Android is by far the most popular operating system in existence today. Under her control, most modern devices and various gadgets work. If earlier we could see it only on smartphones, now it is used everywhere. It is difficult to imagine a modern TV running a different system. All this happens for one simple reason. This system is very functional and has many settings. But, despite its prevalence and ease of use, many do not even know what secrets the android device keeps.
Among the many common features that the average user uses on a daily basis, there is also a well-hidden feature. A person can use his smartphone for several years and not even imagine all the possibilities of his gadget.
It's time to reveal all the secrets and talk about the hidden "chips" of the popular operating system. In this article we will try to open all the secrets of android.
A well-hidden mini-game
On every device, regardless of the version of android, there is a hidden mini-game. In different versions of Android, it is different, but they are all fascinating and quite complex. It is almost impossible to guess where this game is located. It is so well hidden that an uninformed person cannot accidentally launch it. Let us describe a universal algorithm for launching a hidden game.
First of all, go to the main settings of the device. At the very bottom of the list will be an inconspicuous and rarely used item “About phone”. He is the one we need. Click on it and move on. Now a huge amount of information will be displayed on the display screen. We will see the name of our gadget, the amount of RAM, the kernel version and much more. But, we need a line that says "Android Version".
After we found it, by repeatedly quickly clicking on this line, we open a mini-game. It is necessary to click on this inscription many times and with short intervals. It is difficult to say the exact number of clicks, but we can assume that you will have to tap on the screen from five to ten times.
Of course, you can install more advanced games with modern graphics on Android, but it's always nice to find something new in a familiar thing.
Safe mode
Modern mobile phones in their functionality are almost equal to personal computers. It's hard to even say what they are inferior. They have their own safe boot mode, which not everyone knows about.
This mode will be especially useful if the system has experienced a serious failure and the device has completely frozen. Also, this feature will be extremely useful for smartphones infected with a large number of virus programs that provoked malfunctions. 
When booting in this mode, the device blocks absolutely all third-party applications. In other words, the phone will start only with the factory list of programs. After that, it will be possible to remove malicious software or incompatible applications that slowed down the device.
In order to carry out this action, you must press the off button. After the shutdown button appears on the screen, press it and do not release it for a long time. Then we confirm the reboot in the selected mode.
After the reboot, all previously installed applications will be painted in black and white. Thus, they are easy to distinguish from system programs and subsequently removed.
Hidden menu
Entering the main menu, we see the main list of tabs that we use to configure our device. In fact, this is not a complete list of settings. The android system has a hidden menu item, which is intended exclusively for advanced users.
You can activate this item by going to the main phone settings. After that, scroll down the opened page to the very bottom. There we will see an item called "About phone". He is the one we need. Go to it with a single click. Among the many lines we are looking for the inscription "Assembly number". We press on it without stopping until the inscription with the text "You are a developer" appears on the display.
After that, you can congratulate you, the secret menu item is activated. To enter it, open the main menu again and go to the "Advanced" tab. Now we scroll the page to the end and on one of the last positions there will be an inscription "For developers". This is the same menu that was previously inaccessible and was not even displayed.
This tab is fraught with a lot of new features:
1. You can see the statistics of processes. In fact, this information is provided in order to analyze the running time of applications. If one of the applications runs continuously and is not a system application, this is a great reason to think about deleting it or stopping this process.
2. Debugging via USB. This item is especially important for experienced users who are engaged in flashing devices and developing android applications.
3. You can limit the maximum number of background processes.
4. Ability to display CPU usage.
5. Change the animation scale, highlight the boundaries of objects and much more.
We will not now list all the items on this menu, there are a very large number of them. Everyone can independently activate this option and get acquainted with all the capabilities of their device.
magnifying glass
The secrets of android do not end there, but rather just begin. Another rather useful feature is the ability to enlarge the screen or, as it is also called, a screen magnifier. This feature is very helpful for visually impaired people. This feature becomes especially relevant for those who have a small screen size.
It will not be difficult to activate such a function. As in most cases, go to the gadget settings and go to the "Accessibility" item. In this tab, among the many settings, you need to find "Gestures to increase". We activate this feature and now we can enlarge any part of the display with a triple tap of our finger.
Increasing the built-in memory
Until recently, the amount of internal memory of the phone was catastrophically small. Smartphones with more than eight gigabytes of memory were considered flagships. A lot of time has passed since then, but even now on some models, the amount of internal memory is not large. If they still take away the space that the system occupies, then the user has practically nothing left. At the same time, the inserted flash drive does not save the situation, since games and programs cannot be installed on it.
Since the sixth androyd, this problem has disappeared. This version of the operating system has a very handy feature. Now, if you insert a flash drive into your device, the operating system will immediately ask the user about the purpose of this flash drive. It is enough to select the item that we want to use it as internal memory. After that, your gadget will independently format the drive and will recognize it as the internal memory of the device. This will allow you to easily install all kinds of games and programs on it.
Using this privilege, it is worth remembering that all flash cards have different data transfer rates. Now it is best to use tenth class drives. Otherwise, the installed content will open slowly and work incorrectly.
Screenshot of android device
While using your phone, it is often necessary to save a screen image. There can be a lot of reasons for this: to catch a freeze frame of a movie, to fix an error that appears on the screen, to save a fragment of your correspondence, etc. The reasons are different for every user. 
In order to save the display image, just press the volume down button and the gadget's power button at the same time. After that, the picture will be automatically saved in the smartphone gallery.
Secret codes
As mentioned earlier, the android system has a huge number of settings and a lot of opportunities to stabilize the shell. But for many users it will be a real discovery that you can control the device not only using the standard settings menu, but also by typing a secret combination of characters.
Some of the more useful combinations include:
*#*#0*#*#* - allows you to test the display;
* # 06 # - using the specified command, you can find out the unique imei of your gadget;
*#*#4636#*#* - using this combination, you can find out a lot of data about the smartphone and its battery.
Device lock in case of theft
Smartphones and other devices running the Android operating system often become a desirable target for thieves. What to do if the smartphone is stolen, and it stores a huge amount of personal data that should not fall into the wrong hands?
There is one proven method that will help you secure your personal information securely. To do this, go to the main settings, then open the "security" tab. Among the options offered, we need to click "Device Administrators". Activate the "Remote search and block" function. Now our data is under reliable protection. With your personal Google account, you can lock your phone, no matter where it is. 
Also, this feature will be very relevant in case of loss of your gadget. In addition to blocking the device, all its data can be restored on your computer.
Traffic control
All mobile operators have their own traffic limits and tariffs. In most cases, the user has access to a limited amount of Internet traffic per month. To track the number of megabytes used, you can contact your carrier or install one of the many third-party applications. But if you take a closer look at the capabilities of your smartphone, you will notice that there is a regular function in the settings. It allows you to be aware of the spent megabytes. 
To set the limit, you need to go to the main settings, after which we go to the "Data transfer" tab. It is there that you can set the number of megabytes that we plan to use. After the user exceeds the specified threshold, the device will immediately report this. In addition, using this function, you can track which application consumes the most Internet resources. It is very convenient and allows you to save on GPRS traffic.
Other secrets
The most interesting android secrets were listed above. These features are standard and present on every device. In addition to general secrets, there are still a large number of individual ones for each phone manufacturer and in each version of android. The fact is that each manufacturer uses its own unique android shell. At the same time, all shells differ from each other and have different advantages. Each specific phone manufacturer has its own unique "chips". For example, on ZTE Nubia smartphones, repeatedly pressing an empty area of the display produces the effect of a broken screen. There is no useful functionality in this, but it looks very funny.
Summing up, I would like to note that with the advent of new versions of the operating system, the number of functions and secrets of android increases. It is possible that this list will soon be replenished with new interesting features.
The sweetest and smartest Android from Google
Article content
Get a quick response with Now on Tap
With the new Now on Tap feature in Android 6.0 Marshmallow, it's easier than ever to find what you're looking for.
All you have to do is press and hold the home button and info, and you can do the same with the app. You will have information depending on what you watch, read or listen to.
Android 6.0 Marshmallow can extend the life of your battery with a new power saving feature that makes the software use your battery smartly, making it last longer.
Apps that you rarely use or don't use at all go into App Standby mode, which means they won't waste battery life by running in the background. This will give you more time to work with your favorite applications.
Plus, the new Doze feature automatically puts your device to sleep when it detects you haven't been using it for a while, saving battery life even when you're not thinking about it at all.
Unlock your device with one touch
Fingerprint scanning is another built-in feature in Android 6.0 Marshmallow. It makes unlocking your Android device more convenient and secure.
The technology, known as Nexus Imprint, helps Nexus devices recognize fingerprints faster than anyone else, but older devices will also get this ability. You can now use your fingerprints not only to unlock your device, but also to work with Android Pay, the Play Store and other applications to pay for goods and services.
Better app permission management
Android 5.0 Lollipop lets you quickly access your phone and camera app from your lock screen. Android 6.0 Marshmallow takes things a step further by allowing you to access voice commands without unlocking your device.
Now you can talk to apps while controlling the device with your voice. For example, you can say "listen to NPR" and Android 6.0 Marshmallow will open the radio app and turn on the NPR radio station.
Android 6.0 Marshmallow has a new feature for finding and downloading your favorite apps. It shows a list of apps installed on your device in alphabetical order, and you can scroll vertically through the list to find the one you want.
You can also type in the name of the app you're looking for, but the new search engine has an even smarter trick: it remembers which apps you use at certain times of the day and in certain places so it can predict what you're looking for. These predicted apps show up at the top of the search engine and are now easier than ever to download.
With Android 6.0 Marshmallow, it's even easier to switch between devices with Auto Backup for apps. This means that when you get a new device, all applications will be automatically installed on it.
Even better, if you're using the new app on your device, you can pick up where you left off on your old device.
Call Log, sync settings, Do Not Disturb settings, access settings and more can also be automatically saved and restored.
While you can expand storage using microSD cards on many Android devices (we'd love to see Apple do that as well), there's still a difference between external and built-in storage features.
With Flex Storage, you can insert an SD card and Flex Storage makes it work like built-in storage, allowing you to install apps, games, and more on the SD card without any additional configuration. It will also encrypt your data so it can be used openly on your device.
If you enjoy sharing pictures, videos, and more with other people or your home devices, then the new Direct Share option is perfect for you.
All the people, apps and services you share the most will let you do so with just one tap.
Today, the Android operating system is gaining more and more popularity, but not everyone knows that there are some secrets of Android. Here we mean those functions that the average user does not know about, they are not described in the instructions, and even on the Internet they are extremely difficult to find.
In fact, it is impossible to study absolutely all the possibilities of this operating system, so much remains outside the attention of the user community. And some interesting features are not known even to the developers themselves, because they turned out on their own, as a result of some other actions. In general, today we will look at the most popular, necessary and interesting features of the Android operating system.
Extending battery life
Many people know that in order to increase battery life, it is necessary to disable all possible functions, programs and services. It really works, but practice shows that there is another very interesting method of saving energy. It is connected to WiFi. It is known that connecting to the Internet requires a lot of energy.
But if you put WiFi in sleep mode, it will take much less. The principle of operation of this method is not clear. In theory, everything should be the other way around - if WiFi goes into sleep mode, then the battery will drain less. But in practice, everything is different and by some miracle it is the sleep mode that consumes many times more battery power.
At the same time, it is interesting that on some sites they write everything exactly the opposite. So on the Internet you can find information that you need to turn on sleep mode and then less energy will go away. But in Android 6.0 and above, the sleep mode menu clearly states that enabling sleep mode will increase power consumption. In the case of the above sites, most likely, there were unscrupulous authors.
To enable sleep mode, you must do the following:
- Login to WiFi. That is, just hold down the corresponding icon in the menu that appears when you swipe from above. You can also go to the settings and open the "WiFi" item there.
- Next, you need to click on the inscription "Options" in the upper right corner of the open window.
- After that, a menu will appear in which you should select the item “WiFi in sleep mode”.
- In the window that appears, check the box next to "Never".
Actually, in the window shown in Figure No. 3, it is shown that turning on the sleep mode will lead to an increase in energy consumption.
Important: This instruction is shown for Android 6.0.1. In older versions, you need to go to the settings, then "Wireless connections ...", "WiFi", then find additional functions and select the "WiFi in sleep mode" item there and in the same way check the box next to the "Never" option.
There are a number of tips that, as practice shows, help to significantly save battery power. They look like this:
- Just turn off WiFi. To do this, swipe down from the top and click on the WiFi icon in the drop-down menu. After that, it will become inactive, like other shortcuts in this menu.
- Turn off your mobile network as well. If this is 3G, then even if the user is not on the Internet at the moment and does not download anything, energy is still consumed to search for the signal source. In principle, the same situation with WiFi. For this, there is also a corresponding shortcut in the top menu.
- Turn off GPS (in the top menu, this item may be called "Geodata"). The fact is that the device tries to connect with satellites in order to determine its location, and this requires a lot of energy.
- Turn off the accelerometer, that is, auto-rotate the screen. For this, too, there is an item in the menu at the top. The fact is that this is a full-fledged sensor that constantly needs energy to do its job. If you can get used to the fact that the screen will not rotate when you rotate the entire device, feel free to turn off auto-rotate. For some, this option, by the way, is even more suitable.
- If your device does not have an average IPS screen, but a good AMOLED or even SuperAMOLED display, put not bright wallpapers, preferably in dark colors. Then the screen will need less power to display the splash screen. You can even put a different theme for a guarantee.
- If you are in an area with very poor signal reception, switch to airplane mode or even switch to power save mode, which makes the smartphone look like an old Nokia 3310, only with a larger display. The fact is that it also takes a lot of energy to search for GSM networks, and if the signal is weak, the device will work even more "hard" to provide an acceptable reception level. From time to time, you can switch to full mode and send messages to everyone that everything is fine with you.
Extended volume up menu
In general, Android has more than one hidden menu, but few users really know about advanced sound settings. In fact, this operating system allows you to separately set the volume level for the call, for media files, that is, movies, music, and so on, for notifications and for system sounds. In Figure 4, you can see what the extended volume control menu looks like in one of the latest OS versions.
And to get to it, you need to go to the settings, select the "Sound and vibration" item and click on "Volume" in the menu that opens.
Force reboot
There are situations when a smartphone or tablet needs to be urgently rebooted. This happens when the device freezes and all the buttons just stop working. The reason for this may be the incorrect operation of the system (if in a common way, glitches) or viruses. In any case, there are some hidden features in forced mode to send the device to reboot.
They differ depending on the model, but there are two options in total:
- Press the power button and the volume down button at the same time and hold them together for 10 seconds.
- In some cases, along with the power button, you need to press the volume up button and the home button. After that, you also need to hold these buttons for 10 seconds.
The power button is the one that turns on the phone or tablet. In most cases, it is located on the top or side. For example, in Samsung phones it can always be found on the side. On the other side are the volume up and down buttons.
The above combinations are relevant for most modern Android devices. It very rarely happens that other combinations are intended for forced reboot on phones and tablets. In any case, there are not so many buttons on the case, and through trial and error, you can find the right combination.
Google Quick Launch with Voice Typing
Few people know that from any menu you can launch the Google search engine with the click of a button. This is done by long pressing the Home button. On most modern smartphones, it is the only one on the case on the front side, so it is simply impossible to confuse it. In this search engine, the “OK Google” service immediately works, that is, a voice set of search queries. The search window is shown in Figure #6.
You can take a screenshot without additional programs
Interesting "chips" of the Android OS are related to how to take a screenshot. Usually, this requires downloading additional programs, such as Screenshot Easy. In fact, the operating system itself allows you to take screenshots. For this, too, there are special combinations of buttons that are on the case. Depending on the model of the device, different combinations may work. But one of the ones listed below will definitely work on your phone or tablet.
- Press the power button and the volume down button at the same time. Only in this case, you do not need to hold them for 10 seconds. If it didn't work and the screenshot wasn't saved, then your device has another combination for this.
- Long press the home button.
- Long press the recent programs button. This method only works on devices with Android version less than 3.2.
- Simultaneously pressing the Home button and the Power button.
These combinations work, in most cases, after a short press. Sometimes you will need to hold them. But you should never hold the above keys for 10 seconds. We are talking about this, because in some cases the user may accidentally discover the hidden forced reboot combination discussed above and, accordingly, send the device to reboot.
It is also worth mentioning that in some cases, the button combinations for a screenshot of the screen are indicated in the instructions for the device. But this happens very rarely, so you just have to try different combinations of buttons.
Interestingly, in some firmware versions on Android, you can display the "Screenshot" shortcut in the main menu. After that, it will be enough just to click on it to take a screenshot. We are talking about such firmware as AOKP, SlimROM and GyanogenMod.
Special codes
And now let's move on to real hacking and what is not available to the average user. In fact, Android has hidden features that open only after entering a special code. There is a whole set of such codes that cannot be found in some instructions or posts. To dial them, you just need to go to the phone, press the keypad and enter the desired code as if it were some kind of regular phone number.
Here is this set of special codes:
- *#06# - display the IMEI number, that is, the unique identification number of your device, by which it can be found if it is lost or stolen;
- *#*#4636#*#* - open full information about the device (if you can see only the most basic in the settings, then this window will display all system information, data about memory, firmware, battery and much more);
- *#*#34971539#*#* - open full information about the camera installed on your phone or tablet, including information about the firmware version, as well as about updating the firmware;
- *#*#8351#*#* - launching a program that starts recording what the microphone perceives during the last 20 telephone calls (this is not a recording of telephone conversations, but only a recording of your own voice) and writes all this into the phone's memory along with a list of dialed numbers;
- *#*#7780#*#* - reset all settings related to the phone itself, Google account, various applications and the applications themselves are deleted (this code does not delete data from memory cards and system applications, but it captures everything else);
- *2767*3855# - a complete reset of everything that can be reset (after executing this code, there will be absolutely no information on the device, no files, nothing at all);
- *#*#7594#*#* - changing the operating mode of the device's on/off button (you can make it so that when you click on it, a menu with a choice of one of the three options does not appear, and the device immediately turns off, switches to flight mode or switches to silent mode).
It is very important to think twice before running one of these codes. All Android device features described above cannot be rolled back. The only way to get everything back is to simply turn off the phone or tablet right during the execution of a given task by removing the battery from it.
After that, you need to restore the system. To do this, you need to use special programs that are available on the Internet in abundance.
Disabling standard applications
Few people know that all pre-installed services from Google and other programs that are on the device initially can be turned off. The fact is that it is impossible to remove them, but sometimes you want to turn off some notifications or get rid of a malfunctioning program. So, to disable any standard application, you must do the following:
- Go to settings and select "Applications" there.
- Open "Application Manager" there.
- Now you need to click on some system application. For example, let's choose Google Drive or just "Disk". We click on it and get into the menu, where there are two buttons - "Stop" and "Turn off". Click on the second and turn off this program.
For other programs, this menu will have an "Uninstall" button. But such a hidden menu is available only for system applications. By the way, it is much more convenient to remove programs through additional programs like Clean Master and the like. But, as we said above, it does not work with system applications, like all other similar utilities.
Developer Menu
There are a number of features available only in the developers menu. These "tricks" include creating an error report, setting a backup password, viewing all running services, enabling and disabling USB debugging, setting a log buffer, and many other interesting features.
There you can even set the buffer size for the system event log, display a detailed WiFi connection log with SSID and RSSI networks, select USB configuration and enable OpenGL tracing! All in all, a very powerful tool. And to access it, you need to go to the settings, click on "About device", go to "Software Information" and click on the build number 7 times.
After that, the "Developer options" item will appear in the settings menu. It will no longer be possible to somehow remove it, although in the parameters window there is a switch next to the inscription "Enabled".
In the video below you can see how the above codes are clearly used.
03/13/2016 | 00:22 Analytics
Get the most out of your Android 6.0 device
Android 6.0 Marshmallow arrived last October, but if you're like most Android users, it's probably pretty new to you. You may not even have received this update yet.
Whether you're new to Android 6.0 or a veteran, there are plenty of things to learn about this OS. Read these tips and find out what new tricks you can teach your Android phone or tablet.
Please note that these tips are written specifically for basic Google Android 6.0. Many device manufacturers modify the operating system, adding their own features and changing the interface, which may cause some elements to look different or not be available at all on some devices.
1. Take full advantage of Now on Tap
One of Marshmallow's most promising features is Now on Tap, an enhanced version of Google's virtual assistant that provides contextual information tied to what's currently on your screen. To use it, simply press and hold the Home button.
Now on Tap offers contextual information.
The Now on Tap feature does some really useful things, and its powers have continued to expand since the release of Marshmallow. If you enable this feature while you have an airline flight number on screen, say in a text message, Now on Tap will show you the status of the flight without forcing you to switch between apps or interrupt your current task. If you turn it on while looking at the tracking number of an online purchase, the system will show you the current delivery status.
You can also use Now on Tap to find a store's location or address, restaurant information and reviews, or movie reviews and screenings. As long as the item is mentioned on the screen, pressing and holding the Home button will provide contextual information.
2. Or turn Tap off completely
With all the potential of Tap, the truth is that this feature is only useful in a relatively limited number of scenarios. For some, it just isn't versatile enough to justify its placement on the Home button - especially since previous versions of Android reserved it for universal quick access to the full Google Now interface.
The good news is that Now on Tap is now easy to turn off. And once you turn it off, pressing and holding the Home button will bring up Google Now from anywhere on the system.
To disable Now on Tap, go to your system settings section. Select "Search & Now" and then "Now on Tap" and change the position of the switch. If you decide to give Tap a second chance at some point in the future, simply repeat these steps and flip the toggle.
3. Quick Settings panel
Want to change the shortcuts that appear in your device's Quick Settings panel (a drop-down menu with links to things like toggle Wi-Fi or Bluetooth and enable airplane mode)? In Android 6.0 you can do this.
The power is hidden in a new feature called System UI Tuner. To activate it, first swipe down twice from the top of the screen (or swipe down once with two fingers) to open the quick settings panel. Press and hold the gear icon in the top right corner until it starts spinning, then release and you'll see a message confirming that System UI Tuner is enabled and waiting for your command.
Now just follow the main system settings and scroll down the entire list to the bottom. Click on the "System UI Tuner" item that appears and select.
System UI Tuner allows you to customize the Android quick settings panel.
4. Fine tune
If you're feeling particularly advanced, try a third-party app called Custom Quick Settings. It goes even further than the built-in Marshmallow tool and allows you to add all sorts of custom shortcuts to the Quick Settings panel.
Just be aware: the app is not exactly user friendly. Continue only if you have the patience and desire for the next level of customization.
5. Adjust the volume
Remember how inconvenient it is to change the volume in Android 5.0? It's a happy moment: it's fixed in Marshmallow. Now you can access all system volume controls - for ringtone and notifications, music and alarms - anytime, no matter what you're doing.
The first time you press the volume control (increase or decrease), Marshmallow will show what is most relevant to the current activity - for example, if you are listening to music, it will raise the music volume slider. If you want to adjust the volume for another function, simply click on the down arrow on the right side of the volume slider. This will bring up additional volume controls and there you can adjust whatever you need.
The arrow in the Android 6.0 volume bar lets you access all of the system's volume sliders.
6. Do not disturb mode
As part of Android Marshmallow's volume overhaul, a much more convenient Do Not Disturb mode has been introduced.
If you want to be left alone for a while, just click on "Do Not Disturb" in the Quick Settings panel. You can turn off all sounds and vibrations indefinitely, or for a set amount of time, or turn off everything except alarms or everything except high priority notifications.
7. An easy way to turn on silent mode
If you don't want to think about the options and just need to quickly mute your phone, hold down the volume key until the device starts showing the vibration icon, then release and press the button one more time.
8. Let the phone mute itself
You can let your phone go quiet when you know you'll be busy, or just sleep. It's not called a smartphone for nothing!
Take advantage of Android 6.0's smart feature by going to the "Sound & notification" system settings section and tapping on the line that says "Do not disturb". There, Marshmallow has the ability to create different rules for when your phone will automatically go into silent mode - based on factors such as the day and time, or the presence of specific types of active calendar events.
The device can automatically mute itself at certain times of the day or when certain events occur.
9. Set Priorities
Sometimes you don't want to react to every sound your smartphone makes, but you want to make sure that some important notifications can still grab your attention. This is where Android 6.0's notification priority system comes into play.
Before you can use it, you need to set up this feature the way you want. Start by going to the Do Not Disturb menu under Sound and Notifications in System Preferences, and then clicking on the line that says "Priority only allows".
There you will find a list of notification types that you can prioritize - reminders, events, and certain types of calls or messages. You can even let the caller get through if they call you twice within a 15-minute time frame.
Once you've got everything set up, simply turn on Priority Only in Do Not Disturb as described in tip 6 and rest easy knowing you'll only be disturbed for things that matter to you.
10. Control notifications
Another annoyance in Android 5.0 was the use of intrusive and non-functional notifications known as "heads-up" or "peek" notifications. Large map alerts improved things in Android 5.1, but they often don't carry any payload.
With Marshmallow, you can take full control of your notifications and decide for yourself which apps can show those annoying pop-ups and which ones will be restricted by the old-fashioned notification bar.
Go to Sound & Notifications in System Settings and find the line that says "App notifications", then select the app you want to set up from the list. A menu of options will appear, including one to prevent peek notifications, and an option to treat the app as a "priority" so its notifications will always be allowed in Do Not Disturb "Priority Only" mode.
Android 6.0 makes it easy to control the notifications of various apps.
11. Show apps who's in charge
App control in Android 6.0 is easier than ever. Go to the "Apps" section of the system settings and select an application to see all the options.
After tapping on an app, you'll be able to view its exact size and data usage, as well as what types of access it has. You'll also find a detailed overview of memory and battery usage, which can be a useful way to spot programs that are wasting device resources (hint: look closely at Google Photos and Facebook).
12. Customize the text selector
Marshmallow's text selection tool is much easier to use than what we've seen on Android in the past. In fact, there's even more to it than meets the eye: The new text selector opens the door to third-party apps that work in some pretty interesting ways.
Install Google Translate and Wikipedia - two apps are already taking advantage of the new system - then select some text to see how it works. With these two apps, you will find the translation option and encyclopedia information in a small menu that appears next to the selected text (along with "Cut", "Copy", etc.). Choose any option and you'll get the corresponding result in a pop-up window that won't distract you from what you're doing.
Marshmallow's text selection tool can help you get more done with apps like Google Translate.
The Android operating system is currently the most popular. It is installed on more than 1.2 billion devices worldwide. But few people know that this OS contains hidden features. The Internet project "Be mobile" studied the "secret functions" and prepared a list of the most interesting of them.
1. Hidden mini-game
id="sub0">Starting with Android 2.3 Gingerbread, Google will place on all Android smartphones, the so-called "Easter eggs" - hidden secrets that can be seen by performing a series of non-obvious actions. Like the names of OS versions, Easter eggs in it, as a rule, are also associated with sweets: in Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, they were flying jelly beans, in Android 4.4 KitKat - the OS logo in the style of the Nestle sweet of the same name, and in Android 5.0 Lollipop - hidden Flappy Bird style game. Android 6.0 Marshmallow did not stand aside either.
In order to access the mini-game, open "Settings". Go to "About phone" or "About tablet". Quickly tap on "Android Version" a few times. A marshmallow stylized as an android's head will appear on the screen. If you quickly click on it a few more times, a mini-game will open.
Like in Android 5.0, the Android 6.0 minigame is inspired by Flappy Bird, but the lollipops are replaced with marshmallows in the shape of a robot head. The game has fun graphics and, although it looks simple, it is quite difficult to score at least 10 points in it. I got 4 points max. Couldn't do it anymore.
2. Smartphone remote control
id="sub1">Lost mobile devices based on Android OS can be found and blocked, but Google has hidden this option deep enough. It is activated in the menu "Settings -> Security -> Device administrators" in the "Android Remote Control" section.
Check the box next to "Remote device search" and "Remote lock".
Activate extended rights for the device manager on request. Now you can manage the device from google.com/android/devicemanager in your Google account or through the Android Remote Control app
People who are familiar with Android will easily recover deleted files if you don't encrypt your mobile device. To enable this option, open "Settings -> Security -> Device Encryption". Set encryption.
3. Safe Mode
id="sub2">Another Android security feature is "safe mode". It deactivates all third party applications. Moreover, in "safe mode" they can be deleted if for some reason they are incompatible with your mobile device, ended up in the boot loop by accident, are trojans or viruses.
To start the "safe mode" hold down the power button. When the menu for turning off the smartphone and activating airplane mode opens, hold your finger for a long time on the “Power off” item. Then confirm booting in safe mode.
The smartphone will boot into "safe mode". Icons of all third-party applications will be greyed out. In which case they can be safely removed.
4. Sync and push notification settings
id="sub3">When installing certain applications, you do not think about permissions to send push notifications or any other. Over time, these applications begin to spam unnecessary information. Games in particular suffer from this, but there can be quite ordinary applications. Luckily, notifications can be turned off.
To do this, open "Settings -> Applications -> All", find the culprit and select "Notifications". Here you can either turn off all notifications at once (“Block All”), or allow only “swipe” notifications (“Short notifications”), etc.
5. Advanced WLAN settings
id="sub4">On Android, there is a settings section that is completely invisible to most users with additional Wi-Fi options. To get to it, you need to go to "Settings -> Wi-Fi", then press the menu key and select "Additional functions". Here you can turn off notifications about detected networks, turn off Wi-Fi in sleep mode, prevent the use of Wi-Fi networks with a bad signal, and set up Wi-Fi Direct (direct pairing of devices without using an access point).
6. Setting up mobile Internet traffic control
id="sub5">In Android, without third-party programs, you can monitor Internet traffic. For example, now many mobile operators provide a limited package of free traffic for a month. To control this traffic and not exceed the quota, or to understand how much traffic is left, you can set limits.
To do this, in the settings there is a separate item "Data transfer". There you can set a traffic limit, upon reaching which a notification will appear, as well as a limit, after which the data transfer will be automatically turned off. For each application, separate statistics are kept on data in the background and active modes, a graph is built. Starting with Android 5.0, this interface is also available in quick settings, by touching the mobile network icon.
7. Blocking calls from specific numbers
id="sub6">It happens that you need to block calls from a specific number. There are no special blacklists in Android, and applications available on Google Play block numbers through dirty hacks and not always correctly.
However, the blocking of individual numbers can be obtained in the basic version of Android, for this it is enough just to send objectionable subscribers to voice mail. To do this, click on the desired contact, then click the edit icon, then the menu and select the item “Voice only. mail". In the same place, by the way, you can set a separate ringtone for the ill-fated subscriber.
8. Disable preinstalled apps
id="sub7">It happens that the manufacturer preinstalls a lot of incomprehensible programs and applications that you do not use. They occupy a certain memory, and you dream of getting rid of them.
On Android, you can disable many pre-installed apps. To do this, go to "Settings -> Applications" and open the "All" tab. Now you can view the list of available utilities. Select the desired application, and then click "Disable". Now you can click on "Erase data". For "frozen applications" that cannot be simply deleted, there is a separate "Disabled" tab. Unfortunately, not all applications can be frozen. Which one depends on the manufacturer.
9. Expand internal memory
id="sub8">In Android, there has always been a problem with expanding the internal memory of a smartphone. The connected SD card did not allow this, remaining external storage. The function of transferring applications to a memory card, which appeared in Android 2.2, also did not really save the situation. Finally, in Android 6.0, Google finally decided to fix the situation. Now, after connecting a flash drive or SD card, the system offers two options. The first is to use it as a removable medium. The second is to make an internal drive.
In the second case, the smartphone will format the flash drive in the ext4 file system using 128-bit AES encryption and mount it as a system partition. Next, a read and write speed test will be carried out. Now, unfortunately, all memory cards are significantly inferior in speed to built-in memory, which in theory can lead to slowness in the device. Fortunately, only the time of opening a particular application or loading part of it depends on the performance of the disk subsystem. And all calculations are carried out outside the disk.
10. Quick change of letter case
id="sub9">It happens that the text is already written and you need to change the case of individual letters or whole words. Android has a secret about this. To change the case of letters or to make words or sentences already capitalized in an already entered message, just select the message and press the Shift button one or more times until the desired result is obtained.
11. Quick access to settings
id="sub10">On Android 5 and Android 6, quick settings can be accessed by pulling out the shutter with two fingers. Of course, you can access quick settings the old fashioned way: swipe down twice across the screen. But this has nothing to do with secrets.
12. Quickly switch to silent mode
id="sub11">You can quickly enable vibration mode in Android 5 and Android 6 by pressing the volume key, and then clicking on the icon on the left side of the slider that appears. This option in practice turns out to be much faster than repeatedly pressing the volume down key on the end of the smartphone.
13. Call magnifier
id="sub12">Android has a screen magnifier. To enable it, you need to sequentially go to "Settings -\u003e Special. options -> Gestures to zoom". Now any part of the screen can be enlarged by clicking on it three times. This feature may be especially useful for the visually impaired and the elderly.
14. Disable adding shortcuts to the desktop
id="sub13">To disable the automatic creation of icons on the desktop, launch the Play Store. Then go to settings and uncheck "Add icons". Now, by default, program icons will only appear in the general list.
15. Hidden Game in Chrome Browser
id="sub14">At the end of our selection, another hidden game, this time in the Chrome mobile browser. Try turning off Wi-Fi and mobile Internet on your smartphone (tablet). Next, open Chrome.
When you try to go to any address, the browser will display an error with its code. A dinosaur will appear above the text. If at this moment you click on the dinosaur, the character will come to life and begin to move around the screen. It's like the old PlayStation world: by touching the screen you can control a dinosaur that jumps over cacti, and, like in any similar game, your task is to survive and score the maximum number of points. Of course, the game is quite primitive, but catchy for a long time. Tested on myself!
By the way, now this game has become available for download in the Google Play Store and it is called Dino Run - Dinosty.
