Google Nexus 4 Tips and Tricks

There are a number of ways, as below. The first two of these may be disabled on some networks/carriers or Android versions however.

1) Go to Settings – Applications – Manage Applications. Then chose All at the top. Then scroll down to Contacts Storage – Clear Data.

2) Go to Contacts. Then press Menu – Delete. Then press Select all (at the top) and then Delete again.

3) Go to Settings – Accounts and sync. Then untick Background data and Auto-sync. Then go to Gmail (or an account that your phone syncs with) and delete all of your Contacts from there. Then re-sync your phone.

4) Download an App called ‘Delete All Contacts’ and use that as a last resort.

These methods above will delete contacts from the phone only, not the SIM card.

If you want to browse websites, but not leave sign of cookies, search history or cached items, then you can use Incognito mode. Open the Browser and press the + (Action Bar) icon in the top-right. Then press New Incognito Tab.

If you have been browsing websites that you would prefer other people to not know about, then it’s relatively simply to clear your browsing history.

Open the default browser and press the Menu icon on the top-right corner. Then Settings – Privacy and security. Then select Clear history. You can also clear the Cache, but that will mean previously visited websites will have to load again, making your browsing slightly slower.

Instead of the simple swipe gesture to unlock your phone, you can set a custom one which can be extremely difficult for a thief to guess.

From your homescreen, go to Menu – Settings – Security. Then select Screen lock. Then chose Pattern to set one up.

It is also a good idea to untick Use visible pattern. Then if someone is watching over your shoulder while you entering your pattern, it will be harder for them to remember the pattern.

If you have forgotten your unlock pattern, then after 5 unsuccessful tries a button will appear saying ‘Forgot pattern’. Press this and you will be asked to enter your Gmail username/password. The phone will then ask for a new unlock pattern. If you don’t have a Gmail account, then you will have to either call your carrier or factory reset your phone.

To see notifications on your homescreen, the best option is to download an App called NoLed from the Play Store. This will show notifications such as text messages, emails and missed calls as bright icons on your homescreen.

You can choose between very small squares or small icons and these can assigned by coloured.

Go to the Android Market and search for an App called Spare Parts. Download and then open the App. Go to the Compatibility Mode and Uncheck it. Then re-check it (so the tick appears again). Then turn your phone off by pressing Home and then turn it on again.

Once that’s done, go back to the Spare Parts App and Uncheck the compatibility box again. This time DON’T re-check it though. Then turn your phone off and on again once more.

Once re-booted, go to Spare Parts again. If it opens in full-screen mode, then the process has worked and any other Apps that run in non-full screen mode should work.

Unlike older versions of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich does not go into USB mode automatically when you connect your phone to your computer with a USB cable.

To enable USB / Mass Storage mode, first go to Settings. Then under Wireless and network, press the More… button.

Then connect your phone to your PC using a USB cable and press USB utilities.

Then click the button that says Turn on USB Storage.

Your phone will now appear as another drive letter on your PC.

When your phone is ringing you have three options: Press the Answer, Hang up or Send a text message.

To send a text message, press and hold inside the round circle you see on the screen. Then drag your finger to the message icon at the top. You will then be presented with a few default responses that you can send via text message.

From the homescreen, press Menu – Settings – Wireless & networks – Bluetooth Settings. Check that Bluetooth is enabled and press Scan devices. Choose the desired device and press Accept. You may be asked to enter a PIN or Password.

If you prefer a different voice when listening to the Google Maps voice navigation, you can select another language or accent.

From the Homescreen press Menu – Settings – Voice input and output – Text-to-speech settings. Then under the Default settings section, press Default engine.

To change the language, go through the same process, but instead of Default engine, select Language.