New to Android: Need help!

[utksingh]

Hello everyone!

I recently purchased Samsung Galaxy S Duos 2; Android version 4.2.2 Since I am new to Android I am unable to understand some of its functionality.
In the notification bar there is Sync, which is turned on in my smartphone.
I am interested to know what functions does Sync perform. If I turn it off would it stop sync of other apps too?
Please help.

Utkarsh

 

[Smply_Rcklss]

It basically syncs Facebook, emails, & various apps u add to it. It won't operate if u choose to turn it off.

Tapatalk'n On The M8

 

[utksingh]

Thanks for responding back!
I can only turn it ON or OFF, there is no option like adding or removing apps to/ from Sync.
Why did you say "It basically syncs Facebook, emails, & various apps u add to it"? The phrase "apps u add to it" is little bit confusing.
Thanks again.

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! If Auto-Sync is turned on, then all apps that have a sync function will sync with their respective online source in the background (i.e., your Google apps will sync with your Google account, Facebook will sync with your online Facebook account, etc.). If you turn Auto-Sync off, then that background syncing stops. You can still manually refresh data in most apps by opening that app and selecting the Refresh option (often by swiping down).

You can select which specific services Auto-Sync by going to Settings>Accounts, selecting the particular account in question (like Google, Yahoo, LinkedIn, etc.), and checking or unchecking the boxes for each service. This is mostly for your Google account, where you can pick and choose which services to Auto-Sync, like Gmail, Calendar, Google Play Books, etc.

Individual apps may also have sync options in their own menu. For example, if you open Facebook and go to its app settings, you can change the Refresh Interval to manual, which stops it from auto-syncing in the background.

For more general Android info, this guide might be helpful: http://forums.androidcentral.com/general-help-how/399060-guide-getting-started-android-2014-a.html

 

[utksingh]

Thank you much B. Diddy. You really have pointed me in the right direction of understanding.
I have one more last question:
There is an option of Restrict Background Data for every option. Does this also perform in the same manner as Sync?
Thanks again!

 

[utksingh]

Thank you much B. Diddy. You really have pointed me in the right direction of understanding.
I have one more last question:
There is an option of Restrict Background Data for every app. Does this also perform in the same manner as Sync?
Thanks again!

 

[B. Diddy]

That's a good question. According to this article ( http://www.howtogeek.com/140261/how-to-minimize-your-android-data-usage-and-avoid-overage-charges/), selecting Restrict Background Data from the Settings/Data Usage menu will prevent all apps from doing any kind of background data exchange. You can also select an individual app in that menu and select only that app to restrict.

What I'm not sure of is if this is exactly the same as turning off Auto Sync. This Google support page seems to say they're somewhat different: https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/2819524?hl=en. But I can't figure out what it is.

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