The Nexus 7 may have been Google’s response to the Kindle Fire, and they have obviously made some improvements with other tablet models since then, but everything from the camera to the stunning resolution made me actually feel good about spending my money on a 7-inch tablet. We’ve talked about the best accessories and best cases for the Nexus 7 in the past, but now it’s time for us to explore how you can turn your device into something truly special. The Nexus 7 holds various hidden gems, and I’m here to help you uncover them. Let’s take a look at the best tips, tricks and hacks for Nexus 7.
1. Set Widgets in Lock Screen on the Nexus 7 Tip
I hate having to unlock my phone to check my emails. To save my time I set a mail widget on my lock screen. You can also do this with your Nexus 7. Just open up your device, swipe from the edge of the screen and tap on the + icon. A list will appear to you with many widgets. You can select any one of them like mails, music player and more.
2. Change the Font Size on Nexus 7 Tip
If you are facing some problems reading the content on your Nexus 7 just increase the font size. Go to Settings, Display, Font Size then select the font size that suits you. This will change the font size on your entire Nexus 7.
3. Launch Google Now on Nexus 7 Trick
Searching is now easier with your Nexus 7, since you can search with your voice. Google Now is just like Siri, since you can ask it about the weather, and make calls and text just by saying it to your Nexus 7. To activate Google Now just tap and hold the Home key in the navigation bar and slide up when the Google button appears.
4. Open the Notification Panel and Quick Settings Panel on your Nexus 7 Hack
Nexus 7 has a big screen with a huge resolution. With this resolution the normal notification panel is no longer available for this tablet. The notification panel is separated from the quick settings panel. When you want to open the notifications panel swipe your finger from the left half area of the status bar. To open the quick settings panel swipe from the right half part of the status bar.
5. Face Lock on Nexus 7 Tip
You can now use your face to unlock your device. Nexus uses your face’s geometry as your password. To enable this go to Settings, Security, Screen Lock, Face Lock then follow the instructions on-screen to setup Face Lock on your Nexus 7 Caution: “Security level of Face Lock is Medium” means your phone is not strongly secured with this Face Lock. Anyone can unlock your phone by just showing your photo to the device.
6. Take a Screenshot with your Nexus 7 Tip
Taking a screenshot with your Nexus 7 is rather simple. Click and Hold the volume down and power key at the same time. After some time you will hear a beep. Now you can share the screenshot with your friends.
7. Change the Wallpaper on Nexus 7 Tip
To change the wallpaper on your Nexus 7 just tap and hold anywhere on the Home screen. A list will appear with many options. Select the Wallpaper option, then select Gallery or Default Wallpapers (your choice). Now choose the picture you want to set as your wallpaper, crop the wallpaper with the help of the blue dots and click on OK. There’s another way of changing a wallpaper: Go to Settings > Display > Wallpaper then select the image you want to set as wallpaper.
8. Get the Android L Keyboard on your Nexus 7 Hack
If you don’t like the default keyboard then you can try the new Android L keyboard with material design. Click on the Google Play link below to download the Lollipop Keyboard L Pro app. To set this default keyboard go to Settings > Language > Input and select Android L keyboard as your default keyboard.
9. Update your Nexus 7
Your Nexus 7 comes with Android Jellybean, but you can update your phone to improve your Nexus 7’s user interface and performance. To update your Nexus go to Settings > About Tablet > Update.
10. Set Maze Lock on your Nexus 7
I don’t like when my friends or cousins peep into my phone, so I always set up the maze lock to make it a little harder for them. To set Maze Lock on your Nexus 7 go to Settings > Security > Screen Lock > Pattern then follow the instructions on-screen.
11. Side Load Apps on Nexus 7 Hack
Since Nexus is Google’s product, it is obvious that it comes with the Play Store, but some useful apps are not available on the app store. Sometimes you have to download and install an app manually, like with like Tube Mate or WhatsApp+. To install these types of apps go to Settings > Security and check the Unknown Resources box. After this you can download and install any app manually.
12. Taking Panoramic (Wider) Shots from your Nexus 7’s Camera Tip
When was the last time you tried to take a family photo and you couldn’t fit everyone in? A panoramic photo can help you out with this, because it basically just gives you a wider photo. To do this, launch the camera, click on the bottom-left camera icon and tap on the panorama icon. Now you are in Panorama mode. Take the picture you want after that. To take pictures click the shutter button and move your phone to the right slowly. Click the shutter button again to generate the panoramic shot.
13. Take a 360 Degree Panoramic Shot with your Nexus 7’s Camera Tip
Sometimes a regular panoramic picture doesn’t cut it. You might be sitting in between a beautiful mountain range in Switzerland and you really want to get a 360 degree view of the mountains around you. To start, launch the camera app and tap on the bottom-left camera icon. Click on the circle icon to bring yourself to the 360 degree mode. Now click on the shutter button and move your phone all the way around until the dark part of the screen is covered with images. Try not to walk around or it will damage the entire shot. Stay in one position and just turn at that single point.
14. Speed up your Nexus 7’s Browser Hack
If you use your Nexus’s browser and you are experiencing some lag in your surfing, don’t blame your mobile operator. This problem may occur because of the browser cache saving old website instances. The easiest way to omprove this is to clear the cache. Go to Settings, Apps, Manage Apps, Browser app and tap on the Clear Cache button.
15. Set up an E-mail Account on your Nexus 7
It’s pretty awesome when you can start getting email notifications on your Nexus 7. You no longer have to open up your computer and you can send out emails while on the train or bus. To set up an email account go to Settings, tap on Add Account and follow the on-screen instructions.
16. Airplane Mode on Nexus 7
The last thing you want to do is screw up a plane’s flight system when you are riding on that flight. To turn on Airplane mode you just have to press and hold the power key, then a popup will open. Click on the Airplane mode option. Turning airplane mode on will shut off all notifications and internet access.
17. Check your Nexus 7’s Battery Usage Tip
If you find that your Nexus 7’s battery is draining too quick, you might need to change some things up. Pull down the tiles bar and click on the battery icon. Here you can see how much battery each app is consuming. Feel free to shut down some of these apps or use one of the best battery saver apps.
18. Adjust the Brightness on Your Nexus 7 Tip
Having trouble reading on your tablet? It might be the brightness. Go to Settings > Display and adjust the brightness with the slider provided, You can also set the brightness of your Nexus 7 to Auto by checking the Auto checkbox.
19. Connect a Pen Drive to Your Nexus 7 Trick
If you want to transfer any movie or any large file from your PC to your Nexus then you have to connect your Device to a PC with a USB cable. It’s a pain in the butt, so now you can connect a pen drive to your Nexus 7 with a USB OTG cable. Connect your USB OTG cable to the Nexus 7, and connect the pen drive to the other end. You can now transfer your files with help from your File Explorer.
20. Activate Silent Mode on Nexus 7 Tip
Press and hold the volume down key. After some time your phone will vibrate. Now your Nexus 7 is in silent mode so you don’t disrupt any meetings.
21. Use Super Beam to Share Files Trick
It’s a pain to transfer huge movie files. Since the Nexus 7 comes with NFC you really don’t have to worry about this. Super Beam uses the NFC feature to share huge files. Download the Super Beam app below. Open it and select the files to share and share them with your friends. Note: Your friends also need NFC for this to work.
22. Display an Owner Message on Your Lock Screen Tip
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could tell someone your contact info if you left your device at work or at a restaurant? You can actually set this up with an owner message on the lock screen. Go to Settings > Owner Info and check the Show on lock screen checkbox.
23. Change Fonts on your Nexus 7 Tip
You can change your font to whatever you want on the Nexus 7. To do this you have to install ROM Toolbox from the button below. Open the app, go to the Interface tab, tap on Font Installer and select any font you want.
24. Save your Documents in the Cloud
Need to save docs in the cloud? Download Google Drive from the button below. This helps you access items from anywhere and improves your storage space.
25. Recent Apps on Nexus 7 Tip
Want to switch between your recent apps? Open any app and press on the Recent Apps key to scroll around all the other apps that are currently open on your device.
26. Enable Developer Options on Your Nexus 7 Hack
Developer options is useful when you want to root your device. To enable developer options go to Settings, About tablet and tap on Build Number rapidly 6 to 7 times. A notification will appear that says “You became a developer.” Now you can see developer options in the settings.
27. Save Location on Google Maps to Use it Offline Hack
Do you need to save your home address to use it offline later? Open Maps, search a location, open options, tap on Make Available Offline and tap on Save and your location will be saved for Offline use.
28. Zoom In On Your Nexus 7’s Screen Trick
If you have any difficulty reading your Nexus 7 then you can zoom in. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Magnification Gestures and enable the feature.
29. Edit your Pics Tip on Nexus 7
Need to crop or adjust a quick photo? Open the Gallery app, select the desired pic and click the button on the bottom left corner. This is photo editing mode. You can edit your pics here.
30. Manage Multiple Accounts Hack on Nexus 7
If you share your Nexus 7 and the other person always screws up the phone you can create different accounts. You can also make guest accounts so that no one can access your private items. To activate this guest account go to Settings, Users, then tap on Add new. Go through all the instructions after that.
31. Make Calls with your Nexus 7 Hack
Most people can’t make calls from the Nexus 7, but if you have wireless access you can just make a voice or video call through Skype. Install it below.
32. Lock your Nexus 7’s Orientation
Nexus 7 works in both Landscape and Portrait modes. What if you want to lock one of these modes? Open the notification panel, tap on the small lock icon next to the clock. To unlock this, tap on that tiny lock icon again.
33. Charge your Nexus 7 Wirelessly Trick
If you plan on going camping you may not have a place to charge your device. Consider buying the Anker Wireless Solar Charging Unit. There are plenty of other wireless charging devices, and you can also check out some other cool accessories for the Nexus 7 here.
34. Make Notes and Lists with Google Keep
Use Google Keep to save all your lists and notes to the cloud. To do this, download the Google Keep app, open it and click the Add Note button.
35. Installing Flash to your Nexus 7 Trick
If you are addicted to online flash games and spend hours playing them on your PC, you can also do it on your Nexus 7. Just by installing the Photon Flash Player. After installation you can play online flash games on your Nexus.
36. Change Sound Levels on your Nexus 7 Tip
If notification sounds annoy you, go to Settings > Sounds > Volume. Change around the sliders that come up to modify sound levels.
37. Quickly Turn On/Off Bluetooth Tip
There’s a short way to turn on/off your Bluetooth. Pulldown your quick settings panel and click the Bluetooth icon.
38. Quickly Turn On/Off Wi-Fi
There’s also a quick way to turn on/off your Wi-Fi. Pulldown your quick settings panel and tap on the Wi-Fi icon.
39. Expand Notifications Trick on Nexus 7
Go to the notification bar, perform a “pinch-out” gesture and you can see the full notification. This is much better than opening up an app to see the notification.
40. Disable Notifications on any Specific App Hack
Do you hate getting a notification from one particular app? Go to Settings > Apps > Manage Apps. Select the desired app and uncheck the Show Notifications box.
41. Uninstall Any Application
Did you download too many apps? Get rid of some by going to your homescreen. Tap and hold on any useless app and drag it to the trash area at the top of the screen.
42. Disable Auto-Sync
Auto-syncing with Facebook and Google + takes up lots of data. Go to Settings, tap on a specific account (Google or Facebook) and click on Accounts again. From here you can uncheck the feature you want to disable.
43. Make a Folder on Nexus 7 Tip
To make a folder, tap and hold any shortcut and drag it to the top of any other shortcut on your homescreen. This combines both apps into a folder. Feel free to name it whatever you want.
44. Play With the Easter Egg Hidden On Your Nexus 7 Trick
Easter Egg is basically a silly jellybeans game you can play with. To access Easter Egg go to Settings > About, then tap rapidly 4 to 5 times on the Android version. A screen with a picture of a Jellybean will be displayed after that. Tap and hold on that screen to access the floating jellybeans game.
45. Put Widgets on the Home Screen
To put a widget on your device’s homescreen go to the Apps button, click on the Widget tab and tap and hold any widget. As you hold the widget you can drop it anywhere on your homescreen and drop it and resize it.
Conclusion:
That’s it for making your friends jealous with your Nexus 7 knowledge! Feel free to install custom ROMs on your Nexus 7 if you want to further improve the device’s interface. Let me know in the comments if you have any questions about the best tips, tricks and hacks for Nexus 7.
