Mastering Android Settings: How to Reassign Primary App Functionality

Quick Links

One of the best things about Android is the ability to choose “default” apps for certain things. For example, you can make it so tapping a Twitter link opens your preferred Twitter app. But how do you reset these choices?

Android will ask what app you want to use the first time you perform an action that has a default app associated with it. The pop-up asks if you want to use the app “Just Once” or “Always,” which sets the app as the default from then on.

Some functions—phone, SMS , browser, etc—require a default app to be selected. You can’t tap “Just Once” every time their associated action is performed. In other words, you can’t “reset” the default browser to ask every time you open a web link, you can only pick a different one.

How to Reset All Default Apps

If you want to go back to square one and remove all the defaults you’ve set for all apps, you can do that. First, open the “Settings” app and go to the “Apps” section.

Next, tap the three-dot menu icon in the top right. On some devices, you will need to tap “See All Apps” before you’ll see the menu icon.

Select “Reset App Preferences” from the menu.

A confirmation dialog will appear telling you all that will happen. Tap “Reset Apps” to proceed.

Other settings, including disabled app notifications, permission restrictions, and background data restrictions for apps will also be reset. This is really the “nuclear” solution.

That’s it! All of the defaults you previously set up will be reset.

How to Reset Defaults for Specific Apps

What if you just want to reset the defaults for one specific app? That’s also possible. First, open the “Settings” app and go to the “Apps” section.

Find the app you’d like to reset. You may need to select “See All Apps” to view the full list of apps on your device.

Scroll down to “Open By Default.”

Toggle off “Open Supported Links.”

The next time you perform the associated action you’ll be asked again if you want to use it. This works for any app that has default actions tied to it. Setting default apps is a core feature of Android, so make sure you’re using it to its potential. You can even choose a new default digital assistant app .

Hardware Help

Mastering Android Settings: How to Reassign Primary App Functionality