Android phone acting weird turning on location downloading apps

If you want to hit the power button and go immediately back to whatever you were doing when your phone went to sleep, simply change the screen lock setting in the Android security menu.

Sometimes it seems like your phone has a mind of its own. You tap on a link and it opens a screen in the IMDB app when you wanted to view it in your browser. You want to edit a Word document in QuickOffice but it opens in the viewer-only version of Documents to Go.

Like Windows, Android associates file types with specific apps to open them, but the mobile OS goes even further by associating links to certain domans with apps. For example, you can have the Newegg app launch when you tap on a link that goes to www. If you don't like the app that opens a particular file type, simply navigate to the app settings menu, select the program you want to unassociate and tap Clear defaults. The next time you try to open that file type, you'll be prompted to choose a new default app.

Typing with your Android phone's default on-screen keyboard can be an exercise in frustration. You keep hitting the wrong keys, you have to change modes every time you need to type a number and the predictive text never guesses the word you're typing.

Even worse, the keyboard is so ugly that you wish you could type without looking. If you don't like your phone or tablet's default keyboard, Android makes it easy to install a better third-party alternative. Searching through the Google Play store, you can find over a dozen keyboards that offer superior predictive text, dedicated number rows and custom skins.

You can even get different keyboard layouts and resizable keyboards. In Gmail, for example, you might choose to receive a noisy alert for important emails and a less obtrusive one for regular updates. Different apps will offer different categories of alerts, so choose Notifications to view them and configure different sounds for each. Jumping immediately from app to app is not, strictly speaking, an Android setting—but it still makes a very useful shortcut.

On Android 8. On Android 11, however, you have no buttons but you can still jump seamlessly between apps. While on an app, make a short swipe up from the bottom of the screen and then to the right to jump directly to the next opened app. You can view emojis on the default Google keyboard for Android by tapping on the emoji button to the left of the space bar.

But did you know you can pull up emojis with different skin colors or genders by pressing and holding on an individual icon? This works on most emojis depicting people or body parts, such as a thumbs up. To do this, open Settings, choose About phone , then tap Emergency information.

You can provide details like allergies and organ donor status, as well as emergency contacts. Using only your clumsy fingers, you probably have a hard time highlighting specific sections of text. Launch any app where you can write and edit text, and tap in a text box to pull up the keyboard on screen. Then, instead of moving the cursor within the text box itself, place your finger on the space bar. Tap and drag left or right on the spacebar to move the text-editing cursor in the same direction.

Depending on the make and model of your phone, you may see different options listed here. Play around with them to find the color scheme that works best for you. But what if you want to clear those distractions now, but revisit them later, when you have time to deal with them properly? Snoozing notifications is a fantastically useful feature only available on phones that run Android 8. Scroll down, tap on Advanced and turn on the toggle switch next to Allow notification snoozing.

Once activated, the feature will let you drag any notification to the right, and a clock icon will appear. Note, however, tapping into a cell phone is not always a bad thing. Recording or listening to phone conversations could be legal under certain circumstances. Have you ever experienced hearing noises in the background while on a phone call? In most cases, this could be due to bad reception.

Beware as excessive background noise during phone calls could be caused by phone tapping. Bugged cell phones produce continuous or consistent sounds triggered by the unauthorized interference of third parties.

The noise you hear may vary but it typically involves clicking or scratching sounds, a static or choppy line, and echoes or feedback of your voice. Does your phone sometimes initiate activities on its own? Tapping a cell phone often means hacking into the device. So, whoever initiated the malicious act has gained remote access or control over your mobile device.

Strange activities could indicate the hacker has taken full control of it. They seek to invade sensitive applications like online banking or social networking platforms. On the other hand, strange activities could merely be adverse effects of installing tracking tools or monitoring programs. Are you receiving random text messages from unsaved or unrecognized numbers?

When hackers tap cell phones, they program a series of codes to run from their remote or cloud-based servers. For some algorithms, the codes need to be sent to the target device first to activate the program or to enable the succeeding commands.

In some instances, codes being randomly sent via text could also be an adverse effect of such programs. Regardless, these messages are usually sent from unknown or suspicious numbers and contain random numbers, alphanumeric keys, or nonsensical messages. A sudden drop in battery percentage could also be triggered by phone tapping. A quick and easy way of tapping cell phones is through a Bluetooth connection. This is true if the hacker tends to be in public areas like a coffee shop, shopping mall, restaurant, or gym.

Cybercriminals can easily intercept the signal and tap your phone, so be sure to turn off your Bluetooth when not utilizing it. Look through your phone as often as possible — from the installed apps to the stored files to the saved photos or videos.

Regularly go through each folder and app to ensure there are no unauthorized activities. In , about 25, malware apps were uploaded to Google Play. If you use your smartphone for work, you need to tell your company if you think your phone might have been hacked. Plus, you could be protecting yourself because any bad actions taken against your company through your phone could look like they came from you!

If your employer is a Leapfrog client, please contact our IT Support Center so we can troubleshoot for you. Menu Contact. Malware uses battery power to do all sorts of things, from redirecting your search traffic to messing with your data to sending spam. Check your iPhone or Android to see which apps are using up the most energy.

Does the usage make sense based on your habits? Too much data usage. Streaming apps like Netflix use a ton of data. Check your cellular data on your Android or iPhone. Too much data stored on your phone.