If you own a Samsung device, setting up Samsung Account can help you in the event of an emergency, theft or loss. You will also be able to restore all your data to a replacement Samsung device.

I recommend getting both the Manufacturer specific account (in this case it is Samsung) and your Google account setup correctly.

Please see my other article on Setting up a Google Account called “Protect your Device with your Google Account”.

Protect your Device with your Google Account

Setup your Samsung Account on your Samsung device. This will give you access to numerous Samsung Services including:

1. Samsung Pay
2. Bixby
3. Samsung Cloud Storage
4. Find my Mobile
5. *Samsung Notes
6. *Samsung Health

*Note: If you change or upgrade to a non Samsung device then your data stored in Samsung Notes and Samsung Health will be lost as these apps will not be compatible with your new device.

I now use these alternative apps:

• • Microsoft One Note (requires a Microsoft Account)
  • Sports Tracker Premium (premium maps and no adds)
    Sport Tracker Premium costs £14.99 per year (in my region)

Create a Samsung Account

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Cloud and accounts.
3. Tap Accounts.
4. Tap Add account.
5. Tap Samsung account.
6. Tap CREATE ACCOUNT.
7. Enter your email and a password.
8. Tap NEXT.
9. Select terms and conditions, and tap AGREE.

Backup your Phone and Sync your Data

1. Open Settings
2. Tap Cloud and Accounts
3. Tap Samsung Cloud
4. Tap the 3 dots in the upper right corner
5. Tap Settings
6. Tap Sync Settings
7. Select the items to be backed up

Use the same procedure for Auto backup settings

Find my Mobile

Visit the following Web Site from any device and login: https://findmymobile.samsung.com

Once you are logged in, a web page will show your devices with the location of the selected device on a zoomable map:

(The map has been distorted for privacy reasons)

Find My Mobile combines all the services into one to perform the following actions:

• Ring
• Lock and Lock Power Off
• Erase data
• Back up
• Retrieve calls/messages
• Unlock
• Extend battery life
• Set guardian

Google has a similar offering with 2 services: Find your Phone and Google Find My Device.

Please see my separate article on Google

There is one main difference – Samsung Find My Mobile can retrieve your call log from your phone. (When using the feature Retrieve calls/messages – only my call log was displayed and no messages).

Lock

Whether or not you have locked your phone, you can now do so. Set up a PIN number, enter a contact no as well as a message.

The following will now appear on lock screen of the lost phone:

The finder is still able to access the Emergency information (ICE contacts and personal medical information) by tapping EMERGENCY CALL. (See https://martinshelpdesk.com/ice).

Once retrieved the owner will have the ability to enter a PIN and unlock the phone.

Lock Power off

This disables the “Power off” function of the phone, so that it stays on and connected.

Back up

Backup gives you the opportunity to do a final back up (as long as the phone is still powered on and has an internet connection). The following items will be backed up:

These can then be restored to a new (Samsung) phone that has signed in with the same Samsung Account.

Note: The Contacts and Calendar items can be stored in various locations – specifically on your phone, in your Google Account or in your Samsung Account. It is best to keep everything in one place (i.e. your Google Account).

Retrieve calls/messages

Up to the last 50 calls are retrieved. (When I used this there were no retrieved messages)

Unlock

Provides you a remote unlock of your phone should you forget your unlock method. It will delete all stored unlock procedures on the phone. You will need your Samsung account password to confirm.

Set Guardian

Sets designated guardians to remotely perform the following:

• Locate your device
• Activate Emergency Mode
• Ring device

After agreeing, you then need click to Set guardian a second time and enter up to three new guardian’s Samsung account information with an access duration of “always” or set a “custom date range”.

Martin’s HelpDesk can help users get the best out of their phone. With a proper setup your phone can facilitate your everyday activities. We provide a custom setup to match your lifestyle including work, travel, sports and leisure.

https://martinshelpdesk.com/smartphone

In a medical emergency, the services look to your phone as the first point of information.

It’s virtually impossible to unlock a smartphone to identify who you are so it is important to get your phone to provide relevant information quickly and easily without unlocking the phone.

Your locked smartphone can still show both your ICE contacts and your medical information, if set up correctly.

On the lock screen on the Android phone, swipe up to display the unlock screen and tap on EMERGENCY CALL

Ice Contacts will be displayed along the top.

Emergency Medical Info is at the bottom.

Adding Ice Contacts

The video below explains the procedure on a Samsung Galaxy S7 phone running Android Ver 7 (Nougat).

Press Play to start the video tutorial

Press Resume to continue

Setup Instructions

Ice Contacts

1. Open the Contacts App
2. Tap the three dots on the top right of the screen
3. Tap Groups
4. This will show All Groups. The first item is ICE – emergency contacts.
5. Search for contact members and for each contact tap the + to add that person to your Emergency contacts group.
6. On the lock screen on the Android phone, swipe up to display the unlock screen and tap on EMERGENCY CALL.
7. At the top, tap the + button and select the contacts, along with the specified number, that you want displayed along top of the screen.
8. The selected contacts will now be displayed and can be dialled directly.

Emergency medical information

Open the Contacts App
Your Contact list will display some sections

1. My Profile
2. Favourites
3. Frequently Contacted
4. Alphabetical list of contacts

Under My Profile

1. Select yourself
2. Tap Edit and complete your information.
3. Scroll down and tap on Emergency medical info and complete that section.
4. Look for a “View More” dropdown and complete that information too
5. When finished, tap DONE.
6. Then tap SAVE.
7. On the lock screen on the Android phone, swipe up to display the unlock screen and tap on EMERGENCY CALL
8. Tap the icon on the bottom left to display your Emergency medical information

What else should you do?…

This is just ONE of about 30 steps we do in our comprehensive smartphone setup.
Get an expert to customise your SmartPhone to suit your Work, Play, Travel and Everyday lifestyle.

Find out More…

Think back to the days when we used a mobile phone for texts and calls, an iPod or MP3 player for music, a DVD Player for movies, a radio for local broadcasts, a SatNav for directions, consulted time tables for travel and then used the computer for just about everything else. A lot of finicky gadgets, each with user manuals, cables, batteries and chargers.

Enter the modern SmartPhone

Today’s smartphone can accomplish all these plus a lot more.

With a worldwide community of developers for the Windows Phone, the iPhone and the Android Phone, the app market is very competitive. Hence an array of apps for Communication, Entertainment, Information, Productivity, Sport and Travel.

I will attempt to cover each area or category with my own experience and app suggestions. I use an Android phone, however many apps of the same name are also available for Windows phone and the iPhone.

Communication

The original reason for a using a phone is for communication. Communication has gone a lot further to utilise social media and the phone’s data/ video/ webcam/ bluetooth capabilities.

Three apps for communication are already shipped with your phone. These are used for phone calling, text messaging and email. When your phone is connected to wifi, you can bypass your allowances by using other communication apps.

The most popular communication apps are:

• Skype
• Whatsapp
• Messenger (FaceBook)

Apart from making calls you can also video call, text, send pictures, files and voice messages. Each app has it’s own list of features, so not all of them do everything. The person you are connecting to must also have the same app installed.

Entertainment

Entertainment encompasses music, movies, video, photo albums and games. Most phones include apps for music and photo galleries, but it might be worth exploring for an app that offers more features according to your requirements.

Movies and TV

Each platform has it’s own music and movie store which will charge you a fee for each download.

My favourite apps for TV and movies are:

• Netflix – Movie Rental at £6.00 per month
• ToView – Freeview Live TV Channels
• BBC News
• BBC iPlayer

Information

Information comes to us in all sorts of ways. Newspapers, radio broadcasts, television news, weather forecasts, Facebook and Twitter posts and so on. Likewise apps for all these are available for the smartphone.

My recommendations are:

• BBC News
• BBC Weather
• Facebook
• TuneInRadio
• YouTube

Productivity

Microsoft Office as a productivity suite of programs has the greatest market share, so having an app that can display Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents on your phone is great for reference purposes. Creating or editing a Microsoft document on a phone is not a great experience because of the limited screen size.

The very fact that you can add items to your calendar, create or reply to emails and catch up with phone calls means you are being productive on the go and thus saving you the hassle of attending to things later.

Using your phone as a presentation tool means having less kit with longer battery life. Researching and keeping up with the news using the internet and various apps also means you stay informed and productive. The use of DropBox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive or Apple iDrive means you have access to files from any device. Other useful productivity tools are EverNote and Pocket.

Keeping your Contacts, Calendar and Notes in sync is also a consideration. Users of Microsoft Outlook who use an Android phone could use an Outlook plugin called gSyncit. This keeps Outlook synced with your Google Calendar and Contacts which in turn keeps the same updated on your phone. Makes absolute sense to me!

Travel

Maps and Navigation are apps that come included with most phones. The Google Maps app doubles up as a navigation app and provides you with route, directions and navigation to a searched location. You can select travel by car, public transport, walk or bicycle and the map and directions will change accordingly, providing accurate information for the best way to your destination along with alternate routes.

Your Maps app is constantly updated with traffic information, delays and construction works. Positioning your phone in a cradle in your car therefore turns it into a useful SatNav device.

Bus Checker is a clever app for finding a bus, a bus stop and a route. There are numerous Bus Checker apps and the one for Bristol and Bath is called TravelWest Bus Checker.

Train Tickets from CrossCountry does a brilliant job of finding trains, booking on-line and viewing the progress of an existing train or journey.

Fuel Buddy records Fill-Ups, Services, Expenses and Trips. Pay the small once-of fee and get a lot of extra features. It works out your fuel efficiency and how much you can claim for business mileage.

TripIt manages trips. Whether a business or vacation trip, TripIt includes every aspect of your trip: flights, accommodation, car hire, public transport, activity etc. It provides location information, weather updates and stores all your phone number, contact and booking details. You can share trips with others too. Allow TripIt to scan your email and it will automatically add trips into your calendar. View your trips in your calendar, in the app or on-line on the web-site.

We can advise you on a phone and the applications you will need to go with it, along with the correct set-up and training.

Make sure you’re not left behind – enjoy the value of your SmartPhone while on the move …and care less about your computer!

…Find out more