Although taking a snapshot of your Android phone’s screen sounds like something only app reviewers would want to do, there are all sorts of other situations where a screenshot would come in handy, from sharing your home screen setup with friends to obtaining pictorial proof of your new high score in a game.
Sadly, it has never been all that easy to accomplish, often needing a third-party app to achieve. With the introduction of Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), that all changed, so here’s a quick guide on how this feature works on the Samsung Galaxy S3, Samsung Galaxy S4, Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy S4 Active, and Galaxy Note 2 as examples. We’ve also included a guide to taking a screenshot on ANY Android 4.0, 4.1, or 4.2 device (that’s most of them).
Take a screenshot on the Note 3, Note 2, or Note 8.0 using the S Pen:
On the Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition), there are now two new ways to take screenshots (or something like them). To use these, you have to open the Air Command menu, which you can do by pulling out the S Pen stylus, or by hovering the pen over the screen and clicking the button on it.
- Scrapbooker: This is a selection in the Air Command radial menu. It lets you draw a circle around a part of the screen to take a screenshot. After you take a picture of part of the screen, you can add tags, notes, and categories to organize the pic. You can access the photo from a special scrapbook app on the device.
- Screen Write: This feature was also on the Note 2, but that device lacked an Air Command menu. Select it from the options to take a screenshot. You can then write notes on top of the image. There are options to change your pen color and size if you want to get creative.
- Just hold the button and tap: On all S Pen Galaxy devices, you can also hold down the button on the S Pen and touch the pen to the screen, holding it there until you see and/or hear a screenshot being taken. This technique is best on the Note 2, Note 8.0, and original Note 10.1.
Take a screenshot on the Galaxy S4, S3, Note 3, or Note 2 using a hand swipe:
- Open Settings > Motion.
- Scroll down and find Hand Motion, then Palm Swipe to Capture, and tick the box.
- Close the menu and shape your hand like you are “chopping” the screen, set your hand on either side of the screen, then horizontally swipe across it – it doesn’t matter which way. If you’ve done it correctly, you should hear the camera shutter and receive a notification that a picture has been saved to the gallery.
A more traditional way to take a screenshot on the Galaxy S4, S3, or Note 3:
- Pressing the Power and Home buttons at the same time will also grab an image of the screen. This can be awkward to get right, so it’s important to remember to press both buttons at the same time, and hold them until the shutter sound is heard. (You need to hold the Power button slightly before pressing the Home button, then hold them both down.)
Both these methods also work on the Samsung Galaxy Notes as well, and the second method is also applicable to the Galaxy S2.
Take a screenshot on other Android 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 devices:
- Press the Power button and Volume down key at the same time. Remember to hold them until you hear a click or see a screenshot sound. This works on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and the Google Nexus 7 tablet and should be the first method you try on any Android device. Remember to hold both keys down at precisely the same time, and hold until the you see a shot being taken or hear a shutter click.
For older Android phones, such as those running 2.3 Gingerbread, you’ll need to head over to the Google Play Store, where there are several apps that will do the job for you. Screenshot ER and Screenshot UX are popular choices, but often require your phone to be rooted, or take a look at No Root Screenshot It if you don’t want to root your device.
If you’re using Android 4.3 and share a screenshot after you take it, the text field will automatically include the date and time you took the photo. You can delete it if you wish.
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