Sony Xperia L Tips and Tricks
Factory OS: Android 4.1.1 (Jellybean)
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Then view tips for the most recent OS version(s): Android 9 (Pie) & Android 8 (Oreo)
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If you would prefer the Desktop view of websites, rather than the Mobile view, then there is a way to change it. This may not work in all regions or on all carriers however.
Open the standard browser and type about:debug into the browser’s address bar. Then go to Menu – Settings. You should have a new option called Debug. Press Debug, then on the right side press UAstring and change the option to Desktop.
Websites should now be displayed as they would on a computer desktop browser.
Another alternative is to install a third-party browser like Dolphin, Firefox or Opera which have options to surf in Desktop mode.
General
Search for
Who invented
Show me the stocks for
Author of
How old is
How tall is
Time & Date
What time is it in
When is the
When is the sunset in
What is the time zone of
Time at home
Weather
Show me the weather
Is it going to rain tomorrow?
Do I need an umbrella?
Do I need a jacket
What is the weather in
How is the weather on
Maps / Location
Map of
Show me the nearby
Where is
Navigate to
I am hungry (shows all nearby food points on map)
How far is
Calculations / Conversions
How much is
What is
Square root of
What is the numerical value of Pi
Convert
Temperature of the sun
Sports
Who won the last match between
Schedule of
Websites
Go to
Open
Show me
Browse to
Entertainment
Listen toPlay
YouTube
Notes / Reminders
Remind me to
Contacts / Communcation
Call
Send
Call
Send a text to
Email to
Flights
Flight Status of
Has
When will
Other
Do a barrel roll
If you have word prediction enabled while you are typing, you can long press the middle word that is suggested. This will bring up a menu allowing you to select various other suggested words.
Removing Apps is very simple. From the homescreen press the Apps icon in the top-right of the screen. Then press and hold the App you want to remove and drag it to the Remove / Trash icon in the top-right of the screen.
You can also drag it to the i icon which will show you information about the App. You can press Uninstall from here.
To save an image in an email or in the browser, long press on the image and a menu will appear allowing you to save it.
For images inside text messages, you might have to press and hold on the message itself, rather than the image.
In Contacts press Menu – More – Display options – Display contacts by.
Then select either First name first or Surname first.
With Android Jelly Bean you can now take photos while recording video by simply pressing the screen.
This will save that particular frame to the gallery while continuing to record video.
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, from your homescreen press Menu – Settings – Wireless and networks – Mobile networks. Then tick Use packet data. Then select Access Point Name (APN).
Then press the menu icon in the top-right corner and select New APN. Then fill in the details your carrier gave you. Then press the menu icon again and press Save.
Downloading loads of Apps is great, but sometimes they can cause havoc with your phone and a boot into safe mode is necessary.
To do this, long press your Power button. Then long press on the Power off option. You will then be asked to reboot into safe mode.
When your phone restarts it will not load any Apps allowing you to disable any troublesome ones.
In the Calendar App there is no Year view along the top of the App. You can however use pinch to zoom gestures to zoom in and out of Month and Year view however.
This is useful if you want to quickly jump backwards or forwards through a few months at a time.