Galaxy S9 Guides

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Galaxy S9 always-on display (AOD)

Galaxy S9 Android Pie update guides

Use the new features of Android Pie (Android 9) update for Galaxy S9 and S9+

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Galaxy S9 Android Pie update guidesAndroid Pie update for Galaxy S9 and S9+ has been rolled out since December 2018.

More and more Galaxy S9 and S9+ owners are enjoying the new features of Android Pie update.  Samsung also updated the official user guide with Android Pie update.

Android Pie (Android 9) is a major update for Android. There are many new features in Android Pie.

On top of the standard Android Pie features, Samsung also updated the UI for Galaxy S9 and S9+ to One UI.

So, many Galaxy S9 and S9+ owners sometimes get confused on how to use the new features in Android Pie (Android 9) update for Galaxy S9 and S9+.

A series of guides on new features of Android Pie update for Galaxy S9 and S9+ have been prepared and tested since December 2018.

Now, we are releasing these Android Pie guides for Galaxy S9 and S9+ here.

This is a live post. A new guide is released only after it passes all our testing and verifications. We will update this post once a new guide is released.

Here is the list of released or coming-soon guides on the new features of Android Pie (Android 9) update for Galaxy S9 and S9+.

If you cannot find the Android Pie guides you need, or if you have any questions on Android Pie features on Galaxy S9 and S9+, please let us know them in the comment box.

We will try to release the guide earlier, and the community will help you get the answer or solution.

1.  Top 9 new features of Android Pie update for Galaxy S9 and S9+

As the first major update of Galaxy S9 and S9+, Android Pie (Android 9) update brings not only Android Pie features to Galaxy S9 and S9+ but also a totally new UI (One UI).

This Galaxy S9 Android Pie update guide explains the top 9 most useful new features of Android Pie update for Galaxy S9 and S9+ including One UI, night mode, lift to wake, floating keyboard, lock home screen layout, lockdown mode, new camera app, navigation gestures, and adaptive battery

Read on …

2. The official Galaxy S9 and S9+ user guides with Android Pie update for Galaxy S9 and S9+

 You can read online or download the official user manuals for Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus with Android Pie update in your local language for your … Read the rest

How to use Galaxy S9 edge screen on Galaxy S9 and S9+?

Use and customize Galaxy S9 edge screen

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use Galaxy S9 edge screen on Galaxy S9 and S9+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.

Galaxy S9 edge screen Galaxy S9 edge screen

For example, you may open apps edge to quickly start a favourite app you added to … Read the rest

How to show photos on Galaxy S9 Home screen?

You can use the picture frame widget to show photos on Galaxy S9and S9+ home screens.

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How to show photos on Galaxy S9 Home screen?Many Galaxy S9 or S9+ owners want to show photos on Galaxy S9 Home screen so that they can easily see the slideshow of their loved photos without opening the Gallery or other photo apps.

Samsung made it easy to pin photos to the always-on display as explained in this guide. But showing photos on Galaxy S9 Home screen does not work out of the box.

Although there are many solutions for you to show photos on Galaxy S9 Home screen, using Samsung’s picture frame widget probably is the easiest way to show photos on Galaxy S9 and S9+ home screen.

This Galaxy S9 guide shows you how to show photos on Galaxy S9 home screen using the picture frame widget provided by Samsung.  You can also tweak the slideshow by including or excluding photos, adjusting slideshow timing, the layout of photos, and how the photos fill the spots.

The picture frame widget was available in Galaxy phones with Android Marshmallow 6.0 or earlier. Samsung removed it in Android Nougat firmware and offered it as an optional feature in Galaxy Apps.

So, this guide applies to most Samsung Galaxy phones. For Galaxy S9 and S9+, you need to install the widget from Galaxy Apps.

You may follow the steps to install the widget and show photos on Galaxy S9 Home screen. Ths steps als0 are applicable for Galaxy S8, S8+, S7, S7 Edge, Note 9,  Note 8 and Note 5. If you have an older Samsung phone, very likely, you can skip step 1 (as the widget was part of the old Gallery app).

Step 1: Install Picture Frame from Samsung Galaxy Apps

Galaxy Apps is preinstalled in Galaxy S9 and S9+. You cannot remove it.

Samsung now puts many optional features on Galaxy Apps.

In Galaxy  S9 or S9+,  tap Galaxy Apps icon in the home screen or apps screen.

In Galaxy Apps, switch to Exclusives tap as shown below.

show photos on Galaxy S9 Home screen Step 1: Install Picture Frame from Samsung Galaxy Apps show photos on Galaxy S9 Home screen Step 1: Install Picture Frame from Samsung Galaxy Apps

In the Exclusives tab, you can scroll down to find the Galaxy Essentials category.

Tap view all as shown above.

Now, you can find apps included in Galaxy Essentials as shown below.

In some regions, by default,  there is a Galaxy Essentials widget on Galaxy S9 Home screen. You can tap it to arrive on the same page.

Among the apps, you can find the Picture frame as shown below. It used … Read the rest

How to use Galaxy S9 themes to customize the look and feel of Galaxy S9 and S9+?

Everything you need to know about Galaxy S9 themes

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Everything you need to know about Galaxy S9 themesGalaxy S9 themes allow you to customise many aspects of the UI in Galaxy S9 and S9+.  It is no longer necessary to customise the colour scheme, wallpaper, icons or always-on display (AOD) screen individually.

You can find many excellent free Galaxy S9 themes in Samsung themes to meet your needs.

This Galaxy S9 guide explains everything you need to know about Galaxy S9 themes: What are they? How to get them? How to access them in Samsung themes? How to install and use them? How to manage or delete Galaxy S9 themes.

What are Galaxy S9 themes?

Galaxy S9 themes are “skins” for your Galaxy S9 and S9+.

You can use Galaxy S9 themes to customise the user interface of Galaxy S9 or S9+. The customisation usually includes:

Please note, Galaxy S9 themes work with the default launcher. If you are using a third-party launcher, Galaxy S9 themes unlikely will work as expected.

Besides, themes for other Galaxy phones (e.g., Galaxy S8/S8+) will NOT work on Galaxy S9/S9+.

Where to get Galaxy S9 themes?

As a security measure, you should get new themes for Galaxy S9 and S9+ ONLY from Samsung’s Theme store, which is embedded in Galaxy Apps.

You probably should never get any themes from other sources.

How to access Galaxy S9 themes?

You can access Galaxy S9 themes from Galaxy S9 Home screen edit mode.

In Galaxy S9 home screen, you can enter the edit mode by:

Once in the edit mode of the Galaxy S9 Home screen, as shown below,  tap Themes to access Galaxy S9 themes.

access Galaxy S9 themes access Galaxy S9 themes

In Galaxy S9 themes page, as shown in the screenshot above, tap Themes to enter themes tab.

Besides, you will get the notification about Galaxy S9 themes in the notification panel when … Read the rest

How to use Galaxy S9 touchscreen gestures?

Seven Galaxy S9 touchscreen gestures: tap, double tap (and triple-tap), long tap, swipe, drag, pinch and spread, are explained and illustrated.

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use Galaxy S9 touchscreen gesturesYou have to use some Galaxy S9 touchscreen gestures if you want Galaxy S9 or S9+ to do anything for you.

Although most Galaxy S9 touchscreen gestures work on all other Android phones, you may not be aware of some gestures that help you use Galaxy S9 and S9+ effectively.

This Galaxy S9 how-to guide illustrates the 7 Galaxy S9 touchscreen gestures with animations, explains the features of these gestures and gives examples of using these gestures.

What are Galaxy S9 touchscreen gestures?

As Galaxy S9 and S9+ do not have a physical keyboard or other input devices, you have to interact with the phone either through the touchscreen or voice (e.g., Bixby or Google Assistant).

In addition to the on-screen keyboard or keypad, Galaxy S9 and S9+ also accept some touchscreen gestures.

When your finger(s) or other capacitive pens (please note S Pen on Galaxy Note devices does NOT work with Galaxy S9 or S9+ screen) move on the screen, Galaxy S9 and S9 can recognize certain patterns and therefore responds accordingly.

These moving patterns are usually referred to as Galaxy S9 touchscreen gestures.

So, understanding and correctly using Galaxy S9 touchscreen gestures are essential if you want to use the phone efficiently.

Similar to other Android phones, there is nothing special in Galaxy S9 touchscreen gestures.  These gestures can be used in almost all other Android phones.

Although most of Galaxy S9 touchscreen gestures are used on the screen, some can also be used on the physical buttons. e.g., the power button accepts press, double press and long press gestures.

List of  Galaxy S9 touchscreen gestures in Galaxy S9 and S9+

You can use the following 7 Galaxy S9 touchscreen gestures on Galaxy S9 and S9+ for various operations.

1. Tap gesture (press)

Tap is one of the most used Galaxy S9 touchscreen gestures.

As shown in the animation below, you need to tap an icon or a specific area to activate something, for example, to start an app, or to open a menu item.

The tap gesture actually mimics “click” of a mouse (e.g., when using Samsung DeX with Galaxy S9 or S9+).

Galaxy S9 touchscreen gestures: tap

Of course, the action or response of the tap gesture depends on what was tapped, or where you tapped.

Some example of using tap gesture includes:

  • You can open an app by tapping an app icon in Galaxy S9 home screen or 
… Read the rest

How to use and customize Galaxy S9 lock screen?

The ultimate guide to Galaxy S9 lock screen

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The ultimate guide to Galaxy S9 lock screenGalaxy S9 lock screen not only keeps your data safe but also offers some useful features and information to improve your productivity.

This Galaxy S9 how-to guide shows you how to set up, use and customise the lock screen of Galaxy S9 and S9+.

Please note although Galaxy S9 supports landscape mode in Galaxy S9 Home screen, Galaxy S9 lock screen is always in portrait mode.

What is Galaxy S9 lock screen?

Galaxy S9 lock screen likes a door to Galaxy S9 and S9+. You need this door to protect your data and info saved on the phone.

But Galaxy S9 lock screen is also an information centre for you so that you can get some essential info without unlocking the phone or opening any apps.

The information provided through Galaxy S9 lock screen varies depending on your customisation. By default, you can get at least the following info in Galaxy 9 lock screen:

  • Time and date (clock).
  • Carrier info.
  • Media player controller.
  • Your schedule.
  • Notifications.
  • Next alarm.

In addition, Galaxy S9 lock screen allows you to:

  • Change a few settings (not related to data or privacy) of Galaxy S9 and S9+ through quick setting buttons, for example, turn on/off the blue light filter.
  • Add up to 2 app shortcuts to lock screen.
  • Use Galaxy S9 camera without unlocking the phone.
  • Make emergency calls.

Of course, to protect your data in Galaxy S9 or S9+,  most of the settings can only be changed after you unlock the phone.

How to set up Galaxy S9 lock screen security?

By default, when you set up Galaxy S9 or S9+, it will ask you to set up the lock screen security.

If you skip that step, the default lock screen security, swipe, will be used.

Of course, you can change Galaxy S9 lock screen security at any time.

And you should NOT set Galaxy S9 lock screen security to swipe or none.

If you use either of the options, your data in Galaxy S9 or S9+ are at risk. Anyone, including thieves, can access your phone without restrictions. They can impersonate you.

To change Galaxy S9 lock screen security, you may follow these steps.

Step 1: Access Galaxy S9 Settings

There are a couple of ways to access Galaxy S9 settings, for example

… Read the rest

How to use Samsung Galaxy S9 clear view standing cover (S-view cover)?

A definite guide for Galaxy S9 clear view standing cover (aka S View cover): Pros and cons, main features, how to use, and how to customize Galaxy S9 clear view cover.

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Samsung Galaxy S9 clear view standing cover (S-view cover)Samsung Galaxy S9 clear view standing cover, aka Galaxy S9 S-View cover in some regions, is one of the official Samsung Galaxy S9 accessories for Galaxy S9 and S9+.

The Galaxy S9 clear view standing cover is available in almost all regions, and available for both Galaxy S9 and S9+. You need to make sure you get the correct one.

This Galaxy S9 accessories guide explains main features of Galaxy S9 clear view standing cover, pros and cons of Galaxy S9 clear view cover, how to use it, and how to customise it.

What is Samsung Galaxy S9 clear view standing cover (aka Galaxy S9 S View cover)?

Galaxy S9 clear view standing cover has been a successor for S View covers since Galaxy S8.

The whole front cover of the Galaxy S9 clear view standing cover is translucent. You can consider the whole front cover is a big S View window as in Galaxy S7 S View cover.

You can control some features of the Galaxy S9 and S9+ through this translucent front cover. You can pick up or reject phone calls without opening the cover. You can also control the music with the cover closed. Dissminig or snoozing an alarm is also available directly from the cover

The double-layer back part of the clear view cover offers decent protection for the phone and the camera modules as shown below.

front of Galaxy S9 clear view standing cover (aka Galaxy S9 S View cover) back of Galaxy S9 clear view standing cover (aka Galaxy S9 S View cover)

You can fold the back cover (actually separate the two layers)  of the Galaxy S9 clear view standing cover to make a stand for Galaxy S9 and S9+ in landscape orientation. There is only one viewing angle in the standing mode as shown below.

This viewing angle is good for watching videos or having a hands-free video call.

Galaxy S9 clear view standing cover (aka Galaxy S9 S View cover)

Galaxy S9 clear view standing cover is:

  • an updated (with an enlarged S View window) S View cover for Galaxy S9 and S9+;
  • an all-in-one cover with a back cover, a front cover and a stand for Galaxy S9 and ;
  • a smart cover allowing you to control some functions and features of Galaxy S9 and S9+.

Due to the size difference of Galaxy S9 and S9+, the clear view standing cover for Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ is NOT interchangeable.

If you have a Galaxy S9, you should get the Galaxy S9 clear view standing cover. If you have a Galaxy S9+, you should get Galaxy … Read the rest

How to use and customize Galaxy S9 navigation bar and navigation buttons?

Learn to hide and unhide Galaxy S9 navigation bar, to customize Galaxy S9 navigation button layout, and to use Galaxy S9 Home button when the screen is off.

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Similar to Galaxy S8, Galaxy S9 features software navigation buttons. And Samsung allows you to hide and customize the Galaxy S9 navigation bar and navigation buttons in Galaxy S9 and S9+.

You can also use the software home button even when the screen is off.

This Galaxy S9 guide shows you how to hide and unhide Galaxy S9 navigation bar, customize the background colour of Galaxy S9 navigation bar, customize the Galaxy S9 navigation button layout, and how to use Galaxy S9 Home button when the screen is off.

Update: after updating Galaxy S9 or S9 Plus to Android Pie, you will get the new navigation gestures. You can choose to use the navigation bar with navigation buttons (Home, Back, and  Recents) or use the new navigation gesture.  But you will not be able to hide the navigation bar if you choose to use the navigation bar/buttons.  If you want to use these features and other navigation button customizations, you can use the NavStar app to customize the Galaxy S9 navigation bar and navigation buttons.

Please check this guide for the details about the navigation gestures on Galaxy S9 and S9+ with Android Pie update.

How to use and customize Galaxy S9 navigation bar and navigation buttons?

How to lock Galaxy S9 navigation bar?

By default, when you get the new Galaxy S9 or S9+, the navigation bar is shown, but not locked.

The dot (official name: show and hide button) on the left side of the Galaxy S9  navigation bar indicates you can hide the status bar if you want.

Sometimes, you may not want to use the feature of hiding and unhiding the navigation bar, i.e., you may want to lock Galaxy S9 navigation bar.

Please note, when using an app in the split screen view, the Recents button changes to the multiwindow button. You may refer to this guide on how to use apps in Multi Window mode on Galaxy S9 and S9+.

To lock the Galaxy S9 navigation bar, you may go to Galaxy S9 Setting, tap Display as shown below.

How to hide Galaxy S9 navigation bar? And how to access Galaxy S9 navigation bar when it is hidden? How to hide Galaxy S9 navigation bar? And how to access Galaxy S9 navigation bar when it is hidden?

Then in the Display settings page,  tap the Navigation bar as shown above.

In the Navigation bar settings page, tap the Show and hide button (marked as 1 in the screenshot below).

After you hide the button, then you lock the navigation bar in Galaxy S9 and S9+.

If you want to hide Galaxy S9 navigation bar, then you need to enable … Read the rest