# Question
Title: How to install new Recovery image from .img file
I recently found that I could upgrade to the new CWM touch recovery version for my EVO 4g! However, to do this through the ROM manager app or get it directly onto the phone at all, it required a payment, although they specified it could be found (the same version) for free on their website. So naturally, I went and downloaded it as soon as I could.

But instead of a .zip file, as things that I usually flash, it is an .img file. This made sense, since I figured I wouldn't be installing a new recovery through the current recovery version, but I am unknowing as to how to install this new recovery image.

Anyone know what my next step is?

# Answer
> 12 votes
If you have a fastboot-enabled bootloader version (such as the old 0.76.0000 engineering HBOOT in the EVO's case) you can use that to flash it from a PC via USB. Reboot into your bootloader, then select the "Fastboot" option from the boot menu (if it has one, it may start up fastboot automatically). Once it's ready, go to your PC's shell and execute:

```
fastboot flash recovery /path/to/recovery.img

```

You should also be able to use the `flash_image` binary if your ROM has it (or you install it from XDA). Copy the recovery.img over to your device somewhere then do the following:

```
C:> adb shell
$ su
# flash_image recovery /path/to/recovery.img

```

# Answer
> 5 votes
One way is to open ROM Manager and choose "Flash ClockworkMod Recovery". Select your device when it prompts and wait for it to download the latest (non-touch) recovery. Using a file browser, go to `/sdcard/clockworkmod/download/<site>/recoveries` and paste your .img there. `<site>` may be mirror.kanged.net or something else, just check the folders till you find an IMG file with the current date. Rename the existing .img to something else and rename yours to the exact same name as the existing file was named. For example, rename `recovery.clockwork-3.0.0.0-evo.img` to `bak.img` and then name your file `recovery.clockwork-3.0.0.0-evo.img`. Then return to ROM Manager and flash the recovery normally.

Another method is to use fastboot from your PC. Put your device into fastboot mode and then:

```
fastboot flash recovery <path/to/your-recovery.img>

```

Another is to use a terminal on your device:

```
/data/data/com.koushikdutta.rommanager/files/flash_image <path/to/your-recovery.img>

```

(You can move flash\_image somewhere more manageable first, just make sure it has execute permissions.)

---
Tags: htc-evo, installation, clockworkmod-recovery, recovery-mode
---


# Question
Title: Can't get into Clockworkmod recovery on LG Optimus 2x
I flashed a MoDaCo ROM this afternoon just to try it on my LG Optimus 2x P990, which was on ICS (CM9). I see that it's based on the offical LG Optimus 2x ROM, but I decided to flash it back to Android 4.0.4 ICS again, the one I was coming from.

But I can't get into ClockworkMod Recovery. I didn't find ROM Manager on my phone after flash (it works, except for Market and has **very** many bugs), so I reinstalled it by sending the \*.apk to my email. I installed CWM successfully, but I can't get into it. I have tried the volume and power button method and reboot from ROM Manager. None of them worked.

My phone does works (call and such), but I can't get into CWM, which is **really** annoying.

# Answer
I fixed it by flashing ClockWorkMod and the boot image manually. Then, I used the volume down and power buttons to get into it. Now, I'm running Android 4.0.4 ICS again.
> 3 votes

---
Tags: clockworkmod-recovery, recovery-mode, lg-optimus-2x
---


title: Where is the gesture button?

text:
# Question
Title: Where is the gesture button?
Today I can't find the gesture button. I had it placed bottom right, showing faint on every page; now I have to go to menu /dolphin to bring it up. When I look at gesture settings all I can do is add extra gestures, but no menu list or other way to restore the 'always there' button. Has quick access been removed? I'm using dolphin version 8.0.0 on galaxy note. Thanks for any help

# Answer
When you are in the Gesture Settings you need to click on the tab that says "Dolphin Sonar Settings" in the bottom right hand corner. There you'll have the option to "Enable bottom left button." This puts the new "dual purpose" Gesture & Sonar button in the bottom left hand corner.

FWIW, I think the whole Sonar thing is annoying and I don't understand why they reduced the customization options. I prefer my gesture button on the right!
> 1 votes

# Answer
The gestures icon is now multi purpose. When you click the icon and the dolphin sonar comes up, there are two buttons on the bottom. That will toggle between sonar and gestures, remembering which one you had setup last.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: dolphin-browser
---


# Question
Title: After Uninstalling Google Voice, I cannot receive phone calls, busy signal
I had Google Voice installed, but it was a very obtrusive and annoying application. For example it one day starts stealing text messages and requires me to press a 1 to receive the call, neither of these "features" can be disabled in the Google Voice settings on the phone.

Since the only feature I ever used with GV was voicemail transcription, the cons overweighed the pros, and I figured it's time to uninstall.

I uninstalled the app, went to the google voice webpage, and disabled google voice there. Now, I am unable to receive phone calls. The caller is greeted with a busy signal.

```
Settings > Call > Voicemail Service = My Carrier

```

The google voice number was set to my actual phone number.

# Answer
> 4 votes
I was able to resolve the issue by calling Sprint and having them fix it on their end. Looks like GV doesn't properly give the phone number back when you remove the service from your phone on their website and dial \*38.

# Answer
> 0 votes
To auto answer your calls:

* Go to google.com/voice
* then click on the settings button
* then go to the tab called "Calls"
* Change the call screening setting to "off"
* then "save changes"

---
Tags: google-voice
---


# Question
Title: Restoring static boot logo and animation from ClockWorkMod backup for: Android Huawei Ideos X3 (U8510)
I have a rooted (and unlocked) Huawei Ideos X3 (U8510). I have complete backups of the stock ROM using ClockWordMod installed to the sdcard.

Then I started playing with different ROMs on the internet. At some point I also flashed the device with another GENERIC Stock ROM for this device. At this point, the generic Stock ROM permanently changed my static boot logo and the boot animation. Originally it was a static Huawei logo with Vodafone animation (Red Vodafone logo). That was replaced by the static Huawei logo AND Huawei generic boot animation. This is the problem as:

1. I need to replace with the original static boot logo and boot animation in the event of a warranty claim.
2. I need the assurance that recovering to the stock ROM backup will restore everything to the way it was except the bootlogo and boot animation.

Now if I revert to the stock ROM from the backup (via ClockWorkMod recovery), everything from the backup is restored EXCEPT for the static boot logo and the boot animation sequence.

Things I have tried:

1. From the installed terminal, as su: I tried copying the recovery.img from the backup to the root of the sdcard. Then as su, I executed the following command:

flash\_image recovery /sdcard/recovery.img

The above command worked. I rebooted into recovery. Then I rebooted again but still am seeing the generic static Huawei boot logo and boot animation.

I can see the following files from my stock rom backup:

```
.android_secure.vfat.tar
boot.img
cache.yaffs2.img
data.yaffs2.img
nandroid.md5
recovery.img   ---> This is the file I copied to the root of the sdcard.
system.yaffs2.img

```

I have also tried asking in other forums to get the copy of the boot animation from the stock ROM with no success.

Questions:

Do I have the original boot logo and boot animation from stock rom backup (above file list)? If so, is there a way to recover it? If not: is there a known source to get the original boot animation?

Thanks in advance for your help.

# Answer
OK: After some more reading, it looks like ClockWorkMod did not back up the /cust partition ie: /proc/mtdblock7 in which the vodafone logo and boot animation was stored. When I flashed my device with a generic Stock ROM that overwrote the /cust partition permanently. When I flashed my recovery.img, it only restored the recovery partition (which was the CWM Recovery image after rooting).

The only way I can now get back the stock voda animation is backup the partition (via dd maybe) from another device to an sd card and flash back to my device partition from the sd card.

Moral of the story: Backup all partitions (via ROMDump or dd) and not just rely on ClockWorkMod backup which ignores these partitions.

I arrived at this conclusion by checking my logs from the saved data partition (after rooting) when I saw this file in: /data/load\_oemlogo.txt which references /cust/vha/au/logo/oemlogo.mbn

```
load_oemlogo begin
command_line_is: console=ttyDCC0 androidboot.hardware=huawei
androidboot.localproppath=vha/au androidboot.network=umts
androidboot.swtype=normal androidboot.mode=boot mem.size=256M
ret_str = vha/au androidboot.network=umts androidboot.swtype=normal
androidboot.mode=boot mem.size=256M

custom len = 6
custom : vha/au
logo path /cust/vha/au/logo/oemlogo.mbn!
stat file error!
load_oemlogo end

```

Update: Yes I can confirm that the /cust and /userdata2 partition are not backed up by CWM backup and restore.

I quote from translated version (german) from here: http://66.163.168.225/babelfish/translate\_url\_content?.intl=us&lp=de\_en&trurl=http%3a%2f%2fwww.android-hilfe.de%2froot-hacking-modding-fuer-huawei-ideos-x3%2f203731-how-flash-partitionen-von-supertoast-anpassen.html

```
Completely importantly! Make always only times with CWM a Backup.

```

backup\_partitons.

```
zip load down and in the CWM over “Install zip from sd-card” would drive out.

The two partitions are cust and userdata2 secured, which does not make the standard Backup of CWM.

Afterwards cust_backup.tar and userdata2_backup.tar should be to the SDCard the two files.

Now would drive the file out install_new_partition_layout.zip.
A new boat and Recovery image are installed, because in both the new Kernel COMMAND LINE must be contained.

Auserdem becomes still the volume demon (/system/bin/vold) and its configuration file /system/etc/vold.fstab it then a few volumes to mounten gives less replaced there.

Now one bootet by means of advanced->Reboot Recovery into the again installed CWM.

There one re-establishes over backup and restore - > advanced restore - > Restore DATA the data partition from the previous Backup.

```

EDIT: More info and updates.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: clockworkmod-recovery, recovery-mode, boot-animation
---


# Question
Title: Is there a UK English dictionary for the Swype keyboard?
I've just signed up for Swype beta but there's no option I can see for an UK English keyboard, which means I get incorrect :¬) spellings for 'colour', 'neighbour', 'favourite' etc.

Anyone know if there's a custom UK dictionary available or some other workaround?

**Edit:**
I've just bulk added 320 UK spellings compiled from the Ubuntu English translation guide. I put the list of words in a text file, opened and selected all and hit the skype button to add them to the dictionary.
This works pretty well and remembers my preference for words like 'vapour' (which has the same stroke as 'vapor').

# Answer
> 1 votes
There is now.

# Answer
> 5 votes
Using the version of Swype that comes pre-loaded on a UK Galaxy S, I can long-press on the "Q" in the top-left of the keyboard to get a list of languages pop-up. The top two options here on my phone are "UK English" and "US English".

If I switch between the two, and then swype through "colo\[u\]r" (obviously you have to swype across the "u" to get from the "o" to the "r") I get "color" as the result in US English, and "colour" as the result when set to UK English, so it would seem that there are two separate dictionaries.

# Answer
> 3 votes
Recent versions of Swype (I have 3.26.92.38303) allow you to download additional languages:

Select `Settings``Language & inuput``Swype``Language Options``Manage Languages``Download languages` and choose the language that you wish to add.

---
Tags: swype
---


title: How to set gmail sync frequency?

text:
# Question
Title: How to set gmail sync frequency?
I want to know how often Gmail checks for new emails because I need longer battery life. How can I see/set this? I want to set it so that, for example, it checks for new mail every 10 minutes and never more often than that.

I use this notification application on a Samsung GTi5800 that has Android 2.1update1

# Answer
> 8 votes
First, Gmail provides push email.. means, you get emails exactly when they arrive (if you are connected with internet).

Second, Gmail doesn't have dedicated sync module. It makes use of global Google Services Framework and Account sync module. You can turn off `background data` and `Auto Sync` from `Accounts and Sync` setting. When these are ON, sync is carried randomly.. but it runs when you connect to internet or turn these settings on.

To save battery, you can use toggle widgets (like Widgetsoid) to turn those settings on/off manually. Some provides way to force sync, too. To automate it, use Tasker app.

If your prime goal is to save battery, I would recommend you to use, Juice Defender. It takes care of all these effectively.

---
Tags: gmail, battery
---


# Question
Title: How can I set up email (mostly yahoo) so that no matter which device I delete an email on, it will be deleted on the other?
I finally switched to Android from Apple, and I've tried setting the email account as both premium and not, and it either stays independent when deleted (not deleted on the server), or it's just downloaded again. K-9 seems to make them stay independent, but there's a lot of settings. Is there anything I can do so that if I delete a message on either the mail site or the app, it will be deleted on the other?

Basically, if you're aware of how the mail app works on the iphone, etc, I want it to behave like that.

EDIT: I found out how to do it in K-9 (change the 'when i delete a message' setting), but is there a way to do it stock?

# Answer
As roxan already pointed out: **What you want is IMAP for all your E-Mail accounts, configured with an Android client (e.g. K-9 Mail).**
> 4 votes

# Answer
You can simply download Yahoo! Mail and manage your e-mail as you want.
> 3 votes

---
Tags: samsung-galaxy-s-2, email, k9-mail
---


# Question
Title: Desire HD GPS can't "lock" on a satellite?
I'm a new Android user. This is also my first time to use a GPS device so I don't have any idea on how long it takes for a typical GPS device to get a "lock".

I just bought the HTC Desire HD last week. Everything is running fine until I tested the GPS today.

I noticed something strange when I used the "Location" application and it gets stuck in "Waiting for location". To check if this is an app issue, I used "Maps" and pressed the "My Location" button, and it said something like "Your location is currently unavailable". I've tried other "map"-type applications but the story is the same, I can't get my location.

Now, I've done some research and it seems that it will actually take a long time for the device to get a lock for the firs time (something about "almanacs" and A-GPS "setting). I've also read about the limitations of GPS (you need to be in a line-of-sight, clear weather, etc).

So, what I've done is I've downloaded the "GPS Status and Toolbox" app from the market. I've gone ahead a cleared and re-downloaded my A-GPS setting. I've also removed the "CAPDASE" rubber-case from the device to reduce the chance of interference.

Using the said app, I was happy to see that my device was able to "fix" and "locate" GPS satellites (I get 4/5). The weird thing is, I can't get any "data" (LONG/LAT?) from the satellites. The numbers below (see image) are not showing in my device, instead, it is replaced by a "loading" animated image. (like the used to indicate an "AJAX" load from webpages). While all of this is happening the GPS icon in the notification bar is blinking (Should it not blink when I get a "lock"?)

What is happening here? Is this normal? How long should I wait before I get a lock? Please help!

Additional information:

1. Android 2.2.1 and latest firmware from HTC.
2. Tried rebooting and clearing/redownload A-GPS.
3. Enabled "use network" on Settings-\>Location (Is this Assisted-GPS?)
4. Left the device on line-of-sight with around 4/5 satellites for about an hour and still can't get "data".

Thanks!

# Answer
> 1 votes
I was able to get a fix by doing the following:

1. Remove any rubber-case or any case for that matter as most of them affects the reception of the GPS transceiver
2. Go outside. Don't attempt to do this inside your house.
3. Go to Settings -\> Location and turn on "Use wireless networks" and "Use gps sattelites". (Connect to your wireless network now)
4. Download and install the "GPS Status and Toolbox" app.
5. Launch the app. Press Menu -\> Tools -\> Manage A-GPS state
6. Press Reset
7. Press Download
8. Reboot your phone (Not sure if this is necessary).
9. Re-launch the app (make sure that both GPS and network are turned-on)
10. Leave your phone (while the app is running) in a place with clear line-of-sight for about an hour.
11. Watch a movie, drink coffee, whatever. Just leave it for an hour.

BTW, You should see a few satellites after 30 seconds but without locks (no long/lat). After an hour, you should get a lock if there is at least one satellite.

After your first lock, it will be faster (a matter of seconds to a minute) to get your next lock. And oh, you no longer need to use "wireless networks" on your consecutive locks so you can just turn that off.

Good luck!

# Answer
> 1 votes
I advise you to use the application GPS test, where you can see (in a bar chart) the satellites your device sees and how good the reception is for each satellite.

*If* the GPS of my device is working, the first satellite shows up in less then 5 seconds or so. Then I gradually see more and more satellites appearing, with a lock taking something like a few minutes (or much less).

If my GPS is not working, no satellites appear, not even after 10 minutes or more of waiting. (However, take care, as the app does sometimes show old satellite charts, but you can easily see this because the reception values for each of the satellites remain constant, while they normally change every second or so)

And yes, the GPS icon stops blinking once it locks on a position. That's when the latitude and longitude values are available.

# Answer
> 0 votes
I had same problem with my HTC Desire S and Nexus S, I has tried all options listed every where, the only thing that worked for me is uninstall GPS status application and reboot the phone. Now I never get any lock problem.

# Answer
> -1 votes
I have the same problem on an HTC desire HD.

After the update from Android 2.2 it has been been much better.

Still if you switch of location services or go abroad and and don't want to pay your massive roaming data charges you're pretty much out of luck, even with precached map sections in google maps.

Without the data connection the GPS functions poorly, and takes up to 20 minutes to lock. Considering that most free-standing GPS devices, lock within about 1 minute it is very mysterious.

A cynic would say , this is a deliberate Android "feature" to ensure that Google gets to collect as much location data as possible.

---
Tags: gps
---


title: Disable key shadowing?

text:
# Question
Title: Disable key shadowing?
I have a Galaxy Ace (bought today) and I hate how the keys pop up as you type, iPhone style. On my Nexus S (stolen) you could change it, but I can't seem to find it on this.

# Answer
I don't know if you can change that but you can always install the same Keyboard that you had in Nexus S. Search market for **Gingerbread keyboard** and/or **Ice cream sandwich keyboard**.

Those keyboard are the keyboard that ships with Android. Samsung like HTC modifies/creates keyboard that differs from stock keyboard. Samsung keyboard is very much similar to ios. But unlike iPhone style, you can always change keyboard in Android OS.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: keyboard
---


# Question
Title: how do I download jorte calendar on new tablet
I cant download my jorte calendar from my htc phone to my new tablet becuz the port to recharge my phone is faulty and so the battery keeps dying and wont hold a charge and according to the sprint store, that is the same port that connects my phone and tablet, so therefore I cant link phone to tablet, and the phone keeps dying, and the sprint store says it can't save my calendar to a new phone becuz its not a goggle calendar.and i cant charge the phone to access the calendar. I need to access and download my calendar at least, even if i cant save it to my new phone. ideas?

# Answer
If you can turn the phone on, set jorte to sync with a google calendar. Then you can get it on any android device you want.

If the phone is dead and you can't charge it you may try charging the battery with an external charger then following the step above.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: calendar, jorte
---


# Question
Title: Does Sony always check if the bootloader has been unlocked when repairing the phone?
I'd like to unlock my Xperia Neo V's bootloader, but on the other hand I don't want to lose my warranty. Obviously, that isn't possible. So my question is: Do Sony Ericsson's repair centres always actually check -- or care -- if the bootloader has been unlocked and if so, how often do they?

# Answer
> 1 votes
Impossible to predict what their techs would do. Theoretically they certainly *can* deny repair service on bootloader-unlocked phones, since it clearly says that you are voiding your warranty when unlocking the device:

> Important information
> Please note that you may **void the warranty of your phone and/or any warranty from your operator** if you unlock the boot loader. Sony Ericsson can then no longer guarantee the full functionality of your phone, and will not be responsible for any unsigned custom software being flashed to the phone after the boot loader is unlocked. ...

However, unlike the carriers (who 100% always check the bootloader status,) manufacturers have been known to turn a blind eye on this from time to time. For example, I've sent my Atrix 4G to Motorola for repairs twice after unlocking its bootloader. Both times their techs repaired the device, and even re-locked the bootloader for me. HTC is also known to be lenient towards repairing unlocked handsets.

You can always try calling Sony's support department and anonymously ask where they stand on repairs for bootloader-unlocked handsets. You may not like their answer though.

---
Tags: bootloader-lock, warranty, sony-ericsson-xperia-neo
---


# Question
Title: What are com.sonyericsson.usbux and com.sonyericsson.capabilities?
This list tells me that I should not remove them, but what do they do?

# Answer
According to this post, `com.sonyericsson.usbux` is `enhancedusbux.apk` app, which handles USB support.

`com.sonyericsson.capabilities` belongs to `DefaultCapabilities.apk` app, but I haven't been able to find anything about its functionality, other than a cryptic "hardware capabilities" description.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: sony-ericsson-xperia-neo
---


# Question
Title: cloud bookmarking app or method working with del.ic.ious/gmarks?
There are a lot apps claiming to work with delicious (was recently taken over by AVOS company) on the market. But syncing always fails, I cannot even download the links. Most apps were updated lastly before the AVOS transfer.

Anyone here knowing a working delicious/gmarks app or other apps or browser addons making sending a link directly to delicious/gmarks site possible?

# Answer
> 3 votes
There's an add-on for Dolphin Browser HD which can sync with Google Bookmarks: Bookmarks to SD.

GoMarks for Google Bookmarks is also in Play Store.

Do try Xmarks too if you need cloud bookmark sync (not limited to Delicious, Gmarks). It has an Android app as well as Dolphin add-on too. But, its not free on Android.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Mobile Firefox includes support for Firefox Sync, which not only keeps your bookmarks in sync between your mobile device and your desktop Firefox(es), but also supports opening tabs you currently have open in your desktop browsers.

I know this isn't exactly what you were asking for (Del.icio.us/GMarks sync), but it works perfectly and makes any other bookmark syncing site obsolete for me.

# Answer
> 1 votes
If your phone supports it, you could upgrade to ICS. The stock browser and (presumably) Chrome beta support syncing to Google.

---
Tags: bookmarks, cloud
---


title: LED wont turn off

text:
# Question
Title: LED wont turn off
After receiving a message the LED was blinking for notification. After reading the message, the LED shines in dark blue and wont go into previous state, i.e. turn itself off. I tried to restart the phone, remove battery, but nothing helps.

Please, how can I make the LED not to light?

(Galaxy Nexus, 4.0.2)

# Answer
> 1 votes
Try starting it in Safe Mode and see if the LED still acts up.. Link - http://www.myvusers.com/forums/samsung-galaxy-nexus/10880-safe-mode-galaxy-nexus-samsung.html

---
Tags: notifications, notification-led
---


title: How Can I Record Text-To-Speech Output

text:
# Question
Title: How Can I Record Text-To-Speech Output
Android has a Text-To-Speech engine called **PicoTTS**.

Is there any way to have it read a file and **save the output to an audio file** (instead of routing the audio to the headset or speakers) without programming a custom app myself?

---

**UPDATE:** The OS has a synthesizeToFile() method ... I'm just looking for an app that uses it instead of developing one on my own.

# Answer
Make sure your default Text-to-Speech engine is PicoTTS (from settings). Install and start a sound recording app (there are many in Play Store). Send it to background and use Speaking Pad.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: text-to-speech
---


# Question
Title: Installing official Google Marketplace on a chinese Asus Eee Pad Transformer 101
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> How can I install the Google Apps Package (Play Store, …) on my Android device?

I'm currently living in China, so I bought my Asus Eee Pad Transformer 101 here.

For some reason it does not come with the official Google Marketplace application but with some other application that only supports chinese as a UI language and uses some other "less official" market place.

I did find the Market App from google and installed it.

However when I start it it tells me

> You must add an account to the device to continue. Do you want to add one now?

If I click Yes, I'm simply redirected to the home screen (the app remains open in the background)

Does anybody know of a way to set this up? Because the only thing was able to add to the device was my gmail account for e-mail.

Thnx.

# Answer
Apparently there is no way to do it.

There are some alternative market places that can be used, but they don't solve the fact that tablets with the chinese firmware are rendered useless because there's no Google account support.

So the only thing you can do really is install this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1245892

Works like a charm :)

Oh and for the Prime, Asus officially supports it.
> 2 votes

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


# Question
Title: Is it possible to change the background automatically when charging battery?
This is a feature of older nokias, I would like to have it on android! On a related note, it would be nice to have a different background when silenced or on airplane mode.

# Answer
Yes, using Tasker.

See "Set Wallpaper" action and "Power" state. It even looks like it'd be rather easy to configure that event.

For your related notes, also see "Airplane Mode" state and %SILENT variable.
> 12 votes

# Answer
I found two live wallpaper apps for you:
> 0 votes

# Answer
You should also check out Battery Fun!
> 0 votes

---
Tags: battery, charging, customization
---


# Question
Title: How to detect that an app is linked to Play Store or not?
Previously, Android Market didn't show `Uninstall` button for apps which aren't installed using it. So, this button was a nice identifier of linking status. Now, Play Store displays the button for every app.

Problem starts here: Titanium Backup started to show some of my purchased apps as unlinked from Play Store. It was unexpected.. Something had broke it. I could re-link apps using Titanium Backup, but I needed confirmation to avoid more problems. Well, I checked it using other apps like App Manager of ROM Toolbox Pro. Interestingly, all such backup apps are displaying different linking status. So, I am screwed up.

I want to discover linking status without any help of third-party apps.

# Answer
> 7 votes
Go to https://play.google.com/store/account, with a regular desktop. Then click on the tab 'orders', you shall find there all the apps you downloaded via Google Play.

After clicking `Install` or `Installed` button, you'll get pop-up having device list. If app is already installed in a device with linked status, device would be inactive to send install signal. It can be used as identifier.

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


# Question
Title: Bluetooth audio streaming issues with Droid X
When I stream audio from my Droid X via bluetooth, the playback is very stuttered. The audio skips approximately every 30 seconds to a minute. Each skip lasts about 0.5 to 1 seconds.

This is the case for every app that I've tried so far (Pandora, Stitcher, Google Music). Whether I'm listening to talk or music doesn't seem to make a difference, and in all cases, playback works flawlessly over the phone's speaker.

The bluetooth device I'm using is my car's Ford SYNC. My wife's iPhone 4 streams brilliantly, so I don't think it's the car.

Does anyone know of any workarounds or fixes for this problem?

# Answer
> 0 votes
I solved this by turning off Wifi on my phone. Not sure why having Wifi turned on would be a problem, but I don't get any skipping when Wifi is off.

---
Tags: bluetooth, audio, motorola-droid-x, streaming
---


title: What is Plain Vanilla Android?

text:
# Question
Title: What is Plain Vanilla Android?
I have an HTC Desire (which I enjoy a lot). However, HTC hasnt updated the device to ICS (they say they will update this year, no specific date).

Can I get a plain android version from Google and install it? What is the difference between the Google Android and the HTC (or other brand) Android?

# Answer
Technically, yes, you can build the "plain version" of Android: http://source.android.com/source/initializing.html

However, it is difficult to do this for all but a handful of devices (official "Google" developer devices, such as the Nexus line of phones) because every Android phone requires its own drivers and these are not freely available.

This is where projects like CyanogenMod step in: they take the vanilla build of Android, add a few minor features to it, and then try to release it for as many devices as possible. Typically way before any manufacturer gets around to updating the phones (if ever). CyanogenMod 9 is the ICS version of Android, and is tba.

In short, the difference between HTC and Google is that HTC takes the vanilla Android version and then "skins" it with HTC Sense. This is one of the many reasons there is a bit of a delay between when Google release a new version of Android (for example, ICS) and when the manufacturers get around to doing it, because they have to fix their changes/skin to the new version of Android.
> 9 votes

# Answer
First of all HTC will not be releasing ICS for HTC Desire.

You can get plain vanilla Android experience, i.e. Android built for HTC desire using ICS source from here. This ROM is built directly using the code from Google. But Google isn't building it. Awesome guy by the name Sandvold is building it. Please note that this is only a beta version and USB tethering, video and panorama aren't working yet.

I've been using this ROM from past few months and its awesome. Its fast and smooth.

In case you want to follow the development, the development thread is here.

As noted by @Brian, you need to root your phone before you can install this.
> 2 votes

# Answer
No you can't.. Google creates the "plain android version" or vanilla, specifically to work with only a couple of phones (Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus), for the other phones the manufacturer has to customize the Operating System to work with their hardware, and the Carrier (AT&T etc) usually has to pay the manufacturer for that OS version and at the same time asking to have their bloatware put in as well.

Your best bet is to buy the most popular phone or the Nexus line of phones.

For your current phone you should check out http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=628 and see if someone has ported over ICS in a custom rom, you'll need to root your phone, but it's worth it :)
> 1 votes

---
Tags: 4.0-ice-cream-sandwich, htc-desire, vanilla-android
---


# Question
Title: Will a stylus work with my HTC Sensation?
I'm interested in buying a stylus pen for my HTC Sensation.

Do these work on the HTC Sensation?

# Answer
> 5 votes
The HTC Sensation uses a capacitive touchscreen, so any standard capacitive stylus will work for touch-based input. Simply be sure you don't purchase a stylus designed for a resistive touchscreen.

---
Tags: stylus, htc-sensation
---


# Question
Title: How can Google Maps accurately locate my phone when GPS is disabled?
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> How does Google Maps estimate my location without GPS?

I was wondering how Google Maps on my Android phone can locate me with a good accuracy when my GPS is disabled.

At first I though it was with the cell tower but I'm not sure it can achieve this precision and it is way better when the wireless is enabled.

Experiment that i did.

1. If GPS is OFF and Wifi is ON = Perfect location
2. If Wifi is ON GPS OFF = Still Perfect location
3. If Wifi is OFF and GPS is ON = location is not precise.

Tested this with 5 -6 Phones

Any Idea why ?

# Answer
Google have a huge database of the approximate locations of a large number of phone network cell towers and wifi access points all around the world. If your phone can "see" one (or more) known cell-tower IDs or Wifi AP SSIDs, then it can query Google's database to ask where that is and use that for your location. The cell network towers have a large range (kilometers in some cases) so that alone won't give a precise location. As Wifi is a very short range signal your phone can locate you very precisely using that, particularly if you're also picking up Wifi signals of different strengths from neighbouring houses to triangulate from.

All of the quoted sections below are from: Google Maps Help - Location-based services

> Because GPS is not always available and locations derived from cell towers aren’t very accurate, Google (and other Internet companies) use publicly broadcast Wi-Fi data from wireless access points to improve our location-based services. By using signals from these access points, your mobile device is able to fix its general location quickly without using too much power.

...

> Our Location Server uses only publicly broadcast Wi-Fi information to estimate the location of a device:
>
> The **MAC (Media Access Control) address**. This is a number that identifies computing devices – whether PCs, laptops, tablets, mobile phones, or wireless access points – interacting with a network. MAC addresses usually look like this: 00:01:02:0A:0B:0C. The number is usually fixed for the life of the device. A MAC address tells you nothing about the owner or user of the equipment concerned. It’s just a string of characters that’s technically necessary for web pages and other content to be properly delivered to your device over the Internet.

This data has been collected in two main ways: as their Google Street View car drives around it always has a precise GPS fix, at the same time it listens out for Wifi APs that broadcast their identity and records where it was when it picked them up, and does the same for phone network cell towers; in addition they "crowd-source" the data from Google Maps users on mobile devices, as the Google Maps users travel around with GPS enabled Google Maps will check which cell-towers they're connected to and which wifi points they can "see" and periodically upload this information.

> Google Maps on an Android handset is an example of a reliable channel, since we can be confident that the SSIDs and MAC addresses it sends as part of a location request haven’t been tampered with before being sent.
>
> So, for example, one way to ensure that your changed SSID is submitted to Google quickly, open Google Maps on an Android Device with WiFi enabled, and use the My Location feature to establish a location fix in the vicinity of your WiFi access point.

See also How does Android get the coarse location?
> 4 votes

# Answer
Android offers two ways (from a developer point of view) to determine your current location:

LOCATION\_COARSE Allows an application to access coarse (e.g., Cell-ID, WiFi) location

LOCATION\_FINE Allows an application to access fine (e.g., GPS) location

So to answer your first question: Yes Android can determine your location just by the cell-broadcast. Keyword here is triangulation and this depends on the density of the broadcast towers. In Berlin you get about 100 m accuracy.

As you can see, the Android documentation says "e.g.", because some phones may also have GLONASS support etc. to determine your location. You have to check your specific phone GPS chip to check what frequency it supports (L2 etc.).

So regarding your second question:

Since GPS falls into the category of LOCATION\_FINE it will be picked if available. So Android can not distinguish which position signal is better.

Indoors GPS may be worse, but will still be picked if available, because generally speaking it is a more precise signal.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: gps, google-maps, geolocation
---


# Question
Title: Are there any other launchers that display a folder's contents instead of the generic icon?
The Xperia Neo V stock launcher displays a 2x2 grid containing the first 4 apps that a folder contains instead of a simple icon. Is there any other launcher that does this or something similar?

# Answer
> 1 votes
This won't help people who are still waiting for their phone to be upgraded, but the stock Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4) launcher has something similar built in - it shows a cascaded view of the first three icons in the folder.

# Answer
> 1 votes
ADWLauncher EX has this feature as well. It can display either a generic folder icon or a circle with the apps within it much like stock Ice Cream Sandwich.

To change from Folder Icons to the Preview Icons:

1. Go to your home screen
2. Hit the Menu Key
3. Go to `ADWSettings`
4. Go to `UI Settings`
5. Go to `Folders`
6. Make sure `Show Contents` is checked

---
Tags: launcher, home-screen-folders
---


# Question
Title: Why have some of my apps started coming up as tiny shrunken windows
Sometime in the last week a few of the apps installed on my Galaxy Nexus are coming up as tiny shrunken windows that are completely unusable. Here's an example:

Very boring picture, the point being that the little white rectangle halfway down the left side is the rendition of the application that should be taking up the whole screen! I can click on the little detail that is visible there and the little white rectangle changes a bit. It seems the application is running but it is obviously unreadable and unusable. And it doesn't respond to resizing gestures. Tapping on the options button brings up a bar at the bottom of the screen with tiny unreadable icons.

FWIW, the apps that are doing this are zipcar (the one I first noticed; perhaps the installation of that app caused the problem?), a banking app and Ibird Pro. Both the banking app and the bird program worked fine in the past.

I'd be delighted to hear from anyone who has seen this, or better still know what caused it and how to fix it!

# Answer
Let me guess... you turned on GPU Rendering in the developer options? Some apps that don't properly support it will do that. Try turning that off.

Also, on an unrelated note: you can take screenshots by holding power and volume down.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: applications, samsung-galaxy-nexus
---


# Question
Title: What happens in background when an app is linked or unlinked to/from Play Store?
If you are rooted, you can use `Titanium Backup` to link or unlink an app to/from Play Store. What does `Titanium Backup` do for it? I don't think Android API supports this directly. It alters a file or database or something else?
I am just curious...

# Answer
It removes the app's entry from the `/data/data/com.android.vending/databases/localappstate.db` database:

```
root@android:/data/data/com.android.vending/databases # ls
library.db
library.db-journal
localappstate.db
market_assets.db-journal
suggestions.db
suggestions.db-journal
appstate.db
root@android:/data/data/com.android.vending/databases # sqlite3 localappstate.db
SQLite version 3.7.4
Enter ".help" for instructions
Enter SQL statements terminated with a ";"
sqlite> select * from appstate where package_name='com.android.chrome';
com.android.chrome|2||||0|||<myemail>@gmail.com||

... Here I detached from the Market with Ti ...

sqlite> select * from appstate where package_name='com.android.chrome';
sqlite>

```

I'm not aware of it making any other modifications to the filesystem (it doesn't touch `library.db` insofar as I can tell), but it's possible that there's some other magic behind it.
> 5 votes

---
Tags: google-play-store, titanium-backup, app-market-link
---


title: How can I view a PDF in 2-up?

text:
# Question
Title: How can I view a PDF in 2-up?
Is there a way to view PDFs on Android that lets you show 2-up like a regular book? - or like the 2-up option on desktop Acrobat Reader (with first page as cover)?

# Answer
It looks like EBookDroid has this functionality.

The PDF reader in Documents To Go looks like it might, too.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: pdf
---


# Question
Title: How long does a posted review last on the Android store?
I have given reviews before and then came back some time later and noticed they were gone.

What is the duration that the android store displays my reviews?

Thanks!

# Answer
If you try to leave a review again from the same account, does it let you? Does it show the previous review, or act like nothing has been input before?

Reviews shouldn't age off (unless they're removed for profanity or other reasons), but some developers have noted that ratings suddenly disappeared from their app. Maybe it was a one-time bug.
> 2 votes

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


title: Android 4.0 ICS in Samsung galaxy R

text:
# Question
Title: Android 4.0 ICS in Samsung galaxy R
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> Where can I find stock or custom ROMs for my Android device?

I want to install Android 4.0 in samsung galaxy R. However i have installed ClockWork in my phone by following this link. But i haven't find any ICS ROM for samsung galaxy R phone. I have also remarked that the reference i have found to install ICS is all for Samsung galaxy s2, and i have also downloaded the ROM named ALPHA7.zip of Sam. Galx. S2 . If i will install that rom in my sam. galaxy R phone then will it be cause the problem? If yes then please give me a good reference from which i can install ICS in my sam. galx. R phone and also downloadable link of ICS ROM for sam. galaxy R.

Thanks in advance.

# Answer
You can look for a Galaxy R custom ROM on xda-developers section of your device. (Link)

**Do not flash the Galaxy S II ROMs on your Galaxy R, or you may end up with a unusable device.**

From a quick glance I had on your device's section, it seems that it doesn't have a ICS/CM9 port yet, but that may change.

Currently only CM7 is being ported. Though since your device is lined up for Official ICS update, my advice would be to wait for it. See more here - xda-developers Galaxy R Guide
> 3 votes

---
Tags: 4.0-ice-cream-sandwich, rom, rom-flashing
---


title: Help getting Arabic on Android

text:
# Question
Title: Help getting Arabic on Android
My Friend is going to sell his Nexus S because it does not natively support Arabic.
I have found several websites that claim to have a solution to this issue.
http://ardoid.com/ Seems to be the easiest solution to implement.

Has anyone tried this or any other solution?
Do the characters run together like how Arabic is written and not the single characters?
Will the menues change to Arabic?
Can he store contact names in Arabic?
What arabic does it use?
Will the push updates work?
Will the spell checker work?

# Answer
I'm Persian and also have Nexus-S. You can upgrade your ROM to Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4).

This version of android has Arabic in it's localization and has all you want. If your provider support oem upgrade you can simply upgrade it by phone **OR** you can flash the latest Cyanogenmod ROM to your phone and have fun with your mobile.

You can always download latest Cyanogenmod Naghtly from HERE
> 1 votes

# Answer
upgrading to ICS (android v4.0) will fix your problem, I would suggest that you wait for the Official ICS Rom (the official update published by Samsung) according to engadget it will be coming very soon.

However, if you do not want to wait and want to install a Custom Rom you can have a look at XDA-Developers they have several roms that you can install on your device.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: languages, localization
---


# Question
Title: How to stop display turn on and consuming battery power, when using Headphones remote control or volume button?
I don't know if this depends on the music player (I'm using mort player music) or standby screen (I have widgetlocker app as lockscreen), I don't see any options in these apps to change this. In Android 2.3.4 (rooted) I have set turn off Display after 30 sec.

When I jump to next/forward song via remote control button of my headset, every time the display turns on for 30 sec. For the volume buttons the same.

Is there a way to stop this behaviour and save battery power. E.g. only turn on screen when pushing HOME or POWER button when in standby? Any apps like *tasker* able to manage this?

# Answer
I believe it depends upon the music player app. Have you tried using another music player?

In my case, I didn't encounter this issue. I have used Samsung Galaxy 3 with several music players including stock player and also with a Bluetooth headset.

I think the app itself is the cause for this, which is causing screen wake-up on next/previous, and in my opinion is a poor implementation.

I don't know of any apps which allow to change the screen on behavior like this. It may be available in Cyanogen-mod perhaps.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: lock-screens, battery-life, buttons, remote-control, standby
---


title: Sync only one contact group

text:
# Question
Title: Sync only one contact group
I am using Samsung Galaxy ACE with Android 2.3. Since I have too many email contacts in google I do not want to sync everything to my phone and consume the precious phone memory. Also syncing so many contacts will make them slow, tough I would not even ever call them

# Answer
You can manage **My Contacts** (it's a system group, it should be there by default, you can create a new one also) in your **GMail contacts**, and then select those only you want to sync with phone, move everything else to other Groups.

When you will add the Google account to your device, go to contacts and select display options, and choose the My Contacts group only. (or whatever you created)

This will limit the contacts appearing in the contacts list.
> 6 votes

---
Tags: contacts, sync
---


# Question
Title: Is it possible to upgrade, without rooting, to a version not specifically released for the device?
I have inherited an Android mobile and would like to upgrade it to the latest version of Android. Having come across posts such as is it possible to upgrade the android OS on all phones?, it appears I won't be able to. However, I am unsure what the definition of carrier is especially if the phone has been imported from overseas. Is there a way I could upgrade without jailbreaking the mobile phone? My question is applicable to all mobile phones running Android.

# Answer
Most phones can't upgrade (officially) without a signed firmware package designed to upgrade from the existing version of Android that's already on the phone. In those cases, you can't upgrade without rooting and/or unlocking your bootloader and/or flashing a custom recovery, which all void your warranty.

Some phones may not be as limited; for example, the original software on the original Galaxy S devices allowed unsigned updates to be flashed without needing to unlock the device. Theoretically you could try to flash a firmware package from a different region; it's hard to say how that would affect your warranty (and besides, that's really off-topic here :P). You could also of course flash a custom ROM with a newer version of Android, which again will void your warranty just like rooting.
> 4 votes

---
Tags: updates
---


title: How to play hyperlink to mp3 on Android

text:
# Question
Title: How to play hyperlink to mp3 on Android
When I lick on a link to a mp3 file on in web page on my Android phone. It starts playing it on Google music player, but as soon as I hit home button or back button it stops playing. I know why it is behaving such a way (Activity that is playing the audio file is destroyed when back button is hit or paused when home button is pressed). Problem is I'm not able to figure out a way to work around this limitation.

One thing that I can do is copy and paste a link in a player that accepts hyperlink as input. Unfortunately Google music player does not.

Has any onw figured out a work around for this?

# Answer
> 2 votes
I use MixZing music player. I have set it as default player for music and when I click a mp3 file link in browser, it opens the file in MixZing by default and streaming works well. It plays the mp3 file in background when you press the back button.

This is an alternate solution. I don't thing it is possible to play the mp3 links in background in Android's default music player.

# Answer
> 1 votes
I've run into the same issue. I usually long-press on the link and choose `Save Link` to save the mp3 file to my phone, then I just play it in my media app of choice.

---
Tags: audio, music-player
---


title: Android USB data/power over audio jack

text:
# Question
Title: Android USB data/power over audio jack
Is it possible to connect my Android (Droid 2 Global) to my PC using an USB-\>Audio converter?

* Square is able to interface with their device over the audio jack on Android.
* iPod shuffles are accessible through their audio jack as well.

So, I feel that this is *possible*, but is it implemented/what is required to interact with my Android phone through it's audio jack?

# Answer
> 2 votes
A software modem (modulator-demodulator). We nowadays think of modem as the squeaky card that were used in the days of dial up to connect to the internet, but a modem is simply just a device used to convert digital signal to analog sound signal and back again. The hardware in the receiving end also had to implement a modem with the same protocol.

Needless to say this will probably be a very slow connection, and implementing such modem will involve a lot of programming and so is out of topic for Android SE.

The audio jack carried very little power, it may be possible to use it to power very simple devices like Square and the like, but in general it's too small for general purpose use.

However I doubt that Square actually had a full modem stack for general purpose data transfer, they probably just implemented a custom protocol that are specifically geared for their particular use case. And so is the Shuffle.

---
Tags: usb, audio, data-connection, usb-connection-mode, usb-peripherals
---


# Question
Title: Is it possible to move the status / notification bar or the settings icon?
If I'm using my Smartphone with one Hand (4.3 inch display) its hard to reach the settings button in Android 4. Yes, I'm able to add an icon to the home screen but if I'm using an app this doesn't really help. I need to switch between the screens first.

My idea would be something of the following:

A) moving the status / notification bar to the bottom (lift up instead of lift down)

B) moving the settings icon to the left side of the bar

C) moving the settings icon on the bottom of the notification list

Is there an app available doing this?

# Answer
As far as I know, there is **No app currently available** to do this. You can try CyanogenMod for your device for various customization options.

I have seen options to move status bar to bottom on CyanogenMod 7.2 (Android 2.3.7 GB) port of my device (Samsung Galaxy 3). So it's certainly possible easily on custom ROMs.
> 3 votes

---
Tags: notification-icons
---


title: Call from Skype with front speaker

text:
# Question
Title: Call from Skype with front speaker
My phone has two speakers, one in front that is used during normal call, and one in the back (the "loudspeaker") that is used to play music and in hands-free mode. When I'm using Skype for Android, it uses the loud speaker. This is very uncomfortable if I want to make Skype call in public place. I could use headphones and mic, but I don't always have them with me.

Is there a way to call on Skype just like normal voice call, with the front speaker?

Eventually, any other app would be good, that can make calls to PC using any of major protocols (Skype, GTalk, MSN), and that uses front speaker.

# Answer
I believe you **should be able to switch between Loudspeaker and Earpiece like this in the screenshot at the bottom** while in a call. On my Samsung Galaxy 3 running a custom 4.0.3 ROM, it's working fine.

But after searching on Skype Forums I found this - Speaker only on Android device

Looks like a lot of people are having the same issue from initial releases of Skype for Android. Devices and OS are different in each case, so there really is no solution for users other than to wait for a fix from Skype.

You should perhaps look for alternative apps like these-

1. Fring (Fring Google Play)
2. SIP (SIP for Android)
3. GTalk for Android app. (Supports Video/VoIP from Android 2.3 onwards). See here - xda-develoeprs GTalk w/Video & Voice for 2.3.3 roms
> 5 votes

---
Tags: audio, skype
---


title: How do I disable the stock Gallery app?

text:
# Question
Title: How do I disable the stock Gallery app?
I just downloaded QuickPic and so far it's all good and fast. It has more features than the stock Gallery including the ability to include / exclude certain folders from view. For this reason, I don't need/want the stock Gallery app to still be open-able. Is there a way to hide it from the list of applications from the grid of icons? I want QuickPic to catch all tasks that Gallery does and at the same time I want to prevent others (namely, friends who borrow my phone from time to time) from opening the Gallery app.

Note: My phone (Xperia Active) is not rooted and I believe rooting it will void my 1 year warranty with Sony.

# Answer
> 4 votes
You can use an alternative launcher like Launcher Pro / ADW / Go Launcher etc. All of these have options for hiding apps from the app drawer.

Unfortunately, the Gallery app will still appear in SHARE and SEND TO menus in various apps. No way around that. If you would rather certain folders remain invisible to the Gallery app, place a blank file named `.nomedia` in the folder to keep it from being displayed in the Gallery. Unsure if Quickpic will also have same functionality.

# Answer
> 4 votes
Stock Gallery is a system app which can't be disabled if you are not rooted. Titanium Backup Pro can freeze it, but only if it gets root access.

Rooting will violate your warranty, but you can always get your warranty back after un-rooting device. There's no way for anyone to catch you after that. In case, you are unable to find an un-rooting method, you can flash original firmware. Its the ultimate solution.
So, you can go ahead to root your device.

---
Tags: 2.3-gingerbread, stock-android, gallery, default-applications, sony-xperia-active
---


# Question
Title: An app that can give a clear overview of what exactly is eating up my phone space?
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> What can I do to manage my phone's internal storage?

I'm curious to know how my 2GB memory card could fill up so quickly as well as my internal phone memory. I already cleared up all SMS, taken pictures, taken videos that I can find. But it only changed to mere megabytes of space. I have the Xperia Active and I'm using the Sony Bridge for Mac. From there, it only says that the rest of the space is being occupied by "Others". No specific definition about what those might be.

On Windows, I use an app like http://windirstat.info/ to give myself an easily understandable overview of what's taking up the biggest space, etc. It would be appreciated if there's something like that for the Android or even just a simpler solution.

I just want to look at more detailed statistics as opposed to the one the Sony Bridge is giving me (see below).

https://i.stack.imgur.com/T46FY.png

# Answer
Use Disk Usage app. It draws nice graphical diagram with directories and files proportional to their size (similar to WinDir Stat).
> 3 votes

---
Tags: storage, sony-xperia-active
---


# Question
Title: Quick capture of www URLs to local LIFO stack of hyperlinks?
I often come across interesting websites while looking for something else, and I want to be able to quickly "push" (i.e. capture) their URLs onto a consolidated *stack* of clickable links, in ***LIFO*** order, for review at a later time. (It would be great if it were easy to "pop" links from this stack, but this is gravy.)

My current method for capturing URLs is awfully inconvenient: I choose my browser's "share" option, and email the URL to myself. This is not only slow and cumbersome, but the captured URLs get spread over a bazillion separate email messages.

In fact, the absence of a consolidated "dumping site" for these captured URLs is the weakness of every info capture app I've tried so far: quick capture always results in one link per "node" (or email message, or "note", or whatever) in a way that makes it difficult to review the current LIFO stack of URLs. With some of them it *may* be possible to simulate the "LIFO stack" effect, but this is invariably at the expense of speed and ease of capture.

Another feature of many of these apps that I found highly undesirable is that they stored the information remotely. I *definitely* want to keep this information ***exclusively local***, i.e. in my phone. I ***don't*** want to find myself in the near future bumping into a "free storage limit" at some remote site (as with, e.g. Evernote).

Does anyone know an app that meets these criteria?

# Answer
I just stumbled upon Pocket -formerly Read It Later. Might be worth a try.
> 5 votes

# Answer
Install Clipper and start copying your URLs in clipboard.

It creates LIFO stack from clipboard and is exclusively local. To revisit URLs, bring this lightweight app from status bar.. tap URL to copy and paste in address bar. Done!

Free version of Clipper limits user to 20 items in stack. If you don't want to purchase its pro version, you can use aNdClip. But, you may face problems in keeping LIFO structure after copying an URL from stack.
> 3 votes

# Answer
Another way to more literally do what you're asking is to get a browser that supports tabs (for example, Google Chrome for Android, Dolphin Browser, or even the built in one) and open a new tab for each interesting link. Then you'll literaly have the stack you're looking for. The cool thing about Google Chrome is that this stack will be persistant across reboots and accessible across devices.

Anyways, hope this helps.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: bookmarks
---


# Question
Title: Which downloadable launchers are based on the ICS stock launcher?
After upgrading to ICS, I'd like to use either the stock ICS launcher or an improved version based on it. What are my options?

# Answer
As far as I know, you must install all of these to `/system` (which requires root) in order to have widgets appear in the app drawer, and Trebuchet doesn't support being installed to `/data` at all.
> 2 votes

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


# Question
Title: How can I use a Bluetooth keyboard with my Android 4.0 phone?
My phone recently received an upgrade to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) over the air and want to connect a Bluetooth keyboard to it.

My phone is a Samsung Nexus S 4G (Sprint) and the keyboard is a Logitech Bluetooth Keyboard for Android 3.0+. I had tried to connect the keyboard earlier, while running Android 2.3.x, with little success. What information I could find at the time suggested that Android lacked a Bluetooth keyboard "driver" prior to Honeycomb, so I was enthusiastic about the upgrade to ICS.

Sadly, however, doing what's obvious isn't working for me:

1. Enable Bluetooth in my phone settings.
2. Turn on the keyboard.
3. *(Keyboard appears in list of Bluetooth devices on phone.)*
4. Select keyboard from list of devices.
5. *(Prompt with PIN appears on phone.)*
6. Enter PIN on keyboard.
7. *(Keyboard shows on the phone as paired.)*

At this point, however, no further settings present themselves. The configuration for the keyboard only allows renaming and unpairing. The keyboard doesn't appear in the Keyboards and Input settings at all. Nor, of course, does simply typing on the keyboard cause input to appear on my phone.

Can this combination of hardware be made to work? How can I proceed?

# Answer
> 3 votes
Do you have any custom keyboards installed? I've found that when I pair the external Bluetooth keyboard (tried two models) the phone errors and reports you must change back to the standard Samsung IME keyboard before the it will type. You can manually change the input method with the hot key inside any writing app, but the message will reappear and convert the keyboard back to Samsung IME.

---
Tags: 4.0-ice-cream-sandwich, bluetooth, keyboard
---


# Question
Title: Strange .txt file that has the names of different presidents inside the android system folder
Browsing the systems files of my LG P350 I discovered a strange file inside what seems to be the XT9 files: there's a txt file called **heads\_of\_state.txt**, which contents are the following:

```
Hamid
Karzai
Bamir
Topi
Sali
Berisha
Abdelaziz
Bouteflika
Ahmed
Ouyahia
Andorra
Joan
Enric
Vives
Sicília
Nemesi
Marquès
Oste
Nicolas
Sarkozy
Christian
Frémont
Albert
Pintat
Jaume
Bartumeu
José
Eduardo
dos
Santos
Paulo
...

```

The list continues and I can spot a few presidents names. It's located in **system/usr/xt9/databases/mdb/**

What does this means?? Why the file is there? **What it is porpuose?**

For the curious, here's the full list: http://pastebin.com/V8hHYZmz

(I'm using the V10F firwmare, rooted with Gingerbread)

# Answer
> 1 votes
I found a related github repo but don't know if its official or from some ROM developer. From the source the file heads\_of\_state.txt is listed under **IME** but has been removed in the latest commit (the only other commit). The commit message is "*Deleted uneeded LG's Calibration apk*". I can't conclude anything from this but maybe this will be helpful.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Just found this strange python script that is included in the XT9. Note that it uses the 'heads\_of\_state.txt' file as input for something. Seems like a sorting script or something.

# Answer
> 0 votes
i searched the internet for it, and the file seems is for developers testing purpose, this file can be found in other platforms either. i found it in: Python Android PHP

---

seems like `foo bar` case

---
Tags: dictionary
---


# Question
Title: Backup on . android_secure - Missing Apps on MicroSD
I Have been Backup and Formatted my MicroSD. After then I Copy again my backup files, But - Apps on MicroSD is Disappear, I check on Application Manager its Still There but not show in menu drawer.

As I read related Question on Upgrade SD Card, I Tried to copy all files with command prompt/by windows. But I confuse how I backup on .android\_secure that have all asec apps on micro sd. I copy via card reader/usb. its fine, when media scanning running, i check on that folder again an all asec is missing. anybody knew the alternative method on this problems.?

I Use Galaxy Ace on Gingerbread (2.3.3) with Class 10 8GB MicroSD.

Thanks lot. :D

# Answer
MicroSD is generally hot swappable (unlike SIM card), but this thing screws things up.

First, turn off the device. Remove old MicroSD. Clone it including `.android_secure`. Insert new MicroSD while device is off. Then, boot the device.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: 2.3-gingerbread, backup, external-sd
---


# Question
Title: Samsung Galaxy S2 Wifi Hotspot Toggle Widget
I have upgraded to ICS on an i9100, from GB. Both of these provide wifi tethering by default. Under GB many of the widgets available could toggle the wifi tethering on and off - a simple switch.

These toggle widgets do not work under ICS on this device - either they do not work and error, or they open the settings / Tethering and Portable Hotpot page rather than directly switching the status.

If I look at the shortcuts available in Settings, this is as deep as it goes - even with AnyCut or llama intents. Does this mean it simply isn't possible to get a wifi tethering toggle any more, or is it possible there is an unadvertised intent that will trigger it?

# Answer
I believe this should work - Widgetsoid2.x on Google Play

(I have verified that this allows you to create a toggle widget on ICS which does not go into settings app and does it work directly. Although since Wi-Fi Hotspot is not working on my custom ROM of ICS yet, I can't verify the actual working.)
> 5 votes

---
Tags: 4.0-ice-cream-sandwich, app-widgets, wifi-hotspot, samsung-touchwiz
---


title: install certificates

text:
# Question
Title: install certificates
I received a .crt certificate to install on my new galaxy tab 10.1. How do I install it?

I see that I can "install from USB storage" but couldn't figure out where this storage is.

# Answer
From http://sknetlog.blogspot.com/2011/03/digital-certificate-installation-on.html

1. Save your .p12 or .cer certificate to external SD card in root directoy.
2. Navigate "Home" --\> "Applications" --\> "Settings"
3. Select "Location and Security"
4. Under "Credential storage" have the first item "Use secure credentials" selected / checked
5. Select "Install encrypted certificates from SD card" and it would pop up the name of the certificate file found in the SD card 6 . Provide the certificate import password if any.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: certificates
---


# Question
Title: Stop Bluetooth Auto Sync Contacts to Pioneer Avic Z140
Am running Cm7.1. I have about 2,000 contacts. My Nexus One and Pioneer headunit insist on exchanging all 2,000 contacts if my Android Contacts "Display Options" are set to "My Contacts." Problem is that this really makes Voice Recognition unusable (too many contacts to parse).

To get around this, I created a "Car" label in Gmail for the 21 contacts I want. If I change the "Display Options" to just "Car," only the 21 contacts are synced and VR works great. Problem is that when not in the car, I would like "My Contacts" to visible on my phone.

I would like to sync only the "Car" label, or only sync manually. I can't figure out a way to control this.

# Answer
The filtered contacts list solves this problem, but unfortunately if you are like me you are constantly needing to look at the larger list of contacts and you will not remember to turn the filter back on afterwards. So when you get back into the car, it will start sending the whole list again. I just found a workaround.

There are a ton of alternative contact apps in the marketplace that will sync to your gmail contacts. I installed GO Contacts EX https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jbapps.contactpro&feature=search\_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDEsImNvbS5qYmFwcHMuY29udGFjdHBybyJd

It appears that the bluetooth address book is only controlled by the stock contacts app, which I've left filtered. I banished the stock app from my home screen/launcher. All good now.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: sync, bluetooth
---


title: contacts storage on android 2.3.5

text:
# Question
Title: contacts storage on android 2.3.5
Is there a way to have access to the file/s that list the contact details on an Android 2.3.5 phone? My contacts storage is growing up to many MBs, and I would like to be able to delete some of these contacts from the stored files with a scripted solution.

# Answer
I'd recommend you to use GUI of `Contacts` app for clearing contacts, but if you are really interested in it, this is the database used to store contact details: `/data/data/com.android.providers.contacts/databases/contacts2.db`. To alter anything inside it, you need root access and proper SQL queries.

The location of database may vary depending on device..
> 4 votes

---
Tags: 2.3-gingerbread, contacts
---


# Question
Title: Got mail from Google: Google Mobile Maps Location Reporting Reminder. How to I stop location reporting?
I just got the following mail:

> Google Mobile Maps Location Reporting Reminder To protect your privacy we would like you to know that Google Mobile Maps is running on your mobile device and reporting your location. This is just a privacy reminder - if you did not enable this or want to stop reporting your location, disable location reporting in Google Mobile Maps location settings. Thanks, Google Mobile Maps Team

And I also got a broken link to how to stop that. So my question is, how do I stop that? Searching google wasn't really helpful.

# Answer
Open Google Maps on Android and select Latitude to disable Latitude. :-)
> 7 votes

# Answer
If you prefer to use a desktop client, go to Google Latitude and hit the gear icon to go into "History settings". There you can disable keeping of your location history. To delete past data, you'll need to go to History management, where there's an option to "Delete all history". (There's a link from the "History settings" page.)

Note: They say:

> Your history will not be visible publicly or to your Latitude friends.
> 0 votes

# Answer
Disable location Caching on Android- These devices are provided with an opt-in feature for tracking one’s location. This option may or may not enabled and one can decide it when one’s phone is being set up for use. If one wants to disable the tracking then Go to Settings menu\>\>\> location and security\>\>\> uncheck use wireless networks. With this, Google would not be in a position to either collect the information about one’s location or it stores the same in the phone but the app of Maps helps it to grab the info but it cannot be rendered accurate. However if one wants to erase all the previously stored cached locations then rooting of the device must be done(that means one can run more apps like backup,tethering, a flash custom’s ROM etc.,) After installing the free ‘cache location app‘,one can get a view of a map filled with tracked locations, clear them finally by disabling the cache with one tap.
> -4 votes

---
Tags: geolocation, google-latitude
---


# Question
Title: How to exit from an application which doesn’t exit on press back button?
I am using Maverick application for GPS navigation. In previous versions the `back` button caused to quit the application. (Which is also correct behavior according to question: What is the right way to close apps in Android?)
Currently I have **Maverick 1.94** Lite. When I press the `back` button, Maverick only hides to background. (The same as if I pressed `home` button). I don't see anywhere in menu an option to exit.
I wish to avoid task killers, or switching of my phone in order to quit Maverick.

How do I **exit** from Maverick?

My phone is SK17i aka Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini pro.

# Answer
If you go to `Settings -> Apps` and scroll to Maverick and select it there should be a 'Force stop' button. It's not really 'exiting' as such but it will definitely force the app to totally close down and stop running in the background.
> 4 votes

---
Tags: task-management, sony-xperia-mini-pro
---


# Question
Title: How long should it take to restore about 100 user apps with Titanium backup?
I recently upgraged my Galaxy S I9000 to ICS (AOKP). Before that I backed up all of my data using TB and restored it after the upgrade.

I recently upgraded to TB Pro, and was looking forward to the fast restores. To my surprise, TB took about 3 hours to restore ~100 apps. Is this normal? How long should I expect it to take?

# Answer
It takes around an hour for me with 150-200 apps, with the Voodoo lagfix and a class 4 SD card. This is under Froyo (which I wouldn't expect to matter). I'd guess that your apps/data must just be large, as eldarerathis says.
> 3 votes

---
Tags: titanium-backup
---


# Question
Title: Is there any custom ROM that includes a feature to permanently kill a process?
As is well known from many blog/forum posts, Android 2.2 (Froyo) changed the mechanism for the API to kill the process such that a killed process will likely/possibly be re-started by the OS after being killed. E.g. there is no way to PERMANENTLY 100% guaranteed to stop an application from running short of un-installing it.

**Question:** Is there any code out there (likely part of some custom ROM) that allows permanent killing of a process without re-spawning it afterwards ala Android 1.6?

I'm mostly interested if such code exists, NOT whether it is in some specific ROM.

I don't much care about specific implementation way (I can think of at least two - either add a new API for "permanent kill" or provide a blacklist of apps that a modified AOSP API would respect).

**UPDATE:** Just to clarify - I am NOT looking for a way to prevent an app from being started again due to some event triggering an Intent that the app registered with. I am asking about preventing apps from being started by memory/process manager **just because it was recently killed**, even if that app has **no Intents registered** whatsoever, e.g. not listed in Autostarts app for any of the Intent types.

Please note that the above-mentioned notion of "restarting an app just because" comes from 2 sources:

* Froyo help section for a well-regarded system app "Watchdog"

> Google has changed the kill API that the task killers use. In 2.2 (Froyo), the kill API now just restarts the app. It will come right back, under a new system process.
* My own observations, where VERY frequently, my Droid X would have apps listed as running in ATK after I killed them, BUT those apps either don't have ANY Intents listed in Autostarts app, or all the Intents listed for them there are 100% disabled. Oh, and these are the types of apps (e.g. games) that are very unlikely to have a side daemon process responsible for reviving them.

# Answer
Cyanogenmod ROMs has a feature that by LONG pressing the BACK button you can kill the running process.
> 5 votes

---
Tags: custom-roms, ram, processes
---


title: mobile phone calls on Huawei MediaPad

text:
# Question
Title: mobile phone calls on Huawei MediaPad
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> Can I receive calls of cell phone number with a tablet?

I have Huawei MediaPad tablet. I saw in it specification that it supports GSM network. But I cannot find application to make phone calls. When I inserted SIM card and called to my phone, the call was terminated without notifications or reasons.

# Answer
> 4 votes
The fact that a device supports GSM networks doesn't mean it has call capabilities. I own a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 which also has GSM capabilities but no calling. The GSM chip is just used for mobile network data and SMS services.

---
Tags: calls
---


title: How do Mobile Access Points work?

text:
# Question
Title: How do Mobile Access Points work?
I have this data plan that gives unlimited mobile browsing. It only works with the browser, so http and https. If I tried to use the Maps or Youtube app, it won't connect.

I enter the APN settings with the provided server, port (80), username, password to connect.

There's a few proxy apps like ProxyDroid that let me use Maps, Youtube, Gmail, etc. with that same data plan. I just enter those APN settings into the ProxyDroid settings.

Can someone tell me what the proxy is doing to give me access like this?

# Answer
> 4 votes
If you have an (W)LAN network connected to an ADSL modem at your home, a mobile access point is like that ADSL modem; a mobile access point (AP) translates between the protocol of the mobile network to the protocol of the wider Internet. Imagine the mobile network as a LAN, and access points are the nodes in the LAN that have direct access to the Internet, all communication between the inner network and the outer network must go through an access point.

Access points can have rules about what data can pass through it, how it works is similar to how a firewall works. At a minimum, the firewall will have rules on which ports that applications can connect to. By default, HTTP uses port 80 and HTTPS uses port 443, but any protocol can use any port number as long as both the client and the server agrees on which one to use. A more aggressive firewall will also inspect the destination of a data packet, and an even more aggressive one could inspect the actual content of the packets, as long as they aren't encrypted.

The job of a proxy is to tunnel a data transmission through a remote server; so if you configured your phone to use proxy 123.123.123.123 at port 80 or 443, the firewall will have no way of distinguishing between this and normal HTTP/HTTPS connection, especially with HTTPS proxy as the data is encrypted from the client to the proxy. The remote proxy server, which is ideally located in an unrestricted network, will then relay the data to their true destination.

The network operator can block a proxy by blacklisting their IP address and configuring their firewall to block any access to the IP address of a known proxy, but since there are 4 billion IPv4 addresses and the IP addresses used by some proxies change all the time, it is difficult if not impossible task to blacklist every proxy in existence. Anyone can also create their own proxy server using their own home connection or purchase a server that they use for proxying, this makes it impossible to filter all proxies.

Most networks that blocks only for browser connections does that to limit usage of bandwidth sucking applications, like torrents; so, as long as your proxy usage doesn't burden the network too much and you're not using it to access illegal materials, they usually wouldn't hunt you down for it.

# Answer
> 0 votes
I would gues that access point is sending you PAC - proxy auto configuration. If you ignore this you can browse freely.

---
Tags: internet, proxy, 3g
---


title: Aborting Bootloader process

text:
# Question
Title: Aborting Bootloader process
I wanted to superroot my Samsung Galaxy Nexus I9250 and then I got to the bootloader and couldn't solve my problem. The problem was that the driver installed on my computer was an unknown device and wouldn't read my phone or something (code 43).

How can i abort the **bootloader** process and just my phone get back to **factory** settings?

# Answer
If you're literally sitting at the bootloader screen, the volume buttons will scroll between boot options and the power button will select. Simply use the volume buttons until it has "Start" selected and then press the power button to select it. This will boot your device normally.

If for some reason it's stuck at the bootloader and won't accept input, removing the battery should be fine provided that you aren't in the middle of executing a fastboot command of some kind. Note that if you're getting a response of `<waiting for device>` from fastboot that it is **not** doing anything on the phone's side. That means that it cannot communicate with the phone, and as such the bootloader itself is basically idle at that point.

Since you noted in a comment that you were concerned about the bootloader erasing things: the bootloader process in and of itself doesn't do this. The purpose of the bootloader is to allow you to boot into various different modes of the phone (such as recovery and a normal boot). In the PC world a bootloader is often used to dual boot two different operating systems, with the bootloader menu being what allows a user to select which OS they want. The only time that your data will be erased is when you execute the `fastboot oem unlock` or `fastboot oem lock` commands or if you explicitly erase a partition in some other way (`fastboot erase`, for example). Simply booting into your bootloader does not affect your data in any way.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: samsung-galaxy-nexus
---


# Question
Title: Nook simple touch screensaver in USB mode
I have uploaded my own screensaver to my Nook Simple Touch, but when I connect it to my computer via USB, the screensaver goes to one of the stock ones. Is there anyway to make it so that when in USB mode, my Nook displays my custom screensaver instead of stock?

# Answer
Whenever you connect your Nook in USB mode your USB storage from Nook gets unmounted and mounts in your computer. After its unmounted the OS can no longer find your screensaver. That's why Android doesn't want you to keep widgets in USB storage. Similarly apps moved to USB storage no longer works while connected to your computer.

If you move the screensaver to internal partition then it will work even when mounted to computer. For this your Nook must be rooted.
> 4 votes

---
Tags: nook-simple-touch
---


title: How to save attachment from Gmail?

text:
# Question
Title: How to save attachment from Gmail?
I've got two MP3 files from my friend via Gmail. How can I save them to my phone? There is only a Preview button...

# Answer
> 1 votes
After I installed the ASTRO file manager and I went to "Preview" - ASTRO popped up, and saying, "give a filename" ok, then it saved the files!! (the files must be ex.: zipped!!) - and then I was able to extract the files in the zip.

# Answer
> 3 votes
Sounds like you have a crippled version of the app.

I emailed myself an mp3 file and got "Download" and "Preview" buttons. Pressing "Download" downloaded the file (as one would expect) to `/sdcard/download`.

(This is an original DROID with Froyo.)

# Answer
> 0 votes
You can't, at least not with any consistency, and it looks like you can't request the feature anywhere either. You'll need to use a different email client, or wait for the Google Apps team to implement this out of the blue.

# Answer
> 0 votes
I found a number of apps just for this purpose:

All of these apps function by becoming options when you click on the Download or Preview button. These are just a couple that I tested out. Download All Files was my favorite. I'm sure there are other apps out there with similar functions.

---
Tags: gmail, attachments
---


title: How do I remove the search bar in ICS?

text:
# Question
Title: How do I remove the search bar in ICS?
Is there a way to remove the search bar from all of the home screens in Ice Cream Sandwich? I have a Nexus S, which already has a hard-button for search, so the search bar is redundant. Long pressing on it doesn't seem to do anything useful.

# Answer
> 5 votes
You can't remove it from the stock launcher, it's a permanent fixture. You can, however, install a custom launcher which is based on the stock one like Apex Launcher or Nova Launcher.

You can also disable the Google Search app completely if you want to, but then you won't be able to use it at all (also discussed on Google Groups).

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


# Question
Title: Can I set up Wi-Fi and USB tethering on the Galaxy Nexus without rooting it?
I am about to buy the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and I need to tether with the following connections

1. USB to my Windows PC
2. Wi-Fi with my Mac, iPad or iPhone (to download apps over 20MB)

I will be using Verizon Wireless's LTE 4G connection to my smartphone

I also don't want to root my phone, install a custom rom or pay Verizon $20/GB

I heard of PDANet and EasyTether and Tether.com but they only provide USB connectivity to the Mac or PC (I won't be able to use it with iPhone's or iPads)

Any help is greatly appreciated.

I am willing to pay for the software if it provides Wi-Fi and USB. (Bluetooth is optional but not needed)

# Answer
ClockworkMod Tether does USB tethering without root and Bluetooth tethering is planned (it's still in alpha). Unfortunately, from what I understand only Windows, Linux & Mac OS will be supported, but who knows what will happen in the future (maybe Wi-Fi support). Koush's apps are great.
> 2 votes

# Answer
I use PDAnet for the USB tether (which is something like $16) and FoxFi (Free on the Android Market) FoxFi enables Wi-Fi WITHOUT rooting. I use it all the time, even for running my kids Wii. Should work fine for running your tablets, iPhones, and iPads, etc. Works great for using my laptop while traveling also.

They both work awesome for me.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: wifi-tethering, 4.0-ice-cream-sandwich, usb-tethering, samsung-galaxy-nexus
---


# Question
Title: Is there a way to clear your Google Play App history? (Not the search history)
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> How to remove apps from “all downloaded” in Play Store

I'm looking to see if there is a way to clear the actual history of installed apps in Google Play, as opposed to the history of searches (which one can do right from the app).

It'd be nice to be able to wipe out the old apps that I tried months ago and uninstalled. The sorting of the "All" apps list is actually pretty good, in that such apps tend to be at the very bottom; but if I go on a tangent trying a dozen different similar apps until I decide on one, I'll have those in my list for a bit.

And, sure... there are a few apps in that list I installed then removed that might generate a blush or two if someone else saw it.

I wouldn't expect to be able to remove apps that I have installed on any of my devices (nor would I want to, anyway)... just apps that I installed previously but do not have any longer.

# Answer
> 7 votes
Is impossible the only way is changing of account. That way the apps you have deleted or uninstalled will not appear because is not the same account.

EDIT:

It is now possible

Go to apps then choose all

From the list hold the app you wish to delete, remove will appear in top right corner, tap remove and your done

---
Tags: applications, google-play-store
---


# Question
Title: How to sync old Google Calendar events on Sony Ericsson XPeria X10 Mini?
I have got a replacement phone for my HTC Desire while the latter is in repairs. It's Sony Ericsson XPeria X10 Mini. Since it's also an Android-based device I hoped I could sync my contacts and calendar events. However, as it seems it only syncs one of my calendar in full (namely Ukrainian Holidays, which is not as important) and new events for other calendars. I wasn't able to find option for selecting which calendars to sync as in HTC Desire. How can I sync my old events (including ones that are recurring in future)? It would be sufficient to just have my primary calendar on the phone.

P.S. I tried cleaning Calendar Storage data and synching manually again (from Settings -\> Data Synchronization -\> Auto Sync and then select Calendar). It took substantial time (~5 minutes), so I hoped it have synched old events, but they are still not in my calendar. It has even removed events that I have added today. New events get synched as previously.

# Answer
This sounds like the X10's calendar app (and possibly its settings). A quick 'Google resulted in this quote from a Groups discussion that relates to your problem:

> I have found that in at least one scenario, the X10 mini calendar app itself is to blame. When I installed the app "business calendar free" on my X10 mini pro, I could see everything and sync flawlessly, while the built-in calendar still showed nothing.

Have you tried a 3rd-party calendar app like the aforementioned Business Calendar? If a 3rd-party app works you'll at least know where to start digging. It also happens to be an app I use and recommend as a replacement for stock calendar apps, problems or not.
> 0 votes

# Answer
1. Go to Settings -\> Accounts $ sync -\> Add account
2. Add your existing Google account here
3. Check the **Sync Calender** checkbox to synchronise your calender with your Google calender.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: sync, google-calendar, sony-xperia-x10-mini
---


# Question
Title: Not able to select entire image for wallpaper
When I put the wallpaper in `/dcim/Camera` and go to change the wallpaper and choose `Media gallery` and I select the wallpaper I want, it asks me to choose only a small region of the image. What do I need to do to use the entire image?

# Answer
> 3 votes
If i remember correctly, you can drag the frame to the full size of the image, so that the whole picture will be selected as background.

# Answer
> 1 votes
The above answer is vague. Here's a more complete answer.

## First

Go through the wallpaper settings and open the image you want to use for wallpaper. You will be prompted to crop it.

## Second

Drag the cropping reticule to the bottom right corner.

## Third

Drag the left edge of the cropping reticule all the way to the left edge of the screen. The reticule should grow to encompass the whole image.

## Lastly

Tap the "Crop" button at the top right. It will "crop" the image to the size that it already is, and set it as your wallpaper.

## Dénouement

All this because the developers who wrote the wallpaper cropping app couldn't be bothered to check whether the selected image is already the correct size for the device. All they had to do was say "This image is already the right size. Would you like to crop it anyway?", and give us buttons labeled "Crop It" and "Just Use It". Instead, we're stuck with this thoroughly non-intuitive mess.

Well done, Android devs. *slow clap*

In case anyone is curious, the wallpaper shown in the screenshots above comes along with McKinley Tabor's excellent Asus Transformer Prime Wallpaper Template.

---
Tags: settings, wallpaper
---


# Question
Title: Is touch accuracy based on a phone's hardware or the application?
Many apps on my phone, especially browsers, have awful touch accuracy. I wondering whether touch accuracy was based more on the design of the app, or the hardware of the phone. Some apps work better than others, but I also found that some phones had better touch accuracy for the same kinds of apps.

Does touch accuracy depend more on the phone's hardware than the design of an app?

# Answer
> 5 votes
Well the hardware needs to be properly aligned, so that where it senses your touch matches up with what you see yourself touching.

There are also general algorithms the system applies to make decisions about where the center of your touch is, since your finger is not a perfect point, and so on.

Finally, and app needs to decide what to do with a touch. When an app uses simple widgets like buttons it's fairly simple to map the touch position to a widget. In the browser, however, it's much more difficult. Determining the position of a control rendered dynamically via HTML (and JavaScript etc.) is a fairly complex task. You'll find that most touch browsers, even on other platforms, have varying levels of difficulty with touch accuracy.

So it depends on both hardware and software, but the variance you're seeing between apps is probably all due to the apps.

---
Tags: touchscreen
---


# Question
Title: When the GPS is enabled but not in use, does it drain battery?
If the GPS is enabled (in the notification view at the top, the GPS icon is enabled), but the app doesn't use it, does it drain battery? I understand that GPS drains battery because it requires a different component to be charged up. Or does the fact that the GPS is enabled only mean that the App can use it?

# Answer
> 9 votes
The GPS icon in the status bar means that an application is currently using the GPS so it is draining the battery. GPS does not however drain any battery just because you have it enabled in the settings menu.

# Answer
> 5 votes
Technically, the GPS icon is shown whenever the GPS chip is being used. If it isn't being used, it won't be shown.

Poorly designed apps may however keep trying to use the GPS feature just because it is enabled and thereby drain your battery. Example - keeping one's phone inside one's pocket or basically without having sight of GPS satellites will cause the GPS chip to keep searching thereby draining the battery.

---
Tags: gps, battery-life
---


# Question
Title: Removing desktop panes on Galaxy Tab 10.1
I have a brand new Galaxy Tab 10.1 and I can't figure out how I remove some of the desktop panes.

# Answer
To remove some of the desktop panes, you will have to use an alternative launcher. Unfortunately, I am not familiar with Honeycomb so I can't give you any recommendations besides looking in the Play Store.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: samsung-galaxy-tab-10, 3.1-honeycomb
---


# Question
Title: My HTC sense won't turn on at all and it was fully charged.
I just called someone less than 5 minutes ago, sat my phone down, and now it will not turn on. I charged it, took the back off, put it back on, and nothing worked.

# Answer
Take the battery out, put it back again and boot in recovery mode. To do that, press the Volume Down key and Power button simultaneously until recovery boots. Then there should be an option to reboot. Select this option. Your phone should turn on. If not take it to a service center or wipe data/factory reset from the recovery menu.
> 1 votes

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Tags: htc-sense, power-on
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# Question
Title: Why do all the directories on my tablet have all these weird numbers?
I have a Samsung Galaxy 10.1, running Android 3.2, which I've rooted.

When I plug it in by USB to my Ubuntu computer, it looks like this:

There's about 24 or so directories, all numbered as shown in the image. As far as I can tell, they don't correspond to any directories actually on the device, and I can neither find any files I think should be on the device or transfer any files to the device. *(To be accurate: I can copy files to one of the weirdly numbered directories, but then I can't find them if I try to look for them from the tablet interface.)*

What's going on, and, more importantly, how do I get a normal connection to my tablet so I can transfer files back and forth?

**Update 1:** I have learned this is probably "MTP mode". I can't seem to find any option to disable or change it.

**Update 2:** I have tried turning "USB debugging" both on and off, and neither way seems to make a difference.

**Update 3:** I've asked about this issue also on the Ubuntu SE site, in case part of my problem is on the Ubuntu side.

**Update 4:** Here's another error message I get if I try to use mtpfs to connect to the Android device:

# Answer
It seems that you're connecting the tab in Media Player (MTP) mode. Try switching it to Camera mode, it usually gives better results. If I remember correctly, this option can be found in `Settings -> Storage -> Menu button (top right) -> USB computer connection`.
> 2 votes

# Answer
Most likely hidden directories used by Android to store hidden data, that are shown/visible when you connect it to your computer.

Try using root explorer on your tablet to see the directories.
> -3 votes

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Tags: usb, samsung-galaxy-tab
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# Question
Title: Why does my Iconia A500 occasionally stop responding?
I have an stock-standard Acer Iconia A500 32G WiFi-only tablet. The screen usually turns on immediately when I press the power button.

However, it sometimes refuses to respond and I have to hold done the power button for a few seconds, then release it and hold it down for a few seconds again.

At that point, there'll be a vibration and the tablet will boot through the Acer and android screens.

My thoughts are that the first sustained button actually powers it down forcefully and the second brings it back up (but I can't be certain of this).

Does anyone know why this would happen? Are there any things I can look at on the file system to see what's going wrong.

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To elaborate on the non-responsiveness issue, while in most circumstances a quick push of the power button will bring up the PIN entry screen, it doesn't do so in the problematic cases.

In those cases, the screen just remains black no matter how many times I push the power button. That's why I then have to do the long-press twice to (presumably) force shutdown and restart.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Ahh, soft keys.

When the power button is pressed, the hardware raises an interrupt which is handled by an OS-provided interrupt handler. Part of the interrupt handling process included waking the processor from sleep. The software will then turn on the screen (if it was asleep), display a shutdown menu, or some other function depending on the OS version and any customizations added by the device manufacturer or third-party software installed by the user.

The power button also starts a counter in hardware. If the counter reaches a threshold without the power button being released, then the power circuit is invoked to turn off the device. This is done purely in hardware circuitry, independent of the OS or even firmware executed by the main processor. That's why it still works when the system is locked up (or perhaps overclocked and so unstable that the processor can't execute ANY code at all).

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Tags: reboot, acer-iconia-a500
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# Question
Title: How to create shortcut in the homescreen for 'Favourites' tab in Dialer?
I'm using Samsung Galaxy 3 (GT-I5801). The ones listed as Dialer.favourites and contacts.starred in the 'Choose custom activity' are not working. This happens in both TouchWiz and ADWLauncher

# Answer
> 0 votes
If you use Dialer One as your dialer or even if you install it but use the default stock dialer app, you can get to the Favorites screen by long pressing a blank area of the homescreen, and from the SHORTCUTS menu, choosing FAVORITES.

# Answer
> 0 votes
I use Launcher pro as my Default homescreen and I can have a favorite contacts shortcut by doing the following steps:

1.Press the menu button and select the Shortcuts option

2.Then select the Activites option

3.Then select Contacts--\>Phone

4.Give it a name

5.There must be a Favorites Shortcut

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Tags: samsung-galaxy-apollo, phone-app, adw.launcher, samsung-touchwiz
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