As you know, your Galaxy S5 has a 16M camera. It means the Galaxy S5 camera can save photos up to 16 million pixels.

When you record videos, the Galaxy S5 main camera can shoot 4K UHD (2160p) videos.

These high resolution photos and videos are good when printing out in a large photo paper or watching on a UHD TV.

But for most Galaxy S5 owners, it is often not necessary to save photos or videos in such high resolutions.

In addition,  higher resolution means larger file size. It will take longer time to transfer from phone to your PC or to cloud drive.

Galaxy S5 actually allows you to set Galaxy S5 photo size and video size based on your needs. In other words, you can choose the size of each photo or video based on the usage of the photo or video.

How to set Galaxy S5 photo size?

To set Galaxy S5 photo size, you can follow these steps.

Step 1: Start Camera app.

Step 2. Tap Settings as shown below.

Step 3: Tap Picture size as show below.

Step 4: Select the suitable picture size.

In the picture size list, in addition to the size from 16M to 2.4M, you can choose aspect ratio of 16:9 or 4:3 (1:1 is seldom used).

16:9 photos will fill your Galaxy S5 screen exactly. In other words, there will be no black space when you view the photo on Galaxy S5.

4:3 photos are good for some old monitors, iPad, Nexus 9.

If you plan to print the photo, most commonly used 4R size (6″x 4″) actually  has a ration or 3:2 (which corresponds to standard 135 film).   It is somewhere between 16:9 and 4:3. This means your photo will be normally cropped to fit into the 4R photo paper. Most experienced photographers prefer 4:3  in this scenario. Of course, this is arguable and you can test yourself.

Please also note, the size list is quite long, you need scroll down to find all available photo sizes.

A general guideline for setting a suitable Galaxy S5 photo size is:

• For MMS or sharing through website, 2.4M is large enough.
• For printing in a 4R photo paper, 6M is sufficient.
• For printing in a A4 paper (or 8R photo paper), you should use 12M or 16M.

Step 5: Tap any locations to return.

The selected size will always be used unless you change it again.

How to set Galaxy S5 video size?

Similarly, you can set Galaxy S5 video size based on your needs.

In Camera app, tap Settings—Video size. Then choose a suitable video size.

Because most of recent TVs are in 16:9, Galaxy S5 camera use 16:9 for most sizes.

Unless you have a 4K UHD TV, you should NOT choose UHD. The video quality in UHD sometimes is not so good due to hardware and software limitations.

If you really need 4K UHD videos, … Read the rest

The post How to set Galaxy S5 photo size and video size? appeared first on Samsung Galaxy S5 Guide.

You may spill some coffee on your smartphone.

You may use wet hands to answer some waited or emergent calls.

You may be caught in the rain with smartphones in your pocket (without an umbrella).

Your smartphone may be easily damaged due to water.  Electronics devices don’t like water.

As smartphones are accessible for majority of the population, we usually take less care with the device.

Dropping and water are two major reasons for smartphone repairs.

Samsung finally introduce water and dust resistant in Galaxy S5. This means there won’t be a Galaxy S5 Active.

Galaxy S5  dust and water resistant is a feature signalling Samsung shifts the update focus from bling-bling features to day-to-day phone usage. Samsung called it “back to basics”.

As most Galaxy S5 owners didn’t use S4 Active or Sony Xperia Z/Z1, you may have some questions on dust and water resistant. Here I will try to give you some detailed info on this feature in Galaxy S5.

Galaxy S5 Dust and Water Resistant is rated as IP67, what does the IP 67 mean?

Galaxy S5 dust and water resistant is certified as IP 67. It means Galaxy S5 can survival from some dust and water attacks.

IP Code, aka, International Protection Marking (informally, people also call it “ingress protection ratings”), is a standard published by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).   The two digits indicate conformity of the protection level against dust and water.

The first digit represents the level of protection against access to hazardous parts (e.g., electrical conductors, moving parts) and against the ingress of solid particles/objects. For smartphones, we mainly concern about the degree of protection provided against dust (solid particles). The value varies from 0-6:

• 0: No protection against contact and ingress of objects. It can be replaced with X.
• 1: Protection any objects larger than 50 mm. Not relevant to smartphones.
• 2: Protection any objects larger than 12.5 mm, for example, fingers or similar objects.  Not relevant to smartphones.
• 3: Protection any objects larger than  2.5 mm, for example, tools or  thick wires. Not relevant to smartphones.
• 4: Protection any objects larger than 1 mm, for example,  wires, screws. Not relevant to smartphones.
• 5: Protection against dust (dust proof).  Ingress of dust is not entirely prevented, but it must not enter in sufficient quantity to interfere with the satisfactory operation of the equipment. So, Galaxy S5 is dust proof.
• 6:  Dust tight. No ingress of dust.So, Galaxy S5 is dust proof and dust tight.

The second digit represents the level of protection against ingress of water. The value varies from 0-8. In addition, 6K and 9K are also legitimate and have special meaning.

• 0:  No protection against the ingress of water. It can be replaced with X.
• 1: Protection against dripping water (vertically falling drops).
• 2: Protection against vertically dripping water  when the enclosure is tilted at an angle up to 15° from its normal position.
• 3:  Protection against water spray up to

… Read the rest

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Galaxy S5 has so many features. It is impossible to pack all settings in one page.

So, Samsung provides the Galaxy S5 quick settings panel for you to quickly turn on/off some frequently used features.

If you were a owner of other Android phones, you probably already know all  Android phones have the quick settings panel. But in Galaxy S5, you get more items and feature in quick settings panel.

Essentially, Galaxy S5 quick settings panel is a page of icons. Tap any one of the icon will turn on or turn off a specific feature.

Most of these features can be turned on Settings app with a few more taps. So, the Galaxy S5 quick settings panel makes it faster for you to turn on/off these features.

How to access Galaxy S5 quick settings panel?

To access Galaxy S5 quick settings panel, swipe down from the top of the screen (status bar) with two fingers as shown below.

If the current app is in full screen mode and the status bar is hidden, you can swipe down with one finger from the top of the screen to get the status bar first. Then, swipe down again with two fingers.

How to use Galaxy S5 quick settings panel?

The pen icon in Galaxy S5 quick settings panel will bring you to Settings–Notification panel.

The list icon in the top right of the quick settings panel will switch to notification panel page.

The first 10 items (shown in blue box below)  in the Galaxy S5 quick settings panel will be shown in Galaxy S5 notification panel.

In Galaxy S5 quick settings panel, tap any icons will turn on the feature (if it was off) or turn it off (if it was on). If the feature is currently on, the icon will be shown as green.

If you tap and hold any icon in Galaxy S5 quick settings panel, the detail settings of this feature will be opened.

How to configure Galaxy S5 quick settings panel (re-arrange items)?

In Galaxy S5 quick settings panel, you can rearrange the location of all icons. Please note the first 10 items will be shown in notification panel.

To rearrange the icons in Galaxy S5 quick settings panel, you can tap the pencil icon in the panel, or go to Settings–Notification panel as shown below.

Once in the notification panel settings, tap and hold the icons you want to move and drop it to the desired location. The two icons will swap location in the quick settings panel.

For example, if you want to swap the location of “screen mirroring” and “power saving”, you can follow these steps:

Step 1: tap and hold the  power saving icon as shown below

Step 2: moving the power saving icons when the icon is still held as shown below.

Step 3: release the power saving icon when the icon is close to screen mirroring. This sometimes is called

… Read the rest

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Galaxy S5 camera has different settings for various purposes. If you open Galaxy S5 camera app settings, you will find  that you must scroll down to see all of the 27 settings items.

To make  your life easier,  Galaxy S5 camera shortcuts menu allows you to  put up to 5 items (as shown in the green box below) in the camera app interface.

For items in the shortcut menu in Galaxy S5 camera app, normally, you can tap it to turn on or off the feature very quickly. This will allow you to enjoy the camera, instead of fiddling around settings.

Most importantly, you can customize them. In other words, you can choose frequently-used items there, and are not limited to the default shortcuts.

But there is one limitation. In landscape mode, the menu can only accommodate up to 5 shortcuts. Two of them (the first and the last one) can not be changed.

In other words,  the shortcut for switching between front and rear cameras must be the first one.  The settings icon must be the last one.

So, essentially, you can only customize 3 shortcuts of the 5 between these two.

How to customize Galaxy S5 camera shortcuts menu?

To customize Galaxy S5 camera shortcuts menu, you may follow these steps.

Step 1: Start Camera app.

Step 2: Tap settings icon as shown above.

Step 3: Add (or replace) shortcut to the menu.

In the settings list, you can find the settings/features that you used frequently. Tap and hold  it, then move it to the shortcuts menu location.

In this guide, for example, we want to add a shortcut to turn on/off/auto flash to the shortcut menu.

So, you can tap and hold Flash settings, then move it to the menu area as shown in the following two pictures.

Once you drag Flash settings to the desired location, drop (release) it.

If there are less than 5 items in the shortcut menu, the new shortcut will be added directly as shown below.

The location will depend on the location where you release (drop)  the item.

However, if there are already 5 items in the camera shortcut menu, the new shortcut will be added, and one old shortcut will be removed automatically.

The shortcut removed is the one over  which you dropped the new settings (in this example, it is Flash).

In this scenario, the new shortcut simply replaces the old one.

Please note, when you drag and drop an item to the shortcut menu, the item is still in the settings list. Only a shortcut is added to the camera shortcut menu.

Once the shortcut is added to the Galaxy S5 camera shortcut menu,  it has the identical function and settings as that accessed from Settings icon. This is the purpose of Galaxy S5 camera shortcut menu.

Do you have any questions or encounter any problems to use and customize Galaxy S5 camera shortcuts menu?

If you have … Read the rest

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But sometimes, you may want to get an even faster speed.

Now Samsung has a solution for you in Galaxy S5: download booster.

Galaxy S5 Download Booster combines LTE and WiFi

Galaxy S5 download booster technology lets you use the LTE and Wi-Fi simultaneously to give you an unrivaled download speed.

In a nutshell, Galaxy S5 download booster combines the WiFi connection and your 4G connection to finish one download task.  The combined speed will surely be faster than WiFi only or 4G LTE only.

Can I use Galaxy S5 Download Booster for streaming services, e.g., YouTube?

Galaxy S5 download booster is for downloading files only. It is not for streaming.

So, for streaming, Galaxy S5 will use WiFi only if WiFi connection is established, or mobile data only if WiFi connection is not available.

In most cases, WiFi or LTE itself is sufficient for streaming services.

How much additional speed  Galaxy S5 Download Booster can provide?

When download booster is enabled in Galaxy S5, you are using both LTE connection and WiFi connection for the single file downloading.

Of course, there are some overheads. Samsung claims that turning on the LTE and Wi-Fi together will give you  approximately 80~90% of the added network speed of LTE and Wi-Fi.

For example, if you use WiFi only to download the file, the speed is 10MB/s. With LTE only, it is 5MB only. Now if you use Galaxy S5 download booster, you may get a speed of 12-13MB/s.

If the difference of the WiFi speed and LTE speed is large, you will not benefit much from download booster. Simple math can tell us this.

Please note, the speed we are talking is the internet connection speed to the server that the file is located, not your router speed, or local LTE speed.

Can Galaxy S5 Download Booster use 3G and WiFi

Galaxy S5 download booster use 4G LTE mobile data only. If you only have 3G, HSPA, or HSPA+ mobile data connections, you cannot use the download booster in Galaxy S5.

One reason is that normally the 3G connection tends to be far slower than WiFi, and you will not get much boost by combining these two.

Anyway, download booster does not use any 3G connections. You need 4G LTE connection for Galaxy S5 download booster.

Do you have any questions on  using  Galaxy S5 Download Booster? Please let us know them in the comment box below.

To know more about Galaxy S5, please check our Samsung Galaxy S5 features explained page.… Read the rest

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In most of the regions, SMS message preview is the default setting. In other words, it should work out of box.

But for some reasons, some Galaxy S5 owners find they cannot preview SMS messages (MMS as well) in the lock screen or in notification area. So you may want to turn this feature on.

In the other hand, some Galaxy S5 owners may not want to use this feature for some privacy reasons. So, you may want to know how to turn this message preview feature off.

In this GalaxyS5 how-to guide, I will show you how to turn on or turn off SMS message preview in your Galaxy S5.

How to turn on SMS and MMS message preview on Galaxy S5?

You can check the settings in the Messages app.

Start the Messages app, tap the menu button (3 vertical dots),  then tap Settings, as shown below.

In the messages settings page, scroll down to find Notifications. Tap notifications as shown above. You can then setup the notifications for your messages (SMS and MMS), including message preview.

If you want to preview messages on lock screen, you can check lock screen.

If you want to show message preview in notification area, check status bar.

How to turn on SMS and MMS message preview on Galaxy S5?

To turn off message preview, simply uncheck lock screen and/or status bar.

Other message notification settings in Galaxy S5

As shown above, in addition to message preview, you can customize message notifications in several aspects:

• Set the notification tone. You can even customize notification tone for individual contact.  Please read this guide for further customization: How to customize Galaxy S5 ringtones and notification tones?
• Turn on or turn off vibrate when you receiving SMS/MMS messages.
• Repeat message alert.
• Display new messages as pop-ups.

Please note, this guide is assuming that you are using Samsung Messages app. If you set Google Hangouts or other third-party messaging app as the default messaging app, these settings will not work.

Do you have any questions on turn on (or off) SMS and MMS message preview on Galaxy S5?

If you still have questions or encounter any problems when customizing Galaxy S5 message preview, please let us know in the comment box below.

More how-to guides , tips and tricks for using Samsung Galaxy S5 are available at Samsung Galaxy S5 how-to guides page.… Read the rest

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All of the Galaxy S5 user manuals are in PDF format. You can download it to your devices (PC, smartphone, tablet) to read it later or read it online in your browser.

In different regions or countries, or even for different carriers, Galaxy S5 may be slightly different. So, please try to download and use the user manual for your Galaxy S5.  If you cannot find the user manual for your Galaxy S5, please let us know in the comment box below.

Major Update: Galaxy S5 has been updated to Android Lollipop 5.0 in more and more regions.  A special user guide section for Galaxy S5 updated with Android Lollipop was created in this page. Click here to jump to Lollipop section.

The following #1-#47 are for Galaxy S5 with KitKat 4.4.  Update: Galaxy S5 user guide with Android Lollipop update in all languages is consolidated in this page.

1. Samsung Galaxy S5 User Manual in English for International versions (SM-G900F, Europe and Asia)

This Galaxy S5 user manual is for Galaxy S5 sold in Europe and Southeast Asia. The corresponding model number is SM-G900F with 4G LTE.

If you cannot find the manual for your Galaxy S5, you can try  this one.

Download link: Samsung Galaxy S5 User Manual in English for International versions (SM-G900F, Europe and Asia)

2. AT&T Samsung Galaxy S5 User Manual in English  (SM-G900A, US AT &T only)

This AT &T Galaxy S5 user manual is for Galaxy S5 sold for AT&T (US) customers. The corresponding model number is SM-G900A with 4G LTE.

If you are NOT an AT&T customer, please do NOT use this Galaxy S5 manual because the features described in this manual may be substantially different from your Galaxy S5.

Download link: AT&T Samsung Galaxy S5 User Manual in English  (SM-G900A, US AT &T only)

3. Verizon Samsung Galaxy S5 User Manual in English  (SM-G900V, US Verizon only)

This Verizon Galaxy S5 user manual is for Galaxy S5 sold for Verizon (US) customers only . The corresponding model number is SM-G900V with 4G LTE.

If you are NOT a Verizon (US) customer, please do NOT use this Galaxy S5 manual because the features described in this manual may be substantially different from your Galaxy S5.

Download link: Verizon Samsung Galaxy S5 User Manual in English  (SM-G900V, US Verizon only)

4. T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S5 User Manual in English  (SM-G900T, US T-Mobile only)

This T-Mobile Galaxy S5 user manual is for Galaxy S5 sold for T-Mobile (US) customers only . The corresponding model number is SM-G900T with 4G LTE.

If you are NOT a T-Mobile (US) customer, please do NOT use this Galaxy S5 manual because the features described in this manual may be substantially different from your Galaxy S5.

Download … Read the rest

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Most owners do not need to  access these options.

But sometimes, you may need to enable developer options to test some apps, or to run some ADB commands, or to try some monitoring tools. The most commonly used feature in developer option is the USB debugging.

Of course, you cannot find the  the developer options on Samsung Galaxy S5  when you get your S5. But you can enable it easily.

To enable and access developer options on Samsung Galaxy S5, you can simply follow these steps:

• Tap Settings
• Tap  About Device (under System section)
• Tap the Build number field 7 times.  You will begin seeing  messages as you approach the 7 touches
• Return to Settings. You can now find the developer options in the System section.
• Tap Developer options. Now you can turn on/off the developer options.

Once you enable the developer options on Samsung Galaxy S5,  it will be there permanently. So it is not necessary to repeat these procedures again when you need access developer options next time.

You can turn off developer options on Galaxy S5 by drag the switch to left. Please note, as mentioned, once you unhide/ enable the developer options, you cannot hide it again unless you perform a factory reset.

Of course, dragging the switch to right will turn on the developer options on Samsung Galaxy S5 and you can access the options inside. So, if you are looking for USB debugging, you can find it there.

It is a good practice to turn off the developer options after the each usage.

Do you have any problems to enable the developer options on Samsung Galaxy S5?

Leave your feedback  in the comment box below.

More how-to guides , tips and tricks for using Samsung Galaxy S5 are available at Samsung Galaxy S5 how-to guides page.… Read the rest

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In Android system, recovery is a special partition with some small pieces of software installed to “manage” your Android installation.

Like many other Android phones, Galaxy S5 recovery mode allows you to apply update from SD card, to apply update from ADB,  to wipe cache partition,  and to reset the phone (wipe all data)

Don’t assume that you will never enter Galaxy S5 recovery mode even you are not a developer.

When you need enter Galaxy S5 recovery mode?

It is true that most Galaxy S5 owners seldom need access recovery mode.

But if the phone behaves weirdly, especially after a major Android update (for example, Android Lollipop update for Galaxy S5), recovery mode can solve a lot of such problems without resetting your phone.

Normally, after Android Lollipop update, many experienced Android users will recommend you to reset the phone.

Of course, factory data reset can give you a new (refreshed) phone and solve most problems due to user settings or third-party apps. But factory data reset comes with a price: all your settings and files will be erased.  You may have to spend days to restore the phone.

For most Galaxy S5 owners, factory data reset may be not necessary for Android Lollipop update.

A simple cache partition wiping may solve most of the problems associated with Android Lollipop update.  It only take a few mins and all your settings and files are untouched.

To wipe the cache partition, you need enter Galaxy S5 recovery mode.

This guide will show you how to enter Galaxy S5 recovery mode and how to wipe cache partition for Galaxy S5.

How to enter  Galaxy S5 recovery mode?

Step 1: Power off your Galaxy S5

You can press and hold the power button for a few seconds to get the on-screen device options.

Tap Power off as shown below to shutdown your Galaxy S5.

Step 2: Boot into recovery mode

Wait a few mins after Galaxy S5 is powered off.

Press and hold 3 buttons (Volume up+Home + power) together.  You probably have to use both hands for this.

Do NOT release any of the buttons until you see the dead Android recovery menu as shown below.

Then release 3 buttons.

Now you are in recovery mode.  As you can see, you can do a lot of things in recovery mode. But for most Galaxy S5 owners, you probably only need wipe cache partition to solve some problems after Android Lollipop update without reset the phone.

Step 3: wipe cache partition in Galaxy S5 recovery mode

Use the volume button to navigate to wipe cache partition as shown below. Use power button to select the option.

Please note, the touch screen does not respond to touch in recovery mode. You have to use the physical buttons.

You can watch the status of wiping cache partition in the bottom of the screen.

It should take less than 2 mins to finish the operation and you can … Read the rest

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You can use your voice to take photos with Galaxy S5 camera. In other words, whenever it is inconvenient for you to tap the Galaxy S5 camera button or the screen, you can use Galaxy S5 camera voice control to take photos.

So, in a nutshell, Galaxy S5 camera voice control  means using some voice commands to take photos or record videos in your Galaxy S5 camera app.

How to enable/disable Galaxy S5 camera voice control?

By default, voice control is not enabled in your Galaxy S5 camera app.

You can enable it by following these steps.

Step 1: Start Camera app.

Step 2:  Tap settings icon as shown below.

Step 3: Scroll down the setting screen.

Galaxy S5 camera app has many setting items. The voice control is in the second page.

Step 4: Tap Voice control icon as shown above.

If it is currently off, tap it once to enable the Galaxy S5 camera voice control.

If it is currently on, tap it once to disable the voice control.

What are the acceptable voice commands for Galaxy S5 camera voice control?

To take photos, the 4 acceptable voice commands include:

• Smile
• Cheese
• Capture
• Shoot

You can use any of them to take photos in camera app.

To record videos, the only acceptable voice command for Galaxy S5 camera voice control is “Record video“.

How can I know whether Galaxy S5 camera voice control is enabled?

Once you start the camera app, you can find out immediately whether the Galaxy S5 camera voice control is enabled or not by checking the microphone icon as shown below.

If the microphone icon is present, it means the Galaxy S5 camera voice control is enabled and ready for use.

If there is no microphone icon, it means the voice control is not enabled.

Can I use customized voice commands for Galaxy S5 camera voice control?

Galaxy S5 does not allow you to customize the voice command for Galaxy S5 camera voice control. This means you can only use the pre-defined voice commands mentioned above to take photos or record videos.

Please also note,  this voice control is only for the pre-installed camera app, not any other camera apps.

Can I use Galaxy S5 camera voice control together with Google Now voice commands?

Yes, you can use Google Now voice commands  together with  Galaxy S5 camera voice control.

For example, you can use Google Now voice command to launch the camera app, then use Galaxy S5 camera voice control to take photos. Of course, if you only have one camera app in Galaxy S5, you can use Google Now voice commands to take photos or record videos directly.

Can I use Galaxy S5 camera voice control together with S Voice?

Yes, you can.

Can you use Galaxy S5 camera voice control to take photos or record videos now?

If you have any questions or encounter any problems to use Galaxy S5 camera voice … Read the rest

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