There's nothing more exciting than buying a new Android phone and using it to make it your own. Some of the things users do when setting up their new devices are changing the wallpaper and applying different themes. Besides personalisation, however, there are things to do that can affect the way you use your phone. So, here are five settings I turn on every time I set up a new Android phone from scratch.
1
Enable Notification History
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We've all done it. A notification pops up, we swipe too fast, and the next thing we know is that the notification is nowhere to be seen. Was it important? Was it spam? All we know is that it's gone forever. That's unless you turn on Notification history. For those unaware, Notification History logs every notification that has been dismissed.
This way, when you accidentally swipe something away, there's still a way to see what it was. It's essentially the undo button for the notification tray. Not only that, but tapping on the notification will take you to the content the notification was about. So, if you tap on a dismissed WhatsApp message, it will take you to that exact message.
To enable Notification history, go to Settings > Notifications > Notification history and turn on the Use notification history toggle. On Samsung, Notification history is hidden inside One UI's Advanced settings.
2
Turning on Find My Device in case I can't find it
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This one's pretty obvious, but I'm always left in awe about how many people don't have it enabled. Find My Device and Google's latest Find My Device Network are the single, if not the only, best chance of recovering your phone if it's lost or stolen. While Find My Device is turned on by default on most Android phones, the Find My Device Network feature remains disabled.
For those unaware, like Apple's Find My service, Google's Find My Device network uses other Android phones in the vicinity as beacons to help pinpoint the exact location of your Android phone, even if it's turned off. You can track your lost Android device using the Google Find Hub app.
3
Pinning apps on your screen
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App pinning is, hands down, one of the most underrated Android features. Imagine this: you hand over your phone to a friend to show them a photo, only to then watch as they start using other parts of your phone. Or let a kid play a game only for them to somehow end up in your work email? App pinning solves this.
The feature can be found in Settings > Security & privacy > More security settings. Once turned on, tapping on the app icon or the downward arrow will now show you a Pin option. Once pinned, no one can exit the app, pull down the notification shade or go anywhere else unless they swipe and hold the home gesture or button, upon which they will be asked to enter a PIN or fingerprint.
4
Set up Focus and Bedtime modes
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While Standby optimisation is one of the features I turn off on Android, Focus mode and Bedtime mode are more human-centric optimisations, and they work brilliantly. Focus mode is a part of Digital Wellbeing, which is often used to check screen time on Android. When you set a Focus schedule, you can set a time to pause distracting apps while you're focusing on something.
Bedtime mode, once enabled, will pause notifications, enable greyscale, dim the wallpaper, enable dark theme and keep the screen dark. These options are customisable, but I prefer all of them turned on to maximise the feature's impact on my sleeping habits.
Both features are essentially of the "set it and forget it" type and help tremendously in protecting my personal time. I have a work mode that silences social apps during the day, and a Sleep mode that monochromatises my screen and silences everything except calls from important people after 10:00 PM. It's a game-changer for digital health.
These features can be found in Digital Wellbeing, which you can access by going to Settings > Digital Wellbeing (Modes on Pixels) > Focus mode/Bedtime mode. Both are straightforward to set up.
5
Enabling the 'Big Three' Android security features
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Android has not only become feature-rich on the user experience side but also when it comes to security, and features like Identity Check, Theft Detection Lock and Offline Device Lock are proof. For starters, Identity Check, when enabled, asks for your biometrics when you're away from trusted places.
Theft Detection Lock locks your phone when someone snatches it and tries to run away, protecting your data. Finally, Offline Device Lock automatically locks your device when a thief turns off the internet or if your device stays offline for a while. All these features can be enabled by going to Settings > Security & privacy > Device Unlock.
And those are all the features I enable right after I get my hands on a brand-new Android phone. While having some of these features enabled can add to your experience, there are also Android security features and Find My Device, which we recommend enabling as soon as you get a new Android phone. They can not only help protect your privacy but also help you find your Android phone when it's lost.
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