Samsung has multiple built-in font styles to choose from in TouchWiz, but they're limited to just four types. While there are many font installers available on Google Play, they usually cost money and only replace some of the text on the device, not all of it, creating an inco ...more
In order to unleash the full potential of your Samsung Galaxy Note 3, you've got to root it. These days, it's easier than ever, and can be done by just plugging your device into a Windows computer and pressing one button. It's so easy, your grandmother could do it, so what's s ...more
AT&T and Verizon customers, it's finally happened. After many long months of waiting, and a fairly significant bounty up for grabs, your Galaxy Note 3s can finally be rooted! Best of all, it may be the simplest method for achieving root we've ever encountered. Towelroot is th ...more
Scrolling through Instagram, you're going to come across a lot of photographs and videos that you "like." But sometimes, you're going to want to remember a photo, and naturally want to save it to your device so you can look at it for forever and ever. Unfortunately, there is ...more
As a preventative measure against exploitation, certain Android applications won't work if your device is rooted. Opening one of these apps that detects root will typically end up with a warning and an inability to access its features, like in the picture below. AS IF! Since ...more
While AT&T and Verizon may not have had a chance to screw Note 2 owners with unrootbale devices—mainly because they've screwed us over by not issuing KitKat updates—it's safe to say that they can in the future. And while Sprint and T-Mobile subscribers have been able to root, ...more
Whenever a new Android device is realized, the first thing I figure out how to do is to get it root access. Generally speaking, rooting has never been easier, with many one-touch methods like Stump and Towelroot available. But as manufacturers and carriers increase security wi ...more
The Snapdragon version of the Galaxy Note 20 and 20 Ultra — the one sold in the US — can't be rooted. Without root, the level of customization is limited. Such a large group of Android users shouldn't miss out on mods, and they don't have to. A number of third-party and Samsu ...more
Nearly ten years since the first Galaxy Note and yet the Galaxy Note 20 still hasn't solved one of its biggest problems: bloatware. There are still over 20 redundant or unnecessary apps that are on this $1,000+ phone. But while it does require some advanced tools, it's still p ...more
While the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 has an integrated LED for notifications, it only works for a few things, like charging and low battery, and it only flashes two main colors (red and blue) when the screen's off. As someone that usually has their phone on silent or vibrate, it's ...more
What is your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 running? More than likely, you're still rocking Jelly Bean 4.1.2, which is already pretty outdated. My grandma uses 4.1.2. Seriously, Where the Heck Is the New 4.2.2 Update? After being delayed over and over again by Samsung due to TouchWiz ...more
While the legality of secretly recording phone calls varies in each country, sometimes it's useful to have audio documentation of conversations you have on your Samsung Galaxy Note 2. There are plenty of reasons you'd want to be able to record phone calls, from important conv ...more
Customizing isn't all rooting and ROMs—there are plenty of ways to customize your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 or other Android device without gaining superuser access. One of the easiest ways is to install an Android launcher, sometimes called a home launcher, that matches your styl ...more
While it may not always be practical, controlling your smartphone with air gestures can be pretty awesome. I would bet that if someone in public saw you using gestures to maneuver through your device, they'd be pretty impressed—and also kind of creepy for watching you. With t ...more
Just like the recently rediscovered Star Wars ruins in the Tunisian desert, there are tons of hidden treasures in your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 just waiting to be unearthed. Rooting enables you to install custom ROMs, exclusive features from other devices, add Wi-Fi tethering, o ...more
The new Samsung Galaxy Note II is a powerful and sleek device that begs for some customization, and there's no better way to customize your Android device than installing a custom ROM of your choice. One of your choices is the Omega ROM, which is just one of many that you can ...more
While rooting your Galaxy Note 2 certainly has its advantages—everything from increasing security to relieving the Power button of its duties—it's definitely not for everyone. Whether you're concerned about voiding your warranty or just really like your stock device, rooting ...more
With the new Samsung Galaxy Note II, there's a new Multi Window mode that allows users to run two different apps simultaneously on the tablet's screen. This feature works with Samsung and Google apps like Gmail, YouTube, Chrome and Talk. Video: . With the list of the functioni ...more
When it comes to blocking unwanted calls, your Android device comes stocked with a native blocking feature that allows you to reject certain phone numbers. That being said, the native blocking feature on the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 isn't the prettiest or the smartest, with its n ...more
In most states, it's completely legal to record a telephone conversation that you're a part of without the other parties knowing. You can even record a conversation that you're not a part of, as long as you have consent from at least one person involved in the call. However, ...more
Think of all the times you've ever copied and pasted a string of text on your device. At least once, I bet you've wanted to see your copy history. Mac OS X and Windows has had this built-in since forever, so why not Android? I'm constantly going back to re-copy something in A ...more
Normally, it's good to automatically update your apps to the latest version, but sometimes those updates take away features that you've grown to love. Google Maps used to track your bus route and alert you to whenever your stop was approaching, but not anymore. Every Snapchat ...more
It took a few months, but several major phones are finally receiving updates to Android Oreo. At this point, we've spent significant time talking about Oreo on the Galaxy S8, Galaxy Note 8, and Essential Phone. While an update to the latest OS is always great, there is one big ...more
Twitter found a sweet spot with its 160-character limit, but Snapchat sports a social media low of 31 characters, forcing us to condense our ideas into a few short words when typing in picture captions because of their ephemeral nature. While this severely limited amount of wo ...more
There are a lot of things your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 can do straight out of the box, but there's also a ton of things it can't, or simply could be better at. That's why most of us end up rooting—to enhance the mobile experience. Today, I'll be showing you some of my favorite ...more
Screen timeouts serve mostly as security measures and energy savers, but they can also interrupt you when you're reading a book or editing a document. There is no built-in way to manage screen timeouts on a per-app basis, but if you've got root access, you can do just that usi ...more
According to a recent survey conducted by Edison Research and Statista, Pandora still has a firm grasp as the most popular music streaming service in the United States. With iHeartRadio, iTunes Radio, and even Spotify trailing behind by a large margin, it doesn't look like Pan ...more
For the most part, Google Play Music makes it extremely easy to upload and organize your music library, as well as access it quickly using the default settings—but there are a few things it could do better. In your settings, you can adjust the equalizer, block explicit songs, ...more
You can't beat Samsung's hardware, but their software still isn't for everyone. That's the thing, though — software can be replaced. So if you're more a fan of Google's vision for Android, but you can't get enough of Samsung's beautiful screens and build quality, you're just 1 ...more
While the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is sure to get an Android 5.0 Lollipop update, there's no official confirmation on when exactly that will happen (rumors state January). In the meantime, there are a number of ways to get some of Lollipop's features on your KitKat device right n ...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
While Snapchat's latest update brought messaging and video chatting, it also ruined something for us softModders—KeepChat. With KeepChat, we were able to save pictures and videos sent to us without the other person being notified. It was pretty slick, and I was beginning to mi ...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
One of the Note 3's best features is Multi Window mode, which allows users to display more than one app on the screen at the same time, taking advantage of the large and high-resolution display. When the Galaxy Note 4 was released earlier this year, it improved on the Multi W ...more
You may note be able to root your Snapdragon-powered Note 10, but thanks to the hidden Developer Options, you can still tweak low-level settings like custom codecs for better audio quality on Bluetooth headphones and faster animations to enhance your experience. Best of all, y ...more
In an attempt to keep things simple, Snapchat has a limited amount of editing features, made up of "smart" photo filters, drawing pens, and special text captions. If you want more editing capabilities, you'll be pleased to know there's a way, no thanks to Snapchat, but you wil ...more
The Air Command window on Samsung Galaxy Note devices makes it easy to access all of the features that the S Pen has to offer, such as Action Memo, which turns your handwritten notes into actionable links, and Pen Window, where you can draw a square on the screen to open a cer ...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
With over 20 million songs, Spotify has become my go-to source for music. I can stream tunes to my desktop or phone, without ever having to worry about storage space being eaten up. One key difference between the desktop and mobile version that really bugs me is the lack of o ...more
Something pretty awesome happened over the last couple of days. George Hotz, better known as Geohot, the infamous hacker known for jailbreaking iOS and exploiting the Sony Playstation 3, has brought joy to owners of just about all Android smartphones and tablets, especially th ...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
Every time my Galaxy Note 3 boots up, I'm greeted by the monotonous and slightly annoying AT&T sound. If you're as tired of the stock boot up sound as I am, then follow along with me below to see how to change it to whatever sound you want, no matter what carrier version you h ...more
The rumors are flying everywhere about the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 getting updated to Jelly Bean 4.2, but as of now, we have no freakin' idea when. Among all of the features sported in the update, Photo Sphere is one of the more popular, allowing you to snap incredible and immer ...more
One of the more innovative features about the new Windows 8 operating system is the ability to unlock the screen via a picture password. This new feature allows the user to select any photo they would like and use taps, circles or straight lines to unlock the device. The video ...more
Samsung began offering Android 7.0 Nougat to users in its beta program on November 10, 2016. The beta came to a close last month after the fifth and final version was pushed out to users under the build number ending in 1ZPLN. This update was released a couple of days after Ch ...more
There are many impressive features on a Samsung Galaxy Note 2, but just like any other smartphone on the market, the most used one is the camera. How many times did you take a picture today? Or admire all the selfies in your gallery? Or upload a video to Instagram, Vine, or Sn ...more
Lock screen security provides a means of safety when it comes to keeping others from breaking into our smartphones and snooping around on or stealing private information like documents, emails, photos, and videos. While pattern locks are definitely useful, they can become a n ...more
Geohot's Towelroot exploit made rooting the Galaxy S5 so easy that it was almost unreasonable not to try it out—even for the first-timers out there. This, of course, meant that folks who didn't truly need root for their usage went ahead and got Superuser privileges anyway. Ma ...more
For the first time ever, iPhones will be getting live panoramic wallpapers in iOS 7, but it's something Android devices have always embraced. On your Samsung Galaxy S3, you can have anything as your Home or Lock screen background, from a static wallpaper, to a live interactiv ...more
My first encounter with a phablet was late last year with the AT&T version of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, having never touched or even seen its highly-acclaimed and pioneering predecessor. Initially, I was a bit overwhelmed by the enormous screen and taken aback by the dated st ...more
After the Galaxy Note 3 firmware updated to NF4, Samsung decided to remove the option to hide apps in the app drawer, replacing it with an uninstall/disable feature instead. Before, with the hide feature, you could simply hide third-party apps that were barely used or that you ...more
Samsung reintroduced its well regarded Good Lock app, so now you can tweak parts of your Galaxy's interface without the need for root or other labor-intensive mods. Thanks to an awesome add-on, you can even tidy up you phone's status bar — so if you've always wanted to get rid ...more
Out of the box, your Android device can be customized in many different ways, and a ton more with root access, but adjusting the actual interface of the system is a little bit more challenging. Changing the status bar size, icon width/length, and positioning of toast notificat ...more
Thanks to its dedicated ImageChip, the HTC One has one of the best cameras out of all the smartphones currently on the market. Their branded UltraPixel Camera can take full resolution photos while shooting video, has superior auto-focusing, and provides great overall quality f ...more
So, you want to install the Oreo beta on your Galaxy Note 8 but you're not sure if it's stable enough. It is a beta, of course, so waiting until others have tried it out sounds safer. Well, over the past five days, I've used the T-Mobile version as my daily driver and there ar ...more
The sheer variety of Android devices on the market is staggering—one report suggests there are well over 24,000 distinct phones and tablets floating around out there. When you consider that each manufacturer adds a few tweaks to the Android code base here and there, that makes ...more
I like being fast at everything (well, almost everything), and I expect no less from my smartphone. So when I'm using an app on my Samsung Galaxy S3 that takes up the full display, I don't want to swipe down twice to get to my notifications—I want to swipe down once. The Slow ...more
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. Why Tripping KNOX Is Bad for Your Phone To give you a bit of ...more
First off, Rooting Your Device voids the warranty on the device. If you want to root your device but are afraid of "bricking" said device, rooting it may not be good for you. Okay, now that we've got that out of the way, its time for... Why should I Root my device? Reason 1: ...more
If you're not acquainted with 500px, you should be. One of the more preeminent photography communities out there, 500px takes you through a journey of incredible shots—anything from nature and urban explorations to cities and architecture to the abstract. Whatever your prefere ...more