Activate Galaxy

Whether it's because you have nosy family and friends or you're just cautious about losing your device, having a passcode on your Android smartphone is essential for protection. However, you don't always need or want a passcode, especially when you're home alone or in your car ...more

If you have friends like mine, letting them check out one photo on your phone means they're going to check out all of the photos on your phone. Before you realize what they're doing, it's too late, and they're sending out perverted emails to your coworkers, making you look lik ...more

I could write about a new launcher everyday, because there are so many options out there for Android users, but one of my favorites it Everything Home. You probably have your own favorite, but what if you could actually use two launchers together, taking advantage of each one' ...more

On the new Moto X smartphone, the only thing you have to do to activate the virtual assistant is say "Okay, Google Now." That's it. You don't have to press a button or tap on the display at all. It's always ready for your voice commands via its "Active Listening" feature, maki ...more

There's two things I'm always looking for in my Samsung Galaxy Note 2. Efficiency and quickness. So, like any other softModder, I tend to download a bunch of apps and tweaks that help speed up my device's overall performance. In doing so, I often come across the "Complete acti ...more

I've been on a customizing kick over the past few weeks, showing you sweet mods for your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 like interactive live wallpapers, app and settings backgrounds, status bar tweaks, and more. But, I'm not done yet. There's still plenty to softMod on your Note 2, an ...more

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 critica ...more

While there are many customization options available for the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, they aren't always easy. The large selection of custom ROMs and difficulty implementing certain hacks and mods can be a nightmare for anyone not well versed in all things Android. But the good ...more

The transition from an iPhone to a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 or other Android device can be a tough one. A vastly different operating system and the ability to customize anything and everything might be too much for some people. Taking in all that new, while having to let go of th ...more

There are very few things Android users would want to borrow from Apple's iOS, but let's move beyond the fanboy/girl biases and admit that Apple actually does a few things pretty well. One of those things is looks, and the new iOS 7 looks pretty amazing to me. While the upcom ...more

It starts innocently enough, with a nosy friend hovering over your shoulder to see what you're texting. Somehow, that doesn't satiate their inexplicable thirst for curiosity, so the first chance they get, they're rummaging through all of your super private photos—even though y ...more

I spend practically all day surfing the web and writing on my laptop, and just as much time texting and checking emails on my smartphone. So, it's only natural for me to charge my iPhone using the USB port on my MacBook Pro. Since that USB port is located on the left side of ...more

When the specs for Google's Nexus 4 came out, most critics were more than thrilled. A very fast processor, lots of RAM, a big display with very high resolution, and an 8MP camera made it the media darling of the smartphone world. It climbed the ranks of the best smartphones av ...more

You may have noticed your Note 10 came with quite a bit of bloatware. Even the unlocked version of the phone comes with Facebook preinstalled, and if you bought it from a carrier, it's much worse. Luckily, there's a way to remove any apps you don't want, and you don't need roo ...more

Every fall, we can expect a few things: leaves changing colors, cooler temperatures, and Samsung and Apple releasing new phones that fanboys and fangirls will argue about until the following year. This year, Samsung is mixing it up, releasing two phones in the Galaxy Note seri ...more

It's no secret that Google is all about AI. In their eyes, machine learning is the future of software development, and you can see evidence of this all over the last couple Android updates. They've used it to power all sorts of features in their Pixel phones, and they've even ...more

Many midrange phones are being manufactured without a gyroscope sensor—the Moto X Play, third-generation Moto G, and several of Samsung's Galaxy Grand models, among others. It's not exactly an essential smartphone sensor, and leaving this out keeps the phone's price point down ...more

Imagine if you combined Tasker with your favorite live wallpaper—that's roughly the gist of a new app from developer feedK. With this one installed, your home screen background will finally be aware of its surroundings. Don't Miss: Top 8 Free Wallpaper Apps for Android Afte ...more

When the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge came to market in 2016, they were universally praised as being the pinnacle of Android smartphone design, even topping Consumer Reports' smartphone ratings. Why? Well, for once, we finally had a smartphone, or in this case, a pair of sma ...more

Live wallpapers have dipped in popularity lately, with many users favoring a single, static image as their home screen background. But this is generally due to still photos offering a more sophisticated look, while traditional live wallpapers can sometimes seem a little less a ...more

The awesome thing about Android is that you rarely need to settle for what comes stock on your device. If your music app sucks, switch it. If you don't like your home launcher, swap it for a better one. Don't Miss: 7 Cool Things You Can Do with the Developer Options That bei ...more

Many Android utilities use Android Debug Bridge, or ADB for short, to send commands from a computer over to your phone or tablet. This enables such utilities to run terminal commands that, in some cases, wouldn't be possible on Android without root access. Before getting star ...more

As touchscreen phones continue to evolve, the need for physical buttons seems less and less pronounced. While hard keys may seem like an endangered component on mobile devices, save for the Samsung Galaxy line, it'd be difficult to fathom a world where volume keys are absent. ...more

Before Apple jumped into the phablet game with their iPhone 6 Plus, there was the Samsung Galaxy Note series. Initially knocked for their size, the Notes slowly but surely gained popularity, thanks to powerful hardware, incredible displays, extensive features, great battery li ...more

If you pay close attention, you might notice that the screen on your Android begins to flicker or pulsate when you lower the brightness past a certain point. This is a result of the AMOLED technology Samsung, among other manufacturers, use in their displays, and the way that t ...more

Getting a new phone is exciting, but having access to its exclusive apps ahead of its release is what we're all about here on Gadget Hacks. If you have a Galaxy Note 3, you've probably only had it for a year or less, so upgrading to the Note 4 may not be a viable option when ...more

When it comes to dictating what happens when the Galaxy Note 3's S Pen is detached, the stock settings that Samsung provides are severely lacking. There are only two measly options: launching Samsung's own Action Memo app, or displaying the Air Command menu. If you want to la ...more

Over the course of covering the Nexus 5 for the last 6 months, I've come to realize that almost every hack out there will work for this device. I also cover the Galaxy S5, and let me tell you—hardly any of the cool mods I come across work for that phone. In this regard, we are ...more

Most times when you take your smartphone out of your bag, pocket, or purse, you probably know exactly what you're going to do with it. Make a call, send a text, take a selfie, browse viral videos on YouTube, or one of the other many things a smartphone can do nowadays. But fi ...more

When the Samsung Galaxy S5 launched a few months ago, I was pretty envious of the new UI elements Samsung included on it, as I'm sure you were. The flatter interface provided for a more polished and less cartoony feel, bringing the device more in line with Google's design elem ...more

The debate between physical and virtual navigation buttons and their respective benefits has been going on for a few years now. It looks to finally be settled, with the Samsung Galaxy S5 being the only current-generation flagship Android phone that has yet make the switch to o ...more

Aside from the newer HTC One M8 and Samsung Galaxy S5, the Nexus 5 still has one of the fastest processors on the market today. However, despite its superpowers, some graphically intensive games can still have a bit of lag to them during gameplay. This lag is mostly due to in ...more

Autocorrect, a common feature available on most Android keyboards, helps fix fat-finger typos and even predicts the words you want to write. Without this feature, it'd take me about 5 minutes to write a sentence, and even then, it'd probably still be intelligible. Unfortunate ...more

Changing an app's name on your home screen is not something you can do on stock Android or TouchWiz, but it should be. If you think of it merely from a customization angle, sure, it's not a big deal, but having the ability to alter an app shortcut's name can do wonders for cle ...more

The outstretched arm, the perfectly positioned angle, the shot and the subsequent array of tinkered saturation, contrast and shadows. In almost every car, changing room, or Starbucks, these string of events happen—you might know it as the selfie. Whether these self-portraits ...more

The Google Now Launcher that was introduced with the Nexus 5 seems to have a lot of folks torn. On the one hand, having a home screen page dedicated to Google Now, as well as the always-listening voice search, are killer features. On the other hand, its lack of customization o ...more

The new Google Now Launcher has hotword detection and one-swipe access to Google Now, but personally, it's not enough to convert me away from other launchers like Apex or Nova. Just because it's Google's official launcher for stock Android doesn't make it better than all the r ...more

The newest Android operating system, Android 4.4 KitKat, has been unleashed with the arrival of the Nexus 5, and soon to be rolled out to other Nexus devices and Google Play Edition smartphones any day now. Only problem is, the Samsung Galaxy S3 isn't getting 4.4 for a very lo ...more

With the Android 4.4 KitKat update slated for release sometime in October (according to Nestle), I'm sure you're excited to get your hands on and test out all of the new features of Google's latest mobile operating system. One such feature is the blended status bar, which inc ...more

As things begin to clutter on your device, navigating through it can become much more difficult than when you first got it. The sheer number of added apps and mods that build up after time take its toll not only on the quickness and memory of your device, but also on your effi ...more

Automating tasks on your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is nothing new. Everything from adjusting screen brightness, to turning on the flashlight, to saving Snapchat pictures can be done automatically with the help of a few function-specific apps. The only problem with task-specific ap ...more

One of the best things about the Samsung Galaxy S3 is the ability to modify the device in countless ways, as with any other Android device. A recent guide on adding softkeys to the GS3 from mod Faisal inspired me to share some information on how to edit build.prop, which is y ...more

Data is king. Nearly every carrier and MVNO offers unlimited talk and text with their cellular plans. Where they differ is the amount of data available, so that's the part that can save or cost you the most money. Both iOS and Android let you monitor your phone's internet usa ...more

For those not used to it, working from home can be a difficult transition. Everything around you can be a distraction, and distance from your boss and coworkers means less pressure and incentive to get things done. So it's not surprising to see a major drop in productivity dur ...more

In November 2016, the RCS Universal Profile (Rich Communications Services) was introduced. The technology takes text messaging to the 21st century, emulating many of the features found in IM apps like WhatsApp and iMessage, but working through your phone number like regular SM ...more

With Google's new Pixel 4, we now have another device in the pool of phones designed for normal-sized hands. The other major player in this segment is as big as it gets — metaphorically. Apple's iPhone 11 Pro is the small phone to beat, but can Google be the one to dethrone it ...more

Android 9.0 Pie moved the status bar clock from the right corner to the left to accommodate phones with notches, but there's one major downside for Samsung users: since no Galaxy phones have a notch, all this did was take away space for the notification icons that would otherw ...more

Although the Galaxy Note 9 is an amazing phone, many members of the Android community won't even look at it. This isn't just because of the Samsung Experience skin, but the large amount of bloatware that comes with this device. However, with a little work, you can remove all o ...more

Many of us rely on our smartphones for all our media needs. Now more than ever, we're using Bluetooth connections to play audio over speakers, headphones, car sound systems — the list goes on. If you own a Samsung smartphone like the Galaxy S9, there are a number of Bluetooth ...more

With much of the hype centered around its powerful cameras, it's easy to overlook the equally impressive audio capabilities of the Galaxy S9. After all, the S9 and S9+ are the first Samsung flagships to feature AKG-tuned stereo speakers, and that's not even mentioning all the ...more

The Galaxy S9 is now in the hands of millons of excited users. Getting a new phone is always fun, but it's important to think about protecting your device. Perhaps the most popular cases for the Galaxy S9 are the official OEM options from Samsung. There are a plethora of cases ...more

Google's new Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones are available for pre-order right now, but the general public won't start to get their hands on these devices for another week or two. Tech reporters got some hands-on time at Google's launch event on October 4th, but camera testing ...more

Depending on your child's age, their first smartphone may be a little too open for them, or you, to handle. With essentially a world of information—both good and bad—available at their fingertips, it can seem like a huge hurdle to instill parental controls on their device. Th ...more

Many Android games use large, storage-heavy OBB files to store supplemental data. Generally, games with high-end graphics download these extra files when you install them from the Google Play Store. Most OBB files take up more than a gigabyte of space on your internal storage ...more

The new LG G3 is the latest Android flagship-level device to be released this year, and it's ready to give the Galaxy S5, HTC One M8, and the OnePlus One a run for their money. Sporting a gorgeous 5.5-inch QHD display, 3GB of RAM, and a huge 300mAH battery, the device looks gr ...more

When it comes to theming your Android device, it's the little touches that count the most. That's why developer SArnab created the Android Theme Engine, an Xposed Module to theme those hard-to-reach corners of the Android System that often go untouched with other themes. So, ...more

From personal photos and videos to online banking passwords saved in your web browser, your phone has all kinds of sensitive data that needs to be protected. One of the best things you can do for your Samsung Galaxy S4's data is have a lock screen with a hard-to-guess PIN or p ...more

Currently, all Nexus tablets running Jelly Bean or higher can enjoy multiple user accounts. With tablets often migrating between various people in the same household, there’s no reason for Dad’s finances to mingle with little Tammy’s candy crushing. Multiple users, each with s ...more

WhatsApp is one of the most well-known and most utilized cross-platform chat applications available today. It's free for one year, and only $0.99 a year after, which is chump change when you realize there are no hidden costs like international charges. Basically, it creates an ...more

From amateurs to professionals, DSLR cameras are the standard weapon of choice for most photographers. If you own one, then you probably know how expensive of a hobby photography can be. A good starter camera can run between $400 and $500. Then there are accessories like tripo ...more