How To Enable One-Handed Mode on Any Android Phone

One-Handed mode is an ever present feature which has been on our android phone for quite a while now but some users don't actually know how to enable it. Well, the feature is just a simple way to make typing and texting to be easily done with just one-hand hereby the name one-handed mode.

Its a simple feature to use and it comes in handy whenever we want to use just one of our hands to operate our phones. Some smartphone manufacturer do package their phones with this feature like Nexus 6P and OnePlus 5 while some don't. If you fall in the latter category then this tutorial is definitely for you.

XDA-Developers came up with the app in light of the new phones that are becoming taller. The taller phones are quite hard to operate with one hand and sometimes require you to overstretch over fingers to reach the status bar or top menu of an app. Unfortunately, not every app works with OHM, and that’s not something the app developers can control. Apart from this, it could be a very useful feature for those using taller or large-screen devices.

The app is operational on any Android device, rooted or non-rooted. However, setting it up on non-rooted devices require access to a PC and ADB. This is because the app requires a special permission (WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS) that is normally given to system apps. If your phone is rooted, it is much simpler and can be set up directly from the device itself.




Also read: How to Enable Soft Keys (On-Screen) on Android Phone

FOR ROOTED PHONES

Step 1: Get XDA One-Handed App from Playstore

Download the app from Google playstore or get it manually from Apkmirror , after downloading the app just follow the on-screen instruction to enable the feature on your phone.

Note: Once you open the app, go through the on-screen messages by swiping to the very right. Finally, on the ‘Permissions’ screen, tap on the Done (Check) icon on the bottom-right. As soon as you do it, the app will prompt for root permissions, so just tap on ‘GRANT’.

The app interface shall open for you now.

 FOR NON-ROOTED PHONES

Step 1: Just like the one for the rooted phones , you have to download the app also, just that the permission process for non-rooted phone will just be different.

First, make sure to enable USB debugging on your phone and set up ADB on your PC. Follow the extensive guide, which shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes to set up. You should now have ADB access to your phone connected to the PC. Open the app and swipe right to the Permissions screen.

Now, enter the following command in the Command Prompt (CMD)/PowerShell/Terminal window on your Windows, Linux, or macOS PC. Remember, on Linux and macOS, you will need to add (./) just before every command mentioned below.

• Check if you have proper ADB access and your device is being detected properly:

  adb devices

• The command should return a device ID along with ‘device’ message.
  
   
  

• Finally, grant the WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS permissions to get One-Handed Mode app started:

  adb shell pm grant com.xda.onehandedmode android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS

After you have done this, disconnect the phone and press on the rounded-check icon on the bottom-right of the app window.

You should now have access to the app options and settings.


Also check: How to enable smart lock on your android phone

Use One-Handed Mode on Your Android

Now that you have been able to get One-Handed Mode, here’s how you can use it on your device.
In the app interface, you shall see that there are two options. First ‘Enable OHM Service’, which was enabled when you granted the permissions during step #2. Second ‘Enable Toggle Overlay’ which shall be greyed out. This is because it is a premium feature and requires you to pay a relatively small amount.

Now, if you choose to test drive the app for FREE, you can simply tap on the ‘OFF’ toggle on the bottom of the app. This will turn on One-Handed Mode on your device. You can try opening your favorite apps and see if they work well with this feature.
Further, if you like the app, you can make an in-app purchase by toggling ON THE ‘Enable Toggle Overlay’ option. Once done, you can switch it to ON and a circular toggle shall appear on the right edge of the screen. The toggle will stay persistent until you choose to turn it off.

That's all you need to do to enable the one-handed feature on a rooted or non-rooted phone.. Enjoy!!!