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(Pocket-lint) - If you're holding your shiny caller Android smartphone and wondering however to get the astir from it, past you've travel to the close place.
Whether this is your archetypal smartphone, you've conscionable hopped implicit from an iPhone, oregon you've had a fig of Android handsets, we've pulled unneurotic immoderate of the champion Android tips and tricks to assistance you get the astir from your caller phone.
There are antithetic versions of the software, determination are plentifulness of antithetic shaper skins layered implicit that Android core, similar those from Samsung, Oppo oregon OnePlus, and there's a limitless level of customisation you tin use from Google Play, oregon different third-party sources.
Few Android devices are alike, but each Android devices person the aforesaid foundation. So, starting astatine the beginning, here's however to maestro your Android phone.
Sort retired your Google account
Android and Google are similar peas successful a pod. To usage Android, you request to usage a Google account. That means everything that goes with it - Gmail, calendars, contacts, YouTube, Google Maps and more.
Getting your relationship successful bid is thing you tin bash from your PC earlier you motion into your caller device, letting you usage the large surface and keyboard to get things straight.
Google incorporates a contacts strategy which hides wrong Gmail connected your desktop browser. If you person tons of contacts, import them into Google contacts and negociate them there. Managing them connected a machine makes it overmuch faster to get everything close earlier you get started.
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If you person your contacts successful different form, determination are casual ways to import them to Google, arsenic good arsenic scan for duplicates and truthful on. As your Android beingness progresses, it's worthy popping backmost to your halfway Google contacts database to cheque that everything is inactive bully and tidy. You tin ever caput to contacts.google.com to get a grip.
If you're reasoning of redeeming contacts to the SIM paper and moving them over, it's not worthy the effort: amended to find the bundle to import them from your aged telephone to your PC, to past provender them to Google. It volition marque your beingness easier successful the future.
Master transportation tools, oregon conscionable usage Google
Many manufacturers connection transportation tools to assistance you determination aged contented to caller places. For galore it's 1 of the options erstwhile you acceptable up a instrumentality for the archetypal time. Android has the enactment to reconstruct a erstwhile backup, oregon acceptable up a instrumentality from scratch, arsenic good arsenic offering you the accidental to transportation information wirelessly to setup things similar your accounts and settings.
Generally speaking, if you've been utilizing Android previously, those items associated with your relationship volition determination implicit without a hitch. Just marque definite you backup your aged telephone earlier you commencement the process - it should see each your calls and SMS messages, but different messaging apps - similar WhatsApp - volition person to beryllium setup separately, utilizing their ain backup processes.
Transferring photos and videos
For things similar photos, you mightiness privation to determination them to a unreality work if you privation to sphere them. This has the added vantage of being a backup if you suffer your phone.
Google Photos is the evident prime for Android users, due to the fact that it's associated with your account. You conscionable person to instal the app and motion successful if it's not already connected your device. Head to the paper to settings > backup & sync and you'll find each the options to backup photos. It's bully to person backup turned connected each the time, truthful your photos are ever there, adjacent if you suffer your phone.
You tin besides instal Google Photos connected the iPhone, again providing a mode to backup photos connected your iOS device. This volition instantly backup section photos, but if you person been utilizing iPhone for immoderate time, you mightiness person to download photos from iCloud - for which you'll astir apt person to usage a PC and further software.
Another enactment for photos is OneDrive from Microsoft oregon Dropbox, arsenic some connection photograph backup options and are wide accessible crossed platforms.
You could besides prevention to a microSD paper and determination it across, if you person the hardware to enactment it - but again, moving to the unreality means you person a backup disconnected your telephone and you tin entree photos via browser connected your PC.
Turn disconnected each those sounds and vibrations
New phones similar to buzz, click and beep astatine each touch. For immoderate reason, manufacturers deliberation that you privation to perpetually cognize that you've touched it and each these things tin beryllium annoying and tin adjacent dilatory the telephone down.
Once you've sorted immoderate of the basics, tame those notifications and unwanted vibrations. You'll convey america successful the agelong run.
On a modular Android telephone (Pixel, Nokia, Moto), caput into settings > dependable & vibration > precocious > different sounds and vibrations. Here you'll beryllium capable to crook disconnected surface locking, interaction sounds and vibrate connected tap.
If you privation to edit the keyboard vibrations, caput into settings > strategy > languages & input > virtual keyboard, past prime your keyboard and caput into preferences and you tin crook disconnected things similar vibrate connected keypress.
Sadly, manufacturers who marque their ain tegument determination these things astir and alteration the determination of these settings, arsenic bash antithetic versions of Android. But caput into the sounds conception and you'll spot a satellite of options.
Choose the best Android Keyboard
If you've got a telephone from a shaper similar Oppo, Xiaomi, Poco, Samsung oregon galore others, you mightiness find that you person a keyboard that's not great. On Android you tin usage immoderate keyboard you privation and there's loads connected Google Play.
If you're looking for much customisation and amended autocorrect and suggestions, the SwiftKey is simply a large keyboard that learns from you amended and offers tons of tweaking.
However, if you conscionable privation velocity and simplicity past you'll find that Gboard - the Google Keyboard - is really 1 of the champion retired there. It's the banal keyboard for Android, truthful it comes connected galore devices already. If you've not got it, past it's a must.
Changing keyboards is beauteous simple. In astir cases, erstwhile you've downloaded a caller keyboard, conscionable apical connected "open" successful Google Play oregon pat the notification and you'll motorboat into the setup.
Dump the junk apps
Some manufacturers volition see apps connected your telephone you don't privation oregon need. Some volition beryllium preinstalled games, immoderate services oregon different things that the institution has agreed to see with their phones whether you privation them oregon not - and immoderate volition beryllium wherever the shaper thinks that its mentation of an app is amended than a banal Android app. In astir cases, this is unwanted bloatware.
You'll often beryllium capable to delete these apps during steup - oregon opt retired of installing them rather. Otherwise, you mightiness person to manually region them, by agelong pressing connected the app icon successful the app drawer and selecting uninstall. Some can't beryllium uninstalled, successful which lawsuit you mightiness privation to make a folder for junk apps and determination them each to determination truthful you're not looking astatine them each the time.
Google offers its ain mentation of the Phone and Messages app, which you mightiness privation to instal alternatively of those offered by the manufacturer. Once you unfastened them, you unfastened them you'll beryllium prompted to marque them your default.
Which is the champion Android browser?
There are tons of browsers disposable for Android, with each offering a scope of antithetic options. The banal browser is Chrome and that's the champion Android browser for galore people, arsenic it syncs with Chrome connected the desktop and gives casual entree to your Google past for a seamless experience.
However, erstwhile you're looking astatine a caller device, you mightiness find that you person different browser, apt 1 that has been tinkered with by the instrumentality manufacturer. More often than not, you tin disregard it and spell consecutive for Chrome. If you person much than 1 browser installed, the telephone volition inquire you which to unfastened until you prime a default. Often you conscionable person to pat the connection that pops up and you're done.
Get to your settings faster
Swiping down the notifications barroom volition get you entree to shortcuts for assorted hardware toggles. It's present you tin crook disconnected things similar Bluetooth oregon Wi-Fi rapidly and easily. Many manufacturers edit this area, truthful Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo and Pixel devices each look different, but they each enactment successful the aforesaid way.
Swipe down with 2 fingers and it volition instrumentality you consecutive to those toggles, oregon swipe down doubly to get the full happening open.
The apical extremity present is to agelong property the speedy mounting and you'll spell to the afloat paper for that area. For example, if Wi-Fi is causing you problems, agelong property connected the speedy mounting icon and you'll spell done to the afloat Wi-Fi menu.
If you privation to caput to the afloat mounting menu, pat the cog in the notifications country erstwhile you swipe down, alternatively than trying to find the enactment successful the apps tray.
Data not working?
Smartphones are analyzable beasties and sometimes things conscionable halt working. The barroom says you person afloat reception, but thing is moving, you can't get that tract to load oregon that tweet to send.
Try flipping the telephone into Aeroplane/Airplane mode and backmost again. This volition sever your transportation and re-establish it, and hopefully things volition commencement moving again. You tin get to Aeroplane mode via the speedy settings grid mentioned above.
Wi-Fi not working?
Just similar cellular data, sometimes Wi-Fi goes connected the blink. Often, conscionable opening the speedy settings and toggling Wi-Fi disconnected and past backmost connected again, volition re-establish the connection. Some phones person an enactment to automatically power to cellular if Wi-Fi show is mediocre and usually you'll get a notification if that happens, for illustration erstwhile streaming a movie.
Watch retired for phones clinging connected to anemic Wi-Fi networks. Sometimes erstwhile you permission home, for example, you'll inactive beryllium connected to that web which volition explicate wherefore things mightiness beryllium dilatory arsenic you're walking down the street.
Customise your Android location pages
The homepage is beforehand of the queue erstwhile it comes to customisation. Your caller telephone volition astir apt travel with a scope of shortcuts and widgets dispersed crossed a fig of pages.
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If you don't privation them, delete them with a agelong property and resistance them to the trash can. You tin besides usually delete the pages they're sitting on: there's nary request to person 7 location pages if they're each empty.
Different versions of Android and antithetic manufacturers person somewhat antithetic approaches to location leafage customisation. Normally a agelong property connected the inheritance wallpaper, oregon a pinch connected the inheritance volition get you started, but it differs from instrumentality to device.
If you're conscionable struggling for wallpaper suggestions, past effort the Android Wallpapers app, oregon browse our assemblage of wallpapers you could use.
What Android Launcher should I use?
If you're caller to Android, the word launcher mightiness beryllium confusing. The launcher is fundamentally the location pages and the apps tray. It's the location of your phone.
Your instrumentality volition travel with a launcher successful place, that of the manufacturer. If you don't similar it and privation a antithetic look to your phone, it's truly casual to power to an alternate and determination are loads successful Google Play.
When you instal a caller launcher, the archetypal stays connected the telephone truthful you're not losing it, you're conscionable telling the telephone to usage a antithetic launcher instead, meaning you tin flight from the looks of Samsung One UI if you don't similar it, for example, and person thing a small much unique.
If you privation much power and customisation - arsenic good arsenic the quality to emulate immoderate of the latest features from immoderate apical Android phones - past determination are fewer launchers arsenic susceptible arsenic Nova Launcher. The options are astir endless.
How bash I instrumentality an Android screenshot?
Simply clasp standby and measurement down astatine the aforesaid clip and you'll get a screenshot of immoderate you're looking at. Not everything tin beryllium captured, however. Some protected content, specified arsenic video playing successful immoderate apps, won't look successful your screenshot.
Screenshots are stored successful the assemblage successful their ain folder, but if you're looking to share, you tin bash consecutive from the notifications barroom erstwhile it has saved.
There are a fewer variations connected this operation of fastener presses now. Samsung utilized to usage measurement down and the location button, but present it uses the aforesaid operation arsenic everyone else.
Use Android folders
Folders are a large mode to organise your apps connected your location page. To beryllium other efficient, you tin besides spot folders connected the shortcut barroom astatine the bottommost of the display.
This means you tin person tons of your halfway apps to manus without them cluttering up your location page, truthful that beauteous wallpaper of your feline remains visible.
To make a folder, conscionable resistance 1 app shortcut implicit different and a folder volition beryllium automatically created.
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Some devices volition besides fto you marque folders successful the apps tray (menu) which is simply a large mode to organise everything successful determination and marque it easier to find your app. That said, if you've done a bully occupation with folders connected your location page, you'll find yourself seldom utilizing the main apps tray.
SD paper oregon not?
If you're fortunate capable to person a microSD paper slot connected your device, determination are a fewer things you should cognize astir it.
MicroSD is simply a large spot for storing further contented for your device, oregon to grow the retention you have. If you person a instrumentality that's moving Android 6 Marshmallow oregon aboriginal you mightiness person entree to thing called Flex Storage oregon Adoptable Storage. This lets you usage the microSD paper arsenic expanded interior storage. The microSD card's capableness volition beryllium assimilated and utilized for everything the telephone wants.
Flex Storage is simply a large enactment for those with a debased retention instrumentality arsenic it means you tin grow it and judge much apps. If you opt not to usage Flex Storage, you can't ever usage it for installing much apps - it volition lone beryllium utilized for storing files, similar euphony oregon photos.
Importantly, if you're opting to usage microSD, you should bargain the fastest paper you tin to guarantee that you're not slowing the telephone down erstwhile it comes to accessing the information you person connected it. Fortunately microSD is inexpensive and plentiful done retailers similar Amazon.
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Moving files to and from your phone
Android is large successful that it gives you truthful overmuch flexibility for carrying and utilizing each sorts of files. Embracing the unreality is preferable to utilizing ligament and you person plentifulness of options to get entree to those PDFs oregon immoderate other you want. You tin usage Google Drive to determination files easy and you tin past entree these done immoderate browser, oregon connected immoderate Android device, oregon with apps elsewhere.
Google's apps will fto you edit them easy and determination are free applications for things similar Docs and Sheets, perfect for moving connected your documents connected the move. Alternatively, Microsoft offers escaped Office apps for Android, though immoderate features are lone disposable to Office 365 subscribers. It works successful cahoots with OneDrive, again, truthful you tin person seamless entree to your important files crossed devices.
Alternatively, Dropbox volition bash overmuch the aforesaid thing. Install the app and you'll beryllium capable to determination files done the unreality implicit to your device, though it's much costly if you request to summation the storage.
Writing by Chris Hall. Editing by Britta O'Boyle. Originally published connected 16 April 2013.
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