The Complete Guide to Motorola Droid: Tips and Tricks – Part 3

By Brady on Nov 11, 2009 with View Comments

Welcome to Part 3 of the Simply Droid Complete Guide to Motorola Droid: Tips and Tricks.

Part 1 of the Tips and Tricks

Part 2 of the Tips and Tricks

Part 4 of the Tips and Tricks

For the following tips use the pictures below to help you find certain areas of your Droid phone.

The Applications Tab:

applications_tab

The Menu Key:

menu

The Notification Panel/Window Shade (the area outlined in red):

Window Shade

How to check for system updates:

1. From the home screen, touch the applications tab (located on the bottom of the screen).
2. Touch Settings.
3. Touch About Phone.
4. Touch System updates.
5. Verify the system is up to date.
–If system is not up to date, touch Update.

How to add a phone number or email that is included in a text to your contacts:

1. Open the email or text with the included number/email address.
2. Press and hold on the number/email address.
3. Touch Add to Contacts.

How to sync iTunes with your Droid:

–This requires a 3rd party application which has Windows and Mac support.
1. Download and install doubleTwist.
2. Connect your Droid to the computer using a USB cable.
3. From the home screen, pull down the window shade (Notification bar, located at the top of the screen.
- You can also press the Menu Key on the front of your Droid, then select Notifications.
4. Select USB Connected.
5. Select Mount.
6. Launch doubleTwist (it will launch automatically in Windows).
7. Set up your sync settings or just drag and drop media to your Droid.
8. doubleTwist will automatically convert your videos so that they play on your Droid.

How to set up 1-touch dialing or messaging to a contact:

1. Go to the Home Screen.
2. Press and hold in open space.
3. Touch Shortcuts.
4. Touch Direct dial for 1-touch dialing or Direct messaging for 1-touch messaging.

How to store your voicemail password so you don’t have to enter it everytime:

1. Touch the Menu Key.
2. Touch Settings.
3. Touch Call Settings.
4. Touch Voicemail Settings.
5. Change the number to *86,,XXXX#
– each , represents a pause
– XXXX is your pin number
6. Now when you call your voicemail it will automatically enter your password for you.

How to add custom ringtones and notification sounds to your phone:

1. Connect your Droid to the computer using a USB cable.
2. From the home screen, pull down the window shade (Notification bar, located at the top of the screen.
- You can also press the Menu Key on the front of your Droid, then select Notifications.
3. Select USB Connected.
4. Select Mount.
5. On your computer open the folder of the SD card.
6. Create this folder structure:
-Media (Top folder)
–Audio (Located inside Media folder)
—Notifications (Located inside Audio folder)
—MP3s (Located inside Audio folder)
—Ringtones (Located inside Audio folder)
—Alarms (Located inside Audio folder)

How to add custom ringtone to a contact:

1. Go to the Home Screen.
2. Touch Contacts.
3. Select the contact you want to add the ringtone to.
4. Touch the Menu Key.
5. Touch Options.
6. Touch Ringtone and select the desired ringtone.

See the other parts of the Tips and Tricks:

Complete Guide to Motorola Droid: Tips and Tricks Part 1

Complete Guide to Motorola Droid: Tips and Tricks Part 2

Complete Guide to Motorola Droid: Tips and Tricks Part 4

Filed Under: How To's

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About the Author:

  • Detailsmatter
    How do you take picture and sent to a friend
  • Jerry
    How do you delete direct dial from the home screen?
  • Trixie
    Thanks for the i-tunes help. I really needed it!!
  • Joe
    Thanks for the tip on custom notifications. I appreciate it.
  • Chris
    How do I set up an email account using an exchange server?
  • Yama Fam
    How do i set a song (mp3) as my text message ringtone for the Motorola Droid???
  • JR
    About the Droid Incredible by Verizon, Is there a set ringtone for voicemessages? Have not been able to get an answer to this simple question. thanks
  • kathy
    how do I get pics from messages to my gallery?
  • wally
    i cannot compose a new email on my droid
    i can only reply. when i touch the menu key in email: only refresh appears.

    anyone know what happpened here?
  • Nicole
    I am having a similar problem with setting up my voicemail. When i get to the input screen commas are not an option to type in. There are only periods and dashes. I tried to pull up the full keyboard but it wouldnt come up, so i tried to bypass the onscreen keyboard and use the qwerty but that also didnt work :(. How can I put in the commas?
  • ratedK
    The button in the lower left corner of the keypad that shows | * # ( " | will take you to another screen that gives you more symbols and options
  • jarrett
    I got a Bluetooth for my Droid and I'm trying to get the voicedail work on the Bluetooth but it does nothing can someone help
  • Jean
    I am wondering how to get ringtones I have downloaded from my music file into my ringtone file.......the guy that sold me the phone did a couple but I dont know how he did it
  • ratedK
    Go to the music player. While the file is playing, press and hold your finger on the file and menu will appear. One of the options will be "Save as ringtone"
  • Deneen
    I am trying to add custom ringtones, but it doesn't seem to take. Even though when I look at the options for my contact and it shows the custom song I chose, it still rings in as my default ring.
  • Dede
    I just did this....you have to delete the old ring tone first
    and then you can add the new one
    or you can try turning off your phone in between
  • enri
    I'm having the same problem, I was able to do one successfully, only one, the others reverted back to it's default ring. Were you able to solve this problem I surely cannot. if you have please let me know. I have compared the one that actually worked and I cannot find any thing different, but I will continue trying, please let me know if you solved it.
  • Christine
    My husband sent me a couple of ring tones by text messaging. How do I get them to my ringtones?
  • kenakaren
    i had this problem with my droid, it seems one of my friend had been block or something i am not sure. I was trying to make a call or send an sms but it will show not sent or unable to call the line will cut it works fine when I try to sms using a different phone, can anyone rectify the problem cause she is the only person I can't sms or call when I am on the droid phone seems weird....
  • I usually don’t post in Blogs but your blog forced me to, amazing work.. beautiful …
  • Mr. B.
    I was having trouble with it using the voicemail password that I had stored, but I found that it works if I take the phone away from my ear to let the display come back on. If I leave it up to my ear it doesn't send the password. I haven't tried it enough to know for sure but that's what it seems to be doing. Anyone else have this experience??
  • Rick
    When will flashplayer 2.0 be available for the Droid?
  • Maggie
    The tip on yahoo e-mail works like magic. however i did have to turn off bluetooth WI FI was already off.
    Thanks :) wonderful website
  • Anita
    My question: "How to remove a phone no that I accidentally added to my 1-Touch dialing? Please advise."

    I found my answer. I just press and hold that no, then drag and drop it to the trash bin (which is the at the center Menu Key).

    Anita
  • Brenda
    I am trying to follow your directions to bypass putting in my password. I get to the following and it doesn't work:

    5. Change the number to *86,,XXXX#
    – each , represents a pause
    – XXXX is your pin number

    Not sure what you mean by "pause." I am doing a space.
  • JB
    Each comma (,) is a "pause". You need the pause so that your phone does not enter your pin number before the system is ready.

    Lets say your pin is 1234...you should change the number to *86,,1234# (if this does not work try 3 commas for a longer pause)
    - This essentially tells the phone to dial *86-pause-pause- enter the pin of 1234#

    Hope this helps!
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