Tech Questions & Answers Archives

Q&A: Can I use my HughesNet satellite Internet modem in two places?

Posted on October 16, 2017

Question from Carl F.: I live in rural Georgia but I also own a second home (a cabin) in the Missouri Ozarks. Both homes have a HughesNet satellite antenna installed.

I spend most of my time in Georgia but I head to the Ozarks for a couple of weeks several times a year.

My question is can I just take my HughesNet modem with me when I go to Missouri and plug it into that dish?

My cabin is in a pretty isolated area and satellite Internet is the only viable broadband option I have out there. There isn’t even a cellular signal available or I’d just get myself a hotspot box.

Anyway, it seems to me I should be able to just plug the modem into either satellite dish and have it work. Or am I missing something?

I’d just take the modem with me next time and give it a try but I’m afraid it might mess something up.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: Why can’t I remove the PIN from my phone?

Posted on October 15, 2017

Question from Angie: I started dating a guy a few months ago. I really liked him but he had an annoying habit of picking up my phone and looking at my called logs. I think he was checking up on me to see if I was calling other guys.

I didn’t like him spying on me that way and I told him so, but he kept on doing it. I finally put a PIN on my phone so he wouldn’t be able to get into it.

We recently broke up so I no longer need the PIN. The problem is it won’t let me remove it (that option is grayed out).

What do I need to do to remove the PIN from my phone? It’s an Android phone (an LG and from Straight Talk).

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: Is there any way to listen to a local radio station on my computer?

Posted on October 15, 2017

Question from Lois C.: I use a computer all day at work and it’s gets pretty boring. I’d like to listen to music while I work.

My boss said I can listen to a radio but I don’t really have room for one on my small desk.

Is there any way to listen to my favorite radio station on my computer? It’s a Dell OptiPlex 7050 with Windows 10.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: Can I recover photos from a memory card that I accidentally formatted?

Posted on October 14, 2017

Question from Gabby H.: Rick, I made a really stupid mistake and I’m hoping you can help me out of a jam.

I’m not a pro photographer or anything, but I do love taking pictures, and I take a lot of them. I use a Canon Powershot camera with two SD cards (I swap them out when the first one becomes full).

What happened is I accidentally formatted the wrong card and wiped out a ton of pictures that I really want to keep. Is there a way to get those pictures back?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: Can you recommend a good, but affordable wall charger for my iPad?

Posted on October 14, 2017

Question from Denise O.: I recently returned home from vacation and discovered that I’d left the charger to my iPad in our hotel room. I know I had it at the hotel because I used it there, but now I can’t find it.

I called the hotel and asked them to check the room, but they said it wasn’t there so I guess I’m gonna have to buy one.

Can you recommend a good, but affordable replacement iPad charger? I’d love to find one that works well and won’t damage my iPad, yet costs as little as possible (is that too much to ask? lol).

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]