Gadget Hacks Features
Plex 101: How to Disable Theme Music for TV Shows
Overall, Plex is a great service. You just install the server on your computer, then you can stream your media library to wireless devices with the Plex app for iPhone or Android. But it does have one annoying feature that's enabled by default: Theme music plays automatically when you're viewing the details page for a TV show.
How To: The Easiest Way to View Your Step Count, Walking Distance & Flights Climbed on iPhone
Your iPhone tracks how many steps you take, how far you walk, and how many stairs you climb each day. That may seem a bit frightening, but it's all for a good reason: the Health app stores this data so you can view your progress in one place. But interestingly, opening the Health app isn't the easiest way to view this info.
News: These Android Phones Could Be Affected by Adups' Chinese Spyware
Kryptowire, a company specializing in mobile security solutions, released a report on Tuesday, November 15 that exposed firmware in a number of Android devices that was collecting personally identifying information (PII) and uploading it to third-party servers without users' knowledge.
How To: Make Your Own Halloween Masks by Modding Your Shop Vac into a Vacuum Forming Machine
You may have never heard of vacuum forming, but you use products made with the technique all the time. The lid on your coffee cup, the plastic bowls you used at last week's barbeque, and the blister packs your prescriptions come in are all made with a vacuum forming machine.
How To: Clone Any Android App on Your Samsung Galaxy Phone Without Using Any Third-Party Tools
Samsung has a cool security feature built into One UI that has an interesting side effect, one that lets you have two separate copies of any Android app on your Galaxy phone. And that's not the only integrated Samsung tool for cloning apps.
How To: Create a Collaborative Playlist on Apple Music with Your Friends
Collaboration is available in many different Apple apps, from Notes and Reminders to Photos, Freeform, and even Files. Soon you can add to the list Apple Music, which will let you collaborate on playlists with friends.
How To: Use Odin to Flash Samsung Galaxy Stock Firmware
If you own a Samsung phone and enjoy rooting or modding your device, flashing official firmware can be very useful. Odin is Samsung's own internal program for loading such updates for testing purposes, and it's quite easy to use for your own custom modification needs.
How To: Add Unsupported Cards and Passes to Apple Wallet for Quick, Easy Access on Your iPhone
Apple's Wallet app lets you store boarding passes, concert tickets, gym memberships, vaccination cards, movie stubs, rewards cards, insurance info, student IDs, and more in one place on your iPhone, and you just double-click the Home or Side button to access them. Unfortunately, many cards and passes are not officially supported — but that doesn't mean you can't add them.
How To: Your iPad Has a Hidden Built-in Calculator You're Not Using — Here's How to Unlock It
There is no iPad version of Apple's Calculator app, so you won't find it on your Home Screen, in your App Library, or as a shortcut in the Control Center. But that doesn't mean your iPad doesn't have an official calculator.
How To: Clear Your Frequently Used and Recent Emoji from Your iPhone's Keyboard
Despite its name, the Frequently Used section on your iPhone's emoji keyboard features both frequently and recently used emoji, and it may contain emoji you've never even touched. If you want to remove all of those recommendations, there's an easy way to reset what you in Frequently Used to the defaults.
How To: Turn Any Website into a Full-Screen App on Your iPhone
Not all websites need a dedicated mobile app, which is why so many don't. Web apps are now designed to scale to whatever the size of your screen is, so the mobile versions of desktop sites in your web browser are easy enough to navigate and utilize. Still, there's just something about an app on your home screen that makes it all so much easier.
How To: Prevent People Who Have Your Contact Information from Finding Your Instagram Account
Sharing your personal information can come up for any number of reasons: you may want to get in touch with a colleague after work or you've been involved in a car accident and need to stay in contact with the other driver. Unfortunately, giving out information can be the key for others to find your social media accounts, such as Instagram, whether you want it to happen or not.
How To: Use Your Smartphone as a Keyboard for Your Smart TV
With more digital content than ever, the search feature on smart TVs is essential. But typing is such a terrible experience when you're forced to use voice dictation or peck around with the remote control. Thankfully, there's a better way.
How To: Use a Different Apple ID for Apple Music Without Using Family Sharing
Your Apple Music subscription is tied to the Apple ID that subscribed, so you can stream content from any iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, or watchOS device that your Apple ID is signed in to. However, things get slightly more complicated when you want to listen to Apple Music on another device you use with a different Apple ID, such as a work iPhone. Complicated, but not impossible.
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: Set a Custom Contact Poster on Your iPhone Others Will See When You Call Them
A new feature in Apple's latest big iPhone software update lets you personalize how you appear on other people's incoming call screens and even customize individual contacts on your own incoming call screen if they don't have a preferred style to show you.
How To: These Auto-Redial Apps Can Call Busy Phone Lines Over and Over Again Until You Get Through
Some phone lines make it nearly impossible to get past the busy tone, whether it's a viral call-in giveaway, your state's unemployment office, your local post office during the holidays, or the repair office for a broken warrantied product you have. Thankfully, there are apps you can use to help break through the noise.
How To: See Passwords for All the Wi-Fi Networks You've Connected Your iPhone To
Your iPhone goes with you pretty much everywhere you go, and unless you have unlimited data on your cellular plan, you've probably connected to dozens of Wi-Fi hotspots over the years. Wi-Fi passwords are saved to your iPhone so you can auto-connect to the router or personal hotspot again, but finding the plain text password for a network hasn't always been easy.
Binance 101: How to View Your Transaction History
Given the volatility of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Ripple (XRP), it's good to keep track of your transaction history and get a better idea where you stand financially. Though tracking down past trades on Binance may seem convoluted at first, it gets surprisingly intuitive once you get the hang of it.
How To: Turn Your iPhone into a Bedside Clock, Digital Photo Frame, or Full-Screen Smart Display with iOS 17
With Apple's newest iOS software update, you can turn your iPhone into a smart display that's always on when you're not actively using it. So your iPhone can quickly transform into a bedside clock, digital photo frame, miniature HomePod, Live Activities tracker, widget-monitoring screen, and more.
How To: This iPhone Setting Instantly Improves Video Quality When Shooting in Low Light
If you shoot videos with your iPhone in low-light situations, you may not always get the results you want. And that applies when recording video in 720p, 1080p, and even 4K resolutions. But there's an easy way to maximize your video's quality when filming in dark environments.
How To: 5 Apps That Let You Make Calls Without Giving Out Your Real Number
Throwaway phones aren't just for seedy criminals and spies—they can be useful for many everyday situations.
How To: Can't Find an App on Your iPhone's Home Screen? Its Icon Is Likely Hiding from You
You know that you have the Gmail app on your iPhone. After all, you get Gmail notifications, you see it in the app switcher, it's in the Settings app, and there's an "Open" button in the App Store instead of "Get" or a download icon. But you cannot find the app on your Home Screen. If this situation sounds like something you're dealing with on iOS 14 or iOS 15, there's an easy answer.
How To: Redial Busy Phone Lines Automatically on Your iPhone or Android Phone
Whether you're calling the unemployment office, a popular radio contest, or any other phone line that gets super busy, having to recall the number manually is a pain. Whatever you do, however, don't punch in the same digits over again and again — our smartphones can help do it for us, saving our time (and sanity).
How To: The Trick to Disabling Link Previews for URLs in Your iPhone's Messages App
Apple automatically converts most URLs in the Messages app into rich link previews, but they aren't always pretty, and sometimes you just want to see the full URL instead. While there is no setting on iOS, iPadOS, or macOS that disables rich link previews in the Messages app, there is an easy way to show the URL complete with the scheme, domain name, and path.
Android 101: How to Sideload Apps by Enabling 'Unknown Sources' or 'Install Unknown Apps'
One of Android's biggest strengths relative to iOS is how simple it is to sideload apps that aren't on the official app store. Rather than having to sign IPA files or tell your phone you trust a developer every two weeks, you can just enable a setting and be done with it.
How To: Activate Your Samsung Galaxy's Vault to Keep Your Apps, Files, and History Safe from Prying Eyes and Hackers
One UI has an exciting privacy feature that lets you lock apps, photos, videos, and files on your Galaxy device behind Samsung's defense-grade Knox security platform. Only you can unlock it using a pattern, PIN, or passcode, or with biometrics like fingerprint and iris locks. It's like having a safe built right into your smartphone, and it couldn't be easier to set up.
How To: Play Pokémon Go Like a Pro with These Companion Apps for iPhone and Android Phones
When the topic of Pokémon Go comes up, the typical response is, "Do people still play it?" The answer is a resounding yes!
How To: Can't Access Any iCloud Data from a Web Browser? This Is How You Fix It
If you can't access your iCloud data such as emails, contacts, calendars, photos, notes, reminders, files, and other documents via a web browser on untrusted devices, like one at a library or friend's house, there's an easy way to regain access.
How To: Your OnePlus Home Screen Has a Built-in Step Counter
A great way to incorporate a healthy exercise routine is by taking lots of steps throughout the day. While most smartphones can track and report your steps via a third-party app, you can check them right from your home screen if you have a OnePlus phone.
How To: Prank Your WhatsApp Friends by Sending 100 Messages in Only 1 Second
When I got my first smartphone, it didn't take long before my friends and I created a game that we liked to call "Paste-Send." You see, instead of having to use T9 to type out text messages, the touch-based interface made copying and pasting incredibly easy. So that meant we could copy a piece of text, then paste it into text messages in rapid succession to text bomb the annoyed recipient. It was all in good fun, of course, and it usually evoked a stream of swear words from the guy on the oth...
How To: Resize Widgets on Your iPhone's Home Screen in iOS 14
Home screen widgets come in various sizes in iOS 14, and which size you choose will depend on how much content or data you actually want to see. But what happens when you picked the wrong widget size? In a perfect world, you would just edit the current widget's settings, but Apple didn't make it that easy.
Google Photos 101: How to Track Down & Buy Anything in Your Pictures with Google Lens
Google Lens is a fantastic addition to Google Photos for Android and iOS that allows your smartphone to identify a number of things in your pictures, like landmarks and contact info. Using this power, you can even find out how to buy almost any product you've taken a photo of — you don't even need the barcode.
How To: Boot Your Galaxy S10 into Recovery Mode & Download Mode
You don't need to be a hardcore modder to know the importance of booting your S10 into either recovery mode or download mode. In fact, these pre-boot menus are something everyone should be familiar with. The former can help you get out of soft bricks, while the latter lets you use utilities like Odin and Smart Switch to flash firmware files and fix your phone when all other solutions fail.
How To: High Heart Rate Warning on Your Apple Watch? Here's What That Means
Your Apple Watch sends you notifications from friends, family, and the apps that are important to you. Occasionally, however, the watch may scare the heck out of you with a notification warning of an abnormal, elevated heart rate. If you have no history of heart conditions, this alert might come as a shock. Why do you have a high heart rate, and what are you to do with the information?
How To: Invite People to Messenger Group Chats with a Link So They Can Join Right Away or Wait on Approval
While some of our group chats should probably remain private and closed off, others will only get better with more people. Whether you're organizing an event and need a headcount or you want to share a funny YouTube video with a large crowd, you can add all the friends you wish to on Facebook Messenger by sending them a unique link.
How To: Get Your Missing iPhone Back by Remotely Setting a Message & Contact Info on Its Lock Screen
So, you're on the way back from a restaurant and realize you left your iPhone there, but you're late for a meeting and can't go back yet. You may as well kiss that iPhone goodbye, right? Not yet, as long as the right person gets their hands on it first. But that potential do-gooder won't know to contact you, and that's where Find My iPhone's "Lost Mode" comes in handy.
How To: Gift Apps & Games to Android Users
The iTunes App Store makes it easy to buy an app or game on someone else's behalf, and it's a great way to send an iPhone user a thoughtful gift. The Google Play Store doesn't have such functionality, but there are still a few workarounds to accomplish the same goal: gifting an app to an Android user.
How To: You Need a DAC to Enjoy Apple Music's Hi-Res Lossless Audio — Here Are the Best Options
On May 17, Apple announced that Lossless Audio playback for Apple Music was finally coming to subscribers in June. The long-awaited option will let users stream songs at a much higher quality than ever before. Still, in the fine print, Apple noted that you wouldn't be able to listen to the best sound quality — Hi-Resolution Lossless — on your iPhone without a DAC.
How To: Bypass School Internet Filters to Unblock Websites
School internet filters serve a valid purpose—they keep students from wandering off into the deep corners of the web while still allowing at least some internet access. But a lot of these restrictions are completely ridiculous, to the point where some school districts block access to the educational material in National Geographic or forbid searching terms like "China," "Iran," or "Russia"—because, you know, breasts and commies.