Everyone's favorite Android modding tool is finally available for the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. Thanks to some hard work by Wanam and a few other developers, we can now install the Xposed Framework on Samsung's latest mid-sized flagship phones. But there are a few stipulations—m ...more
Mobile carriers have been the bane of my existence for as long as I've had a phone. First, they take away unlimited data, and then when you try and switch carriers, they hold your phone hostage for a up to a week before unlocking it from their network. There are services out ...more
The Pixel 4 is one of the most talked-about phones of 2019, so you know there will be lots of third-party developer support. Mods are already popping up, so you'll want to get Magisk installed as soon as possible to get root access. The current method used to gain root is the ...more
One of the main reasons to buy a Nexus device is the fact that they're always the first to get new Android updates. Another great selling point for the Nexus series is that the devices are amongst the easiest to root and mod. Unfortunately, though, these two features are somew ...more
HTC's Sense 4 may be leaner and faster than previous versions, but one thing my EVO 4G LTE sorely lacked was the "Quick Settings" option that Sense 2 and 3 had. Developers were able to port it to Sense 4 for Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), but the only way to get this featur ...more
With great power comes great responsibility, and when it comes to modding Android, nothing is more powerful than TWRP custom recovery. As easy as it is to replace your phone's entire OS with a custom ROM, when things go awry, you can also be left with no operating system at al ...more
Social media apps like Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok have plenty of editing tools that go beyond the basics, but there are still a lot of things they can't do. So if you want to apply interesting, unique effects to your photos and videos for social media, you'll need to add ...more
While it hasn't gotten as much attention as iOS 10, Apple's big 10.12 update to their Mac operating system is finally out for all to enjoy—and you can download it for free from the Mac App Store right now. Don't Miss: 60+ Cool New Features in iOS 10 Siri is definitely the m ...more
CyanogenMod has always been on the forefront of ROM customization, and its newest release, CyanogenMod 12, is no exception. In the newest nightlies, they have included an updated version of their Theme Engine, which allows you to effortlessly change the way your entire system ...more
The OnePlus One comes with CyanogenMod 11S built in, but there are certainly some traditional CyanogenMod features missing from this version. One of the most obvious missing ingredients is the lack of a native SuperUser app, most likely to prevent inexperienced users from caus ...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
Since Android is an open source operating system, that means anyone with a little know-how can download, view, and even alter its underlying code base. Manufacturers do it all the time, which is how we end up with skins like TouchWiz and Sense. But when Android's awesome third ...more
The Galaxy S6 already has one of the best cameras on the market, but a few minor annoyances still linger. Full-sized photos are stored with heavy compression that can cause artifacting, burst mode shots aren't taken at 100% quality, and the camera flash cannot be used when you ...more
No one is perfect, and this goes double for software developers. All of the quality assurance testing in the world does nothing when you put a new OS in the hands of everyday users, since we all use our devices in different places and for different reasons. Recently, Cyanogen ...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
Whether you have the original Nexus 7, or the 2013 Nexus 7 tablet, rooting it will give you access to tomorrow's features, today. Sure, without root there's lots you can use it for. It's helped me get out of bed, became my own personal bartender, and a lot more. But with a r ...more
Team Win Recovery Project (TWRP) is a custom recovery for Android devices and the one used by most softModders, mainly because it has touch-based actions, as compared to the more time-consuming button-based approach that ClockworkMod (CWM) uses. With TWRP, you can flash new R ...more
Since the release of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, many of its features have been replicated by Android developers for other devices. The most popular feature, aside from Smart Rotation, on the Note 2 has been the multitasking multi-screen/multi-window feature, which allows you t ...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
TWRP is a name many are familiar with since it allows your Android device to install any custom file of your choosing. You can create a NANDroid backup to keep your data safe or even use Magisk to achieve full root access. In fact, TWRP is often seen as the gateway to modding ...more
After a few unforeseen delays, the Android Lollipop update is finally here for Google Play Edition HTC Ones. This means that if you have an official GPE M7 or M8, or if you have simply converted your HTC One from a carrier-specific, Sense-based model to a Google Play Edition, ...more
Once you unlock your bootloader and root, you're left with one more hurdle to overcome, and that's getting S-Off. By default, HTC has included security measures into the HTC One's bootloader, which prevents you from installing custom firmwares or other tweaks. By obtaining S- ...more
About a year ago, Abode decided to discontinue support for Flash on the Android platform. With its security concerns, it's understandable why some people would want to disable Flash on their devices, but there are still some things you can't do without it. Amazon Instant Video ...more
Starting a few months back, you might have noticed that some text messages you received from certain friends or family members had blank or missing characters. This was because Apple included all of the new Unicode 8.0 emojis in an update to their iPhones, but Android devices ...more
Google's Pixel and Pixel XL flagship phones are a rousing success, with consumers praising the fluid user experience and overall performance as two of the devices' biggest strengths. But even though Google may have knocked it out of the park with a set of Apple-like smartphone ...more
Google just released the first version of the next major Android update. Early Android 11 builds will only available as developer previews, so you can't just sign up for the beta program and install the update as an OTA for the first couple months. That said, it's still pretty ...more
This year, Google released two Nexus phones to glowing reviews, and as we've grown to expect, the Android community wasted no time in coming up with a root method for both. In fact, legendary root developer Chainfire even devised an entirely new "systemless" method for rooting ...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
One of the more talked-about features of Google's new flagship device is the fact that all of the data on the Nexus 6 is encrypted by default. At face value, this certainly seems like an added bonus for the 6-inch phablet, especially in this day and age with growing security c ...more
When it comes to modding Android, there's no better tool than Team Win's TWRP custom recovery. You can use it to root your phone, flash mods like Magisk or Xposed, and even replace the entire operating system with a custom ROM like LineageOS — honestly, there's not much this u ...more
Motorola changed the way users interact with their devices when they introduced their "always listening" feature on the Moto X. When I first saw it demoed, I couldn't wait to get the same functionality on one of my handsets, and now that has finally come to fruition. OnePlus ...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
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
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
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
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
Android O has finally arrived—well, it's technically a beta version, but that isn't stopping Android enthusiasts from going crazy about it. The first Developer Preview was released earlier today and is available right now to install on Nexus and Pixel devices. While Android O ...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
The hardware running your One is nothing short of powerful, but the people at OnePlus can't control how developers choose to utilize that power—or rather, not utilize it. Most popular developers have removed all signs of lag from their apps, but others still have archaic lines ...more
When you're flashing a custom ROM with TWRP recovery, it's almost never just one ZIP. Instead, you have to flash the ROM file, the Gapps, a custom kernel, and maybe even Xposed or Magisk, which results in a lot of back-and-forth. Thankfully, it doesn't have to be this way. If ...more
Thanks to HTML5 and dedicated video apps, watching your favorite shows, movies, or video clips on your Samsung Galaxy S4 couldn't be easier. However, there are still times when you'll run into a website that requires Flash to play a video or interact with its content. Although ...more
Welcome back, my tenderfoot hackers! I recently began a new series on digital forensics to help tenderfoot hackers from being detected and ultimately, incarcerated. In this installment of that series, we will look at recovering deleted files. This is important to hackers beca ...more
The OnePlus 3 and 3T are two of the most modder-friendly devices to be released in 2016. Not only that, but they're both extremely solid phones which happen to sport a very reasonable price tag. Among the things that make these devices such a joy for tinkerers is the fact that ...more
The 13-megapixel camera on the OnePlus One is capable of taking some pretty impressive shots, but the stock CameraNext app doesn't do the hardware justice. When compared to the camera app that ships on the ColorOS version of the One, you can immediately see an increase in clar ...more
Flashing ROMs can be a tricky process, and sometimes you can end up leaving yourself without a ROM at all, often referred to as a soft brick. If you accidentally wiped your internal memory before a flash or forgot to download the ROM before wiping your system partition, don't ...more
OnePlus changed the way we think about high-end phones. Their "Never Settle" motto led me to ditch my high-cost smartphone for their flagship One, which not only packs some pretty impressive hardware, but won't break the bank. Now that OnePlus has made a name for themselves wi ...more
ViPER4Android is a revolutionary audio equalizer for Android, something that I personally can't live without. That's the reason why porting V4A to the LG V20 was the first thing I did when I got the phone. There are two variants of ViPER4Android: FX and XHiFi. XHiFi is an olde ...more
CyanogenMod continues to be the most popular custom ROM for a good reason. Their team of developers always stay on top of the latest trends, and ensure that their software is packed with nice tweaks and awesome features. One such feature is an audio equalizer that allows you t ...more
In a previous softModder guide, we converted our HTC One smartphone into a legitimate Google Play Edition HTC One, but that conversion cause our bootloader to be locked once again. So, if we ever want to convert it back to a regular Sense-style HTC One, we'll need to unlock th ...more
You probably already know by now that a custom Android ROM can change your user experience and give you what feels like a new OS on your device, and there's no shortage of them out there to try out. A great perk of being a Nexus 5 owner is that devs tend to commit resources t ...more
So, you finally got the Jelly Bean update on your Samsung Galaxy S III, but one little problem—you've got some red glow around the edges of your screen now. Is your phone messed up? No, it's just a tiny glitch that some users have been reporting after updating their Galaxy S3s ...more
Samsung put some of the industry's most advanced camera tech in the Galaxy S20 series. However, their image processing still lags behind the Google Camera app found on Pixel phones, so the end result is good but not great. Luckily, you can install a mod to pair that beastly ha ...more
The iPhone's "Accessibility" menu is one of those options that's very easy to overlook but incredibly handy in certain situations. You can set AssistiveTouch to help navigate your device, use a Bluetooth mouse when your screen is acting up, and enable the red screen filter for ...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
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
LG's new KnockOn feature for the G2 wakes the phone up just by tapping on the screen twice, in lieu of using the power/lock button. This is something that would be equally as helpful on the HTC One, as it's sometimes a pain to use the power button, especially if it's worn out ...more
The switch from Dalvik runtime to ART in Android Lollipop has rendered the Xposed Framework useless until a new version is released, but Xposed isn't the only way to mod a phone. Before the days of Xposed, system mods were installed by flashing them in a custom recovery. It's ...more
Update: June 19, 2014 Android 4.4.4 has been released, fixing a small security bug in 4.4.3. The factory images have already been made available to all current-generation Nexus devices, and I've linked them out below. This does not affect the process depicted, you can still u ...more
If you're anything like me, you started down the Android-modding path for two distinct reasons; to run cutting-edge software and squeeze every bit of performance out of your hardware. Utilizing the new F2FS file system on your rooted Nexus 4 or 5 fulfills both of those desires ...more
Ringtones and text tones can be annoying, so my iPhone is almost always set to vibrate on silent mode. Unfortunately, that causes me to miss phone calls and text messages when the device isn't in my hands or pockets. While I hate missing alerts, I'm still reluctant to switch t ...more