This is a collection of videos created by Android Advice & Tutorials for those users that are interested in viewing our collection easily directly on our site. These videos range from “How To” to Review with any of the smaller update related or article support videos being omitted. As videos are transcribed they will be added here over time.
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What makes Android the best choice for mobile OS?
How to Fix “Google Play Services won’t update”
What is Google Play Services?
Google Play Services is a native app that is preinstalled and cannot be removed on Android devices. It is a system app that helps with the updating of apps as well as acting as the framework for Google and those apps. An issue or bug with Google Play Services will in most cases make your Android device useless and at the very least annoyingly busted.How to Fix Google Play Services Update Problem
Generally the best way to fix any bug with Google Play Services is to update it although in many cases there is nothing to update or the update fails. If this is the case you will need to try a few fixes. We recommend you do them in order as we will try to give you the easiest solutions first.1. Restart the Phone or Tablet
I get that most of you reading this may say “duh” but you’d be surprised how many times when frustrated the simplest solution is forgotten. Also for this reboot do not hit power and select reboot. Instead hold the power button until the device shuts down and keep holding it until it powers back up and you see the Google logo.2. Check for Full Storage
Again seems like a simple solution but something that is often overlooked and can cause many issues with not only updating of apps but also running apps that may be larger. Google Play Services should update automatically in the background but if there is not enough available storage space it will fail. This is usually the case when you notice the need to update manually.3. Set correct date and time
This is less likely to be the issue but has been known to cause issues with Google Play Services updates.- Open settings on your device and scroll down to system.
- Tap on Date & time
- Enable automatic date & time (if enabled disable and re-enable)
4. Clear Data and Cache
This has been one of the more successful methods to fix any update issues with apps in general. One of the biggest concerns here is losing apps or data from your phone or tablet. That said you will only lose data associated with that app. For instance, if you wipe the data and cache for Facebook the app is still there but you will have to re-login to it. You will need to clear the cache and data for both Google Play Services and the Google Play Store.- Open settings on your device and scroll down to Apps & notifications
- Navigate to Google Play Services and tap on it
- Tap on storage and then the clear cache button
- Repeat for Google Play Store
- Restart your device.
5. Enable/Disable Google Play Services
Two things can happen here and in some cases when your tooling around on your device you can disable Play services by accident. First we will go into checking that it’s enabled then we will move on to the second option.- Open settings on your device and scroll down to Apps & notifications
- Navigate to Google Play Services and tap on it
- If the button under Play Services shows Enable then tap it
- Restart the device
- Open settings on your device and scroll down to Apps & notifications
- Navigate to Google Play Services and tap on it
- Tap the Disable button under Play Services (if greyed out see below)
- Restart device and complete the process above for enabling Play services
Fix Enable/Disable button Greyed out
- Open settings on your device and scroll down to Security
- Tap on Device Admin (sometimes under Advanced Options)
- Disable Find my Device (re-enable after you have fixed the app)
6. Uninstall Google Play Service Updates
Sometimes the issue is with a previous update and this can be fixed by removing all updates and getting the device back to its original state so that it can update to the most recent version.- Open settings on your device and scroll down to Apps & notifications
- Navigate to Google Play Services and tap on it
- Top right tap the 3 dots to show “Uninstall Updates” and tap it
- Restart your device and give it a few minutes to attempt to update
7. Update Google Play Services Manually
If all else fails then you will need to download and install Google Play Services via an APK file.- Download Google Play Service APK from your device (Via APK Mirror)
- Find and Tap the file to run and install it
- If it asks to allow 3rd party apps then allow it and install
- Restart your phone or tablet
UPDATED – Google’s parent Alphabet Inc in talks to buy Fitbit
“Fitbit shares rose 27% on the news, giving the company a market capitalization of $1.4 billion. Alphabet shares rose 2% to $1,293.49.”We have been patiently waiting for a Pixel watch for years now with no luck even though WearOS has been updated several times. Fitbit on the other hand has been slowly growing in the smartwatch market with its Ionic, Versa and Versa 2. While Fitbit it not a big player in the smartwatch market and even had a bit of criticism paired with Google could become a leader. For now we will just have to keep our ears open and eye’s peeled as more information comes available we will do our best to report on it but at this time we are playing the waiting game until Fitbit makes a statement.
Google Pixel 4 and Pixel 4XL New & Missing Features
Better Google Assistant with Pixel 4 & 4XL
The biggest issue with Google Assistant on older Pixel devices is the delay but now its integrated so well that the response times are much better. The biggest reason for this lag time was having to send every request to Google’s language models on their data centers. Now they will have a local version on the device allowing things that do not require the web to respond and complete the actions almost instantly. This would be things like setting an alarm or opening an app and anything else that can be completed if your device is offline. Of course when asking anything that required an outside source like the weather it will still have the delay we love to hate.Assistant Continuous Conversation
My favorite feature added to the Assistant is continuous conversation. You will no longer have to keep saying “Hey Google” or “Okay Google” over and over again. When getting information, being able to as a followup question or for more details without saying the hot-word is amazing.Best Smartphone Display Award says something
Google’s 90Hz displays for the Pixel 4 and 4 XL have been awarded an A+ rating by DisplayMate along with the “Best Smartphone Display Award. Google calls their Displays “Smooth Displays” allowing them to be toggled between 60 and 90Hz in the settings.Motion Sense & Gestures
Google has added a new feature called Motion Sense that will sense a users motion as in allowing you to snooze alarms and silence calls with a swipe of your hand. This is available because of the motion-sensing Soli chip beside your front facing camera.Pixel 4 and 4XL Face Detection Security
On the same note, Google has removed the rear fingerprint sensor and replaced it with a much better face detection made possible by Motion Sense. The secure face recognition comes in the form of two unlock cameras, a dot projector and flood illuminator. The Soli chip will also proactively turn the face unlock feature on to allow quick phone unlocking.Live HDR+ Dual Camera with Wide Range and Night Sight
Google is putting a dual-camera on both the Pixel 4 and 4XL. The rear-facing camera is a dual sensor 12MP camera with a 16MP telephoto lens for 2x zoom. The new camera setup allows for wider shots and more depth to images. Accurate distance and depth information is handled by its time-of-flight (ToF) sensor. Live HDR+ may be one of the best time saving features on the new Pixel’s allowing HDR+ processing before ever taking the photo. Until now we have always had to take the picture and then use a photo editor to get the same results. Imagine being able to use the Dual Exposure controls to tweak the photo beforehand and then moving on to the next photo without editing again. Night Sight is yet another feature that has Google have been working on to improve astrophotography by getting rid of the noise you see in darker photos as the sun goes down. Seems to be a vast improvement over the Pixel 3 when taking photo’s in low light.What have we lost with the new Flagship?
Honestly a sad loss it that unlimited original image quality backup that every Pixel to date has had is no longer available. Looks like its been replaced with a promotion for 3 months of Google One cloud service for free. I’d imagine those still racking up the backups of full size images with their old phones are loving this change (he says sarcastically)Battery Life?
Sadly the Pixel 4 and 4 XL’s battery capacities are no more impressive than the Pixel 3 and actually the Pixel 4 has a 2800mAh cell which is 115mAh less that the older Pixel 3. The larger Pixel 4XL however has a larger battery that its predecessor at 3,700mAh. As bad as the battery life is for the Pixel 3 it seems the 4 is slightly worse.Pixel 4 and 4XL Price and Availability
Both devices are available for pre-order October 15th with a ship date of October 24th. At this time you can choose between Just Black, Clearly White and a limited edition Oh so Orange. The Pixel 4 starts with a price tag of $799 and the larger Pixel 4XL starts at $899. Both can be purchased unlocked at the Google Store and through all the major carriers including Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, AT&T, Spectrum Mobile, and Xfinity Mobile. Currently Google Fi is offering a $100 Google Fi bill credit to anyone who orders a Pixel 4 (4XL) and activates it with the Google Fi.Google AI Program formerly Google Research
Google Research rebranded as Google AI
You will now notice that everything you used previously that showed Google Research now has changed overnight to Google AI. For example https://research.google.com is now https://ai.google. Even their Google Plus and Twitter accounts are now no longer associated with Research bu AI. That said all old url’s that you have linked or used in the past still exist and will redirect to the new version.What is Google AI?
Google AI is a collection of machine learning tools and resources freely given to anyone interested in using them. The idea is to collectively from novice to experts using AI to solve problems and reach new heights together. Google promises to advance the state of the art field of AI. They claim to be working on applying AI to new systems and domains so that everyone can access AI. They also mention that it will be useful for beginners and advanced users alike.Google first mentioned the conversion in branding last year after the release of Google Home and its Assistant. Within the year after Google has managed to completely rebrand as it said it would. If your interested in checking out the Google AI Program you can learn more at their education portal. The portal at https://ai.google/education/ will allow you to answer a few questions to understand your current skill level and give you the resources you need to get started.“At Google AI, we’re conducting research that advances the state-of-the-art in the field, applying AI to products and to new domains, and developing tools to ensure that everyone can access AI.”
Smartphone Addiction – Google’s Fight
“The anticipated shift in tone at the event reflects increased public skepticism and scrutiny of the technology industry as it reckons with the negative consequences of how its products are used by billions of people.”
Google Responds to Smartphone Addiction
Sources told the Washington Post Google will add new features to future versions of Android to help people and their families monitor and manage the amount of screen time they spend on their mobile devices. This seems to be Google’s response to many reports that young people are being afflicted by their “smartphone addiction”. There are many apps out there that already do this although none of them do it naturally in the OS itself. Even Google has apps that do this like their Family Link but its not something that all users just have baked in. No other mobile OS has more than minimal scene management features and this could be one more thing to push Android in front of others.“When it comes to family controls, Google is already a step ahead. Google offers Family Link, a suite of tools that allows parents to regulate how much time their children can spend on apps and remotely lock their child’s device. Family Link gives parents weekly reports on children’s app usage and offers controls to approve the apps kids download.”
Apps to manage screen time
If you can’t wait for Google to add this to the OS itself there are a few screen time managers out there right now worth using. These aren’t going to be foolproof but they do seem to work well.- Flipd – Keep Focused – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.flipd.app
- Forest – Stay Focused – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cc.forestapp&hl=en
- OFFTIME – Distraction Free – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.offtime.kit&hl=en
- AppDetox – App Blocker for Digital Detox – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.dfki.appdetox&hl=en
OnePlus 5 Official Packaging And Four Cases
Daydream Blue Game Guide for Google Daydream VR
How to fish in Daydream Blue Fishing is one of the things that took a while to figure out because within the game there are simple instructions. Most of the game is about exploring and discovery although a little help is nice sometimes. Casting seemed easy enough but once a fish was on the line, whats next?
- Pick up the fishing rod by selecting and clicking on it with the remote
- Cast by lifting the remote up and placing the perforated circle where you want to cast (hint: select a spot with white water splashing) click the remote pad and flick your wrist.
- Wait for a fish to grab your line and a circle to highlight around the line in the water.
- The line will move wherever the fish goes and you have no control over this. What you need to do is keep the colored circle with the fish.
- Clicking on the trackpad of the remote will bring the circle closer to you and lifting your finger off will make the circle move away from you.
- As the circle tightens around the fishing line you can click to reel in the fish. If while reeling in the circle grows again you need to repeat from step 4.
- Once you bring the fish all the way to you it will pull it out of the water.
- Click the fish to grab it and set the rod down. From here you can swipe down to put the fish in your backpack or throw it back by clicking and flicking your wrist at the water.
- Congrats! Fishing is a great way to get credits in the game.
How to Play the stone skipping mini game in Daydream Blue Stone skipping is rather easy in the game. Figuring out the sequence to hit all poles can take a little effort at first until you figure out how it works.
- First pick up a stone and then look a little to the left for a start button to begin the mini game.
- Once the poles come up out of the water throw your stone at one of them and pay attention to what poles it does not hit.
- Look down and pick up another stone and hit one of the poles that were missed previously.
- Repeat until the stone bounces off every pole and the next set of poles come up.
- Congrats! Stone Skipping is fun and does make a little extra credits.
How to Golf in Daydream Blue Golfing is something that can be done early in the game although you need to make the golf ball first in your fire. When you hold the ball in your hand a tee will appear on the ground. Figuring out how to start a game of golf is the hardest part of this task.
- Once you have made your golf ball you are ready to golf. Next look up at the sky in front of you.
- You will notice words in the sky asking you to throw the golf ball at it, do it! do it!
- Once you have thrown the golf ball into the sky you will notice a “9” and an “18” on either side. Choose the game length you would like and hit the golf ball into the corresponding hole.
- Hitting the golf ball is easy, just click anywhere with your remote and while holding down on the remote point the arrow and make it longer to hit harder or shorter to hit softer.
- Play around a bit to figure out the strengths and angles and have fun.
- Congrats! Golfing is a great way to get credits in the game.
How to feed Ralph a Fish in Daydream Blue This took me a while to figure out because every time I threw a fish at my little robot buddy it just bounced off of him and he ran. The one thing they forget to tell you is that he wants the fish cooked first which makes total sense.
- First you need to go fishing if you haven’t already and get a fish for ralph.
- Go to your fire pit and throw a log in and then throw your fish in with the log.
- Light the log with a match and keep your curser on the fish until you see credits for completing the task.
- Pick up the fish immediately after you see the credits as ralph will not eat an over cooked fish.
- Call ralph over to you and throw the cooked fish at him and he will now eat it.