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Android is incredibly powerful, but with great power can come great complexity: it’s not easy to unlock the most helpful tasks unless you really know your way around. There are so many hidden Android features that even advanced Android users find themselves stumbling upon new tips and tricks quite often.
But you’ve got to start somewhere, right? This comprehensive Android How To article will explain the first things that every new Android user should do, ensuring you get started on the right foot. These first things will work on mostly any Android phone, but for device specific how-to hints, head over to our Tips & Tricks section.
The most dangerous thing you can do is dive into your Android device thinking you know it all. Whether you’re a beginner or an expert it’s easy to overlook some simple steps that you’ll later regret skipping. That’s why even if you’ve been using Android for quite some time, you may find revisiting these basic steps pretty helpful.
Transfer Data from old phone
You just got your shiny new Android Phone and can’t wait to dive in… but how will you get all the content, photos, videos, text messages, and other stuff from your old phone onto your new phone? We’ve got you covered.
Now that you’ve got your stuff… let’s protect it.
Prevent Disaster
Most people skip this step with the excuse, “I’ll do it later.” Don’t be one of those people. Do yourself a favor and plan for disaster BEFORE It happens. Right now. You don’t want to learn the hard way that “later” is typically too late once it suffers an early death at the hands of a thief, water damage, your absent-mindedness, or some other unexpected circumstance.
Your phone stores a lot of sensitive information – e-mails, passwords, photos, videos, social account access, etc. – you’ll deeply regret not investing a few short minutes to make sure all your “stuff” is safe.
How to protect your Android Phone:
If the damage is already done, we can show you how to find a lost or stolen Android phone.
Cases & Screen Protectors
Protecting the stuff on your phone is one thing but protecting the physical phone itself shouldn’t be overlooked. We’ve put together a list of the best and most reliable brands for smartphone cases, screen protectors, and other top accessories:
Next time you drop your device, you’ll be thankful you invested in these life savers!
Expand Your Storage
Your phone is basically a small computer and with that small size comes limited space. Depending on your device model and storage capacity, you may quickly find yourself short on space. Here are the best ways to fit more stuff on your Android phone or tablet:
- Buy a MicroSD Card
- Get free cloud storage and backup your photos
- Find apps to help you save space
- Delete apps and games that you don’t often use
Download the Best Apps and Games
Now that you’ve got more than enough space, time to fill it up with the good stuff! You’ll want to start with our updated article titled The 100+ Best Android Apps which is updated frequently and organized by categories. We’ve also got more focused lists if you’re looking for something specific.
Before going on a download binge, now would be a good time to make sure you’re connected to WiFi .
How to find the best Android Apps:
How to find the best Android Games:
You can also stay up-to-date with the app and game announcements and updates by downloading EarlyBird – News for Android and following the “Android Apps” and “Android Games” topics.
Make Life Easier
Android has a lot of beautifully simple features that focus on convenience. They’re impressively helpful individually, but when combined they can really wow you. These are must-have Android features that you should configure, learn, and use immediately.
Get Better Android Battery Life
All the apps, games, and features in the world don’t mean a thing if you’ve got a dead battery. If you’re wondering how to improve battery life on your android, you’re not alone- it’s the most common question we get. Fortunately we’ve got some suggestions to help you fine-tune your Android into a lean, mean, all-day-Androiding machine.
How to improve battery life:
- Conserve energy: tips for conserving battery life
- Screen saver: download a pure black wallpaper
- Be aware: put battery percentage in the status bar
- Delete bad apps: delete bad apps (Which Apps Use Most Battery)
- Put chargers everywhere: here are the best chargers / best wireless chargers
- Buy backups: find a portable battery charger
- Emergency Situations: Battery Saver Mode
Another option would be to buy one of the Android Phones with the Best Battery Life!
Make Your Phone Faster
Out of the box most Android devices are blazingly fast. As you load it up with content, options, apps, games… things start to slow down. There are some preventative steps you can take to make sure this doesn’t happen but it’s also wise to perform some regular maintenance.
Here are some ways to speed up your Android Phone:
- Speed up animations in developer options
- Why you SHOULDN’T Download Task Killer Apps
- Delete unnecessary apps
Customize Everything
You want your phone to feel like YOUR phone. That’s easily accomplished with Android if you know where to look. We’ll walk you through the best way to customize different parts of your phone. Keep in mind that this step is likely to have options and settings specific to your exact device, so everything below might not apply.
How to customize your:
- Android Lock Screen
- Android Home Screen
- Change Wallpaper
- Change Ringtone
- Change Theme
- Change Keyboard
Those are the basics!
We’ll be working on more advanced tips and tricks to add into our Android How To Guide, but for now, if you’ve followed the above suggestions for getting started with Android, you’re headed in the right direction!
Did we miss anything? Do you have suggestions for more advanced How To or Tips & Tricks articles that you’d like to see in the future? Let us know in the comments!
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