title: My phone hates 2G + Sd Card

text:
# Question
Title: My phone hates 2G + Sd Card
my HTC Wildfire with CM7 - RC4, doesn't like a combination of two things:

* Data enabled on a 2G Network
* SD Card inserted.

When these two conditions are met, either the phone will slow down to a halt or it will reboot. If it reboots, if I don't remove the SD card it will not detect it, unless I reboot without it in. Or, the SD card will just be undetected and sometimes a notifications pops up telling me "SD Card Removed Unexpectedly"

At my school, my phone network's signal isn't very good due to the building being rubbish and 2G signals are the only thing we get inside the building.

On my old SD card it was 4GB and I think it worked, however my SD card is now 16GB and it doesn't like this. It shouldn't be a problem as it's a ScanDisk (a very reputable make) and I've tried another 16GB card which I sent back due to the issue, so I don't think it's that.

Many thanks to people who can figure out what's up with my phone,

Joe

# Answer
I would indeed verify first that this is not related to some 3rd party app or any other than stock ROM. For this do a complete reset and try again. Also try with a smaller SD card since 16GB might not be supported by your phone (need to check specs for that, I don't know).

You can make a backup to get it back to your personalized settings quick.

If you can confirm the stock ROM and default settings do have this bug too you can report this to HTC. Otherwise you'll have to solve it on your own, looking what app/setting is getting this result.
> 2 votes

# Answer
Scandisk? you sure? Did you mean SanDisk?

Can you absolutely vouch for the authenticity of the SD card? There are plenty of 'fakes' - usually low grade/slow branded as faster cards.

Theres a good guide to spotting fakes here eBay guide
> 0 votes

# Answer
I had exactly the same issue here, on my Asus fonepad tablet. It happened from the beginning, with few 3rd party apps installed and different SD cards.

My workaround was to set "WCDMA only" in the settings ;)
> 0 votes

---
Tags: external-sd, data-connection, crashes
---


# Question
Title: What is the difference between Peak schedule/Off-peak schedule in Android mail application?
In Android mail app, what is the difference between Peak schedule and Off-peak schedule

# Answer
When you setup a Mail for Exchange, the default synchronization mode is Direct Push. With Direct Push, the device maintains an open connection so that information is delivered to the device as it becomes available. The setting for Direct Push in Mail for Exchange is called “Always on.” The alternative is a Scheduled Push mode where the device is set to check for new messages at a set interval.

Though Direct Push offers more up-to-the-minute message delivery, for some users, increased battery consumption may be a trade-off. If your battery is not lasting as long as you would like, set a **Scheduled Push** interval by changing the Peak sync schedule and Off-peak sync schedule in Mail for Exchange.

So you can setup high-frequent mail checks with *peak schedules* for the time periods when you get more emails and *off peak schedules* when you normally do not receive more emails, (e.g. after office hours.)

Should you require how-to on setting up the schedules, refer this article.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: email, automation
---


title: Is there any app for Stack Exchange?

text:
# Question
Title: Is there any app for Stack Exchange?
Is there any app available in the Android Market for Stack Exchange sites?

# Answer
> 22 votes
There are a couple of apps out there like Droidstack and StackWidget. Both of the apps can work together. I've just installed them, but so far you can't seem to answer or respond to questions with them. You can though, follow your questions and get notifications when you get answers. Droidstack is a question browser, and StackWidget lets you watch specific questions.

There is also TopStack for question browsing and SOflair for reputation monitoring. Having tried them.

# Answer
> 26 votes
The **official Stack Exchange app** is now available in the Play Store.

# Answer
> 12 votes
There just happens to be such a tool. It's not an actual application, but it works quite well with and is optimized for Android phones and tablets.

### Website: StackMobile.com

Some of the features you will find:

* Full access to all questions, answers, comments, and users on the site.
* Full question and user search capability.
* The ability to easily switch between StackMobile and the equivalent page on the main site.
* View tags and tag wiki excerpts as well as questions with certain tags.
* View user profiles including a user's top 5 question / answers.
* The ability to quickly share pages using social network buttons.

**Disclaimer:** I wrote it.

# Answer
> 11 votes
DroidStack seems to be the ticket. *Android Market Link*

# Answer
> 3 votes
There is a site specifically for apps that use the Stack Exchange API(s): Stack Apps.

If you're looking for Stack Exchange apps for Android, simply look under the android tag there.

# Answer
> 0 votes
I recently had the opportunity to try Stack Remote, which features an incredibly well-designed interface that looks really slick:

As is the case with all other apps that use the latest version of the API (2.1 at the time of this writing), there is no support for asking and answering questions. However, the app is handy for checking your inbox and quickly browsing questions.

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


# Question
Title: Losing network operator on Samsung Galaxy SIII mini
For some time now (I think it's from the latest Android update) I have this problem, that time to time (on daily basis) people can not reach me, like I would lose connection to the Network.

I get an SMS after some time about all the calls I did miss. Sometimes I have a hard time to call as well.

I did call my operator, and they didn't had any report like this so far, and I did call Samsung service, and they didn't know about this issue, so I guess is on my side.

If you have any idea what would the problem be let me know.

# Answer
I experienced a similar problem, and it was caused by physical activity making the SIM card coming slightly loose, just enough so that the phone couldn't read it reliably. Try turning the phone off completely, removing the SIM card, reinserting the SIM card, and then restarting the phone.

If that makes the problem go away (at least for a few days), then it probably is the SIM card coming loose: maybe that specific phone is on the largest extreme of manufacturing tolerance, and the SIM card is at the smallest extreme. In this case, a little paper inserted alongside the SIM card, on the side without the contacts, could provide a more lasting fix.
> 0 votes

# Answer
I have a similar problem with my S3 mini. Two or three times a week the GSM/Edge/3G signal strength indicator is at zero and I cannot make or recieve calls, despite being in a good signal area. A simple power down and power up restores the connection, reports good SSI and the backlog of SMS and voicemail calls start coming.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: 4.1-jelly-bean, calls, mobile-network, samsung-galaxy-s-3-mini
---


# Question
Title: Samsung Apps for Galaxy S4 with CyanogenMod
I am going to change the official stock Android on my Samsung Galaxy S4 to the latest version of CyanogenMod. But after reading some forum threads about how beautiful and useful it is, I have a question regarding Samsung Apps:

Is there any Samsung Apps available or is it possible to install them somehow?

The problem is that I do not really want to lose my camera functionality (double camera photo and automatic color correction), hover function, S Memo, Samsung Apps, S Planner and so on.

What you may suggest me? I really liked that CM functionality, but I also need almost all of the Samsung default tools, like S Memo (the most useful for me).

# Answer
> 1 votes
No, you will not be able to use your Samsung application for camera. You will you the cyanogen mod one or any other variant that you can find on the market.

As a side note Cyanogen mod is working on their own camera that it suposed to be very good, but at this moment it is in very early beta stage, so who knows when will they actually realease that.

---
Tags: cyanogenmod, samsung-galaxy-s-4, samsung-apps
---


title: Can your android device get malware?

text:
# Question
Title: Can your android device get malware?
I admit, I watch porn now and then on my android phone. But I never, ever, download something or click any adds or links. But here's the weird thing, sometimes when I visit such a website, an automatic download starts. I thought I removed them but when I installed an antivirus it detected 5 threats, all from that site. And the weirdest is, when I installed an other antivirus, it detected 4 more threats! Are these the same threats or did the first antivirus fail on me? And do android devices get severe viruses?

# Answer
No, Android doesn't "get severe viruses" or malware much; it's Linux based, and is generally quite secure from being exploited even if a user does manage to install a malicious app. And while it is *possible* to get it from a website that uses an exploit on a mobile browser, it is extraordinarily improbable. Most likely the AV is reporting non-malware like tracking cookies as "threats".

**More details:**

AV companies define "threats" *extremely* broadly, in order to keep users paranoid and buying their software. One of the ways they do this is to include things like tracking cookies and the like, which aren't technically malware. This is probably what your AV is "detecting", as website drive-by malware infection on Android is hugely unlikely. AV for the average user is useless on Android (and worse, slows down your phone); AV providers prey on user ignorance and fear from the fact that Windows requires AV (which most users have had drilled into them by now) to sell their products for Android.

The most likely scenario for getting malware is installing an app from someplace other than Play (sideloading), followed by being incautious when installing a Play app and not bothering to check the permissions an app is asking for (even then, extremely unlikely that it could do much other than send some of your personal info to a server for marketers to buy, or use up your bandwidth to pop up ads).

Many malicious websites will start automatic downloads, in the hopes that you'll be foolish enough to run whatever is being downloaded. So long as you don't install whatever it is, there isn't a problem.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: malware
---


# Question
Title: how to open a .hbk files which contains the sms backup from htc one s
I can't open the backup of sms because after sending it on my mail I discovered it's a hbk file. How can you open this type of file?

I need to print them! thanks

# Answer
> 2 votes
In case you no longer have a copy of the SMS on your phone, but have backed-up the SMS to your PC or email, you need a combination of t0mm13b's comment and bmdixon's answer.

As mentioned, it's not possible to open .hbk files on the PC. What you can do is:

1. Restore the .hbk to your phone as SMS
    * In your SD card, make sure you have a folder called `sms_backup`. If this doesn't exist, create it. This will be in the same level as the `Android` folder.
    * Copy the .hbk file to the `sms_backup` folder
    * Restore the SMS from the SMS settings
2. Export the SMS as .xml using SMS Backup & Restore
3. Email the .xml file to your PC
4. After downloading the .xml file, open it from a program like Notepad or Microsoft word, and print.

Take note that XML has a weird structure, so expect to see a lot of tags (in greater than and less than signs).

# Answer
> 1 votes
I don't think it's possible to open this file on your computer. It can only be read by the HTC SMS app. If you still have the sms on your phone you could install SMS Backup & Restore which will allow you to back them up as xml which you can then print from your pc.

---
Tags: sms, backup
---


# Question
Title: How to restore adb backup on Nexus 4 (boot loop)?
Recently I have flashed unofficial cyanogenmod 10.2 for my Nexus 4. After testing some features I the device came into a "bootloop" (stays on cyanogenmod logo launcher).

I tried to reflash it with cm 10.1 (wipe dalvik cache and /cache partition) but the same effect.

Now I have completed the adb backup but if I restore it I get the same effect as described above.

I can launch the device successfully on clear cm 10.1 but it won't boot after restore of my backup. What can I do now ?

# Answer
> 0 votes
Do not restore the full backup taken, but Restore only part of it. And do it "piece by piece", so if the error re-occurs you at least know where it comes from and can skip the faulty part.

**Edit:** As I was not fully clear about where I pointed to: Titanium Backup is capable of restoring parts from as well as backups.

---
Tags: cyanogenmod, backup, adb, nexus-4, restore
---


title: Restore only part of nandroid image

text:
# Question
Title: Restore only part of nandroid image
In attempt to install 2.2  **I've deleted all my contacts(contacts were saved on phone, not as google contacts)**
I've done full nandroid backup while phone still had those contacts; however when I try restoring image; I get bootloop.
Nandroid backup contains system.img, data.img, cache.img and boot.img;

I'm wondering if I can restore only data.img to get contacts back.

I have thought of 2 other solutions:

a) make a new nandroid image of current status; verify that it's ok by doing restart; then open copy database with contacts from one backup to another.

b) open database with contacts from data.img; and manually retype 200 phone records.

Is there any smarter (quicker, easier) way??

# Answer
> 6 votes
Clockworkmod recovery has an 'Advanced Restore' option that allows you to pick just one of the following partitions: boot system data cache sd-ext

If you don't already have it, download ROM Manager from the market and this will help you install the clockworkmod recover.

(I've no idea whether this will solve your problem, but yes you can restore the data partition! ;) )

# Answer
> 3 votes
Mount the image in your computer (Linux) or phone, extract the contacts database, and copy it over the contacts database in the phone. You do this using a loopback device, e.g. `mount -o loop /sdcard/myimage.img myimage`. "myimage" is where you can view the contents afterward. The database should be `data/data/com.android.providers.contacts/databases/contacts.db`.

You can restore the data for a single app by copying the relevant folder in `/data/data/`.

# Answer
> 2 votes
You can use unyaffs to decompress a backup image, and then access the data directly. Here's a guide on how to do so.

# Answer
> 1 votes
I couldn't mount data.img via mount -o loop :( Also restoring old data.img resulted in Android phone being stuck at Cyanogen logo screen and not loading Android OS fully :(

I managed to extract contacts from old backup by doing this:

1. Install the Android SDK
2. Boot into recovery mode
3. Make full backup of your current system via Nandroid backup
4. Restore /data partion of your old backup
5. Boot into recovery mode
6. Start adb server:

for Fedora
```
   $ su -
   # cd ~/android-sdk/tools
   # ./adb kill-server ./adb start-server
```
OR for Ubuntu
```
   $ sudo su
   # cd ~/android-sdk/tools
   # ./adb kill-server ./adb start-server
```
1. Connect to your Android phone via adb SDK command

./adb shell
2. Mount /data and /sdcard partition via Recovery menu on your phone
3. Copy contacts from your old /data partition to your /sdcard partition

```
   # cp /data/data/com.android.providers.contacts/databases/contacts2.db /sdcard/contacts2.db.old
```
1. Unmount /data partition
2. Format /data partition
3. Restore your current /data partition from backup image
4. Backup your current contacts database

```
    # cp /data/data/com.android.providers.contacts/databases/contacts2.db /sdcard/contacts2.db.current
```
1. Copy your old contacts over your current one

```
    # cp /sdcard/contacts2.db.old /data/data/com.android.providers.contacts/databases/contacts2.db
```

# Answer
> 1 votes
There are also several apps available helping with a partial Nandroid restore:

They all give you the opportunity to extract parts of your Nandroid backup: Apps and their data, SMS, etc., and make the procedure a little easier.

---
Tags: contacts, restore, htc-hero, nandroid
---


title: how can i get back in my phone

text:
# Question
Title: how can i get back in my phone
I was playing around with my phone lock app and put in a pin password I later turn back on my phone and realized I forgot my pin I have no idea what to do will i still be able to get back in my phone I have tried turning it on and off,holding the power button with the lower volume sign nothing worked.

# Answer
If you enter your pin incorrectly a number of times, the device should present you with a temporary time lock. If you continue to enter it incorrectly you should be prompted to login with the Google account associated with your device to disable the lock.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: locked-out
---


# Question
Title: Can I share my wifi connection to wifi tethering?
Can I do it on my android? I seem can't find any reference for it.

# Answer
Tethering is a feature that is usually offered by the carrier for an additional fee. You should check with your carrier. Also it would have helped to include which android device you have.....
> 0 votes

---
Tags: wi-fi, tethering
---


title: Decrypt my Micro SD Card

text:
# Question
Title: Decrypt my Micro SD Card
I have been looking every where for an answer to this. I had a Razor MAX with an encrypted card in it. Well I dropped that phone and it died on the spot. I now have a SG3 and the micro sd card works fine but the files that were encrypted are still that way and I can't open them. Any ideas on how to decrypt just those files??

# Answer
Without the encryption key, you won't be able to decrypt the files on the SD card. Your only option, in this case, is to format the SD card and start over. The idea of encryption is that nobody can access your files without the encryption key. In the case of Android, your encryption key is NOT the password you use to unlock the device. That password is just a password of a password.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: encryption, storage, samsung-galaxy-apollo
---


title: Android shell script permissions?

text:
# Question
Title: Android shell script permissions?
I have a rooted phone, and I was playing around with Terminal Emulator. I tried writing a simple shell script (test.sh) :

```
#!/bin/sh
echo "Hello, World!"

```

Then I opened terminal emulator, cd'd to the directory my script was in, and typed:

```
./test.sh

```

and I got a "permission denied" error. So I tried:

```
su
./test.sh

```

Somehow, still permission denied. So I tried (still as root) :

```
chmod 775 test.sh
busybox chmod 775 test.sh
busybox chmod +X test.sh

```

None of the 3 gave errors, but ./test.sh still gave permission denied! As a last resort I tried

```
sh test.sh

```

That ended up working. Finally.

I'm curious why permission was denied for my own shell script chmodded to 775 when run as root. How can permission be denied for anything as root? How can I fix this and make ./test.sh work?

# Answer
> 3 votes
Execute permissions on the SDCard is blocked for that reason.

See this:

```
/dev/block/vold/179:1 /mnt/sdcard vfat rw,dirsync,nosuid,nodev,**noexec**,relatime,uid=1000,gid=1015,fmask=0602,dmask=0602,allow_utime=0020,codepage=cp437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,utf8,errors=remount-ro 0 0

```

The *noexec* part of this line emphasized with two asterisks is the key to prevent any execution of scripts/binaries from the SDCard.

Have a funny feeling this was answered before...deja-vu

# Edit

Yup @Izzy has answered this before and here as well.

---
Tags: terminal, shell
---


title: Android Sat Nav Apps

text:
# Question
Title: Android Sat Nav Apps
I have a few questions about Sat Nav applications running on Android.

1. Does the pre-installed sat nav app require a connection to the web? Does it operate in car and pedestrian modes and be updated automatically.
2. Am I right in thinking that the *after market purchase* of the Tom-Tom app can function without internet connection?

Thanks for any replies.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Android provides different methods for localization. Some of them are network based, some cell based, some GPS based, some mixed (well, that was simplified).

So yes: You could use plain GPS without network. Might take a little longer to get your initial fix, though. (Assisted GPS aka AGPS can speed this up, but requires a network connection.)

And quite logically yes to your second question as well, as far as GPS is concerned. For map data, if it's already downloaded to your device, no data connection is required either. But if you need updates while on the way, or want to be updated about traffic, things are certainly a little different.

---
Tags: applications, gps, external-gps
---


title: How can I do ADB backup without PC?

text:
# Question
Title: How can I do ADB backup without PC?
I can backup with PC by "adb backup"command. But can I create backup file without using a PC somehow? Android device standalone.

# Answer
Yes you can. There are some tools to provide you with this functionality, e.g. Helium - App Sync and Backup. If your device is rooted, this app should work out-of-the-box. Otherwise you will need to initialize it once after each device start (reboot), which then requires a PC with ADB.

---

As requested in the comments, a few hints on how to get *Helium* started on a non-rooted device. First, this requires you to have at least a basic setup of ADB done on your computer (see: Is there a minimal installation of ADB?). Having met that, it should be as easy as enabling *USB-Debugging* on your Android device, connecting it via USB to the PC, and run the helper script downloaded from *Helum's* web page. The last 3 steps have to be repeated only once after each reboot of the device, and activate a background process *Helium* itself requires but cannot start itself (the user via ADB has higher privileges than an app in user-space, and thus can).
> 1 votes

---
Tags: adb
---


# Question
Title: Weird Bluetooth Behavior, difficulty reconnecting to paired device - Galaxy S II
I had been having this weird behavior with my BT - Headset, that it works fine if I pair manually, but when I try to reconnect to a previously connected device, it would connect, and then just fail, and **I would need to unpair and repair manually every time**.

I have verified that this same headset **works as expected with other phones** \- ranging from iPhone - Blackberry - Nokia Symbian S60. The device itself is over a year old, and this is when my previous device failed. However the fact that other phones are able to handle it, negates the possibility of this being purely due to age.

I tried to get Samsung Customer support to take a look at this, but they refused to see the problem.

Until recently I had just resigned myself to pairing it every time I want to use it, however recently, I seem to have discovered a pattern. If I disable the "Phone" Setting from bluetooth settings, this problem occurs. **However with both "Phone" and "Media" options enabled, it seems to work as good as new**!!

I also came across Bluetooth Auto Connect which seems to be tackling a similar problem, but I don't think it is quite the same.

So basically my question is, is this a known/common issue with GSII? Is there a fix for it? My device is rooted if that helps.

If this is a purely software issue as I now suspect, will a new rom help?

# Answer
This problem was fixed when I flashed custom roms. It came with its own can of worms.. but still..
> 0 votes

# Answer
I have similar issues with some headphones on my Galaxy Nexus, though it is only intermittent. While I do not have an actual solution, I have found that turning Bluetooth off and on again while the headphones are on is much quicker than navigating all those submenus, and does cause the headphones to reconnect.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: 4.0-ice-cream-sandwich, samsung-galaxy-s-2, bluetooth-audio, bluetooth-pairing
---


# Question
Title: How can one know if one's battery is damaged
What are the signs of a damaged or completely drained battery for Samsung Galaxy Note II? The battery displays it is empty and yet does not charge. It does not power the phone either. Am confused

# Answer
You can check the the battery status using the service menu of your android device.

You can see the current battery level there. The device suggests whether or not to change the battery.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: battery-life
---


title: Boot loop data recovery

text:
# Question
Title: Boot loop data recovery
Cyanogen mod 9, ClockworkMod Recovery 5.8.9.2

I recently plugged in my phone after the battery completely died over night and the phone is stuck in a bootloop. I left it trying to boot for 30 minutes and it's just stuck.

I've made a backup in clockworkMod recovery and am willing to flash the phone to a newer or the same version of cyanogen but I don't want to lose data.

Is there any way I can make sure my contacts and SMS messages are recovered?

# Answer
I reinstalled android and lost all my data. Nothing else worked. :(
> 0 votes

# Answer
I recently went through this, and it is possible to restore your data, take a look at my own experience at Extract App Data from Nandroid / CWM Backup. Basically you can use Nandroid Manager to restore the data you have backed up. But I am not sure if I got all the data of the apps that might have been installed to sdcard though, so if you can, take a backup including those apps as well (maybe too late now). Hope you still have that backup.. just noticed the date :(
> 0 votes

---
Tags: cyanogenmod, samsung-nexus-s, clockworkmod-recovery, boot-loop
---


# Question
Title: Is the SHIELD an Android device with a fully open source software?
NVIDIA announced the Open Source Resources for the Tegra SHIELD device. Does this mean the SHIELD is a device with fully open-source software? How does it compare to another device, for example, the new Nexus 7 that will be released without the sources for the stock image, due to apparently issues with Qualcomm?

# Answer
> 3 votes
**tl;dr** NO, it is not fully open source.

From the site, SHIELD is described as a gaming platform based on the Android Jelly Bean OS. So, it uses Android, and you can create apps / games using Android. But most likely, they will also provide APIs that are usable only for the SHIELD device. *If you look at the device, it has a lot of gaming controls or buttons that are clearly not available on a mobile phone.*

The Open Source Resources section has a link to downloading (source codes, etc) and building your own OS image. So, it is Open Source (as of this time, anyway), but not completely. As Dan Hulme mentioned in the comments below, they still contain binary components, but are at least more open compared to Qualcomm.

> To assist the Android open source and modding community, NVIDIA has published the required source code and **binary packages** to create custom OS images for SHIELD

How does it compare to a Nexus 7 2013? The SHIELD is a gaming device with gaming controls. Meanwhile, the Nexus 7 is a tablet. \[*Guess: While tablets can have Tegra chips, it's possible that the SHIELD can do other functions that a tablet cannot. In this case, you may be able to see the game on Google Play, but it may not be compatible with your device.*\]

**UPDATE 2013-08-09:** To answer your comment (and this is purely my opinion), I think that Qualcomm-based devices would not gain much attention among developers / modders, given that they can't do much about it. *Think Apple / iOS*. In this case, Tegra would have an advantage and have a larger community building apps for their platform. In short, Qualcomm's loss.

**Related news on Qualcomm legal issue:**

---
Tags: open-source
---


# Question
Title: Why does TitaniumBackup not allow me to restore apps after upgrading to 4.3?
After upgrading to 4.3 from a previous version (in my case 4.2), TitaniumBackup might exhibit a behavior where restoring apps does not work and the process just freezes on some devices, in this case a Galaxy Nexus phone. It seems that restoring app settings might work, but when restoring the actual apps this triggers the freeze. Restoring XML data like Wi-Fi hot spots also works.

# Answer
> 6 votes
To fix this issue, set TitaniumBackup to use the legacy path. The easiest way to do this is to go into TitaniumBackup, press "Menu" and then "Preferences". "Backup folder location" a bit down and click it. Click "DETECT!" and TitaniumBackup will ask you where to scan for backup locations. It's very important that you here choose to **scan your whole device** and not just the SD card.

After scanning is complete, you might as in my case see that TitaniumBackup presents two paths that seem almost identical (in fact they sort of are). Choose the path that has the string `/legacy/` in it, in my case it is `/storage/emulated/legacy/TitaniumBackup` — which should replace a path similar to `/storage/emulated/0/TitaniumBackup`.

After TitaniumBackup has been reconfigured to use the legacy path, restoring apps will work as normal. Thanks to necropuppy for this solution.

---
Tags: samsung-galaxy-nexus, restore, titanium-backup, 4.3-jelly-bean
---


# Question
Title: How to use AT commands in Android by 'root' the phone
We have various Android devices from Spike, Samsung, Micromax, etc. How can we issue AT commands from Android to the modem? We searched in Google Play but did not find any app related to this.

This Stack Overflow question suggests:

> \[F\]irst you have to root the phone...\`

How can we do this?

# Answer
> 1 votes
The question you linked to has the information you need to access the modem. You might also find this SO answer helpful for accessing the modem. Be warned that the device file you need to use is different for each model of phone, so you'll have to examine `/dev` on each device to find out which file to use.

As it points out, you need to be root to do this. The rooting process is different for each model of phone. For most models, you have to wipe the phone to achieve it, as the process involves unlocking the bootloader (and maybe flashing a custom recovery) in order to flash the `su` binary into the system image. Some models have security vulnerabilities you can exploit with a program you download, to achieve this without unlocking the bootloader. How do I root my Android device? explains more about the process, and has an index of questions about rooting particular devices.

---
Tags: rooting, cellular-radio
---


# Question
Title: How to limit the synchronized contacts to "My Contacts" on a Galaxy Note?
I have a problem with my Galaxy Note II (Android 4.1.1) when synchronizing the contacts I have on the phone via Bluetooth with my car. I believe this is some limitation of the number of contacts (or groups of contacts) I have on my phone. The same problem is present on my wife's Galaxy S3.

I therefore would like to understand how the Galaxy Note II synchronizes its contacts with Google. I keep all my contacts in Google (I have nothing locally) and would like to just get the *"My Contacts"* group (with the hope it will fix the Bluetooth synchronization problem).

I tried to limit the accounts as explained in another post but even though the title of the post is the same as mine, the solutions seem to only limit the number of **displayed** contacts.

What I did was to:

1. stop the synchronization for the google account (for contacts)
2. forcefully delete all contacts from my phone (with Mass Contacts Delete, Delete All Contacts and Delete Contacts
3. choose only *"My Contacts"* in `Contacts | Menu | Display Options | Choose contacts to display (account)`
4. restart the synchronization

I end up with all google contacts synchronized again (*"My Contacts"*, the groups within and the *"Other Contacts"* one). I know this because when running the batch contact delete apps they inform me that 500+ contacts will be deleted (while I should have only 30 or so synchronized).

This is why I suspect the solution given in the post I mentioned (and which I basically run in the points 2-4 above) just helps to limit the display (and not the whole synchronization).

I would be grateful for

* some general information about how the Google accounts are synchronized with Android (specifically Samsung Galaxy)
* possibly a way to limit the "visible" accounts, as presented by the phone via Bluetooth (the idea being that even if the phone has all the contacts synchronized, maybe there is a way to set it up so that it "presents" (makes visible to other devices) only a subset).

Note: the inferior alternative OS :) (iOS) worked as expected out of the box -- so I guess this is something which is manageable in Android as well.

# Answer
4.2.2 and 4.3 customized ROMs (CyanogenMod in my case) fix the issue

... and bring in other ones, less important (the mp3 tags are not streamed with the musioc for instance = the name of the song is not displayed).
> 0 votes

# Answer
After having tried anything I could think of and all the solutions in various group the only one which works was to use Bluetooth File Transfer to forcefully transfer the contacts I wanted to have on my car system.

This is not an optimal solution as

* the contacts are just transferred, not synchronized
* new contacts on my phone need to be transferred manually

but at least this gives me something similar to what I had with an iPhone, out of the box (all contacts transferred and synchronized, as expected)
> 0 votes

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Tags: bluetooth, google-account, samsung-galaxy-note-2
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# Question
Title: How to get fm radio back after Desire X was updated to Android 4.1?
My HTC Desire X recently updated to android 4.1. With that update, the FM radio disappeared. How can I get it back? I can't find an app the does this in the Play Store. Are there other ways?

# Answer
> 1 votes
The problem is solved by restarting the phone.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Take a look at this forum: http://www.htcforums.com/desire-x/12477-updated-4-1-1-no-fm-radio.html. The only other way (I know) to get a fm radio on your device is to root it or install an .apk from outside the Play Store.

# Answer
> -1 votes
Use Spirit Light. Works well on Desire, excellent app.

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Tags: 4.1-jelly-bean, htc-desire, fm-radio
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# Question
Title: Display GPX in Google Maps or other simple application?
I need an application that supports the following features:

* offline map (no Internet connection)
* bookmarks (POIs added by me from either my PC -\> KML or in the app itself)

Since (Google) Maps doesn't currently support bookmarks, I use MapsWithMe Pro which does (along with offline maps).

I now need to import a GPX trace before going on a bike trip.

MapsWithMe doesn't support GPX yet, and failed importing KML files as converted with either GPSVisualizer or Gpx2Kml.

I then tried Locus Map Free and OsmAnd, but found them way too complicated for my need.

So... is there a way to simply display a GPX file in Google Maps on top of an offline map (no Internet connection available), or some other app that's a no-brainer to use?

Thank you.

# Answer
> 1 votes
What you want to achieve is working perfectly fine e.g. with Locus Maps, as I can say from my own experience. You can even use KMZ files − and if they are self-contained (i.e. all pictures etc. are inside the file, no external resources linked), you can even create your own travel guides (I did that, works like a charm). The offline maps can be selected and downloaded for free from inside the app as well.

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Tags: google-maps, offline-map
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title: How to open data folder from android

text:
# Question
Title: How to open data folder from android
http://postfiles6.naver.net/20130808\_261/fermat22\_1375962717749SdDOq\_PNG/info.png?type=w3

This is app info (setting-\>application manager-\>app)

I want reading this app's data(261mb) but i can't finding this folder.

How to find(or open) this app's data folder

# Answer
> 2 votes
An app whose package name is `com.example.app` has its data files in `/data/data/com.example.app`. This applies to pre–Jelly Bean systems, and to the first user on Jelly Bean systems. For other users on Jelly Bean systems, user 1 has the data files for `com.example.app` in `/data/user/1/com.example.app`, and so on.

Reading another app's data files can only be done on a *rooted* phone. Even then, you need an app that's designed to work with root access. See the tag wiki, and How do I root my Android device? for more info, but bear in mind that rooting will **void your warranty**.

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Tags: applications
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title: Do widgets slow down Android phone?

text:
# Question
Title: Do widgets slow down Android phone?
I use a lot of widgets (like Gmail, calender, weather app, Facebook, music, news, etc.) and since I have been using them I feel my mobile has become slower than before.

I don't use a task manager. Watchdog alerts me on Gmail only. My RAM is 512MB.

Are there any studies that reflect Android performance with the use of widgets?

# Answer
I share my experience and knowledge as an android developer:

Most widgets don't consume (or use just a bit) processor power when they are not visible, but some would consume even if your screen is off and phone is locked. It is based on what task the widget is considered to do, and how developer has written and optimized the code.

**As a general rule:** more widgets would slow down your launcher (desktop) because your phone has to render UI of the widget every time it is shown to you. As I see, your phone is a low-end one and surely, it shows some lag when you add more widgets, but keep in mind that **smartphones are made to do TASKS, not to just scroll fast and be lag-free. So, if you really use those widgets, keep using them!**

And one more thing, if your phone is running on Android ICS 4.0 or newer, you wouldn't need any task manager or task killer. Android itself best manages tasks and you shouldn't worry about background tasks, as long as you haven't installed any malicious app. killing background apps NEVER improves speed on your phone or battery life.
> 4 votes

# Answer
I had a chronic performance (response) problem with my phone. I suspected widgets as culprits and removed 5 widgets. After this, it works fast. So I'd say/conclude that widgets hurt performance.
> 0 votes

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Tags: app-widgets, performance, sony-xperia-tipo
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# Question
Title: URL to promote your app on facebook/twitter
I am thinking about adding facebook/twitter buttons in the apps I'm creating, but one thing has been puzzling me. The URLs of my apps are of course Google play URLs, like this:

market://details?id=com.mycompany.mygame

but if I promote this URL in a facebook message or tweet then the receiver of the message will only be able to click on the URL if they happen to be looking at it on an Android device, if they're not, they will get an error report from their browser. I could instead point to the market web URL like this:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mycompany.mygame

But it feels rather clumsy. So my question is this: - is there a way to tweet or facebook-like an app in a way where the receiver of the message will see the most appropriate URL for their device?

# Answer
The play.google.com link you post is the correct form for linking to an app, and it's the documented solution recommended by Google.
> 2 votes

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Tags: facebook, twitter
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# Question
Title: A second Boot Loop, any underlying causes?
Recently, a while after I rooted my Galaxy SII, I decided to take the plunge and flash a custom rom.

I went with the stable slimbean roms, It survived for a little over a month or two, with 1 maybe 2 updates to newer builds, but about 2.5 weeks back, it went into a boot loop.

I tried most solutions I could find, and nothing helped, so in the end I flashed AOKP rom, and that worked really well for 2 weeks. Now even that is stuck in a boot loop.

I am trying to figure out if these are one off things or if it is something I am doing wrong or could it be a hardware fault?

Details-

1. When I went from slimbean - AOKP, I did do a clean wipe (tried once without wipe and it was stuck in boot loop) but after the clean wipe I came across Nandroid Manager, and used it to restore my user apps data back.
2. The couple of days before it died I experienced some general sporadic slowdown along with a wierd problem that sometimes it would completely freeze when playing a song for a second or 2. I put that down to either sdcard issues or song corruption, but now I am not sure.

# Answer
You could try connecting the phone to PC and reboot. After powering down, start `adb logcat` on computer. In this way you could see system logs during booting and may find what's wrong with the phone.
> 1 votes

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Tags: 4.2-jelly-bean, custom-roms, boot-loop
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# Question
Title: How can I set up email on my GS4 to handle both email and gmail accounts?
I just moved from iPhone to a Galaxy S4, and I'm trying to get it set up. I have a gmail account, and two NON-gmail accounts. What is the best solution to have all of my emails managed in one place/app? I would really prefer not having to switch between two apps to check my emails if possible. Thanks for any assistance.

# Answer
> 1 votes
This official Google support page tells you how to access Gmail from a normal email client using IMAP: you have to turn it on through the Gmail web interface, then add the account to your email client like any other IMAP server.

The standard email client on Samsung devices supports having multiple accounts. Press the **+** button in the Email app's settings to add an additional account. Most third-party email clients for Android (such as K9-Mail) support multiple accounts too, but the set-up will be slightly different for each.

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Tags: email
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# Question
Title: Is there a lightweight way to test C code on Android?
I want to write and run small general purpose C code snippets on my Android phone. These will primarily be data structures and algorithm implementations. Is there a lightweight and quick way to do so?

# Answer
It might be worth a try to install Android IDE (AIDE) - to quote a brief summary:

> AIDE is an integrated development environment (IDE) for developing real Android Apps directly on Android devices. AIDE supports the full edit-compile-run cycle

However, typing on a device might make it cumbersome unless its a tablet form factor with bluetooth keyboard attached to save the pain in typing.

# Edit

As per @Izzy's comment below, Terminal IDE is another such app, this one points to *Google Play Store*, however I got a 500 error trying to access the page below within the comment! Cheers for that \o/
> 1 votes

# Answer
Lightest way is to not install anything at all and simply use a website, such as IDEOne.
> 1 votes

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Tags: applications
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# Question
Title: Mysterious "Installation Failed" and reboots
Non-programmer here. I've noticed recently a message popping up on my 4.1.2 Galaxy S3 running stock firmware (except I have root) build number JZO54K.T999UVDMD5. This was happening before I rooted it and before I installed DroidWall in an attempt to prevent any uncommanded activity. "Installation Failed" is what it says. I've also happened to have observed it restarting a few times when I was not touching it. I installed aLogcat today and set it to "Events" so that hopefully I will get more information. Any suggestions on how to learn more about what's up would be appreciated.

# Answer
Sorry for the irrelevant answer to the OP's question but felt a need to point out about aLogCat.

**aLogcat** seems broken at the moment under JellyBean (due to an additional introduction of permission `READ_LOGS` required for reading logs).

Just keep an eye out for the update soon (or flag the developer by starring the issue here).

If you fancy the alternative, try this version called **CatLog** found here on github, this has the permission in place to do so.

As for Droidwall, forget about that version - its old and obsoleted in favour of the more updated version AFWall+, the linky to the play store version is contained on the github page, alternative linky to F-Droid Repository here.
> 0 votes

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Tags: installation, reboot
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title: Do signal booster apps work? How?

text:
# Question
Title: Do signal booster apps work? How?
I do not have the best signal on my Galaxy S4. I have had a recommendation on downloading a Signal Booster App.

1. How do they work (or do they work at all)?
2. Are there ways to boost my signal strength without an app?

Note: I am referring to 4G Signal Strength. My signal strength ranges from `-107 dBm 33 asu` to `-113 dBm 27 asu`.

# Answer
> 8 votes
Summing up from my comments above:

## How do signal boosters work?

They work by forcing the device to do a re-connect. Though the device is permanently watching its neighborhood (for the case the signal gets too weak), it does not switch for just a trifle. Instead, it tries to weight the benefits against the costs: switching to a different cell has some signalling overhead to be considered. So if it's just for a trifle, it wouldn't switch. But if the other signal source is twice as strong, for example, it would. And it certainly does switch once you lose signal, even if there's just a weak signal available to switch to.

If it switches, it always choses the best and strongest signal available. And as I said, when you lose your signal it does switch: that's exactly the concept of the booster. By going to airplane mode, it makes you lose the signal, so switching on the radios makes the device connecting to the strongest signal. If your lucky, you see one more bar. If there was just one cell available, you just wasted juice.

IMHO it's not really worth it, but everybody needs to decide that himself/herself. Improvements are rather marginal/cosmetical in most cases, if at all.

## Ways to boost without a booster

Well, if you followed my above writing, you might already have guessed it: Long-press your power button, and select "airplane", then do it again. Or, open your notification bar and tap the plane icon, and repeat it. Done. The difference is you need to do it manually – while the app at least partially automates it (maximum one tap with the app, while 4 manually).

## Further hints

There are apps available which track cell signals. Some do even track the neighboring cells (most of them only work with selected devices). If you find one that does work with neigboring cells and your device, you should be able to tell the real numbers – and see if it would be worth to "boost", or if it rather would be to "boast" :).

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Tags: network-signal
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title: HTML5 games for OUYA?

text:
# Question
Title: HTML5 games for OUYA?
I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask, but since OUYA is shipping with android 4.0 I'll try.

Anyway, for those of you who are familiar with the platform I'm wondering if it will be possible to launch HTML5/Javascript games wrapped in app for OUYA?

# Answer
It works.

Game Closure (which is HTML/Javascript) runs on OUYA. There are some posts by staff members on the mailing list. It takes some work to get controller support as of writing (they're working on making it available out of the box).
> 1 votes

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Tags: html5, ouya
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# Question
Title: For pre-Android 4.3, if a tablet (or any device) has root, will all its user accounts have root access?
This question is for Android 4.2 and below.

If a tablet (or any applicable Android device) has root, will all user accounts have root access? Will the SuperUser app also be installed for all users?

Also, would it be possible to disable root access for one of those users?

*I no longer have a tablet, so I can't confirm this behavior myself.*

# Answer
> 2 votes
With rooted device, only one account called root with both user and group id of zero is present, does not matter how many accounts there are. Similar to Mac OSX, Linux counterparts.

There is a singular Superuser.apk, all accounts can run an app that requires root privileges. It boils down to what apps have the permission granted. AFAIK Superuser.apk is not multi account aware? *if I am wrong feel free to correct me*

Multiple accounts are only available on tablets, however cannot confirm either as do not have one. :)

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Tags: root-access, multi-user
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# Question
Title: How to enable debug mode on Sony Xperia V with broken touch screen?
My Sony Xperia V touch screen is broken in the right corner. The rest of the screen doesn't respond, but the LCD works fine.

I need to make a full backup, but I can't activate debug mode. Also, Windows can't see the internal or external memory.

Do I have any other options on retrieving my data?

**UPDATE:** This problem is **SOLVED**. I got debug mode turned on by using a USB (Female) to Micro USB cable (Male). I connected a regular wireless mouse, and moused it through the settings.

# Answer
There are several options available for you.

* Given you have enabled USB debugging, you can use Droid@Screen to view the android screen on your PC and control it. (So you can get backups through the PC)
* You can use an adaptor to control your device using a USB mouse. (So that you can use whatever the app you want to back up your device)
> 0 votes

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Tags: backup, usb-debugging, touchscreen, broken-screen
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# Question
Title: Blocking a call without the calling party knowing it
Most call blocking apps will reject/hang up the calls from blacklisted numbers. But the calling party comes to know that there call was rejected. Is there any way or any app which can really "block" the call (like turning off network connection for few seconds) so that the calling party feels that the phone is either switched off or not reachable.

# Answer
This is a network function and no app will be able to perform the behaviour you're looking for.

At best, you can create a custom "silent" ringtone for a known number. Else, if you'd prefer pressing the volume buttons will usually mute the ringing while giving the dialler the perception that the call remains unanswered.
> 8 votes

# Answer
That would be more of carrier dependent and network related, plus, the programmatic API is not well documented hence a lot of third party call blocking apps, inevitably, *do send a reject/hangup* upon receiving a blacklisted number.

What the OP is asking for, is actually, going down deeper into the nuts and bolts of telephony layer which is blocked off due to:

* proprietary nature of the binary supporting code that enables GSM/CDMA telephony.
* proprietary chipset used for GSM/CDMA communications at a low-level.

If that was available and documented, there would be a lot of call-blocking apps on the Play store, that can do the call-screening in the *proper way* that would be expected of.

# Edit

As an afterthought to this answer, a vital part should be noted - Google blocked the `MODIFY_PHONE_STATE` permission in Gingerbread 2.3.7 onwards (*It was available on earlier versions of Android*), see this Issue which annoyed developers of those third party call blocking software, thus call-block will fail on newer versions of Android, that permission is what enabled third party apps to send a reject/hangup upon receiving said blacklisted number.
> 4 votes

# Answer
I'm not sure about manufacturer skins like Samsung's TouchWiz, but AOSP has the feature you're looking for.

In Google's contacts app, for any contact entry, there is an option to send 'All Calls to Voicemail'. When someone rings you with this enabled, it will ring for 5 to 15 seconds and, of course, go straight to voicemail.

Alternatively, you may want to look at this app. I haven't tested it, so I cannot confirm that the behaviour between the two is identical.
> -1 votes

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Tags: call-screening
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# Question
Title: How to 'Forget' Password to Google account on my Mobile?
On my phone, when I go on the browser to the google homepage it asks you if you want to sign in and when you click sign in it doesn't ask me for my password, it just automatically remembers it now.

I don't really want it to do this, is there any way I can stop it?

I went into the browser setting and disabled "Remember form data" and "Remember passwords" but that still hasn't worked.

I'm usuing a Motorola Razr i

# Answer
> 1 votes
Settings › Privacy and Security › Remember Passwords.

Unchecking this option seems to do the trick.

# Answer
> 0 votes
* Browse to Google's homepage.
* Click on your profile image on top on the page.
* Click on the logout button.
* Don't click on Sign In when it ask you to connect.

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Tags: browser, google-account
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# Question
Title: Can I program Tasker-like programs to do stuff if specific WiFi network is in range?
I'd like to try out Tasker, Llama or some such automated program.

However, I do NOT want to program events based on GPS or other location information (for a variety of reasons not germane to this question).

Is there a way to trigger tasks in Tasker or some equivalent program based on the fact that a WiFi network with a specific SSID (or other signature) is in range or goes out of range?

To clarify: one of the main tasks is to turn on/off my WiFi when I float in/out of the range of known networks. Therefore, merely being in range should be the trigger, NOT connected to the network.

# Answer
> 10 votes
1. In Tasker create a new `State` based context and choose `Net` as state category.
2. Then choose `Wifi Near` as net action:

This will bring a screen where you can input data about the WiFi access point you are interested in. If you are near the desired WiFi access point then you could just press the scan button (the button with lens symbol at left end of the text `SSID`).

This scans the near by access points and lists its details. Simply select the one which you are interested in. Now you are good to go to add an entry task and exit task to whatever you want.

# Answer
> 2 votes
In Short: Both Llama and Tasker have the WiFi Network Connected/Disconnected State where you may trigger tasks/actions. Tasker also has a WiFi Near state so that you do not have to be connected to a network for a task to trigger, whereas Llama does not.

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Tags: wi-fi, tasker, task-management, llama
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# Question
Title: Which app can create a background image without distortions?
My device is a Nexus 7 (2012 edition), running Android 4.3.

I downloaded some nice wallpapers from http://vathanx.deviantart.com/art/Impulso-114624053 and placed them in the SD card. Resolutions are 1920x1200 or 1600x1200.

To set the wallpaper I long-click the background, select Gallery, then the folder & the image & keep the cropping as suggested. However, once this is set, the image is distorted and not smooth. Besides, it seems some color information has been lost as well and the gradients are not smooth anymore.

Screenshot after adding the image (click image for larger variant)

Is there any App which handles this properly? I can accept a little blurriness and reduced colors, but the current result is simply too low quality.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Solved this by installing Image 2 Wallpaper.

One would expect such basic features out of the box..

# Answer
> 2 votes
You may try **Wallpaper Changer** from "j4velin development".

I hope this may do the trick for you. You can also customize the desktop by rotating a bunch of wallpapers. This app automatically adjust the background in the best possible way.
I know you found out your own way. But if you are interested, give it a try via this link

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Tags: nexus-7, 4.3-jelly-bean
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# Question
Title: Wow, my Android OS used 1.75GB in 5 days
I just purchased a samsung galaxy s2 from Virgin Mobile on the 7th of May 2013. Have it activated on the 8th of May 2013. Can anyone tell me why my Android OS would have used up 1.75 GB of data in that amount of time. Not to mention the slow data speeds I am receiving I could barely download anything unless I waited a very long time and had very poor internet connections. was constantly getting webpage not available every time I used the Google search. Have had many conversations with virgin mobile to no avail. Can anyone help or at least explain to me what is happening here?

# Answer
Phones always use more data than normal in the first day or so, particularly if you didn't connect it to wifi while it was being set up.

Things that happen in the first day will be checking for (and downloading and installing) OS updates (which can be large), downloading and installing new apps (some of which could be large), syncing data down from the cloud to apps for the first time, syncing data and apps down from backed up Android data to your device.

You might also want to see these previous questions for more info:
> 3 votes

# Answer
Well, I'm guessing you went to the "Data Usage" option in the Settings Menu in order to find out how much data has been transferred.

If so, this screen will also list each of the applications that participated in that transfer and how much each one has transferred. Look for the one(s) that did most of this huge transfer.

If they're non-standard apps (like Chrome, Maps, etc), disable them: Settings-\>Apps-\>All, click on app, click "Disable" and "Force Stop". Or better yet just uninstall them.

If they are standard apps, but you thing they're doing a lot more transfer than they should (i.e. Chrome transferring 1 gb in one day) you may have some virus or exploit or something like that. In that case you could try one ofthe AV programs:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=Android+Antivirus&hl=en

though I've never tried any of those myself so I can't tell you how good they are. One other way to go in this situation is to wipe out everything (do a factory reset).
> 1 votes

# Answer
I finally found the solution, the problem is from apps running in the background. I'.m using the S4 on Android 4.2.2 This fixed the problem for me Got to SETTINGS\CONNECTIONS\DATA USAGE scroll and you will see all App's running and their offending data usage on the right of the screen. In my case vMYeyePro was using large amounts of background data 1.2gb in a week. Tap on the App scroll to the bottom and you will see RESTRICT BACKGROUND DATA put a tick in this box and Voilà

Jobe done
> 0 votes

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Tags: samsung-galaxy-s-2, data-monitoring
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# Question
Title: Phone frozen for a short time after unplugging from charger
When my screen is off and I unplug my Nexus 4 from the charger, the phone is frozen with the screen off for about 10 seconds. Power/volume buttons have no effect and the phone will not wake.

If the screen is on when I unplug, there is no problem and the phone is responsive. This isn't really a big issue, but I'm just curious as to why it happens and what's going on with my phone during that time. Any ideas?

# Answer
Do you use a nexus 4? This should not be happening with your phone as nexus 4 is quite a fast one. It happens with slow phones especially when you have battery saving apps installed. Try formatting your phone and deleting apps you don't need.
> 0 votes

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Tags: nexus-4
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# Question
Title: How Android Custom Recovery roots the phone?
I rooted my Samsung Galaxy Note n7000. I performed some acrobatics and booted into the Stock Recovery of my phone and installed a zip that contained Philz CWM 6 Touch custom recovery. How can installing a custom recovery ROOT my phone when I have no idea of the root password? How can the said custom recovery even gain access to protected system level stuff without requiring some authentication etc. in the first place?

# Answer
> 2 votes
As davidgo explains, the recovery is like a separate, very simple operating system that your device boots into. When you boot into recovery mode, Android itself isn't running, so none of the OS-level protections like users and file permissions make any difference. However, the recovery mode does have access to the main filesystem of your phone. It's normal for a recovery to mount that filesystem to apply updates, but when you're rooting your phone, the update you supply just writes a suitable `su` binary to the correct place with the necessary permissions (i.e. with the suid bit set). Then, when you reboot into Android, the `su` binary is there and available to use.

If you want to think of it like a PC, it's like booting from a live CD, mounting the root filesystem of the PC, and editing `/etc/sudoers` or `/etc/passwd` to give yourself root access. Of course you can do this from a live CD, because the 'real' operating system on the PC isn't running.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Recovery is not actually booting into Linux, its running BEFORE linux runs and modifying how Linux runs.

\[ I note that "locked boot loaders" prevent you from changing the kernel, luckily you don't have one !\]

I'm not sure on the specifics, but if you can get access to the linux kernel bootup parameters it is always possible to "get root access" - because the linux kernel is what defines and controls root access !!!

# Answer
> -1 votes
The authentication on some android phones occurs at a screen where you type in `fastboot oem unlock` and unlock the phone allowing you to change what your phone will boot into when you load.

The Authentication your referring to isn't seen much anymore. one example would be in the earlier days I had a HTC legend with a signed boot load, this meant that I had to get HTC to sign a rom if I wanted to load it onto my phone. So to bypass this authentication we would load up the HTC update tool on our PC's stop on the screen just before the rom would be loaded onto the phone, go into the temp folder in windows and change the data to the data we wanted to load into our phones and let the HTC software load our content rather then there own.

These days the exploits to bypass authentication are rarely needed as most phones aren't locked.

**EDIT**

Got away from myself there and missed the main point in the title

Q: How Android Custom Recovery roots the phone?

A: It doesn't

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Tags: rooting, recovery-mode
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# Question
Title: What's the native wallpaper resolution of HTC One?
I don't mean 1080p, but actual unscaled image size so when I set the wallpaper to an image with that size, it won't ask me to crop. It will fit without scaling.

# Answer
The screen resolution of the HTC One is 1080 x 1920 pixels. This is also the same resolution when you trigger a screenshot on the phone.
> 0 votes

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Tags: images, htc-one
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title: Adding a thumbnail/icon to a newsletter

text:
# Question
Title: Adding a thumbnail/icon to a newsletter
When you receive an email, you usually get the first letter of the sender as an icon on the left side, right? Well I was wondering how I would be able to change this icon when sending a newsletter (see example below - the newsletter was sent using MailChimp).

# Answer
The images come from your Gmail contacts so you would need to create a contact for the "The Nudge" and assign a picture to it. To easily create a new contact for that email, open it up and click the icon next to the name. You should then be prompted to "Add to contacts?".
> 2 votes

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Tags: email
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title: Camera data of Galaxy S3 for tracking

text:
# Question
Title: Camera data of Galaxy S3 for tracking
I'm trying to make a camera tracking of a video make by my Samsung Galaxy S3 (I9300), but I can't find info about its focal length, sensor size, etc. so the scene and camera match exactly what was used when filming.

I think that maybe ok to use default settings but if some one know what need to be set for the Samsung Galaxy S3 could be very good, so things get more accurate.

# Answer
> 1 votes
According to this thread on Blenderartists, sensor size is 4.54 × 3.42 mm and focal length is 3.7mm, which gives a crop factor of 7.7 and a 35mm-equiv. focal length of 28.5 mm.

Be careful to check if the video is cropped in comparison to the still images, reducing the effective sensor size.

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Tags: camera
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# Question
Title: Swype keyboard does not show, after changing to Swype keyboard and locking screen
Device: Samsung Galaxy Grand
Android: 4.1.2

I downloaded Swype keyboard and selected it for use. After that, I locked my screen and tried to type my password, but the keyboard is not opening. Now, I can't use my phone.

# Answer
> 0 votes
sometimes its happen to me also.But I can deduce that issue can be happen with swype in two cases.

1. if you are running out of RAM then swype will take some time to launch. because as I have seen swype will take more than 30 MB of RAM and it can take more while it have to start.
2. If you have moved your application SD card then it may take some amount of time to launch.

*what actions supposed to do ?* If you are running any kind of task killers , set swype to ignore for killing. keep swype in your Phone memory only.

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Tags: swype
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# Question
Title: Enable dialer autocomplete feature in Android 4.3 on Galaxy Nexus
My phone was upgraded to 4.3, as I see in the Settings.

How can I enable the dialer autocomplete feature in Android 4.3 on Galaxy Nexus? I don't see any `Dialpad autocomplete` in my phone app setting.

# Answer
From mybookofknowledge:

> 1. Go to your Dial Pad and select the Settings options.
> 2. Under the other call settings, you can see the option `Dial pad autocomplete`.
> 3. Enable this option and now you can see suggestions when you dial a phone number.

NOTE: Make sure you are using the stock dialer.
> 2 votes

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Tags: samsung-galaxy-nexus
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# Question
Title: Dialer app becoming too slow and less responsive
It takes almost more than 5-10 seconds to open the dialer application in my phone.

This has been happening for a while now and is especially critical since during incoming calls, when my phone snaps back from standby to show me who is calling, I actually have to wait sometimes more than 10 seconds to see the caller id and its like the phone is stuck during that time.

It has been the case before (stock) and after I've put a custom ROM in my phone. Though I noticed this became more severe after I installed a lot of apps etc.

Since I suspect that this is because of low free RAM (I have a low-end Android phone), I recently installed optimization apps, kept my homescreen free from widgets and running apps etc. and it did help to an extent. However, I feel like it still needs to be lightning fast and always accessible feature like in conventional handsets. **How can I achieve this?** How do I lock the dialer in my RAM or is there some super light dialer apps that can replace this stock dialer?

Also, could it be because I have around 150 Facebook and Google contacts synced in? (I don't think that is a big number)

How about finding a way to turn off the picture data in contacts? Will that reasonably reduce memory footprint?

Very same situation : Can I set it so the "Phone" on my phone takes priority over all other apps? (tried all the answers)

*UPDATE: I found something called "FUSIONboost" on the FUSIONideos custom rom that seems to set the priority of apps or something. This seems to be exactly the solution, but I don't want to switch roms now and would really like if someone can tell me how I can get this..*

# Answer
> 15 votes
This is likely a combination of two things: a) stuff that the dialer has to load on startup and b) possibly shortage of memory (RAM) created by loading those things. The biggest gains are to be had by resolving (a) however, this will also have the side effect of resolving (b)

You might like to try clearing the following:

* Call log - this is loaded each time the dialer is loaded.
* SMS messages - Some users have reported that a large number of SMS messages can cause the dialer to slow down, though I'm sceptical that this makes a difference.
* Contacts - finally, the number of contacts does have a bearing. Not only the ones you can see ("My Contacts"), but anyone you've ever emailed (i.e. Other contacts in GMail contacts).

The last point can be quite important. I have about 130 'real' contacts but nearly 1000 people I've emailed at some point while using GMail. There were all being synced to my phone, just not always shown.

It is important to make the distinction between RAM and persistent storage. For example, clearing out your trash, deleting emails, uninstalling unused apps, or moving them to SD storage is unlikely to help, because these are using up persistent storage, not transient RAM.

Having lots of persistence storage free means just that apps can't use it to run any faster. RAM, however, can make them fly.

You might also like to take a look at Superdial and Dialer One, two dialers that I've found most agreeable. They also have T9 contact lookup, which can be a dream to use.

# Answer
> 5 votes
I experienced a similar situation with my Samsung Galaxy GT-i5700 (SPICA), and I got up to a very weird solution to this:
It seems that the huge number of SMS was causing the mobile to further slow down (apart from the large number of apps in the device). I then deleted many of the messages, and there was a significant improvement in the dialer operating speeds.
I don't know whether the same thing would work for you, it's only a loophole I discovered on my mobile (Fact: Samsung SPICA can only accomodate up to 2000 SMS). I can only say you can give it a try (of course, this stands true only if you have many SMS stored on your device).

I don't have answers for the other factors.

# Answer
> 4 votes
Slowdowns like this on phones older than 1 year old are most likely a side affect of memory shortages. To check to see if this is the issue, go to the Android settings and look at SD card & Phone Storage. The last item, "Available Space" should be 17 Mb or more.

If you are using the Email app (NOT Gmail) then you should check your trash folder. In mail, hit Menu, then choose Folders and scroll down to Trash. Email NEVER empties the trash folder, even if you have deleted hundreds of messages. You will either have to delete them manually or delete and re-create the account.

Sometimes the browser builds up a large set of data. You can go into browser settings and hit Clear Cache. But there seems to be even more data associated with the browser. It is easiest to go to the overall Settings, Applications, Manage Applications, then choose the All tab and find Browser and tap on it. Then click on the action to Clear Data. This will delete your bookmarks as well so you should make note of them first.

Finally, you may have background tasks that are hogging the phone's CPU time. You can get an app like Advanced Task Killer (free version avail.) that will periodically kill off any apps that you don't want. For instance, the Skype and Backup apps on Verizon phones run in background all the time but are generally not needed.

# Answer
> 3 votes
I had similar problem, though we cannot completely rectify this we can reduce the startup time by these approaches,

1. Contacts -\> More -\> Check 'Only contacts with phones', select only required groups in the bottom groups, better u can create a starred group and select it.
2. Use 3rd party Contacts app like Go Contacts - https://market.android.com/details?id=com.jbapps.contact to view the complete list of contacts
3. Never press back button to exit the dialer, use home button to exit dialer, pressing back will kill the dialer activity

you can also try Go Dialer or https://market.android.com/details?id=kz.mek.DialerOne&hl=en

# Answer
> 1 votes
I agree that this is a memory issue. I've had times with my previous phone in which my phone froze as soon as it turned on because of memory issues. If you have Froyo or above, move as many of your big apps as you can to the sd card. If you have already done this, uninstall apps to free up memory. Morris suggested 17MB. This sounds small to me, and I think the actual number depends on which version of Android you have and what types of apps you use.

# Answer
> 0 votes
You could attempt a factory reset, but like you said you do not want to wipe data. Do not use task killers either they will bog your phone down a great amount. Also check to see what apps are using a lot of RAM. Go to manage applications and view running applications.

# Answer
> -1 votes
try this low-end dialer app, http://www.appstorehq.com/dialerone-android-155708/app

gingerbread update has been officially available for Huawei IDEOS now, try that !

# Answer
> -2 votes
If you have installed any call blocking apps, uninstall and see if you get an improvement. (It worked for me.)

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Tags: performance, phone-app
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# Question
Title: What Could Cause System Apps to Run that Are Not Used
When testing a widget I created, I wanted to make sure that it uses as little CPU power as possible. After some research I downloaded Watchdog to use as a monitoring tool, which works great. When I finished my testing I set the CPU threshold at 10%, just curious to see what process would randomly go above that level. One that exceeds the 10% threshold on a daily basis, at least a couple times a day, is **`com.motorola.Dlna`**.

I know what DLNA is, what it's used for, and how to set it up but I don't use it, nor do I have it set up on my phone. I spoke with a Motorola support analyst and asked why it would be running. The response I got was "it's possible you could have set it up without knowing it, maybe by an application that you downloaded but it's nothing to worry about".

Needless to say the answer I got wasn't very helpful so I'm really just wondering what would cause this service to use so much CPU power randomly? Most of the time it's not being used, but when it is, it shows that it's using usually between 12.5% - 15% CPU power. Do applications really access/use this service without me ever actually going through and setting it up?

# Answer
> 1 votes
You might want to use some package inspector like e.g. App Detective to see what receivers the app in question has set up. Most likely it's acting on some broadcast, such as e.g. "sdcard mounted", to check for media, or "network changed" to check for other DLNA services.

If your device is rooted, you might be interested in apps like ROM Toolbox or Autorun Manager, which allow you to disable selected receivers, or even freeze the entire app. Without root, you can try whether that app can be disabled in *Settings → Apps*. It's either running for nothing or (these days it's no longer called "paranoia") working for somebody else, if you don't use it yourself.

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Tags: motorola-droid-razr, dlna, system-apps
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# Question
Title: Open source driver availability for main Android GPUs?
What are the current GPUs with fully open-sourced drivers on Android? There's been issues recently with Qualcomm's GPU in the new Nexus 7, which makes me wonder how strict are the rules for open-sourcing *all* the code for a working Android device, including the GPU drivers.

# Answer
Broadcom, Qualcomm, Imagination's PowerVR, Nvidia's Tegra, and ARM's Mali GPUs all have partially (mostly) closed-source drivers. In general, the only open-source code in the driver is any vendor extension to the GL and EGL header files, and a GPL'ed *shim* that can be loaded into the kernel to allow it to communicate with the binary-only driver. Vendors often contribute related code to upstream projects, though, such as X Windows direct rendering code, or the Android graphics subsystem.

Most of the GPU vendors are afraid that open-sourcing their drivers will reveal details of how their technology works, which will provide leverage for patent trolls to make spurious claims that parts of the GPUs or drivers infringe their patents. For this reason, it's unlikely that any drivers will be open-sourced fully unless/until this risk changes.

There are *no* rules for open-sourcing all the code for an Android device. It would be very difficult to make a completely open-source device. Even if GPU drivers were open, most (if not all) cell radios have binary-only firmware for regulatory reasons: if you could change the drivers, you could make them run on illegal channels, or exceed the maximum permitted transmit power.
> 6 votes

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Tags: open-source, gpu
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# Question
Title: How do i make a new photo album on my HTC Hero S
I have Astro File Manager, but i still cant figure out how to create a new album in my Gallery. If there is any way, can someone please help me out?

# Answer
Just create a new folder, and put some pictures in it. The Gallery app will detect and show that folder automatically.
> 0 votes

# Answer
If you have a folder with a bunch of images you surely do have albums in your phone.

Astro is a file manager (it focuzes on managing files,not on the aesthetics of the gallary); Gallery (default gallery app) would do the task.

but if you like, you can always try a light weight photo Gallery app **QuickPic** via this link to arrange your albums nicely.
> 0 votes

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Tags: photos, gallery, htc-hero
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# Question
Title: What should I do before sending my bricked phone to repair?
There are similar questions here, but this one is about a phone that doesn't turn on. I can't reset to factory.

What should I do? Change my Google password? What information will the technician have access to?

# Answer
> 1 votes
You might want remove the external sd card before giving the handset.
It's safe to change your google account password associated with that phone.
Basically what they try to do IS a factory reset, in which case, you shouldn't be worried about the stuff on your phone.

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Tags: privacy, maintenance
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# Question
Title: Get common name of an app given its package name
I'm interested in a way to go from the package name (e.g. `com.android.providers.telephony`) to its common name (*Phone*).

I'd like to know if there's ADB/shell command (from the phone), or any system/preinstalled app.

I know that a bunch of apps reveal both once you could pin the app in it. – In Android 4.x (tried with 4.2.2) you can even use the system app manager to confirm the package name once you found and selected the app via the common name.

# Answer
If you haven't given up on Android apps yet, you can use Titanium Backup. It lets you search either by app name or package name.

Screenshot of *Titanium Backup* (click image for larger variant)
> 0 votes

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Tags: applications, adb, command-line
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# Question
Title: A3000 chinese mobile - Dual-SIM or Dual-GSM support since Android 2.2 (again?)
My question topic is Android support for dual SIM hardware. More specifically I'd like to find out if it's the Android 2.2 release that added support for real dual SIM and dual GSM support, and to which extend both cards are online or usable as data channel.

A question about https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/865/dual-sim-android-phone already came up here, but it didn't investigate the issue completely. And the mentioned mobile (Tiger G3) was also most likely incorrectly reported as Android phone. From all pictures I've seen it's a regular chinese MTK/NucleuOS phone.

I want to base my question on the STAR A3000 as hardware example. It's verified that it is really running Android, and dual SIM capabilities seem very plausible:
http://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=A3000
I'm linking to a search listing and not a shop or review directly to avoid the impression of spamvertizing. It's also a more long-lived link that way. But foremost I want to highlight that there are two hardware versions. The original A3000 runs Android 2.1 and offers no dual SIM capabilities. All newer listings advertise both Android 2.2 and dual SIM support.

The trouble with chinese mobiles and resellers is that not all details are super reliable. You'll have to cross check multiple sources, and better assume the lowest common denominator. In the above shop search some Android 2.2 dual sim A3000s are for example still depicted with the original hardware version. I've seen a few images (and there's a youtube video) with the dual sim slots, so I presume this verified. There's also a rumor (on dealextreme) that both hardware versions are identical and there's just a black cover above the second sim slot for the first version (looks plausible from pictures). So that's why I assume that Android 2.1 didn't support such features, and the Android 2.2 kernel maybe introduced it.

The hardware in this phone most likely supports not only dual SIM, but dual GSM. This means that both SIM cards are connected the whole time, to two different networks. All previous MTK chips and mobiles support that.
However I've seen one picture of the A3000 Android 2.2.1 version which shows a configuration screen with an option along the lines "\[x\] Select SIM card at bootup". This would suggest that it's not a real dual-GSM setup, but just dual-SIM - which only allows switching. Yet *all* the listings from my first link suggest that the phone and Android is "dual sim dual standby". So I'm confused.

Back to the question: Did Android 2.2 introduce proper support for dual-GSM? I know none of the big brand vendors supports anything like that, so it must be a fringe feature, maybe not even in the OHA documentation. Any chance something like this was mentioned in some sort of release notes? (Really I have no clue, no Android phone yet, still gauging.)

My main interest is keeping my main phone number, and using a secondary SIM and contract for data connnections preferrably. Or the other way round.

---

Another note. I know there was also the General Mobile DSTL1 once, which was the first (and for a long time only) Android 1.5/1.6 phone to advertise dual-SIM. I don't know to which extend it supported real dual-GSM functionality. But it's interesting that old Android versions allowed it. So I'll extend my question into why no Android 2.0 and 2.1 phones with dual-sim existed. Did the feature possibly come and go twice in Androids lifetime?

# Answer
A3000 is a real dual standby Android phone. It allows selecting a SIM when you call or send an SMS. And also you receive calls to any SIM. When you talk to one SIM, the second shows busy too. I've just got this phone (this morning) from alibaba.com and now I'm testing it. Hello from Siberia :)
> 4 votes

# Answer
I have it for a week, and I believe I have managed to test most of its functions. WiFi works, BT works, bouth sims works perfectly, camera 2.0Mpix, flash works, market works, better to charge in external charger because small nokia or usb cable (samsung) not always works. g sensors works (labyrinth). too slow for abduction or NFS. you can chose use gprs from sim1, sim2 ar non of them. without microSD it is useless. TV (analog) works. generay its too slow for games, but seems a good phone.
> 2 votes

# Answer
No, there's still no dual-SIM or multi-SIM support in Android itself. There's nothing to stop manufacturers extending their ROM to support two or more SIM cards, and several have done this. There are some phones where you have to reboot to switch SIMs, like in the old days with dumbphones, and some phones, such as this one, where you can actually be on standby on two networks at once.

The only limitation is that third-party apps (such as dialers you download from Google Play) can only see one of the SIM cards - because that's all the standard Android framework can expose.
> 2 votes

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Tags: dual-sim
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# Question
Title: What's the secret behind super durability of latest ADW Launcher EX?
Update of ADW Launcher EX is back again after a long time. It brings lot of visual tweaks as well as performance boosts. After few days of experience, I have encountered one even more interesting thing: I am unable to kill it by increasing system load (which is a very good thing).

When foreground apps are launched, Android kills background apps based on `minfree` values. The apps having running services and notification get higher priority than normal background apps, but get lesser priority than foreground apps.

Latest version of ADW Launcher EX has a running service (but no higher priority running notification) which is same as old versions and other launcher apps. I have used Go Launcher EX, LauncherPro, old version of ADW Launcher EX etc. All get killed when heavy foreground apps are launched, but latest version of ADW Launcher EX isn't getting killed. Instead, foreground apps are being killed when system load is high.

Previously, hot reboot was also able to kill ADW Launcher EX, but now even that one fails.

What's the magic behind all these? I am just curious...

# Answer
Apps can obtain higher privileges. For example 3G watchdog (a data usage monitoring app) requests users for higher privileges so that it cannot be killed. It may be the same case with ADW launcher.
> -1 votes

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Tags: adw-launcher-ex
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# Question
Title: Latest version of Play app on Android 2.1
I've got a device (HTC Magic) with Android 2.1 (rooted, with CyanogenMod). It has Google Market app v2.23.6 - pretty old. I wonder, what's the latest version of Play that runs on Android 2.1?

In the past, this device once had trouble with updating the Market. I wonder if this is the same trouble all over again, or Market 2.23.6 is the latest I'm going to ever get?

EDIT: more about upgrading Market to Play here.

The app still calls itself Market, not Play. This might be relevant; probably Market-\>Play transition changes the package ID or something.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Have Froyo here running on Samsung Europa, latest version on this is, 4.1.6.

Perhaps you need to let the old Market run for a bit, then back out of it, it should auto-upgrade itself, *provided* you have a valid account and signed in.

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Tags: google-play-store, 2.1-eclair, google-apps
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title: No contacts showing in list in messages

text:
# Question
Title: No contacts showing in list in messages
I have just purchased a Galaxy s4 mini and I can see all my contacts in the contacts list but when I want to send a message and add a recipient the contact list is empty. How can I fix this?

# Answer
you may try any custom contacts/messaging app. if you like you could try contacts + , which can also be used for texting.
> 0 votes

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Tags: contacts
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title: Rooting Development Device

text:
# Question
Title: Rooting Development Device
Is it wise to root my Android phone used for development? Can the device become somewhat unstable which will affect the debugging process when building apps for my phone?

I have a Galaxy Mega and I'd like to Root the device by using only the most essential utilities that I need (USB Mass Storage, SetCPU, CWM).

I am also wondering if I can apply the usual Samsung Rom Updates by Using CWM and keeping Root, without bricking my device.

# Answer
Rooting your phone won't in itself make it unstable. It just gives you the opportunity to make it unstable later, by installing apps that interfere with normal system operations, or changing settings that aren't available to end users. If you trust yourself to use root access sensibly, then rooting won't interfere with your development.
> 1 votes

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Tags: updates, root-access, samsung
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title: Android versions without DRM?

text:
# Question
Title: Android versions without DRM?
Since smartphones have become "the thing", it has somehow been decided that locking your phone to a particular primary e-mail address and having DRM is "okay". Android, despite being open-source, is somehow not the exception.

Since Android IS open-source however, it would seem that a developer would be able to customize it to remove the primary-email restriction on the phone and to unlock all purchased applications to be available to whomever is using the phone at the time, only requiring a sign-in to purchase new applications or when using certain applications.

I don't currently use Android, and bought a Windows 7 Phone only to find that it does the exact same thing as Android (and most other phone operating systems) Are there any Android projects that are attempting to move Android towards a DRM-less environment?

# Answer
Paid Apps are tied to an Google account. But this is because of the Google Framework and not because of Android. No one needs to "remove DRM from Android" because there is no DRM within Android. Only support for it. If you install free (as in beer) Apps, everyone can use them.

There is only one imitative that goes one step further then being DRM-less: Android FOSS Apps @ http://f-droid.org/
> 8 votes

# Answer
Strictly speaking, you don't **have** to use Google's services if you don't want to.

Newer Android OS versions (2.3 and above, if I'm not mistaken) allow you to bypass the initial sign-in with a Gmail/Google account. You lose the synchronization with Google's services, but otherwise the phone will be functional. You can then use other services (e.g. Amazon, GetJar, SlideMe, etc.) or simply side-load apps directly to your device if you can get them from other sources.
> 6 votes

# Answer
There is an alternative to the AOSP/CM which frees you of any closed source versions of Android along with @Chahk's answer called Replicant.

And it incorporates F-Droid into it as in, free open source software without DRM.

It would be quite easy to port to a device that has a known working CyanogenMod device tree for the said device in question.
> 1 votes

# Answer
Android has a built-in DRM framework from multiple companies aligned under the Open Mobile Alliance.

Your phone is bloated with:

* Widevine DRM framework
* Microsoft Dx DRM framework
* Open Mobile Alliance DRM framework
> -3 votes

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Tags: open-source, drm
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title: Offline Voice search on ICS?

text:
# Question
Title: Offline Voice search on ICS?
I have an Samsung Galaxy Exhilarate, with 4.0.4 operating system. Is there a way to get offline voice search for Ice Cream Sandwhich or below?

# Answer
> 3 votes
Unfortunately, offline voice recognition is only available for devices running Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) and above - anything below that will not receive support. There is, however, another hidden requirement - your device must have a sufficient amount of RAM in order to be able to download the Offline Voice Recognition files from Google. My Incredible S is running 4.2.2 and with 572 MBs of RAM I do not see the option.

Should you receive an upgrade to 4.1+ (by root or other means), you may go to `Language and Input` in Settings and select `Download offline speech recognition` under `Voice Search`.

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Tags: voice-command, offline
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# Question
Title: Where is the permissions tab in Google play?
About 1 month ago Google change the layout on the Play store, at least on the web part. My question is simple. Is there any way to see what permissions an application have from a computer? You can see the permissions right before you install the app in the phone, but that isn't that effective.

Thanks in advance!

# Answer
> 1 votes
When you click `Install` to install the application (on the web or on the phone), you will notice a pop-up that says what permissions the app has and if you want to continue or not.

If the app is already installed, click on the `Installed` button and the permissions will appear.

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Tags: google-play-store, permissions
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# Question
Title: How can I copy media files to my phone without adding them to the gallery?
I keep my media files (such as music) on my home server. When I add a new album to the home server, and want to copy it to my **Android 4.0.4** phone, I use a Samba client (such as AndSMB or X-plore) to copy the files to the phone. So far, so good.

The problem is that the images in subdirectories that I copy over (such as album art) automatically get added to the gallery during the copy, although the root directory I'm copying into has a `.nomedia` file in it. If I start the copy, then check the Gallery app mid-copy, I see the images start to appear before I run any other apps.

I don't want the images to appear in the gallery.

If I "clear data" for the Media Storage app, then reboot, the gallery is rebuilt without the album art images, so the `.nomedia` file does seem to be doing its job some of the time.

**Is there a way I can copy media files to my phone over a network, without them automatically getting added to the gallery?**

Clearing the data in Media Storage and rebooting the phone works, but is tiresome and has other unwanted side effects like resetting my ringtones.

# Answer
> 1 votes
> Is there a way I can copy media files to my phone over a network, without them automatically getting added to the gallery?

I don't think it's possible.

After some googling I found this info:

1) Hide Album Art from Gallery

And the provided solution:

> I have all of my photos named folder.jpg/jpeg (I forget which extension) and they don't show up in the gallery.

2) \[HOWTO\] Make gallery remove album covers

> So I did this:
>
> 1. Add .nomedia in my music directory, eg. "Music" (only on top directory).
> 2. Rename "Music" directory to "Musicc"
> 3. Run Gallery, exit.
> 4. Rename "Musicc" back to "Music"
> 5. Run gallery and thebthumbnails no longer appear.
>
> Also works with other directories that has thumbnails in gallery and adding .nomedia later. In my case the thumbs are still displayed.

Also take a look at this post:

How to Exclude Unwanted Images from Phone Gallery on Android

> Gallery Excluder is a dedicated Android application which removes the folders that you want to exclude its showing in the default Android stock version. This application is quite simple and does the job what it says with the application name. So if you have folders which you don’t wants to show it on your Gallery then install this application, select the folder which you want to show and done.

# Answer
> 1 votes
It seems that copying with X-Plore causes this issue... It makes the phone re-scan the SD card, but also seems to alert it of the fact there has been a file copied. I'm unfamiliar with what's going on in the background, but I do know this;

Copying a picture to a folder with a .nomedia file, with X-Plore, causes the image to show in the gallery.

Copying with IO File Manager, does NOT cause this issue on my phone.

Figured this might help someone.

# Answer
> 0 votes
When it looked like there was no good way to prevent these images from appearing in my gallery in the first place, I started looking for a better way to remove them once they got there.

I tried unmounting and remounting the SD card, but this alone did not remove the images from the gallery.

What did work was unmounting and remounting the SD card, then running the SDRescan app. After running it, the images in subdirectories of the folder with the `.nomedia` file disappeared from the gallery, without me needing to reboot.

I found a few other apps that seem to do the same thing: Rescan Media, SDSync, and Media Scanner. Those might work too.

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Tags: networking, gallery, media-files
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title: Backup Possibility?

text:
# Question
Title: Backup Possibility?
Although I am fairly technically proficient, I am very new to Android, having only very recently purchased my first Android device, the Galaxy S4 phone, T-Mobile USA version, latest stock ROM.

I should mention that I have no interest in backing up the PIM data, as I have a Microsoft Exchange account through work, and have all my contacts, calendar, etc. on Exchange, and could easily re-sync it if lost on the phone. Of course also that Exchange e-mail account, but also have other personal IMAP e-mail accounts, which could also be re-synced. However, important for me to back up device settings, app settings, etc., as that could take many hours to re-configure if lost.

There seem to be various backup apps available, although some only work if the device is rooted. I have used Helium, and also Samsung Kies.

I am wondering, however, if the following would work:

What if, with a file explorer, either on the phone or on the desktop (with phone connected via USB and all files showing on the desktop computer), with the file explorer set to show all files--hidden, system, etc., show extensions, etc., one just copied everything in the phone's internal memory to a folder on the memory card? (And of course one could then copy that folder to a PC as well.) Would that folder have all the settings, etc., in it? If the phone crashed and lost all its data, but the memory card was still good (or if not,m and one saved the folder to an external computer), could one then restore the system to how it was by copying all the files in that folder back to the phone's internal memory?

Of course, one could save space by compressing that folder into a .zip, .rar, .7z, or other compressed file.

However, I have no idea whether saving all the files in internal memory (with the file explorer set to show everything) to the memory card or PC would really save all settings, etc., to be able to restore it to the state when one did that if need be.

Does anyone here know if that would work?

Thanks in advance for your response.

# Answer
Operation system has different processes constantly being loaded in and out of memory and constantly changing states. It's complex than just the collection of files and folders. So, if you want to copy everything and restore everything just using file browser, it would be impossible. To save app data only, you can use titanium backup but you need root permissions.
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Tags: backup
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