Rick's Daily Tips

Rick’s Daily Pick: Spotminders Apple MFi Certified Wallet Tracker Pro

Posted on August 6, 2026

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

My “Pick” for today is this fantastic Spotminders Apple MFi Certified Wallet Tracker Pro.

Place this credit-card sized tracking device in your wallet, purse, luggage or anything else you don’t want to lose track of and you’ll be able to always see its location on your iPhone.

Unlike other bulky tracking devices, this one looks like a credit card, making it easy to conceal it amongst your actual credit and debit cards.

Click here to check out the Spotminders Apple MFi Certified Wallet Tracker Pro at Amazon.

Did you miss (or want to revisit) one of my earlier picks? You might find it right here.

Picture of the Day: “Autumn Mist”

Posted on August 6, 2026

Today’s POTD features a misty autumn morning scene from the woodlands of rural Washington County, Virginia. I hope you like it.

Have lots of treasured photos of your own that you’d love to display in your home but you have limited wall space? A digital picture frame (#ad) is an excellent solution. Check them out!

Enjoy these Pictures of the Day? Sign up for my free Rick’s Tech Tips Newsletter and you’ll never miss one (or any of my tech tips either)!

Monthly Tech Giveaway – August 2026

Posted on July 31, 2026

Note: The links on this page are affiliate links.

August’s winner will receive a fantastic Ambient Weather WS-2000 Smart Weather Station with Wi-Fi Remote Monitoring and Alerts.

If you’re a weather buff like I am you’ll love this personal weather station. It’ll keep you up-to-date on what’s happening outside your own home in real time.

All subscribers to the Standard edition of my Rick’s Tech Tips Newsletter have an equal chance to win.

Premium subscribers have two chances to win (their email addresses are added to the “pot” twice).

Not a subscriber? Just enter your email address in the sign-up form on this page.

Once subscribed you’ll be eligible to win each month’s drawing – starting with this month. Better yet, opt for a Premium subscription for double the chance to win!

The drawing for this month’s prize will be held on August 31 and the winner will be notified by email. The winner will be selected at random.

Good luck!

Q&A: Is there a way to boost the weak cellular signal in my home?

Posted on August 6, 2026

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Question from Deneen: My husband and I recently moved into a new home that’s located in a very hilly area.

We both have iPhones but the T-Mobile signal inside the house is very weak. We have no problem sending and receiving texts but we have lots of really irritating dropped calls.

We sprung for Xfinity Internet when we moved in, but we’d rather not have to install a landline phone if we can help it.

Is there any way we can boost the weak cellular signal enough to prevent the dropped calls? [Read more…]

Q&A: Is it illegal to install third-party firmware on a router?

Posted on August 5, 2026

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Question from Scott: I have a relatively old Linksys router that my son recently installed DD-WRT on, and it works really well.

Last night I heard a guy say that it’s illegal to replace a router’s firmware with third-party firmware. I love DD-WRT but I don’t want either myself or my son to get into trouble over it.

Can you tell me if it’s really against the law to replace a router’s factory firmware with open-source firmware like DD-WRT? It seems to me that if it was you wouldn’t be able to download it. [Read more…]

Should you completely drain your laptop’s battery before recharging it?

Posted on August 4, 2026

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I’m often asked whether laptop batteries need to be drained completely before recharging them. My answer? Not anymore!

Early laptops used nickel-cadmium (NiCad) batteries which were subject to a “memory effect”.

If NiCad batteries weren’t allowed to discharge all the way before being recharged they would eventually “remember” the level of charge they fell to before recharging and act as if they were completely drained every time their charge decreased to that level. [Read more…]