Tips to Make Your Android Phone More Effective

Android Phone 

In order to keep your Android phone running at its top performance and prevent future problems, you will need to perform regular maintenance much like you would for your car.

Firstly, you can give the exterior of the phone a thorough clean, since you’ll likely be putting it close to your face every day, so you should clean it as often as possible. It is not only bad for your hygiene, but it can also shorten the life expectancy of your smart phone as dust, dirt, and gunk can easily accumulate in the charging ports and speakers.

You probably have never touched the settings on your phone before, but the most important upkeep is under the hood.

Delete all the apps you’ve forgotten

Delete all of the apps which you no longer use from your home screen or app drawer by taking a few minutes to go through your home screen. Not only do those apps consume precious storage space, but they can also potentially gain access to the personal information you provided when you first installed the app, depending on your permissions that were granted. 

There are a number of ways to delete an app, but I have covered all the bases in this post, regardless of the company that makes your device. After long pressing the app icon on your iPad or iPhone, give it a read if you are not able to find an option to uninstall it. 

Free up storage by removing old files

Once you have removed any old apps from your Android phone, it is time to free up more space by going through the files that are stored on your device. A lot of times you find yourself forgetting about the files that you’ve accidentally downloaded – such as the takeout menu from the new place down the street or a GIF that a friend sent you. The number of files adds up quickly. When you want to manage the storage on your phone, the easiest and quickest way to do this is to use the Files app that comes preinstalled on your phone. 

Make your home screen look better

Android has the advantage of allowing users to customize the entire look of their phone. The options for personalizing your phone are endless, ranging from installing icon packs to completely changing the launcher. 

Start by exploring the homescreen settings your phone already offers before trying to customize launchers and install app icons. Once in a while, I do this and I’m surprised at how subtle changes to aspects like the app layout can make it feel entirely different. 

Google Assistant

Has OK Google been set up for you? Google Assistant can be accessed in two ways. The Assistant can be accessed by using OK Google or by long-pressing the home button. Start talking when you’re ready. Previously available only on the Pixel, this feature has since been made available on all Android phones running Marshmallow or later. With Assistant, you can use third-party services like IFTTT, Samsung SmartThings, and Nest that understand more context and natural language than Google’s old voice search feature. You can use it to automate your house, search the web, or even hear the news. The Google Lens tool can also help you find any product by taking a photo and then using Google Lens to search. 

Setup your gadget more effectively

A good moment to go through and modify any settings that have been bothering you is right now, since we’re talking about settings. I’ve compiled a list of settings you should adjust and personalise on any Android phone to get the most out of it.

For instance, using dark mode improves the app’s visual appeal while conserving battery. Yes, I even demonstrate how to prevent app icons from displaying on your home screen automatically.

Privacy settings can be configured

Do yourself and your Android phone one final courtesy and double-check your privacy settings before you take a break.

Then select Privacy > Permissions Manager from the Settings app. See which apps now have access to which trove of your personal info by browsing through each category. Find an app whose location you don’t want to be shared? Switch it off. The same is true for the calendar, contacts, and camera.

Going through each component doesn’t take very long, and even if it did, it would still be worthwhile.

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When using open Wi-Fi networks use a VPN

When you’re busy, on the go, and need to conduct some online business, you can’t avoid using public Wi-Fi. Let’s say that you are at a coffee shop while making a purchase or conducting banking business via their unsecured Wi-Fi network. All of us have been there. If you have to use public Wi-Fi in this situation, download a VPN application for your smartphone. You can use public Wi-Fi without fear of skulking criminals spying on you when you become anonymous online.

Automatically back up your photos

In the event of losing or breaking a phone, there is nothing worse than realizing that your photos are not backed up on another device. If you want to prevent this from happening, you simply need to open the Google Photos app and follow the prompts to enable automatic backups. This mode is set to “high quality” by default, and there is an unlimited amount of space available. As a result, your photos are compressed, but they look surprisingly good when you look at them. It is possible to use your Drive storage space in case you wish to save the original image if you wish. The first 15GB are free, and you are able to buy more if you want.

Switch to a different home screen

There are many Android devices with custom UIs developed by the manufacturers (e.g. Samsung Experience launcher). The home screen is included in that. Often, the default home is not very powerful, and this is a crucial part of the experience. The Nova Launcher or Action Launcher are both alternatives that can make using your device much easier. In addition to changing icons, assigning navigation gestures, organizing apps, and more, these apps let you customize your device in a number of ways. The Home menu in the system settings lets you switch between your installed home screens at any time.