Hot Gadget Hacks Posts
How To: Use Wireless ADB in Samsung's One UI 3.0 (It's Actually Pretty Easy)
Samsung's One UI 3.0 skin is built on top of Google's Android 11 open source code base, which means you get all of the standard features, plus some cool bonus stuff from Samsung. However, it's one of those standard AOSP features that you might find most useful if you send a lot of ADB commands.
Android Basics: How to Root with CF Auto Root
The sheer variety of Android devices on the market is staggering—one report suggests there are well over 24,000 distinct phones and tablets floating around out there. When you consider that each manufacturer adds a few tweaks to the Android code base here and there, that makes for a lot of software variations, which in turn means there needs to be many different root methods to match this variety.
How To: Change Your Home Screen Icon Shapes on Android 10
For those of you who like to frequently change the icon shapes on your home screen, the process has changed in Android 10. The setting is buried and now applies to more than just home screen icons.
How To: Get Rid of Persistent Wallet Suggestions on Your iPhone's Lock Screen
When it comes to paying with Apple Pay, showing your rewards number or coupon at a store, or paying for your coffee with a digital gift card, Apple Wallet is as convenient as it gets. But one issue you'll probably experience at least once on your iPhone is a persistent notification on your lock screen to view or use one of your passes — even if you're not somewhere you can actually use 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: Collaborate on Pages Documents with Friends & Colleagues
Google Docs is made for teamwork and collaboration, but Apple's iWork suite also comes with the same functionality. If you're working on a Pages document on your iPhone, and you want input from other members of your team, you can easily invite them to view, comment, edit, and more right alongside you.
How To: Remove Widgets from Your iPhone's Lock Screen
Widgets are great ... if you actually use them. A quick swipe right on the lock screen will reveal the Today view and its widgets, and it's very easy to accidentally open. Plus, others can see your widgets without any authentication. You could manually remove every widget, but that wouldn't prevent the right-swipe from opening the Today view. There is a way, however, to disable the page entirely.
How To: Google Actually Has 4 Different 'Assistants'—Here's the Best One for You
The new Google Assistant is only officially available on three platforms—newer Android phones (Pixels and those running Marshmallow and Nougat), the Google Allo app, and Google Home. However, most of the Assistant's basic functionality is also bundled into the Google app for Android and iOS, which used to go by the name Google Now, but is now referred to only as Screen Search or your Google app's Feed.
How To: Put Music on Your iPhone Without Using iTunes
There are quite a few flaws with Apple's mobile products, and one that drives me crazy is their reliance upon iTunes for all your music syncing needs. If you want a song on your iPhone, you pretty much have to use iTunes to get it on there. Either that or buy it directly from the iTunes app on your device.
How To: The Easiest Way to Transfer Files to Others with Your Web Browser
These days, there is no shortage of ways to exchange files to and from friends and family: text messages, email, Bluetooth transfer, and cloud services are just a tiny sliver of what you can use to share music, photos, videos, and more.
How To: Install Firesheep Firefox add-on on a Microsoft Windows PC
Need a hand figuring out how to install the Firesheep Firefox add-on on your Microsoft Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7 PC? This clip presents a complete walkthrough of the process. For all of the details, and to get started using the Firesheep cookie sniffer yourself, watch this hacker's how-to.
How To: The Best Way to Send High-Quality Videos from Android to iPhone
Being an Android user and having friends who are in the Apple ecosystem does not need to be a pain. You can easily send high-quality videos to iPhone users, so don't feel handicapped without access to iMessage. Sending high-resolution videos to iOS users is easy with this fast video-sharing method.
How To: Switch Between Bluetooth Accessories in 1 Tap on Android
Back in Android 9, Google took away the expanding mini-menu for Bluetooth connections. The way it used to be, you could long-press the Bluetooth toggle in your Quick Settings, then the panel would turn into a fast-access menu for Bluetooth settings. It was a fairly minor feature, but dropping it has made it a lot harder to switch between your various Bluetooth accessories.
How To: The Best Camera Settings to Use on Your Galaxy S9
One of the biggest improvements with the Galaxy S9 and S9+ is the redesigned camera, with the latter scoring an impressive 99 overall on DxOMark. But with an abundance of features and enhancements, tweaking the camera's settings for optimal performance can be a little confusing.
How To: Still Missing Live Photos on Your Android? Try These 3 Apps
Apple didn't invent the concept of photos with videos embedded (that credit goes to HTC and their Zoe feature), but they sure did popularize this functionality when they came out with Live Photos. If you're jealous of iPhone users, you certainly don't need to be — there are several great ways to recreate Live Photos on Android.
How To: Stop Deleting iPhone Notifications One by One — Clear All Alerts at Once by Doing This
If you're like me, no matter how hard you try, your iPhone's notifications are a mess. There's just too many of them. That's when it becomes helpful just to get rid of the whole bunch and start fresh. However, deleting alerts one at a time is as tedious as it is unnecessary since you can clear all of your notifications at once.
How To: Extract an RFID chip from a card & make it wearable
Here's how to remove the RFID chip and antenna from a London Oyster travelcard. You can then put it in anything you want. You need a jar and acetone.
Bedtime Mode: How to Keep Notifications from Distracting You at Night on iOS 12
Let's say you wake up in the middle of the night and check your phone to see the time. As soon as you do, you're greeted by a wall of notifications on your lock screen. You just wanted to know how much longer you could sleep, but now your mind's racing after seeing all of the messages you need to deal with. Thankfully, iOS 12's new Bedtime Mode has a solution for this problem.
How To: Send an email from computer to cellphone
Ever need to text someone, but don't want to use up your texting limits? Or you want to text someone, but your phone doesn't have texting capabilities? As long as you're near a computer, this video has you covered.
How To: 14 New FaceTime Features You Need to Be Using on Your iPhone with iOS 17
While new features in Safari, Camera, Photos, Notes, Weather, Messages, and other Apple apps may steal the show on iOS 17, there are some impressive new features you need to know about when it comes to FaceTime audio and video calls.
Signal 101: How to Register Using a Google Voice Number
Signal Private Messenger is famous for its end-to-end encryption, but you can't even use the messaging app without having a real phone number attached to it. Luckily, there is a way around this limitation, so you can use Signal even if you don't have a valid SIM card in your smartphone.
How To: Download and install the Firesheep Mozilla Firefox browser add-on
Eager to try the Firesheep Firefox extension yourself? It stands to reason that you'll need to download and install it from its official GitHub page first. You'll find all the details, including easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions on how to find and run the Firesheep XPI installer, in the clip. Get started capturing your friends' Facebook passwords with this video guide.
How To: Enable WPA3 on Your Google Wifi Network to Beef Up Wireless Security
Google recently released a new mesh router known as Nest Wifi. The updated and rebranded Google Wifi brought many improvements, such as faster processing power and an increased level of wireless security called WPA3. But while it's not enabled by default, you can still get the new WPA3 security on your original Google Wifi.
How To: Get Google Home Reminders on Your iPhone So You Never Forget an Important Task
Smart home speakers, such as Google Home and Apple HomePod, are must-have accessories if you're trying to turn your home into a smart home. While HomePod is made to be used with the Apple ecosystem, the less-expensive Google Home can also be used with your iPhone — in more ways than you'd think.
Great Deal: Free Facebook Timeline Business Cards
When you're meeting new people, chances are they're no longer interested in collecting your phone number or email address. Instead, they're more interested to see if you have a Facebook account. So, what's a better way to get connected online in the offline world than a business card of your Facebook Timeline? The new cover image and info section on your profile makes for a great Facebook business (or personal) card.
How To: Record Your Sleep Patterns with Samsung Health — No Wearables Needed
The quality and length of your sleep will almost always dictate how the rest of your day unfolds. Sleeping fewer hours increases your chances of spending the day in a tired and cranky state, while having a restful night's sleep contributes greatly to being alert and productive. Luckily, if you want to track your sleep patterns to figure out how you can improve your circadian rhythm, Samsung Health has you covered.
How To: The Easiest Way to Increase Audio Quality on Any Android Device
When you think of high quality music, your phone isn't the first thing to pop into your mind, even though 68% of US smartphone owners stream music on a daily basis. Most of us tolerate the audio quality from our devices simply because music is something we can't live without — but we shouldn't have to put up with poor quality, and as it turns out, we don't.
How To: Improve Your Pokémon's Stats in Pokémon GO
In Pokémon GO, having an in-depth understanding of your Pokémon's stats and abilities is crucially important to becoming a better player. Not all Pokémon are created equal; as such, it's critical that you look at each of your Pokémon—even duplicates—with a keen eye.
How To: Find Google eBooks in the New Google eBookstore (+ Find Free Books to Download)
Google's much anticipated eBook Store has finally opened. As of today, the digital bookselling enterprise is awaiting your needs, with over 3 million eBooks to read directly on the web or on other platforms, like Android, iPhone, iPad, Sony and Nook devices.
How To: Use iOS 17's Live Voicemail Feature on Your iPhone — Everything You Need to Know
Visual Voicemail revolutionized phone calls and the voicemail system when Apple introduced it with the original iPhone. Now, thanks to iOS 17, Apple has done it again with its newest calling feature, Live Voicemail. This feature uses speech-to-text technology to show you voicemail transcriptions on the incoming call screen in real time, helping you decide if it's important enough to answer the call.
How To: The Secret to Laying Down on Your Side with Headphones On
It's nearly impossible to comfortably lay down on your bed or couch with headphones on. Sure, you can position yourself so that your headphones don't touch anything, but that usually means facing up at the ceiling, which is a huge no if you're watching something on Netflix or listening to music on your side.
How To: Use These Price Trackers to Find On-Sale and Newly Free Apps for Your iPhone or iPad
To the end user, mobile apps are sometimes expensive. To the developers, those costs are justified for all the hard work put into making the apps. Sometimes app creators will meet in the middle by putting their apps on sale or giving them away for a limited time to gain more traction in the App Store.
Canvas Fingerprinting: How to Stop the Web's Sneakiest Tracking Tool in Your Browser
Canvas fingerprinting is the web's trickiest privacy threat, but it's not impossible to stop. With all the media attention it's gotten lately, it's time we lay out exactly how to detect and prevent this invasive tracking technique.
How To: Enable the Qualcomm DAC on Your Snapdragon-Powered Phone for Superior Audio
Every phone powered by a Qualcomm processor has a built-in WCD9xx Audio DAC, but it's rarely configured to be used to its full potential by OEMs. This might not seem like a problem to some people, but if you're a music lover, or you simply enjoy high-quality sound, it's an issue you'll definitely want to fix.
How To: Home Screen Customization Just Got Even Better for iPhone with 15 Important New Features
The home screen is the most important part of your iPhone when it comes to customization, and Apple just gave us even more options to personalize it.
How To: Use Voice Commands in Google Maps to Start Navigation or Add a Stop
In about 27% of all car crashes, someone was using their cell phone. You may think texting is the big problem here, but many fail to realize that even the smallest smartphone interaction could spell disaster. Thankfully, Google Maps has rolled out an overdue feature that'll help ensure a safer drive.
How To: The 5 Best Meal Tracking Apps for Managing Your Diet & Counting Calories
Whether it's for health reasons or just to look better, many of us want to get in shape. It's a long process that starts with nutrition, and dieting is never easy. Fortunately, there are some great food-tracking apps that will make it a lot easier to become a healthier version of yourself.
How To: 5G Data Won't Work on Your New iPhone 12 or 12 Pro Unless You Do This
One thing you can expect from Apple is that big features work right out of the box. The company designs its products to be easy to use for any experience level, so you might expect the same to be true for 5G, one of the biggest selling points for the iPhone 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max. Yet, you might have trouble getting 5G to work on your brand new iPhone. Here's how to avoid that.
How To: Activate Developer Options on Your Galaxy S9
You don't need to have a fully modded and rooted Galaxy S9 to appreciate what developer options brings to the table. Besides the obvious USB debugging, which lets you use ADB, this hidden menu lets you tweak your phone's animations or change its DPI to better suit your needs — and that's just the tip of the iceberg.
How To: Activate Modules After Installation in Xposed Installer
Created by by XDA developer rovo89, the Xposed Framework allows you to quickly search for, download, and install new modules that allow various forms of customization for your Android device.