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Android is the most popular mobile operating system in the world. While Apple phones receive much attention, Android holds roughly 88 per cent of the global market share.

Daily Sun’s research showed that part of the reasons for this is that the brand faces little competition. What this really means is that a lot of people use Android and, time after time, people struggle to master it. It is not that Android is hard to use, in fact, but earlier versions are often slow and clunky while newer ones have a lot of features you need to learn to make the most of them. Also, people may simply not know or realise many of the ways you can better manage your device rather than it managing you.

Given how many versions are out there, it’s difficult to write instructions for everyone, but we believe in always having the latest version of any operating system installed. Not simply to take advantage of the latest features, but also because the most recent versions represent a long effort by Google to hone its operating system so that it works on much older hardware.

Android is super-easy to use. It employs a few consistent UI features and elements that can be found across nearly all Android devices.

Android’s settings

Get to know the settings menu, because this is how you will achieve maximum control over your device. There are two ways to access Android’s settings: you can either open the app tray and tap the “Settings” shortcut (not to be confused with the “Google Settings” shortcut, which is different), or you can pull down the “Quick Settings” panel and choose the cog icon in the upper right corner

While the Quick Settings menu allows you to toggle oft-used settings like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, you’ll find much more granular controls in the main Settings menu. This is the heart and soul of doing more with your Android device.

The Settings menu is broken down into several easy-to-follow sections on most devices, with Samsung’s most recent offerings being the exception to the rule–where stock Android (and many others) use subsections to break down this menu, Samsung tosses everything into one long list. It’s also worth mentioning that some manufacturers – LG comes to mind – will break the Settings menu down into tabs. In all honesty, it makes no sense to do it this way – good thing there’s a way to fix that.

Managing your Apps

In the Settings menu, under the “Apps” section (or “Applications > Application Manager” on Samsung devices), you can find a list of everything that’s installed on your handset. Tapping on an application name will provide a list of useful information: how much storage it uses, how much data it has used since a certain date, any permissions it has been given, notification access, default settings, and how much battery it has used. On Nougat – the most recent version of Android – you can also see how much RAM is being used by the app, as well as where it was installed from (the Google Play Store or if it was “side loaded”).

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If you want to uninstall an app, you can also do that here by tapping the big “Uninstall” button. You can also Force Stop an application if it’s misbehaving, though you shouldn’t have to do this very often.

Storage

Your phone has a certain amount of storage for apps, games, photos, videos, music, and other files. If you’re running out of space, the storage settings are an excellent place to determine what is taking up that space, and how much you can reclaim by removing applications and deleting stuff you don’t need. You’d be surprised how much space you get back this way.

Battery

Battery life, or lack thereof, is a huge impasse to our cord-cutting desires. The battery settings give you an overview of how much battery you’ve used, how much longer it’ll last, and which apps are draining the most battery. You can also adjust Andriod’s “Battery Saver” setting here.

Location

Many of your apps, such as “Camera” and “Facebook,” use your location for certain features. This can lead to high battery use, and some people prefer to not give their location away to apps they don’t trust. You can adjust your location settings from this section. Generally, we recommend leaving the main setting on and set to “High Accuracy”, but you can tap any app on this page to revoke its access to your location.

Security

There are a great many ways to protect your device and data on Android, and this subsection of where you’ll find the majority of those options. You’ll find the security section on “Lock screen and security” on Samsung devices.

Backup and reset

Backing up your stuff is pretty important on any computer you use, but it’s even more important on your phone. Aside from the everyday disasters that can befall it, it’s also really easy to lose – in the back of taxi cabs, in toilets, or even to common thieves. Using your device’s backup abilities effectively can save you a lot of awful heartache.