Your daily dose of practical, easy to follow tech tips!
Question from Amanda J.: Hello Rick. I ordered a brand new LG G3 Android phone off the Sprint website a few months ago, and I like it a lot.
The only problem I have with it is it keeps connecting to Wi-Fi all on its own, and it irritates the heck out of me.
I just found your website (which is awesome by the way) and I thought you might be able to tell me how to keep my phone from connecting to Wi-Fi until I want it to. I really hope so anyway.
Rick’s answer: [Read more…]
When used with a quality mapping app such as Google Maps, your smart phone’s GPS radio is a powerful device that can help you get where you’re going better than any traditional map ever could.
But it comes with one significant downside: it tends to deplete your phone’s battery charge in a hurry.
GeoLog is a very handy free app that works with your Android phone’s GPS radio to limit its use to when you actually need it. [Read more…]
In today’s digital world, many of us have multiple gadgets such as smart phones, tablets and other portable devices that are powered via USB-style battery chargers. And that, of course, means we have lots of chargers on hand.
A good wall-powered multi-port charger can simply life considerably by replacing several chargers with just one.
Today I’m going to tell you about an incredible and inexpensive charger that I believe you’ll really love. [Read more…]
If you live in an area plagued by frequent power outages, keeping your cell phone and other mobile devices charged can be a real challenge.
I wrote a post a while back explaining how a spare battery backup unit is a great tool for keeping your devices charged up.
But if you’d rather not have to deal with keeping another battery backup charged and at the ready, there is a great alternative available: a solar powered USB charger
One major advantage of solar chargers is the obvious: As long as the sun shines you can keep a charge on your devices’ batteries. Of course that’s also the main disadvantage – no sun, no charging. But most models have a built-in backup battery for charging your devices during times of darkness or heavy cloud cover. [Read more…]
If you use the Facebook App on your mobile device (which I don’t recommend as explained in this post), you have probably noticed that a recent update has caused it to start chirping and making other weird noises when you take certain actions.
If you’re one of the many users who find these new sound effects irritating, you can easily turn them off with just a few taps.
Follow the directions below to disable sounds in your Facebook App: [Read more…]