This Overlooked Feature Made My Samsung Phone Twice as Useful

Good Lock is Samsung’s very own customization suite, designed to help you make your Galaxy phone truly yours. That said, Good Lock is not just a collection of cosmetic features; it also contains tools that add to the overall functionality of your device.

Add a Back-Tap Gesture to Do More Tasks

If you’ve ever found yourself envying that your Samsung phone doesn’t have a customizable Action Button like the one found on iPhones, this feature is for you. The RegiStar module within Good Lock allows you to add a back-tap gesture on your Galaxy phone, so that you can perform a variety of tasks like taking a screenshot, opening an app of your choice, or accessing Google Assistant/Gemini.

To use this feature, install and open the RegiStar module inside Good Lock, and tap “Back-Tap Action.” Here, enable the toggle at the top, then tap “Double Tap” and select an action.

You can also set a triple-tap action. On my phone, I’ve set double tap to take a screenshot and triple tap to access the assistant. If you have a case on your phone, it might be a good idea to increase the sensitivity.

I take a lot of screenshots on my phone, mainly for the purpose of writing tutorials like this one. And at times, when certain UI elements don’t behave quite right or I mistime capturing a video still, I have to take multiple screenshots of the same screen.

That means a large portion of my gallery is filled with incorrectly taken screenshots, jumbled together with important ones I might need later. I don’t know if you’ve ever spent an afternoon manually cleaning your screenshots folder, but it’s the most boring thing in the world.

It’d be so much easier if the screenshot toolbar had a delete button built in, one that doesn’t ask for confirmation, so I could erase incorrect screenshots with a single tap on the spot and not later on when they’ve piled up.

This functionality isn’t present by default on Samsung phones, but you can get it through the Good Lock module Nice Shot. Open the module and toggle on “Add Delete Button.”

Once done, the screenshot toolbar will accommodate a trash icon at the end.

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Better Organize App Drawer With Custom Grids

I like to keep my home screen clean, and so I’ve intentionally kept only a few apps on it that I use most often. Unfortunately, that means every time I need to open an app other than those on the home screen, I have to dig into my app drawer, which I hate doing, given how many pages there are of it.

Phones today have a rather tall aspect ratio, and I find it wasteful that app drawers don’t make the best use of all that screen estate. So, on my phone, I’ve used the Home Up module in Good Lock to change the grid layout of my app drawer (called “Apps Screen” in One UI) to 4×7, so the entire length of the screen can be utilized to store my apps.

To do this, open the Home Up module and tap “Home Screen” and then tap “Apps Screen Grid” to set a custom layout.

Doing this has reduced the number of pages in my app drawer from five to three, which is a lot more manageable. I’ve also hidden the app icon labels for a super clean look from the same menu in Home Up because, well, it’s not like I’d suddenly forget what YouTube’s icon looks like.

See More App Content in Multi-Window Mode

I multitask on my Samsung phone quite often, to the point where it’s become second nature to me. However, I find it rather annoying that apps opened in split-screen mode have to fit into an unusually wide aspect ratio, and only half of the apps’ contents are visible at a time.

I love using apps in split screen, but hate having to scroll twice as much to reach the same information. It’s a very niche problem, I know, but to my surprise, Good Lock offers a solution to this, too.

The MultiStar module in Good Lock contains a setting that, once enabled, reduces the font size for apps running in multi-window mode (that’s split-screen and pop-up view), allowing you to see more content at a time, so you don’t have to scroll as much.

To enable this, open the module and toggle on “Multi-Window Screen Zoom” and then tap both the radio buttons that appear underneath for split screen and pop-up view.

Go ahead and access multi-window mode on your phone now to see the difference.

Make Volume Levels More Granular

Ever felt like the volume on your phone wasn’t quite right, no matter how much you adjusted it? You’re not alone. Android has had only 15 volume levels since the very beginning. While it’s convenient to move along the volume slider quickly with a few clicks, it’s pretty annoying when you’re trying to fully immerse yourself in your playlist. For context, Windows has 100 volume levels.

This is most noticeable when you have your headphones on; I often feel like the volume is either a bit less or more than exactly the amount I want. Also, with a lot of cheaper headphones, the volume is pretty dull until around 80%, and then suddenly becomes too loud, to the point where it affects sound quality.

There’s a fix for this, too. Open the Sound Assistant module in Good Lock, and drag the slider under the “Change Step Volume” heading toward the left.

It’s set to 10 by default, and the lower you set it, the more granular the slider becomes for more precise volume adjustment. Don’t go overboard here: the more granular the slider, the longer it takes to move along it using the volume buttons. I have it set to five on my phone, which I find is the perfect balance between convenience and comfort.

Open Favorite Apps Directly From Lock Screen

Android phones have allowed up to two lock screen shortcuts ever since they became a thing, usually reserved for camera or phone in case you quickly need access to those apps.

That’s handy, sure, but I also just as often find myself in situations where I need to quickly jot down a note, translate a message, or silence my phone. To do these tasks, I need Google Keep, Google Translate, and Do Not Disturb on my lock screen.

Luckily, with the LockStar module, you can add up to six apps on your lock screen, eliminating the hassle of searching for them in the app drawer or further cluttering your home screen.

To set this up, open LockStar and enable the toggle next to your lock screen preview. Then, tap on that preview to enter the editor. Here, tap the bottom-most part of the preview and then tap the app grid icon in the corner.

You’ll notice a panel pull up which has two lock screen shortcuts selected by default (as is the case on all Android phones), but you can select the type that allows up to six by tapping the radio button next to it. Tap any of the “+” icons to select the apps of your choice, change the alignment if you want for easier one-handed use, and hit “Apply” once done.

This space isn’t limited to utility or productivity apps, by the way. For instance, I’ve kept Google Pay on there as well to speed up making payments to local vendors.

Run a Touch Macro With Routines+

Running a touch macro is the most advanced thing that Good Lock allows you to do via the Routines+ module. It’s intended for the geekiest of users, requires prior knowledge of how to use Samsung’s Modes and Routines automation system, and admittedly has a bit of a learning curve. But once you get used to it, it’s like having a personal assistant take care of your digital chores.

Here’s how it works: if there’s a task you routinely do on your phone, like collecting daily rewards in a mobile game or updating your apps via the Play Store, you can record a series of taps and swipes that get carried out when the routine runs, essentially imitating you.

To set this up, open the Routines+ module in Good Lock and tap “Run a Touch Macro.” The trigger is set to manual activation by default. Go ahead and tap “Touch Macro” and then tap “Add” to select an app within which you want to execute this routine, and tap “Next.” Doing this will open that app with the controller appearing on the side of the screen.

With all that set up, you can now begin recording the touch macro. Pay close attention because it’s easy to mess this part up.

On the controller, tap “Record” and begin performing the taps and swipes required to do the task. The parts of the screen that you touch will be highlighted and numbered as you go along. Once done, tap “Stop” on the controller. Hit “Save” and give a name to this routine. Tap “Save” again to confirm. On the following screen, tap the radio button next to this routine and tap “Done.” Tap “Save” on the following screen. Your routine is now set.

I want to remind you that this feature is not intended for the average user and does take time to get right. My advice? Set smaller touch macros. Longer macros usually break because how UI elements behave isn’t always consistent, and even tiny changes can mess things up.

Never use this feature for apps that contain vital information, like gallery, contacts, file manager, messaging apps, and banking apps. Account for things like loading times, unexpected pop-ups, notifications, and accidental taps. I know this sounds like a lot of work, and it is, but for geeks like me, it’s nice to have a feature this powerful, even if it comes with its own risks.

Some Good Lock features are admittedly a bit excessive, but for a power user, it’s nice to have that option so you can take full advantage of your Samsung phone’s extraordinary customization capabilities.