Galaxy S9 Guides

a community for owners of Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+

USB 3.0

How to use a USB flash drive on Galaxy S9 and S9+?

You can use a USB flash drive or even a 2TB USB drive to expand Galaxy S9 storage

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use USB flash drive on Samsung phonesA USB flash drive is often the most convenient tool to quickly share files between Galaxy S9, Galaxy S8, Galaxy S10, Galaxy S20  and other devices.

So, in addition to using a micro SD card, you can further expand Galaxy S9 and other Galaxy phones storage with a USB storage.

This Galaxy S9 guide explains when you need to use a USB flash drive, the limitations of using USB storage on Galaxy S9 and other Galaxy phones, how to use and manage USB storage on Galaxy S9 and S9+.

Since Galaxy S8, Samsung has moved to USB-C port on all Galaxy S and Galaxy Note phones. So, this guide applies to all Galaxy phones with USB-C port, including Galaxy S8, Galaxy S9, Galaxy S10, Galaxy S20, Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy Note 10, and Galaxy Note 20.

In this guide, we use SanDisk Ultra Dual Drive in some examples. You may get a detailed guide on how to use SanDisk Ultra Dual Drive here.

When do you need to use external USB storage on Galaxy S9 and S9+?

Although you can expand Galaxy S9/S9+ storage with a micro SD card as explained in this guide, sometimes you may find you have to use a USB flash drive or using a flash drive is more convenient than other tools/methods.

For example, if you use two SIM cards on Galaxy S9 or S9+, you then cannot use the micro SD card because slot 2 in the SIM card tray was used by the SIM card already.

Or if you want to share some large videos on your phone with others and you do not want to hand over the phone to that person, you can then directly transfer files from Galaxy S9 to a USB flash drive, or even an external USB drive.

Or when you want to transfer some large files between Galaxy S9 and the PC/notebook without using the USB cable, then a USB flash drive probably is the fastest solution.

Some Galaxy S9 owners also use a USB flash drive to save offline videos and music files.  They can use the drive on multiple devices without making copies on each device.

What are the limitations of using a USB flash drive on Galaxy S9 and S9+?

Although a USB flash drive is a plug-and-play (PnP) device, sometimes you may find the USB flash … Read the rest

Meaning of Galaxy S9 status icons and notification icons in Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+

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Understanding the meaning of Galaxy S9 status icons and notification icons in Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ will help you to use the phone efficiently.

You can get quick system info and new notifications by checking Galaxy S9 status icons and notification icons in the status bar.

This Galaxy S9 guide explains the differences between Galaxy S9 status icons and notification icons, and the meaning of these icons in the status bar in Galaxy S9 and S9+.

What is the difference between Galaxy S9 status icons and notification icons?

Android uses the top of the screen as the status bar, where Galaxy S9 status icons and notification icons are shown.  It applies to Galaxy S9 Home screen, lock screen and all apps.

The following screenshot is an example of the Galaxy S9 status bar with notification icons on the left and status icons on the right.  When you use Galaxy S9 home screen landscape mode or any apps in landscape mode, the status bar is also in the top of the screen.

Galaxy S9 status bar with notification icons on the left and status icons on the right

Galaxy S9 status icons and notification icons give you quick info about the system status (e.g., mobile network signal strength) and notifications from apps or the system.

When an app is in the immersive full-screen mode, the status bar will be hidden temporally. In this case, you can swipe down from the top of the screen to bring up Galaxy S9 status bar (and Galaxy S9 navigation bar as well)

The differences between Galaxy S9 status icons and notification icons include:

  • Galaxy S9 status icons are always related to the system; while Galaxy S9 notification icons are always linked to specific apps (including a few system apps and third-party apps).
  • Galaxy S9 status icons are normally shown on the right side of the status bar; while Galaxy S9 notification icons always appear on the left side of the status bar.
  • Galaxy S9 status icons are more or less universal in all regions; while Galaxy S9 notification icons depend on individual apps, whose developers can use whatever they want.

Typically, when you see an icon on the left side of the status bar in Galaxy S9 or S9+, there are usually at least one or more corresponding notifications in Galaxy S9 notification panel.

But if you see a Galaxy S9 status icon, there is seldom a corresponding notification.

Meaning of Galaxy S9 status icons

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