Gadget Hacks How-Tos — Page 30 of 336 « Gadget Hacks (2024)

How To: Discover the Secrets of Trading Stocks for Under $30

While the stock market can be unpredictable, it's not a complete enigma. There are patterns to watch for that can make you a successful trader. Fortunately, there is an expert guide to becoming an analyst that's now available to everyone.

How To: Activate the Hidden Developer Options Menu on Your Pixel 4a

Developer Options is your first step to becoming a power user. If the Pixel 4a feels a bit slow, Developer Options can fix that. You want to root your device for unprecedented controls and powerful apps? You need to enable OEM unlocking in this hidden menu. ADB, secret features — Developer Options is where it all originates.

How To: Replace Your Alarm with Your Favorite Song or Playlist on Android

Waking up to buzzing alarm clock is so 20th century. Wouldn't it better if the first sound you heard in the morning was your favorite song? Whether it's a track to get you motivated or something to put a smile on your face, a song can do wonders for your mood and help you start the day right.

How To: Manually Switch to a Different 5G Band on Your Samsung Galaxy

Thanks to the Snapdragon X55 modem, the Galaxy S20 and Galaxy Note 20 are among the most compatible 5G phones on the market. There are few bands they don't cover, as the modem supports both Sub-6 GHz and mmWave. But even with such broad support, the Galaxy S20 doesn't get the best 5G reception.

How To: Turn Your Google Pixel Buds into Hearing Aids

Google's 2020 Pixel Buds are one of the hottest true wireless earbuds of the year. With their unique, circular design, they stand out from the long-stemmed AirPods look you get from other wireless earbuds. The design is also sleek and minimal, making them the perfect candidate to use as a personal hearing aid.

The new Google Meet integration in the Gmail app isn't quite subtle, to say the least. The feature takes up a huge chunk of the display, screen real estate that would otherwise be occupied by, you know, emails. While Google doesn't require you to live with the integration, it doesn't make it clear how to disable it. That's where we come in.

How To: This Powerful Deep Dive into Linux Could Change Your Life

Linux has been one of the most popular desktop operating systems for nearly three decades, ranking fourth in the world behind Windows, macOS, and Google's Chrome OS. The open-source operating system is loved for its quick, powerful, text-based interface and efficient communication tools.

How To: The Galaxy Note 20 Has a Gorilla Glass Victus Display — Here's Why That's So Awesome

One of the underrated components of the Galaxy Note 20 series is its usage of Gorilla Glass Victus. Think of this as Gorilla Glass 7, the latest innovation from Corning. And this release is a big deal, delivering protection without sacrifices.

How To: Get Android 11's New Media Controls on Any Phone

In Android 11, music player controls have been moved from the notification tray to the Quick Settings. The change frees up space for the new Conversations notification section. It also adds media output controls, making it possible to switch from your phone speakers to a Bluetooth device with only two taps.

How To: Lock Files in a Private Folder with the Files by Google App

Android has not had the best reputation for privacy and security, though Google has made strides in those departments in recent years.

How To: Manage Even the Most Complex Projects Easily with Scrum

Good communication is essential when managing teams and overseeing complex projects. Whether you're developing the latest and greatest app or trying to get ahead of a large data science project, effective communicators are always in high demand.

Late last year, Snapchat introduced Cameos, deep fake-ish stickers animated from your own selfies. Now, Cameos have evolved as a sticker option to use in photos and videos captured with the app's camera.

So, you're trying to show a friend or two a hilarious Reel you liked or saved on Instagram, but where is it? Unlike TikTok, Instagram doesn't make it clear where you're supposed to find your liked and saved Reels. Luckily, we can help.

Wearing masks and social distancing doesn't sound like a fun movie night with friends, but you can still be comfortable and watch films together remotely. Services like Discord and Netflix Party make it possible to watch movies simultaneously from different parts of the U.S., and now you can do it with Movies Anywhere too.

Mobile privacy is one of the most pressing security issues in existence. Since we carry our phones with us everywhere we go, we need to ensure that we're safe from prying eyes.

How To: You May Be Sharing Your iPhone's Location with Other People — Here's How to Stop It

Sharing your iPhone's real-time location can be very useful when you want family and friends to know where you're at or your estimated time of arrival. By doing so, they can track you when you can't or don't want to update them manually. Depending on how you shared your location, however, they might still be able to track your exact coordinates after the initial share.

Back in the Nexus days, Google's approach to hardware was very different from most OEMs. You could say OnePlus swooped in with a similar mantra a few years later, focusing on great hardware at an affordable price tag. There were compromises, of course, but even then, it resulted in true treasures such as the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 5.

How To: Improve Audio Quality in Voice Memos on Your iPhone to Get Better-Sounding Files

Lossless quality isn't for everyone. If you can't distinguish between lossless audio and other formats, you probably but don't need it. But if you're a musician who's sharing ideas with bandmates or a journalist interviewing people for a video, you might want the best possible quality, which is what lossless offers. And you might not know it, but the Voice Memos app on your iPhone supports it.

How To: Customize Your OnePlus 7 or 7T Pro's Caller ID Screen with an Updated Design

When you receive a call on your phone, you likely don't think twice about the design when the notification pops up. Whatever the default UI is, that's what works best since there aren't any other choices to pick from. At least, that's how things used to be in the past — we're starting to see some new OnePlus mods that allow you to expand on it.

How To: Not Sure What to Play Next? Use This App to Help You Find Hot New Mobile Games

Discovering great mobile games is difficult. With over 300 thousand games on the Play Store — not including the hundreds more available by sideloading — finding the right one to invest your time and money in can be hard. The Play Store's rating system is helpful, but ratings are often skewed by external factors.

How To: Use Your Pixel's Camera to Quickly Estimate the Angle of a Slope

It feels like every few months, some new feature is discovered in the Pixel's Camera app. By taking advantage of machine learning and the high-quality camera, Google continues to add hidden functions that improve your life even if they're a little niche.

How To: Use Create Mode to Make Colorful Text-Only Stories on Instagram

In a similar vein to Facebook's colorful backgrounds for text posts, Instagram has a way to add vivid text-only status updates for your stories. That way, you can conjure up colorful stories that make a statement without even needing to take a photo or video in the first place. And now there are even more fonts to choose from.

How To: Disable Location Access to All Your iPhone Apps So You Can Be Wiser About Permissions Going Forward

Many apps on your iPhone want to use your location, most of which are for valid reasons. But some apps can function perfectly fine without location permissions, while others have no business even requesting it. If you want to be more selective about which apps and services you give away your coordinates to, the best thing you could do is start from scratch.

How To: Take Control of Your Bank Account with These Master Classes

Navigating a pandemic is new for everybody, which makes staying on top of your finances more important than ever. Fortunately, financial freedom is possible when you focus on budgeting and investing wisely.

After an Instagram creator created a viral sensation last holiday season with the Which Disney camera effect, Disney followed it up with a Sponsored Lens playing a similar roulette with programming from Hulu.

How To: Scan Laundry Care Symbols with Your iPhone to See How You're Actually Supposed to Wash Clothes

When it comes to washing clothes, the laundry symbols on your tags might as well be hieroglyphics. They're difficult to interpret, easy to forget, and even easier to ignore. But if you don't want to ruin expensive designer clothes, blankets, and other fiber-based materials, you need to figure out the meaning behind those tiny icons. Thankfully, your iPhone can help out.

If you live in the US, it's your civic duty to understand our governing bodies and the political system that puts them in place. It doesn't matter what your age is, knowing who to vote for is as important as voting at all. That starts with policing your own representatives to help decide whether or not we should re-elect them.

How To: Lead Your Business to Success with Microsoft Azure

For a decade, Microsoft Azure has been transforming businesses across the globe. The cloud-computing service is leading the way in software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (Paas), and infrastructure as a service (IaaS) protocols.

How To: YSK That You Can Mute Live Photos So Nobody Has to Listen to Them

Live Photos are a great way to relive moments beyond a simple still image since you get up to 1.5 seconds of video before and after the shot. Of course, your iPhone doesn't just capture motion during a Live Photo — it also records audio. And that audio portion may not be something you want to share.

If you use iCloud Photos, Apple's iCloud link feature is meant to make sharing multiple photos and videos faster and easier, but it's not as great as you might think. Luckily, there's a way to stop your iPhone from creating them automatically, as long as you're running iOS 13 or later.

I've been steadily making my way through the series Hannibal, which arrived on Netflix in June. I've just now made it to the back half of the third season, which introduces us to a new villain who (spoiler alert) seeks to become the Great Red Dragon.

How To: Cheer for Your Favorite NBA Team Virtually in the Orlando Bubble

Now that MLB has finally begun to play ball without fans, the NBA is gearing up to restart its season with 22 out of teams qualifying to play in isolation in Orlando and advance to the playoffs.

How To: Don't Want to Share the 'Live' Part of a Live Photo from Your iPhone? Do This

Have you ever taken a photo to share with a friend, only to realize it was actually a Live Photo? Maybe you said something embarrassing in the background, or perhaps you moved the camera out of frame onto a subject you don't want your friend to see. Luckily, making a Live Photo a regular still photo is a breeze.

How To: Get Completely Custom Themes for Any Samsung Galaxy Using Hex Installer

Samsung's stock Galaxy Themes system leaves much to be desired with its restrictive and expensive theme packs. Back in the day, the gold standard for Android theming was CyanogenMod Theme Engine. And while it no longer exists, a successor has emerged to fill the void.

How To: Translate Webpages in Safari to Another Language Using Apple's New Translation Tool

Since iOS 8, it's been possible to use third-party tools such as Bing Translator and Microsoft Translator to translate foreign language webpages in Safari into your primary language. Now, in iOS 14, there's a better way to do it.

How To: Disable the Pull-Down Quick Settings Menu on Your Pixel 4's Lock Screen

On Android, there is a vulnerability that Google doesn't seem to want to fix — anyone can open the Quick Settings panel on your lock screen. GPS, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth, all toggles accessible in this menu, are vital tools for locating your phone in case it is ever stolen. But thanks to Xposed, you can eliminate this potential risk.

How To: Learn Everything You'll Ever Need to Know About IoT

The Internet of Things (IoT) is changing everything in our homes and at work, from security systems and lighting fixtures to smartphones and speakers. An estimated 50 billion devices are now hooked up to IoT.

How To: Create Photo Collages Using Instagram's Story Camera — No Layout App Needed

For the longest time, Instagram didn't have a native collage feature. If you wanted to post a story with an assortment of photos, you'd need to use the company's Layout app or a third-party collage maker. Thankfully, that is no longer the case since Instagram now bakes Layout directly into the story camera.

How To: Feeling Nostalgic? Here's How to Find Songs You Couldn't Get Enough of on Tidal

It is surreal how your playlists change over time. A song you loved in January will be forgotten about in May. With hundreds of singles from different artists coming out daily, it is easy to get distracted. Tidal understood this problem and created a solution called "History Mix."

Apple's Dark Mode in iOS 13 and later offers a cool, comfortable viewing experience on your iPhone. You may prefer the dark theme all day long, but if you like to use it only at night, it's not very convenient to switch it on and off daily. But there's a setting that lets you set it and forget it, so you never have to do it manually again.