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I just purchased and unlocked a Samsung Galaxy i7500 using FastGSM's system. (It cost $20 and it's used up; I can't redo it.) I know my phone has an option to "reset" it to the default/factory settings. Will doing so re-lock my phone? Is the lock hardware-level or OS/software-level? Can I upgrade the OS now that it's unlocked? I noticed my app running a bit more slowly after unlocking, too... I just want to understand what level locking is on.
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According to the FastGSM page: "Congratulations! Your phone is permanently unlocked and can use it with different network SIM card. It will never relock again even if you do software update." ( source ) This means that even a factory reset won't relock the phone. I assume this is because Samsung phones use the /efs partition to store the IMEI and other network data, and the unlock modifies these files. The partition is not modified by updates/resets.
|
Unlocked Galaxy i7500, Reset Will Remove it?
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android
|
Occassionally my Wi-Fi goes into this weird state where the phone "thinks" I'm connected, but the connection simply doesn't work. Apps still seem to think I have connectivity, though they can't actually connect to anything, and the status bar still shows that I'm connected to Wi-Fi. Turning Wi-Fi off and back on resolves the issue, and this occurs on multiple networks. It seems sort of like whatever service manages the Wi-Fi connection gets killed occasionally. It usually happens when I've been playing a game (that doesn't access the Internet) for a while or if my phone's been sitting for a while; it never happens while I'm actively using the connection. I have my Wi-Fi timeout set to "Never" and the normal timeout isn't the issue since my phone regularly lasts several hours without the Wi-Fi dying. Sometimes it dies a couple times in a day, and recently I went a week or so without it happening. How can I fix this or prevent the service from being killed (if that's indeed what's happening)? Shouldn't that be a system process that never gets killed? (Does Android ever kill system processes other than when they crash?) Could it be related to TouchWiz? I have an SGS Vibrant running 2.2 (Bionix NextGen v1, but this has occurred on multiple ROMs).
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This could be a solution, but it's more a hint at the issue: The ZTE Blade suffers with losing it's Wi-Fi connection when it comes back from sleep. Perhaps you have a similar issue? The app Blade Wifi Fix by AA Android available from Google Play Store, fixes it on the Blade, you could give it a try: Some people with the ZTE Blade / Orange San Francisco phone find that the Wifi doesn't always come back on after the phone wakes up from being locked or asleep. Install this and you wont know its there until you wake up your phone and the Wifi jams, at which point it will flash a message to tell you its fixing it.
|
How can I prevent my Wi-Fi connection from glitching?
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android
|
There is already stackexchange-url ("a similar question"), which is about the Xoom and note taking. But I'd like to ask this in a more general way: Given a tablet (and a pen), how can I write - not just adding notes and comments, more like one would write on paper - in a PDF? The additional writing should be saved within the same PDF file and readable/showable by the most common PDF readers. Essentially I am looking for an Xournal alternative for Android.
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So far the closest that I found to Xournal in Android is RepliGo Reader or ezPDF Reader . They both Allow drawing of lines, curves, freehand, etc. Save the annotations/drawings within the PDF file But in my opinion both Apps do not use the full potential of what's possible with the Thinkpad Tablet and/or xournal. It may be subjective, but my colleguas who have Thinkpad tablet PC's running Linux with Xournal seem to have a better experience "writing into PDFs". I hope that there is more to come on Android. Alternatives, suggestions are always welcome. :-) Edit: I am going with ezPDF Reader. It's the best PDF reader for Android IMHO.
|
How can I write in a PDF with a tablet and a pen (a.k.a Is there a Xournal alternative for Android)?
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android
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I recently decided to encrypt my Xoom tablet. The process went smoothly (full power, plugged in the whole time, took about an hour) but since the encryption, it seems like my battery life has decreased. With moderate usage, I used to get close to two days worth of usage before the encryption, but now my battery usage meter has me at 15% after 23 hours. I found this thread on the Motorola Owners' Forums but that is about it.
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Encryption is a fairly CPU intensive process, so using more battery is not unexpected. Though it depends a lot upon the apps you use and how much they read/write to the storage. I would expect that an 'idle' Xoom with encryption would last just as long as one without, but if you use an app that does lots of little writes to disk, it will end up using more CPU. The encryption happens at the block layer . This means that small writes to the disk require a read, a decrypt, an update, and then writing the block back. I don't see any useful stats about the actual CPU overhead. (Android is using the 'dm-crypt' module of the Linux kernel to do the disk encryption.)
|
Does encrypting the Xoom tablet use battery faster?
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android
|
Acer recently released an official upgrade to 3.2 for the Iconia A500 tablet, but the Netflix app is still not visible in the market. Is it possible to get the Netflix app on this tablet without rooting?
|
The hacked apk from here works: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=18058380&postcount=147
|
Can the Netflix app be loaded on an Acer Iconia A500 without rooting?
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android
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I own a dual-booting HTC-HD2 with MIUI on SD card. I already knew, from tutorials, that in order to maximize battery life I should first-boot Android only with 100% of charge. This is currently unclear to me. First, I run Windows Mobile 90% of time, and I use Android occasionally only for some programs that are not available in WM. It happened that I needed to boot Android when on the street, with less than 100% battery. However, I recently noticed that my battery is descharging really fast, for example today from 7:30am to 10am it ran from 100% to 68%, and I really wonder if it could have lasted till 8pm (when I get back home). Is it because Android should always be booted with 100% of battery, or because I run 24/7 Skype and Windows Live Messenger in HSDPA from Windows Mobile? Thanks
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No, it is because at first boot (ie: inizialization), Android creates a Battery stat file to calibrate the battery. After the first boot, you can start Android with any battery percentage. If you think that after a long time, the battery percentage is not correctly reported, you can force Android to recreate the stats file with some root utilities available in the Market Skype/MSN do draw a lot of battery, anyway, if you are using them from Windows Mobile, they are not running from Android. You could try using greenpower or juicedefender to see if the data connection is the problem
|
Battery life in dual-boot HTC HD2
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android
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I am a proud owner of Motorola Defy. A few months ago I upgraded my defy from 2.1 to 2.2. Although it had new features it became a bit laggy and so finally I decided to root my defy and install MIUI Gingerbread. I was using MIUI Gingerbread all this time and suddenly it started itching me and a thought came to my mind that I want to experience Motoblur again. I had already created an image of my Motoblur Froyo before installing MIUI Gingerbread. So I went ahead and reverted the Froyo image back on my defy. But then some of the things stopped working: e.g. Camera is not working now. I found that the Foryo image did not copy the Motoblur Froyo Kernel and when I reverted back my defy is still having the MIUI kernel. Can someone help me getting back to Motoblur Froyo or can I download the original kernel and re-install it back to my defy? Anything would help.... Thanks.
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There is this tool called <code> RSD Lite </code> , which is (AFAIK) an internal tool from motorola to flash their phones. You should be able to find it around the googles. And here you should be able to pick up a stock firmware for the Defy. This method worked for my Moto Cliq XT, but don't let this be a guarantee for your Defy!
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Revert from MIUI to Motoblur
|
android
|
I have a mytouch 4g running gingerbread. I want to set up adb to work with the phone over usb, but I can' figure out how to do it. Frankly, I don't really know anything more so I'm not sure what else to say. Any help is greatly appreciated
|
First, ensure that "USB debugging" option is enabled on your phone by going to <code> Menu -> Settings -> Applications -> Development </code> . On some devices this option will be grayed out while your phone is connected via USB, so disconnect it first. Next step is installing the USB drivers on your computer. Assuming you are running Windows, the drivers for MyTouch 4G should be located on the SD Card that came with the phone. Look for file named "HTCDriver.exe" then copy to your PC and execute it. If you can't find that file, look for the drivers on Google . After you successfully install the drivers, download and install the Android SDK . Pick a folder that's easy to type, such as <code> "C:\AndroidSDK" </code> for example. Now open Windows Command prompt by going to Start -> Run, typing "cmd" (without quotes) and pressing Enter. In the Command Prompt window type in <code> cd C:\AndroidSDK\platform-tools </code> and press Enter. Connect your MT4G to the PC via USB, and in the command prompt type in <code> adb devices </code> and press Enter. If everything was correctly installed you should see messages like these: * daemon not running. starting it now on port 5037 * * daemon started successfully * List of devices attached XXXXXXXXXXX device where "XXXXXXXXXX" is a combination of letters and numbers, signifying your phone's ID. This means ADB is seeing your phone, and you can now issue commands to it.
|
how do I set up adb with MyTouch 4g?
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android
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Is there a way I can use ADB to determine the external storage directory (equivalent of the Android API call <code> Environment.getExternalStorageDirectory() </code> )?
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<code> adb shell echo $EXTERNAL_STORAGE </code> . All credit goes to Flow for leading me to experiment and find this. Naturally you can use <code> cd $EXTERNAL_STORAGE </code> or whatever else you might need during an adb shell session.
|
How can I determine storage directory from ADB?
|
android
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I have an old HP Pavilion dv2000 laptop with a busted hard drive. I want to put a compatible Android distro onto a USB thumb, plug this in to the laptop and boot into it and use it for casual www browsing. Firstly, is this possible and if so, is LiveAndroid my only option?
|
http://www.android-x86.org/ This is the only android distribution for Intel/AMD processors that I am aware of. It has little support, but is actively maintained. The latest version is a release candidate for Android 2.3. Obviously hardware support is hit and miss. For what it's worth it runs very well on my EEE PC. You can install the ISO to a USB drive with Unetbootin, or use a drive imaging tool with the .img file.
|
What Android distro can boot from USB stick in PC/Laptop?
|
android
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I'm trying to use the Verizon tethering app (and have tethering enabled on my Verizon account). My MacBook sees the hotspot, but does not connect successfully. I'm using WPA mode. The phone sees the Mac, but apparently never issues an IP address.
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I resolved this on the Mac by turning wifi off and then back on. On the Win7 PC, running the network troubleshooter (which I believe turned the adapter off and on) also solved the problem. I believe it may be related to some state left over from a previous connection in both cases. Off-topic: with a 4G (LTE) signal, internet access was comparable (maybe better) to my 6Mb DSL access at home.
|
Can I tether my Macbook (Lion) to my Verizon Droid Bionic using either USB or WiFi?
|
android
|
I'm interested in rooting my (Very recently bought) nexus one, and installing Cyanogenmod over Fastboot. However, on the boot screen of my device I've noticed the first line tells me that security is on, which disables the USB Interface in the bootloader: <code> Nexusone PVT Ship S-ON </code> On the Cyanogenmod wiki page on Fastboot , the instructions say before starting that I need to have a device with S-OFF. However, I've got the impression from trawling through forums that Nexus One phones generally come pre-set with S-OFF (in contrast to the one I just bought). How do I turn off the Security mode on the Nexus One? i.e. How do I change S-ON to S-OFF?
|
Nexus Ones do not ship with 'S-OFF', they ship with a "locked" bootloader which then must be unlocked. You can actually use fastboot to unlock the bootloader, just run <code> fastboot oem unlock </code> on your PC using ADB (Android Device Bridge). MoDaCo has a post here with complete instructions and a multi-platform download of the needed tools.
|
Unlocking the Bootloader on a Nexus One with S-On
|
android
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I have an android and all of a sudden shazam doesn't work. It crashes whenever I open it up, so I want to clear the data but I have a lot of tags in there and I want to download the songs but I can't even look through the list... Anyone know where the tags are stored and if there is a way for me to retrieve them?
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Ok, so it seems the only way to do this on android is to contact shazam customer support, give them your IMEI number and they will send you the list.
|
Anyone knows where Shazam stores tags?
|
android
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Merging the gmail contacts with the phones address list has many advantages, but also one nagging problem. While the gmail contacts contain full names, and in English, I want the display name in the dialer to be in Hebrew and I often use nicknames or first names only. Is there some workaround? The easiest method I can think of is to use another field, such as nickname, for the Hebrew name. But this requires a contact manager that lists contacts by nickname, and not just first \ last name.
|
Dw contact manager supports this feature http://crowdin.net/project/dw-contact-group-manager
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Sort contacts by different field (not first \ last name)
|
android
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My Samsung Galaxy S II phone crashed and after I restarted it, there was an SD card notification icon that says "SD Card blank or has unsupported filesystem" with the only option of formatting the card. However, the contents of the SD card like photos taken or videos is accessible just fine UPDATE: the card seems to be corrupt, at least it's not visible from my computer. I'll try formatting it.
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SD Card blank or has unsupported filesystem means your SD Card has corrupted data. The only way is to get it normal is to Format it. Now what about the Data on SD Card ? If you are using Linux Machine then there is something called TestDisk . Install it on your PC. Now connect your phone with SD Card inserted to you PC. Run TestDisk and follow the options that it shows. Backup the Uncorrupted Data to your PC and format the SD Card from your Phone.
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How to get rid of "SD Card blank or has unsupported filesystem" notification
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android
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After I sign in, i'm asked to set a voicemail PIN, and immediately after that i get the error: Your phone number could not be verified. Please try again. How do I verify my phone for Google Voice usage on my Android? Note: I'm using <code> Nexus one </code> with the latest 2.3.6 update. I'm not a US citizen. And I can make calls from my PC.
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You mentioned that you're not a US citizen, but do you live in the US and have a US phone number? If not, Google voice is not yet available outside US, and you just have to wait for them to expand the service.
|
Google Voice : Your phone number couldn't be verified
|
android
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I've just got a new Motorola Atrix 4g and have experience random reboots of the phone, this generally happens when it is in my pocket or otherwise unattended. Usually during the work day when browsing, playing games, listening to music or using the GPS it behaves itself. Anyone got any ideas?
|
Sounds like a hardware issue. I suggest promptly replacing it with your carrier before your return grace period is up (30 days with AT&T, for example.) You will need to do this at the same store where you purchased the handset. I have the exact same problem with my new Atrix. Unfortunately (for me) I unlocked its bootloader, so AT&T is refusing to honor the warranty. I sent it in to Motorola for repairs, but it's still doing the same thing (Moto was nice enough to re-lock the bootloader, but AT&T is still not budging.) In my case, I have a feeling that it's either damaged battery contacts on the phone, or perhaps a faulty battery itself. I am planning to send it to Motorola again (on their dime this time) to see if they can fix it for real this time.
|
Motorola Atrix 4g reboots itself
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android
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I am new to Android Platform and I Like to know whether it is possible for an Android device (App) to communicate with Linux/XP system via USB port for 2 way communication. If yes how can it be done? What I want to achieve: I have a PC running Linux and I want to write a small App in my Android device to send and receive data from PC via USB.
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This isn't possible on most devices, since they don't support USB Host mode. Some devices have USB OTG support or a USB Host port, but these are relatively rare devices so far. In theory you could write an application on Win/Linux to access the phone via USB but not the other way around.
|
Communicating with a device via USB port , is it possible?
|
android
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I'm running Cyanogenmod 7.1RC1 on my Desire. When my phone is not on silent, I can hear the ringtone on my headphones when someone calls me, which is great. However, when my phone is on silent and my headphones are plugged in, an incoming call will not produce a ringtone over the headphones. I would prefer it if my phone, despite being on silent, would play a ringtone over my headphones if they are plugged in. Is there any way to make this happen?
|
You could create a tasker profile that sets the ringer volume when a Bluetooth headset is connected. I'm not sure how to handle the case when you disconnect the headset, though. You would only want to set the volume back to zero if it was zero when it was connected. Edit: tasker gives access to current ringer volume via variable %volr In a profile with condition Bluetooth connected: Set a variable %savevol to %volr Set ringer volume to desired level, if %volr = 0 Exit task: set ringer volume to 0, if % savevol = 0
|
How do I make my phone play a ringtone over my headphones despite being on "silent"?
|
android
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I just got my Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet. It does not have a GSM/UMTS/3G module but there is an SMS/MMS icon. What is the purpose of this app? Does Android allow me to send and receive SMS/MMS over my Wifi Internet connection, or is it just a leftover? I am not interested in any alternatives to the stock app. I am more curious if it serves any purpose on a device without a UMTS module and if so, how to configure and use it. So the questions could also be phrased like: What purpose serves the stock Android SMS app on an tablet without GSM/UMTS module?
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As for now I consider the stock SMS/MMS app a leftover on tablet devices without an GSM/UMTS module. I serves no purpose on such devices.
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Can I use the stock SMS/MMS app on an Android tablet without UMTS module?
|
android
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I want to know the remaining time of my cell phone battery. Android only gives me how much battery in terms of percentage has been consumed since the last charging. However, what I want is to know how much more time I have before my phone goes off? How can I get that information?
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Battery Indicator Pro or a similar alternative might help. In addition to showing the remaining battery in numbers, it also tries to "guesstimate" the remaining minutes, depending on light/medium/heavy usage.
|
How to know how much battery in terms of hours and minutes is left on my phone?
|
android
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Imagine that you want to do something, while the display in is action (not in sleep mode) and at the same time, you don't want to do anything else. This situation is like children lock , in which, all buttons fail to react, temporarily, to disable any kind of interaction by a child. Is there a way to achieve this in Android? Do we have something like lock screen ?
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If your talking within your app, this is impossible as you cannot override the home button even if it is soft or hard button. So a full lock is always impossible. This is to stop rogue app's taking full control of the phone.
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Is there a way to disable touch temporarily?
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android
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I used to have a HTC Magic, and I recently switched to a Samsung Galaxy S2. One thing I miss is the ability to Show/hide the keyboard, on the HTC Magic, a long press of the menu key toggled the keyboard's visibility, is there a way to achieve the same thing on the Galaxy S2? (I tried several long presses and various swype up or down gestures to no avail...) Thanks!
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Posted my question too quickly, I just found a way to do a bit the same, when the keyboard is out, a press on back will hide it, this is handy when filling forms with numerous entries, to make the keyboard pop out again simply click in a text field... This is enough so far, and a long press on the menu will bring out the search window.
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Show/Hide Keyboard on the Samsung Galaxy S2
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android
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I installed Firefox on my android from the market app, then I installed flash from the market app, and Firefox still does not display flash on sites like charlierose.com for example. Any idea what it is I need to do in order to get flash to work on Firefox?
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Current version of Firefox for Android does not support Flash content. Mozilla developers said that they are working on it, and eventually Flash will work in some future version. No ETA was given though.
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Flash is not working with Firefox on Android
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android
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I just switched from a Droid1 to an HTC Evo 3d, and despite all the positives, one negative is sticking under my nail. On the Motorola Droid, the camera/gallery (I am not sure who is responsible for the naming of the image) had a naming convention that included a time/date stamp (i.e. 20110930122900). Unfortunately, the Evo does not use this naming convention (although all of the information is stored in the EXIF data). Having the time/date in the file name is very convenient when posting the images on my site (Squarespace editor doesn't simultaneously display EXIF) and captioning them. Short of rooting the device , is there a way to change the naming convention on the Evo 3d to include this information? Is there a camera app that is as fully featured as the Evo 3d stock app (although it's not amazing, I'm looking for it to have multiple filters and be compatible with the 2d/3d camera capture/display modes) that already has this naming convention or has one that can be configured?
|
That is not currently possible on the stock camera application, however there is an open ticket with the Android project team to make such an option exposed. http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=10561 Meanwhile you can try some custom camera applications like "Camera Folders" which allows custom file name conventions in addition to folder groupings. https://market.android.com/details?id=com.phasip.camerafolders&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5waGFzaXAuY2FtZXJhZm9sZGVycyJd
|
How can I change the naming convention of the stock camera/gallery app?
|
android
|
Why doesn't Android keep track of the created and last accessed times as well as the last modified time for files in the file-system?
|
It doesn't store creation time because UNIX filesystems (generally speaking) simply don't store this anywhere, and Android doesn't seem to be any different. stackexchange-url ("This Stack Overflow question") has some discussion about this fact (you can ignore the fact that it's talking about Python - the answers are still relevant), and the man page for <code> stat </code> describes what times are typically stored in the data structure. As for the last accessed times...well it does keep track. Try <code> ls -l </code> in any directory you have proper permissions for: <code> $ cd /sdcard/ cd /sdcard/ $ ls -l ls -l drwxrwxr-x system sdcard_rw 2011-04-27 14:31 LOST.DIR drwxrwxr-x system sdcard_rw 2011-04-27 14:31 DCIM drwxrwxr-x system sdcard_rw 2011-04-27 14:31 Android drwxrwxr-x system sdcard_rw 2011-04-27 16:14 glogs -rwxrwxr-x system sdcard_rw 49152 2011-05-27 16:04 AndroidBytes.txt drwxrwxr-x system sdcard_rw 2011-06-28 16:28 vim -rwxrwxr-x system sdcard_rw 0 2011-09-11 16:48 su-2.3.1-bin-signed.zip $ </code> If you have <code> busybox </code> you can also use the <code> stat </code> command for more detailed info. It also lets you use some additional <code> ls </code> flags like <code> -u </code> , <code> -c </code> and <code> -t </code> (see <code> man ls </code> if you're not familiar with it). Here's a sample from <code> stat </code> : <code> # stat databases stat databases File: "databases" Size: 2048 Blocks: 4 IO Block: 4096 directory Device: 1f06h/7942d Inode: 454 Links: 1 Access: (0771/drwxrwx--x) Uid: (10079/ app_79) Gid: (10079/ app_79) Access: 2011-09-29 09:07:44.000000000 Modify: 2011-09-29 09:07:44.000000000 Change: 2011-09-29 09:07:44.000000000 # </code>
|
Filesystem created and last accessed times
|
android
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I an Android newbie and software developer. I just got this used HTC Droid Incredible and installed cyanogen on it. I read that when I plug it in to the laptop with a USB cable I should see a notification at the top of the phone's screen, and then be able to copy over music, etc. But I plug it in and nothing happens. What's wrong? What can I do? The first thing I wanted to do was load some music.
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It was the cable. The store gave me a new cable, but it was power only. I didn't know some cables were power, but no data. I'll be returning that. Thanks to Matthew for his suggestion in the comment.
|
Why doesn't my Macbook see my phone (droid incredible, cyanogen)?
|
android
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When I hold the home screen on a spot a set of options appears to add to Home. Two of these options say program and widget . To add my calendar app which syncs with my google calendar I had to use widget on the home screen. To add my task app which syncs with my google tasks, I added a program to the home screen. What is different from a Widget and a program. They both must be programs. Is a widget something which is dynamic all the time, and loads on boot so the viewer can see it on the home screen live and updated like a clock?
|
You basically answered the question. A widget is a 'view' on an application that will update and can be embedded in apps like the home screen. A 'program' in the home screen sense is a static link to an full-screen application startup. See the first para of the Android developer docs for more details about what a Widget is: http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/appwidgets/index.html
|
What is the difference between Widget and program that can be added to the home screen?
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android
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At some point during the past 2 months the drag-down default voicemail number on my Droid X inexplicably changed from *86 to *74274 - a number that returns the pre-recorded message: "Your feature update could not be completed." How do I change the default voicemail number back to *86?
|
Try <code> Settings->Call Settings->Voicemail </code> . On my Fascinate this pops up with a dialog box where I can enter a new voicemail number immediately. On my EVO (CyanogenMod) I have to go into <code> Settings->Call Settings->Voicemail Settings->Voicemail Number </code> to get the same box, so it's very similar but does take an extra step.
|
My default voicemail number somehow changed to *74274, which gives an error message. How do I switch it back to *86?
|
android
|
I found this strange "anonymous" device: HoneyTab . Never wishing to discuss whether it's worth to buy or not (it would be totally OT), my questions are simple and straight: does somebody know if this tablet can be rooted or not? Does somebody know if and how is it possible to upgrade its ROM to future versions of Android or just to modded ROMs? I have little experience with HTC devices only but I never really understood if the same ROM can be used with multiple devices, and if rooting is a standardized procedure or not (I have Android on SD on my HD2, so it's rooted already) Thank you.
|
stackexchange-url ("How do I root my device?") contains our collective knowledge on what devices can be rooted, with links to methods. It's incomplete, of course, so if anyone knows how to root this tablet please add the info to the answer there, even if you post it here. ROMs cannot generally be used with multiple devices. Each device normally requires its own drivers and kernel, due to different hardware. Rooting is also not standardized; it depends on how Android has been modified on your particular device, as well as how your bootloader behaves. There are, however, methods of rooting that take advantage of exploits common to most flavors of a particular version of Android. For example, "Gingerbreak" worked on most devices that had the original version of Android 2.3. stackexchange-url ("How do I root my device?") contains a list of those generalized tools as well. The device looks like it's not Google-certified, and from searching around it looks like very few people have it. Information on it will be sparse and rooting that much harder if none of the common exploits work.
|
Hacking HoneyTab
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android
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Many times when I unlock my phone to wake it up, there seems to be a lot of lag shortly after. For instance, simply trying to make a call or opening an app seems to take about 5 to 10 seconds or so. I can't really look at the memory usage or anything because it is only within the first 10 seconds or so. For the most part, other than this short time period, operation of the phone seems fine regarding speed. This behavior seems to occur more frequently when I leave an app open, such as a messaging (Handcent) app or Browser. Is there a way to identify what is slowing my phone down? I am running a Gingerbread 2.3.3-based ROM on a Samsung Galaxy S (Captivate). Edit to add: Steps I've taken so far: Removed any widgets No longer use Live Wallpaper
|
After updating to a 2.3.4-based ROM that is not 2.3.3, this issue seems to be solved. See more details in the answer to this stackexchange-url ("question").
|
Phone is slow to respond after waking up
|
android
|
After the DigiNotar fiasco, the Guardian Project put out the CACertMan application which allows a user to modify their certificate store on a rooted device. It doesn't work on Android 2.0, which is what the PDN runs. What are my options?
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The CACertMan application, while it does not support 2.1 as compiled, is trivially modifiable to compile against 2.1 SDK and minimum version can be dropped with no seemingly ill effects. Now to get that patch submitted.
|
PanDigital Novel - how to replace/update certificate store?
|
android
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I would like to export both my contacts and my text messages. But I would like be able to easily read the file formats that it exports to. I can export the contacts as a VCF yet when I view it there is a lot of other data that I do not need. Is there a way to export the contacts as a file formate that excel can open and read without the other excess data. Then I would like to export my text messages. I use GO SMS PRO as my text message APP and I can backup the messages yet they backup in a format that I cannot read. Is there a way to export text messages into a format that can be easily readable? Thanks for the assistance. (I am running Android 2.3 and using a T-Mobile/HTC G2)
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At least if using the stock Messaging app SMS Backup + can backup your messages in a readable format to your Gmail. And for contacts I'd recommend syncing them to Google Contacts and exporting them from there (as Chahk mentioned in the comments).
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Export contacts/text messages in a readable format
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android
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I'm working on rooting my android kernel and most sites list http://android-dls.com/files/linux/fastboot as the place to look for the fastboot binary. However, I've been getting a 404 (Page not Found) error when attempting to access this site. Does anyone know of an alternate download location for fastboot? I'm currently running Ubuntu Linux.
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HTC used to have a copy of the Linux binary, but they changed their developers portal and now I can't find that one anymore, either. The only other pre-compiled version I've been able to find is here (link originated from this thread on droidforums.net , which also has a link to a pre-compiled OSX binary). I checked with <code> readelf </code> on my Linux VM and it looks like it's a 64-bit binary, so I've also uploaded a 32-bit version to my Dropbox public folder, and it can be downloaded here . This is the binary I use on my machine, which I believe I got from the aforementioned HTC site that's now missing. Aside from that, you can compile Android from source to get it...but that's kind of a terrible solution for a single small binary file.
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Anyone have an alternative dowload site for a fastboot binary?
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android
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I am using a HTC G2 running Android 2.3. I would like to access content on my phone (not on the SD Card). This includes phone contacts and any data in the phone memory. Also is there a way to access the contacts inside the SIM card via USB cable and the phone. Thanks for any assistance.
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You need root to access most of the phone storage, such as the data partition and databases (e.g. contacts). Even then you need to use adb from the Android SDK which is not particularly user friendly. There's no way to access the SIM over USB that I know of — it would be pretty complicated to make that work.
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How to access phone via USB cable (not SD Card)
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android
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My Galaxy S2 has always shown not more than 8 hours of battery life. This is with the stock ROM, as well as the recent 2.3.5 update and a rooted kernel. All the battery saving tips I've seen essentially boil down to 'turn off everything that made you buy the damn phone in the first place and use it only for voice calls like a dumbphone.' - i.e. disable 3g/EDGE/wifi/gps/bluetooth/screen brightness. Of the lot, I've done the following: Screen permanently set to 10% brightness, i.e. the lowest. Bluetooth/Wifi/GPS only on when needed, which isn't much (Couple of Foursquare checkins everyday). Sync disabled. Haptic feedback/vibrations disabled. The 2 capacitative buttons are set to only glow in the dark, so during the day they are never on. Yet my battery goes down like crazy, and if I don't carry my charger with me the phone can't even make it through the day. Is there a way to find out what apps hog the battery? The battery usage graph and list of apps by battery usage doesn't really help; it only shows me the apps that I've run myself recently. So is there anything else one can do to improve battery life, or am I resigned to carrying around a charger always?
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I usually get by the day by carrying a USB charger since I always have my laptop or other computers around me. Some people get through by buying a second battery pack or a thick extended battery. Any apps that syncs every 15 minutes is battery sucker, since it prevents the phone from sleeping. Syncing every hour or so shouldn't affect battery by much. If possible you should prefer apps that uses C2DM (i.e. push instead of poll). Many apps that polls for data have configurable polling frequency, try to have the same polling frequency for all apps or integer multiples. For mailboxes that need to receive occasional urgent emails, don't use the stock Email client, instead use Gmail client or Exchange which uses push. If your email server supports IMAP IDLE extension (a push extension for IMAP protocol), you should use third party IMAP client, e.g. K9 Mail. However, don't use push for low priority high-traffic mailbox. You might be able to find a sweet spot for yourself by using two or more mailboxes for your high urgency and high traffic mailbox. If you're rooted, underclock. Most phones have much more CPU than is needed for daily usage; underclocking will curb the phone to not go full power state unexpectedly, remember to restore the clock before doing CPU intensive activities (e.g. games) and to underclock it again afterwards. I hope you know to disable Live Wallpaper. They're good for showing off, but not if you want your phone to last the day. Secure the phone in your pocket. I found that my phone drains battery faster when in a tight pocket since the hardware button are often accidentally pressed which activates the screen and prevents the phone from sleeping. In some custom ROM, e.g. CyanogenMod, the notification bar have power widget, which is handy for quickly enabling/disabling battery sucking features, e.g. GPS, 3G, etc. However, remember that in the end it's all a tradeoff:
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Power saving tips for Galaxy S2 that don't involve turning it into a dumbphone
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android
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I need to create an alarm or calender event that repeats every alternate day at same time. I can not associate it with day of week, or date. I am using HTC Desire S. I also need create entries in HTC Desire S calendar that which does not sync with Google calendars.
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The application Touch Calendar Free create entries in phone-only calendar called 'PC Sync'. It also has repeat option as 'repeat every x day' where I have set as x=2. These entries are visible in HTC Calendar too.
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Alarm/Cal Event repeating every alternate day and that which does not sync with google
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android
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If I have a contact with the number 099123456, the caller ID doesn't recognize it, I need to change it to +59899123456. My phone is a Galaxy S2. I have friends with other android phones (Galaxy S1, Nexus S) and the same carrier, but they don't have this problem. Could it be some kind of setting?
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It's always a good idea to save numbers in canonical format , this ensures that you will be able to call the contacts if you are roaming in an foreign country. You issue is surely related to the Android ROM you are using. You could try to use another ROM. But as I stated before, saving the numbers in a canonical format will be the best solution.
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Caller ID for SMS doesn't recognize contacts unless I add the country code to all
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android
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For the PC there is a plugin for the google calendar so that edits to the calendar can be made offline. On my Android 2.1 there does not seem such an option. I am using the calendar though the browser and not an app. On the app market place I cannot find the app so I am using the browser..
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As I said in several comments, the Calendar app is the way to interact with your calendar offline. If you're interacting with the calendar via the browser, you need to be connected. The Android browser doesn't support any sort of "plug-in".
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Is there an 'offline' version of Google calendar for Android?
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android
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I was updating from the market this app and I got a package error. I uninstalled it and installed it again from scratch. No problem. Now the app is 24 mb! To me it sounds like the broken package is still sitting somewhere in my internal memory... Cleaning dalvik and application cache didn't help :( Any hints?
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The new update has made the size bigger.
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Google plus application is 24 mb after wrong update
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android
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I've just arrived at some place which offers wireless internet. When I try to connect my computer, it sends me to some specific URL in which I need to accept some terms of use, and then the Internet works fine. When I try to connect to that network with my Android, however, it's stuck on the "obtaining IP address" stage of the connection for long minutes. After a few tries, it just gives up and moves that SSID to a "disabled" status - which I haven't seen until now - in which it is remembered but it doesn't attempt to connect to it. I can't navigate to any special address on the device's browser because it outright refuses to connect to the network. How can I solve this issue?
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The issue is not with your device but with the wireless provider. That is the typical behavior when connecting to a defective hotspot, either over capacity or just a tad too far for a reliable connection... Sadly there is nothing you can do about it. It happens a lot to BT hotspots in the UK, in London most of them are overloaded during working hours.
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Device stuck on "obtaining IP address", then sets network to "disabled"
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android
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I often set <code> Settings -> Sound & Display -> Screen timeout </code> to <code> never timeout </code> . When I turn off the device the settings is <code> 1 minute </code> again. Do you know how to make the settings durable? My version is 2.2 (Froyo)
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Try this if you added apps and somehow changed some obscure setting. Nothing to do with firmware, whoops. Setting > About device > Repair and formatting tools - Delete device configuration and installed applications Failing that or if you're using it for reading & something similar. You should try one of those apps like " Tasker " where you can prevent screen dimming events during other apps of your choice. There's dozens (possibly hundreds) of apps that will keep your screen active. Screen On Toggler KeepScreen Setting Profiles Profile Scheduler FastBright (if you're having trouble with it routinely waking up and using power, once you've got it working right that is) If you haven't already, go here to Customer Service & contact the professionals that are paid to provide you with support. Perhaps this is a defective tablet. Good luck.
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Durable settings of Screen timeout
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android
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Just what the title says; In a closed environment like a subway tunnel, or a deeper subterranean tunnel - will a GPS enabled phone be able to provide lat/long?
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GPS relies on your device picking up radio signals transmitted by satellites orbiting above us, an awful lot of things can block these relatively weak signals. From Pocket GPS World: How does the Global Positioning System work? Buildings, terrain, electronic interference, or sometimes even dense foliage can block signal reception, causing position errors or possibly no position reading at all. GPS units typically will not work indoors, underwater or underground . (my emphasis) This is the same whether you're using a dedicated GPS receiver, or a smart phone, if the radio signal can't get through your device won't be able to pick it up. In addition phones tend to have less sensitive GPS receivers than large, powerful, dedicated GPS devices with large antennae so there are likely to be marginal places undercover where your phone won't be able to pick up a GPS signal when a dedicated device may be able to.
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Can a GPS enabled android device provide lat/long underground?
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android
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As I understand it, when I set Tasker to execute a tasks in a profile that has a state context it executes the tasks once - when the state condition becomes true. Is there a task command to make Tasker re-run the profile (in case the state condition still remains true, of course)? Background: I'm trying to make Tasker do some actions when net wifi closes, wait a while, then check if net connection is still closed to run the same actions again (effectively creating a loop that only ends when net connection becomes active).
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Add a time context to your profile. There is a repeat option (check box).
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Tasker: How to trigger recheck of state context?
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android
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I installed the latest Google+ app version 1.07 and now the widget has stopped working, and when I go the widget list, it is no longer listed as a choice. Has this happened to others and is there a solution?
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Widgets don't work when the app has been moved to the SD card. When I originally tried moving the app back to the phone to test this, I couldn't get the widget to show up in the list either. However, I restarted the phone and then the widget was available to be used. So, if you want the widget back, move the Google+ app back to the phone and then restart your phone. If you want to keep the widget, you can't move the app to the SD card.
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Google+ 1.07 Widget not working
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android
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I'm synchronizing my contacts from many accounts (Hotmail, Facebook, Gmail), everything have worked well and the OS has joined (or shows them as one) the accounts that refer to the same person. But not all accounts, since some accounts have not been joined although both accounts have the same name and one email exists in both as well. I wonder what is the criteria that Android depends on to join the accounts? Note: I do know that I can join them by myself in the contants list, but I would let it know them by itself.
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Raw contacts are joined according to rules described at Using the Contacts API : Two raw contacts are considered to be a match if at least one of these conditions is met: They have matching names. Their names consist of the same words but in different order (for example, "Bob Parr" and "Parr, Bob") One of them has a common short name for the other (for example, "Bob Parr" and "Robert Parr") One of them has just a first or last name and it matches the other raw contact. This rule is less reliable, so it only applies if the two raw contacts are also sharing some other data like a phone number, an email address or a nickname (for example, Helen ["elastigirl"] = Helen Parr ["elastigirl"]) At least one of the two raw contacts is missing the name altogether and they are sharing a phone number, an email address or a nickname (for example, Bob Parr> [[email protected]] = [email protected]). When comparing names, the system ignores upper/lower case differences (Bob=BOB=bob) and diacritical marks (Hélène=Helene). When comparing two phone numbers the system ignores special characters such as "*", "#", "(", ")", and whitespace. Also if the only difference between two numbers is that one has a country code and the other does not, then the system considers those to be a match (except for numbers in the Japan country code). Automatic aggregation is not permanent; any change of a constituent raw contact may create a new aggregate or break up an existing one. There is also explicit aggregation, that can be set for raw contacts, if a user explicitly wants two contacts to be joined. Read more about it in the article .
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What is the criteria that Android depends on to join contacts from different accounts?
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android
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Is it possible to root the Samsung Galaxy S II without installing a custom kernel or otherwise flash custom firmware?
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Why do you want to avoid flashing Chainfire's kernel? From XDA : This rooted kernel is for the "rooting beginners" and those who want to keep as close to stock as possible. CF-Root takes the kernel from an original Samsung firmware, and just adds root, busybox, and ClockWorkMod (CWM4) recovery. Rooting voids your warranty just the same as flashing does, and Odin is virtually guaranteed to save you if you ignore the instructions while flashing and screw something up. You can also re-flash the stock kernel afterwards, which will remove CWM while still leaving you rooted. Edit: Gingerbreak apparently only worked on test devices.
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Is it possible to root the Samsung Galaxy S II without installing a custom kernel?
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android
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A new policy at my work is being drafted regarding email access on phones. A requirement will be that the phone must automatically have all data erased after a certain amount of failed login attempts. Let's ignore the fact that it's pretty silly to a.) be allowing work email access on personal phones when such stringent expectations are in place, and b.) expect to be able to enforce something like this across a variety of phone platforms. Is it possible to set this up in vanilla Android without any apps?
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Apparently, this might not be a built-in security option in the OS itself, but Exchange ActiveSync can enforce this requirement.
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Can Android phones be set to automatically wipe all data after a certain amount of failed logins without an app?
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android
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I have an original Motorola Droid. Is there a way I can save all the original pre-installed sounds/ringtones?
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It looks like all of the default ringtones and notification sound files are in <code> /system/media/audio </code> . If you can't get to them when mounting via USB, you should be able to use something like ASTRO file manager to copy the files to your SD card and then get them that way. They just appear to be ogg files.
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Save default installed sounds on Original Droid
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android
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I'm having a puzzling problem. I was pleased to see that the latest version of Google+ now supports being moved to the SD card. However, I just installed it on my HTC Desire and, having moved it to the SD card, find I now have 2MB less internal storage space on the phone than I did before! Since the previous version was over 12MB, surely the new version should have freed up a significant chunk of internal storage space? I thought this would help address the problem of constantly running low on space, but it seems to have made it worse. Would be grateful for any suggestions / advice!
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Version 1.0.7 is significantly larger than previous versions. Even after moving to the SD card I'm showing 14.5MB taking up system storage. That'll account for your 2MB reduction in space. Google generally hasn't allowed for their apps to be moved to the SD card, presumably so they can be sure widgets will work or other performance considerations. However, since this version weighs in at over 24MB I guess their hand was forced.
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Why do I have less internal storage space after moving Google+ to my SD card?
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android
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I've got two MP3 files from my friend via Gmail. How can I save them to my phone? There is only a Preview button...
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After I installed the ASTRO file manager and I went to "Preview" - ASTRO popped up, and saying, "give a filename" ok, then it saved the files!! (the files must be ex.: zipped!!) - and then I was able to extract the files in the zip.
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How to save attachment from Gmail?
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android
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I have a Tasker profile conditional on the phone being in the Car Dock. When I insert the phone in the dock, I sometimes get a prompt to choose which application to launch -- either Tasker or "Smart Dock", a built-in app. (When I don't get the prompt, neither seems to be notified). There is also an option to make the setting stick. I want Tasker to be notified, but the built-in app to launch. Which should I choose? edit: I get the same prompt when removing the phone from the dock.
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Tasker should be seeing the event even if the system doesn't have it set as the default handler, so you should be safe setting Smart Dock as the default. (That said, you could also have Tasker handle the launch of Smart Dock.)
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Which app should I select when inserting my phone into the car dock?
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android
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On my totally stock Bell Samsung Galaxy S2 I have my main GMail account synced to it, it is also synced to my iPod using Exchange ActiveSync. My phone's default calendar has all the events from my Google Calendar that I had been organizing and creating events from my iPod calendar with. However, when I create a new event I get this error. I tried going to the Account and Sync settings, then syncing the calendar, but the wheel stops spinning after a little bit, then just disappears and the problem remains. I tried creating a test event, then checking Google Calendar on the website from my laptop and the event was there. Even today, I made an event on the phone and it's on the web page. In fact, I just corrected the time of the event from the web page and the change was reflected almost instantly on my phone. I tried unchecking the account sync and then deleting local calendar data, then rebooting and resyncing. But the problem persists. What's wrong? Is there anything I can do? (besides factory reset please!) Or should I just check the "Do not show again" box? Or would that cause a problem later on? As a side note Samsung Kies popped up first saying it couldn't sync, but I couldn't care less about that since I only made a Samsung account for the find my phone feature and the developer stuff.
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If you go into the Calendar app and press the Menu button, then select Settings you should see an options at the top for Calendars this should show all of the individual calendars on your device that are being merged together into the Calendar displayed. The top one is probably My Calendar then below that should be an entry for your GMail calendar, then maybe Facebook, or Contacts' Birthdays, and any other calendars you may have access to. The My Calendar calendar is purely held locally on the phone, it doesn't sync to GMail at all. If you don't want to use that, then take the tick out to stop showing it as it sounds like you'd rather have everything syncing to the GMail calendar. Next time you create a new appointment in your calendar scroll down the Create screen to where it says Calendar with a right poiting arrow, select that to make sure that it is saving to your GMail calendar. If so, then you can safely tick the "Do not show again" box on your warning, as you don't care about the phone's local calendar you're saving straight to your GMail calendar anyway.
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"Local calendar cannot sync with Google calendar..." but it can? What?
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android
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I have an HTC desire and have Orange as a provider in the UK. The software information displays my firmware version as being "2.1-update1". I discovered that my phone is not up to date, because after hours of searching I discovered that the reason I cannot find the google app 'phone to chrome' is because the version is not recent enough. There are no updates pending as I have the system software updates check box for schedules updates checked. On checking for updates a message states that there are no updates available for my phone. Is the reason that other users are able to update because they have different devices and service providers? From looking around for update news, my phone should be updating. From various webpages ( example ) it is said that this update can be done manually by using HTC sync; is this safe? Are there risks from not getting the update automatically? Or are you only bypassing the service provider in this way and not much harm can be done? A warning that this removes all previous saved data is given, but this will not equate to rooting and voiding any warranties though?
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Yes, it's up to the carrier whether to distribute the update over their network, but it looks like the update did roll out on Orange . Strange that you didn't get it and can't see it. That said, updating via HTC Sync is perfectly safe and will not void your warranty. It's nothing like rooting. I would think you should be able to take it into an Orange location and they'll update it for you, but I would just do it with HTC Sync myself. Your link is for the 2.3 update, rather than the 2.2 update; I don't know whether you can go directly from 2.1 to 2.3 with that update, but it shouldn't hurt to try.
|
How can I update my HTC Desire when the OTA update is missing?
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android
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OK, after having reviewed the Samsung DROID Charge, reviewing and owning a DROID BIONIC, and hearing from many Thunderbolt users, it seems like one problem is common to all Verizon 4G handsets: a dropping 3G data connection. So far, I've observed the following: My BIONIC often refuses to get a 3G data connection back when switching from Wi-Fi or 4G back to 3G. If I switch to Airplane Mode and back, sometimes I'll get the 3G connection back, sometimes I won't. In the About Phone -> Status menu, it says the mobile data network is "connecting." Sometimes I end up having to reboot. Additionally, when attempting to use the phone in CDMA-only mode, the phone seems to decide to drop its 3G connection at random and refuse to get it back - even on reboot the phone is slow to acquire signal. I noticed a similar problem on the DROID Charge. Is there any theory as to why this is happening? Do all Verizon's LTE phones share a common chipset model? Because it sounds to me like whoever makes the chipset is doing a real bang-up job of shipping phones with near-defective radios or radio firmware. As it appears to happen across three different manufacturers , the buck falls on Verizon and their LTE chip partner. I'm frankly getting very, very annoyed with this problem and think it needs some public exposure with good empirical evidence that it happens on all LTE handsets on Verizon. So, I'm asking for your assistance in that regard as well. Leave a comment about your experiences with Verizon's LTE phones and connection drop issues, with as much detail as possible. Of course, the answer I'm looking for here is as to why this is happening, but I think this is going to be a fairly long ongoing investigation. If you've found a method of fixing or working around this issue on your Android phone, please leave that an an answer as well!
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It seems the issue is network authentication problems caused by Verizon's switch to a UICC SIM-based authentication for both 3G and 4G connections on all of its 4G LTE devices. See this article: http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/12/19/this-is-why-your-verizon-galaxy-nexus-or-other-4g-lte-vzw-phone-is-losing-data-signal/
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Why does the 3G connection drop issue happen on all Verizon 4G LTE handsets?
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android
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I have a rooted HTC Hero, currently running VillainRom (Android 2.1). I want to install FroydVillain (Android 2.2), which supports app2sd, but I'm not sure whether I need to repartition my SD card before I install 2.2 and if yes, how, if I want app2sd to work. Any ideas?
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The CyanogenMod wiki has some info on this . Basically, their old version of apps2sd (now called apps2ext) required an EXT partition on the SD card. Their current version does not require partitioning, it's just a matter of overriding the preference of the app and moving it to the SD card anyways. Since FroydVillain is based on CM6, you don't need to format your SD card; CM6+ uses the new apps2sd, not apps2ext.
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Do I need to (re-)partition my SD card for app2sd to work?
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android
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Is there an app that lets me chat with BlackBerry users just by adding their PINs? Something that simulates that my Android phone belongs to the BlackBerry network? I know there are multiplatform options like WhatsApp but I am talking about an app that lets me chat with people who are using the native BlackBerry Messenger.
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You can't. RIM's PIN system and BBM are proprietary. You can only communicate with a BlackBerry user via PIN messages or BBM if you have a BlackBerry. Get a new Bold 9900 / 9930, they're great! Full disclosure: I work for RIM. This is not an official statement from RIM either, this is me speaking as a user in my off time at home. I honestly think the new Bold is the best BB yet.
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How can I chat with BlackBerry users?
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android
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I want to give Darky's ROM a try on my Samsung Galaxy S; I'm currently running CM7 RC1. How would I go about doing this? Can I flash using recovery, or do I need odin? Do I need to revert to stock first?
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Most Darky's packages I've seen are your normal update.zip variety that are flashed through recovery, so you should be good to go. If it's an Odin package it should say so — always vet your sources ( here's a good one). I see no reason to believe flashing from CM would be a problem either unless it messed with your partitions. If you have problems you can always Odin to stock and then root, install ClockworkMOD, and flash Darky's again. The whole process only takes a couple minutes. (So if you're concerned, go right ahead and Odin to stock, it costs you nothing; just save your backups to a PC first.)
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How to flash Darky's ROM from Cyanogenmod 7?
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android
|
My wifi Xoom was just updated to 3.2.1. Anyone know what this update contains?
|
Motorola's Xoom Support forums has a thread that is updated when updates go out, and contains links to the lists of changes in the updates which (for US Wifi Xooms) is here . According to that two software updates have gone out in the last few weeks, HTK55D and HTK75D the first contains security updates, the second updates to included apps. Specifically they contain: HTK55D Platform security fixes : DigiNotar certificate revocation The security fix removes a compromised root Certificate Authority (CA). libpng security update Libpng has been updated to version 1.2.46 to correct for multiple publicly-known security issues. HTK75D Android™ Market has been updated. Android™ Books has been updated.
|
what is updated in honeycomb 3.2.1?
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android
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Whenever I connect my S2 to the power outlet (not to a computer), the Kies application pops up. Where do I disable this auto-activation?
|
Go to Settings > Applications > Development > and check USB debugging After that if you connect your S2 to a PC it will connect in USB mode and you won't get the KIES application popup.
|
How can I disable Kies in Samsung Galaxy S2?
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android
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I am using Music (latest up to today) and TTPOD as my MP3 players. After Googling, I suppose I can set my MP3 ring tone, by long press on the song through Music application. However, once I long press, there are only the following selections Play Add to playlist Delete Shop for artist More by artist Search I was expecting I am able to get a selection choice <code> Set as ringtone </code> , but I didn't find one. May I know what is the "correct" way to set MP3 as ringtone in Android?
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This isn't the "correct" way, but IMO it's a good way: use Ringdroid. With it, you can cut a suitable part of the MP3 to be used as a ringtone. This way you can get rid of those pesky intros on songs that have a slow start and save space by not having the entire MP3 duplicate in your ringtones folder.
|
How to set MP3 ringtone in Android (Nexus S)
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android
|
If I setup an email synchronization with our Exchange server, is the mail I store on my phone encrypted or readible if someone finds/steals my phone? I have enabled the unlock password (although it's not easy to unlock), but it is very easy to remove the sd-card from the phone. Is the information on that SD-card readible for a "finder", or is it not stored on the sd-card anyway.
|
By default email will be stored in the phone's internal memory, not on the SD card. (Though you can 'move' the app to SD storage, so it is possible that the SD card gets used). As others have said, once your mail is on the SD card, there is no protection as the SD card is removable (since the data is unencrypted). For mail that is stored in the phone's built-in memory, an attacker would have to unlock the phone to get the data. Either directly through the mail app once unlocked, or to put the phone into "USB disk mode" to read the phone's state from a USB-attached computer. (A really sophisticated attacker could probably disassemble your phone and wire the flash to a custom reader, by passing the phone lock and read your unencrypted emails off of the flash.) Note that the Exchange connection allows the Exchange server to send a command to wipe your device. (I believe this is contingent on some setup by the Exchange admin.) In the web UI for my Exchange email server, there is an option to list authorized devices and to wipe them remotely. Of course, the phone needs to be on a network to receive this command, so an attacker could delay this command by preventing the phone from using its networks.
|
Is my Exchange email encrypted on my device?
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android
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I'm researching a new current account, and an Android app would be a big bonus for me. None of the big few banks (Lloyds, Natwest, Barclays) seem to have apps. Santander has one but it doesn't work in the UK. Does anyone know of any UK banks which do have an Android app for viewing my balance, making transfers etc.?
|
From a quick search of the Market, only Northern Bank has anything obvious in there at the moment, and they're not quite one of the really big UK High St banks. (Barclays have a couple of apps but they're all related to their marketing/sponsorship nothing to do with personal accounts).
|
Do any UK banks have Android apps?
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android
|
As a follow up to stackexchange-url ("this question"), is it possible to use Odin (or Heimdall) to save a complete image of my phone without root? Odin already allows me to completely overwrite pretty much everything on my phone without root. Can Odin be used to read the entire contents of the phone over USB without root? Ideally, I'd expect the output of such a read to be something I can write in the future with Odin. While this question is somewhat general, I'm guessing that by asking about Odin and Heimdall I'm limiting it to Samsung phones (though I may be wrong).
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Odin is Samsung-only, you're right. (And as far as I know it isn't for all Samsung phones either, though I could be wrong on that.) Since Heimdall is, as far as I know, just an unofficial port of Odin I would assume it's the same, but I've never used it. Odin3 has a "Dump" function that I had never used. It seems to be disabled in v1.8x and v1.7, but not in v1.52. I just tried it in v1.52 and it didn't work. You hit the Dump checkmark under <code> Option </code> , select an output file via the Dump button under <code> File [Dump] </code> , then hit Start . Odin will say "OneNAND Dump Start" or similar as it backs up the device. It only backed up 1 KB of something before halting, though. Odin just sat there without giving an error message. You might have different results with a different device (I have a Vibrant). I'm also wondering whether my Ext4 lagfix might be affecting this. Perhaps later I'll flash to stock 2.1 and try again. Edit: No change on stock 2.1 JFD.
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Can I make a full backup of my phone with Odin and without root?
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android
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I'm migrating to a larger SD Card and I'm wondering if it is just a straightforward copy of the data from one card to the other in Windows? Specifically, can I just copy the card using Windows Explorer and paste to a temporary folder, then copy the contents of that temporary folder to the new card and have the phone be non-the-wiser (so long as I preserve the directory structure)?
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Joel, I've done this before, and I've had mixed results. Make sure you have Windows set to see hidden files and folders, then drag everything over. Your phone may refuse to remember the SD card-stored apps you have (as in, you've moved an app to run off the SD card), but it may also work. App settings, as far as I remember, seem to come over. I'd say it wouldn't hurt trying. I know it'll preserve the link to Gallery pictures and videos and music and such.
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Changing SD Card Just a Simple Copy & Paste
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android
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The latest version of the Google Maps application bundled with Android allows me to pre-cache map areas. Each time a pre-cache a point it saves the map in a 10 km hamming radius of that point. I'm about to take a long vacation in various destination. Can I pre-cache those destinations and reliably use Google Maps there without data connection? Is there a limit to how many areas I can pre-cache (aside from the obvious memory required)? Is the map data guarantee to remain after a few weeks or months, or does it expire after some time?
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The number of areas you can pre-cache is limited by the amount of system storage you have available. It is important to note that the cache is stored in system storage, not the SD card. Also, the stored data is the base map tiles and landmarks. You will not be able to get directions based on this downloaded data, but you can browse it offline and track your current location. The cached data expires and is deleted automatically after 30 days. If you are not able to refresh your offline data in that time, you may be in trouble. More data on the feature is available on the Official Google Blog post .
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Pre-caching limitations and reliability in Google Maps
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android
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I have installed a ROM based on MIUI. The default launcher has 4 buttons on the bottom bar; is it possible to change the app shortcut of them?
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You may Drag n drop the icons. A maximum of six is allowed
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How to change bottom bar apps in MIUI launcher?
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android
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Whenever I try to install/upgrade an application, I get an "Installation Error: Unknown reason -110" message. What does this error mean, and how do I fix it? HTC Incredible 2 [Verizon Wireless] Edit: Updating/installing Market apps. 889MB available internal storage. Cleared cache and data on both Market & Download manager applications. Is there anything I can do, besides a hard reset?
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A hard reset solved the issue.
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How do I fix "Unknown reason -110"?
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android
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In the Google Car Home app, when I click "Add Shortcut" on one of the available Car Home icons, and then select "Other applications", I am only presented with two options: Blast Monkeys Launcher Why just these two? Do apps have to register themselves specially to be available here? I know that is true for the "Car Applications" list, but I wouldn't think that were true for "Other applications". It's hard to imagine that Blast Monkeys (a game) would be car mode compatible. Should I be able to add any app as a shortcut? Or should I just find another car mode app?
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I rebooted my phone and the problem went away (I can now see and choose from all installed apps). Must be a a bug.
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Is it possible to add any arbitrary application as a shortcut in the Car Home app?
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android
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I have installed CyanogenMod on my HTC Desire HD a while back. Some things don't work, so I'd like to do these things: Install latest possible firmware Install latest possible standard (non-HTC) Android version If compatible with above, install rooted version (not really necessary) What steps do I need to take to do the above? Where and how can I find all necessary files to do this?
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There is no "standard non-HTC" version of Android, your device needs custom drivers and therefore a customized version of Android. If you install a custom ROM it will most certainly be pre-rooted. You should check XDA's Desire HD development subforum for custom ROMs. Read a few threads and decide on one that sounds good, then follow the instructions to flash it. If there are no instructions then just put the ROM .zip on your SD card, reboot into ClockworkMOD recovery, and follow the menus to flash it.
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Installing latest possible firmware and Android on HTC Desire HD
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android
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One thing I miss about HTC Sense is that their launcher button had an elongated middle button for the dialer. Is there a launcher or dock that replicates this kind of UI? (I'm using CM 7.1 RC1 on an HTC Desire.)
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CyanogenMod uses ADWLauncher by default, so one option would be to simply use a Sense theme for ADW .
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Launcher with long middle dock button
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android
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Simple question. I need to edit some Google documents on my EEE Pad Transformer with Honeycomb 3.2. I want few basic features. I want my changes to be displayed corectly in File/See revision history I want to be able to browse the file only with keyboard (that means up and down keys on the physical keyboard). I want to use my localized, non-US keyboard, which I have on Transformer and which works on most of the applications There were few ways people told me. None of them works. Google Docs in mobile version looks ugly on tablet, but mainly, I am not able to browse the file with up and down keys . Moreover, the cursor jumps like crazy, so I often delete some text accidentaly when I want to delete something else, and there is no undo in the whole thing. the application "Google Docs" in the market does the same thing. the external applications, like Documents to Go, which are paid, do work more sanely, but still, when I upload the document, it replaces the whole revision, so I don't see any changes in revisions, just one version replacing the other.The same thing happens when I remotely connect to my server with SSH and use the python API (yeah, I tried everything). the desktop version of Google Docs doesn't work at all , I can't enter single letter, no matter how hard I try. It looks beautiful, though, which is awesome. edit: what sort of works is opening desktop version of Google Docs in newest Firefox beta. However - for some reason, Firefox takes all keypresses as coming from US keyboard, while I have clearly selected localized keboard (which I have). So, is there any working implementation for Google Docs? I thought that because Android is from Google and Docs are from google, it will work seamlessly, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
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There was a recent (around 5-Oct-2011) update of the offical Google Docs App , with the following changes: What's new in this version: Optimized experience for tablet users, Honeycomb (Android 3.0+) New 3-panel interface for improved browsing Details panel showing a thumbnail and sharing information Improved sharing experience with autocomplete system Landscape or portrait mode Improved video playback Maybe it fixes the problems you described. I am sure Google will further work on the tablet compatibility of the Google Docs app, it's just a matter of time.
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Is there any working implementation of Google Docs on Honeycomb?
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android
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What are the features that TouchWiz has that vanilla Android does not have? This question is similar to stackexchange-url ("What are the features that HTC Sense has that stock Android does not have?") but for Samsung TouchWiz.
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Home Screen Up to 7 Home screens, with the ability to add and remove screens at will, and drag them around to change the order (pinch zoom the home screen) Customizable dock area at the bottom of the home screen, allowing you to stackexchange-url ("add/remove up to 4 apps"). Apps List 'Screen at a time' sideways scrolling apps list Rounded square backgrounds added to all app icons in the app list (stackexchange-url ("see here")) Pre-installed apps (or apps present during the last OS upgrade) are in alphabetical order, new apps are added at the end in the order they're installed. Home Button Holding the Home button brings up a list of 6 recently used apps, along with a Task Manager button Holding the Back button and tapping the Home button takes a screenshot stackexchange-url ("on the Galaxy S"), for the stackexchange-url ("Galaxy SII use") Power + Home Samsung Widgets These are home screen widgets that Samsung include, and are in a separate Samsung Widgets category pre-Gingerbread, post-Gingerbread they are in the main Android Widgets list with the word "Samsung" under them instead of "Android". Exact widget selection varies depending on OS version and network. AccuWeather Clock Buddies Now (messaging shortcuts for nominated contacts) Calendar Clock Daily Briefing (News, weather, stocks, social media updates) Days (create new entries in the Diary app) Dual Clock Feeds and Updates Program Monitor Y! Finance Clock Samsung (and other) Bundled Apps Samsung AllShare (DLNA) FM Radio (for models with hardware FM radio) Kies air (shares phone data, and allows control of some phone functions over wifi to a PC web browser, first pre-installed with Gingerbread, available in Samsung app store for older OSs) Memo (notepad app) Mini Diary (create diary pages with daily details, memos and photos) My Files (file manager) Samsung Apps (Samsung's own app store, currently only free content in there, but some of the apps are normally paid or ad-supported on the Android Market) Social Hub (messaging app combining email, SMS and social networks) Task Manager ThinkFree Office Modified Apps Contacts (History and Activities tabs, linked to Social Hub and social network account updates, showing recent posts by contact and recent interactions with them) Gallery (interface to select either stackexchange-url ("scrolling wallpaper or static, portrait wallpaper")) Music (Disc View interface added, allowing sideways scroll through albums showing the artwork on a "CD" shape) Videos (extra codec support DivX/Xvid in particular) Region specific TouchWiz features Throughout most of Europe and Asia, Samsung's Mobile Tracker feature is included in the Security settings allowing remote password setting, tracking and wiping of mobiles registered on the http://samsungdive.com website Version specific TouchWiz features Eclair (Android 2.1) - TouchWiz included Wifi tethering as a standard feature before it was brought to the main Android OS in v2.2. ( except where noted, all from TouchWiz 3 on a Gingerbread Galaxy S )
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What are the features that TouchWiz has that vanilla Android does not have?
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android
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Why is there a difference in the look of the checkboxes between this device and this Samsung device ? Is this affected by the launcher, in which case the reason is clear?
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Theming is independent of the launcher, although both may be considered part of the UI; for example, the TouchWiz launcher and theme are elements of Samsung's TouchWiz UI. My Samsung Vibrant is running a custom ROM called Bionix, and they've re-themed the device so my checkboxes look like this (perhaps the only thing I dislike about the ROM):
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Why are the checkboxes different on different devices?
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android
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I don't understand why the Android 2.3 SDK docs show the home screen dock as beeing this: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Google_Nexus_S_smartphone.jpg And I have this, unchanged from 2.1 to 2.3.4 now: http://blog.nimbuzz.com/files/2010/06/samsung-galaxy-s-android-launches-2.jpg Is it a Samsung thing? Is there an <code> official </code> launcher for 2.3 and the <code> Samsung </code> one? Thank you.
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Basically, yes. That's Samsung's UI/framework, TouchWiz . Other manufacturers have their own UIs as well, including HTC's Sense and Motorola's Motoblur . The Nexus S has the "stock" Android UI.
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Home screen bottom bar buttons
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android
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What are the features that Motoblur has that vanilla Android does not have?
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Motoblur has a bunch of widget-based applications which bring your social networks and/or emails together for ease of viewing, as well as weather, rss feeds and other simple UI elements/widgets that can come in handy. However, Motoblur keeps a process running in the background for each service (type of widget) and thus many people (myself included) forego it and install a non-Motoblur ROM to conserve RAM, CPU and battery. But if you are an avid user of social networking sites then it is a good choice and worth the battery drain.
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What are the features that Motoblur has that vanilla Android does not have?
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android
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My father has an HTC Incredible, and a major source of frustration is that the Sense lock-screen uses a swipe gesture to unlock, which for some reason is very difficult for him, especially when trying to answer a call. I can turn the lock-screen off, but this results in the answer and decline call buttons being active immediately, which could result in premature answering, or accidental hang-ups. I've also looked into some of the security options, as replacing the swipe gesture wholly with a short PIN or password (skip the gesture, only enter the PIN) would likely solve this problem. Losing the ability to answer from he lock-screen is acceptable. Unfortunately, these options still require the gesture to get to them on Sense (and on my own phone running CyanogenMod, as well). The hardware is out of warranty, so I can root and flash CyanogenMod if I need to lose HTC Sense to do something.
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While it amounts to recommending major surgery for a small problem, CyanogenMod has customizable lock-screen controls. (My wife's G1 is configured to unlock when she pushes the menu button.) Of course this requires rooting, modding, and hardware buttons...but it's a solution.
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Is there a lock-screen that can unlock without swiping across screen
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android
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Regarding stackexchange-url ("the answer to my previous question of Android's idle Wi-Fi use"), it seems like a huge waste of battery life to have Wi-Fi constantly scanning and draining battery. So it seems it would be better to turn Wi-Fi off. However, I'd still want my Android to connect automatically to my home network, for podcast sync and other large transfers. This woudn't need to be immediate, since I usually spend a long time at home. I do know there are apps that give me a Wi-Fi toggle widget, but I don't want to be constantly switching Wi-Fi on and off manually. I know it's only a minor bother, but it just seems silly to have to do that since it would be pretty easy to have logic that does it for me. Question: Are there any applications that would periodically (say, once ever 15 mins) turn Wi-Fi on just to do a quick network discovery, then in case a known Wi-Fi is found keep it on as long as I am in range? Further: Any pointers as to how hard such an app would be to write? For example in GNU/linux it would probably be easy to do with just a very simple shell script running on background - does Android work like that too, or is it a much harder task? (I expect this would in any case require rooting the system, but that's understandable and not a problem.)
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One solution to this problem : use a tasking program such as Locale or Tasker and create certain conditions that will enable your wifi (essentially writing a script as you described). For example: Use GPS and determine if I'm at my home (I believe you can use real GPS, which will consume quite a bit of power, or base it off of which cell tower you are connected to, which you would already know anyways if not in airplane mode). Or you could even setup certain times of the day you know you will be at home, or work, or wherever you regularly have wifi.
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Is there an application that would turn on Wi-Fi periodically just to do a quick network discovery?
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android
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Motorola Xoom running Honeycomb 3.1, for the last few days, every few minutes I get a popup in the middle of the screen saying: Sorry! The process com.google.process.gaps has stopped unexpectedly. PLease try again. Force close This happens when I'm running pretty much any app: browser, Google Reader, Gallery, GMail, File Manager HD, etc. Can't work out any pattern to i, sometimes it happens every couple of minutes, sometimes I can go for 10 or more minutes without seeing it. What's causing this (or how can I tell what's causing this) and how can I stop it? Update This does appear to only happen when I've got a network connection (mine's a Wifi only tablet) - after installing alogcat , I did a 40 minute commute on a train using Google Listen and playing Angry Birds, with no errors popping up at all (and therefore no way to catch anything in the log. Will have to wait until I'm home again to investigate further.
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After a lot of experimentation and backwards and forwards and disabling and enabling various things, I've got it to the point where I haven't seen that error popup for about a week now (which is a huge improvement over it appearing every 10 minutes). Unfortunately Logcat never seemed to show any obvious, enlightening errors when the Force Close messages popped up, so there was nothing to work on there. Various posts on web forums suggested that going into Accounts and Sync disabling sync on Calendars and Contacts, then clearing the data on the Calendar and Contacts app should help, but it didn't seem to for me. In the end what I think solved the problem was: Completely deleting all my non-primary Google Accounts off the device (I have a primary Google account, which is a Google Apps one, plus another Google Apps account and a normal GMail account) Disabling all of the sync on my primary account Clearing the data on the calendar and contacts apps Leaving it an hour before re-enabling the sync on my primary account Leaving it a day before adding back my secondary accounts, and enabling their sync Not 100% sure which of those steps solved it, but after doing all of those steps in that order my problem has gone away.
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How do I stop com.google.process.gaps force closing randomly?
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android
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Can I merge contacts in CyanogenMod 7 like I was able to do in HTC Sense? Let's that I have my contact 'John Smith', then I import contacts from Facebook and a new John Smith appeared. I want these two contacts to be merged under one single contact. Can I do that somehow in CyanogenMod 7?
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Merge exists in CM 6 - edit the contact, select "join" - if it's not in 7, it's a regression.
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How can I merge contacts in CyanogenMod?
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android
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I am trying to do rsync from my android phone to my laptop. The problem that I am facing is that the permissions are not getting preserved even when the <code> -p </code> flag is used. I have also used the other flags such as <code> -o </code> , <code> -g </code> . What may be the reason and a fix for this?
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Is your SD card formatted as FAT32? If so, that's why - it's a FAT32 limitation.
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Rsync does not preserve permissions while rsyncing from Android to Laptop
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android
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When I have Wi-Fi turned on, but not connected to any network, how much does Android use the Wi-Fi function? I'm asking this because apparently Wi-Fi activity uses considerable* amounts of battery. Is the device constantly scanning for Wi-Fi signals to find a network to connect to? Or does it only do it at some intervals to save battery, so that all significant battery use happens only when it's connected? Are there any settings related to this? (I have Android 2.2.1 but I'm interested in information about other recent versions as well if there are significant differences.) * - "considerable" should not be interpreted as a synonym of "large" or "too much". I'm not suggesting Wi-Fi drains my battery immediately, just that the energy consumption is worthy of considering.
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I'm pretty certain the wifi drains more when scanning than when actively connected to a network. So when you are not going to use wifi, it is better to turn it off and use cell network (which you'll be using anyways while not actively connected to a wifi).
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How much does Android use Wi-Fi for network discovery when not connected?
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android
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I've got LG Optimus One phone (model LG-P500h). How do I find out what wifi chipset my phone has? Is there a general mechanism that will work for all phones?
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Well without some specialized program, there's always <code> dmesg </code> . Turn on wifi, then run <code> dmesg </code> in a terminal/ <code> adb shell </code> /ConnectBot. Towards the end of the file you'll see debug statements about your wireless. <code> dmesg | grep -i lan </code> can be useful if you have busybox installed. I get lines like this: <code> TIWLAN: 1251 PG 1.2 tiwlan0: no IPv6 routers present </code> The first one isn't interesting on its own, but the second one screams "network adapter" due to driver naming convention for network adapters. "tiwlan0" is closer to OpenBSD's naming convention than Linux's (Linux native drivers would just call it wlan0) but...not unexpected. A few web searches later - and yep, it's a TI wireless chip .
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How do I find out what wifi chipset my phone has?
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android
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This started happening with the latest Facebook app update. I don't want to disable my GPS outright -- I like that it comes up automatically when I call Google Maps. (Which usually is in a "where the hell am I" situation.) But I see no valid reason to allow Facebook to query where I am all the time. Facebook's settings don't have an option to disable this. Since my phone (Milestone I) is rooted (but still with Motorola's official 2.2.1 OS), I wonder if there's some app through which I could enable/disable GPS usage per app. Is there such a thing? (If there is, I'd like to disable it in the browser too.)
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Similar to Permissions Denied, mentioned by Matthew is LBE Privacy Guard which also allows you to selectively disable permissions for apps. Also good for disabling geo-tagging on your photos as well as preventing Facebook and/or Twitter from broadcasting your location.
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New Facebook app activates GPS when launched -- how to disable?
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android
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Is there a way to make a shortcut to one particular document? I frequently need one particular document from a secondary account, so it's always a pain to come out of current document, change accounts and load the required document. Any ideas?
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Workaround - use Google Docs via a browser, and bookmark that page.
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Shortcut to particular document in Google Docs app?
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android
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I am developing some applications for Android and I'm getting some errors and force closes. This is rather annoying, although not as much as annoying as the loud vibrations the phone does (a long vibration and 3 quick ones). This is very unpleasant for me and for my workmates. I've set Sound > > Vibrate to "Never", but it keeps coming on and on and after searching through almost all the entire phone settings, a solution is still to find. The device is the SGS running Froyo.
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You're probably not going to like my answer, but I don't think there's anything you can do about it. I've tried to turn this off myself in the past, but the Android OS is such that you will receive a force close vibration no matter what. Now, regarding your application actually force closing, here are my two best guesses (since I can't see any of your code): You are trying to use a feature that requires documentation in the manifest file. You are overburdening the UI stack by not threading processes that take a long time to accomplish (i.e. contacting a server and receiving data, handling remote data, etc.), which can be solved with AsyncTasks . Also, if you are getting frequent force close errors, please use DDMS. It's an absolute God send for this kind of stuff. I know a lot of people who just try to "figure out" where they went wrong. Debugging is a skill in its own right. Sorry I couldn't directly answer your question. I instead tried to pinpoint where else you may be going wrong with your applications, which, to me, would seem to be a bigger issue. EDIT: To show you how I arrived at this conclusion: I firstly tried to look through all settings (including my Galaxy S manual), and obviously no cigar. I noticed that there are two classes that a developer must look into to at least see if this vibration can be turned off programatically (for your specific program). These classes are the Notification and Vibrator classes. Upon inspection, you can see that there's nothing within these classes that will allow you to do that. It's a system property. Realizing that you must put in a "vibration" intent into the manifest in order to even manipulate the vibration should further prove this point: <code> <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.VIBRATE"/> </code> I wasn't really prepared to mess around with the actual Android low-level code so I brought the issue up with my friend (who has been messing around with the actual Android kernel and OS itself for a while) in order to validate my suspicion. He said that this property was built in. In other words, you would have to override the property within the OS itself in order to change the force close vibration. For me, that was the end of me trying to turn off this property.
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Disable force close vibrations
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android
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I downloaded a zip-file with the browser to my phone. Now I want to either upload it to a web site (form POST) or mail it as an attachment. In the stock browser (HTC Desire with Android 2.2) I can only choose to upload from Gallery, Voice recorder, or Music. In the Gmail app I can only attach photos and in the Exchange app can't seem to attach downloaded files either. And finally, in the list of downloaded files in the browser I can only choose to Open (fails for zip) or Delete the file. Is there another way?
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Install a File Explorer, say EStrongs File Explorer , and you would be able to upload arbitrary file from the browser or attach files to Gmail.
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Upload a downloaded file
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android
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I currently have a custom kernel and ROM installed on my android device. The kernel I'm using comes with a separate download with kernel modules that you are to install yourself if you want. However no instructions are given on how to do it, also I cannot find any tutorial on-line how to do it. So I have a bunch of <code> .ko </code> files, Android SDK and my rooted android device. How do I install these kernel modules?
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Use <code> adb </code> to push them to <code> /system/lib/modules </code> , then reboot. Android should load them at boot as long as they're in that directory, I believe. <code> shell> adb push module.ko /system/lib/modules/ shell> adb reboot </code> If you get a "read-only filesystem" error then remount <code> /system </code> as read/write first, then push them. Usually you can do this with <code> adb remount </code> . You could probably also put them onto an SD card and then use a file manager to copy them over if you want. You can also use <code> insmod </code> to manually load a module into the kernel at runtime, but it wouldn't be reloaded if you reboot. This would allow you to skip the initial reboot, though, since you should be able to <code> insmod </code> all of the modules after you push them onto the device.
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How to install kernel module for android?
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android
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I discovered a "Sound Recorder" in the application list on my Froyo handset. Why is it hidden like that with no 'launcher' or app icon to start it? I'm curious.. also because of this app ; I need to open this thing and I want to know how to do it since it is already on my phone. I don't want to pay for an app that is just a shortcut. NOTE: I recently flashed an unofficial cyanogenmod ROM for my phone and it has the hidden sound recorder shortcut now on the application drawer.
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You could try launching it from the command line using the <code> am </code> command. Either from a terminal emulator or from an <code> adb </code> shell you can try: <code> am start -a android.intent.action.MAIN -n com.android.soundrecorder/com.android.soundrecorder.SoundRecorder </code> This works on my EVO and on my Xoom, and it's probably important to note that my Xoom does not display the Sound Recorder application in my app drawer (similar to your device). Also, some custom launchers let you define shortcuts to either an activity or an intent. In ADW Launcher, for example, you can choose to set a shortcut to the Sound Recorder activity by long pressing your home screen and going to <code> Custom Shortcut->Pick your activity </code> and then finding it in the list (it lists every activity on the device).
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How to launch the hidden Sound Recorder on Froyo?
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android
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This Community Wiki question is designed to be the "canonical question" for questions asking how to upgrade one's device to a new Android version. I want to get a newer version of the OS for my Android device. How can I do that?
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This is a Community Wiki post. If you see a way to improve it, please go right ahead and edit it. There are multiple factors that go into the answer in your particular case. Is there an official update from the carrier/manufacturer? Then use the official method. Is there no official update, but has someone created a ROM that you could install on your rooted device? Then you need to look out how to update unofficially. If you have a little programming knowledge, and you know about Linux device drivers, you could try to make a custom ROM for the device. Start with an existing ROM project such as Cyanogenmod and port it to your hardware. This will take a lot of effort, there's a risk of bricking your phone, and it might not even be possible for your device (because of lack of drivers). If you still think it's worth a try, ask the developers of the ROM you're starting with where to start. (Note that questions about writing custom ROMs are off-topic on this site.) If there is neither an official update nor a custom ROM, and you don't have the knowledge or free time to port one yourself, then your only other option is to buy a new device. Official First, check to see that there is an official update for your device. stackexchange-url ("When will my device get the Android L update?") stackexchange-url ("When will my device get the Android 4.4 update (KitKat)?") stackexchange-url ("When will my device get the Android 4.3 update (Jelly Bean)?") stackexchange-url ("When will my device get the Android 4.2 update (Jelly Bean)?") stackexchange-url ("When will my device get the Android 4.1 update (Jelly Bean)?") stackexchange-url ("When will my device get the Android 4.0 update (Ice Cream Sandwich)?") stackexchange-url ("When will my device get the Android 3.x update (Honeycomb)?") stackexchange-url ("When will my phone get the Android 2.3 update (Gingerbread)?") stackexchange-url ("When will my phone get the Android 2.2 update (FroYo)?") For most devices, you simply go to <code> Settings | About phone | System updates </code> . If the update is ready for your particular device, it will tell you so. If you're lucky, you won't even need to go that far, as there will be a notification telling you that an update is ready. Note that it takes time for carriers and manufacturers to add their customizations to the OS. Just because a new version has been announced doesn't mean it's immediately available for your device. Even when a particular OS update is announced for your device, it is almost always a phased rollout, meaning that it could be days or weeks from the official release for it to be available for you. (Very often the update file is made available for savvy users to update manually.) Some device manufacturers/carriers have slightly, or grossly, different ways of distributing updates. Samsung, for instance, is notorious for requiring users to use their Kies software. stackexchange-url ("How do I upgrade firmware on my Samsung Galaxy S without using windows?") stackexchange-url ("What can you do with Samsung Kies for Android phones?") Unofficial If there is no official update for your device, you either need to wait for one (if one will be made) or install a custom ROM. There is a vibrant mod community that works very hard to make new OS updates available for old devices and devices where the manufacturer/carrier is very slow to do their customizations. Rooting and flashing ROMs to your device is too large a topic to be covered in this post. Please refer to these other questions for that: stackexchange-url ("How do I root my Android device?") stackexchange-url ("Where can I find stock or custom ROMs for my Android device?")
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How do I update Android on my device?
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android
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I've been trying to find a way to stop getting notifications on my phone when I receive offline messages to my GTalk account. It's highly annoying to be falling asleep and suddenly receive an email notification on my phone and once I open it, it's someone saying good night or some such. Anyone know of a possible solution?
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If you still want them to show up in your inbox, things get complicated. You would have to create filters to label every kind of message you do want notifications for, and then in the Gmail app you would turn off notifications for the inbox, followed by syncing and turning on notifications for the label you just created. If you don't care if they show in your inbox, do the following from the web GMail: Go to <code> Mail Settings -> Filters -> Create new filter </code> Put <code> [email protected] </code> in the To field Put <code> Chat with </code> in the Subject field Hit Next Check <code> Skip the inbox </code> Hit Create Filter Alternatively you could turn off the saving of chat history, which disables offline messages, but that has its own downsides.
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Stop Android GMail from receiving GTalk offline messages notifications?
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android
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When I save an image from a WebPage in android browser, can you please tell me where does that go? Which directory does that file go? I tried mounting the phone to my computer, but I can't find that file. Please help. Thank you.
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Use a file manager such as ASTRO File Manager . I'll use my file manager quick to check though. EDIT: So on my Galaxy S2 the directory is /sdcard/download. /sdcard is the root directory on my phone and not actually an sd card. It's the 2GB of app storage on my phone
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Save an image in Android browser
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android
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I have tried several Google Docs editors for Android and none of them has fully featured editor functionality. Selecting things like fonts and colors is absent and I have actually tried two editors that completely messed up a document I had initially created using a computer. I read several reviews stating similar things. Does anyone know of a way to edit Google Docs documents using Android?
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I just tested QuickOffice Pro and it will do this. It didn't seem to ruin my existing google doc either.
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Is there a Google Docs editor for Android that actually works?
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android
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There seems to be no way of filtering or searching the app reviews in Android Market. This is a problem because it's usually the low-scored reviews that are most useful - they give an idea about what people are finding as disadvantages, so I can decide whether or not those are relevant to me or not. Is there some way around this restriction? Does Google provide the review data in some way that could be searched, for example all reviews on one big page?
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These days, the Google Play Store (renamed Android Marketplace) does in fact have review filtering based on the rating. Just click on "User Reviews" and the "5 stars", "4 stars" titles for the bar graphic are now clickable, and clicking them displays only reviews with that rating. Thanks, Google!
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Searching and filtering Android Market app reviews
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android
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First does it have an acceleration, compass, or "gyroscope". Second can it make noises? Third does it work for HTC Sensation? Thanks ahead of time.
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From the Sony Ericsson website, the Live View specs page has no mention of a compass, gyroscope, accelerometer or similar. It doesn't mention anything about speakers either but does mention controlling phone calls and music playback on your phone, which would suggest its not designed to make noise itself but to control the music/sound on a phone (or other compatible device) that it's connected to. The compatible phones page (other brands) lists a number of HTC phones, but not the Sensation. It does however say: Compatible with most other brands on Android 2.0 and up that are equipped with Bluetooth™ 2.1. According to HTC's Specs page for the Sensation it has Bluetooth v3.0 compatibility, so it is likely that it will work with the Live View.
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Several general questions about Sony Ericsson Live View
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android
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While I know Android phones play mp4 the best, I wanted to know what other specification in this container is the best for playback, (the bitrate, resolution, fps etc). Or perhaps some other codec/format that Android can (or is designed to) play smoothly and with an acceptable file size/quality ratio? I searched the Android developer page and tried the H.264 setting on my converter etc, but the file fails to play natively on my handset and when I tried to open it using RockPlayer. It plays slowly and the video-audio gets out of sync progressively. I tried many external players. However, 3GP videos from my Nokia phones play smoothly (even natively). So I want to know what is ideal for my low end phone (video should be normal quality and size)? My phone is a Huawei IDEOS U8150 running Froyo with a 320x240 resolution and a 528 Mhz ARMv6 processor. Also if anyone has tips, what types of encoding is recommended, if I'd be using the software decoder mode in apps like RockPlayer, so I can achieve more file size compression yet achieve smooth playback?
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It seems that most of the H.264 encoded video files do not work in Huawei IDEOS u8150 using the Hardware renderer mode. 3GPs , H.263s and less complex video profiles work at full speed in HW mode. Most FLV video files play on Software Rendering mode ( ARMv6 MXVideoPlayer ) at appreciable speed (sometimes lagging at certain points, but overclock to more than 600 Mhz, and it runs fairly good at all points) Standard MP4s or MPEG-4 Part-2 compressed video files seem to be the best file format to play on low end android phones which is easy on the CPU (plays perfect in HW mode) and has good balance between clarity and file size. Here is my HandBrake Preset for Huawei IDEOS u8150 optimum video format : http://depositfiles.com/files/gbqtxevo4?redirect (320x240 resolution)
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Optimum video codec for low end Android phones?
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android
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I have recently had a pretty weird problem with my new LG Shine Plus which I hope you guys could help, here is what I did: When I first sign up for the phone, I purchased a one month data plan just to try things out, everything was great and I was able to use the data plan and wifi when I am at home and downloaded quite a few applications and they all worked perfectly. I cancelled a data plan since it cost quite a bit, however I am a student and there are both wireless networks on campus and in my residence room. As a result, I have turned off the Mobile Data Networks. After that, all the applications, for some reason, stopped working. When I opened up the Advanced Task Killer Free, for example, it will show You must have INTERNET and ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE permissions in AndroidManifest.xml and when I tried to hit KILL selected apps, it will crash. On Bloomberg, it says android.Manifest.permissions.INTERNET permission not set in AndroidManifest.xml file before crashed, and on a whole bunch of other apps, they just crash as soon as I open it up. However, the most interesting bit is, I was still able to access the Internet on my mobile browser (tried several website that I know I did not go before just to make sure those are not cached pages) on wifi and I can access Android market on wifi as well. So I turned Mobile Data Networks back on in hope that would resolve the problem, but the same thing happened even with the Mobile Data Networks turned on and now I am unable to use any apps I installed I have verified that I have the apn set up properly in there. By the way, I have link2sd installed, but it was installed while I was using the data plan, and it worked fine then, I have also had AdBlock installed, which I have already uninstalled it and even apps without any add (dropbox) is crashing at the moment as well.
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How did you disable the Mobile Data Networks? Did you just erase the APN data? Or did you uncheck it in the settings menu? At this point, I would suggest doing a factory reset. Your problem would likely require more troubleshooting than it's worth to fix. Make a backup if possible. Google should remember the free apps you've downloaded and re-install them.
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Unable to use apps that access the Internet on wifi
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android
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My friend and I both have droids and we often user each other's wall chargers out of convenience. I was told that it's possible that my phone might explode if it's charged with a charger that wasn't built specifically for my phone. How true is this across droids?
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While this is standard cover-your-assets boilerplate, the truth is you can charge your phone off of pretty much any USB charger out there, as long as the following things are true: The output specification is +5V DC, and at least 500mA. If it's more (700mA, 1000mA) you are generally fine; the phone will only draw what it needs. My HTC Magic's "official" charger is 5VDC 700mA. The data pins in the charger are shorted (most modern chargers will work. If an iPhone charges off the usb plug with its cable, it means the data pins are shorted). If you use a car charger, do not get the cheap ones. Car power is a lot noisier than household current, and you need a charger that can survive crank (starting the engine). If you live in a country where power is unreliable, you may want to charge off a UPS or other power conditioner. I have charged successfully with a Garmin GPS watch charging brick, the charger from an older smartphone (FreeRunner), and the USB outlets at Southwest Airlines waiting terminals (although I'd turn off USB debugging and USB mass storage before using a public USB charging kiosk.) If you don't trust it, don't use it! Phones are expensive. If your device DOESN'T charge off of USB (Pandigital Novel)...check the plug size and the output specification. If your device uses a funny plug (B&N Nook Color - it's MicroUSB, yes, except that their plug in their cable is longer), then you need that cable.
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Is my phone liable to explode if I charge it with a charger that came with a different phone?
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android
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I read that it stands for "ROM Update Utility". What does it do? How is it run? What partitions does it affect? How does it unroot a phone? Can I accidentally use the wrong RUU on my phone?
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An RUU is a Windows executable file (HTC currently does not support Mac or Linux) that installs a ROM to your device. It will overwrite the following partitions: System (the <code> /system </code> mountpoint) Boot (the <code> /boot </code> mountpoint) Recovery User data (the <code> /data </code> mountpoint, this means you lose all of your personal data) It may update your radio image (if newer) You use an RUU by simply connecting your phone and running the executable file. I belive HTC Sync may also be required, but I haven't done this in a while. The reason this unroots your device is sort of twofold, though it depends on your exact configuration. First, the <code> su </code> binary and Superuser app are typically installed to your System partition when you root. Since this is overwritten with a stock version of the partition, those two things will not be present. This prevents you from making calls to the <code> su </code> binary which is needed to grant root permissions to an app. Secondly, the Boot partition has a flag which defines whether or not <code> adbd </code> (that is, the ADB daemon) runs with root permission, called <code> ro.secure </code> . The default value for this on a stock boot image is 1, which means that it is not running as root (so 1 represents "yes, it's secure"). Many custom ROMs set this to 0 so that you can immediately get a root prompt when you use <code> adb shell </code> , and also so that you can execute privileged commands without the need for a shell (i.e. <code> adb pull </code> ). Per your last question, I don't think you can run an improper RUU, but I've never tried. It does go through a verification process before the upload, at which point I assume that it checks to ensure that you have the proper device and whatnot. My guess would be that the verification would fail if you tried to use one on a device it was not designed for. If you want more information, I managed to dig up a PDF from HTC's site which outlines how to use an RUU on the HTC Magic (Rogers wireless version). The steps are generally the same for any Android device, though. Also of note, there is an open-source program which is designed to provide the same functionality while being cross platform. It is simply called HTCFlasher, and I have not used it myself. You can find it on Google code if it's of interest to you.
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What is an RUU?
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android
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I haven't installed any screenshot applications, in fact my phone was recently wiped when upgrading to gingerbread. I have Gingerbread 2.3.4 and I use the GoLauncher homescreen. Samsung Mesmerize from US Cellular. I know they install bloatware but I've used this phone for months and it only did this after the upgrade to gingerbread (that I know of). On occasion when I hit the power button the screen turns white and the phone vibrates, and I get a toast message saying "screen captured saved as image file" or something like that. Half the time the power button does that, half the time it turns off the screen normally. Right this second I couldn't replicate, it's very random and frustrating. What could cause this? I see no unusual running apps unless GoLauncher is doing this, and I see no setting related to this in their app.
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When you hold the Home key and tap Power, it takes a screenshot. Unfortunately sometimes lag causes the Home press to be delayed/extended, so if you press it and let go before hitting Power it will still happen sometimes. The original SGS stackexchange-url ("suffers from this issue") as well, though it uses Home+Back. I would try the same workaround I propose in my answer to that question: Go to <code> Settings -> Applications -> Running Services </code> and click on <code> ScreenCaptureService </code> to end it. You'll have to do this every time you boot up your phone, unless you get a task killer or can remove it somehow, though either of those may have other side effects.
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Why does my power button take screenshots?
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android
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