Android Phones: The How-To Guide

To switch between open apps, tap the multitasking button. This will vary from phone to phone. Typical touch gestures work as you would expect. Tap something to activate it, move your finger around the screen to scroll up and down, or swipe from left to right and right to left to move between screens. To get rid of something, such as a notification, you can generally swipe it to the left or right, which will move it off of your screen. Just touch the item and move your finger to the left or right. This is the equivalent of a click-and-drag on Windows.

How to Set Up an Android Phone

Steve Ballmer insists that you have to be a computer scientist to use Android, but Android is easier to use than the Windows desktop is. JD Hancock on Flickr. Once you've sorted some of the basics, tame those notifications and unwanted vibrations. You'll thank us in the long run. Here you'll be able to turn off screen locking, touch sounds and vibrate on tap. Sadly, all manufacturers who make their own skin move these things around and change the location of these settings, as do different versions of Android.

If you've got a phone from a manufacturer like LG, HTC, Samsung, Huawei or many others, you might find that you have a keyboard that's not great. On Android you can use any keyboard you want and there's loads on Google Play. If you're looking for more customisation and better autocorrect and suggestions, the SwiftKey is a great keyboard that learns from you better and offers lots of tweaking.

However, if you just want speed and simplicity then you'll find that Gboard - the Google Keyboard - is actually one of the best out there. It's the stock keyboard for Android, so it comes on many devices already.

If you've not got it, then it's a must. Changing keyboards is pretty simple. In most cases, when you've downloaded a new keyboard, just top on "open" in Google Play or tap the notification and you'll launch into the setup. There are lots of browsers available for Android, with each offering a range of different options. The stock browser is Chrome and that's the best Android browser for many people, as it syncs with Chrome on the desktop and gives easy access to your Google history.

However, when you're looking at a new device, you might find that you have another browser, likely one that has been tinkered with by the device manufacturer. More often than not, you can ignore it and go straight for Chrome. If you have more than one browser installed, the phone will ask you which to open until you select a default. Often you just have to tap the message that pops up and you're done. Swiping down the notifications bar will get you access to shortcuts for various hardware toggles.

It's here you can turn off things like Bluetooth or Wi-Fi quickly and easily.

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Swipe down with two fingers and it will take you straight to those toggles, or swipe down twice to get the whole thing open. The top tip here is to long press the quick setting and you'll go to the full menu for that area. For example, if Wi-Fi is causing you problems, long press on the quick setting icon and you'll go through to the full Wi-Fi menu. Smartphones are complex beasties and sometimes things just stop working.

The bar says you have full reception, but nothing is moving, you can't get that site to load or that tweet to send. This will sever your connection and re-establish it, and hopefully things will start moving again. You can get to Aeroplane mode via the quick settings grid mentioned above. Just like cellular data, sometimes Wi-Fi goes on the blink. Often, just opening the quick settings and toggling Wi-Fi off and then back on again, will re-establish the connection. The homepage is front of the queue when it comes to customisation. Your new phone will probably come with a range of shortcuts and widgets spread across a number of pages.

If you don't want them, delete them with a long press and drag them to the trash can. You can also usually delete the pages they're sitting on: Different versions of Android and different manufacturers have slightly different approaches to home page customisation. Normally a long press on the background wallpaper, or a pinch on the background will get you started, but it differs from device to device.

If you're just struggling for wallpaper suggestions, then try the Android Wallpapers app , or browse our gallery of wallpapers you could use. If you're new to Android, the term launcher might be confusing. The launcher is basically the home pages and the apps tray. It's the home of your phone. Your device will come with a launcher in place, that of the manufacturer. If you don't like it and want a different look to your phone, it's really easy to switch to an alternative and there are loads in Google Play.

When you install a new launcher, the original stays on the phone so you're not losing it, you're just telling the phone to use a different launcher instead, meaning you can escape from the looks of HTC Sense or Samsung Experience UX if you don't like it and have something a little more unique. It employs a few consistent UI features and elements that can be found across nearly all Android devices.

Note that your home screen will vary according to how your handset manufacturer lays it out or however you customize it. The status bar displays important information including the time, how much signal you have both Wi-Fi and cellular , your battery, and notifications such as texts and e-mails. It will largely look the same across various manufacturer skins, save for some stylistic choices.

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With notifications, the system and apps can notify you when something needs attention, such as an e-mail, text message, or something app-specific such as a Facebook alert. Pull down on the status bar to see all your notifications, which you can then attend to or clear out.

Android How To Guide (+ Tips) | Phandroid

You can tap a notification to open that email, text message, or whatever it is. If you want to clear it, simply swipe it away, or tap the clear notifications icon at the very top to take care of all of them at once. On stock Android devices, you pull the shade down twice to expose the Quick Settings, while other devices—like Samsung and LG—condense it into an always-visible part of the shade.

Further, you can stack apps into folders, or if the whim strikes you, remove them altogether. The navigation bar almost always displays three symbols left to right: Some manufacturers allow you to customize this layout or switch it altogether. Regardless, you should always see these three navigation elements wherever you are on your device. This is where all your apps shortcuts hang out, and is accessed by tapping the circular button with six dots in it. From here you can open apps, uninstall them, or tap and hold to place shortcuts on the home screen.

Get to know the settings menu, because this is how you will achieve maximum control over your device.