HTC U11 Tips and Tricks

Android 7 (Nougat)
Phone: HTC U11
Factory OS: Android 7 (Nougat)

Have you updated your Operating System?
Then view tips for the most recent OS version(s): Android 9 (Pie) & Android 8 (Oreo)
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If you want to clear your website browser history, cache or cookies on the Htc U11 because you don’t want other people to snoop around (or you just want to clean up your list), then that is actually very easy to do. Just follow these steps:

  1. First, open the browser you use and look for the Menu or “More” button/icon.
  2. Then go to History → Clear Browsing Data.
  3. At the top, you will see that you can choose to delete data from a week or several months ago. You may also choose to delete everything by tapping “All Time.”
  4. You will see a list of data that you can tap to clear. You can clear cache, cookies, passwords, browser history and more.
  5. Be aware that if you delete cookies you will have to login to your online accounts again.
  6. Then, select browser history, then tap “Clear Data.”

This method generally works if you use Chrome on your phone. If you have multiple devices that use your Google Chrome account, you might notice that your browser history, cache and cookies are also reflected on other devices. These may get deleted too if you delete them from your phone.

If you don’t want this to happen, you can turn off sync on your device. This means that the browser history, cache, cookies, and other private data will just be removed from your phone alone.

To turn off sync on your Chrome, just follow these steps:

  1. Make sure you have already logged in your Google Account on Chrome.
  2. On Chrome, click on your Profile / Account icon (located at the top right portion).
  3. Look for Sync is On → Turn Off
  4. After this, you can delete your browser history, cache, and cookies on your phone without removing it on your other devices.

For Samsung phone users who are using the default Samsung Internet browser, you can clear your browser history, cache and cookies in a similar way to that of Chrome users. Just follow these steps:

  1. Open the Samsung Internet browser.
  2. Tap on the Menu icon.
  3. Go to Settings → Privacy and Security
  4. Scroll down to Personal Data then tap “Delete Browsing Data.”
  5. A list will open up and you can tap to delete other data such as cache, cookies, passwords, location data, among others.
  6. Select “Browsing History” then tap “Delete.”

If you are using a different browser, the steps are almost the same. The key is to look for your browser’s settings and look for the “Privacy” or “Data” section.

How to clear the cache on your Htc U11

To clear your phone’s cache, the steps are similar with that of clearing your browser history. All you have to do is click on your browser and open its Menu. For Google Chrome users, just follow these steps:

  1. Open Chrome and go to Menu or tap on the More (three-dotted) icon.
  2. Then go to History → Clear Browsing Data.
  3. At the top, you will see that you can choose to delete data from a week or months ago. You may also choose to delete everything by tapping “All Time.”
  4. You will see a list of data that you can tap to clear. You can clear cache, cookies, passwords, browser history and more.
  5. Just select Cache, then tap “Clear Data.”

For those who are using the default browser on Samsung phones, the steps are also similar with that of clearing your browser history:

  1. Open the Samsung Internet browser.
  2. Tap on the Menu icon.
  3. Go to Settings → Privacy and Security
  4. Scroll down to Personal Data then tap “Delete Browsing Data.”
  5. A list will open up and you can tap to delete other data such as cache, cookies, passwords, location data, among others.
  6. Select “Cache” then tap “Delete.”

If you are using a different type of browser, the steps are still quite similar. What you really have to look for is the Privacy, Data, or Security settings of your browser. Just open your browser and look for its Settings or “More” option.

How to Clear Cookies on the Htc U11

Clearing cookies from your phone is done similarly with clearing your browser history and cache. For Google Chrome users, just use these steps:

  1. Open Chrome and go to Menu or tap on the More (three-dotted) icon.
  2. Then go to History → Clear Browsing Data.
  3. At the top, you will see that you can choose to delete data from a week or months ago. You may also choose to delete everything by tapping “All Time.”
  4. You will see a list of data that you can tap to clear. You can clear cache, cookies, passwords, browser history and more.
  5. Just select Cookies, then tap “Clear Data.”

For those who are using the default Samsung browser, you can follow these steps:

  1. Open the Samsung Internet browser.
  2. Tap on the Menu icon.
  3. Go to Settings → Privacy and Security
  4. Scroll down to Personal Data then tap “Delete Browsing Data.”
  5. A list will open up and you can tap to delete other data such as cache, cookies, passwords, location data, among others.
  6. Select “Cookies” then tap “Delete.”

For those who are using other types of mobile browsers, the steps would be similar. Just look for the Menu then look for your browser’s Privacy, Data, or Security options.

If you want to access your quick settings more quickly, then instead of swiping down with one finger, then use two.

This should take you straight to the quick settings, however it may not work on all phones and models.

To adjust your screen brightness, there are two options:

1) Simply drag your finger from the top of the phone down to pull down your quick settings screen. Then at the top there will be a brightness bar. Drag this left or right or press Auto.

2) Drag your notifications screen down and select Display. Then choose the desired brightness setting.

You can also select Automatic brightness to let the phone decide for you.

The most common and effective way to copy photos to your PC (from your Htc U11) is to do it via a USB cable. Just plug your phone to a PC using a USB cable and wait for a notification to pop up on your phone.

This notification usually tells you that your device is charging. For some phones, it prompts the user to choose from several options. Just swipe down the notification and choose either “Transfer Photos” or “Transfer Files.”

For smartphone users who don’t see such notification, you may go to Settings → Developer Options → Networking → USB Configuration then tap on MTP (Media Transfer Protocol).

After that, check “This PC” on your desktop and see if there is a removable drive for your phone. The drive would be named as a Removable Device or it would bear the name of your brand or phone model.

Click on the drive and find the “DCIM” folder. This is where all photos and videos from your camera are stored. You can use the search bar function of the folder to find it quickly.

Using Google Photos to transfer photos on your Htc U11
Alternatively, you can use Google Photos to copy photos from your phone to PC. This can be done when you sync and back up all your photos and videos on Google Photos. To do this, just follow these steps:

  1. Make sure you have set up your Google Account on your smartphone.
  2. Open the Google Photos app on your phone.
  3. Then go to its Menu (you can find this at the top).
  4. Find Settings then look for Back-up & Sync
  5. Tap / check to turn on back-up and sync.

When you do this, all your photos and videos will be saved simultaneously to your Google Photos account (via WiFi). To retrieve these photos on PC, just turn on your PC and go to photos.google.com.

Then sign in with your Google Account, and you will gain access to all your backed-up photos and videos right away! You can click on any photo and download it to save it on your PC. Just click on “More Options” on the upper right corner of the photo, and you will see a download option.

Using Hi Suite to transfer photos
For Huawei phone users, you can use the HI Suite. This program is exclusive for Huawei users, and it provides an easy way to transfer different files from your phone to PC (and other devices). It also functions as a backup device for all data and settings on your phone, and it can be used to retrieve and copy photos to your PC. Just follow the steps below:

  1. Connect your Huawei and PC with the use of a USB cable.
  2. Go to your phone’s Settings and search for “HDB” on the top search bar.
  3. Tap on “Allow HI Suite to use HDB.”
  4. You have to agree on certain terms and policies to make use of the function.
  5. To backup your photos and videos, tap on Backup and select the “DCIM” or “Camera” folder where your images are saved.

You can access all these backed-up files (including photos) on your PC through HI Suite. Just don’t forget to install HI Suite on your PC too!

Transfer Specific Photos Using Google Drive on the Htc U11

  1. Since you are using a Google phone you can transfer your photos first to Google Drive. To do this, tap on the GOOGLE DRIVE app on your phone to open it.
  2. Tap on the plus (+) icon from the homepage of GOOGLE DRIVE
  3. From here, you can start uploading the photos you want by selecting them from your storage device.
  4. To download your photos to GOOGLE DRIVE, open GOOGLE DRIVE on your computer and log in to your account. Choose which photos you want and then from the given options, select to download them into your PC.

Transfer Photos from Google Pixel to a Computer using a third party application

There are also different programs you can use to transfer photos from your Google Pixel phone to a computer. These include Mobile Trans – Backup, Free Syncios Mobile Manager, ApowerManager, and Droid Transfer.

Transfer Photos using MobileTrans

  1. Connect your Pixel phone to your computer using your USB cable.
  2. Open the MobileTrans app on your computer and choose BACKUP.
  3. Once your phone is detected, the snapshot will be shown on the screen.
  4. Enable the PHOTOS option from the list of selected data types.
  5. Finally, click on START and your photos will be moved to your computer.

Transfer Photos using Free Syncios Mobile Manager

  1. Install and launch the Free Syncios Mobile Manager app on your computer. Choose BACKUP mode from the list of choices.
  2. The program should turn to the GOOGLE PIXEL to computer transfer window.
  3. Use your USB cable to connect your phone to the PC. There is a chance that you mey have to enable USB debugging mode on your phone to allow Syncios to connect.
  4. Wait for the selected files to be fully transferred to your PC.

Transfer Photos Using ApowerManager

  1. Download and open the ApowerManager on your PC and phone.
  2. Connect your phone to the PC via the USB cable.
  3. On the desktop version, choose MANAGE found on the top and go to the PHOTOS tab.
  4. Choose the photos you want to transfer then click on EXPORT.
  5. Wait for the photos to be transferred and remove the USB cable.

Transfer Photos Using Droid Transfer

  1. Install the DROID TRANSFER app on your PC and phone.
  2. Connect both devices by scanning the QR CODE found on the app’s interface using the TRANSFER COMPANION app on the phone.
  3. Once both devices are connected, proceed to the PHOTOS tab.
  4. Choose the photos you want to transfer and click COPY PHOTOS.
  5. Wait for the photos to be completely transferred to your computer and remove the USB device.

To remove numbers from the call log that you don’t want anyone seeing, then open your Call Log.

This will normally be found in your Phone App.

Press and hold on the contact you want to remove.

When the Menu appears, press Delete.

Locking your phone is a great security feature, but when you’re at home it’s normally not necessary.

A featured called Trusted Places enables you to bypass the lock screen when you’re at specific geographic places.

To set it up go to Settings – Lock screen and security – Smart lock – Trusted places.

You can also set up the bypass to work when your phone is connected to specific Bluetooth devices such as Smartwatches or Audio devices.

You can also override this (i.e. lock your screen when it is at the location). To override, just press and hold the padlock icon on the lockscreen.

This may not work on all phones, models or networks. Also, if you choose to trust your location, then you will need to turn your GPS on when at home.

There is no need to be stuck with the standard Android keyboard, which isn’t always great for typing quickly.

Go to the Play Store 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.

Android manages Apps very well and some Apps do not have the option to close them specifically. Normally the App will stay running in the background and only close when many other Apps have been opened.

If you do want to close or terminate an App, then press and hold the Multitasking key on your phone. On some devices you may need to long press the Home key.

Then you can swipe the Apps off the screen to close them.

If you find that apps are slowing down your device or consuming unnecessary memory or batter life, then try downloading an App called DU Battery Saver or DU Speed Boost which are great for optimising the Apps that are running.

There are a number of ways to speed up your phone. The following list are tried and trusted techniques:

Firstly, uninstall apps that you don’t use. Over time your device can get cluttered as some Apps are designed to always run in the background. If you don’t use an App very often, then uninstall it to free up memory and CPU resource.

Use Static wallpapers instead of Live ones. Live wallpapers often consume processing power and memory. Unless you really need them, uninstall them.

Use home screen widgets sparingly. These often slow down the phone and use up memory and CPU resources. If you don’t really need the widget, then uninstall it.

Install a great App called DU Speed Booster and DU Battery Booster. These Apps are prefect to run when your phone starts to slow down, you’re running out of memory or you want your battery to last for a few more minutes or hours.

Kill tasks occasionally – Some Apps will run in the background indefinitely unless you kill them. Most of them won’t cause a problem, but it pays to check your running tasks from time to time. Hold down your Home key and check the Task Manager.

Voicemail is one of this crucial phone features, which isn’t always obvious to find.

To set up your voicemail, then first open your Phone App. Then press the settings icon in the top right and select Settings.

Then scroll down to Voicemail settings. From here you will find various options including the number to dial to retrieve your mails. You might need to check with your carrier for the correct number.

Depending on your carrier you may have to enter the series of steps required to go through the voicemail menu, for example: *86,,yourpassword# (a comma inserts a pause).