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Experiencing Poor Phone Battery Life?

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Have you been experiencing reduced battery life on your phone recently?

Unsuspecting mobile phone owners may be left with flat batteries after they update their handsets, despite technology companies promising longer life and better performance from the new software.

It was recently discovered that when iPhones or Android phones are updated to the latest version of their operating systems, their battery life can fall by as much as three hours.

A two-year-old iPhone 6 lost 38 minutes of battery life when it was updated to the latest version of Apple’s iOS software, iOS 10. A Google Nexus 6P phone went from 12 to nine hours of battery life when the most recent version of Android was installed.

Both the iPhone and Android software claim that features in the latest versions improve battery life, rather than hurting it.

Mobile phone companies typically release major software updates every year as well as adding smaller changes throughout the year. When an update is released, users are sent notifications urging them to upgrade and are often given no way to revert to the previous operating system, meaning they are stuck with the new software even if they suffer from worse performance.

It was recently stated that software updates can also mean the memory of tablets and phones falling dramatically due to the extra capacity taken up by more advanced software. A Microsoft Surface Pro 3 tablet lost 30 gigabytes of storage when upgrading to the latest version of Windows – enough for thousands of photos.

The updates often include new features and important security changes that protect users from being tracked or having their details stolen, but early versions can be loaded with bugs.

It’s also been said that mobile phone companies should do more to warn users of the side effects of updating, and allow them to revert to older software if they wish.

It was found that battery life and storage were improved in some cases. Updating an iPad Air to the latest software improved battery life by two hours and updating a Samsung Galaxy tablet improved it by four and a half hours.

Richard Headland from ‘Which?’ said “Given how much we rely on mobile devices, companies should do more to tell us about the possible downsides of updates, as well as the benefits,”

Apple and Google declined to comment.

This year, Microsoft was forced to pay a travel agent (£8,000) after an unwanted automatic upgrade to her computer left it slow and prone to crashing.

 

If you found this article interesting, check out our ‘Latest Industry News’ page for more Technology insights. You can view it by clicking on this link!

– James Titcomb

10-WAYS you can look after your Smartphone

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Your Smartphone is valuable… but are you doing anything to make sure you are protecting it as much as possible?

We have become a smartphone society. In both the UK and the US, around two-thirds of people own smartphones, and many of those people consider their phones an essential device for getting online.

Smartphones aren’t cheap, either. While the average price of an Android phone is around £200, the average price of an iPhone is around £570 and there are many phones that cost even more. Believe it or not, if you have the funds, you can pay thousands or even millions of pounds for a smartphone.

Most people take a deep breath when it’s time to replace their phone, because they know it’s going to hurt their wallet. But you can put off that painful experience by keeping your phone in good health. Here’s a checklist of ways to protect your smartphone. Let’s start with external threats.

 

1. Get a Case

There’s nothing worse than dropping your phone and shattering the screen. It happens a lot, and there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to get it fixed. The answer is to protect your phone with a case.

There are dozens to choose from for every model. If you know you often drop your phone, get a case that will protect your phone against anything (even driving a car over it!). It will make it heavier, but it’s worth it. Otherwise, a slimmer case or simple sleeve will do.

One tip: if you’re using a clip on case, make sure it’s got a decent-sized lip all around so if the phone does drop, it doesn’t land directly on the screen.

 

2. Protect Your Screen

Speaking of screens, consider a screen protector. Some screens are made of a tough material and may not need them. However, a protector may keep your screen together if you drop the phone. It also means it’s harder to scratch your screen, which can affect its responsiveness. Get a protector that’s easy to apply and is right for your phone.

 

3. Be Careful How You Put It Away

Unless you’re using a super-effective case or screen protector, ladies, avoid putting keys in the same section of your handbag as your phone. Gents – keys and phones don’t belong in the same pocket.

If you’ve ever had a scratch that is right in the middle of the area you need to swipe, you’ll know that key scratches (and other scratches) can seriously ruin the touchscreen experience.

While you’re at it, don’t put the phone in dangerous places, like on a balcony railing, for example. That’s just asking for the phone to fall and get smashed to pieces. When you put your phone down, keep it away from hazards so it will survive till you’re ready to upgrade.

 

4. Avoid Water and Extreme Temperatures

Most people don’t put their phones in water deliberately, but lots of people forget they have a phone in their pocket when heading to the beach or pool. One dip later, and the phone is toast (unless you manage to dry it out with rice).

 

5. Keep it Clean

You might not be able to see dust particles, but they get into your smartphone, even if you’re using a case or screen protector. Too much dust will result in your phone’s performance taking a hit. Use a soft screen-cleaning cloth with an appropriate screen cleaner to wipe your screen gently. Open the case every now and then to give the phone a wipe and get rid of the dust.

The five tips above help you provide external smartphone maintenance and protection, but safeguarding your phone is also about keeping it running smoothly. Here are some tips for doing that.

 

6. Streamline and Update Your Apps

Most smartphones include a bunch of apps that the manufacturer has installed. Chances are, you don’t need all of them. Since the more apps you run, the shorter your battery life, disable or uninstall any apps you don’t need.

For the apps you DO use, make sure you’re always running the latest version. App developers update apps regularly, to add new functionality, cut down on resource usage and guard against malware and security threats.

Tip: Either set your apps to update automatically, or update them manually at least once a week.

 

7. Clear the Cache

When you install apps or when they run, they may leave junk files behind in the cache. Those take up valuable memory which could be put to better uses. Clear these files out from time to time. Both Android and iOS allow you to do this.

 

8. Use Trusted Sources

Sometimes you want to download and install a new app, but where should you get it from? With the rise of malware on phones, the best advice is to use the app store for your device or another trusted app store, such as Amazon’s.

 

9. Expand Your Storage

If your phone allows it, install an external SD card to increase the available storage, then run any apps you can from this storage. You can also use it to store media files. This frees up the phone’s internal memory, resulting in better performance.

 

10. Look after the Battery

Follow the manufacturer’s guidelines for looking after your battery. Depending on the age of your phone and the battery it’s using, this might include:

  • charging your phone before it runs down completely
  • letting it run down fully once in awhile
  • restarting your phone from time to time
  • turning off services you don’t need (like mobile data when you can use Wi-Fi and live wallpaper)
  • keeping the battery cool (and turning off the phone to let it cool down if it overheats)

There’s plenty of advice online about the best practices for your particular smartphone model. Finally, you also need to ensure you can find your phone if someone steals it. Use the security features built into your device to help with this:

  • Lock your phone with a pin, password or pattern.
  • Don’t share your password.
  • Install a security app to help you track your phone if it gets into the wrong hands.

 

Even if you do apply all of these factors to taking care of your smartphone, things may still go wrong on them from time to time. If you are interested in Mobile Phone Repairs and Maintenance, check out our latest job vacancy by following this link!

– Sharon Hurley Hall

21-Fixes for common iOS 10 Problems

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The Apple iOS 10 update was released recently, but that just means a number of problems have been emerging in iOS 10 Devices

You’re not alone if you’re experiencing iOS 10 problems, as the iPhone and iPad update has run into a number of issues, and if you’ve encountered any, don’t panic as there are many ways to fix them.

There are both intentional changes by Apple that need to be remedied for some users, and unintentional glitches due to bad code that can be alleviated. It just takes some iOS 10 troubleshooting.

From poor battery life, to spotty Bluetooth connectivity, to iPhones and iPads bricking when trying to update, here’s an all-encompassing guide to solving your iOS 10 problems.

 

1. iOS 10 battery life drain

There’s a lot of newness happening with the recent big software update, but that also means users have been experiencing poor iOS 10 battery life.

iOS 10.1 will likely address battery life drain, but until that happens, here’s a quick fix to increase the uptime of iPhones and iPads.

Turn off background app refresh in Settings > General > Background App Refresh. It’ll give you a list of apps, and you don’t really need a lot of these to constantly update in the background. It’s a big battery life killer.

Turn off Fitness Tracking and non-essential apps tucked away in Settings > Privacy > Motion & Fitness. If you have an Apple Watch, you don’t need fitness tracking on your phone. In addition, Health, Microsoft Health, TripAdvisor and Waze keeping tabs open when they aren’t needed wastes battery life.

Turn Wi-Fi on and off at the right times. When you’re at home or work, make sure you’re connected to Wi-Fi instead of cellular. When you’re out, prevent your iPhone from constantly hunting for open Wi-Fi networks when there are none you can join. The swipe-up-from-the-bottom Control Center has a handy toggle for W-Fi.

Keep the brightness slider in check. Display brightness is the #1 battery life killer, so it’s important to make sure you only have your phone display bright only when necessary.

Keep track which apps are draining your battery life the most. Now every app is tuned to the iOS 10 update and could be wasting precious battery. Head to Settings > Battery to see the top power users here, especially Twitter and music-streaming apps.

 

2. iOS 10 bricking phones

While the beta went well, the final launch of iOS 10 has bricked a number of iPhones and iPads. That’s disheartening for Apple fans after a solid three-month beta.

The solution here is a simple one: iTunes has had success in restoring afflicted Apple devices.

With the news of iOS 10 bricking iPhones and iPads around the world, now is a good time to ensure that you’ve back up your devices before updating.

Over-the-air (OTA) updates have made us lazy when it comes to backing up our precious iPhone and iPad data. iCloud backups work, but only if you’re paying Apple enough to back up your entire storage capacity.

 

3. iOS 10 Wi-Fi and Bluetooth issues

This problem creeps up every year, and it’s likely to be no different with iOS 10. This issue really only requires time and patience.

Here’s what you can do to resolve both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth problems in one sitting: Go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings. It’s the third option down, and you’ll want to avoid Reset All Settings and Erase All Content and Settings.

By selecting Reset Network Settings you’ll keep your data intact, but your wireless connects will be back to their default settings. That usually solves our issues.

 

4. iOS 10 home button

iOS 10 changes the home button functionality now that ‘Slide to Unlock’ is no more. It actually makes you press in on the Touch ID fingerprint sensor.

If you aren’t a fan of this feature, here’s a quick fix in case you want to go back to the old way of unlocking your phone.

It’s super-buried in iOS 10’s settings. Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > Home Button (midway down the page) and turn on ‘Rest Finger to Open’.

This will enable you to open your iPhone or iPad with Touch ID, without having to press the home button any more.

 

5. iPhone stops vibrating after updating to iOS 10

Some people have noticed that their iPhones no longer vibrate in iOS 10 when they receive messages. To fix this, first try restarting the iPhone by pressing and holding the sleep button and the Home button for around 10 seconds.

The iPhone will restart and the Apple logo will appear. If this doesn’t work, then you may need to factory reset your iPhone. Before doing this, make sure you back up all your files and settings, as performing a reset will clear all of your data from the device.

 

6. Touch ID stops working in iOS 10

If Touch ID has stopped working, and you can’t configure it after upgrading to iOS 10, then try the following:

Go to Settings > Touch ID & Passcode and enter your passcode. Turn off iTunes & App Store, then reboot your device. Go back to Settings > Touch ID & Passcode and turn on iTunes & App Store.

You may need to remove and then rescan your fingerprints. To do this go to Settings > Touch ID & Passcode and scroll down to the list of fingerprints. Tap on the fingerprint you want to delete, then select ‘Delete’ and restart your device. Once your iPhone or iPad restarts, go back into settings and add your fingerprint. Touch ID should now work.

 

7. Your iPhone loses cellular network and can’t reconnect

If you’ve updated to iOS 10 and your iPhone loses signal, you may find that the phone can’t reconnect to a network afterwards, even when moving into an area where you know you receive signal.

If you restart your iPhone you’ll be reconnected to the network. While this is a temporary solution, it’s not perfect, as if you lose signal again you won’t be able to reconnect until you restart.

You can also turn on Airplane mode, then turn it off again to reconnect. Some mobile networks are also suggesting that you reinstall iOS 10, but this time update it by plugging it into your PC or Mac and using iTunes.

 

8. iOS 10 cellular network problems

Some iPhone owners are experiencing problems connecting to their mobile network after updating to iOS 10, with their devices either not finding a network, or having greatly reduced reception.

Many people suffering from this are on T-Mobile and the network is aware of the problem and is working on an update that they will push out to customers in the next few days.

If you don’t wish to wait that long, it may be worth trying the solution above, where you downgrade to a previous version of iOS, and then update to iOS 10 via iTunes.

 

9. iOS 10 uses lots of mobile data

If you’ve noticed that your mobile data allowance is quickly being used up after upgrading to iOS 10, then the Wi-Fi Assist feature may be the culprit.

Wi-Fi Assist was introduced in iOS 9, and it enables your iPhone or cellular iPad to tell when your Wi-Fi connection is poor. If it is, then the device will automatically switch to your mobile data. While this means you can happily browse and download without experiencing any slow down or loss of connection, it can also mean that you’re using up your monthly mobile data allowance without knowing it, and it seems like the feature is turned on by default with iOS 10.

To turn it off, go to Settings > Mobile and scroll to the bottom of the menu. There will be a switch next to ‘Wi-Fi Assist’, so make sure this is turned to ‘Off’.

 

10. No iMessage notifications in iOS 10

If you’ve updated to iOS 10 and notice that you’re no longer getting notifications when you receive an iMessage, check your notification settings by going to Settings > Notifications > Messages.

Make sure all the toggles next to each option are switched on, and that the selected alert style is ‘Banner’.

 

11. iMessage effects aren’t working in iOS 10

A new feature in iOS 10 is iMessage effects, which are full screen animations designed to make your iMessage chats more entertaining. These effects include fireworks, lasers, shooting starts and an invisible ink feature.

However, some iOS 10 users are reporting that they cannot see iMessage effects. If you can’t see iMessage effects in iOS 10, the most likely cause of this is that you have the ‘Reduce Motion’ option turned on. While this option is useful for saving the battery life of your iPhone or iPad, or for minimising the effects of motion sickness when using your device when moving, it also prevents iMessage effects from appearing.

To turn it off, open Settings and go to General > Accessibility > Reduce Motion and turn the Reduce Motion setting to ‘Off’.

 

12. Cannot delete apps in iOS 10

If you can’t delete apps from your iPhone or iPad after upgrading to iOS 10 then you’re not alone. Users are reporting that when trying to delete an app they just see a message saying “Waiting”, and the usual X icon to delete the app doesn’t appear.

To fix this problem first perform a hard reset of your iOS 10 device. Do this by pressing and holding the power button and the Home button at the same time for ten seconds until the Apple logo appears.

If that doesn’t help, check to make sure you’re not installing any apps in the background while you try to delete other apps. To do this open the App Store then tap on Updates > Purchased.

See if any of the apps have “Installing” next to them. If they are, put your device into Airplane mode, then tap on the apps to stop them. Next, turn off Airplane mode and download the apps one by one.

You may also need to try resetting all your settings. Open up the Settings app and select ‘General’. Scroll down and select ‘Reset’ then ‘Reset All Settings’.

 

13. Third party keyboard doesn’t work in iOS 10

Many iOS 10 users are noticing that when using a third party keyboard, such as Swype or Bitmoji, the keyboard becomes unresponsive and crashes.

Most of the developers behind these keyboards know this is an issue and have released updates that have fixed compatibility with iOS 10, so the first thing you should do is check the App Store to see if there is an update waiting for your keyboard.

If there isn’t you will have to disable the keyboard by going to Settings > General > Keyboards and tap on ‘Edit’. Next, tap on the minus button, or swipe left, on the keyboard you want to remove.

 

14. Purchased ringtones have vanished in iOS 10

If you’ve bought and downloaded custom ringtones, you may not be able to find them if you’ve updated to iOS 10.

This is a problem that has happened in previous updates, and thankfully there’s an easy way to get them back without having to purchase the ringtones all over again.

Simply plug your iPhone or iPad into your PC or Mac and launch iTunes. Click on your device in the top menu, and under where it says ‘On My Device’ click ‘Tones’.

Now make sure the check box next to ‘Sync Tones’ is selected. and you’ll be asked if you agree to removing and replacing your ringtones. Agree, and the sync process will start.

 

15. Alarms are not working in iOS 10

There’s nothing worse than an important alarm not going off, and sadly that’s what some iOS 10 users are currently experiencing. If you’ve found that your alarms are either not going off at all, or they go off at the wrong time, then there’s a straightforward solution.

Open up the Clock app and go to ‘Alarms’, where you usually set your alarms. Click the edit button at the top of the app, then delete all of your alarms. Close the app, then reopen it and add your alarms back in.

If that doesn’t work you’ll need to be a bit more ruthless. Go to Settings > General > Reset and tap on Reset All Settings. This will reset all your settings to default. It means everything you’ve configured will be set back to the way it was before you tinkered, which is annoying, but at least it means you can now reset your alarms and they will work again.

 

16. iPhone screen no longer works

If your device’s screen no longer responds to touch inputs after updating to iOS 10, then unplug your iPhone or iPad and remove any case or screen protector. Clean your screen, then restart your device. If your device’s screen still does not work, you can try adjust you 3D Touch settings.

To do this, go to Settings > General > Accessibility > 3D Touch. You can then adjust the sensitivity. If it still doesn’t work, you may need to contact Apple Support.

 

17. Device gets hot when charging after iOS 10 update

If you’ve noticed that your iPhone or iPad has started to heat up when charging after being updating to iOS 10, don’t panic.

Even though it doesn’t look like it, iOS 10 may still be updating apps in the background immediately after the update, so when it’s being charged it may run hotter than usual.

Give it time, and hopefully your iPhone or iPad will return to normal temperatures when charging.

 

18. Photo albums no longer sync in iOS 10

Some iPhone owners are reporting that when trying to sync photo albums from their Macs to their iPhones running iOS 10, the photos sync to the device, but their respective albums aren’t showing.

So, while the photos are on the iPhone, they can be difficult to find, as they’re no longer sorted in the albums they usually appear in.

One user on the Apple Support forum found that by opening a folder on their Mac called ‘iPhone’ they found lots of subfolders containing photos. Usually this folder and its subfolders get synced. To fix the problem, they added two new subfolders into the iPhone folder and tried to sync – and it worked, with all the albums then appearing as they should in iOS 10.

 

19. Playlists appear empty after updating to iOS 10

A common problem with iOS 10 involves songs in playlists created in iTunes not appearing on the iPhone.

This problem mainly involved Smart Playlists, and although they appear on phones, they now look empty.

To fix this problem plug in your iPhone and open iTunes. Select your device and uncheck all playlists to stop them syncing. Apply the changes, then check the boxes to sync the playlists and they should now appear on your iPhone after the sync process has finished.

 

20. Games run slow in iOS 10

If you find that graphically intensive games are now slow to open, and feel sluggish when played, then close down all of your open apps, then press and hold the power and home buttons for 10 seconds until the Apple logo appears.

This resets the device, which should sort out any problems. It’s also worth making sure that you have the latest version of the game installed, as app makers may have released an update to make their apps and games work better with iOS 10.

 

21. Emails don’t appear in iOS 10 Mail app

If you’re using iOS 10 and you open up the Mail app, you may be greeted with a blank screen. A number of iOS 10 users are reporting this problem, and they all seem to have one thing in common: having an apostrophe in their email address.

It appears that a bug in iOS 10 is preventing the Mail app from showing these addresses. So, if you do have an email address with an apostrophe in it, you’ll have to wait for a fix from Apple. In the meantime, if you have other email accounts you can make emails to those addresses appear by removing the mail account with the apostrophe from the Mail app. The other email addresses will now appear.

Many email accounts let you forward mail to another email address, so until a fix is released you could set emails that go to your email address with an apostrophe to be forwarded to another address. The process for this varies depending on the email provider, so visit the website of the company that supplies your email address for more information.

More iOS 10 problems and fixes

It’s still the early of Apple’s new operating system availability, and it’s highly likely that there will be more iOS 10 problems discovered.

 

We hope you found this article interesting. If you have an extended interest in mobile phone maintenance, problem diagnostics and repairs, check out our IT Repair Technician role by clicking this link! It might be just right for you!

– Matt Swider

– Matt Hanson

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