Android Android Phone User Tips.....

[nico445]

got a lg optimus chic (e720) had to reset it once because it was rebooting all the time. but now many of my apps can't seem to connect to the internet (wifi and 3g) does anybody know what the problem could be?

 

[Terminator02]

no idea, when you say reset do you mean factory reset? you might want to get it replaced it it's still under warranty

 

[shamiko_]

got a lg optimus chic (e720) had to reset it once because it was rebooting all the time. but now many of my apps can't seem to connect to the internet (wifi and 3g) does anybody know what the problem could be?

do a hard reset
Turn off the phone.
Hold the Home and Volume Down button
Press and hold the Power button until the device turns on
Follow the on-screen instructions to reset your device

if not you could consider reinstalling the android firmware

 

[Leo Cantus]

Is it true that you shouldn't let the phone's battery drop below 15%, and if so why?

 

[Originality]

It's been suggested that part of what makes a Li-ion battery works might degrade if there's no charge at all. Over time, more and more of that part will degrade and the battery will have less capacity.

I think of it in a different way. I always want my battery to be over 15% so that if something came up, I wouldn't have to worry about how little charge is left. I generally charge at 45% if I know I need to use it, or 10-25% if it's the night.

 

[CannonFoddr]

It's been suggested that part of what makes a Li-ion battery works might degrade if there's no charge at all. Over time, more and more of that part will degrade and the battery will have less capacity.

I think of it in a different way. I always want my battery to be over 15% so that if something came up, I wouldn't have to worry about how little charge is left. I generally charge at 45% if I know I need to use it, or 10-25% if it's the night.

And although I'm still learning about 'Android's battery calibration etc - what I use to do with my old Nokia was 'top-up' on the drive into/from work (~20min journey) using a car-charger

IF I 'heavily used' the phone @ work, whether it was Music playing for 4-5 hours (nonstop) and/or game playing (on/off) due to a 'slow shift' (Yes I DID play games while listen to music on the phone at the same time) - & if the charge of battery went to 40~50% (or lower) then I would charge it up in work for a couple of hours (if there was time left before the end of shift that is), otherwise I would charge it once I got home. IIRC I think I had only let the battery fully drain/get 'into-the-red' a couple of times, & that was when on holiday abroad (one time I left it switched on the the room safe - that was stupid

)

Unfortunately (!) I'm still in that habit of doing that with my new phone (I've only let it go below 15% once in the week I've had it) - but I HAVE seen a slight improvement in battery
When I first had it I 'lost' ~10% battery when left overnight, but the last couple of days I've noticed in the mornings I've only 'lost' ~6%

 

[prowler]

TIL I shouldn't drain my battery.
I've been told when growing up that you should completely drain the battery and that's what I've done and with the few times my Android said I had little battery left after charging it all night made me think I should do it for my phone too.
Maybe it was because I hardly ever turn my phone off.

you know the official market is live

I know, I google'd Autokiller and AppBrain is the first thing that came up. (Which is just sightly the same as the Markets website just not official)

 

[Originality]

I discovered an extra bit of advice from within the Apple app store of all places. One of their battery apps recommends only doing a major (read, down to 5-15%) discharge once a month, never to do a full discharge, and never to leave it on the charger for prolonged periods. Otherwise, you can charge as often and as much/little as you like.

I don't know how much of that should be believed, but it's more or less in line with what I do anyway... an occaisional discharge, and otherwise keeping it retaltively high most of the time (without leaving it on the charger).

 

[Terminator02]

TIL I shouldn't drain my battery.
I've been told when growing up that you should completely drain the battery and that's what I've done and with the few times my Android said I had little battery left after charging it all night made me think I should do it for my phone too.
Maybe it was because I hardly ever turn my phone off.

you know the official market is liveI know, I google'd Autokiller and AppBrain is the first thing that came up. (Which is just sightly the same as the Markets website just not official)
yes but you can install it on your phone from the google market website, for appbrain you need to have the app to do that


QUOTE(Originality @ Apr 2 2011, 04:16 PM)

I discovered an extra bit of advice from within the Apple app store of all places. One of their battery apps recommends only doing a major (read, down to 5-15%) discharge once a month, never to do a full discharge, and never to leave it on the charger for prolonged periods. Otherwise, you can charge as often and as much/little as you like.

I don't know how much of that should be believed, but it's more or less in line with what I do anyway... an occaisional discharge, and otherwise keeping it retaltively high most of the time (without leaving it on the charger).

it's true you shouldn't leave it in the charger for too long (after it is fully charged), however when you are charging in the car it's not near as much of a problem, i can't remember exactly why but I think it has to do with AC vs. DC

 

[CannonFoddr]

Just thought I'll pass this info on.....

I was looking for a 'Backup to PC' piece of software since I don't really like the 'HTC Sync' version (seems rather limited in features & when syncing it sticks stuff in weird folders on the phone) & I stumbled across this

Wondershare MobileGo is PC freeware for Android phone data management.
With this handy and smart Android manager, you can master your Android more conveniently and effectively.
This one-stop mobile manager helps you achieve a simple but effective mobile management of your contacts, music files, movies, SMS, photos, and applications such as multimedia converting, data transferring, contact management, data backup, and other phone managements between your PC and Android phone.

Has anyone used this ??

ATM it's [seems to be] totally free for Android users (but for how long though ??) & it seems to be a total Phone manager, similar to Nokia PC Suite.

The only thing I'm confused about is this 'USB Debugging' stuff. It seems as though the program NEEDS this switched on... so is it safe to do so ??

 

[Terminator02]

yes it's safe

 

[ProtoKun7]

The only thing I'm confused about is this 'USB Debugging' stuff. It seems as though the program NEEDS this switched on... so is it safe to do so ??

If it wasn't safe it wouldn't be such an easily accessible option.

 

[CannonFoddr]

yes it's safeQUOTE(ProtoKun7 @ Apr 7 2011, 05:49 PM) If it wasn't safe it wouldn't be such an easily accessible option.

True- but then again (it seems) on some phones it's 'easily rootable' - so does THAT make them safe !!

I think not....

Still it's now been a couple of weeks & it seems as though my battery life has 'settled down' now,
mind you it COULD be because I've stopped 'force close' Apps & 'Clearing cache' - or it could be because I've now installed an 'Airplane Autoswitch' App, but now it appears that I'm only losing ~2% battery overnight &

 

[HateBreed]

I have an HTC Inspire 4g which is the exact same phone.. rooting is fairly simple if you follow every direction.. I have the MIUI custom rom on mine its designed for the Desire HD

And as for programs running in the background use systempanel. it kills all the apps running

 

[jphriendly]

While I didn't read over this whole topic, I don't think anyone mentioned one of the best resource for people interested in rooting/modding/etc current gen phones. XDA-Developers is a great place for anything Android/WinMo related. My HD2 now runs an awesome (self-cooked) custom ROM, from NAND, and has never been better. Here's a direct link to the Desire HD forum there. Has helped me a TON with learning the ins and outs of Android.

*edit* Task killers really aren't needed for Android nowadays as it does a pretty good job with utilizing resources. Most people will tell you that they end up causing more trouble than they are worth.

 

[CannonFoddr]

While I didn't read over this whole topic, I don't think anyone mentioned one of the best resource for people interested in rooting/modding/etc current gen phones.

I think there's been a couple of links to the site in this thread - but I stumbled across that site now & again anyway while doing my own 'research' (Google is such a wonderful tool)

Didn't actual stumble across the 'One click Radio S-OFF tool' thread there until now - definately a link I'll keep to one side, although not considering the 'Custom ROM' approach just yet (think I'll just stick to Visionary 'Temp/Perm root' - it allows me to do what I want to do for now)

Apart from the default 'Force Stop' in Android the only other 'task manager(s)/killers' I have are in 'Astro file browser' - but I only use that as a file browser, and the 'Autokiller memory' app - but I've only used THAT for setting the 'memory Limits' anyway, nothing else.
I think I should be 'safe' enough with using them that way

 

[jphriendly]

Astro is a great file manager. I actually cook it into my ROM with a few other tools. I'd suggest using CWM for a NAND backup. Titanium Backup root for apps and settings. SMS Backup & Restore for, well, SMS backing up. With those things you should be covered if anything DOES happen while you are playing around...Just take baby steps and I'm sure you will be fine.

 

[ProtoKun7]

I like Astro; it's what I use too.

yes it's safeQUOTE(ProtoKun7 @ Apr 7 2011, 05:49 PM) If it wasn't safe it wouldn't be such an easily accessible option.

True- but then again (it seems) on some phones it's 'easily rootable' - so does THAT make them safe !!

I think not....

Not the same, because there isn't a "ROOT MY PHONE" option in the menu.

 

[CannonFoddr]

OK - been a while since I've asked for help or given a 'tip' etc, but here's one I've stumbled across.....

Those of us 'lucky' enough to have a HTC, but STILL not getting any of the 'buttons' along the top in HTCSense.com (when WILL they sort that out

) but would still like to add 'footprints' to their phones without having to actually go to the place & make a 'geo-tag footprint' - here's what you COULD do (might work with other Android phones as well)

Spoiler

• 1) Firstly, You'll need 'Google Earth' installed - get it/install it & run it
  2) Now search for the place you want as a 'footprint'
  3) Find the one you want (if there's more than one result) in the panel on the left & RIGHT-click on it
  4) Select 'Save place as' & save the file as 'whatever you like' (make sure that the file extension is 'kmz')
  4b) Repeat steps 2)-4) for all the new footprints you want to add
  5) Plug in your HTC phone, make sure it's set up for 'Disk Drive' mode - and copy the newly saved '*.kmz' file(s) into '/My Documents/Footprints/' folder
  6) Disconnect your phone
  7) Start up the 'Locations' App
  8) Select the 'footprint' along the bottom, then press your phones 'Menu' button & select 'Import' > 'Footprints data'
  9) You should (hopefully) see a list of kmz files (if you made more than one), select one & you will get an option to 'import' or 'cancel' (unfortunately you can only seem to be able to do one at a time)
  10) Select the 'import' option

Now you'll find that any App that has a 'Footprints' option (like the HTC 'Car Panel' etc) you will now be able to select one of the new entries you've just made

Unfortunately it does seem as though 'photos' are not copied over, so you will still need to do some editing to each footprint

 

[Terminator02]

i never really saw the point of geotagging, i mean i get that you can see where you took it but... you can find that out from the picture