HTC One Mini Tips and Tricks

To use your phone as a WiFi hotspot, tether it via USB or via Bluetooth, then go to Settings – More networks – Tethering And Portable Hotspot.

You can then choose from three options:

1) USB – connect your phone via a USB cable. The phone should automatically configure the correct settings.

2) WiFi Hotspot – To turn your phone into a WiFi hotspot, press Configure WiFi hotspot. You will then be asked to enter a Network SSID (this is your own name for the WiFi hotspot). Then choose Security and lastly, choose a password (this is password for your WiFi hotspot which you will enter on your computer).

3) Bluetooth – With this option, you will need to pair a Bluetooth device with your phone. On the other device, ensure you search for Bluetooth devices and your phone should show up.

On more recent versions of Android, the developer options have been hidden. To enable these, go to Settings – About Phone. Then go to the bottom and you should see Build Number. This needs to be pressed a total of seven times. You should get a message at the fourth press. On the seventh, you’ll get another message saying that Developer Options are unlocked.

To find them, go back to Settings and they should be on the list of options.

By default, the phone will recognise swear words, but insert x’s instead of the word. To change this, go to Settings – Voice input & output – Voice recognition settings. Then untick Block offensive words.

There is a hidden Easter egg on the phone. If you go to your Homescreen, then press Menu – Settings – About device, then tap on the Android version option 5 times you will be surprised.

Once you see something on the screen, you can then rub the screen with your finger to produce another surprise.

By the way don’t expect to see an actual Easter Egg. That is just the name given to things hidden inside software or operating systems.

If you find the vibration of your phone a little too much, this can easily be reduced.

From the homescreen press Menu – Settings – Sound – Vibration intensity. Then slide the bars left or right to change the intensity for various features.

You can also turn off Haptic feedback if you really don’t want any feedback.

There is no need to be stuck with the standard Android keyboard.

Go to the Android Market and search for ‘Keyboard’ to see some great alternatives, many of which are more accurate and make typing much easier.

One of the very best is Swiftkey. They provide a free trial, but once the trial is over it is well worth the small amount of money they charge. It can increase your typing rates massively.

Another good one is GoKeyboard.

If you see a warning saying the keyboard will collect all information (including credit cards) just ignore this. This is just a security feature that Android shows for every third-party keyboard that you install.

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 browser and press the Menu button. Then Settings – Privacy – Delete personal data.

From here you can select whether to clear the cache, cookies, passwords and more.

If you would prefer not to be told every time an Application has been updated, open the Play Market – Menu – My Apps. Then Menu again. Then Settings.

Under General settings, untick the Notifications option.

If you are browsing and have zoomed in or out and the column you’re reading doesn’t fit the screen properly, you can pinch to zoom in. Then double tap on the column. The column will then be reformatted to fit the screen width.

If you have forgotten your custom unlock pattern, then don’t panic.

After 5 unsuccessful tries a button should 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 might have to either call your carrier or factory reset your phone.