Hot Gadget Hacks How-Tos
How To: Boost Performance & Battery Life on Your Rooted Android Device
Performance boosters generally get a bad rap, but that doesn't mean they should all be dismissed—particularly when they're as well thought out as the latest work from developer Danijel Markov. After recognizing a few inefficiencies in the way Android handles memory management and other system-level functions, he created a flashable ZIP that will apply many fixes in one fell swoop.
How To: Apple Flaw Lets Thieves Completely Reset Your Apple Watch & Get Away with It
There's a recently discovered flaw by iDownloadBlog that lets thieves reset a stolen Apple Watch without a hitch, which is the result of Apple not including the Activation Lock feature that iPhones have had since iOS 7.
Android Basics: How to Install BusyBox Commands
If you're a rooted user, you've probably heard the term "BusyBox" by now. Many mods require these powerful root commands, but the process of installing BusyBox can be a bit confusing for the uninitiated.
How To: Change the Display Orientation & Digital Crown Position on the Apple Watch
There are more ways to wear an Apple Watch than just the default one. Out of the box, an Apple Watch is set up to be worn on your left wrist with the Digital Crown on the right side. But what if want the Digital Crown facing the opposite way? Or what if you're left-handed and want the Watch on your right wrist instead?
How To: Load Music Directly onto Your Apple Watch to Play with Bluetooth Headphones
As someone who loves to run around my neighborhood, the Apple Watch feature that excited me the most was the ability to go out and exercise while listening to music, all without having to lug my iPhone around.
How To: Play Super Mario 64 on Android (No Emulator Required)
If you're jonesing to play some Super Mario Run on your Android phone, you might not be able to get your fix for some time—at least, until Nintendo figures out the best way to keep piracy down and security high. But if you can't wait for the first official appearance of Mario on Android, we've got the next best thing...
How To: Customize Your Android's “Share via” & “Open with” List for Less App Clutter
When opening a link or sharing a photo, your Android device will bring up a list of possible applications that you can complete the action with. However, some of the apps included you never use or didn't even know existed, and this leads to unnecessary clutter. Fortunately, if you're rooted, there's an easy way to remove apps from the "Open with" and "Share via" lists.
How To: Your Photo Texts Might Be Giving Away Your Location (Here's How to Prevent It on iPhones)
Location Services, a native feature on iPhones since iOS 6, is used to pinpoint your approximate location using a combination of GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and cell tower information. Apple uses this on their smartphones for many useful reasons: so that you can tag locations in Instagram, get better directions in Maps, and check for matches based on your location in Tinder.
How To: Install the Xposed Framework on Android Lollipop Devices
UPDATE 11/17/15 The Xposed Framework now officially supports Android 5.1 through 5.1.1 Lollipop devices as well. Everything will still work the way it has with Android 5.0 through 5.0.2, but there are a separate set of files for the newer Android version. I'll cover both below, but make sure to download the proper file for your particular version of Android.
How To: Find & Share Local Wi-Fi Passwords for Free Internet Everywhere You Go
Thanks to Verizon Wireless, I pay over $220 a month for my phone bill. It's just me on the plan—no family members, and it's not even unlimited data. So, when I receive that data alert message telling me that I've used up 90% of my plan and that I've still got a few more week until my billing cycle starts over, you know that I'm left scrambling to connect to some Wi-Fi.
How To: Secure Your Samsung Galaxy Device by Disabling the Clipboard History
Whether you use a third-party keyboard or the stock offering, your Samsung device keeps a history of the last 20 words you copied on its clipboard. Samsung added this feature to Android to help make multitasking a bit easier, but if you use a password manager like LastPass, this feature quickly becomes a gaping hole in security. While you're copying and pasting your various passwords, the last 20 of them become freely available to anyone that gets their hands on your device.
How To: Automatically Turn On the Speakerphone When You Aren't Holding Your Android Device to Your Ear
The first few times I posted on some of the Android forums out there, I asked things like "Does anybody how I can make my phone do this or that?" Without fail, the responses to these types of questions were always one word—Tasker.
How To: 5 Easy Ways to Boost Your OnePlus One's Performance
The Snapdragon 801 processor inside the OnePlus One puts the device on par with other phones like the HTC One M8 and LG G3 in terms of power and speed. While the OPO is just as fast and responsive as many of the flagships currently available, there's no reason why we can't try to squeeze every last bit of speed and performance out of it.
How To: Change Fonts on a Per-App Basis for Android
As much as app developers would like to simplify things with icons and visual cues, text is still a huge part of a smartphone's interface. Much of our media consumption is text-based, and while Google's Roboto font is a beautiful typeface, a little variety here and there certainly wouldn't hurt.
How To: Play Any Android Game with a PS3 Controller (Or Other Gamepad)
Many game developers have finally realized that in order for their games to be successful, they have to support Android. To really win Android users over, they should also accommodate us hardcore gamers who have OTG cables with the ability to hook up controllers to our devices.
How To: Add More Soft Key Styles to Your LG G3 (No Root Required)
Unlike other Android devices with soft keys, the LG G3 actually comes stocked with a few different styles, as well as the ability to adjust the button layout and combination. But while the customization options are great, the styles you can switch between don't add much flair or personality to your device.
How To: Secretly Record Videos Using the Volume Keys on Your Galaxy S4 or Other Android Phone
Unlike the suave 007 that Daniel Craig portrayed, I am not a spy, nor am I that charming, but I do occasionally enjoy taking a stealthy video. Maybe I'm a jerk, but I often catch people doing ridiculous things and just think, "Aren't you embarrassed?"
How To: Switch Between Your Two Most Recent Apps Faster with a TV-Style “Return” Button for Android
There are a gazillion app switchers on the market, and some are really awesome, like Edge, GloveBox, Loopr, and Switchr, to name just a few. However, these can all be a little bit more complicated and cumbersome than necessary when I just want to switch back to the last app I was in.
How To: Turn Any Photo You Want into a Custom Emoji Icon on Your iPhone
The biggest hurdle faced when text messaging (besides more convincing lies) is accurately communicating our emotion and tone. Anything we say can be interpreted in various subjective ways by the recipient, and that's why we have emoji—to illustrate what we actually want to say.
How To: Make Your Mac's Dock & App Icons Look Like Yosemite's
The desktop layout in Mac OS X Yosemite is undeniably beautiful—it's sleek, simple, and easy to admire. Thing is, I do too much on my Mac to install a developer preview as my main OS (even though I can make a bootable install drive and dual-boot it), but I do want the aesthetics of the new build.
How To: Cast Facebook & Twitter Feeds to Your HDTV with Chromecast
Is social media ready to make the jump to the big screen? The developers behind the Android app Stevie think so.
How To: Create a Bootable Install USB Drive of Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite
Apple released the new Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite in the Mac App Store for everyone to download and install for free on October 16th, 2014, but downloading a 5+ GB file for each of your computers will take some serious time. The best thing to do is download it once and create a bootable install USB drive from the file for all of your Macs.
Myth Debunked: Uncooked Rice Isn't the Best Way to Save Your Water-Damaged Phone
If you drop your smartphone in water, take it apart as much as you can and place it in rice. It's been the most recommended method of cell phone rescue since the days of clamshells. In fact, it's usually the only thing recommended when searching for "how to save your wet phone." Turns out, we've been wrong all along.
How To: Cast Videos from Google Drive to Your TV with Chromecast
You can't always have your media on the same network as your Chromecast. Say you're at a friend's house or even out of town—it sure would be nice to cast your videos when you're out and about, wouldn't it?
How To: Get Your Chromecast to Stop Lagging
Google Chromecast is only 35 dollars. That's about 2 and a half drinks at a decent bar in Los Angeles. So, my roommates and I looked to make the investment. The small box arrived in the mail and the setup couldn't be easier. Simply, plug the Chromecast into the HDMI port on your TV and pair the two devices. Done and Done. Having the ability to stream anything on our computers or cellphones right to the TV was the main reason for getting Chromecast. Now, for streaming through the Chrome browse...
How To: Customize the Crap Out of Your Samsung Galaxy Note 2's Status Bar
It may not seem like it, but the Status bar at the top of your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is one of the most important and heavily utilized features. From checking the time, to finding out your battery percentage, to viewing Wi-Fi and cellular connections, the Status bar is critical for keeping tabs on your device.
How To: Unlock Your Front Door Without Keys Using This DIY Keyfob Entry System
Keys are on the way out. They're clunky, take up precious space, and slow you down when you have tons of identical-looking gold ones on your keyring. Everything we can open with keys can now also be opened with wireless technology in just a click—so why use keys anymore? Sure, you can pay hundreds of dollars for an automated lock system on your house—but why do that when you can build it yourself!
How To: Change the Number of Search Results Displayed Per Page in Google, Bing, and Yahoo!
People use search engines for a wide variety of subjects (just look at some of the results that pop up in autofill). The results you get with each different search engine are usually different, but almost all of them display the same number of results per page by default—ten. If you find what you're looking for at the top of the first page, great. But if you have to do a lot of digging, it can be a pain to load so many different pages to find it, especially if your connection is slow.
How To: Mod Your Old iPod 30-Pin Dock into a Bluetooth Speaker for Your iPhone 5
If you bought the new iPhone 5, you've probably been less than thrilled with the lack of cases and accessories that you can use it with. Docks are no exception—users were disappointed to learn that Apple has no plans to even make one for the newest addition to the Apple family.
How To: Bypass Facebook's privacy and Like to See settings
Tired of clicking on interesting looking links in Facebook, only to discover that they are hidden behind a page you have to 'Like' before you can see? If you're surfing using Google Chrome, you can completely bypass this privacy setting. When you get to the page, go to the menu bar and click on 'Inspect Element.' Then you'll see the code for the page, and you'll be able to get around the block to see the page you want.
How To: Set up search keywords in Firefox and Chrome browser bar
If you'd like to use your Firefox or Chrome browser bar for more than just navigating to websites, this little how-to from lifehacker will show you what you need to know. It's a handy trick that can expand your browser's functionality.
How To: Build an enclosure box for your electronics projects
If you want user friendly electronics projects, you'll need to build an enclosure case around it. Not only will this help it look cool, you can also protect it from dust, water or other kind of damage. This tutorial shows you how to make a great looking user intereface and enclosure box for your electronics projects.
How To: Disable the awesome bar in Firefox
In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to disable the awesome bar in the Mozilla Firefox web browser. This task is very easy, fast and simple to do. Begin by opening the web browser and type in "about:config" in the address bar. Press Enter on the keyboard. A warning will appear, click on "I promise, I'll be careful". In the Filter bar, type in "browser.urlbar". Then double-click on the result and change the value to -1. Now restart the Firefox web browser. This video will benefit those vi...
How To: Bypass Facebook captcha codes
In this tutorial, we learn how to bypass Captcha codes on Facebook. First, go to Facebook and log into your account. Next, go into your settings, then your accounts settings. In this section, click where it says "mobile". Next, it will take you to a section where you can activate a phone. You can use your cell phone for this, because Facebook is going to send you a verification text message next. So, enter your cell phone number and when you get the text message click "activate". Now, Faceboo...
How To: Change your NAT settings to OPEN using Netgear router
Be warned before hand that by making changes your router settings that you know nothing about can damage your router. Start off by opening your internet browser and then in the address bar either type 192. 168. 1. 1 or www.routerlogin.com. A prompt will come up in which you have to fill in "admin" in the first box and "password" in the second one. Look for the "Advanced" option and under it will be "WAN", click it. Now change your "NAT filtering" to "open". Make sure that "Disable SPI Firewal...
How To: Get an Internet Browser on an Xbox 360 Game Console
This handy video tutorial presents instructions for getting an Internet browser on your Xbox 360 game console without any mods. All you'll need to follow along is to configure Xbox Media Center, or XMBC, to use the computer you use to surf the Internet. Get a web browser on your Xbox with this how-to!
How To: Hack a satellite dish into a WiFi signal booster
There are many ways to recycle a satellite dish and this is one of them. In this video tutorial, you'll learn how to hack an old satellite dish into a biquad WiFi antenna. For detailed, step-by-step instructions on building your own audio signal booster, take a look!
How To: Build a small hydrogen HHO generator
Make your very own hydrogen (and oxygen) generator with a 9V battery, copper wire, and baking soda (or salt). Why? Who knows. Make sure to check your connections. For more information on this hack, including detailed, step-by-step instructions on assembling your own HHO generator, watch this how-to video.
How To: Take apart an Etch a Sketch
Before I built the mechanics for my laser cutter I was planning on using the etch a sketch since the pulleys where already there. I accidentally cut the wires while taking it apart, so I made it from scratch (much bigger too). But I figured I'd post this in case you want a small laser cutter and need to learn how to take apart an etch a sketch. It was a bit tricky. The tought part was trying to take off the case. What you need to do is to pry the red off of the black, not the other way around.
How To: Apple Just Gave Your iPhone 15 or 15 Pro Better Battery Health Stats
If you're ever curious about your iPhone's battery health, there are easy-to-access stats that let you know the last charge amount, which apps are eating away at most of your power, and even your battery's remaining capacity. Now, a new update makes it easier to know how well your battery is doing.