# Question
Title: How do I check the class of a micro sd card?
I'm thinking about getting a new sd card and read that the class of them really matters. I'm looking at getting a 16gb one with a class not less than class 6. How do I check for the class?

# Answer
> 12 votes
An SD Card class basically the **minimum sequential write speed** that the SD card supports. Testing the class of an SD is quite easy, just copy a 1 GB file to an empty card and measure the time it took for the copy. A class 6 SD card should support at minimum 6MB/s.

Also check out the markings on the SD card, there should a logo like the following:

the number in the logo describes the speed class.

# Answer
> 10 votes
Specification sheets *lie*, packaging *lies*, the mark stamped on the card itself *lies*.

I have lost track of the number of "class 10" SD cards that only run at a couple of MB/s or the number of 8/16/32GB cards that have an actual capacity of 2GB!

If you really want to know how fast a card is (and whether you have been duped with a card which is smaller than it reports and will thus corrupt your data when it gets full) **I would highly recommend testing every single SD card you buy**.

Even branded products can be faked. I've bought what appear to be high end branded products, in convincingly authentic looking packaging which were actually fakes and failed when put to the test.

## Testing under Windows

The best Windows test tool is h2testw, from Heise.

This page is in German, the google translate version is readable even though the formatting is poor.

This writes a unique, verifiable pattern to the drive, completely filling it. Since the pattern is unique, it can verify that the data read back is actually the same as was written and that the card isn't reporting that it has a higher capacity than it actually has.

Since the *class* is related to the *minimum write speed* and SD cards get slower as they get full, this also ensures that you are testing speed under the worst case conditions. Loosing one complete rewrite of the drive is a small price to pay for peace of mind.

### Hardware required

In order to get an accurate reading on speed, you will need a card reader which supports the interfaces on the micro-sd card.

My card reader of choice is a Kingston MobileLite G4 as it's reliable, cheap and fast. The G4 can make full use of its USB3 interface, and supports memory cards with up to UHS-II (up to 312 MB/s half duplex). It will, of course, be limited to USB2 speeds (around 60 MB/s) if used on a USB2 port on your computer.

If you need to test a UHS-III device (up to 624MB/s), you will need a better card reader though.

## Testing under Linux & OSX

There is an open source project called **F3** (which is short for *Fight Flash Fraud* or *Fight Fake Flash*) which is very similar to *h2testw* for Linux and Mac, but I don't have any personal experience of this. It might however form the basis for an Android port (the source code is on github).

There are also some GUIs for F3:

> F3 QT is a Linux GUI that uses QT. F3 QT supports `f3write`, `f3read`, and `f3probe`. Author: Tianze.
>
> F3 X is a OS X GUI that uses Cocoa. F3 X supports `f3write` and `f3read`. Author: Guilherme Rambo.

## Testing under Android/IOS

If anyone knows of a similarly robust and reliable Android application to test the SD card in a tablet/phone directly, I would happily update my answer.

# Answer
> 3 votes
You can test SDcard speed in command line :

```
adb shell
dd if=/dev/zero of=/mnt/sdcard/test bs=512 count=2048000
rm -f /mnt/sdcard/test

```

that will write a 1GB file with zeros bits in sdcard.

---
Tags: external-sd
---


title: Why does HTC Incredible not update?

text:
# Question
Title: Why does HTC Incredible not update?
My HTC Incredible (Verizon) has tried to update to either Ice Cream Sandwich (android 4.0.x) or just build # 4.x (I'm not sure which) for the past two weeks or so. Either way, it has not been succesful.

Sometimes I'll get a notification telling me that the update has been downloaded, and asks me whether I wan't to reboot to install. I tried that a bunch of times, but neither time did it even shut down after the ten second delay/grace period. Once I tried going to Settings \> About Phone \> System updates, and downloaded the update and tried to install, but the same thing happened: ten second countdown, then nothing.

Now, the notification never pops up, and Settings \> About Phone \> System updates indicates that no new updates are out. What's happening?

Thanks!

# Answer
> 0 votes
I have had this problem with previous OTA updates on my HTC. The problem I ran into is that my phone didn't have enough "space" for the update to actually install gracefully. The bigger problem is that there are many different places the phone can run out of "space". I ended up booting into the recovery to wipe the cache partition (for some details see "Low on space" warning with over 50% free). I also ended up wiping the app cache *and data* on a number of apps (including the launcher -- lost all my icons, gmail, maps, etc) to reduce "space" used until the update installed. I don't recall what exactly pushed the install over the edge and made it go, but it was painful enough that I'm not bothering with the latest update (its just a point release, despite the version number they're showing you its not an ICS update).

# Answer
> 0 votes
If you have installed a custom recovery (Clockwork or other) you won't be able to install the OTA update. You have to be stock ROM, with stock recovery in order to install OTA updates.

I am assuming that you have rooted and installed a custom recovery since you listed rom-manager as a tag.

If you want the update you will first have to get back to stock recovery and rom. Your best bet at this point is to install a custom ROM that was built from the latest update. That should stop Verizon pushing the update to your device.

---
Tags: htc-droid-incredible, verizon, ota-update
---


# Question
Title: How is it that Rooting is always possible?
Having spent some time researching what actually goes behind rooting an Android phone, the main reason that leads to the ability root is an inherent vulnerability on the Linux kernel that leads to the exploit and getting the 'su' binary to be installed.

My question is: How come the OS is not hardened yet? Who is responsible? This is a Linux OS we're talking about, which is considered "secure". Yet, people always find a way to get in and root devices.

# Answer
it's not really the "linux OS", it is the linux kernel. The vulnerability is not necessarily in the OS, or the kernel. There are different exploits that are used. I remember some device being able to load any zip file in the recovery if it was "pre-pended" by a signed zip file. So they used a signed zip and added an unsigned zip to the end of the file. I think this exploit was for the Original Droid.

No software is 100% bug free. if it was, then even a mature product like Windows would not have to do security patch releases every month.

No matter how smart the developer is, or thinks he is, more likely than not, there is probably someone smarter (or at least they may know more about exploiting code).

When exploits are discovered, Google (or the manufacturer) has (usually) patched them. But since a lot of the devices don't receive updates very often, the exploit remains available.
> 5 votes

# Answer
Rooting is always possible because rooting, a.k.a. user switching, a.k.a. setuid, is one of the most fundamental feature of Unix and Linux.

For many devices, rooting does not actually involve any security exploits; rooting methods that requires flashing a file through the bootloader and/or ROM updater utility (e.g. Samsung's Odin, HTC's RUU, etc) are not a security breach, as they are legitimate features specifically designed for flashing ROMs. A large number of devices are rooted in this way.

On those devices, rooting are possible because the manufacturers actually provides the facility for it. They certainly do not make rooting an easy one-click process (for good reasons; most people who wanted to root do not actually need root), but they do provide an officially sanctioned method to root under the condition that your warranty voids (official rooting method often leaves a permanent mark to let authorized technicians know if a phone had been rooted).

There are not that many quite a few rooting methods that actually uses a security exploits (e.g. rageagainstthecage, zergRush, gingerbreak, etc), and these exploits are often repackaged into a form that are much easier to use for the masses (e.g. SuperOneClick). Rooting through exploits are often hit and miss since they get patched fairly quickly for devices that are still within update period; but sometimes they provide advantages such as avoiding triggering the warranty marking.

The issue becomes a little complicated when the tech news and blogs reported when a developer wrote tutorials or tools to ease up legitimate rooting process. They often do not understand the nature of the rooting method, and certainly I have never seen them distinguish between legitimate rooting methods and rooting through security exploits, worse they also often report the repackaging of existing exploit and the porting of an existing exploit to a new device as if they're a totally different exploits. Thus the confusion that makes it appear that Android seems to have more exploits than it really does.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: rooting, linux, bootloader
---


# Question
Title: How do I get a full screen caller photo id?
What do I need to install/change so that when I get a call the picture of the caller is in fullscreen mode instead of the regular small image.

# Answer
> 0 votes
I think the dimensions of different parts of the GUI require changes in the framework-res.apk files in the internal system partition. This requires you to be rooted, of course. I haven't seen any custom themes for custom ROMs that have a full screen portrait however.

# Answer
> 3 votes
Maybe you need something like that:

Notice: Both are free just for first five contacts. For more, you must purchase full version. Both require to assign HD photos manually (from SD Card, Camera or Facebook). None of them support images stored with your contacts on your Google account.

---
Tags: caller-id
---


# Question
Title: What's the exact geographical dimension range which can be taken offline in Google Maps?
Today, I tried to take my whole country (India) offline, but Google Maps ignored it saying its very large, zoom in. It has also ignored my street saying its too small, zoom out.

I want to know the limits to which `Make Map Offline` is restricted.

Version of Google Maps: 6.12.0

# Answer
> 1 votes
The limit is actually placed on virtual size of the downloaded area. The upper limit is approximately 80MB of data, and the lower limit is smaller than maps displays, somewhere below 100KB, equivalent to around .6 square miles.

Here is one place that mentions the 80MB limit. In my own testing, I was able to download up to 87MB of data, which is approximately 5625 square miles.

This may have been coincidence, but in my testing, the allowable size ranged from a square .75 miles on a side to a square 75 miles on a side.

---
Tags: google-maps
---


# Question
Title: Facebook Messenger incompatibility with Nexus 7
Is it possible to install Facebook Messenger on a Nexus 7?

I just tried but it says that the device isn't compatible without explaining to me why. It is hard for me to think of any hardware limitation that would prevent me from using that application.

# Answer
> 5 votes
It seems the incompatibility came only on the current version. You may install and use an older version or wait till it becomes available to your device.

In this thread there is a link to an older apk version that should work.

---
Tags: nexus-7, facebook-messenger
---


# Question
Title: Android Market gone after emulator reboot
I have installed Android Market on Android Emulator successfully using steps mention in \[How to\] Install Android market on Emulator

Market is installed without any issue but after emulator reboot Market is gone.

Can anyone help me in solving this problem?

**SPECS**

* OS=Ubuntu 10.04
* Android-SDK=2.3.3(API Level 10)
* Eclipse Indigo

**AVD Details:**

> Name: AVD
>
> CPU/ABI: ARM(armeabi)
>
> Path: /home/ma/.android/AVD.avd
>
> Target: Android 2.3.3 (API level 10)
>
> Skin: HVGA
>
> SD Card: 512M
>
> hw.lcd.density: 160
>
> vm.heapSize: 24
>
> hw.ramSize: 256

# Answer
> 4 votes
The Android emulator is resetting the system image when rebooting. You can find the changed version of the system.img in your `/tmp` here:

`/tmp/android-username/`

It usually has a name like `emulator-*`. Copy that file before shutting down the emulator.

# Answer
> 3 votes
When you restart the emulator make sure that "Wipe use data" is not checked. Also update the SDK to the latest. Not sure but I remember some issues with the emulator and user data on older versions.

# Answer
> 3 votes
Installing the market in the emulator is not that simple because by default the system partition is resettet on every reboot of the emulator.

If you want to make the changes permanent you have to delete the file `/system/app/SdkSetup.apk`

If you copy afterwards the two necessary files `GoogleServicesFramework.apk` and `Vending.apk` to `/system/app/` you will have an working market inside the emulator.

Hence, using the adb shell you have to execute the following commands:

```
mount -o remount rw /system
rm /system/app/SdkSetup.apk
adb push Vending.apk /system/app/
adb push GoogleServicesFramework.apk /system/app/

```

BTW: The necessary APKs can be found here: CyanogenMod Wiki Latest Version/Google Apps

---
Tags: google-play-store, android-emulator
---


title: Is there a Wi-Fi-only mode?

text:
# Question
Title: Is there a Wi-Fi-only mode?
Once I am connected to a Wi-Fi network (regardless of my other connections to 3G and 4G) is there any way to guarantee that all my data goes through Wi-Fi?

# Answer
Your phone will default to WiFi when it's available. If you're paranoid you can disable data while using WiFi but it's not necessary. I'm not sure how to do it on the Bionic but you could see if it's in the menu that pops up when you hold the power button for a couple seconds or something like unchecking **Use packet data** in `Settings -> Wireless and network -> Mobile networks`.
> 5 votes

# Answer
Though @Matthew answer is correct that a phone will default to Wi-Fi when it is available, that doesn't always ease the mind.

Something you can do to allay your concern is switch the phone into Airplane Mode. This will disable the cell signal and hence all data travelling through your carrier. However, it does not disable Wi-Fi.

Here's a link on how to do it on the Droid Bionic:

> From the main screen, press your Power Button (located on top) Select Airplane Mode to disable mobile network signal

Of course, you won't be able to receive any calls, and this might not be what you want, but it will certainly allay your concerns of using data.
> 5 votes

# Answer
You could also use a mobile data monitor/manager like Onavo Count | Monitor Data. You can block certain applications from using mobile.

Alternatively, avast! Mobile Security has a firewall module that allows for application specific data control.
> 1 votes

# Answer
Yes. All you have to do is:

**1)** Enable Airplane Mode
**2)** Now enable WIFI

Good luck!
> 0 votes

# Answer
Go to Settings \> Wireless & Networks \> Mobile networks and uncheck the box that says "Data enabled" to disable 3G, 4G etc.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: wi-fi
---


# Question
Title: Google Now gives absurd times for arriving on time
Google Now gives me absurd times in its notifications when it think I should leave the house. Just now, at 9:05 pm, it told me that I have to leave at 6:20 am for an event at 10 pm. 9:20 pm would actually be realistic. What may be causing this?

I have enabled Automatic Date & Time as well as Automatic Time Zone. I'm in Central European Summer Time; the clock works perfectly fine.

# Answer
> 2 votes
Have you enabled *Location Services*? Google Now determines the time you may take to get to your appointments from your **synced calendars** and your **current location**. I am sure you have synced calendars because Google Now reports an appointment. Location Services maybe an issue. If you are using the stock ROM for your device, enable Location Services and sign into *Latitude* to set your current location. Setting your location manually may also solve your problem. If you are on a custom ROM, you can set the device up to use only the *Internal GPS* to report your current location to Google Now. Hope this helps. If you give this a shot, report back with results for others to help you or be helped.

P.S.: This may be useful.

---
Tags: google-now
---


# Question
Title: Will a Custom Recovery work with an encrypted device?
I wanted to know whether using Android's built-in encryption (introduced in 3.0) would affect my ability to use a custom recovery (Clockwork Mod in my case).

More specifically if I will still be able to perform Nandroid backups/restores and flash new files and updates?

# Answer
> 4 votes
ce4's answer did not work for me on my Galaxy Nexus GSM (Maguro) using CWM 6.0.1.1. I kept getting errors from CWM telling me it couldn't mount /sdcard even after I mounted a tmpfs there and used adb to push the update.zip there.

After reading a thread at XDA I found out that unlike CWM, TWRP is capable of mounting an encrypted sdcard partition. So I downloaded TWRP for the GNex and flashed it using fastboot. When I booted in to recovery it asked me for the password for the encrypted sdcard partition and I was able to flash the update normally.

Links:
TWRP
XDA Thread

# Answer
> 13 votes
Yes, custom recovery works with encrypted honeycomb device. The built-in encryption doesn't touch ROM & firmware at all. It just encrypts accounts, settings, downloaded apps & their data etc. which can be located on phone memory, internal SD or external SD. That's why encryption is no longer present after factory reset because there's no encrypted data available.
Files for custom recovery environment live on ROM as firmware. That's why they survive factory reset. As Flashing files/updates has to do with ROM, you'll be allowed to do it. When it comes to Nandroid backup, you can do it too, but the chunk of encrypted data will backed up in that form which can't be restored using Titanium Backup. Yes, you could do Nandroid restore flawlessly.

# Answer
> 12 votes
On my encrypted Nexus S I use a temporary tmpfs mount on /sdcard in CWM. It has enough RAM to hold the new ROM in memory during the update:

Download your ROM to /tmp/update.zip and boot into recovery. Then log in via 'adb shell':

```
## on the host machine do:
me@workstation:/tmp$ adb shell
## now on the device in 'adb shell' mode...
~ # mount -t tmpfs none /sdcard/
## the following command is not needed, it only shows the newly created mount point
~ # df -h
Filesystem                Size      Used Available Use% Mounted on
[...]
none                    172.4M         0    172.4M   0% /sdcard
~ # exit
## now back on the host machine again
me@workstation:/tmp$ adb push update.zip /sdcard/
5567 KB/s (131676307 bytes in 23.097s)

```

Then do the usual update steps 'install zip from sdcard'.

EDIT: Starting with ICS/Jelly Bean there's the new **`adb sideload <filename-of-update.zip>`** method

It works with CWM from version 6.0.1.5 onwards and you need the Android SDK platform-tools v16 or better. If you're in CWM you can see a new entry **install zip from sideload** if it's supported.

The old method still works:
If sideload doesn't work, you can still use the tmpfs method. CWM expects /data/media as the location for the update.zip now, the mountpoint has however to be /data so you have to do this now:

```
me@workstation$ adb shell
~ # mount -t tmpfs none /data
~ # mkdir /data/media
## Go on with 'adb push update.zip /data/media' and then like above

```

Reason:
Starting with ICS+ the proposed partition layout has changed. There should be no FAT formatted sdcard partition any more but the external storage now resides within /data/ (/data/media). To remain compatible, a FUSE mount emulates the old FAT properties (access rights and such). You can see this when there's a fuse mount on /storage/sdcard0, it looks similar to this:

> shell@android:/ $ mount | grep fuse
> \[...\]
> /dev/fuse /storage/sdcard0 fuse rw,nosuid,nodev,relatime,user\_id=1023,group\_id=1023,... 0 0
> \[...\]

---
Tags: encryption, recovery-mode
---


# Question
Title: how to enhance the sound quality while recording the sound?
I want to enhance the sound quality while recording the sound on the android device, Is there and external device which is used for this. If yes then tell me for this I'll be thankful to you.

# Answer
> 2 votes
You can use any ordinary microphone that uses unbalanced connectors with suitable adaptors like this 3,5mm one. However, the resulting quality will depend on the DACs of the device and the application used, an external mic can only do so much.

---
Tags: audio
---


# Question
Title: How to make phonecalls on an Android AVD?
I am new to Android SDK and AVDs and I was wondering if there is anyway I can enable the cellular network on an Android AVD and make for example phone calls.

# Answer
> 12 votes
You can call between AVD's. Run 2 AVD, each will have diffrent number - it is placed on window title bar, example 5558. Call from one to other using this numbers. You can also text ;\]

In your AVD you simply cannot use real celluar network because your PC/Mac do not have built-in GSM modem (even if, AVD is not supporting this kind of feature).

---
Tags: calls, android-emulator
---


title: Android as a Virtual Printer

text:
# Question
Title: Android as a Virtual Printer
I'm looking for an android app that functions just like a printer: I hit PRINT on my Mac, PC, or iPhone, and a series of pages is immediately displayed on my android device.

I realize there are several options for this, and I have tried many of them, but none seem to fulfill two crucial requirements:

1. It has to really act like a printer, which means it has to immediately display the pages when I hit PRINT with no other intervention from me, including no app launching.
2. It has to expose itself as a normal IP printer on the local network (connected via WiFi) and accept normal network print jobs. Not going over the "cloud" like so many printer apps.

Why? I have an eInk android device that is much more convenient that hauling around a printer and paper.

# Answer
> 1 votes
The nearest I can think of is - generate a PDF and use that with some PDF reader such as EzPDF Reader ... but...

Having said that - Android **does not** have any facility to support printing (in any shape or form) so you may be out of luck with that!

Developers have often struggled with this and resorted to using the option to generate a PDF.. it is an oft-common question on StackOverflow on how to accomplish this!

Who knows, maybe Google noticed and realized that, just wait and see with the often rumoured Key-Lemon Pie or Lemon Meringue later on, just watch this space! :)

**Edit:**

There was another question that was asked here previously. Google Cloud printing, PrinterShare as per the answers on that question was mentioned.

***Amendment #1:*** The reason no print facility is there is because it is not a WYSIWG environment (What You See Is What You Get) unlike Windows which has a huge range of print driver support for all sorts including PDF.

The iText library is what developers struggle with - different pages, fonts, etc - it is a ***BIG*** technical feat... just saying :)

# Answer
> 1 votes
One idea would be to use the Kindle for Android app on your device and email the documents to your Kindle app using your Send-to-Kindle email address.

The missing link is a printer driver that sends print jobs via email. A quick search indicates that several are available. Here's a seemingly popular one for Windows.

# Answer
> 1 votes
I'd go with a print-to-pdf driver on the Windows or Mac end, and set it up to save stuff to a Dropbox.

On the Android side, keep Dropsync or equivalent running on the Android device, auto-downloading stuff as it shows up. To get the 'instant', you'll have to set Dropsync up to check frequently, or trigger it manually.

Without writing it yourself, you are VERY unlikely to find something running on Android that pretends to be a printer - it's just not a normal thing that most people want to do.

---
Tags: printing
---


# Question
Title: Galaxy Nexus: how to upload music in Linux?
As you know, Galaxy Nexus supports only MTP protocol for USB connection, which is not greatly supported under Linux. As a workaround, I have tried to upload my music to Galaxy Nexus through WiFi. I have installed "WebDAV server" (The Olive Tree) from Market and uploaded a couple of tracks to Music folder. But, Music app on the phone does not see any music, shows just "ways to add music..." message. Is there a way to force a rescan?

# Answer
Specific solution for my problem is to install Rescan SD application from Market and launch it after uploading music through WebDAV.
> 1 votes

# Answer
I suggest you to try QtADB, instead of your WebDav work-a-round.
I tried every way and this is by far the best.
> 0 votes

# Answer
I have to admit I have not played with Galaxy Nexus, but AIRDOID is claimed to be a good solution for moving files. I use it with both my phones and works fine. I know the new way parts are mounted makes a huge difference. I usually use Zimly as media player, and it finds uploded with airdroid files without any problems. You might need to re-scan media, as well.

If you are on Ubuntu, you might try this as last resort solution
> -1 votes

---
Tags: music, samsung-galaxy-nexus
---


# Question
Title: What is the screen life of an Android Tablet?
I'm unable to find technical specs on the life expectancy for the screen of a Nexus 7 (or any Android Tablet, for that matter).

Do you know how many total hours we can expect to get out of a tablet before it starts to die out?

FYI: I'm considering to use an Android tablet as the touch screen for an Industrial Controller. The Industrial Controller will be turned on 24/7 - which is obviously not the typical use case for a tablet - so I'm concerned that the tablet will burn out too soon (i.e. within a year or two).

# Answer
Sorry, this answer is slightly off-topic but still important for your use case.

The thing you are most likely to have to worry about is heat. Having the screen on will generate heat, and you will need to plug into an external power source which when charging the battery will also generate a lot of heat. This could damage the internal components (including the screen) over a long period, but unfortunately I don't have any evidence to support this.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: tablet, touchscreen
---


# Question
Title: Galaxy S3 Tmobile - Can't boot into Clockword Recover?
I hold down power up + home + power and it brings me to a screen that says Android System Recovery - I can't get the Clockwork Recovery. What could be the problem?

# Answer
> 1 votes
You will need to flash an other package after you install CWM. The Galaxy SIII has checks in its start up scripts that if the recovery has been modified it will replace it with the stock recovery.

You can try this Root Package and flash it after you flash CWM. Besides installing SU and superuser, this removes the scripts that does the Recovery Check.

The actual scripts that are responsible are :

1. /system/etc/install-recovery.sh
2. /system/etc/recovery-from-boot.p

The package, that I linked, will install root, busybox, and it renames these files so they don't execute.

When the device boots, these scripts run and check the recovery, if you modify it, it replaces it with stock. The only way around it is to stop these scripts from running.

---
Tags: clockworkmod-recovery, recovery-mode
---


# Question
Title: How much data does Google Maps navigation use?
Does anyone have a rough number for how much data Google Maps navigation uses per, say, 100 miles or something? I know it will vary slightly by user and area, but I'm just looking for an average/estimate.

I'm going to be driving to Canada soon, and trying to estimate how much "International Data" I should purchase on my plan to cover the Google Maps Navigation.

# Answer
Okay, I did a brief test the other day... only drove about 80 miles, ... obviously longer drives would give better averaging samples.

But from my short drive, it seems that Maps navigation uses roughly 1 MB for every 10 miles.
> 4 votes

---
Tags: google-maps, data-monitoring, google-maps-navigation
---


# Question
Title: How to create a symlink after I rooted my Samsung galaxy w GT-i8150?
How do I create a symlink from my `/sdcard/NaviSEA` to point to `/sdcard/external_sd/SD/NaviSEA`?

Even after rooting my device I still get "Operation not permitted" error and I did allow with `su` in my script :

```
$ su
# ln -s /sdcard/external_sd/SD/NaviSEA /sdcard/NaviSEA

```

Why doesn't my script work?

# Answer
Your external SD card is presumably (in pretty much every case) formatted as a FAT32 filesystem. FAT32 does not support symbolic links. Linking from a ext2/3/4 filesystem to a FAT32 filesystem would work, IIRC, but linking from FAT32 isn't possible.
> 3 votes

# Answer
It seems like `/sdcard` is FUSE fs "link" for `/data/media`.

**Try this:**

```
ln -s /data/media/external_sd/SD/NaviSEA /data/media/NaviSEA

```

(I don't know what "external\_sd" means on your device, but if this an external SD card you still can get errors.)
> 2 votes

---
Tags: file-system
---


# Question
Title: What is the boot process of an Android device?
From the user's perspective when switching on the phone, I see two boot animations in my LG P500 running CM10. The first animation is from LG and the second animation is from CM10. Then it settles in with a locked screen ready for my input.

What happens behind the scene (screen) during a boot process when an Android device is switched on? It will be helpful if the answers can help a non geek to understand various process and jargon (like, fastboot, bootloader, recovery, if applicable, etc.) regarding boot sequence.

# Answer
You will find a good explanation including graphics to visualize what's going on in the article The Android boot process from power on. Basically, the steps are as follows:

1. Execute Boot ROM code. This is stored in a hardware-specific area and keeps information on where to find the first stage of the boot loader, which is then loaded into RAM. You can compare the Boot ROM with the BIOS in your desktop PC.
2. Execute first stage of the boot loader. On desktop computers, this can be compared with the boot menu, e.g. Grub/LiLo on Linux. It sets up some basic stuff, and then turns control to the...
3. Linux kernel, which will, together with the init process, initialize the base system, e.g. caches, file systems, etc., and then calls...
4. Zygote, which initializes the Dalvik VM, and then starts the...
5. System server. Now we are in the Android-system, and set up all Android-specific services, like e.g. telephony manager and bluetooth. Finally comes:
6. Boot completed -- this event will be broadcast, so apps having registered listeners on this will be started.

To help you visualize this, here's the last image from the mentioned site:
> 25 votes

---
Tags: boot
---


# Question
Title: What does it mean to "brick" your phone?
I'm considering unlocking the bootloader on my Verizon Galaxy S3 (SCH-I535). However, a guide I was reading made this statement:

> Once you have unlocked your phone’s bootloader using this app, you must not receive any over-the-air (OTA) updates or via Samsung Kies. Doing so will result in bricking your phone.

I understand that bricking a phone means rendering it unusable, but does this also mean unrecoverable? When a phone is "bricked", does that mean it is virtually impossible to restore it to a working state?

I'm a little concerned about the risk if that is the case.

# Answer
The term "brick" usually refers to the stone, which means: "device can only be used as paper-weight". Taken literally, there's no way to "unbrick".

However, you also find terms like "hard-brick" and "soft-brick" used, which makes the term "brick" less absolute: A soft-brick is something you easily can recover from (count it as a "temporary paper-weight"), mostly by software-based solutions (e.g. re-flash your phone) -- while a "hard-brick" is rather meant in the way the original term points to.

Still, technically spoken, even a "hard-bricked" device could be "unbricked" -- but mostly this is more expensive then getting a new device.

As for the warranty declaration you quoted: For a normal user, it's almost impossible to (hard-) brick his device. Even when flashing a custom ROM, this can rarely happen, as there are many security-layers involved. Almost always you can boot your device into some fall-back mode where it is at least recognized by some "flashing software", so you could simply flash another/the original firmware back. Which means, the risk you are taking is to "soft-brick" your device1. A "hard-brick" is quite unlikely with "normal operations" like rooting or flashing custom ROMs.

**See also:**

1 I just learned: "Unless you've got a Samsung device and used the software recommended by Samsung". So better don't use Kies etc., but rather Odin, just to give an example.
> 17 votes

# Answer
Brick is a much-hyped word that gets bandied about without understanding what it is.

There's two types of brick, hard and soft. Let's go through this to make the distinction clearer.

* ***Hard*** \- this is where the handset will absolutely refuse to boot at the press of the power button.
**Diagnostics**: Dead screen, no power. That is the symptom of a hard brick.
**Reason**: This can happen by inadvertently pulling the cable when flashing a ROM or even an update via the handset's supporting software such as Samsung Kies, Sony's PC Companion Suite etc. That is the worst case, that is why in this scenario, always, make, sure that no cable gets pulled unless told so by the supporting software in question. The other way is this, flashing in that manner when the battery power is low. Hence for that reason, it is recommended to have at least 75% of battery power in place prior to doing the update in that fashion. It's known as hard-brick, and requires specialist cables and stripping the device down to the circuitry board to revive it via JTAG cables.
* ***Soft*** \- this can happen through a bad flashing of the ROM in which yields the following.
**Diagnostics**: it has power when the power button is pressed, and/or, the screen comes on.
**Reason:** It can be a user error on this part. For example, failing to clear/wipe the data/cache, can cause Android to go into a bootloop because of the mismatches with the Android's virtual machine and the apps installed, or more than likely, a corrupted dalvik cache. The other, is flashing a ROM that is not designated for the handset which can cause the kernel to go into a bootloop. This is generally easier to fix, but hangs, that is known as a soft-brick.

With those two separate forms of brick, it is generally speaking, a scaremongering tactic.

The one pure simple reason why carriers do not recommend unlocking the boot-loader, is not just for the warranty. It's more down to the fact, if the handset ever gets stolen, then unlocking the bootloader will wipe everything, and reinitialize the handset to factory state, thereby all your contacts, call logs, messages and apps gets wiped cleanly. Also, this is to reduce the amount of support in the carriers, with people calling in or ringing up the technical support, "What happened with my handset - I did something and lost my contacts?"

Just to finish off this answer, you can revert it back, by relocking the bootloader at a later stage if you wish, that is in the event the hardware got damaged and hand it back in for repairs.
> 9 votes

---
Tags: samsung-galaxy-s-3, bootloader, unbricking
---


# Question
Title: Is there a service/application that will allow a "friend" to retrieve my location from my phone without my involvement?
I'd like to allow my wife to query my location whenever she's curious. There are no trust issues here, so I don't care about acknowledging/approving her "ping" request, whenever she wants to know she can just request my location details.

Is there an app or service that does this? Most of them (understandably) require that the handset owner allow/permit the request, but I'd like this to happen without my involvement (say I'm busy at the office, driving, or getting groceries).

# Answer
> 10 votes
It sounds like Google Latitude does what you want. Once you opt-in you can then share your location data with your wife, and she should be able to check your location anytime. As far as I know, once you choose share your location data with someone they can retrieve it anytime without having to explicitly request your permission.

Latitude is built into the Google Maps application for Android. You can enable it by going into the application's settings and checking "Enable location sharing", then use the setting right below it ("Manage your friends") to choose who can see your location data.

# Answer
> 3 votes
You could also combine this with some anti-theft solution. E.g. Wheres My Droid reacts on "attention words" you set up, and e.g. sends the current location (also by SMS), or turns on the alarm on another "attention word". With your wife knowing (some of) those "attention words", she can get to know where you are (or rather where your device is) -- while at the same time you have some added value. Look for "anti-theft" on the playstore to find more like this, if it sounds useful to you.

---
Tags: gps, geolocation
---


# Question
Title: How do I switch my htc merge from us cellular to t-mobile?
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> Can I use my device on a different carrier?

I have unlocked it and I am trying to s-off, I am ignorant to cell hacking/programing ad don't know if I am doing anything that will help or hinder my operation. I have just been following youtube or sites advice but so far nothing has really helped. I have the t-mobile sim card but us cellulars programing is preventing service.

Please help(and use laymans terms cause like I said I am not too savy when it comes to this).

# Answer
You cannot. HTC Merge is a CDMA phone and US Cellular is a CDMA network, while T-Mobile is a GSM carrier. The two technologies are not compatible, and it's not possible to use phones between them.
> 4 votes

---
Tags: carriers
---


title: Boot loop after ROM write  in recovery

text:
# Question
Title: Boot loop after ROM write  in recovery
I have an HTC Sensation with ICS Android on it. **How can I revert back to Gingerbread?**

I have root and s-off. I tried to flash my Gingerbread ROM (??) in the recovery but am now stuck in a boot loop.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Do this:

* Boot into Recovery
* Wipe cache
* Wipe Dalvik cache
* Wipe them again
* Install your ROM

The first successful boot afterwards is going to take a while, as it is rebuilding Dalvik cache.

If you are not boot looping here, just let it go for a long while. If it boots a while and reboots, wait some more.

---
Tags: rom-flashing, recovery-mode, downgrade, htc-sensation
---


# Question
Title: How can I turn off the “allow automatic updating” for **all** apps?
Recently Google started to check the “allow automatic updating” for their apps without being asked, which I hate. I have to deactivate it for each app separately.

But more importantly this pushed Google Books onto my phone, which I don´t need and wastes precious 4 MB internal memory.

And here comes the nasty twist: Google book is not actually available for my System (for whatever reason). So I can´t get the applications market page to un-check the “allow automatic updating”.

This leaves me wondering: is there a way to deactivate the “allow automatic updating” for **all** applications?

# Answer
There bitter truth is there is none option to switch all automatic updated off in one go.

I solved my particular problem by rooting the phone. Since no exploit is known for 2.3.4 I had to unlock the phone. This in turn meant that both *Amazon MP3* and *Google Books* stopped updating themselves.

Which is one way to solve the problem. Still I removed the files using the following Script:

```
#!/opt/local/bin/zsh

setopt No_Err_Exit

adb -d uninstall com.amazon.mp3
adb -d uninstall com.google.android.apps.books

setopt Err_Exit

adb -d pull /system/app/com.amazon.mp3.apk Originals/com.amazon.mp3.apk
adb -d pull /system/app/BooksPhone.apk     Originals/BooksPhone.apk
adb -d pull /system/app/BooksPhone.odex    Originals/BooksPhone.odex

adb -d shell <<-EOF
    su
    mount -o remount,rw /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system

    busybox rm -v /system/app/com.amazon.mp3.apk
    busybox rm -v /system/app/BooksPhone.apk
    busybox rm -v /system/app/BooksPhone.odex

    mount -o remount,ro /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system

    busybox rm -v    /data/dalvik-cache/system@app@com.amazon.mp3.apk@classes.dex
    busybox rm -v -r /data/data/com.amazon.mp3
    busybox rm -v -r /data/data/com.google.android.apps.books

    exit
    exit
EOF

# vim: set nowrap tabstop=4 shiftwidth=4 softtabstop=4 noexpandtab :
# vim: -d set textwidth=0 filetype=zsh foldmethod=marker nospell :

```

**Warning:** This is script from the *“If you can't understand it you should not be using it”* category.
> 1 votes

# Answer
Market version 3.3.11 now has a setting called "Auto-update apps". Enabling it will effectively set each individual app associated with the account to auto-update, and disabling it will of course do the opposite. This setting is found by simply going into the Market's settings (`Menu Button->Settings` on phones, or use the top-right action bar on Honeycomb).

You can read about the release here. It also has links that could help you sideload the update if it is not automatically available to you.
> 8 votes

# Answer
You could use a program like Droidwall to block Market's internet access, this should keep it from installing/uninstalling programs.
> 3 votes

# Answer
If you have Titanium Backup installed you could try and Freeze the program **Software Update**.
> 2 votes

# Answer
Titanium Backup (root only) has "Market Tools". One of these tools is "Market Auto Updates" which presents a list of all your apps with their checkboxes for auto-updates. You can sort the enabled apps to the top, and you can "deselect all" to disable automatic updating for all apps.
> 2 votes

# Answer
Here's the trick:

1. Use an app manager to force stop the Play Store, then clear all the data.
2. Go to the Play Store's settings, then deselect "Auto update apps by default"
> 0 votes

# Answer
When in android market select my apps. u will see all the applications installed. select tha one u want to disable automatic updates. u will see a small checkbox at the bottom. uncheck it.
> -3 votes

---
Tags: google-play-store, 2.3-gingerbread, updates, application-autoupdate
---


# Question
Title: Prevent activating silent mode when screen is locked
Is there a way to prevent turning the sound (silencing the phone) off from the lock screen? This is a Motorola Droid 4.

I notice I've missed calls and check only to find that the sound has been turned off. I always make sure to turn the screen off thus activating the screen lock when I put the phone in my pocket. However, I see that the touchscreen still allows the speaker to turn off. Is there a way to deactivate this? I tried using the Droid inPocket app and it didn't solve the problem. In fact, I'm not sure what it did do.

# Answer
> 0 votes
\- http://www.vikitech.com/6075/best-android-lock-screen-apps

Essentially, if there is not an option in your security settings, you'll need to replace your lock screen.

---
Tags: lock-screens, silent-mode
---


title: Google Talk alert sound

text:
# Question
Title: Google Talk alert sound
Is it possible to change the alert sound when a new message arrives for Google Talk? My colleague and I both have Galaxy Nexus' running Jelly Bean and when either of us get a Google Talk message its very confusing! :)

I can't see a setting for it in Google Talk and it doesn't seem to use the "Default notification" sound that is set under Settings -\> Sound -\> System.

Thanks!

# Answer
In the Google Talk app when I go into `Overflow menu | settings | {username}@gmail.com` I see a setting for "Notification ringtone" under "Chat Notifications". That's what you want, no?

(I'm still on Ice Cream Sandwich so it's conceivable that things are a little different.)
> 5 votes

---
Tags: 4.1-jelly-bean, google-talk, alerts
---


# Question
Title: Why can I not assign exec permissions to a file on the SD card?
```
shell@android:/sdcard/SW # ls -l
-rw-rw-r-- root     sdcard_rw      128 2012-09-22 11:42 usb0config.sh
shell@android:/sdcard/SW # chmod 777 usb0config.sh
shell@android:/sdcard/SW # ls -l
-rw-rw-r-- root     sdcard_rw      128 2012-09-22 11:42 usb0config.sh
shell@android:/sdcard/SW #

```

Why can I not assign exec permissions to a file on the SD card?

```
$ adb shell su -c mount |grep -si sdcard
/dev/block/vold/179:97 /mnt/ext_sdcard vfat rw,dirsync,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,uid=1000,gid=1015,fmask=0002,dmask=0002,allow_utime=0020,codepage=cp437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,utf8,errors=remount-ro 0 0
tmpfs /mnt/ext_sdcard/.android_secure tmpfs ro,relatime,size=0k,mode=000 0 0
/dev/fuse /mnt/sdcard fuse rw,nosuid,nodev,relatime,user_id=1023,group_id=1023,default_permissions,allow_other 0 0

$ adb shell su -c "mount -t vfat -o umask=0000 /dev/fuse /mnt/sdcard"
mount: Block device required

```

Now it seems remount successfully.

```
$ adb shell su -c "mount -t vfat -o remount,umask=0000 /dev/fuse /mnt/sdcard"

```

but the file yet cannot be assigned 777 mode.

```
shell@android:/sdcard/Sw # ls -l
-rw-rw-r-- root     sdcard_rw      128 2012-09-22 11:42 usb0config.sh
shell@android:/sdcard/Sw # chmod 777 usb0config.sh
shell@android:/sdcard/Sw # ls -l
-rw-rw-r-- root     sdcard_rw      128 2012-09-22 11:42 usb0config.sh

```

The mount info doesn't change comparing to before remount's.

```
$ adb shell su -c mount |grep -si sdcard
/dev/block/vold/179:97 /mnt/ext_sdcard vfat rw,dirsync,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,uid=1000,gid=1015,fmask=0002,dmask=0002,allow_utime=0020,codepage=cp437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,utf8,errors=remount-ro 0 0
tmpfs /mnt/ext_sdcard/.android_secure tmpfs ro,relatime,size=0k,mode=000 0 0
/dev/fuse /mnt/sdcard fuse rw,relatime,user_id=1023,group_id=1023,default_permissions,allow_other 0 0

```

# Answer
> 15 votes
Unless you've done something unusual with your device, the SD card will be formatted as a FAT file system, which does not support \*nix file permissions. This Linux FAQ entry from one of MIT's professors explains it a bit, and also explains how you can potentially use mount options to change the permission mode of the device (this would require root, though, and affect all files/folders on the device). Also, the SD card in Android is mounted by default with the `-noexec` flag.

For the exec bit you'd probably want to remount with a umask of `0000`, since the umask is essentially a binary NOT of the permissions you want (so umask `0000` says **don't** mask out any permissions, allow them all). Untested, but doing it temporarily would be something along the lines of:

```
mount -t vfat -o umask=0000 /dev/your/sdcard/device /mnt/sdcard

```

The mount point may need to be changed from `/mnt/sdcard` to something slightly different depending on your device. Again, though, I believe `mount` requires that you have root permissions for this.

---
Tags: sd-card, file-system, file-permissions
---


# Question
Title: Upload contacts from Nokia to LG Optimus L5: phone numbers in notes field
I have exported contacts from Nokia to CSV and TXT files and upload to gmail contacts then I set LG to sync gmail contacts.

It worked but all contacts are in comments.

I can't call when I select contact and when someone calls me I do not see contact name.

How do I fix it?

# Answer
I had manually exported contacts to Google CSV, uploaded to Google Spreadsheets. Edited manually table by copying comments column to phone number column, deleted extra text, upload CSV to contacts again
> 1 votes

---
Tags: contacts, import
---


# Question
Title: Do the ROM files contain some information about themselves?
I have downloaded so many custom ROMs to try, but I did not organize them. One of the zip files is called "ODEXED.zip".

Is there any way to determine what it's name is just by inspecting the files in the zip file? Or maybe some other information about it?

This is just curiosity, I know I can just flash it and see its info in "Settings\>About Phone".

# Answer
Ok. I have found the answer, at least for that ROM:

In the `/system/build.prop` file in the zip file, the first "section" has build properties, which details all the information that is visible in the "About Phone" part.

This is an example of it here:

```
# begin build properties
# autogenerated by buildinfo.sh
ro.build.id=GINGERBREAD
ro.build.display.id=Hyper_Droid
ro.build.version.incremental=DDKT3
ro.build.version.sdk=10
ro.build.version.codename=REL
ro.build.version.release=2.3.6
ro.build.date=Wed Feb  1 15:11:04 KST 2012
ro.build.date.utc=1328076664
[...]
ro.product.brand=samsung
ro.product.model=GT-S5670
ro.product.name=GT-S5670
ro.product.device=GT-S5670
ro.product.board=GT-S5670
ro.modversion= v2.0
ro.author.name= Wilfred
[...]
# end build properties
#
# system.prop for GT-S5670
#

```
> 5 votes

---
Tags: custom-roms, system-info
---


# Question
Title: Will using a vpn also encrypt my 3G traffic?
Just wondering, because I've just set my phone up to forward wifi traffic through my DD-WRT router. But I've no way to verify if my 3G traffic is also going through my router.

Does anyone know if 3G traffic also goes through the vpn by default (if vpn is properly configured on the phone of course).

# Answer
> 8 votes
Yes, 3G traffic will go through your VPN if it's set up correctly. Whether or not your service provider supports that is another matter; some block VPN traffic (such as Verizon - see this thread).

---
Tags: 3g, encryption, vpn
---


title: How to activate Android debugging mode

text:
# Question
Title: How to activate Android debugging mode
I've recently upgraded my Samsung Galaxy 5 from Android 2.1 to 2.2 and I can't find Android debugging mode in the settings. I need to root my phone.

# Answer
It's usually located in

> Settings \> Applications \> Development

Of course, you could just perform a quick and easy root by installing Universal Androot as detailed here - http://androidadvices.com/root-unroot-samsung-galaxy-5-i5500-easy-tutorial/2/#.UF3Qi1H1pjc
> 13 votes

---
Tags: settings, usb-debugging
---


title: Downloading Kindle for Android tablet

text:
# Question
Title: Downloading Kindle for Android tablet
I got Android tablet with the latest OS (4.0). I am trying to install Amazon Kindle app on it. I access the Google market via browser and select install. Then it is saying it will be downloaded shortly, but nothing happens. What is the problem? For some unknown reason I can't connect to google market via app on the Android tablet itself (failed connection). Before that I was able to download and install apps on tablet. The tablet: Zenithink ZT ICS. Any suggestions? Thanks

# Answer
> 1 votes
You can try to install it directly from this page - http://www.1mobile.com/kindle-13239.html

However, be warned that due to certain geographical restrictions, the app may NOT work as intended if not supported.

Re: your market app not connecting - can you browse the net or connect other apps? Can you sync your Google account on your device? What tablet do you have?

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


# Question
Title: type "adb shell su" in terminal (cmd in win or console in Linux ) let the terminal hang
I just want to input more shell commands after typing `adb shell su`, but the terminal just return an "#".

It appears to be unresponsive to further commands.

How can I solve this problem? Recompile the `su` binary? Any other suggestions?

Other information: I use `ddmlib` to communication with Android phone, if I use `device.executeShellCommand("su", receiver)`, an exception occurs(*com.taobao.wireless.testlab.ddmlib.ShellCommandUnresponsiveException*).

# Answer
> 1 votes
typing a command, such as su, after adb shell only executes that command and returns. What you probably want to do is type adb shell, then once in shell type su. You will probably need to allow super user permissions, depending on certain boot.img/kernel configurations.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Do you have Superuser.apk installed? su is probably waiting for response from Superuser to prompt the user if the root access is granted.

---
Tags: adb, terminal
---


# Question
Title: Is there currently an easy way to root Sony Xperia S with stock ICS 4.0.4 ROM?
I'm looking for an easy way, which doesn't need Unlocking bootloader or flashing Roms, just like root solution for SE 2011 devices (one click). It's because I currently use my Xperia S for development purposes and can't afford bricking it! please tell me if there is a solution. Thanks!

# Answer
> 1 votes
Ok, at last, the mighty user of XDA, Bin4ary, has released a very nice and easy toolkit to root ICS JB roms of most sony phones, including Xperia S.

I used the tool and easily rooted my phone. Very fast and painless. No need to flash or unlock bootloader or anything.

If you are also interested, this is the page on XDA:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1886460

# Answer
> 6 votes
There's a guide on Rooting Xperia S ICS and GB over at XDAs. Not having any XPeria device, I cannot verify -- but the comments on the thread confirm it working. It does not even require the bootloader to be unlocked.

## Requirements for that method:

* Windows
* Net framework 3.5 or later

## Preparation:

1. Application Settings: \[Unknown sources\] checked {Allowed}
2. Application Settings: Development \[USB debugging\] checked {Allowed}
3. Application Settings: Development \[Stay awake\] checked {Allowed}
4. Settings -\> Display settings \[Screen timeout\] Set to 30 minutes
**If your screen goes off just once then you won’t be able to return to the installation properly. Very important!!**
Please think about your battery and try to keep the display brightness to a minimum.
5. Please use a regular picture for the background. Do not use the default live wallpaper.
6. Charge the Xperia S’s battery to 80%.
7. Use the Generic CH (1257-3740) XPERIA S LT26i ROM (6.1.A.0.452).
Can be found here along with the latest FLASTOOL link: XDA FileServer
8. Net framework 3.5 or later
9. Gingerbread part 1 and part 2

It also mentions a Root Toolkit.

## Installation Process:

1. Flash Gingerbread firmware wiping data and cache only if you are not on gingerbread
2. Run Step 1.bat
3. Install ICE CREAM SANDWICH without wiping anything
4. Run step 2.bat

> To enter CWM recovery you have to tap on sony logo at start few times.
>
> If it does not root properly first time run it again
>
> Thanks to Bin4ry for the files

## Alternative: Unlocking the Bootloader

An alternative method involves the SDK, and is described at AndroidPit (German; Google Translate 2 English here). this method, however, involves unlocking the bootloader -- so be aware of Sony's harsh politics when it comes to warranty in this case.

---
Tags: 4.0-ice-cream-sandwich, rooting, bootloader, stock-android, sony-xperia-s
---


title: S3 headphone jack not working properly

text:
# Question
Title: S3 headphone jack not working properly
My Galaxy S3 doesn't play music through an AUX cable, but it works with the headphones that came with it. What could be causing this, and how can I fix it?

# Answer
You should try another aux cable, it's possible that the TRRS layout doesn't match the phone's jack layout.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: music, headphones, headphone-jack
---


# Question
Title: Microphone "speaker mode" sensitivity with headphones plugged in?
In my car I have the headphone socket of my Galaxy S2 plugged into my car's auxiliary socket so that I can listen to music/podcasts whilst driving.

This would also be useful for handsfree calls - except that when someone rings, I can hear their voice through the car speakers, but they can barely hear me. If I press the "speaker" button, then they can now hear me perfectly, but I can't hear them.

Is there any way to have the microphone sensitivity of "speaker mode", but with incoming audio still going through the headphone socket?

If not, does anyone know of any hands free alternatives without spending a fortune on a bluetooth hands free kit?

# Answer
> 0 votes
You could get a mic/speaker splitter cable, which separates the input and output of the phone's jack into separate jacks for mic and speakers. Then use the mic port to run a separate microphone to your dash or steering wheel column.

---
Tags: headphones, volume-control, microphone, hands-free
---


# Question
Title: How can I mount or unmount the SD Card using ADB?
The sdcard can be umounted by using the umount command.

```
unmount /mtn/sdcard/.android_secure

```

how can it be remounted again . I tried using the mount command

```
mount /mnt/sdcard/.android_secure

```

# Answer
Connect your device and at the command prompt:

Type `adb devices` & press enter (Your device should now be listed)...

Type `adb shell` & press enter (Wait for the "#" to appear)....

Type `mount sdcard` next to the "#" sign & press enter...

You will need to know the mount point also if you intend to mount the external card.

As an example:

> su mount -o bind /mnt/emmc /sdcard/external\_sd
> 6 votes

---
Tags: sd-card, adb, mount
---


title: android.process.acore has stopped

text:
# Question
Title: android.process.acore has stopped
I backed up one galaxy S3 and did a restore on another. Then I try to boot the new one and I get a message "Unfortunately the process android.process.acore has stopped". After hitting OK a few times I get Unfortunately TouchWiz has stopped. Then back to the first message. I can't get past this msg. I thought that maybe I should do another Restore but I can't get to anything cause this happens as soon as I boot.

# Answer
> 2 votes
In short, never ever back up *system apps and settings* from one handset and restore to another, that is exactly what happens! :)

Mismatches with system app's key signature conflicts with another's ROM's key signature, and variants of settings as well may not exist on the other, all of those can lead to breakages such as what the OP is experiencing.

The only way to get that back, is to perform a factory reset to restore everything back to its original state.

---
Tags: titanium-backup
---


# Question
Title: How can I see the status of the latest CyanogenGen builds?
I see that CM10 nightlies for galaxysmtd have not been built for a while. Is the status of the latest builds available anywhere, so that I can see *why* they haven't been built?

# Answer
Rule of CM - never ask for ETA's, changelogs!

Only recourse is to look up the review site instead and filter it out for the appropriate device instead to see what code changes were checked in/rejected, in this case, use this as a search query on the top right hand corner of the page.

```
status:open project:CyanogenMod/android_device_samsung_galaxysmtd

```

Then can drill down the review, depending on what type of CyanogenMod ROM, be it GB, ICS or JB.

Usually, there is a reason as to why there's no build, check with their forum or IRC channel. :)
> 2 votes

---
Tags: cyanogenmod
---


# Question
Title: How to sync playlist to Samsung Galaxy S3 from Kies?
I just got my new Galaxy S3 today (after a couple of years using BB and iOS) and I installed Samsung Kies on my computer. Kies's interface is quite intuitive (laying out everything almost the same like iTunes) so I created a few playlists and dragged a few songs to each playlist. Then I clicked on the icon for my phone and selected `Sync > Multimedia > Sync Music > Selected Playlist`, chose all the playlists I wanted And clicked `Sync`.

It transfered quite fast, but when I checked the phone I found all my songs, but no playlists. I tried searching just now to find an answer, and it appears there are other poeple with the same problem. Some people mentioned some paid app or software to do this, but I don't want to buy an extra app just to do this job. I'd also like to avoid having to re-create the playlists manually on my phone.

Could anyone point out what I am missing, or a way around this problem?

# Answer
> 0 votes
i have the same problem with Kies, all music but no playlists! I tried WinAmp but no luck there either, it did crash alot on my PC, and S3.

So i tried a few other apps on play store, I'm using Easy Phone Tunes, i paid just over £1.00 for it, now it does all ther playlists... But.. out of 2226 tracks it syncs about 1980 tracks. However it gives me a list of all that it won't copy, it's a shame i can't copy/paste info from that list. I know it won't copy DRM Tracks, but i only have about 3 of those that i've bought from iTunes anyway. I've emailed the DEV of the Easy Phone Tunes app for the PC & S3, i'm running sync again now to generate a log file to send him.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Same Issue. On my old android phone the best solution for me was Songbird with the Folder Sync plugin. Unfortunately Samsung Galaxy S3 only supports MTP mode and not mass storage mode, and folder sync will not work in MTP mode.

I have tried several desktop players and they all fail to syn playlists properly: Windows Media Player, Songbird, Media Monkey, and WinAmp. They all have the same problem, they create the play lists in the playlist folder and if you click on them they look OK but when you open them in the phone's player no songs.

I did find an interesting post for creating .m3u files with a script and copying them to your music folder here: http://androidforums.com/samsung-galaxy-s3/583712-syncing-music-playlists-galaxy-s3.html

Turns out that Songbird + Folder Sync plugin will create the right kind of m3u playlists so you can stage what you want on your phone using Folder Sync then cut and paste it into the phones music folder using Windows Explorer.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Since we can't transfer the playlist directly from the PC the alternative is to store the songs that you need in a playlist onto the mobile in a **folder**. Then create a playlist on the mobile and when you have to add the songs transfer the songs from the folder containing the specific songs. Until Samsung makes the playlist transfer feature same as iPhone, this seems to me the only method available for the moment.

---
Tags: music, samsung-kies, samsung-galaxy-s-3
---


# Question
Title: Galaxy S 2 battery won't charge while being on
First of all, LOVE the Galaxy s2, even though it has some problems - which phone doesnt, right?

I've had the Samsung Galaxy S2 for 2 months. It worked fine. Since a week my phone won't charge the battery while being on. I would charge my battery almost every night. At night almost empty, I wake up and its full. Now a week ago I woke up and the battery had only 3 % left and it was VERY warm. Unplugged it, tried it again. Turned phone on and off... Nothing worked. When my phone died, I left it to cool and then charged it again in it's off state for a few hours. I turned it on and the battery was full again!

I use the original charger, I haven't changed anything since having the phone.

So now I can only charge my phone while it's off.. Not ideal...

Has anyone had the same problem?? Any advise is welcome!

Thanks!

# Answer
Try factory reset. My phone had this issue as well. After a factory reset it worked fine. But be sure you back up all the important data first.
> 3 votes

# Answer
This happens to me as well and I'm glad that I've found a thread related to it. Yes, the phone stop charging sometimes and then it will make the battery very hot. If you still charge it and somehow reached 100%, your battery will drain really fast. Let me share you guys what I did and actually made my battery last longer. When I noticed that the battery dropped from 100% to 95% in 3 minutes without doing anything, I waited until it reach 85% then turned the phone off. I charged it again up to a 100% (it actually took a long time again to charge it to 100%) and after that, my battery is performing a lot better. 12hours and it was just down to 75% with browsing, games and stuff, so this is the trick that I do whenever I encounter this issue. :)
> 1 votes

# Answer
I don't think it's your charger (though you should try another just to discount this). I think it's a problem with the phone. My SGS2 is incredibly slow to charge, and sometimes even seems to lose a few % while charging if I actually use the phone. It also gets very hot (I dropped a temp widget on it and the highest record temp so far is 120F).

Try turning radios off but leave the phone on and see if your charge time improves. I'd do them one at a time to see which one is actually the problem child. I haven't exactly isolated mine, but personally I think it's the HSPA+.
> 0 votes

# Answer
I would assume it's related to battery stats. If they got screwed up then the phone can think it's drained when it's full and tries to charge (creating the heat). A series of full drains and charges should help, especially if the stats are cleared first. You should be able to do this from ClockworkMod Recovery if you have it.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: samsung-galaxy-s-2, battery, charging
---


title: Can I change system locale by command?

text:
# Question
Title: Can I change system locale by command?
For some reason I need to change system locale temporarily. Can I change system locale using some command? or script? So that i can run it with tasker's built-in shell.

# Answer
You can do this with the Secure Settings plugin. Parts of it require root, so I'm not sure whether this will work if you're un-rooted. It works perfectly for me, but I'm rooted.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: localization, tasker, automation
---


title: ICS ROM with no Slovenian language

text:
# Question
Title: ICS ROM with no Slovenian language
I bought HTC desire S in Slovenia and it has installed karnel ROM:

```
    RUU_SAGA_ICS_35_S_HTC_EU_14.01.401.2_20.76.30.0835_3831.19.00.110_275068

```

This ROM do not offer Slovenian language. So i need help what to do to have Slovenian android version. It is not metter even if it is 2.3 version. Only that it has official android with Slovenian language.

Any idea how to use my device with Slovenian language?

# Answer
> 1 votes
I would recommend installing a custom ROM with support for the language you need. I think CyanogenMod might be a good try since it's usually very stable and close to "stock" ROMs of Android. You can find the stable CyanogenMod version for HTC Desire S here.

Rooting and flashing ROMs on your device might require some work on your device if it's not rooted, or if it's rooted it might be quite simple. Since you don't offer any information on whether you are rooted or not, here's some resources for you to look up:

All of this is of course assuming that your current Android version *does not support changing the language*. You might want to look in your menus just to make sure. If it's not there, you need to get another ROM.

If you have any questions, please comment on this answer and I'll try to expand on it accordingly.

---
Tags: 4.0-ice-cream-sandwich, 2.3-gingerbread, languages
---


# Question
Title: How can I turn off the "low battery" noise?
I've started getting a loud beep notification when my battery hits 15%. Possibly this happened after an Audio Manager update but I don't see any settings in the app to change it. Previously the notification was silent, I didn't even know it could have a sound! There doesn't seem to be a relevant setting under `Settings -> Sound`.

How can I disable this notification sound?

I'm rooted, running 2.2 (TeamWhiskey's NextGen v1).

# Answer
> 1 votes
If you go into `/system/media/audio/ui`, you can delete/rename `LowBattery.ogg` to remove the low battery sound. This will work as long as it is using the system low battery sound as an alert. I don't know anything about Audio Manager, or whether this is even possible, but it may be using its own sound, in which case this would not work.

This requires:

1. A rooted device
2. A SuperUser enabled file browser/terminal emulator
3. /system to be mounted in read/write mode

---
Tags: notifications, battery, samsung-vibrant
---


# Question
Title: Why doesnt my Phone vibrate for messages
Currently, when I put my phone into vibrate mode, it only vibrates for calls. It does nothing for texts or emails, however, so I don't know when I've received one. Does anyone know a way to enable vibrating when a text or an email is received? My phone is a Samsung Galaxy S GT-I9003 superclear LCS.

# Answer
Go to "Messages", click on the menu button, choose "Settings". Then you can choose whether to vibrate or not in the "Notifications".
> 1 votes

---
Tags: notifications, settings, vibration
---


title: Swype flashing on and off

text:
# Question
Title: Swype flashing on and off
I just upgraded my Samsung Galaxy SII phone, unlocked from Gingerbread to stock ICS (ver 4.0.3), and I think it looks cool in many aspects. One thing I am getting annoyed with though is the Swype. I used it all the time before, and it was amazing. What is happening now is that when I swype, get my list of suggestions, then I have about 2 seconds to click on the proper word before the suggestion list goes away, and my screen refreshes. This is killing the battery very fast, and is very annoying when typing longer messages. **Is there a way to set the suggestion bar to stay put like in Gingerbread?**

# Answer
> 0 votes
As per @Chahk's answer

> I guess it depends if Swype came pre installed on your handset. In that case I don't think you can uninstall it. In either case, try going to **Settings** -\> **Apps** and see if Swype is listed. Tap it and try to uninstall it. Then you can go to beta.swype.com, download the installer, install it, run it, and follow directions to sign in and install the beta.

---
Tags: 4.0-ice-cream-sandwich, samsung-galaxy-s-2, swype
---


title: How to compose plain text email

text:
# Question
Title: How to compose plain text email
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> Disable HTML Emails in composer

I'm baffled - my Samsung Galaxy Note running Android Ice Cream Sandwich ICS 4.0.4 has a default email client - which is rather neat.

One thing that baffles me - how to make it send email in plain text form only - HTML email is evil and it seems to be composing HTML by default.

I tried googling, but with so many generic terms - it's hard to find proper keywords.

# Answer
> 4 votes
If it's not available in the app settings, the functionality most likely simply isn't there. There are other clients you can use if it's important to you. If you want some tips for alternative apps, I suggest you look at The Best Alternative Android Apps to Manage All Your Email, or Google for a similar article.

---
Tags: 4.0-ice-cream-sandwich, email, html
---


# Question
Title: Transferring  files directly between Tablet and Phone
I want to copy files between my tablet (Toshiba AT100 with Android 4.0) and phone (Samsung Nexus S with Android 4.1) using the USB cable.

The tablet has a USB host port and once connected, the phone senses the host and asks to go into USB Storage mode. All looks good, select copy on the tablet, navigate to the mounted USB0 and to the desitred folder on the phone. However, selecting paste gives an access error. I assume it is a permission error. How do I fix this and allow the transfer. Do I need certain file explorer apps or is there a setting?

# Answer
> 1 votes
You nay also want to try using a variety of file transfer programs like Soft Data Cable or ES File Explorer File Manager; both of which should be able to transfer via Bluetooth, or over Wifi (ftp, etc) if you connect them on the same network.

Another alternative may be using a USB hosting app such as stick mount but requires root access!

---
Tags: 4.0-ice-cream-sandwich, file-transfer, usb-host-mode
---


# Question
Title: Unrooting Galaxy Nexus - dies when plugged in
I rooted my Galaxy Nexus (Verizon) in order to get Jelly Bean. I got more than I wanted. The issues that have come from this are horrible. Whenever I plug my phone into a computer - it dies. It won't boot until I unplug it. I installed what I thought was a stock ROM of Jelly Bean (it was AOKP which has no way of installing apps), and now I'm completely stuck. I can't boot into recovery mode. I can't flash any ROMs to it and I can't plug it into a computer to run the Nexus Toolkit.

I just want to get back the official Jelly Bean OS. Please help.

# Answer
> 1 votes
You'll need to have the Android SDK installed, particularly the `fastboot` tool. (You probably have this already if you've rooted your phone.)

Go to Google's factory images page, find the section called "mysid" near the bottom, and download the 4.0.4 file.

Turn your phone off, then hold both the Volume Up and Down buttons, and press and hold the Power button. You should see the phone's bootloader screen, which looks like a green droid with its front panel open, and an arrow at the top that says Start. Don't press any buttons here, but plug in your USB cable.

Extract the factory image file that you downloaded. Inside, you should find a file called `image-mysid-imm76k.zip`. Open a command prompt, `cd` to the folder with that file, and run `fastboot -w update image-mysid-imm76k.zip`. That'll reflash the phone's factory software image, which should put it back to normal. (You'll be running ICS at this point, but you can do the Jelly Bean OTA upgrade afterward if it's available to you.)

This may wipe all your phone's data — including the "SD card" internal memory — so make a backup of anything important first.

---

If your AOKP "has no way of installing apps", it sounds like when you installed it, you forgot to install the "gapps" add-on, which includes the Play app as well as other Google apps like Gmail. But the other problems you described shouldn't happen — I've put AOKP on my Galaxy Nexus and it works fine. If you still have problems after flashing the factory image, you'll need to provide more detailed information about what's happening.

---
Tags: samsung-galaxy-nexus, unrooting
---


title: How do I start a new SMS conversation?

text:
# Question
Title: How do I start a new SMS conversation?
All the messages I ever exchange with one number are listed as one conversation. How do I start a new conversation with someone on the same number?

If this is an organisational thing, then I'd like to be able to use it as one and genuinely treat new subjects as new conversations. Or not to be told that every message I ever send someone is part of one long conversation when it isn't.

# Answer
> 4 votes
> I don't particularly want to have to delete my entire message conversation with that person just to get rid of an error message; if anyone knows another way to get rid of the 'failed' I'd appreciate that too.

You don't, you just have to delete the message that is failing. Long press it, choose "Delete".

> How do I start a new conversation with someone on the same number?

How do you expect your phone to understand what messages belong in which category? The only way I see this working is if there's a function to put "all messages from now on" in a separate conversation, but that's not a feature that exists in the standard SMS application, and not in any app that I know of.

Dividing your past messages with a contact in two parts makes no sense, it would be even harder to find a message then if you can't remember what "conversation" you've put it in. Not only would you have to scroll back to see it, you would also have to pick the right category. Surely it's easier to sort the messages on a by-contact basis and just scroll.

---
Tags: sms
---


# Question
Title: How do I just charge (i.e. not mount for data transfer) a Galaxy Nexus when connected via USB to a PC?
I like to be able to charge my phone from any PC I happen to be using. With my previous HTC Android, I could default to "charge-only" and only switch it to "mount as disc drive" when I wished to, on my own machines.

Why? Being prompted for driver installs (at least on a Windows machine) is annoying; connecting a storage device to a PC I don't own may be against policy/protocol/politeness.

It would appear that the Galaxy Nexus uses two protocols, MTP and PTP; I currently have only MTP switched on, but can't turn it off.

I could try to find a '"USB" cable that only connects pins 1 & 4 ... \[to provide\] ... power and no data'.. But this would mean carrying two different USB cables around.

Any other solutions?

# Answer
This feature is called "fast charge", and it charges your device slightly faster by disabling the USB data capability. It's not available in the stock ROM that I know of, so you need a ROM and a kernel that you know supports this. I'm using AOKP with the Franco kernel and it works great on my Galaxy Nexus, so you could try that. (There's even a quick toggle for fast charge available).

There's *probably not* an unrooted solution for this.

> Being prompted for driver installs (at least on a Windows machine) is annoying

It might be good to know that installing the correct USB drivers for the Galaxy Nexus in Windows is not something that happens automatically. If you decide to root and flash your device, you'll encounter this; I highly recommend using Galaxy Nexus Toolkit to make the procedure as easy as possible (it's really not that hard).
> 5 votes

---
Tags: samsung-galaxy-nexus, charging, usb-connection-mode
---


title: Pushing files to my tablet from PC

text:
# Question
Title: Pushing files to my tablet from PC
I have a Sony Tablet S.

When I'm browsing the Google Play webpage on my PC, I can install applications by just pushing the **Install** button and choosing my device - all done on my PC. Then a moment later, automagically, the application is installing on my tablet.

Is there some similar functionality to send pdf/mp3/mp4 files to my tablet from my PC?

# Answer
Awesome Drop does exactly what you are looking for.

Drag and drop into a page on your pc's browser and the are automatically downloaded to your device.

Edit:

Here are a couple other options:

1. **Wifi Syncr:** If you are connected to the same wifi network this will do exactly what you want. You basically setup a shared folder in Windows and anything you put in that folder is pushed to the designated folder on your device. It's a one way sync: PC =\> Device. You *may* be able to set this up to work remotely over the internet if you use a Dynamic DNS service but I don't really know.
2. You can use a cloud service like Flow mentioned in his answer and couple that with an app that will automatically keep the local folders on your device synced so you won't have to manually download each file. I personally use **DropSync with my Dropbox account**. I've also used **FolderSync with Google Drive** (FolderSync actually syncs with tons of cloud services). Both are paid apps but have lite versions that limit you to one folder which would work. The drawback to this method is that there is a way to set it up to detect changes on your local device and sync immediately, however it can't detect changes to the cloud directory so files would only be downloaded to your device on the sync schedule you setup.
> 2 votes

# Answer
I think most similar way to do this like what Google Play does, is:

If your files are saved on PC, and your device is connected to the same network as your PC (including local networks without internet connection), then you can use remote android controllers, like free and powerful AirDroid to upload files from PC to the device *(batch files and folder transfers are supported)*.
> 3 votes

# Answer
Instead of explicitly pushing a file to your Android device, have a look at cloud storage providers. For example Dropbox or Google Drive. IMHO that is a superior approach, but it comes with two drawbacks:

1. privacy/security concerns
2. (Sometimes) the file will have to be uploaded first before you can retrieve it on your device. There is no direct file transfer from your PC to the device which is desirable when dealing with large files.
> 3 votes

---
Tags: file-transfer
---


# Question
Title: Android - “SIM card doesn't allow a connection to this network” ERROR
I have a problem with my Xperia X10 (U20i). I purchased it new. It worked fine for a week or so, then I switched to another network operator. When I try to connect automatically it says "Registered on network" but there is no signal. I changed 3 sim cards so far. Still the same. When I put the sim card in another phone that also works, the other phone manages to find the signal. I put back the sim card in my Xperia, it works fine until for some reason I have no signal and the circle continues. I love my phone, I want it to work, with this provider.

I am very annoyed. The network provider doesn't know what could it be, they blame the phone. But the phone works with other providers with no problem so I assume it is something else.

I did a factory settings restore, I checked for updates.

I want to fix it, this issue drives me crazy and I don't want to let it go, I want to FIX it.

# Answer
I think I am answering little late, but I feel my pointers might solve the issue. But still not sure.

1. Please check in what mode you are ? I mean are you in `WCDMA only`, `GSM only` or `GSM / WCDMA preferred` mode ? The best for both 3G and 2G could be `GSM / WCDMA preferred` mode which can switch the signal based on the 2G or 3G network. So try to change to other modes also(`GSM only`(For 2G only signals) or `WCDMA only`(For 3G only signals)).

If still no help then follow the next step.

1. Backup all your data to SDCard or PC and try `Factory data reset`. Don't do the `Settings reset`. Because it will do a reset of other things(Like display, Volume, etc). `Factory data reset` option do a reset of all the things in your phone. So make sure that all the data in your phone(Contacts, Call Log, SMS, MMS, Market Applications, etc) backed up properly.

If still no help take the phone to a nearest Sony Ericsson Customer Care center.
> 1 votes

# Answer
Have you tried manually choosing a network in `Network & Wireless`, or manually setting the APNs for your new carrier?

Also, is the phone unlocked? If it locked to another carrier, you won't be able to use it on your current carrier until it's unlocked.
> 0 votes

# Answer
A locked phone should stop you and prompt you for the Network Unlock key. Since you don't get that prompt, either one of two things is happening:

* Phone is permanently locked (incorrect network unlock key entered too many times)
* Phone is unlocked

Do you have a third provider you can test, or borrow a SIM card for?

The phone doesn't say "SIM not recognized"/"Please insert a SIM card" so my guess is frequencies. What GSM frequencies are used for the new provider?

I had a phone (Euro-version OpenMoko FreeRunner) that didn't do one of the frequencies used for GSM in the US - it would work on 1900MHz but not 850MHz - which meant that I would not have signal when many other AT&T users would.
> 0 votes

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Tags: 2.2-froyo, sim-card, sony-xperia-x10-mini-pro, networking
---


title: Restart in safe mode on Galaxy Nexus

text:
# Question
Title: Restart in safe mode on Galaxy Nexus
I have an unrooted Verizon Galaxy Nexus, just recently upgraded to Jelly Bean.

One of the touted features of Jelly Bean was the addition of the "Restart in safe mode" option from the power menu. (Long-press power button.)

However, no such option is available. In fact, it's the exact same options I saw under Android 4.0.4 (Power off; Airplane mode; silent; vibrate-only; sound on).

Is there a setting I missed? Or is this really a hardware option for the Nexus 7?

# Answer
> 6 votes
On the Nexus 7 there's not a separate menu option for "Reboot into safe mode". You have to long press on "Power off" and then the safe mode dialog appears. I'd try that, since I imagine it would work the same way if the GNex supports it.

---
Tags: 4.0-ice-cream-sandwich, samsung-galaxy-nexus, settings, power-options
---


title: HTC Wildfire won't boot

text:
# Question
Title: HTC Wildfire won't boot
My HTC Wildfire will not boot up. When I boot normally with the SD card in, I only get a screen that says "Fastboot" with the options bootloader, reboot, reboot bootloader and power down. It says to use the volume keys to select the option and press the power button to select. Using any of these buttons does nothing.

I then need to take the battery out, and power up while pressing the volume up button. I get an HBoot menu with the options fastboot, recovery, clear storage and simlock. The volume button does not allow me to select anything, but when I press the power button to select fastboot I get a number of messages saying `SD checking load image [xxxx.zip] No image found` This happens too quickly for me to see the name of the files missing.

I am able to connect my phone to a computer using USB, but I can do nothing there also.

Anybody got any suggestions?

# Answer
Basically something wrong and bad happened and hence your phone is unable to boot. I am not sure this is the answer, but I am just trying to help as I too faced such problem and was in panic during initial days with Android.

This XDA site beautifully explains the boot related problems and how you could get over. Basically you have to reflash the ROM for which you need few USB drivers + flashing tool and original or some other ROM. Though I am unable to point you to exactly to sites that provide these, I guess you can easily search for it.

TIP: Had if your phone Clockworkmod recovery, things will be bit easy. This is one convincing reason, I made up my mind to root and install CWM recovery as a first step on all my devices.
> 1 votes

# Answer
Before facing problems, make some backups : *Nandroid* for full and *Titanium* for partial ones.

When problems occurs, use restore from this backups.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: boot, fastboot, htc-wildfire
---


# Question
Title: Screen issue on Asus Transformer Prime TF201?
Sometimes when using the Asus Transformer Prime TF201, I see some artifacts or static occuring along the left side of the screen as pictured below. It kind of looks like a white barcode. It is running the latest version of Android 4.0.3 the **"Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime TF201 Firmware: V9.4.2.28"** this tablet has not been unlocked, yet...

Asus Transformer Prime TF201 screen distortion (click image to enlarge)

Happens most often when viewing web pages in Chrome, etc. It does not happen all the time. Any ideas what might be causing this? Software, hardware, anyone else ever seen anything like this?

Is this a hardware aka warranty issue?

# Answer
I've seen this on occasion on mine. It seems to be a software issue, triggered by certain usage patterns. This post on XDA-developers has some info on how you may be able to trigger it. That community seems to be hoping that the 4.1 Jelly Bean update will include a cure.
> 3 votes

---
Tags: screen, asus-eee-pad-transformer
---


# Question
Title: Where is the official location to conduct feature requests?
I often have moments where I have improvement ideas for the Android OS, but don't know where to direct those suggestions. What forum, group, mail list, site, app, etc. is used for official feature requests for the Android OS?

# Answer
> 6 votes
The Android Bug Report system.

Search to see if someone has already suggested the feature, then submit your idea using the feature request template.

---
Tags: bugs
---


# Question
Title: The long SMS is converted to MMS and shows sending. How do I make sure it is sent?
I typed a long message and it was converted to a multimedia message. When I press the send button it shows "sending" but never shows "sent". How do I know it has been sent or not?

# Answer
It hasn't. The status would change if the message went through. Now you'll have to check you MMS settings from `Messaging ->``menu``-> Settings -> Multimedia message settings` and your MMS APN from `Settings -> Wireless -> Mobile networks -> Access point names` (or `Settings -> More.. -> Mobile networks -> Access point names` in newer versions).

After you have corrected these and verified that your carrier/operator has enabled MMS on your account, the message should be sent. Or you have to long-press it and select `Retry`.
> 2 votes

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Tags: mms
---


title: Integrate Facebook chat and SMS

text:
# Question
Title: Integrate Facebook chat and SMS
Is there a way to seamlessly integrate Facebook chat and SMS messaging? I am looking for a method that hides the detail of how a message was sent to a given contact or number as much as possible.

# Answer
The new Facebook Messenger released last week integrates SMS and Facebook Messages in the same app.
> 1 votes

# Answer
> I am looking for one that hides the detail of how a message was sent to a given contact or number as well as possible.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by that. Do you mean you want it to not say whether it came through SMS vs. Facebook?

Anyway, there are numerous apps for this purpose. Some ideas:

1. GO SMS Pro plus the Facebook Chat plug-in
2. IM+
3. Yuilop
4. HeyWire
5. Pinger
> 1 votes

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Tags: sms, facebook
---


title: File Transfer on LAN using WiFi

text:
# Question
Title: File Transfer on LAN using WiFi
User 'Logos' stated the following in another question's response:

> If you just want to transfer files while on your LAN and you're using WiFi, Samba Filesharing works super well. You can just browse to your phone's SD card like it was a regular network samba share from your desktop.".

I'm using Ubuntu Lucid on my desktop and Cyanogen Mod 7.2 on my ZTE Blade phone. Could anyone define the steps required to do the above?

---

Silly me for not noticing Enable on the Menu options. I'm now getting on Samba Filesharing 'Title' screen: Enabled - Running,\192.168.1.4 (i.e. correctfixed ip address assigned by router using phone's MAC address), \ANDROID, Wakelock Active. But when trying (in Nautilus) to 'Connect to Server' (with parameters of SSH & 192.168.1.4), I get popup displaying 'Could not display "sftp://192.168.1.4/", because the host could not be found.'. Router's admin shows that phone is not attached! I can ping phone from PC. but not vice versa. Tried using Terminal Emulator to ping PC from phone: tested first by phone ping itself but don't know how to stop Terminal Emulator as no Ctrl key on soft keyboard. ATP does not kill it!

# Answer
> 2 votes
There are 2 options:

* Root your phone.
* Install the Samba Filesharing app, or any other Samba server for Android.
* Install samba on Ubuntu, or any other Samba client (there are some on Android too). This should do: `sudo apt-get install samba`, or any other equivalent command on another OS. You don't need this step on a Windows machine.
* Optional: Install an app on your PC to make it easier to configure samba on your PC. `apt-cache search samba` should give you some good results (or anything equivalent).

The point is that this Android application will let your device show in the "My Network Places" of Win XP, and the "Network" of Win Vista/7 and Ubuntu. From there you can browse to `smb://ANDROID/` (or `\\ANDROID` for Win) in your file manager.

Make sure you set the WORKGROUP correctly on the Android app. And if you face some problems with accessing your phone, try using the IP address instead of the name (`ANDROID` by default).

Otherwise, if you're not rooted for example, you could install a file manager app with support for Samba shares (like ES File Explorer or File Expert for example), or any other samba client (like AndSMB). This way you could access shares on other computers on the network (but not share your own SD Card, you need a samba server on your device for this to work).

# Answer
> 1 votes
This answer is to the same effect: https://android.stackexchange.com/a/29671/19168

> Your pictures, downloads, and any other files you may want to transfer can be uploaded to your computer temporarily and then from your computer to your new phone.
>
> Alternatively, you could do this last bit a number of ways:
>
> You get the idea: File Transfer Apps

Also, Airdroid as mentioned in this answer: https://android.stackexchange.com/a/29584/19168

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Tags: wi-fi, file-transfer
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# Question
Title: Can I flash CyanogenMod without unlocking bootloader?
With a locked bootloader on an SE ST17i running the rooted Stock Xperia Gingerbread 2.3.4, can I flash the CyanogenMod 9 onto it? Or do I **really** need my bootloader unlocked? I also have ClockWorkMod installed and as far as I know that shouldn't have been possible with a locked bootloader so I'm rather confused. I'm not at all experienced with rooting and I'd consider myself on just the "beginnner" stage.

I'm not too keen on the thought of unlocking my phone's bootloader as that wil most certainly void my warranty.

# Answer
Basically, this *could* be possible. I've got CM7.2 on my Motorola Droid2, which also has its bootloader locked. Being at work, I cannot access all ressources (firewall restricts me) -- but just in case, there seems to be a youtube tutorial on Unlock any Sony Ericsson Xperia in 5 minutes, just in case you want to unlock first (which should make things easier).

According to XDA your device should be supported by CM9. However, I could not figure out whether CM by default uses 2nd init on the XPeria devices (which is what must be done when the bootloader is locked -- and how it works e.g. on the Motorola Milestone 2; but obviously this is not done for the ST17i). So if you want to try with your bootloader locked, you should check with the instructions coming with your CM9 build to make sure: Some sources I've found (not sure which XPeria the ST17i is, so they might apply or not), as e.g. How to pgrade Xperia X8 to Android 4.0 ICS / How to Upgrade Xperia X8 to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and especially Android Forums - View Single Post - All Xperia mini (un)rooting,un(re)locking bootloader,flashing CM,kernels,CWM,ROM's,tweaks etc (which explicitly applies to your ST17i), mention an unlocked bootloader as pre-condition for flashing CM9.

So the answer is probably NO, though it would *theoretically* be possible.
> 1 votes

# Answer
It's not necessary. If your Xperia's bootloader is locked you can't install a custom kernel but you **can** install a custom ROM. I have MIUI with a stock 4.0.4 based kernel on my Xperia S.
> 3 votes

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Tags: cyanogenmod, rom-flashing, bootloader-lock
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# Question
Title: Unable to boot Android in a multiboot PC configuration
I installed "android x86 4.0 rc1 asus\_laptop iso" on `/sda3` (NTFS partition created in Windows 7) of my Advent Verona recently. I already run Windows 7 and Linux Mint 11 so was dual booting with GRUB.

When I installed Android it took over the Mint bootloader and would not show Mint in its bootloader, but I was able to correct the problem, thereby getting the Mint loader back, through this site.

However, this caused Android to disappear from the bootloader. I tried to get it to appear so I could load it from there and was able to do so using this information.

I've been able to edit the file that makes you see all the OS on the laptop and I see all the three OSes now. I can load into Windows 7 and Linux Mint without problems but when I try to boot Android I get these errors on a black page:

```
[numbers] VFS: could not find a valid V7 on sda3
[numbers] kernel panic - not syncing: vfs: unable to mount root fs on unknown block (8.3)
[numbers] Pid. 1 comm: swapper not Tainted 3.0.8 android x86 asus_laptop

```

Then it reboots after a few seconds. What am I not doing right?

# Answer
> 5 votes
The one thing that sticks out from your question is that `/sda3` is NTFS-formatted

> on /sda3 (NTFS partition created in Windows 7)

and thus the Android's Linux kernel *panic*'s due to not understanding NTFS.

# Answer
> 1 votes
I have a similar issue and excluded the posibility that NTFS is the problem since I tried everything on a FAT32 partition.

I think it has something to do with the drive geometry not being aligned properly thus the errors. (in my situation, everything else (OSes) work fine)

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Tags: android-x86, dual-boot
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title: Battery drops 20% after reboot!

text:
# Question
Title: Battery drops 20% after reboot!
Battery on Samsung Galaxy S2 on ICS likes to drop after reboot. Actually it happened when I was on Gingerbread as well. Anyone can help me fix this? Screenshots:

# Answer
> 4 votes
**There is no easy way in finding which process consumes your battery**. The battery monitoring tool in Android is not active during boot, so anyone wanting to know what's happening will have to make deep hackings in the Linux kernel and Android init scripts. I don't even believe you have a rooted phone or have a Android AOSP sources snapshot somewhere to hack into.

Also I believe that **the battery estimation mechanism is somehow fooled at startup**. Because it has no previous data to compare to (N is estimated depending on the value of N-1). So the level you see right after bootup is probably wrong. That's why you see the level strangely increasing although no power source was connected in the meantime. To what extent is this level wrong? Question without answer I think.

I have an easy solution though: stop installing apps that make your Android crash or need (stupid) reboot :-)

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Tags: samsung-galaxy-s-2, battery
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title: What encoding is text messaging in?

text:
# Question
Title: What encoding is text messaging in?
The reason for the question is that I have a friend with an iPhone who sends emoticons, and I receive them as a single rectangular box. I wonder if it's an encoding problem.

# Answer
> 6 votes
iPhone emoticons are not character combinations like `:-)` but they are single UTF-16 character of emoticons called **Emoji** which are not by default supported in Android.

By using some third party sms apps such as GO SMS PRO and installing its Emoji Plugin you would be able to send and receive such iPhone emoticons to/from your friend.

# Answer
> 5 votes
SMS, generally, uses the 7-bit GSM encoding standard, however a quick cursory glance with google-fu yielded this answer posted on StackOverflow which seems to say that Apple uses UTF-16 (Unicode encoding).

This would explain why you got a rectangular box as the handset is not able to decipher the encoding.

You can find out more here as per the standards document

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Tags: sms
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