Samsung is the world's largest Android phone maker, but that doesn't mean these phones are perfect out of the box. Actually, most of these phones have various annoyances at first; here's how to fix many of them.
Note: We are using a Galaxy S9 here, but the same rules should apply to most modern Galaxy devices.
Remove each and every bloatware
From the first moment, almost all Samsung phones come with a lot of extra junk installed. Some may be from your provider, others may be from Samsung. Although you should have the option to install or not the Samsung apps throughout the setup procedure, these can be easily removed if you decide later that you don't need them.
To start deleting bloatware on your phone, lower the notification shade and tap on the gear icon in the upper right corner. In the Settings menu, tap option “Applications”.
In the Applications menu, tap any app you want to get rid of. There is probably one of these two options here: Uninstall or Deactivate. While the former removes the app from your phone, the second simply puts it in a kind of mode “inactive”. It will not show up in the app drawer and you will not receive notifications from it. To all effects, It is gone.
Having said this, some system apps cannot be deleted or disabled; this is generally true for those that are a central part of the system, como Bixby Vision. Since it is part of a larger application tool, Bixby, disabling it would interrupt other functions, so Samsung does not allow it to be disabled.
Get rid of Bixby (or reassign the button)
If you are using a modern Galaxy phone that has a Bixby button, like the S9 or the Note 8, as an example, it is very likely that you really do not want it (or need it).
Fortunately, you can turn off bixby. Samsung doesn't include a simple push-and-disable button for Bixby, it's a multi-stop procedure. Fortunately, we have a complete tutorial on how to turn off Bixby.
RELATED: Samsung's Bixby sucks. Here's how to turn it off.
The point is that, with Bixby off, you have this superfluous button on the side of your phone. If you want to use that button, can reassign it. This is not a feature that Samsung natively supports, so you will need a third party app for this. One more time, we have a complete explanatory and a tutorial, so check it out if you are interested in getting more from the Bixby button.
RELATED: How to remap the Bixby button (without rooting)
Disable Galaxy Apps notifications
It may not happen right away, but eventually Samsung's own app store, Galaxy Apps, it will probably start to drive you crazy with notifications. To get rid of these (or stop them before they start), you will need to disable notifications from Galaxy Apps.
First, open the Galaxy Apps store (it's in the Samsung folder if you're using the action launcher) and then tap the three-dot menu button in the upper right corner. In the drop-down menu, choose the command “Setting”.
On the Settings page, select Notifications. On the app notifications page, slide the lever of “General notifications” to the off position.
No more annoying notifications for you!
Disable border panels
From S7 Edge, Samsung has focused on the "Edge Panels", small menus on the side of the screen that add functionality. The thing is, if you don't use the edge panels, they just get in the way.
Fortunately, you can turn them off. Go to Settings> Display> Edge Screen, and then tap the switch “Edge panels” to turn them off.
Personalize (or disable) screen always on
Always-on displays are a great way to get information at a glance without having a major impact on battery life. On any Galaxy phone that includes Always On Display, you can modify it to make it even more useful.
To customize this function, Head to Settings> Lock Screen & Security> Always on Display. Here, you can customize the schedule when Always On Display is enabled (so it doesn't distract at night), the brightness level and what content to display.
To go one step further, Head to Settings> Lock Screen and Security> Clock and FaceWidgets. Here, can change watch style, as well as the widgets that appear on the Always On screen, that for some reason, Samsung calls “FaceWidgets”.
If it's not on the always-on screen, you can also deactivate it by sliding the toggle next to the always-on screen in the Settings> Lock screen and security menu.
Set the navigation bar in the layout “Right”
Ask any Android purist and they'll tell you: Back-Home-Recents is the right layout for the navigation bar. If it comes from a standard android mobile (or many others), Recent-Start-Back layout can be jarring: muscle memory will spoil it many times.
The good news is that you can change it. Since Samsung in conclusion dropped that silly home button with the S8 and moved to on-screen buttons, they are customizable. Head to Settings> Display> Navigation bar> Button layout to fix it.
Make it feel more like stock Android
Well, This is a little more subjective than the others. If you want to use a Samsung phone, but prefer the stock Android feel, can make that happen.
There are some steps for this procedure: change launcher, use custom themes, switch to all google apps and more. We have a detailed guide to walk you through all the steps to get a more equivalent feel to your Galaxy phone., so I suggest you check it out. The best part is that you can select the changes you make; not an all or nothing kind.
RELATED: How To Make Your Samsung Galaxy Phone Feel More Like Android Stock
