How-To Geek

It's no secret that Apple’s ecosystem is a closed garden; most of its apps and services are only available on its own platforms. This won't be changing anytime soon, but that doesn't mean Apple has gate-kept all of its apps—some have found their way onto the Google Play Store.

Be sure to remember your Galaxy phone's PIN or password, as the consequences might be severe the next time you forget. Samsung has revealed that Android 17-based One UI 9, preloaded with new phones like the Galaxy Z Fold 8, will force a factory reset after 13 failed unlock attempts.

Bad Excel habits rarely cause problems straight away. Instead, they quietly build up until your workbook becomes difficult to update, troubleshoot, or trust—and by then, fixing everything can take longer than rebuilding it. None of these five habits will break a small spreadsheet overnight, but once your workbook grows or someone else has to use it, they become much harder to undo.

Almost every device in your home asks, "What is the IP address of this domain?" hundreds or even thousands of times per day. By default, your ISP is the one that provides the answer. In practice, that means your ISP is handed a very tidy list of every single domain you or any of your devices access every single day.

It seems that as the realities of streaming media dawn on people all over the world, a desire for physical music media is on the rise.

Every year, all the big players release new smartphones. Sure, they're shiny and have fancy specs, but that $1,300 Galaxy S26 Ultra or new iPhone isn't all that special compared to what's already in my pocket. This isn't a new take, but now the software has started to plateau just as much as the hardware, making upgrades harder than ever to justify.

If you walk through my house, you’ll see plenty of Roku gear. I've got Roku TVs and a couple of streaming sticks, and for the most part, they do exactly what they're supposed to do. They're simple, they're familiar, and they're good enough for most people. And honestly, if you just want something that works the same way every time you turn on the TV, that familiarity is hard to beat.

The compact SUV segment has long been dominated by the Toyota RAV4, but 2026 has delivered an unexpected shake-up. Production changes tied to the arrival of an all-new generation have slowed Toyota's momentum, opening the door for one of its closest rivals to surge ahead in the sales charts.

We've all been there at some point, staring at a blank screen on a system that fails to boot, or one where hardware options are limited. One dependable ally in those situations is Linux. While some people expect advanced, cutting-edge features from their OS, the real power of Linux lies within its utility. No matter what your daily driver is, having such a capable tool at your disposal is of enormous help.

Fans of Ryobi and its bright-colored power tools know that the company has a huge ecosystem of 18V ONE+ and 40V tools, from regular drills and drivers to obscure items for around the house. And while Ryobi has an excellent reputation for delivering quality tools at affordable prices, there are a few slightly more expensive models that are absolutely worth saving up for.

Every era of computing produces at least one CPU that has a spectacular failure. Sometimes, if you're especially unlucky, you'll get multiple.

I run Home Assistant in Proxmox on my mini PC, along with multiple other services. I use local LLMs running in Ollama, but they're very slow on my local hardware. I've always wanted to use a local LLM to make my local voice assistant smarter, but until now, it's always been far too slow or inaccurate to be of any use.

The beauty of ESP32 boards is that you can add additional hardware to them to make them even more versatile. An ESP32 board that includes an NFC reader opens up a whole world of possibilities. You can use one in combination with smart home software such as Home Assistant to replace a wide range of smart home devices, often for a fraction of the price.

I've been using the Raycast beta for Windows as my main way to launch apps, find files, and move around my PC. It handles most of my search needs, so I rarely have a reason to use Windows' built-in search anymore.

Buying a luxury sedan is usually the easy part. The bigger question comes later, when maintenance bills, repairs, and ownership costs start to add up once the warranty runs out.

The good news is, Paramount+ has a loaded August on the way. The wrench in the works, however, is the fact that the calendar still says July, and you've got a week's worth of potential movie nights to get through.

You're not alone if your phone is suddenly showing "SOS" instead of the familiar "5G" in the status bar. Tens of thousands of people across the country appear to be without T-Mobile service. The outage began around 4 PM ET on July 27th.

When the Kia Telluride launched for 2020, it became an instant hit for a number of reasons, but one seems to really stand out. Buyers got a three-row SUV that looked upscale and felt luxurious without the higher sticker price. Kia actually skipped the 2026 model year for the Telluride, jumping into a full redesign for 2027, which included the addition of a hybrid powertrain.

A rite of passage for every Android user is unearthing the secret Developer Options menu. You may have already done this on a phone, but Samsung Galaxy Watches also have it. But there’s no reason to enable developer mode if there’s nothing cool to toggle on—here are a few things to try.

It's the last week of July, and Netflix has already shown us what it has in store for U.S. subscribers in August—including the claustrophobic sci-fi horror The Last House, a chilling thriller starring Robert De Niro and Adam Scott (The Whisper Man), and some great documentaries, too. But you need a good movie to watch now, which is where we come in.