Touchscreen Tips-Android Phone Icons and Symbols You Need to Know and Use

Modern technology is great but there are so many symbols and icons used on a regular basis by different devices, that it is sometimes difficult to know what some of them mean and what they allow you to do.

If you have an android phone, there is a fair chance that some of the icons and symbols used on the device, might just be a mystery to you. Rather than pass them over or carry on with your confusion, here is a look at what some of them actually mean.

Unleash the full power of your phone

It is definitely worth getting to know all the features that your android phone has to offer, which means getting the lowdown on what some of these symbols mean.

Having an android weather app loaded on your phone is self-explanatory, as it is clear what information you are going to access when you tap on the icon, but others, including ones that come preloaded with your phone, may not be so obvious.

Voice over 4G

Things are moving on at a fast pace and thankfully, 4G is now more widely available, meaning that you should enjoy better coverage with your phone when you are out and about.

In addition to this, Voice over 4G or VolTE services is now being offered where available and supported by your provider. What this means is that instead of just internet data being handled by 4G, you may now have the opportunity to make better quality voice calls, using the 4G network.

If you see two horizontal arrows pointing in opposite directions where the 4G availability is being displayed, good news, this symbol is telling you that you can make voice over 4G calls.

Signal strength

4G on your phone is great, but if you see some other symbols appear instead and don’t know exactly what they mean, it may not be such positive information about the quality and extent of your mobile coverage.

For example, if you just see the letter G displayed, this is the abbreviation for GPRS (General Packet Radio Service, in case you were wondering) this is telling you that you are currently experiencing a data rate that is about as slow as a boat.

GPRS won’t get you very far in terms of browsing and you will be waiting for your screen to update for quite a while. If you see the letter E, this is marginally better, but streaming music or browsing websites, is probably not going to be happening efficiently. 3G is better and should be faster and if you see the letter H appear, you are enjoying high-speed Downlink Packet Access, which makes streaming more efficient, but movies might be a tall order.

At least when you see these letters and symbols, you will have a better idea of what you might be able to do with your phone.

If you want to get the most out of your android phone, it makes sense to learn about all the symbols and icons being displayed, as it will help you to get the most out of the device, as well as knowing when it is warning you of limitations.

Tia Hancock has built up a ton of knowledge of all the top smartphones on the market thanks to her job in a cellphone store. She loves to share her knowledge and writes how-to articles for an online audience.