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Samsung

Guides for Samsung Tab A 7.0 (2016)

558 guides

Other2

Switch Between Open Tabs in Samsung Internet

With several tabs open in Samsung Internet, finding the right one again can take a few tries, especially once previews start looking alike. Some tabs also seem to reload from scratch every time you switch back to them. There is more than one way to jump between tabs, and one of them is a lot faster than tapping through the tab overview.

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Other2

Edit and Reorder Edge Panel Contacts

If your Edge panel still shows outdated contacts or apps you never open, the panel content does not update on its own and needs manual editing. Positions also stay fixed until you rearrange them yourself, which often buries your most-used contacts at the bottom of the list.

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Network & Connectivity2

Turn Data Roaming On or Off

When your Samsung phone connects to a foreign carrier network instead of your home network, mobile data stops working until Data roaming is switched on. That is fine while you stay close to home, but abroad it blocks emails, maps and apps from loading over the mobile network. Switching it on without checking your plan first can also lead to unexpected charges.

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Photo, Video & Media2

Camera Timer: Set Self-Timer for Photos and Videos

Selfies and group shots often turn out blurry or rushed when you tap the shutter yourself, since the phone locks focus at that exact moment. The Camera app has a built-in self-timer that adds a countdown before the shot fires, so you can put the phone down and get into position first. On Samsung devices you can choose a delay of 2, 5, or 10 seconds depending on how much time you need.

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Display & Home Screen2

Customize Secure Folder Name and Icon

If your Secure Folder still carries its default label and icon, anyone glancing at your app list can spot exactly what it hides. Samsung lets you rename it and swap the icon for something less obvious, but the icon options are limited to presets and the initial letter of your chosen name. You cannot upload a custom image as the icon.

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Other2

Turn Off Personalized Ads on Samsung

If ads in your apps feel oddly specific to sites you visited or things you searched, Google's Advertising ID is behind it. This ID lets ad networks build a profile from your app and browsing activity, then match ads to your interests across different apps and services.

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Calls & Messages2

Mark a Contact as Favorite

If a contact you call or text often keeps sliding down your list, Favorites pins them to the top - but only once the flag is actually switched on for that person. On Samsung phones this same flag also controls the pinned row in the Phone app, so the two lists never match up on their own.

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Security & Privacy2

Set a Lock Screen with Pattern, PIN or Password

If your Samsung phone still starts up without asking for a Pattern, PIN or Password, anyone who picks it up can open your apps, messages and photos right away. Without an active screen lock, features like Secure Folder, Samsung Pass and biometric unlock cannot work properly either. Setting a real unlock method is the only way to keep the device locked between uses.

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Calls & Messages2

Share a Calendar Event

Trying to send a meeting or birthday reminder to someone who does not use the same calendar app? Samsung Calendar lets you export the event as a text message or as a universal ICS file that opens directly in Google Calendar, Outlook or Apple Calendar. Picking the wrong format is the main reason recipients cannot add the event properly.

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Photo, Video & Media2

Switch Between Front and Rear Camera

Jumping from a landscape shot to a quick selfie shouldn't mean closing the Camera app and reopening it. On Samsung phones the front and rear lenses share one interface, but the small switch icon is easy to miss if you're not looking for it. Knowing exactly where it sits saves you from fumbling mid-shot in both photo and video mode.

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Language & Input2

Turn Predictive Text On or Off

Predictive text on the Samsung keyboard suggests words as you type, based on your past entries. If suggestions feel outdated, oddly personal, or simply distracting while you type, the keyboard's learning behavior is usually the cause. Turning predictive text off stops new suggestions and keeps the keyboard from adapting further to your typing history.

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Photo, Video & Media2

Enable Grid Lines in Camera

Framing a shot by eye often leaves the horizon tilted or the subject off-center in the final photo. Samsung cameras include an on-screen grid overlay meant to fix this, but many people never notice the toggle or don't know which pattern fits their shot. Portraits and landscapes benefit from different grid styles, so picking the wrong one still leaves composition guesswork.

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Calls & Messages

Answering an Incoming Call

If tapping the green call icon does not seem to pick up the call, a single tap is not enough on Samsung phones. The call screen looks different depending on what you were doing before it rang: full screen when the phone was idle, a small pop-up window at the top when you were already using an app. Knowing which layout you are looking at changes where and how far you need to drag your finger.

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Apps & Installation2

Uninstall Secure Folder

Secure Folder can't just be deleted from your Samsung phone - it has to be uninstalled through its own settings menu. Confirming the uninstall wipes everything stored inside it, including apps, photos, contacts and documents. Once removed, you can set up a new Secure Folder from scratch later.

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Accessibility2

Turn On/Off Magnifier Window Shortcut

If you keep mixing up the screen magnification gesture with the Magnifier window, you are not alone. The Magnifier window only enlarges a section of the display and comes with its own settings for magnification level, focus lock, and following the typing focus. Moving it around also works differently, since it needs two fingers instead of one.

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Notifications & Focus2

Change Timer Volume

The timer alarm on Samsung phones ignores the physical volume buttons and the usual sound settings, because it runs through its own separate slider. Users often turn up media or ringtone volume expecting the timer to get louder, but the timer stays at whatever level was last set inside the Clock app itself.

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Apps & Installation2

Change Default Messaging App

If your preferred messaging app never opens incoming texts, Samsung is still routing standard SMS through its own Messages app. Samsung lets you actively pick which app handles text messages, unlike some other Android setups. A screen lock combined with a restart can also delay message loading until you unlock the device once.

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Calls & Messages2

Remove a Contact Group Member

If a contact group still includes someone who should no longer get group texts or calls, they have to be taken out manually. On Samsung phones there is no swipe-to-delete inside a group; you first need to switch into edit mode, which is where most people get stuck looking for a simple remove option.

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Calls & Messages2

Install Dual Messenger Apps

Switching between two WhatsApp or Facebook accounts on one phone usually means logging out and back in every time, which gets tedious fast on a dual-SIM device. Samsung's One UI includes a built-in function that installs a second, independent copy of supported messenger apps so both accounts stay logged in at once. Not every messenger app on your phone supports this, which is why the option sometimes seems to be missing.

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Storage & Backup2

Activate a Downloaded Keyboard

A new keyboard from the Play Store shows up as installed but never appears as an option when you try to switch input methods. Samsung keeps every keyboard disabled by default until you turn it on in the keyboard management settings. Without this step, the downloaded keyboard stays invisible even though it is already on your phone.

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Network & Connectivity2

Select Network Manually

Near a border or while traveling abroad, your Samsung phone often locks onto whichever foreign network has the strongest signal, not the cheapest one. That automatic choice can mean higher roaming charges than a neighboring operator would offer for the same coverage. Switching to manual selection lets you pick the exact network yourself instead of leaving it to the phone.

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Calls & Messages2

Import Contacts from SIM or vCard File

If your contacts are stuck on an old SIM card or sitting in a vCard (.vcf) file, they won't show up in your phone until you pull them into the right account. Samsung phones can grab contacts from the SIM, internal storage, or a memory card, but picking the wrong source or target account is the most common reason the import seems to fail.

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Other2

Add or Remove Bookmarks in Samsung Internet

Typing the same web address every day gets tedious fast, and the Samsung Internet history list is not built for quick access to your favorite pages. Bookmarks solve that, but many users cannot find where to add a page or how to delete one that is no longer needed. Folders and sorting options add another layer of confusion once the bookmark list grows.

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Calls & Messages2

Show or Hide Calendar Accounts

The Samsung Calendar app lists every signed-in account, including My phone, Gmail, your Samsung account, App Events and Reminder, whether you want to see them or not. There is no option to permanently delete one of these entries from the calendar list. The only control you have is switching each account's visibility on or off.

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