11 Hidden Android Developer Options That Are Actually Useful for Everyday Users

Android developer settings are designed for developers to test, debug, and optimize apps during system development. However, these settings are also very useful for regular users to speed up performance and enable handy features that can be useful in real life.

For example, if your device is slow, you can reduce the speed of animations to make your smartphone feel faster, and if you often transfer your files to a PC, you can set the default USB configuration to prevent selecting the file transfer option every time you want to share files with your PC.

Also, there are a handful of other features like limiting background resources so that you can select specific apps to activate in the background, fake GPS location using a third-party app, and many more.

For the past two weeks, I have been testing several Android developer options, which can also be very useful for casual users. In this guide, you will learn about the 11 best Android developer options you can enable on your Android smartphone right now and get access to the new features and enhance your Android experience.

Go to Settings and About phone, and software information, to legal information, depending on your smartphone OS
Now, find the Build number or version number and tap on it 7 times.
Enter your password if prompted, and now the developer options are enabled on your smartphone.

11 Android developer Settings everybody should use

Animation Scale: Make Your Phone Feel Faster

Android animation scale settings are a go-to option for many people to speed up their Android smartphone.

These settings have been a game changer for many using an old smartphone, who often experience lag and slow transitions, since modern OSes have become more resource-heavy with plenty of animations running.

By controlling the animation speed on your Android settings, you can significantly enhance your experience on your Android smartphone and make your Android smartphone visibly faster with less resource use. To control animations at the granule level, Android developer options allow you to customise three different animation scale options.

For instance, the window animation scale allows you to set the animation scale when a new window pops up and the transition animation scale will enable you to set the animation between when you transition between screens and activities and also finally, the animator duration scale will enable you to set timing for app enough animations based on your liking so that you can tweak these animations.

But they are also downsides of the settings, especially if you care about animations on your smartphone, disabling these can make some feel less smooth. To have a better animation experience and speed up your Android smartphone. I recommend the best setting is 0.5x for all animation settings, and if your smartphone is low-end, it is laggy, and you don’t care about transitions, you can even completely turn off the animation to get the best possible experience on your Android smartphone.

How to reduce animation scale on Android

As I said before, to use these developer settings, first, you need to enable developer options on your Android smartphone. I have shared a detailed step-by-step process above. Follow the steps and enable developer mode on your smartphone. And then follow the steps below.

How to reduce animation scale on Android

Go to settings on your Android smartphone and search for developer options using the search.
If you are using a OnePlus smartphone, click on System, update, and tap on the developer options.
If you are using another Android smartphone, you can directly search from the search bar once you have enabled developer options by following the steps above.
Now, in the developer options, go to the section that says driving, and here, select all the animations and set the expiration to 0.5 at window animation scale to 0.5X in the same way at transition animation to 0.5X, and that’s it.
Now, after the settings, you might notice your smartphone feels significantly faster. However, if you wish to reset the settings, you can follow the same process and set the same animation scale settings to 1X to reset it to the default.

Mock Location App: Share a Fake GPS Location Using a Third-Party App

Setting mock location using Android developer settings is another useful setting that can come in handy in specific scenarios.

For instance, if you are using any social media app or if you don’t want to share any location with someone, you can set up a mock location on your Android developer settings, and you can share it with others without sharing your real GPS location.

It can also be very useful for unblocking geographical content, checking the availability of services in certain locations, and enhancing your privacy if you are using any third-party app that requires your real GPS location.

However, to set the mock location on your Android, you have to use a third-party app to set your mock location in your Android settings. Android developer options only allow you to select mock location from a specific app.

However, there are some downsides to using this method. The app you are selecting should be accurate and also should be able to set the fake location on your Android smartphone. Also, since it is a developer option, many apps can even detect your mock location and may block you from using the app.

How to set mock location on your Android smartphone using developer options

How to set mock location on Android

First, download and install this GPS emulator app on your Android smartphone
Go to settings and then developer options on your Android smartphone, scroll down, and go to the location section, and here, tap on select mock location app.
Now, select the GPS emulator app. And that’s it, now you have successfully connected your mock location app to the developer options.
How to select location on GPS emulator app
Now open the app on your smartphone and click on the location icon in the bottom center. Ensure all the permissions are allowed, including developer options, and also location permissions.
Now, once you have enabled all the permissions, click on the location symbol to set the location.

Bluetooth Audio Codec: Improve Sound Quality When Using Wireless Earbuds

Since the majority of smartphones are skipping the headphone jack, transferring audio over Bluetooth is a default option for all wireless earbuds.

To transfer your audio to your headphones, mobile phones use different codecs, or audio codecs. Depending on your model, your device may support codecs starting from SPC, WAC, and APTX, which is the best resolution currently available on smartphones.

However, sometimes an Android phone doesn’t automatically choose the highest quality codec even when it supports it, and fortunately, you can set the default codec option from your Android smartphone. For if you want to enjoy the highest quality music, you can set your audio codec to LDAC, and if you’re gaming, you can set the default codec to APTX.

First, go to developer options on your Android smartphone, go to settings and search for developer options, depending on your model and go to the networking sections
Scroll down to the bottom and select Bluetooth audio bits per sample, select 24-bit sample, and also Bluetooth audio channel to set stereo, and Bluetooth audio codec HDCRL, depending on your settings.
Scroll down and also select Bluetooth audio LHDC codec playback quality. In here, you can select the max audio quality and also Bluetooth audio sample rate to 192 KHZ. So, combining all the settings, you can get the best audio experience while using your headphones along with the smart device.

Limit Background Processes: Stops Apps From Running in the Background

If apps installed on your smartphone are slowing down your smartphone, use the limit background process developer option to control how many apps stay active in your background.

If the app is resource-heavy, it can use up all your battery and even CPU, which can slow down the performance. Using these settings, you can kill the background apps, especially if you have limited resources on your smartphone.

However, there are also downsides to using this method. The app should turn on the background like music play, and also messaging apps might be killed too quickly.

However, Android developer options provide you with different options, ranging from the standard limit to set up to 4 processes. If you often run background processes and a music player, you can set up the option for 4 processes. However, if you want to completely limit the background process, you can select the option with no background process and also select the option that says don’t keep activities, and your app will be forced to close as soon as you leave the app, by saving resources for other apps. You have the complete flexibility to choose based on your preference.

How to limit background processes on your Android smartphone

Go to settings, then developer options, and go to the app section. Here, select the option that says background process limit, and here select the preferred option.
I recommend that you set the maximum process to four if you often run background processes, or two if you want to learn more.

However, if you want to completely reset, you can select no background processes, and you can also select the option that says don’t keep activities. With this option enabled, your system kills the app as soon as you leave the app, saving potential resources for other apps.

Disable/Enable Absolute Volume (Bluetooth): Separates Your Phone’s Volume From Your Bluetooth Device

Have you ever faced a sudden volume increase on your Bluetooth headphones and had to pull them out of your ears? Yes, this happens frequently, especially if you use smartphones at high volumes. Even though the latest buds adopt volumes, there are still some instances where buds can register accidentally higher volumes.

Fortunately, there is a developer setting that you can enable to keep your Bluetooth device volume separate from your phone volume. When you enable the disable absolute volume Bluetooth settings on your phone, your phone and Bluetooth device will have their own separate volume controls.

While in some cases, absolute volume is enabled by default, however, if you want the convenience of controlling both your phone and device volume control using the same volume control, you can enable it so that it brings single volume for both your phone and device.

Also, disabling or enabling volume is not available on all smartphones, including my current OnePlus 13S. However, if you’re using a Samsung or other smartphone, you can enable it or disable it from the settings.

To do this, go to settings and the developer options, and under Bluetooth and networking, enable/disable the option that says Disable Absolute volume settings. Also, if you still don’t see the option, first ensure you have enabled and connected Bluetooth devices.

Disable Lock Screen: Remove Lock Screen on Your Smartphone

If you don’t lock your smartphone and frequently access your home screen throughout the day for data, such as checking your time, you can disable the lock screen on your smartphone for instant access to your smartphone without needing to swipe ev9.

In the developer options, you can completely turn off the lock screen on your smartphone permanently.

To do this, you can go to settings and developer options and turn on the option that says turn off lock screen. Also, remember that while it can make you access your smartphone screen instantly, anybody can access your smartphone if it is stolen, and anyone can read your notifications.

Sensors Off (Quick Settings Tile): Quickly Turn Off Your Camera, Microphone, and Other Sensors

With the simple, quick toggle, now, you can turn off all the sensors on your Android smartphone, including access to the camera and the microphone.

Since it is a global setting, it completely disables microphone and camera access and also other sensor access, including gyroscope, magnetic meter, proximity, and light sensor access to your smartphone.

If you don’t want your smartphone to access when you are at meetings or in sensitive discussions, where you don’t want to enable access to your microphone and camera. Since disabling the camera and microphone for each app is complicated, you can easily enable this simple toggle in the developer settings, where you can disable or enable it instantly by swiping down from your home screen.

To do this, go to settings, and then developer options, and then under main developer settings, search for the option that says quick settings developer tile.
Scroll down and enable the sensors off option. While you’re there, you can also enable simple developer settings on your smartphone, such as layout, advanced profile, profile GPU rendering, wireless debugging, show taps while you are recording your screen, error report, and more, and when you enable them, you can access these settings directly from the quick tiles.

Show Taps While You Are Recording

Screen recording is a handy feature, especially if you want to share tutorials with other people. However, most screen recorders don’t register your hand touch while you are touching your screen, which makes it hard for the other user to know exactly where you are pointing on your screen.

But thanks to the show taps developer settings, now you can enable screen tap when you record your screen. It shows where you are exactly recording your screen. While the screen tap is available globally, it works in all cases, not just in terms of screen recording.

To enable, go to the developer settings on your Android smartphone, go to the input section, and select the option that says show taps. When you enable this option, you can easily know where your screen is being touched.

Mobile Data Always Active: Keeps Mobile Data on Even When Wi-Fi Is Connected

By default, Android disables mobile data in the background as soon as you connect to your Wi-Fi network. However, with this mobile data always active developer setting, your mobile data connection is still active, even when you are connected to Wi-Fi.

This can be especially useful while this uses primarily your Wi-Fi connection as your primary internet connection. However, in some cases, if your Wi-Fi is accidentally disconnected or if your Wi-Fi is running slow and out of reach, your mobile instantly switches to the mobile network. This prevents you from accidental connection blocks.

There are also some obvious downsides of this method, since if you are on a metered connection, your mobile data will be utilised instead of Wi-Fi, and also using mobile data and Wi-Fi connection at the same time can also drain your battery.

However, in my testing while I was using the setting, I haven’t found any significant decrease in your battery. However, it managed to switch to the mobile network when the Wi-Fi connection was accidentally turned off.

keep mobile data is always active on Android

To enable, go to developer settings on your Android smartphone and go to networking settings. Scroll down and select the option that says mobile data is always active for a better experience.

Override Force-Dark Mode: Turns On Dark Mode Even in Apps That Don’t Support It

Although dark mode is popular among many users, there are still plenty of apps and services that don’t offer dark mode, which makes it extremely uncomfortable for people who are not used to bright light colors.

Thanks to the Android developer dark mode. Now you can force dark mode on the site app even with the system-wide setting. It automatically changes the background text and UI colors to help and reflect your dark mode.

To force dark mode on your Android smartphone, first go to the settings and then developer options and choose the option that says force dark mode.

Default USB Configuration: Automatically Set Default USB Configuration Mode

If you often connect your smartphone to your PC, you are obviously annoyed by the same USB configuration pop-up every time you connect to your laptop.

This is an extra step offered by the Android smartphones or even iPhones to ensure the purpose of your USB connection on your smartphone.

By default, it is automatically selected as the charging mode. However, you can change it to transfer files, PTP, and also charging only based on your preference.

Using the Android developer settings, you can set the default USB configuration process to remove this extra step on your smartphone. It saves plenty of time, especially when you often connect your USB device to your laptop to transfer your files or perform any other actions except the charging mode.

To enable the settings, go to settings and then developer options, and look for the option that says default USB configuration, and select your preferred options. However, there are also downsides when you are selecting, especially if you select different options like file transfer, you unintentionally access to the PC which you are connected to your file system.

There are plenty of Android developer settings that you can play with; however, those are the 11 settings that are actually useful for the real user. From setting default USB configuration to forcing dark mode on your website, and also adjusting animations and setting up a fake location on your Android smartphone.

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