Lenovo Z5s Tips and Tricks

Most Android devices come with an alternative way of entering text called Swype. Many prefer this method and believe it is quicker.

When any text entry box appears, press and hold the box. Then select Input method: SWYPE. Once enabled, you simply drag your finger around the keyboard moving over the letters in the correct order to spell a word.

A great new feature is dual shot which lets you take a picture of someone else with the rear camera, while simultaneously taking a picture of yourself with the front facing camera. The problem is this feature isn’t obvious to find as it isn’t included in the list of camera Modes.

To find it open your Camera App and you will see three icons in the top right corner. Dual shot is the middle icon of these. Press that and you both cameras will activate allowing you to shoot away.

This may not me available on all Models

Previously Android version had options to add any number of home screen as desired.

Some versions of Android 9 only come with three home screens, meaning you cannot add multiple home screens manually.

But there is another way to add more than three screens:

For that download a Launcher App. These are third-party user interfaces that allow you to customize your phone in many ways. Most of them allow multiple home screens. A very popular launcher which supports multiple home screens is GoLauncher EX.

Simply go the Play Store and search for GoLauncher EX or another launcher.

Android has an interesting new feature called Talkback which is designed for blind and low vision users.

The feature is an interesting way to navigate your phone however.

Simply go to Settings – Accessibility – Talkback to activate it.

Then your phone will give you an ongoing narration of its various functions.

Like all previous versions of Android Pie has hidden easter egg. Easter eggs are always fun to check out on newly-named Android builds, and this one is no different. However, this may be the first one that actually might be a little hard to look at for long periods of time. Android P’s first Easter egg features a P with a very colorful animation.

To access this follow these instructions:
Drag down the notifications screen and go to Settings.

Then scroll down to About Phone. Then tap on the Android version and a popup will appear with more options (such as baseband version etc..). From there, tap on the Anroid version option at least 5 times.

You should now see a vector tracing Pie logo for Android 9 Pie. You’ll always get a different pattern from the last, as evidenced from jumping to recent apps and back to the Easter egg. As time goes on, more and more rings will appear. You can also pinch to zoom on it. Just don’t stare at it for too long unless you want to get a headache.

To use your phone as a WiFi hotspot, tether it via USB or via Bluetooth, then go to Settings – Wireless and Network – Mobile hotspot and tethering.

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) Mobile/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.

The Play store contains thousands of great Apps, but there are time that you want to restrict access to these Apps for whatever reasons. This can easily be done.

First, open the Play Store App and swipe from left to right to see the settings. Then press Settings and scroll for Parental controls.

From here you can chose settings for Low/Medium/High maturity levels. Great for preventing access for young people.

To set your voicemail number which allows your phone to automatically input your voicemail password, then open your Dialler App.

Then press the More or Menu button and choose Call settings. Then scroll down to Voicemail settings and set a Voicemail number (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).

It is best to avoid task killers such as Advanced Task Killer. Android is designed to automatically pre-load certain applications, even if you don’t load them yourself. If it starts to run low on memory, it will smartly unload the oldest running apps automatically.

Manually killing tasks will only mean they get loaded in memory again. Task killers can make the phone slow, laggy, or drain battery life more quickly.

If you want to conserve battery life, you can turn off the WiFi while the phone is asleep.

Pull down the notifications screen. Then long press on the WiFi icon. Then press the Menu or More button and select Keep WiFi on during sleep.