Anyone who is a beginner with Android or who has not yet understood how flexible and customizable this operating system is, before installing any kind of application, should first have a thorough knowledge of the system, whatever the device in our possession (a Samsung, a Huawei or an LG). In this guide we will show you the most useful options to modify in the Android settings to improve the experience while using the device, both if we use a smartphone and if we use a tablet. The options explained in this article may not be all present in every version of Android and on every manufacturer (since they apply many customizations), but we have tried to make this post as universal as possible.
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Options to be changed in Android settings
Below we will show you the options to remember to modify Android and make it suitable for our needs and our daily habits. Obviously you don't have to change or disable everything that you will find below, but only those that allow you to customize the user experience of the phone or tablet to make it truly perfect.Turn off application notifications
Sometimes you download a game or a simple application that, without even using it, sends notifications with advertisements or invitations to play regularly. Without giving up on that game or application, we can disable any app notification, so that you are no longer disturbed by annoying notifications.From the notification bar, we long press the finger on the annoying notification until some options appear; open Application Info, remove the check mark from the item View notifications and confirm on OK .
On the most recent Samsung, Huawei and Xiaomi we can remove the notification even faster by holding the finger on it and immediately removing the check mark from the small window that will appear above the notification.
Disable mobile connection data
There is no need to stay connected at all times, especially when we are connected to the Wi-Fi network. To disable mobile data in LTE or 3G, open the Settings app, go to Mobile networks or similar menu items then disable the Active data item.To quickly deactivate mobile data on Samsung, Huawei and Xiaomi we can use the shortcut buttons, scrolling from the top edge until the appearance of shortcuts (usually the data button is represented with two arrows that continue in the opposite direction).
Set a limit for mobile data
To track the use of the internet data connection, in the event that it is limited by the operator and the subscribed subscription, we can use the tools integrated in the latest versions of Android, so as to disable mobile data when we reach the limit of the data offered (very useful when we are abroad).To activate the limit for mobile data, go to Settings> Mobile networks, open the item Set data plan or Data plan, set the limit based on our data subscription (for example, set 49 GB if we have a 50 GB plan, so as to leave us a margin to act) and choose the day of the month on which the counter must be reset (let's coincide with the day of the top-up or the debit on the current account). On the most recent Samsung, Huawei and Xiaomi we can set two limits: one for the warning and the other to block the mobile connection completely automatically; we set the two limits to obtain total control over the amount of data used.
Add multiple Google Accounts
On Android you can add several Google accounts, for example to monitor a second corporate Gmail address.To add new Google accounts, go to Settings> Accounts ( or Synchronization ), tap on the bottom of Add account, select Google and enter your name and password. Once added, we can choose what to synchronize from this account (Contacts, Messages, bookmarks etc.).
Turn off automatic app updating
When we have many apps installed on the phone or tablet or when the memory space is running out, it is preferable to disable automatic updates so that they do not create annoyances.To block the updates of an app, we open the Google Play Store app, we open the screen of the app already installed on our phone, we tap on the three dots at the top and we remove the check from the item Automatic updates .
Check for Android updates
On smartphones and tablets released in the last 2 years it is always worth checking if there are new system updates, since new features are often added and corrected the problems encountered so far.To check for updates, go to Settings> About phone / tablet -> System updates and tap on the Check for updates item.
Change the default apps
The default applications are those that open when you open a file, document or link. For example, if you open a website, the default browser opens while if you open a photo the gallery or Google Photos opens. When we install a new app that can manage a particular file format, when we open the latter, a window will appear where you can choose which app to open, with the possibility of making the choice permanent.In another article we delved into the topic, showing you how to change and manage the default apps on Android .
Organize app folders on the Homescreen
If we have installed many applications on the homescreen of the phone or tablet, we can put order by creating folders. To do this, we long press on one icon and drag it over the other until a folder appears around it (we can also choose the name to be given to it).Touching the newly created folder, a mini window will open with the applications included inside it.
It is possible to drag and drop other applications in the folder, in order to create ordered homescreen as on the iPhone.
Turn off animations
To make your Android phone or tablet faster and smoother, animations can be disabled. To do this, you only need to open the developer settings (an advanced menu) and change the animation options ( Window animation scale, Transition animation scale and Animator duration scale ).To apply these changes we recommend you read our guide to speed up Android by disabling the animations .
Turn off the auto-spelling checker
Sometimes the phone, while writing a message, corrects words and prevents us from writing in a more informal way, with words in dialect or with abbreviated words (often used in chat).To disable the spelling checker, simply go to Settings -> Languages and input, select the keyboard in use ( Gboard by default), open the Text correction menu and remove the check mark for all the items that we consider appropriate to disable. For more details we recommend you read our guide to the Android keyboard .
Conclusions
Whatever the smartphone or tablet in our possession, we can change it in the Android settings to make the device more comfortable to use and much faster in carrying out daily operations.For Android beginners, we recommend reading our 20-point guide to Android to get started with your mobile phone or tablet .
If, on the other hand, we want to know the security options to protect our Android device, we continue reading our article on the security and screen lock options for Android .
Do not forget, of course, to stay up to date with new apps and new tricks, to install the Navigaweb app on Android .
