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iPhone Wont Charge? Try This Before Buying A New iPhone

Your iPhone is important, VERY important. Imagine not having it at all or worse, it wont turn on. So what happens when your iPhone wont charge?

There are a number of reason why your iPhone wont charge and at here at The Austin Cell Phone we've been able to repair most of them. Today we will cover a clever do-it-yourself trick to get your iPhone up and charging again. 

What is this amazingly clever trick you say? Sometimes when an iPhone wont charge, all it needs is a good cleaning. OMG, NO WAY!

YES WAY! All iPhone's have had this problem and we see it all of the time. While in your pocket or purse, it does a great job at collecting pocket lint. 

How does this happen?

Over time, that pocket lint gets into the charge port. It's not a lot and happens a little at a time. When you plug in your iPhone to charge over night the lint gets jammed in the back. 

Do this repeatedly for months, even years and eventually the charge port is full of lint and the charger cannot make a good connection to charge the iPhone. 

Try this when your iPhone wont charge

Is there a risk of doing it myself?

Yes, there are small pins inside the charge port that can get damaged. Sticking a foreign object inside to clean out the port can also damage these pics if you are not careful. Which is why we say, do this at your own risk.  

I tried cleaning it & still, my iPhone wont charge

At least it was worth a shot and all it cost you was a few minutes of your time. Now that you've ruled out a dirty charge port, you still have options. 

There are many reason why the iPhone wont charge and the best next step is to bring it into our iPhone repair shop in Austin. We will diagnose the iPhone for free and tell you exactly what needs to happen to get your iPhone up and charging again. 

Most of the time we will do an iPhone charge port repair which will replace it with a new one. This repair is inexpensive and starts at just $39. We have the parts in stock and the repair takes about 30 minutes. 

There are some rare occasions when we change out the charge port and the still, the iPhone wont charge. This means the problem is with the logic board and most likely cannot be repaired.

No need to worry though. This is very rare and if turns out to be the case for you, we will not charge you for any of our time or labor. We could also offer you one of our gently used smartphones for sale

Have questions and want to talk with someone?

Call us directly at 512-432-5528. We are here to service our customers as best we can by answering your questions without any type of sales pitch. 

iPhone 6 Screen Repair Challenge Accepted @ The Austin Cell Phone

We do this all day long. Learn more about getting your iPhone repaired @ The Austin Cell Phone

Below is the text transcript of the above video.

So we just got this iPhone in a few minutes ago and it looks pretty busted. The customer doesn't think we will be able to fix it. Let's see what Hector can do.

All right, so I am going to let him get started and we will be back here in a minute. So we got the old screen off here. That's the new replacement screen along with all of the guts.

We definitely do not recommend you doing this at home. You should definitely come here and we'll give you a good deal. Ok, we'll be back in another minute when we have the new screen on.

Still some more parts. You'll see all of these little screws here. It gets kind of hectic after a while. Still some more parts. You'll see all of these little screws here. It gets kind of hectic after a while. We are still working on it to get it done here real soon. Be back in a moment.

Ok, the moment of truth. Here we are with the old screen. The new screen has been installed. Look at that. Good as new. So if you need your iPhone repaired now you know where to come do it. We'll get it done in about 45 minutes. Peace.

September 13, 2018

Power Hungry Apps You Need To Know About

Almost everyone is very dependent on smartphones nowadays. These marvelous devices have infiltrated every aspect of our lives from messaging to photography, even cooking and relationships. There are around 197 billion mobile app download last year. In 2016, mobile app downloads of iOS users amounted to almost 25 billion while Android users, at the same year, downloaded a whopping 90 billion applications.

Three years ago, Facebook was the most used application but last year, Amazon got the largest number of users. According to reports, nine applications are used by people on average daily while thirty applications are used monthly. In the Apple Store, there are around 2.2 million applications as of January 2017 while Google Play had almost 3 million applications as of June 2017.

​So Many Apps To Choose From

One can argue that the popularity of the smartphones can be attributed to the thousands of applications available to the users. These applications stretch and give more functionalities to the smartphones. While some mobile apps employ strategies of traditional marketing, others employ a more modern approach. For the latter part, app developers happen to use mobile marketing platforms like AdAction to advertise in mobile. Truth be told, there are several benefits of mobile marketing and is is easy to identify the important ones—reaching target audience easily; getting discoverability in app stores; and retaining users for a long time.

Applications can also be considered as the reason why smartphones are heavily used. However, the downside to having too many applications installed on one’s phone is the tendency of the phone to slow down or even crash. This may be due to decreasing memory of the smartphone which can contribute to the decreased processing speed of the device.

In addition, applications tend to eat up a lot of battery power. In fact, there are a lot of applications that are considered power-hungry. If you feel that your phone’s battery dies faster than it used to, then check your applications because these may be the culprits.

Apple recently released an iOS update that is supposed to ​"enhance" ​the battery life on their devices. There are mixed reviews on whether or not it worked.

A new report from Avast, a mobile security firm, have revealed that there are certain applications which suck most of the power out of a smartphone’s battery. The report has determined that the applications which used the most energy are Facebook, Netflix, and Snapchat.

Coincidentally, these are three of the most popular applications out there. Avast has categorized applications into two classifications:

  • 1
    ​​Applications that immediately run as soon as the phone is booted up​.
  • 2
    ​​Applications that users manually start themselves.

Applications that Immediately Run at Start Up

Listed below are the top ten applications which drain the life out of your battery as soon as you start the phone. These phones can be considered silent workers since they still run even on background which makes them not the first suspects in case the battery runs dry. These applications are:

Android

  • 1
    ​Samsung Allshare
  • 2
    ​Samsung Security Policy Updates
  • 3
    ChatON Voice & Video Chat
  • 4
    Google Maps
  • 5
    WhatsApp Messenger
  • 6
    Facebook
  • 7
    AppLock
  • 8
    WeChat
  • 9
    Microsoft Outlook
  • 10
    DU Battery Saver (a little bit ironic)

iOS

  • 1
    ​Moves
  • 2
    ​BT Wifi
  • 3
    ​Google Search
  • 4
    ​Facebook Messenger
  • 5
    ​Facebook
  • 6
    ​Google Hangouts
  • 7
    ​H&M
  • 8
    ​WhatsApp
  • 9
    ​Google Maps
  • 10
    ​Viber

Google Maps drains batteries fast because it regularly tracks and transmits data in order to ascertain efficiently where you are or the details of the place you’re trying to locate.

Social media applications such as Facebook and WhatsApp are power hungry because they utilize LTE or Wifi connectivity in order to bring real time updates and messages. Even though these applications are closed from time to time, still they run in the background in order to stay connected.

Applications That Users Manually Start Themselves

For Android users, these are the power-hungry applications that are usually launched by the users themselves:

  • 1
    ​Beaming Service for Samsung
  • 2
    ​Samsung WatchON
  • 3
    ​Netflix
  • 4
    ​​Clean Master
  • 5
    ​​Snapchat
  • 6
    ​Photo Grid
  • 7
    ​Super Bright LED Torch
  • 8
    ​ES File Explorer File Manager
  • 9
    ​Amazon Shopping

How to Deal with Fast Draining Battery

There may be applications that are non-negotiable to users. This means that even though they are aware that the applications drain their battery lives faster, they need the application on a daily basis and they cannot do anything about it.

In that scenario, the users may do something else in order to save their batteries from crashing down earlier than expected.

  • 1
    Get a power bank or extended ​battery​ – This is a practical solution which does not really target the root cause of the problem. But having a power bank is really helpful especially when you are always on the go but still need to be on your smartphone 24/7. A power bank is also ideal if you're planning to go on any vacations any time soon. The last thing you want is to be on a vacation in Sri Lanka and you can't take any photos of the beautiful scenery because your phone has died! Sites such as ​www.3000store.lk make it easy for phone owners to purchase power banks so that they're always charged.
  • 2
    Use content blockers in Safari​ – content blockers are technologies used by advertising companies in order to track other advertisements do use a lot of battery life
  • 3
    Reduce the screen brightness​ – ​This is one of the fundamental things you need to address. Of course, if your smartphone is on full brightness mode, it will use a lot of battery power than usual. Luckily, smartphones now are equipped with night mode or reading mode screen brightness which not only will help prevent eye strain but also help your battery live longer than usual. Note that some phones have an auto-brightness feature, like the iPhone, which adjusts the brightness of the screen in accordance with the light around it. You may want to turn that feature off too. Not only will this save your battery, but it will also help with preventing things such as ​computer vision syndrome, as this artificial light can damage your eyes and have adverse effects on your mental health and sleeping patterns.
  • 4
    Turn off Background Motion​ – For iPhone users with an iOS 7 and up, there is a feature called Background Motion wherein when you move your iPhone, the application icons and wallpaper of your phone move separately or independent from each other. It may be cool but it can also drain your battery. If you do not need that feature much, you can turn it off too and opt for a longer battery life.
  • 5
    Make the Battery Usage feature your best friend​ – Again, this is for iPhone users, more specifically for those with an iOS 8 or up. In Settings > Battery, you will find the Battery Usage feature which will actually show you which of your applications eat up the most battery power over the past 24 hours. With this information, you will be able to see which applications to close on purpose and which applications to use less, if possible.
  • 6
    Replace the battery - If you are still not able to pin down the excessive battery drain it will take a toll on your battery capacity. Replacing the battery will not stop the excessive power consumption although it will give you a longer life. This is especially true for older phones. You can get your battery replaced easily at a local cell phone repair shop.

There are other ways to save up on battery too like turning off the Location Services and Cellular Data of your smartphone. But then again, these tips need not be followed religiously if you need these features on a daily basis.

​At the end of the day, you will be able to decide which applications to use scarcely and which applications you cannot live without, despite the battery eating tendencies.

Everything You Need To Know About Turning Off iCloud

With the advances of technological, we have found a way to store media, information, and other content “up in the cloud”.  Some of these storage devices are Dropbox, Google Drive, and iCloud. 

The latter being one of the most popular Apple online storage services.  If you own an iPhone, iPad, and a Mac, you probably know how convenient it is to have an iCloud storage. iCloud lets you keep data online and sync all data among multiple Apple products. 

​When you set up your iCloud account, you can access all files that are uploaded, and synced data, anytime anywhere with your Apple devices. 

iCloud has different aspects such as iCloud Drive where you can store information and other media such as iCloud Photo Library where, as its name suggests, it stores your photos online. Photo Stream also works the same way as the Photo Library.  

Despite the convenience offered by the iCloud storage devices, there is also a danger with keeping all your media and other information stored online.  For instance, when someone gets hold of any of your Apple devices, which has iCloud on, then they can easily access and download your data.  Security of your files is the biggest problem of people using an iCloud.  

​ICloud is protected by something called the iCloud lock, which is a security feature found on all Apple devices. In the words of ​Eurodownload.com, "It locks the device as a defence mechanism against people who gain unauthorized access to your device. Whilst this feature is extremely useful for data protection and security, it can be extremely annoying for people who get locked out of their devices inadvertently". This is why so many people look for apps such as the iCloud Remover (which can be downloaded at Euro Download website) to bypass these security measures.

​Even when these security measures are left in tact, there has been glitches, as hackers have found ways to access people’s most private files.  Therefore, if you are planning on turning iCloud off on your Apple devices, then do not fret, we are here to help.  In this article, we will discuss different topics related to iCloud and how to turn it off. 

Note: iOS 11 revamped the Settings app and the iCloud settings can be found in your Apple ID and its own preferences and settings.  The iCloud tab, which was present in older version of iOS, is inexistent now in the iOS 11.

How To Turn Off The iCloud?

First and foremost, here are the steps which will enable you to turn off the iCloud on your devices.

  • 1
    ​Go to the Settings app and look for your profile, which is found at the top of the screen.
  • 2
    ​Once you get to your Apple ID, tap iCloud.
  • 3
    ​Find the switch for the iCloud Drive at the bottom and click it to turn off.

Note: The steps above outline how to turn off the iCloud Drive for your Apple ID. There is a different switch for the iCloud backups of the different applications running on your phone. To switch the latter, here is what you should do:

  • 1
    ​​Go to the iCloud tab as instructed by the steps above.
  • 2
    When you get to the iCloud screen, you will find just above the switch of the iCloud Drive the list of all apps using iCloud.  Turn off the iCloud access by ticking the switch next to the app’s name.  You can individually choose which applications will use iCloud.

Revoking App Access to iCloud

Despite individually turning off iCloud access of apps installed on your devices, there are still applications which can still have access even with the iCloud Drive turned off. 

​These applications are the iMovie and Pages which saves files to iCloud. Unlike other applications, iMovie and Pages are not ones that appear on the Apple ID screen. 

As a rule of thumb, applications that create new files on your devices and those with games that use iCloud.  If you want to deny access to these applications, on the iCloud, you need to turn them off, you have to revoke the access to all. This is also very important when you sell your iPhone to a friend, family or complete stranger. You can also do this wen your sell your iPad.

​Just go to the Settings app, then to the tab of the specific application, and revoke the access of the app.

Moving Files Away From iCloud

If you finally decide to do away with iCloud, after some time of using it, you may want to transfer your uploaded data to a computer as backup.  To do this, you can use an iOS data transfer program of your choice.  ​

​Programs like this can transfer your data from any Apple device to a Mac or even windows PC, some can even do vice versa.  

Read different articles or go to forums which talk about transfer programs.  Choose the one which you think is most useful and applicable for your needs.  Download it, follow the instructions, and transfer away.

Should You Turn Off Your iCloud?

Now that you know how to turn off and revoke iCloud access, and how to transfer files from your iCloud, you may be wondering if it is really worth it to turn off iCloud as it involves tinkering with some of the security settings of your iPhone.

​To help you decide, aside from the features already talked about at the first part of this article, the written features listed below are the pros and cons of using iCloud.

Pros:

  • 1
    ​Backing up your data to the iCloud is very easy to do.  With a simple click of a button, the devices automatically back itself up.  You also can turn WiFi on and backup to store data online as soon as the device is connected to the internet.
  • 2
    ​All your devices are synced.  A good feature of the iCloud is that it is available to all your devices, whether big or small.
  • 3
    ​iCloud is free until you reach a certain size of memory.  If more memory is needed there is an extra charge.  However, the free memory per Apple ID is already substantial.

​Cons:

  • 1
    ​The fear of hackers is not uncommon in online storage.  Apple is definitely a prime target with hackers as it is one of the biggest tech companies worldwide.  With a clientele, consisting of some of the most important people in the world, Apple needs to reassure its users that it is doing its best to safeguard their media and information that is uploaded in the Cloud.
  • 2
    ​Some users are paranoid that Apple employees are able to look into their files.  This hasn't been proven and no incident has been reported yet, but there are still doubts with regard to confidentiality.

Safeguard Your iPhone: Easy To Follow Security Settings For Your iPhone

Apple’s iPhone is one of the most popular smartphones in the world. With a lot of cool features like a slim design, a good camera and a powerful processor. It is no wonder that this smartphone does not come cheap. The iPhone can be packed with a lot of valuable information and media that is private and for your eyes only. That's why being familiar with the different security settings for your iPhone is important.​

It is important that once you get your iPhone running, you have explored and familiarize yourself with all of the security features. If you are not convinced about securing your phone as soon as you get it then these phone security statistics may be able to point you in the right direction.

​The iPhone’s security features can be found in its Settings. The Settings control all the features of the device from ​the wallpaper up to ​the storage.

​The Different Security ​Settings ​For Your iPhone

Your iPhone has a lot of security features that you can utilize. In the following sections, we will be talking about some of the more important features of your iPhone in order to guide you in customizing them.

​Aside from the ​security settings written below, there are also different ​apps available in the App Store which can help you add even more security ​to your ​iPhone. Just make sure to read the fine print before you download them.

Touch ID and ​Password Options

We are all familiar with passwords that needs to be inputted to unlock your iPhone. With iPhones, the lock password is called a Passcode.

Before it used to be a four digit code, but now you can use an alphanumeric code which can be up to 30 letters and numbers! This can make it very hard for thieves to unlock your phone especially when it is protected by a very long and complicated password. That being said, it may still possible for Mobile Phone Forensic Experts to access your phone if they are required to do so for a legal investigation, for example. This means it is important to remember that while your phone may be safe from thieves, there are ways that your mobile information can be accessed if you have used your phone to commit criminal offenses.

The Touch ID is one of the features which separate the old generation iPhones from the newer ones. Touch ID is what Apple calls its fingerprint reader on iPhones. Touch ID and Passcode work hand in hand as the first security barrier on your iPhone because in the event that the Touch ID fails, the iPhone will automatically ask for the Passcode.

​It is important to note that when you get your iPhone screen repaired and it involves replacing the home button, the Touch ID will not longer work. The home button is bonded to the motherboard so changing the home button will remove the ability to use the fingerprint scanner. 

iCloud Activation Lock

One of the tricks to get around the Touch ID & passcode locks is to wipe all data in an iPhone by restoring it. This also prevents the owner from tracking it by using location services and third party applications.

All security settings, information and media stored in the iPhone will be erased which makes it usable for a complete stranger. This is not an issue if you are selling the iPhone or giving it to a friend but does become a problem if your iPhone gets lost or stolen.

Apple has realized this problem and added the Activation Lock feature which asks the for the owners email & password before all data and security settings in the iPhone gets erased. With this feature, the owner of the iPhone must input the account email & password used when setting up the iPhone. Note, it is the iCloud account password and not the iPhone's security passcode that is required.

​It ​is no surprise that this feature has been widely accepted by many. In fact, according to statistics, the ​activation lock has led to a decrease in iPhone theft​ because the feature​ makes it ​harder for the thief ​to use or resell the device.

Restriction on Location Services

Location services are used by your iPhone and third party applications to know where your iPhone is and where you are using it. With location services, your phone can be tracked down by you using a software on your laptop or another device and by law enforcement.

​However, in older iPhones, the location services can be turned off by anyone who has access ​to your ​iPhone. But now, this task is harder since the person who wants to turn off your location services must first input your Passcode.

Lost Mode

This is also one of the security features not found in older generation iPhones which was introduced with iOS 7. This feature enables you to remotely wipe & lock your iPhone. ​This is a particularly handy ​feature when you ​can't find your ​iPhone and you are pretty sure that it might ​fallen into the wrong hands.

But here is the fun part of this feature, you can display a custom message on your iPhone after locking it remotely. It can be as persuasive as “Please give me back my phone.” or as threatening as “If you do not give back my phone, I will call the cops.”

​Last but not the least, ​the lost mode feature will also suspend credit card purchases on the App Store ​& other stores to ensure that the person who ​has your ​iPhone ​can't buy anything using your ​credit card.

How to Make Your iPhone More Secure?

​Now that you know the different security​ settings for your iPhone, here are the steps you need to take to activate them.

Touch ID ​& Passcode

​The Passcode is first set up when you start up your iPhone for the first time. If you want to change the Passcode after its initial set up, then here is what you ​need to do:

  • 1
    ​Click on the Settings icon found on your Home screen, look for Touch ID & Passcode and tap it.
  • 2
    ​Scroll down and tap the Change Passcode button.
  • 3
    ​Enter your old passcode.
  • 4
    Enter your new passcode and then enter it the second time for verification. ​You are all set!

​For Touch ID, note that this feature is only available from the iPhone 5S and ​up. Also, if the iPhone is being used by more than one person​ you can store more than one fingerprint.

  • 1
    ​Repeat the first step indicated above for the passcode, i,e: Settings > Touch ID & Passcode.
  • 2
    ​Enter your passcode, then tap on “Add a Fingerprint”
  • 3
    ​Follow the instructions shown on the screen. Note: You will be required to touch the Home button repeatedly until the iPhone gets a good scan of your fingerprint. Once the iPhone shows that the fingerprints are readable and good to go, then you are all set.
  • 4
    If you need to add multiple fingerprints, then just click on “Add a Fingerprint”. Note: You can rename the fingerprint files to avoid confusion.

General Settings

The General tab is where you can find the different security settings for your iPhone. One of the more useful features you can control here is the restrictions section. Here, you can restrict the access of users or third party applications to certain areas on your iPhone.

​You can also restrict the ability of the user to purchase ​apps. These features are especially useful if the user of the ​iPhone is a child. To access these features, here are the steps​ to follow:

  • 1
    ​Enter Settings and then General.
  • 2
    ​Look for and tap Restrictions and then Enable Restrictions.
  • 3
    ​Input the passcode that will be used in accessing the restrictions. Note: You will enter the passcode again for verification. Afterwards, you are all set. Explore the restrictions area to know about the access and content that you can control.

​Privacy Settings

There are a lot of apps that request access to your personal information and your iPhone’s content. For example, photo editing apps will request to have access to your photos in order to upload them to the editing dashboard.

​Social media ​apps will request access to your contacts in order to look for ​friends ​you can add. ​The good news is that you are in control of how much you ​share ​with these ​apps by managing ​the privacy settings.

  • 1
    ​Go to Settings then Privacy.
  • 2
    ​Tap an item listed there to view the ​apps ​that have requested access to ​your information.
  • 3
    ​If you want, you can turn on or off the access of certain ​apps. Simply tap on them and enable or disable the access.

​Benefits ​Of The iPhone Security Settings

The security setting for your iPhone helps safeguard your personal information, media and any other content from theft. Additionally, these can also help deter thieves from stealing your iPhone since there are features that will render it useless. It also gives the users peace of mind knowing that the sensitive and personal data they have stored in the smartphone is well guarded.

​Lots of people, more recently, have been jailbreaking their iPhones to remove software restrictions imposed by Apple on iOS. This may weaken the security on your device, so just be wary. Just make sure that whatever the reason you have for jailbreaking your phone, it is worth the potential risk. For more information on jailbreaking, head over to ​http://kubadownload.com/, where you can find latest news and tutorials, amongst other things.

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