# Question
Title: Mass confusion about present and future: Hangouts, SMS, MMS, and Google Voice
I've been trying to make sense of recent news and theories about the future of Hangouts, SMS/MMS integration, and merging with Google Voice.

My main concern right now is that I want to continue having **free** SMS messages sent through my Google Voice number. I don't have any texting plan from my phone company -- my "real" number is secret to the world.

The facts:

* I have a Google Voice number that is public, for calling and free texting
* I have a secret "actual" Verizon phone number, SMS or MMS costs $0.25 per message
* Google Voice doesn't support MMS
* I do not want to activate **SMS over Hangouts** because I fear it will use my Verizon number which does not have free texting

Am I correct in my concerns? Should I hold off activating SMS in Hangouts because I will end up with a lot of fees from my carrier? Should I pay for an unlimited texting plan with Verizon because doing all of these things won't be free in the future anyway?

---

## Google Hangouts + Voice Integration

**Update Sept 10, 2014:**  Google has now merged Google Voice into Hangouts.

# Answer
> 5 votes
If you keep using the Google Voice app for texting, it doesn't matter if you activate SMS via Hangouts. However, any texts you send out of Hangouts **will** go through your Verizon number, incurring carrier charges.

If you are running CyanogenMod 11 ROM, you may want to look into Voice+. It's a custom app that allows you to pipe all "regular" SMS through Google Voice, from *any* app such as Hangouts, Messaging, HandCent, Whatsapp, etc. It's still in beta (as is the entire CM11) but works quite well for keeping all the messaging together in a single app.

When Hangouts got ability to send/receive SMS last year, Google promised that they will eventually merge Google Voice functionality into it, thus making it a single app. This looks to be slowly happening behind the curtains. In the latest Hangouts v2.1 update, bits and pieces pointing to Google Voice integration started showing up. We will most likely hear more about this in the upcoming Google I/O developers conference this coming Summer.

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Tags: sms, mms, google-voice, google-hangouts
---


# Question
Title: Why is the maximum value of the light sensor from my phone stuck at 85745.0lx?
My lightsensor of my Samsung Galaxy S3 doesn't return good values. I tested it in different places, p.E. outside in the sun or indoor with and without light.

The value outside was a bit confusing because the result was the proper value of 85745.0lx. This value is first of all 4 times higher than in comparison with my tablet. At a second Samsung S3 (with Stock-OS) it was about 18'000 lux. Second point: it was a fix value, it didn't change between ~200lux all the time.

After the tests I tried to find out, why that happend. The function `maxvalue = light.getMaxumumRange();` shows me, that the maximum value of the light sensor is 121240.0 lx. Could it be, that this value is, because I have an custom rom on my phone (Team UB)? Or does anyone know an other reason for this difference?

Thanks for your answers.

# Answer
> 2 votes
Yes, of course it could be because you have a custom ROM on your phone. Most likely the ROM has a buggy or poorly integrated touchscreen driver. Drivers in custom ROMs often don't perform correctly, especially in unofficial or pre-release builds, and especially with non-essential functionality like light sensors.

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Tags: samsung-galaxy-s-3, sensors, cyanogenmod
---


title: Turn off cell standby?

text:
# Question
Title: Turn off cell standby?
I have a Droid Charge, but I live overseas and it's not an international phone so I can only use it for wifi. It is constantly searching for a signal that doesn't exist and it's eating my battery up! Is there a way to turn off the cell signal while keeping the wifi on?

# Answer
I don't know for the Droid Charge in special, but on many phones you can turn off the radio separatly. And even if that doesn't work, in your case it should be fine to simply enter airplane mode, and then activate WiFi again (plus Bluetooth, when needed) -- which eventually has the very same effect.

I remember having used Dazzle Configurable Switcher for this on my old HTC Wildfire (to turn off radio separatly), and it worked like a charm. On my Motorola Milestone 2, however, I was not given that choice -- but could use the work-around described.
> 3 votes

# Answer
Set airplane mode.

Under phone setting, enable airplane mode. When this happens your phone's WiFi will turn off, but you can activate WiFi again.

Airplane mode ONLY disables your phones radio. It usually turns off other communication features such as WiFi and Bluetooth but these can be turned on again.

There is also a detailed article on using an Android phone as a WiFi only device (no cellar connection).
> 2 votes

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Tags: battery, cellular-radio
---


# Question
Title: Can I use Google Play gift cards in my country?
I recently found out that there are now Google Play gift cards. Something I've been looking forward to. The downer? It's not available for sale at my country (Philippines). So I want to know, if I get a friend from the US buy a card for me and send me the card code, will I be able to use it on my account that is based in the Philippines? I'm asking this because when I tried going to the redeem page, it said it's unavailable for my country and thus, didn't provide me with any way to enter a redeem code.

What I have in mind is I would TeamView my friend's PC on the US and log-in my account there then I will top-up my Google Play account that way. The question is, will it work? I mean, won't it detect that I was logging in from the Philippines just awhile ago? I wouldn't want to waste money with buying a gift card if it won't be usable anyway. My friend is an iOS user so I can't just sell it to him either.

# Answer
https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/3422734?hl=en

> Can only be used to purchase or rent content sold in local currency.
>
> If you purchase a Google Play gift card or redeem a promotional code in Australia and then travel to Germany, you won’t be able to redeem your Google Play balance since paid content is sold in Euros.
> 2 votes

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Tags: google-play-store
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# Question
Title: Can the Moga Power Pro be used as a USB controller?
So I just received my new Moga Power Pro controller, and I'm extremely disappointed with the latency I'm experiencing with it when playing emulators (both in emulators which can use the Moga "A" mode and ones that use the HID "B" mode) - there's a lag between d-pad presses and responses, the button don't always register presses, etc. Maybe I'm just spoiled (having only previously used system-specific controllers), but I'm disappointed enough that I may return the controller. Before I do that, though, I want to try and see if I can reduce the latency at all. To that end, is it possible to use the pad as a generic USB controller (using the included USB to Micro USB) connector? Or am I stuck using the Bluetooth connection (which I'm supposing is largely responsible for the latency?)

(I've tried the controller with both my HTC One M8 and my Nexus 10 tablet, both of which are running unrooted 4.4.2; I've tried turning off the Wifi and mobile data, without discernible improvement)

# Answer
> 1 votes
No, there isn't. The official product website doesn't offer this as a feature, and I've tested with its little brother, the Moga Pro.

Incidentally, I've never noticed any lag or unresponsiveness when using a Moga Pro with a Nexus 10 on 4.2 or 4.4.2. Perhaps your lag can be blamed on a specific app you're running?

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Tags: htc, samsung-nexus-10, game-controllers
---


title: Unknown icon on my notification bar

text:
# Question
Title: Unknown icon on my notification bar
A notification has started appearing on my Huawei Ascend Y300 that I do not recognize. I searched on Google but couldn't find what it means. My device is running Android v4.1 (Jelly Bean).

Here's a few images of the icon. It's the one to the far left in the first picture.

# Answer
I cannot find any official documentation on this icon, but various sources across the Internet suggest that it means you have "Power Saving" mode enabled on your device. It looks like this is specific to Huawei's devices, and can be disabled in your settings.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: 4.1-jelly-bean, notifications, notification-icons
---


# Question
Title: Recycling old android devices for home security
Has anyone seens any efforts in recycling used devices for home security? I tried (re)searching, but most the top results are apps and or professional security devices.

I was browsing a thrift shop and noticed couple of android devices for sell. Price was around USD $30 - 40. Which got me started thinking of the possibility of using a android device for home security. I am not talking about the app, but the device itself.

1. These devices already have wifi connectivity
2. These devices are easily programmable, more functionality can be easily added.
3. They have cameras that are pretty good
4. Think that this might be good use to recycle old electronics.
5. Even broken devices (glass broken etc.) can be used to a larger extent. So long as device turns on, camera and wifi works, the device can be used for the security.
6. Many of these devices have focusable cameras. You can remotely control cameras.
7. Motion sensing algorithm can be developed to operate when there is motion

A custom mod like cyanogen mod with all applications except camera removed can be used in the cases like this. All device needs to do is stream pictures to some server using wifi. I am sure there is open source application that will accept stream from such devices or we can relatively easily alter one of the similar application.

Power/charging problem will have to be solved, but at these prices, you can just replace the device while other one is charging or just replace the battery. Since device is not doing anything else, we might get good mileage for battery life also. Custom mod can switch off the screen which can reduce power consumption

# Answer
Providing the O/S is up to date enough to run most of the apps at the "store" then it is simply a case of downloading one of the few apps already dedicated for security captures.

There are a few apps that allow pictures to be taken and uploaded via ftp and one I seen had a motion sensor option.

Another option would be a vnc type connection so you can manually control the functions of the recycled phones.

Again if the phone is able to run these programs, these apps already exist.

If you were writing the code you would need to target early versions of android o/s to find your niche among the other cool apps that do what you are picturing.

If you are asking if anyone has had the idea to use these "recycled" phones and redistribute them in one way or another, I have never seen any that market used smartphones as a security network. There are projects that can activate old phones for the needy, some that donate to soldiers, and a few that recycle the precious metals inside but I have yet to find any that fit your question as asked.

However for the prices mentioned you can get dedicated IP cameras for close to the same cost. If your company were to take donated phones with the intent of refurbishing and redistributed to the "under privileged" or lower income families for extra security you may have a better chance of attracting supporters / backers.

Interesting concept, absolutely feasible, I hope you are successful.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: applications, cyanogenmod, camera
---


# Question
Title: How can I switch on my laptop's camera from my android device?
I is there an app wherein I can switch on my laptop camera from my andorid phone, and view the camera output on my phone. I am running windows 7 on my laptop.

# Answer
> 5 votes
Use a chat program like Skype and set it to auto answer when a particular account is the caller.

# Answer
> 0 votes
One suggestion is to install a VNC Server on the PC you wish to interact with.

You will then need to install a VNC Client on the device you wish to use as the remote control. There are a few VNC clients listed on Google Play Store Apps.

With that you can activate other apps such as the camera. While the camera is showing on the screen the view will stream to your remote device. This method would also give the ability to further interact with remote environment as well.

My research has found this technique can work the other way around as well.

+1 for @Chris Navas idea for Skype as an option

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Tags: camera
---


title: CLI commands in android?

text:
# Question
Title: CLI commands in android?
Since Android is linux, cant i use standard linux commands inside android? I know there are applications that allow for a "Command Line Interface" (CLI). I also imagine that `adb` would provide access to command input (possibly as root?).

* **Can i run bash scripts and use commands like `mkdir`, `rm`, and `cp` in android?**
* **If not what caommands can i use? does google provide a list?**
* **How would i input CLI commands in android? ADB?**

+ Does adb provide root?

Note: I run an android emulator, from Eclipse, with Fedora 20 as my OS. I do not presently have an android device to work with, or i would probably just tinker until i figure it out.

Any and all information is greatly appreciated.

# Answer
Yes, Android has a command-line interface just like a desktop GNU/Linux system. But because it's an embedded system without storage space to throw away on features most users don't want, there aren't a lot of commands installed by default: just some specific ones used to interact with Android services (such as `am` and `pm`). Because the manufacturer can customize the system image, there's no definitive list of what commands are available: it varies from device to device.

To add more commands, you can install Busybox, which is a single package containing a set of the most-used Unix command-line utilities. There are several "Busybox installer" apps on Google Play, but as it's open-source, you can also install it from F-Droid or build it yourself from source.

As you've already seen, there's a wide variety of terminal emulator apps. These run on your Android phone and provide a window into which you can type commands and see the results. Often they come with SSH clients and the like built-in, because the most common use for a terminal emulator on an Android phone is to SSH into a bigger computer.

In addition, running `adb shell` from a desktop computer that's connected to the phone via ADB gives you a shell on the phone. You can instead run `adb shell *command*` to run `*command*` in a shell on the phone.

Neither of the above methods of starting a shell make you root by default, but if your phone is rooted, you can use the `su` command in the usual way to become root. Whichever root manager you have on your phone (Superuser, SuperSU, etc.) will probably pop up on the screen for you to confirm the root access.

Shell scripts run on Android in the usual way, but as I've already mentioned, you don't get a lot of commands to play with by default, so many scripts written for desktop simply won't work.
> 5 votes

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Tags: adb, android-emulator, command-line
---


# Question
Title: How can I get my compass pointing the right direction?
On my Samsung Galaxy S2 running ICS 4.0.4, my compass is off by 90 degrees. It shows west in the north position.

I had a similar compass problem before, and had solved it by applying this patch. Unfortunately, I've since discovered that this patch breaks my WiFi.

I have tried calibrating the compass by moving the phone in a figure 8 pattern, as well as rotating on all axis. The compass is still pointing the wrong way, though.

Is there a safe solution for fixing my compass?

# Answer
I've discovered over time and with much frustration and experimentation, that getting all features to work is always a matter of first finding the latest ROM and kernel that are the most problem free, then seeing if any patches exist to handle any remaining issues.

In this case, I found that I after upgrading to the latest kernel and ROM, then applying the tweak in this answer, and then also applying the compass patch I had used before, I finally got all my features working. Note it was important to go in that order.

At the moment, my GPS, WiFi, USB, and compass are all working, so hopefully I can be done with playing feature-whack-a-mole for now.
> 1 votes

# Answer
Rotating around each axis clockwise then counterclockwise got the compass working on my Samsung Galaxy Victory. This particular phone's compass works correctly with the phone flat or upright.
> 2 votes

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Tags: samsung-galaxy-s-2, compass
---


title: 3g direct between two android devices

text:
# Question
Title: 3g direct between two android devices
Is it posible to connect two or more android devices using 3g bypassing the provider infrastructure. Or in other words is it posible for a android mobile phone to recieve the sending signal directly from a other phone and take action on that. Can I add a private Sim card to realise this connection between a set of phones using a duals SIM phone. Phone B is recieving the send signals from Phone A using a second SIM card adjusted for the good frequencies. By exchaning the role of master and slave we can transmit and recieve signals in the G3 band. To be legal we need a subscrition for A and |B Is it posible in Android to realize this senario. Swiching between two connections in the same phone?

Phone 1

slave SIM A\_______send
master SIM B\____ | | | | | | | Phone 2 | |
slave SIM A\____| |
Master SIM B\_______|recieve

# Answer
> 0 votes
No, you can't do this, on Android or any other kind of mobile phone. It's just not how the 3G network works. Each operator's 3G network runs on a frequency band allocated to them by the government. The cell transmitter runs on its own hardware that your phone doesn't have, with a high-power radio transceiver that needs more power than your phone has.

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Tags: networking
---


# Question
Title: Not able to send media on Whatsapp...Moto X
I just upgraded to Moto X from Motorola Photon. I am not being able to send/receive any picture or media files. The settings for media is turned on but still the media button in mot highlighting.

# Answer
> 1 votes
This can be dependant on the app itself being compatible with your version of android, or the phone itself. Without more information, this is a hard question to answer. I've heard that Whatsapp doesnt like Android 4.4 (KitKat) just yet, or it could be a simple problem with the app that the developer hasn't fixed yet. If all else fails, give it time for the devs to fix the app, make sure settings on your phone allow it the app to work right, or just try reinstalling the app and restarting your phone.

# Answer
> 0 votes
I had the same problem in my motorola Moto G . Try going to Configuration -\> Apps , then touch the menu button at the right top and select "Reset apps configuration". This solved my problem. I hope this help ! .

# Answer
> 0 votes
You need to install a third party music player that will allow to send audio files through WhatsApp. One such application is Android Music player by JRT Studio.

# Answer
> -1 votes
After some tests .. I realized that a temporary solution could be remove the Google Play Music application updates.

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Tags: whatsapp-messenger
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# Question
Title: One-handed operation: Use for all screens mode (tiny screen mode) doesn't work on Galaxy Note 3
I have read all of the instructions I can find and watched several videos on how to turn on this feature and use it.

After enabling the feature in settings\>controls\>On-handed operation\>Use for all screens, and trying the back and forth quick swipe on several apps...I still can't make this work.

Are there some competing settings or apps that disallow use of this feature?

Thanks for your help.

# Answer
Try upgrading to Android 4.4.2. Settings -\> general -\> about device -\> Software update -\> update.

:)
> 1 votes

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Tags: samsung-galaxy-note-3
---


# Question
Title: Nexus 7 32GB - Cannot mount as a drive in Windows but USB cable still charges
I have tried this on multiple machines - my Nexus 7 doesn't actually mount in Windows no matter what I try. The USB cable works as I can see that the device is still charging - I've tried this with multiple USB cables on different computers and the problem persists (which would assume the problem is down to this tablet).

When I place the USB cable into the device it charges but I cannot see a removable drive appear in 'My Computer'

This \** definitely\** worked before as I have already transferred a number of files to the device - anyone got any ideas of how to fix this?

I am using the stock ROM from Google and is not rooted, MTP is checked in the USB computer connection.

# Answer
> 0 votes
The USB port was damaged - and sent it back and got the new N7 instead (2013 model)

# Answer
> 2 votes
I've had similar results with my Samsung Galaxy Nexus. It will be charging fine when plugged in to the PC, but the PC will be oblivious to any device being connected. And it worked fine the day before.

My first thought was also software fault. But it happened with multiple USB cables on multiple PCs. What I did notice was that sometime, especially when I plugged it in slowly, it will flash with a "Could not install device" prompt on Windows. Which means it did find something, even if only briefly.

I managed to successfully connect by plugging it in only 50% on the device. Obviously this was not ideal, so I investigated further. Turns out my usb micro slot on the device was not exactly straight. The tongue inside the receptacle was just a fraction too close to the side, very nearly touching the bottom.

What I did to fix it was VERY GENTLY insert a toothpick between the tongue and the bottom of the receptacle and lift it up, just a tiny fraction. I cannot overstate how gently you need to be.

That solved it and it has not given me any problems for the past 6 months.

# Answer
> 0 votes
In my case, this helped

> To change your device's USB connection options, touch Settings \> Device \> Storage \> Menu \> USB computer connection.

For more information, see Google Support

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Tags: nexus-7, windows, mount
---


# Question
Title: Questions about Link2SD and SD card partitioning
I have a Samsung S3 mini, no support for SD cards so i had to root it, and install Link2SD, spent the last 3 days hacking my phone making it better.

But i have questions, in all the tutorials everywhere on the web, they say (I refer to this blog but there are many other blog posts and xda posts and youtube videos that say the same)

* if you have stock rom, use ext 2? (isn't ext 4 supported?)
* partition your SD card, the max for your apps is 2 GB (I have 8 GB,why can't I partition it like 6 GB for apps, and 2 GB Fat32 for music, OR all of it ext2 or 4 and add whatever to it?)
* You install link2SD first time, it asks for root permission, it asks what partition type you're using (ext 2, ext 4, whatever) and it asks to reboot the device, that's fine. But when you install it second or third time, it only asks for root permission, it doesn't reboot the device nor what partition type you're using. Why? maybe I changed (and i did change many times) the partition type, it doesn't ask, so doesn't detect it.
* Once linked, what is the location of the apps? (`data/app` is empty, though i haven't move everything)

Sorry for asking too many question at once, but link2sd is not a big deal, it doesn't deserve asking many questions about it so i tried to put everything in 1 question

# Answer
yes, stock rom does not support other file systems but EXT2 for the second partition. So create an EXT2 partition.

the location of the apps, once linked with link2sd will be from the root of the sytem: \ (which is root) sd-ext and there you will find some directories or app-files, depending on your link2sd settings.

About the question for mounting / rebooting: I cannot answer that because I do not know.

about the size of thee partition: when you connect your phone to your computer, and have minitool partition wizard installed, you should be able to create the partitions like you want it and with the size you want.

But to be honest: 6gb for apps is an awfully lot... I think the tutorial just points out that you probably never will exceed the 2 gb that is mentioned and you can use the other 6gb for normal storage (which also can be read by windows when you connect your phone to your computer)

I hope I answered your questions...
> 1 votes

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Tags: external-sd, sd-card, samsung, partitions, link2sd
---


# Question
Title: Unable to flash official Indian JellyBean ROM on Samsung Galaxy Note GTN7000 SHV-E160l
I recently purchased a *Samsung Galaxy Note GTN7000.* When connected it to Kies it shows as galaxy note SHV-E160l.

I tried to flash Indian Samsung official JellyBean 4.1.2 update to it via ODIN. I have sufficient drivers (actually I went through a video tutorial). But ODIN shows fail.

When I bought this device it was running JellyBean 4.1.2, but I have serious heating issues, camera problems etc. That's why I decided to install official JellyBean. But failed.

How can I proceed and get it working?

```
Model number-gt-n7000
Base band version-N7000LXKJ8
Build number -JZO54.LXKJ8.F2A238.2JIA68

```

# Answer
> 0 votes
Infact your phone is not the international Note 1 GT-N700. You have the korean version SHV-E160L which is converted to N700.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Maybe you should try out Heimdall? Unpack the package, select files and flash.

There are many video tutoritals about it.

My phone didn't work with Odin, I tried Heimdall and it didn't show any fail :)

# Answer
> -2 votes
download root checker.. from the play store.. and then you will come to know your phone version.. if Korean or international version.. maybe you got cheated.. while buying.. or you didn't pay attention/check it out properly! if it is rooted you got no help with Samsung.. as far as I know.. but you can give it a try! and also leave the flashing to professionals! take it some mobile repair centre.. which you trust! :) hope it helps.. even I am getting heating issues on my SHV-E160L! :(

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Tags: 4.1-jelly-bean, updates, rom-flashing, samsung-galaxy-note
---


# Question
Title: How can one add attachments from Google Drive in Gmail android app?
In menu to attach file, it sometimes shows Drive as an option under recent if you have opened Drive recently. But other times it doesn't show Drive as an option to select from and then I couldn't find a way to select Google Drive. I am using Nexus 4.

# Answer
You could open Drive-App, select the file you want to send, long-press on it and choose "Send". There you can choose gmail and it automatically creates a new mail with the file attached.
> 1 votes

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Tags: gmail, nexus-4, google-drive
---


title: GPS not always working

text:
# Question
Title: GPS not always working
I got an issue with GPS on my Sony Xperia M phone with Android 4.3, which seems to work but only intermittently. When it works the lock is acquired quickly, but sometimes it seems that sattelite searching is not even initiated.

the phone is searching for sattelites / the searching doesn't seems to be initiated (click images to enlarge)

For example, above screenshots show how it looks when the phone is searching for sattelites (left), and when the searching doesn't seems to be initiated (right; notice the missing indicators from upper-left). If in the first case the lock is acquired quickly, in the second case the lock is not acquired until the GPS indicator appears on screen (sometime after minutes of waiting).

Did anybody noticed this issue? Rebooting the phone helps, but only for a while.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Seems that I finally fixed the issue, but I wanted to wait few days to be sure.

First I tried to reflash my phone again, but without wiping my DATA partition (so I could keep my apps and settings intact). This didn't worked, so I fully flashed again my phone's firmware (I was ussing only official firmwares, from Sony) but after a day when my phone's GPS worked fine, the issue reappeared.

Finally I downloaded the same version of the firmware, but for another region (I was using a firmware made for brazilian market, now I'm using the one for Europe) and this seems to work. GPS starts everytime when requested. I'm not really sure where the issue was, but if someone else encounter this issue - maybe you could give my solution a try.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Even the best GPS doesn't lock on instantly. You can use "assisted GPS", or aGPS, to help get a rough fix quickly while you wait for the more accurate GPS to get a lock; this only works when you have internet access, since it uses your IP address to locate you. Go into your device's GPS settings (Settings -\> Location access)

Also try clearing the data of the navigation app and installing other gps toolbox apps to see if it fixes the issue.

---
Tags: 4.3-jelly-bean, gps, sony-xperia
---


# Question
Title: How to recover deleted photos on Nexus 4?
I accidentally deleted photos on my Nexus 4. There was no auto backup. I searched and found some software to recover photos, but none of them seem to work. Is there a way to get them back?

# Answer
**Please note:** It is advised to follow this method only if you know what is ROOT and agree that you are doing this at your own risk. I do not hold credit for this technique as this method has been taken from here and 100% credit goes to the respective author.

**Requirements:**

* A Rooted Android phone.
* BusyBox installed on your device.
* Cygwin installed to \[c:\cygwin\] with pv and util-linux from the repo. Make sure to open Cygwin once to make sure that the /bin folder is created. Also, I made a folder at \[c:\cygwin\nexus\] to put the exported .RAW file.
* Netcat (download the ZIP file and extract nc.exe to \[c:\cygwin\bin\]).
* ADB (make sure adb.exe is in your path).
* Enable USB debugging in your device. For Android 4.0 and above do it from: Settings \> Developer Options \> USB debugging. For Android 2.3 and below do it from: Settings \> Application \> Development \> USB debugging.
* VHD tool Put the VhdTool.exe file in \[c:\cygwin\nexus\].
* Piriform Recuva or your favorite data recovery tool, (it appears Recuva only finds the more common file types like images, videos, etc. Those were the file types in which I was interested. If you are after more exotic file types perhaps you might share the software you used).

**The process in short:**

* This has been tested on Samsung Galaxy Nexus though this should work for ANY phone with Internal Memory.
* We will be using a Windows 7 machine to: back up the entire internal memory partition to your computer as a single, massive .RAW file, convert the .RAW file output to a VHD, mount the VHD as a disk in Disk Manager, scan the attached VHD volume for files that have been deleted and recover them.

**Actual Work to do:**

1. It is recommended that you choose to recover your entire memory block instead of just the data partition. In this case that is *mmcblk0*. For our purpose here we are seeking to recover the userdata partition: /dev/block/mmcblk0p12
2. Turn on your phone.
3. Connect the phone in ADB mode.
4. Unlock the screen.
5. Open a Cygwin terminal and enter (This assumes your BusyBox installation is at \[/system/bin/busybox\]. It may be at \[/system/xbin/busybox\]):

* adb forward tcp:5555 tcp:5555
    * adb shell
    * /system/bin/busybox nc -l -p 5555 -e /system/bin/busybox dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p12
6. Open another Cygwin terminal and enter:

* adb forward tcp:5555 tcp:5555
    * cd /nexus
    * nc 127.0.0.1 5555 | pv -i 0.5 \> mmcblk0p12.raw
7. For 16GB or 32GB internal memory this process is going to take 2 to 3+ hours respectively.
8. We need to convert the .RAW file to a virtual hard drive. VhdTool.exe basically just puts a VHD footer on the end of the .RAW file. Open a Windows command prompt, go to \[c:\cygwin\nexus\], and type:

* VhdTool.exe /convert mmcblk0p12.raw
9. Now we need to mount the VHD in Windows. Select the Start button--\>right-click Computer--\>select Manage.
10. Select Storage--\>Disk Management.
11. In the menu select Action--\>Attach VHD.
12. For Location enter \[c:\cygwin\nexus\mmcblk0p12.raw\] and select the OK button.
13. Right-click on the name (e.g. "Disk 1") to the left of the Unallocated space and select Initialize Disk.
14. Select the GPT (GUID Partition Table) radio button and select the OK button.
15. Right-click on the Unallocated space and select New Simple Volume...
16. In the Wizard select Next\>, leave the default for the volume size, select Next\>, select a drive letter (e.g. K), select Next\>, MAKE SURE to select the 'Do not format this volume' radio button, select Next\>, select Finish.
17. A box will pop up asking you to format the drive. You DO NOT want to format the drive at this time.
18. Right-click on the RAW space and select Format... MAKE SURE to change the File system to FAT32. Set the Allocation unit size dropdown to 'Default.' MAKE SURE that the Perform a quick format checkbox is CHECKED. You do not want to overwrite the entire new drive with all zeroes (0's) and destroy your data. Quick Format means that it will only attempt to destroy the index for the drive by establishing a new index. Without this box checked the Windows operating system will write zeroes (0's) across the entire volume, potentially destroying your data. Select the OK button.
19. A box will pop up saying that Formatting this volume will erase all data on it. That would be doubly true if you actually didn't check the 'Perform a quick format' checkbox. Double check that you actually did check the box and select the OK button. (Don't worry. This essentially leaves the volume in the exact same state that your phone's internal memory is living in right now: there is data on the drive...you just can't see it. It's coming back, I promise!)
20. Open the Recuva application. In the wizard select the 'Next \>' button. Select the 'Other' radio button and select Next \>. Select the 'In a specific location' radio button and enter: k:\ (assuming K is the drive letter you chose...) Select the Next \> button. Select the Enable Deep Scan checkbox. This is the magical setting that finds files that have been deleted...but not really deleted. Select the Start button.
21. Finally the application may take about an hour to do the 'Deep Scan.' It's time for more laps around the house! Once the application has returned its results you can choose which files to recover using the checkboxes. Select the 'Recover...' button and choose the location to which you wish to output your files.

---

**OLD ANSWER:** It was about restoring files via *Yodot Android Data Recovery* software. This DOES NOT WORK for Nexus 4 or any such devices which use MTP for managing files on PC.
> -2 votes

---
Tags: nexus-4, photos, stock-android
---


# Question
Title: Samsung galaxy S3 continuously downloading on gprs
My mother in laws phone continuously downloads from GPRS, seemingly even when wifi is available. Usually the downloads are very small and in multiples over a short period. occasionally they are much larger, up to 50MB.

The records from the provider indicate that some of these downloads are from Facebook and youtube, however she has not used these apps or logged in.

The downloads are occurring so often that she is getting warnings that she will exceed her quota (200MB/month).

She has set apps so they don't update automatically. Also she syncs three gmail accounts to the phone.

Does anyone know what these frequent downloads may be, and also if it is possible to limit them to only when wifi is available.

Thanks

# Answer
If she does not use GPRS, then best is to disable mobile data usage

But if you do not want to completely disable GPRS, then here is an article which shows how can you limit mobile data usage. disable or limit mobile data usage

here are couple of apps to monitor and control you mobile data usage control mobile data app
> 1 votes

---
Tags: downloading, gprs
---


# Question
Title: I can't answer phone calls in some situations
I have a Motorola Citrus running android.

I know this is a lame question, but I am a newbie to android and smart phones.

Sometimes I will get a phone call I can't answer.

The incoming call screen will come up. On the left their will be a green circle with an icon of a phone receiver in it. On the right is a red circle with another icon in it.

Press either will not allow to take the call.

I'm guess a setting is messed up somewhere, but I have no idea so I thought I would ask.

Thanks in advance for any help

# Answer
I'm not sure of the Motorola methodology for answering or ignoring a call, but on my Samsung, merely touching the green or red button is insufficient; it requires a swipe to convey the intention. I believe this was re-engineered to prevent accidental accepts or hangups through a mere button press. The green button has green arrows and a swipe in the arrow direction from the button will accept the call. The same with the ignore swipe along the red arrows from the red button to indicate the call should go to voicemail.
UPDATE: Searching the Droid forums, I see that Motorola uses the same functionality for call answering, but many users would like to see the functionality changed to just a button press. Perhaps you are an advocate of the same technique. See this forum for suggestions others have made to change the functionality somehow through app replacement:
http://www.droidforums.net/forum/android-app-developers/37743-button-answer-call-instead-swipe.html
> 1 votes

---
Tags: calls, troubleshooting, motorola
---


# Question
Title: Is there a larger interface for older owners?
Does anyone know of a larger visual interface for older owners on android phones? It seems to me that most programmers haven't experienced over 40 eyesight. :-) Much less over 50, 60 etc.

Having an option for larger icons and text throughout the phone would be a fantastic. I know a slew of over 40 folks who are technically savvy but have to wear reader glasses to see the phone interface well.

# Answer
I've thought about this as well for my senior parents. There are really only two options:

1. Replace the stock launcher with something like BIG Launcher ($10) or Large Launcher Senior (free). The downside to these is that they feel more childish, and some older tech-savvy users might not appreciate that.
2. * Increase the font size that Android displays text in. Some versions of Android already have an option under `Settings > Accessibility > Large Text` (SIDENOTE: Magnification gestures may also be helpful to some senior users who can remember them). Additionally, Big Font (free) offers more granular control over font sizes.
    * Pair that with a third-party launcher, like Apex and Holo Launcher which allow you to change the icon sizes on both the home screen(s) and the app drawer. Another nice thing is that you can hide apps with these launchers too, so you could hide apps that might not be helpful for the user to see every time they search the drawer.
> 2 votes

# Answer
When my mother first switched to a smart phone I made her a customized launcher with Lightning Launcher. Its free and has tons of customizations. Downfall is that it might take a bit to learn all the features but once you learn its really incredible. You can change icon size, text size, icon rotation, and even set it up with massive fonts so putting on glasses to use the phone isn't always required
> 2 votes

---
Tags: screen, app-icons
---


# Question
Title: My phone not registering to 2G (GSM only) network
I am using a Sony Xperia Neo L (MT25i). After updating the OS, my phone not registering to 2G (GSM only mode) network. It works perfectly with 3G (WCDMA only or WCDMA proffered mode) network. While searching for network I can see all the 2G network. I try changed my SIM, but for all the SIM its the same. While googling many are reported this issue, but couldn't find a solution. I don't know whether I am posting this on right place. Since it happened after the OS update I am posting it here. My current Android version is 4.0.4

**Update** I am from INDIA and my baseband version is 8x55A-AAABQMAZM-203028G-87. Does any one have other baseband on Neo L (MT25i)?

# Answer
As it seems you have tried resetting to factory defaults and re-flashing same update, I believe the causes might be caused by updated baseband. I would try reflashing different original firmware. You can also flash `baseband` only via `flashtool` so maybe it might be worth trying to flash baseband from the firmware that worked. YMMV.

You can find links to download FTF (original firmware) for your device:

Sources & more info:
> 1 votes

# Answer
Try flashing the latest ftf file from here. If you are already in .631 build try flashing the baseband alone. (Try downloading the ftf file again and flash).
> 0 votes

# Answer
Simple solution, just reflash radio for your device and it should work. If not contact your provider.
> -3 votes

---
Tags: mobile-network, gsm, sony-xperia-neo-l
---


title: Droid Mini charging and battery problem

text:
# Question
Title: Droid Mini charging and battery problem
My Droid mini have a strange problem, when I am charging the phone with some USB cables it charges very slowly and phone battery discharging very fast. but when I charge with original cable it works normal. are there any differences between the usb cable quality? thanks

# Answer
Yes, this is well possible.

Ususally, the manufacturer advises to use its cables only. But usually, there's no problem with other cables.

However, there *might* be a problem with the phases of the cable. Sometimes if a cable is folded one or more of the phases can break or a solder joint at the jack might be loose.

If it's the wrong one, your phone might charge very slow or even not at all.

But you also mention that your battery drains fast.

You can take a look at it by using apps like Better Battery Stats by chamonix or the usual battery monitor.

If you don't find any strange energy-consuming threads, then it might well be the cable - either a defect like broken phase.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: battery-life, charging, motorola-droid
---


# Question
Title: Upgrade UbiSlate 7Cx to Android 4.2 or above
I recently purchased UbiSlate 7Cx. It is running on Android 4.0.1 and has 512 MB RAM. Since it is very slow in running application and sometime it hangs, I want to upgrade to 4.2 or 4.3.

Is it possible? If it's, how can I do it?

# Answer
> 0 votes
A rooting procedure is provided at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2683754, but a Google search yields no custom ROMs for your device.

Sorry, but it's either you build your own ROM, or stay at 4.0.1.

---
Tags: updates, rom-flashing, ubislate
---


# Question
Title: Samsung Galaxy Ace can't connect to home wifi
Any other gadget in the house can connect to the wifi except my samsung galaxy ace. It says "Connecting", then "Disconnected", then "Disabled. Secured with WPA/WPA2 PSK". I've tried the #.#5 something solution and it doesn't make any difference. I've tried connecting with my aunt's wifi and it works just fine.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Can you provide a logcat of the issue?

Assuming you have ADB, connect your Ace to the PC, fire up ADB, and type

```
adb start-server
adb logcat > logcat.txt

```

The issue is probably because the router is having trouble giving out addresses, but I'm not sure.

---
Tags: wi-fi, samsung, samsung-galaxy-ace
---


# Question
Title: Export bookmarks from Android 4.1.2 Stock Browser for use in PC Browser
How can I export bookmarks from my Android 4.1.2 Stock Browser, for use in Chrome and Firefox on my PC?

I've checked the stock browser thoroughly, but could not find anything like the `Export` feature found in desktop browsers.

Would appreciate some help, since I have a ton of book marks on my phone, and need them on my PC.

# Answer
Assuming you're using the AOSP browser, you can opt to sync your bookmarks with your Google account by enabling Bookmarks in the sync menu for Google (in Settings app).
> 0 votes

---
Tags: stock-android, stock-browser, bookmarks
---


title: Moon+ Reader Pro TTS

text:
# Question
Title: Moon+ Reader Pro TTS
I know that there is a TTS ability in MOON+ Reader Pro. Can someone explain me exactly how I can TTS a ebook with MOON+ Reader Pro. I don't see any option or speak button.

regards

# Answer
> 1 votes
You find it in the options, in the "control" section. If you tap on an action (e.g. for "shake"), a drop-down opens where you can select many things -- a.o. *Read (Text-to-Speech)*. If you enable it here and then shake the device, Moon+ will start to read the text to you. Shake again to make it stop.

You also can assign it to your DPad keys, or the headset controls (just scroll further down on that page to see for yourself).

# Answer
> 1 votes
The best way to do this: At the bottom of *Miscellaneous Options* page, there's an option *Customize Reader Bar Icon*. Tap it and check *Speak*.

Now, you can easily access TTS from bottom bar.

---
Tags: text-to-speech, moon-reader
---


# Question
Title: Is there a way to play music files from a specific time? (From 0:30 til the end of the track, for example.)
I have a Nexus 5 and I'm trying to find out if it is possible to play only certain sections of music files instead of the whole track.

For example, if I want to skip the first 30 seconds, is there any setting I can change for the file or in the music player so that whenever I play that track, it automatically skips the first 30 seconds? Or if I want to play only the segment from 30s to 1:30s for that track, I can specify this is the settings for that track somehow?

I'm currently using the default music player on my phone, but if this is only possible with an app from the Play store, that would be fine with me as well. I browsed through some of the popular apps but they don't make it clear whether or not this feature is present.

# Answer
This isn't gonna be a the best answer but just Google MP3 cutter. I used one of the apps and they do a good job EDIT: Just select your points and hit 'Start Cut' https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.beka.tools.mp3cutter
> -1 votes

---
Tags: applications, music-player
---


# Question
Title: In Line Runner, what does "Restoring transactions" mean?
I was wondering, when I open the Line Runner app, I get this message saying 'restoring transactions'. What is that? This also occasionally happens when pressing the play button.

# Answer
> 3 votes
It means that the app is checking the Play Store to see if you have made any in-app purchases that have not yet been activated on that device. It is normal behaviour, you don't need to worry about it.

---
Tags: applications
---


title: Phone number and Google+ account

text:
# Question
Title: Phone number and Google+ account
Google recently updated Hangouts so that SMS and hangout are in the Same chat. Some of my contacts have multiple email with multiple Google plus accounts. My issue is that it randoms picked the account and they aren't the accounts I want them to be. Does anyone know of a way to fix this?

# Answer
Can't you just split the contact up in two? so if the account have two Google accounts it is just two contacts on your address book.
It looks to me that you are only able to choose between more numbers, so if your contacts have multiple phone numbers you can choose between them, but emails you aren't. (even when they are added as Hangout emails and is a verified Google+ account.)
The way i would do it is split them up in multiple contacts and then make a group chat with that person that have more then one Google account.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: contacts, google-hangouts
---


# Question
Title: How to Right-click in Chrome Remote Desktop?
I want to right-click in host OS Windows 8.1 using Chrome Remote Desktop app. How to do this?

Android platform: Nexus 7 (Android 4.4.2 KitKat) - No OTG Mouse attached

# Answer
> 15 votes
You can right click by using 2 fingers at once. This is the same for Microsoft's RD Client app for Android as well.

---
Tags: 4.4-kitkat
---


# Question
Title: Can I flash system.img.ext4 without unlocking bootloader or void KNOX warranty?
I understand that:

1. The secure boot process checks signature of bootloaders, kernel and rootfs, but not /system partition. The Samsung KNOX e-fuse is set to 1 when any signature is bad.
2. Tools such as *make\_ext4fs* can create custom system.img.ext4.
3. Odin and Heimdall are able to flash system.img.ext4 into the device. AFAIK, system.img.ext4 is not signed, so there is no way for the device to verify its integrity.

If all are correct, we can change any file in /system partition. Rooting then becomes very easy. This my proposed way of rooting without voiding KNOX warrenty:

1. Unpack the stock system.img.ext4
2. Find any binary which is executed by init as root. Examples are */system/bin/installd* and */system/bin/vold*
3. Patch the binary to plant a backdoor which can spawn us a root shell.
4. Repack the system.img.ext4. Hopefully the file size doesn't change.
5. Use Odin to flash the system partition only.
6. Boot. Secure boot shouldn't detect anything unusual, as it only checks bootloader, kernel and rootfs. ADB shell and then use our backdoor to get our root shell.

However, people are trying very hard to find a way to root Samsung Galaxy S4, Note2 or Note3 without voiding KNOX warranty. For example, the *saferoot* method make use of a kernel vulnerability. After Samsung patched the vulnerability, there isn't yet any way to root safely. My approach must be wrong somewhere. Appreciate if you can point it out.

# Answer
> 1 votes
It is possible to root these devices without tripping the knox flag

S4: \[ROOT\] Saferoot: Root for VRUEMJ7, MK2, and Android 4.3

Note3: Root de la Vega \[KNOX 0x0 Root - Lots of Versions - No Exynos\]

Note2: \[root\]Galaxy Note 2 on Android 4.3 without tripping Knox

---
Tags: rooting, rom-flashing, odin, bootloader-lock, samsung-knox
---


# Question
Title: What is the difference between rooting and unlocking the Boot Loader in reference to Android?
I have heard these two terms the most, whenever people talk about Android OS. One of them is Rooting or root access, and the other one is unlocking the Boot Loader. Are these two terms exactly the same ? If not, kindly let me know the differences. P.S I am a beginner to android, and already searched a lot on the google, but could not come to a conclusion. A specific answer would be really helpful. Thanks in advance.

# Answer
> 7 votes
`Root access:` Administrative access to the entire file system including the ability to change system files such as installing system-wide ad-blocker by modifying the host file on your device, or uninstalling system apps, such as bloatware that comes pre-installed on your device.

`Unlocked bootloader:` Even though it is possible in some cases to obtain root access without an unlocked bootloader, unlocking the bootloader is required to permanently root a device. This is because your carrier can simply unroot your device with an OTA update. Typically devices sold by most carriers under a contract will have a locked bootloader, preventing you from installing other roms (another version of android such as CyanogenMod) or tampering with your device in any way. Obtaining bootloader access on these devices is generally obtained by using an exploit, so if you plan to root your device do not allow any more OTA updates from your carrier until you check the xda forums for what options you have for your device.

For generalized, yet more detailed information, start by checking out this excellent answer.

If you decide to root your device, start by reading - How do I root my Android device?

Also have a look at - I've rooted my phone. Now what?

However, make sure you always check the xda-developers forums for updated information on what rooting procedures currently work for your device before attempting any rooting procedure, as these things change all the time.

---
Tags: rooting, bootloader
---


# Question
Title: How can I copy Whatsapp data on Blustacks to my new PC
I have bought a new laptop because I'm travelling to another province(state) and I will be there for 6 months and I can't leave with my PC. I want to know how can I copy the contacts and messages from Whatsapp on my Blustacks from my PC.

# Answer
**Contacts:**

Sync them with google

**Conversations:**

Your WhatsApp messages are automatically backed up and saved on your phone's memory daily. If you delete WhatsApp from your phone and don't want to lose any of your messages, be sure to manually back up your chats before uninstalling:

```
Go to WhatsApp > Menu Button > Settings > Chat Settings
Tap Backup Conversations

```

To export a copy of the history of an individual chat or group, you can use the Email Chat History feature:

```
Tap and hold on the conversation or group.
Select Email conversation
Choose whether to Attach Media or not.

```

An email will be composed with your chat history attached as a .txt document.

If you choose to attach media, the most recent media sent will be added as attachments.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: whatsapp-messenger, bluestacks
---


# Question
Title: OTA update removed stock Contacts app (Galaxy Y S5360, Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread.XXMI1)
My Galaxy Y S5360 did an OTA software update on 22 April 2014, and ever since then, after the phone rebooted, my Contacts app has gone completely! The data is there, so I have had to download Contacts+ app from Google Play in order for me to call/text my contacts, but I can't add or edit any of my contacts. I've contacted Carphonewarehouse, who I bought the phone from in January 2012, and they were unable to help. I've contacted Samsung, who got their remote assistance team to remotely delve into my phone (via Smart Tutor for Samsung app) and they were unable to help. I've done a factory reset, no joy. Apparently there is no option to reload the software update, as Kies is old and I can't update this because my phone is old and won't cope. I am at a loss what to do! I've raised a complaint with Samsung, so I'm hoping they will be sympathetic, but I won't hold my breathe. Can anyone help?

# Answer
> 2 votes
* download the required firmware bundle here
* install Kies, or Samsung driver pack
* unzip the package, You'll get 3 \*.tar (or tar.md5) files
* download Odin3 1.84 or 1.85
* stop Kies
* stop all active ADB sessions
* start odin
* do backup of your data and apps
* charge your SGY at least 75%
* remove SGY from USB or charger
* start the device in Download mode
* power off Your SGY
* wait 30 sec
* Press Vol Down, Home, and Power at the same time
* When (about 5 sec) Warning screen appears, release Volume Down and Power, then (a bit later) Home
* press Vol Up (You'll get Odin mode screen)
* Browse the 3 tar files to odin PDA=PDA\_xxxx.tar, PHONE=MODEM\_ or PHONE\_xxxxx.tar, CSC=CSC\_xxxxx.tar
* no PIT and/or BOOT files required - leave it empty!
* leave all other fields and checkboxes default!
* connect your phone, You must see yellow 0:\[COMxx\] in the first ID:COM and "Added" in the message box
* Start flashing by the START button.
* flashing will start immediately, see the progress in the message box, and progress bar on the phone
* Wait 1-3 minutes, until green PASS! in the upper left
* SGY will reboot, leave it as is for 2-5 minutes until startup finishes
* if it stuck (eg boot anim loop) then:

```
- Start the phone in Recovery mode

- remove battery
- resinsert battery, wait 30 sec
- press Vol Up, Home, Power at the same time
- when Galaxy Y logo appears, release the Power button
- when Recovery menu appears, release the Home button first, then finally Vol Up
- select wipe data/factory reset (Vol UP/Down + Home)
- select reboot system now

```

When Android boots up, it's highly recommended to set your CSC via the dialer *#272*\_your\_imei\_# (to see IMEI type \*#06# in dialer) -\> (it will erase all your data on the phone, but not the SD card)

---
Tags: 2.3-gingerbread, ota-update, samsung-galaxy-y
---


# Question
Title: Is it possible to wipe Samsung S5 finger print scanner data from recovery
I heard Samsung S5 has finger print scanner to unlock screen. How reliable is this? If I perform a data wipe or factory reset via recovery will the finger print lock still works?

# Answer
The purpose of the lockscreen is to prevent someone from accessing your data, which would be erased by performing a factory reset. A fingerprint scanner is not more secure than a password, it's only more convenient. A few cases where it falls short as a password are:

1. You leave your fingerprints everywhere
2. Its easier to obtain your fingerprints by force, than a password
3. Its harder to change your fingerprints than a password

And Fingerprint lock in Samsung Galaxy 5 easily defeated by whitehat hackers
> 2 votes

---
Tags: lock-screens, factory-reset, samsung-galaxy-s-5
---


# Question
Title: Can I put a QuickOffice File shortcut on my home screen?
I have a document in Google Drive that I am managing through QuickOffice, which is keeping a local copy of the file on my Galaxy S3. I would like to place a shortcut to this document on my home screen, but for the life of me, I can't find the local file. I'm assuming QuickOffice hides or encrypts it so that other apps can't mess with it, but that means I can't find it to make a shortcut.

It is important that this file remain in Google Drive, so I can't just create a local copy of the file and shortcut it through a file manager like ES File Explorer. If I could locate the local copy I would do this, but as I said, I can't find it.

So, my question has two parts:

1. Do you know where QuickOffice stores local copies of Google Drive files?

and/or

1. Is it possible to place a shortcut to a Google Drive file on my home screen?

---

*QuickOffice 6.1.183 | Android 4.1.1 | Samsung S3 1747MVLDLK4*

# Answer
Open your app drawer and jump to the Widgets section. Swipe until you get to "Drive Shortcut". Long-press and drop on your desktop. Choose the account to use (if necessary) then select the document.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: home-screen-shortcuts, google-drive
---


# Question
Title: Updated my Galaxy S II and know no spell check
I updated the Galaxy S II with Jelly Bean and know no spell check. I have not had time to go back to the sprint store, any ideas?

# Answer
Go to Settings\>Language and keyboard\>Samsung keypad settings\>XT9 predictive text. Then go to XT9 advanced settings and check the relevant options you would like.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: samsung-galaxy-s-2
---


# Question
Title: Android package for accessing 5 GHz wifi information like RSSI?
Is there a package file for android that I can access information of WiFi operating at 5 GHz. information like scanning the wifi networks available in 5 GHz bands, accessing RSSI of all the APs operating in 5ghz band?

# Answer
> 4 votes
Wifi Analyzer is a great app for viewing wifi information

---
Tags: wi-fi
---


# Question
Title: Are wireless chargers specific to model numbers?
I found this charger on eBay:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Qi-Wireless-Charger-for-Samsung-Galaxy-S3-i9300-S4-i9500-Charging-Pad-Receiver-/200962957683?pt=US\_Cell\_Phone\_PDA\_Chargers&var&hash=item2eca536173&\_uhb=1

However, the model number of my Samsung Galaxy S4 is SGH-I337, which is not what's specified on the ad.

Does the model number matter for wireless charging pads? Will the receiver for S4 i9500 also work on SGH-I337?

Thank you!

# Answer
> 2 votes
The model doesn't matter, but the protocol does.

The currently dominant standard is the Qi standard (pronounced "Chi") developed by the Wireless Power Consortium. This is the standard used by the Nexus 4, 5, and 7, as well as the Galaxy S4, and several HTC, Motorola, and Nokia devices.

Other less used standards include Duracell's Powermat system and the Touchstone system used by Palm and HP.

None of these protocols are intercompatible.

As a general rule, anything Qi should work with anything else Qi, however it may not work *well*. There are numerous shoddy charging pads on the market and the one you linked is probably one of them. It appears identical to one I purchased and it does not function well. The range is poor (It won't charge through a case of any kind) and it charges very slowly. I can't speak for the quality of the receiver they offer though.

---
Tags: charging, samsung-galaxy-s-4
---


# Question
Title: Can I control how google accounts get synced? Mobile vs Wifi
Under Settings\>Accounts\>Google\>(my account) there is a bunch of services you can check and uncheck.

My question specifically is I'd like everything to be synced but I want to be able to choose which services sync over wifi or mobile data.

For example, I'd like most services to sync on both wifi and data but I want music and g+ photos to sync only when on wifi. Is there a way to do this?

I also don't want to disable auto sync.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Syncing Google Play Music doesn't actually download the music: it just updates the list of what music you have. Music streams, caches, or downloads when you start to play it, and you can control that using the settings inside Google Play Music itself: **Download via Wi-Fi only** and **Stream via Wi-Fi only**.

In the same way, you can control when Google+ "Auto-Backup" backs up photos and videos, using the settings inside Google+. From the settings menu, click **Auto-Backup**, and click **Back up photos** and **Back up videos** to select when they're synced.

# Answer
> 0 votes
You can use Tasker automate with Synker apps on Google play store. After installed them create a new profile "State\>Net\>WiFi connected".

Next it request to create a new task. Go to"New task\>plugin\>synker auto sync". Next tap its configuration button and choose required sync options.

Next create a tasker exit task. In this task create "disable auto sync". Then, whenever your device disconnected from any WiFi it will disable auto sync. It's a battery friendly.

Save the profile.

Like wise create another profile with new task for mobile data connection.

---
Tags: sync, google-play-music, mobile-data, google-plus-photos
---


# Question
Title: -24 Google Play Error on installing eBay
Whenever I try to install the eBay app from the play store I get a -24 error code: "unknown error when installing application". I have googled the error and I cannot find anything relating to this. Anyone know what this error is and how to fix it? I can install other apps. I have an S4 on Kit Kat (4.4.2). I have forced stopped the play store and cleared the data on play services and play store.

# Answer
Use a root explorer, then go to `data/data` (of your phone not the sd card) and delete the folders of apps you want to install and reinstall those apps from playstore.

If you dont have root, a factory reset will do.
> 0 votes

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Tags: applications, google-play-store, apk
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# Question
Title: What is this fingerprint bar on my phone?
I've had this phone for a few months now. During normal usage today, this thing suddenly appeared. Tapping, long-pressing, swiping did nothing. It persisted above everything, even the keyboard (as seen), until I rebooted. Checking the running apps didn't show anything weird.

Anyone have any idea what it is or where it came from?

# Answer
> 6 votes
I don't know what it is, but I also just had it pop up an hour ago. As you said, persistent between apps and screens, but goes away on landscape orientation. I am on a Moto X Dev running Eclipse 4.4.2.

Edit: It seems to be a feature added by the latest update from LastPass: http://blog.lastpass.com/2014/04/lastpass-adds-biometric-security-on.html

Edit 2:I have just been stopping the floating fingerprint overlay service when it appears for now until last pass fixes the issue.

# Answer
> 5 votes
Yup, so the IOS version just was updated for fingerprinting and some genius at last pass must have used the code on the android version as well. Giving us this awful useless gray brick. Brutal

The second i deleted last pass, which i really cant do permantely or I would be screwed. the box went away.

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Tags: samsung, samsung-galaxy-note-3
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title: cannot play or copy corrupted video

text:
# Question
Title: cannot play or copy corrupted video
I have a Samsung galaxy S4. I have changed the settings so that the pictures and video taken from the phone camera are saved in a folder on the external memory card.

Usually this works quite well.

I took a quite long video recently (\>1 min) resulting in a file of 119MB.

**The issue:** The file seem corrupted. If I play it with VLC on my phone, it works for the first few seconds, then VLC crashes.
I have tried to copy the file to my PC using Airdroid, but the download fails at some point after 11.3MB (each time exactly at the same point). hence I suspect it is an issue with a bad sector on the memory card (Although I am not a specialist and open to other possibilities)

I have done a few searched on Internet but not found any solution so far. I tried for instance this tutorial, but this assumes that I can copy the file which I can't.

It is a great video so I really would like to recover it. Help!

# Answer
> 0 votes
Please try the following steps to see if your issue is getting resolved:

1. Install Web PC Suite from Play Store
2. Open the IP address shown on your phone or use scan QR code
3. Then try to download your file on your computer

This software is really good, fast and works very well.

Second method:

1. You can try using an OTG cable (on-the-go cable for S4)
2. Connect your pen drive to your phone using the OTG cable and then see if you are able to copy the file to your pen drive.

Since you have mentioned AirDroid in your question, I believe you want to do it wirelessly, so you can try "Web PC Suite".

There are other ways too, but you can try the first method to see if your problem gets resolved.

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Tags: file-system, video, file-transfer, files
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title: time/clock always on?

text:
# Question
Title: time/clock always on?
I need to have the time/**clock on** for about 30 mins. Just the time I can see in dark. The screen doesn't turn off.

Is there any application or way I can have the time on for xx minutes in case I need it?

**HTC Desire on Android 2.1**

# Answer
> 2 votes
Keepscreen can let you choose some applications and select a specific screen timeout for each of them. So you could just set the Clock application with the "no timeout" option.

# Answer
> 1 votes
There's a ClockView App. in google play store. It's a best-efforted always on clock. Please read the App. descriptions. Link : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kimscom.clockview

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Tags: 2.1-eclair, screen, clock
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# Question
Title: How do I temporary block someone from sending emails in the Gmail app?
I know Gmail has a spam and phishing filter but some emails I mark as such in the past still make it through anyway. Anyway, how do you undo such a thing? I'm receiving emails from an individual who I need to block temporarily as they refuse to stop but I need to check that account for other emails and so I end up reading the subject line. Is there any way to temporarily block an address or hide it somehow? I do not want a permanent block.

OS: 4.1 Galaxy S3

# Answer
That is possible.

Just create a filter where mails from the adress xyz immediately will be deleted.

As soon as you want to receive the mails again just delete the filter.

(When you create a filter in the gmail web interface the filters take effect everywhere; on your galaxy, too.)
> 0 votes

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Tags: gmail
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title: My galaxy S2 stuck on SAMSUNG logo

text:
# Question
Title: My galaxy S2 stuck on SAMSUNG logo
yesterday i was trying to recharge my galaxy S2 - i9100 which has JB 4.1.2, suddenly the phone stuck on the SAMSUNG logo for a long time. i tried to remove the battery but it didn't work. i can get to recovery and download mode but the problem is i don't want to wipe my device since i have more than 2000 photo on it and i don't want to lose them ( + i don't have any backup for them ) :(

so is there any solution to fix this problem without using the hard reset ? ( install the firmware again or make root or something ) Please help me :(((

# Answer
> 1 votes
Some recoveries allow you to navigate your phone with a file browser. Does your phone have an external SD card?

I have Team Win Recovery Project installed on my phone and it lets me copy stuff around, it even has a terminal to do whatever you please. So you could copy your photos to SD card using that recovery and then to computer.

Installing TWRP was very easy for me, I remember just putting a .zip in the external card and hitting install from the android recovery selecting from menu. Everything else was automatic.

But be tread carefully here; do a false move and you can potentially brick your phone.

http://teamw.in/project/twrp2

# Answer
> -1 votes
using odin root the phone . .after rooting the phone will enter into cwm download mode .. u will get extra option specifically the mount usb whilst the phone is connected to the pc. .the memory will appear on your pc. . and u can backup ur stuff. . .ALTERNATIVELY . . .just flash a working rom. . i did that and i passed the logo stage and got all my stuff back with no changes to the apps and their data just a reset of my phone software as if it was new

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Tags: samsung-galaxy-s-2, unbricking
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# Question
Title: Disable notifications when other audio is playing
I have a Sony Xperia Z1 with 4.4.2 Kitkat

Is possible disable the sound of the notifications when I listen music or doing something?

I'm watching a video of youtube, listen music with headphones ( device is silent), etc. but when telegram or whatsapp receive a notification it sounds. If i disable the media volume i can't listen the video or the music

I know that other devices have the option to disable notifications.

# Answer
You can goto `Settings->Sound->Volumes->Ringtone&Notification` and reduce the volume.

(or) You can press the volume down button to disable notification and then start listening to media.
> 1 votes

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Tags: notifications, audio, music
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# Question
Title: is more battery-dispendious shutting down or leave 3g on?
I know that many apps (like messaging apps eg whatsapp or facebook) every time like 30 seconds, ask the server for push notifications.

I know that **3g** has many state, when downloading data the consume is **incresed**, and when not in use (idle) it is less.

Since the apps are not synchronized toghether, the request from an app could be sent when 3g is just passed to idle state.

So i was wondering this: is more dispendious to **shut down** 3g and then **reactivate** it like 5 minutes later (to let apps download push notification) or just leave it on and let apps to use it when needed?

I know of cDroid which is a cloud-based android, and one of their feature is of course push-notification download synchronization.

Thanks for answers!

# Answer
> 3 votes
Apps that use *push notifications*, such as the official Facebook app or Google+ Hangouts, don't need to repeatedly check for new messages. The server sends new messages to the phone when they arrive, without having to be asked. My answer to 'How do push notifications work?' describes this in more detail.

What you're asking about is apps that *poll* for updates, such as email clients (when getting email from a server that doesn't support push) or some kinds of RSS reader. If the app has a setting "Sync every..." with options like "Every 15 minutes," then it's using polling. Polling like this usually uses more energy than push notifications, but not for the reason you describe in the question. In fact, Android already provides a way for apps to synchronize their polling so that the phone only has to wake up once. All the apps that are waiting for an *alarm* will perform their update at once, to reduce power use.

Connecting to 3G after it's been completely turned off by the user uses even more power than waking it up from idle, so repeatedly turning it off and on by hand several times per hour will almost certainly use more power than what Android does automatically. The exception to this would be if you have one misbehaving app that actually is checking for an update every few seconds, but since Android makes it easier for app authors to use push notifications or to poll in an efficient way, this kind of bug is very rare.

# Answer
> 3 votes
Turning off 3g and reactivate it later would consume less power, as all the data can be fetched once the 3g radio is in the high power state

When it is left idle, even for the most trivial data transfers, like checking the weather, the same cycle has to be repeated. Because of the long tail time that holds the device in a power mode, transmitting data as a series of small data bursts takes much longer and requires much more battery power than it does to send a single bigger burst.

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Tags: battery-life, 3g, push-notifications, cloud
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title: What is the default browser in Android?

text:
# Question
Title: What is the default browser in Android?
What browser runs on Android? Is it Chrome or a modified version of it?

# Answer
The default browser is, as far as I can make out, simply called 'Browser', and is based on the WebKit rendering engine. Android 2.2 and above use the V8 javascript engine. The combination of WebKit and V8 makes the browser very similar to desktop Chrome.
> 16 votes

# Answer
The web browser utilizes WebKit for rendering. WebKit was originally forked by Apple from the KHTML rendering engine, which powers the Konqueror web browser/file manager. The WebKit engine has been open source from the beginning and is used in many browsers including Apple Safari, Google Chrome, and a few other smaller browsers.

The Android Browser's Javascript engine is Google's V8 engine, which is also used in Chrome.

However, while Chromium is the open-sourced code base from which Google Chrome is derived, I believe the Android browser has its own codebase. I do not think the Android browser derives from Chromium, which contains code for integrating with window management, tabbing, extensions, and many other features that are well-suited for a desktop experience.

Browsing on a mobile phone is a different experience and I believe that the Google Android Browser application is NOT derived from the Chromium code base directly, though it does implement components that are built into Chromium as well.
> 8 votes

# Answer
The default browser is based on WebKit (the same as Chrome). It also has the same V8 Javascript engine. So I would say Android's default browser is a modified version of Chrome.
> 3 votes

# Answer
Every version of Android has an "Android browser" that is basically a cut of the open-source Chromium browser. For example, the Android Browser that lives in the AOSP v4.4 (KitKat) is based on the same code as Chrome v30.0.0. Applications that use WebViews use this Android Browser (not the user's default browser).

| Date | API Version | Android version | Codename | WebKit |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2009-04-30 | 3 | 1.5 | Cupcake | 528.5 |
| 2009-09-15 | 4 | 1.6 | Donut | 528.5 |
| 2009-09-26 | 5 | 2.0 | Eclair | 530.17 |
| 2009-12-03 | 6 | 2.0.1 | Eclair | 530.17 |
| 2010-01-12 | 7 | 2.1 | Eclair | 530.17 |
| 2010-05-20 | 8 | 2.2 | Froyo | 533.1 |
| 2010-12-06 | 9 | 2.3 | Gingerbread | ? |
| 2011-02-09 | 10 | 2.3.3 | Gingerbread | 533.1 |
| 2011-02-22 | 11 | 3.0 | Honeycomb | 534.13 |
| 2011-05-10 | 12 | 3.1 | Honeycomb | 534.13 |
| 2011-07-15 | 13 | 3.2 | Honeycomb | 534.13 |
| 2011-10-19 | 14 | 4.0 | Ice cream sandwich | 534.30 |
| 2011-12-16 | 15 | 4.0.3 | Ice cream sandwich | 534.30 |
| 2012-07-09 | 16 | 4.1 | Jellybean | 534.30 |
| 2012-11-13 | 17 | 4.2 | Jellybean | 534.30 |
| 2013-07-24 | 18 | 4.3 | Jellybean | 534.30 |
| 2013-07-24 | 19 | 4.4 | KitKat | 537.36 |

Original table

https://developer.chrome.com/multidevice/webview/overview https://decadecity.net/blog/2013/11/21/android-browser-versions
> 2 votes

# Answer
It is an Android version of Chromium, which is what Google built on top of WebKit. The browser we call Chrome is built on top of Chromium with separate versions for Windows, OS X, and Linux.

Some functionality was removed or slimmed down for the Android version.

It's similar to Safari and Mobile Safari in the sense that many of those apps' codes are WebKit, and on top of WebKit, there's similar/identical code between the two, but they also have many parts of the code that are completely different.

Google was just up for Open Sourcing Chromium

https://sites.google.com/a/chromium.org/dev/Home
> 1 votes

# Answer
Several.

You have:

* Opera Mini
* Firefox 4 Beta version (the newest)
* Skyfire (great one, and fast)
* Dolphin Browser.

All of them with pros and cons.

You have them in the Android Market.
> -1 votes

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Tags: browser
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# Question
Title: how to fix error message e:/unable to mount usbstorage on Samsung Note 3 - Sprint Variant
I have the above device rooted and installed custom recover twrp 2.6.x.x. I keep seeing the message: unable to moutn e:/usbstorage. And I think this is messing with my attempt to install Cyanogenmod 11. I checked the MD5 hash of Cyanogenmod and it is good. I have also tried older versions from the same nightly page. I just get this one error. When I flash the phone, if I ask twrp to check the MD5, it fails. If don't ask for it, it says that there is no hash file and reports that install was a success. But instead the phone goes into a boot loop. I saw this link about the same issue on a different phone. Here is the link Script / Fix Soft Brick Loop\_ EFS partition\_01.11.13Some of the people on the site say that the script worked for their Note 3. Others say that the script is not for Note 3. Also the download site seems to be malicious ( according to my malware software; so I can not download it ). I need help to fix this issue. I do have a stock image to flash my phone if anything breaks. I also have the rooting and twrp flashing tools and procedures. I do it in my sleep now. I do not know if I should start messing with PIT files.

# Answer
I found out the issue was with the image I was using. My experience was that all of the CyanogenMod 11 nightlies created the loop, and the only version that worked for me was the "snapshot" build.
> -1 votes

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Tags: samsung-galaxy-note-3, twrp, cyanogenmod
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title: Can I get rid of an unwanted acronym?

text:
# Question
Title: Can I get rid of an unwanted acronym?
Apparently "ESCO" is an acronym for something, however "esco" is a quite common Italian word. For some reason the native keyboard seems to prefer the acronym to the word, usually having it as default, and sometimes not even giving the word as an alternative.

Can I either remove the acronym, or at least force the word to have more priority?

(system is CM 10.2.1, Android 4.3.1)

# Answer
> 2 votes
Go to Settings -\> Language & input -\> Personal dictionary and add "esco". If "ESCO" is present, remove it.

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Tags: keyboard, languages
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title: Pasting text into Android emulator

text:
# Question
Title: Pasting text into Android emulator
I need to paste text into the Android emulator for testing. I'm running Android 1.6 on the emulator on Mac OS 10.6. Any idea if this is possible?

# Answer
Not sure if it is possible as I do not work with or use an Android emulator. What you can do however is place the text you want to copy in a text file and push it to the emulator. Once there, open it and copy the contents that way.
> 1 votes

# Answer
If you're testing on \>= 2.2 emulator, then you should be able to use chrometophone or foxtophone to send text into the clipboard.
> 1 votes

# Answer
What a pain, I know... same thing on Windows, Linux, etc. too I think...

My solution... (after a little bit of preliminary set up, but after that it's very fast to use every time after that for the most part) - Really wish I didn't have to do all this setup in the first place and "it just worked" like the iPhone/iPad iOS simulator does with this kind of stuff, but (grumble, grumble...)

I run the free version of the Abyss web server (starts up in about 1 second on a fast computer) on my Mac. I'm usually running it anyway as a test server and if it's not running, like I said its starts up in about a split second and it has extremely low overhead on CPU, memory, etc. - It's also nice that you can see that it's running in your Dock so you notice to shut it off when you don't need it.

BTW, I you can also do this with the built-in Apache web server (sudo apachectl start, etc.), MAMP, etc. but I don't do that with this for a variety of my own reasons.

Anyway, within the Abyss server (inside the root htdocs directory) I keep a basic html file called "clip.html" with the proper head tags, etc. so it can display via web browsers.

I then keep the "clip.html" file open in a text editor like BBEdit and paste whatever text I want to transfer to the AVD into the "clip.html" file's body area.

I can then pull up the "clip.html" file on the AVD through my local IP address (because currently the AVD doesn't work with the "localhost" address... sigh). For example while my iOS Simulator iPhone is perfectly happy with `localhost:8000/htdocs/clip.html` , for Android's AVD's I have to instead quickly check to see which local DHCP IP address my computer is assigned to by my router and use that instead (CowTip: find it with Terminal: `ipconfig getifaddr en1`). If you move around a lot with a laptop and it changes a lot, it might be good to use a different method with an external web server with a domain name and user/pass or use some other advanced techniques I won't get into here)

Anyway, aside from all that stuff, for example, this works where I'm located right now with my Abyss web server up and running:

`192.168.0.69:8000/htdocs/clip.html`

I then type that URL into the Android AVD's browser URL window, go to it and save it as a bookmark for future use. As you probably already know, you'll need to config the AVD so it works with your keyboard to type it in.

From now on (as long as my internal IP address doesn't change with my location), I just click on that bookmark and there's all the text that I've pasted into the body of the "clip.html" file. If the text changes, I refresh the AVD's browser and there it is. I can of course select it and copy the text within the AVD at this point. It even works with really old Android platforms as well (if they can access an URL with the browser, it'll work!).

CowTiP: If I'm testing websites or various local URLs with the AVD's browser, etc. I can of course also add html links into the "clip.html" file that I can simply click on within the AVD's browser and go to their locations. (Not as cool, easy and quick as simply dragging an URL's favicon from your Safari browser to the iOS simulator's iPhone, etc. but that's the beauty of using Apple's stuff, isn't it?)

CowTip #2: Be sure and make the text size in the "clip.html" file large for mobile. Just do that in the CSS style in the head code of the "clip.html" file.

CowTip #3: If you change locations, be sure and update your IP address in the URL and AVM's bookmark.

I have some other proprietary methods that automate many steps above with custom scripts I wrote, but I have to charge for my time to customize it for some else's setup, sorry. But, even without the scripts, everything above works great overall.

Hopefully, some day Android will make their emulator as good as Apple makes the iOS simulator in this regard. There's other ways to do this, but I like this way the best because of its compatibility with older Android Platforms and the ability to click links, etc.

Disclaimer: I'm not responsible if you don't know how to protect your server from getting hacked, etc. with proper configuration/firewall/etc. and if your computer explodes, etc.

Regards,

Cowicide

P.S. If someone knows a better way, please share!

P.S.S. I should note you can also do this with Google Drive and set up a document, but then you're sharing your data with a third party and if they get hacked (so does your data). And there's chrometophone, but then again, you're sharing the data in the cloud with a third party with that as well. If you work with sensitive data such as classified government/corporate stuff, etc. you should use my method since all the data stays on your machine. I work with sensitive data, so I can't use those easier methods except at times when I'm working on things that aren't involving sensitive data.
> 1 votes

# Answer
If you are connected to the internet and regularly need to paste text into emulator, then one nice way would be to create a Dropbox account. Link it to a dropbox folder on your Mac. Install dropbox on your emulator and link it to your account.

Thereafter, make any text you want, put it in a text file and paste it into your dropbox folder on your Mac. Then all devices linked to your dropbox account get synced automatically. Open dropbox on your emulator and retrieve the text file.
> 0 votes

# Answer
Or you can just email the text to yourself in gmail or something and pick it up from there.
> -1 votes

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Tags: android-emulator, 1.6-donut, data-transfer, copy-paste
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title: Llama event on manual profile change

text:
# Question
Title: Llama event on manual profile change
Can I call an event in Llama on manual profile change?

E.g. Change profile to Develop = when connected to laptop disable screen lock, always on etc.

# Answer
> 0 votes
No, you cannot set up an event to trigger when a Llama profile has changed. Changing a Llama profile is only an `action`, and unfortunately isn't available as a `condition`.

There also isn't a condition for `Connected to Computer`. But there is a `Charging or Unplugged` condition that you can use to trigger other events. If you are fine with the more broad event of activating a profile when the phone is plugged in (to anything), that's doable.

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Tags: automation, llama
---


# Question
Title: Set up alarm clock in llama based on location
Is there a way to set up an alarm clock based on your location using llama? I am using a HTC Desire X with Android 4.1.1.

I guess that I will need to use Alarm clock app somehow, I am just not sure how to do this.

# Answer
Sure, you can create a simple alarm clock with Llama.

First, you need to learn the cell tower ID of the location(s) you want to use. Llama uses cell towers instead of GPS (by default, at least) because GPS is much more battery intensive. As long as each location is more than a few miles apart, you should be fine.

Second, you set up an `event`. For each location, you set up two events, one for entering and one for leaving. I suggest simply setting a Llama variable when you enter, for example a variable called `Location` gets set to the name of the area when you enter, and gets cleared when you leave.

Next, set up your alarm events. You create an event, and have two `conditions`. The first one will check that variable to see if we are in the right place. The second condition will be based on the time, called `Time Between`. Set the time-frame to be one minute. If you also want to care about the Day of Week, you can do that as a third condition.

If both (or all three) conditions are met, then the `action` will be run. Add an action to `Play a Sound`, `Speak`, `Vibrate`, or do whatever you want for your actual alarm.

Once you have your first alarm event created, you can long-press on it to copy it and make as many alarms as you want.
> 0 votes

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Tags: alarm, llama
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# Question
Title: How could I set the default contact store?
I have an LG L5 (E610), running Android 4.0.3 (Ice Cream Sandwich MR1).

Recently, I moved all my contacts that were stored as Phone or SIM contacts to Google contacts in order to get them synced.

Now, I have only Google contacts.

But, when I create a new contact, the default store seems to be the Phone store, and I find no option where I can set Google as the default store.

Googling around a bit brought up one solution that *sounded* reasonable: display only the Google contacts, in the address book, then Google will be the default for a new contact. But, even this doesn't work; if I only display Google contacts, my phone still selects the Phone storage as default and I **cannot see my newly created contact.**

Any suggestions as to how I can set the default contact store? Or is this impossible?

# Answer
> 1 votes
This worked for me. Try to go to Settings\>Apps\>All Apps\>Contacts (not contact storage) and clear data. Also try to combine all the suggestions:

1. cleared data in contacts app as written above
2. selected the display only contacts from whatever you want
3. made a dummy contact, selecting the desired store location
4. reboot

I basically tried all the solutions, so it's a little hard to give the exact way to go about this. Hope this helps.

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Tags: 4.0-ice-cream-sandwich, contacts
---


# Question
Title: Rooting Galaxy S3: Entry in device manager not found when entering download mode
I am trying to follow this guide on rooting the Galaxy S3 (Referred to by this A.SE question). I'm getting stuck at step 5.

I have now repeatedly used `Kies 3` to reinstall the device driver: `Tools > Reinstall device driver`. If I connect the phone via USB, and on my PC (Windows 8.1) to to `Computer management > Device manager`, I find the following entry under `Universal Serial Bus controller`:

> SAMSUNG Mobile USB Composite Device

However, whenever I enter download mode on my phone by holding `volume down + power + home` keys for 20 seconds, then when prompted pressing `volume up` key, nothing is found in device manager, nor can the exe in `GalaxyS3Root.zip` find it. So I exit download mode of the phone by holding the power button for a few seconds and it boots back up. I have tried this process with the USB cable plugged in the whole time, and also while disconnected + connecting it after entering download mode.

Any ideas?

Edit: I did a google search which turned up some things, am trying them:

# Answer
> 0 votes
I managed to get it working using Windows 7 to root it. (Following the step-by-step guide without modifications).

The order of things I tried in windows 8.1, each time attempting the rooting process:

1. Swapped USB ports
2. enabled developer mode
3. enabled USB debugging mode
4. Reset everything to factory settings
5. Swapped USB ports
6. enabled developer mode
7. enabled USB debugging mode

And I had repeatedly re-installed device drivers using Samsung Kies 3 during the above. Nothing worked. So maybe it's just windows 8.1 that stopped things working.

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Tags: samsung-galaxy-s-3, rooting, windows
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# Question
Title: Why does heat problems cause purple tint / pink spots on my camera (HTC One)?
A while ago, I got a new HTC One m7, It is the best phone I've had, but it has one **BIG** issue, its camera sucks on low light.

I've investigated the issue, and I was told it could be alleviated with a software update, and it's been almost a year, and nothing.

The problem is in fact a hardware issue, where heat causes something on the camera, so it adds this annoying purple stripes/haze: Stripes Image, Tint image. And this hardware issue comes, apparently because there is a lot of strain on a chip (Zoe?).

Photos taken with flash look extremely good though. So my question is... Why does this happen?

I'm not looking to know what causes the phone to heat up. I'm asking why would purple tint/stripes appear there.
What is happening to the lens? or... is affecting the image processor chip? if so, in what way?
Or... is it caused by something else?
And... How come it does not affect my flash-taken-photos?

# Answer
The HTC One's camera has bigger pixels than the regular phone cameras ("Ultrapixels"). When you use your camera in low light, it tries to draw more light from the sensor, so the image looks brighter.

The "purple" issue is caused by bad heat insulation of the camera sensor from the rest of the phone, so when you try to take a photo the heat can cause distortion of the data the image processor chip collects from the sensor and converts to digital image (when you open the camera app it puts the screen brightness to max, so even this can cause the phone to heat up). When you use the camera in low light the image chip relies more on the sensor to collect more light, so this might cause only low light pictures to be affected (especially the color black, where the sensor tries to deliver as much light possible and there just isn't one, as it is dark). When you take a photo in normal light (or with flash) there is enough light and the sensor doesn't try to replace the color black with purple.

The damage to the camera sensor caused by heat seems to be permanent and if it's in an early stage it can be fixed by a software update which just calibrates the image chip to ignore the "purple" image data. But, as you stated, this is a hardware issue and if the software update doesn't fix it, the phone should be sent to a repair center for the sensor and the insulator around it to be replaced. As of November - December 2013 the new sensors are made by a different manufacturer and lack the issue.

Source: the forum thread at xda: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2317507 and personal experience with my HTC One M7.
> 7 votes

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Tags: camera, htc-one, overheating
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# Question
Title: Check the exact location of each other any moment of time
we have two android items one is nexus 5 phone with 3G connection with my younger brother and other one is nexus7 tablet with wi-fi only (with me) and both are in different cities.We both are connected to internet through our device .can I check each others exact location any moment of time? if we can then which App we need to use in india?

# Answer
> 6 votes
From Google+ help

> Google+ allows you to share your current location with the people and circles you choose across Google products such as Google+ and Google Now. Once you've enabled Location Sharing, Google shares your best available location.
>
> You can share your pinpoint or city-level location with others, and you can do so on a circle-by-circle basis. For example: you can share your pinpoint location with family, and your city-level location with your co-workers. You can also change who can see your location or completely turn off Location Sharing at any time.
>
> To use Location Sharing, you need to:
>
> ```
> Turn Location Reporting on from a compatible device [Android] [iOS].
> Enable Location Sharing and choose who can see your location.
>
> ```
>
> Turning on Location Reporting alone will not automatically share your location; both of these steps need to be taken for Location Sharing to work. Manage Location Sharing Turn Location Sharing on or off on Android
>
> ```
> Open the Google+ application.
> From Home, touch Menu > Settings.
> Touch the account for which you'd like to turn Location Sharing on or off.
> Select Location sharing.
> Touch the switch next to Location Sharing to turn it On or Off. Turning off Location Sharing turns off sharing for both your pinpoint
>
> ```
>
> location and city-level location. To share your precise location, touch Choose people to share with on the "Pinpoint Location" card. To share your current city location, touch Choose people to share with on the "City Location" card. Select OK.
>
> If you don't edit your "Pinpoint Location" or "City Location" sharing settings, by default, your location is shared with "Only you." Where does my location appear?
>
> People you choose to share location information with will be able to see your current location on Google products. For example, on your Google+ profile, it's displayed below your name and profile photo on Desktop, Android, and iOS devices. On Android and iOS, they'll be able to see your location on a map in the Locations destination in the Google+ app.

# Answer
> 0 votes
I think what you are after is Google's device manager app (search in play store). It lets you see the location of other Google devices registered to your account. It's primary aim is for device security. E.g. location if stolen or lost, remote wipe, make the other device ring.

If the two devices belong to different people, you can have more than one Google account set up on your android device (via Settings -\> Accounts). Just get the other person to add their account to your device (but turn off the data syncing options unless you want all their email, contacts, etc) if you want to view their location in device manager.

My wife and I use it all the time to see where the other is, e.g. find out when to expect them home, or where I am while out cycling for safety. Also viewable in a web browser from a pc.

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Tags: applications
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title: Is this AMOLED screen damaged?

text:
# Question
Title: Is this AMOLED screen damaged?
1. When i display a black screen on my phone, it is still brighter than when i turn it to sleep, is that how AMOLEDs normally behave (trying to "shine" the black darkness)?
2. When viewing the totally black screen (sadly dark gray screen) in dark, i see real black lines and dots on my display, see the picture i painted in mspaint. Is that a damaged screen? They dont show on turned-off display. *I think some old tamagotchi did this too :)*
3.
4. I read AMOLED can shut down pixels when displaying black (and save energy), can they do it after all, when they display gray anyway? Or is it the dimming that saves battery?

My phone is (should hopefuly be) Samsung Galaxy S III LTE (GT-I9305) so it should have AMOLED.

**EDIT** Ad. 2.: I googled a bit and it seems a common problem for all AMOLED screens. But since it is so hardly noticeable it isnt nothing to worry about. One poster summarizes it nicely here: http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s3/260791-amoled-black-dots-dark.html#post2726685

# Answer
The screen is definitely damaged. The only solution is to replace it.
> 1 votes

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Tags: super-amoled
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