You probably already know by now that a custom Android ROM can change your user experience and give you what feels like a new OS on your device, and there's no shortage of them out there to try out.
You know what's awesome? You own a Nexus. That means, with Google's blessing, you have easier access and control over your device than other manufacturers allow. You can really dig in and do some interesting things if you root.
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.
Rooting, bootloaders, custom ROMs, CyanogenMod, ClockworkMod... it's all pretty confusing, isn't it? You're not the only one having trouble with this. Many users in the Nexus 7 SoftModder forum have been scratching their heads at these many terms.
Just days after Google released the official Android 11 update, Samsung already had a pre-beta build of One UI 3.0 available for developers to test their apps on. So this year's main OS upgrade is likely hitting Galaxy phones even earlier than we thought.
The iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max are Apple's most powerful iPhones to date with features like USB-C connectivity, improved camera capabilities, and faster CPUs. But no matter how impressive these phones are, they can still freeze, become unresponsive, or get stuck when powering on — and a force restart is how you get things working again.
For whatever reason, you may want or need to remove multiple posts from your Instagram grid. If you only have a couple to hide from the public, archiving or deleting posts one by one is fine, but there's a much faster way when you have tens or even hundreds of Instagram posts to purge from your account.
Apple released the fourth beta for iOS 14.7 today, Tuesday, June 29. The update comes 15 days after iOS 14.7 beta 3, and restores battery service messages that may have disappeared after reboot on some iPhone 11 models.
Apple released the first beta for iOS 14.7 today, Wednesday, May 19. The update (build number 18G5023c) comes two days after Apple seeded testers the RC (release candidate) for iOS 14.6. The new update adds the ability to set timers for HomePod on your iPhone via the Home app.
Apple released the third iOS 14.6 beta today, Monday, May 10. The update fixes a bug that could cause your iPhone to experience performance issues after startup.
Apple released the eighth iOS 14.5 developer beta on Tuesday, April 13. The update (build number 18E5199a) comes six days after Apple's last 14.5 beta update, which Apple pushed out to both developers and public beta testers.
Every now and then, an iOS secret surfaces that makes me wonder, "How am I just learning about this?" I remember the first time I found out how to delete numbers in the Calculator app, and when I discovered you could bulk-move apps around the Home screen. Now, there's another tip to add to the list: a hidden iOS app whose icon you quite literally can't find unless you know where to look.
Apple released the fifth iOS 14.5 developer beta on Tuesday, Mar. 23. The update comes eight days after the company released 14.5 beta 4 for public testers and developers.
Popular chat apps like Facebook Messenger and (these days, sadly) WhatsApp might not cut it when it comes to privacy and security, but they sure do offer some fun ways to customize your chats. If you're worried that moving to Signal Private Messenger means you lose these features, don't — the privacy-focused app also lets you choose custom chat wallpapers for all your threads.
While iOS 14.3 is available to everyone right now, Apple is currently working on iOS 14.4 in its beta programs, and the second iOS 14.4 beta just came out for developers. The public beta version of iOS 14.4 beta 2 was released soon after. But what's in these new betas?
Android Messages, formally named simply "Messages" now, has built-in spam protection. This doesn't get every spam SMS message, however — in fact, you can still get unwanted texts multiple times daily even with the feature enabled. Thankfully, you can manually block numbers, too.
You won't have to ask Santa for holiday-themed augmented reality experiences, because practically any social and shopping app that offers AR effects has them available now.
One of WhatsApp's best features is being able to change the default wallpaper for all chats. There's no reason to stick to the default WhatsApp backgrounds when you can be texting over an image of literally anything. In a newer WhatsApp update, you can go a step beyond that by setting custom wallpapers for individual chats, personalizing every text thread you have.
Apple released iOS 14.3 developer beta 3 today, Wednesday, Dec. 2. The update comes 15 days after Apple released iOS 14.3 beta 2 for developers and public beta testers, which introduced a change that bypasses the Shortcuts app when using a custom icon on the home screen.
Home Screen widgets come in various sizes on iOS 14 and later, and which size you choose will depend on how much content or data you actually want to see. But what happens when you pick the wrong widget size? In a perfect world, you would just edit the current widget's settings, but Apple didn't make it that easy.
Apple's latest offerings, the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max all feature the A14 Bionic system on a chip, the fastest chipset ever seen on a smartphone, running 50% faster than any other CPUs. But despite the advanced technology, even the iPhone 12 is privy to internal issues, which is why you should know how to force restart it if it ever freezes.
Apple just released the fourth public beta for iOS 14.2 today, Wednesday, Oct. 21. The new update adds eight new dynamic wallpapers to iOS, including four real-life landscapes, and four digital landscapes. When counting each wallpaper's light and dark mode, there are 16 possible variations to use.
The iOS 14 beta may be picking up steam, but the iOS 13 beta program isn't out for the count. With the release of the iOS 13.7 beta, build 17H33, Apple has included API changes for the COVID-19 Exposure Notifications setting. The update makes it possible for public health authorities to let iPhone users get coronavirus exposure alerts without installing their state's app.
Apple just released the third developer beta for iOS 13.6 today, Tuesday, June 30. This update comes three weeks after the company released the second 13.6 developer and public betas, which changed the name of the software from 13.5.5. It also comes eight days after Apple released the first developer beta for iOS 14.
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 data it may contain. Before this happens, you should know there are tools at your disposal to protect your data in such situations.
You've just picked up your new Samsung Galaxy S20, S20+, or S20 Ultra — but wait. After you turn it on and restore your data, there a few apps you should install to get the most out of your updated phone. Installing these eight apps right away will help maximize your experience from the very beginning.
If left unattended, a hacker with a USB Rubber Ducky and physical access to the computer can infiltrate even the most secure computer. Such attacks often go undetected without the use of a tool like USBRip, which can provide you with assurance that your device hasn't been compromised.
One of the more competitive aspects to chat apps these days is customizability. It seems every messenger wants to offer the largest number of options for users to make the app feel like a truly personal experience. Telegram is no stranger to this customizability, offering tools where you can select backgrounds and chat bubble colors.
During the Google I/O 2019 keynote, the latest Android Q Beta was released to the public for Pixel smartphones along with 15 other non-Pixel devices. It's the third Developer Preview for Android 10, but it's the first official public beta outside of Google's Pixel smartphones. A new public beta means good things are on the way as the future of Android continues to evolve.
After reviewing the international plans for major US wireless carriers, it became obvious they're all pretty bad. Your data is heavily restricted, requiring a daily fee which can cost an extra $100+ on a seven-day vacation. That's when I learned about Google Fi, and how for most travelers, it's the best option.
For lack of a better word, a missing iPhone sucks. Not only do you lose a physical device that cost you a small fortune, but there's also the probability you'll never see your precious data again. Hackers and thieves might, just not you. To keep this from ever happening, there are preventative measures you should take, and the sooner you do them the better.
Rooting usually means sacrifice. With most root methods, you lose access to apps like Netflix and Android Pay when SafetyNet gets tripped. More importantly, you lose the ability to accept OTA updates, forcing you to manually flash new Android versions. But there's a way around all of this if you root the right way.
We know Android 9.0 will have the formal designation of Pie, following Google's age-old tradition of naming their OS after items you'd normally find on a dessert menu. And thanks to a slew of new features that centers around your overall security, P could also stand for Privacy.
Nova Launcher is one of the most popular apps on the Play Store thanks to its rich features and fluid navigation. But one downside that comes with this abundance of features is that much of Nova's functionality is lost on the masses. Fortunately, I've used Nova for several years and learned a few tricks along the way.
Threats to your privacy and security are everywhere, so protecting your data should be the highest priority for anyone with a smartphone. However, one threat many people overlook is the company who supplies the operating system your Android phone runs — Google.
You know Moana's a rock-solid pick for Halloween this year. The question is, how far will you go to become Moana? Are you going to just slap on a cream skirt and a red bandeau? Or do you want to go all out and end up with the finished product like YouTuber Gladzy Kei did?
There's a lot of great things to be excited about with iOS 10 on your device. You can remove annoying stock apps, search emails better, remember where you parked, and much, much more. Seriously, there's actually more outstanding features in iOS 10 than in Apple's latest iPhone 7 models.
The international, Exynos-powered Galaxy S7 and S7 edge have had a working root method ever since a few days after release. But the North American variants—those using Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 processor—have locked bootloaders, and have proven to be almost unrootable up until now.
Hello, everyone! Many of you don't even know about my existence here on Null Byte, so I thought of contributing something rather interesting. Recently, someone asked how to make your own "Bad USB," and I promised to make a how-to on this topic. In addition, it would be nice to have something related on our WonderHowTo world. So here it is!
Welcome back, my aspiring hackers! In many of my earlier tutorials, I mentioned the complementary nature of hacking and forensics. Both disciplines, hacking and forensics, benefit from a knowledge of the other. In many cases, both disciplines will use the same tool. In this tutorial, we will use another tool that can be used in either discipline—Sysinternals—a suite of tools developed by Mark Russinovich.
