Enable or Disable Call Barring
Roaming abroad often means every incoming call and every accidental international dial gets billed at premium rates, even calls you never answer. Huawei phones let you block specific call types at the network level instead of just muting notifications. The setting sits deep in the Phone app and is easy to miss if you have never needed it before.
Enable or Disable Service Messages
Random texts from your carrier about data usage, promotions, or account balance can clutter your inbox on a Huawei phone. These service messages come through the regular Messages app and are controlled by a setting most people never touch. If you keep getting them after asking your provider to stop, the toggle inside the Messages app is usually still switched on.
Set Default SMS Messages App
If a new messaging app you installed from the Google Play Store never actually receives your texts, the old app is probably still set as default. Huawei phones send every SMS and MMS through whichever app is marked as the standard, no matter how many others sit on your home screen. Switching that setting is the only way to make a new app take over completely.
Answer Calls with the Fingerprint Sensor
Struggling to answer calls when the touchscreen is hard to use, your fingers are wet, or you are wearing gloves? Huawei phones can accept a call with a long press on the fingerprint sensor, but this option is usually switched off by default. Without it, every incoming call still needs the on-screen slide gesture, even if that is exactly what is causing you trouble.
Show Alternate Calendars in the Calendar App
If your Calendar app only shows Gregorian dates, religious or cultural holidays like Islamic, Hebrew, or Chinese Lunar dates stay invisible next to your regular entries. EMUI hides this option inside the Calendar settings by default, so most users never notice it exists. Adding an alternate calendar shows a second date line under each day without replacing your main calendar.
Forward an SMS Message
If you want to pass on a text you received without retyping it, EMUI hides the forward option inside the message menu rather than as a visible button. This is why many Huawei users only send screenshots instead of the actual message.
Assign a Picture to a Contact
If a contact still shows a generic icon instead of a photo when they call or text you, no picture has been linked to that entry yet. Huawei lets you attach either an existing photo from your gallery or a freshly taken picture to any saved contact. Without this link, calls and messages stay visually anonymous even after all other details have been saved.
Voice Broadcast for Incoming Calls
If your Huawei phone is connected to a headset and voice broadcast is turned on, an incoming call plays the default ringtone instead of the custom tone you set for that contact. This happens because voice broadcast overrides individual ringtone assignments with a spoken caller announcement. The setting sits in the calling options and is easy to miss when you are troubleshooting missing custom ringtones.
Block a Phone Number from Call History
If the same unknown caller keeps turning up in your call log, that's rarely a coincidence. Many of these numbers belong to fake contests, surveys or robocall campaigns that dial repeatedly. Huawei lets you stop this directly from the call log entry, no separate blocklist app needed.
Contact Name Order: First Name or Last Name First
If your contact list sorts by last name when you expect first name first, calls and messages get harder to scan at a glance. Huawei phones control this through one shared display setting, not something you fix contact by contact.
Filter Call List by Missed Calls
When your call log on a Huawei phone fills up with dozens of entries, spotting the calls you actually missed gets tedious. The Phone app can switch between showing every call or only the missed ones, but that toggle is easy to overlook if you have never used it before.
Pair Messages for Web with a PC
When a text comes in while you are working on your laptop, reaching for the Huawei phone every time gets old fast. Messages for web only works once the phone and the browser tab have been linked through a QR code scan, and that pairing session can drop if the phone loses network or the browser tab closes. If the scanner window on the computer stays blank or the code never gets recognized, the two devices are usually not on the same Wi-Fi network or the phone camera has not been given permission.
Remove an Assigned Number from Speed Dial
When every speed dial slot on your Huawei phone is already taken, adding a new contact means one of the existing entries has to go first. Many users only find the option to change or delete a slot after the assigned number, not the contact itself, gets edited.
Delete Call History
If missed calls or dialed numbers keep piling up in your Huawei call log, you can clear single entries or wipe the entire list at once. Deleting the history removes calls, messages logs, and missed call records permanently, with no way to restore them afterward. This makes it worth checking which entries you actually want to keep before confirming.
Enable or Disable VoLTE Calls
If your calls sound muffled or take a few extra seconds to connect, your phone is likely still routing them over the 2G or 3G network instead of 4G. Huawei phones fall back to the older network for voice unless VoLTE (Voice over LTE) is switched on, which also affects battery drain during calls.
Copy an SMS Message
Need to save the exact wording of a Huawei text message without retyping it, or drop part of a conversation into an email or note? Long-pressing a message in the Messages app brings up several options, and it is not always obvious which one copies the text without deleting or forwarding it. Picking the wrong option can remove the message from the thread or forward it instead of copying it to your clipboard.
Import Contacts
If your contacts are scattered across a VCF file, an old SIM card or a file you got over Bluetooth, your Huawei phone will not merge them into one list on its own. You have to tell the Contacts app which source to read and where the entries should end up, on the device itself or in your Google account. Skip that step and the numbers simply stay locked in the file you received.
Power button ends call setting
When you press the power button during an active call on your Huawei phone, the call cuts off instead of just locking the screen. This happens because a hidden calling option lets the power button double as a hang-up key. If you never turned this on, an accidental grip on the side of the phone can drop calls without warning.
Send an MMS with Photo or Video Attachments
Trying to send a photo or video in a text message on your Huawei phone but not sure if it goes through as an MMS? Attaching a file to a conversation in the Messages app automatically switches the message type, but the option is easy to miss if you only look for a text-only send button. This guide shows where the attachment control sits and what happens once you tap send.
Turn Auto-Download for MMS On or Off
MMS attachments on your Huawei phone download automatically the moment a message arrives, even over mobile data. If you are watching your data allowance or want to decide yourself when large files get pulled in, this automatic behavior can quietly use up bandwidth. The setting controlling this sits inside the Messages app and is easy to miss.
Reject a Call with a Quick Response Message
When you can't take a call but still want the caller to know why, a plain decline leaves them guessing. On Huawei phones running EMUI, the incoming call screen offers a message option that sends a short text back instead of just hanging up. This way the caller gets an automatic reply like 'Calling you back later' without you saying a word.
Delete a Calendar Event
When an event no longer applies or two appointments overlap, you need to remove it from the Calendar app on your Huawei phone. If the event repeats, EMUI asks whether to delete only this occurrence or every future instance of the series. Picking the wrong option can wipe out appointments you still need.
Delete a Single Entry from the Call List
Clearing your entire call history wipes out every logged call at once, even the ones you still needed. On Huawei phones the Phone app also lets you remove just one entry, so the rest of your history stays intact.
Send an SMS Message
On Huawei phones, SMS and MMS no longer appear as separate message types in the inbox. As soon as you attach a photo or another file, the message automatically switches from a plain text SMS to an MMS. This can be confusing if you are trying to find an old text or wondering why a message suddenly used mobile data instead of your text plan.