# Question
Title: Allowing alarms to sound during calling states ( phone / skype / Discord )
### How can I allow alarms to sound off while my phone is in a calling state?

When I'm not in a call alarms sound as you'd expect them to. When I *am* in a ( Skype, Discord, Phone ) call the phone simply plays a "beep" sound instead of actually sounding off the alarm.

I have the Phone call alerts setting "notify during calls" enabled, but it doesn't seem to have any effect whatsoever.

I'm using the default clock app for the alarm, so it's fairly unlikely that it's an issue with the alarm registering itself with the system as an alarm ;p

I'm tentatively confident that this only started after updating to Android 6, but I don't actually have anything factual to back that up.

If it helps, I'm using a Samsung Galaxy S5 SM-G900V

I've spent several hours researching this and thus far I've been unable to locate a solution. I feel like it might be related to an Android in-call audio policy, but I'm hoping it's not ( because that would mean that it's not something that I can change. )

# Answer
There's an app called AMdroid that let's me do it. Very late answer but eh. You have to go into the setting and to the global settings and "in-laws behavior" there's an option for ringing while on call you just have to let the app have permission to do it. Hope that helps

Play Link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.amdroidalarmclock.amdroid
> 0 votes

---
Tags: notifications, 6.0-marshmallow, calls, samsung-galaxy-s-5, alarm
---


# Question
Title: No more puncuation shortcuts in lollipop google keyboard?
In KitKat, there used to be some punctuation shortcuts in google's keyboard. For example, you'd press and hold a key (usually in the lower rows, like 'v'), and you could add a question mark, exclamation mark or whatever punctuation was linked to this key.

In Lollipop, there seems to be no such thing anymore, and if you want to add a question mark, you have to go through the hassle of getting into `?123` menu. Worse, if you want an underscore or a tilda, you'll have to go in the second level `=\<@` menu.

So, here's my question: how to get the punctuation shortcuts back in Google's keyboard? Has the feature completely disappeared?

Note: this feature is still present in Google pinyin keyboard, but in Lollipop you can't type in english with it anymore for some reason...(when we could with the KitKat version)

# Answer
What keyboard are you referring to? If you're on the latest google keyboard ( 5.0.25.xxx) then you can turn this on by:

```
settings > Language and Input > Google Keyboard > preferences > Long press for symbols.

```
> 2 votes

# Answer
Almost a year ago but found out only today after scouting lots of sites.

Click on Gboard\> Preferences and then Long Press for symbols.

Might not have everything you want but that does help a lot.
> 1 votes

# Answer
Just press and hold the `?123` button, and swipe over to the question mark and release. It inserts a question mark and goes back to letter keyboard.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: 5.1-lollipop, keyboard-shortcuts, gboard
---


# Question
Title: How to restore damaged Internal SD card partition layout? Tried everything
I have Samsung S 3 mini.

I did something really bad to my INTERNAL SD CARD partition layout. As I remember correctly, I tried to repartition my External SD card via fdisk right on Android via 'adb shell'. And I delete existed (there was only one as I recall) partition on mmcblk0 (which is appears to be not an External, but Internal =)

Now I have:

```
~ # cat /proc/partitions
major minor  #blocks  name
 179        0    7634944 mmcblk0
 179       64       2048 mmcblk0boot1
 179       32       2048 mmcblk0boot0
 179       96    3866624 mmcblk1
 179       97    3862528 mmcblk1p1

```

```
~ # ls -la /dev/block/mmcblk*
brw-------    1 root     root      179,   0 Jan  1 10:30 /dev/block/mmcblk0
brw-------    1 root     root      179,  32 Jan  1 09:28 /dev/block/mmcblk0boot0
brw-------    1 root     root      179,  64 Jan  1 09:28 /dev/block/mmcblk0boot1
-rw-rw-rw-    1 root     root      16777216 Jan  1 10:07 /dev/block/mmcblk0p20
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root             0 Jan  1 10:07 /dev/block/mmcblk0p22
brw-------    1 root     root      179,  96 Jan  1 09:28 /dev/block/mmcblk1
brw-------    1 root     root      179,  97 Jan  1 09:28 /dev/block/mmcblk1p1

```

```
~ # df
Filesystem           1K-blocks      Used Available Use% Mounted on
tmpfs                   411756     16452    395304   4% /dev
/dev/block/mmcblk1p1   3858432   1473472   2384960  38% /external_sd

```

```
~ # mount
rootfs on / type rootfs (rw)
tmpfs on /dev type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,relatime,mode=755)
devpts on /dev/pts type devpts (rw,relatime,mode=600)
proc on /proc type proc (rw,relatime)
sysfs on /sys type sysfs (rw,relatime)
/dev/block/mmcblk1p1 on /external_sd type vfat (rw,nodev,noatime,nodiratime,fmask=0000,dmask=0000,allow_utime=0022,codepage=cp437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,errors=remount-ro)

```

```
~ # tail ./etc/recovery.fstab
/system     ext4    /dev/block/mmcblk0p22
/cache      ext4    /dev/block/mmcblk0p23
/data       ext4    /dev/block/mmcblk0p25 length=-16384
/efs        ext4    /dev/block/mmcblk0p11
/boot       emmc    /dev/block/mmcblk0p20
/recovery   emmc    /dev/block/mmcblk0p21
/preload    ext4    /dev/block/mmcblk0p24
/modem      ext4    /dev/block/mmcblk0p12
/sdcard     datamedia   /dev/null
/external_sd    vfat    /dev/block/mmcblk1p1

```

```
~ # tail ./etc/fstab
/dev/block/mmcblk0p23 /cache ext4 rw
/dev/block/mmcblk0p25 /data ext4 rw
/dev/block/mmcblk0p22 /system ext4 rw
/dev/null /sdcard datamedia rw

```

```
~ # parted /dev/block/mmcblk0
GNU Parted 1.8.8.1.179-aef3
Using /dev/block/mmcblk0
Welcome to GNU Parted! Type 'help' to view a list of commands.
(parted) print
print
Warning: /dev/block/mmcblk0 contains GPT signatures, indicating that it has a
GPT table.  However, it does not have a valid fake msdos partition table, as it
should.  Perhaps it was corrupted -- possibly by a program that doesn't
understand GPT partition tables.  Or perhaps you deleted the GPT table, and are
now using an msdos partition table.  Is this a GPT partition table?
Yes/No?

```

My ClockWorkMod recovery tool can't mount anything (/cache, /system, nothing). This is what kind of stuff I get in CWM:

```
-- Wiping cache...
Formatting /cache...
Need size of filesystem
E:format_volume: make_extf4fs failed on /dev/block/mmcblk0p23
Cache wipe complete.
W:failed to mount /dev/block/mmcblk0p23 (Block device required)
E:Can't mount /cache/recovery/log
E:Can't open /cache/recovery/log
W:failed to mount /dev/block/mmcblk0p23 (Block device required)
E:Can't mount /cache/recovery/last_log
E:Can't open /cache/recovery/last_log
W:failed to mount /dev/block/mmcblk0p23 (Block device required)
W:Can't unlink /cache/recovery/command
Formatting /data...
warning: get_file_size: Computed filesystem size less than 0
Need size of filesystem
E:format_volume: make_extf4fs failed on /dev/block/mmcblk0p25
Error formatting /data!
W:failed to mount /dev/block/mmcblk0p23 (Block device required)
E:Can't mount /cache/recovery/log
E:Can't open /cache/recovery/log
As you can see, there is no partitions for /system, /cache and other stuff, that should be there. (but /system, and /cache folders are present in dir listing)

```

I really did everything I could. I tried: restore from backup (I have one, made with recovery tool), install new ROM (With recovery tool), install stock firmware and stock kernel in ODIN mode. I even tried some PIT file: nothing did absolutely nothing to my status.

Frankly I miss some important part in understanding of filesystem, partitions, images, what is ROM, what is stock kernel, how does those 22, 23 25 partitions are created etc ...

What should I do?

# UPDATE!

Oh, looks like I have everything in console buffer (full history of distraction actions)

In the beginning I had this:

```
cat /proc/partitions
major minor  #blocks  name

   7        0       2111 loop0
 179        0    7634944 mmcblk0
 179        1        128 mmcblk0p1
 179        2        384 mmcblk0p2
 179        3       1024 mmcblk0p3
 179        4       1024 mmcblk0p4
 179        5        512 mmcblk0p5
 179        6        512 mmcblk0p6
 179        7        512 mmcblk0p7
 179        8        512 mmcblk0p8
 179        9       1024 mmcblk0p9
 179       10       1024 mmcblk0p10
 179       11      16384 mmcblk0p11
 179       12      16384 mmcblk0p12
 179       13      16384 mmcblk0p13
 179       14      51200 mmcblk0p14
 179       15         64 mmcblk0p15
 179       16      14336 mmcblk0p16
 179       17       2048 mmcblk0p17
 179       18       2048 mmcblk0p18
 179       19      16384 mmcblk0p19
 179       20      16384 mmcblk0p20
 179       21      16384 mmcblk0p21
 179       22    1228800 mmcblk0p22
 179       23     860160 mmcblk0p23
 179       24     327680 mmcblk0p24
 179       25    4945920 mmcblk0p25
 179       64       2048 mmcblk0boot1
 179       32       2048 mmcblk0boot0
 179       96    3872256 mmcblk1
 179       97    3868160 mmcblk1p1
 254        0       2110 dm-0
```

```
/ $ df
Filesystem               Size     Used     Free   Blksize
/dev                   402.1M    84K   402M   4096
/mnt/asec              402.1M     0K   402.1M   4096
/mnt/obb               402.1M     0K   402.1M   4096
/dev/shm               402.1M     0K   402.1M   4096
/system                  1.2G   414.5M   766.6M   4096
/modemfs                15.7M     4.3M    11.4M   4096
/cache                 826.8M    84.8M   742M   4096
/efs                    15.7M     4.5M    11.2M   4096
/preload               315M    64.2M   250.8M   4096
/data                    4.6G     4G   699.2M   4096
/mnt/.lfs: Function not implemented
/storage/sdcard0         4.6G     4G   699.2M   4096
/mnt/asec/com.spruds.transport.pro.tallin-1     2M   888K     1.1M   4096
/storage/sdcard1         3.7G   905.7M     2.8G   32768
```

Even before everything went wrong I tried to use parted command and get an error

```
~ # parted /dev/block/mmcblk0
GNU Parted 1.8.8.1.179-aef3
Using /dev/block/mmcblk0
Welcome to GNU Parted! Type 'help' to view a list of commands.
(parted) list
list
  check NUMBER                             do a simple check on the file system
  cp [FROM-DEVICE] FROM-NUMBER TO-NUMBER   copy file system to another partition
.....
.....
        copyright information of GNU Parted
(parted) print
print
Error: Unable to satisfy all constraints on the partition.
```

This is fdisk print before disaster

```
~ # fdisk /dev/block/mmcblk0

The number of cylinders for this disk is set to 954368.
There is nothing wrong with that, but this is larger than 1024,
and could in certain setups cause problems with:
1) software that runs at boot time (e.g., old versions of LILO)
2) booting and partitioning software from other OSs
   (e.g., DOS FDISK, OS/2 FDISK)

Command (m for help): p

Disk /dev/block/mmcblk0: 7818 MB, 7818182656 bytes
1 heads, 16 sectors/track, 954368 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16 * 512 = 8192 bytes

              Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks  Id System
/dev/block/mmcblk0p1               1      954368     7634943+ ee EFI GPT
Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary
```

And then I deleted it

```
~ # fdisk /dev/block/mmcblk0

The number of cylinders for this disk is set to 954368.
There is nothing wrong with that, but this is larger than 1024,
and could in certain setups cause problems with:
1) software that runs at boot time (e.g., old versions of LILO)
2) booting and partitioning software from other OSs
   (e.g., DOS FDISK, OS/2 FDISK)

Command (m for help): p

Disk /dev/block/mmcblk0: 7818 MB, 7818182656 bytes
1 heads, 16 sectors/track, 954368 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16 * 512 = 8192 bytes

              Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks  Id System
/dev/block/mmcblk0p1               1      954368     7634943+ ee EFI GPT
Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary

Command (m for help): d
Selected partition 1

Command (m for help): w
The partition table has been altered.
Calling ioctl() to re-read partition table
fdisk: WARNING: rereading partition table failed, kernel still uses old table: Device or resource busy
```

# UPDATE 2

I can see difference from initial state. Now I have 4 heads instead of 1 and so 238592 cylinders instead of 954368. How do I change number of heads?

# Answer
> 6 votes
**I found it!**

The answer was in PIT file, because as it says here:

> you will only need to use this if a firmware update needs to change your partition layout (very very unlikely) or if you mess up you partition table (you don’t want to do this)

Which is definitely my case.

So, I tried that GT-I8190N and GT-I8190 should be used with different PIT files (I tried to use for GT-I8190 one). So I found long list of PIT files here.

# Answer
> 2 votes
## RECOVERING AN ANDROID DEVICE WITH BOOTLOOP OR STUCKED IN LOGO

Compilation by: Julian Lopez 2017-05(May)-08

I had similar problems, but the internal memory in my phone GT-i9003 is defective. I've used all pits without success. Maybe this procedure helps you, some of them are complex but safe:

## Requirements:

* An android device stucked in the logo (but with fully OS started), to work with ADB and CWM-Recovery, better if had the android developer options active and usb conection in comunication mode (also known as kies, MTP, debug, etc) not in usb-data mode
* Data Cable USB Pc with highspeed USB port available
* Updated Device Drivers
* ADB and fastboot platform tools(windows) for manual backup and restore... ADBD info sources: thanks for sharing the knowledge to *Rotohammer \[ADB Roto backup - manual backup\]* and *Amalautpavathas \[ADB android tips\]*
* Another operative and identical device (very convenient)
* A Good+original 16GB and above Class10 (forget about class4) **MicroSDCard** (I've had some problems with generic 32GB and bigger), prepared with a standard-fat32 partition which is limited to a maximum of 4gb for each files, but it works to backup. It's very important, to create in the root of the microSDcard a empty text file called **DO-NOT-INSTALL-THIS.zip** just for reference and identificacion from inside Recovery). The usb ota usually is not recognized and we require permanent USB conection with PC.

## Extract :

If the device is in bootloop or stucked in logo but active by ADB, after the logical and basic options follow this procedure to clone and restore manually (via command dd) the defective partition:

## Warnings

* Discard of all responsabilities about the use and abuse of this information
* Please read the tutorials about ADB and android
* Don't wipe with the MicroSDcard in, you can lost all data in without notice, every reboot/odin change/CMW mount and storage action, can change the mount point of the sdcard
* When working on ADB; exit of the shell and use remount frequently.
* When you can't access files get root access (CMW - root/unroot option).
* Keep a list of files and mount points before proceeding, after every copy keep an eye on available capacity with `df -k` command in Kbytes and `df` command in blocks, with `ls -al` command you have a record of permisions in format `xrwxrwxrw` (an initial cap or - for type, x execute, r read, w write, in 3 tiers -user-group-others. Use `chmod` to change command) and owners of files . This tip avoid 50% of the errors using file copy, or changing files in the device. Take full information about the device (imei, macs, software versions, fw, updates, special app, register full versions and date of installation, specially backup software)

## Actions

1.-With no external memory (MicroSDcard out, because some kernels and tools exchange the external memory with internal without advice) save a layout of the partitions. Important info is; start block, end block, filesystem type, block device name, order and mount point(path). Yes using ADB fdisk but without change anything.

2.- To take a manual backup of every partition (and specially, individual backup of the folder `/efs`, where is the imei and mac addresses for wifi, BT, etc) in the defective device with ADB and "dd" command (be careful with the available space after every backup), Repeat the same procedure in a good identical-device. transfer this backup to your PC and to a **microSDcard** (yes both)... Don't insert into the device. It requires:

* Folder in windows explorer with **\ADB and FastBoot-platform-tools-latest-windows\platform-tools**, (no installation required)
* The device must be conected to the PC via usb cable and detected with the right drivers )
* We must to write (yeah i heard you, with the keyboard) in a **CLI** (Command Line Interface) known in Microsoft as **CMD** (Command line); go to Windows Explorer, open the black box by selecting CMD option with a simultanoeus combination of keyboard *left \[SHIFT\] key* and *mouse's right click* on a **empty space** inside the folder. In order to get the option **CMD** in the menu, avoid selecting or marking anything inside de windows explorer. Use this manual till Roto restore Section, Rotohammer ADB Roto backup - manual backup

3.- To create with (ADB) fdisk the missing partition(s) matching all the original characteristics (start block, end block, block numbers-size, fs type).

4.- With the device turned off (battery out), insert **MicroSDcard**

5.- Start your device in Recovery mode (CWM), go to **Install ZIP from SDCARD** if you can see the text file with extention .ZIP prepared in last point of requirementes (**DO-NOT-INSTALL-THIS.zip**), you can restart the device. In any other way go to -- mount and storage -- dismount everything and mount the prepared **MicroSDcard**, repeat with internal Sdcard, emmc, usb till you can see the zip file. Restart the device in normal mode (maybe only logo is visible).

6.- Connect the device to the pc, via usb and activate CMD from ADB to copy the partition-backup to one internal device's filesystem out of the MicroSDCard. turn the device off, extract battery, extract the microSDcard, and turn the device on. Proceed with one of this alternatives to Restore

6a.- The easier way, warranty proof use the original brand's emergency software restore, KIES's and ODIN for samsung, MTP for chineses brand, etc.

6b.- The easy way, if you only have a bootloop, start device with another tested good MicroSDcard, failures on external memory happens and app crash if they were moved to bad microSDcard. If this Doesn't work, start with no MicroSDcard in recovery mode, Wipe data/factory reset and wipe cache. Still on failure?, move on with the guide..

6c.- Because this method works with an image of partition on any android, any devices and brand, this make it independent of configurations (special filesystem types and assignations, mount point, vold.fstab, fota.rc, init.goldfish.rc, init.d's files, corruption of internal memory, failures in apps like link2SD and viruses). Start making an image of defective partition (via ADB + command dd) and all of them for congruency, make another from the image of a good device, and if the affected partition `es /system` or /, take a copy of the original `/efs` folder (this could be important later in case of the imei and MAC don't match with the hardware, consult your brand for imei location). Solution By: Rotohammer (same link), etc... Save it into the PC, in the MicroSDcard and the cloud.

6d.- Is your device still in warranty by the provider or by the CreditCard? (an available warranty, not the type Pluto during an eclipse's warranty), don't hesitate, go for it... The backup will keep safe your data and you can send it to RMA after a deep wipe and clean...

6e.-For Easy solution \[Flashable Filesystem Check and Repair Tool | HTC Desire - XDA\]\[3\] ... With ADB you can install and run APK, or run `/sbin/fsck`, `/sbin/fsck`, `/sbin/fsck.ext4`. Note: some root filesystems keep older type (raiser, ext2, etc)

6f.- Restore from CWM backup or your favorite app

6g.- Use your original emergency restore software, Kies, mtp, etc.

7.- Restart, first time waiting for the autocheck of the filesystem and second time to verify the operation.

8.- In case of boot errors, boot in download mode, use the right versions of firmware update program (like Samsung's ODIN and MTP) to apply the right PIT (partition information table) with repartition checked. If the failure persists, apply the full original STOCK ROM to verify.

9.- In case of IMEI errors, proceed with solutions: ( forum.samdroid.ne t /attachments/f28/2082d1281453181-complete-imei-restore-how-bml10.img.zip)

10.- for internal memory errors check this \[2\]: http://amalautpavathas.blogspot.com/2013/08/

**Disclaimer**

This is an individual and personal compilation so, i sincerely hope this extract help someone, sometime, somewhere, but... Myself nor anybody will take responsibility for any actions you take using these instructions or applications. ROM flashing can void your warranty and should be the last option. Please proceed with caution and at your own accord and risk. Flashing will completely erase your device's memory. Make a backup of everything you need, for this objective i present more than 3 backup options, please use it all of them. If you want to flash a cooked ROM you need a patched SPL. How to do that is described in forum.xda-developers main page You also can flash the ROM directly from the microSD-card! The guide is found here forum.xda-developers

**SPECIAL THANKS TO THE KNOWLEDGE´S PEOPLE**

This is my very first post, so i have not permitted to include more people and sources, please excuse me, my invisibles partners not included at this list:

(forum.xda-developers (amalautpavathas) (samdroid)

---
Tags: partitions, internal-sd
---


# Question
Title: Why does Android keep APK files of installed apps?
Android keeps APK files of installed user apps in `/data/app` directory and system apps in `/system/app` directory.

Does it mean Android extracts the dex files from the APK files every time the app is launched? If not, can I safely delete the APK files and still run the app?

# Answer
An Android APK usually contains these things.

```
assets/
lib/
META-INF/
res/
AndroidManifest.xml
classes.dex

```

Upon installation, the APK file is copied to `/data/app`, and `classes.dex` is extracted and "optimized" by running `dex2oat` on it (on Android 5+ `lib/` is also extracted). Result of the optimization is stored in `/data/dalvik-cache/` so an app needs to be optimized only **once per installation or update**. Everything else is kept inside the APK. So the first answer is very clear: Things like `assets` and `res` that's required by the app must be provided, and they are inside the APK. The APK file is kept for supporting purposes. **If you delete an APK, the app *definitely* won't start at all.** (App: Where's my assets?)

Second, Google Play added support for "Delta Update" *very* long ago. In the delta update procedure, the difference between the old package and the new package is calculated. Then GP downloads the "Delta" and applies changes to the original APK to yield the updated APK, thus reducing download size.

An APK is always signed. This can prevent malicious modification to the package. You definitely don't want to install a modded app without knowing what is changed, or whether a virus has been injected. The `META-INF/` inside the APK works for this purpose. Unofficial changes will result in non matching signature, and the Android system will refuse to install the modded app.

Also, when you update your Android OS, all dex files are "optimized" again so that you don't need to re-install them one by one. As is said above, optimization requires `classes.dex` file from the original package.
> 45 votes

---
Tags: apk
---


# Question
Title: Reenable Google Play Services after disable
I am developing an app that requires testing without google play services (I'm on a Samsung S3). I've turned google play services off in Application Manager and tested everything. Afterwards, I went back in and turned it back on, but I can't seem to get my app to recognize that google play services are re-enabled. What ways are there to check it Google Play Services is indeed enabled again on my phone?

# Answer
> 1 votes
After further debugging, google play services' connection was coming across as needing an update in my app's code. It turns out I had to clear Google Play Service's cache. Once I did that and turned on, it prompted me to install updates. I did that, and now it recognizes it as re-enabled as it should.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Under Application Manager, there should be two Google Play Services instances under "Running Apps". These instances will also indicate which services are active, and that they were launched by an application.

# Answer
> 0 votes
The easiest way is reset app prefernces. Go to settings-app management-reset app prefernces. I tried all the above methods and nothing worked. I tried this by trial and error method and work done.

# Answer
> -2 votes
Go to Settings - Applications, then go to options tool and select "Reset preferences". It will start working again. I tried in Micromax.

---
Tags: google-play-services, application-manager
---


# Question
Title: Android icon showing when turning Wi-Fi on
Sometimes when I turn Wi-Fi or internet data on, an icon appears at the notification bar of my android 6.0 device that looks like the android bot surrounded by 2 circling arrows like this (it is not exactly like this. The icon I am seeing is white and the arrows are thinner but the concept is very similar) and lasts for a few seconds. What does that mean? Is Android updating and if yes, what kind of updates is it getting?

\*By the way, I have auto update and sync turned off. That's why I wonder what kind of updates these are.

My device is an LG G4

# Answer
> 2 votes
I have an LG phone aswell (not the G4) and icon that you are described is probably icon which shows up when phone is checking for updates of android or updates for LG apps. You can probably change when it will check for updates. I don't have any sources about this but I know that because I catch notification several times when on slow cellular data. Edit here is the photo of icon I get when checking for updates:

Also here is "app updater" app icon it's very similar to picture you posted

---
Tags: 6.0-marshmallow, notification-icons
---


# Question
Title: Download, install, and run Android App that is not available in my country
I am actually interested to download certain apps from Play Store. However, the app that I wanted to download (in this case, Android Auto) is not available in my country.

Previously, I managed to download the APK from some third party site and installed on my phone. Initially, everything works fine (able to run on my vehicle and even on my phone), but recently Google seems to prohibit usage of this app (not sure why, possibly due to change in policy). My question is, how do I able to use this app that is not available on my country? Detailed steps are appreciated.

Cheers!

# Answer
## **You could use a different store to download the app**

First, you will need to enable Unknown Sources ( To install apps from outside the Play Store )

* Open Settings
* Open Security
* Click or Tick (Allow Unknown Sources)
* Accept the disclaimer

## **Now you can install Apps from the internet, it's time to install Android Auto for your device**

* Find if your device is either ARM, ARM 64, Etc...
* Download and install Android Auto

( I would suggest APK Mirror because of how hard it is to put fake software on their )

It's as if they check if your app has ever been on the play store first, And if it hasn't been it won't be added to their site ! ( i think, but I'm not sure )

AndroidAuto on APKMirror.com
> 0 votes

# Answer
There's two part to this problem.

**First, you must get the APK.** You can get it through APKMirror or APKPure.

Then, even if you have the APK, the app itself might detect your country through client-side means or server-side means and still block your usage of the application. If this is the case, then you might require either an older version of the APK, a modified version of the APK, to fake your location, to use a VPN, or, if it's server-side, you might not be able to use it at all.

Because you mentioned Google, I'm pretty sure they just get your Google account's country and block your usage with that, so there might be nothing to do after all. You can always create a new Google Account for another country, but it's not guaranteed to work and you'll have to re-purchase everything again.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: applications, google-play-store, apk, android-auto
---


# Question
Title: Cannot get into recovery mode from boot-loop on BLU phone
I have BLU Life One X which is at 0% battery and in boot loop:

* It shows 0%, then
* "BLU/Bold Like Us", then
* "Android is starting/optimizing app AAA of BBB", then cycles.

I tried to follow the instructions:

1. Pressed `Power` \+ `Volume Up` \+ `Volume Down`.
2. Got two teeny lines: `Recovery Mode: Volume Up` and `Factory Mode: Volume Down`.
3. No matter what I press, the screen goes dark and nothing happens.

What can I do now?

# Answer
Bingo! Your phone has a Mediatek chipset (MediaTek MT6589 precisely), nothing is as easy as flashing an MTK device.

You just need a flasher and flashing files (ROM) and eventually have drivers installed.

**\[The process below is for Windows OS only\]**

Prerequisites:

* Blu Life One firmware (ROM): Here (Requires to be registered to the site, takes less a minute) or here (Serous mobile phone forums).
* SP Flashtool : Here (Grab the latest version, always stable)
* MTK VCOM drivers: Here

Install the drivers. Otherwise your phone won't be detected by the computer.

Unzip the firmware (should be a .zip or .rar file).

Open SP Flashtool. Click on Scatter-Loading then browse to the folder that contains the firmware. You'll have a text file xxxxx-android-scatter, or similar. Select it.

SP Flashtool should load some files on the main interface. Uncheck the firmware field labelled: PRELOADER (very important), leave the other checked. It is sometimes recommended to only keep the field SYSTEM or ANDROID checked.

Now, click on the green arrow (Download) then connect your phone to the computer. Should be shut down with battery inside.

Windows should start installing drivers the the flashing process should start.

Wait until the end, a big green check-mark should pops.

Et voilà.

Please report any errors I'll try to help you.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: recovery-mode, boot-loop, blu-phones
---


# Question
Title: How to script Android 7.0 to enable Mobile Hotspot AND USB tethering upon startup?
I have a router that can use a 4G LTE Android device as a WAN port for Internet access. Whenever the tablet runs out of power, upon restarting, the Mobile Hotspot and USB tethering options default to disabled.

Using Android 7.0 on an LG G Pad X 8.0, is it possible to write a script that automatically enables Mobile Hotspot and USB tethering upon startup ?

If possible, the solution should not require a Google login.

# Answer
You can use Tasker to accomplish this:

**Objective: Auto Switch-on USB tethering and Mobile hotspot after boot**

**Profile (or Trigger)**

Create a Profile which allows triggering of the Task at after boot:

* Go to Profiles Tab and click the "+"
* Event \>\> System \>\> Device Boot
* Tap back to exit from this window

**Task**

You will notice as soon as you exit, you will be prompted to link this Profile to a Task;

* Scroll all the way up the Task list select **"New Task + "**
* You can name this Task *AutoTethering* or anything.
* Click **"+"** to add new Action
* Code \>\> Run Shell \[ Command: `service call connectivity 33 i32 1`, Tick "Use Root"\]
* Tap back to exit from this task
* Click **"+"** to add another action
* Net \>\> WiFi Tether (Set On)
* Press back the way all back until you exit Tasker (your profiles are now saved and ready for execution)

**Extras**: Give Tasker more priority (allow auto-start for Tasker, exclude from battery optimisations, task killers etc)

*Explanation: Soon after boot, the first action turns on USB tethering, and the second option turns on WiFi tethering (note: there is no need for a second script because Tasker already has a built in **WiFi Tether variable** which is capable of handling tethering state)*

This should work. Cheers (tried and tested).
> 0 votes

---
Tags: wi-fi, wifi-hotspot, 7.0-nougat
---


title: Meaning of "Connected, no internet"

text:
# Question
Title: Meaning of "Connected, no internet"
In Settings -\> Wi-Fi, there's a connection listed that says "Connected, no internet".

What does it mean to be connected? What does it mean for a device to be connected but without internet access? I'm not trying to fix this state: my goal strictly is to find out more about it.

# Answer
> 12 votes
The status `Connected, no Internet` in Android's WiFi settings strictly means that:

1. You have a connection to the wireless access point and a valid IP configuration so connectivity to the local network is possible.
2. Your device has not (yet) established a connection to Google's connectivity check and thus determined that no internet connectivity available.

This does *not* mean that you don't have an internet connection, it just can't reach the Google servers (google.com/generate\_204) to determine this.
This often appears shortly after connecting to a WiFi access point when the device is still checking the connectivity.
This can also appear if the network you are connected to is using a captive portal and you haven't authenticated with it, yet.
It is also possible that there isn't any internet connectivity on the WiFi AP, for instance when connecting to a drone or digital camera.

# Answer
> 4 votes
**Connected** generally means the devices in question have successfully established communication **between each other**. In other words, they are able to sent data packets between each other.

**Connected no internet** means communication is established between the devices, but this communication is not established with other interconnection of "outside servers" (internet) or outside world. In this way, data packets are still sent and received between devices and not "outside server".

One of the devices e.g router, mobile (mobile APNs) provide this gateway in order to allow sending and receiving of these packets to "outside servers".

Several factors prevent this connection to the "outside servers":

* Firewall in one of the devices
* Firewall by ISP
* Blockage of the domain name system which translates host names to IP addresses
* Invalid APNs
* Incorrect DNS settings etc

---
Tags: wi-fi
---


# Question
Title: How does Instagram find my Facebook account?
So I deleted Facebook app and messenger and also removed Facebook from the list of accounts in settings. I also cleared Instagram data and deleted the app itself.

What is puzzling me is that when I reinstall Instagram it prompts me to login with my old Facebook account.

How does it know about this account? Where are the remnants of it being stored?

Backup appears to be off too

# Answer
> 0 votes
Apps that use the newer Android standard of data backup will store their basic information on Google's servers...

Look in `Settings - Backup & Reset` and there is an option called Automatic Restore (or something similar), it's description literally says "When reinstalling an app, restore backed up settings and data".

If you do not want the applications data restored, remove the app, turn this option off and reinstall the applications.

---
Tags: facebook, instagram
---


# Question
Title: Lock screen with multi-factor authentication (biometric and pattern)
Is there a way to require two forms of authentication to unlock your device? My preference would be to use my fingerprint sensor *in addition to* an unlock pattern.

I'm using a Nexus 6p with Android 7.1.2.

# Answer
I kinda know what u mean but if your fingerprint does not recognize on your phone, they will prompt you with the backup PIN.

Edit : There is no way of doing that as far as i know
> 0 votes

---
Tags: security, lock-screens
---


# Question
Title: Restoring an ADB backup onto a different phone of the same model?
We have several Android 4.0 phones of the same model, from the same manufacturer, purchased at the same time, from the same factory batch. We have created a backup of one of the phones using ADB.

Can the backup file from one of these phones be applied to all of the phones, or is there uniquely identifying information in the backup that will make it inapplicable to the other phones?

# Answer
> 3 votes
The backups created from adb have no "checks" to see if the phone you are restoring to is the same device.

You should have no issues as long as they are the same version of android. By same version I mean the same actual android version as well as the same manufacturer. You would probably have issues if you tried to restore a backup made from a sony phone with android 4.1 to a motorola phone with 4.1. But should be ok if you restore from a motorola with 4.1 to another motorla phone with 4.1.

You mentioned that you are going to the exact same device, just make sure the device is updated to the same version that your old phone was.

# Answer
> 2 votes
Just tried restoring ADB backup from Galaxy S3 to another Galaxy S3, after adb finished, phone hanged, didn't respond to power button.

After removing battery, it went into boot-loop (fortunately fixed by factory reset).

# Answer
> 1 votes
**Edit**: This answer refers to nandroid backups made by a recovery (ex CWM). I think it applies to your case, assuming you do a full backup via adb.

There is at least one unique item that would be duplicated: the Android Device ID. This ID is generated whenever you wipe and install a new rom, but it is preserved with a nandroid backup. This ID is used by some apps to track unique installs or authentication.

Some devices store the MAC address of a network interface in memory (such as the Nook Simple Touch and its wifi interface), not on the chip itself. This makes it even more important to keep an original image. In the case of the nook, many people who rooted it didn't keep a backup of the original, so they lost their original unique MAC address. If your particular device does this as well (it probably doesn't), then you would have major problems if two devices tried to access the same wifi router.

Other than that, I personally have not had an issue with copying a nandroid backup from one phone to another of the same model. I can use Titanium Backup to manually generate a new Android Device ID, and the Optimus V doesn't depend on the rom for any MAC addresses. As long as the phone is fully wiped before restoring a nandroid (and it is the exact same model and chipset), there shouldn't be any problem.

# Answer
> 0 votes
This can work. Though your mileage may vary.

I just restored a nandroid backup from an old Galaxy S4 (which I dropped and the LCD failed) to a new Galaxy S4.

The new Galaxy S4 arrived completely stock and it took a while to get it rooted and TWR installed - getting around Knox etc. But then I restored a nandroid backup from the old Galaxy S4 (which was at Cyanogenmod and 5.1.1) over the new phone's stock Samsung 4.4.2.

There was a slight weirdness where it booted back to TWRP and looped at the TWRP logo screen - but after a couple of battery out resets it is now working great.

# Answer
> 0 votes
I can also say this works though itll definitely vary. I restored a twrp backup of lineage os 13.1 android 6.0.1 on my galaxy grand prime that was android 5.0.1. Both phones are the same make and carrier.

---
Tags: backup, adb
---


# Question
Title: Enable Google assistant ("Okay Google") on oneplus 3t
I have just bought a new Oneplus 3T device, and immediately upgraded to the newest Nougat 7.1.1

I do have the Google search bar on the main screen as a widget, and if I click the mic icon I can voice-search without any problems. However, just saying `Okay Google` near the device does not activate the search.

**How can I activate the `Okay Google` voice recognition on my Oneplus 3T device, please?**

Settings screenshot attached.

# Answer
You can try this to resolve "OK Google" detection problems:

Possible fixes

1. Language Pack settings

* Make sure you are using the latest supported language pack. Check your Language settings

> In previous iterations of the Google voice search feature, it was only able to respond to US English. ( More languages have been added since then although many languages are still not supported). However, this feature needs to be enabled, so if you don’t speak English as a first language, this may be the issue. In order to enable other languages, you should first ensure you have the latest feature of the Google Search App. Then go to:
>
> 1. Settings
> 2. Voice
> 3. Languages
> 4. This will open a list of languages. Check the boxes next to the languages you want OK Google to recognize.
> 5. You can select up to five languages that OK Google will recognize a search request in.

*Updating your language pack may also solve your problem. Go to Voice \> Search Language Settings \> Offline Speech Recognition \> English (US) \> Update Available*

---

2. Whitelist from Battery optimisation

* Make sure that "OK Google enrollment" is disabled in battery optimisation

---

3. Retrain OK Google voice model

Sometimes, for reasons unknown, Google Now doesn't retain the commands you have given it. In order to do this, you'll need to go to the Google Settings App,

> locate the Search & Now option, followed by Voice then OK Google detection. Select Retrain Voice Model and say "OK Google" three times, as you did when you initially set it up.

---

4. Check the hardware

Few a times small bits of dust and debris can clog up the tiny hole that leads to your microphones. Use a safety pin or needle to investigate and dislodge anything that may be preventing good auditory reception.

---

5. Disabling and renabling OK Google

* Go into Assistant settings, turn Ok Google detection off and then on, and check if it starts working again.

---

6. Rebooting device

* Try clearing cache of Google apps and reboot.

---

7. Update Google play services and Google App

* Make sure your Google App is updated to the latest version . If not, just go to Google Play Store and update the Google App an Google play services

Acknowledgements

1. Okay Google not working
2. Okay Google isn't working
3. Okay Google not working
4. How To Fix Android “Ok Google” Not Working Problem
> 1 votes

---
Tags: settings, oneplus-3, google-assistant
---


# Question
Title: Sending an intent to tasker, from tasker
I'm trying to follow this how-to: Dynamic Home Button Behavior (GrogBase), but I am having problems sending and receiving an intent. Can anybody tell me how to format the intent to be sent by a task, to be received by tasker?

# Answer
> 1 votes
I figured it out:

The intent *sent* needs to be configured like this:

```
Action: net.dinglish.android.tasker.ACTIION_TASK
Cat: None
Extra:[task name]
Target: Broadcast Receiver

```

And the Receive intent profile needs to be set up like this:

```
Action: net.dinglish.android.tasker.ACTIION_TASK
Cat: alt
Cat: None
Priority: Normal

```

Then Tasker will react to an intent tasker sends to Tasker.

---
Tags: tasker, intents
---


# Question
Title: up to which capacity an OTG capable phone could support external usb storage?
My phone (Sony Xperia M C2005) supports up to 32 GB SD Card and has OTG capability. I want to know up to which capacity it could support flash memory as external USB storage.

# Answer
**TL;DR** As long as you have a large flash drive.

Theoretically, infinite, as long as there's something to drive it.
There are many factors that affect this. One major being power supply. Your phone can't probably power a hard drive (well, tablets do, though), so flash drives are best for OTG. There are some special cables that have an extra "power cord" that you can plug into another power source, rendering it able to power up a portable hard drive. A flash drive usually doesn't exceed 64GB (although Kingston made a 1TB one, but who wants to buy it?), so a common upper limit for OTG is 64GB. (128GB models *do* exist, but fairly rare)
Another factor is filesystem. Modern Android phones support the FAT family, but only one of them supports volumes over 32GB. If you want to use a drive larger than 32GB, you have to format it into exFAT. No NTFS support on Android and EXT family will simply fail without extra tweaks.
So in all, you can use drives of any size with OTG, as long as your phone can handle it.
> 1 votes

# Answer
It always depends on the Mobile Device, never on OTG Cable. Because my ASUS T00J mobile supported 500GB External Hard Drive through OTG, but not other phones. It needs the certain amount of energy as well to get connected. and usually all the phones get connected till 64GB flash drive...
> 0 votes

---
Tags: usb-on-the-go
---


title: Stop Calendar from changing time-zone

text:
# Question
Title: Stop Calendar from changing time-zone
I use Google Calendar instead of the stock calendar on my LG G5. I travel internationally on a weekly basis, and the Calendar app would automatically adjust the calendar events' scheduled time once I landed to a different time zone (if Auto Date & Time is on) or once I adjusted the time zone manually (if Auto Date & Time is off).

The fact that Calendar Events' times got changed is utterly impractical and annoying.

For example, I would add an event at 8pm on a future date in that destination of a different time zone, and once I land there, the Calendar event time will be changed to 2pm. This throws off the timing of all my events. I almost missed several flights because the alarm did not go off at the right time, especially in connected flights crossing multiple time zones.

How can I stop Calendar from doing that? If I recall, iPhone does not do that.

# Answer
It's a bit of inconvenience of how Google Calendar uses time zones.

Here is a brief explanation of how it uses time zones:

> How Calendar uses time zones
>
> When you create an event, you'll see it in your local time zone. It will also show up in the local time zones for anyone you invite, even if they're in a different time zone.

Some workarounds:

**1. Disable device time zone**

When you travel to a different time zone, you can see your calendar in the local time.

1. Open the Google Calendar app .
2. In the top left, tap Menu .
3. At the bottom, tap Settings .
4. Tap General.
5. Tap Use device time zone on or off.

> If "Use device time zone" is on, your time zone will update automatically as you travel. If "Use device time zone is off", you can select a time zone from the drop-down menu.

**2. Create an event in a different time zone**

There is another workaround involving setting time zone for an individual event in Google Calendar.

For example, if you're going on a trip to Bahamas and want to make sure your 2 PM island tour shows up on your calendar correctly, you should choose the time zone for Bahamas while creating your event. i.e

> Create an event
>
> * Open the Calendar app .
> * Tap Create .
> * Tap Event .
> * Start typing in a title for your event. You'll often see suggestions – choose one or keep typing.
> * Tap Done .
> * Edit event details like the date, location, **time**, event visibility, and who's invited. If you don't share your calendar, you won't see visibility settings at all for your event.
> * Optional: If you have more than one calendar and want to change which one you're adding the event to, go to the top and tap the calendar name.
> * Tap Save.

References

1. Google Calendar help: Change calendar time zone without changing event times
2. Google Calendar help: Create an event
> 4 votes

# Answer
Can you try turning "Automatic time zone" off?

* Go into the Settings app,
* Scroll down and select "Date & time",
* Click the toggle named "Automatic time zone" until it turns grey.

Now, make sure you've selected the desired time zone under the "Select time zone" option.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: google-calendar, lg-g5
---


title: How do I shut down or reboot my LG G6?

text:
# Question
Title: How do I shut down or reboot my LG G6?
I've been very happy with my G6 so far. It has one feature that's a bit odd - there's no power button, instead you double-tap the screen to wake it and double-tap it on the launcher desktop to put it to sleep.

How do I reboot the phone, if I need to? And how do I turn it off? It'd be nice to do that before removing the sim card (which is on the same drawer as the SD card.)

# Answer
The fingerprint reader on the back is exactly the power button. Hold it down for 10 sec and your G6 will reboot.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: lg
---


title: I can't open a torrent

text:
# Question
Title: I can't open a torrent
I have μTorrent app, and I have a torrent file. I tried to open the file in standard file manager, but the manager shows "All apps associated with this action have been turned off, blocked, or are not installed". And there is no function in μTorrent to choose the file from memory.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Click on "Add torrent URL" and type the .torrent path like "file:///sdcard/Download/mytorrent.torrent"

---
Tags: file-management, torrents
---


# Question
Title: What are the components of the flash image?
As a followup to the answer to blu: cannot get into recovery mode from boot-loop:

What are the components of flashing? Why did I have to uncomment `PRELOADER`?

# Answer
> 0 votes
Well, this is a wide question, but I"ll try to give an answer.

The preloader on Mediatek SoCs is a piece of software that intermediates between the operation system and the actual system bootloader.

It offers additional features like the ability to boot from either the eMMC or NAND Flash; it offers the ability to read/write various parts of the memory (flash) via USB (that what we call flashing). Also, it is essential because it decide what a boot mode a device may perform.

So it is **not recommended** to flash the preloader simply because flashing a wrong preloader (even if the flash file is correct, preloader code may differ) may result to a permanent brick also known as a hard-brick, the device becomes a paperweight: no booting, no charging, no USB flashing and in some case not being detected by a computer.

Additional infos on Mediatek partitions can be found here

Hope this answers your question.

---
Tags: rom-flashing, partitions, mediatek
---


title: NFC-Tagtype isn't supported

text:
# Question
Title: NFC-Tagtype isn't supported
I've got a Samsung Galaxy S6 and recently updated my software to Android 7.0. Ever since I updated my Samsung Galaxy S6, my NFC Tag reader apps stopped working. Is this a known issue? I've tried multiple cards, but my phone refuses to read tags anymore.

Any ideas what I can do about this?

# Answer
> 0 votes
As I understand Samsung got rid of "S Beam" in favor of the stock "Android Beam" in the 7.0 update which affects NFC. Check your Android Beam settings and if it's on try with it off and vice versa if it was off.

---
Tags: nfc
---


# Question
Title: How to activate Google now voice commands from the lock screen like siri?
I just switched from an iPhone, and I want my android to have the same behavior as iOS where you hold the home button, and siri starts listening.

With my android, I have to wake up and unlock the device, then hold the home button to get to the google now screen, then I have to either say "okay google", or hit the microphone button.

This process takes way longer and makes voice commands in the car unsafe, which is primarily what I used siri for

Please any help would be appreciated

# Answer
On my Samsung S6 this is how I did it:

settings \> personal \> lock screen and security \> info and app shortcuts \> app shortcuts \> left shortcut \> voice search

Now from the lock screen I can drag up from the bottom left and google starts listening.

note: Unfortunately if you have a password lock, you have to unlock the phone before it will answer your question.
> 0 votes

# Answer
In Google Now, click the menu icon on the left of the search bar (it looks like a hamburger).

Then choose Settings -\> Voice -\> "OK Google" Detection.

<sub>(Click image to enlarge)</sub>

Flip the three switches on. When you switch on the second one, the app will ask you to say "Okay Google" three times to train the voice model. Flipping the third switch on will prompt you for the password to your phone.

Now, when you say "Okay Google", the screen will be unlocked.
> 3 votes

# Answer
In Android, by default, you can't have access to Google Now when the phone is locked (maybe for security reasons), but there could be a lock screen widget for that. You can search for that.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: 5.0-lollipop, google-now, voice-command
---


# Question
Title: How to update the location of /sdcard link to the external storage?
I wonder how to do this.

Now, this is linked to my small internal memory.

I'm an experienced Linux user, but Android shell don't have `unlink` and `rm /sdcard` makes me fear.

What I try to do is to symlink `/storage/1234-5678` to `/sdcard`, but I see no way.

`ln -sfv /storage/1234-5678 /sdcard` is trying to create `/sdcard/1234-5678` unlike linux `ln`...

Don't know what I can do

# Answer
You should run

```
mount -o rw,remount /
ln -sfvn /storage/1234/5678 /sdcard

```

Option `-n` means "Don't dereference symlinks - treat it as a normal file". Even if you're running a linux you should use `ln -sfn`, though.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: settings, external-sd, shell
---


# Question
Title: Unlocking bootloader to change rom or firmware
My question is very easy: do I have to unlock the bootloader on every single phone to change its rom or its firmware, or someone need it and someone doesn't?

# Answer
The answer is also easy: some don't need it.

Most if not all AT&T/Verizon/Amazon devices are bootloader locked, yet some are popular enough that devs worked ways around it. A common-sight solution is called Safestrap.

Do note that, with the lockdown measure becoming heavier over the years, there's no such solution I know of for recent devices. Even for older devices, Safestrap took a considerable long time to be developed/ported.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: custom-roms, bootloader, device-firmware, customization
---


# Question
Title: how to connect Galaxy S4 to Macbook Pro?
The Macbook Pro does recognise my Galaxy S4. I've just downloaded and opened the latest version of Kies, restarted everything, and the "connecting" wheel just keeps going round and round and round. I need to transfer a large video file from the phone to the computer.

# Answer
> 0 votes
There are a few ways to mount an Android device to your Mac. I'm not sure if all the following are supported on the Galaxy S4, depending in part on what version of Android you have. (There are other methods for accessing files on your phone, some of which would require root.. but these listed below are built into most recent versions of Android.)

The file access methods include:

Picture Transfer Protocol (PTP) -- this is basically a mode where your phone pretends to be a digital camera and is accessed as such. Picture/media-related apps such as iPhoto recognize it as a camera and will ask to auto-import pictures (and possibly videos as well) from the DCIM folder. Depending on the format of your large video, this may be the way to go if you're importing directly into a media app.

USB Mass Storage (UMS) -- this method basically turns your phone into a USB flash drive. The computer recognizes and "mounts" it as it would a normal flash drive. Unfortunately, when you mount your phone's external storage to your computer, your phone itself can't access the content-- it can't be mounted in two places at once. But for quick drag-and-drop, this method works pretty well.

Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) -- this is a method of accessing the files on your phone which simultaneously doesn't block the phone's own apps from accessing the external directory. It works a little smarter by working at the file/directory level rather than just handing over the whole block device the way UMS does. MTP is what the aforementioned Android File transfer app is for-- it let's you to access the files and integrates with OS X. More info here.

To access these different types of connections on Android, generally you go to **Settings**, then to **Storage**. If your device is plugged into your Mac, you should see three dots in the upper right corner of the action bar at the top of the screen. The menu item says something like **USB computer connection**. From there, you can select from the above connection types.

Again, depending on your version of Android, the options may not all be there. But hopefully one of the three will be there and will work for ya.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Kies can get a little complicated, you can try Android File Transfer.

# Answer
> 0 votes
I solved this problem by using transferring the files between Google drive.

---
Tags: samsung-galaxy-s-4, file-transfer, samsung-kies, macos
---


# Question
Title: Can I charge Galaxy Tab S2 while using MHL adapter?
I'm looking at an MHL adapter provided by Samsung. I have a Galaxy Tab S2 and wonder if this adapter would allow the device to charge up at the same time as mirroring the screen to my TV.

I already have a multi-use adapter with MHL + SD + USB. Unfortunately, connecting micro-USB power to the multi-use adapter does not charge the tablet.

I would like to know if I can charge the device at the same time as using the HDMI connection.

Anyone know if this works?

# Answer
The Galaxy Tab S2 (2016, 9.7, Wi-Fi) specs say that there is no MHL support.

(Which exact device version do you have? Have you tested MHL support in the meantime?)
> 1 votes

# Answer
> I would like to know if I can charge the device at the same time as using the HDMI connection

Theoretically **yes** but practically wouldn't help {see *edit* below)

* Adapter uses MHL 2 standards which provides **5 V DC/900 mA**, same as USB 3.0

Further, it says

> MHL passive cable
>
> Passive cables allow consumers to connect an MHL-enabled device directly to an MHL TV and do not require external power. Unlike older MHL adapters and cables, the passive cable simultaneously charges the cell phone battery while mirroring.

* A typical mobile battery charging (without using *fast charging*) for a capacity of 3000 mAh requires around 1800 mAh
* Galaxy Tab S2 has a battery that is either 4000/5870 mAh (depending on the model), which is much more than a normal cell, and it would take real long to charge. It would take 10 / 14 hours respectively (To estimate charging time required , use the Battery Charge Time Calculator)

**Note:** This is based only on the power calculations part of it. I haven't used MHL / HDMI

**Edit:** With reference to your comment, if the screen is in use, the power it would draw in *all likelihood* would be more than charging, so in effect, it wouldn't help at all. See this answer to get an idea of power used in *screen on* condition
> 0 votes

---
Tags: samsung, charging, mhl
---


# Question
Title: How to turn Android tablet into network photo frame?
I have a qnap NAS which shares media via samba shares and upnp (dlna/twonkey). I'd like to run a photo gallery app which displays shared photos so I don't have to copy them to my tablet. No luck finding a DNA client that has a decent photo gallery yet... also couldn't find an app that lets me mount a smb share like smbfs for Linux.. any other ideas? Launching needs to be very simple.

# Answer
> 2 votes
Have you tried Social Frame?
It is a digital photo frame app.
It automatically syncs photos from Facebook, Twitter, and 500px.
Love this app

# Answer
> 1 votes
Try out Digital Photo Frame Slide Show.

It has exactly the features you need as it can access a UPnP server or a SMB network drive.

(I am the developer of Digital Photo Frame Slide Show.)

# Answer
> 0 votes
Have you searched `DLNA` in Play Store? You can find many apps.
My favorite is Skifta .

# Answer
> 0 votes
It may sound like overkill, but it may suit all your needs:

XBMC Media Center (downloads for Android are here)

It has many features that you might not need (like a weather forecast, playing videos and music) but the best parts are its big list of network capabilities (media on Windows shares, DLNA (UPnP), FTP, etc.) and its huge list of available plugins. It's also remotely controllable in many ways, there are even apps for Android, etc.

Plus it's open source and free.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Samba Shares and Cloud Image Services (Picasa, Flickr, Facebook, Dropbox and Instagram) Photo Frame Live Wallpaper

# Answer
> 0 votes
PhotoCloud Frame Slideshow should match your requirements since it shows photos on your tablet in a digital frame fashion, downloading them on-the-fly. It supports DLNA/UPNP, but also Samba and a lot of other photo sources.

(Disclaimer: I am the developer of this app)

# Answer
> -2 votes
ES File Explorer should let you access SMB shares.

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Tags: tablet, photos, dlna
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title: Upgrade to Lineage Os 14

text:
# Question
Title: Upgrade to Lineage Os 14
I have a Samsung GT9500 (Intl) which has CM 12. I see that L14.1 is available for my device. Is it possible to simply just upgrade to L14 without bricking my phone. I don't care about losing my data. What steps should I take?

# Answer
The Exynos variant of S4 doesn't have official LOS yet. Assuming you're talking about the unofficial one here.

Update to the latest recovery possible, e.g. TWRP here, or this one as suggested in the XDA thread.

Do a nandroid backup of what you have now for falling back when needed.

Factory reset - don't think about dirty flashing between major Android versions.

Flash the ROM of choice.
> 0 votes

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Tags: updates, rom-flashing, lineageos
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# Question
Title: Attempted to encrypt my phone and now it's rejecting my password
I attempted to encrypt my moto g4 while it was plugged into my laptop. Instead of showing the animation that it should play, it briefly showed the start of the animation and went to the main boot screen. After a few minutes it booted into the please enter your password screen. I entered my device pin and my google password, and it rejected both of them. Sometimes it tells you to turn the device off and on to start android, but it doesn't do anything. It said it would wipe after 8 more failed attempts, but now it's at negative 45. Is there any way to do a total factory reset?

# Answer
You can format your phone with the built in recovery menu:

1. First you have to turn off your phone.
2. So, press and hold the power button for a few moments or press the power key once and select Power Off.
3. Then, just wait while the shut down process is completed.
4. Next, start pressing and holding the Volume Down button for about 2 or 3 seconds.
5. While still pressing the Volume Down button, press the Power key and release.
6. From the menu that will be displayed, choose the Recovery option (navigate through Volume Up and Down buttons).
7. Press the Power key once to select your option.
8. When the Android logo is displayed, press the Volume Up key for a few moments.
9. While still holding this key, press the Power button and release.
10. Recovery mode should be now displayed on your Motorola Moto G4.
11. If you can’t manage it from your first attempt, don’t panic; you might have to try this method several times until you succeed in accessing the recovery mode menu.
> 0 votes

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Tags: encryption
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# Question
Title: What did marc.info do to my Firefox that required a restart?
I opened a mailing list archive on link to marc.info last night with Firefox on my Nexus 6P (stock firmware, monthly security patches applied as they come out, unrooted). Pretty quickly after the page loaded, Firefox gave me a worrying notice, saying it needed to "restart to complete changes":

That's awfully similar to what it looks like when you install an extension and it needs a restart. And it was indeed a real Firefox dialog (it goes above the page content area, and clicking restart actually restarted Firefox).

I checked Tools → Add-ons, and I don't see any new/unexpected extensions (I have LastPass, OpenH264…, QuitNow, Save Page, Tap Translate, View Source Mobile, and uBlock Origin shown there)

Also, the site—marc.info—is a well-known mailing list archive for open source projects. I wouldn't expect them to be pulling stunts like secretly installing extensions.

My guess is I've just misunderstood what Firefox is telling me, or this is some Firefox bug (e.g., it's a normal update from addons.m.o, but it's just mis-reporting the source). But I couldn't find anything when Googling or searching here. Seems odd I'd be the only person to notice this!

What is Firefox trying to tell me?

# Answer
It's a bug (although not for much longer). The doorhanger is simply doing its default thing, which is to use the domain of the tab it's being displayed on as a title. If this is triggered from about:addons, everything is fine because there is no domain to display, but if an extension automatically updates in background during browsing, something like the screenshot can happen.
> 1 votes

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Tags: malware, firefox-for-android
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# Question
Title: How to play speakers sound in microphone
My question is simple but i haven't really found answers via google : How to use the sound played via speakers as microphone input ? (like Stereo Mix in Windows : for example, when you decide to put "Stereo Mix" for Microphone Device on Skype)

# Answer
Use a 3.5mm male to male between your computer audio output and your phones headphone jack and then download an app that turns your headphone jack into a mic input. Can definitely be done on Android not sure about IOS
> 0 votes

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Tags: audio
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# Question
Title: JavaScript doesn't work on Chrome 58 on Android in offline mode
I have a single-HTML web page with embedded `<script>` tags. When I view the offline version of this page in Chrome 58 on Android, JavaScript event handlers are not executed. (When I connect to the internet and reload the page, JavaScript starts working again.) How can I get my JavaScript back without a working internet connection on Chrome 58 on Android?

# Answer
> 1 votes
Chrome offline pages do not support JavaScript.. You won't be able to get it to work in an offline page.. Maybe there are other browsers who do support JavaScript but I'm not sure.

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Tags: chrome-for-android, javascript
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# Question
Title: Searching Installed Apps Marshmallow 6.0.1
I installed an OTA update today on my Moto X Play which supposedly addressed some security issues. The install went smoothly with no obvious hiccups during the process however after the update and reboot some apps do not show up in search results for locally installed applications.

For example, I used the eBay app this morning. I opened it the same way I normally would if it wasn't in my recent apps list by going to the apps menu and searching "ebay" then selecting the result. After the update, there is no result, but I can scroll down to find it manually.

I also noticed that at least one app (Firefox in this case) that had a shortcut on my homescreen is also unsearchable, and that it's shortcut had been removed.

Both these apps open no problem, and I was able to re-create the shortcut for Firefox which is functional.

I'm not aware of a way to rebuild a search DB, and after some Googling I wasn't able to find anything other than the suggestion to try clearing the partition cache, or if that fails to restore to factory settings and install apps from scratch.

I figured there was no harm in clearing said cache but I'm not keen on doing a complete wipe and restore.

**TL;DR Local search is broken.**

Is there some sort of search DB/cache that I can trigger a rebuild of? Is this something that can be done in-phone or are there some adb commands I can issue to do this?

# Answer
Search is working again on my phone. It seems the system rebuilds an index of sorts on its own, I just had to be more patient.

Marking as answer in case someone else has the same experience and hasn't waited a day for the indexing to finish.
> 0 votes

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Tags: 6.0-marshmallow, search
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# Question
Title: Why does the system take up so much of the internal storage space?
I have a tecno c9 it has taken me about 2.5GB for apps and I still have `system` which has taken more than 5.5GB, so I dont understand why the `system` takes up so much space of the total 16GB that I currently have.

Is there a way I can optimise this internal storage space (16GB), because it really is a lot of space, however it seems its so little?

# Answer
> 1 votes
Well to answer your question, I think it is important to first read the tag wiki to get some insight.

A significant amount of memory in internal storage is taken by "system" (`/system`, `/data` partitions etc) and in some cases is reserved memory.

Some manufacturers include preloaded applications (sometimes known as bloatware) and these reside in `/data` or `/system` or `/cust` (in my case) partitions. It is virtually impossible to view the breakdown of these files without root privileges. Some space is reserved for ROM updates, acts as system buffer or caches storage etc.

While it's difficult to uninstall unnecessary applications residing in these "system" partitions, there are a few methods that can help you optimize your space

* > check for pre-installed apps you don't need. Clear their caches and data, then uninstall their updates and finally disable them (so they won't get updated again).
* While pre-installed apps reside in the /system partition (which you cannot utilize without root), their data and updates consume space on the /data partition which gets freed this way.
* If you have acquired root privileges try moving some apps to other storage (SDcard) via App2SD

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Tags: internal-storage, system
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# Question
Title: SD card readers don't work via USB OTG but USB thumb drives do, any ideas?
I have a Huawei Ascend G6 LTE (G6-L22) and bought a little USB OTG cable so I could read full sized SD cards while out and about.

Only, it doesn't work, on either of the SD card readers I've tried - both of them small USB2 based readers.

When I plug in USB thumb drives to the adapter, they work fine and I can browse files and photos. But no go on the card readers.

What will happen is the phone either doesn't see the drive at all, or it sees it momentarily then it disappears with a "your SD card was disconnected" notification. The LED on the card reader lights up when you first plug it in, but then goes into a fast blinking pattern which seems to indicate a problem.

Any ideas? I wouldn't have thought an SD card reader would exceed the normal power supplied via USB OTG ports, and its LED lights up. Could the phone just not have a driver that supports card readers?

Edit: the filesystem on the SD card was FAT32, as it was a 16GB card I use in my DSLR. I use the stock ROM but am rooted.

# Answer
> 2 votes
I believe that the problem is lack of power. Your phone doesn't deliver enough power to the card reader. I would suggest using the same kind of cable you used to need when connecting an external hard disk using USB. It has one contact for the hard disk (card reader in your case), one for the phone and one for extra power (use a separate USB charger/adapter). That should solve the power problem.

I don't know where one can find this kind of cable in your part of the world. They should be fairly easy to find though.

If this doesn't work I would use the Googles ADB developer tool to check the logs on the phone to see if there are any error messages that could help.

Good luck!

# Answer
> 0 votes
Without having the same phone, but playing around with OTG, the problem that you are describe seems to be because of the lack of power. Try using an external source of power for your USB card reader before connecting it to the phone. Maybe rooting the phone and searching through the file, you will find the option to output more power to the USB port of your phone.Once I was able to use (on a 4 different devices when I had a USB hub getting power from a power socket. Last but not least maybe this card drive can't be recognised by your phone because of the lack of drivers.

# Answer
> 0 votes
You tried different readers and each exhibits the same problem. Also try a different card by a different manufacturer with the hope it draws less power.

# Answer
> -1 votes
try another card reader like this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XBB4KJ3/ref=olp\_product\_details?\_encoding=UTF8&me=

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Tags: usb-on-the-go, usb-host-mode
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title: how to target Google Play Search?

text:
# Question
Title: how to target Google Play Search?
It is very annoying, that almost everytime I search for Apps (i.e. Go SMS, Handcent SMS, Viber, etc...)

in the results always show up i.e. "Go SMS silver theme", "Viber Smiles"....

so, the actual app i am searching for, never shows up in the top results.. what is the solution to this annoying cases..

# Answer
Found the reason. this happens on the apps, that are not supported to my country, for unknown reason I have no idea. I've installed them manually from their site, by downloading APK.
> 0 votes

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Tags: google-play-store
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# Question
Title: Is there a way to move unmovable apps to the SD card in Android 6.0?
I recently updated to Android 6.0 and made my new 64GB SD card as adoptable storage. Unfortunately, as per here:

> *Apps can be placed on adopted storage media **only** when the developer has indicated support through the android:installLocation attribute.*

This is problematic since I only have roughly 4GB of internal storage and some of these unmovable apps are quite large.

Without going into partitioning the SD card into 2 and using Link2SD/Apps2SD, is there a way to move these unmovable apps? My device is indeed rooted so that should hopefully help.

Edit: In reply to the user1871, and also I will add: I already put all those things on the SD card. Right now I have roughly 1 GB free in the internal storage. Also I do not want to uninstall anything. When I used DiskUsage to see what was using up a lot of the space, it was the data/app folder which contains a whole bunch of unmovable things such as base.apk, lib and oat folders.

These types of unmovable files is what concerns me since they will quickly add up and overtake my free 1 GB. I just want to find out a way I can move (or at least create symbolic links to those files after putting them into the SD card) without using Link2SD type apps. I'm leaving doing that as a last resort since formating an adopted SD Card will result in me having to factory reset my phone :(

# Answer
You just need a free app to do this without root. Please note that this does not work for preinstalled apps (like Google Play Books, etc.)

App: APK Editor

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gmail.heagoo.apkeditor&hl=en

Open the APK editor and choose 'Select APK from app'. Choose your app from the list that will appear and select 'Common Edit'. Change the 'Install Location' field to 'External Preferred'. Click Save and then Install. (you may have to uninstall it first.) You will now be able to use `Settings/Apps` or your preferred app manager to move the app to your SD Card.
> 3 votes

# Answer
Apps like Link2SD/Apps2SD can be falsely miss interpreted, apps once installed can have extra data moved to the sd card but a main portion of the app like the launcher will need to remain on the internal storage. there for a app cant be 100% on the sd card. you can set apps to auto install on the sd card but they still need a part on the internal. id suggest move any media pics,videos,music ect on the sd. uninstall any unneeded apps
> 0 votes

# Answer
1. Open the **APK editor**
2. Choose '**Select APK from app**'. Choose your app from the list that will appear
3. Select '**Common Edit**'
4. Change the '**Install Location**' field to '**External Preferred**'
5. Click **Save** (Working.... )
6. (you may have to uninstall it first.) **Remove app** and then **Install** again.
7. You will now be able to use Settings/Apps or your preferred app manager to move the app to your SD Card.
> 0 votes

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Tags: applications, root-access, internal-storage, 6.0-marshmallow, sd-card
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# Question
Title: Fakestore, blankstore, gms, microg, unifiednlp - what's best for Android without Gapps?
I've been running Android for maybe 2 years without Gapps or a Google account, and like the experience, but I'd also like to do it better because some apps I used to use, now don't run without some Google services. I researched NoGapps but don't quite understand the information well enough, and the different packages available, to know what I need.

It looks like these are packages that simulate the Google play store and main services APIs but return either null data, minimal responses, or data from other open source providers? But I can't find a clear explanation what options there are, and the main differences between them, to help me choose what to install.

My current phone is lineage 14.1 + SuperSU 2.79 on a Samsung S7 G930F, and I don't use the Play Store (I use FDroid and sideloading).

**Update**

Just to clarify (following @Izzy's excellent "basics" reply so far), the main issue thinking about it isn't so much "which of these packages can I use to replace a Google library".

The real issue is, to what extent do these No Gapps alternatives meet the presumed goal of allowing software to still work (by faking a playstore/location provider/other service that they expect GApps to have provided), but also in reality sanitising or avoiding actually using Google for these, or reducing and making clear what data is sent to Google if it's used.

So for example, Fakestore sends nothing to Google, period, its job is to fake that Google Play Store is installed and its Android API working, but unfortunately unreachable/empty. But for the rest, it's really hard to know what's still sent and what's sanitised or not sent. If all there is, is a FOSS reimplementation of a Google Library, same data, same auth, mostly same logging/datamining, that's a bit weak and unfortunate, even if unavoidable. If Nlp can fully avoid Google and use more trustworthy sources, that's better. But this is the kind of information and discussion I can't find details about.

I'm realistic here - a person who wants an app that needs Google Push Notifications, has to either fake that functionality as installed but not responsive, or use code that cleans the data and does data leak avoidance as best possible, or must accept they can't use that app. But the information needed for that decision is clarity as to what these NoGapps softwares can do, to minimise or avoid data leaks, and how far they can go to distangling from Google.

That's pretty central to "why I want to use them". I'd like to be clearer what their compromises are and what's possible or not, in terms of data and info passed to Google, and I'm not, which is all that stops me enjoying them ATM.

# Answer
> 12 votes
Some basics first:

* NoGAPPS is deprecated and got replaced by its successor, µG (read: microG).
* µG includes the core (basically, GServices) and also UnifiedNlp.
* No GService replacements will support the Google License API. That's much too hot an area. While we all love dentists, we better not see them working on us (replace "dentists" by "lawyers" in this context).
* there are ways to access PlayStore, though, and you've mentioned some candidates:
    + BlankStore: Deprecated, no longer maintained except for bugfixes, but its successor not yet ready. Supports only free apps.
    + FakeStore: As the name suggests, only a "fake" – i.e. it fakes the presence of Playstore to apps not working otherwise.
    + Yalp: Like BlankStore but still maintained, plus supporting apps you've already bought (but not the process of buying and not the license check some paid apps perform).
    + More candidates in my corresponding app list.

I'm running that combination (CyanogenMod + µG with UnifiedNlp + BlankStore/Yalp) for about 2 years now. The only thing I found *not* working was paid apps that wished to verify their license against GPlay – apart from that, everything runs smoothly. For details, you might wish to see my article series on Android without Google. Note that, however, there seem to be some issues concerning LOS 14.x and UnifiedNlp currently; for details, please check with the issue tracker on µG's Github presence.

You can find the implementation status in the project's wiki, as well as a short introduction. In terms of privacy, you can derive from those two:

> Acting as a replacement for the closed-source Google Apps (GAPPS), it is a powerful tool **to reclaim your privacy** while enjoying Android core features.

(from the introduction; emphasis mine). In the *implementation status,* take a closer look at two columns: *Functionality* and *Crashing.* If both are "No", we have a dummy: Apps think it's there, but absolutely nothing is happening in there (especially no data transmission); this is and always will be the case for Analytics and Ads, for example. No functionality and crashing means there's nothing implemented (not even a dummy) – so apps accessing that might crash, but again nothing is transmitted (currently e.g. Auto and Cast).

If data is transmitted, to my knowledge this is limited to the absolute minimum for the functionality to be achieved. This e.g. includes Google Cloud Messaging (token, id and obviously the message must be exchanged, where the latter is usually incoming only), Account Authentication (guess what: account name and token/password must be sent for that, or there can't be an authentication), Maps API (must obviously send the desired position for the tiles to be retrieved – but this doesn't go to Google, as it uses OpenStreetMap/OpenScienceMap instead). Fused Locations doesn't run via Google either, as it uses the UnifiedNlp backends instead.

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Tags: google-play-store, google-play-services, google-apps, lineageos, 7.1-nougat
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# Question
Title: How can you disable the Google "Did you just sign in?" notification
Title sums it up. I use my Google account on many devices. Including virtual machines and other items that may get reset and have to be logged in again frequently. It is annoying having to constantly swipe away this notification on multiple devices (5+) around the house when I already use two step verification and extremely secure passwords plus I get the email notification. How can I disable this notification from coming back again?

# Answer
> 3 votes
To remove:

Settings -\> Apps -\> Google Play Services -\> Notifications -\> Block all

That should remove those notifications now.

Source here

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Tags: google-account, google
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# Question
Title: How to run two Messenger applications logged into different accounts?
I have done a bit of research, and that, coupled with some programming knowledge, leads me to believe that it should be perfectly possible to run two separate applications of Facebook Messenger.

Is it as simple as changing the manifest file name? Or is there more to it? How do I run two separate Messengers?

# Answer
Yes, at the *very least* that will have to be done. You may also have to re-sign the apk, and also change any absolute references to the Application context inside the java code and/or machine code. This will require lots of effort, you might as well build your own Messenger interface via Facebook's API. Facebook does have a developer API for this kind of stuff, you may want to look into that.

Facebook Developer SDK

I would try renaming the package first, without even decompiling anything, if it crashes due to internal package pointers, I would probably try to build a plug-in.

Hope that helps,
> 2 votes

# Answer
There is also other ways to do this. Simply download other messenger apps like Nimbuzz to have multiple Facebook accounts.

If u need only Facebook's own messenger application,Try these simple steps. It may works.

1. Take the facebook messenger apk.
2. Decompile apk. Decompile android will do this for you.
3. Just change the package name.\[from orca.facebook.com to anyother name\]
4. Change the name in the manifest.
5. Recompile & build the app.
6. Install it in your phone.
> 0 votes

# Answer
Now, Facebook only support multiple accounts. You can run more than one facebook account in facebook messenger app.

Follow this simple steps to add, remove and switch multiple accounts in facebook messenger.

**Disclosure:** I'm the author of the linked article.
> -1 votes

# Answer
I use one account with the APP and the other account with the Chrome navigator,
> -1 votes

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Tags: applications, apk, processes
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# Question
Title: Contacts missing on new Galaxy Core Prime
My phone was stolen and they deleted my contacts. They must be backed up somewhere? How can I restore them to my new Galaxy? Everything else came back.

# Answer
> 0 votes
### Did you select an online/synced account as the location for your contacts?

You can simply login to your former account and synchronize the contacts to your new device.

### Did you select *SIM card* as the location?

I hope you've got that card. Simply put it in your device and your contacts are back. Move them to an online account or do whatever you want with them.

### Did you select *phone* or *device* as the location?

Well, there are your contacts now. And they won't leave your device any time soon.
Some manufacturers offer you to sync those contacts to their services anyways so maybe you can login to that account and restore your contacts.

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Tags: contacts, restore
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# Question
Title: Do I need root to install xposed modules?
Is it necessary to root my phone to install any xposed module?

# Answer
> 2 votes
Root is a requirement to install the **Xposed Framework**, any additional modules can be installed (may not explicitly state root requirement) but need the Xposed framework to function, so in short yes root is needed.

# Answer
> 3 votes
You don't need root to install xposed modules and you can avoid using root to install the framework if you have a working recovery that can install unsigned zip files.

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Tags: rooting, customization, xposed-framework
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# Question
Title: Why if I delete the Packageinstaller apk on Android 6 the whole Android OS crashes?
I have a Rooted Moto E 2nd gen(Android 6), and when making experiments on it, I discovered that when I delete Packageinstaller.apk and reboot the device, the whole Android OS crashes. This was not happening on previous versions of Android. Do you know why?

# Answer
Package installer is also managing permissions (AppOps) since Android 6, removing it means critical package lose permissions you are not supposed to be able to remove, as they are mandatory to proper phone usage.
> 4 votes

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Tags: 6.0-marshmallow, root-access
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# Question
Title: How do I connect Zoom H1 Recorder to an Android smartphone?
In particular, I want to connect the recorder to a Samsung S6 device I can borrow. The idea is to shoot videos from the phone by taking the audio from the Zoom H1.

I have done this for DSLRs. Is there a way for phones?

Regards.

# Answer
> 0 votes
You need to mod a 4pin Jack cable to make your phone detect a headset+ microphone combo when external Mic is plugged.

The ground is the first ring (nearest to cable), microphone is second ring. Last two are stereo audio.

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Tags: audio, samsung-galaxy-s-6, audio-recording, samsung-galaxy-s-6-edge+
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title: Tell app to lower volume

text:
# Question
Title: Tell app to lower volume
Is it possible to tell a specific app to lower volume, using intents? I would like to be able to use Tasker to tell the HEOS app to lower the volume.

EDIT: Heos is a streaming system, controlled through an app. When the music is playing, and my phone is on the same wifi, I can control the volume of the system by opening the app and pressing the volume rockers. But it is rather cumbersome to open the app each time, so I was hoping to create a custom widget to do this instead.

# Answer
Volume is system wide and not application wide, unless an application has it's own volume management, meaning there won't be a bulletproof proof solution, only application specific solution.

System wide volume can be altered on settings.db.
> 0 votes

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Tags: audio, tasker, music, intents
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# Question
Title: How Can I Use Data For Apps Blocked on Wi-Fi Networks?
All questions that are similar to this one appeared to be asking the opposite of what I want.

At my job certain applications do not work when connected to the associate wi-fi network. If I turn off Wi-Fi and use data only then the applications work.

Is there a way to make it so that these 'blocked' applications will use data while on the associate network, but then go back to using Wi-Fi when the phone is connected to my home Wi-Fi?

Phone is Moto Z Force (XT1650) with Android 7.0.

# Answer
You would first need to keep data enabled while being on Wi-Fi, and redirect application UID using netfilter, which require root to alter it's settings.
> 0 votes

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Tags: wi-fi
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# Question
Title: Completely disable the fingerprint sensor
I don't really like all the hype about the fingerprint sensor, I'd rather like to have it killed down, so that it doesn't register any fingerprints.

On a desktop Linux I'd simply `modprobe -r` the relevant kernel module. Can I do something like that on Android? I **don't** want to simply disable it in the settings - then I have to trust the system that nothing really uses it.

# Answer
On Linux (and Android) it is possible to disconnect a device from its driver<sup>\[\]</sup>. The fingerprint driver (denoted as **fpc**) on my LG G5 has the name **fpc1020**. Searching in the **/sys** path gave me the folder **/sys/bus/spi/drivers/fpc1020/**. This folder has four files: bind, unbind, uevent AND **spi8.1**. What we do is to **unbind** the device **spi8.1** from the driver **fpc1020**.

Now how to disable the sensor:

1. we need to find the driver name:
Try this command: **find /sys/bus -name 'fpc\*'**
For me it's: */sys/bus/spi/drivers/fpc1020/*
2. we need to find the device name:
The device name is the *fourth* file in this folder.
**ls /sys/bus/spi/drivers/fpc1020/** (depends on your result from 1.)
For me it's: *spi8.1*
3. **unbind** this device:
**echo spi8.1 \> /sys/bus/spi/drivers/fpc1020/unbind** (depends on your result from 1. & 2.)
Now you are not able to use the fingerprint sensor until the next restart.
4. unbind on every system boot:
We want/need to execute this command on every boot. Currently I'm not sure what's the best way to do it.

Requirements:

* Root Access
* Terminal App (or adb shell from PC)

References:
1. https://lwn.net/Articles/143397/
> 4 votes

# Answer
Or just remove (rename) system/bin/fingerprintd and fingerprint sensor will stop working after phone restart. Rooted phone and a root file explorer are prerequisites.

This method is useful on Xiaomi phones running MIUI 8.2.5.0, on which although fingerprint based authentication is turned off, display still awakes when you touch the sensor.
> -1 votes

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Tags: fingerprint
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# Question
Title: How to change the name shown in my PC when I connect my phone in MTP mode?
When I connect my phone ( actually a 7' inch tablet ) to my PC and set the mode to be MTP, in my PC it shows GEM703L from where I can access Internal Storage and SD card, but the problem is that my phone is actually GEM701L and as I want to sell my phone it sounds awkward. Does the problem have anything to do with cust? How can I fix it?

P.S : I know that I can rename the name in Windows Explorer but that doesn't change the name permanently and the name changes as I connect the phone to some other PC.

# Answer
Edit the file `/system/build.prop`

Change the `ro.product.model` or `ro.product.device` or any other property that has your device name and reboot..

Note:
I think you need to uninstall your device drivers from your computer after doing that..

Ofcourse, this requires root access (yeah, no official OTAs), and also make sure to backup your build.prop
> 2 votes

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Tags: 5.0-lollipop, mtp
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# Question
Title: Backup locked huawei p9 before hard reset
Is it possible to backup a locked Huawei p9 phone before hard reset; even with USB Debugging off?

# Answer
I think it's not possible to backup all your data via USB with 'USB Debugging **off**'.

But it may be possible, if you make a backup using **`TWRP`** (android app.) with root access in mobile's external card.
> 0 votes

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Tags: 6.0-marshmallow
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# Question
Title: Can I reinstall the apps freely from Play Store if I bought them while on sale?
If you buy an item that is on sale in Play Store, and remove it from your device, can you still reinstall it at a later time?

# Answer
> 8 votes
Yes... I do this all the time when apps/games I might like come up for sale cheap or free, or major titles I might use someday, although they don't have to be on sale. In fact, I often don't even let them install and cancel the download. They are always in your apps list or "Library" as it seems to be called now, to be installed later.

Once you have purchased an app, regardless if it is on sale or not, or whether you actually install it or not, the license (and thus the future rights to install the app), are tied to the Google account you used when you purchased the app. As long as you use the same Google account, you can reinstall the app to the same or any compatible device that is connected to the Google account you used to make the purchase.

You will notice if you have paid for an app that it will appear in your list or searches with an Install button instead of a "price" or purchase button, you can click it and select the device you wish to install it on without paying again.

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Tags: applications, google-play-store, installation
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# Question
Title: How can I find out the current price of an app on Google Play after I've purchased it?
After you buy an app, it'll just say "Installed" where the price tag usually is. I'd like to look up the current price to ensure a sale is still going on as I pass it to others.

# Answer
Load the application's play store URL in a web browser with incognito/private mode. This way the play store will not be aware that the viewer has already installed the application.
> 4 votes

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Tags: google-play-store
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# Question
Title: Why is zygote asking for superuser permissions?
I have a OnePlus One running the latest version of OxygenOS which is rooted for the sole purpose of running CF lumen. I have not installed any other root apps, and only use the Play Store for downloading apps.

Recently, I got two superuser requests in quick succession from an app called Zygote.

As another answer had suggested, I checked for any rogue apps with `adb shell ps | grep zygote` but only one process was listed. So there doesn't seem to be any malware masquerading as zygote.

Scans from Malwarebytes and Kaspersky didn't turn up anything either.

I haven't got any other superuser requests from zygote since this first happened about a day ago.

What's going on?

# Answer
Do you have Xposed Installer and various modules installed? As I understand it, several xposed modules will use the zygote root process and most likely benign.
> 1 votes

# Answer
"Zygote" is the root process of all app processes in Android. When you start an app, Android forks (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fork\_(system\_call)#Overview) this process instead of creating an entirely new process for this app.

There is often a "soft reboot" option in custom ROMs, which doesn't do anything else than killing and restarting the Zygote process and therefore killing all other processes as they are only forks of the zygote process.

To come back to your question: I don't know which super user app you use, but maybe it contains a bug or has been unproperly configured, because zygote should normally get root access without confirmation.
> 0 votes

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Tags: root-access, permissions, malware
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# Question
Title: A different boot loop after flashing BLU phone
This is the same BLU Life One X as in Cannot get into recovery mode from boot-loop on BLU phone:

I followed the instructions and flashed the phone with `BLU_L0070UU_V12_GENERIC`.

I am still in a boot loop, but less predictable:

* It shows 0%
* BLU/Bold Like Us
* Android is starting/optimizing app AAA of BBB
* Android is starting/starting apps
* Select language
* Checking connection
* (Sometimes) updating software
* (Sometimes) starting the cellular service
* Enter email/password of the account to which the android was synced

At any point in the above, the phone may go dark and restart. I never managed to finish typing the Google account password. At some point, it also asked for a WiFi password, it no longer does and, apparently, can connect to my hotspot.

Recovery still does not work:

1. Pressed Power + Volume Up + Volume Down.
2. Got two teeny lines: Recovery Mode: Volume Up and Factory Mode: Volume Down.
3. No matter what I press, the screen goes dark and nothing happens (boot cycles).

# Answer
It turned out that repeating the steps, i.e.,

* re-flash the phone with `BLU_L0070UU_V12_GENERIC`
* press `Power` \+ `Volume Up` \+ `Volume Down`
* get two teeny lines: `Recovery Mode: Volume Up` and `Factory Mode: Volume Down`
* press `Volume Up`

solved the problem
> 1 votes

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Tags: recovery-mode, boot-loop, blu-phones
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title: Volume Button To Scroll Up Android

text:
# Question
Title: Volume Button To Scroll Up Android
So there is probably one feature I miss sincerely and that is being able to hit the title bar on the iPhone to essentially trigger the "Home key." Is there a way to assign this to one of the volume switchers or maybe add a fourth button to the bar at the bottom or even double tap the home button maybe. I use it a lot and want it to be easily accessible. I opened an xda question. This question is almost a duplicate.

# Answer
> 1 votes
So this is the best solution I have come up with out a root. Basically install and pay for the application called Volkey scroll.

Then set the following settings.

1. Uncheck "Enable persistent notification."
2. Enable Automatic Start.
3. Set speed of scrolling to 100/100.
4. Selected action leap.
5. Stop scrolling after a timeout 500 seconds
6. Page size disable.
7. Continuous pages checked
8. The delay between pages 1

Now you only have to hold down the button until it stops at the top or bottom. Sometimes you have to press it more then once to get this to work for example in Google Photos not sure why. Now to adjust the volume you have to disable the app temporarily which is annoying or add it to the menu bar which isn't to bad.

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So basically here is the deal someone created a plugin for this in older versions of android here. I can't confirm or deny if this works. Here is another app and a reddit thread.

For chrome you can set you javascript home bookmark to do the following. `javascript:window.scrollTo(0,0)` which fixes Chrome.

This is volume scroll application and it appears to essentially emulating scrolling using accessibility and displaying it on screen.

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Tags: applications, root-access, 7.0-nougat
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