Here’s how to fix the 5 most annoying things on your cellphones
When it comes to consumer technology, there’s a huge list of things that can drive us all crazy.
Take your slow wifi. You can’t stream, you can’t join a video conference, and it always happens at the worst possible time. Tap or click smart ways to speed up your home’s connection.
How about wading through thousands of photos and searching for the one you want? Tap or click for a quick shortcut, along with four other smart tech fixes — like a hidden way to know a scammer is calling without picking up your phone.
Our smartphones help us get a lot done, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want to throw them out the window sometimes. Here are the most common complaints I hear about and ways to fix them.
1. Your screen brightness is constantly changing
Apple’s Face ID can do more than just unlock your phone. It can also detect when you’re paying attention to your phone. If you look away, your screen will dim and your notification volume will also decrease.
The fluctuating brightness can be frustrating. You can turn off this feature.
● Go to Settings > Accessibility > Face ID & Attention.
● Disable mindful features.
On Android, adaptive brightness, or auto-brightness, uses a sensor to adjust the screen based on your surroundings. Sometimes it works well, but not always.
The steps will vary depending on your phone model, but here’s a starting point.
● Go to Settings and then Display.
● Look for adaptive brightness and turn it off.
2. Your conversation partner cannot hear you
When you’re on the phone, your iPhone monitors the noise around you and tries to reduce it so the person you’re talking to can understand you better. It’s a nice feature, but it could become “wait, what did you say?” too often.
First, check your microphone volume. During a call, press the volume up button to adjust this. You can turn off the noise-cancelling feature if people are still having trouble understanding you.
● Go to “Settings” > “Accessibility” > “Audio/Visual” and turn off the phone noise cancellation.
3. You don’t want the bloatware
Android phones are notorious for coming preloaded with apps you don’t want or need. These strange programs slow down your phone and eat up storage space and battery life.
There are a few ways to get rid of bloating.
Remove apps from your Android phone:
● Open the Google Play Store app.
● Tap your profile icon in the top right.
● Tap Manage apps and devices > Manage.
● Tap the name of the app you want to delete, then select Uninstall.
Some apps cannot be deleted. You can disable them by long-pressing the app and tapping the Disable option — or you can hide them on some Android phones.
Hide apps by tapping and holding the app and dragging it to the Remove from home screen box at the bottom of the screen. This will not remove or disable the app; it just shifts it out of sight.
Hide apps from your Samsung phone:
● Open your app drawer and tap the three dots in the top right.
● Open the home screen settings (or just settings).
● Select the Hide apps option.
● Select the apps you want to hide.
● Confirm with the Apply or Done button.
4. Your group text is too garrulous
Group messages are a fantastic way to keep in touch with friends and family, but the constant pings can be overwhelming. To mute conversations on your iPhone:
● Open Messages, then tap and hold a conversation.
● Tap Hide notifications.
● You can also do this from within the conversation by tapping the name(s) at the top of the screen and then enabling Hide notifications.
It’s a helpful option, but you’ll still get notifications when someone mentions you in group text. You can also disable this type of notification.
● Go to Settings > Messages.
● Scroll down to Mentions and uncheck Notify me.
On Android, the steps to hide call notifications vary depending on your phone model. Try this:
● Open Messages, then tap and hold a conversation.
● Tap the three-dot icon in the top-right corner.
● Select Mute notifications to open the settings for that contact or conversation.
5. You miss the home button
The iPhone 8 was the last model with a home button. It’s been a long time, but I know that change is hard and you might still miss it. You can’t install a physical home button on your phone, but there’s a feature that can get you close:
● Go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > AssistiveTouch.
● Enable AssistiveTouch. A button will appear on your screen.
● Under Custom Actions, change the settings for single tap, double tap, and long press.
● To make the Home button look as similar as possible, set Single-Tap to Home, and then drag the button to the middle of the bottom of the screen.
● Now tapping this virtual button will take you to your home screen. Clean!
What questions do you have about the digital lifestyle? Call Kim’s National Radio Show and tap or click here to find her on your local radio station. You can listen or watch The Kim Komando Show on your phone, tablet, TV or computer. Or tap or click here for Kim’s free podcasts.