# Question
Title: I installed another SMS application, now I get notified twice
I have a Google Nexus One with Android 2.2. I didn't like the default SMS-application so I installed Handcent-SMS. Now when I get an SMS, I get notified twice. How can I fix this?

# Answer
> 19 votes
You can turn off notification in your stock Messaging application by going into the settings dialog (Menu button -\> Settings) and unchecking Notifications

# Answer
> 6 votes
The clearest answer I've seen is here: http://www.droidforums.net/forum/droid-applications/8328-how-guide-disable-double-notifications-when-using-handcent-sms.html

Quoting:

1. Open the "messaging" from the app drawer
2. Push the "menu" button(the 2nd button from left on the bottom of your Droid
3. Click SETTINGS
4. Scroll down and UNCHECK "Notifications"
5. To futher disable the mssaging app you can UNCHECK " Auto-Retrieve"(this prevents the "Messaging" App from even downloading messages.
6. Exit the app. Rejoice. Live long and Prosper. Yay!

# Answer
> 2 votes
Open the default messaging application, click the menu button and then Settings. Scroll down and disable **Notifications**.

---
Tags: 2.2-froyo, sms, notifications, handcent-sms
---


# Question
Title: How do I stop from getting notified twice when I get a text to my Google Voice number?
When I receive a text message to my Google voice number, I get a notification from my text application, as well as the Google Voice application. It would seem that the message is being forwarded to my cell number, but I've turned off text forwarding in the Voicemail & Text settings. Is there another setting that I am missing?

# Answer
From Google Voice settings (on the web, not the phone app), under phones, select your mobile number, and Edit. Uncheck "Receive SMS on this phone"
> 5 votes

# Answer
Make sure you have updated to the latest version of the Google Voice application in the Market. Then open the app on your phone.

Go to: Settings \> Sync and notifications. Uncheck the "Notifications via text message" box. Back all the way out, and just for good measure, reboot your phone.
> 3 votes

---
Tags: sms, notifications, google-voice
---


# Question
Title: Clock Replacements for Motorola Droid Docking Station
I have a Motorola Droid (v1) and a docking station. When the phone is docked, it automatically runs the Clock app, which isn't very configurable. Are there any alternatives to the Clock app, or is there any way to configure the phone to run a different app while docked?

# Answer
> 4 votes
After you install an app that takes over the Dock intent it will ask which one you wish to use as default.

The one I use is called Gentle Alarm which has a nice Dock display and some additional alarm features. It is however a paid app. I know there are several free apps out there as well.

---
Tags: 2.2-froyo, motorola-droid, clock, docking-station
---


# Question
Title: Where to find an original Android image?
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> Where can I find stock or custom ROMs for my Android device?

I have found many custom ROMs for download. But now I want to use the official ROM for my phone. Is there any way to do it without a NAndroid backup?

# Answer
Download ROM Manager and go to the "Stock Images" section of "Download ROMs".

You should always do a Nandroid backup when messing with system files. There's always a risk of something going wrong. Also when installing new ROMs (whether custom or stock), it's recommended that you do a clean wipe of the system before installing.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: custom-roms, nexus-one
---


title: How do I uninstall an application?

text:
# Question
Title: How do I uninstall an application?
If I want to completely uninstall an application from the home screen or list of applications; how do I do it?

# Answer
> 13 votes
You can uninstall an application from the Market or from the Manage Applications settings screen.

From Marketplace:

1. Start the Market app.
2. Hit the menu button and select Downloads.
3. Find the app you want to uninstall and select it.
4. Hit the Uninstall button at the bottom.

From Manage Applications:

1. From your Home screen hit the menu button and select Settings.
2. Select "Applications"
3. Select "Manage Applications"
4. Find the app you want to uninstall and select it.
5. Hit the Uninstall button at the top.

**EDIT:** I wanted to add a 3rd method that Rohan Singh had in his answer.

From your Home screen:

1. Tap and hold on the icon of the application you want to uninstall.
2. When the trash can appears near the bottom center of the screen, drag and hold the icon there.
3. After the tap & hold / drag & hold some text will appear indicating that you can uninstall by dropping the application's icon on the trash can.
4. Release your finger over the trash can and you'll be taken to the same uninstall screen you can get to through Manage Applications in your Settings.

# Answer
> 4 votes
Go to settings-\>Applications-\>Manage applications

Select the application you want to remove.

Click uninstall.

Not all applications may be removed (some are locked down by your carrier / phone vendor).

# Answer
> 4 votes
A quick, easy way to uninstall an application is to hold down on its icon, and then drag it to the trash can at the bottom of the screen like you would if you were removing a shortcut from your home screen. However, hold the icon over the trash can for a few seconds until "Drop to uninstall" appears.

# Answer
> 3 votes
By using adb from command line:

```
adb uninstall <package name to uninstall>

```

---
Tags: applications, uninstallation
---


# Question
Title: How to remove pre-installed apps like Peep and Friend Stream from my HTC phone?
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> How can I uninstall applications that are locked by phone vendor?

Is there an easy way to remove pre-installed apps on my HTC Droid Incredible?

* Amazon MP3
* Car Panel
* City ID
* Footprints
* Friend Stream
* Skype mobile
* Stocks
* Teeter
* VZ Navigator

Are there risks involved in removing them, such as a voided warranty?

Thanks.

# Answer
> 1 votes
You can only fully uninstall pre-installed applications by using ADB. You need to find out what the package name is for the specific app, and enter this in the ADB prompt:

```
adb uninstall <package.name>

```

For example, to remove the Maps application:

```
adb uninstall com.google.android.apps.maps

```

So far I haven't found an easy way to figure out the package name for an app though.

---
Tags: htc-droid-incredible, uninstallation
---


# Question
Title: How do you remove pre-installed apps on a rooted phone?
I have a rooted Nexus One and want to remove some of the pre-installed applications, like Amazon MP3, for example.

What is the best way to do this?

# Answer
> 5 votes
Check out the "Barebones" page in CyanogenMod's wiki.

---
Tags: nexus-one, root-access, bloatware
---


# Question
Title: How can I change the default search box to use another browser?
I've installed Dolphin which I love, but the search box on the homepage always defaults to the regular browser. I'd prefer it just go into Dolphin right away..how can I do this?

# Answer
> 5 votes
In settings, goto applications \> internet \> clear defaults. Next time you perform a search it should ask you which you would like to use and simply select dolphin.

---
Tags: browser
---


# Question
Title: How do I share my wifi with my ipod or netbook
If my home network is down or if I am traveling, how do I use my phone to access the internet. Basically how would I tether it to my other devices.

# Answer
If you have Android 2.2, the functionality is built in so there usually is no need to install a separate app. Just go to: Settings \> Wireless & networks \> Tethering & portable hotspot.

However, depending on your phone, it is possible that your carrier has locked down this functionality. If this is the case, you can either root your phone and install a clean Android 2.2 such as Cyanogenmod, or you can call your carrier and pay their fee to enable it.
> 5 votes

# Answer
Unless you are paying for the service from your carrier, you can root your phone and install a tethering app from here. If you would rather not root your phone, you could go with PdaNet from the Market.
> 3 votes

---
Tags: 2.2-froyo, wi-fi, tethering
---


# Question
Title: Running an over/under-clocking app without rooting
Can it be done? I'd like to be able to set clock limits based on a number of conditions, such as battery temperature, charging/not charging, and what radios are turned on. I'm aware that there are apps for rooted phones that will allow me to do this, but I'm wondering if there are any that don't need my phone to be rooted.

# Answer
Sorry, but this simply isn't possible. You have to have administrator access to your phone to control the processor's speed.
> 4 votes

---
Tags: clock-speed
---


# Question
Title: Can I Theme the Messaging app's interface?
When my Droid updated to Android 2.2 the Messaging app changed to a very light colored interface and I can't find any settings that allow me to change it back to the light text on dark background theme. Is there any way to do this?

# Answer
No. There are alternative, customisable SMS apps though, like ChompSMS or Handcent SMS.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: sms
---


# Question
Title: How do I change the home screen's Email icon to go to GMail instead of the default Email app on the Samsung Galaxy S?
On the bottom of the home screen there is an icon for EMail. I don't ever want to use the default Email app. I only use GMail and would rather use the Google GMail app. How do I change where the icon goes and how do I remove/disable the other app?

at&t Captivate (Galaxy S)

Android 2.1

# Answer
> 14 votes
click "applications", click menu button, click "edit". You should now be able to drag the email icon away. Then just replace it with the gmail icon by dragging it to its place.

The other way is to configure the mail application to connect to gmail with imap or pop, but I wouldn't recommend it since gmail app is much better.

Hope this helps!

---
Tags: att, samsung-galaxy-s, email, gmail, home-screen
---


title: How do I reset the launcher app?

text:
# Question
Title: How do I reset the launcher app?
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> I checked 'use as default' when choosing the default launcher, but now I can't start ADW.Launcher any more

I've installed and set up LauncherPro as a replacement launcher app. How do I reset the phone to use the Android default launcher app?

# Answer
> 10 votes
Go into your Settings -\> Applications -\> Manage Applications. Find Launcher Pro and select it. Hit the button that says Clear Defaults.

# Answer
> 3 votes
Go to settings, applications, manage applications, LauncherPro and click "Clear Defaults"

---
Tags: launcher
---


title: How to undo Apps2SD

text:
# Question
Title: How to undo Apps2SD
I have a G1 phone. I made a partition to install applications on the SD Card using Apps2SD. But I don't like it, I'd like to decouple the specific SD Card from being a requirement to using the phone.

How do I undo Apps2SD? I'd like to have Apps only on the phone now.

# Answer
> 3 votes
Apps2SD may be able to do this, but I haven't looked too closely. The long way to do it would be to go through Settings-\>Applications-\>Manage Applications and then manually move everything back to the phone.

==ADDENDUM==

ApptoSD doesn't give you the nice "Move all to Phone" like it does for move to SD, but it does list everything on the SD card. There is also a "On SD" tab in the Manage Applications settings so you don't have to go through each and every app.

---
Tags: sd-card, app2sd
---


# Question
Title: Why does my Milestone Droid erroneously report a drained battery once every few weeks?
Every so often, my phone (Motorola Milestone, firmware 2.1-update1) decides that the battery is almost drained and that I have to turn the phone off. This may happen just a few hours after charging it, and a subsequent restart confirms that yes, the battery does still have a charge, still at 70-80% capacity.

This tends to happen every few weeks, and it's been happening basically ever since I bought the phone a few months ago, so I'm pretty sure it's not a charge memory issue, especially when combined with the fact that the problem is intermittent and very infrequent.

Does anyone know why this might happen, and what I could do to fix it?

# Answer
I saw this exact same issue on my Motorol DROID v1 (same hardware I believe). With Android 2.0, 2.1, and 2.1 update 1 my phone would sometimes report the battery completely drained just a few minutes after unplugging it. I have not seen this issue again since the 2.2 update. Before the update the way I would get the phone to display the proper charge level was to plug in the USB charger for just a moment. As soon as the phone saw that it was charging the charge level immediately displayed correctly.
> 1 votes

# Answer
Some custom recovery images have a command to clear the battery cache, this has fixed similar problems on different phones for me.
> 1 votes

# Answer
Although not generally recommended for Li-ion batteries, I believe a full discharge and recharge cycle will also clear these statistics.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: battery, motorola-milestone
---


title: How do I get to Alarms?

text:
# Question
Title: How do I get to Alarms?
I know I can get to alarm setup through the Clock app, but I swear this used to be a separate app. How do you get directly to the Alarms app?

# Answer
> 2 votes
Quick look around shows that the Alarm function is most definitely part of the Clock app.

# Answer
> 2 votes
I know that with LauncherPro you can set up "actions" as shortcuts, rather than directly to apps. You might be able to create a shortcut directly to the Alarm app.

There are probably other apps out there that do this. I would be interested in the answer, as I have a similar gripe about all of the "sub apps" included with the Clock app.

# Answer
> 1 votes
I set my alarms by tapping the Current Time on Beautiful Widgets. The "Beautiful Smaller Home Weather" widget takes up 4 slots on the home-screen but allows short-cuts to 3 actions: Set Alarms, Calendar, and Weather Forecast. The widget also lets you see the Current Time, Today's Date, and Current Weather with a glance at your home-screen.

Beautiful Widgets has a 4.5 star rating from 22k+ ratings. It costs ~$2 but I am not alone in saying that it is worth the price.

# Answer
> 0 votes
On my Droid X, there was an app preinstalled called "Alarm & Timer". That's what I've been using for alarms. Not sure if this is the same thing you are talking about though.

Which verison of the OS are you running? My Droid X is still on 2.1.

---
Tags: alarm
---


# Question
Title: How can I disable popup-SMS notifications (2.2 Froyo, HTC Evo)?
I have the HTC evo, and I need to disable the popup SMS notifications. I have the stock notification app and chompsms. I disabled all notifications from stock, and chomp has no option for popups (even when disabled this happens). Basically every SMS = a popup stating that heres your message, what to do: Done, Reply, etc. I would really rather it be a notification on the bar and not a popup.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Nevermind. This was a "quick reply" feature of chompsms. Wow. That was hard to find. Guess will accept this in 2 days.

---
Tags: sms, notifications
---


title: Cell standby and Phone idle

text:
# Question
Title: Cell standby and Phone idle
On the battery use screen, what are the differences between Cell standby and Phone idle items?

# Answer
> 5 votes
I think "phone idle" just means general power use from the phone being on (listening for user activation, waiting for scheduled app actions, basic memory and CPU "being on" stuff etc.) whereas "cell standby" is about keeping the phone active on the cell network (brief signals back and forth with cell towers alerting them of your presence, listening for calls or SMS).

---
Tags: battery
---


# Question
Title: Is there a way to customize keyboard settings?
On my Samsung Captivate (AT&T) they have (for no reason that I can fathom) split the voice command key out of the Swype keyboard. So, I seem to have to make a choice, do I want to use swype or have easy access to my voice command mic.

I was hoping there's some way to add a custom keyboard where either I designate the keys when I set it up, or (more ideally) they are already set up in the obvious way, but with both the voice entry available on the Swype keyboard.

# Answer
> 1 votes
There is a nice (free) alternative keyboard on the Android Market - that is somewhere between Swype and the built in keyboard - called TouchPal. It allows for three different layouts (16 key, 20 key and QWERTY) and you can set a default for different orientations - i.e. 20 key for portrait, QWERTY for landscape. And there's a bunch of other things it does that make it nice and easy to use.

One thing to note is that it's made for Chinese and English input but there are options to turn off the Chinese input. Also, some version of Android have a bug that sometimes prevents a newly added input method editor (IME) from showing up properly. You may need to restart the handset after installing.

All that aside, I use it every day on my HTC Desire as a replacement for the stock keyboard and I couldn't do without it. Have a look at CooTek's Site or search Market for CooTek or TouchPal.

# Answer
> 0 votes
It is possible to develop your own keyboard input method. However, this isn't a trivial thing to do. You can either code it yourself or wait for someone else to do it. Sorry :-(

---
Tags: keyboard
---


# Question
Title: How easy is it to return to stock after rooting with Unrevoked?
I have found the following link for rooting several Android devices:

link text

It seems quite easy to root, but how difficult is it to go back to unrooted once you've rooted?

# Answer
> 1 votes
I'm using a HTC Hero and when I had to unroot my phone, I found the RUU for my phone. This in simple terms is a restore to your phone which the service provider uses to restore the phone to absolute stock. I'd check and see if you couldn't find the RUU to your specific phone!

Good luck!

---
Tags: unrooting, unrevoked
---


# Question
Title: How can I use the Android Paid Market from a region where it's not available yet?
I live in scandinavia and the Market for paid applications is not available here yet. Is there any way I can enable it? Or a workaround?

# Answer
You don't need to root if you get a prepaid sim card from a country where paid market is visible. Of course it's bit annoying to have to change the sim from time to time...
> 2 votes

# Answer
You need to install an application called Market Enabler, note this only works on rooted phones . You can download it from here
> 3 votes

# Answer
Both rooting and using a prepaid SIM seem a bit extreme. I'd suggest looking at other App Markets to see if that will help before turning to such drastic measures. I have started a question here about different App Markets and suggested two in the question. Hopefully, there will be some replies soon and you may have your pick.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: applications, google-play-store, paid-apps
---


# Question
Title: Do the apps purchased via SlideME.org give you notifications about available updates?
SlideME is a website where you can purchase apps (useful for countries where Play Store does not support purchase yet).

Will I get a notification if their apps are updated?

# Answer
SlideME Application Manager (SAM) will notify you if there's an update to the apps purchased from SlideME.

> SAM supports SlideME's Storage Locker. This allows you to re-download or upgrade Android applications you have previously purchased in case you lost or reset device.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: updates, notifications, alternative-markets
---


# Question
Title: Exchange no longer working after upgrading to Froyo
I have a HTC Desire that was on 2.1 and worked perfectly with my works exchange server. But since upgrading to 2.2 I cannot get it to work at all. There are no errors it just synchs forever.

Any suggestions?

# Answer
> 2 votes
It looks like there is an issue with the Exchange Server certificates and Froyo. I have found a few others with the same issue:

Those links have several workarounds that *might* solve your problem as long as you can get your IT team to help figure out what is going on.

I have seen several people mention the the Touchdown (appbrain link) app is not having any problems. Touchdown is an alternative to the built-in Exchange sync. It might be the easiest solution for you - though it is a paid app - $19.99 as of right now.

QR Code for the app market:

---
Tags: email, htc-desire, exchange
---


# Question
Title: How to set a profile that only allows selected calls through?
I work on the third shift, so I sleep during the day. But I get calls all day long, so I shut my ringer off. I would like to be able to allow a couple of phone numbers that can ring through no matter what.

Using Google Voice to do this won't work because I get calls directly to my cell number as well as to Google Voice.

How to set a profile that only allows selected calls through?

# Answer
> 5 votes
The Setting Profiles app can do that. From their site:

> **What if I don’t want to miss an important call while I’m on mute?**
>
> You can overwrite current sound settings with a rule based on Incoming Call condition. Here is how to:
>
> * Create a new rule
> * Add Incoming Call condition and set it to your preferred contacts group (like VIP or Family)
> * Add Activate Profile action to activate the profile where sound is On and/or some custom ring tone specified
>
> That’s it! Now even if your phone is set to mute, it will still ring in case of a call from someone from Contact Group you have set up in step two.

They currently have two versions of the app - a Lite and Full. I would try the Lite version to see if it has this feature first.

QR Code for Setting Profiles Lite:

QR Code for Setting Profiles Full:

# Answer
> 0 votes
I use "Shh! Auto-Silencer" for a similar purpose, screening notification automatically (so I don't get calls at work rather than while sleeping).

It is a time profile based app that silences your phone between time A and B and allows you to set exception for contacts. The best thing about it is that it runs in the background (boot on start-up and runs off the alarm clock service), you don't need to enable/disable it as a sound mode.

---
Tags: calls, call-screening, profiles
---


title: How can I install the Amazon MP3 app?

text:
# Question
Title: How can I install the Amazon MP3 app?
I have a Motorola Backflip running on AT&T with Android 1.5. I previously had a G1 with which I used Amazon MP3 all the time to buy music. However, Amazon MP3 doesn't come on the Backflip and isn't in the Market. Where can I find it to install?

Also, is there a reason it isn't on the market? My guess was because AT&T wants me to use their proprietary app.

# Answer
Xda-developers has a link in this thread, grabbed from a cc-May-2010 Froyo ROM.

Found it in AppBrain and CyrKet.

Also, it IS in the market as of Sept 14, 2010 on my Incredible. Good luck linking to that one.
> 4 votes

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


# Question
Title: What is the "Launcher" application and why are there alternative apps?
Several questions have mentioned launcher. What is it responsible for, and what kinds of features do the alternative apps in the Market provide that the basic android launcher doesn't?

# Answer
> 7 votes
Launcher is a replacement for the Home application (the app that your phone switches to when you press the Home button). It is basically the application that lets you switch screens, launch apps, view widgets, etc. Other apps offer more home screens than the default, or different toolbars at the bottom of the screen offering different ways to quickly launch applications. These were very popular with the initial Moto Droid since it was basically the stock Android 2.0 OS which only had 3 home screens. With Android 2.2 and the custom interfaces that handset manufacturers add on, the usefulness of these launcher apps may not be so obvious or necessary.

---
Tags: launcher
---


# Question
Title: Is there an App or Widget that can replace my Screen On and Off Button on my Moto Droid?
The button is broken and I'm waiting for my replacement phone. I can turn it on by sliding open the keyboard but I have to wait for it to sleep to turn the screen off. Is there an app or a shortcut that I can put on the home screen to do this? Or maybe a hack to change my camera button to a screen off button? It's an un-rooted Motorola Droid 1 running 2.2.

# Answer
> 3 votes
I ended up using this free app: http://code.google.com/p/lockenabler/ and with smart bar I was able to set the camera button as a shortcut. My cam button now turns off the screen on a long press.

# Answer
> 1 votes
There was an app reviewed by "Android Guys" yesterday call screen off , unfortunately its not free and costs 99 cents , here is the link

---
Tags: screen, buttons
---


# Question
Title: Phone LED only flashes for a few minutes after receiving a notification
My HTC Desire is set up to flash its LED lamp whenever I receive an email, SMS etc.

Only problem is that (without touching the phone) the LED stops flashing after 5 minutes or so. So if a message comes in while I'm not near my phone and I don't come back for more than 5 minutes, I have to turn on the screen to discover the message.

I've searched through everything, but there seems to be no setting for this.

Am I missing something, or is this by design? Is there an app for this problem?

# Answer
Must be by design. Flashing the LED infinitely would drain the battery (even if only slightly). I don't see anything in Settings regarding lengthening the amount of time the LED will flash; you can only specify what things cause LED notification.

After some searching it looks like the "Missed Reminder" app allows for a lot of notification customization - LED interval, color, etc. Not sure how to link an app so just search for it in the market. Sounds promising. Hope it helps.
> 3 votes

# Answer
I've noticed the my Moto Droid started doing this with the latest Android 2.2. The notification icon stays in the notification area, but the LED stops flashing. Personally, I like this behavior, but I don't know of any way to prevent it from "silencing" the blinking LED. Seems to be by design, and seems to be for the latest versions of Android.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: htc-desire, notifications
---


# Question
Title: Sync calendar entries on Samsung devices to Google Calendar
The Calendar app on the Samsung Captivate is fed by the Google Calendar, but I have to make all my entries online. Otherwise, they are (uselessly) local to just my phone.

Is there any way to sync them back to my Google Calendar and (most importantly) include the events that I add from the calendar?

# Answer
Assuming Samsung have made the same changes for the Captivate as the Galaxy, then fully opening an appointment in the Calendar app and pressing Edit, you should have a line labelled "Calendar" that will say "My Calendar" (this is the local calendar on the phone), press the arrow beside that and it takes you to a list of your calendars and lets you select your Google Calendar to move the appointment there.

Also when you're in the Calendar and want to create a new appointment there are two ways to do it. Either long pressing on a day/time takes you to the quick appointment creation box, this always goes into your phone's local calendar and then needs moving out to your GCal. However if you press the Menu button and select "Create" then it takes you to the same screen as the Edit screen, and you can pick which calendar to save to from there.
> 8 votes

# Answer
I use the Gemini calendar app, and it seems to sync back to your Google account. It does, however, require the stock Google Calendar app, which based on your question, may pose a problem.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: samsung, sync, google-calendar
---


# Question
Title: Home Screen Takes a Long Time to Display After Removing Phone From Dock
When I remove my Motorola Droid from my docking station, my home screen is blank for a long time. It sometimes takes over 10 seconds for my app icons to display, and even longer for widgets to display. Is there any way to eliminate this pause? Am I doing something wrong?

**NOTE:** I am using the LauncherPro app as a launcher/home screen app, but I get the same behavior with the default Android launcher app.

# Answer
As far as I've read, the reason this happens is because of the Android memory management, which I read was made "worse" because of a better internal task killer in 2.2 Froyo. The app is being marked as not needed in memory anymore and is being killed.

There are a couple things you could do to mitigate the frequency of this happening. There's an app on the market called MinFreeManager which modifies some system config files to change how the memory manager divides up memory to active apps. Get the app and load the preset `Aggressive`. Hit both `Apply` and `Apply at boot`. Also, you need to be ROOTED to do this.

Another thing I've seen suggested is in the LauncherPro settings, go to `General Settings` and check the box for `Keep in memory`.

Since doing both of these things, I have seen a reduction in homescreen redraws.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: motorola-droid, launcher, docking-station
---


# Question
Title: How can you uninstall an app that you didn't install on your Droid?
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> How can I uninstall applications that are locked by phone vendor?

I want to uninstall the facebook app, as I don't use facebook. The phone won't let me uninstall that app.

I have a Droid Eris and a Motorola Droid. I want to get rid of it from both these phones.

# Answer
unfortunately you need root permission to uninstall system apps. If you are rooted you can use ADB and type

```
adb uinstall <package name>

```
> 7 votes

# Answer
Titanium Backup actually has a convenient interface for doing this. Requires root though. Be careful not to remove something important (I removed com.android.mms and was unable to receive sms messages).
> 2 votes

---
Tags: uninstallation
---


title: Voice Control for Android 2.1

text:
# Question
Title: Voice Control for Android 2.1
I have a Bluetooth speakerphone for my car (BlueAnt). It uses a phone's built in voice control. When I try to use it, it says that voice control is not supported by my phone (AT&T Samsung Captivate, Android 2.1). Is there a way I can get voice control (over Bluetooth) on my phone?

# Answer
> 1 votes
I believe that feature was added with Android 2.2 as my Moto Droid recently got the ability to do that. Unfortunately, I believe you are out of luck until AT&T pushes an update to your phone, unless you are willing to install a non-standard ROM.

---
Tags: bluetooth, voice-command, samsung-captivate, speakerphone
---


title: Change idle screen

text:
# Question
Title: Change idle screen
Is there some way to change the "sweep glass" idle screen (screen you see when the phone comes back from turning off screen)?

I like the "sweep glass" screen, but have seen some others. Eg. Screen similar to the "phone call" screen - two options (answer, reject) that need to be swiped to either side.

Aside: idea of puzzle pieces for messages, emails, etc is brilliant!

# Answer
> 2 votes
I've been using WidgetLocker (AppBrain). Its very customizable and has worked like a charm for me.

# Answer
> 1 votes
There's flyscreen, which lets you put widgets and such on your lock screen. (App brain link)

---
Tags: screen, lock-screens
---


# Question
Title: Outlook contacts ALWAYS sync with my phone?
I have a Milestone and I only want my Google contacts to appear in the contacts list, on my phone. The native (corporate)'email' app is synced with my work email (Microsoft Exchange) and calendar; this works great apart from one irritating problem... Even though I have unchecked the 'sync contacts' option from within the 'email' app and from Contacts\>Menu\>Accounts\>Corporate A/C options (though I presume both options are the same single setting) my work contacts are pulled into my overall contacts list, anyway!

Twice I have deleted all of my outlook contacts (from my PC) and ALL of the contacts from my phone. After re-syncing the Google contacts and being certain that I didn't check the option to sync my Outlook contacts, low and behold the outlook contacts would start to appear through the course of the day (once I put them back on the PC).
Any suggestions as to why this is happening or, even better, how to fix it?

I understand that the MS exchange sync component was written by Motorola, so maybe this is interfering with the contact sync? Anyone not use the calendar sync and still have this issue?

# Answer
> 1 votes
I stopped using the Corporate Email app that came with my Droid because of stability issues and reasons like this. I got TouchDown (AppBrain) for my work MS Exchange email and haven't looked back.

I realize this doesn't offer a solution to your problem's symptoms, but it would solve your main problem by avoiding the inferior Exchange app all together.

---
Tags: contacts, sync, email, exchange, motorola-milestone
---


# Question
Title: Is there a way to use bit.ly account when shortening links in Twitter app?
I have a bit.ly account, and I want to be able to track my shortened links. However, using the Twitter, it allows me to choose what shortening I use, but I can't seem to find an option to have any shortened links linked to my bit.ly account.

I know that my twitpic account is used to upload pictures (and I've set twitpic as the default), but I want to know if there is a way to do this with bit.ly

# Answer
I don't think there is a way in the Twitter app, but if you really want that functionality, Seesmic has it.
> 4 votes

# Answer
And HootSuite has their ow.ly shortener

See other options @ comparison of twitter apps
> 1 votes

---
Tags: twitter
---


# Question
Title: What are the main differences between Android and iPhone implementations of application multitasking?
What are the main differences between Android and iPhone implementations of multitasking at the application level?

(Let's not turn this into a subjective fanboy argument please?)

# Answer
> 7 votes
This is not an answer to your question, but it's worth clarifying that both operating systems are fully multitasking \[1\] under the hood (insofar as they can and do run multiple processes).

Your question is clearly about application-level multitasking ("can I leave one application running while using another?"), which is a relatively new use of the term, and isn't always well-defined, even if it does have some obvious examples (like listening to Pandora while reading email). Specifically, many applications don't need to run in the background in order to present themselves to the user as if they had never stopped running, so long as they save/restore their state. Applications which must perform periodic operations (like checking mail or popping up alarms) don't need to run continuously in the background either; they can invoked occasionally by the OS. The big issue is usually applications which need constant CPU while in the background, like Pandora.

In general, Apple has worked much harder to discourage or prevent continuously-running background applications, whereas Android seems more open to it. But they are converging, as Apple allows apps like Pandora to run in the background and Android provides richer tools to discourage needless background tasks when polling or saved state would suffice.

\[1\] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer\_multitasking

# Answer
> 3 votes
As far as I can tell.

The iPhone multitasking is much more restricted. The multitasked activity must be one of the following:

* Background audio
* VoIP
* Background location
* Push notifications
* Local notifications
* Task completion
* Fast app switching

\[Thanks Gizmodo!\]

Android, on the other hand, allows for true multitasking in a similar way to a PC.

Before I get accused of being an Android fanboi, let me explain something. The iPhone multitasking model is more than sufficient for most situations and avoids a lot of the problems (ie memory shortages) that accompany the Android system.

# Answer
> 2 votes
Android has a different concept of application level multitasking than a PC. There is more of a disconnect between data, how to view the data, and how to operate on the data.

You can only have one app view open at a time, but the operation on the data can be going in the background. This makes it tough for application developers to make it feel like the desktop when switching between apps, quitting apps, and starting new apps. It sometimes feels impossible to kill an app, but it also sometimes feels like it is impossible to switch to one task and back again. It depends on how the app developer did it.

You can have as many background processes going at once, and they are scheduled like desktop apps. The Linux kernel will choose how to prioritize which ones get memory and CPU resources. When the phone decides it's out of memory, it will start killing things to make more memory. This is done differently than the way Linux or most other OSs normally behave.

The data of a program is always available. As long as the app has permissions to access the data, it is available. You don't need a service running in the background for it to be available.

Apple has very specific ways in which you can multitask. They are a subset of the ways that Android allows. Only specific types of apps can run in the background and they have to be specifically programmed to do so.

A desktop is very different from both of these things. Each application's view, data, and data processing logic are often locked together. I would say that WebOS, Symbian, and Maemo/Meego are examples of this on mobile devices. If an application does expose it's data and background processing to other "views", it will tend to be a very special application.

---
Tags: ios, multitasking
---


# Question
Title: How do I transfer my phone numbers to an Android phone?
I just bought a new Android Phone (HTC Hero), but I need to import my Outlook contacts with all their phone numbers.

Any directions as to how to do this?

# Answer
Your aim needs to be to get the contacts in to the Google account that it is associated with the phone. Once the contacts are in Google, they should automatically synchronise to the phone.

The first step is to create a CSV from your Outlook contacts:

1. From Outlook, do the following: `File -> Import and Export...`
2. Choose `Export to a file`
3. Choose `Comma separated values (DOS)`
4. Select the `Contacts` folder
5. Choose a filename to export to and OK it
6. Hit Next and then Finish and let Outlook create the file

Now that you have your file, you need to import the CSV file in to Google Mail.

1. Log in to Google Mail in the normal way
2. Select `Contacts` from the left navigation bar
3. From the top right, choose `Import`
4. Choose the CSV that you just saved from Outlook
5. Hit the `Import` button

Once that has finished uploading, your contacts should be available in Google Mail. They should automatically sync up to your phone within a few minutes.
> 13 votes

# Answer
The easiest way would be to synchronise your contacts with your Google Account (you have one of those, right?). If your account is signed in to that Google Account all your contacts will soon appear on that phone.

Something like OggSync might help, although I'm sure there's others.
> 4 votes

# Answer
For others who are looking to move their contacts from a Nokia S60 phone to an Android phone, these instructions work well:

http://www.upfrontsystems.co.za/Members/gustav/the-perpetual-newbie-experience/how-to-move-contacts-from-nokia-phone-to-android-phone

The idea is essentially the same, but the aim is to create a big vCard (.vcf) file containing all the contact details in place of the CSV file.

The part requiring a command line terminal can be replicated in DOS/Windows. Instead of:

```
cat *.vcf > contacts.vcf

```

use:

```
type *.vcf > contacts.vcf

```

Works very well.
> 1 votes

# Answer
There is a good comparison of the available software on syncdroid

I have used the Companion Link trial. The sync worked fine, but the software on the phone was not that good. But there is a new version I did not try. I will try gsyncit next.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: contacts, outlook, import
---


# Question
Title: How do I tether with an HTC Desire on Swisscom?
How do I do tethering with an HTC Desire on the Swiss carrier Swisscom? When I plug the phone and pick share internet, my computer asks me for phone number, username and password; oh, and it says I plugged in a modem.

# Answer
Are the correct drivers for your Desire installed on the laptop? I'm using Windows 7 and with the correct (64 bit) drivers installed, it just connects to the Desire and sees it as a connected network adapter.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: htc-desire, tethering
---


# Question
Title: Should I buy a HTC Desire or an Nexus One (in Australia)
I've done some research and there seem to be advantages and disadvantages to each. I'm fairly confident that I can physically run both in Australia, however which will give me the best experience given the mobile bands and technology available here?

The main things I'm concerned with:

* Reception for phone calls - probably fine in the US, but what about AU?
* Data speeds - Are 3G and/or HSDPA available?
* Handset speed - specs are similar, but which one actually performs, and will it perform within Australia?

# Answer
> 5 votes
My recommendation would be for you to get the Nexus One. Though the Nexus One and the Desire both have the same 1Ghz Snapdragon processor, the Nexus One now runs Android 2.2 "Froyo" that has a JIT compiler that can execute code up to 6x as fast as the Android 2.1 on the Desire. The fact that the Nexus One is the official Google phone means that it's going to be the first to receive the latest software, while other devices (like the Desire) will lag behind or not get updated at all.

The other big deciding factor is HTC's Sense. Though many people like Sense, there are others, including myself, that prefer the stock Android UI. If you can, try and see if you can play with both UIs before deciding which one you want to buy (stock Android 2.1, which can be found on the Motorola Milestone, is similar to stock 2.2, but lacks a shortcut to the phone dialer at the bottom on the home screen).

# Answer
> 3 votes
This doesn't directly address your three main things, so downvote me if you must, but one big current advantage to the Nexus One is that it's really *the* Google phone and gets preferential treatment when it comes to Android updates.

In the US at least, carriers who release and subsidize phones often call the shots as to what software ships on the phone and when it gets OS updates, if ever. The N1, being unlocked and carrier neutral doesn't have these issues. The HTC Desire has the Sense UI which seems to lag behind upstream Android releases quite a bit. However, some people greatly prefer the Sense UI to the stock Android UI, so there is a trade-off to be made there.

# Answer
> 1 votes
I would go the HTC desire. You can run it on telstra's 3.5G networks and get the true 21mbps speed over 3G. The nexus one is sold online only here - so servicing would be through visiting one of the limited HTC centre's. Buying a desire from Telstra gives you repair/help etc at every telstra store. Yes the nexus one currently has an android 2.2 update and the official HTC desire upgrade won't be till september - but there is already an unofficial ROM for 2.2 on the desire people are running.

# Answer
> 0 votes
I own an HTC Desire and I like it a lot, it is comparable to the Nexus one the tow things I am missing are the trackball and the Google experience.

---
Tags: htc-desire, nexus-one
---


# Question
Title: Where can I get Android 2.2 for HTC Desire
How can I get the 2.2 version of Android on my HTC Desire and when?

# Answer
> 10 votes
I just got the update notification (unbranded Desire, Germany).

So the answer to "when" is: Now.

# Answer
> 7 votes
The official Froyo release for the HTC Desire seems to be imminent. Though since it's already been over *three* weeks since they said it would come within the next *two*, you might have better luck with an unofficial ROM.

# Answer
> 5 votes
The initial leaked information was "late June", but this turned out to be incorrect. HTC have released a full statement now stating that the upgrade will be during Q3 (so anytime between now and the end of September). See this TechRadar article for more information.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Here is a good article about putting a custom 2.2 on your HTC Desire, I've heard first hand reports that it worked.

---
Tags: htc-desire
---


# Question
Title: Is internet tethering possible on Android phone via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi?
I have HTC Desire and I use different Wi-Fi networks with it, but I don't have mobile internet access. My laptop is usually connected via a mobile modem.

Is there a way to share the laptop's internet access via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth?

# Answer
Lorenz Blog has an article which explains how to set up a Wireless Hosted Network specifically on Windows 7.

To do so, the easiest way is to install either Virtual Router or Connectify

(source: londatiga.net)

(source: londatiga.net)

These programs will set up your computer to pass through the Wi-Fi connection

Then on the Android device:

* Go to Settings -\> Wireless & networks -\> Wi-Fi Settings
* Open Advance settings menu
* Tick the Use static IP option
* Enter your desired IP address (ex: 192.168.2.2) into IP Address field
* Enter your IPV4 Address (ex. 192.168.2.1) into Gateway field
* Enter 255.255.255.0 into Netmask field
* Enter your internet connection’s DNS server (use `ipconfig /all` command to get DNS info) into DNS 1 and DNS 2. As an alternative, you can use Google Public DNS: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4
* Connect to Wi-Fi using your password
* Disable and Enable Wi-Fi (in case if it won’t connect)
* Check the connection using browser or other application.
> 6 votes

---
Tags: tethering, wifi-tethering, bluetooth-tethering
---


# Question
Title: Is it possible to receive an incoming call while tethering on an Android phone?
Is it possible to have a 3G tethering session and receive an audio call at the same time? Is this the function of the phone or the mobile OS or the carrier-network?

# Answer
> 10 votes
It depends:

1. You are on a CDMA network (Verizon, Sprint) you can't call and use Internet at the same time (exepect if you use Internet over Wifi) - This is limitation of CDMA only networks
2. You are on a GSM network (AT&T for US and almost all other operator worlwide excluding Asia). In this case if you have 3G connectivity you should be able to use 3G and call at the same time, if connectivity not 3G but only GRPS/EDGE you can't have a call and internet at the same time (because GPRS/EDGE use voice channel)

---
Tags: calls, tethering
---


title: Why isn't my HTC Hero upgrading?

text:
# Question
Title: Why isn't my HTC Hero upgrading?
Located in China I've been waiting forever for the HTC Hero update to Android 2.1. However now everywhere around the world people are getting it.

I do get the occasional update, and then I get prompted to reset the phone, however when I reset it the update does not get installed (missing update.zip on SD card?)

Or maybe I have to relocate to England? Could I fake this with a VPN/proxy? If so how could I set this up?

Cheers

# Answer
Does China have an extra Android version or do you have either the US version or the European version?

To let my own European Hero install Android 2.1 I had to tell it to manually check for new updates.
> 1 votes

# Answer
Depending on whether your phone is locked and won't accept foreign updates, you may not have to root your phone, but you will have to unlock it by using the goldcard method.

Luckily this website helps you do it in a few simple steps:

Note: **these steps will NOT root your phone**.

Download: klutsh's Goldcard Tool

* Format your SD card to FAT32 by going Settings \> SD Card & Phone Storage \> Unmount SD Card then Format SD Card
* Launch the goldcard tool as admin by Right click on App \> Run as Admin
* Connect your phone to your PC and make sure USB debugging is enabled (Settings \> Applications \> Development \> USB Debugging)
* Click get CID (Try clicking MMC0 if MMC1 fails)
* Click the link to open the goldcard generator, copy the CID from the tool into it. You will get an email.
* Enable USB Mass Storage on your phone.
* Click 'Refresh' in the app and select your micro SD card.
* Click 'Load goldcard.img' and select the file you received by email.
* Click 'Patch MMC'
* You now have a goldcard!
* Now you can downgrade using the Generic RUU.

After these steps you've changed your Android version to a generic one and you can use the generic update to get it to 2.1.

**Kudos to klutsh from MoDaCo and the person who made the site!**
> 1 votes

---
Tags: htc-hero, 2.1-eclair, updates
---


# Question
Title: Android 2.2 on Verizon, specifically Droid
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> When will my phone get the Android 2.2 update (FroYo)?

Does anyone know when 2.2 will be released for Verizon phones? Also, is there a way to install it currently? I'd like to upgrade as soon as possible because it is really nice but, Verizon is so slow in getting these out.

# Answer
> 10 votes
There isn't a release date yet. Every rumored date gets pushed back. The most recent was a July 13th date that is now pushed to 'August'. This is all hearsay, though.

Only way to currently get 2.2 is if you are rooted and install either a vanilla build of 2.2 or a custom ROM built with the 2.2 source code.

As soon as the official update hits, expect the 'update.zip' to be all over the web within the first day, then we can all download and install it (rooted or not).

**NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE** :)

# Answer
> 2 votes
Current speculation is the OTA update will be August 12.

You can also download the official Android 2.2 update file, no Root needed. (Android Tapp has the details.)

# Answer
> 2 votes
Update: Android 2.2 is now being sent to Verizon phones now as an automatic update.

Note: They still disable a few 2.2 features, like the mobile wi-fi hotspot option.

---
Tags: motorola-droid, verizon
---


# Question
Title: How to determine what applications are using what features on Android?
With its multi-tasking, it's easy to launch lots of applications on Android. I understand that background applications use fairly minimal resources, but they often activate features (GPS WiFi etc.) that drain the battery.

How can you find out what applications are running and what resources they're using? and how can you stop them safely?

# Answer
All Android applications have to be granted 'Permissions'. These 'Permissions' include internet access, GPS, etc.

You can see these 'Permissions' by going to the application in the market, hitting 'Menu' and selecting 'Security' (I think).

As for 'activating features', applications cannot activate GPS or WiFi if you have them turned off. Also, GPS, even when activated, is only 'awake' when an application is polling for location, then immediately goes back to sleep.

It's always good to remember to turn off WiFi and other features you don't need when you aren't using them, although Android is very good about only using these features when necessary.
> 5 votes

# Answer
If you go to `Start screen / Menu key / Settings / About phone / Battery / Battery use` you can see exactly how much different applications drained your battery since your last recharge.

To stop application you can use the file manager ASTRO or a Task killer like Advanced Task Killer.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: multitasking, applications
---


# Question
Title: How to post a link to an android market app?
You can post a link to an android market application by useing a link that looks like:

> market://search?q=pname:*package*

1. While browsing the market, is it possible to find an app's package name? Or is there a convenient way to get or share a link to a market app?
2. Is there any way to post a link to a market app that normal (non-android) browsers can make use of?

# Answer
> 4 votes
This isn't possible, simply for the fact that except for the few apps that are featured on the Android Market site, there isn't a way to browse the catalog of apps from anything but an Android device. You can link to the app if it's on the site, and if it's not your best bet is to see if the author has set up a web page for the app.

Google did say in their IO keynote (31:08) that they're working on a web interface for the market and demoed buying an app in the browser and having it pushed to the device instantly. It's likely that that interface will have the ability to link to specific apps, but until then it's not possible.

# Answer
> 4 votes
There are a few 3rd party websites that do let you browse and search the Android Market. Most of these show all the text description, screenshots, review comments and rating from the Market as well as having a QR code 2D barcode that you can scan with your Android phone to jump straight to that app's page in the on-phone Market app. Doing a search in any of those should show you the full package name (usually in the page URL as well as buried in the page).

A few of them (off the top of my head and in no real order) are AndroLib, Cyrket and AppBrain.

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


# Question
Title: Enable or disable notifications based on location on Android?
I really wish that I could make my Android beep for business emails when at work, and home emails when I'm not in the office. Is there any applications that easily facilitates that?

# Answer
> 6 votes
Sure are. Check out Locale or Tasker. Both are great (and very powerful) tools for customizing settings based on location, time, etc. Neither are free but are well worth a purchase.

---
Tags: notifications, geolocation
---


# Question
Title: Android phone lost, what data can I get onto new phone?
Sorry about the clumsy question.

My Android HTC Magic was lost/stolen last night. I had an unlock swipe code, power-on SIM code and have called the phone company and had it blocked, so not too concerned about the phone itself being used by someone else.

What I am thinking about is when I get a new phone, what data/info can I get back easily as I can't just copy it from the old phone now? Obviously GMail/Contacts/Calendar are all stored on the web, any purchased apps are linked to my Market login, and I'm not concerned about photos, music etc that were on the SD card.

What I'm more concerned about are my preferences, settings, SMS texts, list of installed apps, prefs, data from those apps, etc. Are those all gone?

Addendum: I was thinking of rooting the phone, so did take a standard Nandroid backup a week ago that I have a copy of on my PC, if I get an identical model of phone and restore that, will my data come back? Also what happens if I try to restore that onto a different model of phone (I'm assuming bad things would happen)?

# Answer
As long as you didn't turn these features off, simply adding the same Google account you used on the old phone to the new phone will restore a lot of your data.

**Backed up:**

* Google Contacts
* Installed apps
* Wi-Fi settings
* Bluetooth settings
* Purchased apps

**Not backed up:**

* Sim-only contacts
* Preferences
* Settings
* Texts
* Application data

To answer your second question: the Nandroid restore *should* work on an **identical phone**. However, this will not work for a different phone unless you only copied data in the backup. Any system data will cause problems on a non-identical device.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: backup, data-recovery, restore, lost-phone
---


title: Backup/Restore Android

text:
# Question
Title: Backup/Restore Android
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> How do I perform a full pre-rooting backup of an Android phone?

I am considering rooting my Motorola Droid, and I am wondering if it is possible to revert back to the exact state that my phone is in right now (ie unrooted, with all my apps, settings, etc).

I know I can backup all the files on my SD card (in fact I have that job running right now). But how can I backup/restore the phone's internal memory?

Is this what SPRecovery does? All of the 'how-to-root-your-phone' tutorials say that you start by installing SPRecovery, but I can't find any details on what, exactly, SPRecovery does, and how to use it. I suspect it does more than what is necessary to load a rooted ROM, but I just can't find any details.

# Answer
Could you use Nandroid to do this? I understand that this creates a full image of your phone for restore.
> 6 votes

# Answer
The Marketplace has a few different free and pay apps that do backup. They can backup apps and the data stored with the apps as well as other things on your phone like your call log.

Backup on Android has never been too big a deal because most of what is really important on a phone (contacts, email) are stored in Google's cloud.

Once you root your phone you won't want to go back anyway!
> 2 votes

# Answer
Note that you do not need to backup Contacts & Emails etc. They are automatically backed up in your google account.

The state of your apps (i.e. the purchases you have made) is also backed up to your google account. So if you move to a different android phone, you can install them again without having to pay for them again.

For photos, I have been very happy with **Lookout for Android**. Important features include:

* Data Backup (I use only photo backup)
* Anti Virus (which I never use)
* Remote Locator (in case your phone gets stolen/lost)
> 1 votes

---
Tags: rooting, backup
---


# Question
Title: How can I not use the Facebook for HTC Sense on my HTC Incredible?
I'm trying to add my Facebook account instead of using Facebook for HTC Sense. However, when I go to Accounts & sync \> Add account \> Facebook, nothing happens. If I tap any other account, I get prompted for login information (or, if I'm already logged in, the ability to change settings or add a second account). I really dislike the Facebook for HTC Sense, so there's got to be a way to add my Facebook account without using Facebook for HTC Sense.

# Answer
You could download the actual Facebook for Android app from the Marketplace. This would mean that you use the actual Facebook app rather than Facebook for HTC Sense. Not sure if there is any difference between the two, but I know I have both installed on my Desire and use the actual Facebook for Android app.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: htc-sense, htc-droid-incredible, facebook
---


# Question
Title: Flashing and re-flashing and HTC Hero with different versions of Andorid
I want to try different versions of the Android OS on my HTC Hero (namely 2.2) but be able to revert back to the stock image.

What are the steps required to do this? How can I extract the stock image from my handset?

I am on T-Mobile UK if that makes any difference.

# Answer
Do a backup first with nandroid backup, it's included in most recovery images used to flash os roms
> 2 votes

---
Tags: custom-roms, htc-hero
---


# Question
Title: How can I improve the reponsiveness of the virtual keyboard on my HTC Droid Eris?
I've noticed that sometimes the virtual keyboard on my HTC Droid Eris can be very laggy. While composing a text message, it will take a second or more to respond to some button presses.

Is there anything I can do to reduce the lag and make the virtual keyboard more responsive?

# Answer
> 1 votes
I suggest checking out 3rd party keyboards. There are some free and paid alternatives that may show a nice improvement for you.

There are even stock keyboards for other phones that have been ripped out and placed online as APKs to download and install. Check out your favorite Eris/Android message board to get some suggestions, and also check the Market and try them there, too.

---
Tags: touchscreen, keyboard, droid-eris
---


# Question
Title: How do I turn off the shutter sound for the Android camera?
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> How do I disable the 'click' sound on the camera app?

If the phone isn't in silent mode, taking a picture using the stock camera application always plays a "shutter" sound. Is there a way to turn the sound off?

I'm using stock Android 2.2 on a Nexus One.

# Answer
> 2 votes
I'm on android 2.1 and am on a Samsung so this may not be exactly the same for you. To disable the shutter sound I launch the camera then (with the camera in landscape mode):

1. Tap the triangle on the left of the camera frame to show the options round the camera.
2. Tap the Settings icon (cog) on the bottom right.
3. Tap the spanner tab on the top.
4. Tap the down arrow on the right to page down.
5. Tap the button next to **Shutter Sound**.
6. Select **Off**.

# Answer
> 2 votes
I located the audio file for the camera shutter: **/system/media/audio/ui/camera\_click.ogg**. Removing or renaming the file (requires root access?) should stop the sound from being played.

# Answer
> 0 votes
If the stock camera doesn't provide you the option how about simply downloading another camera software that allows you to remove the shutter sound. (I'm on HTC Hero with sense and it has the option)

# Answer
> -1 votes
The camera preference or system preference should have this setting, may be you can try to find?

# Answer
> -1 votes
* Download the Ring Toggle App. This is a useful app to have anyway. It lets you switch between these modes: "Ring & Vibrate", "Ring Only", "Vibrate Only", "Silent"
* Set up the "Ring Toggle" Widget on your home screen
* Click on the "Ring Toggle" Widget and set it to either "**Vibrate Only**" or "**Silent**"

Now when you use the Camera app, the shutter will be silent.

Note that Ring Toggle affects everything else as well (i.e. incoming call, email, SMS, etc)

---
Tags: camera, 2.2-froyo
---


# Question
Title: Is there a soft keyboard for the HTC Droid Incredible that learns word combinations?
A friend of mine was talking about a soft keyboard replacement for the HTC Droid Incredible and I believe that he mentioned one of the features was that it not only suggested words, but it would "learn" word combinations and suggest not only the current word, but the next word in the sentence. However, I've forgotten the name of the keyboard. Does anyone know of such a thing?

# Answer
> 4 votes
Is it Swiftkey?

> SwiftKey brings the future of text entry to smartphones. It uses TouchType’s breakthrough Fluency™ technology to predict the next word you want to type, before you even press a key.
> \[...\]
> SwiftKey doesn’t just predict regular words – it learns as you type and remembers how you write. As words and sentences are chosen over time, its Fluency™ engine creates a dynamic understanding of your writing style to boost the accuracy, fluency and speed of prediction.

---
Tags: keyboard
---


title: Nexus One: 3G/WIFI Not Switching

text:
# Question
Title: Nexus One: 3G/WIFI Not Switching
As of last couple of weeks, my phone has been having problems automatically switching between wifi and 3G. When i leave home, I have to completely turn off the radio and turn it back on for it to pick up the 3G connection. When i come home in the evening, I have to turn off the wifi, and then turn it back on in order for it to kick in.

Has anyone else experienced this problem or know how to fix it?

**EDIT:**

The problem is that the phone doesnt automatically switch from WIFI to 3G and vice versa. If I go out of range of a known wifi hotspot, my 3G data connection should be established (indicated by the 3G icon in the top row), but it never shows up. If i work-around this by going in and out of airplane mode, the 3G connection is re-established.

My carrier is Optus in Australia, but i dont think that matters, given that it USED to work and only in the last couple of week has this problem occured.

# Answer
> 1 votes
This bug report seems to describe a similar issue. The thread is a mixed bag of reports of various versions/apps/phones/networks either fixing or causing the issue, so you may need to dig through it and try some things to diagnose.

FYI, I don't have the problem on my Nexus One (O2 UK).

# Answer
> 1 votes
I too have the problem with wifi sometimes. wifi fixer seems to do the job of fixing it in most cases.

Except from that, as said before, this is a bug, so you may use that temporary fix until they hopefully fix that bug.

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


# Question
Title: Is there a way to download applications from the Android market for offline installation?
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> How to download apk file on PC from market?

Is there a way to download an Android installation package from the market so that it can be installed offline at a later time (e.g. from an SD card)? This might be useful for backing up applications so you don't have to search for and download them all again. It could also be useful setting up multiple devices or just sharing an application with a friend in an area without network access.

# Answer
Using backup applications such as Titanium Backup do this exactly. They basically extract the .apk (installer) and back it up to the SD card. Then, when you 'restore' using Titanium Backup, you can select which apps you want to restore and it will reinstall them using the backed up .apk.
> 2 votes

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Tags: google-play-store, uninstallation, offline
---


# Question
Title: Can a Motorola Droid be in Landscape mode on the Home Screen w/out sliding out the keyboard?
It's all in the title, but again for clarity: Is there any way to make my Motorola Droid use Landscape mode on the Home Screen **without sliding** out the keyboard?

# Answer
> 2 votes
Yes, this is accomplished through the use of 'Home Replacement' or 'Launcher Replacement' apps.

Check out either 'ADW.Launcher' or 'LauncherPro'. Both are fantastic (and free) launcher apps that will not only make your launcher/home screens smoother, but also allow full customization, such as enabling screen rotation without sliding open the keyboard.

---
Tags: keyboard, motorola-droid, home-screen
---


title: Turn off cellphone (SIM) radio

text:
# Question
Title: Turn off cellphone (SIM) radio
How do I turn the cellphone (SIM) radio on an Android phone?

The radio consumes a lot of power (30-70%), especially when the phone is idle. Sometimes I only need to use other functions (e.g., clock, web browser), and make the battery last as long as possible.

"Airplane mode" does this but also turns off the WiFi (close to, but not exactly what I need).

# Answer
Once you've put the phone in Airplane/Flight mode, you can manually re-enable WiFi. (On my phone at least) this leaves WiFi on and the phone radio disabled. It does involve a couple more clicks but I think it achieves what you're after.

A quick look round the market showed a few apps that manage this setting for you, for example the "Airplane Mode Wi-Fi Tool" and "Airplane Autoswitch". Either of these may streamline the process slightly.

Airplane Mode Wi-Fi Tool QRCode:

Airplane Autoswitch QRCode:
> 4 votes

# Answer
I have been using Juice Defender to good effect for a while. It turns off battery-sucking functions and turns them on occasionally to allow for syncing and is highly customizable.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: battery-life, cellular-radio
---


# Question
Title: How to get contacts from an Android phone to an iPhone?
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> How can I transfer my contacts from an iPhone to an HTC Inspire?

I use Google to maintain my contacts, which syncs to my Android device. However, I'm switching to an iPhone 4. Will it be easy to transfer contact information?

# Answer
The Mail, Contacts, and Calendars settings allow you to sync all 3 from multiple different web services to the built in Mail, Contacts, and Calendars apps. These should automatically sync when you open the different apps.

The contacts will be merged by default, but you can filter based on source i.e. Gmail, My PC, etc.
> 3 votes

# Answer
It is very easy if you set up Google Sync on the iPhone. Sync can also work with multiple devices with the same account at the same time - I have an iPhone and an iPad set up this way. If I add a contact or appointment to one of them, it shows up on the other as well as in GMail. I'm fairly you could actually keep an Android phone and an iPhone synchronized this way.
> 3 votes

# Answer
I don't think the iPhone automatically syncs, but you can download an app that will sync your Google contacts with your iPhone from the app store.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: sync, ios, data-transfer
---


title: Upgrading my HTC G1 to SDK 2.2

text:
# Question
Title: Upgrading my HTC G1 to SDK 2.2
I am trying to upgrade my HTC G1 to OS 2.2 (I have a developer device bought way back when it was released)

I have been trying the steps provided here - http://code.google.com/p/android-roms/wiki/SPL but for some reason the phone won't boot up after following all the steps. I have tried twice and restored my device to 1.5. But would really like to upgrade to 2.2

Any ideas please?

Thanks.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Have you tried rooting your G1 and putting something like Cyanogenmod on your phone? CM6 is currently in Release Candidate status and supports 2.2. However, you won't get all the features of 2.1+ because the G1 simply cannot do some of them (i.e. LiveWallpapers).

---
Tags: 2.2-froyo
---


# Question
Title: How do I use voice input in Google Maps on a HTC Desire?
I have an HTC Desire phone running Android and I use the Google Maps application. I can search for locations using text entry but I would like to be able to use the voice entry feature which was added last year.

> You can now search Google Maps for Android simply by speaking your query and Google Maps will search it for you.

I have the latest version of Google Maps from the Android Market but I don't see how to activate this voice search feature. I have tried opening Google maps, pressing the search key at the bottom-right of the phone, and then saying for example 'London' into the phone's microphone, but nothing happens.

How do I use the voice search in Google Maps for Android?

---

**Updates**

There is no microphone icon next to the search bar.

*Version Information*

* Android Version: 2.1-update1
* Google Maps version: 4.4.0 (#4414) gmm-android-htc

# Answer
I have a Samsung Galaxy S on T-Mobile, so YMMV.

To use voice entry, I start the Navigation application, not Maps; one of the menu options it displays is "Speak destination". Navigation wasn't available on the phone when I first got it; I first noticed it about a week ago (I noticed Latitude and Places arrived at the same time, so might all have been part of the same push).

EDIT: To get voice entry in Maps, press and hold the Search key, which gives you a general search. To search for a location, I use Menu \> Search, then there's a microphone icon on the search bar. In Menu \> Directions, you can focus on either the `From` or `To` input boxes, and again you'll get the search bar with a microphone icon. If I use Menu \> Directions to speak a location, it works as if I'm doing a map search, so I have to go back and select the location again in the Directions input box.
> 3 votes

# Answer
Press the search key, this brings up a search bar you can type into, with a magnifying glass icon on the right. To the right of this icon is a microphone which activates voice search.

If you don't have that icon, check which version of Maps, and which version of the Android OS is installed. In the maps application, press menu, then choose "more", then "about". To find the phone version, go to settings, about phone, and see "firmware version".
> 0 votes

---
Tags: htc-desire, google-maps, voice-command
---


# Question
Title: How can I find the comparison of specs and features of Android devices?
I recently got fed up with my previous smartphone (name omitted) and I'm considering switching to an Android-based phone. However, I have been stumped by the sheer number of handsets. I'm more than willing to change carriers and I have no preferences in keyboard style.

What I am looking for (and cannot find on Google) is a comparison of features between different Android phones so that I can make an educated decision (or at least whittle that decision down).

# Answer
> 10 votes
*This is a community wiki. Feel free to edit and update the info*.

* Wikipedia - List of Android smartphones: This link to Wikipedia shows a list of Android devices. It is recommended to click on Version twice, to sort with the latest Android version at the top.
* GSM Arena has a great tool to compare devices one to another.
* PhoneScoop has an excellent search engine and compares an extensive list of features side-by-side with differences highlighted automatically.
* PhoneDB: It's a bit overwhelming with all the options you have available to filter by, but it always seems up-to-date. It can also find phones other than Android.
* PC Pro has a well-sorted reviews section \- click on Android (under OS) and you'll have a list. You can tick the boxes next to the phones and then a compare button will appear giving you a line-by-line comparison. Note this is a UK site and some phones have different names to the US versions.
* ConsumerReports.org: If you're willing to pay a little, this site really does well at apples-to-apples comparisons on a wide variety of products, including cell phones.
* Versus.

---
Tags: hardware, tech-specs
---


# Question
Title: Do I have a branded smartphone (HTC Desire)?
When my HTC Desire boots, I can first see a purple Android (?) icon, then a white background and the 'HTC' text, then a short animation with text 'T-Mobile'. Does that mean that I got a branded phone? The rest of the system doesn't show any signs of T-Mobile and I'm on a Vodafone prepaid 'contract'.

I'm worried that I got a branded phone (which means I'll get Froyo later than other HTC Desire owners) even though I'm not with T-Mobile.

# Answer
Being that you get a T-Mobile graphic then I would say yes you have a branded Desire. Having said that my father has a branded O2 Desire and he has already received the Froyo update (today - Monday). I too have an O2 branded Desire, but I have not received Froyo yet which I suspect is because I am on a Business plan with O2, whereas my father has a personal plan.
> 1 votes

# Answer
I think all that matters is which phone you have and which carrier you are on. Updates are always pushed out by the carriers to their subscribers. So, Vodaphone will send out the update to all Desire's on their network, including yours, and you will be good to go.

If there is an issue when the time comes, then a quick call to your carrier should sort it out.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: updates, 2.2-froyo
---


# Question
Title: How to make Froyo's portable hotspot more stable?
I have updated to Froyo on my HTC Desire yesterday and am testing out the portable hotspot option. The problem is that it is very unstable, at random times (1 to 10 minutes) I lose the WiFi connection.

I have a laptop on my lap and the Desire in my pocket, so it's not like they are out of reach. Does anybody have any ideas on this? Similar experiences?

# Answer
> 2 votes
Rather than putting it in your pocket, place it next to your laptop with the screen on. Then you can see if your hotspot is cutting out, or maybe your 3G is cutting out. I imagine there is a threshold of where you need a certain strength of 3G signal to operate a hotspot.

---
Tags: 2.2-froyo, htc-desire, wifi-hotspot
---


# Question
Title: What is the difference between jailbreaking and unlocking an Android?
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> What is the difference between: Rooting, Jailbreak, ROM, Mod, etc

Is either possible, legal, contractually legit and does either damage the phone?

# Answer
If you were to unlock your Android phone, this would be to allow a SIM from any provider to be used in the handset. Phones are usually locked to a provider when they are purchased (the idea being to stop you using other SIM cards after buying your phone). You can however get a sim unlock code from the network when you contract runs out. You can also buy the handsets with no contract unlocked.

Jailbreaking (or rooting as its known on Android) allows you to do a few different things, the main use seems to be either tethering (however it seems that more phones are offering this as standard), or installing a custom firmware.

One thing to mention, is rooting your phone will invalidate your warranty, so if you get stuck, you will be on your own (however there are many sites out there full of people who will help you if things go wrong). There is a small risk of bricking the phone (however there are ways to recover from this too on some handsets).

Personally I've rooted my Android device and have enjoyed playing with custom firmware and it's generally been smooth sailing (although as it takes a long time to boot after flashing a new firmware, the first time I was a bit worried :P). However, I would suggest doing a fair bit of reading around first, and only approaching this once you're sure you know what you're doing.

Hope this helps!
> 7 votes

# Answer
As I understand it, unlocking (with any phone) is allowing it to work with other carriers, as you've surmised.

In the Android world, the "correct" term for the equivalent of "jailbreaking" (which seems to be an iPhone-centric term) appears to be "rooting" (which is much more technically descriptive, anyway). Rooting, as I understand it, is gaining root access to the device, which allows you to basically do anything you can figure out how to (install custom ROMs, access previously locked-down functions such as wifi tethering, etc.).

Rooting/jailbreaking is now apparently explicitly legal, although doing some of the things that many people root to be able to do is not, if it violates your carrier's terms of service (i.e. wifi tethering).
> 2 votes

---
Tags: rooting, sim-unlocking
---


# Question
Title: Can I connect to WEP-secured MyWi network from iPhoDroid?
Yesterday, I installed Froyo on my iPhone 3G with iPhoDroid. I'm trying to connect to the WiFi using MyWi on my jailbroken iPhone 4 but the network isn't visible at all. The network is WEP secured. That's not a problem with Android is it? I see lots of unsecured networks around, but I'm at work and they're all through proxies anyway, so that wouldn't work. Anyone have any insight on this? I'm completely new to Android so this is exciting to me!

# Answer
Have you checked whether the network is broadcasting its SSID? If it isn't then your phone won't find it and the network won't appear in the list. You can enter the network details manually by going into the **Wi-Fi settings** (under **Wireless and network** on my 2.1 phone), then clicking **Add Wi-Fi network** (at the bottom of the **Wi-Fi networks** section), then entering the network's SSID.

If you're already doing this and the network isn't being added, it may be that the router has restricted the client devices that can connect to it. In this case you'll have to use a client with an established connection and modify the settings to allow your phone. You can typically add the MAC address to a whitelist. You can typically find your phone's MAC address under **Settings**-\>**About phone**-\>**Status**-\>**Wi-Fi MAC address**
> 1 votes

---
Tags: wep
---


# Question
Title: How do I undelete or recover deleted files on Android?
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> How can I recover a deleted file on Android?

Is there a way to recover deleted files on Android phones without using standard USB storage recovery tools?

# Answer
First off, from a practicality standpoint I do not think there is a way to do this. Especially if the data was on internal storage. If the data was on an SD Card you could try googling for data recovery software or something along those lines and then mount the sd card and try searching it. But most software out there isn't made for sd cards.

Is your phone rooted? If so you should be creating backups with NAND at least every other week, I usually do them more often than that. Also you can use Titanium Backup to backup apps and system data. Neither of these will backup your SD card though. For that I just copy all contents from my sd card to a computer before a major change.

Check out the link below for more info, keep in mind I wrote that guide based on the Evo, but still it applies to almost any Android phone.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=7672616
> 4 votes

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Tags: data-recovery, file-system, file-management
---


# Question
Title: Why won't my android video player display media in the correct aspect ratio
I'm using a Samsung Vibrant (Galaxy S) and when I play M4V video files, ostensibly formatted for IPhone, the device stretches the image to fit the screen rather than letterboxing. I can't find any option to change this. Is there a better media player or a hidden setting?

# Answer
I use RockPlayer and it has a button right on the display to toggle aspect ratios and zoom levels--very convenient.
> 1 votes

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Tags: screen, media-player
---


title: German lessons in an Android device

text:
# Question
Title: German lessons in an Android device
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> How can I study or prepare myself for an exam with the help of my Android device?

Is there any German course that I could do on my Android device? Whether it's an app or an optimized web site it's fine by me.

# Answer
> 2 votes
I'm using Anki flashcards. There is also version for Android.

> Anki is a program which makes remembering things easy. Because it is a lot more efficient than traditional study methods, you can either greatly decrease your time spent studying, or greatly increase the amount you learn.

You can download German dictionary and start learning :-)

---
Tags: languages
---


# Question
Title: I’m new to SetCPU on Moto Droid and need help
I'm running rooted stock Android 2.2 on a Motorola Droid. I was hoping other users of the app could give me some advice.

First question: whats the best underclock setting for a good balance between performance and longer battery life? How much longer battery life is it giving you on average?

Second question: I told it to autodetect the phone and I can seem to only overclock to 800mhz. How do I overclock to 1ghz. How high can I/should I overclock? I'm only overclocking when I play psx4droid.

Third question: any recommended profiles to setup?

Thanks!

# Answer
> 4 votes
1. That's going to depend on how much you're using it during the day, I would say start at 700 and move it around until it feels smooth for you.
2. I wouldn't push the phone that high, first it's going to overheat pretty quickly, which can *permanently* brick your phone. Even 800 is going to be rough on it so I wouldn't leave it up that high for very long.
3. I've got an eris (Did a little looking around, and the Droid CPU is set at **550Mhz** whereas the Eris is set at **528Mhz** as reference points) so this is going to be a little different than what you've got, but here's my profiles so you can tweak as needed.

> Temp \> 36.9 C 528Mhz/160Mhz Priority: 100 (This is the failsafe setting, if the phone get's too hot it'll cut the CPU speed so the phone can cool down and prevent any damage)
>
> Charging/Full 729Mhz/528Mhz Priority: 80 (If the phone is plugged in, it can run a little harder, but I also don't use my phone much when it's plugged in)
>
> Battery \< 100% 710Mhz/528Mhz Priority: 50 (This is the normal use setting, which keeps the phone moving smoothly, but doesn't get too hot)

The most important thing is that you have scaling set to ondemand. This will turn the processor down if it's not being used. Hence, on the last setting, it is very rarely at 710Mhz and is most often below 550Mhz.

Second to remember is not to set the minimum too low, or the phone will have trouble waking up from sleep. You'll need to do a little digging around to find out what the ideal min is for the droid, but I would suspect above 160 Mhz would be safe for you.

Those should cover most bases, at bare minimum add the failsafe profile so that you don't lose your phone.

---
Tags: motorola-droid, setcpu, overclocking
---


# Question
Title: is it possible to upgrade the android OS on all phones?
Do Android phones as a rule allow you to upgrade the OS version at will, or does this require special support from the manufacturer or carrier?

# Answer
> 5 votes
You receive updates from the carrier.

You can circumvent this by rooting your phone and installing a custom rom (or stock rom, if available) to get the latest version of Android.

---
Tags: updates, operating-system
---


# Question
Title: (how) can I install android on an iphone 4?
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> Can I install Android on my non-Android device?

I know it is possible to install Android on an iPhone 3G.

How about the iPhone 4? Is it possible to run Android on it? If yes, how, and what are the risks?
If no, is that a "not yet" or a "can't happen, because of X"?

# Answer
I'd say "not yet", at this moment.

My suggestion is to keep your eye on this page: http://www.idroidproject.org/wiki/Status

As you can see from the Wiki table on the iPhone4, the iDroid project participants aren't even sure exactly what hardware is in it yet. So writing code for it without that knowledge is a bit of a challenge.

Seeing as iDroid doesn't even run on iPhone 3GS, I would guess that it's gonna be a while before it runs on the iPhone4. Although, they do have it listed on the Wiki, so the iDroid devs are probably considering it at some point "down the road".
> 4 votes

# Answer
I have it installed on my 3G, and it's just for scientific purposes. I just want to learn more about the filesystem and innerworkings of both OSes. To that end, I think it's very interesting. Not at all useful though. It crashes frequently, I have not yet been able to connect to a WiFi network, and when it does run, it's kinda sluggish. But if you've got an *** EXTRA *** iPhone, I would say go for it.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: installation, ios
---


# Question
Title: Improve Android battery life by lowering CPU freq
I would like to know if it could be possible to use adb (Android Debug Bridge) to tell the phone to lower its CPU max freq.

I'd like to use less battery if possible, and in my use case I don't mind if some tasks are a little slower.

# Answer
> 5 votes
There is a program called **SetCPU** which will allow you to over/under clock the processor. The advantage here is the ability to set profiles to have the phone determine when to adjust the processor, such as when the phone is at a certain temprature, or if it's plugged in or not.

I've been using it on my Droid Eris for a while now, and the results have been great.

---
Tags: battery-life
---


# Question
Title: Separate volume level for speaker-phone mode?
My phone (a Samsung Vibrant, aka T-Mobile's variant of the Galaxy S) has a single volume level for both the speaker-phone and normal modes. I like to have it up high if I'm using speaker-phone mode and less deafening when I'm holding the handset to my ear. This causes some problems when I use a different mode from the previous call.

Is there any way that I can have a separate volume level for the two modes of operation?

# Answer
Boy, separate volume controls for the speaker and earpiece would be useful, wouldn't they?

You can probably do what you want with Tasker. It lets you control all kinds of settings on the phone based on events. (Some ideas from Lifehacker.)
> 3 votes

---
Tags: samsung-galaxy-s, speakerphone, volume-control
---


# Question
Title: How can I install Voice Search on Cyanogen 6 RC3
Whenever I try to install Voice Search I get "install failed" error in the notification bar. Supposedly it has something to do with signatures but I know better than to ask Cyanogen about it. Any ideas?

# Answer
> 2 votes
I spotted this advice on the post on the Google Mobile Blog announcing the new Voice Actions. At least one person in the comments claimed success.

> Just run the following commands to uninstall the old system apps if you use a custom rom.
>
> adb remount
>
> adb shell rm /system/app/GoogleQuickSearchBox.apk
>
> adb uninstall com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox
>
> adb shell rm /system/app/VoiceSearch.apk
>
> adb uninstall com.google.android.voicesearch
>
> Then they will install just fine from Market (from the US Market). MarketAccess set to TMO US will allow you to find them.

---
Tags: cyanogenmod, voice-command
---


title: Alarm about Internet usage?

text:
# Question
Title: Alarm about Internet usage?
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> Monitor wifi usage?

Is there a way to have an alarm warn me every time I spent another 100MB and telling me the total I've spent on the last billing period to avoid going over my limit and into debt in Android?

# Answer
It looks like NetCounter will do what you need
> 1 votes

# Answer
I'm using Network Monitor. With this free app you can track 2G/3G and WiFi traffic as separate stats. Also you can set up warning message for each stat.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: data-monitoring
---


title: Renaming a contact group on Android

text:
# Question
Title: Renaming a contact group on Android
Is there any way to rename a contact group on the HTC Desire?

Via "Edit Group" in People you can add and remove members, but the title doesn't seem to be editable.

I could add a new group of course and move contacts over, but unless there's an easy way to do this en-mass this would be inconvenient.

# Answer
Go to www.google.com and sign in. Click settings in the top right corner. Then click on "Dashboard View data stored with this account". This will take you to your dashboard. Scroll down and you can manage contacts. The only group names you can edit are the ones you created yourself. The default Google ones are not editable.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: htc-desire, contacts
---


# Question
Title: Update to version 2.2 on my HTC Hero Android 1.5 phone
Currently I am using HTC Hero with Android 1.5 and as we know right now Android 2.2 (Froyo) has been released, so i am planning to upgrade from 1.5 to 2.2.

Regarding updating, I have the following questions:

1. How do I update it?
2. Is there any selection options provided to update? For example I want to update my 1.5 to 2.1 instead of 2.2, 2.0 or anything else.
3. Are there any issues that have already occurred with Android 2.2?
4. What if I want to down-grade to lower version, is it possible? (i.e. rollback to older version)

# Answer
> 2 votes
Unfortunately, if you were running SDK 1.6 or later you could just update without installing a new SDK. But for 1.5 you need to install a new SDK. Per this link from Google http://developer.android.com/sdk/installing.html (see quoted text below)...

How ever, you can backup your projects and move them into the new SDK environment. So it looks like all may not be lost. Just read that link above pretty thoroughly.

> Updating?
>
> If you are currently using the Android 1.6 SDK or later and want to update to the latest tools or platforms, you do not need to install a new SDK. Instead, you can simply update the individual components in your SDK using the Android SDK and AVD Manager tool. For information about how to do that, see Updating SDK Components
>
> If you are using Android 1.5 SDK or earlier, you should install a new SDK as described in this document and move your application projects to the new SDK environment.

---
Tags: 2.2-froyo, updates, 1.5-cupcake
---


# Question
Title: Can I convert Samsung Omnia WinMobile to Android OS phone
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> Can I install Android on my non-Android device?

I have Samsung Omnia I900 one of first line Omnia devices on WinMobile 6 OS,
Since phone is now near end of its life, Ill like to try BOOT Android on it.
Is that possible, Does exists any tutorial for that.
I once fund one site which was on way to boot android on Omnia, but they in that time did not have all drivers for Omnia.

# Answer
> 7 votes
The answer appears to be a yes. But we need more information about your phone. Exact model number, carrier, CDMA or GSM, etc. The more specific you can be about the phone you have the better.

Typically the process for getting Android on a WinMo phone is this, unlock with a custom bootloader, install a newer radio (not always required, depends), install a custom ROM, and then install Android using your preferred method. You mileage will vary as the process for installing a custom ROM differs for each phone manufacturer.

There are 2 main methods. 1 install HBOOT and run Android from the SD card and memory. This is preferred by me and many others because it doesn't disrupt the actual phone itself, rather it runs on top of your WinMo phone. This means you can keep your WinMo phone in tact and can easily go back to it any time.

2 flash Android ROM over WinMo and go full Android. This method is more risky because you are flashing a completely different OS over whatever WinMo ROM you had installed. So there is no easy way to go back to WinMo. You would have to flash a WinMo ROM and start over to go back to it. This method is a more permanent Android running on a WinMo phone solution.

I would recommend the 1st method first. Then go from there. But personally I never flashed Android on a WinMo phone. The other method was way too convenient for me.

I have some links below that should help, but your version of your phone is going to be key. DO NOT start downloading files and running them until you understand that your phone version is supported by the tools you are using.

http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=103190&highlight=install+custom+rom

http://www.modaco.com/content/i9x0-omnia-http-omnia-modaco-com/289028/project-andromnia-android-on-omnia/

http://andromnia.net/

It looks likes the i900 and i910 are well supported, so if you have one of those you should be good to go.

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Tags: windows-mobile
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# Question
Title: Where to find Android benchmarks results?
I am looking for a site where to find Android benchmark results for the different smartphones and android builds.

# Answer
> 2 votes
http://smartphonebenchmarks.com/

That link is unverified nor do I know how scientific any of it is. But it was about all I could fine for multiple devices.

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Tags: performance
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# Question
Title: What is the easiest way I can send one contact's phone number to another on my Android?
I have to send two contacts in my phone book to another contact, on my Nexus One Android 2.2. How can I do this easiest?

On my old SonyEricsson this function was on a nearby menu, but I can't find it on Android.

I have also tried to copy the phone number when in edit mode of the contacts, but I can not paste it when composing the SMS to my contact. Is there really no way to transfer a contact via SMS or MMS on Android other than writing the numbers down on paper and then write them in the SMS message later as in the stone age?

# Answer
Copy and paste from Contacts app to Messaging app should just work without any problem, I've used it a few times before to copy lines from addresses, emails and that sort of thing into an SMS.

Are you sure you long-pressed long enough in the SMS message to get the input menu up with the `Paste` option on it? Or that you copied it properly in the first place? Copying data from a Contact is most easily done by `Edit`ing the Contact, then long-pressing on the field you're interested until the input menu comes up with the `Copy All` option.
> 2 votes

# Answer
On my HTC Evo I can open contacts, then long click on the contact I want, and then choose "Send contact as vCard". This opens another menu that allows me to choose what portions of the contact to send along and how to send, via text, email, bluetooth.

Also you can try the app "Shacts" which allows you to create QR codes of contacts very easily and then share them or scan them right from the screen.

\[Update\] Another app to try for older Android releases is QR Contact 1.6.
> 1 votes

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Tags: contacts, nexus-one, 2.2-froyo, sms
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title: Hero update lead to deletion of widgets

text:
# Question
Title: Hero update lead to deletion of widgets
I have an HTC Hero (Europe) with Sense with used to run 2.1. A few days ago it said it wanted to update. I allowed it and now the SMS widget is missing. The widget on the startscreen that also has weather information is missing as well.

How do I get those back?

# Answer
Just got the same issue today. Reboot the phone once more, and you should be able to re-add the widgets back manually. Unfortunately there seems to be no other way to do this. Some widgets (bookmarks for example) were not even available for adding without additional phone reboot.
> 1 votes

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Tags: 2.1-eclair, htc-sense, htc-hero
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# Question
Title: How can I get Google Navigation (navigation in Maps) on Android to navigate walking directions?
I know how to get walking/public transportation/biking *directions*, but driving directions are the only ones I can navigate (tracks the location, shows turns coming up, compensates for wrong turns, etc.). How can I navigate on the walking directions?

And yeah, I know that I can show the walking directions on the map, and try to follow them myself, but then it's always north up instead of track up and it doesn't make any attempts to snap the GPS location to the street.

# Answer
Walking Navigation was just released today \[Sept 9\] as an update to Google Maps 4.5.0
> 10 votes

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Tags: google-maps, google-maps-navigation, gps-tracking
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