15 Essential Nokia Asha tips & tricks: part 2
We’ve already brought you 15 essential tips to get started with your new Nokia Asha, but it would appear many of you are searching for other ways to get the best out of your handset.
Thankfully, we’ve got a few more tricks up our sleeve…
Set up a Facebook account
Facebook app comes pre-installed on the Nokia Asha 500, Asha 501, Asha 502, Asha 503, so getting started with the social network couldn’t be easier. Simply tap the Facebook icon on the home page, and enter your username and password. If you’re new to Facebook, tap ‘Open a Facebook account’ and follow steps 1-3 on-screen.
Log into Twitter
Twitter is just as simple to use; tap the Twitter icon and once again enter your username and password. Tap ‘Sign up’ if you don’t already have an account, and then enter your name and email address, followed by your desired Twitter username and password.
Use as a mass storage device
Did you know you can use your Nokia Asha as a portable storage device? When you plug in the USB cable, simply select ‘Mass storage’, and then you’ll be able to drag and drop files as you would with a USB memory stick.
Change the date and time settings
Tap settings and scroll down to ‘Time and date’. You can select ‘set automatically’ to get updates from your network provider, but if you want to do things manually tap ‘time’ and move the outer circle clockwise or anti-clockwise to change minutes, the inner circle to change the hour. To change the date, simply scroll up or down on the day, month or year options.
Add a calendar entry
To set a calendar reminder on your Nokia Asha, open the calendar and tap the + button. You can add start and end times, and you can also add events as birthdays so they’ll show up annually. Click ‘Reminder’ to change the time your Asha alerts you to an upcoming event.
Switch to second SIM card
If you’ve got a couple of SIM cards in your Nokia Asha, taking advantage of Nokia’s Dual SIM technology, switching between the two when you want to make a call couldn’t be easier. Just drag down the shortcut menu from the top of the screen, and tap which SIM card (1 or 2) you want to use.
Use double tap to awaken phone
Just like the Nokia Lumia, you can switch on a double tap feature to activate your Nokia Asha. Open settings, scroll down and select ‘Screen double tap’ to turn the feature on.
Turn on flight mode
Want to use your phone while flying somewhere nice? Or heading into an important meeting and don’t want to be disturbed? Tap settings and toggle the ‘Flight mode’ option to disconnect all radio functions on your Nokia Asha. Tap it again to reconnect to the outside world.
Background apps
Some apps are capable of running in the background, downloading information for you and adding it to your lock screen or providing notifications. To select what is allowed to do this, and to stop other apps from running in the background, open settings and click ‘Background apps’. Tap the apps you want, and you can choose from ‘No updates’, ‘Wi-Fi and mobile data’ and ‘Wi-Fi only’.
Use the call log
Your Asha’s Call Log function keeps track of all incoming, outgoing and missed calls, making it easy to ring people back. When you’ve opened the app, tap the button at the top right of the screen to access the menu, letting you switch between Recent, Received, Dialled and Missed calls. Tap a number to ring back or tap and hold to remove it from your call log.
Listen to music
The integrated music player makes it possible to listen to MP3 files at the tap of a button. Open Music from the main menu and you’ll be presented with four options: Songs, Artists, Albums and Playlists. Your music files will automatically be added to the first three options, so just pick the format you like the best. To add a playlist, click ‘Playlists’ and choose from Favourites, Most played, Recently added and recently played. You can also swipe upwards and select ‘New playlist’, adding your own by picking songs individually.
Change to a traditional keyboard
Not a fan of QWERTY keyboards? It’s easy to change the keyboard on your Asha to a more traditional T9-style layout. Open messages, start a new message, and when the keyboard appears, swipe upwards to get the menu option. Tap ‘More writing settings’. Select ‘Add more keyboards’, followed by ‘English phone keypad’. Click ‘Done’, and then go back to the keyboard. You’ll be able to tap the space bar and swipe to the left or right to switch between the two keyboard types.
Perform a reset
If you’re upgrading your Asha to a Lumia and want to give your device to somebody else, it’s worth resetting to ensure any personal information is erased. This will delete all your apps, as well as any files stored on the phone, returning your Asha to its original state. Click settings and then select ‘Reset phone’. Click the button marked ‘Reset phone’ to confirm.
Use Nokia Xpress Browser
Click the Internet icon on your Nokia Asha’s homescreen to get started. The Nokia Xpress Browser offers several different ways of enjoying the web – if you already know the page you’re looking for, simply type its URL into the box at the bottom of the screen.
If you’re browsing for entertainment, you can also pick from a pre-selected range of content, including Featured, Entertainment, Free Apps, News, Email, Downloads, Information and Social Networks. All you need to do is select one of the coloured tabs to find out more.
Update your Asha
It’s vital you keep your Asha up to date, giving you the latest software features and making sure everything runs as smoothly as possible. To check you have the latest software installed, open settings, scroll down and tap ‘Phone update’. Then select ‘Check for updates’. If you don’t have the latest software, make sure you’ve backed up any important files and then click ‘Update’.
Do you have more Asha tips and tricks to share? Let us know in the comments below.