Holiday Travel

Posted on October 31, 2026October 31, 2026 by Gail Eddy in Smartphone Apps, SmartPhones, Weather

We’re coming up on winter and it’s time for holiday travel for many of us. Here are some of my favorite websites and apps that Chris and I use while traveling.

Holiday Travel by Air:

Google Flight:

When making airline reservations I try to make them one or two months prior to the trip to minimize the cost. I also use Google’s Flight page to price out different times and different airlines. Other things I have heard about, but haven’t tried yet are to make reservations very early (before 6am!) on Tuesday or Wednesday and to use Incognito mode. (Click on the three dots in the upper right corner of your browser.) Some browsers may call it something different, like “private browsing”, but essentially your browsing history won’t be sent to the airline. Airlines use your past browsing history to adjust (i.e. increase) your pricing.

FlightAware:

For airline delays I like FlightAware. They have a site with slick graphics which they’ve aptly named the Misery Map which shows cancellations at many of the US airports. Click on this link if you want to see all of the cancellations and delays from many of the world’s airports. You can customize it to only show the flights in and out of a particular airport, like this screenshot for Denver.

Flight Radar:

To track a particular flight, I use FlightRadar24. I can enter the flight number, the route, or the airline. The app shows the altitude, speed, position, and arrival time for that flight. This is helpful when you are picking someone up at the airport. You can see approximately what time they will arrive and if there are any delays. This lets you time your drive so you won’t be waiting a long time.

Road Trips:

Waze:

I primarily use Waze as my GPS. Not only does it tell me how to get from here to there, it will also update me on road conditions. I’ll know ahead of time if there is debris in the road, if a lane is closed, or if there is a speed trap up ahead. Search the app store to find Waze and then download it. Waze is very helpful for holiday traveling. Waze is owned by Google though, so I am cautious about how much information I share. I always turn it off when I arrive. This way Google can’t keep track of my locations. If I know how to get where I’m going, I might turn Waze on just to find out about traffic hazards, but not enter a destination.

Weather:

Zoom.Earth:

I only recently found out about Zoom.Earth. It tells you the weather for any spot on the globe. Zoom.Earth shows details for hurricanes and other storms. I’ve subscribed ($12/year) which gives me the ability to save favorite places. The graphics are really cool.

Earth :: Wind

Speaking of graphics, the earth.nullschool page is an exquisite work of art. It is one of my favorites, not because it’s great at predicting future weather, but just because it is so pretty!

WeatherWise:

I think WeatherWise gives me good situational awareness of the weather. It show areas of extreme weather like a winter storm watch. There are overlays to add satellite or radar views. You may already be familiar with this site if you’ve ever seen the Ryan Hall Y’All channel on YouTube.

Weather Underground:

My favorite of all the weather websites is Weather Underground. I like it because I have several different weather stations to choose from in my town. In addition to the forecast, Weather Underground tells me what’s happening right now. When you click on the information from a particular station, you can also see if they have a webcam set up. Then you can see the snow and wind for yourself! Those webcams are especially helpful if you’d like to see the weather for holiday travel. You can save several locations, so it’s easy to see what the weather will be before you get there.

Winter Weather Fun:

Holiday Travel to see the Northern Lights/Aurora Borealis:

We tend to see more aurora alerts in the winter than summer. (The air is less humid, and it’s darker longer. More scientific explanation here.) There are two sites I depend on to find out if there will be an aurora sighting nearby on any given night. If you hear something about solar activity, you’ll be more likely to see an aurora. Remember to go to a dark spot for best viewing. I’ve also found that I sometimes can’t see the aurora with the naked eye, but if I look through the camera on my phone, it is amazing!

My Aurora Forecast & Alerts shows me the chance of seeing the aurora in my location. If I have alerts turned on, it will chime (even if I have my phone set to NO Interruptions!) to tell me to look outside. Apple or Google Play.

The NOAA site has a graphic which shows the likelihood of an aurora in a particular place. A green band means “maybe you’ll see something”. A red band in your location means you will probably see an amazing show.

Information about Geek For Hire, Inc.

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has provided computer service to families and small businesses with Macs and PCs for the past twenty-plus years. You can find more on our website or give us a call. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides on-site computer repair service (Tier 3 support) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area and remote PC and Mac service throughout North America.

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More Tips Here:

Protect yourself from Data Breaches
Back To School Tech
Wildfire Season – Keep your tech Safe
Tech Trivia
Find a Lost File
Moving Your Office Tech
Spring Cleaning Your Tech
STEM Toys for kids
I Got Scammed

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Online Learning and the Technology in your Home.

Posted on August 27, 2020June 11, 2024 by Gail Eddy in Internet Service, Laptops, Modems, Router, SmartPhones, Technology Tips, Verizon, WiFi

A few weeks ago a customer called Chris and asked him how his kids would be able to get any schoolwork done given the school district’s movement towards Online Learning. As a single parent who works in an office, he’ll have to bring his children to work. The problem with that is they won’t be able to access the corporate network to connect to the internet. Chris recommended that he get a stand-alone Hot Spot from his cellular company and bring that with him to work.

Another customer called last week. He was concerned his grandkids would have to scrounge for computer time on their mom & dad’s computers to do their school work. He decided to order a new computer for the older grandchild and re-purpose an existing machine for the younger one. This way they’ll both be able to log into their classes individually.

Online Learning at Home

Since Boulder County has decided on 100% at-home learning because of the coronavirus, many parents are struggling with how they can best provide the technology resources their children will need. (In addition to all the other issues they’re dealing with!) Many other school districts all over the US are making the same decision. Parents throughout the country will have similar struggles.

Here are some of our Online Learning Recommendations for Families:

Find out if your cell phone has hot spot capability. If it doesn’t, call your cellular carrier and get it turned on. (After asking about additional costs, of course.) That way if the WiFi in your house goes out, you (or your children) can still have access to WiFi via your cell phone. (You’re generally only allowed to connect one other device to your phone via its hot spot.)
Consider getting a cell phone or separate hot spot from another carrier. That way if your carrier is down, you can still get online. With an independent hot spot, you can connect multiple devices.
Is the WiFi adequate in the area where you’ve set up the desk for your kid to do school work and get online? Consider moving your router for better coverage, or getting a mesh router for greater coverage. Here’s a recent article about fixing your slow WiFi, or this one – Why Doesn’t My WiFi Work?
Keep your laptops plugged in as much as you can. If there’s a power outage, you’ll be glad for those extra hours of “juice”.
You might also consider an Uninterruptible Power Supply. It’s essentially a spare battery that gives you an additional half hour or so of power. If you plug your router and modem directly into the UPS, you’ll have some extra WiFi time, and it’ll give you time to get stuff saved on your desktop.

How can Geek For Hire help you?

If you’ve decided to upgrade your Router or will be adding a new Mesh Router, let us know if you need help setting it up. Definitely call for help if you want to add separate bands for you and other users.
Gail was able to connect her new Verizon Jetpack Hotspot to her phone and tablet without help from Chris. She thought it was relatively straightforward. Connecting to her laptop was another story! Let us know if you need help with that.
Let us know if you’re thinking of getting a new machine. Chris routinely gets 35-50% discounts with Dell, and they’ve got some that are appropriate for your children. (Or get a new one for you and give the kids your hand-me-downs.)

Good luck this semester! In case you’re interested, here’s a link to our Covid19 Policy.

Watch Out For Scams:

Remember to stay well clear of shortened links unless you know without a doubt where that link will take you. That includes most bit.ly and owl.ly links. Here’s a recent article about short links.
Right now there are a lot of scams out there. Read our article about Covid19 scams.

Information about Geek For Hire, Inc.

I’ve created a Free Report to protect you from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has been providing computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PCs for the past eighteen years. Angie’s List and the BBB rate Geek For Hire very highly. You can find more on our website, or give us a call 303-618-0154. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3 support) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area as well as remote service throughout North America.

We’ve been using Amazon Prime for the past few years. We like the free and fast shipping. With Prime, we have access to online streaming too. Prime is usually $119/year, but you can get a free 30-day trial by clicking on this link: Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Found a lost Cell Phone – What should you do next?

Posted on May 28, 2019September 2, 2024 by Gail Eddy in iPhone, SmartPhones, Technology Tips

Do you ever wonder what to do when you find a lost cell phone? You could wait for it to ring and hope it is someone who actually knows the person and is not a sales call. Or you could bring it into the nearest police department and hope for the best. We’ve got some other ideas that are quicker and probably more effective to reunite that lost cell phone. (Plus the cops are busy. They’ll probably just toss in the lost and found box under their admin’s desk!)

First – check for contact information:

Hopefully, they have their phone password protected. (You have a password for your phone, right?!) But the lock screen should have a way to make an emergency call. Click on “Emergency” to see if they have set that up with an emergency contact.
If that doesn’t work, very carefully remove the phone case if they have one. Sometimes people will tape a contact number on the inside of the phone case.

If they don’t have easily accessible contact information, try this next:

Press the “Home” button on the lost cell phone until you activate the phone’s voice assistant.
- Say “Ok Google” for an Android
- “Hey Siri” for an iPhone
- For a Samsung, hold the Bixby button and say “Hey Bixby.
Once it has responded, say “Call Mom” or “Call Dad”.
If the phone is off, it may need to be charged a little before you can make the call.

If none of that works, the next thing to try is to turn that lost cell phone in:

Don’t bring it to the local police department. As I mentioned above, they will probably just toss it into their lost and found box and wait for someone to call looking for it.
Check the phone to see who the carrier is. You should be able to see AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile, etc. Drop it off at the local store. They will be able to figure out whose it is and reunite it with the proper person.

Be a Good Samaritan:

Before you drop it off, give it a full charge. It may be a few hours before the rightful owner can pick it up.

How to set up the Emergency Information on your iPhone:

Click on Settings
Then click on “Emergency SOS”
Then select “Edit Emergency Contacts”
From there you will be able to enter your emergency contact

Share this widely so people know what to do when they find a lost cell phone!

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Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has been providing computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PCs for the past fifteen years. His company is highly rated by both the BBB (Better Business Bureau) and by Angie’s List. You can find more on our website, or give us a call 303-618-0154. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area as well as remote service throughout North America.

Electronic Recycling and Buy Back Programs

Posted on May 20, 2019May 6, 2024 by Gail Eddy in Entertainment, Hard Drive, iPad, iPhone, Laptops, Modems, Printer, Router, SmartPhones, Technology Tips, Tips

UPDATED: 20 May 2019

I received an interesting email the other day from Staples telling me about their recycling program. I always assumed I could walk into any big box store with my old electronics and pay a fee to recycle it. This email told me that I could bring it there for free. That made me start to wonder what other options are out there for our customers, not only to recycle but also, to possibly get a discount on their next purchase. We frequently get calls from folks wondering about electronic recycling. Here’s some helpful info.

If you’re thinking about fixing your older equipment, take a look at this article.

What to do first:

Once you’ve decided to get rid of your older devices, you must remove all of your sensitive data. Delete all of your apps, all of your contacts, your emails, your texts, photos, etc. Many of the Electronic Recycling Programs say that they will do this for you before they sell it to someone else, but why take the chance? (Yes, we can help you with this if you’d like.)

Why do you want to Recycle your Electronic Devices:

Many of the components in our electronic devices are toxic, so it’s really important to make sure they get recycled properly. If you just toss your laptop battery in the trash, many of those toxins will leach right into our water supply!

Electronic Recycling Options:

You have a whole bunch of options for getting rid of your old stuff:

Sell It

Rather than electronic recycling, you can try to sell your old phone, tablet, or computer. (Remove your personal data first!) You could start with eBay or Craig’s List. You can also try buy-back programs at places like Best Buy, Amazon, AT&T, Sprint, Staples, and Apple. You’ll get a little less money for your device, but it’s really easy to do, with much less hassle than finding a buyer, shipping it, etc.

Donate It:

Habitat for Humanity, Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc. But, first of all, remember to remove your personal data!

Give It Away:

Put the item on your local Facebook page, or post it in your local Freecycle group. But, please make sure that you have removed all of your personal data first!

Recycle it Properly:

If you’re not able to sell your equipment or give it away, bring it to an authorized recycling center. Head over to this website and enter your zip code to find the nearest place to you. This is sponsored by DirecTV, but I took a quick look at the recycling centers in my area. It seems like they take more than just TVs. Expect to pay anywhere from $5-$50 to recycle your equipment.

What to do first – Yes, the very first thing you do!

Before you sell, give away, or donate your equipment, remove your personal data!

(Originally posted on 6 November 2018.)

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iPhone Shortcuts and Tips

Posted on November 13, 2018April 29, 2024 by Gail Eddy in iPhone, SmartPhones, Technology Tips, Tips

The other day I was watching a friend use her iPhone and I was surprised that she didn’t know a few iPhone Shortcuts and tips that I take for granted! I showed her some of these tips, and thought, well maybe she’s not the only one who doesn’t know about them.

iPhone Shortcuts Scenario 1:

You’re texting with a friend and decide it might be easier to have a verbal conversation. You might switch from the texting app to the phone app, look up the contact, and then press the call button.

OR…

You can tap the little round button with their photo or initials, and then tap “Audio” or “Facetime”.

iPhone Shortcuts Scenario #2

You’re reviewing your email, and you’ve received an email with a link. You tap the link and it opens up in Safari. When you’re done reviewing the page, you close Safari and reopen your Mail app to continue reviewing emails.

OR…

You look at the top left corner where it says Mail, and you tap that to quickly return.

iPhone Shortcuts Scenario #3

You want to take a photo so you turn on your phone, find the Camera App, and open it up.

OR…

From the lock screen, you quickly swipe from right to left which automatically opens the camera app

iPhone Shortcuts Scenario #4

Your coffee is brewing and you want to quickly set a timer. You open the Clock App, select Timer, and then set the timer for your perfect brew.

OR…

You swipe up from the bottom and select the little timer icon and very quickly set the proper amount of time.

iPhone Shortcuts Scenario #5

You’ve been in a meeting and want to see what notifications you’ve missed while you were out of touch. You open each app separately to see what emails, phone calls, texts, and other messages you’ve received.

OR…

You swipe down from the top of your screen to see all of your notifications at once.

iPhone Shortcuts from the Swipe Up (Control Center) screen

You have a slew of options for quick access from the Swipe Up screen.

Turn Bluetooth, WiFi, Airplane mode, and Cellular Data on and off
Restart or pause your music
Adjust the volume
Adjust screen brightness
Lock the screen so that it won’t turn sideways unexpectedly
Turn on your flashlight
Open your calculator
Take a photo
Click the little moon so that your phone is in “Do Not Disturb” mode

(By the way, you can customize what appears here from Settings. Click on “settings”, then “Control Center”, then “Customize Controls”.

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We’ve been using Amazon Prime for the past few years. We like the free 2-3 day shipping and online streaming. I haven’t tried the Kindle lending library yet. I’ll try that next! Prime is normally $119/year, but you can try it for 30 days for free by clicking on this link: Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial (Yes, we’ll get a small commission when you sign up.)

Screen Time – How much time do I spend playing games on my phone?!

Posted on October 23, 2018May 2, 2024 by Gail Eddy in iPad, iPhone, Smartphone Apps, SmartPhones, Tips

Several months ago, I checked out the beta version of the newest Operating System for my iPhone. (Check out my blog on the subject.) I did this primarily because I had heard about Screen Time, a new app that helps you track the amount of time you are spending on your Apple devices. I only signed up for the trial on my iPad because, if they were to release a beta OS that crashed the system, I didn’t want to be without my phone.

Although Screen Time says "Gail's iPhone", it's really data from both my phone and tablet. — Although Screen Time says “Gail’s iPhone,” it has combined actual data from both my phone and my tablet.

Well, now that they’ve fully tested the software and released it to the public, I’ve installed it on my phone and updated my tablet. (By the way, I’m using iOS 12.0.1 on my iPhone and 12.1 on the iPad.) So, now there’s no getting around it. I spend a LOT of time on my devices, playing games, and checking social media. But, I’m also happy to see that I actually do spend more time reading, researching, and other productive activities. (Check out the Screen Time gray bar.)

What do the different colors mean?

There are several different colors on the Screen Time app that indicates where you are spending your time. The first several colors are where you are spending the most time. For me, dark blue indicates the time I spend playing games, light blue indicates Social Media, Orange is Health & Fitness, and the grey bar on Screen Time generally indicates “Other.”

When I did a quick search on Google to find out what all the different colors mean, I was surprised at how many people searched for the “Screentime grey bar” and “What does the Screentime gray bar mean?” It seems to always indicate “OTHER” and not the top three categories.

I also played around with it a little. Yesterday I opened the Kindle app on my phone and left it up for several hours. Sure enough, the “Information & Reading” category turned dark blue.

Screen Time tells me how often I…

The App also tells me how many times I pick up my phone (54 times a day) and how many notifications I get (71 per day).

How to install Screen Time:

Screen Time is easy to activate and use once you’ve upgraded to the newest iOS. Go to Settings, and scroll down about one screen until you see Screen Time. Click on Screen Time, then “Turn on Screen Time.” Read the introduction, then click on “Continue.” Next, it will ask if this phone is yours or for a child. It will allow you to set up a downtime for the phone, time limits for specific apps, and other permissions. (You may also notice that I have a VPN activated on my phone. Here’s my blog about that subject.)

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INFORMATION ABOUT GEEK FOR HIRE, INC.

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has provided computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PCs for the past eighteen years. Angie’s List and the BBB rate Geek For Hire very highly. You can find more on our website or give us a call at 303-618-0154. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3 support) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area and remote service throughout North America.

Here’s a link to our Covid19 Policy.

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Secure Texting with the Signal App

Posted on August 28, 2018April 29, 2024 by Gail Eddy in iPhone, Security, SmartPhones, Tips

I know I’m a little behind the times, but I just found out about Signal, a secure texting app that provides a higher level of data encryption than any of the other texting apps out there. I’ve been looking for something different ever since I found out that Facebook acquired WhatsApp. (And, again, a little behind the times since Facebook acquired WhatsApp in 2014!) But, then again, even the founder of WhatsApp thinks that it is time to dump Facebook as this tweet reflects from earlier in the year.

What’s wrong with WhatsApp? I thought it had secure texting:

And, while WhatsApp says it provides secure texting, it is still owned by Facebook. From the WhatsApp website:

“WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption is available when you and the people you message use our app. Many messaging apps only encrypt messages between you and them, but WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption ensures only you and the person you’re communicating with can read what is sent, and nobody in between, not even WhatsApp.”

And, in my view, a for-profit company known to sell private data to the highest bidder is not on my “to be trusted” list.

Why is Signal better:

When I found out about Signal a few weeks ago I downloaded it right away. I was surprised to see who of my contacts are already using Signal. Even some of my family are on that list! Signal is a secure texting messaging app. It is free for the download from iTunes (you’ll need iOS 9.0 or later), or the Google Play Store (you’ll need Android 4.0 and up). Because it provides end-to-end encryption no one can view the messages you send except you and the recipient.

From the Signal website:

“Signal messages and calls are always end-to-end encrypted and painstakingly engineered to keep your communication safe. We can’t read your messages or see your calls, and no one else can either.”

“Signal has never taken VC funding or sought investment, because we felt that putting profit first would be incompatible with building a sustainable project that put users first.”

In addition to secure texting, you can also use Signal for phone calls and video chat.

Here’s what Mashable has to say:

“By allowing you to have truly private conversations, Signal changes that equation. Why is this so important? This year, perhaps more than ever, we’ve seen just how asleep at the wheel tech giants are when it comes to nefarious actors using their platforms to sow discord and incite violence. Taking your conversations, and, by extension, valuable data about your so-called social graph off those platforms is one way to fight this.”

And more from Wired about secure texting:

“There’s one messaging app we should all be using: Signal. It has strong encryption, it’s free, it works on every mobile platform, and the developers are committed to keeping it simple and fast by not mucking up the experience with ads, web-tracking, stickers, or animated poop emoji.”

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Information about Geek For Hire, Inc.

I’ve created a Free Report to protect you from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has been providing computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PCs for the past eighteen years. Angie’s List and the BBB rate Geek For Hire very highly. You can find more on our website, or give us a call 303-618-0154. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area as well as remote service throughout North America.

Secure WiFi on Vacation

Posted on August 7, 2018January 13, 2025 by Gail Eddy in iPhone, Security, SmartPhones, Tips

Growing up with a Dad who was a psychiatrist, August was always the month for vacations. (As I got older I used to worry about his patients who were left alone for an entire month!) There are some things you can do to make sure you have secure WiFi wherever you are in the world. The most important is keeping your WiFi use safe and secure.

Here are some steps to take before and during your vacation:

Set up a throwaway email before you leave. While you are gone, you will be asked numerous times for your email address. Lots of times, they just won’t take “no” for an answer. Head over to Google’s Gmail sign up page for a new (free) account. Remember the password, and be sure you set up auto-forwarding to your main email address. You’ll want your smartphone to be able to receive any access codes that may be sent.
When you’re going for free WiFi, try to use well-known companies. For example, Starbucks or the Hilton are well known for their secure WiFi and aren’t likely to steal your info for nefarious use.
Whatever you do, don’t try to connect to WiFi with names like “TellMy WiFi LuvHer”, or “FBI Surveillance Van” or “Hacker 547”. (Yes, I’ve seen all of those.) Remember the old adage – “If it’s free, YOU are the product”. Think about what they might be getting out of the transaction to provide you with free WiFi.
Sometimes the rest stops on the Interstate highways will have free secure WiFi, but only if you provide them with your email address and zip code. This is where that new throw-away email comes in handy. If they do ask for your name and zip, remember that you don’t have to give them your real info.

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I’ve created a Free Report to protect you from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has been providing computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PCs for the past eighteen years. Angie’s List and the BBB rate Geek For Hire very highly. You can find more on our website, or give us a call 303-618-0154. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area as well as remote service throughout North America.

5 Easy Steps To Delete Browsing History On Your iPhone

Posted on July 31, 2018April 29, 2024 by Gail Eddy in Computer History, iPhone, Security, SmartPhones, Tips

Do you know how we always tell you to delete the history on your web browser on your computer? Well, you need to delete browsing history on your smartphone too. It helps speed up your interactions with the servers. But it also helps keep your data more secure too, since it deletes any installed cookies as well as your entire history.

If anyone is able to hack into your phone they may be able to gain access to your login information for any number of websites. It may also help to make you look like a new user to websites that track the number of times you’ve visited. You’ve gotten that message – “You’ve logged on ten times for free. Subscribe now!” I don’t know about you, but I would prefer not to provide my email address to another sales organization and an easy way around that error message is to delete browsing history.

It is really very easy to delete your history. Just follow these 5 steps.

5 Easy Steps to Delete Browsing History on your iPhone

Open up your Settings
Click on “Safari”
Scroll almost all the way to the bottom of the page
Click on “Clear History and Website Data”
Confirm that you truly want to delete browsing history. It really will delete all of the open web pages on your iPhone. This means that every page you’ve opened in your iPhone’s browser will be gone! This was a surprise to me because I tend to save my open tabs so I can reference them again. If there are tabs that you have open on your phone that you would like to keep, it’s best to save them first, then wipe the history!

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Information about Geek For Hire, Inc.

I’ve created a Free Report to protect you from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has been providing computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PCs for the past eighteen years. Angie’s List and the BBB rate Geek For Hire very highly. You can find more on our website, or give us a call 303-618-0154. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area as well as remote service throughout North America.

Your New iPhone: How to Set it Up For Ease and Security

Posted on January 2, 2018January 13, 2025 by Gail Eddy in iPhone, Privacy, Security, SmartPhones, Tips

Did you get a brand new iPhone over the holidays? There are some things you should do right away to make sure it stays secure and you keep being happy with it. Even if you’ve had your phone for several months, make sure you’ve taken care of these.

Lock down your new iPhone:

First – you want to make sure your new iPhone can be locked down. Go to “Settings”, and scroll down to “Touch (or Face) ID and Passcode”. If you’ve already set up a passcode, you’ll need to enter it before continuing to these options. Decide if you want to use the Touch or Face ID, or if you just want to use a passcode. If you do want to use a passcode, we recommend that you select one that is more than four digits. You can select a custom alph-numeric code, or a custom numeric code.

Fine Tune Location Settings:

You’ll also want to lock down your Location settings. Click on “Settings”, and then “Privacy”. You can see which Apps get location data and turn off the ones that don’t really need to know where you are located.

Set up Siri:

When I’m on a road trip, I turn on “Hey Siri”. This allows me to have hands-free interaction with my iphone. To turn this on, click on “Settings”, and then “Siri & Search”. Slide the button to “on” to allow for Siri to listen. You can also select a language and voice for Siri on this screen.

Sharing Analytics:

Decide if you want to share analytics from your iPhone with Apple. Apple collects usage data and location information. To turn this off click on “Settings”, and then “Privacy”. Scroll to the bottom and click on “Analytics”. Make sure the button is turned off.

Targeted Ads:

Opt out of receiving targeted ads. Click on “Settings”, “Privacy”. Scroll to the bottom and click on “Advertising”. Slide the green button On to Limit Ad Tracking.

Save Your Photos!

This is a good time to decide what to do with your photos. Do you have a plan in place for saving them off of your phone? I have set up Dropbox to save my photos onto the cloud every day.

Add Shortcuts for Favorite Websites:

Do you have websites that you go to frequently? You can add them as an icon on your new iPhone screen by clicking on the up arrow at the bottom of your Safari screen. Slide the bottom row of options over until you see “Add to Home Screen”. Click on that, personalize the text, and then click “Add”.

What do you do to set up your new iPhone? Share in the comments below!

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has been providing computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PC’s for the past fifteen years. His company is highly rated by both the BBB (Better Business Bureau) and by Angie’s List. You can find more on our website, or give us a call 303-618-0154. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area as well as remote service throughout North America.

We’ve been using Amazon Prime for the past few years. We like the free 2-3 day shipping and the online streaming. I haven’t tried the Kindle lending library yet. I’ll try that next! Prime is normally $99/year, but you can try it for 30 day for free by clicking on this link: Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial (Yes, we’ll get a small commission if you sign up.)