Android provides functionality to ease the usage and always tries the less tap approach for opening an app or any settings. One of the pros of less Tap approach was the introduction of Android Quick Settings menu which came into existence with Jellybeans release. With quick settings one can perform many useful task without getting into the settings screen. So how to access the quick setting menu? The quick setting screen is a hidden window which is accessible when you drag it down from the top near notch. So again do we use it quite often? Yes we do, for mobile data, Wifi and torch we use the android quick settings. But there are many other options there which comes handy in different situations. So today we are going to discuss about those options.
Editing the Android Quick Settings Menu
In previous versions of Android, editing the quick settings was not possible. But with the introduction of Nougat, it was possible to edit the quick settings windows. So usually a user edit the menu and keeps those shortcuts which are more useful. But still many of us don’t know how to edit this menu. So here is a step by step procedure to edit them:
- Drag then Quick Setting Menu from the top towards the bottom of the screen.
- After opening the window click on the pencil icon indicated by blue arrow.
- Available Shortcut windows will be shown in another drop down window.
- Then you can select which apps should appear in your quick setting menu and reorder them.
Accessing Quick Setting menu while locked screen
The Android quick setting menu is the only menu which is accessible while phone is in locked state. The option available while phone is in locked state are limited but can be used to the user benefits, like accessing the wifi, or switching the data from one sim to another, or the airplane mode and even torch can be accessed. But every other option that are available can only be accessed after unlocking the phone.
Now some detailed information about some of the tiles which could be used in these settings:
Wifi
Wifi enables you to access the internet in your android device without any need of cables. Wifi connection button is accessible from the settings menu. But that would mean your phone should be locked and then you have to go into settings either by menu or through settings shortcut available on the quick settings dropdown. Either way it would be time consuming and would take many extra taps to access it. But through quick settings menu the wifi could be accessed by a single tap operation. The long press on the icon would send you directly into the settings menu for wifi.
Cellular Data
The cellular data as the name suggest allows you to enable the mobile data for accessing the internet. It shows how strong is your connections and also lets you know the data transfer rate. It also lets you know how strong is the connection and when your phone is on a roaming mode. Double tapping the icon will let you know about the monthly used data and also shows the data used after being reset. You can also set the usage meter for the maximum amount data cap which could be used in a month. It also stores the usage of the previous months data usage if not reset by the user.
Battery
The battery is one of the most important indicator and quick setting tile. The battery lets you know how much power is remaining in the phone. It also shows that whether your phone is being currently charged. Double tap on the battery tile will give you access to the battery usage settings, it shows the graph about the battery usage since last full charge. While the phone is not being charged, double taping the battery tile will show the information about how much time is remaining for battery and shows the percentage on which it will enter the power saver mode. While entering the power saver mode the phone brightness is adjusted and the background apps are disabled by default.
Flashlight
The flashlight enables us to use the camera flash light as torch. The flashlight is one of the best tile available on the android phone, it lets you enable the light when it is dark around you. The flashlight uses the camera flash light services and enables it for a long duration of time. It consumes lot more battery but it is a lifesaver in no or low light situations. There are no extra option inside the flashlight tile.
Cast
Casting is one of the most trending technology. The casting options enables you to share your mobile screen onto a casting enabled devices. If you have a Chromecast or Android TV or Smart TV then you can watch your favorite shows from app that has inbuilt casting options enabled in them. By simple casting your can also screen mirror you mobile and see films and videos which does not support casting options.
Auto Rotate
Roatating the screen of an android means tilting the screen and mobile adjust its orientation. There are basically two types of orientation vertical and horizontal. The vertical orientation is usally how we use the mobile in its default state. The vertical orientation can be locked while deactivating auto rotate options. The auto rotate option gives the signal to android about automatically adjust the screen when the mobile is tilted. By default the home screen is locked in the horizontal state and could only be changed while making changes to developer options. Long press auto rotate tile take you to display setting option where you can edit many more options related to display feature of your mobile.
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is one of oldest technology used in mobile services. It enable user to send and recieve files through its connectivity. It allows a short range sending and recieving items but the transfer rates are very deadly. It takes a lot more time to send files over bluetooth than over wifi. But still the option is good when you are sending small files to an old devices. Bluetooth toggle button enables and disable it. Long press gives the option of the connected devices and history of devices connected with the mobile. But still this technology is one of the best when it comes to listening to handfree headphones as they are usually connected by bluetooth technology.
Airplane Mode
The Airplane mode can be used whie traveling in an Airplane or when you want a break from the outside world and wants your phone to be disconnected from all mobile networks. The only thing that works in an airplane is the wifi. So the only way to connect to an internet is by wifi. It saves a lot more battery than battery saver, so if you are expecting a complete isloation then this mode is tailor made for you.
Do Not Disturb
Do not disturb is an option that lets you enjoy the utter silence. The do not disturb when not altered blocks all kind of sound and notification. DND works as a silent options but when altered, you can specify for which apps you want notification sound to be ringed, or for which contact would you like to hear the sound. So in all the alteration is quite good in dnd and should b used while in meetings. It never vibrates and works as a silent phones. Long pressing the DND tile lets you the options for customising them according to your needs.
Location
Location is one of the most popular tile and its services is requested by many apps. So location service shares your current location with the app provider which has requested and also shares it with Google for keeping a track of your mobile locations. It is a benefit that location is turned on as the mobile could be tracked and if lost could be found easily. But you can edit the options while long pressing the tile, and can direct the apps which are allowed to access them and can also set them to ask for permission everytime they want an access to your current location.
Hotspot
Hotspot is a technology which is used to share the mobile data with nearby users. For hotspot the wifi service signal bands are used and hence both can’t be used at once. The hotspot service requires your to set the name and password for your device. It can be accessed while long pressing the hotspot tile. You can also select tghe band for trasmission. When it is set you can turn on the service and give your connectipon password to others who want to access your mobile data for internet usage.
Apart from tiles mentioned above there are some more like invert color which set the color to Black and White and makes it easy to view the text and content on screen, it usually helps when you are out on a sunny day. Another one is NFC which enables to pay for the services which require card payment and also allows to share the apps and contacts. Data saver is another options avaliable which enables to save data and hence block some unwanted popups and intelligently uses the data for the mobile. All the shortcuts and their tile avaliable in the quick settings menu are a life saver and helps in the easy usage.
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