New to smartphones, Android, etc. - and starving for 101

[955450]

My phone is an LG K4, with Verizon as carrier.

First-ever smartphone for me - I was just, on principal, a stubborn holdout, and got mine mainly because I dropped and broke my flip phone, and figured it would be nice to check my email wherever I am.

I'm not tech-illiterate. Former software engineer, and I can generally tweak and adapt my Windows computer as I like whenever something goes wrong.

But I'm dying here, so am hoping for help, with a bunch of questions, and these are just off the top of my head.

(1) Whenever I get onto my phone, after the lock screen, for the past two weeks, of three possible screens of apps, the phone always starts on the second of those three. Getting where I want, the first screen, is a simple left-swipe away. But how do I fix this? I don't WANT to start on screen 2.

(2) There will often be alerts "hovering" at the top of the screen. For example, today there was a new OS update. Tapping the top of the screen tantalizingly brings them down for a moment, but then they retreat and I can't do anything with them. Am I missing something? Shouldn't I be able to touch these alerts and have them launch whatever they're teasing me about?

(3) Whenever I need a "helper" app like reading email and there's an attached .doc or pdf or text file, Android correctly recommends one or more apps to open the item, with the choice of "complete action using" and choices of "just once" or "always" - and I pick the helper app and pick "always" - and then the next time, be it in 10 seconds or 10 days, I'm being asked again. Sheesh - "always" means exactly that! How do I make infernal Android know that?

(4) I'm not an audible alert kind of guy, but I wish I could do more customization of alerts than I think my phone allows. My wife's iphone allows different ringtones for phone or text or email alerts. It illuminates the display or doesn't based on factors. A whole bunch of customizations. All I'd like is for my phone to ring audibly if one of my contacts calls me, and just a vibrate alert for a text. But it doesn't appear this customization is available.

(5) Speaking of illuminating the display, to me it's crazy that I get an incoming call, and I have to manually press the side button to see the display and know who is calling. How can I fix the phone so the display illuminates automatically when a call comes in?

(6) From what I have read, Verizon does not allow me to block certain numbers through the phone, an option with a Verizon iphone (I have one person who I don't know, who is always misdialing or mistexting me, and not responding to my requests to remove me from their contacts). Or am I missing something?

I have the manual for my phone at the ready and have been through it again and again on these and other matters, and still can't figure this out. And yes, I've used google too and come up empty.

Any help here is appreciated.

 

[AxlMyk]

My phone is an LG K4, with Verizon as carrier.

First-ever smartphone for me - I was just, on principal, a stubborn holdout, and got mine mainly because I dropped and broke my flip phone, and figured it would be nice to check my email wherever I am.

Welcome to the real world. Enjoy.

I'm not tech-illiterate. Former software engineer, and I can generally tweak and adapt my Windows computer as I like whenever something goes wrong.

Then you will love the Android OS.

But I'm dying here, so am hoping for help, with a bunch of questions, and these are just off the top of my head.

(1) Whenever I get onto my phone, after the lock screen, for the past two weeks, of three possible screens of apps, the phone always starts on the second of those three. Getting where I want, the first screen, is a simple left-swipe away. But how do I fix this? I don't WANT to start on screen 2.

Take 2 fingers diagonal on the screen, and pinch them together. The screen will shrink, with pictures of your screens. Choose your homepage from there.

(2) There will often be alerts "hovering" at the top of the screen. For example, today there was a new OS update. Tapping the top of the screen tantalizingly brings them down for a moment, but then they retreat and I can't do anything with them. Am I missing something? Shouldn't I be able to touch these alerts and have them launch whatever they're teasing me about?

Unlock it and bring down your notification bar.

(3) Whenever I need a "helper" app like reading email and there's an attached .doc or pdf or text file, Android correctly recommends one or more apps to open the item, with the choice of "complete action using" and choices of "just once" or "always" - and I pick the helper app and pick "always" - and then the next time, be it in 10 seconds or 10 days, I'm being asked again. Sheesh - "always" means exactly that! How do I make infernal Android know that?

Settings - Applications - Default applications, or Applications manager.

(4) I'm not an audible alert kind of guy, but I wish I could do more customization of alerts than I think my phone allows. My wife's iphone allows different ringtones for phone or text or email alerts. It illuminates the display or doesn't based on factors. A whole bunch of customizations. All I'd like is for my phone to ring audibly if one of my contacts calls me, and just a vibrate alert for a text. But it doesn't appear this customization is available.

Bring down the notification bar.
Long press Sound
Volume and adjust them all.
Go back
Mess around with everything you see.

(5) Speaking of illuminating the display, to me it's crazy that I get an incoming call, and I have to manually press the side button to see the display and know who is calling. How can I fix the phone so the display illuminates automatically when a call comes in?

Anyone?

(6) From what I have read, Verizon does not allow me to block certain numbers through the phone, an option with a Verizon iphone (I have one person who I don't know, who is always misdialing or mistexting me, and not responding to my requests to remove me from their contacts). Or am I missing something?

Do it on the verizon.wireless website in your account info.
Or, install Call Control app. Very flexible settings for area codes, certain numbers, etc blocking.
Gets rid of the political and Nairobi calls.

I have the manual for my phone at the ready and have been through it again and again on these and other matters, and still can't figure this out. And yes, I've used google too and come up empty.

Any help here is appreciated.

Stay in these forums. A wealth of knowledge here.

 

[srkmagnus]

Regarding the screen illumination, clean the screen or make sure you are not obstructing the proximity sensor, which is located near the earpiece. This sensor turns the screen off/on when it's covered/uncovered, and if its dirty or block, will prevent the phone from turning on.

 

[955450]

Thank you for the helpful and detailed response. I'm not sure how to capture my original post and your responses inline, so this response may be messed up. I am trying to reply in green when something's okay, and reply in red when I still need help.

Welcome to the real world. Enjoy.


Then you will love the Android OS.

Other than my distaste for the cult of Apple, a prime reason I picked an Android phone was so I could just plug it into my PC and get photos or perhaps other files off of it, without having to offer an animal sacrifice to iTunes or some other Apple hurdle. I *want* to love Android, but as you can see, slow go so far. Watching others navigate their iphones, something even I can do pretty well, is making me a bit jealous/apprehensive right now.

Take 2 fingers diagonal on the screen, and pinch them together. The screen will shrink, with pictures of your screens. Choose your homepage from there.

Yes, this worked, sort of. Now what should be "screen 1" for me is "screen 2" (bad), but it's the main screen when I turn the phone on (senseless, but good). But why, when I have three screens (represented by three dots), does my Android (seemingly suddenly out of nowhere) default to showing Screen 2 first?

Unlock it and bring down your notification bar.

How do I unlock? And bringing down my navigation bar seems like a physical challenge even though I've googled up tutorials on that.

Settings - Applications - Default applications, or Applications manager.

For brevity in my original post, I did not say that I had already researched this, and come up empty. Maybe the problem is only with attached text files. I prefer using email-to-text from a PC, to texting from a phone, and replies from iphones come as attached texts. Android presents me with four choices: QuickEdit (an app I dowlnoaded), Chrome, ThinkFree Viewer, and HTML Viewer; to open the file. And I have to pick an app every time I open a .txt file even though I pick the ALWAYS choice. I have tried resetting my app preferences. I have tried setting the defaults within an app, but the "open text files with this app" option is grayed out and unselectable. This shouldn't be this difficult.

Bring down the notification bar.
Long press Sound
Volume and adjust them all.
Go back
Mess around with everything you see.

I think this fixed it. But of course I maintain I tried this when I first got the phone. Fingers crossed.

Anyone?

I have no idea why, but I tested a couple times and now this looks like it works.

Do it on the verizon.wireless website in your account info.

I've tried this as a stopgap. But Verizon only allows five blocks, and only for 90 days, from the date the first block was put in place.

Or, install Call Control app. Very flexible settings for area codes, certain numbers, etc blocking.
Gets rid of the political and Nairobi calls.

Will look into this - thanks!

Stay in these forums. A wealth of knowledge here.

That's my normal M.O. This looks like a great forum, and normally if I had one or two defined questions, I'd look first, post a question later. Thanks for understanding.

 

[AxlMyk]

I'll try again with the home screen.
You can also just long press on an empty spot of the desktop, any page.
At the top of each reduced size page will be a little icon that looks like a house. Pick the one you want as Home.

To unlock it means get to your Home screen.

 

[955450]

Not sure if there's something "different" with my model phone, but I did this, from several clearly-empty spots on my desktop, and after 5-10 seconds, google came up.

I'll try again with the home screen.
You can also just long press on an empty spot of the desktop, any page.
At the top of each reduced size page will be a little icon that looks like a house. Pick the one you want as Home.

To unlock it means get to your Home screen.

 

[ManiacJoe]

My phone is an LG K4, with Verizon as carrier.

(1) Whenever I get onto my phone, after the lock screen, for the past two weeks, of three possible screens of apps, the phone always starts on the second of those three. Getting where I want, the first screen, is a simple left-swipe away. But how do I fix this? I don't WANT to start on screen 2.

While there are three parts to the home screen, instead of thinking of them as 1,2,3, it might be better to think of them as left, center, right. The center screen is the primary with left and right being extensions.

While some phones may always start you on the center/primary screen, other phones (different launchers?) will remember which screen you were last on.

 

[AxlMyk]

I always set #1 , Left as my Home screen.