# Question
Title: How to view the android service menu (secret menu)?
Most of the mobile manufacturers include a hidden service menu in their mobile handsets. These menus allow users (or developers) to access some technical information and service personnel to access service details etc.

Is there a similar service menu for android devices and What can I do with that menu?

# Answer
Well, there *is* a menu available for handsets running android OS. To get the menu, go to your stock phone app and type the following.

> **`**#*#7378423#*#*`**

It is simply `*#*#SERVICE#*#*`

---

There are many things you can do in this menu.

* View service information
* Check service settings
* Carryout service tests
* Reset customization settings

Some of these items may differ from handset to handset. These are the typical menu items available. This menu comes handy when checking the total call timer (in `service tests`), Rooting status check (in `Service info -> Configuration`), etc.
> 6 votes

# Answer
As the *How* has already been explained, you might want to have the *What* as well:

There are several lists on the internet (just google for "secret codes") with many of those codes. Not all of them work on all phones (some are device or manufacturer specific), but many are common to all Android devices (and some times even to all smartphones). I won't list all of them here, but a few more important to be known include...

```
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────┐
| Code                                             | Description           |
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────┤
| *#0011#                                          | GSM Infos             |
| *#0228#                                          | Battery Infos         |
| **05*<PUK>*<new PIN>*<new PIN for confirmation># | Unlock PIN            |
| *#*#0588#*#*                                     | Test Proximity sensor |
| *#06#                                            | Show IMEI             |
| *#*#1234#*#*                                     | Firmware Info         |
| *135#                                            | Show your phone number|
| *#*#197328640#*#*                                | Service Menu          |
| *#*#7378423#*#* (*#*#SERVICE#*#*)                | Service Menu          |
| *#*#2432546#*#* (*#*#CHECKIN#*#*)                | Check for OTA Updates |
| *2767*3855#                                      | Factory Format        |
| #31#<phoneNumber>                                | anonymous call        |
| *#*#3264#*#*                                     | RAM Test              |
| *#*#4636#*#* (*#*#INFO#*#*)                      | System Infos          |
| *#*#7594#*#*                                     | Customize PowerButton |
| *#*#7780#*#*                                     | Factory Reset         |
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────┴───────────────────────┘

```

Use at your own risk -- some options might prove dangerous (e.g. the factory format) -- especially if you don't know what they are supposed to mean, think twice or better avoid the option.
> 30 votes

# Answer
Go to your phone dialer
and enter these codes (they work in my Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Jelly Bean 4.2.1):

* ***'Testing'*** menu: `*#*#4636#*#*` (the same as `*#*#INFO#*#*`)
* IMEI number: `*#06#`

Additionaly check out the page Secret codes for Android, full of codes (some of them didn't work in my phone) and screenshots

**Note: Please be *extremely* careful with the options, because they're not intended to be messing with them.**
> 8 votes

---
Tags: settings, dialer-codes
---


# Question
Title: Can I record a Skype call (audio and voice) using a Samsung Galaxy S3?
I've tried using various call recording apps, and standard voice recording, but none do the job.

I need to record **both sides** of a Skype call made on my Android phone. Unfortunately time is short and I need to do this in a couple of hours, any advice appreciated.

# Answer
This probably is too late to be of help to the OP, but this question is valid and could be useful for others.

Found this: http://community.skype.com/t5/Video-INACTIVE/Record-video-calls-windows/m-p/3012#M44 but it pertains to windows and not the phone environment.

Unfortunately on android, Skype itself would have to have this feature for the best overall success.

Related topics with good answers:

An on-phone solution to recording audio would have to simultaneously record incoming mic audio (from you) and outgoing speaker audio (from other). However, you could simply record the stream externally and use a movie/video editor to synchronize the video and audio streams.
> 2 votes

# Answer
The problem with recording is dependent on the kernel if that kernel has the capability to do so within the audio hardware driver!

That aside, another aspect, this governs actual phone calls, is that audio is a mutually exclusive thing, lift handset, audio, speaker is routed to respective hardware pieces, if not in call, audio and speaker gets routed to speaker (combine that with headset and another route is made!)

Now I do not know if that principle applies to VOIP over wifi (as have never tried it!)

Another thing, depending on where you are, this will be dependent on jurisdiction of your country, two way recording could be seen as illegal and may/could be equivalent to wire-tapping, IANAL!

Check first, if that's "ok to do", then check with the party involved first if they actually mind being recorded, if not, then you could end up in trouble for *invasion of privacy and recording their conversation without their consent*

I am loosely saying that as its a questionable thing to do and do not know legalese but its something to bear in mind.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: samsung-galaxy-s-3, skype, call-recording
---


# Question
Title: How to allow installation of Non-Market apps (ICS)?
I'm attempting to install the exynos fix after downloading the .apk file.
When I open the file to run, the system tells me that I cannot install apps that did not originate from Google Play.

After some googling I found an article that shows a workaround, however when I go to:

```
Home → Settings → Applications

```

I see a list of applications and memory usage. It's the same window I see if I go to:

```
Home → Settings → Storage → Applications

```

Ergo, I am not finding where I can tick `Unknown Sources`.

## How do I access the actual Application Settings shown below?

# Answer
> 4 votes
In ICS and JB, you should find this option in `Settings → Security` in a section called "*Device Administration*"

# Answer
> 2 votes
ICS has the settings re-located and can be found under:

```
Settings  →  Security  →  Unknown Sources

```

The screen-shot present on your question is referring to Gingerbread and does not apply to ICS.

---
Tags: applications, 4.0-ice-cream-sandwich, settings, non-market
---


# Question
Title: How to hide (to my carrier) the use of VoIP?
I plan to use Voice over IP with my android phone (Android 2.3 via Skype, Fring, JaJah, Line2 etc.). As I've read that my carrier is filtering VoIP protocols, I wondered if there are some protocol wrappers available as a workaround of packet/protocol filters? Thank you for any suggestions.

# Answer
> 2 votes
You could use a VPN to "mask" all your traffic. This way your provider would still be able to count the *amount* of data transfered -- but he would no longer be able to see its *contents*.

VPN requires a client (which comes already integrated with recent Android versions -- but additionally, there are a lot of apps available for this on the Google Playstore) and a server. The latter you can establish on your own hardware (software is available for most operating systems -- even some routers have this capability built-in). Alternatively, there are providers available offering VPN as a service.

The TechRepublic has a quite detailed article on this topic: Securely connect your Android smartphone via VPN. It describes what can be done this way, and also includes the necessary steps to set up everything. So if this approach sounds good to you, follow the link for more details.

Other good sources can surely be found following the tag here on ASE.

---
Tags: voip, carriers, filter
---


# Question
Title: Pandaboard ES OMAP4460 USB Ports Technical Specifications Question
Technical specifications for Pandaboard ES OMAP4460 shows that it has 3 USB ports.

* 1x USB 2.0 High-Speed On-the-go port
* 2x USB 2.0 High-Speed host ports

My question is that what's the difference between an On-the-go port and a host port? Does a host port allow the Pandaboard to act as a slave when connected to a PC via USB? Does a OTG port allow the Pandaboard to act as a slave when connected to a PC via USB?

# Answer
> 1 votes
I know nothing about 'Pandaboard'. But a USB OTG port, acts as both Master & Slave. Depending on the spare pin of the mini usb cable (if its grounded or not). A Host port aka your PC can only talk to salves like Flash/Hard drives. usb otg can talk to Flash drives & also act like a Flash Drive too.

---
Tags: usb
---


# Question
Title: How does Android sync the WiFi Profiles?
I'm using Jelly Bean on a tablet and a phone on the same account. After logging into a particular wifi network on one device, I noticed that sometime later (weeks) the other device had some acquired the settings (including password) and logged into the wifi automatically.

I was unaware that android had a form of wifi profile sync. Is there any information out there about this functionality? How does it work? What other data is sync'd between devices?

# Answer
> 6 votes
If you go to `Settings -> Backup & reset` there is a `Back up my data` option which states:

> Back up application data, *Wi-Fi passwords*, and other settings to Google servers

In addition to this on the Android OS support site it says:

> a wide variety of your personal data is backed up autonmatically, including your Wi-Fi passwords, Browser bookmarks, a list of the apps you’ve installed on Google Play, the words you’ve added to the dictionary used by the onscreen keyboard, and most of your customized settings. Some third-party apps may also take advantage of this feature, so you can restore your data if you reinstall an app. If you uncheck this option, your data stops getting backed up, and any existing backups are deleted from Google servers.

As for the security concerns although I assume they must be sending plain-text WiFi passwords according to the Backup Service developer guide they're at least using a secure connection to do it over.

---
Tags: wi-fi, sync
---


# Question
Title: Mobile network not displayed after I rooted my samsung galaxy 10.1 tablet
I have a Samsung galaxy 10.1 tablet (GT-P7500) with android version 3.1.

I upgraded the android to 4.0.4 (the latest one available). It was rooted but I guess I've modified something since it always used to show "permission denied" for superuser requests.

So I rooted the tablet. When I did, the tablet didn't reboot by itself. Someone suggested that I wipe all data. So I did it and now the tablet reboots well, but it isn't showing the mobile networks options when I go to `Settings > About device > Wireless & Networks`.

I am not getting the 3G network either.

I want my tablet to get the mobile network again and I want to upgrade it to android version 4.0.4.

# Answer
There are two versions of the tablet, one with mobile network and one without. Make sure you have the right firmware installed so that you get the right options.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: rooting, updates, samsung-galaxy-tab, 3.1-honeycomb, mobile-network
---


# Question
Title: How to get notified of new automatically archived emails in Gmail?
I am a very organized person, and thus also in the case of my emails. I have taken the time to set various filters and labels to keep my emails organized, some of these filters automatically archive messages, i.e. labels are applied to emails, and they get archived (hence these messages skip the inbox).

These days I am receiving some emails that belong to a specific label, about topics in which I'm working currently, but since they are not reaching the inbox, my smartphone does not notify me when they arrive. However, when I expand the list of recent labels, I find that there are unread messages in the label in which I am interested.

When I open the folder (label), I find the new unread email message.

What do I have to configure in order to get notified of these automatically archived emails in Gmail?

# Answer
> 9 votes
The steps you have to take are the following ones:

1. Expand the list of recent labels, but this time tap the option **Show all labels**.
2. This will take you to the list of all your labels, in whose bottom you'll see the option **Manage labels**: tap there.
3. In the list of labels, tap the one you want to be notified about.
4. By default that label has *Label sync and notify* disabled. Tap the option **Sync messages**
5. It will open a popup dialog with sync options. Choose and tap one **different** to *Sync: None*.
6. The above will enable the notifications, now you can choose its options according the way you want to be notified.
7. Exit the label options for changes to be applied. From now on, you'll receive notifications about unread messages for that label too (in Jelly Bean, you'll see the extended notification, as with inbox emails). You'll be able to open the email message tapping on that notification.

---
Tags: notifications, gmail
---


title: How to run android phone flawlessly ?

text:
# Question
Title: How to run android phone flawlessly ?
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> What are some general tips on improving overall performance of an Android phone?

I have been using android phone(Sony Xperia Tipo Dual) few months now .However I see that there are loads of things to learn as a new user .From rooting your device to effective memory management can seem quite intimidating .Also there are lot of good blogs explaining how to use memory effectively .

So what are tips/tricks you would give to first time android user so that he can use the phone effectively so that there is no dips in performance ?

Answer based on all the available android versions .

# Answer
Memory management: do not use any task killer, Android takes care of it well. Killing apps only waste battery when they have to be respawned.

Rooting the phone does help - you can weed out all the useless carrier and OEM bloat. Also, after using a bunch of droids over the past few years, I'd say modified, cleaner versions of stock ROMs \>\>\> custom ROMs in terms of stability and battery life, with the sole exception being Nexus devices.

Learning to tweak and perfect Android is like doing it with Linux distros on PCs and servers - there is always more, it is a never ending process and we are all learning. There is no definitive list or article, really.

And most important, don't accept others' advice without thinking about or questioning it.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: performance
---


title: HTC ONE X: Rooting and boot loader

text:
# Question
Title: HTC ONE X: Rooting and boot loader
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> How to root the new version of the ONE X

How to root HTC ONE X from AT&T?

What exactly does rooting a phone mean?

What is the boot loader?

Is installing boot loader and rooting the same thing?

# Answer
> 1 votes
Root One X.

Official bootloader unlock and unofficial unlock.

Found all of these via Google. You can always search online for these kind of questions. And this question is likely to be closed down.

---
Tags: rooting, bootloader, htc-one-x
---


# Question
Title: Switching profiles based on networks availability
While there are plenty of apps to switch profiles based on various triggers (time, position, ...), Llama being an excellent one for instance -- I did not manage to find any which would from time to time switch a network device on (Wifi, Bluetooth) and check whether a previously configured network is available, then connect if it is available. Should the network not be available, or not be available anymore, the device would be switched off. Until the next check.

This would be extremely useful for someone who is neither very much "time organized" (ie. I do not know what I will be doing a Tuesday at 10:00), nor "place organized" (I spend some time in the neighborhood of my WiFi access point, without the access point being close enough to be connected to, but close enough for cell/GPS based location to think I am in its direct vicinity).

Would someone know of such an application (or a combo - one for WiFi, one for Bluetooth)?

Thank you!

# Answer
> 2 votes
As usual: try with Tasker. *Tasker* can react on "network near" (check for WiFi SSID), you also can check signal levels and react depending on that. This way you could not even check whether a certain WiFi network is *in reach*, but also how strong its signal is -- which might prove helpful e.g. in an office building with multiple WiFi networks to determine which room you are in.

---
Tags: wi-fi, bluetooth, automation, profiles
---


# Question
Title: How to create a Broadband connection (pppoeconf) on my Android phone?
I have Broadband connection at home, and from my PC running Linux, I use the **pppoeconf** command to connect to internet, that in turn asks me for the username and password both provided by my ISP (BSNL).

## Is there a way to create a broadband connection on my android phone?

<sup>**PS:** I'm currently using Android 2.2 (Froyo), and I don't wanna setup a proxy connection on my machine.</sup>

# Answer
WIFI PPPOE by cnDDU is an app that allows you to make a PPPoE connection from your phone over a wireless connection:

> ...main purpose is for user to make PPPOE connection via WIFI, e.g. dialing through ADSL Modem with user name and password provided by some internet ISPs. This app makes the Android devices be able to connect to Internet directly via PPPOE dialing through WIFI, and no need for another WIFI Router any more.

Note that a rooted phone with Busybox installed is required to use this app.

There are also a number of other similar apps available in the Play Store now, some free, some not. They all currently seem to require a rooted phone.

*(answer rescued from deletions)*
> 8 votes

# Answer
You could use http://www.junefabrics.com/android/download.php. You need to install the app on your phone and on your laptop. Works with windows.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: 2.2-froyo, networking, internet
---


# Question
Title: How to set high resolution on external monitor?
I have Samsung Galaxy S3. I connect my phone to 29 inch monitor using HML + HDMI wires. Also I connect it to Apple bluetooth keyboard and magic mouse. I get a very nice experience of Desktop. However S3 has maximum resolution of 1280x720 which does not give a nice look on big monitors.

I have following questions:

* Can I extend my monitor screen from mobile screen so I can drag and drop apps from one to another?
* Can I change resolution of apps running on my monitor to higher than 1280x720.

Thanks

Note: External monitor does not have touch functionality.

# Answer
Having a different external display was one of the new features with Jelly Bean 4.2 You will need a siutable update for your S3 to stand a chance. What level of support you will get then is still in doubt depending upon the real hardware capabilities and what support Samsung put in.
> 3 votes

---
Tags: screen-resolution, external-display
---


# Question
Title: Route Application through Mobile Data when on Wifi
While on Wifi, Whatsapp won't work on my Galaxy Note 2 due to my work proxy. I have found no proxying application that will work, yet. (My work is using an HTTP Proxy).

Is there an application that will route certain phone apps (such as Whatsapp) through mobile data, while still allowing other apps to use Wifi access?

# Answer
By default, as soon as WiFi gets connected, the mobile network shuts down -- so you cannot use both simultaneously. Which means: no, even a proxy allowing for exceptions would not do, as the other network simply is no longer available.

Quoting from CyanogenMod Tracker:

> Each time you activate WiFi you'll lose 3g connection. That's normal behaviour of Android network manager.

There were attempts on "hacking" that, as you can e.g. find here. This source from the Stanford university also makes clear on the standard behaviour:

> * Given WiFI is connected, then turn on 3G data connection. 3G connection will be automatically torn down by Connectivity Service.
> * Given 3G is connected, then turn on WiFi connection. Connectivity Service will tear down the existing 3G connection.

Except from "hacking attempts" as described by the Stanford example, I know of no solution to the issue.
> 3 votes

---
Tags: wi-fi, proxy, whatsapp-messenger, mobile-data
---


# Question
Title: How to make use of the entire screen area on Android 4.1 in full-screen mode?
The system bar (aka notification bar) on my new tablet (ASUS Transformer Pad) is always visible, even when watching YouTube "full-screen".

The amount of space wasted is not insignificant, especially when watching a 4:3 video. Is there any way to reclaim it and watch videos/play games in *real* full-screen?

# Answer
It is not intended to hide the system bar (combined soft button/notification bar) on tablets. Imagine the bar is hidden and the app you are currently using does not offer an option to exit. -\> Your are stuck within this app.

Some custom ROMs offer the option to hide the bar.

General option would be to use some third-party-apps like Hide Bottom Bar or full!screen which can disable the bar somehow. Unfortunately these apps require root.
> 2 votes

# Answer
i might not Right at this time but you may use another home screen called **`"Launcher Pro"`** Free version.

In the **setting** there is an **`option to hide the system bar(Notification bar)`**. you can try it out if you like the home screen. though i like it better than stock home screen.

Hope it will some how help you.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: 4.1-jelly-bean, screen, notification-bar
---


# Question
Title: Mails deleted in android gmail app are not deleted from server
I have installed android on my HT device.. when I delete the mails from android gmail app, they are still available on server and i can see them using gmail web page..

can anyone give me solution?

happened again after flashing the ROM again and restored with titanium backup :(

# Answer
Are you using the gmail app or the HTC mail app?

The first one, gmail app, will have everything synced right away.

The other option, using HTC mail will be using a pop/imap account for accessing your Gmail. In that case you can update the pop/imap settings in your gmail account logging in with a browser and going to your settings. There you can choose if you want messages to be deleted or not.
> 1 votes

# Answer
I had this same problem today on my S3, although it wasn't just deleting that didn't work. Nothing I did within my phone's GMail app would sync properly--archiving, marking as read, etc.

I was able to fix it by clearing cache, and clearing data (both found on the App info page--Settings-\>Manage Apps). Once I did this, I had to reboot, as GMail kept crashing. After a reboot, everything was back to normal.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: gmail, delete
---


title: Use of swap size while partitioning?

text:
# Question
Title: Use of swap size while partitioning?
I just rooted my phone (Android 2.3.6) and partitioned the sd card using `CWM recovery`. While partitioning, I noticed about `swap size` and while searching about it, different blogs (xda developers) recommended using `0M` as `swap size`. What is the use of it? Why is it recommended to be `0M`?

# Answer
> 7 votes
Primary reasons for the no swap recommendations are the basic uselessness of swap for most devices, performance reasons, and device longevity.

As Liam mentions, modern devices have no shortage of RAM (Even my old underpowered Wildfire S has as much RAM as my previous **desktop**.) and that RAM is managed fairly well by the modern Android system, making a swap largely pointless.

Also, even though flash is far better than platters of spinning rust, it's still orders of magnitude slower than RAM is, hence for performance reasons, you don't want to tier down to flash if you can at all avoid it.

Furthermore, flash memory has a limit on how many times you can erase and rewrite it. While this cycle limit is typically in the thousands or tens of thousands, which combined with modern wear leveling systems, means you're unlikely to hit the limit within the useful lifespan of the device, but if you're using it as swap, with loads and loads of itty-bity writes, you will chew through those cycles needlessly and might actually bump against those limits in time.

# Answer
> 3 votes
The use of a swap file it so save memory (RAM) to storage (hard drive/sd card).

The recommendation of 0mb for the file size is because it is not usually needed. Android takes care of memory management in a different fashion than swap files.

Background:

A Swap File is traditionally used to store what is typically in memory onto storage when memory is low. This allows it to be switched back into memory when needed.

To quote from Zero Credibility Blog

> Android, while a fairly typical (but trim) Linux under the covers, has it’s own mechanism for handling low memory conditions. **It terminates the application, but first gives it an opportunity to persist it’s state (via a series of callbacks).** For example, a map application might persist a latitude and longitude before it is terminated. **When you access the application again, the location is passed back so it appears that the app was running all along. In actuality the app was restarted completely.**

(emphasis mine)

The above describes how I have seen applications appear to persist after switching from task to task.

There is no need to save the contents of memory to storage, because Android will just save the app's current data and terminate the app.

# Answer
> 1 votes
As the other answers already cover most of the facts, just a small addition: I already edited the app Swapper for Root users into Liam's answer as an example. And Compro01's answer already mentioned the danger of wearing out the flash memory of your sdcard. Now let's bring both together:

When using the *Swapper* app to handle your swap, it recommends to not use a *swap partition* but a *swap file*, for exact this reasons. That *swap file* then is placed on a different location of the flash memory each time swap gets activated, which avoids to always write/delete the same blocks and thus saves some more lifespan for your flash memory.

So comparing both:

* **Swap partition:** faster, but wears out flash memory faster, too.
* **Swap file:** a little slower, but does not wear out flash memory that fast

Keeping this in mind it gets clear why a) 0M (i.e. no swap partition) is recommended, and b) a swap partition is offered at all (for those who do not care buying new cards, but want the extra little speed).

# Answer
> 0 votes
Swap is basically virtual RAM used by the Linux kernel.

Swap in Android was used when devices had very limited RAM (I used it with my LG Optimus GT540), to increase the amount of RAM available to the Android OS.

Android kills apps when it run's out of memory - and is very good at doing this efficiently, however on devices with low RAM people may have seen their home screen apps being killed, and therefore have to wait a while to get to their home screens.

Swap can be mounted via either a partition or a file - mainly on an external (or internal) storage device. Swap is normally activated via the so-called *Init scripts* in the `/etc/init.d` folder of the device to mount/enable swap on device boot.

Linux desktops use a partition for swap, and the user is asked to create this during the install process.

A file is normally stored on the SD Card or storage medium. The swap file on Android is normally mounted (and created) by an app (e.g. Swapper for Root users).

Most newer devices won't see any benefit of using swap - as they normally have as much RAM as a desktop computer (my SGS2 has 1GB!), and therefore wouldn't benefit from having more virtual RAM.

Unfortunately, using swap can come at a price - even on low RAM devices, as the OS has to spend time writing to the SD card, which would normally have slow read/write speeds. As such, it isn't used much at all nowadays, unless a device has an obscenely small amount of RAM.

As well as this, using swap can have a negative effect on the life of your memory device, and should be used with caution. If anyone reading *must* use swap (and I would advise against it), then use a file with an app, as it varies the swap file location to maximise sd card life.

---
Tags: clockworkmod-recovery, partitions, swap
---


# Question
Title: What causes the error "No certificate found in USB storage." when trying to import a certificate?
I have a Samsung S3 with Android 4.04 and to get on my WiFi at work I need to install a certificate .p12 file. So, I navigate to "Security and lock screen"--\>"Install from device storage." BUT instead of giving me a field to specify the location of my cert ( on /mnt/extSdCard ) it just says "No certificate found in USB storage."

There are some USB devices ( called "UsbDriveA" through "UsbDriveF" in my /mnt folder) but I cannot copy the cert onto them because they are read-only.

So, how do I get this certificate imported? I tried using "Android Certificate Installer" from the app store and that didn't work for me either: it launches a browser and the browser fails to prompt for the cert password.

# Answer
I figured out a workaround. The workaround is to download a File Manager tool and then double click the .p12 cert, which opens up and prompts for the password. I still don't know why the control panel doesn't do what it suggests, but at least I found a solution.
> 3 votes

# Answer
My guess is that it wants the cert to be in a particular spot (and possibly to have a particular name).

From Google's support pages, we see that the cert has to be at the root of your phone's INTERNAL storage, not external.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: security, certificates
---


# Question
Title: How do I access my phone (not my SD card) from my computer?
I have an MyTouch 4G from TMobile. It's running android 2.3.4. How do I put put a file and delete files from the phone itself, not just the SD card?

# Answer
You could install the Android SDK on your computer. This would give you the possibility to access your device's storage via the command line using e.g. `adb push` and `adb pull`. If that's not the level of comfort you want, there are also graphical tools utilizing ADB:

ADB FileExplorer is a minimalistic frontend to copy files from/to the device. It's freely available from the XDA developers (simply follow the link). It is written in Java, and thus should run on nearly all operating systems used on desktop computers.

If you want a little more comfort, then there's also ADBBrowser. Available for Linux and Windows (32-bit and 64-bit), it offers also an app-browser. And last but not least, there's QtADB available for Linux, Mac and Windows (again 32-bit and 64-bit), full of useful features like file manager, app manager, device information, SMS, shell, screenshots, logcat, backup/restore... Take a pick.

Of course, there are many more possibilities. If your device is rooted, there are several apps available on the Playstore which permit full access to the local file system remotely.
> 7 votes

# Answer
If you mean the Internal SD Card (where pictures etc are stored if they aren't stored on the internal SD Card), then this is mounted along with the external SD card when you connect your phone to the computer.

If you mean the root file system, (I.E where the Android system files are), then this can be done, but not directly.

You would have to do it using an app via FTP, and you would have to be rooted to see the vast majority of the files.

The app SSH Droid allows you to turn your device into an SSH/SFTP server, which allows you to use FTP to connect to the internal file system (where the main system files are stored) of your device, using an FTP client (Nautilus, Windows Explorer, Filezilla for example).

When doing this, be careful not to delete any files that could be important in the functioning of your device, and like I said - root will be needed to do most things here.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: internal-storage
---


title: Set custom DPI for different apps?

text:
# Question
Title: Set custom DPI for different apps?
I own a rooted Nexus 7 16GB running on 4.2.1. The default interface (stock ROM) is the phone UI. I have read mods and a certain app that changes the DPI to enable the tablet UI.

I would like to have the phone UI primarily but I want certain apps to run in the tablet UI mode. Is this possible? If so, how?

# Answer
Maybe you should look into this ROM, however I cannot guarantee if there is an availability for the Nexus 7.

To quote:

* This rom lets you scale and project every app, every widget, even systemcomponents individually.
* Remember, android is modular, everything is an app: Lockscreen, navigationbar, dialogs, popups, keyboards, widgets, and your regular apps of course.
* Apps have the capability to switch into various designs or layouts according to the device they run on.

It is hybrid, meaning, that individual apps can change from tablet mode to phone layout mode on the fly. It is open sourced and is available on github.

***Edit:***

Thanks to **eldarerathis** for supplying the linky to the N7 Version found on XDA.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: tablet, nexus-7, user-interface
---


# Question
Title: Can my Android device replace a heart monitor watch?
Can my Android device replace a heart monitor watch? Maybe there are good apps out there for monitoring heart rates?

Many people use special watches, so I wonder if their phone can do it already instead.

# Answer
> 7 votes
I use an app called Instant Heart Rate which uses the phone's camera to measure your pulse.

# Answer
> 3 votes
I haven't tried any of these but Android Heart Monitor sounds like it could be the sort of thing you're after?

Then there's also Endomondo Sports Tracker which is apparently compatible with the Polar Wearlink heart rate monitor (more at Endomondo.com).

And also Sports Track Live which is apparently compatible with Zephyr Hxm, BioHarness and Polar Wearlink.

Obviously with all of these even if the software's free you still need to buy the heart rate monitor itself.

# Answer
> 2 votes
What's My Heart Rate

This app is slightly different from the rest in the market. **It does not require you to pressed on camera lens. Hence, you will not dirty your camera lens.**

The product description is as follow.

> Measure your heart rate by just looking at your screen. Easy and convenient without needed to finger press on your camera lens.
>
> Your heartbeat causes micro color changes on your face. Our software uses front camera and advanced software algorithm to detect these micro changes, with beat-to-beat accuracy. The algorithm is built based on realiable non-contact photoplethysmography concept (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photoplethysmograph).
>
> This breakthrough technology allows you to measure your heart rate in an easy and unobtrusive way.

It is using computer vision technology. Hence, its result is more sensitive to environment lighting, and face motion. I cannot comment much on its accuracy, as no further detailed data being published. But I can see there is different in my heartbeat reading, before and after sports.

Here is one of the screenshot pick from the product site.

# Answer
> 0 votes
There are options that may let you use a standard ANT+ heart rate belt so you can easaly get continuas recording while exercising. You either need a phone with built in ANT support which is mainly some of the Sony Xperias but not all. Or with a modern phone you can use a Usb Ant stick I have some details about this on my website.

---
Tags: fitness
---


# Question
Title: What's the most effortless way for "cloud" back up of photos taken with an Android phone?
After I take a picture with my phone, I want it to be synced (and/or shared) to the "cloud" shortly thereafter. (Say after a few seconds when I have wifi connection but not necessarily right away when on 3G). Does such an effortless synchronization system exist? Can a Picasa or DropBox account already do this but I haven't taken full advantage of it? Am I missing something?

I can't seem to find an official Picasa app by google. This Picasa/Android question I found seems to tell me it doesn't exist, although it's an old question.

The option to auto-share photos backed up this way would be worth mentioning. Non-picasa solutions are also well worth mentioning.

# Answer
If you sign up to Google+ you can do this with the Google+ app now.

There is an Instant Upload option in the app. This syncs any photos (and videos if you set the option) to an Instant Upload album in Picasa.
> 22 votes

# Answer
I've used PicPush for this purpose - it worked well. Only issue I had was it occasionally pushing an already backed up picture a second time and some random future date. Not that critical of an issue, just wound up with a few duplicate photos in my Picasa account. It supports many common photo services too.

$5, but if you download just the free portion of the app you get a 20-30 day trial (I forget exactly) to see if it works out for you.

http://www.appbrain.com/search?q=picpush
> 14 votes

# Answer
**Update:** I've gotten Pixelpipe to work with the Stock Camera App. Now every single picture I take with my Droid's camera is automatically uploaded to Picasa & Dropbox through Pixelpip. You can set it up to upload to any number of services. Here's how to get it set up:

1. Go into Pixelpipe
2. Go to Settings
3. Turn on "Enable auto upload for camera", and "Start uploads at once" (I have also chosen to turn off prompts and warnings)
4. Go into Add or Edit Pipes and set up which ever service you want to auto upload to.
5. Go into the settings for that pipe and make sure that the default for new uploads is "Send". (I don't know if this actually has to be chosen, I don't think so, but I haven't tested it. I just checked it off to be safe.)
6. Take a picture and it will upload to the "Pipes" you set up.

I tried it with Camera360 and it worked once but another time it didn't. Buggy. Don't know why.

---

Pixelpipe will do that for you plus a whole lot more. Basically you can set it to automatically upload any pic taken with the camera to almost any cloud service there is (including picasa and dropbox). You can also tell it to only use wifi.
> 8 votes

# Answer
Here's a possible alternative solution.

If you open the Dropbox app, then press your camera button and take a photo, the photo file is automatically added to your Dropbox folder and immediately synced to the cloud.

I read about it here: http://lifehacker.com/5713518/send-android-photos-straight-to-dropbox
> 8 votes

# Answer
**Try SugarSync.**

It's a cloud backup service similar to Dropbox. They have a free 5 GB account as well as cheaper monthly plans than DB.

Their Android app can be sycned to auto-upload all photos or sync folders on your SD. I've tried it an it works. I haven't fully tested it but one complaint that I have read is that it doesn't respect deletes on your Android phone so if you have a folder setup to sync and you delete a file from that folder on your SD card, when it syncs, it will download the backed up file back to your SD folder.

**Edit:** I added my referral link to SugarSync so if you sign up for a free 5 GB account we both get an extra 500 mb of storage, and if you sign up for the $5 a month 30 GB service we both get a free 10 GB! :)
> 4 votes

# Answer
I don't know about "auto-share", but Picasa is definitely one of my options on the "Share" menu from the Gallery. Additionally, my Picasa albums have been downloaded to my phone. Picasa Web Albums is one of the options to sync under `Settings | Accounts & sync | <current Google account>`.
> 2 votes

# Answer
You can do this via DropBox without having a physical camera button.

First open the DropBox app.

Press Menu

Press New

Press Picture (this should open camera app)

Take picture then press Done.
> 2 votes

# Answer
Relatively new app I've just heard about: Dropin

> Uploads photos & videos automatically to your Dropbox whenever you're online. Wanna download photos and videos from your phone? Forget the USB cable! Use Dropin! Dropin uploads photos and videos automatically to your Dropbox whenever you're online.
>
> 1. Sign-in with your Dropbox credentials or create a Dropbox account first.
> 2. Dropin **automatically starts uploading** your photos and videos into your Dropbox.
> 3. Set Dropbox folders and other preferences in Dropin Settings.
>
> Dropin helps you access photos and videos on your phone without connecting to your desktop computer. On your desktop, you will find everything right in your Dropbox folder.
> 2 votes

# Answer
There is a picasa android.

Its called `3D Gallery`.

Yea I know it made me rip some hair out. 3D Gallery after running will ask for permission to access your google account then integrates with picasa. There are some other picasa tools available as well.
> 1 votes

# Answer
**On June 2, 2012, PicPlz announced that they would be closing permanently as of July 3, 2012**

---

Try PicPlz. I've been using it lately and it's quite good.

Not only does it give you a number of effects you can apply to your images (like Hipstamatic) **and** effortlessly posting to Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr, Posterous and Foursquare, but you can also sync to a Dropbox folder. If you use an effect, it'll save the original too.
> 1 votes

# Answer
Checkout the Android app Auto Uploader in the Market. It'll auto upload to facebook flickr or picasa.
> 1 votes

# Answer
I have DLNA and a server for streaming movies, pictures and videos. I use it mostly so the TV (downstairs and in my room) can play some series I want. I'm using Twonky for this. I didn't realize it but when connected to WiFi, it automatically backs up my files (videos, pictures and music) from my Android device to my home server.

I originally installed it to play content on the TV, but I thought that back-up was a really handy feature!

From Twonky.com:

> Twonky offers computer and mobile applications, as well as an enhanced media website, to help you easily enjoy personal and online music, photos and videos. Use Twonky to share your favorite media with PCs, TVs, stereos and other devices connected to your network. Twonky products are available for Windows, Mac, Linux, Mobile and the Web.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: sync, photos, automation, cloud
---


# Question
Title: What does "avoided poor Internet connection" mean?
The connection to my work wifi just failed and below the network my phone is saying `"Avoided poor Internet connection"`. What does this mean exactly? Has the phone detected that it can't get out to the wider Internet or did the network fail to allocate an IP address or something else?

Not sure if it matters but this is on a Galaxy Nexus.

# Answer
Poor connection may mean that:

* there is either a weak signal from your wifi partner device.
* there is much noise from other systems using the same frequency.

Both mean that many data-packets are lost and have to be retransmitted so your overall throughput goes down.

You can compare this with:

* somebody is speaking not loud enough
* many people are speaking at the same time and it is difficult to understand one person in that noise

If you have interference problems it might help to change the wifi channel/frequency
> 14 votes

# Answer
This problem has been plaguing me ever since I upgraded my Sony Ericcson Experia Pro ("iyokan") from Cyanogenmod 7.2 (Android 2.3.7) to 9.0 (Android 4.0.3) -- until today when I did some more detailed investigation.

It's pretty clearly a defect related to the DHCP client. When it manifests, the device fails to obtain an IP address from any access point, even those with which it had previously had no trouble. Switching to a static IP address works around the problem.

a few minutes ago, I found that deleting the contents of /data/misc/dhcp and then resetting the device cleared the problem. I'm sure it will happen again, but when it does, I'll know what to do about it.

I hope this information helps someone and perhaps leads to a fix. I can't report it is an official bug because I'm using a nightly build (cm-9-20120819-NIGHTLY-iyokan)
> 11 votes

# Answer
While @k3b is right in what a poor Internet connection means that's not what's causing the error message to appear. If you actually have connection issues you don't get an error message (pretty counter-intuitive)
It appears that since upgrading to ics people have a problem with this.

Theoretically there should be a setting to switch this off under:

```
Settings -> Wi-Fi -> Advanced -> Avoid poor Internet connection

```

I said theoretically because I don't have it. See if you do and if it solves the problem. If you don't or it doesn't, read on.

There's a root only application on xda-developers that's supposed to solve this. If you don't have or don't want to root, you have to wait for Google to fix this.
> 10 votes

# Answer
I too had this problem on CM9. And the problem was so bad that I could barely connect to my WiFi. So I decided to fix it myself. I wrote an App which now easily solves this problem. You can get it from Google Play.

Now a bit of **explanation**:

**The problem:** As you might know, when your device says "Poor connection" the connection is not really poor, it's all about Android messing it up. This can be solved by clearing the contents where Android stores DHCP information, for some reason that data is causing the problem. This information is nothing but lease and pid stuff. As the lease is not human-readable (at lease I don't get it!) I can't tell what exactly wrong that's going on there. But clearing that helps.

**The solution:** The solution that I built simply automates turning WiFi Off, clearing DCHP information, and then turning WiFi back On. Simple yet perfect solution! :)
> 2 votes

# Answer
This also occurs if the device is unable to contact the DHCP server.
> 1 votes

# Answer
When I had this issue, I edited the gateway of the WiFi network in advanced WiFi settings to be the same as the proxy address. This solved the issue for me.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: wi-fi, internet, connection-issues
---


# Question
Title: 3G/Wi-Fi Vs Wi-Fi Only Enabled Android Tablets: Pros & Cons to the Consumer?
Having never owned an Android Tablet I am thinking of purchasing one at some point during 2013. From what I gather in terms of connectivity, they either come as:

* Wi-Fi Only
* 3G & Wi-Fi

Is it true that most tablets are Wi-Fi only enabled ? \- Those people who purchase them can therefore connect where ever there is Wi-Fi or a Wi-Fi Hotspot ?

3G/Wi-Fi tablets might be less common (or perhaps more appropriate to say popular) because they require a SIM card to be purchased and inserted (which leads to greater monthly expense....I assume), however they can therefore use the tablet anywhere they like because they are connected to a mobile, cellular network.(In the same manner that a SmartPhone is 3G/Wifi Enabled I guess)

Anyone who can comment on the above, would be much appreciated...

# Answer
> 1 votes
Most newer Android tablets provide both WiFi and WiFi+3G variants.

If a tablet is WiFi only - then yes, the tablet can only access the internet via a WiFi hotspot/network.

If a tablet has 3G capability as well, then yes - a SIM and data plan would be needed to use the 3G functionality, but not required to use the tablet. The benefits of using a 3G model would be that you always have an internet connection, even if there isn't a WiFi network available (as long as your mobile network has coverage where you are).

The 3G system in tablets is the same as in phones - except that most 3G enabled tablets don't have the ability to make voice calls, or send SMS's - they are limited to using only the internet through the 3G network.

3G tablets are more expensive than the WiFi only models - mostly costing in the region of ~£100 more, however the benefits can be rather useful - especially if you would be using the tablet out and about alot.

However, if you possess an Android device as well, then you could just purchase a WiFi only model, and use the Portable Hotspot feature of your Android phone to create a WiFi network that the tablet can connect to, to use the 3G internet of your phone.

**So, in conclusion:**

* 3G tablets can be connected to the internet practically everywhere
* 3G tablets can cost around £100 more than WiFi only varients
* WiFi only varients can only access the internet when a connectible WiFi network is present
* A SIM and data plan are needed to use 3G data on a 3G capable tablet - this will cost extra
* 3G tablets are ideal for those that will be taking them out and about with them, and would need an internet connection while they are out and about with their tablet
* WiFi only tablets are ideal for those that would only be using the tablet indoors that has a WiFi network available, or for those that wish to to the WiFi Hotspot feature of their Android phone.

---
Tags: wi-fi, tablet, 3g
---


# Question
Title: How can I install customized Android OS?
I want to install customized Android OS in my *Samsung Galaxy III*.

Can we do that or not ?

If we can not do with *Galaxy III*, then is there any other phone on which we can do the same?

Thanks In Advance

# Answer
1. Yes, you can, but you need to use a compatible ROM (if you don't want to break your phone). But before flashing it's recommended to read forums, where potential and actual problems with ROM are described.
Example: XDA Developers forums, Android Development subforums for you device (ROM are hardware specific).
2. Every phone with unlocked or possible to unlock bootloader.
> 2 votes

# Answer
You will have to create your own custom rom, e.g. customize the AOSP build, which is the most standard Android version you can imagine, no extra's from HTC or Samsung etc.
> 0 votes

# Answer
Have you tried using a custom launcher first? Nova and Apex (among others) give you a stock AOSP feel with many extras including the ability to use custom icon packs. You can get a customized look and feel without the warranty concerns that come with rooting and custom ROMs.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: custom-roms
---


# Question
Title: Will using my phone whilst charging make it charge slower?
Just the question in the title. If I have my phone plugged in and charging, will it take any longer to get up to 100% charge if I'm using it or will this make no difference? (I'm using a galaxy nexus)

# Answer
> 5 votes
Yes. The Galaxy Nexus will accept no more than 4.5W of power (0.9A @ 5V) from a charger, regardless of what the charger is capable of supplying.

This isn't a whole lot, so doing stuff will cut down on the amount of power available to charge the battery and it's actually possible to run down the battery while you're plugged in. Testing by a guy on reddit showed peak power draws from the battery of over 5W when using google maps, so you'd end up using the entire charger supply to power the hardware, and another 0.5W drawn from the battery.

# Answer
> 2 votes
Yes, it will take longer to charge if you're using it. The same as when you're using a laptop while it's charging.

---
Tags: charging
---


title: Autopublish album in Google+ photos

text:
# Question
Title: Autopublish album in Google+ photos
Okay, in spite of the hate being heaped on by iPhone elitists, I have installed Instagram on my Android phone and have started playing with it a bit.

**How can I get my Instagram photos to automagically appear in a public album in Google+ Photos?**

Felicia Day, for instance, has a public Instagram album.

I can see, on my phone, an Instagram album (which was automatically created by the app), but there is no such album in my Google+ Photos. The options for the phone album do not include a "make public" option, and there's nothing in the Instagram settings. At best, the photos are appearing in the default "Photos from your phone" album.

I know that I can manually share them, either through the website by making a public album and moving/copying them there, or using the Share features on my Android, but I'd rather have something automatic.

Is this possible, or just a pipe dream?

(Cross-posted at *Web Applications*.)

# Answer
> 2 votes
You can use IFTTT (If This Than That) and setup a recipe that auto posts from Instagram to a specific Picasa album online. This doesn't require you to leave anything open. Then you can set your Instagram album in Google+ to be public. You will need to follow the directions found here.

The only thing I haven't figured out yet is how to share something to my timeline whenever a new post arrives into that album.

# Answer
> 2 votes
Someone posted a how-to recently to do exactly what you're asking for.

> You'll need a few tools to get started here, and luckily they are available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. This method uses Dropbox and Picasa3 to keep things synced up, and a side benefit is that photos are available from anywhere -- not just the device that took them.
>
> To get started, you need to install the Dropbox client on your home computer. If you already have a Dropbox account, you can use the same login and you'll find that having Dropbox installed on your computer is a good thing anyway. Just visit this link and download the correct version for your computer platform. Install it, and you're done with the first step.
>
> Next, you'll need to install the Picasa3 program from Google. It's a pretty good photo organizer and viewer, but what we're interested in is the way it can sync a folder to your Google+ photos. This is where the magic will happen. Visit this link and download the appropriate version, and install it. Windows and Mac users have it easy, but if you're running Linux you'll need to install Wine 1.3 or higher, and use winetools to install the bits from ie6 to get the account Oauth working. There's plenty of tutorials on the net for this, and if you hit a snag, holler at me.
>
> Got those installed? Good. You're just about finished. The next step is to visit Instadrop and setup the Instagram to Dropbox sync. Instadrop is a web-app, running on Google's appspot engine, and is what makes this all work. You'll link the Instadrop app to both your Instagram account and your Dropbox account, and anytime you post a picture to Instagram it will get copied to a folder named "Instagram photos". All you need to do is link your accounts, and the app does the rest. You can do that here, and if you're the suspicious type, you can inspect the source code on Github and see exactly what's going on.
>
> A couple final steps setting up Picasa and your Google+ album. Open the Picasa program, and click File \> Add folder to Picasa. In your Dropbox folder, find the Instagram photo directory (if it's not there, upload a picture to Instagram to create it) in the tree and mark it to "Scan Always" (the blue circular arrow). This means that Picasa will hit that folder each time it scans for new content, and automagically import any pictures it finds. Click the OK button.
>
> Now in the Picasa program, look in the upper right. You'll see a spot to sign-in with your Google account. Do that, and make sure the Sync to Web switch for the Instagram photos folder is set to on. Open your Google+ page, and make sure the Instagram photos album is set up to be shared with the folks you want to share it with, and that's it.
>
> What's happening is that anytime you post a picture to your Instagram stream, the Instadrop web-app pushes it to the Instagram photos folder in your Dropbox. When your computer is on, Picasa uploads it to your Google+ album. Is it perfect? Not by a long shot. But it's a way to get that content merged without waiting for Google to have a public API for content posting and sharing on G+ from third party apps.
>
> Note that these pictures aren't shared to your Google+ stream be default. Until we get some sort of G+ API from Google, that's not going to happen (at least not easily). But if you share your album, people can visit and check them out, and of course you can easily share a photo from the album yourself. Click on it and hit the Share button in the bottom right.

---
Tags: google-plus-photos, instagram
---


title: Google Maps not showing actual location

text:
# Question
Title: Google Maps not showing actual location
Google Maps is not showing my actual location. It shows me as being nearby (almost a kilometer away). What can the problem?

# Answer
> 7 votes
There are a number of possible reasons for an inaccurate location, mostly relating to the lack of a good GPS fix. If the phone cannot get an accurate GPS fix, it will use more approximate methods of deriving its location - such as cell tower locations and wifi hotspot locations.

Possible reasons for no good GPS fix, in vague descending order of likliness:

1. You are indoors, or the sky is otherwise obstructed (trees can have quite an impact)
2. GPS is turned off or disabled on your phone, or you are using Google Maps on a device that does not have a GPS receiver.
3. You haven't used the GPS for a day or more, or you have moved a long way since you last used it, and it is taking a while to get a fix - this can take a minute or more in some circumstances, especially if you don't have a data signal.
4. The GPS isn't working properly. Some phones have GPS trouble occasionally and require a restart.
5. There is interference with the GPS - e.g. naval forces sometimes conduct exercises with GPS jamming, and I've had... variable results trying to use it near a large naval base before.

Normally if Google Maps can only give an approximate fix it will show a circle around your position, showing uncertainty. It might help with diagnosis to know whether you are seeing this circle, as that will indicate whether Maps knows that it has an approximate location or whether it thinks that it has an accurate one and is wrong.

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


title: Make iso of sdcard + data directory

text:
# Question
Title: Make iso of sdcard + data directory
I need to be able to make an iso file of the /mnt/sdcard and /data/ directories on both rooted and nonrooted phones(for forensic analysis). Older phones I can mount to my linux machine and run `mkisofs` and it works perfect. However on newer devices I can't seem to mount the devices.

Android has `dd` built into the shell so I can use that to create an iso of the directories as well. However besides the sdcard I can't find anywhere that I have write access on the system for non rooted phones.

So my question is where on an android system can I get write access while in the shell other than the sdcard and the data directores. A broader question would be to solve the problem of either mounting the device or making the iso file from outside android's shell.

# Answer
> 1 votes
No way to do that without root, for good reasons (security). I recommend you to take a look into Andrew Hoogs Android Forensics book, where you'll get a lot of insight not only in this speecial context, but for other Forensics related issues as well as general background information on Android devices and the Android system itself.

Without root, you will not be able to access all directories on internal storage -- most of them will be denied to you even for reading, let alone writing. If access would be that easy, all security would be gone, as apps could freely access everything. However, there are a few directories you could get write access to (probably to install some forensics tool I guess?), such as temp directories. Not being at home I currently cannot check which ones this might be (try e.g. `/data/local`, which is what the playstore app uses as temp folder for app installations, or check with the `mount` command which mount points use `tmpfs` -- though not all `tmpfs` file systems may grant you full access).

A fully detailed description would be beyond the scope of this site, as we focus on end-user problems; forensic specific problems are rather not end-user related.

---
Tags: sd-card, file-system, shell
---


# Question
Title: What would cause the existence of a /sdcard/logfile.log?
Since quite some time I've been getting a file `/sdcard/logfile.log` which gets really big quickly, last time I checked it was about 2MB. That file seems a general system log since I remember seeing references to several applications. How can I find out what is causing this?

# Answer
> 0 votes
It seems that On{X} was causing this. No logfile is created anymore in SD card since the application has been uninstalled.

---
Tags: sd-card, logging
---


# Question
Title: Are there any custom ROMs which let the user somehow filter Share menu lists?
Based on " How can I customize the list of services that pops up when I choose to "share" something in an app? " answer, any app supporting ACTION\_SEND intent will be listed in "Share" menu pop-up.

**Are there any custom ROMs which let the user somehow filter those Share menu lists to exclude installed apps?**

# Answer
That's another XY problem question: you ask *how to establish your suggested solution,* instead to ask *how to solve your real problem*, which is your actual concern. For this task, you don't even need *any* Custom ROM.

Take a look at Andmade Share -- this app lets you customize your share menu on any ROM, not even root is needed:

As you can easily see, this app lets you...

* Select (filter) the apps appearing in the list (as your question required)
* Change the order in which they appear in the list (e.g. put your most frequently used apps on top)
> 4 votes

---
Tags: custom-roms, share-menu
---


title: Installing USB driver for Micromax A50

text:
# Question
Title: Installing USB driver for Micromax A50
I have to install USB driver for *`Micromax A50`* .

I have google USB driver installed through SDK Manager, but need a USB driver specifically for this device. To install this USB driver I think, I need PC suite. From where can I get this ?

*My goal is to install USB driver for Micromax A50, so that it gets detected in the Dalvik Debug Monitor.*

# Answer
This link is the official location to download User Manuals, Service Guides, Driver Software, PC Suites for Micromax devices.

1. Although I couldn't find anything useful there, here's the Micromax pc suite 1.08 link.

This will download the file "installer\_micromax\_pc\_suite.exe", that once you've executed on your windows OS, it will download the PC Suite from the Micromax servers to a folder on your computer (more or less 60Mb).
2. This is the Micromax phone suite 2.0944.0 link that's more recent than the PC Suite.

It leads to the same file, and the installation folder that gets created on your computer is the same.

After having the folder on your desktop, just run "PhoneSuite.exe", having your phone connected to your computer.

**Product Page, direct link to drivers and user manual:**
> 1 votes

# Answer
It's Easy, Download the Drivers from the Site
Micromax A50 Superphone Ninja
Drivers A50
UnZip in Safe Location.
Connect your Mobile With 'Debugging Enabled'
Right Click on '**My Computer**' \>\> Select '**Manage**' \>\> **Device Driver** \>\> Find your Mobile as in the below Image

**Right Click on your Device** \>\> Update Driver \>\> Select 'Browse My Computer for Driver Software' \>\> Point to the Unzipped Location \>\> Enable '**Include SubFolders**' \>\> Ignore any Warnings, you are Done.
If you are Using 64-Bit you Cannot install Drivers Provided by them Directly, as they are not Signed. You can Google & find How to sign Drivers Manually
\*All Device Drivers can be installed the same way if Windows cannot install Automatically.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: 2.3-gingerbread, usb, usb-debugging, dalvik
---


# Question
Title: Can I install a ROM made for a different device?
I own a MicroMax A100. I want to install the latest version of a different ROM (Samsung or Nexus).

Is it possible? If so, can you tell me how?

If not, can I install a ROM made for a different device, but from the same manufacturer? For example, could I install a ROM for the MicroMax A110, which is the successor of A100?

# Answer
> 16 votes
## Short answer:

You can only install ROMs compatible with your device

## Longer version

Different Android devices use different hardware, which requires special drivers (e.g. the camera). Those drivers are sometimes/often proprietary (take e.g. Sony, which almost made it into the AOSP project -- but had difficulties due to those proprietary parts and thus had to back-out again: AOSP only allows for non-proprietary, Open Source code, like its name suggests: Android Open Source Project). Installing an incompatible ROM, in the best case, makes components of your device unavailable (they are simply not working). In the worst case, you might "brick" it (it won't even start up).

You might want to check the question Where can I find stock or custom ROMs for my Android device? to find ROMs compatible with your device. Most times, there are several choices available to meet the user's requirements: Less "bloatware" but more performance, more fancy stuff, custom enhancements... So you still can make your pick.

Other recommended readings on this topic:

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


title: How to back up applications in Android?

text:
# Question
Title: How to back up applications in Android?
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> How to backup an Android device?

If I have installed N number of applications including big games, and I would like to back up them, so I could restore the games as soon as I factory reset my mobile, how can it be done ?

Any free apps ?

# Answer
You can use Titanium Backup, but your phone needs to have root. It has a FREE and a PAID version.
> 2 votes

# Answer
Depending on your Android version, and whether you are rooted or not, there are multiple possibilities. On all rooted devices, you can use Titanium Backup ★ root (pro version recommended -- there's nothing like it). For non-rooted devices, there's no app that can really backup everything (which is an *intended* permission issue for security reasons: no app can directly access another app's data). But provided you're running at least ICS (Android 4.0.\*) or higher, take a look at the question Full Backup of non-rooted devices.
> 2 votes

# Answer
You can use ES File Explorer or File Expert to backup your apk's, it will only backup your apps not the data. And they will do it with free versions.

From this answer

To backup your app data you should have to rooted to use any application that can backup the data. But if you have not rooted then you can try the following command which will work without root, but using adb. Turn on USB debugging, connect up to your computer, and run

> adb pull /data/data/*package name* C:\where\you\want\the\files.
> 2 votes

# Answer
There is also AppMonster. It is available as both a free and a paid app (€2.96) on the Play Store. ES File Explorer is nice too (it gives more significant names to the backed up APKs) but AppMonster is better. I use both of them and AppMonster can back up apps that ES File Explorer does even not find (Seesmic Pro for example). I almost asked a question about "un-backup-able" apps on the site because of that.
> 0 votes

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Tags: backup, htc-one-x
---


# Question
Title: Ice cream sandwich tablet saying the internal SD card was removed?
I just got this tablet, and I was playing on it. Out of nowhere, it said SD card removed. The only problem is it's an internal SD card. So I didn't remove it. Now, it says there is no memory on it. Anyone else have this problem, and know how to fix it?

# Answer
What exactly did happen there for that to occur?

The only way this can happen is by going into Settings \> Storage, scroll down to the bottom and it says "*Unmount SD Card*", at this point it is already unmounted so that would show by now the following "*Mount SD Card*"?
> 0 votes

---
Tags: 4.0-ice-cream-sandwich, internal-sd
---


# Question
Title: What is the actual risk of bricking when rooting for new ROM
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> Are there any risks to rooting a device?

I've been planning to root my HTC One S for a while now, because the HTC software is so unstable. Sometimes it crashes every day for a certain period, sometimes even multiple times a day, I did a factory reset and the problem was gone for weeks but it recently came back. It has been going clean for 3 days now so it may be another period where it keeps stable, but I cannot trust it for too long.

Now consider these facts:

* I will follow every instruction that I found on this forum, Phandroid.
* I have experience with linux. Not too much, but I know how the file system works and I can work with bash.
* I have quite a bit of programming experience and I'm generally pretty good with computers.

The latter two may not be so relevant to the story of rooting, but all is to say that I'm an advanced user at least, if not expert. I know how to troubleshoot and I know when I should doubt an instruction or not.

That said, taking these things into account, and considering the fact that I've never rooted a smartphone, what is the approximate real chance of me making my phone unrecoverably damaged/bricked/whatever..., If I'm careful?

I'm just asking because this thing has cost enough money and it would be quite depressing to turn it into a worthless lump of plastic and metal.

# Answer
> 3 votes
If you're careful - risk is minimal. I do say minimal because there is no 0 risk!

Let's split this in parts.

Installing custom recovery: Higher risk because now you're overwriting the recovery partition of the phone. If you're in the process of overwriting and your phone shuts off, the recovery part may get corrupted. Will your phone brick though? Maybe, depending if the boot partition may also be affected. But, since your phone uses fastboot, the risk decreases.

Rooting: Usually the least risk operation of all, since you're pushing files to the device. If it messes up, chances are factory resetting will let you start again.

Now you've got custom recovery set up and want to try out a custom ROM Risk - Less than installing recovery if you choose a ROM for **your** device. Custom ROMS *usually* just copy the OS onto the phone. This should not touch the recovery partition. This means that should it fail and the phone does not boot into an OS, you can still use the recovery partition to restore a backup, retry the install or try another ROM. This may change though, if you install a non One S ROM, as most ROM zips have a hardcoded partition when they modify.

So remember to read the instructions thoroughly, make sure your battery is fully charged when doing this, back up your current OS after you install custom recovery and make sure you install the ROM that is made for your device.

---
Tags: rooting, htc-one-s
---


title: How can I choose a music player?

text:
# Question
Title: How can I choose a music player?
I am looking for a music player for my android device which has a number of specific features (such as having a play queue, lock screen controls, etc.) I am finding it difficult because there are lots of music players out there and they don't list all of their features "on the box".

For example, *Double Twist* has an "add to play queue" option, but it doesn't say so "on the box", so I had to download it and try it to know. I was wondering if there were any resources out there which provide complete feature lists or some other means of helping me find what I want.

# Answer
This is the method I use for finding important apps which have to fit certain requirements:

1. Make a list of all the features you want.
2. Have some music in the standard music folder which the standard music app uses. Don't have too much music as it may take a new app a long time to read it all.
3. Find an article which compares popular music players like "10 best android music players". Popular ones will be most likely to have lots of features.
4. Download the music apps mentioned in the articles.
5. Start it and test it to see if it has the features on your list. Keep a record of the ones that meet most of your requirements, as there is a chance you might not find exactly what you want.
> 3 votes

# Answer
The app best suits for you is **Sony Walkman Player**

Here are the download links.

> Walkman.apk
> Visualizerpack.apk

---

All the features you want can be found here.

* Have a play queue
* Have lock screen controls
* Visualizer mode.
* Edit metadata
* And many more.

Simply install it and try it out.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: applications, samsung-galaxy-s-3, music-player
---


# Question
Title: How can I save taken photos and recorded videos out of DCIM folder?
How to save taken photos and recorded videos out of DCIM folder, in custom locations? Or, is it ever possible to DCIM separate photos and videos into different subfolders?

In my phone, a Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman, there's a folder 100ANDRO within DCIM storing all of videos and pictures together. I would like, for example, for videos to go to `/sdcard/Videos`, and photos to `/sdcard/Pictures/Photos`. I would like to at least save the videos somewhere else.

Applications such as SugarSync get confused and think everything in DCIM is a picture. Regardless, I want to know how the path is determined and ideas on how to achieve this, either by some hidden configuration or modification of source code.

The DCIM folder is mounted on a FAT filesystem, so symlinks are not supported. I have heard about using `mount --bind /old/dir /new/dir`, so is it possible to do this without rooting and on system initialization? That would allow me to a least make DCIM point somewhere else, or make other folders like Pictures and Videos point to DCIM. Thanks in advance!

# Answer
> 3 votes
You say "Tasker doesn't seem a solution". If you already have Tasker installed you can do the following:

Create a task with 6 actions that puts the names of the files in the camera folder into an array, then loops through the array moving files one by one depending on the filename extention. Note, in the IF statements, ~ means Matches, and !~ means Doesn't Match.

(Your directory may look different to mine)

1. List Files

**Dir**: external-sd/DCIM/Camera **Variable**: %Myfiles
2. Variable Set

**Name** %ArrayIndex **To** 0
3. Variable Add

**Name** %ArrayIndex **Value**: 1
4. Move

**From** %Myfiles(%ArrayIndex) **To** external-sd/Pics

**IF** %Myfiles(%ArrayIndex) ~ \*.jpg
5. Move

**From** %Myfiles(%ArrayIndex) **To** external-sd/Vids

**IF** %Myfiles(%ArrayIndex) ~ \*.mp4
6. Goto

**Type** Action Number **Number** 3

**If** %ArrayIndex !~ %Myfiles(#)

Now you can launch this task with a shortcut on your homescreen, or you can make it fully automatic by having Tasker run this task whenever the Camera app closes.

To do this create a Context -Application-Camera, and link it to the above task. Then long-click on the task and select "Move to Exit"

# Answer
> 1 votes
DCIM has historically been used to store pictures and videos - it stands for Digital Camera IMages. The location is hard coded into the camera application and cannot be changed.

There are a small number of alternative camera apps on the market - I haven't looked, but they may support custom image/video save locations.

Without a rooted device, there is no way to use the mount command at boot, unless you make an app to do it. This could in theory work, but that command would most likely need root to be executed (I will try now and tell you).

Apps however should *not* think that only images reside in the DCIM directory. This is incorrect, and you would do well to contact the app developer to tell them this.

---
Tags: video, photos
---


# Question
Title: In ICS 4.0.3 using ADWLauncher EX, how can I make only three home screens instead of five?
I just upgraded my android phone to ICS. When I had Gingerbread (2.3), I remember the option to change the number of home screens. I also had ADW launcher in 2.3 before. Now I can't find the option in ICS to change the number of home screens.

# Answer
> 2 votes
From the Homescreen, go to *Menu*, then *Edit*. This brings you to an overview of configured home screens. Long-press the one you want to remove, and drag it to the trashbin which appears. Continue until only 3 screens are left.

Similarly, if you want to add more screens, there's one "screen" with a plus-sign ("+") in the same place. Tap that one, and you'll get an additional screen.

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


# Question
Title: Samsung Galaxy S in boot loop after following cyanogen mod's full update guide
I have been following this guide to root my Samsung Galaxy S smartphone. I've followed it to the letter, but after I load the new kernel to the phone, the phone gets stuck in a boot loop. The phone restarts after the kernel is loaded, it gets to the "Galaxy S" splashscreen, and then it goes off and restarts. Nothing else happens.

I have tried to get in to the recovery mode by holding the power, home and volume up button, and all this seems to do is hang the phone when it displays the same splashscreen. It does nothing else.

I'm really stuck, I've tried reloading the kernel several times since but nothing happens (I can get in to Download mode). I've also read on another forum that you can press the power button and the volume up and down buttons, but these don't do anything.

Many thanks for the help!

# Answer
> 6 votes
# Edit

Honestly, I am not 100% sure that this was really a problem related to the kernel. I think that the "problem" could be also caused by the fact that pressing the home key in recovery mode results in a reboot. The correct way to select a recovery item is to press the power button.

# Original post

I had the same issue two days ago. The problem was the kernel. After switching to the kernel that was mentioned a few wiki changes before it worked like a charm.

**Kernel:** http://cmw.22aaf3.com/aries/gt-i9000/root/Hardcore-speedmod-i9000.zip

**MD5:** afccda1f4efb560398dd5bc107bb7a69

I even (re-)added this information but it was again reverted. :-(

# Answer
> 0 votes
The problem is with the kernel. I had also faced this problem before and got out of the boot loop. Follow the instructions given below.

1. Download the stock firmware from www.sammobile.com
2. Download Heimdall Suite.
3. Extract the firmware package and copy the zImage file into the Heimdall Suite directory.
4. Install the driver for the phone.
5. Boot the phone into download mode by pressing `Volume Down` \+ `Home button` \+ `Power`.
6. Connect the phone to the computer using the USB cable supplied along with the phone.
7. Open Command Prompt and change the directory to Heimdall Suite.
8. Now type `heimdall flash --kernel zImage`
9. A blue bar will come on the screen. After the flash is complete, the phone will reboot normally.
10. After the reboot, go to the Apps screen to check if the Superuser app is installed. If Superuser is installed, your phone is rooted.

To install Cyanogenmod, follow the following instructions:

1. Copy the rom to a folder in the sd card.
2. Copy the zImage file provided by Cyanogenmod into the Heimdall Suite directory.
3. Boot the phone into download mode.
4. Connect the phone to the computer.
5. Open Command Prompt.
6. Change the directory to Heimdall Suite and flash the kernel using the following command: `heimdall flash --kernel zImage`
7. The phone will reboot and go into a bootloop.
8. Turn off the phone by removing the battery.
9. Boot the phone into Recovery mode by holding `Volume Up` \+ `Home button` \+ `Power`.
10. Now flash the rom using the method mentioned here
11. You will now have Cyanogenmod installed on your phone.

---
Tags: rooting, cyanogenmod, samsung-galaxy-s, boot-loop
---


# Question
Title: Message Memory Full, Incoming message rejected
I got this message on my phone:

> *Message Memory full<br>Incoming message rejected*

I have deleted a lot of messages, and I have also run the memory cleaners I have on my phone.

What should I do?

Exactly which memory is used?

Are there alternate apps that will let me store the messages in a different location?

# Answer
> 4 votes
According to several sources (including a.o. TechniPages and AndroidCentral) the cause of this problem is lacking space in your device's *internal memory*, which must have at least 25MB free space left.

T-Mobile's support pages have a detailed instruction on how to solve the issue. Though for some steps it was not clear to me what Android version (and what menu option) they were referring to, as a basic abstract the most important points include:

* **Remove apps you no longer need**
This is the fastest solution, as it will certainly reclaim larger amounts of space per single step. To do so, you can e.g. use Androids default app manager: Go to *Settings → Applications → Manage Applications*, select the *Downloaded* tab (you only can remove apps you downloaded yourself), check which apps you no longer need, tap their entry, and hit the *Uninstall* (or *Remove*) button. In case this is grayed out, you might need to *Force Stop* the app first.
* **Move apps to your sd card**
This option is available with Android 2.2 and higher, but doesn't work with all apps. In short, apps must actively support this -- and must *not* provide widgets and some other things in order to be moved to sd card. The built-in "mover" only permits you to move apps applying to these rules.
* **Cleaning up caches**
You can do so manually going to *Settings → Applications → Manage Applications*, select *"All"* (not just *"Downloaded"*), tap each app, and select the *Clear Cache* button.
* **Clear history**
This is for your call-logs etc. I doubt this reclaims lots of space.

Having followed these essential steps (which I placed in the order of "most effective first"), your problem should be gone.

---
Tags: sms, internal-storage, ram
---


# Question
Title: Does the google play store not provide updates for frozen apps?
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> Is there any other way to get updates to frozen apps?

I freeze problematic apps in hope of waiting for a better update. When frozen, the apps once *did* update like normally. I've turned on automatic updates in Google Play Store.

Now I've noticed that apps that are frozen does not seem to get updates.

Is this a problem with the way I freeze apps? I use Link2SD app to freeze apps.

Or is it because of the updated latest versions of Google Play Store doesn't allow updates for the frozen/disabled apps? (Google play store shows "Enable" button over the place of "open/update" for installed frozen apps.)

My Google Play Store version: 3.10.10

# Answer
Based on one of the comments in an AndroidPolice article about Google Play Store v3.7.15, you can't update frozen / disabled apps anymore.
> 4 votes

# Answer
Just a bit more insight into this:

Since ICS, Google allows you to disable system apps via the applications menu - this is the same as freezing.

As such, Google Play needed to improve their system to allow them to detect 'Disabled' system apps that reside on the market - such as apps added their by OEM's.

As such, Google Play now detects frozen/disabled apps and doesn't allow you to update them until they are unfrozen/enabled.
> 1 votes

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Tags: google-play-store, updates, application-autoupdate, disable-app
---


# Question
Title: How can I recover deleted calendar events?
I had duplicate events from syncing so I deleted what I thought were the correct set but it turns out I deleted the ones from my Outlook calendar which in turn deleted them from my Outlook calendar during the sync. How can I recover them?

# Answer
I don't think it is possible to recover these.. Only if you should have backups of your Outlook calendar, but I don't think a lot of people take backups of their calendar
> 0 votes

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Tags: calendar, data-recovery
---


# Question
Title: Samsung Galaxy S3 random reboot during clipboard use
I have a UK sim-free Samsung Galaxy S3. It's had official OTA updates only, and is not rooted or modified in any way. It's running Jelly Bean.

Since getting the Jelly Bean upgrade it's possible to get the phone to reboot by using cut and paste functionality. I've achieved this with both the Gmail app and Chrome. I've seen it on other people's phones too. I've performed a factory reset and the problem continues.

To reproduce, load up Chrome and then long-press on any webpage with text, select a little text, and then either press the highlighted text or the `copy to clipboard` icon (two overlapping rectangles). After between 1 and 20 attempts, my phone will reboot. Sometimes it will reboot when I paste something; for example a URL into the URL bar at the top of Chrome's screen.

I've not been able to reproduce this on the stock browser, despite a number of attempts, nor on any other apps (apart from Gmail).

I'd be interested to hear if any other people are affected by this.

# Answer
When I read your question it sounded like a Chrome bug to me.

I looked around, and YES, it's a bug on Samsung's multi-entry clipboard feature, and it's been reported here.

Here are two things you can do to fix this:
(1) If your phone is rooted, delete the contents of "/data/clipbord/\*".
(2) OR, Do a factory reset.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: gmail, 4.1-jelly-bean, samsung-galaxy-s-3, chrome-for-android
---


# Question
Title: Customize number display on dial pad on Android 4
Is it possible to customize how numbers are displayed when dialing a number? For example: Instead of grouping them with spaces like `555 123 123`, I'd like it to have no grouping: `555123123`.

On 2.3 you could do that from the locale, US had spaces and UK did not. On 4.1 it seems that both US and UK have the same spaces.

Can it be changed?

Thank you.

# Answer
> 1 votes
To the date, there is no functionality to disable this feature. Actually this was implemented to make it easier for the user to recognize and remeber the number easily.

I did some search and found out that other people have the same problem as well.

What I suggest is to move on to a custom dialer app which suit you the best, if this grouping feature really annoys you.

---
Tags: 4.0-ice-cream-sandwich
---


# Question
Title: Stream video over Samba or NFS to Android device
I have a file server on the LAN that serves Samba and NFS.

How can I connect with any of those protocols and stream video from it, without unlocking/rooting?

# Answer
VLC for Android should support Samba and NFS.

> VLC media player is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player that plays most multimedia files as well as discs, devices, **and network streaming protocols.**
>
> This is the port of VLC media player to the Android™ platform. VLC for Android can play any video and audio files, **as well as network streams, network shares and drives**, and DVD ISOs, like the desktop version of VLC.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: video-streaming
---


# Question
Title: Is there any way to move apps to my SD with Android 2.1?
Is there any possible way to move apps to my SD card on my Droid Eris? I keep getting that low memory icon in my notification bar and its really annoying. I'm running Android 2.1

# Answer
It's a built-in feature of Froyo, as long as the developer has built the app that way.

However, you're mostly out of luck, unless you're willing to root your phone and install Cyanogenmod and APPS2SD or jump through the hoops Bruce details in his answer.

If you do have Android 2.2 or higher, the app SDMove can be a big help in moving apps in bulk. SDWatch is also useful, as it monitors apps you install and alerts you if it can be moved the SD card. (There are, of course, other apps that do the same things. They're just the ones I've used.)
> 8 votes

# Answer
Actually, there is way. It's not perfectly seamless, and it requires that you partition your SD card yourself. The steps below were provided by Sparx as an answer to this question.

It worked for me, and I'm running stock android 2.1 on a Motorola milestone.

---

Enter Link2SD \- it's freeware and works with Android 1.6 and above.

You will also need a partitioning tool - I used the excellent freeware Easeus Partition Manager (EPM) to ensure no data was erased during the repartitioning / resizing.

1. First, download and install EPM.
2. Pop your storage card into your card reader.
3. Start EPM
4. Your card should be visible amongst the other drives/partitions in your PC.
5. Select the partition on your card - it should cover the entire length by default. Right-click & choose RESIZE/MOVE and then REDUCE the Partition Size (this is what shows in Windows) until the Unallocated Space size is of a suitable size. (The Unallocated space will be allocated as the partition on which your apps will be stored.) Click OK.

An aside - even though Link2SD supports the creation of the second partition (in which your apps will reside) in the FAT / FAT32 format, Windows only recognizes the first PRIMARY partition which is why this newly created partition won't show within Windows inspite of it being FAT / FAT32. We shall be using either ext2 / ext3 or ext4 as the file system in any case.

Onward...

6. Right-click this new Unallocated Space and choose CREATE. Click YES on the warning that describes what I've said above.
7. Now, in the Partition Label, type in a label like "AndroidApps" or whatever suits you.
8. This is CRITICAL - the CREATE AS should be PRIMARY
9. Choose File System as EXT3 and click OK.
10. Click APPLY in the main window's TOP LEFT corner (big blue check mark icon). EPM will carry out the operations. Congrats! You've just re-partitioned your card and without any data loss too. (Hopefully!)

Assuming you've installed Link2SD in your phone and the SD card has been re-inserted. 11. Reboot your phone.

12. Start Link2SD and it should detect your partition.
13. A list of apps is now displayed. Click the app you want to move to the card and then click CREATE LINK.

That's it.
> 2 votes

# Answer
There is titanium backup. It's description says:

> You can move any app (or app data) to/from the SD card.
>
> Requires Android: 1.0 and up

It has a free version. It requires `root`: How do I root my Android device?
> 1 votes

---
Tags: 2.1-eclair, app2sd
---


# Question
Title: GT I9300 clockworkmod Cyanogen 10 nightly external SD not mounting
I haven't played around with custom ROMs since my G1 back in 2008, so when I put Cyanogen 10 on Galaxy S3 last night I wasn't surprised that things have changed a bit.

I rooted the phone first, then put on CM touch, then C10 and the appropriate gapps. My problem is that I can't see the ext sd that worked fine under the stock ROM.

These are the specifics:

* recovery-cwm-touch-6.0.1.2-i9300
* cm-10.1-20121220-NIGHTLY-i9300
* gapps-jb-20121212-signed

I'm trying to mount via the CWM menu but get this response:

Error mounting /external\_sd!

I've also tried to use ICS SD Binder, but with no success.

Any help would be grand.

# Answer
> 0 votes
finally found the solution. You have to fix the card first (which also means you can get back any data on the card).

On a Windows box I ran chkdsk.

Start -\> cmd -\> chkdsk e: /f

Then set the partition up as fat32, a 32GB partition. I did this on an Ubuntu box, for no other reason than that is my normal OS.

After popping the card back in the phone it was picked up and is being reported as 59.43GB

I tried a few things before I found the solution: http://exceptionallyexceptionalexceptions.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/s3-mod.html

# Answer
> 0 votes
First to the recovery:

Samsung phones that use Odin have their recovery image as part of the kernel. You should flash the CyanogenMod zip file, and that should flash the CWM recovery. Alternatively, you could flash the Siyah kernel, which comes with a modified CWM touch recovery image.

Now to the EXT partition:

Make sure that the EXT partition is primary, and also ensure that your ROM has EXT support - you should ask on your ROM's forum post/website to check if it does. If it does, then it could be an issue with the mount script, if it doesn't well we know what the issue is now ;)

---
Tags: cyanogenmod, external-sd
---


# Question
Title: How do I set my contact picture for text messaging with my Huawei Fusion?
I have a Huawei Fusion and I have been trying to find out how to change the grey Android picture into my own personal one. I have had no luck finding out how to on the internet. Help would be greatly appreciated.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Unfortunately, you didn't specify your Android version :(

However:

**Android 4.x Onwards:**

1. Open up your `People` app.
2. Look for an entry called `Me`.
3. Click it.
4. Click the picture at the top, and select either take picture or select from gallery.
5. Take or select a picture, crop it and your done!

**Android ≤ 4.x:**

*Note: It has been a while since I tried this - I cannot remember if it works or not*

1. Open your `Contacts` app.
2. Add a new entry, call it `Me` or just add your name in like usual.
3. Add your number FULLY. You may want to add it twice (with and without country code).
4. Add a picture to that contact you just created.
5. Voila! The picuture is now in SMS!

**Other Method:**

I noticed that on *some* contact apps, there is a 'My Contact Card' or something like that in the menu. If you have it, you can use it to set your picture as well.

---
Tags: sms
---


# Question
Title: Best Practice for transferring images to an Android phone?
I switched from iOS to Android, and wish to transfer my pictures.

Where on the filesystem should I put the pictures? I first thought `/DCIM/camera`, but that's the directory for pictures shot with the phone.

`/media` and `/Pictures` seem to be appropriate, too. I just want to set up everything in the best possibly way. I also want the pictures to be in different folders e.g. holidays, work, etc...

I have a Nexus 4 phone, if you need that to help me.

# Answer
Please feel free to use a folder structure which suits you. It's better if you create a seperate folder for pictures, inside *media* folder or on the primary folder itself. (where the folders such as DCIM and media are located.)

As your title asks, there are no hard and fast methods to transfer data to your phone. Standard file transfer safety measures apply.

About keeping seperate folders, do NOT use too many folders which might result in slowing down the phone. No matter where you put the images, the album app finds them. (Just make sure that you don't copy them in to folders that you do not know of)

Have fun with android.
> 3 votes

# Answer
I would place the images in the /Pictures folder, but there is no real 'best practice' as far as I know. That is the fun thing about Android, you can place the pictures wherever you want, you'll be able the access them in every picture application. So you place them where you would think they belong, if you need them later.

You can make the necessary folders and normally Android will organize them according to the folder where it's in. At least that is the case on my phone, but I have another phone (HTC One X, so maybe HTC added this feature).

Btw, `I switched from iOS to android` deserves a +1 :-)
> 1 votes

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Tags: file-system, images
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title: WiFi Hotspot Security?

text:
# Question
Title: WiFi Hotspot Security?
Is there any way to add extra security to a WiFi hotspot created by an Android phone?

I am using a Samsung GT-S5300 with Android 2.3.6, and I am using the WiFi hotspot feature at home since Telkom doesn't offer ADSL in my area anymore.

I need to be able to limit access to the hotspot to mine and my wife's laptops as WPA can be cracked very easily and I cannot see if someone has tried to crack it.

# Answer
If your device is rooted, you could give Wireless Tether for Root Users a try. According to an article on e-how.com, this app also features a mac-filter, allowing you to exactly define which devices are permitted on your hotspot:

> Wireless Tether provides WPA encryption, the latest wireless security standard, and allows for MAC address filtering, letting you screen devices without having to constantly monitor your phone.

(EDIT: According to the app's own description, WPA/WPA2 is available on supported devices only, whatever those "supported devices" may be)

For the default hotspot shipping with Android, you might want to star this issue at google code, which requests exactly the feature you are looking for (mac filtering).
> 4 votes

# Answer
From what I understand - If you use a strong password in either wpa-psk or wpa2-psk it's more or less "unbreakable". Even if you use a legacy cipher like TKIP you still need to intercept the 4 way handshake to get the authentication packets. When you gotten that, then the hashed string need to be brute forced.

Android hotspots running wpa2-psk will use the AES cipher by default unless told otherwise by the device requesting access. So as long as you force both of your computers to run AES and pick a strong password. You shouldn't worry about the neighbours cracking your WIFI ;)

**Recommendations regarding the password**:

1. Don't use any words that can be found in a dictionary
2. Mix Letters, Capitol Letter, Numbers, !"#¤%&/()=?@£$€\[\]{} (The more randomness the better)
3. The length of password should probably be at least 10 characters long, if you follow the advice above then the longer the better :)

Newer android phones can filter by MAC and hide the SSID (My Samsung Galaxy SIII can) - But that's more or less security by obscurity with the tools out there today. Basic sniffing tools can find hidden networks and MAC addresses can easily be spoofed :/

Toms Hardware did an article about it last year, Link to article \- They show CPU and GPU based cracking, the later is the de facto standard these days.
> 4 votes

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Tags: security, wifi-hotspot
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# Question
Title: Why can't Banshee Remote connect to server?
I'm trying to use Banshee Remote with my Samsung Galaxy S3, but everytime I try to add a new server, it says `Can't connect to server. Check your settings`. There are only two settings:

1. IP Adress, which I got from whatismyip.org
2. Port, which I got from Banshee (Edit-\>Preferences-\>Remote Control-\>Banshee remote port

Is there anything I can try to do to fix this?

Notes: I am using Banshee 2.4.1 on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS

# Answer
Ensure your phone is connected to the same WiFi network as your computer, and remember to use the internal IP.

To do this through 3G you would need to forward ports and use your external IP.
> 2 votes

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Tags: applications, samsung-galaxy-s-3, remote-control
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title: How do I turn on Safe Search ICS 4.0.4?

text:
# Question
Title: How do I turn on Safe Search ICS 4.0.4?
I can't see any option to turn on Safe Search. Can anyone advice where I can find this?

# Answer
> 2 votes
`System Settings->Select your Google account->Search->Near the bottom`.

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