Echo sound muffled? You’ll know — it’s like your smart speaker is underwater. To fix this, unplug the Echo, wait 30 seconds, then plug it back in. The magic restart trick! Yep, it works.
This cheap tool can help you spot whether a used car has been in an accident
You should know everything about a vehicle before buying it, but sellers don’t make it easy to understand all the necessary information. In fact, some could be trying to hide details so you don’t get the car for a lower price.
You could get a report, like a CARFAX, but there’s something you need to keep in mind about those reports: not all problems appear on them.
That means that if a car was in an accident and there’s unresolved, underlying damage, you’ll be none the wiser. That is unless you use a paint thickness gauge or meter.
What is a paint thickness gauge?
Paint isn’t magnetic, but the metal underneath it is. A paint gauge or meter is used to detect the thickness of paint. It does this by measuring the distance between itself and the magnet. Anything in between is measured and displayed on a screen.
So how does this help you, and why should you opt to purchase one if you’re going to buy a used car?
Why paint thickness meters are important
When a driver gets into an accident and needs to fix the problem, they go to a body shop. Then technicians fix the damage, smooth it out, and spray it down. After they spray it down with paint, the car looks brand new. It seems like it’ll be easy to trick someone.
Paint meters can detect the thickness of paint in microns, which is the automotive manufacturing industry’s standard form of measurement. What you need to know is that 25.4 microns make up one mil.
Your paint meter will likely display your paint thickness in mils, so it’s essential to know. On average, an automotive manufacturer will produce a paint job with an average thickness of 2.5 to 7.5 mils.
So what happens when you use one of these paint meters on a used car? You get the results that the seller was trying to hide.
How to use a paint meter
Own a Mac? Your computer is open to a new flaw with no known fix
Apple devices are renowned for their resistance to viruses, spyware and malware. Much of this claim comes from Apple itself, though the company isn’t as vocal about it anymore.
The thing is that Apple hardware, like your Mac computer, can be infected. But it’s a less common occurrence when compared to PCs. Tap or click here to learn the truth behind the claims.
Can Tesla be saved?
The automaker used to think it couldn’t make mistakes. Now facing big problems, is it too late to fix them?
He’s been schooled: A high school coach used AI against a principal who fired him. With a voice-cloning app, he “recorded” the principal making racist and antisemitic comments and posted it all over social. The clip was exposed as phony. Sure, the bad guy’s in jail, but that won’t fix the good guy’s reputation.
Months after a report outing Eken video doorbells as hackable, a fix is here. Bad guys can access video doorbells that work with the Aiwit app and take control of the device. And with no encryption, your Wi-Fi and IP address could be exposed. Double-check your Aiwit app to make sure you’re up to date. Go to Devices and tap your doorbell name. Look for a firmware number of 2.4.1 or higher.
Waiting game: The wired model of Google’s Nest Doorbell is glitchy. After lots of complaints, it’s finally getting a fix. No confirmation on when, but it’s still good to know, in case you were considering replacing yours.
Get off my PC: The latest Windows 11 update crams ads for apps into the “recommended” section of the Start Menu. Yes, it’s on by default. I’ve got the fix: Go into Settings and select Personalization > Start. Then, toggle off “Show recommendations for tips, app promotions and more.”
Chirp off the old block: Chirp Systems’ app controls smart locks in tons of rental homes. The app’s “hardcoded credentials” could let anyone remotely lock or unlock your door. Chirp says a fix is on the way. Swap out Chirp smart locks with this one from Amazon.
We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.
One woman’s trash is another’s treasure: Don’t shy away from putting older or broken tech on sale on sites like eBay. Plenty of people will take a chance on something they think they can fix or use the parts from, even if you’ve given up on it.
Get it together: Microsoft’s beefing up its Copilot AI chatbot for Excel and Outlook. They say it’ll make life easier for finance pros, but hold the applause. The latest version of Outlook sends unencrypted passwords, emails, contacts, calendar details and even passwords straight to Microsoft’s servers when you add a new email account. No fix yet, so stick to using Outlook’s web version for now, not the desktop client.
AT&T wants to "make it right"
They’ve laid out a plan to fix things after last week’s outage. Let’s check it out.
Uh-oh, your PC’s monitor went blank: Before you hold down the power button, hit Windows + Ctr + Shift + B. This tells your computer, “Hey, the display is messed up. Can you fix it?” In nerd-speak, it refreshes or resets your graphics driver.
Lithium-ion battery replacements are coming
Everyone knows that these kinds of batteries are unpredictable. Here’s why a fix is on the way, in 60 seconds.
Trick to make your phone run fast
Is your phone running at a snail’s pace? Well, in this one-minute podcast, I’ll share a really quick fix that might surprise you.
iPhone and Android annoyances: How to fix the 5 most annoying things for good
Chargers and cord frustration will be over soon
Do you have many different kinds of cords and chargers lying around? It can be hard to find what you need right away. Listen to this one-minute podcast for a useful fix.
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Secret keystrokes for sharing screenshots
Need to share a screenshot, but don’t want to give away any private information? Listen to this one-minute podcast for a quick fix.
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Hard truth about Netfllix
Why has Netflix hit a wall? Listen to this one-minute podcast for a few ways Netflix could fix itself.
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Why we're still getting robocalls after the FCC's fix
Remember the FCC’s robocall crackdowns? Listen now to find out what’s changed — and what has stayed the same.
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