Hot Samsung Posts
How To: Monitor CPU Temperature from Android's Status Bar
At the core of your Galaxy S5's hardware lies the central processing unit, or CPU for short. Practically every piece of data, every binary bit, has to pass through your CPU before it can be used to display a video or execute a game command.
How To: Hide Your Call & Message History for Specific Phone Numbers Using Reflection for Android
Only scumbags hide their call and message history, right? Wrong. While it may seem like a tactic for the unfaithful, it's still a good thing to do for certain contacts on your phone that you don't want to block outright.
How To: Install a Custom Recovery on Your Bootloader-Locked Galaxy S5 (AT&T or Verizon)
As the largest wireless service providers in the United States, AT&T and Verizon Wireless carry some serious clout. Sadly, they use some of this power to heavily modify the Android phones that they offer.
How To: Install a Custom Recovery on the Galaxy S5 (International, Sprint, & T-Mobile)
With Safestrap bringing custom recovery functionality to the AT&T and Verizon Wireless variants of the Samsung Galaxy S5, it's high time we covered this process for all other versions of the GS5.
How To: Enable the Hidden Call Recording Feature on Your Samsung Galaxy S5
Before your carrier got its grubby little hands on your Galaxy S5, there was less bloatware installed and more functionality offered by the Samsung flagship device. Case in point: the GS5 that Samsung designed was capable of recording phone calls, yet the one that you own probably isn't.
How To: Switch Between Your Two Most Recent Apps Faster with a TV-Style “Return” Button for Android
There are a gazillion app switchers on the market, and some are really awesome, like Edge, GloveBox, Loopr, and Switchr, to name just a few. However, these can all be a little bit more complicated and cumbersome than necessary when I just want to switch back to the last app I was in.
How To: Fix & Improve the Buggy Skype App for Android on Your Galaxy Note 3
Of the sixty or so "must-have" apps that are installed on my Samsung Galaxy Note 3, there's only one that I need to use and hate with a passion. Skype. Whenever using it, I'm consumed by dropped calls, mic issues, poor quality, and random crashes, among other things—and I'm not the only one.
How To: Set Emergency Contacts to Bypass Silent & Vibrate Modes on Your Galaxy Note 2
Extremely important calls have a way of coming at the most inopportune moments: when you're in class during an important lecture, at a big business meeting for work, or even when you're just enjoying a day at the movies.
How To: Unroot Your Galaxy S5 or Other Android Device
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.
How To: Get Rid of Annoying Startup, Camera, & Low Battery Sounds on Your Samsung Galaxy S5
I have the AT&T version of the Galaxy S5, so every time I start my phone I get the pleasure of hearing AT&T's lovely jingle. Actually, that's sarcasm—I absolutely abhor this sound. I haven't had the chance to play around with a Sprint, T-Mobile, or Verizon variants of this phone, but I imagine they have some sort of equally annoying boot sound.
How To: Take Spy Photos & Videos with Your Galaxy S3 or Other Android Phone
There are spontaneous times in everyday life that just scream to be recorded on video. The crazy guy yelling obscenities on the bus. Your favorite actor at the supermarket check-out register. Maybe even your kids just being super adorable.
How To: Secretly Monitor Text Messages on Your Galaxy S4 or Other Android Device
UPDATE: The mod discussed below is no longer available for download. We are looking for an alternative and will update this page when we find one.
How To: Send Encrypted Self-Destructing Messages on Your Galaxy Note 2
In February of this year, the Higher Court of Berlin ruled that Facebook must follow strict German data protection laws, which Facebook's terms of services and privacy policies circumvent.
How To: Play Your Google Music Library in Any Music App on Your Galaxy Note 3
As great as Google's own Play Music app is, your MP3 library is restricted to Google's own app. There are much better music players that give Google Play Music a run for its money, but duplicating music files on your device for this reason alone is a waste of storage space.
How To: Install the Xposed Framework on Your Samsung Galaxy S5
Now that all variants of the Galaxy S5 have finally been rooted, we can start exploring all of the tweaks and hacks that Superuser privileges open up to us.
How To: Root ANY Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Variant in Just One Easy Click
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.
How To: Root Any Samsung Galaxy S4 in One Click
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 those on AT&T and Verizon.
How To: Replace Your Galaxy S5 Screen
The Samsung Galaxy S5 display can be replaced by most do-it-yourselfers with some basic mechanical skills and a few inexpensive tools. The good news is that once you replace your display assembly your screen will be good as new with no bubbles or dust on the inside. The replacement part is a bit pricey but that is a good percentage of the cost involved with manufacturing this device. Below is a video showing the entire process from start to finish. It's best to turn on your volume for the nar...
How To: Safely Remove & Replace the Charging Port Cover on Your Samsung Galaxy S5
Having a dust- and water-resistant phone is truly useful, but it comes with a price. In order to achieve this functionality, Samsung had to literally plug up any holes in the Galaxy S5, and this included the charging port.
How To: Change System Fonts on Your Samsung Galaxy Note 3 (Root & Non-Root Methods)
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 inconsistent and erratic user interface.
How To: Enable "Unknown Sources" So You Can Download Third-Party Apps to Your Galaxy S5
When you try to install third-party applications (meaning apps not found in the Google Play Store) you'll be met with a warning that notifies you that your device currently blocks installations not obtained from the Play Store. Enable Unknown Sources
How To: Theme the Google Keyboard with New Colors & Shapes on Your Galaxy S4
The Galaxy S5 may be the new kid on the block, with fancy features such as a fingerprint scanner and dust/water protection, but the Galaxy S4 is no slouch by any means. While the S5 may be newer, the S4 remains beast of a device, and few simple mods can make it feel new again.
How To: Get More Lock Screen Pattern Attempts Without Waiting on Your Samsung Galaxy Note 3
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.
How To: Turn Your Galaxy S4 into a TV-Pranking Machine with a Universal Power Button
April Fools may be over, but any day is a good day to prank someone, and the best time to do it is when everyone's eyes are glued to the television.
How To: Put Your Galaxy S3's Screen to Sleep Just by Double-Tapping the Display
The "Knock Knock" features on LG's G2 phone have proven popular and useful enough to spawn various apps and mods cloning these abilities for other devices. Porting the "Knock On" feature to our Samsung Galaxy S3 isn't as easily doable, since developers would need to create a modded kernel, like they did for the HTC One. The "Knock Off" function, on the other hand, is a lot more manageable.
How To: Add Your iCloud Email Account to Your Galaxy Note 3 or Other Android Device
Whether you've been fully converted or just want a little Apple with your Android, adding your iCloud email to your Galaxy Note 3 is a fairly simple task. Usually, Apple and Android don't play nice, but your iCloud address can be added to your stock email app just like any other email account.
How To: Install a Custom Recovery & New ROM on Your Bootloader-Locked Samsung Galaxy S4
Third-party ROMs like CyanogenMod are the ultimate form of customization for softModders. Hard-working developers offer us alternate Android experiences to replace our often bloatware-riddled stock ROMs.
How To: Instantly Create Important Reminder Notes After Every Phone Call on Your Galaxy S3
I can be pretty forgetful. If there's something important to remember, I need to jot it down right away or risk losing it forever.
How To: Get the Classic iPhone Lock Screen on Your Samsung Galaxy S3
There's one reason why most of us have a Samsung Galaxy S3—because we don't want an iPhone. Yes, there are some pretty cool things about the iPhone aesthetically, but looks aren't everything. Anyway, with the nearly unlimited customizations options we have available for Android, cloning the iPhone-look is no problem—even the lock screen.
Photo Hack: How to Insert Yourself into Group Pictures on Your Samsung Galaxy S3
I'm a pretty nice person, so when someone asks me to take a group picture of their friends or family, I can't easily say "no," even if I have somewhere else to be. Even worse—sometimes I'm the one asking, fully knowing just how annoying it can be. Maybe you've been told "no" before, and have had to settle for being left out of the picture, which kind of sucks.
How To: Trick Out Your Galaxy S3's Status Bar with New Icons, Clocks, Colors, & More
The status bar is where we get all of the important need-to-know information for our phones. At a quick glance, you can see what time it is on your Samsung Galaxy S3, how much battery power you have remaining, your current signal strength, and more. But after a while, things can feel a little stale up there.
How To: Make Your Status Bar's Color Auto-Match Current Apps on Your Galaxy S3
The status bar is an omnipresent force on our Samsung Galaxy S3s; always there to give us that vital information about battery life, date and time, Wi-Fi access, and much more. But there's just something about that default black bar that's so...boring.
How To: Revert Back to Google Map's Original One-Finger Zoom on the Galaxy Note 3
Pinch-to-zoom has been a well-known feature in Google Maps, but one-finger zoom has always been a more practical way of navigating, especially for those of us using our phones with one hand.
How To: Make Secure Phone Calls Without Using Your Cellular Network for Enhanced Encryption
In the wake of the NSA controversy and its subsequent fallout, many dashed towards finding means of secure communication—using private internet browsing and encrypted text messaging applications—out of fear of being spied on.
How To: Open the Air Command Menu Without Using the S Pen on Your Galaxy Note 3
Improved S Pen functionality materialized in the form of Air Command controls on the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, allowing users to access shortcuts for their stylus features from anywhere on the screen. While the pie-interface controls are extremely useful, the only way to access them is when the S Pen is removed—making it impossible to use otherwise.
How To: Customize Your Ringer for More Advanced Contact-by-Contact Control
There are two scenarios that absolutely suck when someone calls you. The first is when you accidentally pick up a call you seriously didn't want to take. Debt collectors (thanks college), crazy exes, or that one guy from work. And the other is when you miss a super important call and can't get a hold of them afterwards.
How To: Add Floating Live Animations to Any Custom Wallpaper on a Galaxy Note 3
Regular wallpapers are like so 2012. That's where live wallpapers come in, bringing your background to life like a static wallpaper never could, with colorful animations, customization, and even interactivity. I've already shown off some of my favorite interactive wallpapers, but these type of apps are released at a rapid pace, making it difficult to choose just one that best fits your needs.
How To: Get the Android 4.4 KitKat Launcher & Google Now on Your Samsung Galaxy Note 2
For now, the redesigned and fresh-faced Android 4.4 KitKat is exclusive to the new Nexus 5, though it will be rolling out to other Google (Nexus 4, Nexus 7, Nexus 10) and Google Play Editions (Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC One) devices in the next week or two.
How To: Install Nova Launcher on Your Samsung Galaxy Gear for a More Standard Android Look
When it comes to the user interface, you're pretty much limited to the stock one that comes on your Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch—a carousel of large black and white icons representing the features and applications on the watch.
How To: Give Your Samsung Galaxy S4 a Facelift with a New Home Screen Theme of Your Choice
Unless you like paying exorbitant prices for out-of-contract phones, most of us are stuck with the one we already have for two or more years. The tech industry moves fast, and as new phones are released seemingly every month, your Samsung Galaxy S4 might start looking older by the week.