What’s this small circle on my phone screen?

General Discussion
1

I’ve recently noticed a small circle appearing on my phone screen, and I’m not sure what it is or how to get rid of it. It doesn’t seem to affect the functionality of my phone, but it’s quite distracting!

Potential Causes

  1. Screen Magnification: This feature is designed to help users with visibility by allowing them to zoom in on parts of the screen. If you accidentally activated it, it could be the reason for the small circle.
  2. Floating Button or Assistive Touch: Some Android devices come with a floating action button that can display a small circle. It usually provides quick access to certain settings or features.
  3. Third-Party Apps: Certain apps might add their own overlay features that could appear as a small circle.

Ideas to Troubleshoot

  • Check Accessibility Settings: Go to your phone’s settings, then navigate to ‘Accessibility’. Look for ‘Magnification’ and ensure it’s turned off if you didn’t mean to enable it.
  • Disable Assistive Touch: If you suspect that the circle is an assistive touch feature, check for that option in your settings, often under ‘Accessibility’ or ‘System’.
  • Review Installed Apps: Think about any recent apps you’ve installed or updated that might include this kind of feature. Uninstall one at a time to test.

Questions

  • Has anyone else experienced this and found a specific cause?
  • If you managed to get rid of it, what steps did you take?

Any advice on how to handle this would be really helpful! Thanks!

2

I noticed that small circle too! It’s likely the ‘navigation dot’ feature for enhanced control while using your phone. It helps with multitasking.

3

Interesting! I thought it might be a screen defect since it appears sometimes and not others. What else can it mean?

4

It’s often an indicator for accessibility features, like the ‘Assistive Touch.’ You can customize it to your liking in settings.

5

That makes sense! I tried looking in settings but didn’t find anything. Any tips?

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6

In settings, go to Accessibility → Touch → AssistiveTouch. You can toggle it on or off there!

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7

Thanks, I’ll check it out! But I’m curious, does everyone see this circle?

8

Not every device has it. It mainly depends on the operating system and specific settings. Mine only appears when I enable certain features.

9

Sometimes it can be annoying when you’re trying to use full screen. Anyone else feel like it gets in the way?

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10

Totally! You can hide it if it’s distracting. Just go back to settings and choose to disable it. Easy fix!

11

Loving the advice here! But I’m still a bit confused about its purpose. Does anyone love using it?

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12

I actually find it pretty helpful! It’s great for one-handed usage. It’s like having an extra button! :joy:

13

I guess it could be useful! Just wasn’t expecting it. Reflecting on my own experience, it’s new tech for me.

14

It can actually be overwhelming at first, but you’ll get used to it! Just embrace the learning curve. :blush:

15

Right? It’s always the small things that can confuse us the most! I remember when I thought my phone was broken because of a similar feature.

16

That’s hilarious! I think we’ve all been there. Just helps to engage with the community!

7 Likes
17

I noticed a small circle on my phone screen too! It started showing up after the last update. Any idea what it might be?

18

It’s likely the accessibility feature called ‘Assistive Touch.’ You can turn it off in your settings under Accessibility options.

19

I had the same issue! The small circle was stuck and wouldn’t go away. A simple restart fixed it for me.

20

That’s a good tip! Sometimes we forget how effective a restart can be. Anyone else tried that?