Android For Dummies (2^nd Ed.)

Your comprehensive (and very friendly!) reference guide to Android phones and tablets 

You’re used to hearing it said that the phone in your pocket or tablet by your bed has more computing power than the entire Apollo 11 space program in the 1960s (or something similarly impressive)—and this is no less true for Android devices than any other. Sounds great—but what does that actually mean you can do with them? The new edition of Android For Dummies reveals all for new and experienced users alike, making it easy to get the most out of the awesome computing power of Android smartphone and tablet devices—from communications and pictures and videos to the wonderful world of 2.8+ million Google apps!   

Cutting through the jargon, bestselling tech author Dan Gookin puts you in touch with all the Android features you’ll need to know (and many more you’ll be pleased to discover!), from setup and configuration to the major features, such as text, email, internet, maps, navigation, camera, and video, as well as synching with your home computer. In addition to getting familiar with these and the latest Android 10 operating system (OS)—in both Google Pixel and Samsung versions—you’ll become an expert on the best ways to share your thoughts, videos, and pictures on social media, navigate with Android Auto when driving, and maintain your files so they’re orderly and easy to find.   

• Explore Android devices, from physical functions to software and online features 
• Communicate via email, social media, Google Duo video calls, and more 
• Tweak your privacy settings to keep your information secure 
• Use Android Auto when driving and see in the dark with Night Light and Dark Mode  

Androids may be able to land a spacecraft on the Moon (yet) but there’s a whole universe waiting right there in the device at your fingertips—and this book is the perfect place to begin to explore!  

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

How to Use This Book 2

Foolish Assumptions 3

Icons Used in This Book 4

Contacting the Author 5

Beyond the Book 5

Part 1: Your Own Android 7

Chapter 1: An Out-of-the-Box Experience 9

Liberation 9

Android Assembly 11

Peeling off the plastic sheeting 11

Installing the SIM card 11

Charge the Battery 13

Android Exploration 14

Discovering what’s what and where 14

Using earphones 16

Adding accessories 17

Where to Keep Your Digital Pal 19

Toting an Android phone 19

Taking an Android tablet with you 19

Making a home for the Android 19

Chapter 2: The On–Off Chapter 21

New Android Setup 21

Configuring your Android 22

Adding your online accounts 24

Upgrading from an older phone 25

Greetings, Android 26

Turning on your Android 26

Unlocking the device 27

Working a screen lock 28

Unlocking and running an app 29

Farewell, Android 29

Locking the device 29

Turning off your Android 30

Chapter 3: Android Tour 33

Basic Operations 33

Manipulating the touchscreen 34

Selecting a group of items 35

Navigating 35

Setting the volume 38

“Silence your phone!” 39

Changing the orientation 39

Home Screen Chores 40

Exploring the Home screen 40

Switching Home screen pages 42

Reviewing notifications 42

Accessing the quick settings 44

The World of Apps 45

Starting an app 45

Quitting an app 46

Finding an app in the apps drawer 47

Switching between running apps 48

Common Android Icons 49

Chapter 4: Text to Type, Text to Edit 51

Onscreen Keyboard Mania 51

Everybody Was Touchscreen Typing 54

Typing one character at a time 54

Accessing keyboard variations 55

Typing accented characters 56

Using predictive text to type quickly 56

Typing without lifting your finger 57

Using One-Handed mode 58

Google Voice Typing 58

Dictating text 59

Uttering s^**** words 60

Text Editing 60

Moving the cursor 60

Selecting text 61

Cutting, copying, and pasting text 62

Dealing with speling errrs 63

Part 2: Stay Connected 65

Chapter 5: Telephone Stuff 67

Reach Out and Touch Someone 67

Placing a phone call 68

Making an emergency call 71

Dialing a contact 71

Using speed dial 71

Adding pauses when dialing a number 72

It’s for You! 73

Receiving a call 73

Rejecting a call 74

Multi-Call Mania 75

Putting someone on hold 75

Receiving a new call when you’re on the phone 75

Making a conference call 77

Chapter 6: Forward Calls, Missed Calls, and Voicemail 79

Forward Calls Elsewhere 79

Forwarding phone calls 80

Blocking calls 81

Who Called Who When? 82

Voicemail 83

Setting up carrier voicemail 83

Picking up carrier voicemail messages 84

Using Google Voice for voicemail 84

Chapter 7: The Address Book 87

The People You Know 87

Accessing the address book 88

Sorting the address book 90

Searching contacts 91

Make New Friends 92

Creating a new contact from scratch 92

Adding a contact from the call log 93

Manage Your Friends 94

Making basic changes 94

Adding a contact picture 94

Playing favorites 95

Managing contacts 96

Removing a contact 97

Chapter 8: Text Me 99

Msg 4U 100

Opening the texting app 100

Texting a contact 100

Composing a new text message 102

Sending a text to multiple contacts 103

Continuing a text message conversation 103

Typing emojis, stickers, and fancy things 103

Receiving a text message 104

Multimedia Messages 104

Creating a multimedia text message 105

Receiving a multimedia message 105

Text Message Management 106

Removing messages 106

Setting the text message ringtone 106

Choosing another texting app 107

Chapter 9: You’ve Got Email 109

Email on Your Android 109

Message for You, Sir! 111

Checking the inbox 111

Reading email 111

Compose a New Email Epistle 113

Crafting a new message 113

Sending email to a contact 114

Message Attachments 114

Receiving an attachment 115

Sharing an attachment 116

Chapter 10: Web Browsing 117

The Web Browser App 118

Behold the Web 118

Surfing the web on a mobile device 118

Visiting a web page 119

Browsing back and forth 120

Using bookmarks 121

Managing web pages in multiple tabs 121

Going incognito 122

Sharing a web page 123

The Art of Downloading 124

Grabbing an image from a web page 124

Downloading a file 124

Saving a web page 125

Reviewing your downloads 125

Web Browser Controls and Settings 125

Clearing your web history 126

Changing the web’s appearance 126

Setting privacy and security options 127

Chapter 11: Digital Social Life 129

Expose Your Life on Facebook 130

Instagram Me 132

Let’s All Tweet 132

Video Calling with Duo 134

Skype the World 135

Part 3: Amazing Android Feats 137

Chapter 12: There’s a Map for That 139

Map 101 139

Unfolding the Maps app 140

Changing the map view and adding layers 142

Saving an offline map 142

It Knows Where You are 143

Finding a location 143

Helping others find your location 145

Find Things 145

Looking for a specific address 145

Finding a business, restaurant, or point of interest 146

Marking a favorite place 147

Searching for favorite or recent places 148

Setting your Home and Work locations 148

Android the Navigator 149

Chapter 13: Everyone Say “Cheese!” 151

The Android’s Camera 151

Using a mobile camera 152

Capturing a still shot 153

Recording video 154

Exploring other shooting modes 155

Camera Settings and Options 155

Switching cameras 155

Setting the flash 156

Using the self-timer 157

Setting resolution and quality 157

Checking the location tag feature 158

Chapter 14: Your Digital Photo Album 161

The Photos App 161

Viewing pics and vids 162

Creating an album 163

Starting a slideshow 164

Finding a picture’s location 164

Edit and Manage Images 164

Editing an image 165

Un-editing an image 166

Cropping an image 166

Rotating a picture 168

Deleting images and videos 168

Set Your Pictures and Videos Free 169

Visiting Google Photos online 169

Posting a video to YouTube 169

Sharing images with other apps 170

Chapter 15: Music, Music, Music 171

The Hits Just Keep on Comin’ 171

Browsing your music library 172

Playing a tune 173

Queuing up the next song 175

Add Some Music to Your Life 176

Buying music 176

Getting music into the Google cloud 177

Synchronizing music directly 177

Organize Your Music 179

Reviewing your playlists 179

Building a playlist 180

Saving the song queue as a playlist 181

Removing unwanted music 181

Music from the Stream 182

Chapter 16: Various and Sundry Apps 183

Clock 183

Calculator 184

Calendar 185

eBook Reader 188

Game Machine 190

Voice Recorder 190

Your Pal, Google 191

Video Entertainment 192

Chapter 17: Google Play Shopping 193

Welcome to the Store 193

Browsing Google Play 194

Obtaining an item 196

Avoiding android viruses 199

Renting or purchasing videos 201

Google Play Tricks 201

Granting permissions 201

Using the wish list 202

Sharing a Google Play item 202

Keeping media on the device 203

Buying something remotely 204

Part 4: Nuts and Bolts 205

Chapter 18: It’s a Wireless Life 207

Android Wireless Networking 207

Using the mobile-data network 208

Understanding Wi-Fi 209

Activating Wi-Fi 209

Connecting to a Wi-Fi network 210

Connecting to a hidden Wi-Fi network 211

Setting up a metered Wi-Fi connection 212

Managing connections 213

Connection Sharing 213

Creating a mobile hotspot 214

Tethering the Internet connection 215

The Bluetooth Connection 215

Understanding Bluetooth 216

Activating Bluetooth 216

Pairing with a Bluetooth peripheral 217

NFC is Near to Me 219

Chapter 19: Connect, Share, and Store 221

The USB Connection 221

Configuring the USB connection 222

Connecting to a PC 224

Connecting to a Mac 225

Using the USB cable to transfer files 226

Disconnecting from a computer 227

Files Back-and-Forth 228

Sharing files on the cloud 228

Using the media card to transfer files 229

Adding a print service 230

Printing 231

Streaming media 231

Removable Storage 233

Inserting a microSD card 234

Removing a microSD card 235

Formatting microSD storage 235

Unmounting the microSD card 236

Android Storage Mysteries 237

Reviewing storage stats 237

Freeing storage 239

Chapter 20: Apps and Widgets 241

Apps and Widgets on the Home Screen 241

Adding launchers to the Home screen 242

Placing a launcher on the favorites tray 242

Slapping down widgets 243

Resizing a widget 244

Moving launchers and widgets 245

Evicting items from the Home screen 246

Working with folders 246

App Management 247

Reviewing your apps 247

Updating apps 248

Uninstalling an app 249

Controlling app notifications 250

Selecting an open-by-default app 250

Clearing “Open by default” apps 252

Setting a default app for specific duties 253

Reviewing app permissions 254

Shutting down an app run amok 255

Apps Drawer Organization 256

Chapter 21: Customize and Configure 257

It’s Your Home Screen — and Lock Screen 257

Accessing Home screen actions 257

Changing Home screen settings 259

Choosing a new style or wallpaper 259

Managing Home screen pages 260

Adding lock screen launchers 260

Display Settings 261

Saving your eyeballs 261

Setting orientation 262

Adjusting display brightness 263

Setting the screen lock time-out 263

Configuring the always-on touchscreen 264

Keyboard Settings 264

Customizing the keyboard layout 264

Generating keyboard feedback 265

Ensuring that predictive text is active 265

Activating glide typing 266

Audio Adjustments 266

Setting the volume 266

Selecting a ringtone 267

Chapter 22: Security and Privacy 269

Lock Your Android 269

Finding the screen locks 270

Removing a screen lock 271

Setting a PIN 271

Applying a password 271

Creating an unlock pattern 272

Using a fingerprint lock 273

Unlocking the phone with your face 274

Other Security Features 274

Controlling lock screen notifications 274

Adding owner info text 275

Finding a lost device 276

Encrypting storage 277

Performing a factory data reset 278

Privacy 279

Hiding your location 279

Controlling permissions 279

Thwarting ads 280

Chapter 23: On the Road Again 281

Where the Android Roams 281

Detecting phone service roaming 282

Stopping MMS when roaming 282

Disabling data roaming 283

International Calling 283

An Android in Your Car 285

You Can Take It with You 286

Preparing to leave 286

Arriving at the airport 287

Flying with an Android 288

Getting to your destination 288

The Android Goes Abroad 289

Calling with your Android phone overseas 289

Using overseas power 290

Accessing Wi-Fi in foreign lands 290

Chapter 24: Maintenance, Troubleshooting, and Help 293

The Maintenance Chore 294

Keeping it clean 294

Backing up your stuff 294

Updating the system 295

Battery Care and Feeding 296

Monitoring the battery 297

Determining what is drawing power 298

Extending battery life 299

Help and Troubleshooting 300

Fixing random and annoying problems 300

Getting help and support 301

Valuable Android Q&A 304

“I can’t turn the thing on (or off)!” 304

“The touchscreen doesn’t work!” 304

“The screen is too dark!” 304

“The battery doesn’t charge!” 305

“The gizmo gets so hot that it turns itself off!” 305

“The screen doesn’t do Landscape mode!” 306

Part 5: The Part of Tens 307

Chapter 25: Ten Tips, Tricks, and Shortcuts 309

Switch Apps Quickly 310

Deploy the Flashlight 310

Improve the Display 311

Avoid Data Surcharges 311

Watch Your Android Dream 313

Bring Back the Navigation Buttons! 314

Add Spice to Dictation 314

Visit the Dictionary 315

Add Useful Widgets 316

Take a Screen Shot 317

Chapter 26: Ten Things to Set Up on Your New Phone 319

Set Ringtones 320

Configure Volume Settings 320

Activate Do Not Disturb Mode 320

Change Wallpapers 321

Arrange the Home Screen 321

Assign Default Apps 322

Peruse Notification Options 322

Configure Backups 323

Voicemail 324

Personal Safety 324

Chapter 27: Ten Things to Remember 325

Dictate Text 325

Change the Orientation 326

Work the Quick Settings 326

Employ Keyboard Suggestions 327

Avoid the Battery Hogs 327

Unlock and Launch Apps 328

Enjoy Phone Tricks 328

Locking the phone on a call 328

Making calls on a tablet 328

Avoiding roaming 329

Use the plus (+) symbol when dialing internationally 329

Check Your Schedule 329

Snap a Pic of That Contact 330

Use Google Assistant 330

Index 331

Dan Gookin started it all with the original For Dummies book, DOS For Dummies, in 1991. His trademark style, explaining technology in understandable language spiced with humor, has proved successful; he has written over 160 books which have been translated into more than 30 languages. Dan also maintains a helpful website at www.wambooli.com