Galaxy Note 4 How-To Guides

Galaxy Note 4 is surely one of the best Android smartphones in 2014. Like other Samsung smartphones, Galaxy Note 4 is packed with tons of features that you cannot find in other Android phones.

The unique S Pen (stylus) has many great features that you probably are not aware of.

So, this Galaxy Note 4 how-to guides page is created to help Galaxy Note 4 owners.

We try to keep all Galaxy Note 4 how-to guides in detail so that anyone can easily follow them.

This is a live page. It means we will test and release more Galaxy  Note 4 how-to guides gradually. So, if you cannot find the Galaxy Note 4 how-to guide for your problem or your question on using Galaxy Note 4, you can post your questions/problems in the comment box below. We will try to answer them in the comments as well.

If you are looking for the official Galaxy Note 4 user manual, you may download the PDF  manual in your language here.

  1. Table of Contents [hide]

    How to turn off or turn on the touch light for the two capacitive buttons  (return and recent) on Galaxy Note 4?

  2. How to take screenshots on Galaxy Note 4?

  3. How to access the hardware menu button (as in Galaxy Note 3) on Galaxy Note 4?

  4. How to turn off Flipboard briefing on Galaxy Note 4 home screen?

  5. How to create app folders on Galaxy Note 4 home screen and app drawer to organize apps?

  6. How to add widgets to Galaxy Note 4 home screen?

  7. How to use download booster on Galaxy Note 4?

  8. How to use fingerprint scanner on Galaxy Note 4?

  9. How to use Galaxy Note 4 side key panel?

  10. Meaning of Galaxy Note 4 status icons and notification icons

  11. How to customize Galaxy Note 4 ringtones?

  12. How to customize Galaxy Note 4 notification tones?

  13. How to silence Galaxy Note 4?

  14. How to create own vibration patterns on Galaxy Note 4?

  15. How to install S Note idea sketch and easy chart on Galaxy Note 4?

  16. How to enable and access Galaxy Note 4 air command?

  17. How to use Samsung keyboard on Galaxy Note 4?

  18. Galaxy Note 4 S View Flip Cover Guide

  19. How to use Galaxy Note 4 Kids Mode?

  20. How to use S pen for selection (smart select) on Galaxy Note 4?

  21. How to format text in S Note on Galaxy Note 4?

  22. How to use idea sketch in S Note on Galaxy Note 4?

  23. How to use Easy chat in S Note on Galaxy Note 4?

  24. How to use Photo Note in S Note in Galaxy Note 4?

  25. How to copy pages in S Note on Galaxy Note 4?

  26. How to create folders for S Note to organize S Notes on Galaxy Note 4?

  27. How to search S Notes on Galaxy Note 4?

  28. How to export S Notes on Galaxy Note 4?

  29. How to backup S Notes on Galaxy Note 4?

  30. How to use multi-window on Galaxy Note 4?

  31. How to use private mode on Galaxy Note 4?

  32. How to setup and use S Health on Galaxy Note 4?

  33. How to customize Galaxy Note 4 home screen?

  34. How to customize Galaxy Note 4 alarm?

  35. How to use blocking mode on Galaxy Note 4?

  36. How to use power saving mode in Galaxy Note 4?

  37. How to use ultra power saving mode in Galaxy Note 4?

  38. How to use voice recorder on Galaxy Note 4?

  39. How to use smart remote on Galaxy Note 4?

  40. How to change languages of Galaxy Note 4?

  • and more…

Galaxy Note 4 Camera Guide:

  1. How to take photos continuously without reviewing the photos on Galaxy Note 4?

  2. How to use volume button to take photos in Galaxy Note 4?

  3. How to manage and download Galaxy Note 4 camera modes?

  4. How to change the storage location for photos and videos on Galaxy Note 4?

  5. How to use voice commands to take photos and record videos on Galaxy Note 4?

  6. How to manage and download Galaxy Note 4 camera effects?

  7. How to use Galaxy Note 4 camera burst mode?

  8. How to set picture size and video size for Galaxy Note 4 camera?

  9. How to customize Galaxy Note 4 camera app interface (and shortcut menu)?

  10. How to use Galaxy Note 4 video recording modes?

  11. Galaxy Note 4 camera modes user guide

  12. How to use wide selfie mode on Galaxy Note 4?

If you have any questions or problems with using Galaxy Note 4, please let us know them in the comment box below. We will try to help you. We may also create detailed Galaxy Note 4 how-to guides for your questions.

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  • Is there a way to disactivate the s view cover?
    I don't want to take it off from my phone for protection purpose but I don't want it to have any affect on my phone. In other words, I want my note 4 to be working normally with the s cover as if it was another normal cover. Hope I was explicit enough. Thank you for your feedback.

    • In the Facebook app, you can upload them. But if you want to back up photos, you should stay away from Facebook because of the compression. In this case, you should try Google photos.

  • Thank you for a very informative page, I have found that camera burst cannot be switched off on Galaxy note 4. It would be a very minor software change to reinstate this function as the detection is there and it only needs a line in settings.
    I am incredibly disappointed with hardware that removes a facility in one model without reinstating if the next model require it. It is very difficult to check if the spec includes all that you require as it is so complex and only the latest and greatest are mentioned not the ones you have sneaked out. When you did your research and asked for 'what people want' please include all current functionality for consideration. Not Happy.

  • Is there any way to enable recommended apps on the the notification panel or an app that I can download for that?

    • Do you want to see suggested apps on the phone? Or to be downloaded?

      Anyway, there are no options for this on the notification panel.

  • Does the Note 4 have the photo note option like Note 3? Where you take a picture and flip it over and write on the back? I have over 100 pictures for work that I have notes on but the lack of this feature or app has caused me not to upgrade. Are there any apps available that would allow me to do this to existing pictures?

    • You should not rely on this feature. Photo note was removed from Samsung devices for long time. Unlikely, Samsung will bring back this feature.

      Also, such features only work on Samsung devices. No third-party apps can read or use such features.

  • My nfc in galaxy note 4 it doesn't work, cannot detect or detected from other nfc (card or mobile phone)

  • My front camera doesn't work anymore. When I switch to selfie I get a warning: SERVER ERROR. RESTART THE CAMERA. Then the camera app does nothing and shuts off. I can't take any selfies. But I still can take pictures. Please help!

    • You can try to reset the camera in Settings -- Application manager --camera. You can clear cache and clear data for the camera app.

      You can also try to reboot the phone to see whether it helps.

  • Hi guys,

    accidentally don't know how !1 -all photos have deleted.
    How i can restore it , note4 ????

    • There are no system level recycle bin. You cannot restore the files easily.

      It's very expensive to use data recovery services. They cannot guarantee anything.

      You should back up your photos Google Photos can do it automatically and is free. Actually, if anything is important, you should back up them.

  • Hi. Can you change the orange top bar when you open messages? I know you can change colors etc. Inside messages. But i want to change the orange at the top when you first open up texts.

    • For Galaxy Note 5, you can use themes to change the look of these apps.

      But for Galaxy Note 4, no, you cannot change the color.

    • You can hold the message and choose to share to Gmail. Of course, you can copy and past. You can also take screenshots then share to Gmail.

  • For my galaxy note 4 when we take the s pen air commands are not coming
    I checked for it in the setting even then they are not coming I used s pen of note 3 even then it's not working but by using my s pen on note 3 air command is working what should I do now

  • I have a Galaxy S4 and have noticed that during continuous playback of photos taken in the burst shot mode, it has started to play them backwards. How can I reverse the playback of burst shots again so as to see the action as it took place as opposed to watching it backwards?

    • This is normal and you cannot change it because slideshow always starts with newer photos.

      For photos taken in burst mode, you need view them individually. The photos taken in one burst are grouped. You open it in Gallery app, you can then choose to animate them so that they can be viewed in correct order.

      If you want to keep the animation, you can export them as a GIF animation. You can remove any of them in the animation.

  • If the battery is not charging, I would suspect that either the charger or the connector to the phone may be bad.

  • Question my Note 4 battery seems to have died and I purchased a new battery. It does not seem to be charging as well. How long should I leave it on the charger to get a percent?

    • It should be just a few mins. You may check the phone in the service center to find out whether the charging port or the board has any issues.

    • No official way to unlock the S Note. This is the purpose of the password protection.

      If you really want to try, you can rename the S Note file as zip file and use zip password cracker. Please note, most free password cracker software may have malware. If the length of your password is longer than 6, it's impractical to crack it with your PC. It will take to long time.

      Anyway, if I were you, I would not try and take it as a lesson.

  • Overnight in Note 4, in the phn standard email app...my ability to compose and have rich text, BOLD/UNDERLINE/ITALICS, bullets, font colors, that whole bar disappeared! Help. I've checked ALL the settings I could find.

  • Is there any way to change the setup of the lock screen on note 4? When I turn it off then on, I really like where the time is and the info displayed, but the next time I go to the lock screen is different.

    • What's the difference? You can take a screenshot and share it in b out Facebook page so that others can understand what the problem is.

  • I have problem with my Samsung note 4 after I update system into android 6.0.1
    The download icon din appear while I m downloaded file. I had go for the seeting- sound n application-app application but it does not work for my phone.
    Please advise. Thanks

    • It depends the app you are using. It normally shows the icon only when downloading through browser apps or a few other apps.

  • How do you change the favorites format in phone number section to list of name vs pictures. I have my text on huge and this typing is way to small. Hurts my eyes to use ot.

  • my video recorder,voice recorder can't use!!it said another application is using the call..but i don't record any kind of voice and i didn't make a call

      • nope its not helping it still said that some of app is recording even when i use s voice

        • You can try to disable OK Google detection on all pages temporally to see whether it helps. You can do this in Google settings. If the phone was updated to Marshmallow, Google settings is moved to settings - applications.

  • Hi, I just switched from a Samsung Galaxy S5 to a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and am not able to view my pictures when I sync the phone to my laptop. When I open the DCIM folder, there I do not see the same pictures I see on the phone. How can I reset the setting to hopefully fix this issue?

      • On the phone, I see the pictures under the my files icon. When I connect the phone to my laptop to try view my pictures from the SD card, path "Galaxy Note4\Card\DCIM\Camera" there are no files in the camera folder. Is there a way to reset this or another way to access the pictures so that I can transfer them out of the phone?

  • Hi
    Earlier I had the option of running my finger downloads on the he screen froy samsung galaxy note 4 and all the options like wifi sound location Bluetooth etc ...
    But after update of anroid... I am unable to do it .. how do I get this option back ... don't know the right name or term for this option
    Pls help and guide

    • When you swipe down from top of the screen, what do you get? Are you in easy mode (settings -easy mode)?

  • Hello I'm using the samsing galaxy note 4 fron Tmobile. Recently mu voice recorder has disappeared. I have a years worth of recordings that have disappeared as well. What going on?

  • My name is Janvier. Im in Central Africa( Kigali-Rwanda ).I Have a problem with my Samsung Galaxy note 4 ,version N910H (Asia-Pacific).I tried all possible to change my 3G to 4G LTE but we failed.here 4GLTE work everywhere by with my 4 G i can not access it.I need your help.

    Thanks

  • I have a symbol appearing on my screen that looks much like a remote control. when I touch it my screen dims a little and then is useless its like the touch screen is turned off. I have had to remove the battery to turn off and back on the phone what is this symbol and how do I get rid of it. Help is appreciated I like your product most of the time

    • Not sure. It seems some Galaxy S6 owners in certain regions also got that icon. It looks like some accessibility tools.

      Because I have no chance to play with it, I cannot confirm what it is. You may check with local Samsung service center.

  • MY SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 4 WAS STOLEN. THE SIM CARD WAS PROBABLY BEEN DESTROYED OR REMOVED. IT WAS LOCKED USING MY FINGERPRINT. I ACCESSED MY GOOGLE ACCOUNT AND I FOUND OUT THAT THERE IS A WAY TO LOCATE THE PHONE. THE PROBLEM IS THAT MY PHONE REMAINED OFFLINE SINCE IT WAS STOLEN. PLEASE HELP ME FIND A WAY TO RECOVER IT. IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THE STEALER COULD RESET MY PHONE USING THE HARD WAY OF RESETTING THE PHONE?

    • You should file a police report. Yes, the thief may reset the phone. Factory data reset protection is only available in lollipop 5.1 or later.

  • Hai..how can i add call icon on screen lock on note 4..just now on swipe just have camera icon only..please help and tqvm for the help

  • I just got a Note 4 and I am having a lot of trouble hearing conversations on incoming calls. Is there any way to turn up the volume for this?

    • You can visit the local Samsung service center. They may help you to adjust the volume of the earpiece.

      • Thanks. Have always had an iPhone and decided to try something else. I hate learning a new system.

  • I have got a symbol on my screen that looks like a shoe and a person running and the word paused along side. how do I get rid of this??

  • Hi,I recently restart my phone, as Factory reset. all works, just the fingerprint has a "problem" reproduce a voice when I swipe over the pad, and sayd "Swipe downwards", Swipe over the center, how I switch off that?

    • Very likely, you turned on some accessibility settings. Check Settings--Accessibility --vision, make sure TalkBack is off.

  • By the way this is Kitty Carlisle and my above question was asked October 14, 2015, Wednesday, @ 12:38 am, Arizona time. Why does my original message say October 14, 2015, 7:33 am?

  • How do I UNDERLINE, make a word BOLD or in ITALICS using Text Messaging or Email on my Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Android Smartphone. I AM NOT interested in this question being answered using Skype or Facebook, just plain old Text Messaging and Email.

    • You can only format text in email app, not messaging app. SMS always sent as plain text. It is the recipient who can apply styles.

      For email app, when you compose an email, tap MORE in top right, then choose turn on rich text.

      BTW, if we reply, we reply through comments only.

  • When on the phone on the Note 4, the screen stays on when up to my ear. I then start pushing buttons with my ear. How can I get my screen to stay black when on the phone and up to my ear?

    • The Galaxy Note 4 screen should be black when you move the phone close to your ear when you are in a call. If not, probably some apps are interfering with proximity sensor or the proximity sensor has problems.

      You can try to reboot the phone to see whether it helps.

  • I bought a Note 4 recently. I noticed when I added tasks in the calendar it worked fine & even synced with my ms exchange. I put the "mini today" widget on one of my screens, but it only lists 1 of the 3 tasks I have for the day. Is there a setting I missed?

    • You can install Google calendar and add the calendar widget to home screen. The mini today may fail to work properly occasionally.

  • Hello, when i take a selfie and then look at the pic i made my note 4 goes to lockscreen on it's own. How can i fix that?

  • I have a samsung galaxy note 4 and keep accidentally turning the ring tone off so missing calls. Can it be locked

  • How do I unlock my Note 4 , im locked out and can not for the life of me remember my back up password, iv tried from my google account on my PC. DOES NOT HELP AT ALL

  • Is there a way to remap the on off button on the side to use 2 or more taps to turn on/off the note 4? It seems that just about every time I put the note 4 back in my holster, I hit that button and erroneously turn the phone back on... Thanks in advance for any help!

    • Probably impossible. Hardware buttons are hardwared....

      You need press the button for at least 5 seconds to reboot the phone. So it is actually not so easy to reboot it.

      If you mean turning on the screen, it should stay on lock screen and times out within a few seconds.

    • Do you mean in Gallery app? In gallery app, tap navigation menu in top left, you can sort photos with time. Date will be used to organize your photos.

      • Hi Simon, I did not mean Gallery app. In note 3 when you opened any photo in Gallery app you could see the date on it for some time. This does not happen in note 4. Has this facility been removed?? If yes can it be added?

  • How do I rearrange pictures on burst mode? I played it but it's backwards.

    • You need look through the apps you installed. You need pay attention to apps that are related to system functions (task manager, power saving, notification management, security app....)

  • When the notification shade is pulled down my screen goes black after 6 seconds. Pressing the start button wakes it up. Smart stay is on, screen timeout is 2 minutes. I did a soft reset and wiped the cache partition. This happened after v. 5.0.1 was installed. Any suggestions? Is this a known bug with Lollipop or just me?
    Thanks!

    • I have not heard about such a bug. Can you try to check it in safe mode? It can be caused by some third party apps.

  • I set up a screen lock/unlock pattern. I don't like it and just want to totally not have to do the unlock pattern. How do I get rid of it?

    • Settings - lock screen - screen security. You probably should choose swipe, not none. You should experiment them to see which is better for you.

  • Hi,

    How can I put all my contacts as just one same person instead of having the same contact in 4 - 6 rows on my contact list on my note 4. Also, I have my finger print registered on my phone but each time I tried to swipe with my finger to unlock the phone, it keeps telling me to swipe slowly, move down, up and so on. I'm tired of typing the backup password every time. Please advice.

    • For the contacts, you can merge (link) them. Open the contact, tap the menu key (3 vertical dots)in top right, then tap link. You will be able to link some contacts as one.

      For the fingerprint, you should swipe your finger from the screen to and cross the home button downwards.

    • This may happen. Some features are removed and there are a lot of changes from version to version. It seems Samsung is still "experimenting" the S Note app.

      The backward compatibility of S Note app is really a headache of many active users.

  • Does anyone know if you can switch the location of the capacitive buttons ("recent apps" and "back")? I want the "back" button on the left side of screen because i hold it in my left hand and my hand is too small to reach across screen for one-handed back button operation.

    Probably the lights themselves will be stuck with the normal location as they are most likely hardware cutouts under the screen...but can you hack the operation of the buttons? Meaning, when i push the "recent apps" button..can it actually activate the "back" function?

    • I guess i answered the question myself by changing my google search terms. There are ways to swap the function of the buttons...and if you turn off the lights of the capacitive buttons then you won't even know you hacked the functionality of the buttons....search google for "galaxy note 4 swap recent apps and back button" and you'll find out how to do it. Unfortunately, you will have to root the phone to hack the functionality of the button.s

  • Hello, I would like to know an inexpensive way to mirror my note 4 on my older tv's without HDMI ports (RCA only red, white & yellow)?

    • Probably there are no easy way to mirror your Note 4 screen without a AV receiver. Most of the solutions require HDMI.

      • Would a "MHL Micro USB to RCA AV Cable Adapter For Samsung Galaxy S5 S4 S3 S2 Note 3 2 SS" work for the note 4?

        • Note 4 supports MHL. If the adapter works for s5,it should work for note 4. But some of such adapters may not work well. If you have no other choices, you may try it.

  • Hi again!

    How do you get to the settings on individual applications such as the Facebook application?

    With my old Note 2, I could simply hold down the lower left key and it would bring up the settings for whatever application i was currently in. This button doesn't have that effect on the Note 4.

    I've tried looking through a few different possibilities within settings and also whilst in the app, and I just can't work it out.

    Specifically, I want to stop it from making sounds every when certain things happen in Facebook.

    Thanks!

  • Hi!

    How do you change the default settings (especially default reminder settings) on new events in S Planner on the Note 4?

    Thanks!

  • What would cause the back touch soft key not to light up? The recent apps key lights but the back key does not. I have checked the power save mode and it is not on. Any other ideas?

  • Thanks Simon for your response, the text still won't sound if I have left the chat window open and I walk away ? ? Any suggestions? Will this issue be fixed on a future update ? Thanks

    • You need close the window if you want to get notifications. If the messaging app is in use, you will not get sound notifications for new sms.

  • Hi when I send a text to someone n leave my text window open why is there no sound when I receive a text back from the same person ? Very frustrating ? Please help will the new updates fix this ?

  • How do you edit photos in the Note 4? In Gallery, I bring up a photo and then hit the 'Menu Bar' to get to the 'Edit' button but then a pop-up comes up saying the "Photo Editor not installed on the device. Download Photo Editor?" so I download but again another pop-up saying, "Error Product does not exist in this store. (4002)". How do I get the Photo Editor?

    • First, are you using the stock Gallery app? As I know, the editor (studio) is always pre-installed. Anyway, you may tap the menu key (3 vertical dots in the top right), then tap Studio.

      Probably, your Samsung account is not properly setup in Galaxy Apps. You may try to log in once in Galaxy Apps.

      There are many other photo editor tools. You may try Photos.

    • Yes, you can create a shortcut of a folder to the home screen. (please note, home screen is for app shortcuts and widgets, not a real storage location).

      You can do this in My Files. Open My Files, tap Device storage (or SD card) under Local storage, tap and hold the folder to select the folder, then tap the menu key (3 vertical dots in top right), tap Add shortcut. Now you can find the shortcut on the home screen.

      If you don't like Samsung's pre-installed My Files, you can use ES File Explorer as well. In ES File explorer, select the folder, tap More (3 vertical dots), tap Add to desktop.

    • If the lightning condition is not good, you can try turn off/on HDR to see whether it improves.

      In Galaxy Note 4, Samsung simplified the camera to a auto mode. Most of the time it works very well. The optical image stabilizer also works well most of the time.

      If you consistently get poor quality photos, you may reset the settings, In the camera app, tap settings icon, then tap 3 dots, then reset all settings.

      You may also try Google camera app to see whether it gives better photos.

  • Can you set the ringtone as VIP for a contact, so even if you have your phone on silent or vibrate, that particular contact number will still ring loud?

  • Can you set individual sounds for each contact text notifications? I know you can set individual contact ringtones.

  • In S Note, when using Text....my text goes below the level of screen that you can see, but does not a second page. This text is now un-usable and doesn't convert into a odd or show up on screen shot.....how do I make the text flow to another page do I can see it?

    • The text box in new S Note does not span to next page. You can make the font smaller, or create a new text box in next page and copy the hidden text to next page.

    • You are probably referring to car mode. In the quick settings panel (swipe down with two fingers from the top of the screen, i.e., status bar), you can enable/disable it.

  • Can you place pages to the left of your home screen? It's completely different from the drag and drop feature of the note 3.

  • My recent apps button and my "back" button don't light up anymore. How can I fix this?

  • Hi there, any tips on customizing the original lock screen for Galaxy Note 4? I couldn't find how to enable to add widgets to the lock screen in settings.

    • I don't think you are allowed to add other widgets except time, weather, owner info and the camera in Note 4.

      Samsung removed the widget page for lock screen in TouchWiz. .

      The lock screen will be used by music players if any players are not off.