Android phones are some of the most technologically advanced and powerful devices that almost everyone owns these days. We tend to take for granted just how much we can do with them.
Sadly not everyone uses these devices to their full potential; can you believe that some just use their phones to make calls, take a few pictures, and scroll through social media?
Android phones are capable of performing much more useful tasks and cool things if you know how to use them effectively. To help you use your Android phone to its fullest potential and do cool things read on!
Remotely shutdown your PC or Laptop from anywhere
If you travel often or frequently forget to shutdown your PC or laptop after you have left your home or office, then you might find this trick interesting. Using this method, you can actually remotely shutdown your PC or laptop from anywhere in the world using your Android phone, even if the devices are not connected to the same network.
Step 1:
First, download and install the Airytec software on your Windows PC or Laptop.
Step 2:
Once you have installed the Airytec software on your PC, click on the Schedule task icon on the Windows Taskbar, and make sure the Force shutdown option to enabled.
Step 3:
Now, right click on the schedule task icon and then select options from the pop-up menu.
Switch to the remote tab in the options dialog box and then Enable the web interface option.
Step 4:
Make sure you uncheck the Enable authentication basic option and then click on Apply.
Step 5:
Before clicking on ok, click on the view/update static address button. This will open a new tab on your browser where you will the shutdown URL for your PC. Note down the URL on your mobile as you will need this to visit the remote shutdown interface from your Android phone.
Step 6:
Now double click on the schedule task icon on the taskbar and then enable the task. Paste the shutdown URL on your Android phone browser to visit the remote shutdown interface page for your PC.
Step 7:
You can now use the options in the remote interface page to either shutdown or restart your PC remotely from anywhere or even perform other actions hibernating it on entering into sleep mode.
Turn your Android phone into a security camera
If you have an old Android phone just lying around, you can get some use from it by turning it into a fully functional security camera for your house or your office or simply even use it as a baby monitor. Even if you don’t have an old smartphone, you can always buy a new or a refurbished one for this method as most of these are cheaper than buying and setting up a security camera.
Step 1:
Download and install the DroidCam Wireless Webcam app from the Google Play Store on your Android phone.
Step 2:
Open the app and click on next and got it to skip through the initial screen. Now in the home page of the app you will be presented with the IP address details which you need to view the live camera recording of your Android phone from a browser on your PC or a supported device.
Note down IP address in the Browser IP Cam Access field.
Step 3:
Open the browser on your PC and then enter the IP address you noted in the previous step to watch the live video recording from the camera on your Android phone.
You can now monitor the video, zoom in or out, toggle the LED and even take a snapshot of the recording whenever you want.
Use it as a secret voice recorder
If you ever get caught in a situation where you cannot prove what happened between you and someone or what the other person in a conversation said to you or you simply just want to keep a track of all your meetings and conversations just in case, without letting others know that you are recording the conversation, then you might be interested to know that you can use your Android phone as a secret voice recorder. Here is how.
Step 1:
Download and install the Secret voice recorder (SVR) app for Android on your device from the Google Play Store.
Step 2:
Open the app and then enter into the app settings page.
You can now customize the settings to enable the app to automatically start recording either when you press the volume up button or the power button thrice.
However, it is recommended to use the volume button for the trigger action as the power button might already be set to either launch the camera or call an emergency number in some devices.
You can also modify other settings according to your preference like controlling the level of noise while recording, password protecting the recorded files and even upload all the recorded files automatically to Google Drive. The app also comes with an option to record all your calls.
Step 3:
Once you have set up the app you can now start the recording by pressing the volume up button three times. The recording will now start and once you have finished the recording you can either press the volume down button 3 times or just open the app to stop the recording.
You can now play the recorded files from the saved recordings tab and also upload them to your Google Drive, share them and rename the file from this tab.
Detect hidden cameras using your Android phone
You can use your Android smartphone to detect any hidden surveillance cameras with the help of the magnetic sensor in your phone and a hidden camera detector app. Just install the Hidden Camera Detector app on your Android phone from the Google Play Store and then open the app.
The app has options to either use the magnetic sensor on your Android phone to perform magnetometer scanning to detect the hidden cameras by scanning for the presence of a strong electromagnetic field or to use the Detect infrared camera mode to detect the presence of any infrared cameras in the suspected location.
If your device does not have a magnetic sensor, then the first method might not work accurately.
Just select the Magnetometer scanning method and move your Android phone closer to the place where you suspect the presence of a hidden camera, and if the app detects the presence of electromagnetic radiation, it will warn you by making a beeping noise and a huge fluctuation in the magnetometer reading.
Unlock your Windows PC with your Android phone fingerprint sensor
Since most people carry their Android phone with them at all times, it makes sense to take advantage of the level of security it offers. So, using the fingerprint sensor on your Android phone to unlock and login to your Windows PC is not only a quicker way compared to entering pins or passwords, but it is also more secure. So, here is how to do it.
Step 1:
Download and install the Remote Fingerprint Unlock app on your Android phone from the Google Play Store.
Step 2:
Now download and install the Windows Fingerprint Unlock Module software on your Windows PC.
Make sure to download the compatible version for your PC as both 32 and 64-bit versions are available for download.
Step 3:
Once you have installed Windows Fingerprint Unlock Module on your PC, open the Remote Fingerprint Unlock app on your Android phone and then register your fingerprint by selecting the scan option.
Step 4:
Now lock your computer by using the shortcut combination Windows+L Keys and then select the scan option from the app to detect and add your PC to the list.
Step 5:
After the app has recognized your PC, proceed to create a new account from the My accounts page and then make sure to scan your fingerprint for authentication and add the user name and the password of your PC you want to unlock.
Step 6:
Once you save the new account to the app, you can now unlock your Windows PC by using the fingerprint scanner on your Android phone by just navigating to the Unlock page of the Remote Fingerprint unlock app and then scanning your fingerprint.
