Samsung Features
How To: Stop Those Annoying Persistent Notifications on Your Samsung Galaxy S3 for Good
I love getting notifications for every email received on my Samsung Galaxy S3 and whenever a download finishes, but there are some alerts I could definitely do without.
How To: This Easy Mod Lets You Use Air Gestures in Any App on a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 (No Root Required)
While it may not always be practical, controlling your smartphone with air gestures can be pretty awesome. I would bet that if someone in public saw you using gestures to maneuver through your device, they'd be pretty impressed—and also kind of creepy for watching you.
How To: Restart into Recovery or Download Mode Right from Your Samsung Galaxy S4's Reboot Menu
Rooting your Samsung Galaxy S4 has many advantages; theming, free wireless hotspots, deleting system apps, and generally being ahead of the curve when it comes to updates. It's also great for simple things like centering your clock or freezing apps.
How To: Find Out Who's Trying to Unlock Your Samsung Galaxy S III with the Hidden Eye Android App
With the Samsung Galaxy S III being a hot commodity, it's no surprise that your friends might try unlocking your fancy password-protected phone. While some friends have good intentions when using your phone, there are those certain friends who get into the phone to do this... The worst scenario might be that you leave the phone around a group of friends, come back and find that all of your social media accounts have been hacked. When you yell out to your friends asking who did it, no one make...
How To: 4 Ways to Clean Up the Status Bar on Your Galaxy S6 (Without Rooting)
The Galaxy S6 might just be the best Android phone on the market right now. From a hardware standpoint, Samsung truly knocked this one out of the park with its finely-crafted build quality and amazing screen.
How To: Get Rid of the Annoying Input Notification & Keyboard Icon on Your Samsung Galaxy S4
I find that little annoyances are always far more irritating than their larger counterparts, especially if there's no obvious way to get rid of them.
How To: Fix the Home Button Lag on Your Samsung Galaxy S4
Your new Samsung Galaxy S4 is fast, but it can definitely be faster. One issue that carried over from the Samsung Galaxy S3 is Home button lag. Instead of it being an instantaneous response, it takes a split second for the action to take place—and a split second is enough to irritate the best of us. The culprit here is S Voice. The built-in voice assistant is great, but whether or not you use it, one of its features remains persistent—its strenuous use of the Home button—where you double-tap ...
How To: Automatically Hibernate Apps for Better Battery Life—No Root Required
Greenify is a terrific app that allows you to put battery-hogging apps into "hibernation." Effectively closing the problematic apps and preventing them from running until you explicitly launch one of them, hibernation is a great way to save battery life while you're not using your phone.
How To: Disable the High Volume Warning When Using Headphones on Your Samsung Galaxy S4
I've been told numerous times that I listen to music way too loud, to the point of potential hearing damage, especially when I have my headphones plugged in. Not only do my friends tell me this, but my Samsung Galaxy S4 likes to nag me as well. Once I pass a certain volume threshold (nine steps) with my headphones, I get that annoying high volume alert. Sorry, my hearing isn't as good as it once was, so let me jam in peace!
How To: Get CyanogenMod's cLock Home & Lock Screen Widget on a Non-Rooted Samsung Galaxy S4
Probably the most favorite custom ROM among softModders is CyanogenMod, a theme-friendly take on stock Android that not only makes it easier to customize your device, but also increases performance using a variety of system tweaks and enhancements.
How To: Install the Samsung Galaxy S5's New Ringtones on Your Galaxy S3 or Other Android Device
With the release of the Samsung Galaxy S5 right around the corner, the first full system dump has been released by Sammobile. As the inevitable ports of functioning apps slowly begin to leak, today we've got a non-app aspect of the system and the one that tends to leak first—ringtones.
How To: Get 70+ SoftMods on Your Samsung Galaxy S4 for No-Fuss Customization at Your Fingertips
Theming and modding are a big part of the softModder community, but there are endless ways to customize our Android devices. Which ones should you download? Which ones should you avoid? It's extremely frustrating to find them all—and pick and choose.
How To: Get Ambient Weather Readings Instantly Using Your Samsung Galaxy Note 2's Built-In Sensors
The new Samsung Galaxy S4 may be the only phone to include temperature and humidity sensors, but your Galaxy Note 2 has a few weather-detecting features of its own.
How To: Put Your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 in Deep Sleep Mode to Save Battery Life
Newer smartphones are more power hungry than ever before, and the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 has a mighty appetite for amps that only Jenny Craig could possibly curb. On average, your Note 2 (or other Android device) lasts for what, a day, maybe two days before dying. Mine barely lasts 8 hours! This is thanks to all of the apps running in the background of your phone, even when you're not using them, eating through all of your CPU, leaving nothing but crumbs.
How To: Keep Your Samsung Galaxy S3's Screen Awake Whenever You Want (Or Just for Certain Apps)
When we're dead tired but need to stay awake, we humans can do many things to make the drowsiness go away, from taking a cold shower to downing energy drinks or coffee to acupressure.
How To: Get LG's Double-Tap to Sleep on Any Samsung Galaxy Device
With the Power key located on the back of the device, LG included a convenient "double-tap to sleep" function in their G2 and G3 devices. The function allows users to simply double-tap the display to put their device to sleep instead of picking it up and pressing the Power key.
How To: Enable the Hidden Multi Window Features on Your Samsung Galaxy Note 3
Restrictions are inconvenient, and for this reason I've sought out softmods that loosen the constraints for many of the features on my smartphone. Things like adding favorite apps to the Pen Window drawer or choosing any app for Multi Window mode are now must-haves on my Samsung Galaxy Note 3—and should be on yours as well.
How To: View Notification Details on the Lock Screen of Your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 or Other Android 4.2 Device
Besides having an awesome name, widgets are nice little additions that help make your phone more functional and customized. There are plenty of Android widgets available in the Google Play store and from other third-party sites and developers, but XDA forums member Roymam decided to make his own.
How To: Get the Strongest Wi-Fi Connection on Your Android Every Time
If you work at a large office or have a multi-story home, you're probably familiar with Wi-Fi range extenders. Since one hotspot isn't always enough to cover an entire area, Wi-Fi repeaters are generally set up in larger areas to capture and rebroadcast the original signal.
How To: Make the Fingerprint Scanner Work Faster on Your Galaxy Device
In general, the fingerprint scanner in Samsung's 2015 flagship phones is quick and accurate, but when you get that "No Match" message while trying to unlock your phone, it can be incredibly annoying. To help curb these issues, I'll go over three tips for speeding up the unlocking process that should work wonders on your Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+, or Note 5.
How To: Turn Your Samsung Galaxy S3 into a Functional Keyboard & Mouse for Your Computer
These days, we increasingly have more and more devices in our everyday possession. While a notebook computer, a tablet, and a smartphone may seem like overkill, they do work to make our lives easier and even help reduce clutter in certain ways.
How To: Fix Auto-Correct When It's Constantly Choosing the Wrong Word on Your Galaxy Note 3
In the midst of furious finger typing on a small non-tactile screen, you're sure to make mistakes—so the majority of keyboards have autocorrect. Generally it works pretty well and is a welcomed feature.
How To: Assign Your Volume Buttons to Almost Any Task on Your Galaxy S4 Without Root
The new HTC One and Nexus series devices have already replaced their physical navigation keys with soft keys, and it's inevitable that we'll see more and more of this on future mobiles. Samsung continues to buck the trend entirely, but no manufacturer as gone as far as to remove the volume rockers.
Mobile Surround Sound: How to Make Any Android Device a Wireless Speaker for Your Samsung Galaxy Note 2
One of the coolest features of the Samsung Galaxy S4 is Group Play, which lets you connect other Samsung Galaxy S4s up to yours so you can use them as extra speakers to create a surround-sound stereo of sorts.
How To: Customize Your Android System's UI Elements on the Samsung Galaxy Note 2
Out of the box, your Android device can be customized in many different ways, and a ton more with root access, but adjusting the actual interface of the system is a little bit more challenging. Changing the status bar size, icon width/length, and positioning of toast notifications are things that require a little bit more know-how—until now.
How To: Get Lenovo's Super Camera & Gallery on Your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 for Better Pics & Filters
You probably know Lenovo from their low-cost Windows PCs here in the states, but something you may not be aware of is that they also make smartphones. Right now, their biggest market is in China, but a rumored merger with BlackBerry could make Lenovo a contender in North America, not to mention one of the biggest smartphone manufacturers in the world.
How To: Customize the Quick Settings Toggles on Your Samsung Galaxy S4 with Color Themes
Samsung's quick settings toggles are insanely useful for accessing settings that you would normally need to dig into menus for. Definitely a case of function over form, though. TouchWiz's bright green on dark blue has to be one of the fugliest color combinations I have ever seen.
How To: Read Facebook Messages on a Samsung Galaxy S3—Without Your Friends Knowing
I get along with most of my friends just like anyone else. We chat on the phone, go out drinking, and play video games—and we choose who to hang out with and when. That same sort of freedom is hard to find on Facebook.
How To: Disable Lock Screen Security While in Trusted Locations on Your Galaxy S5
With all of the personal data that's stored on our smartphones, it's of vital importance that we have some sort of lock screen security enabled. One of the Galaxy S5's killer features is obviously the fingerprint scanner. It makes the process of dealing with a secure lock screen a bit easier than typing in a password or PIN.
How To: Fix Slow Auto Brightness Adjustments on Any Samsung Galaxy Device
Picture this scenario—you're using your phone in a dimly-lit room, then you move to an area with a lot more ambient light, and Auto Brightness kicks in within a few seconds to ramp up the backlight. That's the way it should be, right? But then you move back to the darker area, and your phone takes 30 seconds before it decides to dim back out. Pretty annoying, isn't it?
How To: Get Flash Alerts When Receiving Calls & Text Messages on Your Samsung Galaxy Note 2
Ringing and vibrating alerts on your smartphone can be a bit distracting when you're at work or school, but silent alerts can be a little too subtle if you want to know when you get a notification. Even the tiny LED alerts can be easily missed. So, is there's something in-between loud and almost-not-there alerts? In today's softModder tutorial, I'm going to show you how to get flash alerts on your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and other Android devices. That way, whenever you receive a call or text m...
How To: Use Your Samsung Galaxy S3 Without a Functioning Home Button
Dorothy had it right: "There's no place like home." This is especially true when it comes to using your Samsung Galaxy S3, or pretty much any other smartphone, whose most vital button is the Home key.
How To: The Real Story Behind Rooting the Samsung Galaxy S4—And Its New Secured Kernel
Rooting a mobile device may not be a big deal these days, but not being able to root definitely is. Even the Library of Congress, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and White House can agree on that.
How To: 3 Foolproof Ways to Block or Ignore Annoying Callers on Your Samsung Galaxy S3
You don't have to be in debt to receive annoying calls from unwanted numbers. You may love your grandma, but if she calls you three times a day to ask how to turn on the television, you might just want to push all of her calls to voicemail.
How To: Get Background YouTube Playback on Android Without a Music Key Subscription
Google debuted YouTube Music Key in November, and for $10 a month, this essentially turned YouTube into a music streaming service. With ad-free music videos and background audio playback, YouTube serves as a viable alternative to Spotify or Pandora for Music Key subscribers.
How To: Downgrade Apps on Your Galaxy Note 3 or Other Android Device
Normally, it's good to automatically update your apps to the latest version, but sometimes those updates take away features that you've grown to love.
How To: Save Battery Life & Never Get Lost Again with Offline Maps & Directions on Your Samsung Galaxy S3
When you have to take four different freeways to go twelve miles, Google Maps becomes a very close and dear friend—especially in Los Angeles. Without my trusty Samsung Galaxy S3, I seriously don't know if I could make it back home half of the time. Of course, you'd probably get better directions using a Garmin, TomTom, or other GPS device, but when you already have a smartphone like the GS3, dedicated GPS units become nothing more than a luxury item.
How To: Tint the Status Bar to Blend in with Different App Colors on Your Samsung Galaxy Note 2
With the Android 4.4 KitKat update slated for release sometime in October (according to Nestle), I'm sure you're excited to get your hands on and test out all of the new features of Google's latest mobile operating system.
How To: Launch Apps While the Screen Is Off on Your Galaxy S6 Edge
Samsung has a long-standing reputation for packing their devices with lots of added functionality, and the Galaxy S6 Edge is no exception. It comes with a nifty feature called "Information stream," which allows you to get quick, at-a-glance information by swiping the edge of your screen back and forth while the display is off.
How To: Stop Lag & Save Battery on Your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 by Hibernating Background Apps
If your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 has been feeling sluggish lately, or you've noticed the battery not lasting as long as usual, the problem could be that you have too many applications running in the background.