Samsung Galaxy Xcover 4S - Moving the clock - and other Android 8 to 9 upgrade queries

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quickymart

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#270088 22-Apr-2020 22:34

Hello :)
I'm now running Android 9 (upgraded from Android 8) and while it's nice, there are a few niggly things I can't figure out how to change.

For the moment:
* How do move the clock from the top left to the top right?

* Is there a way (if I pull the screen down) to make it not display the name of the app in a massive font?

* Can I install the version of the radio I had previously (3.0.30)? The new one is really crap-looking.

Thanks in advance :)

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#2468169 23-Apr-2020 06:33

What phone do you have? I have a Moto G8 plus, which is pretty plain Android, when I pull down from the top the app name isn't displayed large - not at all as far as I can see. Got a screenshot?

No idea how to move the clock, probably best to just get used to it. I guess Radio is probably device specific, again best use the new version that comes with Android.

quickymart

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#2468170 23-Apr-2020 06:42

I took the plunge and got the Samsung Galaxy Xcover 4S, just before lockdown. Only trying to figure it out now. Yes will add a screenshot later today. To be honest I miss Android 8.

timmmay

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#2468219 23-Apr-2020 08:00

Put it away and turn on your wireless, I hear war of the worlds is on soon! ;)

Samsung does their own thing, so best to edit your question to include that.

quickymart

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#2468312 23-Apr-2020 08:43

I think I'm past the edit time now :( anyway, screenshots as requested...

Old phone (notice how it all fits nicely on one screen, with the clock in the correct place):

New phone (first image is the annoying massive app name at the top, the second is when I scroll down):

kiwiharry

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#2468314 23-Apr-2020 08:47

Sorry unable to help with your questions, but since you are taking about the clock, I only noticed about 2 months ago that the app icon for the clock actually has its hands displaying the current time

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quickymart

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#2468326 23-Apr-2020 09:08

I did read about a Samsung app named Good Lock, but can't find it for download on my device :(

MurrayM

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#2468390 23-Apr-2020 09:34

I too have recently switched to an Android 9 phone, an Oppo A4 2020.

On my old phone I used to be able to double-tap the Recents/Overview button in order to switch to the last used app, but this doesn't seem to work in Android 9. Any work-arounds?

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Dingbatt

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#2468397 23-Apr-2020 09:43

Good Lock is in the Galaxy Store I think, rather than Google Play Store.

If you can find it, the app within it that you’ll need is “QuickStart” which allows you to edit your pull down menus.

As far as the clock in the notification bar goes, I hurumped a bit when it was first moved to the left, but now I don’t even really notice it. In fact because my S10 camera is in the right corner, the clock is better on the left. I know when it first happened I looked for a solution, but couldn’t find anything that didn’t involve rooting the phone.

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Dingbatt

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#2468400 23-Apr-2020 09:46

MurrayM:

I too have recently switched to an Android 9 phone, an Oppo A4 2020.

On my old phone I used to be able to double-tap the Recents/Overview button in order to switch to the last used app, but this doesn't seem to work in Android 9. Any work-arounds?

A different launcher may give you this. I use Apex, which has lots of options. It is a paid app though, to get all features.

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quickymart

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#2468416 23-Apr-2020 09:55

Dingbatt:

Good Lock is in the Galaxy Store I think, rather than Google Play Store.

If you can find it, the app within it that you’ll need is “QuickStart” which allows you to edit your pull down menus.

As far as the clock in the notification bar goes, I hurumped a bit when it was first moved to the left, but now I don’t even really notice it. In fact because my S10 camera is in the right corner, the clock is better on the left. I know when it first happened I looked for a solution, but couldn’t find anything that didn’t involve rooting the phone.

I guess I just like it better on the right, along with all the other system tray things. Good Lock doesn't appear in the Galaxy store on my new phone - yet it's there on the old one. Go figure :(

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#2468420 23-Apr-2020 09:59

This may be a bit different since I am working off a S20+ / OneUI 2.0 for reference, but the only way I know to do this on Samsung phones is download the Good Lock app to your device using the Galaxy Store app, then download the QuickStar add-on app.

From there you can open the QuickStar app through the Good Lock app, hit the On switch, select Clock Position, then select Right,

quickymart

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#2468427 23-Apr-2020 10:10

ShinyChrome:

download the Good Lock app to your device using the Galaxy Store app

ShinyChrome

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#2468443 23-Apr-2020 10:17

quickymart:

:(

Stink buzz, device support seems to be a bit hit-and-miss. That's the only way I know of sorry!

quickymart

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#2468446 23-Apr-2020 10:26

Thanks anyway, I'll keep researching...

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#2468507 23-Apr-2020 11:35

quickymart:

Hello :)
I'm now running Android 9 (upgraded from Android 8) and while it's nice, there are a few niggly things I can't figure out how to change.

For the moment:
* How do move the clock from the top left to the top right?

* Is there a way (if I pull the screen down) to make it not display the name of the app in a massive font?

* Can I install the version of the radio I had previously (3.0.30)? The new one is really crap-looking.

Thanks in advance :)

As others have noted, this is the new default for 9+, you can't generally change it - except with Samsung's Good Lock or root solutions. You may wish to look into sideloading the Good Lock APKs if they're not available in the Galaxy Store for your Xcover.
The app-name-in-massive-font business is actually a feature of Samsung's One UI. The idea is that, when you open the app, its important functions should be accessible from the bottom of the screen so you don't have to reach all the way to the top. This makes much more sense on the now-common 18:9, 19.5:9 aspect ratio screens post Galaxy S8 which are much taller. On your 16:9 Xcover it doesn't add as much utility, Xcover 4s is an outlier for keeping to a small 16:9 - even Samsung's entry-level models like the A10 are larger, taller phones than Xcover 4s. You can get around this by using third party apps for the ones that annoy you most instead of Samsung's default.
Unlikely, the radio will probably be using the same package name (com.something.somethingelse) which means you can't install an old version over a newer version as the system considers them the same app with the same signature, and downgrades are not permitted. Possible with root access but this is a road you may not want to go do.

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