Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.5 Tips and Tricks
Factory OS: Android 8 (Oreo)
Have you updated your Operating System?
Then view tips for the most recent OS version(s): Android 9 (Pie)
Or view tips for all Android versions
To delete or remove homescreen widgets, simply press and hold. Then drag the widget to the top-right corner of the screen and into the Trash icon.
If you are browsing YouTube videos on your phone and they appear blurry, then this is usually because of your connection speed.
If you are using 3G / 4G and you’re in an area of low signal strength, then YouTube will sometimes automatically reduce the quality of the video. Unfortunately this can make the video very pixelated and of poor quality.
If you are using the standard Android browser, then when the video is in full screen, press the back button. Then press HQ and start playing it again.
If you are using another browser, then press the Settings icon on the bottom right of the YouTube video. Then change the quality.
This may improve the quality, but it may also lead to buffering issues.
Another solution is to use a WiFi connection, if one is available.
If you want to clear your website browser history, cache or cookies on the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10 5 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:
- First, open the browser you use and look for the Menu or “More” button/icon.
- Then go to History → Clear Browsing Data.
- 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.”
- You will see a list of data that you can tap to clear. You can clear cache, cookies, passwords, browser history and more.
- Be aware that if you delete cookies you will have to login to your online accounts again.
- 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:
- Make sure you have already logged in your Google Account on Chrome.
- On Chrome, click on your Profile / Account icon (located at the top right portion).
- Look for Sync is On → Turn Off
- 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:
- Open the Samsung Internet browser.
- Tap on the Menu icon.
- Go to Settings → Privacy and Security
- Scroll down to Personal Data then tap “Delete Browsing Data.”
- A list will open up and you can tap to delete other data such as cache, cookies, passwords, location data, among others.
- 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 Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10 5
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:
- Open Chrome and go to Menu or tap on the More (three-dotted) icon.
- Then go to History → Clear Browsing Data.
- 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.”
- You will see a list of data that you can tap to clear. You can clear cache, cookies, passwords, browser history and more.
- 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:
- Open the Samsung Internet browser.
- Tap on the Menu icon.
- Go to Settings → Privacy and Security
- Scroll down to Personal Data then tap “Delete Browsing Data.”
- A list will open up and you can tap to delete other data such as cache, cookies, passwords, location data, among others.
- 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 Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10 5
Clearing cookies from your phone is done similarly with clearing your browser history and cache. For Google Chrome users, just use these steps:
- Open Chrome and go to Menu or tap on the More (three-dotted) icon.
- Then go to History → Clear Browsing Data.
- 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.”
- You will see a list of data that you can tap to clear. You can clear cache, cookies, passwords, browser history and more.
- Just select Cookies, then tap “Clear Data.”
For those who are using the default Samsung browser, you can follow these steps:
- Open the Samsung Internet browser.
- Tap on the Menu icon.
- Go to Settings → Privacy and Security
- Scroll down to Personal Data then tap “Delete Browsing Data.”
- A list will open up and you can tap to delete other data such as cache, cookies, passwords, location data, among others.
- 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 are browsing and have zoomed in or out and the column you’re reading doesn’t fit the screen properly, you can pinch to zoom in. Then double tap on the column. The column will then be reformatted to fit the screen width.
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 – Personal – Accessibility – Talkback to activate it.
Then your phone will give you an ongoing narration of its various functions.
The most common and effective way to copy photos to your PC (from your Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10 5) 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 Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10 5
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:
- Make sure you have set up your Google Account on your smartphone.
- Open the Google Photos app on your phone.
- Then go to its Menu (you can find this at the top).
- Find Settings then look for Back-up & Sync
- 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:
- Connect your Huawei and PC with the use of a USB cable.
- Go to your phone’s Settings and search for “HDB” on the top search bar.
- Tap on “Allow HI Suite to use HDB.”
- You have to agree on certain terms and policies to make use of the function.
- 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 Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10 5
- 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.
- Tap on the plus (+) icon from the homepage of GOOGLE DRIVE
- From here, you can start uploading the photos you want by selecting them from your storage device.
- 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
- Connect your Pixel phone to your computer using your USB cable.
- Open the MobileTrans app on your computer and choose BACKUP.
- Once your phone is detected, the snapshot will be shown on the screen.
- Enable the PHOTOS option from the list of selected data types.
- Finally, click on START and your photos will be moved to your computer.
Transfer Photos using Free Syncios Mobile Manager
- Install and launch the Free Syncios Mobile Manager app on your computer. Choose BACKUP mode from the list of choices.
- The program should turn to the GOOGLE PIXEL to computer transfer window.
- 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.
- Wait for the selected files to be fully transferred to your PC.
Transfer Photos Using ApowerManager
- Download and open the ApowerManager on your PC and phone.
- Connect your phone to the PC via the USB cable.
- On the desktop version, choose MANAGE found on the top and go to the PHOTOS tab.
- Choose the photos you want to transfer then click on EXPORT.
- Wait for the photos to be transferred and remove the USB cable.
Transfer Photos Using Droid Transfer
- Install the DROID TRANSFER app on your PC and phone.
- Connect both devices by scanning the QR CODE found on the app’s interface using the TRANSFER COMPANION app on the phone.
- Once both devices are connected, proceed to the PHOTOS tab.
- Choose the photos you want to transfer and click COPY PHOTOS.
- Wait for the photos to be completely transferred to your computer and remove the USB device.
Google have hidden a clone of an Octopus inside of the Android Oreo OS.
To access this follow these instructions:
Drag down the notifications screen and go to Settings. Then scroll down to About device. Then tap on the Android version option 5 times.
You should now see a Lollipop on the screen or a double layer Oreo for Android 8.1.
Keep pressing the Lollipop/Oreo and after awhile a flying Octopus will appear.
You may need to long press on the Lollipop if multiple presses doesn’t work.
You can drag and fling that Octopus all around your screen. The eight tentacles represented 8.0
An almost essential setting is the ability to lock your screen by pressing the power key once. It will save plenty of time in the long run.
If this isn’t enabled, then go to Settings – Accessibility – Answering and ending calls.
Then select Pressing the power key.
To lock your screen while you are watching videos, simply press the power button.
This will disable the touchscreen buttons while the video is playing, but it won’t turn the screen off like the lock key normally does.
Note, this will only work on video files that you are playing that are stored on your phone. It won’t work for videos played within websites, such as YouTube videos.
If you want to resize your homescreen widgets, then press and hold on a widget for 2 seconds. If the widget is resizable, then an outline will appear around the widget. Simply drag the sides to resize the widget.
If the outline doesn’t appear or you can’t drag the lines, then the widget is a fixed sized widget.


