Hot Gadget Hacks How-Tos
How To: Get an Immersive Mode Quick Settings Tile on Any Nougat Device — No Root Needed
Up until now, enabling full-time Immersive Mode on an Android device has been a tedious task which required you to run individual ADB commands each time you wanted to toggle it on or off. This was a shame, too, since Immersive Mode helps reclaim lots of screen real estate by auto-hiding your navigation and status bars.
How To: Move Chrome's Address Bar to the Bottom of Your Screen on Android
Update Feb. 2020: Google has removed the feature flag to move the address bar to the bottom of the screen. We've out to see if they have plans to bring it back, but received no comment. In the meantime, you can use the new Chrome Duet bottom bar instead.
How To: Use Your Android's Volume Keys to Move the Cursor in Any Text Field—No Root Needed
One of the biggest hurdles for making touchscreen text input easy on the user has been finding a simple way to move the cursor around. With all the advancements in mobile technology, we're still left fumbling around with tiny arrow indicators or magnifying glasses when we need to add a letter to a word we've already typed. But thankfully, developer Ouadban Youssef has found a better way.
How To: Install Apps from the Play Store Without Gapps or Google Services
Android is Google's project, so of course you can see the search giant's fingerprints all over the operating system. Aside from the obvious user-facing apps, there's Google Cloud Messaging, Google Connectivity Services, and the much-maligned Google Play Services running in the background, to name a few.
How To: See Who's Using Your Wi-Fi & Boot Them Off with Your Android
Let's say you gave your Wi-Fi password to your neighbor a while back, under the assumption that they'd only use it while they were at your house sharing stuff via Chromecast. But now, your connection is slower than it normally should be, and you have this sneaking suspicion that the dude in apartment 3C is flat-out piggybacking off of your home network.
How To: Root Your T-Mobile LG V20 Using Dirty COW
It's been little over a month since the official release of LG's latest flagship phone, the LG V20. Despite a few minor hiccups, the V20 has been attracting attention from all over for being an amazing phone. But like with most Android phones, there's no better feeling than rooting and taking complete ownership of it.
How To: Get Samsung's 'Always On Display' on Any Android Device
Samsung's latest flagship devices—the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge—both sport an interesting new feature called Always On Display, or simply AOD. When enabled, this feature keeps the clock, date, and other bits of information visible at all times—even when the screen is off.
Android Basics: A Series of Tutorials for Beginners
All across the web, you'll find guides on setting up various apps and mods for your Android device—but while these are certainly useful, they all seem to be working under the assumption that the reader has a certain level of knowledge about Android. For someone that's just getting started with the world's most popular mobile operating system, the basics of Android simply aren't covered as well as they should be.
Android Basics: What Is Root?
If you're completely new to Android, you're in for a treat with all of the software tweaks and customization options that your smartphone or tablet offers out of the box. But if you really want to take things to the next level, the ability to mod your device expands exponentially when you're rooted.
How To: Recover a Lost WiFi Password from Any Device
These days, if you're having friends over, they'll probably ask to log into your Wi-Fi network before asking for a drink. But if you've forgotten your password, it can be quite hard to find, since most devices obscure the characters with asterisks.
How To: Set Rotating Lock Screen Wallpapers on Samsung Galaxy Devices
Say what you want about Samsung's TouchWiz UI being cluttered or overbearing, but one thing you can never complain about is a lack of features. In fact, it's been almost 8 months since I first took my Galaxy S6 Edge out of its box, but I'm still discovering features to this day.
How To: Make an Android Phone or Tablet Grandma-Friendly
By now, a mobile phone that isn't "smart" is about as hard to come by as a TV that isn't high definition. As a result, members of older generations who were previously reluctant to purchase a newfangled smartphone have no other choice but to cave into the more recent trends when their old device finally breaks down.
How To: Add Tabs to the Windows 10 File Explorer
While Windows 10's new File Explorer is just as, if not more, useful as it was in previous iterations of Windows, it could definitely still be better. Two features that would greatly improve File Explorer are tabbed results and a customizable user interface, similar to how they are in Google Chrome.
How To: Use the Hidden Screen Recorder Tool in Windows 10
Up until now, if you wanted to record videos of the apps on your screen, you had to rely on a third-party option. However, Windows 10 changes this thanks in part to the new Xbox app. One of the new features of the Xbox app is the Game bar, which allows you to record footage of your gameplay.
How To: Improve Sound Quality on Android: 5 Audio Mods for Better-Sounding Music & Videos
Whether I'm in my car or making dinner, I always have music playing. And since I don't like to keep my headphones on me at all times, I end up using my Android's built-in speakers a good portion of the time.
How To: Fix Touchscreen Issues on Your OnePlus One with These Quick & Easy Tips
While the OnePlus One is a great value, you could be plagued with a touchscreen issue or two. The most common problems come in the form of ghost touches and touches not registering with apps.
How To: Create a Bootable Install USB Drive of Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan
Apple's latest update to Mac OS X, 10.11 El Capitan, is currently available in the Mac App Store for everyone to download and install at no cost. The new OS features Split View mode for better multitasking, a cleaner Mission Control, smarter Spotlight, a way to mute Safari tabs playing audio, enhanced Mail and Notes apps, and more.
How To: Earn Free Google Play Credits on Android by Filling Out Surveys
Make no bones about it—Google is an advertisement company first and foremost. Nearly everything they do is geared towards targeting the right people with the right ads.
How To: 13 Ways to Extend & Save Battery Life on Your Apple Watch
While the Apple Watch does have up to 18 hours of battery life each day on a full charge, your results will vary depending on how often you use it and what you're actually doing with it.
How To: Use Your Back Button to Force-Close Any Android App on the Spot
If you've ever used a custom ROM on one of your devices, chances are it had a built-in feature that allowed you to kill any app by long-pressing the back button. This function comes in handy quite often, especially in situations where an app is acting up, since it stops all associated processes and clears the app from memory.
How To: Close All Open Tabs at Once in Chrome for Android & iOS
With over 500 million downloads on Android alone, I find it safe to assume that most of us use the Chrome Browser on our mobile devices; it's great for reading articles with Reader mode enabled, syncs open tabs and bookmarks across all your devices (as long as you're signed in to your Google account), and is regularly updated with new features and optimizations.
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: Take Full Control Over “Low Battery” Alerts on Your iPhone
The prevalence of smartphones has had profound effects on how we communicate, view media, and preserve memories, among other things. But all of these new forms of doing things are snatched away from us as soon as our phones lose power. While work is constantly being done to stretch and extend battery life, it hasn't moved fast enough for the vast majority of us.
How To: Back Up Your Android Apps (& Their Data) Without Root
One of the few areas where Android lags behind iOS is a comprehensive backup solution for apps. Root tools, such as the popular Titanium Backup, are capable of backing up all of your apps and their data, but not everyone wants to root their device and potentially run into issues with voided warranties.
How To: Turn Any iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch into an AirPlay Receiver—Without Jailbreaking!
Officially, in order to use AirPlay to stream music from your iOS device, you would need either an Apple TV, AirPort Express, or an AirPlay-enabled receiver or set of speakers. Despite what Apple wants you to think, there is another way to stream music without any of those AirPlay-capable devices—you just need to have two iOS devices (or just one iOS device and a Mac).
How To: Install a Custom Recovery on Your Bootloader-Locked Galaxy Note 3 (AT&T or Verizon)
The bootloaders on the AT&T and Verizon Wireless variants of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 still cannot be unlocked, despite the $1,400+ bounty that arose late last year. Nine months later and still nothing. But just because we can't "unlock" the bootloader doesn't mean we can't get around it.
How To: Re-Enable Copy & Paste on Annoying Sites That Block It
Copy and paste keyboard shortcuts are beautiful gifts from the gods, and any website that blocks such an offering can burn in hell. But really, Cmd+C and Cmd+V (Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V for Windows folks) are second nature to most of us, so it's very frustrating when sites like PayPal don't let us use them.
How To: Pin Favorite Friends on Top of Facebook Chat List in IOS and Android
You could pin your favorite friends on top of chat list. This will save your time of searching to chat with your favorite friends. This feature is available for IOS and Android phone only. Follow the video and do it yourself.
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: Transform Gift Card Balances into Cash from Any ATM with Google Wallet
Most people don't ask for gift cards, but they're always a popular gift choice for notoriously hard-to-shop-for people—or the time-constrained gift-giver. While most gift cards are attached to certain stores, many folks will get a prepaid Visa or MasterCard card that allows them to make purchases wherever those companies are accepted.
How To: Adjust Your Mac's Volume in Quarter Increments (And Silence the Sound Effect)
Sometimes, the volume buttons on a MacBook can be pretty annoying. It's too loud, so you turn it down one notch, and now you can't hear your movie at all. It's too low, so you turn it up one notch, and now you can't even hear yourself think.
How To: Pin Reminders to Your iPhone's Lock Screen (So You Stop Forgetting Things)
On the iPhone, the Reminder app is a great way to keep track of your to-do list. I use it for a bunch of crap I forget, like picking up a must-have item at the store or calling or emailing my friends back.
How To: Revert the New YouTube Layout Back to How It Was
Last week, Google updated the YouTube layout to be more in tune with other Google properties. One thing that's different is the new, more Google+ look of your YouTube homepage. Though some may like the change, some definitely do not. Also new is the "Guide" on the left side when you're watching a YouTube video. for you folks looking to get back to the normal YouTube layout, it's as easy as copying and pasting some code into your browser.
How To: Change Your Android Device's Wi-Fi Country Code to Access Wireless Networks Abroad
Ever found yourself not able to connect to a Wi-Fi network on your Android device that you know damn well was there? The worst part is that you know it's your device, because you can see everyone else around you on that network! WHAT GIVES?!? Well, maybe it has something to do with your phone’s Wi-Fi country code!
How To: Replace Your Kindle's Broken E Ink Display Yourself
The reason Amazon's Kindle has become so popular over the past several years is due to the amount of digital books one can fit inside—over 1,000 for the smallest Kindle. Gone are the days of lugging around heavy books to school and the airport. Instead we can fit our e-readers snugly inside our bags and never worry about forgetting a book.
How To: Create Double Exposures with Your Cell Phone
In photography, creating a double or multiple exposure photo involves combining two different images to make one single image. This technique has been used in film photography by exposing a piece of film twice to two different images. The second image becomes superimposed onto the first image, creating various effects that may mirror one another or seem ghostly.
How To: Make your own laser diode driver for less than three dollars
You can make a laser diode driver extremely inexpensively - the materials in this tutorial cost less than three dollars in total. Find out what to buy, and then this tutorial shows you how to assemble your purchases for a laser diode. Awesome!
How To: Remove and replace the screen on an Apple iPad
If you have cracked or smashed your iPad screen, don't worry! This tutorial will show you how to take it all apart and start over with a brand new touchscreen. Don't waste money on a repair man or bother having the "Genius Bar" tell you it's all your fault - take matters into your own hands with these relatively simple steps.
How To: Download and play music on an Amazon Kindle
Watch this CNET Quick Tips video to learn how to add your own MP3s for background music on the Amazon Kindle. Some readers just like to listen to music as they read, and the Kindle makes that easy. It's as easy as dragging and dropping your digitla music files onto your Kindle from your computer.
How To: Block certain users from seeing your Facebook account
In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to block certain users from seeing their Facebook account. Begin by logging into your account and go to your home page. Click on the Setting tab and select Privacy Settings. At the bottom of the page, under Block List, there will be a space for users to type in a persons name to block and click Block. Select the person from the list of people and click Block. This video will benefit those viewers who use Facebook, and would like to learn how to block ...