DIY (Page 13)

PopSci's curated collection of life skills, tech tips, and hands-on projects we think you'll love.

Latest in DIY

A black Apple TV 4K box on a black surface next to an Apple TV remote.

14 crisp tips for your Apple TV box

A hand holding a phone and scanning a QR code from a tablet.

How to make a QR code and share digital data with anyone, anywhere

Best dash cams under $100 sliced header

The best dash cams under $100

By John Alexander

A person wearing barefoot shoes that form around their toes, sitting on a rock overlooking a body of water.

For a better hike, try swapping clunky boots for barefoot shoes

By Alisha McDarris

A man wearing a black sweatshirt using a laptop on a DIY wooden laptop stand on a wooden table.

This DIY laptop stand will help keep your computer cool

By Jean Levasseur

Screen showing the ChatGPT welcome screen

3 ways to prevent ChatGPT from using you as training data

Laptop with google account screen showing how to set up passkeys

Ditch your Google password and set up a passkey instead

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

Windows computer showing the Nearby Share app from Android.

You can now use Android’s Nearby Share on PC

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

A person using a white MacBook laptop on a white table, maybe figuring out how to remove bloatware.

Make sure your computer isn’t downloading stuff you don’t want

An iPhone on a notebook next to a Macbook on a wooden table, showing the Count notification display option on the iPhone's screen.

3 ways to change how iPhone notifications appear

By John Kennedy

Earth's horizon and Pacific Ocean photographed by NASA astronauts on the International Space Station. The planet's curvature proves that the Earth is round, not flat.

10 ways you can tell the Earth is round

By Moriel Schottlender

A woman punching through a laptop screen while shouting.

How to block toxic comments everywhere

By Whitson Gordon

A person using a laptop computer with Google on the screen.

4 ways to protect your Google search history

Three people standing on a high rock, looking at a beach downhill.

5 apps to organize your next group outing

Teddy bear sitting in a corner and hands peeking from the corner with a phone taking pictures of the teddy bear.

The Opt Out: Read this before sharing another photo of a kid online

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

A person putting a DVD or Blu-ray disc into a black laptop, potentially to back it up.

You should back up your Blu-rays and DVDs before they break

The view of Zion National Park from Lava Point.

A beginner’s guide to visiting national parks

By Nadia Bajuelo

Zoom into the trackpad on a MacBook Pro

Your Mac’s trackpad doesn’t have to be basic. Here’s how to customize it.

collage made from old magazine photograph and blueprints

A 1967 foot-powered tool you could build today—if you wanted to

By Bill Gourgey

A person in a tan sweater sitting at a laptop computer on a wooden table.

Free up space on your laptop by moving all your files to the cloud

By David Nield, Sandra Gutierrez G.

Person rides a mountain bike on an outdoor trail.

How to start mountain biking this summer

By Alisha McDarris

A TV with the Stranger Things title screen on it, in a dark room bathed in purple light. Exactly what you might see if you're binge-watching instead of going to sleep.

How to stream movies and shows without destroying your sleep

An empty Gmail inbox.

6 Gmail sorting tips for a more efficient and less chaotic inbox

A Dell laptop compatible with Windows keyboard shortcuts on a wooden table with a coffee mug beside it.

20 essential Windows keyboard shortcuts that will make you forget your mouse

Facebook loading screen

Facebook probably owes you money. Here’s how to get it.

By Harry Guinness

Cannabis plant under purple weed grow light

On 420, learn more about weed with these carefully cultivated science stories

By Jamie Helmick

The main Jellyfin interface on a web browser.

How to use Jellyfin to stream movies, music, and more right from your hard drive

Different images from Popular Science Spring 2023 issue on a purple background. From left: a soapy poop emoji, a pill with multiple tools popping out, a group of Roman builders with Poseidon, beech mushrooms. At the center is a mug with a pink frosted donut in place of its handle with the text "Make It Work."

PopSci has been making it work for 150 years—and we’re not stopping now

By Purbita Saha

Meteorites fall during a meteor shower.

Get ready to watch the Lyrid meteor shower peak this weekend

By Laura Baisas

Hand holding a joint,

A step-by-step guide to rolling a joint

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

Baby with brown eyes and brown hair laying on their back. The baby is sleeping in a crib, not a bed, to prevent SIDS.

This is the safest way to sleep with your baby

By Jocelyn Solis-Moreira

Person in a dark room watering a houseplant with a beam of light. Illustrated.

How to grow plants in the dark

By Ellen Airhart

A group of people outside their cars along a closed road, wearing eclipse glasses to watch a solar eclipse.

Watch this week’s rare solar eclipse from anywhere in the world

By Briley Lewis

Two women using one laptop at a wooden table. One woman is wearing a black hat.

Use email aliases to organize your inbox—and stay private

A woman wearing a baggy black shirt lounging on a couch, eating a bowl of popcorn, while holding a TV remote with popcorn all over her chest.

Hidden Netflix codes and 5 other streaming tools to make TV simpler, smarter, and more fun

An Xbox One S with a controller sitting on a white table.

Control your Xbox by using your voice

iPad Pro showing a Freeform canvas on screen

5 ways to get started with Freeform, Apple’s app for creative thinkers

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

The Apple Music iPhone app icon, red.

Right on cue, Apple Music Classical is here to liven up your music library

Teen in green sweatshirt with long brown hair against a bright yellow background scrolling through TikTok on a smartphone

How to break your toxic infinite scroll habit on TikTok

By Jocelyn Solis-Moreira

A person sitting in front of a desktop computer in an office, using a laptop. She should learn to schedule a shutdown on Windows.

Set your computer to turn on and off on a schedule

A carpenter bee on a white flower. If you're trying to figure out how to get rid of carpenter bees, it's best not to kill these crucial pollinators.

Easy ways to stop carpenter bees from remodeling your home

By Julia Rittenberg

Amazon Luna controller hovering in front of a purple background.

7 things to know about Amazon’s new gaming service, Luna

Narcan naloxone nasal spray vending machine in Illinois to fight opioid overdoses

4 common myths about Narcan, the ‘antidote’ to opioid overdose

By Jocelyn Solis-Moreira

A person with red nail polish scrolling through their Instagram feed in chronological order.

The button that will put your Instagram feed in chronological order

By John Kennedy

Pile of print photos

How to move your photos to and from any cloud service

Person holding phone to their ear in a phone call

Tweak these settings for better-sounding phone calls

A Macbook laptop with Gmail loading in a browser. If you're lucky, you'll reach Inbox Zero in Gmail.

4 tips to help you achieve ‘Inbox Zero’ in Gmail

A wooden serving tray with a variety of dehydrated fruit and herbs on it, along with fresh fruit and herbs.

Dehydrating food can save you money and reduce waste

By Bridget Reed Morawski

Car dashboard screen showing Android Auto's new interface with Google Maps.

Take advantage of all of Android Auto’s new customizations

A total solar eclipse, a bright ring of sunlight around a dark moon on July 2, 2019.

April’s skies boast the full pink moon, Lyrid meteor shower, and a total solar eclipse

By Laura Baisas

A man sitting in a study cubicle, holding his head in frustration as he looks at his laptop, which has a lot of stickers on it.

The easiest ways to recover deleted files

Hands putting bandage on a hiker's foot outdoors

How to save your feet from painful blisters

By Alisha McDarris

backlit laptop keyboard

How to clear your web history in any browser

An iPhone screen showing the Apple Mail app with 129 unread emails.

The easiest way to move your emails from Google to iCloud

It's easy to take back control of your data with this smartphone security checklist.

Your checklist for maximum smartphone security

Two people, silhouetted, looking up at a clear night sky.

Catch 5 planets (including Uranus) in an ultra-rare planetary alignment

By Briley Lewis

A Mount Sinai ambulance with its lights on in New York City.

These smartphone settings could save your life

By John Kennedy

A white clothes dryer with a clean dryer vent behind a white curtain, in front of a tall window with sunlight shining through.

How to clean your dryer vent so it doesn’t catch on fire

By John Kennedy

A pile of pills of various shapes and colors on an orange background. Some of these may be allergy medications.

The right way to use seasonal allergy medications

By Kate Baggaley

a person plugs in a usb drive

Don’t plug in mysterious USB drives

By Harry Guinness

A Canada goose opening its mouth and spreading its wings to protect its nest and its mate behind it at the edge of a marshy area.

Read this if you’re too scared to walk past a goose

By Alisha McDarris

A Macbook laptop on a white desk with the browser notifications settings visible for Google Chrome.

How to block or allow browser notifications from any website

A Black person reaching their hands into a zeer pot—a type of DIY refrigerator—full of green beans, tomatoes, and other produce.

The coolest way to keep food cold without electricity

By Ilana E. Strauss

A man in a blue t-shirt and jeans working with a DIY router sled in a woodshop.

Build your own router sled to flatten wood without buying big, expensive tools

By Jean Levasseur