Samsung Galaxy S5: How to Block Unwanted or Unknown Messages in Android 4.4.2 Kitkat

Have you ever wanted to stop an unwanted person to send you a text message? Or, have you ever wanted to stop receiving marketing SMS messages? If that so, you can block all of the unwanted messages by enabling the spam filter feature. This feature lets you block the message from specific phone numbers or unknown senders as well as lets you block messages contain with specific phrases. When a spam message is received, you won't be notified (either with message tone or notification on the status bar) and the message will be redirected to the spam messages folder so that your conversation will be clean from those unwanted or unknown messages.

How to block unwanted messages from specific phone numbers?
You can block specific phone numbers to send you a message by using the following steps:

1. Open Messaging app.
2. Tap or long press the Recent apps key to open up the additional options and then select Settings.
3. Scroll down to find Spam filter and then tap it.
4. If the spam filter is off, tap the ON/OFF switch to enable it. When the switch is on the right side or shows green means the spam filter is enabled.
5. Tap Add to spam numbers.
6. Add a phone number to the spam list:
• Tap .
• Enter the phone number in the enter number field or tap to select a contact from call logs or Contacts app.
• If necessary, you can change the criteria by tapping Match criteria and then select from the following options:
1. Exactly the same as: this option is enabled by default. Select this option to block the phone number which is exactly the same as the phone number you have entered in the enter number field.
2. Starts with: select this option to block all the phone numbers that are started with the number you have entered in the enter number field.
3. Ends with: select this option to block all the phone numbers that are ended with the number you have entered in the enter number field.
4. Includes: select this option to block all the phone numbers contain with the number you have entered in the enter number field.
• Tap Save button.
• The entered phone number will be added to the spam list and all of the messages from this number will be blocked.
7. Remove a phone number from the spam list:
• Long tap a blocked number to select it.
• Tap .
• Tap OK button.
• The selected phone number will be deleted from the spam list.

How to block unwanted messages contain with specific phrases?
You may notice that spam messages(e.g: marketing SMS messages) sometimes contain with the same phrases. So, instead of blocking the phone number, you can block the phrases so that all messages contain with the those phrases will be blocked. You can do so by using the following steps:

1. Open Messaging app.
2. Tap and then select Settings.
3. Scroll down to find Spam filter and then tap it.
4. If the spam filter is off, tap the ON/OFF switch to enable it.
5. Tap Add to spam phrases.
6. Add a phrase to the spam list:
• Tap .
• Enter the required phrase you want to block. You can enter the phrase up to 32 characters.
• Tap Save button.
• Tap OK button.
• The entered phrase will be added to the spam list and all messages contains with this phrase will be blocked.
7. Remove a phrase from the spam list:
• Long tap a blocked phrase to select it.
• Tap .
• Tap OK button.
• The selected phrase will be removed from the spam list.

How to block text messages from unknown senders?
If you only want to receive messages from contacts that you have added to the Contacts app, then you can block all messages from unknown senders by using the following steps:

1. Open Messaging app.
2. Tap and then select Settings.
3. Scroll down to find Spam filter and then tap it.
4. If the spam filter is off, tap the ON/OFF switch to enable it.
5. Check the box next to Block unknown messages to enable this option.
6. All of messages from contacts that have not been added to the Contacts app will be blocked.

How to view spam messages?
You can display all of the blocked messages by using the following steps:

1. Open Messaging app.
2. Tap and then select Spam messages.
3. All blocked messages will be displayed here. If necessary, you can read or even delete blocked messages from here.

As a note, though the spam filter feature only redirects blocked messages to the spam folder instead of delete them, at least by using this feature you won't be disturbed with the notification from the unwanted or unknown messages and you won't see them in your conversations list either.

Samsung Galaxy S5: How to Send and Customize Scheduled Messages in Android 4.4.2 Kitkat

Have you ever been in a situation where you wanted to send a message but it was impossible for you to send the message at that time manually? As the example, when you want to send your friend a birthday message in the middle of the night but it's hard for you to stay awake just to send the message. If that so, you may have to try scheduling your message, you can write your message during the day and let your phone sends the message automatically at the middle of the night without you have to awake and do it manually.

How to send a scheduled message?
You can do so by using the following steps:

1. Open Messaging app.
2. Tap to compose a new message.
3. Enter the contact's name or phone number in the enter recipients field or tap to select contacts from Contacts app.
4. Enter your message in the enter message field.
5. If necessary, you can insert emoji into your message by tapping and then select the required emoji you want to use.
6. Tap and then select Schedule message.
7. Set the desired date and time you want the message you're composing will be sent and then tap Done button.
8. Tap .
9. The message will be scheduled and it will be sent automatically in the specified date and time. When you see the message in the conversation, it will be labelled with .

How to customize scheduled messages?
Before a scheduled message is sent, you can do some customizations, for instance deleting a scheduled message or changing the date and time of a scheduled message, etc. You can do so by using the following steps:

1. Open Messaging app.
2. Tap and then select Scheduled messages. All scheduled messages will be displayed here.
3. Delete a scheduled message:
   If necessary, you can cancel a scheduled message by deleting the required message by using the following steps:
• Long tap the required message to select it.
• Tap .
• Tap OK button.
• The selected message will be deleted.
4. Edit a scheduled message:
   If necessary, you can edit your message according to your need by using the following steps:
• Long tap the required message to select it.
• Tap and then select Edit message.
• You can edit your message now (the recipient number, the message or the date and time).
• Tap .
• The message has been edited and will be scheduled to be sent in the specified date and time.
5. Send a scheduled message manually:
   If necessary, you can send a scheduled message manually by using the following steps:
• Long tap the required message to select it.
• Tap .
• The selected message will be sent right now regardless the date and time you have specified before.

Given the function, scheduled messages will be able to help you send messages when you may be hard to send the messages manually. Also, please note that when it comes to send a scheduled message but the device is turned off or the network is unstable, the message will not be sent. So, how about you? Have you ever scheduled your messages?

Samsung Galaxy S5: How to Enable and Use Priority Senders in Messaging App in Android 4.4.2 Kitkat

Have you ever wasted your time just to find a conversation from particular contact because you had a lot of conversations in Messaging app? Well, though this app has the search function, but some of you may not really like using this feature and prefer to scroll up or down the screen to find a conversation. If that so, you can save yourself and your time by utilizing the priority senders feature. This feature lets you set contacts as priority contacts and display their contacts icon to open up the conversations in the priority senders list so that you can reach them with more easily and quickly, no matter how many conversations you have.

How to enable or disable the priority senders feature in Messaging app?
You can do so by using the following steps:

1. Open Messaging app.
2. Tap or long press the Recent apps key to open up the additional options and then select Settings.
3. Depending on your current settings, tap Priority senders to enable or disable this option. When the checkbox next to this option is ticked means the priority senders feature is enabled and it will be displayed above the conversations list.

How to use the priority senders feature in Messaging app?
If the priority senders is enabled, then you can add contacts to the priority senders list (or delete them if needed) as well as rearrange the contacts so that you can be easier to reach their messages. See the following steps to use the priority senders feature in Messaging app:

1. Open Messaging app.
2. Add contacts to the priority senders list.
   You can add up to 25 contacts to the priority senders list by using the following steps:
• Tap to add contacts to the priority senders.
• Tap Inbox to add contacts that have ever sent you messages to the priority senders or tap Contacts to add contacts from the Contacts app to the priority senders.
• Select the required contacts and then tap Done button.
• The selected contacts will be added to the priority senders list and they will be displayed above the conversations list.
3. Remove contacts from the priority senders list.
   If necessary, you can remove contacts from the priority senders list by using the following steps:
• Long tap a contact in the priority senders list.
• Tap Edit list of priority senders,
• Tap on the required contacts you want to remove from the list.
• Tap Done button to save the changes.
4. Rearrange the contacts in the priority senders list.
   If necessary, you can also change the contacts position in the priority senders list by using the following steps:
• Long tap a contact in the priority senders list.
• Tap Edit list of priority senders.
• Tap and hold a contact and then drag it to the required position.
• Release to place the contact in the new position.
• Tap Done button to save the changes.

When you have added some contacts to the priority senders, you can easily and quickly reach them to send a message or read/reply/forward a message simply by tapping the contact icon in the priority senders list. Therefore, this feature will be more useful if you add your important/favourite contacts to the priority senders so that you can save your time by skipping the scroll up/down the screen section just to find the conversation.

Samsung Galaxy S5: How to Change Font Size in Messaging App in Android 4.4.2 Kitkat

By default, the Messaging app displays all conversations and messages using the font with medium size. In case you have accidentally changed the font size or if you feel that the font size makes you hard for reading, then you can easily adjust the font size according to your need so that you'll be easier to read the messages.


How to adjust the font size in Messaging app?
There are two methods available that can be used to increase or decrease the font size in the Messaging app, either by using the Volume key or the font size option.

Method #1: Using the Volume key
This method lets you adjust the font size in Messaging app easily by using the Volume up or Volume down keys. But you have to remember that this method won't work while you're playing music with the Music player app. See the following steps to enable and use the Volume key to adjust the font size:

1. Open Messaging app.
2. Tap or long press the Recent apps key to open up the additional options and then select Settings.
3. Tap Display.
4. Check the box in the right side of the Change font size to enable this option and let you adjust the font size using the Volume key.
5. Now, while you're composing a new message or viewing conversations or opening a conversation to read/reply/forward a message, you can use the Volume up key to increase the font size or the Volume down key to decrease the font size.

Method #2: Using the font size option
This option is available when you're composing a new message, viewing conversations or opening a conversation to read/reply/forwarding a text message. As the example, we'll try to adjust the font size using the font size option while reading a text message:

1. Open Messaging app.
2. Tap a conversation.
3. Tap or long press the Recent apps key to open up the additional options, scroll down the screen and then select Font size.
4. Select the font size from the following options:
• Use device font sizes: select this option to change the font size based on the font size that is being used by your phone.
• Tiny
• Extra small
• Small
• Medium
• Large
• Extra large
• Huge
5. The selected font size will be applied to all of the messages.

As a note, when you have adjusted the font size either by using the Volume key or the font size option, it won't change until you re-adjust the font size or reset the Messaging app settings or clear the data.

Samsung Galaxy S5: How to Change Bubble and Background Styles in Messaging App in Android 4.4.2 Kitkat

The stock Messaging app in the Samsung Galaxy S5 displays the incoming and outgoing messages back and forth within a conversation so that you can see your message with particular contact in a single place. Another best part of this app is that you can change the message bubble and also the background image within conversations. It will give a new look for your conversations and you can also make the conversations more personal by applying your own picture as the background image.

How to change bubble and background styles within conversations in Messaging app?
You can do so by using the following steps:

1. Open Messaging app.
2. Tap or long press the Recent apps key to open up the additional options and then select Settings.
3. Tap Display.
4. Change the bubble style.
• Tap Bubble style.
• Select one of the bubble styles listed at the bottom of the screen you want to use. You'll get the preview when you tap each of the bubble styles so that you'll get an idea how it might look like when a bubble is enabled.
• Tap Save button.
• The selected bubble style will be applied.
5. Change the background style.
   You can use the stock image or your own picture as the background image within conversations.
I. Use the stock background image as the background style:
• Tap Background style.
• Select one of the background styles listed at the bottom of the screen you want to use. You'll get the preview when you tap each of the background styles so that you'll get an idea how it might look like when a background image is enabled.
• Tap Save button.
• The selected background style will be applied.
II. Use your own picture as the background style:
• Tap Background style.
• Tap .
• Select Image to pick up your photo in the Gallery app or select Camera to take a picture and then use the picture as the background style.
• If necessary, you can adjust the size of the picture that will be used as the background style by dragging .
• If necessary, you can also use another part of the picture as the background style by tapping and holding the blue frame and then drag it to the desired part.
• If you're satisfied with the result, tap Done button.
• Tap Save button.
• The selected picture will be set as the background style.

When the bubble and the background styles have been changed, it will be applied to all conversations in your Messaging app. I personally like using this feature to change the conversations appearance when I have been bored with the previous one. So, how about you? Do you also like using this feature?

Samsung Galaxy S5: How to Send a Text Message in Android 4.4.2 Kitkat

Though there are lot of chat applications available today, send a text message is still a favourite way to communicate with others. It may be the reason why most of all the phones put a Messaging app as one of their stock apps. As same as with other phones, Samsung Galaxy S5 also provides you with the stock Messaging app so that you can use it to send a text message to the desired contacts with ease without having to install it first.


How to send a text message?
Actually, there are several methods available that can be used as the shortcut to create a new text message, but in this post I'll write 3 common ways to create a new text message: from the Messaging app itself, using the easy text feature in the Contacts app and from the call logs in Phone app.

Method #1: From the Messaging app
This method lets you create a new text message directly from the Messaging app. See the following steps to do so:

1. Open Messaging app.
2. Tap to create a new text message.
3. Enter the contact's name or phone number in the enter recipient field (repeat this step to add more contacts if you want to send the message to the multiple recipients) or tap and then select the required contacts from the Contacts app.
4. Write your message in the enter message field.
5. If necessary, you can insert emoji in your text message by tapping and then select the required emoji you want to insert.
6. Tap to send your text message.

Method #2: Using the easy text feature
This method lets you create a new message to the particular contact with ease while you're in the Contacts app. See the following steps to do so:

1. Open Contacts app.
2. Swipe the required contact from right to the left. If the contact has multiple phone numbers, the first phone number or the phone number that has been set as the default will be used as the message recipient.
3. Write your message in the enter message field.
4. If necessary, you can insert emoji in your text message by tapping and then select the required emoji you want to insert.
5. Tap to send your text message.

Method #3: From the call logs
This method lets you create a new message to the particular contact that is listed in the call logs, either those have been added to the Contacts app or those have not been. See the following steps to do so:

1. Open Phone app.
2. Tap Logs tab.
3. Tap the required contact you want to send a message with.
4. Tap to compose a text message for the selected contact.
5. Write your message in the enter message field.
6. If necessary, you can insert emoji in your text message by tapping and then select the required emoji you want to insert.
7. Tap to send your text message.

As a note, you may incur with additional charge when you send text messages, depends on what provider you're using.