Gadget Hacks How-Tos
How To: 7 Hacks That Will Make Text Messaging Faster & More Fun on Your iPhone
WhatsApp may be one of the most popular mobile messaging services around since it's multi-platform, but if most of your family and friends use iPads and iPhones, there's no need to go beyond the stock Messages app.
How To: Get Back Your Galaxy S4's Missing Apps After Updating to Android 4.4.2 KitKat
Many Samsung Galaxy S4 users, specifically for Sprint, are reporting that the latest KitKat upgrade to Android 4.4.2 is causing some strange behavior.
How To: Android 4.4.2 KitKat Update Rolling Out Right Now for Your AT&T Samsung Galaxy S4
The newest version of Android, 4.4.2 KitKat, is making its way onto AT&T Samsung Galaxy S4s right now. Itching to try out the latest that Google has to offer? Keep an eye on your status bar for a notification letting you know that a system update is ready.
How To: Send Shutdown, Sleep, & Other Commands to Your PC Remotely from Your Galaxy Note 2
You probably use your smartphone to mostly surf the web, play games, and communicate with others, but there's so much more it can do. Thanks to integrated features and third-party apps, you can seamlessly control things around your home, including your TV, tablet, Bluetooth speakers, and even lighting fixtures.
How To: Patch the SSL Bug Without Updating Your Jailbroken iPad or iPhone to iOS 7.0.6
Last week, Apple issued an iOS 7.0.6 update that fixed a serious security vulnerability that could allow hackers to steal passwords, read emails, and get info from other SSL-encrypted communications.
How To: Keep Nosy Friends Out of Your Apps by Password Protecting Them on Your iPad or iPhone
As respectful as you may be, it's hard to resist looking through someone's iPhone when given the chance. You're not trying to snoop around, but it's just too easy to open up apps and read embarrassing emails or find scandalous Instagram follows. It's like looking through a digital diary riddled with deep, dark secrets.
How To: Install the Xposed Framework on Your HTC One for Super Easy Customization
There are plenty of ways to customize your stock HTC One (or any Android device), from playing retro games to adding rotating live wallpapers. But to get the most out of your device, you need root access.
How To: Enable 3D Transitional Effects When Swiping Through Your iPhone Home Screen
There are a lot of cool new features in iOS 8 that weren't available in previous iOS versions, but it's still lacking overall in terms of customization.
How To: Turn Your Nexus 4 into an Android/iOS Hybrid
Alright, I'll admit it, iOS can be quite nice. Android loyalist that I may be, I'm not so stubborn that I can't recognize a good thing when I see it. Apple's iOS has a lot of strengths, and our Nexus 4s, god bless 'em, are growing a little long in the tooth.
How To: Add Endless Scrolling to Home Screen Pages & App Folders on Your iPad or iPhone
When you're scrolling through your iPhone's home screens, you'll inevitably reach the end and have to either swipe backwards or hit the Home button to return to the first page. Why Apple didn't instill an endless scrolling feature, or at the very least an option for it, is anyone's guess, but just because you can't do it out of the box doesn't mean you can't do it.
How To: Jot Down a Quick Reminder Note Instantly from Anywhere on Your iPhone
Jotting quick notes can be a pain. There have been countless occasions where I've needed a pen and paper to quickly write something down, but either didn't have them near me or was doing something on my phone and neglected to remember.
How To: Install Firefox OS (& Other Experimental ROMs) On Your Nexus 5 Without Any Risk
You probably already know by now that a custom Android ROM can change your user experience and give you what feels like a new OS on your device, and there's no shortage of them out there to try out.
How To: Change the Color, Position, Shape, & Size of Badge Alert Icons in iOS 7 (Plus, Animate Them!)
Once you jailbreak, there are hundreds of options available for you to fully customize your boring stock iPhone into something more efficient and fun. We've already shown you a bunch, like how to beautify app icons and change battery icons, but now it's time for a badge alert makeover.
How To: Improve Your Samsung Galaxy S3's Math Skills with Calculator Themes & Gestures
Sometimes you need more than just your brain to split the bill at a restaurant or to calculate how much your cable company is ripping you off.
How To: Turn Your iPad or iPhone's Bland Keyboard Blue with This Easy iOS 7 Tweak
Keyboards tend to get overlooked as we rapidly text or type up emails, but when we do find the time to look at it, it's pretty bland. That's why we showed you how to spruce things up with a dark keyboard on your iPhone, which served as my default keyboard...until now.
How To: Translate Languages on the Fly with This Floating Translator for Your Samsung Galaxy S3
Parlez-vous français? While we all wish we were fluent in multiple languages like Jason Bourne, most of us are probably one-trick ponies. When traveling abroad, or even when taking language courses, having a translator handy is extremely important.
How To: Enable Unknown Sources on Your HTC One to Install Apps Not Found on Google Play
There are plenty of times where you'd want to install an app, but either the developer or Google has taken the app off the Play Store (like with Flappy Bird). To bypass the need for Google Play, you can just download the app's APK from a reliable source on the internet and install it manually.
How To: Add the Local Weather to Your iPhone's Status Bar for a Quick Glance Forecast
While it may not serve much of a purpose here in sunny Los Angeles, it's still a good idea to keep constant tabs on the weather forecast, because you don't want anything to rain on your parade.
How To: Save Battery Power by Pairing Wi-Fi Connections with Cell Tower Signals on Your Galaxy Note 3
Leaving your Wi-Fi radio "on" allows your smartphone to auto-connect to trusted wireless networks in lieu of using cellular data, but it also consumes battery power while it's constantly network hunting.
How To: Sync Your Galaxy S3's Music with Any Android Device Without Using Group Play
Whenever a new version of a phone comes out, there's always that one cool feature you wish you had on yours. For me, that's Group Play.
How To: Speed Dial Securely from Your iPhone's Lock Screen with Custom Passcode Contacts
Locking up your iPhone with a passcode prevents mischievous friends from looking at your pics and emails, and makes it harder for thieves to access your data before you get around to wiping it. For even more security, there's the password option, which gives you more than just 4 lonely digits.
How To: Close Hidden Running Apps on Apple iPhone 5C
Quick video that will show you how to close applications that are running in the background on your Apple iPhone 5C. This will help to save your battery life.
How To: Play Game Boy Advance & Game Boy Color Games on Your iPad or iPhone—No Jailbreaking!
Normally, you'd have to jailbreak your iPad or iPhone to play any games that aren't available in the iOS App Store, like the now-extinct Flappy Bird game. But this isn't the case if you want to play some of your favorite old school Nintendo classics.
How To: Unlock Your Nexus 7 with These Free Mini Lock Screen Games
Sometimes it's the little things that make our days better, like finding a dollar in our recently washed jeans or a box of donuts in the lunch room. But your Nexus 7 tablet's lock screen isn't typically one of those things—it's just a lock screen after all.
How To: Get Rid of the Obtrusive Popup Box When Adjusting Video Volume in iOS 7.1
As obtrusive as they come, the translucent volume control window that appears in iOS 7 takes up a lot of screen real estate. It's extremely annoying when watching videos, appearing directly in the middle of the movie you're viewing for several seconds any time you adjust the audio levels with the volume rockers.
How To: Stop Those Annoying Persistent Notifications on Your Samsung Galaxy S3 for Good
I love getting notifications for every email received on my Samsung Galaxy S3 and whenever a download finishes, but there are some alerts I could definitely do without.
How To: Install Jailbreak Tweaks on Your iPhone Without Cydia or iFile
There are a ton of great mods and tweaks available in Cydia, but occasionally there will be one you want to install that hasn't quite made it into one of the main repositories yet. If you're not patient, it can be still be installed by manually placing the .deb file directly onto your device and installing it with iFile.
How To: Stop Retail Stores from Tracking You While Shopping with Your Galaxy Note 3
Pretty soon, every restaurant and store you walk into will know exactly what you're doing. Retail analytics companies like Euclid, ShopperTrak, RetailNext, and Prism Skylabs have penetrated hundreds of food shops and retail stores across the country, installing sensors that track and log customers' moves while they dine and shop.
How To: Use a Fake Low Battery Icon on Your iPhone to Politely Refuse Anyone from Borrowing It
Unless you're using something like 360 Vault to store photos and videos, people you lend your iPhone to can easily browse through the gallery without you knowing. It makes me anxious just thinking about it.
How To: Build a DIY Blog Without Being a Guru: Simple and Easy
Do you have a passion that you would like to share with the world, but not sure how to do it. If so, that was my story too. I knew the niche I wanted to share, but I had no computer, video editing, website, or any other digital experience.
How To: Get Automatically Expanded Notifications on Your Samsung Galaxy S4
Back when 4.1 Jelly Bean came out (boy, how time flies), Android introduced expandable notifications. Depending on the notification, a simple swipe down with your finger could expand it and show extra content, like Delete and Reply buttons for Gmail messages.
How To: Instantly Create Important Reminder Notes After Every Phone Call on Your Galaxy S3
I can be pretty forgetful. If there's something important to remember, I need to jot it down right away or risk losing it forever.
How To: Play NES Game ROMs on Your iPad or iPhone—No Jailbreak Required
Apple hates game emulators. Go ahead, look around in the iOS App Store, you won't find any. But who needs 'em anyway?
How To: Store All Incoming Snapchat Photos on Your iPhone Without Notifying the Senders
Snapchat is great for sharing and receiving pictures that we don't want "living" for too long, but sometimes we'd like to hold onto those memories, whether the other party wants us to or not.
How To: Stream Any Video from Your Android or iOS Device to Chromecast
Recently, Google unleashed the Chromecast development kit, which lets developers add Chromecast streaming functionality to their own apps. However, there aren't many apps with Chromecast capabilities yet, and big companies and devs are still working on polishing their final products.
How To: Hide Secret Photos & Videos Inside an Unsuspicious, Functional Clock on Your Galaxy S3
No matter how careful or decent you are, there will always be pictures or videos that you want to keep private. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but if someone were to go through my photo gallery, only one word would be coming out of my mouth—"%@&#!!"
How To: Root Your Nexus 7 Tablet Running Android 4.4 KitKat (Mac Guide)
Just because you have a Mac doesn't mean you can't root your Nexus 7 tablet. In fact, rooting Android 4.4 KitKat on both the 2013 and original 2012 N7 models is easy, if not easier than rooting it using a Windows PC.
How To: Get Full Screen App Previews in Your iPhone's Multitasking Menu
We've always been able to switch between running apps pretty easily, but iOS 7 beefed up the multitasking menu significantly by incorporating app previews in lieu of just icons.
How To: Get the New Google Now Launcher on Your Samsung Galaxy S3
The app formerly known as Google Experience Launcher is now officially called the Google Now Launcher in honor of its most prominent feature, Google Now. Only problem is, this launcher is still exclusive to the Nexus 5 smartphone.
How To: Get Sony's Exclusive Media Apps (Album, Movies, & Walkman) on Your Samsung Galaxy Note 3
The Xperia Z1, Sony's flagship device, has been extremely popular overseas, so much so that it has made its way into the U.S. market as the Xperia Z1S, a modified version of the original. Known more commonly as the "waterproof smartphone," the Xperia Z1 packs one of the most powerful cameras on the market, with an impressive 20.7 megapixels. Since the device is only available for T-Mobile here in the States, unless you currently have that carrier, the chances of you getting your hands on Sony...