Nokia Lumia 521 Tips and Tricks

Windows Phone 8
Phone: Nokia Lumia 521
Factory OS: Windows Phone 8

Have you updated your Operating System?
Then view tips for the most recent OS version(s): Windows Phone 8.1
Or view tips for all Windows Phone versions

To change the colour of your tiles, go to Settings – Lock and wallpaper – Theme.

You can then change the colour of your Applications or third-party apps.

The phone’s Browser is designed to use as much of the phone’s screen as possible, however this means the status bar is usually hidden.

To quickly view the status bar with Time, Battery Indicator and Signal Strength, quickly press More (…) or the Address Bar. This will show the bar. Alternatively you can press and hold the More button and drag it up slightly to reveal the status bar. Drag it down again to discard it.

To turn your phone into a WiFi hotspot, then follow these instructions:

First, go to your Start screen and swipe left and go to Settings.

Then select Internet sharing and turn Sharing on.

From here you can name your connection by selecting Setup – Broadcast name and entering a name.

You can also secure your WiFi hotspot but adding a password for the connection.

Next, go to another device and find your phone’s WiFi hotspot service.

Note: This will use your data plan, so use wisely!

To dial using Country Codes that are stored in your contact list, go to Settings – Applications – Phone – International assist

If you are listening to the radio and like a song, but don’t know the name or artist, your phone can help you. This is similar to the Shazam music service.

Simply open the Bing App and press the Music button. The phone will then search for the song and provide you the song, artist, album cover and a link to purchase the track (or album) from the Zune marketplace.

To disable caller ID, go to Settings – Applications – Phone.

Then change Show my Caller ID to either Everyone, No one or My contacts.

This is useful if you don’t want people to see your phone number when you call them.

To bookmark a website, go to Start – Internet Explorer.

Then go to a website that you want to bookmark.

Make sure the phone is in Portrait mode. Then press the Favourite button.

Then if necessary you can change the name of the bookmark. Select Ok.

To find your MAC address, go to the homescreen and scroll to the right.

Choose Settings – About. Then press More information. The MAC address should be shown next to the SIM ID.

You can also try opening the Phone app (dialler), then dial ##634# and press Call.

Then from the Diagnostics screen dial *#1234#

This may not work on all phones.

While browsing websites, if you see a phone number or a physical address, you can double tap the number / address. For phone numbers, the phone will dial the number. For addresses, it will show the address on Bing Maps. This may not work for all carriers.

To play your whole music collection, go into the Music and Videos area and press the Play button there.

This will start playing all your music.