Roughly 77 percent of Americans use a smartphone, according to a Pew survey, but phones still hide secrets that most people might not know about. Most smartphones have hidden functions that you can access by punching in specific strings of numbers and symbols. These “backdoors” gives you access to features that, for the most part, you will probably never need to use, but they can occasionally come in handy — and besides, cheat codes are always fun.
We’ve rounded up some of the more practical codes for both Android and iOS devices. To use them, open your phone’s dialer and type in them (depending on your phone’s make and model, you may also need to hit the call button).
Note that these codes may not work on every device; some service providers go so far as to disable most hidden codes on their phones. In addition, there is another type of code called a USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data), which send a signal to your service provider when you input it; these codes are used for things like checking your data usage.
One warning: While some of these hidden codes are benign, others do things like factory reset your phone, so be careful not to input codes on a whim.
Samsung’s scandal over its Game Optimizing Service, or GOS, has returned with a bill attached. South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has tentatively fined the company 20.1 billion won, or about $15.1 million, over gaming claims made for the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S22, and Tab S8.
The regulator says Samsung promoted the devices as gaming powerhouses without disclosing that GOS placed preset CPU and GPU limits on certain demanding games. Samsung disputes that conclusion, calling GOS a legitimate way to manage heat.
Apple's next cheaper iPhone could get a brand-new processor while keeping its most stubborn display compromise. Digital Chat Station tips the iPhone 18e for a 2027 release with a 2nm A20 chip and a 6.12-inch OLED screen still limited to 60Hz.
The rumored camera setup includes a single 48MP rear camera and a possible 24MP selfie camera. There's new hardware to consider, but buyers hoping Apple would extend that upgrade generosity to smoother scrolling could be disappointed.
Google Photos is introducing a new design for the Collections tab on Android, giving users more control over their albums, folders, and photo categories. The update is all about customization, allowing users to pin collections they access often, hide sections they use rarely, and rearrange the layout to make their photo libraries easier to navigate.
According to a 9To5Google report, the change comes after Google rolled out the redesigned floating navigation bar on Android earlier this year. Rather than inventing a brand new way to store photos, Google is making it easier to get to the content people want, without having to scroll through sections they rarely open.