How to Enable Developer Options

  1. 1

    Settings → About Phone

    Open Settings on your Android device. Scroll down and tap About Phone (on Samsung: About Phone → Software Information; on Pixel: About Phone directly).

  2. 2

    Tap Build Number 7 times

    Find Build Number in the list. Tap it rapidly 7 times in a row. After a few taps, a countdown appears: “You are 3 steps away from being a developer.” After 7 taps: “You are now a developer!”

  3. 3

    Find Developer Options in Settings

    Go back to the main Settings page. Developer Options now appears, usually near the bottom under System or General Management (Samsung). Tap it to access all developer settings.

Most Useful Developer Options

  • USB Debugging: Allows Android Debug Bridge (ADB) commands from a computer — essential for sideloading apps, debugging and device management. The most commonly used developer option.
  • Animation scale: Reduce Window animation scale, Transition animation scale and Animator duration scale to 0.5x or off entirely. Makes the phone feel noticeably faster by speeding up system animations.
  • Stay Awake: Screen stays on while charging — useful when using the phone as a display.
  • OEM Unlocking: Allows bootloader unlocking for rooting (advanced).
  • Wireless Debugging: Connect ADB over WiFi instead of USB cable.
Use with careDeveloper Options contains settings that can affect device stability, battery life and security. Only enable settings you understand and need. Leaving USB Debugging on when not in use is a minor security risk — disable it after use.

Frequently Asked Questions

Enabling Developer Options itself does not damage the phone — it just unlocks a hidden settings menu. Individual settings within Developer Options can affect performance and stability if misused (e.g. changing background process limits or GPU rendering settings). The most commonly used settings (USB Debugging, animation scale) are completely safe. If you accidentally change something and notice issues, Developer Options has a Reset to defaults option at the bottom.
Settings → Developer Options → toggle the main “Developer Options” switch at the top off. This disables all developer settings but the menu remains accessible. To fully hide it, go back to Settings → About Phone → Build Number and tap it — it will say Developer options are already enabled. There is no way to fully re-hide it without a factory reset, but disabling the toggle is sufficient.