title: How to add screen filter with tasker?

text:
# Question
Title: How to add screen filter with tasker?
After hours of searching in the internet I decided to ask this question here.

How can I add a screen filter using tasker. Apps like Screen Filter, etc. creates an overlay black filter on screen which I love while using phone at night. But I don't want to use any such app. Is there any script or something else which I can use in tasker to make such similar overlays.

I have reduced the screen brightness below factory settings using shell code

```
su
    echo 4 > < file path>

```

but still at night the minimum brightness also hurt my eyes. Those filters are quiet relaxing. Please can anyone help. Thank you.

# Answer
Is this what you're looking for?

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

I'm not good in drawing so excuse my skills for not providing a breathtaking scene at first glance. However, with multiple attempts, you may come close to exactly what you need.

The low-light section in the screenshot is caused by an overlay shown by Tasker. Tasker can do it using Scenes.

Go to Scenes tab and start making your scene.

1. Choose the size of your scene. For screen filter, cover the whole screen.
2. Add Rectangle as the element and encompass the whole scene with it.
3. Tap Rectangle and choose a custom color which would be acting as the screen filter.
4. Create a task and action: Scene → Show Scene

* Name: select your scene
    * Display As: Overlay
    * uncheck Show Exit Button
    * make other changes if you need any

Execute the task and there you go.

**Note:** The overlay in my screenshot deliberately doesn't cover the entire screen.
> 3 votes

---
Tags: screen, tasker, screen-brightness, filter
---


title: Command to list partitions?

text:
# Question
Title: Command to list partitions?
I want to list the partitions on my phone - system, boot, recovery etc. What terminal command should I use? The `mount` command just lists mount points.

# Answer
> 16 votes
Use one of those:
`cat /proc/mounts
mount
# free disk space of mounted fs'
df
# this shows you available devices
cat /proc/partitions`

ps: Lines containing asec are moved-to-sdcard apps (it's each an encrypted volume per app for security reasons)

# Answer
> 11 votes
You can see names and partitions at same time.

If you have an eMMC internal storage :

```
ls -l /dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/

```

or for me :

```
ls -l /dev/block/platform/7824900.sdhci/by-name

```

It depends of your phone storage. So you can try to know in which folder you have to search.

```
ls /dev/block/platform/

```

Last way to know it, if you have the `parted` utility, just use :

```
parted /dev/block/platform/

```

My output :

```
DDR -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p4
 aboot -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p7
 boot -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p18
 cache -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p21
 cust -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p20
 fsc -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p14
 fsg -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p13
 hyp -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p2
 log -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p16
 misc -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p22
 modem -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p12
 modemst1 -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p10
 modemst2 -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p11
 oeminfo -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p9
 pad -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p8
 persist -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p17
 recovery -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p19
 rpm -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p5
 sbl1 -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p1
 sec -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p3
 ssd -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p15
 system -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p23
 tz -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p6
 userdata -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p24

```

---
Tags: command-line
---


# Question
Title: How to view video/photo from smartphone to TV?
Is it possible to view media contents from the smartphone to the TV?

I would like to buy a movie from the PlayStore but I am not sure on how to view it.

I need a specific cable (to connect the HDMI port) or is possible to use chromecast too?

# Answer
You didn't say what phone you have, or what Android version, so here's a summary.

# Physical cables

## If your phone supports MHL

and your TV does as well (almost all HDMI TVs do), then you can connect the phone to the TV with an MHL cable. There are two kinds of cables: a standard one, and a special one for certain kinds of Samsung phones. See How does MHL work? for more details. Usually, the TV *mirrors* the phone screen (i.e. it displays the same thing at the same resolution), but Android offers apps a way to display different content on the TV screen. This is commonly used by media players and presentation apps.

The oldest HDMI TVs don't support MHL, so you'll need a slightly different type of adaptor to connect your phone. You can tell these adaptors because they have an extra input for an external power supply (often a micro-USB socket). Apart from that, it works the same way.

## If your phone supports SlimPort

Some phones use SlimPort instead of MHL, such as the Nexus 4. You can't tell by looking at the phone: both SlimPort and MHL use the USB-on-the-go connector. You have to know which one your phone uses. With the appropriate adaptor, you can connect your SlimPort phone to any HDMI, DisplayPort, or VGA input. Just like MHL, once you've done this the TV screen will mirror the phone screen, or some apps can display different content.

## If your phone supports HDMI

A few phones and tablets have mini-HDMI or micro-HDMI outputs, but this has largely been replaced by MHL and SlimPort. If you do have one of these outputs, you'll need the appropriate cable to connect it to an HDMI input, and just like MHL or SlimPort, it'll mirror the phone screen, or display different content in apps that support it.

# Chromecast

## If you have a Chromecast and Android 4.4 or later

and your TV has HDMI input, then you can use that to mirror the phone screen on the TV wirelessly. Plug the Chromecast into your TV, and use the Chromecast app to help set it up. As with MHL, Android also offers apps a way to display different content on the TV screen.

## If you have a Chromecast and earlier Android versions

You can still use Chromecast with media player apps that support it, including YouTube, Play Movies, and the Gallery on some devices. You just can't mirror the phone display to the TV.
> 4 votes

# Answer
Greetings from SlimPort Support. The way to connect your device to a TV or display is with a SlimPort HDMI adapter or dock. There is a new product called the SlimPort NANO.CONSOLE that just launched on Indiegogo – it lets you connect your device to the big screen (at up to 4K Ultra HD 2160p video-out), simultaneously charge your device, and remotely control your device with the included Bluetooth Smart touchpad remote. It’s really useful and plug-and-play easy to set up and use. Please check it out on Indiegogo by searching on "NANO.CONSOLE". You will also want to make sure your device is SlimPort supported. Thank you!
> 1 votes

---
Tags: google-play-store, hdmi, chromecast, smart-tv
---


# Question
Title: How can I use an Android phone as a media player?
Is it possible for me to have a central Android phone connected to my old stereo that will let me cast media from any iOS or Android device on my house? If so how?

# Answer
This is entirely possible via mDNS/uPNP/DLNA. You don't even have to use a phone for that. Cheaper variants exist, such as dedicated android-based microcomputers with size of a bigger USB stick.

All you need to do is to install an app that will act as a media player with DLNA support. There are plenty of these available, one such app can be DroidUPnP or Yaacc, both available via F-Droid. You can then setup the app as a player and control it from a remote controller software, such as ControlDLNA, also available from F-Droid.

Setup is automatic, you just need to fire up a few servers as media sources. These can be computers, xboxes, other phones and pretty much anything that has a DLNA logo on it.
> 0 votes

# Answer
If you want to send music from your devices to your home speakers, check out the new Chromecast Audio.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: media-player
---


# Question
Title: Why are there multiple versions of "Phone" installed under all apps in Android Lollipop?
Why are there multiple versions of "Phone" installed under ALL apps on my Android Lollipop 5.1.1 phone?

Menu = Settings → Apps → ALL

There are three versions of "Phone":

* Phone - `com.android.server.telecom`
* Phone - `com.android.phone`
* Phone/Messaging Storage - `com.android.providers.telephony`

# Answer
**Phone/Messaging Storage - com.android.providers.telephony**

The Telephony provider contains data related to phone operation, specifically SMS and MMS messages and access to the APN list, including the MMSC to use.

**Phone - com.android.server.telecom**

**Phone - com.android.phone**

The package name has been changed from "com.android.phone" to "com.android.server.telecom" on some devices ( ex. Nexus 5 with Android 5.0 )

But for some reason you have both the packages. They are probably different apps and should not cause you any trouble.
> 1 votes

# Answer
These are not different **versions**, these are different **apps**. An app can have any name regardless of other apps' names. It is possible to have hundreds of apps with the same name on one phone because the name you see as a user has nothing to do with the name which sees Android (for example the system name for Shazam is `com.shazam.android`).

I have two "Camera" in my phone. One was pre-installed and the second is Google Camera whose visible name is also "Camera".
> 3 votes

---
Tags: applications, stock-android
---


# Question
Title: deleted the google shortcut widget which shows all the google apps
I accidentally deleted the google shortcut widget which shows all the google apps on my x play android lollipop how do i get it back?

# Answer
It isn't a widget, but just a folder where app shortcuts are put together by default. You can create them by just "drag and drop" an icon over another icon and create a folder. Then you can rename it to "Google" or an app category or whatever you like. Look at the screenshots for a more clear understanding on how to bring back the Folder,

Screenshots - Click to enlarge image:

Here's the default folder named Google with Google apps inside it,

Pull Google apps from your Menu drawer by long pressing it and pasting on your home screen. Now merge these two app icons to create a folder.

After merging the two icons it will be displayed as a folder named "Unnamed folder". You can press and edit it's name to "Google".

Finally, after you put all your Google apps into the folder, it would look like this,
> 1 votes

# Answer
You can get it by long pressing on the home screen - -\> Shortcut - - \> Google Widget. hope that helps.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: 5.0-lollipop, default-applications, moto-x
---


# Question
Title: How to resolve the issue " Unfortunately app has been stopped"
In my android phone how can I fix the above said error. I have tried to wipe the data,cache and dalvik cache but this doesn't seem to work. Can any one tell the best sure shot fix for this annoying issue. This happens mostly with the google applications.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Is your phone rooted? If yes then maybe you would have disabled some of the services of that app using some sort of app. If yes then enable those services back and you will not get the error. I also faced the same issue once and this solved the problem.

Another thing you can do if the above method doesn't work. If the app is a system app then uninstall updates of that app from settings. Update it again(if you need). That's it. Let me know if I helped you or not.

---
Tags: google-play-store
---


# Question
Title: How can I make a shortcut to the "Recent Apps" dialog?
Do you know if there is any way to create a shortcut or widget on the homescreen to access to the "Recent Apps" list? Basically, is there any way to access to this list without having to hold the Home button?

# Answer
> 2 votes
Here you go. Just move the icon to your homepage as a shortcut and you're good to go :)

MoreRecent

via droidforums.net

# Answer
> 1 votes
I made a free widget to do this, you can get it from the Play Store here.

# Answer
> 1 votes
There is a Recent Apps Widget available on Google Play.

# Answer
> 0 votes
App Bar Widgets just what you're looking for.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Check out Recent Task 2 on Play Store.

---
Tags: app-widgets, home-screen-shortcuts, recents-screen
---


title: skullcandy earbuds with mic

text:
# Question
Title: skullcandy earbuds with mic
My skullcandy earbuds with built-in mic only partially work with my Maxx. The earbuds do their part broadcasting sound, but I have to talk directly into the phone's mic to be heard. The earbud's mic, which I assume is opposite its volume control, does/perceives nothing. Any clues?

# Answer
You might need an adapter. I know that when I bought a couple of ear plugs with a mic once, I got an adapter with them that stated the adapter was for Samsung, among other brands. On the surface it looked like a "3,5 mm \> 3,5 mm" adapter so I wasn't sure what the difference was, but upon inspecting it I noticed the plug had three "lines" where it usually only has two (I think). Don't quote me on this, but it obviously had a point since they included it.

So in short, it might be that your Skullcandy earbuds are made to work with iPhones for example, but the designers did not consider how the plugs are made for Samsung or other Android devices. If you have a working pair, try comparing the plugs.

To fix it, I guess you would need an adapter. In the future this could be good to know as well, so you can adapt your purchase after what product supports your phone.
> 0 votes

# Answer
You will need an male to female adapter that switches the ground and mic connectors. See the image below:

More details
> 0 votes

---
Tags: headphones, microphone
---


title: How do I change the terminal font?

text:
# Question
Title: How do I change the terminal font?
I notice a difference in the terminal font between two of my Android devices, specifically in terms of character coverage (in both cases it's the terminal shell of JuiceSSH). How do I set the font that the terminal uses in Android?

# Answer
I found two ways for changing font size in JuiceSSH.

## Use Volume keys

The very first time you would've used JuiceSSH, you might have come across this brief tutorial:

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

Use the Volume Up/Down keys to adjust the size of the font.

## Traditional way (Settings)

On the default page of JuiceSSH, go to Settings → Font size → adjust it.
> 2 votes

# Answer
Use the Volume keys of your phone to adjust the font.
> -2 votes

---
Tags: ssh, terminal, fonts
---


# Question
Title: Get contacts off sim card phone with broken screen
Need some help. Finally switching to smartphone after the screen broke on my flip phone. All my contacts are on the SIM card, but I can’t see anything on the screen. How can I access that information? Thanks.

# Answer
Assuming you are now moving to a smartphone from the flip phone (presumably Android, as this exchange is for Android), you would need a new, smaller SIM card from your provider or you would have to manually cut the SIM to the right size, which I wouldn't advise. There's a good likelihood of breaking it. However, if you put the card you have now in another device with the same size SIM, you can manually copy over the contacts.

If you don't have another phone to do this with and don't want to cut the current SIM, you can probably bring the SIM to a store of your cellular provider and they will assist you.

If you are able to fit the old SIM into the phone, which is incredibly unlikely, open the default contact app. In the top right corner, there are 3 vertical dots. A drop down menu will open and one of the options will be import/export contacts. In the next menu, there will be an option that says Import from SIM.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: sim-card
---


# Question
Title: Chromium: Option to save passwords and change encryption greyed out
I am using Chromium build 353428 on PacROM 5.1. After signing in with my Google account, I tried to set a separate sync passphrase (using instructions given here). However, when I click on my account name second time (with caption "Please update your sign in details"), the next screen has entries for "Password" as well as "Encryption" greyed out. Curiously, in Settings → Save Passwords, the options to save passwords is active.

Do Chromium builds support saving passwords and encrypting them with separate passphrase? If yes, what might be causing the above mentioned behavior?

# Answer
A reboot might fix the issue (it did in my case). No idea what caused it though.
> -1 votes

---
Tags: encryption, password, chromium
---


title: your sd card is full back to vault now

text:
# Question
Title: your sd card is full back to vault now
By mistake my SD card was formatted. When I copy images out of the app lock vault I'm getting an error message that says my SD card is full. How can I recover my images?

# Answer
Have you tried any Recovery software to recover your SD Card data, you can recover using Android data recovery. Beside this I had seen this thread in Quora you can check out its solution at below link. Here are the steps that he applied:

If you are looking for recovery through App Lock & Gallery Vault App, here are the steps to follow :

* Log in to the App Lock & Gallery Vault using your Master Password.
* Tap on ‘App Lock’ to slide out the menu and access ‘Settings’.
* Simply tap on ‘Data Recovery’, it will recover all your previously lost data from a previous version of App Lock & Gallery Vault.

Original Source:

https://www.quora.com/What-can-I-do-to-recover-photos-from-an-app-lock-vault-showing-files-are-damaged
> 1 votes

---
Tags: gallery-vault
---


title: Moving apps to SD

text:
# Question
Title: Moving apps to SD
I recently had my first Android device (rooted), but it has only 8GB.

I love playing games of all sort. So, I found an option in the apps menu that moves the apps to SD. Firstly, I had 4.97GB free, but after I moved my app, it had the same storage free! I searched on internet and learnt that it doesn't move app to the EXTERNAL SD, but on the internal SD, which has only 8GB (the system).

So is there a way to move apps on external SD? Thank you!

EDIT: Finally I found Directory Bind that does what I want! http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1410262

# Answer
> 1 votes
Have you tried Link to SD Card app ? Try this app I am using it and it actually move apps to external SD. If you can't get your solution from Link2 SD than try Lucky Patcher.

* Just install that app in your mobile.
* Open that app, write the app name and select the app from the listings
* On next page, Tap on move to SD.

**Original Source:**

http://www.tomsguide.com/faq/id-1768697/move-apps-card-android.html

# Answer
> 0 votes
I think an app called Titanium Backup has a feature like that. It is also full of other features. It is a must have for any rooted android. Practically why I rooted in the first place.

# Answer
> 0 votes
I had the same problem with my Samsung Galaxy SII Plus,

i found a solution on youtube: here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8PyqCOpERA

But notice that not all games can be moved, following that video will show you jut how to do it for some games like MXOFFROAD and SHADOWGUN.

I find It really disappointing to save Apps only in the Internal Memory, it's a dump idea..But in some old Android Versions have the possibility to move Apps to the External SdCard.

I hope this will help you a little bit..better than nothing.Thanks to DirectoryBind App, I could move two games until now, 2XL MXOFFROAD AND CSR RACING.

Note: You will not find DirectoryBind App on GooglePlay, to download it, look in the Video Description you will find the download link. Connect your mobile via USB cable to a computer and copy and past the downloaded App in Phone's memory. Eject your Phone. Go to GooglePlay and search for Apk Installer.Download this latest and open it to search for DirectoryBand App, while found install it and follow the video on youtube.

GoodLuck.

---
Tags: external-sd, app2sd
---


title: how to add / sync google calendar?

text:
# Question
Title: how to add / sync google calendar?
I have a **Xaomi Redmi Note 4G** and have installed `PAC-ROM-asrupesh-UNOFFICIAL-PORT.zip` from XDA - \[ROM\]\[PORT\] PAC ROM UNOFFICIAL for Redmi Note 4G Single Sim. I followed the steps from the forum to install the ROM.

Now I do not have my Gmail Calendar. If I go to `Calendar -> Settings` I can see my Gmail account but no other calendar. If I hit **Add Account** there is no Gmail account.

If I go to `Settings -> Accounts -> Google Account` and click my Gmail account I want the calendar to be in my mobile, but I cannot see an option to sync calendar. It is not there.

Any idea how to add the Gmail Calender to my current ROM?

# Answer
Have you checked calendar app is installed in your phone or not? I mean have you checked calendar app under Settings → App → Application? Search there and if you find it there then start its service. You can than access it.

Read this Google support article: Sync problems with the Google Calendar app
> 2 votes

---
Tags: cyanogenmod, sync, calendar, pac-rom
---


# Question
Title: how do I cancel my Google Play subsctiption?
I want to cancel my Google Play subsctiption. I'm having problems accessing my account. I forgot my password.

# Answer
> 2 votes
You cannot cancel your Google Play subscriptions without access to your account. Follow the instructions here to recover your account: https://www.google.com/accounts/recovery/

Requesting a chargeback for any transactions on your Google Play account from your credit card company could cause further complications, such as being charged additional fees and having your Google account restricted. So I don't recommend requesting a chargeback from your credit card company.

---
Tags: google-play-store
---


# Question
Title: How can I permanently disable (not uninstall) a stock app?
I want to disable some of the stock apps that I don't use (e.g. Drive, Keep). These are stock Android/Google apps, not third-party apps. When I attempt to disable them:

* I get a warning that disabling them may break things (I accept)
* I get a request asking if I want to install the factory version (I accept, because if I don't, they are not disabled)
* they are removed from the apps menu
* when I restart the device, the newer version is downloaded and the app is no longer disabled

As a side note, other users on the same device (with their own accounts) may want use some of these apps. Can I disable them for my account only?

If it matters, I'm running KitKat on a Nexus 7 (2012).

---

Disambiguation: I have not found a duplicate of this question because it is:

a) about stock Android apps, not so-called stock apps from a third-party vendor

b) about disabling these apps, which the system at first permits me to do, not uninstalling them

# Answer
> 4 votes
There is no way to disable an app for some users of a device but not others; it's possible to *freeze* an app using a third party program (ie, disable it by changing it's permissions so it can't run) but that will disable it for *all* users. Android apps and services don't distinguish between physical users of a device - they all run using a single logical device user account.

That being said, depending on what exactly you're looking for it may be sufficient to disable data synchronization for a specific Google account in the settings. In Android 4.4.0, this would be under Settings-\>General-\>Accounts-\>Google-\>\[account name\], which will bring up a checklist of services for which data syncing can be disabled.

# Answer
> 1 votes
In 5.x the option to disable the stock mail app may be greyed out if you have an active mail account. First, delete that mail account. This is not done over the app but rather over Android's settings \> Accounts \> \[Email\] \> \[Your Email Account\] \> 3 dots on top \> remove account.

Only then you can actually deactivate the app over Settings \> Application Manager \> All \> Email \> deactivate. "Delete data" in case you want to delete local emails, as well.

# Answer
> 0 votes
**Note: Please be sure with what kind of Application you are going to Dis-able as disabling a wrong app(Factory app like keyboard will not display keyboard) could cause your phone to miss-function(not able to Enable the mobile data etc.)So please proceed with caution**

As you see that Google has some pre-installed apps which are loaded on the phone at the time of purchase like Google maps, Google Play music, Google Drive, Google Chrome etc.(let's say Google Play Music is the most unwanted app you want to disable).

You can do it very easily just follow these steps carefully.

**Step 1**:Go to settings\>Application Manager.

**Step 2**:You will have three side scroll options under the Application Manager.

**\- Downloaded:** It will list the apps which you have downloaded from the play store or any third party apps.

**\- Running**:It will list the apps which are presently running on your phone in the background.

**-All**:This will list all the apps i.e.the installed apps from the play store , running apps on your device, Stock apps from Google.

**Step 3**:Choose the All option by scrolling to the extreme right/left.

**Step 4**:Choose the app which you want to disable.(Say Google Play Music.)

**Step 5**:After selecting the desired app you will have some options like

* Force Stop.
* Disable.
* Clear App Data.

**Step 6**:Choose clear App Data to remove any data stored by the application.

**Step 7**:Choose Force Stop to stop the application from running.

**Step 8**:Choose the Disable option to disable it from running again (it will be in your phone but will not be displayed under the Menu).

**Step 9**:After selecting the Disable option your App which you have disabled should appear in the bottom of the All screen. (Say you disabled Play Music then Play Music will appear in the bottom of you All list apps along with a Disabled displayed to the right).Also in the play store under All Apps the application will be displayed at the last with the same disabled next to it.

After doing all the above 9 steps correctly and in order your disabled application will not be enabled automatically and will not show any updates to you as it has been disabled Permanently.Also if you choose auto update application even then your application will not be updated.

---
Tags: stock-android, disable-app
---


# Question
Title: SD card not detected after re-partitioning it, FAT32 + EXT4
I followed the steps here to add an EXT4 partition on my 8gb sd card: http://www.addictivetips.com/mobile/properly-partition-sd-card-for-app2sd-android-roms/

Now I have 6.xGB FAT32 as the primary partition, and a 1GB EXT4 logical partition. But my Samsung Galaxy Ace (running on CyanogenMod-7.2.0-C1-cooper, official nightly build) doesn't recognize the sd card anymore.

Please help. Thanks.

Update: I gave up and reformatted it back to a single FAT32 partition, copied my backup into the sd card, now the apps don't get recognized. Please, please help me. :(

# Answer
> 7 votes
If your phone is rooted and got ClockworkMod installed, then try formatting and creating an EXT partition in ClockworkMod. Its the most simplest and easiest way to do it. It will automatically take care of your Fat partition too.

For more info, read this article

# Answer
> 0 votes
Minitool Partition Magic did not work for me. Instead, I formatted and partitioned the card directly through adb in CWM recovery using this guide on xda-developers forums. Am using Link2SD (similar to App2SD) fine now on CM 11 KitKat 4.4.2

# Answer
> -1 votes
I had the same problem. Use minitool partition magic and set your card partition to primary partition. Apply changes and that's it.

# Answer
> -1 votes
I had the same problem and I found a solution for another SD card
Partion the SD card using minitool to one FAT32 + one EXT2 Make them primary and non-active

Works on Samsung Ace duos GT S6821, Huawei Y625-U32 and some Sony device

---
Tags: cyanogenmod, external-sd, samsung-galaxy-ace, ext4
---


title: How can I install Marshmallow?

text:
# Question
Title: How can I install Marshmallow?
Apparently there's this really fun flappy bird game built into Marshmallow that's even better than the one in Lollipop. I've got a Nexus 5 and really want to play it ASAP. How do I go about doing this?

I'm looking for both a Multirom-compatible zip and the conventional way which involves wiping your device.

How can I upgrade my Nexus 5 to the latest and greatest version of Android?

# Answer
# Conventional Way

This is what you want if you have a Nexus device but you've never heard of/don't use MultiROM. You should have an unlocked bootloader. If you don't have this, take a look at the useful CM guide to unlock your bootloader.

Also, make sure you have adb and fastboot installed and know how to use it. Backup any and all data beforehand (doing a nandroid backup is probably best)

1. Grab the Marshmallow factory image from here. The Nexus 5's codename is `hammerhead` and you're looking for the `6.0.0 (MRA58K)` file.
2. Check the checksum of your downloaded file against the one listed on the page just to be safe. This ensures the download went smoothly and you don't accidentally flash corrupted version onto your device
3. Untar the downloaded file, extracting `recovery.img`, `bootloader.img`, `system.img`, etc.
4. Connect your phone to your computer via the microusb cable. Use `adb devices` to make sure adb is working fine (turn Developer mode and USB debugging on first).
5. Use `adb reboot bootloader` to enter fastboot mode
6. In Linux/OSX, `cd` to the folder containing the extracted files and run `sh ./flash-all.sh` to flash everything. If you're running Windows, double-click the `flash-all.bat` file.
7. Your device should automatically reboot to your new Marshmallow system. (Note that the first boot might be agonisingly long)

# MultiROM

Here's what you want if you use MultiROM. This method has the benefit of allowing you to keep your old system and all your existing data. You can then easily switch between Marshmallow and whatever you were running previously.

You should have an unlocked bootloader and a custom recovery like TWRP installed, of course.

1. Grab the MultiROM-flashable zip from this XDA thread. (You may also want to grab and flash the `radio.img` if you didn't install the Developer Previews.)
2. Reboot to your custom recovery and add a new ROM in the MultiROM menu.
3. Use `adb sideload hammerhead_mra58k.zip` (or `adb push` beforehand) to transfer the zip file to your device
4. After installation, reboot and choose the Marshmallow ROM to boot into
> 4 votes

---
Tags: nexus-5, 6.0-marshmallow
---


# Question
Title: How does changing the mixer_paths.xml increase volume?
I've been trying to boost the maximum volume obtainable through the audio jack of my phone (Nexus 5). Instead of installing equaliser or volume boosting apps, I thought I'd go about this the technical way:

XDA forums suggest a "MOD" that involves modifying your `mixer_paths.xml` file located at `/system/etc/` (root access naturally required) to increase your speaker or headphone volume beyond the set limits:

```
Find: <path name="speaker">
You will see this string just below it: "RX7 Digital Volume" value="88"
The value is the only part we are going to adjust.
For the mod above, I changed the value to "93".
The default value is "88" and I would suggest not to go over "95".

To change the Headphone volume:
Find: <path name="headphones"> Look for these strings below it:
"HPHL Volume" value="15"
"HPHR Volume" value="15"
Again all we are changing is the values (ensure both are set at the same number).
For the mod above, I changed the values to "20". The default values are "15" and I would suggest not to go over "20".

```

**How does this work?** Does Android artificially limit the maximum volume and this "MOD" bypasses those limits? Or does it compromise audio quality?

# Answer
> 6 votes
I visited this some time ago and explored some values within the file. As it can be hard to determine sound quality comparisons, I also compared the visual appearances of waveforms.

Here's a screenshot of the page:

**Link**

Note that I only listen to audio from my Nexus7 though headphones or external speakers.

# Answer
> 2 votes
Actually, it's both. To preserve the user's ears and the phone's speakers, Android limits the sound output. However, changing this factor also influence the sound quality, having to high or too low distorts the sound ;)

---
Tags: root-access, audio, headphone-jack, volume
---


# Question
Title: Is there a way that lets you lock your screen during YouTube
My son likes to watch a specific YouTube video in the car sometimes, and he always touches the screen and stops the video. Is there any way to prevent this while keeping the screen on?

# Answer
You may want to install the Touch blocking App such as Touch Blocker.

How this works?

> Touch Blocker prevents unintentional touch interaction with the touch screen of your device by blocking touch input. When you disable touch input while watching a movie you don't have to worry not to skip scenes by accidentally touching the screen.

So, as soon as you begin to watch YouTube video, **Enable** touch blocker: Just need to touch notification icon to enable it.

And when you are done with Video watching, you can **disable** the touch blocking. The Touch Blocker app which is mentioned in above link has many different ways of unblocking the touch, such as pressing Volume Up button on the device.
> 7 votes

---
Tags: lock-screens, youtube
---


title: How to boot into TWRP in Galaxy S5?

text:
# Question
Title: How to boot into TWRP in Galaxy S5?
I was looking for the combination to go to recovery (TWRP) when the phone is currently off.

# Answer
The combination is Power + Volume UP + Home.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: twrp
---


# Question
Title: How to access sd card from computer in marshmallow
Recently I upgraded my cell phone from Android `Lollipop(5.1.1)` to `Marshmallow(6)`. While setting up the SD card, I choose `Use as internal storage` option. Now when I plugin my cell phone to my computer I can not see any SD card. So I can not read or write in it externally. Is there a way of accessing the SD card contents through data cable from computer?

I need to mention that, I tried with the option `Use as portable storage` but faced with the same problem.

# Answer
I found a solution of this problem. Each time I connect my phone to my computer I have to go to `Settings` -\> `Developer options` -\> `Select USB Configuration` and select MTP(Media Transfer Protocol). Then I can access the SD card from my computer. It turns out that whenever its needed to connect the phone and the computer this procedure is to be followed.
> 5 votes

---
Tags: external-sd, 6.0-marshmallow, data-transfer, adoptable-storage
---


# Question
Title: Sony xperia Z running Lollipop wont sync my contacts from google
My sony xperia Z wont sync all my contacts from google. I've tried re-setting the filter. Syncing contacts worked perfectly before upgrade. Now I've lost lots of contacts on my phone and it wont correct when I sync to online google where I can see the contacts exist. What should I try?

# Answer
I had the same problem too. My workaround was to create a new contact and save it to my Google account. Then it all suddenly showed up.
> -1 votes

---
Tags: 5.0-lollipop, contacts, sync, sony-xperia
---


# Question
Title: stuck trying to fix bad Android 6.0 update
When manually updating my Nexus 9 (Wifi) to Android 6.0, I forgot to flash the cache.img and vendor.img images. Now my Nexus 9 is stuck at the Google boot screen (just says Google, no animation). How do I get the Nexus 9 back to the state where I can re-flash images manually again (i.e., "flashboot flash...")?

# Answer
The solution was simply booting in fastboot mode (I already was there). Apparently, booting in fastboot → plugging in the USB cable → waiting a couple of minutes for the device to be detected by ADB (`adb devices`) works best (otherwise it won't list the device). I was then able to install Android 6.0 successfully via fastboot commands (USB debugging and OEM unlocking were previously enabled and the bootloader unlocked).

```
fastboot flash bootloader bootloader-flounder-3.48.0.0135.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
fastboot flash boot boot.img
mfastboot flash system system.img
fastboot flash vendor vendor.img
fastboot flash cache cache.img
fastboot reboot

```

`mfastboot` was used instead of `fastboot` to flash the `system.img` file because the latter gave an "could not allocate -1995847632" error message (it can't handle big image files).

I will re-lock the bootloader later.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: boot
---


# Question
Title: Device reboots into recovery after flashing CyanogenMod
I'm retrying to install CyanogenMod in my cellphone after some time. I did the following:

>

I used the sideload method. Everything worked fine and I did precisely what is written in there. The problem now is that when I click on reboot system now, it reboots, turns the purple light on, vibrates and then get back to the recovery menu. The difference is that it returns to a different menu: The first menu was this:

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

Now it's showing the same menu with this background: That is, the same menu with the laid down Android mascot. I don't know what is happening.

# Answer
> 1 votes
How did you get to the cyanogen recovery?
Did you flash it from fastboot?

Was the device bootloader unlocked?
(or) Did you go through some `oem-unlock` fastboot command?

I suppose it is related to oem-unlocking. If the manufacturer chooses not to boot unsigned images on a locked bootloader, then this is the case. Many recent devices fall into this. In such case, you need to do oem-unlocking following the instructions from your device manufacturer and then install any custom roms.

---
Tags: cyanogenmod, rom-flashing
---


# Question
Title: F-Droid java.io.FileNotFoundException / won't update
I'm having the problem, that **I can't**

* **install a new app** from F-Droid, instead I get
> java.io.FileNotFoundException: ...
* **update my package sources**, I get something like
> unknown error

(F-Droid is an "installable catalogue of FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) applications for the Android platform.")

In detail:

What can I do to install the app from F-Droid (to benefit from the updating service)?

# Answer
What solved my problem was:

1. I realized, that
    * the OwnCloud synchronization client **is on version 1.7.2** on the webpage,
    * while my F-Droid **tries to download version 1.5.8**
    * on the F-Droid webpage there is **no version 1.5.8** for the OwnCloud client
    (which may have resulted in the "File not found" exception)
2. I forced my **package sources**/repository to **reload**
(by changing my repository address to something invalid and back to original and then "update")
3. I **could install** the up-to-date OwnCloud client **in version 1.7.3** (*voila!*)

**Edit:**

On F-Droid 0.96.1 it appears you can't edit existing repositories. You'll have to replace **2.** above by

> 2. I forced my **package sources**/repository to **reload**
> (e.g. by removing the "F-Droid" archive (note the URL) and re-adding it)
> 2 votes

# Answer
I solved the same problem by uninstalling F-Droid and installing it new via the browser (as I don't know how to change the repository address).
> 1 votes

---
Tags: installation, owncloud, f-droid
---


# Question
Title: Session logout on device with multiple users?
There is an option to switch between users, but there isn't an option to logout from an active user session. The background apps and services for inactive users (once logged in and switched out) continue to run draining the battery.

The only way i think, is to reboot the device and not login the user.

So, is there any way that the owner can force subsequent inactive users to logout of their session? I have superuser access to the owner with `android-5.0.2`.

# Answer
> 7 votes
In a terminal app on Android, enter (requires root access) :

```
su
am stop-user USER_ID

```

E.g. For a Guest user, its `USER_ID` in my device is `11` so the command would be `am stop-user 11`.

`am stop-user` doesn't process multiple input so you've to execute the command for every secondary user which you want to pause.

This is bit different from restarting the device. If you check `am`'s usage you would see,

```
am stop-user: stop execution of USER_ID, not allowing it to run any code until a later explicit start or switch to it.

```

As said, it simply pauses all the activities associated to that user account, so whenever an explicit start or switch is provided your session would resume rather than starting from scratch.

For confirmation that the user indeed has paused or is not running, see my answer for How to find out currently running user name/ID from ADB?

Briefly, `pm list users` or `dumpsys activity` would tell you whether the user is `RUNNING` or `SHUTDOWN`. The latter command is better. If the user-session is indeed put on halt by `am stop-user`, you would see `mState=SHUTDOWN` for that user. However, if the user hasn't been activated even once since the reboot, you wouldn't see any of its entry.

---
Tags: 5.0-lollipop, multi-user
---


# Question
Title: How to root the SM-G900F Android 5.0 without tripping KNOX?
I know the `Galaxy S5` can be rooted without tripping knox on `Android 4.4`. but that "bug" has been fixed by **Samsung**, and the developer of **TowelRoot** won't fix it because he works by **Google** now. So **TowelRoot** will not work for me because I have already updated to `Android 5.0`.

Is there any other possible solution to root the **Samsung Galaxy S5 G900F `Android 5.0`** without tripping the **KNOX WARRANTY VOID** to **0x1** or **1**.

---

Screenshot:

(Touch for a larger image.)

---

Hope anybody will find a solution! Thanks!

**Edit:** Just updated my phone. Still on 5.0, updated the screenshot.

# Answer
I did it following from this guide here. Broadly (though I strongly suggest you follow the guide):

1) make backups

2) buy mobile Odin Pro from android market (5 USD)

3) downgrade using Odin (normal one on PC) to 4.4.

4) install towelroot and run it

5) use mobile Odin to flash rooted lollipop ROM *

6) use normal odin to flash compatible bootloader and modem.

\*For some reason, using mobile Odin did not trip Knox when I did this, per the guide I linked. It still warned me that Knox would be tripped, even though it wasn't. I have no idea why it didn't trip Knox, so I can't guarantee it won't when you do it.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: rooting, root-access, samsung-galaxy-s-5, samsung-knox, warranty
---


title: Android remote screen display & control

text:
# Question
Title: Android remote screen display & control
I am looking for a solution/technology which allows remote screencast display and control from desktop. My goal is to provided remote mobile device display through a browser. I found some existing solutions:

* AndroidScreenCast: Based on ADB interface. this is just screenshots using a simple primitive provided by ADB. low display.
* VNC client & server. works for both rooted android and jailbroken iphone. low display.
* iDemo + ScreenSplitR: Better, jailbroken iphone only.
* HDMI/TV output: No remote control.

I've heard about "direct-to-device" technology which is used by DeviceAnyWhere. Are there any other solutions?

# Answer
Webkey is my personal favorite remote control program. It turns your phone into a web server, complete with https and username/passwords with permissions you can set. So you could have an admin user with full access, and a standard user who can just see the screen.

On top of built-in VNC, Webkey also gives you the ability to track your phone by GPS, connect to a terminal, browse and download files from your device, and a bunch more administrative things. Though this sounds like it is outside of your needs (but you don't have to use those features).

And to top it all off, Webkey is open source and free, encompassing every Android users' favorite two buzzwords.
> 9 votes

# Answer
Try a free app called AirDroid, which lets you control wirelessly your Android device from a desktop browser.

This is a fragment of Play Store app description:

> Realtime Android screen (experimental feature, **root permission required**)
>
> View your Android's screen, take a screenshot, or even record a screencast.

Here's a video showing some of its features.
> 2 votes

# Answer
All existing non-root-required product works at a very slow frame rate: 0.8 frames/second for a typical screen size of 720x1024, so they are not suitable for realtime display purpose.

"sji android screen capture" will fit your needs, No root required. Just with PC's Browser. Works at frame rate of 4+ for fullscreen of 1080x1920, 8+ fps for 320xauto down-scaled size. At the same time, it can record to mp4/webm, and can remote control android from PC's Browser.

https://github.com/sjitech/sji-android-screen-capture

Good luck.
> 2 votes

# Answer
Recently I encountered a nice solution at https://www.mobizen.com/ No root required very smooth device control. This should help.
> 1 votes

# Answer
I would use Asus PC link. It uses USB or wifi. And if I connect with USB it is so damn fast.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: remote-control, remote-access
---


# Question
Title: Searching for alternative solution for Contact Picker for taskser
I am using Tasker scences. I have a text-box. I want the user to enter contact phone number into the input-box in the scene.

I am searching how to let the user pick a number from the contact list.

Tasker don't have any plugin that show contact picker.

Do you have any other solution for that?

# Answer
I found a solution by using Automate. Automate is like Tasker but it also has Contact Picker.

I can start automate flow from Tasker, then the flow can pick a contact and copy the contact number to clipboard. Then Tasker can take the number from the clipboard and do whatever I want.

Hard, but it is working!!!

On the way, I found that Automate is much better than Tasker (Automate can run Tasker's tasks and plugins either)
> 1 votes

---
Tags: contacts, tasker
---


# Question
Title: Flash Stock ROM (Mediatek) over Fastboot
I want to flash a stock ROM for my device with MTK6572 CPU which is meant to be flashed through SP Flash tool (scatter-based ROM) but I want to flash it through Fastboot. So can I do it by flashing all the images one by one?

```
fastboot flash boot boot.img
fastboot flash cache cache.img
fastboot flash recovery cwm.img
fastboot flash system system.img
fastboot flash data userdata.img
fastboot reboot

```

Is this method safe for my device? If yes, do I need my bootloader to be unlocked for this? And how will the rest of the images be flashed? (secro.img, ramdisk.img, ramdisk-recovery.img, EBR1, MBR, logo.bin, preloader.bin)

# Answer
> 3 votes
If your phone's bootloader is locked then you definitely need to unlock it before performing those operations or non of them will succeed (the bootloader throws an error of some sort like "FAILED (remote: Command not allowed)"

I ran this command on a phone with locked bootloader

```
C:\AGUSTINO_ROOT\2014-08-02.21.07.25>fastboot flash recovery recovery.img

target reported max download size of 301989888 bytes

sending 'recovery' (6144 KB)...

OKAY [  0.265s]

writing 'recovery'...

FAILED (remote: Command not allowed)

finished. total time: 0.281s

```

According to my experience, any partition recognized by the bootloader can be flashed using fastboot, to get list of known partition run

```
fastboot getvar all

```

This is my brief sample output:

```
C:\Users\kjhn>fastboot getvar all

(bootloader)    partition-size:logo: 300000

(bootloader)    partition-type:logo: raw data

(bootloader)    partition-type:userdata: ext4

(bootloader)    partition-type:cache: ext4

(bootloader)    partition-size:system: 28a00000

(bootloader)    partition-type:system: ext4

(bootloader)    partition-type:ebr1: raw data

(bootloader)    partition-type:mbr: raw data

(bootloader)    partition-type:preloader: raw data

(bootloader)    version: 0.5

all: Done!!

finished. total time: 0.031s

```

Note the partitions names logo, mbr, ebr1 etc..

This method is as safe as the files you are trying to flash, make sure the ROM is compatible with your device before attempting this.

I also advise you not to temper with the preloader unless you are absolutely certain as it results into unrecoverable brick

---
Tags: rom-flashing, fastboot, stock-rom
---


title: is there a keylogger in my phone

text:
# Question
Title: is there a keylogger in my phone
I have an Android phone accent a400 and I sent it to a repair store to change the broken screen. After receiving the phone, I noticed that they did a reset to the phone and the internal memory doesn't appear in the file manager. Also the application SuperSU which was installed by default doesn't exist any more, so I installed ES file explorer and used it to verify that the system and racine folder still exist. Then I installed Framaroot after rooting the phone and the application SuperSU became visible. Sometimes "the message was sent" popup alone when using the phone. How would I fix this?

# Answer
use this app to check pesent logging apps on your phone http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=17612559 if your phone is not a htc only one or two should show up, tombstones (crash dumps for kernel panics and such) and, flash Player (if installed) possibly google services would show up but that would be googles av scanner built into google services

for htc devices another would show up for htc usage logs
> 1 votes

---
Tags: security
---


# Question
Title: Will my rooted Samsung Galaxy Notes 3 get Android update automatically?
I have a Samsung Galaxy Notes 3 with Android 4.x. I now know there is Android 5.x.

Will it be upgraded automatically at the right time. If not, should I consider doing it myself?

(Phone is not tied to a carrier, rooted)

Missing in above edit question:

---

I would like to know to what extent phones do get automatic upgrades? (Like is it only very resent ones)

About looking for manual upgrades - it seems to me that if an upgrade is pushed, it is a reason for it? So you should probably only do it if you have a good reason, and know what you are doing?

# Answer
> 0 votes
I always upgrade my phone because I like to be up to date with sw; indeed I bought a Nexus 5 to get fast upgrades. This way I always have the latest functionalities and improvements. It seems that you will get the lollipop update (see here), so you may as well install it. If you cannot chose, try reading the change-log to see whether there is a Stagefright fix or not. If there is update without hesitating!

---
Tags: ota-update, samsung-galaxy-note-3
---


# Question
Title: Phone doesn't start. USB Debug is off, can't connect pc for recovery
I have a *Huawei Ideos X5* phone. It is rooted. When I took the battery out and restarted it the other day, it didn't open: the device starts, shows the "Ice Cream Sandwich" logo – and there it stays (even when waiting for 7 hours).

I was going to try the recovery mode but, because *USB debugging* is switched off, my PC doesn't see the phone.

Is there any chance that I can change the debug mode without opening the phone? The phone is old but really want to save it.

# Answer
> 2 votes
Boot into recovery mode by holding the Power & Volume Up buttons on your phone. (if Volume Up doesn't work, try Volume Down).

I've used this method to get an unresponsive device to respond.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Do you have CWM recovery installed? If yes, then try going in CWM and format your phone from there. It may help.

# Answer
> 0 votes
This is called Freezing. Your device has got freezed. You have 2 options:

1st option-

Remove battery Then place it again in its place. Then carefully hold the volume up or volume down button along with the power button. Your device will now boot in recovery mode. Now using the volume keys navigate to factory reset and using power button reset it. Now reboot again.

If it doesn't work then 2nd option will definitely work-

Download ROM for your phone by googling it. Place the ROM in your Memory card. Now again boot in recovery mode as described above. Choose apply update from sdcard. Navigate to that .zip file which is the ROM you downloaded. Using power key select it. Wait for some 15-20 minutes. Hola. You are ready to go.

Note: The above steps will delete all your data in phone memory.

---
Tags: recovery-mode, boot, usb-connection-mode, usb-debugging
---


# Question
Title: Is there a way to automatically turn off the wireless hotspot once I get back home?
I use the wireless hotspot function daily as part of business, providing a wifi network from my Nexus 7 tablet (Lollipop, oem) to other business-essential devices.

When I get back home (alternatively, within range of my home Wifi network), I'd like to have the hotspot automatically turn off, and the tablet to use the wifi network.

Currently, if I forget to turn off the hotspot, I can inadvertently empty or overuse my mobile data, which is obviously quite costly.

So, *is there a way to have the hotspot turn off automatically* (but **not** using a timeout) based on location and/or wifi availability?

I would prefer non-root, non-flash-another-ROM solutions but am open to these as well if they're more elegant.

//edit: An additional problem is that work and home are ~300m apart in a rural environment, so geolocation is flakey and the cell tower doesn't change. Wifi presence is the only good discriminant I see...

# Answer
> 3 votes
Other than MacroDroid which is already covered by 3DDario here, you can consider any of the following apps -- none requires root for the goal.

Tasker (paid; 7 day free trial).

* Profile: Any of the following would do:

+ Location: choose the location
    + State → Net → WiFi Near → fill the details -- I'm unsure whether it would work if the hotspot is enabled.
* Task → (Action) → Net → WiFi Tether → Off

Since the final goal is to connect to Wi-Fi at home, another action can be Net → WiFi → Set → On.

---

Droid Automation (free/paid) *may* also work here.

* Trigger: Location area (Geofencing - Beta) → fill the details
* Task: Networks → Wi-Fi → Enable

The dry run worked for me.

---

Condi (free) also worked in my test case.

* Action:

+ Connectivity and Sensors → WiFi Tethering → Off
    + Connectivity and Sensors → WiFi → On
* Condition: Location → select location

Done!

# Answer
> 2 votes
You can use MacroDroid. With MacroDroid you can create a 'Trigger' (Wifi state change - Connect to Network *your network*) and add an ' (Hotspot On/Off). If you want you can also ad a 'Constraints' like "Cell Towers in range".

Sometimes wifi trigger doesn't work. You should select "Cell Tower Change" and select your cell tower (near your home). This solution doesn't require root and should work on Android 4.0+.

You can also use Tasker (but i have never tried it) or Automate.

<sub>*sorry for my bad english*</sub>

# Answer
> 2 votes
You could try llama, it is an automation app with location-based actions. Follow this steps:

* In the llama app go to the 'areas' tab (the first on the left), where you have to set up the 'home' location. The app uses the antennas you connect to to identify locations, so you must be home to do it.
* Then go to 'events' tab (the second) and tap on the plus sign at the bottom of the tab to create a new one
* Set the 'condition' field to 'enter area' and choose the 'home' option
* Set the action to 'wifi hotspot' and select 'turn off'. And that's it: as soon as your tablet connect to the telephone cell closer to your house it will turn off the wifi hotspot.

But if you have some time to figure out how it works, Tasker is the best and most complete option.

---
Tags: wifi-hotspot, automation
---


# Question
Title: GPS doesn't work offline on Samsung Galaxy S4
I have Samsung Galaxy S4. I am trying to get the GPS work on offline maps. I am for instance trying this on MAPS.ME app. If I have WiFi or 3G signal, the location works great. However if I turn on the airplane mode, and the location on, the application cannot find my location. I had the issue with Android 4.4 KitKat and recently upgraded to Android 5 Lollipop and the issue is still there.

I am pretty sure it is not an issue with the app because I also tried on Google Maps with a preloaded map and it is the same. I have also downloaded GPS apps such as GPS Test and GPS Status and they all manage to connect with satellites and find a location, even offline. I think that proves that it is not a hardware issue.

I think I might have unselected a Google option somewhere to block the GPS usage (I am usually very careful not to give Google too much data about me)

Any other ideas on fixing this issue?

# Answer
If your GPS is set to use AGPS mode, it doesn't work at all when offline for some reason.

Go to Settings - General - Location - Mode - GPS only. I didn't notice at first that it was a selectable option.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: gps, airplane-mode
---


title: Update LG G2 to Lollipop

text:
# Question
Title: Update LG G2 to Lollipop
I read about the update for LGD802 (G2) to Android 5, but if I run the software update by phone by LG Mobile Support Tool I did not find any available update. Now my phone is update at version 4.4.2. Am I wrong or it should update to 5?

# Answer
> 0 votes
As written in this article the update to android 5.0.2 for LG G2 introduced some bugs and issues. Probably they stopped the roll-out and will release android 5.1 directly to the phones that didn't receive 5.0.2. Keep in mind that you may have to wait a little once the roll-out officially begins, because the servers have a limited capability. Your phone should automatically notify it once the update is ready. If it takes too much time or you read on the net that G2 won't eventually get an update, consider updating it by yourself.

---
Tags: 5.0-lollipop, updates, lg-g2
---


# Question
Title: Why Does My Samsung Note 4 Shut Off When it Reaches Around 20% Battery Life?
My Samsung Note 4 will work until about 20% battery life. At that point I usually receive the low battery warning but then it just dies almost immediately after notification with hardly any continued battery drain. This has been a progressive issue and I believe it is linked to battery health.

I've had it die at even higher battery % at about 30% but that is really rare.

I have owned my Samsung Note 4 for about a year now with the original battery as its only used battery. I preordered it and received it on release day. The battery has gone through many cycles. I estimate on average 1 to 2 full drains per day everyday for about a year now. At this point I tend to just leave it plugged in while I'm near an outlet continuously now.

I charge it with and without the fast charger. When not in bed I use the fast charger. When I'm sleeping I use a standard basic charger.

I'm currently using an app called Battery Monitor Widget to monitor my mAh with this battery. I also just received a second battery that I will test too.

Does anyone know what could cause my phone to die at around 20%? Is it battery health?

# Answer
Since no one has responded in the time it took me to do my own little experiment I wanted to post what I found.

I found that I needed a new battery. The new battery can maintain the needed voltage down to single percentages where as, depending on what I was doing on my phone, the old battery would allow my phone to die with little to no warning like I described in the question above.

So if your phone is not draining much lower than 20-30% and dies try buying a new battery.

Also thank you benjaminS for supporting my thoughts in comments of the question.
> 4 votes

---
Tags: battery-life, samsung-galaxy-note-4
---


# Question
Title: How to transfer ClockworkMod backup to PC?
I'm trying to transfer files on my Moto G x1032 (recognized by ADB) from `/data/media/0/clockworkmod/backup`(confirmed location) to my PC, but `adb pull` gives me `remote object /'location' does not exist`.

I can't copy the backup to storage with any file manager I've tried, and hence can't see the files on my computer.

This seems relevant but `/PB` doesn't help.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Try:

```
adb pull /sdcard/0/clockworkmod/backup C:\Users\ArtyNinja\Documents\Backup\1970-01-01.10.07.09_LXB22.46-28.1\

```

or

```
adb pull /sdcard/clockworkmod/backup C:\Users\ArtyNinja\Documents\Backup\1970-01-01.10.07.09_LXB22.46-28.1\

```

# Answer
> 0 votes
Since you mention *“C:\”*, I'll assume you're on Windows OS. I know 2 possible solutions for your trouble:

.

### 1) The easy and safe Ubuntu mode:

1. Download an Ubuntu ISO from **HERE**, burn the file on DVD/USB using the instructions you'll find at the bottom of above link and shutdown completely your computer. After a couple of seconds boot it using the LiveCD Mode where you don't need to install anything in order your Android device can be detected (and HDD's, Wifi, etc) after you connect it using your USB cable. Just ensure your computer is able to boot from DVD/USB device before your internal HDD (see your manual or BBS BIOS Post if a message such as *“Pres `F9` key to select boot device”* appears).
2. Copy the Backup folder from your Android device to your Internal HDD (or external USB drive if you want). Reboot after you've finished the process, remove the Ubuntu DVD/USB and Voilà; you're again on your Windows OS with your Backup folder safe on your HDD. Keep safe this DVD; maybe one day you could need it in order to recover your info stored on your HDD's if your computer wont work caused by any kind of viruses or other software problems.

# Answer
> 0 votes
### 2) The Pro and NO needing Computer Aroma mode:

1. Download AromaFM.zip from **HERE** (despite the name, is a File Manager, not a Radio app). Put the apk into the root of your ExtSD card memory (if any).
2. Boot your device from CWM recovery (I use PhilzTouch, but I'm sure works also on CWM).
3. Navigate to “Install zip from SD card” and select the AromaFM Zip file.
4. After the AromaFM loads, you'll see a File Manager. Then copy your Backup folder to your external SD Card. If you previously connect a USB Pendrive or Card reader adapter to your USB port, then you can copy your info to any external media, since the AromaFM support the **OTG** method from the USB Debug.
5. After you finished the whole process, exit the app and turn off your device. Disconnect the Pendrive/Card reader adapter (if any) and turn ON your device. Now you have a Backup in another location than the original ones. Later you can to dump this data on a computer if desired.

.

### Possible troubles using Aroma:

* You don't have a ExtSD card (or your device doesn't have a physical reader).
* Any of the Backup files have colon in the name (such as “Backup2015-10-10\_12:00:00”).

The solution it's quite simple; use the Ubuntu method since GNU/Linux (Ubuntu) works perfectly managing files from Windows or another Linux distro (Android in fact is a Linux distro). Using the Ubuntu method you can not only copy the colon files on NTFS partition, but also can rename if its needed (you can't rename it from Windows. Even you can't move or open a file from Windows if in his name have a colon or exclamation; just an example).

* Your Filesystem is FAT32. If any of the backup files is higher than 4GB, then you're out of luck.

The only solution is format your SDcard/HDD partition (backup all important data before this, otherwise you'll lose all your stuff!) to NTFS format. Forget this message if you're using Vista or higher, since the Filesystem is NTFS. If you're on XP, then you could be using a deprecated Filesystem such as FAT32. If the trouble comes from your SDcard or external HDD, then format it to NTFS or make a partition and format it with NTFS filesystem. Again, you can do this using Gparted; a partition tool that comes by default on Ubuntu LiveCD you can download using the first method. Nevermind, sorry for sparing my comment, but I can't send it in only one comment; the text editor said "It looks as spam". Anyway, hope that it help you!

Regards,

Benny.

---
Tags: file-transfer
---


# Question
Title: Telegram replaced WhatsApp connection for contacts in address book
I just subscribed to Telegram, and I discovered that for all my contacts that have both Telegram and WhatsApp, their WhatsApp entry/connection in my address book got replaced by the Telegram one, while I was expecting both would show up.

Is there anything I can do to see both of them?

# Answer
Telegram will not replace Whatsapp contacts. Whatsapp doesn't store any of your contacts on its server. It just reads your address book and find matched contacts that have Whatsapp account and display them as Whatsapp associated contacts. This is different from how Telegram stores your Contacts. Telegram uploads your contact database to your account on its servers and keeps a copy of your address book on its servers. Once an address book entry is kept on its server, it gets displayed as telegram contact, even if you don't have it in your phone.

If you are unable to see WhatsApp contacts that do have Whatsapp account, then the problems appears to be Whatsapp not able to read address book. It it irrelated to having Telegram installed.

Possible solutions are:

1. **Try Reinstalling WhatsApp.**
First, backup your chat history. Go to `WhatsApp` \> `Menu Button` \> `Settings` \> `Chats and calls` \> `Back up chats` or Chat backup. Then uninstall Whatsapp. Reboot phone. Reinstall WhatsApp and restore chat history during account setup.
2. **Sync WhatsApp account.**
Go to `Settings` \> `Accounts`, press menu button and check `Auto Sync data`. Also, Tap on `WhatsApp` and select checkbox for `Contacts sync`.
3. **Check your address book.**
Check if your address book is having all of your contacts along with their phone numbers. Also check if you have disabled WhatsApp contacts display. Go to `Contacts` \> `Menu button` \> `Contacts to display` and see if `All Contacts` is selected. Also go to `Contacts` \> `Menu button` \> `Accounts` and see if both WhatsApp and Telegram accounts can be seen and refreshed.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: 4.4-kitkat, contacts, whatsapp-messenger, telegram
---


# Question
Title: Will changing password of a Google account revoke access to it on a lost device?
I had a Samsung Galaxy Star Pro Duos with my Google account logged in to the apps (Google+, Gmail...). Now it is lost. I can remotely remove all my accounts from the web browser, but I do not know how to remove it from the device without having it turned on and sync enabled, as sync was disabled and it is currently switched off .

I was thinking if I change my password, my account on that phone would stop syncing and request for the password to be re-entered. Once someone turns it on, and tries to sync, the account must stop.

Will this plan work?

# Answer
Changing your password will require all devices to reauthorize (log in) before syncing any new data, however information already on the device, like bookmarks and such, will remain. Locking the device with Android Device Manager would be the better option.
> 1 votes

# Answer
The answer to your problem is already provided by the tool Android Device Manager by Google. You log in with your Google account and will see all the devices connected to that account. There you can lock it with a password: if someone tries to turn it on he will be prompted to insert the psw to use it. Since lollipop even a factory reset shouldn't be enough to bypass this lock, because the phone remembers the account it was connected to. But on this point I'm not 100% sure.
> 0 votes

# Answer
If you report it stolen it will have a blacklisted ESN. Someone can easily reflash your phone like brand new out of the box. and phones with a bad ESN don't bother people in South America.
> -1 votes

---
Tags: google-account, accounts
---


# Question
Title: How to backup broken screen phone when USB debugging IS NOT enabled?
I dropped my Samsung S3. Now I cannot see anything, just a white screen with purple, black, and green lines. Before it blanked out, it wasn't recognizing my finger touch. Any idea on how or what to repair? I want to save my phone so I can backup all my data.

Screen has a small crack on the lower right part of the screen:

* the colors are all messed up
* can't press anything
* can be turned on and can hear the starting sound
* can still receive calls and text
* USB debugging WAS NOT ENABLED

# Answer
> 4 votes
install kies and connect your phone with usb cable. Then go to backup/restore and you can easily backup your important data from there.

# Answer
> 3 votes
FOUND A FIX!!!!! Hi Everyone, I just experienced the same thing: my Samsung Galaxy Note 3 was dropped and the LCD stopped working. However, the phone would turn on. I could not receive calls or call out. My USB Debugging was turned off. This is how I managed to retrieve my TEXTS, other Rooted info and normal files. I am not sure if the front end of this fix had much to do with the over-all fix, but it seemed to.

1. I turned my phone on. I pressed my "Volume Up" button until I heard it beep. While still pressing the volume button, I pressed the "Bottom Face" button, then my "On/Off" button. Pressing them all down at the same time, but in that order. This seemed to put the phone in recovery mode.
2. I went to this website and downloaded Kies 3 software from Samsung (free). http://www.mobile-phone-transfer.com/extract-data-from-kies-backup-sbu-file.html
3. I opened the software and then plugged my Old phone in. DO NOT plug your phone in until the program is opened. Choose the files you want to backup and then press the backup button (may be called something else, but you get my point)
4. Once the backup is complete, plug your new phone in and restore all of the selected files (you may choose which ones) onto your new phone.

It worked with no worries about the "USB Debugging" being turned on or off!!!!!!!!!!!!!Yahooooooooo.

I wanted to share this as not other option worked for me. Good luck!

# Answer
> 1 votes
Apologies for putting this on an old thread, however having spent a week paining over how to do this if your screen is locked and totally broken. Buy a USB OTG cable from Amazon (they're quite cheap), plug a USB keyboard into this and then plug that into your phone. You should be able to type the PIN to unlock it if this is what you have, then you can use Kies to backup the phone. Just worked for me (yay). *This method only works on certain devices.*

# Answer
> -2 votes
I broke the display and digitizer today on my Galaxy S4, without USB Debugging turned on. I used Samsung Kies to backup everything on the internal storage, apps, music, ringtones and their settings, text messages, contacts, all of it.

# Answer
> -3 votes
Not possible if debugging is disabled.

---
Tags: samsung-galaxy-s-3, usb, usb-debugging, broken-screen
---


title: My android apps sometimes crash

text:
# Question
Title: My android apps sometimes crash
Say I am playing clash of clans or boom beach. A crash in the middle of an attack could be very fatal.

What happen is I was playing and then suddenly the screen go back to the home screen. No other apps are running. I can click the multi task button (or whatever button in bottom right) and the original apps shows up. However, it seems to be a crash because if I select it it reloads.

Does android have event logs I can check. What's going on? I got 4 GB memory. It's asus zenphone 2

# Answer
> 1 votes
Use `logcat`, the goto Android crash report tool. There are a few ways to use this utility: over adb, in an Android terminal shell, or with an app. If you have root, I suggest using an app like Logcat Extreme.

Basically just start up the app, go to settings \>\> Priority Level, and check "Errors." Go back to the main screen, hit the record button. Now repeat everything you explained in your post, opening apps and checking recents. When you're done, go back to Logcat Extreme and hit the record button again. The log will be saved in the folder /sdcard/LogcatX.

The best method, which doesn't require root, is to use logcat in the terminal or over adb. There are a lot of guides for this. This one can help you logcat on Windows or Linux.

# Answer
> 0 votes
When system don't get required resources it generally hangs but due to hanging some apps make memory full, so to avoid data loss system restarts. Same as human brain, if brain is unable to get fresh oxygen it shutdown itself( getting consciousness). You just need to force stop all your apps before playing game. & run game in controlled environment like using some kind of game booster app. I recommend CM SECURITY app, contains inbuilt game booster. It works fine even game is 4 GB & available RAM in your phone is 1GB.

# Answer
> 0 votes
<sub>(Click image to enlarge)</sub>

In all Samsung devices with all Android versions OS, try this - Go to phone dial and type `*#9900#` and press button "Run dumpstate/logcat" and then once it is done, press "copy log to SD card".

You would have your entire log activities of your phone from boot until you press this button. Your log would be copied to your SD card.

---
Tags: crashes
---


title: Better battery life by factory reset?

text:
# Question
Title: Better battery life by factory reset?
This is a bit odd. I thought I fairly well grokked how things worked, but this seems weird to me.

I have an original Moto X. I've had it for almost two years now. It started off with Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) and, slowly but surely (because Verizon) got updated through to Android 5.1 (Lollipop). It has never been rooted.

I figured it's been getting a bit long in the tooth, and the battery life has reflected that. I could leave the house at 100% charge in the morning and, a two-hour train ride later, without ever touching the phone, would be down to about 60% battery. If I didn't charge at work, it would be dead by 2:00, with minimal usage. If I work at home, with reliable wifi all day, I can usually get to about 4:00 before having to charge. But, I figured, this is just what happens to a well-used phone toward the end of its life.

I finally got the Lollipop upgrade and had been using it for a couple of weeks. Things were okay, but not quite right. So I decided I had nothing to lose by doing a factory reset.

So, I did. I restored all the same apps back to the phone, with the exception of a couple that I finally realized I never use and some Verizon bloatware that I disabled.

But now, my battery life has improved tremendously. At home, with a fair amount of use, I never put it on the charger in the middle of the day and went to bed with 40% on the battery. I use an app that graphs my battery usage, and the slope is significantly shallower when I'm not using the phone than it used to be. I'm not using it any differently, but battery life is way up.

What could have happened? I used to check fairly frequently what was using my battery and there was never anything "weird" there. There also weren't any unaccounted for amounts. I am seeing the apparently irksome "Cell Standby" draining some, but even so the whole thing is lasting much longer than it used to.

I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I'm kind of wondering what I did by doing a factory reset.

# Answer
> 2 votes
You cleared Android's batterystats file by doing a factory reset, specifically the file `/data/system/batterystats.bin` was deleted and regenerated. This file holds a calibration for your battery. Before you did a factory reset, your batterystats was probably miscalibrated. It's a common practice, for rooted devices, to delete this file every now and then with a fully charged battery. This correctly recalibrates batterystats.

---
Tags: battery-life, factory-reset, moto-x
---


# Question
Title: Restore WhatsApp messages after deleting the account
I deleted my WhatsApp account and I would like to restore the conversation I had. I didn't uninstall the app, or doing any reset.

When I checked the `/databases` folder, it's empty. Is it possible to find the last backup file somewhere?

If it's related, I've got LG G3.

# Answer
Go to SDcard or Internal SD (whichever available default). Find WhatsApp folder. The daily scheduled backups that occur at 4.00am is present in the databases folder.

To restore, fresh install WhatsApp. There will be a dialogue "Do you want to restore your chat history?". Click Restore.
> 1 votes

# Answer
Unless you have some file recovery software to recover the deleted `.crypt8` database files on your sdcard, you are out of luck.

Deleting your WhatsApp account will erase your message history from sdcard.

Deleting your account will do the following

```
- Delete your account from WhatsApp.
- Delete you from your friends' WhatsApp Contacts lists.
- Delete you from all WhatsApp groups.
- Erase your message history on your phone.
- Delete your WhatsApp service payment information.

```

Source
> 0 votes

---
Tags: whatsapp-messenger, restore
---


# Question
Title: Why does Android not include an Add Hardware Wizard?
If I want to install Windows on, say, a bare-metal Thinkpad X1 Carbon with no OS, then I can buy Windows and install it. Windows includes numerous drivers. If there are any necessary drivers missing, I can normally get them from the manufacturer, use the Add Hardware Wizard, and install them.

But, if I want to install Android 6.0 "Marshmallow" on, say, a Samsung Galaxy S Relay 4G, then things are not so simple. It's true that I could (theoretically) download and install some random Nexus ROM shipped by Google. But such a ROM includes far fewer drivers, and in fact may not allow my phone to boot up at all. And there's no UI for downloading and installing signed drivers downloaded from hardware-manufacturer websites.

Why does Android not include any driver-installation wizard?

And how does Android deal with a USB On-The-Go ("USB OTG") device, if it doesn't know how to communicate with that particular USB OTG device?

# Answer
> 8 votes
1. On desktops and laptops, drivers are a necessary evil. Hardware is often user-serviceable and prone to changes, and there is a huge variety of possible combinations. On phones and tablets, this isn't quite so. You can't really change the hardware easily. It's entirely safe to disallow driver installation since you don't really need it.
2. It is a lot easier to break ARM devices than x86 with messed-up drivers.
3. Drivers on Android must be written for specific kernel versions and all. This is easy to do for a manufacturer, but hard to get right as a user.
4. Most USB On-The-Go devices are USB interfaces, for which drivers are included.
5. Driver installation requires root access, which is disabled by default on the vast majority of Android devices.
6. Allowing driver install exposes a massive surface for the installation of rootkits and other malware. And, in fact, such malware can persist across devices wipes and firmware upgrades.

We will likely see some kind of driver installation if Project Ara takes off. But I imagine it will be along the lines of each component having its driver loaded onto it and installing when attached, as opposed to allowing the installation of arbitrary drivers found on the Internet.

# Answer
> 1 votes
The same reasons a Windows phone does haven't an "Add Hardware Wizard" either.

1. Phones have harsher legal requirements to follow than regular Ultrabooks/PCs. In the US for instance, there is 911 emergency service/geolocation, Amber alerts, Tsunami/Tornado/emergency alerts (that can turn on the phone when the power is off), and supposedly NSA backdoors (according to Snowden). Also, there is the real possibility that a manufacturer could be sued if people were to lose their lives because of a cell phone malfunction. In part, this could explain the fact that the code of the network radio is often just a binary blob (despite the fact that open source activists like Richard Stallman are really not happy about it).
2. Phones have traditionally been cash cows for carriers and content providers (or even Apple). This is the reason why the industry, the copyrights lobby, and the government/Library of Congress do not even want you to have root access to your own phone (unless you've been explicitly given permission by your carrier/manufacturer). In other words, you do not own your own phone. **They** own your phone. This is also part of the reason that you do not have "Add Hardware Wizard" on smart phones. Having root access is usually associated with having the responsibility of securing everything with your own device (even the installation of new drivers). Not having root access anymore just means that it's no longer your responsibility or privilege to do so.

---
Tags: updates, rom-flashing, installation, hardware, user-interface
---


# Question
Title: Google Music eating battery life while idle
Device: X9076 Find7, Nameless ROM 5.1

gMusic is hammering my device. Normal battery burn is about 4.8% per hour. Fine, I can live with that no problem. I've used GMAA since it became available but problems only for the last little while. Actually listing seems fine most of the time, battery use is a little elevated but nothing major. But then idling battery just plummets. I'll take my phone out of my pocket and it'll be on the verge of overheating while doing nothing. If I freeze gMusic then its fine, but obviously regular freezing-defrosting is a pain.

I've uninstalled, re-installed, wiped data etc. Problem persists.

At one point BetterBattStats found it had used 1GB on LTE and 350MB on wifi over the space of 5.5hrs which is really excessive. The usage then "disappeared" from the list 10 mins later.

Any suggestions as to how to resolve it? Interestingly the gMusic chrome plugin has a bug at the minute that causes excessive CPU usage and with the plugin removed you get major memory leaks. On the verge of cancelling my sub now.

UPDATE: Regarding answer below, blocking wakelocks resolved it, blocked loads without and behaviour issues.

# Answer
Are you currently using Android Lollipop?

If yes then go to Privacy guard in Settings and revoke all permissions of Google Play Music.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: battery, google, music
---


title: How can I add routes to VPN

text:
# Question
Title: How can I add routes to VPN
```
client
dev tap
proto udp
remote ADDRESS PORT
auth-user-pass
ca cert-chain.pem
remote-cert-tls server

route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0

resolv-retry infinite

nobind

persist-key
persist-tun

verb 3

route-delay 3
redirect-gateway def1

```

I have the above OpenVPN configuration file and I want to connect from my SGS2.

Can you help me?

# Answer
I use this to access on ssh server from my Sony ericson (Arc S) (OS: android ice cream) via OVPN

```

client
dev tun
proto udp
remote 41.204.120.234 1194
#Route option. I add this to access other IP not confugred on VPN server
route 10.162.100.0 255.255.255.0
route 10.8.4.0 255.255.255.0
...
#End of Route option
resolv-retry infinite
nobind
persist-key
persist-tun
ca /etc/openvpn/ca.crt
cert /etc/openvpn/user.crt
key /etc/openvpn/user.key
comp-lzo
verb 3

```

If you use OVPN.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: vpn, openvpn
---


title: What if I erase an undelivered message

text:
# Question
Title: What if I erase an undelivered message
My questions are concerning Whatsapp.

If I send a message, there are three indicators - one tick,two ticks and two blue ticks. If I delete it when it's still being sent (one tick),will the second side still be able to read it?

By the way, is there an option how to change or delete a message in a short period of time after sending it? (As it is possible at gmail?)

Thanks a lot.

Axessa

# Answer
> 1 votes
1 tick = server received the message. After this you can't stop the message to be sent.

You can stop messages to be sent if you delete them before the first tick appears. If you get lucky you have time for that...or you can try to quickly turn off WiFi/3g but most of the time messages get sent to server too quick for that

# Answer
> 0 votes
Yes it will surely be readable at the destination side if the device is having internet. You can try it by making two android phone at your home.

Try this too.

Get two android phone with whatsapp and then send one message to another phone, but you have to be quick to turn off your net as you send your message , i mean you have to turn off the net before the double click. You will see the message is delivered on the second phone.

# Answer
> -1 votes
1 tick means received by server 2 ticks mean received on other phone 2 blue ticks mean read by recipent.

hope this helps.

and no there isn't a way to change a message after sending it.

---
Tags: whatsapp-messenger, delete
---


# Question
Title: Is there a way to verify the integrity of a TA partition backup of Xperia phones?
I unlocked the bootloader of my Xperia P (LT22i) before I could take a backup of the TA partition (which stores DRM keys, IMEI code, etc.)

Now I've read on several XDA threads and other websites that TA can not be backed up after the bootloader has been unlocked. And that once it's unlocked, everything in there is gone.

However, when I used the latest version of Backup TA on my phone, it could detect the presence of and backup the TA partition.

Now I'm not sure if the backup it created is a valid TA backup so is there a way to check its integrity and/or parse the contents of `TA.img` to see if it does contain valid DRM keys and other stuff?

P.S. I tried opening `TA.img` in a hex editor and searching for my phone's IMEI number. I found it in the file. I also found references to "marlin" and quite a few X.509 certificates. The uncompressed size of my phone's `TA.img` is 512 KB (5,24,288 bytes)

And if it helps, here's the part of the log from Backup TA where it finds and backs up the TA partition:

```
--- mmcblk0boot0 ---
Searching for Operator Identifier...-
Searching for Operator Name...-
Searching for Rooting Status...-
Searching for S1 Boot...-
Searching for S1 Loader...-
Searching for S1 Hardware Configuration...-

Partition found!

=======================================
 BACKUP TA PARTITION
=======================================
1024+0 records in
1024+0 records out
524288 bytes (512.0KB) copied, 0.030456 seconds, 16.4MB/s

=======================================
 INTEGRITY CHECK
=======================================
OK

=======================================
 PULL BACKUP FROM SDCARD
=======================================
2437 KB/s (524288 bytes in 0.210s)

=======================================
 INTEGRITY CHECK
=======================================
OK

=======================================
 PACKAGE BACKUP
=======================================

7-Zip (A) 9.20  Copyright (c) 1999-2010 Igor Pavlov  2010-11-18
Scanning

Creating archive ..\backup\TA-backup-20140722.010348.zip

Compressing  TA.blk
Compressing  TA.img
Compressing  TA.md5
Compressing  TA.serial
Compressing  TA.timestamp
Compressing  TA.version

Everything is Ok

*** Backup successful. ***

```

# Answer
> 1 votes
It should be possible to check via the service menu of the phone. Go to calls, enter `*#*#7378423#*#*` and go to service info-configuration (somewhere at the bottom). The lines should end with \[Key OK\]\[Active\].

---
Tags: backup, certificates, sony-xperia, sony-xperia-p, drm
---


# Question
Title: Can I make my apps update automatically once a week? (4.1 Jelly Bean)
I was updating my apps automatically but every time they update my anti-virus would scan the installed app and make the whole system freeze, which is quite annoying. So is there any way to make them all update once a week, let's say, every Sunday morning? Or, is there any app to do that? Thanks in advance.

# Answer
You could disable the auto update from Play Store settings and update manually every week. Or you could disable the app scanning of your antivirus and instead set a scan of all your apps every week, I think the probability that an app update and the scan to collide will be very low. This way you wouldn't have to do the manual update. Also, you could try some of the Play Store alternatives in this article, but I don't know if they have an update scheduling function.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: applications, updates, 4.3-jelly-bean
---


title: Backup without computer or cloud

text:
# Question
Title: Backup without computer or cloud
A desktop or server computer can be backed up, in whole or part, with only 3 components: the computer, backup software, and a connected storage device.

How do I accomplish the same for an Android device?

All of the answers and discussions I've come across so far rely on having a PC or a cloud service or both present.

A complete answer collection would include bare metal backup and restore, but for the moment I'm most interested in backup of user data, that is everything added and configured after one logs in to new device for the first time. Apps installed, docs and settings for those apps; wallpaper, icon and launcher layout, and so on.

There should be at least some ability to pick and choose what to restore from the backup archive.

I'm on Lollipop 5.1, but please don't feel need to restrict to that version unless necessary. I am partial to using sdcard as backup storage destination, while being open to other possibilities such as a USB device or LAN share.

# Answer
> 1 votes
As Bharat G noted, I don't see a single solution either. ( is a custom ) backup comes close to what you want but it is more or less disk imaging and different custom recoveries uses varied formats to store the images so expect no coherency here.

Overall, whatever you do after logging in the device the very first time after a factory reset, the changes are saved inside:

* `/data` (custom settings of Android, apps installed, their own custom settings, other miscellaneous things such as logs, accounts info, Wi-Fi credentials) -- called `userdata`, and
* `/mnt/` or `/storage/` (the location where user media is stored such as docs, music, videos, and so on) -- Internal and External storage, in short.

See what's inside `/data` here or on Android Folder Hierarchy.

You need or need not to worry about the user media, as long as you know what factory reset will delete. For example, in some devices, factory reset will nuke both `/data/` and internal SD card. In some other devices, you can choose to leave internal SD card (`/data/media`) intact while resetting the device.

Coming back to Nandroid backup, the option to backup user media is not provided in a custom recovery but you should be able to back it up using a custom script. That would use `dd` IMO. Where you would save it if the storage doesn't have enough space is altogether different matter to consider here.

> There should be at least some ability to pick and choose what to restore from the backup archive.

The default options to choose what to restore or backup in a custom recovery comes down to partitions only. There is no granular control such as to select specific files. A custom script would definitely and immensely help you though.

As GreenRaccoon23 noted, there are apps which can ease the pain.

(Requires root):

* Apps like Titanium Backup can selectively backup and restore the apps and few other miscellaneous settings.
* Apps such as Nandroid Manager can let you peek into a Nandroid backup but don't expect much since it just opens the backup in read-only mode. For example, if you're unaware about where an app is located inside the backup, then this app won't be of much use to you.
* Helium - App Sync and Backup and My Backup Pro may also help a bit.

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Tags: backup
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# Question
Title: Is it possible to make a call without having access to the contacts list?
Is it possible to make a call without giving access to the phone's contacts? I.E. say I let a friend use my phone, and lock my contacts such that it requires a pin for access - is there any way to allow a call to an arbitrary number that is not necessarily in the contacts?

# Answer
In Android 5, a feature called screen pinning was introduced. The idea is to actually pin an active app screen so that it cannot be quit, no notifications are shown, and so on. Think of this feature as restricting yourself to a single app screen until it is unpinned again. More information can be found here.

To come back to your specific problem: start the call app, pin its screen and hand it out to someone. This person is now able to use the pinned app screen, but cannot switch to another app. If you enable the corresponding setting, this person will also not be able to unpin without knowing your password/pin/pattern.

It should be noted that you need at least Android 5 Lollipop for this.
> 1 votes

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Tags: contacts, calls, privacy
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# Question
Title: Huge unexplained data transfer - investigating
I have a Samsung Galaxy S3, and I do normal usage with it (web, reddit, mail, texts no netflix some youtube clips and not much streaming overall). Have been using it for about 2.5 year, without ever being near of busting data limits or reaching what could be considered heavy user (ex: from my records, 300 mb 4G and 1.5 Gb wifi a month would be typical). wifi and 4G providers are distinct.

Never had a problem with the device. Device is rooted and unlocked. No bogus app on it (I try to be serious about this - and manage applications permissions with this registered XPrivacy module ) Device memory is 16 Gb (internal) and SD card 32 Gb - overall 2/3 full

then this week I check my provider account for wifi as I do each month before being billed to see if I need any adjustment. And I see this:

We see by looking at this figure that between the third and the sixth of March 2015 - there was a lot of data transfer - that I cannot explain. 25 Gb the 3rd, 49 Gb the 4th, 38 Gb the 5th and 8 Gb the sixth and then a return to something normal after.

Quickly I start investigating my various devices and found this on my mobile: (sorry for the weird colors it is not on purpose - but data is still exact)

The right section show 113 Gb of traffic between the 3rd and the 7th which concurs with the previous figure showing the usage (provider report). And to the left we see a peak in traffic for the same period, this one on 4G. I have no space on my phone to accomodate this transfers - and I still have about 15 Gb /48 Gb free space on it.

So since I am using a VPN service Private Internet Access showing in the left and right part of the figure as the top traffic application, I cannot tell which specific application triggered the traffic, as all traffic is redirected to the vpn interface. So for example, if I start a movie on Netflix, the Netflix application usage won't grow, but Private Internet Access will.

I tried to investigate - a bit more to not avail, using various shell utils (logcat, netstat, ps/top for processes) but I realized the problem way to late and connections were dropped and/or no relevant info was obvious to me.

I was wondering :

if anyone would have a hint as to how I should continue this investigation.

thanks

# Answer
I have a few suggestions. I had my phone go over my monthly average by only about 5GB and just about threw my phone in a lake.

The VPN app claiming all the data transferred as its own is a problem, but I think you can get around that with third party data management apps like 3G Watchdog and My Data Manager. Based on my research on several sites this seems to just... kind of... happen to people randomly across many different configurations. For me the Android OS service was reporting huge spikes, but My Data Manager broke that out into a different service that was running.

1. In Apps, clear data and cache for Google Play Services, Google Play Store, Google Services Framework, and Google Backup Transport.
2. Go to Settings -\> Storage, Cached data, reset. Restart your phone.
3. Until you've figured it out, try to not be on data but wifi instead. That will minimize overages.
4. If you're feeling proactive, download one of those data management apps, or both. Then wait.

If it never happens again, I bet you'd be happy.
> 2 votes

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Tags: vpn, data-monitoring
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title: What is the point of having KNOX?

text:
# Question
Title: What is the point of having KNOX?
I'm about to use Odin to root my S4 running 5.0.1, but I'd just like to know, what is the point of KNOX and is it really important? I know it's not just the software I'm not authorized to use, and it'll set my KNOX warranty flag to 0x1 and burn the e-fuse, but I'd just like to reassure myself that I'm not missing out on something here.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Samsung knox is, beside some device hardening, a container or dual persona solution for Android. Think of the knox container as a second completely independent instance of Android running on your phone with own apps, data and settings. It is mostly used by companies to implement bring-your-own-device solutions. However, you can also use it as a private user, but I am not really aware of any great use case for this... so you need to decide whether you want to use the container. I guess the most users can safely ignore it.

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Tags: 5.0-lollipop, samsung-galaxy-s-4, samsung-knox
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