Whether you’ve been a long-time Android user or it’s your first Android phone, getting a new Android phone is always exciting. You’re probably wondering where should I start? What are the first things to do when you get a new Android phone?
Before powering that phone and start downloading a bunch of apps, take your time to check out your new device. Peel off any plastic that covers up the phone. Go through the package, see what comes with it.
Some Android phones come with disassembly tools, so be careful to not throw anything away, in case you want to change the battery or remove the SIM card.
How to Set Up New Android Phone
Google Account
The very first thing you need to do after powering your phone is to set up your Google Account. It’s, without a doubt, one of the most important things to do when you get a new Android Phone. If you don’t have one, go ahead and create one, it’s free.
Your Google account is essential to set up your new Android phone because it connects you with all Google services, including installing apps from the Play Store.
If you have owned an Android phone before, it’s even better. After you activate your Google account, your phone will connect to the Play Store and restore all the apps, emails, contact, and calendar that you had on the old phone. How handy is that!
Some manufacturers and carriers will ask you to create another account in order to use their services. You don’t have to, but if you want to use their services, that’s fine. You can skip that option because with your Google account you should be all set.
Enable Google Assistant
Get Google Assistant set up right away. Google assistant was previously available only on Google Pixel phones, but now it’s available on all Android phones running Android 5.0 or higher. It’s also available for iPhones running iOS 9.3 or later.
Google Assistant is one of the best virtual assistants out there, if not the best. It’s incredibly useful and comes with tons of features. Enabling Google Assistant is simple.
- Long press the home button on your Android phone or simply by saying “Okay Google”.
- Tap Continue on the “Meet your personal Google Assistant” screen.
- Then, tap Yes, I’m in on the next screen to allow permissions.
To configure your voice, you’ll be prompted to repeat Okay Google three times, and you’re set.
Bloatware
The next thing you need to do is disable bloatware. Android phones usually come with multiple pre-installed Apps from manufacturers and carriers.
It’s annoying since you can’t get rid of them unless you root your Android phone or install a custom ROM. However, you can disable them. To do that, go over Apps settings and disable them from the available options.
When you do so, you prevent them from auto-updating. You might see a warning message to not disabling or deleting the built-in App, but don’t panic you’ll be fine.
Android phone makers understand that bloatware is bad for the user’s experience, and ship their phones with less bloatware possible.
The Samsung Galaxy use to come with over 50 pre-installed apps, now they come with around 30. It’s still bad though, but they’ve improved a lot.
Some Android phones, like the Essential Phone PH-1 even comes with zero bloatware. Clean software means a good user experience.
Security
Secure your Phone is probably one of the most important things to do when you get a new Android Phone.
We store all kind of sensitive information on our phones. So make sure you keep that information safe by setting up some security measures.
Years ago, we only had few options to lock our phones (pin, pattern, password). But nowadays Android Phones come with new layers of security such as fingerprint reader, iris scanner, etc .
If you own one of the latest Android flagships, chances are your phone gives you different options to lock your phone, so feel free to use the ones that are more convenient for you.
Your Android phone comes with an Autofill password feature that makes it easy to store and manage all your passwords in one place.
If you want a dedicated app to keep your password secure, check our top picks for the best password manager apps.
Find My Device
Android Device Manager hasn’t received a major update since 2015. With its last update back in May, Google has renamed it to “Find My Device”.
It makes more sense now because most people didn’t even know what Android Device Manager was for.
The idea remains the same, it gives you multiple options to locate, lockdown, ring, or wipe your device remotely. To use the App go to the Play Store and install the Find My Device app.
Once you have it downloaded, log in with your Google Account, and grant the App access to your location. After that, you should be fine.
Set Up Device and Photos Backup
Your photos and videos will use most of your device storage. Losing all those memories would definitely be a pain. It will be a good idea to have a backup.
With Google Photos, you got everything under control, it will back up everything to the cloud. In case anything happens to your phone, you got all your important stuff backed up.
Bonus: Regardless of how cautious you’re with your new device, you’ll eventually drop it. To avoid that, invest in a durable case.
Yes, the case may make your phone look less stylish. However, if you want to protect your phone, you should buy a durable case.
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