Unlock Phone

Though only just released, the official Skype client for Android has already been unlocked. Thanks to xeudoxus of DroidForums.net, American Android users may now do what their European counterparts have been able to do all along: make free Skype-to-Skype voice calls over 3G. ...more

For those who need security on their Android devices, the standard swipe lock screen just isn't enough, so it's necessary to install applications like GOTO and WidgetLocker to enable either pattern, password or PIN protection. This protection is great overall, but when you're ...more

This week, we take a break from the holidays and focus on one of our favorite pastimes: video games. With new releases, hacks, and Easter eggs coming out every day, it's easy to be overwhelmed by the choices available. Never fear: we're here to help you sort out the wheat from ...more

So, you're all excited you went ahead and 'upgraded' your iPhone 3G to IOS 4.0X so you could reap all the benefits of all the new features. As it turns out, many of the best features in IOS 4.0X are not available for the 3G, such as the Bluetooth keyboard, selectable backgrou ...more

Have an HTC smartphone? Chances are that some of your stored personal data has been hijacked by malicious apps on your device. Android apps that have permission to access the Internet, which is pretty much every ad-supported app out there, can snag valuable information such as ...more

Gone are the days when you had to carry a clunky DynaTAC to make phone calls, pocket phone book for you contact list, Sony Discman for your tunes, and wallet for you cash and credit cards. Today, all you need is your smartphone. To be specific, Google's Nexus S 4G on Sprint. ...more

+Tom Anderson of MySpace has been very active on Google+ over the first week, and he's not shy with his thoughts on the evolution of the industry he once owned. Here's his take on this morning's Facebook announcement and Mark Zuckerberg's response when asked about Google+. To ...more

Hallelujah, a miracle tool has been released to the world. This Windows/Mac tool is called Spirit and it enables you to jailbreak any iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad quite easily. And Gizmodo is all over it, with an in-depth guide on exactly how to do it. Some of you may be hackin ...more

If your current cellular provider costs too much, has poor reception in your area, or doesn't support features you'd like to use, switching to another carrier is the obvious move. But can you bring your current iPhone or Android phone? In most cases, your current smartphone w ...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

It's that time of year again. No, not Thanksgiving. Black Friday. There are a lot deals available this holiday weekend, many of which include flagship Android devices. Whether you are thinking of buying a phone for yourself or looking for a gift for someone else, you can find ...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

Why unlock your Samsung Galaxy S3 to use with a different SIM card? One possible reason is that you love your phone, but not your cellular provider because of the poor service or an unreliable connection. If you purchased a Samsung GS3 with AT&T, T-Mobile, etc. on a contract, ...more

There are a lot of Android phones out there, and chances are that someone in your life is looking for one this holiday season. Well, there also happens to be a lot of Black Friday deals on Android phones this year. So we've rounded up the best deals taking place on Black Frida ...more

The OnePlus 7 Pro is truly the best phone that the company has ever created to date — it's even one of the hottest phones around regardless of OEM. It offers an awesome display with minimal bezels, a smooth 90-hertz refresh rate, a pop-up selfie camera, and the best triple cam ...more

To combat their poor coverage in rural areas, T-Mobile spent nearly $8 billion on 600 MHz spectrum in 2017, which was converted to LTE Band 71. With such a low frequency, the signal can travel further, providing LTE speeds to more Americans. But your phone also has to support ...more

If you ever want to root your OnePlus 6, install TWRP, get Magisk and Xposed, or flash a custom ROM, the first thing you'll need to do is unlock your bootloader. Your bootloader is a piece of firmware that loads up the operating system on your phone. Normally, it's programmed ...more

Although the Essential PH-1 got off to a rocky start, thanks to steady updates, it has slowly become one of the best Android phones to come out in recent years. For $499, the Essential Phone is a cheaper Pixel, receiving updates almost as soon as the Pixel lineup does. What's ...more

With the same starting price as its predecessor and a nice list of improvements, the OnePlus 6T is a great buy for a number of reasons. But for many Android users, the main selling point for the latest OnePlus flagship is how easy it will be to root and mod the device. We jus ...more

Before you can dive into customizing your OnePlus 6T, you must take the initial step of unlocking the bootloader to gain the ability to install TWRP, Magisk, custom ROMs, and other mods. A bootloader is a program that starts up on a device that states what operating system it ...more

Root, TWRP, Xposed, Magisk, custom ROMs — before you can have any of these, the first thing you should do is unlock your bootloader. Thankfully, the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are some of the most modder-friendly phones out there, so you only need to send a single fastboot command ...more

Since the San Bernardino shooting in 2014, Apple's been engaged in a game of cat and mouse with law enforcement. Authorities want access to evidence on criminals' iPhones, but Apple wants to protect all of its customers' personal data equally. The latest installment in this sa ...more

We use smartphones for just about everything, and while that may be beneficial to us in our day-to-day lives, it can also be used against us in the court of law. Law enforcement officials can seize smartphones and give warrants to Apple, Google, your cellular provider—whoever ...more

The main draw for Google's Pixel series is the software. It rocks a clean version of stock Android instead of a heavy OEM skin like TouchWiz, it gets frequent prompt OS updates, the camera software is downright amazing, and it has perhaps the most fluid UI of any phone. But an ...more

UPDATE (February 26, 2014) Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1123 with a 295-114 vote decision. The ruling repeals the 2012 Library of Congress (LOC) decision that limited the ability to legally "unlock" your smartphone (see below). This decision reins ...more

LG, like many other OEMs, usually locks down their bootloaders with an airtight seal. There are a few good reasons for this, the big one being that an unlocked bootloader technically compromises some device security measures. LG would also argue that unlocking your bootloader ...more

When OnePlus announced their partnership with T-Mobile and the deal the magenta carrier is set to offer, mouths dropped. But as usual, this deal comes with some caveats. The bulk of these will hurt the folks who love to root, something a large portion of the OnePlus community ...more

The iPhone X has a new unlocking mechanism called Face ID, which replaces the old Touch ID system since the phone no longer has a fingerprint sensor. The way it works is simple — you just look at the phone, it recognizes your face, then the system unlocks — so Apple deserves t ...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

A great many S8 and S8+ users have undoubtedly spent quite a bit of time figuring out ways to unlock their new Galaxy in as few steps as possible. One of the most endearing features of previous Galaxy models was the ability to unlock the phone by pressing the home button and m ...more

One of Android's biggest strengths is its flexibility. There's usually more than one way to perform the same task, which makes it easy to find an alternate method that works better for you. Android also has some hidden features that newer users might not be aware of, so we mad ...more

The first thing you'll always have to do before getting your customization game on with most phones is to unlock the bootloader. Doing so opens the true potential of the device, allowing you to root, install TWRP, Magisk, custom ROMs, and other mods. No matter your wants or ne ...more

To really personalize your HTC 10, you'll need to be rooted — but that can't happen unless you unlock your bootloader. Thankfully, HTC has made it relatively easy to unlock the bootloader on their 2016 flagship. Unlocking your bootloader will make it a breeze to install TWRP, ...more

The Pixel 5 is a great value proposition in this era of $1,500 phones. With its reasonable price tag, fully open-sourced software, and unlockable bootloader, it's also an ideal phone for rooting. The process of rooting the Pixel 5 is a tried and true method: Unlock the bootlo ...more

If you live in the US, it's pretty simple: The Google Pixel 4a is the best phone for rooting and modding in 2020. Its price keeps the risk-reward ratio nice and low, and its unlockable bootloader makes it easy to modify virtually any aspect of Android. But recent updates to A ...more