# Question
Title: Installing Android Market/Google Play on non-rooted Kindle Fire
Is there a way to install either the Android Market or Google Play on a Kindle Fire (Android 2.3 and Kindle version 6.3.1) without first rooting it? I have access to a Windows 7 computer with Admin privileges, but no USB cable (I do have ES File Explorer running an FTP server, so I can easily send and receive files via FileZilla on the computer).

# Answer
You don't need to root your Kindle Fire for this -- as long as the following source is still valid: Install Android Marketplace and Google Apps on Amazon Kindle Fire. As that howto speaks about "Android Marketplace" (and not "Google Play"), it may not be up-to-date -- but I doubt the change of the name affected the procedure of installation.

A more up-to-date tutorial is Install Android Play Store on Amazon Kindle Fire - The Easiest Way, but that involves rooting the device. Maybe it has to do with the framework and a newer Android version, which makes rooting a necessary step.

**EDIT:** You may also want to take a look at these video tutorials: How To Install Google Music / Play On Your Kindle Fire! and GApps on Kindle Fire Without Rooting. Looks like you can still have Google Play installed this way without rooting.
> 1 votes

# Answer
The necessary .apk files for Google Play Store, Services Framework, etc., must be installed in `/system/app` and doing so requires root access. So, you must root the Kindle Fire in order to do so.

However, you don't have to *leave* the Kindle Fire rooted. After you've installed it, you can always unroot the device (though I'm not sure why you'd want to do that).
> 4 votes

---
Tags: google-play-store, 2.3-gingerbread, amazon-kindle-fire
---


# Question
Title: Can Android be installed on the new Win8-Intel Ultrabooks slated to come out late-12 early-13
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> Which .iso to download to install Android on my home PC?
> Can I install Android on my non-Android device?

I am going to buy a new computer in the next 3-4 months and I am thinking about getting a high quality 13.1 inch Windows 8 Ultrabook. I am going to dual boot both Windows8 (for work stuff) and Ubuntu (so I can have something that will actually work). I am looking into getting one of the new touch screen enabled ultra books with folding down displays to form a tablet as well. I was wondering if I could also boot Android 4 or if Android was limited to ARM devices.

# Answer
# Answering your Question

According to Mike Bell that runs Intel's mobile group:

> **Windows 8 on tablets, Android on smartphones.** Right now, I have as many people working on Windows 8 tablets as I have on Android phones. If someone came to us with a compelling business case for x86 Windows Phone 8, we’d go work with Microsoft. But the way for us to succeed is to focus — through close collaboration with Google on Android, and Microsoft on Windows 8.

Read the entire interview at:

Simply put, you can have Android on the yet to come Cove Point, but it will have a poor performance compared to Windows 8. *(see why bellow)*

---

# Elaborating this

Intel performed tests with the Android operating System, and concluded that it has a poor implementation of threading technology. According to Bell, Android's thread scheduler simply isn't ready for multicore processors.

> Bell told The Inquirer that even the latest version of Android, 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) suffers from problems with threading scheduling that limits the benefits dual core ARM processors bring to Android phones. Intel uses a competing technology, Atom, in its mobile processor.

Read the entire article at:

---

# Supporting Mike Bell's Claim

1. **Smartphones**

Intel powered smartphones available in the market are running Android:

One can keep track of this from at Smartphones with Intel Inside webpage.

Quoting from the Intel page:

> **A powerful phone meets a powerful OS**
>
> Smartphones with Intel Inside® run on the Android OS, giving you access to hundreds of thousands of apps available to download in the Android Market.
2. **Tablets**

Microsoft launched the Windows 8 Consumer preview, and Intel decided to show off their new Cove Point with it at IDF 2012 in Beijing:

There's no confirmed Intel Cove Point price or release date. What's confirmed is that it will reach the market with Windows 8 already installed natively on the system, thanks to the special x86 architecture used.

---

# Related reading
> 1 votes

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


# Question
Title: TLS required but not supported by server
I recently upgraded my phone to ICS and now when I try to access my email I get the error message: "TLS required but not supported by server" What can I do to fix this?

# Answer
> 1 votes
So turns out some of the email settings got munged and it was simply a matter of deleting the account info from the phone and then adding it in again.

---
Tags: 4.0-ice-cream-sandwich, motorola-droid-razr
---


# Question
Title: How to see the device list of a given Google account
I have many test Android devices and added my Google account to those device to reuse my application collection.

Recently I often recieve payment notification via gmail for application which I really don't buy. So my need is to see the list of devices which has been added the account to.

This also related to the situation when someone try to use my account on their device and read my email/download my application.

So my question is "How to see the device list of a given Google account"?

# Answer
Just visit My Android Apps with your browser, and log in with your account. This will list your devices and apps.

Another good place is the Google Dashboard, which is even more detailed in some respects (shows EMEI on GSM handsets for example), less in others (thanx, @ewanm89).
> 2 votes

---
Tags: security, google-account, device-administrator
---


# Question
Title: Can I convert my Xoom 3G firmware to Xoom WiFi or otherwise use the WiFi version of Jelly Bean?
So I have a Xoom 3G and I only use Wi-Fi. Jelly Bean is coming out for the WiFi-only version and of course Verizon is going to make sure that the 3G/4G version doesn't get Jelly Bean till Key Lime Pie is out. So my questions are: Would the WiFi version work on my Xoom? If so, can I somehow spoof it to think it's a WiFi version to get the update and/or can I manually update to the WiFi Jelly Bean?

# Answer
Yes, you should be able to install a wifi only rom manually, I\`ve just gone to ICS with 3g and its great.

found these links useful:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfHwd2Nxw1U

http://www.icsforums.com/forum/showthread/6398

http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/Motorola\_Xoom

hope this helps
> 1 votes

---
Tags: motorola-xoom, 4.1-jelly-bean
---


# Question
Title: Is the kernel flashed automatically from CWM?
By this, I mean, while flashing a firmware (update.zip) from ClockworkMod recovery, is boot.img also flashed or do I need to use fastboot separately?

# Answer
# What does the developer say?

Seriously every single rom that I've ever seen contained detailed instructions and more often than not a faq of some sorts for this reason exactly.

Anyway, if the zip file contains a `boot.img` file than it's safe to assume that it will be flashed. The `updater-script` that handles the copying of files is generated automatically when the rom is compiled so unless someone removes it, the kernel will be flashed.
> 3 votes

---
Tags: rom-flashing, clockworkmod-recovery, fastboot, kernel, recovery-mode
---


# Question
Title: FM radio for Xperia arc S with CyanogenMod?
How do I listen to radio on an Xperia arc S?

I use CyanogenMod (version 7.2.0), which does not include an FM radio app.

# Answer
The FreeXperia team have added FM radio in their latest CM nightlies, and it seems to work.
> 1 votes

# Answer
The programming support for the FM radio service that is in place within CyanogenMod 7.2, is probably not compatible with the chipset used in Xperia arc S. Hence the omission of the FM radio, it supports only Broadcom BCM4325, Silicon Industry 4708 and 4709, and lastly Texas Instrument WL1271.

Looking at pdadb.net for the specification of the handset - the chipset is not documented, so it's proprietary in which case CyanogenMod 7.2 has no support for it, hence the omission of the FM radio.

The best bet would be to find the original stock ROM dump of that here on XDA, extract the radio app (could be called `FMRadio.apk`) from it and push that across to your handset.

***Edit:*** As confirmed by the OP, there are dead links galore on XDA. However, I found another linky that may do it (Post #72). (*That's err... ICS ROM dump... it might be worth a try.*)

***Edit 2:*** Here's the radio stuff, you need to install it in this fashion.

After unzipping the archive, there are two files, `FmRxService.apk`, and `Radio.apk`. Plug in the cable to the handset and enter the commands,

```
adb install FmRxService.apk
adb install Radio.apk

```

The radio should now appear in your applications drawer, fingers crossed and good luck. There is no guarantee it will work either...
> 2 votes

---
Tags: cyanogenmod, sony-xperia-arc, fm-radio
---


title: Does Swype have custom auto replace?

text:
# Question
Title: Does Swype have custom auto replace?
I love how Swype works but there are a few rather long phrases that I need to enter quite often, and wish I could enter faster, such as my email. I know the user dictionary will let me add custom entries, but that still requires me to Swype out all the characters.

I'm looking for a way to have a user defined phrase pop up as a suggestion when another, shorter, user defined phrase is entered. For example, I could then Swype E to M, and have my email as a suggestion I can tap.

Is this possible?

# Answer
> 1 votes
You can tap for those words, Swype's autocompletion will use your personal dictionary to finish the rest.

---
Tags: swype
---


# Question
Title: Upgrading hboot fails: signature verify fail
## My Goal

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1762790

Putting jelly bean on nexus one

## My Problem

Upgrading hboot

I'm just following everything step by step (link)

```
$ fastboot flash hboot hboot_jellybean_260-8-168.nb0
sending 'hboot' (512 KB)...
OKAY [  0.095s]
writing 'hboot'...
(bootloader) signature checking...
FAILED (remote: signature verify fail)
finished. total time: 0.219s

```

What am I overseeing?

# Answer
> 2 votes
The hboot flash region is protected from accidental/unwanted/etc writes.

You need an exploit most probably.

I found this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1486201

---
Tags: rom-flashing, nexus-one, bootloader
---


title: Dialling with favorites

text:
# Question
Title: Dialling with favorites
With My old phone as soon as I hit my favorites button, the phone would automatically dial the number that I set as a default. With this phone, when I hit an entry on my favorites list, it brings me to a list of numbers and I have to choose a number. HOw can I program the phone to automatically dial a favorite number? I tried setting a number as a default and it doesn't work.

# Answer
in ICS, if you use the Favorites tab in the **People** app, then it will behave like you mentioned; however if you use the Favorites tab in the **Phone** app, then it will directly call the number you set as default number for the contact.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: contacts, phone-app
---


# Question
Title: How do I make my phone number appear in my friends' phones?
I updated my number on Google+, but that's not displayed in my friends' phone or their Google Contacts. It appears when they see my Google+ profile, though.

# Answer
Your numbers are not synced to Google Contacts. Your friends need to install the official Google+ app in order to see your numbers.
> 0 votes

# Answer
Other users' address books are not synced with your G+ profile AFAIK. Your friends would have to either manually update their Google account contacts on the web or manually update their address book on their phone. Either way, if sync is turned on for that account on a friend's phone, updating the one will update the other.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: contacts, google-plus
---


title: ICS silence on lockscreen

text:
# Question
Title: ICS silence on lockscreen
On Gingerbread, there was a nice silence slider on the lockscreen: How do I get something like that in ICS?

# Answer
You need to use something like widgetlocker for that.
> 3 votes

# Answer
There's a nice APP full of options, among them, the slide to silence:

Quick Launch - Lock Screen
> 1 votes

---
Tags: 4.0-ice-cream-sandwich, lock-screens, customization, silent-mode
---


title: How to manually update apps

text:
# Question
Title: How to manually update apps
I have Android 4.0 and I'm trying to figure out how to manually update all of my apps when the update notification usually at the top of the screen is NOT there. Can someone help me out?

# Answer
> 3 votes
You can perform updates on installed APP's accessing the Play Store:

1. Find the Play Store icon on your home screen or in your app drawer and tap it to open it up.
2. Once the Play Store loads, tap the menu button on your device and choose the "My Apps" option.
3. Wait until the list gets filled. If there are available updates you'll see::

* A text that says "Update" to the right of the app's name, you can long press it to update that APP;
    * Additionally, you can press "update" on the top of the list to update all APP's.

    Usually a number is present to the right, that refers to the total number of updates available.

---
Tags: 4.0-ice-cream-sandwich, applications, updates
---


# Question
Title: Where is the SMS "Drafts" folder on the Xperia Play?
The manual says when typing a text, if you stop to answer a call, whatever you were typing is placed into a "Draft" folder or is saved as a draft. The thing is, that I have never seen or found any "Draft" location other then when I use the browser to go online and goto my email site, and hat isn't where its going.

I was typing a huge text and I am really upset that I will have to re-type the entire thing, knowing it is in my phone somewhere, unless the manual from Sony Ericsson written specifically for this phone is totally wrong. Even though the manual says it is saved, it also is too vague on conveying where this draft folder is.

Can any one help me? This had been am ongoing issue and this "unfinished draft" location must have 400 messages in it by now. I am totally confused. The manual said to goto the "Time Save" app but I don't even think that's correct.

# Answer
There's no drafts folder per say, when you access your SMS APP, the conversations list appears:

* If a draft is present on any conversation thread, you will see "draft" written in red. Tap and you're back on your draft.
* If it was an SMS with no conversation thread, it is presented the same way.

Check your Phone's manual, page 39, where it reads:

> If you exit a message before sending, it gets saved as a draft. If the message is part of a conversation, the conversation gets tagged with the word Draft.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: sms, sony-ericsson-xperia-play
---


# Question
Title: Is it possible to use an Android device as a second monitor?
Sort of like this iPad app. Is there any way to extend your desktop onto your phone or tablet? Not looking for VNC solutions.

# Answer
iDisplay is now available for Android.

There's a review on androidcommunity.com

US$4.99 in Google Play.
> 12 votes

# Answer
Not to my knowledge. Both of those solutions you've listed appear to use VNC as the service.
> 4 votes

# Answer
Early this year, arrived for Android:

Air Display by Avatron Software available for 3,79€ in Google Play.

*Android 2.3.3 and up.*
> 1 votes

---
Tags: screen-sharing
---


title: Is it safe to wipe boot?

text:
# Question
Title: Is it safe to wipe boot?
Amon Ra recovery lets you selectively wipe "boot". Is that the bootloader? If "boot" gets wiped, can your phone still boot?

# Answer
> 2 votes
The boot partition contains the kernel. If you want to use your phone you'll need a kernel so no, wiping it means your phone won't be able to boot. But recovery will work so you flash another kernel.

---
Tags: boot, recovery-mode
---


# Question
Title: My Huawei u8160 is restarting automatically
I have a Huawei u8160 running Cyanogenmod 7.2 that always restarts automatically.

My phone is clocked to 122-600 while my phone's CPU's Max frequency 558.

I'm using the SMARTASSV2 governor and it mostly restarts when it is sleeping.

So I want to know what restarts my phone automatically?

# Answer
> 1 votes
## Summarized Answer:

The main issue your facing is that you're using SmartassV2/ondemandX that was developed for stock kernels. But you're using it with a non stock kernel, the CyanogenMod 7.2. See bellow a summary for each of them.

Useful reading: A Beginner’s Guide to Android Kernels

---

## SmartassV2/ondemandX governors

Stock kernel is the factory firmware. If you're using SmartassV2/ondemandX governors, they are modules for phones with stock kernels because they don't have 'smartass' or ondemandX' governors:

> This modules are for people with stock kernels because they don't have 'smartass' or ondemandX' governors.
>
> Differences between this modules and build in stock kernels:
>
> * allows to set max CPU freq when screen is off (to save battery),
> * allows to set starting CPU freq when phone awakes (to speed up awake process),
> * allows set/change almost all aspects of governor (to suite needs),
> * should be a bit more responsive when parameters are well chosen for smartassv2 governor.

---

## CyanogenMod 7.2.0-RC1

The current CyanogenMod 7.2.0-RC1 U8160 Port status is stable, but there are some known issues reported.

**Already fixed reboot related issues:**

1. v0.9 (20120203):

* Hotfix 4test5 \[21 Feb\]: Revert longterm patches due to random reboot issue.
2. v0.7 - 22 January 2012:

* Kernel stability fix (disabled SCHED\_HRTICK due to instability/random reboot issue).

**Note:** *Check your version. The latest is v1.3 released at 2012-06-25.*

---

Use the link bellow to get detailed information about the development and what users are reporting. If you've got a version above v0.9, consider reporting your issue, thus allowing the developer to deal with it. If your version isn't the latest, consider changing to it.

---
Tags: cyanogenmod, overclocking
---


# Question
Title: Looking for list of USB OTG/USB Host officially supported in Android devices (allow connect USB sticks, etc) NON-rooted
I'm looking for a definitive list of Android devices that officially support USB On-the-go (OTG) / USB Host (non-rooted).

USB OTG/USB Host means that they can be used in a similar way to a PC whereby USB devices can be attached to them for them to access. E.g. memory sticks and other USB storage (mass storage class).

I am not looking for rooted devices (I know that such procedure can make a device support USB OTG/USB Host if the hardware supports it). I am looking for official support, out-of-the box.

Some devices may require adapter cables if necessary (i.e. micro USB to female USB socket).

So far I know at least one device that supports USB OTG / USB host out-of-the-box (non rooted):

The GoTab GBT740R 7" Android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich tablet, costing just 100 pounds or less in UK! This device has a full size USB female socket to support USB OTG / USB Host. A friend owns one, his USB memory sticks work in this - we can browse to the USB stick contents using Astro File Manager App on the tablet. (By the way, I don't work for GoTab). This seems to be a feature-rich device though for the price point: microSD and HDMI also supported.

Any more devices? usb.org doesn't seem to have a list, well I haven't found it yet, nor Wikipedia entries.

# Answer
> 0 votes
OK, here's a start at a list (doesn't have to be definitive):

1. The GoTab GBT740R 7" Android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich tablet, costing just 100 pounds or less in UK! This device has a full size USB female socket to support USB OTG / USB Host. A friend owns one, his USB memory sticks work in this - we can browse to the USB stick contents using Astro File Manager App on the tablet.
2. @Philip Sheard's (yet unknown) "cheapo tablet just £70" - see his answer (Care to enlighten us at to the make and model, Philip? May be it is the same as the one I mention? Or not?)
3. **Update:** Acer Iconia Tab A200 (includes full-size USB A connector, takes flash keys no problem). Thanks @Michael Kohne for your answer.

I'll try to update as I find more... (feel free to contribute)

# Answer
> 1 votes
Acer Iconia Tab A200 (includes full-size USB A connector, takes flash keys no problem)

# Answer
> -2 votes
I bought a cheapo 7" tablet for just £70, and that has USB host. It is also 2.0, so it is very fast. As a developer I am very excited about the future of USB host, and I plan to support it in my own app.

---
Tags: usb-host-mode
---


# Question
Title: Youtube App Version 4.0.8E crashes on open
I am using an HTC One X on UK network Orange, unrooted.

The latest update to the Youtube App ( version 4.0.8E) crashes on launch every time. If I uninstall updates to go back to the pre-installed version then it works fine, so it seems a safe assumption the new update is causing this.

Is there anything I can do other than wait for the app authors to resolve it?

I have a LogCat file linked here:- https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1159676/StackExchange/YouTube%204.08E%20logcat.txt

Rob

# Answer
This can sometimes happen during an upgrade if old, incompatible data or config is stuck in the app's storage.

Have you tried clearing the data and cache on the Youtube app?

Go into your phone's **Settings** -\> **Apps** -\> **All** scroll all the way down to the YouTube app and tap it.

You should now be on a screen showing all kinds of info about the YouTube app, `Force Stop` the YouTube app if its still running, then about half-way down should be a `Clear Cache` button. Press the `Clear Cache` button and then try launching the YouTube app again to see if it fixes the problem.

If not then go back into Settings -\> Apps -\> YouTube, ensure YouTube is stopped (with a Force Stop) and then try both the `Clear Cache` and `Clear Data` buttons and try launching YouTube again.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: 4.0-ice-cream-sandwich, youtube, htc-one-x
---


# Question
Title: Is there a way to search for a number in Google without interrupting the call?
Is there a way to search for a number in Google while keeping the ongoing call intact? I have noticed that the internet connection is lost when a call is in progress.

# Answer
I believe this depends on your provider.

For example: Verizon's CDMA network does not allow you to do Data + Call; however AT&T's GSM network will.

And as eldarerathis points out:

> Another potentially important distinction is that phones on CDMA carriers with other networking capabilities (WiMAX and LTE) will support simultaneous voice and data since they're essentially operating on two separate chips, so this can also be dependent on your device.

So this ends up being device, and carrier dependent.
> 3 votes

---
Tags: calls, internet
---


# Question
Title: Is there a good way to find out why an Android phone hangs?
Are there any log files you can look into, or any good ways of finding out if an app is causing the phone to hang (if even possible)? My friend has an Xperia Arc and after a while with a custom ROM he's having issues with his phone hanging completely, requiring him to do a "battery reboot" to use it again.

I know that it's probably good to try another ROM and kernel to see if it's specific to that or not, but I'm just wondering if there are any good, general pointers on what to look up first.

# Answer
> 3 votes
Problem with most log files is: They do not survive a boot, as they are stored on `tmpfs` (a temporary file system in RAM). So once you have to boot, they are gone. Leaving your best chances to some app capturing the log and saving the capture to SDCard. As far as I know, aLogCat is capable of that. An alternative is to send the log to another machine (such as a PC) via WiFi, which can be done using Logcat UDP. The so-captured log might not directly mention the cause (as the freeze probably keeps the final bytes from being sent/written), but at least it should yield some useful information of what was going on at the time of the freeze.

Some other sources you might want to check:

# Answer
> 0 votes
There's the logcat which is almost always the first thing you should look at when you're experiencing any issues. Then you need to distinguish between the app locking up, which will may cause an "Application Not Responding" dialog at worst, and framework lock up, which usually will cause a hard reboot at worst. In the case of framework lock up, logcat may not necessarily be able to reliably capture all log information but usually you may still be able to catch the cause of the lock up by looking at what is happening a few minutes prior to the lock up.

For small janks, there are debugging tools that can help, but they require you to install the large-ish SDK, and most only work when the applications are set to allow debugging.

---
Tags: 4.0-ice-cream-sandwich, logging, sony-xperia-arc
---


title: What causes dead zones on digitizer?

text:
# Question
Title: What causes dead zones on digitizer?
I ordered a replacement digitizer after I cracked the old one. I installed the replacement, and it looks fine. But it has large horizontal bands across it that do not register touch, rendering the phone very difficult to use.

I was hoping someone has some experience in this area to share. Are there any tips or tricks that can resolve this problem, or is it likely I've gotten a defective digitizer?

# Answer
I also had this issue recently. I only had one, vertical band, but it still affected use, mostly typing. I demonstrated the issue (seen below) and contacted the \[ebay\] seller. They promptly classified it as defective and sent me a new one. This will most likely be the solution to your problem as well. As I did, I would use a drawing program to verify, and inquire about a replacement screen and digitizer.
> 5 votes

---
Tags: touchscreen
---


# Question
Title: Isn't Factory Reset exactly the same as wiping /data and /cache?
According to this article,

> /data ... Wiping this partition essentially performs a factory reset on your device, restoring it to the way it was when you first booted it, or the way it was after the last official or custom ROM installation. When you perform a wipe data/factory reset from recovery, it is this partition that you are wiping.

What about /boot, /system, and /recovery, and /cache?

If Factory Reset wipes only /data, then I wish it were called something else, because if you've rooted your phone, it will still be left with whatever custom ROM you flashed even after a Factory Reset.

On the other hand, if Factory Reset does indeed wipe /boot, /system, and /recovery as well, especially /boot, what does it restore those from? Do all phones come with stock images in a real internal ROM somewhere that it can re-flash those images from?

I can somehow imagine manufacturers not wanting be burdened with the extra cost that such a spec for hardware-recoverable images might have cost them, so it got left out of the standard and left out of most phones, which is why it's so easy to brick them. So, instead, they give you the option to wipe /data and /cache only, and call that a "Factory Reset" because you're not supposed to be foolish enough to root your phone in the first place according to their way of thinking.

Since rooting my Android and reading hundreds of posts, I've found that many of the terms I learned and accepted as a Computer Science grad student in the 80's don't quite mean the same thing anymore so I have to verify what everything really means before I do something.

---

Comments to this post answer the first part of my question.

But they don't really answer the second part of my question which is really a complaint: Why call it "Factory Reset" if it doesn't really restore your phone to it's stock factory state?

At this point, the question is merely rhetorical. I think I already answered this in my question, unless someone can correct me.

# Answer
> 7 votes
On a non-rooted device we can group the partitions into two categories: the ones that can be affected by the user during normal runtime, and the ones that can't. The ones that can be are `data` and `cache`. The ones that can't are `system`, and `boot`. (Plus `recovery` on some.)

"Factory reset" here means that the partitions that are affected by user activities are wiped clean. Thus when the user performs a factory reset, she is greeted with a phone that has no user data on it. If she updated her phone via official methods the updates are still there! So **not even stock devices are reset to their factory state!**

With the above in mind, let's look at custom ROMs. When you flash one, the `updater-script` wipes your `system` partition, then copies the contents of the zip there. What was previously there is now gone! There's no way you can get back to where you were before if you don't have a backup or an original system image.

Now, when the user boots, technically, most everything is the same. During normal operation she can still only modify `data` and `cache`. So if you perform a factory reset it only makes sense to wipe these. Remember **the original rom is now long gone!**

You're right that the terminology is confusing; blame Google! It's been this way since the G1.

# Answer
> 4 votes
> Why call it "Factory Reset" if it doesn't really restore your phone to it's stock factory state?

Since the original definition make no sense in the current world, let's try to make up an alternative explanation. So, the term Factory Reset was not referring to the action of resetting the device to the state it came out of the factory, instead the term means it's the type of reset the factory does to the phone's software before putting it into the packaging, the factory reset will reset the phone to a state suitable for shipping to customer, therefore if the factory now released a phone with your model and OS version, they will do factory reset as the last thing they do after testing.

How is that explanation?

# Answer
> 3 votes
A factory reset is an informally standardised term for resetting a phone. A user will understand that this makes your phone the same as when you received it. If you've taken a power user step like rooting and flashing a custom ROM then you are outside of the normal use cases.

It is worth noting that the "factory reset" on a phone with a custom ROM will reset that ROM back to its default view.

It is impossible in today's devices to be able to reflash the system and restore back to how it originally shipped. The same is true of many user flashable products, such as routers and media players.

# Answer
> 2 votes
You may have ear terms like "Factory Reset" or "Factory Default". They are basically the same. Is the term used to describe the action of reversing a device to the state that it was when it got out of the factory.

For this to happen, all custom data will be clean of the device, leaving just what was already present when the device left the manufacturer.

For users with custom ROMs, the factory reset works the same way, when used it will wipe all custom data and leave the device like was when the custom ROM was applied.

---

## What is a Factory Reset on Android devices?

It erases all the data on your device by cleaning up the internal storage and return the phone to the default factory settings!

This means that: your google account, your device settings, system and application data, and APP's downloaded/installed by the user will get removed.

After the Factory Reset is complete, your device will be just like the first time you've turn it on.

To have you "stuff" back, You’ll have to re-install and re-configure everything.

---

## Reasons for a Factory Reset:

* When the device experiences a malfunction for unknown reasons, resetting it may fix the problem.
* If you gonna sell your device, a factory reset insures the removal of all your personal data.
* Sending the device for repair or simply returning it, the factory reset comes in hand. They don't need to know what you've been using, nor they need access to your personal data.

---
Tags: factory-reset
---


# Question
Title: Backup my Android without my Apps, Settings, Config's, etc.
**As the title states,**

**Is there a way I can backup my phone, without including all the extras, that I would just prefer to pick and choose to install later.**

*feel free to read the whole thing, or just read the bold as the bold summarizes most of what I am looking for. As well as the bottom explaining my device & set up.*

The best method I would think of, to do this, would obviously be to do this after a factory restore, and data wipe. But considering I am way past that point, I am trying to find another method.

I already backup all the applications I need, using Titanium Backup, so I don't want to backup my apps that will probably be different at the point of recovery, or will have certain apps I ditched before the point of restore, or have certain configurations I don't use/need/etc. I could go on and on. But the point Is I would just like to backup my stock rom, kernel, with my Super User privileges, without anything else. So I can basically use it as a factory reset, by just flashing my rom.

The main reason I ask this, is because I tend to get big into customization. Recently I used a font installer, form Rom Toolbox, and basically bricked my phone by getting caught in a boot loop. It would never pass to boot animation. So I had to use an old Odin Image with Clockwork Recovery. That was all I had. Luckily that fixed it, but I would like to make my own recovery images.

**But, really the best thing I would just love, yet I am not sure whether it is possible, or as customizable, is it would be great if their was a way to just pick and choose what you want, or don't want to backup to a single image file.**

Like an application that lets you choose certain things:

* System
* Root
* Kernel
* Applications with or without caches, data, accounts, and settings, etc.
* System Settings
* Account Settings

...you get the point...

Now there wouldn't happen to be something like this for backups would there? Or is that just a dream of mine?

Even though right now, I would prefer to just backup only my system without everything else, like apps. Maybe one day in the future I may like to be able to backup other things as well. Which is why I ask. Might as well use a "one backup to rule them all" method if it exists. But if not that's fine, I could always just backup the system itself, and continue to use Titanium.

Now that, that is covered, what are all the different methods of backups? Odin. Nandroid. Anything else? What do they cover, and how customizable, etc.

Ive been looking into this for the past week, but I am having trouble finding something that is relevant to what I am looking for. And all the information regarding backups seems quite specific to certain devices, and custom roms. Which puts me kind of at a fallback, as I have a pretty uncommon device, with a pretty default rom.

I have a Samsung Conquer 4G (SPH-D600) With the FE16 firmware update, on a stock rom with root, with a slight mod of having ClockworkMod Recovery.

So when I press and hold the: "Volume Down, & Power button" it takes me to a "ClockworkMod based recovery mode" (according to what it says on the header on the screen.)

So that's what I am working with.

Any thoughts on this selective backup utilities I am thinking off? Any good resources I should look into on this topic? as well as any other information you may find relevant to this situation that you would care to share?

I would greatly appreciate any input on the subject, as android backups aren't a topic I know much of anything on, and cant really find any good resources on the subject myself. So any and all help is appreciated. Even just links are great. I enjoy reading for myself.

# Answer
Odin is not a backup utility, its rather more of a means to flash boot/recovery and the rom itself. So that's one off the list. :)

Use CWM to backup the entire handset to SDCard - this includes, boot, recovery, system, userdata partitions. Easy and much quicker to restore from! The latest Titanium Backup can do a restore from a nandroid created by CWM.

Can you include a screenshot of this "ClockworkMod based recovery mode" as that does not sound quite an official CWM and hence would be slightly concerned. **Official CWM** would have this as shown below! Note the lack of the wording '*ClockworkMod based recovery mode*'.

To perform the backup, use the Volume down key to scroll down until you reach 'backup and restore' as shown:

Hit the Home key, to bring you to this screen, the highlight bar is on '-Backup' *for some obscure reason, the screenshot failed on this one* so no screenshot, hit the home key again to start the backup process.

When you do a restore, it will erase boot/system and userdata, and does the job in dumping everything back in place. As if nothing has happened next time by rebooting within CWM. Consider this as a equivalent of a Windows System Restore Point, cannot go wrong there.

But ultimately, what you're asking for, Titanium Backup does it quite nicely. See the screenshot below, where there is a list of apps and can choose which to backup/restore.

Here's a menu option to do the extraction from a CWM backup.

Ultimately, it is up to you how to do the backup, pretty much in the same way doing a backup on Windows, the strategy used will depend and vary, to each and to their own. Personally, as I experiment a lot with ROMs, I do a straight nandroid backup, then get down to flashing another ROM and if I don't like it, I can go back to CWM to do a restore.

As for Settings etc, I ignore them, as that can be a minefield which may cause a ROM's apps to force close so I disregard them and selectively choose which apps I wish to backup.

Using the two combined can be quite potent means of backing up.

***Edit:*** This question - *how you managed to take a sreenshot of CWM? If I'm not mistaken, it is run at the boot point making it act like a "BIOS" in terms of PCs. So how did you do it?*

The recovery is identical to Android's ROM running from `/system`, it has its own kernel, near identical to the one used when booting into `/system`. The recovery has the `init.rc` script heavily modified to not to start up the Android's services that makes up the standard familiar environment. In fact, if you were to peek into the `init.rc`, it executes one program, called appropriately enough `recovery` which is what you're seeing here.

When the bootloader runs, its like this in English pseudo-code

* load kernel from `boot` partition at memory address.
* **If** Volume Down key is pressed **then**
* read from `recovery` partition's kernel and chain boot load mechanism (read recovery's kernel into memory address, and jump into the entry point of that kernel and start running, overwriting the previously loaded `boot` kernel) and execute run scripts to bring up recovery program a lá CWM and hence in *recovery environment*
* **else**
* continue to run as normal reading from `system` partition and execute run scripts and bring up services a lá Android OS and hence in *system environment*.
* **endif**

So quite clearly, there is no difference behind the scenes, the kernel, shell scripts, etc.

As to how to obtain the screen-shots, that is a specialized script specifically for the Zte Blade and using the linux tools `imagemagick` command line utilities involving `ffmpeg` and `mogrify`, it is hardcoded to use the resolution of the screen for the Zte Blade, i.e. 800x480, and using `adb` to pull in the framebuffer, pass it into `ffmpeg`, and flip it over. IIRC, it does not work on any other resolution and depends on the kernel itself if it has framebuffers compiled in.

```
#!/bin/sh
adb pull /dev/graphics/fb0 fb0 && ffmpeg -vframes 1 -vcodec rawvideo -f rawvideo -pix_fmt rgb565le -s 480x800 -i fb0 -f image2 -vcodec png $1.png && mogrify -flip -flop $1.png && rm fb0

```
> 9 votes

---
Tags: backup, samsung-conquer
---


# Question
Title: Find lost device without Gmail account configured and without SIM card
I recently misplaced a phone that did not have gmail account configured and did not have a SIM card in it either. Is there any way I can track it ?

All of the tracking apps either require sending an SMS (needs SIM card) or OTA install(needs Gmail account).

I do have the IMEI number of the phone.

# Answer
No, there is no way to track it without having it configured in some way to connect to a wireless source of data. Without a SIM card you can't do that via a service provider and without having the Google account configured (and thus an authentication token that identifies your phone) you can't do it via WiFi (if you have it turned on).
> 5 votes

---
Tags: security, gps-tracking, lost-phone
---


title: Battery Savers with the Android 4.0

text:
# Question
Title: Battery Savers with the Android 4.0
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> What can I do to increase battery life on my Android device?

How do I save on my battery on my new 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) device? All I have seen so far is a bad battery and no task manager.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Saving battery on devices is very much related to the usage given by the owner. Disabling network connectivity like 3G, closing APPs that aren't being used, adjusting the screen brightness and the screen time out are some of the ways to go.

Personally I do feel that depending on the situation a user will need to have everything available, at a couple of taps distance. So, one APP to control them all is my recommendation.

There are a few APPs at Google Play that help you safe battery life, being my personal favourite:

* Easy Battery Saver by 2Easy Team

> Easy Battery Saver is a powerful yet easy to use power manager app specifically designed to extend battery life and optimize using habit.
>
> Easy Battery Saver saves your battery by intelligently dealing with phone’s network connectivity, screen time out and screen brightness. What’s more, the considerable sleep schedule setting will save your battery when you are sleeping.

With this APP you can define usage profiles or use preset ones, and switch between them easily, allowing you to keep your battery consumption at the lowest possible levels for each situation.

---

Additionally and as already mentioned on the comments, read the community wiki entitled What can I do to increase battery life on my Android device? for a large overview of what can be done on this subject.

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


title: Remove duplicate contact information

text:
# Question
Title: Remove duplicate contact information
After merging contacts from different sources like Facebook, Twitter, Exchange and Google+, it was apparent to me that now my contacts contain a lot of duplicate information such as the same email addresses, birthday date, website address.

Ideally, all those redundant entries should be merged as well so not to clutter things.

I've looked almost everywhere but could only find information relative to just merging issues with contacts.

(If it matters, I am using Android 2.3.)

# Answer
> 5 votes
Visit the Contacts app in a desktop browser and sign in with your Google account with which your device is getting synced. Once done (you should have successfully synced your contacts before this), the more button (as seen in the image) has option to merge.

---
Tags: contacts
---


# Question
Title: Applications on SD Card disappear: Gingerbread bug or hardware error?
I have an Huawei Honour running 2.3.6. I have plenty of apps installed and some I have moved to a 32GB sd card.

Now I notice that quite randomly some application that are stored on the sd card just disappear. (I am not talking about the apps become unavailable when mounting the USB file system on a PC, as that is to be expected.)

All that remains is a placeholder-icon that will be removed once I click it, and every hint that this app was ever installed is gone. I have to go to the playstore and reinstall it.

Now I wonder what the source of this problem could be. Is it Gingerbread, or a hardware error (the device itself, or the sd card)?

# Answer
I've been Googling this problem for a few days now. It appears to be based in some startup bug wherein the launcher app scans for existing applications before the SD card (internal or external) is mounted. First off, use FileManager or equivalent to look at your SD card's contents. If you see some grey icons with the app names or "com.\[appname\]" , then you're suffering from this bug. There are a variety of work-arounds posted in various forums -- too many for me to provide links here. Rumor has it that ICS 4.04 and JellyBean may have fixed the bug. In the meantime, you might want to try Link2SD and/or cautious use of tools like App2SD which promise to tell the user which apps should not be moved.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: 2.3-gingerbread, external-sd, app2sd, huawei-u8860
---


title: Duplicate Corporate Sync Account "Null"

text:
# Question
Title: Duplicate Corporate Sync Account "Null"
My organization just switched to the Droid Razr Maxx, one of the phones is having an issue with adding a corporate sync email account. Whenever we try to add the account it says that it can't add because of duplicate account "Null". I don't see this "Null" account anywhere, so i can't seem to remove it. I'm not really sure what we can do, besides doing a reset and would only do that as a last course of action. We are running android version 4 and using office 365 exchange.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Try clearing Cache and Data for the following apps under `Settings -> Apps -> All` (tap on each app and then tap `Clear data` and `Clear cache` buttons where available):

* Email
* Exchange Services
* Google Account Manager

This should clear all the accounts (including the GMail one), and should allow you to add the Corporate account.

---
Tags: 4.0-ice-cream-sandwich, exchange, accounts
---


title: Motorola Razr MTP error

text:
# Question
Title: Motorola Razr MTP error
When I connect my Razr it says the device driver software not successfully installed. Under device manager it says device cannot start error code 10.

How can I fix this?

# Answer
A variety of issues can cause Windows to report This device cannot start (Code 10).

The first thing to check is to go to Windows Update and install any relevant updates for your computer. You may also need to select any optional updates which aren't yet installed.

Once the computer is up to date, try reinstalling the device driver provided by the phone manufacturer. You can find these for the Motorola DROID RAZR at Motorola's web site (choose Handset USB driver for Windows 32-bit or 64-bit depending on which version of Windows you have). You can also use the Motorola Device Manager to install the drivers.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: usb-connection-mode, usb-drivers, motorola-droid-razr
---


# Question
Title: Android app keeps Screen on, how to let it go *OFF* against app settings?
The app is one of those applications that keeps the screen on and doesn't permit it to turn off. It's killing the battery and I shouldn't have to simply manually turn the screen off constantly. Every other app simply lets the screen turn off once I stop interacting with it like a good app should.

Hence my question: Is there any setting/app/widget/button/magic wand of any kind that will let me block this application from keeping the screen on. There has to be some kind of permission I can revoke to stop it from doing this.

The phone is rooted.

# Answer
In short, no, you cannot, write a review on the said app's entry on the Play store, and email the developer in question to get that to be made optional via settings within the app itself.

If the developer refuses to budge or dismiss the feedback, best to look for an alternative out there.
> 2 votes

# Answer
If you have a rooted phone, you can use an app such as Permissions Denied to deny individual permissions to apps. Keep in mind that doing so may break application functionality that depends on the denied permission, and if the application isn't especially well written, cause it to crash.
> 2 votes

# Answer
Sadly no, there is not a way to revoke permissions from apps at this time. I would recommend leaving a review on the market complaining about this, or trying to find the developer's contact information.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: screen, permissions
---


# Question
Title: The power button on my Galaxy Nexus stopped working
I got a galaxy nexus at Google IO, and randomly today the power button stopped working. I was on a call, used it to lock the screen after I got off, put it in my pocket, and when I got home the button wasn't working. The rest of the phone works if I plug it in to charge (waking up the screen), but the button doesn't respond. Short press doesn't lock/wake and long press doesn't bring the power menu up. What happened and how can I fix it?

I've tried pulling the battery and letting it sit for a few minutes without rebooting it, and it didn't help.

# Answer
> 4 votes
If the phone is working normally except for the power button not responding, you most likely have a hardware issue. That is, the power button is probably physically broken.

In this case, you will need to return the phone to the manufacturer or the point of purchase for a repair or replacement.

Before returning the phone, copy off any personal data you wish to keep, and remove the battery, SD card, SIM card and any external case; do not ship those or any other accessories back along with the phone. You may get a replacement phone, and your data and accessories will not be transferred.

---
Tags: samsung-galaxy-nexus, buttons
---


# Question
Title: Is it possible to improve word suggestions?
I used to use the "swiftkey" app for writing, and was very pleased with the suggestions they generated. I have now changed to 8pen "keyboard" instead I'm very pleased but miss the good autocompletes, is there someway to improve the autocompletes without using swiftkey? Changing suggestion engine, importing language from facebook etc. My phone is rooted

# Answer
> 1 votes
Swiftkey have an article on this although it's a little vague, it's seems more like they are describing how to use entirely different keyboards here:

> **I want to use a different keyboard, how do I switch?**
>
> Press and hold in any text field to bring up the pop-up text menu and choose Input Method. Here you can choose other keyboard types, including the default Android Keyboard.
>
> On devices running Android 4.0 and later, whenever the keyboard is on screen you should see a notification in the notification bar that will take you to the input method selection screen when clicked.

---
Tags: keyboard, auto-correct
---


title: Installing ICS update

text:
# Question
Title: Installing ICS update
I have a problem - a half year ago I installed the 4.0.3 on my Nexus S. I installed it by placing the 'update.zip' file in the `\sdcard` folder, restarting phone, holding Power+VolUp buttons, then choosing `recovery` and install.

However, now I downloaded the 4.0.4 update, did the same, but the phone got stuck - upon choosing `recovery` an android picture with something like a sphere in his stomach is shown for like a second and then the phone turns black - only buttons are lit.

What could be wrong?

Edit: Here is a YT video of my problem, sorry about the resolution, it's recorded on my laptop

# Answer
This is a known bug in the Nexus S' 4.0.3 firmware when you apply the i9020 update.zip to the i9023 model. Background: The i9020 sports a self-illuminating amoled while the i9023 has a traditional LCD with a backlight. The recovery fails to switch on the backlight and the screen goes black.

You probably downloaded the update.zip from Google and did not use the official update method, right?

In short:
**The screen backlight of the i9023 model is off in recovery mode due to that bug but everything else just works**

Here's a thread on XDA that covers just this.

Possible solutions to fix it:

* Use a **strong** LED flashlight and illuminate the LCD just for the installation of the 4.0.4, see images below (both show the same homescreen, except the left has a switched off backlight)
* Unlock your Nexus S and install a working custom recovery (guide)
> 2 votes

# Answer
That logo in the background is the recovery mode, it looks like as if recovery binary died for some unknown reason, perhaps the update.zip is corrupted and it could not be parsed.

Might be worth a shot to use dsixda kitchen, to convert that update zip to a flashable zip that can be flashed, not using recovery's update menu option, but choosing the file manually.

But judging the youtubey, it looks recovery got b0rk3d up, you did not state if the handset is still able to boot normally in your posting?
> 0 votes

---
Tags: updates, 4.0-ice-cream-sandwich, samsung-nexus-s
---


title: Local Address Book

text:
# Question
Title: Local Address Book
Disclaimer: I'm new with Android. I have a 2.3.6 device.

So I'm on my phone, I hit the little address book button. I can see I have "contacts" Three of them. Yay.

One has a little phone icon. Two have little 'g' icons.

My "history" has heaps of contacts. When I click on an entry in my history which is obviously on Gmail, there's no option to add them to a contact. They're not in my contact list, but they show up when I try to add a contact, so I can't add them.

When I click on an entry in my history which is obviously not on Gmail, I have an option to add them as a contact.... and my contact list suddenly has hundreds and hundreds of entries. They're all people I've emailed at one point or another, but lots of them are useless ungroomed contact entries... they're probably out of date.

Why does this not make sense to me?

Meanwhile, I have a giant address book in Thunderbird with hundreds of entries, and an old Nokia phone with hundreds of entries. Ideally, I'd like to reconcile all of those into a single address book, and ideally, not on Google's servers. I don't care about the hundreds of outdated contacts in Google. I'd be happier if my phone didn't know they existed.

Is this even possible on Android? Is there a good local calendar app where I can use my existing contact list?

# Answer
> 1 votes
I can't think of a 3rd party way to do what you want, but I can help you with the google way. First, head into gmail and then contacts. You'll see in the list of groups "Other Contacts". That is EVERYONE you've ever interacted with over gmail (not sure if gtalk or phone convos are in there as well). So that's where your big ugly list is coming from. You can stop google from adding more by going into Settings \> General \> Create contacts for auto-complete and turning that off.

Now, this big ugly google list you have, you can now either delete completely or wade through it and clean it up. It's up to you. Some entries may be useful.

I don't have Thunderbird, but I'm pretty sure it must have an export contacts to CSV function. Do that and try to import into google contacts. You may have to massage the formatting a little (this may help http://support.google.com/mail/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=12119) if it doesn't import cleanly.

If you've gotten this far and now have google full of contacts, you may want to try and "merge" (More \> Find & Merge duplicates) to see if anyone you just imported also had an entry in Other Contacts like a secondary email for example.

So now that you've got your list on google's server it will show up automatically on your Android phone, any other Android device youre logged into, as well as gmail in the browser.

Gmail exports contacts out to CSV as well. So you could potentially keep swapping CSVs back and forth from Thunderbird to gmail and back to keep them in sync, but that sounds like a bit of a hassle.

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


# Question
Title: How can I see which applications eat up disk space?
DiskUsage shows 189 Megs of used space, of which System data takes up 118 Megs.

How can I find what application are using the rest? I have Android 2.3.5.

# Answer
If you go to Settings \> Apps, there will be a list of installed applications. If you press the menu button on that page, you can sort the applications by their size. Note that this size includes both the program files (APK) and stored data (databases, private saved files excluding those on SD card).
> 5 votes

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Tags: internal-storage
---


# Question
Title: Can I hide the time on the Cyanogenmod 7 Lockscreen?
I've flashed CM7 onto my phone, and am wondering if there is a way to hide the clock. The only way I see is the `Widget Layout` setting to `Default/Hidden/Centered`. But this hides ALL text on the lock screen, I want to hide **ONLY** the clock (because it is in the statusbar anyway), and NOT hide the next alarm, next calendar appointment, battery level, etc.

Or, as an alternative, if there is someway to make the font for the clock a LOT smaller.

The reason I want to do this, is because I am using Contact Owner to display lost phone text on the lock screen, but with that giant clock up top, it pushes the owner info underneath/behind the unlock controls.

Also, setting the `Widget Layout` to hidden hides the owner info as well, which kinda defeats the purpose.

**UPDATE:** With a little help from this question, I'm using Cyanogenmod's own owner info ability, but it still suffers from the same problem.

BTW, I'm running on a Galaxy S Captivate.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Well, I didn't find a way to hide it; but switched to using WidgetLocker for my lock screen and just disabled CM's.

---
Tags: cyanogenmod, lock-screens, customization, clock
---


# Question
Title: "Application cannot be installed in the default install location" error while updating
I have a Galaxy note which was recently updated to ICS (about a month ago)

Today I noticed that some of the applications, that are on auto update, keeping failing to update with this message:

"Application cannot be installed in the default install location"

I have enough storage left so I am not sure what this error means or how to fix it?

# Answer
> 2 votes
That sounds like a known problem updating apps which were moved to the SD-Card using App2SD. It does not always happen -- but if it does, a helpful work-around is:

1. move the app back to internal memory
2. run the update (should work now)
3. move the app to SD again (optional -- if you want it to be on the external SD)

---
Tags: 4.0-ice-cream-sandwich, installation, samsung-galaxy-note, application-autoupdate
---


# Question
Title: How can I pause and resume video recording if the stock app does not support this feature?
I have an Xperia Mini Pro with Android 2.3 (and upgradeable to Android 4). Its recording program does not have ability to pause and resume recording.

**How can I pause and resume video recording if the stock app does not support this feature?**

# Answer
> 7 votes
# Answering the Question

I've been searching for a solution to this issue since I've seen your question, probably when you've set a bounty. Till now I've found tons of unhappy users complaining about the same issue, no pause/resume during a video record.

I've read just about every first fifty results presented for every search that I came up with on Google, been into Google Market, reference forums, etc... *sigh!*

The only answer that I've found relevant to be mentioned was provided by Ryan Conrad concerning this topic, for the same phone. (no need for transcription to this answer)

Since this is being requested a few years (at least since 2011 that users are complaining at Google Forums), and since the functionality to pause while recording needs system support due to the API and hardware being used that must provide such capabilities, software developers cannot go around this.

Some devices may be capable of dealing with the pause/resume feature, but that's unclear. I believe that you'll just have to wait until manufacturers and developers can't stand the voice of the unhappy user anymore, and improve this issue.

---

# The Android API currently does not provide the pause method

This is a bit technical, but was solicited on the comments.

The public class MediaRecorder, being used since API level 1, doesn't has the capability to pause, as one can observe from the MediaRecorder State Diagram:

When recording, the API allows us to either use the `reset()` or `stop()` Public Methods:

> `reset()` -\> Restarts the MediaRecorder to its idle state.
>
> `stop()` -\> Stops recording.

---
Tags: sony-xperia-mini-pro, video-recording
---


# Question
Title: How do I keep my headphone jack from disabling my bluetooth speakerphone in my car?
I just upgraded to the Samsung Galaxy S III running Android 4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and I drive a 2009 Mazda 5 with integrated bluetooth speakerphone.

When I'm in my car, I connect the headphone jack to my car stereo Aux input so that I can play music from my phone through my car speakers. I got a phone call today and I noticed that when I'm connected to the Aux jack, my phone wouldn't connect to the bluetooth speakerphone. In fact, I couldn't hear the phone call at all, although the person on the other end could hear me. When I pulled out the cable from my phone's headphone jack, the bluetooth connection to the speakerphone was restored.

I never had this problem with my Bionic.

How do I make my phone connect to the bluetooth speakerphone even when I have a cable in the headphone receptacle?

Note: my car hooks up to the bluetooth speakerphone only -- it doesn't have an option to play music through the car speakers via bluetooth.

**UPDATE (JUL 19)**

Having thought about the situation some more, here's what I think is happening:

When I make a phone call using my car's integrated bluetooth speakerphone, my car turns off the stereo input to my speakers and replaces it with the phone input. At the same time, if I have a cable plugged into my headphone jack on my phone, my phone assumes that I want to hear the call through my "headphones" and not any attached bluetooth device, so my phone doesn't transmit the incoming phone audio to the bluetooth antenna -- it sends it to the audio cable plugged into the headphone jack. Since my car stereo isn't accepting auxiliary input during a phone call, I hear nothing.

So, I really need a way to tell my phone that when I have a bluetooth speakerphone connected and "headphones" connected, I prefer to hear the call through the bluetooth connection (I don't think it's very likely that I'm going to be able to get Mazda to change their stereo firmware :-) ).

**UPDATE (JUL 24)**

1. I tried my wife's Razr (running ICS) and didn't have this problem, so it seems to be Samsung Galaxy SIII problem, not an ICS problem.
2. I've come up with a couple of work-arounds that I'll submit as a separate answer.

# Answer
> 4 votes
From the Samsung tech support, they say that:

> when the AUX cable is plugged in, Blue-tooth audio is dead.

However, from the ICS Options during a call:

> During a call, you can also use buttons near the bottom of the screen to:
>
> 1. Switch to the dialer, for example to enter a code.
> 2. Controls the audio output as follows:
>
> 1. If a Bluetooth headset is not connected: Turns the speakerphone on or off.
>     2. If a Bluetooth headset is connected: Functions as a 3-way switch between the built-in earpiece, the speakerphone, and the headset. The icon changes to indicate the current output. Touch & hold to see a 3-way menu.
>     3. If a wired headset is plugged into the phone, it replaces the phone's built-in earpiece.

**Note:**
The Google Support link refers to the Android 4.0 for Galaxy Nexus (Released 2011, November), but the one you have is newer (Released 2012, May). Since the OS is the same, there's no reason as to not have those options available.

---

You can try and check if the mentioned option at point 2.2. works, but besides from that, I believe that you're out of luck on this subject.

# Answer
> 0 votes
I've developed 2 work-arounds:

1. Turn off bluetooth.

When I do this, I hear the call through my car speakers (using cable from headphone jack to AUX input) and use my phone's microphone rather than the car's microphone.

Drawbacks:

A. I need to make sure that my car stereo is set to AUX input during phone calls.

B. I can't use my car's voice dialer, which has a convenient activation button on the steering wheel.
2. Get a second bluetooth receiver and connect it to the AUX input in my car. This has the added benefits of not triggering the S3's "you plugged in headphones" notification (which I find annoying and haven't been able to find a way to switch off) and also doesn't halve the volume automatically, like plugging in a cable to the headphone jack does.

Drawbacks:

A. You have to spend an extra $20 - $30.

I bought the GOgroove BlueGate from Newegg ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16875991070 ) although have since found a cheaper receiver ( http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c\_id=108&cp\_id=10827&cs\_id=1082704&p\_id=7364&seq=1&format=2 ) that seems like it would also work.

B. It takes a little bit of playing around to get it to work. So far, I seem to need to turn on the extra receiver and then manually connect the bluetooth to both the car and the spare transceiver -- it seems like I can't just get in my car and have everything automatically work, but I only started using this setup yesterday so maybe I'll be able to work out some of these kinks.

---
Tags: bluetooth, samsung-galaxy-s-3, headphone-jack, bluetooth-audio
---


# Question
Title: Galaxy Nexus screen flashes and brightness issues on various button taps and screens
While using my Galaxy Nexus at night in the dark, I started experiencing issues where the screen would flash for a moment to what felt like full brightness when I tap on certain buttons. It seems inconsistent, but frequent. I've had it happen when pressing the back button in various apps, or switching to different apps in the application switcher. It's bright enough to say that it kind of hurts my eyes.

It also seems like certain screens get locked into full brightness. One example is the main timeline screen of the official Twitter app.

I have Automatic Brightness turned off, and the brightness slider at the lowest setting.

Any ideas as to what causes this? Is there some setting I'm missing?

# Answer
I just had this happen to me. Seeing your answer, Moskie, I carefully removed the apps one at a time from the application switcher by sliding them to the right, testing between each one. For me, pressing home from the web browser caused my screen to do a slow flaah, opening the apps menu made it go bright and stay bright.

The app that caused the trouble? Camera.
> 2 votes

# Answer
I ended up closing all running apps using the application switcher. That seemed to do the trick. I'm not sure which one was causing the problem, though.
> 1 votes

# Answer
There is an app called Screen filter, which I use to use my mobile during night. Even when the brightness is at its lowest value, the screen is still bright enough during night to disturb others and hurt my own eyes when reading for long time. This app enables me to reduce the brightness even further the lowest limit. Though this does not neither help you to automatically adjust the brightness nor solve the random sudden increase of brightness. But still I posted this as it might help you or others if the lowest brightness is still not low enough.
> 0 votes

# Answer
Strange, i have never heard of something like that, it must be an app which are causing it... Anything you have installed recently? I would try and remove some of the recent installed apps, and see if that works, or make a reset of the phone.. If it still happens after a reset, then it's a hardware issue, and you should talk with those who sold it to you...
> -1 votes

---
Tags: samsung-galaxy-nexus, screen
---


# Question
Title: "Button: Camera" and "USB Plugged" not working for Tasker?
I saw Tasker on my friend's phone and I tried out a simple profile.

I wanted the Camera button to vibrate the phone. Nothing more, nothing less. The setup is as follows:

Button: Camera

* Priority: Highest
* Stop Event: Checked

Then the task only has 1 action and that is:

Vibrate

* Time: 200

With the above, I couldn't get the profile to work. When I hold down the Camera button app, it still proceeds to open the Camera app. I tried creating other profiles other than the **Button: Camera** and they all worked. I want to know if there's something I'm missing here?

**EDIT:** I also realized that the "USB Plugged" action is not firing. It keeps staying on "Not USB Plugged" mode even if we have the data cable connected to a PC already.

**EDIT 2:** The device I'm doing this on is an Xperia Mini.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Okay so it has dawned on me that the reason why the shutter action on Tasker doesn't seem to work. It seems to be the stock ROM I was using before. Now that I'm using an AOSP rom, it works quite flawlessly. So yeah, it might have been the rom.

---
Tags: tasker, bugs, profiles
---


title: Inaccurate time? How to fix it?

text:
# Question
Title: Inaccurate time? How to fix it?
*Sometimes* the time on my phone (X10 mini pro) is a little late while in sleep mode. I've experienced differences from 1 to 3 hours. My guess is that the clock system component (if there is such a thing in Android) doesn't get enough CPU time for some reason. This is not a big problem yet, since the clock will show the correct time just a few hundred milliseconds after I turn the screen on. The problem starts when I'm in sleep mode too and the phone is supposed to wake me up, because that way I have to wake up first to wake up my phone to wake me up.

So the question is: is there a way to force my phone's clock to always refresh it's time, even in sleep mode?

**Update:** I think I've found a pattern which might be relevant. Looks like this behaviour never occurs while charging the battery.

# Answer
You can use an app called ClockSync, which fetches time from NTP servers and updates the device's date and time. Rooted users can make this app to update time at configurable interval.
> 3 votes

---
Tags: alarm, standby, clock, date-and-time
---


# Question
Title: Samsung Galaxy S3 Latest Firmware Contacts App Lag Issue
I have upgraded my phone to the latest firmware which is MainBand : I9300XXLFB.

Before that release no problem was recognized with the contacts app. But now; I am facing with an issue that; it takes 3 to 5 secs to load the contacs list.

Is this a specific one for me or a global issue ?

Regards

# Answer
I had a similar issue right after the update. My situation was far worse. If I were to receive a call from 'specific' contacts, the phone would crash (com.android.phone module) and I wouldn't be able to answer it, let alone identify who was calling.

The simple solution for this problem is to Export all your contacts onto your internal SD card. Transfer them over to your computer and Import them by Kies. (This method solved my issue. Maybe it will help you too.

Regards, Sterex
> 1 votes

---
Tags: contacts, samsung-galaxy-s-3
---


# Question
Title: Is there a way to select text directly in Android?
I would like to edit some text on my way home, however I found that in Android there is no way to simply select some text to delete or change it. You have to first locate the cursor or long press the screen to enable selection, then drag the cursor for selection. This is quite inconvenient.

I tried Jota Text Editor, 920 Editor, Note Everything and Evernote - no one offers a simple method to select text directly.

Is there any way to do this?

# Answer
> 1 votes
The feature of selection of text is a topping added by phone manufacturers. For an instance, in my LG Optimus One (P500) which was running 2.2.2 did not have any text selection feature. As you had said, I have to manually move the caret to a favourable position to erase a text. However during an update to 2.3.3, the manufacturer had enabled me to select a text by double tap (and in some places, a single tap or long press is required).

When I was discussing this with my friend who had Samsung Galaxy Ace running 2.2.2, I was surprised to know that the feature I got in 2.3.3 was already available in his phone.

I guess with Android 3.0 onwards, this has been baked in as standard feature.

# Answer
> 1 votes
As we deal with touch screens, which allow for a bunch of gestures: it would be hard for the system to decide whether you want to select text, just move the "pointer" (e.g. to insert text), move the word under your finger to a different position, scroll, or switch to a different screen... Think of your desktop and moving the mouse, which also wouldn't select anything -- unless you click and hold the button while moving.

So usually, selecting text is done the way you described: Long-Press (or double-tap, or single-tap -- may depend on the app used) on the word you want to start marking, then move the markers to include the text you want to select.

# Answer
> 0 votes
In addition to Android's built-in features, it's possible for apps to change the way you copy text. One popular app for this is Copy Text, which lets you select and copy text that is normally not selectable. If you want to copy text in different ways, browsing the Play Store to see what's available is a good idea.

---
Tags: text-selection
---


# Question
Title: Is there a way to organize the numbered MP3's from Google Play?
Music purchased from Google Play is stored on my phone as untagged, numbered MP3 files. Is there a way to get the information Play has about these MP3 files, then rename them and set the ID3 tag so that other applications can easily use these files?

# Answer
The Official Google Play Music app will download music as untagged, numbered MP3 files, as you said, and uses an internal mapping method to know which MP3 is which.

However, the app Offline Music Importer should do what you want. It is **free for the first 50** songs; after 50 it costs **$2.49 to unlock**.

A description from their app page:

> Why you need this app:
>
> When you make your Google Play Music media available offline, you are storing cached music files in a special folder on your device. The media provider service within Android can’t see the music in there. Even if it could, the file names are meaningless and they don’t have any ID3 tags. The service would not know what the song title is, what album it belongs to, what track number it is, not even the artist. The files are just raw music. For all those reasons, you can’t play those files properly in any other music player except the Google Play Music player.
>
> This app gathers those meaningless music files, applies the proper ID3 tags and artwork, moves the files to your /Music folder on the sdcard, and updates the Media Provider. All your imported music will be available to any music player installed on the device.
> 4 votes

---
Tags: google-play-store, google-play-music
---


# Question
Title: Does Android's Full Filesystem Encryption also Encrypt the SDcard?
In Android's filesystem encryption do they also encrypt the SDcard? If so Is encrypting the SDcard optional or is it encrypted by default when you choose to encrypt your device?

Here's some info about Android's file system encryption and its crypto implemenation on android.com

# Answer
Android provides the *capability* to do filesystem encryption, but it's up to the vendor who builds the firmware for your device to enable it for the SD card. I have only seen a few devices with this capability enabled for the SD card, though most seem to have it for the internal storage (`/data`). Typically if it's enabled, there will be a menu item in the settings referring to SD card encryption.

Here's the option for the Galaxy Tab 2 for example:
> 6 votes

# Answer
## Summary

The encryption of the SD card is a device-specific subject, but as far as Android goes, only `/data` gets encrypted.

---

## Android default behaviour:

By "default", for Android, the encryption on the device is applied to `/data` only. This because all installed applications that get moved to the SD card are already encrypted and only usable at that specific device "origin".

**See:** Apps on SD Card: The Details scroll down to the below paragraph

> **Security and Performance Implications**
>
> Applications on SD card are mounted via Linux’s loopback interface and encrypted via a device-specific key, so they cannot be decrypted on any other device. Note that this is security measure and does not provide copy protection;

---

## Android recommendation to developers:

**See:** Designing for Security scroll down to the below paragraph

> **Using external storage**
>
> Files created on external storage, such as SD Cards, are globally readable and writable. Since external storage can be removed by the user and also modified by any application, applications should not store sensitive information using external storage.

---

## Why Android, why?

Android believes that external storage is a shared thing, so, to be accessible everywhere, being encrypted wouldn't work.

**See:** Using the External Storage

> Every Android-compatible device supports a shared "external storage" that you can use to save files. This can be a removable storage media (such as an SD card) or an internal (non-removable) storage. Files saved to the external storage are world-readable and can be modified by the user when they enable USB mass storage to transfer files on a computer.

---

## Some vendors "act on their own"

Some vendors like Motorola however have implemented the encryption to `/data` and `/mnt/sdcard`:

* What type of encryption does Motorola Android support?

> Provides file system level encryption for both internal device memory as well as SD card. Encryption for device memory and SD card can be enabled separately via settings UI as well as via Exchange ActiveSync policies. Device has to be protected with the password lock in order for encryption to be available.
> 5 votes

---
Tags: sd-card, encryption
---


# Question
Title: Does the Android emulator generate some sort of log file I can access if it crashes?
Let's say I am working with the Android emulator, and get it to run one of my custom images/custom kernels, and it gets stuck in a boot-loop or crashes after a little while in booting up, does it produce a log file that I can look through? And if so, where does it store this "boot" log? (most likely somewhere in the Android build tree)

# Answer
## kernel panic

When a kernel panic occurs all user space programs are immediately stopped, preventing a user from detecting the cause of the panic: `logcat`; `dmesg` and `/proc/kmsg` will do you no good.

You can still check the `/data/dontpanic/` folder for any files present, like:

`apanic_console` or `apanic_threads`

---

## kernel boot

Method of logging kernel messages:

1. invoke "dmesg":

* See it as it happens:

    ```
    # adb shell dmesg

    ```
    * Direct to a file on your sdcard and see it later

    ```
    # adb shell dmesg >/mnt/sdcard/dmesg.txt

    ```
2. "tail" the kernel if "syslogd" and `/var` are available:

```
# adb shell cat /proc/kmsg

```
3. dump the kernel file `/proc/kmsg`:

```
# adb shell cat /proc/kmsg

```

**Note:** You may need to issue `su` to gain permissions over some files if you're stuck with an error message. Alternatively, removing `shell` from the command will execute it on the computer side, not on the phone.

---

## References
> 2 votes

---
Tags: android-emulator, logging
---


# Question
Title: How do you name a folder on the home screen (Gingerbread, HTC Incredible)?
I added a folder to the home screen, but it's automatically labeled "folder." If I have multiple folders, it will get confusing. How can I change the name of the folder?

# Answer
> 9 votes
Tap to open the folder, then long-press the text making up the name. That should change it to an editable field.

---
Tags: home-screen-folders
---


# Question
Title: What is the difference between the email app and the gmail app?
I know the Email app can fetch multiple accounts at same time, but apart from that are there any other major differences?

If I only need to fetch stuff from the one gmail account, which app should I use? I only connect to the internet using wifi, so offline usability is desirable.

Running Android 4.1.1 on a Nexus 7.

# Answer
> 4 votes
The main difference that I can see is the type of accounts that are supported:

* The Gmail APP is limited to accounts from Google: `username@gmail.com`

> + read and respond to your conversations online & offline
>     + Manage multiple accounts
>     + View and save attachments
>     + Set up label notifications
* Email APP: `username@your_domain.com`

The main feature is that it works with all email providers, but its a very basic APP, you can send and receive emails, but no search capabilities present.

# Answer
> 6 votes
The Gmail application speaks Gmail's own proprietary protocol back to the Gmail server, whereas the Email application speaks open protocols such as POP3 or IMAP, as well as supporting ActiveSync. The Email application also has somewhat better support for multiple accounts.

If you are only using a single Gmail account then it is better to use the Gmail application, but if you're using multiple accounts, or non-Gmail accounts, you'll want to use Email. Personally, I use Gmail for my Gmail account (which I only use for Google-specific purposes) and Email for my IMAP.

---
Tags: email, gmail
---


# Question
Title: Strange icons and notifications, is there a malware in my phone?
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> Is this red star icon malware? How to get rid of it?
> Red Star And Green Cross Icons?

I have a Samsung galaxy nexus with official Android 4.1 running. I sometimes get strange notifications with a green + as the icon, saying you have won..., click here to..., or similar messages. Of course I would not open any of them as they immediately appear suspicious. I also sometimes get some shortcut icons on the home screen looking like games, etc. I do not find them in the app list though. I have had similar incidents before upgrading to 4.1.

Does anybody get things like these? Is this a malware living in my phone? Any thoughts would be highly appreciated.

# Answer
> 0 votes
It is probably spam notifications being generated by some third-party app that you have installed. Quite a few "free to play" games pull this garbage these days.

It could also be malware, but it is more likely that some game you have installed is doing this.

Note that in Android, an application icon does not have a 1:1 correspondence with installed applications; many applications provide different icons (or no icon at all), because of the way that Android applications are put together.

---
Tags: security, malware, airpush
---


# Question
Title: Is there a known custom Android ROM without apps bloating
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> Where can I find stock or custom ROMs for my Android device?

I am looking for a very scaled down version of Android similar to CyanogenMod but with much less apps. I think just the OS , a basic landing screen and App Store. Is anyone aware of such ROMs ?

# Answer
> 2 votes
The ones I know of are Android Open Source Project-based ROMs.

Clean as they can be, no pre-installed applications (bloatware), just a "pure" Android OS.

You may want to read this Community wiki.

---
Tags: cyanogenmod, custom-roms
---


# Question
Title: Debugging bootloop: Get an information log without ADB? Can an emulator help?
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> Android boot-up messages for debugging?

Related to this post I created: Does the Android emulator generate some sort of log file I can access if it crashes?

I have been searching and trying to figure out if there is any way at all to get some kind of debugging information or any kind of kernel messages from an Android phone *if* it gets stuck at a bootloop state? That means the phone gets stuck at the "Google" splash-screen, then crashes, then goes to that, then crashes.

I know the phone has several stages of bootloading, but for me to even figure out why my system image/modified kernel is making the phone crash, I need to at least know where the phone is crashing?

Is there any kind of log the Android emulator maybe spits out that shows it going through the stages of booting: i.e. stage 1 bootloader, main stage bootloader, kernel being loaded, initialization process, Zygote, Zygote initializing Dalvik VM, execution of system server, then boot completed (when the `ACTION_BOOT_COMPLETE` flag/event is raised).

I've tried modifying `init.rc` to echo commands to a boot log (but it didn't work, though I don't know if the phone makes it to that stage, all I have is a useless splash screen), I've tried any of the ADB stuff but of course ADB doesn't work if the phone doesn't reach a stable state, the Linux `dmesg` command only works to show that the phone plugged in via USB, and the Android developers have chosen not to at least explain to me that only they hold those kinds of developer tools. Can anyone give me some guidance of what I can do to debug the boot process? There has to be some kind of log you can access with the emulator at least.

In other words, how does anyone get any kind of log from their phone/emulator if gets stuck in a bootloop?

Further information, my kernel version I believe I have downloaded for my phone build is Linux kernel release 3.x (stock kernel pulled from the `tuna` folder and using the "omap" project), for Android Galaxy Nexus (maguro), with the platform being Android 4.0.3 ICS.

# Answer
You will know if the kernel has hung, the led light stays on and not go further.

As for your question, you need to be more clearer and specific as we do not know and since you posted a similar question before. You have not stated, what device is it, what android version is it, what kernel is it, all those are left out and thusly playing a guessing game here.

* Is it the ramdisk not created correctly?
* Is it the address used for booting incorrect?
* Is the ROM built for VMSPLIT 3G and the kernel is built with VMSPLIT 2G or vice versa?
* What chipset is it? ARMv7 kernel with ROM compiled for ARMv6...
* Is the kernel actually booting? *if yes, how do you know?*

Far too many things here to speculate.

***Edit:***

This bit is related to kernel level debugging.

The only way you can **know** if the kernel is indeed booting in the first place is to use a USB to Serial TTY cable with JTAG pinouts on a small circuit board clipped/soldered to the back of the device in question, and having the serial driver compiled into the kernel and treating the console as a tty device, and reading from it via minicom or hyperterminal to see the boot up sequence.

As for bootloops,

The cause of boot-loops are down to the ROM itself, the initialization sequence is crashing somewhere. Now *be careful* :), the kernel in itself, can boot-loop also due to malfunctioning driver, panic's and reboots itself.

So the question is, *which is it?*, Is it the kernel that keeps rebooting itself or has it got passed that stage and started loading the ROM? If its at the stage of loading the ROM, then something in the initialization is crashing, when the ROM crashes, it sends a signal to shutdown SurfaceFlinger, AudioFlinger, adb daemon, MedaServices etc.

What you can do is this - in the `init.rc`, where you have this:

```
service console /system/bin/sh
    console
    disabled
    user shell

```

Change `disabled` to `enabled`, the next time, Android will dump you into the console, i.e. no familiar graphical interface.

Also, look for the lines containing `servicemanager`, if the adbd daemon is listed there, take it out as what happens is the directive clause `critical` and `onrestart` will cause you to not have any adb facility!
> 5 votes

---
Tags: bootloader, logging, system-error, bugs, boot-loop
---


# Question
Title: Samsung galaxy SIII is there a way to add a new call ring?
I proudly own this phone, but I can't find a way to set up a classic ring call. What can I do? There's a way?

# Answer
> 5 votes
In `System Settings -> Sound` you should be able to select `Pick Ringtone`. If you don't find the ringtone you want, you can use any MP3 or OGG. Just put the file on your sdcard in `/sdcard/Ringtones/`. Media scanner will classify anything in this directory as a Ringtone.

---
Tags: ringtone, samsung-galaxy-s-3
---


# Question
Title: How can I make Google Now ignore some calendars for appointment reminders?
How can I make Google Now ignore some calendars?

My wife's calendar is shared to my calendar and then synced to my phone through my account and I currently get reminder cards for her events in Google Now. I would like to only get cards for certain calendars.

# Answer
Apparently, Google Now uses the "My Calendars" section of Google Calendars.

When my wife's calendar was shared with me, I was granted "Make changes AND manage sharing" rights. This puts the calendar into "My Calendars" for both users' calendars. When I changed it to "Make Changes to events" on my wife's sharing tab, the calendar moves from "My Calendars" to "Other Calendars" for my account and I no longer get notifications in Google Now for that calendar.
> 11 votes

# Answer
Instead of synchronizing her calendar to your phone, try setting her calendar "shared" and then subscribing to it from your own Google Calendar. When you subscribe, I believe you can set it to not pull in the reminders.
> 4 votes

---
Tags: google-calendar, google-now
---


title: Archos external USB Keyboard

text:
# Question
Title: Archos external USB Keyboard
I recently bought a case for my Archos 101 9G Turbo, which has a built-in USB keyboard, but I can not make it work by simply connecting the usb cable from the keyboard either the micro USB port (with and adapter) or the normal USB port. The tablet shown in the photo is not the Archos, but it is right to illustrate the example.

As you can see, the case has an USB cable coming out of the keyboard. I updated the tablet firmware to the new ICS 4.0 so maybe it is a drivers problem and I haven't found the solution on the Archos forums.

My approaches are:

1. The keyboard works because I plugged it into my computer.
2. The tablet USB also works because I plugged in an USB hub with a LED screen and it received energy (both via micro usb and via normal usb activating the 3G option).

I read that maybe it is a power consuption problem because when the keyboard is plugged in the built-in lights (for example, the upper case key) don't work. I have also tried to plug in a mouse and nothing happens.

I wonder if anyone else had this problem and how he solved it. Should I use a bluetooth keyboard?

# Answer
Archos deals with a special USB host cable for USB OTG. Perhaps you need it.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: 4.0-ice-cream-sandwich, usb, keyboard, archos-101
---


# Question
Title: Samsung Galaxy S2 wifi - Connected but no internet
My Galaxy S2 (ICS I9100G) connects to my home wifi but sometimes does not actually transmit data. I took it to the shop and they did a factory reset (which I could have done on my own) and then was told to take it home and see if it was any better. It wasn't.

O2 tech support didn't really have much to offer so I tried various different online fixes. None worked.

We got another router (for the back of the house) which used WPA2 whereas the initial router uses WPA. My SGS2 works absolutely fine on this new router.

What's going on?

# Answer
> 3 votes
My solution was to change the front room wifi to WPA2 to match the backroom's wifi (WPA2) which I never had a problem with.

Don't know why this works I cannot believe the SGS2 has less than optimum support for WPA. Maybe it was buggy software ... although I am fully updated and have been since I got the phone. (September 11)

I should mention this was not a problem caused by ICS or fixed by the firmware upgrade as I had the problem pretty much as soon as I got the phone (September 11).

---
Tags: wi-fi, samsung-galaxy-s-2, wpa2
---


# Question
Title: Samsung Galaxy 3 (GT-i5801) is not being detected in Kies
Whenever I connect my device to my PC, it asks me on connection for the type of connection I want. If I select Samsung kies in the device it shows me connected, but in the kies it keeps connecting *(with spinner...)*.

I have tried the solutions described on this question answers, but no avail.

The problem from the mentioned question is different from what I'm experiencing, so I ask your ideas about this?

# Relevant details

Device

> Device : Samsung Galaxy i5801;
> OS : android 2.2;
> Baseband version : I5801DDJP2;
> Build Number : FROYO.DDJP6;
> Kernel Version : 2.6.32.9.

kies Information

> Interestingly when i go to help section of kies and click on kies information it freezes with some semi transparent layer on it so cant find its version *(need to close it from task manager)*

PC Information

> Microsoft Windows Xp Service Pack 3

# Answer
> -1 votes
You could try to do a factory reset and then try to check out your trouble with Kies. **Note: Backup all your data before the reset!**

---
Tags: 2.2-froyo, samsung-kies, usb-connection-mode, samsung-galaxy-apollo
---


# Question
Title: How to get a more Linux like experience on Android?
Are there projects (e.g. ROMs) out there that offers a more Linux like experience on Android?

Here are some things that I hope for

* easy installation on similar platforms
* shell access
* development tools such as gcc, Python

# Answer
> 16 votes
There are quite a few options already:

* Chroot to a full fledged linux (search for debian chroot android, it's got quite a few hits)
* There are also native ports of Debian or Ubuntu for some phone/tablet models.
* Shell access is already there: Terminal Emulator
* If you install an aftermarket firmware such as CyanogenMod you will get root access, busybox, bash, an ssh client/server amongst other things
* Here's the SL4A project (scripting layer for android), it adds python, lua, perl and other interpreted languages to android
* You can build Qt applications (yes, even those using QtGui) using Necessitas -- a port of most parts of the Qt Desktop framework to Android. Applications as complex as Quassel (an IRC client/server) can be built with very minimal source changes. In theory this would allow you to build much of KDE4, though some parts (e.g. the Plasma workspace) may be too heavily tied to Xorg/GLX.
* Most C/C++ programs from GNU/Linux that do not require a graphical interface can be compiled to run on Android using the Android NDK

+ You can also use Qpython3 for python in android . Features:
* Run Python3 applications including script and projects on Android device
* Execute Python3 Code & File From QRCode
* Support SL4A Programming, can access android's feature, like network, bluetooth, location
* Support Python3 console
* Support QEdit which allow you edit Python code Support FTP server, which can let you transfer the Python3 project from your PC to mobile easily
* Other things, you aware of. Feel free to add it here

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Tags: linux
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# Question
Title: Cannot take pictures without SD card inserted. Any solutions?
I have no SD card in my Android phone's SD card slot. Therefore I cannot take any photos or upload any. I have tried installing other camera apps to see if one of them might have its own storage but really none of them have worked (all need an SD card to store their files on).

Does anyody know any apps for taking pictures that do not need an SD card and have self storage? Or is there even an option?

# Answer
Every app that wants to make files publicly available to other apps on an Android device has to save to known shared location with read/write permissions to everyone (or at least the apps that need to). This designated location is /mnt/sdcard on Android and this is where the SD card or an internal equivalent (eMMC) is accessible.

Reason:

* If multiple apps want to access some file (e.g. pictures like G+, upload service, Gallery viewer) they need appropriate rights to do so
* Each app has its private storage section in /data/data/\[App's Package Name\]
* This section is **private**, i.e. /data/data/\[PackageName\] is **not accessible** to any other package for security reasons
* /mnt/sdcard or /mnt/emmc are the only sections with world read permissions (and write permissions for those apps with an appropriate permission)

Conclusion:
An app that takes pictures to save them in its private area would not be beneficial for *other* apps. It needs to write to /mnt/sdcard where other apps suppose shared data that is accessible to them.

Solutions:

* Buy an SD card, it's cheap
* I you have root, you could *fake* mount a tmpfs file system (mount -o tmpfs none /mnt/sdcard), this solution and all the data on saved to it will however **not survive** a reboot of your phone

For the record: Above said is not 100% correct but I think suitable for answering the question.
> 6 votes

# Answer
I could see Camera ICS, a free app in Google Play Store.

It's feature list says "Configurable storage source (Internal/SD card)" (IMHO meaning "Internal Storage / SD-Card") which is what I think you want.

**UPDATE:** Please read the chain of comments for this answer. For clarification on what the developer of this application meant by word "internal", I got the following as a reply:

> Thanks for asking. No, this feature is only for new devices that have `/mnt/sdcard` on internal memory and also have an external SD card.

Thought it will be useful for some one
> 2 votes

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Tags: camera, external-sd
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