10 Useful Hidden Settings in Android You Should Know About
With every newer version of Android Google introduces some new features, some of them add up to your productivity, privacy, while some of them are fun and cool to have. But since not every phone gets the newest and latest version of Android to try out these new features, there are some hidden features already available in previous versions of Android which later makes its official release in newer versions. Here we have complied 10 hidden settings in Android that you should check out.
10 Useful Hidden Settings on Android
Table of Contents
Since most hidden Android settings are located under the Developer Options Menu, you need to enable Developer Options by tapping 7 times on the Build Number of your phone. Once done, the developer options will show up under the system settings.
Note: If you can’t find the build number or developer options, then you can search it in the phone settings.
Running Services
Even if you remove all apps from the recent menu, some apps still keep running in the background which can drain your battery, increase data consumption, and occupies RAM. You can manually kill those apps from developer options.
- Open Phone Settings
- Under System, go to Developer Options
- Click on Running Services
- Tap on the app you want to kill
- Press the stop button
Disable All Sensors
This trick will enhance your privacy, as with a single click you can disable all sensors of your phone like Mic, Camera, GPS, etc. You do not need to have Android 12 on your phone to use this, you can use this trick on your phone right now. This trick can also be used to prank your friends.
- Go to Developer Options
- Click on Quick Settings Developer Tiles
- Enable the toggle for Sensors Off
- Now disable all the Sensors from Quick Settings toggle with a single click
Share Fake (Mock) Location
If you want to share a fake location with someone, you can do that as well, there’s a build-in developer option for this as well. In order to do this, you need to have a fake GPS app, which can be easily downloaded from Google Play Store. Once you have downloaded the app, follow these steps.
- Go to Developer Options
- Scroll Down to Select Mock Location App
- Select the Fake GPS app which you have downloaded
Show Realtime Refresh Rate
Nowadays, most phones come with high refresh rate displays like90Hz, 120Hz, and even 144Hz. But do you know that they run at the max refresh rate all the time, and even some apps don’t support higher refresh rates? With this trick, you can know the real-time refresh rate of your phone, while using certain apps.
- Go to Developer Options
- Scroll Down to Show Refresh Rate
- Enable the toggle
- Now you can see the real-time refresh rate for different apps
Wifi Coverage Extender
Di you know you can use your phone as a Wifi repeater. This will extend the range of Wifi you are connected to, by boosting the signals with your phone’s hotspot.
- Go to Developer Options
- Scroll Down to Enable WiFi Coverage Extend Feature
- Connect to a Wifi, click on Edit
- Check the Extend WiFi Coverage Box, under Advanced Options
Mobile Data Always Active
There are at times that, when you are connected to your WiFi, you need to go out or shift to another place, while you are attending an online meeting, or maybe downloading something, or playing an online game. Now if you move, then obviously you will lose your connectivity, for some time while you switch from WiFi to Mobile Data. With this trick, you can avoid losing your connectivity, and quickly switch to your Cellular Data.
- Go to Developer Options
- Scroll Down to Mobile Data always active
- This is not turn off your mobile data, for faster and seamless switching
Speed up your Old Phone
With time your old phone becomes slow and sluggish, like while opening apps, or navigating through the UI. This is due to hardware that is not able to keep up with time, and apps can become heavy, and there are other reasons for it as well. There’s one thing you can do to improve the speed, and that is to reduce or completely turn off animations. Animations can consume good enough time of the CPU, with reduced or no animations, the CPU can launch an App quickly and utilize the saved time for other processing tasks.
- Go to Developer Options
- Scroll Down Animations under Drawing Category
- Reduce or turn off all animations
Simulate Color Space
Nowadays there are some brands that offer a feature to adjust the color tone of the display, while some brands do not offer it. There’s an inbuilt feature to adjust the color tone of your phone’s display, you can choose from a few preset color tones already available.
- Go to Developer Options
- Scroll Down to Simulate Color Space
- Choose the Color Preset of your choice
WiFi Scan Throttling
If you are someone like me who forgets to turn off WiFi on my phone when there’s no saved network nearby. This will make your phone continuously keep on scanning for WiFi, which will drain your battery life. But with this trick, you can reduce this frequency to 4 times in 2 minutes while using an app, and only 1 time in an hour. This saves some battery of your phone when WiFi is left turned on.
- Go to Developer Options
- Scroll Down to Wi-Fi Scan Throttling
- Enable the toggle
RTL Layout
This is the last trick and the most exciting one, you can use this trick to have some fun with your friends or even prank on them. This trick will flip the screen horizontally, meaning it will temporarily flip the right side of the screen to the left side, and when your friend picks up this phone, he/she will think their phone has broken down or the software is having some issues, isn’t that fun? Don’t worry it can be fixed by reversing the steps.
- Go to Developer Options
- Click on Quick Settings Developer Tiles
- Enable the toggle for Force RTL layout direction
- Now you can flip the layout from the Quick Settings toggle with a single click
So these are 10 hidden Android settings you can try on your phone, or on your friend’s phone. Do note that some of these settings can quickly drain out the battery, and some might not work on your phone depending on the Android version.
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Coverage extend feature
In Dev settings there is this thing called wifi coverage extend feature, wth is that? I feel like it would make my phone work as a wifi extender for poor networks, but I have no idea if this is what it is or if it even works, could someone please enlighten me? Google, surprisingly, has no answer for this. which makes me more intrigued to find out.
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floridaman
Senior Member
Oct 11, 2015 130 19 www.floridasunshineshuttle.com
I don’t have that in my Dev Settings
efinityy
Senior Member
Aug 22, 2016 249 124 Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
I don’t have that in my Dev Settings
Wierd. Had it on 5.1.11 where I first discovered it, and on the betas, and also some custom ROMs, not all of the 4-5 I’ve tried
theaxis01
Senior Member
Jun 13, 2018 81 23
In developer settings of 9.0. looks like it’s hotspot related.
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Obey138
Member
Jun 1, 2012 19 6
This thread is the first relevant result when googling for this function.
Might it be OnePlus exclusive?
Does it even work?
TymmyD
Senior Member
Jun 6, 2009 87 1
I too have it, and was wondering the same thing. Definitely since I can’t get VPN hotspot app to work properly using this phone.
efinityy
Senior Member
Aug 22, 2016 249 124 Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
This thread is the first relevant result when googling for this function.
Might it be OnePlus exclusive?
Does it even work?
I don’t know! IDK the intended feature(plug n play maybe, just flip the switch n go?) so how would i try it out. Ive tried to use it as an extender once, a vague try that didn’t result in it working or not working. The other phone just had an acceptable and jumpy wifi altogether so it was a weak try so to speak
Would be cool to know
Last edited: Sep 30, 2018
BurningZeus
New member
Dec 2, 2017 2 0
I was going through this option and I think I found out how to use it. Although my test has been unsuccessful I believe someone can tell me if I did wrong somewhere. So what I found out and what i did basically is
1. Obvious step — turn on that setting in Dev options.
2. Now connect to any WiFi hotspot. After successful connection go to the options of that particular WiFi — like where you see the connection details.
3. Click on the modify network option on top right corner.
4. Expand the «Advanced settings» drop-down option in that submenu.
5. You will now see a checkbox that says «Extend WiFi coverage»
As per my understanding I checked it and then tried to connect my other phone to that same hotspot but from a farther range to the router but within the range of my OnePlus device as if it’s acting as an extender. My test was unsuccessful here as the signal was still weak assuming my other phone was still getting the actual signal from the router and not the OnePlus device.
I’d be grateful if someone here corrects me if I did something wrong/missing something and let me know if anyone gets it to work.
danger86
Member
Jul 20, 2013 22 2 37 Carrollton, TX
On your first phone find our the BSSID of your original WiFi network. After you do that find out on your second phone whether you’ve connected to the original BSSID or your 1st phone’s BSSID
joelstitch
Senior Member
Jan 29, 2012 496 68 Minneapolis
I too want to figure out how to get this option working. Can’t get it to work..
joelstitch
Senior Member
Jan 29, 2012 496 68 Minneapolis
I too want to figure out how to get this option working. Can’t get it to work..
Nishant_Jain
Member
Dec 25, 2014 5 0
@danger86 Can you provide a guide on how to do this?
Sachinv2223
New member
Oct 31, 2017 1 0
In Dev settings there is this thing called wifi coverage extend feature, wth is that? I feel like it would make my phone work as a wifi extender for poor networks, but I have no idea if this is what it is or if it even works, could someone please enlighten me? Google, surprisingly, has no answer for this. which makes me more intrigued to find out.
I have the same thing in my Xiaomi Mi A1 (dev option). i turned ON,but cant see any difference
danger86
Member
Jul 20, 2013 22 2 37 Carrollton, TX
@danger86 Can you provide a guide on how to do this?
What guide would you like? How to know which Wi-Fi hotspot your phone is connected to? Just pull the notifications and under the Wi-Fi toggle you’ll see the name of your hotspot
ZONTAC
Senior Member
Apr 18, 2021 97 11 Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet Galaxy Y Duos
I was going through this option and I think I found out how to use it. Although my test has been unsuccessful I believe someone can tell me if I did wrong somewhere. So what I found out and what i did basically is
1. Obvious step — turn on that setting in Dev options.
2. Now connect to any WiFi hotspot. After successful connection go to the options of that particular WiFi — like where you see the connection details.
3. Click on the modify network option on top right corner.
4. Expand the «Advanced settings» drop-down option in that submenu.
5. You will now see a checkbox that says «Extend WiFi coverage»
As per my understanding I checked it and then tried to connect my other phone to that same hotspot but from a farther range to the router but within the range of my OnePlus device as if it’s acting as an extender. My test was unsuccessful here as the signal was still weak assuming my other phone was still getting the actual signal from the router and not the OnePlus device.
I’d be grateful if someone here corrects me if I did something wrong/missing something and let me know if anyone gets it to work.
You need one more step , 6. Turn on your hotspot first than turn on wifi and connect to that wifi in which you ticked extend coverage option and your wifi,hotspot start working simonteneously (remember ssid shown in other devices will be router ssid)
7. If hotspot get turn off after connecting to desire network than try again step 6
(Tested in nokia 5.4 )
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How to extend your wi-fi
You want the strongest wireless signal you can get, wherever you are in your home – find and fix wi-fi coverage problems with our guide.
Hollie Hennessy
In this article
It’s frustrating when your home wi-fi drops, with connectivity coming and going on a whim. Wireless black spots or dropouts can be caused by many different factors, such as your home’s infrastructure causing interference, a faulty router, or even just thick walls. But, a good wi-fi connection doesn’t have to be elusive.
A better home wi-fi network means you can access the web throughout your home. Webpages will load quickly whether you’re upstairs or downstairs, and YouTube and Netflix videos will stream smoothly even if you’re watching in bed, far away from your main wi-fi router.
But, before you spend hard-earned cash on a new router or an expensive wi-fi system, it might be worth considering other options to rectify weak wi-fi coverage. You can make simple adjustments to your existing kit. If you’re willing to spend, then we explain the various types of equipment you can buy for boosting your wi-fi to carry the signal throughout your home.
Find more solutions to common broadband problems with our guide on how to fix bad broadband .
Get the most from your existing router
Before shelling out for a replacement router or other equipment, see what you can do to improve your existing one. You’ll get the best wi-fi coverage in your home if you’re able to place your router somewhere central in your home, out in the open. While you may be tempted to hide ugly-looking routers out of sight, it needs to be free of any obstructions.
Be aware that a lot of things can impact the strength of the wireless signal: walls, doors, microwaves and cordless phones all have an effect. Even other wireless signals from nearby neighbours can impact performance on your wireless network.
Although your router transmits on a frequency band, such as 2.4GHz, it actually only uses a small slice of the frequency, called a channel. To ensure you receive the strongest wi-fi signal, we recommend using channels 1, 6 or 12, as they have no frequency overlap with each other.
To access these settings on your router, it’s different for every model, so check the router’s manual to identify the specific steps you’ll need to take. Generally, you need to connect to your router’s address (printed in the manual, or on the label on the side/bottom of the router) and use the administrator login (also on the router label) to change these settings.
See our additional advice for boosting your home wi-fi signal .
Upgrade your router
If you’re consistently getting bad broadband speeds, or if you keep hitting connection problems, then an old or faulty router could be to blame. Technology moves on, and if you’ve been a customer with an internet service provider (ISP) for a long time, then newer customers may be getting better routers than the one you’re stuck using.
Older routers, supplied by your broadband provider, may not have the wireless strength or range of newer models. For example, if you’ve recently bought a new laptop, it probably supports the newer wireless AC standard, while your router may only support the older wireless N standard. This means your router won’t deliver the faster wireless speeds and wider coverage that the newer wireless AC standard brings.
If that’s the case, it’s worth considering a new router. As a long-term customer, you may be able to phone your broadband provider for a free router upgrade. Additionally, you could also look at a third-party router, which can bring extra features and functionality that may not be available from a router supplied by the provider.
One caveat: watch out for contract extensions. If the customer service agent you’re speaking to explains that you’ll need to enter into a new 12-month or 18-month contract in order to get the router, be sure this is something you’re comfortable with.
Alternatively, you could give up on ISP routers altogether, and invest in a high quality third-party router. These tend to be better suited to the technically confident, those who are happy to delve into settings and customise their networks.
To see the best routers we recommend, see our comprehensive wireless router reviews .
Set up a wi-fi extender
If your router is struggling to broadcast wi-fi to the far corners of your home, a wi-fi extender may be the answer.
Positioned correctly, a wi-fi extender will boost you router’s wireless signal, and a stronger signal means it will carry further throughout your home. The simplest and most affordable solution is called a wireless extender or repeater. They act as a relay to rebroadcast the wireless signal from your router to other devices in your home.
Alternatively, you can invest in a powerline adaptor. Powerline adaptors (also known as a HomePlug) are ideal for extending coverage to areas of your home where even wi-fi repeaters struggle to reach. Available in pairs, these devices work by using your home’s existing electrical wiring to transmit data. One goes near your router, the other goes in the part of your home that’s been struggling to connect to the wi-fi.
However, if you’ve placed the adaptors in locations that use different electrical circuits within in your home, they may not be able to communicate with each other. They need to be on the same main electrical ring for the connection to carry.
Set up a wi-fi mesh network
If your home’s wi-fi network has dead spots throughout, then you might consider a wi-fi ‘mesh’ system. These systems work slightly different to a wi-fi extender or a powerline adaptor. They’re not cheap, but they’re more powerful and surprisingly simple to set up and use.
A wi-fi system is available in a twin or triple pack – it’s effectively a family of little ‘hubs’ that communicate between each other. It unifies your wi-fi connection across your home. If you were to walk throughout your home using the internet on your phone or tablet, you wouldn’t even realise as the connection passed you from one hub to another. It would all feel like one seamless internet connection. The end result is greater coverage, faster speeds and a more reliable connection.
You might think that a wi-fi system is for advanced users or more technically savvy people, but this isn’t the case. These devices are designed to be easy to use on a day-to-day basis, with simple management via an associated mobile app. You can easily create a guest network, cut off wi-fi access to certain networks or test the quality between the various connection points.