Nothing Phone (3a) User Guide

Due to software updates, your experience of the software interface (including but not limited to software features, user interfaces, and interaction experiences) may differ from the interface presented in this guide. The software interface is subject to change.

Getting Started

1. Hardware Layout

The diagram shows the back of the Nothing Phone (3a). Key components are labeled: Top center: Glyph Interface, Flashlight. Left side: Back camera, Power button, Essential Key. Right side: Volume up button, Volume down button. Bottom center: SIM card tray, Charging port, Bottom speaker.

2. Charging

Phone (3a) charges at 50W. Able to reach 100% power in just 1 hour with wired fast charge and a compatible fast charge adapter.

3. Navigation

3-button navigation

• Back: return to the previous screen or reverse the last action.
• Home: return to the home page of the launcher.
• App switcher: open the app switcher to change to a recently opened app or to free up memory by closing apps running in the background.

Gesture navigation

• Back: swipe inwards from the left or right edge of the screen.
• Home: swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen.
• App switcher: swipe up and hold from the bottom edge of the screen.

4. Launcher

Home screen

• Long press the empty area to bring up Home settings, Widgets and Customisation.
• Long press app icons to show app shortcuts and rearrange the icons position.
• Long press and drag one app icon to another icon to create a folder.
• Long press a folder to access folder customization and change the folder layout.

App drawer

• Swipe up from the bottom to pull up the App drawer.
• Long press and drag the app icon to add apps to the home screen.
• Swipe right in the App Drawer to show the hidden app icons.

Widgets

• Open the Widget menu through app shortcuts or long press the empty area of the home screen.
• Long press and drag any widget to the home screen
• Long press widget to resize or edit

5. Quick Settings/Notifications

• Pull down from the status bar to access Quick Settings & the Notification Centre. In Quick Settings, tap each tile to toggle each feature. Long press the tiles to access more detailed settings.
• Pull down a second time to access the expanded Quick Settings. Swipe left and right to access more Quick Settings tiles. Press the edit (pencil) icon and drag the tiles to customise the layout.

Basics

1. Network

• To change the Network Settings, either drag down the Quick Settings panel and long press the first tile on the top left, or open the Settings app and tap on "Network & Internet”.
• To connect to Wi-Fi, tap on the wifi menu item and turn on the Wi-Fi toggle. Proceed to select the wireless network of choice and enter the password.
• Internet sharing can also be turned on via this page. To do so, simply tap on “Hotspot & Tethering” to select the preferred method and proceed to set it up. This option can also be easily accessed through Quick Settings.

2. Connected Devices

• To connect to a Bluetooth device, either drag down the Quick Settings panel and long press the second tile to the top right, or open the Settings app and tap on "Connected devices”
• Tap on “Pair new device” and select on the target device to connect to it.

3. Installing/Deleting Apps

Installing

Launch the “Play Store” and log into a Google account. Proceed to search for the app on the top search bar and tap the blue “Install” button. The installed app can be found in the app drawer.

Deleting

Open the app drawer, hold and drag the app that needs to be deleted. Drag it to the top right corner of the screen and release it under the area marked “Uninstall”.

Note: If this action is performed on the home screen, the zone will be marked as “Remove”, which only removes the icon from the home screen and will not uninstall the app.

4. Battery

The Phone (3a) uses a 5000mAh battery, which should last a whole day of medium to heavy usage. If the battery is running low, enable Battery Saver mode by either tapping on the “Battery Saver” tile in Quick Settings, or pressing the Low Power notification that appears automatically when the device's battery falls below 20%.

Optimal Battery Usage Environment

The ideal usage temperature for the phone is between 32°F and 95°F (0°C to 35°C). Using or charging the device continuously in extreme temperatures may speed up battery wear. Exposure to extreme temperatures triggers the device's protection mechanisms to mitigate battery performance issues, and charging will be restricted to safeguard the battery if temperatures move outside a prescribed range.

Optimal Charging Practices

When a mobile phone is fast charged, the battery receives more energy in a shorter time. Lithium batteries have a limited number of charge and discharge cycles. The fast charging process increases the chemical reaction rate inside the battery, potentially causing accelerated damage to its internal structure, and thereby reducing the battery's overall cycle life. To address this, mobile phones are typically equipped with a complex Battery Management System (BMS) to optimize the charging process. By controlling the charging rate, monitoring battery temperature, and adjusting charging strategies, the BMS helps mitigate the impact of fast charging on battery longevity. It's recommended to avoid keeping the phone in a high-power charging state for prolonged periods and to stop charging once the battery reaches around 80% to minimize internal chemical reactions.

5. Storage

• To check the available storage on the device, open the Settings app and tap on “Storage” to get an overview of the storage consumption of each type of tiles.
• To clear app storage or wipe app cache, open the Settings app and tap on “App”, then “All apps” to view all installed apps and the respective storage each app is using. Tap on a select app to access its “More info” page, which shows the two buttons for either clearing storage or clearing cache.

6. Sound & Vibration

• Press the physical volume up or down button on the side of the device to adjust the volume for the most recently used audio source and open the audio menu.
• In the audio menu, tap on the top bell icon to change between the “Ring”, “Vibrate”, and “Mute”.
• In the audio menu, tap on the bottom three dots icon to open a slider menu with four sliders to adjust the volume of media volume, call volume, ring & notification volume, and alarm volume respectively.
• In the Quick Settings, tap on the volume tiles to change between the “Ring”, “Vibrate”, and “Mute”.

7. Security

• To change the unlocking method, open the Settings app and find the “Lock screen & Security and privacy” option. Enter the “Device unlock”page to set the unlocking PIN, record additional fingerprints, or record facial data used for unlocking the device.
• Note: fingerprint / face data unlocking cannot be used without a PIN as otherwise anyone could simply swipe to unlock the device.

8. About Phone

• Contains all the device specific information such as hardware information, phone number etc.
• Press on the device name to edit how Phone (3a) appears on other devices.
• If there is a new software update available for the device, a dot will show up next to the Nothing OS version.

Advanced

1. Essential Key

The Essential Key is located below the power button on the right side of your Phone (3a) and works in conjunction with the Essential Space app to provide convenient screenshot and voice memo functions.

The Essential Key supports various operations, such as long press and double tap, each triggering different functionalities within different interfaces:

Functionality:

• Recording Function: Long press the Essential Key on the home screen or lock screen to immediately begin recording. The audio will be automatically saved to Essential Space. The system will intelligently extract key information, generate summaries, and transcribe the audio into text to help you organize your thoughts.
• Screenshot: Long press the Essential Key on other interfaces to capture a quick screenshot. You will receive haptic feedback upon successful capture.
• Voice Memo (Post-Screenshot): After taking a screenshot, continue holding the Essential Key and begin speaking to add voice notes directly to the captured content or ask questions about it.
• View Records: Double tap the Essential Key to quickly open Essential Space and access your recent recordings and screenshots.

Essential Space Features:

• Intelligent Analysis (Requires Nothing Account Login): After logging into your Nothing account, content recorded via the Essential Key will undergo intelligent analysis. This includes generating summary highlights and even recognizing and extracting location information directly from Google Maps links within the content. Please note: Logging into your Nothing account is required to enable these advanced analysis capabilities.
• Voice Commands for Enhanced Organization: Within voice memos, you can utilize voice commands such as “Remind me to buy baby formula tomorrow afternoon” or “What mountain is this?”. This functionality helps you effectively manage daily tasks and obtain quick information.

2. Glyph Interface

The Glyph Interface are the three individually controlled lighting segments on the back of Phone (3a). All of the preloaded Nothing ringtones and notification sounds have their bespoke, handcrafted Glyph patterns, lighting up the Glyph Interface in sync with audio and vibration, providing users a new way to interact with Phone (3a).

To set up individual features, find the Glyph Interface section in the Settings app. Alternatively, long press the Glyphs toggle in Quick Settings.

• Drag the brightness slider to adjust the brightness of the Glyph Interface. This will scale all Glyphs down from maximum brightness to the set brightness.
• To preview and set ringtones, find the Ringtones tab in the Glyph Interface settings. Choose between setting the default ringtone or pair individual contacts with unique ringtones, then proceed to decide between Nothing sounds (handcrafted Glyphs) or My sounds (imported sounds, generated Glyphs).
• To add a custom ringtone, go to My sounds and press “Add new sounds.” This will open the file browser to select the files to import.
• Notification sounds can be set in a similar manner, deciding between original Nothing sounds or imported sounds.

Other features of the Glyph Interface include:

• Flip to Glyph: temporarily silencing and turning off the vibration of the device when Phone (3a) is placed with the screen face down, reducing distractions while not missing out on any important calls.
• Glyph timer: pomodoro timer like experience to allow you to focus on your tasks at hand with minimal distractions. Simply set the timer and face down to start.
• Bedtime Schedule: temporarily disables the Glyph Interface at set times of select days ensuring users won't be distracted at night time.
• Glyph Composer: craft your own Glyph ringtones using Nothing's provided sound packs.
• Essential Notifications: set a notification to Essential by long pressing the incoming notification banner and toggle on the switch. The Glyph Interface will be lit until the notification has been read or dismissed.
• Glyph Progress: Glyph Progress processes notifications from enabled apps to provide an estimation of progress.
• Volume indicator: Volume indicator uses the Glyph Interface to show the volume level.
• Do not disturb will temporarily disable the Glyph Interface.

3. App Shortcuts

• In the launcher, app-specific shortcuts can be accessed by long holding on an app icon to show the expanded menu of shortcuts.
• Tip: the shortcut can also be made into its own standalone icon by dragging and dropping it on the homescreen.

4. Max Icons & Big Folder

• The Nothing launcher offers the option to expand any icon on the homescreen to four times the size, allowing full customisation options for users. To use this feature, long hold on an app icon and press the expand icon to enlarge the selected app icon.
• The same procedure can also be carried out on folders, allowing users to organise their home screen without adding another step of opening the folder first for the first three apps in the folder.

5. Do not disturb

• Do not disturb mode offers a distraction free experience, temporarily muting any non-whitelisted notifications and incoming calls, as well as hiding any unseen notifications on the status bar and notification tray. To toggle this feature, open the Quick Settings and tap on the “Do not disturb” tile.
• To make changes to the list of whitelisted people / apps, simply long hold the “Do not disturb” tile in Quick Settings and edit the important people / apps. This will allow them to bypass the notification.
• Do not disturb mode also temporarily disables the Glyph Interface by default. To change this behaviour, long hold the “Do not disturb” tile in quick settings and turn off the “Mute Glyphs” toggle.
• When playing games, you can quickly block incoming calls or notifications without turning on the Do Not Disturb mode. Through the game mode shortcut panel on the left side of the game, you can choose to block incoming calls or notifications individually.

6. Google assistant

Google Assistant provides a virtual personal assistant experience through a natural language speech interface to perform a variety of tasks. It can be activated by short holding the power button or swiping up from the bottom right corner of the screen. Learn more about things to say to Google Assistant from the Google Assistant app.

7. Screenshot

• To capture a screenshot on Phone (3a), simultaneously press the volume down and power button. The image will be stored in the screenshot album in the Google Photos app. By default, this folder might not be synchronised to the main photo album. To access the album, go to Google Photos and navigate to the bottom right “Library” tab.
• To take an expanded screenshot, take a normal screenshot first and wait for a "Capture more” button to show up on the bottom of the screen. Once tapped, a full page view will be visible for any scrollable interface. Simply drag the borders to adjust the size of the screenshot.
• You can also utilise the three finger screenshot gesture for taking screenshots. To activate the screenshot gesture, proceed to Settings > Special features > Gestures > Screenshot gesture and enable this feature.
• The screenshot can also be quickly edited by pressing the thumbnail that pops up after taking the screenshot. Make any changes like crop or annotate, then press “Save” on the top left corner to save the edited screenshot.

8. NFC

• NFC (Near Field Communication) allows Phone (3a) to connect to other NFC-supported devices by placing the two devices in proximity to each other. The most common use is to use Phone (3a) as a virtual credit / debit card through Google Pay.
• It is recommended to keep NFC on for convenience as it does not drain much battery when left on standby. To toggle this feature off, open the Quick Settings and tap on the “NFC” tile.

9. Environmental and Power Efficiency Guidelines

Mobile Phone Environmental and Technical Specifications

Heavy metals in phones

• cobalt in the battery: less than 2 grams
• tantalum in capacitors: less than 0.01 gram
• neodymium in loud speakers, vibration motors, and other magnets: less than 0.05 gram
• gold in all components: less than 0.02 gram

• The indicative percentage of recycled content for the product: 15.16%
• The indicative value of the recyclability rate Rcyc: 81.96%
• Ingress protection rating: IP64
• For more repair guideline, please link to https://nothing.tech/pages/support-centre
• Minimum battery endurance in cycles in number of cycles: 1400 cycles

Power Saving Tips for Wireless Connections

• To access on the device information from the battery management system by going to Settings > Battery > Battery information.
• When the phone screen is on and WiFi is available, prioritizing the activation and connection to WiFi can effectively save battery power, thus extending the phone's battery life.
• When GPS navigation is not in use, turning off the GPS function helps save battery power, allowing the phone to achieve longer battery life while GPS is disabled.
• Only turn on Bluetooth when needed to avoid unnecessary battery consumption.
• For environmental reasons this package does not include a charger. This device can be powered with most USB power adapters and a cable with USB Type-C plug.

FAQ

Q: How do I turn on my Nothing Phone (3a)?

A: Press and hold the power button until the Nothing logo appears on the display.

Q: How do I transfer data from my existing phone to my Nothing Phone (3a)?

A: In the setup wizard, there will be an option to copy data from an existing device, either via a Google account backup or by connecting the two devices with a cable.

Q: How do I change the language?

A: The language can be set on the first page of the setup wizard. It can also be changed in Settings > System > Languages and input.

Q: How do I enable location services?

A: Location services can be activated in Settings > Location. When this toggle is on, apps that require location services will request permission to access your location data when you open the app for the first time.

Q: How do I activate Find My Device on my Nothing Phone (3a)?

A: Find My Device will be automatically activated after you log into a Google account. However, the location can only be accessible if location services are toggled on. For more information, check out Settings > Google > Find My Device.

Q: How do I back up data on my Nothing Phone (3a)?

A: Phone (3a) uses Google's default backup routine when it's connected to Wi-Fi and charging on standby for 2 hours. To backup immediately, navigate to Settings > Google > Backup and tap on the “Turn on” button.

Q: How do I change the wallpaper and accent colours on my Nothing Phone (3a)?

A: The wallpaper and accent colours can be changed by long pressing on an empty space in the homescreen, and selecting “Customisation” in the pop up menu. By default, Phone (3a) will deploy Android's Dynamic Colour feature to extract colours from the wallpaper unless specified.

Q: How do I use screen recording on my Nothing Phone (3a)?

A: To set up the screen recording feature, swipe down from the top of the screen two times to access the expanded Quick Settings. Press the edit (pencil) icon and drag the Screen Recording tile up from the hidden tiles. To begin recording, swipe down to open the Quick Settings and find the newly added Screen Recording tile. Tap it once and confirm to begin recording after the three-second countdown, shown on the right side of the notification bar. To finish recording, swipe down to open the notification centre and tap "Stop" to save the recording. The file can be accessible in Google Photos > Library > Movies.

Q: How do I add the Nothing X widget to my Nothing Phone (3a)?

A: Just like any other widget, the Nothing X widget can be accessible by long pressing on an empty space in the home screen and selecting “Widget” in the pop-up menu.

Q: How do I record on my Nothing Phone (3a)?

A: Launch the camera app and tap on the “Video” option on the mode selection bar.

Q: How do I set and use passcode on my Nothing Phone (3a)?

A: Go to Settings > Security and privacy > Device unlock to choose your preferred unlocking method. Note that you need to set a pattern / PIN first in order to use fingerprint or Face Unlock.

Q: How do I do factory reset on my Nothing Phone (3a)?

A: To carry out a factory reset, go to Settings > System > Reset options > Erase all data (factory reset).

Q: How do I eject the SIM tray on my Nothing Phone (3a)?

A: Insert the provided SIM card remover tool into the hole next to the SIM tray, located on the bottom of the phone.

Q: How do I connect my Ear (2) to my Nothing Phone (3a)?

A: The Fast Pair feature launches on the Phone (3a) when opening an unpaired Ear (2) case with the buds inside. Navigate through the Fast Pair setup to finish the pairing. If Fast Pair does not appear, go to Settings > Connected Devices > Pair new device to search for Nothing Ear (2). For more details, please refer to the Ear (2) manual.

Q: How do I enable battery saver on my Nothing Phone (3a)?

A: When the Phone (3a)'s battery falls below 20%, a low battery notification will appear to prompt you to turn on battery saver. To toggle it manually, swipe down from the top of the screen two times to access the expanded Quick Settings. Press the edit (pencil) icon and drag the Battery Saver tile up from the hidden tiles. Tap it to toggle it on and off from the Quick Setting.

Q: How do I force restart my Nothing Phone (3a)?

A: Hold the power button and volume up button simultaneously until the Nothing logo appears on the display.

Q: How do I enable Game Mode on my Nothing Phone (3a)?

A: Game mode is automatically activated when a listed app is launched. To edit the list of apps, go to Settings > Special features > Game Mode > App list. Apps that are listed as games on the Play Store will be added to this list by default.

Q: How do I know when a new software update is available?

A: Whenever a new software update becomes available, a notification will pop up reminding you to update to the latest version. However, you can also manually check for updates by going to Settings > About phone > Software info(the phone image). If there is a new update available, a red icon will appear next to the Nothing OS label.

Q: How do I hide message details on the lockscreen?

A: Go to Settings > Lock screen > Privacy to pick the notification preview option.

Q: How do I enable call waiting on Nothing Phone (3a)?

A: Open the Phone app and tap on the three-dots icon to the right of the search bar. Next, navigate to Settings > Caller accounts > Additional settings and toggle on Call waiting.

Q: How do I block / blacklist numbers on Nothing Phone (3a)?

A: Open the Phone app and tap on the three-dots icon to the right of the search bar. Next, navigate to Settings > Blocked numbers > Add a number, to block incoming calls and texts from the added number.

Q: How do I screen cast Nothing Phone (3a) to my TV?

A: To set up the screen cast feature, swipe down from the top of the screen two times to access the expanded Quick Settings. Press the edit (pencil) icon and drag the Screen Cast tile up from the hidden tiles. To begin mirroring, swipe down to open the Quick Settings and find the newly added ScreenCast tile. Tap it once and select the targeted device to cast to connect in the same local area network.

Q: How do I enable dark theme on Nothing Phone (3a)?

A: Dark theme is enabled by default. To change it, swipe down to access Quick Settings and find the “Dark Theme” tile and tap it to toggle it on / off.

Q: How do I restore deleted photos or videos?

A: Open the Gallery app and navigate to the Albums on the bottom bar. Next, tap on “Recently deleted” to see items deleted within the recent 30 days.