Strange behavior on Nexus 4, Android 5.0.1 (issue with Google Play Services?) Apps don't autostart, Google apps don't work, phone freezes Update: Resetting only the Google Play Services app as has been suggested didn't work for me unfortunately, because (in addition to what I've written below) the "force stop" and "uninstall updates" buttons are greyed out.

I decided to do a factory reset, and so far I haven't had any more issues with Google Play Services, but I still don't know what exactly caused these problems (probably an update).

I have a Nexus 4 with Android 5.0.1 (no custom rom), and there have been several issues for a few hours now.

It probably started yesterday when a message popped up 2-3 times (over the course of a few hours) saying that "Google Play services has stopped working".

Now, after booting the phone and getting to the lockscreen, the apps which would usually autostart don't seem to start (messaging apps, gmail, battery widget app etc.) and it doesn't even connect to a cellular network. WLAN works straight away. Sometimes these apps will start (and it connects to the cellular network) more than half an hour after booting the phone.

I've also noticed that for several minutes after booting, the list of running apps contains only Settings, Media, Google Services (not Play services!) and Google Keyboard, and after some time, if Google Play services does show up, it is constantly shown as "restarting".

After using the phone for anything between a few minutes and maybe an hour, it will freeze and not respond to any touchscreen input, sometimes saying that the launcher is not responding. Prior to freezing, it will usually start lagging heavily. It will still respond to the power button though. (turn screen on/off, show "power off" dialog)

Additionally, Google's own apps won't work even when I try to start them manually (I have tried Play Store, Maps, Gmail, YouTube, News & Weather). They either go to a blank screen or don't open at all. The system seems more likely to freeze after trying to open these apps.

I can open the settings menu, but some of the options don't work:
- About Phone > System updates: It goes to a blank screen for about a second, and then back to the "About phone" menu.
- About phone > Status: works only when connected to a cellular network, otherwise I get a dialog saying that the process com.android.phone has stopped.
(these are the ones I found not to work)

What I've tried:

Disabling the Google Play services app and replacing it with the factory version.  Doesn't work because in order to do this, I would have to disable "Android Device manager" from being a device administrator, but its checkbox stays checked even after trying to disable it.  (Is it normal that "force stop" and "uninstall updates" are greyed out for Google Play services?)
Booting in safe mode. Works, but I get the same problems in safe mode.
Wiping the cache partition.  Works, but doesn't fix any of the issues.

What could have caused these issues? I haven't installed any new apps recently. Is there anything else I could try? If not, I guess I'll have to do a factory reset.

The uninstall updates and force stop buttons are greyed out because of the device administrator's setting. As you already know, you must uncheck the checkbox for Google Device Manager as device administrator first, afterwards the buttons are active.

I did that a couple of times myself because I have the same problems on my Galaxy S4 with the newest Lollipop. There are two problems, though:

Immediatelly after reboot of the phone, this setting takes a while to kick in. Only after one or two minutes the device accepts to remove that device admin setting. So give it some time and several tries.
From time to time, after reverting to factory version of Google Play services, they get auto-updated to the newest version again, regardless of the auto-update settings you might have.

I figured out that for me each version of Google Play services of 7.0 and newer definitely will crash. Version 6.7.76 is the last one that works for me. You can download and install the APK at apkmirror.com. At least for as long as it takes to auto-update it again...

I had the same problem. I uninstalled the updates to the Google Play Services and replaced it with the version that came with my device. It then auto updated (to the same version I had before) and now it works! It seems like a bug in the update process.


"Unfortunately, Clock has stopped" when trying to create or edit alarm Recently I started to face a very weird bug.

Whenever I try to tap on Create alarm button, or on existing alarm

I am getting this "Unfortunately, Clock has stopped"

This is a system app I don't know what to do now.

What it could be?

What I tried:

Delete Data from App Manager
Clear cache
Restart the smartphone

Some info:

default (but upgraded) firmware  - Android 4.1.2
Device Galaxy Note II GT-N7100

I had a similar problem but on another device, though try if it can fix your problem this is the what I did:

I opened the Terminal Emulator and typed:

$ su
# logcat

Then I held 'Volume down' (a.k.a. Ctrl) and 'c' to stop the output. I scrolled a bit up in the output and found a line that said:

E/SQLiteOpenHelper( 5231): Couldn't open alarms.db for writing (will try read-only):
E/SQLiteOpenHelper( 5231): android.database.sqlite.SQLiteException: Can't downgrade database from version 7 to 5

OK, so this is where it's breaking. I wasn't really interested in finding out what should the proper combination of ownership/permissions for the file as I didn't really trust it would end just here, downgrading database version offers a range of situations that can go wrong. And since I don't really care for my past alarm clock times, I got rid of the old database:

# cd /data/data/com.android.deskclock/databases
# mv alarms.db alarms.db.bak

otherwise at the time I looked out for this problem the only other solution I saw was to wipe and restore my phone.
If you do so, don't forget to backup all your data first!

Good luck, I hope it helped you or someone.

After DB deletions, cache and Dalvic cache clearing, Silent mode was the culprit.


Can I delete .com.google.Chrome files? There are many .com.google.Chrome files in my Download folder (How do you want to open this file?)  Is it okay to delete them?

It's safe to delete them. They are caches or incomplete downloads from unknown versions of Google Chrome (judging by name).

yes, you can delete com.google.chrome files they are just caches file or sometimes some are files are also present. but you can delete them. They doesn't creates any problem.

Personally i also delete many of com.* folders. It doesn't create any problem for me till now.


why can't we format bootloader code Some phones had locked bootloader.  As far i understand bootloader is a piece of code responsible to load the os. but that is still in the harddisk right?
so why can't we delete that code and put our own.

First, the definition of a bootloader (as described by Technopedia):

  A boot loader primarily manages and executes the boot sequence of a
  computer system. A boot loader program is typically started after the
  computer have finished performing the initial power. It fetches the OS
  kernel from the hard disk or any specified boot device within the boot
  sequence, into the main memory. A boot loader is associated with only
  a single operating system. An operating system can also have multiple
  boot loader programs classified as primary and secondary boot loaders,
  where a secondary boot loader might be larger and more capable than
  the primary boot loader.

On samsung devices you can enter into download mode and plug your phone into a pc and open up Samsung Odin 3 and flash a bootloader by selecting BL and the file

Also flashing bootloaders is EXTREAMLY RISKY. Flashing the worng or incompatable bootloader is worst than flasing a boot.img that wasnt meant for your device. It will result in A hard brick and its very rare to recover from that unless you have a Programmer JIG/JTAG

Also flashing items in a locked bootloader is very dangerous because theres 100% cHance of Bricking your device if you flash a custom item..

And a bootloader is programmed into a ROM chip it cannot be easily changed fomating. Its better for you to not interfare with your bootloader unless you want to unlock it and root or flash things to your device.. Custom roms are made with these 2 CRITICAL IMGs BOOT.IMG SYSTEM.IMG

Also theres no need to make a custom bootloader because almost every device has the same bootloader type but differ from code and compatibility


cannot send mail via 3G with outlook exchange sync i have a android 4.2.2 phone. i cannot send an email via 3G with outlook exchange sync. If i try that, he will wait until its connected with wifi, and than send it.
synchonising calander / tasks, incomming mail on just 3G is not a problem, just sending email with 3G in outlook exchange active.
Gmail, internet work just fine.
the same account on IOS is not giving any problems.

can anybody help me?

I would guess there is a setting issue in the APN
Check your setting in APN with you phone company


Screen goes off during call and does not come back in Micromax A89 I am using Micromax A89 with

ICS 4.0.4
512 MB RAM
Screen 4.0 Inch

I am facing this problem since beginning. But it was solved automatically. Now again it happens when I dial a call or receive a call my mobile's screen goes off and does not come back. I must have to use power button to end the call (I set "Power button end call" checkbox from settings).

I think it's a proximity sensor problem but not sure?

But when I restart my mobile then it works for 1 or 2 calls but after it again it creates this issue.

Any help would heartily be appreciated.

I faced the same problem but I found a simple and perfectly working solution:

Dial *#*#7769#*#* (Proximity sensor calibrator)
You will see 2 options Start and Exit
Click on Start.
Move your finger over the proximity sensor 3-4 times and try to change the value on screen.
If values are changing after 3-4 tries then your problem is solved.

Thanks to nighil g

You can try Xposed Installer app and can download proximity disabler to disable your proximity sensor.. :-)


Video conference Android phone to computer Can I video talk from my Android Motorola Droid to my computer.  If so, how?
Can I video talk from my Android Motorola Droid to someone else's computer? If so, how?

If you have Android 2.3.4 or higher you are able to video chat with GTalk.

Even better, Google Hangouts allows you to perform one to many video chats.

Please check out zoom.us. Android version is still in beta.


How do I remove a review I've written from the Android Market app? How do I delete a review that I have written from the Android Market?

Somewhere in Google's issue tracking software someone has raised this issue (I've lost the link, sorry), and the answer given was that there is a "remove review" menu option when viewing the app in question in the Market application. The person asking seemed satisfied, however there is no such menu option on my phone (Android 2.2).

Nowadays, there's a Delete button on the Play website:

So, the remainder of this post is just in case things change again at some later time, especially as in November 2012 Google has made things worse, but also kind of solved the problem for existing reviews by removing your name:

  Google Play is now connected with Google+ to help you find reviews you trust.

  New reviews will be posted publicly using your Google+ name and picture. Your name on previous reviews will appear as "A Google User".

Also note that someone reported Issue 16483: Android Market doesn't allow removing an existing application's rating and comment. Voting might help! Or maybe there's some alternative market app that interfaces with Google's store?

My findings:

Despite what many write: clearing all text including the title does not clear the review for me; it just moved my old review to the top again, with a new date and an updated version number. In the Play app the "OK" button is disabled when clearing the title, so I guess the title text is mandatory. Indeed, just typing a title on the website does save the new review with an empty description. Still, that does show my name, rating and title.

To edit one's own review on the website, even if it's actually shown on the main page: first click "All reviews" or go to the tab "User Reviews", then find the "Edit Review" button next to "My Review". Note that different languages might show different reviews! (I cannot find my review in the Dutch Google Play, as I entered it using an English Play app?)
In the Play app one can swipe the stars to the left to get "unrated", but then the "OK" button is disabled.
Uninstalling the reviewed app does not seem to remove one's review. (Which makes sense, I guess.)
As true for new or updated reviews too: it takes quite some time for changes to propagate. Even once the new review is shown, refreshing might show the old one again. I guess there's multiple servers involved and it takes some time to synchronize. Be patient, for otherwise you might actually activate the old review again.
Old versions of the Market app reveal an option "Remove my review" by simply pressing the hardware menu button, when viewing an app one reviewed. That seems to have gone in 2.3.5 and I cannot find it in Play on 4.0.4 either.

I tried with an old Android 2.1 device, with Market version "2002306". That old Market app still works just fine, but not all apps are visible on that old device, and some show "The requested item could not be found" when selecting it.

Sniffing the network first shows some HTTPS request, probably authentication. Removing the rating gave me a POST to android.clients.google.com:

POST /market/api/ApiRequest HTTP/1.1
version=2&request=CpQDCr[...]OTc2NTE4MzgYARQ

This is a request like many others that people have been deciphering. Unfortunately the unofficial Android Market API does not support these rating requests.
Using "Manage apps" I removed all updates for the Play Store 3.5.19 on Android 4.0.4, getting me the version 3.4.7. No luck.
I also tried AppBrain, hoping it would somehow interface with the Google Play Store and would then allow for changing ratings. No cigar.

The OK button shows up as disabled if you don't have everything filled out. Make sure you have the stars clicked and BOTH THE SUMMARY LINE, AND COMMENT SECTION filled in.


How to see mobile operator proxy settings My mobile internet suddenly has stopped working. Chrome complains Error 130 (net::ERR_PROXY_CONNECTION_FAILED). Google app store and other apps those load content from servers now work only when I connect through wifi.

I set in firefox about:config network.proxy.type from default value 5 (use system settings) to 0 (no proxy) and firefox has started working.

Proxy Settings app shows empty fields.

As I don't use any proxy I would like to see that system wide proxy setup which broke my mobile inet

For GSM devices, as far as I know, the proxy settings for your mobile data connection are defined in the Access Point Name (APN). Go to Settings > Wireless and Networks > More > Mobile Networks > Access Point Names > [Your data APN] (your device's menu may differ slightly). Check the Proxy field - it's possible this got modified somehow. Might also be worth snooping around your carrier's website for the recommended APN settings and double-checking that everything is correct. Once finished, press [Menu] > Save and give it a test.

Fixed mine. I get this ERR_PROXY_CONNECTION_FAILED every time I use mobile data.

You need to reset the APN to default


Why I Can't Use Wifi for anything except whatsapp? I can't use WiFi for anything except WhatsApp on my Samsung Galaxy S3 mini.

I already turned on WiFi on my phone. But I can't do anything except WhatsApp. I can't browsing via WiFi, and can't open Play Store either. But when I use mobile data (via my Internet provider) I can do anything, except that I can't browse Play Store either.

When I use WiFi via my computer it can work, but can't work again via my phone.

The password is correct. I already check it, but nothing's work.

What should I do? Please help me!

Had exactly the same issue. Fixed it:

Set the router to automatically assign DNS.
Turn off PC, Router, Android.
Turn on PC, Router, Android after 15 sec.

Everything works like before now! :)

Clean all the cache using All-In-One Toolbox, and restart your phone. It worked for me.


Ubuntu 13.10 adb "device not found" I'm trying to reinstall Android on my first-gen Nexus 7. I'm using adb to do so because the install is so corrupted I can't even use the touch screen.

I use Ubuntu 13.10 and I have adb and fastboot installed. My Nexus is plugged in. This is what I type:

sudo adb kill-server
sudo adb start-server
adb devices

And... nothing shows up. How do I fix this?

Try running "sudo adb devices". Or, fix your udev rules so that the USB device is writable by your user (see the link in caffinatedmonkey's comment)

Use PTP option instead of MTP USB PC Connection.


How to add custom language layout inside Gboard (Google Keyboard), created by me The problem is that I want to use modified layout for Google Keyboard and use it inside Gboard app (because of its features).

I don't want to:

create separate own InputMethod
use another app (Hacker's Keyboard or SwiftKey)

Does anyone know how to edit Gboard .xml files maybe? Or do it officially through plugin or some code? PS. I can code.

It's very easy - just follow the instructions below:

Open Settings/Language and Input/Gboard/Languages/(Your Language);

Then scroll the keyboard to the right and select whichever input layout suits you best.


Where have the megabytes from my downloaded game gone to? I downloaded heros call game, about 130 MB. All is fine -- but I can't find the 130 MB anywhere on my phone, just about 300 KB.

Where have all the megabytes I downloaded gone to? Probably something obvious, but it's driving me mad!

You could use DiskUsage to find your files. This app shows you a graph of folders and how much space they are using on your SD Card. It is designed to help you clean out folders that get large, so it would be perfect for your case.

Usually Games are downloaded to the SD card, so check there, for example using a File Manager app.


How does Samsung implement SD card encryption? My android device just stopped working. I still have my SD card, but all data in it is encrypted. Encryption has been performed at file level, so I have the directory structure and filenames in plain text, but file contents are encrypted.

I remember the key I used to set up encryption, but I need to know what algorithm did Samsung use for encryption and how they generated an encryption key from my passphrase.

Does anyone know if I can recover my data without the original device, using openssl or a similar program?

Samsung uses its own solutions for sdcard encryption in android device at file level.
Only device which encrypted the sdcard can decrypt it because when sdcard is encrypted an encryption policy file is saved into device and sdcard.
If you insert encrypted sdcard into other device then you will only will able to see the encrypted contents of those files.

So,if you have the same device which encrypted the sdcard and you know the lockscreen which was used to encrypt it then you can easily decrypt the sdcard by navigating as below :

Settings -> Security -> Encrypt External Sdcard -> Disable/Turn off

A notification pop up will appear for decrypting sdcard on your device


How can I change the default currency key on Swype keyboard? In Swype Settings I have the language set to "UK English" yet for some reason when I'm typing the currency symbol (long-press on s) is a dollar sign ($) not a pound sign (£), if I press SYM the dollar actually has its own button $ on the left-hand side, and I have Euro (€) and Yen on the top row for long presses on # and 3, and the pound is relegated to the right hand side for a long-press on ".

Is there any way that I can set it to replace the $ on the main screen with a £ sign, and replace the dollar on its own button on the symbol screen with a pound sign?

Am using the built-in Swype keyboard (v1.64.40.9754) on a Vodafone UK Samsung Galaxy S (Eclair 2.1 update 1, build JM4).

Looks like a problem with the version of Swype pre-installed by Samsung. I have logged a bug on Swype's forums here. Don't think there's anything much any of us can do now except wait for Swype to fix the bug and for Samsung to push out the updated version.

(just adding this as an answer and accepting to get this off the unanswered questions list, if anyone has a better solution please post and I'll transfer the acceptance over)

Try changing the Swype theme after you have selected your default language.


Which android devices have optimized encryption hardware? I've been using a Nexus 5 for a while and using FS encryption. Apple's iOS Security document states that:

  Every iOS device has a dedicated AES 256 crypto engine built into the DMA path
  between the flash storage and main system memory, making file encryption highly
  efficient. Along with the AES engine, SHA-1 is implemented in hardware, further reducing
  cryptographic operation overhead.

Do any of the Android devices have such hardware to reduce encryption overhead? Is it part of a standard like iOS?

Fundamentally Android requires the developer to implement encryption directly (ie, there is no OS supplied framework for this).

To the best of my knowledge, there is no current Android hardware with Encryption built into to the hardware.  The new "Black Phone" that Boeing is reportedly making for the US defense industry is likely an exception to this (the phone HW was specifically engineered for security).

Basically iOS is encrypted by default, and Android requires the devloper to implement encryption in their applications.


Why is my Galaxy S3 making a weird beep beep noise during calls? Why does my Samsung Galaxy S3 make a weird beep beep sound when I'm on a phone call? It started yesterday when the call started.

Check the settings for your dialer app.  Most dialers have some kind of "call in progress" beep that goes off every minute or so if the option is enabled.

It's a feature called minute minder, and seems to be reset after an update. Go to Menu > Settings > Call > Call alerts > uncheck Minute Minder.


HTC Desire 526 stuck "Proccessing" after factory reset I just recently factory reset my htc desire 526 and when I turned it back on, this happened

and then this happened

I've tried going into recovery mode and rebooting from there, i've also reset from the recovery screen, but every time it leads up to that point.
its currently been stuck there for like 30-40 mins,

Help appreciated, Thanks

Turning it off taking out the battery and the sim card replacing the battery and turning it back on got my phone past that page. Rekia87 was right.

Turn phone off remove the sim card and start your phone again.


How to unlock the Lock Screen in Android Lollipop How can I unlock the screen lock in Android Lollipop without losing data?

I have forgotten the pattern.

method 1Try using adb pull with the android SDK
In recovery mode.

method 2If you have a phone without an SD card wiping data will only remove the apps otherwise the data will be fine. This works even in some phones without SD card.

method 3 easiestAfter several tries it will give you option of forgot password. Which will ask you Google account details. Fill it and you are good to go.


Why does Google Play Services does make VNC connections? today I did had fun with Netstat on my device and saw that Google Play Services are making VNC connections from my device to a Google server.

The question here is : why ? Sounds to me like a backdoor allowing Google to see whatever I do, that's really scary...

I just decompiled the SockStat apk and found this:

.class Lcom/powl1/sockstat/Utils$1;
.super Ljava/util/HashMap;
.source "Utils.java"
#
#
#skipped lines
#
#
const/16 v4, 0x146c #Register v4 is assigned as 0x146c (Hex equivalent of 5228)
#
#skipped lines
#
.line 161 # A HashMap might have been used to map port 5228 to "VNC"
    invoke-static {v4}, Ljava/lang/Integer;->valueOf(I)Ljava/lang/Integer;

    move-result-object v0

    const-string v1, "VNC"

    invoke-virtual {p0, v0, v1}, Lcom/powl1/sockstat/Utils$1;->put(Ljava/lang/Object;Ljava/lang/Object;)Ljava/lang/Object;

What this means is that as @Izzy pointed out, the developer might have incorrectly labelled port 5228 as "VNC"..

Contact the developer to solve this issue ;)

A TCP service is making an (established) outbound connection over port 5228, meaning your device is reaching out to a service, not awaiting a connection. The 'listening' tab next to it would be where a VNC listener would reside.

In any case, 5228 is not a VNC port. VNC uses 5900 or 5800 by default. As mentioned above, the nestat app must have mislabeled it.

According to speedguide.net, tcp & udp port 5228 is used by the Google Play Store and Google Chrome user sync. This would explain why the application name is Google Play Services, which to my understanding is the framework for Google application i/o.


how to install custom rom in xperia z ultra? I have recently rooted my Xperia z ultra. and now i want to install custom ROM in it. I have searched internet. but i am not able to find any safe way to install custom rom. how can i do that?

Follow these steps for installing custom rom :

1.Unlock bootloader from sony official website instructions.

2.Install custom recovery like TWRP or CWM recovery to ease your further process.

3.Download custom rom like LineageOS or Resurrection remix whichever you feel good.

4.Boot to your recovery , wipe System data and install custom rom with Gapps.

5.Reboot and enjoy.

Follow these steps for flashing.

1) Download a ROM of your choice.

2) Connect your device to your PC using the USB cable.

3) Copy the Custom ROM.zip file from your Desktop over to the root of your SD card.

4) Turn OFF your device, and turn it back on by holding Volume Up and Power buttons together.

5) Your device should reboot into recovery mode(In the recovery mode, the Volume buttons are used for navigation and the Power button to make a selection)

6) Select Backup and Restore -> Backup.

7) Once done, head back to the main menu.

8) Select Wipe data/factory reset.

9) After this, head back to the main menu by selecting Back.

10) Select install zip from SD Card followed by choose zip from SD Card.

11) Choose the Custom ROM.zip file you copied earlier to be flashed on your device.

12) When the ROM has been flashed, reboot your device by selecting reboot system now, and you will be done.

You can research more over here.


Car Mode suddenly appeared - why? And how do I get rid of it? About 2 1/2 hrs ago, I plugged in my HTC Evo 4G to its home charger to charge up a bit before leaving the house. It's rooted running CyanogenMod-7.1.0-Supersonic (for at least a month if not more, I can't remember when my husband did this).

Within about 3 minutes, my phone had this really weird user interface I have never seen. It's Car Mode. I couldn't exit out of it, couldn't make my phone respond to me at all. I immediately pulled out the battery & rebooted, thinking maybe it was malware. It booted back into Car Mode, only this time I could click an Exit button.

Researching, I see that this is an UI for car docking. Only I have no car dock, and it was plugged into my home wall charger. I left the house for errands, and no matter what I did - on the phone on a voice call, typing email (at a doctor's office, not driving ;) ), and it kept booting me into Car Mode. On the voice call it automatically put me on speaker.

I did not ask for this program, did not download anything, did not approve anything...

I ran Lookout and no Malware or Spyware is showing. I am very confused.

Anyone have ideas on what this program is, how it all of a sudden appeared on my phone, and how to get it off? I looked up apps in Google Play and the icon in the notifications bar (when I exit Car Mode) is not something that is there. It looks like an app, but it's not in my Apps manager, either, or a running process that I can tell, yet it is showing up intermittently in my notifications, even not plugged in or moving. It's also turning on intermittently. I can't get anything done.

Thanks for any help!

It is included with Cyanogenmod and is based on similar modes in other ROMs. It is meant to provide you with what you need, but not so much as to distract you while driving.

I do not know what is launching it, or how it is doing so automatically, but there may be ways to stop it:

Stop it in it's tracks

If you would like to remove it completely and not use it at all, install Titanium Backup, choose the Backup and Restore tab, find and select Car Home (I have version 2.2.1.2) and select either Freeze or Uninstall.

Note: Freeze will stop the app from running at all, but keep it on your phone. Uninstall will completely remove it.

Double note: if you choose Uninstall, you may want to make a Backup there with the app first, just in case removing it causes unwanted side-effects.

Other, less intense options

In car mode, click the Right Arrow and choose Settings. From here, make sure that it's not automatically launching when connected to some bluetooth device, and try Reset to defaults, just to make sure nothing else is helping it along.
From the home screen, go to Settings -> Applications -> Manage Applications, choose the All tab, and find Car Home. Here, click the Clear data button.

I was able to fix my Droid DNA by going into Developer Options and checking "USB debugging"


Galaxy S2 GPS not starting A while ago my GPS was annoying me with a lot of 'searching for GPS'. I had to wait at least 10 minutes every time and it holds for just 2 minutes. Then it starts for searching again.

I searched for fixes and tried one. It was done in recovery mode by flashing a zip (lost the source of the site). Since then the GPS isn't even responding! It doesn't matter if I press GPS on or off, it stays off.

I've tried to clear cache, full wipe, factory reset, nothing worked. Tried a lot of apps in the market like: GPS status and toolbox, GPS fix etc. I even rooted my phone with a new kernel, this also didn't work.

What can I do to make my GPS work?

edit: I have a Galaxy S2 (GT-I9100) rooted 4.1.2 XWLSD
Siyah kernel v6.0b5

Got the answer:

I installed a fresh ROM (rootbox) and it helped. Weird that it didn't help before. Now I need to search a solution for faster GPS fixing.


How Do Custom Support So Many Phones? The other day, my friend told me that completely stock Android could run as a ROM on any device you care to mention. Since basically everyone else has told me otherwise, I decided to verify his claim and stumbled accross this Android Enthusiasts StackExchange thread.

I accepted the answer that was marked as correct, but it got me thinking. If stock android cannot be run on any device, how do custom ROMs like CyanogenMod or anything else support so many phones? Thanks.

CyanogenMod/LineageOS and other custom ROMs can't run on every device either. They have different versions for different devices. For example check this list for the newest LineageOS-compatible devices.

The same version can't work on every device, because the operating system (in this case the android) have to include the drivers for the specific device it will ran on. An android version which would include all the drivers would be illogically huge.

It depends what do you mean with "stock Android" you two didn't understand each other I think. I'll explain you how some things work so you can understand what's going on:
 It's about how you define "stock Android" if by stock you mean the one shipped with phone (Samsung, LG etc.) or you think on pure Android aka AOSP.  The stock Android is placed on nexus/pixel devices Motorola and few others, other manufacturers use Android but the add something their theming and such things (Samsung - TouchWiz, Huawei - emui and so on..) so it's stock on that phones. So if you take any rom of Samsung and try to install it on any other phone you will fail. Android is just a system it needs drivers so it can communicate with hardware, it's not like on PC where you install OS and then search for drivers (until windows 7, linux is some other story). Android ROM is like it Windows XP is made for only one configuration for example "x" cpu, "y" gpu, "z" hard disk and also particular manufacturer and it won't work if there is "w" cpu instead of "x". With custom ROMs things go like this: lineage os provides source code for operating system and other users who may or may not have contributed to making lineage os are providing so called "device trees" and kernel source code (published by phone manufacturers but sometimes needs some changes to make things work, also unique for every model of phone so one can't be used in two or more different models), so lineage os source code, device tree, and kernel sources are used to make rom - compile it for particular phone model, there are also proprietary files which are files used by some hardware but it's not open source so you need to extract it from phone. So no rom can be used on two or more different models even if are they from same manufacturer.


Galaxy Note 4 turns off at about 15% remaining battery capacity I've been using my Note 4 for more than 2 years now and I'm absolutely happy with it, except for that one issue: the battery indicator on top does not match the real remaining capacity of the battery. The battery is still ok in terms of its "fitness", it usually allows for a whole day of (power) use. But it is annoying to see that the phone turns off at a shown power level of 13%, sometimes 16%. When I then plug in the charging cable, the charging screen shows the last level like 13%, but I think it really is 0%, because if I turn on the phone shortly after plugging the charger in, it turns off again before it completely boots up.

Is there a way to calibrate the battery level in such a way that the indicator gives correct resp. useful values again?

Is there a way to calibrate the battery level in such a way that the indicator gives correct resp. useful values again?

No . Battery calibration is a myth and you can see this question for more. While the context of question is different, it answers why it is a myth
Bought a new battery, do I need to calibrate it?

Li Ion batteries don't suddenly die ( unlike Ni Cd batteries ); their performance degrades both in terms of charge holding capacity and the performance or life per charge. Two years of usage is not really an indicator of battery life - it depends on a host of other things like how heavily it is used, how it has been charged etc. My gut feeling is that it has lived it's life and it's time more to replace the battery with a new one
HTC and some Nexus devices have a way of fixing wonky battery readings using battery reset logic, but Samsung devices don't have this feature, so to fix it battery replacement is the first step. If the problem persists ( unlikely ) you may need to get it get it checked up

If you are rooted theres an app called "Battery calibrarion" which may help you.

What i didnt extract from your text: do you still use the original battery that came with a phone or one you bought somewhere else?

If you still use the original one,i recommend to buy a new one since batteries loose a certain percentage of their power after a long time.


Why are Google Maps 9.5.1 running slow/freezing? My Google Maps tend to freeze whenever I interact with them. Sometimes I can move around the map and it loads fine, but as soon as I do something else, like picking a location, like a restaurant or a bookmarked position, it freezes, which ends in either app completely crashing, or it unfreezing after ~15 seconds. Sometimes it even crashes the SystemUI. Even when I exit the app, the whole system runs slow and laggy until I remove it from recents.

I believe that the issue is not related to phone performance, as I've ran games like GTA III and Need For Speed Most Wanted on it smoothly (It's an Xperia T). I'm using CM12. I've tried deleting the data and cache, but that didn't help. The version of the Maps is 9.4.1.

The Google Maps App is dependent on the Google Play Services app. Whenever you point out a location or a route, or even load a particular area of the map regularly, it records your actions so as to provide a better prediction the next time you access that particular app.

Those recorded actions are linked to your Google Account through the Google Play Services app, which runs in the background. This might overburden the RAM, and to free more space for it, the system terminates other activities which might be linked to the SystemUI. When they terminate, the SystemUI crashes.

When you deleted the data and the cache, it just made the app rebuild its data. The records would be with the Google Play services, which would be relinked with the app again.

When you wiped the data, all previous records would be erased even in Google Play services, so there would be much less data for the app to read while it loads. Hence the speeding up after a data wipe.

Same happened with me ... Here is what I did -

Open installed apps from settings
Select maps
Clear all data and cache
Uninstall updates
.
.
.
NOW WORKING WELL.
this is a bug in an update .


"SD card is damaged - You may have to reformat." How do I fix this problem? I had this before, formatted it and now it's happened again.

I suspect it's the problem mentioned here but I don't understand how to apply the fix from that thread.

I thought I had to download the file, rename it to update.zip, stick it on the phone's internal SD card, go into recovery mode and run "apply sdcard:update.zip" but I get an error when I do that which says:

  E:signature verification failed / Installation aborted.

I'm not even sure if the fix is the right fix or the process is correct either, but if they are how do I get around this signature error?

It's a Galaxy S, running Froyo.

Have you tried removing your SD card, putting it in a SD card reader and plugging into a PC? Windows will auto-detect and repair a lot of file system errors if you let it. See also this previous question.

The problem with the Signature Verification Failed error is as a result of attempting to flash an unsigned .zip file with the stock recovery.  Installable .zip files such as the one in that thread normally require a custom recovery, one that doesn't check to verify that the .zip file is signed with the phone manufacturer's unique key.

The problem with the SD card may just be exactly what it's telling you, it needs to be formatted.  Try popping it out of the phone and into a computer using an adapter, see if you can back up the SD Card's contents to a temp location on your computer, put it back in your phone, let Android format it (which will erase all data in the process) and test it out, make sure you don't get any more errors.  Once that's been verified, you should be able to copy your data back onto the SD card.

If it CONTINUES to happen, you may have the beginnings of an actual hardware failure on the SD card, and you might want to look into getting it replaced, or at least swapping with a known-good card for a while to see how it works.

Good luck!


Set Kiosk mode in Chrome for Android I'm trying to set the --kiosk and the --kiosk-printing flags in Chrome for Android on my Galaxy Tab 10.1.
All the instructions that I can find here and elsewhere tell me to go to chrome://flags and set the flag there. But neither of these flags is mentioned in the list there.
What do I need to do to set kiosk mode?
I'm using Chrome 39.0.2171.56 on Android 4.0.4

It is not possible to do this in Chrome on Android; you can achieve what you want to with Kiosk Browser Lockdown instead.

It is not possible to add flags to chrome on Android unless they exist in the  chrome://flags a list.


my android phone keeps asking “Sign-in to WiFi network” even if WPA/WPA2 is already authenticated I'm trying to connect to a DLink Router protected with WPA/WPA2. It's our home router and I can connect perfectly to it from laptops and desktops, Linux and Windows alike, even for my friends mobile(Android) it connect smoothly. But when I connect to it using my Android phone (Motorola Droid), I am always notified to "Sign-in to WiFi Network" after I've entered the WPA/WPA2 password. Tapping into the notification loads my ACT logging page, and after entering my credentials it says you are now logged in, but when I try to open any other site or even refresh this page it again ask me for my ACT credentials. Other apps that connect to the internet do report connection problems.

I checked my router setting, in which I have added my mobiles MAC address also in Interface setup->wireless->wireless MAC address filters, but it is not working.
I have made encapsulation ISP as PPPoE and have entered my password there.
Still not able to connect in my phone.

I am able to connect my phone in all in my friends place so for sure thire is no problem with my phone. what else is required..?

I fixed mine by putting a static IP. I chose a IP in my network range and it work


Does it mean that Memory usage of app same as size of app This is a conceptual doubt I have. Request some one to resolve my doubt. I have an app of size of 4.5MB and I am calculating memory usage of processes in the app. I am getting each process memory usage as 16MB...

final Runtime rt = Runtime.getRuntime();
rt.gc();
final double startSize = rt.totalMemory()-rt.freeMemory();

What I am getting is correct or wrong?Does it mean that Memory usage of app same is same as size of app?

It is correct, there is no reason for the memory usage of you app to be the same size as the apk.


Unable to change radio channels through headset My headset for fm radio cannot be used for channel change.
It switches off and on instead. I'm not able to change the channels using headset given by them.

Did you update to Android Jelly Bean OS? Samsung Jelly Bean OS doesn't support this feature. Source.

Just long-press the headphone for 3 seconds, and it will change the channel.


How do I add to the favorites in Samsung S3 contacts? I have some favorites in my contacts list, but I don't know how they got there. How do I add more, and how do I remove ones I no longer want?

To favorite a contact:

Open Contacts app
Search for contact to favorite
Long-press on contact
Select Add to Favorites

To remove from favorites, select Remove from Favorites for a favorite contact (has a star).

You can also call them and then delete the call before it begins to dial.


How to setup a PPP connection between an Android smartphone and a Linux computer? For testing purposes, I need to connect an Android smartphone to my Linux desktop computer to enable communication between the phone and some servers on the LAN. I can't use Wi-Fi so I'm stuck with IP over USB.

So my question is: How to connect the smartphone to my computer?

If you know something else than PPP, please let me know. This is what i've tried for the moment:

root@desktop:/# adb ppp "shell:pppd nodetach noauth noipdefault defaultroute /dev/tty" nodetach noauth noipdefault notty 10.0.0.1:10.0.0.2
root@desktop:/#

As you can see, this command doesn't output anything...
I guessed I should see a new ppp0 interface show up on my destkop if it worked (am I right?), but nothing happens actually.

So I thought it could be because I was lacking the root privilege, and I tried the following:

root@desktop:/# adb root
adbd cannot run as root in production builds
root@desktop:/#

FYI, when I run the adb shell command I'm not logged in as root:

root@desktop:/# adb shell
$ whoami
whoami: unknown uid 2000
$ su
# whoami
whoami: unknown uid 0
#

EDIT: I tried on a phone running CyanogenMod 10.2: the adb root command is successful, but adb ppp ... doesn't output anything. No ppp0 interface shows up on my computer.
I also forgot to say I'm running Ubuntu 12.04 on the desktop computer if it can help finding the problem.

So, what's next? Do you think I need a different kernel? Did I miss something regarding the way to bring up a PPP connection?

Try this:

adb ppp "shell:/system/bin/su -c 'pppd nodetach noauth noipdefault defaultroute /dev/tty'" nodetach noauth noipdefault notty 10.0.0.1:10.0.0.2


Error [DF-SA-01] when downloading application from the play store Can anybody help me how can I solve this problem. I have tried options of clearing cache data, force stop google paly store/service, removing google account from accounts and reboting device but it didn't work for me.

Apparently this can be fixed by resetting app preferences:

Go to Settings> Apps
Open the menu (usually 3 dots in the top right but may vary depending on your device)
Select Reset app preferences.

Source

Settings > Apps > Google Play Store > Uninstall updates. Then restart your device.


Android music pauses when using headphones This started happening a few days ago but my phone stopped to play music (pausing) on headphones when I:

Screen off
Notification menu is pulled down
Opening all applications on the default stock launcher

Music plays only if the music app is in foreground or if I went to the launcher and not selected anything.

I am using custom rom but it stopped working on it after using it for over a month. I tried to update the rom to a newer one but it still doesn't work.

Music plays fine when not using headphones and just using the speakers.

Phone: Note2
ROM: temasek cm11 (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2596887)

Kernel: Devil's kernel (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2239453)

App: Apollo and Google music (same thing), pretty much every music application on Android

Are your headphones defective or have a weak spot? You can try a couple of things, such as testing this on another Android device.

It could potentially be the ROM and its ability to detect headphones properly while doing different things (Multi-tasking in a sort of sense).

What you can do is go into Settings and turned Motion off. Sometimes it can sense movement and such and it'll pause accordingly. I'll look into this more but into l your next response, this is what I have to say.

Update

It is probably an Android 4.2.2 issue. You can downgrade, wait for an upgrade or perhaps install the 4.3 KitKat ROM.

Other options are trying newer/older versions of the Google Play Music software.

Disabling Google hotword detection fixes this issue in 4.4.4.


How do I zoom web pages? I'm using Android 4.2.2 on my Q.mobile. I am trying to zoom a (or any)  web page on Chrome by double tapping or by swiping two fingers but nothing happened. I also tried the same thing using the built-in browser but also in vain. How do I zoom web pages?

Yes, some web pages do not let you zoom in. However, this can be overridden in Chrome.

Go to Settings -> Accessibility and tick mark Force enable zoom.

This overrides a web page's request to prevent zooming in. So then you can zoom into pages without trouble.

Hope this helps.

It depends on the website (or its mode) if zoom is supported.

Usually, you can't zoom if the site is on mobile mode. For Facebook, the URL would be https://m.facebook.com. However, some browsers like Dolphin or Boat have a setting to configure the default zoom, but sometimes they don't work. (e.g. Dolphin's setting doesn't work if Dolphin Jetpack is also installed)

On desktop mode, a site can be zoomable. For Facebook, the URL would be https://facebook.com.


Does switching user accounts in Lollipop affect battery life or performance? I recently updated my Moto G2 to Android
Lollipop via OTA update. I've successfully
installed the update(around 500mb i
guess). I saw the new feature of adding
new Guest and New user acccounts just
like the one in PC's so that one user
doesn't get access to other user apps or
data.

So, say if I have some 10 apps running in
my owner account and it drains battery
while running in background. But then if I
wanted to switch to a guest account to
lend my phone to a friend or some
stranger, I cannot see any apps running in
the guest account in the recent apps
section that was open in the owner
account. So my question is,

Will those 10 apps that are opened and still
running in the background in my owner
account drain my battery while the phone is
in Guest mode?

or only the app that runs under my guest
account will have an effect on my phone's
battery usage.

From what I can tell, the multiuser feature DOES drain quite a lot of battery. Here is a screenshot of my battery stats - I have not logged in as the other user since my last full charge.

Click image for larger version

First of all you must understand that the smartphone actively manages all the apps and accounts without interruption. That means if you are creating multiple accounts then your smartphone will have to manage all accounts actively. That is the reason why your smartphone is draining more battery.

Try the following things:

Clear cache of Phone.
Always close the background running apps if not required.
Close the unwanted applications that are running anonymously without your permission. To do this go to Settings >> Apps and select the app you do not want to use or run and simply click on stop.

These are the few things to remember for long life of battery.


App for reading CSV files? I use the free version of Documents To Go to open Excel and Word files on my phone, but I was disappointed when I tried to open a CSV file.  The only app I have that responds to the Intent for opening a CSV file displays it as plain text.

Does anyone know of a good free app for viewing CSV files in a grid/spreadsheet layout?

Simple Spreadsheet is freeware and lists import/export of CSV as a feature.

Shead Spreet Lite also has similar features.

In the non-freeware category, see CSV Viewer and AndrOffice

Data Bee is the best. It can handle large files without problems. I has been using it for so many years.


Forgot the Pattern lock pattern in lollipop. How di i reset it? I locked my mobile with pattern lock. I forgot the pattern. In lollipop there is no option "Forget Pattern". I used Android Device Manager to lock my mobile. It Locked. But I does not ask for the password. The Mobile Screen is like bellow. How to Reset it?

The first and easiest way is resetting that Tushar's answer is about. I'm afraid there is no physical offline way to bypass the lock.

Although, there are apps that have access to the lock screen and can actually bypass it.

For example Samsung's Knox and Google device manager (Read a howto here), but they have prerequisites. You need to sync your device with them. If you have, be happy. If you have not, I can think of other ways.

Follow following steps -

Switch off your phone
Now hold the "volume up + home button + power button" until the phone boots (if you device doesn’t have a home button just hold together volume up key and power button.
Now a screen like DOS will come up with different options. Use the volume key to move up and down then scroll down to "Restore Factory Defaults" or "Delete all User Data”" depending on which is on your device.
After following the steps above, scroll down to "Reboot System" and wait for your phone to reboot.


Is there a widget for Twitter search? I'd like to monitor Twitter for certain keywords.  I wonder if there is a widget which displays live search results on my home screen, which are automaticly updated at a certain interval. I've tried almost every app in the store, but none provides this simple functionality.

There don't seem to be any widgets that let you monitor twitter for certain keywords, but here's a workaround that might do the trick.

Try an application like Meta widget. It can turn any webpage to a widget.

Maybe u can try this (TweetCaster for Twitter)   https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.handmark.tweetcaster&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5oYW5kbWFyay50d2VldGNhc3RlciJd


After factory-reset, account services permanently crash (no setup possible) It reboot smoothly. It started already doing the setup. But if you click NEXT there is box popping out, showing this stuffs:

Unfortunately, Samsung account has stopped
Unfortunately, Google account Manager has stopped

So, I cannot continue doing the setup. Because, even you click the OK button and click again the NEXT buttom it come back again.

What happen to my samsung galaxy S3? Can you please help me?

I had the same problem recently.  The phone was constantly reporting Google Play Services and many others as having stopped.  A hard-reset left me unable to complete the initial setup, as the account manager kept stopping too.  My S3 was stock standard, not rooted or running any custom firmware.  I was able to fix the problem, and I'd like to share my solution.

Download Samsung's "Kies" software.  Searching the samsung.com site pointed me to Version 2, but once installed the software self-updated to Version 3.1.  A restart was required after installing (I'm on Mac, but I understand with will work on Windows too).
Power on the phone.  Start Samsung Kies software.  Without touching the screen, I connected the USB cable to my computer.
Tools > Firmware upgrade and initialisation
I was warned that the current firmware was already installed, but chose to proceed anyway.  The current firmware was downloaded and installed on the phone, which took around 20 minutes.

After restarting the phone, I was able to complete the setup process without any errors.  The OS now appears to be working correctly (Android KitKat 4.4.4).  If I had to guess, I'd suggest it was some older versions of my network's own customisation that was incompatible with recent Play Store Services updates.  Interestingly, my phone now has less added software (only 2 extra apps I can see) and seems to run better than it did originally.

I hope this info helps others too.

If you are using a custom recovery, clear cache and Dalvik cache.


Is there any way to let Facebook run only when I want? Is there any way to let the Facebook app run only when I want to use it and really close it when i don't need it?

I've already disabled it with autostarts, moved to sd, yet it is still running 24/7.

I don't want to appear on the Facebook chat, also don't want to waste 30mb of ram, and of course there are no FB widgets on the home screen

You could always install Titanium Backup (a GREAT app to have) or App Manager (was just released today by JRummy) and "Freeze"/"Unfreeze" the app when you want it to run or not run. This is a very quick/simple/painless operation and there's absolutely no chance for it to run (taking up resources or draining battery) while it's "Frozen" - it just takes up a bit of storage space is all.

! This might be something too basic and obvious... But since this was happening to me too, you might be experiencing the same issue... When you press that square on the bottom right of your screen to visualise all the apps you have open, at the top right of your app window, there is a cross and a lock.. as seen in the image attached... The lock should be unlocked.. just click it to unlock it.  If it is locked, the app will never close.
(https://i.stack.imgur.com/j0b4r.jpg)


Looking for list of USB OTG/USB Host officially supported in Android devices (allow connect USB sticks, etc) NON-rooted I'm looking for a definitive list of Android devices that officially support USB On-the-go (OTG) / USB Host (non-rooted).

USB OTG/USB Host means that they can be used in a similar way to a PC whereby USB devices can be attached to them for them to access. E.g. memory sticks and other USB storage (mass storage class).

I am not looking for rooted devices (I know that such procedure can make a device support USB OTG/USB Host if the hardware supports it). I am looking for official support, out-of-the box.

Some devices may require adapter cables if necessary (i.e. micro USB to female USB socket).

So far I know at least one device that supports USB OTG / USB host out-of-the-box (non rooted):

The GoTab GBT740R 7" Android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich tablet, costing just 100 pounds or less in UK! This device has a full size USB female socket to support USB OTG / USB Host. A friend owns one, his USB memory sticks work in this - we can browse to the USB stick contents using Astro File Manager App on the tablet. (By the way, I don't work for GoTab). This seems to be a feature-rich device though for the price point: microSD and HDMI also supported.

Any more devices? usb.org doesn't seem to have a list, well I haven't found it yet, nor Wikipedia entries.

Acer Iconia Tab A200 (includes full-size USB A connector, takes flash keys no problem)

I bought a cheapo 7" tablet for just £70, and that has USB host. It is also 2.0, so it is very fast. As a developer I am very excited about the future of USB host, and I plan to support it in my own app.


How can I remove unwanted app icons from the screen? I'm new to using an android.  Apps I have never visited nor installed are showing up on my screen (Slots, Candy Crush, Expedia, Droid Games).  If I touch them, I go to their site.  I would like to remove them but can't figure out how?  Any ideas?

Sounds like you tapped into some spam trap. Certain apps place advertisements this way -- though the new playstore rules do no longer allow that. Others do the same in the notification area. Airpush is the best known evil source of such.

I suggest you scan your device for such apps. Try e.g. with TrustGo Ad Detector. Quoting from the apps description:

  It is common for advertising networks to collect information on how you use your device. Your information is then used for targeted marketing campaigns.

  Some common and aggressive methods include:

  Pushing ads to your Android notification bar
  Creating unauthorized shortcuts on your home screen
  Modifying the default browser, homepage and bookmarks settings
  Subscribing you to emails and text messages when an ad is clicked
  Making phone calls and downloading malicious files when an ad is clicked

At least one line sounding familiar? (remark: emphazation is mine).

EDIT: Once you've identified the malicious app, make sure to...

report it to Google (according to the current playstore rules, this kind of advertisement is not permitted)
comment on the app to warn off other users
uninstall the app and leave it out
think about whether in the future you want to use any apps from such developers which do not respect your privacy
nothing bad with ad-financed apps -- but it a) should be clear where those ads come from, and b) they should be related to the app itself, i.e. being displayed in that app when it's used -- and not outside in different places whether you use the app or not

You should download AVG and scan for the app that is placing the apps on your screen and it will help you not to download future programs that so this as well AVG has a website that will allow you to track your phone in the event of loss all for free.


Use Quick Responses with Google Voice One of the most useful features introduced in Ice Cream Sandwich is "Quick Responses": the ability to send a default SMS message to the caller. "Can't talk now. Will call you back." etc.

However, I'm 100% Google Voice. I only ever give out my GV number, and I don't want to broadcast my actual cell phone number by using a Quick Response.

Is there a way to use them with Google Voice?

This is apparently not currently possible.

I'm not the only person with this desire. There's an open issue at Google (Issue 23176).

In one of my searches, I found someone who says they looked into the code for the Phone app, and found that it's calling the Messaging app directly without allowing the Messaging Intent, which is what would prompt me to choose the Messaging app versus Google Voice to send the message.

The app suggested by dymutaos looked somewhat promising, but I am concerned about its security.

So, unfortunately, this very useful feature is currently useless to me. I hope they fix it in the not-too-distant future.

Google voice has the following option which sounds like it could do what you want, but only when texting to another GV number. This is according to the "learn more" text on the site; I haven't experimented to find its real capabilities:

- Caller ID (outgoing)   When I text a Google Voice number from one of my
  forwarding phones:
     - Don't change anything
     - Display my Google Voice number


S4 Wont turn on unless removing battery then turns off after 2 seconds So, my Galaxy S4 turned off randomly today during charge. I attempted turning it back on via the power button but it would not respond.

Then I tried taking out the battery and replacing it, the device vibrates with the Galaxy S4 logo showing up for about a couple seconds, then the screen goes blank again.

I even tried placing a battery from a different S4 - still doesn't work.

Anybody know what's wrong with my device?

Edit: Flat Surface trick doesn't work. It vibrates sometimes but then it turns off.

Try booting into recovery mode and seeing if it turns of there

if it doesn't that means your software is corrupt and a factory reset/format cache from recovery mode might fix it

to access recovery mode hold power button+ volume up + home button at the same time while the device is off

I had the same problem. Most likely it's the power button problem, where it's always stucked inside, or depressed in. That makes your phone turns on then turns off by itself. I had the same problem. I found this great video on how to fixes it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l_6fwzuIwA


How to track down an app that shows ads on smartphone screen? I have a problem with malware apps. Looks like some app called "Native" installed itself, and created a shortcut for itself, all without my permission. After that happened, I have pop-up ads every time I unlock my screen.

I have 2 security apps: Avast and 360 security. Neither of them can find anything wrong on my phone.

Because this new app "Native" uses such a common word as its name, I cannot find anything about it on the Internet, and I don't see anything called "Native" when I browse in the "Settings"->"Applications" menus.

So I am stuck with ads popping up every time I unlock the screen. What may be the possible solution?

Android 4 & 5

When the advertisement shows up, press the app switch button to display the recents menu (if the advertisement is full-screen and cover your soft buttons, swiping down from the top of the screen will make it appear).
It will show the name of the app displaying the advertisement.
From there, long press on the app and chose "app info"
Uninstall the app.

Android 6
For Android 6 the process is similar, however the recents menu looks a bit different. In this step you now have to long press the app icon in the title bar:

Android 7
For Android 7 the process is similar, however the recents menu looks a bit different. In this step you now have to long press the app icon then an info icon appears in the title bar that opens the settigs dialog of the app the screen belongs to:

i have a simple solution for this problem...the ads appears because of an app which is invisible to us means we can't see that app in apps menu...so here is the solution..
Go to settings >lock screen and security>device administarion there you will see an app with no name is allowed for the device administration remove the tick from that app....this will not solve the problem there is more work to do.  Now go to settings>app ... The invisible app will be in downloaded or maybe in running app on the first number look carefully.. Even I didn't saw the app first time.... You are all set now just click the app and softly touch the uninstall button, as i said touch the uninstall button softly. ...and done there will be no more ads.... If you don't understand what i have written above, you can send mail on sharmahainhum@gmail.com.
And if you think i am funny please vote me....


Unfortunately, Software Update has stopped OTA (LG G2 Rooted) Whenever I click it, I get the "Unfortunately, Software Update has stopped" message and the app closes. Picture is not of my phone, I found it from another post that was not answered.

My phone was trying to update automatically but would fail during the process. I read a forum saying to restore some hotspot files that I had changed to get the free hotspot. I must have done something wrong in trying to find the stock hotspot files and now my phone wont even start to try and update.

Any help would be great!

Just open your setting>apps>software update>clear data. You are done...!!!


Dashboard/Home Screen icons take up to 10 seconds to load after pressing the Home button I have an issue where the Home Screen (dashboard?) icons can take over 10 seconds to load when I press the home key. After this happens once, the icons will stay there if I open a program and then press the home key again. But, after some time has passed, I'll see this issue again.

Phone restart does not fix this issue. I don't have a lot of Services running and I keep things tidy with Advanced Task Killer.

This question looks similar, but that user's icons never load. Mine will always load, it just takes way too long.

Any thoughts are welcome.

Phone: Motorola Droid; Android 2.2.1; No Root/Mod
Apps: 1 Widget; 27 total icons
Modes: Normal; Desk Charger Mode (whatever that's called)

EDIT:

I uninstalled my Task Killer and a couple other apps that I don't use anymore. The problem isn't as severe, but still occurs. I will try removing the 1 widget I have and perhaps install an alternate launcher.

I have the same phone and pretty much the same issue(s).

First of all, you shouldn't be using a task killer. It's unnecessary and counter productive. (See this question and this other question.)

One thing that will help is using a Home Screen replacement. There are several, but I've been using Zeam. While it doesn't remove the homescreen redraw delay completely, it's much better than without it.

Another thing that will help is reducing or eliminating the number of widgets you're using.

Switch off auto sync, things will improve immediately.


Stop automatically setting apps as default I have an AT&T Samsung Note4 currently running Marshmallow 6.0.1.

In the past it and all other Android phones used to prompt me for and app
to open files or links with. The menu wold have a sellection of apps and 'Once' and 'Always' buttons. An app would only become default for a given link/file type by pressing 'Always'. Otherwise I would get prompted each time.

Not too long ago this behavior changed. The 'Once' and 'Always' buttons are gone and apps automatically become default after the first choice. This is fine for some files/links but not others.

There are many different kinds of things I want to do with some file types (eg pdfs) and I use different apps for each. Now I either have to unset the default each time or open the file in whatever the current default is and than 'share' it to the app I actually want. This is a pain and not all apps are equally good at sharing to other apps.

How can I get the old behaviour back? Or at least select some file/link types to not have a default associated with them? I know how to unset default apps in settings; I am after a way to avoid needing to do that for files/links I open with multiple apps.

I am not sure if this change is due to some update or if it is something I enabled unintentionally
FWIW, I also have a Huawei running Android 4.4.4 that still has the old behavior

This question is about the same problem in a specific context, but i am after a solution to the general problem that none of the commants & answers there address.

I'm having the same problem but it looks like it's corrected in later updates of marshmallow according to https://www.greenbot.com/article/2991086/how-to-change-your-default-browser-and-phone-apps-in-android-marshmallow.html
So I'm going to try updating and hope it works for both of us.

On my S8
Settings>Apps>default apps>default app selection


Galaxy S3 missing "Accounts and Sync" I have Galaxy S3 GT-I9300 version 4.1.2 and I lost the "Accounts and Sync" under settings. I added the "Auto sync data" under Data usage and it still does not sync automatically with my calendar. My question are:

How can I restore the "Accounts and Sync" ?
How can I control Auto sync mode on each application?

Thanks

Android 4.1.2 doesn't has an Accounts and Sync option under settings, it just has the text Accounts, each of your account in a row (if you have any account added to the device) and the plus sign at the bottom to add more accounts.

"Auto sync data" MUST be enabled. Go to "Settings > Data Usage > Click the MENU button on your device > Check "Auto sync data."

Autosync for each application is under each application menu. For example, if you have your google account configured, you have to select Google >  and there you will see the sync options. In this case you will see sync calendar, contacts, etc and their respective checkboxes to enable/disable them.

Check the screenshots/steps to get there:

Go to settings > accounts and click the one you want to setup.

Once inside, click on the account name with the sync icon.

You will see the sync options for that account.

Sync can be turned on from the pull down menu (windowshade) from any screen. I just found it.


HTC One X+ is getting hot. Is it Normal? The other day my daughter was playing with wife's phone (HTC one x+) and asked me for help. When I grabbed the phone I realised that was so HOT that I think I could fry an egg on it. Is this normal?

Is there any tip you can give me to avoid this?

It is normal. It could have been because your daughter was playing a game on the phone, or just taking up a lot of processing power. Also, having one's hands on the back of the phone also does not help. I've had this issue with multiple devices when playing games specifically.

Nothing wrong with the phone. Getting hot, just not a problem with hardware.
I can solve the overheating problem just like that.
Disable all the apps that have Google in their name including Google service framework, Play and market feed back and just don't forget the boss Chrome browser. (Even if you don't use them) . Use built in Android browser.
You will be cool, I ment your HTC


Facebook "more from related pages" feature Recent updates on the Facebook app came with a new feature : "the more from related pages" after every time you like a post. For me this feature is terrible. Every time after I liked a post I would scroll down to like another one, and just right before I hit the like button this new function will pop some icons out, pushing the wall down and cause me to miss the like button.

So here is the question: are there ways to remove this feature ? I searched through the settings on my app one by one but I have yet to find anything that works.

Feature


Restoring backups from SD Using Titanium Backup I backed up apps + data to the SD card and see they are still there. I flashed a new ROM. I installed TB again but am having trouble restoring the apps. It can’t find the backups, how do I change it? I went to menu > preferences > backup folder location > Storage provider > DocumentProvider storage > naviagated to correct location > pressed “select”
Then the list populates with backups but the “use the current folder” is greyed out. I can only click cancel. However if I make a new folder and navigate there, the “use the current folder” is clickable.
After clicking select the message quickly flashes “Access granted. Please create/choose subdirectory for your backups”

How do I resotre backups located on SD card? I named the folder myself so it’s not like the default. I'm on ROM that is based on Android Nougat 7.1

In order to successfully select a backup directory via the DocumentProvider storage, you should not navigate to the chosen folder immediately after choosing the abovementioned storage.

What you should do, is to navigate only to the root directory of the external SD card and then tap on Select. Next, after the Access granted popup appears, use Titanium Backup's built-in file explorer to navigate to the chosen backup directory, and then tap on Use the current folder.

If you changed(upgrade) rom version customizingly i.e. Kitkat to lollipop....
Then titanium backup fail to restoring the app and data....
If you want to restore backup any how then you have to flash previous rom....


Tablet does not recognize an External SD Card I have an Android tablet (Torque Droidz Duo Slim). It has 2GB of internal memory and a 2GB SD-Card. I also have bought and been using an 8GB SD-Card but the device does not recognize the external SD-Card. It always says "Not enough memory", although I still have 5GB of free space on my external SD-Card.

Why does it still say the phone has insufficient memory?

Ok i used to have a ACER B1-720 and it wouldn't recognise my SD-Card saying SD-Card removed unexpectedly, even though it was never taken out! BUt to solve your problem this is what I would suggest: Go to the settings (Go home, go into app drawer and click on settings)Click on StorageScroll down to the bottom, If it says Unmount SD card then it is low on storage on your SD card, if it says mount SD card press it and if nothing happens, then your device doesnt work with this SD card, so you should take it in to a local electrThis is what it should look like:

 If this answer helped you then please tick it

Some times this is the only solution, change SD Card, i tried with another different and it works perfectly.


How to set personal interval to check data usage? On my Nexus 4 with stock Lollipop, I can check the usage data month by month, but my subscription is every 30 days (around the 15th).

New contracts last 28 days, so there is more difference between real interval and a month.

Is it possible to set a personal interval (the start and the during) to check it?

Unfortunately I don't have enough reputation in this sub-stackexchange, so I will answer instead of commenting.

This options is not available in Android (up to this date), but there is an issue (which you can star*), which has unfortunately been marked obsolete with no reason whatsoever. Maybe it can be rediscovered if enough people star it.

P.s.: Here is a similar issue which has not been marked obsolete (yet).

Edit: Another trick (which does not really give you the desired effect) might be to use an app from your provider (these often show you how much data you have left).

*Makes it more likely that it might be implemented at some point.

I found the "Change cycle" option today.
It's at the bottom of the drop-down

I had to scroll past every month from 2014 to 1970 (~520 months)


bootloop without power button I have a Nexus S which sadly has a broken power button. This means I cannot do anything in recovery mode. Recently, after downgrading from a Cyanogenmod 10.1 nightly to and experimental build, it got stuck in a boot-loop.

I am trying to install ClockworkMod Touch, I think this would probably be the fastest (and most permanent) option. I have an .img file, but also a flashable .zip file for ClockWorkMod Touch.

The problem is, I am unable to either flash the .zip, or install the .img, because my PC doesn't detect a device in fast-boot mode.

Does anyone know how to install the zip using ADB, with commands that are available through either regular boot or recovery mode?

I could also try and send keystrokes for the power button through ADB but this wouldn't work in recovery.

Thanks for the help in advance!

Update: The phone wont go into Fastboot-usb mode, I dont know why. (I am not using the original USB cable)

Update 2: I managed to fix the bootloop by reinstalling the ROM using

    adb shell
    recovery --update_package=/sdcard/cmupdater/cm-10.1-20130121-EXPERIMENTAL-crespo-M1.zip

Still would like to know how to install CWM touch.

Check this out. It's a step-by-step guide on how to load a rom with fastboot. Maybe it helps.

Also, additional info can be found on xda forums.


Keep android phone off until I press combination of volume + power I'm using Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2 running on android pie.
My problem is there's kid at my home and he play with phone though it is protected with pattern he start all options from navigation bar or power off phone.

First I want to block notification bar completely I won't it scrollable.
Second I want kid prevent from turning phone switch off.

So how can I make my phone won't wake up or screen on until I do something special?

Your best and only bet is to root the phone. There may be an xposed package that will be able to give you the functionality you want. Look into the Magisk platform. I wasn't able to find a package for it but that does not mean it doesn't exist.

As far as on startup or shut down, what you described is impossible. That's controlled by the phone bootloader and cannot be changed. Attempting to do so can destroy the phone permanently.

Note that any of these procedures will void your warranty.


How do you see Memory usage in Android O? Prior to Android Oreo I could see Memory usage by going to Settings > Memory but this does not exist any more since upgrading to Android O. Is there any way to see this now or has it been removed completely?

Enable Developer Mode (see here), and go to System > Developer options > Memory

To show memory usage in android Oreo, first of all make sure enable developer mode in android Oreo

Enable developer mode android Oreo:

Settings > System > About phone > Tap build number 7 times

Now enabled developer options in android 8.0 Oreo.

Go to settings > System > Developer options > Memory > Memory used by apps


How RAM usage effects battery drain? I'm really confused about Android memory management.

I just read here that killing apps by swiping from recent list or using task killers won't save your battery but drain more because this cause the OS to load the apps all over again next time you launch it or startup by themselves. They also said the actually thing we should worry is CPU usage, not RAM usage.

Is that mean using too much RAM doesn't drain battery? As RAM is a hardware, holding something on it shouldn't drain battery? What if I was playing Temple Run and just press home button so the app will load faster next time I launch? Or should we just press back button until the app exit as we always do? I've also searched the internet but some said it would drain battery as it sits on RAM, some said there is no difference between RAM holds actual data or nothing. Should we let go of our app-killing habit and just feel relax?

Some precise answers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. :)

I doubt that there is a direct correlation between battery consumption and RAM usage. The hardware doesn't know which RAM cells contain 'used' data and which not. So there can be no difference in battery consumption on that level.

But I think that one could say that unnecessarily killing Apps causes a few extra CPU cycles when those Apps have to be re-started and therefore "uses more battery".

And yes, you definitely should let go of your app-killing habit. In most cases, Android is capable of managing the system's resources quite well and you shouldn't bother with manually killing Apps. They definitely won't drain more battery if they just idle around and consume some RAM. Of course, if those Apps are constantly using the CPU, they will drain battery (but this is usually a sign of a bug within the App or a badly implemented App).

Since main RAM is dynamic (made of capasitors which loose info) they must be refreshed.
This refreshal takes power, and a full (or used) block, should take more power to "recharge" than once containing all 0's or somehow knows it's not being used.

However, if this is actualy noticable is for someone with more electronics know/how.

I have always noticed higher battery usage on all computers when more ram is used, regardless of CPU level, but there must be some other factors at play here.


Navigation bar disappears after system update on Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 I just received a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 (GT-P3113TS) from school and oddly enough after playing with it just for several minutes, it wanted to update the OS. It ended up updating twice (one larger update and then a smaller ~60MB update) to a final version of Android 4.2.2.

Now, after the system starts up I no longer have a navigation bar at the bottom.  Once I get into an application or the system settings I simply cannot press any button to get out of it.  There is no home or return button or anything like unto that.  Am I entirely misunderstanding how Android's UI works or have these updates completely and entirely broke the system such that I'm no longer able to use this device?

To clarify:

As per request, here is a snapshot of my screen:

Its very easy to bring back navigation bar on any android device.

Download Root explorer or any other file explorer
access root permission and goto /system folder
Open build.prop and add this line    qemu.hw.mainkeys=0
If this line already there than it must contain 1 instead of 0. Change it to 0
Or use Gravity box to enable navigation bar.

Read more at Techorfy


Scan Barcode and QR code from the mobile screen itself How to scan barcodes from the mobile screen itself?

Edit on Mar 10, 2020: I am also looking to do the same for QR codes.

As already described in above comments, this would require taking a screenshot and saving it as an image file. Havind done that, there are several barcode scanners available in the playstore supporting "loading" of barcodes from image files, as e.g. QR BARCODE SCANNER or mentioned Google Goggles. I don't know of any barcode scanner capable of "scanning your screen directly".

EDIT: QR Droid seems to be capable of what you're looking for:

  Scan QR codes from your camera, browser, SD card, or saved image

I'm frequently using Manatee Works 'Barcode Scanners' app towards such a purpose. Here's the Google Play Store demonstration application link, recently updated:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.manateeworks.barcodescanners

The app supports wide variety of 1D/2D codes, scans very fast and its free. The only downside is that the option to manipulate with the results are few, namely either copy or email, because its a mere demonstration.


Nexus5 not connecting to only my wifi network I have a very peculiar problem with connecting my new nexus5 to my wifi router @ home.

Here is the background:
I recently bought Nexus 5 and a new wireless modem/router(D-Link2750u)...The first day as soon as I got the router, I did the set up and both wired connection to my pc and wireless connection(WPA2-PSK) to my phone worked fine.

Now the problem is

Since the next day my phone does not enable me to connect to my home network. It always shows my SSID as 'Not In range' even though my phone is right next to the router.

My approach to the problem:

I thought since there are 2 devices involved... it can either be the phone's fault or the routers fault.

So, First I choose my phone, I went to my friends place my phone had no problem what so ever to connect to the wifi @ my friend's(Same ISP, same encryption different router) and I try to connect to 2 other different networks and it worked fine.

Now, the only other culprit possible: My router

My friend was able to connect to this network through his Samsung phone and he dint have any problem doing it so.

Now the question that boggles my mind...

who is the culprit in here? My Phone or the router?

I am not able to figure out what might be the problem, Any kind of help is greatly appreciated...

PS: I also tried doing a factory reset of the phone and also reset the router and then set it up, none of them solved the problem.

This question thread has been very helpful -- I too developed the same problem, which started after 2 events:  being away from my home for 2 months, and also receiving the latest Android 4 updates (over-the-air) -- across 3 Android devices: my HTC one, my Nexus 7, and an Alcatel Fierce. All have Android 4+

After hours inside the router's setup panel, testing, I solved it with your help, Izzy. But it wasn't the channel... It was the GHz setting!

The home router was set for 5ghz. everything always worked fine, until the latest Android updates. Now, none will work; all give the same famous message: Not in Range. This is absolutely erroneous, since all PCs/Macs in the house could use the Wifi network just fine. (I won't even mention the brand of router since it doesn't matter.)

To solve the problem, I tried eliminating most variables, in both the router and the android devices:

SSID on/off -- didn't matter; not in range;
Channel changing -- no effect; still not in range;
restarting router and phones and tablets -- no luck;
toggling WIFI optimizations/power saving/dhcp-vs-static -- no luck

What DID work was changing the broadcast channel from 5ghz back to the more crowded 2.4 GHz.  Success.
And rats, I'd rather be using the 5GHz.

So I conclude that this is an Android 4+ software bug. (Phone hardware, you think? How could all three devices have a problem with 5ghz, when they ALL worked fine before on this same network, before joining other networks fine?) There's something wrong with the software such that once they join a 5GHz wifi network, then connect later to another network (cafe hotspot, other network, etc.), they lose the ability to "see" the network they first connected to.

Just received my brand new nexus5 on friday.. and it does not work with my wifi!

the solution is to set a static ip instead of dhcp.
it is working for me now.


Is voice recognition on Android Wear performed on the device? The recently announced smartwatches based on Android Wear extensively rely on voice recognition for user interaction.

Is the voice recognition performed on-device, on the paired smartphone, or in Google's cloud? Or is it a mix of those three, e.g. online with an offline fallback?

While I don't have any official source, from testing it's clear that it's cloud based.

Watch paired, handheld with internet connection -> Works.
Watch paired, handheld without internet connection (e.g. airplane mode) -> Doesn't work.
Watch not paired (e.g. handheld turned off) -> Doesn't work.

the voice recognition is performed on device; information of the voice is persisted in Google's cloud


Why isn't all my storage listed in settings? As seen in the above images, internal storage uses way more then by adding Apps and Cached data to each other. This could be the Android OS, but I think it isn't bequase on the first picture it is deprecated from the other entries. What could be possibly using the unlisted usage and can I reclaim that space (by moving it to my adapted SD)?

If you have large apps, then the total size of the app is not displayed: The extra files which the app needs in order to run itself, do not show up in the description of storage. That means the total size of your apps might be greater than 1.40 GB. This might be one of the possible reasons.


Play Store crashes when menu or back button are tapped Since the Play Store was updated to version 4.9.13 on my LG Optimus L5II (LG-E450f), it crashes every time the menu or back button are tapped.

Click image for larger version.

Everything else appears to work fine.

Clearing the cache, deleting app data and resetting to factory settings don't fix it. Uninstalling the updates of Play Store fixes it, but the after a couple of minutes it's automatically updated and the problem happens again.

My device isn't rooted. It's running Android version 4.1.2

What can I do to stop the Play Store crashing?

If you root your phone then you can safely install Xposed and this module that should fix the problem.

I have the same problem on my phone, but luckily I found a way around it. Simply swipe in from the left hand side and it brings you the exact same menu you are after.


how to stop auto login on Skype for Android Please help me to stop auto login in Skype. There is an account that is always login again and again, although I chose to logout and sign in with another Skype name. I tried on Settings/applications/Skype to kill the account and to quit synchronise, but still whenever I open Skype again, I'm logging in automatically.

In the current version (5.7) you need to follow these steps:

Sign out (click on your avatar and then choose "sign out")
Go to the Android application manager, find Skype, then click "Force Stop".

Have you tried clearing data and reinstalling?

If so try using greenify (play store) to greenish the app (will prevent it from running), if that isn't your problem, try deleting the offending Skype account (from the web)


Samsung Galaxy Grand is running out of space I'm using a Samsung Galaxy Grand and I have not much apps installed: in fact just about 3 apps besides the pre-installed apps, but still I have no space when I'm downloading apps like Skype and Candy Crush.

On the process of updating my phone I get this message, that there is an insufficient space; the phone too shows a lot of used up space. I have an 8GB microSD card, which is hardly used.

Please help me on this.

You can clean junk data from mobile:

Clear App Data

Some apps store a lot of temporary files on the internal memory which can build up over time.  Apps like Facebook, Google Maps and web browsers are particularly bad for this, due to the massive amounts of data they have to manage on a regular basis. Clearing out these temporary files can free up a great deal of memory for your smartphone and can be done by following these simple steps:

Go to Settings

Select 'Applications'

Select 'Manage Applications'

Find the application you wish to clear and press on it

Press the options for both 'Clear Data' and 'Clear Cache'

Another simple way to free up storage space is by deleting all the log files in the device memory.

Just dial *#9900# on the tablet and

select option 2 “Delete dumpstate/logcat” in the prompted menu.

Hope it helps you!!

Try "Clean Master (Cleaner)" App, it might work for you.

Edit: I just realised that the question was asked a couple of months ago!!


Is there a way to create new files in Astro FM Astro File Manager has a text file editor built right in. Is there a way to create new text files in the app and edit them directly in it?

I am not looking for other apps (I know they exist) - specifically if and how it can be done in Astro File Manager (or the Pro version if that has the feature).

I should clarify - I mean plain text - not rtf/doc or something.

After looking through the Help file and through Astro quite a bit, alas, I believe the answer is no. While it does allow for editing, the only option for creation is Directory (Folder) creation, as you pointed out.

That being said, I think this would be an excellent feature, and might be worth suggesting to the developers.

I know you said you didn't want other apps, but to show one directly with the feature...

this is X-plore File Manager

well, astro is not designed to do so.
should you need to create / edit docs, you had better go for other apps, i.e. quick office pro, docs2go, etc.


Insufficient Space on Mobile Device I have searched for an answer to my question because many others have asked this before me - but i guess i have to find more creative answers because all the given answers don't really work for me.

I am trying to install a new app of 18.1 MB but it's impossible. What can I do?

I un-installed 2 apps (together should be more than 18.1 MB)
I only have a few downloaded apps (mostly linked to google like google play music, google play newsstand etc) but still its says with Application Manager > Downloaded > 1.7 GB used ( Id say thats too much), 315 MB free
(and with those apps I uninstalled all updates)
I have an SD card , which has space, but I cannot move any of my apps there

Maybe its time for a new phone

This problem may occur when your memory cache is insufficient.

When you download an app, the data goes in the cache so that the phone can install it when the download is completed.

In order to be sure that this is the problem, try to download smaller apps. There must be a point where the size is small enough for your android to install it.

I had this problem on my Acer Stream years ago and this is what the support told me, which was right. What is your smartphone model ?

you can try out the following methods to get most of your internal storage back:

Look for LOST.dir folder in your internal SD
If you frequently transfer lots of files between your Android device and PC or MAC, chances are there are huge recovered corrupted files in your LOST.dir folder. In my case I had about 2GB of those. Is it safe to delete them? Yes. Deleting the Lost.dir folder will not cause any harm. However, if important files such as Clockword Recovery files are corrupted, chances are that they have ended in Lost.dir, you might want to try and recover them using Recuva or other similar software. Follow this thread if you have want to recover your lost clockworkmod recovery files.
No matter how many times you delete this folder, chances are it will be recreated each time you transfer files and mount/unmount your device. You can prevent those large files from piling up in LOST.DIR by always safely ejecting or unmounting your android from the PC or MAC and by avoiding  dismounting or ejection at the middle of a transfer

Look for large thumbnail files in DCIM folder in the internal storage
A common issue experienced by many android users is that their pictures and videos folder (DCIM) increases in size by itself i.e. even when no picture or video is taken. It appears that overtime large thumbnail files are created by your default gallery and have sizes that are far greater than the actual images. This is some sort of bug which still awaits a solution. However as a temporary fix you can simply delete the large files in the
mnt/SDcard/DCIM/.thumbnails
folder. I freed a total of 1.5 GB by deleting those files.
You might also want to install Quickpic and use it instead of default gallery to browse and view pictures. Quickpic gallery loads up very fast, has a clean interface and is currently the best gallery replacement for your Android. Download Quickpic

Install Cleanmaster to delete junk files
Cleanmaster is a really nice app which will clean your system cache, residual files from apps previously uninstalled or deleted and also delete your unwanted search histories, call logs etc. I saved over 600mb via this app. However, you might want to de-select some cache files that are important. For example- I use Pulse reader and once your news are loaded in the app, you can view them without network connection later. Hence, before cleaning, I uncheck Pulse from the list of caches.
Run Cleanmaster at least once a week to avoid system cache from piling up later. Download Cleanmaster

Link2SD
Link2SD is a simple application which will allow your rooted Android to force move apps to external storage or SDcard, This will save you lots of internal storage. With Link2SD even system apps are converted into user apps so that you can move them out of phone memory.This means you can now install apps beyond the limited internal system memory. Download Link2SD.
Note: It is better to partition your SD card for storing apps on your SD via Link2SD.  It is very easy to partition if you have Clockworkmod recovery installed. Most rooted devices have this. First turn off or restart your phone into recover mode. From there, select advanced->partition SD Card. From there, select how much space you want to allocate for that partition. Alternatively, you can install and use partition tools on your PC.There is one called . From the minitool wizard you can select your SDcard, format it and then partition it into primary and extra partition using the “Create” button. From there, select Fat32 as your SDcard’s file system and allocate space for your primary partition and secondary partition. Now when you open Link2SD you can select your new partition. Then, select the apps from the internal storage that you want to move to your SD. Then click on the action button to and click create link.Now, check all the three boxes and click “OK” to create links.  Now all your internal storage apps are moved to SD card. To make your external SD as default storage for apps and games, go to settings -> Auto Link -> Now, Check all three boxes and press ok.
As you can see, I managed to free more than 4GB of space by following these methods to clean unwanted files eating up my android’s internal storage. Go ahead and try these solutions and free up loads of space in your Android device.


Sony Z1 Compact: will encrypting my phone disable the camera button? I just bought a Sony Z1 Compact with Android 4.4. It has a special camera button on the side. When the phone is off, you can press this button for a longer time, and the camera apps opens directly, even when you have a PIN lock. The lock is not disabled, only for this app. So after making a picture, when you try to open the image, you first have to enter the PIN.

I would like to encrypt the phone, but I'm afraid that this will disable this function. Does anybody knows how this works?

Update: I encrypted the phone plus external SD card, and the camera button still works.

I am pretty sure that you wont lose the functionality of lock screen camera. But check once before encrypting because you need to hard reset/repair to decrypt xperia phones.

What about, if you transfer your data to a computer, then you try to encrypt your phone and if it works, you can transfer data from computer to phone. If it doesn't works, you can still hard reset it.


Nexus 4 Stuck at “Checking connection..” after factory reset My Nexus4 mobile is on android-5.1.1 version. Today I tried to factory reset my mobile and completed reset. After reset rebooted my mobile and it went through language selection screen. Selected wi-fi connection and clicked on next, it stuck on "Checking connection..." screen. I tried with mobile network as well, but no use.

Tried restart no luck. Tried factory reset again still facing the same problem.

How to fix this ?

Flash using Nexus Root Toolkit via Fastboot

Go to fastboot (bootloader) power + volume down
Plugin usb and open NRT
Unlock phone
Check soft-bricked and flash stock

Hope this helps..!!!

turn off. take out your sim card and turn off wifi. skip everything. it will work.