Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus Tips and Tricks

Android 7 (Nougat)
Phone: Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus
Factory OS: Android 7 (Nougat)

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This tip is relatively obvious, but some users overlook it.

Once you go into your Apps screen you should see a row of dots. This indicates which of the 5 App screens you are on. Rather than flick between each screen, you can simply press one of the dots and you will jump to that home screen.

Or alternatively, slide your finger across the dots to move between screens. This won’t work on all devices however.

To enable / disable your notification light, go to Settings – Display – LED indicator.

From here you can choose various options.

This may not be available on all models. An alternative however is to download NoLED from the Play Store, which has many options for incoming notifications.

To stop the Photo App or the Music player from indexing your files, place a blank text file called .nomedia in the folder containing your photos or music.

The best way to do this is to connect your device to a PC and then navigate to the relevant folder via your PC.

Depending on how your phone is set up, sometimes you will see lag when swiping between home screens or when generally using your phone. There are a number of things you can try to fix this, as follows:

First, try restarting your phone. This will fix many problems.

If that doesn’t work, then remove any Widgets that pull data to the phone, such as Twitter, Weather widgets etc.

If you have Live wallpapers turned on, then try turning them off long pressing on a blank area of the home screens and changing to a different Wallpaper.

Sometimes the problem can be with the phone or operators skin or launcher, so try going to the Play Store and downloading a third party launcher such as Nova launcher or Go LauncherEx. Note: you will need to re-create your home screen shortcuts, but they are both great launchers.

Another tip is to always press the Back key instead of the Home key when leaving Apps. The Back key will often close the App properly, while the Home key can leave it running in the background.

Lastly, there is a great app called DU Speed Booster which can help close Apps that are running in the background and optimise your phone’s memory.

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.

Voicemail is one of this crucial phone features, which isn’t always obvious to find.

To set up your voicemail, then first open your Phone App. Then press the settings icon in the top right and select Settings.

Then scroll down to Voicemail settings. From here you will find various options including the number to dial to retrieve your mails. You might need to check with your carrier for the correct number.

Depending on your carrier you may have to enter the series of steps required to go through the voicemail menu, for example: *86,,yourpassword# (a comma inserts a pause).

If you are abroad and don’t want to pay high data roaming charges, then you can save Google Maps for offline viewing later. Here are two ways to do this:

The first method will depend whether your phone supports it.

First, open Google Maps and navigate to a section of the map that you want available offline.

Then on the search bar at the top, press the Hamburger / Menu icon and select Offline maps.

Next, choose Select your own map.

Then zoom and pan around the required map area. The size of the offline map will be shown beneath the map area. When done, press the Download button.

Alternatively, open Google Maps and zoom down to street level. Then scroll around area you’ll be travelling too. If you’re visiting a city for example, do this at street level and cover as much area as you think you’ve be visiting. If you’re travelling outside a city, then street level view might be too detailed, so zoom out and just cover the main roads, towns etc.

This will load all the segments into your phone’s cache. Then when have arrived at your destination and you have data turned off, you should see the areas you’ve stored on the phone’s memory.

Note: this won’t give you your GPS location because that normally needs a data connection to pinpoint your position.

Looking to find the IMEI nunber for your Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus? Read on.

An IMEI is a unique serial number that is assigned to your phone. Each phone has a unique IMEI, regardless of brand and model. Most insurance companies would ask for your IMEI because this helps them report and block the device once it gets lost or stolen.

If you’ve just bought your Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus, it is best to keep its package box and avoid throwing that to the bin. That could be very handy when you do lose your phone and you need to trace it using the IMEI code.

There are several ways to get your IMEI number by just using your phone. The easiest way is to go to the dialer and press *#06#. The IMEI should be displayed on your screen after entering the code.

Now for those who dialled *#06# on their phones, some might be seeing two types of serial numbers. Just take note of the first one, because that is most likely the IMEI.

Aside from that, you can also go to Settings → System → About Device → Status, then scroll down to locate your IMEI number. This could vary a bit depending on your phone model. Some smartphones list the IMEI under the About Device section. So just scroll down in case you don’t see it under System or Status.

The IMEI is also often imprinted on your battery cover. This means that you have to dismantle the back cover of your phone to get a copy of it. This is rather inconvenient. If you can still access your IMEI using the phone itself, then just do so. Except if your Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus is locked or has no power for some reason.

First open your Contacts App and select a contact. Then press Edit at the top of the screen.

Then should then see a photo icon. Press that and you will then see some options to either take a photo or select a photo from your Gallery.

Select the icon depending on your requirements.

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.