An Android mobile phone or tablet allows you to assign a particular app to open a file or video, so you can choose from time to time which app to use. The only difficulty, for less expert users, lies in the configuration of the predefined applications; it may be difficult to choose the app with which to open photos, to open music files, to watch videos, to write or to launch applications.
Android allows you to choose a default application for everything, but if we accidentally choose the wrong app it may be difficult to understand how to restore another app or offer the list of choices again.
In this guide, therefore, we will show you how to change the default apps on Android, how to remove an app assigned as default and how to better manage multiple system launchers .
READ ALSO -> Best Android Apps free to download for each category
1) How to assign a default app
When we install a new app to manage a particular type of file (audio, video, documents etc.), when a compatible file is opened a selection window will appear, where we will be shown all the compatible apps.
To start the desired app just click on the desired icon; if we want to remember this choice we will have to remember to put the check mark under Remember my choice before selecting the desired app.
With the tick inserted, just touch once the app that we want to use as default for that particular type of file: from now on, when we find ourselves with another file with the identical extension, the assigned app will be opened immediately without possibility of choice .
This window of choice may also appear when we open links or services essential for the operation of the smartphone: it may appear when we click on a Web link (if we have multiple browsers installed in the system), when we decide to send an SMS (if we have more SMS apps installed) and when we make a phone call from the numeric keypad (if we have multiple apps that can handle calls).
Obviously we recommend checking the item that allows you to assign the default app only if we are sure not to use the other apps and to have in mind which app will have to manage the files with that extension or the indicated service, so as to avoid opening apps that we don't want to use or apps that have nothing to do with the file or service in question (even if they perform in the window of choice due to the associations made by Android).
2) How to change or remove the assignment of a default app
At least once it will have happened to assign a wrong app to a file or a service and to no longer know how to remove the assignment.
The simplest method involves uninstalling the offending app and reinstalling it, but if the assigned app is a system app or we don't want to proceed so drastically, just go to the Settings menu, click on the App item, select the app that we have assigned as default and finally click on the button Delete presets (or Delete actions, Delete assignment ).
If we have a smartphone with Android 8.0 or higher, there is a dedicated menu where you can immediately check the default associations, so as not to carry out all the steps described so far (if we have many apps it may be difficult to remember which app has been assigned for a particular file or service).
To change the default apps assigned on the mobile phone, go to the Settings app, then click on Apps and notifications and then on the Advanced item.
All the apps to which we have assigned a default operation will be shown; just click on one of the items to see a selection window appear, where you can easily change the app associated with that particular type of file or service.
3) App to manage predefined assignments
To have the same convenience as Android 8.0 even on previous versions of Android, we can install the free app Better Open With, downloadable for free from here -> Better Open With .
This app allows you to manage predefined actions from a single interface, without having to choose only one application to open a certain type of file.
Without using the Settings menus and going crazy among all the apps present, just open this app, check which actions and which apps have already been assigned and which files or services we can still assign among those managed by Android.
Next to each app in the list we can press the Clear button to remove the association as default, so as to make the choice window reappear the next time we open a compatible file or service.
From the list of possible actions we can instead select the application to be set as default, so as to avoid the appearance of the window of choice at any occasion.
This app is also compatible with Oreo and we can therefore use it on every mobile phone, since it allows you to better manage the association of apps and services with a few taps on the screen.
4) How to manage multiple system launchers
The launcher is that particular app that manages the home interface, i.e. what we see as soon as we turn on the phone and that we can customize with icons and widgets (also accessible by pressing the Home button).
As we will surely have guessed, we can change the system launcher and choose a lighter, more functional or more beautiful one than that offered by the phone manufacturer.
We have already seen in the guide the best Launchers to install on Android and, if we have installed more than one, a new item called System Launcher, Home Screen or similar names will appear in the Settings menu.
To change the launcher, just select it from those in the list, so to start it.
We can have a confirmation by pressing the Home button: a launcher selection window should appear, choose what we want and remember to insert the check mark to remember the choice.
As an alternative to the Settings menu, we can use the Home Switcher / Manager app to better manage the various launchers installed.
The main screen shows all the launchers installed in the phone and allows you to set the default one by selecting it and using the Set Default button at the top.
To cancel any association for the launchers, simply click on the Clear Default button, so as to return to the default launcher provided by the manufacturer.
