Some people may not be on intimate terms with their Mac keyboard. The buttons do a lot more than simply type letters and numbers onto the screen, or move the cursor around. With certain key combinations, there are many opportunities to perform steps that would otherwise have to be accessed from a menu.

Special Keys of a Mac Keyboard

Whether it is built-in like on a laptop or arrives with a desktop, Mac always uses a traditional QWERTY keyboard layout in the United States. The function keys or F keys make the Mac perform tricks. They can make the Mac screen brighter and the sound louder. Near the bottom of the keyboard, next to the space bar, are modifier keys. When pressed, the modifier keys change the behavior of other keys that are pressed at the same time. When using one modifier key with another key, you can issue a keyboard shortcut.

Classic Layout

On the Macbook Pro of today, the FN key is on the bottom row. On older keyboards it may not be present. When pressing the FN key and pushing one of the top keys on the board, specific operations can be achieved by default. If you press the F12 key by itself, audio volume amplifies. Press FN together with F12 on a Mac with Mountain Lion and the display shifts to the Dashboard environment.

The Versitility of a Command Key

Appearing to the right and left of the space bar is the Command key. If used frequently, it can save the user lots of time. For instance, when saving a document, instead of going to the File menu, you can just press Command+S. Or, when quitting the document, you can press Command+Q.

The Control key is mainly used to call up contextual menus. Windows users recognize these as menus that appear when you right-click. On a Mac, nothing happens with the right-click, you must hold down the Control key and right-click to get the menu commands. To get rid of it, click outside of it and do not hold down the Control key.

Option Keys

An Option key is to the right of the Control key. Pressing the Option key causes optional or alternative actions to happen. These common key commands are used with most all applications.

Like all great products, the reality of repair and sometimes replacement is inevitable. If your Mac keyboard ever experiences problems with its functionality and is in need of computer repair services, pros at iFixYouri can help restore your Mac back to its former glory.

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Protecting Yourself from a Virus on Your Android Phone

December 16, 2012 Staff 1 Comment

Many people think that computers (desktops, laptops, tablets, and notebooks) are the only devices susceptible to virus attacks. However, you can also get a virus on your Android phone since it functions as a computer as well. You can use it to browse the web, download software, store data, and contract a virus.

How Is A Virus On Your Android Phone Possible?

The Android phone requires an operating system to work, known as Android. This software allows the user to use the phone as a computer. It comes with its own applications for web browsing, downloading, etc. Whenever you access the Internet and click on links, you may accidentally download viruses.

Download links are not the only method viruses are spread. Some of them are embedded in trial software installed on an Android phone. The viruses are designed to copy themselves onto your phone during the installation process. You may also get infected with viruses when you copy files from other phones. Remember that an infected phone poses a threat to other phones.

Getting Protection

Viruses and other types of Malware can alter, corrupt, and delete important data on your phone. However, if a spyware gets installed on the device, someone can steal confidential data. Hence, you should be very careful when accessing the Internet.

Your first line of defense against a virus attack is an antivirus (AV) software. Find recommended AV software and install it on your unit. It usually detects viruses in real time and can be used to scan for malicious programs at any time.

If you access the Internet, download applications, and share files regularly, you should get a paid antivirus service. Free AV applications are usually not as effective. Understand that new viruses pop up almost everyday. If you use a free application, you may not get the latest virus definition updates.

In order to prevent the installation of spyware on your phone, always download applications from trusted sites. Free trial applications often contain programs that gather data from users. This can be a real problem if any confidential data is stolen from your unit.

Getting Rid Of A Virus On An Android Phone

Although AV programs are designed to detect viruses, they are not 100% reliable on the removal process. Some viruses are just too hard to delete. As long as these malicious codes stay on your phone, they can continue to inflict damage on files, and may even cause the phone to stop working. So how do you deal with viruses that cannot be removed by the installed AV?

If you are not an expert in removing virus on Android phone, it is best not to attempt to remove the malicious software manually. Do not follow vague virus removal instructions found on Internet blogs or you may end up causing more damage than good. Instead, get expert phone repair service such as iFixYouri to take a proper look at what the potential virus may be.

Tips

Get Rid Of iPhone 4 Reception Problems Once and for All

December 15, 2012 Staff 2 Comments

The launch of iPhone 4 in 2010 created a buzz all over the internet as mobile phone users yearned to own the new technology. However, just like other products in the market, this phone was reviewed and tested by consumers – many people experienced problems with its signal. This mostly happened when the users placed their fingers or hand over the antenna on the left side of the phone, thus affecting the network coverage. iPhone 4 reception problems were serious, especially for people living in areas with low network coverage.

For people living in areas with higher network coverage, they only complained of a low network bar whenever their hands or fingers covered the antenna area. If you have been experiencing these reception problems, then you do not have to worry anymore because this issue can be fixed by following simple guidelines.

How to Get Rid of iPhone 4 Reception Problems

If your iPhone has reception problems, you shouldn’t throw it away and buy a new one, rather, you should get it fixed. There are several ways of fixing iPhone 4 reception problems. Listed below are some of them.

1) Buying an External Case

An external case is recommended because it acts as a protection for the phone while preventing your bare skin from touching the antenna. Apple sells these cases but a variety of options can be found in almost any mall or electronic store.

2) Balancing Your Hand

According to research, the majority of people experiencing this reception problem normally use their left hands to hold the iPhone. It is recommended that you use your right hand whenever you hold the device. This is obviously a greater challenge for left-handed people.

3) Using Tape

This sounds odd but most consumers who have tried this method accept the fact that it really helps in solving the reception problems. Apply a piece of tape at the bottom left corner of the iPhone. You can use gaffer’s tape to make the phone look elegant and also prevent the possibility of leaving behind a sticky mess.

Other Ways of Getting Rid of iPhone 4 Reception Problems

If the methods above don’t work, or you’re looking for more options, read on.

Remove the SIM Card

This problem can also be solved by simply removing the SIM card and reinstating it again. However, generally users don’t prefer this method because it is tiresome and irritating when the device is opened and closed frequently. Some people also claim that they lose their phone’s settings when they remove the SIM card.

Washing Hands Before Handling an iPhone

Some engineers also claim that washing hands before handling the iPhone helps prevent the reception problems. They claim that hand washing removes the natural electrolytes from your hand. This prevents the loss of signal when you hold the phone.

Some IT students also carried out research about the unique ways of getting rid of iPhone 4 reception problems. It was discovered that wearing latex gloves is a possible solution, though not so many people are comfortable with wearing them every time they handle this device.

Simply get the iPhone 4 Repaired

Some of these methods might work and some might not work. If you want to really get rid of iPhone 4 reception problems, you should ship it to a company that specializes in repairing iPhones, like iFixYouri. We will fix the iPhone 4 reception problems and ship it back to you.

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Is it Possible to Fix Water Damaged iPhones Completely Submerged in Water?

December 14, 2012 Staff 1 Comment

Is it possible to fix water damaged iPhones? Contrary to what many people believe, repair can succeed, even if the device has been totally submerged in water. If you take the correct steps immediately, there is a high chance that your iPhone can be brought back to life again.

What To Do to Fix Your Water Damaged iPhone

Make sure that the device is off and do not switch it on again
Open the case and take out the SIM card
Without going to extremes, shake out any excess water and dry it with a clean, dry cloth
If you do not have silica, put some rice into a bag, and place the device into the rice immediately after you have dried it off
Search online for companies that do repairs on water-damaged iPhones, and contact them as soon as possible.

Don’t imagine that by putting your iPhone in a bag of rice, it will get perfectly dry and work as normal again, because it probably won’t.

Effects of Water Inside an iPhone

Even if there is just one drop of water left inside your iPhone, corrosion can set in very quickly. Eventually this can damage your device beyond repair. The repair company that you send your iPhone to should have the expertise to remove any liquid or oil damage from your device. It is possible to get it working as good as new again.

If this proper process is not carried out on your iPhone, it will probably work for a while. However the features will start dying out one at a time as corrosion takes over.

How to Fix Water Damaged iPhones

Make sure that you find a company that specializes in repairing water damaged iPhones, rather than taking it to the manufacturers, who will only replace your iPhone with a reconditioned one, at a price of about $200, and all the data from your old device will be gone for good.

Companies specializing in fixing iPhones damaged by water will give your device a thorough diagnostic. Then they can fix any problems that might be preventing your iPhone from operating normally. The best thing about such companies is that you can send your phone via mail to the company. Then after they fix it, they will send it back to you, making it a hassle-free process. The next time you accidentally drop your iPhone in water, just send it to us and we will fix it for you.

DIY Fix, News, Tips

What To Do If Your iPhone Touch Screen Isn’t Responding

December 13, 2012 Staff Leave a comment

An iPhone touch screen that is not responding can be a challenging problem. The device is quite costly, so any issue that requires repair is automatically frustrating. When it stops working, it means that your main line of communication is cut off from the world. It can even endanger your livelihood, if you rely on your phone for work.

Here are a few things that a person can do when the screen becomes unresponsive.

Troubleshooting Unresponsive iPhone Touchscreen

Certain applications take up a great deal of memory, which can cause the phone to freeze up. This is very likely to occur when several programs are being run at the same time. If the phone becomes unresponsive, it is best to force the application to stop. To do this, hold down the home button until the application stops and the screen once again becomes responsive.

Restart the iPhone

If you’re unsuccessful in stopping the application, it may be necessary to restart the entire phone. The on/off button should be held until the red slide bar appears. Power down the phone and turned back on. This should make the phone responsive again.

Resetting the iPhone

Under rare circumstances, an iPhone touchscreen will still not respond after a restart. In these cases, it will become necessary to reset the phone. This is different from the above restart; the phone will be forced to shut down without the normal closeout process. Resetting the phone involves holding the on/off button and the home button at the same time until the Apple logo appears and goes away. After the device is off, it can be turned back on in a few seconds. By this time, the phone should be working again.

Restoring with iTunes

If none of the above seem to work, the next step is to connect the phone to a computer and open iTunes. On the Summary pane, a person can select “Restore”. If the phone does not appear in iTunes, there’s not much you can do yourself at this point, but you can still get it fixed or salvage the value of the phone.

Professional Assistance for Unresponsive iPhone Touch Screen

If the iPhone screen is still not responding, it may be necessary to take the phone in for professional repair or sell your iPhone for cash. An experienced repair shop, like iFixYouri, will be able to evaluate and fix the problem with no hassle. This will avoid further damage or loss of data in the phone. iPhones are very expensive and sensitive. Getting the job done correctly will save a lot of headaches down the line.

DIY Fix, News, Repair Parts, iPhone

What To Do When Your iPhone Microphone Stops Working

December 12, 2012 Staff 1 Comment

One of the most common problems that iPhone users encounter is the microphone not working during phone calls. The person you are speaking to can’t hear you while using the handset, but in some cases may still be able to hear while on speakerphone. It’s a frustrating problem that can make it difficult to use the phone on a regular basis. If you’re tired of shouting and asking people to “SPEAK UP,” consult the tips below or take it in for a professional diagnostic and repair.

Causes of iPhone Microphone Malfunction

Water exposure. Has your phone recently been dropped into water? Gotten wet in any way? Sometimes, even exposure to high levels of moisture, like steam, can cause the microphone to malfunction.
Mechanical malfunctions can sometimes cause the mouthpiece on the phone to stop working, like after a drop onto a hard surface.

How to Fix an iPhone Microphone Malfunction

Allow the phone to dry. If the microphone is malfunctioning after being exposed to moisture, you can allow the phone to dry. Turning the phone off and placing it in a porous environment, like in a box of rice, can help to dry the phone effectively and hopefully get the microphone back to normal.
Replace the microphone. If the problem persists, and you don’t want to buy a new phone, you can always have the microphone replaced by a professional.

Microphone Repair Cost

The costs can vary depending on the model of the phone, the damage and whether the mouthpiece can be repaired or needs to be replaced completely. Mechanical problems with the phone that have not been caused by the user are usually fixed under the warranty of the phone with no cost to the customer.

Keep in mind that phones less than one year old are usually covered under the manufacturer or carrier warranty, but there are exceptions. In addition, the warranty program on phones that have been tampered with or repaired outside Apple are often void under and the phones are ineligible to be repaired or replaced for free when the mouthpiece breaks.

The next best alternative is to ship your iPhone to our stores and we will fix it for you and send it back to you. iFixYouri has experts equipped with skills required to fix your iPhone’s microphone when it stops working. Alternatively, you could also sell your iPhone for cash.

DIY Fix, News, iPhone

How to Increase iPhone Processor Speed

December 11, 2012 Staff 3 Comments

Your smartphone has certain benchmarks for processing that can be overcome, increasing the processing power of your iPhone or Samsung Galaxy. By overclocking the internal processor, it is possible to boost the circuit boards and increase performance. This overclocking, however, greatly reduces the battery life of the iPhone and will rapidly drain it, even for programs that draw relatively little energy. The key to increasing iPhone processor speed lies in overclocking the processor through jailbreaking.

Benefits of Increasing iPhone Processor Speed

When you increase the processing speed of a phone, there are many benefits. Your apps take less time to power up and down, you can get better access to streaming internet content, and your wait times for pages to load is significantly reduced. One of the major criticisms of some iPhones is the amount of time they take to load content.

Secret to Increasing iPhone Processor Speed

Apple iPhones are “underclocked,” running at about half the capacity of their processor power. An iPhone 6S, for instance, can run at 1.4 megahertz but is set to run at only half that. Thus, overclocking the phone will boost processing speed by 50%, but will also drain the battery 50% faster. These safeguards put on the phone also prevent it from overheating. When you overclock an iPhone, it may heat up past the point of damage to the circuitry.

Jailbroken Phone Necessary for Increasing Processor Speed

An overclocked iPhone needs to be jailbroken, removing the limitations that Apple puts on their products. A jailbroken phone automatically violates Apple’s warranty process, meaning that overclocking your phone will make it impossible to get it fixed by Apple’s product services. It is best to jailbreak an iPhone once the warranty has expired or else you risk losing the phone in the event of damage. Using a cooling pad minimizes the damage that overclocking could present.

Overclocking 101

There are a number of protocols that you can download from the internet to overclock your phone. File-sharing sites and torrent distributors have the files needed to install overclocking software on your processor. It will be necessary to download and rename the file, however, since the device will automatically block any files do not have Apple configurations. Install it on your phone and reboot the processor. Your iPhone will utilize the program to run on a new processor configuration.

Overclocking Can Damage iPhone

In addition to boosting processor speed and heating up the phone, overclocking will reduce the lifespan of your phone’s computer processing unit. The best way to maximize CPU life and minimize heat is to close the apps you are not currently using and to check the temperature often. Anytime you jailbreak or overclock a phone, you do so at your own risk. Increasing the processor speed on a brand-new smartphone is not recommended, especially since some new devices (like the Galaxy Note 7) are subject to recalls and jailbroken iPhones cannot be recalled or replaced.

While it is possible to increase iPhone processor speed, it can end up causing you more issues with your phone. Since you’ve voided the warranty by jailbreaking your iPhone, you’ll need to get it repaired by a third-party professional company, like iFixYouri.

News

What You Should Know About iPhone 4 Speaker Repair

December 4, 2012 Staff 4 Comments

Modern gadgets are not exactly built to last, and that includes the speakers of your iPhone 4. Sometimes the cause of the speaker problems is simple, requiring little effort to repair on your own. Other times, you may need to call in the experts to get your product working properly again. Let’s explore some possible causes of iPhone speaker problems and options for resolving them.

iPhone 4 Speaker Problems

As practical and efficient as the iPhone 4 can be, you may experience times when the speakers fail to provide the optimum service you need. Some common iPhone 4 speaker problems include:

Low volume
Volume fading in and out
Speakers crackling
Speakers stop working altogether

Causes of iPhone 4 Speaker Malfunction

The causes of speaker problems may vary, depending on the age and how you take care of your product. Minor accidents or rough treatment of your iPhone can take its toll on it over time, causing them to malfunction or lose their power. Condensation, dirt and debris can also adversely affect your speakers, making them work at less capacity. Sometimes glitches occur in the phone’s setting that causes speakers to act up temporarily until the problem is remedied.

How to Handle Speaker Problems

Not all speaker problems require technical support assistance. You can personally fix some of the problems. If, for example, you lose audio through your headset but the phone’s built-in speakers are functioning fine, your phone may need to be reset to deliver sound to your earpiece. This can be accomplished by pressing your “sleep” and “home” buttons concurrently and clicking “restore.” This helps your mobile device to remember proper audio settings.

When your headphones work properly but built-in speakers do not, your jack sensor may be clogged up due to debris. This makes the phone think a headset is plugged in which automatically routes audio in that direction. Inserting your headphones in and out several times can help clear out any debris, rectifying this problem. A problem with low volume may be corrected by sticking a sharp needle through speaker holes, clearing out anything that may be impeding sound.

Getting Professional iPhone 4 Speaker Repair Services

The extent of the damage may be severe such that the above mentioned tips won’t fix the speakers. At this point, many people start thinking about disposing of their iPhone and buying a new one. This definitely does not have to be the case because there are professional repair stores that can fix your iPhone. iFixYouri provides professional iPhone 4 speaker repair services as an affordable, hassle-free solution.

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Mac Keyboard Shortcuts Made Easy