It’s easy to feel like every Android owner drives a vehicle with Android Auto built in. That’s far from true, but the good news is it’s easier than you might think to get Android Auto into your car. In fact, all you need is a cheap tablet—even an Amazon Fire tablet.

Previously, I wrote about using your Android phone as an Android Auto display. That’s a nifty option, but it’s not drastically different than just using your phone regularly in a car mount. If you’d rather have a dedicated display for Android Auto, that’s possible with the same app, too. It’s really slick.

For those who aren’t familiar, Android Auto is not a separate entity from the Android that you see on your phone’s screen. Android Auto is on your phone, just waiting to be projected onto a display that can receive it. That’s what’s built into the infotainment system on many cars, and it can work over USB or wirelessly.

Think about it like playing a game from your PC on your living room TV with Steam Link. The game is visible on the TV, and you can play it with controllers connected to the TV. However, the game itself is obviously on the PC, and that’s where all the processing power is coming from. Android Auto works in a very similar manner, but there’s not an official Steam Link-like app for Android Auto. We need some way to mimic the connection.

As I mentioned at the top, I recently wrote about using an Android phone itself as an Android Auto display. The app I used for that can also act as our Steam Link-like receiver on a secondary device, and I’ve since found an even better version of it.

Despite my positive experience with the Headunit Reloaded app, it has very poor reviews in the Play Store (2/5). A couple of readers pointed out that there is another, more reliable app based on the same project—Headunit by Mike Reid—called Headunit Revived. I’ve been happy with this app so far, and it has some bonus features that I really like.

Setting things up is pretty easy. First, install Headunit Revived on the tablet and WiFi Helper on your phone. Headunit Revived has a “Quick Setup” process that asks a few questions to configure the experience to your tablet—display size, device orientation, etc. Read our guide on getting the Play Store up and running on a Fire Tablet if that’s your device of choice.

Next, go into the Settings and select “Wireless Helper” for the Wireless Mode. I’ve found this to be the most reliable option. Use “WiFi Direct (P2P)” as the Helper Connection Strategy. Now, you can go back to the main screen and tap the purple “WiFi” button.

Grab your phone and open the WiFi Helper app. Make sure “Wi-Fi Direct” is the Connection Mode, and the “Wi-Fi Direct Device Name” matches what you see at the top of the Headunit Revived screen. Tap the “Start Android Auto” button at the top of the screen. It may take a few seconds, but the Android Auto interface should launch on the tablet.

With the basic connection set up and working, we can change some settings to improve the process every time. The best workflow is to have both apps automatically run when the devices connect via Bluetooth. This way, you can simply get in your car, and the process will be automated.

First, pair your phone and tablet in the device’s Bluetooth menu. Then, open the Headunit Revived settings and select “Auto-start settings.” Choose your phone for “Auto-start on Bluetooth.” In the WiFi Helper app, select “Auto Start Service” and choose “On Bluetooth Connection.” Make sure your tablet is the “Bluetooth Device.”

If this method doesn’t work for you—it doesn’t work with my Fire Tablet—there’s a second-best. In Headunit Revived, go to “Auto-Connect Settings” and make sure “Auto-Connect Last Session” is enabled and at the top of the list. This will make the app automatically search for your phone when you open it. To expedite things on your phone, use the “Start Searching” app shortcut for WiFi Helper.

In terms of audio output, all you need to do is pair your tablet to your car’s Bluetooth or connect it with an aux cable. This is a cool way to put an old Android tablet to good use. It doesn’t really even matter how powerful it is; your phone will do the hard work.

Changing your DNS server used to feel straightforward. Pick Google, Cloudflare, Quad9, or whatever else. Type in some IP addresses. Call it a day.

Unfortunately, modern PCs don’t always make it all that simple, and that can throw a big wrench into the state of your connection. Your router may be handing out one DNS server, all the while your OS uses another. Meanwhile, your browser may switch to encrypted DNS all on its own. How do you make sense of this mess? Put an end to all the fighting and streamline it all.

DNS is no longer just one setting

DNS is one of those things that sounds like it should only exist in one place, namely, the PC. You type in a DNS provider, your PC asks that provider where websites live, and you’re golden. Never have to think of it ever again. If only it were that simple …

Modern networks are different, and a DNS can sit at several different layers. Your router can hand out DNS servers to every device on your network through DHCP. Meanwhile, your PC can still ignore that (because why not) and use its own DNS settings. Your browser can step right in with private DNS and do its own thing. It’s a mess, and it creates contradictions.

This isn’t the end of the world, but it does make troubleshooting annoying. You may think you changed your DNS server for your whole network, but you only changed it for your router. Similarly, you might think your PC is using your router’s DNS server, but Windows may have a manual setting buried in the adapter options.

Your router’s DNS only works if devices listen to it

Changing DNS on your router is the cleanest option (in theory). It lets you manage the whole network from one place, so it does make sense.

To change DNS on your router, simply log into its admin page or app, and then dig for settings like Internet, WAN, DHCP, or LAN DNS. Enter your preferred primary and secondary DNS servers there, and you’re all sorted. Again, in theory.

The problem is that your router is usually making a recommendation rather than handing out orders here. If your PC, phone, browser, VPN, or anything else are already configured to use something else, well, tough luck, your router’s DNS preference may not stay.

Windows DNS can override your router

Things get even more “fun” once your operating system enters the chat. Your router may be handing out the DNS server you carefully picked, only for Windows to say “no thanks” and keep using its own settings instead. This is especially true if you’ve changed those settings at some point in the past, so if you’re like me and you like to play around with random stuff on your PC, you never know what you’ll end up with.

This can also happen per adapter, which means your Ethernet connection and your Wi-Fi connection might not even be using the same DNS setup. Oh, joy.

To change DNS in Windows, head to Settings > Network & Internet, pick your active connection, open the DNS assignment settings, and switch from automatic to manual.

That’s useful when you only want one PC to use a different provider, but it’s also the exact reason router-level DNS changes don’t always do what you’d expect.

And your browser may bypass both the router and the OS

As if all of this mess wasn’t enough, your browser can be the final boss in this whole setup, coming in with its very own DNS settings.

Chrome, Edge, and Firefox all have some version of secure DNS, which usually means DNS-over-HTTPS. That can be a great privacy feature, but it also means your browser may use a different DNS path than the one configured on your router/OS.

To fix this, open your browser’s settings and search for DNS or Secure DNS. In Chrome or Edge, this is usually tucked under privacy settings.

Windows’s default clipboard has been a source of minor but constant annoyance: it holds exactly one thing. If you copy something new, the previous item is wiped out. It is enough of a problem that multiple third-party apps were created to address the shortcoming.

Now, Windows has Clipboard History built in, though it isn’t enabled by default. To turn it on, press Windows+i, then navigate to System > Clipboard, and click the toggle next to Clipboard history.

Once it is enabled, you can press Win+V to view up to 25 items in your clipboard history, including text, images, and links. If you have specific pieces of information you use daily—like an email signature, a common code snippet, or a home address—you should pin up some of those items. Pinned items persist between system reboots and clipboard history clears, which means you never have to hunt to find something when you need it.

You can even enable sync in the Clipboard settings, allowing your copied text to follow you between different PCs signed in to the same Microsoft account. Once you get into the habit of using Win+V, the standard copy-paste function will feel useless by comparison.

Voice typing actually works now

Windows dictation software has a reputation for being clunky and difficult to use, but that isn’t the case anymore. Thanks to the improvements in AI that we’ve seen since 2024, voice typing accuracy has improved significantly, especially for technical vocabulary. You don’t have to spend your time manually fixing formatting either. The tool supports punctuation commands like “period,” “new line,” and “question mark,” which prevents your text from turning into a rambling mess.

To use voice typing, press Windows+H anywhere there is a text field.

While it isn’t a full replacement for high-end professional software, it is free, built-in, and more than good enough for long-form writing, taking down a sudden idea, or writing quick messages when your hands are full.

Snap layouts make window management effortless

You can manually drag windows to the edges of your screen to split your display up, but you’re doing more work than is necessary in most cases. Windows’ Snap Layouts allow you to instantly arrange your Windows into predefined halves, thirds, or quarters. Just hover over the maximize button on any window or press Win+Z.

One of the most practical aspects of this system is the Snap Group. If you snap a browser and a document side-by-side, Windows remembers them as a pair. When you Alt+Tab, you can bring the entire group back together.

Live captions transcribe any audio on your device

You can enable real-time subtitles for any audio playing through your speakers by going to Settings > Accessibility > Captions, or by pressing Win+Ctrl+L. The audio is processed locally on your device; nothing is sent to the cloud, which is critical if you’re privacy conscious or if whatever you’re captioning demands confidentiality.

I’ve mostly taken to using it when it is too hot to wear my headphones. I can just toggle it on and keep watching without disrupting anyone around me.

There are some hardware requirements you need to meet. Basic same-language captioning works on any Windows 11 PC running 22H2 and up, but if you want real-time translation, you will need Copilot+ hardware with an NPU and at least Windows 11 24H2.

Dynamic Lock locks your PC when you walk away

Fortunately, Windows has an easy way to handle that automatically by pairing your phone with your PC. When your phone gets out of range (about 20 feet in my house, though your wall materials and layout will affect that), your computer will automatically lock after about 30 seconds. There is no need to install a separate app on your phone, the setup just uses the Bluetooth connection itself. While the 30-second delay means it isn’t a guarantee no one can access my PC, it does mean it won’t remain unlocked if I step away for a long time.

I especially like this feature when I’m working on my laptop in public.

You can enable Dynamic Lock by navigating to Settings > Bluetooth & devices and pairing your phone, then enabling Dynamic Lock in Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options.

Microsoft includes tons of great tools if you dig for them

These tools aren’t alone either. There are tons of practical tools buried in Windows, unappreciated and underutilized.

Each of these tools takes less than a minute to enable, but they can make a significant difference in your day-to-day workflow. It is worth the small investment of time to find them and set them up. If you’re looking for even more advanced customization options, I’d recommend checking out Microsoft PowerToys. It gives you a huge range of fantastic tools that make Windows much more pleasant to use.

JSON is a hugely popular format, used for configuration, API responses, game save data, and much more. But it has its critics, and JSON is not the only option. YAML is actually older than JSON, but even though it hasn’t caught on to quite the same extent, it has plenty to offer.

name:
    first: Jane
    last: Doe
age: 28
role: Engineer

{
    "name":
    {
        "first": "Jane",
        "last": "Doe"
    },
    "age": 28,
    "role": "Engineer"
}

fruits:
    - Apple
    - Banana
    - Cherry

address: |
  1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
  Washington, D.C.
  20500

info: >
  Folding allows long lines to be broken
  anywhere a single space character
  separates two non-space characters.

yq -P -oy file.json

yq '(.[] | select(.name == "foo") | .address) = "12 cat st"'

Before getting into specific streaming services and apps, it might be best to point out that while most make subtitle customization fairly painless, once you know where to look, the paths to them vary more than they should.

As a general rule, if subtitles are something you know you want to have consistently on across all your streaming apps, all the major devices have system-level subtitle and captioning settings that you can set and that sometimes override in-app defaults across all your streaming apps at once.

With all of them, you can customize things like fonts, font size, font color, background color, opacity, edged style, highlights, and more. You can also create new styles and save them as presets.

For Apple TV: On the Apple TV device, go to Settings > Accessibility > Subtitles and Captioning > Style. Here you’ll be able to adjust all kinds of subtitle formatting options.

For Fire TV: Open the Settings menu and choose Accessibility > Closed Caption, where you’ll find menu items for text, text background, and more.

For Roku: From the Settings menu, select Accessibility > Captions style for a wide range of options.

For Android TV: From the Settings menu, navigate to Device Preferences > Accessibility > Captions.

For Google TV: From the Home Screen, select Settings > Accessibility > Caption preferences > Caption size and style.

Netflix

Profile-based settings that sync across all your devices

As mentioned above, Netflix takes care of its own subtitle preferences, which are tied to your account profile, and can be adjusted differently for each. The best way to make these changes is through a web browser, which will sync across the Netflix apps on all your devices.

1. At Netflix.com, log in to your account and select your profile.
2. From the dropdown menu, select Account > Profiles > and then the profile you want to change.
3. Under Subtitle Appearance, you’ll find a range of great modifications you can make—from text size, font, and text color to adding drop shadowing and background colors to make text stand out over busy images.
4. Make the changes you want, which you’ll be able to preview before hitting save.
5. You can always choose Restore to Default if you want to start again or walk away.
6. The changes will take effect across your profile on all your signed-in devices.

Prime Video

Save presets that you can switch between during playback

Amazon Prime Video offers one of the more flexible subtitle systems, allowing you to save multiple style presets and switch between them during playback, often across several devices. Like Netflix, though, one of the best ways to adjust and personalize them is on the web.

1. In a web browser, while a video is playing, you can click or tap the Subtitles & Audio icon (speech bubble) in the upper-right corner of the player.
2. Select Subtitles Settings from the menu.
3. Here you can adjust font size and choose from four presets.

To build and manage those presets so you can access them on the other devices and apps that allow it, though, the best way to adjust is on the web. Log in to primevideo.com and through your profile, go to Account & Settings > Subtitles, where you can edit up to four saved presets.

HBO Max

Different options depending on how you’re watching

Adjusting subtitle settings on HBO Max (beyond just turning them on and off, etc.) varies depending on how you’re watching.

On the web: At hbomax.com, click your profile, then go to Settings > Subtitle Style to adjust font, color, size, and opacity.

On TV and mobile devices: Select the Audio and Subtitles icon during playback for basic styling. For size controls and more, this is handled at the device level (see the top of this post).

Disney+

Access subtitle options from various points

Disney+ has several different ways to adjust subtitle formatting depending on how you’re watching.

On mobile devices that run iOS and Android, they’re accessed through the system’s Settings > Accessibility menus.

On smart TVs, you can access it while watching a video. Press pause and then select the Audio & Subtitles menu that appears at the top right. Then select the Subtitle Styling option.

Apple TV and Fire TV also use their system-level preferences that can be accessed through their Settings > Accessibility and captioning options.

If you watch Disney+ through a web browser, you can access them by pausing a video and selecting Audio & Subtitles in the top right corner. A Gear icon will appear, which will lead to the Subtitle Styling settings. Make your style adjustments and click the back arrow to continue watching.

data:text/html, <html contenteditable> That’s pretty much it. Now you can use that page as a no-frills word processor. It’s handy to have it when you want to write notes while working, take a phone call, or, in my case, jot down ideas and thoughts while writing.

The best thing about this DIY notepad is that it works in most modern browsers. I’ve tested it in Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, but it should work in pretty much every browser you might be using, no matter how obscure it is. You aren’t limited to desktop browsers either. I tried taking notes in the Android versions of Chrome and DuckDuckGo, and I managed to turn them into notepads just by copying the command into their address bar and opening the page.

So why would anyone use this? Well, as I’ve said, it can be handy to have a barebones note-taking page in your browser for times when you want to quickly jot something down without having to open your preferred note-taking app or click through multiple menus to access an online notepad.

You can bookmark the page and open it in a second when you’re working and want to write down something your coworker or boss said, or jot down a quick note or two during a phone or video call. When you’re in an online meeting and get a great idea but have to wait for your turn to speak, you can immediately write it down instead of opening a separate app.

I occasionally use this browser-based notepad when working on an article or doing research. It’s great for capturing fleeting thoughts I might otherwise forget, jotting down subheading ideas, pasting useful links, or using it as a temporary note-taking space I can simply close and forget about once I’m done.

This browser notepad works great as a dead-simple note-taking app, but the fact that it’s just a tiny code snippet also means you shouldn’t expect a slew of features. You can’t adjust the font size, spacing, margins, or any of that fancy stuff. Your notes also won’t be saved automatically when you close the browser or reload the page. The only way to save them is by saving the entire page using the “Save page as…” option.

You get the default font, can press Enter to insert line breaks, use basic keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl+I, Ctrl+B, Ctrl+U), and copy and paste text—and that’s about it. There’s no support for Markdown or any other advanced feature.

If this hack sounds intriguing but you find the default version too barebones, check out this Medium article and paste the code shared there into your browser’s address bar. You’ll get a nicer-looking yet still dead-simple note-taking space you can customize to your liking. You can adjust margins, change the background, and more by tweaking the code. The downside is that this version won’t save your work either, but at least it looks much better than the original.

If you want an even more powerful browser notepad that automatically saves what you write, head over to this Reddit post and follow the instructions (the code should work fine in most browsers). In a minute or so, you’ll have your own browser notepad you can bookmark and use whenever you want to jot something down, with the added benefit of everything being saved automatically. You can edit the font size and many other elements directly in the code—just open the .htm file you created with Notepad and go wild.

While they’re as simple as possible and will never replace proper, robust note-taking apps, these browser-based notepads are neat to have. Sometimes, we just want to write something down in a hurry, and being able to open one with a single click can be handy.

Also, sometimes I just want to jot something down while working or browsing the web, use that info a few minutes later, and then simply close the page and forget about it. Not every note needs to be formatted or saved.

Use a portable power station

A power station is effectively a giant portable battery that can output enough power to keep anything powered, from your phone and computer to a fridge and freezer. They’re looked upon as the gold standard of home backup power. Most of them have lithium-ion (Li-ion) or lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries inside them, and some can have their capacity expanded with additional battery packs.

These chargers commonly feature both AC and DC plug sockets plus USB power. Their capacity is typically measured in Watt-hours (Wh), where 1000Wh would theoretically keep a 1000W device running for an hour. Of course, your router will use far less power than this, likely falling somewhere in the 30W range.

Power stations are great for emergencies like power outages, as long as you store them in a (somewhat) charged state. Keeping a lithium-ion battery in storage at full charge is not recommended for long-term battery health, so limiting the charge to around 80% or less is recommended.

To use a power station as a backup for your internet connection, you’ll need to ensure that your network equipment can easily be plugged in (including a separate router or network termination device, should you have one). You’ll also need enough power outlets to keep these devices plugged in and to ensure the combined wattage of the devices you want to power doesn’t exceed the capabilities of your power station.

There are more practical things to keep in mind, like the location of your network equipment in relation to other devices you want to keep powered (like your fridge or microwave oven). Power stations are billed as portable devices, which means they often include handles or wheels, but the larger the capacity, the more they weigh. A few long extension cords might be a good idea.

A power station is arguably the most versatile solution for this task, since you can use it to power all manner of items, take it camping, bring it out on the patio to power laptops or stereo systems, or throw it in your car for power on road trips. The most important thing about relying on a power station for emergencies is remembering to charge it!

We’ve covered power stations extensively at How-To Geek, including popular models like the Anker SOLIX C1000 and the Bluetti AC200L. Check out our full list of recommended power stations as well as some things you might want to know before navigating unplanned outages and the benefits of solar power stations for extended downtime.

Get an uninterruptible power supply

Uninterruptible power supplies, or UPS for short, are nothing new. They’ve been around for decades and are frequently relied upon in the tech world to keep computers and network equipment online during power outages. As the name implies, a UPS is designed to keep your devices running even when power is interrupted.

“Interrupted” is the key word here, since there are different types of UPS that you’ll need to choose from depending on your needs and budget. Some are designed with power dips (where power may not be lost completely) and brownouts in mind, offering a very short backup period. Others are designed for use with low-power devices (like routers and network-attached storage). Then there are the large, pricey options that are designed to keep computers running even when power is cut.

Unlike a power station, which works best as an emergency solution that you charge and forget about, a UPS typically sits in between whatever you want to keep powered and the wall. When the power goes down, the UPS takes over. How effective this is depends on what type of UPS you opt for and how much you’re prepared to spend.

Buying the right kind of UPS for your situation is important. Some are designed to give you enough time to safely finish what you’re doing without losing work, so you can shut down your computer safely. Others are designed to keep equipment running for far longer.

Many consumer UPS units use cheaper lead-acid batteries, while also being far more limited in terms of their intended use. On the upside, this makes them cheaper “set and forget” solutions that you don’t need to manage, store, or keep charged.

Smart speakers aren’t the only speakers in your home that you can connect to Home Assistant. You should be able to connect most speakers on your home network, and even dumb speakers can be connected with a little help.

One of the most powerful features of Home Assistant is the huge number of ingrations that allow you to connect a staggering number of devices and services. Many of these integrations have been contributed by the community. There are multiple dedicated integrations that you can use to connect and control speakers.

For example, there are integrations for speakers from Sonos, Denon, Bose, Bang & Olufsen, and more. You can use these integrations to play music on these devices, with some integrations allowing for local control without the need to connect via cloud services.

There are also some more generic integrations that allow you to connect speakers that support different streaming protocols. There’s a Google Cast integration for smart speakers and Chromecast devices, and the SlimProto integration lets you control Squeezebox music players from Home Assistant.

• Use Music Assistant

Connect using a wide range of options

Perhaps the easiest way to add almost any network-connected speaker to Home Assistant is to use the Music Assistant app (the new name for add-ons). This is a powerful music hub application that integrates with Home Assistant and allows you to unify your music streaming services and local audio files into a single music interface. You can play a playlist where one song is from Apple Music, the next from your local audio files, and the next from Spotify as if they were all from the same service.

Music Assistant also allows you to connect speakers using multiple integrations. These are called player providers and offer support for Sonos, AirPlay, Snapcast, Squeezelite, DLNA/UPnP, MusicCast, Bluesound, and more. Using the player providers, you can connect a huge array of different speakers and stream music to them directly from Music Assistant.

If you want the most seamless way to play music to different types of speakers around your home, Music Assistant is probably the best solution. You can even create synced speaker groups for whole-home audio, although the sync works best when all the speakers use the same ecosystem.

• DLNA and AirPlay

Network streaming old and new

Many modern speakers support AirPlay, and the easiest way to add AirPlay speakers is in Music Assistant. Even if you don’t use the Music Assistant app itself for playback, adding an AirPlay speaker exposes that speaker to the rest of Home Assistant, too. There are other options, but they’re often more complicated; you can connect AirPlay speakers via Music Assistant in just a few clicks.

If you have older speakers, AirPlay may not be an option without an additional adapter. In that case, you may be able to fall back on an older network streaming protocol. DLNA/UPnP was a common standard in the early 2000s before proprietary systems such as AirPlay and Google Cast came along.

If your speaker supports DLNA, you should be able to connect it to Home Assistant, meaning you can use older equipment such as Hi-Fi systems and enjoy the high-quality sound that they can provide, rather than relying on small smart speakers. There’s a dedicated DLNA Digital Media Renderer integration you can use, or (are you spotting the pattern yet?) you can add DLNA speakers using Music Assistant, which has a dedicated DLNA/UPnP player provider. I have the old micro Hi-Fi system my dad passed on to me connected via DLNA, and it sounds stunning.

• Connect dumb speakers

A streamer makes a dumb speaker smart

Not every speaker in your house may be able to connect to your home network, especially if you have older speakers. That doesn’t mean you can’t still connect them to Home Assistant, however.

All you need to do is connect a small streaming device to your speakers via the available inputs, such as RCA, AUX, or optical. You can then stream audio to the streaming device, which will play through the connected speakers.

There are plenty of options for streaming devices. You can use a Raspberry Pi with a DAC HAT or buy a dedicated streaming device such as a WiiM Mini. You can build your own ESP32-based streamer, or purchase one ready-made, such as the HiFi-ESP32. You could even use an old Android phone and install a Snapcast or Squeezelite app, and stream directly to the phone.