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How to Retrain Your Google Assistant Voice Model

There may come a time when you need to retrain your Google Assistant’s voice model—that is, the one that detects the “OK Google” command. For example, “Hey Google” recently started rolling out on phones, so you’ll need to r…

Cameron Summerson Jan 9th, 2018

How to Avoid Getting Locked Out When Using Two-Factor Authentication

Two-factor authentication secures your accounts with code in addition to your password. You can’t get in without the code sent to your phone. But what happens if you lose or reset your phone? If you don’t plan your recovery m…

Chris Hoffman Jan 6th, 2018

What to Do if You Lose a Nest Tag

The Nest Secure security system comes with two Nest Tags, which can be used to quickly arm and disarm the system. However, they can easily get lost, so here’s what you can do if that happens.

Craig Lloyd Jan 5th, 2018

How to Get the Pixel 2’s Portrait Mode on Your Nexus or Pixel Phone

Portrait mode is arguably the hottest thing smoking on modern smartphones—it’s even become the reason to buy one phone over another at this point. But if you’re overall happy with your current generation phone and just wa…

Cameron Summerson Jan 5th, 2018

Hundreds of Smartphone Apps Are Spying on Your TV Watching. Here’s How to Disable Them

If you’re afraid that your smartphone is spying on you…well, you’re right. But that’s kind of a non-optional part of modern living: amassing huge amounts of consumer data is how companies like Google operate. But recently s…

Michael Crider Jan 4th, 2018

How to Customize Nest Secure’s Alarm Levels

The Nest Secure has three different alarm settings: Off, Home, and Away. Here’s how to customize some of these settings to fit your needs.

Craig Lloyd Jan 4th, 2018

How to Disable Motion Detection on the Nest Guard

By default, the Nest Guard (which acts as the main keypad for the Nest Secure security system) doubles as a motion sensor, and will sound the alarm if it detects motion. However, if you would rather just have it act as the ke…

Craig Lloyd Jan 3rd, 2018

How to Change the Alarm Delay for the Nest Secure

With the Nest Secure, you have a certain amount of time between arming your system and leaving the house, or between entering your home and disarming the system. Here’s how to customize that time window….

Craig Lloyd Jan 2nd, 2018

How to Set Up Google Family to Share Your Google Services

If you pay for a book on Google Play Books, your significant other should be able to read it, too. The same goes for movies, music, and even apps or games—if you make a purchase, everyone in the family should be able to enj…

Cameron Summerson Jan 2nd, 2018

How Carriers and Manufacturers Make Your Android Phone’s Software Worse

Android’s openness is a big reason for its success, but cellular carriers and phone manufacturers often use this openness to make the experience worse for its users. Android’s openness gives carriers and device manufacturers …

Cameron Summerson Dec 31st, 2017

How to Change Device Names on Google Wifi

One of the most valuable features of Google Wifi for me is the ability to watch my network activity on a per-device level. The thing is, a lot of devices don’t correctly report themselves to the router, so it’s hard to tell w…

Cameron Summerson Dec 29th, 2017

How to Change the Clock Face on the Echo Spot

Amazon’s Echo Spot makes for a fantastic bedside alarm clock, and there are a handful of clock faces to choose from. Here’s how to change the clock face to find one that suits your tastes.

Craig Lloyd Dec 28th, 2017

How to Manage Podcasts in Google Play Music

Hey, did you know that the Google Play Music app that comes with your Android phone can subscribe to, stream, and download podcasts? The feature works okay, though not nearly as fleshed-out as the various dedicated podcast ma…

Michael Crider Dec 28th, 2017

Why Is My Android Phone So Slow? 10 Ways to Speed It Up

If you’ve had your Android device for a while, you’ve probably noticed some lag that wasn’t there before. Apps load slower; menus take a bit longer to show up. This is pretty normal—but you don’t have to live with it….

Joe Fedewa Dec 26th, 2017

So You Just Got an Amazon Fire Tablet. Now What?

Hey, congratulations on your new tablet! The Amazon Fire Tablet series offers, without a doubt, some of the best bang for your buck devices you can get in today’s tablet market. You’re going to love it….

Cameron Summerson Dec 25th, 2017

How to Sideload Apps on the Fire TV and Fire TV Stick

Amazon’s Fire TV and Fire TV Stick technically run Android, but you wouldn’t know it from looking. Even though Fire TV devices only have official access to the Amazon Appstore, you can install Android apps from other places t…

Joe Fedewa Dec 24th, 2017

The NVIDIA SHIELD Is the Most Powerful Set Top Box You Can Buy

There are a lot of streaming set-top boxes out there: The Apple TV, the Roku, the Amazon Fire TV…and sure, they each have their advantages. But if you want the set top box that does the absolute most, that can handle anythi…

Cameron Summerson Dec 22nd, 2017

What Is the Pixel 2’s Visual Core?

The Google Pixel 2 has one of the best cameras you can get in a smartphone right now. But generally speaking, these “best camera” sort of ratings only apply to the stock camera app. Google is changing that thanks to the “Pixe…

Cameron Summerson Dec 21st, 2017

If You Want Android, Just Buy Google’s Pixel Phone

Samsung may build the most popular Android phones on the market, but that doesn’t automatically mean they’re the best. In fact, there are a lot of reasons to ignore the Samsungs and LGs of the market and get your Android phon…

Cameron Summerson Dec 20th, 2017

Why Your Android Phone Isn’t Getting Updates, and What to Do About It

Some Android devices get new features right away, while others never do. The Android operating system and the devices that use it are part of a diverse ecosystem, and that makes updates complicated. Let’s shed some light on t…

Joe Fedewa Dec 19th, 2017

How to Enable Vacation Mode on the Schlage Connect Smart Lock

If you’re going on vacation and will be away from home for any significant amount of time, it might be a good idea to enable Vacation Mode on your Schlage Connect smart lock. Here’s how it works and how to turn it on….

Craig Lloyd Dec 18th, 2017

Seven Things You Don’t Have to Root Android to Do Anymore

For years, Android enthusiasts have been rooting their devices to do things that Android doesn’t allow by default. But Google has added many features to Android that once required root, eliminating the need for many people….

Cameron Summerson Dec 18th, 2017

How to See Your Uber or Lyft Passenger Rating

After every Uber and Lyft ride, you can rate your driver out of five stars based on how good or bad the ride was. However, you may not know that drivers also rate you as a passenger. Here’s how to view your passenger rating f…

Craig Lloyd Dec 15th, 2017

How to Speed Up Animations to Make Android Feel Faster

Android devices display animations when they transition between apps, windows, and various menus. Animations oftentimes looks slick, but they do take up time—and sometimes can even cause the phone to lag if it’s low on res…

Cameron Summerson Dec 15th, 2017

The Best Things Google Assistant Can Do on Your Android Phone

So you got Google Assistant on your phone. Cool! …but, now what? Well, to make the most of your new Assistant, you need to actually use it. And the more you use it, the more you’ll learn about it. Here are some ideas to ge…

Cameron Summerson Dec 15th, 2017

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