The lens function on Android devices is very useful. It will help find your keys in dark corners of your home, avoid hitting walls during a power outage, and a host of other situations. There are many ways to activate the lens, but you probably only use one.
There are many ways to activate the lens, some of which are quite imaginative. You can turn it on by shaking your phone, pressing the power button, using the volume keys or just talking to it. And perhaps some of the following methods are easier for you than the method you are already using. Let's see them…
Through the quick menu
Swipe down from the top of your screen to see the quick settings menu. There are 12 quick commands and you can choose which ones to see through a range of 20 commands in total. One of them is the lens that to activate it you only have to press the corresponding command. If you do not see the lens then you need to go to Settings> Notifications and status bar> Switch positions and from there select the lens in the position of another command that you are not interested in. The above applies to Android 6.0 and above. Note that some of the older phones come with a dedicated lens app that you can turn on.
With the volume buttons
You need to install the app to turn on the lens with the volume buttons on any Android device Torchie - Volume Button Torch. The application requires 4MB of space and will not bombard you with ads. For the application to work in the background, you must grant it permission to "start in the background".
You can even activate the lens from the lock screen, but you need to go to the app settings to allow it. To get to the settings, simply open the app and tap the three vertical dots in the upper right corner of your screen.
Waving mobile
If you are having trouble with your phone keys, instead of pressing the volume keys, you can simply swing your phone to turn on the lens.
To do this you need to install an application called Shake Flashlight. Once the installation is complete, the application is ready to use. Just shake your phone (as if you were shutting down), and the lens will light up. You can turn on the lens even if your Android device's screen is off.
If you think it needs a shake, you can change the sensitivity of the app settings. Press the three vertical dots in the upper right corner, then tap on "Shake Sensitivity". The application will warn you that if you set the sensitivity too high, the lens may be accidentally activated.
From a Widget
Android software has a corresponding command within the Widget. The lens widget does not appear on its own, so you will need to make some initial moves. First, tap and hold the three horizontal dashes in the bottom left of your phone to view the Widgets menu.
Click on Widgets at the bottom. The corresponding widget of the lens should be on the first page. Once you find it, hold it down and drag it to an empty area on your screen. The app has no settings.
Tell it to Google
Last resort is to simply give Google a voice. Tap their microphone icon on Google and tell Google Assistant "OK Google, turn on the flashlight". You will see the lens turn on. If you want to turn it off just say "turn off the flashlight".
On the other hand, if you want to be in the fashion of youth or if you want to impress any of your nieces, you can give the corresponding voice commands from the Harry Potter movies. With the word “Lumos” the lens lights up and with the word “Knox” the lens goes out.
Conclusion
Although the original purpose of the lens is to work as a flash in the camera, it has become a handy and useful tool. Thanks to the above applications and tricks, you now have a variety of ways to quickly turn on the lens when you need it. If you still know of an extra way we'd be happy to share it with you, leave a comment.
