HTC U12 life User manual

User guide
HTC U12 life

Contents
Features you'll enjoy
Android 8.0 8
Truly personal 9
Unboxing and setup
HTC U12 life overview 10
Inserting the nano SIM and microSD cards 12
Charging the battery 14
Switching the power on or off 15
Setting up your phone for the first time 15
Adding your social networks, email accounts, and more 16
Choosing which nano SIM card to use for your data connection 17
Choosing which SIM card to use for sending SMS and MMS 17
Managing your nano SIM cards with Dual network manager 17
Fingerprint scanner 17
Your first week with your new phone
HTC Sense Home 19
Turning Sleep mode on or off 19
Lock screen 19
Touch gestures 20
Getting to know your settings 23
Using Quick Settings 24
Capturing your phone's screen 25
Travel mode 25
Restarting HTC U12 life (Soft reset) 25
Notifications 26
Selecting, copying, and pasting text 28
Entering text 29
Updates
Software and app updates 32
Installing a software update 32
Installing an application update 33
Installing app updates from Google Play Store 33
Home screen layout and fonts
Adding or removing a widget panel 34
Changing your main Home screen 34
Home wallpaper 35
Changing the default font size 35
2 Contents

Widgets and shortcuts
Launch bar 36
Adding Home screen widgets 36
Adding Home screen shortcuts 37
Grouping apps on the widget panel and launch bar 37
Moving a Home screen item 38
Removing a Home screen item 38
Sound preferences
Changing your ringtone 39
Changing your notification sound 39
Setting the default volume 39
Taking photos and videos
Camera basics 40
Taking a photo 41
Changing the focus in Bokeh mode 41
Taking continuous camera shots 42
Recording video 42
Taking a photo selfie 43
Taking a video selfie 43
Using the Beautify feature 43
Taking photos with the self-timer 43
Taking a panoramic photo 44
Google Photos
What you can do on Google Photos 45
Viewing photos and videos 45
Editing your photos 45
Trimming a video 46
Phone calls
Making a call 47
Receiving calls 48
Emergency call 48
What can I do during a call? 48
Setting up a conference call 49
Call history 50
Switching between silent, vibrate, and normal modes 50
SMS and MMS
Sending a text or multimedia message via Android Messaging 51
Contacts
Your contacts list 52
Adding a new contact 52
Editing a contact’s information 53
Grouping contacts into labels 53
3 Contents

Battery
Tips for extending battery life 55
Using battery saver mode 57
Displaying the battery percentage 57
Checking battery usage 57
Checking battery history 57
Battery optimization for apps 58
Storage
Freeing up storage space 59
Types of storage 59
Should I use the storage card as removable or internal storage? 60
Setting up your storage card as internal storage 60
Moving apps and data between the phone storage and storage card 61
Moving an app to or from the storage card 62
Copying or moving files between the phone storage and storage card 62
Copying files between HTC U12 life and your computer 63
Unmounting the storage card 63
Backup and reset
Backing up HTC U12 life 64
Resetting network settings 65
Resetting HTC U12 life (Hard reset) 65
Installing and removing apps
Getting apps from Google Play Store 66
Downloading apps from the web 67
Uninstalling an app 67
Working with apps
Accessing your apps 68
Arranging apps 68
App shortcuts 69
Switching between recently opened apps 70
Working with two apps at the same time 70
Using picture-in-picture 71
Controlling app permissions 72
Setting default apps 72
Setting up app links 72
Disabling an app 73
HTC apps
Boost+ 74
HTC BlinkFeed 74
HTC Themes 74
Mail 74
Weather 74
Clock 74
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Sound Recorder
Recording voice clips 75
Internet connections
Turning the data connection on or off 76
Managing your data usage 76
Wi-Fi connection 78
Connecting to VPN 79
Installing a digital certificate 80
Using HTC U12 life as a Wi-Fi hotspot 80
Sharing your phone's Internet connection by USB tethering 81
Wireless sharing
Turning Bluetooth on or off 82
Connecting a Bluetooth headset 82
Unpairing from a Bluetooth device 83
Receiving files using Bluetooth 83
Using NFC 84
Common settings
Do not disturb mode 86
Location settings 88
Airplane mode 88
Automatic screen rotation 89
Setting when to turn off the screen 89
Screen brightness 89
Adjusting the display size 89
Touch sounds and vibration 90
Changing the display language 90
Security settings
Assigning a PIN to a nano SIM card 92
Setting a screen lock 92
Setting up Smart Lock 93
Turning the lock screen off 94
Accessibility settings
Accessibility settings 95
Navigating HTC U12 life with TalkBack 95
Trademarks and copyrights
Index
5 Contents

About this guide
We use the following symbols to indicate useful and important information:
This is a note. It provides detailed information for setup, common questions, and what to do in
specific situations.
This is a tip. It will give you an alternative way to do a particular step or procedure that you may
find helpful.
This indicates important information that you need in order to accomplish a certain task or to
get a feature to work properly.
This is a warning. Take note to avoid potential problems or prevent damage to your hardware.
Information contained in this guide may have changed. For the most up-to-date information,
including the latest version of this guide, go to HTC Support.
6 About this guide

Important note on recoverable data
Files and other data that have been deleted, cleared, removed, or erased from your device
may still be recoverable by third-party data recovery software. Even a factory reset may not
permanently erase all data from your mobile device, including personal information.
7 Important note on recoverable data

Features you'll enjoy
Android 8.0
Android™8.0 brings new features that make working with apps and settings even more convenient.
Here's an overview of some of its new features.
Picture-in-picture
Want to watch a video while using another app at the same time?
Use the picture-in-picture feature to minimize the video into a
small window. For details, see Using picture-in-picture on page
71.
Snooze notifications
Temporarily dismiss notifications to free your Notifications panel or Lock screen from clutter.
For details, see Managing app notifications on page 28 or Lock screen on page 19.
Icon badges
Know right away if you have pending notifications for an app with icon badges. A small dot appears
on an app icon which indicates there is a notification that you may have missed. Dots appear on app
icons in both the All apps screen and on the Home screen. Press and hold the app icon to show a
condensed version of the available notifications. See Turning icon badges on or off on page 28.
8 Features you'll enjoy

Revamped Settings screen
The main Settings screen has been reorganized to make it shorter and simpler. Tap a category and
navigate to the setting that you want.
Looking for a setting but can't remember where it is? Just do a search. Tap and then type the first
few letters of the setting you're looking for. In the results list, tap the item that you want to go
directly to its screen.
Other features
§Feel more secure when installing apps from sources other than the Google Play Store.
Granting permission for downloading and installing apps from unknown sources is now on a
per app basis. See Downloading apps from the web on page 67.
§There's a built-in file manager app that currently lets you do simple things with your media
files, such as copy, move, and delete. From the Home screen, swipe up and then find and tap
Files.
Truly personal
Designed with you in mind, HTC U12 life is loaded with HTC apps that make your phone unique and
truly personal.
With HTC Themes, personalize your phone by creating your own theme that has your selected
wallpaper, icons, ringtone, and fonts. To learn more about these and other apps, see HTC apps on
page 74.
9 Features you'll enjoy

Unboxing and setup
HTC U12 life overview
After taking HTC U12 life out of the box, familiarize yourself first with the location of the card tray,
controls, and sensors.
1. Proximity and light sensor
2. LED flash
3. VOLUME control
4. POWER button
5. Speaker
6. USB Type-C™connector
7. Microphones
8. nano SIM and storage card tray
9. Notification LED
10. Front camera
11. 3.5mm headset jack
You need a 4G/LTE™plan to use your operator's 4G/LTE network for voice calls and data services.
Check with your operator for details.
§If you want to use a case or screen protector, don’t cover and block the proximity sensor.
Purchase a case or screen protector designed for HTC U12 life.
§Avoid liquid or dust from entering the microphone hole to prevent damage to the microphone.
§Avoid connecting third-party headsets or accessories with metallic charms that dangle near the
headset jack. Using these may affect signal reception.
§Don’t disassemble any part of the phone. Don’t try to open the phone or remove the battery by
force. This may damage the phone or its electronics and will invalidate the warranty.
10 Unboxing and setup