# Question
Title: Samsung galaxy S freezes while upgrading to gingerbread and doesn't want to turn on?
and the pc doesn't even recognise it (i've tried the volume and power buttoms but sure it didn't work because the phone didn't turn on) when i connect it to pc using kies it gives me a black screen on my phone with the drawing of my phone and pc with "!" between them but as i mentioned b4 the pc doesn't feel a thing plzz help me

# Answer
> 3 votes
I'd try removing the battery and plugging it into USB. Then, while holding both Volume Down and Home, insert the battery and wait. This should get you into Download Mode (screen with yellow triangle) and Kies should be able to update you.

If this doesn't work try other key combos -- both volume buttons, or VolUp+Home. If they don't work either, disconnect from USB and put the battery in. Then while holding one of the key combos, click the Power button and wait. Yank the battery and reinsert to try a different combo if need be.

---
Tags: 2.2-froyo, updates, samsung-galaxy-s, samsung-kies, system-freeze
---


# Question
Title: Where can I get he CIFS kernel add ons to run CIFS?
I use a GB ROM on my Infuse 4g but it does not have CIFS built in. I am told there is an external way of adding this in. Does anyone have a link to this?

# Answer
What do you want it for?

There's 3 ways to get CIFS *client* support on Android:

1. 3rd party apps implementing it themselves. Many file managers (e.g. Astro, FX, etc.) go this route.
2. Replacement kernel with CIFS support compiled in or as a loadable module included. This is the most common route, IME with Android phones.
3. Pre-built loadable module for the vendor's kernel. This seems pretty rare, since the kernel interfaces can vary, and it can be difficult to find the right combination of compiler switches that yield the correct binary interface.

With 2 & 3, you still need some way of loading/activating the module and mounting shares. This might involve editing boot scripts or loading a 3rd party program (e.g. Mount Manager) to handle the mounting/unmounting. Even then, not all your applications will nicely handle the paths to files on a network share.

Now, if you want to *serve* CIFS shares out from your phone, that's a whole different ball of wax, and there's a number of apps in the Market that will handle that.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: networking
---


# Question
Title: Can an Android device be locked down by an administrator?
I would like to know if it is possible to use android devices in a work environment with restrictions on the phones usage.

These phones would be given to members in the field to log data, and only that. Is there a simple solution that exists for this purpose?

# Answer
> 3 votes
Yes indeed. Android 2.2 and higher supports Microsoft Exchange security policies as well as administrator applications.

---
Tags: security, device-administrator
---


# Question
Title: How to access phone via USB cable (not SD Card)
I am using a HTC G2 running Android 2.3. I would like to access content on my phone (not on the SD Card). This includes phone contacts and any data in the phone memory. Also is there a way to access the contacts inside the SIM card via USB cable and the phone.

Thanks for any assistance.

# Answer
> 3 votes
You need root to access most of the phone storage, such as the data partition and databases (e.g. contacts). Even then you need to use adb from the Android SDK which is not particularly user friendly. There's no way to access the SIM over USB that I know of — it would be pretty complicated to make that work.

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


# Question
Title: Export contacts/text messages in a readable format
I would like to export both my contacts and my text messages. But I would like be able to easily read the file formats that it exports to. I can export the contacts as a VCF yet when I view it there is a lot of other data that I do not need. Is there a way to export the contacts as a file formate that excel can open and read without the other excess data.

Then I would like to export my text messages. I use GO SMS PRO as my text message APP and I can backup the messages yet they backup in a format that I cannot read. Is there a way to export text messages into a format that can be easily readable?

Thanks for the assistance.

(I am running Android 2.3 and using a T-Mobile/HTC G2)

# Answer
> 5 votes
At least if using the stock Messaging app SMS Backup + can backup your messages in a readable format to your Gmail. And for contacts I'd recommend syncing them to Google Contacts and exporting them from there (as Chahk mentioned in the comments).

---
Tags: contacts, 2.3-gingerbread, sms, backup
---


title: Galaxy S II via Freebox server to TV

text:
# Question
Title: Galaxy S II via Freebox server to TV
Any idea how can I connect my Samsung Galaxy S II to Freebox server? I have no idea how to set up wifi connection between them. Please note that I want to connect my phone to Freebox server as described here, I just want to get pictures straight off of my phone onto the Freebox server to TV.

# Answer
> 2 votes
If you are speaking about Free as the french ISP...

The freebox is an ADSL modem that the french ISP Free provides to his client. It includes a modem / nas / tv and other funny stuff... It provides also multimedia features like photo gallery and video player

It presents a nas system accessible thru FTP, and other protocole. To answer to your question, you can install a **FTP client on your mobile** and connect directly to your server to put your photos. But the prerequisite is a configured server...

To go further and help you to configure all stuff, we need to know which version of freebox do you have, v5 or v6 (HD)

You can find a really good tutorial in french on this page:

---

**An extract of configuration needed for the HD version.**

You need to configure your freebox server if it's not already done via the following site: mafreebox.freebox.fr/

The freebox server is accessible thru the following parameters / put it into your android ftp client:

* address : mafreebox.freebox.fr
* login : freebox
* password configured one on : mafreebox.freebox.fr

---
Tags: samsung-galaxy-s-2
---


# Question
Title: Anyone have an alternative dowload site for a fastboot binary?
I'm working on rooting my android kernel and most sites list http://android-dls.com/files/linux/fastboot as the place to look for the fastboot binary. However, I've been getting a 404 (Page not Found) error when attempting to access this site.

Does anyone know of an alternate download location for fastboot?

I'm currently running Ubuntu Linux.

# Answer
HTC used to have a copy of the Linux binary, but they changed their developers portal and now I can't find that one anymore, either. The only other pre-compiled version I've been able to find is here (link originated from this thread on droidforums.net, which also has a link to a pre-compiled OSX binary).

I checked with `readelf` on my Linux VM and it looks like it's a 64-bit binary, so I've also uploaded a 32-bit version to my Dropbox public folder, and it can be downloaded here. This is the binary I use on my machine, which I believe I got from the aforementioned HTC site that's now missing.

Aside from that, you can compile Android from source to get it...but that's kind of a terrible solution for a single small binary file.
> 2 votes

# Answer
The Replicant Project builds tools with every release; you can find their tools here (go down the directory tree in a path like `replicant-2.3/preview/0002/tools/`), along with notes about which git version was used for the source. Go one directory up and read COPYING for details.

Note: They only offer Linux builds.

Source code is here.
> 8 votes

# Answer
You want the Android SDK. From the CyanogenMod wiki:

> After installing the Android SDK or ADB Standalone you can use 'fastboot' in addition to the more common ADB.

After installing the SDK you will need to add the Android SDK platform-tools package.
> 4 votes

# Answer
Here it is: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=11347040&postcount=105
> 1 votes

---
Tags: linux, fastboot
---


# Question
Title: What functionality is only available when syncing to Windows or OS X?
I'm considering buying an android phone (probably a Galaxy S variant). But I only run Linux (Gentoo if it matters). So, I'm curious what features work with Linux, and whether there are any features that I'll miss out on by not syncing my phone to a Windows or OS X PC.

(I'm being optimistic in the title and assuming that most things will Just Work -- please correct me if I'm wrong.)

# Answer
As Trampster said, currently Samsung are only pushing firmware updates through their Windows-only Kies software. Many manufacturers push out the updates wirelessly "OTA" (over-the-air) straight to the phone, so never go near a PC, and some provide a file that you download onto the phone's SD card and then boot the phone into a special update mode, none of these have any desktop OS requirements.

Other than that most of Android is designed to sync with "the cloud" so Mail, Calendar, Contacts, etc all sync with GMail, social networking sites, and some 3rd party mail/calendar/contacts providers straight from the phone to the server.

Music, pictures, videos etc live on the micro-SD card in your phone which can be mounted as a drive on any OS that can normally mount USB drives. See this SuperUser question about mounting a Galaxy S on Ubuntu where it turned out to be much easier than the questioner thought What is the mount point Samsung Galaxy S for Ubuntu Desktop?

Apps either save their data to the SD card, sync to a server on the web, or (in very rare cases, but I do have one app that does this) sync via WiFi to a PC on the local LAN.

So, in general Android phones really don't care what your desktop OS is, as you'll rarely need to do anything other than connect it as a USB drive.
> 4 votes

# Answer
So far Samsung has pushed it's firmware updates via it's Windows only software Kies. You can not get the official updates without windows.

When I purchased my Samsung Galaxy S I to assumed updates would come over the air. They do not.
> 3 votes

# Answer
The phone may not care what OS it's linking to over the USB connection, but apps may very well might. DoubleTwist, for instance, is only available for Windows and Mac.
> 2 votes

# Answer
Community ROMs generally assume Linux; sometimes you'll find people posting Windows-only instructions or "make it simple for me" binaries - but Linux instructions from that are just a matter of finding the "manual, old, hard way" which is typically 5-6 lines entered into a CLI and easily scriptable.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: sync, linux
---


# Question
Title: can my Device ID # on my Android Samsung Epic be changed?
I was Banned from an App (for quoting Monty Python no less!) but want back in. Is there a way to change my Device ID # so that I can start anew and sign up with the App again? I don't want to get a new phone, and I'm not super techie, so if there is a way it has to either be relativly easy, or smeone I can ask to do it for me. Thanks

# Answer
> 2 votes
I don't believe @Mark Dorsey is talking about the IMEI, I think he means the Device ID that android assigns to a device.

This ID is generated when the device first boots, but it will be recreated if you do a factory reset.

Reference

> More specifically, Settings.Secure.ANDROID\_ID. This is a 64-bit quantity that is generated and stored when the device first boots. It is reset when the device is wiped.
>
> ANDROID\_ID seems a good choice for a unique device identifier. There are downsides: First, it is not 100% reliable on releases of Android prior to 2.2 (“Froyo”). Also, there has been at least one widely-observed bug in a popular handset from a major manufacturer, where every instance has the same ANDROID\_ID.

With that said, there is no guarantee that the application you are looking to gain access again with uses the Device ID, it may use other means to identify the device, like mac address, or some other information, or even a combination of them.

---
Tags: samsung-epic-4g
---


# Question
Title: What are the security disadvantages of rooting an Android phone?
I know there was a discussion previously BUT they didn't talk about security. E.g.: if I root my phone will all my apps run with root permission?
Related: Are there any risks to rooting a device?

# Answer
> 18 votes
The answer is no: not all application will have root permission. Not all the apps require root and the apps requiring root will not have it unless you give them permission to do so. At least that's what I can tell after using z4root and superoneclick to root a few phones. You get a superuser app that will get requests from apps needing the root account and you'll have the option to enable that or not. Risks connected to rooting a device are, more or less, the risks connected to using an administrative user on any kind of Unix-like system.

Ever tried a `rm -R` (a command to delete all files) on GNU/Linux? It's like putting in the recycle bin your Windows folder and empty it just because you're a root user and you can do it.

Superpowers always involve super responsibilities and super attentions :)

Said that I have to say that in my everyday use (with a little brain turned on) I can't see a real way to get any kind of harm. But if you install strange scripts coming from al quaeda and tons of pirated apps and poor not certified code... Well. Bad things could happen.

Install a recovery and do a nandroid backup. After that play happily with your phone :)

# Answer
> 26 votes
If you root your phone, then only the applications that you explicitly grant root access to will have root access. This does make things fairly safe, as that extra step *should* be enough to make you stop and think "Why does this app need root?".

If you only grant root access to apps that **need root for a good reason**, are **from trusted developers**, and which you **acquired from a trusted source** then you *should* be ok.

Bear in mind what apps with root access can do though - from a previous answer on the subject:

> On a rooted phone, an app which has been granted root access can do pretty much anything that is possible in the hardware. Apps that have root permissions can write on non-read-only storage media (including modifying the bootloader), modify other programs' private data, modify system settings, modify system files, etc. A rooted app can also hide itself from the system, and pretend to be uninstalled while being perfectly well and alive.

I'll let you imagine what the worst-case scenario security implications are for a nefarious app being granted root access on your phone; be careful out there.

# Answer
> 5 votes
The newest versions of SuperUser (3.x) support using a PIN to approve root access for apps. In other words, whenever an app requests root you need to enter your PIN before root access is granted. This is more or less foolproof; no app should be able to get root access on its own or through you clicking the wrong button without it exploiting some bug in SuperUser or the system, and if it's doing that you might be screwed even without root.

---
Tags: rooting, security
---


title: Hacking HoneyTab

text:
# Question
Title: Hacking HoneyTab
I found this strange "anonymous" device: HoneyTab.

Never wishing to discuss whether it's worth to buy or not (it would be totally OT), my questions are simple and straight: does somebody know if this tablet can be rooted or not? Does somebody know if and how is it possible to upgrade its ROM to future versions of Android or just to modded ROMs?

I have little experience with HTC devices only but I never really understood if the same ROM can be used with multiple devices, and if rooting is a standardized procedure or not (I have Android on SD on my HD2, so it's rooted already)

Thank you.

# Answer
> 1 votes
How do I root my Android device? contains our collective knowledge on what devices can be rooted, with links to methods. It's incomplete, of course, so if anyone knows how to root this tablet please add the info to the answer there, even if you post it here.

ROMs cannot generally be used with multiple devices. Each device normally requires its own drivers and kernel, due to different hardware.

Rooting is also not standardized; it depends on how Android has been modified on your particular device, as well as how your bootloader behaves. There are, however, methods of rooting that take advantage of exploits common to most flavors of a particular version of Android. For example, "Gingerbreak" worked on most devices that had the original version of Android 2.3. How do I root my Android device? contains a list of those generalized tools as well.

The device looks like it's not Google-certified, and from searching around it looks like very few people have it. Information on it will be sparse and rooting that much harder if none of the common exploits work.

---
Tags: rooting
---


title: How to make HTC Tattoo a Wi-Fi Hotspot

text:
# Question
Title: How to make HTC Tattoo a Wi-Fi Hotspot
Can the HTC Tattoo act as a wifi hotspot, so that I am able to make my Tattoo an access point and share its internet connection with other wifi enabled devices? If so, how can I do this?

I have rooted the phone and I am running a CyanogenMod with Android version 2.2.1. I have already tried the following:

1. Barnacle wifi tether, Android wifi tether - neither of the two worked.
2. I have also seen if there were any default settings to make my phone a wi-fi hotspot, but found there were none of these settings in my phone.
3. I have also tried a new ROM: nFinity Android 2.3.5, but on this ROM also points 1) and 2) stated above were applicable.

# Answer
> 1 votes
There are some more suggested apps for the Tattoo here on XDA. It sounds to me like they have stock firmware that is rooted, however — perhaps that's required. I've heard of other devices that don't work for tethering with CyanogenMod (and I'm not familiar with nFinity).

---
Tags: wifi-tethering, htc-tattoo
---


# Question
Title: How to delete a single (SSL root) certificate?
There is only a way to purge the whole certificate store (for SSL root certificates like those used for 802.1x).

Is there an app, setting or (as a last resort) command line to remove a single certificate?

(Android 2.2)

# Answer
> 1 votes
To be honest I had never removed a cert before but I've added my own and it looks like it's the same process.

It's basically:

* use Linux (or a vm of Linux)
* install bouncycastle (java SSL library)
* download the cacerts.bks files from the device
* use keytool -delete command to remove the cert from cacerts.bks
* verify that it worked with keytool
* push the cacerts.bks file back up to the device

Bouncy Castle: http://www.bouncycastle.org/latest\_releases.html Detailed instructions on how to use keytool: http://wiki.cacert.org/ImportRootCert#Android\_Phones

In ubuntu it's a little easier to download through apt just so you can get the PATH stuff right. "apt-cache search bouncycastle" should help.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Since you're on 2.2, root your device, then use CACertMan:

Market Link Source Code

You can choose to delete certificates one-by-one, and back up your configuration for use later.

---
Tags: certificates
---


# Question
Title: "USB Connected" constantly flashing on screen
The USB connection keeps coming up on the top bar of my Samsung Galaxy S. It wears down the battery and the phone turns itself off randomly, sometimes its hard to get it to turn back on, I have tried connecting the USB cable to the computer then disconnecting which did nothing.

Can someone help?

# Answer
> 3 votes
Your usb port is bad - this is a hardware issue. Take the phone in for warranty service.

Edit: I had this happen on my Nexus S as it came out of the box today. I flashed the latest stock ROM, then re-installed CyanogenMod over top (and restored my data). It seems to be a *little* less flaky. You may not be able to do anything of the sort, but it may help others.

# Answer
> 1 votes
I have one thing to say. Before even concluding it as a hardware issue, you can do one more thing.

Go to `Settings -> Privacy -> Settings Reset -> Reset Phone`

It doesn't remove any personal data on the phone and resets the Settings only.

The phone restarts itself. Now plug in your Cable to the PC and see if the same issue continues to happen. If it happens again then it is purely Hardware issue.

---
Tags: samsung-galaxy-s, usb
---


title: Video streaming from PC to Android?

text:
# Question
Title: Video streaming from PC to Android?
I just installed Opera Unite's video streaming service. I can access my video files through my phones web browser (Galaxy S), but it starts to download instead of playing.

**Is there a player I can use to watch streamed videos *from my PC*?**

# Answer
> 3 votes
# Non-root Option

## Subsonic

Subsonic is a free, open source, web-based media server in Java. It is easy to install and runs on various platforms. There is also a Subsonic Android App, which allows you to stream audio and video from the server. Video streaming is done with Flash. You should disable transcoding for MP4 files, since Android's Flash Player can play MP4 native.

## VLC Remote

Use VLC Remote. Instructions are on he homepage. While this is mainly a remote control app for VLC it's also able to start a stream which you can receive either also with VLC Remote or with any other streaming capable player. I suggest RockPlayer. To start the streaming, open VLC Remote, connect to the VLC instance on you streaming server, browser the files and press long on the file that you want to stream. A context menu should appear, from where you can choose `stream`.

# Root Option

One option, that needs root, is to use cifs manager to mount the windows share with you video data, which enables other players to play the video as it was stored locally on your device.

# Paid Option

This would be Plex.

# Answer
> 1 votes
You could use the file sharing features of your OS to share the folders and then browse them with ES File Explorer. Just tap the `Local` text in the top left corner and select `LAN`, press menu and add your shares. In addition you need a player that supports the formats your videos are in, I use DicePlayer. It's not free, but there's a 3 day trial version on the market.

---
Tags: video, streaming
---


# Question
Title: Is there any way to save a raw image from my phone's camera?
I have an Android mobile with a 5MP camera. Is there any way to save raw images (similar to Canon CR2, Nikon NEF, etc.) from my Android device?

# Answer
> 5 votes
Unfortunately, unless someone (almost certainly the sensor manufacturer in conjunction with the camera manufacturer) has provided methods to get RAW data from the sensor level all the way up through the Android stack, it's going to be somewhere between very difficult and impossible.

Even if you did get RAW data, most processing suites probably aren't going to know enough about the sensor data to do a good job of processing it into a decent image.

---
Tags: camera, images
---


# Question
Title: Why doesn't my Macbook see my phone (droid incredible, cyanogen)?
I an Android newbie and software developer. I just got this used HTC Droid Incredible and installed cyanogen on it. I read that when I plug it in to the laptop with a USB cable I should see a notification at the top of the phone's screen, and then be able to copy over music, etc. But I plug it in and nothing happens. What's wrong? What can I do? The first thing I wanted to do was load some music.

# Answer
> 0 votes
It was the cable. The store gave me a new cable, but it was power only. I didn't know some cables were power, but no data. I'll be returning that. Thanks to Matthew for his suggestion in the comment.

---
Tags: cyanogenmod, usb, connection-issues, macos
---


# Question
Title: My default voicemail number somehow changed to *74274, which gives an error message. How do I switch it back to *86?
At some point during the past 2 months the drag-down default voicemail number on my Droid X inexplicably changed from \*86 to \*74274 - a number that returns the pre-recorded message: "Your feature update could not be completed."

How do I change the default voicemail number back to \*86?

# Answer
> 5 votes
Try `Settings->Call Settings->Voicemail`. On my Fascinate this pops up with a dialog box where I can enter a new voicemail number immediately. On my EVO (CyanogenMod) I have to go into `Settings->Call Settings->Voicemail Settings->Voicemail Number` to get the same box, so it's very similar but does take an extra step.

---
Tags: motorola-droid-x, voicemail
---


# Question
Title: What is the difference between Widget and program that can be added to the home screen?
When I hold the home screen on a spot a set of options appears to add to Home. Two of these options say **program** and **widget**. To add my calendar app which syncs with my google calendar I had to use widget on the home screen. To add my task app which syncs with my google tasks, I added a program to the home screen.

What is different from a Widget and a program. They both must be programs. Is a widget something which is dynamic all the time, and loads on boot so the viewer can see it on the home screen live and updated like a clock?

# Answer
You basically answered the question. A widget is a 'view' on an application that will update and can be embedded in apps like the home screen. A 'program' in the home screen sense is a static link to an full-screen application startup.

See the first para of the Android developer docs for more details about what a Widget is: http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/appwidgets/index.html
> 8 votes

---
Tags: applications, app-widgets
---


# Question
Title: Is there an 'offline' version of Google calendar for Android?
For the PC there is a plugin for the google calendar so that edits to the calendar can be made offline. On my Android 2.1 there does not seem such an option.

I am using the calendar though the browser and not an app. On the app market place I cannot find the app so I am using the browser..

# Answer
> 4 votes
As I said in several comments, the Calendar app *is* the way to interact with your calendar offline.

If you're interacting with the calendar via the browser, you need to be connected. The Android browser doesn't support any sort of "plug-in".

# Answer
> 1 votes
If you sync the Google account used with the calendar to the phone, the calendars can be synced too and viewed/edited offline with your phones' Calendar app.

---
Tags: calendar, offline, google-calendar
---


# Question
Title: Power saving tips for Galaxy S2 that don't involve turning it into a dumbphone
My Galaxy S2 has always shown not more than 8 hours of battery life. This is with the stock ROM, as well as the recent 2.3.5 update and a rooted kernel. All the battery saving tips I've seen essentially boil down to 'turn off everything that made you buy the damn phone in the first place and use it only for voice calls like a dumbphone.' - i.e. disable 3g/EDGE/wifi/gps/bluetooth/screen brightness. Of the lot, I've done the following:

* Screen permanently set to 10% brightness, i.e. the lowest.
* Bluetooth/Wifi/GPS only on when needed, which isn't much (Couple of Foursquare checkins everyday).
* Sync disabled.
* Haptic feedback/vibrations disabled.
* The 2 capacitative buttons are set to only glow in the dark, so during the day they are never on.

Yet my battery goes down like crazy, and if I don't carry my charger with me the phone can't even make it through the day. Is there a way to find out what apps hog the battery?

The battery usage graph and list of apps by battery usage doesn't really help; it only shows me the apps that I've run myself recently.

So is there anything else one can do to improve battery life, or am I resigned to carrying around a charger always?

# Answer
> 12 votes
I usually get by the day by carrying a USB charger since I always have my laptop or other computers around me. Some people get through by buying a second battery pack or a thick extended battery.

Any apps that syncs every 15 minutes is battery sucker, since it prevents the phone from sleeping. Syncing every hour or so shouldn't affect battery by much. If possible you should prefer apps that uses C2DM (i.e. push instead of poll). Many apps that polls for data have configurable polling frequency, try to have the same polling frequency for all apps or integer multiples.

For mailboxes that need to receive occasional urgent emails, don't use the stock Email client, instead use Gmail client or Exchange which uses push. If your email server supports IMAP IDLE extension (a push extension for IMAP protocol), you should use third party IMAP client, e.g. K9 Mail. However, don't use push for low priority high-traffic mailbox. You might be able to find a sweet spot for yourself by using two or more mailboxes for your high urgency and high traffic mailbox.

If you're rooted, underclock. Most phones have much more CPU than is needed for daily usage; underclocking will curb the phone to not go full power state unexpectedly, remember to restore the clock before doing CPU intensive activities (e.g. games) and to underclock it again afterwards.

I hope you know to disable Live Wallpaper. They're good for showing off, but not if you want your phone to last the day.

Secure the phone in your pocket. I found that my phone drains battery faster when in a tight pocket since the hardware button are often accidentally pressed which activates the screen and prevents the phone from sleeping.

In some custom ROM, e.g. CyanogenMod, the notification bar have power widget, which is handy for quickly enabling/disabling battery sucking features, e.g. GPS, 3G, etc.

However, remember that in the end it's all a tradeoff:

# Answer
> 8 votes
There are two apps, Juice Defender and Woofi, which, when used together can dramatically increase the battery life of your phone. The idea is that if you don't need to be notified the instant that you receive a message via the internet, your mobile data doesn't need to be on all the time. Juice Defender (among other things) will disable your mobile internet, and then re-enable it at a specified interval so that your phone will check for new notifications. It does not affect text messages and phone calls.

Woofi uses your network location as a basis to disable and enable wifi, so that you only have your wifi antenna turned on when you are somewhere you can use it. If you are a control freak like me, you could also do all of this with Tasker. I have it set up so that when my screen turns off all internet connections are disabled until I turn the screen back on. Then if it does not connect to wifi within 30 seconds, wifi is diabled. It turns data on every 10 minutes to notify me if I receive an email.

I put a shortcut to enable/disable this on my homescreen, and my battery life almost doubled.

Finally, if you just flashed a new rom, your battery life will be bad for the first week or so, until the Dalvik cache and battery information caches are built up. You should notice a significant boost in battery life after a few days.

# Answer
> 6 votes
Biggest battery-killer for me is being in a place with little or no cell signal and having the cell antenna on. The phone is constantly trying to connect with the network and it just sucks the battery dry.

When I'm at work I can't get any signal in my office, so I put the thing in Airplane mode. (I can't make or receive calls anyway, so might as well.) I easily end the day with 80% battery. If I forget to do that, I'm out of juice by early afternoon.

# Answer
> 3 votes
Thanks for the answers, ZShakespeare, Al Everett and Lie Ryan :) It's true, the cell network signal is quite poor at work - that could be why it drains so fast. I've tried out all your recommendations and in the interests of others, I'm going to document what I did:

First, for unrooted users. If you don't have Tasker, get it - it's the most powerful task automation tool for Android, though somewhat aimed at power users. There's no free version(15 day trial) but it's worth every penny. (It's a little cheaper when bought direct from the developer instead of from the Market). I have already set Tasker to kill wifi and disable autosync when I enter my office. Now in addition, I've created a profile to turn off the data connection(EDGE/3G) when the screen is blank.

Next for rooted users - and this is where I see the most drastic power saving - by underclocking the CPU. I am using 2.3.5 and have experimented with 2 kernels - DarkyROM's SuperCore 2.0 and Hacre's Ninphetamine. The latter is a high performance kernel with voltage regulation features (SuperCore doesn't support changing voltages). I've installed SetCPU, and set it to downclock from 1200 MHz to 800, and reduce the CPU voltage to 975 mV (at 800 MHz, lowering further will cause problems). I've also set it to further reduce the clock to 500 MHz when the screen is off. By doing this, I got a boost of nearly 4 hours in battery backup.

Looking at this, I wonder why Samsung doesn't do the same thing in the 'power saving' mode that is available by default; not everybody would want to/be able to experiment with rooting their phone.

Finally, about syncing apps and email - I turn off autosync while I'm in office, and at other times I use the built in mail client to sync my gmail every hour. My office Exchange mail is sync disabled while I'm in office, and set to push mail at other times. I don't get more than a couple of mails a day during non office hours.

# Answer
> 1 votes
I find Power Saving Mode feature pretty good, anything not being used is shut off but turned on when needed automatically.

# Answer
> 0 votes
You've already turned most off the features and yet if it only gives less than 8 hours, chances are there is some hardware fault. Maybe in battery.

---
Tags: samsung-galaxy-s-2, task-management, battery-life
---


# Question
Title: How can I download Android apps by scanning the barcode?
I see all these apps that can be downloaded by scanning a barcode. The question is, how do I actually do this? What app do I use to scan the barcode and install an app?

# Answer
I prefer Google Goggles (available in the Market) for QR scanning to download an app. The most recent version now "sees" the QR and automatically captures it (older version required you to snap the picture before it is processed), then presents a link to the market.
> 17 votes

# Answer
Barcode Scanner is the best, you can also create QR Codes to share with others on their website.
> 12 votes

# Answer
I use Quickmark QR Code Reader. The most popular is simply called Barcode Scanner.
> 6 votes

# Answer
QRDroid does it for me. It gives you lots of options to share the scanned data, and even does the opposite (generate a QR code out of an URL or text, for example).
> 1 votes

---
Tags: installation, barcode
---


# Question
Title: How to know how much battery in terms of hours and minutes is left on my phone?
I want to know the remaining time of my cell phone battery. Android only gives me how much battery in terms of percentage has been consumed since the last charging.

However, what I want is to know how much more time I have before my phone goes off? How can I get that information?

# Answer
Battery Indicator Pro or a similar alternative might help. In addition to showing the remaining battery in numbers, it also tries to "guesstimate" the remaining minutes, depending on light/medium/heavy usage.
> 5 votes

---
Tags: battery
---


# Question
Title: Show/Hide Keyboard on the Samsung Galaxy S2
I used to have a HTC Magic, and I recently switched to a Samsung Galaxy S2.

One thing I miss is the ability to Show/hide the keyboard, on the HTC Magic, a long press of the menu key toggled the keyboard's visibility, is there a way to achieve the same thing on the Galaxy S2? (I tried several long presses and various swype up or down gestures to no avail...)

Thanks!

# Answer
Posted my question too quickly, I just found a way to do a bit the same, when the keyboard is out, a press on back will hide it, this is handy when filling forms with numerous entries, to make the keyboard pop out again simply click in a text field...

This is enough so far, and a long press on the menu will bring out the search window.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: keyboard, samsung-galaxy-s-2, htc-magic, keyboard-shortcuts
---


# Question
Title: Filesystem created and last accessed times
Why doesn't Android keep track of the created and last accessed times as well as the last modified time for files in the file-system?

# Answer
It doesn't store creation time because UNIX filesystems (generally speaking) simply don't store this anywhere, and Android doesn't seem to be any different. This Stack Overflow question has some discussion about this fact (you can ignore the fact that it's talking about Python - the answers are still relevant), and the man page for `stat` describes what times are typically stored in the data structure.

As for the last accessed times...well it *does* keep track. Try `ls -l` in any directory you have proper permissions for:

```
$ cd /sdcard/
cd /sdcard/
$ ls -l
ls -l
drwxrwxr-x system   sdcard_rw          2011-04-27 14:31 LOST.DIR
drwxrwxr-x system   sdcard_rw          2011-04-27 14:31 DCIM
drwxrwxr-x system   sdcard_rw          2011-04-27 14:31 Android
drwxrwxr-x system   sdcard_rw          2011-04-27 16:14 glogs
-rwxrwxr-x system   sdcard_rw    49152 2011-05-27 16:04 AndroidBytes.txt
drwxrwxr-x system   sdcard_rw          2011-06-28 16:28 vim
-rwxrwxr-x system   sdcard_rw        0 2011-09-11 16:48 su-2.3.1-bin-signed.zip
$

```

If you have `busybox` you can also use the `stat` command for more detailed info. It also lets you use some additional `ls` flags like `-u`, `-c` and `-t` (see `man ls` if you're not familiar with it). Here's a sample from `stat`:

```
# stat databases
stat databases
  File: "databases"
  Size: 2048            Blocks: 4          IO Block: 4096   directory
Device: 1f06h/7942d     Inode: 454         Links: 1
Access: (0771/drwxrwx--x)  Uid: (10079/  app_79)   Gid: (10079/  app_79)
Access: 2011-09-29 09:07:44.000000000
Modify: 2011-09-29 09:07:44.000000000
Change: 2011-09-29 09:07:44.000000000
#

```
> 3 votes

---
Tags: file-system
---


# Question
Title: Flash is not working with Firefox on Android
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> How do I make Adobe Flash work with Firefox?

I installed Firefox on my android from the market app, then I installed flash from the market app, and Firefox still does not display flash on sites like charlierose.com for example.

Any idea what it is I need to do in order to get flash to work on Firefox?

# Answer
> 2 votes
Current version of Firefox for Android does not support Flash content. Mozilla developers said that they are working on it, and eventually Flash will work in some future version. No ETA was given though.

---
Tags: firefox-for-android, adobe-flash
---


title: Downgrade 2.3.6 to 2.2.2 - Nexus One

text:
# Question
Title: Downgrade 2.3.6 to 2.2.2 - Nexus One
I would like to downgrade my Nexus One to 2.2.2, because I've had non-stop problems with Gingerbread. I have the 2.2.2 update from android central, and going off the comments from a previous question, I'm under the assumption that this is doable.

So I've gone through the Bootloader -\> Recovery -\> apply sdcard:update.zip steps, and it fails with the following message:

```
assert failed: file_getprop("/system/build.prop", "ro.build.fingerprint") == "google/passion/passion/mahimahi:2.2.1/FRG83D/75603:user/release-keys" || file_getprop("/system/build.prop", "ro.build.fingerprint") == "google/passion/passion/mahimahi:2.2.2/FRG83D/91102:user/release-keys"

E:Error in /tmp/sideload/package.zip
(Status 7)
Installation aborted.

```

I would guess the OS is checking if I'm on either 2.2.1 (updating from the previous version) or 2.2.2 (reinstalling the target version), is this assumption correct?

This begs the question, how do I go from 2.3.6 to 2.2.2? Do I need to factory reset, and apply updates sequentially?

# Answer
Generally, phone manufacturers will not allow you to downgrade for various reasons. The stock recovery does indeed validate the update image, so that it's of a greater (or same) version than the installed system. With the Nexus One being a developer phone, you can unlock the bootloader and replace the recovery image with the one that doesn't perform this check, and will allow installation of any image. The caveat is that unlocking the bootloader voids your warranty with the carrier (and sometimes the manufacturer too,) and wipes all user data off the device.

Unlocking the N1 is dead easy. Just install Android SDK and the USB drivers (located in "google-usb\_driver" directory.) Then restart the phone in bootloader mode by shutting it off and powering on while holding down the trackball, hook it up to the computer via USB, and in command prompt issue the following command: `C:\<path to Android SDK>\platform-tools\fastboot oem unlock`. You will be presented with a confirmation screen with further instructions. Upon successful unlock, you can flash a custom recovery that will allow you to install any custom ROM, including downgrade to 2.2.x stock version of Android OS.

To flash ClockworkMod recovery, download the latest version for Nexus One from here, reboot into bootloader mode (power on while holding the trackball down,) and in command prompt issue command `C:\<path to ANdroid SDK>\platform-tools\fastboot flash recovery C:\<path to downloaded img>\recovery-clockwork-5.0.2.0-passion.img`

Reboot to bootloader mode again, and then use the Volume keys to highlight the "Recovery" option and press Power button. You are now in ClockworkMod recovery, and can flash any custom ROMs via the "Install zip from sdcard" option.

Here is a "stock" 2.2.2 ROM (with root) off XDA-developers forum.
> 9 votes

---
Tags: nexus-one, downgrade
---


# Question
Title: How can I manage/track the data use on a HTC Inspire?
I thought this would be a popular question but couldn't find it here so if you do please let me know.

My mother just got a new HTC Inspire and is brand new to using a data plan. Since she is worried that she might go over her cap I want to know how can she track how much data she has used in a certain time (preferably within a billing period). I am on Sprint so I've never had to worry about how much data I use. My question is: **Can you recommend a method to manage/track data?**

Also, I figure that apps like weather and news should be changed to check less frequently... **any other *default apps* that should be changed to check less frequently**?

Thanks for the help

# Answer
NetCounter will keep track of data usage. It may not be 100% accurate, but it would be a decent estimate.
> 4 votes

# Answer
AT&T has a number u can text to track how much is used. Goto your phone and type \*3282# and call like making a phone call and it will send a text message to you showing how much has been used and how much left. Hope this helps.
> 2 votes

# Answer
Looks like I have to eat my comments on the question. ZDBox is yet another app that you can use to track your data usage, and it appears to have some pretty powerful/fantastic additional features.
> 1 votes

# Answer
Install MyAT&T app & log into her online wireless account that should be see up on AT&T website. Then check usage from there.

It tells me my phone minutes, text messages & data. I use very little data as I am usually connected to Wi-Fi, but because I am on a limited data plan, this app comes in handy.
> 1 votes

# Answer
Another app which can be used to do this (though it is a paid app) is SPB Wireless Monitor.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: data-monitoring, data-plan
---


# Question
Title: How can I delete my /sdcard/.xiaoniubook/ directory?
I downloaded a free book app from the Android Market and it installed just fine, but when I went to open it it told me I needed to try to delete the `/sdcard/.xiaoniubook/` directory and restart my phone. Where (or what) is that and how can I delete it?

# Answer
> 2 votes
Have got a android sdk. If you have got it, then go to tools directory, and type:

adb shell rm /sdcard/.xiaoniubook

# Answer
> 2 votes
First install this awesome file manager program called ES File Explorer. link

In there browse to /sdcard.

Now press **Menu** and Select **Settings**. Go to **File Settings** and check **Show Hidden Files**

Now you should see the folder hidden folder *.xiaoniubook*. Long press it and choose **Delete** from the menu.

And just for your information, in Linux any file/folder starting with . are considered as hidden file/folder.

---
Tags: delete, sd-card
---


# Question
Title: Can I update my handset from gingerbread to honeycomb
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> When will my device get the Android 3.x update (Honeycomb)?

I am using Motorola Fire XT. It runs on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). Can I update Gingerbread to Honeycomb.

1. Because it very slow in streaming youtube videos
2. Some times it strucking.

# Answer
> 2 votes
I doubt it, since Honeycomb is only meant for tablet devices. You'd be better off waiting for Gingerbread updates for your phone, assuming you're not running the very latest version, or for Ice Cream Sandwich, which is meant for phones and tablets.

---
Tags: 2.3-gingerbread, updates, 3.0-honeycomb
---


title: When was my text message delivered?

text:
# Question
Title: When was my text message delivered?
In the text messaging application that came with my Android phone, a checkmark seems to appear next to text messages that have been successfully delivered. How can I find out when a text message was delivered?

**Update:** The text messaging app might be a custom one. It's the default for Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 mini. A couple of screen caps I've found:

# Answer
> 2 votes
As soon as the check mark is appeared on the message text body, it means it delivered the message.

If you want a confirmation then you can use mysms SMS app. This could deliver the status message.

If you want to track the time when the SMS delivered then try SMS Scheduler. It keeps track of all your previous messages also.

# Answer
> 0 votes
In the Stock App for Short Messages, there is a way to get the informations you want to have:

Just longtap on the message and then choose "details" in the pop up.

If your manufacturer put another app for text messaging in replace for the android stock app, please tell us the name of it.

# Answer
> 0 votes
The SMS system itself doesn't support read or delivery confirmation past delivery to the network.
IOW your phone is notified when the message is received by the network with a recognised recipient, but nothing more.
If your application is like the one on my phone, the mark indicates unread responses to a message you sent (or unread incoming messages in general), not that a message you sent has been read by its recipient.

---
Tags: sms, sony-xperia-x10-mini
---


# Question
Title: Google Voice : Your phone number couldn't be verified
After I sign in, i'm asked to set a voicemail PIN, and immediately after that i get the error:

> Your phone number could not be verified. Please try again.

How do I verify my phone for Google Voice usage on my Android?

Note: I'm using `Nexus one` with the latest 2.3.6 update. I'm not a US citizen. And I can make calls from my PC.

# Answer
You mentioned that you're not a US citizen, but do you live in the US and have a US phone number? If not, Google voice is not yet available outside US, and you just have to wait for them to expand the service.
> 2 votes

# Answer
If you already have GVoice via other means, then the app should pick up the saved phone number from the web service. Don't try to use your non-US number (see onik's answer).

If you *do* have a US number, try to activate via the website instead of the app.
> 0 votes

# Answer
There are some guides online about activating a non-US phone number on Google Voice. It usually requires acquiring of a US phone number, and installation of IP-spoofing software on your PC.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: nexus-one, google-voice
---


title: PDF reader with text wrapping

text:
# Question
Title: PDF reader with text wrapping
Is there any PDF reader in the market that has text wrap functionality?
What I'm talking about is the way text wraps when you zoom-in on a webpage.

Most of the PDFs are meant to be read on a computer monitor, so a line of text in a PDF document is too long for a small phone screen. And scrolling horizontally for each line is too much of a pain.

# Answer
> 7 votes
I am pretty sure Mantano Reader and ezPDF do this as well. I recommend the former though.

# Answer
> 2 votes
Adobe's Reader for Android has the Text reflow feature that you're looking for.

# Answer
> 0 votes
The viewer that's part of ThinkFree Office has a "reading view" that does this, and it's easy to toggle between that and the regular page view.

---
Tags: pdf
---


title: Vertical scrol lag in Motorola DEFY

text:
# Question
Title: Vertical scrol lag in Motorola DEFY
I'm planning to buy the Motorola DEFY. I tried it out a demo piece at a store .... It seems to have a vertical scrolling screen with icons as well as a set of horizontal scrolling home screens. While the horizontal scrolling seems snappy, the vertical scrolling seems laggy. As I install more apps, will the vertical scroll lag increase further. What's the point of having both those screens anyways ?

# Answer
I just bought the phone yesterday after reading a lot about it. My phone doesn't have any lag in the app launcher(the screen with the shortcuts for the installed applications, vertical scroll) and has about 50 shortcuts and it's quite responsive.
> 1 votes

# Answer
I assume you're talking about the home and launcher screens.

The launcher is exactly that, a place for your to launch apps from, while the home screen can be populated by shortcuts, folders, and widgets which make content richer and more accessible.

Perhaps a defy owner may be able to suggest a reason as to why there might be lag and what to do about it, but it might just be a bit of struggle for your phone to load all the apps you have, which is dependant on memory size and cpu speed.

Perhaps a replacement launcher would be faster.

The top two seem to be ADW and Launcher Pro, of which I think Launcher Pro might be marginally faster. You might also want to try Go Launcher and Zeam. Do some research and testing.

As well as being faster, their are often highly configurable. For instance, the feel of the native launcher on my Samsung Galaxy S2 is very 'tactile' and 'organic' despite the power of the handset. However, ADW allows me to set the speed of the homescreen and appdraw so that it is snappy as hell. I can also create differing app draws, excluding unnecessary apps and allowing it to load faster.
> 0 votes

# Answer
What you are describing as the horizontal scrolling is the home screen. It's there to hold shortcuts to apps and widgets. Think of it as your PC's desktop.

The vertical scrolling list is the list of actual applications that are installed (like opening C:\Program Files). When you add new apps, it might take a second or two for Android to load their icons into the cache. So long as you don't install hundreds of apps, this shouldn't get exponentially slower.

I suspect that demo unit probably needed to be reset since dozens of people handle it every day. I haven't played with the Defy specifically, but I have a wide selection of phones running different OSes at my desk and none of them are terribly slow in the launcher app.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: motorola-defy
---


# Question
Title: How do I make my phone play a ringtone over my headphones despite being on "silent"?
I'm running Cyanogenmod 7.1RC1 on my Desire.

When my phone is not on silent, I can hear the ringtone on my headphones when someone calls me, which is great. However, when my phone is on silent and my headphones are plugged in, an incoming call will not produce a ringtone over the headphones. I would prefer it if my phone, despite being on silent, would play a ringtone over my headphones if they are plugged in. Is there any way to make this happen?

# Answer
> 1 votes
You could create a tasker profile that sets the ringer volume when a Bluetooth headset is connected.

I'm not sure how to handle the case when you disconnect the headset, though. You would only want to set the volume back to zero if it was zero when it was connected.

Edit: tasker gives access to current ringer volume via variable %volr

In a profile with condition Bluetooth connected:

Set a variable %savevol to %volr

Set ringer volume to desired level, if %volr = 0

Exit task: set ringer volume to 0, if % savevol = 0

---
Tags: calls, headphones, ringtone, silent-mode
---


# Question
Title: How can I convert my music to show up OGG Vorbis tags?
What command with FFmpeg should I use to ensure that all of my metadata (Currently, most of the Artist tags are ignored) and music will play perfectly on Android? (Preferably using Ogg Vorbis!)

I'm running the latest stable version of CyanogenMod (7.1) but the majority shows up under "Unknown Artist" on my device, but shows them on the computer. I just use Banshee to sync the music, as I'm a linux user (so DoubleTwist is not a solution ;\__;)

# Answer
> -1 votes
Ogg is supported by default.

**Supported Media Formats**

---
Tags: music, ffmpeg
---


# Question
Title: What is preventing my Android phone from going to sleep? It is eating through the battery quickly
My phone is the Motorola Droid 1, rooted and modded with CyanogenMod 7. This problem did not occur before I modded it. When I check the battery stats, the awake bar is always solid, so something is preventing it from going to sleep. On some advice, I ran dumpsys power through adb. Here is the output:

```
dumpsys power
Power Manager State:
  mIsPowered=true mPowerState=0 mScreenOffTime=3537164 ms
  mPartialCount=1
  mWakeLockState=
  mUserState=
  mPowerState=
  mLocks.gather=
  mNextTimeout=198995292 now=202518891 -3523s from now
  mDimScreen=true mStayOnConditions=0
  mScreenOffReason=3 mUserState=0
  mBroadcastQueue={-1,-1,-1}
  mBroadcastWhy={0,0,0}
  mPokey=1 mPokeAwakeonSet=false
  mKeyboardVisible=false mUserActivityAllowed=false
  mKeylightDelay=6000 mDimDelay=47000 mScreenOffDelay=7000
  mPreventScreenOn=false  mScreenBrightnessOverride=-1  mButtonBrightnessOverrid
e=-1
  mScreenOffTimeoutSetting=60000 mMaximumScreenOffTimeout=2147483647
  mLastScreenOnTime=0
  mBroadcastWakeLock=UnsynchronizedWakeLock(mFlags=0x1 mCount=0 mHeld=false)
  mStayOnWhilePluggedInScreenDimLock=UnsynchronizedWakeLock(mFlags=0x6 mCount=0
mHeld=false)
  mStayOnWhilePluggedInPartialLock=UnsynchronizedWakeLock(mFlags=0x1 mCount=0 mH
eld=false)
  mPreventScreenOnPartialLock=UnsynchronizedWakeLock(mFlags=0x1 mCount=0 mHeld=f
alse)
  mProximityPartialLock=UnsynchronizedWakeLock(mFlags=0x1 mCount=0 mHeld=false)
  mProximityWakeLockCount=0
  mProximitySensorEnabled=false
  mProximitySensorActive=false
  mProximityPendingValue=-1
  mLastProximityEventTime=230765884
  mLightSensorEnabled=false
  mLightSensorValue=-1.0 mLightSensorPendingValue=-1.0
  mLightSensorScreenBrightness=70 mLightSensorButtonBrightness=0 mLightSensorKey
boardBrightness=0
  mUseSoftwareAutoBrightness=true
  mAutoBrightessEnabled=false
  mScreenBrightness: animating=false targetValue=-1 curValue=0.0 delta=-5.0

mLocks.size=1:
  PARTIAL_WAKE_LOCK              'com.commonsware.cwac.locpoll.LocationPoller' a
ctivated (minState=0, uid=10069, pid=14026)

mPokeLocks.size=1:
    poke lock 'PhoneApp': POKE_LOCK_IGNORE_CHEEK_EVENTS

```

Is a particular app locking my phone awake?

# Answer
I got an answer on another forum. The part keeping the phone awake was shown here:

```
mLocks.size=1:
  PARTIAL_WAKE_LOCK              'com.commonsware.cwac.locpoll.LocationPoller' a
ctivated (minState=0, uid=10069, pid=14026)

```

and by grepping the process id like so:

```
ps | grep 14026

```

I found the name of the app that was causing the problem.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: battery-life, motorola-droid, standby
---


# Question
Title: Phone randomly cannot recognize my Wifi network
I have a few WiFi network in the neighborhood and the Nexus S will always detect those networks that I never use. However, for my own WiFi network, it randomly fails to recognize the network, even though I sit right next to the router. I know that everything else is OK, because I can access the network through my laptop, and if I just restart the router, the phone will start to pick up the signal again.

I think there might be something wrong with my router, because I never have that problem with the network at work. The only difference I can think of is, I turn off my router right when I stop using WiFi...

What might be wrong? Is this a known bug? Are there workarounds (that does not involve restarting the router?

Update: I do find some clue. If I turn the router on *before* turning on wireless on the phone (via the power management widget), then things work just fine. If I turn on wireless on the phone before the router, I'll need to restart the router. I don't know how much sense it makes though.

# Answer
> 2 votes
I've found the problem. Both the router and the phone was working correctly. The problem is with the Wifi channels. According to Wikipedia's List of WLAN channels, some places only allow channels 1-11, some others 1-13. Devices will provide support accordingly. My router supports channels 1-13, while the phone (I guess) supports channels 1-11. So when the router uses channels 12 or 13, the phone cannot detect the network!

Solution?

* Buy another router which only support channels 1-11.
* Logon to your Routers config through your browser to find whether the router supports limiting the channels. Refer to your Routers user manual on how to do this
* Change the channel settings on the router to be manual (i.e not automatic), and somewhere in the range 1-11 (preferably 1 or 6 or 11).

---
Tags: wi-fi, samsung-nexus-s
---


# Question
Title: Unlocking the Bootloader on a Nexus One with S-On
I'm interested in rooting my (Very recently bought) nexus one, and installing Cyanogenmod over Fastboot.

However, on the boot screen of my device I've noticed the first line tells me that security is on, which disables the USB Interface in the bootloader:

```
Nexusone PVT Ship S-ON

```

On the Cyanogenmod wiki page on Fastboot, the instructions say before starting that I need to have a device with S-OFF. However, I've got the impression from trawling through forums that Nexus One phones generally come pre-set with S-OFF (in contrast to the one I just bought).

How do I turn off the Security mode on the Nexus One? i.e. How do I change S-ON to S-OFF?

# Answer
Nexus Ones do not ship with 'S-OFF', they ship with a "locked" bootloader which then must be unlocked. You can actually use **fastboot** to unlock the bootloader, just run `fastboot oem unlock` on your PC using ADB (Android Device Bridge). MoDaCo has a post here with complete instructions and a multi-platform download of the needed tools.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: cyanogenmod, nexus-one, fastboot, bootloader, bootloader-lock
---


# Question
Title: Does Voting on Market Comments Have Any Effect?
In the Market you can choose to mark any comment on any app as one of the following:

* Helpful
* Unhelpful
* Spam

Marking something as Spam will remove it from the list of comments, but only on the account that marked it as such (that is, if you view the comments from another person's account/phone, the comment is still there). Does marking a comment as Helpful/Unhelpful have any actual effects? If not, has Google ever laid out/announced any plans to use this feature in some way?

# Answer
> 7 votes
I have seen, with some of my apps that I have developed, a comment be there, and then later on, the comment is no longer visible.

And it's not from me marking it as spam, as I have looked on other devices too, just to confirm.

So it would look like that after "x" number of "spam/unhelpful" votes, it gets removed.

# Answer
> 1 votes
I can not tell for sure but I think that voting *helpful* and *unhelpful* affects the sort order of the market comments, at least in the web version of the Android market. I see many comments that are older than the most recent listed on first or second position. Maybe because these comments received many *helpful* votes.

Marking comments as *spam* will remove them immediately for you and maybe if the comment receives more spam marks it will be removed completely.

This is my assumption. If you have some official links that explain the functionality let us know. :)

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


# Question
Title: How can I disable Kies in Samsung Galaxy S2?
Whenever I connect my S2 to the power outlet (not to a computer), the Kies application pops up. Where do I disable this auto-activation?

# Answer
Go to **Settings** \> **Applications** \> **Development** \> and check **USB debugging**

After that if you connect your S2 to a PC it will connect in USB mode and you won't get the KIES application popup.
> 4 votes

# Answer
Sounds like there's something funny with either your USB cable, the charger or the socket on your phone that's causing it to detect it as a full PC connection, rather than just a dumb charger.

You should be able to get rid of that prompt for the moment by going into **Settings** -\> **Wireless and Network** -\> **USB Settings** and selecting the **Mass Storage** mode rather than the **Samsung Kies** mode.

However you really ought to try with another charger and cable to see if that fixes the actual problem, pure-charger cables shouldn't be detected as a PC, the signal on the cable is different and the phone should detect that.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: samsung-galaxy-s-2, samsung-kies
---


title: Is the Galaxy S II stable?

text:
# Question
Title: Is the Galaxy S II stable?
I am thinking about getting a Galaxy S2. It seems like a great phone, but I have some concerns about the system stability.

I hear from Android users that Samsung's original ROM is very slow and heavy (and doesn't handle right-to-left languages very well - I speak Hebrew), and that other ROMs have their own problems and the releases are not so reliable.

Is any of this true?

# Answer
> 8 votes
As an Android user for about 2 years (and an iPhone user for 2 years before that), I feel that Android is very stable.

BUT you have to remember, that with the ability to load widgets, and background applications - you can certainly bog down your phone and decrease its performance.

In Apple's walled garden this isn't a problem, but you also don't have the freedom and choice.

As a modern computer user, I want the choice to slow down my phone if I want :)

# Answer
> 2 votes
The best part about android is first the freedom, second the community. Like NPike said, you can do whatever you like with your phone, causing it to be more or less stable. You can customize as far as you can imagine (and possibly program), but if you do too much or incorrectly, yes, you will bog down your device. But there's nothing a good wipe can't fix :)

Second is the community. If it's roms you're looking for, there's always one that you'll like, or there's one being developed with new features you want. Or you can make your own! Android enthusiasts are always innovating and finding new ways of helping each other out. So if you do have stability issues with your device, chances are there's someone who can help you :)

# Answer
> 2 votes
I run a custom ROM on my Samsung Galaxy S. The hard part is knowing which ROM to pick. If you want stability, I would stay away from Cyanogen, because they tend to be more experimental and bleeding edge.

If you visit the XDA forums for Galaxy S 2 and go to the Android Development page, the most popular ROMS will be on the first or second page. Typically you can get an idea of the stability of the ROM by looking at the change log and how frequently bug fixes have been made to the ROM recently. For instance, if a new ROM was just released, or it seems to have very frequent serious bug fixes, you may want to stay away for a while. However, if you find one that has been out for a while and the serious bug fixes have died down (as opposed to feature updates), then it is probably okay.

You can usually find reviews of ROMs on various Android community sites, but I'm not familiar enough with where to go.

# Answer
> 1 votes
To reply to your question,

I just got a Samsung Galaxy S2, and it is amazingly fast!! and of course very stable, as any other android phone I tried.

I am not sure about right-to-left languages, but the original Samsung rom on the Galaxy S2 is nothing like "slow and heavy", it offers really good performance in every aspect, this is certainly the fastest Android phone I ever tried (or fastest smartphone, all platforms included)

---
Tags: performance, samsung-galaxy-s-2
---


# Question
Title: Can I tether my Macbook (Lion) to my Verizon Droid Bionic using either USB or WiFi?
I'm trying to use the Verizon tethering app (and have tethering enabled on my Verizon account). My MacBook sees the hotspot, but does not connect successfully. I'm using WPA mode. The phone sees the Mac, but apparently never issues an IP address.

# Answer
> 0 votes
I resolved this on the Mac by turning wifi off and then back on. On the Win7 PC, running the network troubleshooter (which I believe turned the adapter off and on) also solved the problem. I believe it may be related to some state left over from a previous connection in both cases.

Off-topic: with a 4G (LTE) signal, internet access was comparable (maybe better) to my 6Mb DSL access at home.

---
Tags: tethering, verizon, motorola-droid-bionic, macos
---


# Question
Title: Is it possible to program on a Honeycomb tablet?
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> How can I do development on my Android device?

I was wondering if there are apps making it possible to program on an Android tablet? I know it's not the best "work tool" out there, but I was wanting to get one, and was wondering if it's also possible to get some work done with it.

1. Is there some IDE app available for PHP or JavaScript?
2. Is it possible to program compiler based languages using some sort of IDE (like C++)?

# Answer
> 6 votes
You asked for a compiler, or IDE, but I really don't think native code compilation is the way Android apps are intended to mostly work, so you're going against the grain asking for C/C++ compilers. And since there is no JDK that is self-hosted, Java is probably out of the question too.

That being said you can still do programming, just not compiler based programming:

Part 1. This is kind of a flippant answer, but it's fun, anyways:

You can program in Commodore Basic using the Commodore 64 emulator (Frodo, I think it's called), available in the android market. Of course you're limited to `38911 basic bytes free`, and the syntax of "Commodore Basic 2.0".

It's not an IDE, in the modern sense, it's an interactive line-based BASIC interpreter. It can be pretty fun though. Command lines are actually really easy to use once you know what you're doing.

Part 2. Android Scripting Environment. Much more serious and up to date capabilities including Lua, and perhaps Python. Perhaps ASE might count as an IDE, depending on how you define IDE. ASE appears to be pretty simple (a text entry widget, and menus to save and run scripts), but that's all you really need on a small mobile device. ASE was thought of long before honeycomb tablets though, so the UI is optimized for smartphones, not tablets.

# Answer
> 5 votes
> Android (despite its Linux roots) is far from capable of running Eclipse IDE as is. Not only is the hardware inadequate for supporting such a large application, but Android lacks a full Java SE JVM (Dalvik is a subset) and SWT (Eclipse UI framework) implementation for native Android UI controls does not exist. On Linux, SWT implementations exist only for GTK and Motif.
>
> You may be interested in project Orion, which is an effort at eclipse.org to create Eclipse-like experience in the browser. I understand that people have been able to use Orion from a mobile browser on devices such as the one on the iPad. Here's the link

This was an answer posted to a similar question on stackOverflow, being more directed at Eclipse, specifically.

It looks like, at this point, there are no IDEs available specifically for Android tablets.

On the other hand, it is possible to do a straight Linux install on most rooted tablets, which would allow you to run the Linux native application for an IDE like Eclipse. Be aware though that Linux is not designed for a tablet, so there are risks.

# Answer
> 1 votes
The best way (I think) is to run a vnc client from the tablet to a Linux/Windows box where you have your development environnement already setup... I've seen some youtube clips about vnc and it's fast (on wifi at least)...

---
Tags: development
---


# Question
Title: Why does Kies say that there is no official release for my Samsung Galaxy Mini (GT-S5570)?
Why does Kies say it does not support updates for the firmware on my Samsung Galaxy Mini S5570 as it is "not official release". On the phone it says android version 2.2.1 and Kies calls it:

```
PDA:KC1
PHONE:KB1
CSC:KC2(CPW)

```

Will I ever be able to upgrade?

# Answer
> 2 votes
If Kies tells you that you have a unofficial release it usually means that you have an unofficial release. :) This is usually the result of flashing the device with heimdall/odin and an prerelease firmware that was never official released for you device and/or region. But there can be other reasons for this too.

You could flash an offical ROM, which can be obtained for example from samfirmware.com. Instructions on how-to flash and what release is the current offical for your region can be found on this site too. **Be aware that flashing can leave you device in an unusable state and it will do a factory reset, so save your data prior flashing. Also you may lose your warranty.**

---
Tags: updates, samsung-kies, samsung-galaxy-mini
---


title: Battery life in dual-boot HTC HD2

text:
# Question
Title: Battery life in dual-boot HTC HD2
I own a dual-booting HTC-HD2 with MIUI on SD card.

I already knew, from tutorials, that in order to maximize battery life I should first-boot Android only with 100% of charge.

This is currently unclear to me. First, I run Windows Mobile 90% of time, and I use Android occasionally only for some programs that are not available in WM.

It happened that I needed to boot Android when on the street, with less than 100% battery. However, I recently noticed that my battery is descharging really fast, for example today from 7:30am to 10am it ran from 100% to 68%, and I really wonder if it could have lasted till 8pm (when I get back home).

Is it because Android should **always** be booted with 100% of battery, or because I run 24/7 Skype and Windows Live Messenger in HSDPA from Windows Mobile?

Thanks

# Answer
> 4 votes
No, it is because at *first boot* (ie: inizialization), Android creates a Battery stat file to calibrate the battery. After the first boot, you can start Android with any battery percentage.

If you think that after a long time, the battery percentage is not correctly reported, you can force Android to recreate the stats file with some root utilities available in the Market

Skype/MSN do draw a lot of battery, anyway, if you are using them from Windows Mobile, they are not running from Android.

You could try using greenpower or juicedefender to see if the data connection is the problem

---
Tags: battery-life, windows-mobile, htc-hd2, miui
---


title: Revert from MIUI to Motoblur

text:
# Question
Title: Revert from MIUI to Motoblur
I am a proud owner of Motorola Defy. A few months ago I upgraded my defy from 2.1 to 2.2. Although it had new features it became a bit laggy and so finally I decided to root my defy and install MIUI Gingerbread.

I was using MIUI Gingerbread all this time and suddenly it started itching me and a thought came to my mind that I want to experience Motoblur again.

I had already created an image of my Motoblur Froyo before installing MIUI Gingerbread. So I went ahead and reverted the Froyo image back on my defy.

But then some of the things stopped working: e.g. Camera is not working now.

I found that the Foryo image did not copy the Motoblur Froyo Kernel and when I reverted back my defy is still having the MIUI kernel.

Can someone help me getting back to Motoblur Froyo or can I download the original kernel and re-install it back to my defy?

Anything would help....

Thanks.

# Answer
There is this tool called `RSD Lite`, which is (AFAIK) an internal tool from motorola to flash their phones. You should be able to find it around the googles.

And here you should be able to pick up a stock firmware for the Defy.

This method worked for my Moto Cliq XT, but don't let this be a guarantee for your Defy!
> 1 votes

---
Tags: 2.2-froyo, 2.3-gingerbread, motorola-defy, motoblur, miui
---


# Question
Title: PanDigital Novel - how to replace/update certificate store?
After the DigiNotar fiasco, the Guardian Project put out the CACertMan application which allows a user to modify their certificate store on a rooted device.

It doesn't work on Android 2.0, which is what the PDN runs. What are my options?

# Answer
The CACertMan application, while it does not support 2.1 as compiled, is trivially modifiable to compile against 2.1 SDK and minimum version can be dropped with no seemingly ill effects.

Now to get that patch submitted.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: pandigital-novel, certificates, https
---


# Question
Title: Android 2.2.3 - long delay after phone call end
There's a long delay between the call end (even when I press "End Call" button) and when I can use the notification bar again for example.

The in-call green phone icon stays in the notification bar for another few seconds.

Is there anything I can do about this, please?

# Answer
> 1 votes
This is usual Android disconnection response.

It's to do with your phone checking in with the closest Antenna when you end a call.

Perhaps this will help explain the speed a little:

http://images.cellphones.org/cell\_phone\_calls.jpg

p.s. I just hit end call then home or lock screen and put it in my pocket :-)

---
Tags: 2.3-gingerbread, calls
---


# Question
Title: Can I Bluetooth tether my Acer Iconia A500?
Anyone have an Acer A500 (just got mine today) and have luck with bluetooth network tethering. I've got an OG Droid, so WiFi is not a possibility at the moment. Tried the directions here: http://www.droid-life.com/2011/03/01/how-to-bluetooth-tether-to-motorola-xoom-using-original-droid/

but had no luck. I realize that those are for the XOOM, but I was hoping it would be the same since they both run stock honeycomb. I got as far as pairing the devices, but when I click on the droid device on the A500 it shows nothing under profiles, where it should show Tethering.

would really like to be able to tether with this until I get a new phone

# Answer
> 1 votes
The user guide for A500 says bluetooth only supports mikeless head phones. I'm, miffed too.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Have an A500, droid1, and here is how I got WiFi tether to work.

Root the phone, root the a500. Install RootExplorer for the a500 and http://code.google.com/p/android-wifi-tether/ for the phone.

Replace the WPA supplicant file as per these instructions: http://www.xoomforums.com/forum/motorola-xoom-hacking-guides/4016-how-enable-ad-hoc-wi-fi-connection.html (I know it's for the xoom, but I have it running on my a500 and it works fine).

Turn on the wifi (not the bluetooth) tether on the phone, and you should see it available on the a500 (given you replaced the supplicant, as above).

I know it's not Bluetooth, but the stack doesn't expose ad-hoc bluetooth networking as of this release. This was you can get SOMETHING going. Enjoy!

J3

# Answer
> 0 votes
Try the PDAnet Tablet app, it's in beta but might work with the Acer A500.

---
Tags: motorola-droid, 3.0-honeycomb, bluetooth-tethering
---


# Question
Title: How can I stop the Android Market from showing bad/naughty apps?
I am using Honeycomb with Xoom, it's very annoying to see all the bad naughty apps all over the market, for example in the category "Libraries and Demos". Although we can ignore them and not download, I do not think those things should be there, because children also use the OS.

Is is normal for the Market to have all these (e.g. Korean Sexy girls, etc.)? Or is my Xoom breached? I also have an HTC Desire, and these apps do not appear on that device.

# Answer
> 21 votes
The Android Market has an included content Filter, which should filter most of these Apps. Ratings are

* Everyone
* Low Maturity
* Medium Maturity
* High maturity

# Android 2.3 and lower

1. Open Android Market.
2. Press Menu and touch Settings.
3. Touch ‘Select filtering level’ and choose your desired setting.
4. To lock the settings, touch the lock icon and enter a PIN code.

# Android 3.0 and higher

1. Open Android Market.
2. Press Menu on the upper right corner.
3. Touch ‘App Content Filter’ and choose your desired setting.
4. To lock the settings, touch the lock icon and enter a PIN code.

Source

# Answer
> 5 votes
Apps in the Market should be pre-rated for their "maturity level". If you go into the Market app and then into its Settings, you should have a Content Filtering option.

Taking the tick out of "High Maturity" should remove all "adult-only" apps from your view of the Market.

See this Google Help article for more info: Application Content Ratings

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


# Question
Title: The application Text Messaging (process com.motorola.conversations) has stopped unexpectedly. Please try again
Picked up the Photon 4G for my wife about a week ago, and she's been getting this notification periodically ever since. Sometimes, it won't show up for days... Other times, it'll show up whenever she opens up the messaging app, or sends a message, or receives one, or lets it idle for a bit, or looks at it funny...

So far as I can tell, messages are sent and received without any trouble... Apart from this annoying notification. I have no idea where to even begin troubleshooting this. Any ideas?

# Answer
> 1 votes
As @Mathew Read already said, since your starting again clear the old app data.

Settings \> Applications \> Manage Applications \> Select the Messaging App

Choose 'Clear Data' and also 'Clear Cache'.

If not you could also factory reset the phone.

---
Tags: sms, motorola-photon
---


# Question
Title: SIM settings icon always on notification bar
I bought an imported HTC Desire about 6 months ago and put my New Zealand Vodafone SIM in it. When I start up the phone, there's nothing in the noticication bar as you'd expect. Then, after a call is made or data connection initiates, an icon appears that looks like a SIM card with a cog next to it. I assume it's something to do with SIM settings. When I drag the notification bar down and click on it, nothing happens.

It's not a big deal, but I'd like to get rid of it if I can!

Don't know if it matters, but since I upgraded to Gingerbread, most of the icons in the notification bar are grey rather than white, but this one has remained white.

The phone is running the official HTC Desire Gingerbread upgrade - Android 2.3.3.

Update: Photos of the icon:

# Answer
> 3 votes
That is the SD card icon not the sim card icon.

Perhaps your phone does not recognise the SD card, or the card needs reformatting to be used with the phone.

Or you don't have an SD card inserted.

**EDIT**

After further research:

That icon is called "stat\_notify\_sim\_toolkit." It is used in just two places, both methods inside com.android.server.MountService:

notifyMediaUnmounted() notifyMeadiaChecking()

Tracing these methods backwards, I see that the MountService calls them when either:

1) a volume is detected as not mounted 2) it is checking to see if a volume is mounted

Num. 2 should only take a few seconds at longest.

So, "something" is not mounted properly, though I cannot guarantee that is the SIM that is having a problem.

You should remove and re-insert all plugable items (SIM, SD).

---

Another option recommends:

> settings \> applications \> manage applications \> SIM Toolkit \> Select Force Stop button

If this removed the icon 'temporarily' at least it confirms it's a **SIM** problem and not SD.

**EDIT 2**

Someone has a recommended solution for NON-ROOTED phone's here: (I cannot verify this method as I haven't tested it)

SimCard Notification Icon Fix

For rooted phones simply use Titanium Backup and *FREEZE* the app: Sim Toolkit

---
Tags: sim-card
---


# Question
Title: Installing app from Market when it was previously installed
I'm developing an app that was just released. Prior to release, I had 10 or so testers that helped me test the app and had test versions on their phones. Now I want them to install the app from the Market so they can be some of the first people to (fairly) rate the app.

The problem is, even after uninstalling the test version of the app, when trying to get it from the market an error pops up saying that "there was an error creating your order." They can't install it. Is there something I or they can do about this?

**Update:** I told the testers to follow the instructions under **Troubleshooting Download Issues -\> "Download unsuccessful" message**. This did not work.

# Answer
You could *cheat* and change the package name for the uploaded app to the market. That way you won't have to instruct your beta users' to do anything differently.

In the future whilst in beta:

```
 <manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
  package="com.your.app.beta"

```

Then once you want to release just do a little refactor:

```
 <manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
  package="com.your.app"

```
> 1 votes

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


# Question
Title: Is there any way to filter out Tegra-only games?
I've noticed that Android Market sometimes allow me to download 3d games even when they are not compatible with my device (LG Optimus One p500), for example because the games require a Tegra GPU. Is there a way to filter Tegra-only games from the Market?

# Answer
> 1 votes
Not with the original Android Market, as there is currently no option that would allow an developer to specify the App as Tegra (required|optional) in the app's manifest. Maybe some alternative markets provide this search filter. But I am not aware of one that does it.

Off-Topic: If you want to know which Apps (mostly games) are compatible with your Tegra device, check out NVIDIA Tegra Zone.

---
Tags: google-play-store, hardware-requirements, tegra
---


# Question
Title: Is there an easier way to type apostrophes on the Droid X keyboard?
Is there an easier way to type apostrophes on the Droid X keyboard?

Two issues --

1. I press and hold the period key, which brings up the little pallet of punctuation. But the apostrophe is inexplicably all the way over on the left. Can I move this closer to the right, where my thumb is while clicking and holding the period key? It's the most common character I use from this pallet.
2. Alternately, can I somehow get an apostrophe on the overhead menu that appears when you type a space? This is the place where auto-correct goes, but when you type a space, it becomes a comma, exclamation point, question mark, etc. How can I get an apostrophe in this list?

# Answer
You can 'cook up' (create) your own keyboard thanks to an awsome android dev. (That way you can have the apostrophe wherever you want :-)

See here: http://www.gimpsta.com/themer/

It has also had a blog review here: create-your-own-custom-keyboard-for-android-devices
> 1 votes

---
Tags: keyboard, motorola-droid-x
---


# Question
Title: How can you determine if installed programs have dependencies with other installed programs
**Is it possible to see dependencies of programs with other programs ?** I mean, program which *must* be installed for other programs to run.

*-- background of the question --*

I installed a program a couple of weeks ago which let me read comics on my Android.

This program required Adobe Air - which was installed alongside the comic viewer.

After a couple of days I decided to uninstall the comic viewer.

I now want to remove Adobe Air (since it is a big program) , but was wondering whether other installed programs might require this too.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Any program that needs Adobe Air will have a check in it's code when it first runs to see if adobe air is installed.

Therefore if you uninstall Adobe Air then open an app that needs it, it will notify you to download it.

So uninstalling adobe air is fine.

---
Tags: applications
---


# Question
Title: How to see additional email folders from corporate account email?
I have access to my corporate email that is viewed using Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 on Windows 7. In my Outlook, I have filters that move some emails into folders, however, on my Android email account view of my corporate email, I only see the emails in my 'Inbox' folder.

Is there a way to get some or all of my other folders visible on my Android running Cyongenmod 7?

# Answer
The folders are already there, by default your Inbox is shown, while inside your Inbox, choose Menu =\> Folders and you will see a list of all your corporate folders. Pick one to switch to viewing it.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: cyanogenmod, email, windows, outlook
---


# Question
Title: Why is "search application provider" eating 90% of my Android CPU?
According to the "OS Monitor" app, the core "search application provider" is eating most of the CPU on my HTC Incredible S.

There are multiple log messages with the following error : "Failed allocating fieldDir at startPos 0 row 10845" where the row value keeps increasing followed by another error "not growing since there are already 10846 row(s), max size 2097152".

I have disabled all search plugins and reset the cache, is there anything I can do to stop the "search application provider" eating my CPU and degrading the performance of my other apps (these errors coincide with jerkiness and slowdowns in other apps)

# Answer
> 1 votes
I believe the 'search applications provider' has something to do with google's internal phone data / app search apk

Either way:

Have you tried going into:

Settings \> Applications \> Manage Applications \> Google Search

Choose 'Clear Data' and also 'Clear Cache'.

Also there is an app in the list called: 'search applications provider' linky , if your really struggling try uninstalling it. From the page linked it looks like other people have! (I've also read some other people back it up and freeze it with titanium backup ((i.e. it's like a safe uninstall)))

---
Tags: applications, 2.3-gingerbread, search, htc-incredible-s
---


# Question
Title: Pressing backspace whilst typing an SMS causes the screen to exit to the "Delete by Selection" view, how can I stop this?
As in the title -

When I'm writing a text and hit backspace, it always exits to the 'delete by selection' view for the person I'm writing to. Which is especially annoying b/c when I hit back to escape *that* screen, it takes me to the top of the list of conversations between me and that person, necessitating me spending either a long period of time scrolling, or exiting the menu entirely and beginning again.

Any tips on how I can get it to stop doing this? I have a HTC Desire HD.

# Answer
Found a thread of people with the same issue.

HTC was contacted an to fix they said factory reset your phone:

> With the phone turned off, press and hold the Volume Down key.
>
> Briefly press the Power key.
>
> Wait for the screen with the 3 Android images to appear.
>
> Press the Volume Down key twice to select CLEAR STORAGE.
>
> Press the Power.
>
> When asked to confirm, press Volume Up

**HOWEVER** this **has not** worked for many users.

The second *fix* would be this:

\*hey i will GWY\<----- when you make a mistake like that instead of tapping the backspace button to get rid of your mistakes. Press AND HOLD it until it gets rid of your mistakes its a SLIGHT fix but its ALOT easier to have to deal with the whole delete by selection issue
> 2 votes

---
Tags: sms
---


# Question
Title: How can I change the Locale in the default browser?
I have a Nexus One with Android 2.3.3 and I use the default browser. My phone doesn't have "Swedish" as language setting, so I use English. But now when I use Google, I'm not redirected to the Swedish edition (google.se), probably because the browser doesn't use a Swedish locale. Is there any way I can change the locale for the browser? I have looked in the settings but couldn't find it. Any suggestions?

# Answer
> 2 votes
On the google website homepage itself in your browser, scroll down to were it says:

**iGoogle Settings Help**

press 'settings'

and turn off 'allow use of device location'

I have then found my browser always goes to google.com (were it was going to google.de)

*EDIT*

I've just seen you want the opposite. So perhaps turn this option **on**!

---
Tags: browser, languages, localization
---


# Question
Title: Can CPU intensive apps cause sudden shutdowns?
Lately my Droid Incredible has been shutting down spontaneously when using my GPS for periods over 30 or 45 minutes. After the shutdown the back of the phone is pretty hot (and that's with a case on it). I kept my other services to a bare minimum when using the GPS.

Could this be a battery overdraw (or overload with it connected to a charger)? If not, could some services (GPS, CPU-intensive games/apps, etc) or a combo of services cause the CPU to overheat and shutdown (much like a laptop when it gets too hot when the CPU is overworked with no additional cooling)?

# Answer
Yes

Overworking the CPU is what creates the intense heat, this intense heat is detected by the OS and shutdowns the phone to protect your hardware. (A PC works just the same).
> 1 votes

---
Tags: 2.2-froyo, battery, power-on
---


title: SMS messages just have "null"

text:
# Question
Title: SMS messages just have "null"
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> SMS messages from one contact displayed as “null”

I have a Samsung Galaxy 5. A coworker sent me a contact from his Nokia phone, which showed up as "null", and now all other SMS's from him also come through only as "null." I've tried deleting the thread, deleting the contact, turning the phone off and then on... Any help would be appreciated.

J

# Answer
> 0 votes
Try this,

> delete his contact

then

> Settings \> Applications \> Manage Applications \> Select the Messaging App
>
> Choose 'Clear Data' and also 'Clear Cache'.

**N.B. you will lose all data / txt msg's in your phone**

(don't forget to write their number down to save as new afterwards!)

---
Tags: sms
---


# Question
Title: My phone has an error when I want to delete drafts, what should I do?
So, here's the problem: when I want to delete drafts from HTC Wildfire S, I go to drafts and press the three-line-button, which always offers more options. It says "Delete drafts". I press that and it says that there's an error and that I should either force close everything, or report it to HTC. I can delete drafts by opening them and selecting discard from the menu, but I don't want to do that every time, and the lag is just irritating.

What should I do? Does someone have the same problem? Thanks in advance!

# Answer
> 1 votes
I assume you mean 'draft' txt messages.

Try this:

> Settings \> Applications \> Manage Applications \> Select the Messaging App
>
> Choose 'Clear Data' and also 'Clear Cache'.

If not you could also factory reset the phone.

Otherwise report it to HTC support

---
Tags: sms, htc-wildfire-s
---


# Question
Title: How can I determine storage directory from ADB?
Is there a way I can use ADB to determine the external storage directory (equivalent of the Android API call `Environment.getExternalStorageDirectory()`)?

# Answer
`adb shell echo $EXTERNAL_STORAGE`. All credit goes to Flow for leading me to experiment and find this.

Naturally you can use `cd $EXTERNAL_STORAGE` or whatever else you might need during an adb shell session or from a terminal emulator.
> 14 votes

# Answer
**I don't think that this is possible. See Matthew's Post**

But let's have a lock on how `Environment.getExternalStorageDirectory()` returns the external storage directory. A quick look in `android/os/Environment.java` shows that all this method does, is returning a static constant File member called `EXTERNAL_STORAGE_DIRECTORY`. This constant is initialized by

```
private static final File EXTERNAL_STORAGE_DIRECTORY
        = getDirectory("EXTERNAL_STORAGE", "/sdcard");

```

which calls `getDirectory()`

```
static File getDirectory(String variableName, String defaultPath) {
    String path = System.getenv(variableName);
    return path == null ? new File(defaultPath) : new File(path);
}

```

So the external storage directory is nothing else then an java System environment variable (or a predefined default). You could try to follow this trace further. Maybe the external storage directory is just a hard coded path in some configuration file on the filesystem. Or maybe there is a way to read out these environment variables via `adb` that I don't know.
> 6 votes

---
Tags: adb, storage
---


# Question
Title: Can the Netflix app be loaded on an Acer Iconia A500 without rooting?
Acer recently released an official upgrade to 3.2 for the Iconia A500 tablet, but the Netflix app is still not visible in the market. Is it possible to get the Netflix app on this tablet without rooting?

# Answer
> 2 votes
The hacked apk from here works: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=18058380&postcount=147

---
Tags: 3.2-honeycomb, acer-iconia-a500, netflix
---


# Question
Title: How can I change language for word suggestion while writing an sms text message
I will be extremely disappointed if there is no way to change language WHILE writing an SMS without having to go to the phone's settings and changing the language there. Surely somebody in the android team must have been using more than one language?

Didn't know this was specific to phone model. I have a Google Nexus S.

# Answer
In Android 2.2's stock keyboard, a long press on space bar then swiping left or right should allow you to switch between languages you selected on `Settings > Language & Keyboard settings > Android keyboard > Input Languages > Select Multiple Languages`.

Note that it depends on your manufacturer, carrier, and ROM whether your phone will have the dictionary for the languages you want to use.
> 5 votes

# Answer
If you "long-press" in the text field, one of the options that pops up, along with Select All, Copy All, etc is **Input method** select that, and it should let you change your keyboard settings.

Most Android keyboards also have a way to quickly change the language on the keyboard itself. On Swype, you long press on the `Q` to change language, on the Samsung T9 keypad there's a "gear" button in the bottom-right that lets you change settings.

Do you know which (T9) keyboard you're using?
> 0 votes

# Answer
Downlaod the Android 2.3.4 user's guide.

Read "Change the keyboard language" on page 35.

On the Android operating system, the keyboard language selection is specific for models that use a customised Android version as for example is the case with HTC phones. The Nexus S uses the standard version issued by Google, for which the quoted link applies. I can't find a user's guide for the latest Android version 2.3.6 but the procedure for setting more than one keyboard language and the procedure for language selection when writing texts is the same as with Android 2.3.4.

Does this answer help?
> 0 votes

---
Tags: sms, languages
---


# Question
Title: Are there any Jabber (XMPP) apps out there that support jabber conferencing?
I've tried several, and so far I can't get one that will just work with my work jabber + conferencing (jabber 'rooms'). They all seem mostly clunky. Does anyone have a rec that has worked well for them for me to try?

# Answer
I'm using Trillian for Android. As far as I know it's still in beta, but worked well for me so far. Though I did't use it in any extreme situations yet. Oh, and it doesn't handle calls yet.

**Edit:** It's out of beta... and now you have to pay for it. If you don't like that, or don't have the money (or you can't buy apps from the Market like me) you should use something else.
> 4 votes

# Answer
I'm using Gibberbot. It is worth taking a look at. Free software, multi-protocol. Active developer community. Definitely still in beta but that doesn't mean it won't do what you need.
> 6 votes

# Answer
I'm using IM Plus, which was the only thing I could get to work with our Jabber server. It's been very solid for me and they have a decent forum community, too. FWIW, I liked it enough to pay the $5 for it.
> 2 votes

# Answer
Xabber supports MUC/conferencing
> 1 votes

# Answer
Jabiru is another one.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: applications, instant-messaging, xmpp
---


# Question
Title: Droid X, how to get rid of Motorola Mobile Services?
So I'm used to the original Motorola Droid, I recent picked up a Droid X, and nothing seems to be the same.

To start, I cant add a second Gmail account to the Gmail app, in fact, ANY account I try to add, whether it be work email, gmail, facebook, etc, I'm always forced to use the Motorola Mobile Services feature.

I have ZERO desire to use this thing, and all it does is make my life hell. Is there a way to turn it off? The Droid was awesome but all this Motorola and Verizon bloat is killing me!

# Answer
> 1 votes
Nasty carrier! Sorry to hear that.

If you rooted it and put Cynogen Mod 7 on, that would get rid of all the Moto and Verizon bloat and you could have as many email acc's as you want :-)

http://www.droid-life.com/2011/06/15/download-cm7-released-for-the-droidx/

---
Tags: motorola-droid-x, verizon, bloatware
---


# Question
Title: Unable to login and load web page in Sony Ericcson W8
I am using a Sony Ericcson w8 Android phone. I am unable to log in and load a web page (like Google, GMail, etc.) even after selecting "clear cache." There is just a blank screen with a progress bar.

# Answer
I assume your selecting Browser \> Menu \> Settings \> Clear Cache ?

You can also try clearing the full app memory from your home screen (outside the browser):

Settings \> Applications \> Manage Applications \> Select the Brower App

Choose 'Clear Data' and also 'Clear Cache'.

If all else fails you could also factory reset the phone.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: browser, sony-ericsson-w8
---


title: How To Access Uploads?

text:
# Question
Title: How To Access Uploads?
When I upload a video to YouTube and exit that tab, I can no longer get back to it later. I think this also happens with other uploads. The only way is to upload something again. So far I can only see "Downloads" in Android menu:

# Answer
> 2 votes
Go into the YouTube App \> Press 'Menu' \> Select 'My Channel'

You then have 3 tabs of Uploads / Favourites / Playlists

Et Voila

---
Tags: video, downloading, youtube
---