To get around your phone, here are the key concepts.
To learn about these common tasks, touch one below:
If you’re looking for different instructions, touch
at the top of this page and type a search term.
Your phone comes with many fun and useful apps, but you can really unlock its power by installing apps that suit your lifestyle. Go to Play Store to explore free and paid apps that help you be more productive, organized, informed, in touch, and entertained.
You carry your phone around with you, and accidents happen; phones get lost sometimes. So set up some security and prevent heartache if you and your phone become separated.
Set up a screen lock. This is your first line of defense in keeping your sensitive information safe. Prefer numbers, shapes, words? Set up a PIN, pattern, or password required to unlock your phone. Learn how.
A screen lock doesn't prevent you from immediately answering a call or accessing your camera.
Display your owner info. On your lock screen, you can discreetly display a “please return” message with some of your contact info so that, if your phone is lost, someone can return it to you. Learn how.
Enable lost phone features. For peace of mind, check out Find My Device, in case you ever need to remotely locate and lock or erase your phone.
While changing your wallpaper is probably your first customization, don't stop there. Be sure to explore your Settings to set ringtones, font sizes, data usage preferences, keyboard preferences, and much more. It's a great way to learn many of your phone's capabilities while customizing it to suit your needs.
In most apps you can touch
or
for app-specific settings. Be sure to see what options are available to you there, too.
Understand your data usage. Keep an eye on your data usage and learn how to make the most of it. See which apps use large amounts of data and adjust their settings. If your phone is using too much data, you can also stop accounts from auto-syncing.
Use Wi-Fi to conserve cellular data. When you connect to a Wi-Fi network, your data will use that network connection instead of your carrier's network, saving your cellular data for when you need it. Learn how to connect to Wi-Fi networks.
Find phone info. To find your phone number, device name, and other information, go to Settings > System > About phone.
Tell your phone what to do. Use your phone hands-free with voice commands. Tell it to navigate you, and listen to it speak the directions to you as you drive--it'll even reroute you if you've gone off course. Tell it to set alarms, find information on the web, make calls.
Never miss a photo opportunity. Automatically open the camera right from your lock screen. Swipe
left. You can automatically back up your photos and videos with your Google account or with other photo sharing apps available from Play Store.
Store your stuff. You have several storage options. Store apps and content on your phone. For more storage space, use an SD card for photos, videos, and music. You can open stored items in associated apps, like Photos to see your photos and videos. For even more storage space, plus the ability to access your media and files from any internet-connected device (phone, computer, tablet), use cloud storage. Your Google account includes free cloud storage on Drive, which has its own app and is also available from the
menu throughout other apps.
Wi-Fi hotspot. You can use your phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot to share your internet connection with your other devices that need internet access (for example, a laptop or tablet).
Reboot phone. In the unlikely event that your phone becomes unresponsive, frozen, shows a blank or black screen, or doesn't respond to the Power button, you can reboot it. Press and hold the Power button for 7 - 10 seconds. The phone will restart normally.