As reported on Wired.
- BY ROBERTO BALDWIN
Thanksgiving, 1942. Image: Library of Congress
Maybe it’s your mom and/or dad. Maybe it’s a sibling or a grandparent. Or maybe it’s just that one friend who still uses a Motorola Razr from the early 2000s. Whoever it is, there’s a high probability you’ll be devoting some time to fixing their gadgets and answering a backlog of questions this holiday season.
The WIRED staff feels your pain. Covering technology for a living means there are pretty high expectations when it comes to finding lost downloads and answering a year’s worth of questions about Apple, Google, Xbox, and Netflix — often before even putting our suitcases down. Our pain (Fine. It’s not really a pain. We love our families.) is your gain. We’ve assembled some of the most frequently asked questions below to help you quickly navigate these tech-related queries:
Fix my printer.
Why is my Facebook stuff all public?
Is there a way to get lots of pictures off my phone without clicking them one at a time?
What exactly is Twitter?
How to buy music on iTunes and then get it to your phone?
Should I buy the new iPhone?
My Netflix looks fuzzy, can you fix it?
I bought a universal remote and only half the buttons work.
We’re going to Cabo for New Years. How do I do the thing where my phone bill doesn’t get huge?
Please fix my router/network.
I forgot my password. Again.
Please hook up my Roku or Apple TV.
Please set up a “simple” website for me.
Internet Explorer keeps randomly closing.
Why is my computer so slow?
I want to update my computer, but I don’t want to lose all my files or make my apps not work.
How do I get books on my Kindle?
Why do all my smartphone photos look horrible?
Fix my printer.
Ah, the printer. Is there a more evil and infuriating piece of hardware in any home? They jam, they need adjusting even though you haven’t printed anything in months, and ink is apparently a rare substance mined in faraway lands worthy of fetching $20 a drop. It’s no wonder everyone has problems with these horrid beasts. For jamming issues, the best you can do is remind them not to push already printed on paper through the machine. Use new paper that’s been stored flat. Also, if the printer is in a humid environment, unless they print over 500 pages every month, only buy one ream at a time. The moisture in the air warps the paper.
On the actual printing front, print dialogue boxes are notoriously confusing. In some instances, the landscape and portrait features show up in to different areas. Sometimes they’ll print 50 pages of a document when they only need one copy of page three. If general printing issues continually plague your family members, set up Google Cloud Print to print to a designated printer from anywhere. Set it up and log in with your computer. Now your family can just send you the file and tell you what they want printed. It seems like a pain, but it’s better than getting sucked into another print dialogue-box tech-support call.
Why is my Facebook stuff all public?
Inform your family that unlike most tech companies, Facebook actually makes money. But in order to make that money it wants you and everyone else on Facebook to scroll and click and generally never leave Facebook so they can serve you ads. If you hide yourself away and people can’t find you, when you do share an update, fewer eyeballs will see how awesome your life is. Fewer connections means fewer clicks. Fewer clicks means fewer ads being shown. Fewer ads means less money.
Then again, Facebook has tons of money. So why share everything? While you can no longer hide your account from searches, you can target your posts with Lists. File away friends, family, and acquaintances into separate Lists.
After you create a new post, you’ll notice a button that you can use to determine who sees it (it’s to the left of the Post button). Show your confused relative how you can set it to friends, family, or any List that they want to see the post. The next time they post a status, it will be already be set to the last List they picked.
Is there a way to get lots of pictures off my phone without clicking them one at a time?
If you have an iPhone, you can use iPhoto for OS X and Photo Gallery for Windows. Both will let you download all your photos to you computer and give you the option to delete photos already downloaded. For Android, use Image Capture on the Mac. The phone will show up in the left sidebar, and you can pick and choose which photos to import and which to delete. You can also set Image capture to load every time you plug in the phone. In the lower left hand corner, under the “Connecting this [device name] Opens” drop-down select Image Capture as the app to launch. If the drop-down is missing, just click on the tiny triangle to make it appear.
For Android on Windows, use Photo Gallery for Windows. But be aware that you may be presented with every image on the device. Find the folder named DCIM. That should have all your camera photos.
If your family member would rather not plug in their smartphone, a Dropbox account is also a great way to get photos on your computer. Sign up for an account, put it on their computer and phone and set up photo syncing. Launch Dropbox on the smartphone when you want to sync new photos and the app will take care of the rest. That’s it.
What exactly is Twitter?
Twitter is a micro-blogging service that doubles as a messaging service. It’s more than what you had for lunch. It’s been used to break news, share ideas, and connect with individuals. And of course share what you had for lunch.
How to buy music on iTunes and then get it to your phone?
You can set the iPhone to automatically download new music no matter what device was used to purchase said music. Head to Settings > iTunes & App Store. Head down to Automatic Downloads and turn on Music. You can also set up auto downloads of books, apps, and app updates.
Should I buy the new iPhone?
If your current phone does everything you want it to do, then don’t upgrade. If it’s held together with tape, it’s probably time to replace your phone. Almost all carriers will have Black Friday deals for the new iPhone and Android phones. If your family member is in the market for either of those, we recommend the iPhone 5s, HTC One, and Moto X.
My Netflix looks fuzzy, can you fix it?
Check your family’s broadband connection with a speed test. If it’s painfully slow (under the 3 Mbps Netflix recommends for DVD quality) see if their plan actually supports quicker speeds. If it does, do the old unplug and replug the router trick. This usually solves most broadband speed issues.
If the speed test indicates adequate data flow into the house, it’s an internal issue. Check to see if there are 30 items leeching off the same Wi-Fi connection. That’s definitely going to affect the quality of Netflix. If their set-top box and Wi-Fi Router support 5Ghz, create a separate network just for the set-top box. If that’s not the case, it’s probably time to run an ethernet cable from the router to the streamer. It won’t be pretty, but at least Duck Dynasty will come in crystal clear.
I bought a universal remote and only half the buttons work.
That universal remote you bought your family last Christmas was supposed to make controlling the home theatre easier. Yeah, it didn’t work out that way. Usually the main issue is that people stop the setup after entering the first code that works with the volume and mute. If other functions don’t work, it usually means you’ll have to jump back into the setup and try some other codes.
After assigning additional codes to the universal remote, test it out. If the functions your family wants still don’t work, try another code. It’s tedious work. But if it means you won’t get any more phone calls about not being able to hear Downton Abbey at 11 p.m., it’ll be worth it.
We’re going to Cabo for New Years. How do I do the thing where my phone bill doesn’t get huge?
Even your less-than-tech-savvy family members know that a trip abroad with their phone could end with a huge roaming bill. While putting a phone in airplane mode will keep your phone from pinging international cellphone towers, the best course of action is to pull the SIM. If a phone pings a tower in another country there’s a chance your carrier will forward all your calls and texts overseas and start charging you ridiculous roaming charges.
The iPhone SIM slot on the right side of the phone can be accessed with a paperclip. Just shove a paperclip in the tiny hole and the SIM tray pops out. Most Android phones with removable batteries stash the SIM card either under or near the battery. Once it’s out, put the SIM in an envelope and store it in a safe place. Instruct your parents to do this before they land at their destination.
If you’re a T-Mobile customer, you can get unlimited data (2G) and text while in over 100 select countries. Phone calls will still cost you extra, but when’s the last time you made a phone call?
Please fix my router/network.
Unplug it and plug it back in.
If that doesn’t work check to see if someone has gone in and started mucking around with the “advanced” features of the router. It doesn’t help that companies seems to think it’s a good idea to give every router feature its own proprietary name. Sometimes the best bet is to ask the family member what they want the router to do and then reset it to its factory default.
Setting up a router from scratch is actually easier and quicker than trying to troubleshoot a mess. This also gives you the opportunity to set up a better password than your family member’s home address. Be sure to take note of that password, however. It will be forgotten.
I forgot my password. Again.
After reading about a particular journalist getting hacked, everyone decided to change their passwords. Of course remembering all those passwords creates a whole new set of problems. You have two options.
You could set up your family member with a password wrangling tool like 1Password or LastPass. Both managers store multiple login information and sync that information over multiple devices and operating systems. Just come up with a single, hard to crack, password. Preferably a string of random words instead of just a single word where you replace the “I” with a “1.”
If your family members are scared of the idea of an application holding on to all their passwords, there’s the old school (and much less secure) method of changing all the passwords and printing them all out on a piece of paper. Store their list in a safe or lockbox and make a copy for yourself. Now when they call because they can’t find the key to their safe, you can still sign them into their email.
Please hook up my Roku or Apple TV.
If your parents hooked up a VCR in the 1980s, an over-the-top streamer like the Apple TV or Roku should be pretty simple for them. Unfortunately, new technology has a way of intimidating even the smartest family members.
Before you dive into the set-top box world, get a list of all the streaming services with username and password information. Also make sure there’s nothing on the TV that anyone wants to watch for the next hour. To speed up all that text entry, the Apple TV supports Bluetooth keyboards. The apps for the Roku and Apple TV also have keyboards that should make setting up all those services a little easier.
Please set up a “simple” website for me.
There are two types of websites your family wants from you. The one where they post photos of their garden or trip to the Bahamas. The other is a site for a business. Both will be updated exactly twice after you leave.
Put them both on Tumblr. It’s quick to set up and easy to use. Plus, they won’t have to pay a monthly fee for a hosted site. Also, Tumblr supports vanity URLs. Pick an appropriate theme and add the important information. Be sure to make yourself an admin so you can fix things when they go horribly wrong.
If the family with the business page really wants a professional website send them to SquareSpace. The site takes care of almost everything they would need for a business site. Domain registration, hosting, and drag and drop design. If the family member still wants real “professional” site, tell them to hire an actual professional. Then walk away and enjoy some pumpkin pie.
Internet Explorer keeps randomly closing.
Two of the worst things to come out of the internet are Internet Explorer and Flash. There are still a few places where you have to deal with Flash. But Internet Explorer is completely opt in. Unfortunately, your family may be unaware that there are other options. The first thing you need to do is fire up the world’s worst browser and use it to download Chrome.
Now replace the alias/shortcut on your family member’s desktop with one for Chrome. Do you best to remove or replace any shortcuts for Internet Explorer with Chrome. Now here’s the tough part, sit your family down and explain that Internet Explorer is gone. It’s living on a farm with a nice family.
Why is my computer so slow?
It’s like asking why you don’t call anymore. There are so many reasons. But unlike your sad excuses for not calling your family, the slow computer is a real problem. Here are few of the situations that would cause a computer to slow to a crawl:
Nearly full hard drive: Once a computer has less than 1GB of storage, it struggles to keep apps open and perform even rudimentary functions. The computer is trying to allocate cache from applications to the free space on your computer. When there is no free space, apps stop responding and everything grinds to a halt. To free up some space, check the download folder of the computer’s browser. It’s usually filled with installers, images, and other storage hungry files that no one uses.
If you’re still running into problems with space, see how much storage their media is using. It may be time to invest in an external drive just for music, photos, and videos.
Spyware, Malware, Viruses, etc: Someone downloaded something horrible onto the computer. No one will take responsibility. But now the computer is a train wreck, full of pop ups and browser extensions that insist you visit adult sites. First, download Microsoft’s security scanner. The site will determine which version of the software you need depending on your version of Windows. Fire it up and let it clean all the bad away.
It’s also a good idea to update the OS on the computer to the latest version too. The updates contain the latest security patches for the operating system. Also, call your family more often.
I want to update my computer, but I don’t want to lose all my files or make my apps not work.
First inform your family how important backup is to the well being of their files. They should already be backing up on a regular basis. If not, get them an external hard drive and set that up. If they have a Mac, just use the built-in Time Machine feature. For Windows users, fire up the Windows Backup wizard for Windows 7 and File History for Windows 8. Both will automatically back up your family’s computer on a regular basis and offer restore capabilities when a hard drive fails.
It’ll take a while for those files to backup for the first time. Go eat some turkey and have another scotch.
Now that the computer is backed up, tell your family it’s safe to update their computer at any time as long as they continue to back up their files on a regular basis. Now if anything goes wrong, they can restore all their old files onto their updated computer.
For apps, you’ll need to check to see if they work with the latest operating system. It’s tedious work. Find out which apps your family actually uses and check those. Get rid of the rest.
How do I get books on my Kindle?
Someone got your dad a Kindle last year. So far he’s read one book because they never informed him that he needs to connect it to an Amazon account. Inform your dad or other family member that the Kindle is part of the Amazon ecosystem. This is especially helpful if the family member in question is more comfortable making purchases on the computer than with a black and white e-reader.
Direct them to the Kindle store for the latest books available on the platform. This is a good opportunity to show them all the free e-books available from Amazon, Project Guttenberg, and Internet Archive. Amazon has a free e-books collection page with links to all these resources.
Why do all my smartphone photos look horrible?
Smartphone cameras continue to improve and eat away at the point-and-shoot category. And it’s that point-and-shoot world, coupled with the dying world of film, that may be responsible for some of your older family members posting out of focus photos to Facebook.
In the land before digital photos, you got 36 chances to take a photo. Unless you were a professional photographer, there’s no way you were going to bracket (take multiple photos of the same scene) your shots. Plus, most older point-and-shoot cameras had no way to focus. As long as the subject was at least 5 feet away, they were in focus. That lack of adjustable focus and limited shot behavior may account for all the fuzzy selfies your aunt keeps sending you.
Sit your family members down and explain that they can take more than one photo of a subject. Take two, three, 10 photos until you get it right. Also teach them how to focus. On the iPhone and most Android phones, show them how to tap on a subject to adjust the focus and exposure. On the Moto X, you tap to focus and once focus has been obtained, the camera automatically takes a picture.
Practice makes perfect and with digital, you can practice as much as you want with very few consequences. Just show them how to throw away the bad photos so they don’t fill their phones with hundreds of out-of-focus photos of cats.