By Richard Sherwin, Bob Plunkett, Jennifer Auspitz, Arlene Rosenberg, Marc Burstein and Susan Davis

Q: I am so used to using the microphone instead of typing my texts and emailing from my Samsung Galaxy phone, yet sometimes the mic icon disappears from my screen and the reappears a day or 2 later. What the heck is going on?

A: This is not your imagination. Samsung upgrades its operating system (even with older phones and tablets) adding new features and subtracting others. When this occurs at the same or similar time that Google’s Android also has an upgrade, the mic does disappear for many customers. Apparently other manufacturers such as LG, Motorola other Android phone and tablet makers try to have their upgrades not interfere with Google’s Android. Samsung, why can’t you do the same?

Q: I commute between California and New York City. I have cable TV in both places. But I only subscribe to Showtime and HBO in California. My TiVo and my Roku have apps called HBO Go and Showtime Anytime and other subscription services. What’s the difference and why since I pay for the two services in California and New York City, can’t I get them on all my devices?

A: When you subscribe via your cable company to Showtime and HBO, you’re entitled to use the HBO Go and Showtime Anytime on your other streaming devices like Roku, Amazon, Apple TV, Kindle Fire TV only where you reside. Showtime and HBO also sell streaming only services for those devices for people who don’t have a cable TV subscription. Some cable boxes like TiVo have other Apps for those services but those services will only work in the city of origin that you paid for HBO and Showtime. Many customers who cut their cable subscription and use streaming services like YouTube TV, Play Station Vue, Sling and others can subscribe to HBO and Showtime separately for the streaming services.

Q: I just bought a 2017 Subaru Forester, which runs nicely but its GPS and voice navigation system is never accurate …if working at all. My neighbor’s 2018 model is just as bad. These two cars are two of the highest rated (by consumer reports) ever so why hasn’t Subaru fixed this problem and why hasn’t Consumer Reports addressed it?

A: In 2017 Subaru switched to a new vendor for its GPS, voice navigation, and radio. They have issued at least five free upgrades for both Foresters years, but still can’t fix many issues associated with the Navigation and other segments of the screen based information system. They tell us they are still trying. As far Consumer Reports goes, we called them about this issue several times and they haven’t answered. Sources claim that the venerable consumer advocacy organization is missing the boat on certain areas.

Q: I have an Amazon Echo Plus and a Logitech Boom that both operate well with Alexa’s voice commands. However, they are too close to each other and while I use one in the kitchen the other in the bedroom, I sometimes get answers from both devices.

A: You need to give each Alexa compatible or Alexa device a separate wake up name. Go to your Alexa settings, choose one of the Alexa compatible speakers and change the name to Echo or Alexa as the wake up command.

Q: I have three Alexa compatible speakers and one of them, a Logitech Boom seems to operate about 3 seconds later than the others.

A: Logitech’s Boom requires another piece of software to talk to Amazon’s Alexa, which is probably the reason there’s a slight delay in talking to that speaker.

Q: I installed this fantastic D-Link extender to my home router to improve my Wi-Fi. It has increased where and when I can use my streaming devices, Tablets and even just my cell phones connection to the Wi-Fi. However, when my router or service provider is down, and not working, the Extender stops working.

A: Remember, the terrific and fast D-Link Extender is still dependent on your home or business Internet connection. So when that’s not working you might still see your D-Link name in the available Wi-Fi settings, but it’s only available between your devices and can’t connect to the Internet.

Q: Sometimes when watching a streaming service like Netflix, Amazon or YouTube TV my allegedly Super Smart Super Expensive Samsung TV or even my brand new extra cool TiVo. Netflix and Amazon Prime video of says that the service not available or “buffering” after I’ve been watching a program for an hour or more. This doesn’t happen when I go directly to my streaming device Like Roku or Fire TV or Kodi.

A: Those set-top boxes were designed for streaming content The Rokus and other steaming-only boxes have more random access memory than even a fancy new TV so they can keep more or all of a movie or TV show in its memory. If you don’t have a streaming box, some TVs will buffer or catch-up to the content after a few minutes, but some just need you to exit the Netflix or Amazon app and then go back to it a very frustrating issue.

Q: My SuperSmart TV has about 8 decent streaming Apps that I go to when regular TV is not good. My cable company now offers extra Apps in its regular channel lineup. Neither the TV nor the Cable Apps seem to keep up with the newer streaming programs. This gets very confusing especially when I have to continue a Netflix or Amazon Prime TV program.

A: Easiest way around this is to buy a Roku or most other streaming boxes (even cheapest model has 100s of channels and keeps adding them every day for free in many cases.) But be aware that Amazon’s Fire TV does not always add Google-owned Apps…or makes it very difficult to do so.

Q: I understand that Apple is not making many of its iPod music devices any longer and the Sony MP3 player with its almost unlimited storage is very expensive. I only need about 32 gigs for my music and maybe another 8 gigs just to save or download MP3 files that I still purchase. I used to own a few mp3 players from San Disk, but I heard the company was sold. Does anyone still sell an inexpensive MP3 player?

A: San Disk is now part of D-Link and continues to make the best tiny reliable MP3 player dubbed “The Clip” that has great sound, fits in your pocket and is easy to download, upload music and also has a FM radio. Still available in many brick and mortar and online stores it comes in 4, 8 and 16 gig main memory but you can add as much as 32 gigs more to any of the models. The specs are just as good as an iPod or Sony MP3 player and start at only $29 for the 4 gig model. It can handle all major audio formats like MP3, WMA (NO DRM), AAC, Ogg Vorbis, WAV, FLAC, and Audible (DRM only).

Q: I don’t like to fiddle with my tablet or mobile phone to play what many experts say is sound soothing music before I sleep or nap. Is there a product that can easily turn on and off that provides this time of relaxing music or sounds but isn’t a sophisticated device.

A: VOXX International Corporation which owns much of the former RCA brand, just introduced the RCS10 Sound Soother which retails for $29.99 and boasts an impressive number of features for such a compact device. Studies have shown that the key to a healthy, restful sleep is falling asleep and staying asleep – white noise could be a key to achieving that. Sound Soother, is ideal for children and elderly people who may be the most vulnerable to sound disruptions. We tried the new device and it even worked on our puppy and ourselves. The RCS10 includes 10 pre-loaded sounds that are customizable for morning, day and nighttime including waves, rain, white, brown, pink noise and campfire. If you’re looking for something more music focused the RSC10 lets you select from Canon in D, Clair De Lune, Gymnopedie No. 1 and Greensleeves music tracks. You can also connect the RCS10 to any phone or MP3 player and play your own music or sounds through the speaker using an auxiliary input. Also included are a world adapter for travel and battery power option. The sleep timer has an option for 30, 60, 90 minutes and Constant On.

Q: Some members of my family recently got new Android based mobile phones. I noticed that the cable from AC adapter to the phone seems to have a longer input and doesn’t seem to fit our older phones. The manufacturer said this was the new way mobile phones attached to any AC adapter… Do I have to buy a bunch of cables now for these phones and why did they change something that was working well.

A: The new cables are called “C Cable”. After many many years of complete compatibility among all Android phones and some Blackberries and Windows phones, the new “C” standard was developed to make phones charge faster. In fact in many stores, the older cables are being deeply discounted because they don’t fit into new mobile phones. We didn’t take anyone’s word for it so we tested similar phones a late model non C phone and a similar model C phone and The C cable did charge the phone faster. And don’t worry about the price, Big Lots, Amazon and many other retailers are only charging about $4 to $6 dollars for extra cables.

Q: I went to shop for a new medium priced laptop and while I saw decent priced Intel based PCs for under $350 at mass market retailers, I saw some $2,000 (not Apple) laptops at the more upscale stores. What’s the difference?

A: These high priced laptops are being sold to the newly revitalized “Gaming” industry users. Virtual Reality, 3d 4d, high energy sophisticated games that have more than a theatrical quality require the power, speed, memory, and dexterity to serve that gaming community. We recently attended an Acer media event in NYC, where the venerable PC maker showed off Gaming PCs that seem to have enough power to send someone to Mars and then to explore it. Other companies like Dell’s gaming subsidiary are also trying to gain market share in that space. The gaming space is not just for Millennials, it encompasses many demographics some leftover baby boomers, who want the next generation of video games in their home.

Q: A few columns ago you claimed that Blue Tooth technology was getting more reliable when connecting mobile phones, speakers, TVs, audio players and receivers and most importantly automobiles connections. I disagree and especially question why my wife’s mobile phone connects to my Toyota before mine.

A: You may be right and I might have jumped the gun on Blue Tooth. At my lectures, I am getting more and more complaints from veteran tech users and new to the Blue Tooth world consumers. But first of all, whoever gets into the car first with their mobile phone Blue Tooth “on” will connect to that car. If you arrive at the exact same time then whoever had connected to the car last will be connected first. As far as Blue Tooth incompatibility issues, there are a lot of first-generation Blue Tooth speakers, receiver, transmitters whose Blue Tooth firmware (brains) might be outmoded. The official Blue Tooth society that allegedly runs the compatibility issues in the U.S. denies anything is wrong. But you are right, some Blue Tooth devices don’t talk to others. DFA did speak to several of the Blue Tooth hardware makers and they claim that slowly but surely (especially in automobiles) and audio players and receivers nearly all newer products will conform to a standard.

Q: I am teaching several foreign language courses and my students have come up with some interesting PC challenges.
How can input text in a foreign language – with special accents or a different writing system – using a regular, English-based computer?

A: The Windows operating system (at least from XT onward) allows adding languages and keyboards without too much difficulty. For most Latin-based writing systems, however, this is not necessary, unless you are planning to type massive amounts of text and can touch-type in the other language. Most Western languages use the same alphabet as English, with a varying number of special letters or diacritics. Diacritics are symbols attached to letters, such as the German Umlaut (ü) or the French sharp accent (é). In most cases, you can add the diacritics using keyboard shortcuts. The u-Umlaut, for instance, is added to the letter by hitting Ctrl + Shift + colon at the same time before the letter “u”, and the sharp accent, by hitting Ctr + comma before the letter “e.” More complex special letters or symbols can be added through the “Insert” sub-menu in almost every edition of Microsoft Word. When you click “Symbol,” a pull-down menu opens with the most recently used symbols and an option “More Symbols.” When you choose this option, a pop-up screen appears with tables of symbols and special characters. The table shows all the available letters, symbols, and characters for the font displayed on the top left (default and most extensive – Arial), in Western and some other alphabetic languages (e.g. Russian, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic). Character-based languages (such as Chinese, Japanese and Korean are not included). Once you find the letter/symbol you need, you can highlight it and hit “insert” or double click it to display it in your text. For longer texts, this method is rather tedious. The next step is adding a language/keyboard to your Windows OS. To do so, under Windows 10 Settings, go to Time and Language / Region and Language / Add a Language. Choose the language. There may be several varieties of the same language, such as German (Germany) and German (Austria). In most cases the differences are minimal, but in others they are significant, such as between simplified and traditional Chinese. Make sure to uncheck “Set as my Windows display language,” if you don’t want your menus and commands to use that language. Once you hit “install,” you will be asked to select features available for that language. If you do not have more than one language before this process, you will notice at the bottom right the letters ENG, which means your computer is operating in English. When you want to type in the other language, click ENG to bring up and pull-up menu with the available languages. When you click the language you want to use, the ENG symbol will change to the letters representing the new language and your keyboard will begin typing in that language. You can switch between languages using the language symbol or the keyboard shortcut Alt + Shift. The problem now is how to know which key produces which letter. If you plan to do a lot of typing, you can order stickers for your keys, with both English and the other language. If not, you can pull up an online keyboard from the Windows Settings / Ease of Access / Keyboard / Turn on onscreen keyboard (or keyboard shortcut: Windows + Ctrl + O) and use it by clicking with the mouse of, if you have a touchscreen, by touching the keys on the screen.

Airport Travails

Q: I fly a lot and I’m tired of endless lines to airport security. Even when I am lucky enough get TSA Pre✓® on my boarding card, TSA Pre✓® lines are sometimes longer than those of the regular security check. How can I avoid long lines for security checks at the airport?

A: Unless you are a VIP, who is whisked through the airport while formalities are taken care of by others, there are “known passenger” programs to which you can subscribe, which would reduce the hassle on the way to and/or from your flight.
⦁ TSA Pre ✓® status was introduced several years ago to speed up security screening. Depending on which airport you depart from, you may keep on your shoes, belt, and light jackets and leave your laptops and 3-1-1 compliant liquids in your hand luggage. The latter will still be x-rayed, and you will go through magnetic or electronic body screening and occasional physical search.
⦁ At some point, TSA Pre✓® status began to be granted to non-subscribers. As more passengers have developed an appetite for the perk, complimentary TSA Pre✓® became scarcer. You can subscribe for a very reasonable US$85 for five years (US$17 per year), the TSA Pre✓® line has grown, sometimes surpassing regular security lines, calling into question the value of this subscription, which claims to cut 5 (five) whole minutes (!) of the security check time. The real challenge now is avoiding the long lines BEFORE you get to security. Flying mostly domestically, you may wish to consider Clear. With this service, you cut the long ling to the identity check required before approaching the TSA body and hand luggage physical check. If you are TSA Pre✓® eligible, you get straight to the TSA Pre✓® screening. Membership is a steep $179 per year, but several credit cards and loyalty programs offer discounts to their members. For instance, Delta SkyMiles members pay US $99 (general), US $79 (Silver, Gold or Platinum)
⦁ Clear is currently available at the following airports: ATL, Atlanta, GA; AUS, Austin, TX; BWI, Baltimore, MD; DFW, Dallas, TX; DAL, Dallas, TX; DEN, Denver, CO; DTW, Detroit, MI, IAH, Houston, TX; HOU, Houston, TX; LAS, Las Vegas, NV; LAX, Los Angeles, CA; MIA, Miami, FL; MSP, Minneapolis, MN; HPN, New York, NY; LGA, New York, NY; JFK, New York, NY; MCO, Orlando, FL, SLC, Salt Lake City, UT; SAT, San Antonio, TX; SFO, San Francisco Bay Area, CA; SJC, San Jose, CA; SEA, Seattle, WA; IAD, Washington D.C.; DCA, Washington D.C.
⦁ If you frequently fly internationally, you may wish to consider Global Entry. This program is run by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). For pre-approved, low-risk travelers it speeds up the border control when arriving in the United States. While not guaranteed, Global Entry ID card holders often receive TSA Pre✓® status on both domestic and international flights. Application for the program is a non-refundable fee of US$100 which, once approved, covers five years of membership. The application process can take from a few weeks to a few months and it involves a background check and a personal interview.

Q: I have had a Verizon email account for almost 25 years. My Verizon account was connected to my FIOS System. Since the merger with AOL, Verizon has notified me that my Verizon email (.net) will be affiliated with AOL and I need to “port” the account to AOL with no fees and I can use my same password within Outlook or any email system on my phone, tablet or PC and Mac and of course AOL.com itself.

A: The good news is that moving your Verizon.net account into AOL is a one strep easy maneuver. The bad news is that with millions upon millions of Verizon.net FIOS and other Verizon.net accounts moving into AOL, the two companies didn’t prepare properly for this exchange and for many people getting email between aol.com users and Verizon.net users it doesn’t work 50% of the time. Both companies claim they are working on this problem. In the meantime, you may not get your Verizon.net email all the time on AOL or vice versa. If you have something very important to send, you should use Gmail or any other email account and send or receive from that until these issues are solved.

Q: A few years ago, DFA touted OooVoo as the best video chat program for consumers and business. I understand that they had nearly 200 million customers because their video, audio quality was better and you could communicate to12 or more family, friends and business colleagues from different locations at one time. I can’t find Oovoo and longer.

A: With millions of users in 78 countries, OoVoo was the way many people connected with friends in a much easier, faster, better way than Facebook, Skype, Google Hangouts. But about 8 months ago, the owners decided that they could not make enough advertising dollars nor third-party investors to keep the terrific video chat system running. They just closed their doors and that was that.

Q: A few years ago DFA recommended a Bissell handheld vacuum and a standup cordless vac by Bissell that was particularly good with Cat and Dog hair. Have they changed the models since then?

A: Yes Bissell now has a MultiReach Stick Vacuum Model 2151A, plus the Handheld Pet Hair Eraser (also good for just a strong handheld Vac) and the 2018 version of the Air Ram model 1984 (Under $200) Equipped with a 22V Lithium-ion battery. We gave this Vac a terrific review four years ago. Now, this cordless vacuum delivers up to 40 minutes of powerful, fade-free suction across carpets, hard floors, and area rugs. The AirRam® is ultra-light and easy to use weighing less than 1 pound in use, and with swivel steering and a lay flat handle, it maneuvers under and around furniture with ease. Bissell Model number 1984. The powerful hand Vac $49, is cordless and has an Extended run time for up to 15 minutes with a Recharge time of 5 hours. Its motorized foot provides powerful suction for a deeper clean and the crevice tool helps clean hard-to-reach areas and tight spaces. The Dual-action filtration system makes it easy to empty unit. DFA is still examining the much talked about (on TV infomercial) MultiReach Stick Vacuum.

Q: I tried to beat Amazon’s price by purchasing a computer (Huawei) at Walmart when they dropped the price $200 below Amazon’s. I live in New England for six months, but my credit cards are from Florida as that’s my legal residence. I tried 6 times to purchase the computer on Walmart.com website but each time the deal went through, I would get an email later, saying your account has been turned down. This happened when using my Visa, American Express, and even Walmart’s own card. Customer support couldn’t figure out the problem. I don’t have this issue with any other online or any retailers at all. Could this be because Huawei is having trouble with the U.S. government and China dispute?

A: No Huawei’s computer, phones, and tablets are all still available from Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy. From what Walmart told us, there’s a new authentication system that requires your billing address to be the same as your shipping or present living location. And for higher-end items, you must have a (free) Walmart online account that uses your email address.

Q: I read a story in a technology magazine that all of the popular wireless technologies are in for major overhauls with even just plain WI-FI being changed. Will this affect my computer, audio-video, mobile phone, and tablets?

A: Unfortunately the answer is yes and no. The major wireless technologies: Wi-Fi, Mobile bandwidths 3g-4g and Bluetooth are all getting long in the tooth, according to many scientists, national security and technology experts. Some form of these technologies hasn’t been really upgraded or improved in almost two decades. However, even though all the wireless technologies are being advanced in the next 18 months, most will still be compatible with your existing devices during their initial introductions. 4G service from your mobile phones are slowly but surely being upgraded to 5G which promises better and easier connections, better quality in voice and video and faster browsing. The next generation of Wi-Fi supported by the Wi-Fi Alliance — a group of companies like Apple, Microsoft, Cisco, and Intel — with a tacit approval of Google and Amazon and some service providers are pushing Wi-Fi Protected Access encryption protocol, called WPA3, would harden the connection between users’ devices and Wi-Fi routers. Since even the best home and business connections are susceptible to hacking and some Wi-Fi connections too slow to support the advanced streaming services, this next-gen Wi-Fi allegedly addresses these security and speed issues. While some advanced Wi-Fi are already being tested nationally, these too are still compatible with your modems and routers. At some point, many service providers will have to upgrade your routers and modems to handle the new technology and if your modem or router is more than 10 years old, they would have to be replaced. Recently, at many trade shows, where this technology is being shown, WPA3 will protect against next-gen security breaches by default and will be easier to set up and use.
This will be especially on screenless devices, like printers, smartwatches and connected-home systems, such as “smart” thermostats and refrigerators, security cams. As far as Bluetooth goes, the next gen of that technology for what is dubbed as low energy connected devices like speakers, lighting equipment, home appliances, headphones, other audio equipment like automobiles, stereo receivers, mobile phones will have better security and most importantly better connections. Spearheading this technology is health and wellness Bluetooth where Fitbits and other health-tracking devices are connecting to your phone, tablet or computer. They are also starting to advance to hospital and doctor offices. Because of those “personal information” connections, Bluetooth has had to be strengthened so there are no dropouts or failures. Some doctors and hospitals use Bluetooth-enabled blood glucose monitors, pulse oximeters, heart rate monitors, asthma inhalers and other products to record readings on patients’ devices for transmission via the Internet to their offices. So the so-called Bluetooth 4, 5, 6 should promise improvements in all those connections without making any of the present Bluetooth technologies defunct.

Q: I have several Internet radios. One in particular Logitech’s Ultimate Ears model has an app called Tune In Radio, in which I get all my favorite out of town radio stations or the ones I grew up with. My stations (all with CBS designations) are no longer available on Tune-In what can I do?

A: Tune-In is a very popular online radio station network which made it easier for anyone anywhere to listen to their favorite radio stations across the globe. Tune-In recently split from CBS Radio which has new owners. The new owners wanting to keep their stations separate (but still free) have their own app dubbed “Radio.com” and that’s the only way to get the many CBS radio stations on Internet radios. Older Internet radios like Ultimate Ears and several others that can’t be updated, can’t get Radio.com. Como, Grace Digital and other that can get new apps that will solve your problems. Also, Radio.com is available on most Tablets, IPads, and Mobile Phones.
And many of the hundreds of thousands of word wide AM and FM radio stations still offer their Internet-based stations via a regular browser on a PC, Tablet or cell phone without an APP.