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How to switch between navigation buttons and gestures on Galaxy S2, S22+ and S22 Ultra

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To navigate in the apps and system menus of the Samsung Galaxy S2, S22+ and S22 Ultra, you can use either the navigation bar or use swipe gestures.

To see how you can switch between these two methods for your smartphone, you can take a look at this step-by-step tutorial at Seeking Tech.

How to use the navigation bar for Samsung Galaxy S2, S22+ and S22 Ultra

Be default, the Samsung Galaxy S2, Samsung S22 Plus and Samsung S22 Ultra phones feature a navigation bar located at the bottom of the screen. The bar contains the following buttons:

  • The Recents button is represented by the icon that has three vertical lines.
  • The Home button is represented by the icon that looks like square with rounded corners.
  • The Back button is represented by the icon with the arrow pointing to the left.

Depending on the application that is currently opened, these navigation buttons have different functionality.

If you are using a system menu of your Galaxy S2, S22+ or S22 Ultra smartphone, then these buttons will provide the following functions:

  • The Recents button will open a screen that shows off the recent apps that you have been using recently.
  • The Home button will return you to the home screen menu of your phone when tapped. When you hold the Home button, then you will open the Google Assistant App instead.
  • The Back button will return you to the previous screen.

How to switch from navigation buttons to swipe gestures on the Galaxy S2, S22+ and S22 Ultra

In order to use swipe gestures instead of navigation buttons, and therefore hide the navigation bar, you can take the following steps:

  • First off, open the Settings app of your Samsung Galaxy S2, Samsung S22+ and Samsung S22 Ultra.
  • After open the Settings app, tap the Display option.
  • In the Display menu, tap “Navigation bar.”
  • In the next screen, tap the “Swipe gestures” option under the “Navigation type.”
  • For more customization options when it comes to navigation, you can tap More options” in the same “Navigation bar” menu. One feature you might want to eventually disable is gesture hints, which you can find in this menu.

If you want to switch back to using navigation buttons, then you need to open the Settings app. From the very first page of Settings, you then go to Display and then the Navigation bar. Afterwards, make sure you enable the navigation buttons.