The lock screen is your gateway to your phone. In its simplest form, you can access your notifications, take action on them, view date, time, and battery information on it, among other things. Apart from that, you can use your lock screen to its full potential by following the tips mentioned here. Let’s check the lock screen tips on Android.
1. Change Lock Screen Type
As the name suggests, the primary purpose of the lock screen is to provide security to your phone by locking it. All phones offer three types of locks — pattern, PIN, and password. Choose the one that you like. Newer phones also offer fingerprint authentication and face recognition locks. To change the lock type, go to phone Settings > Security > Screen lock. Change the lock mode type. On Samsung phones, go to Settings > Lock screen > Screen lock type. On some phones, you will find it in Settings > Display > Lock screen. If it’s not present in any of those settings, use the search at the top of the settings to look for lock screen type.
2. Disable Lock Screen
In case you don’t like the lock screen, you can disable it by choosing None in the lock screen type. You can also use it without any lock mode by choosing Swipe. When you do so, you will have to swipe on the lock screen to open it. As evident, anyone having access to your phone can view its content.
3. Set Different Wallpaper from Home Screen
If you thought your home and lock screen wallpaper had to be the same, you are in for a surprise. All Android phones let you set a different wallpaper for the lock screen. There are two methods to do that.
From Settings
Go to phone Settings > Display > Wallpaper. On some phones, you will find the wallpaper setting directly under Settings. Tap on it. Open the photo that you want to keep as your wallpaper and tap on Set Wallpaper. Choose Lock screen if you want to set it as a wallpaper for lock screen only.
From the Gallery App
Most of the gallery apps on Android let you set a photo as your wallpaper. Launch the photo in the gallery app and use Set as from the available options. Choose Wallpaper followed by Lock screen from the pop-up menu.
4. Add Message on Lock Screen
The content on the lock screen keeps changing because it’s mostly from notifications. In case you want to set a message or a text of your own choice on the lock screen, you can do that. That comes quite handy if you forget your phone somewhere, and a good-hearted soul finds it. Typically, if your phone is locked, they wouldn’t be able to know about the owner of the phone. But if you have kept your contact information such as email id or phone number as a message on the lock screen, they can find you easily. To set a lock screen message, go to Settings > Display > Lock screen display (check under Advanced) > Lock screen message. On Samsung phones, go to Settings > Lock screen > Contact information.
5. Add Users from Lock Screen
Most of the Android phones, other than the Samsung made, support multi-user accounts. With this feature, each user has a separate space on your phone. To add or switch users, one has to go to Users Settings typically and then add a user. But there exists a setting that lets you add users from the lock screen directly. To enable this setting, go to Settings > Display > Lock screen display (check under Advanced) > Add users from lock screen. Once enabled, you will find the user icon above the quick settings. Tap on it to view other users.
6. Disable Notification Content
Even if your device is locked, your notifications show up on the lock screen. While some people prefer it that way as one doesn’t have to unlock the phone to dismiss or view a notification, others loathe it due to privacy reasons. Fortunately, you can choose to show all the notification content or hide it. For that, go to Settings > Display > Lock screen display > Lock screen. Choose the required option. On Samsung phones, go to Settings > Lock screen > Notifications. Enable the toggle for Hide content if you don’t want to show notifications on the lock screen. You can also choose the notification style.
7. Automatically Unlock Device
Android phones have an exiting feature where your phone stays unlocked when it meets certain conditions. For instance, the lock will be disabled when you are at your home or when the phone is in your hand. This feature is called Smart lock. To use it, go to Settings > Security > Smart Lock. Enter your existing lock code and then choose the smart lock mode. In case the smart lock doesn’t work on your phone, try these fixes.
8. Customize Lock Screen with Third-Party Apps
Other than the built-in functions for lock screen, you can customize it further using third-party apps. You can apply themes, change notification style, add more content using these apps. Some of the good lock screen customization apps are:
Hi LockerCM LockerAcDisplay
9. Bonus Tips for Samsung Users
Here are some special customization tips for Samsung users:
Change Lock Screen Clock Style
Almost every user checks time on their phone’s lock screen. That’s why Samsung offers the ability to customize the lock screen clock style. For that, go to Settings > Lock screen > Clock style. Select your clock type and customize the color.
Enable Lock Screen Stories
Want to see an informative lock screen with a different picture every time you unlock your phone? Say hi to lock screen stories. To enable them, go to Settings > Lock screen > Lockscreen stories.
Bad Times
With the arrival of authentication modes like fingerprint sensor and face recognition, our interaction with the lock screen has reduced. The features like always-on display have also taken away the limelight of the lock screen. Whatever remains of it is still customizable in the ways mentioned above. Do you know of any other way to customize the lock screen on Android? Let us know in the comments below. Next up: Is Google Assistant bothering you on the lock screen? Know how to disable it on the lock screen on Android.
