We’ve already shown you the first things you should do with the LG V30. Now, we can dig deep into the features. LG traditionally packs a lot of stuff into their phones. The V30 is no different, but they’ve also scaled back in some areas. It’s a nice full list of features without burring the users in choices. We’ll help you get the most out of your V30 with this list.

 

 

How to take a screenshot on the LG V30

 

 

 

 

Taking a screenshot is a great tool for showing people what you’re looking at. It’s one of the most basic functions you can do with a phone. The V30 has a couple of different methods to perform this task.

Method 1:

• Press and hold the power and volume down buttons simultaneously

Method 2:

• Open the Floating Bar
• Tap one of the Capture shortcuts
  • You can draw on the screen, record a long screen, crop, or create a GIF

 

 

Set up the fingerprint scanner

 

 

 

 

 

The fingerprint scanner on the back of the V30 can be used for a few things, such as Android Pay and Google Play Store purchases, but the most common use is unlocking the phone. The V30 has one of the fastest and most reliable sensors I’ve used. You definitely should give it a shot.

1. Go to Settings > Fingerprints & security
2. Tap on Fingerprints (confirm your password)
3. Select Add fingerprint
4. Scan your fingerprint

 

 

Unlock the phone with your face

 

 

 

 

Unlocking phones with your face is all the rage these days and the V30 can do it too. LG’s “Face Print” is one of the best face unlocking implementations I’ve used. It can work along with the fingerprint scanner (you don’t have to pick just one). You should check it out and give it a try.

1. Go to Settings > Lock screen
2. Select Face Recognition
3. Tap NEXT
4. Tap START and follow instructions
5. Tap OK when done

 

Skip the lock screen in safe places with Smart Lock

 

 

 

 

The V30 has many convenient unlock methods, but sometimes you shouldn’t need any of them. A feature called “Smart Lock” lets you tell your phone when it’s safe to disable lock screen security. This allows you to lock your phone when you need it, but it won’t be locked when you’re in trusted situations.

1. Go to Settings > Lock screen
2. Select Smart Lock
3. Choose one of the Smart Lock methods

Currently, there are 4 types of Smart Lock, and you can use more than one at a time. Each one will explain how it works when you select it. Trusted places is a good place to start.

 

Make sure you can find your lost or stolen phone

 

 

 

 

The worst thing that can happen to a new phone is for it to be lost or stolen. Thankfully, you have some options for retrieving the device. The V30 comes with something called “Android Device Manager” pre-installed. If your phone is lost or stolen you can simply go to this website, log in with your Google account, and locate your phone. You can also remotely ring, lock, and erase the device. The best thing about this is there’s no set-up required. It just works.

 

 

Set up the Floating Bar

 

 

 

 

LG replaced the Second Screen with a new feature called “Floating Bar.” It has essentially the same features of the Second Screen, but it’s a widget that floats on your screen. You can drag it around wherever you want, but it’s always just a tap away.

1. Go to Settings > Floating Bar
2. Toggle it on
3. Toggle on the items you want in the bar
4. Tap Shortcuts and Quick contacts to customize

 

 

Get quick info with the Always-On Display

 

 

 

 

The V30 has an Always-on display that allows you to see the time, date, and notifications while the display is turned off. This feature really shines with the OLED displays. It’s pretty handy to see the time or whether you need to read a notification.

1. Go to Settings > Display
2. Tap Always-on display
3. Toggle the switch to ON
4. Tap the settings gear icon to choose how it looks

 

 

Wake the phone with a double-tap

 

 

 

 

If you haven’t used an LG phone in a while, you’re about to discover something you won’t be able to live without. Since the power button is on the back, sometimes it’s hard to quickly wake up the phone. You can simply double-tap anywhere on the screen and the display will light up.

Putting the phone to sleep works the same way. If you’re using the stock LG launcher you can double-tap on any blank space, but if you’re using a 3rd-party launcher you have to double-tap the status bar. Give it a try.

 

 

Put the Settings in list mode

 

 

 

 

On most V30 models, the Settings is organized with a tabbed layout. We’ve found that the tabs usually make it more difficult to find what you’re looking for. To go back to the more traditional list view, simply tap the three-dot menu icon in the top right of the Settings and select List view. You can also slide out the list of settings from the side.

 

 

Delete unwanted apps

 

 

 

 

Some carrier models of the LG V30 will come with a lot of apps pre-installed. It’s very annoying to see apps you never intend to use. The good news is we can uninstall, or at least disable, most of the bloatware. There are two methods to remove apps.

1. Go to Settings > Apps
2. Locate the appropriate app
   1. Note: For system apps, tap the Menu icon > Show system
3. Tap UNINSTALL
4. Tap OK to confirm

OR

1. Open the app drawer
2. Tap the Menu icon
3. Select Arrange apps
4. Tap the (X) icon on an app to remove

 

 

How to draw on the screen

 

 

 

 

You can draw on pretty much anything with a tap of a button on the LG V30. It’s a button that you can find in the Quick Settings or Floating Bar. When you tap the button, it takes a screenshot and lets you draw on it. Not only is it great for doodling, but it’s great for taking notes.

1. Expand the Floating Bar
2. Swipe to the screen capture shortcuts
3. Tap the pencil icon
4. Edit the image and tap the check mark to save it

 

Bring back the App Drawer

 

 

 

 

The default LG home screen does not include an app drawer. All of your apps will be on the home screen just like how it is on the iPhone. If you use a 3rd-party launcher, this isn’t a problem, but if you use the stock launcher you might want the app drawer. Thankfully, LG has a way to get the drawer back.

1. Go to Settings > Home screen
2. Tap Select Home
3. Choose Home & app drawer

 

 

Hide apps in the launcher

 

 

 

 

Now that we have the app drawer back, there may be some apps you don’t want to see in it. Sometimes these are apps you need to have installed, but you don’t want them cluttering up your app drawer. Thankfully, it’s easy to hide apps.

1. Open the app drawer
2. Tap the menu icon
3. Select Hide apps
4. Check the box for the apps you want to hide
5. Tap DONE

 

Change up the look with a Theme

 

 

 

 

By default, the V30 comes with a bright white theme. It’s not an ugly theme, but you may prefer something darker or just plain different. The good news is you can choose from a few pre-installed themes and even download themes directly from the Play Store. Here’s how to do it.

1. Go to Settings > Theme
2. Select one of the preloaded themes
3. Tap APPLY

Themes installed from the Play Store will show up in the same place. Here’s an example of a theme you can download from the Play Store.

 

 

Get a new keyboard

 

 

 

 

LG’s default keyboard isn’t terrible, but you probably already have a favorite keyboard. Changing the keyboard is an essential part of what makes Android unique. It’s easy to change on the V30.

1. Go to Settings > Language & keyboard
2. Select Current keyboard
3. Tap SELECT MORE
4. Toggle on your desired keyboard
5. Go back, select Current Keyboard again
6. Select your keyboard

To find Settings for your keyboard

1. Go to Settings > Language & keyboard
2. Tap the name of your keyboard
3. You’ll see all the settings

 

 

Turn off the “Rounded Square” icons

 

 

 

 

For everything that LG does well, software design is not on the list. One of the things you’ll notice right away is the “rounded square” icon shape on the default LG home screen. It’s kinda ugly, but the good news is you can turn it off and go back to the stock icons. Here’s how to do it:

1. Go to Settings > Home screen
2. Select Icon Shape
3. Choose Original
4. Tap OK

 

 

Adjust how apps scale to the 18:9 display

 

 

 

 

The V30’s display is taller than most phones. It has an 18:9 aspect ration, whereas most devices have 16:9 displays. All that means is you get some extra vertical space for apps. By default, most apps run completely fine on the tall display. Where you may run into some issues is with fullscreen apps, such as games. You can adjust the scale.

1. In a fullscreen app, swipe up from the bottom to reveal the nav buttons
2. Tap the App Scaling button
3. You’ll have three options:
   1. Compatibility (16:9)
   2. Standard (16.7:9) (default)
   3. Fullscreen (18:9)
4. If the app is misbehaving, put it in compatibility mode.

You can also adjust App Scaling in the Settings.

1. Go to Settings > Display
2. Select App scaling
3. Tap the app you want to adjust
4. Choose one of the options

 

Change the display size

 

 

 

 

LG allows you to adjust the display size on the V30. Whether you have good eyes and want to take advantage of that extra screen real estate to show more of everything, or you want to further enlarge text, icons, everything, it’s all possible thanks to DPI scaling. Here’s where you’ll find it:

1. Go to Settings > Display
2. Scroll down and select Display size
3. Move the slider to the left or right to either shrink or blow up the entire UI

 

Change the wallpaper

 

 

 

 

Changing the wallpaper is one of the easiest ways to instantly personalize your phone. It’s super easy to do. Simply press and hold on any empty space on the home screen. Select the Wallpapers tab in the bottom right of the screen. You’ll be able to choose from installed apps and pre-loaded wallpapers. You can also change the lock screen wallpaper. Go to Settings > Lock screen > Wallpaper.

 

Add or reorder home screen pages

 

 

 

 

Adding extra home screens gives you more room for widgets and apps icons. LG doesn’t allow you to simply drag an app or widget to a blank screen to create a new home screen. You have to follow these steps.

1. Pinch to zoom out on the home screen
2. Tap the (+) on the blank home screen
3. Now you have a blank screen

 

 

Reorganize the Quick Toggles

 

 

 

 

There are a bunch of super handy Quick Settings toggles in the notification shade. Pull down once to see a few to toggles or pull down again to see a bunch more. You can customize the order of these toggles and add or remove certain ones from the list.

1. Swipe down to show the notification shade
2. Swipe down again to expand the Quick Settings
3. Tap the EDIT button (bottom right)
4. Drag and drop icons in the notification panel
5. Tap the menu icon to add/remove brightness, volume, etc.

 

 

Customize the Navigation Bar

 

 

 

 

The V30 has software nav button on the bottom of the screen. Unlike physical buttons, they can disappear to make room for fullscreen apps, or in this case, be customized to show more buttons. You can rearrange the existing buttons, change the color, and add up to two extra buttons.

• Go to Settings > Display > Home touch buttons
• Select Button combination
• You can drag and drop the buttons in any order you like, but there can’t be more than 4 in the bar
• Changes will show up in the navigation bar immediately
• You can choose the color of the buttons on the previous page

 

 

Add shortcuts to the lock screen

 

 

 

 

By default, you’ll probably see shortcuts for phone and camera on the lock screen. While these are handy for most people, they might not be your first choices. LG allows you to add up to five shortcuts to the lock screen.

1. Go to Settings > Lock screen
2. Select Shortcuts
3. Simply tap on a shortcut and choose the desired app from the list
4. Tap SAVE when you’re done

 

 

Take advantage of ALL the megapixels

 

 

 

 

The V30 features a great camera. With a dual lens system, users can switch between the regular 16MP camera or a super wide angle camera on the fly. On some models, the camera doesn’t take full advantage of the all the megapixels by default. While it’s nice to see the viewfinder filling up the entire display, it’s basically chopping off the top and bottom. You should fix it.

1. Open the Camera app
2. Tap the Settings icon
3. Select Photo size
4. Choose 4:3 (16MP)
5. Flip to the front-facing camera
6. Go to Settings > Photo Size
7. This time select 4:3 (5.0MP)

 

Use the wide-angle camera to get everything in frame

 

 

 

 

One of the best things about LG phones is the wide-angle camera on the back. It allows you to get much more in the frame of a photo or video. You can switch between the cameras on the fly, even in the middle of a video.

1. Open the Camera
2. You’ll see two icons on the top or side of the app (depending on orientation)
   1. The single tree icon is for the standard camera
   2. The icon with three trees is for the wide-angle camera
3. Tap whichever one you’d like to use

 

Get Instagram pics with Snap Shot mode

 

 

 

 

LG has added a new “Snap Shot” mode to take advantage of the 18:9 display. Square mode uses the top half of the display, a 1:1 square, as the viewfinder. When you snap a pic it moves to the bottom half of the display for review. It stays there until you snap another pic. This mode is perfect for Instagram.

1. Open the Camera
2. Tap the MODE icon
3. Select Snap Shot

 

Switch to Manual mode for more control

 

 

 

 

LG has one of the best camera interfaces around. It can be as simple or as complicated as you’d like. Auto mode removes most of the buttons from the screen so you can just tap to focus and take a photo. Manual mode is only for advanced users. It has settings and sliders for things like focus, ISO, shutter speed, and more.

1. Open the Camera
2. Tap the MODE icon
3. Choose Auto (default) or Manual (there are options for manual video and photo)

 

Try all the unique camera shooting modes

 

 

 

 

The camera is also packed with several nifty “modes” that are fun to play around with. In the Auto interface, you’ll see an icon labeled “MODE”, tap it to see a list of different shooting modes. These modes will allow you to do some interesting things with your photos and videos.

• Panorama: stitch together photos to create a panorama shot
• 360 Panorama: creates an immersive 360-degree panorama
• Snap Shot: assemble short clips into a 60-second video
• Pop-out: take a photo with both rear cameras to create a PIP effect
• Time-lapse: record long videos that are sped up for a short video
• Slow-mo: record a video in slow motion
• Food: specifically for food shots. Adds white balance slider

 

Feel like a movie director with Cine Video

 

 

 

 

One of the big features that LG talked about with the V30 is a new camera mode called “Cine Video.” This feature allows you to add professionally created lighting effects and color grading to your videos. You can get some really cool looking videos with the Cine Video tools.

1. Open the Camera
2. Tap the MODE icon
3. Select Cine Video
4. Tap the Cine icon (looks like movie film, next to MODE icon)
5. Select one of the presets and adjust the sliders
6. Record the video like usual

 

Take selfies with a gesture

 

 

 

 

Another cool trick is called Gesture shot. You can take a selfie by holding your open hand up to the camera and then closing it into a fist. The feature actually works really well, and it can come in handy quite often. Gesture shot is enabled by default, so all you have to do is use it.

1. Hold up your open hand to the camera until brackets appear around it
2. Make a fist once to take one photo (a 3-second timer will count down to the shot)
3. Make two consecutive fists to take 4 burst shots

 

Use your voice to snap a photo

 

 

 

 

You can also use your voice to snap a selfie (or any photo). With “Cheese shutter” enabled you can say “cheese, smile, whiskey, kimchi, or LG” to snap a photo with your voice. It’s that easy.

1. Open the Camera
2. Tap the Settings icon
3. Switch the toggle on for Cheese shutter

 

Automate tasks with LG Smart Settings

 

 

 

 

LG phones come with a feature called Smart Settings. It allows your phone to automatically adjust settings based on your location or connected devices. For example, your favorite music app can open when your plug in headphones or WiFi can be disabled when you leave your house.

There are four different things that can trigger the Smart Settings: arriving at home, leaving home, plugging in earphones, and connecting a Bluetooth device. Each one has several options available.

1. Go to Settings > Smart Settings
   1. (you may need to turn on My Place in Settings >  Location first)
2. Select one of the Smart Settings
3. Toggle it on and adjust the settings

 

Get every last drop of battery life

 

 

 

 

The V30 has pretty good battery life, but you still might end the day with not much life left. There are built-in settings for getting every last drop of juice when your battery is low. Battery Saver can turn off background activities and limit resources. It works great and only requires a short set up.

1. Go to Settings > Battery & power saving
2. Tap on Battery saver
3. Select Extended or Maximum mode
4. Select Edit mode to customize

 

Show battery percentage in status bar

 

 

 

 

Want to keep a close eye on battery life? You can put the actual battery percentage in the status bar. You’ll see the number for battery percentage next to the battery icon.

1. Go to Settings > Battery & power saving
2. Toggle the switch for Battery percentage on status bar

 

Pin apps and safely hand off your phone

 

 

 

 

If you’re like most people, your phone is full of personal information and sensitive content. Handing off your phone to someone else can be a little nerve-racking. Screen pin is a feature that lets you lock your phone to one app. You can “pin” a specific app so the user can’t do anything else.

1. Go to Settings > Fingerprints & security > Screen pin
2. Toggle the switch on
3. Also, toggle Pin with screen lock on

To use Screen pin open the app you would like to pin, press the Recents button in the nav bar, scroll up and tap the thumbtack icon in the bottom right corner of the most recent app (not the pin in the title bar). To unpin an app simply long-press the back and Recents buttons simultaneously.

 

Take advantage of the SD card slot

 

 

 

 

While some phones these days don’t have microSD card slots, the LG V30 still has one. You can easily upgrade your storage capacity without buying any cloud storage subscriptions and relying on a data connection. Check out these great cards.

• SanDisk Ultra 32GB
• SanDisk Ultra 64GB
• SanDisk Ultra 128GB
• Samsung EVO Select 32GB
• Samsung EVO Select 64GB
• Samsung EVO Select 128GB

 

Launch shortcuts with the volume buttons

 

 

 

 

The volume buttons on the V30 are not only for adjusting the volume. You can also use the volume buttons to quickly launch the camera or take notes when the display is off. All you have to do is double-tap the volume up or down buttons.

1. Go to Settings > Shortcut keys
2. Switch the toggle to ON

Double tapping Volume Up will launch the Capture+ app for taking notes. Double tapping Volume Down will quickly launch the camera.

 

Silence your phone automatically with Do Not Disturb

 

 

 

 

Everyone has certain times of day when they don’t want to be bothered by notifications. Do Not Disturb allows you to choose those certain times and days for your phone to automatically go into silent mode. It can be incredibly useful, and you should definitely use it.

1. Go to Settings > Notifications > Do not disturb
2. Select Schedule > (+) button
3. Choose the days of the week you’d like it to be enabled
4. Choose the start and end time
5. Choose if you’d like Priority interruptions or total silence during this time

 

Crank up animations for faster performance

 

 

 

 

The V30 is a very fast phone, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be faster. To speed things up and make the UI feel more snappy, you can increase the speed of the animations. But you’ll first need to activate the hidden Developer Options by following these steps:

1. Go to Settings > About phone
2. Select Software info
3. Tap Build Number 7 times until you see “You are now a developer” message
4. Go back to the main settings and you’ll see Developer options

To speed up animations:

1. Go to Settings > Developer options
2. Scroll down select Window animation and choose .5x
3. Select Transition animation and choose .5x
4. Select Animator duration scale and choose .5x

 

How to factory reset the LG V30

 

 

 

If you ever want to start fresh or sell your phone, you need to do a factory reset. This will wipe the device clean, so make sure none of your personal information is left. It will be like you turned the phone on for the first time again.

1. Open the Settings app
2. Scroll down and select Backup & reset
3. Tap Factory data reset
4. Tap RESET PHONE (confirm password)

 

Find the best Android apps & games

 

 

 

 

An awesome phone is nothing without some equally awesome apps. We’ve compiled tons of helpful guides for finding the best apps and games in the Play Store. Before you dive in and rummage around, you’ll want to check out these lists first.

 

 

Download the Forums for Android app!