Your daily dose of practical, easy to follow tech tips!
Question from Betty: I read an article suggesting that everyone needs to keep the software on their smart phones up to date.
It also said to be careful not to ‘brick your phone’ while you’re updating it. Can you tell me what they mean by that? Thanks.
Rick’s answer: [Read more…]
Regular readers of this blog know that you don’t have to just junk your old smartphone or tablet when it comes time to upgrade because there are countless uses for working mobile devices.
In this post I’ll explain how to give your old iPhone, iPad or Android device a second life as a dedicated emergency radio scanner.
You’ll be able to use your “scanner” 24/7 while at home or anywhere that you have access to WiFi (your old phone likely won’t have an active data plan). [Read more…]
Have you ever called someone only to have the call go straight to voice mail? If so, you probably tried placing the call again later.
Or perhaps there are occasions when you need to speak to the last person you called once again?
There are several ways to redial the last number you called, and I’m sure you have your favorite method of doing it. [Read more…]
Question from Marnie H.: I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 from Sprint and I really like it. It’s currently insured, and if something were to happen to it I would want to get it fixed or replaced with another S3 instead of upgraded to a newer model.
My question is this: If I was to break my phone and they couldn’t fix it, would Sprint replace it with another Galaxy S3 or would they give me something newer?
Rick’s answer: Marnie, if something happened to your phone and it couldn’t be repaired, Sprint would replace it with another Galaxy S3 if one was available. My guess is they would probably have a stock of new and refurbished models on hand, but there are no guarantees.
If they didn’t have another S3 to give you, they would simply replace your phone with the next closest model (one that’s as good or better than the S3).
[Read more…]
Question from Devon P.: Rick, I have Charter Internet, and I access it through a Belkin wireless router that the Wi-Fi has stopped working on. That’s fine for me because I only have one computer, and since it’s a desktop I just keep it plugged in to the router via an Ethernet cable.
The problem I have is I also need to connect my Samsung Galaxy S4 to the router via the Micro USB connector since there is no Wi-Fi available and there is no usable cell service out here in the boondocks where I live.
I can’t seem to get a straight answer as to whether I can do this or not, and I’d really appreciate it you could give me a yes or no (and if the answer is yes, the steps I need to take to do it). I’d like to avoid having to buy a new wireless router if I can.
Rick’s answer: [Read more…]