What separates Android from other mobile operating systems is the exceptional level of flexibility it offers. Android is the best you can hope for if you want to enjoy granular control of your smartphone. However, to get the best out of it, you need the right tools to help you utilize its wealth of flexibility and customization potential.

Powerful, multifunctional, and easy to use, MacroDroid is like a do-it-all app that will help you do just about anything with your Android smartphone. But how good is it, and what exactly can you do with MacroDroid? Let’s find out.

What Is MacroDroid?

MacroDroid is a nifty little Android app that can help you automate just about any task on your device.

To better understand what MacroDroid does, think of everything you can do with your Android smartphone. You can make calls, browse the web, download files, tweet, or share pictures on Facebook. MacroDroid introduces automation to all those activities or tasks.

So, instead of having to do these things yourself, you can program them to happen at, say, certain times of the day or when a certain condition is met.

Need your Android phone to message your partner whenever you're not home by 6 PM? MacroDroid can do it. How about sending an email to your boss every time you're late for work? MacroDroid can do it as well. What about reducing your screen brightness at 8 o'clock every morning? Not a problem.

MacroDroid is like a robot assistant you can tell what to do and when to do it—and it will do just that.

As a rule of thumb, if you can manually perform a certain task on your Android smartphone, there's a good chance you can get MacroDroid to do it for you automatically. While MacroDroid isn't the only Android automation app around, it is by far one of the easiest to use, especially if you're just starting out with Android automation.

If you're curious about which other automation apps you can get, we've previously detailed some of the best Automation apps for Android.

Download: MacroDroid (Free, in-app purchases available)

How to Set Up and Use MacroDroid

It might look a bit daunting at first, but it's quite easy to get used to MacroDroid once you understand the basics of how MacroDroid works. So how does MacroDroid work?

At the foundational level, MacroDroid works based on two core concepts: actions and triggers.

1. MacroDroid Actions

Actions are, simply put, what needs to be done. It's something your Android device can do and which can be automated by MacroDroid. Dialing a number, sending an SMS, or taking a photo are all examples of actions your Android smartphone can do, which can also be automated by MacroDroid.

2. MacroDroid Triggers

Triggers are events that must happen to fire up an action. Since it would make no sense for actions to happen randomly, triggers are preconditions for an action to happen.

It could be an event or set of events that must occur before a preprogrammed action can be initiated by MacroDroid. Your battery level falling below 50%, receiving a call, or pressing your volume buttons are examples of events that can be used as triggers.

Your actions and triggers are combined into small tasks called Macros.

How to Create a Simple Automation Task on MacroDroid

To create your first automation task or macro, all you need is an action and a trigger—what to do and when to do it. For this guide, we'll create a simple automation routine that launches the Spotify app on your Android smartphone every time you plug in your headphones or connect to your Bluetooth headphones or speaker.

To get started with MacroDroid, head to the Play Store and install MacroDroid.

MacroDroid is a massive app with so many moving parts. Once you launch the app, you'll be greeted with the MacroDroid home screen filled with dozens of user interface components. While they're all important, you might not need them for most of the basic automation tasks you'll perform with MacroDroid.

MacroDroid also requires a slew of permissions to work properly. The app is safe to use, but feel free to check out our Android OS permissions explainer if you're not very conversant with managing permissions on an Android device.

Step1: Create a Macro

For our demonstration, we'll be working with the first component on the MacroDroid home screen labeled Add Macro. To get going:

  1. Tap on Add Macro.
  2. On the next screen, enter a name and tap the small file icon next to the macro name input field.
  3. Enter your macro description in the text area that comes up under the macro name input field.
  4. You'll find three panels labeled Triggers, Actions, and Constraints. We'll focus on the Triggers and Actions panel for our use case.

Step 2: Set Up the Triggers

Remember, the idea is to create an automation routine that is triggered once we plug in a headphone or connect to Bluetooth speakers or headphones. So, the trigger to use here is whenever a "plugging in a headphone" event occurs or whenever a "connecting to a Bluetooth speaker" event occurs.

To program this particular event:

  1. Tap the Plus (+) button on the Triggers panel.
  2. Tap Connectivity > Headphones Insert/Remove > Headphones Inserted > OK > Any > OK. This handles the "plugging in a headphone" event or trigger.

Up next is programming the "connecting to a Bluetooth speaker" event or trigger. To do this:

  1. Open your Quick Settings menu, turn on your device Bluetooth, and connect your Bluetooth headphone or Bluetooth speaker.
  2. After connecting, return to the MacroDroid app and tap the Plus (+) button on the top of the Triggers panel once more.
  3. Now, tap Connectivity > Bluetooth Event > Device Connected > OK.
  4. Tap on the name of your Bluetooth speaker or headphone and then tap OK.

With that, you're done with setting up the two triggers. You can add as many triggers as you wish.

Step 3: Set Up Your Actions

Up next is setting up the actions—or actual tasks—to be executed when triggered. Remember, the action we're using is to launch the Spotify app.

  1. On the Add Macro screen, tap on the Plus (+) icon on the top of the panel labeled Actions.
  2. Tap on Application > Launch Application > Select Application > OK > Spotify > Force New > OK.
  3. With that done, hit the back button and then tap Save to save your macro.

Next time you connect your phone to your Bluetooth speaker or plug in your headphones, your Spotify app should launch automatically. Of course, Spotify is only an example of an app you can launch once you've plugged in your headphones. You can choose to use any app. Maybe Apple Music, YouTube Music, or anything.

Our example is one of the simplest automation routines you can program with MacroDroid. There's a long list of complex and exciting things you can achieve. But what other things can you do with MacroDroid?

Some MacroDroid Automation Ideas

Now that you've got a clear idea of how MacroDroid works, if you'd love to take things a bit further, here are some exciting automation routines you can try on your own.

  1. Make your phone ring out loud when you receive an email from your boss. (Hint: use the notification trigger you can access from Triggers > Device Events > Notification > Notification Received > Select Application(s) > Gmail and enter a text to match your boss’ email address. Then go to Actions > Media > Play/Stop Sound and choose a sound to play.)
  2. Automatically Send Birthday messages to your contacts on their birthdays. (Hint: Combine the Triggers > Date/Time > Day of Week/Month trigger with Actions > Messaging > Send SMS action.)
  3. Secretly record audio when you shake your Android device. (Hint: Combine the Triggers > Sensor > Shake Device trigger with the Actions > Media > Record Microphone action.)
  4. Secretly call 911 once you swipe across your screen in a certain way. (Hint: Combine the Triggers > User Input > Swipe Screen trigger with Actions > Phone > Make Call action.)
  5. Add custom toggles to your Quick Settings menu to make some frequently used Android features easily accessible.

MacroDroid is undoubtedly one of the best apps to customize your Android smartphone in creative ways, so don't fail to take advantage of it.

MacroDroid: One App, Endless Possibilities

Although MacroDroid might seem a bit technical at first, once you dedicate a little time to learning the fundamentals of how it works, you're sure to have a lot of fun with it.

Think of all those tasks you wished you had an app for, if you spend some time tinkering with MacroDroid, there's a good chance you'll be able to build something that does something similar. We encourage you to explore.