How to Customize Lock Screen on Samsung Galaxy Devices

The Android ecosystem is known for its personalization. One of those aspects is lock screen customization and add-ons including widgets, Always On Display, notifications, etc. Samsung, as the Android leader, has left no stone unturned when packing the latest Galaxy devices with plenty of lock screen customization features. With the latest One UI 3.1, the South Korean giant is only doubling with more features than ever.

All mid-range and high-end Samsung smartphones are equipped with an AMOLED display, which means they can take advantage of the Always On Display feature. Taking a page from Apple’s book, Samsung also introduced lock screen widgets on One UI 3.1. Let’s find out all the possibilities of customizing the lock screen on a Samsung Galaxy device.

Activate always-on display

To extend battery life on a Galaxy device, Samsung turns off the out-of-the-box AOD feature. However, it is a useful add-on for quickly viewing the time, date, remaining battery life, notifications, etc. Follow the steps below to enable AOD on a Samsung device.

Step 1: Open the Settings app on your phone.

2nd step: Scroll down to the Lock screen section.

Step 3: Enable the Always On Display option.

Customize the always-on display

The default AOD style is basic at best. However, it is a single user interface. Everything is personalized here. Samsung has launched dozens of AOD customization options to create the perfect experience for you. Follow the steps below to customize AOD on a Galaxy device.

Step 1: Open the Settings app on your phone.

2nd step: Scroll down to the Lock screen section.

Step 3: Tap the Always On Display option.

Step 4: Here you can display AOD as expected, turn on music information display, etc.

The most useful add-on is the Clock style. Tap on it and you will be able to access a bunch of clock and calendar styles with different color effects. We also like the way Samsung offers to play with gradient colors.

Go to photo option and you can add gif in AOD format or choose photo from gallery to add to lock screen. In short, you have all the customization options to create an ideal AOD display.

Download AODs from the Theme Store

Still not satisfied with the AOD options available? Let’s download third-party options from the default Samsung Theme Store. Follow the steps.

Step 1: Long press on the One UI home screen and select Themes.

2nd step: Access the AOD menu.

Step 3: You will see free and paid AODs.

Samsung has neatly organized them according to certain categories. You will have no trouble finding the right AOD for the lock screen.

To note: Before you go ahead and download these nifty gifs like AOD to the device. Let us alert you to the possible impact on device battery life. You will notice about a 20% to 30% drop in typical battery life after implementing AOD.

Add a lock screen widget

Like iOS 14 lock screen widget, Samsung adds lock screen widgets. You must enable them in the Settings menu.

Step 1: Open the Settings app on your phone.

2nd step: Scroll down to the Lock screen section.

Step 3: Select Widgets from the next screen.

Here you will see default lock screen widgets to add to the lock screen. The current list includes music, weather, today’s schedule, next alarm, digital wellness, and Bixby routines. You can also enable widgets to display on Always On Display.

Tap Arrange at the top and you can reposition the widgets according to your preferences.

Lock your Galaxy device and you won’t find any lock screen widgets immediately. You need to double tap the clock to display widgets without unlocking the phone. Our most used widgets are music, weather and digital wellness.

So far, lock screen widgets have been limited to Samsung’s proprietary apps. We hope the company will release the required APIs for developers to implement lock screen widgets.

Add contact information to the lock screen

Samsung allows you to display information such as your phone number or email address on the lock screen so that you can be contacted if you lose your phone. It’s convenient, and we recommend that everyone add at least one email id.

Step 1: Open the Settings app on your phone.

2nd step: Scroll down to the Lock screen section.

Step 3: Find the Contact Info option, tap it and add some text.

Personalize the lock screen like a pro

Follow the steps above and completely customize the lock screen experience on the Galaxy device. Hopefully Samsung improves the experience in the next One UI updates. What’s your favorite lock screen addition? Share in the comments below.