Plain answers to common problems.
Short guides to the things we're asked about most. Try the fix yourself, or hand it over.
Everyday devices
- Email not arriving on your phoneIf your email works on your computer but not your phone, the account is fine. The phone has lost its sign-in.
- Forgot your iPhone or iPad passcodeThere is a way back in, but it erases the device. Whether you lose anything depends on your backup.
- Computer running slowlyA slow computer is usually a full one, a busy one, or an old one. Only the last needs replacing.
- Computer won't turn on, or the screen stays blackMost computers that seem dead aren't. They're out of power, stuck, or showing nothing on a screen that is actually on.
- Printer won't connect or printMost printer problems aren't the printer. They're the connection between it and everything else.
- Camera or microphone not working on a callIt is nearly always a permission or a setting, not a broken camera.
- Finding subscriptions you forgot you hadMost people are paying for at least one thing they no longer use. They are listed in three places.
Around the home
- Wi-Fi that doesn't reach every roomOne router can't cover a large home, and the usual quick fix often makes things worse.
- Wi-Fi keeps dropping, or the internet is slowFirst find out which it is: the Wi-Fi inside your home, or the internet coming into it. They have different fixes.
- TV or streaming box won't connectA television that won't connect is almost always a network problem, not a television problem.
Accounts and safety
- Locked out of your email accountThere is nearly always a way back in. The order you do things in matters.
- Setting up a password managerOne strong password you remember, and a different one for everything else that you never have to.
- A virus warning has taken over the screenIf a warning fills the screen and gives you a phone number to call, it is a scam. Your computer is almost certainly fine.
- Is this email or text real?If a message is urgent, unexpected, and wants you to click or call, assume it isn't real until you've checked another way.
- Think an account has been hackedAct quickly and in order. The email account comes first, because it is the key to all the others.
- Recovering deleted photos or filesDeleted rarely means gone. For about a month, most things are sitting in a folder you can open.
- Backing up your computer properlyA backup you have to remember to run is not a backup. It needs to be automatic, and there need to be two.
- Phone or iCloud storage is fullYour phone and your iCloud account are two separate stores. The fix depends on which one is full.
Changes and one-offs
- Moving everything to a new phoneTransfers mostly work. What gets left behind is the part you'd miss most.
- Wiping a computer or drive before it leaves the houseDeleting files and emptying the trash doesn't remove them. A device needs to be properly erased before it goes to anyone else.
- Repair it or replace itScreens and batteries are usually worth fixing. Most other failures on an older device are not.
- Using your phone abroad without a surprise billSort it out before you leave. The expensive mistakes all happen in the first hour after landing.
- Setting up a child's first iPhone or iPadGive them their own account from the start. Sharing yours is what causes the problems later.
- Setting up a legacy contactTen minutes now decides whether your family can ever reach your photos and documents.
Your own technologist, on call.
Tell us a little about your setup. We'll take it from there.