Hot Android How-Tos
How To: The Absolute Fastest Way to Take Photos on Android
How many times have you witnessed a beautiful moment that you would have loved to capture on film, only to watch it slip away as you struggled to unlock your phone and open your camera app?
How To: Install WhatsApp on a Kindle Fire HDX or Other Amazon Kindle
This past year, Facebook spent $19 billion purchasing the popular messaging app WhatsApp, and for good reason. Mark Zuckerberg isn't going to spend that type of money on just any application. WhatsApp is widely popular and frequently used by more than 500 million users worldwide, which is almost twenty percent of the Earth's population.
How To: Get Missed Calls & Contact Numbers from Your Phone—Without Having Your Phone
As much as it pains me to say it, without my phone, I would pretty much be useless. I can barely remember what I had for lunch yesterday, let alone all of the hundreds of numbers in my contact list. That's why whenever I forget my phone at home, I am pretty much stuck having to choose whether I want to be late to wherever I'm going, or feeling completely lost and disconnected for the rest of the day.
How To: Get an Unlimited Call Log on Your Nexus 5 or Other Android Phone
In the past few weeks, the internet has been abuzz with nightmarish horror stories of Comcast's questionable decision-making and downright terrible customer service. The central theme of many of these disputes with the nation's largest cable provider is that without evidence, the conglomerate will refuse to acknowledge its mistake and place the burden of proof on the customer.
How To: Downgrade Apps on Your Galaxy Note 3 or Other Android Device
Normally, it's good to automatically update your apps to the latest version, but sometimes those updates take away features that you've grown to love.
How To: Remove Password Obfuscation from Your Nexus 5 for Easier App Logins
When it comes to passwords, the longer and more complex they are, the better the security. Even professional hackers say so. But if you've ever tried to type in such a password, you've surely noticed that it can be a bit of a pain. Mistype one character, and you're probably going to have to clear the field and start all over again.
How To: Answer, Mute, & Reject Calls Without Ever Leaving the Current App You're In
These days, phones are more like portable entertainment systems. It's a hybrid mobile device for gaming, texting, watching movies, and listening to music more than it is an actual "phone" that you talk on.
How To: Find Your Missing Android Phone, Wipe It Clean, Disable USB, Capture Thief Selfies, & More
When you misplace your Android device, finding it with the Android Device Manager, or even better, Whistle Me, can help you find it no problem. But what about when your phone is not just hiding under the couch cushions? Your worst nightmare just came true. It's officially gone.
How To: Install TWRP Recovery on Your Samsung Galaxy Note 3 (Sprint or T-Mobile)
As we near the one-year anniversary of its release (and the inevitable unveiling of its successor), the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 remains a device that packs quite a punch when it comes to hardware. It boasts a 2.3Ghz CPU and was the first mobile phone ever to house 3GBs of RAM. Suffice it to say, it can handle any software you throw at it with no discernible lag. Even Samsung's notoriously bloated TouchWiz ROM seems lightning fast.
How To: Theme the Google Keyboard on Your Galaxy S4 to Look Like an iPhone
In previous guides, we showed you how to easily tweak your Google Keyboard by using various colors and shapes, installing an Android L theme, or adding a convenient number row to its main display. And now, you can add another Google Keyboard theme to your arsenal by making it look like your iOS friend's iPad or iPhone keyboard.
How To: Find Your HTC One or Other Android Phone with a Text Message
Google's Android Device Manager makes it extremely easy to track down your phone or tablet, but while it's simple to set up and use, it does require your device to have an active data connection, which can be an issue in some areas.
How To: Get Perfectly Composed, High-Res Selfies on Android Using Your Rear Camera
Maybe it is narcissistic to take selfies, but it has become a socially accepted norm, no matter how stupid you might look doing it. Since so many people are seemingly in love with themselves and mobile photography, I thought it was about time to show you how to step up your selfie game.
How To: Install Almost Any Google Play or Third-Party App on Your Amazon Kindle Fire HDX
Amazon's Appstore has come a long way since it launched in 2011, with over 250,000 apps to its name. That being said, their app numbers pale in comparison to Google's Play Store, which currently boosts over 1.3 million apps.
How To: 10 Hidden LG G3 Features You Need to Know About
The new LG G3 is the latest Android flagship-level device to be released this year, and it's ready to give the Galaxy S5, HTC One M8, and the OnePlus One a run for their money. Sporting a gorgeous 5.5-inch QHD display, 3GB of RAM, and a huge 300mAH battery, the device looks great and has tons of power to boot.
How To: Set Emergency Contacts to Bypass Silent & Vibrate Modes on Your Galaxy Note 2
Extremely important calls have a way of coming at the most inopportune moments: when you're in class during an important lecture, at a big business meeting for work, or even when you're just enjoying a day at the movies.
How To: Add a “Define Word” Option to the Copy/Paste Menu on Your Nexus 5
Even as a writer by trade, I'm not intimately familiar with every word in the English language. When you're typing something out on your Nexus, sometimes you think to yourself, "Is that right? Am I using the correct word here?" Then, you have no choice but to bring up Google Now and do a search for that word to make sure you're using it correctly.
How To: Send Encrypted Self-Destructing Messages on Your Galaxy Note 2
In February of this year, the Higher Court of Berlin ruled that Facebook must follow strict German data protection laws, which Facebook's terms of services and privacy policies circumvent.
How To: Split Large Files for Easy Sharing on Your Nexus 5 or Other Android Device
Owning an Android device is almost like having a PC in your pocket. Android's ability to easily navigate the file system on your phone is one of many features that separate it from the competition. Just plug your phone into a computer, drag the file over, and you're all set.
How To: Install the New Android 5.0 "Lollipop" Preview Build on Your Nexus 5 or Nexus 7
Update, November 12, 2014: Android 5.0 Lollipop is officially out now. If you haven't gotten the OTA yet, check out our new guide on installing the official Lollipop builds on any Nexus for download links and instructions, for Mac or Windows.
How To: Install Android L on Your Nexus (Fastboot Method)
Update, November 12, 2014: Android 5.0 Lollipop is officially out now. If you haven't gotten the OTA yet, check out our new guide on installing the official Lollipop builds on any Nexus for download links and instructions, for Mac or Windows.
How To: Install OmniSwitch for Streamlined Multitasking on Your Nexus 5
Multitasking has always been one of Android's strengths relative to other mobile operating systems. As the first cell phone OS with "true" multitasking, Android's been ahead of the game in this department for quite some time.
How To: Add a Number Row to the Google Keyboard on Your Galaxy S4 or Other Android Device
The keyboard I use the most on my Galaxy S4 is the Google Keyboard, and that's partly because of the custom themes I can play around with.
How To: Turn Your Own Photos into 3D Wallpapers for Android
Google's new camera app has a highly innovative and unique feature dubbed Lens Blur, and the most interesting thing about it is not necessarily what it does, so much as how it does it.
How To: Get LG's "Knock Code" Feature on Your Galaxy S3 for Increased Lock Screen Security
LG's arsenal of screen-off and screen-on tap gestures recently expanded into lock screen territory. Dubbed "Knock Code", this feature allows owners of various LG phones, like the G2 and upcoming G3 to unlock their phone with a series of taps on the screen. The most impressive part is that the screen doesn't even need to be on!
How To: Update Your Rooted Nexus to Android 4.4.4 Without Losing Any Data (Update)
Update: June 19, 2014 Android 4.4.4 has been released, fixing a small security bug in 4.4.3. The factory images have already been made available to all current-generation Nexus devices, and I've linked them out below. This does not affect the process depicted, you can still use these same steps to bring your device up to date with this latest release.
How To: Save Webpages for Offline Viewing in Chrome for Android
You may not always be connected to the internet, but if you're anything like me, your thirst for web content is insatiable. Whether you're on an airplane or stuck in an area with no reception, having some offline content stored on your Nexus can definitely save the day.
How To: Bypass the 31-Character Limit in Snapchat Captions on Android
Twitter found a sweet spot with its 160-character limit, but Snapchat sports a social media low of 31 characters, forcing us to condense our ideas into a few short words when typing in picture captions because of their ephemeral nature. While this severely limited amount of words is Snapchat etiquette, I've got so much more to say than 31 characters!
How To: Get Rid of the Annoying Red "Development Build" Text on Your HTC One M8's Bootsplash
HTC thought it best to cover their own ass by placing a red warning whenever you start your device if you've unlocked your bootloader. While it may help them identify a tampered phone, it does not help you in any way. Luckily, XDA member santod040 created a modified HBOOT that removes the "This build is for development purposes only..." text for you. While this will modify HBOOT, it will not change your unlocked or S-Off status.
How To: Get the Galaxy S5's New Recent Apps Menu & Toggles on Your Galaxy S3 (KitKat)
Transparent status bars and new lock screens weren't the only new additions that came with the Galaxy S3 KitKat update. Along with better battery life and a smoother user experience, we got a new toggles design and recent apps menu. Of course, Samsung's infinite wisdom left these two aesthetic features hidden away. Luckily, with root, you can easily enable them with just a few quick edits.
How To: Free Up Storage Space on Android & Keep It from Getting Full
With apps and games getting bigger and more memory-hungry every year, storage space is at a premium. High-definition videos and photos of innumerable pixels certainly don't help the matter, either.
How To: Add a “Reboot into Recovery” Option to Your Nexus 5's Power Menu
Just about every softMod requires some kind of reboot. Whether it's because something in the System UI was changed, or because a ZIP needs to be flashed in custom recovery.
How To: Enable "Unknown Sources" So You Can Download Third-Party Apps to Your Galaxy S5
When you try to install third-party applications (meaning apps not found in the Google Play Store) you'll be met with a warning that notifies you that your device currently blocks installations not obtained from the Play Store. Enable Unknown Sources
How To: Turn Your Galaxy S3's Menu Key into a Multitasking Button (Like on a Galaxy S5)
Ever since Android 3.0 Honeycomb, Google has been trying to push phone manufacturers to do away with physical menu buttons. Samsung has been one of the lone holdouts, retaining the menu key up until the Galaxy S5, where they finally replaced it with a "recent apps" multitasking button.
How To: Boost Headset & Speaker Volumes on Your Nexus 5
There's a known issue affecting some Nexus 5 users where the speaker volume is fairly low. This could be attributed to a manufacturing defect, which you could possibly fix with a hot needle, but if your built-in speakers and headphones seem muted, don't take your Nexus apart just yet.
How To: Change Font Size & Text Colors in Snapchat on Your Galaxy Note 2
In an attempt to keep things simple, Snapchat has a limited amount of editing features, made up of "smart" photo filters, drawing pens, and special text captions. If you want more editing capabilities, you'll be pleased to know there's a way, no thanks to Snapchat, but you will need to be rooted.
How To: Fix the Random Auto Brightness Spikes on Your Nexus 5
If you've ever noticed, even just for a fleeting moment, that the auto brightness on your Nexus 5 seemed to "glitch out"—you are not alone.
How To: Install the Samsung Galaxy S5's New Ringtones on Your Galaxy S3 or Other Android Device
With the release of the Samsung Galaxy S5 right around the corner, the first full system dump has been released by Sammobile. As the inevitable ports of functioning apps slowly begin to leak, today we've got a non-app aspect of the system and the one that tends to leak first—ringtones.
How To: Unroot & Relock Your Modded Nexus 5 Back to Factory Condition
Okay, so you're rooted and need to return your Nexus 5 to its stock firmware. Whether it's because you need to send your phone in to the manufacturer to fix a defect or you just want to use the device's over-the-air updating feature, unrooting and returning your Nexus 5 back to its fresh-out-of-the-box state is a fairly simple process with the right tools.
How To: Create Restricted Profiles on Your Nexus 7 for Guest Users
Whenever I hand my tablet over to someone, my heart always races for a second at the thought that they may stumble across my private pictures, texts, and videos. I trust them, and they may not be the snooping type, but it can be easy enough to come across private stuff by accidentally opening a gallery or messaging app.
How To: Get Samsung's New WatchON App from the Galaxy S5 on Your Galaxy Note 3
It was only a matter of time before the apps from the new Samsung Galaxy S5 leaked for everyone to download and install, and today we've got one that takes advantage of the IR blaster on your Galaxy Note 3.