Enabling Developer Options on Android

1. Introduction to Developer Options

Developer Options on an Android phone essentially contains advanced features. Android, per se, is an open-source platform with plenty of tweak options that allow developers to customize and build applications to take control of the mobile device. Developer Options functions come under this category of advanced options and are intended for coders and experts. It is the first step to take before beginning development, debugging, and testing a mobile application. The options are based on specific categories with options that include USB debugging, show touch, pointer location, etc. These categories can be helpful in specific ways. Let’s walk through each in the subsequent sections.

You may or may not have heard of Developer Options on an Android phone, but you may have definitely seen it by scrolling through the settings of an Android phone plenty of times. Developer Options is that advanced menu that sits inconspicuously in the Android settings. What’s the use of Developer Options, you ask? And why do I need to enable it? Let’s find out in the coming sections. For those of you who have already used this feature, you may skip to the section that interests you.

2. Steps to Enable Developer Options on Android

4. After you have succeeded with either method, you will be prompted to enter your device's pin to access Developer Options. Every device's pin is different, so you need to enter the pin of your specific device to advance. Once in, scroll down to "Settings," then to "Developer options," and then make sure to enable two of the options inside ["USB debugging" and "OEM Unlock"] that are not enabled by default. When finished, press "Back" or swipe up from the bottom of your screen to go back to "Settings."

3. If the first method doesn't work, you can use the other method. The second method starts with opening up the "Settings" app, then tapping on "System" and "About phone." Instead of tapping on "Build number" or any other setting in "About phone," locate "Build number" directly under "Software information" and then tap on "Build number" seven times.

2. After opening the "Settings" app, the first method is to scroll down and find "About phone," "About tablet," "About device," or similar. The location varies by device brand, model, and version, but you are looking for information specifically about your device. Click on "About phone," "About tablet," "About device," or similar. Once the "About" window pops up, find "Build number," and then tap on it seven times in quick succession until you see an on-screen message on your display confirming that Developer Options has been enabled.

1. There are two different methods to enable Developer Options on Android, and both require you to start by opening the "Settings" app.

Follow these easy steps to enable Developer Options and the USB debugging and OEM Unlock options on your device.

3. Benefits of Enabling Developer Options

Developer Options on Android is a set of hidden settings that are available if you unlock the "Developer Mode" on your device. After enabling Developer Options, you will have access to many hidden settings on your device that are useful, interesting, will help you understand your device better, and layout a wide range of things you can do on your device - different from what is available in the standard settings. With developer options enabled, you can debug, tweak, stop, monitor, record, power up and down monitor systems you would not have access to use. They allow you to do things you will not have the normal right admin access to do. Find out what Developer Options are, why they are hidden, how to enable, use, and disable them on Android in this piece.

Android is a powerful operating system with many useful features. Out of the box, it is easy to navigate and user-friendly. The "No-Frills" phone option is appealing to many average users when they purchase an Android system. One desire comes up: they want to do more, add different settings, change setup, and even play around with the Composer distribution. These are the users who would benefit from enabling the Developer mode on Android. They would appreciate having the extra options available to them.

4. Common Troubleshooting Tips

3. Bear in mind that even though the guide is designed for Android phones in general, the experience might differ from one device to the next as OEMs will put their twist on Android.

2. The process on most stock Android devices and OneUI Samsung devices is the same as the one stated initially. If you are, however, unable to see the Developer Options, there might be another problem. This fix is only applicable to phones using the OneUI launcher on them, that is, Samsung smartphones.

1. For most Samsung phones and tablets, the process mentioned above is all you need to do. However, for some devices, the process might be a little more time-consuming. If you can't turn on Developer Options because the device doesn't have the build number available under settings, This is very specific to a few select Samsung devices including the Galaxy S10 and S20 models.

In case you find that Developer Options are not enabled even after following the above-mentioned steps, here are some common tips to handle it.

5. Best Practices and Recommendations

These are the best practices and recommendations for building on Android. At a minimum, developers are recommended to meet the Essential and Security Foundations and are encouraged to implement any additional security recommendations (in terms of decreasing security risks). Not all applications are the same, and some may have unique requirements. Additionally, security recommendations can sometimes be detrimental to user experience and/or prohibitively expensive to implement. Special cases and security recommendations that could conflict with user experience are laid out in this document to make it easy to identify these cases. It is important to note that these best practices and recommendations are designed to increase the security of an application, not guarantee a 100% level of security. Security is an ongoing process. Teams should adapt this guidance to fit their unique requirements.

Security is the foundation of user trust in their individual devices and the ecosystem as a whole. With this in mind, following best practices and recommendations throughout the development process can assist in protecting users from privacy and security threats. The document highlights these recommendations in the context of the Android platform, but the guidance can be generalized to other operating systems. To help all developers get their apps into the hands of users on the Play Store, Google provides a variety of resources such as Play policies, security recommendations, and privacy best practices. By following and adhering to the guidance in this document, developers can minimize the risk of inadvertently introducing security threats and create a safer experience for their users.