How To Droid tips, tricks, and easter eggs

[lobe50]

I have been following this post, and Don't think it was mentioned yet.

But if you spin the unlock dial on the screen w you finger on the sound circle to the left it spins around ans then turns to "Sound Off"

Pretty Cool & Quick way to silence the phone w/o even unlocking it


And BTW ....whats up w that stupid Tutorial?? I thought mine was incomplete or something...it only has like 1 page dealing w the keyboard??
Why bother???

 

[Yong]

short cuts with the key pad. hold down the search button. and press a key. and u can customize them in the settings->application settings->quick launch.

search + e: email
search + y: youtube
search + b: browser
search + c: contacts
search + g: gmail
search + l: calendar
search + p: music
search + s: messaging

 

[jer.lawrence]

Multiple Browser Windows

Saw a question about this in another thread, figured I'd add it on.

The OP of this thread should compile all of these tips into the first post or something. Anyway...


When you're in the browser, you can use the Menu key, and select "New Window." Then, whenever you want to swap back to a previous page you had open, you can select Menu >> Windows, and it shows you a listing of all the browser windows open.

Kind of like multiple tabs.

 

[Juneau]

There is a way to change the voice in Google Navigation, and everything else. Menu > settings > text to speech > Always use my settings should be checked > then change the language. Hope this helps. Still digitized but cool for other languages or a British accent.

 

[gwlaw99]

Camera Fix until new software

I made a separate thread for this, but I thought I would post it here as well.

To get the camera to autofocus quickly set the scene mode to "action" and you will get a fast green focus (this is probably a fast shutter speed mode). Works for Shopsavvy and barcode scanner as well.

 

[syntrix]

Shopsavvy works perfectly since their Sunday update for Droid (IIRC it was sunday). If you downloaded friday/saturday, find it in the app store and it should say update avail.

 

[virtus]

Tips and FAQs about getting Exchange to work:

http://androidforums.com/motorola-droid/16214-exchange-faq-solutions-summary.html

 

[Thanassi44]

If anyone has already mentioned this, I apologize, but I think its pretty cool...

A couple months ago I bought a set of $30 dollar iPhone headphones with built in mic for my iPod classic. The mic allows for voice recording on the iPod, as well as pause/play and track skipping. I really enjoyed the convenience of these earbuds on my iPod, and thought I'd try them out on the Droid. Here are the results:

For phone calls, they do what you'd expect. Answer/End calls. Although they don't prompt voice commands like they did on my LG Dare, which I thought was also a great feature. Callers heard me pretty well on the other end, although I did have to hold the mic closer to my mouth outdoors, as I've seen most people with the iPhone do.

For the music player (MP3s on the phone) and Pandora:
Clicking the mic pauses and restarts audio playback, although with some minor inconsistency. Sometimes it took 1 click, sometimes two, or up to three. The phone seems to go "dormant" at some point and the extra click or two is necessary to "awaken" it, if you will. However, once initiated, each successive click will instantly pause/play without delay.

Another neat feature discovered: after closing or killing all the apps with taskiller or advanced task killer, clicking the mic will automatically start the last music app and the last song that was playing, (although in the media player's case, from the beginning. But I don't think that has anything to do with the headset).

So if you have an iPhone headset, try it out. Enjoy!

 

[brettlewis]

I would suggest going to best buy to get "Ghost Armor," I for one never buy anything at best buy becuase the ridiculous prices, but when they told me they would wrap my phone for $19 I had to do it. They have a professional installer that will put on the protective layer for you. It was actually cheaper at the store with the install then just to buy the armor online! It was installed flawlessly and and comes with a lifetime warranty, so if it ever peels or scratches they will put on a new one for you. This stuff is great!

(however, you cant use your phone for 24 hours! , I don't know how i will last till tomorrow night... )

 

[OutGolfn]

You can save yourself some time and button pushes by storing your voicemail password along with the voicemail number. Then when you press the voicemail shortcut in the Phone Dialer, it will go straight through.

Go under Menu > Settings > Call Settings > Voicemail Settings, and set the number to: *86,,XXXX#
where each "," represents a pause
XXXX = your pin code

I sorta winged it since on my last phone I used "P" for pause, but Android won't allow me to enter letters no matter what I try. So I could be wrong about using "," but I tried it and it works!

I can confirm this does work on my Droid as well. Every little bit helps! Also if anyone doesn't know how to display the ",," press the symbol button in the lower left corner of the dial pad and that will bring it up.

 

[MBanshee]

The manual is pretty clear on all basic functions, and I'm picking up a few ideas just walking through it. Sorta surprised they don't have a link of some sort to it on the home screen.
DROID by Motorola Support - Motorola USA

 

[CaptainRon]

I dont know if anyone noticed but there is an awsome widget that came with the phone to turn on and off wi-fi, Bluetooth, GPS, sync and change brightens. No need for the third party ones, just long press on a home screen, add Widget Power Control. This phone is awesome!

Great tip. Thanks!

 

[Jacqueline]

In order to keep this thread beneficial, I am removing questions from it as I see them posted.

DO NOT POST QUESTIONS TO THIS THREAD! THEY WILL BE REMOVED!

Thanks for understanding. And now, back to the show!

 

[goldee024]

You can voice dial a contact by clicking the microphone on the google search bar and then saying your contact's name. To confirm the correct contact, you don't have to CLICK the dial button, you can just SAY "DIAL" and it will automatically start dialing.

Just a useful little trick.

 

[goldee024]

FREE app in marketplace called "Dock Runner."

I was hoping there was a way to run the multimedia dock without purchasing the dock because I read some posts about it automatically popping up when sliding the droid into a case with a magnet on it.

I kept reading some threads and someone posted about the Dock Runner App. I downloaded it, and it works great.

 

[MrShneeblie]

Coming from the iPhone I thought it was cool that you can speak an MMS message. I think you have to have Handcent MMS. Just click in the area where you would normally type a message and hit the MENU then SPEAK. Just say what you want like - BE HOME LATE and voila - the text appears in the MMS area and just hit send. I did not see that option under the built in Messaging app.

Sorry if this is old news. Kinda cool.

 

[chachi]

Screen always on while charing tip.

I just found this while looking through applications.

Menu/Settings/Applications/Development/Stay Awake(Screen will never sleep while charging)

This is useful for me because I plug the phone in at night and use it as an alarm clock I can now check the time without pushing the lock button, and bonus is it auto dims.

 

[nka]

tip for GV:
Make sure your contacts and pad dialing is in the format 1(555)555-1212 or just the numbers.

If you omit the "1", or the area code, even for local calls, GV won't work! This is not android, it's how GV works!

I saw that tip posted on a couple of sites. That hasn't been my experience, as none of my contacts are in that format. Additionally, if you call your own GV number and then hit 2, you can dial out.

I wish GV has something similar to GV mobile on the iPhone where you can dial out directly from the Google Voice app. The Droid app seems to either ask you to have GV always dial out, or to have to select either GV or Verizon each time you want to dial out.

 

[doomedromance]

Email:
People have said that you cannot delete multiple emails at once. Yes you can. You check the left box on each email then delete. It will delete all checked. Whether there is a select all or not I don't know.

Internet:
If you long press the back button it brings up your browsing history so you can back track without having to hit the back button 10 times.

*Basically try long pressing everything and anything and you'll find extra options. =)

Vibrate on SMS:
In the sound & display options theres an option to vibrate and ring. I also want my phone to vibrate & notify. There was no option for that. But if you go to your messaging app and hit the menu button> settings > at the very bottom theres a check box to vibrate & notify.

*Please Android make ringer profiles!!! The only mobileOS in existence that can't! (Without an app.)

note: Beautifu Silence Widget is a free widget in the Market that allows you to switch your phone to vibrate mode. HTC Sense looking widget. 1 for silence, 1 for vibrate. Silence you can toggle from the lock screen. (Any way to switch it to toggle vibrate instead?)

Camera:
The DROIDdoes take good pictures. Just with the crappy software right now you have do little things to help it along.

1. Light Light Light! The sensor is so small and the megapixels so high that it creates a lot of heat, giving you noise. Darkness is bad for this.

2. From what I've experienced Auto WB does a better job that the presets. Still not very good all the time.

3. Macro focusing: You have to be about 2-4 inches away from your subject for it to properly focus. Macro means up close! I found it varies from subject and time to time so just keep trying to refocus till it locks green.

4. Auto focusing: There is a dead range between the macro and regular focusing. If you are 2-4 inches away from your subject it will macro focus. between that 4-10 inch range the camera will not focus. Pull away past that and you can lock green focus.

5. Focusing: Sometimes it will not lock. Just try and refocus. This is most likely software issues and hopefully will be fixed in the Dec. 11th OTA.

But you can take some decent pictures with the camera you just have to set up right. Kind of bad for just no-brain point and shooting. But again, hopefully the OTA will fix these issues.

Here's a couple of samples:

And if you have Photoshop, well you can edit in camera raw. (just file>open as... pick camera raw from the drop down and select the jpg you want and open it) You can improve the quality even more.

 

[KobrioJohn]

You can save yourself some time and button pushes by storing your voicemail password along with the voicemail number. Then when you press the voicemail shortcut in the Phone Dialer, it will go straight through.

Go under Menu > Settings > Call Settings > Voicemail Settings, and set the number to: *86,,XXXX#
where each "," represents a pause
XXXX = your pin code

I sorta winged it since on my last phone I used "P" for pause, but Android won't allow me to enter letters no matter what I try. So I could be wrong about using "," but I tried it and it works!

I tried this and it didnt work for me. I used your example and tried diffrent variations and no luck . How man pauses need to be in it?

 

[indolent]

I tried this and it didnt work for me. I used your example and tried diffrent variations and no luck . How man pauses need to be in it?

3 pauses seems to work for me

 

[nka]

3 pauses seems to work for me

I ditched Verizon voicemail and am using GV for it. 2 pauses is all I need. Thanks for the tip OP. I was trying to figure out how to add 2 second pauses. Too bad you have to have the keyboard open to do this though.

 

[ChrisK15]

So, there are a lot of threads here asking questions, a lot of which have been repeated. I've also seen some FAQs here and there, but none of them were really comprehensive. I'm going to try to compile as many questions and answers as possible in this thread as well as some useful info and tips and tricks. Hopefully a mod can sticky this as well. If anyone has anything else to suggest or add please let me know.

- - - Physical - - -

Will the Droid fit into either dock with a protective case?
No, only the flat adhesive plastic-type protectors (InvisibleShield) are slim enough to allow the phone to fit.

How easy is it to scratch the Droid?
The glass on top of the screen is very durable and keys will have a very hard time scratching it (I've tried). There are a couple videos of people trying to scratch it as well and failing. The bits of shiny plastic on the back can get scratched, though. Look here

- - - Hardware features - - -

What's the resolution of the Droid?
854x480

What do the two dots/holes at the top of the Droid do?
The one on the left is an IR emitter and sensor to blank the phone during a call when it's against your face. The one on the right is a light sensor to activate automatic brightness.

Can I change the color of the notification LED?
Yes, but only with third party apps like Missed Call and SMS Popup.

How do I get into the two dock modes without the docks?
For multimedia mode, download an app called DockRunner. For car mode, Android actually includes an application called Car Home. You can also hack it by putting a linearly polarized magnet, like a small cube magnet, on the back near the camera.

Can I tether?
Yes. Set it up through Verizon or look here.

- - - Performance issues - - -

What's wrong with my camera?
As of yet, the camera software is sort of broken and takes a long time to focus and save. It will supposedly be fixed in an update on December 11.

Why won't my home screen switch to landscape mode when rotated?
Nobody knows yet, but so far everybody has this problem. This fix might be included with the next update.

Why does switching homescreens or opening trays lag?
Homescreen lag/jerk is present on all Droids at the moment, but I've found that the Locale service really drains your CPU and makes animations lag even more. Also try using a task manager to free up some memory.

- - - Android OS and apps - - -

Why won't my phone rotate?
Check to make sure you have automatic rotation enabled in the sound and display settings.

Why does my screen dim randomly?
It's the automatic brightness feature. Turn it off in the sound and display settings under brightness.

How can I see what's been using my battery?
Go to settings, about phone, then battery use.

How do I check for phone updates?
Go to settings, about phone, then system updates.

Why won't my apps close completely/how do I kill programs?
Get a task manager from the app store such as TasKiller; the services manager in the Applications page in the settings isn't very useful.

How do I uninstall apps?
Press the menu button, go to settings, applications, manage applications, then select the program from the list and uninstall.

How do I check for updates for my apps?
Go to the Market, then press the menu button, then Downloads. If you have any programs that need updates they'll be at the top of the list.

How do I rename folders?
Click the folder to open it, then long press the gray bar at the top of it.

How do I open voice search?
Long press on the search button on the phone.

How do I remove widgets and icons?
Long press it, then move to the app tray button which will then have a trash can icon on it.

What size should my backgrounds be if I don't want to crop it on the phone?
960x854

Can I make my wallpaper crop square bigger?
Press on a corner of the crop box and then drag it to size.

What size should my contact photos be to prevent pixelation?
I'd say around 250x250 or higher.

How many apps can I download and store on the Droid?
As many as will fit in the onboard 256MB as of now, but you can put any other type of file on the SD card.

- - - Music and video - - -

Why is the Droid's video recording quality so bad?
Open the video camera application, open the menu, and set the video quality to high.

Why doesn't the Droid have a video player/play my video files?
The video player is in the gallery. You have to open the gallery and the folder with your video. Only videos encoded in MPEG-4/H.264 (.mp4) will play, and it shouldn't be larger than 854x480-ish or your phone might stutter or crash.

How can I transcode video to play on the Droid?
Some people have had luck with a program called Handbrake, but I use SUPER even though it's a bit complicated to use.

How do I get songs, video, etc. onto the Droid?
How do I get my computer to see the Droid's SD card?
Plug in the USB cable, then bring down the notification tray. Click on the one about USB, then click mount.

Why do Youtube videos look so bad?
When the video starts playing, click menu, more, and "watch in high quality".

- - - Verizon - - -
How much does it cost for unlimited data?
For unlimited phone data, it's $30 a month on top of voice and other features.

- - - Tips, tricks, and cool stuff - - -

Where can I get high-res backgrounds for the Droid?
Look here or at DPReview for some nice pictures. Just make sure they're close to 960x854 or bigger.

- - - Recommended apps - - -

TasKiller - my personal favorite - lets you close unused apps and processes as well as ignore ones you always want running; comes with a couple widgets to quickly close applications

Communication
Google Voice - saves voicemail to your GMail account and transcribes them to text
Meebo IM - all-in-one IM suite
Twidroid - Twitter
Missed Call - custom ring and vibrate settings as well as LED color and settings
SMS Popup - replacement for Android SMS notifier (turn stock off to prevent doubles)
Save MMS - allows you to save MMS attachments
WiFi Buddy - detailed WiFi information and settings

Music and sound
Album Art Grabber - gets missing album art for your music
Frequency-Generator - sine, square, saw, and triangle wave generator
gStrings - customizable instrument tuner; also works for voice and other sounds
Instant Lyrics - open while playing a song and will open its lyrics
Scrobble Droid - enables Last.fm scrobbling in the Android music player
Pandora - online radio
Shazam - analyzes a part of a song that's playing through speakers and tells you the name and artist

Images
PaintNote - MS Paint-like app
Photoshop Mobile - basic editor and online album
PicSay - multitouch image viewer/editor

Location
Car Finder - press once when you park and saves your location on its map, and will show your location as well so you can find your parking spot
Find My Droid - lets you turn up the volume and activate ring and GPS to locate your phone; uses an SMS code phrase
Google Places Directory - lists categories of places in your location; searchable
GPS Status - 360 degree compass, horizontal and vertical level, g-force sensor, magnetic field sensor, GPS location in long/lat, shows speed and elevation

Reference
aCar - stores your car information
Barcode Scanner - scans various types of bar codes and Google searches them
ColorNote - text, drawing, and voice note program
ColorDict - comprehensive dictionary with multiple add-ons available
PDFGView - PDF viewer
ShopSavvy - barcode scanner with built-in product lookup
Speed Test - Ookla's speedtest.net application
Unit Converter

Money
Bank of America - online banking and account management
FX Currency - comprehensive currency converter
Google Finance - stocks
PayPal

Security and other
DockRunner - enables multimedia dock mode without needing the dock
Find My Droid - see above
G-backup (trial and pay) - backs up almost anything you want to Google's servers
MyIP - shows your phone's IP
Text-To-Speech Toy - converts input text to speech

Games
Labyrinth

 

[dep]

Or when you turn the phone on instead of swiping to the right to unlock swipe to the left and it will goto vibrate.

You can also depress the power button for a few moments to show a menu to toggle certain phone modes.

 

[j2j3]

In regards to the "There is no room for this on the home screen", don't forget you start off with 3 home screens. You can switch between them just by dragging to one side or the other. This lets you have room for big widgets like Pandora (why so big?) or the built in power manager. So check and see if you've space on either side of the main page. There is an app out there as well that increases the home pages to 7 but I can't remember the name.