Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini Tips and Tricks

Android 4.4 (Kit Kat)
Phone: Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini
Factory OS: Android 4.4 (Kit Kat)

Have you updated your Operating System?
Then view tips for the most recent OS version(s): Android 9 (Pie) & Android 8 (Oreo)
Or view tips for all Android versions

First open your Contacts App and select a contact. Then press the phone’s Menu button and select Edit.

Then you should see a silhouette of a person. Press this, or a little + sign next to it and you will be given a number of options to create a photo or image for that contact.

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 would prefer to correct your own mistakes, then go to Settings – My device – Language and input.

Then select the keyboard you are using and press the Settings icon again.

You should be able to find a predictive text option on this screen.

If you want to find your phone’s WiFi MAC address (for improved WiFi security), then go to Settings – More – About device – Status.

Then scroll down until you see WiFi MAC Address. The address should be a series of Hex numbers and letters.

If you don’t want to have to unlock your screen every time you take your device out of standby then go to Settings – My device – Lock screen – Screen lock and change the settings there.

The Speech to Text feature is a great tool for dictating speech on to your phone, but has normally only been possible when your phone is connected to the internet.

Now this is possible in Offline mode too. Simply go to Settings – My device – Language & input – Voice Search. Then choose Download offline speech recognition.

You can now use this feature without needing an internet connection.

Android now has a way to display your name, phone or email on your lock screen. Perfect if you have lost or misplaced your device.

To enable this go to Settings – My device – Lock screen – Lock screen widgets. Then at the bottom press Owner information. Here you can enter any information you want, such as your name or email address.

While in your email App, a handy trick is to pinch and zoom out to see a ‘day view’ of your emails. This is handy if you have a lot of emails and want to quickly sort them by recency.

When taking photos or videos, tap the screen where you want to focus on. The phone will automatically adjust the settings to improve the image or video

To enable or disable the vibrate function when you receive text messages go to the standard Messaging App.

Press the devices menu button and then select Settings. Then scroll down to Notification settings and select Vibrate.