All things related to Android phones & tablets

Which version of Android? (see Settings->About Phone or Settings->About Device and look for the number under Android version).
 
Thank you, but where do I find Google now?
It's damned well hidden, and the alerts I get do not give me the option to do anything with them other than to say if I like it or not.
 
Google now doesn't show on this phone, at least not under that name.
But, press and hold the key and I get the Google symbol. Hitting buttons from that screen gives me some options so I've unticked the ones that seem to relate to this nuisance.

We shall see.
 
@mickledore
Frank assuming you have the google app them do the following-
Click on app called google
Click on 3 lines in top left corner
Click on settings
Click on your feed
Uncheck/slide everything that is switched on and this should stop things to do with travel and places of interest etc
 
Thanks Stuart.
Think that's where I fnished up, but was uncertain exactly how much to uncheck. I started off just doing travel, as I never go on the bus!!!
Thanks as ever, for your help and advice.
 
mickledore said:
I presume this is following some sort of upgrade but Google is becoming more of a PIA than ever.
I've started getting regular alerts telling me about the bus schedules round here. I get alerts telling me there is a pub 1/4 mile away. I even get alerts telling me what is in the Guardian newspaper.
I'm on Galaxy 3. SWMBO is on Galaxy 6 and she has been given the option to stop these alerts. I have not been given the option and can't find anywhere to stop these dammed things coming through.

Anyone on here had the same problem and sorted it out?
Click to expand...
You can turn them off in the assistant or google app settings. It annoyed me when they started and I've now removed them all.
 
mickledore said:
Thanks Stuart.
Think that's where I fnished up, but was uncertain exactly how much to uncheck. I started off just doing travel, as I never go on the bus!!!
Thanks as ever, for your help and advice.
Click to expand...
Google Now was supposed to track what you do and adapt the information to suit you. In the US when it first came out, people were amazed that it told them about traffic before their commute because it has tracked their position and time over a period. Or it could work out which sports team they support and tell them the scores. However it was quite US centric. And if you never go by bus, then it's clearly screwed.

The less I have to rely on Google the better. Hence my instructions above about taking personal data away from them.
 
I've been through all the apps and settings pages but just couldn't find them. Looking in the right place always helps.
 
HELP, PLEASE!

My wife and I use an LG-V400 7" tablet powered by Andoid v5.0.2. We use it very sparingly, usually only to check e-mails, read the news and look at pictures that we have taken. Also it is used for identifying birds as we have a gopy of the "Bird guide" on it. In truth very few of the apps that are included on it are of any use to us, as it has a very limited use.

I have disabled or uninstalled many of the apps as the "Bird Guide" takes up quite a lot of ROM, even if it is transferred to the 32GB SD card that is in the tablet. In particular we find little use for many of the apps that Google seem to think the user should be using, probably to increase their income. Normal updates don't cause a major problem, as you can choose to install them or not.

Over the past couple of days Google have, im my opinion. overstepped the mark. Every time we switch on the tablet it installs "Google Services for Instant Apps". As the owner of the tablet Google have not asked me whether I would like to install this app, they are doing it without my permission - and we find that this is more than a little annoying. We do not need this app, and have not asked for it - rather like cold calling!

Does anyone know of any way that we can stop this happening? At the moment I am uninstalling it each time it installs, we rally do not want it, but each time we switch the tablet back on it re-installs, and there appears to be no way to stop it.

Any sensible suggestions would be appreciated, and thank you in advance for any help that you can give.
 
anisah said:
HELP, PLEASE!

My wife and I use an LG-V400 7" tablet powered by Andoid v5.0.2. We use it very sparingly, usually only to check e-mails, read the news and look at pictures that we have taken. Also it is used for identifying birds as we have a gopy of the "Bird guide" on it. In truth very few of the apps that are included on it are of any use to us, as it has a very limited use.

I have disabled or uninstalled many of the apps as the "Bird Guide" takes up quite a lot of ROM, even if it is transferred to the 32GB SD card that is in the tablet. In particular we find little use for many of the apps that Google seem to think the user should be using, probably to increase their income. Normal updates don't cause a major problem, as you can choose to install them or not.

Over the past couple of days Google have, im my opinion. overstepped the mark. Every time we switch on the tablet it installs "Google Services for Instant Apps". As the owner of the tablet Google have not asked me whether I would like to install this app, they are doing it without my permission - and we find that this is more than a little annoying. We do not need this app, and have not asked for it - rather like cold calling!

Does anyone know of any way that we can stop this happening? At the moment I am uninstalling it each time it installs, we rally do not want it, but each time we switch the tablet back on it re-installs, and there appears to be no way to stop it.

Any sensible suggestions would be appreciated, and thank you in advance for any help that you can give.
Click to expand...

The best solution going forward would be to get root access to the tablet (called rooting).
By doing this you can then install an app like 'Titanium Backup'that can delete unwanted system apps.

I would only do the above if you are confident in playing with files.

An easier alternative might be to get a tablet with more onboard storage.
 
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anisah said:
HELP, PLEASE!

My wife and I use an LG-V400 7" tablet powered by Andoid v5.0.2. We use it very sparingly, usually only to check e-mails, read the news and look at pictures that we have taken. Also it is used for identifying birds as we have a gopy of the "Bird guide" on it. In truth very few of the apps that are included on it are of any use to us, as it has a very limited use.

I have disabled or uninstalled many of the apps as the "Bird Guide" takes up quite a lot of ROM, even if it is transferred to the 32GB SD card that is in the tablet. In particular we find little use for many of the apps that Google seem to think the user should be using, probably to increase their income. Normal updates don't cause a major problem, as you can choose to install them or not.

Over the past couple of days Google have, im my opinion. overstepped the mark. Every time we switch on the tablet it installs "Google Services for Instant Apps". As the owner of the tablet Google have not asked me whether I would like to install this app, they are doing it without my permission - and we find that this is more than a little annoying. We do not need this app, and have not asked for it - rather like cold calling!

Does anyone know of any way that we can stop this happening? At the moment I am uninstalling it each time it installs, we rally do not want it, but each time we switch the tablet back on it re-installs, and there appears to be no way to stop it.

Any sensible suggestions would be appreciated, and thank you in advance for any help that you can give.
Click to expand...
You won't be able to stop it, it is part of the google services kernel for the play store. It is also part of the newer security features coming to the platform.
 
Orangecroc said:
You won't be able to stop it, it is part of the google services kernel for the play store. It is also part of the newer security features coming to the platform.
Click to expand...
This is as I suspected. I may end up "rooting" it so that I can take over some control.

It's interesting, but if I, as an individual, were to hack into someone else's computer I could be arrested. Google, without checking that all consumers want these changes, hack into computers claiming that they are improving the service/security. Microsft did similar when trying to increase the uptake of Windows 10. Somehow I doubt the spin that such companies put on their actions, in the end it is about the profit motive and securing their place in the market. Also I wonder why it is that these multinational companies can carry out acts that individuals would be prosecuted for doing?

Maybe Linux is beckoning for my desktop and I can see a time coming soon when I'll stop using a tablet as I like to feel that I make decisions about what content is available to me.

Thanks you all for your input, much appreciated.
 
Maybe it just means your data is currently secure on the encrypted internal storage of the phone (nobody can get at it without your passcode or fingerprint, etc.) but it's vulnerable and could 'leak' from an unencrypted SD? - e.g., anyone with access to your phone could remove the SD and read it in another phone or card reader if it's not encrypted.
 
Retune said:
Maybe it just means your data is currently secure on the encrypted internal storage of the phone (nobody can get at it without your passcode or fingerprint, etc.) but it's vulnerable and could 'leak' from an unencrypted SD? - e.g., anyone with access to your phone could remove the SD and read it in another phone or card reader if it's not encrypted.
Click to expand...

Didn't think about the sd card not being encrypted, you may well be right there. Thank you.
 
Possibly a stupid question but here goes.
I've just downloaded a street map. I looked at it. When I try to look at if a second time I just get a message saying that the file has been previously opened. It is in the usual place - the downloads folder - so how do I get to look at it again? Can' remember having this problem before. What am I doing wrong?

Edit. Problem solved. I switched the phone off and on again. Seems to have cleared some block and all seems OK.
 
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Another question...
I have a Samsung Galaxy Note3. So it's not new!
How do I find the list of phone numbers that I've blocked?
Must be in there somewhere, but I've looked in what I think are the obvious places and can't see anything.
Any clues from you clever guys?
 
mickledore said:
Another question...
I have a Samsung Galaxy Note3. So it's not new!
How do I find the list of phone numbers that I've blocked?
Must be in there somewhere, but I've looked in what I think are the obvious places and can't see anything.
Any clues from you clever guys?
Click to expand...

If it’s in the same place as Android 7, click on the phone icon, click the 3 dots in the top right corner -> Settings -> Block numbers.
 
Sorted it. How? I asked next door's 15year old and he found it. Boy is it well hidden.
Hope I can remember where it is next time I want it:eek:
 
mickledore said:
Sorted it. How? I asked next door's 15year old and he found it. Boy is it well hidden.
Hope I can remember where it is next time I want it:eek:
Click to expand...

Re your last... guaranteed never to work! The trouble with these features is they are seldom used as well as badly designed. However you might find some weird and wonderful long way round that will work, eventually.
 
Does anyone use SwiftKey keyboard on there phone?
I've been using it for a few years now. It seems that after the latest update it has become nearly unusable.
 
It seems to work just fine on Facebook and when writing texts. But if I use this site (through chrome) and even the app, it really doesn't want to play ball.
 
Nostromo said:
It seems to work just fine on Facebook and when writing texts. But if I use this site (through chrome) and even the app, it really doesn't want to play ball.
Click to expand...
I don't use Facebook or Chrome. Maybe they are messing with your phone. Neither have a good reputation.
 
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neil_g said:
Workaround is to disable rich text editor in BBCode forums.
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Could you explain please.
I'm not sure this is just a SwiftKey issue. I think the Gboard also has problems, but to a lesser extent.
 
Reviews for the Homepod are out, seems audio quality is fantastic, but otherwise it's limited in functionality and Siri simply doesn't hold its own against the competitors.

It'll no doubt be successful anyway, but it's quite the niche product
 
Neilc28 said:
Reviews for the Homepod are out, seems audio quality is fantastic, but otherwise it's limited in functionality and Siri simply doesn't hold its own against the competitors.

It'll no doubt be successful anyway, but it's quite the niche product
Click to expand...

I think you put this in the wrong thread.
 
I've got a strange anomaly on my Galaxy 3Note.
I can send e-mails no problem. I can receive e-mails no problem. The problem arises when I try to reply to an e-mail. When I hit the reply button I get a message saying that "Messages are being downloaded" and that's it. Nothing happens after that. I cannot even type a reply, and the download never completes; I can see the message that I'm trying to reply to, but it's as though everything is freezing. Anyone got any clues as to what is happening?
 
Having been an ipad user for a while, I decided to take a leap into the world of android and picked up a lenovo tab plus 8 - so far i'm very impressed!
 
michael23 said:
Got a couple of tesco hudl tablets, we stopped using them because they were becoming unresponsive and apps stopped working, they have had numerous resets and it still doesn't work.

Play store shows app not installed, google play services fails to update.

Is there anything I can do to make these usable?
Click to expand...

If you are comfortable doing it you could install a custom ROM.......this is assuming that a factory reset doesn't achieve the desired affect.
 
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