Gadget Hacks Features
How To: Hide Any App on Your iPhone in Plain Sight
If there's an iOS app you want to hide from your iPhone's home screen, there are a few built-in ways to do so in iOS 14, but there is a clever workaround you can use in older iOS versions. Plus, it also works in iOS 14 as a way to disguise app icons instead of just hiding them, so no app is what it seems.
How To: No Data, No Problem—Use SMS to Connect to Your Favorite Web Services on Android
Recently, a group of Duke University students got together to tackle an age-old problem with mobile devices. You see, mobile data coverage isn't exactly ubiquitous, and many folks have restrictive mobile data plans, which means internet connectivity is not always an option.
How To: See Who Has Viewed Your LinkedIn Profile Without Paying
When LinkedIn first arrived on the scene, I thought it was a great resource for staying connected and getting in touch with those people in your desired career path. Keyword: Thought. Like most businesses, money and shareholders seem to have taken over the driver's seat, pushing the company towards a business-first, users-second approach.
How To: Use This Trick to See Only the Best Apps in the Google Play Store
With hordes of games populating the Google Play Store, it's grown increasingly difficult to find trending, non-gaming apps that you might find useful on your Android device. There are a few in the Top Charts pages, peppered in among the various games you'll never play, but other than that you'll have to do some serious searching to discover any new apps.
How To: Pin Snapchat Stickers & GIFs So They Stay Put or Follow Subjects in Videos
Snap Inc. added stickers back in 2016 to its Snapchat app, and it has been building on that functionality ever since. Now, you can add Bitmojis and even GIFs from Giphy to your photos and videos. Even better, you can pin any of these stickers to background items or moving subjects when sharing videos. That means stickers aren't pinned to the screen itself but to a real-world location.
Siri 101: How to Disable Siri on Your iPhone's Lock Screen
If you like having Siri available to answer a quick question every now and again but don't want everyone who picks up your iPhone to also have access to your personal assistant, there's an easy way to disable her from working on your iPhone's lock screen. This is also something you can do if you're always activating Siri accidentally in your pocket.
How To: Download Any Video from Any Site from Firefox
This video will guide you how to download any video from the internet through your Firefox browser. This add-on is also available in other browsers like Google chrome and internet explorer. Watch the video and follow all the steps to do it yourself.
How To: Enable Offline Finding on Your Galaxy So You Can Locate Your Phone in Airplane Mode
Nowadays, even the dumbest thieves know that the first thing you should do after you steal a phone is turn on airplane mode. Not only does this make it harder for police to track the phone through cell tower triangulation, but it also disables security features the person you stole it from may have implemented — for instance, Samsung's Find My Mobile service.
How To: Apple Lets You See All the Ratings & Reviews You've Ever Given Apps, Games, Movies, TV, Music, Podcasts & Books
Voicing your displease with a shoddy third-party app or professing your love for an album you've just bought is normal, which is why we have ratings and reviews. You hate something, you write something. You love something, you rate it. But feelings change over time, so your ratings or reviews may need to be updated.
News: Microsoft's HoloLens Morphs Paris Museum Model of Mont-Saint-Michel into Masterpiece of AR
Amid the opulent and historic confines of Paris, Microsoft is now hosting an exhibit at a local museum that brings a historic map of a Normandy tourist destination to life in augmented reality.
How To: Tell if Your Samsung Battery Is Bad in 2 Seconds Flat
When it comes to squeezing as much battery life as possible out of our smartphones, most people aim for software solutions, or ones that can otherwise be easily managed right from the touchscreen.
How To: These Are the ONLY Ways to Get Free V-Bucks in Fortnite Battle Royale
Thanks to its free-to-play strategy, many items in Fortnite Battle Royale require V-Bucks, the in-game currency. You can purchase V-Bucks with real-world money, but many would rather earn V-Bucks instead of getting nickeled and dimed by micro-transactions. While limited, there are a few ways to earn free V-Bucks in the game.
How To: Root Almost Any Galaxy S6 or S6 Edge Without Tripping KNOX
Both the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge have had root methods available to them before the phones were even released, but the problem with these existing root methods is that they would trip the KNOX counter on your device.
How To: Unroot & Restore a Galaxy S5 Back to Stock
There are many different reasons that you might want to revert your Samsung Galaxy S5 back to stock. The main one would probably be that you need to return your device to the manufacturer for warranty purposes. And if you've used root to modify system-level files and components, you'll need to undo those changes before you send the phone back.
How To: Take Control Over Your MacBook's Fans for a Cooler, Smoother-Running Laptop
MacBooks are built for creation and creativity. They're built to withstand our careers, our hobbies, and our everyday use. I use mine every day, and there's nothing I'd recommend more for computing needs.
How To: Build a simple carboard magnet generator
Build this ultra-simple AC electric generator from magnets, wire, and cardboard. (And a big nail!) Light a small lightbulb, or flash a red LED.
Android Keyboard Showdown: SwiftKey vs. Swype vs. Google vs. TouchPal vs. Fleksy
Google Now, Siri, and Cortana aside, the main way you interact with your smartphone is through the keyboard. Every app you use, every search you perform, every message you send—the most fundamental interface between you and your device is that handful of characters and those 26 letters on the bottom half of your screen.
How To: Update Your OnePlus 6 or 6T Without Losing Root — No Computer Needed
One of the biggest downsides to rooting is that it can be a pain to update every month with each new security patch. With other phones, you might have had to fully unroot the device, maybe flash a stock recovery, or potentially even flash all the factory images to get a new update. Thankfully, OnePlus has made this process super simple for us modders.
How To: Recover Forgotten Wi-Fi Passwords in Windows
I spend a lot of time helping friends and family with their tech problems, like clearing a browser's cache, scanning a Windows computer for malware, and speeding up a Mac. However, the issue I deal with most frequently revolves around forgotten network passwords.
How To: Keep Data-Thieving USB Accessories from Connecting to Your iPhone in iOS 11.4.1 & Higher
While privacy and security are cornerstones of Apple's ecosystem, your iPhone isn't bulletproof. Creating a strong passcode will protect you from most threats, but there exist tools that can break through even the toughest passcodes via the Lightning port. Luckily, Apple has implemented a new security feature to disable your Lightning port and keep your data safe and secure.
How To: Disable Apple Pay After Your iPhone Is Stolen
When your iPhone goes missing, it's serious business. Depending on your usage, your whole life might be connected to your iPhone, not the least of which includes debit cards, credit cards, and Apple Pay Cash stored in Apple Pay. While it's nearly impossible for someone to use your money with Apple Pay, it's still a good idea to disable it until you find your iPhone, just in case.
How To: Use Your iPhone's Mail App to Send and Receive End-to-End Encrypted Emails in Gmail
Gmail uses TLS, or Transport Layer Security, by default for all email communications, so all of your emails will use the standard encryption as long as the recipients also support TLS. But there's a way to add even more security to your Gmail emails, and you can use your iPhone's Mail app to do it.
How To: Hide Your WhatsApp Online and Last Seen Statuses from Everyone or Just Some of Your Contacts
By default, everyone on WhatsApp can see when you're using the app. If someone recently messaged you and sees you're currently online, they may think you're avoiding them if you don't respond right away — especially if you don't share read receipts. However, you can block them from seeing your online or last seen status and apply it to everyone or just specific contacts.
News: How to Watch Japan's Viral 3D Cat Live, and How It All Started in China & South Korea
The most viral internet cat of the moment is a virtual kitty trapped in a billboard in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo, Japan.
How To: Use This Browser Extension to Open All Images on the Current Page in a New Tabbed Window
When you're looking at a site with a lot of links to images, it can get really old having to open each one individually. Not to mention loading so many pages can take forever.
How To: Share Account Passwords or Passkeys with People You Trust Easily from Your iPhone, iPad, or Mac
Previously, you'd have to use a third-party password manager on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac to securely share passwords with other people or groups outside of AirDrop range. And while apps like 1Password, Bitwarden, and Dashlane let you store passkeys, only 1Password has added support for passkey sharing so far. Now, Apple itself makes sharing passwords and passkeys much, much simpler.
How To: You're Uninstalling Mac Apps Wrong: Here's How to Remove Them Completely
Uninstalling an app on your Mac isn't as straightforward as you would think. When you drag and drop an app into the Trash, then empty it, the main app itself may be gone, but many associated files and folders are left behind. So how do you get rid of them? There are a couple of ways.
How To: Bypass the UK's New "Adult" Filter & Unlock the Wank Bank Online for Good
What you watch in the privacy of your own home should be no one's business but yours. That was the case until Prime Minister David Cameron decided that there was too much porn available to minors in the United Kingdom.
How To: Turn Your Nexus 7 Tablet into a Phone for Free Calls & Text Messages
Your Nexus 7 may be a tablet, but it can also be used as a phone, thanks to the continued upswing of VoIP applications, which send voice and media messages over the Internet—not over a cellular network.
How To: Close All Open Apps on Your Mac with a Single Click
Normally, if you want to close all of the open apps on your Mac, you'd have to either quit them all one by one or restart, shut down, or log out while making sure to deselect “Reopen windows when logging back in." The latter option is great, but it doesn't always work in Mac OS X, and what if you don't want to restart, shut down, or log out?
Android Basics: How to Disable Doze & App Standby for Individual Apps
Android Marshmallow introduced a pair of new battery-saving features called Doze and App Standby, and according to the general consensus, both features are a rousing success. Average battery life has increased dramatically for virtually every phone or tablet running Android 6.0, so there's nothing to complain about here, right?
How To: Play Music on 2 Devices Using Your Samsung Galaxy Phone
Let me paint a picture for you. You're on a long flight home, and while listening to music on your Samsung Galaxy S10, a great song comes on. You want your friend to hear it too, who's also listening to music using a pair of Bluetooth headphones. Thanks to Dual Audio, you can easily share your experience.
How To: Turn a laptop touch pad into a mini graphics tablet
TOUCHPAD HACK - This video tutorial shows how to transform a touchpad into a useful mini graphics tablet with some simple, everyday items. You will need a 1.5V battery, a small ball bearing, and a Philips head screwdriver. Watch this video tutorial and learn how to transform a touch pad into a miniature graphics tablet.
How To: Trick WiFi-Only Apps into Working with Mobile Data on Your HTC One
For any multitude of reasons, some apps require you to be connected to Wi-Fi in order to function properly. This could be because they would rather you have a stable connection to enjoy their content, or that they don't want users complaining about the amount of data being guzzled from carrier data plans.
How To: Download Instagram Reels on Your iPhone for Offline Use, Better Playback Control, and More
Downloading content from TikTok is relatively easy, even if the video is protected, but the same can't be said of Reels, Instagram's version of short-form videos. Instagram doesn't make it easy to download content unless it's your own, and that's especially true with Reels. However, there is a way to bypass Instagram's restrictions on your iPhone and save videos locally without ever leaving the app.
Snapchat 101: How to Use the Snap Map Without an Account
While it's easy enough to make yourself invisible on Snap Map, nothing is quite as private as not having a Snapchat account at all. Whether you're concerned about your privacy or you simply never signed up for the social media platform, Snapchat's web-based map is an easy way to check in on what's happening in your area and beyond.
How To: Play & Record Thousands of Worldwide Radio Stations on Android
Back in the '80s, recording live radio was as simple as popping a cassette tape into your boombox and pressing the record button. While we've come along way with regard to accessing radio stations thanks to websites and apps that stream live broadcasts over the internet, it's no longer quite as easy to record.
Gaming: The 7 Best Paid Shooting Games for Android & iPhone
With the release of the Pixel 2 XL and the iPhone X, smartphones have hit a new high not just in price, but also raw processing power. These new flagships not only cost more than twice as much as an Xbox One or PlayStation 4, they have also become almost as powerful as far as gaming goes. Because of this, a lot of games once reserved for consoles and PCs have made their way to our smartphones.
How To: Use Siri to Control iTunes, Put Your Mac to Sleep, & More from Your iPhone
While Apple's Continuity feature has certainly impressed me, I can't help but feel like it could be used to create a better connection between my iPhone and Mac. Sure, Handoff allows me to pick up where I left off in certain applications between the two devices, and it lets me pick up calls and send text messages on my Mac, but I want even more functionality.
How To: Unlock Your Mac Using Your iPhone's Touch ID or Lock Screen Passcode
Apple's Touch ID, introduced on the iPhone 5S, has definitely made my life a little easier. Not only can I unlock my device, I can use the tech to log in to websites, make purchases through iTunes, and buy groceries at Walgreens using just my fingerprint. Still, as awesome as Touch ID is, it's pretty limited as to what it can do on native apps.