Galaxy S9 camera Pro mode gives you full control of your shootings: ISO, aperture, shutter speed, autofocus mode,  filters, white balance, and exposure. If you properly use the Galaxy S9 camera Pro mode, you may get far better pictures than using the Auto mode (default). But for many users without photographic backgrounds, sometimes, it is overwhelming to adjust the settings for Galaxy S9 camera Pro mode to get the desired photos. This Galaxy S9 camera guide explains the what Galaxy S9 camera Pro mode is, when you may need it, and all settings for Galaxy S9 camera Pro mode. Please note, Galaxy S8, S8+, Note 8 and Note 9 have a similar Pro mode to that on Galaxy S9 and S9+.  So, this guide also applies to the Pro mode in these Samsung phones. What's Galaxy S9 camera Pro mode? When do you need it? In the old days, smartphone cameras are usually inferior to many middle-range (sometimes, even entry-level) point-and-shoot cameras. And it is impossible to compare them to DSLRs. But in recent years, with the advances in camera sensor technology and software, more and more high-end smartphones can replace middle-range point-and-shoot cameras. Some Android phone vendors started to offer some photographic features that used to be exclusive in DSLR cameras Since Galaxy S6, Samsung has included the Pro mode in many of its phones. But the quality of photos taken in the Pro mode depends on the phone hardware and software. With Galaxy S9 camera Pro mode, some users now can easily get many far better photos than in the Auto mode. Galaxy S9 camera Pro mode allows you: Adjust the ISO value Adjust the aperture to use the dual apertures as explained in this guide. Adjust the shutter speed. Adjust the autofocus mode. Choose camera filters. Adjust the white balance. Adjust exposure compensation. Save photos in RAW format. You may want to try the Pro mode whenever you are not satisfied with photos taken in the Auto mode or other camera modes. For example, in the low-light conditions, you may play with the ISO value and shutter speed to get less noisy photos in Pro mode. The Auto mode in this situation sometimes works well; sometimes not. Or, if the lighting conditions vary dramatically in different parts of the photo, you can choose the proper ISO value,  shutter speed, white balance, and exposure compensation to get a better photo. Although the Pro camera mode looks complicated, you only need some practice and common sense to master it. How to access Galaxy S9 camera Pro mode? Once you open the Galaxy S9 camera app, you can choose the camera modes on the top of the screen as shown above. On Galaxy S8, S7 and S6, you can swipe left to right to access the camera modes page in the camera app. This gesture is being used to switch modes directly on Galaxy S9 and S9+. If you hold the phone in the landscape orientation, the mode selection location will not change. The text does not rotate either although Galaxy S9 and S9+ even support landscape mode in the home screen. For example, as shown in the screenshot below, the Pro mode is selected.  So, you can start to play with the Pro mode. If you cannot find the Pro mode in the camera app, very likely, you disable this mode in the camera settings. How to adjust settings for Galaxy S9 camera Pro mode? We will explain the Galaxy S9 camera Pro mode settings one by one. When you adjust the settings, it will take effect immediately. Unlike that in Galaxy S6 or S7, you cannot save the Pro mode settings and reload it later. Adjust exposure compensation Exposure is a measurement of the amount of light per unit area on the photo. Higher exposure means brighter. By default, the exposure is calculated based on the aperture and shutter speed. As shown above, you can manually "add" (drag to the right side) or "subtract" (to the left side) certain exposure to or from the photo. This adjustment is known as exposure compensation. Exposure compensation applies to the whole picture. You cannot add exposure in some areas, and reduce it in other areas (most photo editing software may be able to do it). Adjust white balance To our eyes, white is always white. But if you take a photo of a white paper, you will notice the white may look yellowish with incandescent light, and blueish with fluorescent light. By default, Galaxy S9 camera will try to figure out the lighting conditions including the color temperature. You can overwrite the calculated color temperature by adjusting the white balance as shown below. By default, the color temperature is calculated automatically. You can tap the Auto button as shown above to manually adjust it. You can manually adjust white balance: Set the…

Galaxy S9 Multi Window allows you to use two or more apps simultaneously on Samsung Galaxy S9 or S9+ to improve your productivity. This Galaxy S9 guide explains what Multi Window can do for you, how to use split-screen view, how to use the pop-up view, and how to use the snap window on Galaxy S9 and S9+. Update: a new section of Changes of Multi-Window in Android Pie update for Galaxy S9 and S9+ was added. In Android Pie update for Galaxy S9 and S9+, many Multi Window features were removed.  Please check this section and Android Pie update guide for details. You may also check this guide for using the Multi Window on Galaxy S9 and S8 with Android Pie. As Multi Window is available in many other Galaxy phones, this guide also applies to many other Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets including Galaxy S8, S8+, Note 8 and Note 9. What is Multi Window on Galaxy S9 and S9+? Multi Window on Galaxy S9 and S9+ allows you to use two apps side-by-side in the split-screen view, or simultaneously use two or more apps in the pop-up view. For example, you may want to browse the info of a product in the Amazon app and share some key info with your friends in the Messages app. Or you may want to get some numbers from a spreadsheet in Google Sheets for an email. Without the Multi Window, you will have to switch between apps several times. If you are familiar with Multi Window on Galaxy S9 and S9+, you can greatly improve your productivity, and therefore get a better ROI of your Galaxy S9 or S9+. Samsung introduced Multi Window many years in Galaxy Note 2 in 2012, which is 4 years earlier than the stock multiwindow feature introduced in Android Nougat. Over the years, Samsung has improved and polished the multiwindow feature and made it one of the best features in Galaxy phones. Basically, if you need to switch apps a few times for a task, you very likely will benefit from the Multi Window feature once you get used to it. What are the two Multi Window modes on Galaxy S9 and S9+? There are two screen modes of Multi Window on Galaxy S9 and S9+: Split-screen view. Pop-up view. In the split-screen view, two apps share the whole screen without overlapping. The status bar will be hidden as in the immersive full-screen mode. The navigation bar is shared and linked to the currently active app window. In the pop-up view, one or more app windows can float over or behind other app windows. You may use multiple apps simultaneously, just like what you can do on a PC, How to use split-screen view of Multi Window on Galaxy S9 and S9+? You can enter the split-screen view of Multi Window on Galaxy S9 and S9+ in two ways: Tap and hold (long tap) the Recents button in the navigation bar to convert the current app window into the split-screen view. Once the app window is converted to the split-screen view, you will be asked to select the second app from the Recents list or from the Apps screen  (app list). If you find this does not work on your Galaxy S9 or S9+, very likely, this feature was disabled. You may enable it in  Galaxy S9 Settings. As shown in the screenshot below, in Settings -- Advanced features, tap Multi Window. In the multiwindow settings page shown above, you can enable or disable the gestures for split-screen view or pop-up view of the Multi Window. Please note, you can only disable the gestures (actions) for the Multi Window on Galaxy S9 or S9+. You can NOT disable the Multi Window feature on Galaxy S9 or S9+. For example, after you disable the gesture of using Recents button to convert the normal (full-screen) app window to the split screen view, you can still use the split screen view from Recents app list (the second method, which cannot be disabled). In Galaxy S9 or S9+, you can customize the location of the Recents (and Back) button in the navigation bar. You can also hide the Galaxy S9 navigation bar. Tap the Recents button in the navigation bar to restart or continue an app in the split screen view. After tapping the Recents button, you should see the list of apps recently used as shown below. As you already know, if you tap any of the apps, you switch to that app. But if you tap the split view button (aka multi-window button), you will restart (or continue depending on individual apps) the app in the split-screen view. For example, tap the multi-window button of the calculator app as shown below. As shown above, the calculator app…

Galaxy S9 super slow-motion mode (super Slow-mo) is a new camera feature on Galaxy S9 and S9+. You can take slow-motion videos at 960fps with this camera mode. This Galaxy S9 guide explains what you can do (and cannot do) with Galaxy S9 super slow motion mode, how to use the super slow-motion mode, how to edit super slow-motion videos, how to add music to the video, and how to share super slow-motion videos  with others as videos or GIF animations. Samsung ported this camera mode to Galaxy S8 and S8+ in Android Oreo update. You can find the super slow-motion mode (super slow-mo) on Galaxy S8, S8+, S9, S9+, Note 8, Note 9, Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10+, Galaxy Note 10, Galaxy Note 10+ and s few other Galaxy phones with Android Oreo. So this guide applies to all these phones with the super slow-motion mode, although screenshots in this guide were taken from a Galaxy S9+. What is Galaxy S9 super slow-motion mode (super Slow-mo) on Galaxy S9 and S9+? The normal slow-motion mode in most smartphones today can record videos at about 60fps (frames per second). Some high-end phones, like Pixel 2, iPhone X  may record slow motion at 240fps.  Galaxy S9 and S9+ allow you to record a video in 960fps with the super slow-motion mode. Galaxy S9 and S9+ is not the first smartphone with 960fps slow-motion mode. Sony offered this feature in Xperia XZ Premium in 2017. But the phone did not sell well in most markets. In Galaxy S9 and S9+, you have the traditional slow-motion mode (60fps), and this special super slow-motion mode (super slow-mo). Compared to standard slow-motion mode, Galaxy S9 super slow-motion mode has the following limitations: The video resolution is limited to 720p (1280*720). The standard slow-motion on Galaxy S9 or S9+ has a resolution of Full HD 1080p (1920*1080). The length of one super slow-motion event is limited to 0.2 seconds (high quality) or 0.4 seconds (standard quality). In the multi-take mode, you can include up to 20 slow-motion events in one video. Super slow-motion mode usually requires more light to get a decent video. If you want to share the video, you need to export the video first because other phones may have problems to play the video directly. The videos are always saved in the internal storage even you use an SD card on the Galaxy S9. Of course, in addition to the 960fps (which offer more details), Galaxy S9 super slow-motion mode gives a few other features, for example: Background music is added automatically by default. You can choose to use your own music. 3 types (lop, reverse, and swing) of GIF animations are created automatically. A simple video editor for super slow-mo videos is embedded in the Gallery app in Galaxy S9 and S9+. In short, Galaxy S9 super slow-motion mode (super Slow-mo) on Galaxy S9 and S9 is an exciting feature if you need to take some slow-motion videos. Samsung added this mode to Galaxy S8 and S9+ in the Android Oreo update for Galaxy S8 and S8+. What are the 4 modes to use super slow motion mode (super Slow-mo) on Galaxy S9 and S9+? There are 4 possible modes of using super slow-motion mode (super Slow-mo) on Galaxy S9 and S9+: Single take, automatic (default). Single take, manual. Multi-take, automatic. Multi-take, manual. You can know current mode after you switch to the super slow-motion mode in the Galaxy S9 camera app. For example, as shown in the screenshot below,  the shutter button (marked as 1) indicates single -take is active.  The Auto button (marked as 2) indicates the super slow-motion mode is in auto motion detection mode. Single take vs multi-take Single take mode means you want to take one motion event at one time. In other words, in one super slow-motion video, there will be one and only motion event in the super slow-mo video. Of course, you can shot another super slow-motion video for the subsequent events. As in the example shown above, you can find that in single take mode for the super slow-motion video, the shutter button is different from normal shutter button for photos or videos. The 4-circle button indicates it is super slow-motion single take mode. You can switch between single take and multi-take modes on Galaxy S9 camera settings. As shown below, in Galaxy S9 camera settings pages, tap Super Slow-mo. You can then choose multi-take or single take as shown above. In the multi-take mode, as shown in the screenshot below, you can find the shutter button is the normal video recording button In short,  you may choose the single take mode if you want to keep one event in one super slow-motion video.  If you want to keep a series (up to 20) of events in one video, you may choose…

Samsung DeX lets you turn your Galaxy S9, S9+, S10, S10+ S8, S8+, Note 8, Note 9, and Note 10  into a PC with a big screen, a full-size keyboard, and a mouse. For Galaxy S8, S8+, S9, S9+ and Note 8, a Samsung DeX station or Dex Pad is needed to use the DeX mode.  For Galaxy Note 9 and S10, a USB-C to HDMI cable is sufficient. This Samsung DeX guide explains the details of the Samsung DeX, shows you how to use Samsung DeX, answers questions you may have on it. This guide applies to Samsung Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10+, Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+, Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+, Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy Note 9, and Galaxy Note 10, although most of the screenshots were taken from Galaxy S9. Galaxy Note 10 added the DeX for PC. You can use the DeX screen on your PC or laptop with a USB cable. This feature is currently only available on Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10+. Please check this guide on how to use DeX for PC. We will update this page once DeX for PC is enabled on other Samsung devices. Update 1:  Samsung DeX for PC is now also available on Galaxy S10 (including S10+, and S10e) after the September update as explained on this page. What is Samsung DeX? What do you need to use Samsung DeX? For Galaxy S and Galaxy Note phones, it is always easy to connect to external monitor or TVs using a micro USB MHL adapter (for Galaxy S or Note devices prior to Galaxy Note 7 with a micro USB port), or a USB C to HDMI cable (for Galaxy S or Note devices with a USB type C port like Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+, Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+ and Galaxy Note 9). In addition to MHL support, Samsung also incorporated Micracast support in most in these devices. In recent versions of Galaxy S and Note devices, the Miracast support is limited to  Samsung's implementation only. So, for Galaxy S9 and S9+, you can use at least the following three methods to mirror the phone screen to a TV or external monitor: Use a USB-C to HDMI cable (like the official Samsung USBC to HDMI cable). Use Miracast to cast the screen to a Samsung TV or monitor through WiFi direct.  It may not work with other brands of TV. Use Chromecast to cast the screen through a wireless router. But all these connections between Galaxy S9 (or S9+) can mirror the screen only. It means the phone screen should be always on and you have to control the display from the phone screen. Samsung DeX can do more than screen mirroring. In a nutshell, Samsung DeX converts your Galaxy S9 or S9+ to a PC (Android PC) with a Samsung DeX station, or a DeX Pad, or a DeX Cable (after Android Pie update). Both Samsung DeX Station and DeX Pad have: Two USB Type A ports.  You can connect a wired or wireless mouse and keyboard to it. Of course, you can also connect a USB flash drive or portable USB drive through these two USB ports. A USB C port.  You need to connect the fast adaptive charger to it to power up the dock, and to charge the phone when you are using it. In Samsung DeX Pad, the fast charger and USB cable are included. An HDMI port. You need to connect to your TV or monitor with an HDMI cable. In  Samsung DeX Pad, the HDMI cable is included. But in DeX Station, no cables are provided. A male USB-C connector. You need to connect the USB port in the bottom of Samsung Galaxy S9 or S9+ or other Samsung phones to this connector. Samsung DeX Station also has a 10/100M Ethernet port if you want to use a wired connection. Unfortunately, it is removed from the DeX pad. Samsung DeX should start to work automatically without any settings. By default, Samsung DeX is in desktop extended mode: you are not mirroring the Galaxy S9 screen. Actually, there is a dedicated DeX home screen in this extended mode. You can use the phone screen and the desktop individually (although you cannot run one app concurrently on both screens). Of course, if you want, you can switch to screen mirroring mode at any time. But if you want to use screen mirroring, you do NOT need Samsung DeX Station or DeX Pad. A normal USB-C to HDMI cable is sufficient as mentioned earlier. Technically, most branded USB-C to HDMI cable supports HDMI Alt Mode (Alternative mode), and you can use it to mirror the phone screen. With the Android Pie update, Samsung Galaxy S9, S9+ and Note 8 all can also use Samsung DeX with a USB-C to…

Galaxy S9 adapt sound on Galaxy S9 and S9+ can significantly improve the sound quality of the phone. The improvement is achieved through a personalized sound profile tailored to your ears.  Galaxy S9 adapt sound will conduct a hearing test for both of your ears to create that profile and compensate the frequencies you have problems with accordingly so that you can hear the "real" music and sound This Galaxy  S9 guide explains in detail how the adapt sound on Galaxy S9 and S9+ works, and how to enable, customize and use the Galaxy S9 adapt sound to get the best audio quality on Galaxy S9 and S9+. Please note, adapt sound on Galaxy S9 and S9+ is almost identical to that on Galaxy S10, S10+, Galaxy S8+, S8, Note 10, Note 10+, Note 9, and Note 8. So, this guide also applies to these and other Samsung phones. What is adapt sound on Galaxy S9 and S9+? How does adapt sound on Samsung phones works? Adapt sound on Galaxy S9 and S9+ is NOT new.  Samsung first introduced adapt sound in Galaxy S4 in 2013. In the recent launches of Galaxy devices, Samsung even forgot to mention this audio feature, although Samsung tuned this feature in each generation of Galaxy devices. But in my opinion, the adapt sound is one of the most useful Samsung features. And adapt sound on Galaxy S9 and S9+ is probably the most underused feature. You should be very excited once you start to use the adapt sound on Galaxy S9 or other Samsung Galaxy phones: how excellent the music can be!  You probably will blame yourself: why I didn't use it before! In a nutshell, adapt sound on Galaxy S9 creates a personalized sound profile (effects) based on your ear. Every ear is different. Even your two ears may differ significantly in hearing capabilities.  At different ages, our ears also have different listening capabilities at different frequencies. So, the question is: did you hear the "real" music or sound? Galaxy S9 conducts a hearing test for your ears to create your hearing profile.  Then use this profile to compensate the audio output so that you get the "real" music or sound. For example, if your left ear has problems to hear sounds at around 15KHz, but your right ear does not have any issues for the same frequency range, then normally, you will not notice the issue without using a headphone.  But when you use a headphone to listen to some music with this frequency range dominating in the left ear channel, then you will not be able to enjoy the music. Adapt sound on Samsung phones will solve this issue. When the music is output to headphones (wired or Bluetooth), Galaxy S9 will use your hearing profile to boost this frequency range for your left ear. So, Galaxy S9 adapt sound works in two stages: Creating your hearing profile through a hearing test. Compensate sound output (personalized sound profile)  based on the hearing profile when you are using a headphone. Most, not just some, Galaxy S9 or S9+ owners will benefit greatly from this feature on Galaxy S9 or S9+. How to enable, customize and use adapt sound on Galaxy S9 and S9+? By default, adapt sound on Samsung phones is NOT enabled. If you want to use this feature, you need to manually enable it. It will take a few mins to conduct the hearing test in a quiet environment. This is probably the reason why Samsung did not enable it by default. You may follow these steps to enable, customize and use adapt sound on Galaxy S9 and S9+. Step 1:  Creating your personalized listening profile You need to access Galaxy S9 settings first. Tap Sounds and vibration as shown below. In Sound and vibration settings page, tap Sound quality and effects as shown in the screenshot above. In the sound quality and effects page, scroll all the way down to the bottom to find the adapt sound. As shown below, tap Adapt sound to proceed. By default, the default sound profile, which does nothing,  is applied. There are 3 pre-built sound profiles based on the age group: under 30, 30-60 and over 60.  You can tap the corresponding gear icon to test them out. They usually are hit-or-miss for most Galaxy S9 owners. So, it is recommended to use your personalized sound profile (hearing profile). Tap Add personalized sound profile as shown above. Now, you need to go through a hearing test to build your personalized sound profile (hearing profile). Here is the list what you need: A quiet place. The beeping sounds can be very subtle. The headphone you often used. It is recommended to use a wired headphone (see Galaxy S9 layout for the 3.5" headphone jack) Your Galaxy S9 or S9+. A few minutes…

Galaxy S9 edge screen on Galaxy S9 and S9+ is one of the productivity features associated with the curved screen. Although the edge screen on Galaxy S9 and S9+ is not a new feature, many Galaxy S9 and S9+ owners still know little about using edge screen to improve their experiences with the phone. This Galaxy S9 guide explains the details of Galaxy S9 edge screen, and how to use and customize edge screen on Galaxy S9 and S9+. Since Galaxy S8, the edge screen features are unified on Galaxy S and Note devices. So this guide also applies to edge screen on Galaxy S8,  S8+, Galaxy Note 8 and Galaxy Note 9. What is Galaxy S9 edge screen? The history of the edge screen on Samsung Phones Galaxy S9 edge screen can be traced back to Galaxy Note Edge (Note 4 Edge), on which Samsung introduced a separate physical screen on the right edge of the standard screen in 2014. But the reception of a dedicated edge screen was not as warm as expected. So, Samsung introduced the new "shared" edge screen in Galaxy S6 edge and S6 edge+. The edge screen was further polished in Galaxy S7 edge. Since Galaxy S8, Samsung has used curved screens on all flagship phones (Galaxy Note and Galaxy S series), Galaxy S9 edge screen is a more or less matured feature in both Galaxy S9 and S9+. There is no dedicated edge screen. Instead, you can trigger some useful features in the (curved) edge part of the main screen. Edge screen on Galaxy S9 and S9+ is actually a productivity and software feature. It allows you to quickly access some features like opening apps, access tasks or contact your favourite friends. Although the edge screen is conceptualized with the curved screen, only edge lighting utilizes the curved display. Other Galaxy S9 edge screen features (edge panels) do not rely on the curved edges of the infinity display and therefore can be easily implemented on a flat screen, By default, edge screen on Galaxy S9 and S9+ was enabled when you got the phone. In the right edge of the screen, as shown below, you can find edge screen handle. Swipe to the left side to access Galaxy S9 edge screen features. For example, you may open apps edge to quickly start a favourite app you added to the edge screen. Galaxy S9 edge screen has two categories of features: Edge panel. Edge lighting. Edge panel consists of individual panels for specific features, for example, apps edge for apps, tasks edge for shortcuts (file shortcuts, app shortcuts, app pairs ...), people edge for favourite contacts, clipboard edge for clipboard items,  device maintenance edge for you to access device maintenance feature. In addition to pre-install edge panels, you can download and install other panels, free or paid. Edge lighting allows you to show notifications by lighting up the edges of the screen. How to disable edge screen on Galaxy S9 and S9+? In case you do not want to use Galaxy S9 edge screen, you can easily disable it. And you can disable edge panel and edge lighting individually. Some users may like the edge lighting but have no plan to use edge panels. To disable Galaxy S9 edges screen, you may follow these steps. Step 1:  Access display settings In Galaxy S9 settings, tap Display as shown in the screenshot below. Since Galaxy S8, edge screen settings were relocated to under the Display settings. Step 2: Access edge screen settings In the display settings page, tap Edge screen as shown above. Step 3: Disable Galaxy S9 edge screen On the edge screen settings page, as shown below, you can: Disable edge panel by tapping or dragging the slider (marked as 1) to the left side. Disable edge lighting similarly. When the edge screen on Galaxy S9 or S9 is disabled, you can use the slider to turn it on. Please note, you can also enter the settings page of edge panels (or edge lighting) to disable the feature. For example, you may tap the edge panels (marked as 2 in the screenshot below) to enter edge panels settings page. As shown above, in the edge panels settings page, there is an ON switch. You can tap the switch to disable the edge panels. How to customize Galaxy S9 edge screen handle? You can customize the location, size and transparency of the edge screen handle on Galaxy S9 and S9+. In the edge panels settings page, tap the menu key (3 vertical dots) on the top right, as shown above). In the menu, tap Edge panel handle as shown below. In the edge screen handle settings page, you can customize the position of the handle. You can choose to position the handle on the left side or the…

You can pin files to Galaxy S9 Home screen so that you can open them directly by tapping them without fiddling through apps.  For example, you can add a PDF file to the home screen and open it without opening the file explorer or storage manager. After you add files to Galaxy S9 home screen (to be precise, you are actually adding file shortcuts to the home screen), you can use them just like using apps and widgets: open, relocate, delete them. A file pinned on the home screen always occupies one spot (icon). This is different from adding and showing photos on Galaxy S9 Home screen as a widget, which is resizable. This Galaxy S9 guide shows you how to pin files to Galaxy S9 Home screen, manage files added to the home screen, and how to add files to task edge in the edge screen. When you may want to pin files to Galaxy S9 Home screen (add files to the home screen)? Many owners who use Galaxy S9 or S9+ as a productivity tool often need to open or edit some files repeatedly. By default, this means you have to open a file explorer (e.g., My files), navigate to the folder, find the file, tap on it to let the default app to open it. But if you pin the file on Galaxy S9 home screen (i.e. add a shortcut of the file to Galaxy S9 Home screen), then you can tap the shortcut on the home screen to open it straight away. If you want to show photos on Galaxy S9 Home screen, you may check this guide. When you pin a file to the home screen, you actually add a shortcut of the file to the home screen. The file is still in the original folder and is NOT moved.  If you delete the icon in the home screen, the corresponding file will NOT be removed. But if you update the file, the file in the original folder will be updated. Technically, the shortcut (the pinned file) in Galaxy S9 home screen is a symbolic (soft) link to the original file, not a copy of the file. How to pin files to Galaxy S9 Home screen? There are many third-party apps that allow you to add file shortcuts to Galaxy S9 Home screen. But you do not install any of them. The pre-installed My Files from Samsung is a decent file manager and lets you pin files to the home screen. To add a file shortcut to Galaxy S9 Home screen with My Files, you may follow these steps. Step 1: Open My Files By default, you can find My Files in Galaxy S9 apps screen. Of course, you can (and should) add it to the home screen. You tap the icon to open it just like opening other apps. Step 2: Locate the file As shown in the screenshot below, My Files organize your files in various ways. On the top, recently accessed files are listed under Recents card, which can be turned off in the settings. Your files on the phone are also categorized as image, audio, video, documents,  downloads and installation files in the categories card. Of course, a file can belong to up to two categories. And a file may be not in any of these categories depending on individual files. If you need to navigate through the storage manually, you can find two entries for the internal storage and SD card storage (if you added one) in the Phone catrgory. If you are using a USB flash drive on Galaxy S9 or S9+, you will find it here as well. But it is not recommended to pin files saved in the USB flash drive. After you remove or unmount the USB flash drive from the phone, the pinned file will disappear. So, you should copy the file to the SD card or phone storage if you want to pin it on Galaxy S9 home screen. My Files can also access and manage cloud storage if you enable it, in the cloud card. For example, you may access your Samsung or Google cloud from My Files. But you can only access norma files uploaded to Samsung cloud, and will not be able to access your backup files in the Samsung cloud.  There is a link to Samsung cloud for you to access all files as explained in this page. In this example,  we want to pin a PDF file to Galaxy S9 Home screen. The file is located in the Downloads folder. So, tap the Downloads button as shown below. Step 3:  Select the file In the Downloads folder, tap and hold (long tap) the PDF file as shown above. If you only tap the file, Galaxy S9 will try to open it.…

You may have to reset Galaxy S9 or S9+ when the phone does not work as expected. There are 3 levels of resetting for Galaxy S9 and S9+: reset network settings, reset Galaxy S9 settings (system settings) and factory data reset (FDR) Galaxy S9 or S9+. This Galaxy S9 guide shows you how to use these three levels of resetting for your Galaxy S9 and S9+, and explains what you should do before trying to factory data reset Galaxy S9 or S9+. What are the three levels of resetting for Galaxy S9 and S9+? When you consider resetting Galaxy S9 or S9+, there are three levels of resetting: Reset network settings. Reset Galaxy S9 settings. Factory data reset (FDR). Factory data reset (FDR, level 3) would erase everything on Galaxy S9 or S9+. You will get a "new " phone to start with. You must back up all data on Galaxy S9 or S9+ before trying the factory data reset. But remember, factory data reset will NOT roll back system updates. Reset Galaxy S9 settings (level 2) removes the system settings added/customized by you,  but it does not erase your files and third-party app data. Reset network settings (level 1) only remove network (mobile, WiFi, Bluetooth) settings. Other settings and user files are untouched.  You may use this resetting level when your phone has problems to connect to connect WiFi or mobile networks. What should you do BEFORE trying Galaxy S9 factory data reset? If you have to factory data reset Galaxy S9 or S9+,  you must be aware that all data and settings will be erased.  All apps installed by you will be removed as well. And there is no undo option. Before you factory data reset (FDR) for Galaxy S9 or S9+,  you should try to finish the following 3 tasks. Back up, back up and back up your Galaxy S9 or S9+. All your data, documents,  photos, other media files and apps will be erased. So, it is important to back up your Galaxy S9 or S9+. You can use the Samsung Cloud and Google Photos to back up Galaxy S9 or S9+ to the cloud. If you prefer backing up to your PC, you can install Smart Switch on the PC. Then you can back up everything to your PC. Factory data reset will not erase files on the SD card. But app data saved on the SD card will not be usable after the reset. Besides, if you enabled SD card encryption, then the SD will NOT be readable by the phone after a factory data reset. In this case, you must back up data on the SD card as well. Of course, you need not worry about data synced to the cloud, for example, contacts in your Google account. Remove your Google account from the phone if you plan to give Galaxy S9 or S9+ to others after factory data reset. If you are not going to use the phone (e.g., trade in the phone, give the phone to others as a gift, or sell it) after the factory data reset, you should remove all of your Google accounts on the phone. Since Android Lollipop 5.1,  device protection has been enabled.  This feature requires that after an FDR the user must activate the phone with a Google account that existed before the factory data reset. Device protection was designed to reduce smartphone thefts.  And most methods of bypassing device protection are no longer working. Anyway, if you plan not to use Galaxy S9 or S9+ after the factory data reset, you should remove your Google accounts on the phone before you factory data reset Galaxy S9 or S9+. Check the backups. You need to make sure the backups are properly saved, and you can access them. How to reset Galaxy S9 network settings? You can access Galaxy S9 resetting options in Settings --General management. As shown in the screenshot below, tap General management in Galaxy S9 Settings. In the general management page, tap Reset as shown above to access Galaxy S9 resetting options. As mentioned earlier, there are 3 levels of resetting for Galaxy S9 and S9+. In the screenshot below, you can find these 3 levels: Reset network settings. Reset settings. Factory data reset. Tap Reset network settings (marked as 1) to reset Galaxy S9 network settings only. In the reset Galaxy S9 network settings page, as shown above,  you can find detailed info on this Galaxy S9 resetting option: it resets Galaxy S9 WiFi, mobile data and Bluetooth only. If you have problems to access the internet, or to connect to mobile data network, or to pair Bluetooth accessories, you may try to reset Galaxy S9 network settings. If you are using two SIM cards, you may check this guide first on how to use…

You should back up Galaxy S9 or S9+. Period. The data saved in galaxy S9 or S9+ may be lost for many reasons: hardware failure, inadvertent operation/deletion, malware or virus, loss of the phone... This Galaxy S9 guide shows you how to back up Galaxy S9 data to the Samsung Cloud, and back up photos on Galaxy S9 or S9+ too Google Drive (through Google Photos). Why do you need to back up Galaxy S9 and S9+? If the data (photos, documents, notes and others) in your phone are important, you should back up them. The storage of the phone including the internal storage and micro SD card, like other modern electric components, may fail at any time. You do not know when it will fail. It can be tomorrow, or after 10 years. You may accidentally delete a file or a photo. In Android, by default, there is no undo option, and there is no recycle bin to keep deleted files. You should never try your luck if the data are important. The good news is that it is easy and straightforward to back up Galaxy S9 or S9+, and it is free. What are the available methods to back up Galaxy S9 and S9+ data without using any third-party apps? In fact, there are at least three free solutions for backing up the data on Galaxy S9 and S9+ without using any third party apps (Google Photos is preinstalled). Use Samsung Cloud to back up Galaxy S9 and S9+ fully. Use Samsung Cloud to back up (except photos) Galaxy S9/S9+ fully, and Google Photos to back up photos and videos. Use Google Drive to back up Galaxy S9 and S9+ Method 1: Use Samsung Cloud to fully back up Galaxy S9 and S9+. Some owners may be not aware that Samsung offers 15GB (free) for each Samsung account.  And you can back up almost everything to Samsung cloud. If you have multiple Galaxy phones (as old as Galaxy Note 4 and S6),  you can access the back up from any of the supported devices with one Samsung account. This means you can migrate old phone data to Galaxy S9 or S9 using Samsung cloud without using Smart Switch. The only drawback is the storage is limited 15GB per account (NOT per device). In most regions, Samsung does not sell additional storage. Although backups for apps, phone settings, call logs, contacts, notes are NOT counted, media (music, photos, videos) and documents are counted towards your 15GB quota. If you have a lot of photos, you may consider method 2. Method 2: Use Samsung Cloud to fully back up (except photos) Galaxy S9/S9+, and use Google Photos to back up photos and videos Google Photos offers unlimited storage if you back up photos and videos as "high quality" (up o 16MP), which is sufficient for almost all users. If you want to save photos as "original" (again, for most users, it is NOT necessary), these photos will be counted against your 15GB (free) Google Drive storage. If you need more storage, it is easy (and not expensive) to expand the storage. Method 3: Use Google Drive to back up Galaxy S9 and S9+ Android phones always have the built-in backup option.  In different Android versions, and different phones (due to manufacturer's customization), the location may be different. In Galaxy S9 and S9+,  you can use find the Android backup (to Google Drive) in Settings --  Cloud and accounts -- backup and restore. The items to be backed up are not as extensive as those in Method 1. Only apps installed from Play store can be backed up. Some phone settings, like home screen settings, are not backed up. The backup does NOT count towards your 15GB Gooogle Drive storage. So, it is recommended to enable this backup option on Galaxy S9 and S9+, but not to rely on this backup. In this guide, we will try to use Method 2 to back up data on Galaxy S9 and S9+. What is the difference between back up and sync when you back up Galaxy S9 and S9+? When talking about backups, you may encounter "sync" and "back up".  They are different. In a nutshell,  "back up" is one way: from your phone to the backups in Samsung Cloud or Google Drive. Scenario 1.  If a file exists on your Galaxy S9, but not in the cloud, the backup process will make a copy of this file in the cloud. Scenario 2. If a file exists in the cloud, but not on the phone, then the backup process will do nothing for this file. In other words, it will NOT copy the file to your phone. Scenario 3.  If a file exists on the phone and in the cloud, but are different in the last modified time, the backup process will evaluate which one is newer (fresher). If…

Galaxy S9 and S9+, together with other Galaxy S devices (except Galaxy S6, S6 edge and S6 edge+), support SD card.  You can use a micro SD card on Galaxy S9 or S9+ to expand phone storage. In addition to media files and documents, you can move some apps to the SD card on Galaxy S9 or S9 to free up some internal storage space. This Galaxy S9 guide explains how to use SIM card on single SIM or dual-SIM versions of Galaxy S9 and S9+, how to move apps to SD card, how to manage SD card with the device maintenance utility, how to encrypt and decrypt SD card on Galaxy S9, and how to save photos to SD card or phone storage for Galaxy S9 camera. For using a USB flash drive on Galaxy S9 or S9+, please check this guide. How to insert micro SD card on Galaxy S9 and S9+? There are two major variants (versions) of Galaxy S9 and S9+: single SIM version, and the dual-SIM version, depending on the market. Both of these two variants of Galaxy S9 (and S9+) supports the micro SD card to expand the phone storage. For the single SIM version of Galaxy S9, it is simple. The SIM card tray, as shown below, has two slots: slot 1 for the SIM card, and the slot 2 for the micro SD card. But for the dual-SIM version of Galaxy S9 (and S9+), it is a bit complicated. The SIM card tray, as shown below, also has only two slots. You can only fit a SIM card in the slot 1. The slot 2 can hold a SIM card OR a micro SD card, but not both simultaneously. As explained in this guide: If you want to use two SIM cards on Galaxy S9 or S9+, then you cannot use the micro SD card. If you want to use a micro SD card, then you cannot use two SIM cards. You can only use one SIM card. When you place the micro SD card on the SIM card tray, you need to make sure it is secured. The metal contact part should face downwards, same as the SIM card as explained in this guide. What are the limitations of using micro SD card on Galaxy S9 and S9+? Although a micro SD card can expand the storage of Galaxy S9 or S9+, there are several limitations including: Some apps (and all system apps) cannot be moved to the micro SD card. This is decided by the app developer. Even after you move an app to SD card on Galaxy S9 or S9+, some files of the app must be saved in the phone storage.  There is no way to move an app entirely to the SD card on Galaxy S9 and S9+. You cannot use the micro SD card on Galaxy S9 or S9+ to expand the internal storage.  Samsung NEVER supports adoptable storage to use micro SD card as internal storage, even before file-based encryption was introduced. If you encrypt the SD card on Galaxy S9 or S9+, no other devices can read the contents of the SD card (read on). Anyway, if you need to carry a lot of media files with your phone, you may consider adding a micro SD card. Please note, micro SD card, just like other modern storage media, may fail at any time, with or without any signs.  You should always have backups if the files are important. How to move apps to SD card on Galaxy S9 and S9+ You can move some apps to the micro SD card to free up some internal storage. This is helpful if you download a lot of media files and you want to carry them with your Galaxy s9 or S9+. Some apps have own settings to let you choose the storage location for downloaded media (e.g., Google Play music, Google Play movies. Amazon Prime Video). Other apps (e.g., Amazon Music, Netflix) allow you to move the data to SD card. As mentioned, Galaxy S9 and S9+ do not support adoptable storage. So, to be precise, only some app files and app data can be moved to SD card on Galaxy S9 or S9+. To move an app to micro SD card on Galaxy S9 or S9+, you may follow these steps. Step 1: Go to application manager As shown in the screenshot below, tap Apps in Galaxy S9 Settings page. In Galaxy S9 Application manager page, you can find all apps installed on the phone. By default, the apps are listed alphabetically with system apps hidden. Below each app, you can find storage usage. For example, as shown in the screenshot above, the Amazon Music app used 66.22MB storage. Step 2: Find detailed info for the app to be…