How to Use the LG G3 Buttons as a Camera Shortcut

When it comes to quickly launching the camera on our smartphones so we never miss that opportune moment, each manufacturer has a different way of doing things. Well, most of them at least. The LG G3 has a quick launch shortcut for the camera you’ll want to know about.

Just like the original LG G2, the new LG G3 features a trio of buttons on the back, rather than the sides. On the rear under the camera is a dedicated power and wake button, joined by the volume up and down buttons. At launch we learned they were customizable with shortcuts, but not how you’d expect.

Read: How to Take a Screenshot on the LG G3

The LG G3 has a lot of awesome features built right into the software. These are options that are changeable and customizable by the end user, something that many other manufacturers don’t offer. Both the volume up and down can be used to instantly launch apps, even while the screen is off and locked, and below we have more details.

Initially I was hoping this would be a how to which would show owners of the impressive LG G3 how to change the volume up/down button shortcuts to open anything they wanted, but sadly that isn’t the case. LG was nice enough to add shortcuts, but they aren’t customizable, at least not yet.

Once you enable the button shortcut feature, simply long press the volume down button while your LG G3 screen is off, and it instantly launches the camera application. This way you’ll never miss a quick photo of friends, family, or the kids. It is a neat feature, and here’s how to enable it.

Instructions

Most likely these shortcut features are enabled by default, but if not, they are just a few taps away in settings and you’ll be up and running in no time.

Head into settings by pulling down the notification bar and tapping the top right gear-shaped settings button. From here the last column titled “general” is where you’re headed. Scroll down to “shortcut key” and click there. If they are turned off just flip the switch from “off” to “on” and you’re done.

Owners can now lock the device and then push and hold either of the buttons on the back. The volume down button will launch the camera. This is great for quickly getting a shot without worrying about unlocking your device, or if all you need the phone for is the camera.  The volume up button will launch the QuickMemo+ Note-taking app on the LG G3.

This works as long as the screen is off, or the display is locked. Just a long-press away and these shortcuts fire up. However, there’s one small problem with this, they aren’t customizable.

This is an awesome idea and feature integrated by LG, but they didn’t take it a step further and make it customizable like nearly every other aspect of the device. The LG G3 allows users to change the homecreen, re-arrange icons on the lockscreen, change or add buttons to the on-screen navigation keys, and even the on-screen keys background color. There are tons of options and customization, but not here.

Hopefully in the very near future LG will issue an update that will allow us to customize these keys, as that would be awesome. The quick shortcut dedicate to the camera is worth keeping, but we’d love to replace the other with Google Now voice search, Google Music, or any of the other excellent apps available on Android.

All we have is an on and off switch. What a missed opportunity!