Sony Xperia XA1 Tips and Tricks

A handy feature of Android is to quickly clear your notifications.

Simply pull down your notifications bar by swiping your finger from the top of your phone downwards.

Then when you see each individual notification, swipe your finger left or right to clear each one. You can do this with your Apps too – press and hold the multitasking button. Then swipe left or right to close Apps.

If you regularly visit a website you can add a shortcut to your home screen which can be quite useful, rather than entering the web address each time you want to visit the site.

You can either do this to an existing Bookmark, or simply a page you’re visiting:

1) Open your Browser App. Enter the website you want to bookmark. You may need to wait for the whole page to load first. Then press the phone’s Menu button or More at the top and select Add to Home screen.

2) Open your Browser App. Find an existing Bookmark by pressing the Bookmarks icon at the bottom of the App. Select the Bookmark and repeat the above steps.

If you want to install Apps outside of the Play Store (called sideloading), then go to Settings – Lock screen and security and select Unknown sources.

This setting will allow you to download Apps onto your device that would normally be blocked in the Play store.

Note: use at your own risk.

Looking for a replacement battery for your Sony Xperia Xa1? 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
 

By default, your phone will recognise swear words, but insert x’s instead of the word.

To change this, pull down your menu, press General Management – Language and input – On-screen keyboard.

Then you may need to select your voice input system (e.g. Google voice typing).

Then toggle the Block offensive words option.

If you want to resize your home screen 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.

If you tend to run out of battery power quickly, then you can turn on Power saving mode.

Pull down the notification screen by swiping your finger from the top of the phone.

Then select Power Saving. You may need to scroll left to right along the available icons.

To change the settings, then pull down the notification screen again, press the Settings / Gear icon at the top.

Then under Device Maintenance – select Battery.

Then select a mode and select Customise if necessary.

If you receive the following message:
Unable to save screenshot, USB storage may be in use.

Then follow these steps to fix the error:

1. Open File Manager. If that is unavailable, ES File manager can be downloaded instead via the Play Store.

2. Select Show Hidden Files/Folders. You should be able to see a folder named Pictures.

3. Then, in the same screen, locate the Screenshots folder. If you can’t find it, create a new folder with the name Screenshots

4. After making the folder, restart your device. You should be able to take screenshots now.

5. If your screenshot still doesn’t save, follow the same steps above (1-3) but use instead of doing this for the Pictures folder, try it for the DCIM folder.

How to unlock: Unlocking can bring many important benefits and can save you a considerable amount of money.

We can recommend a safe, reliable and low cost phone unlocking supplier or you can read more in our comprehensive phone unlocking guide which explains what it means, why you should unlock, and the safest and cheapest place to get it done.

1) Go straight to our recommended phone unlocking provider.

or

2) Read our phone unlocking guide for more detailed information.

Android has a way to display your owner info (i.e. name, phone, email or a personalised message) on your lock screen. Perfect if you have lost or misplaced your device.

To enable this go to Settings – Lock screen and security – Information and FaceWidgets – Contact information.

Here you can enter any information you want, such as your name, email address or phone number. It’s obviously recommended to use a number other than your mobile if it has been lost!

Hopefully if your phone is lost, then the finder can use this information to get in contact with you.