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I'm not able to change the default application for voice recording on my Samsung Galaxy S (running the factory installed Android 2.2).

The current settings define the one that was provide with the device (called Voice Recorder) but the "Clear Defaults" button on the Applications Management list is disabled.

Is there a way to re-enable the button? I'd try uninstalling the Voice Recorder application but the corresponding button is also disabled. Could this kind of locking be set by the operator or is this the Galaxy S default behavior?

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What action is it set as the default for, a hardware button? How does your phone open the Voice Recorder app? I thought the only way to open the app was by clicking on the app, but in this case there would be no defaults to clear. The only time there are defaults is if the Voice Recorder can be launched by some other means (eg. a hardware button, context menu, form field...). – Matt Feb 4 '11 at 19:42
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A user needs to press the app icon, but an app can start an activity (such as voice recording) automatically. At this moment, Android was supposed to present a list of apps that could handle that voice recording intent (or call directly the app the user defined as the default one). In my case, no matter how many voice recording apps I have, the system always activate the bundled one. – André Carregal Feb 4 '11 at 20:54
Just curious, since it's just an app icon, what difference does it make what it brings up. Can't you just put a shortcut of the app you want to launch on the home screen? I realize that you shouldn't have to do that and I don't blame you for asking but I'm just trying to understand this crazy Samsung UI. – Matt Feb 4 '11 at 22:09
I should have said this in first place. I'm not starting the Voice Recorder from the Applications menu, but from inside another app. So if I start it programmatically, there is no way to force an specific app to handle the intent ("record audio"), that's supposedly up to the user to decide. Problem is, as a user I can't define which Voice Recorder should handle the "record audio" request. – André Carregal Feb 4 '11 at 23:12

1 Answer

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This button is normally greyed out when there aren't any defaults set (and possibly when there are no other applications to change the defaults to). If you install another voice recording app, you should be asked which you want to use the next time a voice recording event is triggered. This normally doesn't get triggered when you start up the voice recorder manually, it has to be triggered.

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This is exactly my problem. I have installed many other voice recorders and the button (for all of them) is still grayed... – André Carregal Feb 4 '11 at 19:02
Did you ever actually select a default app? I'm not sure what triggers voice recording, so if it was never triggered (again as opposed to manually opening the app) then you never got the opportunity to select a default. – Matthew Read♦ Feb 4 '11 at 19:15
For example, it's possible to use GMail without it being the default "send mail" app. Manually opening it doesn't set any defaults. But the first time you click an email address in the Browser, it will ask you which email client to use and whether you want to set it as default. At that point you could make GMail the default. – Matthew Read♦ Feb 4 '11 at 19:17
I've seen this dialog on other devices (Xperia X10, Droid 2) but this Samsung S never asked for a choice and just assumes that the pre-installed apps (for every category/intent) are the defaults. So I don't have to choose a different default or to reset the current ones. I'm afraid this may have been set by the telephone operator and not by Samsung, and if that is the case is there a way to change this other than rooting the device? Thanks for the patience. :o) – André Carregal Feb 4 '11 at 19:32
Unfortunately you need root to remove a system app, I don't think there's an easy way to "hack" the defaults to change them either. The good part is that the Galaxy S is really easy to root, unroot and install custom ROMs, and almost impossible to brick. – Matthew Read♦ Feb 4 '11 at 19:49
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