How to Start Using Your New Samsung Galaxy S9
Happy launch day, new owners of Samsung Galaxy S9 and / or S9 +! Now that you have a new device (or are still updating the shipping status every five minutes while waiting for it to arrive ), here are some of our favorite tips, tricks, and settings you can use to get started.
Setting up your brand new Galaxy S9
Setting up a new smartphone is usually pretty straightforward. When connected, Samsung is easy to navigate, so you shouldn’t have any problems setting up and launching your new Galaxy S9. If you still feel like you need a little help or just want to know how the setup process goes before your smartphone arrives, we recommend checking out GottaBeMobile’s quick guide to your first moments with the new Galaxy S9:
When setting up your new smartphone, remember the following:
- Connect your device to Wi-Fi and download all updates. There may not be any updates to capture, and that’s okay. But if they are, you need the most recent patched version of your device to ensure the best performance and security. Do it now so you don’t have to deal with it later.
- Decide if you want to restore from a Google backup of your previous device or start over with a new one. I confess I always enjoy setting up a new smartphone completely from scratch because it’s a great way to do a little spring cleaning by making me think about what applications I really need and how I can arrange them on a new device, for example. If you just want the same old Android smartphone, make sure you are signed in to your Google account and select a previous backup to restore. You have backed up your old Android device, right?
- Turn on smart scan. Yes, you’ll now have to stare at your device to unlock it, but you may find it even more convenient (and secure) than scanning your fingerprint. Smart Scan is also better in low light conditions than Samsung’s simpler face recognition feature. An iris scanner is also a great option, but Intelligent Scan combines that and facial recognition so you can log into your device seamlessly, so why not use both? Don’t use a simple PIN, pattern, or password – although you’ll still need one to unlock your device from time to time, even if you’re using Smart Scan.
- Don’t subscribe to crappy cloud services. If your mobile operator offers to give you access to limited cloud services for a small monthly fee, don’t go for it. Google’s free cloud services do a great job of storing your photos, data, and contacts – just to name a few.
Transferring all data from your old smartphone
If you hate the cloud or are switching to a Galaxy S9 from a non-Android smartphone, especially anything that starts with an “i”, you can use the Samsung Smart Switch app to copy content from that device to the new Galaxy S9. … On Android, it’s much easier to just sync all of your information to Google’s cloud services, but Smart Switch will help if you want to keep your text messages. If you choose the Google Restore route, you can also use an Android app like SMS Backup & Restore to save and transfer texts from your old device to your new smartphone.
(And if you cannot download Smart Switch for any reason on the replacement smartphone, you can simply download the app from APK Mirror .)
If you’ve converted from Apple and aren’t using Smart Switch to fetch synced data from iCloud, you can also transfer your data by connecting your iPhone directly to the Galaxy S9. Connect the iPhone Lightning to USB charging cable to the adapter and then plug it into the Micro USB port on the Galaxy S9. Launch the Smart Switch app on your new Galaxy S9 and get your transfer.
Now that you’ve gone through the basic setup process, the next series of tips is about ways to improve your Galaxy S9 experience. Ready? Ready!
Disable unnecessary applications
Tom’s Guide contains a wide variety of Samsung and Big Three mobile operator apps installed on the Galaxy S8. While the Galaxy S9 certainly has a few differences, this guide is a great guide to the kinds of apps you are likely to want to uninstall, or at least disable. And anything that cannot be disabled or removed, simplyremove from the home screen .
You can also use the £ 2.00 Package Disabler Pro app (and import this modified XML file ) to disable the most notorious malware faster. If you are comfortable with the command line, this XDA Developers guide will show you how to uninstall or disable system applications via ADB. Both methods are a little more advanced and could potentially make your smartphone worse, so we recommend taking the simpler remove / disable / hide approach if you don’t mind spending some time customizing your Galaxy S9 to your liking.
Download some awesome apps
We’ll be updating our list of favorite Android apps soon, but many of these must-haves from our Lifehacker Pack for Android are still great choices for your new Galaxy S9. Be sure to see:
- Dark Skies : One of the best ways to get the weather forecast, complete with rain notifications in your area.
- VLC : Play all the movies you download or transfer to your new Galaxy W9.
- Pocket : Save whatever you read online so you can come back and read articles later when you’re less busy or distracted, even when you’re offline.
- MyFitnessPal : Let your Galaxy S9 help you get fit, stats.
- Yelp : When you’re longing for that late night donut and want to find what’s open (and cool) where you live. If you don’t tell MyFitnessPal, we won’t.
- AirDroid : Control your Galaxy S9 remotely, read and reply to text messages, and transfer files – AirDroid does it all.
Take the same app twice
Why do you ever need versions of Facebook Messenger on your smartphone? You may be tired of switching between your work and personal accounts. Or maybe you’re a super spy. Anyway, here’s a quick overview of how to download two copies of multiple apps to your device.
Customize your always-on display
One of the nifty features Samsung introduced with the Galaxy S7 was the smartphone’s always-on display, which allows you to see important notifications and updates without having to sign in (or drain your smartphone’s battery by pulling up a full AMOLED screen). You can turn it on and off by swiping up to access smartphone apps, then tapping Settings> Lock screen & security> Always on display.
This is also where you configure the information that is shown on the always-on display. If you’re concerned about your device’s battery life, you can set a schedule that converts the always-on display into a kind of always-on display. You can even customize the always-on display with your own wallpaper if you don’t like what Samsung has to offer.
Enough your edges
I love the Galaxy S9’s Edge Lighting feature, in part because it’s another useful notification method, but mostly because it looks amazing. Setting it up is easy, as the Jimmy is Promo YouTube channel shows in the video above. While it may take a while, make sure you configure Edge Lighting to only fire when the apps youneed most have notifications – if you don’t mind turning your smartphone into a littlefury with a switch .
By the way, don’t forget to customize the edge panels. Swipe inward from either side of the screen and then tap on the settings icon in the lower right corner. Choose which panels you want and add (or remove) from them what you want, such as your best friends or the most used applications.
Boost your device’s resolution
If you don’t mind ditching some battery life, you’ll have a better high-quality picture and video experience when you upscale your Galaxy S9 to its maximum supported resolution of 2960×1440. Go ahead, continue; let’s tear it apart.
Unlock landscape mode
Are you looking at your Galaxy S9? Great. Rotate 90 degrees. Something happened? I thought so. Samsung turns on portrait mode for the Galaxy S9 by default, but if you like landscape orientation, open the Settings app, tap Display, then tap from the Home screen. You need the “Portrait Mode Only” option – turn it off and your device’s home screen will now automatically straighten every time you rotate your smartphone.
Blow out eardrums
I’m a little skeptical about the “Dolby Atmos” technology built into the Galaxy S9 as I highly doubt a dual speaker setup can effectively recreate the effect of ceiling speakers in a surround sound system. Perhaps Samsung has some concerns too, as this feature is disabled by default on the Galaxy S9.
To give it a try, open the Settings app in your Galaxy S9> Sounds & Vibration> Sound Quality & Effects. You can also tinker with the smartphone’s other sound filters by scrolling down, but you probably don’t need to turn on its UHQ upscaler, Tube Amp Pro, or Concert Hall settings unless you really like artificial quality. they enter.
Bring Back the Spice to Your Videos
The Galaxy S9 can do more than just “improve” the performance of your smartphone; it can also make your videos look prettier. Tap Settings> Display, then scroll down until you see “Looking for something else?” chapter. Tap Video Enhancer. Turn it on and your videos in the supported apps listed in the section will look brighter and brighter. Of course, this is another fake setting, so feel free to try it on and off if you’d rather not mess with your movies.
To see what the difference looks like, take a look at the PhoneArena dynamic comparison.