The quick settings area is part of Android, where you can access the most common settings for your devices such as power-saving modes, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. It’s a selection of shortcuts that you can access when you swipe down from the top of the screen on your Samsung Galaxy S21 phone. Samsung also adds a few extra elements to this.
Quick access to Google Home controls:
This is similar to the Pixel’s Power Menu Smart Home Control. Once you’ve installed and set up Google Home, release the quick settings menu and tap Devices. Now tap on the drop-down option that says “SmartThings” and you should see “Home” as an option. Select it and you’ll now see great on-screen widget controls for your Google Home-connected devices.
Get instant access to quick settings and the notification panel from the home screen – swipe down anywhere on the home screen and the notification panel will slide down, meaning you don’t need to stretch all the way to the top of the page, scroll again to get the quick settings – very useful on the larger Galaxy S21 + and S21 Ultra phones. This is disabled by default, to enable it, long press in the background and select “Home screen settings”, then “swipe down to show notification panel”.
Change quick settings:
To change the shortcuts you see when you swipe down notifications on Samsung Galaxy S21, swipe down twice to see the entire grid, open the menu by tapping the three dots, and selecting “edit buttons”. You will be presented with the full list of options on various pages. You can drag and drop to reorder or delete any shortcuts you don’t need. Tip: Only the first six apps are shown in the compact view above, so make this your first setup shortcuts.
Get Instant Access To Device Settings From Quick Settings:
This is a standard Android tip, but great for instantly accessing settings. Press and hold the link (for example Bluetooth) and you will go directly to the full settings menu. It is very useful for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and power-saving options.
Access The Connected Devices In The Samsung Galaxy S21 Quick Settings Panel:
By default, you will see connected devices and media also displayed in the quick settings panel. This means you can swipe down and tap to access the music you’re playing or the speakers you’ve connected to. The devices option includes direct connections and SmartThings, so if you’re a smart home user, this is one way to get straight to those devices. You may not find that option or need it, so you can turn it off by opening the quick settings and tapping the menu in the top right. Then tap “quick panel layout” and uncheck “show media and devices” to remove it.
Quickly adjust the screen brightness:
Samsung Galaxy S21 gives you access to brightness via the quick settings panel, scroll down and you will see the slider. To adjust the automatic brightness, hit the down arrow on the right side of the slider and it will take you directly to those settings, where you can turn it on or off. If you want the slider over the notifications (for easier access), you can turn it on in the quick panel layout menu, as mentioned in the tip above.
