Gadget Hacks How-Tos

How To: Fix Screen Burn-In on Your Galaxy S8 (& Prevent It from Happening Again)

Everyone's been talking about Samsung's new Galaxy S8 and S8+, but not all of the chatter is positive. The fingerprint scanner is in an awkward location, the North American variant is simply not as smooth and fluid as the international model, and Samsung Experience is nothing more than TouchWiz with a bow on it. But perhaps worst of all, user reports are starting to roll in that indicate the Galaxy S8 may have a serious problem with premature screen burn-in.

How To: Fix Laggy Touchscreen Responsiveness on the OnePlus 3 & 3T

The OnePlus 3 and 3T are a pair of phones which allow you to do practically anything you want, because OnePlus is such a developer-friendly company. They almost always release kernel sources, and their phones sport an unlockable bootloader that doesn't void the warranty. But while their software is certainly solid (miles ahead of Samsung's TouchWiz), it still has room for improvement.

Gaming: Play 'Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow' on Your Android Before Its Official Release

Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow has finally touched down as a soft launch for Android. Join Fry and his lovable band of interstellar misfits on a quest to rebuild New New York, traveling the stars, fighting aliens, and delivering packages while doing so. As with any city building and quest game, progressing through the game equals leveling up, which in turn unlocks new buildings and outfits to further beautify your characters and the city they live in. And the best part of all, Futurama's creato...

How To: Get Your World of Warcraft Fix with This RPG Game for iPhone

The world of mobile gaming is flush with MMORPGs that entice players with console-quality graphics and gameplay, intense co-op dungeons similar to World of Warcraft, and epic loot that'll give you a leg up over your competition. While there are games like Order & Chaos that nearly match PC-based RPGs, most simply fail to measure up. But the latest entry in this genre, Crusaders of Light, may finally get players to ditch their computers for iPhones and iPads to get their online RPG fix. Crusad...

How To: 3 Ways to Unlock Your Samsung Galaxy S8 Faster — Without Using the Fingerprint Scanner

A great many S8 and S8+ users have undoubtedly spent quite a bit of time figuring out ways to unlock their new Galaxy in as few steps as possible. One of the most endearing features of previous Galaxy models was the ability to unlock the phone by pressing the home button and momentarily leaving your finger there for the sensor to do its job, almost instantaneously opening the device — all without having to pick up the phone.

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: Hide the Navigation & Status Bars on Your Galaxy S8 for Even More Screen Real Estate — No Root Needed

The Samsung Galaxy S8's almost bezel-less display is truly a sight to behold, especially when set to Immersive Mode. While transparent when on the home screen, the navigation and status bars on the S8 will often turn opaque depending on what app you're using at the moment. This, in turn, can detract from the overall experience when viewing anything from the S8's display, as the bars along the top and bottom of the screen bump the phone's aspect ratio down to lower levels.

How To: Gamify Diagnostics on Your Android Phone

Running diagnostics on your Android phone can be a very tedious process. More often than not, you need to key in dialer codes to see if your device's hardware is functioning properly, though you can also download apps — but these are often hard to understand for a layperson. When a smaller component like a proximity sensor fails, you're often left with no other choice but to take it to a professional.

How To: 3 Great Apps for Reverse Phone Number Lookup on Android

As much as you try to safeguard your personal information, you may have made a small mistake by giving your phone number to the wrong entity, and now you're being bombarded with dozens of spam calls every day. To help parse your call log and reject the proper numbers without answering or trudging through voicemail, a good reverse phone lookup app is needed.

How To: Force SoundCloud & Pandora to Use an Equalizer

Most music streaming services will either use the stock Android equalizer or their own built-in equalizer. A couple of apps, such as Spotify, bring both to the table. Spotify has a built-in equalizer which kicks into play when a system or third-party equalizer isn't detected. However, other apps such as SoundCloud and Pandora don't use the installed equalizer even if it's a system-wide one.

How To: Use Substratum to Completely Theme Your Android Marshmallow or Nougat Device

Perhaps one of CyanogenMod's greatest features was its built-in theme engine. It wasn't perfect, but it got the job done and gave users a unique look. Now that CyangenMod is defunct, and the developers behind its successor, LineageOS, have confirmed they won't be continuing the theme engine, users have to find another way to theme their devices. No need to fear, though, Substratum is here.

How To: Install Multiple Equalizers on Your Phone with This Magisk Module

DSP Manager, Dolby Atmos, ViPER4Android — how are you supposed to pick just one from the wide variety of Android equalizers? Depending on your OEM, your phone may have come with a stock equalizer, but they're usually not enough. Combine them with a third-party equalizer, and then we're getting somewhere. However, installing multiple equalizers at the same time has always seemed to cause audio glitches — until now.

How To: Use the Puffin Browser to Play Flash Games on Android Without Wasting Data

Once upon a time, Flash games reigned as some of the best entertainment the internet had to offer. But then came the smartphone, which quickly overtook this genre with similar games that you could play no matter where you were. If you yearn for the good old days, though, you'll be happy to know that you can still use the Puffin browser to safely play old favorites and discover new gems.

How To: Boot Your Galaxy S8 or S8+ into Recovery Mode or Download Mode

Samsung devices have two pre-boot menus that every Galaxy owner should know about: recovery mode and download mode. The recovery screen allows users to wipe cache files or perform a factory reset, which can help save the phone from a soft brick. Download mode, on the other hand, allows you to flash firmware files using utilities like Odin and Smart Switch, which can truly be a lifesaver.

How To: Play DuelBeats on Your iPhone or Android Before Anyone Else

Fans of rhythm tap games and traditional one-on-one fighters finally have something to bring them closer together. DuelBeats, a fighting game that lets you perform moves by tapping to the beat of a song, has been released as a soft launch for both iOS and Android in New Zealand, Australia, and Singapore. Just because the game is exclusive to those regions doesn't mean we can't try it out for ourselves, and with a little hackery, it's entirely possible to do so.

How To: Diagnose Your Car's Check Engine Light Using an Android Phone

Whether you're a professional mechanic, a hobbyist, or someone who just wants to know why their check engine light came on, your Android device and an OBD-II adapter can provide insight as to what's going on with your car. Most adapters sell for less than $10, and once you plug it into your vehicle, you'll just need a good app to help you make sense of all the data it can gather.

How To: Play Skullgirls on Your iPhone Now Before Its Official Release

Fans of fighting game series such as Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat are in for a treat! Skullgirls has entered the crowded field of the mobile fighting genre and has touched down in the form of a soft launch for iOS devices, which is now available for download in Canada and the Philippines. But don't let this limited release stop you from trying Skullgirls out, as it's still possible to acquire this little gem with a little finagling.

How To: Share the World of Peanuts with Your Kids & Play Snoopy Pop on Your iPhone or Android

Jam City's Panda Pop was a great success that helped millions of users waste vast amounts of precious time with its bubble-popping panda cuddliness. Not wanting to mess with success, Jam City has now simply re-skinned the game to feature all the beloved characters from Charles Schultz's timeless Peanuts universe, complete with its relaxing soundtrack and a new name—Snoopy Pop.

How To: Play Tom Clancy's ShadowBreak on Your iPhone or Android Before Its Official Release

Tom Clancy games, like Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon: Wildlands, are famous for their realistic and immersive gameplay that focuses on covert, low-intensity warfare. Ubisoft now appears to be testing the overcrowded waters of mobile gaming with the release of ShadowBreak, and has soft released the game for both iOS and Android in Canada for further development, which means that with a little tinkering, you can play ShadowBreak in any country.

HoloLens Dev 101: How to Create User Location Hotspots to Trigger Events with the HoloLens

One of the truly beautiful things about the HoloLens is its completely untethered, the-world-is-your-oyster freedom. This, paired with the ability to view your real surroundings while wearing the device, allows for some incredibly interesting uses. One particular use is triggering events when a user enters a specific location in a physical space. Think of it as a futuristic automatic door.

How To: Bypass Restrictions to Install 'The Elder Scrolls: Legends' on Any Android Device

Blizzard's Hearthstone was a rousing success with more than 10 million downloads on the Google Play Store. Not taking things lying down, Bethesda, the creator of The Elder Scrolls, has come up with a card game based off its popular fantasy franchise. The Elder Scrolls: Legends is now out in the wild, though, officially only available for select Android tablets. But with a little creativity, there's a way to game the system and play Legends on any Android device. The Elder Scrolls: Legends is ...