Lenovo Z5s Tips and Tricks
Looking for a replacement battery for your Lenovo Z5s? We explain the available options and list the best battery choices for your device.
IMPORTANT – We take no responsibility for batteries purchased which you cannot use in your phone. Please ensure the following:
1) Check that your phone does actually have a removable battery
2) Check product descriptions before you buy to ensure compatibility with your phone
Short of time? Jump straight to batteries
Battery types
When choosing a battery there are three main types:
1) Replacement Batteries (Genuine / OEM) – OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer and is the battery that the manufacturer has specifically produced for your device. This is normally the best option in terms of quality, time between charges and overall battery lifetime, but these batteries can be a little more expensive, so it depends on your priorities.
2) Replacement Batteries (Non-OEM / Generic) – Another cheaper option is generic or non-OEM batteries which are often mass produced in order to reduce their price. They can also provide longer battery life by having a higher mAh (see information below), so these can be a good alternative to OEM batteries if you want to save money. The quality can vary however, so we recommend that you read the reviews before buying. Another problem with generics is that they may make your device run hot and they can also void your warranty if your phone develops a fault. In general we would always recommend you buy a Genuine/OEM battery if you can afford to do so.
3) External Batteries– These are ideal if you’re going to be away from mains power for a period of time, such as camping, festivals and so on. The idea is that you charge the external battery pack (from the mains) and then charge the phone off that. Often external batteries will only last for one or two full charges, however very large packs (with a high mAh rating) are available if you’re going to be away for a longer time.
Understanding mAh
Before you buy, you should also check the mAh rating. This stands for milliamps delivered per hour rating and essentially tells you how long the battery will last before it needs recharging. A high end phone with a large screen may have a battery above 2500 mAh, whereas a mid-range model (with a smaller screen and less bulk), may only use a 1800 mAh battery. As mentioned above, sometimes generic batteries can have a higher rating than the genuine battery. For example, if your phone comes with a 2200 mAh battery, you can buy a 2400 mAh generic battery which should mean it will last longer between charges. As above, be careful with generics however.
If you have decided to ditch your iPhone in favour of Android, then there is a simple way to take your iTunes music, playlists and album art with you.
Simply go the Android Marketplace and download a Free App called Easy Phone Tunes. You will also need the computer version of the software, so go to http://easyphonetunes.com and download it from there. ?
Then, when that is done, turn your phone into a USB storage device (this will vary from device to device, but instructions are on the website).
Once your device is connected to your computer, open the computer version of the software and select your device from the Easy Phone Tunes list. Then follow the instructions to Sync your media.
To silence the phone when ringing there are two methods:
Either press the Volume Down (or Up) button or if the phone is on a surface facing up, simply flip it over so it is facing down.
If you regularly visit a website you can add a shortcut to your homescreen which can be quite useful, rather than entering the web address each time you want to visit the site.
You can either do this to an existing Bookmark, or simply a page you’re visiting:
1) Open your Browser App. Enter the website you want to bookmark. You may need to wait for the whole page to load first. Then press the phone’s Menu button or More at the top and select Add to home screen.
A pop up will appear, so choose “touch & hold to place manually” or “add automatically”.
2) Then bookmark the page.
While the stock standard keyboard is fine, there are much better keyboards available for the Lenovo Z5s.
First, you need to go to the Play Store and download one. Try searching for the word ‘keyboard’ and you will see a number of options.
One of the best keyboards is a keyboard called Swiftkey, which is a top-rated App. This will literally change the way you feel about your phone as the standard keyboard can be quite a frustrating experience.
Download your chosen keyboard and go through any install steps that you are presented with.
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.
Then, go to the App you want to type in. You should now see a little Keyboard icon on the row at the bottom of your screen, towards the bottom-right corner. Press that icon and you can switch between all of the keyboards you have installed.
Some other notable keyboards that work on the Lenovo Z5s are GO Keyboard and Gboard (the Google Keyboard). Download and install your keyboard app of choice. Once that’s done, follow these steps to switch your current keyboard to that newly installed one:
- You can click on your newly installed keyboard app (icon).
- Most of them can assist you on how to switch your keyboard.
- Just follow the instructions from the new keyboard app.
How to Switch Your Phone’s Default Keyboard to A New One
You can follow the steps above because most keyboard apps can assist you when it comes to switching the default keyboard to theirs. However, you can also do it manually by going to your Phone Settings. Just follow these steps:
- Go to Settings and scroll down or look for the “System” sub-menu.
- Under “System,” tap “Language and Keyboard” or “Language and Input.”
- Tap “Default Keyboard” and select the new keyboard app.
Depending on your unit and model, this method could vary. For those who can’t find the “Default Keyboard” option, you can follow these steps:
- Under “Language and Input,” you need to look for Virtual Keyboards → Manage Keyboards.
- Tap your keyboard of choice to activate it.
- You will get a message of confirmation. Just tap “OK.”
- Open your keyboard. You can do this by trying to write a message, email or search.
- Then tap the keyboard icon.
- Choose the Input Method (tap on your preferred keyboard).
Done! You can change your Lenovo Z5s keyboard’s theme, predictive text, and other settings by opening its menu. You can do this by locating the keyboard icon on your home screen, or by tapping on the settings icon when you open the keyboard for typing.
Checking Available RAM and CPU utilization on your Lenovo Z5s is very helpful if you are thinking about removing more Apps.
Looking at which Apps drain your RAM, CPU time, and battery will help you decide which of them should be removed from your phone.
To do this, just follow the simple steps below:
- Go to your phone settings. You can do this by swiping down the home screen to reveal the notification bar. From there, tap on the gear icon to open Settings.
- Look for Device Maintenance → Memory
- Alternately, you can also tap on “Data Usage,” then scroll down to see which apps are taking up CPU power.
- You may also look for “Smart Manager.” You will see the status of your RAM and Storage in this area. If you tap RAM, you will see a list of apps that are taking up much of your RAM.
- For Huawei users, you can look for “Storage” under Settings.
All methods from 2 to 4 can be accessed on the Phone Settings alone. There are certain variations, depending on your phone or unit.
This section should also show what is taking up valuable CPU time. Useful if you think some Apps are draining your battery.
Normally you can simply insert a SIM card and you will be able to browse the internet using 3G. Sometimes, this must be setup manually however. Before you start, you will need to ask your carrier or Telco for your APN settings.
Once you have those, go to Settings – Connections – Mobile networks – Access Point Names.
From here press the Plus sign at the top right and select New APN. Then fill in the details your carrier gave you. Then press the menu button and press Save.
To share or upload a video to services like Facebook or YouTube, simply go to your Video App and long press on a video.
Then select Share via. From here you will be given options to share the video with various services.
To store a phone number that you have received in an email, hold down on the number and you will be given the option to call, send an SMS or add the number to your contacts
To open a web page in a new tab, find a link on a web page. Then press on it and then choose to open the site in a new tab.
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