Gadget Hacks How-Tos — Page 38 of 336 « Gadget Hacks (2024)

The "Zoombombing" trend is still strong on the Zoom video meetings service, despite security measures Zoom put in place to stop it. That's why it's up to you, as either a host or co-host, to be proactive about preventing Zoombomber harassment, as well as stopping it whenever it slips through the cracks.

Ever since Microsoft sunset Windows Phone, they've been working with Android to tap into the growing mobile device market. The tech giant has uploaded over 80 apps to the Play Store for any Android user to download, but some features Samsung has hoarded for themselves.

A modern iPhone is capable of running sophisticated, exquisitely-rendered games that rival titles on current-generation consoles. However, there is some value in classic video game titles, whether you grew up playing games on the Atari 2600, Nintendo Entertainment System, and Sega Genesis or not.

How To: Track Your Own Mobile Data Usage on iPhone or Android

Data is king. Nearly every carrier and MVNO offers unlimited talk and text with their cellular plans. Where they differ is the amount of data available, so that's the part that can save or cost you the most money.

Communication is an essential skill for successfully launching products. 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.

You've spent untold hours playing your favorite games. You know what you love. More importantly, you know what can be improved upon. The distance between vision and reality is not as far as you think. You just need a bit of training.

While sheltering at home has its downsides, one lesson we're all learning is how interconnected the world is. In that sense, it's a wonderful time to satisfy your curiosity about other cultures. There are many means of education like exploring music, cuisine, and fashion, but few things are as effective and beneficial as learning the native language.

How To: Watch Out for This Setting the Next Time You Set an Alarm on Your iPhone

When you set an alarm on your iPhone, you assume it'll go off at the set time. However, that's not always the case. There's one quirk in how iOS handles alarms that, if gone unchecked, will silence every alarm you set so that you won't wake up on time.

How To: Make OnePlus' Lift to Wake Feature Show the Lock Screen Instead of the Always-on Display

OnePlus releases some unique and exciting features before they start catching on with everyone else. Their OxygenOS is often considered the cleanest and most useful variant of Android. However, there are still a few key features OnePlus has yet to bring to their devices. This includes a proper lift to wake option.

How To: Record Video with Full 100x Zoom on Your Galaxy S20 Ultra

The Galaxy S20 Ultra can take pictures at 100x zoom. The regular S20 and S20+ can both do 30x for photos. But when you're shooting video, these same models are limited to 20x zoom for some reason — that is, unless you know where to look.

When it's hard to hear what's being said, subtitles give you clarity where audio falls short. Thanks to Android 10, your Galaxy S20 now lets you enable a live transcription of your phone's internal audio stream, meaning you can get closed captions in virtually any app — even if the app doesn't otherwise support them.

How To: 7 Free Pass 'n' Play Games for Your Phone That Make Coronavirus Bearable at Home

If you're quarantining with other people, consider yourself lucky — but it's not always easy. Staying in one space for so long with too many people can be challenging, so you need to find things to do to make the time go by (and to keep everyone sane). Our advice? Try out these seven free multiplayer games that only require one iPhone or Android device to play.

How To: Get Netflix Beta on Android — Even When the Beta Program Is Full

Netflix has offered its beta program officially through the Play Store for some time now. Still, the issue most of us face — the beta availability is always scarce. Without getting lucky and landing a beta spot early on when the gates were open, there wasn't much you could do about it. However, there's now a brand new method you can use to sideload the Netflix beta app and join in on the fun.

How To: Install Sileo on iOS 13 After Jailbreaking with Checkra1n

Checkra1n is by far the best way to jailbreak A7- through A11-powered iPhones on iOS 13 and later, but it's not without its downsides. Besides the lack of Windows support, the tool limits your choices to Cydia alone. With a little elbow grease, however, you can easily replace the app with Sileo for a more streamlined jailbreak experience.

As more and more people use the video conferencing service Zoom, the chances of trolling behavior and attacks only increase. But it's not just "Zoombombers" you need to worry about. A heated discussion between family, friends, or colleagues could turn sideways real quick, and sometimes the best course of action is to remove the participant from the group video meeting altogether.

How To: Add Quick App Shortcuts to the in-Display Fingerprint Scanner on Your OnePlus

If you have a OnePlus phone with an in-display fingerprint scanner like the 6T or 7 Pro, the "Quick launch" feature can put a variety of app shortcuts right on your lock screen for easy access. For example, you could use the "My apps" shortcut for the Play Store to check for your app updates in an instant.

How To: Add a Blinking Notification Light to Samsung's Always on Display on Your Galaxy

In the pursuit of large displays with thinner bezels, Samsung has sacrificed some components. While the loss of the headphone jack gets all the attention, there are other victims — namely, the notification LED.

How To: Get the 2020 iPhone SE's Exclusive Wallpapers on Any Phone

The new iPhone SE packs the power of the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max inside the chassis of the iPhone 8. But that's not all that's new on the 2020 SE. Apple has also included six new wallpapers, exclusive to the Special Edition model, but the internet makes it tough to make anything truly exclusive anymore.

How To: Double Tap Your Status Bar to Quickly Turn Off the Screen on Any Android — No Root Needed

Several popular custom ROMs and root mods let you double tap the status bar at the top of your screen to put the phone to sleep. It pairs perfectly with the double tap to wake gesture you'll find on pretty much any Android phone. But if you're not rooted, you'll be glad to know you can finally do this by installing a simple app.

How To: The iPhone SE Is Official —Here's How to Make Sure You Get Your Hands on One Before They Sell Out

The 2020 iPhone SE had been through the rumor mill for a long time, but Apple finally unveiled the second-generation iPhone SE on Wednesday, April 15. While it doesn't sport the 4-inch design of the original SE, it combines a small form-factor with modern specs. The big question, of course, is when and how you can get your hands on one.

How To: Learn Any of Rosetta Stone's 24 Languages with This Incredible App Bundle

As we settle into our new normal, this extra time provides a perfect opportunity to learn new skills. Speaking a foreign language is a great way to expand your cultural boundaries while also training your brain. Not only will you pass the time more effectively, but you'll also be doing something positive for your health.

How To: Prevent Sites from Hijacking Your Back Button on Chrome for Android

There are few things more annoying than back button hijacking. You tap a link on a website and decide you want to go back to the previous page, only to remain on the same page again as if you didn't hit the back button. After years of frustration, Google has finally given us a solution.

How To: Put Someone on Hold During a Zoom Video Call to Lock Them Out Temporarily

During a meeting in real life, you could ask non-essentials to exit the room temporarily so that you can speak to just a few privately, but now that conferences exist online, it requires a bit more finesse. You could start a new video call on Zoom or remove individual participants, but that makes it hard for those who left to join again. But there is a feature where you can just put some users on hold.

How To: 16 Best Games to Fill the Sports Void in Your Life

The COVID-19 pandemic has practically shut down all sports except for World Wrestling Entertainment, which has continued staging matches without an audience, leaving us sports fans with nothing much to cheer for. While they can't replace live games, smartphone games provide an alternate reality to live out our competitive entertainment in the absence of the real thing.

How To: Turn Off Live Photos Forever on Your iPhone's Camera App

Love them or hate them, Live Photos have their place. The problem is, they're always on, requiring you to disable the feature every single time you open the Camera app. At least, that's how Apple has things set by default — but you can change that with just a few taps.

How To: Make Android 10's Dark Mode Turn on Automatically at Sunset

It's nice having a dark theme on Android 10 and One UI 2, but setting it on a schedule takes it a step further. Imagine the light theme turning on every morning, and the dark theme taking over after sunset — all automatically. It sounds pretty simple, but it's one of those things you wouldn't know you need until you try it.

One of the greatest trends to emerge from this period of home isolation is the live concert broadcast from bedrooms and living rooms across the planet. Though public gatherings are on hold, you can still impact people with your music and mixes. In fact, it's helping many people get through this confusing time.

How To: Activate Developer Options on Your Galaxy S20, S20+, or S20 Ultra

The first thing any Android power user does with their phone is unlocked the Developer options. The hidden menu has many low-level tweaks, such as forcing Dark mode on all apps, speeding up animations, or enabling hidden Quick Setting tiles. And most modifications require nothing more than hitting a toggle.

While much of the world is currently in some form of quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic, augmented reality (AR) gives us all the opportunity to see virtual content while stuck in our homes.

How To: Inexpensively Edit Your Video Backgrounds with Ease

Producing professional video can be expensive and time-consuming. Green screens are cumbersome and require a lot of space, whereas dialing in the perfect lighting comes with its own challenges. For people working on a budget and space constraints, achieving the ideal background can be a nightmare.

How To: Launch Any Music App When You Connect Headphones to Your LG on Android 10

For audiophiles, few smartphones come close to LG flagship devices. With either the latest G series or V series phone, you can be sure you're getting the best audio experience of any smartphone thanks to Quad DACs and headphone jacks. And with some tinkering, you can make this experience even better.

How To: This Is the Easiest Way to Take Screenshots on Your OnePlus

There are quite a few ways to take screenshots on Android, but not all are so obvious. In fact, the best methods are often gesture shortcuts, hidden from sight by the OEM. OnePlus is no exception.

How To: 8 Different Ways to Mute Someone on Zoom That's Disturbing Your Video Meeting

If you're using or need to use Zoom, the popular video teleconferencing service, you've almost certainly heard about "Zoombombing" by now. While Zoom has been adding security measures to address the problem, there are other things you can do to prevent or stop Zoombombers in their tracks so that your video meetings and chats go undisturbed and uninterrupted.

How To: Remove the White Line from the Bottom of Your Galaxy S20's Home Screen

Your S20 has a shortcut for Samsung Pay along the bottom of the home screen. But it tends to get in the way sometimes, especially if you're using the new Android 10 gestures in One UI 2. Besides, if you don't use the feature, you probably don't want that little white line at the bottom of your screen anyway.

How To: Get the Pixel's Google Camera App on Your Galaxy S20, S20+, or S20 Ultra

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 hardware with arguably the best camera software.

How To: Disable Those Pesky 'Screenshot Saved' Notifications on Your Android Phone

On stock Android 9 and 10, it is easier than ever to take a screenshot and quickly edit the captured image. However, the downside to that convenience has manifested itself in a heads-up notification that can also get in the way.

How To: 9 Ways Your iPhone Can Help You Be More Productive When Working from Home

With stay-at-home orders for most of us in the US because of the new coronavirus, many of you are likely struggling to be productive and efficient when working from home. Unless you've worked from home before, it can be challenging to separate work from personal life throughout the "workday." But your iPhone can help make the transition easier and more successful.

How To: Own a Ton of Digital Movies? Let Others Watch Them for Free with Screen Passes

One of the benefits of Blu-ray and DVD is the ability to share discs with friends and family without any hassle. Want to show off your favorite movie? Just lend them your copy. A digital movie isn't so kind, as it's typically locked to the account that purchased it. But now there is a way to share your digitally purchased movies with friends and family — and it won't cost you or them a dime.

How To: Check Real-Time Network Traffic on Google Wifi or Nest Wifi

For the most part, Google Wifi and Nest Wifi systems take care of themselves. But there are still a few manual features that might come in handy, like being able to check on network activity to see which devices are using the most bandwidth when your connection gets bogged down.

How To: 7 Fun Galaxy S20 Features Everyone Should Know About

If you haven't used a Samsung device in a few years, the Galaxy S20 series will be your first taste of One UI 2, the skin running on top of Android 10. Although One UI is on the heavier side, it has loads of exciting features that go beyond what's offered in stock Android.