Use voice commands from the Samsung Galaxy S3 lock screen

Learn how to unlock your smartphone or check missed calls with voice commands.

Perhaps you're not a fan of using patterns, PINs, or passwords to unlock your smartphone -- either it's too much hassle or you often forget what you picked. With the Samsung Galaxy S3 you can set up voice commands for doing things like unlocking the device, checking missed calls, or starting the camera. All you need to do is tap the power button and say one of your preset commands.

Here's how to set up your lock screen voice commands:

Step 1: Open the Settings menu and then head to the Security and lock screen option.

Step 2: From the next menu, tap on Lock screen options. Then, you'll need to scroll to the very bottom of the next screen to choose Set wake-up command.

The first option in this area is the command you can set to wake up S Voice, Samsung's voice assistant software. However, if you're more interested in setting an unlock command first, continue on with Step 3.

Step 3: Tap on Wake-up function 1 and select your desired function on the Samsung Galaxy S3.

Currently, your options are: unlock, check for missed calls, check for missed messages, open camera, check schedule, play music, and record voice.

Step 4: When you're ready to start recording your voice command for the function, tap on the mic button at the bottom of the screen.

Step 5: You'll need to repeat the voice command four times so the Samsung Galaxy S3 can accurately learn the word. The phone will tell you when it has accepted all four attempts by displaying a Done button.

These commands are also very useful if you have the device in a dock on your desktop with the screen on, but locked.

Do you think the voice commands from the lock screen are useful? Do you think there are more options that should be included? Let us know in the comments!