Android Help

How To Fix a Wet Android Phone or Tablet

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Everyday hundreds of android phones and tablets drop into the toilet and get wet, or in the sink while doing dishes, or get splashed at the swimming pool.

It can happen to anyone, you are not the only one. You place your Android phone on the shelf and next thing you know, your toothbrush is upset and decides to hit your Android phone and make it land in the toilet. Or you decide it would be a good idea to watch a video in the bathtub on your Android Nexus 7 and it splash it falls in.

So how can you fix a waterlogged Android phone or tablet?

Step 1. Take off the cover of your Android phone

Step 2. Take out the battery

Step 3. Dry off everything with a towel.

Step 4. Get a Rubbermaid container, just large enough to fit your phone inside of it.

Step 5. Find some rice. Any type of rice. Brown rice, white rice, Uncle Ben’s Rice, Generic rice and put some in the rubbermaid container.

(How much rice? Cover the bottom of the container)

Step 6. Place the android phone inside the container and close the lid.

Step 7. Wait for 24 – 48 hours and your Android phone should be dried out, inside out.

Why does this work? Because Rice absorbs water. Any water or vapors that seeped into the phone will seep out into the rice.

Now check your phone for updates here.

Using Your Android Phone on Vacation – Europe Asia USA

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It happens all the time, when traveling overseas, and you get a new sim card for your Android from the local carrier and the internet does not work.

After putting in your new SIM card you need to change the network settings on your android phone.

Although the phone detects the 3G or cellular network, in order to get the internet working you will need to enter the local carriers APN information.

Follow these steps to get internet working in a foreign country.

– Press Main
– Select Settings
– Select Wireless and Networks
– Select Mobile Networks
– Select Access point Names
– Press Menu
– Press New APN
– Enter the settings for your Carrier and Country.

Every mobile phone service provider has their own unique setting to put in, it is like a user name and password for their networks internet service.

For example if you are in Israel using Golan Telecom these are the settings you will need to use.

Name: golan telecom
APN: internet.golantelecom.net.il
Proxy:
Port:
Username:
Password:
Server:
MMSC:
MMS Proxy:
MMS Port:
MCC: 425
MNC: 08
Authentication Type: None
APN type: default
APN Protocol: IPv4

Check this list for World Wide Mobile Phone Carrier Settings

The list is pretty thorough and have most countries and carriers like TMobile, Verizon, Vodafone, LycaMobile, O2, Orange, India Mobile, Virgin, BT.

Android GPS With No Data Service

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Although many of us use the common and popular GPS software like Google Maps or Waze, on our Android phones. The problem happens when traveling overseas and we do not want to use data services on roaming.

We are also not interested in paying $15 a day to rent a GPS from the car rental company. That is just absurd!

This summer, while traveling in Europe on vacation, I can across a free GPS, that does not require a data connection.

The maps you need are downloaded onto your phone.

Visit Google Play, and Download the NavFree GPS. Here is the link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.navfree.android.OSM.ALL.

Now there is a new downloadable GPS software called Sygic, see here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sygic.aura

Now, in order for the GPS to work on your Android phone, you do NOT need data services.

Just enable the GPS.

The only reason why Google Maps and Waze needs data service is because they are constantly updating and downloading the real time maps of your area.

GPS Maps App Without DataOnce you install Nav Free GPS on your phone, you go into the app and choose which countries to download maps for.

If you are traveling to France or England, you only download the map for that country.

You will not have maps of the entire Europe.

Now it works well, with the exception that I could not browse the map until I had arrived in Europe. When I opened the map, it showed my 5000 miles away in America!

To make things easy, I looked up and added to the favorites, all the locations of sites we planned on visiting.

This made things much easier once we got our rental car and we did not have internet access to start looking up the hotel address and the addresses of tourist sites.

All in all, it was a great app, that saved us $15 a day, or $150 for our 10 day vacation!

Update Sony Xperia To Android 5.1

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Sony Xperia Update

When Google rolls out an update for Android Lollipop it takes some time for phone manufactures to work the update into their customized versions of Android.

Sony Mobile the maker to the famous Xperia line of Android Smartphones has many different Xperia’s they need to update to the latest Android Version called Lollipop or 5.1.

There are two ways that Sony delivers to the update to the Xperia phone.

Update Method One is OTA (Over the Air)

You can go into your Xperia and find the “Settings” button.

If you scroll down to the bottom you will see it says “About Phone”, click on that.

The top button should read “System Updates”, click it.

It will may say “Your system is up to date”, however you want to look lower down and see if you can find the “Check Now” button.

When you click it, it will check to see if your device has the 5.1 update available.

If you have an update available it will give you the option to “Update Now”.


Update Method Two is PC Companion

Occasionally a notice will appear on the top of your phones status bar that says Sony Xperia Update Available.

When you click it nothing happens!

What you need to do to update your phone is connect it to you laptop or computer.

Then you need to install Sony PC Companion software which you can find here.

Once you install Sony PC Companion you need it to detect your attached phone. Sometimes by disconnecting and connecting your phone to your computer will make it show up in PC companion.

Then follow the instructions in Sony PC companion to install the Update for your Android Xperia.

It may take as long as 30 minutes for your Sony Xperia to receive and install the new Android Update so only do this when you have time to spare and you will not need your phone.

After the update is installed, your phone will reboot. It can take 5 minutes just for your phone to reboot!

Nexus 7 Sound Problem After Android 4.3 Update

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Speaker Sound Android 4.3

Like all Android users, I was excited about the new Android 4.3 Jellybean and since I have the Nexus 7 tablet, I was one of the lucky ones who will get to experience it first hand.

The first thing that happened when I updated to 4.3 is that my MX Player for videos stopped working. That was no problem, went into Google Play and updated they has a new update available to work with Android 4.3

The next problem we noticed was using an external speaker for the Nexus 7. When traveling, we like to attach the Nexus 7 to the AUX port of our car stereo so that videos the kids are watching can be heard through the car stereo. For some reason, the sound would not go louder than a whisper.


We initially thought it was a problem with MX Player so we tried installing MOBO Video Player Pro which just crashed and didn’t even start up. We then tried installing VPlayer Video Player which worked but with the same sound problem as before.

Android has a setting that restricts to loudness of music and sound when your phone or tablet is attached to headphones or external speakers. This has to do with government regulations that stipulate how loud a device can play music without blowing out your ear drums! The EU & the USA have different guidelines. Either way, we could not hear anything, the volume kept going back down to 7 and when we raised the volume it did not get any louder.

After browsing many help forums and techie websites we found a solution!!! We added the free app from Google Play called Speaker Boost.

That did the trick and now our device is playing music in our car again!

 

 

 

Update for TMobile Prism from Huawei

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Tmobile prism android update

Tmobile offers the Prism and the Prism 2 made by Huawei.

The original prism runs on Android 2.3. The new Prism 2 runs on Android 4.1.1. There is not yet an update to Android 4.2 available on the Prism 2 but here is the method to check for the update.

First Check The Current Software Version

To check the current software version:

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Menu key.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap About phone.
  4. Scroll down to view the Build Number.

Download update

To check for updates and download, follow these steps:

From the Home screen, press Menu.

  1. Tap Settings.
  2. Tap About phone.
  3. Tap System updates.
  4. Download latest update if one is available.

When Tmobile or Huawei release updates to the Prism they roll it out slowly and sometimes it takes a couple of weeks until your phone will show that an update is available.

You can always go to their website and download the update and then install it on your android phone via USB cable.

Anti Theft Apps for Android Phones

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Android Theft Protection Apps

Complete list of available Anti Theft Apps for Android phones& tablets.

App Name Cost Track / Locate Lock Wipe Other Features
Android Find Cell Lite Free Yes
Android Lost Free Yes Yes Yes
AntiDroid Theft Free Yes Shows pictures taken from the phone
Avast Mobile Security Free Yes Yes Yes
AVG Antivirus Free Free Yes Yes Yes
Cerberus Antitheft Free Yes Yes Yes
Cobra Tag $59.95 Yes Yes Yes Separate tracker that attaches to the mobile device
Dr. Web Antivirus Free Yes Yes Yes
HTC Sense Free Yes Yes Yes
Identity Sweeper Free Yes Yes Yes
iHound $3.99/yr Yes Yes Yes Plays alarm
Locked and Found Free Yes Yes
Lookout Mobile Security Free Yes Activates loud alarm
Lost Droid Finder Free Yes
McAfee Wave Secure $19.99/yr Yes Yes Yes
Mobile Spy $99.97/yr Yes
MobiShield $3.99 Yes Yes Yes
Norton Antivirus Free Yes Yes Yes
NQ Mobile Free Yes Yes Yes Protects against malware
PhoneBak Antitheft $9.90 Yes Yes Yes
Phone Locator Pro $5.23 Yes Yes Yes Takes pictures remotely
Plan B Free Yes Can be installed/used AFTER phone is lost
Prey Anti-Theft Free Yes Yes
Security Pro $9.99 Yes
Seek Droid $2.99 Yes Yes Yes Works even without SIM card
Snap Secure $5.99/mo. Yes Yes Yes
Sprint Family Locator Free Yes
Theft Relief Free Send the unique identifier information after phone is lost (IMEI, SIM, etc.)
Track and Protect Free Yes Yes Yes
WatchDroidPro $1.98 Yes Yes Yes
Webroot Security Antivirus Free Yes Yes Yes
Where’s My Droid? Free Yes Sounds alert alarm
Xtra Sec Phone Locator Free Yes Yes Yes
Zerase $3.99 Yes Yes Yes
Zoner Antivirus Free Yes

Check Nexus 7 For Android 4.2.2 Update

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Android Nexus 7 Tablet

On February 11th, 2013 Google started rolling out the update from 4.2.1 to 4.2.2.

The way to check for the 4.2.2 update is NOT via Google play.

On your Nexus 7 Tablet…

Go into Settings.

Scroll all the way down to the bottom and select “About Tablet”

The first option is “System Updates” Click on it.

It will say “Your system is up to date”

Lower down on the screen will be a button “Check Now”. Click it and see if your device has been selected to receive the upgrade to 4.2.2.

Check back shortly and we will update you on the progress of the roll out.

Galaxy S III Mini vs. Iphone 5

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Side by Side Comparison of the leading smartphones in the world.

The Samsung Galaxy SIII Mini versus the Apple Iphone 5

Check Latest Prices

 

Samsung Galaxy S III mini Apple iPhone 5
General 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 – GSM A1428
CDMA 800 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 – CDMA A1429
3G Network HSDPA 900 / 1900 / 2100 HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 – GSM A1428
CDMA2000 1xEV-DO – CDMA A1429
4G Network LTE 700 MHz Class 17 / 1700 / 2100 – GSM A1428 or LTE 850 / 1800 / 2100 – GSM A1429
LTE 700 / 850 / 1800 / 1900 / 2100 – CDMA A1429
Announced 2012, October 2012, September
Status Available. Released 2012, October Available. Released 2012, September
Body Dimensions 121.6 x 63 x 9.9 mm 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm
Weight – 112 g
– Touch-sensitive controls
Display Type Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors LED-backlit IPS TFT, capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size 480 x 800 pixels, 4.0 inches (~233 ppi pixel density) 640 x 1136 pixels, 4.0 inches (~326 ppi pixel density)
Multitouch Yes Yes
Protection Corning Gorilla Glass, oleophobic coating
Sound Alert types Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones Vibration, proprietary ringtones
Loudspeaker Yes Yes
3.5mm jack Yes Yes
Memory Card slot microSD, up to 32 GB No
Internal 16 GB, 1 GB RAM 16/32/64 GB storage, 1 GB RAM
Data GPRS Yes Yes
EDGE Yes Yes
Speed HSDPA 14.4 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps DC-HSDPA, 42 Mbps; HSDPA, 21 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps, LTE, 100 Mbps; Rev. A, up to 3.1 Mbps
WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, Wi-Fi hotspot
Bluetooth Yes, v4.0 with A2DP, EDR Yes, v4.0 with A2DP
NFC Yes
Infrared port No No
USB Yes, microUSB v2.0 Yes, v2.0
Camera Primary 5 MP, 2592×1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash 8 MP, 3264×2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
Features Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection Simultaneous HD video and image recording, touch focus, geo-tagging, face detection, panorama, HDR
Video Yes, [email protected] Yes, [email protected], LED video light, video stabilization, geo-tagging
Secondary Yes, VGA Yes, 1.2 MP, [email protected]
Features OS Android OS, v4.1 (Jelly Bean) iOS 6
Chipset NovaThor U8420 Apple A6
CPU Dual-core 1 GHz Dual-core 1.2 GHz
GPU PowerVR SGX 543MP3 (triple-core graphics)
Sensors Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
Messaging SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM, RSS iMessage, SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email
Browser HTML5 HTML (Safari)
Radio TBD No
GPS Yes, with A-GPS support Yes, with A-GPS support and GLONASS
Java Yes, via Java MIDP emulator No
Colors White Black/Slate, White/Silver
– SNS integration – nano-SIM card support only
– Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic – Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
– MP4/DivX/XviD/WMV/H.264/H.263 player – Siri natural language commands and dictation
– MP3/WAV/eAAC+/AC3/FLAC player – iCloud cloud service
– Organizer – Twitter and Facebook integration
– Image/video editor – TV-out
– Document viewer – Maps
– Google Search, Maps, Gmail, – iBooks PDF reader
YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Picasa – Audio/video player/editor
– Voice memo/dial/commands – Organizer
– Predictive text input (Swype) – Document viewer
– Image viewer/editor
– Voice memo/dial/command
– Predictive text input

Android 4.1 Tip & Tricks

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A few bits and pieces of interesting commentary and reviews of the new Android 4.0 aka Ice Cream Sandwich

Should you get the new Android or stay with your current version 2.1? We like to say, go for it, the future is coming, embrace the change, change is for the better!

The intro video from Android Developers

Nice video with Tips on using your new Galaxy Nexus with Android 4.0 Ice cream sandwich

PC Magazines review of the Galaxy Nexus with Android 4.0.

Cnet reviews the Nexus 7

Tim Stevens of Engadget reviews the Galaxy Nexus

Galaxy Nexus review from Marketing Land

The Telegraph (a paper in England) reviews the Galaxy Nexus

So are we going to review the Nexus for you? You have got to be kidding. Every Joe and their uncle have reviewed the new Galaxy and why should we not listen to them. It is not like you are going to buy an Iphone instead because of the reviews, or are you?