Galaxy S II: The Missing Manual

Status Bar Icons

THE GALAXY S II makes sure to always keep you updated with information about its current status, and with any news, updates, and information it thinks is important. It does this by displaying a variety of icons in the status bar at the top of the Galaxy S II screen. The status bar is divided into two parts. On the upper-right side of the screen, you’ll find icons that give information about the current state of the Galaxy S II, such as signal strength, 3G connection status, the time of day, and so on. At the upper left is the Notification area, which notifies you when you have email or voice messages waiting, an event on your calendar is about to occur, and so on.

Note

Many applications have their own icons that alert you to news, information, and updates. These always appear on the left side of the status bar. You’ll see alert icons from Gmail, Facebook, and others.

Here are the most common icons you’ll come across:

• Cell signal . The more bars you see, the stronger the signal. The stronger the signal, the clearer the call and the lower the likelihood that you’ll lose a connection. If you have no connection at all, this signal won’t appear, and just underneath the status bar, on the top of the Home screen, you’ll see the much-hated warning: (No service).

  Note

  When you see a notification on the left side of the status bar, drag down the Notification bar to see more details. You can also take some kind of action on the notification by tapping its icon after you drag it down—like checking your email or running an app that you’ve just downloaded. There’s also a Clear button that makes all the current notifications go away.

• Roaming . If you’re outside a AT&T service area and connected via another network, you’ll see the Roaming icon. Keep in mind that typically you’re charged for making calls or using data when you’re roaming, so when you see this icon, be careful what you do on your Galaxy S II—maybe it’s not the time to download 30 songs and a half-hour TV show.

• 3G . This one appears when you’re connected via 3G, AT&T’s high-speed, broadband service, which should be most of the time. It means that download and upload speeds are fast. The little arrows underneath the symbol show when data is being sent and received. You’ll notice that the arrows may turn black even when you think you’re not sending or receiving data. That’s because the Galaxy S II may be checking for email, updates, and so on.

• Bluetooth connection . This icon indicates that you’ve turned on Bluetooth, for making a connection to a headset or some other device.

• 3G Mobile hotspot . Your Galaxy S II can serve as a mobile hotspot, providing Internet service to up to five computers, smartphones, or other devices and gadgets via Wi-Fi. See Turning Your Galaxy S II into a Wi-Fi Hot Spot or Tethering It for details. When you turn the phone into a 3G mobile hotspot, this icon appears.

• Flight mode . When you use Flight mode, you turn off Wi-Fi and cellular communications, so you can still keep using your phone’s apps, but it won’t interfere with navigation equipment. See Flight Mode for more details.

• Downloading . When you’re downloading an app or media file, you’ll see this icon.

• Download complete . Congratulations—your download was successful.

• New email message . You’ve got mail! See Reading Mail for more about reading new email.

• New Gmail message . You’ve got Gmail! See Reading Mail in Gmail for more about reading new email messages in Gmail.

• GPS . Your GPS radio is turned on. See Location and Security for information about GPS.

• Problem with message delivery . Oops! Email is having problems. Sometimes you can solve this problem easily—just check your email again.

• Upcoming event . Now you’ll never forget your anniversary—or your dentist appointment. The Galaxy S II alerts you via this icon when you’ve got an event about to happen.

• Voicemail message . You’ve got mail—voicemail, that is. See Voicemail to learn how to check your voicemail.

• Missed call . Someone called you, and you didn’t answer. You see this icon appear even if the person left no voicemail.

• Vibrate . This symbol indicates that you’ve set your Galaxy S II to vibrate when you get a call.

• Sync active . This icon alerts you that you’ve set the Galaxy S II to automatically synchronize information such as email, contacts, and calendar data. The icon is animated when you’re doing the actual syncing.

• Silent . If you’ve a believer that silence is golden, and you’ve told the Galaxy S II not to ring when you get a call, here’s what you’ll see.

• Mute call . Reminds you that you’ve put your call on mute. If no one can hear what you’re saying, that may be why.

• Speakerphone . Using the Galaxy S II’s built-in speakerphone? Here’s what you’ll see.

• TTY symbol . You’ve turned on Teletypewriter mode, a special mode that allows the Galaxy S II to communicate with a teletypewriter. That’s a machine that lets deaf people make phone calls by reading and typing text.

• Alarm . Who needs an alarm clock when you’ve got your Galaxy S II? This icon indicates that the alarm is on. You can even set multiple alarms.

• Time . Shows you what time it is. Say goodbye to your watch.

  Tip

  Want to see today’s date? Hold your finger on the right end of the status bar, and it will appear. Remove your finger and it goes away.

• Battery . Get to know this little icon—it shows you how much battery life you’ve got. If it’s charging, it plays a battery-filling animation and displays a small lightning bolt.

• Connected to VPN . If you use your Galaxy S II to connect to your company network via virtual private networking (VPN), this icon shows when your connection is active. You can check your work email and do anything else your company lets VPNers do. (If you’re interested in getting VPN access, you’ll need your IT department’s help, as described in Chapter 13.)

• Disconnected from VPN. You were on the VPN, and now you’re off.

• Problem with sign in or sync . Houston, we have a problem. Sync isn’t working or you can’t sign into one of your services.

• USB connection . You’ll connect your phone to your computer via a USB cable for a variety of reasons, including copying and syncing files. Here’s the icon you’ll see when you make the connection.

• SD card is full . This icon appears when your SD card has run out of space. It’s time to get a bigger or newer one, or start deleting files.

• Power saving mode . When you see this, it means that you’re in power-saving mode, in order to get more life out of your battery. See Power Saving Mode for details.