Wanem Online Guide: Android

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How to Update Your Android Version on Mobile Phone

Wanem Club October 15, 2017

The Open Handset Alliance (OHA), a consortium that includes technology companies like Google, Texas Instrument, Motorola, Qualcomm, Samsung, and others has committed itself to creating unrestricted standards for cell phones and other mobile devices. Android is the result of this, a Linux-based mobile phone operating system, and OHA’s first product.

This software was released with an open source license by Google in 2008. Since then, Android is rapidly gaining traction in the cell phone marketplace, primarily due to the revolutionary open source development kit that enabled volumes of applications to become available to run on it.

If you’re the owner of an Android-powered smartphone, updates to your phone’s OS occur over the air, also called OTA. Android has the ability to receive updated software as it becomes available. What this comes down to is that you can prompt an install to happen over your cellphone provider’s data network, instead of having to connect your phone to a PC. Doing updates in this manner leaves you free to update your phone’s operating system no matter where you are. It takes only a few simple steps to learn how to update your Android smartphone:

Instructions

Press the “Menu” button on your Android phone and tap “Settings” to open the “Settings” menu.

Within the “Settings” menu, scroll down to the last option, “About phone,” and tap on it. This will display the version number and build number of Android that is currently running on the phone.

Tap on “System updates.” If an update to the Android operating system is available, the phone will automatically download and install it. If there are no updates available, the screen will say, “Your system is currently up to date.”

Automatic Android Updates

As mentioned above one of the features of Android is that it can receive updated software right when it becomes available. This update feature runs in the background, ready to accept updates as they are released. Because there are so many Android based phones in use, not all of them receive updates to the Android operating system at the same time. Users of Android phones can either wait until updates become available on their phone, or they can manually check for Android updates. This function can be compared to the Windows Update feature found in Windows that downloads updates and asks you for permission when they are ready to install.

If the device is left to itself, the Android-based phone will place a notification on the phone’s home screen and prompt for confirmation to install. Once the updates are accepted, the user can go to device information to confirm that the latest version of Android is now on the phone.

Shortcut

An application available called AnyCut can help simplify the update process by creating a shortcut to “Device info.”

Install AnyCut by going to Android Market, and then touch “Search” and type in “AnyCut.”

Create a shortcut on the phone’s desktop.

Choose “AnyCut” from the list and choose “Device Info” as the “Activity.”

Scroll to the end of the list and press “Check for updates.”

Once the process is finished, exit to the home screen where you will be prompted to install the update.

One of the best features of the Android mobile phone operating system platform is its ability to receive updates as they become available. Also, there is a security advantage to Android updates which should be noted. As soon as vulnerabilities are detected, developers are able to correct them and distribute them automatically to the phones to protect users from damage.

How to Update Your Android Version on Mobile Phone

Reviewed by Wanem Club on October 15, 2017 Rating: 5

Avoid malware on Android

Wanem Club October 11, 2017

Even though many people don't really think about it, Android smartphones are basically miniaturized computers, which means that they're just as vulnerable to attacks and virus infections. There's a lot of important data saved on your mobile device such as contact numbers, social media accounts and, nowadays, a lot of financial information, so you should really do everything you can to keep it safe. Here's a short guide showing you how to avoid malware on Android.

Staying safe from infections

Fortunately, the Android platform is designed to be as safe as possible, so as long as you stick to the following guidelines, you should be fine:

Only download applications from the Play store. Google checks every app before allowing it on the marketplace, so everything is pretty safe. APK Mirror is also generally a safe website, but there have been a few exceptions.
Whenever a security flaw is discovered, Google does its best to patch it, so make sure that you always keep the operating system up-to-date.
When installing apps, pay attention to the name of the developer so that you don't get a copycat version, check the reviews to see what others are saying and look at the permissions that it's requesting.
Go to your phone's security settings and disallow the installation of apps from unknown sources.
Don't keep the WiFi on permanently and only connect to networks you can trust.
Install a security application.

Knowing if you've been infected

The signs of infection are pretty much the same as on a PC. If the phone starts behaving erratically, becoming unresponsive and taking very long to answer your commands, there's a big chance it has been infected. Additionally, in case a malware has made itself at home, your battery should also be draining quicker than usual. Install a reliable antivirus app to make sure. Lastly, if an excessive amount of ad banners start invading your screen constantly getting in your way, you've been infected with adware.

Getting rid of malware

In case you manage to figure out which app has infected your phone, removing the infection is not very difficult. If you're dealing with unknown malware look for apps that you've installed in the same period as when your phone started showing signs of infection. If ads are the problem and you're using Android 6.0 or newer, simply go to Settings -> Applications and look through the apps that can Appear on Top or can Draw over Apps to identify the culprit.

Once you know which app is causing your problems, simply go to Settings -> Applications and uninstall it from there. If it doesn't allow you to do so, go to your security settings, open the Device Managermenu and if you see the app's name in that list, disable it. Lastly, if you're still having difficulties, restart your phone in safe mode and uninstall the application that way.

Avoid malware on Android

Reviewed by Wanem Club on October 11, 2017 Rating: 5

Best ways to create ringtones on your Android smartphone

Wanem Club October 11, 2017

Having a cool-looking phone, an eye-catching case or an awesome wallpaper are all decent ways of drawing attention, but nothing makes your phone stand out more than a custom ringtone, one that represents you and the music that you like. Unfortunately, you don't always have a PC at hand, and in case you don't want to use the whole song, here are some of the best tool to help you create ringtones directly from your Android-powered smartphone.

Ringtone Maker

As far as I'm concerned one of the best Android apps in its field, Ringtone Maker doesn't excel through design or uniqueness, but it's easy to use and effective and that's actually what most people are looking for. This tool will automatically find any audio file on your phone, then allow you to make a ringtone out of it by tapping the downwards-facing arrow next to the name and selecting the "Edit" option. Next you will have to highlight the fragment that you want (the GUI makes this process very easy), and press the button that looks like an old floppy disk to save your creation. What's really cool is that the app saves your files directly in the phone's ringtones folder and it offers to make your freshly created file your default ringtone or the ringtone for a specific contact. Lastly, you can also easily share the ringtones that you make with your friends.

Ringtonium LITE

Ringtonium LITE is another effective solution for your ringtone-creation needs. What I really like about this app is that it offers hundreds of popular songs for free, which you can then use to create your own ringtone. Besides being user-friendly, this tool also offers one of the most precise cutting processes on the market. Furthermore, the application allows you to add special sound effects to the ringtones that you create and you can even use the microphone embedded in your phone to record your own content.

Ringdroid

Even though I don't actually like this app that much, Ringdroid, is one of the most popular tools for making ringtones, so I feel like I have to include it in this list. The application will enable you to create ringtones, alarms and notification sounds from the songs on your device or by recording your own voice. Furthermore, just like Ringtone Maker, Ringdroid allows you to directly assign the ringtones that you create to a specific contact. Unfortunately, this app hasn't been updated in a while and although it works on newer operating system like Lollipop or Marshmallow, it's not exactly designed for them, so don't expect anything spectacular.

MP3 Cutter and Ringtone Maker

The last app on our list, MP3 Cutter and Ringtone Maker can work with MP3, WAV ,AAC, MP4, 3GPP or AMR files, allowing you to cut them and turn them into ringtones. Probably the best thing about this tool is that it offers a neat design, which doesn't only make it easy to use but also quite visually pleasing. As far as additional advantages go, the app allows you to create ringtones by recording your voice and lets you set your creations as the main ringtone or the ringtone for a specific contact directly from its interface.