While Apple draws many enterprise users, Android still dominates worldwide device market share, commanding nearly 88% of the market in late 2016, compared to Apple’s 12%. These devices are also seeing increasing use among business professionals, with flagship phones like the Google Pixel gaining traction in the workplace.
Here are 10 TechRepublic articles from contributing writer Jack Wallen with Android tips that will help business users be more effective at work.
1. How to migrate all of your Android contacts to Google
Users with multiple Android devices can see all of their Google contacts by linking those devices with their Google account. However, contacts located on a phone’s local storage rather than the Google cloud will not be accessible to other devices. Here, in TechRepublic’s most popular Android-related story, Wallen explains how to migrate your contacts from the local storage to your Google account in just two steps.
2. Easily forward calls and SMS on Android phones
The Android platform offers both free and inexpensive applications to help users forward their phone calls and SMS messages from one phone to another to help make your mobile life more efficient. In this article, Wallen describes two simple to use apps for accomplishing this task.
SEE: Android Design: Learn UX, UI & Android Marshmallow (TechRepublic Academy)
3. Pro tip: How to unroot your Android device so you can update
If you want to upgrade the firmware on your rooted device, you can unroot the device with an app rather than bothering with Kies of Odin. Here, Wallen explains how to unroot and update your phone.
4. Pro tip: Reset your Android home screen back to the default
Some Android home screen applications offer features that others do not, Wallen explains. When a new home screen is installed, Android asks whether you want to run it “Just once” or “Always,” and if you select “Always,” that home screen becomes your default. In this article, Wallen describes how to change it back to the default screen, regardless of device type.
5. Migrate Outlook contacts to your Android phone
Business users cannot sync their Android devices to Outlook without using third-party software, unless they are on Exchange. Here, Wallen walks through the steps for migrating your Outlook contacts to your Android phone if you’re using IMAP or POP3.
6. Move Google Authenticator from one Android device to another
The Google Authenticator is an app used to generate keys that serve in the authentication process for any Google App or service, and can be installed on your phone for use in two-step authentication. But if you’ve recently changed to a new Android device, you need to move your Google Authenticator to that new piece of hardware. In this article, Wallen takes you through the necessary steps to best protect your information.
7. Troubleshoot Contacts and Calendar sync between Android and Exchange
Business users with Android smartphones often have problems with Exchange contacts and calendars not syncing, according to Wallen. And this can be frustrating and difficult to manage, especially since Android devices exist across different provider platforms and different installations of Exchange. Here, Wallen walks through some troubleshooting tips for syncing Exchange contacts and calendars to Android smartphones.
SEE: Android Nougat: The smart person’s guide
8. Quick Tip: Reset Android default apps
On Android devices, it’s easy to select a new app as a default, but not always easy to return to the device’s original settings. Here, Wallen explains how to reset original default apps on Android devices.
9. Transfer files between your Android tablet and PC using Wi-Fi
Many business users need to transfer files back and forth between a PC and a tablet. The most effective way to do this, according to Wallen, is using Wi-Fi and a browser via the WiFi File Transfer app on your tablet. “With a wireless connection, you can transfer files from any machine (if it’s on the same network),” Wallen writes. “You can transfer from multiple machines and do so with the ease of a very well designed web-based interface.”
10. How to create a full backup of your Android device without root
For enterprise users, sometimes backing up a smartphone or tablet isn’t enough, especially when there are a number of the same devices that need to be quickly deployed, Wallen writes. Here, he explains how to do a full-blown backup of devices with a single command using the Android Software Developer Kit (SDK).
