Smart Phone Tips Archives - Page 62 of 65

App Lock – Secure your Android phone’s apps and settings with a password

Posted on June 29, 2013

app-lock Have you ever loaned your smart phone to a friend and then spent the day wondering if he was reading your emails or looking at your pictures? Have you ever let your child play a game on your phone only to find out later that the settings had been changed? Do you refuse to let anyone else touch your phone because of concerns like these?

Thanks to a free app called App Lock, you can now let someone else use your Android smart phone without having to worry about them accessing your personal information and photos or changing the phone’s settings. [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I prevent my Android phone from automatically connecting to a Wi-Fi network?

Posted on June 17, 2013

Question from Donna T.: I have a Sprint Samsung smart phone running Android (no clue what version). It drives me crazy by automatically connecting to my wireless network every time I walk into the house. Even if I turn Wi-Fi off on the phone, the next thing I know it has connected again.

I never use my phone with my home Wi-Fi network and I’d like to prevent it from automatically connecting to it. How do I do that?

Rick‘s answer: [Read more…]

How to keep your cell phone charged during a blackout while away from home

Posted on June 12, 2013

cell-phone-glasses A while back I wrote a post explaining how to use a battery backup unit (UPS) to keep your cell phone charged during extended power outages, and it turned out to be one of my most popular tips ever.

Since then I have received questions from a number of readers asking if there’s a way to do it if you’re caught in a blackout while away from home. And as it turns out, there sure enough is! [Read more…]

The Facebook for Android app now lets you delete unwanted comments

Posted on May 13, 2013

If you use the popular Facebook for Android app you probably wish you could delete unwanted or inappropriate comments right from your phone without having to rush to the nearest computer. If so, you’re in luck!

Facebook has just released the latest version of Facebook for Android, and it now includes the ability to delete a comment quite easily and quickly. All you have to do is tap the comment you wish to remove, then tap Delete Comment. What could be easier?

One would think that including the ability to delete unwanted comments would have been included in the app from the get-go, but it wasn’t. Go figure. Better late than never I suppose.

You can download the latest version of Facebook for Android from the Google Play Store.

Q&A: How do I turn off the keyboard sounds on my Samsung Galaxy S4?

Posted on May 12, 2013

Question from Miranda P.: Hi Rick. I just bought a Samsung Galaxy S4 and I love it, but the annoying clicking sound the keyboard makes when I’m typing is driving me crazy.

I’ve searched the menus from top to bottom and I can’t find a setting to disable the keyboards sounds. Can you please, please, please tell me how to do it?

Rick‘s answer: Indeed I can Miranda. The setting for turning off the key click sound on the Galaxy S4 is hidden under a set of nested menus. Here’s how to find it:

1 – Open the Settings screen, then scroll down and select Language and Input.

2 – Find Samsung keyboard and tap the gear-shaped icon.

3 – Tap Advanced.

4 – Uncheck Key-tap sound. Note: If you’d like to turn off the equally annoying Key-tap vibration, you can do that while you’re on this screen as well.

Here’s a screenshot: [Read more…]