Android 4.0



Change keyboards



To change keyboards (if you have additional keyboards installed), you can switch between them by pressing the small keyboard symbol in the top left of your screen. You will need to be in keyboard input mode (i.e. typing something) for this to work.

Note: you need to have more than one keyboard installed for this to work.

Install new keyboard to improve accuracy



The standard Android keyboard is good, but not great. There are many third party keyboards available which will improve your typing speed and accuracy.

Go to the Android Market and search for 'Keyboard' to see some great alternatives, many of which are more accurate and make typing much easier.
A good one is GoKeyboard.

If you see a warning saying the keyboard will collect all information (including credit cards) just ignore this. This is just a security feature that Android shows for every third-party keyboard that you install.

Avoid task killers



It is best to avoid task killers such as Advanced Task Killer. Android is designed to automatically pre-load certain applications, even if you don't load them yourself. If it starts to run low on memory, it will smartly unload the oldest running apps automatically.

Manually killing tasks will only mean they get loaded in memory again. Task killers can make the phone slow, laggy, or drain battery life more quickly.

Double tap for a full stop (period)



While typing emails or notes, you can simply tap the space key twice and the phone will insert a full stop / period

Setup WiFi hotspot with USB tethering



To use your phone as a WiFi hotspot, tether it via USB or via Bluetooth, then go to Settings - Tethering And Portable Hotspot.

You can then choose from three options:

1) USB - connect your phone via a USB cable. The phone should automatically configure the correct settings.

2) WiFi Hotspot - To turn your phone into a WiFi hotspot, press Configure WiFi hotspot. You will then be asked to enter a Network SSID (this is your own name for the WiFi hotspot). Then choose Security and lastly, choose a password (this is password for your WiFi hotspot which you will enter on your computer).

3) Bluetooth - With this option, you will need to pair a Bluetooth device with your phone. On the other device, ensure you search for Bluetooth devices and your phone should show up.

Help, I have forgotten my unlock pattern



If you have forgotten your custom unlock pattern, then don't panic.

After 5 unsuccessful tries a button should appear saying 'Forgot pattern'. Press this and you will be asked to enter your Gmail username/password.

The phone will then ask for a new unlock pattern. If you don't have a Gmail account, then you might have to either call your carrier or factory reset your phone.

Share / upload videos to media services



To share or upload a video to services like Facebook or Youtube, start from your Gallery App and long press on a video.

From here you will be given options to share the video with various services.

Bookmark a web page on your homescreen



To bookmark a website on your homescreen, go into your browser and find the bookmark of the page you want to create a shortcut for.

Then long press on the bookmark and select Add Shortcut to Home.

If you regularly visit certain websites, this can be handy as you will have a shortcut to the site on your homescreen.

Put your phone into night mode



To put your phone into night mode, go to your Clock application and press the screen once which will dim the screen.

Then press and hold on the screen and the clock will turn blue. This is Night mode.

Access the scientific calculator



To access the scientific calculator, rotate the phone to landscape mode.

The calculator will change to a scientific one.



Hide folders or files



If you want to hide folders or files from being index or displayed, simple put a . (full top / period) before the file or folder name.

Turn off WiFi while the phone is sleeping



If you want to conserve battery life, you can turn the WiFi while the phone is asleep.

Go to Settings - WiFi - Advanced - Keep WiFi on during sleep.

Separate your notifications from your ringtone



If you want to receive calls during the night, but don't want to be woken up by notifications like text messages, then you can turn notifications to silent.

Go to Settings - Sounds. Then change notifications to silent.

Check phone status and battery usage



To find out information about Signal Strength, Network Information, Remaining Battery Time and Battery Usage (by Application), go to your Homescreen - Menu - Settings - About Phone.

Add email or phone number from text



To add an email or phone number to your contacts from a text message, you can long-press on the email / phone number. Then select Add to contacts

Remove Google Search bar



If you want to remove the Google Search bar, then go to Settings - Apps - All - Google search bar - Disable.

Search music on Youtube from Music Player



While in the Music Player, long press on the song title of the music and you can search Youtube for more music

Remove numbers from the call log



To remove numbers from the call log that you don't want anyone seeing, then open your Call Log.

This will normally be found on your Apps list or you can also go to your Dialer and find Logs or Call Logs.

Then press and hold on the contact you want to remove. When the Menu appears, press Delete.

Hard reset / factory reset



Warning: This will remove ALL data on the phone (but not the MicroSD card).

To perform a hard reset, or factory reset, then there are a number of methods to try:

1) From the home screen, press Menu - Backup and reset - Factory data reset - Reset phone. It may ask for a password. Then select Erase everything

If the phone is totally unresponsive, even after a reboot, then try the following methods.

2) While the phone is turned off, press and hold the Volume Up and Volume Down buttons together. Then, while holding these, press and release the Power button (keep holding the volume buttons). The phone should turn on and a menu will appear. Press the Volume down button to navigate to the Recovery option. Press the Volume Up to select (if that doesn't work, use the Power button to select). A yellow triangle and an Android logo will appear. Press the Volume Down and Volume Up button together and a recovery menu should appear. Use the Volume buttons to move to the Wipe data/Factory reset option and then press Power to select. Again, use the Volume Down key to choose Yes and press the Power button again to select.

3) While the phone is turned off, press and hold the Volume Down button. Then, while holding, press and release the Power button. A menu should appear. Use the Volume down key to go to Clear Storage. Use the Power button to select the option. Then when asked to confirm, press Volume Up for Yes.

4) While the phone is off, press and hold down Volume Up + Home + Power buttons at the same time. Then release the buttons when you see the Logo. Use the Volume Down button to go down and the Home or Power key to select. Choose the Wipe data/Factory reset option. Then Select Yes to delete all user data. Then choose to reboot the phone.

5) A final method is to enter the code into your phone's dialer: *2767*3855# This method will not give you an option to reverse the process, so be careful! This method will only work if you can boot into your phone.

Turn off App update notifications



If you would prefer not to be told every time an Application has been updated, open the Play Market - Menu - My Apps. Then Menu again. Then Settings. Under General settings, untick the Notifications option.


Google Easter egg



There is a hidden Easter egg on the phone. If you go to your Homescreen, then press Menu - Settings - About phone, then tap on the Android version option 5 times you will be surprised.

Once you see the surprise you can press and hold it and you will see another surprise!

Sometimes the tapping may not work first time, so try a couple of times.

Capture a still shot while recording video



While you are recording video, you can tap the screen on what is being recorded once. This will save a still image.

Browse websites in full-screen mode



If you want to browse in full screen mode, without the URL bar at the top of the browser, then you can enable this..

Open the standard browser and press Menu - Settings - Labs. Then put a check mark under Full Screen .

To get access to the browser options (that are now invisible), there is now a neat hidden menu. Slide your finger in from the left or right of the screen. A circular menu will appear with various options.

How to import Contacts from your old phone



If you have just purchased an Android device, then you may want to copy your contacts from your old phone. The easiest way to do this is to Export your old contacts to a CSV (Comma Separated Values) file and save this to your PC. You may need to install the correct software for your phone first in order to do the export.

Then, if you don't have a Gmail account, sign up for one.

Once that's done, open Gmail. Go to Contacts, then press More - Import. Then import the CSV to your Gmail contacts.

Then on your phone, open the Contacts App. Press Menu and then Sync Contacts. This will pull the contacts from Gmail to your phone.

Change the screen brightness



To change the screen brightness, start from the Homescreen and press Menu - Settings - Display - Brightness.

Then choose the desired brightness setting. You can also select Automatic brightness to let the phone decide for you.

If you have auto-brightness enabled, you can also press, hold and slide the top notification bar left and right. The brightness will increase and decrease accordingly.

Enable Face Unlock



To enable Face Unlock, go into Settings - Security.

Then select Screen lock.

Swipe left to text contact



While viewing your list of Contacts you can swipe from Right to Left to send a text message to the selected contact.

This might not work on all models.

Accents and special characters



If you want to type non-English letters (eg those with an accent), long-press on the relevant letter. A list of options will appear for you to select.

Reformat a column while browsing



If you are browsing and have zoomed in or out and the column you're reading doesn't fit the screen properly, you can pinch to zoom in. Then double tap on the column. The column will then be reformatted to fit the screen width.

Lock screen while watching videos



To lock your screen while you are watching videos, simply press the power button.

This will disable the touchscreen buttons while the video is playing, but it won't turn the screen off like the lock key normally does.

Note, this will only work on video files that you are playing that are stored on your phone. It won't work for videos played within websites, such as Youtube videos.



How to add more Homescreens



Most Android phones only come with a fixed amount of homescreens. There is a way to add more however.

Go to Android Play Market and search for 'launcher'. These are third-party user interfaces that allow you to customize your phone in many ways. Most of them allow multiple homescreens.

A very popular launcher which supports multiple homescreens is GoLauncher EX.

Enable / disable vibrate / haptic feedback when you type



To disable / enable vibrate (also called haptic feedback) when you type or press the screen, go to Settings - Language & input - Settings.

Then uncheck Vibrate on keypress.

Check the firmware version



To check your firmware version, start from the Homescreen and press Menu - Settings - About Phone.

This should list your Android version, Build number and Model Number.

Bookmark a contact on your homescreen



To bookmark a contact on your homescreen, long press on the home screen background and select Shortcuts. Then select Direct dial.

If you call someone regularly this can be useful as you will have a shortcut to them handily placed on your homescreen.

Use PIN instead of Face Unlock



If you use the Face Unlock feature but you're in a dark room or wearing a hat and scarf, you can bypass the unlock just once.

Simply press the Lock icon on your screen and you can then enter your PIN instead.

Take a screenshot



To take a screen shot, hold down the Volume Down and Power Buttons together. This will save the current screen to your phone's memory card.

Enable / disable notification light



To enable / disable your notification light, go to Settings - Display.

Then check/uncheck Pulse notification.

Copy files between your phone and PC using WiFi



To copy files between your phone and PC, go to the Android Play Market and download an app called AirDroid.

This is an extremely useful App that connects your phone to your PC wirelessly, allowing you to move files and many, many other things.

Quickly hide keyboard



After entering text a quick way to hide the keyboard is to press the Back key at the bottom of your screen. This saves having to hunt for the hide keyboard icon.

Speed up your phone



To speed up your phone, you can turn off screen animations. Go to Settings - Developer options.

Then scroll down to Window animation scale and select that. From here you can choose to turn Animations Off. This will make screen transitions faster.

Create folders to tidy your Apps



If you find yourself with too many Apps on the homescreen, then you can create folders to organise them.

To start, simply press and hold on an App and drag it over the top of another App. The App should change colour/shape. Then release your finger and the two Apps will be combined into a folder.

You can then drag more Apps into this folder using the same process.

To give your folder a label, simply long press on the folder and you will be able to enter a name.

Silent / vibrate mode with the volume buttons



You can use the volume buttons to put the phone in silent mode.

Keep pressing the Down volume until it reaches 0%.

If you have 'Vibration in Silent mode' turned on, it will also put the phone into Vibrate mode. To change this, go to your homescreen. Press Menu - Settings - Sound - Vibration.

Open web pages in a new tab



To open a web page in a new tab, find a link on a web page. Then press on it and then choose to open the site in a new tab.

End a phone call by pressing the Power button



Rather than having to locate the hang up icon on the screen after each call, you can quickly end a call by pressing the Power button.

To enable this, go to Settings - Accessibility - Power button ends call.

Enable auto App updates



Android has a feature allowing you to update Applications automatically. This is turned off by default, but you can turn it on.

Open the Android market, then Menu - My Apps.

Then you need to open up each installed App and tick Allow Automatic Updating at the bottom. Unfortunately you do need to do this for each App.

Create shortcut to websites on your home screen



To create a shortcut to a website on your homescreen, go to your browser bookmarks.

Then long press on a site and select Add shortcut to Home.

Silence the phone when ringing



To silence the phone when ringing there are two methods:

Either press the Volume Down (or Up) button or if the phone is on a surface facing up, simply flip it over so it is facing down.

Check available RAM



If you want to check how much RAM you have available, go to Settings - Apps - Running.

Enable Owner Info if your phone is lost



If your phone is lost and you're lucky, the finder will want to return your phone to you. To make this easy for them, you can turn on Owner Info. This will display a scrolling custom message on the lock screen saying who the phone belongs to. You can also enter a phone number to call if your phone is found.

Go to Settings - Security - Owner info. Then enter the custom message there. It will then display the message on your lock screen.

Quickly show browser history



While in your Browser App, press and hold the Back button.

This will show your browser History and Bookmarks.



Add widget to the homescreen



To add a widget, go to the homescreen and press the Apps icon (the circle with 6 dots). Then you will see a list of your Apps with the word Apps and Widgets at the top. Press Widgets, then you will be presented with a list of available widgets.

To add a widget, press and hold on it and then position it where you want.

Quickly close Apps



To quickly close Apps, press and hold the home button. This will display your currently running Apps.

From here you can simply swipe the Apps off the screen by dragging your finger left or right. This is a very quick way to free up some memory.

Bring up more predicted words



If you have word prediction enabled while you are typing, you can long press the middle word that is suggested. This will bring up a menu allowing you to select various other suggested words.

Improve Face Unlock speed and accuracy



Face Unlock allows you to unlock your phone by holding it up to your face. It is highly recommended to use the Improve Face Unlock feature to make the recognition faster and more accurate.

First, ensure you have Face Unlock enabled. Go to Settings - Security - Screen lock. Then choose Face Unlock.

Once that is done go to Settings - Security - Improve face matching. You might have to do this a few times to improve the speed of recognition. It is also a good idea to position the phone at different angles to your head to improve the accuracy.

Note: this may not work on all phones. Check for a software update if it doesn't work on yours.

Store number from email



If you have received an email with a phone number in it, hold down on the number and you will be given the option to call, send an SMS or add the number to your contacts

Stop Photos or Music files being indexed



To stop the Photo App or the Music player from indexing your files, place a blank text file called .nomedia in the folder containing your photos or music

Quickly display browser bookmarks



There are two ways to bring up Bookmarks while browsing:

1) The quickest way is to simple long press the Back key to bring up your bookmarks

2) Alternatively you can enable the Quick Control panel. Go to Settings - Labs. Then check the option for Full screen. Then when you are browsing slide your finger in from the left or right of the screen. A semi-circular Quick Control panel will appear. Slide your finger to the top icon to see your bookmarks. This also means your browser runs in full screen mode so you maximise your website viewing area.

Customise your favourites tray



At the bottom of each homescreen is your favourites tray, which consists of 5 icons. You can customise it by adding icons to the tray. If it's full however, you will first need to remove some.

To remove an icon, simply press and hold an icon. Then drag it to your desktop.

Then to add a new one, simply drag an icon from your homescreen to the favourites tray.

Swipe right to dial contact



From the Contact list or the Messaging list, swipe from Left to Right to call a Contact.

This might not work on all models.

Increase security with a custom unlock pattern



Instead of the simple swipe gesture to unlock your phone, you can set a custom one which can be extremely difficult for a thief to guess.

From your homescreen, go to Menu - Settings - Security. Then select Screen lock. Then chose Pattern to set one up.

It is also a good idea to untick Use visible pattern. Then if someone is watching over your shoulder while you entering your pattern, it will be harder for them to remember the pattern.

If you have forgotten your unlock pattern, then after 5 unsuccessful tries a button will appear saying 'Forgot pattern'. Press this and you will be asked to enter your Gmail username/password. The phone will then ask for a new unlock pattern. If you don't have a Gmail account, then you will have to either call your carrier or factory reset your phone.


Send text message to caller



When your phone is ringing you have three options: Press the Answer, Hang up or Send a text message.

To send a text message, press and hold inside the round circle you see on the screen. Then drag your finger to the message icon at the top. You will then be presented with a few default responses that you can send via text message.

Enable sideload of Apps



If you want to install Apps outside of the Android Market (called sideloading), then go to Settings - Security - Unknown sources.

Note: use at your own risk.

Soft reset



To soft reset your phone press and hold the Power/Lock button for a 2-3 seconds and the phone will restart. Wait about 10 seconds and then press and hold the Power/Lock button again to restart.

If that doesn't work, then remove the battery. Wait 30 seconds and put the battery back in. Then press the Power/Lock button to turn the phone on.

Change the backlight screen timeout



To change the backlight screen timeout, go to Settings - Display - Sleep. Then choose the screen time out duration.

You can also tell the phone screen to always stay lit when it is plugged in via USB. Go to Settings - Developer Options. Then check Stay Awake.

Zoom when using the camera



While in the Camera App, there are two ways to zoom in or out.

First, you can use Volume Up and Down keys.

Secondly, you can pinch your fingers on the screen to zoom in and out.

Stop Play Market from adding App shortcuts



When you download a new App, the Play Market will add a shortcut to the App on your homescreen. Sometimes this can get annoying.

To disable this, go to Market - Settings. Then uncheck Auto-add Shortcuts.

Disable the screen lock



To disable the screen lock, go into Settings - Security. Then select Screen lock.

You can then choose None to disable your screen lock.

This is handy because you won't have to swipe the lock screen away anymore.

Copying iTunes songs to Android



If you have decided to ditch your iPhone in favour of Android, then there is a simple way to take your iTunes music, playlists and album art with you.

Simply go the Android Marketplace and download a Free App called Easy Phone Tunes. You will also need the computer version of the software, so go to http://easyphonetunes.com and download it from there.

Then, when that is done, turn your phone into a USB storage device (this will vary from device to device, but instructions are on the website).

Once your phone is connected to your computer, open the computer version of the software and select your device from the Easy Phone Tunes list. Then follow the instructions to Sync your media.

Quickly open settings



Instead of finding your Settings App icon, a quicker way is to drag down your notification bar (from the top) and press the Settings icon. It should be next to the date.

Have more control over your notification light



If you are not happy with your notification light, then you can change and tweak it. Go to the Android Market and download an App called Lightflow.

You might need to enable the notification light before the App works. Go to Settings - Display. Then check Pulse notification.



Use the EQ in Google Music



Open your music and play a song. Then press Menu - Sound Effects. You will then be presented with an equalizer including presets.

Remove text message conversations



If you want to remove an entire text message conversation (or thread), go into Messages and look for the thread. Then long press on it and select the Trash icon.

You can also select multiple threads. Before you press the Trash, you can highlight the threads you want deleted. Then press Trash.

Set voicemail number



To set your voicemail number which allows your phone to automatically input your voicemail password, then open your Dialer App.

Then choose the Phone tab and go to Settings - Voicemail settings - Voicemail number and enter it there.

Depending on your carrier you may have to enter the series of steps required to go through the voicemail menu, for example: *86,,yourpassword# (a comma inserts a pause).

Create folders in your Quick Launch bar



If you have used up all of your Quick Launch spaces, then there is a trick.

Once it is full, press and drag an App from the homescreen and move it over the top of an App in the Quick Launch area. Then release your finger. This will create a folder containing the original App plus the new one. This is a great way to have access to regularly used Apps.

Auto focus the camera



When taking photos or videos, tap the screen where you want to focus on. The phone will automatically adjust the settings to improve the image or video

Save images in browser, email or text



To save an image in an email or in the browser, long press on the image and a menu will appear allowing you to save it.

For images inside text messages, you might have to press and hold on the message itself, rather than the image.

Change quick response texts



The phone has the ability to send quick response text messages if your phone is ringing but you can't answer it.

To change these, go to your Dialer App - Settings - Quick responses. You can only have 4 of them and you may need to edit existing ones.

Android Easter egg



There is an Easter egg hidden in the Android operating system. To see it, go to your Homescreen, then press Menu - Settings - About phone.

Then tap on the Android version option 5 times and you will get a surprise.

Sometimes it doesn't work, so try a couple of times. By the way don't expect to see an actual Easter Egg. That is just the name given to things hidden inside software or operating systems.

Change your default font



To change your default font, you need to download a third-party app because Android does not have a built-in way of changing fonts

There are two good Apps that allow you to change fonts:

Font Changer - There is a free version and a paid version. The paid version allows you to change the screen density and allows you to preview the font. You can also change a few other options.

Type Fresh - With this App you can load any TrueType font and also backup your default fonts to your SDCard. Be aware that you might need to reboot your phone after installing Type Fresh.

Also, if you use GoLauncher, then try downloading GoLauncher Fonts.

Note: most, if not all, font changing Apps require you to Root your device



Increase your font size



There are two options to increase the font size on your phone:

The first is to simply install a new font that is larger than the default font. Font Changer and Type Fresh are two Apps that allow you to change Fonts on your phone (they do require Root access though).

The second option is to use dedicate Apps to change the font size, although they will normally only work for SMS and some Google Apps.

To enlarge the SMS font, go to the Android Market and download an App called ChompSMS. Among other things, the App allows you to increase the font size of your SMS messages.

For enlarge SMS and the standard Google Apps fonts, then download an App called SMS/Talk Text Enlarger.

Make volume / music louder



WARNING: Making your volume or music louder can damage your hearing.

Most phones have their volumes limited by local laws to protect our hearing. There is a way to boost your volume however. Go to the Android Market and download an App called Volume+ (Sound Boost). There is also a free version called Volume+ Free.

You will need to root your phone for this App to work.

Make your phone run faster



Here are the top 5 tips to make your phone run faster:

1) Use only essential widgets on your homescreen - each widget consumes memory and processing power which can slow your down your phone.

2) Uninstall apps that you don't use - after awhile your phone can get cluttered as some Apps are designed to always run in the background. If you rarely use an App, then uninstall it to free up memory and CPU resource.

3) Install Apps to your phone memory - if you have an SDCard, always install Apps to the phone memory, which can be accessed faster. If you have Apps on the SDCard, then move them back to the phone memory with an App called Move2SD available from the Play Market.

4) Use Static rather than Live wallpapers - Live wallpapers consume processing power and memory. Unless you really must have them, uninstall them.

5) Kill tasks occasionally - Some Apps will run in the background indefinitely unless you kill them. Most of them won't cause a problem, but it pays to check your running tasks from time to time. Hold down your Home key and check the Task Manager.

One last thing: Don't use Task Killers. Android manages tasks very well and Task Killers just make your phone unstable and can slow it down further.

Turn off WiFi while the phone is sleeping



If you want to conserve battery life, you can turn off the WiFi while the phone is asleep.

Go to Settings - WiFi - Advanced - Keep WiFi on during sleep.

Bookmark a web page on your homescreen



To bookmark a website on your homescreen, go into your browser and find the bookmark of the page you want to create a shortcut for.

Then long press on the bookmark and select Add Shortcut to Home.

If you regularly visit certain websites, this can be handy as you will have a shortcut to the site on your homescreen.

Swipe left to text contact



While viewing your list of Contacts you can swipe from Right to Left to send a text message to the selected contact.

This might not work on all models.

Enable Face Unlock



To enable Face Unlock, go into Settings - Security.

Then select Screen lock.


Make your phone run faster


Here are the top 5 tips to make your phone run faster:

1) Use only essential widgets on your homescreen - each widget consumes memory and processing power which can slow your down your phone.

2) Uninstall apps that you don't use - after awhile your phone can get cluttered as some Apps are designed to always run in the background. If you rarely use an App, then uninstall it to free up memory and CPU resource.

3) Install Apps to your phone memory - if you have an SDCard, always install Apps to the phone memory, which can be accessed faster. If you have Apps on the SDCard, then move them back to the phone memory with an App called Move2SD available from the Play Market.

4) Use Static rather than Live wallpapers - Live wallpapers consume processing power and memory. Unless you really must have them, uninstall them.

5) Kill tasks occasionally - Some Apps will run in the background indefinitely unless you kill them. Most of them won't cause a problem, but it pays to check your running tasks from time to time. Hold down your Home key and check the Task Manager.

One last thing: Don't use Task Killers. Android manages tasks very well and Task Killers just make your phone unstable and can slow it down further.

Enable / disable vibrate / haptic feedback when you type



To disable / enable vibrate (also called haptic feedback) when you type or press the screen, go to Settings - Language & input - Settings.

Then uncheck Vibrate on keypress.



Use phone as a WiFi hotspot / USB / Bluetooth tethering



To use your phone as a WiFi hotspot, tether it via USB or via Bluetooth, then go to Settings - Tethering And Portable Hotspot.

You can then choose from three options:

1) USB - connect your phone via a USB cable. The phone should automatically configure the correct settings.

2) WiFi Hotspot - To turn your phone into a WiFi hotspot, press Configure WiFi hotspot. You will then be asked to enter a Network SSID (this is your own name for the WiFi hotspot). Then choose Security and lastly, choose a password (this is password for your WiFi hotspot which you will enter on your computer).

3) Bluetooth - With this option, you will need to pair a Bluetooth device with your phone. On the other device, ensure you search for Bluetooth devices and your phone should show up.

Share / upload videos to media services like Facebook or Youtube



To share or upload a video to services like Facebook or Youtube, start from your Gallery App and long press on a video.

From here you will be given options to share the video with various services.

Remove numbers from the call log



To remove numbers from the call log that you don't want anyone seeing, then open your Call Log.

This will normally be found on your Apps list or you can also go to your Dialer and find Logs or Call Logs.

Then press and hold on the contact you want to remove. When the Menu appears, press Delete.

Bookmark a contact on your homescreen



To bookmark a contact on your homescreen, long press on the home screen background and select Shortcuts. Then select Direct dial.

If you call someone regularly this can be useful as you will have a shortcut to them handily placed on your homescreen.

Access the scientific calculator



To access the scientific calculator, rotate the phone to landscape mode.

The calculator will change to a scientific one.

Quickly show browser history



While in your Browser App, press and hold the Back button.

This will show your browser History and Bookmarks.

Enable / disable notification light



To enable / disable your notification light, go to Settings - Display.

Then check/uncheck Pulse notification.

Customise your favourites tray



At the bottom of each homescreen is your favourites tray, which consists of 5 icons. You can customise it by adding icons to the tray. If it's full however, you will first need to remove some.

To remove an icon, simply press and hold an icon. Then drag it to your desktop.

Then to add a new one, simply drag an icon from your homescreen to the favourites tray.

Disable the screen lock



To disable the screen lock, go into Settings - Security. Then select Screen lock.

You can then choose None to disable your screen lock.

This is handy because you won't have to swipe the lock screen away anymore.

Remove text message conversations



If you want to remove an entire text message conversation (or thread), go into Messages and look for the thread. Then long press on it and select the Trash icon.

You can also select multiple threads. Before you press the Trash, you can highlight the threads you want deleted. Then press Trash.



Stop Play Market from adding App shortcuts



When you download a new App, the Play Market will add a shortcut to the App on your homescreen. Sometimes this can get annoying.

To disable this, go to Market - Settings. Then uncheck Auto-add Shortcuts.

Check the firmware version



To check your firmware version, start from the Homescreen and press Menu - Settings - About Phone.

This should list your Android version, Build number and Model Number.

Swipe right to dial contact



From the Contact list or the Messaging list, swipe from Left to Right to call a Contact.

This might not work on all models.

How to add more Homescreens



Most Android phones only come with a fixed amount of homescreens. There is a way to add more however.

Go to Android Play Market and search for 'launcher'. These are third-party user interfaces that allow you to customize your phone in many ways. Most of them allow multiple homescreens.

A very popular launcher which supports multiple homescreens is GoLauncher EX.

Soft reset



To soft reset your phone press and hold the Power/Lock button for a 2-3 seconds and the phone will restart. Wait about 10 seconds and then press and hold the Power/Lock button again to restart.

If that doesn't work, then remove the battery (if it has one). Wait 30 seconds and put the battery back in. Then press the Power/Lock button to turn the phone on.

Create shortcut to websites on your home screen



To create a shortcut to a website on your homescreen, go to your browser bookmarks.

Then long press on a site and select Add shortcut to Home.

Speed up your phone



To speed up your phone, you can turn off screen animations. Go to Settings - Developer options.

Then scroll down to Window animation scale and select that. From here you can choose to turn Animations Off. This will make screen transitions faster.

Capture a still shot while recording video



To capture a still shot while recording a video, simply tap the screen while you are recording.

This will save a still image.

Put your phone into night mode



To put your phone into night mode, go to your Clock application and press the screen once which will dim the screen.

Then press and hold on the screen and the clock will turn blue. This is Night mode.

Change the backlight screen timeout



To change the backlight screen timeout, go to Settings - Display - Sleep. Then choose the screen time out duration.

You can also tell the phone screen to always stay lit when it is plugged in via USB. Go to Settings - Developer Options. Then check Stay Awake.



Change your default font



To change your default font, you need to download a third-party app because Android does not have a built-in way of changing fonts

There are two good Apps that allow you to change fonts:

Font Changer - There is a free version and a paid version. The paid version allows you to change the screen density and allows you to preview the font. You can also change a few other options.

Type Fresh - With this App you can load any TrueType font and also backup your default fonts to your SDCard. Be aware that you might need to reboot your phone after installing Type Fresh.

Also, if you use GoLauncher, then try downloading GoLauncher Fonts.

Note: most, if not all, font changing Apps require you to Root your device

Android Easter egg



There is an Easter egg hidden in the Android operating system. To see it, go to your Homescreen, then press Menu - Settings - About phone.

Then tap on the Android version option 5 times and you will get a surprise.

Sometimes it doesn't work, so try a couple of times. By the way don't expect to see an actual Easter Egg. That is just the name given to things hidden inside software or operating systems.

Zoom when using the camera



While in the Camera App, there are two ways to zoom in or out.

First, you can use Volume Up and Down keys.

Secondly, you can pinch your fingers on the screen to zoom in and out.

Change the screen brightness



To change the screen brightness, start from the Homescreen and press Menu - Settings - Display - Brightness.

Then choose the desired brightness setting. You can also select Automatic brightness to let the phone decide for you.

If you have auto-brightness enabled, you can also press, hold and slide the top notification bar left and right. The brightness will increase and decrease accordingly.


How to import Contacts from your old phone



If you have just purchased an Android device, then you may want to copy (or import) your contacts from your old phone. The easiest way to do this is to Export your old contacts to a CSV (Comma Separated Values) file and save this to your PC. You may need to install the correct software for your phone first in order to do the export.

Then, if you don't have a Gmail account, sign up for one.

Once that's done, open Gmail. Go to Contacts, then press More - Import. Then import the CSV to your Gmail contacts.

Then on your phone, open the Contacts App. Press Menu and then Sync Contacts. This will pull the contacts from Gmail to your phone.

Change keyboards



To change keyboards (if you have additional keyboards installed), you can switch between them by pressing the small keyboard symbol in the top left of your screen. You will need to be in keyboard input mode (i.e. typing something) for this to work.

Note: you need to have more than one keyboard installed for this to work.

Copy files between your phone and PC using WiFi



To copy files between your phone and PC, go to the Android Play Market and download an app called AirDroid.

This is an extremely useful App that connects your phone to your PC wirelessly, allowing you to move files and many, many other things.

Silence the phone when ringing



To silence the phone when ringing there are two methods:

Either press the Volume Down (or Up) button or if the phone is on a surface facing up, simply flip it over so it is facing down.

Make volume / music louder



WARNING: Making your volume or music louder can damage your hearing.

Most phones have their volumes limited by local laws to protect our hearing. There is a way to boost your volume however. Go to the Android Market and download an App called Volume+ (Sound Boost). There is also a free version called Volume+ Free.

You will need to root your phone for this App to work.


Set voicemail number / password



To set your voicemail number which allows your phone to automatically input your voicemail password, then open your Dialer App.

Then choose the Phone tab and go to Settings - Voicemail settings - Voicemail number and enter it there.

Depending on your carrier you may have to enter the series of steps required to go through the voicemail menu, for example: *86,,yourpassword# (a comma inserts a pause).

Store number from email



To store a phone number that you have received in an email, hold down on the number and you will be given the option to call, send an SMS or add the number to your contacts

Connect phone to computer in USB mode



Unlike older versions of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich does not go into USB mode automatically when you connect your phone to your computer with a USB cable.

To enable USB / Mass Storage mode, first go to Settings. Then under Wireless and network, press the More... button.

Then connect your phone to your PC using a USB cable and press USB utilities.

Then click the button that says Turn on USB Storage.

Your phone will now appear as another drive letter on your PC.

Display Battery Percentage



Go to Settings - Display. Then tick the Display battery percentage checkbox. If your phone doesn't have this option, then go to the Google Play store and download a useful App called Battery Percentage.

There are two different Apps under that name, but they are both good.

Fix blurry images in phone browser / carrier compression



When browsing on your phone you may notice images are quite blurry. This is because your telecom provider is compressing the images before they are downloaded on to your phone.

There is no way to prevent this, but if you have a WiFi connection nearby, then you can turn that on. This will mean that all browser downloads come through the WiFi connection, rather than the carrier, and your images will appear normally.

Stop Youtube videos from being blurry



If you are browsing Youtube videos on your phone and they appear blurry, then this is usually because of your connection speed.

If you are using 3G / 4G and you're in an area of low signal strength, then Youtube will sometimes automatically reduce the quality of the video. Unfortunately this can make the video very pixelated and of poor quality.

If you are using the standard Android browser, then when the video is in full screen, press the back button. Then press HQ and start playing it again.

If you are using another browser, then press the Settings icon on the bottom right of the Youtube video. Then change the quality.

This may improve the quality, but it may also lead to buffering issues.

Another solution is to use a WiFi connection, if one is available.

View HTML source code of web pages



If you are browsing a website and want to see the HTML source code behind the page, then Android doesn't offer you the ability to do this by default.

There is however a handy App called View Web Source which can be installed. Whenever you want to view the HTML of a web page, you just press the Menu - Share - View Web Source.

You can then browse the code or copy the content into the clipboard.

Swipe to clear individual notifications



If you have Android 4.0, then one neat feature is the ability to clear single notifications.

Simply pull down your notifications bar by swiping your finger from the top of your phone downwards. Then when you see each individual notification, swipe your finger left or right to clear each one.

Create home screen shortcut to a file or folder



Normally you don't have the ability to create shortcuts to files or folders on your home screen.

There is a workaround however. Go to the Play Store and download an App called Linda File Manager.

Once installed, browse to a file or folder. Then press and hold on the file and select Create shortcut.

The shortcut will be created on your homescreen where you can hold and drag it elsewhere if you want.

Set / change wallpaper



To change the homescreen or lock screen wallpaper, press on a blank part of the homescreen. Then press the plus icon in the top-right corner and choose Wallpapers. Then choose Live (animated / moving wallpapers) or standard wallpapers (images) and choose whether you want the wallpaper on the homescreen or the lock screen. Then crop the wallpaper and press Ok in the top-right corner.

You can also use images Gallery images taken with the tablet's camera for your wallpaper.


Save a word to the dictionary



Type a word that is not in the dictionary. The word will show up in the suggestion box to the left. Long press on the word and it will save to the dictionary.

Use Swype for quick text entry



Most Android devices come with an alternative way of entering text called Swype. Many prefer this method and believe it is quicker.
When any text entry box appears, press and hold the box. Then select Input method: SWYPE. Once enabled, you simply drag your finger around the keyboard moving over the letters in the correct order to spell a word.

Stop Photos or Music files being indexed



To stop the Photo app or the Music player from indexing your files, place a blank text file called .nomedia in the folder

Turn notifications off by application



While your notification bar can be handy to inform you of updates, downloads and other useful information, sometimes it can get cluttered.

There is now a way to turn this off for each application.

Go to Settings - Applications - Manage Applications. Then find Info and un-tick the box labelled Show Notifications.

Expand Notification Shade



To view your notifications, simply slide your finger down from the top of your device.

Then, from here, you can use two fingers to expand certain items. For example, this might show you the headers of your emails.

Moving your two fingers inwards contracts that item.

Zoom when using the camera



While in the Camera App, there are two ways to zoom in or out.

First, you can use Volume Up and Down keys.

Secondly, you can pinch your fingers on the screen to zoom in and out.

Improve the keyboard accuracy



There is no need to be stuck with the standard Android keyboard.

Go to the Android Market and search for 'Keyboard' to see some great alternatives, many of which are more accurate and make typing much easier.
A good one is GoKeyboard.

If you see a warning saying the keyboard will collect all information (including credit cards) just ignore this. This is just a security feature that Android shows for every third-party keyboard that you install.

Setup a new email account



If you want to setup new email accounts, like Yahoo or Hotmail, go to All Apps and press the Email icon. A setup wizard will then be launched.

Enter you email address and password into the fields. You can also change the settings after this step.

Once you're happy with the settings, give your account a Name and you're done.

Open web pages in a new tab



If you are viewing a website and you see a URL, you can long press on it and then choose to open the site in a new tab

Use equaliser in your Music App



Jelly Bean now comes with an Equaliser so you can adjust your bass and treble.

Simply open a music file using the Music Player App. Then go to Settings - Equaliser.

Then simply drag the sliders up and down to adjust the bass and treble.



Move widgets between homescreens



If you want to move a widget from one homescreen to another, simply press and hold on the widget. Then drag it to the edge of the screen. The next homescreen will appear. Then, just drag the item to where you would like.

Change display to show white instead of off-yellow



If you have Power Saving mode enabled, then your tablet will display white colours as an off-yellow shade instead.

To turn this off, go to the homescreen - Menu - Settings - Display settings. Then uncheck Power saving mode.

Enable / disable vibrate / haptic feedback when you type



From the Homescreen press Menu - Settings - Sound.

Then under Feedback you can adjust certain features like Audible touch tones, Haptic feedback and so on.

Remove homescreen widgets



To delete or remove homescreen widgets, simply press and hold. Then drag the widget to the top-right corner of the screen and into the Trash icon.

Quickly access notifications from lock screen



To see notifications on your homescreen, the best option is to download an App called NoLed from the Play Store. This will show notifications such as text messages, emails and missed calls as bright icons on your homescreen.

You can choose between very small squares or small icons and these can assigned by coloured.

Enter Accents and special characters



If you want to type non-English letters (eg those with an accent), long-press on the relevant letter. A list of options will appear for you to select. For example, to insert an acute á, then press and hold the a key, then drag your finger to the accented character.

Change the screen brightness



From the Homescreen press Menu - Settings - Display - Brightness. Then choose the desired brightness setting. You can also select Automatic brightness to let the tablet decide for you.

Use Offline Speech to Text Dictation



The Speech to Text feature is a great tool for dictating speech on to your phone, but has normally only been possible when your phone is connected to the internet.

Now this is possible in Offline mode too. Simply go to Settings - Language & input and choose Download offline speech recognition.

You can now use this feature without needing an internet connection.

Add Apps into Folders



If you like your Apps neatly sorted into folders, then there is a simple way to accomplish this.

First find the first App you would like in a folder. Then choose a second App. Press and hold on the second App and drag it over the top of the first App. They will both combine into a folder.

You can repeat this process to add more.

Speed up your browser



You can speed up the page load speed on your browser by disabling JavaScript.

To do this, open your Browser, then Menu - More - Settings. Scroll down and untick JavaScript

Please note that this may affect the functionality of some sites.



Use Talkback accessibility feature



Jelly Bean has an interesting new feature called Talkback which is designed for blind and low vision users.

The feature is an interesting way to navigate your phone however.

Simply go to Settings - Accessibility - Talkback to activate it. Then your phone will give you an ongoing narration of its various functions.

Change vibration intensity



If you find the vibration of your tablet a little too much, this can easily be reduced.

From the homescreen press Menu - Settings - Sounds. Then under Feedback, press Vibration intensity. Then slide the bar left or right to change the intensity.

You can also turn off Haptic feedback if you really don't want any feedback.

Allow swear words in voice recognition



By default, the tablet will recognise swear words, but insert x's instead of the word. To change this, go to Settings - Voice input & output - Voice recognition settings. Then untick Block offensive words.

Lock your screen while watching / recording videos



If you are watching a movie or video, it is a good idea to lock the screen orientation and buttons. Simply press the Power/Lock button.

This can also be used while recording videos, which is handy if you're prone to accidentally pressing buttons while recording.

Display Owner Info on Lock Screen



Android now has a way to display your name, phone or email on your lock screen. Perfect if you have lost or misplaced your device.

First you need to enable the Screen Lock from Settings - Security. Then go to Owner Info and set your info there.

Bookmark a web page on your homescreen



If you regularly visit a website you can add a shortcut to your homescreen. To do this, go into your browser and find the bookmark of the page you want to create a shortcut for. Long press on the bookmark and select Add Shortcut to Home

Encyrpt your tablet



If you're worried about your sensitive data falling into the wrong hands then Jelly Bean has a great new encryption feature that scrambles every pieces of content on your device.

Go to Settings - Security settings - Encryption to enable it.

Resize homescreen widgets



If you want to resize your homescreen widgets, then press and hold on a widget for 2 seconds. If the widget is resizable, then an orange outline will appear around the widget. Simply drag the sides to resize the widget.

If the orange outline doesn't appear, then the widget is a fixed sized widget.

Blink for face unlock



Jelly Bean has improved the facial unlcock feature by creating a setting whereby you must blink when unlocking your phone. This prevents fraudsters using a photo of yourself and holding it up to the phone.

To activate this feature go to Settings - Security - Screen Security and tick Liveness check

Soft reset



To soft reset your tablet press and hold the Power/Lock button for a 2-3 seconds and the tablet will restart. Wait about 10 seconds and then press and hold the Power/Lock button again to restart.

If that doesn't work, then remove the battery. Wait 30 seconds and put the battery back in. Then press the Power/Lock button to turn the tablet on.


Double tap for a full stop (period)



While typing emails or notes, you can simply tap the space key twice and the tablet will insert a full stop / period

Close all Apps



Your tablet comes with a handy widget which lets you kill all running tasks. This is great if you want to quickly free up some memory.

To use the widget, press and hold for 2 seconds on a blank part of any homescreen. Then find the Program monitor widget and drag it on to your homescreen. Once that is done, press the widget and it will show you all currently running Apps. Press End all to close all running Apps.

How to reboot into safe mode



Downloading loads of Apps is great, but sometimes they can cause havoc with your phone and a boot into safe mode is necessary.

To do this, long press your Power button. Then long press on the Power off option. You will then be asked to reboot into safe mode.

When your phone restarts it will not load any Apps allowing you to disable any troublesome ones.

Copy photos to your PC



To copy photos to your computer, plug the device in via a USB cable. (you might have to install your device's software or drivers first).

Then locate the new drive on your PC. Go to the /DCIM/Camera/ folder Your photos will be stored there.

This may vary slightly between devices, however once you have opened the device's drive, you can do a quick search for .jpg files which will show you where your photos are located.

Pinch to expand notifications



When you pull down your notifications bar, they will appear expanding or contracted, depending on how many you have.

If you want to toggle between states, you can pinch out to expand a notification and pinch in to contact it.

Quickly remove installed Apps



Removing Apps is very simple. From the homescreen press the Apps icon in the top-right of the screen. Then press and hold the App you want to remove and drag it to the Remove / Trash icon in the top-right of the screen.

You can also drag it to the i icon which will show you information about the App. You can press Uninstall from here.

Stop Apps automatically appearing on homescreen



Normally when Apps are installed, an icon is automatically placed on your homescreens.

This can be annoying for users who want to keep their homescreens clutter-free.

To stop then, go to Google Play - Settings. Then untick Auto-add Shortcuts.

Quickly switch between homescreens



This tip is relatively obvious, but some users overlook it.

At the top of your homescreen you should see a row of 5 dots. This indicates which of the 5 homescreens you are on. Rather than flick between each screen, you can simply press one of the dots and you will jump to that homescreen.

Read Google Books offline



Google Books is a great App allowing you to read many titles on your tablet, however you do require an internet connection. Fortunately there is a way to read these books offline.

Open the Google Books app and find the Book that you would like to read offline. Then simply press and hold on the book's cover. Then choose 'Make available offline'. You can then choose other books to make available offline by press the thumbtacks beneath each book. Then press Done in the bottom-right corner.

How to hard / factory reset



Warning: This will remove ALL data on the tablet, but not the MicroSD card.

From the homescreen, press Menu - Settings - Privacy Factory data reset. Then press Reset tablet and Erase everything.

Your tablet will now be restored to its original factory settings.



Hide on-screen keyboard



To quickly hide the on-screen keyboard, press the Back button

Clear browsing history



If you have been browsing websites that you would prefer other people to not know about, then it's relatively simply to clear your browsing history.

Open the default browser and press the Menu icon on the top-right corner. Then Settings - Privacy and security. Then select Clear history. You can also clear the Cache, but that will mean previously visited websites will have to load again, making your browsing slightly slower.

Show browser history



To show the Browser History, press the Star in the top right corner of the browser. Then press History.

This will only work in the standard Android browser.

Turn off App update notifications



If you would prefer not to be told every time an Application has been updated, open the Android Market - Menu - My Apps. Then Menu again. Then Settings. Under General settings, untick the Notifications option.

Take screenshots on your tablet



The latest version of Android allows you to take screenshots without installing any third party App. Simply press the Screenshot icon on the bar at the bottom of your screen. It should be next to your Recent Apps icon. Press that and a message will say 'Screen captured. Saved as image file'.

To locate the saved image, go to My Files on your Apps list. Then scroll to the bottom of the folders list and look for a folder called ScreenCapture. Your screenshot will be in there.

Pinch and zoom in emails



While in your email App, a handy trick is to pinch and zoom out to see a 'day view' of your emails. This is handy if you have a lot of emails and want to quickly sort them by recency.

Quickly search for a contact



While in the contacts screen, start typing the name of the contact you want to dial. This will quickly filter the correct contact

Remove large applications



If you are running low on tablet memory, you can look for your largest applications to uninstall. Go to Settings - Applications - Manage Applications and press Menu. This will then filter your apps by memory use

Quickly switch between Month and Year view in the Calendar App



In the Calendar App there is no Year view along the top of the App. You can however use pinch to zoom gestures to zoom in and out of Month and Year view however.

This is useful if you want to quickly jump backwards or forwards through a few months at a time.

View all camera settings



While in the Camera App you can view all current settings by pressing and holding the little Gear icon in the top right corner of the app.




Change Google Navigation voice



If you prefer a different voice when listening to the Google Maps voice navigation, you can select another language or accent.

From the Homescreen press Menu - Settings - Voice input and output - Text-to-speech settings. Then under the Default settings section, press Default engine.

To change the language, go through the same process, but instead of Default engine, select Language.

Enable Flash when browsing



If your browser does not play Flash items while browsing websites then you may need to enable Flash in the settings.

To do this, open the standard browser. Go to Settings - Advanced - Enable plug-ins. Then select Always On.

Change the backlight screen timeout



Go to Menu - Settings - Display - Screen Time Out.

Then chose the screen time out duration.

How to change keyboards



While the stock standard keyboard is fine, there are much better keyboards available. First, you need to go to the Android Market and download one. Try searching for the word 'keyboard' and you will see a number of options.

Download your chosen keyboard and go through any install steps that you are presented with.

Then, go to the App you want to type in. You should now see a little Keyboard icon on the row at the bottom of your screen, towards the bottom-right corner. Press that icon and you can switch between all of the keyboards you have installed.

Avoid task killers



It is best to avoid task killers such as Advanced Task Killer. Android is designed to automatically pre-load certain applications, even if you don't load them yourself. If it starts to run low on memory, it will smartly unload the oldest running apps automatically.

Manually killing tasks will only mean they get loaded in memory again. Task killers can make the tablet slow, laggy, or drain battery life more quickly.

List of Google Now voice commands



General
Search for
Who invented
Show me the stocks for
Author of
How old is
How tall is

Time & Date
What time is it in
When is the in
When is the sunset in
What is the time zone of
Time at home

Weather
Show me the weather
Is it going to rain tomorrow?
Do I need an umbrella?
Do I need a jacket
What is the weather in
How is the weather on going to be?

Maps / Location
Map of
Show me the nearby on map
Where is situated?
in
Navigate to on car
I am hungry (shows all nearby food points on map)
How far is from

Calculations / Conversions
How much is times
What is percent of
Square root of
... equals
What is the numerical value of Pi
Convert into
Temperature of the sun

Sports
points table
Who won the last match between and
scorecard
Schedule of games


Websites
Go to
Open
Show me
Browse to

Entertainment
Listen to
Play
YouTube When was the first episode of

Display Apps in full screen mode



Go to the Android Market and search for an App called Spare Parts. Download and then open the App. Go to the Compatibility Mode and Uncheck it. Then re-check it (so the tick appears again). Then turn your tablet off by pressing Home and then turn it on again.

Once that's done, go back to the Spare Parts App and Uncheck the compatibility box again. This time DON'T re-check it though. Then turn your tablet off and on again once more.

Once re-booted, go to Spare Parts again. If it opens in full-screen mode, then the process has worked and any other Apps that run in non-full screen mode should work.

Setting up and Access Point Name (APN) for browsing with 3G



Normally you can simply insert a SIM card and you will be able to browse the internet using 3G. Sometimes, this must be setup manually however. Before you start, you will need to ask your carrier or telco for your APN settings.

Once you have those, from your homescreen press Menu - Settings - Wireless and networks - Mobile networks. Then tick Use packet data. Then select Access Point Name (APN).

Then press the menu icon in the top-right corner and select New APN. Then fill in the details your carrier gave you. Then press the menu icon again and press Save.

Help, I have forgotten my unlock pattern



If you have forgotten your custom unlock pattern, then don't panic.

After 5 unsuccessful tries a button should appear saying 'Forgot pattern'. Press this and you will be asked to enter your Gmail username/password.

The tablet will then ask for a new unlock pattern. If you don't have a Gmail account, then you might have to either call your carrier or factory reset your tablet.

Change contact list order



In Contacts press Menu - More - Display options - Display contacts by.

Then select either First name first or Surname first.


How to import Contacts from your old tablet



If you have just purchased an Android device, then you may want to copy your contacts from your old tablet. The easiest way to do this is to Export your old contacts to a CSV (Comma Separated Values) file and save this to your PC. You may need to install the correct software for your tablet first in order to do the export.

Then, if you don't have a Gmail account, sign up for one.

Once that's done, open Gmail. Go to Contacts, then press More - Import. Then import the CSV to your Gmail contacts.

Then on your tablet, open the Contacts App. Press Menu and then Sync Contacts. This will pull the contacts from Gmail to your tablet.

Check the firmware version



From your Homescreen press Menu - Settings - About Tablet.

This should list your Android version, Build number and Model Number

Browse websites in privacy / incognito mode



If you want to browse websites, but not leave sign of cookies, search history or cached items, then you can use Incognito mode. Open the Browser and press the + (Action Bar) icon in the top-right. Then press New Incognito Tab.

Remove a whole text message conversation



If you want to remove an entire text message thread, go into Messages and look for the thread. Then long press on it and select Delete thread

Clear browser cache and cookies



In your browser go to Menu - More - Settings. Then select Clear Cache / Clear all cookie data / Clear history / Clear form data

Manually close an application



Android manages your applications so if the tablet is running low on memory, it will close the oldest running App.

If you do need to manually close an application go to Settings - Applications - Manage Applications - Running. Choose the application you want to stop and select Force Stop.

Pair with Bluetooth speakers or headset



From the homescreen, press Menu - Settings - Wireless & networks - Bluetooth Settings. Check that Bluetooth is enabled and press Scan devices. Choose the desired device and press Accept. You may be asked to enter a PIN or Password.

Take photos while recording video



With Android Jelly Bean you can now take photos while recording video by simply pressing the screen.

This will save that particular frame to the gallery while continuing to record video.

Enable Power Saving mode



If you tend to run out of battery power quickly, then you can turn on power saving mode. Go to Menu - Settings - Power. Then check Enable power saver. You can then adjust when the power saving mode turns on.

Copying iTunes songs to Android



If you have decided to ditch your iTablet in favour of Android, then there is a simple way to take your iTunes music, playlists and album art with you.

Simply go the Android Marketplace and download a Free App called Easy Phone Tunes. You will also need the computer version of the software, so go to http://easyphonetunes.com and download it from there.

Then, when that is done, turn your phone into a USB storage device (this will vary from device to device, but instructions are on the website).

Once your tablet is connected to your computer, open the computer version of the software and select your device from the Easy Phone Tunes list. Then follow the instructions to Sync your media.



Maximise your screen while browsing / hidden controls



If you don't want the Tab bar at the top of the browser, then you can remove this which will use the whole screen while browsing.

Open the standard browser and press Menu - Settings - Labs. Then put a check mark under Quick controls.

To get access to the controls that are now invisible, there is now a neat hidden menu. Position your finger on the right side of your tablet, just off the screen. Then slide it onto the screen in a left-ward direction. A circular menu will appear with various options.

Create shortcut to websites on your home screen



Go to your browser bookmarks. Long press on a site and select Add shortcut to Home

Disable the screen lock



Go into Settings - Location and security. Then under Screen unlock settings press Change screen lock. Then chose None.

Open the notifications menu



To gain access to features such as Airplane mode WiFi, Screen Lock Orientation, Brightness and so on, double tap on the Clock in the bottom right of the screen.

Auto focus the camera



When taking photos or videos, tap the screen where you want to focus on. The tablet will automatically adjust the settings to improve the image or video

Increase security with a custom unlock pattern



Instead of the simple swipe gesture to unlock your tablet, you can set a custom one which can be extremely difficult for a thief to guess.

From your homescreen, go to Menu - Settings - Location and security - Change screen lock. Then chose Pattern to set one up.

It is also a good idea to untick Use visible pattern. Then if someone is watching over your shoulder while you entering your pattern, it will be harder for them to remember the pattern.

If you have forgotten your unlock pattern, then after 5 unsuccessful tries a button will appear saying 'Forgot pattern'. Press this and you will be asked to enter your Gmail username/password. The tablet will then ask for a new unlock pattern. If you don't have a Gmail account, then you will have to either call your carrier or factory reset your tablet.

Delete all contacts



There are a number of ways, as below. The first two of these may be disabled on some networks/carriers or Android versions however.

1) Go to Settings - Applications - Manage Applications. Then chose All at the top. Then scroll down to Contacts Storage - Clear Data.

2) Go to Contacts. Then press Menu - Delete. Then press Select all (at the top) and then Delete again.

3) Go to Settings - Accounts and sync. Then untick Background data and Auto-sync. Then go to Gmail (or an account that your tablet syncs with) and delete all of your Contacts from there. Then re-sync your tablet.

4) Download an App called 'Delete All Contacts' and use that as a last resort.

These methods above will delete contacts from the tablet only, not the SIM card.

Disable 'mobile view' for websites



If you would prefer the Desktop view of websites, rather than the Mobile view, then there is a way to change it. This may not work in all regions or on all carriers however.

Open the standard browser and type about:debug into the browser's address bar. Then go to Menu - Settings. You should have a new option called Debug. Press Debug, then on the right side press UAstring and change the option to Desktop.

Websites should now be displayed as they would on a computer desktop browser.

Another alternative is to install a third-party browser like Dolphin, Firefox or Opera which have options to surf in Desktop mode.

Android easter egg



There is a hidden easter egg on the tablet. If you go to your Homescreen, then press Menu - Settings - About tablet, then tap on the Android version option 5 times you will be surprised.

Sometimes it doesn't work, so try a couple of times. By the way don't expect to see an actual Easter Egg. That is just the name given to things hidden inside software or operating systems.

Automatically change profiles



If you find yourself regularly switching profiles when you get to work, get home, go to bed and so on, then there is a great way to have your phone do this automatically.

Simply go to the Google Play store and download an App called Profile Valet.

This will automatically switch profiles for you based on the time of day or your location.

Fix this player does not support this type of audio file error



There are a number of solutions to this error. Go through the following steps:

Go to Settings - Applications. Then swipe right to left to go to All (along the top). Then find the App called Media Storage. Click on that and select Force Close. Then select Clear Data. (warning: this will delete the cache for your media player so you may lose things such as recently played, most played etc. But you will not lose your music).

Next, go back to list of Apps and find Music Player. Again, press Force Close and then Clear Data.

Once that's done, go to the Play Store and download an App called Re Scan Media and run it. Wait 5 minutes for the device to re-scan your media.

If you still cannot play your music, then try turning your phone off and removing your SDCard / memory card (if you have one). Then turn the phone on without the card. Then turn it off again and reinsert the card. Finally turn it on again with the card back in.

If you still can't play music, then some users have said that there may be a conflict with the Twitter App. Try uninstalling this and see if the error persists.

Turn off camera shutter sound



If you don't want to hear the shutter sound when you take photos, then there are a few things you can try.

Firstly, some countries have laws to force the phone to play these sounds. Assuming you're not in one of these countries, then the first thing you can try is to go to the Camera App - Settings - Shutter Sound - Off.

If that doesn't work, then you can try turning the volume of the phone down or put it in silent mode when taking photos.

The last option is to Root your phone. If you don't know what that means, then it's best not to attempt it unless you have thoroughly read about the process. Once Rooted, go to this folder on your phone: /system/media/audio/ui and rename the camerashutter and/or cameraclick OGG files to something else.

Alternatively, on a rooted phone you can use a Root Browser, to edit /system/csc/feature.xml and set the option to TRUE. Then you should be able to go to Camera App - Settings - Shutter Sound - Off.

How to fix homescreen lag / slowness



Depending on how your phone is set up, sometimes you will see lag when swiping between homescreens. There are a number of things you can try to fix this, as follows:

First, try restarting your phone. This will fix many problems.

If that doesn't work, then remove any Widgets that pull data to the phone, such as Twitter, Weather widgets etc

If you have Live wallpapers turned on, then try turning them off by going to Settings - Wallpapers, then changing to a different Wallpaper.

Go to Settings - Developer Options - Window Animation Scale and Transition Animation Scale. Try changing these to 0.5x (or even 0).

Sometimes the problem can be with the phone or operators skin or launcher, so try going to the Play Store and downloading a third party launcher such as Nova launcher or Go LauncherEx. Note: you will need to re-create your homescreen shortcuts, but they are both great launchers.

Another tip is to always press the Back key instead of the Home key when leaving Apps. The Back key will often close the App properly, while the Home key will leave it running in the background.

Add photos to contacts



First open your Contacts App. Then press the phone's Menu button and select Edit.

Then you should see a silhouette of a person. Press this, or a little + sign next to it and you will be given the option to take a photo or add one from the Gallery.

How to stop screen going bright or dim when in browser



The brightness of the browser is set separately to the phone's main brightness. If you find the screen dims or brightens when you go into your browser, then you can change this by opening the browser, pressing the Menu key and scrolling down until you see Brightness and colour. You can adjust it from here.

To adjust the phone's main brightness, go to the Homescreen, press Menu - Settings - Display - Brightness.

An alternative is to use a third party browser like Dolphin, Firefox, Opera and so on. These all use the phone's main brightness setting.

Lastly, sometimes Power Saving Mode affects the screen brightness. Go to Settings - Power Saving Mode and change the Background Colour Only mode in there. Power Saving Mode can be found by in the Notifications bar by swiping down from the top of the screen too.

How to find your IMEI address / number



There are a number of ways to get your IMEI number.

First, the easiest option is to look at the label of the box that your phone came in.

Secondly, if your phone has a removable battery then open the cover and remove the battery. Your IMEI should be on a serial number plate and your IMEI number should be shown there.

Thirdly, from the Dialler, enter *#06# and it should be displayed on the screen. This won't work on all phones and all networks however.

Lastly, you can go to Settings - About Phone - Status.

Using Google Maps for offline viewing while abroad and data avoid roaming charges



If you are abroad and don't want to pay high data roaming charges, then you can save Google Maps for offline viewing later. Here are two ways to do this:

The first method will depend whether your phone supports it. First, open Google Maps and navigate to a section of the map that you want available offline. Then press on the search bar and scroll right to the bottom and select Make this map area available offline. You may need to repeat this with multiple areas.

Alternatively, open Google Maps and zoom down to street level. Then scroll around area you'll be travelling too. If you're visiting a city for example, do this at street level and cover as much area as you think you've be visiting. If you're travelling outside a city, then street level view might be too detailed, so zoom out and just cover the main roads, towns etc.

This will load all the segments into your phone's cache. Then when have arrived at your destination and you have data turned off, you will see the areas you've stored on the phone's memory.

Note: this won't give you your GPS location because that normally needs a data connection to pinpoint your position.