BIG Launcher | BIG Phone | BIG SMS for seniors: Help & User Manual

When you press the Home button after installing, you will be offered to choose a default launcher from all available. Make sure you select the 'Use default' or ‘Always’ option. If this menu doesn’t appear, you have to do it manually - press the Menu button, go to System settings » Apps » Default apps » Home screen and choose “BIG Launcher”.

How can I revert back to my old launcher?

You can reset the default launcher setting in the Preferences. If this doesn't work, press the Menu button, go to System settings » Apps » Default apps » Home screen.

I’ve purchased BIG Launcher in the past and now I have only the free version. How to restore my license?

Send us your order number (from the email receipt you’ve received upon purchasing) and your email address used for purchasing and we will help you to restore your license for free for all BIG Apps Suite apps.

Why was BIG Launcher divided into 3 separate apps?

On March 9th, 2019, a new Permissions Policy was introduced, which applies to all Google Play Store apps. Since then, BIG Launcher (as a launcher) couldn’t access SMS messages and phone calls anymore, as these permissions were allowed only for the apps which have them as their primary functionality - not launchers. In order to comply with this policy, corresponding features were removed from the BIG Launcher app and put into separate apps - BIG Phone and BIG SMS. You have to download and install them separately.

How do I set up multiple screens in BIG Launcher?

You can set up multiple screens in the Preferences menu. You have to link your newly created screens to the existing buttons, otherwise, you won't be able to access them. Or you can turn on the option to swipe between screens in the Preferences menu. Please read the User Manual for more details.

How do I delete a message/contact/call log item?

Due to security reasons, deleting is disabled by default. You can enable the deleting of the particular items in the corresponding sections of the Preferences. Please read the User Manual for more details.

There is no ring sound on an incoming call.

Go to the Preferences » Phone and enable “Fix: no ringtone sound” option. If this doesn’t help, write to us at contact@biglauncher.com.

SMS messages aren’t received at all.

Go to the Preferences » Messages and enable “Fix: alternative SMS receiver” option. If this doesn’t help, write to us at contact@biglauncher.com.

How to turn on the button blinking for other apps like Whatsapp, Gmail, Facebook Messanger, etc.?

When enabled, if any third-party app creates a notification and you have a shortcut to this app assigned to one of the BIG Launcher’s buttons, it will blink until you launch the app. To enable this feature, go to the Preferences » Screens’ options and enable the “Blinking button when an app shows a notification”. In the following screen, enable the Notification access for BIG Launcher.

How to set up or turn off the incoming SMS notification sound?

Go to the System settings » Apps. Find the “BIG SMS for Seniors” app, select it and choose “Notifications” on the next screen.

How do I set an alarm?

Touch the clock or date on the home screen. If any alarm is set, the bell icon is displayed next to the clock. You can assign a different alarm app in the BIG Launcher’s button editor.

What are the limitations of the free versions of the BIG Apps Suite?

BIG Launcher free version limitations
- you can customize only the right column of buttons
- only 5 additional screens allowed
- password protection of the configuration and the preferences is not possible
- a screen reminding you to buy the full version is shown from time to time

BIG Phone free version limitations
- only 5 most recent items in call log are visible
- keypad disabled during the phone call

BIG SMS free version limitations
- only 5 most recent message threads are visible
- after 20 SMS sent a link to biglauncher.com is appended to every SMS