Android device setup made easy
How to de-clutter your Android and optimise your setup.
De-clutter is the word, and this will free up space on your device and enable your work space to be clearer and easier to use. Too often I see Android devices unchanged since they were taken out of the box.
In this blog post we will first work through the declutter you need for a tidy device, then recommended system settings to optimise your device. Doing these will make the use of Clarinspect and other apps far easier.
Adding and Removing Home Screens
In Android "Home Screen" is the name given to each page of Apps/Widgets you can swipe through. Note that some manufacturers do not allow you to change the number of screens - so you may be restricted to 5 (no more no less). On Samsung you can reduce the number of screens, but can have no more than 7.
The “pinch” method
From the home screen squeeze your finger and thumb together from opposing corners.
When you have done this the screen will then show thumbnails of each Home Screen defined on the device.
If you want to delete a Home Screen, tap and hold the one you want to remove and drag it to the trash can on the screen (its location may change between devices).
You can drag a Home Screen to the trash even if it has lots of Apps shown on it - this is a really quick way of clearing the decks!
In the top right of each Home Screen thumbnail is a house icon. Tap this to change which Home Screen is your default one.
The screen you see after the pinch
How to delete apps from home screens
Removing Unwanted Apps
After you have set the number of Home Screens you need (perhaps one for Assessment and Inspection work, another for Email and Documents, and another for Social media - not that this is work related!) you may need to remove some Apps.
Make sure you keep: Chrome (web browser), Google Maps and Camera on your desktop.
Tap and hold the icon of the App you want to remove.
From this point you can drag the App icon to the trash can at point above, or add the App (or document if this is a shortcut you are moving) to the 'Create Folder' option at point above. The latter will create a folder on the Home Screen holding all the items you drag into it.
You can also drag the App icon to the left and right to deposit it onto other Home Screens.
Set-up Display:
Android 8 is a bit different, with a press and hold allowing for the selection of multiple apps
Font Size (large)
Brightness (about 3/4)
Screen Timeout (5 minutes)
Check default settings on camera:
1 Mega Pixel (1280 by 720 for example)
You can have larger - what do you need in your business process?
Add timestamp, direction to image as required/available
Remove all shortcuts from camera user interface
Add Ownership text on Screen Lock:
Org Name, Phone Number
Remove shortcuts from lock screen
Settings > Lock Screen (or similar)
Set the Language, keyboard and auto-correct:
Settings > Language and Input
Tap the cog next to the keyboard in use
And for your security don’t forget to secure the lock screen with a password.
Summary
By following the steps above you can easily make your Android device more user friendly and setup for your own use. The tidier it is, and the faster you can find all the tools you need, the more likely you are to enjoy using it.
Happy Assessing and Inspecting!