Hidden Android tricks: you need to know these 8 features

With Android you can use hidden tips and tricks that make your everyday life easier. In this practical tip, we will show you some tricks with Android.

Hide Android tricks: widgets on the homescreen

With widgets you can easily access the most important information from your home screen:

1. Widgets are windows of a specific app that only display individual information. The app is therefore not opened. By positioning yourself on the home screen, you represent a kind of quick access to the app.
2. For example, you can activate a widget for the time, a weather display or a widget for your Twitter timeline.
3. To activate a widget, simply tap and hold the desired start screen and select the appropriate app from the list that appears.
4. In some applications, you have to make smaller settings, such as how often the widget is updated. As a rule, however, this is immediately ready for use.
5. But be aware that a variety of widgets can negatively affect the battery performance of your smartphone.

Multitasking on Android smartphones

You can now use two apps in parallel on your smartphone. Android 7.0 is required.

1. From any app, tap the menu button once.
2. The most recently opened applications now appear.
3. Hold down one of the tabs and slide it up. The window is adjusted to half the screen.
4. Then select the second app for the lower half of the screen.
5. You can then use both apps in parallel.

Trick: Mute Android phone with a gesture

If your cell phone should quickly fall silent when there is an inappropriate call, a simple gesture is enough:

1. To do this, open the settings and tap on "Gestures".
2. The first option is "Rotate to mute". You activate this.
3. When a call comes in, just turn your smartphone and it will stop ringing immediately.

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Lock screen notifications on Android

Since Android 5.0 you can have incoming notifications displayed on the lockscreen:

1. There, however, you are not immune to prying eyes from friends and family. Anyone who gets their hands on the smartphone can also read your notifications.
2. To change this, open the settings of your smartphone and tap on the "Notifications" tab.
3. By tapping the gear icon, you can open the advanced settings, where you can choose from the first entry whether all, no or only unimportant notifications should be displayed on the lock screen.

Android trick: scheduled switching on and off

If you want to restrict your child's mobile phone use in the evening and in the morning, you can plan to switch the device on and off:

1. Go to "Settings" and then select "Advanced".
2. Tap the entry "Scheduled switching on and off".
3. In the following you have to activate the slider and then you can enter a time when the device should start up or shut down.
4. You can also set up only the planned switching on or off individually.
5. Your smartphone will then automatically switch on or off at the desired times.

Activate guest mode

If you hand over your cell phone for a long time, the guest mode is very helpful:

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1. Drag your Android bar down at the top of the screen.
2. Now tap on the user icon in the upper left corner and then select "Add guest".
3. Your mobile phone then switches to guest mode, which you can also leave in the same way. This means that a guest user does not immediately have full insight into your privacy.
4. Under "Settings" and "User" you can also allow a guest to make calls.

Customize Android sound

Almost every new smartphone now has an integrated equalizer. You can use it to customize and optimize the sound of your smartphone:

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1. You call the equalizer via the "Settings" and the entry "Sound & Vibration".
2. Then scroll down to find the "Audio Tuner" tab.
3. To be able to use it, however, headphones must be connected or connected via Bluetooth.
4. If this is the case, you can simply activate the slider and then choose between different sound profiles - depending on the music taste and sound preferences.

Android trick: quick start

With intelligent gestures, you can not only mute your smartphone, but also start entire apps:

1. To do this, open your settings and tap "Gestures" again.
2. Then scroll down to the bottom and you can see various suggested gestures.
3. If you tap one of these gestures, you can determine what should happen when performing such a gesture.
4. For example, the camera can be opened by drawing a circle on the screen, just like other popular apps using "V", "S", "W" or "M".

All instructions are based on OnePlus 5 with Android 7.1.1 and may vary slightly depending on the model and Android version.

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