Samsung Galaxy S20 Guides

Everything about Samsung Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra

long tapping gesture

How to use 5 different shooting methods for Galaxy S20 camera?

By Leave a Comment ·

use 5 different shooting methods for Galaxy S20 cameraIn addition to the shutter button, you can use other shooting methods, including volume key, voice commands, floating shutter button, and palm, to take photos or shoot videos on Galaxy S20.

This Galaxy S20 guide explains the 5 different shooting methods for Galaxy S20 and shows you how and when to use them.

As Samsung updates the Camera app with the Android OS (and One UI), you can find the Samsung Camera app on Galaxy phones with identical Android (and One UI) version is almost identical. Therefore, this guide applies to most Samsung Galaxy phones with Android 10 (and One UI 2.5), for example, Galaxy S10, Galaxy Note 10, and Galaxy Note 20.

Why do you need to consider shooting methods other than the shutter button for Galaxy S20 camera?

By default, most Galaxy S20 owners use the shutter button (aka capture button) in the preview screen to take photos or record videos.

But occasionally, you may find it is not convenient to use the shutter button when taking selfies, especially when you want to include more people or the background and therefore you have to stretch your arm out.

For owners who get used to a point-and-shoot camera or DSLRs, a physical shutter button is always preferred. Unfortunately, all Android phone manufacturers are trying to minimize the number of physical buttons (and ports).

The good news is Samsung has maintained alternative shooting methods in their Galaxy phones. Therefore you can use volume keys, voice control, floating button, and palm to take photos and record videos.

What are the 5 different shooting methods for Galaxy S20 camera?

In the Galaxy S20 Camera app, you can use at least the following 5 shooting methods:

  1. Use the shutter button (default).
  2. Use the volume key.
  3. Use voice control.
  4. Use a floating shutter button.
  5. Show your palm (for selfies only).

We will explore them later (read on). By default, voice control and floating button are disabled on Galaxy S20.

When and how to use different shooting methods for Galaxy S20 camera?

As mentioned, two of the additional methods (voice control and floating shutter button) are not enabled by default; therefore, you need to enable them before you can use them.

Enable/disable different shooting methods for Galaxy S20 camera

You can manage, enable, and disable individual shooting methods in Galaxy S20 camera settings.

You can use various … Read the rest

How to use and customize power mode on Galaxy S20?

By Leave a Comment ·

use and customize power mode on Galaxy S20You can use Galaxy S20 power mode to balance the performance and battery life based on your needs and habit.

This Galaxy S20 guide explains the importance of using the proper power modes on Galaxy S20, what are the 4 power modes on Galaxy S20, when and how to use each of these four power modes. The guide also shows you how to manage, customize, and limit battery usage (and background activities) for individual apps from app power management and application managers.

Samsung adopted almost identical power modes (power-saving modes) on all Galaxy Phones with Android 10. So, in addition to Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, Galaxy S20 Ultra, and Galaxy S20 FE, this guide also applies to most of the recent Galaxy phones, including all variants of Galaxy S10, Galaxy Note 20, and  Galaxy Note 10.

Update: Samsung introduced the Enhanced processing option under battery settings in Android 11 update for Galaxy S20.

Why is Galaxy S20 power mode important to balance performance and battery life?

Battery life is a major concern for many Galaxy S20 owners, although Galaxy S20 supports up to 45W super-fast charging and fast wireless charging 2.0.

Most of Galaxy S20 owners expect the phone worked when they want to use it. Running out of battery can be very disturbing nowadays, especially if you pay more than $1000 for the gadget.

Unfortunately, current Li-ion battery technologies still pose a hard limit on the battery capacity given the limited available space in the phone and possible and safety considerations.

So, one way to extend battery life so that you have enough battery before you can access a charger is to “save ” battery, i.e., reducing or optimizing the usage of the battery.

Basically, it is not necessary to let the Galaxy S20 run at its peak performance. For more than 90% of owners of Galaxy S20,  the phone offers more processing power than what you need.

Even for heavy gamers, the high processing power is only needed when you play some large games. You do not need to keep the phone running in its peak state all the time.

Power mode in Galaxy S20 lets you balance the performance and battery life.

What are the 4 power modes on Galaxy S20?

On Samsung Galaxy S20, there are 4 power modes:

  1. Optimized (default).
  2. High performance.
  3. Medium power saving (aka, power saving)
… Read the rest

How to manage home screen panels on Galaxy S20?

By Leave a Comment ·

How to manage home screen panels on Galaxy S20?Most Galaxy S20 owners need a few home screen panels to place frequently used apps, app folders, widgets, bookmarks, and shortcuts.

This Galaxy S20 guide explains what Galaxy S20 home screen panels are, what is the home panel of the Galaxy S20 Home screen and how to assign the home panel,  how to manage (add, remove and relocate) home screen panels on Galaxy S20.

Galaxy S20 home screen panels are part of Samsung One UI launcher (aka Samsung launcher). So, this guide applies to all other Samsung Galaxy phones with One UI, for example, Galaxy S10, Galaxy Note 20, Galaxy Note 10, Galaxy S9, Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy S8, and Galaxy Note 8.

What are home screen panels on Galaxy S20?

Each page of the Galaxy S20 Home screen is usually called a panel. So, home screen panels are just “pages” of your Galaxy S20 Home screen.

By default, when you unlock Galaxy S20, you will go to the home panel (read on) of  Galaxy S20 Home screen (or last opened app).

Among all Galaxy S20 home screen panels, the following items are identical on all pages:

You need to use multiple home screen panels to accommodate:

When you put the apps on the Galaxy S20 Home screen, you can access them quickly without navigating to the Apps screen.

For widgets, you can only use them on the home screen.

Besides, on Galaxy S20, Samsung Daily (Bixby Home) always occupies the leftmost panel.  You may follow this guide to hide or disable Samsung Daily (Bixby Home) on Galaxy S20. Please note, there is no way to remove it unless you root the phone or use other launchers.

What is the “home” panel of Galaxy S20 Home screen?

Because there are multiple home screen panels on Galaxy S20, you need to designate one as the “home” of the Galaxy S20 Home screen.

By default, the panel next to Samsung Daily (Bixby Home) is assigned as the “home” of Galaxy S20 Home screen. Of course, you can assign any panels (pages) as the home of the home screen panels.

The role of this panel is to represent the end … Read the rest

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

By Leave a Comment ·

How to enter, use, and exit Galaxy S20 safe mode?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 use app shortcuts on Galaxy S20 lock screen?

By Leave a Comment ·

manage and use app shortcuts on Galaxy S20 lock screenYou can add up to two app shortcuts on Galaxy S20 lock screen so that you can use these apps without unlocking the phone, or use the app directly after unlocking the phone.

This Galaxy S20 guide explains how the app shortcuts on Galaxy S20 lock screen work, how to manage, customize and use the app shortcuts on the lock screen, how to use the floating button for app shortcuts.

App shortcuts are available on all Galaxy S20 models: Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, and Galaxy S20 Ultra. So, this guide applies to all these three Galaxy S20 models.

How do app shortcuts on Galaxy S20 lock screen work?

As explained in this guide, on Galaxy S20 lock screen, by default, there are two app shortcuts (Phone app and Camera app, by default) on the two bottom corners.

You can drag or swipe the icon to the centre of the screen to use the two apps without unlocking Galaxy S20.

There are no security issues with the app shortcuts on the Galaxy S20 lock screen.

Most apps will work only after you unlock Galaxy S20. Only selected apps will work without accessing your data and without unlocking Galaxy S20.

Your data are always safe. They can only be accessed after you unlock the phone. There is no exception.

So, the app shortcuts on Galaxy S20 lock screen work in different ways depending on the app shortcuts you put there:

  1. Without restrictions. For apps that do not access any data, they can work normally. For example, you can use Flashlight or Do Not Disturb without any restriction on the lock screen.
  2. With restrictions. For selected apps, including  Phone app, Camera app, they can run in a restricted mode. For example, the Phone app on the lock screen can only be used for emergency calls. The camera app can only be used to take photos or record videos, and it can only access photos or videos taken in that session. Of course, you can use all Galaxy S20 camera modes and change some camera settings.
  3. Unlocking the phone is required. For most apps, you need to unlock the phone to continue the app.

As a convenience feature,  you should put the most frequently used apps on the lock screen so that you can access them quicker than tapping the app icons on the home … Read the rest

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

By Leave a Comment ·

ock the Galaxy S20 Home screen layout to prevent unintentional changesYou 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

Master Galaxy S20 Home screen

By Leave a Comment ·

Master Galaxy S20 Home screenGalaxy 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:

  1.  Status bar
  2. App icons
  3. App folders
  4. App Shortcuts/bookmarks
  5. Pinned files
  6. Widgets.
  7. Picture frame.
  8. Panel indicator.
  9. Favourite tray.
  10. Navigation bar.
  11. 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.

Understanding items on Galaxy S20 Home screen

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

How to set battery limit for Wireless PowerShare on Galaxy S20, Note 10, and S10?

By Leave a Comment ·

set battery limit for Wireless PowerShare on Galaxy S20, Note 10, and S10Wireless PowerShare is a convenient feature allowing you to charge accessories with Galaxy S20 battery.

When the feature was first introduced in Galaxy S10, the battery limit for wireless Powershare is fixed at 30% (of the phone battery). In Android 10 update for Galaxy S10 and Note 10, Samsung allows owners to raise the battery limit for Wireless PowerShare.

Galaxy S20 also allows you to adjust the battery limit for Wireless PowerShare. And it works identically to Galaxy S10 and Note 10.

This Galaxy S20 guide shows you how to adjust the battery limit for Wireless PowerShare on Galaxy S20, S10, and Note 10. Some questions on setting the battery limit for Wireless PowerShare are also answered.

What is Wireless PowerShare on Galaxy S20?

Wireless PowerShare turns your Galaxy S20 into a Qi-wireless charger. So, you can use your Galaxy S20 to charge accessories and even other phones that support wireless charging.

The typical usage of Wireless PowerShare is to charge your smartwatch, earbuds (e.g., Samsung Galaxy Buds,  Galaxy Buds+) with your Galaxy S20’s battery. You can use it to charge other phones. But the speed is not so fast (it is the standard wireless charging. No fast wireless charging.)

Samsung first introduced this feature with Galaxy S10. It is one of a few well-received new features in Galaxy S10.  Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy S20 implemented the wireless Powershare similarly.

A detailed guide on how to use Wireless PowerShare can be found here. It applies to all Samsung devices supporting Wireless PowerShare.

The original implementation of the Wireless PowerShare in Galaxy S10 and Note 10 hardcoded a battery limit of 30%. Wireless Powershare will stop automatically if the phone battery is lower than 30% of its full capacity.

Because the phone battery drains faster  (most of us can “feel” it) when the battery level is low,  some owners want to reserve more battery, especially when charging other phones. The 30% limit may be too low for them.

So, in Android 10 update, Samsung added the option for you to set battery limit for Wireless PowerShare on Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Note 10.  Galaxy S20 has this feature from day 1.

Please note some official Samsung Galaxy S20 cases, like Galaxy S20 LED View Cover, Galaxy S20 Clear View /S View Cover, and Galaxy S20 LED back cover, may affect wireless … Read the rest

How to customize and use Galaxy S20 Quick Settings?

By 6 Comments ·

Samsung Galaxy S20 quick settings bugttonsGalaxy S20 quick settings let you quickly turn on/off some features using the quick setting buttons from the notification panel.

This Galaxy S20 guide explains everything you need to know on using and customizing Galaxy S20 Quick Settings: what the Galaxy S20 Quick Settings is, how to access it, how to customize the quick setting button order, and how to customize the layout of the quick settings panel.

The Galaxy S20 Quick Settings is identical on Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra.  So, in this guide, Galaxy S20 refers to all of these three phones.

What is Galaxy S20 Quick Settings?

Like in other Android phones, Samsung Galaxy S20 Quick Settings allows you to turn on/off some features, e.g., WiFi, mobile data, flight mode, without diving into the Galaxy S20 Settings.

The quick setting buttons are also easier to understand and use, compared to the menu and page navigations in Galaxy S20 Settings. So, it is the most efficient way to turn on or turn off some features on Galaxy S20.

By default, in the notification panel, 6 quick setting buttons (with text below them) appear, as shown below.

FYI, you can access Galaxy S20 notification panel by swiping down from the status bar.

If you need to check the meaning of any of the status icons or notification icons on Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra, you may check this guide.

galaxy S20 notification panelWhat is Galaxy S20 Quick Settings?

These buttons are just the first 6 buttons in the Galaxy S20 quick settings. You can find all quick setting buttons if you swipe down again from the notification panel.

Galaxy S20 Quick Settings (or quick settings panel) usually refers to this full-page buttons, as shown above.

Please note, the quick setting buttons include two parts:

  • the button; and
  • the text below the button.

They have different functions.

Most of the quick setting buttons accept the following gestures:

  • Tapping the button to turn on/off the feature.
  • Tapping the text below the button to get the options for the feature.
  • Long tapping (tapping and holding) the button (or the text below the button) to open the corresponding entry in Galaxy S20 Settings if the feature has an entry there.

A few quick setting buttons may only accept one or two of the gestures.

In addition to the two-page quick setting buttons, in the Galaxy S20 Quick Settings page, you can also find:… Read the rest

The Ultimate Guide of Galaxy S20 Touchscreen Gestures

By Leave a Comment ·

Galaxy S20 Touchscreen GesturesYou need to use the Galaxy S20 touchscreen gestures to use the phone effectively.

This Galaxy S20 guide explains the commonly used Galaxy S20 touchscreen gestures and shows you how to use them. The 8 Galaxy S20 touchscreen gestures covered are tapping, double-tapping, triple-tapping, long-tapping (tapping and holding), swiping, dragging, pinching and spreading.

Why do you need to know the Galaxy S20 touchscreen gestures?

We seldom attach a physical keyboard or mouse to Galaxy S20 (except using Samsung DeX). So, the touchscreen is the interface between the user and the Galaxy S20.

The phone takes commands from us through Galaxy S20 touchscreen gestures. We interact with the apps through those gestures, most of the time.

Since Android 10, Google removed the navigation buttons by default and recommended gestures for all navigations. Of course,  Galaxy S20 still allows you to choose between using buttons or navigation gestures.

More and more Android apps also prefer gestures over buttons.

Anyway, it is hard to use the phone effectively without mastering Galaxy S20 touchscreen gestures.

What are the 8 Galaxy S20 touchscreen gestures?

You will need to use the following touchscreen gestures on Galaxy S20:

  1. Tapping (single tap).
  2. Double-tapping.
  3. Triple tapping.
  4. Long tapping (tap and hold).
  5. Swiping.
  6. Dragging.
  7. Pinching.
  8. Spreading

All of the 8 Galaxy S20 touchscreen gestures are universal on all Android phones. They work on almost all Android phones and therefore are not unique to Galaxy S20.

But the functions of each gesture may depend on individual apps.

Usage of Galaxy S20 touchscreen gestures

Now, let’s go through these 8 Galaxy S20 navigation gestures one by one.

Please note, we use “tap” in this guide. Other developers or writers may prefer “press”. They are identical for touchscreen gestures.

#1. Single tapping gesture (tapping)

The tapping gesture (aka single tapping), as shown in the animation below,  requires you touch somewhere on the  Galaxy S20 screen once, then move your finger away from the screen.

This gesture will be then registered as tapping, which is one of the most fundamental Galaxy S20 touchscreen gestures. It corresponds to “click” when using a mouse.

The outcome of the tapping gesture depends on what you tapped.

Here are some example of using tapping gesture on Galaxy S20:

  • Open an app by tapping the app icon.
  • Navigate to another page by tapping a menu item.
  • Toggle some Galaxy S20 features by tapping the quick setting buttons
… Read the rest