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HELPSTATIONHOWTOOPTIMISE ANDROIDOk, this keyboard is hard
to read, but it makes cool
music as you type!So that’s where those French
notifications come from...Cast you content from a 5-inch
display to 55 inches instantly.Set Do Not Disturb options to
better manage your time.Quick Setting – Set Do Not Disturb
Do not Disturb, or Priority Mode, blocks all
interruptions except those you specify in the
settings. Such a useful way to manage your
communications, but way underused. Just set
your preferences and then toggle on and off as
required via the Quick Settings screen.
Quick Setting – Turn NFC on or off
Among other things, NFC (Near Field
Communication) lets your smartphone double
as a contactless credit or debit card, a transport
card, and even a building access tag.
Standard contactless cards are always
available to make tap and go payments, but as
discussed in our recent Google Pay article, this
means they can be scanned by a scammer. In
contrast, Google Pay on your smartphone can
only be scanned when the phone is “awake”
with the screen on. To be doubly secure, you
can use the Quick Settings screen to instantly
turn NFC off when you don’t need it.
Quick Setting -–Cast your screen
If you have a Chromecast or Android TV
device it is so simple to mirror your display
and content on a TV screen. You will find a
Cast icon in Quick Settings on most phones
(it’s called Smart View on Samsung devices).
Just tap and select a device to start casting. If
your device doesn’t have it pre-installed, head
for the Google Play Store and download the
Chromecast app.
IDENTIF Y AND MANAGE
APP NOTIFICATIONS
Notifications on your Home Screen from
unknown apps? Just long-press on the app and
your device will tell you. To manage the app
tap “Details” or the information icon for
direct access.
CHANGE YOUR ANDROID KEYBOARD
Google’s Gboard is pretty much the default
keyboard for Android devices, although
Samsung generally uses SwiftKey. But you are
not stuck with the keyboard that came with
your device – a range of options can be found
on the Google Play Store. Just download and
install to try them out. Note that you won’t be
able to uninstall the default keyboard that
came with your device, but you can override it.USER ACCOUNTS AND APP PINNING
Most recent versions of Android include
Screen Pinning, which lets you lock the device
in one app when you lend it to someone, for
example. First make sure it is activated in your
device’s Security Settings, plus switch on “Ask
for PIN before unpinning” to make it secure.
If you want to go a big step further, on many
Android devices you can add extra users (but
not on Samsung, they deactivate this feature).
This is a complete separate user account, login
and profile, just like on a Windows computer.
The new user can have their own Gmail
account, and their use of the device is separate,
and private, from yours.
To set it up, look for “Users” or “Users &
Accounts” in the Settings menu. Tap “Add
user”, and follow the prompts.IF YOU HAVE A CHROMECAST
OR ANDROID TV DEVICE IT IS
SO SIMPLE TO MIRROR YOUR
DISPLAY AND CONTENT ON A
TV SCREEN. YOU WILL FIND A
CAST ICON IN QUICK SETTINGS
ON MOST PHONES.