Android Features
How To: View Animals, Spaceships & Products in Augmented Reality with Google Search
While much of the world is currently in some form of quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic, augmented reality (AR) gives us all the opportunity to see virtual content while stuck in our homes.
How To: Music Not Loud Enough? Here's How to Increase the Volume Limits on Your Samsung Galaxy Note 2
Got a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 phablet? Sure, it has its problems like any other mobile device, but it's still one of the hottest phablets on the market right now, because, well... it's awesome, right?
How To: Install Incompatible Apps from Google Play onto Your Android Device
There are over one million apps in the Google Play Store, and many of them are restricted to certain device types, brands, and Android systems.
How To: Remove Any Status Bar Icon on Your Galaxy S10 — No Root Needed
Samsung's popular Good Lock app has been updated to work on One UI and now lets you take full advantage of its awesome add-ons to customize your S10 in a few simple taps. One add-on in particular lets you get rid of mostly redundant indicators like the NFC "N" for a cleaner status bar.
News: The 5 Most Useful File-Sharing Apps for Android
Heads up! We've done a new, more thorough review of the best Android file-sharing apps. You can check that out here. Our old file-sharing app roundup can still be viewed below for posterity.
How To: Liven Up Your Background with These Free 3D Parallax Wallpapers for Your Samsung Galaxy S3
The inclusion of the parallax effect caused a shitstorm amongst iPhone users when it was released in iOS 7, especially when it came to creating custom wallpapers. It was hard to control, and even disabling it didn't fully get rid of it, making it one of the most hated new features in Apple's latest mobile OS.
How To: Watch Amazon Prime Videos on Your Android Phone
When it comes to watching movies and TV shows in Amazon's Prime Video service on an iPhone, it's as simple as installing the Amazon Prime Video app, signing into it, then playing content. However, on an Android phone, it's a lot more complicated.
How To: Keep Your Screen Awake for Specific Apps on Your Galaxy Note 3
Screen timeouts serve mostly as security measures and energy savers, but they can also interrupt you when you're reading a book or editing a document. There is no built-in way to manage screen timeouts on a per-app basis, but if you've got root access, you can do just that using Never Sleep from Android dev Hamzah Malik.
How To: Theme the Fingerprint Scanner on Your Galaxy S5
The Galaxy S5's fingerprint scanner feels like something straight out of a sci-fi movie. Giving you the ability to lock your device without having to fuss with a PIN or password every time you go to use it, the feature is definitely one of the device's main selling points, especially now that you can use it to unlock individual apps.
How To: Fix Laggy Touchscreen Responsiveness on the OnePlus 3 & 3T
The OnePlus 3 and 3T are a pair of phones which allow you to do practically anything you want, because OnePlus is such a developer-friendly company. They almost always release kernel sources, and their phones sport an unlockable bootloader that doesn't void the warranty. But while their software is certainly solid (miles ahead of Samsung's TouchWiz), it still has room for improvement.
How To: Add a "Recycle Bin" to Your Nexus 5 for Easier File Recovery
If you've ever used a computer, you're surely familiar with the concept of a Recycle Bin (Windows) or Trash Can (Mac). To sum it up, files that you've deleted are not actually gone from your storage, they've just been moved to a different location. You can then restore the files if need be, or empty them, permanently deleting them forever to free up space.
How To: Improve Wi-Fi Performance on Your Rooted Nexus 4
One of the most common complaints that people have about the Nexus 4 would have to be its intermittently poor Wi-Fi performance, a problem that for many, persists through the installation of updates and even custom ROMs.
News: The Pixel 3a XL Is Shaping Up to Be the Best Google Phone This Year
Unlike past Pixel releases, it appears Google isn't done with their current lineup. Rumors have it that Google plans to put out two new phones that act as budget variants for their existing devices. And based on the leaks, it looks like one of these variants might be better than its non-budget counterpart.
How To: Scan Your Saved Passwords in Chrome to Find & Replace Compromised Login Info
If you save your passwords in Chrome or even just use Android's default password manager, Google has some new security tools you'll be interested in.
How To: 10 Major Security Enhancements Coming in Android 11
Starting with Android 9 and 10, Google made privacy and security the main priorities for Android updates. Both versions brought numerous changes to help erase the notion that Android isn't safe, but Android 11 might even have them beat.
How To: Install MicroG to Replace Google Play Services & Prevent Data Mining
With all the talk about privacy concerns recently, Google's name keeps coming up because they are a very data-driven company. As an Android user, they know basically everything about you based on your device usage. That can easily scare some people off who are worried about their privacy and security. You do have some say in what personal data Google controls, but what if you want total control?
How To: Your Android Phone May Be Spying on You — Here's How to Tell and Take Control
Is your smartphone eavesdropping on you? It's a question that will never go away because it's easy to envision hackers or malicious apps taking over your device to spy on conversations, snap photos, or even record video. But fewer people will be asking it, thanks to Android 12, which has a new privacy feature that visually warns you of possible invasive surveillance.
The Big Android Dictionary: A Glossary of Terms You Should Know
Android comprises an entire ecosystem of apps, games, functions, and features, so it would only make sense that it has its own lexicon. Words, phrases, and acronyms that didn't exist ten years ago are now used in an off-the-cuff style by developers and support technicians across the web.
How To: Check Your Android Security Patch Level to See if You're Protected Against the Latest Vulnerabilities
Numerous potential exploits are found for every operating system each month, and Android is no exception. Trouble is, lots of Android devices don't receive timely updates — but many are now getting regular monthly security patches to at least shore up these vulnerabilities.
How To: Root Your OnePlus 6 with Magisk — A Beginner's Guide
Year in and year out, OnePlus flagships top our list of the best phones for rooting. Why? Primarily because rooting does not void your warranty, and OnePlus goes out of their way to make the whole process as easy as possible.
How To: Have You Pressed This Little Button in Your Galaxy's Volume Panel Yet?
With Samsung's One UI 3.0 update, the main on-screen volume slider has a little menu button on the top of it. Tapping this will expand the slider into a full-blown volume panel, complete with controls for all of the various types of sounds your Galaxy might make. Standard stuff, really, but there's more to it.
Know Your Android Tools: What Is Fastboot & How Do You Use It?
If you've ever owned an HTC device or anything in the Nexus line, odds are, you have typed the word "fastboot" into your command line at one time or another. That said, odds are, you have only just barely scratched the surface of what this handy little Android tool can do. Let's take a deeper look.
How To: Force Android 10's Gestures to Work with Any Custom Launcher
One vital part of Android 10's new navigation system is the "QuickStep" gesture. Swipe up from the bottom of your screen, then pause. You'll see your recent apps along with a dock containing a handful of icons for quick access. This dock is provided by the phone's launcher, which means your home screen is now integrated into the multitasking UI. So what happens if you change your home screen app?
How To: Sideload Flashable ZIPs on Android with TWRP
If you're one who likes to tinker with Android, TWRP is the first thing you should install. It replaces your phone's stock recovery mode interface and adds over a dozen advanced features to your device—most notably, the ability to flash ZIPs that can modify practically every aspect of your operating system. It's certainly one of the most powerful tools available for Android, and there's simply nothing capable of replacing it.
How To: Disable Android's Back Gesture on the Left Side to Make Hamburger Menus Easier to Open
The gesture navigation introduced with Android 10 worked wonders by giving you more of your screen and less tapping. Android 11 offers the option to fine-tune the back gesture sensitivity for your screen's left and right sides. However, the issue still stands for people who like to use the left swipe menu within apps to open hamburger style menus.
How To: Root Android 11 on the Pixel 4a — Every Step Covered in Detail
If you live in the US, it's pretty simple: The Google Pixel 4a is the best phone for rooting and modding in 2020. Its price keeps the risk-reward ratio nice and low, and its unlockable bootloader makes it easy to modify virtually any aspect of Android.
How To: The Easiest Way to Blur Faces in Videos on Your Android Phone
Video editing is no small task. Computationally, it requires some pretty hefty processing power, perhaps more so than any other task you might want to perform on your phone. But with the right software, doing something like blurring the faces of people in your videos doesn't have to be such a burden.
How To: Unroot & Revert Your OnePlus 5 or 5T to 100% Stock
To please those of us who love to mod and root our Androids, OnePlus has made both the OnePlus 5 and 5T relatively easy to customize — so much so that the 5T topped our list for the best phones for rooting. Unfortunately, unlocking the bootloader and using root to modify the firmware on your OnePlus 5 or 5T makes it hard to update to a new firmware such as Oreo when compared to stock.
How To: Enable the Built-in Screen Recorder on Android 10
Downloading third-party screen recording apps can be dangerous. The primary function of these apps is being able to record everything on one's display, so it's easy to see how a malicious developer could exploit this for their own gain. That's why the addition of Android 10's built-in screen recording is so impactful.
How To: Change the Screen Resolution on Your Google Pixel Pro — And Why You Should
The most recent premium flagship smartphones from Google — the Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel 6 Pro — are equipped with displays cable of 1440 QHD+ resolution. But they also come with a tool to downgrade to 1080p FHD+, which you may want to do in certain situations.
Nova Launcher 101: How to Back Up & Restore Your Home Screen Settings
So you spent all day customizing your phone. You tinkered with all the settings, searched the web high and low for the perfect wallpaper, and found an ideal icon pack to complement the color scheme. You go to sleep, proud of the work you accomplished when the unspeakable happens — your phone freezes and tech support is telling you to do a factory reset to fix the problem.
How To: Turn Your Android Phone into a Universal Remote Control with These Cool Apps
Have you ever seen those super-expensive universal remote controls like the Logitech Harmony and thought to yourself, "Man, I really want one of those, but that's just too much money"?
How To: Change the Default Snooze Time for Your Alarm on Any Android
While we shouldn't rely on it, every so often we need to hit the snooze button to get a few additional minutes of precious sleep. Depending on which OEM skin is running on your device, this could be either five or ten extra minutes of dozing. However, some of us need a different length of time.
How To: Remove the Calendar & Weather Widget from Your Pixel's Home Screen
Google's "At A Glance" widget gives you the current weather conditions and upcoming events from your Google Calendar in a handy spot right at the top of your home screen. But on Pixel phones, this widget is permanently embedded into the launcher, so you can't just long-press it to remove it.
How To: Control Screen Rotation for Individual Android Apps—No Root Needed
We've all been hit by inopportune screen rotations at some point or another. Having the display orientation suddenly go from portrait to landscape when reading an interesting article in bed is one of the biggest irritations that come with using a smartphone (at least, for me). Thankfully, there are apps out there for your Android to help alleviate this inconvenience.
How To: Turn Your Phone's Flashlight on Instantly with One of These 6 Tricks
Unless you're in law enforcement, you won't usually have a flashlight on hand for those rare moments when you need to sift through the dark. However, it is very likely that you will have your phone on you, so you'll have fast access to a bright light with just a few easy taps.
How To: Disable Those Pesky 'Screenshot Saved' Notifications on Your Android Phone
On stock Android 9 and 10, it is easier than ever to take a screenshot and quickly edit the captured image. However, the downside to that convenience has manifested itself in a heads-up notification that can also get in the way.
How To: Root Your Nexus 5—An Easy Guide for First-Timers
It's time. You've experimented with apps from the Play Store, you've switched your lock screen, and maybe you've taken different launchers out for a spin. If, throughout your tinkering, you've found yourself chanting, "More. More. Give me more!" then now is the time. It's time to root.
How To: Customize the Quick Responses for Declining Calls in the Google Phone App
Google is making its Phone app, the default dialer for Pixel and Android One devices, available to many other smartphones via the Play Store. If you're enticed to replace your factory-installed dialer to take advantage of the spam-filtering capabilities, you don't want to miss out on other features like the ability to customize canned responses for declining calls.
How To: Root the Nexus 6P or Nexus 5X on Windows, Mac, or Linux—The Foolproof Guide
This year, Google released two Nexus phones to glowing reviews, and as we've grown to expect, the Android community wasted no time in coming up with a root method for both. In fact, legendary root developer Chainfire even devised an entirely new "systemless" method for rooting that should make updating a bit less complicated, along with a few other benefits.