For years, me Dad regularly called me and my brothers. I thought this annoyance would die after smartphones took over, but the man’s pocket is talented, and I still manage to leave wordless voicemails every few weeks. If your friends and family are hounding you over regular butt calls, a few adjustments to your settings can help solve the problem.
Lock. Dyn. Telephone.
First things first – and I wouldn’t have to say this, but apparently I do – lock your phone before you have it back in your pocket. I have seen people just slide their phone into their pocket without turning off the screen, which is a perfect recipe for pocket picking. Just press the button on the side of your phone – it only takes a second, and it saves your friends some headaches.
Furthermore, it is important to use a passcode (and / or fingerprint, and / or exclusion of face) on your phone – not only to prevent pocket dials, but to prevent thieves from gaining access to all your personal information. You can add these security measures from Settings> Touch ID and password on an iPhone, and Settings> Security> Screen lock on Android-based phones. (This may vary from phone to phone – Samsung devices call this section Biometrics and Security, for example.)
You may think that the information on your phone is not so sensitive, but you might be surprised. Even if you do not use, say, banking apps, your phone has your email on it, and if a thief accesses your email, they have access to just about every account you have. And a device that is portable is easy to lose, allowing no-do-wells to provide free government over your information. Lock. Dyn. Telephone.
Disable ‘Tap to Wake’
Okay, now that we’ve gone beyond the obvious, let’s assume you’re locking your phone before putting it away – how much are you still calling people?
There are a few settings – or, rather, combinations of settings – that can lead to unlocking your phone in your pocket. The first is “Tap to wake up”, the feature that allows you to wake up the screen of your phone by tapping (instead of pressing a physical button). This shutdown should reduce the frequency of accidental awakenings in your pocket, and thus lead to less accidental conversations. You can disable this feature on the iPhone in Settings> Accessibility> Touch> Tape to Wake (it only appears on home button-less iPhones like the X and newer), and Android phones at Settings> Display> Lock Screen Display> Double-Tap to control phone. Samsung users can find it below Settings> Advanced features> Gestures and gestures.
Allow your phone to write quickly automatically
If you have a password, tap-to-wake only does not cause pocket dials. Often it is a combination of tap-to-wake and auto-lock functionality. By default, most phones cannot enable the password for about 30 seconds. That means you can lock your phone, put it in the pocket, and if the screen wakes up within 30 seconds, you can unlock the phone with a simple swipe instead of a password. Bad news bears.
To change this auto-lock setting on iPhone, go to Settings> Display and Brightness> Auto-lock. Thirty seconds is unfortunately the shortest amount of time you can choose here – although on Android phones you can lock the phone automatically after 15 seconds, 5 seconds, or even immediately, every time you turn off the screen. You can find this setting below Settings> Security, tap the acceleration icon next to it Screen lock. On Samsung phones, this is below Settings> Lock Screen> Secure Lock Settings.
Disable Smart Lock
Finally, many Android phones have a feature that keeps your phone unlocked – that is, no password required – when you are at home or connected to a specific Bluetooth device (such as your car). This can be handy, but it also makes your pocket easier to call your grandmother, so you might want to turn it off if you find that you often ring in those situations.
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