Galaxy S20 safe mode

How to use Galaxy S20 recovery mode?

By simon Leave a Comment Last Modified: January 10, 2021 · Published on: December 19, 2020

Galaxy S20 recovery mode allows you to access some very special and advanced features to manage, hack and reset Galaxy S20.

This Galaxy S20 guide explains what Galaxy S20 recovery mode is, when you need to use it, how to reboot into the recovery mode, and how to navigate and exit the recovery mode.

The Galaxy S20 recovery mode is identical on all 4 Galaxy S20 modes: Galaxy S20, S20+, S20 FE, and S20 Ultra. So this guide applies to all these phones.

What is Galaxy S20 recovery mode?

All Android phones and tablets come with a recovery mode. Galaxy S20 is not an exception. Android vendors may add or remove some features in the recovery mode.

On Galaxy S20, you can use the recovery mode to (as shown in the picture below):

Wipe cache partition. This would wipe the cache partition to refresh apps without affecting your data on Galaxy S20.
Reset (factory data reset) Galaxy S20. Some geeks may refer this to “wipe” the phone. You can erase all your data and return the phone to factory state. But it does not rollback the Android version or any updates.
Update Galaxy S20 from ADB. If you want to sideload the update from your PC, you can do it using ADB. For example, you may manually update Galaxy S20 to Android 11 if you want
Update Galaxy S20 from the micro SD card. You can also apply updates saved in the micro SD card.
Reboot into bootloader (download mode). It allows you to enter download mode. For example, you want to install third-party recovery.
Mount /system partition. It is supposed to let you edit and correct some errors in the system partition without rooting. But it seems it is not working.
Run graphics test. It simply shows how the graphics (UI) like when the phone in different states, e.g., erasing, updating, optimizing apps. It has nothing to do with GPU or display.
View recovery logs.
Run locale test. Check the locale on the phone.
Repair apps. This allows you to manually optimise apps (rebuild app cache and data cache).
Power off Galaxy S20.

We will explain some of them later on.

When do you need to use Galaxy S20 recovery mode?

Galaxy S20 recovery mode is NOT designed for normal users. Most Galaxy S20 owners … Read the rest

How to enter, use, and exit Galaxy S20 safe mode?

By simon Leave a Comment Last Modified: January 9, 2021 · Published on: August 9, 2020

Galaxy S20 safe mode allows you to temporally turn off third-party apps and services so that you can debug some weird issues on Galaxy S20.

This Galaxy S20 guide explains what Galaxy S20 safe mode is, how to enter the Galaxy S20 safe mode, use the safe mode, and exit the safe mode on Galaxy S20.

Because the safe mode is one of the standard Android features, this guide applies to not only Galaxy S20 models (Galaxy S20, S20+, S20FE, and S20 Ultra) but also other Android phones including Galaxy S10, Galaxy Note 10, Galaxy S9, and many others.

What is Galaxy S20 safe mode?

Galaxy S20 safe mode is a special mode with all third-party (non-preinstalled) apps and services suspended temporally. All system settings and pre-installed app settings and data can be used normally.

So, safe mode does not reset your Galaxy S20 to the factory state. And therefore, it is “safe” for your data.

Of course, the real meaning of “safe” is that your Galaxy S20 is shielded from any third-party apps and services.

Under Galaxy S20 safe mode, you can figure out whether some weird issues are caused by any third-party apps, or pre-installed apps (and system settings). Normally, you should try safe mode before trying to wiping the cache partition in the Galaxy S20 recovery mode.

Safe mode is a built-in feature of Android. You can actually find it in almost all Android devices. And it works almost identically on all Android devices.

In a nutshell, Galaxy S20 safe mode allows you to check whether a problem is caused by third-party apps or services installed by you, or caused by system and pre-installed apps.

How to boot into Galaxy S20 safe mode?

There are at least two ways to boot the phone into Galaxy S20 safe mode.

Method 1: Use the Power Button menu (safe method)

This method works if your Galaxy S20 can still boot up to at least the lock screen.

Step 1: Hold the side key to access the Power-off menu

After the phone is booted to Galaxy S20 lock screen, or to Home screen, you can hold the side key (as illustrated below) for about 2-3 seconds, to call out the power-off menu (aka power menu, power button options).

Please note, as explained in the Galaxy S20 Layout page, Samsung moved the side key to … Read the rest

How to lock the Galaxy S20 Home screen layout to prevent unintentional changes?

By simon Leave a Comment Last Modified: August 9, 2020 · Published on: June 13, 2020

You can lock the Galaxy S20 lock screen layout to avoid unintentional modifications of the home screen.

This Galaxy S20 guide explains when you need to lock the Galaxy S20 Home screen layout, how to do it, and the side effects of locking the layout of Galaxy S20 Home screen.

Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, and Galaxy S20 Ultra share the same launched and the identical home screen settings. So this guide applies to all Galaxy S20 phones, although we use Galaxy S20 in the guide.

Besides, because locking the home screen layout is a feature of Samsung’s One UI launcher, you can find and use this feature on all other Galaxy phones with One UI, including, Galaxy S8, S9, S10, Note 8, Note 9, and Note 10, as well.

When do you need to lock the Galaxy S20 Home screen layout?

Thanks to the useless “curved” screen since Galaxy S6 edge, you may very easily touch the screen inadvertently and therefore move or remove some app icons or widgets on the Home screen.

Although Galaxy S20 makes the curved part of the screen less obvious, it is still a big distraction and a big waste (of usable screen space).

So, it is not uncommon that you may get surprised at the “new” Galaxy S20 Home screen: some app icons disappear, some app icons moved.

In the worst scenario, you may uninstall some apps inadvertently from the Galaxy S20 home screen when the phone is in your pocket or bag.

You can minimize such accidental modifications by locking the home screen layout.

Please note, when you boot Galaxy S20 into safe mode using hardware buttons, widgets may be removed even you lock the home screen layout, as explained here.

How to lock the Galaxy S20 Home screen layout?

By default, the layout of the Galaxy S20 Home screen is not locked.

For example, when you install new apps on Galaxy S20, the app icon (a shortcut to the app) will be added to the Galaxy S20 Home screen.

To lock the Galaxy S20 Home screen, you may follow the following steps.

Step 1: Enter the edit mode for Galaxy S20 Home screen

The quickest way to access Galaxy S20 Home screens settings is through the edit mode.

On Galaxy S20 Home screen, you can pinch to enter the edit mode of Galaxy … Read the rest

How to power on, power off, and restart Galaxy S20?

By simon Leave a Comment Last Modified: January 9, 2021 · Published on: May 25, 2020

You need to power on, power off, or restart (reboot) Galaxy S20 from time to time when using the phone.

Although it is usually a simple task to turn on or turn off Galaxy S20, it can be frustrating, especially when the phone hangs and you need to use Galaxy S20 urgently.

This Galaxy S20 guide shows you how to power on (turn on), power off (turn off), and restart (reboot) Galaxy S20, even when the phone hangs (non-responsive).

The guide applies to all three models of Galaxy S20: Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, and Galaxy S20 Ultra.

Power on Galaxy S20 (turn on, power up)

When the phone is off, you can hold the Side key (see Galaxy S20 layout) to power on (turn on) Galaxy S20 normally.

Please note, Samsung combined the old Power key with the unpopular Bixby key as the Galaxy S20 Side key.

As shown in the Galaxy S20 layout, the Side key is located on the right side of the phone, below the volume key. There is no physical keys or buttons on the left side any more.

Please note, if you hold volume buttons and the Side key, then you may:

Boot into Galaxy S20 recovery mode if you hold volume up button and the Side key.
Boot into Galaxy S20 download mode if you hold volume down and the Side Key.
Boot into Galaxy S20 safe mode if you hold the side Key, release the Side key and hold volume down key when you see Samsung logo.

Power off Galaxy S20 (turn off)

There is no hardware button (key) to power off Galaxy S20. If you hold the Side key, Galaxy S20 will reboot (restart), instead of powering off the phone. But sometimes, you need to power off Galaxy S20, e.g., when you enter a restricted area, or when you want to boot into Galaxy S20 recovery mode.

To power off Galaxy S20 gracefully, you need to use the software Power off button, which can be accessed in various locations on Galaxy S20.

Please note, if you power off Galaxy S20, you cannot receive calls from the phone. Text messages (SMS) will be saved by your carrier and delivered to the phone after you power on the phone and connect to the mobile network. You may check this guide on how to use SIM cards on Galaxy S20.

Galaxy

… Read the rest

Master Galaxy S20 Home screen

By simon Leave a Comment Last Modified: January 9, 2021 · Published on: May 18, 2020

Galaxy S20 Home screen is the centre of Galaxy S20. There is no way to skip it.

This Galaxy S20 guide explains the role of Galaxy S20 Home screen, 11 items and their meaning and usage on Galaxy S20 Home screen, and supported gestures on the Home screen.

Please note, although Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 ultra differ significantly, the Home screen is identical for all these 3 phones. So, in the guide, Galaxy S20 refers to these three phones.

The role of Galaxy S20 Home screen

After unblocking Galaxy S20 lock screen, the first screen you will use is the Home screen.

Of course, if you unlock Galaxy S20 with face recognition, you have the option to stay on the unlocked lock screen or directly navigate to Home screen, as explained in this guide.

Galaxy S20 Home screen is the centre of the phone. Most of the functions and apps are accessed from the Home screen.

On Galaxy S20 Home screen, you can:

Access all apps (with or without Apps screen).
Create, manage and use app folders.
Access widgets.
Access phone settings and customization.
Check notifications
Check system status.
Access quick settings panel.

Anyway, the home screen is so important that you cannot avoid it!

Understanding items on Galaxy S20 Home screen

Generally, there are about 11 types of items on the Galaxy S20 Home screen, as shown in the screenshot below:

Status bar
App icons
App folders
App Shortcuts/bookmarks
Pinned files
Widgets.
Picture frame.
Panel indicator.
Favourite tray.
Navigation bar.
Edge panel handle.

We will explain them one by one.

Please note, if you enable Assistant Menu, you will see the floating Assistant menu button on all screens.

You may also lock the Galaxy S20 Home screen layout to avoid unintentional changes.

Status bar

The status bar is an integrated part of the Android UI. It is

It will always be shown when in the Home screen or using any apps except in the full-screen immersive mode. In the immersive mode, you can swipe the screen to call out the status bar.

On the left side of the status bar, you can find the current time and a few notification icons, whose style can be customized as explained in this guide.

On Galaxy S20, the status icons are on the right side of the status bar and aligned to the … Read the rest