Showing posts with label Tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tips. Show all posts

Samsung Galaxy S5: How to Set Owner Information on Lock Screen in Android 4.4.2 Kitkat

I do believe that there are still many good people out there who will be happily to return your phone in case it's lost and they find it. It may be one of the reason why Samsung puts the owner info feature on their phones, including with Samsung Galaxy S5. The owner info feature lets you display your personal information or message up to 65 characters on your lock screen. To optimize the function of this feature, it'd better if you set the owner info to display information that will help the one who finds your lost phone to easily reach you, e.g: your name, your alternative phone number, your email address, etc.


How to set owner info on lock screen?
As long as the screen lock is not turned off, you can display your personal info on lock screen by using the following steps:
  1. On any screen, swipe down the top of the screen to open up the notification panel and then tap to go to the settings menu.
  2. With the settings menu is displayed in grid view, scroll down to the Sound and display section and then tap Lock screen .
  3. Regardless the screen lock that is being used by you(swipe/pattern/PIN/password/fingerprint), tap Owner information.
  4. Check the box in the left side of the "Show owner info on lock screen" option to let you set your owner info and display it on lock screen.
  5. Enter the required information you want to display on lock screen. As the example: this phone belongs to: Rehan, 9028770000, rehanp2001@gmail.com
  6. Tap OK Button to save the changes.
  7. Press the power key twice to go to the lock screen and you'll see the owner info is displayed below the date.

As a note, if your owner info length is more than 33 characters then your owner info will be displayed as a running text on lock screen.

Samsung Galaxy S5: How to Show or Hide Pattern on Lock Screen in Android 4.4.2 Kitkat

Pattern is a screen lock with security lock feature that can be found in Samsung Galaxy S5. When you have set pattern as the screen lock, you have to draw the specified pattern on the pattern grid on lock screen when you want to access your phone. If needed, you can set the pattern to be invisible to prevent it from displaying when it's being drawn on lock screen so that the chance of the unauthorized people for easily accessing your phone can be decreased. Even so, you can also set your pattern to be visible so that it'll be displayed when it's being drawn on lock screen in case you don't need a complex security and need to be able to see the pattern to make sure that it has been drawn correctly.


How to show or hide pattern on lock screen?
Assuming that you have selected pattern as your screen lock, then you can either show or hide pattern on lock screen by using the following steps:
  1. On any screen, swipe down the top of the screen to open up the notification panel and then tap to go to the settings menu.
  2. With the settings menu is displayed in grid view scroll down to the Sound and display section and then tap Lock screen .
  3. With pattern has been selected as the screen lock, scroll down the screen to find the option to show or hide pattern on lock screen.
  4. Show pattern on lock screen:
    • Check the box next to Make pattern visible to enable this option.
    • Now, the pattern will be displayed when it's being drawn on lock screen.
  5. Hide pattern on lock screen:
    • Clear the checkbox next to Make pattern visible to disable this option.
    • Now, the pattern will not be displayed when it's being drawn on lock screen.

Given the function, it'd better to hide the pattern if you're tight with your phone security, but it'd better to show the pattern if you want to easily make sure that you have drawn the correct pattern.

Samsung Galaxy S5: How to Change Pattern Grid Style on Lock Screen in Android 4.4.2 Kitkat

Pattern is a screen lock method that can be found in Samsung Galaxy S5. When you have selected pattern as your screen lock method, you have to draw the specified pattern in a grid of nine dots on lock screen to unlock the screen. Another thing that will probably make you love this screen lock type is the fact that you can change the default pattern grid style to the other one for a more personal touch.


How to change pattern grid style on lock screen?
Assuming that you have selected pattern as the screen lock, then you can change the pattern grid style by using the following steps:
  1. On any screen, swipe down the top of the screen to open up the notification panel and then tap to go to the settings menu.
  2. With the settings menu is displayed in grid view, scroll down to the Sound and display section and then tap Lock screen .
  3. With Pattern has been selected as the screen lock, you should see the option to change the pattern grid style/type.
  4. Tap Pattern type and then select from the following options: Classic(it's enabled by default), Halftone, Morphing and Multicolour. You can see the picture below to know their differences.
  5. Tap Done button to save the changes.
  6. Now, press the Power key twice to go to the lock screen and you'll see the pattern grid is displayed with the selected style/type.

Aside from making your phone to be more secure, selecting pattern as the screen lock will also let you have an alternative way to keep your lock screen looks fresh by changing the pattern grid style periodically.

Samsung Galaxy S5: How to Turn Off Screen Lock in Android 4.4.2 Kitkat

Lock screen is designed to make your phone more secure since it can prevent your phone from making accidental activities or allowing unauthorized access(if you have enabled a screen lock type with security lock features, e.g: PIN, password or fingerprint). Samsung Galaxy S5 itself has been equipped with some screen lock types that you can choose the best one to suit your need. But, if you're the one who like everything to be simpler and easier, then you're free to turn off the screen lock so that you don't need to perform any screen lock method to access your phone. All you have to do to access your phone is simply by pressing the Home key or Power key.


How to turn off screen lock?
Assuming that your previous screen lock is PIN, then you can disable the screen lock by using the following steps:
  1. On any screen, swipe down the top of the screen to open up the notification panel and then tap to go to the settings menu.
  2. With the settings menu is displayed in grid view, scroll down to the Sound and display settings and then tap Lock screen .
  3. Tap Screen lock.
  4. Enter the current 4-digits PIN number for screen lock and then tap Continue button.
  5. Tap None to turn off the screen lock.
  6. Now, you can press the Power key to immediately turn off the screen and then you can press either the Power key or the Home key to turn on the screen and access your phone.

As a note, there are three conditions that will make you unable to turn off the screen lock unless you fix them: 1) when you have installed an app that requires you to set screen lock PIN or password, 2) when you have added VPN in your phone, 3) when you have activated an option or feature in your phone which requires you to set screen lock PIN or password, e.g: encrypt device or SD card feature.

Samsung Galaxy S5: How to Change Screen Lock Type in Android 4.4.2 Kitkat

By default, Samsung Galaxy S5 will lock its screen automatically when it's not used for specified period. Lock screen itself is designed to prevent your phone from making accidental calls or opening apps while it's in your pocket or bag. Even if you enable a screen lock type with security lock features, e.g: PIN, password or fingerprint, lock screen will also be able to prevent unauthorized people from accessing your phone.


How to change the screen lock type?
By default, Samsung Galaxy S5 uses swipe as its screen lock method. So, in case you want to change the screen lock type from swipe to the other one then you can do so by using the following steps:
  1. On any screen, swipe down the top of the screen to open up the notification panel and then tap to go to the settings menu.
  2. With the settings menu is displayed in grid view, scroll down to the Sound and display section and then tap Lock screen .
  3. Tap Screen lock and then select the desired screen lock type from the following options:
    • Swipe: select this option to unlock the screen by swiping your finger on the screen. Though this screen lock type has no additional security options, but it has a lot of features that can be used to customize the lock screen.
    • Pattern: select this option to unlock the screen by drawing the specified pattern on the screen.
    • PIN: select this option to unlock the screen by entering the specified 4-digits PIN number.
    • Password: select this option to unlock the screen by entering the specified password. This screen lock type is more secure than PIN since you can combine letter, number and symbol as the password.
    • Fingerprint: select this option to unlock the screen by dragging your finger on the fingerprint recognition sensor at the Home button. If the device recognizes your fingerprint, the screen will be unlocked. This screen lock type is the most secure one since the screen can only be unlocked by those whose fingerprints have been registered or those who know the alternative password for fingerprint lock.
    • None: select this option to access your phone simply by pressing the Power key or Home key.
  4. Now, you just need to follow the on-screen instructions to complete the configuration for the selected screen lock type.

As a note, the options to customize lock screen may vary depending on the screen lock type you have selected. If you want to have various options to customize your lock screen then you can choose swipe as your screen lock method, while if you want to make your phone more secure then you can choose PIN, password or fingerprint as your screen lock method.

Samsung Galaxy S5: How to Add a Webpage Shortcut to Home Screen in Android 4.4.2 Kitkat

There are several ways available that can be used to speed up the way you access your favourite webpages, one of which is by adding a shortcut to that webpage to home screen. This will let you to quickly access to that webpage even without you have to open up the Internet app first. All you have to do is simply by tapping the shortcut on the home screen and the webpage will be loaded shortly.


How to add a webpage shortcut to home screen?
Before doing this steps, make sure you have a free space in your home screen otherwise it won't work. Well, if you want to add shortcut to webpages in home screen, you can do so by using two methods available: from an opened webpage or from the bookmarks list.


Method #1: From an opened webpage
  1. Open Internet app.
  2. Enter the URL or webpage address in the address bar and then tap Go.
  3. Wait until the webpage is fully loaded.
  4. Tap or long press the Recent apps key to open up the additional options and then select Add shortcut to home.
  5. A shortcut of the currently opened webpage has been created on home screen.


Method #2: From the bookmarks list
This method can be used if you have bookmarked the webpage you want to add its shortcut to home screen. See the following steps to do so:
  1. Open Internet app.
  2. Tap located at the bottom right corner of the screen to view all bookmarked webpages.
  3. Long tap the required bookmark you want to add its shortcut to home screen until it's selected.
  4. Tap or long press the Recent apps key to open up the additional options and then select Add shortcut to home.
  5. A shortcut of the selected bookmark has been created on home screen.

As a note, this feature will be more useful if you use it to add shortcut of your favourite or most frequently accessed webpages to home screen since it will be able to help you to save more time by skipping some steps you used to do when accessing those webpages with other methods.

Samsung Galaxy S5: How to Rename or Delete a Folder Shortcut in My Files App in Android 4.4.2 Kitkat

Adding shortcuts for your favourite or most accessed folders in the main page of My Files app will help you to quickly access those folders without you have to navigate through the folder trees, since you can do so simply by tapping the required folder shortcut and the folder will be opened shortly. Aside from adding folder shortcuts, if needed, you can also manage them to suit your need, for instance change the name of a folder shortcut to the desired one or remove an unused folder shortcut.


How to rename a folder shortcut in My Files app?
In case you want to change the name of a folder shortcut to the desired one, then you can do so by using the following steps:
  1. Open My Files app.
  2. Under the Shortcuts section, long tap the required folder shortcut you want to change its name to select it.
  3. Tap located at the top of the screen.
  4. Enter a new name for the selected folder shortcut.
  5. Tap OK button.
  6. The selected folder shortcut has been renamed.


How to delete a folder shortcut in My Files app?
In case you want to remove a folder shortcut from the main page of My Files app, then you can do so by using the following steps:
  1. Open My Files app.
  2. Tap or long press the Recent apps key to open up the additional options and then select Delete.
  3. Under the Shortcuts section, tap the required folder shortcut you want to delete.
  4. Tap Done button.
  5. Tap OK button.
  6. The selected folder shortcut has been removed.

As a note, renaming a folder shortcut won't change the name of the original folder and deleting a folder shortcut won't delete the original folder. In other words, the steps above just let you to manage(rename and delete) the shortcuts without affecting the original folders.

Samsung Galaxy S5: How to Add a Folder Shortcut to Home Screen in Android 4.4.2 Kitkat

The stock File manager app in Samsung Galaxy S5, My Files app, not only allows you to add folder shortcuts to the main page of this app, but also to the home screen. By adding a folder shortcut to home screen, you can quickly access to the folder even without you have to open My Files app first, since you can do so simply by tapping the shortcut in Home screen and the folder will be opened shortly.


How to add a folder shortcut to home screen?
Before doing this steps, make sure there's a free space in home screen to place the folder shortcut otherwise this steps won't work. Well, here the complete steps:
  1. Open My Files app.
  2. Under the Local storage, tap Device storage to explore folders in the internal storage or tap SD card to explore folders in the SD card.
  3. Open the required folder you want to create its shortcut to home screen.
  4. Now, tap or long press the Recent apps key to open up the additional options and then select Add shortcut.
  5. Tap Add to home screen.
  6. A shortcut of the currently opened folder has been created in home screen.

To maximize the use of this feature, add shortcuts to home screen only for your favourite or most frequently accessed folders so that you can save more time to access those folders as well as keep the home screen remains filled with important and always-in-use widgets and shortcuts.

Samsung Galaxy S5: How to Create a Folder Shortcut in My Files App in Android 4.4.2 Kitkat

The stock File manager app in Samsung Galaxy S5, My Files app, lets you to create folder shortcuts and they will be placed under the Shortcuts section in the main page of this app, so you can quickly access those folders without having to navigate through the folder trees on your phone.


How to create a folder shortcut in My Files app?
Generally, you can add folder shortcuts to the main page of My Files app by using two methods available: from the main page of My Files app or from the currently opened folder.


Method #1: From the main page of My Files app
  1. Open My Files app.
  2. Tap or long press the Recent apps key to open up the additional options and then select Add shortcut.
  3. Tap Device storage to explore folders in the internal storage, or tap SD card to explore folders in the SD card.
  4. Tap the required folder to open it.
  5. Tap Done button.
  6. A shortcut of the currently opened folder will be created under the Shortcuts section in the main page of My Files app.


Method #2: From the currently opened folder
  1. Open My Files app.
  2. Under local storage section, tap Device storage to explore folders in the internal storage, or tap SD card to explore folders in the SD card.
  3. Tap the required folder to open it.
  4. Tap or long press the Recent apps key to open up the additional options and then select Add shortcut.
  5. Tap Add to My Files main screen.
  6. A shortcut of the currently opened folder will be created under the Shortcuts section in the main page of My Files app.

Given the function, it'd better if you add shortcuts for your favourite folders or the most frequently accessed folders so that you can save more time since you can skip some steps that you used to do when accessing those folders especially if you have much files on your phone or if your favourite folders are located deep inside folder trees.

Samsung Galaxy S5: How to Show Hidden Files in My Files App in Android 4.4.2 Kitkat

I do believe that most of you have already known that all of Android phones, including with Samsung Galaxy S5, will read all files or folders which the names are started with a full stop as hidden files. To keep things simple and keep the display clean, the stock File manager app, My Files app, hides the hidden files by default. Thus, you will notice that when you add a full stop in front of a file or folder name, it will be invisible and the phone will be told to forget it and to not display the file in the related app, as the example if you add a full stop in front of a picture file name then it won't be displayed in Gallery app.


How to show hidden files in My Files app?
In case you want to find/view hidden files or folders then you can set My Files app to show all hidden files by using the following steps:
  1. Open My Files app.
  2. Tap or long press the Recent apps key to open up the additional options and then select Settings.
  3. Check the box next to Show hidden files to enable it.
  4. All hidden files will be shown.

As a note, if you want to hide a file or folder, you'd better to remember the name or location so that when you forget the name you can show hidden files using the steps above and then go to the location to find the hidden file or folder, or when you forget the location you can easily find the hidden file or folder by searching it using its name.

Samsung Galaxy S5: How to Transfer Pictures to SD Card in Android 4.4.2 Kitkat

If your concern is keeping the internal storage has free space enough to work properly, then one thing that you can do is by setting the SD card as the default storage in the Camera app so that all pictures or photos taken with camera will be saved to the SD card automatically. Even so, there are some pictures that will be saved to the internal storage by default, e.g: pictures taken with camera using certain mode, downloaded pictures from the Internet app, received pictures via Bluetooth/Wi-Fi Direct/S Beam/Android beam, screenshot, etc. For these pictures, you can manually transfer them, either by copying or moving, to the SD card so that they won't eat up your internal storage.


How to copy pictures to SD card?
Copying pictures will duplicate the original pictures and then paste them to the new place. It's more safer than moving the pictures since you won't get the risk of losing your files, but it takes more time since you will need to manually delete the original pictures to avoid duplicate files. To copy pictures, as the example, we'll copy some downloaded pictures to the SD card by using the following steps:
  1. Open My Files app.
  2. Under the Local storage section, tap Device storage .
  3. Tap Download folder.
  4. Tap and then select Select.
  5. Select the required pictures you want to copy to SD card.
  6. Tap and then select Copy.
  7. Tap SD card .
  8. Tap the required folder where the copied pictures will be placed in. Or, if needed, you can create a new folder by using the following steps:
    • Tap Create folder button located at the bottom of the screen.
    • Enter the folder name and then tap OK button.
    • Tap the newly created folder to open it.
  9. Tap Paste here button located at the top of the screen.
  10. All selected pictures from the Download folder in the internal storage will be copied to the selected folder in the SD card.


How to move pictures to SD card?
Moving pictures will cut the original pictures and then paste them to the new place. It's more time saver than copying files since the original files will be deleted automatically, but you may get the risk of losing your files (some users reported that their files sometimes lost after they had finished moving the files). To move pictures, as the example, we'll move some downloaded pictures to the SD card by using the following steps:
  1. Open My Files app.
  2. Under Local storage section, tap Device storage .
  3. Tap Download folder.
  4. Tap and then select Select.
  5. Select the required pictures you want to move to SD card.
  6. Tap and then select Move.
  7. Tap SD card .
  8. Tap the required folder where the copied pictures will be placed in. Or, if needed, you can create a new folder by using the following steps:
    • Tap Create folder button located at the bottom of the screen.
    • Enter the folder name and then tap OK button.
    • Tap the newly created folder to open it.
  9. Tap Move here button.
  10. All selected pictures from the Download folder in the internal storage will be moved to the selected folder in the SD card.

As a note, the steps above can also be applied to transfer (copy or move) other file types, e.g: video, music, etc. You just need to select the required files from the original folder and then copy or move them to the desired folder in the SD card. It's as simple as that.

Samsung Galaxy S5: How to Clear All Cached App Data in Android 4.4.2 Kitkat

When an app in your phone is misbehaving, clear the app cache is one of the most common methods to fix the problem. Clear the app cache can also be done to free up some space though it's only temporary since the app will re-create the cache once you run the app. However, if your concern is to free up some space, it'd better if you clear all cached app data. It'll save you more time than if you have to clear the cache manually, app per app.


How to clear all cached app data?
You can do so by using the following steps:
  1. Swipe down the top of the screen to open up the notification panel and then tap to go to the settings menu.
  2. With the settings menu is displayed in grid view, scroll down to the System section and then tap Storage .
  3. Tap Cached data to clear all cached data for all apps.
  4. Tap OK button to confirm.
  5. All cached app data have been cleared.

As a note, if you'd like to clear all app caches periodically without having to do the steps above again and again manually, you can install a third-party app from the Play Store that has ability to clear all app caches in a regular basis, e.g: App Cache Cleaner, Cache Clear, etc.

Samsung Galaxy S5: How to Clear App Cache in Android 4.4.2 Kitkat

Some of you may already know that the phone saves the app cache in order to improve the app performance and make it load faster. In a normal state, the app cache shouldn't cause any problem for your phone, but it sometimes can be corrupted and cause the app to misbehave or experience an error, for instance the app crashes, the app is not working properly, the app runs slower than usual, etc. In this case, you need to clear the app cache to fix the problem.


How to clear app cache?
There are two methods that can be used to access the clear cache option: from the apps menu and from the app manager.


Method #1: From the Apps menu
This method can be applied for all apps that are listed in the apps menu. But, as the example, we'll try performing clear cache for Internet app from the apps menu by using the following steps:
  1. In Home screen, tap Apps to go to the apps menu.
  2. Tap and hold the Internet app icon and then drag it to the App info icon located at the top of the screen.
  3. In the App info screen, tap Clear cache button.
  4. The Internet app cache has been cleared.


Method #2: From the App Manager
This method can be applied for all apps even when the app is not listed in the apps menu. But, as the example, we'll try performing clear cache for Download manager by using the following steps:
  1. Swipe down the top of the screen to open up the notification panel and then tap to go to the settings menu.
  2. With the settings menu is displayed in grid view, scroll down to the Applications section and then tap Application manager .
  3. Swipe the screen from the right to the left to access the ALL screen.
  4. Scroll down to find Download manager, and then tap it.
  5. Tap Clear cache button.
  6. The Download manager cache has been cleared.

As a note, if you have cleared the app cache, the app will re-create cache when you re-run the app and it can slow down the app. Once it is completed, the app will work normally.