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Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Tips and Tricks (Video)

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 4

If you are looking for some helpful tips and tricks for the Samsung Galaxy Tab, you’ve come to the right place.

Below is a list of 50 tips and tricks for the Galaxy Tab 4 series. A video walkthrough is included at the bottom of this post as well to help give a visual representation of many of the tips included on this list. I used the 7-inch Tab 4 that I recently reviewed in the video tutorial, but the tips apply to the 8 and 10-inch models just the same, and probably the older Galaxy Tab lines to some degree. Feel free to add any additional tips in the comments section.

50 Tips for Samsung Galaxy Tab 4

1.Official Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Help and Support Page – This is the official product support page on Samsung’s website. It includes everything from product registration, to troubleshooting guides and FAQs. Customer support contact information is located on that page as well, including a phone number, live chat, email, and social networks.

2. Galaxy Tab 4 User Manual – Here’s the direct link to the PDF download for the user manual. The preinstalled Hancom PDF viewer will get the job done, but if you want to try some other PDF readers see #28.

3. How to Take Screenshots – There two ways to capture screenshots. First, press and hold the power button and home button at the same time. The second way is to swipe the side of your hand across the screen from right to left, with the side of your palm lightly brushing the screen.

4. Access Notifications Menu and Settings – Swiping down from the top of the screen with one finger opens the notifications menu. You can scroll right through the icons to show more options. The settings menu can be accessed by tapping the gear icon..

5. Lock Screen Rotation – There’s the option to turn auto screen rotation on and off from the quick settings menu on the notifications menu.

6. Change Notification Panel Icons – If you open the notifications menu and tap on the square icon in the upper right corner, you can choose which items appear on the quick setting menu by hitting the edit button. Also accessible from Settings > Device > Notification Panel.

7. Check Available Storage Space – You can check the available storage space on your device and see how all the storage is being used in Settings > General > Storage.

8. Check Battery Usage – You can find all the information about the battery from Settings > General > Battery and use to graph to identify apps that are using too much power.

9. Check Data Usage – There’s a nifty little data usage graph that shows you how much data is being used on your device, and which apps are using the most. Located at Settings > Connection > Data Usage.

10. Power Saver Mode – The Galaxy Tab 4 has a power saving mode to help increase battery life. This can be turned on and off from Settings > General > Power Saving Mode.

11. Setup Additional Users – The tablet is designed to allow different users to have individual profiles, and there are even restricted profiles for children with limited access. This is done from Settings > General > Users.

12. Customize Lock Screen – The lock screen is fully customizable. You can change the wallpaper, change the unlock effect, add app shortcuts, change the clock widget, add a password or PIN, and add personalized messages and contact information (in case you lose the tablet). This is all located under Settings > Device > Lock Screen.

13. Turn on Developer Options – A whole bunch of developer options and settings can be turned on by gong to Settings > General > About Device. Tap on the build number seven times to open the developer settings. Only use these if you know what you are doing.

14. Change Wallpapers – You can change the wallpaper image on the homescreen and lock screen by long-pressing on an open area on the homescreen, or by going to Settings > Device > Wallpaper.

15. Change Fonts – Unlike most tablets, the Galaxy Tab lets you change fonts for the entire interface. There’s a list of preloaded fonts that you can choose from, and there’s a huge list of additional fonts that you can purchase for 99 cents each. Font options are located under Settings > Device > Font. You can also change the size of text with this setting as well.

16. Block Notifications – The Galaxy Tab offers a blocking mode located at Settings > Device> Blocking Mode that lets you turn off notifications for a period of time, and can even be set to automatically turn on and off at set times. This works well if you don’t want to be bothered at night, for instance.

17. Battery Percentage – The battery icon in the status bar has a percentage meter that can be turned on and off. Located at Settings > Device > Display.

18. Screensaver – The Galaxy Tab 4 has a screensaver mode for when your device is docked or charging called "daydream". This can be customized and turned on and off under Settings > Device > Display.

19. Change Notifications Sound – You change the sound the device makes when you receive emails and other notifications by going to Settings > Device > Sound. If you don’t want to hear notifications at all you can set it to silent.

20. File Manager – The Galaxy Tab doesn’t come with a proper file manager app. The included My Files app is rather confusing and is slow. Something like ES File Manager works a lot better for locating and managing files on a tablet.

21. Multi Window Mode – When multi window mode is turned on under Settings > Device you can open the list of apps that work in this mode by swiping left from the right edge of the screen, or by holding the back button. Simply drag the app icon to the screen to open. Then repeat to open another app at the same time. Use the blue circle to customize the size of the windows; tap it to bring up additional options. See the video below for more tips.

22. Change Multi Window Apps – Not all apps can be used in the multitasking mode. To change the apps on the list that can be used, tap the two lines at the bottom of the app list, then select edit.

23. Smart Stay – The Galaxy Tab has a feature called Smart Stay that can sense when your eyes are looking at the screen. With this turned on, the screen always stays on for as long as you are looking at it. Can be turned on and off in Settings > Controls.

24. Palm Motion – The Galaxy Tablets have a palm motion setting that lets you capture screen shots by swiping your hand across the screen (see #3). It also can be used to mute and pause media by covering the screen with your palm. Can be turned on and off under Settings > Controls.

25. Connect to Nearby Device – The device can be connected to computers and other devices to share content over Wi-Fi. All the options for this are located in Settings > Connection > Nearby Devices.

26. Recent Apps Button – The recent apps button will bring up a list of apps in use if you tap it once. Hold the recent apps button and it will open the menu for the app you are viewing.

27. S Voice Assistant – There’s a virtual assistant app included that can respond to certain commands like opening a file or launching an app. Tap the home button twice to launch S Voice.

28. PDF Reader Apps – If the built-in PDF app doesn’t have all the features that you want, there are much better options out there; here’s a list of the Best PDF Android apps both free and paid.

29. eReading Apps – The Galaxy Tab 4 comes with the Google Play Books apps for reading ebooks. Below is a list of some additional ereading apps for Android.

30. Remote Access – Under Settings > General > Security you can setup the device so that you can control it remotely if you ever lose it or it is stolen. You can use this feature to lock and track the device, and even delete all your personal data remotely.

31. Create Folders – You can create folders on the homescreen to organize content. Simply long-press on an open space from the homescreen to bring up the menu to add folders.

32. Add Homescreen Windows – You can add more windows to the homescreen by long-pressing and choosing to add a page. You can also accomplish this by holding the recent apps button from the homescreen and selecting the plus screen.

33. Widgets – A number of widgets can be added to the homescreen. Widgets are located in a section of the app drawer. You can add and move widgets simply by long-pressing and dragging them. You can also re-size many widgets by long-pressing and then adjusting the orange lines that appear.

34. Task Manager – The Galaxy tablets come with a built-in task manager that can be accessed from the recent apps list. Just hit the recent apps button and choose task manager.

35. Keyboard Handwriting – Instead of typing letters with the keyboard, you can use your finger to write text and then it will convert it to typed text. With the keyboard open, hold the settings icon button, then select the icon that looks like a T.

36. Voice Typing – Instead of typing out words manually, you can use voice typing to speak aloud what you want to be converted to text. With the keyboard open, hold the settings icon and choose the microphone icon.

37. Select Text & Copy and Paste – When using apps with text, you can select and copy text by long-pressing on the word and then dragging the little arrows. To paste, long-press in any text entry field to bring up the option. A cool thing with Samsung tablets is they have a clipboard that multiple selections can be copied to.

38. Wi-Fi Tip – By default, Wi-Fi is set to be on all the time, even when you are not using the tablet. This is an unnecessarily waste of battery power. To change it so Wi-Fi turns off when the device isn’t in use, go to Settings > Connection > Wi-Fi. There’s three vertical dots in the upper right corner that opens a menu with additional options. Choose advanced, then change it to Never where it says "Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep".

39. GPS Test – The Galaxy Tab 4 comes with GPS built-in. You can test GPS and get a bunch of reading by using this GPS test app.

40. Uninstall Apps – Go to Settings > General > Applications. Choose the app and then select uninstall.

41. Turn Off App Notifications – If you have an individual app that is annoying you with notifications and don’t want to be bothered by it anymore, you can turn off notifications for apps individually if you don’t want to turn off all notifications. Go to Settings > General > Applications. Choose the app then tap on the box for show notifications.

42. Clear Default Apps – If you set an app as the default choice, such as the Chrome web browser, you can clear that by going to Settings > General > Default Applications.

43. Clear Cached Data – If you are running low on memory, you can clear up some space by going to Settings > General > Storage and tap on cached data to clear it.

44. Backup and Restore – Android tablets have the option to back up your data on Google’s servers. And with automatic restore enabled, all the applications and settings will remain if you restore the tablet. For some reason my Tab 4 thought it was my Nexus 7 and automatically restored to its state when I first used it. Located at Settings > General > Backup and Restore.

45. Factory Data Reset – If you ever want to sell your device or give it away, make sure to wipe all your personal data from it first. Located at Settings > General > Backup and Restore > Personal Data.

46. Register to Redeem Perks – Make sure to register your Galaxy Tab 4 with Samsung to receive your free perks, which includes a $25 gift card for Google Play and some free trials.

47. Free eBooks – The Galaxy Tab 4 makes a good ereader. Here’s a list of websites where you can download free ebooks.

48. Free Monthly Kindle eBook – Samsung and Amazon partnered to offer an exclusive Kindle for Samsung app. The main benefit of using it over the regular Kindle for Android app is to get a free ebook per month through Samsung’s Book Deals.

49. Free Library eBooks – Like any Android tablet, the Galaxy Tab supports library ebooks downloaded for free from your local library. You need to install the OverDrive Android app or you can use the Kindle app to read library ebooks.

50. Free eMagazines – Like ebooks, many libraries now offer digital magazines as well. The free magazines are from Zinio and are totally free and have no return dates; you can even download back issues.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Tips and Tricks Video

Filed Under: How To, Tablets Tagged With:

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. PLEASE RESPOND…

    Good tips. I have one issue, which Samsung Live Chat has not been able to resolve. I have figured out thru Developer options how to set unit up to be connected to a PC…works fine. But, do you know if unit is capable of reading an external flash drive? If so, what must be done? I have an adaptor, and my 10.1 tablet AND my S3 phone can read a flash drive, but my new tab 4 7.0 tablet cannot.

  4. SO the galaxy-gifts are only available in the US. Racist Samsung. If i knew this i would rethink before purchase of Tab.

  7. Is there anyway I can lock the screen when a video is playing, I can do it on my galaxy s5 phone. I have a 1 and a half year old and he accidentally touches the screen when it’s not locked and it will pause whatever he is watching thanks

  8. My Galxy Tab has the screen rotation locked off and I can’t turn it on again. The screen is upside down all the time! How do I fix this?

  10. I bought my Galaxy Tab 4 brand new 4 months ago at my local AT&T store and today it has started shutting itself off after about 1 minute although it has 96% battery power and even when it is plugged in. This has happened at least 6 times in 10 minutes, what’s up? I have not dropped it, EVER. I don’t haul it around in a book bag or anything like that, I mostly use it at home on my kitchen table so can’t imagine it’s anything that I’ve accidentally done to it.

  11. Please there must be a way to delete photos from the gallery! Why is there no trash button or delete options? There are many tutorials out there on utube that involve many many steps and involve deleting multiple apps. This is due to the exceptional new syncing involving multiple devices and apps but can result in sharing WRONG photos in very public forums and too much memory consumed by many copies of often duplicate photos that were not wanted in the first place, like the quick shot options that allows one to make mini movies and many pics to choose the VERY BEST shot. There has to be better way! Please thank you for your…

    • Just figured this out today. I have a tab 4 8.0 and it is not mhl compliant. Therefore a micro b USB to hdmi adaptor or cable will not work with it. The tab 4 does perform screen mirroring with other screen mirroring or miracast enabled devices which are connected to your tv. I used a roku 3 and found setup to be straight forward and relatively painless (only had to reconnect mirroring from the tablet settings one additional time. NOTE: neither the roku nor the tablet need to be connected to the Internet for this to work. Your whole tablet screen is mirrored exactly to the tv, including orientation. Any app, movie photo viewed on the tablet appears on the TV screen.

  16. Im having trouble with my 7inch galaxy tab4, I turned it off and I turned it back on but I was pressing the power button and the home button at the same time, when it turned on, the unlock mode changed from patter to password, but I forgot my password, how can I change it back to the pattern? Plz help.

  18. I’m trying to hook up our tablet to the TV . We were able to do it with WiFi and had a movie playing nicely but we could not get sound thru the TV .
    I’ve tried a couple of adapters with an HDMI cord however it will only show files .
    Would you have any suggestions ? TIA

  21. I have turned on the kids mode by accident and now cannot get out of it. It asks me to enter my PIN but I do not gave one. Any suggestions?T

  22. How can I switch on LocalStorage and SessionStorage for Javascript.
    I get access denied Error

  24. Hi. Im trying to install widgets on my lock screen for a galaxy tab 4.0 but i dont see a selection for it. Please help.

  25. My Samsung, Galaxy4 can not be turned on,as I forgot the password. Is there anyway I can get in and change the password?

    • You’re not going to be able to get in and change your password as that would defeat the purpose of having a password. Probably the only thing you can do at this point is restore to factory. Here’s a video:

      Forgot Password Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Hard Reset How To

  26. I have owned a tab4 10.1 since they came out last year. I never received my Google play $. I think this is because i declined emails from Samsung when I registered. I have asked nicely, begged, pleaded and been down right rude about the non receipt to no avail. So… If you purchase one don’t decline their emails until you get what was promised. Over a year and i still don’t have my perks. Never again samsung.

  27. I have a Samsung Galaxy NOOK Tab 4. I have installed a memory card but I can’t seem to get anything to store to it instead of the Nook itself. So my Nook keeps saying that my memory is full. How do I fix this?

    • Bring up Settings/General/Storage. That will tell your where your storage is being used up. Do you have 2 Gig of cached data? Then clear the cache. Tapping “Used Space” will provide additional information. Do you have 4 Gig of apps and games installed? While you can move some of them to the sdcard, the fact is that any tablet with 8 Gig of onboard space is not suited to users who like to install lots of extra apps and games.

      The chief functionality of the eternal sdcard is that you can sideload content to it, be that movies, books, or music. Applications, including games, tend to insist on installing into the regular device storage space.

  28. i have a question, how do you turn of the sound that the tab4 10.1 makes when you first turn the tablet on. its very annoying

    • I have the 7 inch Tab 4 but I assume this would work with the 10 inch model as well.

      Go to Settings/Device/Volume. You’ll be given the option to set the volume for three different areas – music and games, notifications, and system. Set the “system” volume to zero and tap OK.

  29. is it possible to delete some of the home pages. I have moved everything to one page and don’t need the others. they are now blank.

  31. Does anyone know how to turn on haptic feedback for the softkeys? I have a Tab 4 8.0 with Android 4.4.4. I know it has the capability to vibrate… All I can find is the option for sound, not vibration.

  32. I have a question.

    I only have 2 GB of storage space left.
    If I run out of storage space will the tablet freeze up or start running very slow?
    And if you place a Micro SD card will it be added automatically to the system storage space and will downloads then go automatically to the Micro SD card?

  35. how to get settings to come up for a running app. On my Samsung Galaxy s3 I hit lower right button. Specifically am trying to get to setting when Google finance app is running.

  36. Is there any way to repurpose the ‘open apps’ key (i don’t know what to call it; the other besides the ‘back’ key) to an options key?

    For creating folders within the bookmarks menu and such. I’m very tired of not having sortable bookmarks on this thing, and most bookmarks apps are not updated for Firefox’s most recent update.

  38. I would like to know if the tab 4 7 inch supports a micro sd card of 64gb. On the internet they say 32 sd card and some say 64 gb micro sd card.
    Is it true that the tab 4 supports 64 gb micro sd card, if that is the case I will run to the store to buy
    a 64 gb micri ws q

  39. I have a 64gig card in mine, I just formatted the card in FAT32 instead of EXFAT and had no problem using the card.

  41. Hello Nathan
    I have a 60+ mother who is not tech smart (let alone touch smart) in any way other than a PC I got her into using a few years ago. We got her a Sam Tab 4 for Xmas this year. She would like to learn to some things away from her PC on her tablet (taking & uploading pics/selfies to FB etc)
    Can you please direct me to an extremely easy site/page to help her learn her tablet in a very slow and descriptive manner?
    I’ve tried helping her in Skype but I can’t always see the tablet screen to guide her and she is having trouble understanding how it operates differently from her PC and/or what she needs to do (via touch etc) to make things work.
    Thank you

    • Sorry but I don’t know of anywhere like that or keep tabs (pardon the pun) on Galaxy Tab related stuff. This guide is the best I can offer.

  45. How to turn ON / OFF feature when the book cover opened/closed on my samsung galaxy tab 4.7.0 (T231)?

  47. Hi i have downloaded games on my galaxy tab 4 but there are no pictures the screen is pink with different coloured blocks how can i get the pictures of the game on my screen so that i can sed what im doing

    • Sorry but this isn’t a support forum. I don’t even know what you’re talking about so I’m not going to be able to help.