Update AT&T Nexus 6 Build LMY48Z to Project Fi Build MMB29S

Brandon Orndorff
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Update AT&T Nexus 6 Build LMY48Z to Project Fi Build MMB29S

The problem is that even though you are now on Project Fi and have a new SIM in your Nexus 6 it was originally on the AT&T network and has been updated by them. This puts your Nexus 6 at the mercy of AT&T and their update path instead of the more up to date Project Fi path.

At the time of this article Project Fi is on Build MMB29S running Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow with the January security patch while that AT&T Build LMY48Z is stuck on Android 5.1.1 with its last security patch back in December.

Many of us have been hoping that Google and the Project Fi team would have a solution by now to transition those with Project Fi SIM cards into the up to date OTA schedule but alas its not the case. Now the only real options you have is either wait until AT&T updates, if that ever actually happens or flash the Nexus 6 factory image that will get your device free from AT&T. I am going to show you the latter for the sake of freedom.

How to flash build LMY48Z (or any build really) to MMB29S
To be honest this is the process to flash any Nexus 6 build to build MMB29S but for the sake of the article and the issue at hand between previously AT&T Nexus 6 phones moving to Project Fi being stuck at Android 5.1.1 we are offering it up as LMY48Z. The process is simple but you must follow it step by step and take your time.

NOTE: Backup any photos or anything you don’t want to lose because the process will wipe all of your data.

Prepare your Computer

  • Download and install Minimal ADB and Fastboot (download link)
  • Download and install Google Nexus Drivers (download link)
  • Download and unzip the MMB29S factory image to the Minimal ADB and Fastboot directory (download link)

Prepare your Nexus 6

  • Navigate to “settings -> about phone” scroll to the bottom and tap the Build number repeatedly 7 times until it says you are a developer.
  • back up one screen and scroll to the bottom where you will see a new option “Developer Options”, select it
  • turn on “USB Debugging” and “OEM Unlocking” to allow our commands to be ran.

Check your device is found by ADB

  • plug your Nexus 6 into the computer via USB
  • open Minimal ADB and Fastboot via the desktop shortcut created during installation
  • in the command window that pops up type “adb devices” and press enter
  • You will see a string of characters and numbers that say unconfirmed beside it, check your phone and confirm that the computer can have access to the Nexus 6.
  • If no devices show up then you need to install or update the drivers

Unlock the Nexus 6 Bootloader

  • Still in the command window type “adb reboot bootloader” to put your phone in bootloader mode.
  • You will see that the devices bootloader status is locked (if it says status unlocked you can skip to flashing)
  • type “fastboot oem unlock” and press enter and then confirm on the phone as well by selecting yes with the volume buttons and selecting with the power button.

Flash Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow Build MMB29S

  • type “flash-all.bat” and press enter
  • wait patiently as this takes several minutes and may even look like it has frozen at times, just leave it alone until your Nexus 6 restarts on its own.
  • After the phone reboots it will take another long wait on its first boot so again just wait it out.
  • Congrats your Nexus 6 is now free of AT&T

While the idea behind this is to get away from AT&T, those of you on AT&T that want to update to Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow can do so and then just put your AT&T SIM back into the device. For reference I have added a video of myself completing the process for those that get stuck. Of course I have tweaked the process a bit for the sake of the article but its ultimately the same.

I hope this helps those of you on Project Fi get where you should be. This will now allow future updates major and minor push to your Nexus 6 from Project Fi instead of AT&T. If you want to re-lock your bootloader all you need to do it follow the instructions again to the point where you typed “fastboot oem unlock” and just type “fastboot oem lock” instead. If you have questions feel free to reach out and please let me know if I have missed anything as I put it all together here. Good luck!

Google bans several apps that secretly download malware to your device

Brandon Orndorff
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Google bans several apps that secretly download malware to your device

The Google Play Store makes it very easy for developers to market their apps quickly without too much review. That said many developers can sneak malware into apps and publish them to the Android Market leaving the true security in the hands of users reviews and download numbers. In this case there were 13 popular apps that had it not been for the malware creating the popularity may have never been noticed. Thus the apps have been banned.

The apps found guilty were fully functional apps that on the surface seem completely legit and even a little fun. In the background these apps are sneaky and can go so far as leaving positive reviews and ratings without your knowledge. After its done the malware would install another app and run through the process again.

If that wasn’t bad enough some of the apps could even detect if a device is rooted and give itself root access. The reason for the app wanting root access is to allow it to survive even after a factory reset is done on the device when the user tries to clean up the device if the malware is found. It seems Lookout found an app with this security breach and said “Specifically, it attempts to detect if a device is rooted, and if so, copies several files to the /system partition in an effort to ensure persistence, even after a complete factory reset.”

While this is not as rampant in the Google Play Store it is quite common for apps to not only look for root access but also auto-root devices to get the access. Several of these malware groups or families are known as Shedun, Shaunet and Shiftybug and are generally found in third party app markets and not Google Play.

Before the apps were found and removed from the Play Store they had already reached millions of devices and had been labeled as popular. Of course we now know this was due to the malware and not true user reviews.

What 13 apps contain the malicious malware?
While there is no easy way to remove the threat you will want to know if you have installed the apps so you can take actions or just chalk one up to luck. The games that are showing malware that you need to be aware of are:

  • Banned Malware Infected AppsCake Blast
  • Tiny Puzzle
  • Jump Planet
  • Ninja Hook
  • Piggy Jump
  • Just Fire
  • Honey Comb
  • Crazy Block
  • Eat Bubble
  • Hit Planet
  • Crazy Jelly
  • Cake Tower
  • Drag Box

How to Remove Malware these apps have installed
Not to be the bearer of bad news but the only way we know of at this point is installing Root Explorer and start the scavenger hunt for suspected files. You will need to know what you are looking for so if your not an Expert Android user or even a developer you may want to just flash a whole new image to start completely over. Of course finding and flashing the factory image to your device is a guaranteed way of starting clean. There are many guides out there on how to do this and in most cases its rather easy for even the most Novice of Android users.

Finally a stylish smartwatch for women – Pebble Time Round

Brandon Orndorff
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Finally a stylish smartwatch for women – Pebble Time Round

Smartwatches have been around for some time now and in most cases they look like they were made to stand out and not in a good way. Big bulky square blocks that only a man could get away with wearing and even more recently with many watches going round to look like a traditional watch they have still missed a huge market … women! Finally their is a smartwatch that any woman in your life would love to wear and it comes from Pebble in the form of the “Pebble Time Round“.

What makes the Pebble Time Round the best smartwatch for women?
To be quite honest if you look at a picture of one the story is told but for the sake of an actual article lets run through it starting with the most important factor, Design! Unlike all other smartwatches on the market the Pebble Time Round is thin, in fact it is only 7.5 millimeters thin making it the thinnest smartwatch on the market to date. Keep in mind that is 30% thinner than the apple watch. The second design feature that makes the Time Round the choice for women when searching for a smartwatch is its also the lightest smartwatch that we know of to date, almost half the weight of the Apple watch in fact.

A few more design features that make the Pebble Time Round a winner is the choices in colors and bands you get with it. Not only can you choose the initial band and watch colors but the wrist bands are interchangeable with any standard watch band without having to purchase special ones from Pebble. From Pebble however you do have choices like all black, stainless steel, rose gold and white, etc. with several band choices. You can take a look at our video below this article to see the one I purchased for a special someone in my life (good thing she doesn’t read my geeky blog :).  We will also be giving one away so follow us to be updated when we start the giveaway.

Aside from being a stylish accessory does it have the features I want?
Pebble smartwatches are known for being efficient and easy to use. You will get a buzz on your wrist every time your phone gets a message, social media like and calendar invite among other notifications if you choose. Of course from within the Pebble app on your phone you can disable any notifications you don’t want going to the watch. We would be remiss if we didn’t also mention the fact that the Pebble Time Round has a 48 hour battery life, while less than the other Pebble watches its better than the 24 hour battery life most smartwatches truly have. With the 48 hour battery life it charges from dead to 100% in about 30 minutes so nothing to get it in shape to put back on your wrist for a couple more days.

As if you need more proof that this is the smartwatch for you, the price rolls in at $249.

Unlock the Motorola Moto G 2015 Bootloader

Brandon Orndorff
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Unlock the Motorola Moto G 2015 Bootloader

While the instructions are for the third generation Moto G that came out this year as Motorola’s newest flagship device it works on most if not all other Motorola devices. Make sure that you have at least 50% battery just to be safe although I always recommend a full charge in case you run into any unforeseen issues.

Unlock Bootloader on Motorola Moto G 2015

  1. Download and install the Motorola USB drivers (Download Link)
  2. Download and Install Minimal ADB and Fastboot on your computer. (Download Link)
  3. Enable Developer option on the device by going to “Settings -> About Phone” and repeatedly tap the Build number until you get the message that you are a developer.
  4. Enable USB Debugging via “Settings -> Developer Options” and make sure you turn on “USB Debugging”
  5. Turn off your Moto G so that you can boot into ADB Mode.
  6. Hold both the power and volume down key for 5 seconds or so until you see the screen change to ADB Mode.
  7. Connect your Moto G to your Windows computer and launch Minimal ADB and Fastboot
  8. You should now see a command window and can type the following:
  9. Type “fastboot devices”, press enter (should show 1 device)
  10. Type “fastboot oem get_unlock_data”, press enter (will show a data string)
  11. Copy the entire data string (all 4-5 lines of it and paste it into notepad
  12. Remove all spaces and line breaks so you have a single line of randomness
  13. Open a web browser and go to Motorola’s Official Unlock Bootloader page. (Page Link)
  14. If you don’t already have an account you will have to create one here (You can also use your Google Account to login)
  15. Option number 6 asks the question “can my device be unlocked?” and that is where you want to paste the string you have in notepad.
  16. Click “Request Unlock Key” and Motorola will send you the code via the email address associated with your Motorola account.
  17. Go back to the command window you have open from earlier and type “fastboot oem unlock ” and paste the code Motorola sent you at the end. Press enter.
  18. After a few minutes of processing and rebooting your Moto G will come to a window that says “Warning Bootloader Unlocked”. This means you are now unlocked and all went as expected.

When you complete this process there are several things that you need to know. One is that all of the data on the device will be wiped out so make sure you back up pictures and things before starting the bootloader unlock. Next is the slightly annoying realization that your Moto G will give the Unlocked Bootloader warning every time you boot up the phone.

If you have any questions, concerns or maybe are just having issues with a step feel free to leave a comment and we will try to get back to you as soon as possible.

Stagefright Exploit Software Bug (Fix)

Brandon Orndorff
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Stagefright Exploit Software Bug (Fix)

Stagefright is an exploit that affects the Android Operating System from versions 2.2 Froyo to the current Android Lollipop by allowing attackers remote access to your device. We will get to defending yourself against Stagefright later and note that you cannot actually remove the exploit but you can remove the risk of being attacked through it.

What can an Attacker do with he Stagefright software bug?
Basically the exploit can allow an attacker to access your Android device remotely and perform actions without your knowledge. This will allow privilege escalation and remote code execution by the atacker simply by do something as simple as sending an MMS message to a victim’s device. In fact a computer security researcher demonstrated proof of this by sending an MMS to a device that in most cases does not require the victim to do anything knowing nothing more than the unassuming persons phone number.

Why is the Starfright exploit in Android in the first place?
Simply put it is part of the AOSP or Android Open Source Project used as a backend engine to play multimedia files like mp4’s. You average person cannot take advantage of the exploit as a little deeper its a complex software library written in C++ that allows exploiting of certain integer overflow vulnerabilities in Android’s core.

How to defend against Stagefright?
There is only one thing you can do to keep from having an atacker remotely access your device using the exploit and that is turning off MMS auto-retrieval on your device. To do this follow the instructions below:

How to Disable MMS automatic message downloading?
First you need to figure out what app you are using for SMS messaging then you can disable it. You can find your default SMS app by going to “Settings -> Default applications -> Messages”. Once you have your default SMS app figured out you can scroll down and find the app you use.

How to remove StagefrightDisable MMS auto-downloading in Hangouts

  1. Open Hangouts and tap the menu top left
  2. Tap settings and select SMS
  3. Scroll down and uncheck “Auto Retrieve MMS”

Disable MMS auto-downloading in Messages

  1. Open Messages and tap the menu top right
  2. Tap settings (GS6 users have to tap “More Settings) and select Multimedia Message (MMS)
  3. Uncheck “Auto Retrieve”

Disable MMS auto-downloading in Messaging

  1. Open Messaging and tap the menu bottom right
  2. Tap settings and scroll down and uncheck “Auto Retrieve”

Disable MMS auto-downloading in Messenger

  1. Open Messenger and tap the menu top right
  2. Tap settings and select Advanced
  3. Disable “Auto-retrieve” (or pre-fetch depending on version)

Disable MMS auto-downloading in Verizon Message+

  1. Open Verizon Message+ and tap the menu
  2. Tap settings and select Advanced
  3. Disable “Auto Retrieve”

If you use a different app for MMS then the ones above then please let us know in the comments below and if you know the process please go ahead and add that as well.

NOTE: This does not fix the exploit but limits the risk. Also keep in mind that these are general instructions for a majority of versions but does not cover every version of Hangouts, Messenger, Messages, etc.

How was the Starfright bug discovered?
Joshua Drake from Zimperium Security Firm found the exploit and publicly announced its presence on July 27th of this year. Before the bug was announced Drake privatly reported the bug to Google two months earlier in April. Reportedly Google released a patch that fixes the exploit within days of Drake letting them know it existed. This said if you are on a carrier specific device then you need to wait for them to release the update which depending on the age of your device may or may not ever come.

How to detect if you have been affected by Stagefright?
Recently Lokout Mobile Security sent out an email to users of their apps notifying users of the possibility of being affected stating the following:

Recently, a new security vulnerability that affects Android devices was discovered, called “Stagefright.” We take our promise of giving you peace of mind seriously, so we wanted to reach out to explain the risk and provide a few steps you can take to protect your Android device.

Then they state what the vulnerability is and then how to find out if you are affected by downloading their “Stagefright Detector” app from Google Play.

That said it will tell you if you are vulnerable but there isn’t much you can do until your carrier releases an update besides disabling MMS auto-retrieval on your device.

How to Manage the Home Screen on the Samsung Galaxy S6/S6 Edge

Brandon Orndorff
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How to Manage the Home Screen on the Samsung Galaxy S6/S6 Edge

Most Android devices work in much the same way when it comes to home screen management, widgets, grid size, and folder but in some cases there are slight differences. If you own a Galaxy S6 or S6 Edge managing these items is easy and straightforward. Since the S6 and S6 Edge both work in the same way we are able to show them together.

GS6 Home Screen Management TutorialsChanging the Galaxy S6/Edge Home Screen’s Theme
Keep in mind before making changes here that by changing the theme you will be changing everything from wallpapers and other visual elements to icons themselves. You can always return to these instructions and revert back to defaults if you don’t like the choices you make.

  1. Tap and hold any empty area on an available screen until the screens zoom out and you get icons at the bottom of your phone.
  2. At the bottom tap the “Themes” icon to access the themes screen
  3. From here you can do one of two things, select a pre-loaded theme or download a new theme.
  4. To select a pre-loaded theme just tap it and move on to the next step, if you choose to download a new theme then select the “Store”.
  5. Once you have selected a theme apply it and your good to go, repeat to select a different theme.

How to Change the Galaxy S6/S6 Edge Home Screen Grid Size
This is a really cool and useful feature on the GS6’s where you can actually decide how many apps you want on a screen. This will also make your icons larger or smaller depending on the grid size you select. Samsung has added grid sizes on 4×4, 4×5 and 5×5 to fit your needs.

  1. Tap and hold any empty area on an available screen until the screens zoom out and you get icons at the bottom of your phone.
  2. At the bottom tap the “Screen Grid” icon to access the Grid size options
  3. You can choose each grid size and see a preview to help with your decision.
  4. Once you have the grid size you want simply tap “Apply” and your changes will take effect.

How to Add Widgets to the Samsung Galaxy S6/S6 Edge
Widgets are a great way to have access to apps that you use on a regular basis or just to see at a glance something from an app without having to actually open it every time. Accessing widgets and adding them to your screens is an easy process although be sure that you are on a screen that has room for the widget you want to add.

  1. Tap and hold any empty area on an available screen until the screens zoom out and you get icons at the bottom of your phone.
  2. At the bottom tap the “Widgets” icon to access the widgets screen
  3. Look through the widgets until you find the one you want to add and tap and hold the widget.
  4. While holding the widget you can move it around to place it where you want it on the screen.
  5. To place the widget simply let go of it and it will fall in place.

Deleting a widget is done in the same way as deleting an app, just tap and hold the widget until it breaks away and drag it to the trash icon and let go.

Folder management on the GS6 and GS6 Edge
Folders are a great way to keep your home screens organized and allow you to keep your number of screens to a minimum. In fact I generally have only one screen on my devices so everything is there when I wake up the device. This is easy to do with folders and a little thought.

  1. While on a home screen tap and hold an app icon until it breaks away
  2. drag the icon over another app that is related and let go, this will instantly create a folder
  3. To name the folder just open it and tap the area above the horizontal line and type in a new name.
  4. You can now change the color of a folder if you choose to do so by tapping the color palette icon in the top right of the folder.
  5. Just select a color and you have a custom folder on your home screen with name, color and icons.

To remove an entire folder you can tap and hold the folder ad drag it to the trash icon but you can also pull apps out of a folder or delete them by opening the folder, tapping and holding the icon you want to move or remove and dragging it to either the trash or a different area on the home screen.

Managing the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge home screens is something that can not only help you to customize the look and feel of your new phone but also allows you to be more organized and efficient when using it. If anyone has questions or issues with GS6 home screen management please feel free to drop a comment below and we will do our best to answer.

Bingo Bash Free Bingo Chips and Daily Bonus!

Brandon Orndorff
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Bingo Bash Free Bingo Chips and Daily Bonus!

Bingo Bash is the number one Bingo game currently available on just about every platform you can think of from Android and iOS to Windows and Mac OSX via Facebook. Some of the reasons people are drawn to Bingo Bash is the fact that its not only a multiplayer Bingo game but it also has a lot of other features as well such as experience to level up, achievements in the form of trophies, collections that can be gathered to increase you allotment of bingo chips, coins that can be used on slots or to buy in game items, and many different rooms to play in all with their own features and graphics.

Bingo Bash WalkthroughBingo Bash Basics (How to Play)

  1. If you haven’t started playing yet then open Bingo Bash in a new Window
  2. Login to the game and on your first login if on a mobile device you can connect to Facebook.
  3. You will notice Bingo Chips (these are what you will buy Bingo cards with
  4. You will also have coins that you can use to purchase in game items like power plays and play the slots games (only on mobile currently)
  5. Once in the game you select the room you want to play in (at first you will only have Sphinx) these will unlock as you gain levels.
  6. Once you select a room you then have to select the number of cards you want to play using the bingo chips we mentioned earlier.
  7. Then you wait for the current game in progress to end and you will automatically join in the next game.
  8. Once in the game you will play bingo as you normally would with one twist, you can use power play’s to help you win faster and gain other items (we will discuss this further later)

Be sure when you have bingo to actually hit the bingo button to call it. This said make sure you actually have bingo else the card will X out and you will lose it for the current game.

What are Bingo Bash Chips and how to Get them?
In Bingo Bash there are chips that you use to purchase bingo cards. You will get more chips every 20 hours as a daily bonus. This daily bonus increases as you gain levels and complete collections (will discuss collections later). There are several other ways to gain bingo chips besides the daily bonus. As you play you will notice that you are constantly collecting gems, these gems can be traded for bingo chips. Another way to gain large amounts of chips is playing the slots, if you gain 12/12 collection items from playing slots you can get a bonus of up to 500 bingo chips as a reward.

Another way to get chips is to follow Bingo Bash on Facebook and occasionally they will make posts giving away free chips, generally once a week or so and normally around 16 free bingo bash chips. Yet another way to get chips is scratch off tickets, and pull tabs. Each of these cost 5 chips to potentially get thousands although you get 1 free scratch ticket each day to try your luck without risking chips. Also if using a tablet or computer to play you can spin a wheel daily to gain chips and other great items. The last way that I know to get bingo chips is gifts from friends.

What are Gems, how to get, and how to use them?
Gems are gained by gifts from friends in much the same way as chips and filling in spots on your bingo cards that have a semi transparent gem on them. These are collected whether you get a Bingo or not and in certain combinations be used to get bingo chips, power plays and gold. If you have a collection orb you can also get collection items with the orb and gems. Below is an outline of what you can buy with gems and the associated combination required.

Bingo Bash Gem sets

What are Coins, how to get, and how to use them?
Coins are gained like gems in the fact that there will be semi-transparent coins on certain numbers on your bingo cards although there is also the additional way of gaining them by playing slots (will discuss later). Once you have coins you can use them for several different things ranging from buying collection items, buying power plays and playing slots as already mentioned. Below is a breakdown of what you can use coins to purchase and the associated costs if applicable.

  • Collection items (too many to list)
  • Charms (too many to list but used to increase generosity)
  • Daubers (too many to list used to change your stamp from circle to another shape)
  • 3 Powerplays for 750 coins
  • 9 Powerplays for 1500 coins
  • 15 Powerplays for 2500 coins

What are collection items, how to get them and their benefits?
Bingo Bash CollectionsThere are what Bingo Bash calls collection items that when you get the entire set, usually 12 items you get either additional Bingo chips each day in your daily bonus or a huge chip payout. Generally the location based rooms i.e. Sphinx and Grand Canyon give a daily bonus increase and others like holiday specific rooms give you chip bonuses. We will not run through all of the collections you can get as there are many but these are things you will want to work for to increase your daily playing. You get collection items by getting bingo on a card that specifies you get one or has a cell on the card with a collection ball on it. You can also ask friends for collection items if they have more than one of what you are looking for.

What are Powerplays, how to get them and their benefits?
Powerplays are used to give you an advantage when playing Bingo and when used are applied to all cards that you have in that game. You can get Powerplays by purchasing them with coins, trading in gems, getting them as gifts, and from spinning the daily wheel and other mini games. Powerplays come in several forms listed below:

  • Free Cell – This Powerplay automatically daubs 1 or more random cells on each card in play
  • Gem Cell – This Powerplay adds gems to your card (when you get that number you get the gem)
  • Money Cell – This Powerplay adds coins to your card (when you get that number you get the coins)
  • Chip Cell – This Powerplay adds bingo chips to your card (when you get that number you get the bingo chip)
  • Instant Bingo – This Powerplay adds an instant bingo to your card (when you get that number you get bingo automatically)
  • Money Bonanza – This Powerplay doubles the payout of any cells daubed with coins on it.

What is VIP and how do I get VIP status?
How to get VIP statusIf you playBingo Bash every day and send gifts to your friends you will quickly hit VIP status. There is no need to purchase anything or do anything difficult outside of being sure you login and play. The VIP status looks at a 7 day period to determine your status. There is no exact way of knowing how and when you will get VIP although if you play daily and send friends gifts you will have it within 7 days or so.

What VIP status gives you in Bingo Bash besides the nice little banner over your name that says “* VIP *” is an additional 10% bonus to your daily chips. As you increase your daily bonus by leveling and completing collections you will see how important VIP is to your daily bonus.

What is you Bingo Team and how does it work?
Your Bingo Team is friends that play the game that you have invited to be part of your team via the “My Team” tab when logged in via Facebook. When clicking this tab you will notice a list of friends with their experience and level and to the far right a button to invite them to your team. Invite them all as this is a great way to add more social aspects to Bingo Bash.

Team members will help you complete challenges and win bonus Bingo Chips each day. If you go to your “Play” tab via Facebook at the bottom you will see your team members and to the right of that a screen that tells you what you will gain for creating the team. Initially you need at least 4 friends to accept your team invites and complete a team. Once you have done this you will get a 5 bingo chip reward and be able to directly as them for help. This will also start a jackpot for you and your team members to work for.

Bingo Bash Customer Support
I just want to take a minute and talk about the superior support that the team at Bingo Bash provides.  I have had to contact support twice about lost connections and both times they quickly refunded the bingo chips as well as adding anything that may have been lost from the connection issue in one case getting more than I lost to be sure I was compensated.  Both times they had my account updated within a couple hours of my contact email.

Conclusion
All in all Bingo Bash is a great game and very addicting. I actually play myself almost every day so if you like Bingo this is the game for you. With all of the things to work for it creates not only a fun Bingo experience but long term goals to try and achieve. If you have any questions not covered here feel free to drop a comment below and we will answer to the best of our ability. Also let us know if there is anything that we missed and you would like added to this article as there is much more to the game but we hit on what we thought was most important.

How to turn off Briefing on the Samsung Galaxy S6

Brandon Orndorff
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How to turn off Briefing on the Samsung Galaxy S6

The Samsung Galaxy S6 has a feature called Briefing which was previously known on the Galaxy S5 as MyMagazine is a Flipboard powered news application that is turned on by default. You can find the Briefing screen by swiping all the way left on your GS6. This is a great feature for those that have a dedicated news reading app to avoid having to open anything but having it already on your phone as a dedicated screen. This said many if not most of us don’t want it being loaded or have any use for it at all. Here you can find out how to remove it and recover that lost home screen space.

How to remove Briefing from galaxy S6For some reason Samsung likes to hide how to turn it off to make most users keep it without thinking there is a way to turn it off. While hidden it is a very easy process.

How to Turn off GS6 Briefing Completely

  1. Long press a blank place on your home screen
  2. you should now see a zoomed out version of the home screens
  3. swipe the screens until you have the Briefing screen front and center
  4. tap the checkbox above the Briefing screen and watch it fade out
  5. Briefing is now turned off completely!

Once you have turned off Briefing you can press your home button to go back to your main home screen and swipe around to be sure its gone. From here you can add a new screen or just leave it off. Best of all Briefing will no longer load every time you accidentally swipe too far to the left.

Many people like all of the features that TouchWiz has to offer although if you are irritated with all of the TouchWiz additions that Samsung adds to their Android devices then I recommend you go with flashing a custom ROM or better yet a Nexus device, of course that is for another article. If you have any issues with the process of removing Galaxy S6 Briefing feel free to drop a comment below.

Simple Trick to speed up any Android device

Brandon Orndorff
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Simple Trick to speed up any Android device

With an operating system as easy to customize as Android how do you make it faster without adding yet another app or having to root your phone. The average user doesn’t want to take the risk of damaging their phone and I don’t blame them, even with my knowledge of Android I have bricked a phone or two. Speed is king and in most cases you need to root your phone to increase it although this simple trick will speed up your Android device with just a few easy steps.

speed up android transitionsThis will increase your Android phone or tablets speeds noticeably and is probably the easiest and stress free solution you will ever find. This will also work on phones both old and new so you can revive that old Nexus 4 or just speed up your Nexus 6 or Samsung Galaxy whatever.

How to Safely Speed up your Android Device using its Developer Tools

Step 1: Access the hidden “developer options” that will show up in the phones settings. To do this you need to access your phones settings and scroll down until you find “About phone”, tap it. Next you will look for the section that says “Build number”. Tap the Build number area repeatedly 7 times until it says Developer Tools is unlocked. Now hit the back button on your device.

Step 2: Access “Developer Tools” from within your settings. Now you should be able to scroll down within your settings and see “Developer Tools” tap this and scroll down until you find:

  • Window animation scale
  • Transition animation scale
  • animator animation scale

Step 3: Each of these should be set to 1x by default so what you need to do is select each one by tapping on them and change the 1x to .5x. For a real increase in speed you can change this to no animation although you will lose all of the smooth transitions between windows and apps and you might not like that experience.

This simple change will decrease the time it takes when moving between apps, opening them and even when opening the app drawer and running apps. This is a harmless and completely safe way to increase the speed of your Android device without root access or third party apps. The settings are already there they just aren’t front and center or even really mentioned very much.

Within the Developer tools there are several other things that can be done to speed up your device although this is the only one I can guarantee to be safe without any chance of negative impact. If you have any issues with the process or need some help feel free to drop us a line in the comments below.

Apple Watch alternative that won’t disappoint

Brandon Orndorff
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Apple Watch alternative that won’t disappoint

If you are using an iPhone and the Apple watch just doesn’t do it for you there may be an alternative worth checking out. Pebble smartwatches are compatible and have all the features you are looking for. Not only is the Apple watch incredibly overpriced but its not all its cracked up to be according to those that have had the chance to review it. See some of the things that have been said about it:

Apple Watch Alternative“The Apple Watch … is kind of slow.”, “Sometimes apps take forever to load, and sometimes third-party apps never really load at all. Sometimes it’s just unresponsive for a few seconds while it thinks and then it comes back.”, “It’s also surprisingly heavy.”, “[The] side button is extraordinarily confusing.”, “In the first of many moments where the Watch felt underpowered, I found that the screen lit up a couple of ticks too slowly: I’d raise my wrist, wait a beat, and then the screen would turn on.”, “Having a screen that constantly flips on and off is definitely behind the curve.”, “There’s no particularly great digital face, and there’s no ability to load up your own watch faces or buy new ones from the store.”, “There’s no master switch to turn all notifications on and off, which is a huge pain.”, “By the end of each day, I was hyper-aware of how low the Apple Watch battery had gotten.”, “You only get a charging cable, which is lame. For $700, you should a nice charging stand, like you get with the $249 Moto 360.”, “There’s virtually nothing I can’t do faster or better with access to a laptop or a phone except perhaps check the time.”

With all this said the Apple watch is doing surprisingly well with more in sales than Android all of last year in its first day. We know that popularity does not necessarily mean better or even more functional. Apple is very good at making you think you need something they have to offer without actually having to produce what you want. If your looking for a status symbol then the Apple watch is for you otherwise check out the best alternative we found in Pebble.

I am Android bias so just to make it clear I don’t think that Android Wear devices are the way to go or even comparable to the Apple Watch because there is still a long way to go before it is up to expectations as well. This said Pebble has its own OS that is fast and compatible with just about everything.

There are many reasons that Pebble is a viable alternative to the Apple watch including the 7 days between charges, clear crisp display that can be seen in any light conditions, water proof instead of resistant, and the ability to customize and flash to your hearts content. They are simple smartwatches although when it comes to functionality nothing to date beats them. You get notifications immediately and they don’t stay on your screen forever allowing you to go back and look through notifications at any time without having to go through them right away to get back to your watch face.

Lets step back and look at price for a minute, the Pebble starts at $89 with the ability to upgrade to the Pebble Steel if your looking for a bit more style. With the second gen Pebble Time coming out there is still a price point of $199 that is still much more affordable than the Apple Watch. Keep in mind that is still half the price of the base model Apple Watch with a much easier user interface.

When it comes down to it grab the Apple watch if you want the status or style that it brings although if looking for features and function that is much faster and cleaner take a look at pebble as an great alternative. Ultimately it comes down to personal style and choice.

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