Xiaomi Mi A2 Tips and Tricks

The most recent version of Android now comes with a built in Flashlight / Torch App.

To find this, simply pull down to see your notifications. Then on the top bar (where you see your settings for WiFi, Bluetooth etc.), scroll across until you see Torch.

Locking your phone is a great security feature, but when you’re at home it’s normally not necessary.

A featured called Trusted Places enables you to bypass the lock screen when you’re at specific geographic places.

To set it up go to Settings – Lock screen and security – Smart lock – Trusted places. You can also set up the bypass to work when your phone is connected to specific Bluetooth devices such as Smart watches or Audio devices.

You can also override this (i.e. lock your screen when it is at the location). To override, just press and hold the padlock icon on the lock screen.

This may not work on all phones, models or networks.

To quickly close Apps, press the Home key

This will display your currently running Apps. From here you can simply swipe the Apps off the screen by dragging your finger left or right. This is a very quick way to free up some memory.

Here’s how to pair your device with another Bluetooth device.

First you will need to turn Bluetooth on. To do this, drag your finger from the top of the screen down, to show your notifications menu. Then press Bluetooth so the icon is green.

Then press the Scan button and your device will start to scan for pairable devices.

Choose the desired device and press Accept. You may be asked to enter a PIN or Password.

Sometimes you will want to prevent your device fro, displaying or indexing folders on your Phone storage or USB storage.

To do this, simply rename the folder and place a . (full top / period) before the file or folder name.

This can be done through the Files App or by plugging your device in to your computer and renaming it there.

To speed up your phone, you can turn off screen animations. Go to Settings – Developer options.

Then scroll down to Window animation scale and select that. From here you can choose to turn Animations Off. This will make screen transitions faster.

Note: Developer Options is not enabled by default. To enable, go to Settings – About Device. Then tap on Build number 7 times.

There is a great app called Moves by a company called Protogeo that makes use of your devices accelerometer to record your movements, whether by walking, cycling or running.

Go to the Play Store and search for Moves.

Looking for a charger for your Xiaomi Mi A2? Our guide shows you the best deals and provides advice on charger types.

Important: We take no responsibility for chargers purchased that are incompatible with your device. Please check your user manual or product descriptions before you buy.

The good news is that unless you own an iPhone (which uses the Apple Lightning Charger), almost all smartphones on the market today use the standard 5 watt Micro USB connection. This is great for consumers because it means you can normally borrow a charger from someone else if your phone is out of juice (unless they own an iPhone of course). Many shopping centres and events also provide charging stations for this connection.

Charger types
Chargers can be classified into the following four categories:

USB Charger– This is normally a simple cable that connects from your phone (micro USB port) to your laptops or desktop PCs (normal USB port). They’re super cheap and super convenient. They are often included in your phone box, but we recommend you buy extras so you can leave one at home, one at work, one at friends place etc.

Mains Charger– These also normally come in your phone’s box, but it’s also useful to have them dotted around the house or workplace so you’re never far away from a re-charge.

Car Charger– If you have a car, you should get a car charger. These simply plug into your cigarette lighter and the other end plugs into your phone. We recommend buying one for each car that you own.

Portable Charger – Also known as an external battery pack, these are great for camping, festivals or going anywhere where you may not have a mains power supply. They come in many sizes ranging from tiny portable ones providing one charge, to large power packs allowing you to charge your device multiple times.

Get the best chargers!
To help you choose, we’ve listed the best-selling chargers for the Xiaomi Mi A2. Simply click on the products below to find out more (if you don’t see any products below, make sure you pause any ad blocking software):

With the recent versions of Android 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.

There are a couple of ways to add new home screens to your device.

The simplest is to go to one of your existing Homescreens and simply pinch the screen. This will show all of your Homescreens in thumbnail view. Then just press the Plus symbol to add another. You can also press and hold, then drag a Homescreen to a different position. Or press the little Home icon to make one of them your default Homescreen.

Another option is to download a Launcher App. These are third-party user interfaces that allow you to customize your phone in many ways. Most of them allow multiple homescreens. A very popular launcher which supports multiple homescreens is GoLauncher EX.

Simply go the Play Store and search for GoLauncher EX or another launcher.