Android Tips and Tricks

Introduction

Chapter 1 Getting Up to Speed with Android

Identifying Your Device's Android Version and Its Skin

Understanding Android Version Numbers and Names

Finding Out Which Android Version Your Device Is Running

Establishing Whether Your Device Is Using a Skin

Setting Different Volume Levels for Different Audio Sources

Using Manual Brightness and Adaptive Brightness

Managing Your Notifications

Responding to a Notification

Turning the Notification Light On or Off

Configuring Notifications for an App

Clearing Repeat Notifications

Configuring and Using Do Not Disturb and Interruptions

Configuring and Using Do Not Disturb in Marshmallow

Configuring and Using Interruptions in Lollipop

Entering Text

Using the Keyboard and Spelling Correction

Entering Text Using a Hardware Keyboard

Entering Text Using Dictation

Entering Emoji

Using Alternative Keyboards

Setting Up a Phone or Tablet for Multiple Users

Creating a User Account

Creating a Restricted Profile

Switching User Accounts and Profiles

Deleting a User Account or Restricted Profile

Understanding and Avoiding Problems When Sharing Your Device

Getting the Best Battery Performance

Identifying Power Hogs

Eking Out Battery Life

Recharging Secrets

Managing Files and Storage

Adding a Micro SD Card

Connecting USB OTG Storage

Choosing and Using a File Explorer

Checking Space Usage and Reclaiming Space

Chapter 2 Loading and Syncing Your Device

Understanding Your Options for Loading and Syncing Your Device

Choosing the Right Management or Sync App

Getting and Installing Your Management or Sync App

Installing a Management or Sync App in Windows

Choosing What Happens When You Connect Your Device to Windows

Installing Android File Transfer on OS X

Using Your Management or Sync App

Using Phone Companion in Windows 10

Using Other Management or Sync Apps in Windows

Using Android File Transfer on OS X

Loading Files on Your Device

Updating, Backing Up, and Restoring Your Device

Keeping Your Device Updated

Backing Up Your Device

Restoring Your Device

Using Remote Lock and Wiping

Chapter 3 Customizing Your Device

Setting Up Your Home Screens

Adding and Removing Home Screens

Adding Apps to Your Home Screens

Adding Widgets to Your Home Screens

Adding Web Addresses to Your Home Screens

Organizing Home Screen Items into Folders

Adding Dropbox Folders to Your Home Screens

Repositioning Items on Your Home Screens

Removing Items from Your Home Screens

Rearranging Your Home Screens

Setting the Wallpaper

Using a Different Launcher

Choosing a Launcher

Installing a Launcher

Switching Among Launchers

Making No Launcher the Default

Configuring Input Options

Configuring the Lock Screen

Choosing the Best Locking Method

Setting Up Locking on Your Device

Setting Up Smart Lock

Putting a Message or Owner Information on the Lock Screen

Unlocking Your Device with Your Fingerprint

Configuring Lock-Screen Notifications

Choosing Location Settings to Protect Your Privacy

Encrypting Your Device

Encrypting the Data on Your Device

Decrypting the Data on Your Device

Performing a Hard Reset

Chapter 4 Connecting to Networks and Devices

Using Airplane Mode

Taking Control of Cellular Connections

Displaying the Cellular Network Settings Screen

Enabling and Disabling Data Roaming

Choosing Among Cellular Network Types

Configuring a New Access Point

Connecting to a Different Carrier

Keeping Within Your Data Plan

Managing Your Wi-Fi Connections

Turning Wi-Fi On and Off

Connecting to Wi-Fi Networks

Connecting to a Closed Network

Working on the Advanced Wi-Fi Screen

Whitelisting Your Device on a Wi-Fi Network

Configuring IP Settings Manually

Connecting Through a Proxy Server

Improving Your Wi-Fi Connections

Forgetting a Network

Sharing Your Device's Internet Connection

Sharing the Internet Connection via USB Tethering

Sharing the Internet Connection via Portable Wi-Fi Hotspot

Connecting Bluetooth Devices

Pairing a Bluetooth Device with Your Android Device

Transferring Files to Another Device via Bluetooth

Sharing an Internet Connection via Bluetooth Tethering

Using VPNs

Setting Up a VPN Connection

Connecting via the VPN

Chapter 5 Installing, Running, and Managing Apps

Getting App Installation Right

Evaluating Permissions When Installing Apps

Getting a Refund on an App

Configuring Your Play Store Account

Sideloading Apps

Installing a File Manager

Getting the Package File for the App

Setting Android to Allow Apps from Unknown Sources

Sideloading the App

Running Apps

Working with the Overview Screen

Switching Apps with the Overview Screen

Closing an App from the Overview Screen

Pinning an App to the Screen

Opening the App Info Screen for an App

Forcing an App to Stop

Clearing an App's Cache, Data, or Defaults

Uninstalling Apps

Rebooting into Safe Mode

Resetting App Preferences

Chapter 6 Taking Gmail to the Pro Level

Setting Up Your Email Accounts

Gathering the Information Needed to Set Up an Email Account

Displaying the Set Up Email Screen

Adding a Google Account

Adding a Personal Account

Adding an Exchange Server Account

Configuring Gmail and Your Accounts to Work Your Way

Choosing General Settings

Configuring Settings for a Google Account

Configuring a Personal Account

Configuring an Exchange Account

Triaging and Reading Your Messages

Navigating Among Your Accounts, Labels, and Folders

Working in the Conversation List

Reading Your Messages

Writing and Sending Messages

Labeling, Archiving, and Moving Your Messages

Labeling and Archiving Messages in a Google Account

Moving Messages in Personal and Exchange Accounts

Dealing with Spam and Problem Senders

Searching for Messages

Searching with Keywords in Any Type of Account

Searching with Advanced Search Operators in Google Accounts

Searching with Boolean Operators and Grouping

Setting Up 2-Step Verification for Your Google Account

Setting Up 2-Step Verification Using a Computer

Setting Up 2-Step Verification Using an Android Device

Logging In to Your Account with 2-Step Verification Enabled

Chapter 7 Using Google Now and Maps

Streamlining Your Life with Google Now

Navigating and Customizing Google Now

Customizing Google Now to Suit Your Needs

Choosing Settings for Google Now

Managing Your Activity in Google Account History

Accessing Google Now from the Lock Screen

Working with Reminders in Google Now

Navigating with Maps

Making Sure You Know Essential Maps Moves

Saving Maps for Offline Use

Choosing Key Settings for Maps

Chapter 8 Browsing with Chrome

Choosing Essential Chrome Settings

Configuring Your Google Account

Choosing Your Search Engine

Choosing Whether to Merge Tabs and Apps on a Phone

Setting Up Autofill Forms

Working with the Save Passwords Feature

Choosing Privacy Settings and Clearing Browsing Data

Choosing Accessibility Settings

Choosing Site Settings

Enabling the Data Saver Feature

Browsing the Web with Chrome

Navigating Among Web Pages

Managing and Switching Tabs

Making the Most of Bookmarks

Returning to a Recent Tab or a Tab Open on Another Device

Returning to a Page You Visited Earlier

Searching for Information

Browsing Incognito

Requesting a Desktop Site

Chapter 9 Maximizing Your Productivity

Managing Your Contacts

Adding a New Contact

Organizing Your Contacts into Groups

Displaying Only the Contacts You Want to See

Merging and Separating Contacts

Importing and Exporting Contacts

Mastering Your Schedule with Calendar

Configuring the Calendar App

Choosing Which Calendars to Display

Controlling How the Calendar Appears

Creating Events

Inviting Others to an Event

Dealing with Invitations

Sharing Your Google Calendars

Transferring and Syncing Files with Google Drive

Setting Up Google Drive

Navigating Google Drive

Configuring Backups, Cache, Encryption, and Data Usage

Creating a Folder

Adding Files to Google Drive

Keeping Files on Your Device

Printing Documents

Printing to Local Printers

Print to an HP Printer Using the HP Print Service Plugin

Printing to Cloud Printers

Printing on Your Existing Printer

Using a Chromecast Device

Setting Up a Chromecast with Your Android Device

Casting Your Screen or Audio to the Chromecast Device

Chapter 10 Making the Most of Phone and Hangouts

Becoming an Expert with the Phone App

Making Calls the Easy Way

Saving Time with Your Call History

Taking Calls-or Avoiding Them

Configuring the Phone App to Work Your Way

Setting Custom Ringtones for Important Callers

Blocking and Screening Calls

Setting a SIM Card Lock

Chatting, Talking, and Conferencing via Hangouts

Getting an Account

Getting Started with Hangouts

Making Hangouts Comfortable for You

Communicating via Hangouts

Chapter 11 Exploiting Camera, Photos, and Videos

Getting Great Photos with the Camera App

Opening the Camera App and Navigating Its Interface

Accessing the Camera from the Lock Screen

Configuring the Camera App to Suit Your Needs

Taking Regular Photos

Taking Photo Sphere Photos

Taking Panorama Photos

Taking Photos with the Lens Blur Feature

Editing Your Photos

Shooting Videos

Capturing Screenshots

Chapter 12 Enjoying Your Music Everywhere

Understanding Your Options for Listening to Music on Your Device

Getting Your Music onto Your Device

Understanding Which Music Formats Your Device Can Play

Getting Your CDs onto Your Android Device

Transcoding Existing Files

Getting the Most Out of the Play Music App

Getting Started with Play Music

Setting Up an Account

Syncing Your 50,000 Songs to Play Music

Buying Songs from the Play Store

Navigating the Play Music App

Playing Songs

Downloading Songs

Deleting Songs from Your Device and Your Library

Configuring the Play Music App

Creating Playlists

Improving Your Music with the Equalizer

Turning On the Equalizer

Creating a Custom Equalization

Using Other Music Apps

Three Apps for Identifying Music

Three Streaming Services

Chapter 13 Staying in Touch via Social Networking

Getting Serious with Facebook

Logging In to Facebook

Adding Friends and Managing Invites and Imported Contacts

Getting and Configuring Facebook Messenger

Making Facebook Work Your Way

Choosing Essential Privacy Settings

Securing Your Facebook Account with TwoFactor Authentication

Using Multiple Facebook Accounts on the Same Device

Removing Your Facebook Account from Your Device

Making the Most of Twitter

Signing In to Twitter

Navigating the Twitter App

Configuring the Twitter App

Securing Your Twitter Account with Login Verification

Using Multiple Twitter Accounts

Chapter 14 Using Samsung TouchWiz

Getting Up to Speed with TouchWiz Essentials

Using the Buttons in TouchWiz

Navigating the Home Screen

Customizing Your Home Screen

Using Gestures to Control Your Samsung Device

Customizing the Apps Screen

Create a Folder

Delete a Folder

Uninstall or Disable Apps

Working with the Notifications Panel, Quick Settings, and Settings

Using the Notifications Panel and the Quick Settings Bar

Using the Quick Settings Panel and the Settings App

Using Multi Window

Understanding the Galaxy Apps and S Apps

Using the Camera App's Extra Features

Mastering the Essentials of the Camera App

Making the Most of the Camera Modes

Setting the Camera to Take the Photos and Videos You Want

Browsing with Samsung's Internet Browser

Grasping the Essentials of the Internet App

Saving Web Pages and Reading Them Later

Returning to Web Pages with Bookmarks

Opening Multiple Tabs and Navigating Among Them

Loading Your Favorite Pages onto the Quick Access Screen

Adding a Web Page Shortcut to Your Home Screen

Browsing Secretly

Syncing Open Pages Through a Samsung Account

Improving Performance by Turning Off TouchWiz Features



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