Android Features
How To: Check if Your Phone Can Stream HD Video from Netflix, Amazon Prime Video & Other Services
It recently came to light that a number of Android phones are unable to stream HD video through services like Netflix, Google Play Movies, and Amazon Prime Video. If you're worried that your phone may be affected, there's a simple tool you can use to find out for sure if you can actually stream video in 720p or higher.
How To: Get Better Ad Blocking with This Xposed Module & AdAway
When it comes to ad blocking on Android, there's no better app than AdAway. The popular root mod filters out ads at the hosts file level, so no extra processing power is used, and your phone is literally incapable of loading most ads.
How To: 6 Easy Ways to Increase Battery Life on Your Android Device
Smartphones have otherworldly specs these days, so it's relatively uncommon that you hear someone complaining about display resolution, build quality, or general speed and performance. At best, these are secondary concerns, with the number 1 issue almost unilaterally being battery life.
How To: 10 Ways to Trick Your Android Phone into Using Less Data
Ever watched Netflix on your phone only to realize an hour later that you forgot to turn Wi-Fi on? That's a whole lot of data used.
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.
NetEase Music: The Free Service That Will Get You to Leave Spotify
We recently lost Grooveshark, the free music streaming service that supplied users with a huge catalog of free music anytime, anywhere. Since its shutdown, I have been scrambling to find a half-decent alternative, and my expectations were more than exceeded when I found NetEase Music.
How To: Hide the Notch on Any Android Phone
After several Android phones started incorporating the iPhone X's notch, the online community was vocal, with many expressing hatred for the trend. Well, thanks to XDA Forum Moderator Zacharee1, we already have an app to undo the incoming wave of notches.
How To: Customize the Navigation Buttons on Your LG V30
Many OEMs create skins that run on top of Android to differentiate themselves from their competitors. One example is the LG UX 6.0+ found in the new LG V30, which is Android at its core, but improved upon by the addition of unique features. One such feature is the ability to change the buttons at the bottom of your screen.
How To: Root, Unlock, & Restore Your OnePlus One with Bacon Root Toolkit
Keeping your OnePlus One running smoothly can be taxing, especially if you spend most of your day looking for ways to tweak performance settings like me. Sometimes I get lucky and end up with a faster phone, but because I experiment so much, I often end up restoring it back to stock. This process can get old really quick, but when I started using the Bacon Root Toolkit from WugFresh, it became exponentially easier.
How To: Add a Screen Timeout Tile to Android Nougat's Quick Settings Panel
A new feature in Android Nougat lets you add your own custom tiles to the Quick Settings panel. This menu, which can be accessed by swiping down from the top of any screen, lets you quickly adjust settings and toggle system features on and off. So now that it's been opened up for third-party development, we're starting to see all sorts of cool and useful tiles roll in.
News: Galaxy S8s Are Experiencing Screen Burn-in & It's Not Just the Home Button
Last week, the internet was ablaze with talk about the Galaxy S8's home button, because it subtly changes positions without the phone alerting you. This feature was included to stop burn-in issues with the screen, and the general consensus from tech sites was the screens would not experience any burn-in at all.
Important: Back Up Your Galaxy Note 3's EFS & IMEI Data for Emergency Restores
The options for customization are virtually endless when you're rooted and have an unlocked bootloader and custom recovery. However, there is always risk involved when flashing new mods or installing new ROMs. I always make backups in case something happens, but when I'm testing certain mods out, I sometimes get a damaged EFS partition.
How To: Unlock the Bootloader on Your LG G6 (T-Mobile Variant)
Preorders for the LG G6 have all been fulfilled, and the phone has been up for grabs at local cell phone providers for three weeks now. However, not every LG G6 was created and released equally. The T-Mobile variant of the LG G6 features an unlockable bootloader, while most other North American variants come with a tightly locked down bootloader, which effectively limits the full potential of your brand new fairly expensive phone.
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.
How To: StepLock Makes You Exercise to Use Your Favorite Android Apps
Most newer Android devices manufactured in 2014 or later have a built-in pedometer for tracking your fitness activity. This step counter is a great way to keep yourself in shape and motivated, but developer Leonardo Cavaletti has come up with an even better way to put it to use.
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: Get Fast Access to Your Most Used Apps, Shortcuts, & Toggles from Any Screen
We all have apps that we use most frequently, or system preferences that we're regularly adjusting. Whether it's Netflix or a new game that you're hooked on, there are times when you want quick and easy access versus searching for them, even if they're on your home screen.
How To: Get Instant Answers Right from Chrome's Search Bar
Google continues to be the most commonly-used search engine for a reason. While continuing to stay ahead of the pack with advanced semantic search functions, Google even introduced Knowledge Graph results that offer key information without ever having to click a search result.
How To: Get Custom Lock Screen Widgets on Your Samsung Galaxy S5
Stock Android has come with lock screen widget support for a couple of years now, ever since the days of the first Ice Cream Sandwich build. But for some reason, Samsung decided to remove this feature in the Galaxy S5.
How To: Get a Standard Android Home Screen on Your Kindle Fire
Stocked with a 7-inch LCD display and 323 PPI (pixels per inch), the Kindle Fire HDX is one of the best tablets on the market for enjoying some great literature or entertaining streaming services—and I take full advantage of what this device offers.
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: Get the New Clock & Camera Apps from Android O on Your Nexus or Pixel
Android O doesn't have an official code name yet, but it's certainly got plenty of cool new features. The OS won't officially debut until Q3 2017, but we've gotten our hands on some of the updated stock apps thanks to the Android beta program.
How To: Get Apple's 3D Touch Feature on Android
Apple's latest round of devices—including the MacBook Pro, Apple Watch, and the iPhone 6S—use a new touch input method that can detect when you've applied a bit more force than usual. Dubbed "Force Touch" ("3D Touch" on the new iPhones), this gesture simulates a long-press or right-click, but it usually requires special hardware to detect the amount of pressure you've applied.
How To: Tired of the Play Store? Use the Amazon Appstore on Your Nexus 7 Instead (& Get Free Daily Apps!)
In a previous article, I pointed out a few criticisms of the Google Play Store, mostly about how unpolished and inefficient it is. To give you a better idea of what I mean, here are just a few of my complaints with the Play Store:
How To: Quickly Share & Receive Large Files from Other Devices Without Using Wi-Fi
Sending and receiving files between Android devices has no shortage of options—Bluetooth, email, MMS, and Wi-Fi are just a few of the more popular ones that we use.
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: Turn Your Phone's Screen On Just by Waving
The Samsung Galaxy S6 includes a pretty nifty feature known as "Gesture wake up," which lets users wave their hand over their locked display to wake it, making those periodic notification checks from the lock screen a lot more simple than having to press the power or home key every time.
How To: Reduce Lag & Boost Performance for Games on Your Nexus 5
Aside from the newer HTC One M8 and Samsung Galaxy S5, the Nexus 5 still has one of the fastest processors on the market today. However, despite its superpowers, some graphically intensive games can still have a bit of lag to them during gameplay.
How To: Speed Up Transitions & Animations on Your Galaxy S9
Samsung just launched their Galaxy S9 flagship, with preorders shipping in the US already. The Galaxy S9 is an amazing smartphone, with a number of advanced features. Despite this, over time your S9 or S9+ may slow down a bit more than you would like. Thankfully, there is a longstanding trick in the Android community that can speed things up a bit.
How To: Make a Panic Button That Deletes All Your Google History in Seconds
We all know Google keeps a history of everything we do on our phones unless we say otherwise. However, you might not realize just how detailed it is until you check it for yourself — even the actions you do in each app are tracked by default.
How To: Increase Text Size in Google Chrome for Android
There are many reasons you might want to increase your text size in Google Chrome. The browser's accessibility options have a few tools to help the readability of text on websites. Changing the text scale, enabling zooming, and toggling the simplified view can customize Google Chrome to be perfect for you.
How To: Running Out of Disk Space? Stream Music & Video Files from Your PC to Your Nexus 7 Tablet Anywhere, Anytime
A single movie download can consume a good ten percent of the storage on your Nexus 7 tablet, unless you went all crazy and opted for the 32GB model. Even then you're bound to run out of space fast, especially if you're like me and have tons of media files you want readily accessible on your tablet.
How To: Mod Your Nexus 7 to Make Netflix & YouTube Show You More Video Options on the Screen
Ever use Nexflix and YouTube on Your Nexus 7 tablet? It sucks! The menus are too big and not enough videos are shown on the screen. What gives?!?
How To: Use the Best Root-Level Customization Tool for Android
With certain apps and games, it's all about the settings. In order to get your money's worth with one of these, you simply have to take the time to tweak and adjust various options, which is something a lot of users don't necessarily want to do.
How To: Jazz Up Boring Screenshots with Phone Frames & Custom Backgrounds
For the most part, when you take a screenshot, it's because you intend on sharing it with someone. And, of course, we all take pride in our smartphones, so we want to show them off as much as possible. But the downside here is that regular screenshots are pretty boring, so they don't do a great job of showing anything off, really.
How To: Transfer Your Stardew Valley Saves from Your Computer to Android
When Stardew Valley launched back in 2016 on Steam for PC, it was instantly deemed a success for steering the RPG farming simulator genre back on the right track. Before its release, we hadn't seen too much in this particular field of games that caught the eye of the general public. Since then, the mega-hit Stardew Valley has made its way to the mobile world of Android and iOS.
How To: Never Miss Important Dates Again with These Countdown Widgets & Apps for Your Nexus 7 Tablet
I can't begin to tell you how many times I've forgotten a special day or event. Once, I even showed up to class where everyone was turning in essays while I sat there empty-handed. Important dates sneak up on us. Especially one-time events we just can't wait for, like the release of a new movie when we count down the days, minutes, and hours.
News: Why Pixel Root & Custom Recovery Methods Are Taking Longer Than Usual
In the past, some of Google's Nexus devices have had root methods even before the phones hit shelves. The Google Pixel and Pixel XL are basically Nexus devices from a software standpoint, so why have we gone more than a week since release without a working root method or custom recovery?
How To: Nuke All Notifications for New Apps in Android 13 — Then Bring Them Back Again When Needed
One of Android's headlining strengths has always been how it handles notifications, and things have only improved with each new update. More recently, Android has improved notification permissions, so you'll have a choice of whether to receive notifications as soon as you first open an app. It's easy to permit or deny these permissions, but it's just as easy to reverse your decision.
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.