Custom Recovery

Emoji, emojis, smilies, or smileys—whatever you want to call them, those little yellow icons have firmly implanted themselves in the human lexicon. However, just like with localized languages and dialects, emoji can be very different from one another depending on the device or ...more

The front-facing stereo speakers on the Nexus 6 certainly pump out some awesome sound—but it could always be better, right? Audiophiles will be happy to know that the team at Viper Audio has recently released a Nexus 6 Lollipop-compatible version of their popular sound qualit ...more

Android "Lollipop" introduced a ton of cool new functionality. Unfortunately, the Nexus 5 didn't get all of these features, as some were exclusive to other devices. For example, the Ambient Display function on the Nexus 6 that shows new notifications as they come in with a bla ...more

Desktop users have taken advantage of dual-booting operating systems for decades now. If your core system software is lacking in any regard, dual-booting a secondary OS can give you access to those features that you're missing out on. When it comes to Android devices, there's ...more

Finding the right mix of custom ROM, kernel, and tweaks for my OnePlus One has left me flashing every new release I come across. This has led to many hours going through thread after thread trying to find the latest and best software out there for my phone. While I do enjoy th ...more

The volume is maxed out, but that doesn't stop me from hitting the volume key on my Nexus 7 in hopes that it will magically get louder. This happens to me everyday as I watch videos or play music. The simple fact is that a Nexus 7 tablet just doesn't get very loud. At least, n ...more

Just because you have a Mac doesn't mean you can't root your Nexus 7 tablet. In fact, rooting Android 4.4 KitKat on both the 2013 and original 2012 N7 models is easy, if not easier than rooting it using a Windows PC. After rooting, you can enjoy many of tomorrow's features to ...more

For modders, there are few tools more important than TWRP. TeamWin's custom recovery makes flashing mods like Magisk, Xposed, and custom ROMs incredibly easy, and it lets you root your phone at the press of a button. On top of that, it can make complete backups of your phone i ...more

The Pixel 3a came out of nowhere and flexed its muscles to show the industry that you can have a great phone without a hefty price tag. Since Pixel smartphones are first-party devices straight from Google, you can be sure you'll have root access one way or another. For right n ...more

Losing your phone is a much bigger ordeal today than it was just 10 years ago. Our smartphones carry with them lots of sensitive data that, in the wrong hands, is capable of being used for identity theft and fraud. One of the smartest things you can do to help avoid such a di ...more

Your HTC EVO 4G LTE has been lying to you. It will tell you when you're connected to a 4G network, but it will say 3G even if you're connected on 1X, which is a 2G CDMA network! This issue is just one of the many things you can fix after rooting, which allows you to take full ...more

Rooting. As an Android user, I'm sure you've heard the word once or twice. According to Kaspersky, 7.6% of all Android users root — but for the 92.4% who don't, we wanted to talk to you. Rooting allows you to remove barriers and open Android to a level of unprecedented contro ...more

The "Smart Keyboard" on the LG G3 has received a lot of praise for its ability to adequately analyze user keystrokes, provide adjustable sizes, and customize key placements, among other things. These features, combined with predictive text, swipe gestures, and autocorrect make ...more

The advantages of rooting have been covered before, and with rooting comes flashing ROMs and mods to your device. The easiest method for flashing anything is to do it through recovery. Recovery is the bootable portion of the phone's system that allows data wipes and system up ...more

The advent of the Google Nexus 4 seemed too good to be true—high-end hardware, unlocked and contract-free at a low price. As time went on, however, we began to see the compromises. The camera was "meh" at best, and most egregiously, it shipped without LTE functionality. Yup, ...more

Google's Calendar service is one of the best out there. Just because of Google's web presence, your Calendar is available to you on almost any platform, so you never miss an appointment. But the Android app leaves a lot to be desired. As the stock calendar app on your Nexus ...more

As fellow softModders, I'm sure you strive to find any and every way to make your phone unique. Wallpapers and icon packs are great to get started, but to really stand out from the rest, try changing your HTC One's boot animation. A new boot animation for your phone can be in ...more

Increased battery life is easily one of the most sought after improvements to a device and often drives intrepid users to root their phones, flash new ROMs, and try out experimental kernels. Of these modifications, a new kernel is most likely to yield noticeable battery benef ...more

Apple has stepped up its emoji game lately, and as a result, there are several iPhone emojis that don't show up on Android devices running older firmware. However, Google responded by adding a next-gen set of Unicode 9.0 emojis to its Android Nougat preview build, meaning that ...more

With a 13 megapixel camera that can record in full 4K, there's a lot to love about the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 from a photographer's perspective. The image quality in my photos and videos are top-notch and nothing to complain about, but as with all things tech, things could alwa ...more

Although lacking in megapixels, the HTC One M8's camera can be considered a top-tier, flagship-level shooter. With the Duo Camera and UltraPixel technology behind it, it can make even the most inexperienced photographer snap pictures like a pro. There seems to be little missin ...more

Twitter's video-sharing app, Vine, had some very stiff competition once Instagram added video sharing to its repertoire. Recent figures show Instagram at 130 million followers compared to Vine's 40 million. Many think that Vine is on its way out, but on the contrary, I think i ...more

Samsung's quick settings toggles are insanely useful for accessing settings that you would normally need to dig into menus for. Definitely a case of function over form, though. TouchWiz's bright green on dark blue has to be one of the fugliest color combinations I have ever se ...more

NANDroid backups are one of the best reasons to root your Android device and install a custom recovery. They're essentially a snapshot of your phone's entire operating system and all installed apps, so if you ever screw something up when installing a flashable ZIP or custom RO ...more

It wasn't too long ago that I showed you how to unlock the LG G3 bootloader and install TWRP, and while the process was extremely easy, the custom recovery can look a little intimidating to new users. Even long-time users who know how to navigate it find it boring to look at, ...more

Do you like Samsung's TouchWiz and the iPhone's user interface, but wish you could bring the best of both worlds together onto your device? You can! MIUI (pronounced me-you-eye) is a heavily modded custom ROM that brings a different UI experience never before seen on stock And ...more

In the iPhone modding scene, the Checkm8 bootrom exploit, by developer axi0mX, led to a powerful jailbreaking tool known as Checkra1n. With it, you can jailbreak a variety of iPhone models without worrying about it getting patched later on. But in the past, it required you to ...more

Cyanogen, Inc., the for-profit company that spun off from its CyanogenMod roots several years ago, has announced that they're shutting down all of their services. The company's impending demise shouldn't directly impact many Android users, but the announcement does have one ma ...more

Now that Android 7.1.1 has been released, several features that were previously exclusive to Google's new Pixel phones are now available on the Nexus 6P. However, Google seems to be holding back on the Pixel's best features, as things like the "Night Light" red screen filter, ...more

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 ...more

Keeping your OnePlus One running smoothly can be taxing, especially if you spend most of your day looking for ways to tweak performance settings like me. Sometimes I get lucky and end up with a faster phone, but because I experiment so much, I often end up restoring it back to ...more

There's a known issue affecting some Nexus 5 users where the speaker volume is fairly low. This could be attributed to a manufacturing defect, which you could possibly fix with a hot needle, but if your built-in speakers and headphones seem muted, don't take your Nexus apart j ...more

For new Android users, rooting an Android phone can often be an intimidating process, especially since there are so many different ways to gain root access, depending on your model and firmware version. I've previously covered a way of doing it for the AT&T version of the Sam ...more

After you unlock the bootloader, install TWRP custom recovery, and flash Magisk to gain root access, what might be the next step of your modding adventure? A custom kernel, of course! Flashing a custom kernel onto your device gives you a whole new level of tweaks and customiza ...more

Now that Android Nougat lets you add your own custom Quick Settings tiles, your pull-down menu is probably getting a lot more crowded than it used to be, with all sorts of new and useful toggles. But the trouble is, you can only add up to nine entries before your Quick Setting ...more

KNOX is a major pain for Samsung owners who like to modify their devices. Its combination of hardware and software security measures make things rather difficult when you're trying to modify system-level files and functions without voiding your warranty. Recently, a new root ...more

When it comes to customizing Android, there's no better way to make it your own than by installing a custom ROM. You gain new features that were not accessible on the stock firmware that came with the phone, and you get complete control over how your system looks and feels. Bu ...more

If you're a self-described multitasker, Samsung has a feature that's perfect for you called Multi-Window, which lets you display two apps on your Galaxy S4's screen simultaneously. You can browse the day's news while doing a sudoku, take notes while watching a YouTube video, ...more

Android Marshmallow was recently released, and as we've grown to expect, a root method was quickly made available to devices running the brand new operating system. Legendary root developer Chainfire has stated that he's working his way towards retiring from the scene, but he ...more

Sometimes, stock just doesn't cut it. When you're sick of the limitations in Sense on your HTC One, a new ROM can be a ray of sunshine. By installing a custom ROM, you can add or unlock new features in Sense, or you can get a pure Android experience instead. It's all up to you ...more

There are a few different ways to install Magisk. If you're already rooted and you just want access to Magisk modules, you can use Magisk Manager to install the Magisk framework. Or, if you want to pass SafetyNet on a rooted device, you can switch from SuperSU to Magisk SU. Bu ...more

There were some new hurdles to clear, and then there were a few more, but legendary root developer Chainfire has created a fully-functional root method for Google's Pixel and Pixel XL flagships. Like past devices, this method relies on the SuperSU ZIP, but now, there's an addi ...more

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 exponentia ...more

Like most Android devices, the Nexus 7 suffers from its fair share of battery gripes. Nobody wants to see that dreaded "connect charger" warning pop up on their screen. NOBODY. Yet it probably happens to you every day nonetheless. What can you do about it besides charge, charg ...more

With all the talk about privacy concerns recently, Google's name keeps coming up because they are a very data-driven company. As an Android user, they know basically everything about you based on your device usage. That can easily scare some people off who are worried about th ...more

Perhaps you've thought about rooting your OnePlus 5, but thought again when you heard SafetyNet would prevent you from using apps like Google Pay, Pokémon GO, or Netflix. Those are valid struggles when you root using traditional methods. There are no such worries when using Ma ...more

The OnePlus 5 had been in the hands of the public for a meager twenty hours before developers on XDA released a custom recovery image for it, and the 5T had a similar trajectory. The installation process is simple enough, but it can be somewhat confusing if you're new to moddi ...more

As with most OEMs, HTC would like you to think that you can do virtually anything with your new HTC One M8, but as a softModder, you know that isn't true. To actually unleash the full potential of that device, you need access to the whole system, not just the parts that HTC de ...more

Okay, so you finally got around to rooting your Android device—now what? Well, to get the most out of your Superuser status, you'll need to find some good root apps, which will allow you to easily add features, reduce battery drain, remove ads, and much more. Don't Miss: Andr ...more

Put yourself in Google's shoes: You know that business is becoming increasingly mobile, but the mobile operating system you maintain is wide open by design, and it's garnered legions of loyal fans that love to explore and exploit every aspect of it. There's a clear conflict of ...more

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. Companies like HTC know how much people use their phone's speakers, ...more

My phablet has incredible battery life, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't like it to last even longer. Unlike the Samsung Galaxy S5, the Note 3 does not come equipped with Ultra Power Saving Mode, which can keep the phone running for another 24 hours with only 10% power remaini ...more

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 ro ...more

With protests springing up across America, there's a chance you may have your first interaction with law enforcement. Many demonstrators will have their phones in-hand to film the action, which, sadly, could prompt an officer to demand the device and any self-incriminating dat ...more

Alright, I'll admit it, iOS can be quite nice. Android loyalist that I may be, I'm not so stubborn that I can't recognize a good thing when I see it. Apple's iOS has a lot of strengths, and our Nexus 4s, god bless 'em, are growing a little long in the tooth. But the Android p ...more

Despite its rocky start, the Essential PH-1 has a lot going for it. Not only does it get consistent security patches and system updates hours after the Pixels, but like the Google-developed lineup, it's also great for rooting. Not only is your warranty not void with rooting, b ...more

To please those of us who love to mod and root our Androids, OnePlus has made both the OnePlus 5 and 5T relatively easy to customize — so much so that the 5T topped our list for the best phones for rooting. Unfortunately, unlocking the bootloader and using root to modify the f ...more

If you're someone who likes to customize their user experience, stock Android is a lot like a blank canvas. The firmware that comes preinstalled on Nexus devices is just Android—no manufacturer skins or carrier bloat involved. This simplicity opens up the door for many root mo ...more

Hi , Today i will show you how to do HID Keyboard Attacks With Android BUT without using Kali NetHunter BUT You will need to install custom kernel to your Android device, that will add keyboard+mouse functions to it's USB port,So Lets Get Started Step 1: Prerequisites For Th ...more

Early last month, Sony released PlayStation Mobile, bringing PlayStation games to the PS Vita and other certified phones and tablets. The list of certified phones isn't as extensive as it should have been, consisting of only Sony devices (a few tablets and Xperia) and a couple ...more