Android Features
How To: Keep Snapchat from Draining Battery Life & Sucking Up Your Data on Android
Everyone loves sharing pictures and quick video clips with Snapchat, but while the service itself is tons of fun, the Android app is one of the worst on the market. For one, Snapchat takes terrible photos even on high-end Android phones. And to make matters worse, the app is a notorious data-sucking battery drainer.
How To: The Best Way to Uninstall All Types of Bloatware on Any Android
When you get a new phone, the last thing you want to deal with is a ton of preinstalled programs staring back at you. They not only clutter your home screen with apps you'll probably never use, but they're also wasting space on your internal storage and potentially draining battery. To truly uninstall them, you'll need root — but even then, it can be hard to pin down all the apps that should be removed.
How To: Install TWRP Recovery on Your Pixel 3a
TWRP is a name many are familiar with since it allows your Android device to install any custom file of your choosing. You can create a NANDroid backup to keep your data safe or even use Magisk to achieve full root access. In fact, TWRP is often seen as the gateway to modding your system for creating a unique user experience.
How To: Listen to FM Radio on a Google Android Smartphone
Android smartphones have all sorts of connectivity chips built in, including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, NFC, and mobile data. But what about AM or FM radio, two of the most common methods of wireless communication?
How To: The Definitive Nexus 7 Guide to Bootloader Unlocking, Rooting, & Installing Custom Recoveries
Rooting, bootloaders, custom ROMs, CyanogenMod, ClockworkMod... it's all pretty confusing, isn't it? You're not the only one having trouble with this. Many users in the Nexus 7 SoftModder forum have been scratching their heads at these many terms.
How To: Lock Magisk Superuser Requests with Your Fingerprint
It's been proven that hackers can manipulate your screen with fake taps through specific exploits, so they can potentially hit the "Grant" button when you get a superuser request. This is the last thing you'd want to happen since the malicious app from that point forward has full system privileges. Luckily, using a fingerprint to lock your superuser requests can prevent this.
How To: Edit a URL with Chrome's New Address Bar on Android
Chrome has just introduced some new UI elements for web exploration. The new URL bar is not intuitive. But once you get to grips with it, you will be so much more efficient in your address bar editing, pasting, and navigation.
How To: Lock Down Bluetooth, Force HTTPS & Adjust Other Options to Secure Your Android Device
Android has several features built into the platform that improve user experience but require extra attention to prevent a security breach. By modifying these settings, you can drastically reduce the possibility of someone exploiting your device or intercepting information.
How To: Copy/Paste Between Android Devices and Chromebooks Quickly with Nearby Share
While I prefer Android in my personal life, I've had the opportunity to work in the Apple ecosystem. One of the coolest features I've come to rely on is AirDrop, which makes it easy to beam content from mobile devices to desktops and vice versa. Thankfully, Android now has an equivalent.
How To: Make Samsung's App Drawer Loop Back Around Endlessly
By default, the One UI launcher on Galaxy phones makes you scroll all the way back to the left when you hit the end of your app list. Luckily, Samsung has its own solution to help fix this problem if it annoys you. Save yourself a bunch of extra swipes and read on to learn more.
How To: Change Your Android's Screen Resolution Without Root Access
When I first received my HTC One M8, I was in love with the 5-inch screen size, but the icons and font just seemed too big, wasting valuable screen real estate. Phablets, like the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, have only slightly larger screens, but don't seem to have this problem since manufacturers lowered the device's DPI, or dots per inch.
How To: Boost Performance & Battery Life on Your Rooted Android Device
Performance boosters generally get a bad rap, but that doesn't mean they should all be dismissed—particularly when they're as well thought out as the latest work from developer Danijel Markov. After recognizing a few inefficiencies in the way Android handles memory management and other system-level functions, he created a flashable ZIP that will apply many fixes in one fell swoop.
How To: Play Music Through Your Phone's Earpiece Speaker for a Low-Key Listening Experience
Say you're on a train to work, but you forgot your headphones. You'd normally listen to music to pass the time, but given the circumstances, your choices are to sit silently like a considerate adult, or to blare songs out of your phone's main speaker like a jerk. Thankfully, there's now a third option.
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.
Mario Live Wallpaper: Classic Side-Scrolling Action for Your Home or Lock Screen
Nothing else quite sums up my childhood like Super Mario, the Italian plumber who constantly had to defeat Bowser to save Princess Peach (aka Princess Toadstool) from danger. While it's easy to relive the classic gameplay on your Android with Nintendo emulators, not everyone has time for lengthy quests. Instead, you can get your Mario nostalgia fix with a live wallpaper for your home and/or lock screen.
How To: Your Galaxy Has a Hidden Document Scanner Built in — Here's How It Works
Android's de facto document scanner is Google Drive, but it's far from the most intuitive method. With One UI 2, your Samsung Galaxy device now has a document scanner built-in, with the ability to automatically detect documents like letters, business cards, and notes that you can scan with just a tap.
How To: The Easiest Way to Make the Bixby Button Open Google Assistant on Your Galaxy
After years of user complaints, Samsung is finally letting us remap the Bixby button without the need of a third-party app. The new feature requires One UI a simple app update to Bixby, but there's one major downside: Samsung won't let you remap the button to open other digital assistants like Amazon Echo, Microsoft Cortana, and Google Assistant. Luckily, there's an easy workaround.
How To: Unlock the Nexus 5 Bootloader & Start Modding Your Android Experience
You know what's awesome? You own a Nexus. That means, with Google's blessing, you have easier access and control over your device than other manufacturers allow. You can really dig in and do some interesting things if you root.
How To: 9 Alternative Uses for Your Android's Volume Keys
As touchscreen phones continue to evolve, the need for physical buttons seems less and less pronounced. While hard keys may seem like an endangered component on mobile devices, save for the Samsung Galaxy line, it'd be difficult to fathom a world where volume keys are absent.
How To: Make Apps with Tasker That Anyone Can Use
When anyone brings up Tasker, the first topic that always gets discussed is how powerful the Android automation app can be. But all of that power can be overwhelming for some people, so even if you're a Tasker pro, it's hard to share your awesome creations with friends that don't quite understand what's going on.
How To: Block Spam Texts with Samsung Messages
With so much of our personal data floating around the web, it's nearly impossible to get away from spam calls, texts, and emails. Unfortunately, this isn't just limited to the online world — filling in your contact information in a raffle ticket with the hope of winning that shiny new car in the mall, for instance, can often result in getting swamped with spam texts containing sketchy loan offers.
How To: Customize Your Navigation Bar on Android Nougat — No Root Needed
One of the biggest features to come out with Android O was the addition of a new System UI Tuner submenu that lets you customize the navigation bar at the bottom of your phone's screen. But as it turns out, this same feature can be enabled on devices running Android Nougat, even without root access.
How To: Disable the Redundant Screenshot Notifications on Your Samsung Galaxy Phone
An unfortunate byproduct of Samsung's One UI version of Android is redundancy, where you have the Google/AOSP way of doing things mixed with Samsung's methods at the same time.
How To: Disable Automatic Updates on Your Rooted Android Phone
One of the things you've likely gotten used to if you have a rooted Android phone is not installing OTA system updates in a typical fashion. Depending on your version of Android, you might not actually be able to swipe away that nagging update notification at all. Thankfully, there's a way to prevent your system from automatically checking for OTA updates.
How To: This TWRP Alternative Lets You Manage Magisk Modules & So Much More on OnePlus Devices
TWRP has been the king of custom recovery on Android for years now, thanks to device compatibility and core features. But there's a new player in town — at least, for OnePlus devices — and it's got a lot of useful features that might finally get you to ditch TWRP.
How To: Convert a Micro SIM Card to Fit the Nano Slot on Your HTC One M8
The new HTC One (M8) is a large phone, no doubt about it. Still, with those BoomSound speakers, 5-inch display, and 2600mAh battery, it's a wonder they managed to cram everything in that gorgeous, unibody metal shell. By that logic, it makes sense that the M8 makes the switch from a micro-SIM card to nano-SIM to save as much space as possible.
How To: Easily Change Boot Animations on Your Samsung Galaxy S5
Most Android devices allow you to simply replace a ZIP file in your /system/media folder if you want to change your boot animation. Unfortunately, though, this isn't the case for the Galaxy S5, as it's been buried deep in Samsung's TouchWiz skin.
How To: Unlock Developer Options on Your Pixel in Android 9.0 Pie
If you ever want to go beyond the basics on your Android phone, unlocking the hidden "Developer options" menu is the first thing you should try out. With it unlocked, you can change the way parts of stock Android looks, enable ADB connectivity with your computer, add visual reactions to taps, and more.
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.
News: Google Just Made It Easier to Flash Images & Sideload Updates on Your Android Device
Anyone who's ever flashed factory images to manually update an Android phone knows how tedious the process can be. Unlocking the bootloader and flashing Android firmware requires the use of ADB and Fastboot—but, like getting a whole pizza pie when all you wanted was a slice, users in the past had to download the entire Android Studio development package or SDK in order to get the two utilities.
How To: Open Snapchat Directly to Camera, Stories, Chat, and More from Anywhere on Your Pixel — Even the Lock Screen
In Android 12, you can launch the Snapchat app just by tapping the back of your Pixel phone twice. The latest Pixel update from Google improved upon the feature by giving us access to the shortcut from the lock screen. That means you're mere seconds away from snapping photos, videos, and stories. But first, you have to set up and configure where you want to land when Snapchat opens.
How To: Clear Persistent & Non-Removable Notifications on Android
When an app needs to be absolutely sure it won't be cleared from RAM by Android's memory management system, it posts a persistent, ongoing notification. Another time you'll encounter non-removable alerts is when your phone or carrier really wants you to do something, like apply an update.
How To: Enable the Hidden System UI Tuner Menu in Android Marshmallow
Android 6.0 Marshmallow is bringing in lots of changes to our favorite smartphone operating system, ranging from battery-saving tweaks like Doze to a Now on Tap feature that essentially bakes Google right into every app on your phone. But for folks that like to tweak the interface of their device, a new hidden menu might be the most exciting addition of them all.
News: Full Galaxy Note 20 & Note 20 Ultra Specifications — Price, Dates, Box Contents & More
Samsung's lineup of Galaxy Note devices for 2020 include the specs-behemoth Galaxy Note 20 Ultra and the slightly more cost-effective Galaxy Note 20. Excuse the pun, but there's a lot to unpack here in terms of unique features and hardware.
How To: Improve Data Speeds by Changing PRLs on Your Samsung Galaxy S3 for Sprint and Verizon
PRL, or Preferred Roaming List, basically tells your phone which towers to connect to first. Changing PRLs can improve reception and data speeds, and in some cases even give you access to corporate/test towers.
How To: 6 Unique Android Launchers That'll Get You to Ditch Your Stock Home Screen
I'm often reluctant to use a home screen launcher other than the stock one on my Android. Once you're well acclimated with something, complacency sets in, welcoming change with much resistance. Well, my friends, I have seen the error of my ways...
How To: Quickly Disable Fingerprints & Smart Lock in Android Pie for Extra Security
Following in iOS 11's footsteps, Android 9.0 Pie will include a security feature that lets you immediately disable the fingerprint scanner as well as extended Smart Lock features. After initiating the feature, you will be required to insert your PIN, pattern, or password before any other unlock methods will work again.
How To: Make the Volume Buttons Control Ringtones & Notifications Again in Android Pie
As a longtime Android user, one of the changes I was most excited about with Android Pie was the fact that the volume rocker finally controls media volume by default. However, the new way isn't ideal for everyone, but thankfully, there's an app that can change it back.
How To: Magically Add All the Right Emoji to Your Messages with Emojify, Gboard's New Emoji Generator
Emoji characters make messaging more fun, and Google has continuously added convenient and fun ways to insert playful symbols into your conversations using Gboard. After getting Emoji Kitchen in early 2020, we now have Emojify, a tool that automatically adds emoji to your message drafts.
How To: Unlock the Bootloader, Install TWRP, & Root the Google Play Edition HTC One
In a previous softModder guide, we converted our HTC One smartphone into a legitimate Google Play Edition HTC One, but that conversion cause our bootloader to be locked once again. So, if we ever want to convert it back to a regular Sense-style HTC One, we'll need to unlock the bootloader.