SAMSUNG GALAXY
How to change the lock screen shortcuts on a Samsung Galaxy
In short
Open Settings, Lock screen and AOD and tap Edit Lock screen, or touch and hold the lock screen. Tap the shortcut at the bottom left or right, pick an action or app, then tap Done.
Most of us never touch the two little shortcuts at the bottom of a Galaxy lock screen, and then dig through menus for the flashlight in a dark car park. By default they are the phone on the left and the camera on the right. You can swap either for an app or action you use more, such as the flashlight or a voice recorder.
7 of 7 steps show a real screenshot from our Galaxy S26.
Steps
- 1
Open Lock screen and AOD
Open Settings and tap Lock screen and AOD.
- 2
Tap Edit Lock screen
It is at the bottom of the page, under Looking for something else? Touch and hold to edit, on the same page, lets you open the editor from the lock screen itself.
- 3
Tap the left shortcut
The editor shows your lock screen. Tap the round icon at the bottom left.
- 4
Pick an action
A panel opens with Actions, such as No app, Sound, Flashlight, Airplane mode, Do not disturb, Scan QR code and Create note. No app removes the shortcut.
- 5
Or scroll to Apps
Below the actions, Apps lists your apps, such as Calculator, Voice Recorder, Calendar and Clock. We picked Phone again.
- 6
Change the right shortcut the same way
Tap the round icon at the bottom right and pick from the same panel. Ours stayed on Camera.
- 7
Tap Done
Done is at the top right. Lock the phone to check the new shortcuts.
If you do not see this option
- Touching and holding the lock screen does nothing Check Touch and hold to edit on the Lock screen and AOD page; it was on on ours. Or use Edit Lock screen in Settings.
- No Edit Lock screen link Touch and hold the lock screen instead, with Touch and hold to edit switched on.
If this does not work
- You want no shortcut on one side Tap that shortcut in the editor and pick No app, the first action in the panel.
- The change is not saved Tap Done at the top right when you're finished in the editor.
- Tapping the shortcut does nothing? Samsung says you open a lock screen shortcut by swiping it in any direction. Keep swiping until you feel a light vibration, then let go.
- The app asks you to unlock first? Samsung says apps listed under Unlock required need the phone unlocked before they open. That protects what is inside the app.
- No shortcut options at all? Samsung says these options only appear when a lock screen is set up, so check that your phone has one. If you are the type who skips the screen lock to save a second, this is where it catches up with you.
Good to know
In the same editor you can change the clock style and tap Add widgets.
More lock screen options: how to customise the Always On Display on a Samsung Galaxy.
New shortcuts work at once. To go back to the original layout, open the editor again and pick Phone for the left shortcut and Camera for the right. To decide how much of each notification shows on the lock screen, Samsung points to Settings, Notifications, Lock screen.
About this guide
- Device
- Android
- Shown on
- Samsung Galaxy S26 (SM-S942N, Korean model), One UI 9, Android 17 (build S942NKSS4BZIG)
- App
- Settings
- Path
- Settings › Lock screen and AOD
- Real screenshots
- 7 of 7 steps
- Checked
- October 2026
- Sources
- 2 official, linked below
The screenshots are from our Samsung Galaxy S26, the Korean model SM-S942N, with One UI 9 and Android 17 (build S942NKSS4BZIG), in Dark mode. Samsung says which screens and settings you see can depend on your network, software version and phone model. We opened both shortcut pickers and kept Phone and Camera.
What changed: every step re-shot on our own Galaxy S26 (Korean model SM-S942N) on One UI 9, dark mode, with the steps rewritten for the One UI 9 screens.
Sources
Links checked October 2026. Menus and features can change with updates.Did this guide work for you?
Sorry about that. What happened?