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The Top Best Advantages Of Android Over iPhone In 2024

by GeeksModo Staff

Should you consider buying an Android smartphone rather than an iPhone? What are the advantages of Android over iPhone? Let’s find out!

See also: Top 10 Advantages of an iPhone Over Android in 2023!

Android, the operating system equivalent of a cup of water. It’s nothing special at a glance, but it’s also simple and easy to digest. Android phones have a much better user interface and better specifications, so we’ve prepared here 14 advantages Android phones have over iPhones in 2023.

Advantages of Android Over iOS

Android Phones have many software and hardware features and advantages that IPhones don’t that could be useful to you. Here is a list of those features.

Expandable storage

Some android phones come with a micro sd card slot that can be used to add extra storage to your device. This is great if you want to store lots of movies,pictures,music,and documents on a micro sd card so that your internal storage doesn’t get filled up, and can be used for more applications.

Usb type c

Most android phones that are released now have a usb type c port. IPhones still use the lightning port. What is the benefit of usb type c you might ask? Well for one, usb type c can have much faster data transfer speeds than lighting .The IPhone 13 pro still uses usb 2.0 while the galaxy s21 uses usb 3.2.Usb type c can also have greater power delivery than lightning. Another great thing about a usb type c cable is that it is capable of transmitting video signals, and they can even delivery enough power to actually power a monitor as well. Lastly, usb type c has the advantage of being a universal standard, so it can charge more devices.

Reverse wireless charging

Some android phones have reverse wireless charging, which is a hardware feature that allows you to charge another device that is capable of using wireless charging by simply placing that device on the back of your phone. Reverse wireless charging is not very fast, but I do think it could still be useful sometimes if you just want to charge accessories like watches or wireless earbuds to get a lit bit of extra battery life.

High Refresh rate displays

A lot of flagship android phones have high refresh rate displays. The reason why having a refresh rate is better is because it makes using your phone feel smoother. This is because the display is refreshing more times per second. As a result the image looks smoother. A 120hz display is going to look noticeable smoother than a 60 hz display. Also, if you have a high-end phone there are some games that can run at framerates higher than 60fps.Having a higher refresh rate screen will allow you to actually notice the higher framerate.

Higher optical and digital zoom

There are android phones that have higher optical and digital zoom than the latest iphone. For example, the galaxy s21 has 10x optical zoom and 100x digital zoom. In contrast, the iphone 13 pro max has 3x optical zoom and 15x digital zoom.

Fm radio

Some android phone still have an Fm radio. This will allow you to listen to the radio using your phone. Apple shows the biggest middle finger to its customers, by not even including an FM receiver on an iPhone.

Active cooling

Some android phones have active cooling. This is useful because it can help keep the phone cool when it’s performing a demanding task like gaming. Active cooling can prevent the components from overheating which will prevent the phone from throttling which has a negative impact on performance.

Notification led

Many android phones have a notification led which lets them know they got a notification without them having to pickup there phone and check. These notification leds can also display different colors for different types of notifications.

Full usb otg support

Usb otg is a feature that let’s user plug just about any usb peripheral into your device using the appropriate adapter. Some examples of things you can plug into your phone with usb otg are flashdrives,usb keyboards, webcams, microphones, printers, usb controllers, ethernet adapters, and usb fans. The Iphone can work with flashdrives made specifically for iphones, sd cards, and a wireless mouse, but that’s about it. Anything else you plug in to the iphone would require more power, which means the iphone would have to be plugged in.

Knox

This is a security feature that is exclusive to some Samsung phones. What knox essentially does is it allows you to isolate personal data from the rest of the operating system by creating a security layer for you to store that data. This feature is useful for storing personal information on your phone.

Customization

Android is much more customizable than ios. One simple example of how android is more customizable than ios is giving user the ability to places apps anywhere in the app grid. On ios apps have to be placed in order from top to bottom with no blank spaces. Aside from that you can install third party launchers on ios that allow you to change the actual size of the app grid, change the icon pack, the animations and much more. You can also change your gesture navigation system, add custom quick setting tiles etc. Overall android is much more customizable than ios.

File management

On ios there is no centralized filesystem. This makes file management cumbersome, and let me explain why.Apps on ios do not have direct access to the filesystem, instead apps are only allowed to directly access files in their own folder. This means that if you want an app to have direct access to a file for some reason, you would have to export that file from the file manager to the app you want to use it in. For example, let’s say I have a bunch of videos on my phone, and I want to watch them in vlc. I could go to the files app ,find the video, long press it, click share, and play it through vlc.This works, but it’s less convenient than simply accessing those videos through the app, I can’t save the last position in the video doing this, and I can’t add it to a playlist in the app. So if I want that extra convenience and functionality, vlc would have to have direct access to those files. For that to happen I would have to individually export all the videos from my files app to vlc. Then if I want to organize them into folders I would have to do that in the vlc app. This creates duplicates of those videos which takes up more storage on your phone, and makes managing files more difficult. If you wanted to edit one of those videos,and add it to the vlc app,you would have to export the edited version of that video to vlc. This is not the case with android. On android you have a centralized filesystem that apps can access directly. So on android you would simply have to grant vlc access to your filesystem, and then all the videos stored on your phone will be accessible through the vlc app.They will also be organized the same way there organized in your file manager. No need for duplicates, it’s just one place you can manage your files. Also, you can plug in your android phone to a pc ,and have access to all your files like you would with a flashdrive. On ios you can only access pictures and videos by default.

Features

There are some features on android that are still not available on ios. Here is a list of the more major features.

  • Split screen: run two apps at once in a split screen screen view. For example, you can have a math assignment in pdf format open on the top of your screen, and a calculator on the bottom of the screen.
  • Chatheads: Have a floating chathead on your screen allows you to be quickly notified if you receive a new message, and respond to that message in a windowed version of the messaging app.
  • Multiuser accounts: This feature allows you to have separate user accounts on your phone. This similar to having a separate user account on windows. The separate account has different apps,settings, files etc. It’s the other person’s own setup. You can also put your phone into guest mode which basically how your phone looks right out of the box. The guest account does not have any of your apps or personal data. This is a good feature to utilize if a friend wants to use your phone to make a call or look something up on the internet, but you don’t want them accessing your personal information.
  • Notifications: There are many features in the android notification system that can’t be found in the ios notification system. The main ones are the ability to snooze notifications, notification channels,persistent notifications, the ability to prioritize conversations, smart replies, and notification history.
  • Live captions: This feature is an accessibility feature that creates captions for whatever audio is playing. It could even be a video you recorded and it will try to transcribe the audio from that videos,and create captions.
  • Pin apps to share sheet: Android allows you to pin apps to the top of the share sheet. This is a good feature to use you have apps that you share to often, and want the be easily accessible.
  • 2 hour grace period: on android if you purchase an app,you have 2 hours to try it out and anytime within 2 hour window you can get a guaranteed refund for the app you purchased for any reason. On Ios if you purchase an app you have to request a refund, and hope the developer refunds your money.
  • Send files via Bluetooth: This one is pretty self explanatory on android you can send files via Bluetooth, while this not possible on ios. Ios does have airdrop which is much faster, but the problem with airdrop is that it’s limited to apple devices. The vast majority of devices out there are windows computers, and android phones. Also, there are third party apps that let you share files via Wi-Fi direct on android, and google is working on their own airdrop competitor called nearby share.
  • Adding shortcuts to files on homescreen: on android you can add a shortcut to a specific file directly on your homescreen. This could be a document,video,picture etc. You can literally have a folder filled with videos on your homescreen, and have things setup so that when you click on a video you get to choose which video player the video plays in.
  • Developer options: While these options are made developers there are somethings in developer options that can be useful to users. With developers you change the animation speed, and the duration of animations, enable usb debugging, unlock the bootloader, and more.

More diverse selection of apps

Compared to ios, android has alot of unique apps/app subgenres. The reason for this is because ios apps have less permissions compared to android apps,and because apple is more strict with the types of apps they allow in there store. Below are examples of app or app subgenres that can only be found on android.

  • App cloners: These are apps that let’s you clone and run two accounts of the same app simultaneously. For example, you can have two seperate whatsapp accounts,or two seperate clash of clan accounts. You can’t find apps like these ios.
  • Universal copy: This is an app that allows you to select and copy text from places you normally wouldn’t be able to. For example, the youtube comment section in the youtube app. This app can useful when you run into a situation where you want to copy something, but you can’t.
  • Emulators: These are apps that you emulate game consoles. So for example you can emulate the nes, psp, ds, gamecube, wii, and even the 3ds.These apps are not available on the ios appstore because apple bans them. You can try to sideload them, but they will get revoked.
  • Floating apps: These are apps that are placed of your screen. Some examples of floating apps are Fooview,lynklet browser, lynket browser, overlays, and idea note.
  • Servers ultimate: This app let’s you run a plethora of different servers on your phone. There is no ios equivalent of this app
  • Apk extractors: These apps allow you to extract apk files from apps on your phone. The apk is basically the download file for an android app. So even if the android app is no longer available on the playstore you can still have the download file to reinstall it. you can also share apk files with another android user.
  • Hide screen: This app lets you turn on your screen while still keeping the phone awake. To turn the screen back on you simply double tap it. This is app great if you want to just put your phone in your pocket, and listen from an app that does not support background play without worry about it turn off,or if you just want a quick way to shut off your screen without putting the phone standby to ensure that the app your using doesn’t get kicked out of memory.
  • Rotation control pro: This app gives you more control over the rotation controls on your phone. You can even lock your screen into to portrait or landscape mode. This sometimes works with apps that don’t support a certain screen orientation.
  • Hermit lite apps: This app allows you to turn normal sized apps into smaller web-based apps that perform better, take up less space, and use less data.
  • Soundwire: This app lets you use your android phone as a speaker for your pc.
  • Muviz: A systemwide music visualizer that stays on your navbar.
  • Autoclickers: These apps allowed to automated repeat taps on your phone.
  • Touch protector: This app prevents accidental touches on your phone by allowing you to disable the touch screen.

Those are just some examples of the kinds of apps you can get on android that can’t be found on ios. I think I should also mention that you can sideload apps on android as well. One good sideload app I like on android is newpipe. Newpipe is a youtube client that let’s you download videos in up to 4k quality, play audio in the background, and play videos in a resizable pip window. It also does not use google services either. Another thing I didn’t really mention is that sometimes apps can be less functional on ios because of the restrictions. For example, third party browsers on ios can’t use there own engine. As a result you can’t use add-ons from third party browsers on ios Also, since apps on ios don’t have permission to draw over apps there are no third party screen recorders with floating toolboxes or the ability to use a face cam while recording on ios. These are two examples but I’m sure there is more. So

that pretty much sums up the advantages the android phones, and the android operating system has over iphones and ios.

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How to free up disk space on Mac without uninstalling apps

by Moses Johnson

Wish you could use your Mac without constantly worrying about its waning storage space? It’s time to declutter your Mac.

Removing apps is not always a viable solution. For one thing, it always stings to delete your cherished collection of carefully curated apps. For another, storage space savings might turn out to be negligible. Therefore, if you are looking for better ways to free up disk space on your Mac, look no further than this article.

Use storage management tools

No matter how well-organized you are, useless files always linger in the nooks and crannies of your Mac. But worry not, there’s no need to dig around your files to find the ones you should part with. Apple has done all the work for you by introducing storage management tools: Store in iCloud, Optimize Storage, Empty Trash Automatically, and Reduce Clutter.

The storage management tools can be accessed from the Apple menu. Simply click About This Mac, Storage, and then Manage. There, you will see the following tools.

Store in iCloud

As much as it’s tempting to keep all of your digital belongings on a Mac, filling it to the brim is frowned upon by its hard drive. To get rid of the stern “startup disk almost full” warning, transfer your desktop files, photos, and messages to iCloud. This can be done by simply checking the boxes next to the types of files you want to transfer and clicking Store in iCloud.

Optimize Storage

When decluttering your hard drive, movies and TV shows shouldn’t be overlooked. Those are sizable files that can considerably weigh down your Mac. But worry not, you can automatically get rid of media content that you’ve already watched by simply clicking Optimize.

Empty Trash Automatically

Arguably the easiest way to clear up space on a Mac is to empty its Trash. But since it’s too much of an ask to do it on a regular basis, Cupertino wizards came up with a way to automate the task. All you have to do is to click Turn On and voila — now your Mac’s Trash empties itself every 30 days.

Reduce Clutter

For the finishing touch, delete the data you no longer need or never needed in the first place. Click Review Files to comb through large files, downloads, unsupported apps, containers, and folders.

Remove duplicate filesFrom incidentally downloaded identical email attachments to image copies, your Mac is a cornucopia of duplicates. Weeding them out manually is a tough challenge. If you cannot set aside a few hours, download a third-party tool to get rid of duplicates in one fell swoop.

Mac cleaners with duplicate finder functionality can scan either individual folders or the entirety of your Mac’s storage in mere minutes. What’s more, a good Mac cleaner can find both full and partial duplicates, which is of great benefit for people taking loads of photos.

Delete browser cache

Your browsers are a graveyard for useless cache files. You know, temporary data that is supposed to help your browser run faster but can also slow it down if left unchecked. Granted, by removing browser caches, you can claim back mere hundreds of megabytes of free space, but the browsing speed improvement is well worth the effort. Follow these steps to clear Safari’s cache:

  1. In the Safari menu, click Preferences
  2. Select Advanced and check the box titled Show Develop menu in menu bar
  3. Click Develop and click Empty caches

Remove extra language files

Your Mac has over 180 language packs. Chances are you need only 2 or 3 of them. By dumping unused language files, you can reclaim as much as 1.5 GB of space. Not too shabby.

Here’s how to delete language files on your Mac:

  1. In the Applications folder, right-click any app
  2. In the drop-down menu, select Show Package Contents
  3. In the Contents folder, open the Resources folder
  4. Delete the folders whose name ends with .lproj
  5. Empty the Trash

Delete old backups

If you regularly back up your iPhone or iPad, your Mac has dozens of gigabytes of files that occupy valuable storage space. While having backups is an essential part of data security, it doesn’t mean you need to keep old backups.

Here’s how to free up storage space on Mac by deleting old iOS backups:

  1. In the Apple menu, click About this Mac
  2. In the Storage tab, click Manage and proceed to iOS Files
  3. Select all iOS backups except the latest ones
  4. Click Delete

Conclusion

Hopefully, the above-mentioned advice has helped you clear up disk space on your Mac. Now you don’t have to think twice before installing another app or downloading vacation photos.

Tag: Mac Guides
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30+ Best HomePod mini Tips and Tricks to Try First

by GeeksModo Staff

HomePod mini
Here are the best HomePod mini tips and tricks to help you make the most of your smart speaker.
HomePod mini is tiny, but it pack a ton of innovation and can do several things that you may not be aware of. Thus to help you get the most out of them, I have compiled a list of the best HomePod mini tips and tricks to boost your experience. Some of these you may already know, while a few added in iOS 15 might be new. So take a look till the end.

Your HomePod mini can really do it all. Whether you want to read messages, read news, stream music, or control your smart home — your HomePod mini has you covered. With all of these neat tricks and the list of Siri commands ever-growing, it can be easy to overlook the basic — yet useful — things your Apple smart speaker can do for you. If you’re one of the many to have picked up an HomePod mini, but don’t know if you’re making the most of its functionality, or you’re simply wondering what to ask Siri next, here’s everything you’ll want to try.

The best HomePod mini tips and tricks

Here’s a list of the best 31 HomePod mini tips and tricks that will help you get the most from Apple’s new smart speaker. Have fun!

1. Pair Two HomePod mini for Stereo Sound

Adding a second ‌HomePod‌ mini to your setup enables stereo sound to create a wider soundstage for richer, more enveloping sound.

If you’re setting up a new HomePod mini, and you choose to add it to a room where a HomePod already lives, then you’ll see a pop-up asking you if you want to create a stereo pair, but be aware that you cannot pair a ‌‌HomePod mini‌‌ and an original ‌‌HomePod‌‌ together. You can only pair two original HomePods or two ‌‌HomePod‌‌ minis as stereo speakers. It’s also worth bearing in mind that when two ‌HomePod‌ mini speakers are joined, only one responds to Siri requests, plays alarms, and acts as a speakerphone.

2. Send and read messages through HomePod mini

Beyond music controls, the HomePod mini also has the ability to send, read, and reply to text messages. Try saying, “Hey Siri, send a message to [contact name]” or “Hey Siri, send a message to [phone number].” Don’t worry; Siri will read back the message so you can make sure it heard you correctly before sending.

You can even have Siri on HomePod mini read your latest text messages to you, but you’ll need to have set up Siri to handle Personal Requests. Head into the Home app, go into the settings for the home in which the HomePod lives. Tap on the icon with your name on it under People then select Personal Requests at the bottom. You’ll be able to ask Siri things like, ”Read the latest message from Monica”.

Note that below it there’s a second option for adding authentication. You can switch this on to stop other people sending messages and causing other havoc with your account.

3. Make calls on HomePod with Siri

This HomePod mini trick lets you ask Siri to make and take calls on the speaker. This is a recent feature so first of all, make sure your HomePod is up to date. First you’ll need to enable Personal Requests. Go to your HomePod mini settings and scroll down, you’ll find Personal Requests under Siri. Switch it on.

To make a call with HomePod mini, just say, “Hey Siri, call [contact name]” or “Hey Siri, call [phone number].” Your iPhone will handle the call using your regular number while routing audio through the HomePod mini.

You can also transfer calls in-progress from your phone to the HomePod and back. Just open the call menu from your iPhone, press the “audio” button, and select your HomePod from the source list.

When you’re finished with a call, say, “Hey Siri, hang up,” double-tap the top of the HomePod, or just hang up from your phone.

One more phone-related HomePod mini trick: If you miss a call and your phone isn’t in reach, try saying, “Hey Siri, who just called me?” Siri will read out your most recent caller and offer to call them back.

4. Use Siri as a HomePod translator

Wondering how to say something in another language? Wonder no more – Siri can translate English to French, German, Italian, Spanish and Mandarin.

Simply ask, ”Hey Siri, how do you say [word] in [language]?” to expand your vocabulary.

5. Change Siri’s voice on your HomePod mini

It’s well-known that Siri has a female voice by default in the USA. Some people may want to change this and use a male voice instead, whereas others may want to use a more familiar or fun accent. Regardless of what you want to change about Siri’s voice on your HomePod mini, you can make these changes within just seconds using the Home app.

Head into your iPhone or iPad’s Home app, long press or 3D Touch the HomePod’s tile and you get the options to switch up some of Apple’s personal assistant’s settings – language, default voice and the like. You can also choose to mute the Apple digital assistant, if you want.

6. Grow your music trivia knowledge

Siri’s musicologist skills aren’t limited to skipping tracks, rewinding and fast forwarding. Apple’s digital assistant is quite the music buff – it’s got all the knowledge (well, it’s got a direct link to Wikipedia, at least).

While listening to a song, you can ask things like, “Hey Siri, who plays the drums in this band?”… “What year was this album released?”… “Tell me something about this artist” and so on. Every day is a school day with Siri.

7. Automate your smart home with Siri

Siri can control your HomeKit enabled kit from your HomePod mini, that’s a given. But a much more natural, and cool, way of getting Siri working harder in your smart home is to create scenes that it can control.

For example, set up a bedtime routine in which Siri turns off all the lights, activates the alarm and locks the front door – where a simple, “Hey Siri, it’s bedtime,” gets the scene started. Any scenes created in the Home app can be activated using Siri on your HomePod mini.

8. Control your HomePod with your iPhone instead of Siri

One of the big selling points of HomePod mini is obviously voice control for music playback, however, not everyone likes to call out, “Hey Siri” when listening to music or podcasts on a speaker. Maybe you don’t want to have to ask Siri every time you want to know the name of the song your listening to, or maybe you feel silly asking Siri to turn up the volume. You can control playback of HomePod audio (even if you’re not AirPlaying from another device) from your iPhone or iPad. Here’s how.

From within the iOS Music app, choose the song you want, click the AirPlay logo and choose your HomePod. Or, from the lock screen, you’ll see the Music widget – again, just tap that AirPlay icon and do the same as above.

Finally, from the Control Center, either long-press or 3D Touch the music tile and you’ll get a screen with all your current music playbacks on your Apple devices. Again, just hit the AirPlay button to transfer a song over to your HomePod, or choose the HomePod section if something is already streaming on your smart speaker.

Remember, with AirPlay 2 you can pair two HomePods together easily from the AirPlay menu or even pair the HomePod with another AirPlay 2-supporting speaker.

9. Use HomePod mini as a TV speaker

TV speakers are crap – that’s a fact. And while a HomePod mini isn’t necessarily designed to be a TV speaker, it does a pretty good job of room-filling sound for your movies and TV shows.

Until now this has only been available with the Apple TV, but with AirPlay 2 landing on TVs from the likes of Samsung, LG, Vizio and Sony – the HomePod can be paired with third-party sets.

When watching something from your Apple TV, you can hold down the play/pause button on the Apple TV remote and choose the HomePod option. If you want it to be the default speaker permanently, go to your Apple TV settings, select the Video and Audio section, choose Audio Output and pick your HomePod.

It gets even better when using the Apple TV 4K though – As part of Apple’s new ‘Home Theater with Apple 4K’ the first-gen HomePod can be used to form an immersive surround sound experience, with virtual 2.1, 5.1, 7.1 and Dolby Atmos all on offer.

The caveat here is you only get that surround sound action when you’re watching stuff via your Apple TV 4K; you can’t just plug your HomePod directly into your TV and get Atmos action on everything.

However, with Apple TV now supporting pretty much all the major streaming services – Netflix, Prime, HBO, Disney , Hulu and more – it’s a pretty compelling argument to make that single HDMI input switch for your AV setup.

10. Get the headlines from your HomePod mini

Siri can also read news headlines to you from several sources, including CNN, NPR, or the BBC. Simply say, “Hey, Siri, what’s the news today?” for a personal broadcast. If you want sports, just ask Siri, ”what’s the sports news?” instead.

11. Get help with your spelling from Siri

Can’t remember how to spell a word? No problem. Siri, Apple’s personal digital assistant, can help. To ask for help on your HomePod mini, simply say, ”Hey Siri, how do you spell [word]?” and your smart speaker will tell you what’s what.

12. Find your iPhone using HomePod

Misplaced your iPhone in the morning rush? Your HomePod mini can help you find it. Just say, “Hey, Siri, where’s my iPhone?” Siri will then say, “Should I try to make it play a sound?” Say yes, and you’ll hear a ping from your phone if it’s nearby.

13. Block explicit content from being played on your HomePod mini

You can set whether you want to listen to music without explicit content or not on the HomePod mini. This is especially handy if you have kids.

Navigate to the Home app, then hold your finger down on the icon for the HomePod for a few seconds. Click Settings in the bottom right of the new menu that pops up. In the next menu, untoggle the setting that says Allow Explicit Content under the Music & Podcasts section. And you’re done.

14. Factory reset your Apple HomePod mini

Whether you are looking to sell your HomePod mini or give it away, you should reset it to factory settings first. This will delete all your personal information and data linked to the device. Resetting your HomePod mini can also fix most issues you are having with your device, such as WiFi connectivity problems.

You’ve got two methods for resetting your HomePod mini. Firstly, on the Home app, press and hold the HomePod tile, tap ’Details’, scroll to the bottom and select ’Remove Accessory’.

To reset your HomePod mini without a Mac or iOS device, unplug it and wait 10 seconds. Then plug it back in and wait for 5 seconds. Next, press and hold the middle button on top of the device until you hear three beeps. Finally, let go when Siri tells you that your device is about to reset. You will know your HomePod has been reset when you hear it sound a chime.

15. Add a song to a Apple Music playlist

When you’re listening to Apple Music or Beats Radio you can simply say, ”Hey Siri, add this song to [name of playlist]” and it’ll be added on to the end of that playlist.

16. Turn on a HomePod mini Siri tone

The Siri waveform animation is a visual indicator that Siri is listening to you and working to answer your questions or commands. The sound tone is an audio indicator that Siri has heard you. If you have your HomePod on a shelf above your eye level, the chances are you’ll struggle to notice that Siri has heard you. If that’s the case, the Siri tone may be useful.

To turn it on, head into the HomePod’s settings menu within the Home app on your iPhone and check the Sound When Using Siri option.

17. Stream sound from Mac to HomePod

The Spotify app itself doesn’t list AirPlay speakers in the devices list, and the Mac AirPlay option in the menu bar only lists Apple TVs. But you can play any sound from your Mac – Spotify and more – over AirPlay to your HomePod. Dive into your System Preferences. From there, choose Sound and select your HomePod as the device for sound output.

18. Control Your Smart Home

You can also use HomePod as a smart-home hub for Apple HomeKit devices. In fact, when you first set up your HomePod, it automatically becomes a hub for your home. From there, you can use voice commands to control all sorts of HomeKit-enabled devices.

To take control of your hub, launch the Home app, and then tap the “house” icon in the top-left corner. Here, you can invite people to your hub, so they can also control your smart home. This is great for family members and guests, but be careful to whom you give access.

You can also change the “Allow Speaker and TV Access” setting to lock down your HomePod in case of abuse. If you choose “Everyone,” anyone in your home (regardless of whether they’re on the same Wi-Fi network) can control it.

The “Allow Speaker and TV Access” menu in the Home app for iOS.

If you limit the setting to “Only People Sharing This Home,” you’ll need to manually add people to your Home hub before they can use the HomePod on their own devices.

19. Enable VoiceOver on HomePod mini

VoiceOver has long been a fine gesture-based screen reader. With this Accessibility feature, you can hear the description of what is currently going on on the device’s screen. What could be music to the ears of the blind and sight impaired is that they can enable and use VoiceOver on Apple’s smart speaker, HomePod as well?

To enable it, head into the HomePod settings, scroll down to Accessibility and select VoiceOver.

20. Reset the HomePod’s Sound Calibration

The HomePod mini can calibrate itself to sound its best, given the current conditions. This happens every time the HomePod is moved, so if you want to force a manual recalibration, simply pick up the speaker and put it down again.

21. Share your HomeKit access for HomePod

Having a HomePod is well and good, but you might want to make sure that other people in your home can take advantage of it, too.

If you’re using your HomePod as a smart home hub, you can also add other users in your ‘Home’ app, allowing them to control the smart speaker and all its paired devices just like you might. You’ll practically feel the responsibility slipping off your shoulders.

22. Prevent other HomePod users from affecting your Apple Music recommendations

If you’re concerned that other people in your household will skew your Apple Music recommendations by using HomePod to play songs that don’t align with your tastes, then there’s a setting you’ll want to disable as soon as possible. It’s called “Use Listening History”, and here’s how to find it.

Launch the Home app and long-press your HomePod. Tap the Settings button, and then tap the “Update Listening History” option to turn it off.

If it’s too late and your recommendations have already been impacted, launch Music on your iPhone. Next, long-press any artists, albums, or songs you don’t like, and then tap “Suggest Less Like This” from the context menu.

23. Teach Siri your tastes

Ask Siri to play some music you like and it’ll use your listening history to put together a setlist of tunes by bands or artists you’ve listened to before, or from genres you told it you liked when you initially set up your Apple Music account. You can help it get a better grip on your tastes just by saying: “Hey Siri, I like this,” when it plays something you’re into, or “Hey Siri, I don’t like this band,” if it ever plays something you don’t like. Siri will take your taste into account and adjust what music it plays for you based on your likes and dislikes.

24. Set up multiple users

The HomePod Mini can now recognize individual voices from up to six users, so you always get your own information – like calendars and playlists – when interacting with it.

You should actually get a prompt to set this up automatically, provided you’ve met certain criteria that Apple has set out here (updating your iPhone to the latest iOS, having Bluetooth and “Hey Siri” turned on, and so on).

To customize how your HomePod interacts with your personally, head to the Home app on your phone, and tap the Home icon, Home Settings, then your home setup and your user profile under People.

25. Rename your HomePod Mini

You can customize settings for an individual HomePod mini, including changing its name from the default “HomePod” to something more descriptive, by using the Home app on your iPhone.

To rename your HomePod mini – just long press on the device in the Home app, then tap on Settings, then tap on the current title.

26. Understanding HomePod mini touch gestures

Along with Siri voice control, you can use gestures to control your smart speaker.

If your HomePod is in reach you can use tap gestures to control it, too. HomePod supports tap and touch for Siri and music playback. Single tap to Play/Pause, double-tap to skip to the next Track, triple-tap to jump to the previous Track, touch and hold to activate Siri, tap or hold the plus symbol to increase the volume, tap or hold the minus symbol to lower the volume.

27. Find songs by their lyrics

Have you recently found yourself singing some song lyrics only to discover that you’re unable to remember the actual name of the song they belong to? With Siri on your HomePod mini, you can quickly search the entire ‌Apple Music‌ catalog using just a short lyric phrase, allowing you to find the song in question and add it to your library or your favorite playlist for safekeeping.

Say ”Hey Siri, what’s that song that goes…” followed by a line or two to get a match – you can then ask to hear the song straight away as well, if you like.

28. Use your HomePods in multiple rooms

If you have multiple HomePods, you can move with your music or podcast from room to room, play the same music on all speakers and generally control audio in multiple places with ease. Multiple HomePods let different members of your household enjoy different music on different devices.

Go to Control Center on your phone and long press on the music playing tile, and you’re able to configure the multiple room setup further.

29. Play Ambient Sounds on HomePod mini

To start streaming one of the sounds on your ‌HomePod‌, simply ask Siri.

  • “Hey Siri, play white noise sounds”
  • “Hey Siri, play rain sounds.””
  • “Hey Siri, play fireplace sounds.”
  • “Hey Siri, play forest sounds.”
  • “Hey Siri, play night sounds.”
  • “Hey Siri, play stream sounds.”

You can also get ‌HomePod‌ to play a random ambient sound by saying ”Hey Siri, play sounds.”

30. Update HomePod Mini

First things first, make sure to update iOS on your iPhone. Updates for the HomePod mini depend on the most recent version of iOS on your iPhone.

  1. Open the Home app and tap the Home tab at the bottom. If a software update is available, you’ll see this at the top of the Home screen. Tap Update Available.

Alternatively, tap the Home icon on the top left. You can do this from either the Home or Rooms tab at the bottom. Choose Home Settings.

Scroll down and select Software Update.

If you have more than one HomePod, you can view which will receive the update by tapping More. All HomePods in the list will receive the update at the same time.

Tap either Update All next to Update Available or Update next to the HomePod at the bottom and follow the onscreen instructions.

31. Turn off Hey Siri on HomePod mini

There’s isn’t a physical button on the HomePod to turn off Siri like the Echo, Sonos One, and Google Home, but you can still turn off the function if you are worried about Siri listening in on your conversation. To turn Siri off on the HomePod you have to do it via the Home app on your iPhone.

  1. Go to the Home app
  2. Select HomePod speaker in Favourite Accessories
  3. Long press on HomePod icon
  4. Tap Details
  5. Scroll down to Siri
  6. Toggle Listen for “Hey Siri”

Your Favorite HomePod mini Tips and Tricks

So these were some of the best HomePod mini tips and tricks you would love to try today. My favorite HomePod mini tips and tricks include the ability to grow my music trivia knowledge, send and read messages through HomePod, and the ability to automate my smart home with Siri. There’s surely plenty more hidden HomePod mini tips and tricks to discover, so I’ll keep tapping, swiping and noting anything I find. Did we miss out on something important that needs to be added to the list? Which are your favorite HomePod mini tips and tricks? Drop a comment and let us know!

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]()iPhone 13 Find My Not Working? Here’s the Fix

by GeeksModo Staff

Is your iPhone 13 Find My not working? This article explains how to troubleshoot Find My so you can view the location of devices, items, and friends.

Is Find My iPhone not working on your iPhone 13? Or perhaps the Find My Friends function is giving you trouble? Whether you’re having issues viewing the location of your Apple device or friend, we’ll show you how to check, troubleshoot, and properly enable the needed settings.

Apple’s Find My is used to locate lost and stolen iPhone, iPad, Mac, and other Apple devices. The app is also required to track AirTag and other accessories compatible with the Find My network.

But if Find My iPhone isn’t working on your iPhone 13 and you can’t track down your device, try these tips to fix it.

The fixes explained on this article applies to iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max.

Solution#1: Make Sure iCloud & Find My Are Enabled

Is Find My iPhone not sharing location? It shouldn’t happen, but sometimes your device settings are reset in updates. Or perhaps you were tinkering in your Settings app trying to resolve an issue and accidentally toggled something you didn’t intend to. In either case, both of these features must be properly enabled for Find My to work. Here’s how to check this:

Start the Settings app on your iPhone.

Tap on your name.

If the iCloud button says Off, tap to set up iCloud. If there’s a number of gigabytes or terabytes listed here, then your iCloud is enabled.

Tap Find My.

Tap Find My iPhone.

Make sure all three of these toggles are enabled to allow Find My access to your location even when it is turned off (and to send a final location update when your device battery is critically low).

Solution#2: Check Your Battery Levels

Not to state the obvious, but it is important to note that if your device is out of power Find My can no longer track the current location of the device. If the battery is out or low, you need to charge your device. However, the good news is that if you’ve followed the instructions in the section above to set up Find My, your iPhone 13 is already set to send a last location update when the battery is critically low (so Find My will show the last location of your device before it dies), thanks to iOS 15.

Solution#3: Check Your Internet Connection

Find My requires the device to have internet location to report its current location. So if your iPhone 13 is out of range of Wi-Fi or cellular networks or Airplane Mode is enabled, you’ll see the device’s last known location for 24 hours, just like you do when there’s no power. To check if Airplane Mode is enabled:

Open the Settings app.

Tap the toggle next to Airplane Mode to turn it off if it is enabled. (The toggle is gray when disabled.)

Solution#4: Turn On Location Services

This solution is if your location is not being displayed correctly in relation to your devices, friends, and items are. If you’re having trouble getting accurate directions to your devices or friends, you might have switched off Location Tracking. Follow the steps below to adjust your Location Services settings:

Start the Settings app on your iPhone.

Tap Privacy.

Tap on Location Services.

Tap on Find My.

Select either While Using the App or Ask Next Time Or When I Share.

Tap the toggle next to Precise Location.

Solution#5: Make Sure Date & Time Are Accurate

Believe it or not, the date set on your device can affect whether Find My iPhone works properly. Apple’s servers expect devices connecting to them to have the correct date and time, and it can cause problems if they don’t. If you have a recent OS version, your device should prevent you from switching to manual date/time updates for the reason we’ve just discussed. However, if you have an older version and have accidentally (or intentionally) switched to manually setting the time and date, here’s how to reverse that:

Start the Settings app on your iPhone.

Tap General.

Tap Date & Time.

If it is not already on, tap to enable the Set Automatically toggle.

Solution#6: Sign In with the Same Apple ID

This fix is for those who are having issues finding devices, not finding friends. When you log into Find My iPhone, you have to use the same Apple ID that you are logged into on the device. This is because Apple tracks devices by Apple ID and if you’re using another device, you might have accidentally switched or logged in with a different Apple ID without knowing it. So if you’re on your laptop checking the location of your iPhone, check to make sure your are signed into the same Apple ID that your device uses.

Solution#7: Update Your Device

iPhone 13 Find my Friends not working? This is an often overlooked solution, and one we’ve had people report that resolved their location tracking issues when using Find My for Friends. If you or your friends are having trouble viewing one another’s location, check to make sure you have both updated to the latest software version. New software versions will often resolve bugs and glitches from previous releases, and a simple update might just resolve your iPhone 13 Find My issues.

Have you experienced the problem of iPhone 13 Find My app not working? Let us know in the comments below.

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5 Signs That Confirm You Must Upgrade Your iPhone (& Best iPhone in 2022)

by Kevin Hollington

Don’t know when to say goodbye to your current iPhone and get a newer one? Maybe we can give you the nudge you need.

When you buy a new iPhone, you expect it to last—a high-quality phone should be useful for several years, at least. As times goes on, however, you may notice a few glitches here and there, but never give them a second thought. Why should you? Technology always comes with a few idiosyncrasies you take in stride.

While the issues on your iPhone may not be bothersome to you, they may indicate your device needs updating or replacing. How do you know when it’s time for a trade-in? Here are several major signs that it’s time for you to upgrade your iPhone to something better.

Battery Runs Down Quickly

The main reason for this is simple chemistry. Over time, the chemical components of your battery start to degrade, meaning they’ll hold less and less charge. After several hundred recharge “cycles” (roughly a year or two), the battery may have lost a fifth or more of its ability to hold a charge.

That’s why it’s important to avoid overnight charging to limit the number of unnecessary recharges.

Over time you will find yourself tethered to an outlet. Yes, there are actions you can take when your iPhone battery is draining in the hopes of extending the life of your mobile device. However, if your battery doesn’t hold its charge like it used to, but you still use it in the same way, save yourself the frustration and get a new iPhone ASAP.

You can’t get iOS updates any longer

Apple does a better job than any other phone maker of supporting old hardware with new versions of its operating system. iOS 15 is supported by iPhones going all the way back to the iPhone 6s (released in 2015). That’s six years old!

Even if you can live without the new features in the latest verison of iOS, you shouldn’t forego its security updates.

And Apple even put special effort into making iOS 15 run better on older devices that earlier versions of iOS. It’s a difference you can feel immediately.

If you can’t run iOS 15, it’s definitely time to upgrade. Not only are earlier versions of iOS missing important features, but there are critical security updates in every iOS release, too.

If you can’t upgrade to iOS 15, consider your old iPhone end-of-life and put it to pasture.

You’re embarrassed by your photos

When you bought your iPhone, you were amazed by the photos and videos you took. Now, every time you and your friend are taking photos of the same thing, you’re shocked by how good theirs looks and embarrassed by how bad yours looks.

iPhone cameras get better every year, and Apple’s always pushing the envelope. That doesn’t mean you have to get a new phone every year, but it does mean that the photos taken by an iPhone just three or four years old are going to look way worse than a new one.

Along with a new iPhone comes a better camera. Stop capturing grainy, low-resolution moments and start collecting crisp, clear, high-resolution memories.

You can’t find accessories for it anymore

You need a screen protector, but you can’t find one made for your iPhone model. It’s time for a new case, but the stores have only one or two to choose from. You were going to buy that car mount, but it’s made for iPhones of a different size, and yours doesn’t fit right.

Generally speaking, iPhones are so popular that you can find accessories for your particular model at major retailers for years. That’s definitely not true in the Android world; The collective Android market is huge, but no one model is popular enough to continue supporting for very long.

So if you can’t find accessories that fit or work with your iPhone, it’s definitely time to move on.

And if you have an iPhone with a 30-pin connector, you should have upgraded a few years ago.

You’re always out of storage space

You’ve tried everything. You store your photos and videos online. You have Optimize iPhone Storage enabled in the Photos section of the Settings app. You deleted all the apps you don’t really use. You’ve done everything you can to reduce Other storage.

Yet you still run out of space on your iPhone. You can’t download that app you want. You get a warning when you try to take photos. You get a warning when you try to update iOS.

You never want your iPhone storage to become completely full.

At some point, you have to face the facts—as operating systems and apps do more, they get bigger. As you take more photos, even the thumbnails and indices for them get bigger. The 16GB of space that was “just fine” when you bought your iPhone a few years ago now feels like trying to squeeze a fleet of SUVs into two-car garage.

You can’t upgrade your iPhone’s storage space. You can only get a new iPhone. And if storage limits are preventing you from using your iPhone the way you want to, maybe it’s time to consider that. You may not want to get the minimum storage space this time, for fear of being back in this boat again in a few years.

What’s the Best iPhone to Buy in 2022?

Now that you know whether you’re ready for a new iPhone, lets talk about the best iPhone to buy in 2022.

Best iPhone for most people

iPhone 14

In terms of upgrades, the iPhone 14 is expected to come with an in-display fingerprint sensor in 2022 alongside the Face ID unlocking feature. As per Kuo, the new models  could retain the facial recognising TrueDepth Camera system for Face ID or not, or will have both the features to unlock the device.

Rumors Apple’s 2022 iPhone 14 will feature a notchless display with a hole-punch camera, A16 chip, flush rear cameras and more.

Best iPhone overall

iPhone 14 Pro

The iPhone 14 Pro is Apple’s smaller premium iPhone with a 6.1-inch screen size. It’s expected to have in-display fingerprint sensor and 48MP main camera on the back.

Some of the rumored upgrades in the camera department include a 48-megapixel lens on the pro models, a major jump from the usual 12MP. The pro models might also have 8K recording capabilities, an improvement from the current 4K limit on the iPhone 13 series.

Best iPhone value

iPhone 13

Out of the four phones in Apple’s iPhone 13 series, the regular 13’s spot is a bit overshadowed by its siblings. But if you look closely, you’ll realize it’s basically the iPhone 13 Pro with a $170 price cut. They have the same design, the same insanely fast A15 Bionic chip, the same 5G support, the same support for MagSafe charging, and the same selfie, wide and ultrawide cameras.

Best battery life

iPhone 14 Pro Max

iPhone 14 Pro Max, the top-end iPhone model of the 2022 series, is said to have the best battery ever.

According to DSCC’s Ross Young, the iPhone 14 Pro Max will have largest battery, boosting capacity and powering more features.

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How to Build and Optimize Your Website for Apple’s Safari Web Browser

by GeeksModo Staff

Modern websites are built to cater to all types of platforms, browsers, and devices. Thanks to the abilities of these devices, browsers, and operating systems, websites built using a single code base can be operated across multiple environments.

This makes cross-browser, and cross-platform compatibility much easier to integrate. However, despite all the strides web developers have made in this regard, it often gets a bit difficult to cater to Apple’s Safari browsers. And thus comes the need to optimize the sites for Apple browsers and devices separately.

Apple’s Safari is sadly one of the slowest web browsers in the world right now. Many even claim that it is set to become the new Internet Explorer, which is one of the worst possible things to say about a web browser. It is easy to see that Apple has a lot of work to do in this department.

In the meantime, you will have to put some effort from your end to optimize your website for the Safari browser. After all, millions use Apple products, and the Safari browser is usually their default gateway to your website.

With that in mind, here are a few things you must ensure to build and optimize your website for the Safari web browser.

Start with the Web Standards

It should not come to you as a surprise that Apple expects you to follow all the standards set by W3C when it comes to making websites. Apple makes this clear on the “developers” section of their website.

You have to first make sure you are using the latest versions of HTML, CSS, and other standards so that the latest Safari browser is efficient, has no trouble interpreting your website, and its users do not have to suffer.

Responsive Design

Using a framework like Bootstrap will usually take care of the responsiveness for your website. However, sometimes, you have to do a bit of the work by yourself as well.

Responsiveness is one of the most important factors in web design that ensures user-friendliness, and ease of accessibility. Given how Apple brings out at least three or four new devices (Macbooks, iPhones, and iPads) every year, it can get a bit difficult to match the ever-changing standards. Standard screen sizes can be difficult to keep up with, which is why you will have to make adjustments for specific device sizes.

So if you are using Bootstrap, you have to write additional media queries that include Apple devices of all sizes. And as long as Apple does not decide to release a foldable iPhone, doing so will help optimize your website for Safari browsers across all Apple platforms.

Choose Your APIs Wisely

When you use an API with huge data utilization necessities, make sure it uses a server that can handle large volumes of data and does not affect the client-side experience whenever the user requests its services.

APIs tend to use up a lot of resources, especially when they are working with large data sets. Be it Safari or Chrome, this can slow down the browsing experience. APIs are there to smoothen the experience for your users. So if they end up slowing things down, that is not going to look good for you.

Ideally, you should opt for an API with dedicated servers, like Tomorrow.io for instance. Despite using huge data sets for weather-related information, the API still manages to have zero to little impact on the websites it is used in.

Compress Images

Safari is slow as it is, and you do not want to make it respond any slower by using heavy images. Even when you do, make sure you are compressing them first. Optimize the images by using an image compressor. This is much easier to do with widgets in WordPress, but you can still do it on hard-coded websites too.

Compressing the images will increase the loading speed, thereby reducing the loading time of the website. Although a general rule for all websites, it is a must for Safari browsers, otherwise it can hamper the overall user experience.

And that is all you need to do for ensuring an optimized and user-friendly website for Safari browsers. Some of these points coincide with the basic principles of making a website in general, but that is how it should be. Safari may require some extra attention, but as long as you stick to the basics, you will be mostly fine.

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Review: Kovol Sprint 120W 4 Port PD Laptop Charger: For Mac

by GeeksModo Staff

Apple is the major flag-bearer with its MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models. In this sense, Apple is known for offering chargers with practically an unmatched performance, including 18W, 29W, 30W, 61W, 87W, and 100W, which can be used for MacBooks, iPhones, iPads, and other devices.

However, what if your MacBook charger gets damaged or if you lose it? Since most Apple chargers, we dare to say all of them, cannot be repaired, you’ll need to buy a new one, which not only can be expensive but there’s a strong chance that it’ll also get damaged after some time.

There are a couple of chargers for MacBooks on the market and most of them are quite good. However, there is a MacBook charger that is preferred out there that always snag the most recommendations.

We took a look at some of those chargers for Mac and came up with the best.

The best MacBook charger right now is KOVOL Sprint 120W 4-Port PD Fast Laptop Charger.

Kovol Sprint Desktop GaN Charger with 120W Output

Of all the MacBook chargers we’ve tried, the Kovol Sprint 4-port 120W PD desktop charger is the best.

Unlike many other chargers for Mac, the Kovol Sprint 120W charger can charge your MacBook, and charge a few other devices simultaneously at a fast charging speed. This multi-port Power Delivery charger is even more powerful than the 96W Apple charger, which is great as it makes it the ideal match for the 100Wh battery of the MacBook Pro 16″. Moreover, provided the MacBook Pro can take up its 100Wh, then you can make sure that it will charge it faster.

This Kovol Sprint 120W charger comes with 4 USB ports with its PD 3.0, QC 3.0 & PPS Charging technology, allowing four devices to charge simultaneously. Therefore, it is compatible with all MacBook Pro models, as well as the iPad Pro, iPhones, the Nintendo Switch, and many other USB-powered devices from other brands such as Samsung.

Kovol Sprint desktop GaN charger

Besides the obvious power, what’s great about this charger is that thanks to its maximum combined output of 120W, speed won’t be sacrificed while charging other devices at the same time. For example, It’s mighty 120W Output can rapidly charge a MacBook Pro 16″ in 1.7 hours via a USB-C port (100W Max.), or simultaneously provides up to 60W of power to 2 MacBooks via both USB-C PD ports.

With measures of 1.81×1.81×3.35 inches, the Kovol Sprint 120W charger does not occupy much space. The charger features a power cord that gives you more freedom on where you want to place the charger. Even better, the 4.9ft cable is detachable to easily stay in your bag with the charger without causing any mess.

The Kovol Sprint 120W charger features a Q-Pulse technology which ensures safe charging features such as surge, over-current, over-voltage, short-circuit, over-charge, high-temperature protection and is backed by a 24-month warranty in case of any defect.

Should I buy KOVOL Sprint 120W 4-Port PD Fast Laptop Charger?

Absolutely! At the risk of repeating myself, I wish to emphasize that the Kovol Sprint 120W charger is the best MacBook charger on the market. You’re able to charge a MacBook and fast charge another three smaller devices at the same time. In addition, the charger features intelligent Power Distribution, allowing it to allocate optimal required power to each device for maximized charging efficiency. It also come with an in-built protection against problems such as overheating, overcurrent, overvoltage, and short-circuit. Furthermore, it’s been designed using GaN tech to maximize charging efficiency. Finally, it supports PD 3.0, QC 3.0 & PPS Charging, therefore, we recommend this to our readers.

Where do i buy KOVOL Sprint 120W 4-Port PD Fast Laptop Charger?

You can buy the Kovol Sprint 120W Charger for $99.99 from Amazon.

Highlights of KOVOL Sprint 120W 4-Port PD Fast Laptop Charger

  • Mighty 120W maximum output
  • Charges 4 devices simultaneously
  • Smart power distribution function
  • Pioneering GaN II Tech
  • Supports PD 3.0, QC 3.0 & PPS Charging
  • Low-Heat & Safe Charging
  • Small and compact
  • 24-month warranty

Final Thoughts

While Apple chargers perform great, their durability is questionable, as well as their expensiveness. Thus, we recommend the KOVOL Sprint 120W 4-Port PD Fast Laptop Charger. If you have any other questions about this charger or our Kovol Sprint 120W charger review, leave a comment down below.

Tag: Mac Products
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6 Ways to Fix iPhone Shows Apple Logo and Turns Off

by GeeksModo Staff

Is your iPhone stuck at the Apple logo and turns off automatically? Even after restarting the device, it still shows the Apple logo and doesn’t start again. It is a common issue reported by many iPhone users. However, the good news is that it can be fixed by following a few simple techniques. In this article, we will share why your iPhone keeps showing the Apple logo and then turns it off. Therefore, continue reading the blog for some exciting information.

How To Fix iPhone Shows Apple Logo and Turns Off?

Is your iPhone keeps turning on and off? This issue can occur when you jailbreak your device and update it. Also, you can face it due to hardware problems as well. However, the exciting news is that there are some simple tips that you can try to fix the iPhone Apple logo issue. These ways are simple, and anyone can follow them without worrying about anything. Let’s discuss all these ways in depth.

Method 1. Charge Your iPhone To Fix iPhone Shows Apple Logo and Turns Off

Make sure you have charged your iPhone because it will not work correctly and will fail to boot up if it’s not charged. To charge correctly, don’t forget to purchase a good charger. Once your device is charged, restart it again and check if the iPhone still keeps showing the Apple logo or not. If yes, we recommend trying the second method.

Method 2. Force Restart To Fix iPhone Shows Apple Logo and Turns Off

A force restart is an ideal way to fix different iPhone issues like iPhone keeps showing the Apple logo and it is turning off. What’s more, this method is used when your iPhone device is frozen, and nothing is working for you. What’s more, Force Restart is safe because it doesn’t delete your data. Here is how you can force restart on iPhone 8, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6s.
iPhone 8 and Later:
First, press and quickly release the Volume up button, then repeat the same with the Volume down button. Now, press and hold the power button for a few seconds. Release it when you see the Apple logo.

iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus:
For this, you have to press and hold two buttons; Volume down and power, simultaneously. Release both the buttons when you see the Apple logo.
iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s:
At the same time, you have to press and hold the power and the home buttons. Once you see the Apple logo, release both the buttons and see if your device is working fine or not.

Force restart iPhone

If this doesn’t work for you, don’t worry; you can check method 3.

Method 3. Restore your iPhone Using Third-Party iPhone Repair Tool

If your iPhone keeps showing the Apple logo and it is turning off regularly, we recommend fixing it using a third-party application. Sometimes simple techniques don’t work, so it is a good idea to download a powerful iPhone recovery software. In this case, you can download Tenorshare ReiBoot.html) that is an excellent program for iPhone users. It offers two different modes, Standard repair and Deep repair. We would suggest choosing the Standard Repair method because it doesn’t delete your data. Follow the steps below to use this method.

  1. Run the ReiBoot iOS system recovery software on your PC and connect the iPhone with the help of a USB cable.
    launch-reiboot
  2. Click the “Start” option.
  3. You will be moved to the next screen, where you will see two different options, Standard Repair and Deep Repair. Select the ”Standard Repair”.
    Standard repair option
  4. In the next step, download a Firmware package by clicking the “Download” option. Once the package is installed, hit the “Start Standard Repair” option.
    start-standard-repair
  5. It will take a couple of minutes to complete the process. Make sure your device is connected, and don’t turn off your PC. Once the recovery method is completed, your device will back to normal.
    Standard repair completed

Method 4. Restore your iPhone Using iTunes

If your device stops responding and freezes frequently, it is recommended to restore it using iTunes. However, keep in mind that this process will remove all the data from your iPhone. Therefore, don’t forget to backup your device before trying this procedure. The steps to restore your iPhone using iTunes are as follows.

  1. First, send your iPhone into recovery mode. To do that, here are the steps that you can follow.
    iPhone 8 or later: Press and release the volume up and down button at the same time. Now, press and hold the side button until you get the recovery mode screen.
    iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus: Press and hold the volume down and the side button at the same time. Make sure to hold them for a while until you get the recovery mode.
    iPhone 6s or earlier: To get into recovery mode, you have to press and hold the home button and top at the same time. Release them after you see the recovery mode.
  2. Once you get into recovery mode, you have to open iTunes on your PC and connect your iPhone using a data cable.
  3. You will see a message where you will be asked to update or restore your iPhone. Click the “Restore” option.

iTunes restore

After restoring all your information will be erased, so make sure that you have backup your things before trying this method.

You can also use Tenorshare ReiBoot to get into recovery mode. All you have to do is download this software. From the screen, click the “Enter Recovery Mode” option, and within a few seconds, your iPhone will be in recovery mode. Don’t forget to connect your iPhone during the whole process.

Method 5. Restore your iPhone Using DFU Mode

Device Firmware Update helps the device to interact with iTunes without loading the operating system. It is the simplest form of recovery mode and works in many cases, such as the iPhone being stuck at the Apple logo. In order to perform DFU restore, you have to follow different steps for different devices. Here is how it works.
iPhone 8 or Later:
Start your computer and connect the iPhone using a USB cable.
After that, hold and press the volume up and Volume down buttons.
In the next step, press and hold the side button. Hold it for a while until you see the black screen.
After seeing the back screen, you have to hold both the side and volume down buttons. Wait for around 5 seconds and release both of them.
iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus:
You first have to connect your iPhone with the PC. Once the connection is made, press and holds two buttons, side and Volume down.
Now, after 8 seconds, release the side button, but keep holding the Volume down button. Your iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will be in DFU mode.
iPhone 6s and Earlier
To send iPhone 6s and earlier in DFU mode, you have to hold home and lock buttons at the same time.
Wait for 8 seconds, and release the lock button. Make sure not to release the home button during the whole process. Finally, your iPhone is in DFU mode now.
Before you start the procedure, make sure that your iPhone is connected to the PC, so you can quickly put it into DFU mode. Once you are in DFU mode, you will see nothing on the screen, but iTunes will automatically detect the device and will show a prompt message. So, Click “OK” to proceed.
dfu-restore

Method 6. Contact Apple to Restore your iPhone

In case nothing has worked for you, there are chances that you are facing any hardware problem. Don’t worry because Apple Support will definitely help you in this process. You can contact them or visit the nearest Apple authorized service center. They will fix your iPhone issue and restore your iPhone.

Conclusion

These were some of the easiest and quickest solutions that you can try if your iPhone keeps showing the Apple logo and is turning off frequently. Keep in mind that some methods such as restoring via iTunes will delete your data, so make sure to backup your information. On the other hand, if you want to use a third-party tool, we suggest trying Tenorshare ReiBoot because it can fix your iOS issues in no time. It has a simple interface and works for all iOS versions and iPhone devices.

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Mac Won’t Connect to Personal Hotspot on macOS Monterey? Fix

by GeeksModo Staff

Is personal hotspot not working after upgrading your Mac to macOS Monterey? Is your Mac unable to connect to your iPhone’s personal hotspot? Not being able to connect to a hotspot on your Macbook can be a great pain, but there’s a fix for that. If your Mac is refusing to connect to your iPhone Hotspot after Monterey update, there is no need to panic. Here are the best solutions that can help fix this macOS Monterey hotspot problem, so let’s get started.

See also: How to Fix macOS Monterey Wi-Fi Problems

Here’s what to do if Macbook isn’t connecting to a hotspot after macOS Monterey update

Disconnect Other Devices

There’s a limit to the number of devices you can connect to your iPhone’s Personal Hotspot at a time. This limit isn’t fixed; according to Apple, the limit for a Personal Hotspot connection depends on the carrier and iPhone model. From our investigations, we discovered that this limit is typically between 3-5 devices.

So if you already have 3 or more devices tethered to your iPhone, disconnect one of the devices and try connecting your Mac. That should solve the problem. Otherwise, proceed to other troubleshooting recommendations below.

Move iPhone Closer to Mac

Distance plays an important role in the connection status and quality of wireless technologies. Wi-Fi hotspots have a distance beyond which the connecting device won’t detect or connect to the host device. The closer your iPhone is to your Mac, the better the chances of discoverability. Likewise, the faster the connection speed and overall quality.

For hotspot connections, make sure your iPhone and Mac are within 30 feet (10 meters) or less. Your Mac may fail to connect to your iPhone’s hotspot if both devices are not within this range. Move both devices together and try again.

Turn Off/ On Bluetooth

Several users reported that turning bluetooth off and on fixed the Monterey hotspot problem, so you might want to try that.

On your Mac, click on the Bluetooth icon in the Menu bar at the top and turn off/ on the toggle.

On your iPhone, go to Settings -> Bluetooth and turn off/ on the toggle.

See also: How to Fix macOS Monterey Bluetooth Problems

Restart both your Mac and iPhone

Are you able to connect your Mac to other Wi-Fi networks but not your Personal Hotspot? Restart your iPhone and try again. If your Mac still fails to connect to the hotspot or other Wi-Fi networks, restart the Mac and check if that fixes the problem.

Remove Device from Bluetooth List and Reconnect

If the above tricks didn’t work in solving your macOS Monterey personal hotspot issue, remove the device you are using as a personal hotspot from the list of Bluetooth devices on your Mac and reconnect to it.

Click on the Apple menu at the top left and move to System Preferences -> Bluetooth.
Select the device and click on Remove “X” button. Now, try to reconnect your Mac with the mobile device.

Reset Network Settings

If your macOS Monterey device won’t connect to your iPhone’s hotspot despite trying all the solutions above, you should consider resetting your iPhone’s network settings. That could fix issues with your cellular network and possibly resolve glitches preventing your Mac from connecting to hotspot.

Please note: Resetting your iPhone’s network settings will reset mobile/cellular data, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and VPN to default settings. Follow the steps below to reset your iPhone network settings.

  1. Go to Settings > General > transfer or reset iPhone > Reset > Reset Network Settings.
  2. Enter your iPhone’s passcode and tap Reset Network Settings on the prompt.

Your iPhone will restart and that should resolve any network-related errors affecting your Personal Hotspot connection.

Note: Performing a network reset will delete all previously-connected Wi-Fi networks and Bluetooth devices from your device’s memory. Your Personal Hotspot will be renamed to “iPhone.”

If you wish to change the hotspot’s name, go to Settings > General > About and click Name.

Enter your preferred Personal Hotspot name and tap Done on your keyboard to save the change.

Turn on your iPhone’s hotspot and check if the Mac is able to establish a connection.

Reset Your Mac’s Wi-Fi

This is another troubleshooting solution that’s worth trying, particularly if your macOS Monterey device won’t connect to any Wi-Fi network.

  1. Go to System Preferences > Network and select Wi-Fi on the right sidebar.
  2. Click the minus (—) icon at the bottom-left corner of the Network window.
  3. Close the Network window and click Apply on the confirmation prompt.
  4. Reopen the Network settings window and click the plus ( ) icon at the bottom-left corner of the window.
  5. Click the Interface drop-down button.
  6. Select Wi-Fi from the options and click Create to continue.
  7. Click Apply to save the change.

Try connecting to your iPhone’s hotspot and see if it works this time.

Personal Hotspot not working after Monterey update: Problem Fixed!

Hopefully by now you have resolved any Hotspot connectivity issue you were facing on your Mac with macOS Monterey.

If you are still experiencing Hotspot problems on macOS Monterey, contact Apple Support. The following are available Apple support options:

Do you use an iPhone as a hotspot device? In that case, you may also be interested in taking a look at some of the basic troubleshooting steps you should follow if personal hotspot is not working after iOS 15 update.

Tag: Wi-Fi
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How to Fix macOS Monterey Bluetooth Problems

by GeeksModo Staff

Have you installed macOS Monterey on your MacBook? And now you’re facing Bluetooth issues? Sometimes you may have issues while trying to connect to a Bluetooth device (keyboard, mouse, trackpad, headset, and other audio peripherals). There can be many reasons for this, as Apple might have made some underlying changes that could bork the Bluetooth on your Mac. Nonetheless, here are some general tips, tricks, and solutions you can follow to fix Bluetooth issues on your Mac running macOS Monterey.

Some common Bluetooth related issues that many Mac users are reporting after installing macOS Monterey include:

  • Bluetooth connection problems
  • Not able to connect to new Bluetooth devices
  • Bluetooth devices suddenly disconnecting
  • Bluetooth is unavailable
  • Bluetooth not turning on
  • Pairing Bluetooth devices fail
  • Bluetooth stops working after a macOS Monterey update is downloaded and installed

You can use Bluetooth to connect devices to your Mac wirelessly. If you encounter Bluetooth problem after macOS Monterey update, you will not be able to use your devices properly. There could be multiple reasons why bluetooth is not working on macOS Monterey. There could be hardware or software problems.

This article explains what you can do to troubleshoot when Bluetooth is not working after macOS Monterey update.

Here is what you can do when Bluetooth is not working on macOS Monterey

Please try each step until your issue is resolved. After each step, check to see if Bluetooth is working.

If you are having Wi-Fi problems after macOS Monterey update, read this article.

Please also note that performing some of the methods below will cause you to temporarily lose connection to your connected devices (e.g., keyboard, mouse, etc). So you may want to use a wired device.

1. Check your Bluetooth accessory

Ensure your Bluetooth device is turned on and discoverable. Make sure that your device has Bluetooth capabilities. Also, check that your device is charged or has batteries. And lastly, make sure that your device is in the range of the Mac you want to connect to.

2. Turn Off/ On Bluetooth

Click on the Bluetooth icon in the Menu bar and turn off the Bluetooth toggle. After that, restart your Mac and turn on the Bluetooth toggle. Now, try to connect the Bluetooth device with your Mac. If it fails, reset your Bluetooth device and try to reconnect the device again.

3. Ensure that your Mac is up to date

Sometimes, buggy software can result in bluetooth connectivity issues on a Mac. Apple is usually quick to release a hotfix and address OS-related issues that have been reported by users. So, if Apple has released an update since your upgrade to Monterey, it may contain bug fixes that can fix your bluetooth problems. You can update your Mac by going to the Apple menu > System Preferences > Software Update. If there is an update available, update your Mac.

4. . Restart your Mac and your Bluetooth device

If you are still facing issues, you can restart your MacBook and bluetooth accessory to fix the Bluetooth problem on your macOS Monterey device. This might look like cliché fix, but most minor software-related bugs and glitches can be resolved by simply rebooting your device.

To restart your Mac, click the Apple menu and then select Restart. And then power off your Bluetooth device, wait a few seconds, and turn it back on.

5. Delete PLIST Files

macOS Monterey stores entire information related to Bluetooth devices on the hard drive to deliver a more personalized experience and better performance. Times when Bluetooth doesn’t work, deleting the Bluetooth files (aka PLIST files) comes in handy in fixing the issue. To do that, follow the steps below:

  1. In the Finder, click Go and Go to Folder.
  2. After that, type or paste /Library/Preferences. Then, locate a file named com.apple.Bluetooth.plist and drag it to the Trash.
  3. Now delete Bluetooth PLIST files on Mac
  4. Next up, open the Go to Folder option again and type or paste ~/Library/Preferences/ByHost. Now, find a file whose name starts with com.apple.Bluetooth followed by numbers and letters (ending in .plist). Drag it to the Trash as well.

You have now successfully deleted Bluetooth data files with information about connected/ saved devices. With that gone, try to pair your device with the Mac again, and it should work without any issues.

6. Reset NVRAM or PRAM on your Mac

For those who aren’t aware, NVRAM or Non-Volatile Random Access Memory is a small amount of memory utilized by your Mac to store certain settings for quick access. Resetting your Mac’s NVRAM is typically considered an effective troubleshooting method when your system is misbehaving.

Here is how to reset NVRAM or PRAM on your Mac:

  1. Turn off your Mac.
  2. Turn on your Mac and immediately press and hold the Option, Command, P, and R keys together. Keep holding these four keys for about 20 seconds.
  3. Then release the keys.

7. Reset the SMC

Resetting your Mac’s System Management Controller (SMC) can sometimes resolve issues related to bluetooth, Wi-Fi, power, battery, and other features. It may be necessary to restore normal lower-level system functionality to your Mac especially when you’re facing hardware-related problems.

To reset the SMC:

  1. Shut down/power off your MacBook.
  2. Press and hold 3 keys: Shift, Control and Option.
  3. Press and hold the power button, without releasing the other 3 keys.
  4. Hold all keys for 10 seconds, then release.
  5. Press the power button on your Mac.

Bluetooth not working after Monterey update: Problem Fixed!

Hopefully by now you have resolved any bluetooth connectivity issue you were facing on your Mac with macOS Monterey.

If you are still experiencing Bluetooth problems on macOS Monterey, contact Apple Support. The following are available Apple support options:

Do you use an iPhone as your primary mobile device? In that case, you may also be interested in taking a look at some of the basic troubleshooting steps you should follow if bluetooth is not working on iOS 15.

We hope you were successful in troubleshooting your macOS Monterey Bluetooth problems. Which of the troubleshooting methods that we discussed here worked for you? Did you have another solution for Monterey related bluetooth issues? Share your experiences, thoughts, and opinions in the comments section below!

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