How to turn off mobile data on a Samsung Galaxy S4

In today's world we all seem to use mobile data every single day. Whether we are just browsing the net, checking twitter, uploading pictures to facebook, streaming live video of Japanese TV (yes, yes, I know that's just me!) or using an instant messenger like Skype or Whatsapp.

Now a days however we get plenty of chances to log on to a Wi-fi network, be it our own in our own houses, one we have access to through our service provider or a general one in a restaurant, cafe or hotel. When you can get a Wi-Fi signal it's usually a better (read "faster" and "more stable") connection than you'd get using mobile data so it's advised to turn off your mobile data to save battery power whilst connected to Wi-fi.

With the Samsung Galaxy S2 (and various other Androids) there is actually 2 ways in which a user can turn off their mobile internet:

Method 1-If you drag down the notification bar and scroll across slightly you will get the option of "Mobile data" if you press on this and turn the light off this will turn off mobile data and save the battery. (For reference see above).

Method 2-Alternatively if you hold the power button you will get a "Device options" screen (see the picture to the right) which allows you to turn off "Date network mode" which is actually the same thing.

To turn it back on you can just do every thing again but make sure the light is "on" in the notification panel or the option says "activated".

For most of he time the notification bar method is the easiest and quickest, but for the few occasions where it may be difficult to access the bar, the  "Device options" method may be an easier alternative.

How to change the ordering on the "Notification Panel" on a Samsung Galaxy S4

 Modern day phones are vastly different to the devices that we had in our pockets just 5 or 6 years ago. They've suddenly gone from devices chat and text to full blown mini-computers capable of being used for so many things that's it's pointless to list all the tasks they can do.

With the advancement of what phones can do we've also got to the point of having phones that can do more things than we'll ever need to know about. This is especially true with the recent "super" Androids that have really moved the goal posts with their functionality and uses that many of us will never even know about (honestly if we did a guide about every function on the phone we'd have to spend a month just playing with the handset).

A lot of these new functions can be found in the "notification bar" of the Samsung Galaxy S4 if you drag the bar down and scroll to the right including things like "Air View" and "Air Gesture".

Whilst most people won't use a number of these functions you can very easily re-order them so that the ones you will use will be "first" on the panel whilst the ones you'll never used can be moved the the end.

To change the order of the icons you need to pull the bar down (see picture above) then click the icon in the top right corner (the one with 3 little squares and 2 arrows). After pressing that icon your screen will change to the one opposite with all the icons on. From this screen you can turn on any of the functions (and access their individual settings) though what you need to do to reposition them is to click the little pencil in the corner and go on to the screen below.

From this screen you merely drag them in to the order you want them. Starting with the first icon (top right) to the 20th icon (bottom right).

So for example if you want quick access to your NFC or Wi-Fi hotspot settings you can drag them along and perhaps replace Bluetooth or Screen Rotation (2 I don't tend to use personally) to give you quicker access.

Of course it's just as easy as doing the same steps to set up the phone back to the way it already was so feel free to have a play and find the settings that best suit you.

Note-At the moment it doesn't seem possible to actually delete any icons from the "notification panel" though I'd assume that this will be dealt with in a future update.

How to take a screenshot on a Samsung Galaxy S4

The brand new Samsung Galaxy S4, a phone that was released just a few short weeks ago may well be the next stage in the evolution of the Samsung Galaxy brand of phones but it's also a phone that is true to it's Samsung roots. With this in mind this tip is something many "Samsung fans" may already know, but for knew users this could be help.

A screenshot, as with a computer just takes a shot of your screen exactly as it is as that time, this allows you to show off your homescreens or do guides (like this!) or to troubleshoot an issue.

To take a screenshot on your new Samsung Galaxy S4 you need to go to whatever screen you want a shot of, for the sake of this article I'm using a homescreen (as you can see in the pictures).


When you're on the screen you want you need to press and hold both the "home" and the "lock" buttons at the same time. With in seconds of doing it you should see a message at the top of your screen saying "Saving Screenshot" (see picture).

If this has worked then you'll find the image stored on your phone in a folder called "Screenshots" which should it's self be in a folder called "Pictures".

You'll see this type of screenshots in almost every guide we do on this site due to how how clearly they show the details of the screens and we advise that if you have problems with your Samsung Galaxy S4 you take a screenshot of the issue and email us the picture and we'll try to solve the issue

IR Blaster?

In bygone years a number of mobile phones had an IR blaster on the edge of the handset. This was used back then mainly for file transfers allowing you to to send a picture, for example, to your buddy's phone from yours.

Since then things have changed and IR (Infrared) is no longer seen as a viable option for file transfer due to things like bluetooth (which is much faster), e-mail (which has been helped thanks to increased mobile internet speed) and various other apps (think Dropbox, Whatsapp? and Skypath). Sadly this saw IR blasters being made all but extinct with only a small selection of handsets using IR.

Thankfully IR seems to have made a bit of a comeback in recent years with several phones (notably the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the HTC One X) including them and seeing their uses, not in file transfers but in every day situations.

If you look around your house you will almost certainly have a device that uses "IR", notably your television which uses an Infrared Remote to change the channels. Having just recently noticed my remote is now snapped in two (thanks to my wonderful partner...sigh women!) we're now using my phone to turn over the television. The IR "blaster" works just like a TV remote and with the right apps you'd never need the remote again (great if your family has a remote hog).

Sure it's not ideal but it beats not being able to turn the television over for what reason is a real pain in the backside so this can save you from needing to buy a new TV or getting up and changing the channel manually (do new TV's even let you do that?)

We imagine that the inclusion of "IR Blasters" will become a popular feature over the next few years, especially when you consider that companies like Sony and Samsung also produce TV's which allow them to sell you an in-built remote in their phones for their television sets. A genius move by companies trying to secure cross-product loyalty.

Phones in the bath, a gimmick?

Earlier this year Sony released their new flagship phone the Sony Xperia Z a phone that tries to set a new standard for mobile technology. Whilst it may not be the first ever water proof phone it is by far the most widely available, though the question is "is it a gimmick?"

The big question we've been asked when talking about the phone on various forums is "why would anyone want a water proof phone?" Well the reasons are actually numerous and with it being the phones key selling point we've decided to answer that question in detail.

Firstly the device can be used perfectly well in the rain without the fear of setting off the "water damage" sticker currently on phones. This has been a major issues especially with major phones including Apple's iPhones and some of the Samsung Galaxy series which are really expensive bits of kit to replace (even if you have insurance the process of going through it can be a pain in the backside).
Sure the rain rarely sets off the sticker but it's still a risk and one that needn't be run with the Xperia Z.

Secondly the phone can be used in the bath. I know what you're thinking and no, that's not the only reason (you dirty boys and girls!) for people like me who watch a lot of sport the fact you can use it in the bath means you can relax in the bath with the football, boxing or cricket on the phone, whilst for others you could watch the news, soaps or even a movie in the bath.
Just sit there for a second and think about the possibilities. Silly cat videos from youtube, BBC programs from iPlayer or of course making the most of your Netflix/LoveFilm subscription.
You now have no excuse for missing any program, in fact you can actually watching programs whilst having a bath in preparation for a night out.

Thirdly and possibly the most entertaining (I know, hard to believe) is the fact you can just show off! Just imagine the fun you could have by scaring your mates by dropping it in the sink whilst they are watching and panicking whilst you act all heart broken...then vamoosh still working much to their surprise....

...OK that's a poor reason but the fact you can use it in bath is a huge appealing point for us (yes we're slimy little nerds!) The phone it's self however doesn't rely solely on this gimmick but if you're still wondering what to pick the phone is genuinely top notch, looks fantastic and is cheaper than the iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S4 (arguably the only phone better than the Xperia).

How to change the default home screen on the Samsung Galaxy S3

With the Samsung Galaxy S3 having 7 different home screens a nice hidden feature is that the the user can select which home screen can be used as the "default" home screen.

Firstly let me explain what a "default" home screen actually is. The default" home screen is the one the phone will revert to when you press the phone's "home" button, it's also the screen that new app shortcuts will be added to when you download them.

To change the default screen you will need to go on to any of the home screens and pinch the centre of the screen to change the screen to something like the image at the top. From this screen you will see your 7 home screens with 1 in particular having a little blue home icon in the top right corner (in the top picture it's in the top left screen, which we will call "screen 1").

To change the default screen you merely need to click in the little house icon on which ever screen you would like to become your new default screen. For the sake of this example I've selected the screen on the bottom right corner (or "screen 7"), though you can select any screen there.


Now when you press on the phones home button, from any app or screen you will then be taken to the screen you selected as the home screen (as you can see "screen 7" in the image on the side).

As mentioned above any apps you now install will install their app icon on to your new default home screen (see the icon for "New Gold Minder" on the top line of apps in this second screen shot).

Whilst this is just another way for a person to personalise their phone it's a nice feature and one that some really will make the most of, whilst others will just ignore another feature that they don't need, though it is nice to see that it is available.

Why does my Samsung Galaxy S3 have an "i" ina circle?

Since using your Samsung Galaxy S3 you may have noticed an "i" in a circle with a line through it in the notification bar (as you can see in the screen shot on the left). You may be wondering why it's there, or what happened to make it appear, the answer is simple.

The symbol is the symbol for "no notifications" meaning that at some point you've turned off the notifications on your phone (probably by accident in all honest). To do this you'll have likely pulled down the menu (see the pictures below) and turned off the notifications.

 To get rid of the "i" and turn your notifications back on you need to again pull the menu bar down and click on the "Notification" icon. After pressing this icon, you'll see it light up and your notifications will return to the bar.