60 Tips and Tricks to Make Samsung Galaxy Note 3 the Most Powerful Phablet Ever Made
Powerful, heavy packed and very fast are three words that describe Samsung Galaxy Note 3 with advanced hardware and software. But if you know the 60 tricks for the Note 3, you can unveil hidden functions and secret features to improve memory and make its battery last longer than before. In other words, these tips wil help you make the most out of this device's advanced hardware and software.
1. Software Update
Always keep in mind that any software update released by Samsung for the Galaxy Note 3 will contain security patches, bug fixes and battery improvements. Soon, the phablet will also get Android 4.4 KitKat for more additional features and applications.
2. Closing Applications
Most apps on your device consume memory, and if you want to fully close them, go to Settings > Apps Manager > Click the app > Force Close. However, some force closed apps may re-activate if your re-start the device.
3. Trouble Performance Issues
Even if it features heavy-packed hardware, the Galaxy Note 3 may still suffer lag problems and it is recommended to free its memory. Close apps by tapping the Back key instead of the Home button and use its built-in Task Manager to close all running apps.
4. Download Essential Apps
You may want to download apps from the Play Store such as messaging clients, movies, games, social apps, news and many more which you can use for daily activities.
5. S Pen Apps
The Galaxy Note 3 isn't a regular handset. It features S Pen functions using the given stylus pen accessory. Certain features such as Sketchbook are very useful for writing, drafting and drawing.
6. Palm Mute
Mute everything on your Galaxy Note 3 by placing your palm over its sensors while the screen is on. To control this option, go to Settings > Controls > Palm Motion.
7. USB 3.0
The Galaxy Note 3 supports USB 3.0 port. If you want to transfer files quickly using the USB cable, make sure to connect the device to a computer with the USB 3.0 port as well.
8. Voice Control over Music Player
You can control the music player using your voice and command "play" or "pause" by activating the feature. Go to Settings > Controls > Voice control.
9. Screen Mirroring
Use the Wi-Fi Direct technology to activate Screen Mirroring to allow the Galaxy Note to send its screen visuals to another device such as Samsung TV.
10. Adapt Sound
Make the Galaxy Note 3 play music with audio output according to your ears. Go to Settings > Device > Sound > Adapt Sound.
11. Surround Sound Output via HDMI
If you connect the Galaxy Note for HDMI output, the standard audio would be stereo surround sound. But you can make it output surround sound by going to Settings > Device > Sound > Audio Output.
12. Home Cinema
Turn the Galaxy Note 3 into a home cinema theatre by buying an MHL adapter to connect the device to your tv via a HDMI cable.
13. Creating Personalised Wallpaper
The Galaxy Note 3 allows you to fully personalise a wallpaper for the home screen. It is recommended to get an image with 1,920 x 1,080 resolution. One way to personalise an image for your wallpaper is to use the Gallery app > Select an image > Tap the "pencil" icon.
14. Haptic Feedback
Some functions on the device responds through Haptic Feedback which can be annoying and may drain battery. Go to Settings > Sound > Haptic Feedback to turn it off.
15. Airplane or Flight Mode
If the battery is getting really low and your charger is at home, turn on the Airplane or Flight mode to save more power. It will disable all wireless functionality to get more juice from the battery.
16. Auto Pen Input Off
For some users, handwriting recognition can be irritating, especially during times when they want to use the virtual keyboard. Go to Settings > Samsung Keyboard > uncheck the Pen Detection.
17. Gesture Typing
If you want to create fast text for messaging or email, use the Gesture Typing method on the virtual keyboard. Go to Settings > Controls > Language and Input > Samsung Keyboard > Keyboard Swipe > Continuous Input.
18. S Pen for Soft Keys
Samsung improved the S Pen interaction on the Galaxy Note 3. It can now control buttons below the screen.
19. Saving the S Pen
Majority of the Galaxy Note 3's special features are supported by the S Pen accessory and losing it is a huge problem. Activate the S Pen Keeper to notify, vibrate and alert you if the S Pen is straying far from the device.
20. View Recently Used Apps
If you want to view recently used apps instead of doing some multiple windows viewing, press and hold the Home key to display those apps. In addition, you can remove all of these apps to close them.
21. Multi-View Features
In times you need to do two things at once, go to Settings > Device > Multi View Slider. Check if the multi-view tab is visible by pressing the back key - it looks like a little arrow button on the left side of the screen. Tap the arrow to see all apps compatible with Multi-View feature.
22. Lock Screen Customisation
There are two main things you can personalise on the lock screen - Wallpaper and Apps. Go to the Gallery app > Menu key > Set as > Lock screen option to change lock screen wallpaper. For the other alteration on the lock screen, go to Settings > Device > Lock screen.
23. Wireless Connectivity
Remember that your Galaxy Note 3 features advanced connectivity such as Wi-Fi, mobile date, GPS, Bluetooth, NFC, S Beam and USB 3.0 for the Internet, data transfer and other wireless functions.
24. Colour Blindness Optimisation
For colour blind users, a special mode is found inside the Galaxy Note 3. You can arrange an array of colours in terms of tones and shades. After that, the device will adjust the display according to your ideals.
25. Easy Mode
If the user interface, navigation and menus look very complex to you, change the display mode into "easy." The Easy Mode UI feature can be found on the Display under the Settings menu.
26. Improve Image Quality
You can now fix colour saturation problems of the Super AMOLED in the Galaxy Note 3. Go to Settings > Device tab > Display > Screen mode. Most reviewers prefer "professional photo" or "movie" as the overall image quality.
27. Capture Screen
The Galaxy Note 3 has another way to make screenshots aside from the pressing buttons. Go to Settings > Controls > Palm Motion > Capture Screen. You can now swipe your palm across the screen to take a screenshot.
28. Quick Toggles Personalisation
The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 features more than 10 toggles on its Quick Settings found at the notifications bar that allows you to customise which shortcuts should appear. Tap the button at the top right bar of the toggles to edit which shortcuts you would like to use more often.
29. Rejected Numbers
You can reject up to 100 numbers on your Galaxy Note 3 for barring enemies, unwanted calls and ex-lovers. Go to Settings > Device > Call > Call Rejection to edit auto-rejection list.
30. Super Ringer
Sometimes you'll miss calls when the device is inside your pocket. The Galaxy Note 3 has a special super ring if its inside yoiur pocket. To make your phablet ring louder to avoid missing important calls, go to Settings > Device > Call > Increase Volume in Pocket.
Eye Control and Detection Tips
31. Use the Smart Stay to enable the front camera to detect your eyes whenever you look at the screen.
32. Looking away pauses video playback or dims the screen if you are reading something.
33. Tilt your head up and down to scroll Web pages or documents.
Air Gestures Tips and Tricks
34. Air Gesture to flick between Web pages, music tracks and photos by waving your hand over the sensor above the screen.
35. Air View generates thumbnails or information when your finger is hovering on top of the item.
36. Turn these features off to stop them from draining power on the battery.
Using Motion Controls
37. The Galaxy Note 3 is packed with several sensors which detect your motion such as tilting the handset to zoom in and out of images, mutes when turned over and even answer calls when picked up.
38. Disable these features to save more power on battery. Go to Settings > Controls > Motions.
39. Infrared Control
There is an IR transmitter built on the Galaxy Note 3. It can be used to control TV sets or cable boxes. Use the WatchOn app to view TV schedules and access remote control functionality.
40. Play with the Camera
Combine the powerful camera on your Galaxy Note 3 to capture images, record videos and edit them using the S Pen feature. Several filters and editing modes are available for multimedia functionality.
Battery and Memory Management
50. Home Screen Panes
You can use many home screen panes on your device but avoid cluttering them with widgets to avoid performance slowdown. You can add as many shortcuts and folders as you want in the home screen.
51. Home Screen and Lock Screen Widgets
Widgets can affect performance and battery life due to constant data syncing. Only turn on owidgets that are really important to avoid suffering from lags and sluggishness.
52. Live Wallpaper
Even if the device uses Super AMOLED screen, live wallpaper animations will drain the battery, especially if the app is poorly written. Use static wallpapers and edit them for better personalisation.
53. Transitions and Animations
Make the device perform snappier by minimising or disabling transition and animations. Configure the animations found in the Developer Options inside the Settings menu to reduce rendering during launching of apps.
54. Brightness Level
Try minimising the brightness level which suits your eyes to extend the battery life. Screen displays consume up to 50 percent on the battery which you should check most of the time.
55. Screen Time Out
Aside from disabling the Smart Stay feature, reduce the screen time out to save consumption of power on the display or, better yet, always screen off whenever the device is not in use.
56. Power Saving Tool
Enable the power saving tool on your device during dire situations to extend the battery life until you can re-charge it. In addition, disable all wireless connectivity to sustain the current battery level.
57. Control CPU Cores
If you have rooted your Galaxy Note 3, get apps which control CPU performance such as SetCPU which reduces battery consumption. Managing the right CPU core performance significantly improves battery life.
58. Regular Reboot
Samsung may have improved everything on the Galaxy Note 3 but rebooting the device is the still the best way to resolve minor system glitches and free its memory. After a complete re-charge, simply re-start the device for fresher system performance.
59. Recharging Cycle
Once a month, it is recommended to drain the device's battery for better re-charging cycle and battery life. During the 5 percent level, just turn off all wireless connections except cellular to keep SMS and calls coming. Also disable the auto-sync function, games, videos or music and put the brightness or screen time out at maximum.
In this way, the device will safely drain itself without damaging the battery pack. Once the device has shutdown, charge it completely without interruption. You can also use battery calibration application for this procedure to optimise the battery cycle.
60. Factory Reset
Make sure to create a backup of all personal information, settings and files regularly in case factory reset option occurs in the future. Factory reset will solve majority of system problems, app issues and poor battery performance.