Advanced Android Hacks
Android’s open
nature makes it easier to customise as well as enhance with the right apps and
tweaks. In addition, some advanced features are hidden away from basic users to
avoid confusion. Karan Bajaj lists down some handy features you should be using
Add Face Unlock to any Android
Smartphone
After Apple launched FaceID on the iPhone X, face
unlock has become a hot feature for Android smartphones. A number of brands now
offer it on their smartphones or have added it via software updates. However,
the majority don’t have it. If this is something you like, you can get face
unlock on any Android phone running Android 7.0 or later. Head to the Play
Store and install the free AutoInput app. Open the app and you will see two
options — ‘Purchase Full Version’ or ‘Use for Free’. If you select free, you
will have to watch a 1-minute ad per day to keep using the app. If you prefer
to purchase the app, you will need to install another app called AutoApps and
purchase it from there for ₹110 (one
time). Then go back to AutoInput, tap and enable ‘Auto Dismiss Keyguard’. Your
phone may prompt you to enable accessibility for AutoInput which you can do
from the accessibility settings. Once enabled, open phone settings, go to
‘Security’ and tap on ‘Smart Lock’ — you will see a ‘Trusted Face’ feature. Set
it up via the step-by-step on screen instructions. After this, each time you
power on the phone, it will scan you face and unlock the device. We recommend
doing the face scan setup under different lighting conditions to improve face
detection. Note that this method is not as secure as fingerprint or
PIN/password locks.
Stream Photos & Videos to
Multiple People
Imagine a scenario where you are at a gathering and
you have captured hundreds of photos and videos. Everyone wants to view these
photos/ videos but you can’t really start sharing these one by one. A easy
solution is to use the free VuLiv Player app. VuLiv has a handy feature called
VuShare using which you can use your device as host server to simultaneously
cast videos and photos to other users in the vicinity (without anyone needing
to use a 3G/4G data connection). To become a host, tap on the VuShare icon in
the app and select Share — app will ask you to select the videos, photos and
songs that you will like to share with others. As the host, you have control
over playback and content. Users who want to connect and view need to download
and install VuLiv, tap on VuShare and select Join (your host name will appear
in their search box). Once connected, users can view all the photos/videos you
selected from your device’s gallery. Note that they will only be able to stream
unless you give specific permission to download.
Easily Recover Deleted Items
On a computer, when you delete a file, it goes to the
recycle bin/trash. The advantage is that you can recover files you may have
accidently deleted before they are gone forever. Unfortunately, this handy
function is not available on smartphones. If you’ve ever deleted something and
regretted it later, you can enable recycle bin functionality on your Android
device with a free app called Dumpster. Once you install it, you will need to
give it permission to access your phone storage. You can choose what items have
to be moved to Dumpster before it gets permanently deleted (this includes
photos, videos audio, documents and apps). That’s about it. Now if you delete
something from your phone, it will go to Dumpster instead of being permanently
removed. You can recover it in case you need to. One caveat is that Dumpster
only works with the default phone apps and file manager. Note that even in
Dumpster, the file does take up storage space on your phone. You can
permanently delete files from Dumpster one by one or all at once. You can also
set it to auto delete everything each week/month/3 months.
Android Nougat Easter Egg
You can have a virtual cat on your phone if its on
Android 7 Nougat. Open phone settings and go to ‘About’. Tap multiple times on
the ‘Android Version’ tab — this will bring up the Android Nougat logo on
screen. Tap the logo quickly a few times and then press and hold — you’ll
briefly see a cat icon on the bottom of the screen. This signifies that the cat
mode is on. Head back to the home screen and pull down the quick settings
panel, tap on edit (pencil icon), scroll down and add the Empty Dish icon to
quick settings. A pop-up prompt will show you food items you can add to the
empty dish — add a food item and wait for your virtual cat to arrive. You’ll
get a notification each time a cat arrives — you can name your cats, feed them
and even show off your cat collection to friends by sharing their pics over
chat or email.
Access Advanced Settings via
System UI Tuner
System UI Tuner is an advanced hidden settings in
smartphones running Android 7.0 or above. To enable it, pull down the
notification panel and press and hold the Settings gear icon on the top right
corner for about 10 seconds. You should get a prompt saying ‘System UI Tuner
Enabled’. Head to Settings and you will see a new section for System UI Tuner.
Here, you can get advanced access for various features depending on the phone.
Some phones will give you access to Status Bar and Do Not Disturb settings
while others might give you advanced notification controls. Start playing with
these settings to gain more control over your smartphone
ET19MAR18
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