While Android’s Quick Settings offers quick access to essential controls, the default setup never quite suited my daily habits. Luckily, you can customize the layout to your liking using a few tricks. Here’s how I reworked my Quick Settings to fit my personal workflow, and you can do the same.
Good to know: learn how to add custom gestures on Android and personalize your phone even more.
Explore Your Unused Android Quick Settings Tiles
The first step is to dig through your Android’s unused Quick Settings. By default, your phone will display a fixed set of tiles. This can vary from phone to phone based on the manufacturer. For instance, my Honor phone features AI subtitles or Link to Windows tiles (allowing you to quickly connect between Android and Windows) which are absent from my Pixel phone.
Out of the box, your Android will only show select tiles, but you should also explore those that are not activated. You might find options that are more useful to you than the default ones. For instance, I often perform calculations on my phone, and rather than just looking up the Calculator app every time, I added a Calculator tile to my Quick Settings. It lets me access it instantly, even when using the phone one-handed.
To add a new tile, swipe up from the top of the screen to access the Quick Settings. Swipe downwards on the lower tiles to bring more into view. Now press on the Pencil icon in the lower right corner.
At the top, you will see the active tiles. Swipe downwards to view the inactive ones. Check the From system apps section, which should be populated by quite a few. Here you should find the Calculator tile. On other phone models, these might appear in a list with no categories. Tap on it to add to Quick Settings.
Tip: easily run Android apps on Linux with Waydroid.
Add New Tiles from Installed Apps
One thing you might not be aware of is that some of your installed apps include tiles for Quick Settings. For instance, NordVPN. I frequently turn to this VPN app on my phone, and I was surprised to find that it also offers a tile for Quick Settings.
On my Pixel phone, I found this tile in the From apps you installed section, but on other models, it might not be so easy to find it. On my Honor device, I located the NordVPN tile by browsing the list of inactive tiles and using the app icon as a visual reference. Once added in Quick Settings, the NordVPN tile allows me to connect to a random server just by activating it.
FYI: want to have a little fun? Turn yourself into an Android character.
Create Custom Tiles with Third-Party Apps
If your mostly-used apps don’t have a corresponding Quick Settings tile, it’s not a problem. With the help of a third-party app like Tile Shortcuts, you can create a tile for any app and more.
Open the app and press the red + button at the bottom.
Select APP under Tile Type. Select the app in question from the list of apps that appears.
Pick an icon for your tile. You can even add a custom icon from your gallery if you want.
Next, go back to Quick Settings and activate the edit mode. You should find the new tile under From installed apps, all the way at the bottom. The tile will be marked with the number 1. Activate it, and when it appears in your Quick Settings, it will appear featuring the app’s logo on top.
What I like most about Tile Shortcuts is that it even lets you create tiles for websites. Granted, it’s a paid feature, but you’ll be able to access it in return for a meager one-time payment of $1.49. For someone who constantly checks certain websites multiple times a day, it’s absolutely a lifesaver.
Just name your tile and then add the URL. Press OK. I created a tile for MTE and updated the MTE logo so I can easily differentiate it.
The new tile will show up in the Quick Settings edit menu marked with the number 2.
In the paid version, Tile Shortcuts also gives me access to the option to create tiles for shortcuts such as starting a new WhatsApp chat, accessing Contacts or the Dialer. You can also create a folder tile which can include apps of your choice, shortcuts and/or websites.
Resize Your Quick Tiles
While there are apps that can visually refresh Android’s Quick Settings, I’m a fan of the stock look and chose not to alter it. That said, Pixel phone users can take advantage of a simple, yet useful tweak to further personalize the layout: resizing the tiles. Yes, you can opt to shrink down the size of the standard tiles, so you can have more fit in a row.
In the Quick Settings edit screen, press on a tile. A handle should appear on the right side. Drag it to the right to make the tile smaller.
Here’s how my overall setup ended up looking like.
Android is all about the freedom of customization. Check here how you can make your home screen better by adding (one or more of) these widgets.
