10 Android Ha.cks and Tweaks You Can Do Without Rooting 2017

Base on logistics, Android OS is the most popular OS globally now with millions of users. However, to get total control and to unveil all the hidden tricks of any Android device, you must root it. But rooting is getting a little bit harder this days especially for newbies because of new Android versions which now requires the use of custom recovery tools and PC in order to root them unlike before when one can easily download certain apps such as Kingroot and co to root their devices.

Well, I will show you some amazing hacks you can do on your Android device without rooting it. Despite all the advantages of rooting, there are also some major disadvantages like giving untrusted third party unauthorized access to your phone. Rooting also automatically voids your phone warranty and the most importantly, it can render your phone useless as a result of Bricking if not done rightly.

Having said that, Android developers are now smarter and have started adding some of those features that tempts people to root their devices in the past. Now you can have more control of your Android device without rooting as long as your phone is running on Android 6.0 Marshmallow and higher versions. Newer Android OS is fairly customisable enough to allow you do lots of things without needing to root.

After reading this article, you can start exploring some basic tweaks and tricks on your phone with the phone's security and warranty still intact. Are you ready? Oh yes. Your guess is as good as mine. Below are the things you can do on your Android device without rooting.

ANDROID TWEAKS WITHOUT ROOTING

1. TWEAK NAVIGATION BUTTONS
You can reconfigure the navigation button on your phone to suit your style. This can be achieved with the help of an app called Home2 Shortcut. With this app, you can assign various shortcuts to your navigation buttons. This helps you access your favorite apps from any screen with ease.

2. RECORDING YOUR ANDROID SCREEN
Some years back, this was a big task but Android developers added the screen recording API capabilities to Android 5.0 lollipop and higher versions. Some smartphones like Gionee M6 now even come with screen recorder pre-installed. But if your Android device didn't come with that app, you can instal AZ Screen Recorder. The app allows you to record your activities on your phone seamlessly. It comes with some interesting features such as a countdown timer that work together to make recording your screen a very pain-free experience. It integrates with the phone’s camera and you can even draw on the screen during videos. While other screen recording apps only offer basic recording functionality, AZ Screen Recorder lets you edit and trim videos right inside the application.

3. REMOTELY LOCK YOUR PHONE
With "Android Device Manager". You can instantly lock your phone remotely if gets lost or stolen. With this feature, you can keep your data safe. You can even remotely wipe your smartphone if you wish. It's one of the most important features on new Android phones. But before then, you have to ensure you setup the app prior to the time your phone was lost and to make it work perfectly, the GPS feature should be switched ON. You can check our previous article on How to find a stolen or lost Android phone

4 CONTROLLING YOUR PC WITH YOUR PHONE
Yet another Android hack you should try out on your phone. By using Google’s 'Remote Desktop app', you can control your PC remotely with your Android smartphone. In addition to installing the app on your phone, you also need to install and configure the Chrome app on your PC.
To do this install Chrome Remote Desktop on your PC first. Then After Chrome Remote Desktop is installed, you will be prompted to provide a 6-digit PIN. Remember this number because you will need it to access your computer from your Android device. The next step is to install Chrome remote for Android. Launch the app, tap on the name of the computer/PC you configured and you are good to go.

5. SMART UNLOCKING YOUR PHONE FROM TRUSTED LOCATION
You could set up a trusted location, where your phone remains unlocked. This feature varies among devices, but the most important thing is that you don’t need a password to unlock your phone in these trusted locations. Just be there. To activate this feature, go to Settings > Screen Lock > Smart Lock.

6. CUSTOMIZED WIDGETS
You can make your phone more appealing to your style by customizing the widgets the way you want it. You can even create your own shortcuts and theme colors. One of the apps that will help you achieve this is called Beautiful Widgets and it's available on google playstore for you to download.

7. YOUR PHONE AS HEART MONITOR
This might sound weird but trust me, you can use your smartphone as a heart monitor. However, it’s not as accurate as a real heart monitor used by doctors. But it's a cool feature you would like to try out. This is how it works, the technology makes use of your phone’s LED flash to track color changes under your skin and monitor the amount of blood that flows through it. Isn't that awesome? You can download heart monitor from playstore.

8. CHANGING PHONE'S DPI
DPI stands for "Dots Per Inch" which technically means printer dots per inch. You can tweak and change your Android phone's DPI without rooting by following the below guides.
✔️ Enable USB debugging from Settings> Developer Options. If you’ve never enabled Developer Options before, you’ll first need to go to Settings> About Phone and then tap on “Build Number” 7 times.

✔️ Download and install ABD drivers and minimal ADB for Windows. After installing Minimal ADB, a command prompt will open up. Leave it open for now.

Minimal ADB/Fastboot for Windows
ADB USB drivers
✔️ Connect your Android device to the PC. You may get a prompt asking you to authorize the PC for debugging, and you’ll want to tap Ok.

✔️ To change the DPI you’ll want to go back to the Minimal ADB command prompt window and use the following command:

adb shell wm density “DPI”

adb reboot

Note: where “DPI” is listed, replace with the value you’d like to use. A lower DPI means more information displayed on screen. A higher DPI will do the opposite.

✔️ Your device will automatically restart and you should see the change in place. If for any reason you want to reset the DPI back to the original, go back to ADB and type:

adb shell wm size reset

adb reboot

9. PLAY GAMES WITH EMULATOR
You can play old games or your favorite games with Android Emulator. Trust me this is fun and you wouldn't like to miss out on this great fun. If you are the gaming type, I think you should try out playing some games with Emulator. You can check my previous post on PPSSPP Emulator for PES game

10. USE EDGE DISPLAY ON YOUR PHONE
Like S6 Edge you can also use the same interface on your android device using a cool launcher Edge Display that is available for all the android device. This will complete customizing your android device and make your android look cooler. So must try this app and customize your android today.

SEE ALSO... Advantages and Disadvantages of Rooting Android Phone

These are some of the top tricks, hacks and tweaks you can do on your Android devices without root. Do you have any tricks you can tell us apart from the ones listed above? Let's know via the comments box. Your suggestions are always welcomed.