In ourcontinued series of making older devices feel that much more new, we set our sights on theGalaxy Note 2today. Sure, it has been replaced earlier in 2013 by the Galaxy Note 3, but that doesn’t make it any less awesome than it was when it first came out. For those of you looking to bring a little bit more to the table with their Galaxy Note 2, check out a few of our tips on how you can breathe some new life into it.
Like we said above, this is by no means exclusive to the Galaxy Note 2, but it is something that you should definitely check out if you use your Galaxy Note 2 as a portable toolkit. AirDroid is a fast and free solution to manager your android device from your desktop computer. The connection is made without cables and you can easily control your android with mouse and keyboard.
You can send SMS, load data to the device, install apps, delete or move data around, take screenshots, and a ton of other things. AirDroid is intuitive to use, does not require any root rights and should be staple for all android users.
If you’ve stuck around with Touchwiz on your Galaxy Note 2 since you got it, it’s time to venture out of the walled garden and try something else. First, you’ll need to unlock and root your device (just follow our handy guide) and then you can go ahead and grab something a little bit more exotic, say, CyanogenMod?
With aton of featuresincluding PIE Mode, customizable lockscreens and quick launch guides, automated profiles based on location/connection, it’s hard to imagine why you wouldn’t give it a shot. Plus, with theCyanogenMod Installer officially supporting the Galaxy Note 2, installation is literally just a click away.
Stand it up
Let’s face it, the Galaxy Note 2 almost borders on a tablet-sized device. As such, it’s not out of ordinary to want to be able to watch videos on it. I do it all the time with my tiny little smartphone (I’m ashamed to say it’s an iPhone 4S) when I’m at my desk doing work, so it would make sense to do the same for a Galaxy Note 2.
With the aid of ahandy stand case, you can make watching videos or media a breeze and more comfortable than trying to prop it up against something. Plus, it doubles as a normal case for when you need to head out and take it with you.
Turn it into a PC, sort of.
Probably one of the cooler accessories out there, thisSmart Dock for the Galaxy Note 2allows you to turn your Note 2 into a semi-computer. Great for if you’re on the road and need to get some work done in your hotel room and don’t feel like fiddling with the smaller screen on your Note 2 for extended periods of time.
This smart dock turns a HDTV into a workstation and has three USB ports, which you can connect a mouse, keyboard, and USB drive at the same time. As well, there is also a line out and charging port to complete the awesomeness of this dock.
WhatsApp: how to backup and restore your conversations
WhatsApphas become a universal communication app: several billion messages are sent every day through its services. After a short time, you can easily accumulate a ton of archived sentimental messages that you’ll either want to make sure to keep and save. However, with phones being lost, stolen, breaking, or some random freak of nature causing WhatsApp to lose your messages, it is advisable to make sure you back up on your own every so often. We’ll show you how.
Fortunately, the developers ofWhatsApphave made this pretty easy and provide a way for you to do this yourself without much hassle. All you have to do is head to the main view of the app where all your chats are showcased. From there, click the three dots in upper right corner and chooseSettings. From there, simply chooseChat Settingsand then chooseBackup Chat History. This is usually done automatically and it will show the timestamp of the last time it was complete. However, without being able to transfer it off your smartphone, it may not be able to do you any good if you have any of the issues listed above.
When connected to your PC via USB, you can head to theWhatsApp / Databasesfolder. In there will be all the backup files saved with the date that they were performed. The file with the latest date is logically the most current backup and you can copy and paste it to your PC/Thumb Drive/Cloud Storage, whatever you want.
And so, if you ever need to restore your chats, all you do is do the opposite and copy and paste your backed up copy of your messages from your storage space and place it in theWhatsApp / Databasesfolder. The next time you fire up your app, you should see all your backed up messages restored as per normal.
How to see who's stealing your WiFi and how to block them
Have you ever wondered why your internet connection is being so laggy? This is probably a good time to get suspicious of your neighbours who might be using your WiFi network without your permission. Yes, you can set up a password, however there are ways to bypass this. So what should you do to block an intruder who is infiltrating your connection? The answer is simple: with a smartphone! Today we will tell you how it is done.
Like almost everything to do with Android, you can find out who has been sneaking some of your WiFi with an application. There is a free network tool which you can download right from the the Google Play Store called Fing.
The first thing you have to do is connect to your smartphone or tablet to the WiFi network you want you want to test. Now simply download the application, which you can do by pressing the install button below.
Once the installation process is complete, the tool can easily get started finding the trespasser. At the top of the app’s main page, you will see the name of your network as well as a refresh and the settings menu buttons.
Tap on the refresh button update and the application will show what devices are connected to your WiFi network, specifying whether the router is a smartphone or a computer.
There are many other options in Fing, like sending reports, checking open TCP ports and the list goes on. Perhaps one of its best advantages is that users can change the viewed IP name, which allows the user to know who they are on the app and who the infiltrators are. Once you know who the trespassers are, simply click on the intruder and above you will see an option to 'enter a name '. Enter a new name for that IP address, like WiFi thief for example.
In the event that you’ve located a intruding device, you are able to access the NAT and MAC information and connect to the router in order to block the unwanted guests from accessing WiFi in the future.
On your computer that connected to your router, enter your IP address into the browser. It will ask you for the password and username on your router and if you haven’t changed it, it will be specified in the device.
Now you’ll need to authenticate. The home page of your router will appear, showing a menu. Go to the security tab and enter a new password. (Remember, to connect to WiFi on your phone or your computer, you must enter this new password).
If this isn’t enough, you can block access for other devices entirely. On the Fing application, you will see information from your connected devices. Write down your MAC address (or your MAC addresses, depending on how many devices you have connected) on a piece of paper.
Search for the block devices option on the configuration page which you can open on your computer. In Access Control area, you can filter the MAC (one or more) that you've noted down. This will block any other invading addresses that try to infiltrate. Remember that if you choose this option no one else will be able to connect to your WiFi without having turned off the Access control option, which is good to keep in mind for friends or family who are visiting.
Which ways do you figure out who has been stealing WiFi? Have you ever been a trespasser yourself?
Thanks to its super compact body of 5.2 inches and a strong battery, theLG G2has become an unsuspecting star under the high-end smartphone radar. I’ve used this device for a few weeks now and have accumulated a few useful tips and tricks that other G2 owners might find helpful.
The G2 lacks any physical buttons on the front-facing side. Instead LG adopted on-screen software buttons, typical of Android, for the back, home and context menu options. LG also lets the user arrange the buttons the way they see fit as well as add a fourth button, either Quick Memo and the status bar. Lastly, the design can also be changed.
QSlide is what LG calls the apps that you can have ‘floating’ in the form of a popup window above the home screen. But why would one even need these pop ups on a 5.2-inch display? Though this makes sense on a desktop screen, it is sometimes more cumbersome than helpful on a smartphone, taking up much needed space.
Unfortunately, LG also wasted a significant portion of the notifications bar (Notification drawer) with a wide bar with shortcuts to QSlide apps. This precious space could have been better used for emails and other types of notifications. LG doesn’t make it easy for the user to get rid of the QSlide bar from the notifications bar. But when there is a will, there is a way!
First you’ll need to activate the QSlide button so that it will show in the Quick settings menu on the top right corner of the status bar. Simply swipe the bar to the right and tap on ‘edit’. This will open the settings menu and show a checkmark next to QSlide, disable this by tapping on it.
Set up folders on the homescreen
Though you may not like the bright user interface that LG laid over top of the stock Android system, the fact of the matter is, only very few manufacturers offer so many customization possibilities. For example, the size of folders can be augmented or decreased on the homescreen by pulling out the edges. The bigger it is, the more shortcuts will be able to fit in. Shortcuts which aren’t visible can also be quickly reached because these folder ‘windows’ have a scroll function.
Lg has added the option of customizing individual icons on your home screen and there is a lot to this function. By long pressing on an icon, a small purple paintbrush will appear for a few seconds and when pressed, will open an editing menu. Here you are able to switch out icons, change the size and even create your own. Whether the ones you are able to make are any better than the originals depends on the eye of the beholder. What I can really appreciate here though, is the fact that you can scale the size.
This feature reminds me a lot of the MultiTouch trackpad used on Mac computers. When you swipe your three fingers from the right side to the left on the screen, this will display saved apps. Use the same gesture to bring them to the foreground again. You can have three apps in total here, each of which can easily be swiped to the back. The animation reminds me a lot of the Mac OS, though Apple has you use four fingers instead of three.
Again, very reminiscent of Apple, you are able to uninstall apps right from the home screen. On the G2, you simply need to tap on the settings icon (cogwheel) in the upper right corner, which will prompt an ‘x’ to show next to all apps. Just tap on them to get the app completely off your device. Most Android smartphones or tablets only allow this from the settings menu.
These were my favorite tips that I wanted to share with you. There are of course other great ones with the LG G2, which you can discover in our previoustips and tricks for LG G2article. If you know of more, let us know in the comments below!
How to fix more Android 4.3 problems on the Galaxy S3
MostGalaxy S3’s have received the Android 4.3 update for quite some time now, but that doesn’t mean there is an end to the problems, much to the frustration of many S3 users. Verizon clients in particular seem to not be getting a break either, problems emerging from every nook and cranny of their Samsung device. We’ve had a ton of people complaining aboutAndroid 4.3 problems on the Galaxy S3 in our forum, and have already offered solutions to some of these problems in the past. If you still need help though, don’t despair, here are some more fixes to other issues. I certainly hopethe Android 4.4.2 KitKat update won’t be littered with bugs, like with the Galaxy S4.
Chances are when this is happening is that you have some apps that are using excessive amounts of your data, so it comes down toa question of better managing these data-sucking apps. There are many useful apps in the Google Play Store that will monitor data consumption, like Android Assistant, SD Maid orother apps to boost your Android system performance. You can also look into the settings of your phone and then ‘Data usage’. Here, swipe down to see how much data each app is using. If you notice that one is using a lot of it, it may be wise to uninstall it.
This is an issue that we’ve been seeing for quite some time now. Though it could just bea matter of proper setup. Head to your homescreen and tap on the menu button and then settings. From here, you want to select the ‘Connections’ tab and choose Wi-Fi. Again, tap on the menu key and then ‘Advanced’. Here you will find some other helpful options: you want to make sure that ‘Keep WiFi on during sleep’ has been switched to ‘Always’ and that the ‘Auto-connect’ option is unchecked.
We’ve also heard thatturning off the power-saving modewill work, this function often leading to a WiFi disconnect. To do this, simply open the notifications bar by swiping down and deselect the power saving toggle. If you can’t find it in the Quick Settings, tap on the Settings icon (cogwheel), scroll down to ‘Power saving mode’ and then switch it to ‘off’.
If this isn’t working, another thing you could do is toreflash the last workable modem firmware for your specific countryvia Odin. Simply go to theSamMobile websiteto find the appropriate firmware. If you are more advanced and are able to flash firmware manually on a rooted S3, then check out theXDA developer’s forum threadfor a plausible solution. Though I have not tried this fix, it seems to have worked for many users. Hopefully one of these options have helped.
Bluetooth disconnection problems
Again, this problem seems to be plaguing Galaxy S3 owners since the 4.3 update,a complaint that has been manifested in many of AndroidPIT forum threads. Apparently the Galaxy S3 is struggling to pair with Bluetooth 4.0 or Smart Ready (BLE) apps and accessories, despite Samsung marketing the phone as Smart Ready compatible. What many are stipulating, is that the when the Galaxy S3 was updated, many of the older cached data become incompatible with the higher version of Bluetooth. First try to remove the pairing, reboot your smartphone and then try to repair. It is also a good idea to clear the data byperforming afactory resetfor the Galaxy S3(please backupnot only app of your data, but also your game settings, photos, videos, messages, app data etc).
You can also try asoft resetto delete any temporary files that may be causing the issue:
Press and hold the Power key, tap Power off, and then tap OK to turn your Samsung Galaxy S III off.
Remove the battery. After 30 seconds, reinsert the battery.
Press and hold the Power key to turn your Samsung Galaxy S III back on.
This can be really annoying and it has happened to me a lot. The phone will ring, you’ll see the animation come up on your display, but there is no sound or it is delayed and the person hangs up before the ringtone even commences. Annoying? Heck yes!
First off, you may have set a ringtone for a particular contact and when that person calls,the system cannot locate the audio files. Your settings may be messed up ever since the update, which is why a Galaxy S3 factory reset might do the trick to fixing the problem. Remember, as always, to ensure that all of your data is backed up. You can also set up a new ringtone for that person and see if that works.
I’ve also read that theAndroid OS often gets ‘impatient’ with apps that take longer to load, which is often the case with pictures. The system will automatically close the app in question so that it doesn’t interfere negatively with the running of other apps and services. Just like with computers and smartphones, if your internal storage is quite full, this will cause some things to malfunction.
What you should do isbackup your photoseither onto your computer, a cloud service or an external source (which you should do anyways, regardless of this problem). After this, head to the setting of your S3, then ‘Applications manager’, swipe to the left until you see ‘All’ apps and scroll down to the Gallery app. Here you are going to want to first disable the app, then force close it, clear the cache and the clear the data. Press Ok to confirm.
Battery issues and other problems
If you are getting battery problems, please check out the multitude of articles we have written on the subject, such as 16 ways to improve battery life. You can also consult our other articles,'Solutions to Android 4.3 problems on Galaxy S3' as well as5 more tips to fix Android 4.3 problems on Galaxy S3. Here you will find solutions for recurring download notifications, lockscreen lags, battery problems, multi-window issues, notification woes, etc.
If you have a problem not mentioned above, please ask in the comments or in the forum.
How to fix 10 Moto G problems: the solutions that work
TheMoto Gis a great smartphone and packs a big punch for a very reasonable price. But like all electronics, sometimes there are some issues that pop up in different scenarios. Today, we’ve compiled the top ten most common errors for this mid-range Motorola smartphone and present some solutions.
One of the most common complaints with theMoto Gis that the screen will freeze from time to time and that the phone will restart randomly, sometimes even when the screen is off and the device is locked. This may be due to a specific application, network issues, or other contributing factors. To temporarily fix this, you can try doing a soft reboot on the device by holding the power button for a few seconds.
If you’re looking for a more permanent solution, try the following:
Start the Moto G in safe mode (when you restart and see the logo, hold the menu button down until you see the lock screen). You will see a Safe Mode label on the screen if you’re successful. If your phone works in this mode, then you can troubleshoot it to an issue with a particular application. You could try to figure out which application it is, or start from scratch. The former is a bit more time consuming and will require trial and error. The latter, you can do with a simple factory reset by heading toSettings > Backup and Restore> Factory Data Reset.
With the Moto G, it is possible for the battery to become a little wonky if it hasn’t been calibrated properly. A way to identify if this is happening to you is keeping an eye on the battery percentage in the status bar: if you notice it’s jumping around, say from 50% to 1% and back again, you may have this calibration error.
In order to solve this, it’s relatively easy: just let the battery fully discharge and then charge it back fully in one go. Repeat the process one more time and it should disappear as the battery “relearns” its calibration.
SIM not detected
This one is a little tricky, as you can have a SIM card that works for a bit of time and then randomly, say after an hour, theMoto Gwill no longer recognize it. As such, you’ll be unable to connect to any wireless networks or make any phone calls. This may be because you’re using a Nano SIM Adapter (the Moto G supports only micro SIM) or you might have a damaged SIM card. Try another card and see if that works, if so, you can just ask your carrier for duplicate.
Errors with the camera launching
Some users have reported issues with the camera application failing to launch, notably after upgrading to Android 4.4. KitKat. One of the quickest and easiest ways to solve this problem is rebooting the Moto G. If this doesn’t solve the issue, go toSettings > Applications > Cameraand then choose Force Quit, Clear Data, and Clear Cache. This solves the majority of the issues with the camera app and should be able to run again.
If you’re still having issues, you may be using a third party application that uses the flash or camera that is causing the problem. You can try closing or uninstalling that particular app and seeing if that works.
LED Notifications not working
Some problems have been showing with the LED in the Moto G not working when users get a SMS, e-mail, etc. This has been tied to importing data from a Google Account from a previous phone and somewhere, having LED notifications disabled on your previous phone.
The solution is easy to solve, as Motorola has its very own widget to control the LED notifications called Light Notification Widget. If you install it, you’ll be able to enable the LED again, and then you can just remove it and your LEDs should work again.
Another big complaint is that there sounds to be a small sound or vibration when you shake or turn off the phone. Some people attribute it to the haptic feedback, and while it is relatively harmless, can be annoying. As well, it could be a loose button on your device.
An easy solution is to get yourself a case, and besides protecting your Moto G, will reduce the amount of noise from within the device. If you think it’s definitely something that shouldn’t be occurring, make sure to contact your carrier or Motorola as it may be a defect.
Poor sound quality
Considering the price of the device, the sounds that the Moto G can produce are pretty clear. Of course, there may some bugs or issues with it that can be tweaked. In general, because the speakers are on the back of the device, there may be some distortion if not using your headphones to listen to music.
A possible solution is using the equalizer to tweak the sounds to your liking. In order to do this, go toSettings > Sounds > Audio Effects. You can play around with the audio output to the speakers or even to wired headphones.
Problems while charging
Does your Moto G restarts when you’re charging? Does it take forever for the Moto G’s battery to charge when it is plugged in? If so, you most likely have a faulty USB cable. First, try out a new cable that has an output of between 500 mA and 1.5A.
When testing out a new USB cable, try to discharge the device completely and then keep the device turned off for the first 20 minutes of charging. After that time, turn the Moto G on by holding the power button.
Problems sideloading APK files
If you want to install applications that aren’t from theGoogle Play Store, you must first make sure that you are able to install fromUnknown Sources(Settings > Security). With the Moto G, you’ll also need to make sure that you have unchecked theVerify Appsin the same menu. If you’ve done all this, you can sideload APK files without any issues. Also take care when doing this and that you’re installing an APK file from a trusted source.
If you’ve done all this an are still having issues, try to upload the APK file to Google Drive and install it from there. As well, you can try outES File Explorerand install it from there.
Dropped WiFi connections
The problem with dropped WiFi connections isn’t unique to the Moto G and could be one of many problems: errors when connecting to a route, excessive battery consumption, or intermittent disconnections. For most of these problems, the solution is simple: turn it off and on again. Restart your Moto G, your router, and clear the data of your saved connections and then re-connect them.
If the problem has to do with the connection always failing, head to WiFi Settings and click the three dots in the corner and chooseAdvanced Settings. From there, click theKeep WiFi on during Sleepand make sure theOnly when plugged in optionis checked off.
You can also reduce your battery drain by turning off the WiFi scanning option.
If you've soft-bricked your Nexus while tinkering a little too irresponsibly, there's a super easy way to fix it. Assuming your Nexus can still start in Fastboot Mode, you're only a few steps away from unbricking that bad boy. This same process can also be used simply torestore a Nexus device to factory defaults, for example, if you want to resell it.
You will be wiping your device's contents with this process, so I'm assuming you're either ok with losing your data in order to get your device functioning again, or, in the more ideal version, you've already done a full backup before you got yourself into this whole pickle. If not, learn your lesson and repeat after me: I will always do a full backup before flashing ROMs or otherwise tweaking my device.
Considering you've got yourself to this point, there's a few other things I think are safe to assume: you have an unlocked bootloader, you already have USB Debugging enabled on your Nexus, and you have theGoogle USB Driverinstalled on your computer. You'll also need a USB cable (duh) and have a decent amount of battery on your device, just to be safe.
How to unbrick a Nexus with official factory image
1.Find the official factory image for your deviceon the Google Developers Blog. You want to match your year (if you have a Nexus 7) and your device's connectivity (Wi-Fi only, 3G etc). Once you've downloaded the correct zip, extract it.
2. Boot your Nexus in Fastboot/Download Mode. That's Volume Down and Power until you get a vibration and the see the Fastboot Menu. Some devices require Volume Upand Down along with Power.
3. Connect your Nexus to your computer with a USB cable.
4. Head to the unzipped files on your computer and double click theflash-all.batfile if you have a PC or theflash-all.shfile if you have Linux or a Mac. This will flash the necessary bootloader, firmware etc.
5. Sit back and relax. Sweating bullets is not necessary, just don't unplug anything.
6. Once the process is complete, you'll be back in Fastboot, so use the Volume buttons to get to Recovery Mode, and use the Power button to confirm.
7. Scroll to Wipe Data/Factory Reset and hit Power to confirm, then Wipe Cache Partition and Dalvik Cache too.
8. Reboot your Nexus. You should now havestock Androidrunning and no problems at all. If you had a Nandroid of your system before the soft brick, you can recover that, or if you had another app and data backup you can restore that instead. You may want to relock your bootloader after this, but it's not necessary. If any of these terms confuse you, check out ourroot and ROM terminologychecklist.
If you're stuck in a bootloop or your device still won't start at all after this process, you may have more serious problems. Check the site for other fixes or head to the forum for hands-on assistance.
There have been reports of theMoto Xbattery draining much faster after having used the device for some time. If you’re being affected by this issue and want to try and get back to the same battery capacity you had when you first bought your Moto X, give this little tweak a try.
Redditorokfnjesseshared this sweet little fix after having browsed around for a solution to his mysterious battery drain issue. Despite uninstalling apps, doing a factory reset, and other “fixes”, he was unable to solve his battery drain problem until he tried to clear the Cache partition of his Moto X. If you’re having issues with the battery on your Moto X draining faster than it should, particularly after you’ve installed a new software update, give this a try:
Turn off your Moto X and then press the Volume downandPower buttonfor 2-3 seconds.
Use the Volume down key to scroll through the options to Recovery and Volume Up to select.
The device will display the Motorola logo and then the Android in distress logo will appear.
Press and hold the Volume upkey for 10-15 seconds. While still holding the Volume upkey tap and release the Power key.
The device will display additional menu options and a bunch of text will appear in blue.
Use the Volume downto scroll towipe cache partition and the Power Key to select this option
The device will then perform the partition wipe
The device will reboot and start the normal power up sequence
This process will remove any temporary files that may be causing an issue with battery drain, but will not actually remove any files or settings on your device. If you’re noticing a much larger drain on your Moto X battery, definitely give this a try before you go through the hassle of a factory reset.
