Here’s something you might not have known: If you type a specific set of numbers and characters into your Android phone’s dialer, you’ll reveal a “hidden” set of diagnostics and phone information. Despite the feature’s obscurity, Google is apparently working on an upgrade for it all the same.
As reported by Android Authority, when you open the Phone app on your Android device, type *#*#4636#*#* and then dial, a hidden menu will appear with three key sub-menus: “Phone Information,” “Usage statistics,” and “Wi-Fi information.” To be clear, this is not information most smartphone users really need to know. In fact, according to Android Authority, most users in the know about this feature use it for locking their phones to a particular network type—i.e. 3G, 4G, or 5G—when they want to ensure their phone doesn’t switch between network bandwidths.
Even though this code is not widely known by (or useful to) the Android-owning public, Google is still working on new advancements and features for it. If you flashed Android’s Canary channel on your smartphone—software that gives users access to the earliest builds of future Android versions—you’ll now notice a fourth menu when entering this code into your dialer: Phone Information V2.
What’s changed in “Phone Information V2”
This appears to be a new version of the existing Phone information page. That menu presents a series of data points on the same page, whereas V2 separates it into four tabs: “Device Details,” Data & Network,” “Satellite,” and “IMS.” Android Authority notes that while Device Details, Data & Network, and IMS all pull then same information from the Phone information page, just in a more organized fashion, Satellite is totally new. Perhaps that has something to do with expanding satellite communications from networks like T-Mobile—as smartphones are able to connect to satellites when cellular networks are down, this might be important information for diagnosing issues with these connections.
My Android phone doesn’t have an active SIM, so I can’t try this out for myself, but I imagine this will be a useful step for anyone who enjoys digging deeper into their phone’s data and diagnostics. As this is only in the Canary channel for now, it’s not clear when or whether this new menu will make it to an official build, or whether it will change between now and an official release. But it’s an interest peek at what Google is working on behind the scenes, especially since the feature is relatively hidden and obscure.
