Staying aware of your surroundings matters. That includes hearing smoke alarms, appliance beeps or a knock at the door. Still, real life gets busy. You wear headphones. You get focused. Sounds slip by ...

With these simple steps, you’ll know who’s trying to reach you just by the sound of the alert. It’s that easy and incredibly convenient. Give it a try, and never miss an important message again.

Faith writes guides, how-tos, and roundups on the latest Android games and apps for Android Police. You'll find her writing about the newest free-to-play game to hit Android or discussing her paranoia ...

You can have your phone or tablet make a brief noise, chime, or vibration whenever an app, call, or message notification ...

I wanted my Android phone to play a sound loud enough to let me know when it started and stopped charging. The default options weren’t good, so I went the third-party way to set things up on my device ...