Articles by Andrew Myrick

Facebook’s apps and services are back up and running after an outage

Update, April 8th (7:00 pm ET): Facebook services appear to be up and running again after being down for around 45 minutes.

What you need to know

Late thursday afternoon, users of WhatsApp and Facebook announced the services being down.
There seems to be no indication as to what is causing the issue.
Pokemon Go and Oculus also seem to be suffering from the problem.

In what seems to be a weekly trend, various Facebook services are seeing outages across the country. We first recognized that the Facebook Messenger web client wasn’t working properly, before noticing the same error message from the main Facebook website.

The outage started around 5 P.M. EST, and has continued to plague various apps and services. In addition to Facebook and Messenger being down, WhatsApp users have also reported problems connecting and sending messages. Instagram seems to be slightly bothered by these problems, but not to the sa…

Turn your smartphone into a new-age Game Boy

Outside of the NES and SNES, the Game Boy is among the rest of the most popular consoles to emulate. Considering how popular the Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance were, it only makes sense to use the new-age power of your smartphone to play those classics.

The problem with finding the best Game Boy and Game Boy Advance emulators for Android is that there are so many different options to choose from, which is not the worst problem to have. Thankfully, certain developers have made it easy for our favorites to stand out from the crowd.

The top 3 apps

1. ClassicBoy
2. John GBAC
3. Pizza Boy Emulators (GBA / GBC)

More options

GBA.emu / GBC.emu
RetroArch
Lemuroid
My Boy! Emulators (GBA / GBC)

The best Game Boy & Game Boy Advance emulators for Android

It should come as no surprise that our pick for the best emulators for Android is also the best Game Boy and Game Boy Advance emulator for Android. ClassicBoy makes …

The OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro are here and these devices look to take over the throne as the best Android phones of the year. You’ll find some pretty great cameras, along with some of the fastest charging speeds imaginable. But if you plan on keeping these phones for a while, you’ll definitely want to grab a case for it. As it does with every new phone launch, OnePlus launched some new first-party OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro cases that you should definitely consider.

Classic OnePlus

OnePlus Sandstone Bumper Case

Staff Pick

When you think of OnePlus devices, chances are you think about the sandstone material that was found on the OnePlus One. While the company has moved away from using this a material for the phone itself, OnePlus continues to release bumper cases with the Sandstone look and feel. Get that feeling of the OnePlus One with the latest OnePlus 9 or 9 Pro.

$25 at OnePlus (OnePlus 9)
$25 at OnePlus (OnePlus 9 Pro)

Something Unique

OnePlus Droid Case for OnePlus 9 P…

The OnePlus Nord N10 is now making its way into the hands of the masses, and that means you’re going to want to get the best OnePlus Nord N10 screen protectors. The Nord N10 has instantly become a contender for one of the best cheap Android phones, and if you got one, you likely already grabbed one of the best Nord N10 cases. So be sure to finish the ensemble to keep the Nord N10 running for as long as possible.

Best value

LK Tempered Glass (6-pack)

Staff Pick

Installing a new screen protector on your smartphone can be a frustrating proposition, and LK aims to alleviate those frustrations. Along with including three screen protectors for the front display and three for the rear camera module, there’s an instructional video that shows you exactly how to install them with ease.

$11 at Amazon

Lifetime warranty

Mr. Shield Tempered Glass (3-pack)

With some tempered glass screen protectors, you’ll have to worry about the “rainbow effect,” which can make it frustrating to …

If you’re looking for the best game controllers to use with Android emulators, then you might be a bit frustrated because of the sheer number of options available. Android emulators are the best way to play those classic games that aren’t found on the next-gen consoles, and make it so you can play games from wherever you are. Regardless of what games you’re playing, we’ve rounded up the best controllers for you to consider.

Best Game Controller to Use with Android Emulators Overall: 8Bitdo SN30 Pro

When you think of emulators, you think of the classics from your childhood and consoles like the NES or SNES. Unfortunately, those old controllers don’t exactly include the technology needed to work with an emulator on the best Android phones. That’s where 8Bitdo comes in its lineup of controllers headlined by the SN30 Pro.

This specific controller is a remake of those iconic SNES controllers, but there are other colorways available. The SN30 Pro is an inexpensive controller, making t…

One of the most intriguing and best cheap Android phones is the OnePlus Nord, which has been available for a few months, but it was only available in select markets. Now the Nord N10 has arrived for those in the U.S. This budget-friendly device stacks up quite nicely when comparing the standard Nord vs Nord N10, but you’re going to want to grab one of the best OnePlus Nord N10 cases to keep this fancy new smartphone protected.

Show it off

Foluu Clear Case

Staff Pick

There are clear cases, and then there’s the Foluu Clear case, which not only lets you show off the OnePlus Nord N10, but also has some added protection. All four corners are reinforced, acting as cushions if your phone ends up falling out of your hands.

$9 at Amazon

Classic design

Dzxouui Shockproof Cover

The Dzxouui Shockproof TPU Case may be tough to pronounce, but the case works perfectly for protecting your Nord N10. The case gives you precise cutouts for all of your ports, including the rear-mounted…

Nest Audio users have found that Google Assistant is playing the wrong podcasts.

What you need to know

Google Assistant podcast requests are not working correctly for some users.
This primarily occurs when trying to play podcasts on Nest Home or Nest Audio.
No fix has been released yet, but the issue has been escalated in the Support forums.

The Nest Audio brought users a vastly-upgraded experience over the original Google Home, as you now have a sleeker design and improved speakers. It’s also the latest speaker to provide quick and easy access to Google Assistant, without needing to pick up your phone just to turn the lights on. It seems that in some cases of a few Nest Audio owners, Google Assistant is not properly understanding requests to play podcasts.

Users on the Google Home subreddit, as found by 9to5Google, have been asking around to see if others are experiencing issues with Assistant not playing the correct podcasts. In some instances, a user would ask to play the NP…

You can finally stop trying to use the OnePlus website on your smartphone to order new phones.

What you need to know

The official OnePlus Store app is now avaialble in North America.
You can use the Store app to pre-order the OnePlus 9 next week.
OnePlus plans on introducing the ‘OnePlus Club’ offering rewards accessible in the Store app.

While the hype train continues chugging along for the OnePlus 9 ahead of its official event next week, OnePlus is hoping to make your pre-order experience easier this time around. In previous years, if you wanted to pre-order one of the best Android phones, you would be limited to only using the company’s website. This is not always the greatest experience for some, especially when it comes to attempting to survive the initial onslaught of many like-minded people attempting to pre-order the same devices.

Thankfully, you won’t have to worry about that frustration any longer, as the OnePlus Store app is now available in North America. The app is…

Microsoft is focusing on software with the rumored Surface Duo 2.

What you need to know

Microsoft Duo 2 could launch as early as this Fall.
The foldable phone will bring improved cameras, 5G, and a better overall specsheet.
Microsoft is putting much more focus into the software experience.

Some may say that the Microsoft Surface Duo has been a flop, while others continue to rave about having two separate screens working in tandem. Plus, the Duo has a unique design that looks pretty darn good, and fits right in with the rest of the Surface line of products. It seems that Microsoft won’t be giving up easily as it re-entered the smartphone market last year, as Windows Latest claims that the Surface Duo 2 is in the works.

The original Surface Duo was introduced all the way back in October of 2019, but was not actually made available for purchase until September of 2020. This meant that the Duo was already way behind the curve of the ultra-fast pace of the smartphone market with its…

Best answer: Yes, you can power an Amazon Fire TV Stick with the built-in USB port on your TV. However, that port may not provide enough power for a smooth experience.

You should probably stick with the included wall plug

It’s a logical choice. The Amazon Fire TV Stick requires being plugged into both your HDMI port and a USB port for it to work. TV makers have been including USB ports on the back for years, so it would naturally make sense to avoid having to plug something else into your surge protector. However, there’s a catch here.

All of the best Amazon Fire TV Sticks require at least 1A of power to be properly powered. This means that if you hook everything up and fire up the Fire TV Stick, an error code is likely to appear suggesting that you plug the USB cable into the included wall plug.

In our experiences, we’ve been able to continue using the Fire TV Stick even without switching over to the more reliable wall power. The first problem with the included USB cable is that…