Android Screenshot - A Complete Guide

Android screenshots are often necessary for various reasons. For sharing the stats of your favorite game to your friends, sharing a serious business document, or even just for sharing a certain part of a web page, taking a screenshot is helpful. If you ever faced such a situation which demanded printing screen, this article is for you. In this complete Android screenshot guide, we will be looking into multiple methods to grab the screenshot of your lovely Android smartphone or tablet or almost any brands including Samsung, Xiaomi, LG, HTC, Motorola, etc. So, let’s have a look.

What is an Android Screenshot?

Android screenshot, like any other screenshots, is an image of the screen at any given point of time. You can capture your screen at any time using the screenshot feature to view it later, send it to someone, or for any other purposes. Even though the steps for taking one are different based on different manufacturers, many of them will work on almost any Android device irrespective of the Android version, or the company.

Methods to take Android Screenshot

As already mentioned, there are several ways to capture Android display. We will be listing most of the possible ways to do so. You could follow any one of them as per your intentions, requirements, and the type of Android device you are using.

Method 1 – Using the default android function

If your smartphone or tablet is running on Android 4.0 or above, you could easily utilize the “Volume Down+Power” buttons for having a screenshot. To take a screenshot on Android 4.0 or above, follow these steps.

Setup the screen which you want to capture.
Hold the Volume Down + Power buttons together until you see a small animation.
That’s it. Your screenshot is taken and saved to the gallery. Find a folder namely “Screenshots” to get your pictures.

Method 2 – Using manufacturer defaults

For certain companies such as Samsung, they will have a default shortcut for capturing the smartphone display.

On Samsung devices, press and hold Power + Home buttons to take a screenshot.
The Sony devices will bring options for screen capture and screen recording by holding down the power button.
For brands such as Motorola, LG, and HTC, the steps are the same as in the previous section.

Method 3 – With Android Studio

Android Studio can not only be used for development purposes but can also help you for capturing screenshots. Here is how. Before beginning, you should enable USB debugging on your Android smartphone.

First of all, connect your smartphone to the PC using the connector.
Open the Android Studio on the connected device.
Navigate to View > Tool Windows > Android Monitor.
Select your smartphone from the drop-down at the top of the window.
Now, click the Screen Capture option on the left side of the window. After doing that, the screenshot appears in a Screenshot Editor window on the software.
You can also do some editing and even re-take the screenshot. Below is the reference.
- Recapture: To re-capture the screenshot.
- Rotate: To rotate the image 90 degrees clockwise.
- Frame Screenshot: This helps to stylize the screenshots by wrapping them with real device artwork. You could also drop shadow, add screen glare, etc.
Finally, click Save and select the location to save.
Then click OK.

Now you successfully saved the screenshot of your device to the selected location. You can now use it for any purpose as per your requirements.

Method 4 – Using Gestures

Almost all modern smartphone manufacturers include an option to use gestures to perform different actions on their smartphones. Users can configure the gestures such as double tap, triple tap, two finger tap, finger slider, and many more. These can be pointed to taking screenshots as well if your manufacturer allows so. The way to access the gesture settings may be slightly different. But most of the time, it will be something like this – Settings > Buttons & gestures > Quick gestures.

Method 5 – Use third-party apps

There are numerous apps available for the screenshot purpose. But few of them may require root access to your device, especially for screencasting. We listed some of the best screenshot apps for Android.

For now, use them based on your requirements, as all of them are comparatively easy to use. If you need a detailed guide on using them, be patient until we post separate guides for using all of them.

Most Asked Questions about Android screenshot

Here we listed some of the most asked questions about the Android screenshot. Having a look at them will help you to get an answer to your questions if you are also wondering.

1. How to take an Android KitKat screenshot

The steps for taking screenshots in Android KitKat, Lollipop, and Marshmallow are the same as listed in the above methods. There is no difference at all. But in older smartphones that run Android 4.0 and earlier, they may be a little difference in the procedure. In a few cases, the shortcuts will vary from brand to brand. Be sure to read their manual or online guides before stepping into advanced methods such as rooting.

2. How to take animated screenshots on Android?

Actually, animated screenshots mean screen casting. You have to record the android display as long as you need and convert it into any format as per your requirements. There are also some dedicated apps available for the purpose.

3. What is the Android screenshot shortcut?

The shortcuts for taking screen pictures are different on different devices. It will vary from brand to brand. But in most of the cases, it might be “Volume Down + Power” or “Power + Home” buttons.

4. Where are my Android screenshots located?

The Android screenshots will be usually saved to /sdcard/Pictures/Screenshots folder. There you could find all of your screenshots named based on the date and time captured.

5. How to take a Screenshot on Nexus?

The method is a little different for the Nexus 7 and 9 devices. On these devices, simultaneously press the ON/OFF and volume buttons to have the screenshot.

6. Method to screenshot on a Samsung Note?

On Samsung Note, press the S-Pen stylus button. Now, a small circular menu will appear on the Samsung Note display. There, tap the Screen write option to capture the display.

7. Why screenshot buttons are not working in Android?

If the screenshot shortcuts are not working, you should check the condition of those buttons. If you found it either jammed or has some problems in pressing completely, it is time to visit the nearest repair center. If the buttons look perfect but you are not seeing any animations of the screen, go to the gallery and confirm that the screenshots are not being saved silently. In some brands, you may not always get an animation when you take a screenshot. If you are still not able to find the captured image, it is time to contact your smartphone’s support center.

8. Android or iPhone – Which provides the best screenshots?

When it comes to taking screenshots on iPhone or Android, the steps are not that complicated. The image quality, though, most probably will be better on iPhones unless you have a high-end Android device. After taking the screenshot, iPhone allows you to edit it with some in-built tools such as marking, adjustments, etc. In order to do that on Android, you might have to depend on one of the third-party Android screenshot apps mentioned above.

Android Screenshot: A Complete Guide