These features are not visible from your Android smartphone settings, and can be accessed by dialing secret codes directly in the phone app. Here is our selection of the most useful icons.
You might have thought that you have explored every nook and cranny of your Android smartphone’s interface. But the latter still hides some secrets that take the form of hidden information and functions that can be activated by writing different codes.
How do secret codes work on Android?
The codes you will discover are very similar to USSD codes (Unstructured Supplemental Service Data) Which you use to access your operator’s services (such as #123# to consult your consumption monitoring with Orange), but it does not have the same functionality.
The ones we present to you here belong to the above category, namely MMI (Man-Machine Interface) codes which are also called IHM (Human-Machine Interface) in French. Almost all of them start and end with a pound (#) and/or an asterisk
- . To use it, here is the procedure to follow:
- Open the phone app;
- Use the keyboard to type all the symbols;
The code runs automatically once you write it.
With some codes, you may not get any visual feedback, but the action may still perform successfully. It is also possible that your phone manufacturer does not support the code in question.
Our selection of secret codes for Android
We were not able to test the codes below on all smartphone brands, but only with Google Pixel, Samsung Galaxy and Xiaomi.
We’ve also chosen to provide only certain icons that display useful information about your phone. Some codes, which we will not share here, can have serious consequences on your smartphone, such as wiping the internal memory for example. Therefore these should be handled carefully.
IMEI number, always useful information. – Credit: 01net
The IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) code is a number that identifies your device using the mobile network. This number consists of 15 to 17 digits, and is a unique identification number used by mobile operators to allow or deny access to their network. Enter the code above and you will have access to the IMEI numbers of your smartphone or tablet. Works on Samsung Galaxy, Google Pixel, and Xiaomi (among others).
Your smartphone’s SAR rate and regulatory limits. – Credit: 01net
SAR, or Specific Absorption Rate, allows the measurement of energy transmitted by electromagnetic waves emitted from a device, such as a smartphone for example, towards the human body. Electronic device manufacturers must not exceed a certain SAR to limit health effects. You can see the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) of your device using the code above. It works on Google Pixel, not Samsung Galaxy or Xiaomi.
Useful information about your phone and data used. – Credit: 01net
You will be able to access the test environment by typing this code. It is divided into three tabs: “Phone Information,” “Statistics Data,” and “Wi-Fi Information.” The first is undoubtedly the most interesting because it displays the IMEI code, network type, signal strength, and even bandwidth speed. It works on Google Pixel and Xiaomi, but not on Samsung Galaxy.
*#9900# to delete temporary files Once this code is complete, the menu appears “System dump” is displayed. Click on “delete dump status/logcat” And you will see a message “Delete success!” »
an offer. I just did some cleaning by deleting system files and everyday apps. Works on Samsung Galaxy, not Google Pixel or Xiaomi.
*#2663# to fix Wi-Fi problems If you’re having Wi-Fi issues on your phone, this code might help you fix it. After writing it, you can click the button “Update WiFi version”
Which will update the Wi-Fi firmware version. Your smartphone will restart for this update. It works on Samsung Galaxy, but not on Google Pixel or Xiaomi.
© 01net.com
Google Pixel Diagnostic Tool, currently only available in English. – Credit: 01net
If you have a Google Pixel smartphone running Android 14, type the code below to access the “Pixel Diagnostics” app which, as the name suggests, allows you to perform a “before and after” diagnosis of your Pixel device. Currently only available in English, you will need to configure your smartphone in Shakespeare to access it. Works on Google Pixels exclusively.
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