Here is the collection of various Android Tips and Tricks Part 2 across various android devices.
1)Turn off notifications of individual apps:
Some apps display annoying notifications of advertisement among others. You can turn off these notifications if your device is running Jelly Bean and above. To disable the notification of any individual app, go to Settings > Apps > All and tap on the particular app. You will see a ‘Show Notifications’ check box. Un-check it.
2)Taking a Screenshot:
Taking a screenshot is not that difficult but the process is not the same across all the devices running android. Here are the methods of taking a screenshot across some popular android devices:
Google Nexus 5: Press and hold Power and Volume up button.
Nexus 7: Press and hold Power and Volume down button.
Samsung Galaxy S5: Press and hold Power and Home button
LG G3: Press and hold Power and Volume down button.
Sony Xperia Z2: Press and hold Power and Volume down button.
If your device is running custom firmware like Cyanogen Mod then you can put the option to take screenshot on your Power menu.
3)Change Font:
There is an in-built option to change system font on Galaxy devices. Go to Settings > Display > Font Style to change the font. If you’re using other devices then you can use 3rd party apps like iFont, Font Installer Root, FontEditor, etc.
4)Display Android screen on Desktop:
You can display your android device’s screen on your desktop. This feature will come handy if you want to do a presentation on-the-go via your android device. Although this is not that simple. You need a 3rd party software installed in your desktop or laptop. Droid@Screen is one of the popular software built for this task. You must also have Android SDK installed on your desktop or laptop to perform this trick.
5)Android version animation:
This trick is just for showing off and does nothing other than that. You can view the animation for the version of android that your device is running on by going to Settings > About Phone and tapping repeatedly on ‘Android Version’. You can press and hold the animation to see extra effects. This trick is only for those devices that are running on android version 2.3 and higher.
6)Wi-Fi file transfer from android to any device:
Fast File Transfer allows you to transfer file via Wi-Fi to any devices which can connect to Wi-Fi, even to iPhones. This doesn’t work all the time but it transferred some songs from my android device to some of my friend’s iPhones. All you have to do is select a file and tap on Send/Share and select Fast File Transfer. Then type the URL provided by the app on the URL bar of the browser on your friend’s device.
7)Disable system apps:
You cannot uninstall system app if your device is not rooted but you can disable it. Disabling an app will prevent it to run and hence it will not consume your precious RAM but it will still eat up a some space of your SD card. To disable an app, go to Settings > Apps > All and select the app you want to disable. Then tap on Disable.
8)Change camera shortcuts:
If you’re running android version 4.0 or above, you can change the camera app’s shortcuts (for example enabling or disabling the camera’s night mode in just one click). To do so, long press the camera shortcuts (icons on the top), you’ll be shown the camera’s settings. Just drag and assign the shortcuts on the action bar.
9)Dismiss individual notification:
Since Ice Cream Sandwich, you can dismiss individual notification by swiping them is either direction. Now you don’t have to clear all the notifications at once.
10)Change network mode:
You can change the network mode from Settings > Mobile Network > Preferred network type and selecting the mode of your choice. But this only provides you with few options (Auto Mode, GSM only and WCDMS only). By dialing *#*#4636#*#*, you can get additional options such as GSM auto, CDMA auto, CDMA only, EvDo only, etc. this trick will come handy if you have brought your phone from a different country or you are taking it to a different country.
11)Know your battery’s health:
Dialing *#*#4636#*#* provides you with options other than changing network mode. It can also be used to know your battery’s health. Just tap on ‘Battery Information’.
12)Control mobile data usage:
We know how heavy is mobile data for your wallet. But you can control your data usage by going to Settings > Data Usage and setting a limit. You can also see what app is consuming how much data and restrict it from consuming more.
13)Clear app defaults:
Android will ask you to select an app if the action you’re going to perform can be handled by more than one app. If, by any chance you have selected the wrong app then you can clear its defaults. To do so go to Settings > App > All and select the app then tap on ‘Clear Defaults’. Now you will be asked to select the app again.
14)Lock your Sim Card:
If you lose your phone, there is a high possibility that your Sim Card will be misused. To avoid this you can lock your Sim Card. To do so go to Settings > Security and tap on ‘Set up Sim Card Lock. Set a PIN of your choice. Now the PIN will be required to use the Sim Card if it is inserted into a new phone.
15)Block incoming calls:
Android provides you the option to block a contact from contacting you again. Just select the contact and press menu button and then add to reject list. This option may not be available across all android devices.
16)Factory reset your phone:
You need to factory reset your phone if you’re going to sell the device. There are 3 methods for factory resetting your android device.
Method 1: Go to Settings > Privacy > Factory data reset. This is valid for all android devices.
Method 2: Factory resetting by dialing *2767*3855#. Do not try this for testing purpose as it will not ask for confirmation before resetting.
Method 3: Factory resetting by dialing *#*#7780#*#*. This will ask you for a confirmation before resetting.
You can change the behavior of power button by dialing *#*#7594#*#* and changing it to either ‘Shutdown the phone’ or ‘Show various options’.
18)Reload Wi-Fi driver:
If you Wi-Fi is stuck on obtain IP address or is unable to connect to a network, you can reload the Wi-Fi driver by dialing *#*#526#*#*.
19)Force reboot your device:
If your device is stuck, you can force reboot it by long pressing Power button + Home key + Volume up. If your device doesn’t have a physical Home button then you can long press just the Power button + Volume up.
