. This will create a handy vCard file that will reside in the root of your SD card. Most often this will be <code> 00001.vcf </code> or some such. From a desktop computer, go to Gmail contacts and choose <code> Import </code> from the menu above. From the desktop you can add and edit your contacts much more easily than you would on the phone. However, I found syncing to be unreliable sometimes, especially with HTC Sence (I had the stock ROM previously on my HTC Desire) -- I had to deal with duplicate contacts and mysteriously vanishing phone numbers on a few occasions.
|
Copy all contacts from HTC Desire HD to my google account
|
android
|
On the desktop I use ixquick to avoid Google tracking my searches. But on Android it is even worse since I am logged in and Google can track everything I do. Is there an app for ixquick or for another search engine that does not log?
|
DuckDuckGo
|
Is there a search app for Android with no-tracking privacy policy?
|
android
|
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