Sony Xperia L1 Tips and Tricks

Looking for a replacement battery for your Sony Xperia L1? 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.

Click to choose your battery
 

The Play store contains thousands of great Apps, but sometimes you’ll want to restrict access, particularly if you have kids and are concerned about what they can access.

First, open the Android Play Store App. Then press the Hamburger / Settings icon and then scroll down to Settings.

Then select Parental controls and turn these on.

Create a PIN code and then confirm the PIN and press OK.

Then you’ll see a number of categories including Apps & games, Films, TV, Mags and Music.

You can select each of these individually and then choose an age rating that is appropriate for users of your devices.

There are a number of ways to speed up your phone. The following list are tried and trusted techniques:

Firstly, uninstall apps that you don’t use. Over time your device can get cluttered as some Apps are designed to always run in the background. If you don’t use an App very often, then uninstall it to free up memory and CPU resource.

Use Static wallpapers instead of Live ones. Live wallpapers often consume processing power and memory. Unless you really need them, uninstall them.

Use home screen widgets sparingly. These often slow down the phone and use up memory and CPU resources. If you don’t really need the widget, then uninstall it.

Install a great App called DU Speed Booster and DU Battery Booster. These Apps are prefect to run when your phone starts to slow down, you’re running out of memory or you want your battery to last for a few more minutes or hours.

Kill tasks occasionally – Some Apps will run in the background indefinitely unless you kill them. Most of them won’t cause a problem, but it pays to check your running tasks from time to time. Hold down your Home key and check the Task Manager.

If you see the following error:
Unfortunately, the process android.process.acore has stopped

Then follow these steps:
1.First, go to your phone’s main Settings and select Apps.

2. Then, tap on the menu button usually at the top right left.

3. Select Reset App Preferences.

Alternatively, you can also disable all apps and enable them again one by one until you find the app that has been causing the error.

If none of the above works, you can do a Factory Reset or reboot, instead. Be warned you may lose all of your data when performing a Factory reset!

The phone has the ability to send quick response text messages if your phone is ringing but you can’t answer it.

To change these, go to your Text Message (SMS) App and press the Menu or More button.

Then select Settings – Quick responses.

From here you can add or edit your reject messages.

If you find yourself woken up by notifications, text messages or incoming calls, then there is a handy feature called Do not disturb.

To enable this go to Settings – Sound and vibration – Do not disturb.

Next, select Enable now or Enable as scheduled.

The latter option will give you options to set the time period for your Do not disturb.

You can also add exceptions to allow notifications from certain contacts that you don’t mind bothering you.

There is a hidden Android Easter egg on the phone that Google has built into your device.

Go to Settings. Then scroll down to About device or About phone.

Then select Software info and find Android version.

Press this 5 times.

Once you see something on the screen, you can then rub the screen with your finger to produce another surprise. If rubbing doesn’t work then try tapping with your finger. A combination of the above should work. If not, then try different things. That’s the fun of the Easter egg.

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.

The fast and easy way to change the wallpaper on the Sony Xperia L1 is to tap and hold on a blank space on your home screen and then tap “Wallpapers.”

From there, you can choose any image from your gallery or from a preset selection of live wallpapers from your device.

You may also go directly to your Sony Xperia L1 Gallery then open an image of your choice. Once you open the image, select “More” to look for the “Set as Wallpaper” option.

You can also change your wallpaper from the Settings menu on your phone. Just follow these steps:

1. Swipe up or unlock your home screen to display all apps.
2. Look for the Settings icon, tap and then look for “Display.” For some phones, you might want to look for “Home Screen” or “Wallpaper” right away.
3. Next, tap “Wallpaper” and select which folder or file you want to use.
4. Find your desired image and tap “Set Wallpaper.”

You can always use your own image as a wallpaper. However, most phones also have a preset selection of wallpapers (or live images) that can be used anytime too.

You may also choose different images each for your wallpaper and lock screen. However, you may also use just one image for both.

While the stock standard keyboard is fine, there are much better keyboards available for the Sony Xperia L1.

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 Sony Xperia L1 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:

1. You can click on your newly installed keyboard app (icon).
2. Most of them can assist you on how to switch your keyboard.
3. 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:

1. Go to Settings and scroll down or look for the “System” sub-menu.
2. Under “System,” tap “Language and Keyboard” or “Language and Input.”
3. 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:

1. Under “Language and Input,” you need to look for Virtual Keyboards → Manage Keyboards.
2. Tap your keyboard of choice to activate it.
3. You will get a message of confirmation. Just tap “OK.”
4. Open your keyboard. You can do this by trying to write a message, email or search.
5. Then tap the keyboard icon.
6. Choose the Input Method (tap on your preferred keyboard).

Done! You can change your Sony Xperia L1 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.

If you would prefer not to be told every time an Application has been updated, open the Play Store and press the Hamburger / Menu icons in the top left.

Then select Settings and untick the App updates available option.