Smart Phone Tips Archives - Page 2 of 65

How Internet access changes when you travel abroad

Posted on January 30, 2026

When you travel to a new country, you expect things to be different. You know the food will be unfamiliar, the shops will work different hours, and even the way people greet each other might be new. But what many travelers don’t consider is how different the internet can be abroad.

At home, getting online is usually a breeze. You just hop on your home Wi-Fi or use your mobile data, and you’re connected. But when you’re traveling, what was once a simple task can become a frustrating challenge, even for seasoned globetrotters. [Read more…]

How to prevent your phone from ringing at a bad time

Posted on January 22, 2026

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Have you ever fallen asleep only to be awakened in the middle of the night by a phone call from someone who had no idea how late it was (or who simply didn’t care)?

Or perhaps you’ve signed up for a class and you’d rather not disturb everyone in the room with an endless barrage of notification sounds?

You can easily avoid situations like that by enabling “Do Not Disturb” mode on your phone. Just follow the steps below that apply to your phone. [Read more…]

How to see which Android apps have access to your Contacts (and optionally revoke it)

Posted on January 6, 2026

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If you have a smartphone or tablet, you’re probably aware that the apps on your device have permission to access certain features and caches of info that are present on the device.

While it’s true that you have the option to revoke most any permission that an app might claim for itself, do you actually take the time to review your apps’ permissions and revoke the ones the apps really don’t need in order to perform their stated functions?

If you’re like most folks, the answer is probably no. [Read more…]

10 things the smartphone has replaced (can you add to the list?)

Posted on December 30, 2025

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Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Throughout human history there has been a long string of new inventions that literally changed the ways in which we live, work and play.

For example, the inventions of both the electric light bulb and the refrigerator made life on Earth so much safer and a lot more convenient than it had ever been before.

The blazing speed at which technology is now evolving ensures that there will be plenty more great inventions (or innovations) to come in the future, but if I had to choose one device that changed how we live our daily lives more than any other to date it would have to be the smartphone. [Read more…]