Just download the drivers from HTC or XDA (google HTC 'insert phone' XDA)

Win7/8 suppose to auto install but sometimes it doesn't. Also make sure its on media not installer on the phone.

So I tried to delete a mkv of Tropic Thunder that's about 3gb from the phone in the storage settings from the micro sd, after I do it the open space reflects the deletion. When I restart the phone the file is back, any ideas?

Lost my phone on the weekend. Can get a Galaxy s4 or Nexus 5 for free from my provider. Which would you choose?

edit: sick 20,000th post

The Nexus 5 between the two.

Really? I'm definitely leaning towards the s4.

Reasons:

1) had an s3 before so familiarity will be nice.
2) s4 has bigger screen
3) s4 has better camera
4) s4 can take a microSD for expanded space

some comparisons:
http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3...&idPhone2=5705

what makes the nexus 5 better in your opinion?

Guaranteed software updates that are speedy - my number one and not even close, I wouldn't bet on the S4 getting the next L version, incidentally this is something I'm not liking my S5 and I'm just hoping Samsung gets their act together this time with the new release process
I'd say the n5 camera is better after the recent software updates from what I can tell with my friend S4 (S5 camera is GOAT, as an aside)
I prefer the look of the colours on the N5 and screen size isn't so different I would call it a big factor
MicroSD your mileage may vary, I rarely use it on my S5 and apps can't run from it so it's not like you can exploit it for big games - that said i plan to use it for some music when I'm on holiday in two weeks instead of relying on streaming Google Music
I much much prefer the N5 in hand, but this is subjective

I think it depends on whether you plan on rooting and running custom ROMs on the S4. If not Samsung Touchwiz is the worst and I'd 100% go with the N5. Just FYI I've heard a lot of ppl have trouble getting a full day out of their N5. I usually have no problem with my S4.

is there a way to auto update google play apps without having a google account attached to the phone?

giving my old phone to my gf and dont want to give her access to my gmail/account info

she likes all the apps i have installed so its just a matter of convenience. she doesnt want to add her google account and re-install all the apps

Nope.

edit, well not directly without introducing huge problematic side effects

Buy Titanium Backup and copy your backup folder between devices. Then restore the apps (app only or app + data depending on whether you want to keep settings) on your gf's device and then log in to her Google account.

You could also do this with Helium which is free but it's not as clean IMO.

Strongly considering rooting, but I don't use my phone as aggressively as many here and I'm also a huge pussy. Basically, the 2 things I'm interested in is 1) getting Android L asap when it comes out and 2) getting access to GPS tasker settings. You guys think it's worth it? What do you guys use your root access for?

ETA: in case it's relevant I have a T-Mobile S5.

i think the s4 is a better phone overall but when i had it i wasn't able to root it, not sure if that's changed. now i have a rooted n5 and don't like the phone itself as much but being able to root and do free tethering etc makes it worth it.

Just use AutoLocation, which uses the same Google Now location geofencing and is much more battery friendly that the old methods Tasker has built in.

At this point, nah, doesnt seem worth rooting. There is a good chance the S5 will get L rolled out very quickly in a rollout similar to what Apple does. They havent talked it up in case they dont pull it off but the aim of this release is to make it easy and fast for manufacturers and networks (along with app devs) to roll out updates at or near day zero the same as the Nexus updates.

I opted for the s4. I'm not a 'power-user' and think in terms of hardware the s4 is better than the nexus 5. i understand the benefits to some of rooting/modding, but I don't do any of that.

There is no bad choice here per se as these sorts of decisions depend heavily on the individual user. But I would argue that not rooting is actually an argument for the Nexus 5. Most of the reasons associated with rooting have to do with carrier/manufacturer bloat and I've never owned a Samsung device that I didn't root and flash a custom ROM. On the other hand since the Nexus 5 is running vanilla Android the need to root is less apparent. My Nexus is rooted, but I've still kept stock as I just wanted to gain access to certain functions and did not necessarily want to replace the OS.

I have a Nexus 5 and my main issue with it is battery life. But having rooted the device and replaced the kernel I've increased it by about 20%-25%. Also I like adding features to my phone that aren't native to it. Knock to wake is not native on the Nexus 5 but I've been able to add that through my kernel and recently I've added Samsung split screen feature as well. Basically whatever features exist on other platforms or devices you can usually add via a custom ROM or a module via Xposed Framework.

I may look into rooting at some point. My non-rooted phone seems to do everything I want so I just don't know how much better it could really be.

This sounds sick; glad I asked. See I feel like even though I can't think of much off the top of my head + am generally pretty happy with my current setup, there's things out there I'd love to do with root. I'm also definitely a geek/nerd so would just enjoy the process anyway.

BTW does everyone CM? Or are there others these days.

I've used CM in the past but it's not my favorite. Other ROM's are updated just as often as CM these days and some crowd favorites are Paranoid Android, Carbon Rom, Slim Roms, AOKP, etc. Try going on the XDA page and looking there as basically that's how I got started. They list ROM's for nearly every device. Take note that ROM's listed under "Original Android Development" are those such as CM, Paranoid, etc whereas "Android Development" are built upon said ROM's and are either expanded with more features or are combinations of features of several ROM's. You might get more features and options with the latter, but I've generally found those to be less stable.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/

Any help in regards to the micro sd issue? Had an m7 before so this didn't come up, have used 32gb micros in the past with HTC phones and never had an issue. Googling solutions doesn't bring much up.

I'm in the same boat. I'm convinced at least 25% of people who root their phones do it just to say they did.

With cheaper devices there are a lot of advantages to rooting like over clocking, memory management, increasing storage for apps, and upgrading to a newer version of android. With high end devices there aren't as many reasons to root except blocking ads.

Lotta questions cuz I'm uninformed

Can I root an AT&T G3 without permanently voiding the warranty? Unrooting or something?

My phone is encrypted, as well as the SIM.

It seems like this http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=2792242 is the only ROM out there now for the G3. Can I run this and still keep my phone encrypted? Are custom ROMs known for security flaws?

Also, I'd like more granularity on the password lock. Right now it allows like ten attempts before making the user wait. I'd like to change that, maybe add in a second password that auto-wipes the phone, stuff like that. I looked around in the play store and couldn't find anything. Ideas?

Good point. Although most people who root aren't buying low end phones. (Just my guess from what I've read but I could definitely be wrong)

The moto g and developing markets probably bends the curve a bit, but yeah this is likely true enough in the west.

I've rooted before, but my N5 and S5 I've never even looked up how to. I just don't need root any more given the range of apps that can empower a device even without root - rootless voice command in tasker via AutoVoice and Google Now for example. YMMV.