How-To Guides about Cord Cutters

Anyone who shares a Spotify account with a child knows the drill: play nursery rhymes or an animated-movie soundtrack often enough, and suddenly those songs start influencing recommendations.

A Plex stream that stutters doesn't always mean the server needs more muscle. These Plex tips and tricks are built around one diagnostic habit: checking whether buffering comes from your network, a forced transcode, or an undersized server before you spend a dollar fixing a problem that isn't there. Someone who adds RAM or jumps to 2.5-gigabit Ethernet the moment buffering starts may be solving the wrong problem entirely, because the right fix depends on whether the bottleneck is CPU-bound...

The instinctive fix everyone reaches for is "just use the Roku app." That works, but only for one specific situation, and if you're trying to connect Roku to Wi-Fi without a remote right now, it's probably not the one you're in. Roku's own support documentation is blunt about this: the mobile app cannot detect a Roku that's offline after a reset or during first-time setup.

Most people assume a TV without Bluetooth means a trip to the electronics store. It doesn't. Bluetooth has become mainstream in most televisions now, but that's only half the picture: plenty of older or specialty sets, like a favorite pair of wired headphones or a plasma TV still hanging on in the den, never got the feature and won't get it through a software update either, according to Wirecutter/NYT reporting from last month. Figuring out how to add Bluetooth to a TV without Bluetooth usually...

Spotify's Running Mode doesn't listen to your footsteps or track your pace the way the original Spotify Running feature did. That older feature used phone hardware to detect your cadence automatically before Spotify retired it in 2018 (The Verge, 2 months ago; Engadget, yesterday). Running Mode works differently: it builds a soundtrack around the BPM, duration, and music preferences you dial in before you start moving, rather than reacting to how fast you're actually running (The Verge, 2...

Audible's Timer sits right on the playback screen, but some of the app's more useful controls are easier to overlook. Shake to Extend lives in Player settings, while End of Chapter and finer 0.05x speed adjustments give listeners more control over when and how they listen.

Audible buries a handful of useful features behind menu labels that don't always explain themselves clearly.

The 78th Emmy Awards aired live on September 14, 2026, but anyone who missed the ceremony can still watch the 2026 Emmy Awards without cable.

Searching for how to watch 2026 US Open Round 2 live for free won't turn up a current live option because Round 2 is already over.

There's no single subscription that gets you every NFL game in 2026. Before picking a setup, answer three questions: do you need your local team's games, an out-of-market team, or the national exclusives that land on Thursdays, holidays, and international windows? The answer decides whether this season costs $55 or several hundred dollars (Marketplace, about a month ago).

Screen mirroring an Android phone to a Roku takes only a few taps, but only if both devices support Miracast, the wireless display protocol Roku relies on. Pixel owners should skip mirroring altogether and lean on in-app casting instead, since Google built its phones around Google Cast and DIAL rather than Miracast. That one branching decision, Miracast or not, determines almost everything else in this guide.

Reviewed by: Y. Garcia

This guide tells you exactly how to watch the 2026 MLS All-Star Game live online and whether you qualify for the free trial. The game streams exclusively through MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app. No cable broadcast, no over-the-air channel, no alternative platform. "Free" applies only in two specific situations. Figure out which one describes you, then follow the steps below to have a working stream before tomorrow's 8 p.m. ET kickoff.

A quick reality check before you start: This guide works best for households in urban and suburban areas within range of broadcast transmitters. Rural readers, apartment dwellers with no exterior placement options, and anyone whose primary goal is free live sports coverage will hit real limits, spelled out at each relevant step. Go in with accurate expectations.

Plug your Fire TV Stick into an HDMI 2.0 port. Save the HDMI 2.1 port for a gaming console or PC. If you have a soundbar, that goes in the ARC or eARC port, not the streaming stick. That single paragraph covers the setup most people get wrong when figuring out the best HDMI port for Fire TV Stick use, and everything below explains why it works this way and how to confirm you've got the right port on your specific TV.

The culprit behind soft, degraded Hulu streams is usually not your router. Both the iOS and Android Hulu apps ship with a mode called "Data Saver" enabled by default, which reportedly actively caps stream quality to reduce data consumption. Most users never touch it. Turning it off takes about 20 seconds and is the right first move before running speed tests or resetting hardware.

YouTube Watch History Workaround: Browse Without the Algorithm

The Champions League is back with one of the most anticipated matchups of the season, and if you're looking to catch Newcastle vs. Barcelona without being tied to traditional cable, you've got more streaming options than ever before. The challenge isn't finding a way to watch—it's navigating the maze of streaming platforms, geographic restrictions, and device compatibility to get the best viewing experience possible.

The 2026 Oscar nominations have dropped, and if you're anything like me, you're already mapping out your viewing strategy. From blockbuster sequels to indie darlings, this year's nominees span every corner of the entertainment landscape—which means they're scattered across just as many streaming platforms and rental services.

International baseball fans are in for a treat this March, as the 2026 World Baseball Classic brings 20 national teams together for what's shaping up to be an epic showdown. Now here's the thing about watching this tournament without cable – with Fox Sports controlling comprehensive broadcast rights, cord-cutters need a strategic approach to catch every pitch without traditional subscriptions.

How to Watch F1 Live Streams Online for Free: The Complete 2024 Guide

The 98th Academy Awards are just around the corner, and for cord-cutters and streaming enthusiasts, there's never been a better time to ditch traditional cable and catch Hollywood's biggest night online. With Conan O'Brien returning as host for the second consecutive year and the ceremony taking place March 15 at the iconic Dolby Theatre, this year's show promises to be unmissable. Here's your complete guide to streaming the Oscars for free, no cable subscription required.

YouTube Premium removes the pre-roll and mid-roll ads that YouTube itself serves. What many subscribers don't realize is that it also includes a feature called Jump Ahead, which can skip past the 30-second to two-minute creator-read sponsorships baked directly into the video. This guide covers how to trigger Jump Ahead on mobile and desktop, why it shows up on some videos and not others, and when to switch to SponsorBlock instead.

Getting the most out of your Amazon Fire TV isn't just about knowing where the power button is—though that's admittedly a good start. Whether you're a streaming veteran or someone who just upgraded from basic cable, there's a whole world of hidden features, shortcuts, and tweaks that can transform your viewing experience from "pretty good" to "why didn't I know about this sooner?"

Fubo and NBCUniversal's carriage agreement expired, and NBCU pulled its channels from Fubo on November 21, 2025, leaving millions of cord-cutters scrambling for alternatives just as the 2026 Winter Olympics approach. If you've been relying on Fubo for your NBC fix, you're probably wondering what your options are now—and trust me, there are several solid alternatives worth considering. The good news? You don't need to panic or rush back to traditional cable. Let's break down exactly how you can...

You've probably felt the sting of those YouTube TV drama headlines by now. The ongoing feud between YouTube TV and Disney has left millions of subscribers in the dark, missing everything from Monday Night Football to election coverage, since Disney channels, including ESPN and ABC, have been unavailable on YouTube TV since October 30. Black screens, blank slots in the guide, grumbling group chats. What began as contract talks turned into a corporate standoff, the kind that says a lot about...

Reviewed by Corey Noles

Netflix's move into live programming just got a rocket boost. NASA announced this summer that its NASA+ live feeds—including rocket launches, spacewalks, and those mesmerizing Earth views from the International Space Station—are heading to Netflix. This marks the first time Netflix has embedded live programming from an outside source directly into its U.S. platform.

Picture this: you're halfway through binge-watching your latest obsession when that dreaded notification pops up — you've hit 90% of your monthly data cap. Sound familiar? Well, if you're a Comcast customer (or considering becoming one), those days might finally be behind you.

The biggest problem with Netflix (which is hardly a real problem) is the overwhelming amount of content available for streaming. Browsing through profile-specific categories might help narrow down your search on something to watch, but some of those categories come and go without warning, and it's impossible to find them again—but not anymore.

Apple likes to make their products simple. However, sometimes that simplicity leads to a confusing user-experience. Take the Apple TV, for example. How do you turn it off? Just press the power button, right? Sorry, there is no power button. Okay, so it's like an iPhone and has a nondescript button designated as a power button, right? Nope.

Your Apple TV is just that — your Apple TV, which means you probably want to personalize it a bit, to make yours stand out from everybody else's. And the easiest way to do this is by renaming it. If you live in an apartment building, this will help differentiate your Apple TV from your neighbors' when trying to use AirPlay.

Much like the Chromecast, Android TV devices such as the Nexus Player and Nvidia Shield TV have always had those beautiful background images as their default screensaver. However, unlike the Chromecast, these "Backdrop" images, as they're called, weren't always customizable on Android TV.

Android TV devices have had those beautiful Chromecast background images as their screensaver for quite a while now. Envious of this feature, Apple copied the idea for a similarly-styled screensaver in their newest Apple TV, but with one big twist—they used videos instead of still photos.

The Google Cast feature that serves as the primary interface for the Chromecast and comes bundled with Android TV devices like the Nexus Player is a marvel of modern technology. But as these things go, troubleshooting issues can be difficult with something so groundbreaking, especially when you consider that there are two parts to the equation—the casting device (your phone, tablet, or computer) and the receiver.

Previously, you'd need to install the Google Cast extension to cast webpages from your Chrome web browser to your Chromecast-connected TV, but as of March 24th, you don't need it anymore. Casting now works natively in Google Chrome (which had been available in the Beta version for a few months), and you can activate the hidden feature right now.