Remove built-in facebook App from Sony Xperia Devices

So you don't use Facebook app and want to get rid of it, but there is no option to uninstall it? Here's a way to disable the built-in Facebook application from Sony Xperia Smartphones. Japanese giant Sony rolled out jelly bean 4.1.2 update for all the high end phones. One of the problems which comes with the jellybean is non removable Facebook application. If  you're not using it,  it will use your RAM and can make your phone slow. It's always recommended to get rid of the app- if you are not using it. There's no way you can uninstall it, but you can always disable it.

How to disable or remove Facebook App 

Here's the screenshot taken on Xperia S. The user does not use the Facebook app and still a good amount of battery is being consumed by the Facebook app.

Now let's see how can you disable Facebook App. The Xperia 's stock operating system is very similar to Stock google OS.

Steps to disable the app:

1. Go to Settings >> Apps >> All. 
2. Scroll down to find the Facebook app
3. Find all the Facebook extension and go to them.
4. Click on the disable button and it will prompt you to confirm your action.
5. Click yes and you are done.

That's how you get rid of the Facebook app from your Android device when you cannot uninstall it.

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Samsung Galaxy S4 : Disable S Voice Home Key Shortcut

If you are not a big fan of the personal assistance S-Voice then there's very easy way to disable it from home screen button. Removing 'S voice' from your Galaxy S4 will increase responsiveness of your home button. Samsung's own innovation S voice is quite popular but sometimes you might want to turn it off. As we already know, S voice is now officially available for Galaxy S3 , Galaxy Note 2 and some other Samsung devices and hence the following trick works for the other phones too. Here's the quick way to get rid of the S voice from Samsung devices and make your home button more responsive and faster.

Turn off - Disable S voice from Home key

Double tap your Home key and it will open the S voice. Now click on Menu and then navigate to Settings. Now un check the open via Home key and that's it, you have now disabled the S Voice. How these improves your usability and makes it faster?

The answer is very simple and straight forward.  When you press home key then phone waits for another key press to see if you want to go ot the S voice. But now as you have disabled it, the home key will respond quickly compared to the slight time taken before by your device. Instead of the dedicated home key press, you can access it by creating shortcut  on your home screen.

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How to take a screenshot on the HTC One / HTC M7

So you bought the latest HTC One and are having a ton of fun with it but what fun is the phone if you cant share the cool stuff that you find with your friends. Grabbing a screenshot on an Android is not difficult and if you are using HTC One M7 then you have got multiple ways to take that moment with a screenshot. Let's have a look at how you can use printscreen your HTC One. also read - How to Improve the Battery life of HTC One 

Ways to capture HTC One M7's screen

#1 Native Android Method

Now you might not know this but Android itself has a screenshot mechanism built into its core that can be used by pressing Power button and Volume down button together. This is the universal method is used by most of the Android phones and was built as a core feature in the ICS firmware.

Press the power and volume down keys simultaneously then hold them for two seconds. You will hear a sound followed by some animation which acknowledges that your screen has been captured. The Image will be shown in notification and it will be stored in your default image folder.

#2 HTC Method

HTC's has also added a way to taking a print screen for their devices so that can be used as an alternative if the standard method is not to your liking. All the previous devices One X, One S have this feature as a stock feature which is made a part of the Sense UI that is bundled along with the HTC phones. To use the HTC method of taking a screenshot Press and hold power button and then press the Home button present at the bottom of your phone.

#3 Screenshot taking Apps

Now for some reason if one of the buttons used to take the screenshot there is is another alternate method which though slightly inconvenient still allows you the full use of your phone. There are apps in the Play store that will help you in this matter, be it on HTC One M7 or your any other phone too these apps use the programmable gestures to take the screenshot.

A few tried and tested ones are Screenshot and Screenshot UX If you know of any other better alternatives let us know in the comments.

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How to take print screen / screen shot on Sony XPERIA S

Our Sony Xperia S users had faced some problems related taking screen shot on XPERIA S. Taking print screen / screen shot is a really simple unless, you know how exactly it is done. In most of android phones, it is done with combination of 2 buttons. The new jellybean Android phones have default feature to take the screen shot and they even use special gestures like 'palm swipe' to take print screens. S3 and Note 2 uses palm swipe to take the screen shots. also read - Xperia S what jellybean has changed?

Taking print screen / screen shot on Xperia S

1. Hold the power buttons present on the TOP and then hold the volume down button.
2. Make sure that you hold both the buttons same time
3. Hold the keys for at least 2 seconds
4. Now you will see notification bar showing the picture you just clicked
5. Image can be accessed from default album

Xperia S doesn't take screenshots - Sometimes !!

Our demo XPERIA S handset didn't respond to our efforts. We tried possibly ways to accomplish the task but couldn't actually do it. We checked the update center and found one update. A quick update followed by the procedure mentioned above did the trick.

So, if any of the XPERIA S ICS users are facing such issues, just update your phone and new firmware will enable screenshots for your android device.

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How to Update/Install Galaxy S2 to Android JellyBean 4.1.2 Official Firmware [Tutorial]

Samsung has recently provided the official Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean update with build version XWLSE for the international version of Galaxy S2 (model number-I9100) users from Russia. The XWLSE Jelly Bean is a completely unbranded version of the firmware and can be installed via Samsung Kies. This firmware reportedly addresses bug issues found in the previous build and brings some enhancements. Since it an unbranded version of firmware, it can be installed even by those who are not from Russia. The only condition is that your phone should not be a carrier locked Galaxy S2 and you can update to the latest version of JellyBean.

Firmware details

PDA: I9100XWLSE
CSC: I9100OXELS6
Version: Android 4.1.2

Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean features 

• Google Now
• UI smoother and performance, stability improvements (Thanks to Project Butter)
• Full user interface revamp (Similar UI like the Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2)
• TouchWiz Nature UX
• Samsung's Cloud based services
• New Lockscreen with many added customisation options
• Features like Direct Call, Smart Stay and Pop-up Play
• New widgets (From Galaxy S3)
• Free 50GB Dropbox storage
• Two Home screen modes
• Upgraded Notification Bar

Galaxy S2 users who missed out on installing the latest Jelly Bean build through the official method can follow this step-by-step guide below to install the update manually using Odin.

While the method is a little more complicated than the over-the-air updates, you might want to proceed at your own risk. According to us the method is fully working but you might want to verify the model number of your device before proceeding since the Android 4.1.2 XWLSE Jelly Bean works only on the Samsung Galaxy S2 I9100 and not on any other variant.

Pre-requisites

1. Download and install USB Drivers for Samsung Galaxy S2 on the computer.
2. Enable USB debugging mode. [Press Menu -> Settings -> Applications. From there navigate and click on Development option and ensure the USB Debugging Mode is turned on.]   
3. Back up all data of the phone. In case the phone is having a custom recovery installed, then create a backup for the same.
4. The battery of Galaxy S2 should have above 80 per cent of charge.
5. The phone should be factory unlocked.
6. The device will lose root with the installation of official firmware.

How to Update/Install Android JellyBean 4.1.2 on Galaxy S2 I9100

1. Download Android 4.1.2 I9100XWLSE Jelly Bean Official Firmware for Galaxy S2 I9100 to the computer and extract the downloaded zip file
2. Download Odin v1.85 which will help to install Jelly Bean firmware
3. Power off the phone. Enter Download mode by pressing and holding Volume down, Home and Power buttons together until the construction Android robot and a triangle appear. Then press the Power button again to enter Download Mode
4. Run Odin on the computer
5. Connect the phone to the computer while it is in Download Mode. If the phone is connected to the computer successfully, one of the ID:COM boxes will turn yellow with the COM port number. This step is likely to take some time
6. Select these files, which are extracted from I9100XWLSE folder, in the mentioned order to install on the phone 
• Click on PDA and select the file with CODE in its name
• Click on Phone and select file with MODEM in its name
• Click on CSC and select file with CSC in its name
• Click on PIT and select .pit file 
• [Note: Ignore the last three steps in case such files are not found.]
7. In Odin, ensure the Auto Reboot and F.Reset Time options are selected. Also verify the Re-Partition option is selected, in case a .pit file is being used
8. Click on Start button in Odin. The installation process should begin now which would take about five minutes 
9. Once the installation process is completed, the phone will restart automatically. After the home screen appears, unplug the USB cable from the phone to disconnect the phone from the computer.

Your Samsung Galaxy S2 I9100 should be now updated and running on official Android 4.1.2 XWLSE Jelly Bean version of Android firmware. To verify this you can navigate to Settings -> About Phone to verify the software version of the device.      

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