Galaxy S8 Guides

How to use Secure Folder on Galaxy S8, S9, S10, and S20?

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You can use Secure Folder to run one additional private copy of any apps installed on your Galaxy phones including Galaxy S8, Galaxy S7, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S20, Galaxy S10, Galaxy S9, Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy Note 9, and Galaxy Note 10.

You can also use Secure Folder to hide any apps and private data on the phone.

This Galaxy S8 how-to guide explains everything you need to know about the Secure Folder in Galaxy S8 and S8+: what Secure Folder is, when you will need Secure Folder, how to enable it in Galaxy S8 and S8+, how to add apps and files to the Secure Folder, how to add shortcuts of Secure Folder app to Galaxy S8 home screen, how to customize app icon and name for the Secure Folder, how to hide the Secure Folder, and how to reset and uninstall Secure Folder in Galaxy S8 and S8+.

Because the Secure Folder is similar in all Samsung Galaxy devices, this guide also applies to secure folder in Galaxy S20, Galaxy S10, Galaxy S9, Galaxy S7, Galaxy S6, Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy Note 9, and Galaxy Note 10.

What is Galaxy S8 Secure Folder?

Usually, you can secure your Galaxy S8 and S8+ with Galaxy S8 lock screen using a pattern, PIN, password, fingerprint or iris scanner.

But for some owners, this may be not sufficient.

Galaxy S8 Secure Folder allows you to create a private and encrypted space for your apps and files on Galaxy S8 or S8+.

Apps and files in Galaxy S8 Secure Folder are independent of the same app outside of the Secure Folder. These apps and files are secured with Samsung KNOX framework.

Essentially, you can run another copy of any apps in a secured environment.  You can also … Read the rest

How to set screen resolution in Galaxy S8 and S8+?

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set screen resolution in Galaxy S8 and S8+You can set screen resolution in Galaxy S8 and S8+ to save battery without sacrificing user experiences.

Samsung introduced the feature of adjustable screen resolutions in Android Nougat firmware.  This is not a feature of stock Android Nougat.

This Galaxy S8 how-t0 guide explains the rational behind setting Galaxy S8 screen resolution and how to set screen resolution in Galaxy S8 and S8+.

What are the supported Galaxy S8 screen resolutions in Galaxy S8 and S8+?

According to the Galaxy S8 hardware specs, both Galaxy S8 and S8+ have a screen resolution of 2960×1440 (WQHD+).

This is the hardware limit of the number of pixels in Galaxy S8 and S8+ dispaly.

Because the pixel density (570PPI for S8 and 529 for S8+) is too high for normal human eyes, it is possible the scale down the resolutions to save battery and users may not notice the difference.

3 different screen resolutions are supported in Galaxy S8 and S8+:

  1. WQHD+ (2960×1440).
  2. FHD+ (2220×1080).
  3. HD+ (1480×720)

By default Samsung set the screen resolution in Galaxy S8 and S8+ as FHD+, not the highest resolution because most owners actually do not need such a high resolution in a 5.7″ or  6.3″ screen.

Why you may want to change screen resolution in Galaxy S8 and S8+?

For normal human eyes, for a 6.3″ screen, full HD is probably the limit when you watch the screen from a distance of 8″.

This is one of the reasons why Samsung preset the screen resolution to FHD+ in new Galaxy S8 and S8+.

When you lower Galaxy S8 screen resolution, there will be less pixels to handle for the GPU/CPU. This translates to battery saving.

If you want to save battery aggressively when you cannot charge Galaxy S8 or S8+ for an extended … Read the rest

How to move apps to SD card in Galaxy S8 and S8+?

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Although Samsung removed the adoptable storage (i.e., using SD card as internal storage) feature, you can still move apps to SD card in Galaxy S8 and S8+ to free up some space in the internal storage .

The procedure to move apps to SD card in Galaxy S8 and S8+ is different from that in old Galaxy devices with Android Lollipop or earlier.

This Galaxy S8 how-to guide shows you how to move apps to SD card in Galaxy S8 and S8+. It is assumed that the SD card was added to Galaxy S8 or S8+ already.

Why only some apps can be moved to SD card in Galaxy S8 and S8+?

Whether an app can be moved to SD card or not is determined by the app developer, not your Galaxy S8 or S8+. For example,  some apps like WhatsApp do NOT allow you to save anything to external SD card.

Some apps like Google Music allow you to save downloaded contents to SD card. Other app data must be in the internal storage.

You can check whether an app can be moved to SD card in Galaxy S8, and move it to micro SD card if supported,  through application manager.

Anyway, if you cannot move an app to the SD card in Galaxy S8 application manager, it means the app developer disabled the usage of external SD card. You can try to feedback to the app developer.

After I move apps to SD card in Galaxy S8, the space freed is far smaller than the app used?

When you move apps to SD card in Galaxy S8 or S8+,  actually only part of the app data, not the whole app, were moved to SD card.

So, it usually frees less space in internal storage than you expected.… Read the rest

How to wipe Galaxy S8 cache partition?

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How to wipe Galaxy S8 cache partition?You can wipe Galaxy S8 cache partition to solve many problems in Galaxy S8 and S8+ by yourself without affecting your data, or settings.

It is also the last method in solving software related problems before resetting your Galaxy S8 and S8+.

This Galaxy S8 how-to guide first explains what Galaxy S8 cache partition is and why and when you may need to wipe Galaxy S8 cache partition, then shows you how to clear Galaxy S8 cache partition.

What is Galaxy S8 cache partition?

Galaxy S8 cache partition in Galaxy S8 and S8+ is a special (and reserved) part of the phone storage. But it is not user accessible in normal mode.

As suggested by the name, this special partition stores and serves the cached files for the phone. This is needed in all Android phones to speed up the apps.

For most owners of Galaxy S8 and S8+,  it is not necessary to know the existence of such a cache partition. Of course, they do not need to wipe Galaxy S8 cache partition in the lifespan of the Galaxy S8 and S8+.

The cache partition is normally well managed by the Android system. The partition will be refreshed automatically for example, when a major update is applied.

But occasionally, something in your Galaxy S8 or S8+ may go wrong and you may try to clear Galaxy S8 cache partition to avoid a factory data reset.

When you may need to wipe Galaxy S8 cache partition?

As mentioned, normally Android is smart enough to properly manage the cache partition in Galaxy S8 and S8+.

But in some cases, you may need to manually wipe cache partition in Galaxy S8 and S8, for example:

  • after a major update. Although any major update should clear and refresh cache partition when you
… Read the rest



How to use Galaxy S8 themes to customize Galaxy S8 and S8+?

Everything you need to know about Galaxy S8 themes for Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+!

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Everything you need to know about Galaxy S8 themes for Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+!You can use Galaxy S8 themes to customize the look and feel of Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+.

This Galaxy S8 how-to guide shows you how to find, download, install, apply, and manage Galaxy S8 themes. It also shows you how to disable the annoying Samsung themes notification in Galaxy S8 and S8+.

Please note, Galaxy S8 themes applies to Galaxy S8 and S8+ only.  You cannot use Galaxy S8 themes in Galaxy S7 or any future Galaxy phones either.

What are Galaxy S8 themes?

Since Galaxy S6, Samsung introduced themes for owners to customize the phone systemically.

But at that time, there were very limited support from developers and the choices are very limited for third-party themes.

Now, for Galaxy S8 and S8+, you have so many choices of Galaxy S8 themes.

Galaxy S8 themes allow you:

For example, some Galaxy S8 owners may not like the default white color scheme. They may prefer a dark theme.

Galaxy S8 themes will solve such issues and demands.

If you are using official Samsung covers (cases), for example, Galaxy S8 clear view cover, you will be prompted to choose a Galaxy S8 theme to match your Galaxy S8 and S8+.

Although Galaxy S8 themes can change the look of your Galaxy S8 and S8+, third-party apps will NOT be changed.  … Read the rest

How to use Galaxy S8 Settings to customize Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+?

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use Galaxy S8 Settings to customize Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+Galaxy S8 settings allows you to change the settings of almost all aspects of Galaxy S8 and S8+ to meet your requirements.

But sometimes, it is a bit overwhelming to read so many options in Galaxy S8 settings.

This Galaxy S8 how-to guide shows you how to access Galaxy S8 settings in 4 different ways, how to use Galaxy S8 Settings and the relationship between Galaxy S8 quick settings and Galaxy S8 settings.

What are Galaxy S8 Settings?

Galaxy S8 and S8+ have so many features and there are so many customization possibilities.

So, you need to use Galaxy S8 settings to change and settings and customize the phone to meet your needs.

Galaxy S8 Settings may have two interconnected meanings:

  1. A system app named Settings.
  2. All settings in Galaxy S8 (or S8+).

Actually, in all Android phones, there is a system app named Settings.

Galaxy S8 (and S8+) is not an exception.

Inside the Galaxy S8 Settings app, you can then find all entries of Galaxy S8 settings.

4 different ways to access Galaxy S8 settings in Galaxy S8 and S8+

Because Galaxy S8 Settings are used very frequently, Samsung made it is very easy to access them with different methods.

Method 1:  use settings (gear) icon  in notification panel

As shown in the screenshot below, you can find the gear icon (settings icon) in notification panel.

You can access notification panel in Galaxy S8 and S8+ by swiping down from the status bar.

Tap the icon to open Galaxy S8 settings.

access Galaxy S8 settings in Galaxy S8 and S8+

Method 2:  use settings (gear) icon  in quick settings panel

You can find the same gear icon in Galaxy S8 quick settings panel as shown below.

To access quick settings panel, you can swipe down from status bar with two fingers, or swipe down twice (with … Read the rest