# Question
Title: Is it possible to disable Google Play updates?
Is it possible to disable updates to Google Play and Google Play Services?

I have automatic updates switched off, but this 2 Google apps are upgrading itself without my permission, and I can only helplessly watch how the free space is decreasing to the amount, my Gmail synchronization is not working anymore (related to Does the gmail app stop syncing once the "Low on space" message appears?).

I know I should root my phone to move apps to SD completely, but I don't want to do that before the end of summer, to not risk not having mobile internet in case something goes wrong.

# Edit:

Device is a HTC Desire A8181, aka HTC Bravo.

# Answer
> 0 votes
The Google Play and Google Play Services, yes, they have increased in size, due to ever-evolving updates to Android. The only way you can stop this from happening is to have no Google related apps on the device.

Why do you not want to root it, in order to put apps on the SDCard?

Rooting does not interfere with the Mobile internet, and furthermore, Play store and play services, cannot be moved to SDCard anyway, so if that is what you thought of there, it will not work.

What device are you using in order to enable a better answer..?

If you were rooted, then you could remount the `/system` as re-writeable, and remove the app called `Vending.apk` and reboot, which is responsible for pushing app updates via Google Play Store.

**Amendment:** Cheers @*Izzy* for pointing out about `MarketUpdater.apk` also, note from the comment below, Izzy suggested "freezing" the apps, by freezing, it means to stop the service and effectively disable it, Titanium Backup can do this for you but does necessitate the need for root.

---
Tags: google-play-store, 2.2-froyo, updates, htc
---


title: Transfering SD cards to new phone

text:
# Question
Title: Transfering SD cards to new phone
My girlfriend and I both bought "Optimus V" phones at the same time with the same carrier,I have since upgraded but her phone is starting to act possessed by demons. Is it possible to just change out the SD card in my phone with hers and have the carrier transfer my old phone to her number?

# Answer
> 0 votes
You should just be able to swap the SD cards yes and all of the data will be fine, as for changing the number try just moving her SIM card over to your old phone, if the phone's not locked to a network then it should just work.

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Tags: sd-card
---


title: Is my phone using both WiFi and 4G?

text:
# Question
Title: Is my phone using both WiFi and 4G?
My Samsung Galaxy S4 (Verizon) running 4.2.2 (with the VRUAME7 Build, so root is not an option currently) has both the WiFi and 4G/mobile data symbols in the notification bar, occasionally the mobile data symbol will go away, but it is there more often then not.

So I have read through this forum and it says that by turning off the Caller Name ID app that this should remove the mobile data from the notifications. I have done this and it has not removed the symbol.

**Questions**

My phone does not *seem* to be using the mobile data, but I would like to know if it is in fact using the mobile data while connected to WiFi?

Shouldn't/Does the mobile data turn off when connected to WiFi?

If it does not turn off the mobile data, why not and can I fix this with Tasker? That is a HUGE waste of battery!

# Answer
> 2 votes
Your phone is not using both WiFi and 4G, but the 4G radio stays on and stays in sync with the tower (if you move from a 4G to 3G area while still on WiFi, you'll see the icon change when it recognizes the tower swtich).

On my Droid Bionic (Verizon), I have a Tasker script that turns off Mobile Data when I'm connected to Work or home WiFi networks; my battery life is greatly extended with this setup, and the phone works as I expect (I'm told that MMS messages require the Mobile Data connection, but I rarely receive them, so I can't say if that's true; if so, it may be one reason the radio stays on by default).

---
Tags: wi-fi, 4.2-jelly-bean, notification-bar, samsung-galaxy-s-4, mobile-network
---


# Question
Title: Transforming SMS conversation to Inbox and Sent Items
Is it possible for me to receive the SMS not in a conversation style, but in a traditional way like what NOKIA does? Inbox is separated from the Sent items.

# Answer
Pansi SMS supports inbox-style SMS. In Step 2 of the Setup wizard, you will be asked to choose either:

* Conversations
* Message box - **this is what you want**
> 2 votes

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Tags: 2.3-gingerbread, sms
---


# Question
Title: How to remove any icons from notification bar?
I want to disable a few buttons like "Driving mode" from the notification bar on my S4.

Yes, I have read exactly this question and I know the general idea. (I have seen it on 4.1).

But on my device with 4.2.2 the problem is: All buttons are enabled and there is no area for disabled buttons to move buttons to.

Is there any secret trick I have missed?

**EDIT**: There are some good screenshots about the situation here. And I would be curious, if this is specific to the S4 or specific to 4.2.2?

# Answer
> 1 votes
Unlike the Note 2, the S4 doesn't have the "Available Buttons" section in the notification panel. So, you cannot remove the items.

---
Tags: 4.2-jelly-bean, notification-bar, samsung-galaxy-s-4
---


# Question
Title: Can apps modify the system-level "Display->Auto-rotation" setting?
I've noticed in the last couple weeks that my Nexus 4 (stock rooted, with franco.Kernel) will seemingly at random lose the ability to auto-rotate the display. If I go into the Display settings and check the box, it works again, but that setting is invariably disabled again through no action of my own (or even a reboot) within a day or two.

Can apps, either in the foreground or the background, modify this setting? If so, I'll have to start keeping really good track of what I open to try and track down the culprit so I can complain to its developer.

# Answer
According to this StackOverflow question, YES.

Excerpt:

```
public static void setAutoOrientationEnabled(ContentResolver resolver, boolean enabled)
{
   Settings.System.putInt(resolver, Settings.System.ACCELEROMETER_ROTATION, enabled ? 1 : 0);
}

```
> 2 votes

---
Tags: settings, auto-rotation
---


# Question
Title: External USB Bluetooth does not work in Android 4.0.4 kernel 3.0.8+
I have inserted an external USB Bluetooth dongle into a Tablet via the USB port and try to turn on the Bluetooth in the Android but fail.

So, how does one know if the USB Bluetooth dongle can be supported for a tablet that has a USB port? (Given that the USB Bluetooth dongle has been tested to work fine in a desktop PC and there is no further information on the tablet manual on which Bluetooth dongle is supported for the tablet.)

This is the problem with all tablets which do not have in-built Bluetooth support.

Is there any application that can compile/root/install Bluetooth device driver to my Android tablet so that I can use it for headphones/file transfer, etc?

# Answer
I don't think that Android supports external Bluetooth adapters. From this Google+ post, it seems like CyanogenMod is adding support for it soon. Depending on what device you have, you may be able to root and install this.

If this is not an option, then you would need to provide more details on what device you are trying to use the dongle with.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: bluetooth, usb-drivers
---


title: Galaxy S2 GPS not starting

text:
# Question
Title: Galaxy S2 GPS not starting
A while ago my GPS was annoying me with a lot of 'searching for GPS'. I had to wait at least 10 minutes every time and it holds for just 2 minutes. Then it starts for searching again.

I searched for fixes and tried one. It was done in recovery mode by flashing a zip (lost the source of the site). Since then the GPS isn't even responding! It doesn't matter if I press GPS on or off, it stays off.

I've tried to clear cache, full wipe, factory reset, nothing worked. Tried a lot of apps in the market like: GPS status and toolbox, GPS fix etc. I even rooted my phone with a new kernel, this also didn't work.

What can I do to make my GPS work?

edit: I have a Galaxy S2 (GT-I9100) rooted 4.1.2 XWLSD Siyah kernel v6.0b5

# Answer
Got the answer:

I installed a fresh ROM (rootbox) and it helped. Weird that it didn't help before. Now I need to search a solution for faster GPS fixing.
> -1 votes

---
Tags: samsung-galaxy-s-2, gps, root-access
---


# Question
Title: Moving Robinson game files/user profile from one android to another
http://www.forumforpages.com/facebook/robinson-mobile/useful-tips/798367174/0

I tried the above but cannot find the below mentioned file which sound like what one needs to continue on playing the game at the level achieved on the old phone. I so do not want to lose the levels and enjoyment and hard work put in on this!! :)

"UserProfile.json" The file path suggested is there, but the Userprofile.json file is not there!

# Answer
My idea: If you don't see the file, try to use another File manager which has the option to *show hidden files*. (sometimes it is impossible without root privilege)

And save the App to the SD Card rather than the phone memory, then try to copy everything. After moving, try to *re-copy* everything.

(*server sync not exists?* game support doesn't recommend anything for you?)
> 1 votes

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Tags: applications
---


# Question
Title: Do not auto-mount Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini when USB is connected
I had an HTC desire phone, before upgrading to a Galaxy S4 Mini.

I have run into an annoying problem. On my phone (not on the SD Card), I have private data, including an RSA key, which I use to SSH into my different computers and servers. On the Desire S, I had the phone on default "Charge only" so people who nicked my phone didn't just get access to what was on it.

How do I do something similar with the Galaxy S4? I need some way to disable the mount-by-default so people who steal my phone can't just plug-in a USB cable and steal all my data. The phone should still be able to mount as a storage device, but ONLY when it is specifically activated.

In screen-locked mode, it still auto-mounts when plugged in - not exactly a good way to protect the data on the device.

# Answer
I don't know if this applies to the S4 but on my Nexus devices it shows up on my pc as a 'drive' but I can't access anything until the phone is unlocked (the normal screen lock - pattern/pin). If you have a screen lock set it shouldn't allow access to the device until you unlock it.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: security, usb-connection-mode, samsung-galaxy-s-4
---


title: Searching for WiFi toggle

text:
# Question
Title: Searching for WiFi toggle
How do I get the WiFi toggle to show up in the notifications area on the Samsung Galaxy S4 - Verizon - 4.2.2 - Build VRUAME7?

When I click on the pencil icon to edit it takes me here which doesn't scroll or allow me to edit the notifications except move the order around:

# Answer
You can customise the toggles by clicking the pencil icon in the top right. You should then be able to add a wifi toggle icon.

Edit: Ok. It seems like Verizon have removed that toggle. If you're rooted you can add it back though. See link here (contains screenshots).

> You need to download and install SQLite Editor - you need to download and install SQLite Editor
>
> 1. Open up SQLite Editor - Select the Apps tab on top and scroll down until you see Settings Storage and click it.
> 2. Click on Settings.db
> 3. Click on system
> 4. Click on the search icon on top right
> 5. Type in the word notification in the Filter Value field and click ok
> 6. Once the results load up, tap on notification\_panel\_active\_app\_list (should be the bottom result) and click on the pencil icon on top to edit
> 7. In the Value field, you'll see all your toggles listed. All you have to do is add the word Wifi \<-- just like that with a semi colon right after. Make sure there's no space after the semi colon like in the screenshot below. Once you add Wifi, click the save button.
> 8. Close SQLite editor and reboot your phone. Once your phone boots back up, you should now have the Wifi toggle in quick settings!
> 2 votes

---
Tags: wi-fi, 4.2-jelly-bean, notification-bar, samsung-galaxy-s-4, verizon
---


title: Install Cyanogenmod on HTC One X+

text:
# Question
Title: Install Cyanogenmod on HTC One X+
I want to install Cyanogenmod on my HTC One x+. In the Official Website there is no official release for HTC One X+. Can I install from the HTC One X Version or the HTC One XL Version ?? and there is an Unofficial release for HTC One X+ Cyanogenmod or should I install this version ?? Is there any particular reason or defect why Cyanogen didn't release one officially for HTC One X+ ??

Can you please give me the way to Install Cyanogenmod on my Phone ?? I'm a *Newbie*

# Answer
The HTC One X version won't work on the HTC One X+, so if you want to install Cyanogenmod, it'll have to be the unofficial build you link to.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: cyanogenmod, 4.2-jelly-bean, custom-roms, htc-one-x+
---


# Question
Title: Disable the lock screen when specific apps are active?
I'm looking for a way to disable the lock screen when specified apps are active. It's annoying when the screen times out and I have to swipe the lock screen to start a new pomodoro or use the calculator.

I don't want to disable the lock screen entirely because I don't want my phone to activate when it's in my pocket. And I don't want to disable screen timeout, because I want to conserve the battery. I tried replacing the lock screen with PocketLock, which uses the proximity sensor to turn off the phone when it's in my pocket, but I found its behavior too inconsistent.

My phone is a Samsung Transform Ultra with Android 2.3.3.

# Answer
> 5 votes
This can e.g. be realized using Tasker (in fact, I'm even using it that way for "prolonged screen timeout" with reading apps):

* **Condition:** App (opens a popup to select one ore multiple apps, chose the ones you want to act upon)
* **Task:**
    + Keyguard (disable)
    + Display -\> Timeout (optionally increase display timeout)

The tasks would be executed as soon as one of the selected apps is running in foreground, and reverted to what it was before as soon as the condition no longer is met.

Note: I know that *Tasker* doesn't come cheap (~5 bucks), but it's worth every cent. To "try before buy", visit its homepage, where you can download a 7-day-trial.

---
Tags: lock-screens
---


# Question
Title: Why is the SD-card mounted to "/sdcard/external_sd" instead of "/sdcard" (or "/mnt/sdcard")?
I recently upgraded my phone to an LG Motion 4G (Android 4 ICS). I see that the sdcard is mounted at `/sdcard/external_sd`. I also noticed that this appears to be the same with some other newer models. Apps expect the sdcard to be at `/sdcard`. I assume the manufacturers want to include a lot of internal storage, but why mount internal storage at `/sdcard`? Shouldn't this be against some form of Android specification standard?

# Answer
The reason is the history of Android: The first generation of Android devices only had a small amount of internal storage (around 100-400MiB) which was mounted under `/data`.

Next, devices with a, at that time external, SD-card came out. The SD card was mounted under `/mnt/sdcard`.

After that, devices with large internal storage came on the market. This storage was portioned, because `/mnt/sdcard` had become the default place for big data chunks from apps, pictures and such. So the Android environment had to have a `/data` and `/mnt/sdcard` directory. Therefore one partition was for `/data`, the other for `/mnt/sdcard`. This is the reason why you storage space could become low (the `/data` partition) even if there is plenty of space on `/mnt/sdcard`.

This situation was improved with Android 3.0: `/data` and `/mnt/sdcard` are now pointing to the same partition. Good job Google, that could have been done versions ago. Which is also the reason why app2sd is no more needed on Android 3.0 or higher: You would only move the data within the same volume.

Now we come to the answer if your question: Since `/mnt/sdcard` is already mounted on the internal storage, an external SD-card has to use a different mount point. And this mount point is not specified by Google. It could be

* `/mnt/sdcard/ext_sd`
* `/mnt/external`
* `/mnt/extSdCard`
* `/mnt/sdcard/external_sd`
* etc.

The API call `getExternalStorageDirectory()` usually points to the internal storage directory. This behavior is documented. There are open source projects that provide tools to find the external SD-card directory in a canonical way.
> 27 votes

# Answer
Forcing external SD mount away from `/mnt/sdcard` has no technical merit, it is Google's way of helping hardware vendors to create a differentiation point for phones with more internal memory.

There is no reason why applications have to find a way to locate the external card when `/mnt/sdcard` was clearly the place the sdcard should have been and Google's undefined way of loading external SD card is another less than consumer friendly plot to make external SD card less useful in newer Android devices. There is NO reason why `/data` and `/mnt/sdcard` had to be merged into the same partition on newer version of Android except for manufacturer to differentiate phones with larger internal memory from lower cost units with less internal memory. Even if the merge had to be done, Google could have clearly defined a *STANDARD* new mounting point for the external SD cards instead of leaving it completely vague. This is completely working against preventing further "segmentation" of the Android eco-system by a clumsy design to help vendor differentiation of higher end phones against lower cost units with less built-in memory.

Android app binaries are tiny, phones with 1-2 Gigs of internal memory should have way more than enough space for hundreds of apps, and all the large data could be safely tucked way on an external SD card. But then vendors realized they had to have a way to differentiate their higher end product, and claiming a higher internal memory become part of that scheme and crippling the usefulness of external memory is the other integrated part this scheme required for this to work fully hence the less helpful API to find external sd cards and the unstandardized mounting points.

So: No, mounting SD card at a place other than `/mnt/sdcard` is nothing but a business strategy for selling higher priced new phones under newer version of Android, nothing more than that. Just imagine, if the Nexus 4 8GB and Nexus 16GB can both use 64GB of external sd card for application and media, is there a reason for anyone to buy the 16 GB version? That extra 8 GB of NAND memory is not surely not worth $50 price difference if external SD cards are involved. Since most components in a smart phone pretty much has to be the same (RAM, processor, radios), the only area left for more profit margin is the internal memory space, and hence the weird external memry mounting point.

Also has everyone also noticed the absence of external SD support from current crop of "Google" branded android devices? This trend will keep expanding in "top tier" Android devices. External SD card support was a key differentiation for Android devices to overtake iPhone's dominance in mobile market. Now with Android ruling supreme in the numbers game, there's little need for this profit sapping practice to be up kept for much longer.

I won't be surprised by Android 5.0, the external SD card support would be a thing of the past. Because if it's hard to apps to find externals SD card, then most program will just simply use the known `/data` and `/mnt/sdcard` locations, with most apps use more and more stored data for its operation, a vibrant product mark up strategy is created out of "thin air" simply by not mount external SD card at `/mnt/sdcard`.
> 4 votes

# Answer
You should be aware (if rooted) you can go into /system/etc/vold.fstab and swap the mount points for /sdcard and /mnt/external\_sd....this will allow your sdcard to be on /sdcard as you expect and the remaining "internal storage" will be mounted on /mnt/external\_sd or if you prefer /sdcard/external\_sd/
> 2 votes

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Tags: external-sd, storage
---


# Question
Title: Can I use two different messaging applications?
When you have a new phone, before setting preferences, actions that have more than one application capable to fulfil that request, present you a popup with those applications for you to choose; for instance, if you receive an sms with a link and you tap on that link, a popup may appear with chrome and firefox for you to choose which application is going to open it and show the associated web page. That is an example of non set preferences.

I want to send messages to different people with different applications.

For instance, if I open contacts, choose person A and tap the envelop icon besides the phone icon, I'd like the system to show me popup with options of application to send the message with.

Or, I want to set a preference that program A handles messages to contact A and program B handles messages to person B.

Is that possible?

My phone is a Samsung Galaxy S4 Android version is 4.2.2

# Answer
I know that it's possible to use two messaging programs in same time (like two browsers), but i don't think it's possible to one program handles messages from one person and other program handles for other person.
> 1 votes

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Tags: settings, customization, chat
---


# Question
Title: Gmail mobile website messed up in default internet browser
For a few weeks now the Gmail mobile site is messed up in default internet browser. The scroll doesn't work properly and when you "touch" things it doesn't work "visually" although it quite works. For example, if I click the 4th inbox message, it looks like it clicked the 2nd message instead of the 4th. It's confusing to use. Another example is when I click the Search icon, it disappears when I try to type something.

I tried clearing cache, clear data from Manage applications, hard reboot several times, but it doesn't appear to get fixed. Anyone knows to fix it?

# Answer
Use the pre-installed app that was installed in your system. The gmail shown in your Android device is much more different than the one on PC. I suggest using/updating the GMail APP better than the browser :)
> 1 votes

# Answer
I think the website seems to be very heavy for your smartphone's default web Browser, Why don't you use other third party browsers? you may try Dolphin Browser or UC Browser they works fine.
> 0 votes

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Tags: 2.2-froyo, gmail, internet, samsung-galaxy-ace, stock-browser
---


title: Broken Google Play on cm 10.1.2

text:
# Question
Title: Broken Google Play on cm 10.1.2
I've updated cm from 10.0.0 to 10.1.2, and after updating the gapps too, several things are broken, including Gmail and Drive.

Now, **Google Play** lists them at "updatable", but it is broken and **refuses to update any app**, reporting `Error retrieving information from server. [RPC:S-5:AEC-0]`.

Some google services apparently work (Contacts, Calendar), so I guess it's no login problem.

I've tried wiping data of a few related apps, but it didn't help.

# Answer
The error *\[RPC:S-5:AEC-0\]* is down to having to remove your google account and re-add it again.

If your account is primary google account, the only way you can remove it is to factory reset and re-install everything! That is the only known cure and quoted by Google themselves! Do not think they are taking it seriously enough. It broke on a previous update to Google Play Store about two months ago.

I get that too, if keep trying over a few minutes, it will eventually update, not successfully though.

I do think its more of an issue on the Google system itself in conjunction with Play store app.

It's not just confined to AOSP JB/ICS or CyanogenMod, I get in on Gingerbread too.

PS: As matter of curiousity - do you have Google 2-step account verification active on your account?
> 3 votes

# Answer
You seem to have found your answer on your other forum:

* You need to flash the Android 4.2 gapps from http://goo.im/gapps
* reinstall all apps that are having problems

from: http://forum.cyanogenmod.com/topic/75232-upgrade-to-1012-messed-up-many-things/
> -1 votes

---
Tags: google-play-store, cyanogenmod, updates, 4.2-jelly-bean
---


# Question
Title: Where in my files can I find the stock browser's Favourites stored?
Where on the storage of my phone can I find the stock browser's Favourites? I want to backup that folder.

OS: 4.1.1 S3

# Answer
All the data for the S3's stock browser are stored in `/data/data/com.android.browser/`, but just like any app's private data directory, you can only access that if your phone is rooted.

Rather than try to find app data to back up and manage that process yourself, I strongly recommend you to use one of the many existing backup apps out there, or to use `adb backup`.
> 1 votes

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Tags: samsung-galaxy-s-3
---


# Question
Title: Path where Firefox Mobile Addons store their data?
I've installed Firefox Mobile on my Asus eee transformer and installed the scriptish add-on for using some userscripts.

Some of them require editing. The problem is I don't know which path contains these scripts.

Does anyone here know that? Or know where the firefox data is stored?

# Answer
As with all apps, they store their data below the `/data/data` directory, in a directory named according to their package name -- which is what you can see following the "id=" in the playstore URL. So for Firefox, data should be in `/data/data/org.mozilla.firefox`.

So far the good news. Now for the bad news: This directory can only be accessed by the app itself -- or by the root user. So if your device is not rooted: bad luck.

I could imagine that for userscripts and some other profile data, Firefox *might* (or might not) use some storage on the sdcard -- so you could check if you see a similar directory structure there. Certainly not with the "doubled" `/data`, and maybe even just named "firefox" -- as I do not have Firefox installed, I cannot check, but it's worth a look.
> 2 votes

# Answer
As Izzy says, all the data are in `/data/data/org.mozilla.firefox`, which means you can only read them if your device is rooted. Inside that directory, the path `files/mozilla` has a very similar layout to your `~/.mozilla/firefox` directory on a Linux desktop: it has a `profiles.ini` and a directory `asdf12yz.default` containing all the interesting files.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: file-system, firefox-for-android, browser-add-ons
---


# Question
Title: How can I access my photos/videos from my HTC Sensation XL default on 'charge only' and with unresponsive touch screen?
My HTC was dropped in water and now has unresponsive touch screen. The screen is not the problem, as I've replaced it and it still have the same problem. I can't send it off for repairs because it will be factory resetted. This phone has 2 years worth of important photos and videos, hence I really need to access the phone. I don't mind about the phone, it just have a lot of sentimental value. So can anyone help me with this?

* The phone is recognised when connected to computer
* Android 4
* Can see the screen, but not responsive to touch
* Default on 'charge only' upon connecting to computer

# Answer
You can simply use an app like WiFi File Transfer as explained in this answer. You can use a USB OTG cable and connect a mouse to use your phone for your data recovery process.

You may have to hurry as the water that is already inside the device can harm the hardware in your device. Keep the device turned off and remove battery. Try to give it a little bit of sunlight. *do not expose it to direct **strong** sunlight*.
> 0 votes

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Tags: screen, data-recovery, photos
---


# Question
Title: Can I jump updates / versions in CyanogenMod like from 10.0.0 to 10.1.2?
When I'm installing updates through the built-in app in CyanogenMod, do I need to install all the previous (stable) versions before installing the last one? Or does the last package contain everything between the running version and the last one? ( I'm only interested in stable releases. Say I'm running CM 10.0.0. If I want to install 10.1.2, do I have to install 10.1.0 and 10.1.1 beforehand?)

Thanks in advance.

# Answer
No, You don't need to do that. You can go ahead and install only the latest version.

Pro tip: to manage CyanogenMod updates, you can use an app called GooManager.
> 4 votes

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Tags: cyanogenmod, updates
---


title: Changing menu button positions

text:
# Question
Title: Changing menu button positions
After my Samsung Tab 2 7.0 got upgraded to 4.1.1 the main buttons changed place. `Back` used to be to the far left, now it's the second to the right, for example. This is amazingly annoying.

When it was new I did find some way to change these things, so I could get rid of the annoying `Screenshot` button that was installed by default. But after the upgrade, the possibility to configure this seems to have disappeared.

Any ideas?

# Answer
> 1 votes
With the stock ROM, you won't be able to do anything. Consider switching to a custom ROM like cyanogenmod. OR, if you like the stock samsung experience, you can find several stock based ROMs on XDA which gives you this feature

---
Tags: 4.1-jelly-bean, samsung-galaxy-tab-2-7, home-button
---


# Question
Title: Is there a way to find the 'the last factory reset time'?
Is there a way to find the 'the last factory reset time' ? any logs or any other stuff like that? Please reply.

# Answer
> 3 votes
Yes, it seems there is a way to find out about the last factory reset -- provided it was followed by a Google account initialization:

* Go to the Google Dashboard, login with your Google account.
* Scroll to the section labeled "Android" and expand it (by clicking its title / the LGM \[little green man\])
* Check for the device in question

Associated, you will find a date of registry. That doesn't reflect the first time a device was added, but the last time the Google account was activated on the device. So if you activate your Google account following a factory-reset, this field is updated and thus reflects this point-in-time.

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Tags: factory-reset
---


title: How does MHL work?

text:
# Question
Title: How does MHL work?
I've done (quite) some googling, but I still don't get it. You need an MHL converter, or adapter, or something. On one end of the adapter, all resources say, there is a "standard micro-USB" port, and on the other a "standard HDMI port". If they are all so standard, what's the fuzz about 5-pins vs. 11-pins? The HDMI port must be standard for all displays to work with it I guess, so it must be something on the (apparently not so standard) micro-USB side in the phone. Looking in my phone, I can only see a 4-pins female micro-USB connector. Or are these 11 pins (I have a Galaxy Note II) buried somewhere deeper inside?

Secondly, there is often talk about this "switch" that's thrown as soon as an MHL adapter is connected. USB-OTG is disabled and it becomes a display input/output port only (input for the remote control, if available). I guess that means it's not possible to connect it through a USB hub to the phone? I need a bluetooth mouse and keyboard instead of a USB mouse and keyboard if I want to do this? Or is this only applicable for the 5-pins MHL devices, and is the point of the 11-pins one that I can connect my USB hub to the micro-USB port on the adapter?

Thirdly, I've also seen USB 2.0 to HDMI converters. They're twice as expensive as MHL, but they have a normal USB connection and output HDMI, so that would fit directly in my USB hub. (MHL would also fit through a microUSB-\>USB converter, but it seems there is something special about the micro-USB end that I don't get.) The question is whether my phone (a Galaxy Note II) has drivers for that kind of hardware, and whether the hub is fast enough. Any ideas?

Lastly, if anyone knows this, I'm curious about how this works on the inside. The graphics chip of the phone sends the video-out to its micro-USB port, just like it would with HDMI, or does it have some custom protocol that the MHL adapter then converts to HDMI? What about HDCP, how can you prevent someone from reading the output stream if every TV in the world can decrypt it already? Or is it like SSL a way to setup a secure connection to the TV so that others can't read your data stream if they were to capture it?

# Answer
> 17 votes
MHL is a new wire protocol, using very clever signalling technology to use very few wires to transmit a lot of data: 1080p video, 7.1 channel surround sound, and RCP remote control data. MHL also uses the existing power lines on USB to allow the TV to power the connected device.

When connected to an MHL display, the *display controller* on the phone speaks the MHL protocol just like it would speak the HDMI protocol to an HDMI display. The MHL standard itself is just the signalling protocol: it doesn't specify what connectors are used. This allows the micro-USB connector on a phone to detect when it's being used for MHL, and switch to speaking the MHL protocol. Apart from the connector, there's no relationship between MHL and USB, so you can't use a USB hub: the cable has to connect directly to the device.

# HDCP

HDCP on MHL works in exactly the same way as over an HDMI or DisplayPort connection: the intention is that only consuming devices with a valid, unrevoked device key can perform key exchange and thus decipher the content. See the Wikipedia page on HDCP if you want to learn about that, or about why the intended behaviour is not the actual behaviour.

# MHL connections

There are three types of cable. The first is not an adaptor at all: it's just a cable for connecting an MHL producer such as a phone to an MHL consumer such as a TV. You can only use this if your TV supports MHL and has the appropriate connector.

The second is the 5-pin micro-USB-to-HDMI adaptor you've mentioned. You can still only use this if your TV supports MHL, but it means the TV doesn't need a special port. It doesn't use the HDMI protocol, or convert any signals: it's just a cable with a micro-USB connector on one end and an HDMI connector on the other.

The third is the 11-pin micro-USB-to-HDMI adaptor. This is needed for newer Samsung phones, which are incompatible with the 5-pin adaptors. Only the connection to the device is different: as far as the TV is concerned, it works the same as the 5-pin adaptor, and the TV must still support MHL. As you've surmised, the use for the extra pins is that 11-pin cables support using USB-on-the-go at the same time: the adaptor is Y-shaped, with a micro-USB connector at one end, and HDMI and micro-USB connectors at the other. The USB part works as normal and can be used with hubs, either in host mode or peripheral mode.

Illustration (credit: Rick Wessley)

# DisplayLink

The other thing you've seen, a "USB to HDMI convertor", is for PCs. Software running on the PC acts as an extra *framebuffer*, and uses proprietary compression technology to compress the video stream so that it can be sent on a normal USB link. The compression protocol is secret, and optimized for sending computer GUIs rather than movies. The HDMI end of the convertor has enough processing power inside it to decompress the stream into a framebuffer, which it sends over HDMI to the connected screen. The technology is developed and owned by DisplayLink (formerly Newnham Technologies), based near me in Cambridge, GB.

Because they rely heavily on software running on the producer, they don't support Android, and likely never will. And because the compression protocol is secret and proprietary, the open-source community won't be able to supply a driver either. These devices use the standard USB protocol, so they work with hubs, but of course any delay or bandwidth contention caused by other devices will make the display laggy and add compression artifacts.

Since this answer was written, DisplayLink has released an Android solution that relies on an app running on the phone. They claim it works with all of their devices, but it seems to be mainly intended for their docking stations, not the HDMI adaptors.

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Tags: usb-host-mode, usb-peripherals, mhl
---


# Question
Title: how can i connect the usb cable from my lg p350g into my computer to transfer its stuff?
i have done it before but the notification does not appear its charges my phone but cannot connect the phones internal SD to my computer. Please help

# Answer
When you connect your phone to your computer, You get a pop-up showing a green android with one hand being a USB. There, click on *Mount SD card* or an option similar to that. You should be able to use the SD card as a flash drive.
> 0 votes

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Tags: usb-connection-mode
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title: Filter contacts by account

text:
# Question
Title: Filter contacts by account
I have a number of mail accounts on my Samsung Tablet. Contacts stored online are synced with the local tablet contacts and visible in the stock Android `Contact` app.

As different accounts are connected with different task/activities, I would like to filter contacts by account.

Is there a way in the stock contact app to display only contacts for a given account? If not, is it possible to achieve this with a different app?

My Android version is 3.2.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Unless munged by Samsung, while in the People app you should be able to go to **menu****Contacts to display** and then choose the account for which you want to see contacts. There's even a "Customize" option which allows one to, for instance, only display contacts from certain of an account's contact groups.

---
Tags: contacts, people-app, contact-groups
---


# Question
Title: Android Facebook Version 3.4 - Sort News Feed
My Samsung Galaxy S 3 just updated to Android Facebook Version 3.4.

I cannot figure out how to sort News Feed by most recent?

# Answer
> 6 votes
Tap the "hamburger" menu in the upper left. (Looks like three short horizontal lines.) That opens a menu.

Next to "News Feed" is a gear icon. Tap that.

Your two choices are "Top Stories" and "Most Recent". A checkmark will indicate the current setting. Tap the one you want.

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Tags: facebook
---


# Question
Title: Any way to find a Wi-Fi connected (unactivated) phone?
I'm ALWAYS losing my phone at home, in various obscure places (on a shelf in the basement, under the coffee filters, behind the toilet, etc.,) and I was wondering if there's any way to find it.
The thing is, I have no cell package at all. None. No call, no text, no data. It doesn't even have a number.

I do have Google Voice, and GrooVe IP, but the likelihood that a call will actually ring the phone is.. unreliable, at best. I've given up on it as a method of locating the phone.

So what I need is a way to "ring" the phone over Wi-Fi. I've set up a static local IP, and I set it not to ever disable Wi-Fi during the daytime, but I need some way to contact the phone.

The phone is a Rooted Droid X with Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread. I am fairly tech-competent, and enjoy tinkering with electronics, so if the solution is difficult or complicated, don't knock it immediately.

The phone is lost *extremely* often while at home, but never while out, so it's perfectly OK if the solution requires a Wi-Fi connection.

P.S., this is ***not*** a duplicate of Question 2603, that concerned phones with the ability to recieve Calls/SMS/Data, and as such, all its answers are irrelevant to this question.

# Answer
> 3 votes
There are plenty of apps on Play supporting that already. The first coming to my mind is PAW Server, which allows that and many more things (basically, you can remote-administrate your device via WiFi with this app). Other, similar apps might offer the remote-ring as well. Several anti-theft apps for example.

# Answer
> 2 votes
Hmmm.... Suggestion:

* Create a simple android app that is listening for a broadcast on socket - over UDP broadcast? Once it receives the broadcast, start playing a loud tune a la "ring"
* From your workstation, make a simple python app to execute by transmitting a simple broadcast packet destined for your said device
* Profit \o/

# Edit

Fairly recently Google rolled out Android Device Manager, which it gets downloaded stealthily and sneakily, not confined to just JellyBean, it applies to all versions of Android going back to Eclair (2.1).

This can be found in:

* Settings \> Location & Security \> Device Administrators (*for Gingerbread*)
* Settings \> Security \> Device Administrators (*for JellyBean*)

Using this device manager and even if its not activated yet, go to the web interface https://google.com/android/devicemanager one can actually instigate:

* ringing the handset by way of the website contacting your handset **provided** the handset meets the criteria:
    + Signed into your google account
    + Geo Location is activated
    + Handset registered with Google Play
* If location is activated, the web front end will actually locate the device for you on the map right down to the GPS coordinates.

# Answer
> -1 votes
For your purpose you can use Android Lost.

EDIT: as with many others, with this app you can force the phone to ring at max-volume even when it is in silent mode. HOWEVER...

...the main difference of my recommended app compared with the Device Manager (suggested by other user) is that here you can select the ring duration, and what's more, if the WiFi mechanism fails for some reason (phone sleeping) your command will be queued until wakeup... and you can send as many as you wish (by using google API).

Additionally, *even it does not apply to your case*, you also have other alternatives as a desperate failover (sms, etc), and location is not only GPS but also network location. This is just a bonus for other users of the community.

Please, if you find my answer better than others, vote up!

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Tags: 2.3-gingerbread, wi-fi, lost-phone
---


# Question
Title: Why does Android drop files I transfer to SDCard while in recovery mode?
Here's my situation:

I have a Sprint Samsung Nexus S 4g. It is rooted, unlocked, and loaded with CyanogenMod 10.1. I am attaching it to a Windows 8 machine via USB cable.

Recently, the phone went into a boot loop, and thus I can only do anything with it in recovery mode.

I'm trying to transfer the stock ROM to the phone for loading. I follow these steps

1. I boot into Recovery mode
2. I go to Mounts and Storage
3. I mount the USB card
4. In Windows, I open up the phone in explorer, and copy the update.zip file to the root of what is now the G: Drive on my phone.
5. I try to load the ZIP file for processing. Recovery says "Can't open file /sdcard/update.zip"
6. I reboot into recovery again to 'refresh' things.

At this point, the file that I loaded is gone! It's not on the SD Card anymore. I can't find it via Recovery mode, and if I remount the USB disk, it's not visible in Windows either. Weird, huh?

One other thing to note: I've wiped and reformatted everything I can via Recovery (Cache, system, data, Dalvik, everything) and yet when the phone occasionally manages to boot all the way to the OS, I can still see my wall paper.

How can I get the files I copy over to actually stay on the phone? Any ideas on what is going on?

I just want to wipe this phone and start over, but I can't seem to make that happen.

Thanks.

More:

Okay, I formatted and wiped everything that I could. And now the phone only boots to fastboot mode. I mount the USB card, move a ZIP over, and double check it in Windows. I can open the file on the phone. But when I unmount the USB card (I have no choice), the ZIP is there, but the phone won't read it. It says "Can't open (bad)". This is trying with CM9.1 and I'm 100% sure it is the right version for my phone (crespo4G)

# Answer
> 0 votes
1. Try downloading the update.zip again to ensure it's not a bad download.
2. Try updating your version of ClockworkMod Recovery, i think the latest version for your phone is 6.0.3.1. Get into fastboot mode and ensure you have the drivers installed. You can flash this by downloading the relevant file and running the command `fastboot flash recovery <recoveryfile>`
(replace with the filename of the recovery you downloaded (eg recovery-clockwork-touch-6.0.3.1-crespo4g.img)

If that fails you could try flashing the factory image again. Download the factory image from here and unzip. There should be a flash-all.bat which will restore your phone to stock. **Note that this operation deletes all user data by default.** (although i guess you've already wiped so nothing left to delete!)

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Tags: sd-card, recovery-mode, boot-loop, files
---


# Question
Title: Headphones controls not working with xperia ray
I have Marshall minor headphones with microphone and control buttons for music. I am using these with my Sony Ericsson Ray but I am unable to use the microphone on the headphones. When I plug the headphones into my phone it comes up with `accessory not supported`. So I have to use an adaptor/converter but this only allows me to listen to my headphones, not use the controls on them? How can I fix this?

# Answer
The Ray's 3.5mm jack only supports sound. It isn't a microphone jack.
> 0 votes

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Tags: headphones, sony-ericsson-xperia-ray
---


# Question
Title: Sorry! the process com.android.phone has stopped unexpectedly. Please try again. force close
Why does this keep appearing on my phone which cuases my network to go off and on.

# Answer
> 2 votes
## On samsung devices

Over on the Sprint forums, they've posted a fix for this without needing a reset: Go into *Menu -\> Settings -\> Call settings -\> Reject with message.* If you have more than 5 messages in there, delete some so you have less than 5.

People are reporting that once they do that, they are once again able to receive calls without the force close happening. Hope that helps!

## In case its an HTC device follow this

1. Go to your facebook app and under *synchronize settings* choose to delete all facebook data. Afterwards log out of the facebook app.
2. Go to *account and synchronizing* settings and remove any facebook entries. Now your contacts should no longer contain any data from facebook and should not be linked with facebook either.
3. Go to the facebook app, sign in and re-choose the synchronizing settings. Press "synchronize" in upper right corner.
4. Go to *accounts and synchronizing* and add facebook for HTC Sense and perhaps also the normal facebook account. It will now start re-synchronizing everything and you have to link all your contacts again, but it now works

**If both methods didn't work for you go for an that will surely solve your network and call issues.**

# Answer
> -1 votes
This error message would not go away until I cleared my call log history.

---
Tags: force-close
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# Question
Title: Android: "wipe data/factory reset" won't delete all directories in '/sdcard'
I'm trying to reinstall my Asus Transformer TF101 with Cyanogenmod, I select the "wipe data/factory reset" option in the ClockworkMod Recovery menu, but after installing it I find that the original directories remain in '/sdcard' (I expected them to be removed).

Is it safety if I delete this whole directory just by "rm -rf /sdcard" in the shell?

Thank you very much.

# Answer
> 1 votes
`/sdcard` is part of the Android file system structure. This is where it mounts your external drives, the SD card. You shouldn't delete this partition. But you can delete the content of the directory either using an app or using `rm -fr /sdcard/*`

# Answer
> 0 votes
If you've already backed up whatever might be important on the SD card (images, video, any special files and such), then you are fine to go ahead and manually delete the contents.

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Tags: shell, cyanogenmod
---


# Question
Title: What might cause my phone to spontaneously stop booting into its custom ROM and only reboot into recovery mode?
My phone is a Samsung Vibrant running CyanogenMod 10.0 (Android 4.1.2). I rebooted my phone, as I do every few days, and instead of starting up CyanogenMod as usual, it dumped me into the ClockworkMod recovery. No matter how many times I select the option to reboot, the phone always just dumps me back into recovery.

There seems to be something suspect about the `/system` partition.

* Looking at the log under the `advanced` menu, it says `can't mount /system`.
* Going to the `mounts and storage` menu and trying to mount `/system`, I get the error `failed to mount /dev/lvpool/system: invalid argument`.

# Answer
> 3 votes
The problem was that the ext3/ext4 filesystem on `/dev/lvpool/system`, normally mounted at `/system`, had a corrupt superblock. The fix was to connect to the phone with `adb` and run `e2fsck` manually, like so:

```
# ./adb shell
# e2fsck /dev/lvpool/system
e2fsck 1.41.11 (14-Mar-2010)
e2fsck: Superblock invalid, trying backup blocks...
Backing up journal inode block information.

/dev/lvpool/system: clean, 11/25600 files, 3310/102400 blocks
# exit

```

After doing this, the reboot option in ClockwordMod recovery brought CyanogenMod back up with no issues.

A large amount of googling provided no guidance in this direction, so I'm posting this Q&A in the hopes that it saves someone else the chore of digging through forums and/or reinstalling their recovery and/or ROM in vain.

---
Tags: cyanogenmod, clockworkmod-recovery, recovery-mode, file-system, system
---


title: How do I install a custom ROM?

text:
# Question
Title: How do I install a custom ROM?
I have a sprint s3 and I just rooted my phone and it was done correct. my question is do I need to download the roms to my computer first then copy to my phone.I have been trying from my phone. it downloads but can't open. help please. thanks

# Answer
Installing a custom ROM implies a number of steps:

1. Root your phone.
2. Flash a custom recovery (4ext or CWM).
3. Store on you sd card a downloaded custom ROM.
4. Reboot your phone into recovery, select the desired ROM and flash it.
5. Reboot and have fun.

**Note**: Please **BACKUP your data** before doing anything! Better safe than sorry.

This article explains in detail each step. You can also find a lot of info about flashing, custom ROMs and all sort of things on **XDA** developers forums.
> 1 votes

# Answer
Make sure you have a proper recovery like CWM or TWRP

Download the ROM file off XDA, make sure you download a file made for only your system.

Wipe date and do a factory reset

(optional: make a backup of your stock ROM)

Flash your ROM

Wipe date and factory reset, reboot and $$profit$$
> 0 votes

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Tags: rom-flashing, custom-roms, root-access
---


# Question
Title: How can I root my General Mobile e-Tab 7b tablet?
How can I root the General Mobile e-Tab 7b tablet? It's currently running Android 4.1.1, kernel version 3.0.8.

# Answer
> 0 votes
If you want easy root access and Developer support, It would be a good idea to get a well known android device from the likes of Samsung/HTC/Sony, etc.

I don't think there is good support for niche and low volume tablets.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

EDIT: You can do something like this:

Look up the ODM of your Tablet. It probably is some Chinese no-label company. See other tablets which are based on it and check if you could root them.

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Tags: rooting
---


# Question
Title: Android Tablet Restored, Can't Reinstall Same Apps
My Android tablet 'broke'. Sent it in to the OEM and they fixed it under warranty and shipped it back. Now, when I go to re-install certain apps, they won't install to my tablet because Google Play says they're "already installed". But the OS was reloaded and they are no longer installed. How do I re-install my apps without repaying?

# Answer
You could try factory resetting you tablet. Not sure if it might help. It's worth a try.
> 0 votes

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Tags: google-play-store, asus-eee-pad-transformer
---


title: Nexus 7 blank screen

text:
# Question
Title: Nexus 7 blank screen
After watching a bit of 4oD last night on my Nexus 7, I turned it off. When I tried to start it up this morning, I was greeted with a blank screen whilst being plugged into the charger. I held down the power button, and Google flashed onto the screen for about 3 secs. When I disconnected from the charger, the screen switched off completely.

I have only had this for a week and a half. It is obviously still under warranty. Can I just send it back? I am completely dumb when it comes to computer issues!

# Answer
The same thing had happened to my N7. Here's what worked for me.

Let your device stay in that state for as long as the battery lasts, i.e wait till the battery is dead.

After that is done, Power on the devise by Holding the two volume buttons and then connect the charger or connect to a computer.

Use your volume buttons to navigate to `START` and click on the power button

That should bring it back to life

`Edit` Here is a photo of the boot loader I found on Google which shows the `Start`
> 0 votes

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Tags: nexus-7, screen
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title: Reinstall OS on GT-S5830i

text:
# Question
Title: Reinstall OS on GT-S5830i
Is it possible to re-install the OS (Android 2.3.6) on to my GT-S5830i?

If yes, how can I get that done?

# Answer
Yes.you can reinstall the OS.

There's a low level flash tool called heimdall (or Odin) that can be used to reinstall the firmware or install aftermarket firmware onto the Galaxy Ace.
> 1 votes

# Answer
you can do that in Kies, by updating to factory version from the update menu
> 0 votes

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Tags: 2.3-gingerbread, installation, samsung-galaxy-ace
---


# Question
Title: File Explorer for HTC Desire X - too many permissions asked for?
I have a HTC Desire X running Android 4.0.4 (not rooted)

I am looking for a file explorer mainly for 2 things \- Just browsing around the file system \- Copying an apk from my PC and executing it.

I went to Play Store to install ES File Explorer. It asks for the following permissions

* Storage
* Phone Calls
* Network Communication
* System Tools
* Hardware Contols

I have no idea why a file explorer needs so much permissions.

Are there any decent file explorers which make do with a minimum set of permissions?

# Answer
> 1 votes
ES Datei Explorer is more than just a simple file explorer. It offers a bunch of additional features, which explain most of the permissions you've listed. I'm using this app for years already and can assure you: it never abused any of the permissions (especially I never saw it making "phone calls", and yes, I supervise such things).

But for the things you list:

* **Storage:** What do you thing where your files are, um, *stored*? All file managers access the "storage". Otherwise they couldn't write there, so you could not copy/move files.
* **Phone Calls:** This is a *Permission Group*, not the permission `COST_CALL` itself. The only permission from that group which *ES File* accesses is *read phone status and identity*. So it can detect whether there is an incoming/outgoing/ongoing call (and see the remote number), as well as check your device's ID (IMSI). Not sure what for the app needs this, though.
* **Network Communication:** This app can also access the network (feature list: *Remote File Manager*). So you can e.g. use it to copy files from/to your computer, e.g. using Windows Shares (also known as Samba, SMB, CIFS). A feature I really enjoy quite often. So nothing bad about this!
* **System Tools:** Again a permission group. Here the app requests: *modify system settings, connect and disconnect from Wi-Fi, set wallpaper, install shortcuts, uninstall shortcuts, access Bluetooth settings, prevent phone from sleeping*. All mentioned permissions are explainable from the app's feature list, though the "modify system settings\* is a little unclear.
* **Hardware Controls:** Once more a permission group. Only used permission here is *control vibration*. So no danger from that, either.

So the point is to look behind those "Permission Groups" what permissions are really requested by an app, and cross-check that with its features. If something's unclear: ask, as you did :) "Better save than sorry" is a good attitude!

If you're still concerned, and rather want a more minimalistic solution (as you don't need all those features), there are plenty alternatives. But I personally can warmly recommend you this app, from my own experience: It's easy to use, and never let me down in years. No "permission abuse" either.

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Tags: file-system, permissions, file-management
---


# Question
Title: Viewing File System through a Windows Laptop
I have a HTC Desire X running Android 4.0.4 (not rooted). When I connect my phone to my Win7 Laptop, from my laptop, this is the filesystem I see

* LOST.DIR (Empty)
* Android\data\com.htc.album.thumbnails\

+ 00,01,02,03,04,05,06,07,08,09,11,12,12\_720,carmode
* \DCIM\100MEDIA (Empty)
* .data\mail\attachthumb (Empty)

Where is the rest of my file system? The OS, the programs etc? Is there a way to view it from my laptop?

# Answer
> 3 votes
If your phone is not rooted, then you can't access the "OS" or the "programms". When you plug your phone, you can only browse its internal and/or external storage in a file explorer.

If you are not rooted, you can use **adb** to browse the "OS", but you can only view it and you can not access `/data` folder.

If you are rooted, you can access and write all to the internal parts of the system, but it's dangerous if you don't know what you are doing.

In every case, you can't see it through Windows Explorer.

# Answer
> 4 votes
As Shywim wrote, direct access from your Windows PC is limited to certain directories – by default. But there are some helpers available to give you more details. Some examples include:

* DavDrive Lite – make the local file system available via WebDAV. This would require another 3rd party tool on your Windows PC (some WebDAV client)
* FTPServer – a small and lightweight FTP server. I'm not sure how much of your internal storage can be exposed with this without root.
* AirDroid – access your files (and much more) via your web browser on the PC. *AirDroid* is a feature-loaded remote maintenance tool for your Android device, and does much more than just let you copy/paste files.
* As you're using Windows: MyPhoneExplorer Client might be worth a look as well. It requires a PC companion (available for free on their website), and offers you a lot of additional features to maintain your Android device remotely.

Of course, there would be other means. Also already mentioned was *ADB*. For this, you might want to take a look at QtADB as graphical frontend – and at Is there a minimal installation of ADB? for how to get ADB set up without too much overhead.

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Tags: 4.0-ice-cream-sandwich, file-system, file-management, htc
---


title: closed ports wifi problem

text:
# Question
Title: closed ports wifi problem
I have these following issues :

1) wifi connects but the signal bars stay grey 2) I can open and search apps in market but when I try to download them , it says "waiting for network" 3) facebook does not sync, and the app says "no network"

after some googling I found that google syncs through ports 5228-5230, which are closed in my router. I have no idea how to open these ports. Is there an on-phone solution to this ?

my system is Micromax A116, NaturewizHD rom, jellybean 4.2.1 ( or 4.2.2 ? )

# Answer
> 0 votes
As those ports are closed on your router, there is no "on-phone solution", only "on-router solutions". You will have to open those ports on the router, use a different WiFi AP, or switch to your mobile data connection.

If you want to go for the "open ports on router" solution, this is beyond the scope of our site. But you're certainly welcome with that question on Super User, which (amongst others) covers *personal and home computer networking* according to their help center.

---
Tags: google-play-store, wi-fi, sync, 4.2-jelly-bean, facebook
---


# Question
Title: Using luks manager app for creating file based containers for encryption, is there any chance that unencrypted data appears in crash dumps etc?
My PC is fully encrypted and protected with TrueCrypt using. I don't use TrueCrypt encrypted file based containers as they are not safe from the OS itself. The official TrueCrypt site states that file based container encryption is insufficient because the operating system stores fragments of files and other metadata in various places in clear unencrypted form(hiberfil.sys, pagefile, crash dumps etc):

> System encryption provides the highest level of security and privacy, because all files, including any temporary files that Windows and applications create on the system partition (typically, without your knowledge or consent), hibernation files, swap files, etc., are always permanently encrypted (even when power supply is suddenly interrupted). Windows also records large amounts of potentially sensitive data, such as the names and locations of files you open, applications you run, etc. All such log files and registry entries are always permanently encrypted too.

My question is that is this a problem with android too? I have encrypted containers created with the "luks manager". One of them contains highly sensitive data, making me paranoid enough to think that the android device might also be storing file fragments and other details like windows does.

Does android have temp files, crash dumps etc?

although full device encryption is possible since honeycomb 3.0 it does not allow plausible deniability or hidden android OS etc(of course, its not useful for almost all who use Android)

# Answer
With full device encryption, unencrypted fragments should be available in volatile RAM only – which means an attacker needs physical access to the running system. There's no such thing as 100% security, but I'd say that's as close as you can get, when combining it with a good lock mechanism (best encryption is useless if you don't lock your device and an attacker can get physical access).

Als for LUKS, I'd recommend checking with their project site, which contains a bunch of information. A raw scan (I don't use LUKS myself) even revealed information on how to use LUKS to fully encrypt partitions on the Android device. The LUKS team will also be the best address for technical details.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: encryption
---


title: Can i upgrade to jelly Bean?

text:
# Question
Title: Can i upgrade to jelly Bean?
I have a Zigo EON 5i. It runs ICS 4.0.4, has 512 MB RAM, a 1 GHz proccesor – ARM v7, Powervr and 128 MB internal memory.

Can I flash and add a custom rom? And if so, which one? I need Jelly Bean.

# Answer
no they have jelly beans for ther nebula 6.9 and eon 6i but they are not palaning on making a rom to upgrade eon 5i..and going for a custom rom that created for another brand /model is such a risk.and personally im think that jelly beans will not suit the eon5i bcs its lack of low internal memory however Zigo technical crew is much friendly once i've soft bricked my 5i by system change.and though didnt had a rom bakup.and had go to service center they are very frindly and rooted by themself after resoftware.anyway if you need any help regarding rooting Zigo come to my group and feel free to ask questions.im still learning about roms and methods. here is my group
> 0 votes

# Answer
I'd suggest you should contact the manufacturer.
> -1 votes

---
Tags: cyanogenmod, 4.1-jelly-bean, custom-roms, 4.2-jelly-bean
---


# Question
Title: Screen resolution on Nexus 4 and Nexus 7
If I understand this answer correctly, then the Nexus 7 (7" screen at 1280x800) should show more of a given webpage (or of anything else) than the Nexus 4 (4.7" screen at 1280x768). This means that a Nexus 7 will not simply look like an enlarged Nexus 4? It will appear to have a higher resolution, because of the "dp" value mentioned in that post?

I have a handset similar to the Nexus 4 and am considering a Nexus 7. However, if the Nexus 7 will appear as a larger version of my current handset (that is, what I see on screen at the moment will still appear on a full screen on the Nexus 7), then the purchase may not be worth it.

# Answer
How the webpage is displayed depends on your choice of brower and your settings. Chrome on my devices by default displays webpages by width in desktop mode, so I see the same content horizontally on my phone and Nexus 7. But I'd say the web browsing experience on Nexus 7 is much better than on a phone due to the large screen, you can definitely see more on the Nexus 7 (vertically).

Source: I have an original Note (larger screen than Nexus 4) and Nexus 7.
> 3 votes

---
Tags: nexus-7, nexus-4, screen-resolution
---


# Question
Title: Youtube videos open in browser by default
When I'm browsing the net using the Internet app (the default browser), youtube links open up in the browser and not in the youtube app. I don't get to choose any option like before. In Applications Manager \> Internet **there are no defaults set**. I tried clearing cache & data for Internet & Youtube app but I still have this problem. Same thing with Facebook youtube links, they open in the browser, no option to have it opened in youtube...it's driving me crazy

I'm using a Samsung Galaxy S3 with Jelly Bean.

Turns out this problem is also on the HTC EVO (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1688866), something to do with an Apple lawsuit. If I remember correctly, **I didn't have this problem when I had Ice Cream Sandwich on.**

Also, if I long press a YT link in the browser, no option shows up to open it in the app? What gives?

# Answer
Try resetting app preferences. Go to **Settings**-\>**Apps**, choose from menu **Reset app preferences** and confirm **Reset apps**. This will reset all app preferences.

To reset preferences for specific app (e.g. Browser), choose it in **Settings**-\>**Apps** and press **Clear defaults** button in **Launch by default** section.

Next time you try to open YouTube video you should be asked which app to use.

These instruction were verified on pure Jelly Bean (on Galaxy Nexus).
> 8 votes

# Answer
I had the same problem, here's one way to fix it: set user agent string as desktop.

To do so, type about:debug in address bar to get debug settings, then go to Settings \> Debug \> UA String. Set it to Desktop, restart browser and load any YT URL - it should show you the option to open YouTube app.

Tested personally on Nexus S running Android 4.2.
> 4 votes

# Answer
FacebookLinks fix the problem of Facebook, it allow you to open youtube post from Facebook directly using Youtube app!

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.obteq.sharetoyoutube
> 1 votes

# Answer
Goto Apps in Settings and clear the youtube app preferences. It will reset your data and you will be prompted to open videos.
> -1 votes

# Answer
This really worked for me! Just follow these steps:

1. Go to *Settings*
2. Go to *Apps*
3. click on the *Google Chrome* app
4. Go down and click "clear defaults"

Your all done and the next time you click to watch a video it should give you the option to chose Youtube app.
> -1 votes

---
Tags: youtube, default-applications
---


# Question
Title: How many apps available for android which have option for setting up a proxy authentication
I am running Android 2.3.5 on my HTC Explorer phone.And I always connect to internet through my college's wifi which is behind a proxy server and requires basic authentication.Till now i can only connect my browser to the internet,By setting up the proxy server in wifi settings. I want to know are their other apps available,other than web browsers which have options for proxy settings.Like some online music app,mail checking,some online video viewing app etc. I dont want to root.

# Answer
> 0 votes
There are many, the prominent ones being Hotspot Shield and Hideman VPN. Hotspot shield works really well so I never tried using any other VPN.

---
Tags: proxy
---


# Question
Title: Is it possible to browse files on a powered-off Android devices from a PC?
My Sony Xperia Z doesn't boot, so I may need to flash it, but I want to have a backup from files on internal storage before flashing.

Is it possible to connect (Android) phone to a PC while it's powered off and browse files on the phone?

# Answer
No, while the phone's powered off you can't read the files on it. If your bootloader is already unlocked, you might be able to find a custom recovery that just lets you mount as a USB drive. In that case, booting into the recovery would be sufficient even if the main OS doesn't boot. Of course, if your bootloader isn't unlocked, unlocking it to flash a custom recovery would wipe the storage anyway.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: sony-xperia-z
---


# Question
Title: How do I configure ADB for the Huawei U8650 on Windows?
I have an Huawei U8650 smartphone. And, as I understand, I need system device drivers for it to be able to develop and debug applications for it using Windows.

On Linux this is as simple as just typing an identifier number in a few places and I'm able to run and debug applications. However I can't seem to find the appropriate drivers to be able to do this on Windows.

Does anyone have any idea how to set it up on a Windows machine?

# Answer
> 0 votes
As pendant to the UDEV setup you describe in your question, Windows needs a special driver. Until recently that meant the manufacturer had to provide one matching to the device; but luckily we now have the Universal Android USB Driver, which should work for most devices. If that doesn't work for yours, you need to check with Huawei for a specific driver.

---
Tags: adb, windows, huawei-u8650
---


# Question
Title: Chrome browser in Android always renames downloaded file to Download.bin
I'm using a Nexus 7 device and whenever I download a file greater than 28MB, the Chrome browser renames it to Download.bin no matter what the name of the file. When I download a file less than 28MB, the type (jpg, for instance) remains intact but the name of the file is changed to "Download". When I use Firefox within android, the files are downloaded as expected no matter what the size. My hunch is that this is some security feature built into Chrome. The site is hosted by IIS 7.5 and I'm using the BOM with JavaScript to download the file. Any idea of a workaround for this so that Chrome downloads the files correctly? It works correctly on the desktop version of Chrome, but not the android version of Chrome. Would appreciate any help!

# Answer
This issue is caused by the fact that the Android Chrome browser doesn't understand UTF-8 encoding. I was UTF-8 encoding the file names since the desktop version of Chrome requires this. It turns out that file names don't need to be UTF-8 encoded for non-ascii characters for the Android Chrome browser. I was able to successfully download a file using Android Chrome with Korean characters in it without encoding it with UTF-8.
> 0 votes

# Answer
It's possible there may be a problem with the site itself, or the browser. What you can do is to rename the .bin file to the expected filename. e.g. If you downloaded music.mp3 and the browser renamed it to anotherfilename.bin, just rename it to music.mp3 using a file manager.

You could also try other browsers. Give Dolphin, Boat Browser, or Opera a try and see if you still encounter the same problem.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: 4.2-jelly-bean, nexus-7, downloading, chrome-for-android
---


# Question
Title: Sending calls to voicemail when I am in a meeting
If my aCalendar, or any calendar for that matter, has an appointment, I would like the phone to recognize that I am in a meeting and the call then vibrates or is silent etc.

For instance:

* If I am in church, I want the phone to register this and then direct the call to voice mail.
* If I am in a meeting, I would like the option to have calls come through or go to voicemail.

I do not want a blanket approach, but I would like to be able to set this on a meeting by meeting basis. I have looked at the Llama app and may try to Tasker app, but there must be something built into the phone that will allow this.

# Answer
Using tasker you can accomplish this and more fairly easily once you know how to use it. To solve the whole phone ringing while you are in a meeting you have a few options with how to do it in Tasker. You can choose to silence your phone while in meetings, set it to vibrate, block all phone calls (probably not the best choice) or send them all to voicemail. I will go through how to create a profile for the latter. First, Create a new profile:

Next select State, then App, and then Calendar Entry

For the Calendar entry settings you need to make sure to select **No** for availability and then you can click the magnifying glass next to Calendar to select which calendar it should be referencing. Then click the check mark.

Now to create a task to do during that meeting. Select New task and then click the plus (+) sign in the lower left corner.

For the action select Phone and then Select End Call and then the check mark

Once you have done that you can click the check mark to close and save the task. Go to the Profiles tab at the top, then click on your Profile you created and long press on the Context below it (the Calendar setting on the left). This should bring up a Context menu. Select Add and then Event.

From Events select Phone and then Phone Ringing.

Now you have a Profile to push phone calls to voicemail when you are in meetings.
> 3 votes

# Answer
You might have a look at Silence.

It primarily turns off audio alerts/ringtones on schedule but can also manipulate wifi and mobile data and is pretty granular. It also recently added the ability to use events on Google Calendar.

I use it to turn off the ringer (I like to sit in the quiet car) and wifi (there's none to connect to) during my commute on the train, and also to set the phone to vibrate during a meeting.
> 0 votes

# Answer
I wrote an app called Free Busy Silent Mode. It does not direct the call to voicemail, but you have an option to set the phone to silent
> 0 votes

---
Tags: hardware, automation, voicemail
---


# Question
Title: Auto-sync data turns itself off randomly
On my Nexus 4, sync turns itself off randomly.

Almost once a day, the option **Settings \> Data usage \> Auto-sync data** gets silently unchecked. My Nexus 4 is brand new, and I have not installed any apps that I think would interfere with system settings.

This is very annoying because I cannot rely on sync at all; I frequently miss important emails etc. Manual syncing is not an option.

# Answer
> 1 votes
I don't have an answer to that. I do have a workaround for it though.

Download this app from the play store called AutomateIt. It's an app that allows you to make the phones to respond to certain situations.

You could make a rule for the phone to follow, maybe something like: turn auto sync ON when screen is turned on.

Hope this helps.

---
Tags: sync, nexus-4
---


# Question
Title: How do I prevent the media volume from changing when a headphone is plugged in?
Device: Samsung Galaxy S4
Android: Stock 4.2.2

When I listen to music with a headphone using PowerAmp, I usually set the Media volume to the max setting. *I am hard of hearing*. When I'm done, I just close PowerAmp and unplug the headphone. Then when I want to play music again, I plug-in the headset again. At this point, I assumme the media volume setting is still at max. However, it's not. Instead, the volume has been reduced to nearly half (or at least, not max anymore).

The same behavior seems to happen even with the stock Music player.

How do I prevent the media volume from changing when a headphone is plugged in?

# Answer
> 0 votes
Thought of using Tasker? I use it the other way. When ever I plugin my headphones, all volumes should come down irrespective of what ever value it was before.

I use Tasker to detect inserting the head phones and used an entry task to being down the volumes. I couldn't succeed sorting the volume levels before bringing it down so that I can restore them back in an exit task. Hence I restore them to a predetermined levels in the exit task.

---
Tags: audio, headphones
---


title: Upgrading HTC Wildfire S to Jelly Bean

text:
# Question
Title: Upgrading HTC Wildfire S to Jelly Bean
How can I upgrade my wildfire s to jellybean? Help anyone? What are the risks? I tried to look up on google but couldn't find anything usefull..HELP!

# Answer
> 0 votes
HTC has dropped upgrade support for the Wildfire S. If you want to have Jelly Bean you have to :

# **1. Unlock the bootloader**

This is done by going to the htcdev website and select your device on the dropdown to the right. All the procedure is described on the site, but be warned that by doing this, you void your device's garranty. (though it can be relocked, but a relocked device is easily identified by a "\** RELOCKED \**" mention on the bootloader).

# **2. Root your device**

A user on xda-developers forum has developed a "One click root" program. You can download it on the original thread, run it and follow the instructions.

# **3. Install a custom rom**

There are many different CyanogenMod 10.1 rom (the Wildfire S community seems pretty fragmented to me...), but one I recommend is the one by the Owl Project. Simply download the zip file, put it in the root of your sdcard. Power off your device, power it on while holding the volume down button, choose `install zip from sdcard` and pick the downloaded zip file. If you are not satisfied, you can choose another one from the Wildfire S development section

***BUT !*** Be warned that all of these procedure may or may not harm your device and nobody could be held responsible for this. (though if you follow the instructions, there is a very minimal chance of bricking your device)

---
Tags: 4.2-jelly-bean
---


# Question
Title: How can I easily tag a photo I am previewing?
I take a lot of photos on my Droid M THEN I have to go through them and select the best ones to upload. I need to preview full-screen to see if it's a good photo but then there is no way to mark/tag/select it in preview mode. You can Select a photo but only in thumbnail view.

Is there a way to select (or, better, tag) a photo in full screen preview mode?

# Answer
> 1 votes
F-Stop Media Gallery does exactly that. You can preview photos and it has an on-screen 5 star rating and "favorite" button.

Unfortunately, the tags don't "stay" with the photo if you upload to Google+ or Facebook.

---
Tags: photos
---


title: Photo thumbnails can no longer be seen

text:
# Question
Title: Photo thumbnails can no longer be seen
I took some photos and when I went back to look at them the thumbnails are black and corrupted.
How does this happen and can they be repaired?

# Answer
Assuming the original photos are still available, the loss of the thumbnails is not an issue, so you can dispose of the corrupted files. The Gallery app will read the images directly. In fact, certain space-management apps will delete thumbnails for space recovery. I use SD Maid, which recommends their disposal in the SystemCleaner panel. I have done this a number of times, without system degredation. The Gallery obviously still works, as I can still find and display any of the near-1000 images taken on my phone. If you choose not to use SD Maid to clean them up, you can do this manually with any File Explorer app to find them in the DCIM\thumbnails folder. This folder is the sibling to the Camera folder (DCIM\Camera). Select and delete all the thumbnails without a problem, just don't do the same to the original images until you've backed them up.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: photos, images, thumbnails
---


# Question
Title: Can I install sudo/su with the signed apk exploit?
The BlueBox Security Scanner says that my Nexus 4 is still vulnerable to two signature exploits.

As far as I understood the exploit can circumvent the apk-signature-check so that any apk posing as an update for a system-apk will be installed as system app.

Is there a known way to install sudo/su with this exploit?

I would like to do so before my Nexus gets patched...

**Update 2013-07-22:**

What I am looking for is a step by step guide along these lines:

1. get sudo-apk
2. choose one unused system-app
3. remove updates for this system-app
4. download latest update for this system-app
5. integrate sudo-apk with system-app-update-apk
6. install
7. have joy

# Answer
> 5 votes
The Exploit (& Fix) Android "Master Key" article describes the process of using the “Master Key” exploit to get elevated privileges with lots of technical details. The main point is that the exploit by itself does not give root privileges — only arbitrary code execution as the `system` user, and another privilege elevation exploit is needed to get root privileges (one well-known example shown in the article is writing `ro.kernel.qemu=1` to `/data/local.prop`, but this attack is blocked in most Android 4.1 and later versions).

The article also provides download links for the Cydia Impactor tool which automates the “Master Key” exploit (currently only up to getting the `system` user rights, not all the way to root). There are versions for Windows and Mac OS X.

# Answer
> 1 votes
The exploit is patched into AOSP, currently in CyanogenMod, its a matter of time before the update gets pushed out. It does not give you root privilege per se, rather it circumvents the signed key used to sign the ROM so that an apk can pose as a system app, in which the installation of the apk bypasses the said signed key.

As you have a Nexus 4, it will be a matter of time before Google pushes that out.

As for others, best to check with your manufacturer, *not* your carrier.

---
Tags: 4.2-jelly-bean, nexus-4, root-access, apk
---


# Question
Title: What does the program Samsung Kies light do?
I use Samsung kies for my Galaxy S1 and I also installed Kies Light but I don't understand what it does. I would like the function the send SMS from my computer, can it do that or what does it do?

# Answer
> 2 votes
Source: Samsung FAQs: Cell Phones: What is Kies Lite mode, and what can I do when using it?

> Kies Lite mode launches the application with a reduced set of features. This uses fewer system resources and lets some key features of Kies run more efficiently. Using Kies Lite mode, you can access and use these features more quickly: Firmware Upgrade, Sync Data, Backup, and Restore.
>
> You can switch to Kies Lite mode by clicking Kies Lite Mode Icon in the top-right corner of the screen. If you switch to Kies Lite and you close the application, Kies will open in Lite mode next time you run the application. To switch back to "normal" Kies mode, simply click the icon again.
>
> Or open Kies in Lite mode by double-clicking Kies Lite Icon on your Windows® desktop.

So it would seem that the functionality is limited to: Firmware Upgrade, Sync Data, Backup, and Restore.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Kies for Samsung phones and tablets is more or less similar to what iTunes is for iPhones, iPods, and iPads.

It allows you to synchronize your music and video collections, synchronize your schedule and contacts from Outlook or Yahoo, perform and restore backups, and perform updates to the Android OS.

Kies Light is just an alternate, somewhat less featureful, GUI for Kies

It doesn't allow for remote control capabilities. For that, you want another app, such as Airdroid.

---
Tags: samsung-kies
---


# Question
Title: How to update my moded Nexus 4 to Android 4.3?
I'm going to want to update to android 4.3 when it comes out. I have rooted my Nexus 4, flashed Paranoid Android and Franco Kernel. **Can I just use Root Keeper to temporarily un-root, then install update from settings\>about phone\>system updates, and turn on root in Root Keeper?** Ultimately I want to have the latest android and paranoid android version and keep all my data.

# Answer
No, if you're running Paranoid Android you will need to wait for them to update to Android 4.3 when it's released by Google. You need to be on the stock rom to be able to install the update from "settings\>about phone\>system updates".
> 2 votes

# Answer
I also use Franco's kernel and run PAC, based largely on ParanoidAndroid. Unfortunately you won't be able to do an OTA update because it's not the root that breaks it, but the fact that you're really running a different kernel and OS. (In the case of PA, it actually automatically disables the OTA update feature to keep stuff from breaking).

That said, you can easily flash the 4.3 image using FastBoot when it's released - but remember, you'll lose all your PA and Franco goodness!

ParanoidAndroid will be updated to 4.3 when the devs get to it, which shouldn't take too long. I'm just gonna wait for them personally.

EDIT: Also remember that your kernel is compiled for 4.2, and probably won't work with 4.3. You may have to wait for Franco to update as well, or switch to another kernel.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: updates, root-access, ota-update
---


# Question
Title: Install different rom on Chinese made android phone
Recently I bought a Chinese made android phone. Specifications of the phone is given here. The phone has mediatek mtk6577 processor. I been thinking to install different ROM in my device. But, I can not find source to download this ROM. Is it possible to install google stock rom in this phone and where can I find this rom? How do I know which rom is compatible with my device?

Any kind of help is appreciated. Thanks.

# Answer
> 1 votes
First step is finding out the OEM (manufacturer) of your handset.

Coincidentally, the specs and body closely resembles that of Cherry Mobile Titan compared to yours.

This is the original version. There is only a guide on how to root here. Can see no custom ROM available as of now/

# Answer
> 0 votes
Here's a bunch of resources for Symphony phones:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2060290

Your phone is specifically mentioned so it should work fine, but make sure you're careful!

---
Tags: rom
---


title: Process priority of music player?

text:
# Question
Title: Process priority of music player?
I have a Samsung Galaxy S+ with Cyanogenmod 10.1 (built 2013-04-15) (Kernel `3.0.73-rc1-PhenomKernel-V3`) and music playback is stuttering when the phone is locked/standby most of the time.

Some days it's fine being locked and playing music, other days it can't play 5 seconds straight.

As soon as the phone is unlocked music plays fine, when locked again the stuttering continues.

I've tried solving this problem by trying around with different I/O schedulers (currently on `ROW` which was the ROM's default) and CPU clock rates (currently set to `192-1401 ondemand`, tried elevating the minimum clock to up to 386 MHz) to no avail.

Since the phone is single core, my best guess is that the phone goes into the `powersave` governor when locked and some background processes are using all the processing power when syncing data or doing something similar. Is this a correct assumption?

If so, how do I give the music player a higher process priority (e.g. lower its nice value) or otherwise tell the system to prefer spending resources on music playback?

# Answer
> 1 votes
I believe why this is happening is because when your phone goes into standby the processor goes into a state where the processor slows down to save battery life. You could try to see if there is a feature in your mod to turn off this mode.

I think your phone doesn't go into power saver mode when it is plugged in, try that and see if it works (this solution is less convenient because your phone needs to be plugged in). One last thing I could think of would be trying to kill some services that are hogging cpu. This solution will be more likely to drain your battery if you kill some services that automatically start up again.

Good luck!

---
Tags: cyanogenmod, processes
---


# Question
Title: Set wallpaper and lock screen's background as two different photos?
Current when I choose a photo to be set as wallpaper, my lock screen's background is automatically changed to be this new one.

I want the lockscreen to keep its old background, how can I do that?

ps.

I'm using Google Samsung Galaxy Nexus.

# Answer
Although I am on another device with another android version (HTC Desire HD / ROM: JellyTime R9, Android 4.2.2) I think the problem may be the same.

In the Gallery app I can only set the images as background. But I can set a different lock screen background image in system settings. I think this option depends on the specific Launcher/Lockscreen you use and are also valid in stock roms. I am using NovaLauncher and I can only set a different lockscreen image that way as far as I know.

Look in Settings → UI → Lock screen → Background → Custom image (maybe different wording — I only have the German version here).
> 1 votes

# Answer
You can't do that. But what you can do is download a third party locker such as GO Locker.
> 0 votes

# Answer
This is what you need to do, supposing you're on a stock ROM:

1. Open your Gallery app.
2. Select the image you want to set as background.
3. Hit *Menu* and you should see an option *Set as*, click on it.
4. You should end with several options in which you can find *Home screen*, *Lock screen* and *Home and lock screens*.
5. Select the option you want to set your wallpaper to.

If you have a custom ROM, you should check the forums of that ROM to see if its supports this.
> 0 votes

# Answer
I had a bit of trouble setting the lock screen pic. I have a Samsung Galaxy Ace Q i827 (Appeal in the U.S.) & I had to first find a pic I wanted, then I had to hit the menu button a couple of times to find the 'set as' button. At first I only hit it once, & no 'save as' button appeared. But after hitting it again, it popped up. After clicking on the 'set as', I had the option of selecting the lock screen or wallpaper. This is for gingerbread 2.3.6.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: samsung-galaxy-nexus, lock-screens, wallpaper
---


title: ADB connect to a device via TCP/IP

text:
# Question
Title: ADB connect to a device via TCP/IP
I'm trying to use `adb connect`:

```
 connect <host>[:<port>]       - connect to a device via TCP/IP
                                 Port 5555 is used by default if no port number is specified.

```

and this is what I get:

```
mbp:~ alexus$ adb connect 10.0.0.18
* daemon not running. starting it now on port 5037 *
* daemon started successfully *
unable to connect to 10.0.0.18:5555
mbp:~ alexus$

```

`USB debugging` is on and 10.0.0.18 is IP of my Android device, I'm able to do it via USB cable w/out any issues... any ideas?

# Answer
> 6 votes
Try following these instructions:

1) Open the command prompt and navigate to your sdk/platform-tools/ folder.

2) Type `adb tcpip 5555` with your device plugged in

3) Type `adb connect <your device ip address>:5555`

4) At this point you unplug your device and type `adb logcat`

5) At times, such as unplugging/plugging into a USB device, the `logcat` will become disconnected, just redo steps 3 & 4.

From my answer here.

---
Tags: adb, connection-issues
---


# Question
Title: What are the non-diagonal screen dimensions of the Nexus 7?
Very simple question. I want to know the non-diagonal physical dimensions of the screen itself of a Nexus 7 (eg: 4" by 5" or whatever).

Every site I look it up on seems to just happily repeat that it's a 7" tablet with 1280x800px and so on.

# Answer
> 1 votes
They are 3 7/16" x 5 15/16" by my measurements.

---
Tags: nexus-7
---


# Question
Title: Configure Australian Phone to work on US Network
I have an HTC Desire HD (unlocked) purchased in Australia, currently operating on a T-Mobile network but I am not getting any data service. I purchased an activation kit from Amazon and the $30/mth unlimited data package from Walmart. Text and voice are working fine, but I am not receiving any data.

The data plan is a 4g plan but I assumed that would also include 3G for those without 4G phones.

On the phone settings, T-Mobile is listed under settings \> Wireless & networks \> mobile networks \> Network Operators. When I select Network Operators \> Select Automatically it flashes up a message "registered on network".

Is there something I must do to get my phone to work here? OS = Gingerbread.

# Answer
> 0 votes
You can't. The "international" version of the HTC Desire HD is not hardware compatible with T-Mobile USA's 3G frequency bands. The phone's antennas support HSPA on the 900 and 2100 MHz frequencies (the North American GSM variants should work, though: source), and software settings will not have any effect on this. T-Mobile's 3G network uses:

* 850 MHz: Acquired via a roaming agreement as part of the failed AT&T merger
* 1700/2100 MHz AWS: the device must support *both* of these frequencies to work because the 1700 band is used for uplink and the 2100 band is used for downlink.
* 1900 MHz

As you can see, these do not line up (excepting **half** of the AWS band, which is not sufficient). You'll need a new phone if you want 3G service. See Can I use my device on a different carrier? for suggestions on how to determine which phones will work.

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Tags: mobile-network
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# Question
Title: How to restore files on SD Card that was protected by Vault app?
I changed my Android mobile phone from one carrier to another. I installed Vault app from the Google Play store, and placed the old SD Card from the previous phone into this new phone. After installing the vault software in the new phone, I am unable to restore data (photos, videos) from *old* SD card.

What might be the reason for this? Is there any way I can recover the files from my old SD card, which was protected by the Vault app.

# Answer
Here's a wild guess. The Vault may have encrypted the protected files to be used only with the previous phone. So if you try to open them in another phone (assuming you have installed the Vault with the same Google account), the new phone won't be able to access them.

I have emailed help@nq.com regarding this issue. Hopefully, they will reply. I will then update / confirm this answer. If not, it's safe to say my assumption was right.

**Update #1:**

> Thank you for contacting NQ Mobile Customer Support!
>
> You would not be able to show pictures on your SD card in another phone. Once you put them in Vault they are encrypted in the phone and would not be able to be seen. The Vault application is specific to each phone unless you transfer the application to another phone.
>
> Thank you again for contacting NQ Mobile Customer Support!
>
> Adam Schalk
> NQ Mobile Customer Support Team

**Possible Solution**

What can do is put back the card into the old phone, and remove the protection from the Vault. I'm sure you can un-protect pictures, like in other apps. After you've unprotected all the pictures / files, put back the SD card to your new phone. You should be able to read the files. After that, you can protect them again using Vault (on your new phone).
> 1 votes

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Tags: sd-card, data-recovery
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# Question
Title: How can I determine what URL an app is accessing?
I have an app that downloads mp3 files. The app does not tell you where it is getting these files from. Is there an Android tool/app I can use to figure out what URL an app is accessing from my phone?

Thanks

# Answer
Ah, tcpdump. Why didn't I think of that before?
> 0 votes

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Tags: security
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# Question
Title: Cannot find apps on SDcard after flashing Custom ROM
I just took the plunge and flashed my HTC Incredible 2 with *stock ICS 4.0.4* to *Psycho's CM 9.1*.

I am happy so far but I don't know how to retrieve the apps I have saved on my SD card. Prior to performing a root, I used App2SD pro to move them. Now after rooting and flashing custom ROM they don't show up on SD card. I re-installed App2SD pro and still can't find them.

I know they are there because file manager says there is 14GB of used space. I could re-download everything but I would like to avoid that.

Any help for a noob would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

# Answer
> 1 votes
While there is some merit in the reply from Audiophile; apps on an SDCard should not be lost. I had a similar problem after rooting a Samsung Exhibit 4g (T-sgh759); and while I found this thread I continued digging. The solution required removing the battery, then restarting; and voila! everything was visible from the phone on the card again. (I used the suggestion from Scotty85 in this thread --\> http://androidforums.com/rezound-all-things-root/517575-cant-see-sd-card-after-root-noob.html )

If that doesn't work, before you do anything that might write to the card... As it is an SD card, you can pop it out and see if it mounts on the computer. Do a search for \*.APK (those should be the application files). Are any files visible? It is doubtful that installing a rom would format the SD card... however, if you can't see any files, many companies like Sandisk have free recovery software with the their higher end cards. Googling you could find a download link, and try recovering the files from the SD.

In my case, the files were visible when the card was mounted on the computer and not visible on the phone after rooting.

Titanium backup, ES Filemanager, and Root Toolbox Lite all work for copying files. Some care should be had before rooting, and installing roms that you have a complete backup; as some have found a false sense of security, revealed only when they try to restore and can't (see Jason Lewis' Cautionary Tale --\> http://myblog-online.co.uk/2011/12/a-cautionary-tale-the-dangers-of-root-and-titanium-backup/ )

It is possible to make a complete backup without rooting; using ADB from the Android SDK (see --\> http://www.howtogeek.com/125375/how-to-create-a-full-android-phone-or-tablet-backup-without-rooting-or-unlocking-your-device/ )

Good luck to anyone else who experiences this.

D

# Answer
> 0 votes
Sorry pal, I think your apps are down the drain. Apps2SD doesn't necessarily move the apps to the SD card so that if you plugin the sd card on any phone it would work automatically, your phone still has the data of what apps are installed.

If I'm correct at the assumption that you are now using a new ROM, your phone basically got reset. The best analogy I can think of is when you format a PC. When you install the OS, all the files in the drive are still there, but the System apps and files are all brand new.

What can you do in the future? I've heard good things about Titanium Backup, but personally I prefer Appmonster. It basically saves the APK file of an application installed so you can uninstall/install on your whim. Please do note that I've never used Titanium Backup, but from what I hear you can restore lots of things from that app: applications, SMS, Contacts. Not sure if it also saves the state of the apps and restores them to your phone though.

So I guess you need to download all your files again.

Update: I went to the Play Store and looked at the Apps2SD app and yeah, it works as I have outlined above. I looked at Titanium Backup too and it claims it can backup your apps and data. Here's where it hurts though: you need root access to use it. Basically, the ideal way would have been to root your phone first, use Titanium Backup, then install the new rom.

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Tags: custom-roms, app2sd, htc-incredible-s
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