You could be destroying your smartphone by leaving it on charge overnight.
It may not be a good idea to leave your smartphone to charge overnight
That’s according to the guys at Battery University who claim if your gadget is kept charging after reaching capacity, the battery’s chemistry could damage it.
This is because it would be in a constant ‘high-stress’ state, which is not good.
Lithium-ion (Li-ion) are widely used in smartphones
They argue it’s actually better never to fully charge your smartphone.
Instead, they recommend you do it at intervals as this extends the Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery’s lifespan.
These batteries are widely used in smartphones, including iPhones.
‘Li-ion does not need to be fully charged, nor is it desirable to do so,’ they wrote.
‘In fact, it is better not to fully charge, because a high voltage stresses the battery.’
So remember short bursts of charge could better than full ones.
The concept behind the argument is fully explained by the Battery University here.
iPHONE users should update their devices in order to stay protected from some shocking new viruses.
All iPhones need to update as soon as possible, Apple says
iPhone fans should update their devices as soon as possible following the reveal of a terrifying bug that can hijack and steal password with just a single text message.
The flaw affects users with devices that aren’t yet using the latest version 9.3.3 of Apple’s iOS software, which was rolled out this week.
The US tech company always recommends that iPhone users should upgrade to the latest version as soon as an update in released.
Apple has urged all users to update, and fast
“This is very high severity issue,” Craig Wiliams, head of global outreach at Cisco Talos, which discovered the bug, told Fortune.
“The fact that you have an exploit without any user interaction makes me very concerned."
The bug affects a programming interface called ImageIO, which is able to read and write information concerning any images found on a phone.
However, if hackers send an image or multimedia message embedded with malicious code to a device, ImageIO can be hijacked to give hackers access to important passwords and information.
The hacking is able to start as soon as the infected text message is sent and opened, meaning any curious phone users could be at risk.
The researchers say that the bug also affects other Apple devices, including Mac computers, Apple Watches and Apple TVs.
To update your iPhone or iPad simply head to Settings > General > Software Update and tap Download and Install.
Updating to the latest version of iOS is simple
The news comes as Apple prepares to roll out iOS 10, the next version of its mobile software.
Available to download now in beta format, iOS 10 promises a range of improvements and upgrades to its predecessor, including new ways to send and customise messages, improved photo management and editing tools, as well as a complete redesign of Apple Music.
In particular, Apple has made your text messages more personal, allowing users to tweak their texts to appear happier or more apologetic, with different animations and font sizes.
iPhone owners can also send secretive messages that the recipient is only able to reveal when they swipe across the text bubble or image preview.
Apple has also tweaked how it handles emojis, which have also been given a major size upgrade to now appear three time bigger in Messages.
AS TEMPERATURES continue to soar it's important to keep your gadgets from getting too toasty – here's some top tips on keeping things cool in heat.
After months of wind, rain and cold Britain is finally in the middle of a heatwave.
With the barmy temperatures set to continue over the next few days Brits are clearly enjoying soaking up the sun.
However, the smartphone in your pocket is not such a big fan of these record hot conditions.
Most devices have an optimal temperature and once that's exceeded things can go wrong.
In fact many tech companies, including Apple, state that devices should be stored where the temperature is between -20º and 45º C.
So, if you want to keep your smartphone working at its best, here's some top tips for keeping it cool.
1. Remove any cases
Yes it keeps the phone from getting damaged but, like a big wooly jumper, a case won't allow heat to escape as quickly as it needs to.
Smartphones are meant to get hot as the exterior of the device functions as a cooling surface that transfers heat from inside the device to the cooler air outside.
But a case can make it get too hot in these conditions so remove the protection and just be careful not to drop your phone.
2. DON'T leave your phone in the car
Pets should never be left in car and neither should your phone. Temperatures inside a parked vehicle can easily reach 60º C and that's when things will start to go seriously wrong.
3. KEEP it out of the sun
If you sit in the sun too long you're likely go red and so will your phone so keep yourself, and your phone, in the shade during the hottest times of the day.
4. Turn things off
Some functions such as GPS tracking, navigation in a car, or playing a graphics-intensive game will make your phone hotter than a supermodel so avoid using these feature in the current conditions.
5. DON'T charge it
Plugging your smartphone into the mains will make it heat up so, if it's already burning your hands, keep it away from the power lead.
What happens when your phone gets too hot?
If things do get out of control it's likely your phone will shut itself down to avoid any irreparable damage.
When the device goes off the advice is simple – put it somewhere cool and leave it well alone for a few hours.
And whatever you do DON'T put it in the fridge or freezer...that's only going to leave you needing to buy a brand new phone.
Pokémon Go is down — almost all the time. But here are some tips for trying to get it back up.
The hugely successful game has struggled since it was launched under the pressure of its massive popularity.
That hasn't been helped by reported intentional attacks on the game's servers, which have seen malicious people send huge amounts of requests in an attempt to bring down the game.
Developer Niantic has promised to make the game more stable, and has stopped it being rolled out across the world until it is fixed. But neither seems to have fixed the game yet.
Sometimes it will be down entirely, and if you try these tips and find the app doesn't load properly repeatedly, then it might be worth giving up for a while.
But here are some things worth trying.
1) Get your timing right
There are certain times when it's impossible to get on, and others when it's far better. They seem mostly to correlate with when people in the US are playing, and presumably putting more load on the servers. That means that you'll find it far easier, in the UK and Europe, to play in the morning and early afternoon local time; once 3 or 4 o'clock comes around, and people in the US start having their lunch breaks, the game becomes mostly inaccessible.
2) Mobile data vs WiFi
Try WiFi when you can. The problems are mostly with Niantic's servers, it seems, and so the speed of your connection shouldn't theoretically matter. But anecdotally it does seem easier to get on when on WiFi, presumably because all-important delays are avoided.
3) Know when to close the app
If the game doesn't load quickly, it probably won't load. The two initial loading screens can hang and go slowly when the game isn't working properly, but they'll usually load in less than a minute. It seems that if the game is taking an unusual amount of time to get through them, you're probably not going to get through. In those situations it's best to close the game — entirely, by shutting it from the multitasking screen on your phone — and then try again.
And conversely, if you're on, you're on. If you manage to make it through to two important screens, then there's far less chance you'll be kicked off. At times of high demand, you'll find some things load slowly — Pokéstops might be inaccessible, and Pokémon might not appear — but the game will keep you online and so it's worth just leaving it open.
4) Know your icons
The spinning Pokéball in the top left corner mostly means that the game isn't working, not that it is. This icon is meant to be a loading message, meaning the same as the whirring circles you'll get on other apps. But since the game doesn't actually have to load much when it's working, the fact you're seeing it is probably a bad sign. If it starts popping up a lot, hold on, because your game is probably about to break down. (Not that there's anything you can do.)
If it does stop working, check the journal to see how much of your activity has been saved. Clicking on the Pokéball at the bottom of the screen will let you bring up the journal, which has a full timeline of everything you've been up to. From there you can see where your activity stopped saving — and whether or not you missed out on that last Pokémon.
Have you ever been locked out of your smartphone or tablet because it would not recognise your fingerprint?
Five fingerprints are better than one
If you have, you may want to register more than one digit in the future, which is something many people do not realise you can do.
It’s quite simple and doesn’t take more than a minute to complete.
Below are instructions on how to do it for iOS and Android devices, which should hopefully bring an end to the frustration of not being able to access your smartphone.
Many of the devices allow you to register up to five fingerprints so if your mobile fails to recognise one, just move on to the other.
And of course you can register someone else’s digit as well.
iOS (iPhone and iPad)
In order to register another finger click on the settings app, select Touch ID & Passcode, enter passcode, then add new fingerprint.
Android (Lollipop, N or Marshmallow)
Again click on settings, select security, then fingerprint, which will allow you to add another digit for fingerprint identification. You should be prompted for a passcode to complete this registration.
Here's how to crime-proof your profile and protect yourself online
Is your Facebook a goldmine for criminals? Here's how to protect your profile
FACEBOOK has become a staple in many of our day to day lives, but is your Facebook profile a gift for cyber criminals?
Most of us make the easy mistake of including too much detail on our social media profiles, but there are some things which you really should not be flaunting on Facebook.
With rates of cyber crime on the rise, it’s more vital than ever that Facebook users know how to stay safe online, especially since social media can represent a goldmine for hackers, thieves and fraudsters.
Here are the 8 things you would be wise to delete from your Facebook profile, in order to crime-proof your page and protect your family.
1. Your birthday
Receiving all those ‘Happy birthday!’ wall posts on the big day may be nice, but it’s actually not a great idea to display your birthday anywhere on social media.
Whilst it may seem like a harmless detail, your birthday represents an important piece of information for identity thieves and fraudsters.
Along with your name and address, a hacker with your birth date could use the information they’ve seen on your profile to access your bank account or other personal details.
2. Where your children or young family members go to school
There should be nothing on your page about where your child is at any time, and it’s especially dangerous to share any information which could identify their school.
According to the NSPCC, police recorded the highest ever number of sexual offences against children in the past decade, meaning parents should be taking no risks when it comes to broadcasting anything about their children on social media.
Even proud pictures of your kids in their new school uniform could help predators identify where they spend most of the day whilst you’re at work.
Hackers and thieves can use any location information on your page to plot a break-in or steal your identity
3. Photos of your children or young family members
It’s not advisable to share pictures of your children on the internet, as you never know who might end up in possession of those pictures.
According to Victoria Nash, acting director of the Oxford Internet Institute, another issue is to do with your child’s consent.
She asks: “What type of information would children want to see about themselves online at a later date?”
4. Location Services
When using the mobile version of Facebook on Android or iPhones, posts can come tagged with your current location automatically.
This not only means that anyone who wants to harm you knows exactly where you are, but it can also alert burglars when you’re not at home – making your house the perfect target for a break-in.
Smart phones can automatically broadcast your location for all to see
5. Where and when you’re going away
You may be rightly excited about spending some time away from home, but you should never broadcast this on social media.
By sharing when you’re out of the house, burglars know when they can safely strike, and how long it’ll take you to get home and realise your house has been broken in to.
According to financial website This is Money, travellers who are burgled while they are on holiday may get their insurance claim rejected if they posted their holiday plans on their social media accounts.
6. Location Tags
When you tag yourself as ‘at home’, this can reveal your address to anyone who has access to your profile.
Giving away your address online is dangerous in so many ways – partly because identity thieves can use it to piece together your profile, and partly because absolutely anyone who wants to come knocking at your door now knows exactly where to find you.
Mobile apps can tag your location, meaning theives can find out when you're not at home
7. Your phone number
On a public page, revealing your phone number could prove to be a serious mistake.
Sharing your number with the world could lead to constant harassment if it ends up on a telemarketing database, or worse – if a stalker finds it.
8. Any credit card details
Hopefully, nobody out there thinks that this could ever be a good idea – you’re making things incredibly easy for thieves by sharing such sensitive information online.
WINDOWS 10 has an in-built feature, dubbed Delivery Optimisation, that turns your PC into a file-sharing hub for other Microsoft users. Here is how to switch it off.
Microsoft has created a new optimised update delivery system for Windows 10
Microsoft has created a new optimised update delivery system for Windows 10.
<>The nifty new feature means Windows 10 users can pull operating system updates and Windows Store apps from your machine, when Microsoft's own servers are busy.
These updates can be sent over your local network, or over the internet.
Delivery Optimisation can be incredibly useful. For example, if you have an unstable internet connection, or want to update your computer at peak times when Microsoft's servers are clogged up, this will let Windows 10 still update correctly.
Delivery Optimisation is on by default when you install Windows 10 on your computer, turning your home machine into an update-sharing hub that feeds updates to other devices.
The feature leverages peer-to-peer file-sharing, which could trigger some security concerns amongst users.
According to Microsoft, Delivery Optimisation employs the same security measures as Windows Update and the Windows Store to avoid any privacy beaches.
Your operating system will verify the authenticity of each portion of the OS update or app.
Microsoft hopes to have billions of devices running Windows 10 in the next few years
Delivery Optimisation will never access your personal files, or make any changes to the content on your machine.
However the feature could still impact on your data limit. If your PC is busy feeding updates to other computers, it could tie-up your bandwidth.
If you want to switch the feature off – navigate to Settings > Update & Security.
In the Windows Update menu, listed under the Update Settings. tab, click Advanced Options.
This will load the Advanced Options menu, click Choose How Updates Are Delivered. Then click the toggle next to the option marked Updates From More Than One Place.
Once this toggle is turned off, you will no longer be able to send or receive updates to other PCs
Once this toggle is turned off, you will no longer be able to send or receive Windows updates to other computers.
The news comes as Microsoft announced plans to ban terrible, insecure passwords.
Windows 10 is available for free to any customers running genuine copies of Windows 7 or Windows 8 – although this offer is set to end soon.
Microsoft previously revealed it is quietly working on a new tool to help users perform a clean install of Windows 10 on their computers, smartphones and tablets.
Are you plagued by nuisance calls from sales and marketing companies? There is now a way to opt out... permanently
Are nuisance calls driving you mad?
Mobile phone users can send a text message to opt out of nuisance calls from today.
The "text-to-register" service allows mobile users to add their number to the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) "do not call" database.
Those wanting to sign up need to text "TPS" followed by their email address to the shortcode 78070.
They will receive a text reply from the TPS confirming their number has been successfully added to its database.
Registrants should notice a gradual reduction in unsolicited sales and marketing voice calls after a few days, although it can take up to 28 days for the service to become fully effective.
Finally! There is a way to opt out
It is illegal for organisations to make unsolicited sales and marketing calls to numbers registered with the TPS, unless they have a person's consent to do so.
Only 48% of people familiar with the TPS are aware that mobile numbers can be registered, compared to 88% for landline phone numbers, according to Ofcom.
The regulator said this helped to explain why only 2.9 million mobile numbers (around 3%) were registered on the TPS database, compared with 18.5 million landline numbers (around 85%).
John Mitchison, head of the TPS, said: "Rogue callers operate illegally and against the interests of ordinary people.
"Texting will make it easier for people to register their mobile numbers on the TPS, which is the only official no-call list, and help us stamp out rogue callers once and for all by giving the Information Commissioner more ammunition to prosecute these cases."
Don't let them get to you
Ofcom consumer group director Lindsey Fussell said: "Many millions of landline customers already take advantage of the protection the TPS gives against nuisance calls, and we want to ensure it's as easy as possible for mobile users to do the same.
"We encourage anyone who wants to reduce the number of frustrating and unwanted calls to their mobile phone to register with the TPS today."
Baroness Neville Rolfe, the minister responsible for data protection, said: "Nuisance calls are incredibly intrusive and can cause significant distress, particularly to elderly and vulnerable members of society.
"This new service from the TPS and Ofcom will help protect people with mobile phones, making it easier for them to register via text and opt out of the call list."
There are features many users haven't yet discovered
There's currently over 1 billion groups on WhatsApp
WhatsApp, the app Facebook bought for $19 billion (£12 billion), is used by more than 900 million people around the world and has become one of the best ways to connect with people in different countries or have group conversations.
Unlike with text messaging, WhatsApp uses a data connection, which means sending a message is essentially free, especially for those with unlimited data plans .
While the app is reasonably simple, there are features many users haven't yet discovered.
Here are the top nine "hidden" features in WhatsApp that everyone should know about and use.
1. See how many messages you and your friends have sent to each other.
To find out whom you communicate with most on WhatsApp, go to Settings > Account > Network Usage.
A number appears next to each contact that represents the total number of messages sent back and forth. Selecting a person reveals more information, including how many messages have been sent by whom.
2. Mute group chats.
Group-chat notifications — especially in a big group — can become annoying, particularly if you aren't involved in the conversation. While muting group chat may seem drastic, sometimes these things have to be done.
Go to the group chat in question, click on its name and select “Mute,” where you will be presented with three options: eight hours, a week, and a year.
3. Hide your "Last Seen" time.
Hiding your “Last Seen” time is a useful feature if you don't want people to know when you last checked in to WhatsApp.
To switch it off, head to Settings > Account > Privacy > Last Seen. From here, you can select who gets to view your “Last Seen” time.
The feature does come with a trade-off: You won't be able to see anyone else's “Last Seen” time either.
4. Change your WhatsApp number if you switch phone numbers.
Setting up WhatsApp and then changing phones can be a pain. The service is not linked to your actual phone number, just the first number you enter and verify. This “number” will then follow you onto your next phone, creating confusion for everyone.
If you get a new number, you can change your WhatsApp number quite easily by going to Settings > Account > Change Number and following the steps from there.
5. Create custom group-chat notifications.
An alternative to muting group chat is having different notifications for each one, allowing you to check your phone only for the important ones.
As with the muting feature, head to the chat, click the name and go to “Custom Notifications,” where a different sound can be selected.
6. Stop photos from being saved to the camera roll.>
Phone storage space is a precious thing, and WhatsApp can consume a lot of it.
To avoid this, head to Apple Settings > Privacy > Photos and then un-select WhatsApp from the list, banning the app from saving new pictures to the camera roll. Pictures do still download, however, so you won't be missing out.
7. See when someone has read your message.
Checking when someone read your message is useful for all kinds of reasons, especially in a group-chat setting.
<>To check, select the message and drag it left, revealing the time it was delivered and the time it was read. In a group chat, a list of whom the message has been delivered to and who has read it shows instead.
Note: If you uncheck Read Receipts to prevent people from seeing when you have read their messages, you also won't be able to see when other people have read your messages (explained next).
8. You can switch off Read Receipts — just like iMessage.
Reading someone's messages without replying is, in 2015, considered the height of bad digital etiquette. Luckily, WhatsApp can help.
By going to Settings > Account > Privacy and switching off Read Receipts , your friends will never know that you are ignoring them.
9. You can access WhatsApp on the web.
WhatsApp Web, accessed via web.whatsapp.com, brings the phone experience to your computer and is available in all major browsers.
To access it, go to the website and scan the QR code with the WhatsApp app and you will be logged in. From here you can start, continue, and end conversations with all the usual features that are in the app.
SHUT IT DOWN: Putting your PC to sleep isn't always the best idea
Closing the lid on your laptop without hitting the off button could be causing you a host of issues.
Although it's faster and easier to simply send your PC to sleep, not turning it off can lead to infuriatingly slow performance and problems with your Wi-Fi.
This is because over time, your operating system, apps and programmes begin to accumulate some leftover digital mess.
These include temporary files, disk caches, page files, open file descriptors, zombie processes, and more.
And there's another common problem as applications you thought you'd quit weeks ago can end up hogging valuable space in your memory.
This can then cause rival apps to run significantly slower than usual.
If that wasn't reason enough to hit the off button there's also another issue.
If you have any driver crashes or software hiccups, you can experience problems with your Wi-Fi connectivity, too.
Putting your laptop or desktop machine to sleep or enabling hibernate mode will not solve the issue.
That's because sleep mode still sips enough power to keep the computer’s state in memory.
Other parts of the computer are shutdown to save battery, but the disk caches, zombie processes, memory leaks, and more, will remain intact.
Windows' hibernate mode is a similar affair.
This mode saves its current state to your hard drive – dumping the contents of its RAM into a file on its hard drive.
Your PC will use about the same amount of power as one that's shutdown, but the same troublesome processes are saved.
Fortunately, shutting down your computer every once in a while can give your machine a fresh start.
SuperUser technology blog contributor David Zaslavsky claims: "Different computers and OS’s are not all equally affected by this phenomenon.
"Generally, a computer with a lot of RAM can go for much longer than a computer with only a little RAM. A server, on which you just start up a few programs and then let them work, will be fine for much longer than a desktop computer, where you’re constantly opening and closing different programs and doing different things with them.
"Plus, server operating systems are optimised for long-term use.
"It’s also been said that Linux and Mac OS tend to run for longer than Windows systems, although in my experience that mostly depends on what programs you use on them, and not so much on any differences between the kernels of the operating systems themselves."
If you notice that your computer is slogging through some simple tasks – and you find yourself struggling to remember the last time you shutdown your PC – it might be time to reboot.
Experts have revealed what really happens if you don't put your phone on flight mode during a plane journey
It's commonly believed that a device's signal can interfere with a plane's electrical and telecommunications systems but can they cause a crash?
Now experts can reveal the truth behind the popular belief and found out exactly what does happen, according to the MailOnline Travel.
Despite some passengers believing their phones could bring the plane down, they claim modern technology is safe and reliable and there's no evidence electronics have ever caused a crash.
Despite many passengers believing their phone signals could cause the plane to crash, there isn't any evidence of this actually occurring
In fact, the most likely reason for airlines asking passengers to put their devices on flight mode is to avoid annoying the pilots and air traffic controllers with awful sounds.
Airline workers experience the same sort of unpleasant sounds that we do if a mobile phone is too close to a set of speakers.
Writing on a blog post for the site AirlineUpdates, a pilot revealed that although mobiles can cause audible interference with the aircraft's radios, it's rare.
While writing a blog post for the website AirlineUpdates, a pilot revealed that it's very rare for a device's signal to interfere with the radio signals but there have been occassions when they cause unpleasant sounds
The pilot continued: "You’ve probably heard this interference yourself when a phone is set near a speaker.
"It sounds like a “dit-dit-dit-dit” tone and it’s pretty annoying."
If a plane makes 50 journeys, the interference occurs only twice, on average, over that period of time and often this can be because of cabin crew member's phones.
But, if there are repeated interferences, it can cause the pilot or crew to miss a crucial radio call from air traffic control.
Now, some international airlines are introducing telecommunication base stations that operate at very low power and designed not to interfere with crew's signals.
And here are 5 more facts you didn't know about planes:
1. The toilet DOESN'T empty out into the sky
Contrary to some people’s beliefs, when you go to the loo during a flight, the faeces and urine don’t just fall from the sky.
Patrick Smith, a pilot and author of Cockpit Confidential, a book about air travel explains what really happens.
“At the end of a flight, the blue fluid, along with your contributions to it, are vacuumed into a tank on the back of a truck,” he says.
2. Those little holes in the windows are there for a good reason
Although the little holes in plane windows can make people feel a little uneasy, they’re actually there to improve our flight.
The tiny gaps are actually used to regulate air pressure inside the plane’s cabin to prevent any potentially deadly depressurising in mid-air.
3. They don't dim the lights to create extra power to land safely
Dimming the lights for landing may seem like a strange idea to many but the safety measure could save lives.
Pilot Chris Cooke explains the precaution is taken so if an emergency situation broke out, the travellers’ eyes would’ve already adjusted to the darkness.
4. Smoking is banned... but planes DO still have ashtrays. Here's why
Smoking on planes was banned for US domestic flights in 1988, with most airline companies jumping onboard by the end of the 1990s.
So, why are there still ashtrays dotted around the plane?
Well, According to a British Airways spokesperson: "It is a legal requirement, under air navigation orders, to have ashtrays because while smoking is not permitted on flights, if someone were to light a cigarette on board there must be somewhere to safely extinguish it."
5. The toilet is NOT the dirtiest part of the plane
Many would assume the toilet seat is the filthiest part of a plane, but worryingly it doesn't even make the top five.
Below is the list of the most germ-ridden spots so next time you're flying, make sure you bring the hand sanitiser.
ONLINE: If your broadband speeds are struggling you can get some money back
Britain's broadband is slowly improving.
The government has pumped huge sums of cash in to making sure the majority of homes in the UK will have "superfast" speeds by 2017.
However, even with this investment many people are still struggling to get the speeds promised by their broadband supplier.
With more of us using the internet for movie and game streaming, busy times can see your speeds throttled.
On a recent test, Daily Star Online witnessed a number of evenings where our 70Mbps broadband struggled to get creep over 5Mbps – that's less than 10% of the advertised speed.
Luckily, most broadband suppliers do offer refunds when things go wrong but you'll need plenty of patience to get your money back
So, if your speeds aren't up to scratch follow these steps to get some cash back in your wallet.
1. CHECK YOUR SPEED
If your Netflix starts to stutter it's likely that your speeds aren't as good as you were promised.
Testing your broadband is easy with websites such as speedtest.net offering checks for free.
Most suppliers will have a minimum acceptable speed and if your broadband is below that figure you can ask for some cash back.
NOTE: Make sure you record the speeds over a number of days and take screenshots of the speeds – you might need this as proof.
2. RING YOUR SUPPLIER
When things go wrong don't expect your broadband company to get in touch with a bouquet of flowers and a money-off voucher.
Suppliers aren't forced to refund customers automatically so you'll need to ring them up, navigate those endless menus, and ask for your money back.
3. BE PATIENT & DON'T GIVE UP
Broadband companies will always offer to try and put things right before offering a refund.
Often, they won't be able to sort your problems but you may have to wait until they've attempted to fix what's wrong.
Keep a log of everything that's happened and whatever you do...don't give up.
4. HOW MUCH WILL I GET?
Don't expect to retire on the refund.
Most broadband suppliers will only give a percentage back for the days you were without a full service and this likely to be just a few pounds.
However, if your service keeps underperforming it could be end up being worth the hassle.
5. WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU'RE STILL NOT HAPPY?
You can leave your supplier.
New rules state that, as long as you're service is poor, you can move your account and not get charged.
In a statement to Daily Star Online Britain's biggest broadband company, BT, said: “We agree with Ofcom that it’s important to give customers the right information before they choose their broadband and we fully comply with the updated Code of Practice.
"We give customers personalised speed range estimates for copper and fibre broadband before they decide to buy.
"We’ll increase the time new customers have to end their contract without penalty from 90 days to the minimum period of their contract if, after we’ve tried to fix it, they can’t get the minimum speed we guarantee.”
Clearly, if you want to get your money back you are going to have to put in some effort to reclaim the cash, but things could be about to change.
Telecom regulator Ofcom is trying implement new rules meaning suppliers will be forced to pay compensation automatically when things go wrong.
In a recent statement the regulator said: "Ofcom intends to introduce automatic compensation for consumers and businesses when things go wrong.
"Broadband, landline and mobile customers will no longer have to seek redress themselves, but will instead receive refunds automatically for any loss or reduction of service."
Ofcom hopes these new measures will make Britain's broadband better and give consumers a much fairer deal.
You’ve got to spare a sympathetic thought for Vodafone at the moment (and possibly its customers).
Data from telecoms regulator Ofcom reveals that it received three times as many complaints about Vodafone than any other mobile network during the last three months of 2015.
Ofcom’s findings reflect our own experiences at resolver.co.uk . We found that Vodafone complaints during the second half of 2015 were more than twice those of any other telecoms rival, and almost five times higher than its nearest mobile provider rival.
Complaints by mobile provider
Vodafone is blaming a switchover to a new billing system for the issues, has apologised to any customers suffering from issues because of this.
Overall, though, the news in the telecoms sector seems to be pretty positive – Ofcom says the overall number of complaints received for mobiles, broadband, landlines has dropped, and all other mobile operators complaint levels are well below the telecoms industry average.
But if I do have a beef, how do I raise it?
As with most complaints procedures, it’s best to go direct to the company you have an issue with.
Most telecoms companies and mobile phone operators publish an official complaints policy or complaints code of practice on their website, so you can see the sort of service you can expect when you raise a complaint.
If you make your complaint via Resolver, too, our system allows you to make the complaint process as painless as possible by guiding you through every bit of it.
Taking the next step
If your complaint with your mobile phone service isn’t resolved, you can take your complaint up a level by raising it with an ombudsman. Before you do this you must wait eight weeks before the ombudsman can begin to investigate your complaint.
There are two ombudsmen that cover the telecoms sector – the communications part of Ombudsman Services and an organisation called CISAS (the Communications and Internet Services Adjudication Scheme). The ombudsman you use depends on whose scheme the company you want to complain about is signed up to.
The passage, written in a combination of letters and numbers, has been circulating social media for years and purports that only certain "strong minds" can read it.
That's not exactly true -- just about everybody can read the message with ease. But according to one scientist, our ability to read such messages reveals something pretty incredible about the brain.
Interpreting passages like this hardly activates the section of the brain associated with numbers, Jon Andoni Duñabeitia, part of a team of Spanish cognitive scientists who wrote five papers on the subject(see below), told Business Insider. Instead, our brain knows to treat them like letters based on their similar appearance.
"While reading, you dont pay attention to the difference between a number and a letter because you only expect letters," Duñabeitia said.
As people read the message, they're able to decode the oddly shaped "letters" in a matter of milliseconds because the human brain essentially treats the digits like letters written by someone with bad handwriting or in an unusual typeface, Duñabeitia said.
"For your brain, it's not a number in a word, it's a wrongly written or strangely written letter," Duñabeitia said. "You are in this mode of tolerance that allows for small distortions in the identity of the letters."
The phenomenon is nothing new. Netizens from the early days of the Internet are well familiar with "1337" or "leet speak," an alternative alphabet used by online communities to evade detection by search engines. Duñabeitia also cited promotional emails that would advertise products like "v1agra" to get around spam filters.
Although, there may be some truth to the idea that some people are more adept at reading leet speak than others, he said.
Young people, who have grown up using computers with endless typographical choices, may find it second nature. On the other hand, an older person, likely raised using standardized curive, could find deciphering these messages a little tougher.
"But as long as we are proficient readers, we won't have a problem," he said.
A bug in the new version of iOS could offer anyone access to a phone’s photos and contacts.
The slightly complicated trick uses an apparent glitch in the way that Siri works to get access to some of the phone’s most sensitive information.
The trick is done by heading to Siri and asking the personal assistant to search Twitter. Doing so with the right terms can bring up contacts data, like an email address or phone number, and the 3D Touch feature can then be used to bring up a menu allowing people to use that data.
Clicking on the “Add to Existing Contact” option within that menu allows people to get into the contacts app, and scroll through any information that might be stored in there. And from there users can click to change the photo of a given person, which brings up the photo library and allows people to look at any picture.
Because the bug relies on 3D Touch, which is only supported on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, it can only be done on those phones. It also appears only to work on iOS 9.3.1, the newest version of Apple’s operating system for iPhones and iPads. And the user must already have given Siri access to the Twitter account and the other apps that are used.
That means that the bug can be at least temporarily fixed by limiting access to the relevant apps. By heading to Settings and then Twitter, Siri’s access to the app can be cut off, and the assistant can be kept from accessing photos by going to the Privacy settings and heading to Photos.
What is Apple's strategy?
The bug isn’t the first time that Siri has been used to get into some parts of the phone, and another was found in September by the same person, Jose Rodriguez. Such tricks have even become so popular that they have been the subject of hoaxes by people attempting to use them to get in – including a highly popular workaround released last month that actually just showed people accidentally using the phone’s fingerprint sensor.
There’s a clever little trick to free up storage space on your iPhone, and all you have to do is attempt to rent a movie.
Redditor eavesdroppingyou posted the tip, which frees up storage space quickly. Make sure you don’t have much storage space left; you’ll need to “rent” a movie with a larger file size than you have available.
Open up iTunes and attempt to rent a long movie in HD; the Redditor recommends something like Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. When the pop-up informing you that it can’t be downloaded, hit Settings. Then just go to your storage and your available storage space should have increased – to be sure, check your storage before and after trying this trick.
You can repeat this a couple of times, but make sure you don’t end up freeing up more storage space than your chosen movie takes up or you’ll actually rent it.
It’s unclear what your iPhone actually gets rid of to free up storage space using the trick, but it doesn’t seem to be anything critical.
Scandal ... don't get caught by mobile phone contracts
Mystery shoppers made hundreds of inquiries about deals from EE, Vodafone, O2 and Three.
Each time they asked for the best monthly tariff to meet average needs of about 250 minutes of calls, 250 texts and 200MB of data. They did not show a preference for any type of handset.
The tariffs offered varied significantly from under £10 to more than £50.
The biggest price difference was £40.82 a month at at EE, where charges ranged from £10 to £50.82.
Vodafone’s tariffs ranged between £9.99 and £49.99, O2’s from £11.35 to £46 and Three’s from £10 to £40.
Gillian Guy, of Citizens Advice who made the inquiries, said: “Customers are being saddled with unnecessarily expensive contracts.
“While we didn’t find evidence of mis-selling, sales pitches were focused overwhelmingly on phone brands. Not enough attention was paid to tariffs.”
Q&A
Will I be ripped off? Staff in most stores have targets so may encourage you to get items costing more than you need
How do I get a deal? Do homework online. Calculate mins and data you need and compare tariffs. Barter in store for deal
Who dies best deal? No network stands out. Giffgaff’s cheap but help is only online.
Durability tests are all the rage these days. Just yesterday, we saw a YouTuber take a saw and a drill to the Xiaomi to see if it was scratch-proof. Today, another is going one step further with a batch of Apple’s latest handset, the iPhone SE, to see if it can survive scratch tests, drops, and being put in boiling water.
TechRax is known for pushing handsets to the limit, and in the end most of them end up ruined. The first test sees him putting the iPhone SE in boiling water before putting it in the freezer for a brief period of time. He seems surprised that it breaks down.
Like yesterday’s Xiaomi test, TechRax takes a hammer and knife to the iPhone SE to see how scratch resistant it is. This may be one to watch on mute if the sound of emery boards or chalkboards bothers you.
And finally, the iPhone SE is dropped from a height. This time, its performance is compared to the iPhone 5S. Which one can come out on top?
No, they’re not the most scientific tests, but they are entertaining.
Fixing your device DIY-style could save you some cash. Getty
Usually, when something goes wrong with your iPhone or Mac, the first move is to an Apple Store to get it looked at by a professional.
But the Apple store can be expensive for repairs, and often, minor problems can be solved at home with stuff you already have lying around.
Over the past 8 years, Apple users have found all sorts of clever hacks to fix your iPhone without going out and buying pricey parts or accessories. Some hacks can even make your iPhone better than it was out of the box.
So the next time you're having iPhone issues, try a DIY solution first. Not only will it save you a trip, it could save you some cash.
If your TouchID is feels sticky or isn't working right, don't take it to a shady shop to get fixed (that can seriously mess up your iPhone.) Instead, you can use a Q-tip for its intended purpose with a little bit of rubbing alcohol to get your home button working like new.
There's a lot more information on this Apple Support thread.
If your iPhone is charging slowly, one problem it could be is that lint is packed into the corners and sides of the Lightning charging port. One thing you can try is to use a skinny tool like a toothpick to remove all the crud from it.
(Photo credit: Stephen Tweedie)
This is how much lint was removed from a single iPhone. If your phone's earpiece sounds like it's too quiet, there's a good chance lint is simply in the way. You can rub a pencil eraser over your speaker's grill to clear out debris.
(Photo credit: Flickr/Daniel Novta)
Apple suggests you use a “brush to gently clear any debris from the speaker,” which is certainly more sanitary, but less fun. One person on the iFixit forums helpfully suggests you can put your mouth over it and suck a little for a tool-free fix. It's gross, but it works.
In general, if your iPhone is a little bit too quiet, especially on speakerphone, you can amplify it by placing it into a bowl.
(Photo credit: M. Woodruff/Business Insider)
Apple's Earpods tend to fray in two places: near the earbud itself and by the 3.5mm jack. You might be temped to throw your pair away but they're easy to repair with Plasti Dip. Tape off what you don't want to get covered in rubbery plastic and dip your headphones in.
(Photo credit: Business Insider)
You can buy Plasti Dip on Amazon. More information from Instructables here.
The process works great for charging cables, too. Alternatively, you can use Sugru, a sticky putty-like “moldable glue,” to patch up cables as well. It can also replace the little feet at the bottom of your laptop.
(Photo credit: Sugru)
Sugru is available from hardware stores and Amazon. More tips on this kind of repair over at Lifehacker. Lots of additional information from Sugru.
Sugru can also be used to put fun “bumpers” on your iPhone if you don't want a case, but want to be sure its screen won't immediately shatter when dropped on a corner.
Prevention is better than repair, though. If you've got a spring from an old pen, you can make your iPhone cord significantly less likely to fray.
If you need instructions for this hack they're over at Instructables.
If you need to stand-up your iPhone, you don't need to spend $20 or more on a dock. Turns out, a basic binder clip or two makes a great stand.
(Photo credit: Flickr/Rich Sipe)
You probably don't need directions, but lots of them are available at Instructables.
It's also pretty easy to make an iPhone stand with an cut up credit card or cardboard.
If you ever find yourself in need of a stylus, it's pretty easy to make one out of anything that points and a candy bar wrapper.
(Photo credit: Imgur)
All you need is an old pen, a sponge, and some chewed gum. It's not pretty, but it works. Instructions for a deluxe version is available on WonderHowTo.
Lots of people will tell you that if you get your iPhone wet you should put it in a bin of rice. Even better: save the bags of silica that come with new shoes, and use them to dry your iPhone when you accidentally drop it in the sink.
If you need to change the SIM in your iPhone, you don't need a specialised tool. A paper clip works just fine, according to Apple.
