Your Android smartphone is capable of a wide variety of things, but there are likely many things you didn't know your powerful little pocket PC could do.
10 tips & tricks you didn’t know your Android phone could do it part - I.

1. Cast your phone screen to your favourite TV


All you need to share what is on your phone screen with your TV is a Chromecast or a TV that is configured to work with Android devices and can reflect what is on your screen there. This is useful if you want to share images or videos on your phone with someone else, watch YouTube without having to use an external application, or even play your favourite mobile games on a larger screen.

How to do :

Go to the Quick Settings menu and choose Submit. Your device will display the Chromecast that is set up, or the TV of your choice (if it is a smart TV) and you can start streaming. It is very simple and fast to configure.

2. Lock people out of specific apps

We've all been there - someone has been asked to use our phone, and we've struggled to hide certain images and information that we don't want others to see. There is actually a way with Android devices to hide this at the press of a button so that anyone you lend your phone to for a few moments is only locked in one area until you enter the phone screen lock code. That way, they can't use parts of your phone unless you re-enter the code.

How to do :
Go to Settings, then Security, and turn on Screen Pinning. When turned on, open the app that your friend or loved one needs to use. Open Overview with the square button below the phone screen. You’ll see an icon that looks like a pin in the lower right corner. Tap it, and it’ll remain pinned to the front. Voila! Now that’s all anyone can use until you enter the password.

3. Enable one-handed mode

Some sizes of Android phones can be particularly difficult to handle, depending on the model you use. Fortunately, you can opt for special one-handed mode on most Android phones with a quick shortcut. It's on the Google keyboard, which you should get if you don't have it. Chances are you already have this as your default if you're using a Pixel or Nexus phone, but if you're using a Samsung or LG phone, you'll need to download the keyboard to get everything ready.


When you download the keyboard, open it and hold the backslash key. Pull up on the icon on the right to activate the one-handed mode. There will be an arrow here that allows you to place the keyboard from side to side and reposition it. The icon at the top will allow you to restore the keyboard to its full size. The keyboard can now be used with one hand if desired.

4. Change out wireless networks quickly.


Sometimes you may need to swap between wireless networks in an expedient manner. Perhaps you’re on the wrong network at a hotel or you want to use a friend’s signal instead of your hotspot. Instead of going to Settings and then Wi-Fi, simply swipe down twice from the top of your screen and open the Quick Settings menu. Press on the name of the network you’re connected to and you’ll be given an entire list of networks all around you. You can now swap to an eligible network from there.


5. Swap into Priority Mode

You may never have heard of Android priority mode, but it's an extremely useful feature. It allows you to put your phone in "Do Not Disturb" mode and at the same time allows certain notifications that you select to arrive. Essentially, you'll be able to choose who can bother you while everything else is postponed.

How to do :
 



Start by going to Settings, then Sound & Notification, then Do not disturb. From there, change up the settings and notifications that you still want to let through. You can turn it off and on quickly via Quick Settings, but it will let through important folks, and that’s what makes it so cool.

6. Read through notifications you accidentally closed


It can be easy to flippantly swipe away a notification that you meant to read. It’s simple to bring one back, but your phone doesn’t make it obvious. You can see all of your recent notifications if you’d like, actually. Just tap and hold on an empty part of your home screen. Select the Choose Widgets option, then look for Settings. Drag the icon to a space on your home screen and you’ll see a list pop up. Select Notification Log, and then tap the icon. You’ll now be able to scroll through all of your device’s notifications.

7. Clear your default apps

Sometimes, it will open a link telling you to load the corresponding application, such as YouTube, Facebook or Twitter, when you want to load it in the browser. You can clear the default app list and prevent this from happening in a very simple way so that you can continue browsing without having to switch apps when you didn't intend to do it in the first place.

How to do :



Go to Settings, then Apps, and look for the app you want to stop opening up. Find Open By Default when you’ve located it, and choose Clear Defaults. No more pesky app loading!

8. Enable Smart Lock

Keeping your phone safe is always a priority, but when you're at home and resting, you might not be as interested as blocking as much as you can. You may want to try Smart Lock, which eliminates the requirement to use a keyboard lock when you are in a reliable area like your home. You can choose to use your face, wireless networks, GPS locations and more to prevent your phone from locking up. This way, you don't have to enter your password every time.

How to do :




Go to Settings, then Security, then Smart Lock to get it set up, and bask in the light of simple phone usage when in trusted zones.

9. Change independent volume settings


When you are going to change the sound on a certain aspect of your device, you will probably accidentally always reject a part, but not the one you want, right? Maybe you turned the phone volume down completely, but you just wanted to adjust the volume of your ringtone.

Rather than relying on the volume buttons, tap the physical volume buttons on your phone and find the volume settings to appear on your screen. Find an arrow in the box, tap it, and view the volume sliders here to manually adjust the ones you want to change. Now you can do it quickly and easily.

10. Encrypt your phone’s data


It's always a good idea to keep your data safe, even if you don't keep a lot of private information on your phone. You can actually manually enable encryption on your phone which will make it unreadable for third parties without a PIN or password to decrypt it. It's very easy to activate it: go to Settings, then Security, then choose the Encrypt phone option.

It may take a while to enable if your phone wasn't previously encrypted, and it could slow down your phone if you're running an older version of Android, but it's an invaluable step if you want to protect things. Already on your phone.

An article by MunnaSuprathik