Your phone’s home screen might not be something you think about frequently, but it’s essential to your overall user experience. The best Android smartphones can also offer unique home screen features that you won’t find from other manufacturers. And in some cases, you can’t use these additional home screen features to their full potential. The Settings app, for example, provides a shortcut widget that gives quick one-click access to many system settings.
This guide covers some of the most useful Settings app shortcuts that you can place on your Google Pixel’s home screen.
This article targets Google Pixel smartphones, but some non-Pixel devices may also offer similar functionality. You will need to check if the Settings app shortcut widget is available for you.
How to Add Settings App Shortcut Actions to Your Home Screen
Adding a shortcut to your home screen is easy and can improve your user experience depending on the app. When it comes to the Settings app on your device, there are several options for shortcut actions to choose from. We cover those that may be useful for most users.
To add a shortcut action from the Settings app, follow these steps:
- Long-press any empty space on your home screen, then tap Widgets.
- Scroll down the list until you find Settings, then tap it to reveal the Settings shortcut stock. You can also open the app drawer and long press the Settings application.
- Long-press the shortcut, then drop it on your home screen wherever you want. Select Widgetsthen drag and drop the Settings shortcut action on your home screen.
- You will now see the Settings shortcut screen with a list of all available shortcut actions.
- Select a shortcut action from the list to place it on your home screen for quick access. Over 20 shortcuts are available, some more useful than others.
1. Notification Log
You probably get multiple notifications throughout the day, so managing them is necessary to stay organized. Sometimes you may find yourself in a situation where you accidentally swipe one when you wanted to see it. Although it might be annoying, there is an easy way to track them with the Notification log shortcut. This lets you view a drop-down list of your recent notifications, even the ones you’ve cleared. And the only way to access this screen is through the shortcut.
Enable notification history to keep track of everything
By default, the notification log shows only your active or silent notifications. You still can’t see the ones you accidentally erased. To see your previous notifications in more detail, enable the Notification History feature in your system settings. This shows recently dismissed notifications and a full timeline of these to view at any time.
To get started, follow these steps:
- Go to Settings > Notice > Notification history.
- Press the Use notification history button on the right to activate the function. All incoming notifications are stored in the Notification history screen for later viewing. You can also view them using the Notification log shortcut mentioned above, which makes it even more useful when you combine the two features.
2. System
We receive system updates every month of the year, which usually include security patches, bug fixes, and performance optimizations. The System The shortcut is a great way to check for system updates from your home screen. Checking for updates can help start the update process without waiting for the system notification to appear. If you regularly check for updates through the settings menu, this shortcut makes staying up to date even easier. If you are an advanced user using Developer Options feature, this shortcut also helps you quickly access these settings.
3. Passwords and Accounts
As we slowly move towards a truly passwordless future, we must continue to use old-fashioned passwords. This probably means that you will frequently access your saved passwords, which Passwords and Accounts shortcut can help you. If you keep your passwords in your Google Account through the Password Manager feature, you’ll be happy to have a shortcut to view them faster. And with a recent update to Google Play Services, you can now add a shortcut to your home screen to directly access the Google Password Manager page.
You can also use the Passwords and Accounts shortcut to manage other accounts you may have attached to your device. Having one-click access from your home screen to manage your accounts is useful, especially when combined with the new Google Password Manager shortcut.
4. Use of data
If you’re stuck on a limited wireless data plan, you’ll want to keep track of how much you’re consuming each month. The Data usage shortcut allows you to check how much you have used up to that moment. You can even see how many days are left in your current billing cycle. This can be useful if you plan to stream a few more episodes of your favorite show on Netflix. You should also check your home Wi-Fi data usage. It’s always interesting to see how many gigabytes of data you’ve gone through in a month.
5. Application Information
The Application Information shortcut takes you to the All Apps page, allowing you to see all the apps installed on your device. This lets you access a specific app-related setting, like clear cache, check permissions, or change notification options. You can also use this feature to find system apps that would otherwise be hidden in your app drawer. Managing system app settings right on your home screen makes it simple. Fewer taps also means you save a little extra time in the long run.
Place your home screen shortcuts in their own folder for easy access
Since there are over 20 Settings app shortcut actions, you might end up with more than the ones we’ve covered in the list above. Once you have all the shortcuts you want to use on your home screen, you can combine them into one folder. Simply drag and drop one icon onto another to create a new folder, then place the rest of the shortcut icons in that folder. You can now give it a simple name, such as Settings Where Settings shortcutsif it doesn’t automatically do this for you.
Simplify your Google Pixel experience with Settings app home screen shortcuts
These home screen shortcuts can make your life easier, saving you from digging into your system settings when you don’t have to. We’ve mentioned some of the many Settings app shortcuts currently available, but feel free to try any that aren’t listed here. You may find a few other shortcuts you didn’t know you needed, which is the best part. Use the shortcuts that matter most to you.
Now that you know why the Settings app shortcut widget can be useful, check out other examples of hidden or forgotten Android home screen shortcuts. Our guide covers various built-in system and app shortcuts that not everyone knows about, but are worth using.
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