Hot topics

Huawei Mate 9: top tips and tricks to get the most out of your Android phone

AndroidPIT huawei mate 9 0131
© nextpit

Are you looking for the app drawer in the Huawei Mate 9? Or do you want to operate the large device with just one hand? We’ve some collected practical tips for you that will allow you to work more productively and more comfortably with the Mate 9.

Activate the app drawer

Huawei fulfilled the wishes of users and has introduced an app overview, where before all the apps were on the home screen. Finally, apps that are rarely used can be stashed away. You will need to activate the overview first by going into the settings, under Home screen style.

huawei mate 9 activate app drawer
When you press and hold the drawer icon, the search starts immediately (right). / © NextPit

Make use of the dual-SIM widget

The Huawei Mate 9 with the model number NHA-L29 is dual SIM-compatible. If you use two SIM cards, this Mate 9 tip is worthwhile for you. Create a home screen widget via Dual card management.

android settings widget huawei mate 9
The dual-SIM widget is super useful. / © NextPit

Show more content on your display

5.9 inches are nice and all, but right out of the box, Huawei’s super phone doesn't use its screen to the maximum. You can shrink the icons and fonts to fit even more content onto the screen. In the settings, under Display, change the view mode and the font size to suit your taste.

huawei mate 9 view modes
Thanks to Android 7.0 Nougat, you can shrink elements./ © NextPit

Make the most of its impressive screenshot function

Huawei has a fantastic screenshot function. The first cool thing is that it can be triggered by knocking on the display with your knuckle. The second interesting point is that the scroll-shot feature makes screenshots of content that are multiple screen pages long. And when you knock with two knuckles at the same time on the Mate 9 display, this starts screen recording. Just amazing.

Here are a few demo scroll shots:

huawei mate 9 android update november 2016
Scroll shots are automatically captured together. / © NextPit

Use volume profiles

In the office, a mobile phone is always problematic: when it rings, your colleagues are disturbed. When it doesn’t ring, you miss an important call. How can you best manage this? The Mate 9 has a profile manager. Under Do not disturb, you define clocks and notifications, as well as choose sound or vibration, in addition to when the Mate 9 generates which sound. You can also set the Mate 9 to go into the mode only after you have accepted an appointment for a specific calendar.

huawei mate 9 dnd modes
Set the rules once and then have peace of mind. / © NextPit

Connect to Chromecast

The Mate 9 has problems when connecting to WiFi based peripherals, like when setting up with Google Chromecast. These are based on the special WiFi function. Disable the WiFi+ in this type of pairing in order to make the connection work.

huawei mate 9 wifi plus
WiFi+ is also a source of errors. / © NextPit

Get one-hand savvy

Just one hand free? Swipe the home button to the right or left to reduce the screen’s lower edge. The Mate 9 then acts as if it were under 5 inches in size and can therefore be operated one handed. If the feature bothers you, you can disable it in settings, under Intelligent Support, then UI One-handed mode.

huawei mate 9 one handed mode
Push the interface together using the home button. / © NextPit

Activate Gloves mode

How many of us have found ourselves freezing our hands off when we need to use our smartphones in the dead of winter? With the Huawei Mate 9 you can avoid this issue thanks to its "Gloves mode." To activate this, go to Settings and tap on Smart support. Scroll down to find Gloves mode, and then just move the switch on the right to enable this feature.

More Mate 9 tips and tricks

What tips do you want to share with other Mate 9 owners? What's your favorite trick? Use the comment area to share your experiences with other readers.

  Editor's choice Best smart home control center Best price-performance ratio Best sound Best sound supplement Best display
Product
Product image Amazon Echo Dot (5. Gen) 2022 Product Image Amazon Echo Hub Product Image Amazon Echo (4.Gen) Product Image Amazon Echo Studio Product Image Amazon Echo Sub Product Image Amazon Echo Show 10 (3rd. Gen) Product Image
Review
Review: Amazon Echo Dot (5. Gen) 2022
Review: Amazon Echo Hub
Not yet tested
Review: Amazon Echo Studio
Not yet tested
Not yet tested
Price Compariosn
Go to comment (1)
Eric Ferrari-Herrmann

Eric Ferrari-Herrmann
Senior Editor

Eric has been with AndroidPIT since 2014. He’s writing articles and reviews for the German website. Topics are mostly privacy and new technology but there's also the occasional piece on environmental sustainability.

View all articles
Liked this article? Share now!
Recommended articles
Latest articles
Push notification Next article
1 Comment
Write new comment:
All changes will be saved. No drafts are saved when editing
Write new comment:
All changes will be saved. No drafts are saved when editing

  • 1
    jerry phang Jun 14, 2017 Link to comment

    Hi there, I hate to leave negative comments but your webpage leaves me no choice. Your article is good.... but it is almost unreadable!!! The page keeps refreshing every 10 to 20 secs and the page scrolls to the very top and to the very bottom every time it refreshes which is super super annoying! I have clicked on the stop loading button on my Chrome but it seems there's a timer in the background firing the refresh event periodically. MIght be due to the advertisements on the page... I don't know. Your page pissed me off. I don't even bother to finish reading the article now. And you should be grateful that i am leaving my comments here for you to reflect!!!