Surprised how easy android is to use

[Ferrisore]

Okay so finally got my note 4 - already fallen in love with it, a little lost at times.. Trying to find options etc , but in general it's as simple to use as ios claims to be - this coming from an isheep since the 2nd gen phone.

It sounds stupid - but the amount of customisation I have available has me a little lost ha. Now, just got a million apps to get , to decide whether to get an AV program or not and to decide if showbox is safe and where to get it (yup I know can't ask for advice on that)

Thanks for all the help so far guys - I'm a happy little heretic! ;-)

 

[AZgl1500]

I highly suggest you install Nova Launcher which will allow you to more precisely define how you want your homepages to look.

Also, Nova Launcher will enable you to save your homepages via email, etc... off the phone somewhere in case the worst happens and you mess it up bad enough to do a Factory Reset....

Just about everyone of us neophytes to Android or a new phone learn to do a Factory Reset when things get beyond our control.

I highly suggest you install MyPhoneExplorer right now. It is not an app that you will ever use "on the phone itself". It is insurance for the day you brick the thing and can't get the phone to unlock. You then just plug the phone into your PC and activate the PC version of MyPhoneExplorer and that will get into the phone and let you download all of your data...... then you can Factory Reset your phone.

I highly recommend you install Super Backup, that will allow you to create backups "off the phone" for the contacts list, messages, and other data you want to save.

I also highly recommend that you copy all pictures and mp3, mp4 media to your PC. Even if it is stored on the extSDcard... those things fail more often than we would like.

enjoy..

* MyPhoneExplorer works even when locked and can't access screen

* Super Backup : SMS & Contacts - Android Apps on Google Play

Register your phone with Samsung and Google+ and install Kies 3.0 and make backups that way also.

* SUPPORT | SAMSUNG

* Kies | SUPPORT | SAMSUNG
____________________________________
2 ea. Verizon Galaxy S5, KK 4.4.4, ART
MyPhoneExplorer saves your tailbone
Nova Prime, Textra, Blue Mail, Qi wireless equipped
MacroDroid senses Screen off, turns Wifi & Data OFF
MacroDroid senses Screen on, turns WiFi & Data ON

 

[lunatic59]

I'd steer away from the AV, as long as you get your apps from legitimate sources. If you're not going to root your Note, then most anything can be fixed with a factory reset. You can also take care of remote security with Android Device Manager in the play store. It will locate your phone, or lock or reset it remotely.

As for Showbox, well, that's between you , your karma and whatever government agency is monitoring this particular corner of the internet.

 

[Slug]

I also highly recommend that you copy all pictures and mp3, mp4 media to your PC. Even if it is stored on the extSDcard... those things fail more often than we would like.

One "like" isn't enough for this advice. Take it from someone who daily has to deal with "My phone is damaged and no longer works, so how do I get my irreplaceable photos off it?" questions. It's no fun having to break bad news to people,

 

[Hadron]

OK, I've given it a second like

Yeah, repeated for truth: if it's important, back it up. Phones break or are lost or stolen, SD cards fail, and it's much better to invest a little effort in backing-up than to learn the lesson the hard way.

 

[frosthax1]

or buy a very expensive sd card.the ones that dont break hardly at all XD but thats up to you.i agree though,a backup is smart to have as an incase scenario.heck i got flashdrives and external harddrives and laptop harddrives filled with all sorts of backups.and if that doesnt work i also use google drive and dropbox.eh better safe than sorry ;P

 

[AZgl1500]

thanks for all of the "likes"...

I keep 3 copies of my backups stored in 3 different places.
but I am paranoid.

 

[Ferrisore]

Thanks so much for the response people, I WAS going to download a virus checker but the average opinion seems not to bother.. resource hoggers that don't do much

 

[dan330]

yeah.. it is funny sometimes .. to hear users complain how difficult android is.
they get all bothered by all the customization available. bogged down and scared of the all the choices.

You DONT need to do any customizations!
They fail to see that it works just fine as is.. all factory settings.

like IOS.. leave it alone.. and use the phone as is out of the box.
change settings or customizations as you want the to change.
learn 1 new setting at a time.. as need arises.

don't try to swallow the whole steak at once... most would choke on it.
cut it up in little tasty pieces.

 

[AZgl1500]

Thanks so much for the response people, I WAS going to download a virus checker but the average opinion seems not to bother.. resource hoggers that don't do much

I have turned OFF all of the Verizon apps period. don't need them hogging resources.
no AV
no Cloud
no nuttin from VZW

until today, they are starting 5.0 installs..... I have turned OFF both Wifi and DATA radios permanently until I decide to allow 5.0 to install.
____________________________________
2 ea. Verizon Galaxy S5, KK 4.4.4, ART
MyPhoneExplorer saves your tailbone
Nova Prime, Textra, Blue Mail, Qi wireless equipped
MacroDroid senses Screen off, turns Wifi & Data OFF
MacroDroid senses Screen on, turns WiFi & Data ON

 

[mikedt]

I have turned OFF all of the Verizon apps period. don't need them hogging resources.
no AV
no Cloud
no nuttin from VZW

until today, they are starting 5.0 installs..... I have turned OFF both Wifi and DATA radios permanently until I decide to allow 5.0 to install.

What are you actually using your smart-phone for at the moment? Or is it just sat there waiting for you to decide? You don't have to take the 5.0 install as soon as it's pushed. Can go on using your phone normally, that's what I do. 5.0 is a major update, it might pay to wait a while anyway, see if there's any show-stopping issues reported.

 

[AZgl1500]

What are you actually using your smart-phone for at the moment? Or is it just sat there waiting for you to decide? You don't have to take the 5.0 install as soon as it's pushed. Can go on using your phone normally, that's what I do. 5.0 is a major update, it might pay to wait a while anyway, see if there's any show-stopping issues reported.

at the moment, I have a Blue Parrott brand trucker's headset on my noggin, and am talking to a very good friend who is a OverTheRoad trucker. We spend hours visiting about different topics of the day. Goldwing motorcycles, upgrades to them, the problems folks have with them and how we fix them.... I just bought me a "new to me" 2002 GL1800 Goldwing in perfect condition and with all of the $$$ expensive upgrades some folks put on them. I got it for "half price" because it was a "high mileage bike" which scares most people, but not me. Goldwings are recorded with up to 900,000 miles on them without ever opening up the engines.

the movie American Sniper, the bad Snow Storms up east where he is driving tonight. All the idiots on the highway who manage to create problems and crashes... we follow the news of the day, just general conversation like a lot of folks would do in a 'pub', only we avoid the atmosphere of the pubs

My phone stays very busy, most of the time. It just does not need to access the internet most of the time. So, why should it have access to the internet IF all I am doing is talking on the phone? If I have a need for the internet, I activate the internet. My phone is not crippled, it just answers to my commands, and that is what a good Smartphone should do. Make itself available to my beck and call.
____________________________________
2 ea. Verizon Galaxy S5, KK 4.4.4, ART
MyPhoneExplorer saves your tailbone
Nova Prime, Textra, Blue Mail, Qi wireless equipped
MacroDroid senses Screen off, turns Wifi & Data OFF
MacroDroid senses Screen on, turns WiFi & Data ON

 

[mikedt]

at the moment, I have a Blue Parrott brand trucker's headset on my noggin, and am talking to a very good friend who is a OverTheRoad trucker. We spend hours visiting about different topics of the day. Goldwing motorcycles, upgrades to them, the problems folks have with them and how we fix them.... I just bought me a "new to me" 2002 GL1800 Goldwing in perfect condition and with all of the $$$ expensive upgrades some folks put on them. I got it for "half price" because it was a "high mileage bike" which scares most people, but not me. Goldwings are recorded with up to 900,000 miles on them without ever opening up the engines.

the movie American Sniper, the bad Snow Storms up east where he is driving tonight. All the idiots on the highway who manage to create problems and crashes... we follow the news of the day, just general conversation like a lot of folks would do in a 'pub', only we avoid the atmosphere of the pubs

My phone stays very busy, most of the time. It just does not need to access the internet most of the time. So, why should it have access to the internet IF all I am doing is talking on the phone? If I have a need for the internet, I activate the internet. My phone is not crippled, it just answers to my commands, and that is what a good Smartphone should do. Make itself available to my beck and call.

Ok fair enough Depends on your usage of the smart-phone.

My situation, my smart-phone really has to be on-line much of the time, really for much of my work and business promotion on various social networks, and can get very busy sometimes. I do make actual phone calls and send SMS most days, just to check if students are going to turn up for lessons. Also I do a lot of VOIP, because actual phone calls from China to the UK can be horribly expensive, when using the carrier's service. Even for many friends here, we often communicate via WeChat and QQ, because long-distance calls can be expensive as well. e.g. Xilinhot to Shenzhen or Beijing.

 

[AZgl1500]

I can appreciate your position entirely, sounds like my Work-a-day life in spades, been retired now for 4 years.
I was tied to two cell phones and a pager also while I worked in the 911 dispatching centers.
I was on call 30/9 days a week... a joke, but you get what I mean.
I often pulled into the home driveway and got a page to go back to work before I could turn the key off and get a shower.... I learned to just shrug and say "ah hell" and get on with it.
____________________________________
2 ea. Verizon Galaxy S5, KK 4.4.4, ART
MyPhoneExplorer saves your tailbone
Nova Prime, Textra, Blue Mail, Qi wireless equipped
I refuse to install LolliFLOP
Data and WiFi have been permanently turned OFF until VZW fixes this mess.

 

[Slug]

or buy a very expensive sd card.the ones that dont break hardly at all

Such a thing has yet to be invented, unfortunately. All it takes is one interrupted write to flash memory and at least some of the data is gone.

Multiple independant backups aren't paranoia, they're sensible. How far you take it depends on the value (to you) of the data. Having external storage options is nice, but it's not a magic bullet.