All things related to Android phones & tablets

Right I have caved in and have hard re-set my S6

Just spent the last hour customising it to how I want it

If I go to the coffee shop and it auto connects again then there will be hell to pay, emails will be sent, letters will be written and media will be contacted
 
I can't figure out what the difference is between my phone and yours, apart from one is Google and the other is Samsung.
They're both sim free and on giffgaff, there doesn't seem to be much incentive for Samsung to include this crap in their bloat
 
joxby said:
I can't figure out what the difference is between my phone and yours, apart from one is Google and the other is Samsung.
They're both sim free and on giffgaff, there doesn't seem to be much incentive for Samsung to include this crap in their bloat
Click to expand...

I don't think it is Samsung as I have had over a years use with no problems like this.

The only thing that has changed is that my original SIM card started playing up so I got a new one from GiffGaff and did a SIM swap, it was after this I started to notice the problem - some kind of strange stuff going on with O2/GiffGaff
 
Keith W said:
Right I have caved in and have hard re-set my S6

Just spent the last hour customising it to how I want it

If I go to the coffee shop and it auto connects again then there will be hell to pay, emails will be sent, letters will be written and media will be contacted
Click to expand...


It flipping auto connected again, without any input from me!

Not a happy chappy
 
O2/& GiffGaff are bang out of order auto connecting people to a WiFi network with out first seeking that persons permission to do so, secondly they are bang out of order for removing the option for a person to say no and forget the WiFi hotspot.

Also they are bang out of order because the WiFi hotspot they are connecting you to is not even a secure one!

Now I am all irate again! :mad:
 
Apologies for posting the information Keith, but I was just confirming that you are unable to tell your phone to 'forget' the hotspot, which you appear to have been trying to do. And also confirming that the issue is not phone specific/related.
 
Had a bit of an accident with my sony xperia xa, the screen is totalled and it won't power off. I have tried connecting the phone to the laptop, it shows up but according to windows the phone is empty, Windows phone file transfer software see the phone but itsays it needs to be unlocked to see files on it. I have no pass codes on it or anything. Any ideas how I can get the things off it?

No insurance, so getting a new phone, thinking of zte axon 7 which I should be able to get tomorrow.
 
... just check the backup... you did backup, didn't you?

Actually this is good advice. We had a huge faff when my daughter's phone was replaced on the insurance with a different brand (Samsung to LG), and we couldn't load the contacts etc from the Samsung backup. Eventually I managed to find a way to read the backup file and we transcribed the contacts into the new phone; the photos were easier to get out. Roll forward a couple of months and this phone is also cracked, so she was panicking about backing up the LG. We did manage to work out how to do this in the end; just afterwards we discovered that she'd had a usable backup on Google something (Drive?) all along! So check your Google account...
 
WIll have a look, stuff is on memory card since i put one in, it's the stuff before it. I used a different google account on the smashed one, and I can't remember it! I ended up buying a phone of the same sort, the battery life in reviews of the axon was poor. The new xa I got does say i can transfer stuff using an otg cable.
 
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Does anyone have a nice backup strategy to recommend to people "before" losing/breaking the phone?

I can think of the following.
  • Photos: Save to SD card and activate backup to Google/Flikr/Amazon/other...
  • Contacts: activate sync to Google/other?
  • Calendar entries: activate sync to Google/other?
  • SMS: Install a special SMS backup app
  • Whatsapp chats: Backup to Google Drive from time to time.
  • Notes: Use notes with cloud sync (Simplenote etc.)
  • Telegram chats: Automatic anyway.
  • List of installed apps: Automatic anyway.
  • Email: Leave them on the server.
Check that YOU have all these covered!

What have I missed or could be improved? Alternatives to Google would be good to hear about.
 
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I would always suggest backing up to your PC; the backup then also participates in it's backup system (the PC IS backed up, I'm sure!?). Sadly it appears there is no standard way of doing this. So far my daughter has had several Samsung phones (as have I) but now she is on the LG G4. The approach for the latter was a lot more clunky than Samsung, I think (although the Samsung wasn't great). I did find I needed to go through past (Samsung) phone backups and weed out duplicates to ensure the cumulative backup didn't get too large...

It seems bonkers to me that (if?) there isn't a brand-independent backup/restore to PC system that works... I realise writing this that we didn't go on Play or whatever it's now called and check!
 
Thanks. There are Android apps. Like Titanium Backup. But that requires root access on the phone. Others might not.
But that method has downsides, such as managing the backed up data yourself, and being sure everything is copied, and that you can restore it.

The cloud type backups are very easy if you don't need to back up system files, or have any other data files like PDFs that you must keep.

I just broke a phone on Monday. Luckily I'd set most things up, as described above. Except SMSs. And the Whats app backup was from weeks before. But most of my messaging is on the, brilliant,Telegram, that backs up in real time. You have to use whatever messenger other people have. But it's worth getting people to move over to the open Telegram where possible.
 
I've noticed the choice of smartphone changes dramatically if you want smaller than a 5in screen. I don't want to carry a whopping big clunker around. I ended up getting a Samsung A3 (4.7") for a good price. Even though I fancied something different, like a Huawei or something. There are lots of smaller ones, but they seem to be older models, with Android 4 or a low res screens.
 
ianp5a said:
List of installed apps: Automatic anyway.
Click to expand...
Beware of "Google knows better". If you are changing phones, and temporarily use another phone until the new one arrives, that can delete all records of your carefully chosen apps. You effing t***s Google!
 
The phones notification LED I find essential. I'm used to glancing at the phone to see if any messages, calls or emails have arrived that I didn't hear. Now I've got a Samsung A3 that doesn't have the LED, it's very annoying. You have to pick it up to see if it vibrates. Grrrr. Samsung. What are you thinking?

Anyway, surprisingly, I found a solution, with the app NoLED.
The Samsung screen is an AMOLED display. So it can illuminate any part of the display. It doesn't have a back light, like an LCD display does.
The NoLED app lets you display notifications as a dot or icon on the main screen. It lets you choose a colour or icon for each incoming message type. As most of the screen is black, it is not using much power. So far power use seems OK. But I'll keep an eye on it though.

Just a note about buying Samsung:
  • I just bought a TV. I rejected Samsung because I wanted more than 50Hz. All the others have 200-1400Hz of similar price.
  • I just bought a phone. The Samsung didn't have the notification LED. I only bought it because there were so few sub 5" screen phones available.
  • I just bought a SSD. Not the Samsung, because the write speed was half that of all the others of similar price
I see a pattern emerging.
 
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Has anyone had any experiences with the Lenovo Yoga Book with android OS?

I'm looking for a travel laptop/tablet I can take with me to basically view, 1st pass at shots and copy over photos to a drive when I'm out an about (prob to a small hdd or pen drive)
 
SyncMe wireless
As a phone camera and general backup I've just discovered the SyncMe Wireless app.
Pick a folder on the phone
Pick a folder on my home network.
Pick a time interval, or press Run
And it will copy everything from the folder on the phone to the network. In my case I have a nice big 4TB NAS disk plugged into the home router.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bv.wifisync

Easy to use and has plenty of scheduling options.
 
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If you can wait a year you can get all those gimmicks for a lot less. But you'll have to survive with last year's gimmicks until then.
It'll be aimed at companies who can treat their staff to the top of the range, without examining the value too closely.
 
How do I stp this annoying Flipboard App bombarding me with Alerts all day long?
There has recently been an upgrade, and since then Flipboard has become a nuisance with the Alerts it is constantly sending me.
I have never knowingly signed up to this thing. I've done the Google thing and I can stop the Alerts once I'm logged in. But I can't log in. Whatever means I try it will not recognise that I have an account with them. So I can only stop the Alerts from an app that I can't log into until I log into it!!! I can't delete the app, it's a permanent feature that comes with the phone and I'm stuck with it.
I suppose I could register, then hopefully I'll be able to stop the Alerts, but who knows what can of worms registering will open?

Anyone know how to consign this latest example of the idiocy of social media to the bin?
 
mickledore said:
How do I stp this annoying Flipboard App bombarding me with Alerts all day long?
There has recently been an upgrade, and since then Flipboard has become a nuisance with the Alerts it is constantly sending me.
I have never knowingly signed up to this thing. I've done the Google thing and I can stop the Alerts once I'm logged in. But I can't log in. Whatever means I try it will not recognise that I have an account with them. So I can only stop the Alerts from an app that I can't log into until I log into it!!! I can't delete the app, it's a permanent feature that comes with the phone and I'm stuck with it.
I suppose I could register, then hopefully I'll be able to stop the Alerts, but who knows what can of worms registering will open?

Anyone know how to consign this latest example of the idiocy of social media to the bin?
Click to expand...

try this
http://ccm.net/faq/39488-flipboard-turn-off-push-notifications
 
Thanks Stuart. I've already tried that but I can't get to the relevant page without signing in, and I can't sign in because I don't seem to be registered with them.
 
mickledore said:
Thanks Stuart. I've already tried that but I can't get to the relevant page without signing in, and I can't sign in because I don't seem to be registered with them.
Click to expand...
Im sure you can sign in to flipboard ysing your existing google account.

If you hit log in it should give you a choice of google, facebook or twitter.
Just hit google and it will do the rest.
 
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If you mean the account using my gmail address that won't let me in!
Not sure if I have any other Google account - I try not to get sucked in to that regime, but it's possible that somewhere I have registered. No idea of the details though:eggface:
 
mickledore said:
How do I stp this annoying Flipboard App bombarding me with Alerts all day long?
There has recently been an upgrade, and since then Flipboard has become a nuisance with the Alerts it is constantly sending me.
Click to expand...

Disable the intrusive bleeder from the settings menu, just done it on my Android tablet.
Never had it before, but it keeps sending me news updates and other crap that I certainly didn't ask for.

Whilst I'm here, how's that knee doing?
 
Thanks Rich. Done that and it revereted to factory default. I wonder if I had disabled it before, and the latest upgrade restatred it. Anyway hopefully it has gone now.
What does it do in real life?

To the knee....
Just been out on the bike for 30 mins. It has swollen up, but not too much pain. Main problem is that my hamstrings have atrophied over the 20 years that I've had knee problems and now my knee can go places that the hamstrings have forgotten about. Going to private physio for massage etc to stretch out all the fibres. Leg raises and knee bends as suggested by NHS are not having any effect.
See the surgeon tomorrow when I assume I'll be signed off to the hospital physio.
Can't be too bad because SWMBO had me decorating the bedroom on Saturday; mind you I couldn't sleep at night!
Only been out of the house once - to a funeral - so I'm going stir crazy.
If everyone who said they'd take me out for a pint had done so I'd be dead from liver cirrhosis but I'm stone cold sober:pint:
 
mickledore said:
Thanks Rich. Done that and it revereted to factory default. I wonder if I had disabled it before, and the latest upgrade restatred it. Anyway hopefully it has gone now.
What does it do in real life?

To the knee....
Just been out on the bike for 30 mins. It has swollen up, but not too much pain. Main problem is that my hamstrings have atrophied over the 20 years that I've had knee problems and now my knee can go places that the hamstrings have forgotten about. Going to private physio for massage etc to stretch out all the fibres. Leg raises and knee bends as suggested by NHS are not having any effect.
See the surgeon tomorrow when I assume I'll be signed off to the hospital physio.
Can't be too bad because SWMBO had me decorating the bedroom on Saturday; mind you I couldn't sleep at night!
Only been out of the house once - to a funeral - so I'm going stir crazy.
If everyone who said they'd take me out for a pint had done so I'd be dead from liver cirrhosis but I'm stone cold sober:pint:
Click to expand...


All good on the Flipboard thing, no idea what it is or does, just know I don't want it thank you very much

Knee doesn't sound too bad Frank, sure it will be worth it in the long run or should that be medium walk?
Don't forget to ask the NHS physio if they do that gym referral thing I mentioned, got mine once the physio course was complete

Have to get you out and about again soon, decorating and funerals are no good to man or beast
Pretty sure I didn't promise you a pint I'm teetotal so you will have to make do with a cuppa next time we meet

All the best and glad you got shot of that poxy Flipboard thing
 
Don't know if you can make it Rich but there is a meet just gone up for a trip round the normally forbidden parts of the Gothic Library in Manchester. Tripods and glash welcome!
Sunday 17 September at 10. 30 if you can get there.
 
Another question! I have received a text message, and I would like to send this to my PC but have no idea how to do this. Does anyone know? The menu options on the text don't give me this choice. Is there a workround?
 
mickledore said:
Another question! I have received a text message, and I would like to send this to my PC but have no idea how to do this. Does anyone know? The menu options on the text don't give me this choice. Is there a workround?
Click to expand...
Copy and paste to an email?
 
You can also have your phone notifications, including SMSs, pop up on the PC as they come in. If your PC is already on. Which is very handy sometimes. I use KDE connect. Which also allows you to copy and paste from phone to PC or vice versa. Which you could do at any stage after the message has come in.
 
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ianp5a said:
You can also have your phone notifications, including SMSs, pop up on the PC as they come in. If your PC is already on. Which is very handy sometimes. I use KDE connect. Which also allows you to copy and paste from phone to PC or vice versa. Which you could do at any stage after the message has come in.
Click to expand...
Thank you. Sounds interesting. I'll have a look into that.
 
Here's a little something I found out about recently, some of you may already be aware of it but it was news to me.

Google have an app called google rewards. If you install that they will periodically send you very short surveys to answer. Ie have you recently visited xxx, rate the service out of 5, that kind of thing. For each one you complete you receive credit to use in the play store. Not a lot, 9p here, 32p there, I think I got nearly a whole £1 for a one line review of a hotel I stayed at, but it all adds up.

I just had a trial version of a car dash app I was using expire and just bought the full version out of the credit I build up over the last couple of weeks.
 
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