Without a comprehensive root method for all Android phones and tablets, a device-specific approach is needed. And since we always cover new rooting methods for all the popular phones here at Gadget Hacks, we've built this always-updated guide to rooting many mainstream Android ...more
Multitasking has always been one of Android's strengths relative to other mobile operating systems. As the first cell phone OS with "true" multitasking, Android's been ahead of the game in this department for quite some time. To stay on top of the heap, though, further innova ...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
Since the introduction of the Nexus 4 to the Google Play Store last November, the phone's been in constant demand thanks to the low price and sleek design. Even today, the phone is still listed as sold out. LG's Nexus 4 is also the only smartphone in circulation that can run a ...more
Regardless of what they call them—be it Pixel or Nexus—Google's line of smartphones have a cool feature called "Ambient Display" that wakes your screen in a low-power black and white state when you receive a notification. This feature was added back when Google owned Motorola, ...more
Despite CyanogenMod actively working on their CM 12S Lollipop-based ROM, OnePlus has opted to develop their own ROM, and after a few setbacks, OxygenOS is finally out. The OS is the result of OnePlus wanting to ship their devices without needing an outside company to create a ...more
Google has a lesser-known Android app called Device Assist that might just be one of the most useful programs the company has ever published. It offers interactive guides and general tech support for Android, plus it can diagnose your device and help you fix any issues it find ...more
Google inconspicuously announced an Android update yesterday, and while it's not quite the overhaul that the initial Lollipop release was, version 5.1 brings plenty of bug fixes and new features. This new version is currently on a staged rollout for Nexus devices, so the upda ...more
It seems nowadays the word "easy" has taken on an alternate meaning. When I see "easy," I expect a quick and painless process, but when it comes to flashing or installing a custom ROM, easy means anything but. That's the main reason I've avoided installing CyanogenMod on my S ...more
Whether you're the owner of a Google Nexus One Android smartphone or just covet one, you're sure to enjoy this Nexus One owner's guide from Nexus One Hacks, which presents a complete, step-by-step walkthrough of how to restore ROMs on a Nexus One smartphone. For complete detai ...more
Want to root your Google Nexus One Android smartphone from a Mac? It's simple! So simple, in fact, that a complete walkthrough of the process can be presented in just over eight minutes' time. For the specifics, and to get started running custom ROMs on your own Nexus One phon ...more
Root and run custom ROMs on your Nexus One! This four-minute guide will walk you through the entire process. For all of the specifics, including step-by-step instructions, and to learn how to hack your own Google Nexus One Android mobile phone, take a look!
Root your Sprint (CDMA) HTC Hero Android smartphone and run custom ROMs! This hacker's how-to presents a thorough, step-by-step overview on unlocking and rooting a Google Nexus One Android smartphone. For detailed instructions, and to get started rooting your own Nexus One sma ...more
Some of my favorite games include Super Mario World, Super Mario Kart, Super Punch Out, and Super Metroid. If you still haven't caught on, I'm a big Super Nintendo fan. Growing up in the '90s meant spending Saturday mornings engulfed in front on my TV with the good old SNES ru ...more
Back in 1996, the Super Nintendo had pretty much reached its end of life, since everyone in the Mario club began switching from 2D to 3D gaming. The third home console by Nintendo, the Nintendo 64 (N64), ushered in the new 3D gaming generation of Nintendo fanatics, paving way ...more
If you're as bad at locking your Nexus up as I am, you have the "slide" option set for your screen lock. It may not be the most secure option, but it's definitely the easiest way to unlock your device while being able to utilize lock screen widgets. Now look at your lock scre ...more
If you've spent enough time in an arcade like me, you're probably well acquainted with the dreaded "ran out of quarters syndrome." Just when you're about to beat the last boss in Marvel vs. Capcom, or make it to the next level in Donkey Kong, you're all out of quarters to cont ...more
When people first learn that their Android device is capable of dual-booting different operating systems, e.g. Linux, they almost universally respond with, "That's so cool." And for those of us ambitious enough to actually try one out, we are typically filled with glee as we s ...more
A rooted Android device means we're on our way to some truly amazing customization options. But there may be a few steps left to completing that journey, and a major one is installing a custom recovery. A recovery is simply a skimmed down operations tool that runs between you ...more
Full screen mode, also called immersive mode, is one of the most popular features on CyanogenMod, but it's almost exclusive to CM and other custom ROMs. What this feature does essentially is remove the Status bar and soft keys from your screen, creating a more mesmeric feel. ...more
If you've ever owned an HTC device or anything in the Nexus line, odds are, you have typed the word "fastboot" into your command line at one time or another. That said, odds are, you have only just barely scratched the surface of what this handy little Android tool can do. Let ...more
Just the fact that you own an Android device means you're privy to an entire world of third-party development. Many of the mods you'll see here on Gadget Hacks can be performed fresh out of the box, but with root and Xposed, the list grows longer. But to truly be able to take ...more
One of the biggest features to come out with Android O was the addition of a new System UI Tuner submenu that lets you customize the navigation bar at the bottom of your phone's screen. But as it turns out, this same feature can be enabled on devices running Android Nougat, ev ...more
Remember that feeling when you first took your smartphone out of the box, powered it on, then proceeded to futz around with it for the rest of the day non-stop? If you've owned your device for more than a year, chances are, that scenario is a distant memory by this point. So ...more
Android enthusiasts have their own opinion as to whether you need antivirus software on an Android device. This debate will never end, provided that Android malware is in existence. This guide is not here to say, "Yes, you need antivirus," or "No, you don't." It's to give you ...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
As we first reported here on Gadget Hacks, Google's new Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones come with an unlockable bootloader, with the exception of models sold by Verizon. This means that by sending a simple fastboot command, you can flash third-party firmware images like TWRP c ...more
If smartphone video games have a weakness, it's probably their inability to emulate the riveting and immersive experience that consoles offer. Sure, there are mobile gaming products out there like the PlayStation Portable (PSP), but when we're constantly lugging around tablet ...more
The great thing about Android's customization is that you can either clutter up your home and lock screen with an infinite amount of awesome features and tweaks—or choose more of a stripped down minimalistic look. If you're someone who leans more towards a minimalistic look, a ...more
Hi guys. Hope you all had a good Christmas , today i have a tutorial for you. If you brick you device it's not my fault I will show you how to build the new version of NetHunter and install it to your device(must be a supported device,,see the list below) Nexus 4(mako) Nexu ...more
Android comprises an entire ecosystem of apps, games, functions, and features, so it would only make sense that it has its own lexicon. Words, phrases, and acronyms that didn't exist ten years ago are now used in an off-the-cuff style by developers and support technicians acro ...more
There are a lot of mods for your Nexus 7 when it comes to improving and streamlining its overall functionality. You could add custom swipe gestures, conserve battery power, and even run multiple apps at the same time. However, efficiency and performance aren't the only reason ...more
Android's stock appearance is easy on the eyes, but after a while, it's outright boring to look at. Unlike other tablets from some manufacturers, the Nexus 7 runs stock Android and is free from any special UI tweaks or customizations. Sure, you can download themes for a third ...more
Even if you have the fastest internet connection in the world, it's not going to be fast if your Android device isn't optimized to use all of the bandwidth. I have pretty fast speeds at home, but every now and then my web surfing on my Nexus 7 tablet is halted in its tracks—fo ...more
If MacGyver had a Nexus 7, he'd most definitely have TWRP installed. It's the softModder's Swiss Army knife for all things modding. You can flash custom ROMs, install add-ons, recover from a disaster, and much more. But even with a wide array of modding features, TWRP, which ...more
There may only be a few hardware buttons on your Samsung Galaxy Note 2, but when they're not working, your phone might as well be a doorstop. A few years back, I was texting while walking to class and a student on a bicycle crashed into me. My phone was flung thirty feet—strai ...more
According to a study done by Kaspersky, 7.6% of Android users root their phones. That may not sound like a lot, but with over 2 billion Android devices out there, the math works out to over 150 million rooted phones — more than the total population of Russia, Mexico, or Japan ...more
When Android N is officially released sometime later this year, it will bring a lot of cool new features along with it. We've already had the chance to play around with some of these, thanks to a preview build available to Android beta testers, and one change that we like in p ...more
It's official: The next version of Android will be code-named "Marshmallow," and we're getting a whole number bump to version 6.0. Lots of exciting new changes are coming to the world's most popular operating system, including a "Now on Tap" feature that will give you relevant ...more
As it stands, Firefox OS isn't a very popular third-party operating system for Android devices, especially when compared to others like CyanogenMod, but Mozilla developer Fabrice Desré is attempting to change that. With the introduction of his new application called B2GDroid, ...more
One draw that Samsung's Galaxy S line has had over the Google Nexus 4 and 5 and the HTC One (though the M8 appears to be following suit) is expandable storage. Pop a microSD card into the slot and you have extra storage for music, photos, and even apps themselves in some cases ...more
While the new Android 4.4 KitKat is only available on one device at the moment (damn you Nexus 5), it doesn't mean that we can't enjoy some of the features it has to offer on our non-KitKat devices right now. We can already get the KitKat launcher and Google Now on our Samsun ...more
Usain Bolt ran 100 meters in 9.58 seconds, an insane record-breaking time that might not ever get beat. As fast as that is, wouldn't it feel like a travesty if your Samsung Galaxy S3 took that long to open up Wikipedia? Surfing the web on my GS3 is pretty fast, but why not ma ...more
Stock Android is a great experience, and it's probably one of the biggest reasons that people purchase a Nexus device over other Android phones. Without carrier or manufacturer modifications to the core software, the entire user interface feels a lot more clean and snappy, and ...more
If you have a custom recovery installed on your Nexus 5, you're able to flash custom ROMs and lots of other cool Gadget Hacks. But when it comes time to receive and Over-the-Air (OTA) update directly from Google, having a custom recovery installed can be a fairly big hindrance ...more
With Geohot's Towelroot allowing us to root our Nexus devices in under a minute without ever leaving Android, many of you are probably enjoying all of the Gadget Hacks that root access has unlocked. But some tweaks, such as interface themes and Custom ROMs, come in the form o ...more
After lots of waiting and anticipation, the OnePlus One Android smartphone has been unveiled, and it's ready to take down the Nexus. Video: . This CyanogenMod based device comes in with high-end features and a killer price point, and is set to go on sale in May. The OnePlus O ...more
Google's long awaited 4.3 Jelly Bean update is officially out, only it has not been pushed out to some of our Nexus 7 tablets yet. Although there aren't really any new UI changes, most of Jelly Bean 4.3's magic is under the hood, meaning user's can expect better performance an ...more
Hi, everyone! Recently, I've been working on a pretty interesting and foolish project I had in mind, and here I'm bringing to all of you my findings. This guide's main aim is to document the process of building an Android kernel, specifically a CyanogenMod kernel and ROM, and ...more
The latest Google Play Services update has somehow broken major functionality in both Titanium Backup and Substratum. Titanium Backup has suddenly become stuck at zero percent while restoring, and Substratum simply fails to apply themes anymore. Both of these apps do require r ...more
LG got in on the action at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona by unveiling its new G5 handset on Sunday, February 21st. It will be the first publicly available modular smartphone by a top tech giant. Video: . The Magic Slot The highlight of the G5 is undoubtedly the "Magic Sl ...more
Android version 5.0 Lollipop introduced a ton of changes to the OS—and of course with new features, there's always a new set of bugs. One of the biggest bugs of all was a massive memory leak caused by the new screen-off animation, which loaded its assets into memory but never ...more
If you're an Android fan, you probably made your choice in mobile operating systems based on the insane level of customization options that Google's software offers. Don't like your home screen app? Simply replace it. Not a fan of a particular app's sharing system? No big deal ...more
Android's permissions system is simple, transparent, and straightforward. When installing an app, you get a chance to review all of the permissions that the app has requested. These can range from accessing your location data to holding a "wakelock" in order to prevent your ph ...more
Last week marked the announcement of LG's new G3 smartphone, and with it came a ton of new features and improvements to their Optimus UI. While most manufacturers put little effort into their keyboards—probably due to the attraction of third-party alternatives—LG has made thei ...more
Sense 6 is great, don't get me wrong, but sometimes I start to miss the vanilla Android experience that comes with Nexus devices. You can always convert your M8 to the Google Play Edition, but then you'd have to ditch all the Sense exclusive features, and we wouldn't want that ...more
There really isn't any custom manufacturer skin, like Sense, that can match the clean look and fluidity that comes with stock Android. HTC knows this, and they, just like Samsung, include a Google Play Edition version in their flagship lineup. In effect, these GPE variants pu ...more
Seemingly lost in the fanfare of the numerous features and specs of the Nexus 5 were a few highly innovative and handy add-ons—a low-power step detector and step-counting sensor—useful for tracking fitness data. Both of these sensors are supported by Android 4.4 KitKat, but t ...more
It's time. You've experimented with apps from the Play Store, you've switched your lock screen, and maybe you've taken different launchers out for a spin. If, throughout your tinkering, you've found yourself chanting, "More. More. Give me more!" then now is the time. It's time ...more
If you've been using Google's hidden App Ops to lock down and prevent some of your Android applications from exposing your privacy, then think twice before updating to the new Android 4.4.2 software. What Is App Ops? App Ops was Google's hidden gem that was built into the An ...more