How to import Contacts from your old tablet
If you have just purchased an Android device, then you may want to copy your contacts from your old tablet. The easiest way to do this is to Export your old contacts to a CSV (Comma Separated Values) file and save this to your PC. You may need to install the correct software for your tablet first in order to do the export.
Then, if you don't have a Gmail account, sign up for one.
Once that's done, open Gmail. Go to Contacts, then press More - Import. Then import the CSV to your Gmail contacts.
Then on your tablet, open the Contacts App. Press Menu and then Sync Contacts. This will pull the contacts from Gmail to your tablet.
Manually close an application
Android manages your applications so if the tablet is running low on memory, it will close the oldest running App.
If you do need to manually close an application go to Settings - Applications - Manage Applications - Running. Choose the application you want to stop and select Force Stop.
Disable 'mobile view' for websites
If you would prefer the Desktop view of websites, rather than the Mobile view, then there is a way to change it. This may not work in all regions or on all carriers however.
Open the standard browser and type about:debug into the browser's address bar. Then go to Menu - Settings. You should have a new option called Debug. Press Debug, then on the right side press UAstring and change the option to Desktop.
Websites should now be displayed as they would on a computer desktop browser.
Another alternative is to install a third-party browser like Dolphin, Firefox or Opera which have options to surf in Desktop mode.
Avoid task killers
It is best to avoid task killers such as Advanced Task Killer. Android is designed to automatically pre-load certain applications, even if you don't load them yourself. If it starts to run low on memory, it will smartly unload the oldest running apps automatically.
Manually killing tasks will only mean they get loaded in memory again. Task killers can make the tablet slow, laggy, or drain battery life more quickly.
Pair with Bluetooth speakers or headset
From the homescreen, press Menu - Settings - Wireless & networks - Bluetooth Settings. Check that Bluetooth is enabled and press Scan devices. Choose the desired device and press Accept. You may be asked to enter a PIN or Password.
Take screenshots on your tablet
The latest version of Android allows you to take screenshots without installing any third party App. Simply press the Screenshot icon on the bar at the bottom of your screen. It should be next to your Recent Apps icon. Press that and a message will say 'Screen captured. Saved as image file'.
To locate the saved image, go to My Files on your Apps list. Then scroll to the bottom of the folders list and look for a folder called ScreenCapture. Your screenshot will be in there.
Increase security with a custom unlock pattern
Instead of the simple swipe gesture to unlock your tablet, you can set a custom one which can be extremely difficult for a thief to guess.
From your homescreen, go to Menu - Settings - Location and security - Change screen lock. Then chose Pattern to set one up.
It is also a good idea to untick Use visible pattern. Then if someone is watching over your shoulder while you entering your pattern, it will be harder for them to remember the pattern.
If you have forgotten your unlock pattern, then after 5 unsuccessful tries a button will appear saying 'Forgot pattern'. Press this and you will be asked to enter your Gmail username/password. The tablet will then ask for a new unlock pattern. If you don't have a Gmail account, then you will have to either call your carrier or factory reset your tablet.
Use Swype for quick text entry
Most Android devices come with an alternative way of entering text called Swype. Many prefer this method and believe it is quicker.
When any text entry box appears, press and hold the box. Then select Input method: SWYPE. Once enabled, you simply drag your finger around the keyboard moving over the letters in the correct order to spell a word.
Enable / disable vibrate / haptic feedback when you type
From the Homescreen press Menu - Settings - Sound.
Then under Feedback you can adjust certain features like Audible touch tones, Haptic feedback and so on.
Show browser history
To show the Browser History, press the Star in the top right corner of the browser. Then press History.
This will only work in the standard Android browser.
Delete all contacts
There are a number of ways, as below. The first two of these may be disabled on some networks/carriers or Android versions however.
1) Go to Settings - Applications - Manage Applications. Then chose All at the top. Then scroll down to Contacts Storage - Clear Data.
2) Go to Contacts. Then press Menu - Delete. Then press Select all (at the top) and then Delete again.
3) Go to Settings - Accounts and sync. Then untick Background data and Auto-sync. Then go to Gmail (or an account that your tablet syncs with) and delete all of your Contacts from there. Then re-sync your tablet.
4) Download an App called 'Delete All Contacts' and use that as a last resort.
These methods above will delete contacts from the tablet only, not the SIM card.
How to hard / factory reset
Warning: This will remove ALL data on the tablet, but not the MicroSD card.
From the homescreen, press Menu - Settings - Privacy Factory data reset. Then press Reset tablet and Erase everything.
Your tablet will now be restored to its original factory settings.
Quickly remove installed Apps
Removing Apps is very simple. From the homescreen press the Apps icon in the top-right of the screen. Then press and hold the App you want to remove and drag it to the Remove / Trash icon in the top-right of the screen.
You can also drag it to the i icon which will show you information about the App. You can press Uninstall from here.
Improve the keyboard accuracy
There is no need to be stuck with the standard Android keyboard.
Go to the Android Market and search for 'Keyboard' to see some great alternatives, many of which are more accurate and make typing much easier.
A good one is GoKeyboard.
If you see a warning saying the keyboard will collect all information (including credit cards) just ignore this. This is just a security feature that Android shows for every third-party keyboard that you install.
Quickly switch between homescreens
This tip is relatively obvious, but some users overlook it.
At the top of your homescreen you should see a row of 5 dots. This indicates which of the 5 homescreens you are on. Rather than flick between each screen, you can simply press one of the dots and you will jump to that homescreen.
View all camera settings
While in the Camera App you can view all current settings by pressing and holding the little Gear icon in the top right corner of the app.
Zoom when using the camera
While in the Camera App, there are two ways to zoom in or out.
First, you can use Volume Up and Down keys.
Secondly, you can pinch your fingers on the screen to zoom in and out.
First, you can use Volume Up and Down keys.
Secondly, you can pinch your fingers on the screen to zoom in and out.
Save a word to the dictionary
Type
a word that is not in the dictionary. The word will show up in the
suggestion box to the left. Long press on the word and it will save to
the dictionary.
Hide on-screen keyboard
To quickly hide the on-screen keyboard, press the Back button
Clear browser cache and cookies
In your browser go to Menu - More - Settings. Then select Clear Cache / Clear all cookie data / Clear history / Clear form data
Delete all contacts
There are a
number of ways, as below. The first two of these may be disabled on some
networks/carriers or Android versions however.
1) Go to Settings - Applications - Manage Applications. Then chose All at the top. Then scroll down to Contacts Storage - Clear Data.
2) Go to Contacts. Then press Menu - Delete. Then press Select all (at the top) and then Delete again.
3) Go to Settings - Accounts and sync. Then untick Background data and Auto-sync. Then go to Gmail (or an account that your tablet syncs with) and delete all of your Contacts from there. Then re-sync your tablet.
4) Download an App called 'Delete All Contacts' and use that as a last resort.
These methods above will delete contacts from the tablet only, not the SIM card.
1) Go to Settings - Applications - Manage Applications. Then chose All at the top. Then scroll down to Contacts Storage - Clear Data.
2) Go to Contacts. Then press Menu - Delete. Then press Select all (at the top) and then Delete again.
3) Go to Settings - Accounts and sync. Then untick Background data and Auto-sync. Then go to Gmail (or an account that your tablet syncs with) and delete all of your Contacts from there. Then re-sync your tablet.
4) Download an App called 'Delete All Contacts' and use that as a last resort.
These methods above will delete contacts from the tablet only, not the SIM card.
How to hard / factory reset
Warning: This will remove ALL data on the tablet, but not the MicroSD card.
From the homescreen, press Menu - Settings - Privacy Factory data reset. Then press Reset tablet and Erase everything.
Your tablet will now be restored to its original factory settings.
Quickly remove installed Apps
Removing Apps is very simple. From the homescreen press the Apps icon in the top-right of the screen. Then press and hold the App you want to remove and drag it to the Remove / Trash icon in the top-right of the screen.
You can also drag it to the i icon which will show you information about the App. You can press Uninstall from here.
Improve the keyboard accuracy
There is no need to be stuck with the standard Android keyboard.
Go to the Android Market and search for 'Keyboard' to see some great alternatives, many of which are more accurate and make typing much easier.
A good one is GoKeyboard.
If you see a warning saying the keyboard will collect all information (including credit cards) just ignore this. This is just a security feature that Android shows for every third-party keyboard that you install.
Quickly switch between homescreens
This tip is relatively obvious, but some users overlook it.
At the top of your homescreen you should see a row of 5 dots. This indicates which of the 5 homescreens you are on. Rather than flick between each screen, you can simply press one of the dots and you will jump to that homescreen.
View all camera settings
While in
the Camera App you can view all current settings by pressing and holding
the little Gear icon in the top right corner of the app.
Zoom when using the camera
While in the Camera App, there are two ways to zoom in or out.
First, you can use Volume Up and Down keys.
Secondly, you can pinch your fingers on the screen to zoom in and out.
First, you can use Volume Up and Down keys.
Secondly, you can pinch your fingers on the screen to zoom in and out.
Save a word to the dictionary
Type
a word that is not in the dictionary. The word will show up in the
suggestion box to the left. Long press on the word and it will save to
the dictionary.
Hide on-screen keyboard
To quickly hide the on-screen keyboard, press the Back button
Clear browser cache and cookies
In your browser go to Menu - More - Settings. Then select Clear Cache / Clear all cookie data / Clear history / Clear form data
Open web pages in a new tab
If you are viewing a website and you see a URL, you can long press on it and then choose to open the site in a new tab
Remove a whole text message conversation
If
you want to remove an entire text message thread, go into Messages and
look for the thread. Then long press on it and select Delete thread
Change the backlight screen timeout
Go to Menu - Settings - Display - Screen Time Out.
Then chose the screen time out duration.
Then chose the screen time out duration.
Create shortcut to websites on your home screen
Go to your browser bookmarks. Long press on a site and select Add shortcut to Home
Check the firmware version
From your Homescreen press Menu - Settings - About Tablet.
This should list your Android version, Build number and Model Number
Check the firmware version
From your Homescreen press Menu - Settings - About Tablet.
This should list your Android version, Build number and Model Number
Speed up your browser
You can speed up the page load speed on your browser by disabling JavaScript.
To do this, open your Browser, then Menu - More - Settings. Scroll down and untick JavaScript
Please note that this may affect the functionality of some sites.
Quickly switch between Month and Year view in the Calendar App
In the Calendar App there is no Year view along the top of the App. You can however use pinch to zoom gestures to zoom in and out of Month and Year view however.
This is useful if you want to quickly jump backwards or forwards through a few months at a time.
Allow swear words in voice recognition
By default, the tablet will recognise swear words, but insert x's instead of the word. To change this, go to Settings - Voice input & output - Voice recognition settings. Then untick Block offensive words.
Change the screen brightness
From the Homescreen press Menu - Settings - Display - Brightness. Then choose the desired brightness setting. You can also select Automatic brightness to let the tablet decide for you.
Bookmark a web page on your homescreen
If you regularly visit a website you can add a shortcut to your homescreen. To do this, go into your browser and find the bookmark of the page you want to create a shortcut for. Long press on the bookmark and select Add Shortcut to Home
How to change keyboards
While the stock standard keyboard is fine, there are much better keyboards available. First, you need to go to the Android Market and download one. Try searching for the word 'keyboard' and you will see a number of options.
Download your chosen keyboard and go through any install steps that you are presented with.
Then, go to the App you want to type in. You should now see a little Keyboard icon on the row at the bottom of your screen, towards the bottom-right corner. Press that icon and you can switch between all of the keyboards you have installed.
Setup a new email account
If you want to setup new email accounts, like Yahoo or Hotmail, go to All Apps and press the Email icon. A setup wizard will then be launched.
Enter you email address and password into the fields. You can also change the settings after this step.
Once you're happy with the settings, give your account a Name and you're done.
Enable Flash when browsing
If your browser does not play Flash items while browsing websites then you may need to enable Flash in the settings.
To do this, open the standard browser. Go to Settings - Advanced - Enable plug-ins. Then select Always On.
Change display to show white instead of off-yellow
If you have Power Saving mode enabled, then your tablet will display white colours as an off-yellow shade instead.
To turn this off, go to the homescreen - Menu - Settings - Display settings. Then uncheck Power saving mode.
Setting up and Access Point Name (APN) for browsing with 3G
Normally
you can simply insert a SIM card and you will be able to browse the
internet using 3G. Sometimes, this must be setup manually however.
Before you start, you will need to ask your carrier or telco for your
APN settings.
Once you have those, from your homescreen press Menu - Settings - Wireless and networks - Mobile networks. Then tick Use packet data. Then select Access Point Name (APN).
Then press the menu icon in the top-right corner and select New APN. Then fill in the details your carrier gave you. Then press the menu icon again and press Save.
Once you have those, from your homescreen press Menu - Settings - Wireless and networks - Mobile networks. Then tick Use packet data. Then select Access Point Name (APN).
Then press the menu icon in the top-right corner and select New APN. Then fill in the details your carrier gave you. Then press the menu icon again and press Save.
Close all Apps
Your tablet comes with a handy widget which lets you kill all running tasks. This is great if you want to quickly free up some memory.
To use the widget, press and hold for 2 seconds on a blank part of any homescreen. Then find the Program monitor widget and drag it on to your homescreen. Once that is done, press the widget and it will show you all currently running Apps. Press End all to close all running Apps.
Change Google Navigation voice
If you prefer a different voice when listening to the Google Maps voice navigation, you can select another language or accent.
From the Homescreen press Menu - Settings - Voice input and output - Text-to-speech settings. Then under the Default settings section, press Default engine.
To change the language, go through the same process, but instead of Default engine, select Language.
Take screenshots on your tablet
To take a screenshot on your tablet, you will have to 1) root your device and 2) download an App called Screenshot ER from the Android marketplace.
If you don't know how to root your device, then head over to xda developers who have instructions for most Android devices.
Resize homescreen widgets
If you
want to resize your homescreen widgets, then press and hold on a widget
for 2 seconds. If the widget is resizable, then an orange outline will
appear around the widget. Simply drag the sides to resize the widget.
If the orange outline doesn't appear, then the widget is a fixed sized widget.
If the orange outline doesn't appear, then the widget is a fixed sized widget.
Auto focus the camera
When taking
photos or videos, tap the screen where you want to focus on. The tablet
will automatically adjust the settings to improve the image or video
Search music on Youtube from Music Player
hile in the Music Player, long press on the song title of the music and you can search Youtube for more music
Move widgets between homescreens
If you want to move a widget from one homescreen to another, simply press and hold on the widget. Then drag it to the edge of the screen. The next homescreen will appear. Then, just drag the item to where you would like.
Enable auto App updates
Android has a feature allowing you to update Applications automatically. This is turned off by default, but you can turn it on.
Open the Android market, then Menu - My Apps.
Then you need to open up each installed App and tick Allow Automatic Updating at the bottom. Unfortunately you do need to do this for each App.
Soft reset
To soft reset your
tablet press and hold the Power/Lock button for a 2-3 seconds and the
tablet will restart. Wait about 10 seconds and then press and hold the
Power/Lock button again to restart.
If that doesn't work, then remove the battery. Wait 30 seconds and put the battery back in. Then press the Power/Lock button to turn the tablet on.
If that doesn't work, then remove the battery. Wait 30 seconds and put the battery back in. Then press the Power/Lock button to turn the tablet on.
Enter Accents and special characters
If you want to type non-English letters (eg those with an accent), long-press on the relevant letter. A list of options will appear for you to select. For example, to insert an acute รก, then press and hold the a key, then drag your finger to the accented character.
Pinch and zoom in emails
While in your email App, a handy trick is to pinch and zoom out to see a 'day view' of your emails. This is handy if you have a lot of emails and want to quickly sort them by recency.
Stop Photos or Music files being indexed
To stop the Photo app or the Music player from indexing your files, place a blank text file called .nomedia in the folder
Help, I have forgotten my unlock pattern
If you have forgotten your custom unlock pattern, then don't panic.
After 5 unsuccessful tries a button should appear saying 'Forgot pattern'. Press this and you will be asked to enter your Gmail username/password.
The tablet will then ask for a new unlock pattern. If you don't have a Gmail account, then you might have to either call your carrier or factory reset your tablet.
Display Apps in full screen mode
Go
to the Android Market and search for an App called Spare Parts.
Download and then open the App. Go to the Compatibility Mode and Uncheck
it. Then re-check it (so the tick appears again). Then turn your tablet
off by pressing Home and then turn it on again.
Once that's done, go back to the Spare Parts App and Uncheck the compatibility box again. This time DON'T re-check it though. Then turn your tablet off and on again once more.
Once re-booted, go to Spare Parts again. If it opens in full-screen mode, then the process has worked and any other Apps that run in non-full screen mode should work.
Once that's done, go back to the Spare Parts App and Uncheck the compatibility box again. This time DON'T re-check it though. Then turn your tablet off and on again once more.
Once re-booted, go to Spare Parts again. If it opens in full-screen mode, then the process has worked and any other Apps that run in non-full screen mode should work.
Open the notifications menu
To
gain access to features such as Airplane mode WiFi, Screen Lock
Orientation, Brightness and so on, double tap on the Clock in the bottom
right of the screen.
Copying iTunes songs to Android
If you have decided to ditch your iTablet in favour of Android, then there is a simple way to take your iTunes music, playlists and album art with you.
Simply go the Android Marketplace and download a Free App called Easy Phone Tunes. You will also need the computer version of the software, so go to http://easyphonetunes.com and download it from there.
Then, when that is done, turn your phone into a USB storage device (this will vary from device to device, but instructions are on the website).
Once your tablet is connected to your computer, open the computer version of the software and select your device from the Easy Phone Tunes list. Then follow the instructions to Sync your media.
Turn off App update notifications
If
you would prefer not to be told every time an Application has been
updated, open the Android Market - Menu - My Apps. Then Menu again. Then
Settings. Under General settings, untick the Notifications option.
Disable the screen lock
Go into Settings - Location and security. Then under Screen unlock settings press Change screen lock. Then chose None.
Lock your screen while watching / recording videos
If you are watching a movie or video, it is a good idea to lock the screen orientation and buttons. Simply press the Power/Lock button.
This can also be used while recording videos, which is handy if you're prone to accidentally pressing buttons while recording.
Quickly search for a contact
While in the contacts screen, start typing the name of the contact you want to dial. This will quickly filter the correct contact
Android easter egg
There is a hidden easter egg on the tablet. If you go to your Homescreen, then press Menu - Settings - About tablet, then tap on the Android version option 5 times you will be surprised.
Sometimes it doesn't work, so try a couple of times. By the way don't expect to see an actual Easter Egg. That is just the name given to things hidden inside software or operating systems.
Maximise your screen while browsing / hidden controls
If you don't want the Tab bar at the top of the browser, then you can remove this which will use the whole screen while browsing.
Open the standard browser and press Menu - Settings - Labs. Then put a check mark under Quick controls.
To get access to the controls that are now invisible, there is now a neat hidden menu. Position your finger on the right side of your tablet, just off the screen. Then slide it onto the screen in a left-ward direction. A circular menu will appear with various options.
Clear browsing history
If you have
been browsing websites that you would prefer other people to not know
about, then it's relatively simply to clear your browsing history.
Open the default browser and press the Menu icon on the top-right corner. Then Settings - Privacy and security. Then select Clear history. You can also clear the Cache, but that will mean previously visited websites will have to load again, making your browsing slightly slower.
Open the default browser and press the Menu icon on the top-right corner. Then Settings - Privacy and security. Then select Clear history. You can also clear the Cache, but that will mean previously visited websites will have to load again, making your browsing slightly slower.
Enable Power Saving mode
If you
tend to run out of battery power quickly, then you can turn on power
saving mode. Go to Menu - Settings - Power. Then check Enable power
saver. You can then adjust when the power saving mode turns on.
Double tap for a full stop (period)
While typing emails or notes, you can simply tap the space key twice and the tablet will insert a full stop / period
Show dual battery indicators
Because your docking station / keyboard contains a second battery, it is helpful to see how much power is in that battery as well as the one inside your tablet.
To do this, download a Widget called Dual Battery Widget and place it on your homescreen.
Disable 'mobile view' for websites
If
you would prefer the Desktop view of websites, rather than the Mobile
view, then there is a way to change it. This may not work in all regions
or on all carriers however.
Open the standard browser and type about:debug into the browser's address bar. Then go to Menu - Settings. You should have a new option called Debug. Press Debug, then on the right side press UAstring and change the option to Desktop.
Websites should now be displayed as they would on a computer desktop browser.
If that doesn't work, then another trick is to delete your web browsing history and any bookmarks for sites that appear on mobile only view. Then go to the site, scroll to the bottom of the page (usually) and view the site in Full/Desktop view. Then bookmark the site again.
Another way is entering the full URL of the site into the Google Search bar (rather than the browser's URL bar). The Desktop version of the website should then load. This doesn't work for all sites however.
Another, better, alternative is to install a third-party browser like Dolphin, Firefox or Opera which have options to surf in Desktop mode.
Open the standard browser and type about:debug into the browser's address bar. Then go to Menu - Settings. You should have a new option called Debug. Press Debug, then on the right side press UAstring and change the option to Desktop.
Websites should now be displayed as they would on a computer desktop browser.
If that doesn't work, then another trick is to delete your web browsing history and any bookmarks for sites that appear on mobile only view. Then go to the site, scroll to the bottom of the page (usually) and view the site in Full/Desktop view. Then bookmark the site again.
Another way is entering the full URL of the site into the Google Search bar (rather than the browser's URL bar). The Desktop version of the website should then load. This doesn't work for all sites however.
Another, better, alternative is to install a third-party browser like Dolphin, Firefox or Opera which have options to surf in Desktop mode.
Turn off WiFi when in standby
You
can set your tablet to disconnect from WiFi when the screen is turned
off. This is helpful to conserve battery life when your tablet is in
standy mode.
Go to Menu - Settings - Wirelss & networks - Wi-Fi disconnect policy. Then adjust the settings accordingly.
Go to Menu - Settings - Wirelss & networks - Wi-Fi disconnect policy. Then adjust the settings accordingly.
How to unlock
Unlocking can bring many important benefits and can save you a considerable amount of money.
We can recommend a safe, reliable and low cost phone unlocking supplier or you can read more in our comprehensive phone unlocking guide which explains what it means, why you should unlock, and the safest and cheapest place to get it done.
1) Go straight to our recommended phone unlocking provider.
or
2) Read our phone unlocking guide for more information.
We can recommend a safe, reliable and low cost phone unlocking supplier or you can read more in our comprehensive phone unlocking guide which explains what it means, why you should unlock, and the safest and cheapest place to get it done.
1) Go straight to our recommended phone unlocking provider.
or
2) Read our phone unlocking guide for more information.
View HTML source code of web pages
If
you are browsing a website and want to see the HTML source code behind
the page, then Android doesn't offer you the ability to do this by
default.
There is however a handy App called View Web Source which can be installed. Whenever you want to view the HTML of a web page, you just press the Menu - Share - View Web Source.
You can then browse the code or copy the content into the clipboard.
There is however a handy App called View Web Source which can be installed. Whenever you want to view the HTML of a web page, you just press the Menu - Share - View Web Source.
You can then browse the code or copy the content into the clipboard.