Customize your screen unlock hidden menus, and 16 other hidden Android tricks you should know

1. Open Quick Access without going through notifications

We all know that if we slide the notification bar down, the quick access options appear, unless we have pending notifications, in which case these will appear when we pull down the bar.

However, we can make it so that, even when we have notifications, the quick access options appear directly. The secret is to do it with two fingers at the same time instead of one. Obviously, this only works if we have pending notifications, of course.

2.- Fully customized keyboard

Often, we need our smartphone keyboard to have the symbols and functions we actually use. To do this, we simply need to customize the keyboard. Go to Settings > Language & input > Google Keyboard > Preferences, and you can choose everything from the keyboard’s appearance and key height to whether or not the microphone icon is visible, and much more.

We also have the option of having a full keyboard. Within these Preferences, we need to go to Custom Input Styles and, once there, click the + symbol located in the top bar. Two menus will open where we can choose, on the one hand, the language or languages ​​we need for our keyboard and, on the other hand, an option called Layout, which, when expanded, offers several keyboard options (QWERTY, QWERTZ, etc.). If we choose the PC option, we will have a computer keyboard at our disposal, with all the letters and numbers visible.

3. Voice recognition

Since we’re on the topic of the keyboard’s microphone, many people don’t even know it exists. Android allows us to perform various functions using voice commands, such as launching apps, making calls, or searching the internet without having to type… Ideal when you only have one hand free!

4. Zoom on any screen

We might need to zoom in on one of the screens of our Android smartphone at some point. We can do this at any time by activating the ‘magnifier gesture’. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Magnifier gestures (or magnification or something similar) and activate it by tapping on the right side. This will take us to a page explaining how it works and showing us the ‘button’ we need to activate. From then on, if we want to zoom in at any time, we just have to tap the screen three times in quick succession.

5.- Disable notifications from an application

Sometimes notifications from certain apps can be annoying, but we don’t want to disable them all. Android lets us disable them individually; we just need to go (again) to Settings > Apps and select the app we want to stop being bothered by, unchecking the Show notifications box. Some models even make it easier by going to Settings > Notification manager 

6. Two WhatsApp accounts on the same device

You might need to manage two different WhatsApp accounts (or Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) on your smartphone. If your device is updated to Android 5.0 Lollipop, it’s very easy.

Android version 5.0 now allows you to create multiple user accounts on the same device. While this feature can be used to create a “safe space” for your children, you can also have multiple identities to run different versions of certain apps.

Go back to Settings > Users > Add user and create as many as you need. Once done, you can quickly access each profile by tapping the user icon, which will display all the profiles you’ve created. This way, each profile will keep your programs and files completely separate .

7. Using the smartphone when the screen is not working

It’s happened to almost all of us: you drop your phone, and the screen is drastically cracked all over, making it unusable (because the touch sensor doesn’t work). But there’s still hope. We can use the OTG  (USB on-the-go) function nd connect a mouse to our phone. If our smartphone has this function, and if we have a USB to microUSB adapter, we can connect any mouse to our phone and work on the screen as if it were our computer.

8. Screenshot

We often need to capture what we see on the screen to remember it and use it later. Although not all manufacturers do it the same way, most Android smartphones allow you to take a screenshot by pressing the Power and Volume Down buttons simultaneously 

9. Activate developer options

Although we must be very careful, having developer options enabled allows us to control the device almost completely, being able to interact with certain parts of the system su, such as USB debugging or several interesting options.

To do this, go to Settings > About phone and tap Build number  10 times in a row. You’ll be notified that you’re “X steps away from becoming a developer.” Once you’ve done this, return to the Settings menu, nd you’ll see a new tab titled Developer options 

10. Falsifies locations

This is a curious feature that everyone will know how to use, but the point is that we can “trick” Android into thinking that, instead of at home, we’re in, for example, the Seychelles. To do this, we go to Settings > Developer options and enable the “Allow mock location” option. With the help of an app like Fake Location, we can tell apps like Facebook or Swarm where we are (simulatedly) and check in 

11.- Enter safe mode

As with computers, there are times when an app causes problems, and we need to disable it, but simply restarting isn’t enough. Therefore, we must enter safe mode on our smartphone as follows: press and hold the power button until the power off option appears on the screen. Press and hold ‘Power off’ for several seconds until the ‘ Reboot to safe mode’ option appear , which you should then select. In Safe Mode, only the pre-installed applications will work, disabling all those we have downloaded, so we can easily uninstall the app that was giving us problems.

12. Limit background data

To limit your data usage and save battery life on your device, it’s advisable to control which apps are running in the background. To do this, go to Settings > Data usage and choose which apps you’ll allow to connect to the internet in the background. This option may also be listed as Restrict automatic connections, Restrict background data, t” etc

13.- Disable system applications

One of the major drawbacks of some Android manufacturers is the sometimes excessive number of pre-installed applications that we cannot uninstall, taking up precious storage space. A partial solution is to disable them. This will save some space and prevent them from constantly appearing in the menu. Simply go to Settings > Applications select the app you want to block, and choose “disable.”

14.- Easter Egg

For several versions now, Android has included some fun “Easter eggs” that you might find interesting . To find them, simply go to Settings > About phone and tap repeatedly on Android version. Depending on the version you have installed, this little surprise will change. On the other hand, if you enjoy these festive little items, we also have DIY Easter egg craft ideas .

15. Animations in Hangouts

When we use Hangouts from our phone, we don’t have all the fun options (graphics and sound) that we have when we do it from the computer, but we can still have fun 

There are some secret animations in Hangouts for mobile devices that you can activate at any time during a conversation simply by typing the correct code preceded by a backslash (/). There are several, such as /pitchforks, /ponies, /ponystream, /Woohooo, /Yay!!, /felicidades, /jajajaja, /jejejeje, /xD, /Woot, /Hahahaha, /Hehehehe, /Lmao, /Rofl, or /Happy birthday // Feliz cumpleaños // Feliç aniversari // Buon compleanno (in any language).

16. Identify the song

We all know apps like Shazam or HoundDog that identify the song that’s playing, but did you know you have a program on your Android that does the same? Well, yes, Google Play Music, that often overlooked app, also has this feature. When the song you want to identify is playing, go to the search bar, tap it, and your recent searches will appear, with the first option being “identify what’s playing.” It’s that simple.

17. Unlock hidden menus

While it doesn’t always work, as it depends on your smartphone’s operating system version, there are a few menus that can provide a lot of information about your device. To access them, go to the phone app and enter these codes:

• All device information, including usage and battery statistics: *#*#4636#*#*
• WiFi unit MAC address:  *#*#232338#*#*
• Device IMEI code (essential in case of loss):  *#06#
• Backup of user’s personal files: *#*#273282*255*663282*#*#*
• Camera hardware information:  *#*#34971539#*#*
• Software/hardware details:  *#12580*369#
• Safe Mode or Test Mode: *#*#7262626#*#*
• RAM type and information:  *#*#3264#*#*
• Factory reset WITHOUT data erasure:  *#*#7780#*#*
• GPS unit test:  *#*#1472365#*#*
• Bluetooth Address:  *#*#232337#*#
• Hidden menu with mobile network information:  *#301279#
• WiFi connection test:  *#*#232339#*#*
• Screen touch layer test:  *#*#2664#*#*
• Proximity sensor test:  *#*#0588#*#*
• Audio test:  *#*#0289#*#*
• LCD screen status test:  *#*#0*#*#*
• SIM card lock type and status:  *#7465625#
• Vibration and backlight system test:  *#*#0842#*#*
• Activate test mode:  *#*#197328640#*#*

And, of course:

18. Customize the screen

Did you think we’d forgotten? Well, think again. One of Android’s main features is its enormous customization capabilities .And what’s most often customized is the “home screen,” the smartphone’s first display. To do this, we’ll need to use a launcher,  a mall program that installs and creates a “layer” on top of the smartphone’s own interface. Depending on which launcher we choose (there are hundreds on Google Play, both free and paid), we’ll have more or fewer customization options. If we opt for some of the most popular ones, like Nova or Apex, we can change the icons (and download many new ones for these launchers ), choose their size, position, etc., add animations between screens, and more. Others, like Go Launcher, even have a multitude of ready-made themes that will completely change the look of our smartphone: mmenus phone dial pads, etc.