It’s really easy to give your Windows Phone 8.1 interface a simple twist to suit your style
When you first switch on a new Windows 8.1 phone, the interface that greets you is a joy to behold. The simple layout and large, bright tiles make finding what you need really easy (and it’s also great for showing off in a public place).
However, if you want to stamp your own style on it, there are options for you to tailor the interface. From its colours and style to its basic functions, Windows Phone 8.1 is fully customisable to suit your preferences.
As well as tweaking the settings hidden within the interface, you can go even further with apps downloaded from the Windows Phone Store, which give you even greater control over the way your phone looks. So let’s get started making your Windows Phone, truly your own!
1 Get new wallpaper
When you first turn your phone on or wake it from standby, you’re taken to the Lock Screen, where you’ll see the default wallpaper. You won’t want to look at the same image day in, day out, so why not replace it with something you like? Go to ‘Settings > Lock Screen’ and tap ‘Choose Background’. You can opt to see a random image from Bing, or tap ‘Photo > Change Photo’ and choose a picture from one of your albums on the phone. Alternatively, when looking at an image, tap-and-hold on it to bring up a menu and tap ‘Set As Lock Screen’.
2 See instant updates
The Lock Screen isn’t just for showing off images, it’s also a convenient way of presenting information when you need it. You can set the Lock Screen to show your calendar appointments, new emails and more. To change what you see, go to ‘Settings > Lock Screen’ and tap the box labelled ‘Choose an app to show detailed status’. Here you can change what sort of info appears as your main Lock Screen update. You can also add smaller updates (to the area below – just tap one of the app boxes below the notifications area).
3 See tracks playing
To make your Lock Screen an even richer experience, you can set it to display the song that’s currently playing on your phone. To do this, simply go to ‘Settings > Lock Screen’ and tap the toggle switch next to ‘Show artist when playing music’. Now, when you’re listening to something and you wake your phone, you can see what’s playing, as well as pause, play and skip songs.
4 Theme the Lock Screen
Want to keep up with your friends at a glance? You can dedicate your Lock Screen to Facebook. First, download the Facebook App from the Windows Phone Store. Once installed, log in. You’ll get the option of setting up your Facebook Lock Screen. Tap the ellipsis (…) at the foot of the screen and select ‘Lock Screen Settings’. Pick a template and tap the tick. Select ‘Yes’ when asked to set it as the Lock Screen. To get notifications, go to ‘Settings > Lock Screen’ and select Facebook as your detailed status.
5 Modify the layout
If the standard layout of the Start screen isn’t to your liking, you can reposition the tiles. Tap and hold on one, drag to a new location and release it when you’re happy. You can also change the size of a tile by holding a finger on it for a couple of seconds, then tapping the arrow at the bottom-right. Similarly, you can unpin an app by tapping the pin icon in the top-right corner. Alternatively, if you want to pin something within the secondary menu, hold down on the app for a moment and tap ‘Pin To Start’.
6 More tiles please
By default, the Start screen can fit only two columns of tiles on the display, unless you have a big-screen phone (such as the Lumia 930), which has three columns out-of-thebox. If you’d like to take advantage of the three column layout even if your phone’s screen is a little smaller, you can add another column to fit more tiles on screen. To do this, go to ‘Settings > Start+Theme’ and tap the toggle switch next to ‘Show More Tiles’.
7 Add folders
One of the best new features of Windows Phone 8.1 is the option to add folders to your Start screen, so you can organise tiles into their own groups, such as one for your favourite apps. Adding a folder is easy – simply tap and hold down on an app and then move it on top of another app that you’d like to group it with. You can add multiple tiles into one folder. When you’ve finished, tap the folder and it reveals all the apps contained within.
8 Change the colour
What sort of mood are you in today? What’s your favourite colour? Windows Phone 8 enables you to change the look of your interface easily. Go to ‘Settings > Theme’ and tap the box marked ‘Background’ to make it dark or light. White is easier on the eyes, but it also saps more power. To change the colour of all your tiles on screen, tap in the box labelled ‘Accent Colour’ and choose from the many available hues. If you don’t like the way it looks later, just change it again.
9 Use a photo instead
If you think the tiles on the Start screen are looking a little lifeless, you can get rid of the colour altogether and use your saved photos to show up inside your tiles instead. This makes the majority of the available tiles transparent, with your image visible in the background. You can use any kind of image – go to ‘Settings > Start+Theme’ and underneath ‘Start Background’ tap ‘Choose Photo’ and select any image that you want to use.
10 Read more easily
If you’re struggling to read what’s on screen at times, tweak it. Go to ‘Settings > Ease of Access’ and you’ll be presented with a selection of options for tailoring the readability of the screen to your liking. The first of these is the most important: the type size. Adjust the slider until the sample word is easy to read. You can also turn on high contrast, making colours on the screen disappear for easier reading, and you can add a zoom that enables you to double-tap anything with two fingers to magnify it.
11 Find an app for that
Windows Phone 8.1 is easy to customise, but you can do a lot more if you broaden your horizons with apps built specifically for fine-tuning your phone. Some of these apps cost nothing, while others offer free trials. Lock Manager Free enables you to go beyond the standard Lock Screen and completely customise the way it looks and add all kinds of notifications where you like. There’s also Skinery Themes, which enables you to create custom tiles using your own photos and apply new themes.
12 Quick access to apps
The Action Centre (which you open by swiping downwards near the top of the screen) gives you quick access to notifications as well as actions that you often need to use, such as turning Bluetooth on or off. If you want to change this so that you can access other functions at the drop of a hat, go to ‘Settings > Notifications+Actions’ and tap one of the existing icons to change it. You can select camera, brightness and more.
13 Bright enough?
You can change the brightness of your screen by going to Settings > Brightness. You can either let your phone adjust automatically to the ambient light (tap the switch next to Automatically Adjust to toggle it On) or turn this off and then tap in the box underneath Level and select from the three different settings, depending on what works best for you.
14 Advanced settings
It’s possible to fine-tune the display on your Windows Phone handset, tailoring the way it looks according to your needs. Go to ‘Settings > Display’ and you’ll see a variety of options, including ‘Brightness’ and ‘Colour Profile’. Tap ‘Adjust’ underneath either of these to adjust them. Under Brightness, use the included images and adjust the sliders until they look just right. In ‘Colour Profile’, you can choose a default colour, or go to ‘Advanced’ to adjust separate sliders for tint, colour temperature and saturation.