Video Tutorials

How an option for inheriting the settings from BIG Launcher to BIG Phone / BIG SMS for Seniors works

This guide explains how settings in BIG Launcher are inherited by BIG Phone and BIG SMS due to Google Play Store policies, and how to prevent BIG Phone from reverting to BIG Launcher's settings.

Watch the original video on YouTube.

Open on YouTube

The BIG Apps Suite is designed to provide a simplified experience for seniors, but due to Google Play Store permission policies, it is composed of three separate applications:

  • BIG Launcher: The home screen application with large buttons.
  • BIG Phone: Used for making and receiving calls.
  • BIG SMS: Used for sending and receiving messages.

By default, you can manage many settings for all three apps from a single menu within BIG Launcher.

How Settings Inheritance Works by Default

To access the main preferences menu:

  1. From the BIG Launcher home screen, tap the three dots next to the clock.
  2. Choose "Preferences" from the menu.

Any changes made here are automatically inherited by BIG Phone and BIG SMS. For example, if you change the default audio device for calls (an option affecting BIG Phone) to "Bluetooth" within BIG Launcher's Preferences, BIG Phone uses it the next time you open it from BIG Launcher. Opened from BIG Launcher, BIG Phone and BIG SMS show no Preferences item: you set them up in BIG Launcher.

The Inheritance Overwrite Issue

However, if you change a setting directly in BIG Phone's own Preferences (e.g., the default audio device from "Bluetooth" to "Speaker"), the change is only temporary: the next time you open BIG Phone from BIG Launcher, it takes BIG Launcher's setting again (back to "Bluetooth").

Disabling Settings Inheritance for BIG Phone/SMS

To keep BIG Phone's (or BIG SMS's) own settings, switch off inheritance in that app. Opened from BIG Launcher, it shows no Preferences item, so open it from another launcher. If you don't see Preferences, close BIG Phone in the list of recent apps and open it again. Then:

  1. Tap Preferences (the first item in the menu).
  2. Choose BIG Apps Suite.
  3. Uncheck Inherit the settings.

Once unchecked, BIG Phone keeps its own settings, even when you open it from BIG Launcher.

Please note: The appearance of the Android screens shown in the video may reflect an older version of Android or the BIG Launcher app. UI elements might look slightly different in current versions.

Key moments

  1. 00:20 — Accessing Preferences & Default Inheritance
  2. 00:30 — Example: Changing Default Audio Device
  3. 00:55 — The Inheritance Overwrite Issue
  4. 01:10 — Disabling Settings Inheritance