greensicbot TIP 11 killer Android features you aren't using, but should By Ryan Whitwam Follow Greenbot | Feb 4, 2014 5:00 AM PT Android is stacked with so many tools and configuration options, we often overlook some of the Google's most useful features. Sometimes they're hiding in plain sight. Other times, they're buried so deep, you'd never discover them without spelunking deep into submenus, groping blindly in the dark But don't let that one killer feature get away. Even if you consider yourself an Android power user, you'd do well to make sure you're familiar with every single menu, toggle and utility on this list. We've done our best to identify the precise locations of the features listed below, but you may have to hunt around menus a bit if your device manufacturer has excessive interface customizations. Did we leave out that one killer, secret feature that everyone should know about? Let us know by offically submitting a tip to Greenbot. We'll give you direct credit if we use your submission, Use Android Device Manager for remote security The Google Play Services framework is used to manage all sorts of back-end services, and Google updates it frequently. Most of the functionality packed away in this framework is of little user-facing consequence, but the Android Device Manager is an exception. This feature allows you track, ring, lock, and wipe your device if you lose track of itBy defauit, you can only ring and locate a device with Android Device Manager, so if you want the full gamut of features, go into your main system settings and scroll down to Security. Find the Device Administrators coption, and open it to see what apps have been granted admin privileges on your phone or tablet. Checking the box next to Android Device Manager allows you to wipe and lock the device, in addition to the ring and locate features. © Android Device Manager ] 8 Nexus 7 | 1 Last located at 5:14 PM Saint Paul. MN, USA- Accurateto © meters Last used December 26, 2012 08 4 x ES vod frase : Sane ; TY Use Android Device Manager for much greater control aver 3 lost phone. You can remotely access Android Device Manager in a number of useful ways. If you only have one Android device, you can use any web browser to go to the Android Device Manager page and log into your account. From there, you can see a map of where your phone is located, and issue commands to nuke it, or just lock it Before resorting to extreme measures, you might want to start with locating it, and making it ring to make sure it didn't just slip between the couch cushions. Should you have access to more than one Android device, you can use the Android Device Manager app, which you can keep on all your devices to locate and manage the others.This service is always on and completely free, by the way. So don't let it go to waste, App Ops lets you fine-tune app permissions Google built an interesting tool into Android 4.3 that we weren't actually supposed to know about: App Ops Is an interface that details—and controls—all the permissions used by apps on your phone or tablet, The permissions awarded to an app could involve anything from granting network access to parsing your contacts list. Most of the time, these permissions are legitimate and enable features you want, but App Ops lets you kill individual permissions on a per-app basis for improved privacy. App Ops can only be accessed on Android devices with a special third-party app like this one from Color Tiger, but the Play Store is packed with other apps that do this.fen eto Dense yes Coe Oe eee as Cru] fer esac TI) peat oe ee eat se nea Post natification Q eee eee Third-party App Opps controllers let you fine-tune app permissions. Apps are sometimes organized in App Ops by permissions, not name. As such, it can take a litte time to find the app you want to fine-tune for permissions. But when you spot your target—Facebook, for example—it's a simple matter to toggle the switches next to the permissions you want to shut off.‘App Ops is accessible without rooting your hardware in Android 4.3 through 4.4.1. In newer versions, Google has removed all the UI elements for this feature—but it can still be accessed via rooting, though. Members of the Android team have noted that App Ops is only a development tool and not intended for end users. It does have the potential to break apps, so it's not exactly a “supported” feature. Be careful if you decide to Penetrate your Phone Testing Menu for extra control (On most Android phones, you can access a hidden testing menu to tweak a few interesting radio settings. All it takes is a few seconds with the keypad and a rudimentary understanding of your phone's network technology. First pull up the dialer, and then enter *s"#46368"8*. This is called a USSD code, and it should immediately boot you into the testing menu. Some phones won't respond to the keypad code, but know that the menu is inside the system, and a number of apps in Google Play can do the same job. Regardless, inside the menu you'll find an assortment of radio stats and logs, but the Phone information menu is of particular interest. From here, you can use a drop down menu to control which networks your device connects to,5 Senin! rary TE ae) ay Cente nee the Phone Testing Menu, you can exert full control aver which network your handset taps int. If your carrier or phone manufacturer didn't give you a 4G toggle, you can force the phone to stick to 3G as a battery saver. Or if you want 46 speed but are in a marginal 4G service area, you can set it to LTE-only mode to prevent the radio from switching aver to 3G. Keep in mind, you'll have to change these settings back later, and disabling 36 will usually prevent you from doing voice calls. Set your system animations to warp speed Android devices are faster than they used to be, but you can make your experience feel even zippier with one simple tweak, Android contains a hidden developer options menu that you can enable by going into your main system settings, then navigating to About>Software Information>More=Build number. Now tap on the build number—titerally, tap on it numerous times—until a small message at the bottom of the screen confirms that you're a developer.ce ° 3 Developer options Window animation scale Animation scale .5x Transition animation scale PVA SLL eS<- RSD g ‘Why suffer even marginally slow animations when your processor can handle faster speeds? Now, don’t worry. This doesn't make any modifications to your system. It just turns on the Developer Options menu back in the main settings listso head back there and open it up. Developer Options has a ton of interesting features to play around with, but you can also mess things up pretty badly, so it's best not to change anything you haven't thoroughly researched. You've been warned. Now back to animations. Inside Developer options, tap the Advanced menu, and then what we're looking for is about half way down. Window animation scale, Transition animation scale, and Animator duration scale are all set to 1x by default. These animations are the eye candy you see when apps open and close, menus open, and more. They help cover up lag as the system catches up, but you don't really need slow settings on a fast device. You can set all of these to 0.5x for a more snappy UI experience.Don’t just monitor data usage—control it In our age of draconian tiered data plans and ever-increasing carrier fees, you often need to watch your mobile data consumption closely. Android has a built-in tool that helps you do this, But most users don’t use itto its full potential. The Data Usage menu is usually near the top of your system settings list (though it may be buried under a “More” heading), and can also be accessed via the network signal strength icon in Quick Settings. You can use the sliders on the usage chart to set your data limits for your chosen billing cycle. Set mobile data limit le Dec 9, 2013 — Jan 8, 2( 7 “UL‘The trick isto receive a watning before you trip your data limit The default behavior is simply to warn you when you reach your data limit. However, by the time you get that warning, it's often too late to adjust your behavior and avoid overage charges or automatic throttling. A better use of the data tracking feature is to set your warning a few hundred megabytes below your limit, then enable a data limit with the checkbox right above the chart. The red line on the chart lets you set a point at which your mobile data will be shut off. Use WiFi Direct for quick file transfers Transferring files between devices has always been a little annoying, but features like Android Beam made it easier: Just hold together two NFC-enabled devices (Android 4.1 or later), and you can transfer files across a Bluetooth link. Its a neat trick, but transfer speeds are capped by Bluetooth bandwidth, and file type support is limited. Luckily, however, most Android devices also support WiFi Direct, even though Google's stock apps don't make use of it.Se SuperBeam SUPERBEAM OTHER DEVICES @ PRocREss gi Total number of files: 23 8 Total files size: 201.2 MB 192.168.49.55 30% SuperBeam 45.27 Mbps ‘The SuperBieam app facilitates device-to-devce file transfers at warp speed—even 45 Mbps. Ah, the wonders of WiFi WiFi Direct is exactly what it sounds like: a protocol that can create a direct connection between two devices via Wi, You just need an app to make use of it, and there are several in Google Play. SuperBeam is probably the most powerful, and it has a free version. To get a transfer going, you just share files to Super Beam (or whatever app you've chosen to use) and tap phones. WiFi Direct allows you to queue up multiple files in a single operation and the transfer rate can easily exceed 30 Mbps. it's fabulous for sharing large videos or images. Restrict background data, app by appBecause Android allows apps to wake up in the background and perform activities, there's always the possibilty they'll send and receive mobile data without your knowledge. When you're on a low-capped data plan (or you're just coming up on the cap) this can be an issue. Luckily, the Android Data Usage menu in your phone offers information on what's using data in the background, and could save you from extra charges. ers fear Neve ect Restrict background data Notice how Googlet background tasks use about three times the data of foreground tasks ocean cea ey osrataa cre oan oe Cierra) data usage controls in the settings PY Sei eyBelow the graph of overall data usage mentioned above, you'll find alist ofall your apps organized by how much data they've used, starting with the most greedy offenders. Tap on any single app for details on the split between foreground and background data. If you find an app using a lot of bytes in the background, you can scroll down to the bottom of the details page and check the option to restrict background data. Note, however, that this option is only available on devices that hook into mobile data plans. Also keep in mind that some apps won't work as expected with this option enabled, so only use it for apps and services that aren't respectful of your mobile data connection. Use Owner Info to make it easier to reclaim a lost device Having a pattern or PIN lock on your phone or tablet is always a good idea, but what happens if you lose the device, and a good Samaritan finds it and wants to return it? How is he or she supposed to know who it belongs to? Well, hidden inside the Owner Info menu, there's an easy way to provide your identity Share your owner information to help do-gooders return your phone.The Owner Info feature will be in the Security section of the main system settings, or under My Device > Lock Screen on newer Samsung phones. You can add any info here you want, but an email and alternative phone number are safe bets, Just check the option above the text field to have the Owner Info displayed on the lock screen. Be aware, OEMs that heavily customize the lock screen (cough, cough—HTC) sometimes do away with this feature. Start recognizing tethered phones as hotspots Android devices have long included native tethering support, and most carriers have finally gotten comfortable enough with tethering to allow users on capped data plans to use the feature without paying extra. That said, an Android device connected to a tethered hotspot doesn't know it's using mobile data. All it sees is a Wi-Fi access point, and that can pose problems.ce © Myron rac cae Sola ) hotspots. Apps can be restricted from using these networks when in t ground. Apps may also warn before using these networks for Pee etaecte Da ae ela Cy ai W AN Celerity Mobile It's time your phone start treating tethered handsets with the respect they deserve. If you've set your apps to auto-update or have files automatically backed up over Wi-Fi, you could accidentally blow through most of the hotspot's data plan in a few minutes. To avoid this, you should be teaching your devices which Wi-Fi networks are actually mobile hotspots. This will apply system-wide settings for mobile data even though, for all intents and purposes, your phone thinks it's connected to Wi-Fi.In the Data Usage menu, use the overflow menu button to select Mobile Hotspots. The screen that comes up will list all the Wi-Fi networks synced with your account data, Simply add a checkmark next to the ones that are hotspots, and your device won't abuse the data, This feature dovetails nicely with the background data restriction mentioned above. Fine-tune your Location setting Without any tweaking or modding, Android 4.4 provides some really interesting ways to monitor access to your location data. In the new Location menu of the main system settings, you can do more than simply turn GPS on and off. This is definitely a menu you should get familiar with.fod asic aad Cee Cae manpon paves Py fe Cees acon) a Fine-tuning location services can help save battery life, There is, of course, a big toggle at the top of the screen to disable all location services, but you can also set location to battery saving location mode. If you do this, your phone or tablet will only provide location data from Wi-Fi and cellular network locations—no GPS will be used. This makes for less accurate mapping and such, but saves battery life.The Location menu also shows you the last few location requests made from the device, which is nice for your peace of mind—or maybe not depending on your paranoia levels. Extend (or shorten) your lock timeout Android offers a ton of security settings for locking your device. You can choose a PIN number, password, or pattern lock, or even opt for the esoteric face unlock option. Using a lock is essential for keeping unsavory characters from accessing your data if you lose your device, but it can be a pain to unlock your hardware every single time the screen shuts off. Luckily, virtually all Android devices have a feature to fix that. Automatically lock seg Is your lockscreen timeout too aggresive? This screen provides reliet In the Security menu of most devices (again, Samsung tucked it in the My Device menu) is an "Automatically Lock" option. Note, this item only shows up if you have some sort of screen security set up. Here you can designate the amount of time that triggers your device unlock—all the way from instantaneously to 30,minutes on some phones. A longer duration will allow you to wake your device instantly if it hasn't been asleep for long. Also, the power button can often still be used to lock instantly, if you like—that's a checkbox right under the timeout option (though not on all phones). 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