Category: Smartphones

No comments

13 Things You Didn’t Know Your iPhone 6 Could Do

  By

Things You Didn't Know Your iPhone 6 Could Do

Let’s face it — as consumers, we love our iPhones, don’t we? If anything, we wonder how we ever got along in life without them.

Music, movies, games, productivity, scheduling, communication, news updates, and more… the iPhone does just about everything, doesn’t it?

But in all likelihood, your iPhone 6 does a lot more than you realize.

In this short list, we’re going to examine 13 things you didn’t know your iPhone 6 could do.

13 Things You Didn’t Know Your iPhone 6 Could Do

(1) Reply to texts with your iPhone 6 locked

You can reply to an incoming text through the notification drawer without having to unlock your iPhone 6.

(2) Review which apps are draining your battery

You can easily determine which apps are consuming most of your battery power on the Settings screen.

(3) View every image someone has texted to you

Rather than scrolling back through months worth of messages, the Details screen will show you all the photos a person has ever sent to you.

(4) Set audio and video messages to expire

If you want to send someone sensitive content — including audio or video — you can set that content to “expire” after a fixed amount of time.

(5) Share your location by text

Rather than try to explain to your friend where you are, just use the Details panel to instantly send your location.

(6) More control over group conversations

Whether you want to rename a group conversation or leave it altogether, iPhone 6 can do that.

(7) Minimize an email you are composing

You can return to your inbox to refer to other emails by simply minimizing the email you’re currently composing.

(8) Enable Siri without using your hands

By changing one simple setting, you can activate Siri by saying “Hey Siri” out loud. This can be a very helpful feature while driving.

(9) Have Siri read anything you want

Don’t want to read through an entire article? Ask Siri to read it to you instead.

(10) Control your iPhone 6 with your head

In your Accessibility settings, you can make left or right head movements trigger particular actions on your iPhone 6.

(11) Reduce colors to save battery power

You can set your iPhone 6 to “grayscale” mode to converse battery power.

(12) Display emergency info on your lock screen

In case of emergency, you can set up your iPhone to link to emergency medical and contact information right from the lock screen!

(13) Start your music player by inserting your ear buds

You don’t need to manually open your music app. Just plug in your ear buds and press play.

A Great Top 10 List

We could go on in this post, but there are a number of articles and guides online that will surprise you with things you didn’t know your iPhone 6 could do.

For instance, check out this short video entitled 10 Things You Didn’t Know Your iPhone 6 Could Do:

Pretty cool, right?

Did We Miss Anything?

In closing,

  • Did you discover some new things your iPhone 6 can do in this post?
  • Did we miss any features that surprised you when you first discovered them?

Let us know in the comments.

And remember, if your iPhone 6 needs its power plug replaced or screen repaired, we can help. Call 440-725-0642 or contact us today!

No comments

7 Myths About Charging Cell Phone Batteries

  By

myths about charging cell phone batteries

There are a number of myths about charging cell phone batteries that you’ve probably heard before.

A few common examples include…

  • Let your battery drain completely before charging it
  • Never use your cell phone while it’s on the charger
  • Don’t leave your phone plugged in to charge overnight

But are any of these true?

Today, we’re going to debunk 7 myths about charging cell phone batteries.

Myths About Charging Cell Phone Batteries – Debunked!

Let’s begin.

(1) You have to drain your battery before charging

A common myth is that cell phone batteries have a memory, and partial charges will eventually diminish the capacity of your battery.

This is a myth. Frequently charging your smartphone will not damage the battery.

(2) You have to use your factory charger

Many people still believe that a third party charger will damage your battery over time. Again, this isn’t true. So long as the charger you are using is in proper working order, your cell phone battery will be fine.

(3) You can’t leave your cell phone charging overnight

The rationale behind this myth is that continuing to charge a fully charged battery will damage it. This, believe it or not, is true.

That said, most smartphones are clever enough to realize when the battery is fully charged. At that point, the phone will stop charging the battery, even if it is plugged in all night.

So go ahead and let your cell phone stay on the charger all night — it won’t hurt a thing.

(4) You shouldn’t use your cell phone while it’s charging

Think about it this way — even if you aren’t physically touching your phone while it charges, your phone still has processes running in the background, right?

So it really doesn’t matter whether you use your phone while it charges or not. Sure, it may not charge as quickly if you’ve got the screen on, but it won’t hurt your battery in any fashion or diminish the quality of the charge itself.

(5) You should always charge to 100% before using your cell phone

This is a crazy myth with no evidence to support it.

Generally speaking, smartphone batteries work best between a 40-80% remaining charge. It will not harm your battery in any way if you use your cell phone with less than a 100% charge.

(6) Your phone will hold a charge longer in a cool environment

While it is true that heat will damage your cell phone battery, smartphones generally operate best at room temperature. Trying to expose your cell phone to cool air — or worse, attempting to freeze the battery — will only hurt your battery life, not extend it.

(7) You should disconnect from WiFi and mobile data when not in use

The idea here is that internet connectivity drains your battery faster than anything else. Again, this simply isn’t true. Keeping your screen on — especially when combined with gaming apps — will drain your battery faster than anything else.

If you want to extend your battery life, diminish your screen brightness and close gaming apps when you’re finished with them.

Did We Miss Any Myths About Charging Cell Phone Batteries?

These are seven of the most common myths we’ve heard. Have you heard any others? If so, leave them in the comments below, and we’ll do our best to respond.

Remember, if your smartphone is having trouble holding a charge — or charging at all! — we can help. Contact us today for a quote.

No comments

I Spilled Water on My Phone – What Now?

  By

I Spilled Water on My Phone

Did you know that — statistically speaking — more smartphones are dropped in a toilet on New Year’s Eve compared to any other day of the year?

Actually, that statistic isn’t true.

We literally just made it up right now.

But it would be fair to say parties and water damage done to smartphones go hand-in-hand. Whether it’s dropping your phone in a toilet, spilling a beverage on it, or dropping it in a puddle as you exit a cab, water damage happens…

So with New Year’s Eve just a few days away, let’s hope you aren’t one of the unlucky ones who ends up saying…

Help! I spilled water on my phone!

If your phone ever does end up exposed to moisture or water, your best bet is to contact us right away. Although water damage is a tricky thing, we perform a number of different types of smartphone repairs, including iPhones.

I Spilled Water on My Phone and It’s Midnight – What Now?

Assuming you’re nowhere nearby, or that the damage occurs outside of regular business hours, there are a few remedies you can try yourself first:

(1) Don’t panic. Shut your device off immediately, even if that means losing unsaved work.

(2) Remove the battery if possible. In fact, dismantle as much of your device as you’re able to. This will speed up the drying process and help you to see what exactly got wet.

(3) Contrary to popular belief, don’t immediately reach for a hairdryer. Forcing air into tiny spaces just means you’ll be pushing water further into areas you can’t see or reach. Worse yet, the heat could melt some parts.

(4) Blot dry any moisture you can visibly see. Ensure no residue is left behind. If you need a cleaning solution to remove any sticky fluids, use something like 99% rubbing alcohol or DIELECTRIC spray. Be patient, go slowly, and use a fresh, clean toothbrush to clean out small spaces.

(5) Pack your phone with something absorbent, such as silica packs, rice or pasta. If possible, place your phone near a dehumidifier.

(6) Leave your device off for 48 to 72 hours, until you’re absolutely certain that everything is dry. If you power it back on too quickly while it’s still wet, the damage might be irreversible.

You Can Save Your Smartphone

In a perfect world, electronic devices would be waterproof. Unfortunately, they are not — so take every precaution to avoid getting your smartphone wet in the first place.

We hear stories all the time of people who got their phone wet, dried the surface off with a towel, then carried on using it. It worked as normal for a day or two, then slowly began to lose functionality.

In most cases, this is due to corrosion. Sweet or sticky fluids made contact with the inner parts, and before long, they began to corrode important pieces.

So, please — if you’re one of the unfortunate few who ends up saying, “I spilled water on my phone!” Don’t treat cleanup as a rush job. Take your time. Be thorough. And you just might have a shot at saving your phone from a certain and painful death.

Happy New Year!

– the Target PC Repair team

 

No comments

7 Tips to Extend Smartphone Battery Life

  By

7 Tips to Extend Smartphone Battery Life

If you’re finding it hard to make it through the day on a single smartphone charge, you might need some advice on how to extend smartphone battery life.

While our smartphones are valuable tools – necessities? – for most of us each day, they don’t do us much good when they die.

Here are 7 tips to extend smartphone battery life.

1. Disable Vibration Notifications

Many of us prefer to have our phones vibrate rather than ring, but did you know that vibrations consumes more battery power?

Turn your phone to silent or keep the ringer on low, but do not set it to vibrate for all incoming notifications.

Better yet, disable all vibrations in your notifications settings.

2. Decrease Screen Brightness

Dim your screen as much as possible.

Many smartphones have an automatic setting to adjust screen brightness — and while this is a better option than leaving the brightness set to full, you can probably get away with manually dimming it further.

3. Decrease Screen Timeout Setting

The timeout setting refers to how long your smartphone screen will stay illuminated before it powers off.

In most cases, you can decrease this setting such that your screen will power off in fewer seconds following your last interaction with the smartphone.

This is one of the simplest ways to extend smartphone battery life.

4. Turn It Off

As you may know, powering up your smartphone consumes plenty of battery life — but so does leaving it on for several hours when it isn’t going to be in use.

If you are heading into class or a meeting and know that you won’t be able to check your phone, consider totally powering it down.

5. Close Apps

If you are finished using an app, close it rather than allowing it to continue to run in the background.

Background apps drain a lot of battery power, so if you’re not likely to remember to close them — download an app that will.

So-called task killer apps will automatically close other apps that haven’t been used within a fixed period of time.

6. Disable Location Functions

Most smartphones are equipped with location / GPS services. These can be very taxing on battery life, especially if you are in a more remote location.

Disable all location functions when not in use.

7. Disable Notifications

Many apps, including social media and news apps, bombard us all day long with notifications. And while some of them we may need to receive in a timely fashion, others can be disabled.

Each time a notification comes in, our smartphones will generally illuminate and play a sound — not to mention these apps need to run continuously to generate the notifications as they happen.

What’s your best tip to extend smartphone battery life?

Do you have any other suggestions to improve smartphone battery life? Drop your ideas in the comments below.

And if you’re finding that your smartphone simply isn’t holding a charge anymore, contact us at Target PC Repair. We would be glad to help.

No comments

How to Care for Your Smartphone

  By

How to Care for Your Smartphone

It’s important to learn how to care for your smartphone. It’s an expensive piece of technology that can be costly to repair!

Follow these best practice tips, and if you slip up – don’t worry. There are a lot of smartphone problems that can be fixed.

Cleaning

Smartphones are filthy. Think about how often you touch yours during the day, the air around you, and dropping it on the ground.

Obviously, you can’t use water and soap to clean electronics – it will short them out and render them useless – even if you have insurance!

Instead, several companies like Windex and 3M offer special electronic cleaning wipes that will disinfect your device without any issues!

Storage

Ladies – dropping your phone straight into a purse with all the other moving parts is a recipe for disaster. If you have a padded pocket (in your purse or pants), it’s a much better option.

Boys – your pockets are filled with keys and other odds and ends – store your phone in it’s own pocket, or invest in a belt clip to make sure your smartphone never gets dinged up by the contents of your pockets!

At night, store your smartphone on your bedside table so you don’t accidentally knock it off your bed when you’re sleeping.

Using a Case

You’re just asking for trouble if you don’t protect your phone immediately after getting it. The most important thing you can do when determining how to care for your smartphone is to put a case on it.

Any case is better than no case, but not all cases are created equal. The gold standard is the LifeProof case, which protects from all elements: water, dirt, snow… and shock.

Otterbox is another solid choice.

Of slightly lower quality, but still a stellar product is Incase or Speck phone cases.

Sometimes it can be fun to customize cases, just know that those tend to be of the lowest quality.

Screen Protector

It’s almost worthless to mention phone cases without bringing up screen protectors. Screen protectors are thin, clear layers that adhere to the top of the smartphone’s screen. They tend to be matte so your fingers don’t move around unnecessarily, and so that light doesn’t reflect off them awkwardly.

They protect the smartphone from scratches if you drop it.

What should you do if you don’t have a screen protector and your screen cracks?

We can fix your screen without having to completely replace your phone!

Charging Best Practices

The more your phone gets charged, the weaker the battery becomes. A best practice for charging your smartphone is to wear out the battery until the phone dies, and then charge it up to 100%.

Rinse and repeat.

Obviously this isn’t always possible, but keep it in mind when you’re trying to figure out how to care for your smartphone the right way!

The port where you plug in the charger is the most vulnerable part of the phone, since you’re constantly plugging and unplugging it.

Sometimes, this port becomes unusable. We can repair it – again, without replacing the whole phone!

__
What are your best practices for smartphone care?

Please share in the comments!

No comments

4 Ways You’ll Accidentally Damage Your Cell Phone

  By

damage your cell phone

Nearly 3 in every 4 Americans own a smartphone. While that may be great news in terms of staying connected, other surveys show that roughly 1 in every 3 smartphone owners will lose or damage their cell phones.

Here are a number of surprising figures in terms of how you may damage your cell phone:

  • The average iPhone is damaged within 10 weeks of purchase
  • 23 million Americans that have damaged their smartphones while watching a sporting event
    • 12 percent flung their phone in a fit of passion
    • 13 percent dropped their phone into their beers
  • Men are more likely than women to damage their smartphones
  • 18-to 24-year-olds are 16 percent more likely to break their smartphones
  • Men are 70 percent more likely to lose their phones
  • Men are 57 percent more likely to drop their phones into a toilet
  • Women are 42 percent more likely to have their phone stolen
  • The most common accidents include cracked screens and spilled fluids

Of course, if it is simply a matter of a cracked screen, we can easily repair that for you.

Barring that, what we are going to explore today is four common ways to accidentally damage your cell phone that you may not even know about.

(1) Accidentally installing malware

When you download smartphone apps, even from iTunes, you are risking granting permissions that may not be safe. In fact, you could accidentally damage your cell phone – or at the very least, your privacy – by allowing a new app to access your contacts, send text messages on your behalf, delete data, activate your camera, use bandwidth, or track your location.

Conclusion: If you aren’t familiar with an app, skip installing it.

(2) Leaving your phone on the charger too long

Do you generally leave your smartphone on the charger all night long? If so, the excess heat is not good and could damage your cell phone. In some rare cases, that excess heat has resulted in fires. Unlike the old days of cell phone usage, you no longer need to wait until your battery has fully died before charging it. At the same time, overcharging does not benefit your device.

Conclusion: Take your smartphone off the charger when it reaches 100%.

(3) Placing it in direct sunlight

This is the type of damage to your cell phone that could easily be an accident. Whether it is leaving your phone near a window, or placing it on a picnic table while playing some beach volleyball, that excess heat can easily cause several hardware components to malfunction.

Conclusion: Keep your phone in cool and shaded areas.

(4) Accidental exposure to moisture

This point might seem obvious; we all know that water and electronics don’t mix. That being said, many smartphone users forget that moisture does not necessarily refer to gigantic puddles. For example, you can damage your cell phone by placing it in the cup holder in your car that had a cold beverage in it a few moments before. Even placing your smartphone in the pocket of some freshly dried pants could be dangerous.

Conclusion: Keep your device away from any source of moisture.

Have you accidentally wrecked your smartphone in an unusual way? Tell us all about in the comments below.

No comments

The 26 Most Popular iPhone Apps for Productivity

  By

The 26 Most Popular iPhone Apps for Productivity

Digital Trends keeps a running list of the most popular iPhone apps, broken down by specific categories.

For instance, you might be wondering what the most popular iPhone apps are for productivity purposes. These are the types of apps used to organize data and complete work.

[Looking for smartphone repair, such as replacing a shattered screen or fixing a connection that no longer charges? Go here instead.]

Here are the 26 most popular iPhone apps for productivity, categorized by specific function.

Email

Mailbox

Quickly scan through your inbox, and have mail return later – much like a snooze alarm.

Sparrow

Cost: $3

A well-designed app that allows simple management of multiple accounts and labels.

Triage

Cost: $3

Transform your emails into a collection of cards for easy sorting and viewing.

Documents

Documents To Go

Cost: $17

Supports viewing, creating and editing Microsoft Office documents.

Pages

Cost: $10

Apple’s word processor, featuring templates, change tracking, and advanced editing tools.

Numbers

Cost: $10

Apple’s spreadsheet app, with a simple and minimalist user interface.

Web Browsers

Chrome

The classic Google browser known known for its cloud sync functionality and fast loading times.

Dolphin Browser

Sync your browser tabs between your desktop computer and your mobile device.

Atomic

Cost: $2

Some great features in this browser like download management and ad blocking.

Storage

Dropbox

Easily share and sync files across multiple devices with the Dropbox app.

Google Drive

Offering more space than Dropbox, Google Drive is a cloud favorite.

SugarSync

Get 5 GB of free storage with this app, and you can even sync files by email.

Financial

Mint

Track your spending and your budget while monitoring your banking transactions.

PayPal

Complete transactions online, or send and receive funds.

Task Management

Clear

Cost: $2

Create and complete tasks sorted by various lists.

Air To-Do

Organize your tasks, and check them off when they’re complete instead of deleting the task altogether.

Any.Do

Perfect for creating tasks and setting reminders with a fill simple gestures.

Trello

A great app for project management, allowing users to upload and manage attachments.

Slack

Easily communicate with other people on your time. Share messages and files in real time.

Asana

Perfect for collaborating with others on projects while managing your own to-do list.

Calendars

Fantastical 2

Cost: $4

A calendar app that looks like the native Calendar designed by apple. Supports voice commands.

Tempo Smart Calendar

Stay prepared for meetings by allowing this app to gather data from your email, calendars, and documents.

Cal

Create an event, and then pull in important data for each appointment.

Notes

Evernote

Label multimedia files with voice or text notes.

Drafts

Cost: $3

Get quick and simple access to a blank page, and sync each note you create.

Vesper

Cost: $5

Create notes with images and links, and then sort notes into lists.

Are There Any Digital Trends Missed?

When you think of the most popular iPhone apps, does one come to mind for productivity that Digital Trends did not include on this list?

Let us know with a comment below.

No comments

What to Do about Your Shattered Smartphone Screen

  By

What to Do about Your Shattered Smartphone Screen

At Target PC Repair, we have seen our fair share of shattered smartphone screens. Smartphones get dropped, kicked, stepped on, sat on, run over… and, well, just about any bad thing that could happen to a smartphone screen generally will.

If you find your smartphone to be in the unfortunate situation of having a damaged screen, you have a few options. Here’s what you can do about your shattered smartphone screen:

1. Ignore It

Nobody relishes the thought of having an ugly crack or series of cracks running through their smartphone screen. That is especially true if it is a new device that just got damaged.

That said, in many cases, the phone and touchscreen are otherwise still functional. If you find yourself short on funds, and your phone still works, you can always grin and bear it for the time being.

2. Borrow One

A lot of people have an older smartphone kicking around that they no longer use. Do you have a favor to cash in with a friend or a family member? Perhaps you could borrow their unused device until you have the funds available to repair or replace your damaged device.

3. Replace It

You have a couple of different options here. For example, if your contract with your wireless carrier is about to renew, you may be eligible for an early upgrade.

If not, you could always explore buying a used replacement. eBay and Amazon might have something suitable, and you might even be able to get a few dollars back for selling your used device with a shattered smartphone screen. As a last resort online, you could always check out what’s on Craigslist.

If you would prefer to search for a replacement device offline, most of us have a local electronics store that sells gently used items. This is scraping the bottom of the barrel, but you could always try a local pawn shop, a flea market, or even a yard sale.

Finally, if all else fails, you could simply bite the bullet and buy a new smartphone outright… although that isn’t likely to be a very budget-friendly option, it might be the easiest.

4. Repair It

If you know how to, or you wish to learn by watching amateur tutorial videos on YouTube, you could attempt to replace your own smattered smartphone screen.

This can be a very cost-effective option if done correctly, although in many cases it works out to be more expensive than paying a professional to replace it the first time. If you cause further damage when replacing your smartphone screen, or install the replacement screen incorrectly, you may still need to pay a professional to clean up the mess you made.

If you are going to repair it, you would be best to bring it to a professional the first time.

Should you happen to live near Cleveland, Ohio, we would be happy to serve you at Target PC Repair. You can call us at (440) 725-0642, contact us online, or just drop by our shop in Willoughby, Ohio.