quick setting buttons

How to use the rotation toggle to change and lock screen orientation in Android Pie update for Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus?

You can change and lock the Galaxy S9 screen orientation to both landscape and portrait mode with Android Pie update

After updating Galaxy S9 or S9+ to Android Pie, you can use the new rotation toggle to change screen orientation on-the-fly when auto-rotate is turned off. You can even lock the screen orientation to landscape mode with this toggle (aka orientation lock).

Many Galaxy S9 and S9+ owners find this feature extremely useful once they realize the functions of the small rotation toggle icon.

This Galaxy S9 Android Pie update guide explains the functions of the rotation toggle, and how to use it to change and lock the screen orientation on Galaxy S9 and S9+ with Android Pie update.

What is the rotation toggle in Android Pie update for Galaxy S9 and S9+?

Most smartphone owners hate the auto-rotate. It often rotates the screen when you are not intended to do so.

So, most smartphone owners disable the auto-rotate and use the portrait mode.

However, occasionally, you may want to switch to landscape mode temporally for some apps. For example, you may want to show others the photos or videos shot in the landscape mode.

In this case, without the rotation toggle, you have to go to quick settings (this is the fastest router prior to Android Pie ), tap the auto-rotate button, rotate the phone, then show the photos. Once you finish it, you need to disable auto-rotate in the quick settings.

In the stock Android Pie, Google added the rotation toggle (orientation lock) to solve this issue. The toggle will appear (and animates) in the navigator bar once the phone detects the orientation is different from the “locked” one. You can tap the toggle to change the orientation. Of course, you can ignore the toggle (and do not change the orientation).

Samsung customized this feature a bit in Android Pie update for Galaxy S9 and S9+. The rotation toggle animates only twice in Galaxy S9 and S9+, then disappear if you do not tap it.

It is unclear why Samsung decided not to show the toggle all the time.

How does the orientation lock work?

The rotation toggle (orientation lock) in Android Pie update for Galaxy S9 and S9+ works only when auto-rotate is off (it is obvious).

So, you will see the rotation toggle in the navigation bar (if you are using the new navigation gestures, the toggle will appear in a simialr location.) only when:

Auto-rotate is disabled.
The phone detects that you

… Read the rest

How to use the night mode on Galaxy S9 and S9+ with Android Pie update?

simon · 2 Comments

In Android Pie update for Galaxy S9 and S9+, you can use the night mode on Galaxy S9 and S9+ to get the dark (black) theme at any time (not only in the night).

The night mode on Galaxy S9 and S9+ with Android Pie update is the combination of the dark theme and night mode. In the stock Android Pie, the settings of dark theme and night mode are independent of each other.

This Galaxy S9 Android Pie update guide explains the details of the night mode on Galaxy S9 and S9+ with Android Pie update, and how to use the night mode so that you can enjoy the phone in all situations.

What is the night mode on Galaxy S9 and S9+ with Android Pie update?

In Android Nougat update, Samsung introduced the blue light filter to tint the screen so that you can use the screen comfortably for a long time (e.g., for reading), or in a dimmed environment.

Many owners also hate the default white theme, which looks great in the showroom. For day-to-day use, many owners preferred a dark theme.

Of course, you can use third-party themes to customize the Galaxy S9 home screen and Samsung apps. But most of the dark themes in the Galaxy Apps (theme store) are poorly designed.

In Android Pie, Google introduced a dark theme. But it does not apply to Settings or to most Google apps.

Besides, Android Pie also introduced the night mode in developer options. But it is independent of the theme settings if dark them is used already. You may refer to this guide on how to use the dark theme and night mode in stock Android Pie.

In the Android Pie update for Galaxy S9 and S9+, Samsung added the night mode as an alternative to the default light theme.

The night mode on Galaxy S9 and S9+ with Android Pie update lets you:

Set the display to the dark (black) theme.
Apply the dark theme to Galaxy S9 Home screen, Apps screen, Settings, quick settings, notifications panel, power button options, Bixby home, most Samsung apps include Phone, Messages, Contacts, Camera, Gallery, Clock, Calendar, Calculator, Samsung Notes, Email, My Files, Internet, Bixby, Finder.
Instantly turn on/off night mode in quick settings.
Instantly change the night mode settings in the developer options as “always-on”

… Read the rest

How to use Do Not Disturb on Galaxy S9 and S9+?

simon · 4 Comments

You can use Galaxy S9 Do Not Disturb (DND) to keep you undisturbed by any apps.

You can also allow selected apps or specific contacts to reach you when the Do Not Disturb on Galaxy S9 or S9+ is activated.

This Galaxy S9 guide shows you how to turn on/off and schedule Galaxy S9 Do Not Disturb (DND) and how to manage exceptions for the DND on Galaxy S9 and S9+. App rules and Do Not Disturb access were also discussed.

What is Do Not Disturb on Galaxy S9 and S9+?

In some situations, you may want not to get disturbed by the phone. Do Not Disturb on Galaxy S9 or S9+ was designed to help you escape from annoying notifications and sounds.

With DND on Galaxy S9 or S9+, you can silence the phone during a scheduled period, or at any time you need it. You can also allow certain apps or certain contacts to bypass the Galaxy S9 Do Not Disturb settings.

Google introduced Do Not Disturb (DND) in Android Marshmallow (Android 6.0). It is an extension of Downtime introduced in Android Lollipop (Android 5.0).

As usual, Samsung tweaked the Do Not Disturb on Galaxy S9 and S9+. Therefore, the Do Not Disturb on Galaxy S9 and S9+ may not work as in stock Android, or other Android phones.

How to enable and disable Do Not Disturb on Galaxy S9 and S9+?

By default, Galaxy S9 Do Not Disturb (DnD) is off. You need to enable it if you want to use it.

There are a couple of ways to turn on and turn off Do Not Disturb on Galaxy S9 and S9+. Here let’s try two of them.

Method 1: Use quick setting buttons

In quick setting buttons, you can find the Do Not Disturb button as shown in the screenshot below.

You may check this guide on how to use Galaxy S9 quick setting buttons.

Tap the button to enable (if currently off) or disable (if currently on) Galaxy S9 Do Not Disturb.

If you tap and hold (long tap) the button, you will get the settings page for Do Not Disturb.

Method 2: Use Galaxy S9 Settings

The traditional (not so efficient) way to turn on DND on Galaxy S9 is through Settings — Sounds and Vibration.

As shown above, in the sounds and vibration page, you can use the switch to turn … Read the rest

How to use Galaxy S9 always-on display (AOD) on Galaxy S9 and S9+?

simon · Leave a Comment

Galaxy S9 always-on display (AOD) is an extension of the lock screen. You can choose to display some useful info after the lock screen times out.

Update: a new section explaining the changes of Galaxy S9 always-on display (AOD) in Android Pie update for Galaxy S9 and S9+ was added. The new display mode (tap to show) was added.

This Galaxy S9 how-to guide explains everything you need to know about Galaxy S9 always-on display (AOD) on Galaxy S9 and S9+: how to turn on/off the AOD, how to use and customize Galaxy S9 AOD screen, how to customize clock style for AOD screen, how to pin photos to Galaxy S9 AD screen, and how to use AOD themes.

What is Galaxy S9 always-on display (AOD) on Galaxy S9 and S9+?

Traditionally, the phone screen will be turned off after you lock the screen, or if the screen times out.

But more and more smartphone owners use the phone to check time. Some Android phone manufacturers came out the idea of the always-on display (AOD), which shows selected info after the screen times out.

Samsung first introduced the always-on display on Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. Galaxy S9 always-on display (AOD) offers an evolutionary update for this feature.

Besides the clock, notification icons, music control, next calendar event and next alarm can also be shown on the Galaxy S9 AOD screen.

Compared to Galaxy S9 lock screen, Galaxy S9 always-on display (AOD) on Galaxy S9 and S9+ does NOT offer the following features:

App shortcuts in the bottom.
Notification preview.
Quick setting buttons.

You can consider Galaxy S9 always-on display (AOD) is a slimmed-down version or an extension of the lock screen.

How to turn on/turn off Galaxy S9 always-on display (AOD) on Galaxy S9 and S9+?

By default, in some regions, Galaxy S9 always-on display (AOD) is turned off on Galaxy S9 and S9+. In other markets, it is on.

Anyway, you can easily turn on or turn off Galaxy S9 always-on display (AOD) whenever you want.

And there are at least 3 different methods to turn on and turn off AOD on Galaxy S9 and S9+.

Method 1: Use quick setting buttons to turn on/turn off Galaxy S9 always-on display (AOD) on Galaxy S9 and S9+

By default, Always-on display button is included in Galaxy S9 quick setting buttons as shown in the … 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

simon · Leave a Comment

Galaxy 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:

Colour scheme for the UI. The default white scheme in Galaxy S9 and S9 UI can be annoying when you are using the phone in darkness.
Wallpapers for Galaxy S9 Home screen (including Galaxy S9 Apps screen), Galaxy S9 edge screen, and Galaxu S9 lock screen.
App icon pack for pre-installed Samsung apps to replace the stock icon.
Font, style and background settings for Settings, Phone, Messages, Internet, Contacts, Clock, My Files and a few (about 30 to 40) other Samsung system apps.
Galaxy S9 always on display (AOD) themes.

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:

Pinch gesture.
Long tap (tap and hold) on any blank area.

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

5 ways to take screenshots on Galaxy S9 and S9+ without using any apps

simon · 4 Comments

There are at least 5 methods to take screenshots on Galaxy S9 and S9+ without using any apps: hardware buttons (power+volume down), palm swipe, the assistant menu, Bixby voice command and Google Assistant.

This Galaxy S9 how-to guide explains to you how to use them and how to use scroll capture to take screenshots on Galaxy S9 and S9+

Why do you need to take screenshots on Galaxy S9 and S9+?

Sometimes, you may need to keep a record of a conversation, to share a webpage, to show some locations on Google maps to others, or to record some transactions when you are using the Galaxy S9 or S9+.

A screenshot is the easiest and the most effective way to keep info and pieces of evidence. The image saved can be read on almost any devices.

Although you can edit them after you take screenshots on Galaxy S9 and S9+, most people give more trust in screenshots than the text you typed.

Sometimes, if you want to report a problem of an app, or request technical services, you may be asked to take some screenshots so that the technical staffs can understand the problem quickly.

How to take screenshots on Galaxy S9 and S9+ without using any apps (and without using your PC)?

There are at least 5 ways to take screenshots on Galaxy S9 and S9+ without using any apps:

Using hardware buttons (volume down + power button).
Palm swipe.
Using the Assistant menu.
Using Bixby voice command.
Using Google Assistant.

This guide will show you the details of these 5 methods in the following sections individually.

Method 1: use hardware buttons to take screenshots on Galaxy S9 and S9+

You can take a screenshot on Galaxy S9 and S9+ by pressing the holding Power button and Volume down button simultaneously, as illustrated below. You should hear a click /shutter sound once screenshot is taken.

This method works on almost all Android phones.

In old Samsung phones with a physical Home button, the physical home button was used with the power button to take screenshots. But this does NOT work on Galaxy S9 and S9+ because the Home button on S9 and S9+ is considered as a software-based button.

The key point of using physical buttons to take screenshots is to press the two buttons simultaneously.

As a human, we always press one button earlier than … Read the rest

How to use quick setting buttons on Galaxy S9 and S9+?

simon · 11 Comments

The most efficient way to change settings of Galaxy S9 and S9+ is to use Galaxy S9 quick setting button.

This Galaxy S9 guide explains everything you need to know about the quick setting buttons on Galaxy S9 and S9+: what are Galaxy S9 quick setting buttons? How to access them, how to use them, and how to customize them.

Update: after you update Galaxy S9 or S9+ to Android Pie, you can use the night mode to set the background color of quick settings panel to dark. You can also use the quick setting button to switch between using the new Android Pie navigation gestures and using the traditional navigation bar/buttons.

What are quick setting buttons on Galaxy S9 and S9+?

Like other Android phones, Galaxy S9 and S9+ have quick settings buttons on the top of notifications in Galaxy S9 notification panel.

The quick setting buttons allow you to instantly turn on or turn off some features quickly without entering the complicated settings page.

For example, you can turn on or turn off mobile data or Bluetooth using Galaxy S9 quick setting buttons on Galaxy S9 and S9+.

Since Android Nougat, stock Android also shows quick settings bar (the first a few quick setting buttons) in the notification panel, in addition to the full list of quick setting buttons.

But Samsung added the quick settings bar in Galaxy phones a long time back.

Anyway, quick setting buttons on Galaxy S9 and S9+ were designed to help you use the phone easily and efficiently.

The first 6 Galaxy S9 quick setting buttons (sometimes, it is referred to as quick settings bar) are shown above notifications in the notification panel as shown in this guide.

You can expand the list to show all quick settings buttons in Galaxy S9 notification panel.

How to access quick setting buttons on Galaxy S9 and S9+?

There are two methods to access all quick setting buttons on Galaxy S9 and S9+.

Method 1: Swipe down from Galaxy S9 notification panel (or swipe down twice from the status bar)

In Galaxy S9 notification panel, you can swipe down, as shown below, to expand the quick setting buttons so that all buttons are shown.

When you are not in the notification panel, you can swipe down from the status bar twice to access the same Galaxy S9 quick setting buttons … Read the rest

How to use Galaxy S9 notification panel on Galaxy S9 and S9+?

simon · 21 Comments

Galaxy S9 notification panel allows you to check, snooze, dismiss and manage all notifications on Galaxy S9 and S9+.

Without Android Oreo preloaded, Galaxy S9 and S9+ come with some new Android Oreo notification features like notification channels and notification snooze.

This Galaxy S9 guide explains to you what Galaxy S9 notification panel is, how to access it, the layout of the notification panel and how to use notification panel in Galaxy S9 and S9+.

What is Galaxy S9 notification panel?

Like other Android phones, Galaxy S9 notification panel is an integrated part of Galaxy S9 and S9+.

There is no way to avoid it. You can access Galaxy S9 notification panel regardless what you are doing on the phone.

Galaxy S9 notification panel is a centralized location for all app notifications in Galaxy S9 and S9+. In other words, all apps “post” or push their notifications to the notification panel.

Apps can send or push notifications even when you do not use the app in the foreground.

In short, Galaxy S9 notification panel is a special panel for you to check, dismiss, snooze and manage all notifications in Galaxy S9 and S9+.

How to access Galaxy S9 notification panel?

You can swipe down from the status bar to access Galaxy S9 notification panel, as illustrated below.

If the status bar is hidden (e.g., when you are in full-screen mode), you can just swipe down from the top of the screen.

You can access Galaxy S9 notification panel even when the screen is locked. Of course, in Galaxy S9 lock screen settings, you can choose how notifications are shown.

In Galaxy S9 and S9+, there is another way to access Galaxy S9 notification panel quickly on Galaxy S9 Home screen. The feature was named as quick-open notification panel.

You can swipe down on Galaxy S9 Home screen to access Galaxy S9 notification panel. This method, however, is turned off by default. You need to enable it.

In fact, by default, when you swipe up or swipe down in Galaxy S9 Home screen, you will access Galaxy S9 Apps screen.

To use the swipe down gesture for Galaxy S9 notification panel, you need to enable it Galaxy S9 Settings.

As shown below, in Galaxy S9 settings, tap Display.

In the Display page, tap Home screen, as shown in the screenshot above.

In Home screen … Read the rest