Galaxy S7 Guides

Can you unlock Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge, if you forget PIN, password, pattern and fingerprint is not recognized?

It is always frustrating when you are locked out of your own Galaxy S7 or S7 edge.

You may have 100 proofs that you are the owner. You are holding your Galaxy S7 or S7 edge, with all legal documents.

But the guys in Samsung service center, or in your carrier’s service center will NOT help you unlock the phone.

They simply tell you to reset the phone.

For legal reasons, in most regions, no legit business will help you unlock Galaxy S7 or S7 edge.

Privacy in most regions is a serious legal issue because many personal data are stored on smartphones.

So, always remember your lock screen PIN/password/pattern. It is your responsibility to remember them.

If you forget the PIN, or password or lock pattern, and your fingerprint is not accepted (or when your fingerprint cannot be used after a reboot), the only official way to unlock Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge is Samsung’s Find My mobile service.

This guide will show you how to use Find My Mobile to unlock Galaxy S7 (and S7 edge) when you are locked out of your phone.

Why I cannot unlock Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge with Google account?

Prior to Android Lollipop, you have the option to reset lock screen pattern with your Google account if you forget the pattern and the backup password.

And for some Samsung devices, you can even unlock the device with Google account after a few tries. But this is NOT a formal Android feature.

In Samsung devices running Android Lollipop, unlock with Google account may be offered in special versions of devices. In most regions, it was removed.

For Samsung devices with Android Marshmallow, unlock with Google account is removed.

Why I cannot unlock Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge with Android device manager?

If you follow some old guides to unlock Galaxy S7 or to unlock Galaxy S7 edge, you may end up in Android device manager, which is available in web and as an Android app.

Unfortunately, unlock function has been removed from Android device manager since 2015, very likely for possible legal troubles Google may face.

As shown below, in addition to locating Galaxy S7 or S7 edge, Android device manager now only allows you to:

• Ring Galaxy S7 or S7 edge so that you can find it.

… Read the rest

The post How to unlock Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge with Find My Mobile? appeared first on Galaxy S7 Guides.

What’s new in Galaxy S7 camera app with Android Nougat update in S7 and S7 edge?

With Android Nougat update for Galaxy S7 and S7 edge,   Samsung also updated their camera app.

Again, this update brought some confusions among many owners. It seems Samsung lacks a clear roadmap for their apps.

This page was prepared to help owners of Galaxy S7 and S7 edge who have questions on using Galaxy S7 camera app with Android Nougat update. If your Galaxy S7 or S7 edge is still running Android Marshmallow, please check this guide.

First, here is the list of major changes in Galaxy S7 camera app with Android Nougat update:

• New Galaxy S7 camera preview screen.
• 2 New gestures to switch front/rear camera. This is an additional way to switch camera in Galaxy S7 and S7 edge.
• You can only use the gesture to access Galaxy S7 camera modes. The button was removed in this Android Nougat update.
• New gesture to access Galaxy S7 camera effects. Again,  this is the only way to access Galaxy S7 camera effects after Android Nougat update for Galaxy S7 and S7 edge.
• Quick settings are now camera mode aware.

Please note, the changes are more or less on usability only. There are no changes in features of the Galaxy S7 camera and Galaxy S7 edge camera.

How to use the new preview screen of Galaxy S7 camera app with Android Nougat update in S7 and S7 edge?

The new preview screen of Galaxy S7 camera app with Android Nougat update looks cleaner. The old preview screen under Marshmallow can be found here.

But if you are a seasoned Samsung phone user, you may find it is confusing.

As shown below, the new preview screen of Galaxy S7 camera app with Android Nougat update have 8 functional parts (the numbers are corresponding to those shown in the screenshot below):

1. Take a photo. 

You need tap it to take the picture.

Please note, Samsung camera app does not support tap to take photos by default (you need manually enable it for front camera).  But if it is not convenient for you to tap this button, you can use many other ways to take a photo in Galaxy S7 and S7 edge including:

• use your voice to take photos in Galaxy S7 and S7 edge. This works for both front and rear cameras.

… Read the rest

The post Use Galaxy S7 camera app with Android Nougat update in S7 and S7 edge appeared first on Galaxy S7 Guides.

What is Galaxy S7 power button options?

As explained in Samsung Galaxy S7 buttons page, you can use power button to wake up the phone when the screen is off.  When screen is on, you can use power button to turn off the display and lock the screen instantly.

In addition to waking up the screen, or locking Galaxy S7 screen, Galaxy S7 power button options offers additional functions for you to:

• Power off Galaxy S7 (and Galaxy S7 edge)
• Restart (reboot) Galaxy S7
• Turn on/off emergency mode on Galaxy S7.

Please note, in different Android phones, the power button options are usually different.  The power button options discussed in this page apply to:

• Samsung Galaxy S7
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
• Samsung Galaxy S6, S6 edge and S6 edge+ with Android Marshmallow update
• Samsung Galaxy Note 5 with Android Marshmallow update

How to access Galaxy S7 power button options?

To access  Galaxy S7 power button options, you need press and hold power button for more than 2 seconds.

If you hold power button more than 7 seconds, Galaxy S7 will reboot.

If you want to exit from Galaxy S7 power button options, you can tap Back button.

How to use Galaxy S7 power button options?

As shown below, once you get Galaxy S7 power button options, you tap on one of the three buttons:

To power off Galaxy S7, tap Power off.

To reboot Galaxy S7, tap Restart.  This will shutdown the Android operating system, then restart it automatically.

To enable (if currently disabled) or disable (if currently enabled) emergency mode, tap emergency mode.

If you access Galaxy S7 power button options by accident,  you can tap Home button or back button to exit this screen.

Do you understand and use Galaxy S7 power button options now?

If you have any questions or problems with Galaxy S7 power button options, please let us know in the comment box below.

The community will try to help you.

You can get the official Samsung Galaxy S7 user manual (user guide) in your local language here, and Galaxy S7 edge user manual (user guide) in your local language here.

For other guides on using Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge, please check Galaxy S7 online manual page.

For detailed Galaxy S7 how-to guides, please check Galaxy S7 how-to guides page.… Read the rest

The post Galaxy S7 power button options appeared first on Galaxy S7 Guides.

We all hate app pushing pop up ads

As most of Galaxy S7 owners use a lot of free apps. We understand many app developers rely on ad revenue to pay their bills.

So, normally we can tolerate ads in apps without installing the ad blocker apps. Just FYI, some app blockers may replace original ads with their own ads. So these guys are using other developers’ work to earn money.

Anyway, the majority of Galaxy S7 owners may get angry when some apps push pop up ads which affect your phone usage unless you tap the ad or close the app.

Even worse, some nasty apps may push pop up ads when the app is NOT in use.  They deliberately to hide the app pushing pop up ads.

For example, as shown below, when I browsed my own website with Chrome browser, and suddenly, a pop up ads blocked my view as shown below.

I have no way to close this pop up ad. The X in the pop up ad actually direct me to Google Play store to install the poor app, or to some suspicious sites.

This is an example of malicious pop up ad. I believe most of us hate them.

I know I do not use such pop up ads in the website because this is our own website. I know the ad types and sources.

I know Chrome never push pop up ads.

I know my ISP does not have such a shabby business.

Then where does this pop ads come?

So I decided to dig it further to find out the app pushing pop up ads.

How to find out the app pushing pop up ads in Galaxy S7 and S7 edge?

Such ads do not show all times.  Sometimes, it shows once a day or twice a day or every the other day.

I know such nasty pop up ads are pushed by some apps installed on my Galaxy S7 edge.  But you do not know which one because the app developer deliberately tried to hide app.

Initially, I thought, it is through notification. So, I disabled notification for most suspicious apps.

But this does not solve the issue. A developer told me it is from a running service, not through notification system.

And my friend shared his method to find out the app pushing pop up ads in Galaxy S7 .… Read the rest

The post How to find out the app pushing pop up ads in Galaxy S7 and S7 edge? appeared first on Galaxy S7 Guides.

About Samsung Galaxy S7 Online Manual

Samsung  Galaxy S7 Online Manual is an extension (with more details) of the official Samsung Galaxy S7 user manual (in PDF) and official Galaxy S7 edge user manual (PDF) .

Samsung Galaxy S7 online manual as created for Galaxy S7 owners to use commonly used feature of Galaxy S7.

If you want to download the PDF version of Samsung Galaxy S7 user manual in your own language, you can find them in this page for Galaxy S7, and this page for Galaxy S7 edge.

If you need some detailed Galaxy S7 how-to guides  for some advanced features, please check this Galaxy S7 how-to page.

More pages will be added to Samsung Galaxy S7 online manual regularly after they are tested. So, this is a live page. You may check this page later if you cannot find the page you want.

Of course, you can leave your questions in the comments section below, and the community will help you find the solution/answer.

You can use the following links to navigate through Galaxy S7 online manual.

List of Samsung Galaxy S7 online manual pages

1. Galaxy S7 layout and Galaxy S7 edge layout

   This Galaxy S7 layout and Galaxy S7 edge layout page will show you the functions and features of all buttons, ports and components in Galaxy S7 and S7 edge. Read on…..

2. Galaxy S7 physical buttons?

   Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge have 4 hardware buttons (keys), Home, Power, Volume up and Volume down,  and 2 capacitive buttons, Recent and Back. This Galaxy S7 online guide explains you the functions of these 6 Galaxy S7 buttons and how to use the combinations of these Galaxy S7 buttons.  Read on...

3. Galaxy S7 SIM card guide

   This Galaxy S7 SIM card guide page explains to you 1). the correct SIM card size (nano SIM) for Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7; 2). how to use the 2 slots in Galaxy S7 SIM card tray; 3). the differences in Galaxy S7 SIM card slot between Galaxy S7 dual SIM model and single SIM model; 4). how to install SIM card for Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge, and 5). how to remove SIM card from Galaxy S7 and S7 edge. Read on.…

4. Charging Galaxy S7 battery

   Do you really know how to charge Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge properly? Do you know the differences among normal wall charger, fast (adaptive) charger, wireless charger and fast wireless charger for Galaxy S7 and S7 edge?

… Read the rest

The post Samsung Galaxy S7 online manual appeared first on Galaxy S7 Guides.

What is “home” of Galaxy S7 home screen panels?

When we talk about Galaxy S7 home screen, actually, we are referring to more than one home screen pages. These pages are usually referred as Galaxy home screen panels.

Among Galaxy home screen panels, one of them is defined as “home” of these home screen panels.

If you tap home button (no matter what you are doing, what apps are running) several times, you should be always redirected to the home of Galaxy S7 home screen panels.

Please note, one, and only one, home screen panel can be defined as “home” of Galaxy S7 home screen.

And there is always one panel is defined as the home of Galaxy S7 home screen panels, even if you do not assign any of them.

By default, in Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge, the panel next to Flipboard briefing is the home panel of Galaxy S7 home screen.

How to assign home panel of  Galaxy S7 home screen panels?

To assign or to change the home panel for Galaxy S7 home screen panels, you can follow these steps.

Step 1: Enter Galaxy S7 home screen edit mode

You can enter Galaxy S7 home screen edit mode (aka, access home screen options) in two ways:

• Pinch (to zoom in)in any home screen panels.
• Tap and hold (long tap) on any empty area in any home screen panels.

In edit mode, as mentioned in other guides, you can use Galaxy S7 themes, wallpapers or screen grid to customize Galaxy S7 home screen, or to add widgets to home screen.

Step 2: Navigate to the specific panel

In edit mode, you can navigate to different Galaxy S7 home screen panels with two different methods:

• Tap the screen indicator.
• Swipe (flick) right or left. Please note, Galaxy S7 home screen does not support cycling through panels, i.e.,  you cannot navigate from the leftmost panel to rightmost one. This is true in edit mode as well.

Step 3: Assign home panel for Galaxy S7 home screens

Once you find the desired panel to be the home of Galaxy S7 home screen panels, tap the Home icon (house) as shown above to set this panel as the home.

You can notice the Home indicator now moved to this panel as shown below.

Now, whenever you tap Home button, you will be redirected to this panel.… Read the rest

The post How to remove, add and manage Galaxy S7 home screen panels? appeared first on Galaxy S7 Guides.

Android Nougat update for Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge introduced some changes in icons and buttons. This page explains to you two of the most confusing new Galaxy S7 status icons you may find in the status bar: data saver status icon and performance mode notification icon.

Some Galaxy S7 status icons are carrier specific, for example, voLTE, WiFi calling. For these icons, they may be different in different phones.

But for data saver and performance mode status icons, they are identical in  all Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge devices.

New Galaxy S7 status icons: Data saver icon

By default, after you apply the Android Nougat udpate for Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge, data saver will be automatically turned on.

And therefore, you may notice the following icon in the right side of the status bar.

Data saver is a new feature in Android Nougat.

Prior to Android Nougat, there is an option called restrict background data in stock Android. Data saver in Android Nougat is a replacement for this option.

Compared to simply restricting background data, data saver uses some algorithms to decide how to save data usage without comprising the phone functions.

Data saver can prevent some apps from sending and receiving data in background.

For apps you are actively using, it may also reduce the frequency of data usage to save data.

You can turn off  or turn on data saver in Settings —Connections-–Data usage–-Data saver in Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge.

After data saver is turned off, the data saver status icon will then disappear from the status bar.

New Galaxy S7 status icons: Performance mode icon

After applying Android Nougat udpate, Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge is in optimized mode. You can manually adjust some settings to meet your needs.

For example, the default screen resolution was scaled down to 1080p in optimized mode. You can adjust the screen resolution to WQHD 1440p or HD 720p as explained in this guide.

To make your life easier, Samsung also introduced three pre-defined performance modes for gaming, entertainment and high performance.

So, you can switch to any of these 3 modes with one tap to get the optimized settings for each mode without fiddling around various settings.

When any of the 3 performance modes is activated, you will find the performance mode icon as shown below.… Read the rest

The post New Galaxy S7 status icons in Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge Nougat update appeared first on Galaxy S7 Guides.

Galaxy S7  camera (and Galaxy S7 edge camera) is good for taking selfies. And Samsung allows you to use your voice, gesture, or heart rate monitor to take selfie in Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge.

This Galaxy S7 camera guide will show you how to use 5 different shooting methods to take selfie.

How to switch to front camera to take selfie in Galaxy S7 and S7 edge?

When you start camera app, by default, the rear camera is active.

Although you can take selfie with rear camera, most Galaxy S7 owners prefer front camera for selfies because you can preview the selfie when using front camera.

To switch to front camera, as explained in Galaxy S7 camera preview screen page, you can tap the switch button as shown below (marked as 1).

If front camera is active, you can use the same button to switch to rear camera.

By default, selfie mode is active after switching to front camera. You can find the selfie mode icon as shown in the screenshot below (marked as 2). You can change the settings for selfie mode by tapping this icon.

To take selfie, you can just tap the camera shutter button.

But it is usually inconvenient to tap the camera button when taking selfies. So, you may want to use other shooting methods to take selfie.

To manage different shooting methods to take selfie in Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, tap the settings button as shown below (marked as 3).

How to enable and manage different shooting methods to  take selfie on Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge?

In camera settings page as shown above, tap Shooting methods (front) to manage shooting methods for the front camera.

If you have the option of Shooting methods (rear), it means the rear camera is active. You need to switch to front camera.

As shown in the screenshot below,  in addition to tapping the shutter button, there are 4 additional shooting methods to take selfie on Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge.

You can turn on or turn off them individually by tapping the corresponding switch as shown below.

How to use 5 different shooting methods to take selfie on Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge?

In total, there are 5 shooting methods for the front camera in Galaxy S7 and S7 edge.

1. Tap the shutter button to take selfie

Shutter button (camera icon) is always visible in the Galaxy S7 camera preview screen.… Read the rest

The post 5 different shooting methods to take selfie on Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge appeared first on Galaxy S7 Guides.

Purpose of Galaxy S7 Guides community

It is time to talk about Samsung Galaxy S7, which will be announced just in a few weeks in early 2016.

Will Galaxy S7 be the best Android phone in 2016?

Will Galaxy S7 save Samsung in 2016?

Is Galaxy S7 the right smartphone for you?

How to use the new features in Galaxy S7?

All these will be answered in this Galaxy S7 Guides community. At least, we will try to answer all of them.

If you are familiar with us, you probably already know that we have created many high-quality guides for Samsung smartphone and tablet in following sites already:

• Galaxy S4 (for Samsung Galaxy S4 owners)
• Galaxy S5 (for Samsung Galaxy S5 owners)
• Galaxy S6 (for Samsung Galaxy S6 owners)
• Galaxy Note series devices (for Samsung Galaxy  Note devices owners, including Galaxy note, Note II, Note 3, Note 4, Note 5, Note 10.1, Note 8.0, Note Pro)

So, this Galaxy S7 Guides community  is a natural expansion of our efforts of offering best quality guides for Galaxy S7 owners.

It is a community for Galaxy S7 owners to help Galaxy S7 owners.

Please note, this site/blog/community is NOT affiliated to Samsung. Please contact Samsung for any warranty issues or for requesting official technical support of Galaxy S7.

What will be offered in Galaxy S7 Guides community

As a blog dedicated offering detailed Galaxy S7 guides for all Galaxy S7 owners, the following contents are offered in  Galaxy S7 Guides community:

• Official Samsung Galaxy S7 User Guide (PDF)

You can find the official Galaxy S7 user guide (user manual) in your own languages. All these official Galaxy S7 user manuals are in PDF format and are free to download and print.

• Galaxy S7 How-to guides

High-quality Galaxy S7 how-to guides are the core of the community.

The detailed step-by-step Galaxy S7 guides will show you how to use some important features of Galaxy S7, or to change/customize certain settings on your Galaxy S7.

• Galaxy S7 online manual

You can find the HTML (and extended) version of Galaxy S7 user manual (Galaxy S7 user guide) for all Galaxy S7 owners. Most commonly used Galaxy S7 features are explained, and the usage are shown in detail.

• Galaxy S7 camera guide

Galaxy S7 has the best smartphone camera you can get in 2016.  Samsung Galaxy S7 camera guide will show you how to use the Galaxy S7 camera.… Read the rest

The post Galaxy S7 Guides community appeared first on Galaxy S7 Guides.

From time to time, you may want to silence Galaxy S7 or S7 edge, for example, when you are in library or during an important meeting.

This guide tries to help you understand how to silence Galaxy S7 and S7 edge in different scenarios and different ways.

Please note, there are 5 types of sound in Galaxy S7 and S7 edge:

• Ringtone;
• Notifications (notification tone);
• Media;
• System (alerts);
• Alarm.

So, when you try to silence Galaxy S7 or S7 edge, you need to know which are to be silenced, and which are not.

How to silence ringtone in Galaxy S7 and S7 edge?

If you do not want the phone to ring, you can silence Galaxy S7 ringtone with any of the following methods:

• Put Galaxy S7 or S7 edge in mute mode (silent mode) or vibrate mode.
• Turn on Do not Disturb.
• Set ringtone as Silent.

Method 1: Use mute mode or vibrate mode to silence Galaxy S7 ringtone.

You can put Galaxy S7 or S7 edge in mute mode (silent mode) or vibrate mode using Galaxy S7 quick setting buttons as shown below.

You can tap the icon to cycle through the 3 sound modes:

• Sound mode.
• Vibrate mode. No ringtones, no notifications tones and no system tones. But the phone may vibrate depending on your settings.
• Mute mode. No sound, and no vibration for ringtone, notification tone and system tones.

You can also set sound mode in Settings—Sounds and vibration—Sound mode.

If you want to quickly enter vibrate mode, you can hold volume down button until phone vibrates.

You can also use on-screen volume settings by tapping volume down (or volume up) button to set volume for ringtones, notification tones, media and system sound individually.

As shown below, when you drag the volume slider to the leftmost side, it will automatically enter vibrate mode for ringtone and notification tones.

You can also access Galaxy S7 volume settings in Settings— Sound and vibration — Volume.

Method 2: use Do not Disturb (DnD) to silence Galaxy S7 ringtone

Do not Disturb is an Android feature since Android Lollipop.  It was further polished in Android Marshmallow.

You may refer to this guide on detailed usages of Do not Disturb in Android Marshmallow.

However, in Galaxy S7, Do not Disturb was implemented in a slightly different way.… Read the rest

The post How to silence Galaxy S7 and S7 edge? appeared first on Galaxy S7 Guides.

What are the 6 Galaxy S7 buttons?

Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 have only 4 hardware buttons (hardware keys) as shown in Galaxy S7 layout and Galaxy S7 edge layout page:

1. Home button
2. Power button
3. Volume up button
4. Volume down button

In addition, Galaxy S7 has 2 capacitive buttons:

1. Back button
2. Recent button

So, in total, there are 6 Galaxy S7 buttons for you to use to control Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge.

This guide will explain to you the functions of these 6  Galaxy S7 buttons and Galaxy S7 edge buttons. In addition, functions of combination of Galaxy S7 buttons are also explained so that you can use Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge effectively.

Galaxy S7 buttons are identical to Galaxy S7 edge buttons. The functions are also identical.

So, in this page, although only Galaxy S7 buttons are mentioned most of the time, this guide applies equally to Galaxy S7 edge buttons.

Galaxy S7 Home button

Galaxy S7 Home button  is below the screen as shown in the Galaxy S7 layout page.

Galaxy Home button is a combination of hardware button and fingerprint sensor.  Please check this guide (coming soon) on how to use fingerprint on Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge.

The Galaxy S7 Home button has different functions depending on the state of Galaxy S7, and the way you press the button.

• When the screen (display) is off, you can press Galaxy S7 Home button to turn on the display.
• When you are using an app, you can press Galaxy S7 Home button to push the app to background and navigate to home screen.
• When you are in apps screen (app drawer), you can press Galaxy S7 Home button to return to Galaxy S7 home screen.
• When you are in Galaxy S7 home screen, but you are not in the Home panel, tapping Galaxy S7 Home button will bring you to the home panel of Galaxy S7 home screen.
• In any screen except lock screen, you can press and hold Galaxy S7 Home button to launch Now on tap, by default. Now on tap is essentially a tailored Google Now card for your specific screen. You can turn off Now on tap feature if you want.
• In any screen including lock screen, or even when the screen is off,  you can press Galaxy S7 Home button twice to launch camera app, by default.

… Read the rest

The post Galaxy S7 buttons appeared first on Galaxy S7 Guides.

Number badge is part of Samsung TouchWiz launcher.  You can find it in almost all Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets. But it is not easy to clear number badge prior to Android Nougat update,

In Android Nougat update for Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, you can now quickly clear number badge without opening the app.

What is number badge in Galaxy S7 and S7 edge?

Number badge is a small number shown next to app icons in Galaxy S7 home screen and apps screen, as shown below.

The number in the number badge indicates total number of unread messages inside the app.

In Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge, only pre-installed apps and Samsung apps may have the number badge.

The number can remind you on any  unread messages. It is a useful feature.

But to clear number badge, it is not easy prior to Android Nougat update.

You have to open the app and read all messages to clear the number.

Sometimes, the number is not cleared properly if the messages is stored in remote locations (servers) due to syncing frequency and caching.

For example, your voicemail messages are stored in your carrier’s server. You may find the number is not cleared even after you read all messages. It may have a few hours delay in updating.

This can be annoying.

Now, in Android Nougat update for Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge, you can easily clear number badge from Galaxy S7 home screen without opening the app, and without reading the messages.

Read on……

How to clear number badge in Galaxy S7 and S7 edge with Android Nougat update?

As mentioned, the “old” method to clear the number badge is to read the messages!

Once you finish reading all unread messages, the number will disappear.

In Android Nougat udpate, Samsung allows you to clear number badge from Galaxy S7 home screen directly without reading them.

Step 1: Tap and hold the app icon

In this example, you want to clear the badge for Facebook, which has 25 notifications.

But you do not want to read them.

You can tap and hold (aka long tap) Facebook app icon as shown below.

You now should get the context menu as shown below.

Of course, you can remove this app from home screen or move it to other home screen panels as explained in the linked guides.

Step 2: Tap Clear badge as shown below.

… Read the rest

The post How to clear number badge in Galaxy S7 and S7 edge with Android Nougat update? appeared first on Galaxy S7 Guides.

Why you may want to disable Multi Window on Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge?

Multi Window is actually one of the most useful features that Samsung introduced into Galaxy phones.

Initially, Multi Window was designed for Galaxy Note devices since Galaxy Note II with large screen so that owners can use two apps side by side.

You can also let one app (window is re-sizable) floating around and over another app. This is often referred as pop-up view.

So, Multi Window is a cool feature that Samsung phone users have enjoyed for years.  We have a detailed guide on how to use Multi Window on Galaxy devices.

FYI, Android will only start to offer similar multi window feature in the coming Android N (which is currently in Preview 2).

But for some owners, they may not use this feature. They want to disable Multi Window on Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge.

Because it is so easy to enter Multi Window mode inadvertently.

It is a bit annoying when you enter Multi Window mode accidentally.

And to make it worse, Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge is very responsive: it responds so fast that you have no time to stop.

Sometimes,  Galaxy S7 responds to several accidental taps when you realized the error.

Tapping and holding left Recent button to enter Multi Window button is not the a good choice. Due to the tiny bezel, most Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 owners probably have entered Multi Window on Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge inadvertently at least a few times.

It is hard to avoid it.

Another way to enter Multi Window on Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge is dragging down diagonally from either end of the top edge inside supported apps. This will convert the app to pop-up view (floating).

Some Galaxy S7 and S7 owners may also enter Multi Window mode accidentally through this method when they actually just want to scroll the page.

So, at least some Galaxy S7 and Galxy S7 edge owners are looking for settings to disable Multi Window on Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge.

Unfortunately, since Galaxy S6, Samsung removed the settings entry to disable Multi Window on Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge (and S6 as well).

Does it mean you cannot disable Multi Window on Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge?

No, you can still still disable Multi Window on Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge with an app.… Read the rest

The post How to disable Multi Window on Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge? appeared first on Galaxy S7 Guides.

What is Galaxy S7 lock screen?

Galaxy S7 lock screen is the door between the phone and outside world.

To avoid unauthorized access to your private data saved on Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge, you should consider to lock the door (set lock screen security).

Essentially, Galaxy S7 lock screen is a security feature that:

• blocks unauthorized access to the phone.
• avoids inadvertent tapping the phone.

Together with Galaxy S7 Home screen, Apps screen, Galaxy S7 lock screen is one of the most essential components of using Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge.

As shown below,  in Galaxy S7 lock screen, by default, there are at least 5 components:

1. Clock.
2. Notifications. You can choose whether notifications are shown on the lock screen, and how they are shown.  Please read on for how to customize notifications in Galaxy S7 lock screen.
3. App shortcut in bottom left. The app shortcut can be customized: you can turn it off or choose your own apps instead of the default phone app. Please read on for how to customize app shortcuts in Galaxy S7 lock screen.
4. App shortcut in bottom right. You can also fully customize this app shortcut.
5. Help message telling you how to unlock the lock screen. If you swipe in any direction, you can then unlock Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge (if lock screen security is set as swipe) or enter password/PIN/pattern depending on your lock screen security settings (read on).

How to lock and unlock Galaxy S7 lock screen

You can lock the screen in different ways:

• When screen is on, press power button once. This will turn off the Galaxy S7 screen and lock it.
• When screen is off (for example, display timeouts because of inactivity), screen will be locked automatically.

To unlock Galaxy S7 lock screen, you need:

1. Turn on the Galaxy S7  screen.  You can press Power button or Home button to turn on Galaxy S7 screen.
2. Swipe your finger across the Galaxy S7 lock screen to unlock it.
3. If you have set up a Galaxy S7 screen lock, you will be prompted to draw the pattern, enter the password or PIN, or scan your fingerprint

Some apps can also turn on the screen.

You can also use smart lock to keep phone unlocked when Galaxy S7 or S7 edge is connected to certain accessories, or in certain locations.

How to set Galaxy S7 lock screen security?

… Read the rest

The post Galaxy S7 lock screen appeared first on Galaxy S7 Guides.

What is Galaxy S7 S View cover?

Galaxy S7 S View cover (and Galaxy S7 edge S View cover) , as shown left is a special folio-type flip cover with a special plastic window, S View window. It is one of the official accessories for Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge.

Samsung first introduced S View cover for Galaxy S4 in 2013. Initially the S view window was a small rectangle. Since Galaxy Note 3, the S View window became larger (close to a square) as shown in this guide.

Different from other brands of flip covers, S view cover offers additional features through the plastic S View window. The features offered in S View window changed with time and phone models.

Prior to Galaxy S6, you have to remove the back cover to use S View cover.  Because Galaxy S6 (and S6 edge), Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S7 (and S7 edge) have non-removable back panel, Galaxy S7 S View cover have to snap on the phone.

Galaxy S7 S view cover (and Galaxy S7 edge S view cover) offers the following special features:

• Auto sleep and auto wake. When you close the front lid of S view cover, Galaxy S7 or S7 edge will automatically sleep. The screen will wake up once you open the front lid. If you lock screen security is set as swipe or none, opening the front lid will direct you to Galaxy S7 home screen.
• Answering and rejecting calls from S View window. You can answer or reject calls by swiping on the S View window as instructed.
• Take photos or record videos from S View window.
• Check notifications from S View window. This follows your lock screen notification settings.
• Share same app shortcuts in S View window as Galaxy S7 lock screen.
• Control music playing in S View window.
• Check time, weather and status icons from S view window.
• Use quick setting buttons (first 10) in S view window. You can use the first 10 quick setting buttons from S View window to change phone settings and features.
• Set separate wallpaper for S View window.

So, in addition to protecting the phone (and the screen), Galaxy S7 S view cover offers these exclusive features.  These features can be very useful for some Galaxy S7 or S7 owners.

Please note, in the market, only Samsung’s Galaxy S7 S view cover offers such features.… Read the rest

The post How to use Galaxy S7 S View cover (for S7 and S7 edge)? appeared first on Galaxy S7 Guides.

Why you should back up Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge regularly?

Samsung Galaxy S7 (or S7 edge) is an electronic device. This means it may fail at any time!

Even if your Galaxy S7 or S7 edge is still under warranty, or if you bought extended warranty for your Galaxy S7 or S7 edge, only the “phone” is insured.

Your data are NOT protected. You can get a replacement of Galaxy S7 (or S7 edge). But your data may be not recovered/restored.

Actually, there are no warranty plans for your data on Galaxy S7 or S7 edge currently.

This is why you should back up Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge regularly.

It is your responsibility to back up Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge so that you can restore them in case the phone is lost, or is reset, or replaced.

Anyway, backup is about your data.

Luckily, most of your data in Galaxy S7 (and S7 edge) can be automatically backed up to the cloud.

Of course, you should always keep a local copy of your Galaxy S7 backup data.

What cannot be backed up in Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge?

Before I show you how to back up Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge manually or automatically, you should know some items generally cannot be backed up including:

• Account password. When you back up Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge, account (e.g., Google account, Samsung account, Facebook account…) passwords cannot be backed up.
• Lock screen security and smart lock settings. When you restore a phone from a backup, it should NOT modify your lock screen security settings. And in Galaxy S7 backup, lock screen security and smart lock settings are NOT included.
• Some app data. Not all app data can be backed up. This is app-dependent. Some apps can be fully backed up, a few may not.

How to manually back up Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge?

The best way to manually back up Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge is using Samsung’s Smart Switch on your PC.

As discussed in this guide, you can use Smart Switch to transfer data from old phone to Galaxy S7 or S7 with or without a PC.

But to manually back up Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge with Smart Switch, you need a PC.

Actually, if the data in your Galaxy S7 or S7 edge are important for you, you should regularly back up Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge and keep at one copy locally.… Read the rest

The post How to back up Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge? appeared first on Galaxy S7 Guides.

Galaxy S7 Edge feeds display select information and notifications on the edge screen on Galaxy S7 edge and Galaxy S6 edge when the screen is turned off.

This guide applies to Galaxy S7 edge and Galaxy S6 edge (with Android Marshmallow update), although in the guide only Galaxy S7 edge is mentioned most of the time.

Please note edge feed was removed in Galaxy S8, S8+, S9, S9+, Note 8 and Note 9.  You can only use edge feed on Galaxy S6 edge, S6 Edge+ and S7 edge.

How to access edge feeds in edge screen on Galaxy S7 edge and Galaxy S6 edge?

To access edge feeds in Galaxy S7 edge and Galaxy S6 edge, when the screen is turned off, quickly swipe your finger along the Edge screen in one direction, and then back in the opposite direction as shown below. You can also swipe “V” in edge screen to access edge feeds when screen if off.

Edge feeds works nicely with Galaxy S7 always-on-display (AOD). So, when AOD is on, you can access edge feeds as if the screen is off.

Once edge feeds are accessed, you can swipe right and left as shown below to switch to different feeds.

How to turn on/off edge feeds in edge screen on Galaxy S7 edge?

By default, edge feeds in Galaxy S7 edge and S6 edge are turned on.

To turn on/off edge feeds in edge screen on Galaxy S7 edge, you can go to Galaxy S7 Settings, tap Edge screen as explained in this guide.

In Edge screen, tap Edge feeds as shown below.

In Edge feeds page, tap the switch (marked as 1 in the screenshot below) to turn on or off edge feeds for edge screen on Galaxy S7 edge.

How to set the timeout for edge feeds in edge screen on Galaxy S7 edge?

By default, the edge feeds timeout is set at 15 seconds.

You can tap Edge feed timeout (marked as 2 in the screenshot above).

Then you can set the timeout for edge feeds as shown below.

How to customize edge feeds in edge screen on Galaxy S7 edge?

You can select edge feeds to be active by tapping the selection button as illustrated as 3 in the screenshot above.

Only selected edge feeds will be available in edge screen when the screen is off.

In addition, you can customize the individual edge feed.… Read the rest

The post How to use edge feeds in edge screen on Galaxy S7 edge? appeared first on Galaxy S7 Guides.

If you just switch to Galaxy S7 and  are trying to migrate old phone data to Galaxy S7 or S7 edge, this guide will show you the best way to migrate your data.

You probably even do not need to install any apps or tools when you switch to Galaxy S7 and S7 edge.

The tool we are going to use to help you switch to Galaxy S7  is called Smart Switch, free software offered by Samsung.

What is Smart Switch for me to switch to Galaxy S7?

Smart Switch is Samsung’s killer tool for you to migrate old phone data to Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge.  It will help you migrate to Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge.

There are 2 different Smart Switch software packages:

1. Samsung Smart Switch Mobile App.  The Smart Switch mobile app allows you to migrate data from your old device (Android, iOS, BlackBerry) to Galaxy S7 directly (from mobile to mobile).
2. Samsung Smart Switch for PC/Mac. The Smart Switch for PC/Mac allows you to backup phone (Galaxy phones only)  data to the PC/Mac, and to restore backup data (not limited to Galaxy phones) to Galaxy S7.

When you switch to Galaxy S7, Smart Switch mobile app can migrate old phone data to Galaxy S7 in 2 different ways:

• Wireless transfer through WiFi Direct. If your old phone is 1). an Android phone with Android ICS 4.o or later, or 2). an iPhone with iCloud backup, you can use this method. You need install Smart Switch app on the old Android phone.
• Wired transfer through USB cable. If you old phone is 1). a Galaxy phone with Android Jelly Bean 4.3 or later, or 2). an iPhone with iOS 5 or later, or  3). a BlackBerry with BlackBerry 7 OS or earlier,  you can migrate the phone data from old device to Galaxy S7 with the USB connector in your Galaxy S7 box and the USB cable.

 Why I cannot install Smart Switch on Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge?

Smart Switch was pre-installed and enabled in Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge already. You don’t need to install Smart Switch on Galaxy S7.

But you cannot find  Smart Switch app on Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge.

Then, how to launch and use Smart Switch on Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge to switch to Galaxy S7?

Samsung puts Smart Switch in Settings— Backup and reset –-Open Smart Switch as shown below.  … Read the rest

The post Switch to Galaxy S7: how to migrate old phone data to Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge with Smart Switch? appeared first on Galaxy S7 Guides.

Update: if you Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 has been updated to Android Nougat, you may find there are some new features for quick setting buttons. You can even customize the layout of quick setting buttons in Android Nougat. For details, please check this guide.

As shown in Galaxy S7 notifications panel, there are by default 10 visible quick setting buttons on Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge.

Quick setting buttons on Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge actually correspond to quick settings panel in most other Android phones.

As Samsung’s TouchWiz modify many default features of the quick settings in stock Android OS, many new Samsung Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge owners may get confused on using the quick setting buttons on Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge.

This guide will show you how to access, use and manage (rearrange) quick settings buttons on Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge.  You will also learn how to disable or enable Quick connect on Samsung Galaxy S7 or S7 edge.

How to access quick setting buttons on Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge

There are two ways to access access quick setting buttons on Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge.

Method 1: from notification panel

Galaxy S7 quick setting buttons always occupy one row in notification panel.

You can access Galaxy S7 notification panel by swiping down from top of the screen (status bar).

By default, there are 5 quick settings buttons are shown in notification panel.  You can swipe horizontally to access another 5 quick settings buttons as shown below.

So, in total, the notification panel accommodates 10 Galaxy S7 quick settings buttons.

To show all quick settings buttons on Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, tap the V icon as shown below.

You can also swipe down again on notification panel to show all Galaxy S7 quick setting buttons.

Method 2: Directly access all quick setting buttons on Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge

You can directly access ALL Galaxy S7 quick setting buttons by swiping down from top of the screen (status bar) with two fingers.

This is a new touch screen gesture in Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, although it is a default gesture for quick settings in stock Android.

Anyway, it is good that Galaxy S7 and S7 edge now accept this gesture to access all Galaxy S7 quick setting buttons.… Read the rest

The post Use and manage quick setting buttons on Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge appeared first on Galaxy S7 Guides.

Update 2, added section: new features for Galaxy S7 always-on display. Recently updated Galaxy S7 always-on display now allows you to enable always on display on S View Window when a S View cover is snapped on Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge.  Clock face now is renamed as layout with more clock faces.

Update 1, added section:  Limitations of Galaxy S7 always-on display.

One of the best features in Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge is the always-on display.

This post tries to explain to you what Galaxy S7 always-on display (AOD) is  and how to configure and use Galaxy S7 always-on display in Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge.

Please note Galaxy S7  always-on display is available in both Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge.  In the post, I will just refer them as Galaxy S7.

What is Galaxy S7 always-on display (AOD)?

Very often, we check our smartphones just for time or for notifications. In this situations, we may have no intention to unlock the phone and use it.

But to check time or notification on Galaxy S7 lock screen, we must wake up (turn on) the display by pressing power button or home button (see this page for Galaxy Sy7 layout of buttons).

Now, Galaxy S7 always-on display, if enabled, can display clock, notifications and a image all the time except when Galaxy S7 is in your pocket.

It is a cool feature for some Galaxy S7 owners.

The super AMOLED display in Galaxy S7 does not drain battery significantly if you choose black background.

The Galaxy S7 always-on display is different from Galaxy S7 lock screen.  Galaxy S7 always-on display will disappear automatically when you wake up the screen.

In other words, you get the lock screen when you wake up the phone.  Galaxy S7 always-on display is activated only after screen is timed out and phone is locked.

When will you need Galaxy S7 always-on display?

In many situations, you may find Galaxy S7 always-on display is useful, for example,

• During a meeting,  you can just glimpse on Galaxy S7 screen to know the time, the missed calls, the incoming messages…
• In your office or cubicle, you can easily check time and notifications when your hands are not free.
• In kitchen, your hands are busy with other things.
• In the bed, when you want to check time.

Anyway, although Galaxy S7 always-on display looks like another gimmick, it actually is very useful for some Galaxy S7  and Galaxy S7 edge owners.… Read the rest

The post How to use Galaxy S7 always-on display? appeared first on Galaxy S7 Guides.