Hot Android Posts
How To: Remap Your Galaxy S20's Power Button to Launch Any App or Action
With the Galaxy S20, Samsung has officially removed the Bixby button from its flagships. While it was a controversial key, in its later days, it did give us the ability to launch an app or custom action at the press of a button. There's still a way to do something like that, but now, you'll have to use the power button instead.
How To: Pause Music with Your Pixel's Motion Sense Radar Gestures
When Google first launched the Pixel 4, it was and still is the only phone in existence that uses a radar system for motion gestures. Yes, that radar — the same kind of motion-sensing technology used in the military for years — is available on our phones. The Pixel 4 did come with a gesture to let you change songs without touching the phone itself, but you can now pause your music just the same.
How To: Install Android 11 on Your Pixel Without Unlocking the Bootloader or Losing Data
Android 11 won't be available as a beta update for Pixel devices until May 2020. Until then, the only way to try the latest Android version is by manually installing it. Usually, this means carrier models are left out since their bootloaders are locked, but there's still a way to get it done.
How To: There's a Fun Way to Switch Apps with Samsung's Gesture Controls
While Samsung's three-tabbed gesture controls are pretty intuitive, there's still a learning curve. By removing the buttons, you seemingly lose the ability to jump between apps with the quick switch gesture. I say seemingly since there's still a way, it's just not very obvious.
News: The Galaxy S20, S20+ & S20 Ultra Are IP68 Water-Resistant — Here's What That Really Means
Samsung's new line of Galaxy S20 flagships have a water resistance rating of IP68. This means you don't have to worry as much about getting the phones wet, but there's a limit to that.
How To: Bring Back the Back Button with Android 10's Gestures
It would be an understatement to say that Android 10's gestures are a controversial change. A lot of people just don't like change, plus the back gesture can be a bit tricky to activate sometimes — even after Google added a sensitivity setting for it. Thankfully, a third-party developer has a unique solution.
How To: You Can Open a New Firefox Tab in a Split Second with This Trick
Anytime you want, you can long-press the home button on an Android phone to bring up the Google Assistant. Or if you're using Android 10, you can swipe in from one of the bottom corners. But if you don't use Google Assistant that often, you can change the app that opens with these gestures and get a lot more usage out of it.
How To: Your Eyes Are All You Need to Keep Your Galaxy's Screen On
Having your phone's display suddenly dim and black out while reading is an annoyance we've all had to live with. If you have a Samsung Galaxy like the Note 10, however, there's a simple setting you can enable to take care of this problem once and for all.
How To: Unlocked Bootloader? This Trick Makes Your Phone Boot 10 Seconds Faster
When your bootloader is unlocked, your phone shows a screen that tells you the bootloader is indeed unlocked and how software integrity can't be verified. But if you're the one who unlocked the bootloader in the first place, all this message does is slow down the bootup process dramatically.
How To: 7 Ways to Use Android's Digital Wellbeing Feature to Improve Your Stress Levels
It seems like each day our phones become more integrated into our lives. School, work, shopping — so many tasks either require a phone or heavily benefit from one. But our phones are a double-edged sword that can easily distract us and harm our mental health as well.
How To: Navigate to Home or Work in 1 Tap with Google Maps
Even if you're totally familiar with all the routes you can take to go home or work, you'll still want to use Google Maps to find the fastest route in current traffic conditions. If you're on Android, there's an extremely fast way to do this.
How To: Get to the 'App Info' Page for Any App Faster
When an app is acting up, the first thing you should do is head to its App Info page. Here, you can force stop the buggy app or delete its data and cache. It even lets you manage permissions and notifications, quickly uninstall the app, and more. So you should definitely know about the easy new way to get to this page.
News: Always-Updated List of Android 10 Custom ROMs for Every Major Phone
One of the coolest things about Android is the massive development community behind it. These developers keep on cooking up new things even after official support has stopped for an older device. It breathes new life into somewhat forgotten devices, which is always great news. With Android 10 out, it's time to see what phones will get the custom ROM treatment.
How To: Install GravityBox on Android 10 for All the Customization Options You Could Ever Need
GravityBox is a name that many know as the module to rule them all when it comes to customizing your Android device. Ask any of the longtime modding pros, and they'll tell you about the good old days during the Xposed era. The community was booming and full of great ideas, and there were never any shortages of fun modules to try. Thankfully, it still lives on even years later.
How To: Change Your Default SMS App & Improve Your Texting Experience
One of the best things about Android is being able to control everything you want, from your wallpaper down to the default apps you use for every action. Changing the default SMS app from the one that came with your device can drastically alter your messaging experience. Many SMS apps have loads of themes to pick from while also offering other features you can't find anywhere else.
How To: Set a Different Ringtone for Individual Contacts So You Know When Someone Important Is Calling
Have you ever walked around in public and heard the same handful of default ringtones over and over again? How do these people know who's calling without looking first? It's tough to tell when they all sound the same, but there is something crafty you can do to help with that. Using a different ringtone for certain contacts will allow you to differentiate between them instantly.
How To: Enable Android 10's New Gestures on Your Samsung Galaxy with One UI 2
Samsung launched One UI in 2018 to replace the now infamous TouchWiz. Since then, things have been looking pretty bright for Galaxy users. Now, the much-anticipated arrival of Android 10 is ushering in the One UI 2.0 era, including a new set of gesture-based controls.
How To: Sort Contacts by Last Name on Your Google Pixel
Most of us have had a cloud-connected address book for years now. The result of this is an ever-growing contact list that will continue to get harder to navigate and manage. With the increased size of our contact lists, it becomes more important to sort contacts in a way that works best for us.
How To: There's a Satisfying Way to Remove Apps from Your Home Screen
If you're like me, you reorganize your home screen every few months. But instead of dragging the old icons and dropping them on that "Remove" button up top, there's a much faster, and quite frankly, more satisfying way to do it.
How To: Use This Trick to Quickly Uninstall Apps with Nova Launcher
On Android, you can uninstall an app by opening Settings, selecting "Apps," then choosing the app from the list and finally tapping "Uninstall," then "OK." You can also drag the app's icon from your home screen or app drawer and drop it on the "Uninstall" button. But if you have Nova Launcher, there's a much better way.
How To: Turn Your Galaxy Note 10+ into a Google Pixel
The Galaxy Note 10+ is the pinnacle of Android hardware. You won't find many phones with a better combination of specs and design. But you may not love the software. Even with One UI on board, some users still want a more "stock" feel.
How To: Keep Spotify from Constantly Closing on the Note 10
So you're listening to Spotify on your Note 10+ and you pause it for a second to talk to someone. A minute or so passes, and you press the play button on your wireless headphones ... but nothing happens. That's because Samsung already killed the Spotify app. Here's how you can prevent this.
How To: Add a Profile Picture to Your Lock Screen on Android 10
Android 10 lets you personalize your device by adding a profile picture to your lock screen. Not only will it add your picture or avatar to your lock screen, but it will also add it to the Quick Settings menu. It's a nice touch of customization that makes your device feel like your own.
How To: Bring Back Notification Snoozing in Android 10
I'm a notification minimalist. When I get alerts, I want to deal with them ASAP. If the time is not right and I want to reference the notification later, snoozing was always the best course of action. But in Android 10, Google tucked away snoozing, so here's how to get it back.
How To: Become a OneDrive Beta Tester & Get New Features Before Everyone Else
OneDrive has some really cool features, like being able to lock your files with a fingerprint. If you want to be on the forefront of these new features, you can sign up to the OneDrive beta testing program to get new feature before anyone else.
How To: Enable Dark Mode in Google's New Gallery Go App
Galley Go is a new lightweight app made by Google that provides a simpler alternative to Google Photos. While it's a lighter app, it still includes dark mode. You just have to turn it on to help boost battery life and save your eyes at night.
How To: Get Quick Access to Your Favorite Apps with a Swipe-Up App Drawer
I go back and forth between two home screen apps: Nova Launcher and Action Launcher. While I prefer the aesthetics of Nova, I like Action's Quickpage feature since it puts some of my favorite apps just a swipe away. But now, I've found a way to replicate this feature on Nova (or any other launcher), and it works even better.
How To: Sync Chrome's Clipboard from Your Desktop to Your Android Phone & Back
Recently, Android Police highlighted one of the downfalls of Android 10's new privacy protection: the fact that it broke the ability for apps like Pushbullet to sync your clipboard across devices. While third-party apps can potentially find a way around this, there's no guarantee. But have no fear, Google is here to the rescue.
How To: Stop Trying to Diagonal Swipe — There's an Easier Way to Open Hamburger Menus on Android 10
With the back button gone in Android 10, the new back gesture forced Google to change the way you access side navigation menus. The new angled swipe that you have to do to access the hamburger menu isn't the easiest, so you'll likely go back more times than you want. Well, there's an easier way.
How To: There's an Easy Way to Stop Random Popup Ads on Android
"Why do I keep getting popups on my phone when I'm not even doing anything?" I see this question asked all the time. The answer? You have a shady app on your phone and it started showing full screen ads. But people either don't know this (so they don't know they just need to find and uninstall the problematic app), or if they do know it's a bad app, they don't know which app is causing it.
How To: Take Screenshots on the Galaxy Note 10 or Note 10+
Samsung removed the Bixby key on the Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+ and gave the power button dual functionality. In the process, they changed the way you power off the phone and made taking screenshots a bit tricky. Fortunately, it's not too hard once you get used to things.
How To: All the Legit Ways to Get Free Games on the Google Play Store
I think we all like the idea of getting paid games for free with minimal effort. Typically, though, anything claiming to help you do that is either illegal or a scam. But there are actually quite a few no-fuss methods that can get you paid games without going too far out of your way. From checking notifications to discovering hidden offers, you might have something waiting for you.
How To: Speech to Text Adding an 'Oh' Before Every Comma? Here's the Fix
Many users have reported Android's speech-to-text feature adding an 'Oh' before each comma. How annoying is that? Fortunately, Reddit user Jay-jay1 has found a solution to this pesky problem. This quick-fix should make your 'Oh' so annoying problem disappear.
How To: Get the OnePlus 7 Pro's Zen Mode on Any Android
The OnePlus 7 Pro comes with a new Zen Mode feature to help increase your concentration and reduce distractions. It takes things a step further than Google's Digital Wellbeing by disabling your device and stopping sounds. But even if you don't have a OnePlus, you can now get this distraction-free feature on any phone.
How To: Get Twitter's Emojis on Any Android Phone
The art of emoji — the next level beyond the simple text-based emoticons we used once upon a time in the not so distant past. We rely upon emojis so much in our always-connected world of today simply because they help portray emotion into our typed out words. They've not been around very long, but have taken the world by storm just as quickly as they made their first appearance in our society.
How To: Enable Dark Mode in Magisk
With Android 10 "Q" right around the corner, now would be a great time to get accustomed to the new system-wide dark mode it's bringing with it. Dark themes not only allow for more comfortable viewing at night, but can also consume less battery at the same time. With a single button tap, you'll be able to enable this new dark theme for all compatible apps without having to jump through hoops.
How To: 9 Hidden Audio Mods for Your Galaxy on One UI
Though more well known for their OLED displays and advanced cameras, Galaxy phones like the S8, Note 10 & 10+ and S10 series are a force to be reckoned with when it comes to audio. In fact, flagships from the S9 on up feature AKG-tuned stereo speakers, along with a slew of software enhancements that make listening to music a truly pleasurable experience.
How To: Enable Closed Captions in the YouTube App for Android
Closed captions are great for watching YouTube videos on mute, or simply following along with a video that's hard to understand. It's easy to turn on captions on YouTube's desktop site, but in the YouTube Android app, the closed captions settings are tucked away.
How To: Install Google Camera on Your OnePlus 7 Pro for Better Photo Quality & Night Sight
The triple camera system on the OnePlus 7 Pro is the best setup they've ever done so far, but it could always be better. The primary sensor packs a whopping 48 megapixels, but as history has taught us, megapixels don't equal better photos by default. In fact, with where we are in terms of hardware right now, it's the software that determines a phone's camera performance.
Compared: The 5 Best Keyboard Apps for Android
Your phone's keyboard is one of the most commonly used apps. Whether you're typing out status updates, sending private messages, or just bombarding everyone in sight with as many emoji as you possibly can, you probably couldn't get by without a good keyboard app.