title: Can I set an alternative time source?

text:
# Question
Title: Can I set an alternative time source?
If I set the time manually on my Desire (rooted, CM7) it appears to lose up to a couple of minutes every day.

Unfortunately, since the latter part of last year (possibly since the change to UK daylight savings time) T-mobile UK seem to be running around four minutes behind the rest of the UK. At least it's consistent, so my best option at present, but I have still missed a couple of trains as a result :(

Is there a way to configure a different time source so it can sync to something on the net? Or do you have any other ideas?

# Answer
Indeed. Since you're rooted, I suggest you use the freeware Sytrant. It also allows you to choose which time server you wish to sync from as well as allowing a user to specify a daily interval at which the time can be updated automatically.
> 6 votes

---
Tags: cyanogenmod, clock
---


title: Copying files from web to phone?

text:
# Question
Title: Copying files from web to phone?
Is there a reliable way to move files from the web to my phone?

I am with Orange/T-Mobile (Everything Everywhere) and my 3g coverage is really patchy. When we had wifi in the office I used to use Astro to browse a share on my work computer and copy files that way. We have no wifi now.

I've also tried using Dropbox, but when I hold and download, the image doesn't seem to be anywhere on my phone. I thought it copied them into my gallery, but I can't seem to see them any more.

I've also tried emailing images to myself and then trying to download them on the phone.

All of these seem to fail for me, can this just be an issue with my diabolical mobile carrier? Or is there a better way to copy stuff onto the phone without cable or wifi?

Maybe I'll have to buy a cheap cable from ebay? Any suggests for solutions?

Ta

# Answer
I am using Dropbox and it works fine for me. When you click on a file to see it, Dropbox downloads the content probably in a temp file and it will launch in the right viewer. If you long click an item and select download it will put the file in its own folder on the SD card (SDcard/dropbox) and the file will be available to a file manager such as Astro. If it is not already visible from the gallery application, you can add it by moving the file to the right folder.

I know you already used Dropbox but I would definitely give it another try.
> 11 votes

---
Tags: htc-desire, file-transfer
---


title: Installing Android on an Ipaq

text:
# Question
Title: Installing Android on an Ipaq
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> Can I install Android on my non-Android device?

Is it possible to install Android on an Ipaq rx1950?
And in general, what is the process of installing android
on different gadgets?

# Answer
In general, installing an OS to a new platform involves writing a compiler for the processor architecture, writing the drivers, finding a way to write to a bootable storage and booting the new OS.

Nowadays, the first step (writing a compiler) is usually unnecessary since the free GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) supports nearly every processor architecture that you care about.

In many cases, the second step (writing drivers) can be leveraged since Linux kernel have drivers for many hardware configurations and Google and some manufacturers releases their driver to the open source. On some really esoteric hardware though, you might need to write your own drivers (this is often difficult since such esoteric hardware usually comes with little or no publicly available documentation). It usually helps if a device is popular, since that will increase the number of potential developers that are willing to spend their time writing drivers.

On regular computer architecture, you usually have privilege to write anything anywhere on the primary storage and full privilege on configuring the bootloader; but on mobile devices, the third step and fourth step (writing the OS to a bootable storage and booting it) may involve finding a security hole in the currently running OS since such devices often locks down the bootloader.
> 4 votes

---
Tags: installation
---


title: Android and .mov files

text:
# Question
Title: Android and .mov files
How can I play .mov files on Android 2.2+ without converting them?

**EDIT:**
I am looking for a way to install Codecs rather than find a video player on the market if possible.

Thank you.

# Answer
Rockplayer supports .mov files (at least the ones that I've attempted to view). The GUI isn't fantastic, it's basically just a file manager look, but I don't find myself watching video on my phone much. There could be additional options as well.
> 2 votes

# Answer
According to this forum post, there are a few media players on the Android Market that will play them (possibly with a little chop and jitter?) natively on the phone.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: files
---


# Question
Title: Performance of Android 2.2 vs. earlier versions
One reason that I haven't switched to Android in the past is that it has seemed sluggish when I've tried phones that run it. I see that Google claims performance improvements of 4x to 5x over previous versions, but those numbers are based on benchmarks, not on real-world use.

Does anyone have any information about how Android 2.2 affects typical smartphone usage. Not just making calls -- scrolling through a long contact list, reading emails, browsing the web, navigating photo albums, playing games? Ideally, a side-by-side comparison of device *X* running 2.2 and an earlier version.

# Answer
> 5 votes
This page has a couple of benchmarks that compare not only a Nexus One running 2.2 vs. one running 2.1, but also includes iPhones and the iPad. In both cases, the Nexus One running 2.2 outperforms the 2.1 version by over 2x.

# Answer
> 2 votes
*Google claims performance improvements of 4x to 5x over previous versions*

No they didn't claim such, what they claimed is that JIT compiler can give 4x to 5x improvement on compute-bound process (CPU-bound process; processes doing heavy computations). If you're scrolling on a long contact list, browsing web or gallery, etc you're more likely to be I/O bound by slow network or slow disk rather than CPU-bound, and JIT only helps very little in those cases.

Outside of benchmarks and games, it is in fact very rare for applications to be CPU-bound.

---
Tags: performance, 2.2-froyo
---


# Question
Title: Why do certain non-Latin characters show up as empty boxes, and how can I fix them?
See this screenshot for an example (view the original page here):

As you can see, most of the missing characters have some sort of accent/breathing mark on them. This occurs in all applications that I've tried (such as opening a text file in Dropbox), not just in the browser.

Does anyone know what is going on, and how I can fix it? I am running Android 2.1 on a Samsung Fascinate (not rooted).

# Answer
> 3 votes
Looks like your standard charset problem. The file's in UTF-16 and the app only supports UTF-8, or you don't have the font for the "weird" characters, etc. More than likely there is nothing you can do; Android internationalization support is pretty bad and most apps don't even try.

---
Tags: special-chars
---


# Question
Title: How do I download an app from the market that is restricted in my location?
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> How can I use the Android Paid Market from a region where it's not available yet?

I want to download the Kindle for Android app, but it is not available in my region. I tried to mock my GPS location to be inside the United States, but I still cannot find the Kindle app in the Android market.

How do I download an app form the market that is restricted in my locatioon? Also, how does the android market know where I am? Does it using the GPS location?

# Answer
> 0 votes
Well what you might be looking for is an app called, MarketEnabler, it changes somenthing like the location of the market so you can access other countries markets.

MarketEnabler: https://market.android.com/details?id=ch.racic.android.marketenabler

With that you could change your locale and get access to market apps in another country, If I'm correct if also includes a list with countries.

---
Tags: google-play-store, gps
---


# Question
Title: are there any lag fixes for Samsung Galaxy S that don't require rooting the phone?
It seems like the Samsung Galaxy S is notorious for its occasional lag. Various lag fixes are out, but most of them require me to root my phone.

I am reluctant to void the warranty on my phone, so I would like to avoid rooting it if possible.

Are there any lag fixes out there that don't require me to root the phone?

# Answer
## Yes

You can lagfix without rooting by flashing a kernel like Voodoo through Odin.

## But

This will void your warranty anyways.

If it helps, the SGS phones are very easy to unroot and revert to stock to hide what you did.
> 3 votes

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


title: Google Reader is "de-syncing"

text:
# Question
Title: Google Reader is "de-syncing"
I've noticed that for the last couple of days any time I open or refresh the Google Reader app (the official one from Google) it marks the last 200+ items that are in my feed as Unread (which it then syncs out to my account! So viewing them online shows the same unread count), and seemingly refuses to sync out which articles I have read (though it does seem to sync starred articles correctly.) I've made sure that syncing is turned on, but this doesn't seem to affect it one way or another. Any idea's for how to fix this behavior? Anyone else seeing it too?

Beyond that, I'd be open to suggestions for an alternate reader app. My wishlist is for one that allows me to easily star an article from the list, only shows me unread articles unless otherwise requested (sorry, Pulse) and preferably has a widget that notifies me when there are unread items.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Try clearing the data and cache for the app (`Settings -> Applications -> Manage apllications`) and then syncing. Hopefully it will work after that.

---
Tags: rss, google-reader
---


title: Android affiliate programme

text:
# Question
Title: Android affiliate programme
I'm new to the Android world having lived in iOS for a long time. Does Google have an affiliate programme like the Apple store does with LinkShare?

If not, is there a reason why?

If not, is there one coming/rumoured?

Do site reviewing Android apps make no money on referrals at all?

Sorry for the multi-part question. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

# Answer
No there is no affiliate program for the Android Market.

Some individual apps that need to be side-loaded or have a seperate sign up for paid service offer affiliate programs but nothing through the official market. Lots of people ask about it at the Google support threads but Google has not announced any plans to start an affiliate program nor have they commented on why they don't have one.

I don't believe anyone is earning money for referrals if they are sending people to the Official Market, Appbrain, Cryket, AndroLib or SlideMe. If they are a commercial review site they are probably making money with display advertising, which incidentally improves the credibility of their reviews (because their income isn't dependent on you buying what they reviewed).
> 2 votes

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


# Question
Title: Why do I keep getting interrupted by a Device Management - Software Update screen? How do I get rid of it?
Occasionally and frequently at inconvenient times (in the middle of important Angry Birds games) I get a screen that says:

```
Device management
Software update
Congratulations!
New software update for
phone installed.
Phone is ready for use

OK

```

I click OK and it goes away, but it always comes back. Is my phone really being updated this often. I doubt it. It always reports the same version, Eclair. Even if it was, I don't want to be notified like that.

How can I stop this?

# Answer
That's very odd. Normally there should be no auto-update of the device software, and other updates will require a reboot. Try the following:

1. Hold both volume buttons and the power button
2. Wait until the phone reboots, keep holding
3. Release the power button about 1 second after the white text with your phone model appears onscreen, keeping holding the volume buttons
4. Recovery mode should appear
5. Select "Reinstall packages" or similar
> 2 votes

---
Tags: ota-update, samsung-captivate
---


# Question
Title: How can I connect my Galaxy 3 to my Mac?
How can I connect my Galaxy 3 (running Android 2.1) to my Mac?

# Answer
> 1 votes
I would expect Mac to have no trouble mounting the USB storage when you connect the device over USB, but if it does you coukd try PdaNet. You can also transfer files over Bluetooth, WiFi, etc; please search for those solutions. As for syncing, we jeed to know what exactly you're trying to sync.

---
Tags: usb-connection-mode, samsung-galaxy-apollo, macos
---


# Question
Title: How to Disable Screen When Using Visual Voicemail?
Anyone know of a way to get the screen to automatically turn off when listening to a voicemail? I'm used to the feature of my HTC Evo and HTC Hero, where the proximity sensor automatically detects my face and turns off the screen. This doesn't seem to happen with the visual voicemail app, which is pretty annoying.

On multiple occasions I have accidentally deleted and called the person that left a message for me giving the impression I have fat cheeks. :(

# Answer
> 1 votes
You could use Tasker to handle the proximity thing. Additionally have you tried clicking the power button?

---
Tags: screen, voicemail, proximity-sensor
---


# Question
Title: How do I downgrade Android 2.1 to 1.6 on a Garminfone?
I need to send in my Garminfone to T-Mobile. I've rooted it and installed the 2.1 upgrade. The master reset doesn't restore it to 1.6. I know Super One Click will unroot it. Does anyone know how to revert back to 1.6? Thanks.

# Answer
not sure about the root process for Garminfone, but if you have access to your bootloader (usually termal like with a list of options) just put a 1.6 stock rom on your sd card and flash it.

I tried googleing "stock 1.6 garminfone rom" with no success, probably because of what GAThrawn said, but someone over at xda-developers might have something if want to go check out there forums.
> 1 votes

# Answer
This is supposed to be an update for 1.6, but I'm not sure how you'd load it. http://www.garminasus.com/en\_US/support/software/006-B1130-00.update
> 0 votes

---
Tags: 2.1-eclair
---


# Question
Title: Can someone explain how slots work when overclocking?
I have been trying to use the DX/D2 Overclocker app on a rooted Droid X and I have been having a hard time finding good sources of information about overclocking. The app provides preset profiles for stock settings and other overclock speeds, but not much information besides that. For instance, here are settings for the stock Droid X:

* Slot 1: 400000 / 27
* Slot 2: 700000 / 38
* Slot 3: 900000 / 50
* Slot 4: 1100000 / 56

As I have come to understand, slot 1 refers to the minimum speed and slot 4 is the max speed. I assume that the other slots are for levels in between the min and max, but what are these sections for? How can I figure out how to set these slots in order to get better performance out of the device?

# Answer
> 3 votes
Each slot refers to a specific clock speed that your phone's kernel allows (in your case, 400mhz to 1.1 ghz). Therefore, these clock speeds can vary between different kernels (different values or even more slots). In the case of the Droid X or Droid 2, you are stuck with the stock kernel due to the locked bootloader.

I'm more familiar with using SetCPU. SetCPU lets you manually choose which clock speeds you want your phone to run at. You choose a min clock speed, a max clock speed, and how you want it to scale (ondemand, performance, etc.). You can also setup profiles with SetCPU that allows your phone to run at certain clock speeds under certain conditions. For example, you would want to lower you clock speed when the phone's screen is turned off. You may also want to lower the clock speed when your battery is below a certain battery % to try and pro long battery life as long as possible.

If you're wanting to conserve more power, set the clock min and max clock speeds low. If you're wanting better performance, then set them higher. On my phone (Droid 1), I use an undervolted kernel and typically run at a 250mhz min, 600 mhz max clock speed to conserve battery.

If my answer doesn't fully answer your questions, leave a comment and I'll try to help you further.

---
Tags: motorola-droid-x, overclocking
---


# Question
Title: Android G2 touchscreen is left-right reversed
The touch screen on my Android G2 is suddenly reversed. I touch an icon on one side of the screen and an icon on the opposite side is selected. I slide to pick up the phone and instead the sound is turned off.

I scoured the web for an answer but all I found was this question.

http://community.htc.com/na/htc-forums/android/f/99/p/8610/37534.aspx#37534

Anyone know how to fix this?

# Answer
> 1 votes
A friend had this issue with his new HTC Desire Z. It had this issue right out of the box. The only solution he found was resetting the device to the factory settings. If you try that, make sure you have a backup of your data! The app *MyBackup Pro* (non free) has always worked for me....

---
Tags: htc-desire-z, touchscreen
---


# Question
Title: Pinch-zoom not pure zoom in Web browser on HTC Desire Z because text is auto-re-formatted: irritating / layouts break
When I (multi-touch) pinch to zoom and release my fingers from touching the screen to see the zoomed display, the Android web browser on the HTC Desire Z performs a shrink-to-fit re-format of the page (or a block of text).

This re-formatting is unsatisfactory because:

* the original page layout is not retained, for example horizontal navigations get squashed e.g: from

+ ABOUT SHOP FORUM SUPPORT

to

+ ABOUTSHOPFORUMSUPPORT

or worse the text overlaps
* when pinching to zoom photos on a site, the zoom occurs but on releasing the fingers to complete the pinch, the photos shift as if they are anchored to a spot.
* the shifting affect of the reformat is irritating at best and confusing at worse, because the user's eyes lose track of where they were reading once they release their fingers from the screen to complete the pinch

Is there anyway to turn off the auto reformatting?

I notice that this "feature" of reformatting is *not* present on my iPod Touch - this device performs a "pure zoom" whereby the multi-touch pinch simply zooms in without reformatting/shrinking to fit the text block to the screen, this flows better and feels more natural. (Please note: No this is *not* an Apple Fan-boi rant, remember I am an owner of a HTC Desire Z Android phone as well as an ipod touch and would like to see my suggested improvedments in the Android phone).

I suspect that this occurs on other Android 2.2 phones but can't be sure.

# Answer
> 5 votes
I believe this feature is called text reflow and is not an actual a feature of Android but more of HTC. The HTC browser reflows the text as you zoom in. This can get very annoying especially because after reflowing it can move your focus area to the closesr text not what you were zooming into.

My personal pick for an alternative browser is Dolphin Browser™ Mini. It has both the functionality you're missing in the stock HTC browser but also the speed you expect when loading webpages and launching the browser.

Dolphin Browser™ Mini

# Answer
> 2 votes
It looks like you can't turn off this feature. Just as an "other-side-of-the-coin" perspective, I find that the reformatting does what I want and expect nearly all of the time, in that when I finish zooming, the text I'm looking at fills the screen at the size I've zoomed to.

Your options seem limited, then, to:

1. Trying one of the other browsers available in the market, or
2. Lobbying HTC to fix their browser, or
3. Learning to love the way the HTC browser does it...

Edit: This does appear to be an HTC feature, not stock Android. Amusingly, the first site I've noticed where the feature doesn't work right is HTC.com itself, on the very page describing its benefits...

---
Tags: browser, formatting, zooming, multi-touch, text-layout
---


# Question
Title: Is there any undo command when editing any field
When editing text fields, is there an **UNDO** command ?

If you paste something in a text field by accident, the only way you can delete this, is to backspace over it ( or highlight and cut ).

So I was wondering whether there was an UNDO command I haven'f found yet.

I am running Froyo on a Samsung Galaxy S.

# Answer
It seems there is not, star this issue and pray that it gets Google's attention: http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=6458
> 13 votes

---
Tags: 2.2-froyo, editing
---


# Question
Title: Is it possible to put a micro sim from an iPhone 4 into the Nexus S?
I have an iPhone 4 with micro sim, and am wondering if it is possible to put my micro sim into the unlocked nexus s, to function as my phone (for development purposes). If not, is there an alternative android phone that would work better for this?

# Answer
> 5 votes
The Nexus S uses a traditional SIM card slot, but you should be able to do this provided that you get a proper micro-SIM to SIM adapter. Here's what I got from a quick Google search, and as you can see they are relatively inexpensive.

Also be aware that the Nexus S will not have 3G capability on the AT&T network, as I explained in this question. This may or may not matter to you, of course.

---
Tags: samsung-nexus-s, sim-card
---


# Question
Title: How do I sideload, i.e. install non-market apps, on at&t phones?
I'd like to try out some Android beta software I found online, but when I tried installing it on the device I got a message that said that installing non-market apps has been disabled for security reasons. Can I bypass/disable this restriction? I am using the at&t Captivate (Samsung Galaxy S) with Android 2.1.

# Answer
No need to load a custom ROM. You have two paths possible -- You can simply use special software on your PC to sideload apps or you can do some edits to the configuration databases on the phone to bypass the block permanently.

This page covers both methods -- http://samsungcaptivate.wikia.com/wiki/How\_to\_Sideload
> 8 votes

# Answer
If don't want to root you can use http://www.androidcentral.com/sideload-android-apps-all-you-want-sideload-wonder-machine Its much easier than side loading with adb
> 1 votes

# Answer
The first step is to root your device: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=739304

Then you'll want to try out some custom ROMs. That thread recommends using ROM Manager from the Market. I would start there.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: non-market, side-loading
---


# Question
Title: Can't get past the pulsating boot screen after complete battery drain
My phone ran out of charge this morning after I made a couple of phone calls in bed. I was too lazy to get out of bed to plug it in. When I plugged it in later, and pushed the power button, the phone is continously looping the pulsating X loading animation. The only way to switch it off at this point is to replace the battery.

I read about the hard reset and tried that too. It didn't help.

Update: I also tried setting the battery aside for over 15 mins before replacing and trying it again.

I was able to get into recovery by holding down the POWER + VOL UP buttons. Tried the "wipe cache partition" option thinking that the phone refused to start due to some stale cache. It didn't help either.

What else can I do to revive the phone? I would like not to lose data, if I can. But it's more important to get the phone working.

# Answer
> 0 votes
The only option I had was to do a factory reset and reinstall all the apps using appbrain.

---
Tags: battery, samsung-nexus-s, reboot
---


# Question
Title: is it possible to use a CA-Cert for serverauthentification in WPA enterprise networks with android 2.2+?
I just wanted to know if it is possible with android 2.2+ to use a ca-cert for server auth in WPA-Enterprise networks? A fried told me it is not possible, but this would mean there would be a mayor security hole in every android device, so I would like to know it for sure now: did they removed this important security feature or not? I would check it by myself, but unfortunately I don't have a android 2.2 or 2.3 device.

# Answer
> 3 votes
At least on 2.2.1 I can see the options to use certificates. First you have to install the certificates by placing them on your sdcard and using `Settings -> Location and security -> Install encrypted certificates`. Then you can add the network from `Settings -> Wireless and network -> Wi-Fi settings -> Add Wi-Fi network`. Select `802.1x EAP` as the security mode and then just configure the settings to work for your network. Can't test myself since we don't use WPA-Enterprise class security, but it should be this straightforward.

---
Tags: 2.2-froyo, wi-fi, security, 2.3-gingerbread, certificates
---


title: What is a widget?

text:
# Question
Title: What is a widget?
What distinguishes a widget from an app or a shortcut? I can understand the concept of an app, as something that runs on Android to provide a particular use or function. I can also understand the concept of a shortcut, to provide a way of accessing an app.

Is a widget a special type of app or a special type of shortcut or is it characterised in a way that is distinct from both an app and a shortcut?

# Answer
> 10 votes
There are two different kinds of Widget in Android:

* AppWidget: a small view of an application (e.g. Weather widget) that can be embedded inside another application (e.g. Home Screen)
* GUI Widget: buttons, textbox, etc; any visual interface element.

I believe you're talking about the former (AppWidget). An AppWidget always belongs to an App. An App that acts as a AppWidgetHost (e.g. HomeScreen apps) can lend a part of its UI to be managed by the App that provides an AppWidget.

In short, it is a way of embedding an application inside another application.

An AppWidget is usually used as a "smart shortcut"; a shortcut that provides additional logic other than just being clickable and launching an Activity. Typical examples of AppWidget is Recent Email/SMS/Facebook/Twitter/whatever-your-favorite-messaging-app Widgets, Astrid's Task List, Calendar Widget, etc.

An AppWidget is conceptually a GUI Widget, except that AppWidget is a GUI Widget that is not provided by Android's framework, instead it is provided by some other application installed in the system.

---
Tags: app-widgets
---


# Question
Title: What are the pros/cons of using the JIT (Just-in-Time) compiler on an older phone?
On an older phone originally designed to run Android 1.5 or 1.6, what are the pros and cons of using a newer Android feature like the JIT compiler?

# Answer
> 7 votes
JIT typically causes an app to use more RAM due to the JIT cache, although Android's JIT was specifically designed so the additional memory usage was minimal (compared to a typical Java JIT). On phones that are already very RAM-starved to begin with, JIT may result in a decrease in performance.

---
Tags: performance, cyanogenmod
---


# Question
Title: Are there any notification widgets for android that show the number of missed calls, messages, etc. just like on the regular notification screen?
Are there any notification widgets for android that show the number of missed calls, messages, etc. just like on the regular notification screen?

I'm currently using widget locker to customize my home screen but it also means that i can't tell if i have missed any calls or messages without having to unlock the phone. I would love to have a widget that i could put only on the widget locker lock screen just to quickly see if I've missed anything.

Edit: I'm on a captivate, 2.1 unrooted.

# Answer
> 3 votes
Take a look at GOTO Lock Screen\- supposedly it is fast. It lets you stay on top of your text messages, missed calls, and Gmail notifications all with a simple slide gesture.

A detailed feature list is available here.

Re-reading your question, I see you want widgets to use in conjunction with WidgetLocker - what sms app are you using? Handcent has a medium sized widget which shows unread sms as does GoSMS. You can show missed calls using this Call Log widget.

**UPDATE:** I do believe I've found something that might interest you - PureMessenger widget will show the following:

* Gmail
* Emails (POP3+IMAP / need K9FP)
* SMS
* Facebook
* Twitter
* Calls

# Answer
> 1 votes
I'd suggest NoLed, a pretty handy and battery-efficient way to see notifications of missed events while the phone is locked. Minimal battery drain on AMOLED screens and pretty customizable.

---
Tags: notifications, app-widgets
---


# Question
Title: How can I make the button on my headphones control something other than the stock music player?
When I press this button, it plays/pauses the stock music player. I don't use the stock music player--I use a comination of Last.fm, Grooveshark, and Winamp. I would like to make the button play/pause whichever player I am currently using. If this isn't possible, I would like it to simply control Winamp, instead of the default player.

I am using Android 2.1 (unrooted) on a Samsung Fascinate.

# Answer
> 2 votes
*To get the headset to control only one application:*

The application has to support receiving headset control events.

In the case of Winamp, press menu --\> Settings --\> Enable "Control headset"

If there are multiple apps that accept headset controls, you may have to disable the feature on the other apps (I'm not certain which app gets priority over another).

---
Tags: music-player, hardware, buttons, headphones
---


# Question
Title: Android browser's about:debug, what do those settings do?
I have just found this hidden setting:

1. Open Stock browser (*Not* Chrome on ICS. about:debug doesn't work in Chrome. Use remote debugging instead.)
2. In the address bar, type `about:debug`, nothing should happen, there will be no confirmation screen or flashing green box telling you that you've done anything.
3. However, there should now be a few new options in the browser's Settings page.

(Click image to enlarge)

In `Menu > More > Settings`:

(Click image to enlarge)

In `Menu > More`, there is also:

(Click image to enlarge)

probably there are other new menus showing up that I haven't noted and the menus are very likely to be version specific.

While, I understand some of these settings, there are many of these settings that I don't understand, like where can I find the Javascript Console, what is being traced, what light touch and nav cache dump does, where do the dump files being saved to, what are the valid JS (Javascript?) flags, etc.

I find it difficult to Google what these setting do. I'd like help from others to play/experiment/Google with `about:debug` and write up what these settings do. Any bits of info you can gather is helpful.

Please have one answer per setting, unless you're describing interrelated settings.

# Answer
Javascript Console is this thing:

For some reason, the "Show JavaScript console" bar will only show up in android.com website. Not sure whether the Syntax Error triggers the console or if there is another reason why it shows in android.com and none of the other sites I've been checking.
> 29 votes

# Answer
The `about:debug` menu on the HTC Desire HD has an option under Menu \> More \> Settings called "Enable GEP Zoom". This turns off HTC's Text reflow feature and uses the default Google zoom.
> 10 votes

# Answer
UAString will change the User Agent String that Browser sends when requesting page. User Agent String is a short string (text) that the Browser sends to identify itself to the server. Many websites tries to detect the browser that is connecting to the website, and will serve different pages that is optimized for the browser. One of the most common method for such browser detection is by checking the UAString. The UAString setting basically spoofs the UAString and makes the server believes that Android Browser is really another browser.

There are three options for UAString:

* Android (default)
* Desktop
* iPhone

The Android UAString is the default UAString that is sent by Android, websites may serve a mobile version of their site when detecting this UAString. Desktop can be used to force the server to serve the Desktop version of the site instead of serving up mobile-friendly version. On the other hand, iPhone UAString can be used if you know that the server have a mobile friendly version optimized for iPhone, but is not detecting Android as a mobile phone and so is falsely serving a desktop version.

For example, this is what http://www.useragentstring.com detects when my Samsung Spica used the various settings:

* when using Android: `Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.2.2; en-au; GT-I5700 Build/Froyo) AppleWebkit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1`
* when using Desktop: `Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; U; Intel Mac OS X 10_5_7; en-us) AppleWebkit/530.17 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Safari/530.17`
* when using iPhone: `Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebkit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7A341 Safari/528.16`
> 9 votes

# Answer
Single Column Rendering causes Browser to use a different layouting algorithm.

I'm not exactly sure what the algorithm's logic is, but it seems to be an attempt to force a website that were not designed for mobile to render in a single column for easier viewing on small screens. Not sure if that's the case though, since enabling single-column view breaks the layout of android.stackexchange.com and disables text reflow, which makes reading much more painful than when using the default layouting. It seems this feature is not used for a reason, I cannot find a single web page that looks better when rendered in Single column rendering mode; even pages optimized for mobile views looks better in default than in Single-column mode.

The following are some screenshots comparing default and single-column rendering, the screenshot on the left are in no-single-column the screenshot on the right are the same page with single-column:

android.stackexchange.com

android.com

Wikipedia today's front page Mobile View:

Wikipedia today's front page disable Mobile View:
> 9 votes

---
Tags: browser, settings, stock-browser
---


# Question
Title: Why is DoubleTwist launching and playing when I remove the headphones?
I can't figure this out.

It *appears* that if I'm using Google Listen, and I remove the headphones from the jack, Listen automatically pauses (which I expect). But then DoubleTwist launches, chooses an MP3 at random, and starts playing (which I don't want).

Further, it *seems* that if I pause Listen before I pull the jack, it doesn't happen.

I say "*seems*" because I'm having trouble getting consistent results.

The long-and-short of it is that DoubleTwist is launching and playing a track when I remove the headphone jack for no apparent reason.

Has anyone else encountered this? How can I stop it?

(Unrooted Motorola Droid, Android 2.2)

# Answer
> 0 votes
I can't reproduce it. It may have been fixed during an OS upgrade.

If it comes back I'll refresh the question.

# Answer
> 3 votes
Sounds just like a simple bug in DoubleTwist's app, and you should probably send them an email reporting it. Programmers have access to system "events" (for lack of a better word) and we use these events in conjunction with the state of our app to trigger certain behaviors. Like, if I created an app similar to DoubleTwist, I'd handle the system event of you unplugging your headphones to check if an mp3 is playing, and then I'd immediately pause it so that my app doesn't embarrass you by blasting your music out loud every time you unplug your headphones. They could be performing this type of check (when receiving an alert from the system that the state of the user's headphone jack has changed) and either reading the state of the headphone jack incorrectly or evaluating the "are we playing audio" state of their own application (or both).

# Answer
> 1 votes
Have you tried using Headset Blocker?

---
Tags: doubletwist, headphone-jack
---


# Question
Title: Troubleshooting why my Android phone is rebooting (Nexus S)
It seems to happen when I'm using Pandora. But then again, I'm always using Pandora. It also reboots so quickly that sometimes, I do not notice.

Is there a way to see what caused the last reboot?

# Answer
> 5 votes
Engadget has just reported that the Nexus S is having issues with random reboots (http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/15/nexus-s-suffering-from-random-data-loss-reboots/) and apparently fixes are coming.

To see the log you can get the following app:

aLogCat

---
Tags: samsung-nexus-s, reboot
---


# Question
Title: htc g1 cannot discover/connect to a 802.11 n/b/g wifi
My G1 was able to connect to a WiFi (not sure about its mode). But after I moved to a new house, I found it cannot discover/connect to the WiFi in the house, but it can discover the WiFi signal from other house.

My laptop is able to discover and connect to the WiFi in my house, so does my Galaxy P1000. I checked my WiFi setting of my router, and the WiFi mode is 802.11 n/b/g. I then checked the HTC G1 specification, and it says it supports 802.11 b/g. Do I have to change the WiFi setting of my router to b/g? I think the device should be able to detect the mode and choose the best available one.

Thanks!

# Answer
I had the same issue with my HTC Hero. I never got around to fixing it but I remember reading that the router needs to be forced to stay in b/g mode.

Check this post seems to confirm that idea: http://forum.xda-developers.com/archive/index.php/t-492536.html
> 1 votes

---
Tags: wi-fi, htc-dream
---


# Question
Title: why do some apps not appear when adding app to home screen?
I have HTC Desire HD. I want to add an app (ColorNotes) to the home screen to quickly launch it. But when I try to add it, it is not in the Apps list. Is there a way to add it?

# Answer
> 1 votes
Long tap the ColorNotes app, then it should be in the Home Screen. Let me know if you already tried this.

---
Tags: home-screen
---


title: Default email app is always on

text:
# Question
Title: Default email app is always on
Before Android 2.2, the default email app would only show notifications if it was "off". That is, if I used Advanced Task Killer to kill it.

After Android 2.2, the default email app will show notifications regardless of me killing it.

Is there a way to get the old functionality back?

I want it to always show notifications, but only when I tell it to be "on". I know that I can change the notification settings, but that's annoying and clunky.

If there is a good alternative email app that provides this functionaly and can sync with Exchange, that would work.

# Answer
> 2 votes
In my samsung i5500 I use a 'sync shortcut' placed on the home screen.

It is a one click on/off sync. You can add the power control widget by long pressing the home screen\>Add widget\>Power Control

Or there are some such one click utility in the market.

---
Tags: email
---


# Question
Title: I checked 'use as default' when choosing the default launcher, but now I can't start ADW.Launcher any more
I installed **ADW.Launcher** on my Galaxy S running Froyo (2.2) to check it out.

When it was installed, **every time I pressed the 'home' button, I got a choice which launcher to start**.

In the end I found this irritating, I choose the default installed one, and checked the '`use as default`' check box.

All fine, but now, I can't seem to be able to start the ADW.Launcher any more.

No icon in my application list and none on my home screens.

**How do I start ADW.Launcher again** ( without re-installing it ). I verified that it is still installed on my device.

# Answer
> 13 votes
You need to remove the default setting for the Launcher application.

`Menu | Settings | Applications | Manage applications | "All" | Launcher | Clear defaults`

# Answer
> 9 votes
There is an app on the market called Home Switcher (or if your on Froyo 2.2). It allows you to easily switch or launch another Launcher.

---
Tags: launcher, default-applications, adw.launcher
---


# Question
Title: What limitations does rooting and/or installing a ROM put on my phone?
I have an Evo and I'm kind of frustrated at the space limitations on the internal memory, the crapware that came pre-installed (Blockbuster and Nascar, Really?) and some performance issues. I was thinking that the right ROM might solve those problems. It seems like I read somewhere a while back that rooting/ROMs cause some dealbreaker problems that I didn't want to have. I can't find that article again, so I figured I'd ask you.

If I root my phone and install a custom ROM, can I:

* Use the Android Market like normal?
* Use the standard GMail, Google Maps, GTalk, and other social networking apps without a problem?
* Use the Google Voice app fully integrated like I do on the stock ROM?

I know this will void the warranty. Are there any other limitations I should be aware of?

# Answer
I can't speak for the Google Voice App being fully integrated - I only use it for the voicemail feature. However I have a fully rooted Evo (Fresh Rom 3.5) and I still have access to the market and all the normal Google Android Apps. In fact I find that rooting gives me more features like free wireless tether and with Fresh 3.5 the power manager is integrated into the notification drop down (which I find really cool). Google Voice still works perfectly for voice mail.

As far as I know the only limitation is the one you have listed: it will void the warranty. However if something goes wrong there is a huge community over at XDA to help you out or you can unroot and see what happens when you bring your device in to Sprint ( I haven't had to do this yet so I can't speak on that part).

Rooting (for me) has also made my battery life WAY better and gotten rid of those Sprint apps that I don't want.

Edit: I can't comment on eldarerathis's post otherwise this would have gone there: I had forgotten about hardware limitations of using AOSP Roms like CM. eldarerathis is correct though that with certain roms HDMI and 4G won't work. When I had the HTC Hero and first loaded CM I think the Camera didn't work but in time this was fixed and this is why I have avoided the CM Rom so far for my Evo.

If you want the HTC Sense experience though don't go with CM or AOSP roms - these are essentially stock Android.

Hope this helps
> 4 votes

# Answer
You might be thinking of the limitations on ROMs that are based on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) such as CyanogenMod. The difficulty for these developers is that they don't have access to the source code for some of the device drivers of the EVO, and use only code that is available from the AOSP (as well as home-built modifications and code, of course). These drivers are also closely coupled with HTC's proprietary Sense UI, which was a contributing factor to some of the difficulties.

The big dealbreakers for these have always been WiMax/4G and HDMI output. These have actually seen a lot of development as of late, however. For instance, you can get an alpha/test version of CM7 which supports WiMax now. I personally run this on my EVO and it has been very stable, albeit buggy in a few fairly trivial ways. It's definitely fine for daily use at this point, and I have been using it since it came out without any actual issues. It's also slated as a feature for the final release of CM7.

HDMI is a very different beast, and didn't see as much development from the start because there was seemingly less demand for it. However, a few pictures have been posted by devs recently that seem to indicate that progress might be gaining momentum. One such picture can be found here.

If you flash a custom ROM that is based on an HTC ROM, then these concerns essentially go away. The basic rule of thumb is that any Sense UI ROM will support both WiMax and HDMI out, and any AOSP ROM will not (excepting the recent test versions of CM7).

Also, CyanogenMod doesn't come with Google's applications pre-installed due to licensing issues. They are permitted to distribute a separate package, however, so you just have to flash them separately after you flash the ROM itself. Beyond that, everything else functions as normal, and many additional things become possible with root.
> 4 votes

---
Tags: rooting, htc-evo, custom-roms
---


# Question
Title: What is the meaning of "flashing a custom ROM"?
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> What is the difference between: Rooting, Jailbreak, ROM, Mod, etc.?

What is a custom ROM, and what does "flashing a custom ROM" mean?

# Answer
> 10 votes
**Note: the CyanogenMod and Fresh 3.5 links below are links to EVO Roms as an example - you need to find the correct ROM for your device**

"Flashing a custom ROM" basically means to load a different version of the Android OS. This site actually explains it very well. A custom ROM is the full Android OS customized by the ROM builder usually to make it faster, provide better battery-life or add new features.

AOSP ROMs like CyanogenMod offer stock Android which will remove things like HTC's Sense or Sprint's Apps. CyanogenMod's ROM is one of the more popular ROM.

Other Roms like Fresh 3.5 offer a ROM very similar to the default experience (with added speed and battery-life) by leaving Sense (or whatever skin your device has) and incorporating over the air updates into an updated version of the ROM.

In order to flash a custom ROM you must first root your device. For information about rooting see Matt's comment on the OP or my original answer below:

When I had the same question this is where I found it: http://www.talkandroid.com/7686-what-is-rooting-and-why-should-i-do-it-the-pros-cons-of-android-rooting/

Depending on what device you have the rooting method will be different though. Personally I suggest reading up on your device at XDA.

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


# Question
Title: What is causing music playback to stop/pause unexpectedly?
Moto DROID v1 Android 2.2.1

Is anyone else experiencing random music playback stopping/pausing on their handset? Do you know what is causing it, or how to prevent it?

I've been trying to get to the root of the issue, and I think it has to do with the music playback service. I've tried several apps (stock Music app, DoubleTwist, Cubed (3)). In each case the behavior is the same. Seemingly at random, and with now obvious trigger, music playback will pause/stop. I've seen this both with and without bluetooth, wifi, Last.FM scrobbling, and headphones. It does not correlate to notifications, as I get e-mail, text, and other notifications and playback continues. My music files are stored on the MicroSD card. Could this be due to latency in loading a portion of a file?

# Answer
> 0 votes
I believe I have resolved the issue by resetting my phone to factory defaults. After resetting to factory default, I am no longer experiencing the mysterious pauses when playing music.

My rev. 1 Moto DROID came loaded with Android 2.1. I ran the OTA update to 2.2, and then the OTA update to 2.2.1. In addition to the music playback issue, I was also experiencing extreme delays when displaying the launcher after the phone had been in a dock. I hadn't performed a factory reset since loading the two OTA updates, so I went through the factory reset process. The home screen now displays much, much more quickly when removing the phone from a dock, and I have not experienced the music pause issue.

# Answer
> 2 votes
Are you actually in the music app when it happens or is it when it is running in the background and you are doing something else?

If it's the latter, it is most likely because your phone is running out of memory and is killing the music player's service.

Go to Settings --\> Applications --\> Running Services and see if there are any running services that you can remove that would free up some memory.

To confirm if it is a memory problem, run a logger app right after the app gets killed and see if there are out of memory messages being logged or garbage collection going on.

# Answer
> 0 votes
It could be a bad music file. One that has errors in it. Does it happen to specific files?

Otherwise it can be that Android is running out of memory. This is evident when the play arrow icon at the top left corner disappears when the music stops.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Have you tried different headsets, if that's what your using?

it sounds like your headset is signalling pause/resume, you mention it happens on BT as well so I'm wondering if its something to do with the headphone jack socket, either dirt in the socket or a wiring fail inside...

---
Tags: 2.2-froyo, music, music-player, motorola-droid
---


# Question
Title: Is there a widget that shows free/busy status of one of my Google Calendar calendars?
I have, in my Google Calendar account, several calendars which have been shared by friends/family/co-workers. Is there a widget which I can place on my phone's home page which will show whether or not a given person (or calendar) is "in an appointment" or not? I'm using a Samsung Galaxy S, but it is running a 2.2 build (Team Whiskey).

# Answer
> 2 votes
I believe Android Agenda Widget is similar in functionality to the LauncherPro calendar widget. It's quite configurable and has a wide range of widget sizes. Also shows tasks from certain supported apps.

# Answer
> 3 votes
Launcher Pro has a nice calendar widget that I use for this purpose. It can switch back and forth between a month view of the calendar to an agenda view. I have my own calendar and two other Google calendars hooked in which show up as appointments on my agenda.

---
Tags: calendar, app-widgets
---


# Question
Title: copy text in froyo from web page including newlines?
I have just bought a new HTC Desire HD running Android 2.2 (Froyo).

I am trying to copy text from a rather vast archive of notes which I had built up on my old phone, which was running Symbian. The notes were saved using the ActiveNotes application, which is not available on Android, only on Symbian. ActiveNotes saves the notes as HTML files, which I can easily view on Android using the HTML viewer or web browser, or any other html reader (such as Dolphin).

I have tried to use the built-in copy/paste functionality by touch-and-hold then "select all" and copy. This does not seem to work in HTML viewer, but does work in the browser or Dolphin. However, ActiveNotes stores the newlines in my notes using paragraph tags (HTML \<p\> tags) and these are not correctly copied by the built-in text copier. Because of this, all the text appears as one long string, without any line breaks, when I paste it into my Android notes application (or indeed any Android notes application such as Messaging). This is very annoying as many of my notes are in excess of 100 lines long.

A number of copy/paste apps seem to be available which use the "Share Page" option on the menu. I use this when accessing my page through a URL through Astro, so the URL looks something like "content://com.metago.astro.filesystem/mnt/sdcard/Activenotes/NoteNameHere.html?text/plain". The two copy/paste apps I tried were "Any Web Copy" and "Copy To Clipboard". The latter seems to always copy just the URL (rather than the page content) to the clipboard. The former copies the web page text to the clipboard for "http://" links but refuses to for these "content://" links. Even when the web page text is copied to the clipboard (e.g. from an internet page), it still seems to be devoid of any newlines for much of the page.

Since the source of these files is actually viewable (e.g. in the plain text editor) there MUST be a way to copy the content of the pages including newlines. I could do this conversion myself on PC manually for every single file, but this would take a very long time and I would much rather be able to convert files on-demand on my phone using the above method. However, I am at a bit of a loss as to how to preserve the newlines. I hope that someone more experienced might be able to help or recommend an application that could help.

# Answer
> 1 votes
While I can't help you with the copy-paste, I do recommend using an automatic solution to convert the files. Conversion to PDF might help if Adobe Reader for Android will let you copy newlines, or you could have a `<br />` tag inserted after every paragraph, etc.

---
Tags: browser, notes, copy-paste
---


title: Disable updates when at work?

text:
# Question
Title: Disable updates when at work?
How can I disable various social apps from updating while I'm at work (where I work with my laptop anyway)? The main point is conserving battery. (I have HTC Desire HD)

I don't want to turn off wifi completely since I might want to work with the phone occasionally

# Answer
The 'Power Control' widget has five buttons for turning various functions on and off - including one controlling updating of applications (the circular one with two arrows on it). You can add this widget by long pressing (press and hold) somewhere on your home screen, then selecting 'Widget' from the menu that pops up, then 'Power Control'. I believe that if you press the 'refresh' button to turn it off, it should stop applications updating automatically, but they can still be refreshed manually if needed.

The widget also has handy buttons for easily turning on and off wifi, bluetooth and gps, and changing screen brightness. It takes up a whole row on the home screen though, so you might need to make some room.

edit - the below image shows the power control widget with updating turned on, and all other functions turned off, taken from: HTC Desire review at android.marvinlee.net:
> 7 votes

# Answer
Since you do not want to disable wifi or data use, I would check each of the social apps to see if each of them have a setting to disable updates that you can turn on/off or set a time limit on. Getting a task killer which can permanently disable apps from starting would also help. You could always turn off wifi and/or data use until you need it since these settings are easy to get to in the phone.
> 1 votes

# Answer
I disable 3G data. I still receive/make calls and receive/send sms using "beautiful widgets".
> 0 votes

# Answer
I put my phone in "Airplane Mode" to save battery and prevent annoying notifications.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: battery, profiles
---


# Question
Title: Why does my Android 2.2 powered Samsung Galaxy I5510 receive duplicated messages (SMS)?
I own a brand new Samsung Galaxy I5510 (Android 2.2). Everything works fine and I really like the device.

## My problem is:

Every time *Some times* I receive a message from a phone number that is not in my contact list, the phone continues receiving it every few hours.

## Facts I pointed out:

* The time between those messages is not constant.
* It never happened when the number was in my contact list.
* Deleting the thread does not solve the problem.
* The senders do not fool me and send the message again and again.
* It seems to stop after a day or two.
* restart of the phone does not solve the problem.
* I am not sure if it really receives the message again or if it just copies the old one.

Does anybody has an idea what could cause the described behavior?

*Thank you!*

**EDIT:** Another point why it is not likely to be a provider issue: I never received a duplicated message while the phone was turned off. Means: I never switched the phone on in the morning and received one or more such messages instantly.

**EDIT 2:** I looked through all the phone log. It happened by now for two numbers. Both were not in my contact list. The occurencies and their time of day are:

### +491773\**4537

```
15:38
17:23
19:19
21:41
00:37
phone off
13:20
16:12
20:48
phone off
09:59
10:16
14:10
phone off
12:46
21:04
--------
13 times

```

### +491635\**4554

```
23:39
phone off
12:20
13:09
14:44
16:16
17:51
19:28
21:02
23:39
phone off
07:28
08:16
09:32
10:51
12:17
15:28
17:00
18:27
20:04
21:21
22:47
--------
20 times

```

## Message from numbers that did not repeat:

```
+491762**21169
+491797**1598
+436508**7821
+336782**105

```

# Answer
The problem simply disappeared after a few weeks. I guess the carrier changed something or my phone got updated without informing me... Who knows.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: sms, samsung-galaxy-551
---


title: Weight tracking app

text:
# Question
Title: Weight tracking app
I'm looking for an app to help me track my weight. Ideally, I would tell it my weight each day (and perhaps my age and height), and after a while I could use it so plot a graph of my progress but also get extra informative statistics.

I've seen a lot of health related apps on the market, but a lot of them are payed and come with tons of extra features. I don't need diet guidance, exercise reminders, etc. I just need something to track my weight, preferably free.

Thanks

# Answer
See this:

http://www.appbrain.com/app/lifetracking/com.lifetracking

LifeTracking application allows you to track any value that is important to you like your weight, blood pressure, or number of pushups you do a day, as well as any time-consuming activities like sleeping, working, watching TV, etc. You can also graph the data to see it visually and use the application to analyze it. The goal of the application is to help you know yourself and your schedule better. Hopefully, when you graph things side-by-side you'll understand yourself and your life bette
> 3 votes

# Answer
**Weigh Weight Lite** did the trick for me.
> 0 votes

# Answer
MyWeigth is a promising app for that purpose, but not yet released to android.

> myWeight puts the retina display to work with beatuiful hi-resolution graphics. Interactive controls and dials will have you looking forward to tracking your weight each day. Our elegant Sync feature will guarantee your data is safe and accessable anywhere. Available now in the iTunes App Store and soon to the Android market.
> 0 votes

# Answer
FatSecret has a Calorie Counter App that keeps track of your weight. You can also use it to keep track of calories consumed and exercise on a daily basis. Information can be backed up to the FatSecret site online if you choose to do so.
> -1 votes

---
Tags: applications
---


# Question
Title: How does Android Market WebStore's Silent Install work?
I have been thinking a lot about this, and came to a point that since the silent install requires the user to give his google id, it might fix a notification against that google id, to let the device associated with that id know that an application installation has to be done, and it has to start download of a particular app from the market. So that, when the device syncs the google id, it knows that it has to do some installation.

Since the device keeps polling the server for sync quite frequently, thus it knows about the installation almost instantly. In other words, the delays are negligible.

On the other note, I also thought that C2DM might have been used to do this, but since my personal device uses 2.1 and C2DM is available to devices having 2.2+, the possibility of use of C2DM is quite less.

Can anyone explain how it is being done? Am I correct with my thoughts?

**Update**

I disabled Syncs in my phone and tried to install using Silent Install, and nothing happened. this way, I am coming closer to realise that my first opinion is correct.

# Answer
> 7 votes
> On the other note, I also thought that C2DM might have been used to do this, but since my personal device uses 2.1 and C2DM is available to devices having 2.2+, the possibility of use of C2DM is quite less.

It is actually quite plausible for 2.1 Market to use C2DM. GTalk, Gmail, and many other Google apps have always used C2DM internally (even before it's named C2DM). In 2.1, C2DM exist as GTalk Service. In 2.2, Google opened the C2DM API for external developers since they realized that 1) most app developers does not have the resources to create a reliable Push notification service, 2) a unified Push service would save battery, 3) Reliable instant Push service is a good selling point for Android.

# Answer
> 1 votes
I would think that the market has its "own" push notifications implemented. When i installed a couple apps from the page, they installed almost immediately. This isn't the phone asking if there are installs pending, this is the market site pushing the info directly to the device.

If you disable sync, it will stop push notifications too.

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


# Question
Title: Is there any good micro USB cable (not loose)?
I'm not sure if this could be considered as an Android question, but it's definetely related to Android, since this kind of cable became a standard for mobile devices recently.

The thing is, I have to work plugging and unplugging pretty often (I'm a developer), and I noticed most of the cables (or device/cable pairs) seem to be loose, some of them even lose the connectivity sometimes, and I've been looking for different kind of cables, and I really didn't find anything satisfying.

I feel there isn't much I can do, I just wanted to know if my cables are "bad", or most of micro usb connectors are just that way.

*Edited to try to meet the requirements of the FAQ.*

# Answer
> 1 votes
The micro USB cables that come with BlackBerries are great, the connection is not loose at all. (I've tried one with my Android phone). So I'd have to say that your cables are indeed "bad".

# Answer
> 0 votes
I agree it probably fine for day to day charging etc. But for dev work you may be wiser to use the big end to connect reconnect the device.

# Answer
> 0 votes
I wonder if a USB extension or port multiplier would be a decent workaround? If you used an extension cable, you can avoid damaging the mini-USB port on the phone since you generally plug/remove the extension plug instead of the mini-plug.

---
Tags: usb, hardware, connection-issues
---


# Question
Title: Enabling GPS flag on android preferences: what is the battery impact?
Even if there are many questions regarding Android and GPS my doubt is really specific to the *user level location settings*.

Supposing I've **enabled** the GPS settings, say from the Power Control widget, and no application is actually requesting location updates.. what is the **impact of this situation on battery life?**

Does the settings location flag start some activity in background, maybe a location service?. Is some radio activity initiated by having the flag on? or can I assume that if no app will register for updates my *battery life* will be more or less the same?

# Answer
Normally your battery life will be the same. Only if applications start requesting GPS updates the battery will be affected. The switch from the Power Control is just a shortcut to prohibit / allow applications to enable GPS location updates.
> 7 votes

# Answer
It should not have any impact on your battery life if you don't use any GPS enabled application. However there is nothing that forbids apps to use the GPS in background if it is enabled.

It is the case with Google Latitude. So if Latitude is enabled it will use the GPS in background in some occasions to find your location. In this case you will see an impact on your battery life.

Don't know of any other apps that does that.
> 4 votes

# Answer
Enabling GPS does not actually activate GPS. It just allows applications to activate the GPS. So leaving the GPS flag on all the time will not consume battery power unless applications activate the GPS and ask for the current location.
> 3 votes

# Answer
I don't know the actual impact, since a lot of applications use the location-service (either GPS or just phone-antenna)

But you can test this by using CurrentWidget for example. This tool will give you the ability to log the battery usage at an interval.
> 2 votes

# Answer
`Menu | Settings | About phone | Battery use` will show you what has been using your battery.

I very seldom see GPS in there, unless I've been doing a lot of heavy Google Maps work, and even then not that much.

Try keeping an eye on that and see how much battery your GPS is really using.
> 2 votes

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


# Question
Title: Will the Samsung Fascinate work without a battery?
Can I use a Samsung Fascinate with no battery powered only by the power cable?

*(I'm assuming this is a handset specific question, but let me know if I'm wrong and the answer applies to all Android handsets and I'll edit the question to be more general)*

# Answer
No. I have another SGS model and it works with no battery for a second, as long as the battery's in when you start it up, but quickly shuts off.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: samsung-galaxy-s, battery, samsung-fascinate
---


# Question
Title: Set equalizer settings that works for all sounds from any programs?
Can we set equalizer sound settings in some program, then go to any other program that produces sound knowing that those settings would apply? For example, set it so that bass is enhanced across the board.

# Answer
> 2 votes
**DSP Manager** (root only) is an app that's incorporated into a number of custom ROMs. I have it in my CyanogenMod but I know it's available in others or as a stand alone (that you have to flash over your current ROM) depending on your device. Search XDA for "DSP Manager" in relation to your specific device as there are numerous device specific threads and downloads.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Not without a custom kernel, AFAIK. Equalisation across the board is controlled by the kernel and I don't believe the settings are accessible to apps. So an app needs its own equaliser to apply to the sound before it's played.

If you're using a Galaxy S, one such custom kernel is called Voodoo Sound.

**Edit:** The paid version of Voodoo Sound now only requires root, rather than a custom kernel.

---
Tags: music-player
---


# Question
Title: Media Player starts playing when I unplug headphones
The stock media player on my phone has an annoying behaviour. Whenever I unplug the headphones, if the media player is paused or not running, it immediately starts running and playing my playlist. This is very annoying because everyone in the room is forced to listen to my songs until I manage to tap (twice) the Music Widget.

Has this been happening to anyone else? And what did you do to fix it?

*Note: I'm not sure if it's Android's stock player or if it's Motorola's stock player, it's just called "Music". Note 2: From the comments, it seems this is Android's stock music app.*

**Motorola-Milestone, firmware 2.1-update1.**

# Answer
> 4 votes
This is a known bug in Android (even in certain Eclair systems).

There's a widget called Headset Blocker that when added to any of your homescreens and activated prevents the music player from playing whenever you unplug your headest. Freeware and it works. See if it helps.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Since you mentioned Motorola in the question, this might be your problem: The Droid and Milestone were having this problem on Android 2.0.1 or less. It was corrected on Android 2.1. So update your phone to the latest version and it should be corrected.

# Answer
> 0 votes
I used to have this problem on my Motorola Droid 1. I used Tasker to "stop music" on certain headset events. See my answer here.

---
Tags: 2.1-eclair, media-player, motorola-milestone, headphones, bugs
---


# Question
Title: Restoring contacts after X10 mini pro upgrade to 2.1
I just upgraded my X10 mini pro to Android 2.1 . As suggested in the instructions did I perform a backup which seems to have created an file (~ 160 kB) with extension .sbf in /sdcard/data/backup/ on the phone.

After the upgrade, I tried to restore from this file (using the same 'Backup & Restore' application which comes with the operating system). While it seems to remember which applications were installed (but I had to configure the wireless access again by hand...) I do not get the contacts back, although it claims to restore the contact data.

Unfortunately, I never exported the contacts separately to a file nor did I store them online.

Is there a way to get the contacts back ?

Or is there a way to read the contents of the .sbf file ?

# Answer
> 2 votes
Well, this Sony Ericsson sync tool seems to work, specially if you want to move contacts from another Sony Ericsson device from your new one (They claim you can also synchronize your data from other devices, as long es they support SyncML).

But I personally use Gmail's contact management, which is easy to use, practical and safe. Obviously is a good idea to auto-synchronize it, as you did, even if you weren't aware ;).

After reading your post I've been playing with the `Backup & Restore` tool, and I realized they warn something like:

> Contacts synchronized using other services are not included.\*

\*I don't know if this is the actual English message, cause my phone is in Spanish, but should be somehing like that, shouldn't it?

Regards.

# Answer
> 0 votes
once you've restored the data, go to contacts and press the left menu button, and go to import/export and import from memory card. I nearly had a heart attack when none of my contacts were restored but that sorted it out :)

---
Tags: contacts, 2.1-eclair, restore
---


# Question
Title: What are workable/straightforward methods for using external game controllers (bluetooth, USB) with the Android platform?
I own an Archos 43 IT running Android 2.2. It is my understanding that the Archos devices in this product line support USB Host and Bluetooth.

**What are workable/straightforward methods for using external game controllers with the Android platform?**

I am aware of the WiiMoteController project, and the capability of hooking up a Wii Classic Controller to a Wii Controller via bluetooth for emulator usage such as here.

The thing is that I don't already own any Wii controllers and it seems like a waste to go out and get those controllers if I already own several Logitech Dual Action USB gamepads, and could use those instead.

# Answer
> 2 votes
The best option (albeit a rather pricey one) appears to be the iControlPad. It was originally designed for use with an iPhone but now uses bluetooth to communicate with all bluetooth-enabled devices. It sounds like developers plan on supporting it, but I'm not sure how well it will work with current games.

EDIT: I recently became aware of another bluetooth gamepad that caters specifically to smartphones. It's called the Bluetooth Game Gripper. There is an Andoinica article about it here, and the kickstarter project is here. However, it doesn't appear that the maker has garnered enough VC to get the project off the ground, so I'm not sure of the current status.

---
Tags: bluetooth, usb-peripherals, usb-host-mode
---


# Question
Title: Milestone rooted with the Universal Androot, can I install ROMs?
I rooted my Motorola Milestone 2.1-update1 with the latest beta of Universal Androot, and it seems to have worked fine. I've installed busybox, used titanium backup, and installed a couple root-only apps.

Now I'm thinking about using ROM Manager to see what custom ROMs can be installed. However, I'm worried because I've read the milestone has some sort of lock in the bootloader, and I never actually unlocked the bootloader while rooting it. Am talking sense? **Will I run into problems if I simply install ROM Manager and try to install a custom ROM?**

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm under the impression that rooting and unlocking are separate issues. And so I'm wondering if I don't have to unlock my phone before messing with ROM Manager.

# Answer
In short, your phone has a locked bootloader. There is no way to unlock it (currently). What does that mean to you? Basically it means you can flash "ROMs", but you cannot flash a new kernel on the phone. The kernel is what controls what clockspeed slots are available on your phone to over/underclock to.

For example, if someone made a Gingerbread ROM for the Milestone, you could flash it. But you will always be stuck with the same kernel that originally came with your phone.

As far as I know, you should be able to use ROM manager to flash ROMs on your phone so long as it is rooted. It's just that none of these ROMs will be able to change your kernel.
> 6 votes

---
Tags: custom-roms, motorola-milestone
---


# Question
Title: User experience difference among Nexus S and Samsung Galaxy S
Currently, I am considering 1 out of the following 2 android phones.

* Samsung Galaxy S
* Nexus S (Not available in my country yet)

I was wondering, has anyone used the above 2 android phones before? What is the significant difference of these 2 phones, in term of software and hardware?

p/s Is there any online store where I can buy Nexus S from if I decide to have one? I am from Malaysia.

# Answer
> 6 votes
Hardware wise, they are almost identical (at least to some of the US versions of the Galaxy S) but there are some differences

Some of the differences are:

* The Galaxy S has 3 hardware buttons (Menu, Home and Back), the Nexus S has 4 (Back, Menu, Search and Home). These are the buttons below the screen.
* The Nexus S has slightly curved glass
* The Nexus S has an NFC chip
* The Nexus S **DOES NOT** have a microSD slot.
* The Nexus S has a Flash for the rear 5MP camera
* The Galaxy S supports Bluetooth 3.0, Nexus S, Bluetooth 2.1

In terms of Software:

* The Galaxy S uses the Samsung RFS for a lot of the file system, the Nexus S uses EXT4
    + EXT4 performs a lot better then RFS does
* The Galaxy S runs the Samsung TouchWiz 2.2 (Froyo) modified version of android, the Nexus S runs "Stock" Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)

Here is a screenshot of the i9000

---
Tags: samsung-galaxy-s, samsung-nexus-s
---


title: Shortcut to the notifications panel?

text:
# Question
Title: Shortcut to the notifications panel?
Many applications place an icon on the notification bar. But then to get to the action I need to long tap the notification bar (taking care not to tap the screen area below it) and then pull it down (at least this is how i do it in my htc desire hd)

Is there an easier way? Maybe assign this to a long press on the menu button (same as long press on the home button shows recent apps)?

# Answer
To answer your questions, yes - there is an app that will allow you to invoke the notification panel:

exsbar allows you to assign the long-press search button or long-press camera button to this function.

Whether or not this is "an easier way" depends on you, the end-user. :-)
> 3 votes

# Answer
You shouldn't need to long tap the notification bar, just tap and swipe down.
> 8 votes

# Answer
You can also press the Menu button and then "Notifications" to pull down the notification screen. It will not be shorter but you will not risk pressing the shortcuts on the top of the screen.

And on some phone when holding it with one hand it is easier to use the Menu button than to reach the top of the screen.
> 3 votes

---
Tags: home-screen-shortcuts, notification-bar
---


# Question
Title: Please check your user name and password error message when I am trying to log in andFBChat1.3.0
I installed andFBChat app on android emulator and when I am traying to log in using my facebook account , it says wrong username and password although they are right

why !!

# Answer
> 1 votes
If you're sure they're right, the app is buggy and we can't help you, Facebook has changed their protocol/accessibility (and the app is out of date/won't work anymore) and we can't help you, or possibly you aren't connected to the internet and you should connect, or the port the app uses is blocked and we can't help you.

---
Tags: performance
---


# Question
Title: Is it normal for Android System to be the top battery user?
Over the past couple of days, the battery usage of my new phone has been as follows:

> 34% - Android System
> 28% - Cell Standby
> 21% - Phone idle
> 10% - Display
> 03% - Google Goggles
> 02% - Angry Birds
> 02% - Majesty

This feels very off to me. I would have expected the games and display to rank much higher in terms of battery use. Could the high usage of Android System indicate a potential problem, or is this fairly normal?

Additional information:

I typically end up with around 15:00 hours uptime and 3:45 hours awake by the end of the day. Daily use so far includes short bursts of playing games and Internet use, but no listening to music. I haven't had a day of heavy calls/texting with the phone yet.

These numbers are all from the built in battery use screen under settings.

# Answer
It all depends on your usage. Android System includes Sync, so if you're not using your phone a lot then I would assume Sync and Standby would use the most battery -- so your details make sense.

**Edit:** As per the comments, I think the battery usage is being recorded wrong.
> 4 votes

---
Tags: htc-droid-incredible, battery, battery-life
---


# Question
Title: How can I get "Always on when USB connected" back on Samsung Vibrant (Android Froyo 2.2)?
How can I get "Always on when USB connected" display feature on Samsung Vibrant running Android Froyo 2.2? I used to love it on 2.1 Eclair but when I upgraded to 2.2 it is gone. Any trick to get it back?

# Answer
After some research I found some app on Market that sets this global setting ('StayAwake'). Missing setting looks like Samsung or TMO customization. I'm running official TMO 2.2 update (T959UVKA6) installed via miniKies
> 2 votes

# Answer
If it is not in that menu it is probably no longer supported by default. You could likely achieve the same effect with either Tasker or Android scripting environment though.
> 1 votes

# Answer
Somewhat related to developing, though...

Homescreen\>Menu button\>Settings\>Applications\>Development\>Stay awake

That's what it is like for AOSP phones, not sure about the vibrant.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: usb, screen, 2.2-froyo
---


title: OTA update failing after rooting phone

text:
# Question
Title: OTA update failing after rooting phone
I have an unlocked Nexus One that I rooted to remove a system application (Twitter), but now the OTA system update fails with the message

```
Verifying current system ...
assert failed: apply_patch_check("/system/app/Twitter.apk", "<long hex string>")
E:Error in /cache/c8847c98b948.signed-passion-FRG83-fromFR91.c8847c98.zip
(status 7)

```

Un-rooting the device doesn't seem to fix this. Is there more to removing a system app than doing a 'rm' of the .apk? For example, is there some configuration file that also needs patching?

# Answer
> 1 votes
What ended up working was re-installing the stock Nexus One (a.k.a. Passion) image. There seem to be several different ways to go back to a stock installation, but what worked for me was:

* Download the `PASSIMG_Passion_.zip` file from shipped-roms.com
* Re-name the file `passimg.zip` and copy it to the SD card via USB
* Booted into hboot (hold the volume down button while powering on the phone)
* Selected 'yes' when asked if hboot should install the image

The above steps were inspired by this post in the XDA-Developers forum. After doing this, OTA updates started working again.

# Answer
> 2 votes
It looks like you need to re-add the Twitter.apk, update, then remove it again. Have you tried that? The patch itself is trying to find that apk for the update (not sure if you can change the patch since it is probably signed?).

---
Tags: updates, nexus-one, ota-update, root-access
---


title: Persistent lines on screen

text:
# Question
Title: Persistent lines on screen
This morning I noticed my phone has several light grey horizontal lines on the display, that don't go away when I change applications, or restart the phone. They don't rotate when I rotate the display - it reminds me of when we were warned about images "burning" into the display of PCs, hence screensavers.

Last night I went to bed with Winamp running while the phone was charging, and I have noticed it doesn't always seem to go to screensaver/black with Winamp. But the lines don't seem to correspond to anything in the Winamp UI, so...I have no idea.

What else should I try to get rid of these lines?

# Answer
Sounds like a hardware problem (assuming the lines extend all the way across the screen). Could just be a bad connection.
> 8 votes

---
Tags: samsung-galaxy-s, 2.1-eclair, screen
---


# Question
Title: What type of headset will work for my Droid X?
I'm shopping around for a nice pair of earbuds for my Droid X since I lost my other ones, and I was curious if I could get ones with a microphone to use as a headset.

What do I need to look for to make sure they're compatible? Are all the 4-pin 3.5mm stereo jacks alike? If it's iPhone-compatible will it not be with the Droid (especially ones with remote volume buttons)?

# Answer
> 2 votes
Any 4-pin 3.5 mm stereo jack should work fine for straight sound but headsets with controls are a little more difficult. Many are proprietary. If it claims to be universal it may work but if it's designed for Apple or Nokia it probably wont.

Basically, on a 4-pin jack it all depends on which ring the headset maps to which control. I couldn't find a Droid X pinout diagram but I believe Motorola uses the standard layout. This site has a pretty comprehensive list of the different pinout mappings and a lot of them are the same but a lot are proprietary.

If in doubt, I'd look for a set advertised to work with the Droid X.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Here in India, we have Philips branded wired handsfree kits which are designed to be used with all modern phones. Certain phones require the jack to be plugged into a supplied female/male adapter which is then plugged into the 3.5mm jack of your phone.

This is the one I'm using with my Spica (the adapter also needs to be used) after the Samsung supplied ones conked out after a year of heavy duty use. ;-)

Perhaps you could find something similar...

---
Tags: motorola-droid-x, headphones
---


# Question
Title: How does the gmail Android App compare to the Webmail experience when using multiple gmail accounts?
This is a "pre-sales" question as I don't currently have an Android device. I did try out one when Android was version 1.6, but was dissappointed. I am interested to know if 2.2 or 2.3 is better.

In particular, I use Gmail as my only email client. It operates all my email accounts (3 corporate and 2 personal). Every email is sent and received via the gmail server and is therefore filed and searchable in gmail. When I compose and email, I can choose which account to send it from and it comes via the domain server (i.e. not from gmail).

My impresssion of android is that is can set up seperate email (pop, imap etc) inboxes and operate them directly with each domain server as pop/imap - but I don't want that as emails will not be kept on the gmail server and therefore filed, backed up and searchable from the webmail client.

How does email account aggregation actually work in Android - is it true Gmail Webmail handling or is it just multi-account handling direct with domainemail servers missing Gmails servers in the process?

Thanks

# Answer
Just use the GMail app and not the Email app. You can select what email to send from -- it shows all the addresses you have set up in GMail -- and has a surprising number of GMail's features for a mobile app. It does go through GMail's servers and you will have your archive. I don't think you can set up and manage POP accounts from it, but if you're not abandoning the web interface entirely then it doesn't matter.
> 10 votes

# Answer
There are three ways to access Gmail in Android:

1. Setup an POP/IMAP account using Email app. This is not recommended, since you lose many of Gmails' unique feature.
2. Use the Browser and Gmail's mobile view. This is not recommended, since you don't get mail notifications.
3. Setup Gmail account in the Gmail app. This is the preferred way of using Gmail on Android, the Gmail app works well with many of Gmail's unique features, such as mail search, label, archives, conversations, stars, "Send As", muting, priority inbox, etc.

> Every email is sent and received via the gmail server and is therefore filed and searchable in gmail

The Gmail app does that.

> When I compose and email, I can choose which account to send it from and it comes via the domain server (i.e. not from gmail).

I don't think you can setup "Send As" from Gmail app, but you can send an email with any "Send As" address you have configured in the webmail.

I don't think there is any major Gmail webmail features that the Android Gmail missed.
> 3 votes

---
Tags: settings, gmail, pop3, imap
---


# Question
Title: How can I view Google My Maps on my phone (Nexus One)?
I have a collection of locations in `Google My Maps` but I don't know how to access it from my phone. Using the browser and go to google map site doesn't help at all. Do you have any idea?

# Answer
Bearing in mind I'm using CyanogenMod6 + Google Apps your mileage may vary - but I can access my My Maps as follows:

* Open Google Maps (the application, not the full site)
* Click menu
* Select Layers
* Select More Layers
* Select My Maps and your maps should be displayed

Job done

\[Edit\] Looks like I'd installed the wrong Google Apps package when I flash my ROM last night, (tiny instead of medium), and the updated version has the Layers button up next to the search bar - so I don't need to open the menu (step 2) anymore.
> 5 votes

# Answer
You can use the official 'Google Maps' app to view your collections. If you click on the 'Pin' next to the search box to bring up the Places screen, then press 'Menu', you'll see an option for 'My Maps' so you can access any of your previously created collections.

Google Maps app -\> Pin Button (next to search box) -\> Menu Key -\> 'My Maps'

Link to Google Maps just in case you don't have it installed

(Alternatively, you can skip a couple of steps by opening Google Maps using the 'Places' shortcut, which takes you directly to the Places screen, from where you can press the Menu button, then select 'My Maps')
> 2 votes

---
Tags: google-maps
---


# Question
Title: Android Force Stop Button Not Working Samsung Captivate (A Galaxy S)
Settings -\> Manage Applications -\> Third Party App -\> Force Stop is not working. On clicking, the Force Stop Button does not change. No Messages either. I can however uninstall the app. What could be wrong? This is with a Samsung Captivate on AT&T. Thanks

# Answer
> 3 votes
The Force Stop button is only applicable to apps which are currently actually running. In general, Android apps will stay in an idle state on the assumption that you might want to switch back to them soon, but the OS will kill apps you haven't used for a while as it gets short on memory. Some apps also have an actual "exit" option, of course.

So, are you sure the app you're trying to Force Stop is actually running? In your applications settings, there should be a "Running" tab, which should show all of the apps currently running on your device. Alternatively there are apps in the Market that can show you what's currently going on on your device. I use "OS Monitor" but I'm sure there are others.

---
Tags: applications, force-close
---


# Question
Title: What do "root," "flash," and "ROM" mean?
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> What is the meaning of “flashing a custom ROM”?

I have been looking for some good explanations of some words that have been frequently used the android developer communities like the XDA forums.

Some words I've seen but do not understand are:

root - (as far as I know it's the way of getting the super user access)

flash - don't know what this is

ROM - don't know either

I need a more descriptive explanation about these words and the related tools, mechanisms, etc.

# Answer
> 2 votes
Looking around the site will give you lots of answers.

Rooting:

ROMs and Flashing:

# Answer
> 1 votes
root - you are correct

flash - is to replace the OS that is installed on your phone with a custom ROM.

ROM - is a 3rd party created custom version of the Android OS.

---
Tags: rooting
---


# Question
Title: Resetting Android Phone from CyanogenMod to Original
When I bought my (pre-owned) Nexus One, it came with CyanogenMod.

I would like to change it back to Google's official 2.2 (or 2.3) Android.

What does this entail and how do I go about doing this in the safest possible way (e.g. with bricking it or any other side-effects)?

# Answer
> 4 votes
You'll need to download official firmware. You can find it by searching "nexus one stock 2.x rom", and XDA might be better than Google. I'd also look up how to use the Android SDK to flash it, probably using flashboot through ADB. I have a Galaxy S which uses another tool, so I can't help with more detail without looking that up myself ;)

---
Tags: cyanogenmod, rom-flashing, rom, stock-android
---


# Question
Title: how to change the lock screen clock style?
I know we have "LockBot" and "WidgetLock" to change the style of the lock screen. But they are not **free** and it seems they do not allow me to change the clock styles either. I do want to change the lock screen style, only the clock style on the lock screen. Do we have apps like this?

P.S. my Android phone is HTC G1, with CM6 mod; and I expect the clock on my lock screen looks like this.

# Answer
If you have a rooted phone which I assume you do since you're on CM6, see this post detailing how to change the font of the clock on the lock screen.

Basically you need to replace **Clocktopia.ttf** in the /system/fonts folder with your desired TTF font (remember to rename new font as Clocktopia.ttf) and reset permissions to be similar to the old file.

If you're willing to use WidgetLocker, there's the freeware Make Your Clock Widget Beta \- that will, as the name suggests, allow a user to customise and create a clock widget as per your taste. You can then use this custom created widget in conjunction with WidgetLocker.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: lock-screens, htc-dream, clock
---


# Question
Title: Regular maintenance to keep the phone running quickly and smoothly
I've noticed that over time my phone has slowed down and feels laggy and less responsive in general.

In the same way you'd get your car serviced every year, what can you run to keep your phone running nicely?

I've got One Click Lag Fix installed and to give an example, the messaging app seemed very slow to load so I deleted all the threads in there but it's still slow regardless.

# Answer
Here is some performance tips:

1. **Have plenty of extra space in the internal memory.** The phone uses the internal memory to store apks and caches, if you have very little internal memory, it might make it difficult for the phone to find contiguous area large enough to store and load the cache. While flash-based storage are not as badly affected by fragmentation as disk-based storage, there will still be a major performance hit if the apks or cache file is fragmented into 1000 pieces.
2. **You should not need to clear caches.** The caches are needed for the best performance of the phone. If you clear caches, and you have performance improvement, that's just because you've made an extra space and that makes it easier for new programs to create and load their caches. While you might be happy with this, it is only a temporary fix until the program rebuilds the cache and it becomes sluggish again. Best way to resolve this situation is to keep an amount of empty space (about 10-30% of the internal memory, the optimal figure depends on the size of your internal memory), do not install too many programs and uninstall programs you do not use; this way you prevent program you do not use to build caches you do not use. Prefer small programs, which generally produces smaller caches.
3. **Avoid App2SD** for applications you frequently use, unless you have Class 6 or higher SD card. Put only big applications that you do not use frequently on SD card (e.g. games); homescreen, keyboard, and widgets should be in the internal memory for best performance (Android prevents you from installing them on SD card, but it is not impossible to force move them to SD).
4. **Avoid program that have background services and avoid home screen widgets.** While there are valid reasons for programs to spawn background service (e.g. Music Player, IM, etc) and while some home screen widgets are very useful; they can degrade performance if you have too many of them. Background service and Home screen widgets will eat up RAMs that the OS cannot reclaim as easily as sleeping applications. Android usually will reclaim memory from unused applications first, but only in very dire circumstances that it kills background services and home screen. This is not an outright ban on background services and home screen widgets; just to be a bit conservative in the use of widgets since no OS in the world can smoothly run more programs than it was designed to handle.
> 5 votes

# Answer
1. Keep on top of your apps: deleting the ones you don't use and the ones that are poorly coded resource hogs.
2. Clear individual apps caches in Settings \> Applications \> Manage Applications by choosing clear cache.
3. Reboot your device periodically (I have no evidence to back up that this improves performance but it seems to work for me)

*(this answer is a community wiki so feel free to add or amend)*
> 4 votes

---
Tags: 2.2-froyo, performance
---


# Question
Title: Can't see Nexus One as a USB drive when connecting to Windows 7
I've connected my N1 to my Windows 7, and I don't see it as a USB drive. I don't see any message on the phone that allows me to enable this (in the past, I used to see a notification about the phone being connected, that allowed me to enable it as a USB drive. Now I don't)

What should I do to access the files?

# Answer
> 1 votes
Under 'Settings' there should be an option 'Connect to PC'. From here you can change the connection type or get the phone to ask you each time it plugs in. (Apparently this is an HTC Sense specific setting(?) so not as relevant here). edit: an answer here has directions to the USB settings.

If it is still not working after changing the settings it may be worth trying another USB cable. Are you sure the cable is working ok? Does the phone indicate that it is charging when it is plugged in to the PC? The cable needs to be capable of data transfer (some will only supply power for charging). Also, the USB port needs to be USB 2.0, not 1.0 or 1.1

If you are sure the cable is working and the phone is still not recognised this might be a Windows problem perhaps. Try re-installing the device driver by 'uninstalling' the phone in Device Manager (see link below for details):

Info in answer from this post here

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Tags: 2.2-froyo, nexus-one, usb-connection-mode
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title: avoid both screen lock and pattern lock

text:
# Question
Title: avoid both screen lock and pattern lock
When the screen times out, a screen lock activates that needs to be swiped down. After 5 minutes, a phone lock pattern is activated. Now when I turn on the display I need to both swipe down and enter the unlock pattern.

Is there an option to not need to do both? Optimally, I want the first 5 minutes to require a swipe down and after 5 minutes to require the pattern

I'm using htc desire hd, android 2.2, unrooted (is there a fix when rooted?)

# Answer
> 1 votes
Under Settings -\> Location and security there is an option for "Lock screen after" where you can choose how long before the pattern is required. With this setting changed you can turn the phone off and back on and only have to swipe down.

Under Settings -\> Display there is an option for "Screen timeout" that should change the amount of time before the phone goes to sleep.

As far as I know the swipe down is not optional.

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Tags: screen, lock-screens
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# Question
Title: Do I have to calibrate my battery after a reinstall?
When I installed Cyanogen Mod 7, I 'accidently' clicked 'Wipe Battery Status' even though my battery wasn't fully charged.

Now I have no idea what this exactly does (even more reason I shouldn't have clicked it), but I'm wondering whether the phone has anyway of knowing when or if the battery's full.

So should I calibrate my battery and if so, how would I have to do this?

# Answer
Your battery status may be off for a while, but will return to normal as you use the device. In general it's good to do several consecutive full discharges and full charges, which will restore the stats about how long the battery lasts. There's nothing you can do beyond that.
> 4 votes

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Tags: battery, calibration
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title: Several exchange accounts on one device

text:
# Question
Title: Several exchange accounts on one device
I'm thinking about replacing an iPhone with Android device, but before I do that I'd like to know which versions of Android support multiple Exchange accounts? Are all main features (Mail/Calendar/Contacts) supported when several accounts are set up?

# Answer
> 3 votes
From Android 2.0 Exchange support was added and this included multiple exchange accounts. http://developer.android.com/sdk/android-2.0-highlights.html

The highlights there mention "Handset manufacturers can choose whether to include Exchange support in their devices." But all the the higher end devises (Galaxy S, Nexus One, HTC Desire etc) will most certainly support it.

# Answer
> 2 votes
Yes, at least on 2.1+. I do have the Samung TouchWiz UI though, and the email app is subtly different. I would expect it to be the same in this regard however. Note that the Email app is terrible, though, and may not otherwise behave how you want. I recommend a third-party app or forwarding your email to Gmail.

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Tags: email, exchange
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# Question
Title: How can I increase the max windows for the stock browser?
I use the stock browser, and I find it's the best for my purposes. One thing is annoying, however -- I can't have more than four windows open. Is there a way to increase this? I have a Galaxy S Vibrant running 2.2 (Nero v5 with TouchWiz), and plenty of memory for more windows.

# Answer
From looking at some posts on Android Forums (1), (2) I think it's just not possible - to get more windows/tabs you'll need to use another browser like Dolphin HD/Mini.

**Edit:** Looks from this post on XDA that it's hard-coded into the browser; it can be changed, but not easily.
> 4 votes

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Tags: settings, browser, ram
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