USB cable

Galaxy S10 wireless charging guide

Galaxy S10 wireless charging allows you to charge Galaxy S10 battery without using a cable on the phone.

But some Galaxy S10 owners still have some questions or concerns on using wireless charging on Galaxy S10 and therefore may haven’t tried this nice feature yet.

This Galaxy S10 how-to guide first explains the confusing terms of wireless charging, fast wireless charging, and fast wireless charging 2.0, and why they are relevant when you charge Galaxy S10 wirelessly. Then I show you how to disable fast wireless charging and answer some questions related to wireless charging on Galaxy S10.

What is wireless charging? What is fast wireless charging? and what is fast charging 2.0?

All smartphones support cable charging. Normally, you can connect the phone to the charger (adapter) through a USB cable (or a proprietary cable) to charge the phone.

The other way to charge a phone battery is wireless charging without using any cables on the phone.

Wireless charging used in the smartphone industry now is all inductive charging, which transfers energy from the charging station to the phone through induction coils.

On the charging station (charging stand, charging base), the induction coil inside the station uses the current from the adapter to create an electromagnetic field. The induction coil in the phone, once paired with the coil in the station, takes power from the electromagnetic field and convert it into charging current for the phone battery.

Wireless charging usually is less efficient than cable charging because energy has to be converted twice: current –> electromagnetic field in the charging station, and electromagnetic field –> current on the phone. So, traditionally, the wireless charging speed is slow. The normal wireless charging can only output charging power up to 5W. Galaxy S6 is the first Samsung phone with wireless charging.

To improve the charging speed, Samsung announced fast wireless charging with Galaxy S7. The maximum charging power output is about 7.5W.

With Galaxy S10, Samsung announced fast wireless charging 2.0, which supports up to a 12W output.

As explained in this guide:

Fast wireless charging 2.0 is based on Qi wireless charging standard set by Wireless Power Consortium. The 2.0 was coined by Samsung to differentiate its implementation from previous fast wireless charging.

So, fast wireless charging 2.0, one of the top 10 new features of Galaxy S10, is not a new industry standard.

The major difference among wireless charging, fast wireless charging, and fast wireless charging 2.0 is the charging power (5W vs 7.5W vs 12W). And therefore, they are backward compatible.

What do you need to use wireless charging for Galaxy S10 battery?

You need 3 components to use wireless charging:

A phone supports wireless charging.
A wireless charging station.
An adapter supplying power to the charging station.

Whether you are using normal wireless charging, fast wireless charging, or fast wireless charging 2.0, is determined by the lowerest one among the 3 components.

For example, since Galaxy S10 (S10, S10+, … Read the rest

How to use Samsung Smart Switch to migrate to Galaxy S10?

simon · 2 Comments

You may migrate to Galaxy S10 easily with the Samsung Smart Switch. Your photos, videos, music, messages, call logs, contacts, files, calendar events, alarms, and apps in the old phone can be transferred to Galaxy S10.

There are many solutions for you to migrate to Galaxy S10. But the simplest way is to use Smart Switch to transfer data between Galaxy S10 and the old phone.

This Galaxy S10 guide explains how to use Samsung Smart Switch to migrate to Galaxy S10.

What is the Samsung Smart Switch?

Samsung Smart Switch is the tool for you to migrate to Samsung devices from other mobile devices including:

Android
iOS
Windows
BlackBerry

In addition to Smart Switch Mobile, you can also download and install PC/Mac version of Smart Switch.

Smart Switch for PC is normally recommended for users who own one or more Samsung devices. It can back up almost all data on Samsung Galaxy phones to the PC and restore the backup to other Galaxy phones as well.

What can be migrated to Galaxy S10 using Smart Switch?

When using Samsung Smart Switch to migrate to Galaxy S10, the following data can be migrated (depending on OS on the old phone).

Contacts
Call log
Photos
Music
Videos
Calendar events
Alarms
SMS
Documents
Device settings (for Galaxy phones, most settings including home screen settings can be transferred)
Apps (Android phones only)

You can review and select items to be transferred before migrating data to Galaxy S10.

How to use Smart switch t0 connect Galaxy S10 to the old device?

When you migrate to Galaxy S10 using Smart Switch, you can choose one of the following 3 ways to connect Galaxy S10 to migrate data

USB connection

You need to use the old phone’s USB cable and the USB connector in the Galaxy S10 box.

This is the fastest, easiest, and most reliable way to migrate to Galaxy S10.

Wireless connection

You can also connect Galaxy S10 to the old Android phone using WiFi direct. The data on the old device can then be transferred to Galaxy S10 wirelessly.

For iOS devices, you only need to enable iCloud backup. On Galaxy S10, you can then transfer the iCloud backup to Galaxy S10 through the WiFi connection.

External storage

This connection is usually available for Galaxy phones or other Android phones that support back up to external storage (micro SD card, or USB flash drive).

To migrate data to Galaxy S10, you need to:

Back up the phone to the external storage
Remove the storage from the old phone
Connect the external storage to Galaxy S10
Start Smart Switch on Galaxy S10
Migrate all data in the back up to Galaxy S10

The 3 connection methods work similarly: you select what to transfer/migrate, start to transfer, restore to Galaxy S10.

How to use Smart Switch to migrate to Galaxy S10 with a USB cable?

You may follow these steps to migrate to Galaxy S10.

Step 1: Connect Galaxy S10 to the

… Read the rest

Unbox Galaxy S10: understand Galaxy S10 box contents

simon · 4 Comments

After unboxing Galaxy S10 (S10, S10+, or S10e), you need to understand the Galaxy S10 box contents: what are they? How to use them?

Understanding the items included in the Galaxy S10 box will surely help you use the phone (Galaxy S10, S10+, or S10e) properly and effectively.

This Galaxy S10 how-to guide shows you the package contents of the Galaxy S10 box and explains the usage of the 10 items of Galaxy S10 box contents.

The Galaxy S1o box contents are identical for Galaxy S10, S10+, and S10e, except the phone (and the dimensions of the box). In this page, we will use Galaxy S10 to refer to all these 3 Galaxy S10 phones. You may refer to Galaxy S10 specifications to find the differences among these 3 Galaxy S10 phones.

What are the items of Galaxy S10 box contents?

In different regions, Galaxy S10 distributors may insert some additional promotional items. But the “standard” box contents are standardized by Samsung.

In almost all regions, you can find these 10 common Galaxy S10 box contents as illustrated in the picture below.

The Galaxy S10 box
The phone (Galaxy S10, S10+, or S1oe)
A transparent back cover
A USB cable (USB-A to USB-C)
AKG headset (with 3.5mm connector)
Wall charger (travel adapter)
USB connector
SIM card tray ejection pin
Quick start guide
A leaflet of “How to transfer contents to Galaxy S10”

If you miss any items in the Galaxy S10 box, you may check with the seller.

How to use items of Galaxy S10 box contents?

Of course, each item in the Galaxy S10 box is for you to use and enjoy the phone.

#1. The Galaxy S10 box

The box should be sealed by Samsung or a local distributor.

The seal is to indicate this is an unopened package. If it is a pre-owned S10, it should be stated clearly in the box.

#2. The Phone (Galaxy S10, S10+, or S10e)

The phone is the main and the most expensive item in the Galaxy S10 box.

In most regions, for Galaxy S10, and S10+, a plastic screen protector has been pasted on the screen already. It is not the normal protective film.

If you plan to use a screen protector on Galaxy S10, or S10+, you need to know that many tempered glass screen protectors do NOT work with the in-display fingerprint sensor (see this page), therefore Samsung applied this plastic screen protector for you before you can find a compatible screen protector. You may check this guide on how to use Galaxy S10 in-display fingerprint scanner to unlock Galaxy S10.

For Galaxy S10e, the fingerprint is mounted on the power button, and therefore all screen protector should work with the phone. This is the reason why Samsung does not give a screen protector for Galaxy S10e.

All new Galaxy S10 phones should have about 50-60% battery. You can charge the battery after finishing the setup, or charge the battery before using the phone.

#3.

… Read the rest

How to charge Galaxy S10 battery?

simon · 30 Comments

You need to charge Galaxy S10 battery properly to maximize the battery life without sacrificing your usage.

There are many so-called expert recommendations and rules on how to charge Galaxy S10 battery. Some of them are outdated (e.g., you need to drain Galaxy S10 battery completely every a few weeks). Some are ridiculously wrong (e.g., you should not charge Galaxy S10 battery to full).

This Galaxy S10 how-to guide explains the proper way to charge Galaxy S10 battery with a wall charger (USB charging) or a wireless charger (wireless charging). Quick charge 2.0 and fast wireless charging 2.0 are also discussed.

How long should I charge Galaxy S10 battery the first time?

The old textbook may tell you that you should charge the new battery for at least 6-8 hours for the first time.

This is outdated. It does not apply to the Galaxy S10 battery.

When you charge Galaxy S10 battery the first time, you just need to charge it to “charged.” Then you can disconnect it from the charger (wall charger or wireless charger) and start to use it.

In fact, when Galaxy S10 leaves the factory, the battery was charged to about 60%. You can immediately use the phone when you get it. It is unnecessary to charge a new Galaxy S10 for 6 hours.

In some regions, Samsung does not offer a 1-to-1 exchange for hardware defects. You have to check the phone in the store.

Anyway, there are no special requirements when you charge the Galaxy S10 battery the first time.

Please note, there is no notification LED in Galaxy S10 (including S10, S10+, S10e, and S10 5G) as discussed in this page, you have to wake up the screen to check whether the battery is fully charged or not.

What are the two ways to charge the Galaxy S10 battery?

Galaxy S10 supports charging through the USB-C port and the wireless charging coil. You may refer to Galaxy S10 layout to check the location of the USB-C port and wireless charging coils.

So, you can charge Galaxy S10 battery in two ways:

Through a USB cable (USB charging). Normally, you will use a wall charger. But you can also charge Galaxy S10 battery with a power bank, PC, or another mobile device with USB-C port.
Wireless charging.

In Galaxy S10 box, a wall charger is included.

The wireless charging pad is not included in Galaxy S10 box. You may have to buy one.

What are fast charging and fast wireless charging for Galaxy S10, S10+, and s10e?

Galaxy S10, S10+, and 10e support quick charge 2.0 when charging through the USB-C port (USB charging). Of course, this requires a wall charger with quick charge support.

In the Galaxy S10 box, you can find the included 15W wall charger, which is a quick charge 2.0 compliant charger.

Samsung named the fast charge technology as adaptive fast charging. As mentioned in the top 10 disappointing and missing features of Galaxy … Read the rest