Noticing slow Wi-Fi around your house? Here’s the scoop on why that could be happening.
iPhone and Android annoyances: How to fix the 5 most annoying things for good
When it comes to consumer tech, there’s a massive list of things that can drive us all bananas.
Take your slow Wi-Fi. You can’t stream or join a video meeting, and it always happens at the worst time. Tap or click for clever ways to speed up your home’s connection.
What about wading through thousands of photos, looking for the one you want? Tap or click for a quick shortcut, along with four more smart tech fixes — like a hidden way to know a scammer is calling without picking up your phone.
Our smartphones help us get a ton done, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want to chuck them out the window sometimes. Here are the top complaints I hear about and ways to fix them.
1. Your screen brightness keeps changing
Apple’s Face ID does more than unlock your phone. It also can tell when you’re paying attention to your phone. If you look away, your screen dims, and your alert volume decreases.
The fluctuating brightness can be frustrating. You can switch this feature off.
- Go to Settings > Accessibility > Face ID & Attention.
- Turn off Attention Aware Features.
On Android, adaptive brightness or auto-brightness uses a sensor to adjust the screen based on your environment. Sometimes it works well, but not always.
Steps will vary based on your phone’s model, but here’s a starting point.
- Go to Settings, then Display.
- Look for Adaptive brightness and toggle it off.
2. The person you’re talking to can’t hear you
8 YouTube pro tricks for better searches and more privacy
Here’s a YouTube trick I stumbled upon and now use all the time: When you’re trying to learn to do something and getting lost in the steps, open the video’s transcript.
Press the three dots or the more option underneath the video’s title, then choose Transcript from the dropdown menu. You can copy it, save it, and print it. That was easy, huh? Just be careful about downloading the video. Tap or click for a list of ways you may be breaking the law online without knowing it.
Sick of slow Wi-Fi? Move your router
For how important it is, it sure is easy to forget about your trusty router that works 24/7.
Routers are crucial to sending strong, reliable internet to your devices, but when’s the last time you made sure it’s locked down from hackers? Here are my five essential router security settings to keep hackers out of your network.